Malzieu inspires France to 30-12 win over Italy

2012-02-04

Julien Malzieu scored a wonderful try as World Cup runners-up France kicked off their Six Nations campaign with a 30-12 victory over Italy to hand manager Philippe Saint-Andre a winning debut on Saturday.

Left wing Malzieu handed off three tackles in his 40-metre first-half burst as France made their chances count with Aurelien Rougerie, Vincent Clerc and Wesley Fofana also touching down on a bitterly cold afternoon in the French capital. Dimitri Yachvili kicked 10 points for the hosts.

Italy, who beat France for the first time in the Six Nations last year, shaded territory and possession in the opening half but rarely threatened a sturdy home defence.

Kristopher Burton landed two penalties and a drop goal for Italy and Tobias Botes also kicked a penalty.

Russians stage rival protests over Putin

2012-02-04

Tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow on Saturday to demand fair elections in a march against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule, and thousands of others staged a rally supporting the prime minister.

Opposition protesters also organised smaller protests in other cities across the vast country, one month before the March 4 presidential election which Putin is expected to win.

Putin was president from 2000 until 2008, when he ushered Dmitry Medevedev into the Kremlin because of a constitutional ban on three successive terms as head of state. Putin became prime minister but remained the dominant leader.

More than 200 killed in Syria's Homs before UN vote

2012-02-04

 

Syrian forces killed more than 200 people in an assault on the city of Homs, activists said, the bloodiest day of an 11-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, ahead of a Saturday vote on a U.N. resolution calling for him to cede power.

The Arab League, Europe and the United States are trying to persuade Assad’s veto-wielding ally Russia to let the Security Council pass a resolution backing an Arab call for Assad to transfer powers to a deputy. Moscow said passing the resolution without amendments risked “taking sides in a civil war”.

Psychic warned Skordelli rival her life might be in danger

2012-02-04

 

MURDER suspect Elena Skordelli was so envious of Sigma channel colleague Elita Michaelidou that the psychic she was visiting feared for Michaelidou’s life after Andis Hadjicostis was murdered, the Nicosia court heard yesterday.

Prosecution witness and psychic Kathleen Zachariou said that Skordelli was spiteful of Michaelidou because the latter had her own talk show and got along well with the channel owners, father and son, Costas and Andis Hadjicostis.

“I contacted and met Michaelidou after the Hadjicostis’ murder, because of what Skordelli had mentioned in our meetings…she was jealous of her… I thought Michaelidou’s life was in immediate danger” Zachariou said.

Our View: Big fuss over Downer comments came to nothing

2012-02-04

IN THE END, the wiser heads prevailed and the legislature did not declare the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor Alexander Downer persona non grata. Instead a lukewarm resolution censuring Downer for his “lop-sided and damaging statements,” which “diverge from the UN Charter and UN resolutions on Cyprus” was passed. It also called for the “restoration of the Special Advisor’s objectivity and trustworthiness,” while observing that his comments and actions “constitute an undermining of the Republic of Cyprus as a state.”

No end to bus strike

2012-02-04

THE BUS strike continued for a third day yesterday with drivers warning that if government and companies did not work out their differences, they would escalate measures. 

Bus drivers who have been striking over not been paid their January wages said that if nothing changed by Monday they carry out their threat.

 “We are thinking of how we can escalate our struggle,” union SEK’s Pantelis Stavrou said.

While services resumed in Larnaca on Thursday, commuters in the island’s remaining districts continued being inconvenienced.

Stavrou said that if by Monday the situation had not changed that strikers from all districts should get together to decided “what stronger actions we should take”.

Cypriot businessman suing Russian ministry over arrest

2012-02-04

A CYPRIOT businessman is suing the investigation department of the Russian Interior Ministry, after he was illegally detained and interrogated during his last visit to Moscow on January 20. 

George Philippides, who manages the assets and oversees investments of several offshore Russian companies in Cyprus, had flown to Moscow to negotiate a payoff of a loan owed to the Bank of Moscow.

According to Philippides’ lawyer, Christos Clerides, policemen dressed in civilian clothes, barged into his client’s hotel room on the pretext that they were searching for drugs and guns. 

The officers confiscated Philippides’ mobile phone, laptop and all his dossiers, including files on other clients. 

Ryanair adds 15th route to Paphos hub

2012-02-04

LOW-COST airline Ryanair will open a new route from Paphos to Budapest, it announced yesterday.

The airline is celebrating the new route by releasing one million €12 seats for travel in April on more than 1,000 routes within Europe. 

The seats are available for booking up until midnight of Monday, February 6.

The addition of the new route will bring to 15 the number of Ryanair flights to be operated out of Paphos. For more information look to www.ryanair.com 

 

Foundation stone laid for new UCY library

2012-02-04

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias yesterday laid the foundations stone for the new state-of-the-art University of Cyprus library, which is set to open its doors in September 2014.

The library’s collection, which will be housed in an impressive dome-shaped building holding  around 600,000 books, more than 30,000 magazines and 40,000 books all in digital format plus 10,000 audio books and 150 databases. Its contents will be accessible to all Cypriots.

“The completion of this particular project, the Stelios Ioannou Information Centre-Library, will constitute a significant core for the development of society’s knowledge, as well as being an architectural landmark,” said Christofias at the ceremony held yesterday.

Higher penalty points for bad drivers

2012-02-04

THE COMMUNICATIONS Ministry is preparing a bill that will increase penalty points and impose heftier fines for traffic violations.

If the new changes are passed into law, drivers could lose their licences for up to two years if they keep reoffending. 

In a meeting at the ministry– headed by Minister Efthymios Flourentzos with representatives of the Supreme Court, Police Traffic Department and the ministry’s Road Safety Unit – the final changes were decided.

The bill will now be sent to the Attorney-general to check the legal aspects, before being sent to the Cabinet for approval and then Parliament to be passed into law.

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.