UNFICYP looking at contingency plans
UNITED Nations officials visited Cyprus recently to look into the contingency planning to be made as regards the force in case of a settlement of the Cyprus problem, a UN spokesman said yesterday.
The officials, who take regular trips to Cyprus because they deal with UNFICYP, also looked into contingency planning in case of a settlement.
They looked into “what the UN could be asked to do in case of a settlement,” UNFICYP spokesman Jose Diaz told the Cyprus Mail.
UN resolution 1873 called upon United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon to report of any contingency planning concerning a settlement.
The UN officials spoke to various people inside and outside the UN operation to get their views on the matter.
They will now report back to Ban.
Their report will probably be part of the examination of the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate in December.
Ban has previously said that the aim was to look into how the force would be reorganized to provide the maximum support in implementing the settlement of the Cyprus problem
EU Multilingualism Commissioner to visit Cyprus
EU Commissioner responsible for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban, will be in Cyprus next Monday for a two-day visit.
According to a Commission press release, Commissioner Orban is coming to promote the EU multilingualism policy which regards multilingualism as good for the economy, but also essential to integration in the labour market, social cohesion and building bridges to other people and cultures.
During his visit, Orban will meet with Education Minister Andreas Demetriou, as well as with the House Education Committee. He will also meet with a group of pupils of Romanian origin and will open the study programme “EU studies and modern languages” at the University of Cyprus, where he will participate in a public debate on multilingualism.
BUREAUCRATIC procedures hinder the Nicosia municipality’s development plans, the mayor said yesterday.
Eleni Mavrou said the low percentage of implementation of development plans is due to bureaucratic procedures like loan and project approvals.
“With these, just when we expected a project to start, it is ultimately transferred for the next year,” Mavrou said.
The rate of implementation of projects in 2009 reached 25 percent compared to 12 percent in 2006.
For 2010, the municipality approved a €45 million budget for development, most of it earmarked for the regeneration of areas in the old town.
An additional €33 million will go towards regular expenses, most of which – 60 percent – concerns salaries.
The municipal council, which approved the budget, stressed the need for improvement of productivity and the mechanisms that monitor the implementation of decisions.
Trucks collide
TWO TRUCKS collided on the Larnaca-Kofinou road yesterday morning, creating much damage to the vehicles but leaving the two drivers relatively unscathed.
The accident occurred at around 6.03am, between Alethrikou and Anglisidon, when one truck tried to overtake the other which was stopped on the road due to a fault, causing the merchandise both were carrying, bread and sand, to get flung out all over the road.
The two drivers were taken to Larnaca hospital where they were treated for minor injuries while the emergency services cleaned up the mess across the road so it could open to traffic again.
Six per cent EU of carbon emissions from Cyprus
CYPRUS accounts for six per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union, despite representing only 0.16 per cent of the bloc’s total population, the Green Party said yesterday.
Ioanna Panayiotou, Secretary-general of the Greens, said that from 1990 – 2006 Cyprus had increased the emission of carbon dioxide by 2.8 tonnes per resident, making it first in the EU. Spain is second with a 2.5 tonne increase per resident, Portugal third at two tonness and Greece and Malta share fourth place with a 1.7 tonne increase per resident.
The latest statistics from the UN Committee for climate change said that Cyprus has increased CO2 emissions in the sector of electricity production by 128 per cent whilst the EU average in the sector is a 64 per cent reduction in the emission of pollutants.
