Новости за 16.03.2017

THE bondholders association will be holding a general meeting on Sunday, where they are expected to pass a decision to field their own candidate for the 2018 presidential elections. In a statement on Thursday, the association said the meeting will take place at the ‘Oasis’ restaurant in Khirokitia. “Our candidate for the presidency will essentially […]

Somali pirates released a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew on Thursday, a Somali security official and the pirates said, bringing the first hijacking since 2012 to an unusually swift conclusion without the payment of a ransom. The release followed a gunfight earlier in the day between the pirates and the marine […]

A Christian pastor has found one of the world’s largest uncut diamonds – weighing 706 carats – in Sierra Leone’s eastern Kono region. The stone, a photograph of which was posted on the president’s official website, is being stored in the country’s central bank, government sources said. A local chief from Kono handed the stone […]

The Cyprus issue was the focus of the meeting between Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and the UK Minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan, at the Foreign Office on Thursday. The two ministers discussed the prospect of stalled talks between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities resuming; the importance that Greek Cypriots attribute […]

President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday he was concerned over the possibility of Turkey sparking a ‘hot incident’ in view of the country’s constitutional referendum on April 16. “I fear the period from now until the referendum in Turkey, as well as the effort to create a climate of fanaticism within Turkish society,” Anastasiades told […]

The full bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unconstitutional seven bills which parliament passed in April last year and which the president promptly referred to the top court. Opposition parties had especially insisted on passing two bills despite warnings at the time that they were probably unconstitutional. One provided for offsetting loans with […]

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee said on Thursday they saw no evidence to support President Donald Trump‘s claim that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the 2016 presidential campaign. “Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any […]

Ten people were injured in an eruption on Mount Etna on Thursday when magma flowing into snow caused a violent explosion that sent stones and rocks flying into the air, emergency services said. Amongst those hurt near the summit of Etna on the island of Sicily were members of a television crew filming for the […]

Cyprus is among the countries with the highest number of registered first-time asylum applicants in 2016 compared with the size of its population, a Eurostat study published on Thursday revealed. In Cyprus an increase of 35 per cent was recorded from 2015, when 2,105 applied to 2016 when the figure was 2,840. The highest number […]

The sole eyewitness to the fatal road accident in December 2007 in Limassol where a 17-year-old boy was killed, told the court on Thursday that the driver accused of causing his death, Efi Irodotou, 29, told her not to tell police she had failed to stop at a red light. Irodotou, who had been wanted […]

Aradippou municipality has significantly reduced its waste and increased paper collection for recycling in 2016. “In 2016 waste per resident was 330 kg, and according to the Statistical Service, the average in Cyprus is 550 kg per person,” Aradippou Executive Secretary Mathaios Alabritis said on Thursday. As regards the collection of paper, he said that […]

Flight marks Emirates’ 12th U.S. gateway and only year-round daily service between U.S. and Greece Emirates today commenced daily passenger service between Newark Liberty International Airport and Dubai International Airport, via Athens International Airport. A VIP delegation and contingent of international media were aboard the inaugural flight, which carried passengers from Athens, Dubai and points […]

Greece and its international creditors remain divided over the terms of a review of the country’s bailout programme, a senior eurozone official said on Thursday, a gap that will prevent Athens from getting fresh financial support. Under an €86bn bailout programme, the third since 2010, Greece is seeking new loans from eurozone countries to avoid […]

A defiant Donald Trump has pledged to appeal against a federal judge’s order placing an immediate halt on his revised travel ban, describing the ruling as judicial overreach that made the United States look weak. In granting the temporary restraining order in response to a lawsuit by the state of Hawaii, US District Judge Derrick […]

The current Greek version of the reality show Survivor may have some of us all fired up to take on a few challenges of our own. If you saw the football match the teams had to play in the sand, you will understand how difficult coastal challenges are. One such challenge is on its way […]

Container terminal operator Eurogate said on Thursday it expected to cut service times further after the arrival of additional equipment from Germany, as operations at Limassol port improved significantly after initial problems. Eurogate director Giorgos Pouros said an additional seven container gantry cranes had arrived from Germany and four were already put to work. The […]

Adversaries of Marine Le Pen expressed relief on Thursday after her ally Geert Wilders won fewer seats than expected in a Dutch election, but analysts warned against reading too much into the result ahead of France’s tight presidential race. They said far-right leader Le Pen‘s campaign in France is better planned and targeted than that […]

Public service union Pasydy’s demand that its members be exempt from contributing to the national health system (Gesy) sparked fierce reactions on Thursday from the government, opposition parties, the private sector and the House health committee. All were responding to remarks by Pasydy boss Glafcos Hadjipetrou to local daily Phileleftheros, in which he argued that […]

Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe was recalled to the England squad at the age of 34 on Thursday ahead of next week’s friendly in Germany and a World Cup qualifier at home to Lithuania. Defoe has been a lethal finisher for relegation-threatened Sunderland, scoring 14 of the club’s 24 league goals this season but has not […]

The loss from the reimbursement of overcharged clients will not affect the co-op sector, a senior official said on Thursday, denying that the amount was €35m, as reported in the media. The head of the central co-operative bank, Nicolas Hadjiyiannis, said the sector had €3.3bn in provisions and €1.3bn in capital and such amounts made […]

Cypriot banks may face additional challenges in reducing their stock of non-performing loans once the European Central Bank (ECB) decides to cut back its expanded asset-purchase programme, economists said. The economists commented in response to a Reuters report dated March 15, which said that banks in the European Union could face a non-performing loans problem […]

Granting the four fundamental freedoms of the EU to Turkish nationals as part of a special arrangement that will only apply to the reunited Cyprus is out of the question, Government Spokesman, Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday. The Turkish demand for the four freedoms to be given to Turkish nationals is legally unfounded and the […]

Asenal manager Arsene Wenger has refused to set a target for this season and hit out at critics, saying they are unlikely ever to be satisfied with anything the north London club achieves. Criticism of Wenger, who has been in charge of Arsenal for two decades, has grown louder this month after his team went […]

EU leaders lined up on Thursday to congratulate Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on beating far-rightist Geert Wilders in the first of a series of European elections this year in which populist insurgent parties are hoping to rock the establishment. The centre-right prime minister had trailed in opinion polls for much of the campaign but […]

Prime Minister Theresa May told the Scottish government on Thursday “now is not the time” for a second independence referendum, saying it would be unfair to ask people to vote without knowing the result of Brexit talks. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for a referendum before the end of the two years of […]