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International News March 7, 2014

Putin rebuffs Obama as Ukraine crisis escalates

RUSSIA said on Friday that any U.S. sanctions imposed against Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine would boomerang back on the United States, raising the financial stakes as the military standoff intensified.

In a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against “hasty and reckless steps” that could harm Russian-American relations, the foreign ministry said.

“Sanctions… would inevitably hit the United States like a boomerang,” it added.

It was the second tense, high-level exchange between the former Cold War foes in 24 hours.

…

International News March 7, 2014

EU veteran Juncker wins EPP backing for top Brussels job

Former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, a fixture of Brussels politics for the past 25 years, won the backing of Europe’s centre-right parties on Friday in the race to become European Commission president.

Juncker, who lost office last year after 18 years as prime minister, beat French rival Michel Barnier, the EU’s regulation chief, to become the European People’s Party (EPP) top candidate for the European Parliament elections in May.

It puts Juncker, 59 and one of the region’s most experienced deal brokers, in contention for the EU’s most…

Local News Business March 7, 2014

Port to operate as normal pending new talks

By Constantinos Psillides

A new weekend overtime ban by Cyprus Port Authority (CPA) workers was averted at the eleventh hour on Friday, after the union side agreed to new overtime talks next week.

CPA workers, who have been striking and refraining from overtime on and off for the past three weeks are in disagreement with the transport and finance ministries, which want to reduce overtime allowances. The unions have rejected all proposals made so far, insisting that no cuts be…

Local News March 7, 2014

Minister ‘shocked’ by how clinic was being run

By Constantinos Psillides

Health minister Petros Petrides said he was shocked and outraged on Friday when he paid a surprise visit to the Linopetra outpatients clinic in Limassol and found it in chaos.

The minister’s visit was prompted by press reports, saying the clinic was overflowing with patients and that staff were unable to cope.

What he found there was misfiled paperwork, missing staff and patients being neglected.

“How is it possible for an employee to be absent and nobody…

Local News March 7, 2014

Residents in Vassilikos area plan to protest energy hub

By Angelos Anastasiou

Residents of the villages surrounding the Vassilikos area in Limassol have announced a demonstration for Sunday, March 16 at Mari village, in protest over government plans to develop the area into a giant energy complex, according to a statement by the Kalavassos Environment and Health Protection Group.

On Thursday, in an assembly of residents held at the Kalavassos community council premises, the community set out its positions in the context of the public consultations relating to the…

Local News March 7, 2014

Suspicious land deal charges against AKEL member dropped

PROSECUTORS on Friday dropped charges against a member of main opposition party AKEL, who had been implicated in a suspicious land deal in Larnaca involving the state telecoms company pension fund.

Despite initially judging they had enough to charge Christos Alecou, one of two AKEL members involved in the case, prosecutors dropped the charges saying they did not have enough evidence against him.

Alecou, the party’s Larnaca district officer at the time of the alleged offense, was scheduled to respond…

Football Sport March 7, 2014

FA Cup holders Wigan look to shock City again

By Josh Reich
AN immediate return to the Premier League remains Wigan Athletic’s priority but the FA Cup holders are determined to repeat last year’s shock final win over Manchester City when they meet in Sunday’s last-eight clash (6.05pm).

Wigan stunned hot favourites City 1-0 at Wembley with Ben Watson’s late header sealing the club their first major trophy.
Celebrations proved short-lived, however, when defeat by Arsenal three days later ensured Wigan became the first club to win…

Local News March 7, 2014

Electricity price reduction made permanent (updated)

THE ENERGY regulator, CERA, has decided to make a temporary 8 per cent reduction in the price of electricity permanent, starting February, it was announced on Friday.

CERA said the reduction will kick in at the end of February for clients on a monthly bill, and the end of this month for those whose consumption is measured every two months.

State broadcaster CyBC reported that the electricity authority (EAC) has appealed the decision at the Supreme Court.

The authority believes…

Life & Style March 7, 2014

A minute with Katerina Mina, Soprano

Where do you live?
On my own in a central London location

Best childhood memory?
Winter Saturday afternoons in Cyprus: Watching ’I Kravgi ton Lykon’ with Maria Aliferis while sitting by the fire place

Most frequented restaurant and absolute favourite dish?
My local Italian restaurant Il Convivio for my absolute favorite Black Spaghetti with Lobster.

Sport March 7, 2014

Brothers represent Cyprus at Pan Armenian Winter Games

Cyprus Ski Federation athletes (and brothers) Manos and Yiannos Kouyoumdjian recently represented the island at the Pan Armenian Winter Games, held in Armenia between February 21 and March 2, the first time for either of them.

Seventeen-year old Yiannos finished third in the slalom event, despite competing against very strong opposition. First in this event was 21-year-old Georgian champion with the Armenian champion taking second place. Both these athletes represented their countries in the Winter Olympics held earlier this year…

International News Comment March 7, 2014

What went wrong in Venezuela?

The country should be prosperous and secure. It sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Its nearly $100 billion in annual oil exports rank it among the world’s top 10 oil exporters.

But Venezuela also leads the planet in price inflation. Even its official inflation rate – 56 percent annually – is the highest in the world. More realistically, after factoring in the black market, economist Steve Hanke of John Hopkins University and the Cato Institute calculates Venezuela’s real…

English Premier League Sport March 7, 2014

Chelsea primed to steal a march on title rivals

By Martyn Herman
CHELSEA have a gilt-edged opportunity to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League this weekend and there is nothing their main title rivals can do about it.

With second-placed Liverpool having a week off and Arsenal and Manchester City in FA Cup action, all the chasers can do is hope Tottenham Hotspur can end one of the longest jinx’s in English football and upset the odds at Stamford Bridge.

Twenty four…

Football Sport March 7, 2014

Battle at both ends hotting up in Cyprus

By Iacovos Constantinou

THE regular football season is drawing to a close with just three rounds remaining, with the battle at both ends of the table hotting up.
With this in mind, the Cyprus Football Association decided that all games from now on will played on the same day and during the daytime.

All matches were suspended last weekend as referees staged a protest after the car of their association president, Leondios Trattos, was damaged in a bomb explosion…

International News March 7, 2014

Erdogan says Turkey could ban Facebook and YouTube

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could ban Facebook and YouTube after local elections on March 30, saying they have been abused by his political enemies.

Erdogan is locked in a power struggle with U.S.-based Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally who he says is behind a stream of “fabricated” audio recordings posted on the Internet purportedly revealing graft in his inner circle.

“We are determined on this subject. We will not leave this nation at the mercy…

Local News Business March 7, 2014

Big business getting behind solution

By Stefanos Evripidou

THE ISLAND’S business giants yesterday appeared to throw their weight behind a Cyprus solution, highlighting the enormous benefits it would bring to the economy across multiple sectors during an invite-only Brussels conference attended by the two communities’ peace negotiators.

“It’s the economy, stupid,” was the basic message leading Cypriot businesses from both sides of the divide passed on to the two negotiators, Andreas Mavroyiannis and Kudret Ozersay, who were invited to attend a two-day seminar analysing the…

Comment March 7, 2014

Our View: Hold your horses, Harris

THE economy has been in desperate need of positive, confidence-boosting news for quite some time now, but when it arrives it will not be announced by a minister or civil servant but by the markets which operate independently of governments and offer a more objective take on reality.

The Anastasiades government, understandably, has been trying hard to build confidence by identifying signs of improvement and citing the positive reviews given by the troika, with regard to the implementation of the…

Local News March 7, 2014

Land registry’s hands tied on foreclosures

By Angelos Anastasiou

BANK-initiated foreclosures of mortgaged properties have already been executed, according to the lands and surveys department, adding to Wednesday’s row between the House legal affairs committee and Finance Minister Harris Georgiades.

“Property foreclosures have already begun, but we are currently unable to confirm whether they relate to primary residences,” deputy director of the lands and surveys department Petros Petrides said. This is because “the criteria of what constitutes a ‘primary residence’ are unclear.”

“If a parent, who…

Local News Business March 7, 2014

Gas exploration set to pick up pace

By Elias Hazou

AFTER a lull, prospecting for hydrocarbons in Cypriot waters is set to pick up pace this year and continue into the next.

French oil major Total expects to start drilling in mid 2015, the company’s head of Cyprus operations said yesterday.

Jean-Luc Porcheron was speaking during a presentation organised by the Cyprus-French Business Association themed “Total in Cyprus: A long term perspective”.

“This is just the beginning of exploration in Cyprus,” Porcheron said.

“We have a lot…

Local News March 7, 2014

Georgiades: Cyprus could return to the markets in 2015

By George Psyllides

CYPRUS could return to the markets earlier than originally thought, according to Finance Minister Harris Georgiades who said it was a fully feasible objective given the way things were progressing.

“If we manage to regain access to the markets it will mean we have won the wager and will stand on our feet again,” he said during an interview on private Sigma Television on Wednesday evening.

“The objective is fully feasible at the rate things are going…

Local News March 7, 2014

Russian entrepreneur steps in to help blind toddler

By Bejay Browne

A RUSSIAN entrepreneur living in Cyprus has donated the remaining amount needed to help a Paphos toddler, blind since birth, to undergo an operation which could help him see.

The two-year-old was born blind and his family had been racing to raise the final €5,000 they needed to help give him sight.

Iordanis (Dani) Demetrof born in March 2011 has already been treated in Thailand at a cost of €28,000. He needs three such treatments and the…