By Ed Stoddard

Apartheid death-squad leader Eugene de Kock, dubbed ‘Prime Evil’ for his role in the torture and murder of scores of black South African activists in the 1980s and early 1990s, was granted parole on Friday after more than 20 years in prison.

Justice Minister Michael Masutha said de Kock would be released “in the interests of nation-building and reconciliation” and because he had expressed remorse at his crimes and helped authorities recover the remains of some of his victims.

The decision, which had been deferred several times over the last year, is contentious in a country still dealing with the legacy of repression and brutality meted out by the white-minority regime that prevailed from 1948 to 1994.

“He is not supposed to be freed. The atrocities he did to our people were very bad,” Aniel Motlhake, 35, a financial planner, told Reuters after the decision.

Many South Africans, however, believe forgiveness is the only way to leave the memories of apartheid behind.

“There are some of our black brothers that killed a lot of white people and also white people that killed,” Joseph Dlamini, a taxi driver in Johannesburg, told Reuters. “At some point we need to forgive one another.”

The date of the 66-year-old’s release from Pretoria ‘C-Max’ High Security prison would be kept secret, Masutha added.

De Kock’s lawyer, Julian Knight, said he had been unable to contact his client and so could not comment on his state of mind or future plans.

WHITE RULE

As head of an apartheid counter-insurgency unit at Vlakplaas, a farm 20 km (15 miles) west of Pretoria, de Kock is believed to have been responsible for more atrocities than any other man in the efforts to preserve white rule.

Arrested in 1994, the year Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress (ANC) came to power, he was sentenced two years later to 212 years in prison on charges ranging from murder and attempted murder to kidnapping and fraud.

However, at a Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up in 1995 to try to unearth – and, in some cases, forgive – crimes committed by both sides, de Kock came clean about the killing of many ANC activists.

Even from behind bars, the bespectacled de Kock continued to cast his shadow over the post-apartheid South Africa.

In a 2007 radio interview, he accused FW de Klerk, the last white president, of having hands “soaked in blood” for ordering political killings. De Klerk, who won the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Mandela, has denied the allegations.

However, in 2012 he met Marcia Khoza, the daughter of ANC activist Portia Shabangu, whom de Kock executed after an ambush in Swaziland in 1989.

“We greeted each other and shook hands. His handshake was firm,” she said after the meeting, at which de Kock described how he shot Khoza’s mother twice in the head before pushing the vehicle in which she was travelling down a slope.

“I thought I would cry but strangely enough had the courage to continue to listen to him. I was not jolted because I had long forgiven him,” she said.

At the same news conference, Masutha, the justice minister, denied medical parole to Clive Derby-Lewis, an ultra-right wing politician who masterminded the 1993 assassination of Communist Party leader Chris Hani in an attempt to trigger a race war.

Derby-Lewis is reported to be dying of cancer.

By Stelios Orphanides

Bank of Cyprus may have to replace up to 800 million euros in cheaper funding from the European Central Bank with mostly costly financing in case Cyprus fails to meet its bailout terms, a bank official said.

“We will have to apply for emergency funding should Cyprus fail to get a positive evaluation,” of the progress in implementing the economic and financial reform programme agreed with international creditors the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in a telephone interview today.

A woman armed with a machine-gun opened fire on a police post in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Friday but initial reports suggested there were no casualties, Turkey’s NTV television reported.

NTV said the attacker left her weapon at the scene and escaped on foot, and that some police vehicles were damaged in the attack. Police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The attack comes just over three weeks after a suicide bomber blew herself up at a police station in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, killing one officer and wounding another.

The hard-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) initially claimed responsibility for the Sultanahmet attack but later retracted its statement. Some Turkish newspaper reports have suggested the attack was orchestrated by Islamist militants.

Kurdish separatists, Islamist radicals and far-left groups have all staged deadly attacks in the past in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city and a major European tourist destination.

Taksim Square is a major transport hub, surrounded by hotels and lying at the end of one of the city’s largest shopping streets.

Unemployment in Cyprus dropped in December 2014 to 16.4 per cent, compared to 16.6 per cent in November 2014.

According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.4 per cent in December 2014, down from 11.5 per cent in November 2014. This was the lowest rate recorded in the euro area since August 2012.

The EU28 unemployment rate was 9.9 per cent in December 2014, down from 10 per cent in November 2014. This was the first time the rate for the EU28 had fallen below 10 per cent since October 2011.

Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates in December 2014 were recorded in Germany (4.8 per cent) and Austria (4.9 per cent), and the highest in Greece (25.8 per cent in October 2014) and Spain (23.7 per cent).

Compared with a year ago, the unemployment rate in December 2014 fell in 24 member states, remained stable in Belgium and increased in Finland (8.3 per cent to 8.9 per cent), Italy (12.6 per cent to 12.9 per cent) and France (10.2 per cent to 10.3 per cent).

The largest decreases were registered in Estonia (9.0 per cent to 6.6 per cent between November 2013 and November 2014), Bulgaria (12.8 per cent to 10.8 per cent), Greece (27.8 per cent to 25.8 per cent between October 2013 and October 2014), Hungary (9.3 per cent to 7.3 per cent between November 2013 and November 2014) and Poland (10 per cent to 8.0 per cent). (CNA)

Greece’s new left-wing government will cancel plans to sell the state natural gas utility and is firmly opposed to a Canadian gold mine that is among the biggest foreign investment projects in the country, the energy minister told Reuters on Friday.

The comments by Panagiotis Lafazanis further reinforces early signs that the government is sticking to campaign pledges that have chilled investment and unnerved financial markets.

The gold mine operated by Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold in northern Greece was the flagship project of the last government’s foreign investment drive and considered a test case that would reveal whether Greece could protect foreign investors despite local opposition.

By Jean Christou

Greek Prime Minister Alexia Tsipras was quoted on Friday as saying it was important that the Turkish seismic vessel Barbaros leave the sea area around Cyprus so that talks could resume.

Tsipras who is due in Cyprus on Monday on his first official visit abroad since being elected on an anti-bailout platform last Sunday, gave an interview to Turkish newspaper Sabah.

The Barbaros has been anchored off Famagusta port in the north since December 30 but earlier this week Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Ozdil Nami said it might resume explorations soon given the continued deadlock in the Cyprus talks.

In his interview with Sabah, Tsipras was quoted as saying that Greece supported negotiations facilitated by the UN and on the basis of UN Resolutions for a “bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with a single administration, single citizenship and a single international identity”.

“We must actively support an increase of mutual confidence on the island,” he said. “The materialisation of this, however, is becoming much more difficult with activities such as the violation of the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone… by the Barbaros vessel which belongs to Turkey. The ship’s abandoning of the area and the leaving open of all diplomatic channels for the resumption of the negotiations is of significant importance,” Tsipras added.

As regards Greece’s relations with Turkey and whether he planned to continue détente with Athens, Tsipras said Athens had repeatedly underlined the necessity of an active and multidimensional Greek foreign policy which supported peace and stability in the region.
He said Syriza’s manifesto explicitly says that it actively supported the peaceful resolution of disputes with neighbouring countries within the framework of international law.

The Greek government would attach great importance to the development of cooperation between Greece and Turkey in the fields of economy, culture, tourism, education, migration, transportation, energy and environment, he said.

However he made it clear that the only way to take another step forward in creating confidence was respecting each other’s sovereign rights and the principle of good neighbourliness. He also made reference to the fact that in 2014, Turkish violations of Greek air space had tripled compared to 2013.
When he visits Cyprus next week, Tsipras visit would reaffirm close cooperation between Nicosia and Athens, government spokesman spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Friday.

During his visit, Tsipras, will have a private meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades followed by a meeting between the delegations of the two countries, the spokesman said.

The Greek side will also meet the political parties.
“We look forward to the visit of the new Greek Prime Minister and we are certain that through the discussion that will take place the close cooperation that exists between the two countries over the years will be demonstrated,” the spokesman said.

He said the Cyprus problem, Turkey ‘s violation of the island’s exclusive economic zone, as well as the economy would be discussed during the talks.
On Russia, he said the “overwhelming majority of the EU member states, even the large states, had the same position as Greece and Cyprus related to the approach for the solution of the problem that exists in the region.” He was referring to Greece and Cyprus’ opposition to further sanctions on Russia.

Greece will refuse the planned return of European Union and International Monetary Fund inspectors to the country since the new government rejects the 240-billion-euro bailout programme, a government official told Reuters on Friday.

The new government, which is holding talks with the head of the euro zone finance ministers’ group on Friday, also has no intention of securing an extension to the EU portion of the aid programme that expires on Feb. 28.

By George Psyllides

Suspension of the foreclosures law only did harm to the country, the borrowers association said on Friday, adding its voice to those who suggest that opposition parties were engaging in populist antics that ultimately hindered the island’s recovery.

“There is no substantive benefit for borrowers,” said association chairman Costas Melas. “On the contrary, our country has suffered damage in the sense that it is losing is credibility, something that also hurts borrowers.”

Opposition parties on Thursday extended the suspension of the foreclosures law for another month, ignoring the fact that repossessions cannot be carried out as the necessary regulations have not been passed yet.

The opposition has been at it since last September, blemishing Cyprus’ otherwise impeccable track record when it came to the implementation of the bailout adjustment programme.

The move prompted lenders to withhold part of the tranche and suspend the progress review.

It could also deprive Cyprus of access to the European Central Bank’s recently announced quantitative easing programme.

The opposition said it is protecting vulnerable groups until the insolvency framework was put in place. That delay can be blamed on the government, which still has not prepared the last of five bills.

But Melas suggested that parliament could have let things be and move to suspend if they saw that banks tried to foreclose.

Some have suggested that opposition parties were effectively protecting troubled big borrowers, developers mainly, and not the vulnerable.

On Thursday, Ruling DISY was ready to submit a compromise proposal to exempt primary residences from repossession until the insolvency framework was in place but the opposition disagreed.

“It only does damage. There is no benefit really,” Melas said.

By Staff Reporter

The Albanian foreign and energy ministers were in Cyprus on Friday to discuss bilateral relations and to sign an agreement on health.

Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati and Energy Minister Damian Gjinkuri held meetings with their Cypriot counterparts Ioannis Kasoulides and Giorgos Lakkotrypis, and were also received by President Nicos Anastasiades and House President Yiannakis Omirou.

Bushati and Kasoulides signed bilateral agreement for cooperation in the area of health following a meeting by delegations of the two countries.
Bushati, after his meeting with Omirou, thanked the House President for Cyprus` support towards Albania`s European course. Kasoulides said in statements that particular emphasis was given to this. “We encouraged Albania to continue with the necessary reform process and assure my colleagues of our willingness to contribute to this effort with our knowledge and expertise,” he said.

He said he and his counterpart had exchanged views on regional issues, with particular emphasis on the rise of terrorism.
“Cyprus is particularly concerned and actively involved in the concerted efforts to efficiently eradicate the scourge of terrorism,” said Kasoulides.
Bushati said Albania wanted to strengthen cooperation with Cyprus as the two countries share similar challenges, but also opportunities in the areas of energy, tourism, infrastructure and environment.

“It is obvious that support from a small country to another small country gives the right message in the region. Our position towards the Cyprus issue has been consistent and clear in respect of international law and in full respect with the UN Security Council resolutions, and we will very much welcome a solution to this issue based on the same principles, and certainly a solution that will come through negotiations,” he said.

He said there was a plethora of opportunities to cooperate in the area of energy. “Today, all the respective ministers agreed to organise in March an event in Tirana that will bring together all the representatives of companies and state agents from countries, including Cyprus, to discuss these issues,” Bushati said.

By Allison Lampert and Allison Martell

Aviation leaders will try to secure a mandate to implement new safety standards when they meet next week after a string of high-profile accidents around the world made 2014 the deadliest year for commercial airlines in almost a decade.

Efforts to adopt new standards for global plane tracking and co-operation on the risks of flying over conflict zones will dominate the meeting on safety in Montreal from Feb. 2-5, weeks ahead of the anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370, the Malaysian Airlines jet with 239 people on board.

Regulators and officials at the meeting will have to juggle political sensitivities and arguments over the budgets of cash-squeezed airlines.

“Issues such as flight restrictions over conflict zones can only be tackled at a global or regional level,” Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency, said.

“The global aviation regulatory system should also act more quickly to address the recommendations for safety improvement made by accident investigators,” he told Reuters ahead of the talks at the International Civil Aviation Organization.

While statistics suggest flying is safer than ever in proportion to the amount of traffic, 924 people were killed in passenger accidents last year, the worst for loss of life since 2005, shaking perceptions of air travel worldwide.

Last year’s disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet, and the downing of a sister plane on flight MH17 over Ukraine with a combined loss of 539 lives, pose one of the biggest challenges to the 70-year-old U.N. organization since security threats in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Like hijackings in the 1970s, the Korean Airlines 007 fighter jet shootdown, and the Pan Am 103 bombing, the downing of MH17 represents an abhorrent, watershed moment in civil aviation history,” said Pillsbury Law partner Kenneth Quinn, a former U.S. official who took part in a task force on the issue.

Airlines have called for controls on weapons such as the high-altitude ground-to-air missile suspected of shooting down MH17 over eastern Ukraine last July, and greater sharing of intelligence information on threats.

MH17 was hit during fighting between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The United States said the plane was hit with a ground-to-air missile by rebels. Russia says a Ukrainian military aircraft downed it.

NO FAIL-SAFE METHODS
ICAO, one of the international institutions which sprang out of World War II, is credited with making it safer to fly by ensuring coordination in standards across the globe.

But getting collaboration when it comes to disputed territory can be tough. Some major intelligence agencies were invited to take part in preparatory ICAO talks on conflict zones but didn’t show up, two people familiar with the discussions said.

Faced with the reluctance of most countries to share highly sensitive information, ICAO has proposed overhauling a system of notices to pilots to ensure that what data already exists is more widely available and able to be cross-checked.

“No system for identifying, verifying, and sharing threat information is fail-safe, but a centralized database at ICAO at least ensures that identified threat information gets shared on a more widespread and timely basis,” Quinn said.

That is likely to disappoint airlines that have said it is the responsibility of states to tell them what they know.

On tracking, however, airlines have displayed divisions over the costs of installing new systems, while several competing business groups will be lobbying on the sidelines of ICAO.

Senior officials involved in the discussions said the recent AirAsia crash was not part of the UN debate because the jet was within controlled airspace and its flight recorders were found relatively quickly after delays mainly due to bad weather.

Next week’s conference is likely to call for planes to send tracking signals at regular intervals in normal flight and to speed them up when they get into trouble. It is also looking at ejectable black boxes as one way to aid searches and solve mysteries like that of the missing MH370.

But in December, the International Air Transport Association, which represents over 200 carriers, refused to back a call by an industry-wide committee that had met under its own leadership to install existing systems on its planes within 12 months.

A strong ICAO mandate to impose flight tracking would also need national measures to take effect. The European Union is expected to move quickly to make them law, an EU official said.

But some delegates have expressed concerns that the global response to last year’s shock events could be weakened if there is only patchy compliance with the new recommendations.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa will miss his side’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash against Manchester City after losing his appeal against a charge of violent conduct, the English Football Association said on Friday.

The Brazilian-born Spain striker has been banned for three matches after treading down on Liverpool’s Emre Can in the first half of the League Cup semi-final, second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Chelsea, who are five points clear at the top of the table, will be without Costa for Saturday’s clash against Manchester City as well as games at Aston Villa and home to Everton.

Stoke City defender Robert Huth was handed a two-match suspension and 15,000-pound ($22,500) fine for comments he made on social media, the Football Association said on Friday.

The former Germany international admitted a charge of making improper and indecent comments on Twitter that brought the game into disrepute.

Arsenal’s new signing Gabriel Paulista could make his Premier League debut against Aston Villa but leading goalscorer Alexis Sanchez is not likely to be risked with a hamstring injury, manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.

The 24-year-old defender joined the Gunners from Spanish side Villarreal earlier this week and Wenger is confident the Brazilian will provide stiff competition for first-choice central defenders Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.

Good news for Southampton as two of their international brigade will ride to the rescue this weekend, affording manager Ronald Koeman some much needed relief from injury woes when his high-flying Saints welcome Swansea City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Japanese defender Maya Yoshida and Senegalese striker Sadio Mane are back from international duty, and will be available, to the relief of Koeman who is still without Victor Wanyama, Morgan Schneiderlin, Toby Alderwiereld and Shane Long.

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick will be out for four weeks with a ruptured muscle, manager Louis van Gaal said on Friday.

The 33-year-old Englishman will miss the visit of Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday and could be absent for another six games during February.

Daniel Sturridge is also set to make his return on Saturday after five months out and for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers there is hope for what he can bring and lingering disappointment over what might have been.

When Sturridge was ruled out with a thigh injury on international duty in early September, Liverpool’s goals dried up.

Left without the services of their top two scorers from the previous season, with Luis Suarez sold to Barcelona last July, Liverpool’s season effectively imploded.

A recent resurgence has been built around a change of system with Raheem Sterling drafted in to a makeshift striker’s role, but he has effectively been keeping the position warm until Sturridge could make his comeback.

That looks likely to happen against West Ham United at Anfield on Saturday.


Fixtures from the English premier league matches:

Saturday, January 31
Hull City v Newcastle United (1445)
Crystal Palace v Everton (1700)
Liverpool v West Ham United (1700)
Manchester United v Leicester City (1700)
Stoke City v Queens Park Rangers (1700)
Sunderland v Burnley (1700)
West Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur (1700)
Chelsea v Manchester City (1930)

Sunday, February 1
Arsenal v Aston Villa (1530)
Southampton v Swansea City (1800)

The implementation of an overall digital strategy will bring many benefits to the state, the economy and society, minister of Commerce Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Saturday.
Addressing an event in Nicosia on the occasion of the second phase of Digital Championship 2014-2015, the minister said the implementation of a digital strategy will be important to strengthen the competitiveness of the economy, to create new jobs, to modernise and restructure the state and increase productivity.
Lakkotrypis said that Information and Communication Technologies will embrace the important sectors of the Cypriot economy such as tourism, education, health, transport and entrepreneurship and will help Cyprus become a regional service centre, attracting investment.
He referred to the ministry’s actions to strengthen the sector and said that 40 businesses took part in the government’s pilot project aiming at enhancing innovation, with an overall budget of €4m. The new plan, announced recently, has a budget of €10m.
In addition, he said the ministry will announce a series of new fundings within the framework of the EU structural funds for 2014–2020 with an overall budget of €30m.
Speaking at the same event, Cyprus’ digital champion and Permanent Secretary of the ministry Stelios Chimonas said the competition on innovation in the fields of technologies, information and communication, called digital championship, was one of his primary goals as digital champion of Cyprus.
“The idea began two years ago. We cooperate with an excellent team of people ranging from all areas, the academic community, the public and private sector, the EU representation and other organisations”, he said.
He noted that the message is that Cyprus can and should exploit the ideas of the Cypriot scientists and their innovative ideas. This, he concluded, will give a boost to economy and competitiveness of the country.

By Dan Whitcomb

More than 100 people in the United States have been confirmed as infected with measles including 91 in California, most of them linked to an outbreak that began at Disneyland in December, public health officials said on Friday.

The California Department of Public Health said at least 58 of the cases of the highly infectious disease in the state have been epidemiologically linked to the Disneyland cluster. More than a dozen other cases have been confirmed in 13 other U.S. states and in Mexico.

No deaths have been reported in connection with the outbreak, which public health officials suspect began when an infected person from outside the United States visited Disneyland in Anaheim between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20.

The White House on Friday urged parents to heed the advice of public health officials and scientists in getting their children vaccinated.

“People should evaluate this for themselves with a bias toward good science and toward the advice of our public health professionals,” President Barack Obama’s spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Asked whether people should be getting vaccinated, Earnest said: “That’s what the science indicates.”

The measles outbreak has renewed a debate over the so-called anti-vaccination movement in which fears about potential side effects of vaccines, fueled by now-debunked research suggesting a link to autism, have led a small minority of parents to refuse to allow their children to be inoculated.

Some parents also opt not to have their children vaccinated for religious or other reasons.

Earnest said Obama believes decisions about vaccinating children should rest with parents but that “the president believes that everybody should be listening to our public health professionals.” Earnest said the White House will continue to closely monitor the outbreak.

Earnest’s comments came one day after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to get vaccinated for measles.

Measles was officially declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 after decades of intensive childhood vaccine efforts. But last year the nation had its highest number of measles cases in two decades.

In addition to California, since December cases of measles have been confirmed in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington state, as well as Mexico.

Most people recover within a few weeks, although it can be fatal in some cases.

By Larry Fine

Tiger Woods slumped to his worst round as a professional when he carded an 11-over-par 82 in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

The 14-time major winner, struggling in his return to competitive golf after a long layoff due to a back injury, had six bogeys, two double bogeys, a triple bogey and two birdies in the round.

“It’s golf, we all have days like this,” Tiger told reporters.”Unfortunately, mine was in a public forum, in a public setting.”
Woods, whose previous worst score was an 81 in foul weather in the third round of the 2002 Open Championship, retained a sense of humour despite his humbling showing.
“I’m just doing this so I don’t get fined,” he joked to reporters, echoing media-shy Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, who is playing in the Super Bowl in nearby Glendale on Sunday.

Woods struggled in all phases of his game in rainy conditions at TPC Scottsdale.
The former world number one sprayed drives, found water, flew approach shots over greens, flubbed chips and missed short putts in only his second event in five months after back pain for much of last year.

The embarrassing performance came after intense work with new swing coach Chris Como and a tie for last place last month in an event hosted by Woods at his previous home course of Isleworth outside Orlando.
Woods struggled mightily with his chipping game there, and it is still sorely lacking.

“My attack angle was much steeper with (previous instructor) Sean (Foley),” he said. “Now I’m very shallow, so that in turn affects the chipping. I’m not bottoming out in the same spot.”

Woods, 39, has not won a major since his 2008 U.S. Open triumph in a 19-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate and he showed he has a long way to go to get close to his top level.

After an opening round of two-over 73, Woods soared to an eight-over 44 in his first nine holes to tie his worst ever nine-hole score at the 2013 Memorial.
Starting from the 10th, Woods was one-over through the first four holes before taking a double-bogey at the par-four 14th and a triple-bogey at the par-five 15th.

He splashed his tee shot into water, blasted over the green from a greenside bunker and botched a chip shot at 15.
Woods closed the nightmare nine with bogeys at 17 and 18.
He posted three pars after the turn, but double-bogeyed the par-three fourth and added three bogeys and two birdies for three-over 38 and a score of 82.

Woods will need some quick fixes as he is scheduled to play next week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, an event he has won seven times and was the scene of his last major triumph, the 2008 U.S. Open.

By Greg Stutchbury

Top seed Serena Williams fought off a barking cough to clinch her 19th grand slam singles title with a 6-3 7-6(5) victory over Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final on Saturday.

Williams’ sixth title at Melbourne Park moved her into a tie with fellow American Helen Wills Moody in third on the all-time list after she joined Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on 18 at last year’s US Open.

Only Australia’s Margaret Court (24) and Germany’s Steffi Graf (22), who holds the record for the Open era, have more grand slam singles titles than the 33-year-old American.

“Growing up, I wasn’t the richest, but I had a rich family in spirit and support,” Williams said at the trophy presentation. “Standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen.
“I went on the courts with a ball and racquet and hope and that’s all I had.
“I’m so honoured to be here tonight and to hold this 19th trophy.”

Williams had not lost to Sharapova since the 2004 WTA Finals, a run of 15 successive victories and was not about to let the Russian end that streak on Saturday.
The tone of the match was set in the first game when Williams broke the Russian’s serve.

Even though rain forced them off court for 12 minutes as officials closed the roof in the sixth game, the American was not bothered by the disruption as she reeled off the next six points to establish a 5-2 lead after they returned.

Williams sealed the first set when she broke Sharapova for the third time and then continued her momentum in the second with a powerful service game while she put pressure on the Russian’s serve.

Sharapova battled to stay in the match and did have chances to break, but Williams simply reached back and smashed down a succession of massive serves to get out of trouble.

She sealed victory in the tiebreak on her third match point when she powered down her 18th ace and then celebrated at the net after shaking hands with the Russian.

“I’ve got to congratulate Serena on creating history and on playing some of her best tennis,” Sharapova said.
“I haven’t beaten her in a really long time, but I love every time that I step on the court to play against her because she’s been the best and, as a tennis player, you want to play against the best.
“So congratulations on an incredible achievement.”

A 24-year-old man was arrested on Friday in connection with a burglary in Nicosia, which linked him to a further six prior burglaries, a police report said.
According to the report, at around 9:30am on Friday, police rushed to a house in Nicosia after a tip that a man was trying to force his way in.
Upon arrival, the policemen spotted a young pedestrian, who was approached and transferred to CID Nicosia for questioning.
It turned out the 24-year-old confessed not only to the burglary of the residence, but also several other recent robberies.
Further investigation linked the suspect to six cases of burglary and robbery, after the 24-year-old led police to an open area in Nicosia, where a military-issue rifle, a bayonet, two magazines and bullets were found.
He said these items had been stolen from a home he robbed on January 5, 2015.
A search conducted in the suspect’s car produced various items of evidence, believed to be the loot of robbery.
The 24-year-old pointed out the location of eight more robberies in Nicosia.
He was arrested and placed in custody in connection to the case.
Nicosia CID continues to investigate the case.

By Greg Stutchbury

For two men who have accomplished so much in their closely intertwined careers, the Australian Open final between friends Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on Sunday could achieve a number of firsts.

Should Djokovic beat Murray he will become the first man in the Open era to win five titles in Melbourne and be one away from Roy Emerson’s record of six, won before the game went professional in 1968.

Victory will also allow him to reclaim his mantle as the king of Melbourne Park, having reached the final in four of the past five years.
“Getting to the finals is already a great achievement … but now this is the match for which you have worked for now two months,” Djokovic said after he beat last year’s champion Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final. “This is where you want to be.
“This is why you put all these hours on and off the court, trying to get yourself in a position to win a grand slam trophy, because that’s what matters the most.”

Djokovic is bidding for his eighth grand slam title and has a superior 15-8 career record over Murray.
He has also won seven of their last eight matches, while in his run of three successive Melbourne Park titles, he beat Murray twice, in 2011 and 2013.
“There’s no clear favourite. But … the record I have in finals against him here in Australia, we played couple times, can serve maybe as a slight mental edge,” Djokovic said.
“But not much.”

While the history is against Murray, the Scot is used to rewriting it.
It would be his first title at Melbourne Park, from his fourth final appearance, the most required in the Open era to win the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
It would also end another long barren streak for British men’s tennis, as he would be the first British man since Fred Perry in 1934 to clinch the Australian title.

Ending long losing streaks back to the days of Perry is something the 27-year-old Scot is becoming accustomed to.
He became the first British man since Perry to win a grand slam title in 76 years when he clinched the US Open in 2012 and the first to win Wimbledon in 77 years in 2013.
Both times he beat Djokovic in the final.

It would also be his first under new coach Amelie Mauresmo, with the Scot coming out after his tempestuous semi-final victory over Thomas Berdych to defend their working together.
Murray’s form last year was criticised, with some pundits putting it down to Mauresmo’s influence, but the sixth seed said the pair had barely worked together at all before the end of 2014.

“I feel like I’m playing well again,” Murray said yesterday. “I think this tournament’s been obviously important for me just because of some of the results I had at the end of last year.
“It shows as well that last year, although it was a tough year, it wasn’t that bad.
“I feel like things have been going the right direction the last couple months.”

His improvements at Melbourne Park have been noticed by Djokovic.
“His game at the end of 2014 season, maybe people were not giving him such a great chances to get to the finals,” Djokovic said.
“But he feels that he’s more relaxed on the court and he can swing through his shots from the baseline.

“I think forehand has improved, judging by the matches he has played … compared to a few months ago.
“He’s also got a big serve. I think if he serves well, that’s a huge confidence boost and advantage for him.
“I think the way he’s been playing, he already knows what it takes to win a grand slam title … so I’m sure that we both are going to go out and give our best.”

More than 100 owners of hunting dogs organised blocked traffic access in two lanes of the Konia roundabout in Paphos at 11 am on Saturday, in protest of the limited areas the Cyprus Wildlife Protection department has granted them for training their dogs.

Dog owners reported the death of several hunting dogs in all four of the areas granted due to poison intentionally placed by unknown individuals.
They demanded the granting of more areas, particularly areas deemed permanently restricted, arguing that dog-training does not negatively impact the reproduction of hares or partridges.
Chairman of the Cyprus Hunting Association Pambos Pittokopitis said his association requests proposals for a variety of issues on an annual basis, including the delineation of training areas.
Pittokopitis noted that some “criminals” intentionally plant poison in the dog-hunting areas, resulting in the loss of hunting dogs.
“For us organised hunters, these people are criminals,” he said.
He described the protest as “justified”, saying all hunters should join the effort to eradicate such practices.
In the course of the protest, dog owners cut off traffic in two lanes of the highway for approximately 15 minutes. However, minimal disruption to the public was caused as police members promptly diverted traffic.

By Steve Scherer and Paolo Biondi

Italian lawmakers elected Sergio Mattarella, a constitutional court judge and veteran centre-left politician, as president on Saturday, handing a welcome political victory to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Mattarella, speaking at his office in the Constitutional Court after the vote, said: “My first thoughts are of the difficulties and hopes of our citizens.”

The election shows the 40-year-old Renzi in firm control of both his famously fractious party and his allies in the ruling majority as he seeks to pass reforms aimed at underpinning an economic recovery in Italy, where unemployment is soaring after six years of on-off recession.

After three inconclusive rounds of voting this week in which a two-thirds majority was needed, his candidate Mattarella was elected in the fourth round, when the required quorum fell to a simple majority.

As the ballots were counted out loud in the Chamber of Deputies, the 1,009 parliamentarians and regional officials eligible to vote burst into applause when Mattarella’s name surpassed the 505-vote threshold, making him Italy’s 12th president since World War Two.

Mattarella, 73, who is little known to most Italians, drew broad parliamentary support, garnering 665 votes. He is expected to be sworn in next week for a seven-year term, taking over officially for the 89-year-old Giorgio Napolitano, who resigned earlier this month.

“Keep up the good work, President Mattarella. Long live Italy!,” Renzi tweeted after the vote. Even Pope Francis sent a congratulatory telegram.

The Italian president is a largely ceremonial figure, but he wields important powers at times of political instability, a frequent scourge in Italy, when he can dissolve parliament, call elections and pick prime ministers.

Centre-right rival Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party appeared in disarray after the vote.
Berlusconi ordered his party to cast blank ballots after accusing Renzi of betraying what he said was a promise to give him a role in choosing the candidate.
Instead, more than 30 refused, opening a wound in the party.

Renato Brunetta, Forza Italia’s chief whip in the lower house, said the pact that Renzi and Berlusconi sealed last year to make institutional reforms was dead, but not all his party colleagues were so resolute and Berlusconi himself has yet to comment.

“Renzi made a unilateral decision to break the pact,” Brunetta said. “Nothing will be the same now.”

Mattarella is the first native of Sicily to become president. He has a reputation for being a reserved but straight-talking former minister, whose career in politics began after his brother, Piersanti, was shot dead by the Sicilian Mafia in 1980.

Mattarella’s political roots are in Italy’s defunct Christian Democrat party that his father Bernardo, an anti-fascist, helped to found after the war.
Though Mattarella is not seen as having vast international experience, he did serve as defense minister in two different centre-left governments, from 1999 to 2001.

In 1990, Mattarella resigned as education minister to protest a decree that favoured Berlusconi’s media empire, and three years later he drafted a voting law, which has since been changed, that was used when Berlusconi won his first of three national elections in 1994.

By Nick Cairns, Partner, Blevins Franks

There was much discussion last year as to when, rather than if, the UK interest rate would rise in 2015. After six years of just 0.5 per cent, even a small increase would be welcomed by savers.

However hopes of a Bank of England (BoE) rate rise appear to have already been quashed. Many analysts now expect the first increase to come in 2016, possibly after the first quarter, with a few suggesting 2017.

Minutes of the BoE’s first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year were released on January 21 and revealed that the vote to keep rates on hold had been unanimous. The two members who had been calling for a rise since August had reversed their decision. This was a significant change in the path interest rates were expected to take this year.

MPC members are concerned about low inflation after UK inflation fell to 0.5 per cent in December, its lowest rate for 14 years. Lower oil prices coupled with a supermarket price war could keep inflation below 1 per cent for some time. They believe there is a “roughly even chance” that inflation could fall into negative territory. Although the sharp drop in price pressures is expected to be temporary, a rate rise would increase the risk of low inflation becoming entrenched.

Lower oil prices could help the economy by boosting real incomes and lowering production costs, but deflation could damage the economy if it continues for a long period.

The MPC will probably only consider raising rates once all the downside risks to the medium-term inflation outlook have passed. The eurozone also continues to pose a risk. It is the UK’s biggest export market and already in deflationary territory. Quantitative easing is likely to weaken the value of the euro, which would be positive for Europe’s exporters but hurt manufacturers in the UK.

European Central Bank quantitative easing
The European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate has been held at 0.05 per cent since September 2014. Inflation was -0.2 per cent in December.

On January 22, ECB President Mario Draghi unveiled plans for a massive quantitative easing programme to boost the economy and ward off deflation.

Under quantitative easing, a central bank pumps money into the economy by buying assets, usually bonds, with money printed (or created electronically these days) for the purpose.

From March, the ECB will buy €60 billion of private and public bonds each month. This is intended to continue until September 2016, making at total of €1.1 trillion.

This move has been described in the press as the ECB’s “big bazooka”. It is hoped it will inspire confidence in the markets and prove effective in kick starting the economy, as happened with the UK and US quantitative easing programmes.

Tempted by higher rates?
With interest rates remaining low, cash deposits offering higher rates could be tempting. However, you need to consider the ‘risk free rate of return’ – the theoretical rate of return of an investment with zero risk. To measure the rate, investment managers often use the return available on government fixed interest investments maturing within three months. This is currently 0.05 per cent for the euro, 0.5 per cent for sterling and 0.25 per cent for the US dollar.

So if you see offers of risk free returns which are much higher than the international monetary bank base rate, you have to wonder how they provide such returns. We would urge caution; in our experience, if something seems too good to be true, it often turns out to be the case. Cash based deposits quoting returns in excess of the central bank rates must bear some risk, and the higher the return, the higher the risk.

As always, when considering your savings and investment options, you need to choose assets based around your personal circumstances, objectives, risk profile and time horizon. And remember, diversification helps lower risk, so make sure you have a suitable mix of assets. Seek professional advice.

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