Новости за 17.09.2015

THE Presidency said on Thursday it has agreed to hand over a copy of the so-called ‘Lagarde List’ to House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou. “The government, responding to a written request from House Speaker Mr Yiannakis Omirou, will tomorrow [Friday] deliver to his office a copy of the file related to the Lagarde List,” the government […]

By Elias Hazou THE Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA), currently in the midst of negotiating a contract worth some $4bn, will on Tuesday convene its board to discuss allegations of a conflict of interest in relation to the natural gas tender. The meeting will be held “in order to clear the air” in regard to […]

THE House on Thursday passed a law extending the deadline for payment of Immovable Property Tax (IPT) to the end of December, with a significant discount for those paying their tax earlier, by the end of November. For early payments by end-November, a discount of 17.5 per cent will be given, unless payments are made […]

By Elias Hazou A BILL giving drug users the option of rehabilitation and treatment instead of ending up behind bars is in the final stretch, with MPs of the House health committee hoping to get it passed by the end of the year. The legislation regulates the process by which a treatment order is issued […]

By Maria Gregoriou Saturday may not be the first time that Italian DJ Deborah De Luca has visited our island to play a wicked set (nor is it the first time she has entertained us this year), but for all her fans it will surely be like experiencing the live De Luca experience anew. De […]

A BRITISH man was extradited back home after trying to renew his passport while in Cyprus, finding out there was a European arrest warrant issued against him. According to police, the man was in the occupied areas when he realised his passport had expired and set in motion the procedure to renew it. He was […]

By Angelos Anastasiou SOME €850,000 in Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) funds aimed at upgrading and developing the tourism sector, were wrongfully channelled to a hotel that was later found not to have met the minimum requirements, until European monitors removed it from the list of eligible recipients, daily Politis reported on Thursday. According to the […]

By Andria Kades Authorities on Thursday arrested a sixth person implicated in an Ayia Fyla cooperative banking scam and were searching for two more individuals linked with the dodgy loans case. The man, 69, is expected to appear before a court on Friday where police will request that he be remanded in custody. Coming up […]

PRESIDENT Nicos Anastasiades has departed for London, where on Friday he is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron. Cameron will be receiving Anastasiades at 10 Downing Street, where they will discuss progress in the Cyprus peace talks, bilateral relations, energy, and matters pertaining to EU reforms, according to an official announcement. During his […]

By Evie Andreou A TOTAL of 15 patients have been airlifted abroad with air-ambulances through the Health ministry’s financial assistance scheme from the beginning of the year, permanent secretary Dr Christina Yiannaki said on Thursday. Yiannaki, presenting an evaluation of the scheme which provides financial aid to patients who require treatment in private hospitals or […]

Hungary’s tough treatment of refugees arriving at its border hoping to find asylum in the European Union has been ‘xenophobic and anti-Muslim’ and at times violated international law, the UN human rights commission chief said on Thursday. His comments followed a rebuke of Hungarian tactics from the EU’s migration chief. The asylum seekers, thwarted by […]

By Martyn Herman Britain’s rise from embarrassing Davis Cup lightweights to title contenders has been nothing short of spectacular and they will begin slight favourites to reach a first final in 37 years against Australia on Friday. A glance at the respective depth of the two sides contesting the semi-final would appear to question that […]

By Maria Gregoriou As of Sunday, anyone who loves dance will be sure to find themselves in Limassol as the town will be home to the sixth Open House International Festival of Dance and Performance by Dance House. This year the festival is under the name Sexpectations – a festival about the sexual body on […]

Around €140 million of loans approved for projects in Cyprus has not yet been released due to delays caused by the economic recession, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), Rolf Wenzel said in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency (CNA). CEB is the oldest European Development Bank, founded in 1956 originally […]

By Lefteris Papadimas European unease that Greece may falter on its bailout promises after elections on Sunday looks misplaced, at least initially, as its pressing need for money means that whoever wins is likely to toe the line. Both leftist Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras and conservative New Democracy rival Vangelis Meimarakis, who are running neck-and-neck […]

At least 23 people were killed and 68 others wounded when three bombs went off in mainly Shi’ite neighborhoods in central Baghdad on Thursday, security and medical sources said. Two suicide blasts claimed by Islamic State killed at least 19 people in the commercial district of Bab al-Shargi, a demonstration that the Sunni insurgent group […]

By Stelios Orphanides Retail trade rose in April to June 8.7 per cent in terms of value compared to a year before, the statistical service said. In the first six months of the year, the value of retail trade rose 9.7 per cent compared to the respective period, Cystat said in a statement on its […]

A Texas teenager taken away in handcuffs this week for bringing to his Dallas-area school a homemade clock that staff mistook for a bomb won a personal invitation from President Barack Obama on Wednesday to visit the White House. Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was accused of making a hoax bomb, police in Irving said. The Council […]

A 41-year-old clerk at Nicosia general hospital was set to be released on Thursday after he was arrested in connection with the case of a dead baby thrown in a bin at the morgue, police spokesman Andreas Angelides said. “It was decided he would not be presented to court for remand and will be allowed […]

The head of Germany’s refugee office, which has been criticised for its handling of record numbers of asylum seekers, has resigned, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. Manfred Schmidt’s departure, which was for personal reasons, came as the number of refugees entering Germany doubled in 24 hours and controls were extended to cover the border […]

A 47-year-old man from Paphos was arrested in his home on Thursday in connection with an attempted murder against a 26-year-old man. The incident took place last week at a parking lot close to a mall where the victim was found bleeding with serious injuries to his genitals, where he had been shot. During questioning, […]

By Angelos Anastasiou In addition to almost €30 million to be paid to the Limassol port’s 31 licensed porters, the cabinet on Wednesday reportedly decided to up its initial offer of €1 million in compensation to the porters’ 62 employees to be terminated by €500,000. Although the state has no contractual relationship with licensed porters’ […]

About 330 Islamic State fighters have been killed in British air strikes since the Royal Air Force began carrying out raids against the group in September last year, Britain’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has said. “This figure is highly approximate, not least given the absence of UK ground troops in a position to observe the […]

By Mike Collett Jose Mourinho was delighted that Chelsea made a winning start to their Champions League campaign on Wednesday, but said he was not happy that Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal had all lost their opening matches in this season’s competition. Chelsea, who have made a poor start to the defence of their […]

By Michael Martina China opposes Internet attacks and wants to work with the United States in cyberspace but will defend its interests, a senior Chinese official said on Thursday after US President Barack Obama warned of a forceful response to Beijing over hacking. Tensions over cyber security will take centre stage during a trip by […]