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Our View: Biden’s visit is a giant leap forward for Cyprus

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US Vice President Joe Biden

IT WAS NO surprise that the announcement of the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden sparked a considerable amount of negative comment. This was in keeping with the anti-US sentiment that has been cultivated by Cyprus’ politicians and media since the presidency of Archbishop Makarios, who misguidedly pursued close relations with the Soviet Union and countries of the so-called Non Aligned Movement while demonising the West.

Very little has changed since then, despite the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union may have collapsed, but the country’s opinion-formers now market Russia as Cyprus’ international protector and most reliable ally. While the economy depends on Russian business, on the diplomatic front, Moscow’s support had been greatly exaggerated as it has never gone beyond the offering of help with UN Security Council resolutions of no real consequence, and the sale of military equipment.

Compare this with how the US has helped Cyprus. The US stopped Turkey from invading Cyprus two times (1964 and 1967), was behind two settlement plans (1964 and 1978) that Greek Cypriots rejected and only stopped trying to help the two sides reach an agreement after the 2004 referendum. Even more importantly, the US was the main provider of aid after the invasion. From 1974 to 1981 it gave a total of €131 million in aid, making Cyprus the biggest ever, per head recipient of US humanitarian aid. However, this was never acknowledged by Greek Cypriots (the amounts of US aid received was never officially announced) who also ignored the fact that Soviet aid during this period was next to nothing.

Everyone in Cyprus was too busy blaming the Turkish invasion on the US, embracing Soviet-controlled AKEL’s propaganda that the invasion was a NATO-US conspiracy, a claim repeated in the ‘Cyprus file’- despite the lack of real evidence – prepared by the House of Representatives last year. The US could have done more diplomatically to try to stop the invasion, but to claim that it had orchestrated the whole thing is not supported by the facts. Interestingly, the Soviet Union did nothing to dissuade Turkey from invading, but nobody in Cyprus ever questioned its acquiescence.

Since the rejection of the Annan plan in 2004 the US gave up on the Cyprus problem – it did not help that we had two presidents in this period who were stridently anti-American – satisfied that the status quo ensured stability. But this changed with the discovery of hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean, rekindling Washington’s interest in a settlement that would allow the exploitation of this valuable energy resource in conditions of stability. This would serve the interests of all countries in the region and especially of its two closest allies, Turkey and Israel, which have been gradually mending their relations.

Greek Cypriot politicians have questioned America’s new-found interest in a settlement, accusing Washington of pursuing its strategic interests in the region. But what is wrong with that? Cyprus should be exploiting the fact that a settlement of the Cyprus problem would serve the regional, strategic interests of the US. In fact, the Anastasiades government has recognised that this is a big opportunity and seems to be making all the right moves. But even before the show of American interest it made its pro-Western, pro-NATO outlook very clear and has moved to strengthen relations with Israel.

The government is already reaping the benefits of this radical change of foreign policy. It was thanks to the US that the joint declaration, which looked like a lost cause, was finalised last February, while Biden is expected to announce a plan for the development of Famagusta, including the fenced area, during his visit. The conducting of a study about the opening of the fenced area may be a small step but it goes some way towards satisfying President Anastasiades’ long-standing demand. It is a slice of very good fortune that a settlement would serve the immediate strategic interests of the world’s most powerful country, a big opportunity that should be seized.

It is not often that a Secretary of State refers to Cyprus as a strategic partner of the US in the eastern Mediterranean, as John Kerry, who will also be visiting the island, had recently done. In this context, Biden’s visit this week, the first by a US Vice President since Lyndon B. Johnson’s visit in 1962, is a symbolic confirmation that Cyprus has been welcomed to the West. After 54 years of independence and misguided anti-US policies Cyprus has finally made the big leap and joined the grouping of nations to which it always belonged politically and culturally.

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All eyes on Biden visit

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Ahmet Davutoglu (left) in the north yesterday with Dervis Eroglu

By Jean Christou

TURKISH Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday hailed the coming week’s visit by US Vice President Joe Biden as a “positive and important step” but quashed any expectations of ‘big news’ on Varosha.

Davutoglu made a pit-stop in the north most likely to ensure Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu was on the same page ahead of the US Vice President’s visit. Observers believe Eroglu is not quite as enthused about it as the Cyprus government.  Earlier this week he hinted he thought Biden would favour the Greek Cypriot side.

Davutoglu, couching his words somewhat carefully yesterday, let it be known that he himself was deeply involved in the negotiations. He said he was visiting the north to discuss the developments in the Cyprus issue since December but specifically referred to “the recent increased international interest”, making clear the main reason for his short visit.

During a joint news conference with Eroglu a few hours before he departed, Eroglu said: “The visit to Cyprus by Vice President Biden is another example of international interest. For us it is very positive and important step that could create a hopeful momentum.” Davutoglu said Biden would liaise “equally with both sides” encouraging them to solve the Cyprus issue.

Biden is expected to discuss, among other things, the fenced-off area of Famagusta, known as Varosha, for which the US is reportedly willing to fund a masterplan study. The Greek Cypriot side wants it returned as a confidence-building measure (CBM).

But Davutoglu yesterday ruled this out under the current circumstances saying Varosha was always an issue to be decided as part of a comprehensive settlement. “Once you go along with individual solutions then at some stage you create a new status quo, which can prevent a comprehensive solution,” he said.

He added that CBMs must be equitable and balanced. If Varosha was to be discussed as a CBM, then something of equivalent or equal value would also have to be on the table. “Otherwise while increasing the confidence of one side you may reduce the confidence of the other,” he said.

Davutoglu said he had met his US counterpart John Kerry in London two days ago and that the Secretary of State had expressed US support for a Cyprus solution. Kerry is also due in Cyprus this year. He assured Davutoglu that US support would continue after Biden’s visit. “Peace in the Eastern Mediterranean passes through a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem,” said the Turkish Minister.

Eroglu, in his statements said he also welcomed the Biden visit as a means of pushing the negotiations along. He complained that he seemed unable to secure another meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades. Since the new round of talks began on February 11 this year, the leaders met for only a second time on March 31.

Commenting on the ire generated on the Greek Cypriot side over Biden’s possible visit to the north, Eroglu said he would see the US Vice President in the same room where he sees all visitors. “I told this to the US ambassador. There is no more appropriate place in the TRNC,” said Eroglu.

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Wenger hails Arsenal’s cup win as his most important success

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Arsenal' players toss their manager Arsene Wenger up in the air after the English FA Cup final between Arsenal FC and Hull City at Wembley stadium in London, Britain, 17 May 2014.

Arsenal’s dramatic Wembley win against Hull City was the most important victory of Arsene Wenger’s 18 years in charge, the five-times FA Cup winning manger said on Saturday.

Despite winning eight major trophies including three Premier League titles, during his long reign at the club, the Frenchman ranks their 3-2 FA Cup final win over Hull to end a nine-year trophy drought as their most important success.

An Aaron Ramsey goal in extra time capped an amazing comeback for Arsenal, who found themselves two goals down after eight minutes, and ensured the club’s name was etched on the trophy for the 11th time, equalling Manchester United’s all-time record.

“It was more important today than all the others,” said Wenger, who became the joint most successful manger in the history of the competition alongside former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson.

“Twice we did the double (1998 and 2002), we had already won (a trophy) so we were not under the pressure we were today.

“I’ve won it now five times, it’s not too bad. I’m in good company (with Ferguson).”

Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscienlny scored either side of the interval to take the game into extra time, where Ramsey struck the winner with 11 minutes left.

Wenger, whose last trophy was their FA Cup final win over Manchester United on penalties in 2005, hailed his side’s “special spirit” after falling behind.

“We made a demonstration of how to respond to being 2-0 down, and a demonstration of how not to start a cup final,” the Frenchman joked.

“I was shocked. We were a bit hesitant and you wonder if the shock would be too hard, but this team has a special spirit and a special togetherness to respond.”

Despite a strong start to the Premier League season and spending more time than any other club at the top of the table, Arsenal’s title challenge faded and the team finished fourth.

“To lose today would have been a major setback. To win is a good platform to come back stronger next year,” Wenger added.

“The Premier League is very tough. You look at the top four this year and you have no Manchester United, no Everton, no Tottenham Hotspur.

“All these clubs have invested a huge amount of money, and the club that won the league have invested an incredible amount of money so it’s difficult to beat them, but we’ll try.”

The Frenchman’s contract at the club expires in the close-season, but he has repeatedly assured both the club and their supporters that he would sign a new deal after the final, regardless of the result.

Wenger, the longest serving manager in the Premier League, was asked again if he would sign a new deal.

“That normally should happen, yes,” he responded. “And we’re in very normal circumstances now.”

“It was never a question of leaving (even if they lost), it was a question of doing the right job for this club.”

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Turkish police detain 18 people in mine disaster investigation

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People mourn at the grave of a dead miner after the burial service in a cemetery in Soma

Turkish police have detained 18 people, including mining company executives and personnel, as part of an investigation into last week’s mine disaster, CNN Turk and other broadcasters reported on Sunday.

The rescue operation at the mine, in the western Turkish town of Soma, ended on Saturday after the bodies of the last two workers were carried out, bringing the death toll to 301. Police were not immediately available to confirm the reports of detentions.

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Balkans flooding threatens Serbia power plants, 37 dead

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A volunteers helps in making the dam on the river Sava in Belgrade, Serbia 18 May 2014.

Soldiers, police and villagers battled to protect power plants in Serbia from rising flood waters on Sunday as the death toll from the Balkan region’s worst rainfall in more than a century reached 37.

Twelve bodies were recovered from the worst-hit Serbian town of Obrenovac, 30 km (18 miles) southwest of the capital, Belgrade, but the number was likely to rise as waters receded.

“The situation is catastrophic,” Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told reporters.

Hundreds of soldiers and residents scrambled to raise sandbag barriers around the perimeter of the Kostolac power plant east of Belgrade, where a Reuters cameraman said waters from the swollen River Mlava, a tributary to the much larger River Danube, had come to within a kilometre.

Workers at the plant joined the effort, digging up a road in a bid to divert waters that threatened to flood nearby coal mines. The Kostolac plant supplies 20 percent of Serbia’s electricity needs.

Russian cargo planes carrying boats, generators and food joined rescue teams from around Europe and thousands of local volunteers in evacuating people and building flood defences after the River Sava, swollen by days of torrential rain, burst its banks.

Rains eased and flood waters receded on Sunday in some of the worst-hit areas of Serbia and Bosnia, but the Sava was forecast to rise further. Thousands of people have been displaced.

Serbia’s EPS power utility said a fresh flood wave also threatened Serbia’s largest power plant, the Nikola Tesla in Obrenovac.

Flooding had already cut Serbian power generation by 40 percent, forcing the cash-strapped country to boost imports.

“More and more water is getting closer but for the timebeing the sandbag defence barriers are holding,” Tanjug news agency quoted Kostolac general manager Dragan Jovanovic as saying.

“TSUNAMI”

The economic impact of the floods is likely to be huge, devastating the agricultural sector vital to both the Serbian and Bosnian economies.

Vucic said a fire and flooding of surface mines on Friday at the Kolubara coal-fired power plant southwest of Belgrade had caused damage of at least 100 million euros ($137 million).

“These are the kind of waters not seen in 1,000 years, let alone 100,” Vucic told a televised cabinet session.

He said 12 bodies had been recovered from Obrenovac after waters dropped from a peak of some three metres (10 feet). At least five more were reported dead elsewhere in Serbia.

In Bosnia, 19 people were confirmed dead, with nine bodies recovered from the northeastern town of Doboj after what the regional police chief described as a “tsunami” of water.

A Reuters cameraman at the scene said half the town was still submerged. Soldiers delivered food and medical supplies by truck, boat and bulldozer. Cranes lifted medical workers into some homes and removed stranded residents from others.

Zeljka Cvijanovic, prime minister of Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic, compared the devastation to Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, in which 100,000 people died. “The damage is such that we cannot recall even after the war,” she told reporters.

In Croatia, the government said one person had died and two were missing in flooded villages in an eastern corner of the country near Bosnia and Serbia. The army used amphibious vehicles to help evacuate some 3,000 people.

“I carried my kids out on my back, then waited 12 hours to be rescued myself,” said 40-year-old Obrenovac resident Dragan Todorovic, who spent the night in a Belgrade sports hall with dozens of other families. “The house was new, built two years ago for 100,000 euros. What now?”

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A chronicle of struggles, challenges, insults and vindication

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comment-Rolandis-The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Cyprus as delimited at the ministry in 2002

By Nicos Rolandis

There is a journey for all of us, a journey that marks and gives colour to our lives.

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello tells Gratiano:

“Here is my journey’s end, here is my butt, and very sea-mark of my utmost sail.”

There has been a starting and a finishing point of my own journey in the history of Cyprus’ oil and gas. I describe below in brief the chronicle of the hydrocarbons in Cyprus from day one, when I first started the process on March 31, 1998, until the day I passed on the baton on February 28, 2003.

When I started that journey almost nobody in Cyprus had even the faintest idea of what it was about. Today oil and gas constitute the “life” and the “future” of our country.

The data I put forward are absolutely authentic and based on government documents, newspaper reports and my own diary.

The very beginning of my journey actually dates back to August 4, 1980 when I was foreign minister. MJ Ambrose, senior executive of US oil majors Amoco and Standard Oil of Indiana, met me in my office and told me that the above corporations were interested in investing and exploring for hydrocarbons in the sea south of Cyprus. Ambrose talked about “large reserves”.

In the meantime our public relations office in Washington DC had informed us that Turkey had learned about the American oil and gas interest and had threatened to proceed with “a further military operation in Cyprus”.

I took Ambrose to President Spyros Kyprianou the following day and after the meeting he asked me to call and seek the advice of UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim on the subject. Waldheim came back to me and discouraged us from proceeding on account of the Turkish threats. The president called a halt “for the time being”.

On September 20, 1983 I resigned as foreign minister, because I differed with the president over the Cyprus problem, but I took with me a copy of the file of the meetings on oil and gas.

I also carried strong memories from the late 1940s when I was a boy and three Limassol friends of my father’s, wine barons Demetris Hadjipavlou and Kleanthis Christophorou and businessman Polyvios Kyriakides had invested a fortune and drilled, near Moni, for oil and gas without success.

On March 1, 1998 I was appointed minister of commerce, industry and tourism. Energy was one of my portfolios. I placed the oil and gas file from the foreign ministry on my desk and kept wondering whether I should raise the matter officially.

My instinct told me that there were hydrocarbons down there, but I feared that in case of failure I might ridicule both the government and myself. After all, since 1960, when the Republic of Cyprus was established, no commerce minister had raised such an issue.

Before the month was out, however, Archbishop Damaskinos of Switzerland and Greek Ambassador to Syria John Mourikis (I knew them both quite well) called and advised me that important US oil companies were interested in the oil and gas sector of Cyprus. The information encouraged me.

I arranged a meeting with President Clerides which was fixed for Tuesday March 31.

Initially the president looked at me strangely and asked me to brief him in detail. I spoke for approximately 15 minutes.

Clerides pondered the subject for a while. “You may proceed, Nicos,” he said. “Bring the matter to the Council of Ministers for approval”. The big “Yes” for Cyprus was there.

According to what my then colleague and now DISY chairman, Averof Neophytou, later told a TV programme, the members of the cabinet were smiling in disbelief, but they agreed on a plan that I should proceed under conditions of absolute confidentiality.

On July 1, 1998 I met in my office the representatives of US oil corporations Crest and Brown & Root, prominent American establishment people and companies.

We discussed the possibility of supplying Egyptian gas to Cyprus and also the question of possible oil and gas reserves beneath the sea around Cyprus, leading to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

Our cooperation continued in the years that followed, though plans to get gas from Egypt faced many practical difficulties.
I reorganised the energy department at the ministry.

The management team on hydrocarbons was composed of director-general Michael Erotokritos (and later on Sotiris Sotiriou) and also Olympia Stylianou and Solon Kassinis.

Then, on September 24, 2000, a daily newspaper broke the story. In the following months, the local press wrote increasingly on the subject, gradually ensuring that natural gas became a household term.

But the natural gas project was mostly treated scathingly. On January 26, 2001 the British High Commissioner Edward Clay quipped that “there is as much oil in Cyprus as there is peanut butter below Manchester”.

In the wake of his comment the press accused me of turning Cyprus into a laughing stock. Others argued that natural gas was simply a soap bubble invented by me to help DISY in the parliamentary elections of May 2001.

Below are just some of the choicest comments from the press cuttings of the time which I have in my archives:

“What a beautiful tale over-imaginative Rolandis has discovered to gain publicity!”

“God save this country from the stupidity, the day dreams, the imagination and the visions of those who govern us. Where did Clerides find a minister like Rolandis?”

“Mr Rolandis, please remember me when you sit as an equal together with the emirs and the sheikhs of OPEC.”

“Since the day the rocket of petroleum was shot up into the air, Rolandis has not ceased talking.”

“If Nick Rola stays for a few more years, in 2003 we shall not have a presidential election, we shall elect the ruler of the planet”.

“Rolandis keeps harping on the tune of oil. He is sacrificing the national interest to gain publicity”

“Oil and gas: Rolandis is a Don Quixote”

The humiliating comments continued throughout the first half of 2001. By the summer I was informed by a close associate that certain circles at the presidential palace were trying to convince the president to fire me because of the damage caused by my daydreams about oil and gas.

I called and fixed an appointment with the president on Wednesday, October 3 when I told the president what I had heard. Clerides looked at me and he said:

“Nicos, put these things into one of your ears and take them out of the other ear. Go on with your work”.

I thanked him for his support and I continued my work which included:
a) Discussion of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with the ambassadors of Israel Shemi Tzur and Michael Eligal.
b) Meeting in Lebanon in September 2002 for the preliminary delimitation of the EEZ with President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and Oil Minister Mohammed Baydoun.
c) Meeting at the end of April 2001 in the USA with former President George Bush, his brother Neil Bush, Minister of Commerce Don Evans, Minister of Energy Spencer Abraham and senator (and future presidential candidate) John McCain.
d) Meetings in Russia, Algeria, Syria and Greece with my counterparts.
e) Preliminary meetings at the ministry with specialised companies for surveys in our EEZ.

Egypt was a very important country for us. With Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy we agreed the delimitation of the EEZ of Cyprus and Egypt after hard negotiations.

The Egyptians’ initial stand was to draw the separating line against us, 30 kilometres to the north, because of the very long coastline of Egypt compared to ours.

Eventually they accepted the Median Line in order to create a precedent for the Red Sea. Our ambassador in Egypt Jimmy Droussiotis helped a lot in this regard. The median line was a great success for us, and on February 17, 2003 I signed the EEZ Agreement in Cairo with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.

It was the first agreement of this nature ever signed in the Mediterranean.

My firm position during all these years and ever since has been that hydrocarbons should be used as a tool and a catalyst for the solution of the Cyprus problem and for peace in the wider area.

As for the bitterness created by the press publications of 2001, vindication and satisfaction came in article published 11 years later by the newspaper with the largest circulation.

On January 1, 2012, the newspaper wrote: “As memory in politics is short, we would remind readers, that if anybody was vindicated in regard to the hydrocarbons it is Nicos Rolandis. When the man was talking about the natural wealth of Cyprus, he was considered naïve and people were smiling in disbelief, even those of his own political environment. He deserves a reference to the struggle he first commenced.”

This was my journey, my utmost sail, my butt, to use Othello’s words.

Nicos Rolandis is a former commerce minister, foreign minister, MP and president of the Liberal Party

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Decimated kingmakers still feel able to gloat

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comment loucas - DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos played down his party's poor performance

By Loucas Charalambous

THE ONLY safe conclusion you can arrive at, on hearing everything our politicians said after last Sunday’s European elections, is that they are incorrigible.

They were the same demagogues after the elections as they were before them. They remained the same irresponsible populists they were before the elections and I do not see them changing any time soon.

Nothing touches them and nothing can improve them. Neither the refusal of half the electorate to vote nor the snubbing of most of them by half the electorate that went to the polling stations has touched them.

They all appeared on our TV screens last Sunday nights to tell us about the powerful ‘message’ sent by half the voters who chose to abstain and that they would take it very seriously.

I particularly enjoyed that slaps suffered by the leaderships of EDEK and DIKO. The undisputed champions of demagoguery tasted more than anyone the revenge of half the voters who bothered to cast their vote.

If there was any ‘message’ from these elections it was exactly this. That at least those who bothered to vote can no longer tolerate the political dishonesty served daily by the demagoguery of our political scoundrels.

If we take into account all the nonsense the two parties churned out during the election campaign, it would be no exaggeration to say that their demagoguery was inversely proportional to the votes they received.

The super-patriots of EDEK who deafened us with their self-righteous slogan that “we were not on the take”, were given a harsh lesson, losing 43 per cent of the vote the party secured in the previous elections.

And if Perdikis had not been on its ballot, it would have lost its seat at the European parliament to the party’s former darling Lillikas.

The “clean and shiny”, as Edekites liked to describe themselves during the campaign in effect lost half their supporters.
I very much like the excuse they found for this defeat.

The party had organisational weaknesses and was unable to deal with the abstentions. It does not have powerful ‘mechanisms’ and money to be able to take its voters to the polling stations as the big parties do.

A good thing they told us.

Now we know that the “proud Edekites”, as Dr Lyssarides likes to call them, are not so proud of their party that they actually get off their arses and go to the polling station.

They needed an organisational mechanism and money to force the “proud Edekites” to go and vote for their party.

Is it with these party warriors that socialist leader Omirou plans to force Turkey to pay the cost for its occupation?
And what should we say about that other uncompromising patriot, Nicolas Papadopoulos?

DIKO lost 25 per cent of its party custom and yet he was celebrating because the party had “maintained its king-making role”.

This cynical admission betrays the party’s complete lack of principles, an ideology that remains unchanged since it was established by Spyros Kyprianou.

The only thing that interests the party leadership is to maintain control over a percentage of the vote which it could sell, sometimes to AKEL and sometimes to DISY, to make the majority required to seize power.

And of course DIKO is always a prominent member of any AKEL or DISY government and takes a big share of the spoils.

This is how we have ended up having a party with a 10 per cent share of the vote effectively governing us for the last 40 years, as the two big parties invariable submit to its diktats.

They have even left the Cyprus problem unsolved in order to keep DIKO happy. After all, their priority is to keep the “kingmaker” sweet.

This is Cyprus politics and nothing will change, not even when the abstention rate reaches 99 per cent.

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Tales from the Coffeeshop: A one-man show masquerading as an alliance

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This is no Alliance of Citizens, it is an Alliance of Lillikas

By Patroclos

OUR EXTREMISTS did not do anywhere near as well in the European elections as those of similar bent in other EU member-countries. On the contrary, our extremists, with the possible exception of the Alliance of Lillikas, which was standing for the first time and there were no earlier results to compare with, got a good hammering last Sunday.

I should point out here that ours were not the traditional type of extremists like France’s National Front, Britain’s UKIP or Germany’s National Democratic Party. They are all pro-European, their extremism being primarily Cyprob-related, but for each with a unique twist.

For instance EDEK’s is related to its superior morality and ethics which touched sainthood during the campaign, boosted by the inclusion of the holier than thou, tree-hugging, preacher, Perdikis. Lillikas, is an extremist demagogue, who did pretty well considering, he was a one-man show masquerading as an alliance.

DIKO were unable to make any capital of their extreme, but idealistic, power hunger, paying the cost of leaving the government and no longer being able to provide the rusfeti that its highly-principled supporters considered their inalienable right.

The happiest of the extremist parties must have been AKEL. The communists, despite bankrupting the country, still took 27 per cent of the vote. It was eight percentage points lower than they had received in 2009, but this was hardly adequate punishment for what they had done to the country.

 

THE BIGGEST loser of the elections was Ethnarch Junior, whose far-sighted leadership reduced his party’s share of the vote by 25 per cent since the last elections. He may have made proud people of DIKO proud again but not proud enough to bother going to the polling stations and vote for the party.

How wrong the immature Junior was to think the proud people of DIKO would have applauded his decision to quit the government over a trifle like the joint declaration. Out of the government, the party could not offer Dikheads the rusfeti that ensured their loyalty and made them proud of DIKO.

It goes without saying that the piss-poor result of just under 11 per cent, was not the fault of Junior. The party executive office met on Friday to study the election fiasco and issued an announcement late in the evening to explain what had gone wrong.

The announcement censured party activists for their failure to participate in the election campaign and help the party rally support. It also blamed party officials who had taken public positions that were completely out of sync with the views of the party.

The biggest culprit, according to the announcement, was Prez Nik for the “intense, and at times petty-political and unethical polemic he directed at DIKO.”

With Big Bad Al and the foreign conspirators that always shaft Kyproulla out of the picture, DIKO was forced to find a local guilty party, as nothing is ever the Dikheads fault.

 

GAROYIAN groupie Athina Kyriakidou did not blame Nik or the foreigners for the results but the party leadership and the late Ethnarch’s apostle, Chrysis Pantelides, who is also an advisor of Junior.

She felt the fact that Pantelides, ordained an Ethnarchic apostle by the Papadop family to spread the Tassos gospel, was a representative of Lillikas in the presidential elections confused Dikheads who ended up voting for Lillikas last Sunday. Athina, quite clearly, has no illusions about the intelligence of the proud people of DIKO.

She also fired a salvo at Junior and the apostle for doing much less than her to rally the proud, but confused Dikheads during the campaign.

The election result had one negative for the rest of us. DIKO’s MEP Antigone Papadopoulou lost her seat, which means she will be back in Kyproulla. Her defeat was not without its silver lining – her seat was won by the squeaky-voiced, bash-patriot Costas Mavrides, who will now wage his uncompromising battle against the Annan plan in Brussels.

 

OUR SECOND Xena warrior princess of the European parliament, Dr Eleni Theocharous, not only kept her seat but also received the most votes cast on Sunday, just shy of 58,000. Second was Akel’s Takis Hadjigeorgiou with 40,000, while in DISY her closest rival, Stylianides, received 24,000 fewer votes than her.

It is one of the great mysteries how such an insufferably, self-regarding, self-promoting, self-righteous, crazily ambitious and humourless person could be the most popular candidate. And she was standing for DISY, a party that is supposed to shun the bash-patriotic nonsense the good doctor churns out at every opportunity.

I suppose that in a country in which AKEL still receives 27 per cent of the vote it should be no surprise that the unlikeable warrior princess was the most popular candidate.

 

THE ELECTIONS also showed the true nature of Lillikas’ misleadingly titled Alliance of Citizens. This is no Alliance of Citizens, it is an Alliance of Lillikas, with Lillikas, for Lillikas, exactly like the Perdikis Party.

The Alliance’s website featured only statements and speeches made by the party’s great leader, completely ignoring the five extras brought in to make up the ballot paper numbers and feature on the party’s election poster as Yiorkos’ disciples. In this alliance of citizens there always was just one citizen.

The election was a personal triumph for him as it opened the doors of the national council to him. He announced that his alliance with himself will make proposals to prez Nik, “so that the US would prove in practice what it declares about (Cyprus being) a strategic partner.”

The US might have fooled the rest of us with the talk us being a strategic partner, but not Lillikas whose proposals will expose Biden’s and Kerry’s Machiavellian lies and enable Kyproulla to fall back into the loving arms of Mother Russia.

 

SPEAKING of Mother Russia, Moscow wasted no time in sending over its deputy minister of foreign affairs Alexey Meshkov to try to limit any damage done to our countries’ relations by the Biden visit. It was a very low-key visit, even though Meshkov had a brief meeting with Prez Nik, after which very little of note was said.

Meshkov said the meeting confirmed the “excellent relations” between the two countries and announced that “we are going forward.” He also told hacks, as a reminder of the how helpful Russia could be to Kyproulla, that “we want to send more Russian tourists to Cyprus,” which seemed a bit strange.

Does the Putin government tell Russians where they should go on holiday? I hope Lillikas would think of some proposals so that Moscow would have to prove in practice what it declares.

 

AFTER the Bank of Cyprus chose a long-haired, narcissist, who looked more like an ageing rock star than a banker as its chairman, Hellenic Bank decided to go a step further. Last week it chose as its chairman a young woman who looks more like bohemian chick than a banker.

I refer to Irena Georgiades, who was appointed Public Service Reform Commissioner just a couple of months ago, after the resignation of Emanuella. She had previously been working as an advisor of the finance minister (no relation) Harris Georgiades and before that she was his parliamentary assistant.

So now both remaining Cypriot banks will be chaired by people that had nothing to do with banking, although Irena, being a chartered accountant by profession is better qualified for the post than the BoC’s happy bunny. Do not know if such a glamour girl would have been appointed chairperson had the priests still been in control of Hellenic (the Church’s shareholding was drastically diluted), but at least the bank has remained true to its tradition of giving top posts to people who have nothing to do with banking.

Outgoing chairman Andreas Panayiotou, who held to post for nine years, was a retired civil servant and its CEO Makis Keravnos was a bureaucrat at a state agency before being made finance minister by the Ethnarch.

 

PREZ NIK was accused of being behind Georgiadou’s appointment, but our mole at the palace informs us that nothing could be further from the truth. Apparently when Georgiadou announced the news to Nik he gave her the customary one raised eyebrow look which signifies disapproval and disappointment.

He also looks a bit stupid – unable to choose the right people – considering he only appointed her commissioner a couple of months ago and will now have to look for another, the third in the space of a few months. Georgiadou could not be dissuaded because the money she was offered was too much to turn down. Who could say ‘no’ to 150 grand a year for what is essentially a part-time job? Most of us would work 24/7 for that kind of dough.

If he is having trouble finding someone I would like to formally apply for the post as it has been my life’s dream to reform and deform the public service. Mr Prez, there is no better man for the post. I will even join DIKO if that is what it takes to get the job that would give me the pleasure of being horrible and mean to Hadjiklamouris to his face, as part of my daily work.

 

THE HAPPY Bunny and his fellow BoC directors were given major ticking off by Central Bank Governor Chrystalla Georghadji in the last couple of days over their refusal to go ahead with a new issue of share capital that would bolster the ailing bank’s Core Tier 1 Capital.

As our establishment reported a few weeks ago, CEO John Hourican had found foreign investors prepared to buy up the issue, estimated in the region of €800 million, but his plan is opposed by the board which appears united on the matter. Russian directors are against it because the issue would dilute their shareholding while the Cypriot directors, led by the ‘komotis’, are afraid they would lose their seats on the board with the arrival of new shareholders.

Georghadhi, reportedly, told them to cut out the crap and unless they found that sort of money from other sources within the next few weeks to go ahead with the share issue.

 

THE NUMBER of smokers has gone up as a result of the recession, it was reported this week. As a smoker, I have to say that I would have expected a small ‘thank-you’ from the authorities for the big contribution, we nicotine-addicts have been making to state revenue at a time when tax income is sliding.

We are helping our state meet its fiscal targets, by putting our health at risk, which I think, is quite a heroic sacrifice. But come to think of it, we are helping the state pay the obscenely high wages and pensions of the public parasites. I cannot think of a better reason for giving up.

 

DEEP PURPLE played in the north as planned last weekend and the pseudo-concert was a super success according to reports by the pseudo-press, which reported an audience of 35,000, including Dervis Eroglu.

Eroglu never struck me as a heavy metal fan. I just could not see him playing air guitar or moving his body to the sound of Smoke on the Water. Eroglu had invited Nik to the pseudo-concert, but our man politely declined as he considers Deep Purple a bunch of has-beens who cannot get any gigs in internationally recognised countries.

His view was not shared by everyone on our side, the pseudo-press reporting that many Greek Cypriots attended.

 

PRINTING deadlines have not allowed us to write anything about yesterday afternoon’s gay pride parade in Nicosia, but we have sent a reporter to the event to take down the names of all those participating. We will publish a list of all the participants’ names in next week’s Coffeeshop because people have a right to know which of their countrymen support gay pride. We will also publish a list of all the head-banging Greek Cypriot traitors who attended the Deep Purple pseudo concert, in the presence of Eroglu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Our View: Cut all links between politicians and the banking sector

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BEFORE the collapse of the banking sector neither the government nor the parties exercised any control over the banks.

Politicians and parties may have been done favours by the banks such as writing off loans and providing credit facilities without collateral but this underlined the complete supremacy of the bankers.

This was how the banks bought influence, not to mention the cruder methods of big donations to the parties.

The government of the day was also kept on side because the banks were buying big quantities of government debt.

All this changed after the March 2013 bail-in, which saw the collapse of Laiki and the placing of the Bank of Cyprus under the resolution authority.

With the bankers discredited and disempowered, the BoC under the authority of the governor the Central Bank, Hellenic Bank requiring a capital injection and the co-ops needing a state bail-out in excess of a billion euro the politicians decided it was their chance to call the shots.

The investigation carried out by the House Ethics committee was a way of showing the bankers that the politicians were now in control, as deputies sat in judgment of banks, demanding the release of internal communications, lists money transfers and lists of debtors.

The selection of the Cypriot directors of the BoC last September was dictated by the political parties which distributed the seats among their representatives – it was the same way the seats on the boards of semi-governmental organisations were distributed.

Only the parties could have appointed a complete unknown as chairman.

A new precedent had been set, with the parties now extending their influence to the banking sector.

For the co-ops, this did not make a big difference, because they had always been controlled by political parties and unions, but now, being state-owned they were under the authority of the finance minister.

This indicated that the banking sector was under political control.

And what could people have thought after seeing the directors of BoC arriving at the presidential palace for a meeting with President Anastasiades, immediately after which the chairman of the board announced that a bad bank would be set up?

Before this meeting, directors had been arguing against the establishment of the bad bank and had censured the bank’s CEO for publicly supporting the idea.

After this, people surmised that the bank was being run directly by the presidential palace, with some help from the parties.

It was therefore no surprise there were claims last week’s appointment of Public Sector Reform Commissioner Irena Georgiadou as chairperson of Hellenic Bank was dictated by the presidential palace.

Georgiadou was a DISY member that had worked as advisor to the finance minister before being appointed Commissioner by Anastasiades.

Claims the president had given her the chairmanship were inevitable, even if they did not stand up to rational scrutiny.

Hellenic Bank is a public company over which the government exercises no control as it received no state assistance for it re-capitalisation.

But the general view is that the state controls all the banks, a view strengthened this week after DISY publicly criticised the appointments by the Cooperative Central Bank to the boards of its 18 branches.

DISY, obviously felt that not enough of its people had been appointed and thought it legitimate to complain about this alleged injustice.

Politicians, be they from the government or the parties, are helping undermine the already low confidence in the banking sector by creating the impression that they exercise control over it.

Things are bad enough as they are, without people also fearing the self-serving political establishment and its placemen were running the dysfunctional banks.

Politicians would be doing the banking sector a very big service if they kept at a safe distance from it, leaving bank supervision to the Governor of the Central Bank Chrystalla Georghadji who has no other agenda than strengthening the sector.

Georgadji had a showdown on Friday with the directors of the BoC who were opposing the idea of a share issue that would not only improve the bank’s capital base but also boost public confidence as the issue would be taken up by foreign investors.

It was an illustration of how the appointees of the parties on the BoC do not necessarily support the best interests of bank and a strong argument for the need to cut all links between interfering politicians and the banking sector.

The new Governor needs to tackle the matter now. She needs to take steps eliminating the interference of politicians if the banking sector is to recover and win back public trust.

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‘All different, all equal’ 

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By Evie Andreou

THOUSANDS of people participated in the island’s first gay pride parade in Nicosia yesterday in a show of public support marred only by a couple of minor incidents.

Smoke bomb goes off

Smoke bomb goes off

As the LGBTI community, joined by other groups and families gathered at Nicosia’s Eleftheria Square around 5pm someone threw a smoke bomb into the crowd.

Also an anti-gay gathering led by clerics held a counter protest near Ochi Square, and in a third incident a man jumped out of nowhere into the parade at Solomou Square attacking a group of men on their way to Eleftheria Square carrying the distinctive rainbow flag.

Man attacks participants

Man attacks participants

They managed to stop him however and he was subsequently arrested. None of the incidents managed to derail the festivities.

A little after 5pm the head of ACCEPT-LGBTI, which organised the parade, Costas Gavrielides, addressed the crowd, which was growing by the minute from hundreds to thousands. He thanked everyone who supported the movement and the Festival and for showing their support for LGBTI rights.

Gavrielides also thanked the Turkish Cypriot LGBTI association KUIR Cyprus and assured them of ACCEPT’s support in order to fight the prejudice against ten per cent of the island’s population.

He argued that human rights and EU Conventions could not be cherry-picked but should apply to all and that the LGBTI community in Cyprus is claiming just that – their human rights. “The right to diversity is not negotiable,” he said.

He also said that Cyprus falls behind when it comes to LGBTI legal rights and he asked the political parties to take action and keep their pre-election promises on the relevant legislation regarding the status of LGBTI persons in Cyprus. He said Cypriot society was finally coming of age and that 53 per cent of Cypriots now accept the notion of homosexual couples.

Gavrielides said that he hoped political parties would be their side when the time came for them to hand over their signatures on the relevant laws, which prompted some laughter and applause from the crowd.

Present also were representatives from International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association ILGA Europe, the Turkish Cypriot organisation KUIR Cyprus, representatives of the political parties AKEL, DISY, DIKO, EDEK, the Green Party, United Democrats and Drasy-Eylem, among them former president Giorgos Vassiliou.

“ILGA Euope is extremely happy to be here today, it is a historic day for the LGBT movement in Cyprus, it is actually the success of the community here to have this made happened and we hope that this is just the beginning of much more progress in terms of recognition and acceptance,” said Executive director of ILGA Europe Evelyn Paradis.

Mingling in the crowd and holding the pride flag was Cyprus’ first gay activist Alecos Modinos who battled for years to have homosexuality decriminalised. “I am thrilled and I am certain that things will change, they already have. I hope our politicians will dare as they should and that the state will make the right moves for equality and social tolerance,” he said.

Also present were many people who travelled to Cyprus just for the parade.353Y0652

“Things are changing slowly through education and struggle. We all are different and everyone is equal regardless of race, gender and sexual preference,” said Nicolas Petrou, a US resident who travelled to Cyprus especially.

“I feel very proud and I came from Greece just for the parade. I am very happy that Cyprus’ LGBTI community has managed to orchestrate this event,” said another participant who gave his name as Nireas.

Cypriots also gathered to show their support and to prove their tolerance and acceptance.

“The presence of all these people here signifies that things have changed a lot. I hope our society becomes more tolerant and more liberal,” said Christodoulos Kallinos.

“Everyone should support equality. This is the first Cyprus Pride Parade and we need to show our support. It is very positive that there are here many straight people supporting the cause” said Christina Serof.

Participants expressed satisfaction with the turnout.

“I feel very liberated. It’s amazing to see the colours, the love, so many people to support this cause; and it’s not just about LGBT only, it also has to do with diversity, about any other people who are different. It is a positive fact that there has been so much discussion of the Pride Parade in Cyprus and abroad because the more you talk about it, the more chance we have for a change” said Fatima Islam

“I feel very proud for all my compatriots who managed to be here today, I know it took a lot of courage for some to be here and I hope that next year more people will have the courage to show up. I hope it will be understood what kind of march this is and for what reason is happening,” said Xenia Georgiou

Anna Vissi

Anna Vissi

The crowd went delirious when the popular Cypriot singer Anna Vissi addressed them.

Vissi said that she came to the event with a lot of love and to consciously support the island’s first Pride Parade.

She said she has learned to respect people for their value, kindness, honesty, dignity and not how they chose to love and be loved and that everyone has in common their equal rights in love, in everyday life.

“Don’t hate what you don’t understand,” she said quoting John Lennon.

After Vissi’s speech, Gavrielides declared the commencement of the Parade which would lead to up the Parliament. After the march, a party followed at the Nicosia Municipal Garden from where Madonna, the Beach Boys and other popular music could be heard blaring over the city centre. There were DJ sets by Cotsios o Pikatillis of the Afro-Banana Republic crew followed by a spectacular, full-blown show by international artist A Man To Pet.

The parade was highlight of the first Cyprus Pride Festival’s two-week celebrations organised by ACCEPT-LGBT Cyprus which aimed at the promotion of equal rights for everyone, and the increase in visibility of LGBT people as full members of society.

To celebrate, the US Embassy also flew the rainbow flag yesterday and several staff members from the embassy participated in the parade.

The festival held under the auspices of Nicosia Mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis.

During the festival there were film screenings, discussions, book readings, a theatre play, a human library and art events.

The parade took place 16 years after homosexuality was finally decriminalised in Cyprus.

 

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Turkish police fire teargas at protesters on anniversary of unrest

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Protesters clash with Turkish riot police during a demonstration on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Gezi Park protests at Taksim Square, in Istanbul, Turkey, 31 May 2014.

Turkish police fired teargas and water cannon on Saturday to disperse protesters in central Istanbul who sought to mark the one-year anniversary of the country’s biggest anti-government demonstrations in decades.

Authorities closed roads and stopped public transport to deny access to Taksim Square and the adjoining Gezi Park where government plans to raze the green space and build a shopping mall sparked last year’s unrest.

Police lines kept back activists who had hoped to read a statement at Taksim Square and lay flowers at the park to commemorate the deaths of at least six people in the protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s rule.

Another half-dozen people died in sporadic unrest in the ensuing months as anger at Erdogan and his AK Party simmered.

Street protests could be a recurring feature in the run-up to an August presidential election in which Erdogan is expected to stand, but few expect this to cause the three-time premier serious political damage.

A senior AK Party official said on Saturday that Erdogan would run for the presidency and rule Turkey until 2023.

Near Taksim, hundreds of people chanted “Resign, murderer AKP” and “Everywhere is Taksim, everywhere is resistance” before police fired teargas at the crowd, forcing it to retreat.

Eighty people were detained and 13 were injured in clashes with police, Turkey’s Human Rights Association said, but no official figures were immediately available. Police helicopters circled overhead.

Tourists lugging suitcases were forced to turn back to escape the stinging gas. A few hundred protesters carrying political banners ran away from police down a hill towards the Bosphorus Strait, the waterway bisecting Istanbul, Europe’s biggest city with about 14 million residents.

Police also broke up protests in the capital Ankara and the southern city of Adana, CNN Turk reported.

“TRAITORS AND PAWNS”

In neighbourhoods across Istanbul, residents opened their windows and banged pots and pans, a traditional form of dissent that was employed throughout the Gezi protest.

Erdogan accused opponents of taking to the streets to push their demands but said a March 30 municipal election that his party won decisively means he had been authorised to fight back.

“I want my people to see clearly that young people were used as pawns by internal and external traitors in the Gezi incidents,” he said in a television address. “On March 30, you authorised us to fight against these traitors and pawns.”

On May 31, 2013, police forcefully evicted environmentalists from Gezi Park who had staged a peaceful sit-in for several days to try to stop government plans to erect a shopping centre and luxury flats in one of central Istanbul’s few remaining parks.

Angered by the use of violence, tens of thousands of people from a variety of political backgrounds descended on Gezi and occupied Taksim Square for two weeks before authorities finally cleared the space.

Many at Gezi complained of authoritarianism as Erdogan, a religious conservative who dominates the Turkish political scene, marked a decade in office.

Turkish newspapers said 25,000 officers were deployed on Saturday. Riot police circled the perimeter of Gezi, and hundreds of plainclothes officers carrying batons patrolled nearby streets.

The metro station at Taksim was closed and the governor halted ferryboat services between Istanbul’s shores on either side of the Bosphorus Strait.

Elif Cetinkaya, 45, and her family gathered across the street from Gezi Park in a quiet protest, wearing T-shirts with the images of those killed in the 2013 unrest.

“Why did so many people have to die to save this park? We are here to mourn their loss and show that we stand firm, no matter what obstacles they erect,” Cetinkaya said.

But the movement has lost much of its momentum since the March vote, said a member of a leftist party who wore a scarf to ward off teargas.

“After the election, many people felt nothing made a difference. There’s no one issue now for everyone to rally around,” he said, requesting anonymity.

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Cameron says can’t guarantee UK staying in EU if Juncker gets top job

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Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron

British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned he would no longer be able to guarantee that Britain would remain a member of the European Union if European leaders elect Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief, Germany’s Spiegel said.

The European Commission president is selected by EU leaders but must be approved by the assembly, where Eurosceptics from the right made gains in last week’s election. The European People’s Party, which won the most seats in the vote, had chosen Luxembourg’s ex-premier Juncker as their candidate.

In a pre-publication copy of an article, Spiegel said Cameron had explained, on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels on Tuesday, that if Juncker became Commission president, he would no longer be able to ensure Britain’s continued EU membership.

The magazine said participants understood Cameron’s comments on the sidelines of the meeting to mean that a majority vote for Juncker could destabilise his government to the extent that an “in-out” referendum would have to be brought forward.

That in turn, they understood, would most likely lead to the British people voting to quit the EU, it said.

A spokesman at the prime minister’s office declined to comment on the Spiegel article.

But Juncker called on the majority of leaders not to bow to pressure from the minority in their decision, according to an advance extract of an article due to be published in Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

“Europe must not allow itself to be blackmailed,” Juncker said, adding that a broad majority of Christian Democratic and socialist leaders in the European Council backed him.

He said he was in favour of getting “all of the other heads of government on board too” in the coming three to four weeks, and offered to hold talks on priorities for the next Commission.

OBJECTIONS

Spiegel said Cameron, who regards Juncker as too federalist and likely to damage his hopes of reforming Britain’s EU ties, dismissed the candidate during a recess with the words: “A face from the ’80s can’t solve the problems of the next five years.”

Cameron has promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership and if his Conservatives win a 2015 national election to hold a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether or not to remain in the EU.

On Monday he rejected calls to bring the referendum forward after his party was beaten into third place in European elections by the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) party.

Bild am Sonntag, which did not name its sources, said French President Francois Hollande was also trying to prevent Juncker from getting the job of Commission president and instead wanted a French person to take the position.

The newspaper said Hollande had this week told Merkel he urgently needed a signal for his government, given the strong performance of the far-right National Front in the European elections, adding that he had suggested his former finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, for the job.

But Juncker said he was “optimistic about being chosen as the next Commission president by mid-July”.

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told Bild it was clear to everyone involved that personnel decisions should be made before the summer recess and it would be “worrying” if there was no agreement by the end of June.

“Given that the EPP, with Jean-Claude Juncker, has a leading margin of more than 20 seats in the EU Parliament, the Council should nominate him,” he was quoted as saying.

If discussions about personnel issues are still taking place in September and October, there could be a standstill in EU politics for months, Oettinger added.

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Sixteen missing in Russian helicopter crash

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By Vladimir Soldatkin

Sixteen people were missing and two survived with injuries after an Mi-8 helicopter crashed into a lake in Russia’s northwest Murmansk region, the Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday.

The state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, citing an unnamed source, said regional government officials and businessmen were aboard the helicopter and that they were on a fishing trip.

The Emergencies Ministry said on its website that the helicopter, which included five crew members, crashed on Saturday night near the village of Vostochnoye Munozero. Sixteen of the occupants were unaccounted for, while two were rescued.

Russia’s federal Investigative Committee said it had begun a criminal inquiry into the crash on the basis of suspected breaches of air safety rules. Mechanical failure as well as poor weather conditions were possible factors in the crash, it said.

Accidents involving Mi-8 aircraft are frequent in Russia, which has been criticised for its poor air safety record. The Soviet-designed helicopter is widely used for ferrying people and cargo to remote areas of the world’s largest country.

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France arrests suspect in Brussels Jewish museum shooting

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Reporting by Nicolas Bertin

French police have arrested a man suspected of being involved in the shooting deaths last weekend of three people at Brussels’ Jewish Museum, official sources in Belgium and France said on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Frenchman was arrested in the southern French city of Marseilles on Friday and had a Kalashnikov and another gun with him, a French police source said. The man, from the northern city of Roubaix, had been in jail in 2012.

French media reported that the man was suspected of having stayed in Syria with jihadist groups in 2013.

“This is a relief,” Joel Rubinfeld, head of the Belgian League against Antisemitism told BFM TV, saying he had received confirmation of the news.

“But this is also worrying us … it is is crucial that countries who have citizens who have gone to Syria take all necessary measures to make sure this does not happen again.”

Police released a 30-second video clip from the museum’s security cameras showing a man wearing a dark cap, sunglasses and a blue jacket enter the building, take a Kalashnikov rifle out of a bag, and shoot into a room, before calmly walking out.

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Bouchard breezes into last eight, Murray survives

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Andy Murray defeated  Kohlschreiber in a five set thriller

Eugenie Bouchard’s meteoric rise continued on Sunday when the baby-faced Canadian demolished Angelique Kerber 6-1 6-2 to claim a quarter-final spot at the French Open.

The 18th seeded Bouchard, who reached the Australian Open semi-final this year, blazed away with 30 winners in just 52 minutes on court Philippe Chatrier.

Andy Murray survived a cliffhanger against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, returning to court on Sunday to win 12-10 in the deciding set after their third-round match had been stopped by bad light at 7-7 in the fifth the previous evening.

French hopes took a knock as Richard Gasquet failed to stage a comeback against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in another third round match held over from Saturday.

Bouchard’s pace and variety of shots was too much to handle for the higher-seeded Kerber, who had reached the last eight at Roland Garros in 2012.

The German was caught snoozing early on and went 5-0 down, never recovering as Bouchard set up a meeting with 14th seed Carla Suarez Navarro after the Spaniard used her one-handed backhand to great effect to end the run of up-and-coming Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic with a 6-3 6-3 win.

“I feel like since the beginning of the year I have been improving my game, since Australia I’m at a different level from there,” said Bouchard, who claimed her first WTA title the previous week in Nuremberg.

“I have been feeling that way in practice and in matches recently. Even if it’s not always there, I know that I can really play at a good level.

“I have confidence in myself. I can play like this and play even better,” the 20-year-old added.

Predicting that Bouchard could win the title, Kerber said: “She’s a great player. She played very well today. But I actually didn’t find my rhythm.”

In the men’s draw, sixth seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic was the first to advance into the quarter-finals, dismissing the towering John Isner 6-4 6-4 6-4.

NO NONSENSE

Berdych broke the American 10th seed’s serve once in each set for a no-nonsense victory to book a quarter-final encounter with either 17-times grand slam champion Roger Federer or Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis.

Murray set up a fourth-round clash with Verdasco, after holding his nerve in a high-quality finale to his clash with Kohlschreiber on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Kohlschreiber served to stay in the match six times but finally relented as Murray, who had led by two sets to one and 4-2 on Saturday, clinched victory on his second match point with a blistering backhand return.

The seventh seed’s 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 12-10 win means he faces left-hander Verdasco, the man he beat in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year from two sets down.

Verdasco barely broke sweat to see off French 12th seed Gasquet, taking advantage of his opponent’s lethargy to win 6-3 6-2 6-3.

Later on Sunday, world number two Novak Djokovic, chasing the only grand slam title missing from his collection, faces Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 13th seed.

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Abbas swears in Palestinian unity government shunned by Israel (Updated)

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Palestinian Prime Minister Hamdallah and Palestinian President Abbas pose for a group photo with Palestinian ministers during a swearing-in ceremony of the unity government, in the West Bank city of Ramallah

By Ali Sawafta

President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a Palestinian unity government on Monday in a reconciliation deal with Hamas Islamists that led Israel to freeze US-brokered peace talks.

Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is dependent on foreign aid, appeared to be banking on Western acceptance – over Israeli objections – of a 16-member cabinet of what he described as politically unaffiliated technocrats.

Setting a policy in line with US and European Union demands, the Western-backed leader said his administration would continue to honour agreements and principles at the foundation of a peace process with Israel.

Hamas, which advocates Israel’s destruction, has run the Gaza Strip since seizing the territory from Abbas’s Fatah forces in a brief civil war in 2007. Numerous reconciliation efforts, largely brokered by Egypt, have failed over power-sharing.

“Today, and after announcing the government of national unity, we declare the end of division that caused catastrophic harm to our cause,” Abbas said, voicing sentiments widely shared by Palestinians, as ministers took the oath of office in a ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet responded with a threat to hold Abbas and the new government accountable for any attacks against Israel, alluding to sporadic rocket fire from Gaza to which Israel has thus far responded by bombing militant strongholds in the coastal territory.

“The agreement with Hamas makes Abbas directly responsible for any terrorist activity from Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a statement summing up the ministers’ meeting.

Netanyahu urged world leaders on Sunday not to rush into recognising the Palestinian unity government, and Israel barred three Gaza-based ministers from travelling to the West Bank to be sworn in.

Ismail Haniyeh, the outgoing Palestinian prime minister in Gaza, said in a speech in the enclave that it was “a historical day” that closed a “chapter of seven years of division”.

Hamas television referred to Haniyeh as a “former prime minister”, in deference to the current West Bank-based holder of the post, Rami Al-Hamdallah.

But in his address, Haniyeh spoke of pursuing “resistance by all forms”, an apparent reference to actions that include armed conflict with Israel, and he said the unity deal meant that Hamas’s militia, the Qassam Brigades, “became an army today”.

ISRAELI SANCTIONS?

In the absence of Fatah forces in Gaza, Hamas will effectively retain its security grip in the territory, where in addition to the 25,000-member Qassam Brigades, the Islamist group also controls 20,000 other armed personnel.

Netanyahu’s security cabinet, meeting in special session, vowed to hold the new government responsible “for all operations that inflict harm against Israeli security” launched from either the West Bank or Gaza.

Israel also reaffirmed its decision of a month ago to eschew diplomatic negotiations with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas, which Israel rejects as a terrorist group. Israel also vowed to seek international help to bar Hamas from participating in a coming Palestinian election.

The Israeli statement made no mention of possible economic measures though it empowered Netanyahu to impose further sanctions on the Palestinian Authority.

Israel withheld some tax revenues from the Palestinians in retaliation for Abbas’ signing in April of international conventions and treaties after Netanyahu reneged on a promised release of Palestinian prisoners.

The peace talks, which began in July, had been stalled, with divisions deep over Israeli settlement building in occupied land Palestinians seek for a state and Israel’s demand that Palestinians recognise it as a Jewish state.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who spearheaded the peace efforts that Israel froze when the unity deal was signed on April 23, spoke by telephone with Abbas and voiced his concern about Hamas’s role in the government, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

“(Kerry) stated that the United States would monitor the situation closely and judge any government based on its composition, policies and actions,” Psaki said.

Israel, the United States and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist group.

Abbas has been keen to assure Western donor countries he will remain the key Palestinian decision-maker and that security coordination between his forces and Israel will continue.

Both Fatah and Hamas see benefits to a unity pact.

With a strict blockade imposed by neighbours Israel and Egypt, Hamas has been struggling to prop up Gaza’s economy and pay its 40,000 employees. Abbas wants to shore up his domestic support since the peace talks with Israel collapsed.

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Cypriot, Greek and Turkish Chambers of commerce support talks (updated)

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Προστατευόμενη από τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη

By Angelos Anastasiou
GREEK CYPRIOT and Turkish Cypriot chambers of commerce, along with those of Greece and Turkey, have pledged their support to the negotiation process and said they are determined to speed it up in any way they can.
In a joint statement following a quadrilateral meeting in Nicosia on Monday, the four chambers also announced the creation of the “Nicosia Financial Forum” to hold frequent meetings to help create a positive climate, implement confidence-building measures and pave the way for economic and business cooperation.
The statement was read in Greek by the Greek Cypriot chamber’s chairman Fidias Pilides and in Turkish by his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Fikri Toros, in the presence of the chairmen of the respective bodies of Greece, Konstantinos Michalos, and Turkey, Rifat Hisarciklioglu.
The chambers expressed their conviction that a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem would provide significant benefits not just to the economy and the prosperity of Cyprus, but of the wider region.
“A viable, fair and functional solution to the Cyprus problem will reinforce stability and security in the area, creating huge opportunities for cooperation and business transactions between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, as well as European and Middle-East markets,” the statement said.
In expressing their commitment to contributing to the negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem, the chambers declared their readiness to support the political leadership.
“We are before a significant opportunity to solve the Cyprus problem, and the chambers will make every effort to make sure it is not missed,” the statement concluded.
In their brief remarks, Michalos and Hisarciklioglu spoke of “historic times”.
Hisarciklioglu said that for the first time the four chambers met in Nicosia to discuss the Cyprus problem, which is indicative of the hope for a solution. The Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce, he said, will support the efforts made by the two Cypriot chambers and expressed the wish for a “game-changing dialogue” to start.
On his part, Michalos referred to the joint statement, saying it constituted the essence of the four chambers’ goal, both at the local as well as the European levels, through the participation of the chairmen of the Greece and Turkey chambers at the Union of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The next meeting of the four chambers has been scheduled for September 14, in Istanbul.

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Seventy plus violations in first hours of speed cameras

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By Angelos Anastasiou
A PAIR of speed cameras on Engomi’s Grivas Dhigenis avenue became officially operational and started recording violations at midnight on Sunday, with the first offenders caught and due to receive a ticket.
Following a staggering 1,800 traffic violations recorded in a 24-hour test run last week, the strategically placed cameras overlooking a patch used regularly as a racing strip by speeding youngsters went live on Monday with 74 speed violations recorded during the first few hours of operation. The cameras cover the area from the Metochi junction traffic lights to Engomi’s McDonalds traffic lights.
The speed cameras are one of two measures being taken to stop the avenue being used as a makeshift racetrack. New asphalt to create elongated speed bumps will be laid on the part of the avenue not covered by the cameras, from McDonalds’ traffic lights to the Kolokasides round-about. The government plans to invite tenders for the work to ensure the speed bumps are in place by the end of June.
“We hope that the speed cameras and the four speed bumps – two per lane – will resolve the racing problem,” Demetris Demetriou, chief of the traffic department, said on Monday.
The speed limit on Griva Dhigeni avenue is 50 km/h as it runs through a residential area that has long suffered noise pollution and increased accident rates caused by racing drivers.
The cameras will photograph the back of the car exceeding the speed limit, so that the vehicle’s registration number is clearly visible but no rights to privacy are infringed – that is, the identity of the driver or any passenger will not be captured. Only speed-limit violations will be recorded – as opposed to other traffic violations such as not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone while driving.
This means, the ticket will be mailed to the vehicle’s legal owner, irrespective of who might have been driving the car when the offence was recorded.
While the newly-installed camera system is run by police officers, this will not be case with the new island-wide camera network that is slated to be operational by early 2015.
The communications ministry plans to invite tenders by July, so that the new system is fully functional by February 2015.
With the exception of the two cameras on Grivas Dhigenis avenue, the traffic camera network will be run by a private contractor, who would notify police of any violations recorded so that a ticket is issued.
The privately set up and run network model was chosen so as to avoid incurring cost to taxpayers.
Installing traffic cameras dates back almost a decade. After heated debates, mainly focused on personal data protection, a network was set up in 2006 but was quickly discarded. The cameras had numerous problems, including a failure to store photographs and extensive bureaucracy that in some cases resulted in fining a person twice for the same violation while letting others go unpunished.

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Development bank close to agreement with Russian investors

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NEGOTIATIONS between the Cyprus Development Bank’s (CDB) shareholders and a Russian group for the acquisition of a 50 per cent equity stake in the lender are almost complete, with the Russian funds already placed in an escrow account.
The bank, rumoured to have been facing hardship as a result of the adverse economic environment, slashed payroll costs last year through a voluntary exit scheme, and had gone public with investor interest from “various groups”, which has since materialised into negotiations with the Russian buyers.
“Negotiations are in their final stage,” a source told the Cyprus Mail. “The new structure will include an approximately 50 per cent stake by the Russian group.”
It is understood that, as a result of the new investors’ entry, existing shareholders’ stakes in the bank will be diluted accordingly.
Reports of talks between CDB’s shareholders and a Russian group were confirmed as early as last November, culminating in positive developments that are likely to see a deal finalised soon.
Such investment may prove indicative of foreign investors’ confidence in Cypriot businesses – banks in particular – considered key in the recovery of Cyprus’ flailing economy. But the move may attract special significance in light of the Bank of Cyprus’ rumoured preparations for raising capital in a similar manner.
CDB was established in 1963 as a state-owned company to promote economic development and was granted a commercial banking licence in 2001, and was privatised in 2008 for €75 million. The new owners included such well-known names of the Cypriot economy as Constantinos Shacolas, Leonidas Ioannou, and the Leventis family.

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Tax efficiency and NPLs focus of updated troika MoU

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Finance Minister Harris Georgiades

By Angelos Anastasiou

THE UPDATED Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a quarterly-updated list of reforms the Cyprus government needs to undertake periodically in order to receive each tranche of a €10 billion rescue loan from the troika of international creditors (European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), was received by the government and EU-member states on Monday, according to Finance Minister Harris Georgiades.

The updated draft of the MoU was the result of the fourth review by the troika’s Cyprus delegation of the island’s adjustment programme, agreed to between its government and international lenders in March 2013.

Consolidating the Internal Revenue and Value-Added Tax departments into a single body, finalising foreclosure legislation on mortgaged properties – but not primary residences – and introducing a Fiscal Council, tasked with monitoring and publicly commenting on the government’s budgetary strategy, were the main prerequisites for the release of the next tranche of aid, totalling approximately €600 million.

“The decision on the release of the next tranche will be made by June 19,” Georgiades said, meaning that the prerequisites must have been completed by that date.

But the government-sponsored bill regarding the unification of the two revenue services into a single Taxation Department under a taxation commissioner with a five-year mandate has stirred up some controversy, as civil servants’ union PASYDY objects to the commissioner’s appointment by the government. The union argued that the consolidation of the two departments into a single body is unconstitutional, and that the position of taxation commissioner should be treated like any other hiring to the civil service – following a screening process by the civil service committee.

Georgiades defended the troika demand for the departments’ consolidation, citing “international experience” of the inefficiencies two separate departments suffer, as well as the duplication of posts that can be averted by a single department.

The Taxation Department bill, Georgiades told lawmakers on Monday, needs to be voted by June 5, whereas the Fiscal Council bill must be voted by June 10.

Additionally, the updated MoU calls for the government to “implement a general valuation (GV) for all immovable properties,” as well as put together a communication plan to inform the public of the goals of property tax reform, along with a comprehensive “objections’ management strategy” to deal with valuation complaints by the end of June 2014.

But while no provision has been added or removed to the MoU with regard to the proposed “insolvency framework” – legislation to make current law more lender-friendly while protecting solvent but illiquid borrowers – foreclosures for mortgaged properties except primary residences must be enabled by end-June.

“The legal framework in relation to foreclosures and the forced sales of mortgaged property will be amended [...] and adopted by end-June, with immediate effect for all mortgaged properties except primary residences (for which provisions will enter into effect by end-December, in line with the adoption of insolvency legislation), to allow for private auctions to be conducted by mortgage creditors, without interference from government agencies,” the updated MoU read.

“In the context of the amendment, the focus will be on big borrowers who are uncooperative, and will include protection clauses for cooperative borrowers,” Georgiades said.

He explained that current rules allow borrowers to delay repayment with no consequence, whereas the proposed legislation will give lenders the chance to put some pressure on defaulting borrowers who refuse to engage with their bank.

“The framework will also help address public opinion sentiment that banks aren’t doing something about those who owe them the most,” Georgiades argued.

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