UK gets cold shoulder in EU insurance talks

2012-01-13

Britain has received a chilly reception in talks to shape new European Union capital rules for insurers as payback for Prime Minister David Cameron’s veto last month on a plan to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, insurance and EU sources said.

Britain’s isolation is making it harder for it to influence key aspects of the so-called Solvency II capital regime, potentially putting its insurance industry, Europe’s biggest, at a competitive disadvantage.

“It is a bit harder to get stuff done around Solvency II since the veto,” said a Brussels-based industry source.

“There’s a heightened sense of not wanting to do any special favours for the UK.”

Russian tanker reaches ice-bound Alaskan port

2012-01-13

A Russian tanker escorted by the US Coast Guard reached the frozen Alaskan port of Nome with emergency fuel supplies today after a 10-day voyage through ice-choked seas, the Russian company that owns the vessel said.

The mission to Nome is the first mid-winter marine delivery to western Alaska and comes as oil and gas development and climate change increase commercial traffic along trade routes in the Arctic.

The Russian ship, the Renda, got an exemption last month from US maritime law for the journey after the city of 3,600 missed its final scheduled barge delivery before winter when one of the worst storms in decades swept the northwest coastal town.

US to withdraw two brigades from Europe, Panetta says

2012-01-13

THE Pentagon will withdraw two brigade combat teams from Europe as part of an effort to slash $487 billion in spending over the next decade, but will maintain a strong presence by rotating units in and out of the region, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said.

Panetta told the Defense Department press service in an interview that the two brigade combat teams being withdrawn by the Army would be replaced by rotational units.

A brigade combat team usually has about 3,000 to 5,000 personnel, depending on makeup. Four brigade combat teams are currently stationed in Europe – three in Germany and one in Italy.

Saudi King replaces head of morality police

2012-01-13

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah today replaced the head of the country’s morality police, which enforces compliance to Sharia law, at a time when some Saudis have complained that it is growing more aggressive.

No reason was given for replacing Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Humain with SheikhAbdulatif Al al-Sheikh in the royal decree, which was announced on the state news agency.

The morality police force is known formally as the organisation for the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice.

Its officers patrol the country’s streets making sure shops are closed at prayer times, that people are modestly dressed, and strict gender segregation is observed.

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2012-01-13

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2012-01-13

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Baghdatis crashes out in Sydney International semis

2012-01-13

MARCOS Baghdatis today crashed out of the Sydney International after losing 6-4 6-4 to French journeyman Julien Benneteau in the semi final round.

The 39 year old Benneteau, ranked 49 in the world, won the match in two hours, in which Baghdatis failed to deploy the strong serves and backhand shots that secured his quarter final victory agaisnt Del Potro.

Benneteau now faces Finnish qualifier Jarkko Nieminen, who beat Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 7-6 6-3 in the first semi-final on Friday.

Asked about his performance, Nieminen said he had been overmatched in most of his title games and that his poor record was not a concern.

Hundreds delayed at Larnaca airport

2012-01-13

 

HUNDREDS of passengers were stranded at Larnaca airport yesterday when the traffic control centre was left with no personnel to issue flight plans for departing flights.

The disruption, which was initially erroneously attributed to a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers, lasted four hours, from 3pm to 7pm.

Because no Assistant Officers were on duty at Tower Control – their job is to issue flight plans for departing flights – departures were suspended during this time. They resumed after 7pm.

Air traffic controllers continued to direct incoming flights.

In addition to the departures directly affected (CY406 to Sofia, CY336 and CY348 to Athens, CY426 to Thessaloniki, CY326 to London), six to seven arrivals were delayed.

Paphos burglaries ‘worrying’ police

2012-01-13

THE NUMBER of burglaries in Paphos last year numbered almost 500, more than any other town, and although the figure was only 25 higher than 2010, the rise was worrying, police said yesterday.

So far this year there have been ten. 

Police warned residents in the coastal town to be vigilant in securing properties and taking measures to combat the phenomena.

Paphos police spokesman Nicos Tsapis told the Cyprus Mail:” The increase in the number of reported cases of burglaries in 2011 was small – but it has increased slightly.”

Munitions ship ends up in Syria

2012-01-13

THE RUSSIAN-owned ship allowed to leave Limassol harbour carrying “dangerous cargo” on the condition it would sail to Turkey ended up in Syria yesterday, its original destination, according to Turkish media reports.  

Turkish media reported that the Chariot cargo ship arrived at Tarsus port in Syria at 11am yesterday after leaving the Limassol harbour area at around midday on Wednesday, supposedly for Iskenderun port in Turkey.

The ship, owned by the Russian-based shipping company Westberg Ltd, left St Petersburg on December 9, 2011, sailing for Latakia port in Syria. 

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.