‘A win of this magnitude has brought APOEL great joy’

2011-09-14

AS optimistic football supporters go, APOEL fans are certainly right up there. 

They always seem to have a deep-lying belief that their team can go beyond even the most unreasonable expectations and at times even expect them to do the unexpected. 

Despite not being drawn against European giants such as Barcelona, Manchester United or AC Milan, even the most optimistic APOEL supporter would not have expected their side to sit proudly joint top of Group G with former Champions League winners Porto after the opening round of games on Tuesday, ahead of experienced European campaigners Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St Petersburg. 

Mari firefighters were unaware of explosives

2011-09-14

 

FIRE FIGHTERS who were first to arrive on the scene of the July 11 Mari blast and were subsequently killed by it were sent in without knowing they were dealing with explosives, the father of one of them told an inquiry yesterday, blaming the service’s leadership for the deaths.

Michalis Theofilou, a senior officer in the fire service himself, said the chief of the service, the deputy chief and the head of a special rescue unit EMAK knew of the risks posed by the 98 containers filled with munitions that exploded but failed to inform anyone prior to the incident at the Evangelos Florakis naval base.

Theofilou’s son Panayiotis was among six fire fighters belonging to EMAK who died in the blast, along with seven sailors.

Our View: Russian loan may commit us to a less than desirable economic course

2011-09-14

THE GOVERNMENT has staunchly defended its decision to secure a €2.5-billion loan from the Russian Federation that would help it meet its financial obligations at the start of next year. It saw this as a perfectly reasonable decision, especially as the interest that would be charged by the Russian government would be only 4.5 per cent.

Not even Cyprus’ financial institutions were prepared to lend money to the government at such low interest. When it borrowed money locally a couple of months ago, it paid an interest of six per cent. In the secondary market Cyprus government bonds are trading with a yield in excess of 11 per cent, which is the reason the government cannot borrow from international markets. 

Historical victory for APOEL in UEFA Champions League

2011-09-14

APOEL FC recovered from a goal down to beat the Russian outfit Zenit St. Petersburg 2-1 on the opening match day of the UEFA Champions League Group G last night at the sold out GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

Zenit striker Danny had the first opportunity of the game on a humid night in the Cypriot capital, but he was well stopped by Savvas Poursaitides. Despite the slow start it was the home team that knocked the ball around with greater confidence in the early stages with Ivan Trickovski inspiring APOEL’s attack. 

The domination continued throughout the first half of an hour as the hosts enjoyed 58 per cent possession. Unfortunately for the home fans there were no goals in the first half as their team failed to convert on a couple of occasions.

‘I tried to warn of the dangers’

2011-09-14

THE former chief of the National Guard said yesterday he did what he could to warn of the dangers posed by a munitions cargo that blew up killing 13 men but did not assume any responsibility for the July 11 incident, which also incapacitated the island’s main power station.

Retired lieutenant general Petros Tsalikidis, who resigned hours after the blast at the Evangelos Florakis naval base, also voiced his displeasure at President Demetris Christofias assigning part of the blame on him during his testimony at the same inquiry on September 5.

“I do not accept and categorically deny this claim,” Tsalikidis told the inquiry. “I noted the dangers posed by storing the containers at the naval base from the first month I assumed my duties as National Guard commander.”

Asylum seeker alleges police beating

2011-09-14

 

AN EGYPTIAN asylum seeker yesterday claimed he had been brutally assaulted by the Limassol police, who also subjected him to racial abuse following a mix up over an arrest.

Moenes Adel Fouad, an Egyptian Christian who has sought asylum in Cyprus for the past eight years, was called in for questioning at the Ayios Ioannis police station on September 3 after a wallet was stolen from a car parked near to his.

Fouad, who was accompanied by his wife, Geraldine Adan, and their child, waited for an hour at the station before the victim of the crime arrived, and said Fouad was not the culprit.

At this point Fouad’s and police accounts of the incident diverge.

Yerolakkos refugee seeks to return to be buried

2011-09-14

 

A GREEK Cypriot retired accountant and politician could become the first granted permission by Turkish Cypriot authorities to be buried in the north, it emerged this week.

Spyros Hadjigregoriou, 79, prior to 1974, Yerolakkos resident wrote to the United Nations for help in arranging his burial.

“In the letter I requested they use their good offices to get permission to bury me in the village,” Hadjigregoriou said.

The UN immediately forwarded his request to the Turkish Cypriot authorities who contacted Hadjigregoriou.

“I met with the Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign ministry’, and they asked me immediately for my personal views,” he said, adding: “they were very polite and they saw it as a human problem.”

The ‘Indignant’ say they will fight on

2011-09-14

PROTESTORS who have taken part in repeated demonstrations outside the presidential palace since the deadly Mari blast in July yesterday said they would carry on despite a disappointing turn out on Monday night.

“There’s no chance that we’re going to stop the protests, I can’t put it more simply than that,” said Costas Tsangarides, a member of the ‘Indignant’ protestors.

Tsangarides made clear that they will not stop until justice is achieved for the 13 killed in the July 11 naval base blast. On Monday night around 4,000 people gathered to demand justice even though organisers had hoped the number would reach 15,000.

No breakthrough seen in austerity talks

2011-09-14

NEGOTIATIONS on a second package of austerity measures look set to go to the wire as a new round of meetings between the finance minister and unions ended inconclusively yesterday. 

Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias met trade unions SEK, PEO and PASYDY for over two hours, the second time in two days he met unions to discuss the second batch of measures due to be tabled before parliament tomorrow.

State broadcaster CyBC reported last night that no agreement was reached between the government and unions on further measures to deepen fiscal consolidation of public finances. However, another meeting has been set with the minister for this morning, after union leaders get the chance to discuss the proposals raised last night with their members today. 

Paphos hoping to draw more Russian tourists this winter

2011-09-14

TOURISM officials from Paphos will visit Russia next week to attend a travel exhibition with the aim of attracting more Russian visitors to the town next season.

While Paphos regional tourism board head Nassos Hadjigeorgiou stressed that UK tourists are still the coastal town’s primary market, he underlined the need to cover the gap left by falling tourist arrivals.

“We are not abandoning the British market in any way and we are still focusing on them, but there is a continuing trend of reductions in the numbers of arrivals from the UK market and we must try to cover this deficit with visitors from other markets,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

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.