In Brief
HOLIDAY TRAFFIC
Hundreds of thousands expected to leave Athens for long weekend Hundreds of thousands of Athenians are expected to flee the city this long weekend, taking advantage of the Dormition of the Virgin public holiday on Monday. Police will implement measures aimed at improving traffic flow, such as increasing supervision along major highways and adding traffic lanes to busy roads. Trucks will be banned from traveling for parts of today and Monday to help improve safety for motorists. Port authorities will also be on standby to help offer passengers hassle-free travel. AIRFARE HIKE Olympic to up ticket prices due to rising petrol costs Travelers on Olympic Airlines will be hit for up to 8 extra euros per trip as the airline prices in higher fuel costs, the company said yesterday. The cost of domestic flights will rise by 6 euros as of August 22, while international flights to New York, Montreal, Toronto and Johannesburg will be 8 euros more expensive. Other international flights will not be affected, the airline said, pointing out that it had not imposed any extra charges on domestic flights for fuel costs in the year since world oil prices began rallying. MUSEUMS OPEN Free entry on Monday Museums and archaeological sites will be open to the public this long weekend, the Culture Ministry said yesterday. The sites will operate on Sunday and Monday, but according to a holiday time schedule. The ministry gave the green light for free entrance to the museums on Monday. Those sites that would normally be shut on Monday will remain closed, the ministry added. Visitors should call individual venues for detailed information about opening hours. Deporting immigrants A large group of illegal immigrants from Egypt who were were detained in Crete earlier this week are expected to be deported in the next few days, police sources said. The 95 Egyptians, who will be moved to a local school for the duration of their stay, will be transported back to their country on a chartered flight. The crew members of the South Korean-flagged boat that was transporting the illegal immigrants faced a prosecutor yesterday. Forest fire A team of 40 firefighters handling 11 fire engines and aided by water-carrying aircraft yesterday struggled to contain a fire that had broken out near the village of Aria, close to Nafplion. No residential areas were threatened but one fireman was hospitalized with injuries whose extent were not clear. Evros River Water levels of the Evros River in northeastern Greece were retreating yesterday, allaying fears of widespread flooding in the area, officials said. By midday the depth of the river at Pythion, north of Didymoteicho, retreated to 5.26 meters from 5.4 meters late on Wednesday. The danger level for the river at this point is set at 5.7 meters. Fraudster caught A 59-year-old man allegedly forged a police identity card bearing the details of a dead acquaintance from whose bank accounts he then withdrew 5,000 euros, police said yesterday after arresting the man in the Peloponnesian city of Tripolis. The unnamed man has allegedly used the fake ID card to make withdrawals from banks in Glyfada, Voula and Koropi, but clerks in the Tripolis bank were unconvinced and summoned police, officers said. Protest ends Peach farmers ended their three-day blockage of a major highway connecting Thessaloniki to Edessa in northern Greece after they secured a higher price for their produce with canning companies late yesterday. The two parties agreed on a 0.20-euro-per-kilo price tag on peaches, lower than the 0.23 euros the farmers had originally demanded. Driver killed A 53-year-old man was killed early yesterday in a traffic accident in Kozani, northern Greece, when the car he was driving crashed into an oncoming truck. The truckdriver suffered minor injuries.
