Athens - US firm Chrysler Aviation made a bid of 210 million euros (263 million dollars) for ailing Greek state airline Olympic on Wednesday, in a surprise response to the government's last-ditch effort to rescue the debt-ridden carrier.

Greece's conservative government is currently in negotiations with Marfin Investment Group and Swissport over the sale of Olympic Airlines and reports said the deal is expected to be finalized this week after years of failed privatization attempts.

Athens - Tourists trying visit the Acropolis, Greece's premier cultural site, were again turned away on Tuesday as guards continued a week-long strike.

Culture ministry employees launched the strike on February 26, blocking access to the 2,500-year-old site, demanding better working conditions for personnel, of whom nearly 70 per cent are temporary contract workers.

The full affect of the strike had not been felt until Tuesday, as Greece had also been on a three-day public holiday to mark the start of Lent.

Patras, Greece  - At least four people were injured in clashes between Greek police and migrants in the port town Patras, a known hub for illegal immigrants, news reports said Tuesday.

The fighting erupted when an Afghan migrant was injured when he tried to jump on a moving truck Monday night in an attempt to hide on the vehicle in order to get access to a ferry leaving for Italy the next day, Greek public radio said.

Athens - In the latest of a series of attacks, rioters set fire to a local train in a posh Athens suburb, destroying three of six carriages, Greek news reports said Tuesday.

The protestors, who wore carnival masks and shouted anarchist slogans, threw firebombs into the ISAP local train when it arrived at its terminal station at Kifisia, a wealthy suburb of Athens, late Monday, Greek television said.

The few remaining passengers fled the station in panic. No one was injured, the reports said.

Athens  - Athens on Monday condemned an attack on a group of Greek tourists in neighbouring Macedonia, saying such acts did not serve to improve already tense relations between the two countries.

The tourists were travelling in five buses in the city of Ohrid when they were reportedly attacked by about 30 Macedonian nationalists who threw stones and sticks at them. Two of the tourists were injured.

New York  - The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is under Greek leadership this year, should do more to help settle conflicts around the world, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Friday.

Bakoyannis cited the brief war last August in the Caucasus, which pitted Russian troops against Georgian forces over the breakaway region of South Ossetia, as well as the situation in Kosovo and Afghanistan.