MOST OF the scheduled air travel to and from the island was expected to be affected yesterday, as a result of the new eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland that has spewed more ash into airspace over northern Europe.

Only 30 flights were carried out as scheduled, while approximately 57 were affected, said Adamos Aspris, spokesman for Hermes Airports.

“We use the term ‘affected’ because that includes delays and possibly cancellations, but not necessarily the latter. These are the latest figures, because the situation is changing by the hour,” he added.

Aspris said the information was the best available at the time, and again urged travelers to always confirm with the airlines.

EVERY time Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous speaks in public she betrays her past as a union representative. She views everything from the narrow perspective of a trade union leader, defending the interests of his members, while completely ignoring the broader picture and the basic rules for securing a healthy economy.

AIRPORT operator Hermes has brought in camp beds for a group of British Muslim pilgrims stranded at Larnaca airport since the weekend who were yesterday highly impressed by the hospitality shown by airport management and staff.

Hamid Raza, one member of a group of 43, stranded on the way back from a pilgrimage to Damascus told the Cyprus Mail that the General Manager of the airport, Yiannis Papastefanou, took control of the situation personally and arranged air-conditioned accommodation for the stranded passengers with camp beds loaned from Civil Defence.

The group includes five elderly and infirm people in wheelchairs, children and 12 more elderly people who were in good health.

THE MAIN obstacle to getting off Cyprus, is the lack of ferry services to mainland Europe where there are other options to move around such as trains and coaches.

To get there however travellers must either fly to a European destination from Cyprus not affected by the ash cloud such as Athens or Thessaloniki and possibly Rome, or to take the route north to Istanbul.

For those who manage to reach Paris this way there is the Eurostar train to London but if that’s more expensive, there’s the ferry from Calais to Dover with P&O for around GBP50, which takes around three hours but this means extra fares from Paris to Calais – another two and a half hours – and then Dover to London, add another one and a half hours.

MPS ARE expected to offer their final views on a law regulating car registration plates next week.

The relevant bill, which seems will be approved by all parties involved, provides for a new system employing only the 12 letters of the Greek alphabet that are common to the Latin alphabet, such as A, B, E, Z and H, in addition to the numbers. It also provides for plates coloured white for all private cars, red for rental cars and yellow for taxis and public transport vehicles.

The proposed legislation will have no retro-active power, meaning car owners will not have to change their plates after the law is enforced.

TURKISH PRIME Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat saying that his time in leadership will be marked in history for carving a path for Turkish Cypriots to the world.

According to yesterday’s Cyprus News Agency, Erdogan said in his letter that during Talat’s time in power, Turkish Cypriots always showed a willingness for a just and lasting solution in Cyprus, noting that Talat’s ‘presidency’ will be defined in history as a time when full negotiations were undertaken with vigour and sincerity.

The Turkish PM highlighted that the elections in the north were carried out democratically. Important developments were taking place towards the breakaway state in the north “getting what it deserves”, he said.

OFFICERS of the Public Health Services will be joining forces with the police in conducting surprise raids on shops and public buildings to ensure the smoking ban is strictly enforced.

The Public Health Services are currently promoting an amendment to the Fines Law that would empower the department’s officers to issue on-the-spot fines – which until now has been the province of the police.

According to the director of the Public Health Services Giorgos Giorgallas, 34 public health officers will be made available for inspections and fines. The officers will conduct the raids during non-office hours.

THE HOUSE Education Committee yesterday called for a coordinated effort to protect children from the dangers of online exploitation.

The meeting was held following recent allegations that a middle-aged man had lured and sexually assaulted young girls through social networking site Facebook.

The matter was submitted for discussion in 2006 and a number of meetings have been held since to come up with measures to protect children.

THE HOUSE Watchdog Committee has called for an urgent meeting to discuss the reasons behind a $20 million payment made by the previous government to the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), which according to its chairman has “disappeared into thin air”.

According to Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkadji, who yesterday presented the Committee with her 2008 report for the Commerce Ministry, the government has so far paid US$19,898,413 as part of an agreement with the HSPH to create the Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health. The agreement was signed in 2004 and amounts to a total of US$34,096,717.

However, Yiorkadji said that there have been absolutely no checks or audits to see how this money was used.

DISCUSSIONS on a law to regulate prepaid phones in a way that will make it obligatory for users to provide their personal details have stalled due to delays by telecoms companies to submit financial data.

“We are seeking more details from telecommunications companies to prepare the law for approval,” said DIKO MP Angelos Votsis.

The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) and MTN have expressed their reservations over the proposal, while they have delayed presenting parliament with details on the financial benefits of their pay-as-you-go phones, the House Communications and Works Committee heard..