Chelsea and Spurs in 0-0 draw, shock Liverpool defeat

2012-03-24

Chelsea’s hopes of a top-four finish suffered a setback when they could only draw 0-0 with Tottenham Hotspur in a disappointing Premier League derby on Saturday that was great news for resurgent Arsenal who beat Aston Villa 3-0.

Fourth-placed Tottenham remain five points above Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification with eight matches remaining although they could have earned a first win at Stamford Bridge since 1990 with better finishing.

The draw gave Spurs 55 points, three behind Arsenal who cemented third spot with a seventh straight league win thanks to goals from Kieran Gibbs, Theo Walcott and Mikel Arteta.

Debris prompts space station crew to seek shelter

2012-03-24

A passing piece of potentially dangerous space debris forced astronauts at the International Space Station to temporarily seek refuge in escape ships early on Saturday, U.S. officials said.

The debris, a fragment from an old Russian satellite named Cosmos 2251 that smashed into an Iridium Communications spacecraft in 2009, passed harmlessly by the $100 billion orbital outpost at 2:38 a.m. EDT (0638 GMT), NASA said.

With enough advance notice, NASA will maneuver the space station, which orbits about 240 miles (386 km) above the planet, to put more space between it and passing debris. The other option is for the station’s six crew members to shelter inside the two Soyuz capsules berthed at the station in case the outpost is struck and depressurizes.

Syrian army pounds battered Homs; Annan in Moscow

2012-03-24

Syrian forces pounded the battered city of Homs with tank and mortar fire and troops pummelled several other rebel strongholds on Saturday, leaving at least 24 dead, opposition activists said.

With the bloodshed showing no signs of abating, the U.N.-Arab League peace envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan, flew to Moscow, seeking Russian backing for his efforts to secure a ceasefire.

Western and Arab states want Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stand down but Russia, a long-time ally of Syria, has put the onus on the armed rebels and their foreign backers to make the first move.

Halloumi wars come to an end

2012-03-24

 

THE GOATS parked outside the Presidential Palace all week saw white smoke puffing from its chimneys yesterday after the warring parties in the longstanding halloumi saga finally reached agreement. 

Agriculture Minister Sophoclis Aletraris announced yesterday afternoon that the government, farming organisations and sheep and goat farmers reached a deal on the share of goat, sheep and cow milk in halloumi after a meeting at the palace with Aletraris, Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis and Undersecretary to the president Titos Christofides.  

Our View: Exercise the best way to combat child obesity

2012-03-24

FIFTY per cent of Cypriot children are obese, according to the health ministry, which on Monday launched its diet national guidelines for teenagers. This was the third set of diet guidelines issued by the ministry, the first targeting adults and the second dealing with children between 6 and 12; a fourth set is being prepared for the elderly.

Health minister Stavros Malas said the dietary guidelines were being promoted by the network of clinical dieticians working at state hospitals and through educational programmes aimed at making people aware of the importance of a healthy diet. As regards youngsters, Malas said that a film, aimed at teenagers, would be prepared promoting the benefits of exercise and good eating habits.

Who wants to live in a society scared of pleasure?

2012-03-24

FIFTEEN years ago when my husband got a job in India, I asked someone what I’d need to take. “A good liver” was the answer. He was right. I’d never drunk so much in my life. Parties in Delhi started at six in well-watered gardens. In the dusty heat with green parakeets squawking and flocking, and fruit bats circling, keeping up the fluid intake as the sun downed meant grabbing a glass from the nearest tray of ever-circulating waiters bearing beer, gin and tonic, Coca Cola and water. Warned off water with unknown provenance, worried about the sugar content of Coke, the choice became easy. I drank the local Kingfisher until I was too bloated with gas to guzzle anymore and then switched to gin. A habit I have kept to this day.

APOEL apologises for ticket foul-up

2012-03-24

APOEL chairman Phivos Erotokritou yesterday admitted that “mistakes were made” in the way the tickets were sold for the team’s Champions League match against Real Madrid next Tuesday.

He apologised to the thousands of fans who waited for hours to secure a ticket at the GSP Stadium on Thursday, only to leave empty handed. The number that went on sale was much lower than anticipated. Over 3,000 waiting fans were told that only a few hundred tickets were left.

“It is truly shameful what happened (on Thursday), with the hassle we imposed on so many thousands of people with a wrong decision we made,” said Erotokritou. “I won’t try to justify the unjustifiable. We have responsibility, we didn’t handle this matter with the tickets the way we should have.”

Petrol station rigged pumps to cheat drivers

2012-03-24

 

A PETROL station owner in Larnaca was arrested yesterday on suspicion of tampering with the computer system controlling the pumps to give customers less fuel than they paid for. 

Larnaca police spokesman Christos Andreou said a fuel company reported the 28-year-old petrol station owner to police yesterday morning, claiming that he was fiddling with the pumps to reduce the quantity of fuel sold.  

“Men from Larnaca CID working in collaboration with a Commerce Ministry official went to the station to investigate. They found that the quantity of fuel sold to the public at this specific station is less than that indicated on the fuel pump,” said Andreou.  

Hooligans set car alight with Omonia fans inside

2012-03-24

 

POLICE ARE looking for APOEL hooligans who set a car alight while two Omonia supporters were still inside yesterday after the local derby APOEL-Omonia at the GSP Stadium. 

According to the state broadcaster last night, APOEL supporters wearing helmets and on motorcycles broke the windows of a car on the roundabout near the stadium in which were two Omonia supporters. 

The two were leaving the stadium when they came under attack by APOEL hooligans who broke the car windows using iron crowbars and then threw in a flare which set the car alight.  

Other APOEL supporters nearby ran to the car to help the two young Omonia fans get out of the car before it was engulfed in flames and completely destroyed.

Houses continue to slip in Armou

2012-03-24

THE PROMISE of help from the Paphos District office has been welcomed by residents of a stricken development in Armou, but it has come too late for one couple who have already decided to move back to the UK.

Six houses which make up a recently built development in the picturesque village have continued to move down the hillside.

The estate is in imminent danger of collapse after it was constructed on land locals had long been warned was unsafe.

The home owners’ plight was highlighted in last weeks Sunday Mail, and just one week on, one of the access roads to the estate has dropped a further 7cm.

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.