In Brief
TOLL HIKE
Highway fees increase to 2.80 euros as of today The price of road tolls on the national highway from Elefsina to Patras via Corinth went up to 2.80 euros from 2 euros for motorists at midnight yesterday. Motorcyclists now pay 1.90 euros, compared to 1 euro before. Some local authority representatives complained yesterday that the state of the highway does not justify such a large fee hike. Olympia Odos, the company that will maintain the highway and collect the tolls over the next 30 years, said there were no plans for other toll stations. Drivers will be able to pay the toll using the Attiki Odos e-pass as of October. DOCTORS STRIKE Hospitals deserted this week State hospitals in Attica will be operating on emergency staff this week as doctors join a weeklong strike, demanding higher salaries and calling for the recruitment of additional staff. Protesting doctors are due to stage a protest rally outside the Health Ministry on Thursday. Eco-driving Athens City Hall is organizing a week of events, starting today, to promote the use of sustainable modes of transport on the occasion of European Mobility Week. Deputy Mayor Giorgos Dimopoulos will deliver a presentation tomorrow morning on «eco-driving» in a bid to encourage motorists to use their vehicles in a «greener» way. Proposed tactics include reducing speed, regularly checking tyre pressure and switching the engine off during stops of longer than one minute Afidnes fire Four water-dropping aircraft were dispatched to assist of team of 45 firefighters dousing a large blaze that broke out in the area of Afidnes, on the slopes of Mount Parnitha north of Athens, yesterday afternoon. It was unclear how the fire started. The site of Afidnes has been earmarked for the construction of an industrial park, a move that has fanned some controversy. Teachers protest Primary school teachers are to go on strike tomorrow, protesting inadequate funding and other problems in their sector. Protesters are to stage a demonstration outside the Education Ministry at 1 p.m. Donor sought Doctors at Thessaloniki’s Ippocrateio Hospital yesterday appealed for a donor to come to the assistance of an 8-year-old boy who needs a bone marrow transplant. Yiannis Michailidis, from Halkidiki, suffers from a rare form of anemia, doctors said. Hash haul Three Albanian nationals faced a prosecutor in the northwestern town of Ioannina yesterday after an inspection by border guards revealed more than 90 kilos of cannabis. The three men had been on foot when guards stopped them in the area of Delvinaki on Sunday. Bridge works Maintenance work on the Rio-Antirio Bridge, connecting the mainland to the Peloponnese, will disrupt traffic in the area between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today and tomorrow.
