Fan tried to stab officer in the face

2011-01-28

THE man who assaulted an off-duty police officer because he supported a rival football team pulled a knife from his boot and tried to stab him in the face, a Nicosia court heard yesterday.

The officer was a passenger in a friend’s car on their way to last Saturday’s game between archrivals Omonia and APOEL, when he was stabbed three times on his left arm, which he used to protect his face.

Police arrested two youths – a 19-year-old hairdresser and a Greek national, 21 — in connection with the incident.

The pair were yesterday remanded in custody for three days after it was determined they had been present at the scene, on the Latsia flyover, when the stabbing took place.

They both denied any involvement in the actual stabbing.

EU takes Cyprus off deficit watch

2011-01-28

CYPRUS was one of four EU countries that need to take no further steps to curb their budget deficits under rules on government finances, the bloc said yesterday.

“The Commission concluded that on the basis of currently available information Cyprus, Finland, Bulgaria and Denmark have taken action representing adequate progress toward the correction of the excessive deficit,” it said in a statement.

The EU’s stability and growth pact requires governments to maintain public deficits below 3.0 per cent of gross domestic product and a debt level below 60 per cent of GDP.

Our View: Turkish Cypriot unions in no position to make demands on Ankara

2011-01-28

 

UNION lunacy is quite clearly not something restricted to the areas under the control of the Cyprus Republic. It also thrives in the area north of the dividing line, where today the unions and opposition parties are set to participate in a mass rally in protest against the ‘government’s’ proposed austerity measures.

The rally, the organisers claim, is expected to be the second biggest held in the north. The biggest was the one held for the Annan plan, it was reported.

Climate change and tourism: a sea change for the industry

2011-01-28

GLOBAL tourism profoundly affects, and is being affected by climate change and hence the tourism industry is a major stakeholder in global mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Cyprus tourism is no exception. On the contrary, the mutually detrimental impacts are likely to be more pronounced in Cyprus than in many other parts of the world.

The over-reliance on fossil fuels for electricity and on the private car for transportation results in high carbon emissions per tourist. Cyprus being an island with an already hot and semi-arid climate is likely to experience more pronounced impacts from climate change than, say, other parts of Europe.

EU: Excise duties unfairly favour Cypriots

2011-01-28

THE EUROPEAN Commission has formally asked Cyprus to change its legislation on import and excise duties of new cars because it is more favourable to Cypriots than other EU nationals, it was announced yesterday.

The commission said Cyprus should change these rules within two months or face possible sanctions.

“If within two months there is no satisfactory response from the Cypriot authorities, the Commission may decide to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice,” an EU statement said.

The Commission said under the current legislation, Cypriot citizens, nationals and descendants, received more favourable treatment that other EU citizens when it comes to new passenger car import and excise duties.

Turkish Cypriot unions to take to the streets over austerity

2011-01-28

THOUSANDS of Turkish Cypriot ‘state’ employees are expected to take to the streets of northern Nicosia today in a rally against an economic austerity package they say has been imposed by Ankara.

Dubbed ‘Ankara’s destruction package’, unions are furious over the raft of measures, implemented January 1, designed to reduce Ankara’s half billion dollar annual bailout of the Turkish Cypriot budget deficit.

“Some salaries have been cut by 40 per cent,” Turkish Cypriot Secondary Teachers Union (KTOS) head Sener Elcil told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

Elcil also hit out at part of the package that plans to privatize ‘state-run’ corporations in the north, describing them as “a transfer of power from Turkish Cypriots to mainland Turks”.

Archbishop: ECHR dispenses politics, not justice’

2011-01-28

 

THE ARCHBISHOP yesterday likened the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to a political court after the Strasbourg-based institution rejected his application against Turkey, on behalf of the Church and its parishioners, over violations of their right to enjoy property, and holding religious services.

The ECHR ruled that in accordance with a previous ruling, Chrysostomos should apply first to the property commission set up by Turkey in the breakaway north — considered by the ECHR as Ankara’s subordinate administration.

The prelate rejected the suggestion.

“We do not recognise such commissions and we will not appeal,” he told reporters. “Certainly we will not go.”

Chrysostomos said the ruling on the 2009 application had been expected.

Parking fines go up in Larnaca

2011-01-28

FINES FOR illegal parking have been increased in Larnaca from €25 to between €50-€85 it was announced yesterday

The increase came into effect last month. According to Larnaca Municipality they hope to make people think twice when it comes to illegal parking.

“People will think again about just stopping somewhere,” said an official from the municipality. All other aspects of parking fines will remain the same.

Larnaca Municipality calls upon the public to cooperate in order to avoid being inconvenienced and financially burdened by the fines.

The €50 fine will apply to parking on a single yellow line, parking in spaces for supply trucks and taxis, and obstruction of traffic. Parking on a double yellow line will now cost  €65.

Parties unmoved and unimpressed by Geneva meet

2011-01-28

AS POLITICAL parties await a detailed briefing on the outcome of the Geneva talks, some adopted a more sober tone while others sought to rubbish the Switzerland meet as a waste of time.

The President, back in Cyprus yesterday, is expected to convene his advisory body, the National Council for a full lowdown of what he discussed with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

On Wednesday evening Christofias, while still abroad, spoke with all or most of the party leaders on the phone giving them some idea of the talks in Geneva.

DISY boss Nikos Anastassiades said yesterday that during his brief conversation with Christofias, the latter assured him all would be revealed at the next session of the National Council.

House: hand over LNG documents

2011-01-28

THE HOUSE Finance Committee has asked in writing the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) and the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) to hand over any and all official documents relating to the process for securing supplies of natural gas.

Deputies want to determine whether plans to purchase 20-year supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and build a re-gasification facility on the island to store and process the fuel are the best option – financially speaking – for Cyprus.

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.