Sanctions vice tightens on Iran over nuclear dispute

2012-03-15

The sanctions vice is tightening on Iran, cutting it out of key global financial networks, but Tehran is taking urgent steps to withstand the pressure over a nuclear programme the West suspects is intended to produce bombs.

The SWIFT system, which handles most cross-border payments, said in Brussels on Thursday it would disconnect Iranian institutions blacklisted by sanctions from its messaging system on Saturday at 1600 GMT, after a European Union order and pressure from the United States.

Money exchange houses in the Gulf said they were ceasing dealing in the risky Iranian rial, in another blow to Tehran’s trading channels.

Pro-Assad rallies mark anniversary of Syria revolt

2012-03-15

Huge crowds took to the streets of Syria’s cities on Thursday in an orchestrated show of support for President Bashar al-Assad on the first anniversary of a bloody revolt against his rule that shows no sign of ending.

Turkey hinted it might consider supporting a “buffer zone” inside Syria to cope with a flow of refugees across its border that has increased sharply following a recent government offensive against rebels in the nearby Idlib region.

Opposition activists said pro-Assad forces shot at crowds in various locations when they tried to protest against the regime, but residents reported that demonstrators did gather in the smart Shaalan district of Damascus to voice their anger.

Swiss couple escape from Pakistan

2012-03-15

 

A Swiss couple kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban last July have escaped and will return home soon, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Thursday after the two reached a military checkpoint near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan

Olivier David Och, 31, and Daniela Widmer, 29, were kidnapped in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan and had been held by the Taliban in the North Waziristan region.

“A few minutes ago I was able to speak to Daniela and David and yes, they are free. They are in a safe place,” Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter told a news conference. “Daniela and David said they managed to escape this morning.”

China leader's ouster could cloud succession plans

2012-03-15

Ambitious Chinese Communist Party leadership contender Bo Xilai has been toppled from his post as head of the inland city of Chongqing, in a move risking a backlash from backers of his controversial vision of socialist growth.

His abrupt downfall, announced on Thursday by the official Xinhua news agency, exposes ideological divisions as a new generation prepares to take power in China later this year, and may stir tensions between supporters of his more traditional, state-dominated version of socialism, and liberal critics, who saw him as a dangerous opportunist.

Anyone but Barca or Real, say APOEL

2012-03-15

APOEL players have made no secret of their wish to avoid drawing Spanish giants Barcelona or Real Madrid in Friday’s draw for the Champions League quarter-finals, but coach Ivan Jovanovic did not reveal his own preferences.

After their dramatic penalty shootout victory over Lyon last week , the Nicosia side have been joined in the draw by Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Benfica, Chelsea, Marseille, AC Milan and Real Madrid.

Out of these seven possible opponents, APOEL’s players have been forthright in who they desperately do not want to see come up in the quarter-finals.

Chelsea not ready to crumble

2012-03-15

THE talk has been of a crumbling empire at Stamford Bridge this season but the Chelsea old guard showed they are not ready to be consigned to the scrapheap after a thrilling win over Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday.

AEL, AEK, Omonia utilise home advantage in Cyprus Cup

2012-03-15

MATIAS Degra saved his fifth penalty of the season to help AEL secure a narrow 1-0 win over Anorthosis in the first leg of the Cyprus Coca Cola Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday evening at the Tsirion Stadium in Limassol.

This is the second time this year that the Argentine goalkeeper has kept out Vincent Laban’s penalty after saving the Frenchman’s shot in mid-February when his team celebrated a 1-0 victory in Round 20 of the national championship – claiming their first win at the Antonis Papadopoulos stadium in Larnaca in decades.

“It was a very difficult game and I did not expect to see good football in this weather,” said AEL manager Charalambous Christodoulou.

‘Cyprus is a great place to invest’ says multinational group’s chairman

2012-03-15

 

THE CHAIRMAN of a multinational conglomerate said yesterday he is interested in investing in Cyprus, including the purchase of government bonds and in the banking sector.

Following a meeting with President Demetris Christofias, Triple Five chairman Nader Ghermezian said his firm was interested in investing in tourism, energy, and banking and was also looking into buying an undisclosed number of government bonds.

“I think Cyprus is one of the best countries in the world today to invest in,” Ghermezian told reporters. “Even though the economy is a little bit slow at this time, that should not stop anybody coming here.”

Our View: Government’s half-baked measures will never satisfy ratings agencies

2012-03-15

AFTER cutting Cyprus’ sovereign rating on Tuesday, Moody’s, as was expected, yesterday downgraded the ratings of Cyprus’ banks. It was the second international ratings agency to cut Cyprus to junk, after Standard and Poor’s, both also agreeing that the outlook was negative. Once the third agency follows suit – Fitch’s rating of Cyprus is one notch above junk – which is inevitable, the government will have nowhere to borrow money from, not even ‘friendly’ governments of other states.

Weigh more, pay more

2012-03-15

WE ARE getting fatter. In Australia, the United States, and many other countries, it has become commonplace to see people so fat that they waddle rather than walk. The rise in obesity is steepest in the developed world, but it is occurring in middle-income and poor countries as well.

Is a person’s weight his or her own business? Should we simply become more accepting of diverse body shapes? I don’t think so. Obesity is an ethical issue, because an increase in weight by some imposes costs on others.

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.