Florina

According to sources, Public Power Corporation's governing board has paved the way for the entry of more investors in the tender for the sale of the Megalopoli and Florina lignite plants via setting up consortiums with the six short-listed bidders.

PPC is seeking as great a participation as possible in the process for the sale of the lignite-powered units at Florina (Meliti) and Megalopoli to maximize the price it will receive for them.

The bill that the Energy Ministry has prepared for the concession of power production units belonging to Public Power Corporation, which Kathimerini has seen, provides for securing the jobs of workers at the lignite-fired units for at least six years, but on different contracts to those of PPC proper.

Greekreporter.com - The weather split Greece into two halves on Thursday as the north experienced heavy snowfall, whereas a sandstorm and mini-heatwave hit the south and in particular the island of Crete.

The contrast in the weather was predicted by a Greek meteorologist a few days earlier.

A 34-year-old man was killed and a second man injured on Wednesday when the car they had been traveling in collided with a train near Florina in northern Greece.

The train, which had been serving the Florina-Thessaloniki route, hit the car at around 10.15 a.m.

A snow plow clears the streets of Nevrokopi in Drama, which was hit on Monday by the cold front that swept across northern and central Greece. Bad weather caused flight cancellations and delays at Thessaloniki airport, while schools in Florina, Grevena and Kastoria were ordered to stay closed on Tuesday. [EPA]

The deal with the country's creditors concerning the sale of Public Power Corporation's lignite units is definitively sealed, and on Friday the two sides will formally confirm it. Now Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis has to manage the front that has opened with the PPC union (GENOP) and the local communities of Florina and Megalopoli.

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale hit north of the region of Florina in north-west Greece on Saturday. According to Athens Geodynamic Institute, the tremor hit at approximately 12.55pm with the epicentre located 11km west north-west of Florina. The earthquake was felt throughout several areas in Macedonia, without, however, any damage or injurers being reported.

The Energy Ministry has chosen to prolong its negotiations with the European Commission regarding the list of Public Power Corporation units that should go on sale, due to an ongoing disagreement.

The Arcturos bear conservation society in northern Greece revealed Thursday that a young male bear was killed on Wednesday after being hit by a car on the national road between Amyntaio and Florina.

Arcturos said it is the 12th time a bear has been killed on this stretch of road since 2003.