Price ceilings on the cards for basic goods

2011-01-13

PRICE ceilings on bread, milk, water, and other basics could be on the cards after the EU gave “tacit approval” for such a move, Commerce Minister Antonis Pascahalides said yesterday.

“There are many shops and a lot of room for competition [in Cyprus] but it appears that in comparison to other EU states we are one of the most expensive [countries] and that is totally unacceptable,” said Paschalides. ‘It is therefore necessary that we enforce stronger measures.”

Our View: Public words should not be misread

2011-01-13

IT WOULD be an understatement to say that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s short visit to Cyprus was well-received. The comments she made to journalists about the Cyprus talks, after meeting President Christofias, had all politicians and newspapers celebrating about a new-found ally of the Greek Cypriot cause. One newspaper, commending Merkel’s ‘strict messages’ to Turkey urged the government to take all the necessary actions so that “Germany would become an important strategic partner”.

State agrees to inject €20m into CY

2011-01-13

THE government has agreed to inject around €20 million into ailing national carrier Cyprus Airways (CY) in the form of compensation for damages incurred due to the Turkish ban on the airline using its airspace.

The airline said this time last year that Turkey’s ban, which violates the Ankara protocol with the EU by shutting out Greek Cypriot air and sea traffic, was costing CY some €3 million a year.

The prohibition of CY flights over Turkish airspace means longer more expensive flights and a reduction in competitiveness, especially on flights to Russia, a huge market for Cyprus.

CY has been calling for compensation from the government the past 12 months and the state has now agreed, on condition the company restructures itself in order to become profitable.

Turkey furious over Merkel comments

2011-01-13

GERMAN CHANCELLOR Angela Merkel has been accused of “bias” and “forgetfulness” by the Turkish leadership following her comments made during her first ever official visit to Cyprus on Tuesday.

The visit made the headlines throughout Cyprus and Turkey, whipping up a storm among the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press after Merkel praised President Demetris Christofias’ courage, creativity and initiative in trying to solve the Cyprus problem.

“We see that you are taking many steps and we also see that the Turkish side is not responding adequately,” she said, adding that it was clear Christofias was ready for a compromise.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday accused Merkel of bias in blaming the Turkish side for the impasse in the peace talks.

Multi-purpose LNG facility mooted

2011-01-13

ISRAEL’S Delek Group has proposed to Cyprus the creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on the island to process reserves Israel has discovered offshore and Cyprus hopes to find nearby, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) said yesterday.

Delek has written to the Cypriot government proposing cooperation to set up a multi-purpose facility that would receive and process gas into LNG, at a site proposed by the Cypriot authorities, MEES said, citing informed sources.

A spokesman for DeleK Energy, a subsidiary of Delek Group declined to comment on the report.

The Israeli company is a partner of US energy firm Noble, which has reported large reserves of natural gas in two offshore fields close to Israel since 2009.

British woman’s kidnap case adjourned

2011-01-13

A BRITISH woman, who has been held in custody since November, appeared at Paphos court yesterday facing kidnap charges after she took her son to the UK.

The woman who is also facing charges of hiring a hit man to kill her estranged husband, was told the kidnap case was adjourned due to a two year backlog.

According to British UKIP MEP Stuart Agnew, who came to Cyprus this week to help the accused woman, Sarah Antoniou, 38, she may have to wait some time before the kidnap case is brought back to court.

“Apparently alleged crimes are being committed faster in Cyprus than the authorities can process. There is a back up of cases dating back to 2008 and so Sarah’s case was adjourned,” said Agnew yesterday.

Wave of industrial action in the north

2011-01-13

A WAVE of industrial action aimed at blocking Ankara’s economic austerity measures is underway in the north.

Calling itself the Trades Union Platform, a group of 28 Turkish Cypriot unions and NGOs have launched a series of strikes that began on Tuesday and will culminate in a mass demonstration on January 28.

As the first stage of the action, the unions have closed three of the largest schools in the north of Nicosia, along with the land registry offce. They remained closed yesterday, and were joined by the telecoms offices in Kyrenia and Morphou. More limited strikes are expected to follow.

EU worry over Cyprus’ smoking ban

2011-01-13

AN ARTICLE published by the Cyprus Mail on December 18 titled “Club owners: punters staying home to smoke” has caused some concern within the European Union, which has demanded an update on the situation in Cyprus, according to Police Spokesman Michael Katsounotos.

Speaking to SigmaTV yesterday, Katsounotos said “ I have just received an email from the Health Ministry saying that an article in the Cyprus Mail has caused concern in the European Union that smoking laws in Cyprus were about to be changed after complaints from night club owners.”

Hit-and-run victim in critical condition

2011-01-13

A 36-YEAR-OLD Syrian woman remains in a critical condition at Paphos general hospital after she was mown down on the pavement by a hit-and-run driver.

Two vehicles, a white double-cabin truck, and what police believe could be a single-cabin red truck were involved in a crash on Akamantidos Avenue, the main road connecting Paphos to Chlorakas, on Tuesday night.

According to the police report the driver of the white truck exited from the entrance to a block of flats on the side of the busy avenue, heading towards Chlorakas. In doing so he cut off the path of another vehicle, which resulted in the collision.

Most want negotiations to continue

2011-01-13

MOST Cypriots believe that ongoing negotiations should continue until a successful outcome is reached, according to poll results released yesterday by the Cyprus 2015 research programme.

According to a poll of 800 people from each community by Cyprus 2015’s Alexandros Lordos and Spyros Christou, 83 per cent of Greek Cypriots and 60 per cent of Turkish Cypriots believe in the negotiations.

The poll also showed that 79 per cent of Greek Cypriots and 76 per cent of Turkish Cypriots would accept a federation as part of a compromise and an overwhelming majority of both communities want a mechanism of informing citizens about the progress of the talks.

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.