Unions urge CY workers to accept drastic rescue plan

2011-01-25

CYPRUS Airways (CY) unions will urge their members to accept a package of measures aimed at rescuing the ailing airline, which includes cuts in revenues and shedding 140 jobs, it emerged yesterday.

CY yesterday handed unions the outline of a rescue plan drafted by the board that effectively complements a proposal by the labour ministry’s mediating service and includes a 9.0 per cent cut in income for one year, with conditions for low wage earners.

We will “inform people (about the plan) and the advice we will give is that – it is a one way street – this plan must be approved,” said Andreas Pieridis, representative of the airline’s biggest union CYNIKA that has around 900 members.

Our View: Ban and Downer have their work cut out for them in Geneva

2011-01-25

DEMETRIS Christofias and Dervis Eroglu will go to tomorrow’s meeting with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Geneva not knowing what is in store. If they do know, they have chosen not to give anything away, presumably because they do not want to fuel speculation at home, which serves no useful purpose.

The Haitian follies

2011-01-25

A CONFIDENTIAL 2006 cable from the US embassy in Haiti, subsequently made public by WikiLeaks, said that the United States viewed the possible return of either of the two exiled Haitian ex-presidents, Jean-Bertrand Aristide or Jean-Claude Duvalier, as “unhelpful”. But one of them, former president-for-life Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, is already back in Haiti, probably with Washington’s approval.

“Baby Doc” took over the dictatorship from his dying father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, at the age of nineteen in 1971, and ruled with same brutality and greed as his father until he was driven from power and into exile in 1986. What can have made him think it was a good idea to come back now?

Off-duty policeman stabbed in football violence

2011-01-25

DESPITE the pleas for calm before the APOEL-Omonia football derby and the largest ever police presence at the game, hooligans caused still caused mayhem on Saturday leaving one police officer stabbed.

Before the game President Demetris Chrstofias had ordered police to be “unrelenting and merciless” in their fight against hooliganism, while APOEL president Fivos Erotokritou and Omonia president Miltiades Neophytou implored fans to be calm during and after the game.

But it appears as if their pleas fell on deaf ears as once again the game was marred with extreme violence.

Human error blamed for stray mortar explosion

2011-01-25

THE defence minister yesterday said human error was to blame for an army mortar shell that went astray during a live fire exercise and exploded near a holiday home in the Larnaca district last week.

No one was injured in Wednesday’s explosion as the owners of the prefab house – perforated by shrapnel – in the village of Ayia Anna were not there at the time.

“My opinion, as I have already said, is that it will be human error and not faulty munitions, but I do not want to confirm it at this point out of respect of the (ongoing) investigation,” Costas Papacostas said.

He described the incident as “inexcusable and criminal”, but did not clarify further.

Secrecy surrounds Qatar trip

2011-01-25

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday remained tight-lipped regarding a weekend visit to Qatar by the finance minister to discuss plans for a multi-million euro project in Nicosia amid reports that the deal had collapsed.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, who accompanied Charilaos Stavrakis on his trip to the Gulf state, did not go into details of what had been discussed but he reiterated that negotiations were continuing.

“If it had already collapsed there would not have been a need to travel to Qatar,” the spokesman said.

Stefanou said it was an important matter for Cyprus and the government would rather keep the issue low key.

The spokesman said that all too often with public debates, facts and reality become distorted with negative effects.

House proposes larger campaign funds

2011-01-25

CANDIDATES in May’s parliamentary elections will have a ceiling of €30,000 to spend on their campaigns and could be asked to stand down from their post if they declare false information, according to amendments being discussed at the House Interior Committee.

The Committee yesterday discussed the proposed changes, as well as a law proposal by ruling AKEL and opposition DISY to amend regulations surrounding voting centres abroad.

Proposals from the opposition and the Green Party on how to enforce better supervision over the amounts candidates spend were also examined.

CyTA to appeal anti-competition fine

2011-01-25

THE Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) plans to appeal a €3.4 million fine for violating competition regulations to the Supreme Court.

The Committee for the Protection of Competition (CPC) fined the authority after complaints were filed by companies Netsmart and Thunderworx, claiming Cyta had refused to provide the necessary substructure and services so the two companies could become active in the local telecommunications market. The CPC ruled that this was a violation of free competition rules.

Zivania star of new cocktail

2011-01-25

A NEW twist was given to traditional Cypriot booze last weekend as bartenders from across the island came together to give it their all in the First Pancyprian Original Cyprus Cocktail Competition coordinated by the Cyprus Bartenders Association.

Topping the competition’s ‘Taste’ category was a drink made by hotel management student, Sergios Tikas, with key ingredients including red Zivania mixed with rose and grape cordial.

Held on Saturday at the brand new Archontiko Papadopoulou multifunction centre in the picturesque village of Kornos, the 12 bartenders involved were asked to produce what they believed to be the most unique and innovative concoction.

‘Look up; wake up’ to chemtrails

2011-01-25

CHEMTRAILS appeared in the skies above Paphos on Sunday, during an event held by the Green Party to raise awareness of the phenomena, organisers said.

Green Party member and Peyia councillor Linda Leblanc said the timing was perfect. “As we were holding a demonstration at Paphos harbour to raise awareness of this problem, chemtrails were clearly visible in the sky.”

“I’m telling people to wake up and look up,” she added.

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.