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Local News March 3, 2015

Financial aid granted for flood victims

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved €1.5 million for financial assistance to people affected by the severe weather in December 2014 and January 2015.

It said the money was approved because the scale of the disaster was unprecedented and had affected many more categories of people than would usually qualify for compensation.

“For this reason, it was decided by the minister of interior to support people who had been affected by the disaster and had immediate needs,” a Cabinet statement said.

…

Local News March 3, 2015

New body to combat looting and trafficking of antiquities

A national commission for combating looting and trafficking in cultural heritage has been given the green light by the cabinet.

The Committee will be composed of one representative each from the legal services, the ministries of communications and works, foreign affairs, education, and justice, the antiquities department, customs and the Church.

The commission’s responsibilities will be to examine documentation, make recommendations and conclude agreements with third countries to prevent theft and illegal import and export of artefacts and to maintain…

Local News March 3, 2015

Cabinet approves legal aid for bondholders

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal for free legal aid to bondholders who wish to file lawsuits against the banks.

Private holders of convertible enhanced capital securities issued by the Bank of Cyprus and now-defunct Laiki Bank claim they were mis-sold the financial products, which were essentially wiped out following the March 2013 events, and demand to be compensated.

Many had also drawn loans using the securities as collateral, which they are now being asked to repay.

Last month…

International News March 3, 2015

Israel’s Netanyahu warns US against Iran nuclear deal

By Dan Williams and Matt Spetalnick

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned US President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a “countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare” by a country that “will always be an enemy of America”.

“If the deal now being negotiated is accepted by Iran, that deal will not prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons – it will all but guarantee that Iran will get those nuclear weapons –…

Local News March 3, 2015

Lifer to be given parole by Easter

By Evie Andreou

Lifer Kyriacos Georgiades, 54, who threatened to go on hunger strike unless he was released on parole, has been promised by the State Legal services his wish will be granted by Easter following the intervention of the US embassy, his sister said on Tuesday.

He was also convinced by his family to refrain from the hunger strike.

“We his family, that don’t want his life to be in danger, have managed to convince him to suspend his…

Local News March 3, 2015

Former energy regulator to face corruption trial

By Elias Hazou

Former energy regulator Costas Ioannou is facing trial on charges of corruption and money laundering in relation to a power production licence he awarded a Russian company in 2009.

The police investigations, which took place in Cyprus and in Russia, date back to 2013.

Authorities were recently able to line up all the pieces in the puzzle when, having secured a court order, they went through the accounts of a company ultimately belonging to Ioannou.

Police…

Local News March 3, 2015

CTO director fired by cabinet

Embattled director of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) Marios Hannides was reportedly given the sack on Tuesday after the cabinet ratified a termination proposal by the organisation’s board of directors.

The CTO board has accused Hannides of squandering public money on unauthorised advertising campaigns, overseas trips, using office staff as chauffeurs outside office hours and other expenses, as detailed in a probe by Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides.

The board earlier took the decision to terminate Hannides’ contract, but the move needed…

Local News March 3, 2015

RES fund to post a deficit

By Elias Hazou

The Renewable Energy Sources (RES) Fund, financed by consumers through electricity bills, will this year post a deficit because of the power utility’s reduced revenues due to lower fuel prices.

The government is considering plugging the hole by spreading the cost among consumers and RES operators.

However, the extra cost charged to consumers would be tiny, energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Tuesday, following discussion at the House commerce committee.

“It is a headache, but a pleasant…

Business March 3, 2015

Cyprus CEOs more confident about growth prospects

CEOs in Cyprus are more confident this year about their company’s revenue growth prospects, according to the 4th consecutive local survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Cyprus within the framework of the Global CEO survey held annually over the past 18 years.

This year’s global survey, which saw the participation of more than 1,300 CEOs from 77 countries including 84 from Cyprus, focused on the future of businesses and examined how megatrends are transforming the competitive landscape and the dynamics…

Local News Business March 3, 2015

Administrator resigns claiming Georghadji was protecting Vgenopoulos

By Stelios Orphanides

The resignation of Andri Antoniades, special administrator of legacy Laiki Bank, sparked a new controversy about central bank governor Chrystalla Georghadji.

Antoniades repeated allegations about a possible conflict of interest of the governor, whose estranged husband represents former Laiki chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos. Depositors at Laiki saw all their deposits in excess of €100,000 wiped out in March 2013, when the lender went into resolution.

One and half years earlier, Laiki lost most of its equity…

International News March 3, 2015

Russians stand in line to mourn by coffin of slain Nemtsov (Update 2)

By Alexander Winning and Gabriela Baczynska

Thousands of Russians, many carrying red carnations, on Tuesday filed past the coffin of Boris Nemtsov, the Kremlin critic whose killing last week, friends say, showed the hazards of speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Aides to Putin deny any involvement in killing Nemtsov, who was shot in the back four times on Friday within sight of the Kremlin walls. Nemtsov’s friends say he was the victim of an atmosphere of hatred whipped…

International News March 3, 2015

Thousands evacuated after volcano erupts in southern Chile (Update 3)

By Antonio De la Jara and Rosalba O’Brien

Volcano Villarrica in southern Chile erupted in the early hours of Tuesday, sending a plume of ash and lava high into the sky, and forcing the evacuation of nearby communities.

The volcano, located near the popular tourist resort of Pucon around 750 km (460 miles) south of the capital Santiago, is one of South America’s most active. It last erupted in 2000.

A column of ash and rock particles shot up to…

International News March 3, 2015

Iraqi forces try to seal off Islamic State around Tikrit

By Ahmed Rasheed and Dominic Evans

Thousands of Iraqi soldiers and Shi’ite militiamen sought to seal off Islamic State fighters in Tikrit and nearby towns on Tuesday, the second day of Iraq’s biggest offensive yet against a stronghold of the radical Sunni Islamist militants.

Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, who has helped coordinate Baghdad’s counter-attacks against Islamic State since it seized much of northern Iraq in June, was overseeing at least part of the operation, witnesses told Reuters.

His presence…

International News March 3, 2015

Iran calls Obama’s 10-year nuclear demand ‘unacceptable’ (Updated)

By Arshad Mohammed

Iran on Tuesday rejected as “unacceptable” US President Barack Obama’s demand that it freeze sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years, but said it would continue talks aimed at securing a deal, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

“Iran will not accept excessive and illogical demands,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by Fars.

“Obama’s stance … is expressed in unacceptable and threatening phrases … ,” he reportedly said, adding that…

Motoring Sport March 3, 2015

Alonso ruled out of Australian Grand Prix

By Alan Baldwin

Fernando Alonso will miss next week’s season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix on doctors’ advice after a heavy crash in testing, the Spaniard’s McLaren team said on Tuesday.

“Fernando has understood and accepted that advice, and the two McLaren-Honda cars will therefore be driven in Australia by Fernando’s team-mate Jenson Button and the team’s test and reserve driver Kevin Magnussen,” they said in a statement.

Australia would have marked a new start for Alonso at McLaren, who…

Local News March 3, 2015

‘No pony tails or beards for police’

By Constantinos Psillides

No pony tails, long hair or beards for those who protect and serve, says Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou and Cyprus’ police top ranking officers, after rejecting an Ombudswoman’s report asking that the police dress code be updated to allow more flexibility.

According to the police press and information office, the ministry decided to leave the dress code as it was, despite being established decades ago.

The current dress code for male officers calls for short hair –…

International News March 3, 2015

Three dead as Kiev accuses Ukraine rebels of shelling

By Pavel Polityuk and Thomas Grove

Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and nine wounded as pro-Russian rebels shelled government positions despite a ceasefire deal, the military said on Tuesday, announcing Kiev’s highest casualty toll in several days.

The losses underscore the fragility of a two-week-old ceasefire agreement which Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called the last chance for peace between Kiev and the separatists he says are being armed by Russia.

Since the ceasefire went into effect on Feb. 15,…

Local News March 3, 2015

AG: pardon for Papacostas not that simple

By Constantinos Psillides

Granting former defence minister Costas Papacostas a presidential pardon is a complicated issue, Attorney-general Costas Clerides has said, explaining that the ex minister’s failing health was not the only factor to be considered.

Speaking to CyBC radio, Clerides said it was not merely a legal issue. “On the one hand, this a humane issue due to the minister’s health, which is deteriorating. On the other hand though, our first concern is to protect the public interest and…

Local News March 3, 2015

Injured eagles released to mark Wildlife Day

By Bejay Browne
TWO eagles that have been nursed back to health were released on Tuesday morning in Paphos by members of the Game and Wildlife department to mark World Wildlife Day.
According to Nick Kasinis, a senior Game and Wildlife Officer, the Bonelli’s eagle is a species under threat in Cyprus. The eagles, a mature female and an immature male aged around one and a half years old, were found in separate locations close to Stroumpi village…

Entertainment What's On March 3, 2015

The end of a scarf era

By Maria Gregoriou

The Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia will bring to light the exhibition Printed Scarves and the Last Scarf Maker as of today, which will offer us all a historical account of the art of printed scarves on the island.

The exhibition attempts to revive a trade that no longer exists and a craft that defined the traditional dress code for Cypriot women and men from the 18th century until the middle of the 20th century.

The museum…