US Fifth Fleet ‘won't allow’ Hormuz disruption

2011-12-28

THE US Fifth Fleet said today it would not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran threatened to stop ships moving through the world’s most important oil route.

“Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated,” the Bahrain-based fleet said in an e-mail.

Iran, at loggerheads with the West over its nuclear programme, said on Tuesday it would stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if sanctions were imposed on its crude exports.

Whale sperm and orgasmic feet top 2011 bad science list

2011-12-28

Kate Kelland

FROM whale sperm to colon cleansers to the shape of a woman’s foot when she has an orgasm, celebrities did not disappoint during 2011 with their penchant for peddling suspect science in the world’s media.

In its annual list of what it considers the year’s worst abuses against science, the Sense About Science (SAS) campaign named US reality TV star Nicole Polizzi, Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann and American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro as top offenders, with their dubious views on why the sea is salty, the risks of cervical cancer vaccines and the colon.

Christmas ruined by postal delays

2011-12-28

 

HUNDREDS of people were left without Christmas parcels and letters from abroad over the holiday weekend following unprecedented delays at the post office.

The Postal Services yesterday denied it was their fault, saying the delays were the fault of the British Royal Mail and their counterparts in Greece.  

The head of the service, Andreas Gregoriou said: “For their own reasons, Greece and the UK didn’t manage to pass on letters and parcels on time”.   

“We received a message (from the British Royal Mail) that they were still holding on to mail because there was no way to send it,” Gregoriou said. 

The Royal Mail had said that they could only ensure timely delivery for post sent from the UK by December 12. 

Our View: Why the new-found interest in the human rights of others?

2011-12-28

THE ISRAELI Knesset’s Education and Culture Committee on Monday held a three-hour discussion on the Armenian genocide by the Ottomans, the first-ever public hearing on the issue, which was attended by government officials and representatives of both the Turkish and Armenian communities.

Although no resolution was passed and the session took place despite the Israeli government’s opposition to the motion, members of the Knesset expressed a “moral and historical obligation” to support recognition of the genocide.

The Armenian genocide – in which 1.5 million died – happened in 1915 and Israel has been a state since 1948 so it is legitimate to ask why now, and whether anything will come of this new-found concern for the human rights of others? 

Gas finds significant, Noble says

2011-12-28

 

Cyprus’ Aphrodite Block 12 field contains between 5 trillion and 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, President Demetris Christofias announced today. Noble Energy said the find was ‘significant’.

He said the news was positive and would have advantageous implications for the economy. He also expressed the hope that the find would help the Cyprus peace talks. Christofias said it would also place Cyprus on Europe’s energy map.

Three lost their lives over holiday weekend

2011-12-28

MOST of those who died in road accidents this year would have been saved if they were wearing their seat belt, head of traffic police Demetris Demetriou said yesterday. 

“We had 38 deaths this year and 25 were not wearing their seat belt… I can tell you responsibly and with certainty that 20 of those would be with us today (if they were wearing their seat belt),” Demetriou said. 

Three people died in car accidents over Christmas when the drivers lost control of their cars under unknown circumstances. 

Despite the damage to their cars the driver’s and passenger’s seats were intact so if they had put on their seat belts they might still be alive, Demetriou said. 

Lillikas to come in from political cold with bid for president

2011-12-28

FORMER Foreign Minister George Lillikas is poised to run for President in 2013, local press reports said yesterday.

Daily Politis said Lillikas, lost in the political wilderness for over two years, would be making an announcement soon, perhaps as early as next month.

Lillikas began his political career as an aide to former president George Vasiliou, who came to power in 1988 with the support of communist AKEL. He was later elected MP on an AKEL ticket and appointed Commerce Minister during the Papadopoulos administration in which AKEL was a coalition partner.

He was later appointed Foreign Minister, a post he held until AKEL left the government coalition to run for the presidency with Christofias as its candidate in 2008.

Munitions destruction to be completed April

2011-12-28

THE NEXT phase of the controlled destruction of obsolete munitions has begun and should be completed by April, the Defence Ministry said yesterday.

Authorities here are being advised by experts from the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) on how best to decommission the munitions.

Experts from the UK, US, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and the Conflict Prevention Centre who arrived here last week have inspected the National Guard’s obsolete munitions as well as the sites used for their destruction.

Defence Minister Demetris Eliades said the following phase of controlled destruction should be completed by April.

Economic sentiment down in December

2011-12-28

CYPRUS’ economic sentiment decreased in December, mainly due to the deterioration of the business and consumers’ climate. 

The business climate in Cyprus dropped by 1.7 points in December, compared to November 2011, according to the Economic Research Centre (ERC) of the University of Cyprus, mainly due to the deterioration of the climate in manufacturing and the negative prospects of employment in that sector.

It was also caused by the deterioration of the climate among consumers due to their low expectations with regard to their financial situation and unemployment prospects for the next 12 months.

Many businesses have also negatively evaluated their situation and expect sales to decrease in the next three months.

Police want extra officers for EU presidency

2011-12-28

POLICE chief Michalis Papageorgiou asked the government not to implement a freeze on 152 places in the force that were removed in 2011, in view of Cyprus taking over the EU presidency in July, according to state broadcaster CyBC yesterday.

Papageorgiou was informing MEPs on the preparations of the police for the EU presidency.

“I think on the part of the police if they have the full support of the state which is how it should be, there shouldn’t be any problem,” said MEP Eleni Theocharous.

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.