Qatar deal ‘on the brink of collapse’

2011-01-19

THE GOVERNMENT is scrambling to save the multi-million euro Cyprus-Qatar development deal which has run into trouble, the Cyprus Mail learned yesterday.

Negotiations between the two countries appeared to be going well until last week when the government received a letter from Qatar effectively throwing a spanner in the works. The government has hinted that the about turn may have come about following Turkish interference in negotiations between the two countries.

Spokesman for ruling party AKEL, Stavros Evagorou, said yesterday: “I’ve heard there is a sufficient gap between the positions of the two sides, but I’ve been told the negotiations will continue.”

Church condemns theft of woman’s remains

2011-01-19

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos yesterday condemned as sacrilege, the theft of a woman’s remains in Greece by three Cypriots, including a monk, who claimed they did it because she was a saint.

The prelate said he suspected this was an act of quackery with financial motives.

The trio were arrested at the Eleftherios Venizelos airport in Athens while preparing to board a flight to Cyprus on Sunday evening after police officers found the remains in their luggage. Chrysostomos condemned the act, describing it as sacrilege. “In my opinion this cleric should be punished; the situation is unacceptable, it is sacrilege,” the Church leader said.

“They are probably acts of quackery by some aiming to make financial gains. That is my suspicion.”

‘Shabby’ Paphos theatre faces the music

2011-01-19

THE CYPRUS Symphony orchestra has cut Paphos from its current season of performances, saying theatre facilities in the town were  not up to scratch, it emerged yesterday.

A spokesperson for the state orchestra said that they had decided to “suspend performances” at the Markedion Theatre until upgrading work had been completed.

Their list of complaints includes health and safety issues as well as a lack of dressing rooms, and unclean toilets.

They are reported as saying that “to invite international performers, such as soloists to the venue in Paphos would be embarrassing”.

Dentist solves theft from wife after police apathy

2011-01-19

A DENTIST whose wife’s wallet was stolen managed to solve the crime faster than the police, it emerged yesterday.

According to a report in Politis newspaper, not only did the man recover his wife’s wallet but the wallets of four other theft victims.

The report said police were less than impressed by the man’s investigation as they claim he contaminated the evidence.

Dentist Marios Kanaris reported the incident to authorities on Friday, just after realising that his wife’s wallet was stolen during a shopping expedition in the Ledra Street area of Nicosia.

The man was not satisfied with the police’s alleged lack of interest in the case so he visited one of the shops that he suspected the theft took place in and asked to see the CCTV footage.

Drug officers attacked by pit bull

2011-01-19

TWO DRUG enforcement officers were savagely attacked by a pit bull, during a drug operation where 70 grammes of cannabis were seized.

One man was later arrested and remanded for eight days in connection to the incident.

The confrontation occurred at the suspect’s house in Polis Chrysochous, in Paphos. Police, after receiving information acquired a warrant for the 30-year-old’s home and attempted to enter the residence at 6:30pm on Monday.

The man heard them and tried to get away from the back yard just before unleashing his pit bull terrier on the unsuspecting drug enforcement agents.

All options on the table for LNG

2011-01-19

THE GOVERNMENT will review all its options regarding liquid natural gas (LNG), including any proposals for cooperation with companies in the area, and the island’s own reserves, Trade and Industry Minister Antonis Paschalides said yesterday.

At the same time the Electricity Authority (EAC) reiterated its readiness to go the distance on its own and import natural gas from the cheapest supplier.

Speaking after a broad meeting at the ministry with the participation of the EAC, the public natural gas company DEFA, and the energy service, Paschalides repeated for the umpteenth time that no final decision has been made.

Paphos-Polis talks ‘proceeding apace’

2011-01-19

NEGOTIATIONS for the construction of a Paphos-Polis highway were continuing in earnest yesterday, four months after the government announced a “big push” to put the project back on track.

Communication and public works minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis was reluctant to comment on the ongoing negotiations, but said that an announcement would be made as soon as the government and the construction consortium reached an agreement.

Ministry Permanent Secretary Makis Constantinides, who is also head of the project’s management committee declined to comment while the negotiations were ongoing.

‘Army did not use Turkish tyres’

2011-01-19

THE DEFENCE ministry yesterday denied reports in the Turkish Cypriot press army was unwittingly being supplied with tyres from Turkey.

Turkish Cypriot press said that a Turkish businessman, Mustafa Hasanoglu who owns a tyre company named Arina told a Greek-Turkish business forum in Greece that he had indirectly been selling tyres to the ‘Greek Cypriot administration’ since 2005 by selling them through a Greek buyer who was selling them to Cyprus.

Hasanoglu was also quoted as saying that he had met the distributor from the Republic of Cyprus at a fair in Thessalonika in 2005. He reportedly said that the “Made in Turkey” stamp had caused some problems to begin with but these were solved.

Farmers sit in at the House

2011-01-19

DOZENS of farmers were invited to sit in the House yesterday by Commerce Committee Chairman, DISY’s Lefteris Christoforou, after they showed up to protest against end prices that consumer’s pay for their products. The farmers at times gave a standing ovation to representatives who discussed ways to cut out the middle men between producers and consumers.

Rally drivers end three-day protest

2011-01-19

MEMBERS of the Association of Drivers and Co-drivers of Racing Cars Cyprus (SOSAAK) ended a three day protest in front of the Presidential Palace yesterday. Members were protesting after the Kyrenia Rally which was organised by the Cyprus Automobile Association Ltd (AA). According to SOSAAK only the Cyprus Sports Organisation (KOA) is allowed to organise races.

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.