Новости за 21.06.2017

Islamic State militants blew up on Wednesday the Grand al-Nuri Mosque of Mosul and its famous leaning minaret, an Iraqi military statement said. It was from this medieval mosque that the militants’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled ‘caliphate’ spanning parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago. Islamic State’s Amaq news agency accused […]

Former Real Madrid player Angel Di Maria has reached an agreement with Spanish prosecutors over a tax evasion charge related to his image rights, a Madrid-based court said on Wednesday. Di Maria, who now plays for France’s Paris St Germain, will plead guilty to two charges of tax fraud, carrying an eight-month prison sentence for […]

  The commissioner for children’s rights has welcomed the supreme court decision to double the jail sentence of 39-year-old teacher who had an affair with his 15-year-old pupil, but said that even the second sentence was insufficient for such a serious crime. “I believe the sentence should have been even stricter,” Leda Koursoumba told the […]

Dani Alves has asked to leave Juventus, the Italian champions’ chief Giuseppe Marotta said on Wednesday, as reports gather pace that the Brazilian is set to reunite with former coach Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Alves, 34, had a spectacular impact in his only campaign in Serie A after eight trophy-laden seasons at Barcelona, helping […]

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a header to spoil Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev’s 100th cap as Portugal beat the hosts 1-0 in Confederations Cup Group A on Wednesday. Portugal showed their offensive prowess in the eighth minute when Ronaldo headed a precise cross by Raphael Guerreiro over Akinfeev’s gloves. With the Spartak Stadium nearly […]

Firefighters extinguished the deadliest forest fire in Portugal’s recent history on Wednesday, though blazes persisted in nearby central and other areas of the country. The main fire, which erupted on Saturday and spread with breathtaking speed, killed 64 people as they tried to flee in cars or were engulfed in flames in remote villages in […]

  The Paphos mayor officially inaugurated on Wednesday evening an upgraded park area in the centre of Paphos, the result of a joint project between the municipality and betting giant Opap. “The Opap municipal park, equipped and upgraded, meets all the requirements to become a real gem for our city, a model green and recreation […]

  Conservationists announced on Wednesday that they were hopeful over the future of Griffon vultures, after finding a nest belonging to birds brought from Crete to bolster the dwindling local population. In a joint news release, BirdLife Cyprus and the state Game Fund, said three active nests were found this year, one near the vulture […]

People-smugglers ignored the cries of 71 migrants as they suffocated in the back of a truck, then dumped it, crammed with corpses, at the side of an Austrian motorway, a murder trial heard on Wednesday. Four men are charged with the killings of the 71 men, women and children at the height of Europe’s migrant […]

A strong European economy is good for the United States, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, against a background of tense relations with Washington on trade and other issues. Less than a month after US President Donald Trump called Germany’s trade and spending policies “very bad”, Merkel used an appearance alongside veteran German-born US […]

Cyprus must reduce its carbon-dioxide emissions to 5 per cent, relative to 2005 levels, environment minister Nicos Kouyialis said on Wednesday, adding that it will achieve the goal with ease. Addressing the House environment committee, Kouyialis analysed the government’s strategy for implementing the Paris Climate Agreement. “The Climate Agreement is a legally binding agreement, which […]

Former world number one Victoria Azarenka marked her return to the WTA Tour by snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Japan’s Risa Ozaki at the Mallorca Open on Wednesday. Azarenka, who gave birth to son Leo in December and had not played a competitive match since last year’s French Open, saved three match […]

A television, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and coins, worth in total €1,650, was reported stolen on Tuesday from a kiosk in Kiti, in Larnaca. According to the police, the shop’s owner reported that the establishment had been broken into sometime between 9pm on Tuesday and 8am on Wednesday. Police said that the perpetrators broke into the […]

A 33-year-old female domestic worker was remanded for six days on Wednesday for allegedly tricking her employer into giving her €4,500 to bring her niece to Cyprus to marry him but pocketing the money instead. The case investigator told the Larnaca district court that the suspect’s employer, a 34-year-old man with mobility problems and visual […]

Vehicle owners who pay quarterly or six-month road tax licences that expire at the end of June, will be able to renew them as of July 1, it was announced on Wednesday. Road tax will be payable, without extra charge, until September 8, 2017 at any bank, citizens’ service centre, district post office, district office […]

The state will appeal two district court decisions saying a law designed to help so-called trapped property buyers clashed with the constitution, MPs heard on Wednesday. In the meantime, enforcement of the said legislation will continue until further notice. The 2015 law aimed to sort out the mess created by the failure to issue title […]

  A blind six-year-old boy from Paphos who has captured the hearts of the public is in Russia about to undergo ground-breaking treatment, only made possible by fundraising and donations from supporters and well-wishers. Iordanis Demetrof (Dani) was born blind and has already had to undergo a number of risky and painful treatments abroad, which […]

The Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) said that it exchanged €560m worth of securities maturing in 2019 and 2020 with receipts from yesterday’s bond issue. “There was strong demand from UK investors, who account for 35 per cent of the final allotment,” of the €850m 7-year bond issued on Tuesday at an average yield of […]

Former Disy member, Ioanna Syngrasiti, on Wednesday declared her support for Diko leader and presidential candidate Nicoolas Papadopoulos. Following a meeting with Papadopoulos, Syngrasiti, said that she had decided to back Diko’s leader as a presidential candidate in next year’s elections, citing shared values. Syngrasiti, a former member of the ruling party’s political bureau, resigned […]

Egypt’s top court has temporarily halted all verdicts on a contested deal to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia until it decides who has jurisdiction, a spokesman said on Wednesday. Egypt’s parliament last week backed plans for the uninhabited islands under an accord that attracted widespread public criticism. But the deal has been […]

The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), the government funded body tasked with helping attract investment from abroad, said on Wednesday that foreign investors considered bureaucracy and sluggish procedures as obstacles. Still, “this does not affect their overall assessment and experience of our country,” CIPA said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, citing the findings of two […]

Recycling of waste from Paphos hotels will begin in early 2018, according to president of the Paphos branch of the Pancyprian Hoteliers’ Association, Thanos Michaelides. Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Michaelides said that some years ago the Paphos Hoteliers’ Association had funded a study that proposed a solution for waste management at hotels. This […]

One of the biggest icebergs on record is like a “niggling tooth” about to snap off Antarctica and will be an extra hazard for ships around the frozen continent as it breaks up, scientists said on Wednesday. An area of the Larsen C ice shelf, about as big as the US state of Delaware or […]

Romania’s ruling leftists overwhelmingly voted to oust Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu’s six-month-old government on Wednesday, opening the way for a new cabinet with a comfortable parliament majority over the next few weeks. Lawmakers voted 241-7 against Grindeanu in a no-confidence motion, a week after his ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) and a coalition partner withdrew […]

Eighty-three-year-old actor and director Nicos Siafkalis, whose body was found on Tuesday morning on a beach in Polis Chrysochous, died of a heart attack, it was announced on Wednesday. The post-mortem on Siafkalis’ body was carried out by state pathologist Eleni Antoniou. A search and rescue operation was launched on Sunday evening to locate the […]