In Brief
Eurobank to sponsor exhibitions and art school graduates Eurobank’s Private Banking section has announced new sponsoring initiatives in the arts in association with the National Gallery and the Athens School of Fine Arts. The bank’s involvement will be twofold: First is financial support for three consecutive years of a major exhibition at the gallery, to be based on Greek art. This year it begins on November 24 with a retrospective exhibition of Alekos Fassianos’s paintings. Second is cooperation with the Athens School of Fine Arts: Every year the Private Banking Directorate will offer a financial award to the school’s top three graduates. The bank will also organize an annual event where those awarded can exhibit their works, so that an institution is created to support and promote Greek art and creativity in a new generation of artists. National Gallery Director Marina Lambraki-Plaka commented that in this program the choice of artists results from cooperation and collective decision. Three countries meet on Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline Athens is today and tomorrow hosting a meeting of working groups from Greece, Russia and Bulgaria with respect to the proposed crude oil pipeline project from Burgas in Bulgaria to Alexandroupolis in Greece. The meeting will prepare the political agreement by the three governments, to be signed shortly so that the project can be completed soon. Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas will open proceedings and top Greek officials will present an updated study of the pipeline. Greek-Chinese tourism The first Greek-Chinese Tourism Forum, titled «From Athens to Beijing: The Olympic Bridge,» is taking place at the Vellidion conference center in Thessaloniki, organized by the International Herald Tribune under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization and Thessaloniki International Fair. Minister for Tourism Dimitris Avramopoulos will open the event aimed at boosting tourism cooperation between the countries hosting the last and next Olympics. Airline rescue plan Cypriot Communications, Transport and Works Minister Haris Thrasou said European Union involvement cannot be averted in the Cyprus Airways (CY) rescue effort, but the government must first be persuaded that the plan to save the national carrier will bear fruit. He went on to accuse the CY board of delaying the plan’s presentation, which has now forced it to make fragmentary decisions. Thrasou also admitted there are communication problems with the CY board. Cephalonia airport British charter airline Britannia has declared Cephalonia airport the best in the eastern Mediterranean in ground services. The company, which flies four times a week in the summer to the Ionian island, examined the passenger service speed, staff courtesy and other factors before honoring Cephalonia airport. A Britannia representative presented the award to the airport’s director, Maria Markatou.
