‘Asylum seekers getting amnesty due to a backlog’

2011-06-02

So many asylum seekers have been allowed to remain in Britain by officials going through a backlog of cases that it amounted to an amnesty, MPs said yesterday.

The cross-party Home Affairs Select Committee said in a report that the Border Agency was on course to hit its target of dealing with a backlog of about 450,000 asylum cases by the summer but only by increasingly granting applicants permission to stay.

Of the 403,500 cases concluded so far, 40 per cent had been allowed to remain in Britain while so far only 38,000 applicants had had their claims rejected and had been removed from Britain.

Fitch puts Bank of Cyprus on negative watch and downgrades Marfin

2011-06-02

Fitch Ratings yesterday placed Bank of Cyprus’ (BoC) on negative watch and downgraded Marfin Popular Bank’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating to BBB- from BBB – placing its individual rating on negative watch — citing their exposure to Greece.

The agency also affirmed Hellenic Bank’s BBB- rating.

Fitch said the ratings indicate the agency’s expectation of further pressure on the banks’ credit risk profiles, profitability and capital due to the challenging operating environment in Greece.

The announcement came a day after Fitch cut Cyprus’s sovereign rating by three notches to A-, saying it was concerned about its banks’ exposure to Greek debt and the impact this could have on the island’s finances.

All-new Pafos International Rally announced for July

2011-06-02

ORGANISERS of the inaugural Pafos International Rally have given more details about what promises to be a hugely successful motorsport event.

Set to take place between Friday 1st and Sunday 3rd July this year, the Pafos International Rally succeeds the long-standing and internationally acclaimed Troodos Rally.

Round 4 of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) and an official round of this year’s Cyprus National Rally Championship, the new event will see competitors from across Cyprus and the region do battle on the island’s renowned special stages.

KEO workers go on indefinite strike

2011-06-02

WINE and beer maker KEO yesterday announced the dismissal of 75 workers – the first stage of redundancies that have sparked indefinite industrial action in the Church-controlled company.

KEO plans to shed 150 jobs from a workforce of some 550 as part of a bid to “remain a viable economic unit” but its refusal to offer any compensation has prompted workers to go on an indefinite strike.

“The company is saddened because unions have encouraged and urged the employees to strike, which can only harm the ailing company further,” KEO said. “They don’t seem to be truly aware of the crisis plaguing our economy, especially local industry, and they do not assume their own responsibilities in ensuring the survival of the country’s production units.”

Guilty of strangling his partner

2011-06-02

ANDREAS Christodoulou, 53, was yesterday found guilty of the premeditated murder of his 42-year-old partner, Spaska Karamarinova as the court dismissed as false his claims that he accidentally killed her during sex.

The couple had a six-year-old son who was asleep in his room at the time of his mother’s death.

On Monday, January 3 this year construction worker Christodoulou from Kalopsida showed up at Larnaca police headquarters around 7am to report that his partner was possibly dead.

He accompanied the police to his home in the Larnaca village of Alethriko where the couple and their son had been living for the past two years.

‘Greek Cypriots should not get EU presidency’

2011-06-02

CYPRUS’ EU presidency, slated for July 2012, could be withheld if a solution to the Cyprus problem is not on the cards by the end of the year, according to Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu’s representative Kudret Ozersay.

In an interview published in Kibris newspaper, Ozersay claimed there was increasing talk in EU diplomatic circles that allowing a divided Cyprus to assume the EU presidency would jeopardise the chances of gaining Greek Cypriot support for a solution.

“This is something that is being seriously discussed in diplomatic circles, but it is too early to say what approach they will take,” Ozersay said, adding that some EU diplomats were worried that the Greek Cypriot side will try to use its presidency to its advantage in negotiations.

‘Citizenship’ fears grip Turkish Cypriots

2011-06-02

FEARS are growing that “tens of thousands” of mainland Turkish immigrants could be granted ‘citizenship’ of the north if amendments to the breakaway state’s immigration law are approved.

“If the law is amended in the way being proposed…it would mean the end of the Turkish Cypriot community,” Head of the Democratic Communal Party (TDP) Mehmet Cakici has warned. He added that he would oppose the amendment domestically, but would take the issue onto the “international arena” if necessary.

Concern over cleaning Canadian tanks

2011-06-02

THE GREEN Party has called on the government to investigate the risk of allowing Canadian forces to clean their potentially radioactive vehicles in Cyprus.

According to the Green party’s George Perdikis, the Cyprus Government allows homebound Canadian forces from Afghanistan to clean their tanks and military vehicles on the island.

Perdikis believes the military vehicles could contain traces of depleted uranium or potentially hazardous microorganisms, which could contaminate Cyprus’ ecosystem and so last week his party requested an environmental impact assessment to be carried out.

Optimism for deal on federal police

2011-06-02

THE TWO leaders yesterday showed glimpses of optimism that an agreement could be reached on the issue of police in a reunited federal Cyprus.

Speaking after his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, President Demetris Christofias said: “Under certain circumstances, we are not that far from achieving full convergence.”

“But I want to show a little restraint, and wait for the next meeting of our advisors,” he added.

Christofias said he tabled a proposal during the meeting on the competencies of the central government and constituent states to sign and implement international treaties.

“There will be a response on the part of Mr Eroglu and our advisors will discuss the details,” he said.

Interpol asked to help solve attempted murder case

2011-06-02

INTERPOL have been asked to help investigate the affairs of Dimitri Loginoff, 52, the Russian businessman who police think was the target of a high intensity bomb explosion in Pyla on Tuesday early morning.

Police have asked Interpol to contribute in their efforts to gather as much information as possible on Loginoff’s professional affairs, police chief Michalis Papageorgiou yesterday said.

A range of possibilities are being investigated including that of the perpetrators coming from abroad, Papageorgiou said.

Loginoff will be questioned as soon as he is feeling well enough, Papageorgiou said adding that his testimony would shed light on the investigation.

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.