By Peter Stevenson

THE GOVERNMENT will make a decision within the next two weeks about importing interim supplies of natural gas in its attempts to reduce the cost of electricity.

President Nicos Anastasiades chaired a meeting between Energy Minister, Giorgos Lakkotrypis, the Electricity Authority (EAC), the Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERA), Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) and the transmission system operator at the Presidential Palace on Friday.

“The main topic of the meeting was an interim gas solution in an attempt to exhaust all possibilities that exist, to be able to substantially reduce the price of electricity,” Lakkotrypis said after the meeting.

The minister told reporters that efforts were being made to ensure that no opportunity would be lost in the government’s efforts to substantially reduce the cost of electricity. He said a decision would be made one way or the other very soon.

“We discussed two essential parameters, one is the estimated quantities of electricity demand and the other is the length of the contract (offered by Russian company Itera). We looked at things realistically and have said that if we can reduce the price of electricity and provide substantial benefit to the state then we will go ahead with it,” he said.

Cyprus is seeking to secure a short-term supplier of natural gas not exceeding 1.2 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year as a stop-gap solution until it can bring ashore its own natural gas. The interim gas would be used for domestic electricity production.
Under the terms of the call for expression of interest, the supply of gas was to begin no later than early 2015 and last up until September 2018, when the island should be able to start using its own resources from the natural gas discovery in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Reports earlier this month claimed Itera’s offer would see gas sold to Cyprus just under $16 per million British Thermal Units (mBTU). Reportedly, DEFA is trying to get Itera to drop its final price a little more in order to clinch a deal.
But $15 or $16 per mBTU is not much lower than the electricity utility’s current cost of producing electricity from diesel, believed to be between $17 and $18 per mBTU.

“The issue of reducing the cost of electricity remains a priority for this government and we will pursue any policy that would bring about a substantial reduction,” Lakkotrypis said.

The minister revealed that a timeframe had been set and that a decision would have to be made within the next two weeks.

He added that the reduction in the cost of electricity would allow Cyprus’ economy to become more competitive and give some form of relief to households.

“We are making every effort to exhaust all possibilities,” he said.

It was leaked in early July that Noble Energy, which has a concession on offshore Block 12, had approached the government with its own idea for short-term supply of gas. For the time being Noble’s proposal is ‘informal’, in that it falls outside the bidding process conducted by DEFA.

Asked whether the government was considering Noble’s bid, Lakkotrypis told reporters that only official offers were being considered.

Send to Kindle

AUTHORITIES were put on alert on Friday after the oil-spill in the sea off the coast of the Karpas in the north reached government-controlled waters.

According to reports, volunteers, divers and officials from the fisheries department, Paralimni Municipality and district offices, police and the port authority took part in the clean-up.

The first reports of oil in the sea came at 11am near the Crystal Springs Hotel in the Kappari region of Protaras. By the afternoon crews had also begun collecting oil off the coast of the Vrissiana Beach Hotel, Nafsika and Konnos beach.

The fisheries department last week, following the spill in the north had expressed its readiness to deal with any problems that might arise from oil entering government controlled waters.

Coastal inspector, Giorgos Economou who was heading the clean-up process told the Cyprus Mail that there was no cause for concern and that crews were working extremely hard to remove the oil from the sea.

Economou explained that the oil which had reached southern shores was not flowing and was in large chunks called mazut. Nets and absorbent booms which had been taken to the area following last week’s oil spill in the north were being used by crews to try to mop-up the oil in the sea.

“We have received help from police who sent their helicopter over the water for an aerial view, to inform us of where the pockets of oil are so we know where to concentrate the clean-up procedure,” the coastal inspector said.

Send to Kindle

Executive vice-chairman of the Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company (CNHC) Solon Kassinis on Friday announced his intention of resigning, citing above all, the fact that he was excluded from a team appointed last week by the cabinet to negotiate with Cyprus’ US and Israeli partners on the development of natural gas within Block 12.

According to Sigmalive news portal, Kassinis, who was formerly the director of energy at the commerce ministry, told Sigma TV on Friday that when he took over at CNHC, known in Greek as KRETYK, in March he had prepared a plan to create a negotiating committee.

He also said he thought international consultants should also be hired. But he said nothing happened.

“Everything you need for the company to work effectively was sent to the ministry,” a clearly irritated Kassinis said, adding that valuable time had been lost.

But what annoyed him most was being excluded from the negotiating team appointed by the cabinet last week, he said.

“This exclusion was the biggest insult,” he said.

Kassinis said he intended to submit a written resignation to the president next week but added that he would always be available if needed, even from a position in the private sector.

Last week, the cabinet appointed on the negotiating committee, Stelios Chimonas (chairman), permanent secretary at the trade and energy ministry; Nora Nicolaidou, state’s attorney; Stelios Koundouris, treasury accountant; Eleni Vasiliadou, chairman of the Natural Gas Public Company; Odysseas Michaelides, head of the department of control, ministry of communications; and a representative from the Cyprus National Hydrocarbons Company.

According to an official announcement, the team’s task will be to negotiate the “advent of natural gas from Block 12…as soon as possible” and “the construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas plant at Vassilikos and the drafting of any additional agreements that may be required for the construction and operation of the plant.”

Also participating in the team’s meetings will be observers from the Attorney-general’s office and the Auditor-general’s office.

Send to Kindle

By Kim Palmer

A FORMER Cleveland school bus driver, Ariel Castro, agreed on Friday to plead guilty and be imprisoned for life for kidnapping and raping three women he held captive in his house for about a decade in one of the most sensational criminal cases in the United States in recent years.

At a court hearing, Ohio prosecutors in turn agreed that Castro will not be eligible for the death penalty over the disappearance of the women from 2002 to 2004 before they were freed in May along with a 6-year-old girl who, according to DNA evidence, was fathered by Castro with one of his captives.

Many Americans were alternately elated when the three women were freed from Castro’s house in a rundown neighbourhood of Cleveland on May 6, and stunned by the details of his brutal treatment of them. The women had been bound for periods of time in chains or ropes and endured starvation, beatings and sexual assaults, according to court documents and a police report.

The avoidance of a trial spares the women from having to testify.

At Friday’s hearing, Castro spoke for the first time in detail about his actions, saying he had been a victim himself as a child and had struggled with a sexual obsession.

“My addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has really taken a toll on my mind,” Castro, 53, clad in an orange prison jumpsuit, told the judge.

“I was also a victim as a child and it just kept going.”

Castro told Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo that he understood he would never emerge from prison under the plea agreement.

“I do understand that,” Castro responded. “I knew I was pretty much going to get the book thrown at me.”

His sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 1.

Castro was charged with 977 counts, including kidnapping and rape, for the abduction and imprisonment of the three women, Gina DeJesus, 23, Michelle Knight, 32, and Amanda Berry, 27.

Castro also was charged with murder under a fetal homicide law for allegedly forcing one of the women to miscarry.

Under Ohio law, prosecutors could have sought the death penalty for the murder charge, but the plea agreement precludes that.

Send to Kindle

By Allyn Fisher-Ilan

Israel has blocked the European Union from aiding tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank, in retaliation for an EU ban on financial assistance to Israeli organisations in the occupied territories.

The EU imposed its restrictions last week, citing its frustration over the continued expansion of Jewish settlements in territory captured by Israeli forces in the 1967 Middle East War. The new guidelines render Israeli entities operating there ineligible for EU grants, prizes or loans, beginning next year.

An Israeli official said on Friday the Jewish state was compelled to respond to the EU’s decision “to sanction or boycott the settlements”.

“From our standpoint we cannot just ignore this or treat spitting in our face as though it is rain,” the official said.

Settler leaders say the aid they receive from Europe is minimal. But many in Israel worry about knock-on effects the EU steps may have on individuals or companies based in Israel that might be involved in business in the settlements, deemed illegal by the international community.

The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon had decided to suspend contacts with the EU in the West Bank.

Yaalon, a former army chief and a hardliner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, has “frozen projects, cancelled meetings, curtailed coordination and permits for Europe’s operations” for Palestinians living in what is known as Area C, a West Bank area fully administered by Israel, he said.

In Brussels, Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said: “The EU is concerned by reports in the Israeli media that the Israeli Minister of Defence has announced a number of restrictions affecting EU activities supporting the Palestinian people.

“We have not received any official communication from the Israeli authorities. Our delegations on the spot are seeking urgent clarifications,” Kocijancic added.

A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that due to the Israeli measures, several European humanitarian aid staff had failed to receive permits to enter the Palestinian-ruled Gaza Strip.

Under the terms of a 1993 interim peace accord, some 150,000 Palestinians, many of then poor farmers and shepherds living in Area C, a West Bank zone where many settlements have been built, are fully under Israeli military control,

The Palestinians have limited self-rule over other parts of the West Bank, and share joint custody with Israel over yet other areas.

Some of Europe’s assistance in the West Bank goes to Palestinians for building homes. But many have been designated illegal and demolished by Israel.

The Association of International Development Agencies, a coalition of 80 aid groups, said in a report in May that 600 settler houses had been built since mid-2012, while Israel demolished 535 Palestinian-owned homes and structures.

The United States, Israel’s main backer, has been trying to revive peace talks that have been deadlocked for three years and  are aimed at reaching an agreement for the Palestinians to establish a state alongside Israel.

After months of painstaking talks with both sides, US Secretary of State John Kerry said two weeks ago they had laid the groundwork for a breakthrough.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators may meet in Washington as soon as on Tuesday, July 30, a senior Palestinian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, after an Israeli minister’s said on Thursday that talks were likely by next week.

Send to Kindle

EXTENSIVE coverage was given to the fall of rental and sale prices of property in the first two quarters of this year, reported by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). The property bubble financed by easy bank credit, which saw real estate prices soar to absurd levels has been deflating in the last couple of years, the only surprise being the slow rate at which this has been happening.

It appears the rate of decline of prices would be slower than was initially expected and the correction of the market would take longer to be completed. This is because the banking sector is still in disarray and there is uncertainty about its future, not to mention the capital restrictions. These factors are slowing down the correction, but once the banks start to sell off collateral used as security for loans that are not being repaid, property prices would go into free-fall, until they are at a level that is attractive to speculators with cash. Press reports yesterday suggested that Central Bank restrictions on real estate purchases would be lifted next week.

The difference from the stock market bubble of 1999 is that real estate will always have some value, in contrast to shares, and would eventually appreciate. On the minus side the collapse in property prices would have much more far-reaching consequences than the stock market crash, as it would drastically restrict the ability of businesses to secure loans – if and when bank credit is available – and impose big losses on people who borrowed money to invest in property.

The news made a mockery of political party plans to impose a 20 per cent reduction on the rents of shops which fell by nine per cent in the first quarter of this year and by 12 per cent in the second quarter. So the 20 per cent reduction of rents had already taken place; a reminder that the market takes care of prices much more effectively than meddling politicians pandering to potential voters. Rents, particularly for commercial properties, will keep falling as the economy contracts and more companies go out of business.

The law of demand and supply will take care of rental and sale prices of property much better than politicians would ever do. The market will adjust to the new economic conditions. But in Cyprus it seems that everyone is a supporter of free market rules when prices and profits are going up, opposing all regulation (like tighter credit which would have limited the scale of the property bubble) but when the inevitable downturn arrives they want to impose controls the market.

Send to Kindle

By Poly Pantelides

THE CENTRAL Bank of Cyprus (CBC) delayed shutting down internet banking on March 16, giving depositors the chance to move untold millions out of their accounts once news of the bail-in was out of the bag, the inquiry panel heard yesterday.

A former Laiki Bank chairman, Andreas Philippou, told the committee of inquiry investigating how the country’s banks and the economy at large came a step away from destruction, that up until Saturday afternoon on March 16 capital could have left the country via online transfers.

On Friday March 15 up until the early hours of Saturday, eurozone finance ministers, the Eurogroup, were discussing the terms of an unprecedented bail-in or haircut of deposits. Cyprus was pushed into a corner and was forced to accept a bank levy on all deposits in local banks, including on insured depositors with less than €100,000. Depositors waking up on that Saturday to the shocking news were told by local and foreign press that all transactions, including online ones, were under strict controls.

But Philippou said the Central Bank did not shut down internet banking until that Saturday afternoon. Former finance minister Michalis Sarris told the inquiry just a day earlier that the European Central Bank (ECB) told Cyprus to immediately shut down online banking to prevent a capital flight as soon as the Eurogroup meeting came to an end.

“But the Central Bank issued the orders on Saturday afternoon,” Philippou said. The inquiry did not ask for a specific time reference and Philippou did not clarify, nor was he able to say how much money possibly left the country in those several hours. But if his allegations are true, major depositors could have had half a day to transfer millions out of local banks.

After being told about the Eurogroup decision, many people queued up outside banks to withdraw whatever they could from ATMs, amid reports of millions of euros leaving the country in the run-up to the Eurogroup meeting.

President Nicos Anastasiades, who vehemently denied allegations he had tipped off family members, had told the committee of inquiry to look into accusations of politicians, and others, moving their holdings out of Cyprus’ banks. The inquiry later decided to change its remit to leave criminal matters alone.

By the time the inquiry took over, parliament had rejected the first Eurogroup proposal, and following a mad scramble to secure an alternative deal, Cyprus was forced to shut down the island’s second biggest lender, Laiki, and put its biggest bank, the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), under administration. The BoC got landed with Laiki’s emergency liquidity assistance (ELA), and forced major losses on the BoC’s deposits of over €100,000. That was an “unfair and unbalanced” solution, as was the rushed sale of the Greek operations of Cypriot banks, Philippou said.

Philippou, who was chief senior manager at the Central Bank when he retired from the institution in 2003, was appointed Laiki chairman in August 2012 after Sarris was ousted.

Philippou  yesterday disabused claims by some legislators that Laiki had misled them in relation to the massive debt of some €9.6 billion it had amassed in the form of ELA.  There were clear references in bank statements, which referred to Laiki’s ELA obligations which were €9.3 billion at the end of 2011, and with the bank’s balance sheets referring to substantial eurozone funding, Laiki’s liquidity woes were “obvious,” he said. And parliament passed a law in November 2012 to enable the state to guarantee government bonds enabling banks to draw more ELA funding, “that is to say, parliament knew exactly what the situation was when it came to Laiki’s liquidity and its needs,” Philippou said.

Send to Kindle

By Stefanos Evripidou

THE AUTHORITIES are working feverishly to pull the Bank of Cyprus out of administration before next Thursday’s key European Central Bank (ECB) meeting where they hope to secure a return to normal borrowing for the beleaguered bank, according to sources.

Officials from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) and Finance Ministry worked into the evening last night on calculating the final extent of the ‘haircut’ on the uninsured deposits of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), a crucial step towards declaring the Bank’s exist from administration.

According to sources, discussions on the final figure of the ‘bail-in’ will continue and possibly conclude today, paving the way for the troubled Bank to come out of administration  by Tuesday, or at the very latest, Wednesday.  Troika officials on the island for a first review of the bailout programme are believed to fully support the July 31 target for the BoC.

This in turn will allow the CBC to inform the ECB’s Governing Council- meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday- that the Bank is no longer under administration. Given its new status, the CBC will further request that the ECB accept the Bank of Cyprus as an eligible counterparty for monetary policy operations.

In short, the aim is to stop the BoC borrowing using the ECB’s emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) mechanism, and allow it to start borrowing directly from the ECB.

Using ELA is significantly costlier and more complex, requiring the BoC to use considerably devalued assets in exchange for ELA and at a higher than normal interest rate. Borrowing directly is much easier and cheaper, with ECB interest rates currently set at 0.5 per cent.

Earlier this month, ECB President Mario Draghi, for the first time, gave an indication of future monetary policy in the eurozone, saying rates would remain at current or lower levels for an “extended period”.

Thursday’s meeting is the Governing Council’s last before the summer recess. The ECB heads will next meet again on September 5.

Should the BoC come out of administration in time, and the ECB accept the CBC’s request, the Bank’s borrowing costs will decrease significantly.

However, first the authorities must reach agreement on the final figure of the haircut on the BoC’s uninsured deposits.

Already large savers have taken a hit of 37.5 per cent, while a further 22.5 per cent of their money over and above €100,000 has been frozen until the final size of the BoC ‘bail-in’ is calculated. The Bank’s uninsured depositors until now have only been allowed access to 10 per cent of their deposits.

Sources told the Cyprus Mail  last night that the government wants the final haircut to be lower than 50 per cent, while the CBC wants it higher than the halfway mark.

The supervisory authority argues that the Bank needs a buffer of liquidity to deal with a possible bank run when capital controls are gradually relaxed.

On Thursday, BoC chairman Sophoclis Michaelides said he expected the figure to be around 50 per cent.

The authorities are also discussing issuing Certificates of Deposit (CD) to BoC’s large savers. In practice, this allows the Bank to keep depositors’ cash even after exiting resolution status by issuing CDs with interest. There is also talk of making the CDs marketable so that a depositor can sell the CD for cash but at a lower price.

Send to Kindle

By Peter Stevenson
TWO men arrested on Friday in connection with a multiple murder in Ayia Napa in 2012 were remanded for six days by Larnaca District Court Saturday.
Famagusta police arrested the two men, aged 39 and 28, who are from Paralimni after authorities obtained records from a mobile phone that was found in the prison cell of a man under trial for the murder, Demetris Mamalikopoulous.
Mamalikopoulos, 29, and Anastasios Tsehelides, 41, have been accused of five counts of murder, one for each victim on the night of June 23 last year. They are accused of the premeditated murder of Philippos Loucaides, 33, Marios Karaoli, 28, Giorgos Georgiou, 35 and Romanians Georgian Katalin Koman, 25 and Marcel Aourel Koleasa, 33, in a central square of Ayia Napa. Four of the victims were working for local businessman Phanos Kalopsidiotis, who Famagusta police believe was the culprits’ real target.
It was revealed in court on Saturday that after studying the phone records of the device found in Mamalikopoulos’ possession that the two Paralimni men are involved in the case. The prosecutor specifically referred to two missed calls the 39-year-old made to the 28-year-old’s phone on the night of the murder, shortly before the incident took place.
According to the prosecutor, the first missed call was placed while the five victims were in Soho Club in Ayia Napa and the second at the time they were outside the club and preparing to get in a car to go to another club in the area.
The police believe the 39-year-old was keeping close tabs on the five victims and was informing the 28-year-old of their whereabouts, who was in turn informing the hit-man by phone.
It was also revealed in court on Wednesday that police had received information from an inmate close to Mamalikopoulos, who claimed the 28-year-old owed him a large amount of money. Police believe the money is related to the fee the defendants were to receive upon completion of the murder.
After arresting the two men on Friday, police searched their homes. Four mobile phones were confiscated from the 39-year-old’s home and six mobile phones and part of a SIM card were confiscated from the 28-year-old’s home.
After being questioned by police, the 39-year-old denied any involvement in the case. He gave the police information which will be investigated. The 28-year-old also denied any involvement and gave a written statement which will also be investigated, police said.
The prosecution still has around 15 statements to take and the two suspects will be questioned again. The mobile phones found at the two men’s homes and the device found in Mamalikopoulos’ cell will be examined as well as the SIM cards the police found.

Send to Kindle

By Tom Perry and Noah Browning
Egyptian security forces shot dead dozens of supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Saturday, witnesses said, days after the army chief called for a popular mandate to wipe out “violence and terrorism”.
Men in helmets and black police fatigues fired on crowds gathered before dawn on the fringes of a round-the-clock sit-in near a mosque in northeast Cairo, Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement said.
“They are not shooting to wound, they are shooting to kill,” said Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad. “The bullet wounds are in the head and chest.”
The bloodshed, near the military parade ground where President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981, has rocked a country already struggling with the transition to democracy two years after Hosni Mubarak was swept from power.
A Muslim Brotherhood website said 120 people had been killed and some 4,500 injured. A Reuters reporter counted 36 bodies at one morgue, while health officials said there were a further 21 corpses in two nearby hospitals.
Activists rushed blood-spattered casualties into a makeshift hospital. Some were carried in on planks or blankets. One ashen teenager was laid out on the floor, a bullet hole in his head.
Egypt’s Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim accused the Brotherhood of exaggerating the death toll for political ends. He said only 21 people had died and denied police opened fire.
Ibrahim said local residents living close to the Rabaa al-Adawia mosque vigil had clashed with protesters in the early hours after they had blocked off a major bridge road. He said that police had used teargas to try to break up the fighting.
Well over 200 people have been killed in violence since the army toppled Mursi on July 3, following huge protests against his year in power. The army denies accusations it staged a coup, saying it intervened to prevent national chaos.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians had poured onto the streets on Friday in response to a call by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for nationwide demonstrations to give him backing to confront the weeks-long wave of violence.
His appeal was seen as a challenge to the Brotherhood, which organised its own rallies on Friday calling for the return of Mursi, who has been held in an undisclosed location since his ousting and faces a raft of charges, including murder.
Ibrahim said Mursi was likely to be transferred shortly to the same Cairo prison where former leader Mubarak is now held.
Brotherhood leaders appealed for calm on Saturday, but activists at the Rabaa al-Adawia mosque vigil voiced fury.
“The people want the execution of Sisi,” a cleric shouted to the crowd from a stage by the mosque. “The people want the execution of the butcher.”
Interior Minister Ibrahim said the pro-Mursi sit-ins would “God willing, soon … be dealt with” based on a decision by a public prosecutor, who is reviewing complaints from local residents unhappy with the huge encampment on their doorstep.
The head of the Nour Party, the second-biggest Islamist group after the Brotherhood, called for an immediate investigation into what it called a “massacre.”
“There is no substitute for a political solution with the commitment of everyone to exercise restraint … and to renounce violence in all its forms, whether verbal or physical,” Younis Makhyoun said in a Facebook statement.
The Brotherhood is a highly organised movement with grassroots support throughout Egypt, making it hard to silence even if the army decides to mount a bigger crackdown.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she “deeply deplores” Saturday’s deaths and urged all sides to halt the violence. There was no immediate comment from the United States, which provides Egypt with some $1.5 billion dollars of aid a year, mainly military hardware.
Washington has delayed delivery of four F-16 fighters because of the turmoil. However, officials have indicated they do not intend to cut off aid to a country seen as a vital ally and which has a peace deal with neighbouring Israel.
Witnesses said police first fired rounds of teargas at Brotherhood protesters gathered on a boulevard leading away from the Rabaa mosque, with live shots ringing out soon afterwards.
“There were snipers on the rooftops, I could hear the bullets whizzing past me,” said Ahmed el Nashar, 34, a business consultant, choking back his tears.
“Man, people were just dropping.”
Dr. Ibtisam Zein, overseeing the Brotherhood morgue, said most of the dead were hit in the head, some between the eyes.
The bodies were wrapped in white sheets and laid on the floor, their names scrawled on the shrouds. A cleaner busily mopped the floor, washing away pools of blood.
Haddad said the Brotherhood remained committed to pursuing peaceful protests, despite Saturday’s deaths – the second mass shooting of its supporters this month by security forces, who killed 53 people on July 8.
Brotherhood activists at Rabaa said they would not be cowed and warned of worse bloodshed if the security forces did not back down. “We will stay here until we die, one by one,” said Ahmed Ali, 24, helping treat casualties at the field hospital.
“We have the examples of Algeria and Syria in our minds. We don’t want it to become a civil war. If we take up arms it might become one. This is a religious belief.”

Send to Kindle

CYPRUS’ Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) launched on Saturday a rescue operation from a French army ship, which was sailing off the coast of Cyprus.
The injured sailor who was reportedly suffering from severe concussion was transferred by helicopter to Nicosia General Hospital for treatment.
According to an announcement, the JRCC received an emergency call in the early hours of Saturday from the French army ship L.D.V LAVALEE, which was sailing 60 nautical miles east of Cape Greco, in the south eastern part of the island.
The sailor was admitted to the Emergency Room and underwent surgery.
The French Embassy was briefed about the incident.

Send to Kindle

TWO silver icons and other artefacts valued at around €20,000 have been stolen from the church of Constantinos and Eleni in the village of Tohni in Larnaca, police said.
The incident happened between 10.30pm on Friday and the early hours of Saturday.
“Two silver icons and other silver artefacts valued between €20 and €25 thousand were stolen from the church of Constantinos and Eleni in the village of Tohni,” Laranca police spokesman Charalambos Zachariou said.
The church had not been damaged, Zachariou added, revealing that a church window had been left unlocked. The culprit or culprits entered through the unlocked window and exited from the main entrance after they had unlocked it from the inside, Zachariou said.
The incident was reported to police at 8am on Saturday when the local priest visited the church. Officers arrived on the scene and took evidence which will be sent for forensic testing.

Send to Kindle

THE Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) on Saturday categorically denied accusations made by former Laiki Bank chairman Andreas Philippou that there was a delay in shutting down internet banking on March 16.
Philippou told the committee of inquiry investigating the country’s banks and economy that the CBC delayed shutting down internet banking on the day following the Eurogroup’s decision to cut bank depositors money, giving them the chance to move millions out of their accounts.
In a statement released yesterday, the CBC denied Philippou’s claims that internet banking continued to operate on March 16.
The bank had sent out a circular on the same day to all financial institutions on the island explaining the situation clearly, the statement said.
“The CBC is temporarily suspending, until further notice, the settlement orders that have already been inputted into any system including payments or clearing or settlement systems operating within or outside Cyprus, including commands within the same institution (intra-bank transactions),” the circular said.
The CBC emphasised that outgoing transfers from financial institutions are not in operation during non-working days.
“Therefore, any transactions which were entered for execution at the close of business on Friday, March 15 would not have been completed,” the CBC said.
Philippou had claimed that up until Saturday afternoon on March 16 capital could have left the country via online transfers.

Send to Kindle

By Mitch Phillips
Usain Bolt returned to the scene of his triple Olympic glory and duly delivered for 60,000 camera-flashing fans as he overcame a slow start to win the 100 metres and give the London Anniversary Games the result it wanted.
Ukrainian high jumper Bohdan Bondarenko did briefly threaten to steal the Diamond League show when he went close to beating Javier Sotomayor’s 20-year-old world record, but when he brushed the bar, all eyes quickly turned back to London’s favourite Jamaican.
Once he got into his running he came through comfortably in 9.85 seconds, his fastest of a somewhat ragged season, as he edges towards top form ahead of next month’s world championships in Moscow.
American Michael Rodgers was second in 9.98 with Jamaican Nesta Carter third in 9.99.
A year ago Bolt completed a second successive Olympic sprint clean sweep and, tempted back by the British Government’s easing of his potential tax burden, capped off a night dripping with nostalgia for those two astonishing weeks in 2012.
The entertainment began with a video montage of some of the highlights from what is generally agreed to have been an unparalleled Olympic athletics programme.
It was a dose of feel-good factor much-needed in the wake of the recent doping positives that have robbed Moscow of two of the main 100m contenders Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell.
And while Bolt was never likely to get close to his 2012 winning time of 9.63 two weeks ahead of his attempt to regain the world title he lost after his 2011 false start, he looked to have plenty in the tank.
“My start was poor and I need to work on that,” he said. “To make a perfect race I need to make a good start and just get in to the race.
“But I’m so excited to be here in London again. The crowd gives you so much energy. It’s wonderful, I love this, it’s what makes me run fast it’s a brilliant experience to be here again.”
The only man who looks remotely capable of preventing Bolt taking a third successive 200m world title next month is compatriot Warren Weir and the 23-year-old continued his sharp 2013 form with a 19.89 victory over another Jamaican, Jason Young.
Weir’s season’s best of 19.79, also his personal best, is just behind Bolt’s 19.72 but the half-lap is the main man’s favourite event and such is his aura that the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist will need to find some remarkable inner confidence to prevail.
“It’s a great stadium and the crowd are amazing,” he said. “I’m pretty pleased with 19.89, it’s a very fast time going to Russia. I’m confident going into the world champs that I can run my race and win.”
Such was the excitement surrounding Bolt, David Rudisha’s world record 800m win and Mo Farah’s distance double a year ago, that Kirani James’ remarkable performance to win the 400m as a 19-year-old was somewhat overlooked.
However, the Grenadian is on course to retain his 400m world title as he reprised his Olympic-winning run with a dominant display.
American Tony McQuay went out hard and pressured him coming into the home straight but the smooth-striding youngster found another gear to pull clear and win in 44.65
“They were sneaking up on me a little bit on the home straight but I just tried to stay relaxed and just finish strong,” he said.
“It brought back a lot of fond memories and just being here is great. I’m definitely confident in my abilities and what I can do ahead of Moscow.”
Bondarenko took the high jump with 2.38 metres and then took two attempts at 2.47 – two cm higher than Sotomayor’s 1993 mark and a full six cm higher than his own best.
“I feel confident I will get it in Moscow,” he said.
Cuba’s Yarisley Silva won the pole vault with 4.83, gaining a measure of revenge on second-placed American Jenn Suhr, who pipped her to Olympic gold on countback last year.
In the women’s 400m hurdles Olympic bronze medallist Zuzana Hejnova made it eight wins out of eight this season as the Czech overhauled home hope Perri Shakes-Drayton with a season-leading 53.07 seconds.
The action continues on Saturday when Farah, whose astonishing 10,000 and 5,000m runs last year raised the roof, goes over 3,000m.
Bolt will also be back on track in the 4x100m relay while the there could be an explosive 110 metres hurdles with a lineup dripping with quality.

Send to Kindle

By Stelios Hadjiyiannis

ALBERT Einstein famously remarked that a sure sign of insanity is “repeating the same experiment over and over again and expecting different results.” In the case of Cyprus, the mad scientists are the Cypriot policymakers and the experimental subject is the Cypriot economy. By implementing the same sort of fiscal austerity measures imposed by the troika on other countries in the European economic periphery, the Cypriot policymakers are hoping to save the economy. However, they need only look at how very poorly those countries have fared over the past few years under the troika’s tutelage in order to understand the insanity of their actions.

Countries like Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain are all experienced veterans in the field of severe fiscal consolidation in a euro straitjacket that precludes devaluation of the currency as a means to boost export growth. They can also all attest to the highly disappointing effects such a policy mix has had on their respective economies. Increasing unemployment, markedly negative GDP growth, and an increase in the proportion of non-performing loans to total gross loans are just some of the recessionary effects that the fiscal consolidation measures have had on each of these economies.

Greece, in particular, has experienced negative GDP growth and rising unemployment rates in every quarter since its fiscal consolidation treatment began some five years ago. As a result, Greece’s GDP is now more than 20 percent below its 2008 peak and it is officially expected that Greece’s economy will shrink by a further 4 ½ percent in 2013. Can Cypriot policymakers really be expecting a better outcome than that experienced in Greece for Cyprus when the Cypriot economy is being subjected to negative shocks that go well beyond austerity?

While Greece has had to deal with the painful consequences of budget austerity, the Cypriot economy now has to deal with a similar degree of budget austerity but in the context of the effective dismantling of the offshore banking sector model on which its economy was largely based. In addition, Cyprus will be doing so at the time that a major loss in household wealth and the maintenance of capital controls will be sapping household and business confidence.

The effect of fiscal austerity in such a context will almost surely result in a sharper decline in the Cypriot economy than that experienced in Greece. Indeed, the troika has recently revised downwards its forecasts for the Cypriot economy for 2013 and 2014, with the expectation that the economy will decline by almost 9 percent in 2013 and by a further 4 ½ percent in 2014. By way of comparison, Greece’s GDP declined by only 5 percent in 2010 (the first year of its fiscal consolidation program). This only helps to underline the catastrophic consequences of implementing the terms of the bail-out agreement.

Sadly there is every reason to believe that the Cypriot economy will contract by even more than the troika is currently forecasting. It is all too likely that the troika is underestimating the downward pressure on domestic demand from the severe writing down of bank deposits. It is also all too likely that the troika is underestimating the negative impact on demand from the imposition of capital controls and from the restructuring of the domestic financial system.

The strong likelihood that the Cypriot economy will experience an even sharper decline than in Greece raises several questions. Are Cypriot policymakers really expecting better results than experienced in the rest of the European economic periphery with the same sort of policy mix as applied there? Why have other policy paths not been seriously explored when the bail-out terms imposed on Cyprus are markedly harsher than those in other countries? And is there any basis for the troika’s expectation of positive GDP growth for the Cypriot economy in two years’ time when it is all too likely that the country will find itself in a vicious economic cycle?

Given Cyprus’ very bleak economic outlook under current policies, a solution that the Cypriot government needs to seriously explore is exiting the euro. This is especially the case since by imposing capital controls and by intervening in its banks Cyprus is already paying the cost of exiting without securing any of the benefits. The Cypriot economy needs growth in multiple economic sectors in order to pick up the slack left by its rapidly shrinking banking sector. One of those sectors is tourism. The only way that tourism can be boosted is through a currency devaluation that would make visiting Cyprus much cheaper.

Cypriot officials can emphasise the uniqueness of Cyprus’s situation in an effort to convince the troika to allow a Euro exit without setting a precedent for other countries to follow.

By exiting the euro, the Cypriot government can at least offer a glimmer of hope for the economy’s future. This is not to say that a euro exit will be without its complications. However, looking at the future prospects under the current conditions, it would be worth a shot because judging by the dismal experience of other countries in the European periphery consciously subscribing to the fiscal consolidation prescription of the troika would be insane.

Send to Kindle

By Peter Stevenson
SIGHT-SEEING in Cyprus’ more remotes areas used to be limited to those with four-by-four vehicles or perhaps quad bikes. Now, for €630 per person, you can hire a helicopter for the whole day to visit the Akamas peninsula or Kykkos monastery.
The trip includes air transfer to a secluded beach with an umbrella, sun-beds and beach towels. The price also includes a stocked refreshment cooler with beer, water, soft drinks, white wine, crisps, cold sandwiches and fruit.
For Ioannis Sivitanides, one of the three founders of Skyraiders, these bespoke, though pricey tours, have been a struggle to get off the ground as he fights with the civil aviation department over permits.
The company can currently only operate as an aero-sport club (under the name Skyriders) as it is missing one, final permit which would enable it to operate commercial flights. For the time being they are forced to offer their services as an aero-sport club.
This means that to take a helicopter tour, customers need to pay a one-off €75 initiation or membership fee. This is the only way to get around not possessing the final permit, he explained.
By only operating limited tour flights across the island, mainly in the Akamas peninsula, Skyraiders is hardly covering helicopter operating costs.
“Despite some of our packages appearing expensive they barely cover our helicopter’s operating costs,” he said.
The importance of becoming an air operator would not only mean more income, but it would make Cyprus competitive with other countries like Malta, Spain, Greece and Turkey in this alternative form of tourism.
“Tourist operators abroad don’t take us seriously as an aero-sport club despite offering attractive packages with flights over Akamas and visits to Kykkos Monastery and this final permit would mean we could attract a large amount of tourists,” Sivitanides explained.
The club has one Robinson 44 Astro helicopter, a hanger in Yeroskipou which is fully equipped and cost around €70,000 to build with offices, CCTV and necessary fire safety equipment. They also have one helipad in Kykkos and another near the Aphrodite Baths in Neo Chorio and Akamas which each cost around €5,000 to build.
After completing one year of military service in the Cyprus army special forces, Sivitanides was accepted into the Greek air force academy. He graduated with the rank of flying second lieutenant and trained with the Hellenic air force as a fighter jet pilot, later transferring to Cyprus where he was trained and served as a fighter helicopter pilot. He later resigned his commission and was honourably discharged as lieutenant in the Cyprus air force and travelled to the USA where he was licensed as a commercial and instructor pilot and later received his European licences. He also worked for many years as a pilot for helicopter emergency medical services and fire-fighting operations.
The company’s other two owners are maintenance director Demetris Koulinides and Sivitanides brother, Antonis who is head of sales and marketing.
Sivitanides said he felt that adding commercial helicopter flights could add to Cyprus’ attempts to bring in high-end tourism.
“We already have a marina in Limassol which caters for big yachts and various other services so this is the logical next step, especially if we want compete with other countries in the Mediterranean,” he said.
The sticking point for the Cyprus department of civil aviation has been the unavailability on a 24-hour, seven day a week basis of a mechanic for their helicopter. Civil aviation have told the company that they cannot give them the final piece of paperwork until a certified Robinson-44 Astro helicopter mechanic is permanently on the island.
In particular, SkyRaiders and the department for civil aviation have disagreed on the wording of the European Air Safety Agency’s (EASA) regulations with Sivitanides feeling it is adequate for the necessary mechanic to live in Greece.
“We can’t possibly employ a mechanic full time at the hangar every day doing nothing until it is time for the scheduled maintenance – that is every 50 hours and in our case that means every 60 days because we fly an average of 30-45 minutes every day,” said Sivitanides. “The remaining 59 days he would not have anything to do. When the time comes and we fly seven hours every day, we will have a mechanic at the hangar because in a week you would need the 50 hours scheduled maintenance.”
In his efforts to clear up the disagreement Sivitanides sent a letter to EASA asking for clarifications.
“The agency cannot interfere within the discussion between an organisation and its competent authority,” the reply from EASA said but then offered detailed guidelines which looked at the specific needs of Sivitanides’ company. Amongst the points raised by the regulatory body were references to the company’s expected workload, availability and travel times of the engineer, bearing in mind the mechanic might also be working for other companies.
Sivitanides said he believes the EASA letter clarified that it is not necessary for their mechanic to be based full-time in Cyprus.
The civil aviation, however, remains unconvinced. An official of the safety regulatory unit at the department told the Sunday Mail that once Sky Raiders meet their demands they would be more than willing to approve them as an air operator but air safety was not something that could be compromised.
“Civil aviation cannot agree to give a permit and fully approve a company that does not have an approved licensed engineer on the island,” said the official who did not wish to be named.
He explained that as well as scheduled maintenance which takes place depending on the amount of hours flown by the aircraft, there are unscheduled maintenance checks which need to be carried out.
“What would happen if a warning light comes on and the mechanic is in another country? Would the company cancel all flights on that day? That’s not something we are willing to contemplate, so we have demanded that a certified mechanic is at least within driving distance,” the official said.
In response Sivitanides said that like all airlines, if a problem arose with the helicopter then all flights would be grounded until it was checked out.
“Does the department of civil aviation believe we are a bunch of amateurs that would disregard warning lights and continue to put people’s lives at risk including our own? The very fact that they have put in doubt that we would follow internationally accepted procedure is very disheartening,” he said.
He was convinced, he said, that Greece was close enough for a mechanic to travel to the island for scheduled and un-scheduled maintenance checks.
Sivitanides said they had also sent a helicopter mechanic, who lives in Cyprus and is an experienced helicopter mechanic, to England to get a certificate specifically for the R-44 but that civil aviation did not recognise the certificate.
“All of our efforts have been rejected by the department, we sent a mechanic abroad, they didn’t recognise his certificate from England, we have a certified mechanic in accordance to EASA’s regulations and yet we can’t seem to get approval,” he said.
The civil aviation official said he had no knowledge of this, but that in any case the regulations were clear.
“Our job is to abide by EU and Cyprus regulations and no matter how much pressure we receive from anyone to give them a permit, if the company does not meet all of the regulations we demand, we cannot give them the necessary paperwork,” he said.

For more information on prices and tours visit: www.skyraidersltd.com

Send to Kindle

SMALL amounts of oil residue which were spotted off the coast of Protaras on Friday made it to beaches overnight and were spotted staining parts of the coastline on Saturday morning.
Authorities had been put on alert on Friday after the oil-spill in the sea off the coast of the Karpas in the north reached government-controlled waters. A 50-man crew had been assembled by the local municipality including police, the port authority, the divers association and volunteers to help clean the oil which had appeared off the coast of Protaras.
Coastal inspector, Giorgos Economou told the Cyprus Mail that since 5am on Saturday crews had begun cleaning the sea again in an effort to prevent any contamination. The police helicopter was also used to locate any pockets of oil which were spotted out at sea.
“There was oil residue which appeared on some of our beaches this morning but crews were on hand to clean it up,” he said.
Economou added that the beaches had not been contaminated to the extent that they needed to be closed off or which would cause any panic to the public.
“Since 5am we have been at the ready to deal with any reports of oil on the beaches and our message to the public is that they need not worry because we are dealing with the problem,” he concluded.

Send to Kindle

Unconfirmed reports claim that troika and the Cyprus authorities have agreed on the level of the ‘haircut’ of the uninsured deposits of BoC (over EUR100.000) at 47,5%.

A TROIKA delegation, currently in Cyprus to assess the island’s rescue package, continued its negotiations Saturday over the final figure of the haircut for uninsured deposits of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC).

Saturday morning, the delegation held consultations at the Finance Ministry, in the presence of Central Bank officials.
Talks were suspended around noon and resumed in the afternoon, with the aim of reaching an agreement by day’s end.
According to sources, negotiations also continued in order to reach an agreement on the interest to be imposed on the cooperative banking institutions for the €1.5 billion estimated for recapitalisation.

Cyprus and its international lenders (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF) agreed late March on a €10 billion bailout programme, which provided a haircut on uninsured deposits in the island’s two largest banks.

Cyprus Popular Bank has been wound down with its assets and insured deposits absorbed by Bank of Cyprus, which is currently under a consolidation procedure. The bailout was coupled with strict capital controls which economists say hamper economic activity.

The Troika mission has been in Cyprus since July 17 to assess the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the basis of the international rescue programme. It will depart from the island at the end of July.

Send to Kindle

CONFIDENCE in the Cypriot economy remains very fragile despite the fact that the economic climate showed an improvement in July 2013, with the Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) rising by 2.7 points compared with June.
According to the Business and Consumer Survey conducted by the Economics Research Centre of the University of Cyprus, despite the slight increase in the Index, ESI remains at very low levels, which foreshadows the continuation of adverse conditions in the economy.
The increase is due to the improvement of the climate recorded in services, the retail trade and manufacturing, as well as among consumers.
The exception is the construction sector, in which the economic climate continues to be at negative levels, like the previous two months.
According to the survey, after a large slump in all confidence indicators in April – due to the March banking crisis – estimates seem to revert to less negative levels that had prevailed earlier in the year.
Generally, however, confidence in the Cypriot economy remains very fragile, as there appears to be no clear trend of improvement, especially in construction, manufacturing and households.
The Capacity Utilisation Index in manufacturing and services remains below July 2012 levels in both areas, although it recorded an increase in July when compared to three months prior.
Therefore, the survey concludes, businesses in these sectors are not expected to invest in raising capital or increasing employment.
The research programme of recording the economic climate is coordinated by the Centre for Economic Research and funded by the European Union.

Send to Kindle

By Peter Stevenson
THE government has excluded National Hydrocarbons Company KRETYK from any negotiations regarding Cyprus’ natural gas in its attempts to dissolve the company according to former commerce Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis.
This followed KRETYK’s executive vice-chairman, Solon Kassinis on Friday announcing his intention to resign. His exclusion from a team appointed last week by the cabinet to negotiate with Cyprus’ US and Israeli partners on the development of natural gas within Block 12 was the main reason, he explained.
AKEL party member Sylikiotis said he believed the beginning of the end was when the government decided to cancel the previous cabinet’s decision to give the hydrocarbons company permission to make arrangements for the development of Cyprus’ natural gas.
“The government then went ahead and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Noble, DELEK and AVNER essentially bypassing KRETYK who had been preparing the plan since February,” he said.
The former minister added that Kassinis’ comments confirmed the fact that the government’s actions are leading to the national company’s exclusion and will create significant delays in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and the utilisation of natural gas.
According to Sylikiotis, 2019 is no longer the latest possible date that an LNG terminal could be built, with some sources, he claimed, stating it could happen in 2020 or later.
He accused the government of delaying the process, making it more difficult for the economy to recover.
“The investment of several billion euros, mainly from the companies involved, and the creation of thousands of jobs over the next two to three years will be able to push the economy back on the road to recovery,” he said.
He called on the government to think twice and allow KRETYK to proceed with an international tender for hiring financial and legal consultants of international stature and allow the company to proceed in negotiations with companies to conclude a final agreement on the creation of a terminal.
He added that KRETYK, in cooperation with the other companies, should be assigned to overseeing all of the work that has been included in the agreements made with the government. Sylikiotis explained that assigning state-run companies to oversee procedures dealing with the exploitation of natural gas is common practice in the majority of countries around the world.
“We will support the government, if they proceed this way, so that with all of our efforts we can give hope to the people following the discovery of important natural wealth that exists in our exclusive economic zone,” he concluded.

Send to Kindle