More bad news for consumers as bread goes up ten cents

2010-08-21
MORE BAD news emerged for consumers yesterday as bakeries announced a ten cents increase in the price of bread, and that’s only the beginning.
Lakis Savvides, the chairman of the bakers’ association said they had no choice but to raise their prices slightly to cover the costs of electricity and labour, which have gone up.
“The increase does not exceed 10 cents,” Savvides said. “If we had imposed a full increase (in accordance with the hikes in energy and labour), bread would have gone up by 15 or 20 cents.”
But there is more bad news for consumers.
“I understand that flour producers will impose new – dramatically high prices – by early September as the rest of the world,” Savvides said.

Our View: Troodos ‘crocodile’ sighting highlights regulatory loophole

2010-08-21

THE IDEA of a crocodile running loose in a reservoir in Troodos might seem like a bit of a joke but there wouldn’t be anything at all funny about it if someone got hurt.

No doubt many people think it’s highly unlikely that Stavroulla Diakou, a 60-year-old woman, really came face to face with such a creature at the bottom of her garden but the fact is the authorities are taking her account seriously and are on the lookout for the large reptile.

The case highlights an issue not much discussed in Cyprus…unless someone spots a crocodile in the mountains of Troodos that is.

Intensified talks on the cards for the two leaders

2010-08-21

 

THE TWO leaders may hold a fresh round of intensified talks early next month as both sides aim to prove their commitment to a solution ahead of the UN Secretary-General’s progress report this November.

According to well-placed sources, President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu are considering holding a series of intensified all-day talks on the property chapter before Christofias heads off to New York to attend the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Five day remand for Xenofontos

2010-08-21

THE NICOSIA District Court yesterday rejected defence lawyers’ objections and issued a five-day remand for Gregoris Xenofontos, who was extradited from Moldova as a key suspect in the murder trial of media boss Andis Hadjicostis.

Judge Charalambos Charalambous invoked Cyprus laws and relevant decisions by Cypriot and British courts – making special reference to each case – and said he felt the authorities’ request for a five day remand was justifiied.

Charalambous said he took into consideration the fact that Xenofontos “disappeared” three days after the murder, even though he was aware that he was wanted by the police and despite his assurances that he would make a statement.

Nicosia open, Paphos-Limassol highway closing for works

2010-08-21

NICOSIA’S Limassol Avenue re-opened yesterday as sewage works ended two days ahead of schedule. The two lanes east of Limassol Avenue from the lights at Armenias Avenue to the lights at RIK Avenue were opened up at noon y, with the remainder of the lane later in the day.

Meanwhile maintenance on part of the highway from Paphos to Limassol will start on Monday until August 26.

Both lanes of the motorway, from Petra tou Romiou, to the exit for Pissouri will be temporarily closed to traffic from 9am to 5.30pm daily, from Monday to Thursday.

The two lanes, approximately 3km in length will have traffic diverted to the two southern lanes, which will be operating on a two-way traffic basis.

Technology Park finally underway

2010-08-21

GROUND has finally been broken for the government’s revised Technology Park project in the Pentakomo area near Limassol, only a matter of days before the expropriation orders for the land were due to expire, which would have triggered its return to its owners.

Commerce and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides was present to see the start of work on the internal road network, as part of the project’s infrastructure construction phase, which is scheduled to take three years at a cost of €6.5 million. The 2010 budget allocation of €2.5 million covers the preliminary design and planning costs, as well as the cost of expropriating some two square kilometres of land.

Plans to build university campus at occupied Ayios Philonas in Karpasia

2010-08-21

GREENS in the north say they would challenge a decision by the ‘cabinet’ to build a university campus in the Ayios Philonas area of occupied Karpasia, which has the status of a national park.

In an article in the English-language Cyprus Today said a decision was taken on July 28 to no longer class the area as an environmentally protected area. The 195 donums is to be used for the construction of a campus for the Girne (Kyrenia) American University, which is currently located in Kyrenia itself.

EU funding for the Turkish Cypriot community has identified seven areas in the north for protection through the LIFE Nature 2000 project. Three of these areas are in Karpasia but Ayios Philonas is not one of them.

It was however earmarked as a national park.

Explosives suspects released

2010-08-21

THREE suspects arrested on Thursday in connection with the theft of a large amount of explosives from an army depot were yesterday released pending further investigation.

The two men, aged 29 and 32, and a 26-year-old woman, all from Limassol, were not brought before court pending the completion of ongoing forensic tests related to the theft of 172 kilos of plastic explosives from Palodia.

The three are linked to a 31-year-old suspect currently in custody for the same case.

Since the July 21 theft, from the depot, police have recovered 113 sticks of the PG2 explosives from a total of 200 stolen.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Loucas Louca said that authorities “know every last detail about the perpetrators and how the theft was carried out.

Cypriot student wins prestigious award

2010-08-21

 

A CYPRIOT student has been awarded first prize at the International Student Congress of Medical Sciences (ISCOMS), held every summer in Groningen University in the Netherlands.

According to an announcement, Andreas Hadjinicolaou won the award for his contribution to a research project conducted at the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology, of the University of Cyprus under the guidance of Associate Professor Leontios Kostrikis.

The research project, which was published in three internationally acclaimed science journals, dealt with the new molecular methods of diagnosis using molecular beacons for the bacteria Salmonella, Bacillus anthracis and the SARS virus.

Baghdatis beats number one Nadal to qualify for Cincinnati semis

2010-08-21

CYPRIOT tennis player Marcos Baghdatis, beat world number one Raphael Nadal, 2-1 sets in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati, Ohio Masters Tournament.

Baghdatis won the first set 6-4, lost the second 4-6 and won the third 6-4.

Nadal was well below his best against an inspired Baghdatis, whose big serve was on full power – he blasted 18 aces while the Spaniard could manage just four.

The match turned decisively in favor of Baghdatis, who had lost all six previous meetings with Nadal when the Spaniard double-faulted at break point with the game at 4-4 in the third.

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.