Turkey acknowledges killing civilians in Iraq strike

2011-12-29

Turkish warplanes killed 35 civilian smugglers in northern Iraq after mistaking them for Kurdish militants, Ankara’s ruling party said today, promising not to allow a cover-up of an incident that threatens to wreck relations with minority Kurds.

The attack, which Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish party called a “crime against humanity”, sparked clashes between hundreds of stone-throwing protesters and police in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s restive, mainly-Kurdish southeast.

The incident threatens to spoil efforts to forge Turkish-Kurdish consensus for a planned new constitution expected to partly address the issue of rights for the Kurdish minority.

Iran warns US over Strait Of Hormuz

2011-12-29

A SENIOR Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said today the United States was not in a position to tell Tehran “what to do in the Strait of Hormuz”, state television reported, after the US said it would preserve oil shipments in the Gulf.

Tehran’s threat to block traffic through the crucial passage for Middle Eastern crude suppliers followed the European Union’s decision to tighten sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, as well as accompanying moves by the United States to tighten unilateral sanctions.

Iran’s English-language Press TV quoted Hossein Salami as saying: “Any threat will be responded by threat … We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran’s vital interests are undermined by any means.”

Anti-whaling protest ship in Southern Ocean distress

2011-12-29

Anti-whaling organisation Sea Shepherd said one of its boats chasing the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean had issued a distress call after its hull was cracked by a rogue wave.

Sea Shepherd flagship the Steve Irwin was fighting heavy seas to help rescue the damaged Brigitte Bardot chase boat and is expected to take 17 hours to reach it, Sea Shepherd founder Captain Paul Watson said today.

“This is disappointing, but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared for situations like this,” said Watson via satellite telephone from the Steve Irwin.

“Right now the safety of my crew on the Brigitte Bardot is our priority and we intend to reach the crew and then do what we can to save our ship.”

Carroll in the spotlight against former side Newcastle

2011-12-29

LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish has backed Andy Carroll to put his lean spell behind him as the Anfield club prepare for Friday’s Premier League match against the mis-firing striker’s former side Newcastle United.

Gas find worth ‘tens of billions’, minister says

2011-12-29

 

CYPRUS HAS approximately €100 billion worth of natural gas that will satisfy its electricity production needs for 210 years, said Commerce Minister Praxoulla Antoniadou yesterday.

Antoniadou was speaking only hours after President Demetris Christofias officially announced that Noble Energy had discovered between 5 trillion and 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas in the Block 12 Aphrodite field.

Christofias called the find “historic”, while Noble said it was “excited” about the “significant” find.

Our View: Will the gas find prove a curse or a blessing?

2011-12-29

 

THE ANNOUNCEMENT yesterday of some seven trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Block 12 was indeed good news for Cyprus. 

Not only does it mean securing energy supplies for decades, it will give a boost to the economy. It also paves the way for more to come in the form additional licences for adjacent blocks, for which there should now be even more interest.

‘An historic day for Cyprus’

2011-12-29

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias said yesterday was an historic day for Cyprus after announcing that Block 12 contained an estimated 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

Based on the exploratory drill by US based Noble Energy  the prospect, which lies south of the island, contains a gross mean of 7 tcf of gas, Christofias said in a statement live on television.

“The discovery of natural gas in the exclusive economic zone of our country opens great potential for Cyprus and its people, which with prudence and in a spirit of collectiveness we will utilise in the service of public interest,” Christofias said.

Investment ‘bigger than Qatari project’

2011-12-29

A FOREIGN investor is “seriously” considering making a “huge” investment in a large tourism project in Cyprus that will be “much bigger” in scale than the Qatari-Cyprus hotel complex earmarked for the capital, said Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias yesterday. 

Kazamias accompanied the foreign investor to a meeting with President Demetris Christofias yesterday at the presidential palace. 

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kazamias refused to divulge the potential investor’s identity.

“This potential investment is both large and serious and concerns the possibility for an investment in any location deemed appropriate for the construction industry and which would boost our tourist product,” he said.

‘Sudden arrival of 1,000 postal sacks’

2011-12-29

AROUND 1,000 postal sacks have arrived to Larnaca from the UK carrying letters and parcels sent in December and should be delivered to people by tomorrow, the head of postal services Andreas Gregoriou said yesterday. 

The sacks contain letters and parcels sent between December 6 and December 20 and the postal service is “getting organised so we can adequately respond to the accumulated bulk,” Gregoriou said. 

Airport charges slashed

2011-12-29

NEW INCENTIVES for airlines to boost tourism, including a reduction in landing fees, could bring in an extra 400,000 visitors next year and increase revenue by €400 million, it was revealed yesterday.

The initiative also includes a plan to boost winter tourism, expansion into new destinations, and an incentive for airlines that pledge to use either of the island’s airports for at least five years.

The incentives are to come into force immediately, Communications and Works Minister Efthymios Flourentzos said at a news conference yesterday after signing the deal with Hermes Airports.

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.