By Andreas Vou

Apollon will be looking to start their Europa League campaign with three points when they host FC Zurich at the GSP Stadium on Thursday night.

The Limassol side are no strangers to the competition having qualified for the group stages last year where they finished third in their group, and will be hoping to use that experience in their favour when they take on Zurich.

The 2013/14 campaign saw them amass four points, including a win away to Legia Warsaw, but Christakis Christoforou’s men did not manage a victory at home, something which they aim to put right this time around.

While it is by no means an easy game, it is the one which is most winnable for the Limassol side, in front of their own fans, with Borussia Monchengladbach and Villarreal being the two fancied teams to qualify for the next round.

Apollon pulled off one of the biggest results of the play-off round to reach the groups when they defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 1-4 in the Russian capital to add to their 1-1 draw in Cyprus.

And despite their disappointing start to the Cypriot league season where they lost 2-5 at home to AEK Larnaca on the opening day, they go into Thursday’s match in good spirits following their 1-0 win over Ayia Napa, their second league win in succession.

The scorer of that solitary goal was talisman Gaston Sangoy who Apollon are delighted to have back in the team for a crucial home European match. The Argentine missed the first leg against Lokomotiv, which finished 1-1 in Nicosia, through suspension and the difference with him in the side in the second leg was evident.

The Swiss club, on their part, have enjoyed an excellent start to the domestic season as they sit top of the league after eight games, one point ahead of Champions League participants FC Basel.

Much of their success is down to Davide Chiumento and Amine Chermiti who have scored five and four times respectively in the league while Chermiti netted a hat-trick in the first leg of their play-off encounter against Spartak Trnava – Apollon’s biggest task will be to keep their deadly duo as quiet as possible.

Zurich have also had their fair share of European adventures in recent years having reached the group stages of either the Europa League or Champions League in four of the last six campaigns.

Though their opponents cannot be underestimated, Apollon will see this as their best opportunity to earn their first home win at home in the group stages and put down a solid marker for the more difficult challenges which lie ahead.

APOLLON

By George Psyllides

The president sent two pieces of foreclosures-related legislation back to parliament for reasons of national interest, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Wednesday, telling MPs who appeared poised to vote the bills anew to consider the potential consequences.

“Of course it is a political matter, the president is not hiding behind his finger,” the minister said. “He cites a series of legal issue … but above all it is a matter of public interest, national interest I would add.”

Parliament on Wednesday discussed the two bills sent back by Anastasiades as being incompatible with the terms of the island’s bailout.

The two concern the right of borrowers to report a bank to the Central Bank governor if they think the lender violates the code on loan restructuring, and the Central Bank’s authority to step in and stop mass foreclosures.

One of the legal arguments raised by Anastasiades was that both issues were covered in other laws.

Four other bills were deemed unconstitutional and were referred to the Supreme Court for its ruling.

All six were passed by opposition parties despite warnings they were incompatible and would prompt lenders to withhold the next tranche of assistance.

Georgiades said it was the parliament’s right to disagree and have a different view and interpretation on how public interest was served.

However, “we cannot disregard the fact that we are operating in a regime that requires other governments, other parliaments, other member-states’ finance committees, to give consent for the financing to continue,” the minister said. “If we are going to completely disregard this fact, it is a political decision that we are allowed to take and each and every one can assess the responsibility and the consequences.”

The minister said Cyprus was led to the point of needing financing from other EU states because of past mistakes and omissions and despite the progress made in the past year it still needed the assistance.

“If there is a different view, if, that is, we think that we no longer need the Troika (lenders), this can be interpreted as a huge recognition of the government’s success,” Georgiades said.

Despite the progress, he added, the government was not claiming it has succeeded so early but at the same time, Cyprus could find itself in that position sooner than expected “if we are not completely derailed.”

Opposition MPs appeared unconvinced.

Deputy House Finance Committee chairman and DIKO MP Angelos Votsis said there did not appear to be any constitutional issue regarding the two bills.

“There is an exaggeration to refer these two bills back to parliament when one of the main arguments is that it affords authorities that already exist in other laws,” Votsis said.

Votsis said the bills will be put to the vote anew on Thursday. After that Anastasiades can either sign them into law or refer them to the Supreme Court.

The civil service union PASYDY said there was no reason to hold a general strike on Friday after a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades who apparently assured workers that the government had no intention to tax their retirement bonuses.

Speaking after the short meeting at the presidential palace, PASYDY chief Glafkos Hadjipetrou spoke of a positive intervention by Anastasiades who gave them the necessary explanations.

Hadjipetrou said Anastasiades made it clear that the government had no intention to tax their retirement bonus or cut pay and pension benefits.

This was also confirmed by government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides.

Hadjipetrou said the union’s members will have the final say but there did not appear to be a reason to hold the strike.

A pilots strike at Air France stretched into its fourth day on Thursday, with the two sides still at odds in a dispute over cost cuts that has forced the airline to cancel nearly 60 percent of its flights.

The pilots are carrying out a week-long strike over Air France’s plans to expand the low-cost operations of its Transavia brand by setting up foreign bases as it seeks to fight back against fierce competition from budget carriers.

Air France-KLM Chief Executive Alexandre de Juniac said just 42 percent of flights would operate as pilots and management prepared for a new round of negotiations later on Thursday.

“I am asking the pilots: come on board with us,” Juniac told RMC radio. “Negotiations are not over, we are starting again this afternoon.”

Air France is trying to boost its earnings by expanding Transavia but says that in doing so it is not trying to replace Air France.

The SNPL national pilots’ union has said its members are worried the company will abandon Transavia’s development in France, blaming them, and focus on its expansion elsewhere in Europe, moving jobs outside the country.

Unions have said they would announce on Friday whether or not they will prolong the strike beyond this week.

Juniac said he had told pilots there would be a strict separation between Transavia’s French and European branches, with the latter not allowed to land in French cities where the former was operating.

In each hub where Transavia operates, pilots will work under local employment terms, which entail higher wages and more favourable conditions in France than in, say, Portugal.

The dispute highlights discrepancies in wages, labour conditions and welfare coverage between European countries which are theoretically part of a single market for goods and services, but in fact compete with each other for jobs.

Juniac has estimated the strike is costing the company 10 million to 15 million euros ($12.9-$19.3 million) per day.

By Mike Collett

Striker Diego Costa, who has scored seven goals for Chelsea in his first four Premier League games, cannot play more than once a week because of a hamstring problem, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said.

Mourinho, looking down in the dumps after Chelsea could only draw 1-1 with Schalke 04 in their opening Champions League Group G match on Wednesday, started with returning veteran striker Didier Drogba in attack with Costa on the bench against the Germans.

The Brazil-born Spain international, who cost Chelsea 32 million pounds when he joined from Atletico Madrid in the summer, replaced Drogba in the 74th minute, but could not keep up his remarkable scoring record which includes four goals in pre-season and seven in the League including his hat-trick against Swansea City on Saturday.

Mourinho said Costa’s injury is not connected to one he suffered towards the end of last season and which restricted him to just the first nine minutes when he played for Atletico against Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League final.

He did recover from that to play for Spain in the World Cup and Mourinho added: “When he came to us he was completely fine. He got the problem with the national team.”

Costa picked up the injury in Spain’s 1-0 defeat to France on Sept. 4 and Mourinho said he could not play more than one match a week for the time being.

“If he has one week to let the muscle recover he can start. He played on Saturday and was not in condition to start the game today.”

Costa scored the last time he played in a Champions League match at Stamford Bridge – when he banged home a penalty in Atletico’s 3-1 win over Chelsea in last season’s semi-final – but failed to hit the target during the later stages of the game against Schalke as Chelsea sought the winner.

“It was not to protect Costa for the game against Manchester City on Sunday, it was because he was not in condition to start the game,” Mourinho said.

“Playing on Saturday, three days is not enough for him to recover. He will play against City but he cannot play against Bolton (in the League Cup) next week, that’s for sure.”

Drogba, back at Chelsea after two years away playing in China and Turkey, was playing in his first Champions League match for the club since scoring the decisive penalty in the 2012 final shootout against Bayern Munich.

He had two good chances to score but fired narrowly wide and then blazed a chance over the bar in the second half.

Chelsea dominated much of the match and took the lead when Cesc Fabregas scored his first goal for the club in the 11th minute but Chelsea failed to capitalise on their superiority and allowed Schalke to escape with a point after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar equalised in the 62nd minute.

By Karolos Grohmann

Bayern Munich’s last-minute victory over Manchester City may have left fans delighted with a winning Champions League Group E start but highlighted their need to improve their finishing after missing a string of clear chances.

Last season’s Bundesliga striker Robert Lewandowski, brought in to boost their frontline, has yet to score in a competitive game for the Bavarians and on Wednesday the Poland international had his own share of missed opportunities.

“We are happy with the winning start and the three points but obviously we could have scored much earlier and it may have turned out to be an easier game than it was,” said captain Philipp Lahm.

“We had huge chances in the first half and over 90 minutes we had the far better opportunities to score.”

Bayern needed a 90th minute goal from defender Jerome Boateng after they saw City keeper Joe Hart deny them on several occasions despite dominating the game and having close to 60 per cent possession.

Apart from Hart, they also had their own finishing to blame for not taking an earlier lead with Thomas Mueller and Lewandowski, among other, firing into the side-netting from close range.

In their defence, a string of injuries have contributed to the Bavarians still looking for last season’s explosiveness that led them to the domestic league and Cup double.

Winger Franck Ribery and playmaker Bastian Schweinsteiger are still out injured and while new transfers Xabi Alonso and Mehdi Benatia add confidence at the back, their front line is still far from peaking.

World Cup fatigue among many of the Bayern players has also played its role in their less-than-spectacular start as well as the absences of Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez and Holger Badstuber through injuries.

“Not everything was super today but we fought until the end and we were then rewarded,” scorer Boateng said.

The introduction of Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who had also been out injured for a few weeks, late in the game of Wednesday instantly added spark and pace down the wings and it was a move he started that eventually led to Boateng’s winner.

It should be a different picture once coach Pep Guardiola has a full fit squad to choose from and Lewandowski breaks his goal drought with Roma and CSKA Moscow also in their Champions League group.

“What is very positive is that we carved out that many scoring chances,” said Robben. “I think we are on the right track.”

By John O’Brien

Mercedes team mates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton renew their sometimes hostile rivalry on the floodlit streets of Singapore this weekend at a circuit where mistakes or collisions normally result in race retirement.

With six races remaining in the 19-round season, Germany’s Rosberg leads Hamilton by 22 points but the momentum and crowd sentiment are on the Briton’s side after he won in Monza a fortnight ago following his ruined grand prix in Belgium.

Hamilton failed to finish in Spa last month after an unnecessary collision with Rosberg but gained a modicum of revenge in Italy when the German relinquished first place to his team mate after cracking under pressure midway through the race.

Rosberg finished second in both races and was booed on the podium on each occasion for benefiting from his over-aggressive approach in Belgium but Mercedes will be hoping the pair can rein in their fighting instincts to avoid further mishaps.

Since Monza, however, Formula One have banned radio race assistance, including coded messages, so it will be interesting to see how the team can control their drivers on an unforgiving 23-turn layout in the heat and humidity of Singapore.

Mercedes, who have won all but three of the 13 races this season, are expected to dominate once again with Hamilton installed as a marginal favourite due to his better record on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, where he won in 2009.

“Despite the highs and lows, I’m still well and truly in the hunt for the championship and that is something that gives me huge motivation for the final six races – starting in Singapore,” Hamilton said in a team release.

“It’s a great place to begin the final flyaway phase of the season. The city is buzzing and the track is mega. It’s a street circuit and I love street circuits.”

The Briton was unfortunate not to win the inaugural race in 2008 and a mechanical failure when clear at the front denied him victory two years ago, while Rosberg can take heart from one of his earliest successes in Formula One at the venue.

“I got my second ever podium here with P2 in 2008 and I generally enjoy street circuits, so I’m looking to go one better this time around,” the German said.

SECOND FIDDLE

World champion Sebastian Vettel has endured a miserable winless campaign but arrives in Singapore seeking a fourth straight victory in the race in an improving Red Bull that is expected to present the sternest opposition to Mercedes.

The German, however, has been forced to play second fiddle to team mate Daniel Ricciardo all season with the Australian winning three races, leading to whispers in the paddock that Vettel’s future could lie away from Red Bull, with Ferrari a possible destination.

While Red Bull have moved quickly to quash any exit rumours, team principal Christian Horner was also keen to play down expectations of a return to the top of the tree for the reigning champions in Southeast Asia.

“At Singapore, there are a few more corners and a few less straights (than at Monza),” Horner said after his cars came fifth and sixth in Italy.

“We’re looking forward to going back there.

“It’s a track that we’ve always gone well at in the last few years. But there’s no guarantees in this business, and we expect the Mercedes to be incredibly quick.”

The Mercedes-powered Williams has been somewhat of a revelation this season with Valtteri Bottas claiming four podiums in the last six races while his team mate Felipe Massa enjoyed a third-place finish in Monza.

Another strong result is expected in Singapore but Bottas believes the car will find it difficult to compete for another podium finish with its aerodynamic efficiency less effective on the demanding and tight Singapore roads.

“Singapore, maybe Brazil, they could be difficult ones,” the Finn said. “But we reckon there are some good ones to come.

“We are still aiming to bring some updates later in the season, so Suzuka, Austin and Abu Dhabi, for example, I think we can fight for the podium definitely. We’ll keep pushing.”

By staff reporter

President Nicos Anastasiades urged opposition MPs on Thursday to consider the potentially negative consequences of their insistence on passing foreclosures-related legislation that was considered incompatible with the terms of the island’s bailout.

The president expressed hope that a sense of responsibility will prevail and the potentially negative consequences of the parties’ insistence would be taken into account.

“Insistence on certain initial views will not help what we are seeking to do, that is, to help the Cypriot economy in general,” he said, adding that people have made efforts and sacrifices in a bid to restart the economy.

In a speech on Wednesday night, Anastasiades said the government aimed at disengaging from the adjustment programme earlier than 2016.

However, the parliament’s actions could be the reason Cyprus misses this target.

Parliament is poised to approve two bills that Anastasiades had refused to sign and sent back to them.

They concern the right of borrowers to report a bank to the Central Bank governor if they think the lender violates the code on loan restructuring, and the Central Bank’s authority to step in and stop mass foreclosures.

The president said the provisions were included in other legislation and though the bills did not appear to raise any constitutional issues, sending them back was dictated by national interest.

The president had also referred four other foreclosures-related bills passed by parliament to the Supreme Court, which has the final say over their legitimacy.

Parliament did pass the main foreclosures law but the opposition’s insistence to approve the six bills –  placing significant restrictions on its effectiveness — prompted international lenders to withhold the next tranche of financial assistance until Cyprus complied.

By Constantinos Psillides

European Union sanctions on Russia created additional concerns for Cyprus economy, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday, assuring Russian businessmen that Cyprus was doing its best to deal with the financial crisis.

The Russian food embargo has hurt Cyprus exports to the tune of around €13 million a year, according to data from the agriculture ministry. It affects mainly citrus farmers.

Addressing a seminar on the future of Cyprus for Russian business, Anastasiades thanked Russian investors for their interest in Cyprus.

“The fact that international investment activity in the country is maintained at a high level, proves the foreign entrepreneur’s trust towards investing in Cyprus. To this end, I do believe that the prospects for the island look extremely promising,” he said.

Yet, he added, “we are aware of the difficulties, viewing them as a challenge for the future that is to be overcome by constantly being alert and concentrating on implementing our plan for further economic improvement.”

The president also talked about Cyprus path to financial stability, noting how the island’s credit outlook was upgraded by the international ratings agencies and how the country had returned to international markets.

The president also said company registrations had gone up by 13 per cent for the period between June and August of 2014 and that public finances were significantly improved.

Referring to Russia-Cyprus business relations, Anastasiades said that recent Russian investment activity “reflects the ongoing and steady business relationship between our countries, which also includes important tourism exchanges. In fact, he said, Russia was Cyprus’ second largest tourist market, with the numbers of Russian citizens visiting our island constantly increasing in recent years. Total tourist arrivals from Russia until August 2014 rose 17 per cent compared to the same period for 2013,” Anastasiades noted.

Anastasiades said that the government was greatly facilitating investments though the application of measures that involve, among others, the reduction of the time needed for issuing permits, the licensing and encouragement of the prompt completion of projects, the licensing of joint ventures and the granting of residence permits and citizenship to foreign investors.

On his part, ambassador of the Russian Federation to Cyprus Stanislav Osadchiy thanked Cyprus for “attempting to restrain Brussels from making this war of sanctions even worse. Our country is certainly taking all necessary diplomatic efforts to assist in bringing peace to Ukraine and we believe that political dialogue between Russia and EU at the present time is vital,” he said.

As regards the Cyprus economy he said: “We have taken some steps as well, among them the decision of the Russian Government to restructure previously granted credit in favour of our Cypriot friends.”

The Russian ambassador made clear that Russia continued to support the Cypriot economy through tourism and property investment.

Cyprus’ relationship with Russia and Russian businessmen has been strained for the last year, following the 2013 Eurogroup bank  haircut, which affected Russian depositors the most.

Bi-lateral relations were also hurt at an international level recently, following a book published by author/journalist Makarios Drousiotis, in which he argued that Russia was never a friend to Cyprus and that the “good Russians” angle was a myth perpetuated by politicians. At the time Drousiotis was employed at the presidential palace as a special advisor to the president.

The book prompted a response by the Russian embassy in the form of an open letter, attacking Drousiotis on his methodology and motives and making special note that he was advising the president. Anastasiades had to issue a statement saying that Russia-Cyprus relations were and always would be strong.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stepped down as Cardiff City manager on Thursday, highlighting a difference in philosophy with controversial owner Vincent Tan as the reason behind his departure.

The 41-year-old Solskjaer lasted less than nine months in charge after taking over from Malky Mackay in January with the club battling for Premier League survival.

The former Manchester United striker and Norway international failed to keep Cardiff in the English top flight and after a poor start to the Championship (second tier) season, Solskjaer decided he could no longer work with owner Tan.

“Our difference in philosophy on how to manage the club made me decide to step aside and allow the club to move forward in the direction Vincent wants,” Solskjaer said in a statement on the club website (www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk).

“I leave the club with some very talented players and want to thank them for their efforts and hope to see them challenge for promotion this season.”

Solskjaer, who won nine of his 30 matches in charge of the Welsh club, was booed by some supporters during Tuesday’s 1-0 home defeat by Middlesbrough.

With Cardiff in the bottom eight after winning only two of their opening seven matches, Malaysian Tan said poor results were the reason behind Solskjaer’s departure.

“Ole was hired by Cardiff City on our understanding and belief that he would help us fight relegation from the Premier League. Unfortunately that did not happen,” Tan said.

“After the club was relegated many people advised me to let him go, but I decided to keep Ole on for the Championship season. Regrettably our recent results do not justify Ole’s continued role as manager at Cardiff.

“Ole has therefore decided to step down and I have accepted this. During my short association with Ole, I have found him to be an honest and hardworking professional, but unfortunately the football results were not in his favour.”

Veteran defender Danny Gabbidon and academy manager Scott Young will take charge of Cardiff’s trip to Derby County on Saturday.

By George Psyllides

AKEL’s former financial officer, on trial in connection with a suspicious land deal involving state telecoms company CyTA, reiterated on Thursday that the whole case was a political conspiracy to hurt the party.

Venizelos Zanettos, 67, claimed he had no involvement and queried why investigators had not questioned AKEL MP Nicos Katsourides in connection with the case, stressing however that he was not suggesting he was guilty.

He said Katsourides had been tasked with overseeing CyTA on behalf of AKEL.

Zanettos said it was not possible for cheques to go back and forth between Katsourides’ son Alexandros, and businessman Nicos Lillis – a key figure in the scandal – and investigators not questioning where the money was coming from.

The land deal in question involved the purchase by CyTA’s pension fund of office space in Dromolaxia, near Larnaca airport, at a price reportedly several times the going market value.

The land was sold to Wadnic Trading, which upgraded the coefficients, built on it and sold it on to the CyTA pension fund for some €20 million.

Allegations have since surfaced that millions were paid in kickbacks to make the deal possible.

On trial with Zanettos are former CyTA chairman Stathis Kittis, former electricity authority EAC chairman Charalambos Tsouris, a member of the CyTA board at the time, the director of CyTA’s pay-TV arm and SEK union rep Orestis Vasilliou, CyTA employee Yiannis Souroullas and his brother Gregoris who works at the land registry, and businessman Antonis Ioakim, a shareholder in Wadnic.

The offences were committed between 2009 and 2013.

The arrests were made possible after Lillis, a key player in the deal, changed sides and became a prosecution witness.

Back in May, the court heard that Katsourides had given a statement to police on his own initiative.

In his statement, Katsourides said he called the police to clarify certain things claimed by another witness.
Katsourides said he had never spoken on the phone about CyTA with Lillis, and it was never said he would receive one million euros as part of the whole deal.

“Apart from it being a lie, I have said it in public and I repeat, my bank accounts are at the disposal of the police,” Katsourides’ statement said, which was read in court.
The statement was taken at Katsourides’ home on July 19, 2013 but the MP declined to sign it as is normal.

The police officer who took the statement could not explain why the AKEL MP declined to sign the statement.
 

A court warrant was issued Thursday for the arrest of Theodoros Aristodemou, boss of the island’s largest real estate developer, in a case connected to zoning permits in the area of Skali, Paphos.

Along with Aristodemou, arrest warrants were also issued for his spouse, an engineer working for the Paphos municipality and another employee of the same municipality.

The case involves the demarcation of 177 land plots in Skali. Back in July, Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas had tabled Aristo’s file before the council, proposing the approval of zoning and building permits for a total of 177 plots for which the developer had secured a demarcation permit.

But it later emerged that the plans for which the demarcation permits were issued were switched with new plans, which seemed to cede approximately 4,000m² previously designated as green space, back to Aristo.

Aristodemou had denied any wrongdoing, arguing that municipality employees, unfamiliar with regulations, had got their calculations wrong.

According to Aristodemou, the real gap between the municipality’s and his company’s calculations does not exceed 900m², and his company could not benefit from it under any circumstances since the Land Registry routinely spots such mistakes and amends developments accordingly prior to issuing title deeds.

At a news conference that he called earlier this month, the entrepreneur hinted his company was being framed by competitors, since the issue regarding the demarcation of these particular plots surfaced in 2014, whereas the permits were issued back in 2010.

One of the best known businessmen in Cyprus, Aristodemou is the founder and chairman of Aristo Developers Ltd. He has held many positions in both the private and public sectors, including on the Paphos Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors of telecoms utility CyTA, the board of Cyprus Airways and chairman of the board at Bank of Cyprus.

By Stelios Orphanides

Cyprus’ economy will stagnate in 2015 after shrinking 3.5 per cent this year, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which decided in May this year to commence operations on the island, said.

“The Cyprus economy remains in deep recession, but signs of confidence and optimism are becoming increasingly apparent,” EBRD said in its September Regional Economic Prospects for the countries the bank operates in.

The output drop of 5.4 per cent last year, compared with 2.4 per cent the previous before, “was less severe than expected,” EBRD added.

EBRD, which participated in Bank of Cyprus’ capital increase in August, owns just over five per cent of the Cypriot lender’s share capital, making it the fourth biggest shareholder.

The report added the Cypriot economy “faces severe problems, not least in the banking sector where most lending has dried up and non-performing loans are around a staggering 50 per cent of the total. There is more than usual uncertainty surrounding the 2015 forecast but we expect a bottoming out of the economy by then, with zero growth for the year.”

The London-based lender provides project financing for banks, industries and business and also works with publicly owned companies.

In May, the EBRD agreed to to provide up to €700 million of financing to Cyprus over the next six years to help it weather the eurozone debt crisis.

Prominent businessman Aristos Aristodimou felt ill and could not attend a remand hearing before the Paphos district court on Friday.

He was admitted to Paphos general hospital with high blood pressure. Doctors decided he should remain there for treatment.

Aristodimou, who also did a stint as chairman of Bank of Cyprus, is the latest of several prominent citizens of Cyprus who fell ill when they faced the prospect of spending time behind bars.

He was among four individuals arrested on Thursday in connection with the demarcation of 177 land plots in Skali, Paphos.

It subsequently emerged that the plans for which the demarcation permits were issued were switched with new plans, which seemed to cede approximately 4,000m² previously designated as green space, back to his company, Aristo Developers.

The three others, including his wife, appeared in court as scheduled but the judge decided to adjourn the proceedings pending a medical certificate.

Some 200 employees of Aristo Developers assembled outside the court in a show of support to their boss.

Aristodemou had denied any wrongdoing, arguing that municipality employees, unfamiliar with regulations, had got their calculations wrong.

By Pawel Sobczak and Christian Lowe

Poland’s prime minister designate, Ewa Kopacz, brought party rival Grzegorz Schetyna into her new government as foreign minister on Friday to try to neutralise a potential challenge to her authority.

Outgoing foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, one of Poland’s most high-profile politicians on the international stage, is to be given the job of speaker of parliament, on paper the second most senior role in the state after the president.

Kopacz, announcing her new cabinet line-up at a ceremony at Warsaw’s University of Technology, left the other big ministerial posts — finance, defence, and treasury — unchanged. For the full line-up, click on

She said her selections were intended to ensure continuity of the policies started by outgoing Prime Minister Donald Tusk, her mentor who is leaving for a senior post in Brussels, and to preserve unity in the ruling Civic Platform party.

“I wanted a strong government with the backing from the whole of Civic Platform,” said Kopacz, who will become Poland’s second woman prime minister when she is confirmed in the post.

“We have elections next year, and as they say, it’s all hands on deck. That’s why Grzegorz Schetyna is in the government.”

Kopacz, until now speaker of parliament, was hand-picked by Tusk to take over from him after he was appointed President of the European Council, responsible for chairing European Union summits.

PARTY POLITICS
Kopacz will be formally appointed as prime minister by the president on Sept. 22. Under the constitution, she then has two weeks to submit her government to a vote of confidence in parliament, where the ruling coalition has a small but usually reliable majority.

During Tusk’s seven years in power, Schetyna tried several times to challenge him but was sidelined. When Schetyna lost his job as speaker of parliament, Kopacz replaced him and later took his job as the Civic Platform’s first deputy leader.

After Tusk announced his departure for Brussels, Schetyna said he would run for leadership of the Civic Platform, a post Tusk is vacating. That would be a direct challenge to Kopacz, as by tradition the prime minister is also party leader.

A senior Civic Platform figure close to Kopacz told Reuters that Schetyna’s plan to run for the party leadership was “a low blow.”

The decision to bring Schetyna into the government could be enough to persuade him and his faction within the party to stay loyal to Kopacz, at least until the parliamentary election due to take place late next year.

Sikorski, a former war reporter who is married to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum, had earlier this year been tipped as a possible new NATO secretary-general or as the EU’s chief diplomat.

Kopacz said he had not been fired. “It is a promotion. It is a strong, sovereign position for a strong politician. There will be no surprises. He will become the parliamentary speaker,” she told reporters.

Finance Minister Mateusz Szczurek will remain in his post, as will Treasury Minister Wlodzimierz Karpinski, who oversees the state’s stakes in some of Poland’s biggest companies.

Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak keeps his job and is given the additional title of deputy prime minister.

China has fined British pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc 3 billion yuan ($488.8 million) for paying out bribes in what is a record penalty for China, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday.

A court in Changsha has also sentenced Mark Reilly, the former head of GSK in China, and other GSK executives to between two and four years in jail, Xinhua added.

The verdict, handed out behind closed doors in a single-day trial according to Xinhua, is the culmination of a Chinese probe into the British drug maker which Chinese authorities made public in July last year.

Chinese police said then that the firm had funnelled up to 3 billion yuan to travel agencies to facilitate bribes to doctors and officials.

GSK said in a statement on their website on Friday that the activities by the firm’s China unit were a “clear breach” of GSK’s governance and compliance procedures.

“Reaching a conclusion in the investigation of our Chinese business is important, but this has been a deeply disappointing matter for GSK. We have and will continue to learn from this,” GSK CEO, Andrew Witty, said in the statement.

The case is the biggest corruption scandal to hit a foreign company in China since the Rio Tinto affair in 2009, which resulted in four executives, including an Australian, being jailed for between seven and 14 years.

By Ben Blanchard

China’s Li Na, Asia’s only grand slam singles champion, announced her retirement from tennis on Friday, succumbing to the effect of long-term knee injuries.

A former French Open winner and the reigning Australian Open champion, Li said her troublesome knees, that have plagued her throughout her career, prevented her from ever regaining full fitness and forced her hand.

“The task of finally making a decision to hang up my racquet felt a lot more difficult than winning seven matches in a row in the Australian heat,” she said in a letter posted on her Facebook page.

“It took me several agonizing months to finally come to the decision that my chronic injuries will never again let me be the tennis player that I can be.

“Walking away from the sport, effective immediately, is the right decision for me and my family.”

The 32-year-old, known affectionately as “Big Sister Na” and “Golden Flower” in China, won the 2011 French Open then this year’s Australian Open.

She climbed to number two in the world rankings but her knees were steadily getting worse and she skipped this year’s U.S. Open, triggering speculation her dazzling career was drawing to a close.

“Most people in the tennis world know that my career has been marked by my troubled right knee. The black brace I wear over it when I step on the court has become my tennis birth mark. And while the brace completes my tennis look, the knee problems have at times overtaken my life,” she said.

“After four knee surgeries and hundreds of shots injected into my knee weekly to alleviate swelling and pain, my body is begging me to stop the pounding.”

One of the most popular and marketable players on the tour, news of her retirement set off a flood of tributes.

The Chinese Tennis Association, in a statement released by the official Xinhua news agency, said it respected her decision and wished her the best.

“We also thank Li Na for the passionate and proud, shining moments she gave to Chinese tennis in her competitive career,” it said.

Top tennis players posted notes to her on their social media accounts. Caroline Wozniacki wrote: “Li Na, one of the funniest and nicest players on tour! A great competitor and a role model both on and off the court! You will be missed!! An exciting new chapter starts today!”

ROLE MODEL

Nowhere will her retirement be felt more than in her homeland, where she has inspired a generation of young Chinese tennis players and brought the professional game to her country.

For many young people in China, Li is a role model, with her steely determination, broad smile and English language skills emblematic of a confident and rising country.

Sport and politics remain tightly woven in China, where elite athletes are handpicked from a young age to be nurtured by the state. Only a handful are allowed to manage their own careers.

Li, who was identified as a potential badminton talent as a child, was steered into tennis before her teenage years, but had to be coaxed back into the game in 2004 after walking away to study media at university.

Despite growing adulation from her success, including becoming China’s first WTA title-winner in 2004 and first grand slam quarter-finalist at Wimbledon two years later, Li has proved a reluctant standard-bearer for Chinese tennis.

After numerous clashes with local media and Chinese tennis authorities over training routines and pay, in 2009 the strong-willed Li was permitted with four other top women to manage her own career and keep a greater share of her winnings.

China has a history of placing enormous expectations on athletes who have reached international acclaim and each live broadcast is usually viewed as a barometer of global standing or national pride.

In 2008, when defending champion Liu Xiang was forced to drop out of the 110 metres hurdles at the Beijing Olympics due to an injury, his withdrawal was met with tears, anger and accusations that the athlete had let the nation down.

Li is among a handful of top women players whose success in an individual game inevitably conflicted with their country’s Soviet-style sports system.

Shortly after returning to training from two years out of the game, she won her country’s first WTA tour title on home soil in Guangzhou and two years later was in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

During her career, she won nine WTA events, including the two grand slam titles, and reached number two in the world rankings.

She earned more than $16 million in prizemoney and much more in endorsements and sponsorship. Earlier this year, Forbes listed her annual earnings at $23.6 million, making her the world’s second highest-earning female athlete.

Stacey Allaster, the WTA Tour chief executive, said: “It’s hard to be a household name in a nation with 1.4 billion people, but that’s what Li is.”

Frank Lampard could make an emotional appearance against former club Chelsea this weekend as his new employers Manchester City host Jose Mourinho’s side in an early showdown between the Premier League’s heavyweights.

Lampard, who became a talismanic figure at Stamford Bridge before leaving in the close-season after 10 successful years, is in contention for a place in City’s midfield for Sunday’s game (6pm) despite earlier reports that he had asked not to play.

Chelsea have a 100 per cent record so far this season, with four wins from four, and lead the table with 12 points, five ahead of fifth-placed City.

Both suffered disappointing nights in the Champions League on Wednesday, however, Chelsea drawing at home to Schalke 04 and City losing 1-0 at Bayern Munich.

In between them are three unfancied teams who will be aiming to maintain their surprisingly strong starts to the season.

Aston Villa, regular under-achievers in recent years, are second but face a major test with a visit by Arsenal on Saturday (5pm) while Swansea City and Southampton, fourth and fifth respectively, meet at the Liberty Stadium, also on Saturday (5pm).

Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United, who kick-started their campaign with a 4-0 win over QPR inspired by new signings Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind, travel to Leicester City on Sunday (3.30pm).

Lampard, 36, might have presumed he would never have to face his former Chelsea team mates when he signed for New York City in the summer.

But with the new franchise not entering MLS until next year, the midfielder was given the chance to make a quick return to English football with a loan deal to City.

The ex-England international made his competitive debut for the champions last weekend but he was withdrawn by Chilean boss Manuel Pellegrini at half-time after an unimpressive display.

EARLY BLOW

Yaya Toure’s possible return to the City midfield means Lampard might have to settle for a bit-part role as Pellegrini and Mourinho seek to register an early blow in the title race they are expected to dominate.

Diego Costa, the Spain striker with seven goals in four games so far for his new club, will likely be instrumental again in Chelsea’s chances of success.

At Villa Park, a Villa team galvanised by Roy Keane’s appointment as Paul Lambert’s number two – and full of confidence after a 1-0 win at Liverpool last weekend – face an Arsenal side outplayed by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in midweek.

Danny Welbeck is still looking for his first goal for the Gunners since his 16 million pounds move from Manchester United, and manager Arsene Wenger has to contend with more injury problems after Jack Wilshere turned his ankle against Dortmund.

Saturday’s game at St James’ Park between Newcastle United and Hull City (5pm) could be pivotal for both teams.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is fighting for his job, according to reports, with his team bottom of the table with two points from a possible 12.

Owner Mike Ashley has given Pardew his support for now, but if 10th-placed Hull inflict another defeat on the Magpies, it could signal the end of the manager’s reign – especially as Hull boss Steve Bruce has been tipped by some in the British media as Pardew’s potential successor.

In other games this weekend, Liverpool travel to West Ham United on Saturday (7.30pm), Tottenham host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday (3.30pm), and Everton and Crystal Palace meet at Goodison Park on Sunday (6pm).

The leader of main opposition AKEL on Friday reiterated its opposition to the creation of casinos in the Republic but said he understood that the decision had been taken and it was supported by the majority of parties.

“What interests us now is the formation of the best possible framework to include safeguards that will limit potential negative effects on Cypriot society and maximise the positives that may arise,” Andros Kyprianou said following a meeting with Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis.

Kyprianou said his party would study the bill and come up with proposals to that effect.

AKEL’s administration, under Demetris Christofias, had flatly refused to consider the creation of casinos on ideological grounds, consistently brushing off suggestions that Greek Cypriots could spend their money at casinos in the Republic as opposed to the occupied north, which is currently the case.

On coming to power, the current government asked the tourism organisation (CTO) to update a 2007 study into the creation of casinos to help them decide on the form they would take.

The government has decided to license one integrated casino resort with four satellites in four districts.

They will have up to 50 gambling machines each.

Lakkotrypis said his meeting with Kyprianou had kicked off the dialogue with parties regarding the legislation and licensing procedures.

“We explained the safeguards in place even in the conditions of the competition, which will be announced very soon,” Lakkotrypis said. “Welookforwardtoaconstructivedialogue.”

The bill was currently being processed by the legal service.

By Martyn Herman

UEFA president Michel Platini’s vision of a European Championship spread across the continent came to fruition on Friday as London’s Wembley Stadium was chosen to host the climax of Euro 2020 with 12 other cities joining the party.

The 90,000-seater Wembley, rebuilt from 2003 to 2007 and venue of the 2011 and 2013 Champions League finals, will stage both semi-finals and the final of the 60th anniversary tournament dubbed a “Euro for Europe”.

It will be the first time in the competition’s history when a tournament will be hosted by more than two countries.

Wembley got the nod over Munich’s Allianz Arena, the other stadium initially bidding for semi-finals and final hosting rights. Munich had to make do with being one of 12 cities awarded one of the standard packages, comprising three group matches and a knockout round tie.

The home of Bayern Munich will host a quarter-final, along with the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan, Rome’s Olympic Stadium and the Zenit Arena in St Petersburg, Russia.

Last 16 ties will take place in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Dublin, Bilbao, Budapest, Brussels and Glasgow.

Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium along with bids from Stockholm, Skopje, Jerusalem, Sofia and Minsk were all rejected.

The vote for Wembley comes as a welcome tonic for the Football Association after its failed bids to host the 2006 and 2018 World Cup finals but FA chairman Greg Dyke denied any deal had been done with their German counterparts, the DFB.

“There is no deal,” Dyke told reporters at the ceremony in Geneva. “Other than we will not bid (to stage) Euro 2024 because it would be a waste of time because we wouldn’t get it.”

Dyke, however, hinted that England would support a German bid to host the 2024 tournament.

DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach, whose federation are believed to have pulled out from trying to host final and semi-final games with an eye on a 2024 bid, said: “I am very satisfied and happy that we could convince UEFA with our bid and have in 2020, after 32 years, European championship games again in Germany.”

England has hosted only one major tournament since the 1966 World Cup, the much-praised Euro 96, the final of which between Germany and the Czech Republic was played at the former Wembley.

“It’s nice to win one,” Dyke said. “Wembley is a great stadium and we are delighted to be hosting the finals of this tournament. Wembley has been completely rebuilt since 96 and it’s now a beautiful stadium.

“I would also like to say what a good idea this is when you sit and watch all these capital cities across Europe, what a good idea to play a tournament across all those, so congratulations to UEFA.”

“This bidding process was open to more than 50 UEFA countries so for Wembley to be ultimately recognised in this way is testament to a lot of hard work behind the scenes,” Dyke added on the FA website.

“It will be a great honour to be part of what will surely be a superb celebration of 60 years of the European Championship.”

Dublin’s inclusion in the tournament coincides with the Football Association of Ireland’s 100th anniversary.

“This one off opportunity to host part of the European finals at our home stadium will provide a major boost for Irish football and the country as a whole,” FAI chief John Delaney said in a statement.

There was relief too for Russia, given the current conflict near its border with Ukraine.

“I want to congratulate all supporters of Russian Football,” Russian Minister for Sport Vitaly Mutko said.

“Of course, there was a chance that because of the current political situation, the powers would refuse to let us host matches at Euro 2020. But we are really happy that the world of sport and politics are kept separate.”

The choice of Rome’s Olympic Stadium for a quarter-final match, follows on from Thursday’s UEFA announcement that Milan’s San Siro would be the venue for the 2016 Champions League final.

Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio said it showed the country is making strides after years battling problems with hooliganism and crumbling stadia.

“From a sporting perspective our intention is to consolidate the international dimension of Italian football, contribute to the renewal of our stadiums and support the growth of the football movement, in particular at grass roots level,” he said.

No French cities will be used although France is hosting the next finals in 2016.