A 78-YEAR-OLD Limassol man died yesterday after falling into a deep ravine with his car, police said yesterday.
Police said they were investigating the circumstances in which Pericles Stylianou fell in the 110-metre ravine off the Limassol to Armenohori road at 10 am.
Stylianou was freed from the wreckage by the fire service and was taken to hospital where he died shortly afterwards, police said.
A WEEKEND fire near a Nicosia district village destroyed around two hectares of wild vegetation and a private forest, the fire services said.
The blaze, near Ayios Epifanios, was put out by the combined efforts of five water-dropping aircraft and around 18 fire trucks before it reached the nearby Adelphi state forest.
The forestry department said the cause of the fire was under investigation but initial evidence suggested it had started at a construction site.
Fire service spokesman Leonidas Leonidou, said that the public should not toss cigarette butts out of their cars, burn grass or rubbish, or use machines or tools that are likely to produce sparks or flames.
A MAN’S car was set on fire in the Larnaca district yesterday, causing extensive damage.
Neighbours became aware of the fire in the early hours of yesterday morning and notified the 47-year-old owner of the car, which was parked in an open field nearby.
The owner managed to put out the fire with an extinguisher, but not before the car was severely damaged.
Kiti police are investigating the case, and have not ruled out arson.
CAR OWNERS are being warned to renew their road tax by August 1, as the Road Transport Department will not be sending out reminders to registered drivers.
“Each registered car owner will need to ensure their vehicle’s road taxi is renewed before the final date for renewing road tax,” the Department announced.
It added that drivers have until August 1 to renew it, while police will be patrolling the roads for those who fail to do so from the very next day.
“From (August 2), the police and Road Transport Department will report those caught driving without having renewed their road tax.”
Eurozone finance ministers gave Greece two weeks from yesterday to approve stricter austerity measures in return for another €12 billion in emergency loans, piling pressure on Athens to get its ragged finances in order.
After two days of crisis meetings, the ministers effectively issued Athens an ultimatum, saying the Greek government, parliament and broader society had until July 3 to approve a new package of spending cuts, tax hikes and privatisation measures in order to receive the next tranche of EU/IMF aid.
“The approval of the Greek parliament is absolutely essential and it will have to arrive in a timely fashion so we can take a decision on July 3,” said Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of the 17 eurozone finance ministers.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged yesterday reforms within months to address a wave of protests against his rule, but blamed saboteurs for the unrest and warned that no deal could be reached with gunmen.
Assad said a national dialogue would start soon to review new legislation including laws on parliamentary elections, the media, and allowing political parties other than his Baath Party, as well as look at possible changes to the constitution.
Activists and analysts dismissed his promises, saying they failed to engage the demands of protesters who for three months have defied a fierce military crackdown in rallying for greater freedoms, posing the gravest challenge to his 11-year tenure.
NATO has admitted it destroyed a house in Tripoli in which Libyan officials said nine civilians were killed, an incident likely to sow new doubts inside the alliance about its mission in Libya.
The air strike was the clearest case yet of NATO bombing causing multiple civilian casualties, and comes at a time when NATO is already under strain from a campaign that is taking more time and resources than it expected.
A NATO statement said a military missile site was the intended target of the air strikes but that it appeared one of the weapons did not strike that target.
Basic human rights of old people being ‘worryingly’ overlooked says new report
The basic human rights of older people being given care at home are being overlooked, with some left in bed for 17 hours between visits, according to a new report yesterday.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission revealed it had found many “worrying” cases such as old people not being washed regularly or not being given proper help with eating food or drink.
The commission said a major inquiry it is conducting into home care in England, to be published in November, had identified a number of major problems.
Staff turnover in the sector was “huge”, with one woman saying she had 32 different carers over a two-week period.
THE AUDITOR-GENERAL’S report into the Cyprus’ EU presidency secretariat has found that parts of the procedure followed to hire personnel were flawed.
The report by Auditor-general Chrystalla Yiorkadji – to be handed to the House Watchdog Committee today – covers the tendering procedures followed by the secretariat after news reports of dodgy appointments.
The full details of the report will not be made public until today, but an advance copy leaked to Sigma TV last night revealed that the Auditor-general believes the criteria set for the disputed position of events co-ordinator did not reflect the requirements of the position.
THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, will today present to the House Watchdog Committee the findings of her investigation into the procedures followed, for the awarding of a contract for events co-ordination in Brussels, during the Cyprus presidency of the EU. The two-year contract, worth about €120,000, was awarded to the boy-friend of the daughter of Andreas Moleskis, the head of the Cyprus presidency secretariat.
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.
