In Brief
PLANES GROUNDED
Pilots plan to walk off the job demanding boost to fleet Pilots at Olympic Airlines (OA) plan to hold two three-hour work stoppages tomorrow and Monday in protest at the airline’s decision not to charter five additional planes for the busy summer season. Pilots will walk off the job on each day between 8 a.m and 11 a.m. Sources said that OA has already arranged to add one extra plane to its fleet over the summer and is in the negotiation process for the remaining four. ILLEGAL CLUBS Nightspots without permits Athens prefecture inspection teams said yesterday they came across 11 night spots operating without a license, including some the city’s better-known clubs. Among the list of club names is Sfentona, Vox, Notes and Akti Piraios. Prefect Yiannis Sgouros said that changes need to be made to legislation to avoid illegally run nightclubs from operating. Nearby holidays Greeks prefer to spend their holiday time at local getaway spots and are cautious about taking part in organized travel groups, according to EU data presented yesterday. In line with trends shown by residents in other Mediterranean countries, about 10 percent of Greeks spend more than four days of their holiday time abroad. Just over half of Greeks traveling abroad prefer to visit non-EU states. Dog paddle Dogs are to get a beach of their own on the sun-kissed Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Dogs are strictly prohibited from the holiday island’s shoreline to keep the beaches clean for bathers, but Cypriot authorities have decided enough of the dog’s life. They are looking for suitable beaches where people and their pets can enjoy the sun and sea without falling foul of other beach-goers. The Ombudsman, a commissioner usually tasked with upholding human rights, recommended to authorities last year that dogs get their own bathing space, the daily Phileleftheros reported. (Reuters) Roadblock Farmers blocked a national highway in the Nea Triglias area in northern Greece’s Halkidiki for a 12th day yesterday as they pushed ahead with demands that the Public Power Corporation (PPC) drop extra charges imposed for electricity consumption. Farmers said that the state-controlled power company has lowered their discount rate on the grounds that they have exceeded consumption limits. Correction Kathimerini English Edition mistakenly referred to Chinese State Councilor Hua Jianmin as Vasile Hua Jianmin in the front page’s ‘Today’ section on Tuesday and yesterday.
