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Local News Business April 25, 2014

Kuwaiti investors view all options

By Elias Hazou

A GROUP of investors from the Gulf state of Kuwait were yesterday exploring various potential business ventures in Cyprus while the government further gauged Deutsche Bank’s interest in co-bankrolling a mooted gas liquefaction terminal on the island.

Three investment funds, under the Kuwait Projects Company Holding (KIPCO), here on a fact-finding mission, held a succession of meetings with government officials and business leaders.

The KIPCO team first met the Cyprus Promotion Investment Agency (CIPA). They then headed…

Local News Comment April 25, 2014

Our View: Football clubs should pay for thugs’ damage

THIS NEWSPAPER, on countless occasions, has criticised football clubs for their failure to take any responsibility for the violent behaviour of their fans. The clubs always argue that there were mitigating circumstances for the displays of hooliganism – either the referee had provoked them with ‘biased’ decisions or the policing was inadequate. And when policing is adequate and a few hooligans are manhandled by officers, the clubs would invariably accuse the police of using ‘excessive force’.

In short, the clubs…

Local News April 25, 2014

Parties mark Annan plan anniversary

By Constantinos Psillides

GREEK Cypriot political parties marked the tenth anniversary of rejecting the Annan plan, congratulating the people for their decision in the referendum and warning about the future, with some insisting that turning down the UN proposal for a solution was a mistake and a lost opportunity.

The referendum was the only comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem put to a public vote. On April 23, 2004, the Turkish Cypriot community supported the Annan plan by 65 per…

Local News Business April 25, 2014

DEFA assessing natural gas supply bids

By Elias Hazou

THE state-owned Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) has started assessing the bids submitted by interested suppliers of natural gas for the use in power generation, it said yesterday.
“At this stage, the evaluation concerns the application of a set of pass/fail criteria for proposals received. These criteria cover the bidder’s (i) financial standing, (ii) creditworthiness, (iii) experience and technical capability and (iv) the technical suitability of the bidder’s proposal,” DEFA said in a short statement.

The…

Local News Business April 25, 2014

Work getting worse in Cyprus

By Sinead Kelly

NEARLY three quarters of employees in Cyprus say that working conditions are worse now than they were five years ago mainly because of the economic crisis, according to a Eurobarometer survey released in Brussels yesterday.

This coincides with the general trend in pay cuts, shorter work days and rising unemployment as local businesses restructure and try to cope with the fallout of the crisis, despite the University of Cyprus businesses sentiment index seeing some stabilisation in recent…

Local News April 25, 2014

Economy task force chief blames Erotokritou of meddling

By Elias Hazou

THE former head of the police task force investigating the collapse of the financial sector has accused deputy Attorney-general Rikos Erotokritou of meddling in the criminal probe.

Chief inspector Themistos Arnaoutis quit the team in mid-April, though his reasons for stepping down were not revealed at the time. A day later, Politis broke its story about a combined €2m in donations given to DISY and AKEL by Focus Maritime Corporation.

The daily followed up yesterday with a…

Local News Business April 25, 2014

Cash-for-gold shops a crisis phenomenon

By Angelos Anastasiou

THE deep financial crisis that has driven several Cypriots to economic despair has led to the emergence of many a ‘gold shop’ – a business willing to buy precious metals for cash on the spot – some of which operate outside the strict confines of the law and are perceived as straightforward pawn shops.

Cash-for-gold shops typically offer to buy objects made of precious metals for resale to goldsmiths for profit. But while the precious metals market…

Local News April 24, 2014

Civil group pulls out of DISY finance monitoring

By Constantinos Psillides

TRANSPARENCY Now, a coalition of civil organisations, has withdrawn its monitoring of the Democratic Rally (DISY) election fundraising campaign, saying that the ruling party has lied over the publication of its financial statements.

The coalition said in an announcement that DISY was supposed to post financial statements along a donor list on the party website, but has failed to do so.

Transparency Now, that advocates a complete overhaul of party funding policy and full transparency, also accuses…

Local News April 24, 2014

MEP calls for vigilance to recognise genocide of Armenians

MEP Eleni Theocharous has called for vigilance in efforts by world nations and by Turkey itself to recognise the genocide of Armenians nearly a century ago, adding that statements of condolences by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are nothing less than a farce.

Theocharous, a former surgeon with the Doctors of the World who has travelled to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict zone on several occasions, and chairs the Armenian friendship group in the European Parliament, was the keynote speaker at the…

International News April 24, 2014

Thousands mob India’s Modi as election race starts in sacred city

By Frank Jack Daniel

India is halfway through the world’s largest-ever election, in which 815 million people are eligible to vote over 10 stages. Modi will stand for the parliamentary seat of the Ganges river city of Varanasi on May 12, four days before results are due.

One of the world’s oldest inhabited cities and a centre for Hindus who come to wash away their sins in the sacred river, Varanasi should give Modi an easy win.

But with a sizeable Muslim community and multiple…

International News April 24, 2014

More teams withdraw, Nepal’s Everest season in jeopardy

By Gopal Sharma

Several foreign climbing expeditions have called off attempts to scale Everest following an avalanche that killed at least 13 local guides, meaning Nepal faces an entire season without a single ascent of the mountain for the first time in decades.

The toll from last Friday’s accident was the highest in a single day in Everest history, and many Sherpas who are angry over their treatment at the hands of foreign mountaineers and the government have refused to guide visitors up the climb.

Three Sherpas…

International News April 24, 2014

Three Americans killed in Kabul hospital attack

By Jeremy Laurence and Hamid Shalizi

Three Americans were killed on Thursday when a security guard opened fire at a Kabul hospital funded by a US Christian charity, the latest in a spate of attacks on foreign civilians in Afghanistan.

Attacks on security forces, Afghan civilians and Westerners have been on the rise since the beginning of the year as Western forces prepare to leave the country and Afghans choose a new president.

“We can confirm three Americans were killed,” said a US Embassy…

International News April 24, 2014

Israel suspends peace talks after Palestinian unity bid

By Jeffrey Heller

Israel on Thursday suspended US-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians in response to President Mahmoud Abbas’s unexpected unity pact with the rival Islamist Hamas group.

The negotiations had appeared to be heading nowhere even before Wednesday’s reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian groups plunged them deeper into crisis. The United States had been struggling to extend the talks beyond an original April 29 deadline for a peace accord.

“The government of Israel will not hold negotiations with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas, a terror…

International News April 24, 2014

Historic canonisation of two Popes brings joy and controversy

By Philip Pullella

Two giants of Roman Catholicism in the 20th century will become saints on Sunday at an unprecedented twin canonisation that has aroused both joy and controversy in the 1.2 billion member Church.

Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and called the modernising Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II, who reigned for nearly 27 years before his death in 2005 and whose trips around the world made him the most visible pope in history, will be declared saints by Pope Francis.

While…

Local News April 24, 2014

Justice minister brushes off calls for his resignation

Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou on Thursday brushed off calls for his resignation over football-related clashes, describing them as hypocritical attacks that served different expediencies each time.

The minister censured the police handling of the situation before a match on Tuesday night but also slammed the clubs and football authorities.

“My role and responsibility is the supervision, among other departments, of the police,” he told reporters. “It is not my role to plan or carry out police operations.”

His statements, the…

Brazil 2014 World Cup Sport April 24, 2014

Be optimistic about Brazil, says Blatter amid growing concerns

By Stefanie McIntyre

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has encouraged fans to be optimistic that the World Cup in Brazil will be a success, amid growing concerns over security and public unrest as workers scramble to finish stadiums on time.

The Swiss said similar public scepticism had accompanied preparations for previous World Cups and yet the tournaments had proved to be successes, despite not all the work being finished.

“It is my 10th World Cup… and I can tell you I…

International News April 24, 2014

Ukraine forces kill up to five rebels, Russia starts drill near border (Updated)

By Aleksandar Vasovic and Alexei Anishchuk

Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow rebels on Thursday as they closed in on the separatists’ military stronghold in the east, and Russia launched army drills near the border in response, raising fears its troops would invade.

The Ukrainian offensive amounts to the first time Kiev’s troops have used lethal force to recapture territory from the fighters, who have seized swathes of eastern Ukraine since April 6 and proclaimed an independent “People’s Republic of Donetsk”.

Ukraine’s acting president accused Moscow of supporting “terrorism at the…

Local News Business April 24, 2014

BoC to discuss creation of development bank

The Bank of Cyprus (BoC) board of directors will discuss setting up a separate entity to handle non performing loans, it emerged on Thursday.

The matter will be discussed on Thursday afternoon and Friday, BoC chairman Christis Hassapis said after a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades.

“We are possibly talking about a development bank and not a bad bank,” he said. “The term bad bank is a bad term.”

Recent media reports suggested there was disagreement among board members over…

International News April 24, 2014

Obama reaffirms commitment to Japan on tour of Asia allies

By Mark Felsenthal and Linda Sieg

US President Barack Obama assured ally Japan on Thursday that Washington was committed to its defence, including of tiny isles at the heart of a row with China, but denied he had drawn any new “red line” and urged peaceful dialogue over the islands.

His comments drew a swift response from China, which said the disputed islets were Chinese territory.

Obama also urged Japan to take “bold steps” to clinch a two-way trade pact seen as crucial to a broad regional agreement that is a central part…

International News April 24, 2014

Ecclestone trial begins in Germany

By Keith Weir

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said he remained confident as he went on trial on Thursday for bribery in Germany in a case that could end the Briton’s decades-long dominance of the motor sport.

Prosecutors in Munich have charged Ecclestone, 83, with bribing jailed banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to smooth the sale eight years ago of a stake in Formula One to private equity firm CVC. They say that Ecclestone favoured CVC because it was committed to keeping him on as chief executive.

“I’m confident, the sun is shining,” a dark-suited Ecclestone told camera crews jostling…

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit New Zealand

Running Easter bunny

Solar Impulse in Switzerland

Visakhi festival in Amritsar

Rabbit Steeple Chase Race

Burning bread in Brooklyn

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marks Kim Il-sung birth anniversary

Hillsborough Memorial service

President Anastasiades in Abu Dhabi

Total Lunar Eclipse

Catholic procession past unction stone in Chuirch of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem during Holy Week

Decorated Easter egg in Prague

Easter chocolates

Processions on Holy Wednesday in Granada

US Coast Guard drug seizure

Duck reflection

Singapore underwater 'Easter Bunny'

Holy Week World Record attempt

Re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday

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NEWS

Kuwaiti investors view all options

Our View: Football clubs should pay for thugs’ damage

Parties mark Annan plan anniversary

DEFA assessing natural gas supply bids

Work getting worse in Cyprus

Economy task force chief blames Erotokritou of meddling

Cash-for-gold shops a crisis phenomenon

Civil group pulls out of DISY finance monitoring

MEP calls for vigilance to recognise genocide of Armenians

Thousands mob India’s Modi as election race starts in sacred city

More teams withdraw, Nepal’s Everest season in jeopardy

Three Americans killed in Kabul hospital attack

Israel suspends peace talks after Palestinian unity bid

Historic canonisation of two Popes brings joy and controversy

Justice minister brushes off calls for his resignation

Be optimistic about Brazil, says Blatter amid growing concerns

Ukraine forces kill up to five rebels, Russia starts drill near border (Updated)

BoC to discuss creation of development bank

Obama reaffirms commitment to Japan on tour of Asia allies

Ecclestone trial begins in Germany

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