By Max Gevers

THE crisis in Ukraine, Russian armed intervention in the Crimea and instability in the eastern part of Ukraine, has highlighted how poisonous corruption, so wide-spread across the former Soviet Union, combined with politics and a popular uprising to create a crisis between Ukraine and Russia.

What can be done to solve the crisis?

First, the level of corruption in Ukraine was gargantuan, dwarfing that in many other countries. The state was a vehicle for plundering the nation on an unimaginable scale. Truly, criminals may go to jail, but when in control of land are called politicians and steal with impunity. In Ukraine, corruption and theft, already endemic, became the essence of the political system. The state was bled dry, power used exclusively to increase and safeguard one’s massive gains; a thief using police to protect his loot and put victims conveniently in jail, corruption of a different dimension that became the very ‘raison d’être’ of politics, not just carrying out functions of state and skimming a bit off the top.

Second, the exorbitant corruption in Ukraine made Mr Yanukovich, who politically suited Moscow, highly unpopular at home. He lost power because of his greed, his deliberate choice for closer ties with Russia, and, finally, because of the outrage at his attempts to put down the uprising by killing protesters. No dark machinations from the West here. Losing power he made Russia lose influence and its prospect of a Eurasian Union more remote. When Mr Yanukovich fled, the Kiev agreement for a unity government lost its value. Moscow acted, not because of his corruption, it couldn’t care less about that, but because its own direct influence was at stake.

Third, considering Moscow’s reaction, a few aspects are significant.

The interest of people is only an issue in Russia, if and when the state can use it insidiously to justify its actions, like now in Crimea. People of Russian origin are used and exploited as pawns for political purposes by Moscow. Many are indeed sympathetic towards Russia, especially in Eastern Ukraine. Because of its past, many areas outside Russia today have a majority Russian population, often thanks to Stalin’s policies, looking to Moscow instinctively in times of uncertainty, or on purpose when provoked.

These groups, often implanted Russians, are used as pawns to justify policy when developments evolve against perceived Russian interests. Russia used the presence of a large Russian population in Crimea, which was never menaced, as an old style excuse with drummed up imaginary threats. There is also no threat against people in Eastern Ukraine.

Although Russia has developed immensely in the last 25 years, the feeling of insecurity is endemic and the urge to play power games remains. At a minimum, in order to justify its actions, it must search for imaginary common enemies, usually found abroad, as convenient excuse to justify unpopular policies. Power politics comes naturally; anything else is perceived as softness and frightening. Russia shows international indifference towards others when its own narrowly perceived interests are at stake.

Fourth, for Moscow, the fact that events in Ukraine were the result of a popular resentment and uprising was totally immaterial. What counted was that almost any future government in Kiev would opt for a Western oriented course and move away from the sweaty embrace of a ‘Eurasia’ Union dominated by Russia.

Moscow seems unaware, or doesn’t care, that crude power politics do not increase its appeal to other than dictatorships. A pity, as Russia has so much else to offer the world than the tragic examples of its history: a unique and extraordinary culture, absolutely unmatched on a global scale. That is what should be exported with its concomitant increase in mutual knowledge, away from the heavy emphasis on political body building.

Fifth, diplomacy has a good chance. Ukraine should be helped in a relentless diplomatic drive to find compromises. Russia did much to dissuade the United States from attacking Syria, but will now likely try to establish total control over the Crimea, maybe even over Eastern Ukraine by stealth, attempting to blackmail Ukraine into ‘Eurasia’.

Russia is unlikely to engage in full scale war, but its policies would certainly increase the appeal of NATO, the EU, Western institutions and thus Ukraine’s orientation to the West. There is, therefore, plenty of room for negotiations. The territorial integrity of Ukraine is beyond dispute. It is a full-fledged member of the United Nations.

The Trilateral Statement on nuclear security between Russia, Ukraine and the US and the Budapest Memorandum, both of 1994, give assurances (not guarantees!) to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Using the presence of Russians should not be an excuse for blackmail. Equally, negotiations maybe in the framework of the Vienna Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe should allow Mr Putin a proper face-saving way out. Ukraine should not shy away from seriously negotiating with its own opposition, even if the situation has changed dramatically since the agreement in January.

Finally and most of all, taking the sting out of the situation Kiev must make clear that, whatever political course it may take, it shall remain on close friendly terms with neighbouring Russia. If necessary, elections should be moved forward. By setting an example of what democracy and a free economy can look like, its appeal to the rest of the country will increase. It should continue on its path towards democracy. It has suffered from dictatorships for many generations. Heeding popular appeal, Kiev should be encouraged towards a more modern style of politics, seeking redemption through the development of the nation and its citizens. It must forget Mr. Yanukovitch and look to the future, not its tragic past.

HOW FUNNY that the government has just realised that workers in the public bus companies also qualified as public employees and therefore should have had their wages cut like everyone else in the public sector. This had not crossed the mind of anyone when the pay cuts were being made in the broader sector.

However, the government asked for the opinion of the legal services which said that as more than 50 per cent of the revenue of the bus companies was from the state, they should also have been subject to cuts in their grants as per article 20 of the 2013 state budget law. The cut in the grant should have led to the same pay cuts imposed in the rest of the public sector.

Unions, predictably, were not thrilled with the news they heard at Tuesday’s House labour committee meeting, because some of the bus companies had already imposed pay cuts on their staff, and spoke of dynamic measures. Why they reacted in this way was difficult to comprehend as those that had their pay cut would not, presumably, have it cut again.

But there is certainly scope for cuts, the supervisory department at the communications ministry told the committee, citing the payroll of the Nicosia bus company OSEL as an example. OSEL has 374 employees on its payroll, one third of whom, receive a wage of more than €2,000 per month; the managers of the companies earned in excess of €6,000 per month.

Not only is there scope for pay cuts, there is probably also scope for staff cuts. It suffices to say that the bus companies were set up by the Christofias government that was notorious for wasting the taxpayer’s money. The ridiculously favourable terms the companies were granted have been re-negotiated in an attempt to save the state some money.

But high costs were never any concern of the previous government, which apart from the ultra-generous terms also sanctioned the purchase of very large, uneconomical buses that are, at best half-empty. These petrol-guzzling buses are also impractically big for our towns’ narrow roads, but nobody thought of this when their purchase was being decided.

It would be too costly to replace the buses now, which is why the government came up with the idea of bus fares for students and pensioner and will now push for pay cuts. It has been savagely attacked by opposition parties over the bus fares and will be pilloried for the proposed pay cuts as well. But if the AKEL government and its EDEK communications minister had been more cost-conscious when setting up the bus companies public transport would not have been such a drain on state finances.

By George Psyllides

RED TAPE costs Cyprus €1bn a year, it emerged yesterday, and members of parliament expect it to be reduced through electronic governance.

At the same time they have asked for other decisive measures and political decisions to cut bureaucratic procedures.

House Trade Committee chairman and DISY MP Lefteris Christoforou said that it was sad that the public has to be burdened with a billion euros in bureaucracy costs, promising to do what it takes to bring that cost down.

“The walls put up by bureaucracy have left us with no option but to fight with a thousand ways to tear them down, even through legislation,” the committee chairman said, adding that it was inconceivable for the country not to tackle the problem when the country is going through a financial crisis.

The biggest chunk of the hefty bill – €700m – was in administrative costs in just eight government departments, MPs were told.

Included in those sectors were the VAT service, tourism, agriculture, and the registrar of companies.

It does not include town planning, the land registry, and other vital departments, which would send the cost even higher.

On March 20, the government will implement a pilot programme linking 36 services electronically in a bid to cut costs.

But it will not solve the problem.

AKEL MP Costas Costa said the administration should implement more reforms and there must be a change in mentality in certain departments, where big delays were observed.

MPs heard that the cost of paper used by the cabinet alone was around €2m a year.

The cabinet announced last month it was entering the digital era by scrapping the process of note-taking in longhand and utilising an online application that will achieve considerable savings.

Known as e-cooperation, the application distributes almost all the cabinet material through an intranet and ministers will be able to have access from anywhere around the clock.

The site will also be used by ministries to submit proposals, memos, reports, and so on, without having to send them by post, thus saving on transport and messenger costs.

The move to the paperless cabinet will save some 2m sheets of paper a year and also slash the cost of printing by 95 to 97 per cent as only classified documents will be produced in hardcopy.

The application will become operational no later than March 20 and there will be a transitional period of around two months to ensure a smooth transfer.

By Martin Santa

The European Union froze the assets on Thursday of ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich, former prime minister Mykola Azarov and 16 other senior Ukrainian officials suspected of misusing state funds and violating human rights.

In a legal filing published in the European Union’s Official Journal, the EU said that “all funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled” by the people listed was now frozen within the 28-nation union.

The announcement follows a decision taken last month by EU foreign ministers in response to the collapse of the Ukrainian government and Yanukovich’s flight into exile following a crackdown on protesters in Kiev in which scores killed.

Ukraine’s new prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, has said Yanukovich embezzled as much as $37 billion during three years in office.

In its filing, the EU said Yanukovich’s assets were being frozen “in connection with the embezzlement of Ukrainian state funds and their illegal transfer outside Ukraine”.

Among the other prominent names on the sanctions list are Viktor Pshonka, Ukraine’s former prosecutor general; Oleksandr Yakymenko, the former head of the security service; and Olena Lukash, the former minister of justice. ( http://r.reuters.com/tuk47v )

The sons of Yanukovich and Azarov were also on the list.

Yatseniuk was due to meet EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the next steps to help Ukraine and its struggling economy get back on its feet.

The EU has pledged around $15 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine, although that is contingent on Kiev agreeing terms with the International Monetary Fund.

On a separate issue Ukraine again flew its flag over the regional administration building in the eastern city of Donetsk on Thursday, and police said pro-Moscow demonstrators who had seized it had left overnight.

“It was recommended that people leave the building. Everyone left,” a police spokeswoman said.

Donetsk, home city of deposed President Viktor Yanukovich, has seen the most persistent pro-Moscow demonstrations in a wave of protests that erupted on Saturday hours before President Vladimir Putin declared Russia’s right to invade. Kiev says the protests in its eastern and southern cities were orchestrated by Moscow as justification for a possible assault.

By Paul Taylor

European Union leaders were set to warn but not sanction Russia on Thursday over its military intervention in Ukraine after Moscow rebuffed Western diplomatic efforts to persuade it to pull forces in Crimea back to their bases.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to meet his new Ukrainian counterpart or to launch a “contact group” to seek a solution to the crisis at talks in Paris on Wednesday despite intensive cajoling by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The two men will meet again in Rome on Thursday.

Tension remained high in Ukraine’s southern Crimea region, where a senior United Nations envoy was surrounded by a pro-Russian crowd, threatened and forced to get back on his plane and leave the country.

An emergency EU summit in Brussels is unlikely to adopt more than symbolic measures against Russia, Europe’s biggest gas supplier, because neither industrial powerhouse Germany or financial centre Britain are keen to start down that road.

The United States has said it is ready to impose sanctions such as visa bans, asset freezes on individual Russian officials and restrictions on business ties within days rather than weeks.

Russia’s rouble currency weakened further on Thursday despite central bank intervention due to what analysts at VTB Capital called a political risk premium.

The European Commission announced an aid package of up to 11 billion euros for Ukraine in the next couple of years provided it reaches an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, entailing painful reforms like ending gas subsidies.

Diplomats said that at most, the 28-nation EU would condemn Russia’s so far bloodless seizure of Ukraine’s Black Sea province and suspend talks with Moscow on visa liberalisation and economic cooperation, while threatening further measures.

But they will hold back from further reaching steps both in hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough to ease tensions in Ukraine and out of fear of a tit-for-tat trade war with Russia, a major economic partner of Europe.

France has a deal to sell warships to Russia that it is so far not prepared to cancel, London’s banks have profited from facilitating Russian investment, and German companies have $22 billion invested in Russia.

The crisis began in November when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, under strong Russian pressure, turned his back on a far reaching trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15 billion bailout from Moscow. That prompted three months of street protests leading to the overthrow of Yanukovich on Feb. 22.

ILLEGITIMATE

Moscow denounced the events as an illegitimate coup and refused to recognise the new Ukrainian authorities.

But Russia kept the door ajar for more diplomacy on its own terms, announcing on Thursday a meeting of former Soviet states in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Ukraine, for April 4 and saying it would be preceded by contacts between Russian and Ukrainian diplomats.

Lavrov said attempts by Western countries to take action over the Ukraine crisis via democracy watchdog OSCE and the NATO military alliance were not helping cooperation and dialogue.

“I want to very briefly say that we had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the situation in Ukraine in relation to the actions that our partners are trying to take via the OSCE, the NATO-Russia council and other international organisations – action that does not help create an atmosphere for dialogue and constructive cooperation,” he said in a statement issued by the ministry on Thursday.

In a day of high-stakes diplomacy in Paris, he refused to talk to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchitsya, whose new government is not recognised by Moscow.

As he left the French Foreign Ministry, Lavrov was asked if he had met his Ukrainian counterpart. “Who is that?” the Russian minister asked.

He stuck to President Vladimir Putin’s line – ridiculed by the West – that Moscow does not command the troops without national insignia which have taken control of Crimea, besieging Ukrainian forces, and hence cannot order them back to bases.

But Western diplomats said there was still hope that once Lavrov had reported back to Putin, Russia will accept the idea of a “contact group” involving both Moscow and Kiev as well as the United States and European powers to seek a solution.

The European Union formally announced it had frozen the assets of ousted Ukrainian president Yanukovich and 17 other officials, including former prime minister Mykola Azarov, suspected of human rights violations and misuse of state funds.

“RUSSIA! RUSSIA!”

U.N. special envoy Robert Serry had to abandon a mission to Crimea after being stopped by armed men and besieged inside a cafe by a hostile crowd shouting “Russia! Russia!” The Dutch diplomat flew to Istanbul after the incident.

In eastern Ukraine, a pro-Russian crowd in Donetsk, Yanukovich’s home town, recaptured the regional administration building they had occupied before being ejected by police. But police loyal to the new authorities in Kiev raised the Ukrainian flag over the building again on Thursday.

Putin has said Russia reserves the right to intervene militarily in other areas of Ukraine if Russian interests or the lives of Russians are in danger.

Dropping diplomatic niceties on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department published a “fact sheet” entitled “President Putin’s Fiction: 10 False Claims about Ukraine.”

“As Russia spins a false narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine, the world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoyevsky wrote, ‘The formula “two plus two equals five” is not without its attractions,’” the State Department said in the document.

The Famagusta district court has thrown out all charges against four environmental activists of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), and ordered a bird trapper to pay them €7,000 in compensation, it emerged on Thursday.

The trapper was also fined an extra €500 for the use of illegal traps — 60 limesticks.

Police had charged the activists of trespassing into private property and damaging plantations.

“We are happy that eventually the charges against us were dropped and environmental justice is served. We also welcome the statement of the judge, who emphasized in the trial that bird trapping is a common crime in Famagusta area and that wild birds and nature must be seriously protected,” Andrea Rutigliano, CABS Field Investigations Office,r said.

The case was filed on October 1, 2013.

Actual bodily harm charges against the poacher were dropped with CABS’ agreement who showed good will after he admitted guilt.

According to a press release, four CABS members located approximately 60 limesticks in an open area near the Sotira municipal forest and tried to remove them.

While they were collecting the limesticks from the bushes, two men appeared at the spot, the younger one was holding a long wooden cudgel.

The conservationists started moving away, but the young man caught one of them and started punching and beating him with the cudgel.

“Two of the CABS members, who were trying to help their colleague, were also badly beaten,” the press release said.

One CABS member sustained serious injuries to his left eye and foot.

A CABS field investigations officer, who was filming the whole incident, also sustained serious injuries to his ear — perforated ear drum — and his back.

The two poachers also took the camera and mobile phone from one of the activists, while they also smashed his glasses, the press release said.

The conservationists were treated in the Famagusta general hospital and in the Larnaca general hospital, where the CABS officer was examined for possible damage to his hearing.

Afterwards they went to file an official complaint to Dheryneia Police Station.

The police officers informed CABS members that the poachers had already filed an official complaint against them for trespassing on private property, damaging their plantations, and attacking them.

According to the press release, one of the poachers admitted to police that the CABS members had seized his limesticks, but he also claimed they went in the area in order to steal his cucumbers and tomatoes.

He not only he admitted that he took their video camera and mobile phone, but he actually returned the equipment to the police.

CABS said they will continue to organise bird protection camps every spring and autumn and called on the authorities to provide assistance.

“We hope that, after we have been found innocent, the minister of justice will realize that poaching is one of the most serious environmental problems in the Republic of Cyprus and that he will stop boycotting our bird protection camps,” Rutigliano said.

Although CABS has been active in Cyprus on a small scale since 2001, regular bird protection camps began in spring 2008.

Until spring 2013, bird protection camps were conducted in close cooperation with the authorities.

Since the suspension of the Spring 2013 bird protection camp by Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou, further requests for cooperation and assistance by CABS to police have been systematically rejected or ignored.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Hellenic Bank (HB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘Restricted Default’ but has also upgraded their viability ratings to ‘cc’ and ‘ccc’ respectively from ‘f’.

The VR upgrades follow Fitch’s review of the banks’ standalone creditworthiness after the completion of their recapitalisation and public details of BoC’s restructuring plan, which were key milestones in restoring their solvency.

“However, the VRs continue to reflect Fitch’s view that failure risk is high in light of the challenges the banks and the country face, notably continued asset quality and capital pressures as well as restoring fragile consumer confidence,” the agency said.

Fitch said the banks’ IDRs continued to reflect the strong capital controls in place, including, among others, restrictions on the free movement of capital within Cyprus.

Cyprus introduced capital controls last March to prevent a run on its banks after a bailout shut down a major lender, and imposed losses on large deposits in a second. It was conditional for 10 billion euros in aid from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.

The government welcomed the “hopeful upgrade.”

“The successful and faithful implementation of the support (bailout) programme, which halted the series of consecutive downgrades of the economy in recent years, is the only feasible way to win back Cyprus’ credibility and achieve economic recovery,” deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said in a written statement.

Crimea’s parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.

The sudden acceleration of moves to bring Crimea, which has an ethnic Russian majority and has effectively been seized by Russian forces, formally under Moscow’s rule came as European Union leaders gathered for an emergency summit to seek ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation.

The Crimean parliament voted unanimously “to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation”. The vice premier of Crimea, home to Russia’s Black Sea military base in Sevastopol, said a referendum on the status would take place on March 16.

The announcement, which diplomats said could not have been made without Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval, raised the stakes in the most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War.

Crimea could also adopt the Russian rouble as its currency and “nationalise” state property as part of plans to join the Russian Federation, a regional official was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Far from seeking a diplomatic way out, Putin appears to have chosen to create facts on the ground before the West can agree on more than token action against him.

EU leaders had been set to warn but not sanction Russia over its military intervention after Moscow rebuffed Western diplomatic efforts to persuade it to pull forces in Crimea, with a population of about 2 million, back to their bases. It was not immediately clear what impact the Crimean moves would have.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a Twitter message: “We stand by a united and inclusive #Ukraine.”

French President Francois Hollande told reporters on arrival at the summit: “There will be the strongest possible pressure on Russia to begin lowering the tension and in the pressure there is, of course, eventual recourse to sanctions.”

The new Ukrainian government has declared the referendum illegal and opened a criminal investigation against Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Askyonov, who was appointed by the region’s parliament last week. The Ukrainian government does not recognise his authority or that of the parliament.

A Crimean parliament official said voters will be asked two questions: should Crimea be part of the Russian Federation and should Crimea return to an earlier constitution (1992) that gave the region more autonomy?

“If there weren’t constant threats from the current illegal Ukrainian authorities, maybe we would have taken a different path,” deputy parliament speaker Sergei Tsekov told reporters outside the parliament building in Crimea’s main city of Simferopol.

“I think there was an annexation of Crimea by Ukraine, if we are going to call things by their name. Because of this mood and feeling we took the decision to join Russia. I think we will feel much more comfortable there.”

TENSION HIGH

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to meet his new Ukrainian counterpart or to launch a “contact group” to seek a solution to the crisis at talks in Paris on Wednesday despite arm-twisting by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European colleagues. The two men will meet again in Rome on Thursday.

Tension was high in Crimea after a senior United Nations envoy was surrounded by a pro-Russian crowd, threatened and forced to get back on his plane and leave the country on Wednesday.

The EU summit in Brussels seemed unlikely to adopt more than symbolic measures against Europe’s biggest gas supplier, because neither industrial powerhouse Germany nor financial centre Britain is keen to start down that road.

The United States has said it is ready to impose sanctions such as visa bans, asset freezes on individual Russian officials and restrictions on business ties within days rather than weeks.

Russia’s rouble currency weakened further on Thursday despite central bank intervention due to what analysts at VTB Capital called the political risk premium.

The short, informal EU summit will mostly be dedicated to displaying support for Ukraine’s new pro-Western government, represented by Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, who will attend even though Kiev is neither an EU member nor a recognised candidate for membership.

After meeting European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Yatseniuk appealed to Russia to respond to mediation efforts.

The European Commission announced an aid package of up to 11 billion euros ($15 billion) for Ukraine over the next couple of years provided it reaches a deal with the International Monetary Fund, entailing painful reforms like ending gas subsidies.

Diplomats said that at most, the 28-nation EU would condemn Russia’s so far bloodless seizure of the Black Sea province and suspend talks with Moscow on visa liberalisation and economic cooperation, while threatening further measures if Putin does not accept mediation efforts soon.

They were expected hold back from tougher steps both in hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough and out of fear of a tit-for-tat trade war with Russia, a major economic partner of Europe.

France has a deal to sell warships to Russia that it is so far not prepared to cancel, London’s banks have profited from facilitating Russian investment, and German companies have $22 billion invested in Russia.

Before the summit, European members of the Group of Eight major economies will meet separately, diplomats said, in an apparent effort to coordinate positions towards Russia, due to host the next G8 summit in Olympic venue Sochi in June. They have so far stopped participating in preparatory meetings and Canada has said G7 countries may meet soon without Russia.

ILLEGITIMATE

The crisis began in November when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, under strong Russian pressure, turned his back on a far reaching trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15 billion bailout from Moscow. That prompted three months of street protests leading to the overthrow of Yanukovich on Feb. 22.

Moscow denounced the events as an illegitimate coup and refused to recognise the new Ukrainian authorities.

Russia kept the door ajar for more diplomacy on its own terms, announcing on Thursday a meeting of former Soviet states in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Ukraine, for April 4 and saying it would be preceded by contacts between Russian and Ukrainian diplomats.

Lavrov said attempts by Western countries to take action over the Ukraine crisis via democracy watchdog OSCE and the NATO military alliance were not helpful.

In a move that may alarm some of Russia’s neighbours and the West, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced steps to ease handing out passports to native Russian speakers who have lived in Russia or the former Soviet Union.

Putin has cited the threat to Russian citizens to justify military action in both Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine now.

After a day of high-stakes diplomacy in Paris on Wednesday, Lavrov refused to talk to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchitsya, whose new government is not recognised by Moscow.

As he left the French Foreign Ministry, Lavrov was asked if he had met his Ukrainian counterpart. “Who is that?” the Russian minister asked.

He stuck to Putin’s line – ridiculed by the West – that Moscow does not command the troops without national insignia which have taken control of Crimea, besieging Ukrainian forces, and hence cannot order them back to bases.

Kerry said afterwards he had never expected to get Lavrov and Deshchitsya into the same room right away, but diplomats said France and Germany had tried to achieve that.

Western diplomats said there was still hope that once Lavrov had reported back to Putin, Russia would accept the idea of a “contact group” involving both Moscow and Kiev as well as the United States and European powers to seek a solution.

The European Union formally announced it had frozen the assets of ousted Ukrainian president Yanukovich and 17 other officials, including former prime minister Mykola Azarov, suspected of human rights violations and misuse of state funds.

“RUSSIA! RUSSIA!”

In an awkward coincidence as EU leaders were gathering in Brussels, German Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel travelled to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart and Putin.

Reflecting concern about how the long-planned trip might be seen in the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Gabriel dropped at the last minute plans to take along German industrialists with him. Germany has been accused in some quarters of soft-pedalling on sanctions in the light of its close economic ties to Russia.

In eastern Ukraine, a pro-Russian crowd in Donetsk, Yanukovich’s home town, recaptured the regional administration building they had occupied before being ejected by police. But police loyal to the new authorities in Kiev raised the Ukrainian flag over the building again on Thursday.

Putin has said Russia reserves the right to intervene militarily in other areas of Ukraine if Russian interests or the lives of Russians are in danger.

Dropping diplomatic niceties on Wednesday, the U.S. State Department published a “fact sheet” entitled “President Putin’s Fiction: 10 False Claims about Ukraine.”

“As Russia spins a false narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine, the world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoyevsky wrote, ‘The formula “two plus two equals five” is not without its attractions,’” the State Department said in the document.

By Constantinos Psillides

Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) and Lumiere Television (LTV) will be launching a new collaborative sports channel, hosting matches from the English Premier League, the Spanish League and the German Bundensliga, according to CyTA spokesman Lefteris Christou.

The new channel will be broadcast by the Cytavision platform and will go live on Saturday, March 8. The first game broadcast will be Chelsea versus Tottenham at 7.30 pm.

Asked whether CyTA would be charging subscribers extra for the new channel, Christou made clear that for the time being there will be no extra charge. “We are ironing out the details of the deal now. We haven’t decided yet on whether we will be charging extra but for the time being the channel will be made available to CyTA Vision subscribers with no extra fee,” said Christou.

The CyTA spokesman told the Cyprus Mail that the deal has been in the works since September 2013. “The first proposal was tabled around September but CyTA decided that it was not financially sound. A new and improved proposal was submitted a couple of months later, which was far more lucrative than the previous one. We have reached an agreement with LTV and the new channel will go on air shortly,” he said.

Asked whether this was the first step in a planned merger between the two broadcasters, Christou categorically denied it. The CyTA spokesman added that Cytavision would continue hosting LTV sport channels on their digital platform and that the new channel will take the place of LTV Sports Channel 2.

LTV owns the broadcasting rights to the Spanish, German and English league until 2016. CyTA has long been rumoured to be after the broadcasting rights, especially the Premier League.

The LTV-CyTA deal came to light after Nicosia football team APOEL announced on Friday that they were paid €670,000 by LTV, as part of a larger agreement regarding the team’s home games TV rights.

APOEL were on the verge of dissolving the deal due to the fact that LTV was seemingly unable to pay the required sum. A source inside CyTA, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Cyprus Mail that CyTA bailed-out LTV with €500,000 in exchange for broadcasting rights.

Asked to officially confirm the deal, the CyTA spokesman merely replied that “the only deal we have now is the one regarding the new sports channel”.

CyTA is also said to be interested in the broadcasting rights of APOEL, one of the largest teams in the island, for which LTV has the rights until 2016.

By Mike Collett
Adam Lallana almost certainly secured a place in the England squad for the World Cup but a generally sluggish performance in a narrow 1-0 friendly win over Denmark raised more questions than answers for coach Roy Hodgson.

Lallana’s arrival after 58 minutes – along with the halftime introduction of his teenage Southampton team mate Luke Shaw, who made his debut when he replaced Ashley Cole – helped liven up England after a pedestrian first half on Wednesday.
Lallana provided one exquisite piece of skill with a smart “Cruyff turn” and also sent over the perfect cross for Daniel Sturridge to head home the only goal after 82 minutes.

England deserved the victory as they dominated most of the game against mediocre opponents who failed to qualify for Brazil, but who still, on occasion, threatened England and could have made it a vastly more embarrassing night for the home side.

Despite his praise for the younger players in his side, this strangely unsatisfactory performance left the coach with more questions than answers with just over two months to go before he names his provisional 30-man squad for the finals.
Even more importantly, he has to decide who makes his final 23-man selection and this performance has left him with plenty to ponder.

“It means headaches for me but it’s good news. I’m happy with their desire to get on that plane,” Hodgson said after the game.
“Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, even Jack Wilshere… all of those came out of the game with credit.”

Hodgson will name an initial 30-man squad on May 13 before the final home friendly against Peru on May 30.
Three days later, he must submit his 23-man squad for the finals before the last two friendlies in Miami against Honduras on June 4 and Ecuador on June 7.
Hodgson though does not mind having questions to answer.

“If I was to say one thing I was most pleased with it would be the fact we put a lot of youngish players who haven’t played a lot for England on the pitch, and they did a good job and improved their chances,” he said.
“You couldn’t get me to say anything negative about any of the young players on today. At one stage we only hadGary Cahill, Joe Hart, Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard who would consider themselves senior players.

“Over half of the players we have in this squad are under 23. We are looking in that direction, but I don’t feel under obligation to pick any of the younger players.
“They are doing well at the moment. Hopefully you will be impressed with their performances, and I’ll have to make a decision going forward.”

But other questions remain too. Is Wayne Rooney best deployed as the main target man? Is Sturridge really in his best position playing wide on the left? Is centre-back Chris Smalling really international class?
And who should be the first choice left-back? Cole, who won his 107th cap, Shaw, who has played just 45 minutes for England, or the reliable Leighton Baines, who remained on the bench on Wednesday?

Making just his third international appearance, Lallana was the man who made the difference and said afterwards: “I just gave it my best and that’s all you can do, as everyone else is.”
Sturridge, who scored his third international goal and has netted 23 times in 28 appearances for Liverpool and England this season, added: “It was a very good result. We know we’ve got good players and if we stay patient then we’re going to create chances.”

“Adam played amazing. He came on and created a couple of chances. I played against him at the weekend and he caused Liverpool some problems.”
The 24-year-old striker had a positive take on the 18-year-old Shaw, too.

“I can’t really call him a young player because I’m also young. Players that are coming into the squad along with myself and going out there and complementing the team and work as a team. The key word is team.”

By Iacovos Constantinou

THE regular football season is drawing to a close with just three rounds remaining, with the battle at both ends of the table hotting up.
With this in mind, the Cyprus Football Association decided that all games from now on will played on the same day and during the daytime.

All matches were suspended last weekend as referees staged a protest after the car of their association president, Leondios Trattos, was damaged in a bomb explosion last Friday. Nobody was injured but the incident was the latest in a string of attacks against match officials
The games have been rescheduled for Sunday.

A few weeks ago nobody gave Enosis Neon Paralimni a chance of beating the drop but since their new coach Nikos Andronikou took over, the Paralimni side has closed the gap to the teams above and is now just three points away from the automatic relegation zone.

They should fancy their chances against Doxa Katokopias who may have to field their third choice keeper as first choice Meteo is suspended and second choice Morphis limped off the field at the end of their recent defeat to APOEL.

Both teams above Enosis have tough games, with AEK Kouklion taking on APOEL in Paphos and Aris of Limassol travelling to Larnaca to face Ermis Aradippou.

Champions APOEL are just a point off the top, and given their recent form and results they should be able to overcome a gifted but largely inexperienced AEK side.

Ermis, thumped by Nea Salamina nearly two weeks ago, need the win against third from bottom Aris who held Omonia to a draw last time out. A win will maintain Ermis’ dream of a first European qualification, something that few would have envisaged at the beginning of the season.
Omonia take on Ethnikos Achnas with both teams desperate for the points – Omonia to keep alive their slender hopes for the league and Ethnikos to steer well clear of the relegation zone.

Anorthosis need one point from their final two games to secure a place in the top six, but given their recent poor form anything is possible against a much-improved Nea Salamina.
League leaders AEL face an easy task against relegated Alki and should have no problems in securing the three points.

Apollon entertain AEK Larnaca at the Tsirion Stadium in a game that the team from Limassol has to win to maintain their challenge for the title. Three points separate Apollon from the top and they cannot afford to drop further behind at this late stage of the championship race.

Sunday, March 9th 2014: Doxa Katokopias v Enosis Neon Paralimniou (15.30), Omonia v Ethnikos Achnas (16.00), AEK Kouklion v APOEL (16.00), Ermis Aradippou v Aris Limassol (16.00), Anorthosis v Nea Salamina (17.00), Alki v AEL (19.00), Apollon v AEK Larnaca (19.00)

By Martyn Herman
CHELSEA have a gilt-edged opportunity to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League this weekend and there is nothing their main title rivals can do about it.

With second-placed Liverpool having a week off and Arsenal and Manchester City in FA Cup action, all the chasers can do is hope Tottenham Hotspur can end one of the longest jinx’s in English football and upset the odds at Stamford Bridge.

Twenty four years have passed and 15 managers have come and gone at the north London club since Tottenham last won at Chelsea – a miserable sequence that even the most optimistic Spurs fans would struggle to believe will end on Saturday.

Chelsea are gaining momentum in ominous fashion as the home straight to the title race looms and while Manchester City will have three games in hand after the weekend, a nine-point deficit to Jose Mourinho’s side would leave them precious little margin for error.

Perhaps a glimmer of optimism for Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger and City’s Manuel Pellegrini is that Tottenham have the best away record in the top flight and are still harbouring top-four hopes themselves.

Despite not playing fluently, they are fifth and victory at Chelsea would leave them just a point behind City and three adrift of arch-rivals Arsenal who they host next week.
Tim Sherwood’s side have picked up 29 points on the road this season, winning nine games out of 14.
Chelsea have been strong at home, though, winning 12 and drawing two as Mourinho’s incredible statistic of never having lost a league game at Stamford Bridge rolls on.

Champions Manchester United have the chance to edge a little closer to the top four with a Saturday lunchtime kickoff at West Bromwich Albion who earlier in the season won at Old Trafford for the time in 35 years.

Albion fans mocked United manager David Moyes that day, suggesting he would be “sacked in the morning” but it was their manager Steve Clarke who was cast aside and West Brom are now hovering just above the relegation zone with new boss Pepe Mel under pressure.

Defeat for United would surely end their remote hopes of finishing in the Champions League places, leaving their best route back into the competition to win it, although with a 2-0 deficit to overturn against Olympiakos in the last 16 that scenario looks unlikely too.

Midfielder Juan Mata said March could be a make or break month for United.
“We have five Premier League games against important rivals such as Liverpool and Man City,” he told United’s website.
“We do know it is a crucial month to climb up positions on the league table and we are going to give our best to try and win every single match.”

The weekend’s other matches all involve teams battling to avoid the drop.
The bottom two clubs meet with Cardiff City hosting Fulham in a match where for once the description “a six-pointer” is not out of place. Defeat for either in the Welsh capital would see the trapdoor open a little wider.

“This Saturday is now the biggest game for us, Fulham at home,” Cardiff’s Ben Turner told the club’s website.
“We’ve been saying for a few games at home that they are ‘must win’ recently, and this game more than fits that description. There are ten games left and our aim is to try and win fifty per cent or more of them.”
Crystal Palace, three points above the bottom three in 16th place, host Southampton, probably the only side in the top flight to have little to play for this season, they being well clear of danger and too far adrift of the European spots.

Norwich City, who are just a point better off than Palace, take on a Stoke City side who could move into the relative comfort of 10th with three points.

The country should be prosperous and secure. It sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Its nearly $100 billion in annual oil exports rank it among the world’s top 10 oil exporters.

But Venezuela also leads the planet in price inflation. Even its official inflation rate – 56 percent annually – is the highest in the world. More realistically, after factoring in the black market, economist Steve Hanke of John Hopkins University and the Cato Institute calculates Venezuela’s real rate of inflation at more than 300 percent.

For anyone who professes to care about the poor – including former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who died last year, and his handpicked successor, President Nicolás Maduro – these inflation rates are crushing. No worker or peasant can earn enough to keep up with prices soaring out of reach.

Maduro has imposed price controls on some basic goods, but the result has been severe shortages of staples like corn, flour, butter, eggs, and even toilet paper.

The country simply produces too little food and too few goods (understandably, given the pace of land expropriations under Chávez and Maduro). So, Venezuela is forced to import about two-thirds of its food (wheat from the United States, chickens from Brazil), as well as many consumer goods. However, since Maduro took power in March 2013, the value of the national currency has sunk by nearly two-thirds against the dollar. As a result, imports are now far less affordable.

In a failing effort to make up the difference, Venezuela has been running down its foreign currency reserves. In the last year, they have dropped by $8 billion – more than a quarter of their total a year ago.

The country’s economic crisis is aggravated by a fearsome crime rate. A 2011 United Nations study found that Venezuela had the fourth-highest homicide rate in the world. There were 23,000 homicides in Venezuela in 2013. Yet few murderers are brought to justice: The impunity rate for murder is 97 percent.

Both the economy and the insecurity are made worse by rampant corruption. Of the 177 countries that Transparency International ranked in its 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, Venezuela is the worst in Latin America and among the worst (160th) in the world.

No wonder, then, that tens of thousands of Venezuelan university students have taken to the streets in protest. They are supported by anti-Maduro majorities in most of the nation’s largest cities.

The country is sharply polarized, but contrary to claims by Chavistas, the political fault lines are drawn between the cities and the countryside, not between the middle class and the poor. If not for voters in rural areas (where voter fraud is easier to pull off), Maduro’s thin official margin of victory last year (1.5 percent) would instead have been a win for the opposition.

Government security forces and paramilitary thugs have responded to the protests with violent repression. Even the Chavista chief prosecutor concedes that in the last month of protests, 17 people have been killed, hundreds have been wounded, and around 500 have been arrested.

Dozens of human-rights and civil-society groups in Venezuela and throughout the hemisphere have denounced the reported torture and cruel and degrading treatment of arrested protesters. They demand proper investigations and genuine criminal prosecutions of those responsible for the human-rights violations.

Maduro’s regime responds by labeling the domestic human-rights groups as traitors and the foreign groups as imperialist dupes. The regime had opposition leader Leopoldo López arrested and charged with murder for two of the deaths. Since then, prosecutors have somewhat backed off, reducing the charges to property crimes, arson, conspiracy, and incitement. López remains behind bars, awaiting trial.

The repressive response should surprise no one. Ever since Chávez took office in 1998, and continuing under Maduro, the government has systematically dismantled the checks and balances necessary to safeguard human rights.

Chávez packed the Supreme Court with his own supporters. He fired – and even imprisoned – judges who ruled against the government in politically sensitive cases. He violated election regulations by maintaining computerized records of who voted for and against him, and then denied government jobs and benefits to people who voted for the opposition. He put out of business or took over every major opposition television and radio network. Maduro still restricts the supply of newsprint to major independent newspapers, and orders cable TV providers to take international news networks covering the street protests off-line.

Venezuelans are deprived of almost all institutional protections against their government’s economic imprudence, inability to control crime, pervasive corruption, and gross violations of human rights. No government with such flaws has ever bettered the welfare of its people. It is past time to recognize that the fundamental problem in Venezuela is not momentary police excesses, but a misguided and dysfunctional system of government.

Douglass Cassel is Professor of Law and Notre Dame Presidential Fellow at Notre Dame Law School in the United States of America. He has served as Legal Advisor to the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, and on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law.

This article first appeared in www.themarknews.com

Cyprus Ski Federation athletes (and brothers) Manos and Yiannos Kouyoumdjian recently represented the island at the Pan Armenian Winter Games, held in Armenia between February 21 and March 2, the first time for either of them.

Seventeen-year old Yiannos finished third in the slalom event, despite competing against very strong opposition. First in this event was 21-year-old Georgian champion with the Armenian champion taking second place. Both these athletes represented their countries in the Winter Olympics held earlier this year in Sochi.

In the giant slalom event, Yiannos finished 7th out of 70 athletes.

This was the second time Yiannos took part in an International Ski Federation (FIS) event this year, improving his overall performance and promising a bright future for the Cyprus skier.

His brother, Manos, who is currently carrying out his military service, finished in 8th and 9th position in the giant slalom and slalom events respectively, out of a total 70 athletes who competed.

This despite the difficulties of having access to snow to practice on due to his limited release from the army.

Where do you live?
On my own in a central London location

Best childhood memory?
Winter Saturday afternoons in Cyprus: Watching  ’I Kravgi ton Lykon’ with Maria Aliferis while sitting by the fire place

Most frequented restaurant and absolute favourite dish?
My local Italian restaurant Il Convivio for my absolute favorite Black Spaghetti with Lobster.

What food would you really turn your nose up to?
I would though turn up my nose to Black Pudding…

What did you have for breakfast?
Toast with butter & jam and English breakfast tea with a dash of cold milk!

Would you class yourself as a day or night person? What’s your idea of the perfect night/day out?
Both. I just keep going from morning till night till morning hours. Perfect day – rehearsing in an opera production. Perfect night – Pre theatre dinner at Clos Maggiore followed by a performance of a Puccini opera at the Royal Opera House

Best book ever read?
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – It’s so true!

Favourite film of all time?
Gone with the Wind – one of the greatest love stories, full of passion, great acting

Favorite holiday destination?
Big Sur in California – totally breathtaking

What music are you listening to in the car at the moment?
I don’t have a car at the moment

What is always in your fridge?
Ice cream

Dream house: rural retreat or urban dwelling? Where would it be, what would it be like?
Three urban dwellings in London, Vienna, New York – close to the opera houses in these cities and a rural retreat in Cyprus for complete relaxation

If you could pick anyone at all (alive or dead) to go out for the evening with, who would it be?
Gordon Ramsey , if he himself would cook dinner for me

If the world is ending in 24 hours what would you do?
Throw myself on the main stage of the Metropolitan Opera and sing my heart out

What is your greatest fear?
Cats

Tell me a joke…
What’s the difference between a soprano and a terrorist?
You can negotiate with a terrorist.

THE ENERGY regulator, CERA, has decided to make a temporary 8 per cent reduction in the price of electricity permanent, starting February, it was announced on Friday.

CERA said the reduction will kick in at the end of February for clients on a monthly bill, and the end of this month for those whose consumption is measured every two months.

The temporary reduction was being reviewed every two months.

The initial decision was taken in April last year, citing the dire economic conditions in the country.

The regulator said it will review its decision if and when necessary, depending on the prevailing conditions.

CERA said it will also take into consideration the electricity authority’s pledge to roll out a programme to cut operational costs, and implementing measures to increase productivity and reducing the cost transferred on consumers.

By Josh Reich
AN immediate return to the Premier League remains Wigan Athletic’s priority but the FA Cup holders are determined to repeat last year’s shock final win over Manchester City when they meet in Sunday’s last-eight clash (6.05pm).

Wigan stunned hot favourites City 1-0 at Wembley with Ben Watson’s late header sealing the club their first major trophy.
Celebrations proved short-lived, however, when defeat by Arsenal three days later ensured Wigan became the first club to win the FA Cup and suffer relegation from England’s top flight in the same season.

After a poor start this season that cost manager Owen Coyle his job six months after replacing Roberto Martinez, Wigan have revived under former Manchester City striker Uwe Rosler and sit sixth in the Championship.

They travel to a City side who have lost one league match in 12 at the Etihad Stadium this season, having scored 43 goals in the process, and thrashed Wigan 5-0 earlier in the League Cup, a competition they won last Sunday against Sunderland.
“We are going to go there with intentions of trying to stay in the FA Cup – obviously we will try to retain it – but Manchester City will be looking for their revenge,” Wigan chairman Dave Whelan told Sky Sports.

“That said, our number one ambition this season is promotion back to the Premier League. The FA Cup is special, but the main priority for us is the league, the finest league in the world.
“We have a great team spirit at the moment, our boys are full of confidence and hopefully we can get into the playoffs to give us a chance to return there.”

Spaniard Martinez, who left Wigan to join Everton in June, is looking to become the first manager to win the competition in consecutive seasons with different clubs.
His side face a tough away quarter-final at Arsenal on Saturday (2.45pm) and Belgium midfielder Kevin Mirallas said the match was the biggest of their season.
“Hopefully whatever the manager said to Wigan last year, he can do it again with us at Arsenal – he’s very lucky with this competition,” he told the Liverpool Echo.
Martinez will make a late decision on captain Phil Jagielka, who missed last weekend’s win over West Ham and England’s midweek friendly with Denmark with a hamstring injury.

Arsenal are boosted by the news Per Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky had both signed new contracts, while British media reported Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey would soon be committing his future to the club.

A lower league club is guaranteed a place in the last four on Sunday with Championship strugglers Charlton Athletic travelling to play third-tier Sheffield United (2pm), who have beaten Premier League sides Aston Villa and Fulham in this Cup campaign.

United are the lowest-ranked side to reach the quarter-finals since 1990.
The fourth quarter-final pits Steve Bruce’s Hull City side against his old club Sunderland (4pm), whose strong cup form belies their battle to avoid relegation.

On-loan Sunderland striker Fabio Borini, who scored the opener in the League Cup final, said he was determined to return to Wembley as well as ensure the club’s top-flight survival.
“I want to go back there, to be at Wembley,” he told the Sunderland Echo. “Scoring at Wembley is always special, especially for a foreign player.
“If we can win against Hull, we’ll be going back again, which will be good. But the main thing is to get points and start pushing up the league.”

PROSECUTORS on Friday dropped charges against a member of main opposition party AKEL, who had been implicated in a suspicious land deal in Larnaca involving the state telecoms company pension fund.

Despite initially judging they had enough to charge Christos Alecou, one of two AKEL members involved in the case, prosecutors dropped the charges saying they did not have enough evidence against him.

Alecou, the party’s Larnaca district officer at the time of the alleged offense, was scheduled to respond to charges on Friday along with seven others.

The suspects are former CyTA chairman Stathis Kittis, former chairman of the electricity authority EAC Charalambos Tsouris, a member of the CyTA board at the time, AKEL official Venizelos Zanettou, the director of CyTA’s television arm and SEK union rep Orestis Vasilliou, CyTA employee Yiannis Souroullas and his brother Gregoris who works at the land registry, and businessman Antonis Ioakim, a shareholder in Wadnic, the company involved in the €20.5 million deal.

In a related development, the state also reduced the charges from 33 to 28 and prosecution witnesses to 106 from 133.

Absent from the list were Charalambos Liotatis and his wife, once thought to be material witnesses in the case.

Defence lawyers requested more time from the court to study the new charge sheet and possibly ask for their clients to be tried separately.

Prosecutors said they will object to separate trials but agreed for more time to be given to the defence to study the charges.

Court President Nicos Sandis stressed that he intended to proceed at an “exceptionally fast pace,” as he gave the two sides one week to prepare.

The suspects face charges including conspiracy to commit felony, fraud, theft, bribery, abuse of power, and money laundering.

The offences were committed between 2009 and 2013.

The land deal in question involved the purchase by CyTA’s pension fund of office space in Dromolaxia at a price several times the going market value.

Claims have since surfaced that millions were paid in kickbacks to make the deal possible.

Prosecutors have already charged businessman Nicos Lillis, the owner of Wadnic, and two police officers, Costas Miamiliotis and Lefteris Mouskou, in connection with the case.

They face trial before the district court, which can only impose a maximum custodial sentence of five years.

The officers, serving with the secret service, allegedly produced a false report saying the Turkish Cypriot seller of the land had resided in the government-controlled areas for six months – a necessary condition — prior to selling the land.

A firecracker went off inside the headmistress’ office at the Pallouriotissa secondary school on Thursday night.

A police spokesman said that the case involved a factory-made paper firecracker which exploded at 8.40 pm in the, causing damage to windows, gypsum board walls and the library.

Police are investigating the possibility that the culprits were students of the school.

A fire broke out at a Nicosia coffee shop early on Friday morning.

Police reports that the fire started roughly at 3am and caused extensive damage to the kitchen of the coffee-shop, which is owned by a 62-year-old man.

The fire brigade was able to contain the fire to the kitchen, leaving the rest of the coffee shop unaffected.

The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed.