By Scott Saunders

Manchester United record signing Angel Di Maria is happy at Manchester United, according to his wife.

Reports have emerged recently that former club Real Madrid are interested in bringing the player back to Spain – less that six months after selling him to United for £59.7m. United legend Paul Scholes has also recently stoked up rumours that Di Maria is not as happy at United as he was in Madrid.

That is not the case though, despite the fact that Di Maria has been struggling for form in recent weeks. His blistering start to life at Old Trafford has somewhat waned as he has been shifted into a number of positions under Louis van Gaal.

His wife, Jorgelina Cardoso, posted a message to Instagram to refute rumours that Di Maria was having second thoughts about the move to United.

Scholes first suggested that Di Maria looked a little different to last season, in his weekly post for the Independent last week.
He wrote: “My concern is that the mood among the United players feels a bit low-key.
“Preparing for the broadcast of the game in Madrid this (now last) week, I watched reruns of last season and Angel Di Maria smiling broadly as he celebrated goal after goal with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He doesn’t seem to be in the same happy mood at United. It feels downbeat among the team.
“All this, and yet the third and fourth places – with respect to the likes of Southampton and West Ham – really are there for the taking.”

The 26-year old played around 70 minutes for United against Crystal Palace on Saturday, helping United to a 1-0 win.

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An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has killed at least four people just outside the Portuguese capital Lisbon and left dozens hospitalised, with the source of the outbreak yet to be found, authorities said on Monday.

The Health Ministry said 160 people had been diagnosed with the bacteria-borne disease, a severe form of pneumonia. Two dozen were in intensive care in various hospitals.

Four parishes in the district of Vila Franca de Xira, about 25 km (16 miles) northeast of Lisbon, had the greatest concentration of the cases.

The disease is contracted by breathing in a mist or vapour contaminated with the Legionella bacteria, which can grow in cooling towers, showers and other water sources. It is not transmitted directly from person to person.

People already in poor health are the most vulnerable.

The world’s largest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease happened in 2001 in neighbouring Spain, where it killed six people and around 450 cases have been confirmed.

The illness is named after a 1976 outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

Two years into a political and legal battle over Catalonia’s future that entered a new phase with a disputed independence vote, Spain’s central government and regional authorities in Barcelona are preparing to try something new: dialogue.

Amid mutual accusations of undemocratic behaviour, Catalans cast ballots in Sunday’s referendum, a symbolic alternative to a more formal, albeit still non-binding, vote that the government in Madrid had taken to the courts to block.

Some 80 percent of the around 2.2 million who voted backed secession, but the turnout was little more than 40 percent – a mixed outcome giving both sides an incentive to seek a middle way between status quo and secession.

Catalan government head Artur Mas said late on Sunday he would this week detail an offer for dialogue with Madrid that was likely to include proposals for increasing the wealthy region’s share of Spain’s tax take, as well as a renewed call for a binding referendum.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said he was ready to talk about a new system to finance Spain’s 17 autonomous communities and a reform of the constitution.

Support for such dialogue was strong on Monday morning among the country’s media and on the streets of the Catalan capital Barcelona.

“What will happen now? What will happen tomorrow? I think the key is the possible accords politicians can reach,” said Merce Jeremies, a pensioner from Barcelona.

Jordi Matas, a professor of law and political science at the university of Barcelona, said Sunday’s turnout offered a strong signal that a political negotiation was now needed.

“It should be an incentive for Catalan and Spanish politicians to move and negotiate and reach an agreement on Catalonia, one that meets the interests of both,” he said.

Spain’s main papers, including left-leaning El Pais, right-leaning El Mundo and Catalonia’s biggest daily la Vanguardia, also pushed that line.

“End the do-nothing policy,” said La Vanguardia in an editorial. “There is no recent precedent in democratic Europe for a civil mobilisation on such a scale… To ignore it or to minimise it would be a serious mistake. At this point, a standoff would be a major political mistake.”

But dialogue may not prove easy.

Mas’ centre-right CiU party lacks an absolute majority in the regional parliament and has relied on leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) to pass legislation.

With ERC calling for early elections and a unilateral declaration of independence as a prerequisite for talks with the Spanish government, his room for manoeuvre may now be limited.

Rajoy, meanwhile, faces local, regional and general elections next year, and any concession he makes over Catalonia may spark a backlash among supporters of his already under-fire People’s Party.

Both men were muted on Monday, with only the opposition Socialist Party fuelling the post-referendum debate by proposing a constitutional change transforming Spain into a federal state.

“Catalonia has made a constitutional reform more urgent,” party leader Pedro Sanchez said, as he criticised Rajoy for not offering a political solution to a conflict rooted in a 2010 Constitutional Court ruling that the region’s status and powers were not tantamount to nationhood.

“We need to acknowledge the singularity of Catalonia in the constitution. There is still time but the political will is missing,” he said.

Any consensus on regional funding or a new constitution will take time to reach, also presenting risks to Spain’s nascent economic recovery following a six-year slump.

“Although participation was skewed towards the pro-independence camp with anti-independence parties largely boycotting the poll, there is a risk that the increased focus could lead to higher market volatility similar to the Scottish referendum episode in early September,” said Nomura analysts in a note to clients.

By Elias Hazou

THE DECLARATION signed at the Cairo summit is envisioned as an outline agreement between Cyprus, Greece and Egypt, one that can lead to a commercial deal involving hydrocarbons.

That was the clearest yet description of the substance of the Cairo confab, as explained by Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who had accompanied the President in Egypt.

“We are still far from a commercial agreement,” Kasoulides said on Monday.

“Such an agreement will be looked at first by the [energy] companies, and later on the governments will become involved to create the appropriate legislative framework for it. All this is an initial stage, it is not something that will happen from one day to the next,” he added.

“What happened in Cairo was to turn attention more to regional stability, peace and security, to be achieved by various means, including this type of commercial deal involving natural gas. Picture Israel supplying Egypt with natural gas, as Egypt has supplied gas to Israel in the past. This would be an earth-shattering development in our region, considering that these two countries have fought three wars. Now, the political foundation has been laid for regional cooperation.”

Likewise government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said the foreign ministers of the three Mediterranean nations have been charged with fleshing out the content of the Cairo proclamation.

On November 24 the energy ministers of the three countries will be holding “more specific talks” here, and regular contacts would follow on a trilateral level, said Christodoulides.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has accepted an invitation by President Nicos Anastasiades to pay an official visit to Cyprus before year’s end.

According to Christodoulides, a tripartite summit of the heads of state of Cyprus, Israel and Greece was also on the cards:

“Deliberations are at an initial stage, and this week possibly a lower-level meeting will be taking place. We will be able to speak more on this following the President’s visit to Jerusalem on December 2.”

Politis writes that the governments of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt are laying the groundwork for the signing of a MoU on matters relating to hydrocarbons, the objective being to put ink on paper during Sisi’s visit here, likely in early December.

The MoU’s purpose, according to the daily, is among others to provide the political backbone to talks now underway between the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company and British Gas for the potential sale of Cypriot natural gas to BG’s LNG terminal in Idku, Egypt.

This may also tie in to Noble Energy’s announcement last week that it is currently exploring regional pipelines – rather than land-based solutions – for monetising its Cyprus gas finds.

Concerning natural gas prospects, Kasoulides pointed out on Monday that “common sense dictates that the top priority should be to engage on a regional level and then explore beyond that.”

On Ankara’s objections to Cyprus’ gas exploration in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the chief diplomat reiterated that Nicosia would not cave in.

“We cannot take into account Turkey’s demands, because her demands will not cease. For example, today Turkey wants ENI to stop drilling, tomorrow that we not sell natural gas to Egypt, and the day after who knows what else.”

Last month Turkey despatched a research vessel, the Barbaros, into Cyprus’ EEZ to conduct seismic surveys. The vessel is being escorted by Turkish warships. The move prompted the president to break off peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots.

Over the weekend Turkish Admiral Bulent Bostanoglu was quoted as saying Turkey’s navy has been issued with “rules of engagement” in the event Turkish warships – taking part in naval exercises in the eastern Med – should encounter Greek or Israeli vessels.

Bostanoglu went on to add, however, that the drills had nothing to do with ongoing activities in the eastern Med. The exercises – beginning on November 6 and ending on November 14 – involve naval forces from the United States, Germany, the UK, Spain and Canada.

The admiral’s comments drew a response from the Greek military. An unnamed senior military officer told Greek newspaper To Vima that the Greek navy likewise had been issued with rules of engagement.

Asked about this, the government spokesman downplayed the Turkish remarks as sabre-rattling, for PR purposes, adding that Nicosia will not play along by escalating tensions.

By Martyn Herman

Stanislas Wawrinka returned to form with a 6-1 6-1 thrashing of Tomas Berdych at the ATP World Tour Finals on Monday.

The Australian Open champion has endured a dismal run of results since the U.S. Open, winning only one Tour match since then, but the Swiss looked back to his best as he opened proceedings in Group A at the O2 Arena.

He came within a point of winning the opening set 6-0 but was thwarted by a Berdych ace.
His opponent could not turn the tide, however, and last year’s semi-finalist Wawrinka wrapped up victory in 58 minutes.

Later on Monday, world number one Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a third consecutive title in London when he takes on U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic.

In early doubles play, third seeds Alexander Peya (Austria) and Bruno Soares (Brazil) edged out Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands) and Horia Tecau (Romania) in a deciding tiebreak.

Knife-wielding Palestinians killed a woman and wounded three other Israelis, including a soldier, in two separate attacks on Monday, police said, in widening violence stoked by tensions over a Jerusalem holy site.

The first incident, in which a Palestinian stabbed and critically wounded the soldier at a Tel Aviv train station, brought bloodshed to the Israeli commercial capital that has largely been spared since a Palestinian revolt ended in 2005.

Police identified the suspected assailant, who was arrested, as a resident of the Palestinian town of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

A police spokesman said that hours later, a Palestinian stormed out of a car to stab three people outside the Jewish settlement of Alon Shvut in the West Bank, killing the woman. The attacker was shot and wounded by a guard.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have festered over access to a Jerusalem compound housing Islam’s third holiest site and where biblical Jewish temples once stood.

Stone-throwing protests have also erupted in several Arab towns in Israel since Saturday, when police killed an Arab youth who assaulted them.

There was no immediate Palestinian comment after the attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in parliament after the Tel Aviv assault said “terror … is being directed at all parts of the country for a simple reason: the terrorists, the inciters, want to drive us from everywhere.”

“As far as they are concerned, we should not be in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or anywhere. I can promise you one thing – they will not succeed. We will continue to fight terror … and we will defeat it together,” he said.

Five days ago, a Palestinian rammed his car into pedestrians in central Jerusalem, the second such incident of its kind in as many weeks, killing two Israelis. Police shot the driver dead.

By Angelos Anastasiou

AS THE government-inspired committee of experts to negotiate the insolvency framework flounders, a Troika team of financial experts and technocrats has arrived in Cyprus for policy consultations on the latest developments on the island’s most pressing financial issues.

According to state radio, the Troika delegation has started holding meetings with various stakeholders at the finance ministry on the insolvency framework, and at the Central Bank on non-performing loans and the borrowers’ registry.

The arrival of the delegation follows the release of the sixth tranche – €346 million – of a €10-billion bailout loan to Cyprus by the Eurogroup last week, after the Supreme Court deemed four House-approved bills that watered down the effectiveness of foreclosures legislation unconstitutional.

The team is slated to remain in Cyprus until November 14.

Government has pledged for the preparation of the controversial insolvency framework – a set of rules governing the treatment of solvent but illiquid borrowers in distress – to go with the hotly contested foreclosures legislation by year’s end, and asked parties to nominate a representative in an “experts’ committee” that would help negotiate its drafting.

Barring AKEL, all parties obliged, and a handful of sessions have been held, but new troubles brewed for the committee’s smooth functioning ahead of a meeting with the Troika delegation, scheduled for Thursday.

In a statement on Monday, the Green Party announced it would not attend the meeting in protest of the Central Bank’s refusal to hand over its projections, scenarios and conclusions on the draft bill.

“Unfortunately the Central Bank refused to submit the documents, which are necessary for the operation of the experts’ committee,” said the announcement.

The Greens said the Central Bank’s stance – supported by the government – “torpedoed the inter-partisan procedure and essentially leads to the disbanding of the experts’ committee.”

“We can’t possibly sit on a negotiating table on which one side (Central Bank, Troika) has all the information while the other (government, parties) is in the dark,” the Greens protested.

“There can’t be staged meetings with the cards available only to one side,” they warned.

And later on Monday, the Citizens’ Alliance – also represented on the committee – issued a statement listing the minimum requirements that the insolvency framework should meet if the party is to remain involved in the project.

Meanwhile, AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou expressed his concern over the government’s handling of the matter, arguing that Greece has had a perfectly viable insolvency framework in place for three years.

“I really wonder why both the Troika and the government have chosen to elevate an issue that, in our opinion, has insignificant repercussions on the economy but significant repercussions on the affected parties – namely the issue of foreclosures of primary residences and small-business premises – to one on which they appear uncompromising,” said Kyprianou.

“I will repeat that Greece has implemented a pertinent law for three years, based on income levels and the value of the property, and I believe that the issue could be addressed in a similar way in Cyprus,” he added.

By a Staff Reporter

ELEMENTARY school teachers will stage a 90 minute work stoppage on Wednesday to protest the employment terms of substitute teachers, their union, POED, said on Monday.

POED advised parents to take their children to school at 9am and not the usual starting time 7.30am.

POED chairman Filios Phylactou said that up until last year, primary education substitutes were appointed under a full-time schedule since they assumed the full duties of the teacher they replaced.

That policy has been changed, Phylactou said, and substitute teachers now cover just the teaching duties of the absent educator.

“This creates huge problems to the smooth operatiuon of the schools and despite POED’s warnings – which did not rule out strike measures – the education ministry has not sorted out the matter,” Phylactou said.

The only condition set by the union to resolve the dispute was the return to the previous regime.

“We think that not employing educators under a full timetable would raise various problems inside schools, with the most important being that of the children’s safety,” Phylactou said.

The change had been deemed necessary to be in line with secondary schools.

The Education Ministry expressed its regret over POED’s decision which will also affect children at state-run kindergartens.

In a written statement, the ministry said it had taken into account the observations of the auditor-general and the ombudswoman who spoke of different treatment between teachers in primary schools and their secondary education colleagues.

Taking their views into account, as it should, but at the same time recognising the differences between the two tiers, the ministry said it had tried to bridge differing views.

The minister gave the unions his proposal on Friday and asked them to study before sitting for talks with him after his return from a visit to Japan.

“Unfortunately, POED, instead of having a dialogue, responded by announcing a strike, without any mood to discuss the ministry’s proposal.”

By a Staff Reporter

SOME 350 civil servants have taken early retirement so far this year, while up to a dozen a day are applying for early exit, the Public Service Commission said on Monday.

By comparison, 1000 people opted for early retirement in 2013, and 890 the previous year, commission head Pavlos Papageorgiou told reporters.

He was speaking after meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades, to whom the commission handed its 2013 report.

Early retirement numbers would almost certainly have been even higher had the government gone through with plans – hinted at last month – to tax civil servants’ retirement bonus. The administration then backtracked in the face of an outcry from employee unions.

According to Papageorgiou, the commission’s workload was drastically diminished from April 2013 onward, in the wake of a law freezing new appointments and promotions in the broader public sector.

However, Papageorgiou said, the House recently gave the green light for re-activating 62 positions in the civil service. Of these, 24 have already been filled, partly through the appointment of 14 air traffic controllers. The rest of the opened positions concern mostly managerial positions across the civil service, which are expected to be filled by January, and for which a great number of applications has been received.

The Public Service Commission’s workload in 2013 was divided as follows: 41 per cent relating to retirements and resignations; 22 per cent relating to filling vacancies; 14 per cent pertaining to confirmation of appointments and compiling of department reports; 13 per cent on transfers and secondments; 4 per cent on substitute appointments; and 3 per cent on disciplinary rulings.

Of the total of nine disciplinary cases brought to the commission’s attention, in two of these the civil servants were found at fault and forced to resign.

By George Psyllides

THE ISLAND’S longest serving lifer, who killed a businessman and his two children in Limassol 1987, was denied release from prison on Monday.

Cyprus’ parole board rejected Panayiotis Kafkaris’ application by a three to two majority vote. Kafkaris, 69, can apply again in two years.

He was sentenced to three life sentences March 1989, following the murder of 45-year-old businessman Panicos Michael and his two children aged 11 and 13.

Kafkaris had placed a bomb under Michael’s vehicle, which he detonated, killing all three.

During his trial he said he had been paid CYP £10,000 to kill Michael but he never revealed the name of the person who ordered the murder. It is understood that this is the reason why he is not being released.

Kafkaris had taken Cyprus to the European Court of Human Rights in 2004 over the duration of his imprisonment.

At the time the offence was committed life imprisonment in Cyprus was 20 years.

However, in 1988, the Nicosia Criminal Court interpreted life imprisonment as meaning imprisonment for life.

Consequently, when passing sentence in 1989, the Limassol Criminal Court, relied on the 1988 findings of its counterpart in Nicosia.

Despite this and to add to the confusion, when Kafkaris was admitted to prison to serve his sentence, he was given written notice by the prison authorities that the date set for his release was July 16, 2002.

On the form, under the heading “Sentence”, it was marked “Life” and then “Twenty Years”. Under the heading “Period” it was marked “From 17 July 1987 to 16 July 2007” and under the heading “Expiry” it was noted “Ordinary Remission 16 July 2002”. The applicant’s release was conditional on his good conduct and hard work during detention.

Kafkaris’ first appeal of his conviction was rejected by the Supreme Court in May 1990.

In March 1998, he applied to the president for pardon or the suspension of the remainder of his sentence to help care for his wife who was suffering from leukaemia.

The request was refused.

In January 2004, he filed an application to the Supreme Court challenging the legitimacy of his detention but that was also dismissed.

He went on to appeal at the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in 2008 that Cyprus had violated Article 7 of the Convention on Human Rights with regard to the quality of the law applicable at the material time.

Article 7 states that no one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed.

“Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed.”

In response, Cyprus pledged to set up a parole board but was censured by the ECHR in 2011 for failing to do so.

The board was eventually set up in 2013.

The government is taking all necessary measures and will not, under any circumstances, play Ankara’s game, said the Minister of Defence Christoforos Fokaides, when asked to comment on the escalating tension in Cyprus` EEZ as a result Turkey’s actions.

Asked particularly to comment on statements by a Turkish Admiral that Turkish warships will apply the rules of engagement if they come upon Greek or Israeli warships in the Eastern Mediterranean, Fokaides said that “it is obvious that Turkey has chosen the path of creating tension. We are monitoring the Turkish movements but we are not going to follow them.”

The Defence Minister said that “our policy remains firmly committed to promoting stability, security and regional cooperation within the framework of international law and coincides with the interests of the countries of the region and the common perspective of peace and prosperity for the entire region.”

Fokaides was speaking on the sidelines of an event for Remembrance Day to commemorate all those who lost their lives fighting for freedom during the two World Wars.

CNA

Significant and frequent supply shortages in state hospitals cause surgery cancellations and worsen the already long waiting lists, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) reported on Tuesday.

Without citing any sources, CNA said the shortages hinder the smooth operation of the clinics while doctors must also deal with unsuitable medical instruments, which makes their work harder.

The lack of consumable materials used in hip surgeries, as well as various types of catheters, resulted in cancellations, which compound the waiting list problem.

Health Minister Philippos Patsalis conceded that shortages were experiences but only “for short periods” due to unforeseen factors affecting the supply chain such as “unanticipated rise in consumption, difficulty in finding the products or delay in the delivery”.

The recession has forced thousands of Cypriots who would have sought help from private facilities under different circumstances, to turn to the state for medical care putting a lot of strain on the sector.

Patsalis said his ministry has not been informed of any significant shortages in consumables that forced the postponement of surgeries.

A shortage in some types of catheters has been resolved and their distribution was underway, the minister said.

“The responsible department monitors consumption and where possible it reallocates products … to minimise the shortages,” the minister said.

Concerning the supplies necessary for hip operations, the minister said it was up to each facility to submit its request directly to the company.

“So far, the head officers at the purchase and supply department have not been informed of any problems arising during the delivery of the consumables,” Patsalis said.
The minister said that for instruments that can undergo maintenance the ministry has a contract that provides for users to see to it that they were dispatched for repairs.

Tools that needed replacing have been replaced though there was a number of requests, filed in recent months, that had to be prioritised depending on the real needs and availability of funds.

By Mark Gleeson

Morocco were officially stripped of the right to host the African Nations Cup next year, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Tuesday.

It has also disqualified Morocco from playing in the finals, which CAF said would go ahead.
The regional football governing body said it had received several offers from countries to step in as hosts for the tournament on the scheduled dates of January 17-February 8.

Morocco wanted a postponement over Ebola virus fears but this was rejected by CAF.

The new Eleftheria Square could be ready in 18 months from the moment construction work started, Nicosia Mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis said on Tuesday.

The plan was to have the square ready in the second half of 2012 but construction has been abandoned after repeated delays drove building costs up and led to a legal dispute between the contractor and the municipality.

The municipality has since invited bids twice in the hope of finishing the project and has now entered the final stretch of selecting a contractor.

Four companies have been short-listed and Nicosia residents hope the current eyesore in the middle of the capital will be a thing of the past soon.

“Provided it starts, I reckon a year-and-a-half,” the mayor said when asked when he expected the project to finish.

Yiorkadjis was speaking after a meeting with EDEK chairman Yiannakis Omirou whom he briefed about plans to revamp the town’s commercial triangle — Makarios Avenue, Stasikratous, and Evagorou Streets.

The mayor said previously that rejuvenating this area was a priority.

He said the aim was to complete the project between 2014 and 2020 with the use of EU funds.

The European Parliament will hold a debate on Wednesday on the Turkish violations in Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone, while on Thursday a resolution is expected to be adopted, urging Turkey to show restraint and act in accordance with international law.

The Cyprus News Agency said the draft resolution includes strong references and urges the Turkish government to sign immediately the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and respect the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus over its territorial waters.

The debate, titled ‘Turkish actions creating tensions in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus’, will begin Wednesday afternoon and MEPs will vote on Thursday.
Although a number of amendments will be submitted, they are not expected to affect the substance of the resolution, CNA said.

The resolution also urges Turkey to revoke its NAVTEX immediately and refrain from any violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.
In addition, it deplores the escalation of threats and the unilateral actions of Turkey against the Republic of Cyprus on the matter of its EEZ.

Meanwhile, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, told a meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee that Brussels expected Ankara to respect Cyprus’ sovereign rights over its EEZ, show restraint and avoid any more statements or actions that could cause more friction.
At the same time, he added: “it is very important that all parties de-escalate tension and act constructively. We stand firmly behind the UN envoy Espen Barth Eide in his efforts to get the communities in Cyprus to resume the settlement talks.”

“We very strongly encourage all relevant stakeholders to contribute to a positive climate conducive to a Cyprus settlement for the benefit of all.”
Referring to Turkey`s EU accession negotiations, he said that the Commission renewed its call to the Council to define the opening benchmarks for chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights, and chapter 24: Justice, freedom and security.

“The Commission holds that it is in the interest of both Turkey and the EU that negotiations under these two chapters open as soon as possible,” Hahn said.

The British Ambassador in Ankara has also conveyed the UK’s concerns to Turkey, Foreign Office Minister Baroness Anelay said, in response to a question by Lord Harris of Haringey at the House of Lords.

The Labour peer had inquired about representations made to the government of Turkey with regard to its plans to conduct seismic surveys within the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus, from October 20 to December 30.

The Foreign Office minister’s written answer added that “this ongoing dispute puts at risk UN-facilitated efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement.” Baroness Anelay also said that the UK Government and its partners would continue to urge the parties to reduce tensions and that it strongly supported the resumption of settlement talks.

Lord Harris had also asked about any implications of the actions of the Turkish government for the United Kingdom’s Treaty of Guarantee obligations to the Republic of Cyprus.
Baroness Anelay’s comment was that “the UK’s commitments under the Treaty of Guarantee are unchanged.”

By Martyn Herman

Roger Federer produced another masterly display to beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-2 and move a step closer to the semi-finals at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.

The six-times former champion was at his imperious best to subdue the 24-year-old U.S. Open runner-up and will reach the last four should Canada’s Milos Raonic defeat Andy Murray in the day’s other Group B match.

Although this year’s tournament is still to witness a three-set match, the entertainment served up by world number two Federer and Asian trailblazer Nishikori kept the capacity O2 crowd enthralled for one hour and nine minutes.

The 33-year-old Federer, who can still knock Novak Djokovic off the top of the rankings before the end of the year, fought off two break points in the third game and broke himself a game later with a flowing forehand pass.

That was enough for the Swiss maestro to secure the opener and the quality of his play pressured Nishikori into several errors at the same stage of the second set as he forged further into the distance.

There were flashes of inspiration by Nishikori, a top-spin lob here and a crunching backhand pass there, but he lacked the authority he showed in beating home favourite Murray on Sunday.

Federer, who began his record 13th appearance at the ATP Tour Finals by beating Raonic in straight sets, has only once failed to survive the group stage and looks poised to take centre stage again at the weekend.

By Stelios Orphanides

Hellenic Bank, which according to the European Central Bank’s asset quality review lacked €105 million in capital, embarked on a road show spree on Tuesday aiming at covering its capital shortfall and accumulating funds to further grow.

Hellenic’s “two major shareholders Third Point Hellenic Recovery Fund, L.P. and Wargaming Public Company Ltd are supportive of the issue and have each undertaken in a letter agreement to subscribe in full for the shares
corresponding to their rights at the exercise price,” the bank said in a statement on its website.

The lender aims at a capital increase with a €220 million rights issue, at a price of 0.0375 euros per share, the statement said. As each Third Point and Wargaming possess 20.32 per cent of total shares, the lender is now concentrated in securing around €130 million in remaining capital.

Any amount in excess of the €105 million capital shortfall that Hellenic will attract via the rights issue “will be used to further develop the bank,” a person with knowledge of the situation said on condition of anonymity. He added that Hellenic may consider buying loan packages from other banks and other assets in an attempt to expand its market share on the local market.

The capital increase must be concluded by December 31.

By Natalia Zinets and Anton Zverev

Kiev accused separatists of preparing for renewed conflict in east Ukraine on Tuesday by bringing in “Russian mercenaries” and rearming as heavy shelling increased strains on a crumbling ceasefire.

In Berlin, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief said the bloc’s foreign ministers would discuss new punitive measures against Russia next week, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out further economic sanctions for now.

Shelling around Donetsk, the main rebel stronghold, and artillery exchanges elsewhere punctured a truce that has been violated by what Kiev says are armed Russian incursions, and what the rebels call a new offensive by government forces.

“Russian mercenaries are strengthening and reinforcing (rebel) forces near the front line,” Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told a news briefing in Kiev.

He said the rebels had beefed up positions around the port city of Mariupol in the southeast, control of which would open up roads to territory in southern Ukraine that some Western leaders say Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to claim.

NATO CONCERN

The ceasefire agreed on Sept. 5 was intended to end a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people since the separatists rose up in the mainly Russian-speaking east against the Western-looking government in Kiev.

It has been unravelling quickly since separatist leaders were chosen in an election on Nov. 2 which the West said was illegitimate because it violated the terms of the truce.

In what has become the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War, Lysenko said the rebels had received new ammunition, equipment and personnel in the past few days.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned in Berlin against “a return to a situation of two or three months ago with violent clashes and daily killings”.

NATO’s supreme allied commander, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, also expressed concern about the rebel build-up and criticised several close air, land and sea encounters between Russian and NATO forces in the last few weeks.

“In the air those interactions have multiplied, by some accounts, as many as three times … We now see larger (Russian) forces participating, as opposed to one or two bombers in the past,” he said at a NATO base near Naples.

TROOP AND TANKS MOVEMENTS

Russia has denied providing the rebels with military support in a conflict it says was instigated by the West to keep Russia in check on the world stage, but NATO says there is overwhelming evidence it has sent in troops and weapons.

Kiev says a column of tanks and truckloads of troops crossed into east Ukraine from Russia last Thursday and officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation, a body that includes Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Western European countries, have spotted armoured columns moving in the past few days.

A Reuters correspondent saw a convoy of about 50 military trucks without insignia on Tuesday carrying equipment such as artillery guns and missile-launchers near Makiivka, on the eastern outskirts of Donetsk. The OCSE also reported a sighting of what appeared to be the same convoy.

The United States and EU started imposing economic sanctions on Moscow in response to Russia’s seizure of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March, a month after the overthrow of a Moscow-backed president in Kiev following street protests.

The sanctions have deepened an economic slowdown in Russia, and the rouble has lost nearly 30 percent of its value against the dollar this year, but support for Putin is high in Russia and he has not softened his policy on Ukraine.

Alarm is growing in the West at what is increasingly seen as attempts by Putin to keep eastern Ukraine in Moscow’s sphere of influence and bloc Kiev’s campaign to join Europe’s mainstream.

But Merkel, who leads the EU’s most powerful nation, said she opposed anything stronger than an extension to EU travel bans on newly-elected separatist officials when the bloc’s foreign ministers meet in Brussels next week.

“Beyond that, further economic sanctions are not planned at the moment, we are focusing on the winter and the humanitarian situation there and how to get a real ceasefire,” she said.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said the ministers would also discuss increased support for Ukraine, which is near bankruptcy, dependent on international loans and deeply in debt to Russia for natural gas.

By Jeffrey Heller

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian during clashes on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, a day after Palestinian assailants fatally stabbed an Israeli soldier and a woman in attacks that raised fears of a new uprising.

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the violence was not organised and it was not clear if it would lead to an Intifada, like the last Palestinian revolt that began more than a decade ago and died down in 2005.

The military said soldiers killed a 21-year-old Palestinian man at a refugee camp after coming under attack by a crowd hurling petrol bombs and stones. Residents said he was on his roof, away from the clashes when he was shot.

Confrontations also erupted in at least two other West Bank areas, where the army said soldiers shot and wounded two Palestinians.

The violence has raised Israeli concern that a new uprising was brewing, and Israel’s security cabinet convened to assess the situation.

“We’re not seeing masses pouring into the street. We’re seeing, in certain places, young people using grassroots terrorism and lone attackers,” Yaalon told reporters. “What do we call it? Let’s wait and see how it develops. It’s clear there is an escalation.”

With the rise in violence, Israelis wondered if they would again have to worry about security in their daily lives.

“This is the same soundtrack we all remember from the days of the Intifada: you haven’t had time to come to terms with the morning’s terror attack and you’re already wallowing in the next one,” military affairs analyst Alex Fishman wrote in the Yedioth Ahronot daily.

The last Palestinian uprising brought a surge in suicide bombings in Israel and crushing military operations in Palestinian cities.

The new bloodshed has been fuelled by tension over Israeli-controlled access to Jerusalem’s holiest site, revered by Muslims as Noble Sanctuary, where al-Aqsa mosque stands, and by Jews as the mount where Biblical Temples once stood.

“We ask you (Israel) to keep settlers and extremists far away from al-Aqsa mosque and our holy places,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday, following recent visits to the site by far-right legislators. “Keep them away from us and we’ll stay away from them.”

Last week, a Palestinian rammed his car into pedestrians in central Jerusalem, the second such incident at a light railway station in as many weeks.

By Constantinos Psillides

Mighty public sector workers union PASYDY will be challenged from within for the first time in its history as a number of members plan to establish their own union.

The new union could number up to 1,000 members, according to representative Costas Ioannou who gave an interview to CyBC radio.

Ioannou said that the need for an alternative to PASYDY was needed since many public workers don’t agree with the union’s stance on a number of issues. “It’s not because they accepted the pay cuts requested by the government. It’s the fact that PASYDY doesn’t protect our reputation or our work. The leadership of PASYDY is the main reason public sector workers have gotten such a bad reputation in recent years,” said Ioannou. He said more and more people were requesting to leave PASYDY every day.

Ioannou said that the decision to form a new union came about after he and a colleague set up a site for public workers to express their views about PASYDY.

“Immediately on hearing about it, PASYDY decided to strike us both from their records permanently. They kicked us out,” said Ioannou.

The new union-to-be is also dissatisfied with PASYDY boss Glafcos Hadjipetrou, who, Ioannou said, has been in his post for the last 18 years and runs PASYDY on a tight leash.

“They don’t allow for change. They don’t allow for democratic procedures. They keep hurting our image as public sector employees and there are a lot of people disgruntled by the way they run things,” Ioannou said.

He told CyBC that they had addressed a number of questions to the leadership of PASYDY. “We asked them, among other things, why was it that Hadjipetrou keeps being paid the same salary by PASYDY despite the pay cuts imposed by the government? How can they claim they understand what we are going through when they themselves are not subjected to the same pay cuts? The answer we received was that PASYDY cannot impose a pay cut that it protested and had actually taken the government to court for.”

Ioannou said the new union would be officially launched on Wednesday in a meeting at the Cyprus Productivity Centre.

“We believe that the time is right. There is a lot of resentment towards PASYDY in the ranks and we think it’s time for an alternative,” he said.

Daily Phileleftheros reported that the new union’s leadership would have a three-year term and a two-term limit. Any leadership official who gets a promotion will automatically resign his post in the union, while union officials will not receive any payment.