Newsmakers join pop stars on Time 100 list

2011-04-22

* Major events in Japan and Egypt thrust unknowns onto scene

* South Korea’s Rain wins online vote third year in a row

Previously unknown newsmakers from Egypt and Japan joined pop stars and politicians on Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world released on Thursday.

The list includes pop culture giants such as Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey plus the lesser known Wael Ghonim, an Egyptian internet activist who helped topple President Hosni Mubarak, and Takeshi Kanno, a Japanese doctor who refused to leave behind victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan makes no-go nuclear zone

2011-04-22

* PM Kan harangued by homeless quake survivors

* Engineers struggle to control Fukushima plant

JAPAN said yesterday it would ban anyone entering a 20-km evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo, weeks after the tsunami-wrecked facility began leaking radiation.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 hit eastern Japan yesterday evening, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.

US wants death penalty in USS Cole attack

2011-04-22

* Attack on US warship off Yemen killed 17 sailors

* Accused Saudi man captured in Dubai in 2002

US military prosecutors want the death penalty for a detainee being held at the Guantanamo prison camp as they reaffirmed charges against him over the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, the Pentagon said this week.

Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri, a Saudi Arabian national of Yemeni descent, is charged with planning and preparing the attack on the warship off Yemen, which killed 17 sailors and wounded 40.

Suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the Cole, blowing a massive hole in its side.

Pensions law falls short

2011-04-22

 

PARLIAMENT yesterday unanimously approved a bill abolishing multiple pensions, which despite falling short of expectations, includes a provision that high-ranking officials from now on will finally have to make a monthly contribution towards their pensions.

Our View: ID cards problem could have been easily solved

2011-04-22

A NUMBER of EU nationals who went to either obtain or renew their Cyprus ID cards over the past week got a bit of a shock when they were told they could not.

That was bad enough, but when they asked why, they were given no reason because officials at district offices and citizens advice bureaus did not themselves know why. They were just sent a circular from the migration service of the interior ministry, a section of the government everyone knows has little regard for the rights and needs of foreigners – including EU nationals – living here.

This newspaper managed to catch up this week with the official in charge who explained that EU nationals with Cyprus IDs were causing problems at the airport when they tried to travel with the cards.

Nurses up in arms over patient AIDS scare

2011-04-22

PUBLIC health nurses are up in arms after it emerged that one of their members has run the risk of being infected by an AIDS patient during surgery earlier this week.

The incident took place at the Nicosia general hospital. According to Giorgos Flourentzos, head of the Nurses Union, the 42-year-old AIDS patient came in late on Sunday night complaining of acute abdominal pain. During admission, the designated doctor took down the patient’s medical history, as per standard procedure. At no time did the patient mention that he suffered from any infectious disease, despite being specifically being asked about this. As a result he was given a clean bill of health.

Road deaths down this year…so far

2011-04-22

POLICE yesterday warned the public to be especially careful  when driving over the Easter period, reminding them that alcohol is the number one cause of fatalities on the road.

Fewer car crash fatalities have been recorded this year compared to the first four months of 2010, Police Traffic Chief Demetris Demetriou said this week.

Speaking during a Road Safety Council conference, Demetriou said: “Since the beginning of the year up until today we’ve had 15 fatal accidents with 16 people dead, whereas during the corresponding period last year we had 18 fatal accidents with 21 people dead.”

Paschalides hits back at Neophytou’s fuel stunt

2011-04-22

THE COMMERCE Minister yesterday demonstrated that Cyprus’ fuel prices are reasonable in direct response to accusations from DISY’s deputy chief that they of the government were all wearing “rose-tinted glasses.”

Cyprus is the second cheapest country in unleaded 95 Octane petrol and seventh cheapest in diesel, Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides said.

He was quoting an April 18 report on fuel prices from the European Commission.

Paschalides’ move comes a day after DISY’s second-in-command, Averof Neophytou, invited the media to witness him filling up his SUV. It cost Neophytou €75 to fill up his vehicle with diesel. He bemoaned the fact that only ten years ago the same amount of fuel would have cost him only CY10 pounds (€17).

Christofias denounces Turkey’s ‘arrogance and cynicism’

2011-04-22

PRESIDENT DEMETRIS Christofias yesterday confirmed he has sent letters to heads of the UN and EU, denouncing Turkey’s “arrogance and cynicism” towards the Cyprus Republic.

Speaking at the presidential palace, Christofias said: “I want to confirm that I have sent such letters to the UN Secretary-General, to the Presidents of the European Council, Commission and Parliament.”

‘Cyprus will defend its interests from trespassers’

2011-04-22

CYPRUS IS closely monitoring Turkish actions with regard to hydrocarbon exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, and is in contact with both the European Union and Greece, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday.

He was commenting on news reports that TPAO, Turkey’s national oil and gas corporation, has invited potential partners to explore and exploit blocks in the eastern Mediterranean, including in areas which the Republic regards as falling inside its own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

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.