Akrotiri: vital role in Libya operation

2011-03-20

 

AKROTIRI air base near Limassol was yesterday officially designated the British command centre for any international military operation on Libya, British bases authorities confirmed.

It has been named Operation Ellamy.

“RAF Akrotiri is supporting E3D surveillance aircraft, the AWACS, and they are keeping abreast of events in the area,” said bases spokesman Kristian Gray.

“Also deploying at Akrotiri is the Joint Force Air Component HQ, which is coordinating the movement of UK air assets in operational areas. HQ will be on Cyprus for as long as it’s required,” Gray added.

Tales from the Coffeeshop: The crossroads of streetwalkers

2011-03-20

FOR WEEKS now, we had been searching for a sexy news story – with some sociological significance to justify its publication – in order to boost our coffee sales, and on Tuesday it was served to us on a plate by the much-maligned police force.

And what a story it was – a suspected Chinese prostitution ring operating in the heart of the immigrant ghetto in old Nicosia. More than 40 people were arrested in the police raid, including a senior cop working at the Immigration Department, a suspected Chinese Madam known as Nancy and two Cypriot pensioners suspected of pimping.

Our View: Focus of town planning bills was wrong

2011-03-20

INTERIOR MINISTER Neoclis Sylikiotis fired a broadside against the legislature, earlier this week, for delaying passing the five bills relating to the town planning amnesty. Sylikiotis had been angered by the postponement of discussion of the bills at committee level and what he saw as the deliberate delay in deputies making a decision.

He did not mince his words, accusing deputies of employing delaying tactics, “in a co-ordinated and methodical way, constantly coming up with new suggestions or proposals, many of which aimed to change or weaken every innovative proposal put forward by the bills”. The President of House was also targeted by the minister, for having gone back on his promise to arrange the approval of three of the five bills 10 days ago.

ELAM members attack lottery seller

2011-03-20

 

AN elderly lottery ticket seller was yesterday beaten up by members of a nationalist group in the centre of Nicosia in broad daylight after he told them he disagreed with their beliefs.

Eye witnesses said Michalis Tsiakkas was beaten by two youths belonging to the nationalist group, National Popular Front (ELAM), dozens of whom were handing out flyers in busy Ledra Street at lunchtime.

It all started as a shouting match on a side road off the popular shopping thoroughfare with several ELAM members, clad in their black t-shirts, surrounding him.

The argument seemed to have come to an end, with the ELAM members walking away and Tsiakkas getting on his moped to leave.

Brother suspected of attack on twin

2011-03-20

A BLOODY incident involving Bulgarian twin brothers in Larnaca led to an eight-day remand of one and the hospitalisation of the other for stab wounds yesterday.

The victim is said to be in critical condition after sustaining deep wounds to his throat, back and lungs.

According to police the brothers, aged 24, have a history of attacking each other and of being publicly drunk and disorderly.

In the most recent incident late on Friday, police received a call about a disturbance at the flat the brothers shared on Makarios Avenue in Larnaca. An ambulance had already been called. The victim was rushed to Larnaca hospital but due to the seriousness of his condition he was transferred to Nicosia for surgery.

Crack down on Paphos touts

2011-03-20

ARMED with tougher new penalties and an increased police presence, Paphos tourism officials have declared a massive crackdown on illegal timeshare and other touts who have long pestered tourists.

“I can promise I will fight to clear up our streets,” said Nassos Hadjigeorgiou, the tourist manager of the Paphos regional board of tourism, adding that a concerted effort is underway to clear all illegal touts off the Paphos streets before the start of the summer season in May.

Gaming company OPAP rakes in 15 million euros a month

2011-03-20

GREEK BETTING organisation OPAP has been on the defensive all week after coming under fire from deputies for being excluded from the new gaming bill.

Deputies blamed the finance ministry for excluding OPAP from the bill, which they said was effectively leading to a monopoly for OPAP, which runs the Lotto, Joker and KINO games among others.

“The specific bill will not ban gambling, but legalise it and unfortunately it will legalise it for only one company, which will enjoy a monopoly,” said House Finance Committee Chairman Nicolas Papadopoulos.

“Of course I am referring to OPAP, a company which gained around €70 million in 2009, of which only a little over €1 million went to state coffers in the form of taxes.”

Sunflower cancer campaign going strong in Paphos

2011-03-20

LATEST news on the unique sunflower SMS service which is used to remind women to go for their cancer check-ups will be presented by the doctor associated with the campaign in Paphos next week.

Dr Vasilios Tanos will present the latest statistics relating to the ongoing project at Palia Electriki-the old electricity station-in Paphos on March 23 at 3pm.

Campaign organisers aim to get 10,000 women signed up to the service, which operates as a two-way reminder service. On a regular basis, subscribers will be sent an SMS message to remind them to go for a mammogram and PAP test. They will then be able to respond to this message. This unique service is free, and subscribers so far have reached about 6,000 but still short of the sunflowers goal of 10,000 women.

Autism conference in Nicosia

2011-03-20

THE CYPRUS Autistic Association in cooperation with the Embassy of Israel in Nicosia are organising a one-day conference with the participation of Israeli and Cypriot specialists on “Early Diagnosis and Early Intervention in Pre-School Children with Communicative Difficulties”, on Wednesday, March 30, from 3pm to 7pm at the Bank of Cyprus Building, Conference Room for Cultural Events (117 Arch. Makarios III), in Limassol.

The conference is placed under the High Patronage of the wife of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Elsi Christofias and under the auspices of the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance, Sotiroula Charalambous.

The conference is open to the public and a Certificate of Attendance will be awarded to participants.

North seizes religious Greek Cypriot schoolbooks

2011-03-20

THE BREAKAWAY regime in the north has confiscated 204 religious books earmarked for Greek Cypriot schools in occupied Rizokarpasso, reported a number of Turkish Cypriot papers yesterday.

According to yesterday’s Kibris, the books were meant for Greek Cypriot ‘enclaved’ children attending primary and secondary schools in Rizokarpasso village. The books were found on March 17 during a check of a car at the Pergamos checkpoint.

The car belonged to George Elia who works for both schools in the north. His co-passengers  Michael Loizides, director responsible for religious affairs at the Education Ministry, and Papageorgios Ioannides, Metropolitan Bishop of occupied Trimithounta.

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.