Garbage strike enters 9th day
Thousands of tons of rotting trash piled up on the streets of the Greek capital Wednesday as garbage collectors extended their strike for a ninth day.
Trash collectors and their supporters clashed with riot police at a rally outside the Interior Ministry in central Athens, where protesters were demanding better wages and benefits.
The trash collectors’ union announced it had decided to extend the nationwide strike through today.
Cairo, Egypt
Police guarding liner after threat
Police were guarding the Queen Elizabeth 2 luxury liner Wednesday after the ship’s owner and British authorities reported an unspecified threat against the ship.
Officers in boats and on land watched the QE2 as it docked in the north Egyptian port of Alexandria for the day. Passengers were allowed to disembark for sightseeing.
The ship’s owners, Cunard Line, and Britain’s Transport Department said Tuesday they had received “information concerning the security” of the vessel.
Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro
Flooding rivers threaten thousands
Flooding threatened thousands of people in northern Serbia on Wednesday, prompting plans for massive evacuation.
The Danube and Tisa rivers submerged hundreds of acres of fertile plains. Thousands of army troops were dispatched to help municipal workers reinforce embankments with sandbags.
“The situation is very serious. The Tisa reached levels unseen here in a hundred years,” Agriculture Minister Ivana Dulic-Markovic said.
Heavy rain continued in much of the Balkan republic, hampering efforts to hold back the raging rivers and adding another few inches to the water levels.
In the capital, Belgrade, which lies at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, several low-lying streets were submerged, prompting plans for a pontoon bridge across major roads.