Quantcast
Channel: Cyprus Mail
Viewing all 6907 articles
Browse latest View live

Port workers go on strike (Updated)

0
0
LARNACA PORT

By George Psyllides

Workers at the Republic’s two ports went on a 24-hour warning strike on Thursday in a bid to pressure the government to resolve the matter of the development of Larnaca port.

The strike was expected to affect a small number of cargo ships.

The workers are irked over the continuous extensions the government has been granting a consortium, which is unable under the current conditions to secure the funds for developing the Larnaca port and marina.

Since late 2012, when the contract was concluded, the government has granted Zenon consortium eight extensions. The last one expired on February 15.

Unions believe that through the extensions the state was trying to find a way to transfer port authority rights to private business.

The decision to strike was taken by Larnaca port workers in the morning, followed by their Limassol colleagues shortly afterwards.

Workers at Larnaca port had been abstaining from overtime work since Monday and decided to go on strike after deeming the explanation their received on the issue unsatisfactory.

They have also given port authorities until Tuesday to brief them on the contents of the agreement with the consortium.

The unions said they will convene general assemblies the day after to assess the situation and decide how to proceed.

PEO rep Glafkos Constantinou said they will contact the House Watchdog Committee chairman in a bid to bring discussion of the matter forward.

“We have reservations concerning compliance with the basic provisions of the competition for the joint development of the Larnaca port and marina,” he said.

Constantinou said the unions were in favour of the Ports Authority agreements with companies providing auxiliary services to companies searching for natural gas but they think the profits will be transferred to the consortium without them developing the port at the end of the day.

The unions suggested that the consortium wanted to use these contracts to convince banks that it will have income from the rent that amounts to €6 million annually.

They claimed that their concerns were not without reason.

Because of a mistake in the original contract, the consortium already receives general port rights on fuel from every ship that loads or unloads goods at Larnaca port. That money should have gone to the Ports Authority.

 

 

 

Send to Kindle

New Zealand in the groove and unchanged for England clash

0
0
Co-hosts New Zealand's only defeat to England in Wellington came 31 years ago

By Nick Mulvenney

New Zealand are in something of a groove after playing a lot of one-day cricket in recent months and will face England with an unchanged side in their third World Cup match, skipper Brendan McCullum said on Thursday.

The co-hosts kicked off their campaign with a convincing win over Sri Lanka last weekend followed by a three-wicket victory over Scotland on Tuesday, a win built on fine swing bowling but almost undone by a sloppy batting display.

Nevertheless, McCullum had enough confidence in the XI that started the match in Dunedin to confirm the side for Friday’s encounter even before he even had a chance to look at the wicket at the Wellington Regional Stadium.

“We have a full squad to pick from, and we’re going to go with the same team we’ve played the last two games,” McCullum told a news conference.
“The guys have performed well so far. We want to give them the same opportunity again. We think that the balance of the team that we’re going in with will suit us well on this ground.”

The Black Caps have won nine of their last 11 one-day internationals in Wellington going back to 2006 and lost just two of their last 13 at all grounds.
Such form has put the co-hosts among the favourites to win the World Cup but McCullum said New Zealand would not allow such tags to distract them from the task at hand.

“We know that we can’t get too far in front of ourselves. We’re not a good enough team to do so,” he said.
“We need to be very respectful of that, go about our preparation and go about our work and try to execute our game plan. If we do that, that’s certainly how we give ourselves our greatest opportunity.”

England opened their campaign with a 111-run defeat to the other co-hosts Australia in Melbourne last Saturday, giving them three more days to prepare for their second encounter.

“We’ve been playing a lot of cricket recently, so we’re probably in a little bit of a groove,” McCullum said.
“We knew the scheduling well before we came into it so we were able to affect that into our preparation as well. So we go on with no excuses.
“We’ll give ourselves a good chance, and hopefully we can replicate the form we’ve been playing with of late.”

Send to Kindle

Drop in medicine prices postponed after March

0
0
Medicine prices will not be cut in March, as initially planned

By Jean Christou

THE Cyprus Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) on Thursday welcomed reports that a second slated drop in medicine prices had been postponed for the time being.

Daily Phileleftheros quoted Health minister Philippos Patsalis as saying that a process was underway with stakeholders to complete the new pricing policy and that the promised cut in prices would be put off until then.

“The new price reductions will probably not come into effect in March as we had originally announced,” the minister was quoted as saying.

In January the health ministry slashed the price of almost 2,000 medicines by around 15.5 per cent on average, but in some cases the reductions were as high as 80 per cent.

Patsalis said at the time that further reductions of eight to 10 per cent would be put in place in March, and even more when the national health scheme came into effect.

The second round of cuts was opposed by the CPA and other stakeholders saying if prices fell aggressively it would cause problems down the line.

CPA head Avgoustinos Potamitis told the Cyprus Mail on Thursday that his association had not been informed by the ministry if the March cuts had been postponed. “We would welcome this news,” he said.  “It would be a step in the right direction.”

The CPA argument is that if prices are drastically cut the big companies abroad would not be interested in supplying medicines to Cyprus and there might even be a danger of them pulling out, leaving Cypriot patients without certain medicines.

The argument echoed last year’s World Health Organisation (WHO) report on medicine prices in Cyprus, which it said were among the most expensive in the world, but cautioned that a high price decline “may have adverse consequences… in terms of availability, and therefore needs to be studied carefully before being implemented”.

“The price cut should not be too substantial in order to ensure the continued supply of product on the Cypriot market and/or the discounts received in the public sector for these products,” the report said.

Send to Kindle

Anastasides to consider parties’ views

0
0
Nicos Anastasiades, flanked by former presidents George Vasiliou and Demetris Christofias, at the National Council meeting (photo: Christos Theodorides)

By Jean Christou

AFTER two days of talks at the National Council, President Nicos Anastasiades was mulling the creation of a subcommittee codifying all of the views- dissenting and otherwise – of the political parties.

Speaking after the session concluded on Thursday, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said Anastasiades had listened carefully to the views and concerns of the party leaders but made it clear to them that a solution would be based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation as defined in UN resolutions, the High Level Agreements of 1977, the agreement of July 8, 2006, and the Joint Declaration of February 11, 2014.

“The president…  out of respect for the suggestions that were submitted [by the parties] was inclined toward the creation of a subcommittee, with the participation of the parties, for the codification of the positions and the proposals that have been registered,” Christodoulides said.

Asked whether the president would take into consideration some of the positions presented to him on the handling of the Cyprus problem, the spokesman said: “This is the idea…  to have a subcommittee established for the codification of the views and suggestions that were registered. Some constructive suggestions were submitted, but there were also disagreements.”

He said the palace felt obliged to “tell this to the people of Cyprus”.

“There was a discussion of the Cyprus problem, an issue that concerns all the people of Cyprus and I am of the opinion that we all have an obligation to be honest to the people of Cyprus with regard to our positions for the achievement of the objective of a solution to the Cyprus problem,” he added.

He said over the two days, the parties had the opportunity to explain their concerns and their positions with regard to the strategy and tactics on the handling of the negotiations and to find a way to “bend  Turkish intransigence”.

Cyprus negotiations have been stalled since the Greek Cypriot side withdrew last October when Turkey issued a navigational telex (NAVTEX) for seismic explorations in the island’s exclusive economic zone. A second NAVTEX was issued in January, to run until April 6 though there have been no more EEZ violations since December 30.

Main opposition parties AKEL and DIKO said on Thursday after the meeting that they had handed over documents detailing their concerns on the handling of the Cyprus issue.

DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos said there was a need for a “strategic change”.

“We believe the policy of the ‘good child’ has failed miserably,” he said.

AKEL’s Andros Kyprianou said the party was ready to hear any proposal which would bring a solution closer. “Clearly there are disagreements between us but what is important is that the president takes his own decisions and acts consistently with regard to achieving the objectives he sets,” he added.

“We gave our strategic objective, which is the one that binds us since 1977. We have given our own interpretation on what the content of a solution should be and our approach. I am not suggesting we return to the negotiating table under threat of blackmail, but we should take initiatives to convince [the international community] that we are the ones in the right and that they should turn their attention to Turkey.”

Send to Kindle

Opposition MPs uphold foreclosures delay

0
0
MPs voted to delay the foreclosures bill

OPPOSITION parties on Thursday held up a blanket suspension of the law on foreclosures, which they had previously passed, disregarding repeated warnings from both the government and Cyprus’ international creditors.

MPs from AKEL, DIKO, EDEK, the Greens and the European Party rejected the President’s referral back to parliament of the law blocking repossessions.

Foreclosures legislation on all mortgaged properties – primary residences and business premises – will thus remain unenforceable until March 2.

The opposition did not go for a middle-of-the-road proposal – drafted by ruling DISY – which would have suspended foreclosures on primary homes only until April 3.

The troika of international lenders – ECB, IMF and European Commission – this week reiterated that Cyprus does not comply with the terms of its bailout programme as long as it fails to enact effective foreclosures legislation.

Send to Kindle

Consumers cry foul over unjustified fuel price hikes

0
0
petrol 2

THE consumer association on Thursday called for a cap on fuel prices to end the uncontrolled and unjustified price increases.

In a statement, the association expressed indignation at the rapidly increasing fuel prices “without any explanation about the reason this is happening.”

The association said fuel arrived in Cyprus every 15 days and that was the time when pump prices could change. And companies had reserves they had to go through before changing the price.

“It seems that these only apply when prices drop, since, today, when we are talking about increases, there is no waiting time and of course all the blame will be placed on refineries, whose prices only a few can access,” the statement said.

Pump prices have gone up by over €0.05 per litre, the association said.

It was a repeat of the same story, all those involved passing the buck “and we the consumers having to pay the higher prices, without even knowing whether they are justified or not.”

The association said an end must be put to the phenomenon and officials must explain to consumers why they are paying unjustified rises.

“The minister must investigate the matter and impose a plafond,” it said.

Consumers said transparency was important in helping the fuel market operate in an environment of real competition and parliament must play the role the public expects it to play.

Send to Kindle

Two remanded for rocket attack on ‘Alexoui’

0
0
Police investigators tagging the crime scene

By Staff Reporter

THE Nicosia district court on Thursday remanded two men in custody for eight days in connection with the murder of a 28-year-old man during an attack with an anti-tank rocket on Tuesday night.

The pair, aged 30 and 38, are suspected of killing father of two Stefanos Papadopoulos, 28, who worked as a security guard for Alexis Mavromichalis, aka ‘Alexoui’, who it is believed was the target.

Mavromichalis escaped unscathed.

Police were led to the arrests after the discovery of the car that was used in the attack, later found torched in Ergates, outside Nicosia.

One of the suspects, the 30-year-old, is currently doing prison time for drugs-related offenses.

The court heard that the other suspect was recently beat up by friends of Mavromichalis.

Police said the suspects are refusing to co-operate.

The lengthy hearing was held amid draconian security measures. Mavromichalis was also at the courthouse.

The attack took place at 7.45pm on Tuesday, while Mavromichalis was in his house with his wife and a friend.

Papadopoulos was inside a car parked outside the house in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos. The perpetrators fired an anti-tank rocket from what is believed to be a portable one-shot LAW,  and a round of bullets at the car.

The attack left Papadopoulos seriously injured – he succumbed shortly after being rushed to the hospital – and everyone inside the house unharmed.

Mavromichalis had been known to the police for some time for his alleged involvement in several cases, including the high-profile murder of Dias media group CEO Andis Hadjicostis.

Commenting on the crime, Justice minister Ionas Nicolaou told the state broadcaster that authorities will investigate the case “thoroughly.”

Send to Kindle

L.A. hospital warns 179 patients possibly exposed to ‘superbug’ from endoscopies

0
0
Hospital-Superbug-Outbreak

By Steve Gorman

A large Los Angeles public hospital has notified scores of patients they were possibly exposed to a drug-resistant bacterial “superbug” during endoscopy procedures that infected seven patients and may have contributed to two deaths.

The 179 patients who may have been infected by the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are being offered home testing kits that would be analysed by the University of California, Los Angeles, hospital system, UCLA officials said.

The possible exposures occurred at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center between October and January during procedures in which a specialised endoscope is inserted down the throat to diagnose and treat pancreatic and bile duct diseases.

Hospitals across the United States have reported exposures from the same type of medical equipment in recent years, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it was working with other government agencies and manufacturers of the scopes to minimise risks to patients.

The hospital system said it had been sterilising the scopes according to the manufacturer’s standards but was now using a more rigorous process.

“The two scopes involved with the infection were immediately removed, and UCLA is now utilizing a decontamination process that goes above a and beyond manufacturer and national standards,” it said in the statement.

A UCLA spokeswoman, Roxanne Moster, said both scopes in question, which the hospital started using in June 2014, have been set aside permanently and will be returned to the manufacturer.

The condition and prognosis of the seven patients known to have been infected at Ronald Reagan Medical Center was not disclosed, nor were the circumstances of the two deaths in which CRE infection may have been a contributing factor.

Both the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and the California Department of Public Health were notified as soon as the bacteria were detected, it added.

Superbug infections are difficult to treat because some of the bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the germs could contribute to death in up to 50 per cent of infected patients.

The complex design of the endoscopes linked to the California outbreak, known as duodenoscopes, may hinder proper cleaning, the FDA warned on Thursday.

The FDA said it wanted to raise awareness among healthcare professionals that the design is associated with a risk of multidrug-resistant infections even when a manufacturer’s cleaning instructions are followed correctly.

There are three major manufacturers of the scopes: Olympus Corp, Fujifilm, and Pentax. Their disinfection recommendations were approved by the FDA.

The Los Angeles Times reported that UCLA became aware of the outbreak late last month.

In January, Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle said a bacteria spread through contaminated endoscopes had infected 32 people over two years.

Eleven of the patients infected between 2012 and 2014 eventually died. Because they were critically ill before being infected, it was unclear if the bacteria played any role in their deaths, health officials said.

Contaminated endoscopes also infected dozens of patients in Pittsburgh in 2012 and Chicago in 2014, health officials said. No fatalities were directly linked to those infections.

Send to Kindle

Record-breaking cold in US Midwest heads to frigid East Coast

0
0
A partially frozen American Falls in sub freezing temperatures is seen in Niagara Falls Ontario

By Mary Wisniewski

Bone-chilling cold in the US Midwest shattered records in Chicago on Thursday, closing schools and starting its trudge eastward to an already frozen Boston and New York.

Arctic air was expected to keep its grip on the nation’s midsection on Friday morning, a day after the minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 22 Celsius) measured in Chicago broke the low temperature record of minus 7 degrees for the day set in 1936, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Oravec.

The wind chill made temperatures in Chicago feel like minus 25, he said.

Chicago public schools, serving 396,000 students in the third largest US school district, canceled classes on Thursday and many commuters there were bundled so heavily that only their eyes could be seen.

But not everyone hates the weather. Teejay Riedl, 54, was filming the steam rising from the Chicago River before work.

“I love it. It’s crisp, it’s clean, there are no bugs,” he said.

Farther north, Sarah Applin, who works for Travel Market Vacations in the Milwaukee area, has seen a surge in business.

“We have been very, very busy. It’s cold here so everyone wants to leave,” she said.

Bitter cold was headed east, meaning a frosty Friday morning commute was in store for East Coast residents from Boston down to Richmond, Virginia, Oravec said. More records are expected to fall.

With temperatures in Washington, D.C. forecast to reach 3 F (-19 C) overnight, schools and local governments across the region were closed or opening with delays on Thursday.

It has been cold enough in New York this week to bring the roaring Niagara Falls to a halt, as parts of the waterfall trio on the Canadian border froze over, leaving long spears of ice cascading down from the falls’ edges and glacier-like mounds rising up from their plunge pools.

Cabin fever appears to have taken hold in Boston, which broke its own record this week for the snowiest February in the city’s history. Residents in Boston, which has had more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow this winter, are using the social media hashtag #BostonBlizzardChallenge to share videos of themselves – wearing only swimsuits – diving into snow banks.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was not amused by the high dives taken from porches, car roofs, stairs and even second-story windows.

“It’s a foolish thing to do and you could kill yourself,” Walsh told reporters.

Send to Kindle

No turning back on local government reform

0
0
???????S ???S??S????S - ??????S???? ???????? ??OS?S ???O?

By Constantinos Psillides

The interior ministry will complete the legislation on reform of local government within two months, said Minister Socratis Hasikos on Friday, adding that community and municipality merging would be compulsory.

Following a meeting with stakeholders, chaired by President Nicos Anastasiades, the minister clarified that local authorities earmarked for mergers, would be given a two to three-year transition period.

While the Union of Cyprus Municipalities (UCM) has strongly opposed the reform in the past, they now appear to be on board.

UCM chairman Alexis Galanos told reporters that a broad consensus was achieved during the meeting.

“The merging of services, community authorities and municipalities will result in saving money,” he said, adding that UCM had asked the president to propose a way in which local authorities could become financially independent and not rely on government subsidies.

Galanos also said that the parliamentary parties were also in agreement and that the next step would be to incorporate all proposals made by UMC and the parties into the proposed bill.

Enacting local government reform was also demanded by the troika of international lenders. The troika send an ultimatum to the minister earlier in the month, saying that the legislation should be in place in two months.

This is the second draft bill prepared by the government. The first was scrapped after it was roundly rejected by all stakeholders in October, forcing the interior ministry back to the drawing board.

Main opposition party AKEL in particular had at the time criticised the government for going it alone without consulting anyone.

The first bill’s philosophy revolved around achieving economies of scale via the clustering of services provided by the dozens of municipalities. But the municipalities as well as the parties – including ruling DISY – had said the methods proposed would end up raising the cost of local government instead of lowering it – the overriding objective.

With the advice of foreign experts, the first blueprint provided for the creation of second-tier bodies of local government, taking powers away from municipalities and giving them to the new bodies – one for each of the five main districts.

There are currently 39 municipalities – nine representing towns in the north – and over 200 local council bodies.

It also provided for fewer staff – between 15 per cent and 20 per cent – with excess personnel taking early retirement or opting for transfer to other government departments. Salaries account for more than 50 per cent of municipalities’ operating expenses. In some cases in reaches 75 per cent.

Commenting on the dire financial conditions municipalities now find themselves in, Hasikos said: “This is a huge issue because they are hundreds of millions in debt. By saving money through the overhaul, the municipalities will be able to pay that money back, without the burdening the tax payer.

 

 

Send to Kindle

Rome fountain damaged by drunken Dutch soccer fans -officials

0
0
tag-reuters(1)

Dutch soccer fans caused “permanent” damage to a 500-year-old Rome fountain, an expert said on Friday after a drunken rampage by supporters that the city’s mayor branded “hardened hooligans”.

The Barcaccia, a boat-shaped fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps, was chipped by beer bottles thrown and kicked by fans of Rotterdam team Feyenoord before a Europa League match against AS Roma on Thursday.

Police fired teargas to clear hundreds of fans and detained 23 of them. Six more were later arrested for causing injury, resisting arrest and insulting public officials, a judicial source said on Friday.

The damage to the Baroque fountain by Pietro Bernini, a sculptor responsible for many of Rome’s greatest works, was serious, Anna Maria Ceroni, a local official responsible for restorations, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“The extent of the damage still needs to be determined, but it’s permanent,” she said.

Mayor Ignazio Marino told La Repubblica daily: “these crooks, these fake fans, hardened hooligans” had “violated, dirtied and damaged” the fountain.

Feyenoord’s general director, Eric Gudde, said he was ashamed by the “behaviour of a group of brainless people who Feyenoord distances itself from completely and who fill every normal thinking Dutch person with horror”.

The Dutch embassy pledged to cooperate with Italy to catch the perpetrators.

“I am furious,” retired shop owner Iola Commandini said in Rome’s Spanish Square where the fountain is located. “They haven’t come back today to look at what they have done because they are afraid they’ll get beaten up.”

Some Italian politicians said soccer body UEFA should exclude Feyenoord from the Europa League.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Italian authorities would look into whether they had responded correctly, but placed the blame for the incident squarely on the “barbarians”.

The match at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico ended with a 1-1 draw.

Send to Kindle

APOEL host Apollon in top of the table clash

0
0
apollonapo

By Iacovos Constantinou

The long awaited top of the table clash between leaders Apollon and second placed APOEL stands out in this penultimate round of the normal season. In the other big game of the weekend, AEL take on Omonia at the Tsireion stadium.

Apollon, unbeaten in their last eight games, travel to Nicosia with a three point cushion over their opponents APOEL. This will allow them to pack their midfield and counter with their lightning fast attacking duo of Guie and Pamboulis, a game-plan that worked ever so well against Omonia the previous week.

With the home factor unlikely to play any significance due to the fact that only retirees and under twelve-year-olds accompanied by their mothers can attend the game the Limassol team will be hoping to put an end to a run that has seen them fail to pick up even one point in their last seven visits.

German coach Thorsten Fink has gradually begun to impose his style of play and thinking at APOEL. The champions have improved with every game and against Doxa they were a joy to watch at times.

However key players (Manduca, Aloneftis, Vinicius) are still missing from the team but Tomas de Vincenti seems to be picking up while Djebbour is bursting with energy. Brazilian defender Carlao is included in the squad but lacks match fitness to return in such an important game.

Referee for the game is Leontios Trattos, a strange decision as he had been sidelined in recent weeks. The bald headed ref is one of the stricter but fair refs in the game.

AEL take on Omonia in Limassol knowing that anything other than a win will be a disaster for their top six aspirations. In fact if they win by three goals and Omonia slip up on the final day as well, then AEL can pip Omonia into sixth place.

Omonia have a lot problems coming in to this game with their leading marksmen Pote out for a couple of months while they will be deprived the services of Rubio for at least four weeks. Nuno Assis and Lobianitze are suspended.

Bottom of the table Ayia Napa will need to take all three points against fellow strugglers Othellos in this six pointer to stand any chance of survival.

Elsewhere Ermis is expected to collect three points against a very poor Nea Salamina while AEK Larnaca and Anorthosis should have few problems in overcoming Ethnikos Achnas and Doxa respectively.

Saturday: APOEL vs Apollon, AEL vs Omonia, Ermis vs Nea Salamina all at 4pm
Sunday: Ayia Napa vs Othellos, AEK vs Ethnikos, Anorthosis vs Doxa all at 4pm

Send to Kindle

Germany donates €100,000 to CMP

0
0
CMP

Germany has donated €100,000 to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), which is trying to locate and identify Cypriots missing since intercommunal strife in the 1960s and the 1974 Turkish invasion.

With the latest donation, Germany has granted a total of €300,000 to the CMP over the past 10 years.

The Cypriot government has also donated €125,000 to the committee, bringing its total to €2.5 million since 2005.

The donations will contribute to the CMP’s goal of identifying and returning as many remains of missing individuals as possible to bring an end to the uncertainty affecting so many families for so many years.

So far, 574 missing persons from both communities have been identified and returned to the families for burial.

 

Send to Kindle

Mourinho ‘ashamed’ by racist Chelsea fans

0
0
Chelsea Training

By Clare Lovell

Jose Mourinho felt ashamed by racist fans who pushed a black passenger off a metro train in Paris and he hopes the victim will accept an invitation to watch a game at Stamford Bridge to prove such behaviour was not a reflection of the real Chelsea.

The man, named only as Souleymane, complained to police about the incident at Richelieu-Drouot metro station before the Champions League game between Paris St Germain and Chelsea on Tuesday.

Chelsea have suspended three fans caught on video during the incident and said they were working with British and French police to identify others. They have invited Souleymane and his family to watch the return leg in March.

“I think he would watch not only the game, but he would feel what Chelsea is. At this moment he will have the wrong idea of what Chelsea is,” Mourinho told reporters on Friday.

“He would feel that the people who did this action with him is not Chelsea.

“Chelsea is the owner, the board, the manager, the players, the people who work here, it’s also the true Chelsea supporter.

“So I would support his coming here. Even if I don’t know if he’s a football fan.”

After a strongly-worded statement from the club saying owner Roman Abramovich was disgusted at the incident and would suspend for life any fan proven to have taken part, Mourinho said he had not returned to London in 2013 to be connected with such “miserable” people.

“We feel ashamed but maybe we shouldn’t because I refuse to be connected with these people. I left Chelsea in 2007 and I could not wait for the moment to be back and it’s not because of people like this that I wanted to be back,” Mourinho said.

“I felt ashamed when I knew what happened but I am a proud club manager because I know what Chelsea really is.”

Mourinho said the reaction of his players in a multicultural dressing room was the same.

“This dressing-room.was always a dressing-room with big principles of equality not just about race, also about religion about everything,” he said.

“The dressing-room reacted the way I react, with disappointmentbut always with the feeling that we do not belong to these people and they do not belong to us.”

The club said on Friday more suspensions could follow as investigations continue but they were not releasing any names yet.

The video appeared to show fans of the London team chanting “we’re racist and that’s the way we like it” as they stopped Souleymane boarding a train.

The video footage has been widely condemned by football authorities including FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

Send to Kindle

Liverpool trio return to high-flying Southampton

0
0
saints_trio-479208

By Sam Holden

Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren left Southampton hoping for bigger things at Liverpool but when they return to their former club in the Premier League on Sunday they will look enviously at their former team mates.

Southampton are fourth in table, occupying the final Champions League qualification spot, while Liverpool have endured an indifferent season and lie seventh, four points adrift of Ronald Koeman’s side.

After six months and 25 games, the weekend brings the reverse fixtures of the first matches of the campaign.

When Koeman lost his first competitive game in charge of Southampton 2-1 at Anfield it looked as though the season might unfold as most pundits had predicted.

Liverpool were flying high after finishing runners-up the previous season and the south-coast club looked destined to struggle after an exodus of leading players and the loss of manager Mauricio Pochettino.

But Southampton have defied the doom-mongers, coping admirably with the loss of Lallana, Lambert and Lovren to Liverpool as well as Luke Shaw to Manchester United and Calum Chambers to Arsenal.

Serbia defender Lovren has not been missed as the Saints boast the tightest defence in the league, while Koeman’s attack has outscored Liverpool’s expensively-assembled forward line.

Brendan Rodgers’s side have struggled to recapture their scintillating form of last season but have regained a bit of swagger recently, unbeaten in nine league games ahead of the trip to St Mary’s.

Arsenal, who are one point behind Southampton in fifth, visit London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday, while sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur host another capital derby when West Ham United visit White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Leaders Chelsea held on for a 1-1 draw at Paris St Germain in their Champions League last-16 first-leg tie on Tuesday and will hope for an easier ride at home to second-bottom Burnley.

Champions Manchester City, trailing Jose Mourinho’s team by seven points in second, host Newcastle United.

Louis Van Gaal tasted defeat in the first competitive game of his managerial reign at Manchester United and will want to avenge the Old Trafford loss when his third-placed team go to Swansea City on Saturday.

Tim Sherwood’s first league game as Aston Villa manager is at home to Stoke City.

Send to Kindle

‘Patates’ set to leave CyBC over humourless politician  

0
0
det_edo-i

By Constantinos Psillides

Celebrated comedy-satire show ‘Patates Antinaxtes’ looks set to leave state broadcaster CyBC next year for another TV station, following attempts at censorship, according to a statement issued on Friday.

The statement, signed ‘The Free Voice of ‘Patates Antinaxtes’, claims that the CyBC board threatened one of the show’s producers –Alexia Moutafidou – warning her that if they kept making fun of a certain politician she might end up fired.

Moutafidou has been removed from the show’s production, which will change its format from March 1. The show, which scored high ratings over the past 10 years, has been mainly been built around skits, fake news and outtakes of political statements made on camera. The main focus was satirising politicians and commenting on contemporary issues.

The statement claims that one of the accusations hurled the show’s producers by the board was that it “offends the intelligence of viewers by employing curse words”.

The ‘Free Voice’ had a different take. “For the last four months our show has been the target of a ruthless underground war, originating from CyBC management and members of the board. We believe that their goal is for the show to be shut down, as they are acting on behalf of a certain political figure who perceives that the satire aimed at him as hurting his image,” said the statement, without naming the politician.

The politician is also described as “very influential”. The statement concludes that the series will leave CyBC next year and enter talks with a different broadcaster. ANT1 Cyprus appears to be the favourite, since the show has high ratings and the production clout to back it up. Koumides Productions, is also responsible for ‘First Drop’, a popular dramedy (comedy drama) broadcast by ANT1.

 

 

Send to Kindle

Fruit and veg prices four times higher this Green Monday

0
0
8

By Evie Andreou

The Green Monday picnic will be four times more expensive than last year as fruit and vegetable prices have soared due to shortages caused by frost, head of the fruit sellers association Polys Kattashis said on Friday.

Kattashis said extended frost had destroyed crops.

“As a consequence, the quantities of fruit and vegetables on the market have decreased,” he said. “This combined with the increased demand due to the Green Monday long weekend, means prices have soared,” Kattashis told CyBC.

He warned that the prices might even increase more before Monday due to the demand.

“Vegetables have been imported to help fill the gap caused by bad weather which has damaged local produce, and unfortunately over the next few days we will see more such damage,” Kattashis said, referring to the current cold snap.

Greenhouse cucumbers on Friday cost €4 per kilo, compared to the same time last year when they were priced at €0.85 per kilo, a 370 per cent increase, he said.

“Non-greenhouse cucumbers, which were €1.60 per kilo last year, now cost €5, a 212 per cent increase. Aubergine prices have risen by 50 per cent, and broad beans from €2.60 per kilo last year to €4 per kilo this year,” Kattashis added.

He said the price of zucchini had increased by 214 per cent, cauliflower 366 per cent and broccoli 142 per cent.

On Green Monday, which is the first Monday of Lent, traditional Lenten food is consumed which consists of vegetables, shellfish, unleavened bread called lachana, dips like hoummus, tahini and taramas, and halvas, a dessert made with tahini which comes in various flavours, mixed with nuts and/or cocoa.

The head of the Bakers’ Association, Lakis Savvides was quoted by Sigmalive saying that price of baked goods would not be increased.

The Green Party on Friday called on the trade and commerce ministry to take action against the vegetable price increases seen in the past few days in anticipation of the holiday.

Green Monday is a movable feast that occurs on the seventh week before the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday. It is a pubic holiday and it is usually celebrated with outdoor excursions and kite flying.

 

Send to Kindle

Temperatures on the up, some mountain roads reopen

0
0
snow121

After a 10-degree plunge on Thursday, temperatures are gradually rising to normal levels, met office official Cleanthis Nicolaides said on Friday.

No rain is expected over the weekend, and temperatures are expected to be 13C inland, 15C in the coast and 6C in mountainous areas on Saturday, while they are expected to rise further on Sunday.

On Monday rain is expected mainly on the mountains while isolated showers and possible storms are expected on Tuesday.

Police announced Friday evening that all roads leading to Troodos and the Kakopetria-Karvounas, Kalopanayiotis-Moutoullas and Pedoulas-Kykkos roads were open to all vehicles but were slippery due to frost, and urged drivers to be especially careful.

The following roads are open only to vehicles with snow chains or four-wheel drive:

Kakkopetria-Painewood-Pedoulas

Moutoullas-Pedoulas

Pedoulas-Prodromos

Prodromos-Platres

Prodromos-Lemythou

 

Send to Kindle

Greece, euro zone creditors reach accord on loan

0
0
Spain's Finance Minister De Guindos chats with Greece Finance Minister Varoufakis during an extraordinary euro zone Finance Ministers meeting to discuss Athens' plans to reverse austerity measures agreed as part of its bailout, in Brussels

By Jan Strupczewski and Renee Maltezou

Euro zone finance ministers reached an agreement on Friday to extend heavily indebted Greece’s financial rescue by four months, officials on both sides said.

“It’s done. For four months,” one said.

An agreement removes the immediate risk of Greece running out of money next month and possibly being forced out of the single currency area. It provides a breathing space for the new leftist-led Athens government to try to negotiate longer-term debt relief with its official creditors.

European Union paymaster Germany, Greece’s biggest creditor, had demanded “significant improvements” in reform commitments by Athens before it would accept an extension of euro zone funding.

Euro zone officials said the accord required Greece to submit by Monday a letter to the Eurogroup listing all the policy measures it planned to take during the remainder of the bailout period, to ensure they complied with conditions.

Officials said an outline deal was reached in preparatory talks involving the Greek and German finance ministers, as well as the managing director of the IMF. It was then agreed by the full 19-member Eurogroup, ending weeks of uncertainty.

With the 240 billion euro EU/IMF bailout programme due to expire in little more than a week, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras voiced confidence of an agreement despite the objections to the request made in a letter to Dijsselbloem.

“I feel certain that the Greek letter for a six-month extension of the loan agreement with the conditionalities that accompany it will be accepted,” Tsipras said in a statement to Reuters before the crucial Brussels meeting. Officials said Greece’s partners requested the shorter period.

A report by German magazine Der Spiegel that the European Central Bank was making contingency plans for a possible Greek exit from the currency area if the talks fail, on which the ECB declined comment, highlighted the high stakes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking after talks in Paris, said all EU partners wanted to keep Greece in the euro but added: “There is a need for significant improvements in the substance of what is being discussed so that we can vote on it in the German Bundestag, for example next week.”

The Greeks won sympathy from Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. “I believe that the principle of doing reforms in exchange for more time is just and correct,” he said after a meeting of his government in Rome.

REASON FOR SOME OPTIMISM

After preliminary talks with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeubleand International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said there was “reason for some optimism” but the search for agreement remained very difficult.

Finance ministers arriving from other euro zone states lined up to insist on more guarantees for creditors thatGreece will fulfil the bailout’s strict conditions on budget discipline and economic reforms to win their agreement.Athens is determined to loosen austerity to revive its economy.

Tsipras had a long telephone call with Merkel on Thursday and has spoken repeatedly to the leaders of France andItaly in the search for a solution that allows his radical government to fulfil election promises and hold its head high.

“Greece has done everything possible so that we can arrive at a mutually beneficial solution, based on the principle of double respect: respect both to the principle of EU rules and to the electoral result of member states,” he said.

Greece could run out of money by the end of March without new external funds, people familiar with the figures say, driving it nearer to the euro zone exit.

Euro zone officials said Greece’s track record and the combative behaviour of its new leaders have undermined their confidence in whether Athens will deliver what it agrees to in talks with the other countries sharing the euro.

“Unfortunately the changing rhetoric of the Greek authorities has created a certain erosion of trust, so we must build this once again at this Eurogroup meeting and we are hopeful a solution can be found based on the current programme,” European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said.

Some pointed comments were directed at Varoufakis, an outspoken Marxist economist and blogger, and his casual style. “Even hardliners like us have to give the benefit of the doubt to a communist in a Burberry scarf,” an official of one hawkish European country joked.

Adding to pressure to reach a deal, Greek savers have withdrawn their money from the banks at an accelerating pace despite government assurances that there is no plan to introduce capital controls to stem the outflows.

Deposit outflows rose to a total of over 1 billion euros in the past two days, some of the highest daily levels seen this year, three senior banking sources told Reuters.

Greeks are nervous before a three-day weekend, given memories of capital controls imposed in Cyprus in 2013 over a long weekend, a senior banker said. Monday is a public holiday in Greece.

Tsipras, elected last month on a platform of scrapping the bailout, says austerity has strangled his country’s economy and caused a humanitarian crisis.

Merkel has in the past agreed financial rescues only at the very last moment when she could tell Germans the future of the euro zone was at risk.

Berlin is Greece’s biggest creditor, owed 50 billion euros as its share of the EU/IMF bailouts. As Europe’s biggest economy, it would take a hit in the turmoil that might ensue if Greece defaulted and left the euro area.

However, whether for tactical reasons or out of deep exasperation with Athens, Germany has conveyed the message that a Greek exit, while not desirable, would be manageable.

The euro rose against the dollar after news of the draft accord on Friday and Greek government bond yields fell on optimism for a debt deal.

Send to Kindle

16-year-old arrested for driving without a licence

0
0
traffic cops

A 16-year old boy was arrested in the early hours of Saturday in Limassol after he was found driving without a licence and with a dissembled hunting shotgun on the passenger seat, police said.
According to the report, police found the boy when they stopped the car for a routine check, at around 2am.
The teenager was arrested and the gun seized. Both the gun and the car were registered on the boy’s 44-year old father’s name. Both father and son were charged in writing and released to be called back at a later date.

Send to Kindle
Viewing all 6907 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images