Fingers should not be pointed at the teachers of the pre-school where a four-year-old girl was reportedly sexually harassed by three older boys, until investigations are over teachers’ union POED said on Wednesday.

Following the uproar created by the claims of the four-year-old girl’s mother who sent a letter to the education ministry on Tuesday accusing it of not handling the incident properly and trying to cover up for the teachers, POED said in its announcement that the issue was delicate and that its exposure would interfere with how it was handled.

POED’s chairman Leonidas Fylaktou said that from the beginning of the school year until today 80 very serious delinquency incidents had been recorded in primary schools, for which the education ministry’s emergency interference team was called in. The high number of incidents was of concern to the union, it said.

Fylaktou said the problems were complex and could not be addressed only by teachers. He said that there were psychologists assigned to schools but they were few, with each of them having to serve 25 schools.

The completion ceremonies for the restoration of the Paphos Haman and the Tserkezoi/Ҫerkez Mosque in Limassol took place on Wednesday with the participation of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot heads of the Joint Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage.

The two projects were completed with the cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme Partnership for the Future (UNDP-PFF) and the European Union.

According to the Greek Cypriot head of the committee Takis Hadjidemetriou the haman had been abandoned for decades to the point where trees had been growing out of the roof.

Hadjidemetriou said he was proud and happy to be able to deliver the finished project to the city of Paphos. It would be an asset to the town when it hosts the 2017 European Capital of Culture events, he added.

He also said the completion of the project showed “what could be achieved  through the spirit of cooperation”, and he thanked all those who had made it a reality. Several more projects were in the pipeline, he added.

“Through our monuments we continue learning about events of our history that were not known,” he said later at the Limassol ceremony. “These are only a few scraps of our history but enough to reveal our many roads along with the many of people of different backgrounds… all those Christians and Muslims who erected places of worship and assimilated with the country and its people. When we better know our country, then we can find what unites us and move forward on the path of peace and progress.”

Turkish Cypriot committee head Ali Tuncay also spoke of the common cultural heritage in Cyprus and said he was proud of how much the joint technical committee had accomplished so far.

The Hamam is situated in the archaeological area of the Church of Ayia Kyriaki Chrysopolitissa in Paphos. Its preserved structure lies in the corner of Stasandrou and Pafias Afroditis Street, a few metres north of St. Paul’s Pillar.

The Hamam is also known as the ‘Medieval Turkish Bath’. The period during which it was built is difficult to determine. While on the one hand it corresponds to the typical ottoman arrangement of warm rooms, hot rooms and a cistern, on the other hand it possesses the appearance of a bath belonging to a much larger complex erected during the medieval period.

The interventions carried out for this monument comprised general restoration of the stonework, rendering of walls, cleaning of interior floor, repairs to the external and internal surfaces of the domes, including general waterproofing. Cleaning and pointing of the interior surfaces of the vaults, repairs to the collapsed first vault, excavations in the south-west corner and exposure of the findings. The total cost of the project was approximately €53,760 including design, works and supervision, which was fully funded by the European Union.

The Tserkezoi/Ҫerkez mosque is located in Tserkezoi district, some five kilometres west of Limassol, on the road leading to Asomatos village. The Mosque was the principal Muslim religious building of the old Tserkezoi/Ҫerkez farm, which was built during the Ottoman period. The interventions carried out for this monument comprised of cleaning the site including removal of vegetation, sanitation to the wall footing and buttress, improved drainage and prevention of further erosion of the external stonewall, repairs to walls including restoration of stonework and rebuilding and sealing of joints, re-pointing and re-plastering with lime mortar. The total cost of the project was approximately €25,380 and was also fully funded by the European Union.

By George Psyllides

Bank workers union ETYK on Wednesday called on Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) employees to hold a one-hour work stoppage on Thursday at 11am to protest the goings on the island’s banking supervisor.

“It is with disappointment, sadness, and concern that we are watching the crisis that broke out for the umpteenth time – with new protagonists — at the Central Bank in recent years,” the union said in a statement. “Witnesses to a sad situation that discredits the institution and causes additional woes to the already troubled banking sector.”

ETYK was referring to allegations of conflict of interest against Governor Chrystalla Georghadji whose estranged husband, a lawyer, represented former Laiki strongman Andreas Vgenopoulos, seen as main culprit for the lender’s downfall.

Parties have called for the governor’s resignation, but she refused. President Nicos Anastasiades, who cannot fire her under, has referred the matter to the attorney-general.

Andreas Georghadhis rejected the allegations but also dropped Vgenopoulos in a bid to settle the issue.

ETYK said it was not its intention to deal with who was responsible for the present crisis but it felt the need to condemn any action that discredited the institutions and deepened the values crisis plaguing Cyprus.

“Instead of safeguarding the Central Bank as the crown of our banking sector, in recent years it became, and still is, the battleground to serve the interests of politicians and others,” the union said.

ETYK suggested that the whole affair also discredited the employees who were trying to carry out the difficult task imposed on them by the condition of the economy.

“We ought to leave the workers undisturbed and afford them every tool to do their difficult work, something, which has not been happening in recent years,” ETYK said.

By Andria Kades

Industrial turnover fell in December fell 0.3 per cent compared to the respective month in 2013, the statistical service said.

By Andreas Vou

THE Cyprus national women’s football team fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Greece in the final of the Aphrodite Cyprus Cup in Paphos on Wednesday afternoon.

In what was the first edition of the tournament, the host nation was unable to continue its winning streak and was outplayed by a far more experienced outfit, but their overall display was a huge step forward for the women’s game on the island.

The Greek team is ranked 69th in FIFA’s World Rankings while the Cypriots are currently 110th so it was no major surprise that the Hellenic neighbours came out on top.

Andros Vassiliou’s side, however, gave an excellent account of themselves throughout the competition, winning all three group games which guaranteed their passage to the final of the tournament.

In the group stage, Cyprus defeated Bahrain 1-0, Malta 2-1 and Azerbaijan by a solitary goal.

Vassiliou, after Cyprus topped their group in convincing fashion, spoke of his admiration for his team:
“There are no words to describe how great these girls are. They have endured a tremendous amount of fatigue in the last few days but that hasn’t stopped them. They have shown a great amount of passion, spirit and strength and have made all of Cyprus proud,” Vassiliou said.
“They have also done women’s football proud and for that they deserve to be congratulated a thousand times. They deserve to be noticed and acknowledged for their efforts,” he concluded.

Cyprus is quickly gaining a reputation as a hub for women’s football in Europe. It recently hosted the Cyprus Cup for the eighth consecutive year which saw England defeat Canada to earn their third such title. It gathers some of the top countries in the women’s game and the newly created Aphrodite Cup will only add to Cyprus’ popularity as a women’s football destination.

In recent weeks, Cyprus Football Association officials as well as the first team squad have been campaigning across the island to raise awareness of women’s football and, while it is still very much at an early phase, their latest strong performance will have hugely helped the cause.

By Tarek Amara

Gunmen in military uniforms stormed Tunisia’s national museum, killing 17 foreign tourists and two Tunisians on Wednesday in one of the worst militant attacks in a country that has largely escaped the region’s “Arab Spring” turmoil.

Visitors from Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain were among the dead in the noon assault on the Bardo museum near parliament in central Tunis, Prime Minister Habib Essid said.

Security forces stormed the former palace around two hours later, killed two militants and freed other tourists held hostage inside, a government spokesman said. One policeman was killed in the police operation.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Islamic State militants, who have become particularly active in neighbouring Libya, were behind the attack. “The EU is determined to mobilise all the tools it has to fully support Tunisia in the fight against terrorism,” she added.

Prime Minister Essid declared in a national address:

“All Tunisians should be united after this attack which was aimed at destroying the Tunisian economy.”

Television footage showed dozens of people, including elderly foreigners and one man carrying a child, running for shelter in the compound, covered by security forces aiming rifles into the air.

The attack on such a high-profile target is a blow for the small North African country that relies heavily on European tourism and has largely avoided major militant violence since its 2011 uprising to oust autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

Tunisia’s uprising inspired “Arab Spring” revolts in neighbouring Libya and in Egypt, Syria and Yemen. But its adoption of a new constitution and staging of largely peaceful elections had won widespread praise and stood in stark contrast to the chaos that has plagued those countries.

Authorities did not immediately identify the gunmen.

But several Islamist militant groups have emerged in Tunisia since the uprising and authorities estimate about 3,000 Tunisians have also joined fighters in Iraq and Syria – raising fears they could return and mount attacks at home.

“Two terrorists disguised in military clothes got into the parliament building, then the museum where they attacked tourists. Nineteen people were killed including 17 foreign tourists. Twenty-two tourists are wounded,” the prime minister said.

ARAB SPRING REVOLTS

“Two militants opened fire on the tourists as they were getting off the buses before fleeing into the museum,” one Bardo employee told Reuters at the scene.

An official at the Italian foreign ministry in Rome said two Italians had been wounded in the attack.

About another 100 Italians were in the area and had been taken to safety by Tunisian police, authorities added.

The museum is known for its collection of ancient Tunisian artifacts and mosaics and other treasures from classical Rome and Greece. There were no immediate reports the attackers had copied Islamic State militants in Iraq by targeting exhibits seen by hardliners as idolatrous.

Islamic State affiliates are gaining a foothold in neighbouring Libya where two rival governments are battling for control. A senior Tunisian militant was killed while fighting for Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte over the past week, authorities said.

Wednesday’s assault was the worst attack involving foreigners in Tunisia since an al Qaeda suicide bombing on a synagogue killed 21 people on the tourist island of Djerba in 2002.

By William Schomberg and David Milliken

BRITISH Chancellor George Osborne sought to court voters ahead of a May 7 election by pitching an earlier end to austerity, faster economic growth and lower taxes in future.

In his last budget statement before May’s national election, Osborne said Prime Minister David Cameron’s government had saved Britain’s economy and would bring down national debt earlier than planned with a 20 billion-pound sale of bank assets.

Osborne aimed to blunt criticism from the opposition Labour Party that he was planning to slash back the state to pre-World War Two levels. He is now aiming for a sharply lower budget surplus by the end of the decade than he targeted late last year.

“We took difficult decisions in the teeth of opposition and it worked – Britain is walking tall again,” Osborne told parliament. “Today I present the budget of an economy stronger in every way from the one we inherited.
“This is the budget for Britain: the comeback country,” Osborne said as he ended his hour-long speech, sitting down to roars of support from lawmakers and a pat on the arm from Cameron, whose central bet since 2010 has been that an economic recovery would turn into political gold for the Conservatives.

With an election only seven weeks away that opinion polls show is too close to call, the 43-year-old Chancellor of the Exchequer has been handed an unexpected windfall by a plunge in global oil prices and falling inflation.

The budget surplus is now projected to stand at seven billion pounds in 2019/20, way below the 23 billion-pound surplus he was aiming at late last year.
But consistent with the government’s message that the job of lowering Britain’s debt is only half done, there will be plenty of cuts to come.

Britain’s independent budget forecasters said British public spending faced a ‘rollercoaster’ ride under Osborne’s plans with much tougher cuts between 2016 and 2018 than anything seen in the last five years, followed by a surge in spending at the end of the next parliamentary term.

The OBR said the level of spending in 2019/20 would no longer be a post-war low, a statistic that Labour had previously used to accuse Osborne of pursuing an ideological drive to shrink the state.

With some of his guns spiked, Labour leader Ed Miliband said Osborne’s plan would not be trusted by Britons.
“This is the budget that can’t be believed,” Miliband said. “He had an extreme spending plan yesterday and he has an extreme spending plan today.”

A leading opinion poll executive said Osborne would shore up his party’s support by resisting the temptation to relax his grip on the purse strings now.
“It’s not going to set the world alight but it’s the best thing they could have done for Conservative votes,” YouGov research director Anthony Wells said. “He made the right decision in not going with the big tax giveaway.”

Britain’s economic growth in 2015 was forecast to be 2.5 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent seen in December and Osborne said living standards would be higher this year than when he took office in 2010.

Growth in 2016 is now expected to be 2.3 per cent compared with 2.2 per cent in the December forecasts.
“We are seeing a truly national recovery,” Osborne said. “Britain is working again.”

The growth forecasts remain more modest than those of the Bank of England and others.
Though he had little room for pre-election gifts to voters, Osborne was under pressure to present a compelling case to vote Conservative on May 7.
He responded by announcing a cut to beer, cider and spirits duty and cancelling a planned tax increase on fuel.

Osborne also said that if returned to power, he would raise the point at which people start paying income tax to 10,800 pounds in the 2015/2016 tax year and then 11,000 pounds in 2016/2017.
The government has raised the allowance steadily since it came to power in 2010.

Osborne also plans to raise the earnings threshold at which people pay the higher rate of income tax to 43,300 pounds by the 2017/18 tax year.
In an attempt to cement his reputation as the ‘austerity Chancellor’, he said he would increase a levy on banks and launch the sale of 13 billion pounds of mortgage assets and 9 billion pounds of Lloyds shares.

Those sales allowed Osborne to announce that Britain would see its national debt as a share of GDP peak in the current tax year, a year earlier than previously forecast.

Critics will say that they are one-off windfalls which will only reduce debt temporarily, not durably.
“We will end this parliament with Britain’s national debt share falling,” Osborne said. “The sun is starting to shine – and we are fixing the roof.”

Airports’ operator Hermes is conducting a study into how the old Larnaca airport, lying idle for the past six years, could be used, deputies heard on Thursday.

The study is due to be completed and the results announced by the end of July, MPs at the House communications and works committee were told. Under its contract with the government, Hermes has rights to the old airport until 2031.

In 2012 Hermes and a privately owned Chinese firm Far Eastern Phoenix (FEP) had concluded a deal for the area, set to yield a €600 million benefit for Cyprus.

The intended investment concerned developing the old airport into a large commercial showroom and bonded warehouses for Chinese goods as well as a small conference centre.

Under the deal FEP would assume the management of the airport for the remaining duration of the concession agreement between Cyprus and Hermes – 19 years.

The Chinese company had asked for a longer term lease – 50 years. However, legal questions were raised over whether the state could offer the Chinese firm a further 31 years without a tender process.

The deal was further complicated when it emerged the wife of the then director of the president’s diplomatic office, Marios Ieronymides was a director of FEP when it made the airport proposal in 2012 though she had stepped down in March 2012, around the time the provisional agreement between the FEP and the government had been signed.

But by January 2013, the deal just fizzled out and was forgotten about in the ensuing financial meltdown in March that year.

Some MPs at Thursday’s session were pessimistic that investors would take on such a short-term prospect – 16 years –  even shorter than it was when FEP was in the picture.

“The first attempt was unsuccessful and experience has shown that there should be a serious study, a feasibility study and what commercial uses this place could have,” said DISY deputy Zacharias Zachariou.

AKEL MP Christakis Tziovani also said everyone remembers ‘the war’ over the old airport that happened last time and suggested a wiser and more targeted course of action be followed this time around.

“We have already delayed too long,” he added.

The principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining were the topics discussed on Thursday during a bicommunal trade union forum organised by Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot organisations.

PEO general-secretary Pambis Kyritsis told participants that the role of trade unions in the solution of the Cyprus problem was of strategic importance.
Through their expertise they could help in drafting important provisions of the solution “for a future joint state”, which would be necessary for economic and social cohesion, he said.
Former Labour Minister and member of the Executive Bureau of PEO Sotiroula Charalambous said the unions on both sides, through a series of conferences and meetings talking about the universal rights of workers.

“That is to say every worker`s right to belong to a union should be protected by law and that through this union he will be able to bargain for decent working conditions,” she said.

“Through these seminars we are building our own vision of a reunified Cyprus, without discrimination based on sex, race or ethnicity. We feel that we are conveying a message to society that we all need to work together in order to reach the goal of reunification.”

Keynote speaker, International Labour Organisation (ILO) senior liaison officer responsible for Greece and Cyprus Constantinos Papadakis said he would be meeting Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou in order to discuss matters pertaining to the technical support the ILO provides the Cypriot government.
Replying to a question on whether the principles of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were being implemented in Cyprus, he said that “historically Cyprus has implemented these two principles fully.”

He added that there was always room for improvement particularly as regards the social dialogue and collective bargaining in times of crisis. He noted that since the financial crisis, the long-standing social dialogue had become somewhat marginalised. But, he said, the ILO stood by governments which were following adjustment programmes.

Public servants union PASYDY boss Glafcos Hadjipetrou complained over the lack of social dialogue that has resulted since the bailout, with many hard-workers’ rights having been lost.

“The trade union movement is going around in a trance,” he said. “I feel that it is the obligation of all of us to correct this situation.”
According to Hadjipetrou, “those in power have cultivated an animosity between public and private sector workers in order to gradually abolish everyone`s rights.” (CNA)
 

By Mohammed Mukhashaf

An unidentified warplane attacked the presidential palace in Aden on Thursday, after forces loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi stormed a camp where a renegade commander had barricaded himself, a Yemeni official and residents said.

The aircraft dropped a bomb or fired a missile at the compound in al-Maasheeq district of the southern port city, where Hadi is based, the Yemeni official said, in a sharp escalation of Yemen’s months-long armed turmoil.

Residents said anti-aircraft guns opened fire at the plane, and smoke was seen rising from the area, but it was not immediately clear if Hadi was in the compound.

A Yemeni security source said the situation at the presidential palace “was under control and there was nothing to be worried about”.

Both the attack on Hadi’s compound and the fighting on the ground appeared to be part of a deepening power struggle between Hadi and the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi group, which controls the capital Sanaa and is allied with former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The identity of the aircraft was not immediately known, but residents in Sanaa, which is under control of the Houthi group said they saw an unusually busy level of flights by military aircraft in the skies of the capital.

Earlier in the day, soldiers and militiamen loyal to Hadi fought their way into Aden’s international airport and stormed an adjacent military base, residents said.

General Abdel-Hafez al-Saqqaf had been holed up for days in the base after he refused an order by Hadi to hand over control of the Special Forces in the city to another commander, a senior security source said.

At least six people were killed in the clashes around the airport and the base, residents and a senior military commander said. They said Saqqaf’s whereabouts were not known.

In a statement in late afternoon, the Houthi-led Supreme Security Committee urged an end to the fighting in Aden, saying that both sides “are obliged to keep the peace and return to the negotiating table,” according to a statement carried by state news agency Saba.

By John Irish and Lesley Wroughton

Six world powers are unlikely to reach a framework agreement with Iran on its nuclear programme in the coming days as the sides are still far apart on key issues, a senior European negotiator said on Thursday, blaming Tehran for failing to compromise.

“Contrary to what the Iranians are saying with regard to 90 percent of an accord being done, that’s not true,” the negotiator told reporters on condition of anonymity. “We are not close to an agreement.”

Iran and six world powers are seeking a comprehensive agreement to curb Iran’s most sensitive nuclear activities for at least 10 years in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions. The powers aim to complete the framework of a final deal by the end of March and reach a full agreement by June 30.

Negotiators from the six powers have had a draft of a written framework agreement for weeks that has brackets around key areas of disagreement, officials close to the talks say. They have been using this week’s talks to try to narrow the differences and remove the bracketed points.

The current round of talks in Switzerland may need to continue beyond Friday, the official said.

“We are pretty far away. There are a lot of issues that still need to be resolved. The Iranians must make substantial concessions,” he said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the sides were working on difficult issues.

“We’re pushing some tough issues but we made progress,” Kerry told reporters, adding that it was unclear when the U.S. delegation would return to Washington.

In Washington, a senior Treasury official said the Obama administration would work with Congress to impose further sanctions on Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached.

US lawmakers have been concerned the White House would cut Congress out of any deal, and would treat Iran too lightly.

Despite the gaps between the two sides in Switzerland, there have, however, been some areas of rough agreement. One of the central issues under discussion from the beginning was the number of centrifuges Iran would be permitted to operate. Western officials have said that number of would likely be around 6,000 if an agreement is reached.

Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation chief Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters on Tuesday that an accord was 90 percent agreed and only one issue was unresolved.

STICKING POINTS

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Baidinejad confirmed that there were a number of sticking points.

“Contrary to what many think, that we are only discussing one issue, it is not correct,” he told reporters. “We are discussing many issues and nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”

He cited research and development into centrifuges as a sticking point.

“We are still discussing R&D along with other issues, technical and political issues,” he said.

US and European officials worry that Iranian research into more advanced centrifuges — machines that purify uranium for use as fuel for reactors or, if very highly enriched, in bombs — could give it the capability to quickly produce an atomic arsenal. Tehran denies harbouring any such ambitions.

The European negotiator said that if Iran does not give in on this issue, there will be no nuclear deal at all.

“Research and development currently has become the most critical and difficult issue, and there won’t be an accord if the Iranians don’t back down,” he said.

Western officials said the duration of a deal was also an unresolved point.

President Barack Obama told Reuters in an interview on March 2 that Iran would have to accept limits on its nuclear activities for at least 10 years under any deal.

France is pushing for at least 15 years for the agreement, the European negotiator said. Western officials said the United States was also pushing for restrictions on sensitive nuclear work by Tehran to be in place for more than a decade.

The United States has been calling for a written political agreement to be signed by the end of March. But Iran has rejected the idea of a written interim deal before a final deal by June 30.

Baidinejad said that if there was a framework agreement this month, it would not be in writing.

“There will be no written agreement,” he said. “It will be kind of verbal agreement that will pave the ground for further talks.”

The construction sector continued in recession for the fifth consecutive year as its growth for 2013 – in terms of value added at constant prices – is provisionally estimated to have recorded a decrease of 30.6 per cent, compared to a decline of 19.3 per cent in 2012.

According to the Statistical Service`s annual report ‘Construction and Housing Statistics, 2013’, the gross output of the sector at current market prices was reduced in 2013 by 23.7 per cent to €1.79 million compared to €2.35 million in 2012.

The subsector of buildings construction and civil engineering recorded a decrease of 20.6 per cent, while the subsector of land and buildings development registered a decline of 37.3 per cent.

New residential buildings accounted for 24.7 per cent of the total gross output of the subsector of buildings construction and civil engineering, new non-residential buildings (offices, shops, hotels, factories, etc.) for 18.8 per cent and new civil engineering projects (roads and bridges, water supply and sewerage networks, telecommunications and electricity lines etc.) for 36.6 per cent, while repairs, maintenance and others accounted for the remaining 19.9 per cent.
Employment in the sector was reduced from 27,843 persons in 2012 to 22,852 persons in 2013 and accounted for 6.6 per cent of the gainfully employed population. The number of persons registered as unemployed in the sector increased from 6,177 in 2012 to 7,263 in 2013.

Labour costs in construction decreased by 8.5 per cent compared to an increase of 1.2 per cent in 2012. The price index of construction materials recorded a decline of 0.4 per cent compared to an increase of 0.8 per cent in 2012.

The number of new dwellings completed decreased by 41.6 per cent to 3,833 dwelling units compared to 6,565 in the previous year. By administrative district, the number of new dwellings is distributed as follows: Nicosia 1,400, Famagusta 264, Larnaca 644, Limassol 833 and Paphos 692.
The average area per dwelling completed, in 2013, was 235 square metres for houses and 144 square metres for apartments, compared to 234 and 128 respectively in 2012.

The cost of construction per square metre (excluding the value of land) decreased from €988 in 2012 to €976 in 2013 for houses, while it increased from €832 in 2012 to €900 in 2013 for apartments.

The dwelling stock at the end of the year amounted to 441,000 dwelling units, of which 61.0 per cent were in the urban areas. (CNA)

By Alister Doyle

A Czech tourist suffered slight injuries when a polar bear attacked him in a tent on an Arctic island off Norway on Thursday, the eve of a total solar eclipse that has drawn thousands of visitors.

Jakub Moravec, camping with five other tourists on a skiing and snowscooter trip, was flown by helicopter to hospital in Longyearbyen, the main settlement on Svalbard, with injuries to his arm, chest and face.

“I am happy, fine,” Moravec, 37, told NRK public television from his hospital bed, saying he awoke to find the bear in the tent and fought to fend it off before a colleague drove the bear away by shooting and injuring it.

The bear, which had got through a fence put up by the tourists around their camp, was later shot dead by rescue crews.

Moravec said he only felt scared afterwards – at the time, his thoughts were only “to save my head”. He hoped to be out of hospital in time to see the eclipse on Friday morning.

The Norwegian Arctic islands of Svalbard, about 1,300 kms from the North Pole, and the Faroe Islands to the south are the only places on land from which viewers will be able to see the moon totally block the sun on Friday.

A partial eclipse will be visible across parts of Africa, Europe and Asia, briefly disrupting production of solar power in Europe as the sun dims.

Svalbard has warned tourists of the risks of bears and of bone-chilling temperatures, expected to be around -18 degrees Celsius (zero Fahrenheit) on Friday, with partly cloudy skies.

The archipelago is expecting about 2,000 visitors for the eclipse, on top of about 2,500 residents. The Faroe Islands expect about 8,000 vistors to swell their population of 50,000.

“It is an ever-present danger,” Ronny Brunvoll, head of the Visit Svalbard organisation, said of the risks of polar bear attack. “Security is number one, two and three.”

A bear killed a British teenager on Svalbard in 2011, the most recent fatality. On average, three bears a year are shot in self-defence by people on Svalbard.

Brunvoll told Reuters that the number of overnight visitors would be the highest in Longyearbyen’s history — far above numbers who come for a popular Arctic ski marathon. Hotels have been booked for years and many private homes have rented rooms.

With less than ten days to go until the start of the Cyprus Cycling Tour 2015, a record number of participants have expressed their interest in participating, according to organisers.

Over 200 cyclists, half of them foreigners, have registered for the race, which begins Friday, March 27 in Limassol and continues during the weekend in and around Paphos.

“There are over 200 participants, which is a very large number, the largest we have ever had in this race. Almost half are foreign cyclists, coming from different European countries. They are semi-professionals, who come to Cyprus to combine a demanding road cycling race, along with sport tourism, ” said Michael Hadjioanou on behalf of the organisers Bikin `Cyprus.

The first stage starts from Limassol and finishes in Paphos with only 623m of ascent. It is a stage for fast rolling and for the legs to pick up some speed.
The second day keeps the character of the mountainous stage with 1496m of ascent. Starting from Paphos, entering the Diarizos Valley to climb up to Ayios Nikolaos, Arsos and have the timed section finishing in Mallia.

The third day is short and of average difficulty, “a happy ending” to the 3-day tour, according to organisers.
The VW Tour is taking place from the 27th to the 29th March 2015.
The stages are as follows:

Day 1 – Limassol to Pafos 75km, 654m ascent, Timed section 38km – From Kourion (18km) to Kouklia (56km)
Day 2 – Pafos to Agios Nikolaos – Pafos, 100km, 1496m ascent, Timed section 44km – From Kouklia (14,5km) to Malia / Dora (58,7km)
Day 3 – Pafos – Kritou Terra – Kathikas – Stroumpi – Tsada 63km, 608m ascent, Timed section 47,6km starts in Pegia and finishes in Tsada (CNA)

Every manager would love to have these powerhouses at the heart of their engine rooms.

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A 35-year-old drug squad (YKAN) officer has been suspended on orders from the police chief while criminal and disciplinary offences against him are investigated involving a teenage girl who was a minor at the time, deputy police spokesperson Nicoletta Tyrimou has said.

The officer was arrested on Tuesday but reported feeling unwell and was admitted to a Limassol clinic. He was charged on Thursday with luring a minor into child pornography, impersonation and the illegal  retention of personal data, and released from custody pending a court hearing.

According to reports, the policeman approached the girl, who is now 17 – the legal age of consent in Cyprus – two years ago through a fake social media account pretending to be a woman and eventually convincing her to send him inappropriate photographs though a complaint has only now been filed.

Tyrimou said that the policeman must have slipped up at some point recently, leading the girl to realise that in fact it was not a female she was speaking to. Police would not go into details about a reported link between the teenager and the officer’s wife on Facebook or why the ‘grooming’ and managed to go on for two years.

“In such instances, the police favour no one. Such behaviour, apart from being condemnable and unacceptable, affects the integrity of the whole police force,” Tyrimou said.

By Tarek Amara

Tunisia said it would deploy the army to major cities and arrested nine people on Thursday after 20 foreign tourists were shot dead in an attack on a museum which Islamic State called “the first drop of the rain”.

Officials did not confirm the militants’ claim of responsiblity, but said they had identified the two gunmen shot dead by security forces after opening fire on tourist buses visiting the Bardo museum inside the capital’s heavily guarded parliament compound on Wednesday.

Japanese, Italian, Spanish and British visitors, as well as three Tunisians, were among the victims. Cruise liner MSC Cruises said 12 of its passengers, including Colombians, French and a Belgian, were among the dead, while a Spanish couple was found alive on Thursday after hiding all night in the museum.

The assault – the most deadly attack involving foreigners in Tunisia since a 2002 suicide bombing in Djerba – came at a fragile moment for a country just emerging to full democracy after its pioneering popular uprising four years ago.

It is heavily reliant on foreign tourists to its beach resorts and desert treks, and the government was about to tackle politically sensitive reforms aimed at boosting economic growth.

Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria and is active in Tunisia’s chaotic neighbour Libya, praised the two attackers in an audio recording in Arabic, calling them “knights of the Islamic State” armed with machineguns and bombs.

Tunisians make up the one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters in Syria, Iraq and Libya, and their homeland’s young democracy, which has cracked down on militancy at home, was a clear potential target.

“We tell the apostates who sit on the chest of Muslim Tunisia: Wait for the glad tidings of what will harm you, o impure ones, for what you have seen today is the first drop of the rain,” the Islamic State audio said.

The two dead militants were identified as Tunisians, Hatem al-Khashnawi and Yassin al-Abidi. Two local newspapers reported Abidi had spent time in Iraq and Libya, but officials did not confirm that.

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Habib Essid said Abidi had been under surveillance but “not for anything very special”.

“We have identified them, it is indeed these two terrorists,” the premier told French RTL radio earlier on Thursday. “Their affiliation is not clear at the moment.”

Authorities said they had arrested four people directly linked to the attack and five others with indirect ties. A security source said two family members of one of the gunmen were among those held. “We arrested the father and the sister of the terrorist Hatem Al-Khashnawi in the their home in Sbiba City,” the source told Reuters.

COUNTER-TERRORISM

The president’s office said the army would be deployed to the streets as part of increased security following the attack. “After a meeting with the armed forces, the president has decided large cities will be secured by the army,” it said.

The number of foreign tourists killed rose to 20 from 17, the health minister said. London said a British woman was among the dead in shootings it called cowardly and despicable.

Spain said the woman in the couple who emerged from the museum alive on Thursday was pregnant. “They were hidden this whole time, without daring to make a phone call, probably because they were anxious and scared, as you can imagine,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said.

Four years after a popular revolt toppled autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has completed its transition to democracy with free elections, a new constitution and compromise politics between secular and Islamist parties.

But security forces are battling Islamist militants including Ansar al Sharia, which is listed as a terrorist group by Washington, and Okba Ibn Nafaa, a brigade of al Qaeda-affiliated fighters operating in the Chaambi mountains along the Algerian border.

The fight against these militants may have played a role in prompting the museum attack, said Geoff Porter, security analyst at North Africa Risk Consulting. “Increasing pressure on terrorist activities in the Djebel Chaambi region may have squeezed the balloon, with terrorists seeking softer targets with more symbolic impact,” he said.

FOREIGN FIGHTERS

A former commander in Tunisia’s Ansar al Sharia was killed last week fighting for Islamic State in Libyan city of Sirte. He had been running training and logistics, security sources said.

Poland’s Foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna told local radio there were signs that the attackers were linked to Islamic State militants, but he gave no details.

An earlier Islamic State news broadcast distributed online also mentioned the Tunis attack, describing the perpetrators as Mujahideen and asking God to receive them as martyrs in paradise. But it did not claim direct responsibility.

A social media account linked to Okba Ibn Nafaa brigade also provided details of the attack, without a direct claim of responsibility. But that group has also issued conflicting statements in the past about its position on Islamic State.

The Bardo attack appeared squarely aimed at Tunisia’s economy, with tourism accounting for seven percent of gross domestic product. The government estimates that loses this season for the tourism sector would reach $700 million.

Two German tour operators said they were cancelling trips from Tunisia’s beach resorts to Tunis for a few days and Accor, Europe’s largest hotel group, said it had tightened security at its two hotels in Tunisia. Italy’s Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp CCL.N, cancelled stops in Tunisia.

The renaming of Piale Pasha Street to Tasos Mitsopoulos Avenue in memory of the late defence minister, should not be subject to discussions and disagreements, Larnaca Mayor Andreas Louroudjiatis has said.

He said the ceremony would go ahead as planned on Sunday at 10.30am and would be attended by President Nicos Anastasiades who supported the move, the mayor said.

Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos had objected in writing, citing political reasons but conceded he had no legal authority over the matter. The Turkish Cypriot area of Larnaca has been called Piale Pasha for centuries.

Louroudjiatis said that in deference to Hasikos, the name change would now be restricted “to a smaller area from the Tapa Hana park as far as Artemidos Avenue”.

Last week AKEL district committees in Larnaca and Famagusta accused the mayor of taking the decision without consulting the city council.

The district committees said in a statement that although they understood the gesture of respect to Mitsopoulos’ memory, the municipal council had been kept out of the loop. They also said that any renaming of Turkish Cypriot places was a move that contradicted “the firm positions of the Republic of Cyprus”.

Local residents have started an online petition to keep the street name as it is.  By Friday afternoon 84 people had signed.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/piale-pasia-street-stop-the-name-change-by

By Iacovos Constantinou

THE two teams that have led the championship almost since the beginning of the season, APOEL and Apollon, will battle it out in Nicosia in a possible championship decider, while third-placed AEK face Ermis Aradippou.

In the final top group game on Sunday, Anorthosis are at home to Omonia.

APOEL, who are currently trailing Apollon by a single point, come into the game with a plethora of problems especially in their backline. Two of their three regular central defenders are out due to suspension as is their top scorer Rafik Djebbour.

They are also sweating on the fitness of their keeper Pardo and their most accomplished defender, Carlao, who had to make a darting visit to a German clinic earlier in the week in an effort to patch him up after sustaining a hamstring strain last week. Both will face late fitness tests.

There is some positive news for the defending champions though as both Aloneftis and Vinicius are expected to be included in the squad for the first time after three months while midfielder Artymatas has shrugged off an injury.

Apollon captain Gaston Sangoy said earlier in the week that if his side want to be crowned champions in May, they have to beat APOEL in Nicosia.
The Limassol team boasts the most prolific front line in the league and given that their opponents will probably be without all their regular central defenders (and goalkeeper) it may be their best chance to take the three points.

In the previous two meetings with APOEL this season they failed to score. In the first game in Limassol their coach Andone opted for a very cautious approach and the same pattern was repeated in the second game until the last 20 minutes when APOEL were reduced to ten men.
The Limassol team will be without the injured Adrande, Stylainou and Robert.

There is good news for Anorthosis as both Laifis and Avraam are fit to face Omonia at the Antonis Papadopoulos stadium on Sunday.
Marangos and Andic are suspended while Garcia is out injured. The talented Toni Calvo faces a late fitness test.

Omonia welcomed back their top scorer Pote last week and he may be given the chance to lead the attack once again. Rubio is still a couple of weeks away from fitness while first-choice goalkeeper Giorgallides was taken ill on Thursday and a decision on his fitness will be made on the morning of the game.

Third-placed AEK are away to Ermis with the home team fully aware that only a win can keep their hopes of a top-three finish alive.

In the bottom group, relegation candidates Doxa Katokopias and Ayia Napa meet in a ‘six-pointer’ while bottom side Othellos Athienou are at home to Nea Salamina.

A win for the Athienou team will boost their confidence during a period where nothing seems to be going their way.
Ethnikos Achnas entertain AEL in a game of little interest as both teams appear to be safe from relegation.

Saturday at 16.00: APOEL vs Apollon, Ermis vs AEK, Othellos vs Nea Salmina
Sunday at 16.00: Anorthosis vs Omonia, Doxa vs Ayia Napa, Ethnikos Achnas vs AEL

By Nikolaos Prakas

Thousands of families are expected to benefit from the ‘Adopt a Family for Easter’ programme launched by the by the Pancyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council.

The programme is open to all who wish to participate through the organisation’s district offices in every city, the president of the council, Stavros Olympios said.

The council has district offices in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, Famagusta, and also one covering Kyrenia, which will all be collecting all the necessities for a proper Easter meal.

When asked what items people should bring, Olympios said: “Whatever people can offer for Easter. People wishing to volunteer are welcome to bring anything they think is needed for Easter such as, meat, coloured eggs, and anything else a family might want to celebrate the holiday.”

The delivery of items can be done either by the volunteer assigned to the family in need, if the family allows it, or it can be done through the district offices, which will then use volunteers to deliver the food and other necessities to the families.

The council said it was able to provide hundreds of families with help in the Christmas season and are expecting to aid about the same or more during Easter.  In Nicosia they helped around 600 families during Christmas, in Famagusta around 100, in Limassol 80, and in Paphos 160 families.

People wishing to get involved and donate this Easter can contact the council’s district offices in Nicosia- 22 512602, Limassol- 25 737761, Larnaca- 24 650525, Paphos –  26 953725, Famagusta- 99 124521, Kyrenia-  97 743185