33RD IPTC CONFERENCE STARTS IN ZAGREB

( Editorial: --> 9700 ) ZAGREB, June 8 (Hina) - The Croatian News Agency (Hina) is this year host to the annual conference of the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) which began in Zagreb on Monday. The three-day meeting of technical directors and representatives of technical services from about 20 news agencies across Europe and the world was opened by the Hina's general director Branko Salaj. Participants were also welcomed by the Deputy Communications Minister Dominik Filipovic and the Assistant Science and Technology Minister Predrag Pale. Hina's history, which began with the transmission of its first news in August 1990, is tied to the emergence of the Croatian state, said Salaj. Even though its beginnings were tied to the tense war situation and difficult working conditions, today Hina has a leading place in the development of information networks among countries of central and eastern Europe. Filipovic said that Croatian Post and Telecommunications (HPT) along with restoration of war damaged telecommunications networks, has succeeded in the last two years in introducing the Internet system which has more than 25,000 users. He also said a tender is in progress for the licensing of a second digital cellular communication network in Croatia. Pale talked about modern information standards and the future development of telecommunications. The conference will also be devoted to expert debates on standards of news exchange, photography, as well as audio, video and multi- media recordings in journalism. Hina will be presenting its new system for processing and transmission of information in the Windows environment. IPTC was established in 1965 to protect the interests of the world's news agencies in the area of telecommunications. Croatia has been a member since 1995. (hina) jn bag/ha 081541 MET jun 98