Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped the United States would realise the “futility” of sanctions and that Moscow would respond harshly to any attack against Russia.
“One would like to hope that the United States, which has played around too much with sanctions, will finally realise the futility of such a policy. We once again confirm that from now on we will react harshly to any attack against Russia,” the ministry said in a statement.
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By Stelios Orphanides
Cyprus’ opposition parties may continue their Syriza-inspired anti-bailout rebellion for another month until Greece’s new government realises it cannot afford to rule without funding from international creditors, a DISY lawmaker said.
“In a few weeks when the limits of what the new government can do with respect to the country’s major problems become obvious, then it is likely that they will have also have second thoughts in Cyprus,” member of the parliament and economist Prodromos Prodromou said.
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The United Nations Security Council has approved renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate for a further six months.
Earlier on Thursday, the government expressed satisfaction over the text of the resolution on the renewal of the mandate of UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
Nicosia said it was satisfied with the text of the resolution, which did not reflect negative references included in the UN Secretary General’s report, published earlier this month.
“We note that references sought by the Turkish side about…
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By Maria Gregoriou
We all know that a Saturday night is just the right time to get your dance shoes on and give the dance floor what for (what that means exactly is up to you, but one thing is for sure, there will be no tears on the dance floor).
This Saturday, all the way from Greece, DJ Thodoris Triantafillou will be setting the atmosphere alight with his electric beats at the Ammos Beach Bar in Larnaca.
The man…
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One person has died from the flu in Cyprus, the health ministry said on Thursday, as the illness showed a rise in activity in the last week of 2014.
Between December 1 and January 23, authorities recorded two serious incidents across Cyprus, one leading to a death.
The patient, whose age and gender were not disclosed, had been suffering with health problems for many years, the ministry said.
Influenza activity in Cyprus started at the same time period as…
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By Constantinos Psillides
The education ministry is fully aware of the critical state of public education and is taking steps towards comprehensive reform, Education Minister Kostas Kadis said in response to the letter sent by University of Cyprus rector Constantinos Christofides to the President.
“We share many of the rector’s concerns. At present we are developing policies to address both the quality of educators and the syllabus. There are a lot of problems that need to be resolved…
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Egypt has invited Cypriot businesses to bid for some of the €6 billion in large construction projects currently underway, Communications, Works and Transport Minister Marios Demetriades and his Egyptian counterpart Hany Dahy said on Thursday.
The two men headed a meeting of delegations from the two countries in the context of Dahy`s visit in Nicosia and discussed ways of cooperation, including the possibility of a ferry connection, cooperation on cruises, the employment of Egyptian personnel in ships under Cypriot management…
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By George Psyllides
DIKO MP Athina Kyriakidou is on a collision course with the party’s leadership over its policies, which she suggested where not always in the best interest of the country.
Reports said the party was planning to discipline Kyriakidou after she broke ranks and joined ruling DISY’s 20 lawmakers who sided with President Nicos Anastasiades in a foreclosures-related vote earlier this month.
Kyriakidou rejected the criticism, saying she would not accept lessons in discipline from people who had…
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By Angelos Anastasiou
Implementation of the National Health Scheme (NHS) may be delayed as the software infrastructure – a necessary prerequisite for implementation – will most likely not be ready on time, sources cited by the Cyprus News Agency said on Thursday.
In a meeting on Wednesday, Health Minister Philippos Patsalis briefed Troika delegates on progress made on the NHS issue, the phased implementation of which is scheduled to take 12 months starting July 2015.
However, a host of obstacles…
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Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias stoked a brewing row with European partners over sanctions against Russia on Thursday, saying Athens would not be pushed into agreement because of its impending debt negotiations.
Just days after taking office, the leftwing government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been embroiled in a dispute with European partners after it complained that an EU statement on the crisis in Ukraine had been issued without its consent.
He said some European Union partners had tried…
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By Marie Kambas
Telecom and Internet service provider Cablenet plans to continue to grow organically after gaining almost one fifth of the domestic number and will avoid getting involved in the privatisation of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, a senior manager said.
Based on published data of the Telecoms and Postal Services Regulator, the company, created in 2003, holds close to 17 percent of the domestic broadband market.
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By Evie Andreou
THE Digital Cyprus web compendium will be available to the public in the coming months the island’s digital champion Stelios Chimonas has said.
The platform, inspired and developed by the non-governmental organisation Future Worlds Centre, will host all information concerning Cyprus.
“The goal is to create and maintain a web community of volunteers that love Cyprus and want to help concentrate material on Cyprus which will be available to everyone,” Chimonas said.
The project utilised the…
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By John Geddie and Marius Zaharia
German bond yields fell on Thursday as worries over Greece’s new anti-bailout government buoyed demand for top-rated assets from investors, who were also starting to think the U.S. Federal Reserve could hold back any interest rate rise.
Athens endured a fourth day of market jitters since Sunday’s election with its newly-instated government at loggerheads with international creditors as it begins to roll back austerity measures.
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By Dan Williams and Laila Bassam
Israel and Hezbollah signalled on Thursday their rare flare-up in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border was over, after the Lebanese guerrillas killed two Israeli troops in retaliation for a deadly air strike in Syria last week.
Israel said it had received a message from UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, that Hezbollah was not interested in further escalation.
In Beirut, a Lebanese source briefed on the situation told Reuters that Israel informed Hezbollah…
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Limassol port’s privatisation process is on track, Communications, Works and Transport Marios Demetriades said on Thursday.
As part of its €10 billion bailout, Cyprus is due to embark on a series of privatisations, with the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority and the Limassol port to be privatised by the end of the year. Under the terms of the economic adjustment programme, the Electricity Authority will be privatised by the end of 2017.
Ministry officials have met with a Troika technical mission currently…
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High quality counterfeit €20 bills have been passing around in the Nicosia and Limassol districts, police said, urging the public to be extra careful when dealing with cash.
According to police, most of the counterfeit bills are marked with the serial numbers V25888032140 and Τ55501929854.
Police advise the public to swipe bills through counterfeit currency detection gadgets –where such a gadget is available – or compare the suspect bill with one of equal value.
Euro notes have a number of…
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By Greg Stutchbury
Andy Murray overcame a blistering start from Tomas Berdych to advance to his fourth Australian Open final with a 6-7(6) 6-0 6-3 7-5 victory on Thursday.
Murray will meet either top seed Novak Djokovic or defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who play their semi-final on Friday, for the title.
It is Murray’s first grand slam final since he beat Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2013, and eighth of his career.
“I was obviously disappointed to lose the first…
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By Maria Gregoriou
They say that children are our future – teach them well and let them lead the way, as the song goes, so it is only right that we should be the ones feeding their imaginations and allowing their natural talents to shine.
But if you are a busy parent, or someone who wants to introduce a niece, nephew, or godchild to the world of music, story-telling, dance and the theatre, then read on (and if you are…
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European Parliament President Martin Schulz warned leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday against diverging from the European Union’s stance towards Russia in the Ukraine crisis.
Tsipras, who won election on Sunday, unsettled European partners on Wednesday by criticising an EU statement that warned Moscow it faced new sanctions over its role in Ukraine.
His decision to receive the Russian ambassador before meeting any other foreign official did not go unnoticed either in Brussels and Berlin.
“I’ve noticed with…
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Long time Cyprus Mail contributor and former CyBC reporter Rosie Charalambous kicks off a series of weekly podcasts covering politics, current affairs and culture every Friday. NEW For the latest Cyprus News Digest episode click here
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