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Call for mass consumer boycott

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PRICES

By Jean Christou

Some 17 per cent of households have seen their income plummet by more than 50 per cent since the financial crisis, a survey released on Wednesday found.

The survey carried out by the Cyprus Consumers Union and Quality of Life, also showed that a further 10 per cent of households had seen their income drop 41-50 per cent while 11 per cent had seen their income fall 31-41 per cent. Around 22 per cent saw a reduction in their income of 21-30 per cent and 23 per cent of those polled had income cuts of 11-20 per cent. Only 14 per cent had income reductions of less than 10 per cent.

Comparing the situation to last year, the survey showed that 27 per cent were facing financial difficulties, up from last year’s 20 per cent, and 24 per cent said they were just ‘getting by’.

One third see their situation as getting worse in the next 12 months, while 12 per cent see theirs becoming ‘much worse’. Twelve per cent think their situation will get better and 39 per cent see theirs  as remaining the same.

Compared to 52 per cent of people at same time last year, 59 per cent now say prices are higher that they were a year ago.

As far as changing shopping habits are concerned, 25 per cent say they purchase a lot of special offers,  24 per cent go for cheaper brands, 16 per cent buy the cheapest items they can find, and 16 per cent buy only special offers.  Around 15 per cent have not changed their shopping habits at all.

The Consumers Union and Quality of Life said shoppers rights were not respected in Cyprus and has called for a two-day mass boycott this month.

“Fraud and profiteering in the market are everywhere and every day it gets worse,” said Loucas Aristodemou, adding that free market competition in Cyprus was a sham with price cartels “working undisturbed and unpunished”.

“Note the daily decline in the purchasing power and quality of life of you and your children,” he added.

Referring to the global fall in oil prices in recent months, which lowered production costs, he said there had not been a corresponding drop in the price of consumer goods “even the basic necessities such as bread and milk” which were three times higher than other EU countries.

“For the past two years prices have plummeted in all EU countries and have only soared in Cyprus,” he added.

The state, he said, was being negligent and showing interest in everything except the consumer. Aristodemou urged people to stand up and be counted and show that it was the consumer who has the power to change things, instead of always paying up and staying silent.

He calls on all consumers on Saturday March 14 and Sunday march 15 to participate in a boycott by not buying a thing on both days

“Do not buy fuel, bread, milk or anything else. We invite you – if there are no health reasons – not to put your foot in any commercial premises, and avoid all markets,” he added. “Devote the two days to you and your family. Show that you will not allow anyone to underestimate your intelligence, to ridicule and to exploit you. Two days is a very small step but the message you send is of great importance. Show your indignation and your determination to all those who want your money but do not respect you.”

The organisation also calls on the Cyprus Consumers Association and the consumer offices of all trade unions to join the boycott.

The survey of 1,000 people islandwide was carried out in January by Cypronetwork Marketing Research.

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ECB memo reveals preparation for deposit seizure

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CYPRUS-GREECE-BANKING

The European Union’s decision to seize bank deposits and sell Cypriot bank branches in Greece, as part of the island’s €10 billion bailout, was outlined in a confidential European Central Bank (ECB) memo published by the PressProject, dated two months before the March 2013 decisions.

Entitled Ring-Fencing of Cypriot Banks’ Branches in Greece, the draft memo provides the outline of a road-map for the separation of the banks’ Greek operations from the parent companies in the event of a bail-in or haircut on deposits in Cyprus.

The focus of the memo was on the separation of Laiki, or Popular Bank, from its parent company but most of the considerations also applied to the branches of the other Cypriot lenders – Bank of Cyprus (BoC, Hellenic)

“The objective pursued by the proposed separation is to avert a deposit run in Greece in the event of (i) a default of Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB), or (ii) a bail-in of depositors in CPB,” the memo said. “The risk that the bail-in of deposits in Greece could spill over to domestic Greek banks and trigger system-wide outflows of deposits is high.”

According to the memo, the move would render both Laiki and BoC insolvent and in need of recapitalisation.

“The current state of discussions around the prospective programme for Cyprus suggests that some of the creditors would not be willing to provide funds for recapitalisation of the Cypriot banks and would require a bail-in of uninsured depositors to be implemented instead.”

The two banks would have to be resolved quickly, the memo said, leading to their abrupt downsizing from €67 billion to around €24 billion of total assets.

“In this process, over €17 billion of deposits (mainly coming from residents of non-EU countries, but also including some Greek deposits collected in Cyprus) would be frozen in the two banks under liquidation.”

In exchange for the €10 billion bailout, Cyprus closed Laiki and seized 47.5 per cent of deposits over €100,000 to recapitalise BoC.

Cypriot banks’ branches in Greece were sold to competitor Piraeus Bank for around €500 million, a move that cost Cyprus over €3.0 billion in losses.

Read memo  ecb

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1,000 truckloads of seaweed being collected from Larnaca beaches

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CNA_M495548964a724411948faee1d1a25d1c

An unprecedented 1,000 truckloads of seaweed are to be removed from Larnaca’s beaches by the end of March compared to 100 truckloads last year, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Larnaca muncipality health inspector Costas Kokkinos said the massive amounts of seaweed that had washed up were due to the harsh winter. “Larnaca is facing a big problem with seaweed washed up on the beach so the crews of the municipality have to work continuously to clean the beaches, especially on Phinikoudes,“ he said.

Trucks were on the go several hours a day, and the job should be completed by the end of the month, Kokkinos said, in plenty of time for the start of the summer tourism season next month.

So far some 400 truckloads have been collected with the total expected to reach 1,000, he said. The collected seaweed is being stored in an area behind the Larnaca district court where it will be left to dry and transported to a factory in Tersefanou where it will be composted into fertiliser.

As the municipality is using its own trucks and employees, the cost will work out at around €20 per truck to take the seaweed to Teresfanou whereas it would have cost around €60 per truck to take it to a landfill.

“This year we estimate that we will collected one thousand trucks full of seaweed which even for us is unprecedented as last year we only used around 100 trucks,” said Kokkinos.

 

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Three arrested on suspicion of drug dealing

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police car 2

Three suspects, one of whom is underage, were arrested on suspicion of drug possession, intent to sell, and moneylaundering in Limassol, after a search by police at the home of a 21-year-old.

Drug Squad YKAN officers who had secured a warrant entered and searched the house of the 21-year-old in Limassol.

There they found him with two others teens, aged 16 and 19.  The suspects submitted to personal search.  The 16-year-old was found to be in possession of a small scales and three packages of cannabis weighing 9.5 grammes, while on the 19-year-old a package was found to contain cannabis resin weighing about 4.5 grammes.

Following the personal searches a full search of the 21-year-old’s home occurred in which three more packages containing cannabis weighing 52 grammes, one package of cannabis resin weighing 7 grammes, four grinders containing traces of cannabis, an electronic scale, €3,265, four cartridges from a military grade gun, one military helmet and a bulletproof vest, were seized, police said.

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Cheating husband’s defamation case against three ex mistresses thrown out by court

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court     4

By Constantinos Psillides

A Cypriot sports journalist found himself in a very awkward situation, after the Nicosia district court not only threw out a defamation lawsuit he filed against three of his former mistresses but also publicly branded him an adulterer.

Daily Politis reported that the journalist filed a defamation suit against his three former mistresses after his wife received an anonymous letter detailing the affairs he had, including the fact that he had a son with one of the women.

The plaintiff claimed in his case that the letter implied he was “a man of low moral standards” thus hurting his dignity and social standing. Additionally, he argued, his career suffered a serious blow as a result of the letter.

The man’s wife, who was not aware of her husband’s affairs according to the court, testified in his defence, saying among other things that “for a man to cheat on his wife was accepted throughout the world.”

The court dismissed her testimony, noting that the wife herself admitted that as a result of the letter the couple fought and their marriage was under strain.

The court also noted in its ruling that “the plaintiff’s intent to deceive the court was more than obvious.” The court dismissed any testimony given by the wife, noting that she avoided answering whether she knew details of her husband’s affairs, and that she had considered a relationship where one spouse cheats as a “normal one.”

The court deemed the three mistresses to be credible witnesses.

The lawsuit was shot down for two reasons, the court ruled. The main reason was that the plaintiff did not prove beyond a  reasonable doubt that the letter was in fact written by the mistresses, and secondly because the letter did in fact mirror the truth.

“The letter accuses the plaintiff of being a liar, a dishonest person, of cheating on his wife, only being married for financial reasons, and that he neither loves nor respects her […] applying the legal principles governing the case, I am of the opinion that under the circumstances the defendants have proved that the characterisations attributed to the plaintiff are true,” ruled the court. It noted that the plaintiff had never denied having an affair with the three women, or that he has a son with one of them.

The court ruled in favour of the defendants and ordered the plaintiff to cover all legal expenses.

 

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Anastasiades to discuss Cyprus’s programme, quantitative easing with Draghi

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European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi arrives at the monthly ECB news conference in Frankfurt

By Stelios Orphanides

President Nicos Anastasiades will discuss with European Central Bank chairman Mario Draghi the progress of Cyprus’s economic and financial reform programme agreed with international creditors at their meeting tonight, the government spokesman said.

The two men will also discuss the ECB’s expanded asset purchase programme, also known as quantitative easing, announced by Draghi in January, government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides said.

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Dozens of miners missing feared dead in rebel east Ukraine (Update 3)

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Family members wait outside the Zasyadko coal mine in Donetsk

By Maria Tsvetkova

Dozens of miners were trapped underground and feared dead after a blast on Wednesday at a coal mine in the eastern Ukrainian rebel stronghold of Donetsk, with rescuers saying the chance of finding many survivors was slim.

Mine officials said the explosion was not linked to fighting at the nearby frontline in the war between Moscow-backed rebels and Ukraine government forces. Kiev accused the separatists of holding up the rescue effort by restricting access.

Outside the gates of the Zasyadko mine, about 30 relatives clamoured for information about any survivors. A miner injured in the blast mingled with the crowd, his face covered in scratches and one arm hanging motionless by his side, the result of a broken collarbone.

The miner, Sergei Baldayev, said five bodies had so far been retrieved from the area of the blast, in a shaft deep underground.

The sister of one miner who was in the pit at the time of the explosion, Alexei Novoselsky, stood in tears.

“Tell me, are there survivors? Why are you concealing the truth,” she said as a local rescue services employee tried to calm her.

Donetsk has been the scene of heavy fighting between Moscow-backed separatist rebels, who control the region, and forces loyal to the government in Kiev. A ceasefire has sharply reduced the violence in the past week.

The neighbourhood around the mine has come under artillery fire, with fragments from Grad rockets visible on surrounding roads, but mine officials said the explosion was unrelated to the fighting and most likely caused by gas.

In Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said rescue workers had been dispatched by the central authorities, “but the Russian terrorists did not let them reach the scene of the accident,” he said, using a term commonly used by Kiev to describe the separatists.

Figures given by medical workers at the scene, miners and a mine official speaking on condition of anonymity pointed to there being about 50 miners still underground.

Earlier on Tuesday, some officials had said more than 30 people were killed in the early morning blast, although later officials would not confirm that figure. Rescue services were working to reach the epicentre of the blast, in a shaft deep underground, they said.

Asked what were the chances of trapped miners surviving, a medical worker said: “It’s getting smaller and smaller all the time, because of the methane, the hot air, burns to the airways.”

She said two buses had been brought to the mine in preparation for carrying away the bodies of the dead.

HISTORY

The mine has a history of fatal accidents in the 57 years it has been operating. An explosion at Zasyadko in 2007 killed 106 people. A cemetery next to the pit holds the graves of many miners killed in the past.

“When there’s an accident, we bury them all here,” said the head of security at the shaft where Tuesday’s blast happened, who did not give his name. “Coal is a costly business.”

A welder at the mine, who gave his name as Oleg, said outside the entrance: “I’ve been down the pit for 23 years, and this is the fourth explosion that I can recall. If they didn’t get them out straight away, then later they will only retrieve bodies. An explosion is a terrible thing.”

The Zasyadko coal mine produced 1.4 million tonnes of coal in 2013. The mine is in the centre of a Donbass region which is Ukraine’s industrial and coal-producing heartland.

Ukrainian coal production fell 22 percent in 2014 to 65 million tonnes as the conflict disrupted mining operations in the region, leading to some shortages of coal at power plants.

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Russia starts large-scale military exercises in disputed territories

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U.S. and Russia Brief Delegates to 2013 NPT Prepcom on New START

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that large-scale military exercises had started in southern Russia and in disputed territories on Russia’s borders.

The exercises involve over 2,000 anti-aircraft troops and 500 items of weaponry and will last until April 10, Interfax news agency reported.

The Defence Ministry said the exercises were taking place in Russia’s Southern and North Caucasus Federal Districts, as well as on Russian military bases in Armenia, the Georgian separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and Ukraine’s Crimea region, which Moscow annexed last year.

They are likely to be viewed in the West as a show of force as relations between Russia and the West are at their most strained since the Cold War because of the Ukraine crisis.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of directing a separatist assault in eastern Ukraine with its own troops and weapons. Russia has repeatedly denied those accusations.

At a news conference in Moscow unrelated to the exercises, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said NATO activities on Russia’s borders far exceeded anything the Russian military was undertaking.

“NATO states are using the situation in the south-east of Ukraine as an excuse to … move forward, closer to Russia’s borders,” Interfax quoted Antonov as saying.

On Wednesday, a NATO flotilla arrived in the Black Sea to train with ships from the Bulgarian, Romanian and Turkish navies, the defence alliance said.

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Leaks from taps cause massive damage to Germany’s spy agency

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Zentralneubau-Bundesnachrichtendienst

The German spy agency’s new headquarters was flooded by water after several taps were removed by thieves on its upper floors, police said on Thursday.

The nearly-completed 1.3-billion-euro Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) building in the heart of Berlin suffered millions in water damage on several floors of the mostly vacant structure, according to the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

“Several water taps were stolen and that caused extensive damage,” a Berlin police spokesman said. He said police had not ruled out a political motive or a criminal motive, such as revenge for unpaid bills.

“We’re investigating in all possible directions,” he said.

The headquarters of the BND, Germany’s intelligence agency, was scheduled to move from its Bavarian base in Pullach to Berlin in 2011 but the move has been delayed to 2017. The 260,000-square meter building will house 4,000 staff.

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Warplanes hit Tripoli airport before UN talks start

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Smoke rises after an airstrike hit Maitiga airport early Thursday morning, in Tripoli

By Patrick Markey

Warplanes from Libya’s internationally recognised government carried out air strikes on a Tripoli airport on Thursday just hours before United Nations-backed peace talks were due to start in Morocco.

Libya has two rival governments with armed forces battling for control of the North African state, where Islamist militants are also profiting from turmoil to gain ground four years after the civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

The North African OPEC state declared force majeure and halted production on 11 oilfields late on Wednesday because of deteriorating security after Islamist fighters overran the Bahi and Mabrouk fields in the central Sirte basin.

The jets attacking Tripoli hit an open area near the runway at Maitiga airport, but caused no major damage and the airport was operating normally, a security source at the airport said.

“We, the dignity forces, conducted airstrikes this morning on Maitiga airport. We will never stop until we liberate Tripoli from militias,” Mohammed Hejazi, a spokesman for the forces, told Reuters, refering to rival faction Libya Dawn.

Most diplomats and foreign companies pulled out of Libya in the summer when fighting escalated. Libya Dawn, an alliance of former rebel brigades mostly loyal to Misrata city, took over the capital and set up its own self-declared government.

Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni’s internationally recognized government and the elected House of Representatives now operate out of the east. They are backed by fighters from Zintan in the west, and by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally who began a campaign against Islamist militants.

Delegates from the two factions are holding UN-backed peace talks in Morocco on Thursday to try to resolve the crisis, form a unity government, broker a ceasefire and put Libya’s transition back on track. Previous rounds of talks made little concrete progress and fighting has worsened.

Libya declared force majeure on Wednesday at the Mabrouk, Bahi, Dahra, Jufra, Tibesti, Ghani, En Nagha, Al-Samah,Beda,Waha, and Defa oil fields.

That move came after Islamist militants, claiming loyalty to Islamic State, attacked three fields. Mabrouk and Bahi fields have been overrun and destroyed, one security official tied to the recognized government said.

A third oilfield al-Dahra, was caught up in clashes on Wednesday. Officials were not immediately able to give details on its status on Thursday.

Libya’s production is currently around 400,000 barrels per day, less than half the 1.6 million bpd it produced before the NATO-backed war that ousted Gaddafi in 2011.

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Group assumes responsibility for ref bombs

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ΕΚΡΗΞΗ  1.

By Constantinos Psillides

An unknown organisation has assumed responsibility for two bomb attacks against referees and has declared war against the corrupt

Calling itself thyraeniotes — a reference to Thyra 9, or Gate 9 in English, the main fan group of Nicosia side Omonia  — armed urban guerrillas, the organisation took responsibility for the explosive devices placed on referee Vasilis Demetriou’s wife’s car on February 27, and at the referee association offices in October last year.

The group made themselves known through a proclamation left on the stands of what used to be the old GSP stadium in the heart of Nicosia.

Police said a member of the organization called a journalist at private MEGA television and informed him that he had left a proclamation on the ninth step of one of two terraces still standing at the site of the old stadium.

The journalist, along with police officers, went on site and found the proclamation where the caller said it would be.

It has since been sent for forensic analysis.

According to MEGA, the proclamation is essentially a three page manifesto that rages on against the establishment, sports authorities, and Omonia’s current administration.

It also contains references to DISY politicians and Cyprus Football Association officials.

“Through these attacks we declare the beginning of an armed fight against the rotten, contemporary Cypriot football. Our aim is to destroy the peace we have been affording them for years, bury them under the rubble and declare a war that was long delayed,” read the proclamation.

The group said it was fully aware of the fact that their actions will pit them against authorities.

“We are ready to take them on, even if the odds are against us.”

They also mentioned the claims by referee Marios Panayi who accused high ranking CFA officials of being involved in match fixing.

It also accused the Omonia administration of not acting upon Panayi’s accusations and for being part of the establishment.

The organization reportedly lashed out against the media and Justice minister Ionas Nicolaou, and quoted Greek poet Yiannis Ritsos and Ernesto Che Guevara.

Nicolaou said the proclamation proved the government right in taking measures to combat football violence.

He was referring to the controversial fan card, an identification document that will be needed for purchasing tickets for sport events.

Organised fans oppose the measure, arguing that it’s only goal is to keep tabs on sports fans.

Nicolaou originally planned to have the “fan card” system up and running in September 2014, its implementation has been moved for the next football season.

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The unsaid

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Stories from the lives of friends

By Maria Gregoriou

Having shaken off some of the winter cold, the exhibition scene is starting to offer us some diverse and interesting suggestions. As of Saturday, the Point Centre for Contemporary Art in Nicosia will be showcasing their first exhibition for summer with internationally acclaimed artist Christodoulos Panayiotou, under the title Stories from the Lives of My Friends.

Panayiotou, from Limassol, will be bringing together existing and newly commissioned work for his first solo exhibition in Cyprus.

The artist chose to name his exhibition after a novel which Anton Chekhov never finished, and which Chekhov referred to in a letter to his intimate friend Aleksey Suvorin by saying “guess what, I’m writing a novel!!! And what an intricate plot! I’ve called it Stories from the Lives of My Friends.”

By borrowing the allusive title of this unfulfilled project, Panayiotou uses the title to propose a radical interpretation of Chekhov’s dramaturgy and the relevant notion of subtext.

As the artist’s wide-ranging research focuses on the identification and uncovering of hidden narratives in the visual records of history and time, this solo exhibition makes use of the unfinished and what is left unsaid to highlight Chekhov’s masterful writings.

This emphasis on the hidden was made clear in the words of the Russian actor and theatre director Constantin Stanislaski, who commented on Chekhov’s work by saying: “Chekhov often expressed his thought not in speeches, but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word. The characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak.”

These notions of subtext, disillusionment and the estrangement effect are the central pivotal points of Panayiotou’s exhibition and work.

For the purpose of his first solo exhibition on the island, the artist has put together a series of works which develop beyond what is stated, as do Chekhov‘s characters.
Panayiotou’s choice of materials puts the idea of a dominant truth into question and challenges the ways we perceive and interpret our collective and individual narrations.

Panayiotou has had solo exhibitions in Hong Kong, China, Sweden, Japan, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Britain, and the USA. He has been selected to represent Cyprus at the 2015 Venice Biennale.

Stories from the Lives of My Friends
Solo exhibition by Christodoulos Panayiotou. Opens March 7 until May 8. Point Centre for Contemporary Art. 2 Evagorou Avenue, Nicosia. Tuesday to Friday: 11am-6pm. Saturday: 11am-3pm. Tel: 22-662053

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Kerry briefs Iran’s Gulf rivals on nuclear talks

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U.S. Secretary of State Kerry walks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during meeting of Gulf foreign ministers in Riyadh

By Arshad Mohammed

US Secretary of State John Kerry met Saudi Arabia’s king and Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh on Thursday to reassure them that a possible nuclear deal with old adversary Iran would not damage their interests.

Kerry arrived in Riyadh late on Wednesday from Montreux, Switzerland, where he said he had made progress in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

China, one of the six nations involved in the Iran negotiations, which aim to establish a framework accord by late March, said on Thursday an agreement might be at hand.

“We do think that it’s a last stage and hopefully we could reach an agreement,” said Wang Qun, director general of the arms control department of China’s Foreign Ministry.

Gulf countries, like Israel and many Western states, fear that Iran is using its atomic programme to develop nuclear weapons capability, something Tehran denies.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia regards Shi’ite Iran as its main regional rival and the two countries back opposing sides in wars and political struggles in Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon and Yemen, often along sectarian lines.

As such, Saudi Arabia and its allies worry that the mooted atomic accord will not stop Iran from gaining the bomb. They are also concerned that it would lift international pressure on Tehran and give it more room to intervene in regional issues.

The Baghdad government, which is close to Iran, said on Thursday it believed the nuclear negotiations would prove fruitful.

“We believe these (talks) will lead to a peaceful solution and will resolve controversial points,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a UN-sponsored conference in Geneva.

Kerry was driven to Diriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh to meet King Salman, who became monarch in January. He is also scheduled to meet Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is the Interior Minister and heads Riyadh’s security policy.

The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Kerry also held a separate meeting at the start of the day with Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusef bin Alawi bin Abdullah. Muscat helped facilitate months of secret talks between Iran and the United States in 2013 that led to the push for a deal.

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February inflation seen at -1.4% mainly on energy, Cystat says

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supermarket

By Stelios Orphanides

The deflation rate accelerated in February to 1.4 per cent from 1.3 per cent the month before mainly on falling energy prices, the statistical service said.

Consumer prices rose by over 0.4 per cent in February compared to January, Cystat said in a statement on its website today.

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Evans is no spitter, says Van Gaal

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Bad boys: Jonny Evans and Papiss Cisse appeared to spit at each other at St James’ Park during Man United’s 1-0 win

By Ed Osmond

MANCHESTER United manager Louis van Gaal attempted to play down the controversy following an apparent spitting exchange between his defender Jonny Evans and
Newcastle United forward Papiss Cisse on Wednesday night.
The pair tussled during the first half of the Premier League game at St James’ Park which the Manchester side won 1-0 and Evans appeared to spit towards Cisse as he lay on the ground before the Newcastle player got to his feet and returned the compliment.

“I didn’t see it. I don’t think Jonny Evans is a spitter,” Van Gaal told BT Sport. “Maybe spitting on the floor but we are on the bench and you cannot see from there.”

Newcastle manager John Carver was also unaware of the incident.
“I haven’t seen it,” he said.

Newcastle were unfortunate not to get an early penalty when Chris Smalling brought down Emmanuel Riviere and as the game looked to be heading for a goalless draw until Newcastle keeper Tim Krul booted a clearance straight to Ashley Young who scored in the 89th minute.

“I think we have dominated for 90 minutes, maybe our best match of the season, especially in an away match we deserved the victory,” Van Gaal, whose side are coming under pressure in the battle for a top-four slot, said.

“We didn’t reward ourselves in the first half. It was a narrow escape because our rivals have won also so it’s a rat race.
“We have created a lot of chances and could have scored much earlier. They also made two big chances and I think David de Gea rescued us at that time.”

United stayed fourth in the table and remained on course for a Champions league place despite another unconvincing performance and they were indebted to Wayne

Rooney’s persistence for pressurising Krul into the mistake which led their goal.
“It was a crazy run from Wayne Rooney, a lost ball, that shows the fighting spirit in this team,” Van Gaal said.
“We want to win. All my changes were to win, not to hold the result.”

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Ukraine military says one soldier killed in past 24 hours in east

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A woman walks along a street near a destroyed open market in Donetsk

By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets

One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and another wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the east, military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said on Thursday, as Kiev accused rebels of increasing violations of a ceasefire deal.

President Petro Poroshenko, whose initiative to boost the armed forces by a third was passed easily in parliament, has called the ceasefire the last chance for peace with the pro-Russian rebels.

Accusations of continued violence on both sides show the fragility of the peace accord, agreed in Minsk last month, which calls for the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontline.

Some 6,000 people have been killed in fighting since separatists took up arms last year in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland – the ‘Donbass’ – in response to the overthrow of the Moscow-backed president, Viktor Yanukovich, in Kiev.

Interior Ministry adviser Zoryan Shkiryak said the rebels were not only failing to stop firing and pull back, but in fact building up forces in southern Donetsk province, near the Ukrainian-held port city of Mariupol.

“There is no use in talking about a ceasefire from the side of the rebels. They are not withdrawing arms, they are not observing the ceasefire, they continue to relocate units and increase their number of tanks and rocket launchers,” he said.

Another military spokesman said rebels had attacked Ukrainian troops’ positions or civilian targets 40 times within the previous 24 hours, including 17 artillery attacks. For their part, the rebels accuse Ukrainian forces almost daily of shelling and firing.

The conflict has plunged ties between Russia and the West to Cold War-era lows as Kiev, along with the United States and the European Union, say they have evidence that Moscow is arming the rebels and boosting their ranks with regular army soldiers.

Russia has repeatedly denied the accusations and accused the United States of pushing Kiev’s pro-Western government into conflict with its own people.

At a parliamentary session, 270 lawmakers voted in favour of a bill, initiated by Poroshenko last month, to boost the armed forces by a third to 250,000 personnel.

“Whoever votes against this law or doesn’t support this law is working for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, for Russian aggression, so that the foot of the Russian occupier steps on our land in Donbass and our Crimean soil,” said Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko.

“It’s obvious that our country will be strong and successful only when it has a powerful army.”

The bill only needs Poroshenko’s signature to become law.

NATO said this week that the ceasefire was holding overall, and urged both sides to continue to withdraw artillery from the frontline.

Since late last week, journalists have seen guns being sent back from the frontline on both sides.

However, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, entrusted with monitoring the pullout, says it cannot fully confirm it as it has not been given access to the locations where some weapons have been moved.

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ECB governing council leaves interest rates unchanged

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Press conference of the European Central Bank

By Stelios Orphanides

The European Central Bank’s governing decided to leave the euro’s interest rates unchanged.

Following the governing council’s today decision, the rates on main refinancing operations and marginal lending facilities , as well as the deposit facility remain at 0.05 per cent, 0.30 per cent and -0.20 per cent, respectively, the ECB said in a statement.

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Police seek man in beating of his partner

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police car

Police on Friday were seeking a 38-year-old Larnaca man suspected of beating his partner.

The arrest warrant was issued after the 28-year-old woman from Frenaros showed up injured at a shop near the flat where they lived together in the Livadhia area.

The woman asked for help and the owners called the police who arrived on the scene and took her to hospital.

Doctors determined the woman had sustained rib fractures and bruises to her face and body.

She told officers her partner, who was a drug user, had been brutally beating her for the last two weeks. She claimed that he restrained her with handcuffs and hit her.

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Mayweather vs Pacquiao megafight won’t halt boxing’s decline

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Boxing will enjoy more exposure than it has seen in decades during the build-up to the May 2 fight in Las Vegas

By Frank Pingue

The superfight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is expected to be the highest grossing bout in history but will do nothing to resuscitate a sport that has been in perpetual decline for years, according to experts.

Boxing will enjoy more exposure than it has seen in decades during the build-up to the May 2 fight but will quickly reclaim a back seat to other sports after the last crushing blow is landed at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“It’s going to be massive, but it’s also going to be a massive one-off,” Bob Dorfman, executive creative director of Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, told Reuters.
“It would’ve had more impact overall on the boxing world if it happened five years ago when it could’ve been the beginning of an ongoing series of fights between these guys that would’ve maybe built in momentum.”

Mayweather and Pacquiao will be 38 and 36, respectively, on fight night and their failure to agree to meet earlier in their illustrious careers robbed the boxing world of what could have been one of the sport’s all-time great rivalries.

But for one day, at least, boxing will likely be at the centre of the sporting universe given the intrigue of watching Filipino southpaw Pacquiao, who has held world titles in eight different weight divisions, take on an undefeated Mayweather.

“This may be the last hurrah of boxing,” said Robert Boland, sports business professor at New York University. “It’s an interesting moment and maybe a moment that boxing will come together and figure out where it goes for the future.”

Tickets for the fight between two of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters have not gone on sale to the public yet but are expected to start at $1,000 with ringside seats fetching a face value of $5,000, according to Forbes.

Pacquiao’s promotor Bob Arum said on ESPN Radio last week that ringside seats for the fight will be made available only to customers who have a $250,000 line of credit with the casino.

A news conference in Los Angeles on March 11 featuring both fighters is expected to draw such a massive contingent of media that those wishing to attend must apply for credentials to gain admission, which is unusual.

For Kathy Duva, chief executive of New Jersey-based boxing promotion company Main Events, the years-long focus on getting boxing’s two biggest names in the ring has only served to hold back other up-and-comers who could help the sport.
“This fight has taken so long that talking about it, waiting for it, has so consumed the fans and the media that I am just happy that they are getting it over with,” Duva told Reuters.

“There are a lot of good younger fighters out there who are ready to step up and become the stars and it’s hard to do that when you got two people who are still there, lingering and not willing to pass the torch.”

A lack of star power, the rise of other genres like mixed martial arts and splintering sanctioning bodies that left casual fans wondering who the true champion is have all contributed to boxing’s decline.

It is now a far cry from a nearly 80-year period during the 20th century when boxers were among the biggest names in sports, including Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Mike Tyson.

“Certainly new talents will always come to any sport and a transcendent talent can change the dynamic of any event,” said Boland.
“But this is definitely a situation where there really are not fighters in the pipeline and this is a time when boxing is probably at its lowest point since the beginning of the 20th century and the rise of pro fighting.”

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Famagusta bus drivers call off strike

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file photo

Famagusta bus drivers have called off a strike scheduled for Friday after receiving assurances that they will be paid.

The drivers, employed by the Famagusta public transport company OSEA, said they called off the strike as a show of good will after company gave assurances that it will pay the salaries.

The strike was announced on Thursday because drivers had not received their pay for February.

The statement cited a previous decision taken by the unions, according to which OSEA employees will go on strike whenever the payment of salaries is delayed by three days.

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