Devastating blaze reignites Machairas forest

2010-08-24

AROUND 260 firefighters, 54 fire engines and seven aircraft were used to fight raging fires in the Machairas forest, first on Sunday in a five-hour battle with the flames and then yesterday after the fire reignited in the forest ravines.

Further south of the island, another fire broke out between Ayios Theodoros and Maroni, destroying four hectares of land. In both cases, local residents suspect arsonists at play.

Just after midday yesterday, the fire which had burnt a square kilometre of state and private land on Sunday, broke out again in the Mouti tou Kornou area of Machairas forest.

Our View: Anything is possible with enigma Baghdatis

2010-08-24

CYPRIOT tennis star Marcos Baghdatis is a bit of an enigma.

Big things were expected of the Limassol native after he reached the final of the Australian Open in 2006, and he reached a career high of number eight in the rankings after making it to the last four at Wimbledon later that year.

Since those heady heights, the 25-year-old has suffered from inconsistency and injury.

A crowd favourite wherever he plays around the world due to his infectious enthusiasm and breathtaking shot-making, Baghdatis is capable of a stunning win one day, followed by a dismal defeat to a lower-ranked opponent the following day.

Pakistan: a question of water

2010-08-24

THIS MAY not be the most tactful time to bring it up, with much of Pakistan underwater and many millions homeless, but Pakistan’s real problem is not too much water. It is too little water – and one day it could cause a war.

The current disastrous floods (to which the response of both the Pakistan government and the international community has been far too slow) are due to this year’s monsoon being much stronger than usual. But that is just bad weather, in the end: every fifty or one hundred years you can expect the weather to do something really extreme. It comes in various forms – blizzards, floods, hurricanes – but it happens everywhere.

Fire rages close residential property in Tala

2010-08-24

A FIRE raged close to a luxury house in Paphos yesterday as five fire engines and dozens of villagers rushed to the scene to help extinguish the blaze.

According to a Paphos Fire Brigade spokesman the fire was reported at around 12.15pm by a concerned neighbour, who had spotted the blaze.

“The fire spread very quickly because of the strength of the wind, and destroyed plants and trees, but we were able to prevent it from reaching the house which is very close,” he said.

The incident occurred next to the main road on the borders of Emba and Tala villages, on a privately owned piece of land but luckily was stopped right next to the house.

The fire destroyed two hectares of scrubland and burnt an orchard of carob trees.

Second digital platform awarded

2010-08-24

A CONSORTIUM of Cypriot television broadcasters has won the auction for a second digital platform with a €10 million winning bid – a million more than the other bidder.

Velister won the auction in just one round yesterday as the procedure re-started after a month’s interruption prompted by recriminations between the two remaining bidders – Cypriot Velister and Greek LRG.

The director of electronic communications said the process has finished and no objections were pending.

“Nothing is outstanding. The tender submitting procedure has been completed,” Stelios Himonas told the Cyprus Mail.

Two previous rounds, 14 and 15, had been suspended as companies raised objections and while the offer made by both was €9 million.

Greek bank robber wanted in Cyprus

2010-08-24

ONE OF three men arrested following the storming of a National Bank of Greece branch in Athens yesterday (see page 10)  is wanted by the Cyprus police in connection with the murder of Michalis Kakathymis in Limassol last year.

According to police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, a European arrest warrant is currently pending for one of the three arrested in the failed bank robbery in Greece which temporarily involved a hostage crisis. He said Cyprus police awaited an official briefing from the Greek police as to whether and when the arrest warrant will be executed and extradition procedures started, given that the man in question was arrested in Athens in a serious case of robbery.

Bulk of stolen €200,000 worth of jewellery located

2010-08-24

 

POLICE have managed to retrieve the bulk of some €200,000 worth of valuables, along with a 600-kilo safe – stolen from a Larnaca residence earlier this month – and arrested the housekeeper in the process.

The break-in was reported by the homeowners on August 8, after they returned to find their safe missing, along with the valuables, personal documents and €12,500 in cash.

Police investigations found no evidence of forced entry, and turned their investigations towards the housekeeper.

The 28-year-old woman initially denied the accusation but finally confessed her involvement following a second interrogation a few days later, police said.

She admitted to aiding two male compatriots aged 22 and 27, in committing the crime.

Passer-by injured in Limassol bomb explosion.

2010-08-24

A 28-YEAR-OLD passer-by was injured on Sunday when a pipe-bomb exploded outside a real estate agent’s in Limassol in the early hours, police said.

The man, who suffered abrasions to the upper-left of his head was driving past the real-estate office on Makarios Avenue, when the bomb went off at around 3.50am.

He is due to be released today from Limassol general hospital where he was kept for observation after receiving treatment for his injuries.

Limassol CID chief Yiannis Georgiou, said there had been no developments in the case as the owner of the firm was unable to name any possible suspects.

Fuel prices will go online

2010-08-24

THE COMMERCE Ministry plans to put fuel prices online very soon so consumers can choose the cheapest prices on the market, said government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday.

“Very soon, the Commerce Ministry’s Competition and Consumer Protection Service will go online to announce the cheapest fuel prices at petrol stations,” he said.

The ministry conducted a price study last week, though failed to release its findings since many petrol stations were closed and so had not yet reduced prices based on shifts in market prices. Ministry officials are expected to complete a second price study today, as most petrol stations are now open again after the holidays, which they will likely release to the public.

Natural gas talks will wrap up in six months

2010-08-24

THE PROCEDURE to select a natural gas supplier is expected to be wrapped up in six months time, a senior official said yesterday.

The latest round of discussions between three short-listed companies and DEFA – owned by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus – the island’s natural gas corporation, kicked off yesterday.

A preliminary agreement with one of the bidders expected to be reached inside of September.

DEFA chairman, Costas Ioannou said a series of meetings was held yesterday while further steps will be decided immediately after this round of talks.

“It is a procedure of continuous bids,” Ioannou said. “Every time we set a date and the companies come back with bids.”

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.