IN THE END, Turkey will go through the eagerly-anticipated European Council ‘unscathed’, despite the local calls for punitive measures. There will be no sanctions, no deadline for the implementation of the Ankara protocol and no freezing of the accession chapter on the environment which is set to be opened on December 21.

WORDS OF inspiration echoed across Cyprus yesterday as the Elders, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, visited the island to give impetus to ongoing peace talks aimed at reuniting the war-torn nation.

“We believe that you [Cypriots] are at the cusp. It is a situation where one push and you could have one of the most wonderful situations,” Tutu told a bicommunal audience gathered yesterday afternoon at the Fulbright Centre in the UN-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia.

Adding to the air of optimism, former US president Jimmy Carter, speaking of the current leaders’ peace talks, said he could not remember “a situation where two leaders were better qualified to come to a solution”.

THE ELDERS have all expressed optimism that a solution to the Cyprus problem will soon be thrashed out.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail last night, former US President Jimmy Carter said his optimism for a successful outcome in the current Cyprus talks was genuine and not ‘mere words’.

“I base my optimism on two things; one is that the two leaders seem to be completely determined to succeed.

“And remember, they are working assiduously to bring about reconciliation between the two communities and accommodation on many difficult issues,” he said.

THE GOVERNMENT plans to launch an information programme that will explain to members of the public what a bizonal, bicommunal federation is and how it will affect their daily lives, President Demetris Christofias has revealed.

Christofias made the above disclosure during a speech Tuesday night at an event marking the 15th anniversary of Radio Astra.

The President said also that printed material would soon be made available.

Although this came as news to most, it has been known for some time that Christofias’ party AKEL has been planning a public information campaign in the run-up to possible referenda on a Cyprus peace deal.

The current consensus seems to be that the talks should be winding down by April 2010.

CYPRUS’ marine life is diminishing to the point where fish stocks are dropping, the Oceanography Centre of the University of Cyprus has confirmed.

To assess the exact impact of weather change on plankton, Cypriot scientists are collaborating with experts from a French research ship that has stopped in Cyprus as part of a global voyage.

“The mission will study marine microorganisms and the impacts on them as a result of climate change,” said Captain Hervι Bourmaud from the Tara Oceans ship.

The Tara’s wider aim is to map the impacts of climate change on phytoplankton throughout the world, and its 15-strong crew will be travelling throughout the world over a period of three years.

A GROUP of second-hand watch and jewellery dealers has been touring the island to find local treasures this week.

Roadshow EU, a British firm that travels Europe in search of gold, diamonds and old designer watches, has visited Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Nicosia.

Roadshow Director Christopher Walsh said yesterday “Business is good at the moment. On a good day we can get around 50 visitors, already today we have had 25.”

Many visitors come to cash in on broken watches and old jewellery, which is melted down and sold to bullion dealers. Asked how the business has fared since the economic crisis, Walsh was upbeat.

THREE MUNICIPALITIES, Ayios Athanasios, Latsia and Strovolos, have signed up to the ‘Covenant of Mayors’, a pan-EU local council commitment to reduce their CO2 emissions by implementing energy action plans in their municipalities.

The project provides that by 2020 local authorities pledge to reduce emissions over the 20 per cent proposed by the EU at the Copenhagen summit on climate change.

Around 1,000 European towns and cities have already signed the pledge to develop sustainable energy action plans (SEAPs) as the first step in reducing emissions as part of an initiative launched ten months ago. Participating cities include Paris, London, Munich and Barcelona, while the latest signatory is the German city of Rostock.

THE LARNACA criminal court yesterday sentenced two men to four years in jail for possession and intent to distribute cannabis.

The pair, Christodoulos Christodoulou, 28 and Renos Christodoulou, 29, admitted to cultivating cannabis for their own use and offering the drug free of charge to friends and acquaintances.

They had been arrested in December last year in possession of 94 cannabis plants and 359 grams of the drug.

The cannabis was found in the men’s flat in Larnaca, which was fully equipped for cultivating the plants.

The court took into consideration the fact that they were not reaping any financial benefits.

Their clean record and co-operation with authorities was also noted by the court.