Fined for misleading internet fee

2012-01-16

THE competition watchdog has fined a company €50,000 for misleading consumers into subscribing to its services for a fee when they thought they were taking part in an internet competition.

The Competition Commission (CPC) ruled that Netsmart (Cyprus) Limited had violated the unfair trade practices law by giving consumers the impression they were taking part in a competition when “in reality its commercial pursuit was to register consumers to its subscription service with a €9.85 weekly charge,” an official announcement said.

The ad on the internet asked consumers to participate in a competition for an Adidas coupon worth €450.

They were required to answer one question correctly and were given three options, which were all correct.

Denktash funeral tomorrow

2012-01-16

FORMER Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash will be buried tomorrow at ‘Cumhuriyet {Republic] Park’ in the north of Nicosia, Turkish press reported today.

Kibris newspaper said the decision was made by Denktash’s family yesterday. The grave of the former Turkish Cypriot leader who died on Friday aged 88, will be located opposite Burhan Nalbantoglu hospital 150 metres south of a monument commemorating the terrorist TMT group of which Denktash was a foundering member.

The ‘minister of public works and transport’, Ersan Saner said that a monument to Denktash would also be built, and that work would begin after the funeral.

Reservoir overflow after heavy rain

2012-01-16

ARGAKAS reservoir in Paphos overflowed on Sunday afternoon due to the recent heavy rainfall with Pomos predicted to follow suit, according to the Water Development Department’s head Kyriacos Kyrou.

Water levels at Asprokremmos – the island’s second largest reservoir – and Kannaviou also in Paphos are also extremely high, and just last week Xyliatos and Klirou reservoirs in Nicosia district also overflowed.

“At the moment the amount of water stored in the reservoirs is at 149 million cubic metres, bringing them to 51.2 per cent of their total capacity,” Kyrou said yesterday, adding that this is higher than last year’s total capacity at 48.1 per cent.

The Argakas dam has a capacity of just 990,000 cubic metres and overflowed last March.

Rescue on Italian cruise ship halted

2012-01-16

 

Italian rescuers suspended efforts to find survivors on Monday as the hulk of a giant cruise liner slipped in worsening weather on the steep rocky underwater slope on which it is lodged off Italy’s west coast.

Earlier they recovered a sixth body from the 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia, which was holed by a reef on Friday night and rolled onto its side just off the coast of the picturesque island of Giglio. In addition to the six known to have died, officials say 16 of the 4,200 passengers and crew are missing.

The vessel’s captain, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on Saturday and has been accused of manslaughter and abandoning his ship before all those on board were evacuated.

IELTS English language class…

2012-01-16

IELTS English language class, with TOEFL qualified native speaker, at the Cornaro Institute, Larnaca. For university entrance, work or for fun. Starts 24 January for 10 weeks, €150. Call Angela on 2425 4042.

Bomb hoax halts CyBC live broadcast

2012-01-16

A bomb threat that proved to be a hoax interrupted live radio and television shows at state broadcaster CyBC for around three hours today.

Staff were evacuated at around 1.30 pm after an unknown individual called in a bomb threat.

Police searched the broadcaster’s installations and gave the all clear some three hours later.

 

Baghdatis breezes past Becker in Melbourne opener

2012-01-16

MARCOS Baghdatis overcame Benjamin Becker  6-1, 7-6(5), 6-2 yesterday at Melbourne Park in the opening round of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open.

The Cypriot, who reached the semi-finals in Sydney last week, entered the match as the favourite against the experienced German, who lost in the second round of the Australian Open last year and did not take part in any other Grand Slam last season.

Baghdatis, 26, justified his billing as he broke Becker three times on his way to taking the opening set after 28 minutes.

The Limassol native then continued to build on his quality performance in the second set and, after another quick break of serve, he took a 4-2 lead.

Emirates and Mauritius join forces to promote the destination worldwide

2012-01-16

Emirates and the Mauritius Ministry of Tourism signed an agreement aimed at jointly promoting the island destination across the airline’s global network. Emirates and Mauritius will engage in the development of a series of joint activities to increase the visibility and awareness around the 100 plus destinations to which the airline flies.   

“The island of Mauritius is a great product and constitutes an important destination amidst our network,” said Mr Al Mualla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations for West Asia and Indian Ocean. “We strongly believe in its potential and our regular increases in frequencies on this route demonstrate that our promotion strategy is the right one and is bringing concrete results.”   

Omonia go clear after winning top of the table clash

2012-01-16

OMONIA assistant manager Sophocles Sophocleous has said that his players perfectly executed their game plan in a 3-0 victory over AEL at the Tsirion Stadium in Limassol over the weekend which saw the Nicosia giants go clear at the top of the table

“We played a great game in which our players did exactly what they needed to do to win. They were all focused and I believe that they fully deserved this victory,” said Sophocleous.

“I want to congratulate them as they put in a tremendous effort and played smart to get the desired result. We celebrated after the game, but will now prepare for the next game.

“This victory is dedicated to our fans who followed us and made a real difference in helping our players get the win,” he concluded.

Thirteen die in Lebanese building collapse

2012-01-16

Thirteen people were killed when a residential building collapsed in Beirut and rescue workers were searching this morning for people believed still buried under the rubble, Lebanese officials said.

The five-storey building collapsed in the Ashrafiyeh district of the Lebanese capital last night. The victims included Lebanese and Sudanese nationals.

“We are hoping to find people alive. There are still some missing,” Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told LBC television.

Twelve people were being treated in hospital, he added.

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.