Новости за 07.09.2017

The Council of the University of Cyprus (UCy) on Thursday defended its purchase of software licenses, after accusations that it may have squandered public funds. In a statement, UCy’s Council said the procedures followed to purchase licenses for the Oracle software system were above board. It added that the university had nothing to hide, as […]

The breakaway regime’s ‘foreign ministry’ on Thursday demanded the swift return of a Turkish national still being held in the south after he allegedly attempted to illegally cross into the south. In a statement, the ‘foreign ministry’ went on to describe as inhumane the state of the Turkish national who, based on since-published photographs, appears […]

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would be willing to step in and mediate the worst dispute in decades among the US-allied Gulf Arab states and Qatar, and said that he thinks a deal could come quickly. “If I can help mediate between Qatar and, in particular, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, I […]

Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire who has accused some of the most senior officials of China’s Communist Party of corruption, has applied for political asylum in the United States, his lawyer said. Thomas Ragland, a Washington-based lawyer, said Guo, who lives in New York and is in the United States on a tourist visa expiring this […]

The mayor of Polis Chrysochous hit back at environmentalist groups on Thursday, accusing them of staging the brouhaha over a wedding beach party at the Anassa hotel within a protected area of the Akamas. Officials were meantime scrambling to take cover for the – on the surface at least – embarrassing affair after it emerged […]

The leader of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on Thursday criticised the European Union’s top court for upholding Brussels’ right to force member states to take in asylum-Seekers, calling the quota system an “immigration programme”. Heinz-Christian Strache, whose anti-immigrant party could become kingmaker in next month’s parliamentary election, took sides with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor […]

The presidential elections will take place on January 28 and February 4 next year, it was officially announced on Thursday. The decision was made at a meeting earlier in the day, the first one between Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides and the political parties on the elections, with the participation of Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Kypros […]

Larnaca district court on Thursday heard arguments for mitigating the sentence on businessman Christos Oprhanides, who back in May was found guilty on four counts of bouncing cheques worth €400,000 to an advertising company. The court set September 26 for sentencing. Orphanides’ lawyer presented several arguments for mitigation, including the fact that since the verdict, […]

The party slogan on our island used to be ‘I say Ayia, you say Napa,’ but with Limassol spinning so many danceable beats, we could say that the slogan could be changed to ‘I say beach party, you say Guaba.’ Yes, August 2017 may be a thing of the past but don’t put away your […]

The Premier League transfer window will now close before the start of the season after clubs voted to bring forward the deadline for buying players from next season, the Premier League said in a statement. Premier League clubs on Thursday backed a rule ammendment that will see the summer window end at 17:00 local time on the Thursday before the start of the […]

The issue of secondments of civil servants abroad must be put in order, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told the House Watchdog committee on Thursday, commenting on a special report by Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides relating to secondments to diplomatic missions, international organisations and European Union bodies. Kasoulides told committee members that, while the government is not […]

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday backed Germany’s idea of a European Monetary Fund (EMF) to counter economic shocks in eurozone member states but stressed the ultimate goal of deeper integration should remain a eurozone budget. Macron wants a giant leap forward in European cooperation, pushing for the creation of a eurozone finance minister and parliament, as well […]

Three Paphos lifeguards on duty on Thursday afternoon rescued a 78-year-old British holiday maker from drowning in the sea at a popular beach. At around 3.15pm, lifeguards noticed the man, who was wearing a snorkelling mask, was unconscious in the sea at Corallia Beach in Peyia, and was sinking. The incident occurred not far from […]

A month-long campaign has identified businesses that didn’t hand out receipts or have approved cash registers and have showed discrepancies, the tax department announced on Thursday. During the month of August, the department targeted 420 mainly tourism-related businesses. The inspections are part of the department’s new strategic planning which aims to increase voluntary tax compliance […]

The euro area’s economy expanded in the second quarter an annual 2.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent compared to January to March, the European Commission’s statistical office said. The economy in the European Union grew in April to July 2.4 per cent compared to the respective quarter of 2016 and 0.7 per cent compared […]

French police unearthed a second stash of explosive materials near Paris on Thursday after a similar find in a nearby suburb on Wednesday, a justice official said as three suspects were questioned by anti-terrorism investigators. Thursday’s swoop was carried out at a garage rented by one of the three detained in the wake of Wednesday’s […]

Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said that Larnaca and Paphos airport operator Hermes Airports and the ministry of transport, communications and works are considering plans to expand their infrastructure to cope with increased passenger traffic. While both airports are at present still in position to service travellers, should it be deemed necessary all steps to extend […]

The Cyprus Cycling Federation on Thursday called on the government to train car, bus and other drivers on how to protect cyclists, who are vulnerable road users. Their plea came hours after 33-year-old cyclist Panayiotis Hadjinicolas lost his life in a hit-and-run accident. The victim leaves behind a 3-year-old child and a wife. “Unfortunately, the […]

The Cyprus Anti-Doping Authority and Uefa signed an agreement in Nicosia, at the Cyprus Football Association (CFA), on doping-related issues and tests for footballers. Uefa Head of Medical and Anti-Doping Marc Vouillamoz came to Cyprus for the signing of the agreement and met with President of the Cyprus Anti-Doping Authority Michail Petrou, in the presence […]

The Spanish government on Thursday took steps to prevent a referendum on independence for Catalonia from going ahead on Oct 1 and to prepare criminal charges against regional lawmakers who had voted to hold the ballot. A majority of Catalonia’s parliament voted on Wednesday to hold the referendum in an acrimonious session in which mainstream […]

European Union defence ministers tested their ability to respond to a potential attack by computer hackers in their first cyber war game on Thursday, based on a simulated attack on one of the bloc’s military missions abroad. In the simulation, hackers sabotaged the EU’s naval mission in the Mediterranean and launched a campaign on social […]

Just days before the start of the new school year, on Wednesday, police found 400 grammes of cannabis in a primary school in Larnaca. The drug squad searched the Drosia school after a tip off about the trafficking of drugs taking place in the building. When officers arrived they didn’t find anybody involved in criminal […]

Police on Wednesday evening arrested a man at Paphos airport after he was caught travelling with a stolen passport. The 39-year-old man arrived at the airport from a European destination at around 6pm. At the passport control, it was discovered that the passport was reported stolen at Interpol in 2014. When the man was questioned […]

British Prime Minister Theresa May called on parliament on Thursday to support legislation to sever political, financial and legal ties with the European Union, a step towards Brexit the opposition says it will challenge. The repeal bill, or EU withdrawal bill, is central to the government’s plan to exit the bloc in 2019, untangling Britain from more […]

Public servants’ union Pasydy on Thursday strongly condemned the bombing of the house of one of its members, a prison warden, on Wednesday morning in Ayios Dhometios, Nicosia. An improvised highly-powered bomb exploded outside the building at 1.45am, damaging the entrance of the house. In a statement, the union says this is the eleventh time […]