President Nicos Anastasides on Friday underwent medical tests at a private clinic ahead of a planned heart operation at the end of next month.

Anastasiades must undergo surgery on his heart’s mitral valve.

A statement from the presidential palace on Friday quoted Anastasiades as saying he had begun preliminary tests to prepare conditions for a successful  surgery. He was feeling fine, he said.

He also  told reporters who asked, that he would be “partially” relaxing his busy schedule leading up to the operation.

In fact, Anastasiades was due to address the AGM of the Cyprus International Business Association (CIBA) later on Friday but Finance Minister Harris Georgiades will now speak on his behalf at the event.

Anastasiades, 68, has a busy month ahead.  He has an upcoming visit to Israel on December 2 and a possible trip to Moscow, and also the European Council meeting in Brussels on December 17 and 18.  Anastasiades is also slated to visit Abu Dhabi, and the Slovak President is due in Cyprus early in December.

Anastasiades was forced to pull out of a key EU summit last month after suffering continuous nose bleeds, a result of high blood pressure, requiring him to spend two nights in a Brussels hospital.

By Mark Gleeson

EQUATORIAL Guinea will host the 2015 African Nations Cup after Morocco was stripped of the event having asked for it to be postponed over fears of the spread of the Ebola virus, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Friday.

Oil-rich Spanish-speaking Equatorial Guinea, one of Africa’s smallest countries with a population of just over 600,000, hosted the 2012 finals with neighbours Gabon but will take on the 16-team tournament on its own from January 17-February 8.

Morocco was on Tuesday stripped of the right to host the finals with the north African country also disqualified from taking part in the tournament after its request for a postponement was rejected by CAF.

CAF said the decision on the new hosts was made after a meeting in Malabo on Friday between Equatorial Guinea’s president Teodoro Obiang and CAF president Issa Hayatou.

“The head of state of Equatorial Guinea agreed to host the competition. As a result, the CAF executive committee confirm that the tournament will go ahead and Equatorial Guinea will compete as the host nation,” a statement from African football’s governing body said.
Equatorial Guinea had been disqualified from the preliminaries in August for fielding an illegible player.

Matches will be held at four venues in Bata, Ebebiyin, Mongomo and the capital Malabo. In 2012, the tournament was hosted in Malabo and Bata.
The draw for the finals will be in Malabo on December 3, CAF added.

“CAF wishes to express its sincere thanks to the Equatorial Guinean people, its government and particularly president Obiang,” the statement concluded.

By Maria Gregoriou

You know that Christmas is just around the corner when the malls set up their Christmas displays of singing and dancing penguins, of snow flakes dangling from the ceilings and elves in a winter wonder land. The Mall of Cyprus in Nicosia is no exception.

Tomorrow give the kids a little extra treat at the Early Learning Centre in the Mall, which is celebrating its 40th birthday. From 11am until 2pm the shop will be giving out sweets to the little ones from Whittard of Chelsea. Well known to grown-ups for its teas, it also has an array of treats to put you smack centre of the Christmas spirit.

There will also be a live link at the event with Sfera FM and the kids can also get their picture taken with Edward the bear, the shop’s mascot with the green and white bow-tie and also enter into a lottery draw for a chance to take him home. Kids will also learn the gift of giving as you can donate new or old toys to other children. The toys will be given to the Cyprus Red Cross to be handed out to those children in need.

Once you have finished giving the kids that little treat, the Music Therapy Association of Cyprus will be giving out information on music therapy at 1pm until 8pm. They will also be constructing musical instruments at the Mall and giving musical performances, along with other musical activities.

On Sunday the fun continues with an afternoon filled with melodies from famous movies and musicals at the mall. Starting at 4pm Marios Kyriakou will be playing the piano while Andrianna Peppou, Demetra Michael, Sophia Mitsia, Elena Kourtellaridou, Demetris Kourtellaridis, Michael Antoniou and Loukas Soups will be singing along to some famous melodies from the big screen.

40 Year of the Early Learning Centre
Free sweets, a chance to win Edward the bear, and a chance to donate toys to children in need. November 15. Early Learning Centre, The Mall of Cyprus, Nicosia. 11am-2pm. Tel: 77-776255

The Rhythm of Life
Information about music therapy from the Music Therapy Association of Cyprus and musical performances. November 15. The Mall of Cyprus, Nicosia. 1pm-8pm. €1. Tel: 77-776255

Melodies From Famous Movies and Musicals
Live performance of music from famous movies and musicals. November 16. The Mall of Cyprus, Nicosia. 4pm – 6pm. €1. Tel: 77-776255

By Jean Christou

Police have secured 40 convictions for animal abuse and six cases are currently under investigation, Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou said on Friday.

He said over the last three years 107 cases had been investigated, 63 in the last 18 months alone, which he said, indicated the increased importance that was being given to issues of animal welfare.

Nicolaou, who was speaking at a seminar in Nicosia on animal welfare and the role of the police, said the protection and welfare of animals was a serious social issue for the state and local agencies and also the general public.

“It demonstrates the level of education and culture of a people, and the phenomenon of animal abuse that saw the light of day last year was a disgrace to Cypriot society,” he said.

The minister was referring to a spate of abuse over the last 12 months that included a dog being tied to a moving car, another being thrown into a cardboard crusher and dozens of poisonings in the Limassol district in the space of a month.

He referred to the recent cabinet decision to amend the law, which sets out a myriad of provisions regarding licences, microchipping, dog collars with owner information, as well as other offences for which negligent owners can be penalised.

Nicolaou said the draft law also includes a prohibition on dog fights and the use of any materials related to it. It also prohibits keeping dogs on balconies and rooftops, abandonment and cruelty.

The minister said almost all of the offences listed would be ineligible for extra-judicial action, meaning in the majority an offence would result in prosecution.

“Animal welfare can be ensured only if their keepers become aware of their obligations towards them, and when we talk about animals and their wellbeing we are not only talking about pets,” Nicolaou said. He said the law would also apply to farms and zoos “and any animal that comes under human supervision”.

Since last March the government has been holding consultations agencies and animal welfare organizations, with a view to consolidating and processing the proposals to effectively combat the effects of criminal behavior towards animals and the establishment of an independent body for animal welfare.

Nicolaou also said it was imperative that the public, and especially children, become more aware of the responsibility attached to keeping an animal.

He said community policing had been strengthened to encompass animal welfare and that in each district two police officers had been tasked with being the contact point for animal welfare issues.

“At the same time, we have repeatedly stressed the importance of having a greater awareness among members of the police force and we are constantly training officers on all levels to better respond,” he said, adding that 400 officers had already been trained.

“I think we are progressing steadily in the right direction. However we need, effort and cooperation from all to achieve the changes we seek.”

By Martyn Herman

Novak Djokovic added another processional victory to the lengthening list at the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-2 6-2 demolition of subdued CzechTomas Berdych on Friday.

The world number one was virtually guaranteed a semi-final berth before walking on court at the O2 Arena, but made doubly sure by cruising past Berdych in little more than an hour.

A day after Roger Federer dropped only one game beating home favourite Andy Murray to win Group B, Djokovic was also in ruthless mood to top Group A and guarantee ending the year ranked as world number one for the third time.

The Serb has now won 30 indoor matches in succession since the ATP World Tour Finals in 2012.
Of the 11 round-robin matches played at the tournament this year only one has gone to a deciding set.

Djokovic, looking for a third consecutive title at the London year-ender, will face Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals on Saturday when Roger Federer will be up against fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka unless he loses heavily to Croatia’s Marin Cilic later on Friday.

By Stephanie Nebehay

Islamic State commanders are liable for war crimes on a “massive scale” in northeast Syria, where they spread terror by beheading, stoning and shooting civilians and captured fighters, UN investigators said on Friday.

Their report, based on over 300 interviews with witnesses and victims, called on world powers to bring the commanders before the International Criminal Court for both war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“In carrying out mass killings of captured fighters and civilians following military assaults, ISIS (Islamic State) members have perpetrated egregious violations of binding international humanitarian law and the war crime of murder on a massive scale,” said the report.

Foreign fighters have swollen the group’s ranks and dominate its leadership structure, the report said. A separate U.N. report has said 15,000 foreigners have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq.

“The commanders of ISIS have acted wilfully, perpetrating these war crimes … They are individually criminally responsible,” the report added, saying the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, wielded “absolute power”.

Paulo Pinheiro, who chaired the UN panel, told a news conference that its findings would add to a secret list of war crimes suspects from all sides in Syria’s civil war, in which some 200,000 have been killed since March 2011.

Since US-led air strikes began targeting Islamic State in Syria in late September, its fighters have begun taking up positions in civilian houses and farms, leading to civilian casualties, the report said.

It found that Islamic State, also known as ISIS, was depriving 600,000 people in the north of deliveries of food and medical aid, and enforcing its radical interpretation of Islamic law through “morality police”.

These ordered lashings and amputations for offences such as smoking cigarettes or theft; one female dentist in Deir al-Zor had been beheaded for treating patients of both sexes.

“ISIS has beheaded, shot and stoned men, women and children in public spaces in towns and villages across northeastern Syria,” the report said.

Children were being pressed to inform on their parents, women stoned for unapproved contact with men, and Christians, Kurds and other minorities forced to convert to Islam or pay a tax: “Witnesses saw scenes of still-bleeding bodies hanging from crosses, and of heads placed on spikes along park railings.”

Among those slaughtered in Syria were 200 soldiers captured from the Tabqa airbase in Raqqa province, and hundreds of members of the al-Sheitat tribe in Deir al-Zor.

By Niklas Pollard

Sweden has proof that a small foreign submarine was operating illegally in its waters last month, its top military officer said on Friday after a mysterious episode that triggered the country’s biggest military mobilisation since the Cold War.

More than 200 troops, stealth ships and helicopters scoured Baltic waters off the capital Stockholm in October after reports of foreign “underwater activity”, but without finding or bringing to the surface any submarine.

“The military can confirm that a small U-boat breached Sweden’s territorial waters. We can exclude all alternative explanations,” the head of Sweden’s armed forces, General Sverker Goransson, told a news conference.

He said Sweden had not been able to identify which country was behind the intrusion.

The submarine’s presence was picked up by military sensors, Goransson said. Supporting evidence, he said, included a picture showing a bubble pattern typical of a diving submarine and a sonar image of tracks on the sea floor.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said intrusion into Swedish territorial water was unacceptable and that Sweden would bolster its capabilities in detecting and identifying such activity.

“We will defend Sweden’s territorial integrity with all available means,” Lofven said.

The submarine hunt reflected tensions in a region where governments are increasingly worried about Russian assertiveness because of Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis.

Sweden has already said it will increase spending on its military, including up to 70 new fighter jets and new submarines, as it looks to reverse decades of underspending on its armed forces.

The Nordic country has also drawn closer to NATO in the past few years although the current government has ruled out seeking membership of the US-led alliance.

By George Psyllides

DIKO insisted on Friday that Central Bank Governor Chrystalla Georghadji must resign over the issue regarding her contract and potential conflict of interest, even though the latter seems to have been resolved.

The main issue concerned Georghadjis’ daughter Marianna, who worked for her father’s law firm, which represented former Laiki strongman Andreas Vgenopoulos.

It has been claimed that Marianna’s presence created a conflict of interest, even though the governor and her husband have been divorced for around 15 years.

Marrianna quit the law firm on Thursday, insisting however that there was no question of conflict.

In a brief statement she said she would cut off all her ties to the law firm.

This apparently was not enough for DIKO.

“It was not Mrs. Georghadji’s daughter’s resignation that all parties, without exception, had asked for,” spokeswoman Christiana Erotocritou said.

She went on to pose a number of questions regarding the issues raised by President Nicos Anastasiades in a scathing statement on October 31, in which he accused the governor of failing to inform him of the potential conflict posed by her daughter’s job when accepting the post of Central Banker.

He also said that she had at least two provisions altered on the five-year contract template she was given to sign – one barring first-degree relatives of the governor from any job that may induce a conflict with the governorship’s duties, and another bringing her compensation on par with “pay rises afforded to the Central Bank’s permanent staff from 2007 to 2013” adding another €10,000 a year to her salary for her five-year term.

Socialists EDEK demanded a full investigation of the affair to show who was responsible for drafting the contract and who had removed the provision in question.

By Constantinos Psillides

THE highly-publicised trial of suspicious land zoning deals related to Aristo Developers was adjourned for January 12, 2015, following request by defence lawyers on Friday to be allowed more time to review the evidence.

The Paphos Criminal Court judge agreed to the adjournment due to a heavy workload, including a homicide case, adding that the trial will proceed on a daily basis when it resumes in January.

The prosecution lawyer told the court that defence lawyers have been provided with all the evidence as part of the exchange of documents’ process.

Aristo boss Theodoros Aristodemou, his wife and head of design Stavroulla (Roula) Aristodemou, draftsman Christos Solomonides and former municipal employee Savvas Savva had been charged with attempted money laundering, forgery, circulating a false document, conspiring to commit a misdemeanour, securing property registration through false pretences, abuse of power and obtaining property through false pretences.

While the initial charge had been “money laundering”, the prosecution changed it during yesterday’s hearing. Aristodemou’s lawyer, Giorgos Papaioannou, said that it was clear that the aim of the police was to include the money laundering charge – the most serious of charges the defendants faced – during the investigation so that they could have his client remanded and ridiculed.

“Now they tell us they want to change the charge to ‘attempt’,” said the lawyer.

The former Paphos municipal employee is also charged with accepting a bribe and abusing authority.

All four defendants were released on condition that they each signed a €100,000 bail, that they hand in their travel documents and are placed on a stop list preventing overseas travel.

The Aristo case came to light in May, after it emerged that the plans regarding the demarcation of 177 plots in the Skali area in Paphos were switched with new plans, which seemed to cede approximately 3,000 square metres, worth hundreds of thousands of euros, previously designated as green space, back to Aristo.

By Evie Andreou

SOME 3,000 hours of its own video footage, as well as thousands of printed pages and manuscripts have been digitised and are now available to the public, the state broadcaster CyBC announced yesterday, launching the €1.7m project.

The cross-border project called ‘Digital Herodotus’, also includes material from two municipal libraries of the Greek island of Lesvos and was carried out by the University of the Aegean.

The video material of significant historic value will be used for CyBC’s productions, the broadcaster announced.

“This project is deeply cultural and political, since on the one hand it gives citizens the ability to access valuable visual and other material, while on the other hand it allows scientists and ordinary people to research Cyprus’ historic past,” said Interior minister Socratis Hasikos.

The minister, having said a week earlier that CyBC ought to consider laying off some 100 staff and cut costs further, added that through the digitisation process, the public broadcaster’s productivity is increased as everyone’s goal is to turn CyBC into a modern, flexible, efficient and productive organisation that meet the present day demands and standards.

“We cannot remain static forever. We must follow the rules of the game and society’s evolution and we must demand from ourselves to become even better,” Hasikos said.

He added, however, that the recent feasibility study on CyBC’s future, commissioned by his ministry, suggests that the organisation is in dire need of restructuring and modernisation.

By Constantinos Psillides

BOND CREDIT ratings business Moody’s has upgraded Cyprus’ government bond rating to B3 from Caa3 and has also changed the outlook on the government bond rating to stable from positive and affirmed Cyprus’ Not-Prime (NP) short-term rating.

According to a statement issued on Friday, “the upgrade reflects the government’s progress to date in addressing the country’s key challenges with respect to macroeconomic stability, fiscal consolidation and banking sector stability.”

According to the bond credit rating scale, a Caa3 rating means that “the obligor [bond issuer] is currently vulnerable, and is dependent upon favourable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments,” while a B3 rating means that “the obligor is less vulnerable in the near term than other lower-rated obligors. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties and exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.”

The agency attributes the upgrade to two factors: “The consolidation of the government’s fiscal position, as illustrated by an expected return to a primary budget surplus from 2014, and the expectation that public debt relative to GDP will level off in 2015.” The second factor is the “the stabilisation of Cyprus’ financial sector through the recapitalisation of troubled banks, which, to some extent, lowers the risk that bank-related contingent liabilities will crystallise on the government’s balance sheet.

The Moody’s report also notes that Cyprus has exceeded the targets set with the Troika since in 2013 the primary deficit fell to 2.0 per cent of GDP while the adjustment programme called for a 4.2 per cent. Another contributing factor in the island’s success, according to the report, is the fact that the economic contraction in 2013 and 2014 was not as severe as initially expected.

In Moody’s view, the economic and fiscal outperformance increases the likelihood of the government achieving the rest of its medium-term fiscal consolidation targets of reaching a primary surplus of 4 per cent of GDP in 2018, and thereby succeeding in its objective of putting debt on a more sustainable path.

Moody’s also estimates that the government’s fiscal deficit will likely come down to around 3 per cent of GDP in 2014, from 4.9 per cent in 2013 and 5.8 per cent in 2012, and that the primary balance will improve by 2 percentage points in 2014, generating about 0.1 per cent of GDP in surplus.

Moody’s report is not all positive though. The credit rating agency notes that the government bond is constrained by “substantial credit challenges including a weak economic outlook and the very high and still rising non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking sector, which generate further negative risks to the government’s balance sheet.

The credit rate agency upgrade was welcomed by the government, with deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos saying that “it is of great importance and a sign that the country is on the road for recovery.”

In a statement issued on Saturday, Papadopoulos especially welcomed Moody’s comments on the economy exceeding Troika’s expectations

“Of course, obstacles still remain and the core problems that led us to the brink of bankruptcy have not yet been resolved. We need to stay the course and stick to the policy we followed this far until a full recovery is achieved and we go back to a healthy, robust economy with growth and prosperity for all citizens,” read the statement.

Despite the Moody’s rating upgrade, the island’s economy is still stuck in recession according to the news agency Reuters, which cited flash data on Friday.

The data indicate that the pace of decline is flattening out because of a mild yearly increase in tourism revenue and that the output on Cyprus contracted by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter from the second, revised to a fall of 0.4 per cent from an earlier reported 0.3 per cent.

On a yearly basis, GDP fell 2.0 per cent compared with 2.2 per cent in the second quarter, according to Reuters.

“Authorities expect the recession to be narrower than 3.0 per cent for the whole of 2013, and a return to growth of about 0.5 per cent next year. While tourism and trade were performing well in the third quarter, the rate of growth in annual tourism revenue tapered off in August – the last available data – to 2.8 per cent compared to more than 6 per cent in July.”

By a Staff Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT condemns any form of partition and stresses that only an end to the Turkish occupation and the reunification of Cyprus will bring peace, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Saturday, as the north marked 31 years since they unilaterally declared independence.

“It’s 31 years since Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership made their illegal unilateral declaration of the pseudo-state, in the framework of their policy to make permanent and to legitimise the faits accomplis of the illegal Turkish invasion and occupation, and for the division of Cyprus,” said Christodoulides in a written statement, highlighting that the UN Security Council condemned the declaration, characterising it as legally invalid and calling upon all states not to recognise the pseudo-state.

Christodoulides said international condemnation was to be expected since “a lawful outcome cannot be produced as a result of an illegal act such as the use of military force,” referring to the Turkish invasion.

The government spokesman stressed that although more than 30 years had passed, the government continued its struggle aiming at the reunification of Cyprus.

Christodoulides expressed the government’s sorrow that the talks between the two communities had been suspended, explaining that it was due to “the provocative and illegal conduct of Turkey, through the unacceptable violations of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in its Exclusive Economic Zone”.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to participating in the talks, provided that the process is kept away from threats and intimidations.

By Constantinos Psillides

A ROMANIAN inmate in the Central Prison, suspected of taking part in the group rape of another Romanian inmate, received a presidential pardon and was sent back to his country, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said on Saturday.

The rape, that took place in January, came amid public outcry over the alarming conditions inside the Central Prison after five suicides and two suicide attempts all in the span of 18 months. The case even prompted a reaction by President Nicos Anastasiades who visited the 23-year-old rape victim at the hospital and publicly pledged that “heads will roll”.

The mistake, which was only revealed on Saturday, came to light after police officers visited the Central Prison on October 8 to take the Romanian to court but instead found out that he had left the country.

It was then discovered that his name had been put on a list for presidential pardons in August – the prison administration often gives pardons to counter overcrowding – which he received.

According to Angelides, the man was serving a sentence for theft and was scheduled to be released in early 2015. Inmates who committed minor crimes – such as theft, drug use or burglary – when nearing the end of their sentence are usually pardoned by presidential order and in the case of immigrants immediately deported back to their country of origin. The Romanian was back in his country in late August.

It took authorities two months to realise their mistake.

While police investigators completed the report on the group rape and submitted it to the attorney-general’s office, they failed to notify the prison administration, which allowed the suspect inmate to roll through the cracks of standard procedure.

The mistake prompted an irate letter from Deputy Attorney-general Rikkos Erotokritou on October 9, saying that the situation was unacceptable and that deporting a man who was under investigation for a major crime, “is something unheard of”.

Under instructions by Erotokritou the police have issued an international arrest warrant.

Daily Politis reported – citing sources – that Romanian authorities have located the man and are close to arresting him.

By Constantinos Psillides

LAND developers have so far paid only a fraction of their immovable property tax (IPT) for 2014, with reports saying that just €328,000 out of a total of €4.2 million was paid.

In a story run by daily Phileleftheros, a high ranking official with the Inland Revenue Department, Renos Ioannou, is quoted as saying that out of the 214 land developing businesses only a few had settled their outstanding IPT obligations.

This comes a year after the state agreed to facilitate land developers so that they could pay the IPT. In 2013 land developers were required to pay a €7 million in IPT but failed to do so, arguing that the required tax was too steep.

The state reviewed its property value estimation to accommodate the companies and even excluded properties the companies didn’t have a title deed for. Despite the revised taxation, land developers still failed to pay their taxes.

Their unwillingness to pay comes in stark contrast with homeowners, 79 per cent of which paid their taxes in time resulting in a €88 million money injection for the government.

The 214 companies are not the only land developers in trouble. A total of 380 land developers failed to properly file their paperwork so the Inland Revenue Department could issue an estimate for IPT and have not yet responded to requests by the IRD to do so.

In October, the House of Representatives approved extending the deadline for paying the IPT until the end of the year, also extending the 15 per cent discount awarded to companies and homeowners who settle their affairs in time.

By Irene Klotz

A PIONEERING robotic spacecraft shut down on Saturday after radioing results of its first and probably last batch of scientific experiments from the surface of a comet, scientists said.

Batteries aboard the European Space Agency’s Philae comet lander drained, shutting down the washing machine-sized probe after an adventurous and largely unscripted 57-hour mission.

Carried aboard the orbiting Rosetta mothership, Philae floated to the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Thursday, but failed to deploy anchoring harpoons.

Upon contacting the comet’s unexpectedly hard surface, it bounced back up into space twice then came to rest at a still-unknown location about 1 km (0.6 mile) from its original target.

Photos and other data relayed by Philae show it finally landed against a cliff or crater wall where there was little sunlight to recharge its batteries. Racing against the clock, scientists activated a series of automated experiments, the first to be conducted from the surface of a comet.

Before dying, Philae defied the odds and radioed its science results back to Earth for analysis.

Its last task was to reposition itself so that as the comet soars towards the sun, Philae’s batteries may recharge enough for a follow-on mission.

“Perhaps when we are nearer to the sun we might have enough solar illumination to wake up the lander and re-establish communication,” spacecraft operations manager Stephan Ulamec said in a statement.

Scientists are particularly interested in learning about the chemical composition of any organic molecules in samples drilled out from the comet’s body.

Comets are believed to be pristine remnants from the formation of our solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. They contain rock and ice that have preserved ancient organic molecules like a time capsule and may provide insight into how the planets and life evolved.

Philae’s drill descended more than 25 cm (10 inches) on Friday, penetrating the comet’s surface.

Rosetta in August became the first spacecraft to put itself into orbit around a comet. It will accompany the comet as it travels towards the sun for at least another 13 months.

By Constantinos Psillides

THE BANK of Cyprus released on Saturday its official list of candidates for the board of directors, which will be voted in on Thursday, November 20, at the bank’s annual general meeting.

Out of the current board members, up for election will be the bank’s CEO John Patrick Hourican, deputy chairman of the board Vladimir Strzhalkovskiy, Ioannis Zografakis and Marios Kalohoritis.

Candidates decided by the company’s stockholders are Josef Ackermann, Arne Berggren, Maksim Goldman, Christodoulos Patsalides, Mihalis Spanos and the bank’s major stockholder Wilbur Ross.

Zaharias Paleksas will also be a candidate for the board. His name was put forward by the association of former Laiki bank depositors (SYKALA).

The bank’s new board of directors will number more than seven people but no more than 13, in agreement with recent internal regulation changes.

By Alexei Anishchuk and Gernot Helle

Western leaders warned Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit on Saturday that he risked more economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine.

Russia denied any involvement in an escalation of the separatist war in eastern Ukraine, where more than 4,000 people have been killed since April, but faced strong rebukes from leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine,” Harper told Putin at the summit in Brisbane, Australia, according to his spokesman Jason MacDonald.

Putin’s response to the comment was not positive, MacDonald said in an email, without elaborating.

A source in Putin’s delegation told Reuters that the Russian president would leave the summit early, skipping a working breakfast on Sunday, because he needed to return to meetings in Moscow.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any such plans, saying: “This is wrong. The president is taking part in all the (G20) events.”

Western nations have imposed successive rounds of sanctions on Moscow, accusing it of sending troops and tanks to back pro-Russian rebels fighting to break away from Ukraine. Russia denies the charges.

The measures, aimed at sectors like oil and banking, as well as individuals close to Putin, are squeezing Russia’s economy at a time when falling oil prices are straining the budget and the rouble has plunged on financial markets.

Obama said the United States was at the forefront of “opposing Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world, as we saw in the appalling shoot-down of MH17″ — a reference to the downing of a Malaysian airliner over rebel-held territory on July 17, with the loss of 298 lives.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union was considering further financial sanctions against Russian individuals because of the crisis in Ukraine.

“The present situation is not satisfying,” she told reporters. “At present the listing of further persons is on the agenda.”

Putin’s isolation was evident with his placing on the outer edge for the formal G20 leaders’ photograph. While Obama and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping were met by Australia’s governor general and attorney general when they arrived in Brisbane, Putin was greeted by the assistant defence minister.

Despite being under intense pressure, Putin was all smiles, shaking hands with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The host had threatened to “shirt front”, or physically confront, Putin over the downing of MH17, in which 28 Australians died.

ONLY TOPIC

A Kremlin spokesman said the Ukraine crisis was the only topic discussed at a one-on-one meeting between Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron, but he added both expressed interest in “ending confrontation” and rebuilding relations. Putin also met French President Francois Hollande, and both agreed to protect their ties from the effects of sanctions, the spokesman said.

The European Union demanded Moscow withdraw troops and weapons from Ukraine and put pressure on rebels there to accept a ceasefire, after the latest fighting wrecked a truce agreed in September.

EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to assess the situation in Ukraine and whether further steps including additional sanctions are needed against Russia, said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Obama plans to meet European leaders to discuss the matter on Sunday, he added.

Outside the summit, Ukrainian Australians staged an anti-Putin protest, wearing headbands reading “Putin, Killer”.

Draped with the flags of the nations that lost citizens when flight MH17 was shot down, the demonstrators lay on a large Ukrainian flag, in what they said was a protest at the “murderous acts” Russia’s president was responsible for.

Russian state-controlled TV on Friday broadcast what it called “sensational” photographs supporting Moscow’s version that the plan was downed by a Ukrainian fighter jet, but several commentators described the pictures as fakes.

By Martyn Herman

World number one Novak Djokovic ended Kei Nishikori’s impressive debut at the ATP World Tour Finals with a 6-1 3-6 6-0 semi-final victory at the O2 Arena on Saturday.

The Serb was rattled by a mid-match onslaught from the Japanese who came back from a poor start to dominate the second set, only for his challenge to fizzle out in the decider.

Things could have been different had Nishikori, the first Asian man to qualify for the year-ender, converted the two break points he had in the first game of the deciding set.

But Djokovic held firm and quickly regained control to march towards a 31st consecutive victory on indoor courts.

He set up a match point with a searing crosscourt forehand winner and US Open runner-up Nishikori then double-faulted to end the contest after one hour 27 minutes.

Djokovic had gone through the group stage with wins against Marin Cilic, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych for the loss of a mere nine games, a tournament record.

The 27-year-old, who has already clinched the year-end world number one ranking, can become the first man since Ivan Lendl (1985-87) to win three consecutive Tour Finals crowns if he wins on Sunday against either Roger Federer or Wawrinka, who face each other later in an all-Swiss semi-final.

By Mitch Phillips

South Africa held off a fierce England fightback to triumph 31-28 in a thunderous test at Twickenham on Saturday to make it five defeats in a row for Stuart Lancaster’s side 10 months before they host the World Cup.

Two tries put South Africa 20-6 ahead a minute into the second half and though England scored two quickfire rolling maul tries to get level, Schalk Burger got the key third Springbok score and the boot of flyhalf Pat Lambie brought them home.

The victory made it 11 wins and a draw for the Boks against England, dating back to 2006, and was a hugely satisfying one following their defeat by Ireland last weekend.

The frustration for England was that, just as a week ago against the All Blacks, they dominated the early stages but this time failed to turn possession into points and found themselves 10-0 down after 15 minutes after Jan Serfontein intercepted a Danny Care pass.

When England did fashion an opening, poor handling or bad decision-making let them down, encapsulated when massive lock Dave Attwood ignored a two-man overlap and backed himself to get to the line, only to blow the chance.

England had the best of possession and territory in the first half but were generally too lateral in their attacks and only two Owen Farrell penalties kept them in touch at 13-6 down.

That gap became 14 points 38 seconds after the restart when Lambie chipped a perfectly weighted kick into the arms of Willie le Roux which the fullback gathered without breaking stride before slipping a lovely offload for Cobus Reinach to complete a wonderful score.

England needed to hit back immediately and did so emphatically in the way they know best.

A monster maul that South Africa, deprived of sin-binned lock Victor Matfield, were powerless to stop, sent prop David Wilson over and minutes later virtually the entire England team combined for another irresistible 40-metre charge that ended with Ben Morgan making it 20-20.

South Africa showed, however, that they too could score through the forwards when, still with 14 men, they rolled over the corner for Burger to score and Lambie took his side 10 points clear with a penalty and a drop goal.

Centre Brad Barritt scored England’s third try in the last minute but, just as last week, it came too late and merely made the margin of defeat look more respectable.

BOY BAND One Direction and U2 lead singer Bono joined some of the biggest names in British pop and rock music yesterday to record a new version of the Band Aid charity song to raise money to combat Ebola in Africa.

The single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, was first recorded 30 years ago after musician and philanthropist Bob Geldof inspired a host of stars to come together under the Band Aid name to help those affected by famine in Ethiopia.

The song has been given a makeover, with words to the original version which he co-wrote with Midge Ure changed to reflect the current crisis.

“The record, it’s a song, it’s a track but it’s an event, and the next stage now is to turn it into a phenomenon like it was in the 80s,” Geldof told BBC TV as he arrived at a recording studio in west London.

He said he had spoken to British finance minister George Osborne who had agreed to forego the usual tax owed to the government from sales of the record.

“It very much reminds me of 30 years ago. Everyone’s bleary, pop singers, as George Osborne said, are not very good in the morning,” said Geldof, who was frontman for Irish new wave band The Boomtown Rats.

The original song from 1984, which raised 8 million pounds ($11 million), featured some of the era’s biggest acts including U2’s Bono, George Michael and David Bowie. It has been re-recorded twice in 1989 and 2004.

Bono will be joined this time by Robert Plant, frontman of rock band Led Zeppelin, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin and singers Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.

“It’s huge to be involved,” Niall Horan from One Direction told the BBC. “Hopefully it goes to number one and raises a lot of money for a really worthy cause.”

Geldof earlier this week he decided to remake the single after the United Nations contacted him, saying help was urgently needed to prevent the disease from spreading beyond West Africa.

Ebola has killed more than 5,000 people since it broke out in West Africa earlier this year according to the World Health Organisation, mostly in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.