Athens

The section of the Athens tram line between the Kallithea stop and the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Neo Faliro (known by its acronym SEF) will be suspended Saturday and Sunday as works get under way for the planned extension of the route to Piraeus.

University students hold a blood-stained Greek flag from the deadly 1973 student uprising, in Athens on Friday. Several thousand people march to the US Embassy in Athens under tight police security to commemorate a 1973 student uprising that was crushed by Greece's military junta, that ruled the country from 1967-74. [Thanassis Stavrakis/AP]

Shops in the downtown Athens area rolled down their metal shutters on Friday afternoon amid fears of violence breaking out during the annual march commemorating the 1973 uprising against the 1967-74 military dictatorship.

There will be no service on the Athens metro on Tuesday, as workers announced a 24-hour strike on Friday in opposition to the government's privatization plans.

"We will not allow urban transport to be put on the selling block of profit," the metro workers' union, SELMA, said.

A sudden hail storm is causing problems in the centre of Athens. A new wave of extreme weather was forecast by meteorologists, who predicted Friday would see heavy rainfalls and storms from midday onwards in the capital.

Many areas around the centre of Athens are in complete lockdown, as celebrations for the 44th anniversary of the 1974 Polytechnic uprising will culminate Friday with the traditional march towards the US Embassy later in the day.

Firemen found the charred remains of an unidentified individual on Thursday in a burnt-out car in the area of Limanakia in Vouliagmeni, southern Athens. 

Sadness is really the only thing you can feel when looking at the sorry state of the building which today houses the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), what used to be the Athens Polytechnic, in the city center.

The University of Athens has published this video taken by drone and showing the flooding in western Attica that claimed at least 15 lives on Wednesday and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. 

UPD: The road has been opened by traffic police after initially being shut down due to problems caused by the heavy rainfall.

Piraeus street Athens in its direction to the centre has closed at the junction with Hamosternas street, which is also closed, due to torrential rains.