By Michael Georgy

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi exchanged gunfire with security forces inside a Cairo mosque on Saturday, three Reuters witnesses said.

The gunmen opened fire on security forces from a second floor window in the Fath mosque, where hundreds of Mursi supporters have been taking refuge since protests turned violent on Friday.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood has said it is committed to peaceful resistance to the army-backed government which toppled him. But a Brotherhood spokesman said this week that anger was out of control because of a bloody security crackdown.

Tensions started to run high when a woman wearing a niqab – the full head to toe black veil – tried to walk out of the mosque, said a Reuters witness.

A group of about 10 soldiers had been telling people to leave the mosque and that they would be in no danger.

When the woman approached them, people in the mosque could be overheard saying she was the wife of a Brotherhood leader and was in danger of being arrested. She walked back into the mosque, looked up and said something to a group of pro-Mursi gunmen armed with AK-47 assault rifles.

That is when the shooting started.

The shooting followed a proposal by Egypt’s prime minister that the Muslim Brotherhood should be disbanded, raising the stakes in a bloody struggle between the state and Islamists for control of the country.

Live television showed a gunman firing at soldiers and police from the minaret of a central Cairo mosque, with security forces shooting back at the building where Mursi followers had taken shelter. Reuters witnesses said Mursi supporters also exchanged gunfire with security forces inside the mosque.

Egypt is facing “war by the forces of extremism” and will confront it with “security measures within the framework of law,” Mostafa Hegazy, adviser to Egypt’s interim president said on Saturday.

The interior ministry said 173 people died in clashes across Egypt on Friday, bringing the death toll from three days of carnage to almost 800.

Among those killed was a son of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, shot dead during a protest in Cairo’s huge Ramses Square where about 95 people died in an afternoon of gunfire and mayhem on Friday.

Egyptian authorities said they had rounded up more than 1,000 Islamists and surrounded Ramses Square following Friday’s “Day of Rage” called by the Brotherhood to denounce a lethal crackdown on its followers on Wednesday.

Witnesses said tear gas was fired into the mosque prayer room to try to flush everyone out and gunshots were heard.

With anger rising on all sides, and no sign of a compromise in sight, Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi proposed the legal dissolution of the Brotherhood – a move that would force the group underground and could lead to a broad crackdown.

“It is being studied currently,” said government spokesman Sherif Shawky.

The Brotherhood was officially dissolved by Egypt’s military rulers in 1954, but registered itself as a non-governmental organisation in March in a response to a court case brought by opponents of the group who were contesting its legality.

Founded in 1928, the movement also has a legally registered political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, which was set up in 2011 after the uprising that led to the downfall of veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

“Reconciliation is there for those who hands are not sullied with blood,” Shawky added.

The Brotherhood won all five elections that followed the toppling of Mubarak, and Mursi governed the country for a year until he was undermined by mammoth rallies called by critics who denounced his rule as incompetent and partisan.

Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says he removed Mursi from office on July 3 to protect the country from possible civil war.

The interior ministry said that 1,004 Muslim Brotherhood “elements” had been arrested in the last 24 hours, accusing members of Mursi’s movement of committing acts of terrorism.

Amongst those detained on Saturday was Mohamed Al-Zawahiri, the brother of al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, security sources said.

The ministry also said that since Wednesday, 57 policemen were killed and 563 wounded in the violence.

Almost 600 people died on Wednesday when police cleared out two Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo. Despite the growing bloodshed, the Islamist group has urged its supporters to take to the streets everyday for the coming week.

“Our rejection of the coup regime has become an Islamic, national and ethical obligation that we can never abandon,” said the Brotherhood, which has accused the military of plotting the downfall of Mursi to regain the levers of power.

Many Western allies have denounced the killings, including the United States, but Saudi Arabia threw its weight behind the army-backed government on Friday, accusing its old foe the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to destabilise Egypt.

Worryingly for the army, violence was reported across Egypt on Friday, suggesting it will struggle to impose control on the vast, largely desert state.

The government said 12 churches had been attacked and burned on Friday, blaming the Islamists for the destruction

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A PAIR of armed robbers stole more than €150,000 in cash from a fur coat trader in Paralimni on Saturday, police said.

The robbers, who wore hoods, went into the shop on the Paralimni to Dherynia road, just as the male employee was opening for business at around 8.20am.

They threatened him with a sawed-off hunting shotgun they took out of a bag, and demanded “the money” in the Cypriot dialect, police said.

The employee was hit and pushed around and forced to lead the robbers to the basement where the owner of the shop kept a small safe.

They tied him, took the safe and fled the scene, police said.

The Greek owner of the shop said the safe contained around €140,000, US$13,000, and Russian roubles worth €6,000.

The cash was not covered by insurance.

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By Enrique de Castro
Worsening weather and sea conditions on Saturday forced the Philippines to suspend a search for survivors of a ferry disaster that killed at least 32 people and left 170 missing, authorities said.
The ferry sank on Friday after a collision just outside the central port of Cebu with a cargo vessel owned by a company involved in the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster nearly 30 years ago.
Divers will resume searching early on Sunday, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya told a news conference in Manila, after heavy rain brought by a typhoon and low pressure had reduced visibility at sea almost to zero.
“Diving operations stopped because of weather conditions,” Abaya said, adding that 661 of the 831 passengers and crew on the ferry had been accounted for. With 32 dead and 629 rescued, there are 170 missing. Just 17 of the dead have been identified.
“But we’ve got information that some bodies have been recovered, and we expect the number of missing to decrease, and we expect the casualties to increase.”
Many of the survivors were sick from swallowing oil and seawater, disaster officials said.
Scores, sometimes hundreds, of people die each year in ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands with a notoriously poor record for maritime safety. Overcrowding is common, and many of the vessels are in bad condition.
The 40-year-old ferry was approaching Cebu late in the evening when it was struck by the departing cargo vessel, the Sulpicio Express 7, leaving two huge holes in the latter’s bow. The ferry sank in minutes, about a kilometre off Cebu.
Small planes and helicopters also scoured the waters and coastal areas of Cebu island for survivors, officials said.
Divers found four bodies outside the sunken ferry hours before the search was halted, said Commander Noel Escalana, a naval operations officer.
“During the dive, they saw bodies from the windows,” he told reporters, saying the divers did not attempt to retrieve them. “It’s dangerous to enter the ship…Because they need special equipment and extra oxygen tanks.”
Escalana added that rescuers had no idea how many people were trapped inside the ship, lying on a seabed around 150 feet (46 metres) below sea level.
Fourteen bodies had been found in the town of Talisay, south of Cebu City, said Imelda Sabillano, another local official.
“We don’t know where these bodies came from, but we already have brought to a local morgue 31 bodies for identification,” she said, adding that morgue officials awaited the arrival of the 14 bodies to add them to the toll from the disaster.
Officials said a recount at the morgue showed 32 bodies awaited autopsy.
The Sulpicio Express 7 is owned by unlisted firm Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp, formerly known as Sulpicio Lines Inc, which owned the MV Dona Paz ferry.
That vessel collided with a tanker in the Sibuyan Sea in December 1987, killing 4,375 on the ferry and 11 of the tanker’s 13-man crew.
The owners of the ferry involved in Friday’s accident said it was carrying 723 passengers, 118 crew and 104 20-ft containers. It had an authorized capacity of 1,010 passengers and crew and 160 containers.
The captains of the two ships are alive but have yet to be questioned, said Rear Admiral Luis Tuason, the coast guard operations chief.
Abaya said initial information showed the cargo ship loaded with container vans bound for Davao on the southern island of Mindanao hit the ferry’s “vulnerable part” on the right side.
“We felt the cargo ship hit us and minutes later we noticed our ship was listing,” passenger Aldrin Raman told reporters. “I grabbed a life vest and jumped overboard. I saw many passengers doing the same.”
One of the crew said the ferry sank within 10 minutes.
“The collision left a gaping hole in the ferry and water started rushing in, so the captain ordered us to abandon ship,” the crew member said. Most of the passengers were already wearing life jackets before the ship sank, he added.
Another passenger, Jerwin Agudong, said several people had been trapped. “It seems some were not able to get out. We saw dead bodies on the side,” he said.
Fishermen on shore said they saw flares.

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By Nick Mulvenney
WINGER Ben Smith scored a hat-trick as a ruthless New Zealand opened their Rugby Championship title defence with a six-try 47-29 victory over Australia on Saturday to ruin Ewen McKenzie’s first match as Wallabies coach.
The world champions scored three tries either side of halftime at the Olympic Stadium with flyhalf Aaron Cruden, captain Richie McCaw and centre Conrad Smith supplementing Ben Smith’s triple score.
Scrumhalf Will Genia and James O’Connor scored what were ultimately consolation tries for the home side with Christian Leali’ifano remaining flawless in international rugby with seven kicks from seven attempts for 19 points with his boot.
As well as giving the All Blacks a bonus point in the Rugby Championship, the victory means Australia must win both the return in Wellington next week and a third test in Dunedin in October to win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2003.
That looks highly unlikely given the gulf in class between the sides on this showing with the All Blacks ruthlessly exploiting almost every opportunity they received.
McKenzie will be disappointed that his team failed to build any real momentum in attack and looked disjointed in defence as the excellent Cruden continually changed the point of attack.
There was plenty of optimism among the Wallabies fans in the 68,765 crowd at kickoff with a new coach and a host of fresh faces, including five uncapped players, in the matchday squad.
The hard reality of test rugby hit home after just three minutes, however, when Ben Smith crashed over in the corner for the first All Blacks try.
Pouncing on a Stephen Moore knock on, the New Zealanders charged to the home try line and Aaron Smith fed quick ball to Cruden who took a tackle before finding his winger, whose marker James O’Connor had moved inside, to touch down.
Australia inched back into the match on the back of three Leali’ifano penalties against one from Cruden and the Wallabies centre gave the home side a 12-10 lead with his fourth after 28 minutes.
The advantage lasted less than a minute, though, before Leali’ifano undid some of his good work by having his defensive kick charged down by Cruden, who recovered the ball to score and then converted his own try.
Three minutes later, Jesse Mogg failed to find touch with a clearance kick and the All Blacks stormed forward again with McCaw capping his return to test rugby in the best way possible with a try, his 20th in internationals, in the corner.
As so often, however, Genia provided the Wallabies with some hope after flanker Michael Hooper had snared a loose ball at the lineout, the diminutive scrumhalf racing nearly 60 metres and evading three tackles to touch down under the posts.
Leali’ifano added the extras to reduce the gap to three points but Cruden added his second penalty just before the break to send the All Blacks into halftime 25-19 ahead.
A fifth Leali’ifano penalty six minutes after the break again narrowed the deficit but two tries in six minutes soon put the visitors firmly back in charge.
First scrumhalf Aaron Smith burst up the middle of the Australian defence before feeding centre Conrad Smith, who skipped past Mogg to touch down under the posts for his 24th test try.
The All Blacks were now running rampant and when they got quick ball under the Wallabies’ posts in the 57th minute it was just a matter of getting the ball down the backline to put Ben Smith in for his second score.
Cruden hit the uprights for the second time on the night with his conversion kick but the All Blacks looked comfortable at 37-22, the flyhalf’s intercept soon afterwards almost setting up a try for Julian Savea.
The All Blacks hit the 40 point mark with Cruden’s third penalty and Smith’s third try was simplicity itself when replacement Wallabies centre Tevita Kuridrani released the ball at the tackle leaving the winger to scoop it up and score.
O’Connor cut through on an overlap in the final seconds for the Wallabies but the New Zealanders in the crowd were already singing “All Blacks! All Blacks!” in celebration of handsome victory.

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TWO TEENAGERS, members of an organised group, were remanded in custody for eight days on Saturday in connection with a couple of violent muggings that took place in Kato Paphos, police said.

A spokesman said this was the fifth gang broken by police in the past two months.

The two, aged 16 and 17-years-old, were arrested following a tip-off linking them to a couple of muggings that took place in July and earlier this month, Paphos police spokesman Nicos Tsiappis said.

He added that police were seeking two more suspects.

“It is the fifth organised group involved in similar offences that was dismantled by police in the past two months in Paphos,” Tsiappis said. “Police will continue its efforts to prevent and combat crime, always with the help of the public.”

The spokesman said the suspects’ method of operation was the same in all cases – they located people who had been drinking in bars in Kato Paphos and attacked them in certain locations where it was dark.

Tsiappis said they both admitted involvement in one case while one confessed to taking part in both muggings.

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PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades has appointed former ambassador Theophilos Theophilou as representative of the Greek Cypriot community on the Committee for Missing Persons (CMP).

He will be assuming his duties on September 1.

Theophilou was the first representative of the Greek Cypriot community in the CMP when it was first set up in 1981.

The CMP is composed of a member appointed by each of the two communities and a third member, selected by the International Committee of the Red Cross and appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Decisions are taken by consensus. The chair is rotated monthly.

Around 2,000 people had been officially reported as missing by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities during inter-communal fighting in the 60s and the1974 Turkish invasion.

Around three-quarters were Greek Cypriots who went missing during the invasion.

A further 41 Greek Cypriots have been added, but these cases concern the intercommunal strife of 1963 and 1964 when most of the around 500 Turkish Cypriots on the list were also reported missing.

According to the CMP, the total number of identifications has risen to 407 from 337 at the end of 2012, of which 83 per cent or 333 were Greek Cypriots and 17 per cent, which corresponds to 17 identifications, were Turkish Cypriots.

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A fire in Episkopi has damaged homes, the fire-service said, as fire-fighters battled flames in many fronts across the island on Saturday afternoon.

The fire service said the roofs of three homes in Episkopi were damaged by the blaze, which still raged late into the afternoon.

Two people had to be treated in hospital — one for smoke inhalation, the other for burns. Their condition was not serious.

Also out of control was a large blaze in Anogyra, Limassol, but there was no threat to any houses.

“The fire (in Episkopi) is out of control,” fire service spokeswoman Lisa Kemidji said.

Police had to shut down the Limassol to Paphos motorway near Episkopi due to smoke from the fire.

Drivers were asked to use the old road – use the Episkopi exit if travelling to Paphos and the Sotira exit if headed to Limassol.

The road was re-opened at around 7.30pm.

A large fire in Choli, Paphos, was put under control late in the afternoon after burning 15 hectares of wild shrub and dry vegetation mostly.

“The strong winds are fanning the flames, making the task of putting out the fires very difficult,” Kemidji said.

Hundreds of fire-fighters battled the flames on the ground, assisted by dozens of vehicles and numerous water-dropping aircraft from various outfits, including the British bases.

Beachgoers watched as helicopters came in to scoop water and return to fight the flames.

Off-duty personnel was also called in to provide assistance.

As the aircraft retired because of the dark, fire-fighters caught a break when winds died down, giving them the opportunity to put the blazes under control.

A blaze in Pareklishia, which burnt out of control for the better part of Saturday afternoon was eventually contained.

The fire did some damage to the exterior of some houses in Pareklishia but no other information was immediately available.

Fire-fighters will remain on the scene as a precaution.

Fires also broke out in Ypsonas and Ayia Fyla.

Two fires also broke out near Pyrgos Tyllirias.

The first one started in the buffer zone at 4.45pm followed by the second one 45 minutes later, authorities said.

Kemidji said the causes of the fires were not known but said they will be investigated with the first light on Sunday.

It is understood that the fires broke out after 2.30pm.

“At the moment all efforts are focusing on putting out the fires,” she said.

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By Ed Osmond
Christian Benteke struck twice to inspire Aston Villa to a shock 3-1 win at Arsenal on a dramatic opening day of the Premier League season on Saturday.
Striker Daniel Sturridge scored and new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved a late penalty to earn Liverpool a deserved 1-0 win over Stoke City and Norwich City drew 2-2 with Everton.
West Ham United beat promoted Cardiff City 2-0, Fulham won 1-0 at Sunderland and Southampton striker Rickie Lambert converted a late penalty to secure a 1-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion.
Arsenal took an early lead at the Emirates through forward Olivier Giroud but Benteke equalised from the rebound after having a penalty saved and the powerful striker fired home another spot-kick after 62 minutes.
Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny was sent off before full back Antonio Luna grabbed a late third for Villa.
Sturridge put Liverpool ahead against Stoke with a firm 20-metre shot after 37 minutes and Mignolet plunged to his right to keep out Jonathan Walters’s penalty a minute from time.
Champions Manchester United begin the defence of their title at Swansea City in the late kickoff.

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We recently travelled to the UK with easyJet – the supposedly cheaper airline – from Paphos to be faced with a most appalling situation, which could only happen in Cyprus.

Arriving at the airport, to our shock we discovered that there was mini-bus service from the terminal to the planes and vice versa because at Easy-Jet’s request this service was cancelled.

Now all passengers including young children, babies and elderly people – some in wheelchairs – are condemned to queue up for over half an hour under the open skies and pounded by the scorching summer heat of the day until the one official checks their documents before they are allowed to board. Of course he sits under the shade.

On return we experienced the same situation with passengers once again left in a huge queues outside the terminal waiting once again to have their passports checked by a couple of customs officers located inside the air-conditioned building. The delays were appalling.

Trapped, everyone puffed and huffed between clenched teeth, wiped the sweat off their foreheads and muttered: ‘Welcome Cyprus’.

Andreas C Chrysafis, Paphos

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I know there are more serious news items to report on, however I feel it is the need to bring to your attention a situation I recently experienced which I find incredible and extremely humiliating as well as not making sense.

I was called to court in relation to a minor charge, so being a law abiding citizen I attended and did not see the need to bring a lawyer, as I needed some answers myself as did not have a clue why I was being called to court over something that in someone’s else’s eyes I had done wrong… three years previously.

I entered the courtroom and became quickly aware that it was a general court and was filled with lawyers and defendants. You wait for your name to be called. A translator as provided by my side. The judge turned to me and asked if I understood the accusation.

I said: ‘No I do not. I don’t know why I am here’

I had no other information apart from the summons so I refused to enter a plea on that basis. This is the incredible part. I was told I had to deposit with the court thousands of euros for my bail to ensure I would turn up at court at a later date.

I responded: ‘Why would you ask such a thing? My children were born here. I live here, pay my social, have no convictions’

The judge referred to me as a foreigner under the legal framework of Cyprus – which is not allowed as you should be referred to as defendant. I had to pay the guarantee, which was thousands, because if I didn’t they would have jailed me that day until the next court date.

Now my point: If you think they do this to just foreigners you are wrong, they do the same to Cypriots. Now think of the money it costs the state to jail someone for basically having nothing proven against them. What idiot came up with this idea?  In other civilised countries the background of the person is taken into account [in a bail hearing] but not here, so be careful.

In addition under human rights internationally you have the right to see all the papers backing up any accusation. Here you have to pay to get that file. So can someone please tell me who came up with these amazing ways of jailing people for no reason and costing millions to the state that the state does not have, and also wasting time in general in an attempt to get money from people. I state again they do this to Cypriots as well and this cannot be legal. This is dangerous and completely unfair to everyone, and it’s certainly is not a system that works. It’s a money machine and a form of bullying.

Name and address withheld

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There are three German shepherd dogs being kept in small tin-roofed cages in unbearable heat near Polemidia before Orphanides Limassol. Apparently the owner thinks that if he keeps them caged, dehydrated and fed very little, then when he takes them hunting they will run more vigorously. The dogs have gone mad. The sight and sound of the dogs yowling pounding and leaping at the bars is heartbreaking.

Eve Polycarpou, Limassol

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Recently I visited the emergency room at Limassol hospital at 2am because my wrist was in a lot of pain. I went and I registered and paid €10 like all good citizens. I saw the doctor on duty. They took X-rays and advised me it was broken so they put it in a cast and sling and the doctor advised me to return in three days and go to orthopaedics.

I went back as instructed, took a number waited my turn but people pushed in front of me when my number was called. I did eventually managed to make the appointment and paid €30 as my hospital card had expired.

When I was called by the doctor, his first question was: ‘Did you hit your hand? I replied that I had not as far as I could remember. I told him I had been to the emergency department three days prior.  His reply was: ‘So why are you here now?’ I told him the doctor at the emergency room took X-rays and said my wrist was broken. ‘But it’s not broken,” said the orthopaedic doctor.

I asked him how he knew without seeing the X-rays, and he said if I didn’t like what he said, I could go somewhere else.

Is it not my body, and do I not have the right to have things explained to me? How can two different doctors say two different things? One puts my hand in a cast and bandages me up and the other says there is nothing wrong?

Now I need to pay another €50 to find a real doctor.

No wonder this country is in the…

Angry patient

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In most container ports around the world container handling, from ship, into storage yard and delivery to consignee truck or vice versa is charged at a unit rate according to the published port tariff and based on container size, 20ft, 40ft, 45ft.

In the case of general cargo it costs the port authority the same to handle an FCL (full container load) of rags or electrical goods and weight is not an issue provided the total weight does not exceed that shown on the container.

If this is the nature of the complaint raised by the importers of electrical goods then they have a legitimate cause for complaint. This type of charging structure will certainly kill transshipment because Cyprus is in competition with other ports in the region for transshipment.

Charging by commodity type or number of units in a dry full container load is a throwback to general cargo days and has no place in a modern container terminal.

Ken Clarke, via email

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Hermes Solomon…you forgot the cockle stalls and Queen Victoria’s statue in Southend pointing to the toilets.

Regarding last week ‘Economic problems in Cyprus? Look at all the new Beemers, Mercs and Audis in Limassol, not just Russians but also tax dodgers. My tax-dodging German friend tells me 51 per cent of residents have no tax file. I thought the government was going to send tax forms to all, including part time workers like civil servants and teachers with second jobs? Regards from Harbin to yours,

David Crompton, Limassol

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Scores of next to useless devices a monument to poor research and ill-advised policies

Now the high summer is here, how many readers have seen the wind turbines spinning wildly?  No, I thought not many of you.  These improvident behemoths are very heavily subsidised and generate little, other than profit for the manufacturers and income for those leasing the land on which stand these consummate bird killers and natural beauty despoilers. Twitchers flocking recently to the Outer Hebrides to sight a rare bird recorded only eight times in 170 years were horrified to see it killed by a turbine.  And turbines have been filmed exploding. (see: youtube.com/watch?v=u14tBwO5QVQ&feature=youtu.be)

Yes, of course the wind is free, but turbines have to be kept supplied with ‘always on’ conventional power anyway, which is why you see them turning slowly at an unvarying speed whenever there is little or no wind.

We should all be pleased and relieved that at last their unreliability and truly suspect financial viability has been exposed throughout Europe.  The UK would have to be covered from end to end and side to side with turbines to make any measurable contribution to overall energy resource. There are plenty of peer-reviewed references and studies which now show this is so with unquestionable accuracy.  And with the latest units being taller than Big Ben they have become cumulatively unsightly and ruinously expensive to maintain, directly inflating all our electricity bills.

The offshore units are especially and incredibly expensive to maintain, but with their life of under 25 years, and their heavy decommisioning costs now being exposed, wind farms everywhere are now rapidly falling out of favour.   With a maximum of 26% output, and certainly here in Cyprus with the many months of light winds, the economic viability is exceptionally suspect when capital and running costs are fully and honestly taken into account.

A former energy minister blew (sorry) almost all the alternative energy budget on these things and now we have been lumbered with scores of next to useless devices which stand as monuments to poor research, ill advised policy commitments and economic illiteracy.

Reflect on this as you look up at these modern exemplars of waste.

Clive Turner, Kamares

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I have been a part-time resident in Cyprus over the last three years, and quickly learned to appreciate Cyprus Mail as a source to learn more about the country.  The letters and the lively exchange of comments to happenings, major and insignificant alike, add flavour to CM’s “official” reporting.

Two things became clear to a fresh arrival. The esteem for politicians is close to zero, owing to alleged corruption, alleged nepotism and alleged incompetence. This is reflected in the letters and comments mentioned above in no uncertain terms.

Despite that I have also seen some of the negative sides; my overall conclusion so far is that I am very happy to have made the move.  The nature and the weather are all that we hoped for, we have been met very friendly where we have settled, and much of the public infrastructure work reasonably well.

As for improvements to hope for, I would like to start with the politicians. I believe that the recent crisis has been cleansing in several ways. We have a new government, and until proved otherwise, I think they deserve to be met with trust. At least I ask my fellow citizens, immigrants and Cypriots alike, to refrain from the mudslinging and defamatory characteristics, and present your discord in constructive terms.

The EU membership has also brought an agenda for Cyprus to improve the state of property trading (title deeds, taxation), bank business (money laundering, risk management), and many other educative areas where we can learn from others in the family.

Personally I should like to see the working together between us all as consumers, businesses and state authorities be lifted to a level of mutual trust for the benefit of all. The state needs tax income to provide services, and fair competition between service providers requires everyone to pay VAT.  More efficient systems for the authorities to control proper business accounting are probably long overdue.

I really believe that if everyone “get their act together” and contribute to a more fair society, Cyprus will continue to rise, and that the comment columns of Cyprus Mail will gradually become less aggressive. Politics means choosing strategies and making priorities, and we cast our votes to whom we have the most faith in. And remember Winston Churchill’s observation that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried”. All the best, Cyprus!

Arnt Otto Østlie, Mandria

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Regarding Mr Dickenson’s article ‘Religion is Darwinism’ (Sunday Mail August 11) was devoid of factual content.   It made up for it though by the interestingly written sarcastic baseless, unheard-of examples of why God can’t exist because his son would have to visit all habitable planets to be systematically sacrificed.

The scientists you depend on, that jumped onto Mr Darwin’s bandwagon, are now rushing to leap off before the currently-increasing overwhelming scientific evidence against them will make them a laughing stock because  ape and human chromosomes’ may be 98 per cent  identical but still do not allow for the evolution theory.

Darwin should have been asked to explain why had primitive men needed, and nature provided such a powerful human brain?  Why has his theory of ‘what we don’t use we lose’, did not apply to us that are lumbered with carrying around an unnecessary 90 per cent worth of brain matter.  Surely we could have evolved to have a coconut sized heads?

A Dinou, Nicosia

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Within the Living section of the Sunday August 11 issue of the Sunday Mail, Richard Dickenson proposes that “Religion is Darwinism”. In the article the author states that religions in general follow the theories of Darwinian Evolution.

He neither shows how in fact religions conform to nor why their continued existence conforms to any of those principles, whether natural selection or survival of the fittest. In fact the article seems to be more of a polemical treatise written by the adherent of one religion who seeks to attack the beliefs of another religion.

This is because Darwin’s theories on evolution and the origins of life being caused by natural selection have in fact become a religion for many people. Darwin’s theory is in fact a theory, it is not a fact.

Science proves things to be true through the process of producing results based on repeatable scientific experimentation. That life evolves is provable, but what in fact causes this is not scientifically known, and therefore theories have been created to explain this. When people such as this author dogmatically hold on to Darwin’s theories without having any scientific proof to back them up, meaning repeatable experiments, they show their true colors.  They are themselves “priests of a religion” who seek to usurp power and gain more adherents for their religion. All this being done at the expense of Truth.

For example in this article the author uses the vastness of the universe, probability, and one theory of how life arises to argue that the universe must be filled with life. This is a theory. If life has come about by random chance, then it should by provable by scientific experimentation.

That people argue that eventually science will prove this to be true, is not proof that their belief is in fact true. It simple shows that such people have “faith” in their beliefs. They hope their “religion” will turn out to be correct without at present having any facts to attest to that belief. Therefore it must be stressed that they do not know that this will ever in fact happen, and they could be wrong in their beliefs. Such beliefs really boil down to a lot of talk without any substance, and is not any better than hearsay.

No true adherent of the Christian Faith believes that God was completely absent from the creation of the universe, but rather that God was and is involved in the continued existence of the universe. Thus God’s Will and actions are crucial to the existence of the universe and the origins of life within it. Therefore it is possible that there exists only one place in the universe with life, and thus only one place that His Son had to be sent to in order to provide the help necessary for life to continue to exist there. This of course is also a belief and has not been proven by any scientific experimentation, but I have Faith that it is true, and am also willing to admit the lack of evidence. I hope one day that the adherents of the religion centered on Darwin’s theories will one day be able to admit the same.

Father Nichalas

Priest of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, residing in Cyprus

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Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president overthrown in an uprising in 2011, will be released from jail soon after a prosecutor cleared him in a corruption case, his lawyer and a judicial source said on Monday.

Mubarak, 85, was arrested after he was ousted. In scenes that mesmerised Arabs, the former leader appeared in a court-room cage during his trial on charges that ranged from corruption to complicity in the murder of protesters.

More than a year on, the only legal grounds for Mubarak’s continued detention rest on another corruption case which his lawyer, Fareed el-Deeb, said would be settled swiftly.

“All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week,” Deeb told Reuters.

Without confirming that Mubarak would be freed, a judicial source said the former leader would spend another two weeks behind bars before judicial authorities made a final decision in the outstanding case against him.

Mubarak, along with his interior minister, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to stop the killing of protesters in the revolt that swept him from power.

He still faces a retrial in that case after appeals from the prosecution and defence, but this would not necessarily require him to stay in jail. Mubarak did not appear at a hearing in the case on Saturday. He was also absent from Monday’s proceedings.

Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for 30 years, is being held at Tora prison on the southern outskirts of Cairo, the facility where senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been detained since they were arrested in a crackdown on the organisation that began in July.

The military removed President Mohamed Mursi, a senior Brotherhood official, on July 3 after mass protests against his rule. Mursi is in detention at an undisclosed location.

He faces an investigation into accusations stemming from his escape from prison during the anti-Mubarak revolt. These include murder and conspiring with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Mursi has not been formally indicted.

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By Brian Homewood

AC Milan’s first competitive match of the season could also be one of their most important when they visit PSV Eindhoven for the first leg of their Champions League playoff on Tuesday.

The seven-times European champions have missed out on the group stage only once in the last 11 seasons and failure to qualify this term could quickly turn the heat back on coach Massimiliano Allegri, who clung on to his job during the summer.

Arsenal, aiming to reach the group stage for the 16th season in a row, visit Fenerbahce in another of the 10 ties while Huub Stevens returns to his old club as he leads PAOK Salonica against Schalke 04 and Olympique Lyonnais host Real Sociedad in a France-Spain contest.

PAOK are one of five clubs, alongside Ludgorets Razgrad, Shakhter Karagandy, Pacos de Ferreira and Austria Vienna, who are attempting to reach the group stage for the first time.

If Shakhter overcome former European champions Celtic, they would also become the first team from Kazakhstan to reach the group stage since the Central Asian nation joined UEFA from the Asian Football Confederation in 2002.

Dutch clubs are no longer the force they were in European competition but even so, Milan, third in Serie A last season, will not be relishing their trip to 1988 champions PSV, who have already played five games this season and won them all.

“It will be tough for Milan because PSV are a young team, who run a lot and want to play on the attack,” former Netherlands midfielder Mark van Bommel, who played for both clubs during his bruising career, told Milan’s website (www.acmilan.com).

“PSV are very good at going forward but they have a very young defence. It will be a very interesting match because who knows what can happen.”

PSV have sold several key players from last season but have been boosted by the emergence of 17-year-old Belgian Zakaria Bakkali, who became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Eredivisie in this month’s 5-0 win over NEC Nijmegen.

MATCH-FIXING CASE

Arsenal travel to Istanbul for Wednesday’s match with their confidence dented and questions over manager Arsene Wenger’s transfer policy after a 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.

Fenerbahce are surrounded by uncertainty after they were handed a two-year European ban in June over a domestic match-fixing scandal in 2011 but were reinstated pending an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

CAS are due to announce the result before Aug. 28, the day after the second leg.

Ukraine’s Metalist Kharkiv, meanwhile, were expelled last week by UEFA in connection with a domestic match-fixing case dating back to 2008 and replaced by Greek runners-up PAOK, who visit Schalke on Wednesday.

Unlike with Fenerbahce, CAS refused to grant Metalist a temporary reprieve after they also appealed.

PAOK coach Stevens had two stints in charge of the Gelsenkirchen-based club, the most recent ending only eight months ago when he was fired.

Celtic, champions in 1967, set off immediately after Saturday’s Scottish league match at Aberdeen for a 5,500-km (3417 miles) journey which took them across five time zones for Tuesday’s game against Shakhter.

Tuesday’s match will be played in Astana, around 400 km from Shakter’s own stadium which did not meet UEFA requirements for European competition.

Real Sociedad’s match at Olympique on Tuesday will be their first in Europe since the 2003/04 season and coincidentally will be against the same opponents.

Olympique, meanwhile, are looking to return to the Champions League group stage after their run of 12 successive participations ended last season.

In other ties, Pacos de Ferreira, who had never finished higher than sixth in the Portuguese league before last season’s impressive third place, host Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday, hoping the Russians fail to notch a first-ever win in Portugal.

Former European Cup semi-finalists Austria Vienna, aiming to become the first team from their country to qualify for seven years, visit Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.

Steaua Bucharest, champions in 1986, host Legia Warsaw the same evening when Bulgarian champions Ludgorets Razgrad entertain Switzerland’s FC Basel.

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