Army must be ready to face threat

2011-09-10

 

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias called yesterday for the armed forces to show “vigilance and readiness” in the face of Turkish threats over the island’s intention to exploit potential hydrocarbon reserves in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as the EU told Turkey for the second time not to issue threats against Cyprus.

Greece also joined in, warning that any attack on Cyprus would constitute an attack on Greece.

“Turkish arrogance and the threats that are launched in a bid to intimidate (and) prevent Cyprus from exploiting its EEZ, call for vigilance and readiness,” Christofias said, during the confirmation of the National Guard’s new vice commander Major General Andreas Petrides. 

Our View: Downer hopes for reunification unconvincing to pragmatists

2011-09-10

THE UN Secretary-General’s special envoy Alexander Downer briefed the UN Security Council about the Cyprus talks in a video-link with New York on Wednesday. Although he avoided making any predictions about the outcome of the talks, he remained upbeat about the prospects of an agreement reunifying Cyprus, “which is certainly within the grasp of the leaders”.

He did not say whether the leaders would reach out to grasp the agreement. For this to happen, “it requires a lot of courage and lot of determination,” he acknowledged, adding that “it is possible.” Downer, like all his predecessors lumbered with the Cyprus talks, has to be optimistic and look on the positive side, but he gave the game away on Wednesday by mentioning what was required for a deal.

Russians expected to provide loan

2011-09-10

FINANCE Minister Kikis Kazamias said yesterday that the government is negotiating a loan with favourable conditions as media reports spoke of some €2.5 billion either from, or set up through, the Russian government to refinance maturing debt and plug a deficit hole.

The minister said talks have been ongoing for several weeks and “we expect to arrive at an agreement soon, provided the proposal will be judged advantageous for the Cypriot side”.

Kazamias stressed that securing the loan would not change government plans to consolidate public finances

“A loan will not solve any fiscal or other problems in the public sector. It simply helps tackle cash flow issues easier,” the minister said.

Teachers and doctors add voice to cut protest

2011-09-10

UNIONS representing government workers yesterday rejected provisions of a second austerity package, whose approval by parliament seems to be essential if Cyprus wants to avoid further downgrades of its economy and the dire effects those would entail.

Secondary school teachers, government doctors and the central government workers union PASYDY, yesterday rejected proposed cuts in their 13th salary and cost of living allowance (CoLA), threatening strike action if the measures are passed.

The government has proposed cutting 13th salaries by 25 per cent and freezing CoLA for two years.

Doctors union PASYKI also rejected plans to cut newcomer pay-scales by 10 per cent and a freeze in promotions in the last 18 months before retirement.

An obligation to remember terrorist attacks of 9/11

2011-09-10

 

THE US Embassy yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against America in a sombre ceremony that paid tribute to those killed and renewed a pledge to fight terrorism.

“We all have an obligation to remember and we all have an obligation to remain united against terrorism. This is why I am here and this is why Cyprus, in its new role now as a member of the EU, continues to join efforts until we eradicate the scourge of terrorism,” Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markoullis said.

More than 3,000 people died that morning, as terrorists crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth aircraft crashed in a field in the state of Pennsylvania.

Immigrants on their own as support group scales back help

2011-09-10

KISA, the immigrant support group, has had to massively scale down its operations because it has run out of cash, its director said yesterday.

The organisation which helps two to three thousand people a year, offering free services and information to asylum seekers and migrants, has announced it will now only be able to deal with absolute emergencies. 

“We have lost all of our permanent staff, and we rely solely on volunteers now,” KISA director Doros Polycarpou said. “For this reason, we are forced to scale down our operations, and we will only handle cases that are extremely serious and extremely urgent.” 

Sand and sea for dogs at last

2011-09-10

DOGS will finally be able to run free along the sand and swim in the sea now that five beaches island wide have been declared dog beaches, following a recent decision by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) beaches committee to finally implement the law.

“The delay was because a lot of local authorities wouldn’t allow it,” said one of the beach committee members, Glafcos Kariolou.

A law was passed in 2003 mandating that each coastal area should have a special strip of coast for dogs but Cyprus has fallen way behind in implementing it because of opposition from local authorities.

The areas designated as dog beaches are the Louma area in Famagusta, Softades in Larnaca, Tsierkezou in Limassol, Ahelia in Paphos and Mansoura in Kato Pyrgos.

CYTA to block child porn websites

2011-09-10

Cyprus Telecom Authority (CYTA) is set to install a new service to combat child pornography online – by blocking the offending sites – by the end of the year.

Working in collaboration with the UK-based web monitoring service, the Internet Watch Foundation, CYTA will automatically block all sites that are known to contain the illegal material.

Head of value added services at CYTA Costas Makris said yesterday: “We are adding the service to try and block illegal content, and in particular, child pornography, and we hope it will be up and running by the end of the year.”

For now, he said, the service would not be used to block file sharing services or sites that illegally distribute other media such as music.

A tipple on a massive scale

2011-09-10

LIMASSOL is now the home of the world’s biggest wineglass after officially receiving the award from the Guinness World Records team on Thursday night.

Measuring 3.37 metres in height and 1.73 metres at its widest point the massive drinking vessel was unveiled during the opening ceremony of Limassol’s annual wine festival. Limassol Mayor Andreas Christou received the Guinness Record certificate from the president of the festival’s organising committee Antonis Hadjipavlou yesterday morning. Christou said he was delighted with the award particularly because Cyprus wine-making dates back so many centuries.

Betting shop explosion

2011-09-10

A high power explosive mechanism was detonated early yesterday morning at a betting shop in Nicosia.

The explosion took place at around 1.45 am and caused extensive damage to the betting shop’s front window, a nearby car’s windscreen and a neighbouring shop’s window. 

Members of the Crime Investigation Department as well as fire men rushed to the scene. 

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.