Dismay greets ECHR ruling

2010-03-07

 

THE government and all political parties yesterday expressed their deep disappointment over the European Court of Human Rights’ decision to recognise the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) in the occupied areas as an effective domestic remedy of Turkey.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the ECHR decision was respected but wrong.

“The ECHR cannot refer a property owner to a remedy that is essentially the product of and born from an illegality,” he said.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference yesterday morning Stefanou said even past findings could not support the ECHR’s decision.

What was the meaning behind Erdogan’s words?

2010-03-07

LAST MONTH might prove to be just like any month, any February of any year in the calendar cycle. Or it could prove to be the month that saw a fundamental shift in Turkish policy on Cyprus and the obstinate conflict that refuses to be quiet.

Three key Turkish figures in the top echelons of power broke new ground, opening backchannels of communication with Greek Cypriots for the first time in decades.

Mid-February, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu invited Greek Cypriot representatives of academia and civil society to his offices in Ankara to discuss Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus problem.

Federation leaflet overdue but welcome

2010-03-07

DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades said yesterday the government’s decision to publish an explanatory leaflet on the nature of a bizonal, bicommunal federation was “better late than never”.

“You cannot support a specific policy and allow it to be demonised or for the positions to be twisted,” he said.

Anastassiades said the explanatory leaflet, which will be circulated with all Greek-language newspapers today, would help inform the public instead of allowing wrong impressions to remain in their minds.

“Of course the text is a general reference to the system of a federation, so that the people understand a state can be federal or uniform but it still doesn’t cease to be a state,” said Anastassiades.

Is the government doing you wrong? Help is at hand

2010-03-07

RECORD numbers of applications to European citizens’ advice services have revealed a number of failures to follow EU law in Cyprus, it emerged last week.

The two services, SOLVIT and Citizens Signpost Service (CSS) have each seen 54 per cent and 8.5 per cent increases in requests in the past year, revealing at least three cases in which Cypriot authorities did not follow the acquis communautaire.

SOLVIT, founded in 2002, helps citizens and businesses overcome practical problems due to incorrect application of EU law by national administrations while CSS provides free legal advice on internal market rights.

Police under fire for handling of smuggled girls

2010-03-07

 

THE police have been accused of mishandling the case of two Cameroonian girls who were smuggled into the country in November 2009 by a suspected trafficking ring.

Immigrant support group KISA (Action for Equality, Support and Anti-Racism) have criticised the police for failing to respond promptly to an initial report of the girls’ presence in Cyprus, and for only arresting the main suspect, Nzounda Urbain, two days after he was identified while in police custody as having illegally transported them from the north. In a press release, they also accuse the police of “distorting the facts for the benefit of the perpetrator” in statements to the court during his remand hearing last week.

Life expectancy gap between men and women expected to narrow

2010-03-07

WOMEN’S life expectancy is expected to fall behind the EU average between now and 2030, according to the latest Eurostat report.

The current Cypriot life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years for women and 78.5 years for men. This is expected to rise by less than the European average, meaning Cypriot women will live shorter than average lives.

Excluding Ireland, the proportion of Cypriot women over 65 is the lowest in Europe; 13 per cent compared to 19 the report says.

The report also estimates that by 2030, the gap between men and women will have narrowed to just three years, with female life expectancy rising to 84.9 years. This is the current lifespan of Europe’s most long lived women, the French. Cypriot men in 2030 will have a life expectancy of 81.5.

Hand grenade arrest

2010-03-07

A hand grenade was yesterday confiscated by the CID in collaboration with Dekelia police after the explosive was found on the Sovereign Base Areas in the Larnaca district.

A Nicosia man has already been arrested and remanded in custody for six days in connection with the case, police said. He is being investigated among others on charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and transportation and possession of an explosive substance.

The court heard that the suspect was sighted receiving a package which he abandoned at a specific point in the Bases at 9.30pm on Friday.

The investigator did not tell the court what the hand grenade was going to be used for only that the “purpose was to commit a felony”.

School vandalised

2010-03-07

Larnaca vandals targeted yet another primary school during the early hours of yesterday, reports said.

The Drosias Primary School was targeted yet again by unknown assailants who this time caused over €5,000 worth of damage to a contractor’s equipment. Apparently the man had been hired to carry out upgrade works on the school.

Preliminary investigations suggest the vandals had tried to operate the machinery and then failing to do so, had broken it. The smashed equipment was found by the contractor himself when he went by the school to work yesterday morning.

Car fire

2010-03-07

PAPHOS police are investigating a car fire which broke out during the early hours of yesterday.

According to police the blaze broke out at around 3am, under circumstances which are being investigated, while the car was parked.

Extensive damage was caused to the car’s interior, police added.

Paphos CID is investigating.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.