Italy's gas stations to strike in March

(ANSA) - Rome, February 18 - Managers of highway gasoline service stations said Wednesday that they will hold a 48-hour strike beginning at 10 p.m. local time on March 3. Such a strike could snarl traffic all over the country. Service station operators say they have appealed to regional courts over measures they call "huge rents" as well as fuel surcharges imposed by federal ministries including transport and economic development. Fuel taxes have jumped by 1,400% in six years, the operators said.