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Minister in call for drug abuse help

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ionas

THERE have been 142 drugs-related deaths in Cyprus since 2004, the justice minister said on Wednesday, as he emphasised the need to treat users as people in need of help and not as criminals.

In a message marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Ionas Nicolaou said various studies have been carried out in recent years that show increasing use of illegal substances, especially among youths.

“Since 2004, 142 drugs-related deaths have been recorded in Cyprus, a fact that causes sorrow and at the same time creates the obligation for us to focus our every effort on tackling this complex, contemporary, and acute phenomenon,” Nicolaou said.

The complexity of the situation demanded that drug users were treated as people in need of treatment and not as common criminals, the minister said.

There was also a need to put all necessary measures in place to eradicate drug rings and prosecute traffickers, he added.

Nicolaou warned that successes in the fight against drugs should not lead to complacency but continuous vigilance in a bid to protect the youth.

 

“Our objective is suppress drugs related criminal activity by enhancing international cooperation to combat smuggling, illegal trafficking and supplying of drugs,” Nicolaou said.

 

The state, he said, would strive to continuously reinforce the drugs squad with highly trained personnel and modern equipment to enable it to tackle their difficult task.


Darcis and Azarenka lead Wimbledon injury exodus

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Victoria Azarenka of Belarus holds her leg after injuring herself during her women's singles tennis match against Maria Joao Koehler of Portugal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London

By Martyn Herman
The All England Club’s medical rooms were overflowing as the third day of Wimbledon resembled a casualty ward with Rafa Nadal’s conqueror Steve Darcis one of five players to withdraw injured before mid-afternoon on Wednesday.
Darcis, who sent shockwaves around the tennis world on Monday with a first-round demolition of Nadal, was in good company with women’s second seed Victoria Azarenka unable to take to the Centre Court to face Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.
American marathon man John Isner, whose longest-ever tennis match is part of Wimbledon folklore, lasted only two games before his knee buckled against Adrian Mannarino.
Czech veteran Radek Stepanek then quit with a hamstring injury while trailing powerful Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-2 5-3, meaning the first three men’s second round results of the day were decided by walkovers or retirements.
Men’s 10th seed Marin Cilic, who beat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis on Monday, added to the injury list when he withdrew before his second round match against Frenchman Kenny De Schepper.
The 29-year-old Darcis, who had been due to face Pole Lukasz Kubot, said he had injured his right shoulder in the heat of battle against Nadal on Monday.
“It happened against Rafa in the middle of the first set when I fell down,” the Belgian told a news conference.
“I started to feel it a little bit. When it was warm, it was okay. I had no pain. After a few games, I was feeling great.
“After the match, a few hours after, I start to feel so much pain, I couldn’t sleep the night,” he added.
Australian Open champion Azarenka was scheduled to open play on Centre Court but withdrew as fans were taking their seats having failed to recover from the knee injury she sustained when slipping over against Maria Joao Koehleron Monday.
“It’s very tough. I couldn’t be any more disappointed,” Azarenka who won Olympic gold in mixed doubles at Wimbledon last year, told reporters. “Wimbledon is just a tournament I was looking so forward to. I love playing here.”
Azarenka, who blamed a slippery No.1 Court on her fall, said an MRI scan had not revealed a torn ligament and that she had tried to practise before Wednesday’s match with Pennetta.
“I tried to stay as optimistic as possible,” she said. “I tried to practise today a little bit to see if it was going to get better. It didn’t it just got worse.”
Organisers quickly had to fill the gap left by Azarenka’s withdrawal, switching former world number one Ana Ivanovic to Centre Court for her match against reigning Wimbledon junior champion Eugenie Bouchard of Canada but the 12th-seeded Serb’s upgrade did little for her performance as she lost 6-3 6-3.
The biggest irony of the day was 18th seed Isner’s painful exit. The American, who beat Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in an 11-hour-five-minute epic in 2010, suddenly grabbed his left knee after a serve in the opening game.
After receiving attention he battled on for a while but threw down his racket at 1-1 and shook hands with Mannarino.
“I didn’t feel anything in my first match; didn’t feel anything yesterday in practice; didn’t feel anything earlier today in the warm-up; didn’t feel anything in the five-minute warm-up; didn’t feel anything in the first two points of the match; and then, bam, felt it.”

Wimbledon results (updated Wednesday 17.30)

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Results from Wimbledon Men’s Singles Round 2 matches on Wednesday
15-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Guillaume Rufin (France) 7-5 6-7(6) 6-3 6-4
25-Benoit Paire (France) beat Stephane Robert (France) 6-4 7-5 6-4
Kenny De Schepper (France) beat 10-Marin Cilic (Croatia)WO
Dustin Brown (Germany) beat Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 6-4 6-4 6-7(3) 6-2
Viktor Troicki (Serbia) beat Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) 6-4 6-3 6-4
24-Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) beat Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-2 5-3 (Stepanek retired)
Lukasz Kubot (Poland) beat Steve Darcis (Belgium)WO
Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 18-John Isner (U.S.) 1-1 (Isner retired)

Results from Wimbledon Women’s Singles Round 2 matches on Wednesday
Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) beat 12-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 6-3 6-3
Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) beat Silvia Soler Espinosa (Spain) 6-2 5-7 6-4
19-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Croatia) 1-6 6-3 6-3
Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat 2-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)WO
29-Alize Cornet (France) beat Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) 6-3 6-2

Manslaughter plea in property killing

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koffinou murder

A 33-YEAR-OLD man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of Panayiotis Stavrou, 54, over a property dispute in the village of Kofinou.

Prodromos Hadjipanayi had originally been charged with premeditated murder, a charge that carries mandatory life imprisonment if found guilty.

In total, the defendant pleaded guilty to nine charges including manslaughter, and attempted murder.

The court will convene again on July 3 to hear the facts of the case.

It will be followed by a mitigation hearing before sentencing.

At the end of yesterday’s hearing, relatives of the victim tried to attack the defendant who was protected by a strong police contingent.

Hadjipanayi is accused of killing Stavrou and injuring his son Giorgos Georgiou as well as three other people during a shooting rampage with a Kalashnikov assault rifle on March 23.

Father and son, Stavrou and Georgiou, had been working on a Turkish-Cypriot house at the time, which appeared to have been at the centre of the dispute.

The 33-year-old defendant had been lobbying the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot Properties at the Interior Ministry to allocate the house to him but it was given to Giorgos Georgiou instead.

The suspect subsequently went to the local market where he allegedly shot and injured the owners, brothers Adamos and Panayiotis Lambrou – with whom he also had property disputes – and 37-year-old Katy Charalambous.

The Guardian of Turkish Cypriot Properties was set up as a government body within the Interior Ministry under the Turkish-Cypriot Properties Law in 1991, and acts as the caretaker of properties belonging to Turkish Cypriots until the settlement of the island’s division.

The Guardian administers the properties, leasing or renting them out to those who qualify, and holding any proceeds – less any obligations paid – in a Turkish Cypriot Property Fund for eventual payment to the properties’ owners.

 

Couple arrested for Paphos burglaries

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newsbriefs1

A COUPLE have been arrested in connection with a number of burglaries in Paphos after police were tipped off by a British woman.

According to reports the woman, who is a permanent resident on the island, had seen two people acting suspiciously on Tuesday in the basement of the block of flats she lives in.

She approached them and after noticing they had taken a bicycle asked them what they were doing. One of the two culprits then sprayed the woman in the face with a harmful substance.

The British woman then returned to her flat and after washing her face clean, returned to the basement where she found the bicycle on the floor. Noticing the vehicle in which the couple were attempting to escape, she managed to write down its licence plate number and immediately reported it to police.

Police discovered the plates belong to a man who had had run-ins with Paphos police in the past. A 32-year-old man and his 23-year-old partner were then later arrested. After examining the man’s car, members of the force found garden shears and a canister containing a harmful spray .

The couple were released on Wednesday to appear at a later date in court, police said.

Paphos CID is continuing its investigations.

 

 

Wimbledon results (updated 19.45)

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Results from Wimbledon Women’s Singles Round 2 matches on Wednesday
Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) beat 3-Maria Sharapova (Russia) 6-3 6-4
25-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) beat Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) 6-2 6-7(3) 6-4
8-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) beat Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan)WO
Petra Cetkovska (Czech Republic) beat 9-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 6-2 6-2
Karin Knapp (Italy) beat 27-Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 4-6 6-4 6-4
Eva Birnerova (Czech Republic) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-3 6-4
Eugenie Bouchard (Canada) beat 12-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 6-3 6-3
Monica Puig (Puerto Rico) beat Silvia Soler Espinosa (Spain) 6-2 5-7 6-4
19-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Croatia) 1-6 6-3 6-3
Flavia Pennetta (Italy) beat 2-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)WO
29-Alize Cornet (France) beat Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) 6-3 6-2

Results from Wimbledon Men’s Singles Round 2 matches on Wednesday
20-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat Vasek Pospisil (Canada) 6-2 6-7(3) 7-6(7) 3-6 6-4
Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) beat 6-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 3-6 6-3 6-3 0-0 (Tsonga retired)
Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat 31-Julien Benneteau (France) 7-6(1) 7-6(4) 6-4
15-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Guillaume Rufin (France) 7-5 6-7(6) 6-3 6-4
25-Benoit Paire (France) beat Stephane Robert (France) 6-4 7-5 6-4
Kenny De Schepper (France) beat 10-Marin Cilic (Croatia)WO
Dustin Brown (Germany) beat Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 6-4 6-4 6-7(3) 6-2
Viktor Troicki (Serbia) beat Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) 6-4 6-3 6-4
24-Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) beat Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-2 5-3 (Stepanek retired)
Lukasz Kubot (Poland) beat Steve Darcis (Belgium)WO
Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 18-John Isner (U.S.) 1-1 (Isner retired)

Ryanair increases Paphos flights

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By Bejay Bronwe

LOW cost carrier Ryanair has added seven new destinations to its winter programme, a move welcomed by local tourist officials.

Ryanair’s new winter schedule means Paphos will see 24 incoming flights a week from 11 different airports.

“This is great news for Paphos and we are very happy to have Ryanair with a more enriched winter schedule for Paphos,” manager of the Paphos regional board of tourism Nassos Hadjigeorgiou said.

The winter timetable will operate from the end of October until the end of March 2014.

“We are especially pleased with flight connections between Paphos – Norway, Sweden, Brussels, Germany and the UK; these were a top priority for us,” Hadjigeorgiou added.

He said the entire deal is the result of strong government support, especially from the ministry of tourism and airport operator, Hermes. “Obviously, we have been very supportive of the process and will undertake joint promotion and advertising campaigns with Ryanair in the near future,” he said.

The development will help to extend the Paphos tourist season and supports initiatives to try to attract holidaymakers to other businesses such as restaurants and shops, said Hajigeorgiou.

“The focus of the Paphos regional board of tourism, hoteliers and local authorities has been to bring back winter operations which were very popular in Paphos until 2004,” he added.

The Ryanair winter schedule for Paphos includes the following routes: Norway Oslo-Rygge, Sweden-Skavsta Stockholm, Germany-Dusseldorf and Lithuania Kaunas – will all be served by one weekly flight.

Italy’s-Bergamo Milan will have two flights a week, along with Ciampino Rome, Belgium-Charleroi and Manchester. Chania is scheduled to have three flights a week and the new flight programme includes four flights a week from Stansted, and Thessaloniki in Greece will benefit form five flights a week.

The budget airline has two aircraft based at Paphos International Airport.

Book flights and check destinations at www.ryanair.com

US Senate passes sweeping immigration legislation

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Senate vote on comprehensive immigration reform

By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro

The U.S. Senate has approved a landmark immigration bill that would provide millions of undocumented immigrants a chance to become citizens, but the leader of the House of Representatives said the measure was dead on arrival in the House.

In a rare show of bipartisanship on Thursday, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed the bill by a vote of 68-32, with 14 of the Senate’s 46 Republicans joining all 52 Democrats and two independents in support of the bill.

But any air of celebration was tempered by House Speaker John Boehner, who hours before the vote emphasized that Republicans would “do our own bill,” one that “reflects the will of our majority,” many of whom oppose citizenship for immigrants who are in the United States illegally.

Any bill in the Republican-controlled House is expected to focus heavily on border security and finding immigrants who have overstayed their visas.

“Immigration reform has to be grounded in real border security,” Boehner said.

Republican divisions over immigration were evident throughout the U.S. Capitol. While Boehner was putting the brakes on the Senate bill, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, delivered a passionate speech urging passage of the measure that he helped write.

After recounting his parents’ difficult lives in Cuba and their struggles after immigrating to the United States, Rubio said: “For over 200 years now, they (immigrants) have come; in search of liberty and freedom, for sure. But often simply looking for jobs to feed their kids and the chance of a better life.”

At the end of the Senate debate, a packed gallery of supporters, who have labored decades for such a moment, witnessed the vote that came after three weeks of sometimes heated discussion. More than 100 children of illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents hugged each other when the bill passed.

President Barack Obama, praising the bill, said it contained tough border security requirements and “earned citizenship” for about 11 million undocumented residents.

“Today, the Senate did its job. It’s now up to the House to do the same,” Obama said in a statement.

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Senate bill “has the potential to improve the lives of millions of Mexicans living in the United States today.”

The Senate vote came after several unsuccessful attempts in the past decade or so to overhaul a U.S. immigration law enacted in 1986. The goal has been to improve an outdated visa system and help U.S. firms get easier access to foreign labor ranging from farm and construction workers to high-skilled employees.

Business and labor groups reached a deal on the new visa system, which is part of the Senate bill. But controversy raged over how much new border security was needed and how long the 11 million should wait before becoming legal residents and then citizens.

As the Senate wrapped up its debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recounted the story of a 4-year-old girl, Astrid Silva, who illegally crossed into the United States with her family in a rubber raft 21 years ago.

“This bill paves the way for people like Astrid and her family – people who are American in all but paperwork – to become full participants in this society,” Reid said.

BOEHNER’S DEMANDS

Republicans have argued that Americans do not support placing the 11 million on a pathway to citizenship, or “amnesty,” as they call it.

While House Democrats and some Republicans could conceivably team up to pass the Senate’s measure, or one like it, Boehner repeated that he would not allow consideration of any bill that does not have the support of most of the House’s 234 Republicans.

That position may make it impossible to pass a comprehensive immigration bill in this Congress, a top priority of Obama.

For months, leading Senate backers of the bill said they aimed to achieve a symbolic 70 votes for passage, a show of force they hoped would help persuade conservative Republicans in the House to rethink their opposition.

They fell two votes short on Thursday. Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, an outspoken opponent of the bill, said the failure to hit 70 votes was a strategic setback for proponents.

Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who helped write the bill, said, “68 is a good amount” and, “We will be working the House hard” to win passage of a bill.

Many Republicans argued that the party should heal its rift over immigration legislation. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who helped write the Senate bill, said it was difficult to get Hispanic-Americans even to listen to Republicans because many likely think they “want to deport their grandmother.”

Despite earlier statements by some House Republicans that a bill could be on the floor sometime in July, Boehner declined to say when the full House might debate and vote on an immigration measure, saying that he will huddle with his fellow Republicans following a July 4 holiday recess.

One House Republican aide told Reuters the House debate might be put off until the fall.

Nevertheless, the Senate was treating the immigration bill as a measure of historic importance.

Reid, the Senate majority leader, took the unusual step of calling all 100 senators to the chamber for the vote, requiring them to cast votes while seated at their desks.

On most votes, senators mill around the chamber talking to each other, creating a noisy scene in the ornate chamber.

But Reid sought more decorum on Thursday. “This is not a vote where people should be straggling in,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Senate approved a major border security amendment aimed at broadening Republican support for the bill.

It would spend $46 billion in 10 years to place 20,000 more federal law enforcement agents at the U.S.-Mexico border, finish construction of a 700-mile (1,125-km) fence on portions of the border and purchase high-tech surveillance equipment.

The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee is working on various immigration bills. This week it passed legislation requiring all U.S. employers to use an electronic program known as E-Verify to ensure they are only hiring legally documented workers.

The committee also is working on a bill to increase work visas for the high-tech industry and has passed other bills to strengthen enforcement and to establish a new temporary work visa for farm hands.

The Senate bill contains many of these elements, in addition to the pathway to citizenship.

“What I see myself voting for, number one, is border security,” said Republican Representative Sean Duffy of Wisconsin. “We are a nation of immigrants but we are also a nation of laws.”


Banking sector collapsed due to lack of national policy says report

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CYPRUS had no coherent national policy to manage its large banking sector and there was no effective system of supervision, eventually leading to a disaster, an independent commission said yesterday.

Despite the island’s banking sector being deeply involved in international banking, there had been no coherent banking strategy to manage it, said David Lascelles, chairman of the

Independent Commission on the Future of the Cyprus Banking Sector and a senior fellow of London-based think tank Centre for the Study of Financial Innnovation.

“There was a lot of focus on the rewards – plenty of credit, large foreign earnings, a big offshore business – but little on the risks,” Lascelles told a news conference. “I would go so far as to say that people didn’t want to focus on the risks for fear of spoiling the party.”

The commission, which published its interim report yesterday, was set up by the Central Bank (CBC) last year to come up with recommendations for the long term recovery of the banking system.

And it faces more trouble unless it can successfully tighten supervision, escape political meddling and change its culture of overt risk-taking, the report said.

Lascelles said no one was watching the ‘big picture’ risk to spot the looming dangers – there was virtually no contact between the CBC and the finance ministry and “the distortions to the local economy caused by huge foreign deposits went uncorrected.”

The terms of reference of the commission do not include apportioning blame for the banking debacle, but to identify what went wrong and make proposals to correct it.
The interim report argued risk-taking by banks was overlooked, there were few checks and balances by directors, lending was based on personal relationships and there was poor supervision at all levels.
The commission said that while Cyprus made matters worse for itself by delaying agreement on a bailout for almost a year, the terms of the deal “have created a critical banking situation, and will make it very difficult for Cyprus to recover.”

It described as “unfortunate” the condition to merge the now defunct Laiki Bank with Bank of Cyprus (BoC) because it would create a lender with a dominant share of the market and raise competition and systemic concerns.

The merger should be completed as soon as possible, the commission said, but it should be reviewed once the dust had settled.

The commission also proposed that co-operative banks were merged into a single joint stock entity with commercial management and placed under the direct supervision of the CBC, “turning the sector into a competitive force.”

Lascelles said co-ops had an exceptionally poor business record, their structure was now obsolete, and they “have become quite a cost to the economy.”

Responding to a question, Lascelles suggested that “co-ops should have been bailed-in” in the same way BoC was.

As part of the bailout agreement, BoC used (uninsured) deposits over €100,000 to recapitalise.

In contrast, a €1.5 billion capital shortfall in co-ops will be covered by the bailout money.

Lascelles said it would be the third time Cypriot taxpayers bailed out co-ops.

They had received 22 million Cyprus pounds in the late 70s and a further 67 million Cyprus pounds in the late 80s.

“We think their day has passed,” Lascelles said of co-ops. “Cyprus is no longer the agrarian economy they were set up to serve 100 years ago.”

He acknowledged that their proposal was radical as co-ops are “liked and politically popular.”

The commission also recommended changing the banking culture, which was “tainted with politics and cronyism.”

“There is a direct political influence in the way the banking system was run in this country, and its one of our fundamental recommendations that Cyprus strive to get rid of that.

Otherwise you are never going to have a healthy banking system,” Lascelles said.

He added that the sector needed to be opened up to new people, fresh ideas, and given an independent spirit which would enable it to take an objective view of itself and its problems.

“One quick and easy way to do this would be by appointing non-Cypriots to the boards of banks – and the central bank.”

There must also be an overhaul of corporate governance to inject a culture of independence into board rooms, to provide stronger checks against the executive side, and to ensure that effective control processes exist and are enforced.

The commission also offered a more optimistic view of the island’s prospects as an international financial centre.

The business may have been large and profitable, but it was not of the highest quality, Lascelles said, as it relied heavily on tax breaks and inadequate policing.

The sector was insufficiently diversified geographically and much of the high value added corporate structural work was done elsewhere.

“We believe it could thrive in a more sophisticated form whose value lay in the quality of the corporate and banking services it offered, and the breadth of its services, including wealth management and fund administration, for example,” he said.

Read the interim report here: www.icfcbs.org

Outrage as Brits lose sunshine benefit

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ÊÕÐÑÏÓ - ×ÉÏÍÉÁ

By Bejay Browne

BRITISH pensioners living in Cyprus have been stripped of their winter fuel allowance, announced as part of changes in the spending review by UK Chancellor George Osbourne.

British expats living in seven countries deemed too warm – including Cyprus – will no longer receive the £300 winter fuel allowance as Osbourne vowed to crack down on the so called ‘sunshine benefit’.

The measures are expected to save up to £30million a year. The move will affect thousands of expats living in Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Malta, Portugal, France and Gibraltar.
The crackdown will come into effect after the next election, he said.

The new ‘temperature test’ as it’s been dubbed will affect thousands of Brits residing in Cyprus – not least those in Paphos and the news has left them up in arms, furious over a decision which they say is unfair and will leave them seriously out of pocket.

David Graves-Moore, 78, and wife Rosaleen, 69, have been in receipt of the full £300 payment since they moved to Cyprus five and a half years ago, but that will change under the new rules, which the pensioner says are a “disgrace”.

“This is theft. Our last electricity bill which covered the period from the end of December 2012 up to the end of February this year was close to €800. We probably spent another €400 on wood for the fire,” he said.

Cyprus currently has the highest electricity prices in the European Union and no piped gas supply to homes.

winter allowance2-Steve Kay says it feels freezing here

Stephen Kay

Chairman of the Paphos branch of the UKCA – the United Kingdom Citizen’s Association – Steve Kay, 66, moved to Paphos five years ago and says that we do need the allowance here.

He said: “I don’t think that the British government realise that although it’s not as cold here as in the UK, the temperature does drop considerably and it does get cold.”

According to the Cyprus meteorological service in January the average temperature is 10C inland and 3C in the Troodos mountains, although it often becomes cooler.

Graves-Moore said: “We live in Stroumpi in Paphos which is 17,000 feet above sea level and I’m sure that the temperature here in January is much colder than that of London.”

The so called ‘temperature test’ was set by the UK Treasury along with the Meteorological Office, which examined average winter temperatures over the last 29 years in Europe and the UK.

Graves-Moore added: “I take great exception to George Osbourne inferring that it’s time to stop people having ‘something for nothing’, my wife and I have both worked all of our lives, paid our National Insurance contributions and taxes in the UK and we are just as entitled as any one else to receive this payment.”

Kay, who up to now has been in receipt of £200 a year allowance agrees: “I paid national insurance for years – since I was 16 – and that is supposed to pay for all that.”

“I live in Peyia which is in the hills – and the temperature drops considerably in the winter. It was often six degrees and cooler last winter,” Kay said. “That may not sound cold to some in

the UK, but we have acclimatised here and to us it feels freezing.

“Of course this payment comes in handy. Electricity prices are high in Cyprus and some people rely on air conditioners for heating as well as electric fires or blow heaters. It works out as very expensive.”

Sheila Dawker, 70, a Paphos resident described the announcement as atrocious and unlawful, and said that it would directly affect her ability to heat her home during the winter months.

She said: “This just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s not even means tested – it’s only to do with the temperature. As I understand it, well-off expat pensioners who have gone to live in a cold country will still get the benefit, but people like me with a very limited income will get nothing, just because we have hot summers, its absolutely ridiculous and unfair.”

The retiree added: “George Osbourne said that ‘people in hot countries will no longer get it. It is a payment for winter fuel.’ Is he an idiot? We still have winters here – I mean you can ski in the Troodos most winters.”

Our View: Radical co-ops plan deserves to be put into action

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Κεντρικά Γραφεία πρόσοψη(1)

MANY important points about the banking sector were raised yesterday by David Lascelles, chairman of the Independent Commission on the Future of the Cyprus Banking Sector. Lascelles painted a gloomy picture about the future of the sector, saying that the bailout terms “created a critical banking situation and will make it very difficult for Cyprus to recover.” He also questioned the wisdom of the forced takeover of Laiki by the Bank of Cyprus.

Having criticised the poor supervision of the sector and the failure of banks to deal with risk, Lascelles stressed the need for a complete overhaul of the co-op banks as Cyprus was “no longer the agrarian economy they were set up to serve 100 years ago.” The disparaging comments he made about the co-ops, came as a breath of fresh air, given that the co-op movement has been treated as a sacred cow by everyone in Cyprus, particularly the politicians who are always publicly praising it.

Even the Governor of the Central Bank was praising the alleged soundness of the co-ops last year while lambasting the banks; he was also speaking like a politician rather than like central banker. Lascelles, in contrast, pointed out that the co-ops had an exceptionally poor business record, their structure was obsolete and had become “quite a cost to the economy.” He also argued that co-ops which will be given €1.5bn from bailout funds for their capital needs should have been bailed in the same way as the Bank of Cyprus.

The truth is that no politician in Cyprus would have ever dared make such a suggestion because of the big political cost of attacking an institution perceived as benevolent and helpful to the poorer classes. They would rather the country was lumbered with an additional €1.5bn debt than harm the co-ops. Interestingly, this will be the third time that the state will have bailed out the co-ops, having also done this in the late seventies (22m pounds) and the late eighties (67m pounds). These amounts may have been affordable, but €1.5bn is not.

Co-ops, despite the political mythology, have always been monuments to mismanagement and rusfeti, run by people with strong connections to political parties – especially AKEL – that exercised almost complete control over them. This explains why the co-ops are in such a big mess today and have to be bailed by the taxpayer, yet again.

Now there is an opportunity to put co-op banking on a sound business basis. Lascelles proposed co-op banks were merged into a single joint stock entity, with commercial management, which would become a competitive force. This would cause many job losses and end the toxic control exercised by the parties – which is why our political establishment is certain to oppose it. Our only hope of this radical proposal being adopted is the troika, which is lending the money for the co-ops’ capital needs and should insist on the dismantling of the old structure.

EU accord doesn’t back Cyprus used as guinea pig theory

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banks

By Elias Hazou

YESTERDAY’S accord among EU finance ministers to force investors and wealthy savers to share the costs of future bank failures may or may not be viewed as confirmation that Cyprus was used as a test case for the ‘bail-in’.

Under the compromise agreement, from 2018 the so-called ‘bail-in’ regime can force shareholders, bondholders and some depositors to contribute to the costs of bank failure. Insured deposits under €100,000 are exempt and uninsured deposits of individuals and small companies are given preferential status in the bail-in pecking order.

The rules break a taboo in Europe that savers should never lose their deposits. They are no doubt reminiscent of Cyprus, and one might argue that the island served as the ‘template’ for the bail-in of depositors.

Except that the ‘Cyprus model’ is not set in stone in the new regulations.

That’s because the preliminary deal struck by the EU gives countries some flexibility to decide when and how to impose losses on a failing bank’s creditors.

There’s a second way of rescuing a stricken lender: once a bail-in (from shareholders and unsecured creditors – not depositors) equivalent to eight per cent of total liabilities has been implemented, support from other sources can be used (up to five per cent of total liabilities) with approval from Brussels. These ‘other sources’ are national bank resolution funds, the European Stability Mechanism and the concerned state.

At any rate, the overall idea is that investors and not taxpayers shall henceforth foot the cost of bank rescues. At least on paper. As Tyler Durden writes on the Zero Hedge blog, the EU agreement “is the usual fluid melange of semi-rigid rules filled with loopholes designed to benefit large banks whose impairment may be detrimental to ‘systemic stability’.”

In the wake of the March Eurogroup decision to restructure Cyprus’ two largest banks, EU officials were at pains to emphasise to a wary European public that the “Cypriot programme is not a template, but measures are tailor-made to the very exceptional Cypriot situation.”

The day after the bailout, Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem appeared to suggest that the Cyprus bailout would set the template – only to take back his comments a few days later.

At the time, stunned and angry Cypriots took Dijsselbloem’s initial remarks as proof that the island was being used a guinea pig for the bail-in method. Three months on, that perception still permeates the public psyche in Cyprus.

But one leading commentator here begs to differ. Economist Mike Spanos talks of the ‘victim syndrome’ that islanders tend to be afflicted with.

“No, Cyprus was not an experiment for the bail-in,” Spanos categorically states. “The bail-in method was clearly defined in the European directive proposal of June 6, 2012, a full nine months prior to the Eurogroup decision on Cyprus.

“So for those who cared to be in the loop, it was nothing new or surprising. It is only because most of us had closed our eyes and ears that we found it shocking when it did happen,” argues Spanos.

Cyprus, he says, was merely the first case of the implementation of the bail-in.

“Was it unjust on Cyprus? Yes. But to say that we were guinea pigs is way off the mark. The European Union had clearly said that to deal with failing banks given the public debt problem there was no other way.”

Theodore Panayotou, director of the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM), takes a different view – but likewise contends that Cypriots, or their leaders, shoulder some of the blame.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we were guinea pigs for the bail-in,” he says.

“But we gave them [the EU] the opportunity to use us as such. By delaying asking for EU assistance, we bankrupted the state, let the banks amass enormous emergency liquidity funds. And so by the time we did go to the EU for help, we had zero money and zero bargaining power.

“We practically tempted the Europeans into enforcing the bail-in on us,” adds Panayotou.

According to the economist, the agreement thrashed out yesterday is “just” in that it gives bank investors fair warning.

“What the new rules say to investors, be they bondholders or depositors, is ‘look, from now on you should be careful where you put your money.’ If investors see that a bank pays out too high an interest rate, they should ask why. They should do their homework.

“The new rules give investors the heads-up. And that’s the key difference with what happened in Cyprus – investors were not warned, and that is why the solution imposed here was not fair.”

Bank burgled but thieves leave empty-handed

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news briefs (rect)

Unknown individuals broke into a Paphos village co-operative but apparently left empty-handed, police said on Friday.

Authorities scrambled to the scene after the co-op’s alarm sounded at 3am.

The would-be thieves entered the branch in Holetria by opening a hole in the wall through the coffee shop next door.

It appeared however, that the perpetrators left empty-handed, police said.

A large vault where the money was kept had not been broken into.

The head of the community said it was the first time someone had broken into the co-op.

No serious incidents of theft and burglaries had been reported in Holetria, Kyriacos Papalazarou said.

Second gold medal for Cyprus

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Nektaria+Panayi+21st+European+Athletics+Championships+IhkniifygFWl

Cypriot athlete Nektaria Panayi won a gold medal in the long jump on Thursday in the 17th Mediterranean Games in Mersin, Turkey.

This is the second gold medal for Cyprus and the sixth overall.

The 23-year-old won the gold medal with a 6.51m jump, ahead of Slovenian Nina Kolaric who came second, and third-place Italian Tania Vicenzino.

Cyprus’ first gold medal was won by Eleni Artymata in the women’s 200m race.

Artymata also won the bronze in the 100m race.

Georgios Achilleos won the silver medal in the men’s skeet shooting, while Kyriaki Kouttouki won the bronze in the women’s Taekwondo.

In rowing, Anna Ioannou won the bronze in the women’s single sculls light.

The games finish on Sunday.

Paphos police arrest mugging suspect

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ËÉÌÁÍÁÊÉ ÔÇÓ ÊÁÔÙ ÐÁÖÏÕ

Paphos police on Friday arrested a Greek man, 19, and were seeking his 24-year-old brother in connection with several tourist muggings.

Police said four assaults against female tourists had been reported between 9.50pm Thursday and 3.30am.

Two individuals approached the women in a car and the front-seat passenger snatched their bags, police said.

In one of the incidents where a Russian tourist tried to resist, she was pushed to the ground and injured.

Police mounted a manhunt for the suspects’ arrest, eventually locating them at a Petrol station in Kato Paphos.

At the sight of the police, the 24-year-old, who was at the wheel, drove off, abandoning his brother who got out of the car to fill it with petrol.

The 19-year-old was arrested and during questioning he admitted to committing the offenses and led police to three spots where they found part of the stolen property.

He also named his brother as his accomplice.

The vehicle was found abandoned near the petrol station at 4.30am.

Four Cypriots, aged between 16 and 28, were also arrested two days ago in connection with numerous cases of theft.


‘A stitch up from beginning to end’

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land deal

A 2011 land deal, where the pension fund of telecoms authority (CyTA) purchased a plot in Larnaca for some €20 million, was “a stitch-up from beginning to end,” interior minister Socrates Hasikos told an investigating panel yesterday.

Hasikos was the first witness summoned before the committee, which was sworn in on Wednesday following a Cabinet decision.

The land, in Dromolaxia, Larnaca, was sold to a Greek Cypriot businessman, and after the coefficients were upgraded, it was acquired by the CyTA pension fund for around €22 million.

The land deal took place under the previous administration’s watch.

The land in question belonged to a Turkish Cypriot. According to Hasikos, it was initially purchased by a Greek Cypriot who filed for a land-use change. As a consequence of the change (the land was now to be used as office space), the building coefficients were raised, which also upped the land’s value. CyTA then bought the plot at the higher price.

According to Hasikos, the Cabinet – which green-lighted the sale to CyTA – was aware that the coefficients had been upgraded when it was approving the transaction.

“CyTA’s pension fund was looted… It makes you wonder why it should invest in offices or buy buildings next to the Hilton hotel in Nicosia, or buy property at twice the market value…” the minister told the panel.

On the Larnaca plot, Hasikos said CyTA chose it despite being aware of other cheaper options which also came with all the necessary permits.
The semi-state telecoms company denies any wrongdoing.

Solar car challenge in Paphos

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pic for solar car story(1)

By Bejay Browne

A solar-powered car challenge which will take place in Paphos this weekend will see six teams battling it out for two top prizes.

The ‘Solar Car Challenge’ is now in its fourth year and competing teams will have to complete as many laps as possible during the three hour race.

Test driving will take place this afternoon, undertaken by The Cyprus Institute’s technical team to ensure that all vehicles comply with the rules and regulations of the race, which are based on those of recognised international world solar challenges.

The race will get underway at 10 am tomorrow and will see the innovative green inventions take to the streets of Paphos.

Entrants will set off from Neapolis University in Paphos, drive to Geroskipou and end up at Paphos castle for the awards ceremony. All of the cars will complete as many laps as possible on a designated route which takes the tailor made vehicles around Paphos. This enables maximum expose for the race and ensures members of the public get to see the green creations.

Maria Mitas, of The Cyprus Institute, which organises the annual event, along with Neapolis University and the municipalities of Paphos and Geroskipou said that this year, participants from Jordan would again be joining entrants from schools and universities and individuals from all over Cyprus.

“We even have businessman taking part as well; for them this is a passion. There is no age restriction,” she said.

All of the vehicles are environmentally friendly and are powered by the sun.

“This is a great opportunity for those interested or studying science or technology to obtain some hands on experience – as they out of the laboratory,” she said. “Those who have entered each year progress with their creations as they learn from each race. This is the fourth year of the race and the third year which it has taken place on the roads in Paphos, it’s an exciting experience.”

The successful annual event aims to promote environmentally friendly renewable energy and to raise awareness of alternative technologies which make fewer demands on the environment. According to Mitas, the challenge also encourages students to study science, technology and engineering.

Mitas said that unlike most race cars, solar cars are designed with strict energy constraints which are imposed by the race regulations. Competitors may start with a fully charged battery – but the rules limit the energy used to that collected only from solar power.

There are two categories for entrants. First is the challenge category. All of the solar powered cars for this race must not exceed a budget of 20,000 euros.

Second is the open category. This race is open to any solar powered car that meets the safety regulations of The Cyprus Institute.

All of the teams which are competing have designed and built their bespoke vehicles and Mitas explained that there are two separate trophies up for grabs.

“We have an award for the winner, the team which completes the greatest number of laps in the allotted time and also the Best Design.”

Last years winners were the Technical School of Avgorou, with the Best Design Award going to the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST).

The race will start at Neapolis University at 10:00 on Sunday and finish at the castle in Kato Paphos, where the award ceremony will take place at 13:45.

For more information about the race visit http://www.cyi.ac.cy/solar-car-challenge.html

Egypt violence builds, American among dead

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Egyptians opposing President Morsi protest in Cairo

By Abdelrahman Youssef and Tom Perry

Two people, one an American, were killed when protesters stormed an office of Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, adding to growing tension ahead of mass rallies aimed at unseating the Islamist president.

A third man was killed and 10 injured in an explosion during a protest in Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Police on Saturday said the cause was unclear but protesters, believing it was a bomb, attacked an Islamist party office in the city.

Egypt’s leading religious authority warned of “civil war” after violence in the past week that had already left several dead and hundreds injured. They backed President Mohamed Mursi’s offer to talk to opposition groups ahead of Sunday’s protests.

The United Nations, European Union and United States have appealed for restraint and urged Egypt’s deadlocked political leaders to step back from a confrontation threatening the new democracy that emerged from the Arab Spring revolution of 2011.

The U.S. embassy said in a statement it was evacuating non-essential staff and family members and renewed a warning to Americans not to travel to Egypt unless they had to.

The Muslim Brotherhood said eight of its offices had been attacked on Friday, including the one in Alexandria. Officials said more than 70 people had been injured in the clashes in the city. One was shot dead and a young American man who was using a small camera died after being stabbed in the chest.

A Brotherhood member was also killed overnight in an attack on a party office at Zagazig, in the heavily populated Nile Delta, where much of the recent violence has been concentrated. Mursi’s movement said five supporters in all had died this week.

“Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war,” said clerics at Cairo’s ancient Al-Azhar institute, one of the most influential centers of scholarship in the Muslim world.

In a statement broadly supportive of Mursi, they backed his offer of dialogue and blamed “criminal gangs” who besieged mosques for the violence. The Brotherhood warned of “dire consequences” and “a violent spiral of anarchy”.

It accused liberal leaders, including former U.N. diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, of personally inciting violence by hired “thugs” once loyal to ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Opposition leaders condemned the violence. The army, which has warned it could intervene if political leaders lose control, issued a statement saying it had deployed across the country to protect citizens and installations of national importance.

In the capital, Cairo, tens of thousands turned out for rival events some miles apart and there was little trouble. An Islamist rally included calls to reconciliation. On Tahrir Square, cradle of the uprising against Mubarak, there was a festive atmosphere and a determination to shake Mursi on Sunday.

In Alexandria, as several thousand anti-Mursi protesters marched along the seafront, a Reuters reporter saw about a dozen men throw rocks at guards outside the Brotherhood office. They responded. Bricks and bottles flew. Guns were fired.

Officials said dozens were wounded by birdshot. The party office was ransacked and documents were burned, watched by jubilant youths chanting against Egypt’s Islamist leaders.

In Port Said, a bastion of anti-Islamist sentiment, police had suspected an accident but later said a device exploded among protesters. Canal traffic has not been affected by violence.

CAIRO CALM

Islamists gathered round a Cairo mosque after weekly prayers to show support for Mursi. His opponents hope millions will turn out on Sunday to demand he step down, a year to the day after he was sworn in as Egypt’s first freely chosen leader.

Mursi, backed by the Brotherhood, has dismissed such demands as an assault on democracy, setting up an angry confrontation.

“I came to support the legitimate order,” said Ahmed al-Maghrabi, 37, a shopkeeper from the Nile Delta city of Mansoura whose hand bore grazes from street fighting there this week. “I am with the elected president. He needs to see out his term.”

Some speakers reflected fear and anger among Islamists that opponents aim to suppress them as Mubarak did. But there was also talk from the podium of the need for dialogue – a concern also of international powers worried by the bitter polarization.

A few hundred opposition protesters gathered outside the presidential palace, a focus for Sunday’s rally. Mursi has moved elsewhere. Thousands turned out after dark in Tahrir Square, waving national flags and sampling street food.

Abdelhamid Nada, a 32-year-old accountant, had come from the provinces with eight friends to camp out “until Mursi goes”. “The Muslim Brotherhood has no plan at all,” he said, standing by his white tent. “They don’t have any economic plan, they don’t have any social plan, they don’t have any political plan.”

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE

The army, which heeded mass protests in early 2011 to push Mubarak aside, has warned it will intervene again if there is violence, and to defend the “will of the people”. Both sides believe that means the military may support their positions.

The United States, which funds Egypt’s army as it did under Mubarak, has urged compromise and respect for election results. Egypt’s 84 million people, control of Suez and its peace treaty with Israel all contribute to its global strategic importance.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged Egyptians to respect “universal principles of peaceful dialogue”. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for peaceful protests, building trust and a “spirit of dialogue and tolerance”.

In Alexandria, opposition marchers said they feared the Brotherhood was usurping the revolution to entrench its power and Islamic law. Others had economic grievances, among them huge lines for fuel caused by supply problems and panic buying.

“I’ve nothing to do with politics, but with the state we’re in now, even a stone would cry out,” said 42-year-old accountant Mohamed Abdel Latif. “There are no services, we can’t find diesel or gasoline. We elected Mursi, but this is enough.

“Let him make way for someone else who can fix it.”

It is hard to gauge how many may turn out on Sunday, but even those sympathetic to Islamic ideas are frustrated by the economic slump and many blame the government.

Previous protest movements since the fall of Mubarak have failed to gather momentum, however, among a population anxious for stability and fearful of further economic hardship.

DISY calls for deeper public sector cuts

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A man leaves Cyprus' finance ministry in Nicosia

By Stefanos Evripidou

RULING PARTY DISY on Friday called for a further shrinking of the wider public sector, noting that Cyprus had the most expensive public sector in the eurozone as a share of its GDP.

DISY pointed to “positive” data released by the Statistical Service last week showing that employment in the wider public sector saw a decline in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period the year before.

However, the figures for employment in the civil service, central government and local authorities, when compared to the first quarter of 2009 when Cyprus started to feel the pinch of the economic crisis, actually show an increase.

“This shows us that despite the very positive trend of declining employment, there is still a way to go to make sustainable our public service and in general the wider public sector of the country,” said the DISY statement.

The ruling party highlighted Eurostat data showing the cost of Cyprus’ central government payroll, excluding semi-government organisations, which came to 15.8 per cent of the country’s GDP in 2012.

“And that was the highest percentage in Europe compared to GDP,” said DISY.

The average cost of the government payroll in the eurozone was 10.5 per cent of GDP.

“The Cyprus public service, therefore, is 50 per cent more expensive than the average cost of public services in the eurozone. If the cost of the public service in Cyprus was closer to the level of the rest of Europe, more than €900m would be saved each year, putting the conditions in place for healthier foundations in the economy.”

DISY said it was with a heavy heart that it referred to the reduction of public sector employment as a positive development, given the high unemployment plaguing the country.

“Unfortunately, however, by reducing public spending and a better distribution of available resources, we will be able to direct resources to more productive investments and lay solid foundations for the future,” it said.

Minister and CyTA clash over land dispute

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pic for Cyta land dispute

By Peter Stevenson

CYTA CHAIRMAN, Stathis Kittis, and Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos continued their public spat on Friday with Kittis hinting that the minister’s insults over a controversial land deal were little more than a case of sour grapes.

“Hasikos is trying to create defamatory and highly offensive impressions of me personally by spreading false and misleading information about my involvement in the squandering of state funds,” Kittis said in a written statement.

The chairman added that the minister had claimed he was involved in purchasing land – near Larnaca Airport in 2011 – on behalf of CyTA’s pension fund at allegedly twice its value, when a nearby piece of land was being sold for far less.

“I have challenged the minister publicly to reveal to the public his sources about the land in question so we can all know what he is trying to accomplish, but until now he has not given any information publicly or to the investigative panel,” Kittis said.

He added that publications indicated that any information the minister had received was from his own sources and hinted strongly that Hasikos’ probe is a result of sour grapes.

“If he continues to act in this manner, I will ask him publicly if the plot of land he is talking about [the one the CyTA didn’t buy] is the same piece of land that was offered to me by his father-in-law Frixos Koulermo … and belongs to members of Hasikos’ family,” Kittis said.

CyTA’s chairman added that if the minister continues to use the press to imply various falsehoods then the only logical reason would be that Hasikos is trying to get revenge as his plot of land was not purchased.

The only property, Kittis claimed, that is next to the land purchased by the fund is registered in the name of Airsun Properties Ltd which is owned almost entirely by members of Hasikos’ close family.

“If he is referring to another piece then no other land was offered to the fund which has a permit for commercial buildings and in any case the other piece of land is at least 4 km away from the airport and when it was proposed was only licensed for tourist residences,” Kittis explained.

Other issues regarding the fund’s investments and operations will be explained to the investigative panel when he will be called to testify, the chairman said.

In response, Hasikos said he believed justice would prevail.

“I would like to tell the chairman of CyTA that the two plots of land which I was referring to are closer to Larnaca Airport, they are cheaper and have industrial permits,” the minister said. Hasikos revealed one piece of land belongs to Quality Group and the other to New Dimension Property Development.

“As for the other subject the chairman referred to, concerning the involvement of my father-in-law, I state that I have no connection with his property,” he added.

The land deal in 2011, where CyTA’s pension fund purchased a plot in Larnaca for some €20 million, was “a stitch-up from beginning to end,” Hasikos told the investigating panel on Thursday.

The land, in Dromolaxia, Larnaca, was sold to a Greek Cypriot businessman, and after the coefficients were upgraded, it was acquired by the CyTA pension fund for around €22 million.

Hasikos said CyTA chose it despite being aware of other cheaper options which also came with all the necessary permits.
The semi-state telecoms company denies any wrongdoing.

The panel continued their investigations yesterday with the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary Andreas Ashiotis’ statement.

He handed over five files to head of the panel, Nora Nikolaidou and gave names of state officials who could testify as they were involved in cases of where Turkish Cypriot land was purchased.

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