Athens - The days of cigarette friendly Greece are about to go up in smoke.

The home to Europe's largest population of smokers has just over a year to go before a ban outlaws the habit in all public places, including restaurants, bars and offices, the Greek Health Ministry said Friday.

The ministry submitted the bill to Parliament late Thursday. It foresees the adoption of European Union guidelines designed to protect people from passive smoking as of January 1, 2010.

Athens - Qatar Airways, Iberia and Chrysler Aviation are among 13 companies which have expressed interest in the sale of state-owned Olympic Airlines, Greece's transport minister said Thursday.

"We were presented with 13 interested companies for flight operations, 15 have expressed interest for the ground handling and 10 for the technical maintenance part," Transport Minister Kostas Hatzidakis said in a radio interview.

Athens - The Vatican returned a small fragment of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens Wednesday on a one-year loan, setting in motion what Greece hopes will be a precedent for the British Museum to return the sculptures it has.

"This is a gesture from one of the most important museums in Europe," Greek Culture Minister Michalis Liapis said.

Athens - A Greek prosecutor charged Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion Fani Halkia with criminal doping offences Friday after she failed a dope test ahead of the 

Athens - Hundreds of Olympic Airline staff blocked one of the main runways at Athens' International Airport on Thursday during a 24-hour strike against government plans to privatise the ailing airline, forcing the cancellation of nearly 100 domestic and international flights.

Carrying black banners and shouting "never, never, never," hundreds of Olympic workers blocked one of Athens airport's two runways.

Delays were kept to a minimum as many of the flights were diverted to the second runway.

Athens - Greek state carrier Olympic Airlines cancelled around 100 domestic and international flights on Thursday as air traffic controllers and flight crews launched a
24-hour strike in protest against government plans to privatize the airline.

The cancellations will cover approximately 100 flights to European destinations such as London, Rome, Brussels and Frankfurt, reports said. Some domestic flights will also be canceled.

Last month, the Greek government launched a tender to sell off the ailing airline, saying it would find new public sector jobs for its workers.

Officials have said Qatar Airways is among the investors interested in the sale but union leaders have pledged to halt the privatization.