By Angelos Anastasiou

Central Bank Governor Chrystalla Georghadji’s remarks in parliament on Tuesday were mistakenly interpreted as an imminent announcement of reductions in interest rates in two weeks’ time, the CBC’s Supervision Director Yiangos Demetriou said on Wednesday.

Georghadji had told the House Ethics committee that “the CBC’s board has decided to lower interest rates” and added that “the relevant announcement will be made within a fortnight”.

According to Demetriou, who was speaking on state radio on Wednesday morning, this was erroneously taken to mean that the CBC will announce interest rate decreases, which is simply not an option.

“Mrs Georghadji never said that”, Demetriou said. “What she told deputies is this: ‘in the CBC’s effort to come up with solutions in lowering interest rates and improving the rate of loan restructurings, the board has instructed a team of technocrats to study various options and present proposals to the board within 15 days’”.

Demetriou argued that not only does the CBC not have a “magic wand” to fix problems relating to interest rates and restructurings, it is not even the competent authority any more.

“There is no easy way to do it”, he said. “The CBC does not have the power to lower interest rates by decree. And let us not forget that since November 4, we are under the jurisdiction of the Single Supervisory Mechanism – essentially, of the European Central Bank. So any suggestions we make need to be approved by the ECB”.

Demetriou said the latest data aggregated by the CBC indicates that €3.4 billion of non-performing loans were restructured by September 2014, or almost 13 per cent.

“While this figure is in no way satisfactory, it is positive that the June 2014 figure was €2.2 billion, meaning a 50 per cent increase,” he added.

Demetriou’s clarification was widely seen by political parties as a clumsy attempt at stonewalling.

“AKEL considers the image of chaos and confusion on this matter unacceptable”, the communist party said in a statement. “We reiterate the need for a significant reduction in lending interest rates, as well as the margin between interest rates for loans and deposits, which are the highest in Europe”.

Socialist party EDEK said the contradictory statements made by the Central Bank can only hurt the economy through the uncertainty they create.

“EDEK calls on the Central Bank and the government to press ahead with all the necessary steps for the significant and immediate decrease in interest rates”, the party’s deputy Nicos Nicolaides said in a statement. “They should, at last, show some

respect to the citizens, whose bloody sacrifices kept the banking sector alive”.

Green party deputy Yiorgos Perdikis said Georghadji needs to state the CBC’s intentions publicly in order to clear up any misunderstanding.

“An announcement for the lowering of interest rates should be accompanied with evidence, a timeline and an impact assessment”, charged Perdikis. “The economy will benefit from a significant reduction, and not by the CBC throwing breadcrumbs to sway public opinion. We demand actions, not just indefinite announcements for public consumption”.

Even junior government coalition partners EVROKO were critical.

“I do not consider the CBC governor’s remarks as the start of a serious effort to lower interest rates, either for new or existing restructured loans”, said party leader Demetris Syllouris.

But perhaps most significantly was a tweet posted on Tuesday night by DISY leader Averof Neophytou, who had led the way in calling for Georghadji’s resignation after it was revealed that she had made alterations to her employment contract before signing it a few months ago.

“Interest rate reductions are implemented, not announced”, Neophytou tweeted.

Sam Sank takes a look at the superstars of the world game with the famous number 10 on their shirts

For more articles and the latest soccer news, check out 90min.com

By Stelios Orphanides

A European Central Bank decision to buy government bonds expected tomorrow, also known as quantitative easing, is likely to have a limited if not questionable effect, people familiar with the issue said.

Doubts on the effectiveness of the ECB’s efforts to preserve the euro emerged after the ECB appears to have scaled down to 0.5 trillion euros, half the initially announced seize of the bond purchasing programme, to which Germany’s government, the Bundesbank and economy are opposed, citing fears German taxpayers would ultimate burden the bill for the reckless government spending in other euro area member states.

French energy company Total is likely to abandon a search for oil and gas off Cyprus after failing to find tangible evidence of reserves, dealing a blow to the island’s hopes of a natural resource bonanza after a painful bailout in 2013.

Energy minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Wednesday that Total, granted a concession two years ago, had failed to pinpoint reserves that would justify costly drilling.

“The company informed us some months ago that it was having difficulty finding any structures, targets, in the blocks it had a licence for … and they informed us last September they had not found any target to drill,” Lakkotrypis told state radio.

Total is among a raft of international oil exploration and production companies, including BP and ConocoPhillips , that have slashed 2015 budgets in light of lower oil prices.

Drilling in the east Mediterranean is costly, because of its considerable depth. Asked if authorities had been told drilling will not commence, Lakkotrypis said: “Essentially yes.”

Lakkotrypis said Total knew from the beginning that it “was operating in a high-risk area” for which no “special” seismic data existed like in the case of the Levantine Sea, the easternmost part of the Mediterranean, on the other side of the Eratosthenes mount, which lies 100 kilometres south of the western part of Cyprus.

“We knew that block 10 and block 11 are a new geological structure,” Lakkotrypis said. “We knew that block 10 and block 12 were from a geological point of view very difficult, and the oil price situation does not help either”.

Cyprus needed a €10 billion bailout in early 2013, and had partly pinned hopes on natural gas to aid recovery.

Total’s decision was unlikely to have a significant effect on Cyprus’ short-term outlook, but would be a dampener in the medium and longer term, said Sofronis Clerides, associate professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Cyprus.

“An important upside risk just became less likely. Expectations that natural resource revenues and related economic activity will fuel a faster economic recovery will have to be adjusted.

“The only silver lining is that Cyprus may now be able to have a discussion about its natural resource prospects that is grounded in reality rather than in wishful thinking,” he told Reuters.

Italy’s ENI failed to find gas in a drill last year and is now searching elsewhere off Cyprus. US energy company Noble found gas reserves in 2011.

Turkey has challenged Nicosia’s right to drill for gas, maintaining the island’s estranged Turkish Cypriots have an equal claim.

Ankara has dispatched its own research vessel to the area, prompting President Nicos Anastasiades to pull out of reunification talks.

Lakkotrypis said any decision by Total was unrelated to the political controversy.

He said the government was expecting to be briefed by the company on whether its decision not to go ahead with drilling is final.

“The issue will be clarified next week,” he said.

Total has “contractual obligations,” Lakkotrypis said and added that it may have to pay a due performance penalty.

The legislative and regulative framework are likely to prevent the government from granting Total a license for an alternative exploration area he said and added that the Eni-KoGas programme continues as planned ahead normally as well as the exploitation programme for the Aphrodite finding in block 1.

Ruling DISY leader Averof Neophytou said it was a saddening development but everyone must know that the existence of reserves was an assumption until it was fully confirmed.

Neophytou said everyone should also show seriousness and responsibility in all matters “especially important issues that have to do with energy. Planning must not stop but steps must always be taken after the reserves were fully confirmed.”

To DIKO, Total’s  departure was the result of Turkey’s presence in the Cypriot exclusive economic zone and the fault of President Nicos Anastasiades who did not react.

“Apart from suspending the Greek Cypriot side’s participation in the talks, no other action was done and no other substantive measure put in place,” DIKO said.

By Greg Stutchbury

Third seed Rafa Nadal battled through mid-match cramps for more than an hour before he lurched into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 3-6 6-7(2) 6-3 7-5 victory over American qualifier Tim Smyzcek on Wednesday.

Nadal’s performance dropped away drastically in the second set as he sweated profusely and took his time between changeovers before calling for the doctor early in the third set.

“I don’t know what was going on,” the 14-time grand slam champion said in a courtside interview. “There was imitation, I started to have cramps in different places. I was not in the perfect shape.”

Nadal, who was reportedly bitten by a mosquito under his eye while practising for the match, took some medication during the timeout but could not stop Smyzcek cantering through the third set tiebreak.

As fears mounted around Rod Laver Arena that the third seed could suffer an early exit, the man who has a 16-5 record in five-set marathons battled back to open a 5-2 lead in the fourth set before dragging Smyzcek into a decider.

The fifth set went on serve until Nadal finally broke the resistance of Smyzcek, whose scrambling game resembles that of former top-five player David Ferrer, in the 11th game before wrapping up the win on his fourth match point.

He will next play Israel’s Dudi Sela.

By Nir Elias

A Palestinian stabbed and wounded seven people on a Tel Aviv commuter bus and in the street in a morning rush-hour attack on Wednesday before he was shot by a security officer as he fled, Israeli officials said.

It was the first Palestinian attack reported in the Israeli commercial capital since a soldier was stabbed to death two months ago during a surge of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Passengers on the number 40 bus en route to Tel Aviv University said the assailant, identified by police as a Palestinian from Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, stabbed the driver and then others at the Maariv junction, one of the coastal city’s busiest.

“The terrorist had murder in his eyes,” a passenger identified only as Orly said on Israel Radio.

The attacker exited the bus after it slowed to a stop and ran down a street along with panicked passengers and pedestrians. Security camera footage showed him stabbing one woman in the back on the sidewalk, and she collapsed.

Armed prison officers who happened by in another vehicle gave chase and one shot the man in the leg. News photos showed the alleged assailant, whom police said was aged 23, lying face down in the mud, his wrists handcuffed behind him and his jeans stained with blood.

The national ambulance service said seven people were wounded in the stabbing, four seriously.

It was not immediately clear if the suspected attacker, who was taken to hospital for treatment, was affiliated with any Palestinian militant group. Israeli security officials said he cited Israel’s Gaza offensive last summer as one of the reasons he decided to strike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “a direct result of venomous incitement disseminated in the Palestinian Authority against Jews and their country.”

There was no immediate comment from the Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank and has stepped up unilateral moves towards Palestinian statehood since peace talks with Israel collapsed in April. The militant Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, praised the attack.

Netanyahu has made security a central theme of his campaign for re-election in March. In November, two Palestinians killed four rabbis and a policeman at a Jerusalem synagogue. Five Israelis and a foreign vistor died in Palestinian attacks before that incident. At least 12 Palestinians have also been killed, including some of the attackers.

By Nicholas Vinocur

France is to recruit thousands of extra police, spies and investigators to boost national security and intelligence, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced on Wednesday, two weeks after 17 people were killed by Islamist militants.

Warning the threat remained high after the most deadly Islamist attack on French soil, Valls said the state would hire 2,680 in the police, justice, intelligence and defence sectors by 2018 for anti-jihadi work, surveillance and security.

Dozens of extra Muslim chaplains would also be employed to work with potential militants in France’s overcrowded jails.

“The fight against terrorism, jihadism and radical Islam will be a long haul,” Valls told a news conference after the measures were agreed by President Francois Hollande’s cabinet.

“The first requirement is that we further reinforce the human and material assets of our intelligence services,” said Valls, who after the Jan. 7-9 attacks conceded there could have been “shortfalls” in monitoring and justice arrangements.

France is struggling to keep watch over an estimated 1,200 radical Islamists and some 200 people who have returned home after fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq.

Valls said a possible penalty would be debated under which offenders would be stripped of certain civic rights – an idea floated by the conservative opposition which mirrors a post-World War Two law barring collaborators with Nazi occupiers from voting, holding office or working for the state.

Despite commitments worth a total 425 million euros ($492 million) in extra spending, Valls said France would respect public finance commitments made to its EU partners.

SUSPECTED ACCOMPLICES INVESTIGATED

The three gunmen responsible for the attacks on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket were killed in stand-offs with security forces.

Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab praised al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) over the attack, describing them in a statement as “the pioneers of external operations that target the heart of the Crusader enemies”.

Four men aged 22 to 28 were placed under formal investigation over the killing of a police officer and of four hostages at the Jewish store near Paris, a prosecutor said.

The men are suspected of having bought weapons including knives and tear gas later found among the possessions of the gunman who attacked the kosher store.

The investigation is also looking into the possibility some accomplices had fled France. Police are cooperating with authorities in Turkey, Spain and Belgium.

By Daniel Trotta

The highest-level US delegation to Cuba in 35 years begins talks on Wednesday aimed at restoring diplomatic ties and eventually normalizing relations between two adversaries who have been locked in Cold War-era hostilities.

The two days of meetings are the first since US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17 they had reached a historic breakthrough after 18 months of secret negotiations.

Obama has set the US on a path toward removing economic sanctions and Washington’s 53-year-old trade embargo against the communist-ruled island, telling Congress in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday that “we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date.”

Talks will focus on immigration on Wednesday and turn to restoring diplomatic ties on Thursday.

Both sides are also expected to outline longer-term goals. While Cuba will seek the repeal of Washington’s 53-year-old economic embargo and ask to be removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, the Americans will press the one-party state for greater human rights.

On immigration, Cuba has said it will protest US laws that welcome Cubans into the United States once they set foot on American soil, an exceptional policy that Cuba says promotes people-trafficking and dangerous journeys across the Florida Straits on flimsy vessels.

Obama has the executive authority to restore diplomatic ties but needs the Republican-controlled Congress to lift the economic embargo.

A senior Cuban foreign ministry official on Tuesday drew a distinction between restoring diplomatic ties and the broader issue of normalizing relations.

“Cuba isn’t normalizing relations with the United States. Cuba is re-establishing diplomatic relations with the United States. The normalization of relations is a much longer process and much more complicated process,” the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said normal relations would require the United States to lift the embargo, remove Cuba from terrorism list and stop recruiting Cuban doctors to defect.

The US delegation will be led by Roberta Jacobson, the top US diplomat for Latin America and the first US assistant secretary of state to visit Cuba in 38 years. A US official of similar rank visited Cuba 35 years ago.

The Cuban team will be led by Josefina Vidal, the foreign ministry’s chief diplomat for US affairs.

By Maria Gregoriou

The cultural planning of the seasons ahead has really started to warm-up with many an organisation calling out for submissions of artistic ideas. This time it is the Ministry of Education and the Rialto Theatre in Limassol who are sending out a joint call for short films to be showcased at the tenth International Short Film Festival of Cyprus.

The festival, which will take place between October 17 and 23 at the Rialto theatre, wishes to promote cinematographic art by presenting a diverse programme of short films from around the world, as well as exhibiting the work of talented filmmakers who successfully use creative cinematic language forms and effectively tell a story in a short film. While doing all this, the festival also aims at developing a spirit of friendship and cooperation among filmmakers.

Fiction, documentaries, experimental, student and animation short films not running over 25 minutes are eligible for participation in the festival’s competition sections.

If you have a short film that you would like to submit, send your submissions via the reelport.com platform by July 10. You can also submit on www.moec.gov.cy(Announcements) and www.isffc.com.cy. More information regarding the rules and regulations can also be found on these websites.

Before you do so you might like to know that Cypriot films compete for both the International and the National awards and Cypriot Directors who live and work in Cyprus or abroad are entitled to submit their work. Also, the right to participate is reserved to films which are screened for the first time in Cyprus.

Short Film Submissions
Call for short film submissions to take part in the tenth International Short Film Festival of Cyprus. Submissions by July 10 to reelport.com, www.moec.gov.cy(Announcements), or www.isffc.com.cy. Tel:25-343902 or 22-809811

Education Minister Costas Kadis on Thursday inaugurated two research centres at the University of Cyprus, which promote innovation in the areas of intelligent systems and networks, and biological sciences.

The KIOS Research Centre for Intelligent Systems and Networks began its operation in 2008 and the Drosophila Laboratory was set up two years ago contributing to a great extent to the research goals of the University of Cyprus.

In his speech, Kadis said the two centres inaugurated upgrade to a great extent the scientific and research profile of Cyprus.
Kadis said Cyprus needed research and innovation now more than ever.

Referring to KIOS centre he said it was employing more than 80 researchers and had concluded cooperation agreements with internationally known research organisations, while the Drosophila lab promised important research in the field of carcinogenesis and balance of intestinal function.
Rector of the University of Cyprus Professor Constantinos Christofides said the university was the most important employer of young researchers in Cyprus. The current number of 550 researchers would be increased to 2,000 by 2020, he said.

He said that when the university campus was completed with the construction of the School of Polytechnics and the School of Biological Sciences, the overall contribution of the University to GDP would be 0.4 per cent, which would open up more jobs and increase economic activity.
The university has participated so far to 104 European programmes with funding of more than €30 million.

“The importance of a country is not measured by its geographical size or its population, it is measured by the brains of its youth. We need some clever and innovative ideas to uplift our country again. We have the creative minds and we have to trust them. And everything begins here. At the University,” he said.
Director of the KIOS Research Centre Professor Marios Polycarpou of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the university said the KIOS Research Centre for Intelligent Systems and Networks aimed to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the area of intelligent systems and applications to the design and management of large-scale complex systems with emphasis on safety-critical and trustworthy systems.

The centre’s research application domains include energy and power systems, telecommunication networks, water and environmental systems and intelligent transportation and health systems.

The director of the Drosophila Laboratory, Assistant Professor of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cyprus Giorgos Apidianakis said that the lab employed 15 researchers.
The work of the team aims towards a deeper understanding of critical aspects of intestinal human disease, including inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal tumor formation and metastasis. (CNA)

By Martyn Herman

England’s World Cup captain Eoin Morgan has been victim of an attempted blackmail over a former relationship, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday.

According to the ECB, an Australian man had demanded a five-figure sum to prevent a story about one-day skipper Morgan and a previous girlfriend appearing in national newspapers in Australia and Britain.

“The allegations related to a brief relationship Eoin had with a woman from Australia five years ago,” a statement said.
“Following liaison with the Metropolitan Police, our support team on the ground in Australia investigated the blackmail.
“This involved approaching the man in question who, when confronted, admitted and apologised for his actions, blaming jealousy.”

The man involved is understood to be in a relationship with the woman Morgan once dated.

The ECB said they would not seek to press charges.
“We will not allow anyone to disrupt our team’s preparation or performance in the Tri-Series and as we build up to the World Cup. I am pleased that this issue has now been brought to a swift conclusion,” Paul Downton, the ECB’s managing director, said.

Morgan was named as England’s one-day captain after Alastair Cook was removed from the post in December.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused Russia on Thursday of violating Europe’s peaceful post-war order with its interventions in Ukraine and said Europe could not consider lifting economic sanctions against Moscow until it changed course.

“The annexation of Crimea is not just any annexation. It is a violation of the values that created a peaceful order in Europe after World War Two, namely the acceptance of borders and respect of territorial integrity,” Merkel said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Economic sanctions were unavoidable. They are not an end in themselves. They can be lifted if the reasons why they were introduced are removed. But unfortunately we are not there yet.”

The European Union is preparing to step up its humanitarian aid to the people affected by the conflict in Ukraine, especially the displaced and those who need help to weather the severe cold which has gripped the country.

Cypriot EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides, responsible for humanitarian aid and crisis management, will be in Ukraine on January 26-27 to discuss the emergency with the authorities in Kyiv, to meet victims of the crisis in the East and to reaffirm the EU’s solidarity with the affected people.

“I am very worried about the situation of the thousands of Ukrainians thrown in a real humanitarian crisis by this conflict. Winter is making their suffering even greater, and is especially harsh on the displaced, children, the elderly, the poorest. Europe has been helping the most vulnerable victims of this crisis since its early days and we will continue to do so. I will be in Kyiv and Dnepropetrovsk to make sure our assistance continues to bring relief everywhere it is needed. The Commission is preparing a joint humanitarian package with Member States – yet another sign that we stand together by the Ukrainian people and that our solidarity is tangible and collective,” Stylianides said.

Collectively, EU Member States and the European Commission have provided over €76 million in humanitarian and recovery assistance for Ukraine. On the ground, this assistance is translating into shelter for the displaced, health care for the injured and the sick, food, water, sanitation and other emergency aid. According to the UN, the conflict in Ukraine has displaced more than 600,000 people inside Ukraine and has forced close to 600,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday there was a large majority on the bank’s Governing Council in favour of launching a broad quantitative easing plan.

Draghi said at a news conference following the ECB’s monetary policy meeting that governing council members had been “unanimous in stating that the asset purchase programme is a true monetary policy tool in a legal sense”.

“That is important because it establishes the principle that this is a monetary policy tool that should be used in the right situations but it is part of our toolbox,” he added.
“Second there was a large majority on the need to trigger it now, and so large that we didn’t need to take a vote … And finally there was a consensus on risk-sharing set at 20 percent and 80 percent on a no-risk-sharing basis.”

He made no reference to countries that may have been opposed. Germany’s central bank and senior politicians have been reluctant to buy government debt, saying it could encourage feckless spending by some governments and slow economic reforms.
The ECB said it would buy government bonds from this March until the end of September 2016 despite opposition from Germany’s Bundesbank and concerns in Berlin that it could allow spendthrift countries to slacken economic reforms.

Together with existing schemes to buy private debt and funnel hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans to banks, the new quantitative easing programme will pump 60 billion euros a month into the economy, ECB President Mario Draghi said.
By September next year, more than 1 trillion euros will have been created.

“The combined monthly purchases of public and private sector securities will amount to 60 billion euros,” Draghi told a news conference. “They are intended to be carried out until end-September 2016 and will in any case be conducted until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation.”
Bonds will be bought on the secondary market in proportion to the ECB’s capital key, meaning the largest economies from Germany down will see more of their debt purchased by the ECB than smaller peers.

The prospect of dramatic ECB action had already prompted the Swiss central bank to abandon its cap on the franc while Denmark, whose currency is pegged to the euro, was forced to cut interest rates in anticipation of the flood of money.
The Danish central bank intervened to weaken the crown ahead of the announcement.

Former ECB policymaker Athanasios Orphanides said action was long overdue. “The ECB should have already embarked on QE,” he said. “Now that the situation has deteriorated, the ECB will have to do much more.”
The euro fell, European shares jumped and bond yields in Italy, Spain and Portugal fell with the single currency dropping a full cent against the dollar to $1.1511.

Draghi has had to balance the need for action to lift the euro zone economy out of its torpor against German concerns about risk-sharing and potentially being left to foot the bill.

Tensions broke out as the meeting got underway with French Finance Minister Michel Sapin firing a broadside atBerlin.
“The Germans have taught us to respect the independence of the European Central Bank,” he told France Info radio. “They must remember that themselves.”
A German lawyer who has been prominent in attempts to halt euro zone bailouts said he was already preparing a legal complaint against an ECB bond-buying programme.

Draghi said 20 percent of the asset purchases would be subject to risk-sharing, suggesting the bulk of any potential losses will fall on national central banks.
Critics say that calls the euro zone concept of risk sharing into question and countries with already high debts could find themselves with further liabilities.

Euro zone inflation turned negative last month, far below the ECB’s target of close to but below 2 percent, raising fears of a Japan-style deflationary spiral.
But there are doubts, and not only in Germany, over whether printing fresh money will work.

Most euro zone government bond yields are already at ultra-low levels while the euro has already dropped sharply against the dollar. Lower borrowing costs and a weaker currency could both help to boost growth but there is a question about how much downside there is for either.
“It is a mistake to suppose that QE is a panacea in Europe or that it will be sufficient,” former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.

“There is every reason to expect that QE will be less impactful in a context like the present one in Europe than it was in the context of the United States.”
A plunge in the price of oil has thrown central bankers into a spin worldwide. Canada cut the cost of borrowing out of the blue on Wednesday while two British rate setters at the Bank of England dropped calls for tighter monetary policy as inflation has evaporated.

The ECB has already cut interest rates to record lows. Earlier, it left its main refinancing rate, which determines the cost of euro zone credit, at 0.05 percent.
Greece and Cyprus, which remain under EU/IMF bailout programmes, will be eligible but subject to stricter conditions.
“Some additional eligibility criteria will be applied in the case of countries under an EU/IMF adjustment programme,” Draghi said.

The move comes just three days before an election in Greece where anti-bailout opposition party Syriza is on track to gain roughly a third of the vote.

By Staff Reporter

SAKOP, the Association Confronting Social Problems said on Thursday the new casino bill was filled with provisions contradicting local and EU laws.
The association said it had carefully studied the as well as European laws on gambling and had singled out many provisions “which are completely illegal”.
“What in fact the bill asks the citizens to do is to contravene both Cyprus and European laws, it said in a statement.

“What this amounts to is that the state asks its own citizens to contravene its laws so how can the state then ask its own citizens to respect its laws. This sets a very bad precedent.”
It cited provisions relating to underage children being allowed in the casino “including areas where the games are taking place”.
“No European country allows such an unheard of provision,” SAKOP said.

It also said smoking would be permitted, though the government has said this would only be on the gaming floor and not in any other area.
SAKOP also complained about the “uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic drinks” that would result in gamblers losing their self control.
Gamblers being given credit lines from the casino “so that he can leave in debt to the casino” was also a problem, SAKOP said.

“The proposed gaming authority does not seem to be offering any programmes for therapy for those who will end up addicted,” said the association. “The bill says that they will simply make representations on the subject but it does not even say to whom.”
SAKOP said the state does not seem interested in what people could suffer as a result. It cited anxiety and stress, depression, suicide, poor health, financial problems, resort to loan sharks, bankruptcy, being reduced to theft, imprisonment , family violence and unemployment among others.

SAKOP said in some other counties, it is prohibited to stake more than €1,000 per month at a casino, and all persons entering have to register and state explicitly how much they are prepared to lose and are then not be permitted to lose more than what they have stated.

“These provisions at least must be enforced for the inhabitants of Cyprus,” SAKOP said.
“The Attorney-general, and not the persons administering the gambling unit at the ministry of finance must undertake to prepare a new bill, after due study of European laws on gambling and the gambling commissions.”

The cabinet decided on Thursday to rename the ministry of communications and works by adding ‘transport’ the title.
The addition will also be used in Minister Marios Demetriades’ title.
According to a statement, renaming the ministry was deemed necessary due to the increasing importance of the transport portfolio.
The cabinet also decided to task the Electromechanical Services with maintaining all government vehicles, including limousines. The decision, according to the press release, aims at reducing maintenance costs and is part of a wider cost cutting plan.

Improvement works along the Tombs of the Kings Avenue in Paphos will be completed by May 2016 at the latest, said House communications and works committee chairman Antonis Antoniou, adding that the construction company would be instructed to provide a revised work schedule.
The project was broken into eight parts, four of which are under construction. Antoniou, himself an MP from Paphos, said that the company would be asked to be more considerate to local businessmen, whose trade is being affected by the ongoing road works.
The project was essentially set to be completed by April 2015. The company has asked for an 11 month extension. The 3.2 km long project is expected to cost around €14 million.
Antoniou argued that the process for awarding tenders on public project should be modernised and simplified, “so as to avoid unnecessary delays, over-budgeting and confusion which all have a huge financial impact.”

By Stelios Orphanides

The European Central Bank’s expanded asset purchasing programme announced today by its chairman Mario Draghi may help fight deflation and invigorate growth, at least to some extent, economists said.

Alexander Michaelides, who heads the finance department at the Imperial College in London, said the ECB’s 1.1 trillion euros asset purchase programme, also known as quantitative easing, will help the euro area avoid deflation while it may at least indirectly help the Cypriot economy via a weak euro.

The euro “should not have been so strong” given the euro area’s growth prospects, Michalides said adding that a weaker euro could help the economies of countries like Cyprus exposed to third-country services income, such as tourism from the United Kingdom.

Emergency room nurses have announced a two-hour strike for Friday morning to protest the lack of personnel and beds in state hospitals.
Skeleton staff will be standing by between 8am and 10am, their union said.
Chairman Prodromos Argyrides said their problem was the “inability to serve people” because there were no empty beds in the hospitals.
Due to this, patients remained in the A&E, making conditions difficult for medical staff tending to fresh emergencies.
It is understood that the problem was worse in the Nicosia and Limassol general hospitals.
One solution is to open closed wards but that would mean hiring new staff.
The union has complained repeatedly but they were told the matter would be resolved when the NHS was introduced.
In a letter to Health Minister Philippos Patsalis, the union said neither he nor other officials “take the scale of the problem seriously.”
“As health workers whose aim is to ensure patients’ health and security, and with a clear danger of losing human lives,” the union urged the minister to resolve the matter immediately.
Similar problems were also experienced in the intensive neonatal unit at Makarios Hospital, the Nicosia General Hospital ICU, the dialysis unit in Limassol, and others, the union said.

By Angus McDowall

Saudi King Salman pledged on Friday to maintain existing energy and foreign policies then quickly moved to appoint younger men as his heirs, settling the succession for years to come by naming a deputy crown prince from his dynasty’s next generation.
King Abdullah died early on Friday after a short illness.

By appointing his youngest half-brother Muqrin, 69, as Crown Prince and nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, as Deputy Crown Prince, Salman has swiftly quelled speculation about internal palace rifts at a moment of great regional turmoil.

Oil prices jumped in an immediate reaction as news of Abdullah’s death added to uncertainty in energy markets.

Salman, thought to be 79, takes over as the ultimate authority in a country that faces long-term domestic challenges compounded by the plunging price of oil in recent months and the rise of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq andSyria, which vows to toppled the Al Saud.

Salman must navigate a white-hot rivalry with Shi’ite Muslim power Iran playing out in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanonand Bahrain, open conflict in two neighbouring states, a threat from Islamist militants and bumpy relations with theUnited States.

In his first speech as king, shown live on Saudi television, Salman pledged to maintain the same approach to ruling the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam as his predecessors and called for unity among Arab states.

“We will continue, God willing, to hold the straight course that this country has followed since its establishment by the late King Abdulaziz,” he said.
Mohammed bin Nayef becomes the first grandson of the kingdom’s founding monarch, King Abdulaziz, known as Ibn Saud, to take an established place in the line of succession.

All Saudi kings since Abdulaziz’s death in 1953 have been his sons and the move into the next generation had raised the prospect of a palace power struggle. King Salman also appointed his own son, Mohammed bin Salman, Defence Minister and head of the royal court.
Reputedly pragmatic and adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal, royal and Western interests that factor into Saudi policy making, Salman appears unlikely to change the kingdom’s approach to foreign affairs or energy sales.

Despite rumours about Salman’s health and strength, diplomats who have attended meetings between the new king and foreign leaders over the past year have said he has been fully engaged in talks lasting several hours at a time.

REFORM LEGACY
Many Saudis in a country with a young population will be unable to recall a time before King Abdullah’s rule, both as monarch from 2005 and as de facto regent for a decade before that.
His legacy was an effort to overhaul the kingdom’s economic and social systems to address a looming demographic crisis by creating private sector jobs and making young Saudis better prepared to take them.

“I think (Salman) will continue with Abdullah’s reforms. He realises the importance of this. He’s not conservative in person, but he values the opinion of the conservative constituency of the country,” said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a news channel owned by a Saudi prince.

However, Abdullah’s reforms did not stretch to politics, and after the Arab Spring his security forces clamped down on all forms of dissent, imprisoning outspoken critics of the ruling family alongside women drivers and Islamist militants.

As the Saudi population grows and oil prices fall globally, the Al Saud will increasingly struggle to maintain its generous spending on social benefits for ordinary people, potentially undermining its future legitimacy in a country where there are no elections, analysts say.

King Salman has previously spoken against the idea of introducing democracy in Saudi Arabia in comments to American diplomats recorded in embassy cables later released by WikiLeaks.
UNMARKED GRAVE
In keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah’s body, clothed in white and shrouded in a simple cloth, will be carried on an ambulance stretcher by relatives to rest in the mosque before being borne to the cemetery and buried in an unmarked grave on Friday.

Prayers in the mosque will be led by King Salman and attended by Muslim heads of state and other senior figures.
Non-Muslim dignitaries will visit to pay respects to the new monarch and crown prince, and other members of the Al Saud dynasty, in the coming days.
Later, following the evening prayer an hour after sunset, King Salman and Crown Prince Muqrin will receive pledges of allegiance from other ruling family members, Wahhabi clerics, tribal chiefs, leading businessmen and other Saudi subjects.

In the kingdom’s strict Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, ostentatious displays of grief are frowned upon: after previous deaths of Saudi monarchs and other top royals, there was no official period of mourning and flags were at full mast.
Despite a surge of sorrowful messages from Saudis on social media, that religious constraint on public commemorations meant there were no signs in Riyadh’s streets early on Friday that the country’s long-time ruler had died.