By Jibran Ahmed and Hamid Shalizi

A suspected U.S. drone strike on an Islamic seminary in Pakistan killed a senior member of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network early on Thursday, Pakistani and Afghan sources said.

It was the first drone strike in the nuclear-armed South Asian nation since Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed on Nov. 1 in an attack that sparked a fierce power struggle within the fragmented insurgency.

Maulvi Ahmad Jan, an adviser to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the feared head of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, was in the madrassa when at least three rockets hit his room in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa just before sunrise.

“Yes it’s true, we lost another valuable figure this morning,” a senior Haqqani official told Reuters.

A Pakistani intelligence source said that Sirajuddin Haqqani himself was spotted at the same seminary just two days earlier.

The group is one of the main enemies of U.S.-led forces in neighbouring Afghanistan, frequently launching attacks on foreign troops from mountainous hideouts in Pakistan’s lawless North Waziristan region.

But it has been under considerable strain this month since its chief financier, Nasiruddin Haqqani, was shot dead in Islamabad on Nov. 11. No one claimed responsibility for that shooting.

A source with Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security intelligence agency confirmed Jan’s death. At least four other people also died in the attack but dozens of students sleeping in other rooms were unhurt, police and militant sources said.

Washington has long urged Islamabad to crack down on the group. Nasiruddin’s father was once an ally of the United States during the rebellion in Afghanistan against the Soviets.

Pakistan publicly opposes U.S. drone strikes, saying they kill too many civilians and violate its sovereignty, although in private officials admit the government broadly supports them.

Thursday’s missiles hit only two of the nine rooms in the seminary where Jan was staying with several other militants.

“Only the two rooms where Maulvi Ahmad Jan and other Afghan Taliban leaders were staying were hit by the drone. The remaining seven rooms remained intact,” a local resident said.

Most drone strikes occur in the lawless North Waziristan region where Taliban insurgents are holed up, and are rare in densely populated places such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The attack took place a day after Pakistan’s foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz was quoted as saying the United States had promised not to conduct drone strikes while the government tries to engage the Taliban in peace talks.

The United States has not commented on Aziz’s remarks.

By Orhan Coskun

Turkish police fired into the air and detained a man carrying a device designed to look like a bomb after he tried to breach a security cordon near Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s offices on Thursday.

The man, described by media reports as in his early 50s, had called police five minutes beforehand to tip them off and is thought to have psychological problems, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler told reporters.

Turkish media published a photograph of what looked like a white corset and a slab of putty wrapped in cling film, attached by wire to a small back device, seized from the man.

“There is no suicide bomber. The suspect tipped off police about himself. He is thought to have psychological problems,” Guler said.

“A device made to look like a bomb was found on the suspect. Police fired into the air during the incident. Nobody was shot,” he added, denying initial media reports that the man had been shot and wounded by police.

Television footage showed police sealing off the streets in the area near the building in the centre of the capital Ankara.

An official in Erdogan’s office said earlier the suspect had refused to show his identity card at a checkpoint in the street. Erdogan was not in the building at the time, the official added.

Separatist Kurdish militants, far-left groups and radical Islamists have all carried out attacks in Turkey in the past.

By Susanna Twidale and Nina Chestney

Several major environmental groups, including Greenpeace and WWF, have walked out of U.N. climate talks in Warsaw in protest at what they see as a lack of progress towards an international deal to curb rising global greenhouse gas emissions.

More than 9,000 representatives from about 195 countries are gathered in the Polish capital for a two-week conference working towards a treaty to be signed in 2015 to fight climate change. The pact would enter into force after 2020.

But the talks, ending on Friday, have stuttered over several issues, particularly whether rich nations should pay developing countries for losses suffered due to the effects of climate change, and a lack of pledges to cut emissions.

“The lack of meaningful leadership from other countries, governments, here has delivered a slap in the face to those suffering as a result of dangerous climate change,” said Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International.

Marcin Korolec, who is chairing the talks, was fired as Polish environment minister on Wednesday.

He remains in charge of the talks but green groups have slammed the timing of the cabinet reshuffle.

Poland’s decision to host a coal industry summit alongside the climate talks on Monday and Tuesday had already angered environmental groups.

“This is one of the most ‘captured’ summits ever – by corporates and coal industry with the support of the Polish government,” said Dipti Bhatnagar at Friends of the Earth International.

“We are walking (out) to send a strong message due to the total inaction at the talks, due to lack of ambition and finance, at a time when we need the most action.”

Two workers were injured on Thursday after falling off a platform installed on a boom forklift at Vassilikos on the southern coast near Limassol.

Their condition was not life threatening.

The two, a 57-year-old Cypriot and a Greek national, 40, were conducting quality control checks on a tank that is part of a fuel terminal under construction in the area.

They fell from a height of around 10 metres suffering neck and leg injuries.

The contractor, Vassiliko Oil Tank JV, denied reports of an oil leak

An inspector from the Department of Labor Inspection was called to the scene to investigate the circumstances under which the accident occurred.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Thursday the government’s approach on privatisations was not absolute, as the National Economy Council (NEC) said it favoured full privatisation of public companies and unions reiterated their opposition.

“On the other hand, the obligation we assumed is clear,” Georgiades said.

Cyprus needs to raise at least €1.4 billion trough privatisations by 2018. The island must have a privatisation roadmap ready in December, a condition for the release of the next tranche of bailout cash.

The minister said the programme should afford the government some flexibility.

“We recognise the bailout obligation – it clearly refers to procedure of privatisation – but we want a procedure that will leave open options at least as regards the extent,” Georgiades told state broadcaster CyBC. “This plan must be prepared and agreed with the troika (of international lenders) before next tranche is released.”

In a policy paper published on Thursday, the NEC said full privatisation must be pursued wherever possible.

“Privatisations will yield significant proceeds and will show Cyprus’ determination to proceed with reforms that would satisfy the relevant provisions of the (bailout) Memorandum of Understanding,” the NEC said.

According to the paper, full privatization would attract bigger investment, as opposed to partial privatization which would not raise the €1.4 billion.

Going fully private would also get rid of “the problem of political interventions and limit the scope of actions associated with party interests.”

The NEC suggested that the telecommunications authority, CyTA, should be the first to go, as it already operates in a competitive environment.

It considers the case of the EAC, the island’s power supplier, as “rather more complex.”

The EAC itself is in a difficult position, the paper said, in that a sizeable part of its production capacity is inactive given the reduced demand due to the financial crisis.

It remained trapped in costly diesel to generate electricity compared to the production costs by solar panels that are below the EAC production costs.

“A transition to a new ownership regime would be more difficult and traumatic for the EAC than for CyTA,” the NEC said, adding that privatization of the EAC should be accompanied by a strong regulatory authority that would supervise the private firm.

As far the Cyprus Ports Authority was concerned, the NEC recommended it assumed a regulatory role over ports, whereas the administration of the ports should be transferred to the private sector.

By Konstantinos Kakouros
THE Cyprus Institute’s Unmanned Aircraft Research Facility was inaugurated yesterday after more than four years of preparations.
Unmanned airplanes – also known as drones – play as significant role in environmental research; used to carry out atmospheric and earth-surface observations and work as a link between ground and large-scale satellite observations.
Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean will largely benefit from the facility since the Cyprus Institute is the only institution of the region that has the capability of using unmanned airplanes for scientific purposes, stakeholders said yesterday.
The facility has four medium-sized and one smaller aircraft, a mobile ground control station, and a host of scientific instruments.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Communications Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos said the facility is a “modern and powerful research tool” and pointed out that innovative research projects like this can help Cyprus exit from the financial crisis faster than anticipated.
He added that although drones have been linked to military issues “it is expected that the use of drones will be further expanded in activities such as patrols over the sea, water pollution detection, mapping, transmission of data and information, informing about traffic, study of weather events, conservation of the environment, etc”.
Drones are very helpful for scientists in investigating extreme weather events, in understanding atmospheric and ocean processes, in assessing ash clouds following volcanic eruptions and other environmental issues.
The major advantages of unmanned airplanes lie in the versatility and flexibility of their employment, the wide variety of research issues they can be used for, their cost-effectiveness, and their ability to carry out missions that would be impossible or dangerous for piloted airplanes.
The new facility was largely developed in the framework of the Autonomous Flying Platforms for Atmospheric and Earth Surface Observation (APAESO), a project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation (RPF).

Cypriot sailor Pavlos Kontides remains in second place after an action-packed day five in the Laser Standard Men’s World Championship 2013 taking place in Oman.

Bad weather conditions  postponed one of the day’s two races, the organisers taking the decision for safety reasons.

According to the Cyprus Sailing Federation, Kontides finished in 16th position in Thursday’s race. This did not affect the overall standings, as he is in second position with 36 points, nine points behind the leader Brazilian Robert Scheidt.

The distance from the third place has increased. Swedish Jesper Stalheim has 42 points. German Philipp Buhl who is fourth, has 43.

“Five days have been completed. We are in a good position. There is a way to go. The target is possible. Pavlos is totally focused on his efforts. As a matter of fact, he even avoids speaking with the persons closest to him,” said the Cypriot sailor’s father Panagiotis Kontides, who is watching his son’s efforts.

Kontides became the first Cypriot athlete ever to win an Olympic medal for his country. He secured the silver medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games in the Men’s Laser class.

By Belinda Goldsmith

Three women claiming to have been held in captivity as domestic slaves for 30 years have been rescued from a house in London and a man and a woman arrested, police and charity workers said on Thursday.

Police officers from a human trafficking unit took the man and woman, both aged 67, into custody at their home in south London early Thursday.

The arrests came after a 69-year-old Malaysian woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old British woman were rescued from the house. It was not known exactly when they were freed.

“All three women, who were highly traumatised, were taken to a place of safety where they remain,” London Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The trail to the women began in October when the Freedom Charity group reported a call from a woman who said she had been held against her will in the house for more than 30 years.

Further inquiries led to a non-descript house in south London and, with the help of negotiations conducted by the charity, the rescue of the three women.

Few details were immediately available but the fate of the women evoked memories of marathon abduction cases in both the United States and Austria.

Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland said a television documentary on forced marriages relating to the work of the Freedom Charity was the catalyst that prompted one of the London victims to call for help and led to their rescue.

But it took several weeks of gaining the women’s trust before a rescue could go ahead, said Aneeta Prem, the founder of Freedom Charity that works on issues including forced marriage.

“They had been trying for a number of years to work out a way to leave,” Prem told Reuters, declining to give details on the location of the house. “People will be shocked this can happen in the UK and in a capital city like London.”

The youngest woman had been held there “from a very young age”, she said, adding that neighbours had not reported noticing anything untoward happening at the property.

The women were doing “remarkably well” physically and mentally under the circumstances, Prem said. “This will be a very long haul for them to try to return to a normal life.”

In the United States, former bus driver Ariel Castro was convicted in August of the abduction, torture and decade-long confinement of three women. He was found hanged in his cell at an Ohio prison in September.

That followed two infamous cases in Austria.

Natascha Kampusch was found in 2006 after being kidnapped at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held captive for eight years. In 2009, Josef Fritzl was sentenced to life after keeping his daughter Elisabeth captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children with her.

By Nina Chestney and Megan Rowling

Disputes over when rich and poor nations will set greenhouse gas targets and over climate aid to the developing world threatened to sink U.N. climate talks on the final day on Friday.

Negotiators from around 195 countries are working to lay the foundations for a new global climate accord that is due to be agreed in 2015 in Paris, and come into force after 2020, but few concrete steps have emerged from two weeks of talks in Warsaw.

“The Warsaw talks, which should have been an important step forward … are now on the verge of delivering virtually nothing,” said China’s lead climate negotiator Su Wei.

Around 800 representatives from 13 non-governmental organisations walked out of the talks on Thursday, exasperated at the lack of progress at the meeting, which is likely to run overnight into Saturday.

It was hoped the conference would at least produce a timetable to ensure ambitious emissions cut targets and climate finance pledges are set in time for Paris. But the selection and wording of issues has been politically sensitive.

Rich countries want to emphasise future emission targets for all, while developing nations say industrialised nations must lead in setting targets and foot most of the bill because they have historically accounted for most emissions.

French Development Minister Pascal Canfin said all should submit initial targets for emissions beyond 2020 by early 2015.

“Warsaw will have been a good launch pad for Paris if each state goes away with the principle of putting commitments with numbers on the table … by the beginning of 2015 at the latest,” he said.

The talks have also been sharply divided over aid. Developed nations agreed in 2009 to raise climate aid to $100 billion a year from 2020 from an annual $10 billion for 2010-12.

Hit by economic slowdown, rich countries are now more focused on their own economies and are resisting calls to firm up plans for raising aid from 2013 to 2019.

MORE URGENCY

Scientists say warming is causing more heatwaves, droughts, and could mean more powerful storms. The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has risen to more than 4,000.

A U.N. panel of climate scientists said in September “sustained and substantial” cuts in greenhouse gases are needed to achieve a U.N. goal of limiting warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times – widely seen as a threshold for dangerous change.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world leaders on Thursday to make “bold pledges” for emissions cuts by a summit he will host on Sept. 23 next year but acknowledged many nations would be late.

Many developing nations want that to be a deadline for rich nations to outline initial emissions cuts beyond 2020 but the United States has said it will unveil its plans in early 2015.

A draft document issued on Friday, which still has to be approved by parties, suggested a draft negotiating text be ready at the latest by December 2014 climate talks in Lima, Peru.

Developing nations are also pushing for a new mechanism to deal with loss and damage related to climate change, but developed countries do not want a new institution, fearing that it could pave the way for huge financial claims.

By Chen Aizhu

An explosion in a Sinopec Corp oil pipeline killed 35 people in Qingdao in eastern China on Friday, causing a blaze that took several hours to bring under control and halting operations at a major oil port, media and ship brokers said.

Qingdao is one of China’s largest crude oil import terminals, supplying at least two major Sinopec refineries — the Qingdao plant and Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Corp — as well as many small, independent refineries.

A Chinese trader said the explosion would disrupt crude flows into China as the blast involved a major pipeline supplying several refineries.

The explosion in the underground pipeline caused a huge hole to appear in the roadway above and state television showed a truck that had fallen into it, with a residential apartment block in the background.

President Xi Jinping called on local authorities to “spare no effort to rescue the injured and strengthen safety to eradicate such incidents”, state news agency Xinhua said.

The Huangdao oil terminal in Qingdao had stopped operations, ship brokers and a port official said.

The local government said on its microblog that the blast occurred at 10:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) as workers were trying to repair leaks in the pipeline. It said oil had spilled into the port, which had also caught fire.

However, a port official said: “The port was not affected by the pipeline blast, but tankers were told to sail away from the port as a safety precaution.”

Sinopec confirmed on its microblog that the explosion was caused by a leak in the Huangwei crude oil pipeline. It said the fire was put out at 1 p.m.

State television CCTV, which gave the figure of 35 dead, said 166 people were injured.

“Early investigations showed the spilled oil flowed into the municipal grid, which caused the explosion,” the local government said, giving no further details about the grid.

SEA POLLUTION

It said the oil spill had spread across 3,000 square metres of sea water.

Two pipelines at state oil giant PetroChina’s storage site in Dalian exploded in 2010, causing a big oil spill and disrupting crude supply and oil product exports at its refineries for weeks.

A witness in the city said there was a power cut in the area lasting for about two hours after the blast.

The China International Marine Containers (CIMC) factory located nearby closed for a period to rehouse about 500 workers whose dormitories had been damaged.

“Ambulances were still operating after 1 p.m. Glass windows in our dormitories were broken. It’s terrifying,” said worker Zhao Kai.

Sinopec officials could not immediately be reached for comment and it was unclear if there was any impact on the 240,000-barrel-per-day Sinopec Qingdao refinery, which receives imported crude oil cargoes from Huangdao port.

The affected crude oil pipeline connects Huangdao to the city of Weifang in the same province, Shandong.

By Martyn Herman
Liverpool’s Premier League title aspirations will be under scrutiny again on Saturday when they make the short trip across Stanley Park to face city rivals Everton (2.45pm).
The last time Brendan Rodgers’s side took on genuine contenders for the crown they were well beaten 2-0 at Arsenal, a defeat that deflated the early-season optimism at Anfield.

They responded with a 4-0 drubbing of Fulham, however, and as the Premier League cranks back into action after the international break they are only two points behind leaders Arsenal who host high-flying Southampton on Saturday (5pm).

Victory over Everton would put Liverpool top for a few hours at least, although Everton’s start to the season under new manager Roberto Martinez has been almost as impressive.
Martinez’s managerial breakthrough came at Swansea City where the Spaniard introduced a cultured playing style that Rodgers continued when he took the Welsh club into the Premier League for the first time.

Martinez, who was linked with the Liverpool job when Kenny Dalglish left in 2012 only to remain at Wigan Athletic for another season, has quickly stamped his trademark at Everton, championing a more patient build-up to the direct approach of former boss David Moyes.

It is working too, with Everton up in sixth place, five points off the summit having lost only once in 11 games.

In recent seasons, matches between Liverpool and Everton have lacked the edge of a top of the table battle but with the Premier League wide open this year, Martinez says Saturday’s clash has added significance.

“It’s a massive game, it’s a glamorous game, one that is always followed worldwide because of the passion between the clubs,” Martinez, who describes the derby as unique in world football, said in a news conference this week.

“But besides being a derby this match is even more important because both teams are in the top six and have had strong starts to the season.”
Everton have had a slightly harder start than Liverpool, but Martinez has been impressed with Rodgers’s side.

“Their start speaks for itself,” he said. “They are good in possession, they play with physical intensity, they have a real scoring threat,” he said.
“You can see why they have been successful. It’s not an accident. But we are at home, unbeaten at Goodison in 2013 and we have to take this opportunity to start the middle third of the season with a very strong test.”

Both matches ended level last season, with the 2-2 draw at Goodison Park memorable for Luis Suarez’s diving goal celebration in front of Moyes after the former Everton boss accused the Uruguayan of being a diver.

Suarez will be in the thick of the action again and hoping to add to his eight league goals this season, the same tally as his strike partner Daniel Sturridge.
While they have struck up the most formidable partnership in the Premier League, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku has spearheaded his side’s attack with five goals.

Arsenal will be looking to get back to winning ways after their nine-match unbeaten run in the league ended in a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United before the break.
Southampton will be full of confidence, however, after a dream start to the season for the south coast club which has resulted in England call-ups for Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez as well as striker Rickie Lambert.

The Saints have won at Liverpool and drawn at Manchester United and Lambert, who came on as a substitute in England’s 1-0 defeat by Germany on Tuesday, is keen to have another crack at Arsenal’s German defender Per Mertesacker.

“It’s going to be a tough battle, but come Saturday it’s going to be one that I’m looking forward to,” Lambert told Southampton’s website (www.saintsfc.co.uk).
“We’re going to go there confident. We know it’s going to be one of hardest tests to date because Arsenal are playing well at the minute. But we’re confident that we can go there and get something.”

Having dropped five points in their last two league games fourth-placed Chelsea travel to struggling West Ham United on Saturday (7.30pm) looking to re-boot while champions Manchester United, up to fifth after a slow start, go to Cardiff City on Sunday (6pm).

Manchester City host Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm), who are one place above them in seventh, looking for a sixth league win out of six at home, a contrast to their dire away form which has brought defeats at Cardiff, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland.

By Nemanja Bjedov
THE Limassol derby between Apollon and AEL will open Round 10 of the national football championship on Saturday afternoon (3pm) at the Tsirion Stadium as the league resumes after the international break.

“We perceive the game against AEL as any other, a three-point game. Even this early in the season, with 26 games remaining and 78 points to fight for, we need to do well against the teams that share identical goals with us,” said Apollon coach Christakis Christoforou.

“However, whatever the final result will be I do not think that it will change too much for either of the teams,” added Christoforou, who is sweating over Gaston Sangoy’s fitness for the upcoming clash.

“Sangoy trained individually when the rest of the team had a day off. Then he joined the normal training regime, so we will see if he will be included in the starting line-up,” he concluded.
Christoforou will also make a late decision on Marios Stylianou and Dimitris Froxylias who are both doubtful, while AEL coach Ivaylo Petev has a full squad to choose from.
Elsewhere, at 6pm, Alki host Enosis Neon Paralimni, while an hour later APOEL take on Doxa Katokopia away from home.

Both Apollon and APOEL have their games scheduled for Saturday due to the fifth round of the Europa League group stage this coming Thursday when they face Trabzonspor in Turkey and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Nicosia respectively.

APOEL will be able to count on their supporters for the vital Group F match after UEFA’s Disciplinary Committee penalised the Cypriot champions with a 100,000 euros fine, but decided to allow the presence of the APOEL faithful against Maccabi after the ‘flare festival’ they created against Bordeaux in the previous round.

On Sunday afternoon at 3pm, Anorthosis meet AEK in the big Larnaca derby at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, while at 5pm AEK Kouklion host Ethnikos Achnas. Two games are scheduled for 6pm with Ermis Aradippou taking on Nea Salamina and Omonia facing Aris Limassol at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

“We face Aris who maybe did not show their full potential as yet, but they could be a very tricky opponent for us. They have a new coach and that could play a big role.
“However, our goal does not change as we are looking to record another three points,” said Omonia coach Toni Savevski whose team is currently third with 19 points and on a five-game winning run.

Three women enslaved for 30 years in a London house were beaten and subjected to psychological abuse, in one of the worst cases of domestic servitude to emerge in Britain, police said on Friday.

The women were rescued from the house in south London four weeks ago after calling an anti-slavery charity for help. On Thursday police investigating the case arrested a man and a woman, both aged 67.

Police said the couple were not British but had lived in the UK for long time and had been arrested in the 1970s, without giving further details. They said the couple’s passports had been confiscated and they had been released on bail, with orders not to return to the house.

Investigators said the three women had faced physical abuse including beatings over decades in servitude. They had had only “controlled freedom” to enter the outside world.

“What we are finding is a complicated and disturbing picture of emotional control over many years,” Commander Steve Rodhouse told a news conference, adding it could take months to unravel exactly what had happened over the past 30 years.

He said the group might have seemed a normal family to many outsiders, which could explain why the enslavement went on so long.

Police have released few details about the women but ruled out any blood ties between the 69-year-old Malaysian woman, 57-year-old Irish woman and 30-year-old Briton. The three were said to have left the house deeply traumatised and are now in the care of professionals.

The youngest was thought to have lived her entire life in servitude.

Rodhouse said investigators had found no evidence of sexual exploitation, human trafficking or the women being physically restrained inside the house.

“INVISIBLE HANDCUFFS”

“What (we) are trying to understand is what were the invisible handcuffs that were used to exert such a degree of control over these women,” he added.

Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland of the London Metropolitan Police’s human trafficking unit, leading the investigation, said he did not believe any other groups or victims were involved.

Police have taken 55 bags of evidence from the house containing 2,500 items.

“While we do not believe that they have been subjected to sexual abuse, we know there has been physical abuse described as beatings,” Hyland said.

The rescue was staged after the Irishwoman phoned the Freedom Charity after watching a BBC documentary about slavery and forced marriage.

A week later, police met the two younger women outside the home who led them to the house, where they rescued the 69-year-old.

Hyland said the two people arrested were under investigation over slavery and domestic servitude and also under suspicion of immigration offences.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday described the case as “utterly appalling”.

Aneeta Prem, the founder of Freedom Charity, told Reuters the publicity around the case had prompted a flood of calls.

An inaugural global slavery index last month estimated up to 4,400 people in Britain were held in modern-day slavery which can include domestic servitude, sex work or low-paid jobs in nail salons, agriculture, construction and restaurants.

By Michael Hogan

The U.N. maritime tribunal on Friday ordered Russia to release a Greenpeace ship and 30 people arrested in a protest against Russian Arctic oil drilling, most of whom have just been released from detention on bail.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg said it had accepted a request from the Netherlands to order the provisional release of the Dutch-registered Arctic Sunrise and its crew, which Russia detained on Sept. 18 to international protest.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it would study the ruling, but that the tribunal had no jurisdiction over its prosecution.

It said it hoped the decision had been “objective” and had taken into account what it said were violations of international law by the Greenpeace vessel.

“The Arctic Sunrise ship was used as a tool to commit acts that are unacceptable under international law and Russian legislation,” the ministry said in a statement.

In Hamburg, Judge Shunji Yanai of Japan told the court the application from the Netherlands for a provisional release had been accepted by the votes of 19 judges to two. The court ruled that the ship and crew must be allowed to leave Russia, subject to the payment of a 3.6 million euro bond by the Netherlands.

Russian authorities have in the last few days ordered the release on bail of 29 of those arrested, although Greenpeace says it is unclear whether or not they will be allowed to leave Russia. The 30th, Colin Russell of Australia, had his detention extended until Feb. 24.

The tribunal was set up to adjudicate maritime disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both Russia and the Netherlands have ratified.

Western leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel have expressed concern to Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Russia on Thursday to show leniency while Western celebrities including ex-Beatle Paul McCartney have asked for the detainees’ release.

The court considered that international maritime conventions stipulate that governments may arrest ships in their exclusive economic zones only if they are engaged in non-permitted fishing or research activities, tribunal judge Ruediger Wolfrum told Reuters.

“This was not the case here,” he said. “I think we have reached a provisional decision that secures the rights of both sides.”

Wolfrum said the provisional order would have no impact on any future arbitration hearings in the dispute.

The 30 arrested over the protest, in which Greenpeace activists tried to scale the offshore oil rig Prirazlomnaya, part of Russia’s drive to tap Arctic energy resources, could be jailed for up to seven years if convicted of hooliganism.

Greenpeace, which says the protest was peaceful and the charges are unfounded, has been voicing alarm over the rush to develop Arctic energy resources, which it says threatens the region’s unique environment.

Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said international law was an integral part of Russia’s legal system and its courts were obliged to implement the order.

The 30 arrested had initially been charged with piracy, punishable in Russia by up to 15 years in prison. Putin then said they were clearly not pirates but had violated the law.

The next TEDxNicosia networking event will be TEDxNicosiaWomen on December 6 a partial recording livestream of sessions from the flagship San Francisco event entitled ‘Invented Here’ will be presented, with the support of Cytamobile-Vodafone.

According to the organisers, the event is open to women and men who will be able to interact with speakers in a truly global conversation — from San Francisco to São Paulo to Nicosia — celebrating inventors and designers, thinkers and makers, local problem-solvers and global leaders.

By Poly Pantelides

CYPRUS is finally considering signing the Council of Europe convention to prevent and combat violence against women, while the justice ministry is looking to push legislation to strengthen current laws, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said yesterday.

Data suggests 28 per cent of women in Cyprus may at some point have been harmed by their partners, but many would have kept silent.

Nicolaou said the ministry was working with the legal services department to improve and modernise the legal framework and push legislation to parliament that will better address domestic violence which mostly seems to affect women.

The Association for the Prevention and Handling of Family Violence, which is holding a series of events to raise awareness on domestic violence, said that studies showed reported cases of violence varied from sexual (15.5 per cent) to psychological and/or emotional (19.3 per cent). Reports of violence increased with age, with 28 per cent of women aged 34 to 44 saying they had been abused, compared with 35.9 per cent of women aged between 45 and 64. Divorced women were far more likely to report violence (71.2 per cent), followed by women who were separated from their partners (65 per cent). Among married couples living together, the figure was lower, but at 23 per cent suggests that nearly one in four wives had been victims of abuse.

Amazingly, more than half or 57 per cent of all women who had been abused, never told anyone, some saying they kept quiet because of their children, others because they feared repercussions or were even ashamed. Only one in three victims ever asked for any sort of help, the study showed.

The Council of Europe invited countries to sign and ratify the convention on violence against women more than two years ago, in May 2011.

Cyprus has failed to do so, although Nicolaou said the government was “seriously considering” it.

It seems that the biggest obstacle in ratifying the convention is the high cost involved, as it calls for the allocation of “financial and human resources for the adequate implementation of integrated policies”, as well as creating a framework for compensating victims via state-funded health and social provisions and from perpetrators.

Victims can call the police at 199 or the 1440 hotline, that unfortunately does not have the necessary funds to operate late at night, from 10pm to 8am.

Nicolaou said in addition to the only existing safe house, the association would be setting up another shelter for women and families in early 2014 and was planning to set up a private shelter by the end of 2015.

ATTORNEY-general Costas Clerides said yesterday investigations into the causes of the economic collapse, that started in July, were already at an advanced stage, as he warned anew that parliamentary probes into the matter may put cases at risk.

Clerides said he was not disputing the seriousness of parliament’s work – on the contrary, any unknown information stemming from the hearings was utilised by the investigators.

However, the Attorney-general said, there was a risk of causing someone to seem guilty, and that is something that could be used, if charged later, “as factors that act against their right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.”

“Any information that comes up during the hearings in parliamentary committees does not constitute testimony and evidence ready to use in court,” Clerides said.

The Attorney-general said he fully understood the public’s expectation and demand for a speedy conclusion of the criminal investigations so that anyone responsible could be held to account.

He said that investigations were ongoing and at an advanced stage and that now there was a need for expert help so that no gaps remain. This week, the cabinet already approved the selection procedure for such experts to be hired.

ENTREPRENEURS in Cyprus have joined a global event that brings together participants from 140 countries and will be ongoing for the rest of the month.

Global Entrepreneurship Week Cyprus (GEW) has teamed up with the Greek non-profit organisation Industry Disruptors, as part of efforts to connect the island to the entrepreneurial community abroad, just as its Cyprus-based partners have been doing for the last couple of years.

Events have already been organised by Business & Professional Women Limassol (BPW), the Cyprus Enterprise Link (CEL) and Chrysalis Leap. CEL was one of the first platforms to organise networking events and help secure funding for projects, while Chrysalis Leap is an accelerator platform that is currently nurturing its first batch of promising startups.

Earlier this week CEL and the Cyprus Business Angels Network held an event on raising funding for startups, while today Open Coffee Cyprus will host Amazon’s Chrysanthos Chrysanthou, who leads business development with startup players for Amazon web services.

Early next month, the first Startup Weekend will be held to bring together people from diverse backgrounds who will be plotting and planning for two and a half days before pitching a business plan to a panel of experts.

Visit www.industrydisruptors.org and cy.unleashingideas.org for more information, or visit www.gew.co/faq for a list of official social media channels.

By Christopher McCall

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Saturday he had written a letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over a spying row that has knocked relations between the neighbours to their lowest point since the late 1990s.

Allegations that Canberra spied on the Indonesian leader and his wife have triggered anti-Australian demonstrations in Jakarta and have begun to damage commercial ties, with a state-owned Indonesian firm on Friday suspending talks with Australian cattle farmers, citing trust issues.

Abbott, speaking to reporters in Sydney, said he had replied to a letter from the Indonesian leader, but he did not give any details.

Indonesia has demanded an apology from Australia over the allegations, which emerged from leaked intelligence released by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden.

“I have written to President Yudhoyono and the letter is now in the process of being delivered,” said Abbott, who emphasised the importance of the relationship with Indonesia and acknowledged the damage the row had done.

“Now, obviously, there will be good days and there will be better days,” Abbott said of the relationship.

Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said he had postponed a visit to Indonesia due to the row.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard has told CNN Abbott should promise not to tap the Indonesian leader’s phone in future, citing the way U.S. President Barack Obama handled similar allegations that the U.S. was spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Indonesia is a major importer of Australian agricultural produces such as wheat and live cattle, while Australia is Indonesia’s 10th-largest export market.

Yudhoyono said on national television on Wednesday he was freezing military and intelligence cooperation, including on the thorny issue of asylum seekers, a perennial irritant in relations.

The spying row is straining relations already soured by pressure from Abbott’s government since it was elected in September to return asylum-seeker boats to Indonesia, which Jakarta has resisted. Asylum seekers, many from South Asia and the Middle East, often try to reach Australia via Indonesia.

Abbott has not publicly confirmed the spying but has expressed regret for embarrassment the media reports caused Yudhoyono and his family.

By Asma Alsharif, Ali Abdelatty and Seda Sezer

Egypt said on Saturday it was expelling Turkey’s ambassador and accused Ankara of backing organisations bent on spreading instability – an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi.

Turkey, which had forged close ties with Egypt under Mursi, responded by declaring the Egyptian ambassador, currently out of the country, persona non grata.

“We are saddened by this situation,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “But responsibility before history belongs to Egypt’s temporary administration which came to power under the extraordinary circumstances of the July 3 coup.”

Turkey has emerged as one of the fiercest international critics of Mursi’s removal, calling it an “unacceptable coup”. Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has been staging protests calling for his reinstatement, has close ties with Turkish Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party.

“(Ankara is) … attempting to influence public opinion against Egyptian interests, supported meetings of organisations that seek to create instability in the country,” Egyptian foreign Ministry Spokesman Badr Abdelatty said, in explaining why the Turkish ambassador had been asked to leave.

In response to Egypt’s decision, Turkish President Abdullah Gul spoke live on state run TRT television, saying: “I hope our relations will again get back on track.”

Both countries will remain represented in each other’s capitals by embassies headed by a charge d’affaires, effectively a number two.

Both sides had recalled their ambassadors in August for consultation after Egyptian security forces stormed into pro-Mursi camps on August 14, killing hundreds.