Manchester United rescue point at Anfield with late goal

2011-10-15

Liverpool 1 Manchester United 1

It may not have lived up to Sir Alex Ferguson’s billing as the greatest match-up in English football but Liverpool’s draw at home to Manchester United was typically not without incident.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was denied a dream return to the starting line-up when his free-kick midway through the second half was cancelled out by substitute Javier Hernandez’s late header.

The England international put seven months of rehabilitation behind him after a groin operation in March by capping an assured performance in midfield with the goal which looked like extending his side’s home dominance over their arch-rivals.

Wales World cup dreams dashed by France

2011-10-15

France held on to reach the World Cup final on Saturday with a dramatic 9-8 victory over a brave Wales team forced to play three quarters of the game with 14 men after their captain Sam Warburton was sent off.

Flanker Warburton was shown the red card in the 18th minute for a spear tackle on France winger Vincent Clerc, giving the French a huge advantage in their bid to reach a third World Cup final.

France made heavy weather of it but ultimately three penalties from the boot of flyhalf Morgan Parra and a huge defensive effort were enough to set up a final back at Eden Park next week against hosts New Zealand or Australia, who meet in the second semi-final on Sunday.

Doctors warn patients will foot new VAT bill

2011-10-15

 

DOCTORS yesterday warned that the government’s intention to introduce a 5.0 per cent VAT on medical services would end up with patients footing the bill.

This “on one hand will deal a blow to the already ailing private sector and also force patients to resort to state hospitals with all the consequences that would entail,” the medical association said.

State facilities are already seeing a rise of around 30 per cent in the number of patients, believed to be the result of the economic crisis.

The association said other ways must be found to reinforce state finances and that taxing medical services should be avoided.

“We consider this intention unfair and misplaced and we want to believe there will be second thoughts,” the association said.

Our View: A less than flattering picture of the medical profession

2011-10-15

IT HAS not been a good week for the medical profession. The Auditor General’s report, discussed at the legislature on Tuesday, noted that some doctors at state hospitals were doubling their annual pay through over-time work. The suggestion was that they were scheduling work, which could have been done in normal hours, in the afternoons and at weekends in order to claim overtime. Result was that some doctors were doubling their pay, taking home €200,000 a year.

Former finance minister remanded in the north

2011-10-15

 

FORMER finance minister and member of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team Michalis Sarris was remanded in custody yesterday by a Turkish Cypriot court in connection with alleged sexual offences. 

According to police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, police were informed that 65-year-old Sarris was detained by Turkish Cypriot police on Thursday night and remanded in custody for three days by a court in the occupied part of Nicosia yesterday. 

Katsounotos told reporters that police were informed of the incident by the Greek Cypriot member of the bicommunal committee on crime. 

Boy 13, nabbed driving with grandpa in tow

2011-10-15

POLICE revealed yesterday that so far this year, they had caught a whopping 281 drivers under the age of 17, among them 29 of whom were under 14.

The revelation came after the latest incident in which a 13-year-old boy was nabbed yesterday driving a car in Avgorou with his grandfather, 62 as a passenger.

He was caught when members of the police’s special motorcycle squad spotted him. His grandfather was sitting in the passenger seat. 

The incident was made more startling by the fact that it took place during the police’s much publicised Road Safety Week.

Police called in on doctors’ scandal

2011-10-15

A POLICE investigation is under way, to acquire the footage of Wednesday’s TV programme ‘60 minutes’, which detailed allegations of bribery of certain doctors in public hospitals.

TV station Sigma’s investigative programme, broadcasted footage of doctors receiving money on the side in exchange for placing patients higher up on the surgery waiting list.

The footage, which was taken from hidden cameras, also exposed certain doctors working privately in the afternoons to facilitate the irregular transactions.

Speaking at a current affairs programme on the radio, police spokesman, Michalis Katsounotos clarified that the request or acceptance of extra money for favourable treatment constitutes a criminal offence.

More austerity on the cards

2011-10-15

FINANCE Minister Kikis Kazamias yesterday warned that more austerity measures would be put in place if necessary and urged the opposition to approve the 2012 budget because the losers at the end of the day would be the country and its people.

Kazamias said the budget, submitted to parliament on Thursday, was quite conservative in contrast to the two previous years.

“It is an honest budget associated with reality,” the minister said, adding that confrontation over the economy would not earn anyone any political profit.

Christofias Aid – singers for solidarity

2011-10-15

AROUND 33 Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and Greek musicians will come together for a solidarity gig in Nicosia next Monday 24.

The concert will be he held on the D’Avilla bastion and has been organised by the Cultural Movement with the aim of fostering social and political solidarity and because, as event organiser Andreas Chrysanthou said: “The situation in Cyprus is very sad… and we have decided to take action in this historic period to unite people together.”

He said that there are a lot of diverging opinions and political conflicts now, but with the economic crisis, imminent EU presidency, gas exploration, the Cyprus problem and turmoil following the Mari naval blast, solidarity was vitally important.

Christofias: I will be going to New York

2011-10-15

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday insisted that the slated meeting in New York at the end of the month with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will go ahead despite the political pressure he has been under at home to postpone it.

“I state very clearly that we will go to New York,” Christofias said in statements after the meeting he held earlier yesterday with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis  Eroglu.

Asked to comment on the meeting, and any possible progress, Christofias said: “We are very close on the issue of the parliament.”

He noted however that there were still pending issues with regard to the chapter of governance on which there is a shift on the position by the Turkish Cypriot side.

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.