The president of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Gjorge Ivanov yesterday invited his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias to make a first official visit for talks to resolve an ongoing dispute between Skopje and Athens over his country’s name. “There are more things that link us and bring us closer to each other than those that divide us,” Ivanov wrote in a letter to Papoulias. “I am deeply convinced that as heads of two neighboring states we will definitely provide an additional impulse to the strengthening of friendly relations,” the letter added.

The 60-year-old first mate of a Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged tanker was found dead in the engine room of the vessel, which had been moored at the port of Khor Fakkan in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, after a fire broke out on board, port authority officials in Piraeus said. According to the officials, the fire broke out on the vessel while it had been refueling. The body of the seaman, identified as G. Anastasopoulos, is to be returned to Greece today.

A month after coming to power, the government announced late yesterday the names of eight general and special secretaries at the ministries of Finance, Economy and Environment. The process has been held up because for the first time, applications were accepted online.

Parliamentary Speaker Philippos Petsalnikos said yesterday that the hiring of all Parliament staff would from now on be made through the Supreme Council for Personnel Selection (ASEP), the state body that handles applications for jobs in the public sector. Petsalnikos added that specialist staff, such as stenographers, would be hired after the positions are advertised and applicants have passed a test. It has emerged that a few days prior to October 4 general elections, several MPs had hired staff for their parliamentary offices on generous wages and pension benefits, prompting claims of corruption and nepotism.

A 35-year-old man was admitted to the Thriasio Hospital west of Athens yesterday after being shot in the stomach while on the Athens-Corinth national road. Police said the incident took place in Elefsina, where other drivers spotted the victim who had stopped in the right-hand lane. The exact circumstances in which he was shot remain unclear.

Tension returned to the Athens University of Economics and Business yesterday when clashes between students affiliated to ruling PASOK and opposition New Democracy broke out for the third time in less than a week. The row has been sparked by the two groups’ political differences.

An Olympic Air flight that took off from Athens International Airport for the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos early yesterday was forced to return after the aircraft was struck by lightning. The passengers aboard the plane were not hurt and boarded a later flight to the island.