Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces the 2012 programme

2012-02-14

A stellar cast of poets and authors from around the globe will be in Dubai for the 2012 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature being held between the 6th and 10th March under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture).
Emirates Airline has just renewed the partnership and title sponsorship agreement with the Festival of Literature for a further three years.
The inimitable TV personality Terry Wogan headlines the Opening Night on 6 March at the magnificent theatre of the Cultural and Scientific Association, Al Mamzar.

German economy pulls away from European pack

2012-02-14

German analyst and investor sentiment leapt to its highest level in 10 months in February, reinforcing signs that Europe’s largest economy is returning to growth as the rest of the eurozone faces a mild recession.

The ZEW think tank’s monthly poll of economic sentiment jumped for the third month in a row, to its highest level since April 2011, smashing expectations and sending the euro to a session high against the dollar.

This contrasted starkly with other European data showing output at factories in the eurozone tumbled in December and Portugal’s recession deepened in the last quarter of 2011.

A Reuters poll showed the eurozone economy shrinking 0.4 per cent in 2012, returning to growth in 2013 with a 1.0 per cent expansion.

Valentine's Day kisses continue odd human tradition

2012-02-14

A kiss may be just a kiss, but when sweethearts pucker up on Valentine’s Day, they will be participating in one of the most bizarre and unlikely of human activities.

Experts say kissing evolved from sniffing, which people did centuries ago as a way of learning about each other.

“At some point, they slipped and ended up on the lips, and they thought that was a lot better,” said Vaughn Bryant, an anthropologist at Texas A&M University and an authority on the evolution of human kissing. “You got a lot more bang for your buck.”

UK PM urged to deport Qatada as he hides in north London safe house

2012-02-14

David Cameron was under pressure yesterday to defy European judges by ordering the deportation of extremist cleric Abu Qatada as he holed up in a London safe house.

Hours after the radical preacher was freed, senior Conservatives said the Prime Minister should ignore the European Court of Human Rights and put Qatada on a plane home.

But government sources insisted a deal could still be struck with the Jordanian authorities which would allow Qatada to be returned in full compliance with the law.

As Home Office minister James Brokenshire conducted negotiations in Jordan over Qatada’s fate, former Home Office minister David Mellor called on ministers to simply ignore the European ruling.

Cyprus and France join forces against organised crime

2012-02-14

 

CYPRUS and France yesterday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on combating organised crime.

The Memorandum was today signed by Attorney General Petros Clerides and French Director for Criminal Affairs and Pardons Maryvonne Caillibotte, in the presence of Minister of Justice Loucas Louca, Police Chief Michalis Papageorgiou and French Ambassador to Cyprus Jean Marc-Rives.

Speaking after the ceremony, Clerides said the Memorandum provided for the setting up of joint action groups to facilitate the establishment of a flexible body that would combat organised crime, which in many instances is associated with terrorism.

Israeli PM arrives on Thursday

2012-02-14

 

ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay a working visit to Cyprus on Thursday.

Netanyahu will be accompanied by his wife and members of his delegation. They will be met by Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis on arrival and then received at the Presidential Palace by President Demetris Christofias and the First Lady.

A tete-a-tete meeting will take place between Christofias and the Israeli Prime Minister, followed by consultations between the two delegations.

After statements to the press, Netanyahu and his entourage will attend a lunch hosted by Christofias

In the afternoon, Netanyahu will hold a meeting with DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades.

The Israeli party will depart in the afternoon.

 

 

E-government system for local authorities gets the go ahead

2012-02-14

 

THE CREATION of a common e-government system for local authorities was given the go ahead during a meeting today between Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis and a representation of the Municipalities Union.

During the meeting, it was decided to proceed with a preliminary study at an estimated cost of €80,000.

According to Sylikiotis, efforts will be made for the e-government system at an estimated total cost of €2 million, to be co-funded with the EU.

“Our goal is to enter a modern era, to take quick steps and through the use of e-government as a tool, to work more effectively as regards local administration,” he said.

German minister visits Ledra crossing

2012-02-14

 

GERMAN Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner today visited the ceasefire line on Ledra Street, accompanied by her Cypriot counterpart Sophocles Aletraris.

Asked whether the spot resembled the Berlin Wall, Aigner said: “Of course because the memories are fresh when in a place like this.”

“We also had the experience of the divided city, but we also had the experience of the reunification of our city,” she said.

Aigner was in Cyprus to discuss Cyprus and Germany’s commitment to work together towards a successful conclusion of the current negotiations in the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament on the further development of the Common Agricultural Policy beyond 2013.

 

Iraqi fighters and arms trickle into Syria as violence grows

2012-02-14

Weapons and Sunni Muslim insurgents are seeping from Iraq into Syria, Iraqi officials and arms dealers say, fuelling violence in a country that once sent guns and militants the other way.

The revolt against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has struck a chord with Sunni tribes in Iraq’s border provinces of Anbar and Ninawa, where strong family ties across the poorly guarded frontier have long favoured contraband and trafficking.

Iraq, awash with weapons since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, is still plagued by violence from al-Qaeda affiliates, Sunni Islamists, fighters tied to Saddam’s Baathist party, Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias and criminal gangs.

APOEL faces Olympique Lyonnais for Champions League knockout stage

2012-02-14

APOEL FC will tonight face Olympique Lyonnais for the Champions League knockout stage, after becoming the first Cypriot football club to reach the phase, finishing first in Group G.

Team coach Ivan Jovanovic said the club, which was considered the underdog, seeks a result which would give hopes for the second leg to be held in GSP stadium Nicosia on March 7.

”We would like to have a result which would give meaning to the second match. We would like the qualification to be determined in the second match,” he said.

The match will be held in Stade de Gerland in Lyon and will begin on 21:45 local time (19.45 GMT).

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.