Новости за 07.12.2015

By Lawrence Hurley The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge by gun rights activists to a Chicago suburb’s ordinance banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, handing a victory to gun control advocates amid a fierce debate over the nation’s firearms laws. The 2013 ordinance passed by the city of Highland Park, Illinois will […]

Cyprus’ diplomatic missions and their financial mischief are never beyond the reach of the Auditor-general’s scrutiny. A case in point, cited in the official’s latest report, concerns the High Commission in Pretoria. The former High Commissioner – who served from September 2007 to September 2011 – is now facing a disciplinary probe on charges that […]

By Elias Hazou Rampant waste and dealings highly suggestive of corrupt practices are the highlights of the state’s report card for 2014. In his annual report, which he presented to the President on Monday, Auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides draws attention tax-cheat lawyers and doctors,  ‘creative’ local council bookkeeping  and profiteering on the sale and transfer of […]

By Maria Gregoriou For the fifth time this year the ARTos Foundation is Nicosia will put on a festival dedicated to soundtracks from videos and films without sound by contemporary creators on Friday entitled Moving Silence. The event will bring together musicians and composers who will perform their music live while the films or videos […]

By Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas France’s mainstream political parties were scrambling for a way to stop the rise of the far-right National Front (FN) on Monday after its historic first-round lead in regional elections. Boosted by fears over the Islamic State attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on Nov 13, Marine Le Pen’s […]

By Andria Kades Ombudswoman Eliza Savvidou received 2,597 complaints in 2014, an average of 232 a month, she said on Monday, handing over her annual report to President Nicos Anastasiades. The majority concerned migrants’ rights, followed by tax issues. Speaking to reporters outside the presidential palace Savvidou said: “2014 was a particularly difficult period particularly […]

By Andria Kades Nicosia municipality is looking forward to the next phases of the Eleftheria Square project following completion of the concrete phase between Sunday and Monday spokesman Makis Nicolaides said. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, he said workers finished pouring some 3,000 cubic meters of concrete into the moat that is to join Solomou […]

By Alastair Macdonald The man running negotiations with Britain to keep it in the European Union said leaders could seal a deal in February but warned David Cameron that a central demand to curb immigration may be asking too much. Donald Tusk, who next week chairs the first detailed talks on the issue between the […]

By Angelos Anastasiou Omonia football club’s organised fans have announced a protest outside AKEL’s central offices, to be held on Monday night, demanding that the party loosens the stranglehold it has on the club, though the party categorically denied any involvement in the club’s affairs. The ‘Gate 9’ fans – so named because of their […]

A 73-year-old man suspected of sexually harassing his granddaughter, aged 11 was released after all charges were dropped on Monday at the Paphos Criminal court. The decision was taken after the girl said she no longer stood by her allegations. Prosecutors have now suspended criminal proceedings. Should any complaints be filed again, the case will […]

A University of Cyprus (UCy) decision to transfer back private-school students who had been accepted at third-level institutions abroad based on their GCE results, violates the law, Education Minister Costas Kadis said on Monday. Speaking on state radio, he said the matter was settled following advice from Attorney-general Costas Clerides who decreed, according to Kadis […]

By Jill Serjeant California hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar led the Grammy nominations on Monday, scoring 11 nods including album of the year for ‘To Pimp a Butterfly.’ The 28 year-old from Compton, the heart of the Los Angeles rap scene, left country-pop superstar Taylor Swift trailing with seven nominations for the biggest awards in the […]

Three men caught in what appeared to police to be a drug deal were remanded for eight days on Monday by Larnaca District court. Officers said they spotted two men in a car, aged 35 and 33 being approached by a 30-year-old man from Larnaca who walked towards the vehicle. The 33-year-old spotted the officers […]

By Elias Hazou Cairo’s decision to freeze talks on the import of gas from Israel do not impact Cyprus, energy minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said on Monday. Lakkotrypis said that on Sunday he and Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail spoke about the issue on the phone. “He wished to brief me and let me know that […]

Police said they found no explosives on a German passenger plane after it diverted to Budapest on Monday following a bomb threat. The jet operated by Condor airlines, heading from Berlin to Hurghada in Egypt, had turned back from Serbian airspace after the alert. “Police have finished the search and have not found any explosives […]

By Shravanth Vijayakumar Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said he was worried about the impact manager Jurgen Klopp was having at his old team’s great rivals Liverpool. “I’m worried about him because the one thing United don’t want is Liverpool to get above us,” said Ferguson, the most successful manager in Premier League history. […]

By Alix Norman ’Tis the season to be jolly, and what could be more jovial than listening to a spot of fa-la-la-ing? As we move into the most musical of months, performances all over the island are set to ramp up the auditory cheer. Christmas choirs, orchestras, ensembles and carol singers will be turning the […]

Discussion over the possibility of postponing May’s parliamentary elections in light of developments in the Cyprus problem is pointless since a deal was still far away, main opposition AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said on Monday. Media reports on the weekend claimed President Nicos Anastasiades told party leaders on Saturday to prepare for the possibility of […]

China’s capital on Monday issued its first ever ‘red alert’ for pollution, as the city government warned that Beijing would be shrouded in heavy smog from Tuesday until Thursday. China’s leadership has vowed to crack down on environmental degradation, including the air pollution that blankets many major cities, following decades of unbridled economic growth. The […]

Iran’s cyber police chief said on Monday officers had arrested 53 people for running websites supporting the Islamic State militant group (IS), Tasnim news agency reported. Shi’ite Muslim power Iran said last month it had broken up a cell recruiting fighters for the hardline Sunni Muslim group in Kermanshah, a western province close to the […]

By Maria Gregoriou This may not be the first time that Greek singers Yiannis Kotsiras and Lavrentis Macheritasas will be performing together on stage in Cyprus, but it is the first time that they have advertised their concert with photos of themselves as children – and it is very unlikely that you will not go […]

10,000 KM **** DIRECTED BY Carlos Marques-Marcet STARRING Natalia Tena, David Verdaguer Spain 2014                     99 mins. In Spanish, with Greek subtitles.   THE TRIBE ** DIRECTED BY Miroslav Slaboshpitsky STARRING Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy Ukraine 2014                   126 mins. In sign language, with no subtitles.   An unusual, not to say bizarre week at […]

The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) must remain in the hands of the state, Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkortypis said on Monday, speaking after a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades and EAC unions. Emerging from the presidential palace he told reporters “the possibility of privatising the organisation is distant and the government is called to make a […]

By Stelios Orphanides The number of companies registered in November rose 0.7 per cent to 1,083 compared to a year before, the department of the company registrar and official receiver said. In January to November, the overall number of companies registered in Cyprus was 10,023 which was 1.9 per cent below that of the respective […]

Cyprus is discussing a request from Moscow for facilities in the fight against terrorism in Syria, Russian ambassador Stanislav Osadchiy said on Monday. Asked if Russia needs facilities on the island, the ambassador said the matter was being discussed with the Cypriot foreign ministry. “I think we will find a way to get these facilities,” he […]