Hunters expect a spree on first day

2011-08-21

UP TO 20,000 hunters will take to the fields for the opening of the turtledove, woodpigeon and quail shooting season today, which is set to be the island’s largest to date thanks to increasing game bird population and the second highest number of licences ever issued.

The hunting federation has granted 47,716 licences this year, down just slightly from 48,137 in 2010 after more than 300 hunters’ licences were revoked because they were twice caught poaching.

While the slight decline might seem like good news for the island’s wildlife, the federation’s survey suggests that the upward trend in killed game birds and rabbits is set to continue. The hunting season for other game such as partridge and hare is due to begin towards the end of October.

Our View: Eleftheria Square deserves far better

2011-08-21

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Mail last week, Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou presented the most controversial change to the capital in recent years in a glowingly positive light.

She described plans by the globally celebrated Iraqi-born ‘starchitect’, Zaha Hadid, for Eleftheria Square as a crucial part of our capital’s vital general transformation. The location is the main entry point separating the concrete tower blocks of greater Nicosia and the historic heart of Nicosia within its Venetian-era, sandstone walls.

The idea, she said, is to meld, sensitively and symbolically, the new and the old.

She is right, but only in part.

Minister thrilled at Russia’s support

2011-08-21

FOREIGN MINISTER Erato Kozakou Markoullis yesterday expressed her “absolute satisfaction” with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s response to Turkey’s sabre-rattling ahead of drilling in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“The response of the Russian Federation to our representations was immediate and sends a strong message to Turkey and the international community in general,” she said.

“We are truly grateful for this steadfast stance of Russia, which has always been and continues to be a shield and support against any threats by Turkey, a shield based on international law and UN resolutions,” added Marcoullis.

Mysterious insect bites on Lady’s Mile

2011-08-21

THE HEALTH Services are sending a team of experts to Lady’s Mile beach in Limassol tomorrow in an effort to get to the bottom of the reported outbreak of phantom insect bites.

Health Services director Christos Christou told the Cyprus News Agency that a unit will carry out on-the-spot checks to confirm whether the infectious bites allegedly suffered by bathers are from mosquitoes or another as yet unrecorded insects harmful to humans.

According to Christou, Lady’s Mile and the surrounding areas suffer every year from an outbreak of gnats and mosquitoes multiplying in stagnant waters around the Eucalyptus forest, from the west side of the port to the salt lake in Limassol.

Drugs charges

2011-08-21
A 39-year-old man was remanded in custody for six days yesterday by the Limassol district court in connection with investigations into drugs charges.
According to police, armed with a search warrant, members of the Drugs Squad (YKAN) searched the Limassol flat of the 39-year-old man from Iran on Friday. They allegedly found traces of a brown substance believed to be one gram of opium, half a gram of white powder believed to be methamphetamine and electronic scales with traces of white powder on it. Cash totalling €3,230 was also found in the flat.
Following his arrest, police discovered that the man had been deported from Cyprus in July 2010.

Salzburg players hospitalised by virus after Omonia match

2011-08-21

EIGHT PLAYERS from the Austrian football team that played in Cyprus on Thursday have come down with a virus, according to the Red Bull Salzburg team’s website.

Salzburg played Omonia Nicosia in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League play-offs at the GSP Stadium on Thursday, losing 2-1 to the home side.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the team’s website reported that eight of the Austrian side’s players picked up a virus during their stay in Cyprus. On their return to Austria, the eight were taken immediately to hospital where they were put on drips. The website did not specify the type of virus that the players picked up.

In the event that the virus is highly contagious, the upcoming derby between Salzberg and Sturm Graz may be postponed.

Memorial football

2011-08-21

FOOTBALL TEAMS Anorthosis Famagusta and Apollon Limassol were due to play a friendly match last night in honour of the 13 people killed at the Mari naval base blast on July 11.

The friendly, dedicated to the 13, was titled ‘Match of the Immortals’. Kick-off was scheduled for 7pm at refugee team Anorthosis’ home ground at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca.

Relatives of the 13 soldiers and firemen killed in the blast were also due to attend.

 

Saved after cliff plunge

2011-08-21

TWO 60-year-old men were being treated in hospital yesterday after their car ended up going over a 70-metre cliff. The two, both from Larnaca, were in the Dipotamou dam area in the Larnaca district when the car went over the cliff at around 6.45am yesterday.

Members of the special disaster response unit (EMAK) rushed to the scene where they managed to pull the men out of the highly inaccessible area using harnesses and their vehicle. The 60-year-olds were then rushed to hospital.

Paphos church theft

2011-08-21

ANOTHER CHURCH has fallen victim to theft in the Paphos district with around €13,000 worth of items stolen.

According to police, the church of Panayia Chryseleousis in Theletra village was burgled between 6pm on Thursday and 6pm on Friday, with various church items stolen.

Police at the Stroumbiou station are investigating the case.

Over 50 church break-ins have been recorded since January this year, with various items stolen including valuable icons, cherubs, crosses, candlesticks, chalices, silver and gold. In June, the Panayia Odigidria church in Paliometocho was burgled with thieves stealing relics worth €42,600.

 

British family on drugs charges

2011-08-21

A BRITISH father, mother and son were remanded in custody for six days yesterday by the Famagusta District Court in connection with investigations into charges of drug possession and distribution.

The parents, both aged 41, and their son, 20, were arrested on Friday after a search of their flat in Paralimni, where they are permanent residents.

According to Famagusta police spokesman Yiannos Kapnoullas, acting on a tip off, the Drugs Squad (YKAN) searched the flat where they allegedly found small traces of drugs and cigarette butts containing drugs. They proceeded to search a second residence, where they discovered a specially designed room containing five cannabis plants, fertilisers, soil and other materials used in cultivating plants.

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.