By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Allyn Fisher-Ilan

Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in strikes that Palestinian officials said killed at least 11 people, stepping up what threatens to become a long-term offensive against Islamist group Hamas after scores of rockets hit Israeli towns.

After the worst outbreak of violence along the Gaza frontier since an eight-day war in 2012, the Israeli military said a ground invasion of the enclave was possible, though not imminent, and urged citizens within a range of 40 km of the coastal territory to stay close to bomb shelters.

“We are preparing for a battle against Hamas which will not end within a few days,” Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement. “We will not tolerate missiles being fired at Israeli towns and we are prepared to extend the operations with all means at our disposal in order to keep hitting Hamas.”

The Israeli military said it targeted about 90 sites in aerial and naval assaults overnight and resumed air strikes on Tuesday.

The attacks killed at least six people in a house, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said. Four others died in a car struck in Gaza City, medical officials said, one of whom a pro-Hamas website identified as Mohammed Shaaban, a commander in the movement’s armed wing.

There were no reports of deaths from rockets fired out of Gaza.

A source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quoted the Israeli leader as saying: “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) must be ready to go all the way. All options are on the table, including a ground invasion.”

The Israeli military said it had received provisional government approval to call up as many as 40,000 reserve soldiers, but had not done so yet. Some 1,500 other reservists have already been mobilised.

Violence flared on the Israel-Gaza border last month after Israel arrested hundreds of Hamas activists in the occupied West Bank following the disappearance there of three Israeli youths on June 12.

Palestinians have launched more than 200 rockets at Israel from Gaza, the military said, since Israel mounted the dragnet while searching for the teens, who were found dead last week.

Israel has accused Hamas militants of killing them. In a suspected revenge attack, a Palestinian teen was abducted in East Jerusalem last Wednesday. His charred body was found in a forest and six Israeli suspects have been arrested.

The Israeli military said that in the past 24 hours, more than 100 rockets had been fired at Israel, a sharp increase. Some were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system and none that landed caused fatalities, although two people were wounded by shrapnel.

The heavy barrage followed the deaths, in disputed circumstances on Monday, of six Hamas men in a tunnel which the Israeli military said the militant group had built under the border to carry out an attack in Israel.

Palestinian officials said other targets in the Israeli bombardment included militants’ training facilities.

RACING FOR COVER

Explosions echoed across the densely populated enclave on Tuesday, shaking buildings and sending smoke rising from targets hit by Israeli fire. In residential areas, the sounds of crying children could be heard as ambulance sirens wailed.

Some people took to rooftops to watch for Israeli aircraft and rockets streaking toward Israel.

In the Israeli port city of Ashdod, motorists scrambled out of their vehicles and raced for the relative safety of apartment house entrances as a siren sounded. The scene was repeated in other towns near the Gaza Strip. Workers at Ashdod seaport, a main Israeli commercial gateway, suspended operations.

Hamas’ armed wing, the dominant force in Gaza, threatened an “earthquake” in response to Israel’s attacks. But a Palestinian source close to the group said it was ready to restore calm if Israel met conditions, including a prisoner release.

The Israeli military said it launched the air strikes – dubbed “Operation Protective Edge” – after rockets were fired at southern Israeli towns, and that further Israeli reservists could be called up beyond the 1,500 mobilised to date.

Warning sirens, which police described as false alarms, sounding as far away as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, some 70 km (40 miles) from Gaza.

In one Israeli attack overnight that destroyed a Gaza home, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said the family received a telephone call from an Israeli officer telling them to leave. But the ministry said nine neighbours were wounded.

At least one of the targeted homes belonged to a Hamas militant, according to a neighbour. Locals said the house in which six died belonged to the family of a Hamas member, and that people had been urged to congregate there as “human shields” to deter a second attack after it was targeted earlier in the day.

Setting out terms for a ceasefire, the source close to Hamas said Israel had to “stop all forms of aggression”, recommit to a 2012 Egyptian-brokered truce and free prisoners it detained in the West Bank last month.

Hamas has been reeling over an Egyptian security crackdown on most of the estimated 1,200 cross-border smuggling tunnels run by the group, which Egypt says are used to take weapons into its Sinai Peninsula where Islamist insurgents are active.

A further weakening of Hamas could lead to more radical Islamist groups in Gaza becoming stronger, a scenario that could alarm the Jewish state.

By Angelos Anastasiou
NEGOTIATIONS between state hydrocarbons agency EYK and Noble-Avner over the prospect of channelling natural gas from Israel’s Leviathan reserve to Cyprus to secure the viability of constructing a liquefaction terminal in Vassilikos are in good shape, the agency said on Tuesday.
Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, EYK board member Lenas Mylonas said the results of Italian-Korean consortium ENI’s planned drilling are also crucial to developing the industry in Cyprus. He said the agency is currently focusing on both these issues.
“We have made significant progress in the last three meetings with Noble-Anver,” he said. “We are working on the Government Agreement, which is the contract that will fund the start of the project.”
According to Mylonas, the consortium has already agreed to funnel 20 per cent of the Leviathan field to Egypt, but there are more reserves that the consortium may decide to commit to the Cyprus terminal at any moment, and negotiations on this are very close to the end.
EYK chairwoman Toula Onoufriou said all the oil companies in Cyprus are being kept informed of negotiation developments, and noted that apart from the Israel gas the option of moving ahead with the liquefaction terminal with Cyprus’ reserves, which are hopefully enough to sustain it, is still there.
Onoufriou deemed the coming six to 12 months “critical” to the future of Cyprus in the hydrocarbons’ industry, referring to ENI’s drilling programme, which starts in September and provides for four drillings.
“There will be important developments and more concrete data that will enable us to make important decisions,” she said. “At the same time we will be monitoring international developments, which are variable.”
Mylonas said the interest shown by Total and ENI is very encouraging, and that both have invested in Cyprus waters.
He added that Noble is planning an additional drilling, currently mulling over whether it will be confirmatory or exploratory, and that the bilateral agreement between Cyprus and Israel to share drilling data is important in terms of enriching each country’s database.
EYK’s board pointed out that high expectations should not be cultivated in an inherently risk-laden process.
“The search for hydrocarbons is a dynamic project, and things change according to the progress of the search,” board member Constantinos Nicolaou explained. “The industries and companies have their own logic.”
According to Nicolaou, the investment for constructing the liquefaction terminal may reach half the country’s budget in a very difficult period.
“It will not be an investment for the sake of investing, but to make things easier,” he said.
But even if the terminal’s construction falls through, there are various options depending on the quantities discovered. Board member Mike Efthymiou said possible alternatives may include exporting gas to Egypt or utilising offshore liquefaction plants.
“Our priority is to construct the terminal, but upon discovering more reserves combining onshore and offshore plants may be a suitable option,” he said.
Asked whether Cyprus could tap the Far East markets, which are considered the most profitable, board member Theodoros Tsakkiris said the best way to move in this direction would be to “include Asian customers in the consortiums.” He added there are preliminary talks with important Asian companies.
With regard to investments in Cyprus, Onoufriou said that although there is international interest in financing the onshore liquefaction plant, the key factor is the quantities of gas found.
“When we have confirmed reserves, the mechanisms to secure funding will be set in motion,” he said.
He added that international hydrocarbons-related service companies have expressed interest in launching operations in Cyprus, citing the example of Halliburton, which has offered four TEPAK graduates two-year international training internships.
According to Onoufriou, EYK will be announcing a vacancy for the position of General Manager shortly, and recruit a number of people with specialised international experience.
“EYK also plans to attract younger people with a strong academic background, who can survive an intense programme of continuous training,” she said.

Two men were arrested on Tuesday following a police operation after a tip off relating to the movement of drugs.
Drugs squad spokesman Stelios Sergides said on receipt of the tip a team was dispatched to monitor a container at Limassol port, the contents of which were received on Tuesday by two individuals.
In collaboration with Sovereign Base Area (SBA) police, the two men, who had boarded a car and a van along with the contents of the container, were cut off in an area within the SBA.
Following a search in the cars, a sofa was found to have been stuffed with over 25 kilos of cannabis.
The suspects, two Greek Cypriot males aged 44 and 47, were arrested by SBA authorities and are expected to be handed over to Cyprus police, while investigations into other involved individuals are ongoing.

A zebra-finch and a capuchin monkey named Rooney were the first animals to have new ‘parents’ at Limassol Zoo, as it unveiled a programme of animal adoptions.
In a written statement, the Zoo announced that animal adoptions were kicked off by class C3 of the 2nd Limassol primary school, which adopted the finch, while the monkey was adopted by a family of Russian tourists visiting Cyprus.
“Starting now, your visit to the Limassol Zoo can become more interesting and charitable, by adopting one of our animals,” the statement said.
Animal adoptions are open to any person or group that loves animals and wishes to help the Limassol zoo.
Each adoption lasts for one year at a cost of €50 to €2,000, depending on the animal’s species.
Limassol Zoo is a non-profit organisation and that the high cost of its
maintenance and operation is covered solely by grants, donations and animal adoptions.

THE EU should get more involved in the process of the negotiations for a Cyprus settlement since it is in its interest to have a functional federal state in its ranks able to take decisions and not block the union, Italian Ambassador Guido Cerboni said.
In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency on the occasion of the assumption of the EU Presidency by Italy, Cerboni said a solution to the Cyprus problem should abide by the acquis communautaire, adding that “the EU is not ‘a la carte’ so that you can just pick up what you like.”
The ambassador said he would like to see more EU involvement in the negotiations “because it is in our interest to have all of Cyprus into the EU and to have a Cypriot state which is functional in the EU, in line with the acquis communautaire.”
“I think the EU should be loud and should try to play a high-profile role, not just a role of a technical consultant or of an assistant provider as it is now. Because it is a problem regarding a member of the EU and this is something that we should consider,” he said.
He noted that the solution should abide by EU rules and principles because “at the end of the story (after the solution) Cyprus will still be a member of the EU and it is to our interest to have a well-working Cyprus federation in the Union.”
“Turkey knows very well what it should do, especially regarding the Cyprus issue and this is something that is very clear also to us,” he said. “We shall try our best to facilitate progress, but on condition of course that Turkey will be more cooperative also on the Cyprus issue.”
Asked about the possibility of opening new chapters in the framework of Turkey’s accession negotiations, Cerboni said that “we have been always favourable to the advancement of this process but of course on condition that the rules are respected.
“Opening new chapters does not depend only on our side. It also depends on the Turkish side. If they want to join the club they have to respect the rules. And the rules are very clear. First of all they should recognise Cyprus and apply Protocol 10. And this is something that no EU presidency can change,” he said.
If we had leverage on Turkey we should try to use that and convince them to be more forthcoming on the Cyprus issue, Cerboni said.
“Whether there are chapters (to be opened) on which there are no political vetoes is something we shall see,” he said, adding that the energy chapter for instance was strongly connected with the situation in this area.
“And again they know what they should do,” he stressed.
He expressed the hope the hydrocarbon reserves discovered in the area, including Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), would be a factor of stability.
“You might put on the table the hydrocarbons, the others might put on the table the water and establish a logic of cooperation that could create positive connections between the countries of the region,” he said.
He said that to his knowledge Turkish businessmen and Turkish oil companies would be ready to co-operate provided that the political issues were resolved.
“Of course it is well known that Turkey has the Barbaros ship going around. But these resources are resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus, a country which is a member of the United Nations and the EU and they are resources of the Cypriots and it is up to the Cypriots to establish the rules of how to share them and to decide how to export them, how much to export and to whom,” he noted.

CYPRUS property sales to foreigners recorded an increase of 6.8 per cent in the first quarter this year, according to a new piece of research.
“No doubt this was stimulated by lowering property prices Cyprus-wide, as well as new positive developments in the macro economic landscape,” said Lambros Kaloyirou, Managing Director of Urban Splash Real Estate & Chartered Surveyors.
According to Kaloyirou, much of the renewed foreign interest was the result of investment funds looking to acquire significant deals on large-scale non-completed projects, particularly underdeveloped land with planning permits that are ready to start. Most of this interest is in city centres and prime location developments, as well as beachfront properties.
“Funds have been seeking to buy large volumes at one third of their market price,” he said. “Although this is not entirely feasible, new laws might now force banks to sell distressed assets, therefore pushing prices even lower.”
The other main factor driving economic recovery is Cyprus’ upgrading by rating agencies Standard and Poor, and Fitch, based on better-than-expected performance of the economy, and optimistic long-term prospects.
In terms of sales, the districts of Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta recorded an annual increases of 19 per cent, 10.2 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, Nicosia and Paphos recorded decreases of 2.2 per cent and 33.6 per cent, respectively, as reported by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). Sales to Cypriot buyers however remain rather low and recorded a decrease in the same period, reflecting the local economic situation and access to liquidity.
“Although property prices continue to record a decline throughout Cyprus, it’s encouraging to see investments from foreigners on the incline, signalling a changing trend,” Kaloyirou said. “As demand continues to increase in the market, coupled with stagnation in the supply of new developments, prices will naturally follow to increase.”
Some property markets in Cyprus have already shown a slight increase in price index. Paphos, typically popular to foreign buying source markets such as the UK, has recorded an increase of 1.2 per cent in apartment prices in Q1 2014.
“Of course there is still a long way to go with economic recovery. The main message here is that the Cyprus property market is recovering, albeit slowly, and that buyers will now find excellent property deals in a market sure to improve and provide a good return.”
Meanwhile, June saw further increases in the number of property sales, although not at May’s levels.
Compared to June 2013, the Land and Registry department received 403 sales deeds, an increase of 51. The last two months’ results saw an overall increase in property trading of 24 per cent over the first half of 2014, totalling 2,213 property sales.

Germany scored five goals in 18 first-half minutes on the way to a 7-1 destruction of Brazil in the semi-final on Tuesday to leave the host nation in a state of stunned disbelief at the most amazing World Cup result of all time.
Brazil’s defending was truly awful and Germany took full advantage with brilliant passing and movement to march into the final and hand the host nation their heaviest ever World Cup defeat.
An unmarked Thomas Mueller got the first from a corner after 11 minutes before Miroslav Klose struck to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 16 goals.
Brazil’s defence, badly missing the suspended Thiago Silva, fell apart as Toni Kroos grabbed two in three minutes before the superb Sami Khedira added a fifth in the 29th minute to leave the crowd, and millions watching on TV, in a state of total shock.
Brazil’s few second-half attempts were foiled by in-form goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and Germany substitute Andre Schuerrle banged in the sixth in the 69th minute and lashed in a seventh to inflict Brazil’s first competitive home defeat in 64 matches and 39 years.
Oscar scored a consolation goal for Brazil in the last minute.
In Sunday’s final in Rio de Janeiro, Germany, seeking their first world title since 1990, will play either Argentina or the Netherlands, who meet in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.

By Thorsten Severin

German politicians reacted angrily on Wednesday to news of a suspected US spy in the defence ministry, which came days after the arrest of a German foreign intelligence agency worker as a double agent.

After the federal prosecutors said authorities had conducted searches in connection with a second spying case, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition partners said Washington should remove any US embassy staff involved and cease spying on its ally.

Security sources told Reuters the latest suspect was from the military and worked in the defence ministry in Berlin, but no arrest appeared to have been made. The ministry confirmed its premises had been searched but gave no further details.

“It is not yet clear what is behind this,” Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, in an excerpt of Thursday’s edition.

Merkel has already said the arrest last week of a BND foreign intelligence officer for spying for NATO ally the United States would, if confirmed, be a “serious case”. But she also says it will not affect transatlantic free trade talks.

The chancellor faces criticism for not taking President Barack Obama to task sufficiently for surveillance in Germany by the US National Security Agency, which monitored her own mobile phone. The new cases put further pressure on Merkel to react.

Yasmin Fahimi, general secretary of the Social Democrats (SPD) who share power with Merkel’s conservatives, urged the “immediate removal of embassy staff involved and the immediate cessation of all other espionage in our country”.

Von der Leyen, who is from Merkel’s party, said the NSA case had “shaken confidence” in the United States and it had to be made clear to the intelligence community that “not everything that is possible is politically acceptable”.

Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert acknowledged there were “deep differences of opinion” with the United States on how to balance the need for security with civil rights, though German officials stress they are heavily reliant on US intelligence.

U.S. Ambassador John Emerson, who had been called in for an explanation of the BND case, met a senior official at the German foreign ministry early on Wednesday to try to help clarify the situation, a ministry spokesman said.

The 31-year-old BND agent arrested last week admits passing documents to a US contact including details of a parliamentary committee’s investigation of former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s allegations of American spying in Germany.

The new case, reported on Wednesday, is believed to be more serious than last week’s, Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily said in an advance copy of Thursday’s edition.

Ties with Washington have been sorely tested by Snowden’s allegations and the opposition Greens said it was now even more important that he testify in person before the parliamentary committee probing NSA activities, rather than by video link.

Merkel’s conservatives are relucant to bring him to Germany from asylum in Russia, which could anger the Americans who want Snowden to stand trial for treason.

Merkel said on Wednesday that there were talks with the United States, but she could not comment on their content.

Two U.S. officials familiar with the case of the BND man’s arrest man told Reuters the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was involved in a spying operation against Germany that led to the alleged recruitment of a German intelligence official.

Surveillance is a sensitive issue in Germany, where the memory of the Nazi’s Gestapo secret police and communist East Germany’s Stasi means the right to privacy is treasured.

After the Snowden revelations, Berlin demanded Washington agree to a “no-spy agreement” but the United States has been unwilling to make such a commitment.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots continued substantive negotiations on Wednesday, exchanging proposals on the federal public service, on matters related to the police and on past acts, the United Nations said.

Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis and Turkish Cypriot negotiator Kudret Özersay discussed issues relating to international treaties and previous acts.

UN spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux said in a statement that, as requested by the two leaders during their meeting on July 7, 2014, the negotiators agreed on a special meeting to be held on July 18 to further discuss confidence building measures, methodology and the way forward.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides told the Cyprus News Agency that the Greek Cypriot side submitted a document on the federal civil service, while the Turkish Cypriot side tabled a document on internal security and the federal law enforcement authorities.

The next meeting of the negotiators will be held on July 16, with the transitional periods, the EU and citizenship on the agenda.

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that 47 new contracts have been signed to subsidise Turkish Cypriot small to medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of the EU assistance programme for the Turkish Cypriot community.

The Commission said the main goal of the tender for SMEs was to enhance and improve their competitiveness as a measure of boosting the labour market and of preserving natural resources.

The projects which received EU grants promote business excellence through the modernisation of production processes, and products and services offered, a Commission statement said.

They also aim at establishing European standards on quality and the environment, energy efficiency, and measures promoting renewable energy sources, environmental protection and IT.

At the same time, the press release says, they encourage further cooperation between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot businesses.

A total of €6.5 million have been disbursed so far in grants in the framework of the EU assistance programme to the Turkish Cypriot community.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller

Israeli air strikes shook Gaza every few minutes on Wednesday, and militants kept up rocket fire at Israel’s heartland in intensifying warfare that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 38 people in the Hamas-dominated enclave.

Missiles from the Iron Dome defence system shot into the sky to intercept rockets launched, for the second straight day, at Tel Aviv, the country’s commercial capital.

With cries of ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is great), Palestinians in Gaza cheered as rockets streaked overhead toward Israel, in attacks that could provide a popularity boost for Islamist Hamas, whose rift with neighbouring Egypt’s military-backed government has deepened economic hardship.

Other communities near Tel Aviv in central Israel and in the south, closer to Gaza, were also targeted. In the longest-range attack since Tuesday, when Israel stepped up its offensive, a rocket hit near Zichron Yaakov, a town 115 kilometres north of Gaza.

No serious Israeli fatalities or serious injuries were reported and Israeli news reports hailed as heroes the military crews of the Iron Dome batteries, which are made in Israel and partly funded by the United States. The military said 48 rockets struck Israel on Wednesday, and Iron Dome intercepted 14 others.

With frequent explosions from air strikes echoing through Gaza City, its main shopping street was largely deserted. Local residents reported hundreds of attacks on Wednesday.

The Israeli military said it had bombarded 550 Hamas sites, including 60 rocket launchers and 11 homes of senior Hamas members. It described those dwellings as command centres.

Palestinian officials said at least 25 houses were either destroyed or damaged and not all belonged to militants.

The build-up to the most serious hostilities between Israel and Gaza militants since an eight-day war in 2012 began three weeks ago with rocket attacks following the abduction and killing of three Jewish seminary students in the occupied West Bank.

At least 30 civilians, including six children, were among the 38 Palestinian dead in two days of fighting, and 230 people have been wounded, hospital officials said.

Cairo brokered a truce in the conflict two years ago, but the current government’s hostility toward Hamas, which it accuses of aiding militants in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, could make a mediation role more difficult. Hamas denies the allegations.

Palestinian rocket barrages have sent Israelis racing for bomb shelters, with radio stations interrupting regular broadcasts to announce where sirens have sounded. But the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange seemed untroubled, ending the day with shares slightly higher.

Israeli leaders, who seem to have wide popular support at home for the Gaza operation, have warned of a lengthy campaign and possible ground invasion of the heavily populated Palestinian territory.

“We have decided to step up even more the attacks on Hamas and terrorist organisations in Gaza,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are prepared for every option. Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing at Israeli citizens.”

Netanyahu’s security cabinet has already approved the potential mobilisation of up to 40,000 reserve troops.

Life appeared deceptively normal in Israeli cities, where shops were open and roads clogged with traffic. But questions were being asked on radio talkshows about an exit strategy and a timeframe for the offensive.

At a sidewalk cafe on a fashionable avenue in Tel Aviv, Israel’s most free-wheeling city, patrons seemed to take an air raid siren in their stride, staying in line for their coffee as joggers and cyclists passed.

Some 80 kilometres away, Gaza’s busiest shopping street was largely deserted, though some convenience stores remained open.

“I am fine, as long as Tel Aviv is being hit,” said Abu Ahmed, 65, as he bought cigarettes.

HOMES TARGETED

In an air strike on a home in northern Gaza, a top leader of the Islamic Jihad group and five of his family members were killed, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said. An 80-year-old Palestinian woman was killed in an Israeli attack on another target in central Gaza, local officials said.

Israeli strikes on militants’ homes, local residents said, are usually preceded by either warning fire or a telephone call telling its inhabitants to flee, in an attempt by Israel to avoid civilian casualties. But such bombing sometimes injures or kills people in neighbouring houses.

Washington backed Israel’s actions in Gaza, while the European Union and United Nations urged restraint on both sides.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in a German newspaper article to be published on Thursday, said: “At this time of danger, everyone involved must protect the innocent and act in a sensible and measured way, not with revenge and retaliation.”

Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and entered a power-sharing arrangement with Hamas in April after years of feuding, said he had spoken to Egypt about the Gaza crisis.

“This war is not against Hamas or any faction but is against the Palestinian people,” Abbas said in a speech in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Cairo has secured closures on the Egyptian-Gaza border, increasing economic pressure on Hamas from a long-running Israeli blockade.

“Sisi stressed Egypt was interested in the safety of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and sparing this grave assault,” a statement from Abbas’s office said, adding that Cairo would “exert efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire”.

But Israel appeared to play down any expectations that Egypt would intervene soon.

Asked whether Egypt was acting to calm the situation, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, said on Israel Radio: “We have a degree of cooperation, or dialogue, with Egypt, on which I won’t elaborate. It is not so significant.”

In the West Bank, about 400 Palestinian youths, chanting their support for Hamas’s armed wing, threw stones at an Israeli army checkpoint on Wednesday. Soldiers responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Israel has blamed Hamas for the killing of the three Jewish seminary students who disappeared while hitchhiking in the West Bank on June 12. Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied a role.

The rocket fire from Gaza began after Israel arrested hundreds of Hamas activists in a West Bank sweep it mounted in tandem with a search for the youths, who were found dead last week. A Palestinian teen was abducted and killed in Jerusalem last Wednesday in a suspected revenge murder. Six Israelis have been arrested in that case.

While threatening an “earthquake” of escalation against Israel, Hamas said it could restore calm if Israel halted the Gaza offensive, once again committed to a 2012 ceasefire truce and freed the prisoners it detained in the West Bank last month.

By Julien Pretot

Dutchman Lars Boom won an incident-packed fifth stage of the Tour de France on the cobbles of northern France and Belgium on Wednesday as Vincenzo Nibali seized control overall in the wake of Chris Froome crashing out.

After Britain’s defending champion Froome abandoned, Nibali finished third on a rain-hit stage to build a gap of more than two minutes over main rival Alberto Contador.
Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang guided Astana team mate Nibali home, taking second place on the stage and is second on the overall standings, two seconds behind the Italian.
Froome was forced to abandon after his second crash of a miserable rain-sodden day.

The Briton, who fell some 70km from the finish of the 152.5-km ride from Ypres in Belgium, finished the stage in his Team Sky car.
He had already hurt his wrist in another spill on Tuesday and, after talking to one of his support crew and shaking his head, he limped to the team vehicle and climbed in.
As Froome departed, Nibali powered ahead.
With mud splattering his face, the Italian looked light on the cobbled sectors while Contador struggled but at least stayed on the bike to limit the damage.
Among those who crashed on a hectic day were triple Paris-Roubaix champion Fabian Cancellara as well as overall contenders Tejay van Garderen, Alejandro Valverde and Jurgen van den Broeck.
“The riders’ safety must always come first. It’s completely different to have cobbles on a one-day race or on a GC race when it can have a major impact on the outcome,” Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford had told reporters before the start.
Thursday’s sixth stage will take the battered peloton over 194-km from Arras to Reims as the Tour commemorates the centenary of the start of World War One.

RELATIONS between Cyprus and Israel are at their highest point, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday in his address at the unveiling of a plaque to honour Cypriots that helped Jewish refugees during their stay in the British detention centre in Dhekelia between 1946-9.

The event was organised by the Embassy of Israel and the Xylotymbou community council.

Summing up Cyprus-Israel relations over the years, the president said that today the two countries’ ties are formed under conditions of free will and choice, and not under conditions of economic or political need like in the past.

“During World War II and right after that, Cyprus became a place of transit of about 53,000 holocaust survivors, trying to reach British ruled Palestine, before the foundation of the state of Israel,” Anastasiades said.

The president said that the refugees, who were staying in the detention camps in Famagusta, Dhekelia and in Xylotymbou, had formed close ties with Cypriots who welcomed them and offered them basic goods and their solidarity.

He gave the example of Zehavit Blumenfeld, also present at the unveiling ceremony, and who was born in Cyprus in 1948 and left with her parents for Israel when she was only nine months old.

“Zehavit has no memories of Cyprus […] when she was little she would always hear her parents speak about Cypriots with the kindest words” the president said and elaborated how Blumenfeld became a good Samaritan for Cypriots visiting Israel for medical or other reasons.

President Anastasiades said that the two peoples have historic ties but the exploration for hydrocarbons within the two countries’ territorial waters has launched a new era in these relations, marked by mutual visits and agreements not only in the energy sector but in a wide range of topics.

“Cyprus and Israel share a common vision; to effectively and strategically upgrade our relations in every possible field of mutual interest,” the president said.

THREE people were arrested in Paphos on Monday night, following a search in their car that yielded 116 grammes of cannabis, police said.

According to the police report, officers had stopped the car for a routine check.

All three were taken to Paphos police department and charged.

FOUR men and woman were arrested in Larnaca on Wednesday in connection with loan sharking, police said.

The suspects, aged 38 to 45, were detained by police after a 34-year-old businessman filed a complaint that he had borrowed €23,000 at a 30 per cent interest from three different people.

The man said he had paid back €30,000 so far but the suspects allegedly demanded €70,000 more.

The man said he was forced to borrow the money due to financial problems he faced in the past year.

A police spokesman said the suspects were held in connection with extortion, usury, and profiteering.

LARNACA municipality warned dog owners on Wednesday that bringing their dogs to any municipal beach is strictly forbidden.

“According to current legislation, bringing one’s dog to the beach is against the law and they will be reported by municipal employees,” a statement said.

Despite the fact that in 2003 a law was passed mandating that each coastal area should designate a dog beach, municipalities are protesting and refuse to cooperate.

The central beaches committee designated five areas in 2011 but failed to implement it because of opposition from local authorities.

The only officially designated dog-friendly beach is in Ayia Napa that opened in August 2008 on the municipality’s own initiative.

The Ayia Napa dog beach is called Louma and is located opposite the Waterworld water park in Ayia Thekla.

By Mitch Phillips

Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-2 on penalties to reach the World Cup final after a dire two hours of defence-dominated football failed to provide a semi-final goal for the first time in the tournament’s history on Wednesday.

Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved Ron Vlaar’s first penalty then made a superb diving save to deny Wesley Sneijder, allowing Maxi Rodriguez to crash home the decisive kick as his side converted all four of their penalties.

The game was a forgettable one as the Dutch struggled to build any meaningful attacks and completed 90 minutes without a shot on target as Arjen Robben’s last-minute effort was brilliantly blocked by Javier Mascherano.

Argentina were not much more adventurous and had only a handful of half-chances to their name as, in total contrast to Tuesday’s match when Germany waltzed through a wide open Brazil to win 7-1, both defences were absolutely on top.

In Sunday’s final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Argentina will play Germany in a repeat of the 1986 and 1990 finals – the first time the same two teams will have faced each other three times in the decider.

The Netherlands will play Brazil in the third-place playoff in Brasilia on Saturday.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller

At least 77 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s Gaza offensive, Palestinian officials said on Thursday, and militants kept up rocket attacks on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities in warfare showing no signs of ending soon.

Eight Palestinian family members, including five children, were killed in an early morning air strike that destroyed at least two homes in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the Palestinian Health ministry said.

Israel’s military made no comment on what would be the deadliest strike since the offensive began on Tuesday.

“We have long days of fighting ahead of us,” Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Thursday of the offensive which began after a build-up of violence following the killing of three Jewish students last month and the murder of a Palestinian teen in a suspected revenge attack.

Sirens sounded in and around Jerusalem in the evening and residents ran for cover as a number of rockets were launched towards the holy city. Two were intercepted and others fell in open ground. The remnants of one rocket fell on a building in a small community in the hills near Jerusalem, police said.

Islamic Jihad and Qassam Brigades militants separately claimed the launchings.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will brief the Security Council on the crisis later on Thursday, condemned the rocket attacks and urged Israel to show restraint. “Gaza is on a knife edge,” he told reporters.

Medical officials in Hamas-dominated Gaza said at least 60 civilians, including a four-year-old girl and boy, aged 5 who were killed on Thursday, were among the 77 Palestinians who have died in Israeli attacks since Tuesday.

Israel says it has struck more than 750 targets in an offensive intended to halt persistent rocket fire at its own civilian population, which escalated after Israeli forces arrested hundreds of Hamas activists in the occupied West Bank following the abduction of the Jewish teenagers.

It accuses Hamas Islamists of deliberately putting innocent Palestinians in harm’s way by placing weaponry and gunmen in residential areas.

SMOKE AND RUBBLE

Across the Gaza Strip, smoke and rubble marked the aftermath of Israeli attacks in the most serious hostilities between Palestinian militants and Israel’s powerful armed forces in two years.

“The Jews say they are fighting Hamas and fighting gunmen while all the bodies we have seen on television are those of women and children,” said Khaled Ali, 45, a Gaza taxi driver.

Rocket salvoes on Israel – the military said 442 projectiles have been fired since Tuesday, including nearly 100 on Thursday alone – have caused no fatalities or serious injuries. That has been due in part to interception by Israel’s partly U.S.-funded Iron Dome aerial defence system.

The wail of air raid sirens has paralysed business in southern communities and sent hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for shelter in Tel Aviv, the commercial capital where two rockets were shot down on Thursday, but offices and shops remain open and roads are clogged with traffic.

One rocket fell in the West Bank between Jerusalem and Ramallah and landed in open ground close to a Palestinian home. No casualties or damage was reported, according to Reuters witnesses at the scene.

Cities close to the northern port of Haifa have also been targeted.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri sounded a defiant note, when asked about Yaalon’s remarks. “Our backs are to the wall and we have nothing to lose,” he said. “We are ready to battle until the end.”

“KNOCK ON THE DOOR”

Israel’s targets in the Gaza Strip have included militant commanders’ homes, which it described as command and control centres. Palestinian officials put the number of dwellings either destroyed or damaged at more than 120. Local residents said some of the houses did not belong to fighters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement on Wednesday, said Hamas was committing “a double war crime”.

“It targets Israeli civilians, while hiding behind Palestinian civilians,” he said.

Owners of some of the targeted homes received telephoned warnings from Israel to get out, or so-called “knock-on-the-door” missiles, which do not carry explosive warheads, were first fired as a signal to evacuate.

Scenes of families fleeing their homes have been playing out daily.

Israeli leaders, who have popular support for the Gaza offensive, have also warned the air offensive could be expanded into a ground invasion of one of the world’s most densely populated territories.

Some 20,000 reservists have been mobilised, the military says.

U.S.-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank and entered a power-sharing deal with Hamas in April after years of feuding, has denounced the Israeli offensive.

In telephone calls with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Abbas “stressed the need to achieve a ceasefire immediately”, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

By Michael Holden and William James

Britain said on Thursday it would rush through emergency legislation to force telecoms firms to retain customer data for a year, calling the move vital for national security following a decision by Europe’s top court.

Communication companies had been required to retain data for 12 months under a 2006 European Union directive but this was thrown out in April by the European Court of Justice on the grounds that it infringed human rights.

Britain’s coalition government said the scrapping of that directive could deprive police and intelligence agencies of access to information about who customers contacted by phone, text or email, and where and when.

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was vital these powers were not compromised at a time of growing concern over Britons travelling to Iraq and Syria to join militant Islamist groups.

Those concerns prompted the government to take the unusual step of announcing fast-track legislation which, under a deal brokered behind closed doors between Britain’s three major political parties, could become law as soon as next week.

“This is at the heart of our entire criminal justice system,” Cameron told a news conference. “It is used in 95 percent of all serious organised crime cases … It has been used in every major security service counter-terrorism investigation over the last decade and it is the foundation of prosecution of paedophiles, drug dealers and fraudsters.”

In an effort to deflect criticism that collecting communications data flouted civil liberties, Cameron stressed the emergency law would not grant new powers and would only enshrine existing capabilities in law.

He said the new legislation would also clarify the grounds under which authorities could request service providers provide the content of calls, emails and text messages, even if the companies holding that data were based overseas.

“There is now a real risk that legal uncertainty will reduce companies’ willingness to comply with UK law, even where they would wish to support us,” the Conservative prime minister said. “Some companies are already saying they can no longer work with us unless UK law is clarified immediately.”

The biggest Internet Service Providers in Britain are BT , BSkyB, TalkTalk and Virgin Media . The four main mobile providers who would be affected include EE , O2, Vodafone and Three.

PRIVACY CONCERNS

Britain is the first EU country to seek to rewrite its law to continue data retention since the European court decision, and the government said it was in close contact with other European states on the issue.

Denmark said in June that it would no longer enforce part of a local law that requires “session logging” – or data retention – by telecom operators while in Sweden, telecom operators simply stopped collecting the data.

Britain’s new measures come in the wake of revelations by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden about British spying on private communications, and privacy campaigners said they were worried about the implications of the legislation.

“We need to get back to a point where the police monitor people who are actually suspected of wrongdoing and rather than wasting millions every year requiring data to be stored on an indiscriminate basis,” Emma Carr, acting director of Big Brother Watch, said in a statement.

The government said the law would establish a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, based on a U.S. model, to ensure civil liberties were properly taken into account.

It also said the number of bodies that could approach telecoms and internet firms for data would be restricted, and there would be an annual transparency report to make information more widely available on surveillance powers used by the state.

The emergency legislation will include a termination clause meaning it will expire in 2016, forcing lawmakers to look at the measures in detail again before then.

Last year, the government failed to bring in a Communications Data bill, which critics dubbed a “snoopers charter” and would have secured the West’s most far-reaching surveillance powers in the face of widespread opposition.

Senior police and security chiefs had argued that unless they were given new powers to monitor online activities, militants and criminals would exploit new forms of communication technology such as Facebook and Skype.

But the centre-left Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in Cameron’s government, blocked those plans saying they were not proportionate or workable.

By George Psyllides

PROPERTY owners will pay this year’s immovable property tax (IPT) on rates based 1980s values, parliament unanimously decided on Thursday, after disagreements over the updated rates tabled by the government.

Parties felt that the new rates placed the burden on the owners of mid-value properties and decided to stick to the values used last year.

The proposal, approved with the votes of 53 MPs, also pushed the payment deadline to the end of November and raised the discount rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent if the tax is paid at least 30 days before.

The proposal also provides that the tax is paid by the user of the property even if it is not registered on their name.

The provision does not apply when the fault for the lack of a title deed belongs to someone else and not the user.

Last year, developers had to pay the tax for properties without title deeds.

Parliament also passed legislation authorising the land registry to inform owners of the updated value of their properties.

The law also specifies the appeals procedure and the fees to be paid when filing one.

For properties up to €100,000, owners will be charged €37.5, €75 for properties between €100,001 and €500,000, €150 for properties up to one million euros, and €357 for those over a million euros.

The deadline for appeals is two months.

Interior minister Socratis Hasikos said owners will pay the amount that corresponds to their evaluation and the remainder, if any, can be paid when the decision is made.

Taxing properties using 1980s values was considered unfair and updating them was a condition included in the terms of the island’s bailout.

As part of the bailout, Cyprus had to update real estate values by mid 2014.

Until 2013, property owners were taxed based on 1980s values with many paying peanuts and others nothing at all.