Huge clampdown on gambling on the cards

2011-03-09

THE GOVERNMENT has come out all guns blazing to clamp down on betting and online gambling with a draft bill which introduces an all-out ban on online gambling and strict penalties to boot.

Acting government spokesman Christos  Christofides yesterday announced that cabinet approved a bill of “extreme importance”, which for the first time aims to regulate “in a complete manner the various aspects of betting and illegal gambling in Cyprus”.

The bill provides for the setting up of a National Gambling Authority (NGA), the prohibition of various forms of gambling, taxation of legal betting, the protection of juveniles and strict penalties for offenders.

Our View: Credit rating agencies can cripple states with impunity

2011-03-09

GREECE’S finance ministry was correct to question Moody’s decision on Monday to downgrade the country’s debt to ‘highly speculative’ – from Ba1 to B1. In an announcement issued on Monday the ministry said the decision was ‘incomprehensible’ and had a dig at the role played by rating agencies.

Down Syndrome test could be available in two years

2011-03-09

A BREAKTHROUGH non-invasive prenatal test for Down Syndrome, developed by researchers in Cyprus, could be introduced into clinical practice within the next two years, it was announced yesterday.

“The new, non-invasive test provides considerable advantages as compared to the current invasive procedures and therefore it is expected to be introduced with high confidence as a routine test in the clinical practice in the near future,” said Dr. Philipos Patsalis, Chief Executive medical Director at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.

Down Syndrome or Trisomy 21, is the most common cause of mental retardation with an incidence of one in 600 births.

Stavrakis: Fitch downgrade inevitable

2011-03-09

RATINGS agency Fitch is almost certain to downgrade Cyprus’s sovereign credit rating, Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said yesterday.

“I consider it inevitable that there will be a downgrade by Fitch,” Stavrakis told reporters.

Fitch now rates Cyprus AA-. It placed the island on credit watch negative in January, saying it needed to assess risks to the island’s economy from lack of reform to its pensions system and its banks’ exposure to debt-ridden Greece.

Moody’s cut Cyprus’s credit rating in January, and Standard and Poor’s in November. Moody’s now rates Cyprus A2, and Standard and Poor’s rates Cyprus at A, both two notches lower than Fitch.

Cabinet approve separate display for GM foods

2011-03-09

IN A SURPRISE move, the Cabinet yesterday approved the separation of genetically-modified (GM) foods on supermarket shelves, in a development that is not likely to be welcomed in commercial quarters.

The idea, first mooted by the Green Party, has been floating around for over seven years with little enthusiasm seen for its implementation until now.

However, acting government spokesman Christos Christofides said after the yesterday’s cabinet meeting that the law was being amended with the aim of “fully informing and protecting the Cypriot consumer”.

Deal cut with officers in Kitas escape debacle

2011-03-09

THE STATE prosecution yesterday cut a deal with the lawyers of the drugs squad officers charged in the trial concerning the December 2008, escape of convicted rapist and murderer Antonis Prokopiou Kitas from the Apollonion Hospital.

According to state broadcaster CyBC, the three officers pleaded guilty to a number of the 15 charges against them while charges against the remaining three police men facing trial were dropped. The six faced 15 charges in total, including abuse of power, failure to do their duty and concealing information.

‘The government of a fair society has been turned into a VIP government’

2011-03-09

MPs yesterday censured Education Minister Andreas Demetriou for snubbing a Watchdog Committee meeting scheduled to discuss the possible squander of taxpayer money on VIP services used by ministers and other state officials.

The issue was tabled by DISY MP Giorgos Georgiou and his DIKO colleague Angelos Votsis following reports last year that Demetriou had wasted public money by opting for VIP services during stopovers at German airports while on state business.

Georgiou yesterday criticised the minister for his “unacceptable behaviour” to disregard the committee over an issue that concerned himself and the government he participates in.

Petrol station owners on the warpath

2011-03-09

OUTRAGED over allegations of profiteering, petrol station owners yesterday hinted at legal action and other steps – including possibly a warning strike.

The retailers were hitting back at Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides, whom they accused of populism by seeking to turn them into scapegoats for the overall rising cost of living.

Paschalides drew the merchants’ ire last week when he said that 122 gas stations cheated customers by raising their prices, anticipating the surge in oil prices instead of responding to it when it actually happened. He said the retailers had bought fuel oil and petrol shipments at a lower cost and were selling them at a higher price taking advantage of the international hike in prices.

Asylum applicants drop but integration needs grow

2011-03-09

DESPITE a dramatic reduction in the number of political asylum applications in the last three years, Cyprus currently receives the most applications per capita in the EU, the head of the Asylum Service said yesterday.

Last year, the number of new applications stood at 2,544, compared to 5,909 in 2007, and 9,285 in 2004. At the moment, the Asylum Service has some 1,400 applicants pending before it, and from the start of this year 172 new applications have been filed. In addition, 1,788 cases are being processed by the Review Authority for Refugees.

Ever wondered what being blind feels like?

2011-03-09

LEARN FOR yourself what it is like to be blind as part of a senses test, participate in simulation workshops, become a refugee fleeing her home as part of an online game or perhaps become an actor and change the outcome of a story, all as part of Celebrating Diversity Festival at the University of Nicosia this Saturday.

Participants have a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Mini or a Star 2 by participating in as many activities as they want with each activity counting as a single participation in a lucky draw.

“You are forced to experience racism through these games. It’s hard to put into words, you’ll understand when you play,” Cyprus Youth Council’s Maria Kaltsaki said.

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.