Tiger Woods laid down a timely marker for this season’s big events by clinching his 75th PGA Tour title with a four-shot victory at the Farmers Insurance Open on Monday at one of his favourite venues.
CYPRUS is ready to agree to any probe regarding its compliance with anti-money-laundering regulations, finance minister Vassos Shiarly said yesterday.
But to date authorities have received no official request for such an investigation, he added.
“We have nothing to hide and we are very clear when it comes to money-laundering issues and to sharing information for tax purposes,” Shiarly said.
He was responding to a Financial Times report claiming Cyprus and its EU bailout lenders were in talks to hire outside investigators to probe the island’s banking system for signs of money laundering.
AN ARTICLE which appeared in yesterday’s edition of Politis revealed that at the last Euro Group meeting, eight days ago, the issue of withdrawing emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) from Cypriot banks was raised. It was the second time in two months that we were faced with this threat which, if carried out, would have led to a collapse of the banks.
POLICE have arrested two people in relation to a gruesome murder of a Bangladeshi man, 25, after his stabbed and dismembered body was found, yesterday morning, stuffed into a suitcase in the boot of a red Honda Civic.
The car, belonging to the victim, was in a car park on Eschylou Street, near Plato’s bar, around 150 metres from the flat where he was living. It had been there since Saturday.
The victim had bled to death after being stabbed in the neck, state pathologist Sophoclis Sophocleous said. He reportedly had fingers cut off in one hand, presumably from defending himself, state broadcaster CyBC said.
The victim’s flatmate and another person were arrested yesterday evening in relation to the death.
THE three main contenders for the presidential elections in February 17 yesterday took on the Cyprus problem for the second televised live debate.
The scene was set even before the debate started. All three candidates arrived making statements on the 2004 Annan plan and referendum on the proposed solution, overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots and supported by Turkish Cypriots.
Wearing a purple tie and accompanied by AKEL brass, Stavros Malas arrived first at about 8.50pm with CyBC interrupting the sports section of the news. “I’m the only one with clear views (on the Cyprus problem),” he said.
THE SUPREME Court will reconvene on March 7 to continue hearing the case of the district judges’ appeal, after an offer yesterday by the Attorney-general to broker a deal satisfying both sides.
The judges are challenging two items of legislation passed in late 2011 as part of an austerity package that included reductions to the salaries of state officials, among others. They wish to be exempted from the cuts, arguing that their remuneration is protected by the Constitution.
The lawyers representing the judges have argued that an unconstitutional law cannot not become constitutional because of the reason it was enacted – in this case the economic difficulties faced by the state.
THE ARCHITECTS of the Greek sovereign debt writedown are in Cyprus to present their positions on the eurozone debt crisis and the option of a possible debt writedown for Cyprus.
Dr Mitu Gulati and Lee C. Buchheit will be presenting their joint paper titled: ‘The eurozone debt crisis: the options now, with special reference to Cyprus’, tomorrow at the European University Cyprus Delta Auditorium at 11am until 1pm.
The two men were described last March by the New York Times (NYT) as the “intellectual fathers of Greece’s intricate bond swap” , noting that it was their joint paper in May 2010 that first proposed a way for Greece to force investors who reject a deal to suffer the same loss as those who agreed.
NORWAY WILL pay near one million euros to strengthen Cyprus’ anti-money laundering capabilities.
A contract was signed last Friday between the Planning Bureau and the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) for the financing of a project aiming to strengthen MOKAS’ capacities and improve its efficiency to detect money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The project will be implemented by MOKAS and cost a total €1,100,882. Norway will provide the majority of funds, 85 per cent, amounting to €935.750, while MOKAS will provide the remaining €165.132.
PILOTS at ailing state carrier Cyprus Airways (CY) disagreed yesterday with a restructuring proposal, which includes a bigger contribution for their members, on the grounds the plan was not viable.
CY’s other unions have agreed to staggered wage cuts starting at 7.0 per cent for up to €1,000 a month and reaching 20.5 per cent for over €6,000 a month.
It is understood that the majority of high earners – the pilots- earn closer to €9,000 and €10,000 a month, and that about half of those impacted earn up to €2,500.
“We definitely do not have the luxury of time as we’ve said repeatedly. I want to believe and I do believe that we will manage to implement this plan by February 1,” said CY chairman Stavros Stavrou.
FINANCE MINISTER Vassos Shiarly yesterday called on businesses not to use unlicensed or pirated software, arguing that it hurts information technology (IT) businesses, tax revenue and job creation.
The Finance Ministry and Business Software Alliance (BSA) held a joint press conference yesterday on the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights of computer software.
According to a 2011 study by BSA on global software piracy, 48 per cent of computer users in Cyprus use unlicensed or pirated software, equating to €14m in losses for software providers.
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.
