Japan confirms explosion, leakage at nuke plant

2011-03-12

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed on Saturday there has been an explosion and radiation leakage at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

“We are looking into the cause and the situation and we’ll make that public when we have further information,” Edano said.

“At present, we think 10 km evacuation is appropriate.”

Japan earlier in the day warned of a meltdown at a reactor at the plant, damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, but said the risk of radiation contamination was small.

Edano also said that Japan has expanded the evacuation area around the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant.

Paschalides and petrol retailers kiss and make up

2011-03-12

WARRING sides in the petrol-price dispute yesterday  called a truce as the commerce minister and petrol station owners “put all their cards on the table”, they said.

After more than half of station owners were found to have increased the price of their old stock before new – more expensive – loads were in pumps, there has been a war of words with Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides.

The dispute came to a head on Wednesday with the station owners going so far as to threaten a strike. First however they said they would meet Paschalides yesterday.

OUR VIEW: Meeting over petrol pricing simply a gas

2011-03-12

IT WAS all sweetness and light after the meeting between Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides and the petrol station owners yesterday. The accusations of profiteering and greed made against the station owners by Paschalides last week, were forgotten as the two sides agreed to set up a technical committee that would determine increases and decreases in the price of petrol.

OUR VIEW: Flight to fare well

2011-03-12

THE ANNOUNCEMENT that Aegean Airlines would launch a Larnaca-Heathrow daily flight later this month is good news for most people. It brings to an end the monopolising of the route by Cyprus Airways and British Airways which were able to charge relatively high air fares. With a third airline now competing for passengers, air-fares are set to come down.

Orphanides: stop delaying on economy

2011-03-12

 

CENTRAL Bank Governor Athanasios Orphanides yesterday warned against further delays in taking measures to consolidate the economy and improve the fiscal situation.

The comment came as latest stats showed that the economy grew slightly more than initially estimated in the fourth quarter of 2010, even though it still slowed from the third quarter.

For 2010 as whole, the economy expanded by a provisional 1.0 per cent, at the top end of finance ministry forecasts. It recovered from a 1.7 per cent contraction in 2009 and was buoyed by a rebound in tourism and financial services, Reuters reported.

‘Rusfeti is here to stay’

2011-03-12

CYPRUS’ deeply entrenched system of ‘Rusfeti’ (political favours) and bloated civil service are not only barriers to meritocracy, but could bankrupt the island, academics warned yesterday.

Furthermore, the vast number of civil servants who got their job through rusfeti –normally by agreement to vote for one or another party- and the difficulty of proving politicians are using favours, means it is here to stay.

Presenting a paper on rusfeti and political patronage at the University of Nicosia yesterday, associate professor for history and political science Hubert Faustmann was pessimistic about the hope of reform.

Annual race event in Paphos this weekend

2011-03-12

FOR THE twelfth consecutive year runners from all over the world will compete in the Cyprus marathon, half marathon and the 10km which will be held in Paphos tomorrow.

According to the race director, Stavros Kakourides, 375 participants have already signed up to take part in the three events.

“We have purposefully left a number of places open in each category to ensure that runners who have not already registered will be able to sign up on the day,” he said. “This happens every year and we are expecting to have four hundred people taking part this year.”

The successful event attracts amateur runners from all over the world and this year is no exception.

Thieves target more churches

2011-03-12

THIEVES broke into five churches in the Larnaca district on Thursday night, making of with escaping with a measly total of  €80 however.

The first break in occurred at the Ayia Marina church in Tersephanou, from here the thieves stole €50 from the candle stands. The second church to be broken into was the church of Ayia Marina Pyrgon, where the thieves managed to take €30.

According to Father Ioannis Kallis, he was notified at around 10am by fellow villagers that the doors of the church of Ayia Marina in Tersephanou had been violated.

Arrest warrant issued for fraud suspect

2011-03-12

A 55-YEAR-OLD woman is accused of stealing more than one million euros

from individuals who inadvertently gave her the authority to manage bank accounts in their name, all at the same banking institution.

The woman had been handling the accounts of 240 individuals. About thirty-five people had formally complained up to yesterday, Nicosia CID said.

More than seventy are expected to file a complaint.

Nicosia CID have issued an arrest warrant but the woman is currently a patient at the Athalassa psychiatric hospital. She will be arrested after she is released from care, police said.

A number of complaints are pending against the woman including theft, forgery and circulating forged documents.

Price hikes exaggerated says EAC

2011-03-12

THE ELECTRICITY Authority of Cyprus (EAC) yesterday refuted media reports announcing imminent 10 per cent increases in electricity prices.

The EAC said its tariffs rose and fell according to the international price of mazut, which is a methodology approved by parliament as well as the Energy Regulatory Authority.

“What could be said at this moment is that there will be an estimated increase of 1.4 per cent on the February-March bills, compared to the January-February bills,” it added.

The Authority went on to stress that it was impossible to predict how its prices will be altered in the future, as it all depended on the price of mazut.

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.