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Missouri city protests continue, preliminary autopsy shows teenager shot six times

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Police hold a line as they try to disperse demonstrators who continue to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, USA, 17 August 2014

Gunfire was heard and police used tear gas and smoke canisters to disperse protesters as chaos erupted Sunday night in Ferguson, Missouri, which has been racked by protests since an unarmed black teenager was shot by police last week.

Hundreds of protesters fled to safety after authorities fired canisters of smoke to disperse them hours ahead of a planned midnight curfew. The Missouri Highway Patrol said some tear gas was used along with the smoke bombs.

Gunfire was heard, by a Reuters reporter and photographer, but it was unclear where it was coming from.

The crowd of about 400 appeared to be marching peacefully but a spokesman for the Missouri Highway Patrol said “aggressors” had advanced on a law enforcement command post.

“The smoke bombs were completely unprovoked,” said Anthony Ellis, 45. “It (the protest) was led by kids on bikes. Next you know, they’re saying, ‘Go home, Go home!’

However, the Missouri Highway Patrol said “aggressors” were trying to infiltrate a law enforcement command post and that armored vehicles were deployed to ensure public safety.

“We ordered them back. We ordered them back again. After several attempts, we utilized the smoke to disperse these individuals,” said Missouri Highway Patrol Corporal Justin Wheetley said.

The actions took place hours before a midnight curfew imposed for the second night in the tense St. Louis suburb, site of ongoing protests as well as violence and looting since Michael Brown, 18, was shot to death on Aug. 9.

Earlier on Sunday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal autopsy of Brown’s body, seeking to assure the family and community there will be a thorough investigation into a death that has sparked days of racially charged protests.

Brown was shot by white police officer Darren Wilson.

Police say Brown was asked by Wilson to move out of the road and onto a sidewalk and that Brown reached into a patrol car and struggled with Wilson for his service gun and was shot.

A friend of Brown’s, Dorian Johnson, 22, and at least one other witness said Wilson reached out through his car window to grab at Brown and the teenager was trying to get away when shot. Brown held up his hands in a sign of surrender, but Wilson got out of his patrol car and shot Brown several times, they said.

A preliminary private autopsy, asked for by Brown’s family, shows the teenager was shot at least six times, the New York Times reported on Sunday night.

Citing Dr. Michael M. Baden, former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, the newspaper reported that Brown was shot twice in the head, and that the bullets that hit him did not appear to have been fired from very close range.

CHURCH RALLY
The police department in the St. Louis suburb has come under strong criticism for Brown’s death and its handling of the aftermath. The clashes in Ferguson have pitted mostly black protesters against mostly white police in a residential and retail district.

The Highway Patrol captain charged with restoring order told hundreds of people gathered at a local church for a rally on Sunday that he was committed to protecting their right to protest.

“I’m sorry,” Captain Ron Johnson, who is black, told Brown’s family during remarks that prompted repeated standing ovations at the rally. “My heart is heavy.”

The mood at the rally was somber, as a choir sang gospel music at Greater Grace Church, civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton asked participants to join hands and prepare themselves for difficult days ahead as the results of three autopsies of Brown’s body become public, and his funeral is held.

“This is a defining moment in this country,” Sharpton told the crowd. Brown’s death “will change this town,” he said.

In St. Louis on Sunday, about 125 people attended a rally in support of officer Darren Wilson, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said. Protesters held signs that read, “We love and support you Darren” and “Support our police. Pray for peace.”

On Saturday, protesters were dispersed by police using canisters of smoke and later teargas after refusing to leave the area when the midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew began. Seven protesters were arrested after failing to disperse.

The smoke and teargas were “the minimum amount of force that we could have used to get them moving,” said Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Al Nothum.

Overnight Saturday, one person was shot and critically wounded. The circumstances were not clear, and the shooter was still at large, police said. Johnson said police were unable to identify the victim, who he said was not shot by police.

VIDEO CRITICIZED
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, criticized the Ferguson police department for releasing a video on Friday purporting to show Brown taking part in a convenience store robbery shortly before the shooting. Police have said the officer who shot Brown had no idea he was a robbery suspect.

“I think it had an incendiary effect,” Nixon said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Police “clearly are attempting to besmirch a victim of a shooting,” he added.

At Sunday’s rally at the church, some participants referred to the theft of a box of cigars as shoplifting; police had initially called it a strong-arm robbery.

Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson defended the release of the surveillance video over the objections of the U.S. Justice Department. Jackson said he was complying with the news media’s requests for information in the case.

The decision to release the video while not giving details of the shooting only fueled outrage.

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Major earthquake in western Iran, leaves 60 injured

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A major earthquake struck the western Iranian city of Abdanan on Monday, leaving 60 people injured, state news agency IRNA said.

IRNA said the quake was magnitude 6.1 while the US Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 6.3.

Water, electricity, and telephone lines in Abdanan, located in the province of Ilam, have been cut, said IRNA. State television footage showed destroyed houses, buildings and cars in the city.

Aftershocks could be felt in three provinces including Ilam, Lorestan and Khuzestan, IRNA said.

The quake, at a depth of 6 miles (10 km), hit at 0232 GMT, according to the USGS. Iran sits on major geological faultlines and has suffered several big earthquakes in recent years.

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Fabregas impresses, Costa scores in Chelsea win

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CNA_F31bceabee19447e4aa87b867486f320f(1)

New signings Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas made an instant impact for Chelsea as they launched their Premier League title bid with a confident 3-1 win at promoted Burnley on Monday.

Former Arsenal midfielder Fabregas, brought in from Barcelona during the close season, was influential throughout the game, having a hand in all three Chelsea goals and striking up an impressive midfield pairing with Eden Hazard.

Chelsea recovered from conceding a 14th minute goal, quickly turning on the style in an impressive half hour spell to go in 3-1 up at the break.

Jose Mourinho’s side were content to see out the game in the second half as Burnley, tipped by many for relegation, put in a creditable professional display after the Londoners had threatened to run away with the game.

“I think we had a good reaction and the first part of that is that emotionally we were not affected by the goal we conceded,” said Mourinho.

“We kept playing according to the way we want to play, the players were calm and never lost their composure and after that we had a fantastic 20-25 minutes with three goals, the second one a fantastic goal, and in the second half we had control of the game,” he said.

“I was a bit afraid because I know that my players are not still in the top physical form, ready to give the same kind of performance for 90 minutes so we lost a little bit of attacking appetite but the control of the game, of the possession was always there and I think we clearly deserved this three points against a side that is going to give a fight to everyone who comes here,” added the former Real Madrid coach,

In a fiery atmosphere, the home side took a surprise lead in the with a superb drive from Scott Arfield after a fine run and pull back from Matt Taylor.

But any hopes the capacity home crowd at Turf Moor had of witnessing an upset were quickly dashed as Chelsea showed why so many bookmakers have them as favourites to win the title this season.

Three minutes after Arfield’s strike, Brazilian-born Spain international Costa, a close season signing from Atletico Madrid, brought the Londoners level on his Premier League debut – firing in after a Branislav Ivanovic cross-shot, following a Fabregas back-heel, had come out off the post.

Four minutes later, Chelsea had the lead – Fabregas providing a beautiful first time pass to German World Cup winner Andre Schurrle who confidently drove home.

SLACK DEFENDING

Burnley looked shell-shocked and their manager Sean Dyche will be disappointed with the slack defending for Chelsea’s third as an unchallenged Ivanovic slotted in a Fabregas corner in the 34th minute.

Mourinho had raised some eyebrows by opting for Thibaut Courtois over Petr Cech in goal and the Belgian showed his quality shortly after the break to deny Arfield a second from a curling shot which he tipped wide.

Lancashire club Burnley, whose entire squad cost just a fraction of Costa’s reported 32 million pound transfer fee, will have taken some heart though from the way they applied themselves after the break, even if they rarely threatened to alter the scoreline.

Chelsea brought on Didier Drogba for his first official appearance of his second spell with the club as a late substitute to the delight of their travelling supporters.

Dyche said his team could only learn from playing against a top quality opponent so early in the campaign.

“There has to be a reality to what we are hoping to achieve this season. I think they are top of the market or certainly up there.

“Overall I felt we kept going which was important, that mentality will be important over the course of the season, the will and demand was there. It is fair to say that they have so much quality in all areas and they can hurt you in any way,” he said.

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U.S. police fire tear gas at protesters in violence-hit Missouri town

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The Missouri National guard patrols a police command center on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Missouri, USA, 18 August 2014

By Ellen Wulfhorst and Scott Malone

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Monday, after days of unrest sparked by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman.

The police action came after hours of street protests that had been tense but mostly peaceful, Reuters witnesses said, adding there was also a projectile hurled from a crowd of protesters that shattered on the ground and erupted into flames.

Missouri’s governor had lifted a curfew for the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson on Monday as National Guard troops were called out.

The National Guard deployment was the latest step by authorities to end the looting and burning of stores that have punctuated protests and stirred questions about race relations in the United States since the shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, on Aug. 9.

Governor Jay Nixon, who had declared a state of emergency for the town on Saturday and ordered the streets cleared for a curfew that ran from midnight to 5 a.m., said the National Guard would fall under the supervision of the Missouri Highway Patrol.

National Guard troops could be seen walking on the fringes of the gathering, keeping a distance from protesters.

President Barack Obama said he told the governor the use of the National Guard should be limited and urged healing, instead of violence. Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Ferguson on Wednesday, Obama said.

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Aphrodite Hills to be rebranded by Sensatori

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APHRODITE HILLS

THE InterContinental Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel, is to be rebranded into the Sensatori Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel Cyprus, as of May 1, 2015, it announced on Monday.

The Sensatori Aphrodite Hills Resort Hotel Cyprus will be managed by Atlantica Hotels & Resorts, a TUI

Partner established in 1981, which currently operates 33 hotels in Cyprus, Greece and Egypt, including Sensatori in Crete and Sharm El Sheikh.

According to an announcement, the Hotel will undergo a renovation schedule during the winter months, with the addition of swim-up rooms and suites, an adult pool area, purpose-built family rooms and other facilities.

The franchise contract with InterContinental will be discontinued at the end of 2014. “We are all looking forward to the beginning of a new era for the Hotel, consisting of exciting challenges and fresh opportunities that will arise, as we exclusively become the first location in Cyprus for a Sensatori Hotel,” the announcement said.

The Hotel will be closed for operation from December 7 to March 31, 2015. All other Elements at the Resort i.e. Aphrodite Hills Holiday Residences, Aphrodite Hills Golf, The Retreat Spa, the Annabel Croft Tennis Academy, as well as all restaurants and bars at the Village Square will continue with their normal operation as usual under the existing management of Aphrodite Hills Resort Ltd.

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Israel, Palestinians extend Gaza truce by 24 hours

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The ceasefire was extended by 24 hours to allow for further negotiations

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Stephen Kalin

Israel and the Palestinians agreed on Monday to extend a Gaza truce by another 24 hours, minutes before an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire was set to expire, officials on both sides said.

Agreement was reached as gaps on key issues continued to dog efforts to achieve a long-term deal between Israel and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, dominated by Hamas Islamists, which would allow reconstruction aid to flow in after five weeks of fighting.

The monthlong war ended in effect more than a week ago when Egypt brokered a three-day truce, which it then won agreement to extend by another five days through 2100 GMT on Monday.

A Palestinian official close to the talks in Cairo said the latest extension would give both sides time “to complete the negotiations”.

An Israeli official and a security source said in Jerusalem that “on Egypt’s request the ceasefire shall be extended by 24 hours to allow further negotiations”.

In Gaza a senior Palestinian official said agreement had been reached on all but two points drafted by Egypt for a wider deal, including opening Gaza’s crossing to allow a freer flow of goods, and extending maritime limits in the Mediterranean Sea.

Issues still not agreed upon include Hamas’s demands to open a seaport and an airport, which Israel has said it would only discuss at a later stage, in addition to freeing Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and Hamas handing over remains of two Israeli soldiers killed in the war, a Palestinian official said.

Israel made clear before the earlier truce lapsed it would continue to hold its fire as long as Palestinians did the same.

“If they shoot at us, we will respond,” Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israel Radio.

The Palestinian Health Ministry put the Gaza death toll at 2,016 and said most were civilians in the small, densely populated coastal territory. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have been killed.

SECURITY

Hamas seeks the construction of a Gaza sea port and the reopening of an airport destroyed in previous conflicts, as part of any enduring halt to violence. Livni said such issues should be dealt with at a later stage.

Israel, which launched its offensive on July 8 after a surge in Hamas rocket fire across the border, has shown scant interest in making sweeping concessions, and has called for the disarming of militant groups in the enclave of 1.8 million people.

Hamas has said that laying down its weapons is not an option.

In Jerusalem, the Shin Bet internal security agency said it had arrested 93 Hamas activists in the occupied West Bank over the past three months who had planned to carry out “serious attacks” in Israel, aiming to destablise the region and eventually topple the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

The Shin Bet allegations of a planned coup, in a statement that said Israeli authorities had confiscated 30 guns, seven rocket launchers and $170,000 from the group, were met with scepticism by Israeli media commentators.

“Would they have been able to do this? I don’t know,” Roni Daniel, the well-connected military affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel Two television, said on-air.

Barak Ravid, the Haaretz newspaper’s diplomatic affairs reporter, tweeted: “Israeli Shin Bet claims Hamas tried to take over the West Bank with 6 pistols, 7 RPG launchers and 20 M16 guns. Yeah right.”

The Gaza offensive has had broad public support in Israel, where militants’ rockets, many of them intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, have disrupted everyday life but caused little damage and few casualties. By contrast, Israeli bombardment of Gaza has wrought widespread destruction.

The United Nations said 425,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been displaced by the conflict.

Israel and Hamas have not met face-to-face in Cairo, where the talks are being held in a branch of the intelligence agency, with Egyptian mediators shuttling between the parties in separate rooms. Israel regards Hamas, which advocates its destruction, as a terrorist group.

In Gaza, Pierre Krähenbühl, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said he hoped ceasefire talks would lead to substantial change on the ground.

“There has to be a message of hope for the people of Gaza, there has to be a message for something different, there has to be a message of freedom for the people, freedom to move, freedom to trade,” Krähenbühl told reporters.

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Polis shop owners fined for opening on August 15

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POLIS

POLIS Chrysochous municipality is calling Labour Minister, Zeta Emilianidou, to intervene and negate the fines imposed on ten shop owners who kept their businesses open on the August 15 public holiday.

The minister had issued an announcement on August 8 saying that all shops, except the ones in designated tourist areas were to remain closed on August 15.

According to the decree, in Paphos only the shops in Poseidonos and Tombs of the Kings Avenues could remain open.

Deputy mayor of Polis Chrysochous, Yiotis Papachristofis, told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the whole of Polis Chrysochous was a tourist area and that shops should remain open to visitors.

“In a time of economic crisis, we don’t want to drive visitors away just because we cannot provide services to them,” Papachristofis said.

He said the municipality was due to discuss the matter today and would write a letter to the minister asking her to include Polis in the designated areas.

A member of the Polis Chrysochous police station, that issued the fines, said that they had to proceed with the fines after receiving complaints from those shops that remained closed on the day.

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Paphos bemoans lack of business

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Since 2009 almost half of the 710 establishments (restaurants, cafes) in Paphos were forced to close down

By Evie Andreou

ALMOST half of Paphos’ restaurants, bars and clubs have had to close down in the last four years, the chairman of the association which represents them said yesterday, and many others were on the brink, Fytos Thrasyvoulou said.

Thrasyvoulou who heads the association, SYKAP, said that all-inclusive hotel packages and the advent of international chain restaurants were part of the problem.

He said that only 380 establishments operate in Paphos today, compared to 710 four years ago. The downward spiral began in 2009 he said.

Thrasyvoulou also blamed the euro, saying that since it was adopted, it had brought with it problems with the British pound sterling.

“Paphos recreation centres continue to be at a critical point when it comes to the continuation of their operation,” Thrasyvoulou said. Unless something was done, the remainder of those still in business would also be forced to close, he said.

“One after another, recreation centres are closing down because of the lack of cash flow,” he added.

He said that due to all-inclusive packages, even in areas with 6,000 or 7,000 hotel beds, local restaurants were not being filled to capacity. This was also due to international chains which have lower operating costs and thus lower prices, he added.

Themis Philippides, chairman of the Paphos branch of the Cyprus Hotels Association said that ‘all inclusive’ packages were a necessary evil and that hotel owners had no choice, being under pressure from European travel agents to provide that type of holiday.

He said that even though there was an increase in tourism this year, they did not see the expected results. Signs for the coming months were not encouraging either, he said.

Paphos municipal market shop owners are also complaining over the low number of visitors and clients. Shop owners believe the root of the problem is the existence of malls and large department stores, in addition to the economic climate.

The collapse of a Russian tour operator earlier this month, was also a big problem for small business owners, who said they had been counting on Russian tourists.

Owners say that despite the fact that the municipal market was picturesque and had plenty of shops and restaurants, business was very slow and visitors few.

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UK food exporter plans to use north to evade Russian ban

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Produce could be shipped out through Famagusta port to Turkey and from there to Russia to avoid the ban

By Constantinos Psillides

A UK based fruit and vegetable exporter, Knightsbridge Foods Ltd, may be looking into ways of sidestepping the Russian food embargo by supplying their Russian clients with Turkish Cypriot products, according to a Reuters report.

The company’s owner, who according to Reuters didn’t want to be identified by name before visiting the island, said that he would be coming to Cyprus this week
The Lincolnshire-based company might supply their Russian clients with potatoes bought from Turkish Cypriot farmers who can ship their goods via Turkey and thus bypass the Russian embargo.

“You need quick thinking,” the Knightsbridge’s owner told Reuters.”You need very strong contacts. Things change every single week.”

Direct trade between the EU and breakaway state is forbidden under EU directives but under the 2004 Green Line Regulation, some certified Turkish Cypriot produce is exported through the legal ports of the Republic. The remainder of Turkish Cypriot exports are sent out through Turkey.

The Cyprus Mail contacted the British company for a comment but has not yet received a response.

Asked to comment on the story, Press Officer for the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, Charalambos Metaxas, said that they would be looking into it.

Commenting on the embargo in general, Metaxas characterised it as “unjustifiable since it primarily hurts Russian consumers.”

After the EU imposed further economic sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis, Russia retaliated by announcing that it would stop food imports from the EU, the US Australia, Canada and Norway for a full year.

Reuters pointed out that people and companies who attempt to bypass the embargo would have a hard time, since both EU and Russian officials will be on the lookout for large-scale importers trying to smuggle in embargoed goods via third countries.

The scenario where Turkish Cypriot producers could re-label their products as Turkish and export them via Turkey was raised last week by farmers’ union EKA general secretary Panikos Hambas when commenting on how the Russian embargo would affect Cypriot citrus growers. Farmers say the Russian market is worth some €13m in total and called on the government to have Cyprus exempted from the EU sanctions on Russia.

Yesterday, the European Commission said that fruit and vegetable growers would get financial aid of up to €125 million to help them cope with Russia’s ban on most Western food imports, which has created a glut of produce in peak harvest time.

The farmers’ situation will be assessed further at a meeting of agriculture experts representing member states on Friday and at an extraordinary meeting of EU agriculture ministers on September 5.

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‘Stepping stone’ to allay fears

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President Nicos Anastasiades speaking to reporters following the Troodos meeting with his close aides

By Elias Hazou

THE administration will this week unveil a ‘series’ of proposals complementing its foreclosures legislation and providing a safety net to vulnerable groups, President Nicos Anastasiades said yesterday.

“They are coherent specific measures aimed at satisfying the broader sense of safeguarding the rights of not only vulnerable groups, but also those who justifiably need protection,” Anastasiades told reporters after a meeting held at the presidential retreat in Troodos.

Attending the meeting were the ministers of the interior and of finance, the undersecretary to the President and the leader of the ruling DISY party.
It is expected that the measures will be finalised and announced by the Cabinet on Wednesday, and then immediately forwarded to parliament.

Anastasiades said the extra provisions decided upon would address the concerns raised by parties, who are wary of the foreclosures bill leading to mass seizures of properties, particularly people’s primary residence.

Anastasiades declined to disclose any details of these additional measures, saying he needed to brief party leaders first. He would be speaking with them on the phone during the day.

Responding to persistent questions from the media, the President did say that the mooted measures include proposals under the insolvency framework currently being hammered out.

And there would be schemes supporting homeowners who have fallen on hard times and are genuinely having difficulty with servicing their mortgage, he added.

These would include schemes that have already been announced, Anastasiades said. It’s understood he was alluding to a plan enabling people unable to keep up with their mortgage payments to continue dwelling in their home as tenants.

Under the scheme, the state will buy from the banks houses that are up for seizure. Moreover, those eligible and who apply for the programme will also be given the opportunity to buy back their real estate property after five years.

The government has run a cost analysis and determined that it has the necessary funds to finance these schemes, Anastasiades said.

According to the latest data, commercial banks and cooperatives collectively have non-performing loans tied to owner-occupied housing (primary residences) worth €4bn on their books.

By Wednesday the Cabinet will have in its hands an ‘interim’ insolvency bill, sources told the Mail. It will cover some of the clauses governing the bankruptcy of legal and natural persons, with particular reference to primary residences.

“It’s a stepping stone that should allay DIKO’s concerns and is designed to get them on side with the foreclosures bill,” the same sources said.
A follow-up insolvency bill would be ready by year’s end, they added.

One of the provisions making it inside the stopgap insolvency bill will likely be that protecting homes worth up to €350,000, pending the financial ombudsman’s mediation.

The provision already features in a separate law passed previously, but DIKO wanted it spelled out again in a new insolvency law.

The foreclosures bill needs to be approved by the House before the next meeting of euro zone finance ministers, in September, for the country to receive the next tranche of international assistance.

Essentially the government is now bringing forward the extra safeguards to homeowners in a bid to placate opposition parties, who all warned they would vote down the bill unless it were amended.

But the administration – on the advice of its international lenders – has said there is no scope for tinkering with the legislation. That necessitated a tactical maneuver – producing legislation additional to the foreclosures item.

Asked whether the government has a plan B in mind in case the extra provisions fail to sway the parties, Anastasiades said he had every confidence in the parties “acting responsibly” as they have done for most of the bailout-related legislation thus far.

In theory, the foreclosures bill can pass with just DISY’s ayes should main opposition AKEL vote against it and the other parties abstain. But the government apparently does not want to take any chances, wanting to bring DIKO on board so as to ensure passage of the bill.

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Our View: Businesses competing for limited custom is a fact of life

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OPIN

RESTAURANTS, cafes, bars and clubs of the Paphos district were on the brink because of falling custom, said the president of the Paphos association representing these establishments. Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Fytos Thrasyvoulou said there were only 380 such establishments today, compared to 710 that were operating in 2010. The decline had begun in 2009, the start of the recession, he said.

The main cause for the crisis was the all-inclusive packages sold by the hotels, he said, warning that if nothing was done the remaining restaurants would close down as well. An area with six to seven thousand beds would not fill 10 to 12 restaurants and bars he said to highlight the extent of the problem. The arrival of international food chains, which had access to low-cost ingredients made matters worse for local eateries, said Thrasyvoulou.

While it is easy to blame all-inclusive hotel packages and they certainly have contributed to the problem, there are plenty of other reasons for the slump. Apart from the recession, which has drastically reduced the going out by locals, there were probably too many bars, cafes and restaurants in the first place. In the areas with hotels there were rows of such establishments, with excessive seating capacity, mostly serving the same fare, advertising ‘happy hours’ and lacking uniqueness. What would draw a passer-by looking for somewhere to eat into these bland and uninspiring establishments, offering standardised meze dishes?

Have the members of Thrasyvoulou’s association asked themselves this question? For too long, restaurant owners had it easy, neglecting customer care, quality (both of the food and surroundings) and, most importantly, prices or what is known as value for money. Once conditions changed and became tougher, it was inevitable that many establishments would go out of business. There were probably too many anyway and as custom fell it became a case of the survival of fittest. More competition has these effects.

As restaurants, bars and cafes cannot stop hotels offering all inclusive holidays, they will need to compete with each other to attract the available customers. Those that offer good quality fare, at reasonable prices, in aesthetically pleasant surroundings with good service will survive. Those that believe they would attract customers without making the extra effort will not last much longer. Nobody likes to see businesses close down, but in an open market in which there are many businesses competing for limited custom is a fact of life. Neither the state nor the politicians can save establishments that are not putting enough bums on seats.

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Teen’s death highlights dangers of using unlicensed accommodation

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Hoteliers warn that consumers are not protected when they book unlicensed accommodation

By Jean Christou

POLICE yesterday arrested two men in connection with the death of 18-year-old British Cypriot Savvakis Alexandrou who was found at the bottom of a swimming pool in Ayia Napa early in the morning.

The men, a father and son aged 63 and 33, were the owners of the Ayia Napa holiday apartments where Alexandrou was staying since August 8. He was due to leave Cyprus on August 23.

The pair were arrested in the afternoon for operating the establishment without a permit from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO). They were also operating the swimming pool without a permit from the municipality.

A state pathologist who examined the scene ruled out foul play. A post mortem is scheduled for today at Larnaca General Hospital to determine the exact cause of death.

Famagusta police spokesman Giorgos Economou said Alexandrou was discovered at 7am at the bottom of the pool at the tourist complex where he was staying by other swimmers.

They pulled him out and gave him CPR while waiting for an ambulance but the teen was pronounced dead on arrival at the Paralimni general hospital.

The tragedy has highlighted the lack of regulation of illegal holiday complexes and tourist villas, an industry that has grown in recent years with the advent of internet booking where people ‘design’ their own holidays rather than booking licensed accommodation through a tour operator or travel agent.

The CTO had struggled for years in the eighties and nineties to clamp down on the mushrooming illegal holiday complexes that sprang up when a mostly-unregulated tourist boom hit Cyprus following the Turkish invasion. Many were shut down but by the mid 2000s, the second-homes phenomenon then struck where people began advertising their properties as holiday rentals on the web.

Director General of the Cyprus Hotels Association (PASYXE) Zacharias Ioannides last night expressed his sadness over the teen’s death and told the Cyprus Mail that the issue of unlicensed private accommodation was of “grave concern” and not just for Cyprus. He said he had recently attended an international conference where it was top of the agenda.

“It is a Pan-European element of concern on the grounds of consumer protection and it has to be tackled,” he said.

Ioannides said all consumers should check that the accommodation they book in Cyprus has all the necessary CTO licences. He said the existence of illegal accommodation was also damaging to the reputation of all licensed establishments.

“We believe the CTO has to find a way to identify these properties and to prosecute them,” Ioannides said.

According to tourism expert, Philip Ammerman in a recent article in the Sunday Mail, unlicensed accommodation has grown significantly in recent years as villas and apartment blocks were built during the boom years and were being rented out online to tourists.

He said Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Booking.com had significant numbers of unlicensed rooms available in Cyprus, and a simple search was sufficient to uncover them. Specialist villa booking sites, such as VillasDirect or OwnersDirect show hundreds of offers for Cyprus. Almost none of these villas are licensed, he said in his article.

He said the CTO claims it cannot regulate this sector, “and had been saying this for a long time, long before the villa construction boom”.

Ammerman, who has worked as official consultant in the Cyprus tourism sector since 1993, said implementing the law in Cyprus can be difficult, particularly when there were so many special interests and influential figures involved, and when the CTO did not have the mandate or the resources to take legal action.

“This would pit the CTO against the municipalities in whose jurisdiction the unlicensed accommodation falls, and would quickly result in a massive internecine struggle which the CTO would lose to special interests,” he said.

“Yet the failure to act also creates problems. Law-abiding hoteliers see that rule-breakers are not punished, and are absolved of the high taxes a hotelier must pay to operate in Cyprus. What incentive does a law-abiding hotelier have to respect the laws in the face of official inaction and economic hardship? Not many. It should be no surprise, and is certainly no secret, that many hotel owners have branched out into illegal villa rentals themselves.”

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‘Drowning complex’ was in process of getting pool licence

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drowning

By George Psyllides

STATE services were later this week due to inspect the Ayia Napa establishment where an 18-year-old holiday maker drowned on Monday to issue it a swimming pool license.

A post mortem carried out on Tuesday showed that British Cypriot Savvakis Alexandrou had drowned in the swimming pool of the apartment complex, which, as it later transpired, had no operating license from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

Nor did it have a swimming pool license from the municipality.

Police arrested the owners – a father and son aged 63 and 33 – on Monday and released them on Tuesday pending possible charges at a later date.

CTO tourism director Lefkos Phylaktides said the specific establishment had been operating without a license after inspections found substantial shortcomings.

But the findings were not directly linked to the operation of the swimming pool, which fell under the authority of the municipality.

Phylaktides said the CTO had secured a court order to suspend the establishment’s operation but a grace period of two to three months was given – understood to be standard procedure – to give time to the business to comply.

It failed and the CTO was in the process of securing a non-compliance order when the incident happened.

Ayia Napa Mayor Yiannos Karousos Tuesday told the state broadcaster that the owner had applied for a swimming pool permit over two months ago. He added however, that the municipality did not know about the CTO’s differences with the establishment.

To secure the permit, the pool must be cleared by the municipality’s health service and the state’s electromechanical services.

The local authority had inspected the pool and conveyed several observations concerning minor issues to the owner.

The owner contacted the health service that he had complied and an inspection was to take place in the next few days before issuing the health certificate.

Karousos said it was not the owner’s fault but that of the other services, which were late.

However, the electromechanical services inspection was scheduled for Thursday.

“This is the problem we face in general with all operating licenses we issue,” Karousos said, highlighting the state services’ inability to cope.

Licenses must be obtained every year and according to Karousos, despite many owners applying in January, they are eventually issued in September or October since they had to be cleared by the health services, the electromechanical services, and the fire service.

“You realise how long it will take to issue a license when they have to inspect 600 places two and three times,” he said.

Alexandrou was discovered at the bottom of the complex’s swimming pool on Monday at 7am by other guests. He was given CPR at the poolside but was pronounced dead at Paralimni general hospital after being taken there by ambulance.

The teenager had been staying at the apartments since August 8 and was due to go home on Saturday.

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Ukraine celebrates 23rd anniversary of its independence

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Ukrainian soldiers in Druzhkovka

TAKING this opportunity, I would like to congratulate all Ukrainian citizens and all our supporters in Cyprus on the occasion of the 23rd Anniversary of the Independence Day of Ukraine.

On this date the Ukrainian nation is meeting under unprecedented difficult conditions. We are experiencing brutal military intervention into our home affairs from the Kremlin. But to be really free we are ready to pay any price. Since now Ukrainians will never be again a part of the ex-Soviet empire.

After the proclamation of the Independence on August 24, 1991, Ukraine has started a new phase in its history. Proclamation of Independence of Ukraine was the result of the national and state building progress of the Ukrainian people, the incarnation of their eternal dream of freedom and independence.

The new state has entered the international arena. A strategic course towards European integration has been chosen in the foreign policy of Ukraine. In the bilateral sphere Ukraine is building strategic partnerships with key foreign partners on the principles of reciprocity and pragmatism, developing a network of the long-term partnership with the states that become new centers of political and economic development.

Ukraine has presented itself as a responsible international partner. The decision on the implementation of the policy of non-participation in the military alliances became an important element in the creation of a favorable security environment. Ukraine showed an example of nuclear disarmament, having voluntarily abandoned the third largest arsenal in the world of nuclear weapons that contributes to the overall stability and security in the world.

The successful Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on the 25th of May, a truly historic moment. After elections Ukraine’s democratic rule is fully restored. The President Petro Poroshenko received strong support from the Ukrainian people – almost 55% of votes.

Hence, we consider the presidential elections in Ukraine as a crucial element in the stabilisation of the situation in the country.

The international community has recognised the elections as free and democratic, and has confirmed readiness to cooperate with the President Poroshenko and to provide Ukraine with necessary assistance.

Ukraine is committed to finding a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the crisis in its Eastern regions that would provide for full respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity of my country. We call on the Russian Federation to restore full implementation of its international and bilateral obligations.

In this context we require the release of all hostages, including Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian pilot, who had been captured by terrorists in the Eastern Ukraine and illegally taken to the Russian Federation. We appeal to international organisations and foreign states with a demand to condemn the systematic violations of rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine.

I would also like to note that Ukraine has sufficient legal framework and instruments to discuss and decide on devolving more power to the Ukrainian regions. Moreover, it is one of the priorities of the new Government of Ukraine.

Numerous efforts have been undertaken at the top political level of world leaders to deescalate the crisis and seek its peaceful resolution with full respect to sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We have witnessed broad international condemnation of the actions of the Russian Federation that violate imperative norms of international law, the Helsinki Final Act, bilateral and multilateral agreements signed between Ukraine and the Russian Federation; actions that undermine the very foundation of European and global peace and security.

The international community has expressed support for initiatives of the President of Ukraine regarding the peaceful settlement of the situation in the east of Ukraine.

As a member of the European Union, the Republic of Cyprus contributes to this end in line with the EU’s common decisions and policy.

The Ukrainian side highly appreciates the weighted and balanced position of the Republic of Cyprus, which stands firmly for the respect of principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and the protection of human rights.

In particular, the Republic of Cyprus was among those countries who voted in favour of the resolution on ‘Territorial Integrity of Ukraine’, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 27 March 2014.

We are interested in further developing mutually beneficial comprehensive cooperation between our countries based on trust and understanding between friendly Ukrainian and Cypriot peoples.

We are also grateful to the Cypriot side for the traditional support of Ukraine’s European integration aspirations.

On 27 June 2014 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Brussels signed the association agreement with the European Union. The signing is a milestone and the most important day since Ukraine regained independence in 1991.

We hope for support of constructive efforts of the President of Ukraine and the Government of Ukraine to stabilise the situation in our country, including: constitutional reform and local government reform; social-economic reforms; establishing an inclusive social dialogue involving eastern and southern regions.

H.E.Mr.Borys Humeniuk
Ambassador of Ukraine

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Our View: New face for job that has become synonymous with failure

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Could this man succeed where so many others have failed?

A NEW Special Advisor of the UN Secretary-General is set to be announced in the next few days. The man tipped to replace Alexander Downer, who resigned earlier this year, is former foreign minister of Norway Espen Barth Eide. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, Eide also served as defence minister. He had previously worked for the UN and was managing director of the World Economic Forum.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said that Nicosia had signalled its consent to the appointment, President Anastasiades having previously consulted the party leaders. The Turkish Cypriot side, reportedly, also gave its consent. Since Downer’s resignation the UNSG’s Special Envoy in Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim had been in charge of the Cyprus negotiations that appear to have stalled, but are expected to resume next month.

The original choice for the post was the American former Under-Secretary-General of the UN Lynn Pascoe, but it appeared that neither side was too keen on the appointment of the brash, no-nonsense diplomat despite his good knowledge of the Cyprus problem. Pascoe, who had been in charge of the Political Affairs Department of the UN for five years, until his retirement in 2012, may have been too pushy for the liking of either side, even though he had the backing of Washington that could have secured concessions from Ankara.

Apart from the support of the US government, Pascoe had another advantage over Eide – he knew the Cyprus problem and would not have required an adjustment period for familiarising himself with the issue. The Norwegian, on the other hand, could not be accused of having a hidden agenda the way an American special advisor would. He could also be a quick learner and skilled facilitator/mediator who would adopt a fresh approach and make a difference.

Eide will however know that there have been countless Special Advisors before him, all of whom failed to achieve the desired result, not because of professional inadequacy or lack of commitment but because the two sides are more interested in keeping the procedure going than in an actual settlement. He will also know that the job will not make him popular – if one side approves of his actions, the other will not and both would be waiting for him to make a mistake so they could start criticising his alleged bias.

Given the history of the Cyprus talks, it is a wonder that any respected politician or diplomat would be willing to take on the job of UNSG’s Special Advisor on Cyprus, a job title that has become synonymous with failure.

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Binding resolution sought for insolvency

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houses    3(1)

By Elias Hazou

The Cabinet will this week likely ask parliament to issue a binding resolution stating that an insolvency framework will be passed and take effect as of January 1.

The resolution will be binding on both the government and the legislature, sources said.

Opposition parties want, in writing, additional and concurrent safeguards for homeowners who have trouble servicing their mortgage, otherwise threatening to vote down the government’s foreclosures bill.

That ‘safety net’ is an updated insolvency law, which the government has pledged to bring but says will take weeks or months to hammer out due to its complexity.

Meantime however the foreclosures bill must be enacted before the next meeting of euro area finance ministers, in September, as per the demands of Cyprus’ international lenders.

The stakes are high: failure to pass the bill within that deadline will put at risk the disbursement of the next bailout tranche for the state, but could also wreak havoc on banks’ books, the value of their property-tied assets (loans) discounted as EU-wide bank stress tests loom in October.

The foreclosures legislation is designed to help banks deleverage by loosening the shackles on collecting non-performing loans, which currently account for almost 50 per cent of private debt.

The bill does exempt so-called primary residences from its clauses until January 1. Now, the President’s thinking is that the House should additionally pass a resolution committing both the government and the legislature to an insolvency law, taking effect also of January 1. An unconventional move, but one that may prove face-saving for both camps.

Sources said also that the contentious foreclosures bill will perhaps go to the plenum next Thursday (August 28).

But that depends on the parties’ reaction to the additional legislation beefing up the foreclosures bill which the Cabinet is set to announce this Wednesday or Friday.

A bill regulating banks’ unfair terms in consumer contracts will likely form part of these additional measures. Currently, financial institutions in Cyprus are exempt from unfair terms clauses – an exemption to EU directives gained by Cyprus when it was negotiating its accession to the bloc.

And the Cabinet will likely unveil another bill regulating late payment fees and charges by banks.

Also in the pipeline is a previously announced scheme where the state will buy houses from the banks that are up for seizure. Another programme will see the state subsidise interest on mortgage payments for primary residences; this will apply only to loan installments and property values under a certain value.

Lastly, there could be a bill regulating the profession of insolvency councillors, whose tasks concern debt restructuring of natural persons to ensure repayment of creditors and preserve, where possible, primary homes.

Any repossession procedures will be briefly suspended giving the councillor time to present a restructuring plan, which could be binding if several criteria are met.

It’s understood that the troika has given the nod to these complementary legislative items.

The President’s announcement of such safeguards on Monday seems to have somewhat softened up resistance to the foreclosures bill.

Main opposition AKEL – who up until now was outright opposed – said in a statement on Tuesday that it would wait for the government’s additional measures in writing.

“We never rejected dialogue with the government,” the statement said, but added that at first glance that the safeguards appeared to be cosmetic as they would not prevent banks from engaging in mass forced sales of properties.

Likewise, EDEK said that they did not want to be “a priori negative,” provided that the additions mulled by the government bring about substantive safeguards to homeowners.

DIKO, whose support the government desperately seeks in the House, has also toned down its anti-bill rhetoric over the past week, going almost completely quiet – indicating that the administration is making some headway.

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Mother mourns U.S. journalist purportedly beheaded by Sunni militants

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American journalist James Foley, who was purportedly beheaded by Islamic militants

By Eric Beech and Victoria Cavaliere

The mother of American journalist James Foley, who was purportedly beheaded by Islamic militants, said on Tuesday her son gave his life to expose the suffering of the Syrian people and she asked his kidnappers to release their other captives.

“He was an extraordinary son, brother, journalist and person,” Diane Foley said in a post on a website set up by the Foley family.

James Foley was abducted in Syria in November 2012 while reporting on the conflict there for GlobalPost.

A video released on Tuesday by Islamic State, an al-Qaeda offshoot that has overrun large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, appeared to show Foley being beheaded.

The Sunni militants also threatened to kill another American journalist, Steven Sotloff, who went missing in Syria in July 2013, unless the United States stops its airstrikes against the group.

“We implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world,” Diane Foley said in the statement.

“We have never been prouder of our son Jim. He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people,” she said.

The White House National Security Council said U.S. intelligence agencies were working to determine the authenticity of the video.

“If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” NSC spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.

The White House said President Barack Obama had been briefed about the video by his deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes.

James Foley’s friends said he was an intrepid journalist who knew the dangers he faced. In 2011, he was held in Libya for 45 days by forces loyal to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

“James was a hard-working and gutsy journalist who charged headfirst into dangerous situations in order to get the story. My heart breaks for his family,” said reporter Carmen Gentile, who met Foley in 2012 when they both attended a medical training for freelance journalists working in war zones.

On Twitter, hundreds of users urged the public to neither watch nor share the video.

“All distributing James Foley lifeless body accomplishes is helping ISIS promote itself, helping them spread their terror beyond Iraq,” Washington-based foreign policy expert Joshua Foust tweeted.

U.S. Representative Adam Schiff of California said the video “adds to the appalling parade of horrors perpetrated” by the Islamic State militants who have declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria they control.

“Seldom is the descriptor ‘evil’ applied with perfect accuracy as it is with this monstrous group that glories in death,” Schiff said in a statement.

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Gaza war resumes with deadly strikes, rocket fire

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The 10-day period of calm has been shattered

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Allyn Fisher-Ilan

Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel for a second day on Wednesday after fighting resumed with the collapse of truce talks and an Israeli air strike that killed three people in Gaza.

Charging that Israel had “opened a gateway to hell”, Hamas’s armed wing vowed to target Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport with rocket fire, possibly to retaliate for what Hamas was quoted by Israeli media as saying was an Israeli attempt to assassinate its top militant leader, Mohammed Deif, in a Gaza City strike.

It was not clear whether Deif, who has survived previous Israeli attacks, had survived the strike that killed a woman and a two-year-old girl who media reports said may have been his wife and daughter.

Deif has topped Israel’s wanted lists for years, as mastermind of deadly suicide bombings more than a decade ago. He is currently believed to be a behind-the-scenes leader of Hamas’s campaign against Israel.

Palestinian health officials said the strike on a house in Gaza City killed three people but did not provide any details about the third victim.

The Israeli military would not specify any of the targets of some 30 attacks across Gaza it said was in response to rocket fire aimed at Israel.

Another air strike launched later on Wednesday morning killed seven members of a family in central Gaza, among them a woman and three children, Palestinian health officials said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

In addition to the deaths, more than 50 people were wounded in the air strikes across Gaza, ordered after rockets were fired at Israel. Hamas initially denied firing any rockets, then claimed responsibility for shooting dozens as far as the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas.

There were no reported casualties but falling shrapnel damaged a car in Tel Aviv, and a building was damaged in southern Israel. Some of the rockets were shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome interceptor.

The violence shattered a 10-day period of calm since a first truce brokered by Egypt, about a month after the conflict flared on July 8.

Accusing Gaza Islamists of breaking the truce with rocket fire eight hours before it was to have expired, Israel recalled its negotiators from truce talks in Cairo on Tuesday, leaving the fate of the Egyptian-brokered efforts to secure a lasting peace hanging in the balance.

Palestinian negotiators walked out of the talks later, blaming Israel for their failure. “Israel thwarted the contacts that could have brought peace,” chief Palestinian negotiator Azzam al-Ahmed said.

Rejecting the charge, Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Gaza rocketfire “made continuation of talks impossible”.

“The Cairo process was built on a total and complete cessation of all hostilities and so when rockets were fired from Gaza, not only was it a clear violation of the ceasefire but it also destroyed the premise upon which the talks were based,” Regev told Reuters.

Regev had earlier called a rocket strike at Israel’s city of Beersheba on Tuesday “a grave and direct violation of the ceasefire”. A military spokesman said that, in response to the salvoes, “terror targets across the Gaza Strip” were attacked.

Netanyahu ordered the immediate return of Israeli delegates to the indirect talks in Cairo on ending the Gaza war and charting the territory’s future.

40 ROCKETS FIRED

Gaza’s dominant Islamist group Hamas said it fired at least 40 rockets at Israel after that deadly hit, targeting Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area including Ben-Gurion Airport. An Israeli security official said there was no disruption of activity at the airport.

Suggesting Israel was expecting further violence, its military instructed Israeli civilians to open bomb shelters as far as 80 km (50 miles) from Gaza, or beyond the Tel Aviv area.

Municipalities in the Tel Aviv area were reopening shelters they had shut when fighting subsided two weeks ago, reports said.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement condemning the breach of the ceasefire, adding he was “gravely disappointed by the return to hostilities” and urging the sides not to allow matters to escalate.

Egyptian mediators have been struggling to end the five-week-old Gaza conflict and seal a deal that would open the way for reconstruction aid to flow into the territory of 1.8 million people, where thousands of homes have been destroyed.

The Palestinians want Egypt and Israel to lift their blockades of the economically crippled Gaza Strip that predated the Israeli offensive.

Israel, like Egypt, views Hamas as a security threat and wants guarantees that any removal of border restrictions will not result in militant groups obtaining weapons.

A senior Palestinian official in Gaza said sticking points to an agreement have been Hamas’s demands to build a seaport and an airport, which Israel wants to discuss only at a later stage.

Israel has called for the disarming of militant groups in the enclave. Hamas has said that laying down its weapons is not an option.

Israel and Hamas did not meet face-to-face in Cairo, where Egyptian mediators shuttled between the parties in separate rooms. Israel regards Hamas, which advocates its destruction, as a terrorist group.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says some 2,026 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the small, densely populated coastal territory since fighting started on July 8.

Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have also been killed during the offensive, which the Jewish state launched with the stated aim of halting militant fire.

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Landslides hit Japan’s Hiroshima, killing at least 27

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Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) and fire brigade troops in their rescue effort in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima

By Toru Hanai

At least 27 people, including several children, were killed in Japan on Wednesday, when landslides triggered by torrential rain slammed into the outskirts of the western city of Hiroshima, and the toll was likely to rise, police said.

Ten people were missing after a month’s worth of rain fell overnight, loosening slopes already saturated by heavy rain over the past few weeks.

“There was rain and thunder all night, beating down so hard I was scared to go outside,” a resident told Fuji TV. “Great big drops. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Helicopters clattered overhead, lifting out survivors, as rescue workers searched through mud and piles of stones in residential areas about 5 km (3 miles) from the city centre.

Among those dug out of the debris were two brothers, aged eleven and two, whose house was struck as they slept.

A child’s red school bag, covered in mud, lay in the debris. Houses had been pushed 100 metres (yards) by the landslide in the worst-hit area, where thick, knee-high mud hampered rescue efforts.

“The rain was just pouring down and the street in front of my house turned into a river,” a man in his 70s told national television NHK.

The soil in the area was of a kind that absorbed water until it suddenly loosened and slid, increasing the danger, disaster management experts told NHK.

Cities in land-scarce Japan often expand into mountainous areas, leaving such development vulnerable to landslides.

About 240 mm (9 inches) of rain fell in the area in the 24 hours up to Wednesday morning, a record-breaking level equivalent to a month’s worth of rain in a usual August, the Meteorological Agency said. Roughly half of that rain fell in one hour on Wednesday.

The force of the landslide crumbled asphalt roads, while streams of mud tore through neighbourhoods, turning houses into piles of twisted wreckage. Boulders with a diameter of as much as three metres (yards) lay scattered around.

More rain was likely in western Japan later on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cut short his summer vacation to head back to Tokyo. He said he would dispatch several hundred military personnel to help with rescue efforts.

Landslides killed 31 people in Hiroshima in 1999, including six in the same area hit this time.

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Foreign Minister concerned over Islamic State threat for the wider region

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Foreign Minister Ioannis Kassoulides

The Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kassoulides has told British TV network Sky News that Britain would have to consult with him ahead of any airstrike in Iraq through the RAF base in Akrotiri, on Cyprus` southern coast.

The Minister appeared certain that Nicosia would “not object to the use of the British Bases for any military operation against a terrorist organisation like this one which is the worst kind that we have ever met.”

Elaborating on how he sees the Islamic State, he said: “I think it is a very real threat, it is already demonstrable. All the neighbouring countries are at risk and I think having in mind some of their operations near the shores of the Mediterranean, although remote, we consider ourselves being in danger as well.

“We consider ourselves as the front line of the European Union in this part of the world,” noted Kassoulides.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has stressed that his country will not engage in another war in Iraq, although he has said the UK will use its military prowess to stop the advance of the jihadist fighters.

Britain has been using the Akrotiri base for the past couple of weeks in order to carry out its humanitarian mission for the relief of thousands of displaced people in northern Iraq.

Britain, a former colonial power, has retained two military bases in Cyprus since the island gained its independence in 1960.

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