Cyprus Mail | Cyprus Mail News and More

Local News Sport April 16, 2014

‘Tsirion stands are safe’ says municipality

By George Psyllides

LIMASSOL’S Tsirion stadium was structurally sound, the town’s municipality said on Wednesday, censuring those who “scare mongered” causing unnecessary distress.

The municipality said its civil engineer, along with the experts hired by the stadium’s authorities from the office of Themos Demetriou and Associates, visited Tsirion on Tuesday, following a recent announcement by the island’s technical chamber ETEK concerning the state of the spectator stands.

“Both the report, and the public statements of the office, emphasise beyond any…

English Premier League Sport April 16, 2014

Stuttering City held by bottom side Sunderland, Palace shock Everton

By Michael Hann

Manchester City’s Premier League title hopes were dealt a crushing blow as they were held to a 2-2 draw by bottom club Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Everton suffered a surprise 3-2 home defeat by Crystal Palace at Goodison Park to hit their chances of a top-four finish.

Fernandinho got City off to the perfect start with a goal after two minutes, but Connor Wickham’s double put struggling Sunderland ahead before Samir Nasri snatched…

Local News April 16, 2014

UNHCR regrets lowering protection standards for refugees

THE Cyprus Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday expressed concern about new changes in the refugee legislation that curtail essential rights of forcibly displaced people who have sought sanctuary in Cyprus.

“We are disappointed that Cyprus has lowered its standards when it comes to the protection of persons fleeing war and generalised violence,” said Damtew Dessalegne, the UNHCR Representative in Cyprus.

It said the new law takes away family reunification rights and protection against…

Local News April 16, 2014

Commission defends civil servant who ditched work

By Constantinos Psillides

THE decision to approve the early retirement of a public sector employee who showed up for work for a mere 47 days in two years is “completely justified”, according to the head of a body that rubber-stamps promotions, evaluations and transfers within the civil service.

Pavlos Papagerogiou, head of the Public Service Commission (PSC) told the Cyprus Mail that the PSC reviewed all the evidence at its disposal and decided that a €1,500 fine was “sufficient punishment”…

International News April 16, 2014

India’s Modi says committed to no first use of nuclear weapons

By Douglas Busvine

Indian prime ministerial front runner Narendra Modi ruled out the first use of nuclear weapons on Wednesday, seeking to calm concerns after his Hindu nationalist party vowed to revise arms strategy if elected.

Modi told the ANI television service the nuclear arms were defensive weapons. India and its rival neighbour Pakistan are both nuclear powers that have been building up their nuclear arms stockpiles and testing long range missiles.

In the 70-minute interview, conducted in the Gujarati state capital Gandhinagar, Modi predicted a…

International News April 16, 2014

GM to seek court protection against ignition lawsuits

By Jessica Dye

General Motors Co said it would ask a US court to bar lawsuits related to actions before its 2009 bankruptcy, signaling a tougher stance toward legal claims stemming from its recent recall over faulty ignition switches.

GM has said it is protected from liability for claims related to incidents that occurred before it exited bankruptcy in 2009, and has taken steps to raise those issues with the court by filing motions to stay recall-related lawsuits while it asks that bankruptcy court to clarify the extent of that protection.

In a filing with the US…

International News April 16, 2014

22 reported killed in clashes over C.African Republic town

By Crispin Dembassa-Kette

At least 22 people, mainly civilians, were killed in clashes between mainly Muslim rebels and Christian militia in the Central African Republic earlier this week, the local Red Cross said on Wednesday.

The clashes took place on Monday in Grimari, about 300 km northeast of Bangui, and coincide with a push into the interior by French and African forces struggling to contain violence that experts warn has pushed the country to the verge of genocide.

“There are 22 dead, four of whom were women killed by stray bullets,” Michel…

International News April 16, 2014

Pakistani Taliban end ceasefire with government but say talks still on

By Saud Mehsud

The Pakistani Taliban have formally ended a 40-day ceasefire but are still open to talks with the government, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Government negotiators were not immediately available to confirm if talks would continue.

Shahidullah Shahid said the insurgents were not extending the ceasefire, which began on March 1, because the government had continued to arrest people and had killed more than 50 people associated with the insurgency.

The government has also continued to carry our raids and had…

Local News April 16, 2014

Port workers to strike again after Easter

By Constantinos Psillides

Limassol port workers have decided to go on strike again immediately after the Easter holidays, following the rejection of the labour ministry proposal on Tuesday.

The port workers, who were on strike until Tuesday morning, initially refused to service docked ships on Wednesday morning but finally gave in after port’s officials, union bosses and businessmen pleaded with them to unload the ships. The port workers went back to work but promised to resume the strike immediately after…

International News April 16, 2014

Separatists fly Russian flag over Ukrainian armoured vehicles (Updated)

By Gabriela Baczynska and Thomas Grove

Separatists flew the Russian flag on armoured vehicles taken from the Ukrainian army on Wednesday, humiliating a Kiev government operation to recapture eastern towns controlled by pro-Moscow partisans.

Six armoured personnel carriers were driven into the rebel-held town of Slaviansk to waves and shouts of “Russia! Russia!”. It was not immediately clear whether they had been captured by rebels or handed over to them by Ukrainian deserters.

Another 15 armoured troop carriers full of paratroops were surrounded and halted by…

Local News April 16, 2014

Storm over party donation revelations (updated)

By Angelos Anastasiou

Reports on Wednesday that ruling DISY and opposition AKEL received a total of €2 million from Focus Maritime Corporation, owned by Greek shipowner Michalis Zolotas, caused a storm in the political arena, given the connection to former Laiki strongman Andreas Vgenopoulos.

Daily Politis revealed that €1.5 million was donated to AKEL and €500.000 to DISY – in late 2007 and early 2008.

Zolotas is widely perceived as a “close associate and friend” Vgenopoulos. Among other business connections,…

Entertainment April 16, 2014

Bar review: Ammos Beach Bar, Larnaca

By Andreas Vou

The summer season is almost upon us and the last few weeks of sunshine have put most people in good spirits in anticipation of what awaits in the coming months. While it is not quite the 40-degree heat of mid-July, a spot of good weather and a refreshing drink by the beach is enough to change anybody’s mood – and there are few better places to do that than at Ammos Beach Bar.

Ammos has become the…

International News April 16, 2014

Congolese gunmen wound Belgian head of Africa’s oldest park

By Peter Jones

The director of Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga Park - Africa’s oldest national park – survived an attack by unidentified gunmen while driving through the country’s volatile eastern borderlands on Tuesday, a colleague said.

Emmanuel de Merode, one of Africa’s leading conservationists, was shot four times on the road linking the park’s headquarters in Rumangabo to Goma, the capital of North Kivu province.

“He was attacked around 4:30 pm (1530 GMT) and was evacuated by the Congolese army,” the colleague said on condition he not be…

Entertainment April 16, 2014

Giving ballet a chance

By Alix Norman

Flagstaff House is beautiful. Home to the family of the Commander of the British Forces in Cyprus, it’s reminiscent of a modern Manderley – the site is truly a ‘jewel in the hollow of the hand’. From the terrace, one can make out a maze of white-gravelled paths snaking through shelving lawns, disappearing among a profusion of bougainvillaea to re-emerge on the horizon. Birdsong echoes over the low stone walls, olive trees rustle in the breeze. There’s…

Local News April 16, 2014

Co-ops to announce scheme to help vulnerable borrowers

By Staff Reporter

Co-ops will next month be announcing a number of initiatives to help vulnerable borrowers, Co-operative Central Bank chief Nicolas Hadjiyiannis said on Wednesday.

He was speaking after a meeting with Archbishop Chrysostomos to whom he handed a cheque for €5,000 to help the needy who are provided for by the Church food bank.

The announcement about helping borrowers in difficulties came a day after the Bank of Cyprus said it had cut the interest rates to the…

International News April 16, 2014

Gunmen kill nine in western Ethiopia bus attack

By Aaron Maasho

Gunmen ambushed a bus carrying dozens of people in western Ethiopia near the Sudanese border, killing nine and wounding six others, state-run media said on Wednesday.

There was no claim of responsibility and no group was blamed for the attack, but Ethiopia says it has thwarted several plots in recent years by Ethiopian insurgents as well as Somali al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab Islamist militants.

A handful of rebel groups are waging low-level separatist insurgencies in Ethiopia, while Ethiopian troops are part of…

International News April 16, 2014

Rivals show force in eastern Ukraine before talks

By Gabriela Baczynska and Thomas Grove

Ukrainian government forces and separatist pro-Russian militia staged rival shows of force in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday amid escalating rhetoric on the eve of crucial four-power talks in Geneva on the former Soviet country’s future.

Government troops drove seven armoured personnel carriers flying the Ukrainian flag into the town of Kramatorsk after securing control of a nearby airfield from the rebels on Tuesday, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to warn of the risk of civil war.

But just 15 km away, armed men in different…

Local News April 16, 2014

Family attacked in their home

By Constantinos Psillides

Two men wearing hoods and holding a gun and knife invaded the home of a family in Limassol on Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.

The two men rang the doorbell at around 8pm and grabbed the woman who opened the door by the throat. The men ordered her to stay in the living room while they made their way to the bedrooms.

According to the police report, the two men tried to attack the woman’s husband…

Local News April 16, 2014

Greens organise Easter egg-painting event

The Green Party will on Thursday give demonstrations in Nicosia and Limassol on more environmentally sound, and safer methods of colouring eggs for Easter.

In an announcement on Wednesday, the party said the best way was to use white eggs, which should be washed or wiped clean and left at room temperature for a few hours before boiling in vinegar.

To make the eggs red, the Greens suggest using beetroot water. For green, spinach, orange, onion skins, yellow, carrots or…

English Premier League Sport April 16, 2014

Wenger gamble on Arsenal’s golden oldies pays off

By Sam Holden

Arsene Wenger took a risk by picking Arsenal’s old guard against West Ham United on Tuesday but it paid off with a 3-1 win as his weary side regained fourth place in the Premier League.

The Frenchman fielded a team with an average age of 29 at the Emirates, with Olivier Giroud their youngest outfield player at 27, as he banked on his golden oldies to get a result.
Wenger, renowned for developing young players, opted…

A holiday reminder on departure

Elections in Afghanistan

Philpa Spring Rally

Royals visit New Zealand

Let's go clean

Annunciation holiday in Moscow

Taxi drivers protest

Missing Imperial Faberge eggs in London

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule with President Anastasiades

Divers scan the water for debris of the missing Flight MH370

Hungarian ‘Popeye’ world record breaking attempt

The new Nicosia bi-communal waste-water treatment plant at Mia Milia

The biggest photovoltaic park in Cyprus

Thai elephant battle water with tourists to celebrate Songkran festival

Cabinet goes tech

Ivory destruction in Belgium

Third phase of the Indian general elections

Thunderstorms in Nicosia

Children collect signatures for the Arctic

Paul Exhibition in Basel

Robot Open in Tehran

Earthquake in Nicaragua

Stocktaking at animal park Hagenbeck

Protests against German Chancellor Merkel visit to Greece

Latest CYPRUS MAIL Video

For more CM videos click here

Guest column

To pitch a blog post to the Cyprus Mail Team, please enter your name, your email address, headline and your post. The post can be a short idea, or the full text of your submission. An editor will contact you should we decide to publish your blog post.

Got a tip?

So you've got the inside scoop on a story or topic that we've covered? We respect your anonymity. Feel free to directly email us at readers@cyprus-mail.com

NEWS

‘Tsirion stands are safe’ says municipality

Stuttering City held by bottom side Sunderland, Palace shock Everton

UNHCR regrets lowering protection standards for refugees

Commission defends civil servant who ditched work

India’s Modi says committed to no first use of nuclear weapons

GM to seek court protection against ignition lawsuits

22 reported killed in clashes over C.African Republic town

Pakistani Taliban end ceasefire with government but say talks still on

Port workers to strike again after Easter

Separatists fly Russian flag over Ukrainian armoured vehicles (Updated)

Storm over party donation revelations (updated)

Bar review: Ammos Beach Bar, Larnaca

Congolese gunmen wound Belgian head of Africa’s oldest park

Giving ballet a chance

Co-ops to announce scheme to help vulnerable borrowers

Gunmen kill nine in western Ethiopia bus attack

Rivals show force in eastern Ukraine before talks

Family attacked in their home

Greens organise Easter egg-painting event

Wenger gamble on Arsenal’s golden oldies pays off

The Week in Pictures , April 7th – April 11th

Suggested news from our partners

NEWS IN BRIEF

Latest CYPRUS MAIL Video

Cyprus News Digest Podcast

Most Popular

Join us

Archives