Syria's Alawites – a secretive and persecuted sect

2012-02-03

The revolt against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, inspired by uprisings which toppled three Arab leaders in 2011, has taken a sectarian slant as most of the protesters trying to topple the president are Sunnis.

Assad is from Syria’s minority Alawite sect and critics say the president has filled senior political and military posts with Alawites to impose his rule through sectarian loyalty.

THE ALAWITE SECT

— Sunnis Muslims make up 74 per cent of Syria’s 22 million population, Alawites 12 per cent, Christians 10 per cent and Druze 3 per cent. Ismailis, Yezidis and a few Jews make up the rest.

— The clannishness, secrecy and tenacity of Syria’s power elite around Assad have deepened Sunni Muslim suspicions about the enigmatic Alawite faith.

Critics outraged at Italian court's rape ruling

2012-02-03

A ruling by Italy’s highest appeals court that said those charged with gang rape do not always have to go to prison while awaiting trial has outraged women’s groups and some politicians who fear it will make rape a “third-class crime”.

The court, ruling on a point of law in the appeal of two 19-year-old men charged with gang raping a 13-year-old girl, said on Thursday that judges could decide on a case-by-case basis whether to prescribe jail, house arrest or other forms of detention such as checking in with police once a day while they were awaiting trial.

Pre-trial custody was previously obligatory for those charged with gang rape while house arrest was permissible in some cases of those charged with rape committed by an individual, particularly a minor.

Iran threatens retaliation over oil embargo

2012-02-03

Iran’s supreme leader threatened on Friday to retaliate against the West for sanctions, a day after a US newspaper said defence secretary Leon Panetta believed Israel was likely to bomb Iran within months to stop it building a nuclear bomb.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s defiant televised speech marking the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution was the first time the top authority has spoken publicly about the impact of the new sanctions, which have strangled the Iranian economy since the start of the year.

Ocean’s Eleven

2012-02-03

Every now and again reports surface about the creation of casinos in Cyprus. Over the past couple of months the frequency of these rumours has increased considerably with various ministers (finance, communications) being quoted and billionaire investors itching to be the first to acquire the much coveted licence.

This goes against our President’s anti-gambling principles who stated a couple of years ago that as long as he is in power there will be no casinos. However an Akel MP (Mouskallis) said around the same time that AKEL will favour the creation of a casino provided the time is right. It appears that the recession, rising unemployment, shortage of liquidity are the pre-requizites for such a venture.

Champions APOEL look for revenge over AEL

2012-02-03

APOEL manager Ivan Jovanovic is hopeful his team can turn the tables on AEL tomorrow afternoon at the Tsirion Stadium after suffering two consecutive 1-0 defeats to the Limassol side this season.

“It will be a very difficult match against a high-standing team. What troubles me is that we have lost the last two matches against them,” said Jovanovic.

“When we played them we showed no composure, but our aim is always to win.”

The Serb revealed that Gustavo Manduca will rejoin the team by the beginning of next week and that Aldo Adorno has a slight injury problem after last weekend’s victory over Apollon, while Helder Souza is suspended.

After a long absence Ailton has begun training and will have a late fitness test before the match.

Stage set for Six Nations kick off

2012-02-03

 

FOUR different champions in as many years underlines the difficulty of predicting a winner in this season’s Six Nations championship starting tomorrow.

“I’m not a regular reader of the odds but I imagine they’re tight because it’s as tight a championship as there’s ever been,” Ireland coach Declan Kidney said at the official Six Nations launch.

“The championship could be decided by points difference. Each match is like a Cup final in its own right.”

The tournament’s format, in which teams hold home advantage for three of their five games on alternate years, is as useful a starting point as any in seeking a potential champion with early indications pointing to a France-Wales finale in Cardiff on March 17.

House takes pot shot at Downer

2012-02-03

THE HOUSE of Representatives adopted a resolution last night accusing UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer of lacking credibility and of hampering the Cyprus negotiations.

It stopped short of calling for the Australian’s replacement however, despite calls by some deputies to do so. 

The resolution, passed by unanimous vote, will be addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It calls for the “restoration of the Special Adviser’s objectivity and reliability.”

“The House of Representatives deems that the lop-sided and damaging statements and actions of the UN Special Adviser diverge from the provisions of the UN Charter and UN Resolutions on Cyprus,” the resolution read.

Fitch downgrades Cypriot banks

2012-02-03

FITCH Ratings has downgraded the Bank of Cyprus (BOC), Marfin Popular Bank (MPB) and Hellenic Bank’s (HB) long-term and short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR), Support Rating Floors (SRF), Support Ratings and Viability Ratings (VR) following the sovereign rating  action taken on Cyprus.

Fitch downgraded BOC, MPB and HB’s long-term IDRs and SRFs to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-‘ and their short-term IDRs to ‘B’ from ‘F3’ and removed them from Rating Watch Negative.

These actions were the direct consequence of Cyprus’ sovereign downgrade last week to a notch shy of junk, as well as Fitch’s reassessment of the potential support available to the banks, the agency said.

Bus strike continues in most areas

2012-02-03

THE bus strike continued in most districts yesterday and was set to continue for a third day today as the government and companies failed to bridge their differences despite intensive talks.

Services resumed in Larnaca yesterday and according to Communications Minister Efthimios Flourentzos Famagusta would follow suit today.

He also said he expected the Nicosia company to have services running today but last night there was no sign that the strike had been called off in the capital.

Differences remained with Limassol and Paphos companies, which were expected to continue with the strike despite successive meetings at the ministry.

Bus drivers went on an indefinite strike because they had not been paid January wages.

Hospital fees could rise

2012-02-03

THE HEALTH Ministry is considering a change in legislation that would introduce increased fees for treatment at state hospitals.

According to news reports yesterday, the bill includes a €10 fee for A&E visits, as well as €0.50 on every pharmaceutical purchased from state pharmacies.

The fees will have to be coughed up by everyone, whether they hold a medical card or not. Furthermore, to register at the hospital, all patients except pensioners will have to pay €5.

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.