By George Psyllides

Former Central Bank governor Panicos Demetriades withheld a report suggesting the island’s banks needed less money to recapitalise because the issue was too technical for top officials to understand, the New York Times reported on Friday.

According to the paper, a study carried out by investment managers BlackRock had found that the lenders’ needs were €1 billion less than what bond giant Pimco’s estimate of €8.8 billion.

It was this estimate that eventually led international lenders to demand that banks recapitalise by seizing deposits.

There were numerous reports in the local media at the time suggesting that the PIMCO findings had been inflated, though the BlackRock study had been kept secret, even from the island’s new political leadership, which was trying to negotiate a bailout deal.

Demetriades rejected the claim that the forecasts were inflated.

“The assumptions relating to the Pimco adverse scenario have unfortunately been surpassed,” he told the New York Times. However, it is understood that PIMCO’s adverse scenario did not include closure of a bank and deposit seizure, which made the situation worse.

As to why he did not tell the new government about the BlackRock study, Demetriades, according to the New York Times, suggested the issue was too technical for top officials to understand and that the report was not in its complete form when crisis negotiations began in March 2013.

Former finance minister, Michalis Sarris, who led the bailout talks, said they knew nothing about the report, which should have been on the table if it indicated that banks needed less money.

Quoting BlackRocks report, the New York Times said PIMCO analysts gave little chance that troubled loans would recover over time and were very aggressive in marking down the value of real estate collateral.

“BlackRock also criticised Pimco’s lack of transparency,” the paper said.

Demetriades was forced to bring in BlackRock after pressure from bankers and politicians amid reports that the estimates were excessive.

When PIMCO delivered its report on February 1, 2013, Demetriades wrote to Eric Mogelof, the executive who oversaw the project, saying that the estimate “appears to be extracted from a black box (input information and get output without knowing internal process) calculation.”

Mogelof responded that the assumptions came directly from Demetriades’ team as well as the country’s creditors.

The PIMCO report was also used to justify selling the Cypriot banks’ Greek operations to Greece’s “nearly bankrupt Piraeus Bank” at a rock-bottom price. A few months later, Piraeus reported a 3.5 billion profit and “is now Greece’s largest domestic bank and hedge fund darling.”

By Alan Baldwin

Lewis Hamilton started his Hungarian Grand Prix weekend as he intended to continue, leading both of Friday’s free practice sessions with championship-leading Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg behind.

The winner of the last two Hungarian Grands Prix lapped the Hungaroring circuit outside Budapest with a best time of one minute 25.814 seconds in the morning and 1:24.482 in the afternoon.

Rosberg was second fastest in both, 0.183 and 0.238 slower than the 2008 champion in the sessions with track temperatures rising to a sweltering 55 degrees Celsius after lunch.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso were the closest to the dominant duo, who have won nine out of 10 races so far between them, in the morning with third and fourth places respectively on the timesheets.

However Red Bull’s quadruple champion Sebastian Vettel, who has never won in Hungary, was third fastest in the second practice with Alonso fourth.

Hamilton is 14 points adrift of Rosberg, despite having won five races to the German’s four, but has a far better record in Hungary.

The Briton has won four times there in total, a record he shares with Germany’s now retired Michael Schumacher, whereas Rosberg has yet to stand on the Hungaroring podium.

Raikkonen also has a great record at the track, which counts almost as a home race for Finnish drivers, with victory for McLaren in 2005 and second place in the last two years with Lotus.

The Finn needs a good result this weekend after being eclipsed by Alonso so far this season. Raikkonen is the only driver on the grid who has yet to beat his team mate this year.

The morning session opened with Max Chilton’s Marussia on fire in the pits, with the flames quickly extinguished, after oil leaked onto the exhaust.

There was less drama in the second, other than a few harmless spins and slides.

Hamilton could be heard enquiring over the team radio, however, whether there was something wrong with his car’s front brakes – a worrying sign after a front brake disc failure pitched him out of qualifying in Germany last weekend.

The Briton had to battle back in that race from 20th on the grid to third, with Rosberg winning.

By Tony Goodson

Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins can stay with Team Sky and realise his 2016 Olympic ambitions on the track despite saying he is done with road racing, team principal Dave Brailsford said on Friday.

“That’s what we are discussing at the moment, to try to see if we can find this ideal scenario for Rio.

“It’s doable, that’s for sure,” Brailsford told the BBC.

Wiggins signed for Team Sky in 2010 but has yet to agree a new contract after Brailsford left him out of this year’s Tour de France line-up.

Wiggins won a silver medal on the track at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday before saying he was done with road racing.

“I’ve bled it dry,” the 34-year-old said.

The Commonwealth silver was the latest prize in a career that has brought the Englishman four Olympic golds and the historic 2012 Tour de France victory, the first by a Briton in the sport’s most prestigious race.

After losing out on gold to Australia in Glasgow, he said road racing was “quite cut-throat” and “political”.

“The track feels more like a family and a closer-knit group of people,” he said.

Responding to the comments, Brailsford said Wiggins was “entitled to his opinion”.

He also defended Team Sky’s competitiveness and Wiggins’s claim that they were only interested in Grand Tours by saying most teams were just as focused on winning the big races

By Constantinos Psillides

A NUMBER of projects ‘of great cultural significance’ are currently underway, said Culture and Education Minister Kostas Kadis on Friday, chief of which was turning the old Nicosia Municipal Theatre into a cultural centre.

Kadis told reporters that the his ministry would soon start work on the theatre, restore buildings near the Famagusta Gate to house the National Gallery – expected to finish in 2016- and has also ordered a feasibility study for the Cyprus Archaeological Museum, which is to be built where the old Nicosia General Hospital once stood, opposite the House of Representatives.

“The ministry considers these projects to be of great importance, a set of valuable tools in promoting culture in our country,” said Kadis, following a news conference at the ministry.

Regarding the Municipal Theatre, Kadis said that it was a symbolic building, “which is why the ministry is working closely with all competent authorities to restore it and put it to good use.”

The municipal theatre has been abandoned since June 2008, when its roof collapsed overnight, a day before hundreds of school children were expected to stage an end-of-year performance there.

Kadis said that the ministry would spend €5 million towards restoring the theatre, out of the €7.5 million needed. The Nicosia municipality will cover the rest of the cost, according to its Mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis. The education ministry will get to use the building for 100 days per year for free, for a period of 20 years.

Communications and Works Minister Marios Demetriades, who was also present at the meeting, assured Kadis that his ministry would do everything in its power to facilitate all of the projects in the works.

Yiorkadjis thanked both ministers, adding in his speech that the collaboration proved that when there is would always be a way.

“The Nicosia Municipal Theatre was always more than a theatre. It’s a symbol of culture, not only for Nicosia but for the whole island,” he said.

Asked to specify from where the funds would come to restore the theatre, Kadis responded that they were diverting funds from the budget originally intended for building the failed Cultural Centre.

The state decided five months ago to scrap the idea of building the mammoth cultural centre and have now opted instead to restore the abandoned municipal theatre instead.

Kadis said that the accident that happened in 2008 was an “unfortunate but isolated incident” and should not deter the public from returning.

By Josh Reich

Welsh 400m hurdler Rhys Williams is out of the Commonwealth Games after being charged with an anti-doping violation, UK Anti-Doping said on Friday.

Williams, 30, who won gold at the 2012 European Championships and bronze at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, and was co-captain of the Wales squad In Glasgow, said he was “utterly devastated” at the news.

“UK Anti-Doping can confirm the provisional suspension of athlete Rhys Williams after being charged with committing an anti-doping rule violation under the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules,” UKAD chief executive Andy Parkinson said in a statement in response to an announcement by Team Wales.

“The athlete has the opportunity to respond to the charges against him, and to have those charges determined at a full hearing before the National Anti-Doping Panel.

“UK Anti-Doping will not be making any further comment.”

Williams, the son of former Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby winger JJ Williams, failed an in-competition test at the Glasgow Grand Prix event on July 11 and has been given a mandatory provisional suspension from all competition.

He said he had not knowingly taken a banned substance.

“I am utterly devastated about the news of this anti-doping rule violation, which has come as a great shock to me,” Williams said in a statement.

“From the outset, I would strongly like to state that I have not knowingly taken any banned substance.

“As a professional athlete, I have always supported and have been an advocate of clean sport.”

Williams said he would fully co-operate with UKAD.

“To be named Co-Team Captain for the Welsh Athletics Team was a great honour and I am distraught that I won’t be able to fulfil this role and join them as part of Team Wales.

Welsh 800m runner Gareth Warburton was provisionally suspended this month for an anti-doping violation, ruling him out of the Games.

Welsh Olympic silver medal-winning boxer Fred Evans had his accreditation refused after an investigation by the Home Office and Games officials.

The deadline for the submission of applications by welfare recipients for the government’s Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) scheme has been extended to September 1, the Labour ministry announced on Friday.

In a written statement, the ministry has announced that welfare recipients were previously allowed to apply until August 11.

The extension was granted in order to address difficulties faced by welfare recipients in filling out applications.

After applications have been approved, the statement said, welfare payments will resume.

Meanwhile, the labour ministry also announced that instances of underage disabled individuals applying for GMI welfare, the application requires a bank IBAN of a joint account managed by the two parents.

In case parental care belongs to one of the parents, the application must state his or her bank IBAN , and include proof of the person being allocated parental care.

Conversely, in the case of disabled adults who are unable to manage their wealth, the bank IBAN of the court-appointed administrator must be included in the application, along with the relevant court order.

Nicosia and Famagusta district police conducted a large scale operation on Friday night, aiming at dealing with unlicensed security companies and self-employed security guards, according to the police report.

Police officers raided 34 establishments in both districts and arrested four people who were working as security guards without proper licences.

Police also raided a beach party to look for drugs but found nothing, according to the report.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation, Nicosia and Limassol police raided three establishments in an attempt to deal with illegal gambling.

In a betting store in Nicosia police confiscated 17 computers that were modified to work as slot machines while 25 computers were confiscated following the raid in two other betting stores in Limassol.

A 33-year-old man was arrested during the early hours of Saturday after being caught red-handed carrying out a burglary on a pharmacy, police said.

According to the police report, at 1.25am, Limassol police were informed that an individual was trying to break in a pharmacy. Officers rushed to the scene and found the suspect inside the pharmacy and the back door window broken.

The sum of €505 –that appears to have come from the registry- and a screwdriver were found on the suspect.

According to the police the 33-year-old confessed to the crime.

AROUND 1,000 Turkish Cypriots will visit the Hala Sultan Tekke at the Larnaca Salt Lake on Monday, the first day of Bayram.

The Cyprus News Agency  quoted Turkish Cypriot press saying the two negotiators in the peace talks, Andreas Mavroyiannis and Kudret Ozersay, agreed that the visit will go ahead next week.

All visitors will have to take their IDs with them. Around 1,000 pilgrims will make the trip to the historic religious site, leaving from the Ayios Dhometios checkpoint at 6.45am on Monday with a police escort.

Meanwhile, theAntiquitiesDepartmentyesterdayannouncedthatduetotheexpectedvisitofalargenumberofpeopleatthesite, theHalaSultanTekkewill not be accessible from 7.30am until 1pm on Monday.

President Nicos Anastasiades travels to Athens on Monday to meet Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

An official press release says that on Monday, Anastasiades will have a meeting with Samaras to be followed by talks between the delegations of the two sides.
On Tuesday, the President will hold meetings with the leaders of the political parties.
The President will be accompanied by FM Ioannis Kasoulides and Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides who will have a meeting with his Greek counterpart Sofia Voultepsi.
Anastasiades and his entourage return home Tuesday evening.

By Evie Andreou

A NEW scheme introduced to reduce costs by being green is producing results for businesses.

Hellenic Bank said it has already saved €1m in electricity bills by following the Green Offices programme and was one of the eight businesses and offices awarded with the Green Key and Green Offices eco-labels.

The eco-labels were presented by CYMEPA, the non-governmental organisation dealing with the environment and clean seas, and a member of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

“Being environmentally-friendly can save you a lot of money, especially on energy bills,” said Dr. Michael Ierides, general secretary of CYMEPA.

CYMEPA awarded the Green Key to Loxandra Inn from Kathikas and to the sea-food restaurant chain Ocean Basket.

“We are very proud to have hotels and restaurants from Cyprus to receive this eco-label, which is awarded to more than 2,100 establishments worldwide” Ierides said.

The Green Key is an eco-label for tourist enterprises aimed at promoting sustainable tourism and to contribute to the prevention of climate change.

The programme began in Denmark in 1994 and was adopted by FEE in 2002 with 28 countries taking part in the programme.

The Green Offices eco-label was introduced by CYMEPA in cooperation with the Environment Commissioner’s office in order to help small companies take their first environmental steps.

“It is a pioneering programme and I believe it will be a great honour for Cyprus for the Green Offices eco-label to become international,” Commissioner Ioanna Panayiotou said.

The eco-label was awarded to four Hellenic Bank regional branches, Columbia Shipmanagement Ltd, Intership Navigation Ltd, Lemissoler Navigation Ltd, Staroil Ltd, B&A the Best MCC Ltd, and the Environment Commissioner’s office. In January, the eco-labels were awarded to a number of other hotels and Hellenic bank branches.

“Companies will save money on energy bills but the real benefit is that their employees become more aware,” Ierides said.

By Andreas Vou

GEORGIOS Achilleos has won gold for Cyprus in the men’s skeet shooting, taking Cyprus’ medal count in the opening three days of the Commonwealth Games to five.

Achilleos was the favourite going into the event and the former world champion showed his superiority, earning the top prize with four clays to spare.

The 33-year-old’s gold comes less than 24 hours after Dimitris Minasidis earned Cyprus its first gold medal in weightlifting.
The 25-year-old beat off all competition in the 62 kg class. A total lift of 276 kg was enough to secure gold for Minasidis who saw off the challenge of Sri Lanka’a Sudesh Peiris, who lifted 273 kg, while Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane took the bronze.

Meanwhile, Themida Christodoulidou won the bronze medal in the individual rhythmic gymnastics competition on Saturday while fellow Cypriot Pantelitsa Theodoulou narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing in fourth place.
On Thursday, 23-year-old Andreas Krassas won a silver medal in the under-66 kg judo class, winning four consecutive matches before eventually losing out in the final against world number seven Colin Oates.

The silver medal won by Krassas makes it just the second that Cyprus has won in judo in the history of the 20 Commonwealth Games, after Christos Christodoulides’ silver in 2002 in Manchester.
Another success for judo followed shortly after, as Robert Nicola finished in fifth place in the 81 kg category with two wins and two defeats.
Nicola overcame the challenge of his first opponent, Kenya’s Joshuah Omondi, with ease but England’s Tom Reid proved too tough an opponent for the Cypriot, meaning that he just missed out on a medal.

Nicola later spoke of his frustration at narrowly missing out on the podium, feeling that he could have beaten Reid but rued making a solitary error which ended up proving costly.

“I could have beaten the Englishman. I made one mistake, but that’s Judo,” he said after the match.

Elsewehre, Andri Eleftheriou, competing in the women’s skeet shooting, entered the semi-final with a ranking of 69/75, the second best out of the other five competitors. The 30-year-old went on to win the bronze medal, beating England’s Sarah Gray in the shoot-off with 13 out of 16 shots compared to her rival’s 12/16.

By Constantinos Psillides

AFTER-hours car racing is alive and well along Grivas Dighenis Avenue in Nicosia, according to Engomi Mayor Zacharias Kyriakou who issued a statement saying that traffic police failed to resolve the problem despite installing speed cameras.

“Illegal car racing on Grivas Dighenis is still going on. The street is a hell of noise pollution with all the dangers that go along with that,” said Kyriakou in his statement, explaining that while the speed cameras monitor a stretch of the avenue effectively, the car races moved to the next part of the street and continue undisturbed.

Kyriakou argued that placing speed bumps along Grivas Dighenis would solve the problem, and accused the communications ministry of taking their time with the tender process that would allow a private contractor to install the bumps.

This was not the first time Kyriakou railed against the alleged failure of speed cameras to deal with the car racing problem.

On July 17, the Engomi mayor publicly asked traffic police to switch the speed cameras off during the day, arguing that it was only resulting in fining “hard-working people trying to get to work in the mornings.”

The speed cameras cover the area from the Metochi traffic lights to the Engomi McDonalds traffic lights.

Police said that from the beginning of June, when the cameras became operational, 20,000 speed violations had been recorded.

Traffic Police Chief Yiannakis Charalambous had then told the Engomi mayor that the speed cameras helped in dealing with the problem of car racing. Kyriakou contested that, saying in his statement that only speed bumps would help.

“We only hope that the competent authorities will keep their promises and enforce those measures needed to deal with the problem. We have requested laying down the speed bumps to get rid of these nightmarish car races that keep people up at night and endanger lives,” said Kyriakou, adding that he met with Charalambous to discuss the problem.

The speed bumps will be laid on the part of the avenue not covered by the cameras, from McDonalds’ traffic lights to the Kolokasides roundabout.

The speed limit on Grivas Dighenis 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 are operated by police officers, unlike the rest of the planned traffic camera network that will be set up in early 2015 all over the island.

By the end of July the communications ministry will be putting together a tender, aiming to have the new system up and running by February 2015.

By Constantinos Psillides

Troika technocrats have green-lighted Cyprus’ National Health Scheme (NHS), according to a statement issued by the health ministry on Saturday.

The Troika representatives met on Friday with Health Minister Philippos Patsalis as part of their fifth review of the implementation of Cyprus’ adjustment programme.

According to the health ministry statement, the technocrats praised the government and the ministry for “making significant progress in all obligations described in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the last three months.”

Patsalis expressed his satisfaction over the troika review, reiterating that the government’s goal was to reform the health system in Cyprus, “firstly for the benefit of the people.”

“During the previous three months since the troika’s last visit to Cyprus, the ministry of health had shown significant progress in relation to the obligations arising through the Memorandum for the health sector,” the ministry said.

The main steps, which were completed during this period include, among others the preparation and approval by the Cabinet of the Plan Reform, the preparation of a roadmap for the implementation of the Integrated Health Information System and the establishment of two groups for the implementation of the reforms.
There was also progress in relation to the legal vetting of issues related to the reform and the public dialogue with the various stakeholders in the national health system.
“We recognise that the implementation of the NHS and the reform of the whole system is a complex and difficult work,” said the ministry, adding that they would continue to make every effort to succeed.

The Troika’s stellar review was largely expected after Patsalis managed to reach an understanding with the state doctors regarding their disagreement over the proposed NHS.

Both sides agreed to get together and discuss the state doctors’ demands, including job security for contract doctors, a lift on the promotions ban in public hospitals and a clear guideline on overtime pay. The deal with the state doctors to discuss the issues was struck only last week.

By Alan Baldwin

FORMULA One world championship leader Nico Rosberg took pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday while Mercedes team mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton saw his hopes go up in flames.

Hamilton, 14 points behind Rosberg after 10 races, has won in Hungary for the past two years and four times in total and was the favourite for pole and the race after setting the pace in practice.

Instead, the Briton was set to start last and from the pitlane after his car caught fire with the session barely started.
Red Bull’s quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel qualified second, equalling his best grid placing of the season, on an all-German front row.

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas starts third in a Williams with Australian Daniel Ricciardo fourth for Red Bull on an overcast afternoon that saw light rain fall between the second and final phase of qualifying.

For the second race in a row, Rosberg was left with mixed emotions – happy to be in the top slot with every chance of extending his overall lead – but saying also that he felt cheated of a battle with his team mate.
“It’s a pity for the team, not a goood thing…I would prefer to be out there battling Lewis,” he told reporters. “That would have been the maximum adrenalin rush.”

Hamilton, winner of five races to Rosberg’s four, has had a run of bad luck with two retirements to the German’s sole blank and has also endured a string of qualifying setbacks going back six races.
At Hockenheim last Saturday, he crashed out of qualifying at the same point when a front brake disc failed and had to start in 20th place.

That triggered a thrilling charge through the field on Sunday to third place but the slow and twisty Hungaroring is a far more difficult track to overtake on.

“There’s a lot going through my mind, but I just have to try to turn it into positives until tomorrow,” Hamilton, whose car will need a change of engine and gearbox with accompanying five place penalty, told the BBC.
“I think it’s getting to the point beyond bad luck – it’s something else. We just need to do better,” added the 2008 world champion.

While Hamilton’s blaze – caused by a suspected fuel leak – was the main talking point, there were other shocks in an eventful session that ended with Mercedes’ 10th pole in 11 races.
Frenchman Jules Bianchi, a Ferrari academy driver who races for struggling Marussia, qualified 16th and ahead of Ferrari’s 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen at one of the Finn’s strongest circuits.

Ferrari had mistakenly assumed both their drivers were safely through the first phase and did not send them out for second runs – and then saw Bianchi pip Raikkonen when there was nothing they could do about it.
Raikkonen’s double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso will start fifth and with Brazilian Felipe Massa, who was replaced by Raikkonen at the Italian team, alongside.

The final phase was halted for some eight minutes after Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen crashed his McLaren heavily into the barriers on a surface made slippery by the sudden shower.
Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, who has not scored a point so far this season, was the first out of qualifying after parking up his Lotus.

By Vladimir Soldatkin

Russia reacted angrily on Saturday to additional sanctions imposed by the European Union over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis, saying they would hamper cooperation on security issues and undermine the fight against terrorism and organised crime.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry also accused the United States, which has already imposed its own sanctions against Moscow, of contributing to the conflict in Ukraine through its support for the pro-Western government in Kiev.

The 28-nation EU reached an outline agreement on Friday to impose the first economic sanctions on Russia over its behaviour in Ukraine but scaled back their scope to exclude technology for the crucial gas sector.

The EU also imposed travel bans and asset freezes on the chiefs of Russia’s FSB security service and foreign intelligence service and a number of other top Russian officials, saying they had helped shape Russian government policy that threatened Ukraine’s sovereignty and national integrity.

“The additional sanction list is direct evidence that the EU countries have set a course for fully scaling down cooperation with Russia over the issues of international and regional security,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“This includes the fight against the proliferation of weapon of mass destruction, terrorism, organised crime and other new challenges and dangers.”

The EU had already imposed asset freezes and travel bans on dozens of senior Russian officials over Russia’s annexation in March of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and its support for separatists battling Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine.
The decision to move towards targeting sectors of Russia’s economy came after last week’s downing of a Malaysian MH17 airliner, killing 298 people, in an area of eastern Ukraine held by the Russian-backed separatists.

The United States and other Western countries accuse the separatists of downing the plane with a surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia. The separatists deny shooting down the plane and Russia says it has provided no such weapons.

In a second statement on Saturday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Washington shared responsibility for the crisis.
“The United States continues to push Kiev into the forceful repression of Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population’s discontent. There is one conclusion – the Obama administration has some responsibility both for the internal conflict in Ukraine and its severe consequences,” the ministry said.

“Judging by the relentless slander campaign against Russia, organised by the American administration, they increasingly rely on sheer lies while conducting foreign policy,” it said, citing comments by White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday that President Vladimir Putin was “culpable”.

The ministry also said Washington had to answer questions posed by Russia’s Defence Ministry over the crash. On Monday, the Defence Ministry challenged the United States to produce satellite images to back its assertions that the pro-Russian separatists were to blame for downing the plane.

On Saturday, Britain’s Foreign Office accused Russia of making “contradictory, mutually exclusive claims” in blaming Ukraine for the crash and said it was “highly likely” the separatists had brought it down with a Russian-supplied missile.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Europe’s largest economy which also has strong trade ties with Russia, spoke out strongly in favour of the new EU sanctions against Moscow in an interview published on Saturday.

“After the death of 300 innocent people in the MH17 crash and the disrespectful roaming around the crash site of marauding soldiers, the behaviour of Russia leaves us no other choice.” he told Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
“We remain true to our course: cleverly calibrated and mutually agreed measures to raise the pressure and towards a willingness to have serious talks with Russia,” he said in the interview, conducted on Friday.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he would hold talks in the Netherlands next Wednesday with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte on how to secure full access for international investigators to the site of the plane crash.
“This will require the cooperation of those in control of the crash site and the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said.

The separatists remain in control of the area where the plane came down. A total of 193 Dutch nationals and 43 Malaysians were among the victims aboard MH-17, which had been flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

By Patroclos

PANIC and dread gripped the head honchos of the Bank of Cyprus on Friday evening after receiving a letter sent to the bank by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) just an hour before they were due to open the book with the offers for new capital.

The letter, signed by the vice-chairman of CySEC Andreas Andreou, claimed that the prospectus published by the bank, inviting offers for the new capital issue, was ‘misleading’ as it had not mentioned a minor irregularity that had been reported by the bank’s internal auditor, some three or four years earlier.

Such an assertion by CySEC, which supervises public companies, would have wrecked the bank’s attempt to raise one billion euro worth of new capital ahead of the stress tests. Interestingly, when the chairman of the Commission, Demetra Kalogirou was contacted to be asked why this joke of a problem had been brought up by Andreou, she said it was the first time she had heard about it.

Andreou had decided to try to wreck the capital issue on his own initiative, not deeming it necessary to inform his chairman about such an important decision. After several frantic phone calls the matter was finally resolved. Kalogirou sent a letter to the BoC telling it, essentially, to ignore her vice-chairman’s nonsensical claim.

There was a collective sigh of relief from the bank’s head honchos, but the chairman of the BoC board Christis Hassapis, who had been against the issue of new capital from the start, was a happy bunny no more. The joyous smile he always presented to the cameras must have been wiped from his face for good when the book of offers was finally opened. The issue was a big success, with total offers amounting to €1.8 billion, almost twice as much as the bank’s target.

IT SOUNDS weird that the chairman would be an unhappy bunny over a successful issue that secured the long-term future of the bank, but there is an explanation. The changes in the shareholding means that the end is nigh for Christis’ chairmanship.

Once all the procedures are completed and the shareholders approve the issue at an EGM, the next step would be to vote a new board. Many of the current directors, including the long-haired chairman, will be replaced by the new shareholders.

After almost a year as a business big-shot and A-list celebrity, Christis is facing the depressing prospect of returning to the academic obscurity he had been languishing in all his grown-up life, until the day the ETYK boss and the DISY leadership decided his lack of any banking experience made him the ideal man for the chairmanship of the country’s biggest bank.

Christis was opposed to the capital issue because he feared he would lose the chairmanship that made him a very important man. The Russian directors were also opposed but they had legitimate grounds, not guided by egotistical motives. They felt cheated as they had half their deposits seized for the recapitalisation of the bank, and the shares they were given in exchange for their money, would now be diluted. It is a bit like a second hair-cut for them.

Two very big Nicosia law offices that represent Russian money have also been working diligently to block the capital issue.

THE LETTER sent by Andreou was yet another attempt by the unhappy bunny and some of his fellow directors to block the capital issue. Our establishment had written, several weeks ago, about the board’s attempt to use the internal auditor’s report about a minor irregularity that occurred several years ago to prevent the procedure for the issue of new capital.

The directors decided to ask for a police investigation into the matter – if there was a police investigation the bank would not have been able to issue new capital – but they were stopped by Central Bank governor Chrystalla Georghadji who realised who they were up to and demanded that the file was handed over to her. She concluded that the issue was totally trivial and did not merit an investigation.

Georghadji had thwarted the directors’ devious plan but they did not give up. In a last ditch effort to stop the issue they went to the CySEC vice chairman Andreou, who is said to be on friendly terms with the unhappy bunny and would have been more sympathetic to their ignoble cause.

They did not report the case to chairman (I am not being sexist but this is the title given to her by the CySEC web-site) Demetra as she would not have agreed to declare the prospectus ‘misleading’ over the inconsequential matter the scheming directors had raised.

Andreou did them the favour, sending the letter an hour before the opening of the book, and if Demetra had not intervened Christis & Co would have achieved their objective.

YOU ALMOST have to admire Hassapis for the tenacity and guile he has used to hold on to the chairmanship of the B of C, for which he seemed inclined to even risk the future of the bank. You would not normally credit an academic with such hunger for power, status and money (his remuneration was 70 grand plus benefits).

Meanwhile the Russian shareholders are angry because they will not be given the option to maintain their shareholding by buying a corresponding amount of the new shares issued. It has been said that this is because the Central Bank wanted to reduce the influence of Russian plutocrats over the B of C.

There is a possibility that the dear old B of C board could become a Russia-US battleground, as there was significant interest in the capital issue from American investors. One US investment firm put in an offer of €400 million, an amount that would give it significant power in the bank if approved.

Of course the unhappy bunny and his Russian allies have not had their final word yet. An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders will have to approve the capital increase, but the board might refuse to call it.

STAYING on banking issues, everyone was surprised by the treatment of FBME by the Central Bank. Having taken over the bank’s management at the request of the FBME shareholders, after the release of a US Treasury Department report alleging the bank was involved in money laundering, it then decided to place it under the resolution authority.

The authority sent in an administrator who decided the bank would not engage in any of its activities for two days and then another two days. This meant that customers could not withdraw any money or make any payments. It was extremely drastic action, but it appears that Chrystalla has decided to close the bank’s Cyprus branch down.

She obviously gave in to pressure from the US which has been urging the Central Bank to take action against FBME for the last couple of years at least. Professor Panicos did nothing as governor – his PA was married to a former director of the bank and would never have allowed it – and was even considering granting FBME a licence, especially after it bought €200 million worth of short-term government bonds

But Chrystalla may have jumped the gun. The bank has 60 days to respond to the allegations contained in the Treasury Department’s report. A firm of big-shot lawyers is in discussions with the Department on behalf of the bank. What would the governor do, if the allegations in the US report turn out to be unfounded, having prevented the bank from carrying out its operations for weeks and ruining its business?

IN THE END the government and Troika reached a compromise over the foreclosures bill, but only after many days of inconclusive negotiations. Prez Nik took part in the negotiations on Thursday evening and a deal was finally struck the following day.

The deal was a personal victory for finance minister Harris Georgiades who argued the government’s case very convincingly and managed to persuade the Troika of the need to delay foreclosures on primary residences by a few months and to accept the need for an independent valuation of properties being sold off by the banks.

The details of the bill would be presented by Prez Nik this week, but the political parties were on the offensive yesterday morning, threatening not approve the bill and complaining because the premises of small businesses were not protected.

This may have come as music to the ears of Ethnarch Junior who has re-invented himself as the leader of an anti-memorandum front that apart from protecting the ordinary people that he cares so much about would also help his presidential ambitions. Earlier in the week he had a meeting with his soul mate Yiorkos Lillikas who announced the Alliance of Lillikas would join the anti-memorandum front and vote against the foreclosures bill.

I can’t help thinking that whenever our parties (except DISY) unite to defend the interests of the country and the people a disaster follows.

NEW GROUPS have been put together to fight against the foreclosures bill. One is imaginatively named Association for the Protection of the Primary Residence while another is called the Coalition of Small Businesses and the Self-Employed.

The leader of the latter is a certain Stavros Alambritis who has become a frequent guest on the morning radio shows and is always worth listening to. His coalition decided that it would fight the foreclosures bill, which Alambritis described as “an abortion”, by camping outside parliament with their families and putting pressure on deputies not “to betray the people”.

Its approval would be “high treason” he told Trito. “In 1974 we sold out our country to the Turks and now they want us to sell off our country to the Turko-Germans.”

THE TURKO-Turks were not very nice about Prez Nik after Thursday’s majestically pointless four-hour meeting he had with Dervis Eroglu.

In order to deflect attention away from Eroglu’s total negativity, which has been displayed very forcefully, since Ankara loosened his leash, his associates leaked information to the Turkish Cypriot press about Nik’s allegedly bad behavior at the meeting.

The prim and proper Turkish Cypriots were shocked because Nik supposedly banged his fist on the table, berated his advisors, scolded the UN, threw his spectacles on the table and stormed out of the meeting. The government spokesman denied there was any truth in the Turkish press reports, but why did he bother. There is nothing wrong with someone losing his temper when throwing the odd tantrum.

In fact we would all have been very proud and happy if Nik became mad enough to throw an ash-tray or a punch at Eroglu, instead of just banging his fist and glasses on the table. I bet his advisors would not have leaked that to the press.

THE BROADSIDE fired at the banks by DISY chief Averof Neophytou, a few days ago, may have been seen as a communications ploy, to answer public criticism that the party was protecting the interests of the banks, but it was more than justified as it touched on many truths.

One truth was that in Cyprus we did not have a functioning banking system, because banks operated, solely, as debt-collection agencies. The granting of new loans and facilities had become a negligible part of the business as banks focused on loan recoveries. Neophytou also accused them of refusing to comply with the Central Bank’s code for the restructuring of loans, urging the Governor to inform citizens what measures she would take against them for non-compliance.

And to add insult to injury, Cypriot banks were charging extortionate interest rates – the highest in the eurozone by far – making loans even more difficult to service. But while the country has been in the worst recession in its history as direct result of the banking sector’s problems without any sign of recovery, bank personnel were still enjoying their fat salaries and benefits. Neophytou pointed out: “We sat at our offices and on boards as if nothing had happened. Our only concern is to charge and overcharge. We did not take the trouble to reduce our costs – our expenses and our benefits.”

He was absolutely right in highlighting this point. There may have been pay-cuts ranging from five to 20 per cent but the standard of living of the bank employees of Cyprus, who were among the best-paid in the world, was largely unaffected compared to the rest of private sector workers that bore the brunt of the banking crisis. And these people are also paying extortionate interest rates, because bank employees’ salaries and super-benefits such as zero-interest loans had to be preserved. Drastic cuts and downsizing might not have greatly improved the situation but it would have shown, what Neophytou described as ‘social sensitivity’; interest rates might even have come down a percentage point.

With foreclosures looming, public hostility and resentment towards the banks can only grow. People who would have property used as collateral seized will blame the bank for their predicament and would have a point – the banks’ bad management and reckless investments had created the recession that caused them to default on their loans. Others, who had been persuaded by banks to invest their savings in convertible banks bonds, justifiably felt duped as they ended up with worthless shares when the crisis hit.

Then there were the people who saw half their deposits taken to re-capitalise the Bank of Cyprus. And as if this were not bad enough, they will soon see the shares they were given in compensation for their seized deposits being diluted because the bank needs additional capital to get through the planned stress tests. Russian and Ukranian depositors are now protesting, with ample justification, because they would not be given the option to buy enough of the capital issued to maintain their shareholding. Should we also mention the old shareholders of the Bank of Cyprus who saw their shares reduced to one thousandth of the pre-haircut number and will now see them further reduced?

There are also the co-op banks, the re-capitalisation of which cost the taxpayer one billion euro. Their loan portfolio consists of housing loans and it will not improve without foreclosures of primary residences and the premises of small businesses. People will be outraged that taxpayer’s money was used to save the co-ops so they could repossess homes, but what would be the alternative?

The argument constantly used is that the banking sector must be supported because if it were allowed to collapse the consequences for the economy would be even worse. However, the way things are going there will be many that will start to question this reasoning and argue that the situation could not become any worse if the banks were left to sink. But the truth is things would become worse as the economy would collapse completely and debtors would still have to repay their loans or face foreclosure.

Unfortunately, there is no alternative to keeping afloat the debt collection agencies formerly known as banks, even if the cost, economic and social, for doing so keeps on rising.

By Angelos Anastasiou

EARLIER this month, Tom a 19-year-old from the UK had finished his school-leaving exams and to celebrate visited Ayia Napa with his friends. A few days and some dubious choices later, he found himself in a bar-fight, was badly injured and in need of immediate medical care.

Someone made a call and an ambulance arrived within minutes. It was not long before Tom was transported to a private clinic in Protaras. He hadn’t requested to be taken there, nor had he been asked for his views on the public-hospital versus private-clinic debate. He didn’t know there is a public hospital in nearby Paralimni, but he realised something was off when he was asked whether he had insurance or would be paying in cash.

Tom refused to pay and called his father who, being a seasoned diplomat, simplified matters a great deal. A short while later, the phone of the British High Commissioner to Cyprus rang. As it turned out, not much explaining was required. In his time in Cyprus, this was not the first time the commissioner had come across this scenario. The clinic was refusing to release or transfer the boy until it was paid its considerable medical bills, but the commissioner’s personal intervention was enough to settle the matter.

Foreigners in Cyprus often find themselves entangled in such situations, and not all are lucky enough to have high-ranking diplomats making phone calls on their behalf. But even more worryingly, it seems these situations are more than mere misunderstandings.

According to one health ministry source, the usual scenario is this: hospitals, pubs and tour operators in the Ayia Napa, Protaras and Paralimni area are approached by private clinics and asked to divert instances of hapless tourists in need of – preferably urgent – medical care to them, and they dispatch their ambulance. Naturally, the number of instances diverted determines the commission payable.

Apparently this sort of thing is a regular occurrence in the Famagusta area. The UK consulate is all too aware of the problem, so much so that the Sunday Mail did not even have to finish explaining when it contacted them to inquire.

“Yes, we know what this is about,” one official told the Sunday Mail. “It’s been happening for years.”

At first, the obvious assumption was that corrupt public-ambulance drivers were being paid off to divert patients to private clinics in violation of their mandate.

“Absolutely not,” said one health ministry official. “Public ambulances are not involved in such cases.”

Another possible explanation presented was a linguistic barrier. The Greek word for ‘hospital’ typically suggests a public all-encompassing healthcare facility, whereas ‘clinic’ in Greek refers to a specialised private one. This distinction is not as clearly defined in the English language, perhaps causing misunderstanding, the Sunday Mail was told. The argument seemed facile.

But at least one person close to Tom suspected that what happened to him was a much wider conspiracy, and offered a chilling hypothesis.

“It’s a scam, you see,” she said. “They beat people up and then call for a private ambulance.”

There has been no evidence to support this thesis, but in response to the disturbing recurrence of injured tourists being transferred to private clinics without being asked, the UK consulate has taken specific measures, both pre-emptive, like warning British tourists travelling to Cyprus, and reactive like offering victims a list of lawyers. They have also tried to engage the government.

“We have raised this matter with the health ministry in the past, but not much can be done,” the consulate said.

Although this is perceived by the health ministry as a “terrible problem” where “there certainly are ethical concerns for all involved,” as it turns out it’s not clear that a law is being broken.

“There’s not much we can do,” the ministry source repeated. “When there are injuries, if the call does not come through emergency services, we will never know someone’s hurt and needs a ride to the hospital. We try to inform people but they don’t necessarily know a public ambulance from a private one.”

Many tourists have been unnecessarily separated from their money through this ploy, though the cost is not necessarily the worst of it. A victim with serious injuries transferred to a private clinic against his or her wishes may be forced to waste valuable time in declining treatment and arranging for transfer to a public facility. People’s very health may be at stake.

The answer, of course, is the charge-free three-digit number to emergency services in several countries in the world, including all EU-member states – 112. Calling this number will ensure the dispatch of a public ambulance for a free transfer to a public hospital.

Tom was only recently released from a UK hospital, where he had been recuperating. His experience of Cyprus holidays is not likely to bring him back any time soon, and he probably won’t be suggesting Cyprus as a holiday destination to others. Worst of all, his future narrative may focus on the ambulance trick instead of the unfortunate beating.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch

A humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip collapsed on Sunday after a barrage of rockets fired by Palestinian militants was met with fierce Israeli shelling, in a fresh setback to efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire.

Israeli tanks and artillery army pounded targets along the coastal enclave, sending thick plumes of black smoke rising into the sky, signalling an end its unilateral, 24-hour truce in the wake of the missile salvoes.

Palestinian witnesses reported heavy shelling east of Gaza City, with ambulances immediately racing towards the area. At least three deaths were reported in separate strikes. More than 1,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in Gaza.

“Following Hamas’ incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the (army) will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip,” a military statement said.

Israel and the Hamas Islamists who control Gaza had agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire on Saturday to allow Palestinians to stock up on vital supplies and retrieve bodies trapped under the rubble.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet decided to extend the quiet until midnight on Sunday, on condition that its forces could continue to track down and destroy militant tunnels that criss-cross the Gaza border.

Hamas rejected the proposal and said its forces would keep fighting as long as Israeli troops remained in Gaza. The Islamist group said it had fired at the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Ashdod. No damage or injuries were reported.

Netanyahu was due to convene his cabinet later on Sunday to decide how to move forward, and at least one senior minister said Israel must step up its offensive.

“After what we saw this morning, it is clear we need to resume fighting with even greater force,” Communications Minister Gilad Erdan told Army Radio.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 to halt rocket attacks by Hamas and its allies, which have struggled under an Israeli-Egyptian economic blockade on Gaza and were angered by a crackdown on their supporters in the nearby occupied West Bank.

After aerial and naval bombardment failed to quell the outgunned guerrillas, Israel poured ground forces into the Gaza Strip 10 days later, looking to knock out Hamas’s rocket stores and destroy the vast network of tunnels.

DIPLOMATIC QUIET

There appeared to be little progress on the diplomatic front and in international efforts to secure an end to the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry flew back to Washington overnight after meeting in Paris with foreign ministers of France, Italy, Britain, Germany, Turkey and Qatar.

At least 1,050 Gazans – mostly civilians – have been killed in 20 days of fighting. An Israeli soldier was also killed overnight by cross-border mortar fire, bringing the army death toll to 43 soldiers, with three civilians killed in Israel by rocket and mortar attack.

The positions of both Israel and Hamas regarding a long-lasting halt to hostilities appear as far apart as ever.

Hamas wants an end to the blockade of Gaza before agreeing to halt hostilities. Israeli officials said any ceasefire must allow the military to carry on hunting down the Hamas tunnels.

Some of the tunnels reach into Israeli territory and have been used to carry out surprise attacks on Israelis. Other underground passages serve as weapons caches and Hamas bunkers.

Israel says its forces have uncovered more than 30 tunnels, with four shafts discovered on Saturday alone. One official said troops had found it easier to operate during the truce as the immediate threat to their safety was diminished.

The Gaza turmoil has stoked tensions amongst Palestinians in mainly Arab East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Medics said eight Palestinians were killed on Friday in incidents near the West Bank cities of Nablus and Hebron – the sort of death toll reminiscent of previous uprisings against Israel’s prolonged military rule there.

During the lull in fighting inside Gaza on Saturday, residents flooded into the streets to discover scenes of massive destruction in some areas, including Beit Hanoun in the north and Shejaia in the east.

Israel hopes that the images of widespread desolation will persuade Gazans to put pressure on Hamas to stop the fighting for fear of yet more devastation. (Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem,