Election ballots to be reprinted over Guinness logo row

2013-01-30

 

OVER half a million ballot papers for next month’s presidential elections will have to be reprinted after the existing ones were ruled invalid as they feature the unauthorised logo of Guinness World Records.

Some 575,000 ballots will now have to be binned, with the cost of a printing new ones estimated at €40,000.

According to sources at the ministry, an anonymous call was made asking whether candidate Andreas Efstratiou’s use of the Guinness logo on the presidential election ballot papers was legal.

The ministry emailed the company early yesterday morning to ask for clearance to use the logo on ballot papers but was informed that Efstratiou had been told in 2011 not to use the logo again after using it in the 2008 presidential elections. 

Why didn’t presidential debate see candidates address questions we want answered?

2013-01-30

HOW DISAPPOINTING that most of the second debate between the main three presidential candidates on Monday night, which was focused on the Cyprus problem, was taken up discussing the past, particularly the Annan plan. Almost nine years have passed since three quarters of Greek Cypriots rejected the plan in a referendum and in the meantime there has been a new bout of negotiations – described as Cypriot-owned – that lasted more than three years before grinding to halt about a year ago.

Government has next three months financing covered

2013-01-30

THE government said yesterday it was on track to cover the state’s financing needs for the next three months, pending finalisation of a bailout that was not expected before March, when the new administration takes over.

At the end of each month we can evaluate our needs again, depending on how the previous month went, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said.

“And as the finance minister said, we are on track regarding the obligations we have and our financing needs for April,” Stefanou added.

Speaking on state radio earlier yesterday, Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly said the state will need €2.8 billion in the next three months – one billion being maturing debt that it hopes to roll over.

Allegations Cyprus is a money laundering centre ‘unfounded’

2013-01-30

ALLEGATIONS that Cyprus is a tax haven and money laundering centre for Russians are “unfounded” and “unjust”, House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou said yesterday.

The island fully complies with international conventions and European legislation against money laundering, Omirou said in a letter to his euro-area counterparts and to European Parliament President Martin Schulz.

The International Monetary Fund, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have all given Cyprus high scores for the country’s adoption and implementation of the measures, he added.

Police probe drinks racketeering

2013-01-30

POLICE are looking into possible racketeering being carried out at the expense of licensed distributors of beverages, the force’s spokesman confirmed yesterday.

Police spokesman Andreas Angelides said they are investigating two such cases after receiving complaints from distributors of alcoholic beverages and soft drinks.

The story was first reported by daily Alithia. The paper said a number of established distributors were getting SMS messages warning them to stop supplying this or that establishment otherwise their own premises would be firebombed – or worse.

It’s understood that for the time being detectives have scant leads to go on; tracing the alleged senders of the messages will prove difficult given that pre-paid calling cards were used.

More petrol price rises to come

2013-01-30

PEOPLE are trying to use their cars less as fuel prices have risen by about 13 cents a litre in about a month, the head of the petrol station owners’ association Stephanos Stephanou said yesterday.

Stefanou said with consumption tax, VAT and international prices going up, consumers should expect more increases. 

But he said that 13 cents a little in a month was a “very harsh increase”.

“We haven’t seen prices like this in a very long time,” Stephanou said.

He added that some petrol stations report up to 20 per cent decrease in sales, he added.

“It’s very normal for all of us to be saving up,” he said referring to wage cuts across the state and private sector and tax hikes.

Sports tourism generates €20m in 2011

2013-01-30

THE Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) is committed to strengthening sports tourism further, its chairman said yesterday, as visitors in 2011 recorded a 19 per cent rise.

CTO chairman Alecos Orountiotis said sports tourism was an asset in its portfolio of alternative forms of tourism, attracting almost 12,900 visitors in 2011 and generating some €20 million in revenues.

“This is why we are determined to work harder, to exert greater collective effort, so that we strengthen the sector of sports tourism,” Orountiotis said.

According to a survey carried out by the CTO, football has the lion’s share when it comes to visitor numbers – 5,918 – followed by swimming with 3,226 and cycling with 2,212.

The average length of stay was around 10.7 nights.

Athlete banned for doping

2013-01-30

A 24-year-old weightlifting athlete has been banned for two years after testing positive for anabolic agents, the Cyprus Anti-Doping Authority (CyADA) announced.

Demetris Minasides’ ban started on April 26 last year and will be in place until April 25, 2014, CyADA said.

He had been tested in March last year, with results coming back positive a month later. 

In the meantime, however, Minasides had competed in the European weightlifting games in Turkey, where he took second place and qualified for the London Olympics.

He was subsequently stripped of his medal and did not take part in the Olympics.

Mari trial enters final straight

2013-01-30

THE LAST witness testimonies for the prosecution in the Mari trial are expected to be heard early next month, it was reported yesterday. 

According to state broadcaster CyBC, the prosecution has invited three more witnesses to testify in the trial on the deadly naval base blast, which killed seven sailors and six fire fighters, while injuring dozens on July 11, 2011. The final three will take the number of witnesses called by the prosecution to around 120. 

Match fixing

2013-01-30

THE CYPRUS Football Association (CFA) has asked police to investigate possible match-fixing of a local match after European football governing body UEFA sent out a warning last week, according to a CFA statement yesterday. 

On January 22, the CFA announced it had been sent a ‘yellow file’ on a match between Ethnikou Achnas and Ayia Napa which took place on January 19. 

Achnas beat Ayia Napa 2-1.  

The CFA said it has passed the file on to police to launch an investigation, as it has done in similar cases in the past. 

UEFA has sent ‘yellow’ and ‘red’ files to Cyprus in the past on games that raised suspicions, mainly due to information gathered from dubious goings-on in the football betting industry. 

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.