IT WAS fascinating to hear the answers given by the former senior executive of the Bank of Cyprus Yiannis Kypris to the investigative committee for the economy last Thursday. He explained that the bank’s former CEO, the autocratic Andreas Eliades, decided to invest €2bn in Greek government bonds six months after the Greek sovereign had been relegated to junk status without securing the approval of the board of directors. After the purchase, the board of directors endorsed Eliades’ position that “there was no danger of a Greece bankruptcy,” said Kypri.

He said nothing that we did not already know, but the more interesting thing is that he said nothing when he learnt that €2bn worth of bonds – sold by the bank in December 2009 – were re-bought later the same month and in January 2010. Kypri claimed he had a big discussion about the matter with the CEO when he found out but in end, presumably, he went along with the decision. Meanwhile, the board which is supposed to exercise control over the CEO accepted his decision without a word of protest, not daring to censure him for blatantly ignoring procedures and abusing his power. He did not have the authority to invest such a big amount without board approval.

Nobody spoke out publicly about Eliades’ scandalously reckless decision and nobody on the board demanded his dismissal. They were all happy to play along and hold on to their positions rather than fall foul of the autocratic and vindictive CEO by openly criticising his decisions at board meetings or company AGMs and alerting shareholders to what was happening. It was shameful that not one bank executive or board member had the guts to stand up to this man and speak out about the huge risks he was taking.

Even worse things were taking place at Laiki. Its executive chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos was plundering the bank, sanctioning multi-million loans without security to friends and associates to invest in share support schemes and nobody said anything. One Laiki executive resigned but the rest of the senior management team were happy to turn a blind eye to the plundering so as not to put their jobs at risk. The same cowardly behaviour was displayed by the board of directors who watched Vgenopoulos drive the bank into ground without uttering a single word. Perhaps keeping silent while crimes were being perpetrated was part of the ethos of the bank, since the Milosevic money-laundering in the ’90s.

Turning a blind eye to wrongdoing rather than speaking out is endemic. Nobody seems to have the courage to stand up in public and report the corruption, dishonesty, negligence and incompetence that plague most aspects of Cyprus life. Doctors will never testify against a colleague even if his or her negligence may have cost a life. Lawyers get away with incredibly unethical behaviour because none of their colleagues would ever speak out against them. As for state employees, they know that adopting the code of silence ensures career advancement.

Government obeys the same rules. In the last two years of his term Demetris Christofias took every wrong decision he could have taken and not a single member of his cabinet or inner circle had the moral courage to resign and warn that he was unfit to govern and leading the country to catastrophe. Instead they defended his misguided decisions, bad judgment, erratic choices and incompetence that led us to economic meltdown. Loyalty to the unfit president and AKEL was placed above the interests of the country.

Three finance ministers who served under Christofias were fully aware of the damage his bizarre decisions were causing the country but not one of them chose to speak out. Neither did any senior finance ministry officials, who only talked about the president’s criminally irresponsible behaviour at the investigative committee when it was too late.

What use is talking publicly now that Laiki has been closed down, the BoC is on life-support and the state is technically bankrupt? None of these leading personalities of the business and political worlds spoke out when their words could have made a difference, preferring to safeguard their well-paid jobs by adhering to the cowardly code of silence. They can say what they like now, but the truth is that they contributed to the catastrophe of the country because they did not possess the public spirit and moral courage to speak out when it mattered.

Asiana Airlines does not believe that the fatal crash of one of its Boeing 777 planes in San Francisco on Saturday was caused by mechanical failure, although it refused to be drawn on whether the fault lay with pilot error.

“For now, we acknowledge that there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines,” Yoon Young-doo, the president and CEO of the airline, told a media conference on Sunday at the company headquarters.

Asiana said the two people who died in the crash were female Chinese teenagers who had been seated at the back of the aircraft.

Yoon declined to comment directly on whether the crash was due to pilot error but said the three captains on the aircraft had been fully trained in compliance with Korean regulations and had more than 10,000 flying hours of experience between them.

Yoon also declined to say whether he believed the crash could have been caused by an error by air traffic controllers at San Francisco.

Initial reports said two people were killed and more than 70 injured when the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed on landing at San Francisco International Airport.

If confirmed, it would be the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 777, a family of twin-engined long-haul aircraft which has been in service for the past 18 years.

With more than five million flights, according to Boeing, it remains one of the industry’s solid workhorses.

Air Crash In San Francisco Causes Confusion, Frayed Nerves

Bystanders watching an Asiana Boeing 777 flight make a seemingly routine approach to a San Francisco runway were stunned to see it come in fast and hit the ground hard on Saturday, while on board, passengers’ survival instincts took over.

The crash at San Francisco International Airport left two people dead, while more than 180 people were transported to area hospitals, including many with serious injuries.

Vedpal Singh, a native of India, was on board the flight along with his wife and son when the aircraft struck the landing strip hard.

“Your instincts take over. You don’t know what’s going on,” said Singh, who had his arm in a sling as he walked through the airport’s international terminal and told reporters he had suffered a fractured collar bone.

“I’m very, very thankful to God,” he said.

Singh lives in South Korea and had taken the flight for a vacation to California. He said that his son was fine but he had not yet been reunited with his wife.

Elliott Stone, a passenger on board the plane, told CNN that he thought the aircraft approached the airport “a little high” and made a sharp descent.

“All of a sudden, boom, the back end just hit and flies up into the air and everyone’s head goes up the ceiling,” Stone told CNN.

Greg Claxton, 39, of Sarasota, Florida, was among those who witnessed the crash from a shuttle bus traveling from his hotel to the airport.

“I saw a plane coming in really fast, really hard,” Claxton said. “It appeared to land, spin and then fire. I instantly was praying for those people on board.”

Claxton added that he ran off the shuttle. Others on board were crying at the sight of the crash.

After the crash, some reflected on how the disaster could have been worse. “It is incredible and very lucky that we have so many survivors,” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee told reporters.

Passengers who remained at the airport and family members who rushed to join them dealt with their frayed nerves. Some collected themselves at the airport’s “Reflection Room,” where workers from the Salvation Army were on hand to offer comfort to those involved in the crash.

“They are in shock, they’re telling their stories,” said Salvation Army Major Wayne Frodenberg, a disaster services coordinator for the organization. “It’s quiet, people are sort of decompressing.”

The Salvation Army was providing shoes to some passengers who lost their footwear in the crash, he said.

Most on board the Asiana Airlines flight 214 that crashed were Chinese, South Korean or American, and the two dead were reported to be Chinese citizens.

By Stefanos Evripidou

INVESTIGATIONS into the multimillion euro real estate deal involving state telecoms company (CyTA) took on new proportions yesterday after allegations were made of millions given in bribes to unions, a political party, an MP and a leading CyTA official.

Responding to the allegations, CyTA Chairman Stathos Kittis went on the counter-attack, accusing Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos of operating on behalf of family interests.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou called for a full investigation into the case while AKEL heavyweight and MP Nicos Katsourides threatened to sue.

The case involves the purchase of 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 reportedly being sold for far less. Reports have said the land was bought for between €20m and €27m.

Hasikos appointed a three-member investigative committee last month to look into the issue, claiming that it was “a stitch-up from beginning to end”.

The land in Dromolaxia was sold to a Greek Cypriot businessman who allegedly changed the term of use of the land, upgraded the coefficients, built on it and sold it on to the CyTA pension fund, allegedly at over ten times the price he bought it from the Turkish Cypriot original owner.

Last week it transpired that the Secret Service (KYP) had produced two opposing reports on whether the Turkish Cypriot in question had resided in the government-controlled areas for six months prior to selling the land.

A number of local papers yesterday reported on the testimony given by businessman Charalambos Liotatis and his wife Panayiota to the investigating committee earlier in the week.

According to multiple press reports, Liotatis claimed that he had lent over €1m to the company that had bought the land from the Turkish Cypriot.

In their testimonies, the couple stated that the Turkish Cypriot had never resided in the government-controlled areas but was employed by them for a number of years.

Liotatis said he was encouraged to invest in the project, which he was told would make a large profit.

However, when CyTA paid the first sum of €9.2m on November 3, 2011 for the purchase, Liotatis allegedly went to a main company official selling the land to seek a return on his loan.

The company official allegedly told Liotatis that he didn’t have the money to give him because he had to pay a number of bribes first, with €1m allegedly earmarked for an MP, another €1m to a senior CyTA official, and an unspecified sum to a political party.

Liotatis also said he overheard a company lawyer and accountant saying that €500,000 would have to be paid to two large unions for the deal to go through.

The company last night released a statement denying all of Liotatis’ allegations.
Responding to the allegations yesterday, Kittis argued the case was “rigged” while allegations of him taking bribes were “blatantly false”.

“It seems that this is clearly a rigged case, which is trying to undermine and blacken the image of public figures, and I’m speaking of course about myself at this point.”

He added: “Behind the whole case appears to be the interior minister.”

Kittis argued the only other land available than the one that CyTA eventually bought was owned by Airsun Properties Ltd, which he said was owned by family members of Hasikos.

He presented documents from the Registrar of Companies showing that Airsun was majority owned by Hasikos’ father-in-law Frixos Koulermos, while Liotatis owned 0.5 per cent of the company. A company owned by Hasikos’ sister-in-law and husband also had shares.

“I reject whatever has been said about so-called bribes and other things,” he said.
Kittis said his bank accounts were available for investigation, “but will the interior minister open his accounts?”

Regarding the land in question, Kittis argued that due process was carried out with full feasibility studies and external audits undertaken, which determined that the CyTA pension fund could offer office space near the airport at a substantially reduced price than what the airports currently offer, making the fund around 7 per cent returns.

For his part, Hasikos declared he has “no connection to any business or property or ownership of Frixos Koulermos, my father-in-law”, though he did confirm that Liotatis owned 0.5 per cent of the shares of Airsun.

He further warned Kittis that the authorities would investigate every purchase he ever made on behalf of CyTA, and the pension fund.

“Whatever CyTA bought, the pension fund of CyTA employees, immoveable property, he can be sure he’ll be checked out.”

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said his party had nothing to do with the allegations and called for a full inquiry to provide clarity on the matter.

Katsourides said he was surprised to hear his name involved in the case and questioned the motives of Liotatis. Arguing the claims are groundless, the MP said he would take legal action against the allegations.

PEO union also released a statement yesterday saying it had nothing to do with the scandals referred to in the press and called for the truth to shine.

According to reports, two CyTA board members resigned yesterday, vice-president Loizos Papacharalambous and Antonis Antoniou, citing the irreparable damage done to the reputation of the organisation.

The two called for a full investigation into the allegations.

World champion Sebastian Vettel was pushed all the way but finally tasted Formula One victory on home soil on Sunday in a German Grand Prix that sent him 34 points clear of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

Championship rival Kimi Raikkonen was second for Lotus, only a second adrift, after a late tyre change left him hunting down the Red Bull in a thrilling final few laps while team mate Romain Grosjean was third.

Alonso, who started eighth on an adventurous tyre strategy, finished fourth. The Spaniard now has 123 points to Vettel’s 157 after nine of 19 races. Raikkonen has 116.

There were none of the explosive tyre failures that raised safety fears at last weekend’s race in Britain, with the subsequent threat of a driver boycott, but there were still moments of concern on a hot afternoon at the Nuerburgring.

A stray wheel from Mark Webber’s Red Bull injured a cameraman in the pitlane while, on track, Jules Bianchi’s car momentarily caught fire and then rolled towards oncoming traffic after the Frenchman had scrambled out.

That incident brought out the safety car but Vettel hung on for his 30th grand prix win.

The triple champion had never won in Germany or in July but, days after his 26th birthday and a week after mechanical failure forced an agonising retirement at Silverstone, ripped up the statistics to the delight of thousands of flagwaving fans.

“Thank you boys, that was a tough one. They gave me a run for my money. Yes, yes, yes and yes again,” he shouted over the radio.

Fernando Alonso, who like Raikkonen had quicker tyres than Vettel in the closing stages after starting on mediums, chased Grosjean home.

The main drama happened in the first 25 laps of the race.

Both Red Bulls jumped polesitter Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes at the start, coming close at the first corner but avoiding contact, and Vettel took command from Australian Mark Webber.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa also got past Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo into sixth place but spun at the same tricky turn one at the start of the third lap and, with the engine cutting out, had to retire.

Force India’s Paul Di Resta and Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso then almost collided in the pits with Force India releasing the Briton as the Frenchman was coming in. The incident was being probed by stewards.

CAMERAMAN HIT

Hamilton – the 2011 winner here – came into the pits for his first tyre change on lap seven, earlier than the other contenders, and Vettel followed him after the next trip round.

Vettel’s team mate Webber then entered the pits on lap nine but the rear right wheel was not attached properly and came away as he accelerated, hitting the cameraman and knocking him over.

An FIA statement said the man was conscious and had been taken to hospital by helicopter and was under observation.

Webber’s wheel was put back on and he returned well down the field. The Australian, who quits for endurance racing at the end of the year, ended up seventh on the track where he first won a grand prix in 2009.

While fans at the rural west German track – famous for the old Nordschleife loop no longer used in Formula One – were coming to terms with the Webber incident, Bianchi’s Marussia came to a halt and flames flared out of the back.

The Frenchman quickly jumped out but before a tractor could remove the car, the Marussia rolled back onto the track into the path of drivers.

Fellow French driver Grosjean, who started fifth, enjoyed a superb race and came out second behind Vettel after his first pit stop with his pace surprising almost everyone.

However, when the safety car went back in he failed to put pressure on Vettel at the front and had to settle for third and his second podium of the season.

Alonso had a superb early battle for fifth with Hamilton, who despite problems with the Mercedes managed to slow the Ferrari after the Italians took a gamble in qualifying to save tyres for the race.

Hamilton’s team mate Nico Rosberg, who won in Silverstone last weekend and was hoping to wow his home crowd in the Silver Arrows, qualified 11th after a team misjudgement on Saturday and failed to make any impact in the race to end ninth.

Mercedes have generally failed to match strong qualifying performances with race pace this season and Hamilton was again easily passed by Vettel on lap 45 of 60, on his way to fifth.

Canadian police on Sunday raised the death toll from a massive explosion involving a runaway freight train to five with another 40 people still missing in the still-smoking wreckage of a small Quebec town.

The train, which had been hauling crude oil from North Dakota to eastern Canada, derailed and blew up early on Saturday in the middle of Lac-Megantic, a town of 6,000 on the edge of a deep blue lake and ringed by forests of pine and birch. There was no driver on board.

It is not clear why the train began rolling down toward the town, or why the crude oil blew up. The rail line is owned by Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, which said the engineer had secured the train for the night and left.

The train had five locomotives and 72 tanker cars, each carrying 30,000 gallons (113,000 liters) of crude oil. Four caught fire and exploded.

The blast at about 1 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Saturday produced a huge orange and black fireball that mushroomed hundreds of feet into the air and destroyed dozens of buildings in the center of the town, including a bar popular with young people.

“Three bodies have been found,” police spokesman Michel Brunet told reporters. “People have been reported missing or disappeared but … we are not going to issue a figure. We know there are going to be more deaths.”

Police said late on Saturday they had discovered the remains of one victim.

Maurice Bernier, an official who works for the county, declined to give the number of missing but said the final death toll would climb.

“It is a catastrophe,” he told Reuters.

An unofficial list drawn up by residents and posted on the Internet showed about 40 people were still unaccounted for.

Scores of people gathered at a school that was being used as a makeshift shelter. Outside, Louise Boulet, 65, looked at a local newspaper that had published an aerial view of the explosion scene. One of the flattened buildings was the house where her 63-year old sister, Marie-France Boulet, lived.

“She is dead for sure. If she were alive, her car would not still be there,” she said, pointing to a burned out vehicle in the photo.

Marie-France ran a women’s clothing shop from the front of the building where she lived by herself.

“She was my best friend,” Louise Boulet said as tears welled in her eyes. “She died with all of my secrets and I will guard all of hers.”

About 2,000 of the town’s inhabitants were evacuated after the blast.

“IT WAS LIKE THE APOCALYPSE”

Residents said they were particularly concerned about people who had been inside the Musi-Cafe bar, which was right next to the center of the blast.

Yvon Rosa said he and a friend had just left the bar when they saw the train hurtling toward them. As the town center exploded, they ran to the lake, jumped in a boat and went out onto the water until morning.

“It was incredible. The smoke, the heat – fire everywhere. There were people running… It was like the apocalypse,” he told Reuters.

Lac-Megantic is in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec, about 160 miles (255 km) east of Montreal close to the border with Maine and Vermont.

Two tankers were still burning on Sunday. About 150 firefighters, some from the United States, spent most of Saturday spraying cold water from the lake on five tanker cars they said still posed a serious risk of exploding.

Fire officials said on Sunday they had contained the risk somewhat, and only two tankers were still considered at risk of blowing up.

White vapor still rose from the town center, which police have cordoned off. Photos released by the authorities showed shattered buildings, burning piles of rubble and stumps of burned trees.

Crude oil shipments by rail in North America are rising steadily as pipelines fill to capacity and more and more oil is produced in western regions like Alberta and North Dakota.

There have been a number of high-profile derailments of trains carrying petroleum products in Canada recently, including one in Calgary, Alberta, last month when a flood-damaged bridge sagged toward the still-swollen Bow River. The derailed rail cars were removed without spilling their cargo.

The disaster will focus attention on the merits of TransCanada Corp’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the oil sands of Alberta to the Texas coast, a project U.S. President Barack Obama is considering whether to approve.

Proponents of Keystone XL, which environmentalists strongly oppose on the grounds that extracting crude from the tar sands generates more greenhouse gas emissions than regular drilling, say shipping oil by pipeline is safer than using rail cars.

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic owns some 510 miles (820 km) of track in Maine and Vermont in the United States and in Quebec and New Brunswick in Canada.

By Stephanie Robb

When the craving for something Asian strikes Zen Room is the place to go. In downtown Limassol, it is a sushi and teppanyaki bar working to cater even to the fussiest of appetites.

Zen Room is located in the Uptown Square hub, a location which consists of a variety of restaurants although it has to be said that Zen is one of the best options on offer. With sophisticated and modern decor, Zen Room embodies its name perfectly. As soon as you walk in you are overcome by a feeling of comfort and relaxation. It is one of the few restaurants that has actually achieved a balance between glamour, sophistication, comfort and relaxation.
Not only that, but Zen Room has a delightful menu, with such a large variety to choose from it is almost overwhelming. The sashimi, sushi and makimono should definitely be tried as starters to a large meal. To those unfamiliar, the sashimi is five slices of raw fish ranging from yellow fin tuna to scallops, octopus and smoked eel. And for the daring, try the live scallop sashimi served in its own shell with ginger, wasabi, green seaweed and soya sauce.

The Sushi choices are again are appetizing and plentiful. The Ke-Kajiki sushi, swordfish sushi, is an interesting and delicious choice, and one of the best I had all evening. Another great dining option is the toro torched sushi, which is tuna belly sushi, with a slightly torched topped with spring onion, ginger and ponzu sauce.

When it comes to the makimono, rolls of seaweed wrapped in rice and enclosed with fillings, the spicy shake maki is a great option, which is made from salmon and filled with Japanese mayonnaise, spring onions and chili powder. Or go for the sushi don options, sushi served in a bowl. Your best option when it comes to this is the chirashi sushi, which is made tuna, salmon, prawn, white fish, Japanese omelette, salmon roe, calamari, pickled radish and sweetened gourd over rice.

The best options for those who are looking for just a sushi/maki/sashimi based meal are the appetizing and delicious platters. The special platters have a variety of sashimi, sushi, maki and roe and they are a great dining option for raw seafood lovers.

But if you are not a fan of raw fish, fear not. The dishes do not stop here. Two great starter options are the grilled scallops aioli, topped with yuzu mayonnaise, powder wasabi peas and sweet soya sauce and the wagyu beef tataki. The wagyu beef is slightly grilled with virgin oil and garnished with roasted garlic and spring onion with lemon and soya sauce.

And since you are at an Asian restaurant, you cannot exclude the noodle options. The ones I tried and loved are the karashi soba/udon noodles. The spicy noodles are sautéed with the selection of seafood and vegetables or beef and vegetables.

Other mains that caught my attention are black bean Chilean seabass, made with rich Chilean seabass and steamed in Chinese black bean sauce is topped with thinly sliced spring onions and ginger. Another great option is the lobster tail teppanyaki made with unagi sauce, mushrooms, spring onion, bell peppers and broccoli.

All in all, Zen Room offers great food, and too many options to choose from and a rich wine list to accompany.

VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALTY Asian
WHERE 194 Amathoundos Ave, Limassol
CONTACT 25 025555
PRICE €50 – €70 per person

Send to Kindle

Former interior minister Dinos Michaelides and his son, wanted by Greek authorities in connection with money laundering, were arrested on Monday and later released pending extradition hearings later this month.

They were arrested at the Limassol district court, which had ordered their arrest earlier on Monday.

Greece had issued arrest warrants for the pair in connection with a case involving former Greek defence minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos.

The former minister and his son Michalis, who appeared in court with a group of lawyers, did not consent to their surrender to Greece.

The court will hear their cases on July 18.

They were released on a €200,000 bail each and had to surrender their travel documents.

They also have to report to the Yermasoyia police station three times a week.

However, extraditing them to Greece will be difficult as the alleged offences had taken place in the 1990s and Cyprus’ constitution currently prohibits the extradition of Cypriot nationals for events or actions that happened before the country joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

The investigation concerns alleged kickbacks paid in the purchase by Greece of the Russian TOR-M1 surface-to-air missile system.

The alleged offences took place between 1997 and 2001.

Send to Kindle

By Bejay Browne

A 14-DAY-OLD baby girl who was transported to Israel on Friday has undergone a life saving procedure paid for by the ministry of health.

The baby’s Indian father, 31-year-old John Dhull, spoke to the Cyprus Mail from the hospital, where he is anxiously waiting for news of her progress. She is being treated at the Schneider Children’s Medical Centre in Haifa.

According to her parents, baby Zoe underwent a cardiac catheterisation procedure on Sunday. This is where a catheter is inserted into a chamber or vessel of the heart. Doctors are closely monitoring her to see if she will need a further operation which will involve open heart surgery.

“I arrived at the hospital early this morning and I’m still waiting to see Zoe; we are praying that she will be alright. She had an operation yesterday and the doctors are waiting to see if it has worked,” her father said on Monday:

The baby’s mother, Virginia Taguinay, 32, from the Philippines, has remained in Cyprus as she is unable to travel as she is still recovering from a caesarean; her visa has also expired.

“I spoke to the doctors on the phone today (Monday) and they told me that Zoe may need a further operation which will involve open heart surgery. This is a much more difficult operation which has an 85 per cent chance of success,” she said:

“They said Zoe would take a long time to recover and that she would need a further operation in six months’ time. We are praying very hard that she will be fine and won’t need to undergo such a big operation; she is so young.”

The first time father, whose visa recently run out, arrived in Israel late on Sunday evening after being granted a one month re-entry visa to Cyprus by the immigration authorities at the last minute on Friday, but not in time to board the flight with his baby.

He remains positive about his daughter’s health saying: “The doctors have said that her situation is pretty good at the moment.”

Zoe’s distraught first-time parents had no private medical insurance and were unable to obtain a state medical card, which would have covered the baby’s medical expenses, as their visas had expired. They were given less than two weeks to raise the thousands needed to pay for a life-saving operation until the ministry of health said it would cover the costs of the treatment.

The operation was performed by a specialist team in Israel. It is not possible to carry out the operation in Cyprus as a specialist unit is needed.

Zoe was born at Paphos general hospital on June 25. Her parents had no idea their baby had any health issues until two days after she was born.

They were informed that she had severe breathing complications caused by a heart defect.

The baby was then rushed by ambulance to the Makarios hospital in Nicosia.

Send to Kindle

By Alan Baldwin and Ken Ferris
Britain’s ecstatic media trumpeted the end of the ‘longest yearning in British sport’ on Monday by celebrating Andy Murray’s Wimbledon success on the front and back pages of newspapers and much of the rest as well.
‘And of Hope and Glory,’ declared the best-selling Sun tabloid, next to a picture of the Scot kissing the gilded trophy on a sunlit afternoon in south London after beating Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-4.
“Finally, after 77 years, 15 PMs, three monarchs…Brit man wins Wimbo”.
The paper devoted the first five pages to the first British winner of the men’s title since 1936, along with an eight page ‘Born to Wim’ souvenir pullout and six more in the sports section.
Such unrestrained joy was the norm, with the more up-market Times and Telegraph throwing gravitas out of the window with page after page chronicling every detail of Murray’s epic victory and back story.
‘The History Boy,’ declared the Times, dedicating the first eight pages of the paper to ‘Murray-mania’ in another souvenir edition with a wraparound picture of Murray clambering through the stands to embrace friends and family as the crowd reached out to him.
‘Heaviest of burdens is finally lifted to an entire nations’ relief,’ added a headline in a further nine sports pages devoted to the first British winner since Fred Perry – and the first to win the title in shorts.
‘At Last’ read the front page of the Daily Telegraph sports section, which included a 12 page Wimbledon special, and the Daily Mail tabloid which offered readers a 12 page souvenir section and victory poster.
‘After 77 years, the wait is over,’ was the Telegraph’s main headline, with the 26-year-old Scot hailed as a “Colossus of the court who faced up to failures”.
The Mirror declared Murray to be in ‘Seventh Heaven’, highlighting not only the 77 year gap but also the seven day age gap between Murray and Djokovic, Murray breaking the Serb in the seventh game of each set and winning his seventh grand slam final on the seventh day of the seventh month.
“It’s magic as Andy exorcises all those demons of British tennis,” it added.
On a great weekend of British sport, with the Lions triumphant on the rugby field in Australia, the Daily Mail focused on what might lie in store for the nation’s ‘Golden Boy’ who also won the Olympic title on the grass courts of Wimbledon last year.
“Now it’ll be arise, Sir Andy,” declared the tabloid.
The Guardian joined in the celebrations with the single word ‘Champion’ on its front page over a picture of Murray, eyes closed, kissing the trophy.
‘Scottish, British, who cares? Today he belongs to us all,’ declared another headline inside.
The Independent delighted in ‘A triumph never to be forgotten, an inspiration to everyone who watched.’
Murray, added the paper, had secured his lifetime’s ambition after a game “of nerve shredding drama…that summed up an unforgettable Wimbledon final, full of stunning tennis and with more plot twists than an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.”

Send to Kindle

THE ASSOCIATION for Historical Dialogue & Research (AHDR) has undertaken an intensive and all-inclusive process of developing a policy paper on how it envisions education in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-faith society in Cyprus.

“Thanks to the many contributions from educators, researchers, education specialists and unionists, as well as a communications strategy in which all interested individuals and organisations had the opportunity to submit their views and ideas on the issue via various mediums, the final paper is now ready to be shared with the public,” said the local NGO.
A presentation will be held tomorrow at 7.15pm at the Home for Cooperation in the buffer zone in Nicosia, where the theoretical background of the paper, including its aims and scope will be shared.  Participants will be invited to take part in a discussion on how the recommendations included in the paper could have the maximum impact and be advocated to more people and key people.
The paper’s scientific editor Dr Michalinos Zembylas and AHDR Board President Dr Kyriakos Pachoulides will be also be present to take questions from the audience.

The discussion will be followed by a reception.

This initiative is based on the AHDR’s comprehensive research project, exploring history teachers’ views of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot history curricula and textbooks used across the existing divide in Cyprus, as well as history teachers’ use of methods that promote, historical thinking in their teaching.

Further information can be downloaded from the AHDR website: http://www.ahdr.info.

Send to Kindle

WHILE the number of Erasmus student graduates was more than three million in the 2011-2012 academic year, Cyprus recorded the biggest decrease in numbers from the previous year.

A total of 257 Cypriot students participated in Erasmus programmes in the 2011-12 academic year, a 2.7 per cent decrease, seven less than the 264 who took part in the previous year.

Iceland and Romania were the only other two countries that saw a fall in number.

Figures released yesterday revealed that more than three million students have benefitted from EU Erasmus grants since the exchange scheme’s launch in 1987. The statistics, covering the 2011-2012 academic year, also showed that the programme enabled more than 250,000 Erasmus students – a new record – to spend part of their higher education studies abroad or to take up a job placement with a foreign company to boost their employability.

More than 46,500 academic and administrative staff also received support from Erasmus to teach or train abroad, an experience designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the 33 countries which participate in the scheme (EU member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey).

“The latest record figures, showing that we have exceeded our target of three million Erasmus students, are testament to the enduring success and popularity of the programme,” said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

She said Erasmus is more important than ever in times of economic hardship and high youth unemployment.

Send to Kindle

By Stefanos Evripidou

FORMER PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias has attributed the government with a “fascist mentality” for attempting to “gag” him in a spat over who is to blame for the current economic woes of the country.

The government, opposition party AKEL and former president spent the whole of Sunday squabbling over who has the right to speak and who doesn’t after Christofias criticised the policies of President Nicos Anastasiades in a speech in Paphos.

The spat spilled over to yesterday, with other parties joining the fray.

It started on Sunday morning during a memorial for a victim of the 1974 Greek-inspired coup. After months of relative quiet, Christofias gave a speech during which he spoke about developments in the Cyprus problem and the economy.

Christofias referred to the “catastrophic consequences brought by the agreement between the Anastasiades government and the Eurogroup in March on the economy”, noting that with the economy in dire straits, the dangers of attempts to force a bad solution to the Cyprus problem had increased.

He also criticised Anastasiades for pledging to withdraw his proposals that were tabled in the peace talks during 2008-2012 and appoint a negotiator to represent the president in the talks.

The words may have been spoken in Paphos, but the easterly wind ensured they were heard loud and clear in the capital.

Within hours, the government responded through its deputy spokesman, Victoras Papadopoulos, who said Christofias could voice his opinion on the peace process at the National Council.

Regarding the “catastrophic consequences” of the memorandum signed with the troika, he said: “The reply to Mr Christofias is simple: if the former president had the slightest sense of responsibility for the tragic governance which led the country to painful dead ends and the coercive decisions of March, he would keep silent.

The government spokesman added: “Mr Christofias had all the time to negotiate a better memorandum if he wanted, or take decisive measures to save the economy. He did neither, allowing the country to reach near bankruptcy.”

Papadopoulos advised the former president and AKEL to keep their thoughts to themselves.

Soon after, Christofias released a written statement saying that especially during these days when the memory of the “double crime” of the 1974 coup and invasion comes alive, “it would certainly be wiser for some not to say too much”.

He accused the government of trying to gag him, adding: “This fascist mentality must stop.”

Somewhat undermining his earlier allegation, Christofias said it was the government that needed to sit quiet, not him, arguing: “Throughout our administration we defended the dignity and sovereignty of our country. We did not sell out overnight in the name of preventing bankruptcy.”

AKEL spokesman Giorgos Loukaides accused ruling DISY of having a very funny interpretation of democracy, which would explain why they kept asking the opposition not to talk or question the government’s handling of anything.

By afternoon, the presidential palace bit the bait and sent Papadopoulos out for a response: “No one is gagging them. We’re just asking they don’t provoke public sentiment. The jokes and whining about AKEL being hunted and lack of democracy only make one laugh.”

Yesterday, DIKO MP Nicolas Papadopoulos waded in saying the last people to criticise should be the former governors.

They must “respect the sensitivity of the people and the difficult times they are going through as a result of the economic conditions created in the last five years of the previous government,” he said.

Spokesman for government partner DIKO, Angelos Votsis, said he would have expected the former president to act with political responsibility and maturity, self-awareness and self-critique, instead of trying to lump the blame on others.

If Christofias “did not put party above country, we would certainly not be in this tragic economic situation today nor would we have before us the unacceptable unilateral concessions in the Cyprus problem”, said Votsis, whose party shared power with the Christofias government for a number of years before withdrawing from the coalition near the end of its term.

Send to Kindle

PAPHOS GeneralHospital emergency department nursing staff held a half hour strike on Monday between 1pm and 1.30pm in protest after a colleague of theirs was attacked on Saturday night.

Two men aged 25 and 30 had attacked the nurse on Saturday after they believed he had insulted their sister who had visited the department earlier that day, police said.

Nurse representative Ioakim Agathangelou called for more protection for nursing staff so they can do their jobs without any threat of violence against them.

He added that even if a nurse made a mistake there were other ways that a patient could seek justice without resorting to violence.

Send to Kindle

LIMASSOL District Court remanded a 59-year-old man for five days on Monday in relation to a case of child pornography.

A total of two computers, eight hard drives and two USB sticks were confiscated from the man’s house, police said.

After initial examinations, 157 files were found which contained pornographic content involving children.

Police spokesman Andreas Angelides said that they are taking the case very seriously and will continue their investigations.

Send to Kindle

MORE than 5,000 new army recruits are expected to check into boot camps in Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos throughout this week.

Recruits began orientation on Monday with new inductees expected to arrive up until July 12.

On July 15 physical testing will begin with those scoring the best results joining the Special Forces, a defence ministry spokesperson said.

They are due to receive their first 24-hour leave on Saturday, July 20 and 21 before being sworn in on August 2, when they will receive their first 48-hour leave.

Send to Kindle

BANK of Cyprus (BoC) will close 12 more branches by early August, raising the number of shutdowns to 29, it emerged on Tuesday.

The lender had closed 17 branches by July 5, as part of its drive to cut operating costs following a Eurogroup decision that decimated the island’s banking sector.

Staff from the branches that were closed were transferred elsewhere, depending on needs, the Cyprus News Agency said. The agency reported that BoC would be closing a further 20 branches after August 2.

The final figure will depend on the bank’s restructuring plan, expected to be ready by the end of September. To receive a much needed bailout, Cyprus had to agree to close its second-biggest bank, Laiki, and recapitalise BoC by seizing uninsured deposits – over €100,000.

All three Cypriot banks were also forced to sell their Greek operations. The deal provided that BoC, currently in administration, would absorb certain Laiki assets, and its employees.

As a result it currently operates 202 branches in Cyprus and employs 5, 640 employees – 85 branches and 2,390 employees were transferred from Laiki. On Monday it introduced a voluntary retirement scheme, which aims to cut staff by 1,000 plus.

The employee union has rejected the scheme, warning that it will fail. BoC said it was a generous offer and urged staff to take advantage or possibly face being made redundant later on, under worse terms.

The Eurogroup decision in March also saw the introduction of capital controls, that are still in place, to prevent bank runs. These however are damaging the island’s economy, which is not expected to achieve the targets forecasted by the €10 billion bailout programme.

Cyprus has so far received €3.0 billion and a decision on the disbursement of the second tranche will be taken by the Eurogroup mid-September.

Send to Kindle

THE SUPREME Court said on Tuesday that despite ruling in favour of an appeal against pay cuts imposed on judges, its members were nonetheless willing to see through their promise of voluntarily contributing their share.

The Supreme Court ruled in favour of district court judges in June who had appealed against pay cuts imposed as part of austerity measures, arguing their remuneration was protected by the constitution.

The court said in an announcement on Tuesday it has arranged for a meeting with the finance minister in order to implement the judges’ promise to volunteer their share.

It added that it was now the wish of “the collective body of judges” – and not just the majority’s – to make “proportionate voluntary contributions”.

The appeals aimed exclusively at confirming the constitution, the announcement added.

Some 84 appeals were originally filed, although 47 were later withdrawn because of the state’s deteriorating finances but without “the applicants accepting the legality of the contested decisions”.

Send to Kindle

German Marcel Kittel won the tenth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, over 197 kms from Saint-Gildas-des-Bois to Saint Malo.

Fellow German Andre Greipel was second and Briton Mark Cavendish finished third.

Briton Chris Froome retained the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Send to Kindle

PAPHOS District Court remanded a 39-year-old bar owner from Mandria on Tuesday for four days as police investigate the alleged rape of a 23-year-old English woman.

The woman, who lives in Paphos, reported to police that around 3am, after the bar had emptied, the owner had taken her to a caravan which was parked behind the establishment and raped her.

She was examined by state pathologist Eleni Antoniou who found no external bruising.

At around 9.30am police arrested the 39-year-old who denied raping the 23-year-old, claiming the two had consensual sex. Paphos CID is investigating.

Send to Kindle

By Elias Hazou

ATTORNEY-general Petros Clerides has instructed police that an ongoing criminal probe into the near-collapse of the financial sector must extend to central bankers and their administrations.

In a letter to the police chief, dated July 8, Clerides notes that investigations “are not restricted to the banks in question [primarily Laiki and Bank of Cyprus] but extend to potential criminal liabilities of regulatory authorities, such as the Central Bank and, possibly, governmental departments.”

From the letter, revealed by Politis yesterday, it may be inferred that former Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) governors Christodoulos Christodoulou and Athanasios Orphanides (pictured) could come under the spotlight of criminal investigators.

That’s because the probe covers banking activities spanning the time period 2006 to 2013, during which the CBC was under the watch of Christodoulou and, later, Orphanides.

It remains to be seen whether or how far the probe will also be looking into current CBC chief Panicos Demetriades, appointed last year and whose stint coincided with the beginning of the end for Laiki. That might prove tricky, as the Central Bank has been designated as one of the agencies that will assist police with their investigations.

In his letter, Clerides outlines and reiterates the scope of the investigation. These are: the transfer of capital from Laiki to Marfin and to Laiki’s Greek operations, as well as loans given by the latter two or their subsidiaries or branches to businessmen in Greece; the issuing of securities to Laiki and Bank of Cyprus customers; the banks’ purchase of Greek government bonds; and Laiki and Bank of Cyprus expansion abroad, in particular Bank of Cyprus’ acquisition of Russia’s Uniastrum Bank and Romania’s Banca Transilvania.

Police will be assisted in their work by various agencies, including the Central Bank (despite the fact that its regulatory role is under scrutiny), the Securities and Exchange Commission and the anti-money laundering unit MOKAS.

In addition, financial experts would be appointed as criminal investigators as the need arises.

Significantly, police are urged to make use of the findings of financial forensic experts Alvarez & Marsal, whose report into banking activities is described by Clerides as being “particularly useful.”

Other material investigators can draw on include the report compiled by the administrator of Laiki, the testimonies before the public committee of inquiry, and reports prepared by the Bank of Greece and the CBC.

Cypriot banks lost some €4.5 billion when European Union leaders agreed in late 2011 to a Greek debt write-down, designed to make that country’s debt burden more sustainable.

Problems in Cyprus, which joined the euro zone in 2008, snowballed into the winding-down of Laiki under a mountain of debt and a large chunk of deposits exceeding €100,000 being converted to equity to recapitalise Bank of Cyprus.

In May 2012 the government, itself cash-strapped, underwrote €1.8 billion to prop up stricken Laiki.

Among other things, bankers here are under scrutiny for taking risks by investing in Greek government debt at a time when European lenders were limiting their exposure.

Wary of accusations of a whitewash, the government last week decided on a criminal probe after it became apparent that a committee of inquiry would steer clear of a wide range of issues.

Send to Kindle