By Stefanos Evripidou

TURKISH FOREIGN Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is heading to Athens next week to discuss the Cyprus problem, according to state broadcaster CyBC.

The public broadcaster reported that Davutoglu suggested a visit to discuss developments on the Cyprus problem to his Greek counterpart Evangelos Venizelos during a NATO meeting in Brussels earlier this week.

Davutoglu’s planned visit also comes a few weeks before Greece takes over the helm of the EU Presidency on January 1, 2014, for a six-month period, giving the country a say over whether any new negotiating chapters will be opened in Turkey’s EU accession path.

The date for Davutoglu’s visit was set for next Friday, after which, according to Turkish daily Yeni Safak, the Turkish FM will visit the occupied areas the day after, on December 14.

In a recent survey conducted by Kadir Has University, and reported by Today’s Zaman, only 25 per cent of Turks currently support the Turkish government’s foreign policy, compared to 34.7 per cent in 2012.

One of the other striking findings of the poll was that 56 per cent of respondents positively view Turkey’s recognition of the Republic of Cyprus, indicating a change of perception among people in Turkey, whose government for years has argued there can be no recognition of Cyprus before a viable solution that reunifies the island.

For the survey, 1,000 people from 26 provinces were interviewed over the telephone.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris reports that US interest in the Cyprus problem has increased in recent weeks, with US ambassador to Cyprus John Koenig meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu twice in the last three weeks, the last time on Thursday.

Koenig reportedly told a journalist after the meeting that the two men were working on the joint communiqué that has eluded the two sides so far.

Police have arrested a 25-year-old woman after they searched her and found two grammes of cannabis in her possession as she tried to visit someone being held at Paphos police station, they said.

Officers later searched her home and said they found a bag with around 45 pieces of jewellery in, two precision scales with traces of cannabis on it, 8.5 grammes of cannabis and €1,240 in cash.

The items were identified by a woman who had recently been burgled police said. Three Greek Cypriots and a young woman from a European country had recently been arrested for the same crime.

The police have not ruled out that the group could be connected to other burglaries that have taken place in Paphos recently.

In a separate case, police stopped a car being driven by a 19-year-old Cypriot man at around 9.45pm on Thursday and found various pieces of jewellery including two watches, six gold coins, a cold ring and a golden medallion.

He was questioned about the items but did not give satisfactory answers according to police and was arrested.

Paphos CID is investigating both cases.

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades has appointed Sotos Zacheos, former Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, as the Cyprus President’s Special Envoy to Russia.

According to an official announcement, the appointment will not have a cost on the state budget since Zacheos will not receive a salary from the government for his services.

U.S. stocks rose yesterday after a stronger-than-expected payrolls report gave traders confidence that the economy could be healthy enough to withstand a scaling back of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus.

The jobs-driven rally gave the S&P 500 its best day in nearly a month. But the broad index was still on track to post its first negative week in nine after falling in the previous five sessions.

Nonfarm payrolls added 203,000 in November, exceeding the forecast, and the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a five-year low of 7.0 per cent. The Labour Department’s report raised the prospects that the Fed would begin to taper its stimulus programme sooner rather than later.

Economic data for the fourth quarter so far has been mixed, with labour market and consumer spending indicators firming while the housing market and business spending have slowed.

“The economy is still not generating the levels of inflation the Fed would like to see, so that may give them a little space to maneuver,” said Cam Albright, director of asset allocation at Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, in Wilmington, Delaware.

“I don’t think (the payrolls data) backs the Fed into the corner that they have to taper in December.”

Many market participants have expected the Fed to announce a cut in stimulus in March. The Fed has said it would slow its massive bond purchases when certain economic measures meet its targets, including a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 153.27 points or 0.97 per cent, to 15,974.78. The S&P 500 gained 17.16 points or 0.96 per cent, to 1,802.19. The Nasdaq Composite added 32.40 points or 0.80 per cent, to 4,065.57.

After an eight-week run that pushed the S&P 500 up nearly 7 per cent, the benchmark index had dropped 1.2 per cent over the past five sessions, its longest losing streak since late September.

Intel ranked among the S&P 500′s top points gainers, with its shares up 2.8 per cent at $24.94 after Citigroup raised its rating on the chipmaker’s stock to “buy” from “neutral.”

J.C. Penney shares fell 6 per cent to $8.32 after the department store chain said it received a letter of inquiry from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking an explanation on the company’s financial position. Barnes & Noble also disclosed an SEC investigation, and its stock fell 5.4 per cent to $15.50.

Other data showed personal spending rose 0.3 per cent in October, slightly higher than expected. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment jumped to 82.5 for December from a final November reading of 75.1.

By Mike Collett
The convoluted draw for next year’s World Cup finals in Brazil on Friday produced a set of groups in which most of football’s big guns will fancy their chances of reaching the knockout stages.

Group D, featuring former winners England, Italy and Uruguay, along with Costa Rica, is probably the exception, while Spain and Netherlands, who met in the 2010 final, will have to be well prepared to see off Chile and Australia in Group B.

Host nation Brazil will kick off the tournament against Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12 and the favourites should be relatively happy with a Group A also containing Mexico and Cameroon as they seek their sixth title.
“We ended up in a strong group, one that gives you goose bumps,” said Brazil captain Thiago Silva.
“A strong African side, perhaps one of the best, Mexico, who have been a tough adversary for us, and Croatia, who are a strong team physically. It’s very difficult but we’re ready.”

One former champion is sure to go out from Group D, with England against Italy in the jungle city of Manaus a mouth-watering opener for the two European sides.
“We know how good Italy are because we lost to them in the quarter-finals at the (2012) Euros,” said England boss Roy Hodgson.
“The game is going to be tough from a climate point of view for both teams. We’re both in the same boat.”
Forward Diego Forlan, who helped Uruguay to the semi-finals in 2010, said: “In comparison with what other teams got, it’s the hardest group of this World Cup.
“But you have to play the matches and at the last World Cup we were in a very complicated group but came through well.”

World and European champions Spain begin their defence with a repeat of the physical 2010 final against the Netherlands in Rio’s Maracana.
“We will have to be prepared right from the first day, focus ourselves,” said coach Vicente Del Bosque, knowing the group runners-up are likely to face Brazil in the first knockout round.
“I expect that Brazil will be first in their group so we will have to take great pains to do the same,” he added.

Germany will come face-to-face with their former striker and coach Juergen Klinsmann, now in charge of the United States, with Portugal and Ghana completing the Group G lineup.
“Of course, a special moment for me to play against Germany but we beat them in a friendly this year and once you get on the pitch they are the just the opponent,” said Klinsmann, who won the World Cup as a player in 1990.

France, who qualified via the playoffs, will be pleased with a Group E placing alongside Ecuador, Switzerland and Honduras.
“It could have been more complicated,” said coach Didier Deschamps.
“We know Switzerland well, they were seeded so obviously the toughest opponent. We don’t know Ecuador and Honduras that well and it will have an influence on our preparation.”

Bosnia, the only one of the 32 teams taking part in their first World Cup finals, will have a dream start to their World Cup adventure as they kick off against Argentina in the Maracana before facing Iran and Nigeria.
“Argentina are the group favourites and it will be a very special occasion for us to play our opening match against them at the Maracana Stadium,” said coach Safet Susic.
“We should have an even chance alongside Nigeria to clinch the runners-up spot, although no one should underestimate Iran either.”

Fancied Belgium head up Group H alongside Algeria, Russia and South Korea while Group C, containing Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan, looks the toughest to predict.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev hinted yesterday that former Yukos oil company chief Mikhail Khodorkovsky would not be freed under an amnesty President Vladimir Putin is preparing, and a prosecutor said the jailed tycoon could face new charges.

The head of Putin’s human rights council said this week that Khodorkovsky and two women from the punk band Pussy Riot could benefit from the amnesty marking the anniversary of the adoption of Russia’s post-Soviet constitution in 1993.

But, without naming names, Medvedev said Russia should be careful about freeing people convicted of crimes like hooliganism – the charge in the Pussy Riot case – and theft, which was the indictment against Khodorkovsky.

“Our people really are not much inclined, for example, to conduct acts of amnesty for individuals involved in violent crimes, for individuals who committed crimes against society, including hooliganism,” Medvedev said in a TV interview.

Supporters say Khodorkovsky, arrested in 2003, was jailed to curb a political challenge to Putin, bring his oil assets under state control and send a signal to other tycoons to toe the line.

In the eyes of Kremlin critics at home and abroad, Khodorkovsky’s jailing is one of the biggest stains on the record of Putin, who was first elected president in 2000 and has not ruled out seeking another six-year term in 2018.

Khodorkovsky is due for release in August but some activists doubt he will walk free while Putin is in power. The authorities continue to investigate dealings at now-defunct Yukos, prompting frequent speculation he could face new charges.

Deputy Prosecutor-General Alexander Zvyagintsev said several cases involving Khodorkovsky were being pursued and had “good prospects for going to court,” Interfax news agency reported.

Khodorkovsky was convicted in 2005 and again in 2010, prompting accusations that Russia has tried him twice for the same activities. A third trial would badly damage Russia’s image unless there was iron-clad evidence of wrongdoing.

The Interfax news agency said authorities were investigating suspicions of the laundering of more than $10bn and the possible use of laundered money to change Russian legislation – an apparent reference to the funding of political parties or civil society groups.

Khodorkovsky and the jailed women from Pussy Riot are considered political prisoners by Kremlin opponents, but Medvedev said there were no political prisoners in Russia. Putin has repeatedly said the same thing.

Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina are serving two-year sentences for a “punk prayer” protest against Putin in Russia’s main cathedral that infuriated the Russian Orthodox Church and offended many believers. They are due for release in March.

Western governments have called the punishment excessive and Kremlin opponents saw their trial as part of a clampdown on dissent during Putin’s third presidential term, from May 2012.

While Medvedev suggested Russians convicted of hooliganism should not expect to be freed in an amnesty, both Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina have young children, which officials have suggested could be a factor in the decision.

Also charged with hooliganism are 28 Greenpeace activists and two journalists arrested for a protest against Arctic oil drilling, after some tried to scale Russia’s first offshore oil platform in the region in September.

All 30, citizens of 18 countries, are out on bail but remain in Russia. They face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Greek authorities have promised to restore electricity to households cut off for failing to pay their bills, after at least three people died in accidents caused by braziers or candles.

Local government and state-controlled electricity provider PPC will form teams to identify those in need and re-establish their power supply, energy minister Yannis Maniatis said.

“We are putting people above PPC’s costs,” Maniatis said, adding that electricity prices for soup kitchens and other social services would be cut by up to 70 per cent.

At least three people, including a 13-year-old and an 85-year-old, have been killed in their homes over the past week, by breathing carbon monoxide from brazier fumes or being burned alive in fires caused by candles or fireplaces.

PPC has no official estimates of the number of households that have had their power cut off since the country’s recession started six years ago. Greek power bills include several extra levies such as an unpopular property tax.

The opposition was quick to denounce the deaths as a direct result of austerity policies imposed as part of its international bailout.

“Just a few days before Christmas and with temperatures dropping below zero in many parts of the country, it’s a shame to have families without power,” said Vassilis Kapernaros, a lawmaker of the anti-bailout Independent Greeks party.

Parliament is expected to vote late on Saturday on the country’s 2014 budget, which envisages further spending cuts to help the country meet its fiscal targets.

Egyptian police used tear gas yesterday to end clashes in Cairo between supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, the state news agency MENA said.

Mursi’s supporters have been staging protests almost daily in towns and cities across Egypt since the army deposed him on July 3 in response to mass protests against him.

The Cairo clashes took place in the well-to-do district of Mohandeseen, when a march by Brotherhood supporters came face-to-face with an opposing crowd.

The Mursi supporters were holding placards showing the four-finger logo of solidarity with those killed when security forces razed pro-Mursi protest camps in Cairo last August.

“Down, down with military rule!” the protesters chanted.

Similar pro-Brotherhood protests were staged in other parts of Cairo along with the Suez Canal cities of Suez and Port Said. Most of the marches set off from mosques after Friday’s noon prayers.

The police arrested 73 pro-Brotherhood protesters in different places for “inciting riots”, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

Two weeks ago a law was promulgated that banned protests near or originating from places of worship, and made it compulsory to seek Interior Ministry permission to hold a demonstration.

A ministry official said no such request had been filed for yesterday’s protests.

Around 180 Brotherhood protesters were arrested during similar protests last week. On Thursday, three prominent liberal political activists were ordered to stand trial for staging protests without permission.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arrested since Mursi was deposed and the army installed an interim president and government in his place.

A father and his son were injured on Saturday, in a road accident in which their car caught fire after crashing into two other vehicles.

According to police, the two were driving from Dherynia to Frenaros, in the Famagusta district, when the father lost control of the car, climbed on the pavement, brought down the fence of a used car lot and crashed into two other cars.

Both passengers got out of the car before it was engulfed in flames.

All three cars were destroyed, police said.

Father and son were rushed to the Famagusta general hospital where the son was treated for a broken finger while the father received treatment for minor injuries.

Both are expected to be released later Saturday, according to the police.

The driver was submitted to an alcohol test which came up negative.

ACTING President, House Speaker, Yiannakis Omirou departed Saturday for Johannesburg to represent President Nicos Anastasiades at the official events in memory of Nelson Mandela.

On Tuesday Omirou will attend a state memorial service which will take place at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. On Wednesday he will depart for Pretoria where Mandela will lie in state at the Union Buildings. Omirou will return to Cyprus on December 13.

FARMERS on Saturday held a peaceful protest at the Astromeritis crossing point against the encroachment of Turkish troops in the buffer zone that prevents them from cultivating their land.

Dozens of farmers in their tractors assembled in the area and drove to the crossing point where they handed a resolution to a United Nations representative.

The farmers complained that Turkish troops had moved in to occupy land in the buffer zone following the removal of minefields.

The land, which belongs to Greek Cypriots, was now being used by Turkish Cypriots and settlers from Turkey.

Farmers said it had been agreed that following the removal of mines in the buffer zone they would be allowed to cultivate the land up to 200 metres from the Turkish guard post.

The buffer zone was put under the control of the UN following the Turkish invasion in 1974.

The farmers asked the UN to secure their right to freely cultivate their land.

They added that their main aim was “a fair and viable solution, which ensures that each Cypriot will plough the land that gave birth to them and together, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians, and Latins, will feed the people in a united country with a united economy.”

It is not the first time that Turkish forces move forward from the ceasefire line.

On June 30, 2000, Turkish troops violated the status quo in Strovilia, a small village inhabited by Greek Cypriots in the Famagusta district, and have refused to go back despite repeated calls from the UN.

A MONEYVAL report on the effectiveness of the measures implemented by the Republic of Cyprus in its banking sector is expected to be released next week, according to CNA sources.

The report, requested by the Eurogroup, will also state whether Cyprus has conformed to MONEYVAL recommendations for the scrutinising of the banking sector, with an aim to address money laundering.

The last report on Cyprus praised the authorities for its anti-money laundering methods, said the possibility of similar incidents in the future was minimal, and restricted its recommendations to technical issues.

MONEYVAL will also be releasing its reports on the Vatican and the Holy See, as well as the UK and Israel.

By Randy Fabi
THE World Trade Organisation reached its first ever trade reform deal on Saturday to the roar of approval from nearly 160 ministers who had gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali to decide on the make-or-break agreement that could add $1 trillion to the global economy

The approval came after Cuba dropped a last-gasp threat to veto the package of measures.
“For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered,” WTO chief Roberto Azevedo told exhausted ministers after the talks which had dragged into an extra day on the tropical resort island.

“This time the entire membership came together. We have put the ‘world’ back in World Trade Organisation,” he said. “We’re back in business…Bali is just the beginning.”

The talks, which had opened on Tuesday, nearly came unstuck at the last minute when Cuba suddenly refused to accept a deal that would not help pry open the U.S. embargo of the Caribbean island, forcing negotiations to drag into Saturday morning.
Cuba later agreed on a compromise with the United States.
But there was scepticism how much had really been achieved.

“Beyond papering over a serious dispute on food security, precious little was progress was made at Bali,” said Simon Evenett, professor of international trade at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland. “Dealing with the fracas on food security sucked the oxygen out of the rest of the talks.”

The talks had begun under a cloud because of an insistence by India at the outset that it would only back an agreement if there was a compromise on food subsidies because of its massive programme for stockpiling food to feed its poor.
India, which will holds elections next year, won plaudits at home for taking a stand on behalf of the world’s poor.
An eventual compromise was greeted with jubilation by Trade Minister Anand Sharma. While India had insisted on a permanent exemption from the WTO rules, the final text aimed to recommend a permanent solution within four years.
But the agreement is a milestone for the 159 WTO members, marking the organisation’s first global trade agreement since it was created in 1995.

It also rescues the WTO from the brink of failure and will rekindle confidence in its ability to lower barriers to trade worldwide, after 12 years of fruitless negotiations.
The deal would lower trade barriers and speed up the passage of goods through customs. Analysts estimate that over time it could boost the world economy by hundreds of billions of dollars and create more than 20 million jobs.

It still needs to be approved by each member government.
“It is good for both developed and developing members alike,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said.

A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute of International Economics estimated the agreement would inject $960 billion into the global economy and create 21 million jobs, 18 million of them in developing nations.

The deal slashes red tape at customs around the world, gives improved terms of trade to the poorest countries, and allows developing countries to skirt the normal rules on farm subsidies if they are trying to feed the poor.
The ministers had gathered with a clear warning that failure to reach agreement in Bali would turn the WTO into an irrelevance and trigger a rush towards regional and bilateral trade pacts.

It came almost 20 years to the day since a similar nail-biting conclusion to another marathon negotiation – the talks to agree the creation of the WTO itself, which wrapped up in mid-December 1993. That was the last global trade deal.

The Bali meeting was also noticeable for its lack of anti-WTO protests compared to the street battles when ministers met in Seattle 14 years ago.
The Bali accord will help revive confidence in the WTO’s ability to negotiate global trade deals, after it consistently failed to clinch agreement in the Doha round of talks that started in 2001 and proved hugely over-ambitious.

As the Doha round stuttered to a halt, momentum shifted away from global trade pacts in favour of regional deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the United States is negotiating with 11 other countries, and a similar agreement it is pursuing bilaterally with the European Union.

Two flights to and from London to Cyprus were cancelled on Saturday due to a technical problem at an air traffic control centre in Britain.

Cypriot airport authorities did not rule out delays to other flights.

Thousands of travellers were delayed at major airports across England on Saturday because of a technical problem at an air traffic control centre.

Disruption was reported at most airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, after what National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said was a computer glitch at its control centre in Swanwick in Hampshire.

Reports on Saturday suggested that the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides were close to a deal on a joint declaration that will pave the way for talks to resolve the island’s long standing division.

It was suggested that significant progress had been made and that the two sides were not far from agreeing the text of the declaration.

Reports said announcements could be expected this week, before Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit to the north on Saturday, December 14.

On Friday, Davutoglu will visit Greece for talks that will focus on the Cyprus problem.

President Nicos Anastasiades will brief party leaders on Monday, reports said.

The Greek Cypriot side has made in clear that it would not enter into talks without an agreed joint declaration addressing its concerns, as any failure of the peace process is seen as opening the door to Turkish Cypriots to push for cementing the division of the island by upgrading the breakaway regime.

Turkish Cypriots on the other hand, demand that the federated states are considered “founding states” in a new, reunited Cyprus, giving them sovereignty and “residual powers” to decide on matters like citizenship.

By Ed Stoddard and Ed Cropley
Sports-mad South Africa saluted Nelson Mandela on Saturday with smiles and moments of silence in honour of the late anti-apartheid leader, who inspired people to pursue the impossible from politics to the playing field.

The tributes stretched across the sporting spectrum, from club cricket and fun runs to top fixtures such as a League Cup final between Platinum Stars and Orlando Pirates, the Soweto giants believed to have been Mandela’s favourite football team.

Saturday’s Cup final will be preceded by a ceremony in honour of South Africa’s first black president, whose early sporting prowess, particularly boxing and football, was cut short when he was jailed for 27 years by the apartheid government.

A cricket one-day international against India in Durban will go ahead as planned on Sunday after talks with the government over whether to postpone it as a mark of respect. It too will include tributes to Mandela – known affectionately by his clan name Madiba’ – reflecting his belief in the power of sport to unite divided peoples.
On Saturday, many recalled Mandela’s central role in arguably South Africa’s greatest sporting triumph – winning the 1995 rugby World Cup just one year after the multi-racial elections that ended decades of white-minority rule.

“I always love to refer to Madiba as the unofficial captain of all our sports teams,” said Joel Stransky, the fly-half who kicked the last-gasp drop-goal to clinch the final, unleashing a wave of ecstasy on a still-divided nation.

Mandela then followed up with a political masterstroke, bridging the gulf between white and black by appearing in a dark green Springbok jersey, a sporting strip enmeshed in the then-entrenched culture of white supremacy.
On his back was a number ’6′, the same as that of Springbok captain Francois Pienaar.
“I think he realised that as a divided nation we needed something that could unite us,” Stransky told Talk Radio 702. “No-one will ever forget when he walked on to the rugby field with the captain’s jersey when we won the World Cup.”

Thousands in Saturday running clubs across the country held minutes of silence for the 95-year-old, and in Johannesburg changed their routes to take in his upscale home, now a flower-festooned site of international pilgrimage.
“He’s like the father of all our sports,” said Bruce Fordyce, South Africa’s greatest ultra-marathon runner who met Mandela on several occasions. “Every sportsman he ever met, he reminded you that he was a boxer,” he told Reuters.

South Africa also lost another boxing great on Saturday when fly-weight Jacob ‘Baby Jake’ Matlala, the shortest ever world champion at just 1.47 m tall, died after a long illness in Johannesburg at the age of 51.
Matlala won three world titles, the last of which at the age of 42 was watched ringside by Mandela.

Elsewhere, ordinary people expressed admiration and respect for the achievements of the Nobel peace laureate, who died on Thursday after a prolonged battle with a lung infection.
“I am old enough to remember a time during apartheid when white people and black people could not play sports at the same place,” said 36-year-old Indian banker Eldon Pillay, playing cricket at Johannesburg’s Old Edwardians sports ground, which would once have been “whites only”.
“I never could have dreamt of playing cricket at a place like this,” said Pillay, wearing a black armband along with his team-mates.

Preparations are under way for a week of national mourning, culminating in Mandela’s burial on December 15 at his ancestral home in Qunu in the Eastern Cape Province, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg.
U.S. President Barack Obama, the United States’ first black president, will be among a host of dignitaries expected to take part in the events. His two immediate predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, are also due to attend.

President Jacob Zuma, who broke the news of Mandela’s death in a televised address to South Africa’s 52 million people, also announced a December 10 memorial service at Johannesburg’s Soccer City, the site of the 2010 World Cup final and Mandela’s last public appearance, when he waved to fans from the back of a golf cart.
“We will spend the week mourning his passing. We will also spend it celebrating a life well lived,” Zuma said, capturing the mood of the self-styled ‘Rainbow Nation’, which is mixing its sorrow with celebration at Mandela’s remarkable life.

Zuma and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) face national elections next year that are expected to reveal discontent among voters at the poverty and unemployment that have not abated as hoped in the 20 years since apartheid.

But the former liberation movement is expected to maintain its dominance in the politics of the continent’s No. 1 economy.
Mark Rosenberg, senior Africa analyst at the Eurasia Group, said that while Mandela’s death might give the ANC a sympathy-driven boost for the next elections, it would hurt the party in the long term.

He saw Mandela’s absence “sapping the party’s historical legitimacy and encouraging rejection by voters who believe the ANC has failed to deliver on its economic promises and become mired in corruption”.

The state has failed on social welfare issues, Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou conceded on Saturday, and the government has decided to change its social welfare policy completely.

Addressing the General Assembly of the Cyprus Confederation of Organisations of the Disabled (CCOD), Emilianidou said that that it was primarily a state’s obligation to support people with disabilities, so that they remained active members of society.

“The state has failed to a large extent on social welfare issues,” she said.

Although there has been progress on issues and problems related to the disabled in the previous years, there is much to be done to remove obstacles and facilitate those people in areas such as employment, accessibility, education, and culture.

The minister said that since 2006 a consultation on several issues, between the government and the CCOD as a social partner, is mandatory.

Emilianidou also said that in July of this year, the cabinet approved the first National Action Plan on Disability, which sets out the next steps and actions to be implemented for the integration of people with disabilities in society.

The National Action Plan initially covers the period 2013-2015 and includes actions that involve independent living, vocational rehabilitation, education, accessibility, health, gender equality, and combating discrimination.

“Despite the financial constraints facing the state, we will continue to provide support through various programmes, measures and actions to cover the personal needs in care, movement and rehabilitation,” she said.

By Tim Collings
Manchester United crashed to a second home Premier League defeat in four days when they lost 1-0 to Newcastle United on Saturday while Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at struggling Stoke City.

Luis Suarez-inspired Liverpool climbed to second in the table with a 4-1 romp over West Ham United at Anfield and Manchester City slipped one place to fourth after being held to a 1-1 draw at Southampton.

Tottenham Hotspur travel to bottom club Sunderland later on Saturday while leaders Arsenal entertain Everton in one of two matches on Sunday.
Also on Saturday, Norwich City won 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion while Crystal Palace picked up their second successive victory with a 2-0 home win over Cardiff City.

By Bejay Browne

A FREE CLINIC to help those in need will be inaugurated in Paphos next week. The initiative is part of an islandwide scheme being offered by humanitarian organisation Volunteer Doctors Cyprus.

Similar clinics are also offering free services in Nicosia, Limassol and Polis Chrysochous. Further clinics will soon be opened in other areas of Cyprus.

The first free clinic was opened in Nicosia in March, while the Limassol clinic followed in May and the Paphos and Polis Chrysochous clinics opened in June.

Although the Paphos clinic is operational, the official opening will take place next Friday December 13.

The clinics are operated by volunteer doctors and nurses who offer free medical services to people in need. The unemployed, those on a low income and pensioners are all eligible for a variety of medical services.

The organisation said that the clinics accept patients who are facing all sorts of medical problems including cardiology, pediatrics, pathology and general medicine.
Volunteer Doctors Cyprus is best known for its action all over the world, offering support to people who are suffering the effects of wars, natural disasters, chronic poverty and diseases, by offering them medical treatment. They recently announced that the economic crisis in Cyprus had led them to become active Cyprus by opening free clinics.

The free clinics programme is being overseen by Dr George Macriyiannis, who collaborates closely with the head doctors in each city. The doctor in charge for Paphos is Dr Yioula Loizidou.

Loizidou said: “The clinic will officially open next week and people will be able to visit the doctors every Saturday between 9am and 1pm.”
The clinics are kitted out with the necessary medical equipment and they aim to provide medicine to patients for free.
In addition to the services provided by the clinics, a network of supportive services has also been created. This includes a number of other doctors and specialties who will give free advice to patients that are referred from the doctors on call at the clinics.

In cases where laboratory tests, x-rays or scans need to be carried out- minimal costs will be passed onto the patient.

The Paphos clinic is situated next to DasoudiPark, close to Carrefour supermarket.
According to Loizidou, the Paphos clinic will be inaugurated by First Lady, Andri Anastasiades.The Bishop of Paphos will bless the building and Eleni Theocharous, a member of the European Parliament and the honorary president of Volunteer Doctors will also attend the event.

Contact Numbers: Nicosia – Dr George Macriyiannis 99435735, Limassol – Dr Andreas Prokopiou 99448347, Paphos Dr Yioula Loizidou 99585033, Polis – Dr Marios Theodorou 99393226.

The Pancyprian contact number for the free clinics is: 70009990

By Zoe Christodoulides

AN ENGLISH couple with no Cypriot blood carrying an official refugee card after the 1974 invasion is practically unheard of. That the English couple actually chose voluntarily to live in refugee camps for a whole year is even more of a rarity. But Peter and May Moore did just that.

Their unusual and inspiring tale of days spent at a Kolossi refugee camp has recently sprung to life in the pages of a book aptly named Days We Have Seen with a parallel exhibition that has opened up at the 6×6 Centre for Photography in Limassol.

Showcasing 25 vivid black and white pictures from the time, each has a poignant tale to tell. Some show mothers holding pictures of missing relatives, others depict happier moments from sporting events and youth clubs, while many are of children grinning despite the bleak backdrop.

But how did a British husband and wife end up living in a Cyprus camp? The moving story is one that begins in 1972, when Peter, his wife, and two year old boy first arrived on the island in search of sunshine and a relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle. They set up base in Famagusta where Peter taught art at the FamagustaGrammar School. The new experience, however, was cut short by the Turkish invasion.

“We went to the British bases just like everyone else at that point and thought that we’d get to go back to Famagusta within a few days,” the now 69-year-old recalls. “Of course, that wasn’t the case, and we were evacuated back to the UK. But we resented leaving. We felt an affinity with Cyprus and didn’t want to abandon it.”

Back in the UK, Peter found a well-paid job in a London Public Relations company as a graphic designer, but both he and his wife both could not stop yearning for Cyprus. Following a four month stint in London, the couple decided to do what many people deemed as sheer madness- return to set up base on a war torn island.

“I had made enough money to survive in Cyprus for about a year without any work,” explains Peter. “I know that most people thought we should have stayed away at that point. It was hard to explain to anyone why we were going back so soon, but Cyprus was calling. Our friends were still on the island and in trouble. We simply wanted to go back.”

A train ride across Europe ensued, and before long, the family was riding against the current on board a boat from Athens to Limassol. “There was hardly anyone on the boat inward while the boats leaving Limassol were absolutely packed,” remembers Peter.

Once on dry land, they made their way to officially register as refugees and volunteer their services. “We basically said to the authorities: ‘Hello we’re here to help, what can we do?’ and quite surprisingly they didn’t just look at us oddly. After all, we were in a sense outsiders who spoke no Greek.”

The newspaper stand at Kolossi Refugee Camp

Soon enough, the couple were asked to go down and engage in volunteer work (arts, crafts and English lessons) at the Kolossi camp, giving up their rented accommodation in Limassol, and setting up base at the camp just before Christmas of 1974.

“We were both in agreement that we wanted to be as close to the people as possible,” Peter explains.

But it certainly can’t be overlooked that a British family in a Cypriot camp was an oddity to say the least, and a certain hostility was to be expected at first. While the refugees were initially guarded however, the family gradually became accepted in the community.

“This level of acceptance was truly astonishing,” says Peter. “We didn’t speak much Greek at all, but at the end of the day, people differentiated between the English person and the British government. It came down to a human level; in the end we are human beings.”

The experience was one that was filled with highs and lows, vivid memories that will never be forgotten which are now recalled on the pages of Peter’s book.

“It certainly wasn’t a picnic but people were strong and tough and they managed to survive. There were some truly heart-breaking things that we saw, but I didn’t want to write a book just about the sadness, sorrow, weeping and tearing of hair. Instead, I wanted to show a balanced picture and the triumphant human spirit that came through.”

In fact, the couple look back on the period as being one of the happiest of their lives, primarily because of what they learnt about life, overcoming hardship and the solidarity between ordinary people.

While at the camp, Peter gave the refugees a chance to unleash their creativity, and by the end of it, over 35,000 imitation icons consisting of paper on wood had been created which were eventually sold locally and overseas, raising funds for the displaced community. But more than just an artist or craftsman, Peter soon became known as a brilliant photographer.

With a great desire to record daily life, he bought a cheap Russian Lubitel II twin lens reflex camera that ended up producing great quality shots.

“I took snapshots around the camp, stuck them on card, and put them on the back of the communal kitchen door,” Peter says. “People saw them and really wanted copies and I eventually came to be known as the camp photographer of sorts. It turned into a great Sunday morning ritual; families would book appointments with me for portrait shots and I’d go round to each of their tents in turn.”

At the Limassol gallery today, visitors can catch a glimpse of two rather different types of images. There are the casual snapshots of daily life, juxtaposed with more formal pictures where families are dressed in their Sunday best, posing for the camera.

Playing tavli

One photo shows a man who created a lawn around his tent, complete with a bamboo fence. Another depicts a group from the same village next to a sign they have erected showing their village name, Vatili.

“They took great care of their space: they planted things, they had old tins that they put flowers in, anything that was clearly identified as theirs was immaculately kept. They were amazing people,” says Peter.

Despite the evident inner strength that people carried with them, the horror of what had happened was evident. “I remember feeling utterly heartbroken when I took a picture of two little children holding up a picture of their missing father,” Peter recalls. “It was a time of great contrast. There were times of howling and times when we all laughed and laughed.”

While the good and bad memories from the year spent at the camp will never be forgotten, Peter decided to put pen to paper a few years ago when he discovered the negatives of the pictures he had taken that he thought had long been lost. Local photographer Vassos Stylianou then helped him bring the photos to life, now brilliantly showcased on the walls of the Limassol 6×6 Centre.

While life after the 1974 camp experience has seen Peter and his wife travel back and forth between the UK and Cyprus, they have now officially retired in Paphos.

“This country is so special to us both and that whole experience enriched our lives enormously, I get emotional just thinking about it.”

And does he have any regrets from his whole experience? “None whatsoever,” he insists. “It showed us, more than anything, that you don’t need many material goods to be happy: human relationships are most important. My only regret right now that is that these refugees still can’t go back to their homes.”

Days We Have Seen

An exhibition of 25 black and white photos taken by Peter Moorecapturing the everyday life of the refugees at Kolossi refugee camp during 1974-75. Peter’s book is available for sale in English and Greek for €9.90.The exhibition will remain open until December 14 at6x6 Centre for Photography, 19 Ipeirou street in Limassol (parallel to Anexartisias street), open daily from 9am-18pm and on Saturdays from 10am-1pm.www.centreforphotography6x6.com, info@cyprus6x6.com. Tel: 25354810