All good things must come to an end….

2010-08-28

After the shock of the spectacular (in the worst possible way) AS results, we went away for a few days to reflect. The Troodos Mountains are great for just one thing, escaping the Nicosia heat and having nothing to do but talk. And then we went to stay in Pissouri. I was pleasantly surprised because I had not stayed at the Columbia Beach for twenty years. It has been very tastefully done up and the staff were all amazingly polite and helpful. My first such experience in a hotel in Cyprus. But then someone told me it is a German company!

Flu jab link to sleep disorder

2010-08-28

 

THE EUROPEAN Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched a safety review of H1N1 flu vaccine Pandemrix, which has been given to over 30 million Europeans – including around 20,000 Cypriots – to examine possible links to a rare sleep disorder, it was announced yesterday.

EMA said a limited number of narcolepsy cases have been reported mainly in Sweden and Finland.

“Although the cases of narcolepsy have been reported in temporal association with the use of Pandemrix, it is at present not known if the vaccine caused the disorder,” the EMA said.

On August 24, Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare recommended that vaccination with Pandemrix be discontinued until the suspected link with narcolepsy is thoroughly evaluated.

Archbishop: the Church believes that we will not reach an agreement

2010-08-28

THE BELGIAN government has a “genuine interest” in enhancing relations with Cyprus and not only now as head of the EU rotating presidency, said Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Steven Vanackere yesterday.

Vanackere said the “best way” for him “to have a good and full understanding of the ambitions of Cyprus as a country and the challenges ahead” was to visit the island and meet with its leaders.

During his stay the Belgian minister, who left the island yesterday, met with President Demetris Christofias, House President Marios Garoyian, DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades, head of the EU negotiating delegation in the talks Leopold Maurer, head of the EU Representation in Cyprus Androulla Kaminara and Archbishop Chrysostomos II.

Cyprus courting the Jewish lobby

2010-08-28

THE AMERICAN Jewish Committee (AJC) yesterday held meetings with President Demetris Christofias and other senior officials to express its support for the growing ties between Cyprus and Israel.

“We visited Cyprus at this time to express our appreciation and support for the growing links with Israel, which serve the interests of both democratic countries,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

The eight-member AJC group here to attend the annual Overseas Cypriots Conference in Nicosia, met with Christofias, Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou and senior Defence Ministry officials. Their visit was trumpeted by Archbishop Chrysostomos II as a belated step in the right direction.

Nadir out and about in London

2010-08-28

ASIL NADIR was settling back into life in Britain yesterday after returning to face £34 million fraud charges following 17 years on the run.

The wealthy businessman and his wife Nur spent their first night in the rented luxury house in Mayfair in London where he must live under stringent bail conditions.

The couple emerged from the property just before 10am yesterday looking confident and relaxed.

Nadir, 69, wore a blue double-breasted suit, perhaps slightly crumpled from his flight from Cyprus back to the UK on Thursday, with a silk handkerchief and latticed leather slip-on shoes.

Police baffled by volunteer fire hero caught setting a blaze

2010-08-28

POLICE were left baffled yesterday when they discovered that a 30-year-old man they arrested for allegedly trying to start a forest fire in Paphos, had previously received two awards for volunteer firefighting.

The man was arrested on Thursday night after being caught trying to start a blaze near the Anarita basic training camp in Paphos.

Police were stunned when they realised the arsonist had been awarded twice by his local council – in 2008 and 2009 – for his contribution to extinguishing fires that had broken out in and around his community.

Police ready to deal with football hooligans

2010-08-28

POLICE have been given a handbook on how to deal with high-risk football matches as the new season looms this weekend.

Furthermore, efforts are being made to speed up court proceedings, so swifter exemplary and deterrent punishments can be imposed on hooligans.

These are just part of the force’s measures that hope to put an end to football-related violence, which has been gradually getting worse in recent years.

The lack of arrests, and delays in cases reaching court, have been pinpointed the main reasons behind the increase in football violence, which is why the Attorney-general is currently in talks with the police to come up with new regulations for speedier trials.

Cyprus fails to meet R&D targets

2010-08-28

CYPRUS has failed to meet its obligation to spend 1.0 per cent of GDP on research, technology and innovation by 2010, as the real figure still hovers below half the required amount.

Yesterday EDEK MP Georgios Varnavas called on government to increase spending on research and development  (R&D), highlighting the gap between Cyprus and other EU countries in terms of R&D expenditure.

Varnavas argued that Cyprus comes bottom of the list of EU countries, spending €74.3 million or only 0.43 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on R&D in 2008, compared to the average 1.9 per cent allocated by other EU countries.

Murder suspect moved from prison after death threats

2010-08-28

A SUSPECT held in connection with the murder of media owner Andis Hadjicostis has been transferred from the central prison in Nicosia following death threats, it was reported yesterday.

Gregoris Xenofontos, 29, was moved from the facility to a police station in the district, after threats were made against him, daily Politis reported.

“I was informed that he was transferred to a police station,” his lawyer Rovertos Vrahimis said. “I understand that police assess such information and act accordingly.”

Xenofontos is one of four suspects held for the murder of Hadjicostis, who had been gunned down outside his home in Engomi, Nicosia, on January 11.

Pensioner crushed by tractor

2010-08-28

A PENSIONER was killed on Thursday night in Paphos after being crushed by his tractor.

George Evangelou, 82, from Limassol, had been driving his tractor on a rural lane in Paphos he lost control of the vehicle and plunged into a ditch at the side of the road.

It took the fire service several hours to free Evangelou from the wreckage, before rushing him to Paphos General Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Paphos Traffic Police and Kouklia police station are investigating the reasons of the accident.

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.