In Brief
NAME ISSUE
Greece expects pressure to resolve dispute to come soon The prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Nikola Gruevski, said yesterday there is «nothing new» to report on talks to resolve its name dispute with Greece but sources in Athens said they expect the pressure on both countries to find a solution to be ratcheted up in the coming days. Diplomatic sources said a meeting of NATO foreign ministers is due to be held in New York next month and the issue of the name dispute will be discussed with a view to a fresh bid to accept FYROM into NATO being made when the alliance holds its summit in November. TRAIN CHANGES More work on electric railway There will be no service on the Kifissia-Piraeus electric railway (ISAP) between the Ano Patissia and Irini stations on Saturday and Sunday due to ongoing improvements to the line. A bus replacement service (X15) will be available instead. As of Monday, the southbound platforms at Perissos and Pefkakia will be open to commuters but the northbound ones will not. Also, commuters are reminded that there is no ISAP service between Attiki and Monastiraki stations and that they have to use the metro to continue journeys in either direction. Meanwhile, the Hellenic Railway Organization (OSE) said that between August 23 and 27 and from August 30 to September 3, there will be work on the line between Thessaloniki and Alexandroupoli, which will mean that passengers on some trains will have to make part of their journey by bus. Allowed to vote A circular sent by the Interior Ministry to municipalities yesterday instructs them that in addition to nationals from European Union member states, people from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can also vote in the November 7 local elections if they have been living in Greece for five consecutive years. Those interested in registering to vote should go to their local municipality with their residence papers, which will then be checked against the Interior Ministry’s records. An application for that person to be included on the electoral roll will then be made. PM contacts Prime Minister George Papandreou spoke on the telephone to European Council President Herman van Rompuy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton late on Thursday to inform them of the outcome of his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the latter’s visit to Athens at the beginning of the week. According to Papandreou’s office, the Greek premier traveled to Crete yesterday for a short break. Soccer wins The two Greek sides involved in Europa League soccer action on Thursday night both scored 1-0 wins over their opposition. PAOK, despite being reduced to 10 men in the second half, beat Fenerbahce of Turkey in Thessaloniki. AEK also returned from its trip to Scotland with a victory over local cup winner Dundee United. Meanwhile, Olympiakos announced yesterday its third signing in as many days. The Reds agreed to a deal with Serbian striker Marko Pantelic. Coach Ernesto Valverde made his first signing on Wednesday, bringing in Brazilian Chumbinho and followed that up with securing the services of Hungarian international striker Krisztian Nemeth.
