Christofias; I’m fed up of being attacked

2011-10-08

 

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias said yesterday he was fed up with the attacks launched against him by the parties, reiterating that he would not step down before the end of his term.

All parties, apart from ruling AKEL, are demanding Christofias’ resignation following the findings of an inquiry that found him personally responsible for the July 11 naval base that killed 13 men and incapacitated the island’s main power station. 

Our View: Change to refugee law is grossly unfair to those who are truly in need

2011-10-08

THE INTERIOR ministry has prepared a bill that would make the offspring of refugee mothers eligible to apply to the government’s housing schemes. The bill satisfies the old demand by refugee mothers, for their children to be regarded refugees by the state when it comes to applying for housing assistance. 

Presenting the bills on Thursday, Interior minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said that the bills would put an end to “an incredible anachronism and unforgivable discrimination against the women of Cyprus, created by the decisions of previous governments”. He is right that the previous arrangement, which recognised only the offspring of males as refugees, was blatantly discriminatory, but this is not the real issue.

A fleet of ambulances but still no paramedics

2011-10-08

 

CYPRUS’ emergency services may have procured a fleet of new ambulances, but there will be no qualified paramedics to man them for least a year it emerged yesterday.

In the meantime, the 33-strong fleet of government ambulances – due to increase to 41 next year – will continue to be staffed by non-medically trained drivers and duty nurses.

“There are no paramedics yet” said ambulance service head Andreas Kouppis, adding: “The paramedic training course begins on Monday and lasts one year.”

Kouppis said that during the course, paramedic students would receive training on the job and learn about a range of emergency service related topics, such as pharmacology, communications and roadside treatments.

More people seeking help on cybercrime

2011-10-08

 

CYBERCRIME has become a daily occurrence in Cyprus and society is gradually familiarising itself with the idea of seeking help for internet protection, according to the Cyprus Neuroscience and Technology Institute (CNTI); operator of the project CyberEthics. 

Out of the 48 cases of people calling the CyberEthics helpline between July 2009 and August 2011; forty occurred between September 2010 and September 2011.

“This clearly shows that Cypriot culture is slowly changing” said Iliada Spyrou, coordinator of the CyberEthics helpline. “It is no longer strange to call up for help regarding the internet, no matter how trivial the question may be.”

‘Road safety…it’s not a game’

2011-10-08

 

FATAL ROAD deaths are on a second all-time low this year, since the inception of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, with 63 deaths following last year’s record-breaking lowest-ever figure of 60 deaths. 

Speaking at a press conference launching the 12th annual Road Safety Week, police chief Michalis Papageorgiou said that it was the police’s intention to return to last year’s low figures and even try and improve.

Traffic-related deaths have been on the decline since 1994 and a steady decreasing trend had characterised the last four years. The success has been widely credited to the low tolerance shown by the police force to wrongdoers, while traffic police have elevated the prevention of fatal road accidents to its number one priority. 

Old Larnaca airport being dismantled

2011-10-08

 

CONSTRUCTION works have started on the development of the old Larnaca terminal, amidst speculation about the possible erection of a shopping mall or a hotel complex.

Hermes Airports, the company that manages the old terminal, has yet to decide on how it will use the buildings already in place, but clarified that there would be no rash decisions made.

“We are still at the stage of contemplating and evaluating different ideas on whether to use the airport’s complex in its entirety or merely sections of it” said Adamos Aspris, Hermes Airports’ public relations and communication manager.

“Sending in the bulldozers to flatten the whole area is definitely not an option though” said Aspris.

Asylum numbers still falling

2011-10-08

 

THE NUMBER of illegal immigrants coming in from the north has dropped significantly,  Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said yesterday.

Sylikiotis was speaking at a seminar entitled ‘The new Mediterranean reality of the EU: Immigration and Asylum in Cyprus, Malta and Greece” in Nicosia.

He said that in July 2011, the number of cases pending at the Asylum Service was down to 909 while in 2005 the number of applications was 11,500.

A total of 1,703 appeals were pending at the Refugee Reviewing Authority while in 2009, this number was 3,507, he added.

Pourgourides asks for home support on Human Rights post

2011-10-08

 

THE EUROPEAN People’s Party (EPP) is backing former DISY deputy Christos Pourgourides for the position of Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner but he is still waiting for his own government’s support, he said yesterday. 

Pourgourides told CyBC’s Trito programme that he had the explicit support of a number of high profile people within the European Union. 

“The Italian Foreign Minister (Franco Frattini) who coordinates the European Foreign Ministers belonging to the EPP has sent a letter to all his colleagues asking them to instruct (their members) to support me,” he said. 

STOA still awaiting loudspeaker licence

2011-10-08

 

THE STOA entertainment complex in Nicosia’s old town is still awaiting permission to turn on its loudspeakers, nearly three months after its owner was jailed for violating a court order banning their use.

Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou, who welcomed the complex’s completion in September 2009, confirmed yesterday that the permits were still awaiting approval by the Nicosia District Office, which is separate from the municipality. 

“They have submitted some studies and proposals and at the same time applied for a license to use music and loudspeakers.” Mavrou said.

“This comes from the district office, not us, but we have been invited to comment. Some measures still need to be taken and we are in contact with their architect and sound specialist.”

Soldiers beat up driving instructor after he failed one of them

2011-10-08

 

TWO 18-year-old conscripts beat up a Paphos driving examiner, sending him to hospital, because he failed one of them, police said yesterday.

The incident happened on Thursday afternoon, a couple of hours after the 27-year-old examiner failed one of the suspects who made a series of mistakes during his driving test.

Police said the 27-year-old had been intercepted by the two suspects on a main Paphos road while testing another driver.

“They got out of the car, approached the examiner and demanded from him to issue a driver’s licence,” police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said.

The examiner tried to calm the youths down, explaining that he could not breach procedures.

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.