Honecker's widow belittles Berlin wall victims

2012-04-03

Erich Honecker’s widow Margot has belittled the 136 people killed while trying to escape over the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, calling them stupid in an interview with German television aired on Monday evening.

Known as the “Purple Witch” in Communist East Germany for her tinted hair and hardline stance, Margot Honecker, 84, served alongside her dictator husband as minister for education. She was hated and feared by many East Germans.

In a rare interview, Margot Honecker told the German TV network ARD that she and other East German leaders never understood why so many tried to flee to the West over the Berlin Wall when so many died in the attempt. About 5,000 made it over alive.

Euro problems are simple as piece of pizza for Dutch schoolboy

2012-04-03

AN 11-year-old Dutch boy has won a prize for his radical solution to the euro’s problems – using a pizza as his inspiration.

Jurre Hermans’ entry in the £250,000 Wolfson Economics Prize, an international competition to find the “best contingency plan for a break-up of the euro” won special mention from the judging panel.

Jurre, of Breedenbroek in the Netherlands, was 10 at the time he entered. He has been given a €100 gift voucher for his efforts but unfortunately failed to make the final short list of five.

APOEL aim to end fairy-tale with heads held high

2012-04-03

APOEL will face nine-time European champions Real Madrid with immense pride tomorrow night, as their remarkable 16-match Champions League campaign is set to come to a close at the Bernabeu. 

APOEL’s resistance in the first leg of the quarter-final in Nicosia last week lasted more than 70 minutes and at one stage it even looked like the competition surprise package might go to Madrid still in with a chance, however Ivan Jovanovic’s side have an insurmountable task as they trail 3-0 from the first leg thanks to a late flurry from the Spanish giants.

We’re sorry, bank tells shareholders

2012-04-03

 

Cyprus’ second-largest bank yesterday apologised to irate shareholders for its exposure to Greek debt which has saddled the bank with mammoth losses and forced it to seek new capital.

Marfin Popular Bank, which was yesterday renamed Cyprus Popular Bank, posted 2011 losses of €2.5 billion after taking a 60 per cent write-down on the value of its Greek bonds.

It now plans a €1.35 billion share issue to meet regulatory requirements for a 9 per cent core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio by the end of June.

Attempts to find new investors were continuing but the Greek economic outlook appeared to be holding some potential investors back, bank executives said.

Our view: CyBC has turned a minor issue into a major injustice

2012-04-03

 

THE NON-PAYMENT of the CyBC’s staff wages on time was still the main news story on the state corporation’s current affairs shows yesterday. It is quite remarkable how a decision taken by the legislature last Thursday – not to approve the budget of the CyBC – could still be hogging the corporation’s radio, television and web headlines four days later. Nothing new has happened since apart from the fact that staff unions had decided to stage two, 10-minute work stoppages every day in protest against the decision. 

Pipeline through Turkey is the best option, think tank urges

2012-04-03

ALTHOUGH gas prospects in the eastern Mediterranean could act as a catalyst for collaboration and for a political settlement, in reality the two sides in Cyprus appear to be behaving counter intuitively by going it alone, nudging the peace process ever closer toward deadlock.

“An overall settlement to the Cyprus conflict seems as elusive as ever with UN-mediated talks showing no progress. Significant gas revenues may be a decade away, and exploiting the gas in the context of the unresolved Cyprus dispute will drive up costs and scare away investment from major oil companies,” warns the highly respected International Crisis Group.

Ministries seek gas extraction timeline

2012-04-03

STARTING today, the government is beginning an “intensive dialogue” with Noble Energy on how and when natural gas from Block 12 can be extracted and brought onshore, Commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said yesterday.

The talks with the US company are expected to last two to three months, the minister said after a meeting with the board of directors of the electricity authority (EAC) and the chairman of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA).

“Through this dialogue all the matters relating to planning for the advent of natural gas are to be straightened out,” said Sylikiotis.

Health minister promises drug cost probe

2012-04-03

HEALTH Minister Stavros Malas has pledged to investigate the high cost of medication in Cyprus compared to other EU member states.

“I have asked for information on the price of medication in Cyprus compared to other countries [from the Pharmaceutical Services]……. I have asked for us to come together with further information in a month so we can discuss the matter again,” Malas said yesterday.

The issue came to light in an article in daily Politis yesterday in a price comparison between Cyprus and Greece, which claimed that the cost of medication in Cyprus is one of the highest in the EU.

We’ll do whatever it takes to keep deficit down

2012-04-03

THE GOVERNMENT will take whatever actions necessary to ensure its budget deficit stays within a target of 2.5 to 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product this year, the newly appointed finance minister said yesterday.

“My predecessor gave a commitment that the deficit will be in the region of 2.5 to 2.7 percent in 2012, and that will be strictly adhered to, irrespective of developments,” Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly told lawmakers. “Consequently … any possible deviation should be covered with additional measures, which must be taken in time.” 

It was the former banker’s first public appearance in Cyprus after taking over on March 23.

Shiarly did not elaborate on measures which could be adopted if the deficit veers off target. 

Daily stoppages until salaries are paid

2012-04-03

WORKERS at state broadcaster CyBC yesterday decided to hold two “symbolic” 10-minute work stoppages every day until they are paid their March salaries.

The decision was announced by unions OIO-SEK and SIDIKEK-PEO following a meeting with the labour ministry’s labour relations’ department, where they were told they had the legal right to “take any measures they deem necessary” to seek payment of their salaries as there was a “blatant violation” of their employment contracts.

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.