Serbia and Kosovo agree on closer cooperation

2012-02-24

Serbia and Kosovo resolved some long-standing differences on Friday, in a deal that may help Belgrade win the status of candidate for European Union entry and lead to closer trade links between its former province and the EU.

During a round of EU-mediated talks in Brussels, the former Yugoslav states agreed to a compromise spelling out how Kosovo should be represented in regional meetings, EU officials said.

The formula sidesteps the issue of Kosovo’s independence, which Serbia refuses to recognise, and addresses one of the most divisive issues that have marred relations between the two since Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

Australia hopes to close 32-year ‘dingo baby’ case

2012-02-24

An inquest began hearing new evidence on Friday into the 1980 death of baby Azaria Chamberlain, a case that has haunted Australia for decades and drew international attention after her parents said she had been killed by a dingo, or wild dog.

The coronial inquest into the death in the Australian outback of baby Azaria, the fourth since the infant disappeared, began in Darwin Magistrates Court in the Northern Territory in response to new information provided by the baby’s parents.

The evidence concerns several dingo attacks on infants and young children since Azaria’s death. Her parents expect the court to declare officially that Azaria was killed by a dingo, rather than by her mother Lindy Chamberlain, a lawyer representing parents Lindy and Michael Chamberlain said.

Syria conflict worries Beirut

2012-02-24

Angus MacSwan

People in the Lebanese capital Beirut are watching anxiously as the increasingly bloody conflict in neighbouring Syria unfolds, fearing it could spill over the border and bring a return of the violence that tore their own country apart for so long.

Beirut has undergone a renaissance since the days when Muslim and Christian factions, as well as Palestinian guerrillas, clashed over a Green Line and foreign interlopers imposed their will with troops, tanks and warplanes.

The bars and restaurants of Hamra and Gemmayzeh are buzzing every night with crowds of young professionals and students.

Rivalry heats up as AEL eliminate APOEL from Cyprus Cup

2012-02-24

 

AEL’s manager Charalambous Christodoulou was delighted with his team’s progression to the quarterfinals of the Cyprus Coca Cola Cup after a goalless second leg encounter against APOEL at the Tsirion Stadium in Limassol on Thursday afternoon.

“We had a 1-0 advantage from the first leg and we had to devise a style of play that would help us advance. The focus was on not conceding goals in the first half of the game. We managed to do that and even had a couple of opportunities to score in the second half,” said Christodoulou.

Minister shut out of gas talks

2012-02-24

 

BY A majority vote, the House passed a law last night empowering a committee of technocrats to assess bids for offshore hydrocarbons licences and to negotiate with interested companies, effectively shutting out the Commerce Minister.

The bill, based on an amendment tabled by the opposition, garnered 32 votes from opposition MPs. All 16 deputies from ruling AKEL voted against.

The President will likely to refuse to sign the law, in which case he will send it back to parliament, after which it could end up in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile current procedures would still apply until a court decision was reached.

Our View: Banking sector to fare well as long as state does not interfere

2012-02-24

THE AGREEMENT of the Greek bail-out plan, in theory, should have settled the nerves of the Cyprus business sector, but it appears to have had the opposite effect. Bank shares were given a merciless battering on Wednesday, the share-index falling by 10 per cent. This may have been a direct reaction to the Bank of Cyprus’ announcement of losses of €1.01 billion for 2011, the previous day.

‘Cypriot banks will weather the storm despite shocks to the system’

2012-02-24

EXPERTS yesterday appeared confident Cyprus’ banks would weather the storm created by their exposure to debt-ridden Greece and the huge losses they will incur as a result.

Although expected, concerns were raised after Bank of Cyprus (BoC), the island’s biggest lender, posted a net loss of €1.01 billion in its 2011 results on Tuesday after making a write-down totalling €1.32 billion on its Greek sovereign debt holdings.

BoC said it reduced the book value of its Greek sovereign debt holdings by 60 per cent of their nominal value and excluding the impairment the bank said its full-year net profit was up 2 per cent at €312 million.

Consumers resigned to paying higher fuel prices

2012-02-24

AS FUEL prices reach unprecedented levels with more to come, some consumers yesterday said they didn’t see any other option than to pay up while others seemed to be cutting back. 

At a petrol station on Byron Avenue in Nicosia, 50-year-old Ioannis Frageskides said: “I pay €20 a day on fuel but I have two children to drive everywhere: school, private lessons… I don’t exactly have a choice.”

EU forecasts negative Cyprus growth for 2012

2012-02-24

EXPOSURE of the financial sector to Greece, the Mari munitions blast of last July, low consumer confidence and the ongoing recession in the eurozone are the key reasons why Cyprus’ economy is set to shrink this year, the European Commission said in its latest interim forecast published yesterday.

The island’s GDP is projected to contract by 0.5 per cent in 2012 due to weak domestic demand. The Commission’s downward revision for Cyprus relative to the autumn 2011 forecast was due to the worsening of the external environment and by the adoption of additional consolidation measures which were not accounted for in the previous forecast.

Call to name dodgy electricians

2012-02-24

PARLIAMENT yesterday requested a list of the electricians whose licences were revoked after it emerged they weren’t properly qualified, and asked the state who would be picking up the cost for checking the buildings they worked on.

The head of the licensed electricians association called on the public to immediately have their houses checked and seek reimbursement from the state.

From some 2,000 electricians islandwide, 122 licences had proved to be problematic in that they were approved for applicants who failed their exams. Around 40 licences have already been revoked. The remainder have had the scope of their qualifications limited. The problem involves electricians in Nicosia, Paphos and Limassol.

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.