US picks public health expert for World Bank job

2012-03-23

The United States picked a public health expert of South Korean origin as its candidate for the World Bank presidency, a job emerging market economies are contesting for the first time.

In an announcement on Friday at the White House President Barack Obama said he was nominating Jim Yong Kim, president of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization.

“It is time for a development professional to lead the world’s largest development agency,” Obama said flanked by Kim, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

EU bans Syrian president's wife from travel, shopping

2012-03-23

The European Union banned the wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from travelling to the EU or shopping with European companies in a move to stop her buying the Chanel dresses and Louboutin shoes she apparently craves.

The EU’s latest round of sanctions, which also targeted the president’s mother and sister, is notable for including Assad’s London-born wife Asma, whose luxury shopping habit was laid bare this month in a cache of hacked emails.

She was once admired for her cosmopolitan glamour, but has over the past year turned into a hate figure for many Syrians, standing by her husband as he conducts a crackdown against a popular uprising in which thousands have been killed.

Suburban tensions fester as France debates shooting

2012-03-23

 

In the aftermath of a killing spree that shocked the nation, France’s Paris-based politicians and national media are deep in debate about its impact on the upcoming presidential election and the need for tighter security.

In the drab Toulouse suburbs where gunman Mohamed Merah killed seven people before being cut down by police commandos, the talk is more of bubbling tensions between ethnic and religious communities and how solutions are nowhere in sight.

The gap is not just between the capital to the north and Toulouse in the southwest. In the gritty outskirts of Paris, within sight of the Eiffel Tower, an “us and them” mentality still haunts the streets rocked by immigrant riots in 2005.

Britain plans minimum alcohol price to curb binge drinking

2012-03-23

Britain plans to introduce a minimum price for the sale of alcohol in England and Wales as part of an initiative to clamp down on binge drinking and anti-social behavior, which has become a major problem in many town centres across the country.

The plan, announced by the government on Friday, would prevent supermarkets selling alcohol at deeply discounted prices and result in a sharp rise in the price of super-strength ciders and lager as well as cheap spirits. It was immediately criticised by supermarket chains and drinks manufacturers.

Home Secretary Theresa May told parliament that the government wanted to discourage people from drinking at home before evenings out in town centres.

Meeting EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou

2012-03-23

 

Walking down the street in central Nicosia where Androulla Vassiliou has her home (when she’s in town, which isn’t very often), I glance around, wondering which one is hers. My money’s on a house with a tall hedge and green plastic fence – a fittingly discreet, dignified dwelling for a former First Lady of Cyprus, former MP and current European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth – but in fact, to my surprise, No. 9 is a wide-open two-storey house where a random woman (a neighbour, it turns out) is airing out the place on a Saturday morning, and points to a side-door when I ask about the Commissioner.

Join the man who walked around the world

2012-03-23

Become a whisky connoisseur and have a fun night in with a Johnnie Walker’s mentoring says NAOMI LEACH

 

There’s something instantly seductive and glamorous about sitting down to a glass of whisky. With each sip of the amber elixir I’m transported to another time, where husky blues notes hang heavy over a smoke-suffused bar. Patrons drip with rain and melancholy while performers shimmy into the spotlight. The liquid warms and caresses my throat easing away all the cares of the day. As I slam the empty glass down on the table, I look up and I’m back at home, surrounded by friends. We’re here to share in a home mentoring experience with Johnnie Walker ambassador Andreas Charalambides.

Challenging the notion of romance

2012-03-23

Is saying the whole truth always the best policy? Is there any relationship that exists without any lies bubbling beneath the surface? What happens when lust gets the better of us while other people’s emotions are toyed with? As four characters come Closer on stage this month, local audiences will have the chance to indulge in one of the most hard hitting and controversial plays to have been performed on the local stage. 

Baghdatis sets up Djokovic clash in Miami

2012-03-23

MARCOS Baghdatis breezed past Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami to set up a clash with world number one Novak Djokovic.

The 26-year-old Cypriot dominated the opening set where he was all but untouchable on his first serve, winning 79 percent of the points, and ruthlessky took his chances as he broke Mayer twice.

Where did all the tickets go?

2012-03-23

 

THOUSANDS of disgruntled fans of Nicosia football team APOEL were yesterday forced to leave the GSP Stadium in the capital empty handed, after queuing for hours to secure a ticket to their team’s Champions League match to Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Some had slept in the stadium’s car park overnight to be sure to get their hands on the much-desired tickets, while others started arriving from as early as 2 am.

But what really riled fans was that it wasn’t until around 11.30am when an announcement was made that there would be a limited amount of tickets available.

Deal signed with Chinese firm

2012-03-23

Airport operator Hermes signed a multimillion deal with Chinese firm Far Eastern Phoenix Ltd in the early hours of the morning. The firm plans to develop the old Larnaca airport area, with a large commercial showroom for Chinese products and a logistics centre.

Hermes Airports’ spokesman Adamos Aspris said the final agreement was signed at 1 am. According to the agreement, the firm will take over management of the area for the next 19 years, with the possibility of extending it to 50. 

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.