Scottish leader turns to poet for referendum backing

2012-01-25

Scotland’s nationalist leader Alex Salmond marked Burns Night on Wednesday, when Scots toast their national poet, by unveiling his plans for an independence referendum in defiance of British government proposals.

Salmond compared Scotland’s path to independence to Robert Burns’ transformation in the 18th century from a simple ploughman to a literary legend as he set out plans for a vote in late 2014 on ending Scotland’s 300-year union with England.

“The people who live in Scotland are the best people to make decisions about their own future. Of that there can be no doubt,” Salmond told the devolved Scottish parliament.

Mixed reviews for Obama speech among Davos mighty

2012-01-25

The rich and powerful of the world were divided at their annual huddle on Wednesday over Barack Obama’s threat to raise their taxes, with some saying policies that go after the wealthy will hurt growth, but others saying Obama was right to address capitalism’s imbalances.

Obama’s State of the Union address focussed on channelling middle class anger at inequality, including a call for a 30 per cent minimum tax on millionaires that could make the wealth of Republican rival Mitt Romney a central election issue.

UN chief urges leaders to make decisive steps towards solution

2012-01-25

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has urged the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus to make decisive steps towards a final agreement on the Cyprus problem, noting that at this state of the talks, to maintain the momentum and continue negotiations, even in an intensive manner, is not enough.

Djokovic survives streetfight as Murray cruises into semis

2012-01-25

 

CHAMPION Novak Djokovic survived an energy-sapping streetfight with David Ferrer and Andy Murray cut Kei Nishikori down to size to reach the Australian Open semi-finals yesterday.

Leading 2-1 in the second set of his quarter-final against the Spaniard, Djokovic lurched awkwardly when chasing a ball to defend a break point, and grimaced in pain as he clutched his left leg.

Walking gingerly between points but still in full flight during play, the world number one survived a pulsating second set and stunned Ferrer by taking an early break in the third.

Murray cruises past Nishikori and into the Australian Open semis

2012-01-25

 

A ruthless Andy Murray ended Kei Nishikori’s brilliant run at the Australian Open on Wednesday, carving up the Japanese with a dominant 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory to stroll into his third successive semi-final at Melbourne Park.

Nishikori, the first Japanese man through to the last eight in Melbourne for 80 years, won support from kimono-clad fans as the underdog at sun-bathed Rod Laver Arena, but left with his tail between his legs after a two-hour 12-minute spanking.

While serving appallingly and rarely setting the court alight, Murray assumed control from the outset, exploiting the flashy Japanese’s comparative lack of height with lobs and running him around the court to distraction.

Former ministers face manslaughter and negligence charges for Mari naval base blast

2012-01-25

TWO former ministers and six army and fire service offices were yesterday charged with manslaughter in connection with last year’s naval base blast, which killed 13 people and crippled Cyprus’ main power station.

Former ministers of defence and foreign affairs Costas Papacostas and Marcos Kyprianou were charged with manslaughter and causing death through a negligent act for their involvement in the events leading up to the July 11 explosion at the Evangelos Florakis naval base, which killed seven sailors and six firemen.

Our View: Is government at last forming policy for natural gas?

2012-01-25

NEWS that AKEL had drafted a bill liberalising the natural gas market came as a big surprise. The communist party has never made a secret of its dislike for the free market while always subscribing to the idea of a big interventionist state. This is the party for which privatisation is anathema because it diminishes state control and the influence of the politicians.

So why has the party drafted a bill that goes against its ideology so blatantly? The motives for this volte face must be political rather than economic even though they are unclear. AKEL is the last party we would have expected to amend the 2007 law that created a natural gas monopoly for DEFA (Natural Gas Public Company), a corporation owned by the state and Electricity Authority (EAC). 

Burglaries, drug cases up, illegal immigrants down

2012-01-25

SERIOUS CRIME remained at relatively unchanged in 2011 compared to the previous year, while the detection rate dropped slightly, police chief Michalis Papageorgiou said yesterday, saying the main increase was recorded in the number of burglaries.

Presenting crime and detection statistics for 2011, Papageorgiou said there was a “slight increase” of 0.5 per cent between 2010 and 2011 in cases of serious crime. Specifically, 8,387 cases were reported in 2010 of which 4,463 (53.2 per cent) were solved. In 2011, there were 8,430 reported cases of which 4,243 (50.3 per cent) were solved.

“Many of these cases are still under investigation and the detection rate will likely improve,” he said.

Fanieros walks free after witnesses retract testimonies

2012-01-25

LARNACA businessman Antonis Fanieros was yesterday let free on the advice of the Attorney-general’s office after three prosecution witnesses retracted their testimonies on the first day of his trial.

Police chief Michalis Papageorgiou called the development “a failure of the system”. 

Fanieros, 67, was arrested during a police raid on September 23 and formally charged on October 10.

Three others were also facing charges: Costantinos Hadjiantonis, Andreas Charalambous and Neophytos Moleskis. All but the latter were held in custody until trial facing 28 charges including arson, participation in a criminal organisation and extortion allegedly committed between 2010 and 2011.

Costs of President’s travel need more scrutiny

2012-01-25

THE HOUSE Finance Committee has asked the government for detailed cost information before releasing the remaining €300,000 allocated in the 2012 budget to cover the cost of the President’s air travel.

The budget item for the needs of the Office of the President includes €370,000 for the head of state’s air travels.

Some €70,000 were released earlier this month for a flash trip by President Christofias to Copenhagen. This amount had been released upfront on parliament’s approval of the budget.

Parliament withheld the remainder of the budget item for the rest of the year.

Since 2010 the President has been using a private jet for some of his overseas travels, following an agreement between the government and NetJet.

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.