HEATING fuel consumption was 50 per cent down just before the holidays, pump station owners said yesterday, mainly because of the mild weather and economic crisis.

Stephanos Stephanou, chairman of the owners, said consumption was down until December 20, but there had been a small rise in recent days as temperatures dropped.

Despite financial concerns, people were ordering small quantities, around €200-worth, to have around in case it got too cold, he said.

By Angelos Anastasiou

THE court orders for the seizure of personal assets of four of the six found guilty in a land scam involving the illegal purchase by the CyTA Pension Fund of Turkish Cypriot property in Dromolaxia, Larnaca, and the construction of an office-space complex at an inflated price, will only be suspended for the balance if the liquidated assets do not cover the requested amounts, the Assize Court has ruled.

Former CyTA chairman Stathis Kittis, CytaVision boss Orestis Vasiliou, Land Registry official Grigoris Souroullas, and legal entity Polleson Holdings Ltd – all found guilty of participating in the scam – were ordered on Wednesday to return a total €750,000, representing kickbacks received.

Kittis was found guilty of having received €300,000 from businessman Nicos Lillis in order to arrange for the project to be funded by CyTA’s pension fund; Vasiliou, a former union boss at CyTA, was found guilty of having extorted €200,000 from Lillis in exchange for not raising employee resistance to the investment; and Vasiliou, Souroullas and Polleson were deemed guilty of having been paid €250,000 in order to ensure the project runs smoothly. All were ordered to return these funds in cash, otherwise assets belonging to them for the equivalent would be seized by the state.

Although two more individuals – former CyTA board member Charalambos Tsouris and AKEL member Venizelos Zannetos – were found guilty of participating in the conspiracy, the court ruled they had not received any money, thus they were exempted from the asset-seizure orders.

The court also said it would announce sentencing for all six on Monday at noon.

But following argumentation by Vasiliou’s lawyer, Michalis Pikis, who asserted that his client’s assets were worth less than the prosecution claimed, the court issued a second order suspending the seizure of the two amounts relating to Vasiliou – €200,000 in personal kickbacks and €250,000 received jointly with Souroullas and Polleson – but only to the extent of the balance remaining after his assets are liquidated.

According to Pikis, properties in Vasiliou’s name in Kato Drys village and Protaras, Famagusta, are currently valued at a total €135,000.

In its ruling, the court said it fully agreed with the prosecution with regard to asset seizures and approved its requests, but issued a suspension of payment in case the liquidated assets fell short of covering the repayable amounts.

In other words, if Vasiliou’s properties are indeed sold off for a total €135,000, the court order for the remainder to be suspended.

Meanwhile, the court decision – made public on December 22 – made extensive reference to allegations by Zannetos that AKEL’s long-serving deputy and top party official Nicos Katsourides, as well as his son Alexandros, were somehow involved in the case.

In the course of the trial, Zannetos had repeatedly hinted at Katsourides’ and his son’s involvement, but always fell short of substantiating or elaborating on his claims.

“The defence never explained fully and explicitly what it was that these two persons were being accused of, beyond any friendly or business relation they may have had with Nicos Lillis,” the court said.

“Neither did the defence demonstrate that any omission by police investigators in connection with Katsourides has infringed on the defendants’ rights in any way,” it added.

By Gwynne Dyer

“DID you know there’s an oil war? And the war has an objective: to destroy Russia,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a live television speech last week. “It’s a strategically planned war … also aimed at Venezuela, to try and destroy our revolution and cause an economic collapse.” It’s the United States that has started the war, Maduro said, and its strategy was to flood the market with shale oil and collapse the price.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agrees. “We all see the lowering of oil prices,” he said recently. “There’s lots of talk about what’s causing it. Could it be an agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to punish Iran and affect the economies of Russia and Venezuela? It could.” The evil Americans are at it again. They’re fiendishly clever, you know.

We are hearing this kind of talk a lot these days, especially from countries that have been hit hard by the crash in the oil price. Last Thursday, Brent crude hit $55 per barrel, precisely half the price it was selling for last June. The Obama administration’s announcement last week that it is preparing to allow the export of some US oil to foreign markets may send it even lower. (US crude oil exports have been banned since 1973.)

When the oil price collapses, countries that depend very heavily on oil exports to make ends meet are obviously going to get hurt. President Putin, who has let Russia get itself into a position where more than half its budget revenue comes from oil and gas sales (some estimates go as high as 80 per cent) is in deep trouble: the value of the rouble has halved, and the economy has already slipped into recession.

Venezuela, where government spending is certainly more than 50 per cent dependent on oil exports, is in even deeper trouble – and, like Putin in Russia, President Maduro of Venezuela sees this as the result of an American plot. Various commentators in the West have taken up the chorus, and the conspiracy theory is taking root all over the developing world.

So, let us consider whether there really is an “oil war”. The accusation is that the United States is deliberately “flooding the market” with shale oil, that is, with oil that has only become available because of the fracking techniques that have become widespread, especially in the US, over the past decade. Moreover, Washington is doing this for political purposes, not just because it makes economic sense for the United States to behave like this.

In order to believe this conspiracy theory, however, you really have to think that a rational US government, acting in its own best economic interests, would do the opposite: suppress the fracking techniques and keep American oil production low, in order to keep its imports up and the oil price high. But why on earth would it want to do that?

You will note that I am going along with the notion (a necessary part of the conspiracy theory) that all important business decisions in the United States are ultimately made by the US government. That is ridiculous, of course, but we don’t need to refute this delusion in order to settle the question at hand, so let it pass.

Hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) as a means of recovering gas and oil, particularly from shale formations, has its roots in early attempts dating back as far as 1947, but it was the development of cheap and reliable techniques for horizontal drilling in the late 1980s that slowly began to transform the US oil industry.

By 2012, over a million fracking operations had been performed in US wells – but in 2012, last year’s events in Ukraine were unforeseen and the United States and Russia were still on relatively good terms. Many oil-exporting countries were worried by the prospect that rising US oil and gas production would shrink American imports and thereby cut their own profits, but it was still seen as a supply-and-demand problem, not a strategic manoeuvre.

The operators wanted to make a profit, and Washington liked the idea that rising US domestic oil production might end the country’s dependence on imported oil from unstable places so much that it gave tax breaks and even some direct subsidies to the companies developing the fracking techniques. But that’s no more than what any other government of an oil-producing country would have done.

So, did the US develop fracking to hurt its enemies? The dates just don’t work for Russia: fracking was already making US production soar years before Washington started to see Moscow as an enemy. As for Venezuela, it continues to be the fourth-largest exporter of oil to the United States, at a time when the glut of oil on the market would let Washington cut Venezuela out of the supply chain entirely.

And Barack Obama is not opening the flood-gates for massive American oil exports that will make the oil price fall even lower. The US still imports a lot of oil, and will go on doing so for years. He has only authorised the export of a particular kind of ultra-light oil that is in over-supply on the domestic market: only about one million barrels of it, with actual exports not starting until next August.

If this is a conspiracy, it’s a remarkably slow-moving one.

Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries

THE CHAIRMAN of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) Costakis Koutsokoumnis came out with his guns blazing at yesterday’s news conference to answer to criticism directed at the Association, after the allegations made by referee Marios Panayi about corruption and match-fixing.

Koutsokoumnis argued that the CFA had never tried to hide anything, pointing out that any files sent by UEFA – flagged as “possible match-fixing because of increased betting activity” – had been handed over to the police for investigation. All the flagged matches had been made public and a list given to deputies, he said, years before Panayi had made his allegations. The Association had even invited UEFA to send representatives to Cyprus in order to give advice to the police on how to conduct the investigations.

None of these investigations produced results, but the CFA felt it had done its duty. It did not deem it necessary to carry out its own investigation back then, as its chairman is offering to do now, with regard to the Panayi allegations. At last month’s AGM, Koutsokoumnis had suggested a CFA investigation to the club chairmen and a decision was to have been taken at a meeting scheduled for yesterday evening. This sudden desire of the CFA to investigate its own house was, quite rightly, questioned by justice minister Ionas Nicolaou, who asked how an independent committee appointed by the CFA would investigate allegations directed at the association.

A perfectly legitimate point when we consider that the man at the centre of Panayi’s allegations was the vice-chairman of the CFA. Koutsokoumnis claimed a disciplinary committee by his Association would be able to take into account evidence that the police could not, given the restrictions placed on them by the law. Panayi could submit evidence that might not have been admissible in court to the committee, he said. This is not a very smart suggestion. Apart from the fact that nobody would trust the CFA not to cover its own people, an honest investigation that came up with nothing would be seen as a whitewash.

In fact, Koutsokoumnis gave the impression that he did not want the police involved in the matter, claiming that Panayi had not provided any primary evidence and predicting the police would find it “extremely difficult” to perform a successful investigation. He may be right, but what he and the club chairmen do not seem to realise is that there is no public trust or confidence in the CFA, a view that was reinforced by what he said at yesterday’s news conference. For too long, the CFA washed its hands of what was going on in football for its current interest in investigating allegations of corruption to be taken seriously.

By Maria Gregoriou

New Division is a place in Nicosia where you know you can go to just have a good time, to relax over a few drinks, some good music and good company without having to worry about dressing to impress or face control.

Although many places in the capital are becoming more laid back, New Division has been the place for years where anyone who is looking for something outside the mainstream can go.

Tomorrow the venue is offering that something different with the band Touch Response who will be sharing with the audience some of their brand new songs.

The five-member band – Stefanos Ioannides on vocals and acoustic guitar, Stelios Frangos on lead guitar, Vassilis Palamas on rhythm guitar and the harmonica, Afroditi Nicolaou on bass, and Frixos Protopapas on drums – will perform their signature cocktail of music genres.

So if you enjoy reggae, ska, the blues, funk and rock, the band will be sure to touch on all your musical preference keys.

Touch Response
Rock, Reggae, and Ska performances from the band. January 4. New Division, Nicosia. 9pm. Free. Tel: 22-679957

By Angelos Anastasiou

AS Cyprus Airways’ prospects seem bleaker than ever, President Nicos Anastasiades needs to knock on every door in order to persuade the European Union that the company can become viable and attract a strategic investor, employee union SEK’s leader Nicos Moiseos said yesterday.

To this end, the union sent a letter to Anastasiades informing him that all CY employee unions have agreed to further cuts as part of an updated restructuring plan for the ailing airline.

The carrier, whose future hinges on an imminent European Competition Commission ruling on whether some €80m injected into the company by previous governments constitute state aid – forbidden by European competition law – and must be returned, triggering its immediate bankruptcy, has failed to attract a strategic investor willing to inject capital and take it over, despite efforts by the government and the board since last summer.

“On December 23, a deal was clinched with the company on new cuts of worker rights in order to finalise the updated restructuring plan,” Moiseos said. “The aim is to persuade the European Competition Commission to approve the continuance of CY’s operation.”

While speculation is rife that the competition commission’s ruling – reportedly already pushed back to allow Cyprus to solve the airline’s problems – will be negative and could be announced as early as next week, Moiseos insisted that no decision has been made yet.

“This is a safe assumption,” he told state radio. “The government is preparing an updated restructuring plan to present to the European authority in the coming days – which it would not be doing had a decision been made.”

Moiseos said all employee unions agreed to the new terms, except for the pilots. Their union PASYPI has long been waging a war against the government’s handling of the issue and has opposed most all of the action taken, even taking to the courts in order to safeguard their rights.

“The pilots’ strategy all these years is well-established,” said Moiseos. “They choose to represent the interests of their small member-group only.”

As if to drive the point home, PASYPI was quick to issue a statement blasting Finance minister Harris Georgiades and – especially – Communications minister Marios Demetriades, whom they accused of launching a “disinformation” campaign and deemed “dangerous to the public.”

“President Anastasiades, who preaches a zero-tolerance policy on scandals and corruption, should start from the Communications minister, whom we consider a danger to the state and the public, before it is too late,” the pilots said.

They were referring to allegations of Demetriades’ involvement in two investment funds linked with Piraeus Bank – which both bank and minister stated has not been the case since Demetriades was appointed – and suggesting this constituted a conflict of interest.

Predictably, the attack sparked a reaction from the Communications minister.

In a statement, Demetriades countered that he has responded publicly to “all baseless allegations.”

“Cyprus Airways have come to such a tragic state because no one has ever had the courage and the boldness to implement the required solutions,” he said. “Anyone who claims to have evidence on any issue that concerns me must deliver it to the Auditor-general immediately.”

“Simple truth is stronger than lies and mud-slinging, even if some try for the opposite,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Cyprus Tourist Agents’ association (ACTA) listed the uncertainty surrounding the future of Cyprus Airways as one of its key challenges in the new year.

“The association has asked for the immediate appointment of a Tourism Undersecretary or Commissioner, who would be strengthened by the creation of a National Tourism Committee comprising tourism bodies from the private and public sectors, as well as industry experts,” ACTA said in a statement.

“We stand ready to join forces with the state and other tourism stakeholders, in order to contribute to the resolution of the tourism industry’s problems,” it added.

By Chris Nusatya and Fergus Jensen

Ships searching for the wreck of an AirAsia passenger jet that crashed with 162 people on board have pinpointed two “big objects” on the sea floor, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said on Saturday.

The Airbus A320-200 plunged into the Java Sea on Sunday while en route from Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya to Singapore. No survivors have been found.

“We have detected two objects underwater (at) 30 metres depth,” said search and rescue agency chief Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo. “At this moment we are operating the ROV to take pictures of the objects.”

A multi-national task force of ships, planes and helicopters have been scouring the northern Java Sea and coastline of southern Borneo to recover the bodies of victims and locate the wreck of Flight QZ8501 and its black box flight recorders.

The latest break in the massive search and recovery operation comes after Indonesian authorities questioned whether the pilot had followed correct weather report procedures, and suspended Indonesia AirAsia’s Surabaya to Singapore flights for apparently infringing the terms of its licence for the route.

The two objects were found just before midnight on Friday, Soelistyo told a news conference in Jakarta, and the search and rescue agency was attempting to get images using remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV).

The first object measured 9.4 metres by 4.8 metres by 0.4 metres (30 feet by 15 feet by 1.3 feet), while the second is 7.2 metres by 0.5 metres (24 feet by 1.6 feet), he said.

Soelistyo said operating ROVs was problematic due to the large waves in the area that have hampered operations for much of the week, but that divers were preparing to search for the objects.

RECOVERING VICTIMS

Much of the effort has focused on finding victims of the crash. Officials said 21 bodies were pulled from the sea on Friday, including two still strapped in their seats, bringing the total number of victims recovered to 30.

Small pieces of the aircraft and other debris have also been found, but there has been no sign of the crucial voice and flight data recorders – the so-called black boxes that investigators hope will unravel the sequence of events in the cockpit during the doomed jet’s final minutes.

“After the black box is found, we are able to issue a preliminary report in one month,” said Toos Sanitioso, an investigator with the National Committee for Transportation Safety on Friday. “We cannot yet speculate what caused the crash.”

Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said the search area had been widened on Saturday as debris may have drifted more than 200 nautical miles, adding helicopters would concentrate on searching the coastline of southern Borneo.

The cause of the crash, the first suffered by the AirAsia group since the budget operator began flying in 2002, is unexplained.

The plane was flying at 32,000 ft (9,753 metres) and the pilot had asked to climb to 38,000 ft to avoid bad weather just before contact was lost about 40 minutes into the two-hour flight to Singapore.

When air traffic controllers granted permission to fly at 34,000 ft a few minutes later there was no response from the plane.

A source close to the investigation said radar data appeared to show the aircraft made an “unbelievably” steep climb before it crashed, possibly pushing it beyond the A320’s limits.

LICENCE SUSPENDED

Indonesia’s transport ministry said late on Friday it had temporarily suspended Indonesia AirAsia’s Surabaya-Singapore flight because it had apparently operated the service beyond the scope of its licence, which permitted flights on four days of the week but not Sundays, when the crash occurred.

“As of Jan. 2, 2015, the licence of Surabaya-Singapore (return) route to Indonesia AirAsia is temporarily frozen until after there is a result of evaluation and investigation,” said spokesman Julius Adravida Barata.

Hadi Mustofa Djuraid, a transport ministry official, told reporters on Friday that authorities were also investigating the possibility that the pilot did not ask for a weather report from the meteorological agency at the time of take-off.

Indonesia AirAsia said in a statement that weather reports were printed in hard copy at the operations control centre at all its flight hubs, including Surabaya, and taken by the pilot to the aircraft before each flight.

An AirAsia spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the pilot had followed the procedure described in the statement. She also declined to comment on whether the Sunday flight was beyond the terms of its licence, but said the airline was cooperating fully with the authorities.

The Indonesian captain, a former air force fighter pilot, had 6,100 flying hours on the A320 and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, according to Indonesia AirAsia, 49 percent owned by Malaysia-based AirAsia.

Three airline disasters involving Malaysian-affiliated planes in under a year have spooked travellers.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew and has not been found. On July 17, the same airline’s Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

On board Flight QZ8501 were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain. The co-pilot was French.

By Maria Gregoriou

The Christmas Mystery 2014 event is still going on strong in Limassol and if you haven’t managed to visit the spectacular Christmas market yet then tomorrow may be your chance as Cypriot singer Michalis Hatzigiannis will be giving a concert at 8pm.

The singer will be helping extend the magic of Christmas for just a little bit longer with a lively and very rhythmic performance.

Hatzigiannis, from Nicosia, left Cyprus to seek success in Greece after representing Cyprus in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988. Since then he has become one of the most successful artists of the decade.

Apart from releasing a number of personal albums for which he composed the music, he has also written music for other very famous Greek artists including Eleftheria Arvanitaki and Eleni Peta.

Hatzigiannis is not only making waves in Greece and Cyprus, he is also making a name for himself throughout Europe with his English singles entitled More Than Beautiful and Everyone Dance.

There is only a week left of Christmas Mystery 2014, so get the festive cheer, jumping concerts and ice skating opportunities while they are still hot.

Christmas Mystery 2014
Concerts, Christmas markets, activities for kids and ice skating. Until January 11. Ayios Athanasios Industrial Area, Agios Athanasios, Limassol. Different times. €5/2 for concerts. Tel: 99-009578

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman says leading his team into the FA Cup third round is a special experience for him.

The Saints, fourth in the Premier League after beating Arsenal 2-0 on Thursday, host second tier Ipswich Town on Sunday.

“I remember when I was a young kid watching the FA Cup final from Holland and I always wanted to play some sort of part in the competition in my career,” Koeman told reporters on Friday.

“Cup final sounds like a special day. I remember speaking to Ruud Gullit about his experiences with Chelsea and it sounds like something I’d love to be involved in.

“It’s a long way to Wembley and you have to beat a few teams to get there, but it all starts on Sunday.”

Southampton made a superb start to the season, confounding their critics who predicted a difficult campaign following the departures of several leading players.

They lost five games in a row before Christmas but have halted the slump and are now back in contention for a top-four finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.

Koeman has bolstered his squad with the signing of Dutch international Eljero Elia on loan from Germany’s Werder Bremen.

The 27-year-old has been compared with controversial Liverpool forward Mario Balotelli having been involved in several arguments with fans on social media.

“If I had doubts about his private life I wouldn’t sign him,” Koeman told the BBC.

“It’s the press and rumours, it’s not true. We need really good players who want to develop themselves and be professional here.

“He is happy because he was looking for the next step of his career because he has not been playing in Germany,” Koeman added.

“He is a good option for us and it can be very good for both parties.

“I believe in his qualities. He is fast, can play from the left and the right, and can take people on, one against one. He is hungry and that is the most important thing.”

Southampton have also agreed a contract extension with Japanese defender Maya Yoshida to keep him at the club until 2018.

Results from the English FA Cup matches on Friday
2nd Round
Friday, January 2
Milton Keynes Dons (III) – Chesterfield (III) 0-1 (halftime: 0-1)
Cardiff City (II) – Colchester United (III) 3-1 (halftime: 1-0)

Next Fixtures:
3rd Round
Saturday, January 3
Games kickoff at 17.00
Charlton Athletic (II) v Blackburn Rovers (II)
Rochdale (III) v Nottingham Forest (II)
West Bromwich Albion v Gateshead (V)
Blyth Spartans v Birmingham City (II)
Rotherham United (II) v AFC Bournemouth (II)
Huddersfield Town (II) v Reading (II)
Tranmere Rovers (IV) v Swansea City
Bolton Wanderers (II) v Wigan Athletic (II)
Millwall (II) v Bradford City (III)
Derby County (II) v Southport (V)
Brentford (II) v Brighton and Hove Albion (II)
Fulham (II) v Wolverhampton Wanderers (II)
Leicester City v Newcastle United
Cambridge United (IV) v Luton Town (IV)
Barnsley (III) v Middlesbrough (II)
Preston North End (III) v Norwich City (II)
Doncaster Rovers (III) v Bristol City (III)

Sunday, January 4
Dover Athletic (V) v Crystal Palace (1500)
Sunderland v Leeds United (II) (1500)
Queens Park Rangers v Sheffield United (III) (1500)
Southampton v Ipswich Town (II) (1700)
Stoke City v Wrexham (V) (1700)
Manchester City v Sheffield Wednesday (II) (1700)
Aston Villa v Blackpool (II) (1700)
Yeovil Town (III) v Manchester United (1730)
Chelsea v Watford (II) (1800)
Arsenal v Hull City (1930)
Monday, January 5
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur (2145)
AFC Wimbledon (IV) v Liverpool (2155)

By Hermes Solomon

GREECE will hold a snap general election on January 25, throwing the country into a new period of political turmoil just as it ‘emerges’ from economic crisis.

In my Sunday Mail article of two weeks ago (DIKO orchestrated chaos…) I predicted: ‘Greece leaves the Eurozone and Cyprus follows as repeated general strikes hand over seats of power to the far left – in our case, 94-year-old, Dr Vassos Lyssarides assisted by 84-year-old, George Vassiliou!’

Well, the old men bit of the prediction was undoubtedly satirical, whereas Greece leaving the Eurozone after handing over power to SYRIZA (Synaspismos tis Rizospastikis Aristeras – Coalition of the Radical Left) seems increasingly likely.

If SYRIZA is elected, it would be the first time an anti-bailout party, determined to overturn the austerity approach prescribed since the start of the Eurozone Crisis, comes to power in Europe.

“With the will of our people, in a few days, bailouts tied to austerity will be a thing of the past,” SYRIZA leader, Alexis Tsipras said after last Monday’s vote. “The future has already begun.”

European Central Bank quantitative easing to stimulate growth as EU economies strive to keep their heads above water while watching Greece drown, will not dissuade Greeks [and others] from voting for radical change.

What good is QE to Greece with its 260 billion euro bail-out, when Cyprus only requires 11 billion (plus the two and half we owe to Russia), and at one eleventh the size and population of Greece sinking as fast.

This past six months, the euro has fallen in value against the dollar by ten per cent and against the pound by five per cent. A one euro one dollar exchange rate is no longer unrealistic.

Agreed, dollar purchased oil prices are sitting at a five year low thus the fall in the value of the euro can, to some extent, be offset by cheaper oil, which means cheaper production costs and cheaper goods. But if there is no money in our pockets to purchase the goods, EU stagflation is inevitable.

Cyprus might well follow Greece in leaving the Eurozone as the percentage of Non-Performing Loans rises unstoppably, making our banks unviable; with NPLs touching 50 per cent, massive write offs are unavoidable.

Do ask Harris Georgiades why a SYRIZA-led Greece will not affect Cyprus? Similar ‘talk’ predicting Cyprus escaping Greek financial mayhem was spouted in 2009 by the then AKEL government’s minister of finance, ‘Kikling’ Kazamias!

President Anastassiades seeking political party consensus is an admission he’s holding ‘a busted flush’ after 22 months in office. His New Year Speech to the nation was a take on the Chinese president, Xi Jin Ping’s, “There will be no let up to the crackdown on corruption in public life in 2015. No one – neither politicians nor VIPs – will be spared.” How could any such crackdown avoid implicating Nik and his cronies? And then who will rule the country?

Contradictory statistics abound as the Central Bank of Cyprus claims that bank deposits rose to 45.8 billion euros in November or 4.4 per cent compared to a year before, yet the population in the government controlled areas decreased by almost 1.0 percent last year according to the statistical services’ demographic report for 2013 – rats abandoning a sinking ship?

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has said it was doing everything possible to restrain the downward trend displayed by the Russian market – the island’s second biggest after the UK – but did not tell us what the doing was.

And just why is the government only now looking into allowing SMEs to pay overdue VAT and social insurance through instalments, although ‘the justice dept. will not suspend prosecutions across the board’ affirmed our Minister of Justice, Ionas Nicholaou? Isn’t that rather like herding all ‘cattle’, including foreclosures on first homeowner NPLs, into the same abattoir?

What with government unsubstantiated promises of ‘massive’ investment to come from foreign investors this February, leading to a ‘miraculous’ economic upturn, have we yet to accept that promises are only made to temporarily calm public disquiet?

Please note that while our politicians have been ‘messing around’, the Turkish stock market index (XU 100) has grown by 30 per cent in 2014 and ours (CSE) declined by the same amount. Shareholders know – they predict the likely outcome of any economy. It is they our government should take note of, not sheiks in Qatar or maharajas in India, fund managers on Wall Street or European bankers, who will, after exploiting what’s left of Cyprus, export ‘profits’ to tax havens.

Turkey is the closest and richest neighbour of Cyprus and we refuse to even talk to her, Barbaros or not. Must we wait until we’re starving before doing lots of business with Turkey like Greece is now doing?

We are all whores when it comes to filling our stomachs. Brussels, the ECB and the IMF are the cause of our hunger as they grow fatter on increased taxation/austerity of the masses hopelessly struggling on ever dwindling incomes!

Unemployed and taxed into financial oblivion – with the important food and welfare infrastructure reduced to mocking bribery – you only have to talk to any intelligent impoverished Athenian shopkeeper or Mani olive-grower to grasp that they already have nothing.

Berlin and Brussels will ‘crush’ SYRIZA. But as the man said, “People with nothing left have nothing to lose”.

And that’s what the majority of Cypriots will be saying by the end of 2015…

By Constantinos Hadjistassou

The announcement of a dry well at the “Onasagoras” prospect was like a bolt out of the blue. This was partly due to the high expectations cultivated around the discovery of potentially vast quantities of natural gas. Meanwhile the collapse in oil prices complicates matters even more if you consider that drilling the well cost at least $100m, and this at a time when oil companies are drastically cutting costs.

Given the comparatively low success rate in hydrocarbon discoveries worldwide – 33 per cent in 2010 – the developments in offshore bloc 9 should come as little surprise. Suffice to say that prior to the discovery of oil in the North Sea, in 1969, by what was then Phillips Petroleum, 32 unsuccessful holes had been drilled. As that famous 19th century wildcatter John Galey once remarked, “Only Dr Drill knows,” an apt comment meaning that unless and until you drill all the rest is speculation.

Let us not forget also that the south-eastern part of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was up until recently almost unexplored. Although the “Onasagoras” well came up dry, the drill has yielded certain significant finds. Processing of geological data from the bedrock, drill cuttings and linewire logs will generate invaluable insights for future hydrocarbon discoveries and licensing in the EEZ. A better understanding of the geology in the area of the licensed blocs, in conjunction with data from geophysical surveys – seismic and magnetic – and mud logs can noticeably raise the chances of locating potential natural gas and oil reserves. To this end, the competent government ministries should set up a team to collect, process and safeguard this data.

Also important is the fact that the ENI-KOGAS consortium is contractually obliged, under its licensing agreements for blocs 2, 3 and 9, to drill three more wells, starting with the promising geological formation dubbed “Amathusa.” The next drill location will again be taking place within bloc 9, but this time closer to the “Aphrodite” gas field. Presumably this is not an accidental decision as the new site (hydrocarbon play) possibly bears geological similarities to those of “Aphrodite,” “Tamar,” “Leviathan” and “Tanin” which have yielded proven hydrocarbon systems. A case in point is the North Field offshore Qatar and Iran: although a part of it was initially discovered in 1971, it took decades before people understood that it was the single largest gas field in the world. North Field has reserves of over 900 trillion cubic feet, covering a surface area of some 9,700 square kilometres – about the size of Cyprus.

Turkish harassment is another challenge which Cyprus will have to deal with over the course of the coming prospecting. With Cyprus, the Turks are attempting something similar to the Imia crisis of 1996 and the freeze on oil and natural gas exploration in the Aegean. That is to say, their aim is to transform the Cyprus EEZ into contested waters. The logic is that if they cannot control, via the Turkish Cypriots, the island’s energy resources – which Turkey badly needs for domestic utilisation- their next best option is to halt any such activity. Frequent statements by Turkish officials, speaking of the need to transport Cyprus’ natural gas to the EU via Turkey, suggest that from their standpoint Turkey is the natural consumer of this gas.

One of the goals of the Turkish propaganda is to foster the impression that Greek Cypriots are pressing ahead with unilaterally exploiting the island’s natural resources. This urgently begs the question as to whether the Greek Cypriot side possesses the diplomatic creativity to win minds and reverse this impression. It is said that we should limit ourselves to actions that will incur a major political cost on Turkey, but this is an abstraction lacking any evidence for crafting a flexible energy diplomatic course.

Perhaps the greatest danger currently preventing us from exploiting our natural resources is the political inflexibility on the domestic front. Absent some “appeasing” moves underscoring the central government’s intention to treat equitably all citizens of the Republic, there is a clear and imminent danger of further entanglements in the EEZ. As an argument, the comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem is not enough when it comes to sharing natural gas proceeds. Although our political system is hardly famous for its imagination, simply responding to events is no longer a choice, given the high stakes. The price of failing to accurately assess the situation and in a proactive manner, or to take preventative measures, could well afford more pretexts to exert pressure on the Greek Cypriot side. The indications from various countries with influence in the eastern Med suggest that the dynamics created around natural gas will irrevocably shape the solution of the Cyprus problem.

It should also be noted that the inertia on the domestic front could be shaken up by a new crisis, which we will be able to deal with only on a diplomatic and political level. Let us hope that the handling of the key issue of natural gas allows us to exploit this valuable resource which we so need to upgrade our country geopolitically, technologically, but chiefly economically.

Constantinos Hadjistassou is a lecturer at the University of Nicosia and a researcher with the KIOS Centre, University of Cyprus

By Ertan Karpazli

GREEK Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades called off the Cyprus peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots in early October, a little over seven months after both governments issued a joint declaration pledging their cooperation to settle the Cyprus problem. His decision to suspend the negotiations came about as a result of Turkey sending a seismic vessel into what the Greek Cypriots have defined as their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

While the Greek Cypriot side has demanded the withdrawal of the Barbaros Hayreddin vessel from the area before talks can recommence, Turkey insists that it sent the vessel in protest against the Greek Cypriots exploiting hydrocarbon reserves off the island’s shores before the dispute has been resolved. Therefore, it is unlikely Turkey will withdraw from the area until Anastasiades reaffirms his commitment to achieve a solution by suspending drilling in Block 9.

However, cracks began to appear in the talks long before the Turkish vessel entered the island’s waters. In July, President Anastasiades stormed out of a meeting with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Dervis Eroglu after the two leaders failed to agree on pushing the talks forward to the give-and-take phase. Also, it soon became clear that Anastasiades was beginning to backtrack on UN-approved agreements made between his predecessor Demetris Christofias and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

Early in December, Eroglu claimed that the Greek Cypriot side was only using the breach of its waters as an excuse to leave the negotiations, highlighting the fact that talks had continued despite Turkey having previously sent its Koca Piri Reis vessel to the island three years earlier.

Indeed, Anastasiades is having trouble convincing his people to accept the conditions of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, which would see the official partition of the island into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south under the roof of one united government. Greek Cypriot critics of the plan outlined in February’s joint declaration, such as DIKO party leader Nicolas Papadopoulos, argue that it amounts to the recognition of Turkish sovereignty in the north.

The problem for Anastasiades is that he is caught between the demands of the international community and those of his people. A poll published by Al Jazeera on the 40th anniversary since the 1974 war showed that 64 per cent of Greek Cypriots oppose the bi-zonal, bi-communal plan. Meanwhile, Western powers are urging a hasty solution to the problem so that Turkey may become a feasible route for pipelines linking Europe to the eastern Mediterranean, especially since Europe is seeking to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

In the midst of all this pressure, does Anastasiades really dare to take the talks back to the drawing board? If the banishment of the Turkish Cypriots from the Republic of Cyprus government in 1963 is taken as the starting point of the Cyprus problem, it has taken half a century of bickering for the two sides to arrive at February’s joint declaration, which was an important milestone. Abandoning already established agreements in order to reset the talks could extend the status quo by another 50 years. If anything is agreed, it is that neither the international community nor the people of Cyprus have the patience to wait any longer for a solution.

As a leader who voted in support of the Annan Plan for the reunification of Cyprus in 2004’s referendum, surely this is not the outcome Anastasiades is aiming to achieve. It is clear, however, that the Greek Cypriots will not be returning to the negotiations until Turkey backs down, and in November they successfully lobbied the European Parliament Plenary to call on Turkey to leave the island’s waters. The Greek Cypriots have also been cooperating with Greece, Egypt and Israel over the eastern Mediterranean reserves in an attempt to form an anti-Turkey coalition, which would see Turkey excluded from any deals made.

While feasibility studies are set to commence over a proposed undersea pipeline from Cyprus to Greece, experts have already dismissed the project due to the distance, extreme depths and seismic activity in the region. It is safe to say that for this reason Turkey will not be intimidated into backing down as it is assured of its necessity as a potential energy hub for any gas destined for the European market.

Turkey and Russia, meanwhile, furthered their ever-improving ties in December after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the cancellation of the South Stream pipeline, which was due to supply Europe with gas via Bulgaria. In its place he announced plans to re-route the pipeline to Turkey. However, many experts have also doubted this project, and with the rouble tumbling fast due to sanctions placed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea in March, Turkey may soon be left with no choice but to reaffirm its commitment to the European Union accession process.

Of course, Turkey cannot become a member of the EU unless it has the full blessing of all its members, including the Republic of Cyprus, which upholds the right to veto Turkey’s application. Turkey would also be required to recognise the Republic of Cyprus and end what the international community deems to be the “occupation” of the north.

The gradual decline of Russia is sending shockwaves around the world. Even the United States and Cuba have decided to re-establish bilateral relations. Using this example, the Cypriot High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Euripides Evriviades, on his personal Twitter page urged Turkey to follow suit and normalise its relations with Cyprus.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has already taken brave new steps to break the deadlock, having called Anastasiades to wish him well following his recent heart surgery. In his latest visit to Greece, Cavusoglu also invited his counterpart Evangelos Venizelos to accompany him on an official visit to Nicosia.

The Greek Cypriot side said it would welcome Cavusoglu’s visit “through the legal entry points”, but rejected a four-part meeting which would see the unrecognised TRNC represented alongside Greece. However, there is now a genuine concern among Turkish Cypriots that Anastasiades may be taking advantage of changing political tides to seek recognition of his administration by Turkey. Such a move would bring talks back to square one, but this time the added ingredient of hydrocarbon reserves may work as an incentive to gain Turkey’s cooperation.

Already troubled by Syria and the Kurdish issue, as well as strained ties with the West and Arab nations, Turkey risks becoming isolated in the region unless Russia manages to pull through its imminent recession. However, in the event of a Russian collapse, Turkey is unlikely to remain on board a sinking ship. After all, even the Greek Cypriots jumped off, or rather, were pulled off that ship by the EU long ago.

Perhaps it is time for the Turkish Cypriots to take heed of the plight of their ethnic brethren in Crimea and Kirkuk – who know all too well about being sidelined for the sake of Turkey’s national interests – and begin pulling their own strings. Even Pinocchio would have probably ended up as firewood had he not become a “real boy”.

Ertan Karpazli is an opinion writer and news analyst based in Istanbul. He is the co-founder of Cezire Association and tweets @ErtanKarpasya. Email  ertan.karpaz@gmail.com

By Linda Leblanc

AS A Pegeia municipal councillor for eight years, I have often referred to this part of Cyprus as the ‘’wild west’’. I’m delighted to see its collapse upon itself with revelations of corruption in Paphos of such magnitude, rather like a Greek tragi-comedy. This is culturally fitting, with the Ancient Greeks having so well-identified many human failings such as hubris and nemesis (pride before the fall) and Heracles’ task of cleaning the Augean stables (particularly appropriate given that sewerage has been the main focus of the corruption scandals). One of my favourites is Diogenes the Cynic, criticising social values and corrupt institutions, carrying his lantern in search of an honest man.

That search is now on in Paphos, with an eagerly awaited election for a new mayor on January 11. Polls predict the lowest abstention rate in years. Many hope that another trend might be reinforced too – loss of support for the big political parties that are widely held responsible for the Paphos sleaze (and other problems that plague Cyprus).

A record number of eight candidates are standing for election. From the first hint of an approaching election, the big political parties began their manoeuvring to manipulate candidate choice. While frantically trying to distance themselves (and escape responsibility) from the scandals, they still desperately cling to their failed ‘business as usual’ mentality. Not surprisingly, the egos of the political establishment were unable to agree on a common candidate. One candidate is even an insider from the same political party as the disgraced former mayor and has the support of three major political parties, spanning the far left to right spectrum of political views. This scenario reveals much about how little things have changed as far as the ruling autocrats are concerned. Let’s hope they are living in a daydream and that the nightmare they have created in Cyprus will end with the Paphos electorate abandoning its slavish adherence to party diktats. This conditioning and (mis)behaviour has led the country to bankruptcy, both economically and ethically.

Just a few bad apples?

It must be clear to most sane residents of this once-sacred paradise island that the grand scale of corruption is the result of the entrenched mafia-style rule by the big political parties. This is not just a few bad apples here and there, but an entire orchard: a kleptocracy rotten to the core.

A tame, cowed electorate has been conned into supporting this system in the false belief that they benefit too. A vast majority of voters seem to be satisfied with the small slops reluctantly shared by the pigs at the trough. Given the long history of Cyprus, which has suffered deeply from occupation after occupation, one must consider the possibility that a “serf” mentality has become embedded here. The occupation of modern Cyprus by the big political parties is just the latest in a long chronicle of suppression and exploitation. It is time for this to end.

Cyprus desperately needs radical changes if it is ever to evolve into a 21st century state capable of dealing with the unprecedented challenges looming ahead in the near future. Let’s remember that radical means to grasp things at the root. Let’s hope the voters of Paphos have the courage to break free from the stranglehold of the big political parties and vote for deep structural reform. If it happens in Paphos, it could roll like a tsunami across the island.

For those readers who have failed to register to vote, I can only strongly urge that you do so – and soon. While the next municipal elections are scheduled for less than two years from now, there could be a by-election at any time in your town or village in the not unlikely event of Paphos-style revelations. That’s how we got started in Pegeia, with a snap by-election in 2005 when the previous mayor was forced to resign, supposedly on health grounds. Since the Paphos scandals emerged, I’ve even heard Cypriots joking that in Pegeia we will need a bus to take the corrupt ones to jail. Let’s hope the auditor general’s threats to widen the investigations across Cyprus will come to fruition.

I have, however, witnessed some small changes which give a hint of hope. Since the Troika imposed tighter controls, Pegeia council has been more careful when it comes to turning the usual blind eye to illegalities by friends and families. It’s been gratifying to hear the mayor at council meetings declaring that he isn’t prepared to go to jail over violations. That’s definitely something new.

Concerning the required public service reforms ahead, I’m counting on external pressure to achieve this. What I’ve seen so far about the overhaul of local authorities leads me to conclude that Pegeia municipality is still living in cloud cuckooland, believing that the status quo can continue with few substantial changes. One example is the famous 14th salary for employees on which we’ve had some heated discussions on the council this past year. Pegeia council approved the ‘’Easter tip” last year as we were informed that it was in the union contract and the budget. Only one month ago, it was like pulling teeth to get information about whether this was in the 2015 budget. Not surprisingly, it’s there and the mayor continues stalling discussions on the renewal of the contract which still include the 14th salary. So much for radical change, but I’m looking forward to the council meeting when this will be voted upon, at which time I will call for all councillors with close relatives who are employees to absent themselves from voting, as required by law. I’ll probably be the only one left, creating yet another comical situation.

Ending on this light-hearted note, one thing that has kept me going in politics is my endless amusement at the antics in the Banana Republic. A phrase that constantly springs to mind is that “you just couldn’t make this up”. The sheer audacity and depth of the Paphos scandals revealed so far appear to confirm this view of the realities of political life in the wild west.

Linda Leblanc, Pegeia Councillor, Coalition of Independents and Green Party

By Loucas Charalambous

THE IMMOVABLE Property Commission operating in the north has so far paid out a total of €240 million in compensation to Greek Cypriots for properties in the occupied area, Phileleftheros reported on Tuesday.

This amount, according to the paper, related to 619 applications for compensation that had been examined and approved so far and represented 12 million square metres of land. The total number of applications submitted was 6,076. In short, 10 per cent of applications submitted have been settled.

The paper published other very interesting information. For example, in the three-year period 2011-2013 some 4,864 applications had been submitted to the commission of the total submitted in the eight-year period 2006-2013. In other words, 80 per cent of applications by Greek Cypriots for the sale of their properties to Turkey were submitted in the last two years of the Christofias administration and the first years of president Anastasiades’ term in office.

I do not know if these numbers say anything to our illustrious political wizards. Personally, I do not think they are worried about them. If we consider that the only thing they are really interested in is their political careers, anything that helps maintain the status quo – that is, partition – must satisfy them as it serves their personal ambitions.

I have explained in the past that the political careers of our demagogues have been built for 40 years now on the exploitation of the Cyprus problem. If one day the problem ceased to exist they would have nothing to focus their demagoguery on, deceiving the victims of the Turkish invasion that they were working night and day to restore their rights. Things are so simple.

The huge number of citizens applying to the commission in order to sell their properties appears to be a result of their realisation that what they are hearing from our political demagogues about liberation, return of the refugees, etc are nothing more than obscene lies, cheap slogans and cynical populism. Nobody believes them any longer as recent polls seem to indicate – 80 per cent of people consider them corrupt crooks.

Of particular interest is the information that the big wave of applications began in 2011. Until 2010 many had believed Christofias’ false promise that he would be the president of a settlement. But this myth was exposed as the former leader of AKEL, for the sake of preserving his alliance with DIKO, torpedoed the negotiations which paved the way for Mehmet Ali Talat’s defeat to Dervis Eroglu in the elections in the north.

Even the most gullible fool realised that Christofias was no different to his predecessor, Tassos Papadopoulos, and that there was no possibility of a settlement. More or less the same applies to Anastasiades who has caused great disappointment to those who had naively hoped that he would pursue a settlement.

It has been proved that he is no different to Christofias, who was no different to Papadopoulos, who was no different to Spyros Kyprianou. They all showed that from the moment they sat in the presidential chair their only concern was to stay in it. A settlement would mean the loss of that chair and none of them was ready for such a big sacrifice.

So while our politicians continued to engage in the familiar demagoguery, Greek Cypriots with properties in the north seem to have decided to solve the Cyprus problem on their own, by selling their properties to Turkey. This is also a solution – a bad solution, but still a solution.

People have, at long last, realised that partition does not bother our political demagogues who are not prepared to risk their careers to stop it happening. The politicians still have the gall to attack those who apply to the Commission, accusing them of committing treason by selling their properties, while ignoring the fact that they have committed the biggest treason by making partition permanent.

By Patroclos

AS THIS is the first Coffeeshop of 2015, we wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful, productive, creative, active and sexually satisfying year. We have opted against wishing a prosperous year, in case readers take offence, thinking we were engaging in black humour.

I have noticed that most people have dropped the word ‘prosperous’ – once obligatory – from their wishes for the new year, presumably for the exact same reason. It is certainly not because people have suddenly decided that money does not buy happiness because for the majority of people it does.

As the great Spike Milligan said, “Money can’t buy you happiness, but it brings you a more pleasant form of misery.” He also said, “All I ask is a chance to prove that money can’t make me happy.”

Very few people in Kyproulla, I am afraid to say, will get a chance to prove this in 2015, despite the fact that our banks have been re-capitalised, our fiscal deficit has been reduced and our state has returned to the markets.

All this may have brought some happiness to prez Nik and his finance minister, but the rest of us can’t even look forward to a more pleasant form of misery in 2015, because there will be even less moollah than there was last year to buy a bit of happiness.

THE PRESIDENT of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) Costakis Koutsokoumnis (CK) did not enter 2015 in a happy mood. He held a news conference on Friday to defend the association, which has been at the centre of allegations of corruption and match-fixing.

A bitter CK read out a long, self-righteous speech which attacked all the politicians for the mess the country was in.

Among other things, he said:
“It was not us who ordered the haircut of people’s deposits, not us who pushed the economy into its current state, not us who caused unemployment of 40 per cent among the young and 20 per cent among the rest. It was not us who closed down a bank and threw households into despair neither was it us who cut wages and fired workers….
“No. Football does not accept lessons from the politicians who brought the country to the mess it is in today. And let no-one claim it is the others (who are to blame). All together voted for the state budget and all together watched (Laiki’s) ELA soaring and all together they gave from our pocket to Laiki Bank more than a billion shortly before it closed down.”

It is difficult to disagree with CK’s diatribe but what was his point? Was it that because the politicians were incompetent losers, they should not object to match-fixing? Or perhaps match-fixing should be allowed because it did not affect ELA or cause unemployment?

In fact if we were less moralistic we would have to admit that match-fixing, (which the CFA has ignored, passing the buck to the police when receiving reports from UEFA) combined with smart betting creates wealth and jobs.

AS FOR the suggestion of placing the CFA under the state, CK used it to have another dig at the politicians. “Which state agency is financially healthy today? Which state agency do we, all citizens, not subsidise? Which state agency emerges clean in the reports of the Auditor-General?”

There was another obstacle to placing the CFA under the state – FIFA, which also faces allegations of corruption and has had corrupt members in its executive council, would never accept this as it would not accept setting limits to time someone spent as president of the CFA.

CK has been the president of the Association for 13 years and despite his failure to eradicate match-fixing which he admits takes place, he does not think it necessary to step down and give someone else the chance to tackle the problem that he has been spectacularly unable to deal with. But at least he did not close down a bank.

Incidentally, at the end of his speech, CK also avoided wishing a prosperous or happy new year. He wished everyone a “healthy and beautiful 2015.”

CYPRUS Airways pilots, in the last few weeks, have decided that the biggest threat to the survival of the airline was the communications minister Marios Demetriades. In an announcement on Friday it called on prez Nik, to prove his zero tolerance to scandals, to “start with the minister of communications, whom we consider dangerous for the state and citizens, before it is too late.”

Demetriades, together with the finance minister, had been misinforming the public about the European Commission’s alleged plans to close down the airline, said the pilots’ union PASYPI. After an investigation, the union found that Demetriades was a manager of investment funds run by Piraeus Bank which “invest in the shares in the eastern Mediterranean, with an emphasis on Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey.”

According to Standard & Poor’s, the union said, in 2009 Demetriades, as the manager of this fund, preferred the Turkish market. “We have documents that confirm the above,” the union said. Nik had to freeze any decisions, regarding a strategic investor, taken by the Turk-loving Demetriades, because he could have assigned bilateral agreements between states to “carriers with Turkish interests,” the union warned.

If Demetriades had not preferred the Turkish market in 2009, Cyprus Airways’ future would have been secure and there would be a bidding war among prospective strategic investors eager to take over its losses. Even Turkish Airlines may have shown an interest.

CHECKING the CV of health minister Philippos Patsalis on the Press and Information Office website I notice that he is a professor.

Nowhere in the write-up does it mention how he acquired his professorship. It says: “He is also Professor of Genetics and Provost of the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine and he has honorary titles as professor at universities in Cyprus and abroad.” But if he is “also Professor of Genetics” what else is he professor of?

It would be interesting to know where and how Patsallis received his professorship. Had he gone through all the procedures followed at universities to acquire this top academic title? As he had been working at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, which is not a university, since 1993 – in 2007 he became its Chief Executive Medical Director – which university gave him his professorship? Just asking.

SOLON Gasinis, gas guru and advisor of the Greek PM on energy issues, was on the radio again yesterday, to give his views about the latest stand-off with Turkey in relation to the drilling for gas. “We will continue the drilling,” he declared, as if such a decision was his prerogative, adding that “Turkey can do what she likes, it will not affect our operations.”

Was he running the ENI-KOGAS drilling operation or the Kyproulla government to make such a statement? He was not as optimistic as he was two weeks ago when he spoke on the same radio show and said the Amathusa plot, at which the new drilling will take place, would have “substantial and big quantities of gas.”

Yesterday he said there was a “50 per cent chance of success” of the drilling scheduled to start this month. But there was another cause for optimism, according to the gas guru. The trouble Noble-Delek were facing with Israel’s Monopolies Commission meant that Kyproulla would have to sell gas to Israel “to break the monopoly”, Gasinis declared.

WE MIGHT not yet have found the substantial and big quantities of gas but this has not affected our ability to sign up new customers for our gas. Apart from Egypt and Israel, I hear that Jordan has also expressed an interest in buying the natural gas we do not have.

Natural gas “will be at the centre of the meeting” prez Nik would have with King Abdullah of Jordan, reported Sigmalive yesterday. Abdullah invited Nik to Amman and “talks will centre on the confirmed deposits of gas on Block 12 of the Cyprus EEZ,” said the report.

I sincerely hope the gas guru is right and we find some more extractable gas pretty soon because if we cannot deliver on our promises, we will become known not as an energy regional centre, but as a regional centre of hot air salesmen.

FOUR months was all it took for our politicians to start baying for the blood of the Secretary-General’s special advisor Espen Barth Eide. He was appointed at the start of September and by the start of January all the politicians turned on him.

We showed commendable restraint and avoided making a fuss after he went to the EU and tried to interfere in our efforts to register halloumi as a protected designation of origin. But there was no way our political parties would ignore his devious attempt to put hydrocarbons on the peace talks agenda in order to get the dialogue going again.

The party leaders will be meeting tomorrow with Nik to discuss how to handle Eide’s “provocative and unacceptable” statement as well as new incursions into our EEZ by the Barbaros. The Turks have anchored the ship off Famagusta and will no doubt send it out again if we do not agree to discuss hydrocarbons.

This would ideally suit Nik as he is determined not to return to the talks, according to his closest aides. No talks would mean his ludicrous idea of a more representative government could be realised – Ethnarch Junior and his Dikheads could return.

RESPONDING to Eide’s provocative and unacceptable statement, Junior said that as long as Turkey did not respect the sovereign rights of the Cyprus Republic, “additional measures must be taken.” These “measures could cause a political cost to Turkey,” he said without specifying them. This was not all he had in mind.

“In addition, it is an imperative to carve a new collective and comprehensive strategy in the Cyprus problem, which would disengage us from the impasse we entered via the Anastasiades-Eroglu agreement and which would utilise the three advantages of the Cyprus Republic that are: a) that fact that we are the only recognised state on the island; b) the fact that we are a member of the EU and the euro-zone; c) the fact that there are hydrocarbons in the Cypriot EEZ.”

He forgot to mention the fourth and most important advantage we have – the biggest concentration of ultra-smart politicians, in absolute numbers, in the world.

WE WERE very surprised to see that Kyproulla has the lowest level of cannabis use in EU. Only 10 per cent of the population has had a puff once, compared to the EU average of 20 per cent. Just goes to show that we are not real Europeans.

Things could change in 2015, as people who have no money to buy happiness might strike for happiness through the use of cannabis. Who knows, prez Nik may fulfil his election promise to legalise weed, in which case it may be a happier year than we had predicted.

ANOTHER meeting of the party leaders will be held at the presidential palace tomorrow morning, (as long as President Anastasiades is not trapped in his Troodos residence by the snow) to discuss how the government should handle the latest complications in the ongoing hydrocarbons saga. These meetings are becoming a frequent occurrence indicating that policy – reaction to Turkey’s moves would be a more accurate term – is being improvised as we go along and that the politicians primary concern is that it sounds good.

If there was a plan, these meetings would have been unnecessary, but it seems the president and the party leaders prefer to act on impulse rather than be subjected to the constraints of something resembling a strategy as this would cramp their brave, but ineffective rhetoric. What was the point of setting up the committees of advisors such as the Geostrategic Council if the president prefers taking spur-of-the-moment decisions with the party leaders for dealing with the latest perceived crisis, caused by previous spur-of-the-moment decisions.

It has now become blatantly obvious that when Anastasiades, with the unanimous support of the party bosses, resolutely announced, a little over two months ago, that he would pull out of the talks as long as Turkey’s NAVTEX was in place, he did not have any idea where his decision would lead. None of the party leadership seemed to have considered the possibility that this decision would have brought the issue of hydrocarbons to the Cyprus problem negotiating table. This is what has happened now, with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor Espen Barth Eide stating that hydrocarbons were linked to the Cyprus talks.

This comment sparked the obligatory angry reaction by the political parties, which collectively made calls for demarches to be made to the UN so that Eide’s “unacceptable and provocative” statement would be rescinded. Turkey should not be rewarded for violating Cyprus’ sovereignty, was the consensus view, which in theory was correct. But even if Eide is forced to rescind his statement, what would be achieved in practical terms? We would have scored a meaningless moral victory that changed nothing. It would not stop Turkey from issuing another Navtex and sending the Barbaros into Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), thus keeping peace talks in limbo.

The current situation is the following: As long as companies are carrying out exploratory drilling on behalf of the Cyprus government, Turkey’s ship the Barbaros would continue the seismic surveys in Cyprus’ EEZ. And as long as the Barbaros is in Cyprus’ EEZ, Anastasiades would refuse to participate in peace talks. The ENI-KOGAS joint venture is expected to start drilling in another plot in Block 9 in the next few days, which would mean the Barbaros, currently anchored off Famagusta, would return to the Cyprus EEZ, rendering the resumption of the talks impossible.

Eide, whose job it is to conduct the peace talks has come up with a compromise to get the two sides back to the negotiating table – the hydrocarbons being introduced to the talks agenda. The Turks would be happy with such an arrangement, even though it is unclear whether they would also demand that the Cyprus government suspended all drilling for as long as talks were in progress. Anastasiades has underlined that he would not agree to hydrocarbons being part of the peace talks, which he would not take part in for as long as the Barbaros continued its incursions into the Cyprus EEZ; the incursions would continue because the exploratory drilling would resume.

Under the circumstances, it is very difficult to see what constructive decision could be taken by the president and the party leaders at tomorrow’s meeting. The DIKO leader said the president should take measures that would incur a political cost for Turkey, without specifying these measures; AKEL suggested Anastasiades should undertake initiatives that would force Turkey to abandon its current positions. How these objectives would be achieved we were not told because the parties have not worked this out yet and we doubt they would have done so in time for the meeting.

All we can expect from tomorrow’s meeting is more improvisation dressed up in tough rhetoric, because this is much easier than confronting reality and coming up with a pragmatic solution, from an extremely limited set of options. Our options have always been limited even though our political leadership refused to acknowledge this.

By Angelos Anastasiou

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades is expected to inform party leaders tomorrow that if the Turkish seismic vessel Barbaros makes no further incursions into Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), he stands ready to return to the negotiating table, official sources told the Sunday Mail.

The Barbaros had been illegally carrying out exploratory research in Cyprus’ EEZ since last October, prompting Anastasiades to pull out of the peace talks citing infringement of Cyprus’ sovereignty. Turkey had issued a NavTex (navigational telex) for the area until December 30, at which point the Barbaros was anchored off the coast of Famagusta.

Yesterday, state radio reported that the Barbaros would remain anchored in Famagusta awaiting instructions on whether to resume exploratory operations or return to Turkey, which will depend on the UN special envoy’s Espen Barth Eide’s efforts to bring the Greek Cypriot side back to the negotiating table.

Citing sources in Turkey, the CyBC’s radio correspondent refuted reports in Turkish Cypriot press that the Barbaros would be dispatched for further research in the Cypriot EEZ on January 5, saying no decision has been made yet on any future activity by the Barbaros, as the Turkish government had allowed Eide some time at his request to undertake efforts to resolve the crisis.

The CyBC said that the marching orders to be issued to the Barbaros would depend on the Greek Cypriot side’s actions – a reference to new drilling planned by ENI-KOGAS in the Amathusa block in the coming days – and noted that if Eide’s efforts bore fruit, the vessel would return to Turkey, otherwise a new NavTex for exploration in Cyprus’ EEZ would be issued by Ankara.

But in fact, the official sources told the Sunday Mail, it was the Cyprus government that was awaiting developments early in the week before making its next move. On the strength of information that Turkey plans to engage the Barbaros – on a pre-planned submarine drill – in a different area near the Greek island Kastelorizo off Turkey’s south-western shores from January 12, the Cyprus government is poised to announce its readiness to return to the table as soon as the tip is corroborated.

The sources based their optimism on the fact that ENI-KOGAS’ drillship had “already begun” operations undisturbed. “The government remains in constant contact with Mr Eide,” the same sources said in response to whether the UN special envoy was still working behind the scenes to resolve the crisis.

Meanwhile, the party leaders’ meeting, rescheduled for tomorrow after heavy snowfall prevented the get-together at the Presidential residence in Troodos mountains on Friday, is expected to address the new developments. In light of remarks by parties to Turkey’s rumoured new NavTex, the meeting could become a forum of heated debate on any thought of returning to the peace talks.

Yesterday the parties had many accusations but little to propose. EDEK leader and House President Yiannakis Omirou focused on blasting Eide, who told caused a stir on Friday when he was quoted as saying that “the hydrocarbons issue has been linked to the Cyprus problem […] and cannot be unlinked.”

“Mr Eide’s remarks pose the dire danger of suggesting that, in exercising Cyprus’ sovereign rights in its own EEZ, there is a difference between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, or that there is a so-called grey area,” Omirou said.

“Therefore, the government must immediately and decisively present its objections to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council, because in addition to violating his mandate, Mr Eide’s comments create the impression internationally that there is such a difference or a grey area,” he added.

AKEL also asserted that drilling operations within Cyprus’ EEZ neither could, nor should be stopped, for reasons both of principle and practicality, and proposed bringing agreements between the previous leaders, President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriots Mehmet Ali Talat and Dervis Eroglu – relating to the administration of hydrocarbons in a post-solution federal Cyprus – back to the table.

“AKEL’s view has been clear from the beginning,” party spokesman Giorgos Loukaides said. “In addition to resolutely seeking Turkey’s indictment for its infringement on Cyprus sovereignty, we should take initiatives relating to the period following the settlement of the Cyprus problem. Such initiatives should focus on the Christofias-Talat and Eroglu-Christofias convergences.”

The Greens called on Anastasiades to “wax his ears to the sirens” urging him not to resume negotiations, insisting that last October’s decision to pull out of the peace talks in light of Turkey’s provocations was the right one, but the party had little to offer in terms of the next steps.

“It is unthinkable that the talks could resume under the circumstances imposed by Turkey,” party spokeswoman Eleni Chrysostomou said yesterday. “But we must not remain with our arms crossed. At last, serious initiatives must be undertaken, and strategic decisions taken, to change the status quo and offer hope and prospects to the efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.”

Government coalition partners EVROKO interpreted Eide’s remarks as a UN-led conspiracy to incorporate the issue of hydrocarbons to the peace talks.

“We must therefore move pre-emptively, insisting on the view that hydrocarbons cannot be reduced to a bi-communal issue, nor can they become part of the negotiations, but are an asset belonging to all Cypriot citizens – Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike,” the party said in a statement.

“It is imperative that at [Monday’s] meeting of party leaders the dates for the pending National Council summit relating to the Cyprus problem are set, at which a detailed review of the current situation should be carried out and decisions to strengthen our side’s strategy are made.”

The German government believes that the euro zone would now be able to cope with a Greece exit if that proved to be necessary, Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday, citing unnamed government sources.

Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble believe the euro zone has implemented enough reforms since the height of the regional crisis in 2012 to make a potential Greece exit manageable, Der Spiegel reported.

“The danger of contagion is limited because Portugal and Ireland are considered rehabilitated,” the weekly news magazine quoted one government source saying.

In addition, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro zone’s bailout fund, is an “effective” rescue mechanism and was now available, another source added. Major banks would be protected by the banking union.

The German government in Berlin could not be reached for comment.

It is still unclear how a euro zone member country could leave the euro and still remain in the European Union, but Der Spiegel quoted a “high-ranking currency expert” as saying that “resourceful lawyers” would be able to clarify.

According to the report, the German government considers a Greece exit almost unavoidable if the leftwing Syriza opposition party led by Alexis Tsipras wins an election set for Jan. 25.

The Greek election was called after lawmakers failed to elect a president last month. It pits Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ conservative New Democracy party, which imposed unpopular budget cuts under Greece’s bailout deal, against Tsipras’ Syriza, who want to cancel austerity measures and a chunk of Greek debt.

Opinion polls show Syriza is holding a lead over New Democracy, although its margin has narrowed to about three percentage points in the run-up to the vote.

German Finance Minister Schaeuble has already warned Greece against straying from a path of economic reform, saying any new government would be held to the pledges made by the current Samaras government.

Buckingham Palace stepped up its denial that Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl and named the alleged victim who had sought to preserve her anonymity, according to British newspaper reports on Sunday.

Buckingham Palace had already denied on Friday allegations made in Florida court documents by the woman, who said she was forced as a minor to have sex with Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, as well as with other figures linked to a disgraced U.S. financier.

The woman, referred to as “Jane Doe #3″ in a court filing this week in the U.S. Southern District of Florida, said financier Jeffrey Epstein made her have sex with the Duke of York in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island, as part of “an orgy with numerous other underaged girls”.

Epstein was convicted on state child sex charges in the United States. The woman’s filing is part of a civil case brought against the U.S. government that dates back to 2008 and argues that the rights of several women who say they were victims of Epstein were harmed in the negotiation of a plea deal for him.

On Saturday, some British newspapers published an old photograph of Andrew holding the waist of the woman, then aged 17. On Sunday, two newspapers reported Buckingham Palace had issued a more explicit denial of wrong-doing.

“It is emphatically denied that HRH The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. The allegations made are false and without any foundation,” a spokesman for Buckingham Palace was quoted as saying by the Telegraph and Mirror newspapers.

Previously, Buckingham Palace had not named Roberts. On Friday it said “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”.

A spokesman for the palace did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. While the age of consent is 16 in Britain, it is 18 in much of the United States.

People making a criminal complaint of rape in England have a legal right to anonymity unless they choose to waive it.

The lawyers representing Roberts could not be immediately reached for comment.

Islamist militants have overrun an army base in the remote northeast Nigerian town of Baga, two security sources said on Sunday.

Baga is notionally the headquarters of a multinational force comprising troops from Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, although only Nigerian troops are actually stationed there.

Troops eventually fled the remote station on the semi-desert shores of Lake Chad after it was attacked on Saturday by Boko Haram fighters in military vehicles, both sources said. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The insurgency has killed over 10,000 people this year, according to a count by the Council on Foreign Relations in November. It is the gravest threat to Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, and a headache for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of an election on Feb. 14 where he is being challenged by opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler seen as tough on security.

After beginning their fight for an Islamic state five years ago in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the militants have radiated outwards into porous border areas, threatening Nigeria’s neighbours around the Lake Chad Basin.

In northern Cameroon, at least 15 people died in an attack by suspected Boko Haram militants on a bus, officials said on Saturday.

Cameroon’s army has been trying to dislodge the Islamists from its Far North region with the help of air strikes.

Nigerian Interior Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou said late last month that his country was ready to negotiate with Boko Haram, but did not even know who in the group to talk to.

Baga came into the international spotlight early in 2013, when dozens of people, mostly civilians, were killed in fighting between the multinational force and Boko Haram. Many were burned alive in their thatched houses.

The militants have also kidnapped hundreds of mostly young people in the past year. On Wednesday, gunmen abducted 40 boys and young men from the remote village of Malari, in a raid that residents and a security source blamed on Boko Haram.

The parents of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in April have said they said will ask the United Nations for help after losing faith in their own government.