PRESIDENT DEMETRIS Christofias yesterday welcomed the “important” Orams ruling but remained low key in his response to what most parties applauded as a legal victory for Greek Cypriot refugees.

Speaking on his return from Athens, Christofias said the decision that the Cypriot court’s ruling must be executed was legally important because the English Court based its ruling on EU laws and the European Convention of Human Rights, while it was politically important “because it gives an answer to the side that wishes to deny the right to ownership or use of property”.

He noted that the decision would be studied fully and used accordingly, but refrained from elaborating further. “I think it would not be very responsible on my part if we got into more detail,” he added.

THE BRITISH Appeals Court ruling on the Orams case could weaken Mehmet Ali Talat’s chances of re-election as Turkish Cypriot leader, in turn diminishing the chances of a solution, said diplomats and officials close to the talks yesterday.

The international community is “aware” the ruling could have an impact on the talks but seems more concerned it could undermine Talat’s position in the upcoming ‘presidential’ elections.

As one source put it: “If Dervis Eroglu [Talat’s main contender] wins, you’re not looking at a solution for another five years.”

One diplomat agreed that the ruling would not make things easy for Talat, though he believed ultimately it was not a “game changer” for the talks.

THE FIRE Service yesterday said it had responded to over 200 calls in the last 24 hours, mainly to pump water from flooded roads and basements, as well as to rescue people and vehicles as heavy rains continued.

The good news was that some eight million cubic metres of water flowed into the island’s dams, 4.5 million in the Paphos region alone, and two million into the Asprokremmos dam in less than a day.

However the authorities were more concerned with the damage caused. Most calls for help came from Nicosia. Astromeritis village was the hardest hit, while rescue missions were sent out twice in Limassol and Paphos.

TURKISH Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Dervis Eroglu yesterday accused the Greek Cypriot side of  “directing flood waters” to the Morphou area where widespread damage was caused by the heavy rains. He called it “inhuman behaviour”.

Eroglu visited the area yesterday where, according to Turkish Cypriot press, roads were blocked, houses flooded, animals drowned while people and vehicles were stranded. He said it was a “great disaster”

According to reports in the north the heavy flooding was caused by the overflow of dams in the south of the island, “or the uncontrollable opening of dams by authorities in the south”.

CYPRUS is running a two-speed economy and society, and unless the public sector is radically restructured – including the eventual privatisation of the semi-state bodies – it will face a rocky ride, Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV) President Andreas Pittas said yesterday.

Speaking to the press to mark OEV’s 50th anniversary, Pittas said that if a series of structural economic reforms aimed at reducing the budget deficit are not carried out urgently, “we could be led into an even worse economic crisis which in turn will bring stagflation, increased unemployment and large public deficits that will inhibit any prospect for growth.”

THE Romanian-owned low-cost airline Blue Air has permanently based its fleet in Cyprus and will offer cheap flight options to new destinations, it announced yesterday.

From March 28, travellers will have the option of three direct flights per week from Larnaca to Italy (Milan), Austria (Vienna) and Poland (Warsaw), and a daily flight to Romania (Bucharest), plus four flights per week from Paphos to Greece (Thessaloniki). London (Luton) will also be accessible via Bucharest.

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias characterised his trip to Athens as “completely successful” on his return yesterday and also noted that the election of Dervis Eroglu in the upcoming elections in the north would also be very negative for the Turkish Cypriots.

“I wish to express my warm thanks to the Prime Minister and the Greek government for the complete and unreserved support,” said Christofias.  Christofias had just returned from a weekend trip to Greece during which he met with Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, President Karolos Papoulias, and the leaders of the Greek political parties.

TELEVISION presenter Elena Skordelli said yesterday she planned to sue everyone responsible “for all the slanderous and malicious publicity” which was circulated at her expense during the investigation into the murder last week of Sigma boss Andis Hadjicostis.

Skordelli is a former employee of Sigma and several allegations were printed about her connections to the DIAS group, under which Sigma comes.