Новости за 18.12.2015

A CAR owned by a 29-year-old woman was damaged by fire on Thursday night in Nicosia. According to police reports, the fire broke out at around 10.30pm on the car’s right rear tyre, and was put out by a relative before it spread. The car was parked outside the woman’s house. Investigations into the incident […]

By Constantinos Psillides A 51-year old man from Britain was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Paphos Assize Court, on charges of growing cannabis plants with the intent to distribute. The Peyia resident was arrested on March 9 at Kathikas village while on his way to tend to 69 cannabis plants later found at […]

After deliberating for most of the year, Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Friday it would change its name to avoid being confused with the Islamist militant group known as ISIS. The biotechnology company said it would be called Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc from Dec. 22 and also changed its stock exchange ticker symbol to “IONS” from […]

By Constantinos Psillides A TOTAL of eight bids were submitted on Friday for a licence to build and operate a large casino resort in Cyprus, according to a statement from the Commerce, Industry, Energy and Tourism Ministry, that added that three of the bidders will be shortlisted for the next phase of the project. The […]

By Maria Gregoriou There will be lots of eating going on next week – it may have already started for some – so to be sure to have a clean conscience while eating all things sweet, why not sign up to run in the Limassol International Marathon GSO marathon coming up in April. Yes, April […]

By Annette Chrysostomou PRICES of food and drink have not changed much from last year, but range widely across the island and between different kinds of shops. In the run up to the holidays, the competition and consumer protection service conducted new research, comparing the prices of meat, Christmas delicacies and other foods and drinks. […]

By Robin Emmott NATO allies agreed yesterday to send aircraft and ships to Turkey to strengthen Ankara’s air defences on its border with Syria, the alliance’s chief said, a package that is partly designed to avoid any more shoot-downs of Russian planes. Envoys to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation approved the plan and must now […]

By John Irish, Sabine Siebold and Arshad Mohammed The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council were struggling to agree on a draft resolution endorsing an international bid to end the five-year civil war in Syria, as ministerial talks began in New York on Friday. Western powers had hoped the council would rubber-stamp […]

By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard A North Korean all-female pop group cancelled their Beijing concert last week when Chinese authorities objected to “anti-American” lyrics in the show, a source with ties to North Korea and China told Reuters on Friday. The Moranbong Band was visiting China along with North Korea’s State Merited Chorus […]

By Evie Andreou Attorney-general Costas Clerides has filed an appeal at the Famagusta district court against the recent acquittal of the two suspects tried and acquitted of the torture and death of Billy, the stray dog that died last year after it was thrown alive in a cardboard crusher, the Animal Party said on Friday. […]

By Angelos Anastasiou The European Commission on Friday announced the approval of additional state aid of €175 million in favour of the Cooperative Central Bank (CCB) in Cyprus and its subsidiaries. The Commission concluded in particular that the additional restructuring measures that the bank committed to implement will ensure that it becomes viable in the […]

By Martyn Herman Jose Mourinho’s sacking by Chelsea dominated the back pages on Friday but had it not been for the downfall of the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ the vultures would have been circling over Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal. Van Gaal’s side were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage last […]

Up to 54.9 mm of rain fell in the last 24 hours in some areas, but rainfall in December is still well below the seasonal average at only 19 per cent of normal levels. If the drought continues, met official Panayiotis Michael said, the situation in the dams next summer would be tragic. The average […]

By Jan Strupczewski Euro zone leaders will ask their finance ministers on Friday to quickly complete their banking union, but at the insistence of Germany they will not say directly what that could mean: the setting up of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). Draft conclusions of the EU summit under way in Brussels showed […]

By Evie Androu Nicosia Municipality on Friday announced the arrival of 13 mini buses aimed at improving accessibility to the divided historical centre with more modern and efficient public transportation, it said. The buses will also connect the old part of the capital with the main areas of the urban centre, located outside the Nicosia […]

On Sunday take a step back in time to the 1900s on Ermou street in Nicosia, which will be filled with the feel of days gone by. Ermou, which was once one of the busiest and most commercial streets before 1974, will once again be revived to its glory days during an open market which […]

By Orhan Coskun and Dan Williams Expectations that Turkey and Israel will restore relations after a five-year-old rift have raised hopes of speedy progress in talks to import Israeli natural gas, potentially a multi-billion-dollar project. Israel’s once-strong ties to Turkey soured in 2010 when Israeli commandoes killed 10 Turkish activists when storming the Mavi Marmara, […]

Nearly 991,000 refugees and migrants have entered Europe by land and sea so far this year and the number is expected to reach 1 million in the coming days, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday. Some 4,300 people arrived on the Greek islands on Wednesday, including 3,000 on Lesbos, meaning that the […]

With cinema in his blood the owner of the Pantheon in Nicosia is trying to ensure his concern changes with the times. THEO PANAYIDES meets a man driven to see the human side of everything The story of George Papageorgiou is the story of a building, which his family has owned since the 50s. It’s […]

By Martyn Herman Premier League managers stood up for sacked Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho on Friday and West Bromwich Albion’s Tony Pulis said his departure was a “big loss” for English football. Mourinho ruffled feathers during his two spells at Stamford Bridge, occasionally getting under the skin of his rivals, but clearly he was a […]

By Stelios Orphanides Tourists arrivals rose an annual 33 per cent in November to 108.093 boosted by a more than doubling of Russians visiting Cyprus and a strong increase in arrivals from other major markets, the statistical service said. Send to Kindle

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Nobel laureate who dedicated her life to helping the poorest of the poor, will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Friday. Pope Francis has cleared the way for her sainthood by approving a decree recognising a miracle attributed to her intercession with God. Mother Teresa, who […]

Archaeological sites and museums remained closed islandwide for half an hour on Friday morning due to short work stoppage by hourly-paid state shift workers. Employees at public hospitals, museums, archaeological sites and at social welfare services staged the work stoppage between 11.30am and 12pm to protest against the “unjust decision” of the government and the […]

By Angelos Anastasiou A Cypriot-flagged research vessel ignored a request by a Turkish frigate to leave the area it was conducting measurements in on Thursday afternoon some 30 nautical miles off the Paphos coast but was still being shadowed by the Turkish vessel on Friday. The ‘Flying Enterprise’ boat, owned by Limassol-based EDT Offshore, was […]

By Li-mei Hoang British temporary power provider Aggreko has pulled out of a tender to supply generators to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year, dealing a blow to organisers rushing to secure an energy source for the world’s largest sporting event. The company, viewed as the most experienced bidder, announced its withdrawal […]