By Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled his first visit to the village from which more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamist rebel group Boko Haram a month ago due to security fears, senior government sources said on Friday.

Jonathan will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris on Friday for a regional summit to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity and will not now make a stop in the northeastern village of Chibok, said one of the sources.

“The president was planning to go but security advised otherwise on the visit,” said the source of the last-minute decision to cancel the Chibok part of the trip.

Some Nigerians have criticised the government’s initial response to the plight of the girls, who were abducted on April 14, and US officials this week said the government had done too little to adapt to the threat posed by Boko Haram.

Jonathan asked France last week to arrange a security summit with neighbours Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, and officials from the United States, Britain and the European Union to discuss a coordinated response. The summit will take place on Saturday.

Jonathan, the former vice-president, assumed the presidency of Africa’s most populous nation in 2010 on the death in office of his predecessor Umaru Yar’Adua and won an election the following year. Nigeria will go to the polls again next year.

A large multinational crisis management exercise will take place in Larnaca next Monday and Tuesday with the participation of 13 countries.

The drill will be executed in the framework of the national crisis management action plan ‘Estia’, providing for the mass evacuation of citizens from the Middle East via Cyprus.

The countries taking part are Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Canada, the UK, the USA, Norway and Holland.

All countries are members of the Non Combatant Evacuation Coordination Group, to which Cyprus became a member last year.

Representatives of the European External Action Service will also take part as observers.

At the same time, the foreign ministry will take part at the multidisciplinary, multinational exercise ‘Argonaut 2014’, as the competent authority handling crises pertinent to foreign policy matters.

The exercise is being organised by the National Guard General Staff.

Moreover, the mass arrival of evacuees will be simulated at Larnaca port, including all procedures for the landing, inspection of documents, transportation and temporary placement of evacuees, until their repatriation.

The exercise will be attended by representatives and diplomats of foreign countries and representatives of international organisations. (CNA)

By Nick Tattersall

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse several thousand protesters on Friday in a Turkish mining town still grieving the death of some 300 workers in the nation’s worst ever industrial disaster.

Anger has swept Turkey as the extent of the disaster became clear, with protests aimed at mine owners accused of ignoring safety for profit, and at Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government, seen as too cosy with industry tycoons and insensitive in its reaction to the tragedy.

“Stop spraying us with water! Go spray the mine! Maybe you can finally put the fire out!” shouted one man among the crowd, which had been trying to march towards a statue in the town centre honouring miners when police blocked the route and sprayed from armoured trucks.

The confirmed death toll in the disaster reached 284, with 18 more people believed still to be trapped and unlikely to be brought out alive, three days after fire sent deadly carbon monoxide coursing through the mine.

Turkey has experienced a decade of rapid economic growth under Erdogan, but worker safety standards have failed to keep pace, leaving it with one of the world’s worst records.

“No coal can warm the hearts of children whose fathers died in the mine,” read one hand-written sign in the crowd of mine workers and residents.

The police intervention in the mourning town could add to public anger towards Erdogan. He survived mass demonstrations and a corruption probe into his government over the past year to remain Turkey’s dominant politician, but now risks alienating conservative, working-class voters that form his party’s base.

Footage emerged of him apparently slapping a man as residents jeered and jostled his entourage when he visited Soma this week. The man, Taner Kuruca, said Erdogan had indeed slapped him and told Kanal D TV he was then beaten by the prime minister’s bodyguards.

AK Party spokesman Huseyin Celik said there was no visual evidence of Erdogan striking anyone, while his adviser Yalcin Akdogan, writing in the Star newspaper, accused “gang members” of provoking the prime minister’s team as he went to meet mourning families.

Police have clashed with protesters in Turkey’s three biggest cities Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir in recent days. Anger was intensified by a photograph of an Erdogan aide kicking a protester held down by police special forces.

“PUTTING MAKE-UP ON THE MINE”

Officials from the mine held a tense news conference, giving their most detailed account so far of what had happened. An unexplained build-up of heat was thought to have led part of the mine to collapse, fanning a blaze which spread rapidly more than two kilometres below the surface, the mine’s general manager Ramazan Dogru told a news conference.

“It was an unbelievable accident in a place where there have been very few accidents in 30 years,” Soma Holding Chairman Alp Gurkan said. “A mine with top level miners, accepted as being the most trustworthy and organised.”

Opponents of Erdogan blame the government for privatising leases at previously state-controlled mines, turning them over to politically-connected businessmen who skimped on safety to maximise profit.

Questioned on the relationship between Soma Holding executives and Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, Dogru confirmed his wife was a local AK Party politician. Gurkan said he had never met the prime minister before this week.

The AK Party said the formerly state-run mine at Soma, 480 km southwest of Istanbul, had been inspected 11 times over the past five years. It denied any suggestion of loopholes in mining safety regulations.

But some mine workers questioned the inspection procedure.

“The inspections were carried out with a week’s notice from Ankara and we were instructed to get ready,” said one miner in Soma who gave his name as Ramazan, reluctant to identify himself further for fear of retribution by his employer.

“It was like putting make-up on the mine.”

Thousands gathered after noon prayers on Thursday for mass funerals at Soma’s main cemetery, where more than a hundred tightly packed graves have been newly dug. Efforts continued to retrieve those still trapped.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said a team of inspectors and prosecutors had entered parts of the mine which were safely accessible to begin an investigation.

“GLOWING COAL FALLING”

Plant manager Akin Celik said there was no question of negligence on the part of the company. Gurkan was more cautious, saying he would wait for an inquiry led by the Labour Ministry.

“If there is neglect within the operations, a mistake, a shortcoming, I’ll follow up legally to ensure those responsible are punished,” he said, adding a foundation would probably be established to pay compensation to the families of the dead.

Initial reports blamed a fault at an electrical sub-station, but Dogru said the fire had started when a coal seam grew hot.

“The heated-up area collapsed with pieces of glowing coal falling, causing the fire to quickly spread. It has nothing to do with the sub-station,” he said.

Celik, the plant manager, said intense smoke had then blocked the miners’ way out, with visibility dropping to zero. He pointed to an escape route on a diagram which he said the trapped miners had been unable to reach.

He estimated that efforts to pump clean air into the mine had helped to save around 100 workers. The company said 122 miners had been hospitalised and a further 363 had either escaped on their own or were helped to safety.

By Fedja Grulovic

Boats sailed through the streets of a Serbian town on Friday on a mission to rescue people trapped by rising waters as the worst floods ever recorded swept Serbia and Bosnia.

Some residents of Obrenovac, 30 km southwest of the capital Belgrade, were stranded on the roofs of their homes, calling for help. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said all 25,000 citizens would have to be evacuated.

At least five people have died in the unfolding disaster this week. Thousands have been evacuated from homes in central and western areas of Serbia and in neighbouring Bosnia.

Around 135,000 households were without power across Serbia and the government approved emergency electricity imports. Another 65,000 were without electricity in Bosnia.

“This is a catastrophe. Nature has never been so cruel to us,” Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Anticsaid.

The heaviest rains since records began almost 120 years ago have hit Serbia and Bosnia this week. Three people, including a rescue worker, drowned in Serbia. At least two villagers died in landslides near the northern Bosnian town of Bijeljina.

The deluge has made many hillsides unstable in the mountainous region. Several people were injured when houses were destroyed by a landslide on the edge of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo.

Bosnia’s Centre for the Removal of Landmines warned that mines laid during the country’s 1992-95 war could be moved by floods and landslides.

FLEEING ON FOOT

In Bosnia, an army helicopter evacuated a pregnant woman in labour from her flooded house in the town of Doboj and took her to hospital in the central town of Zenica. Low clouds and fog were making rescue efforts difficult.

In the village of Topcic Polje, near Zenica, a landslide devoured dozens of houses and water flooded the main road.

Villagers fled on foot along railway tracks with bags and babies in their arms.

“The people are walking to Zenica, all the roads are jammed, we are stuck here and there is no help from anyone,” villager Asim Skopljak told Reuters by telephone from Topcic Polje. “There is no electricity and no drinking water.”

Surges of high water were expected to reach the major rivers Sava and Danube later in the day and over the weekend, threatening thousands more people and roads, meteorologists in Serbia said.

Bosnia’s central government appealed on Friday for international help. Russian emergency teams with rescue boats arrived in Serbia on Friday and were heading for Obrenovac to help with the operation there.

Israel, Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria and Luxembourg have pledged to send aid including expert teams, water pumps, helicopters and rescue boats.

The United States said it would send 13 motor boats needed for evacuations in Bosnia.

Poland also saw less severe flooding after the torrential rains across eastern Europe.

The road to the Slovak border crossing in the southern village of Leluchow was closed and dozens of houses on the bank of the river Poprad were inundated.

Some local trains were out of service, Poland’s state railways PKP said. News agency PAP reported that 21,000 people in the south had no electricity.

By Balazs Koranyi

Displaying 80 people in a human zoo in Oslo’s most elegant park, two artists hope their “Congo Village” display will help erase what they say is Norwegians’ collective amnesia about racism.

Re-enacting a similar display from 1914, Lars Cuznor and Mohamed Ali Fadlabi say Norway, one of the richest nations in the world, with a reputation for tolerance, has only suppressed its intolerance, especially around the time of Saturday’s national day.

The Congo Village - which 100 years ago displayed African tribes, attracting 1.4 million visitors over four months – will this time exhibit volunteers taking turns living on show in makeshift huts, resembling a traditional sub-Saharan village.

“Norwegians have been propagating this self-image of a post-racial society and it’s been internalised that it’s a good, tolerant society,” Swedish-Canadian Cuznor told Reuters. “It’s great branding and it’s self perpetuating but it’s a false image.”

The government-funded display opened just days before Norway celebrates the 200th anniversary of its constitution on Saturday, a day marked by parades all over the country with most people dressed in traditional costumes and waving flags.

“May 17 is the day you feel most foreign and it’s also when racism comes to the surface with debates about whether people have the right to wear their own costumes or display non Norwegian flags,” Sudan-born Fadlabi said.

“Norwegians felt superior in 1914 and they still do through their self image of goodness.”

Public Art Norway, the government agency that put up part of the funding, said the display highlighted questions concerning racism and cultural dominance.

“The rebuilding can be regarded as a monument to the collective loss of memory of a shameful part of our history and a platform for discussion of this historical event, contrasting with Norway today,” it said.

The display, costing 1.4 million crowns ($240,000), has touched off a fierce online debate about whether Norwayreally is as racist as the artists suggest.

Cuznor says even their exhibition permits hint at the country’s intolerance because they cannot stay overnight, so they do not attract the homeless or Roma people, he said.

With per capita GDP around $100,000, Norway is among the most affluent nations and spends about $5 billion of its oil income on foreign aid.

It was also among the first to allow gay people to marry and most polls show that three-quarters of the population support immigration and think newcomers are a positive for Norway.

Its image for tolerance was tested in 2011 when an anti-immigration gunman killed 77 people, mostly teenagers in a summer camp, in a tirade against Muslim immigrants.

A Laos air force plane with 14 people on board, including the defence minister, has crashed in the north of the Southeast Asian country, a Laos defence ministry source said on Saturday.

The official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media, was unable to confirm reports in neighbouring Thailand that the minister had died but that up to three passengers had survived.

“A Laos air force plane has crashed on its way to Xiang Khouang province in the north of the country. The mayor of Vientiane, the defence minister of Laos and his wife were on board,” the official told Reuters by telephone.

Vientiane is the capital of Laos.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said it had been informed by Laos’ government that the plane was an AN74-300 craft and that it had crashed at 6:15 a.m (2315 GMT on Friday).

Manchester City and Paris St Germain, two of the newly rich clubs in European soccer, have been fined up to 60 million euros ($82.23 million) and had their squads capped for next season’s Champions League after breaching UEFA’s financial rules.

As part of their settlement with UEFA, Premier League champions City, owned by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, and Qatari-owned French champions PSG have also agreed to curbs on transfer spending over the next two seasons.

City said their transfer spending would be capped at a net figure of 60 million euros this summer but added that the restrictions would not greatly impact their plans.

The deals broadly matched recent media reports of the likely sanctions under new rules that prevent clubs from running up unlimited financial losses.

City made clear that they had reluctantly agreed a deal with UEFA, believing they had complied with the rules.

However, had they fought on they would have risked a ban from next season’s Champions League.

“In normal circumstances, the club would wish to pursue its case and present its position through every avenue of recourse,” City said in a statement.

“However, our decision to do so must be balanced against the practical realities for our fans, for our partners and in the interests of the commercial operations of the club,” it added.

This will effectively be the end of the process unless rival clubs decide to challenge the punishments as too lenient.

Critics of the “Financial Fair Play” rules say they will entrench the established order in European soccer and prevent teams with wealthy owners from challenging the elite.

They also said that the threat to ban teams from Europe was a hollow one as UEFA would not want to weaken its lucrative Champions League competition.

MONEY BACK?

PSG and City will each get 40 million euros of the fine back should they stick to the terms of their settlement with UEFA in coming seasons.

They will only be able to name 21 players in their Champions League squads for next season, while rivals will be able to pick from a pool of 25. They are also not allowed to increase their wage bills next season.

City, who have spent hundreds of millions of pounds since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008, said they expected to move into profit from next season after heavy losses to build a team to compete with the best in Europe.

City said they believed they would comply with all UEFA’s conditions and be free of any restrictions for the start of the 2015-16 season.

They posted combined losses of almost 149 million pounds ($250.76 million) for the past two seasons – £97m in 2012 and £51.6m in 2013.

PSG said it accepted the sanctions although they would be a “tremendous handicap” in competing with top European teams.

In doing its sums, UEFA angrered PSG by assigning a lower value to a controversial sponsorship deal the club has with the Qatar Tourism Authority that was reported to be worth 200 million euros per season.

“Our ambition to build one of the best and most competitive European football clubs will not be undermined by these measures,” said PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

UEFA has handed lesser punishments to seven other clubs including Galatasaray of Turkey and Russia’s Zenit St Petersburg. Two other Turkish teams — Bursaspor and Trabzonspor — along with Russian teams Rubin Kazan and Anzhi Makhachkala and Levski Sofia of Bulgaria were also sanctioned.

The headline numbers limit club losses to 45 million euros between 2011 and 2013 but there are various exemptions for spending on youth development, stadium infrastructure and older contracts, leading to haggling over their interpretation.

A fire broke out on Saturday in part of a mine where nearly 300 miners were killed in Turkey’s worst ever industrial disaster, hindering efforts to find up to three remaining workers believed to be still underground, the country’s energy minister said.

Taner Yildiz told reporters the bodies of 15 miners were retrieved overnight, bringing the death to 299, and as many as three workers were still in the mine. They were unlikey to be alive, four days after an initial fire sent deadly carbon monoxide coursing through the mine.

“It is a localised fire, but it is important and we have to take note of it,” Yildiz said. “Naturally until it is brought under control we can’t do anything about up to three workers (believed still there).”

As the fire started, rescue teams were seen leaving the mine in the western town of Soma while fire-fighting teams went in.

Anger has swept Turkey as the extent of the disaster became clear, with protests aimed at mine owners accused of ignoring safety for profit, and at Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government, seen as too close to industry tycoons and insensitive in its reaction to the tragedy.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse several thousand protesters on Friday in Soma on Friday.

By Michele Kambas

International lenders anticipate a shallower recession in Cyprus this year as private consumption continued to drive the economy, authorities said on Saturday, holding out the possibility of an earlier than envisaged return to international markets.

Lenders concluded their fourth mission to the island and said an economic adjustment programme was on track, Finance Minister Haris Georgiades told reporters.

“It was noted that progress was achieved in all sectors of the economy,” Georgiades said.

Lenders, known as the troika, had lowered their expectations on the depth of recession to 4.2 percent, from a February projection of 4.8 percent, Georgiades and European Union officials said.

But future recovery was likely to be more subdued, given the high levels of unemployment, a liquidity crunch from high non- performing loans in the banking sector and indebtedness which could dampen consumption, the troika said in a joint statement.

Cyprus’ economy contracted by 5.4 percent in 2013, more than 2 percentage points better than initial expectations. A return to growth of about 0.4 percent was anticipated in 2015, the IMF and the EU said.

“Consumption is holding up better than we expected,” a senior European Commission source said, adding it was also due to the carry-over effect from 2013.

The source said the possibility of Cyprus returning to international markets earlier than its end-2015 game plan could not be discounted, given its performance so far.

The positive review means that Cyprus will receive a new tranche of aid of about 686 million euros, mostly provided by the European Union, by the end of June. The amount will be used to finance the deficit and refinance maturing debt.

The new memorandum of understanding, a game plan of economic adjustment modified with every troika assessment, will call for reforms to Cyprus’ public healthcare system.

“We think it is urgent,” the commission source said.

Under the present timeframe, Cyprus anticipates a full return to financial markets by the end of 2015, even though Nicosia tested the waters for Cypriot debt with a private placement of bonds in April.

Georgiades avoided giving a direct answer when asked if the end-2015 timeframe could be moved earlier, saying it would be discussed with parliament.

Lenders say Cyprus is fully-funded and do not anticipate the island requiring more financial assistance than that in the bailout, the Commission source said.

“I wouldn’t rule out that there will be a possibility of Cyprus returning to markets earlier. From a financing envelope perspective, its not strictly needed because it is fully funded,” the source said.

Cyprus has consistently outperformed lenders’ expectations after the bailout yanked the island from the brink of bankruptcy. It involved closing a major loss-making bank and imposing losses on large depositors in a second to recapitalise it.

The troika has also asked that banks directly affected by the bailout assess any connected lending practices by past or present board members or managers which may have caused “disproportionate losses”.

The Bank of Cyprus had converted deposits to equity while the CoOperative Bank took 1.5 billion in taxpayers’ money to recapitalise.

“We feel strongly that every reasonable attempt must be made to recoup that money,” the Commission source said. (Reuters)

Larnaca police received a tip on Friday night that unidentified material that could be explosive was found at the city’s port area.

CID members arrived at the area, where they spotted a pink nylon bag containing roughly 400 grams of a plastic substance, possibly C4 explosive.

Police bomb technicians were called to the scene and collected the bag for further examination.

The suspicious behaviour of a passenger on a flight arriving from Bucharest, Romania, raised red flags among Customs and Drug Enforcement officials at Larnaca airport, in the early hours of Saturday.

During the subsequent search, one of the 30-year-old Romanian’s bags was found containing five nylon bags with dry cannabis, weighing a total of 6.5 kilos.

The 30-year-old man was arrested and was expected to be brought before the Larnaca District Court later on Saturday for remand.

Police ran a raid campaign in Nicosia and Paralimni betting shops on Friday night, confiscating several computers and other gambling gear.

According to a police report, members of the Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) raided a betting shop in Nicosia on Friday night, and spotted seven computers and four electrical switches, which were collected as evidence. The search also identified three individuals who had various unpaid fines and were transferred to the Pera Chorio police station for settlement.

At the same time, CPU members raided another betting shop in Paralimni, and collected six computers as evidence. During the search, one individual with unpaid fines was found and transferred to the Paralimni police station for settlement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu on Saturday in order to discuss developments in the Cyprus problem negotiations since last December.

Addressing the press before the meeting, Davutoglu said he was deeply involved in the negotiations.

According to Davutoglu, the meeting’s agenda would include the recent increased international interest on the Cyprus problem. During his last visit, he said, he and Eroglu had performed a “comprehensive evaluation.”

On his part, Eroglu expressed his satisfaction at seeing the Turkish Foreign Minister in Cyprus again and noted that for years they had been on the same page on the Cyprus problem.

“In December you were here and our consultations continued,” Eroglu said. “We are trying to achieve a positive result in the negotiations, and if the other side is similarly inclined we continue to believe that results are forthcoming. As always, we need your support.”

“Our cooperation is continuous, and it is important to reaffirm that we are not alone,” he added. “We thank you and your government.”

Eroglu also welcomed Foreign Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, who also attended the meeting, along with Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Ozersay.

Davutoglu was scheduled to depart for Turkey later on Saturday.

By Angelos Anastasiou

WITH the slogan ‘Equal Love – Equal Rights’, the first Pride Festival in Cyprus history, organised by civil rights group Accept-LGBT, kicked off on Saturday.

Accept-LGBT Cyprus announced that the aim of the festival was the promotion of equal rights for everyone, and the increase in visibility of LGBTs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders) as members of the social group.

The festival was described as a “celebration of diversity,” as well as a “reaction to hatred and oppression, shame and stigmatisation.

A series of events have been planned as part of the festival as of yesterday – the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) –  until May 31^st with the Pride Parade, which will start at the Eleftheria Square in Nicosia and finish at the Nicosia Municipal Park.

A statement from the government welcomed IDAHO saying: “Every modern society owes its citizens equal treatment, respect and social acceptance. The initiatives taken in this direction contribute to social change, reducing phenomena, such as homophobia, and accepting all forms of diversity in Cypriot society.”

Yesterday’s schedule of events included the Rainbow March,  held in the north of Nicosia, along with a gathering later at Selimiye square.

To signal its endorsement of the cause, the US embassy in Nicosia flew the ‘Rainbow’ flag – a global symbol of diversity and inclusiveness. It will also be flown on May 31.

The festival is being held under the auspices of Nicosia Mayor Konstantinos Yiorkadjis and is supported by, inter alia, the European Parliament’s Cyprus office, the European Commission’s representation in Cyprus, the Ombudswoman and the Cyprus Youth Organisation.

Even before its kick-off, the two-week celebration stirred up major controversy when the Cyprus church’s Holy Synod came out with a statement lambasting the effort to legitimise homosexuality, which it deemed an affliction that “should be properly treated.”

“The Church is opposed to all attempts for homosexuality to be socially accepted and protected by law,” the statement said.

Following public outcry, Tamasos Bishop Isaias sought to provide clarification in hopes of appeasing those who charged the Holy Synod with backwardness and condescension.

He claimed the Church had been asked to take a stand by many members of the flock, and said the announcement was “was done with love, concern, and understanding towards all humans.”

Yet Isaias repeated the Synod’s initial claim that the Church’s positions agree with serious scientific studies in relation with homosexuality and that is why the Church and bioethics consider it “a disease and human passion that must undergo medical and spiritual treatment and help.”

But so far, neither the Holy Synod nor Bishop Isaias have provided details of the ‘scientific’ studies that support their claims, thus raising questions regarding their credibility – or even existence.

By Staff Reporter

THE Cyprus football association KOP will decide who takes the championship title after referee Demetris Mashias suspended Saturday’s crucial game just six minutes into the second half when firecrackers, thrown by AEL fans, hurt an APOEL player and a doctor.

The suspension could dash all hopes for the Limassol side to win the title for the second time in three years, as it was just three points clear of the Nicosia side and needed a win to lift the crown. On the other hand, if APOEL wins the ruling, it could win the title and head confident into Wednesday’s Cup final at GSP in Nicosia against Ermis Aradhippou.

Brazilian defender Kaka and doctor Costas Schizas were hurt by a firecracker thrown from the AEL fans’ stands in Limassol’s Tsireion stadium in the 51st minute of the game, when the score was still at a nail-biting 0-0. They were put on stretchers and rushed to hospital. Three minutes earlier, fans from the APOEL stand had thrown other objects onto the field.

The record 500 police, brought in to prevent clashes among fans of the two clubs known for their violence, were moved in and after an hour’s deliberation, the referee and his assistants decided the game would be suspended.

The police said that fans were leaving rather peacefully, while it also announced that the main roads around the APOEL club in the capital would be closed to traffic, for fear of violent outbursts or celebrations by the rowdy fans.

Three points separated the two sides going into yesterday’s title decider with the Limassol club knowing that either a win or a draw would be enough to earn their second championship in three years.

APOEL went into the game knowing that only a win would be enough to give them their first back-to-back league titles since the 1948/49 campaign when they sealed three consecutive league wins.

The first half saw the home side defend efficiently, and their aim to contain an APOEL team which had no other option than to go for all three points worked well.

In a typically heated atmosphere for a game of such importance, the match saw tempers flare leading to more petty squabbles rather than clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities for either side.

Ultimately, the match was marred by an incident in which fans through objects onto the field, some of which hit players and staff, leading to the game being suspended with the score at 0-0.

APOEL entered the field with the best defence, having conceded just 25 goals in 36 matches, and the most fearsome attack, scoring 77 goals, but it remains to be seen as to whether they can retain their records.

While the title remains undecided, both APOEL and AEL will be in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League as the 2014/15 season will be the first to include two Cypriot clubs in the preliminary rounds of Europe’s elite competition.

KOP will have to decide whether the game will be awarded to either of the two teams or if the game will be continue from suspension time. Alternatively, there is also the possibility of the game being replayed from the start. (Additional reporting by Andreas Vou)

By Christos Stylianides

A COLUMNIST, in an article about the discovery of significant quantities of natural gas in the Levantine basin, made the following astute comment: “God must have a very sick sense of humour to endow this part of the world with such a treasure.” In truth, there is no other case in which relations of countries surrounding an area rich in hydrocarbon deposits, are so mixed up as in that of the eastern Mediterranean.

A quick look at the map of the region is enough to establish that the deposits of the eastern Mediterranean are, to a certain degree, diplomatically trapped. Turkey occupies one third of Cyprus, is in a war situation with Syria and has shot its relations with Israel, although she is gradually improving them. Syria is at odds with Lebanon and in a state of war with Israel. Lebanon is in dispute with Israel which is in dispute with all its neighbours apart from Jordan. Egypt, meanwhile, after the Arab Spring has entered a period of instability.

If we look at the same map with the Cyprus problem solved, the picture changes completely. Cyprus would have normal relations with Turkey to add to its traditionally very good relations with all Arab countries of the region; meanwhile its ties with Israel are closer than ever before. With the Cyprus problem solved, Cyprus would become a common component of stability for a group of states that among them have the most problematic relations, in the most unstable region of the world.

The energy deposits of the Levantine basin are estimated in the region of 120 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. These quantities are too small to alter the world energy balance but are huge in relation to the region’s energy balance. Turkey and Greece, like other countries, are eager to free themselves of their dependence on the Russian market, especially after the crisis in Ukraine. Cyprus currently has options which it is evaluating. But with its national problem solved, it would not only have a role and a say regarding its own deposits. It would also seek a share – political, economic and geo-political – from the deposits of the whole region.

It is the responsibility of the leadership of the states in the region to utilise energy as a factor of stability and not as a source of instability. Turkey needs to make a big leap and facilitate the Cyprus solution, so there can be an energy union in the region. Only under such conditions, which would benefit everyone, would the geopolitically delicate eastern Mediterranean escape from the vicious circle of clashes and rivalries.

Cyprus is the only EU member that is at the heart of the eastern Mediterranean, but because of its national problem it cannot fully take advantage of the role provided by its position and history. Energy could solve all the problems, political and economic, and change the fate of the entire region. These big aims necessitate big and brave decisions which would be compatible with the geo-political balances of the region and in harmony with EU policies.

The Anastasiades government has re-defined the orientation of the country and as the US Secretary of State, John Kerry recently noted, Cyprus constitutes a strategic partner of the US in the eastern Mediterranean. The visit this week to Cyprus by US Vice President Joe Biden is also linked to this new approach. In 1962 the fledgling Cyprus Republic was visited by then Vice President Lyndon B Johnson, reciprocating the official visit of President Makarios to the US at the invitation of President Kennedy.

The US – irrespective of the prevailing view in Cyprus – always wanted a stable, Western Cyprus. Twice, in 1964 and 1967, in the Johnson presidency, the US intervened to stop a Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Unfortunately, as a state, we did not see the value of the US as a strategic partner, lost our bearings and sought protectors and saviours in the Third World, wrecking our trustworthiness and finding ourselves on our own in 1974 to face the Turkish invasion.

Today we have a golden opportunity to build strong foundations in our relations with the West.  To achieve this, to play a role in the region, to maximise the advantages from our energy wealth, to, at last, solve our national problem, we should remain faithful to this course. Nobody has stopped us from having relations with any country in the world, but our political orientation should unwaveringly remain with the West.

Christos Stylianides is a former deputy and government spokesman. He is a DISY candidate in the elections for the European Parliament

By Loucas Charalambous

UPSET and sleepless over the news that US Vice President Joe Biden would be visiting Cyprus, our politicians rushed to show off their intelligence as soon as the visit was announced. And, as always, they validated the adage that stupidity can neither hide nor wait.

For years now, they have been ranting about the need to pressure Turkey to be more flexible so that a solution to the Cyprus problem could be found. For years now they have been shouting that the only country that could effectively apply this pressure was the United States. And this was because the US was the leader of the West and NATO; Turkey needed its support; it was the only country to which Ankara could not easily say ‘no’;  it had the power to make Turkey behave differently and so on.

Recently America decided to answer these calls of our political wizards, and became more ‘dynamically’ involved in the Cyprus problem, just as we had been demanding for the last four decades.  Logically, one would have thought that this development would have made our politicians dance with joy but instead – with the exception of DISY – they went wild.

Wildest of all was Tassos Papadopoulos’ flesh and blood, Nicholas. “The government is celebrating because the American Vice President will visit the occupied area. We ought to ask: Who stands to gain the most from Mr Biden’s visit, us or the pseudo-state that will be upgraded?” he commented.

This is our big concern – the “upgrading of the pseudo-state” – and not how the hell we are going to solve our problem. Forty years after the invasion and Papadopoulos has not yet realised that the pseudo-state is not conclusively a pseudo-state. The half of Cyprus north of the dividing line has become a small, second Turkey. But Nicholas is terrified at the prospect of the “upgrading of the pseudo-state” in the event that Biden meets Dervis Eroglu. Please, give us a break.

Our other political infants are also worried about the visit. AKEL chief Andros Kyprianou expressed surprise because Biden’s visit was taking place a few days before the Euro-elections and was waiting to see “how he would operate on his arrival to Cyprus”. I can assure Kyprianou, Biden will not be attending any DISY election gatherings.

House president and EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou was in a quandary because he wants the involvement of the Americans but not “in a monopolistic way”. He does not approve of “exclusive handling” by the US and wants all permanent members of the UN Security Council involved.

According to 2014 data, the five permanent members have a total population of 1.935 billion. The assumption is that these almost two billion people have nothing better to do other than to try collectively to solve the problem of 700,000 crazy Cypriots. I suspect that not even one million of all these people are even aware of Cyprus’ existence.

Finally, the perennially distrustful Giorgos Lillikas had to suspect the existence of traps and conspiracies behind Biden’s visit. He wondered therefore, “whether secret agreements have been made behind-the-scenes and everything happening is part of a well-orchestrated game to persuade society to accept a new Annan plan.”

The astute Lillikas has not figured out yet that the Annan plan has ceased to exist and will not be coming back to life. Thanks to the resounding ‘no’ he and many others uttered in 2004, we have lost for good many of the things that were offered back then, even though Lillikas, 10 years on, is looking for a better settlement.

I will repeat it, even though I know I am becoming tiresome: with politicians like these governing us, we should be thanking the Lord that we still control half of Cyprus.

I just wonder how, with the many real problems faced by the rest of the seven billion people on this earth, the vice president of the US can find nothing more serious to give his attention to than 700,000 crazy Cypriots.

By Angelos Anastasiou

CYPRUS’ first key challenge is to effectively reduce non-performing loans, the island’s lenders said yesterday at the end of the fourth Troika review.

“This is essential to allow for a resumption of credit to the private sector to support growth and job creation,”  the Commission said in a statement. “Reforming the legal framework for foreclosure and insolvency is paramount in order to provide balanced incentives to borrowers and lenders to negotiate and reach agreement on restructuring of non-performing loans, while avoiding undue hardship.”

At the same time, it said, the supervisory authorities need to intensify their monitoring of banks’ effective action to collect and restructure debt in compliance with the existing Code of Conduct and arrears management framework.

The Commission said a second challenge was to maintain public finances on a sustainable path, and the third was to strengthen institutions. “Firm implementation of the government’s privatisation plan remains essential to increase economic efficiency, attract investment, and reduce public debt,” said the Commission.

Having said that, the Commission said, Cyprus’ programme remains on track. Fiscal targets for the first quarter of 2014 were met with a considerable margin, reflecting better-than-projected revenue performance and prudent budget execution, it said.

Addressing the press  yesterday, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades expressed the view that the review confirmed the progress made in all aspects of the programme, the correction of public finances, the promoting of significant reforms and banking overhaul.

“In this manner Cyprus regains its international credibility and confidence from markets and investors, at the same time creating the conditions for sustainable growth,” he said.

On the hotly contested issue of protecting primary residences, Georgiades explained that the Troika concurred on the need to treat these instances differently to general foreclosures. That is, while the government will press ahead with property foreclosure legislation, an extension was agreed with regard to cases involving primary residences.

“The Cyprus government asked for an extension of the timeframe in which the strengthening of the legislative framework that would allow banks to foreclose primary residences specifically coincides with the introduction of the insolvency framework, which is designed to protect and encourage loan restructurings and avoid extreme consequences for borrowers with temporary liquidity issues,” Georgiades said.

Georgiades also announced that the release of the fifth tranche of the €10-billion bailout loan by the Troika – around €680 million – will be carried out near the end of June, following a Eurogroup session on June 19.

He also announced that in the immediate future, on instructions from President Nicos Anastasiades, he will be in contact with all political parties relating to Cyprus’ gradual return to the bond markets.

As was the case in 2013, the Troika’s forecast of Cyprus’ economic contraction for 2014 has been revised to 4.2 per cent from 4.8 per cent, and Georgiades reaffirmed the “joint expectation that 2015 will see Cyprus resume economic growth.”

Meanwhile, senior European Commission sources confirmed that the Troika has asked the Central Bank of Cyprus to arrange for the Bank of Cyprus and the Co-operative Central Bank boards to procure evidence of financial activity relating to current or former key stakeholders – board members, top managers, shareholders – in order to identify any misgivings and rectify instances of explicitly bad governance.

“There is an issue of principle here,” the source said. “I cannot venture a guess on the outcome, but the co-ops have been recapitalised with €1.5 billion of taxpayers’ money, so an effort to recoup some of that money will be made.”

“We asked the governments of the BoC and the co-ops to submit a special examination report on lending and debt-restructuring practices with respect to loans related to former or current managers, directors, members of committees, shareholders. We just want to see to what extent there are lending decisions of boards concerning themselves – we’re going to have a close look at that.”

This point raised the question of timing, as the decision for the Troika to investigate banking practices and possible abuse of power came over a year after banks were diagnosed as in dire need of recapitalisation, during which accusations of alleged wrongdoing by bankers abounded. The suspicion that someone was unhappy with the pace – and efficiency – of investigations into the banking meltdown by local authorities, and decided that the Troika should step in as a truly independent body, seemed legitimate.

“If one looks at the things we have asked the banks to do during this time, it has been extremely challenging,” senior European Commission sources said. “One can always debate what should have been done first, but our main concern has been to stabilise the banking system, there was a lot of work in restructuring the banks, it took a lot of energy and time. Now, having passed the extremely turbulent time, we have some scope for doing other things.”

By Patroclos

JUST WHEN we thought things could not get any better for Prez Nik they have. Two weeks after his triumphant, official visit to Germany during which Chancellor Merkel treated him like a new best friend, he will be playing host to one of the most important people in the world, the Vice President of the US of A Joe Biden.

Somebody up there must like Nik a lot, because after the mega-disasters he suffered in the first couple of months of his presidency everything has been going exceptionally well for him. And now the leader of tiny and inconsequential Kyproulla will have no lesser person than Biden as his official guest, to show his foes that he has hit the big time.

It is not often that an American VP visits the island of love and sunshine. The last time was more than 50 years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson visiting in 1962, and allowing the deluded Makarios to think that he was some big-shot statesman who could play big league diplomacy, with catastrophic consequences for the country.

Hopefully these high-profile encounters will not go to Prez Nik’s head and he will keep both feet on the ground. He will also be aware of the tragic irony of Biden’s visit. He is arriving because the Yanks are hell-bent on Cyprob settlement that would bring his presidency to a premature end, if agreed, and unceremoniously terminate his socialising with the world’s top dogs.

The fact that Biden hopes to announce some plan for the eventual re-opening of the fenced area of Famagusta – a condition Nik had set for moving on to a settlement – would suggest the Yanks do not only mean business, but they are also in a bit of hurry.

THERE is a small hope that things will not go according to plan because Dervis Eroglu appears unwilling to play ball with the Yanks over the visit. The dour Dervis has reportedly been in a stroppy mood and has been threatening to throw a spanner in the works.

US ambassador John Koenig met Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Ozersay more than half a dozen times last week in an effort to finalise the arrangements of the Biden visit to the north and, more importantly, the text of the statement about Famagusta that the VP hopes to make while he is here. Eroglu, apparently, wants stuff in the text that Nik’s government would never agree to.

The hastily arranged illegal visit (as the CyBC describes it) by Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu to the north yesterday, was supposedly aimed at bringing the jumped-up Eroglu into line. The errant Eroglu, I suspect, will have his ear pulled, his bottom spanked and do as Davutoglu tells him to do.

The Yanks must have received certain assurances from the Turks about Biden’s visit and it is unlikely Davutoglu would allow the Harpo Marx lookalike to make a fool of him. Davutoglu was scheduled to give an illegal news conference later yesterday that could prove my theory completely wrong.

OUR OWN bash-patriotic salesmen of negativity have been moaning about Biden’s visit because his meeting with Eroglu in the north would lead to an ‘upgrading’ of the pseudo-state. We have been hearing this nonsense about ‘upgrading’, for the last 15 years, every time some important foreigner visits the north.

We also hear it every time a Turkish Cypriot visits a foreign country and meets representatives of the government. If this ‘upgrading’ that Junior, Lillikas and Omirou are losing their sleep over, was actually taking place all these years, the pseudo-state would have been a fully-recognised member of the UN by now.

It does not cross their minds that if the Yanks wanted to recognise the north, they would have done it. Why would they do it sneakily, by sending their VP to visit Eroglu? Is it because they are afraid of Junior and Lillikas’ reaction or have we perhaps threatened to impose sanctions on the US, if it chose to recognise the north?

We should stop worrying about the upgrading of the north and start considering the upgrading of our political thinking which is a dire necessity.

JUNIOR has been leading the moaning against Biden’s visit, with childish arguments, that show he has not yet grown out of political puberty. “Who stands to gain from Biden’s visit, us or the pseudo-state that would be upgraded?” asked the smart Junior, adding that the “major and negative issue” was the VP’s visit to the occupied area and his so-called official meetings there.

Surely we can call these meetings ‘unofficial’ or, if we are feeling daring, ‘illegal’, thus preventing the upgrading of the pseudo-state. I think, Junior’s abject negativity cannot be attributed solely to his DNA. He must subconsciously feel jealous of Nik who, two weeks after being given the royal treatment by the German Chancellor, he would be entertaining the VP of the USA.

When Junior’s dad was president he was only a little more popular than Saddam Hussein on the international scene. There were no official visits or invitations and he was regularly given the cold shoulder treatment by fellow leaders at European Council meetings.

Now he sees the hated Nik next to world leaders, he feels no national pride for the drastic upgrading of Cyprus’ presidency, since his late father’s time.

CULT politician Yiorkos Lillikas, toned down his negativity about the visit by Friday, having realised that his original comments, earlier in the week, about an American conspiracy to impose an unfair solution were not shared by public opinion which he always to panders to.

Eventually he compromised and welcomed the visit, as long as US pressure would be directed at the Turkish side. He also expressed the wish that US involvement in the Cyprob would not lead to the marginalisation of Russia (on Monday he had mentioned France as well in this context) “because Russia is also a member of the Security Council and could also help in the solution of the Cyprus problem.”

Russia has never helped efforts for a solution and has always been very happy with its marginalisation, not to mention the danger that if it became involved it could propose a Crimea-type settlement for poor old Kyproulla.

THE INVOLVEMENT of all the permanent members of the UN Security Council in peace efforts has become the new cause of the bash-patriotic front, which does not want to leave the Yanks on their own because of the danger they would come up with a deal.

Since the announcement of the Biden visit, Omirou, Lillikas, Junior, Perdikis have been repeating this stupid demand, first thought of by the Ethnarch. But had they ever asked the governments of China, Russia, France or Britain if they want to have an active role in the Cyprob? If they had they would have been bitterly disappointed, because only the Turk-loving Brits would have agreed to help.

THE BIDEN visit has caused an unexpected problem for the government. Apparently, the US embassy arranged that Biden would give two interviews while here, one to a Turkish Cypriot and one to a Greek Cypriot newspaper. The papers chosen were Kibris and Politis.

When Phil’s head honchos heard that there would be no interview for their paper they were furious over the snub. They called the government spokesman demanding that he intervened to arrange an interview because Phil had the biggest circulation and could not be ignored by the VP.

We do not know if the spokesman persuaded the embassy. What we do know is that Phil’s content is more anti-American than Haravghi’s and should not have been begging for an interview with the VP of the evil, anti-Greek Cypriot, US.

THE CHAIRMAN of the Bank of Cyprus, Christis Hassapis does not seem to be the happy bunny he was when he first took on his prestigious role. The pressures of the job and his failure to realise his plan for taking total control of the bank have turned him into a sad bunny.

Perhaps we should start using the inspired nickname with which Prez Nik refers to him – ‘o komotis’, in English ‘the hairdresser’. The hairdresser has suffered a big setback in his attempt to get rid of the bank’s CEO John Hourican. He had ordered an auditing firm to recruit a person for the position of deputy CEO which the board created to restrict Hourican’s powers and eventually force him out.

The name of the banker chosen, was being talked about before the auditing firm had even started putting together a shortlist. He was interviewed by Hourican, as the board had requested but the CEO was not impressed with the chosen one.

In fact, there were fears that if the chosen one was hired Hourican would have walked out, which was why the Governor of the Central Bank, Chrystalla Georghadji stepped in. She called the hairdresser to a meeting and ordered him to immediately drop the plan to hire a deputy CEO. This was not only her wish, but also the government’s and the Troika’s, she told him.

The unhappy bunny hopped back to the bank and informed the board that the decision for hiring a deputy CEO had to be suspended and it was.

AS IF THIS humiliation were not bad enough, the hairdresser is now in fear of losing his chairmanship. Talk that the 18 per cent voting rights of Laiki Bank might be given to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development could lead to the replacement of the entire board of directors.

This is not the only threat to his chairmanship. HSBC which has been hired as a consultant by the BoC has reportedly found investors for a proposed €500 million share issue, which would help the bank get through the stress tests it is scheduled to undergo in a few months. However, the hairdresser has been arguing against the share issue, and has been claiming the Russian shareholders are opposed to it because it would lead to a dilution of their shareholding. The possibility that his position might be under threat from the new shareholders was not mentioned as an argument against the share issue.

THE HOLY Synod can always be trusted to come up with some classically nasty gay-bashing. Its statement to condemn the planned gay pride parade, scheduled for a week on Saturday, scaled new heights of bigotry and backwardness, labeling homosexuality, and affliction, a moral downfall and an unnatural way of life.

The Synod’s statement was released on the same day the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community held a news conference to announce a series of events to battle homophobia. The conference was attended by a host of ambassadors who had also said they would be taking part in the parade.

The Yanks, to underline their political correctness, yesterday flew the rainbow flag, under the stars and stripes outside their embassy building in Nicosia, which was so gay. But we are all waiting for the Archbishop to ask publicly how we could trust these shameless supporters of homosexuality to solve the Cyprob.

THE ISSUE of homosexuality gave an opportunity to Dr Madsakis to make a rare TV appearance. He appeared on a television show that was discussing the matter and insisted that it was scientifically proven that homosexuality was an illness, but he was put in his place by a representative of the LGBTs. “What do you know about illness, you deal with corpses,” he was told.

DURING the Tof presidency, Archbishop Chrys had come to an agreement with then finance minister Kikis Kazamias about the payment of priests’ wages. The state would carry on paying priests’ wages and in exchange the state would transfer land it owned to the state. Most of the land was in the occupied area but Kazamias still agreed.

Several years on the state is still waiting for the title deeds of the land in the occupied area to be transferred, but Chrys is refusing to keep his side of the bargain. Talk of a settlement has made him re-consider. He feels that if there was a solution, the compensation the Church would receive for its properties in the north would be very big and help it tackle the acute financial problems it is facing.

If only the LGBT community had a few millions to donate to the Church in its hour of need, the Holy Synod would be issuing statements celebrating the homosexual way of life.

By Stefanos Evripidou

THOSE WHO rushed to criticise the planned visit of US Vice President Joe Biden to Cyprus may find themselves on the wrong side of history as diplomatic observers argue that the high-level American outing potentially marks a monumental shift in bilateral and regional relations.

The smaller opposition parties were quick to warn Biden that crossing the buffer zone to meet Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu would enhance the standing of the breakaway regime in the north.

There was even talk that the Vice President of the United States, Mr Number Two in the most influential country in the world with the biggest economy and most powerful military, was coming to a pointy island in the eastern Mediterranean to help the ruling party elect a handful of MEPs to the European Parliament. Jean-Claude Juncker will be thrilled.

Election fever aside, even the most partisan observer can see that Biden’s arrival this Wednesday will bring a little more than just American glamour, and security guys with wrap-around shades.

According to one diplomat, Biden’s visit could prove to be a watershed moment in the island’s history… and future.

The last time an American VP, Lyndon Johnson, came to Cyprus was in 1962. Fifty-two years later, Cypriots prepare to welcome Biden, possibly followed by US Secretary of State John Kerry a few months later.

Why the sudden interest?

According to government sources, Biden is coming to Nicosia to speak with President Nicos Anastasiades about the Cyprus problem, energy matters, the Ukraine crisis and bilateral relations, as well as meet with Eroglu, religious leaders and members of civil society.

He may even experience the ebb and flow of bicommunal dinners in the buffer zone, though this has yet to be confirmed.

Despite allowing anticipation to develop in recent weeks that a high-level US visit would coincide with the announcement of significant confidence-building measures (CBMs), the government has since taken a step back from the planned ululations, in an effort to manage expectations.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides hinted from Washington- where he was visiting Kerry for the second time in a year- that “small steps” might be announced during Biden’s short stay.

But if there are no ‘big’ CBMs to shout home about, what’s the big deal?

The government source said the main issue on the Biden-Anastasiades agenda is energy. The Americans are very concerned about Russia’s involvement in Ukraine and European dependency on Russian gas. They want to see the diversification of energy supplies and ensure security of supply by encouraging Israel and Cyprus to establish alternative gas routes from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe.

This may well be, but the quantities of proven, attainable gas reserves are not that high at this stage, so again, what’s all the fuss?

Speaking to the Sunday Mail, one diplomat who has been following regional events closely, argued that US interest in Cyprus is genuine and shouldn’t be seen in a cynical light. Biden’s visit is the culmination of a long process of realignment of Cyprus’ relations with the world’s superpower on a whole range of levels.

“The US VP is a big man and he’s coming here with an entire entourage. It’s no small thing. Cyprus has successfully repositioned itself both in terms of foreign policy and hydrocarbons. But it can’t be reduced to one single thing. It’s about Israel, the gas, a Cyprus problem solution, human rights, the region.”

One can trace the beginnings of this realignment back a decade and across two tracks; political and regional.

In 2004, Anastasiades took a different approach to the UN blueprint for a solution. According to one analyst, he showed personal character and commitment. He was willing to buck the trend and invest in the longer future. This impressed the US and Turkey.

Fast forward nine years, Anastasiades is campaigning in the presidential elections on a pro-EU, pro-West, pro-NATO platform.

Compared to his predecessor Demetris Christofias, who would get on a plane to EU capitals and proudly declare “I’m a communist”, Anastasiades’ election provided a breath of fresh air for Western powers.

His foreign minister, Kasoulides wasted no time putting words into action, taking tangible steps to prove that this government’s pro-Europe, pro-West credentials were genuine, despite EU partners sticking the knife in with an unprecedented bail-in before the election victory champagne stains could be washed.

Kasoulides made it clear that Cyprus was humming a different tune in its approach to world affairs; as seen on Syria, and in efforts to tackle asymmetric threats.

The US State Department 2013 Terrorism Country Report on Cyprus was pretty glowing in its appraisal. The report noted that Cyprus’ successful prosecution of a Lebanese Hezbollah operative conducting surveillance activities on Israeli targets in Cyprus “played an instrumental role in EU designation of the military wing Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation”.

And it’s not just the US. Cyprus-UK relations have improved leaps and bounds under Anastasiades, though Britain can’t be overly thrilled with the former colony’s American love affair.

The British bases have always played a key role in transatlantic relations. Now, the attraction goes beyond the bases to a US-friendly Cypriot government.

French Ambassador Jean-Luc Florent was recently quoted saying Nicosia and Paris see eye to eye on most issues at hand. At the UN, there is a “very good relationship on many aspects, we are always on the same line, eg Middle East process, Syria, Ukraine, at least since Anastasiades’ election”, said Florent.

He announced French President Francois Holland would likely visit Cyprus before the end of the year, marking the first visit by a French President to Cyprus.

In parallel with a genuine shift in Cyprus’ foreign policy, and the personal credentials of Anastasiades regarding the Cyprus problem, was the important nexus of hydrocarbons in the region.

A few astute individuals at the foreign ministry have been working meticulously over the years to quietly entrench Cyprus’ sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by signing delineation agreements with Egypt, Lebanon and Israel.

And the way Cyprus eventually reaches agreement with its neighbours on joint exploitation of hydrocarbons on the median line, etc, could create a precedent, a model for regional cooperation.

“Energy cooperation is a driving ambition of a number of key powers,” said another diplomat, adding that regional hydrocarbons cooperation could help remove outstanding issues, the way coal and steel did for Europe. And by-the-by, would help counter Russian influence through the creation of alternative gas sources.

Turkey, of course, also has a role to play here, giving a Cyprus problem solution more of a win-win feel.

Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan knows he’s not the most popular among traditional allies and a serious move on Cyprus, for example, could help win back some of that European and American love he once enjoyed.

America’s active interest and engagement in the peace talks has also changed expectations. Without the energetic involvement of US ambassador John Koenig, it’s doubtful whether flagging negotiations on a joint declaration would have reached their conclusion.

So when Biden comes to Cyprus this week, he’ll look at the peace talks, he’ll look at the gas, and he’ll look at the economy, seeing how the US can help Cyprus get back on its feet.

“Most Americans would struggle finding Cyprus on the map. This is not about American public opinion, it’s about a shift in US policy for a number of reasons,” said the diplomat.

“Cyprus now has a friend. The US is interested in a progressive, stable Cyprus.”

One shouldn’t misinterpret greater US involvement as some kind of carte blanche in the peace process, he warned.

“There will be compromises. It won’t be easy.”

But what this policy realignment personified through Biden’s visit does do is create a new environment which provides the best chance for a compromise deal, he argued.

“You could say that the Cyprus problem just got harder to fail.”

As for what Biden might say? Well, from time to time he likes to quote a passage from his favourite poet, the late Seamus Heaney, an Irishman who reworked Sophocles’ Philoctetes in The Cure at Troy (1991).

“History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave,
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.”

One literary mind explained the verse adaptation as portraying “a hopelessly embattled victim as committed to complaining about his wounds as the perpetrators are to the justification of the system that injures him”.

Sounds familiar. The Cyprus problem is not at its final stages yet, but if it gets there, could Biden be that deus ex machina who flies in and resolves a seemingly unsolvable problem?