By Andreas Vou
APOEL are through to the group stages of the UEFA Champions League following a resounding 4-0 win over Aalborg on Tuesday night, sealing their third progression to the competition in six seasons.
After the 1-1 draw in Denmark last week, Giorgos Donis’ side went into the game with a slight advantage on the away goals rule but they were clearly intent on leaving little to chance.
The 1-1-draw had become somewhat a cursed first-leg scoreline away from home for APOEL, with the last three such results in European qualifying rounds all ending in elimination.
Despite a nervy start from both sides, it was APOEL who mustered the first real goal-scoring opportunity with 15 minutes on the clock, an early sign of what was to come. Tiago Gomes nipped in ahead of his marker but his diving header was smothered by Nicolai Larsen in the Aalborg goal.
The breakthrough came on 29 minutes as high pressing from the Cypriots forced the Danes into surrendering possession. Tomas De Vincenti cut the ball back from out on the wing to the awaiting Vinicius on the edge of the area. The Brazilian is not known for his goalscoring abilities but, as he did in the first leg, scored with a neat strike which wrong-footed the keeper to give APOEL a vital lead.
Just a few minutes later, APOEL came close to doubling their advantage as they broke quickly from an Aalborg corner which led to Manduca bearing down on goal but the 34-year-old saw his low shot saved.
The pivotal moment of the match came on 35 minutes, as Aalborg’s Thomas Enevoldsen headed into the ground towards the far corner of the goal but was denied by an incredible full-stretch save from Urko Pardo to prevent what would have been a crucial away goal.
Nine minutes later, Mario Sergio’s out-swinging corner was met by De Vincenti who crept in unmarked to hit home from the edge of the six-yard box into the roof of the net, giving APOEL a two-goal cushion just before the break.
Aalborg were certainly the better side in the first leg but nobody would have thought it based on this showing. The Danish defence was in tatters and they were made to pay by a clinical APOEL.
Stathis Aloneftis, just moments after replacing Manduca, put away APOEL’s third to put the tie beyond any reasonable doubt with what were his first and second touches, first to bring down Sergio’s sweeping cross-field ball and the next to strike the ball across goal and into the corner.
There was still time for more. Pardo’s long punt up field was brought down by Cillian Sheridan, who outmuscled the Aalborg defenders before unleashing a left-footed strike on the bounce which hit the inside of the post before nestling into the net.
The win came five years to the day since their first ever progression to the group stages and makes it the fourth time in six seasons that APOEL will be participating in the group stages of UEFA competition.

By George Psyllides
The National Economy Council (NEC) warned on Tuesday that rejection of the foreclosures bill could throw the economy back to the days of March 2013 when parliament rejected a proposal to tax deposits.
That rejection, by the same parties currently opposing the foreclosures bill – AKEL, DIKO, EDEK – ultimately led to the closure of Laiki Bank, and put Bank of Cyprus on the respirator.
The NEC stressed that delaying or postponing making decisions and approving bills was the worst tactic.
“Populism and rejection is not the solution,” the NEC said. Improvements to the bills can me made in the next couple of months after their approval.
“Whereas we see even a small recovery of the economy today, at least in some sectors, we see an improving situation in the banking system, we will immediately go backwards,” NEC chairman Christopher Pissarides said after a meeting Tuesday with the president.
He added that along with his colleagues, he was concerned about going back to the conditions of March 2013 “when we found ourselves at a point we did not know what we were doing.”
Back then, AKEL, DIKO and EDEK rejected the so-called first haircut on deposits in all banks without having an alternative plan.
Banks were forced to close for 10 days as capital controls were introduced. Upon opening, Laiki was gone and Bank of Cyprus seized 47.5 per cent of deposits over €100,000 to recapitalise.
Rejection of the bill would prompt banks to seek financing elsewhere as their needs in capital increase due to the pan European stress tests.
However, seeing the situation of the state finances and the banking system, it is difficult to think where these sources would be found to recapitalise banks, Pissarides said.
Pissarides said the foreclosures bill was satisfactory at a first stage and any changes can be made along the way.
Safeguards for primary residences and small borrowers did exist in the bill, Pissarides said, questioning why MPs were saying they did not.
In fact, the bill was more lenient for borrowers than the current legislation since banks could only move to foreclose after trying to collect arrears for four months. The current bill calls for one month and there are no guarantees for primary residences or anything else.
The NEC nevertheless proposed further safeguards for borrowers: foreclosure notices sent by banks should ask for the payment of arrears and not the whole loan. The lender should proceed with repossession if the arrears were not paid and not before, the NEC said.
The NEC’s recommendations to the president included:

• If the collateral is worth more than the balance of the loan, six to nine months should be given to borrowers to sell their property themselves.
• If the sale is unsuccessful, the period already used will be deducted from the foreclosure timeframe.
• Foreclosures should be banned when concerning small amounts, always within a logical framework.
• Safeguards to discourage strategic delays must be put in place.
• Introduce provisions for a comprehensive arrangement when foreclosing on mortgaged property.
• Court decisions to foreclose that have already been made must proceed immediately – no new procedure should start.
• Bank charges for borrowers wishing to repay their loan prematurely should be abolished.

By Nondas Cl Metaxas, Director General – CEO of the Cyprus Stock Exchange

ISLAMIC Finance is traditionally a very important sector in the Islamic financial world, providing finance to significant projects for economic development, as well as alternative options and tools for investments.

Islamic Finance can take various forms, both in terms of bonds, as well as in terms of Funds, and be listed on the Securities Exchanges.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange is currently intensifying its efforts for promoting new initiatives and plans in this direction in order to help our country overcome the present difficult and challenging economic situation,thus contributing to the rebuilding of Cyprus’ economy.

As it was noted recently, one of the industries that the Cyprus Stock Exchange has focused its efforts on, and was included in its  strategic plans, is the development of the Funds sector,  in order to extend the range of products offered to investors and consequently facilitate the further development of the financial market in Cyprus.

Very recently, within this general direction, the Cyprus Stock Exchange has started examining, along with other interested authorities and market participants, the possible development of the Islamic Financial Instruments.

Everybody considers this sector as extremely important and see the efforts being undertaken favourably with the aim of promoting Cyprus as an effective jurisdiction for Islamic Finance and for promoting their listing on the Cyprus Stock Exchange.

Islamic Finance are considered internationally as a credible  alternative source of funds in light of the credit crunch worldwide that has contributed significantly to the economic growth throughout the Muslim world.   For this sector, a growing demand was exhibited during the last years for securing finance, in regards to a number of projects, supporting many industrial sectors.

Islamic Finance products, should always comply with Shariah Law, which sets the framework regarding the permitable investments in various assets.  Among them, we mention the restriction about charging of interest, about uncertainty (there must always be full disclosure), the excessive speculation or gambling, as well as the avoidance of unethical investment, given the fact that Islam is intolerant of certain products. Therefore such investments should in advance receive relevant licensing, while they are constantly monitored by independent bodies of internationally recognised experts, namely a Shariah Scholars Boards, who verify the compliance with Islamic Law.

A number of financial products that come under the Shariah compliant entities, invest in a wide range of sectors, such as equities, real estate, infrastructure for development, private equity etc.

Sukuk is one of the commonly used Islamic Structures in project finance, classified in various forms such as, among others, istisna’a ijara, wakala ijaras etc  Other forms of Islamic Funds include Parallel Islamic Funds, Equity Investment Funds, Real-Estate Funds (REITs), etc. Sukuks are certificates representing ownership of an underlying pool of assets and most of them are asset-based.  Sukuks are used for developing new big projects.

Therefore, given all the above as presented in brief, it is obvious that there is potential for Cyprus with regards to Islamic Finance products.  Cyprus’ projects can be wholly or partly financed by Islamic funds.  Sukuk listings for various projects including the shipping industry, present a clear opportunity for the Cyprus Stock Exchange.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange, in case there is interest from Cyprus or abroad could facilitate the listing of Islamic Finance products, sukuks as follows:

Through the facility of listing of such products on the Cyprus Stock Exchange, that have been established/issued by other sovereigns or organisations; through the listing of Cyprus sovereign or other organisations’ sukuks.  This initiative could take place within the framework of accomplishing big projects for economic development, which could be financed via such Cyprus schemes.

In order for Cyprus to be advanced as an Islamic Fund domicile worldwide, it should be competitive in terms of listing procedures, backed by the authorities and the private sector, as well as to provide an efficient and speedy listing process – as a listing destination.  Cyprus’ law should be fully compatible with Shariah principles and Cyprus should always be a cost-effective, low tax jurisdiction and listing centre.

A range of vehicles available to address the specific needs of investors and promoters should also be provided. As regards the Cyprus Stock Exchange, it should be noted that it adequately provides all these credentials, in relation to its listing process, as well as for the cost and speedy process factors.

It is believed that the development and promotion of CSE’s initiatives, such as the Funds Industry, New Markets.  Islamic Finance projects, Bonds, etc, could bring significant benefits to the Cyprus economy, as well as to the Cyprus Stock Exchange.

They can also contribute to a significant extent to the process of securing the required fundraising for major projects for development, the creation of new jobs and the expansion of partnerships with various professional investment groups.  Such initiatives should therefore contribute to the efforts of attracting further investment in Cyprus.

Last but not least, it should be underlined and stressed that the CSE is ready to discuss listings of Islamic financial investment with interested parties.

We very much welcome such initiatives and we are here to work with anybody interested to see them materialise, as fast as possible.

The reunification of Cyprus continues to be a top priority for the US, ambassador John Koenig said on Wednesday, and he urged Turkey to contribute to efforts to solve the Cyprus issue.

Koenig made the comment in his address to the 25th conference of the Central Council of the International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA).

“Relations between the US and Cyprus have never been stronger than they are today and the relationship continues to deepen in a wide variety of ways,” the ambassador said.

He said US Vice President Joe Biden`s visit to Cyprus in May was the first in 52 years and a “watershed moment” in the relations between the two governments.  “The visit was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of our intensified relationship with the Republic of Cyprus.”

Koenig said US Secretary of State John Kerry had made it clear that he wanted to visit Cyprus at the appropriate time. “And I think that will be soon and we look forward to taking advantage of that visit not only to have him engage with the Cypriots but also to advance the agenda for a Cyprus solution and our bilateral relationship,” he added.

Koenig also referred to visits to Washington by Cypriot officials and to President Nicos Anastasiades’ decision to reorient Cyprus’ foreign policy toward the West. This had made the most significant contribution to the strengthening of relations between the two countries, he said.
“Without that decision, this new strategic partnership would not be possible.”

“We have seen a number of US companies set up shop in Cyprus in the past year, to position themselves to support the growing energy economy on the island and the region while there have been major investments in banking and tourism. These investments are a vote of confidence by American investors in the Cyprus economy and a statement of the clear belief that Cyprus has turned the corner economically and is becoming increasingly important economic partner for the US,” Koenig said.

He expressed hoped the government would continue on the path of restructuring on the foreclosures bill as it would be helpful in restoring confidence in the banking sector.
On the Cyprus issue, the ambassador said it was “critically important” that Turkey contributed to efforts for a Cyprus settlement and one of the issues was to discuss how effectively Turkey could make a contribution.

“The benefits of a settlement are absolutely unmistakable,” he said. A solution would enable Cyprus to not only chart a course for itself to a more secure and prosperous future, but to also make a significant contribution to the stability of the region. “And it would enable Cyprus to be an even stronger partner for the United States.” The US was looking forward to working with the UN’s new Special Envoy Espen Barth Eide but compromise and reconciliation were going to be needed, as was commitment from the two sides, and from Turkey.

“The US commitment to help Cypriots find a solution to the Cyprus problem pre-dates by several decades the discovery of hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Koenig.

“While it is clearly US policy to promote diverse, secure and affordable sources of energy, those who suggest that this heightened American interest in Cyprus is all about oil and gas misread history and fail to see the larger picture. The US has always sought closer relations with Cyprus and welcomes Cyprus’ new openness to working with us”.
Asked by delegates whether steps had been taken for a visit to Washington by Anastasiades,  Koening said  they were looking at the schedule of the meetings that would be held during the UN General Assembly later this month.  On a possible meet with US President Barack Obama, Koenig said it was something Nicosia and Washington had in mind “because first of all there has never been a President of Cyprus who has so firmly supported relations with the US as Nicos Anastasiades but they [meetings] take a long time to plan and we would not be looking in the next several months. Maybe in 2015 or 2016. I would love to see it happen before I leave my post,” he said. (CNA)

BANK of Cyprus (BoC) yesterday announced a six-month net profit of €81m, a day before a crucial general meeting that will vote on a €1.0bn capital increase.

It is the second consecutive profitable quarter following seven loss-making quarters.

The lender said after-tax profits, excluding one-off items, reached €78m.

“The performance of the Cypriot operations, our core business, remains much stronger than the Group’s overall performance, supporting our efforts of shrinking to strength through the disposal of non-core operations and assets,” CEO John Hourican said.

Profit after tax attributable to the owners of the bank for Q2 of 2014 totalled €50m compared with a €31m profit in Q1 2014.

Profit before provisions for bad debts, restructuring costs and discontinued operations was €405m, the bank said.

Profit before provisions for impairment of customer loans, restructuring costs and discontinued operations for Q2 2014 was €189m, compared with €216m in Q1. Provisions in the first half of the year reached €329m – €183m in Q2 and €146m in Q1.

Customer outflows that followed last year’s bail-in significantly abated during the second half of 2013 and into 2014, the bank said. The deposits of the Cypriot operations fell by 2.0 per cent during Q2 2014, compared with a reduction of 6.0 per cent in Q1.

At the end of June, deposits in Cyprus accounted for 85 per cent of group deposits, deposits in the U.K. for 9.0 per cent, and deposits in Russia for 6.0 per cent. The bank’s deposit market share in Cyprus was 25.5 per cent, compared with 26.4 per cent on March 31, 2014 and to 27.5 per cent at the end of 2013.

The lender said it has raised its Core Tier 1 equity to 11.3 per cent, from 10.5 per cent at the end of 2013.

BoC has recently sold non-core assets of about €450m — Ukrainian operations for €202.5m, investment in Romanian Banca Transilvania for €82m, and loans in Serbia for €165m.

The bank’s results are not directly comparable to past earnings because of the bail-in of depositors in 2013. Deposits over €100,000 were converted into equity as part of a €10bn bailout for Cyprus from international lenders.

Foreign investors, including US-based Wilbur Ross and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, have signed up to the bank’s capital increase, designed to bolster regulatory capital ahead of Europe-wide stress tests t

By Richard Balmforth and Anton Zverev

Ukraine accused Russia of launching a new military incursion across its eastern border on Wednesday, as hopes quickly faded that Tuesday’s talks between their two presidents might mark a turning point in a five-month-old crisis.

Accusations of direct Russian support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine have prompted Western governments to impose sanctions on Moscow, despite its vehement denials, and fanned tensions with NATO to levels not seen since the Cold War.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said a group of Russian soldiers had crossed the border in armoured infantry carriers and a truck and entered the town of Amvrosiyivka, not far from where Ukraine detained 10 Russian soldiers on Monday.

He said fighting in two other towns, Horlivka and Ilovaysk, had killed about 200 pro-Russian rebels and destroyed tanks and missile systems. Thirteen Ukrainian service personnel had been killed in the past 24 hours and 36 had been wounded.

No comment was immediately available from the Russian defence ministry on the alleged incursion. Russia denies sending weapons and soldiers to help the rebels, and says the men captured on Monday had crossed an unmarked section of the border by mistake.

Late-night talks in the Belarussian capital Minsk had appeared to yield some progress towards ending a war in which more than 2,200 people have been killed, according to the UN – a toll that excludes the 298 who died when a Malaysian airliner was shot down over rebel-held territory in July.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he would work on an urgent ‘road map’ towards a ceasefire with the rebels. Russia’s Vladimir Putin said it would be for Ukrainians to work out ceasefire terms, but Moscow would “contribute to create a situation of trust”.

But Wednesday’s new accusations from Ukraine made clear that the poisonous dispute over Russia’s role remained unresolved.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was hard to tell whether the talks in Minsk marked a breakthrough.

“Perhaps not, but let’s hope that this meeting was not an end of some development, but another beginning,” he said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said the flow of Russian forces and weapons into Ukraine was a major problem and Moscow must ensure that it stops.

“It’s long overdue that this border is properly secured and that all forms of military support for the separatists over this border end. Russia has a big responsibility for that,” spokesman Steffen Seibert said.

TRADE WARS

Fighting in the east erupted in April, a month after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in response to the toppling of a pro-Moscow president in Kiev.

The crisis has prompted the United States and EU to impose sanctions on Russia’s finance, oil and defence sectors, and Moscow has hit back by banning most western food imports. The trade wars threaten to tip Russia into recession and strangle economic recovery in Europe.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was not looking for a further escalation of trade tensions. “We have no interest in a confrontation or in whipping up a spiral of sanctions,” he told an audience of students.

The next step would be for a ‘Contact Group’, comprising representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the rebels and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to meet in Minsk, he said without giving a time frame.

But Ukrainian foreign policy adviser Valery Chaly told reporters in Kiev that Poroshenko’s declaration on a ceasefire road map did not mean an immediate end to the government’s military offensive against the rebels.

“If there are attacks from the terrorists and mercenaries, then our army has the duty to defend the people,” he said.

A rebel leader, Oleg Tsaryov, wrote on Facebook that he welcomed the outcome of the Minsk talks, but the separatists would not stop short of full independence for the regions of eastern Ukraine they call Novorossiya (New Russia).

He said he saw “a real breakthrough” in Putin’s offer to contribute to the peace process.

But he added: “It must be understood that a genuine settlement of the situation is only possible with the participation of representatives of Novorossiya. We will not allow our fate to be decided behind our back…

“Now we are demanding independence. We don’t trust the Ukrainian leadership and don’t consider ourselves part of Ukraine. The guarantee of our security is our own armed forces. We will decide our own fate.”

Further underlining Kiev’s distrust of Moscow, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said his country needed “practical help” and “momentous decisions” from NATO at an alliance summit next month.

He said he knew of Russian plans to halt gas flows this winter to Europe, up to half of which are shipped via Ukraine. Russia’s energy minister called the assertion groundless.

Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine in June in a dispute over pricing and debt, but Putin said after Tuesday’s talks that he and Poroshenko had agreed to resume discussions.

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said gas consultations would take place in Moscow on Friday between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller

An open-ended ceasefire in the Gaza war held on Wednesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced strong criticism in Israel over a costly conflict with Palestinian militants in which no clear victor emerged.

On the streets of the battered, Hamas-run Palestinian enclave, people headed to shops and banks, trying to resume the normal pace of life after seven weeks of fighting. Thousands of others, who had fled the battles and sheltered with relatives or in schools, returned home, where some found only rubble.

In Israel, sirens warning of incoming rocket fire from the Gaza Strip fell silent. But media commentators, echoing attacks by members of Netanyahu’s governing coalition, voiced deep disappointment over his leadership during the most prolonged bout of Israeli-Palestinian violence in a decade.

“After 50 days of warfare in which a terror organisation killed dozens of soldiers and civilians, destroyed the daily routine (and) placed the country in a state of economic distress … we could have expected much more than an announcement of a ceasefire,” analyst Shimon Shiffer wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s biggest-selling newspaper.

“We could have expected the prime minister to go to the president’s residence and inform him of his decision to resign his post.”

Netanyahu, who has faced constant sniping in his cabinet from right-wing ministers demanding military action to topple Hamas, scheduled a news conference for Wednesday evening, expected to be his first public remarks since the Egyptian-mediated truce deal took effect on Tuesday evening.

Palestinian health officials say 2,139 people, most of them civilians, including more than 490 children, have been killed in the enclave since July 8, when Israel launched an offensive with the declared aim of ending rocket salvoes.

Israel’s death toll stood at 64 soldiers and six civilians.

The ceasefire agreement called for an indefinite halt to hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza’s blockaded crossings with Israel and Egypt, and a widening of the territory’s fishing zone in the Mediterranean.

A senior Hamas official voiced willingness for the security forces of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the unity government he formed in June to control the passage points.

Both Israel and Egypt view Hamas as a security threat and are seeking guarantees that weapons will not enter Gaza, a narrow, densely populated territory of 1.8 million people.

Under a second stage of the truce that would begin a month later, Israel and the Palestinians would discuss the construction of a Gaza sea port and Israel’s release of Hamas prisoners in the occupied West Bank, possibly in a trade for the remains of two Israeli soldiers believed held by Hamas, the officials said.

Israel has in recent weeks said it wants the full demilitarisation of Gaza. The United States and European Union have supported the goal, but it remains unclear what it would mean in practice and Hamas has rejected it as unfeasible.

COMPETING VICTORY CLAIMS

“On the land of proud Gaza, the united people achieved absolute victory against the Zionist enemy,” a Hamas statement said.

Israel said it dealt a strong blow to Hamas, killing several of its military leaders and destroying the Islamist group’s cross-border infiltration tunnels.

“Hamas’s military wing was badly hit, we know this clearly through unequivocal intelligence,” Yossi Cohen, Netanyahu’s national security adviser, said on Army Radio.

But Israel also faced persistent rocket fire for nearly two months that caused an exodus from a number of border communities and disrupted daily life in its commercial heartland.

“They are celebrating in Gaza,” cabinet minister Uzi Landau, of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party in Netanyahu’s coalition, told Israel Radio. He said that for Israel, the outcome of the war was “very gloomy” because it had not created sufficient deterrence to dissuade Hamas from attacking in the future.

Nahum Barnea, one of Israel’s most popular columnists, expressed concern “that instead of paving the way to removing the threat from Gaza, we are paving the road to the next round, in Lebanon or in Gaza”.

“The Israelis expected a leader, a statesman who knows what he wants to achieve, someone who makes decisions and engages in a sincere and real dialogue with his public,” he wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth. “They received a seasoned spokesperson, and very little beyond that.”

Ben Caspit, writing in the Maariv daily, said there was no victory for Israel in a conflict that resulted in “a collapsed tourism industry (and) an economy approaching recession”.

Israel’s central bank has estimated the conflict will knock half a point off economic growth this year.

But with future diplomatic moves on Gaza’s future still pending, there was no immediate talk publicly among Netanyahu’s coalition partners of any steps to break up the alliance.

In a further sign of the truce’s impact, Egypt eased restrictions at the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, allowing World Food Programme supplies containing a shipment of 25,000 food parcels into the coastal territory for the first time since 2007, a statement by the humanitarian group said.

Israel has regularly permitted food and other humanitarian goods to be shipped into Gaza across its border, during the latest fighting as well. A government website says 5,359 truckloads of goods have transited the Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza since July 8, the day the seven-week conflict erupted.

Israel has said it would facilitate the flow of more civilian goods and humanitarian and reconstruction aid into the impoverished territory if the truce was honoured.

But, Cohen said: “(Hamas) will…not get a port unless it declares it will disarm. It will not get even one screw unless we can be sure it is not being used to strengthen Gaza’s military might.”

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said 540,000 people had been displaced in the Gaza Strip. Israel has said Hamas bears responsibility for civilian casualties because it operates among non-combatants and uses schools and mosques to store weapons and as launch sites for rockets.

By Andreas Vou

MARCOS Baghdatis was forced to retire from his first round match at the US Open against Marin Cilic on Wednesday evening after suffering a suspected ankle injury midway through the second set.

Baghdatis had lost the first set against the 14th seeded Croatian 6-3 and was down 3-1 in the second before he was forced to pull out of the encounter in New York, having only been granted entry into the draw due to the withdrawal of German Tommy Haas.

Though Baghdatis held his own for large parts of the match, Cilic had been proving too tough to break on his own big serve which left Baghdatis frustrated. However, the Cypriot – now ranked 86 – had been on a good run of form in recent months and would have fancied the challenge had injury not caused him to pull out.

The 29-year-old need not feel downhearted after rediscovering his old touch in the last few months which has resulted in three titles.

Baghdatis earned his first singles trophy since 2010 in the Aegon Trophy final in Nottingham at the beginning of June.
Earlier this month, he claimed the VanOpen in Canada and then, on August 10, continued his hot streak on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning a second straight title and the ninth of his career after beating top seed Mikhail Kukushkin to win the Aptos Challenge in California.

Due to the defeat, Cilic now extends his head-to-head lead over Baghdatis to 5-1, only losing to the Cypriot at the Cincinnati Masters in 2010.

Results from the U.S. Open Men’s Singles Round 1 matches on Wednesday

Teymuraz Gabashvili (Russia) beat 27-Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) 6-3 1-6 7-6(6) 6-3
19-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat Ivan Dodig (Croatia) 1-6 7-5 2-6 6-4 1-1 (Dodig retired)
14-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 6-3 3-1 (Baghdatis retired)
Illya Marchenko (Ukraine) beat Marco Chiudinelli (Switzerland) 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(13) 7-6(4)

Results from the U.S. Open Women’s Singles Round 2 matches on Wednesday

6-Angelique Kerber (Germany) beat Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) 6-2 6-4
Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) beat 31-Kurumi Nara (Japan) 6-4 4-6 6-1
Johanna Larsson (Sweden) beat 21-Sloane Stephens (U.S.) 5-7 6-4 6-2
22-Alize Cornet (France) beat Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-3
28-Roberta Vinci (Italy) beat Irina Begu (Romania) 2-6 6-4 6-1
Peng Shuai (China) beat 4-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 6-3 6-4
2-Simona Halep (Romania) beat Jana Cepelova (Slovakia) 6-2 6-1

By George Psyllides

A 35-year-old man shot and killed his ex wife, 31, in Kornos on Wednesday afternoon and then killed himself, police said.

Stavroulla Florou died in hospital at around 10pm. She had been rushed there in critical condition after she was shot in the head with a hunting shotgun.

Christos Eleftheriou fled the scene but was found dead in his car in a wooded area between Kornos and Delikipos just before 7pm. He had apparently shot himself, police said.

His ex wife’s grand mother, 80, and her partner, 39, were also injured in the shooting, but their condition was not life threatening.

The 3.30pm incident had been witnessed by the couple’s two children.

It all started when Eleftheriou went to his mother in law’s home to pick up their two children, an eight-year-old boy, and a girl aged four.

For an unspecified reason, the children had refused to go with him, sparking an argument.

The father went back into his car and returned with a loaded hunting shotgun he used against his ex wife. The shot hit her in the head while pellets also injured the grand mother and the victim’s partner. They were all sitting on the veranda.

They were rushed to hospital where the 31-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator.

The perpetrator drove off, taking his gun with him.

The man was said to be suffering from psychological problems and that he had done a stint in the mental hospital in the past.

In a similar incident in June, a 41-year-old father of two shot and killed his estranged wife, 35, and his nine-year old daughter using his army issue G3 rifle. He also shot and critically injured his son, 14. The young boy had managed to survive the rampage.

The man shot his wife through the windshield of her car and then shot his daughter while she was trying to get out. He chased down his son to a nearby plot where he shot him twice from behind, injuring his lung and leg. Standing over his son’s body, the man then took his own life.

By Constantinos Psillides

THE six Menoyia detainees who climbed on the roof of the detention center on Monday were released on Wednesday, following instructions by the Interior Ministry.

The immigrants were released on parole under the condition they appear when their cases are up for evaluation by the Immigration Services.

The immigrants had climbed on the roof demanding to be released from the facility. They hanged a sign saying “No to racism” and threatened to kill themselves if their demands weren’t met. Police emergency response unit (EMAK) tried repeatedly to persuade the immigrants to come down but failed. On Monday night EMAK officers brought a crane to get the immigrants down but stopped when one of them tied a rope around his neck and threatened to hang himself off the roof.

To put an end to the impasse, the Interior Ministry decided on Tuesday afternoon to sign off on their release from Menoyia, provided that the immigrants appear before authorities when their appeal to be granted citizenship is up for examination. The immigrants accepted the Ministry’s proposal and climbed down the roof at around 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The immigrants were held for a period of over 12 months in violation of EU regulations. According to EU law, a member state has the authority to detain an immigrant for a period of no more than 12 months – in extreme occasions – before deporting them to their country of origin.

Police and Immigration Services claimed on Monday that the immigrants have been convicted on criminal cases and that due to their criminal activity they have been deemed “a danger to society” and decided that they should be deported.

Michalis Paraskeva, a human rights lawyer, told the Cyprus Mail that the crimes the immigrants were convicted for were minor and don’t justify a prolonged detention and deportation.

“Not paying their social security, minor traffic violations, stuff like that. Certainly they didn’t deserve being branded a danger to society and then detained for over a year illegally,” Paraskevas said.

By Brian Homewood

Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for the 17th successive season when Chile forward Alexis Sanchez scored in first-half stoppage time to give them a 1-0 win over Besiktas after a goalless draw in the first leg in Istanbul.

Athletic Bilbao scored three times in 14 minutes to beat Napoli 3-1 in the second leg of their playoff to reach the group stage at the expense of the Serie A side on Wednesday.

Swedish champions Malmo qualified for the first time with a 3-0 win over Salzburg, who held a 2-1 lead from the first leg.
Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen thrashed FC Copenhagen 4-0 for a 7-2 aggregate win while the tie between Ludogorets Razgrad and Steaua Bucharest went to extra time.

The group stage draw will be made in Monaco on Thursday (6.45pm).

Napoli, held 1-1 at home one week ago, went ahead through Marek Hamsik at the start of the second half before suffering a defensive collapse.

Aritz Aduriz levelled in the 61st minute and then put Athletic in front eight minutes later before and Ibai Gomez ended Napoli’s hopes with the third in the 74th minute.

By Sylvia Westall and Mariam Karouny

Islamic State fighters executed scores of Syrian soldiers captures when the militants seized an airbase in the province of Raqqa at the weekend, according to a video posted on You Tube on Thursday.

The video, confirmed as genuine by an Islamic State fighter, showed the bodies of dozens of men lying face down wearing nothing but their underwear. They were stretched out in a line that appeared to be dozens of metres long.

A separate pile of bodies was shown nearby. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

The caption beneath it said the dead numbered 250. An Islamic State fighter in Raqqa told Reuters via the Internet: “Yes, we have executed them all.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors violence in the war, put the death toll at more than 120.

Islamic State, a radical offshoot of al Qaeda, stormed Tabqa airbase on Sunday after days of clashes with the army and said it had captured and killed soldiers and officers in one of the bloodiest confrontations yet between the two sides.

The capture of Tabqa, the Syrian army’s last foothold in that area, and apparent parading and killing of large numbers of its soldiers shows how Islamic State has cemented its grip on the north of the country.

The video begins by showing the captives apparently being marched in the desert with their hands behind their heads and watched by armed men. An Islamic State fighter repeatedly shouts out “Islamic State”, to which the men reply “It shall remain”.

NOT AN ALLY

Islamic State controls roughly a third of Syria, mostly areas in the north and east of the country. The United States has launched airstrikes on the same group over the border in Iraq and is considering doing the same in Syria.

The Syrian government, which is shunned by the West, has presented itself as a partner in a war on Islamist extremists.

But Washington, which has built its Syria policy on Assad leaving power, says he is part of the problem. French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday Assad was no ally in the fight against Islamic State.

Syrian warplanes on Thursday hit Islamic State targets in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, another of its strongholds, in an air strike that killed some of the group’s commanders, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Observatory said the planes struck a building used as an Islamic State headquarters during a meeting of its commanders.

Syrian state TV reported that the army “eliminated more than 10 terrorists” in an attack east of Deir al-Zor military airport, including two men it named as Islamic State leaders in the province, and destroyed 14 armoured vehicles.

Syrian state television reported on Sunday that its troops had withdrawn from the base and regrouped but it has not reported any army deaths or captures. It has said Islamic State suffered heavy losses in the battle over the base.

SECTARIAN INSULTS

Another video posted online appeared to show at least one Syrian soldier being interrogated before a group of other captured men in their underwear, as voices off camera shout sectarian insults.

The soldier identifies himself as an officer and says he is from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, like Assad and the majority of high-ranking military officers. Islamic State members are Sunni Muslims.

The interrogator shouts insults at the soldier, suggesting Alawites are born out of wedlock. When at one point the soldier briefly looks down at the floor and rubs his eyes, another interrogator throws a metal rod at him, making him flinch.

“How many have you killed? How many have you raped?” the interrogator shouts. The soldier replies: “None. I’ve been stationed here in the airport.”

The interrogator asks why the soldier had been fighting on behalf of Assad and did not defect and he replies that he would have just been sent back to the army.

“They would have sent you right back to the army? And we’re going to send you right back to hell: by slaughter,” the interrogator says, making him chant Islamic State slogans.

Although it is not clear how widespread public anger in Syria might be about the fall of the air base, some people supportive of the army have expressed anger on social media.

The Islamic State militants aim to set up a trans-border caliphate in the Iraqi and Syrian territory they have captured.

The United States has carried out air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq and left open the option for similar action in Syria.

By Robert Robertsson

Ice over Iceland’s rumbling Bardarbunga volcano has melted to reveal a row of 1-km wide “cauldrons”, possibly due to a sub-glacial eruption, the country’s meteorological office said late on Wednesday.

Rumblings at Iceland’s largest volcano system for about a week have raised worries of an eruption that could spell trouble for air travel. In 2010, an ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano closed much of Europe’s airspace for six days.

The Met Office said on its website it had not observed an increase in the level of tremors in connection with the discovery of the 4 to 6-km long line of 10 to 15-metre deep “cauldrons”.

Palmi Erlendsson, a geologist at the Met Office, said the warning code for possible volcanic disruption to the aviation industry remained orange, the second-highest level.

Red, the highest alert, indicates an eruption is imminent or underway, with a risk of emission of ash.

The Met Office said earlier on Wednesday that seismic activity in the area remained high after two earthquakes measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude hit the volcano overnight and another quake shook a nearby volcano. The night before saw a magnitude 5.7 quake – the biggest earthquake yet at Bardarbunga.

On Sunday, Iceland lowered its warning code to orange from red.

By Maria Savva
LESS than a week after the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge made its way to Cyprus, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA Cyprus) has reported receiving over €4,000 in donations.
Maria Kyriakou, an MDA Cyprus administrative officer, said the figure was an estimate.
“We are unable to announce the exact amount of donations because the contributions are made in various ways, such as with credit cards cleared through JCC, bank accounts and messages from mobiles. We need some days to gather contributions,” she said.
As of August 24, the ALS Association in the United States reported receiving $70.2m in donations compared to $2.5m during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 24). These donations have come from existing donors and 1.3m new donors to the association.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge continues in Cyprus under the auspices of TELETHON which can be contacted for donations at Tel: 22 392608 and 22 392610
Email: telethon@cing.ac.cy or Facebook: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Cyprus

By Andreas Vou and Mike Collett

APOEL have been handed an extremely tough Champions League task after being pitted against Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Ajax Amsterdam in the so-called ‘Group of Death’.

Giorgos Donis’ side have not met any of the aforementioned trio in any competition in their history though their last Champions League campaign ended against Barca’s arch-rivals Real Madrid in the quarter finals.

The Cypriot champions will forever be associated with that famous journey in the 2011-12 season where they reached the last eight of Europe’s elite competition before losing out to the ten-time and current European champions 8-2 on aggregate.

It will be APOEL’s third Champions League campaign in just six seasons but they face an almighty battle to get out of the group.
Nevertheless, APOEL have grown accustomed to their ‘underdog’ status and are certain to cause problems for their opponents at the GSP stadium in Nicosia, with the crowd creating intimidating atmospheres on famous European nights.

APOEL sealed their place in the competition on Wednesday after a comprehensive 4-0 win over Danish club Aalborg at the GSP in Nicosia, to seal a 5-1 aggregate win.

Elsewhere, European champions Real will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage.

Real won the title for the 10th time when they beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra time in Lisbon in May and have the chance to avenge a 5-0 aggregate defeat to five-time champions Liverpool in the last 16 in 2009.
Further back in time Liverpool beat Real 1-0 in the 1981 European Cup final in Paris.

The draw, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, had a distinct air of deja vu about it.
Arsenal were drawn in the same group as Borussia Dortmund for the second successive season, as were Chelsea and Schalke and Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

Bayern and City were joined by CSKA Moscow for the second straight season too with AS Roma completing the quartet in Group E.
Last season’s runners-up Atletico were grouped with former champions Juventus, Olympiacos Piraeus and Malmo of Sweden.

Group A
Atletico Madrid
Juventus
Olympiacos
Malmo

Group B
Real Madrid
Basel
Liverpool
Ludogorets

Group C
Benfica
Zenit St Petersburg
Bayer Leverkusen
Monaco

Group D
Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund
Galatasaray
Anderlecht

Group E
Bayern Munich
Manchester City
CSKA Moscow
Roma

Group F
Barcelona
PSG
Ajax
APOEL

Group G
Chelsea
Schalke
Sporting Lisbon
Maribor

Group H
Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk
Athletic Bilbao
BATE Borisov

By Angelos Anastasiou
BANK OF Cyprus (BoC) shareholders overwhelmingly approved a €1.0 billion capital raise on Thursday, the biggest foreign direct investment in the island’s history.
The increase was put to the vote at an EGM. Just over 87 per cent of present shareholders voted in favour. Turnout was almost 42 per cent.
Announcing the result of the shareholders’ vote, BoC chairman Christis Hassapis said that the approval marked the start of a new era for the bank and its customers, depositors and shareholders.
Foreign investors, including US-based Wilbur Ross and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, have signed up to the capital increase, designed to bolster regulatory capital ahead of Europe-wide stress tests later in the year.
“Strengthening our bank now … no doubt will allow us to accelerate its recovery (and) we will be able to engage with the wholesale market more easily,” CEO John Hourican told shareholders.
The issue, which executives said represented the single largest foreign investment made in Cyprus, would allow the bank to accelerate a restructuring plan after it was almost crippled by onerous terms of a bailout for Cyprus in early 2013.
BoC made history in the eurozone’s debt crisis as the first bank forced to convert uninsured deposits into equity as a condition for Cyprus to receive €10 billion in bailout aid from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
The bank, badly hit by its exposure to debt-crippled Greece, was under the control of the island’s Central Bank for several months last year.
The issue will take BoC’s core Tier 1 capital to 15.1 per cent from 11.3 per cent.
A 75-per cent majority was required for the capital increase to be approved, and speculation had been rife that some of the existing shareholders were opposed to the move and actively sought to overturn it, despite mounting non-performing loans, at 58 per cent as of June, and ahead of October’s Europe-wide stress tests.
But none of the fears materialised, and the capital increase was approved with a clear margin.
Despite the negative tone ascribed to the EGM from early on, an eloquent impromptu soliloquy delivered near the end of the meeting by chief executive John Patrick Hourican, which could easily have backfired, proved sufficient to overshadow some of the less grounded opinions voiced during the meeting.
“Xenophobic remarks on the transfer of the bank to foreign hands are inappropriate and not modern in the international business context,” Hourican said, abandoning all attempts at diplomacy. “We have to change this debate from one of foreign investors coming in to loot our banks to one of serious foreign investors showing confidence in us and the prospects of our banks. As a foreigner myself, I take offence with this. The idea that funds are here to strip assets is nonsense. Some of the most sophisticated investors in the world have checked the numbers and decided that the Bank of Cyprus – and you, as a collective – are worth investing in. That is something to celebrate, not denigrate.”
Hourican’s comments were met with thunderous applause from an audience that had been hostile and scornful until mere moments earlier, and rather fittingly closed the Q&A session.
His tirade directly referenced comments made earlier – and implicitly endorsed by the shareholders present – by Evdokimos Xenophontos, former VP on the BoC board, who said that, while no foreign bank had been willing to support the Cyprus economy after the Turkish invasion of 1974, we are now “eager to transfer the bank to foreign interests”.
But a more likely explanation for Hourican’s outburst might well be explained by his depleting patience from everything he had heard since the start of the meeting from visibly frustrated old BoC shareholders, who apparently continue to grasp at straws in hopes of salvaging some of the wealth that dissipated as a result of the Eurogroup decisions in March 2013.
One of the more sober questions posed to board chairman Christis Hassapis came from an old shareholder who claimed to have suffered similar treatment at the hands of the Sudanese authorities 30 years ago.
“Our shares in a Sudanese bank were seized, and we received nothing in return,” he said. “But three years later we were made whole and the shares were returned to us. So I ask you this: is there any chance, however slim, that we might recover some of our losses at any point in the future?”
Hassapis was unable to offer much more than apologetic platitudes in response, but the level of argumentation at the gathering quickly deteriorated.
The first few bouts of the Q&A session seemed like a warm-up to the more difficult conversations that lay ahead, with both Hassapis and Hourican fighting to keep their smiles and even throwing in the odd atmosphere-lightening joke. In response to an old shareholder’s remark, Hassapis made an ill-fated attempt to bolster his own credibility.
“I, too, am a ‘haircut’ shareholder – I mean, haircut but not haircut,” he said, pointing at his long hair.
At another point early in the session, Hassapis asked Hourican – seated next to him on the panel – to offer his views with regard to an issue raised by a shareholder. The Irish banker stared briefly at a puzzled Hassapis before explaining that his headphone-translation of the chairman’s words was brought to him in a female voice, which threw him momentarily.
Both jokes fell flat, and both quickly reverted to avoiding light remarks and concentrated on offering as convincing answers as possible.
But their vision for a brighter future for the BoC was not of much interest to their audience, which insisted on accusing any and all involved in the lender’s plight and pointing out the injustice they were done.
After declaring his disapproval of the capital increase, one shareholder called on all old shareholders to leave the EGM. Shareholder, renowned lawyer and former government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides suggested to the board that the projected 15.1 per cent of core-tier 1 capital – after the €1-billion increase has been completed – is excessively high in light of Basel III’s minimum 9 per cent capital buffers for banks, implying the capital increase is less than necessary. Another shareholder’s contribution included a demand for a commitment by the board that the new “foreign interests” that would take over the bank would not sell off property owned by the bank – especially property owned in the Turkish-occupied areas – to Turkish interests, before agreeing to approve the capital increase.
“This is no longer about money,” he said. “It is now about our homeland.”
And the most common of grievances from old shareholders to the bank’s management was none other than the issue of the few big borrowers with total NPLs of some reported €6 billion.
“What have you done with regard to these cases, all this time?” was a common inquiry. “How much have you collected?”
While we share your frustration, we have to be careful, was Hourican’s response. He suggested that Old-Testament style wrath and justice may not be the appropriate strategy in handling these cases.
“We need to handle these cases delicately,” he said. “These companies employ most of the workforce in Cyprus, and we need to make sure that there is a business environment in Cyprus when we’re done with them.”

By Louis Charbonneau

A group of 43 UN peacekeepers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights have been detained by militants fighting the Syrian army, and the world body is working to secure their release, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The detained peacekeepers are from the Philippines and Fiji, a UN official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“During a period of increased fighting beginning yesterday between armed elements and Syrian Arab Armed Forces within the area of separation in the Golan Heights, 43 peacekeepers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) were detained early this morning by an armed group in the vicinity of Al Qunaytirah,” the UN press office said in a statement.

It added that another 81 UNDOF peacekeepers were being restricted to their positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah.

“The United Nations is making every effort to secure the release of the detained peacekeepers, and to restore the full freedom of movement of the force throughout its area of operation,” it said.

The UN Security Council, which was meeting to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria, was also expected to raise the issue of the kidnapped peacekeepers, a council diplomat said.

The Quneitra crossing on the Golan is a strategic plateau captured by Israel in a 1967 Middle East war. Syria and Israel technically remain at war. Syrian troops are not allowed in an area of separation under a 1973 ceasefire formalized in 1974.

UNDOF monitors the area of separation, a narrow strip of land running about 70 km from Mount Hermon on the Lebanese border to the Yarmouk River frontier with Jordan. There are 1,223 UNDOF peacekeepers from six countries.

Before the Syrian civil war, now in its fourth year, the region was generally quiet and the peacekeepers had mostly found their biggest enemy to be boredom.

The force’s personnel come from Fiji, India, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands and the Philippines. The United Nations said this week that the Philippines has decided to pull out of UNDOF, and from a UN force in Liberia, which is struggling with an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.

Blue-helmeted UN troops were seized by militants in March and May 2013. In both of those cases they were released safely.

Austria pulled its troops out of UNDOF in 2013 due to the escalation of fighting.

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades departs on Friday morning for Brussels, where he will participate in the extraordinary meeting of the European Council.
According to an official statement, the issues on the Council’s agenda include the election of the new President of the European Council and the election of the new High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the situations in Gaza, the Ukraine, Iraq, Libya and Syria, as well as the common action of the EU in the fight against the Ebola virus.

FOUR Polish men, two 29-year olds, a 32-year old and a 23-year old, were remanded for four days in custody by the Famagusta District Court, after police found in their possession a number of items that police believe to be stolen.
Police searched the suspects’ homes late on Wednesday night and discovered 92 pairs of sunglasses, four cameras, a headset, seven speakers, two electric shavers, eight mobile phones, a laptop, men’s perfumes, a number of watches as well as silverware and an unspecified amount of money.