Новости за 01.04.2017

President Tayyip Erdogan described himself as a “guardian of peace” on Saturday as he called on Kurds in conflict-torn south-east Turkey to vote ‘yes’ in a referendum in two weeks time on reforms that would grant him sweeping new powers. Since the collapse of a two-year-old ceasefire in July 2015, the mainly Kurdish south-east has […]

An easyJet aircraft carrying 184 passengers from Gatwick to Larnaca encountered difficulties with Turkish authorities on Friday night when it asked to make a forced landing at a Turkish airport after coming across bad weather over Paphos and was forced to divert its course, it was announced on Saturday. The aircraft managed to first land […]

A landslide in Colombia’s southwestern border province of Putumayo sent mud and debris crashing onto houses overnight, killing 93 people and injuring at least 120, officials said on Saturday. Heavy rains caused several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment onto buildings and roads in the provincial capital of Mocoa. “At this time we have removed 93 […]

New life was pumped into the Premier League title race on Saturday after leaders Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, enabling Tottenham Hotspur to cut the gap at the top to seven points after their 2-0 win at Burnley. Liverpool won a feisty Merseyside derby against Everton 3-1 at Anfield […]

Dozens of people took part in the first ever organised pillow fight event to take place in Cyprus on Saturday. The event, that took place in Phaneromeni Square, aimed at putting Nicosia on the International Pillow Fight map. Despite that organisers expected many more people to show up, with over 500 people signing up to […]

Venezuela’s pro-government Supreme Court on Saturday revoked its controversial annulment of the opposition-led Congress amid international condemnation and protests against socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Unprecedented pressure from other Latin American nations and dissent within its own ranks appear to have been the catalyst for the judicial reversal. “This controversy is over,” Maduro said just after […]

Any confidence building measures (CBMs) should reinforce the negotiations procedure and serve the settlement within the agreed framework, Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Saturday. In a written statement, the spokesman said he wanted to set the record straight as regards claims made by the Turkish Cypriot side concerning a number of CBMs. President Nicos […]

Philippe Coutinho inspired Liverpool to a comfortable 3-1 home win over Everton in the 228th Merseyside derby on Saturday to move provisionally up to third in the Premier League. Sadio Mane’s opener was cancelled out by Matthew Pennington’s first Everton goal, but strikes from Coutinho and substitute Divock Origi confirmed Liverpool’s league double over their […]

Conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon warned in Corsica on Saturday that France faced the same fate as debt-ridden Greece, deliberately reviving the “failing state” controversy he stoked on the Mediterranean island 10 years ago. “I repeat what I said here in Corsica in 2007. We are a failing state… We have a debt that forces […]

Details of Bob Dylan’s receipt of his Nobel literature prize were being kept under close wraps on Saturday leaving those wanting to know more about it blowin’ in the wind. It’s not that the times kept a-changin’, it was that no one would say what was happening. The Swedish Academy, which hands out the Nobels, […]

An 11-year-old girl is in hospital with head injuries after she was attacked by a neighbour’s dog in a Nicosia park on Friday evening. According to the police, the incident occurred at around 7.50pm when the girl, while at the park, was attacked by a dog, reportedly a Rottweiler, from a nearby house who had […]

Britain’s contribution to European security is “unconditional”, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told a French newspaper, denying the government had made a veiled threat to reduce cooperation if there was no post-Brexit trade deal. Prime Minister Theresa May said in a letter to the European Union on Wednesday that “our cooperation in the fight against crime […]

What needs to be decided at Sunday’s dinner with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci is the recommencement of the settlement negotiations with realistic proposals that would serve Cypriots and not third countries, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Saturday. Speaking to members of the press following a service at Ayios Ioannis cathedral in Nicosia to commemorate […]

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is confident the Premier League club will be doing “interesting” business during the next transfer window while acknowledging that he may not get all his first-choice targets. United have been linked by the British media with a host of big-name players, including Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann and Monaco midfielder […]

Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco-based activist and artist best known for creating the rainbow flag representing gay rights, has died at the age of 65, his longtime friend announced on social media on Friday. “My dearest friend in the world is gone. Clive Baker gave the world the rainbow flag, he gave me forty years […]

A 33-year-old woman was arrested early Saturday after causing a road accident while drunk, almost five times over the limit. The accident occurred at around 3.20am on the Nicosia-Limassol motorway near Ayios Tychonas, when the car driven by the 33-year-old veered off course and crashed into a metal sign post. The woman was trapped in […]

The European Commission said that while structural reforms carried out in recent years have helped Cyprus exit recession, the “weakened” reform momentum undermines the economy’s future growth prospects as pressure to increase spending rises and the reduction of bad loans remains slow. “It is crucial to safeguard and build upon these hard-earned achievements,” the European […]

A number of events are being held in all districts on Saturday to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the start of the Eoka struggle for independence in 1955. President Nicos Anastasiades attended earlier in the day a service carried out at the Ayios Ioannis cathedral in Nicosia, and later on he is to attend a […]

THE education and culture ministry announced on Friday the launch of a website aiming to attract film productions to Cyprus and to provide information on everything revolving around films on the island. On the website, visitors can find information on current developments in cinematography in Cyprus and abroad, on local and international film festivals, productions, […]

Protesters stormed and set fire to Paraguay’s Congress on Friday after the Senate secretly voted for a constitutional amendment that would allow President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election. The country’s constitution has prohibited re-election since it was passed in 1992 after a brutal dictatorship fell in 1989. “A coup has been carried out. We […]

Roger Federer needed more than three hours to outlast Nick Kyrgios 7-6(9) 6-7(9) 7-6(5) in a pulsating Miami Open semi-final on Friday to set up another mouthwatering final clash with Rafa Nadal. The Swiss, who has won two of his last three tournaments including the Australian Open, had to dig deep to get through a […]

Everton will target a first victory over Liverpool in nearly seven years on Saturday knowing that if they succeed an unlikely pursuit of a top-four finish might start to be taken seriously. Spurred by Romelu Lukaku’s goals, Ronald Koeman’s side have closed steadily on the battle for Champions and Europa League qualification and victory in […]

The Cyprus football championship restarts this weekend following the international break with a number of intriguing fixtures to be played both in the race for the title as well as in the relegation battle. On Saturday evening all eyes will be on the clash between third-placed AEK and leaders Apoel where anything but a win […]

SUNBATHING in Cyprus is about to go up a few notches with the use of futuristic technology that could even help end the infamous ‘towel wars’ between German and British tourists, experts say. This summer, municipal beaches in Cyprus will launch a pilot scheme, each rolling out ten ‘smart sunbeds’ fitted with artificial intelligence (AI), […]

THE inexplicable decision by the government to allow Larnaca municipality the final say on the presence of the onshore support services for oil companies at Larnaca port has caused many unnecessary problems and will deprive the state of significant revenue. As is well-known, the Larnaca municipal council voted by the narrowest of margins for the […]