Injured Baghdatis pulls plug on season

2010-11-04

 

MARCOS Baghdatis has called a premature end to his 2010 season after he withdraw from the Swiss Indoors Basel and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.

The Cypriot suffered a right shoulder injury in Vienna last week and was advised by his physio to rest for a fortnight in order to avoid aggravating the injury.

“I am very sorry that I will not be able to see my fans in Basel and Paris this year. I injured my right shoulder in Vienna and have been advised to rest so as not to cause any further damage,” said Baghdatis in a statement published on his official website.

Keravnos and APOEL keep perfect records intact

2010-11-04

COURTNEY Fells scored 17 points and four more players entered double digits as Keravnos Strovolos topped Frederick Achilleas Kaimakliou 78-74 in the third round of the national basketball championship at the Kostas Papaellinas Arena in Strovolos on Wednesday night.

Joseph Garcia scored 12 points for Keravnos Strovolos, while Panayiotis Trisokkas and Slavko Stefanovic each had 10. Kevin Johnson recorded a double-double with 10 points and as many rebounds.

Tyrell Biggs led Frederick Achilleas Kaimakliou with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Savo Dikanovic hauled down 10 boards as well as his 18 points. Anthony Johnson chipped in with 16 points. Bobby Frasor dished out a game-high five assists.

Eurocypria bombshell

2010-11-04

EUROCYPRIA AIRLINE staff announced an indefinite strike last night, after news of its closure on November 13 went public.

Apart from the 320 striking staff, the ailing airline’s collapse will leave in limbo over 13,000 German tourists as the cancellation of Eurocypria’s flight programme looks set to affect Cyprus’ winter tourism in a “catastrophic manner”.

The strike was initially planned to start at 6am today, but a pilots’ representative told state broadcaster CyBC last night that the Moscow flight scheduled for 9.20 pm from Paphos was cancelled because pilots felt under psychological pressure and were unable to fly.

Our View: Minister paying the price of giving in to NIMBY protesters

2010-11-04

IN THE END the Minister of Interior Neoclis Sylikiotis gave in to the NIMBY protesters with regard to the creation of a solid waste depot close to Ormidhia village. The original idea was for all household rubbish from the surrounding area, which included Paralimni and Ayia Napa, to be taken to the depot from where it would be transferred to the Koshi treatment plant.

Ryanair takes off in Cyprus

2010-11-04

THE first flight by low cost airline Ryanair from Brussels to Larnaca Airport took place yesterday, bringing 180 passengers to Cyprus

Ryanair will now fly two weekly flights to Brussels on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and are due to begin flying between Cyprus and Barcelona on December 4.

Airport authorities organised a special ceremony to mark the event, with airport officials giving out a slice of a large cake, depicting Cyprus in the colours of Ryanair.

Sales and Advertising for Ryanair in Cyprus, Melissa Corrigan, welcomed the new route at a launch ceremony yesterday.

easyJet launches Paphos to Edinburgh flight

2010-11-04

EASYJET has increased its connections to and from Cyprus with the launch of a new flight from Paphos to Edinburgh yesterday, which is set to fly twice weekly.

With the addition of the new connection to Edinburgh – set to fly twice weekly – the airline aims to increase the number of new destinations with direct flights, in their Cyprus network.

“Cyprus constitutes an important section of our European network, with great potential to grow. This is confirmed by the company’s journey so far in Cyprus,” said Stefanos Vakirtzis, regional airport operations manager for easyJet.

The new flight will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays with fares starting at €38 one-way.

Developers escape jail sentence in assault case

2010-11-04

THE property developers convicted last week of assaulting a British expat escaped jail yesterday after the presiding judge handed down a 10 month suspended prison sentence for two of them and issued the third a €3000 fine.

Christoforos Karayiannas, 55, and his son Marios Karayiannas, 35, received the jail sentences suspended for two years while their associate Charalambous Ttigis, 31, who allegedly pinned down Conor O’Dwyer during the assault in 2007, received a €3000 fine.

They were found guilty of actual bodily harm (ABH) against O’Dwyer, who said yesterday “I am absolutely shocked and disgusted. This trial was 100 per cent worse than the assault. It seems that in two years of hearings the judge has lost sight of who the victim was.”

DIKO pledges budget revolt

2010-11-04

GOVERNMENT coalition partners DIKO said yesterday the party would not accept the 2011 state budget as it was submitted by the government.

“There is no way DIKO could approve an increase in expenditure without due deliberation, when what is needed at this point is to cut expenditure,” DIKO vice chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos said.

Papadopoulos said his party would like to hear from the finance minister his suggestions on how to reduce expenditure soon.

If the minister does not take any decisions by December, DIKO and other parties must assume the initiative to reduce spending, Papadopoulos said.

Seized baby Caimans put down

2010-11-04

VETERINARY authorities have put to death 20 crocodiles, which a pet shop owner tried to import on the island from the European Union.

The 15 to 20 centimetre baby spectacled Caimans were seized at Larnaca airport in October, after their arrival from the Netherlands along with a batch of 159 birds.

The birds were released to the importer.

“It was the only solution we had,” said Giorgos Christofi, head of animal health and welfare sector at the Veterinary Services.

Christofi said the vet services had warned the importer that the animals would not be allowed into the country and even alerted the Dutch authorities, who more or less washed their hands of the case saying it was a “commercial transaction”.

Nominations sought for Paphos hearts of gold award 2010

2010-11-04

NOMINATIONS are now being accepted for the 2010 Paphos hearts of gold award.

The community-based award is now in its fourth year, and successful nominees will be presented with their solid gold handmade heart and certificate by the patron, the mayor of Paphos Savvas Vergas, at an event to be held at the Town Hall.

The award, which is open to everyone who is a resident of Paphos, aims to recognise those individuals who are extra-special in some way, either by their work within the community, or for charity, or perhaps because they have overcome obstacles or tragedies in their life with a smile.

There are two categories: the junior heart of gold award for those under eighteen, and the heart of gold award for adults.

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.