Athens

A big fire at a plastics factory in the northern Athens suburb of Metamorfossi has shut down the highway to Thessaloniki, as well as the Attiki Odos ring road, near its junction with the highway.

Early in the afternoon, the direction to the north was opened to traffic.

Tolls on the Attiki Odos open segment to the airport are free.

Hotels may be losing serious money, as the coronavirus pandemic is spiking again, but old investments had to be completed; hence the latest addition to Athens' boutique hotels, which opens Friday.

Thursday's session on the Athens Stock Exchange was even more subdued than recent days, if that is possible.

In the end, the general index, which had been showing mild losses throughout, tipped over into positive territory, closing at 637.27 points, a gain of 0.36%. Late gains in OTE Telecom were the main reason.

Turnover was €23.61 million on volume of 16,373,894 shares.

A tourist wearing a face mask to guard against the coronavirus is seen leaving the Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora's archaeological museum in central Athens, Tuesday. Greece's Culture Ministry announced on Monday that it was closing the museum of the major archaeological site for two weeks after a cleaner there was diagnosed with Covid-19.

A team from the National Organization of Public Health (EODY) conducted on Wednesday 36 tests on employees working for the Athens Ephorate of Antiquities as part of its tracing system, after a cleaner tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week.

Unknown assailants set fire to two ATMs at the Piraeus Bank branch in Pefki, northern Athens, early on Tuesday morning.
The arson attack caused damage to the two cash machines located outside the bank branch at 43 Irini Avenue.
Police are conducting an investigation to locate the perpetrators.

With the exception of the statue of the former American president Harry Truman in downtown Athens that has been toppled, splashed with paint and firebombed, Greece has not witnessed, at least in recent years, any attempts to "erase" history by means of vandalism.

Work on downtown Panepistimiou Street that is part of a plan to create an extensive network in Athens for pedestrians and bicycles caused traffic jams across the city center on Monday. The City of Athens has called for the understanding of residents as the project, dubbed the Grand Walk, is still in its pilot phase.

A protest rally by healthcare workers and ongoing public works in central Athens created long bottlenecks in main streets on Tuesday morning.

A National Archaeological Museum employee wears a face protective mask while walking next to statues, as museums open following the easing of measures against the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), in Athens, Monday. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]