By Jean Christou

AS BRITISH forces launched their fifth sortie into Iraq from Akrotiri on Monday morning, the government tried to remain low-key in their response to the possible fallout on Cyprus, insisting there was no reason to be worried.

Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou, when asked by reporters whether Cyprus had made any preparations for a possible terrorist attack by jihadists, said police have taken the necessary security measures “based on information received daily”. Security had been upped since the Akrotiri sorties began on Saturday, he added.

“The government receives information from foreign organisations, evaluates it and then takes the appropriate action,” said Nicolaou.

Cyprus is not yet in the cross-hairs in the sense that the British military action has not yet actively engaged with Islamic State positions. Each two-person Tornado mission has returned to Akrotiri without having dropped their laser-guided bombs, or firing any missiles. The extent of Britain’s engagement remained as of Monday, intelligence gathering. Once that changes, Cyprus will however find itself more exposed.

Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides said there was no reason for people to panic. “The fight against terrorism is a threat to all humanity, and a threat to Cyprus,” he said after a meeting with the leader of the European Party, Demetris Syllouris.

“We want to contribute to the effort of the international community. We are taking all measures. Our attitude is to be both measured and careful,” the minister said.

He said Cyprus was in contact with the British government through diplomatic channels and they were well aware of Cyprus’ position in helping the international community fight terrorism, which also threatens the island as much as anywhere else, but particularly because it is located so close to Iraq and Syria. Fokaides said this was something that must be understood by foreign partners so that if necessary, Cyprus could secure their support and solidarity.

Fokaides also met Britain’s new High Commissioner  Damian Roderic (Ric) Todd, who welcomed Cyprus’ support and resolve in helping tackle the jihadist threat.

Defeating the threat would will require an intelligent and patient approach, he said.
“That is why we must work together with our friends and partners, like Cyprus, to tackle these challenges together,” he said.
“The threat from ISIL is real, and to us all. What we see in Iraq and Syria is the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism,” he added referring to the slaughtering of thousands of people.
Todd said there should be no doubt as to the threat ISIL posed to Europe. “We cannot ignore this threat that knows no boundaries, colour or creed,” he said.
Referring to the humanitarian needs of the thousands of innocent civilians driven from their homes by the brutality of the Islamic State, he said the British bases would continue to make “an invaluable contribution” which would continue for as long as necessary.

The meeting at the defence ministry was attended by the Commander of UK Joint Forces, General Sir Richard Barrons and the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Georgios Basiakoulis.

But there were fallout concerns from at least two political parties on the island. The Greens said the use of the British bases, and possibly the use of the Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos by other Western powers should come with conditions.

“Our country must remain a peaceful and stable element in the region and not get involved in a war in which its own forces will not be able to handle,” the party said. Cyprus has offered its services at Paphos to a number of military aircraft at various points during various crises in the region, including from Russia, the US, Italy and France. In an effort to highlight its strategic use as a credible ally, Cyprus has also provided port facilities to numerous navy vessels, from a variety of countries, including the US, Russia, Denmark, Germany, Norway and most recently China.

Opposition AKEL MEP Neoclis Sylikiotis said his party was adamant that Cyprus should not be use as a base for any war.

“The use of the SBA, and statements that the Andreas Papandreou air base in Paphos will be used by foreign troops in view of the attack against the Islamic State, involves our country in a war with many dangerous implications for the Middle East and Cyprus,” said Sylikiotis. “Cyprus’ role was and should remain a bridge of peace and humanitarian assistance to the peoples of the region who suffer from long-lasting wars, not a base for military operations. A war creates chaos and terrorism.”

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides however said the deals Cyprus has with Germany, France and a number of other countries were purely humanitarian in nature, and the Paphos base would not be used for military operations by other countries.

During the two Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003, Cyprus’ proximity to the region had put a bullseye on the island as a possible target of Saddam Hussein’s regime – as far as foreign media was concerned – causing UK tourism to plunge overnight in both instances though the fears were completely groundless.

The last terrorist attack in Cyprus was in 1988 when two members of the pro-Palestinian Abu Nidal organisation made an attempt on the Israeli embassy in Nicosia. After their vehicle was turned away from the embassy, the bomb went off a few minutes later, killing the driver and two Cypriot pedestrians.

Two Tornado jets, carried out their first mission from Akrotiri on Saturday, returning seven hours later. Over the weekend four more missions were launched, and a fifth yesterday morning.

Driving out IS militants would not be a “weekend campaign”, British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned at the weekend. Fallon said such operations could continue for weeks or even months.

By Jean Christou

AFTER ONLY a month on the job, the new UN special adviser has already fallen foul of the rejectionist parties when he was quoted at the weekend saying he would be coming to the island with “bridging” proposals.

Epsen Barth Eide met on Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and in statements afterwards, said it was time to move forward. President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu had agreed that the negotiations would enter a new phase, he said.

“We’ll start doing that week after next. When I am back to Cyprus, I’ll come with some bridging proposals. We’ll go chapter after chapter and go into negotiations that already need to happen. I’ve been meeting with sides to talk about details of how we do that. But I am now quite optimistic that we are now moving into something different from what we have seen.” Eide said.

“That will be my personal priority. And that’s also the Secretary-General’s clear view. I want to go into the essence of the disagreements and I want to go into that fast and I’ll now focus on that.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also referred to bridging the remaining differences, after a meeting with Eroglu in New York on Saturday.

“The Secretary-General… urged them to work without delay to bridge the remaining differences between their positions, building on the principles outlined in the Joint Declaration.” a UN statement said.

The Greens, socialist EDEK and the Citizens Alliance jumped on the ‘bridging proposals’ phrase on Monday, questioning its meaning and calling for explanations. “How do you bridge Turkey’s demand for dissolution of the Republic of Cyprus with the position of our side for continuation and evolution of the Republic?” said the latter.

But the government was quick to play down the development, saying that any bridging proposals, submitted by the UN would be non-binding and have no official standing.

Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said such proposals would not in any way constitute a form of arbitration, a notion that was outside of the leaders’ joint statement.

“The UN… can orally make proposals to help the two parties, without these views being binding or having any official standing,” he said. “It is a form of sounding out the two sides,” he added.
Eide is expected in Cyprus at the beginning of next week.
Eroglu, during his meeting with Ban on Saturday also suggested the organisation of a three-party summit in Geneva with the two sides and the UN. He said the Turkish Cypriot side had asked Ban to become more involved in the negotiations.

The Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends (PASYKAF) on Tuesday launched its annual fund-raising and awareness campaign, which will last until the end of the month.

The annual nationwide campaign ‘Together in Life’ seeks to raise €500,000 this year to be able to respond to a growing need for palliative and other care for cancer patients, PASYKAF president Dr Anna Achilleoudi said at a news conference.
Achilleoudi announced the expansion of home nursing and palliative care to 24 hours in Nicosia and Limassol to start with.
She said to do this, PASYKAF would need to collect €500,000 to cover all of its costs. Services also include psychosocial care, physiotherapy, ambulance services, day centres and awareness programmes. All services and programmes are offered free to patients.
In 2013 PASYKAF offered home care to 1,814 patients, and palliative nursing care plus other services to 4,974 patients and their families, “a record number with a budget reduced by 20 per cent compared to 2012”, said Achilleoudi.
As part of the fundraising campaign, events will take place in all districts, including gala dinners, musical evenings, lectures and children’s events.
From October 8 to 12 there will be a door-to-door collection by volunteers, and the public can make contributions direct by sending an SMS directly to 7060 with the message ‘PASYKAF 1’ for a donation of €1, ‘PASYKAF 3’ for a contribution of €3, or ‘PASYKAF 5’ for a €5 donation. All contributions are tax deductable.
PASYKAF said it was grateful to its sponsors among whom are OPAP Cyprus, Universal Life, Costa Coffee, CyTA, advertising company MarketWay Ltd, all media, KCineplex, and all of its supporters, volunteers and partners involved in the campaign ‘Together in Life’.

Members of the public interested in participating in events or PASYKAF and contribute as volunteers can contact Tel:22 345444

By George Psyllides
The authorities have started processing requests from some 340 refugees rescued from a fishing trawler last week, as Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos reiterated they had not entered Cyprus illegally and they can be afforded temporary visitor status and leave the country if they wanted.
The minister’s comments came as police arrested five more people suspected of being part of the operation that attempted to smuggle the refugees from Syria to Italy.
So far, police have arrested nine people and have issued an international arrest warrant for the alleged mastermind, believed to be in Syria.
Reports suggested the suspects were part of a people smuggling ring operating in the region.
Refugees said they paid as much as $6,000 per head for the trip.
The 337 refugees can also apply for asylum but it appeared on Tuesday that only a handful would do so. Most want to go to Italy and from then on to other EU countries including Sweden and Holland.
“These people are not illegal and can – through an application to the Republic – be afforded visitor status for one, two, or three months, and during this time they can leave the country if they so wish,” Hasikos said.
Those applying for asylum would be moved from Kokkinotrimithia to a reception centre in Kofinou.
They had been asked on Monday to put their requests on paper.
“Today we will assess these one by one,” the minister said.
Some cases will be more difficult than others as the refugees did not have any documents.
There was also the issue with the unaccompanied children. The minister said they will be put up in a place suitable for minors where they will receive proper care.
“Our services are in a position to respond to all cases,” he said.
Hasikos said there has been no communication with Syrian authorities because the reason these people left the country was because they were afraid.
“We are obliged to respect their fears and their desire to remain anonymous,” he said.
Red Cross director Takis Neophytou suggested that all refugees should be transferred to Kofinou irrespective of their status.
He said Kofinou had better facilities and a capacity to house 400 people.
Red Cross people work around the clock at Kokkinotrimithia to cover the refugees’ basic needs.
Neophytou said the Syrians felt grateful for the hospitality and their rescue and apologised for the trouble they caused.
“We are talking about people who, in their majority, are educated, well off, they have arrived with certain ambitions and plans to go to Europe through Italy,” he said. “They are concerned about what would happen to them and they do not want to stay in Cyprus.”

A 19th century Degas painting worth €6 million, along with other valuables worth €157,000, was stolen from the home of a 70-year-old in Limassol, police said on Tuesday.

The gold-gilded framed painting is titled Seated Dancer Adjusting Her Shoes. The owner claims it’s an original, saying that he has documents proving its authenticity.

Police have arrested two Cypriots, aged 44 and 53, in connection with the theft and they were also seeking a Russian man, 55.

The theft was reported to police by the 70-year-old Cypriot who appears to be a collector.

He said his house had been broken into between 9.50am and 2.30pm on Monday.

Police said the Russian man had shown an interest in buying another painting in the man’s collection. The other two suspects acted as middlemen.

A viewing had been arranged 15 days ago and the Russian man also took photographs.

They arranged a meeting on Monday with their lawyers to close the deal. The painting was stolen while the 70-year-old was at the meeting.

According to news portal Sigmalive the art collector was in a dire financial situation.

The Degas was uninsured and the house doesn’t have an alarm system installed.

The burglars went straight for the Degas, ignoring all other paintings in the house.

Along with the painting by French 19th century artist Edgar Degas – regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism – worth €6m, a safe containing seven gold watches, three pairs of gold opera glasses and other items worth €157,000 were also taken.

By Isabel Coles and Jonny Hogg

Iraqi Kurdish troops drove Islamic State fighters from a strategic border crossing with Syria on Tuesday and won the support of members of a major Sunni tribe, in one of the biggest successes since US forces began bombing the fighters.

The victory, which could make it harder for militants to operate on both sides of the frontier, was also achieved with help from Kurds from the Syrian side of the frontier, a new sign of cooperation across the border.

Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters took control of the Sinjar crossing in a battle that began before dawn, an Iraqi Kurdish political source said.

“It’s the most important strategic point for crossing. Once that’s taken it’s going to cut the supply route and make the operation to reach Sinjar easier,” the source said, referring to a mountain further south where members of the Yazidi minority sect have been trapped by Islamic State fighters.

The participation of Sunni tribal fighters in battle against Islamic State could prove as important a development as the advance itself.

Members of the influential Shammar tribe, one of the largest in northwestern Iraq, joined the Kurds in the fighting, a tribal figure said.

“Rabia is completely liberated. All of the Shammar are with the Peshmerga and there is full cooperation between us,” Abdullah Yawar, a leading member of the tribe, told Reuters.

He said the cooperation was the result of an agreement with the president of Iraq’s Kurdish region after three months of negotiation to join forces against the “common enemy”.

Gaining support from Sunni tribes, many of which either supported or acquiesced in Islamic State’s June advance, would be a crucial objective for the Iraqi government and its regional and Western allies in the fight against the insurgents.

WINNING OVER SUNNI TRIBES

Winning over Sunni tribes was a central part of the strategy that helped the US military defeat a precursor of Islamic State during the “surge” campaign of 2006-2007. Washington has made clear it hopes the new Iraqi government of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, who took power last month, can repeat it.

Rabia controls the main highway linking Syria to Mosul, the biggest city in northern Iraq, which Islamic State fighters captured in June at the start of a lightning advance through Iraq’s Sunni Muslim north that jolted the Middle East.

Twelve Islamic State fighters’ bodies lay on the border at the crossing after the battle, said Hemin Hawrami head of the foreign relations department of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of the main Iraqi Kurdish parties, on Twitter.

Syrian Kurdish fighters said they had also joined the battle: “We are defending Rabia … trying to coordinate action with the Peshmerga against Islamic State. It is true,” said Saleh Muslim, head of the Syria-based Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

If Rabia can be held, its recapture is one of the biggest successes since US-led forces started bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq in August.

It is one of two main border crossings between militant-held parts of the two countries, control of which has allowed Islamic State to declare a single Caliphate on both sides. The other main crossing, Albu Kamal on the Euphrates River valley highway, has been a primary target of U.S. strikes on both sides of the frontier this past week.

The ability to cross the frontier freely has been a major tactical advantage for Islamic State fighters on both sides. Fighters swept from Syria into northern Iraq in June and returned with heavy weapons seized from fleeing Iraqi government troops, which they have used to expand their territory in Syria.

Washington expanded the campaign to Syria last week in an effort to defeat the fighters who have swept through Sunni areas of both countries, killing prisoners, chasing out Kurds and ordering Shi’ites and non-Muslims to convert or die.

In two complex, multi-sided civil wars, the Sunni fighters are battling against Shi’ite-backed government in both countries, rival Sunni groups in Syria and separate Kurdish forces on either side of the frontier.

Washington hopes the strikes, conducted with help from European allies in Iraq and Arab air forces in Syria, will allow government and Kurdish forces in Iraq, and moderate Sunnis in Syria, to recapture territory.

In Iraq, a coalition of Iraqi army, Shi’ite militia fighters and Kurdish troops known as peshmerga have been slowly recapturing Sunni villages that had been under Islamic State control south of the Kurdish-held oil city of Kirkuk.

“At dawn today, two villages near Daquq, 40 kilometres south of Kirkuk, Peshmerga forces liberated them from Islamic State,” an Iraqi security official said.

Islamic State fighters had used positions in the villages to fire mortars at neighbouring Daquq, a town populated mainly by ethnic Turkmen Shi’ite Muslims. When Kurdish fighters entered the villages they were empty, the security official said.

GROUND SHAKING BENEATH OUR FEET

Peshmerga secretary-general Jabbar Yawar estimated the Iraqi Kurds had now retaken around half the territory they lost when the militants surged north towards the regional capital Arbil in early August, an advance that helped to prompt the US strikes.

“We have absorbed the shock and are pushing them back,” Yawar said.

Peshmerga fighters, Iraqi army troops and pro-government militia were advancing north from the Peshmerga-held city of Tuz Khurmatu to drive Islamic State fighters out of the countryside that surrounds Kirkuk, the official said. He credited US-led air strikes with helping the peshmerga clear the two villages.

“This area witnessed intense air strikes from US-led strikes and Iraqi air strikes overnight and at dawn,” the official said.

The explosions shook Kirkuk itself: “We felt the ground shaking beneath our feet, and then we heard that there were air strikes outside Kirkuk,” said a policeman in the city contacted by Reuters who asked not to be identified.

In addition to aiding the Kurds in the north, U.S. air strikes have targeted fighters west of Baghdad and on its southern outskirts, difficult rural terrain known under US occupation as the “triangle of death”.

“We believe the US air strikes have helped in containing Islamic State’s momentum,” said lawmaker Mowaffak al-Rubaie, a former head of Iraq’s advisory security council.

Iraqi officials said US air strikes, along with strikes by Iraq’s own aircraft, had killed dozens of Islamic State fighters the previous day south of the capital.

“It appears that 67 (Islamic State) militants were killed in Fadiliya,” said an Iraqi security source, referring to a town in the Euphrates valley south of the capital. He said the casualty estimate came from satellite imagery and informants.

The US military said it had conducted 11 air strikes in Syria and the same number in Iraq in the previous 24 hours, describing a range of targets including Islamic State tanks, artillery, checkpoints and buildings.

SIEGE IN SYRIA

Unlike in Iraq, where the US-led air strikes are coordinated closely with the government and Kurdish forces, Washington has no powerful allies on the ground in Syria, making its strategy there riskier and more precarious.

The United States and its Western and Arab allies oppose the government of President Bashar al-Assad and are wary of helping him by hurting his enemies. Turkey, the neighbour with the biggest military, has so far held back from joining the US-led coalition, despite an advance in the past 10 days by Islamic State fighters against Kurds near the frontier that has caused the fastest refugee exodus of the three-year civil war.

The fighters have laid siege to Kobani, a Kurdish city on Syria’s border with Turkey. The rattle of sporadic gunfire could be heard from across the frontier, and a shell could be seen exploding in olive groves on the western outskirts of town.

A steady stream of people, mostly men, were crossing the border post back into Syria, apparently to help defend the town.

Ocalan Iso, deputy commander of the Kurdish forces defending the town, told Reuters Kurdish troops had battled Islamic State fighters armed with tanks through the night and into Tuesday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a body that monitors the war with a network on the ground, said US-led strikes had hit Islamic State positions west of Kobani. Kurdish commanders have complained in recent days that the air strikes hitting other parts of Syria were not helping them at the front.

The Observatory said Islamic State now controls 325 out of 354 villages on the rural outskirts of Kobani.

By Adrian Croft and Robin Emmott

The European Union decided on Tuesday to keep in place a package of economic sanctions against Russia over its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine despite what it called “encouraging developments” on the ground after a ceasefire deal.

The 28-nation EU has imposed sanctions on Russia’s finance, defence and energy sectors and has frozen the assets of some 140 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and companies over Moscow’s role in Ukraine.

EU officials said it was too early to lift the sanctions despite the ceasefire agreed between Kiev and the rebels, which Brussels views as a first step towards ending the worst standoff between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.

“We are keeping the status quo,” one official said after EU ambassadors reviewed the implementation of the ceasefire and a wider peace plan for the region agreed in Minsk on Sept. 5.

Envoys noted that “encouraging developments have been registered in the political process and in the implementation of some aspects of the Minsk Protocol”, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said, adding that a permanent ceasefire was required.

The ceasefire has been marred by regular violations but has broadly held.

When the EU adopted its latest sanctions package on Russia, ambassadors had agreed they would review the implementation of the Ukraine peace plan by the end of September.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs EU summits, held out the possibility that, if the situation on the ground warranted it, sanctions could be amended, suspended or even fully repealed.

However, EU diplomats said there was no question of easing the sanctions on Russia at this stage.

DIFFICULT SITUATION

“Nobody even talked about the possibility (of lifting them), given the situation on the ground,” another official said.

Seven Ukrainian soldiers were killed on Sunday when a separatist shell hit their armoured personnel carrier, a military spokesman said, the largest single number of Ukrainian soldiers killed since the ceasefire began.

NATO said last week it had observed a significant withdrawal of Russian forces from inside Ukraine, but some Russian troops remained inside the country and “many thousands” remain deployed near the border.

Moscow denies sending troops into Ukraine or arming the rebels, despite what the West says is incontrovertible evidence.

The ambassadors meeting in Brussels asked EU officials to continue monitoring the situation in Ukraine till the end of October, when a review of the effectiveness of the sanctions in place against Russia is already scheduled, diplomats said.

The EU has been split over the sanctions imposed against Russia over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in March and its support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Some EU politicians, such as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, have been openly scornful of the sanctions.

Many governments are wary of antagonising Russia, the bloc’s leading energy supplier, and fear more Russian trade retaliation. Russia has already responded to the EU and US sanctions by banning imports of most food from the West.

But the EU’s nominee to take over enlargement policy at the European Commission, Johannes Hahn, said on Tuesday the bloc was united in its condemnation of Russian support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

“Russia should not underestimate the EU’s resolve to stand by its principles,” Hahn told EU lawmakers at his confirmation hearing. “Until territorial sovereignty has been restored (in Ukraine), we cannot make any concessions to Russia.”

By Jean Christou

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades hopes that the current international interest in the Cyprus issue would help create prospects for a solution, he said in his address to the nation to mark the island’s 54^th anniversary of independence.

In his speech on Tuesday evening, Anastasiades paid tribute to the EOKA fighters who made independence possible in 1960, and those who later defended the Republic in the wake of the Turkish invasion in 1974.

He said he hoped that the current international interest in the Cyprus issue would help create prospects for a solution.

“Addressing our Turkish Cypriot compatriots, I would like to send the message that, while they should consider our sincere wish and determination for finding a solution, they should not expect that it would ever be possible for us to accept a solution that will not meet the expectations of the Greek Cypriots, or that will make the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots second-class citizens of the EU,” he said.

“At the same time, I call on the Turkish government to respond and contribute substantially, through specific actions, to the effort made for the solution of the Cyprus problem.”

Anastasiades called for the 54^th anniversary to be “the beginning of a new era.

He also referred to the harsh economic conditions the island was undergoing

“We now bear the cost of longstanding problems, the system’s problems, the indecisiveness and fear to take responsibility in the past, as well as political weaknesses, wrong strategic choices and prejudices that led our country on the verge of destruction,” he said.

“It is time to acknowledge our mistakes, before the people, through self-awareness, self-criticism and courage… to acknowledge the reasons why our country went from a place of prosperity, stability, security and safety to being on the brink of economic but also national bankruptcy.”

Anastasiades said he was certain that the island could overcome the obstacles and return to conditions of growth and progress, free from the ills of the past.

“We are working towards transforming Cyprus into a modern, reliable and European country, country that will be playing a key role in the very important and sensitive area of the East Mediterranean, a country that will lead the effort for cooperation, peace and stability,” he said.

British Tornado fighter jets have launched their first attacks against Islamic State targets in Iraq since parliament approved combat operations last Friday, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said on Tuesday.

“They identified and attacked a heavy weapons position that was endangering Kurdish forces and they subsequently attacked an (IS) armed pick-up truck in the same area,” he told the BBC.

“Both Tornados have now returned safely to their base and the initial attack assesment is that both attacks were successful,” he added.

The electricity authority (EAC) has incurred a €10 million loss because of faulty electricity poles imported between 2005 and 2008, parliament heard on Tuesday.
The 33,000 poles did not meet the specifications regarding the quality of the wood and the insulation. The EAC paid €4.0 million for their purchase.
Half have already been deemed faulty and accidents had occurred.
EAC chairman Othonas Theodoulou said the suppliers and company officials who handled the matter could be held accountable though some have since retired.
He added that instructions have been given to the company’s legal adviser to start the process for recouping the loss and an administrative probe into the matter is nearing its conclusion.
MPs also heard that electricity provided to Turkish Cypriots without charge costs around €1.4 million a year.
The power is mainly supplied to the areas of Pyla and Pergamos.
Theodoulou said the state had the first say on the matter.

An education ministry official is to be investigated following a report by the Auditor General that she bought airplane tickets for official ministry business from her husband’s travel agency.
The report was handed to Education Minister Costas Kadis on Monday.
The official appears to have not notified anyone of her conflict of interests nor did she invite a tender process before deciding where she would buy the tickets.
According to the report, the official was tasked among others with buying airplane tickets for former minister’s Kyriakos Kenevezos trips to Brussels when Cyprus held the EU presidency, from July to December 2012.
The Auditor General notes that in some instances the tickets were more expensive than the current market price.
The report notes that the official booked herself into expensive hotels at the ministry’s expense through her husband’s travel agency – with taxi expenses to get to the Larnaca airport.
No receipts regarding that expense were ever presented.
The cost of the taxi ride came to €120 each time, an expense the report described as “completely unjustifiable.”
“We will get to the bottom of this,” said the Education Minister.

Former defence minister Fotis Fotiou was sworn in yesterday as the new Commissioner for Humanitarian and Overseas Affairs, replacing Kate Clerides, who has held the post since the new government was installed last year but who has resigned for family reasons.
At a handing-over ceremony at the presidential palace, President Nicos Anastasiades said the position was particularly important given its mandate included the missing, the enclaved and humanitarian crises, as well as the issues affecting expatriate Cypriots.
“Our aim is to further strengthen the relations between the state and the diaspora,” said Anastasiades.
“The commitment of our expatriates to creating strategic alliances for the benefit of our national cause is essential.” He thanked Clerides for her service.
In his comments, Fotiou said establishing the fate of the missing persons would be a priority and referred to Anastasiades’ efforts to increase pressure on Turkey to cooperate on the issue.
He also hailed the work of the diaspora and pledged to open channels of communication with all stakeholders related to his mandate.
Fotiou’s new position is widely seen as a consolation prize for the former minister, who quit his party DIKO last year when it split from the coalition with ruling DISY and Anastasiades failed to keep him in the cabinet.

Greek 10-year bond yields fell sharply on Wednesday on a report saying Mario Draghi was set to push the European Central Bank to buy junk-rated Greek and Cypriot bank loans.

The central bank’s executive board will propose that current requirements on the quality of assets accepted by the bank be relaxed to allow the ECB to buy repackaged debt, or safer slices of Greek and Cypriot asset-backed securities, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Greek 10-year government bond yields fell 38 basis points to 6.27 percent.

“This indicates there is still support from official lenders. They want to avoid Greece derailing again,” ING senior rate strategist Alessandro Giansanti said.

By Michelle Price and Stephen Aldred

Some banks and other financial firms have begun moving staff to back-up premises on the outskirts of Hong Kong to prevent growing unrest in the financial hub from disrupting trading and other critical functions, two business services firms said.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters have blocked parts of the Central financial district since Friday in protest against Beijing’s decision to limit voters’ choice in elections due in 2017.

The protests, that have been largely peaceful, represent the biggest potential business disruption since the outbreak of SARS in 2003, when several banks moved some of their dealing operations to other Asian trading hubs.

While business disruption has been limited to the temporary closure of a few bank branches, the decision by some firms to move or prepare moving staff to peripheral locations highlights deeper concerns that the protests could have wider repercussions in Asia’s biggest financial centre.

Kam Poon, vice president at telecom company Wharf T&T Ltd in Hong Kong, which provides up to 1,000 desks for banks and other financial firms, said clients had been calling up since Sunday to ask for space at its primary facility in the New Territories, away from Central which is on Hong Kong island.

“Our operators have been working day and night since Sunday night,” Poon told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Tuesday.

He said 15 clients had called up to advise they wanted the firm to prepare reserved space, while five others had put the company on standby.

“We do have people coming in already,” said Poon, whose company leases desks, PCs, phones and phone lines, as well as services for traders such as market data feeds and voice-recording.

The company’s clients are financial firms, including local and foreign banks.

Alan Mackay, chief operating officer of serviced offices provider Compass Offices in Hong Kong, said his clients had started to reserve space and some had begun to move in staff.

Compass Offices, which has 4,200 desks for lease around Hong Kong, said clients such as big international banks and hedge funds began putting in place short-term contingency arrangements three to four months ago, when pro-democracy activists belonging to the so-called Occupy Central protest movement stepped up their campaign.

During the past five days, those banks and hedge funds had activated their plans, Mackay told Reuters.

“We might move in or we might not, but we want that office there ready,” Mackay said, quoting typical conversations with clients. The largest reservation so far was for 25 staff, he added.

Both Poon and Mackay declined to name any of their clients, citing confidentiality issues.

Banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, CITIC Securities, HSBC, Societe Generale, Barclays and Asia’s major research brokerage CLSA, have contingency trading arrangements that involve relocating traders to back-up premises, according to individuals at the firms.

One large international bank activated its business continuity plan over the weekend, ensuring that backup systems were ready if needed, according to an individual familiar with the discussions.

While the impact so far has been minimal, some staff have been relocated to facilities at the eastern end of Hong Kong, such as Taikoo Shing and neighbouring Quarry Bay, and some staff who could not reach the office were also working from home, this person said.

CITIC, SocGen, CLSA, and BofA Merrill are among those firms that have found themselves closest to the action, with premises in or close to the affected Admiralty district, next to Central.

A spokeswoman for CLSA said the brokerage had conducted business as usual on Monday and Tuesday.

“Should we not be able to conduct trading activity from our Admiralty office, we will relocate staff to our alternative trading site in Hong Kong,” she said. A spokeswoman for SocGen said the bank was operating normally, but had a dedicated back-up facility that gives traders a “like-for-like environment.”

CITIC Securities and Barclays confirmed they had back-up trading centres in remote parts of Hong Kong, but had not had to use them. A spokesperson for BofA Merrill said the bank operated normally on Monday and Tuesday.

HSBC said it had arrangements in place “to ensure we can continue to serve customers.” JPMorgan did not respond to requests for formal comment.

By Ayla Jean Yackley

U.S.-led forces launched air strikes on Islamic State fighters who are besieging a Kurdish town near the Syrian border with Turkey on Wednesday, Kurdish sources in the town and a monitoring group said, a rare daylight coalition attack.

A Reuters correspondent on the Turkish side of the border could hear jets overhead and saw a column of black smoke rising into the sky from the southeast of the town.

“Today, American jets hit a village that is 4-5 km (2-3 miles) southeast of Kobani and we heard they destroyed one (Islamic State) tank,” Parwer Mohammed Ali, a translator with the PYD Kurdish group, told Reuters by telephone from Kobani, known as Ain al-Arab in Arabic.

The United States has been carrying out strikes in Iraq against the militant group since July and in Syria since August with the help of Arab allies and Britain. Using mostly night strikes, it aims to damage and destroy the bases and forces of the al Qaeda offshoot that has captured large areas of both countries.

Esmat al-Sheikh, commander of the Kurdish forces defending Kobani, said there were five strikes but that he did not yet know if they were successful. “Jets are still circling overhead,” he said by telephone.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdulrahman said Kurdish sources on the battlefront reported seeing dead Islamic State fighters at the strike sites.

“Kurdish people saw the bodies,” he said.

REUTERS WITNESSES SEE SIX MORE BODIES OF ADULTS IN BURNT OUT MINI-VAN AND ON STREET NEAR DONETSK SCHOOL HIT BY SHELLING

Shells hit a school playground and a nearby street in the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing four people including a teacher and a parent, witnesses said.

A Reuters correspondent at the scene saw a blast hole in the playground of school number 57 in Donetsk’s Kiev district and another crater in a nearby street. No children appeared to have been killed or hurt.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulides pointed out on Wednesday that Cyprus has a duty to participate in the international alliance against ISIL, adding that cultural values and freedom are at stake.

He also said that Cyprus` contribution to this fight highlights the importance of the island`s geographical location, adding that besides the engagement of the British Bases in Cyprus, Nicosia will provide facilities at the “Andreas Papandreou” military base in Paphos for the French civil aviation.

Replying to questions after the military parade for Cyprus` independence day, Kasoulides said that Cyprus wishes to highlight the importance of its geostrategic position and participates to the struggle against ISIL, mainly through its geographical location.

“It is our duty to participate to this battle, as the rest of the international community does, because our civilization, our freedom are in danger as a result of this ‘sickening mentality’ of the Jihadists”, he added.

Kasoulides also denied claims that Cyprus is becoming a target because of its participation in the international fight, pointing out that “we are becoming a target anyway as Christians”.

He recalled the examples of the Christians in Mosul and other cities of Iraq, who were forced to convert to Islam or flee or were beheaded.

“We are all in the same battle”, he said.

CNA

President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has expressed his determination to work hard for a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem.

The President, who received on Wednesday in Nicosia the salute of the military parade for Cyprus’ Independence Day, said he was proud of the Cypriot armed forces, expressing at the same time hope that the necessary conditions are created so that the armed forces will never have to intervene.

He expressed his determination to work hard in order to reach a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem, that will meet the expectations and the “legitimate concerns of the European citizens of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots”, a viable and functional solution providing for a modern state which will guarantee the future of the new generations.

Today`s anniversary, he added, is an opportunity to pay tribute to the leaders, the fighters, the heroes of the 1955-59 anti-colonial struggle, as well as to those who safeguarded the Cypriot state during 1963-64 and those who gave their lives during the coup d`etat in 1974 for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.

At the same time, he said, today`s anniversary is an opportunity for self-criticism and for the need to create prospects for a truly promising future.

Concluding, he congratulated the Minister of Defence, the chief of the National Guard and those who participated at the military parade.

Earlier, the President, accompanied by the members of the Council of Ministers, attended a memorial service at the Imprisoned Graves, where he laid a wreath in honor of the 13 fighters who are interred there, during the 1955-1959 liberation struggle (EOKA) against the British rule.

“Today we pay tribute to the leaders and fighters of the EOKA 1955-1959 struggle” the President wrote in the book of visitors, adding that self-criticism and unity are the only way forward for the salvation of Cypriot Hellenism.

CNA

The majority of Syrian refugees who were rescued last week from a fishing boat off Cyprus` southern coast, are entitled to travel to other countries provided that they they get all required visas, Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos stated on Wednesday.

Refugees are being hosted temporarily in a designated area, in Kokkinotrimithia, close to the capital, Nicosia. He said that only two people expressed interest to apply for asylum and they are being transferred to the Kofinou Reception Center.

Refugees are “masters of their own destiny” Hasikos said, noting that they will be handed their travel documents.

He added however that in case refugees don`t apply for visas for the countries they intend to travel, they will be sent back to Cyprus. According to the Minister, refugees can stay for another 29 days in Kokkinotrimithia, while those who remain in Cyprus, must apply for the renewal of their residence permit.

Hasikos also noted that the financial burden for the relief of refugees falls on the EU for a period of 29 days.

He referred finally to a group of unaccompanied minors, aged 15-17 years, who will be transferred to a separate location, as provided by international conventions.

CNA

Cyprus and Greece signed Wednesday a joint Memorandum of Crisis Management which provides for the strengthening of the cooperation between the two states in the field of defence.

The Memorandum was signed by the Minister of Defence Christoforos Fokaides and the Minister of National Defence of Greece Demetris Avramopoulos, who paid Cyprus a visit on the occasion of the Republic`s Independence Day.

In statements after the meeting, Fokaides said that the Memorandum was signed with the aim to strengthen the two countries’ defence cooperation for the safeguarding of their territorial integrity and the protection of their sovereignty.

The Memorandum, he went on to say, provides for the exchange of information, the coordination of the actions of the crisis management services and measures for joint actions.

Fokaides said that the Memorandum is an additional tool for the deepening of the close cooperation which exists between the two countries in the areas of defence and security.

Cyprus and Greece, the Cypriot Minister stressed, are countries of stability, security and democracy in the wider region and have an extremely important and upgraded role to play for regional security.

In his statements, the Greek Minister of National Defense said that the agreement signed today does not have any aggressive purposes.

“On the contrary, it contributes to the creation of a safety environment”, he said, noting that the defence systems of Greece and Cyprus, apart from the purpose of protecting and ensuring the integrity and independence of Greece and Cyprus, respectively, can serve other common European purposes.

Referring to the meeting he had earlier with President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, Avramopoulos said that they spoke about the Cyprus problem and the developments in the region “which strengthens the geostrategic and geopolitical role of Cyprus”.

He also said that Cyprus` defence system is modern and efficient and is ready to respond to any challenge.

CNA