Новости за 12.10.2017

British billionaire Richard Branson on Thursday placed another bet on the future with an investment in Hyperloop One, which is developing super high-speed transportation systems. Hyperloop One said Branson‘s Virgin Group would take the company global and rebrand itself as Virgin Hyperloop One in the near future. Branson has joined the board of Hyperloop One, which will develop pods […]

Four former top officials at Laiki Bank on Thursday pleaded not guilty to charges of mismanagement at the now-defunct lender. Former bank CEO Efthymios Bouloutas, former deputy CEO Panayiotis Kounnis, and former board members Neoklis Lysandrou and Markos Foros are facing charges of market manipulation and presenting false/misleading information to investors. They are accused of […]

A prudent fiscal policy by the government as well as deleveraging by the banks have helped place the economy on a far better footing compared with its low point of 2013, finance minister Harris Georgiades said on Thursday. In his annual lecture to the University of Cyprus on the state of the economy, the minister […]

Problems in the public healthcare sector should not be exaggerated and exploited for political purposes every time that elections are near, health minister Giorgos Pamboridis has said, hitting back at critics decrying the shortage of specialist doctors. He was primarily responding to accusations from the election campaign office of presidential candidate Nicolas Papadopoulos, alleging that […]

While London’s sewers can get clogged with fatbergs made up of grease and diapers, it seems Switzerland’s waste system is flecked with silver and gold. Researchers last year detected 3 tonnes of silver and 43kg of gold in effluent and sludge from waste water treatment plants – amounting to around 3 million Swiss francs ($3.1 million). But before people start […]

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to weaken the Obamacare law and make it easier for Americans to buy bare-bones health insurance plans, but the action faces possible legal challenges. Stymied in Congress by the failure of Senate Republicans to pass legislation to dismantle Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement, Trump‘s order […]

Lawmakers on Thursday expressed outrage over the fact that materials from the north are being used in construction works at the Pancyprian Gymnasium – despite being told that, strictly speaking, the importation of these goods is legal under the Green Line Regulation allowing for trade between the two communities. Founded in 1812, the Pancyprian Gymnasium […]

Paphos gets ready to receive another international singer who pays tribute to some of the greats on Monday, when soul singer Hayley-Ria Christian will be making the Bonamare Beach Bar sparkle and shine with musical notes and lots of pizzazz. For the past decade, award nominee Christian has toured the world, performing her soulfully inspired […]

Firefighters struggled to halt the spread of wildfires that have killed at least 23 people in Northern California and dry, gusty winds threatened on Thursday to push flames into the evacuated town of Calistoga. Nearly two dozen fires spanning eight counties have raged largely unchecked since igniting on Sunday, leaving hundreds of residents unaccounted for. […]

The New York City Police Department said on Thursday it is investigating an allegation of sexual assault by movie producer Harvey Weinstein in 2004. “The NYPD is investigating an allegation of sex assault from 2004,” the department said in a statement. Asked by Reuters in an email whether the investigation involved Weinstein, a spokesperson said in an email […]

Cyprus is last in Europe when it comes to organ donation per capita in the EU, MPs heard on Thursday during a meeting of the House health committee. According to what Akel MP Eleni Mavrou in Cyprus organ donors clock in at 6.5 per million inhabitants while in Europe this figure rises to 20 per […]

Spaniards lined the streets of Madrid and Barcelona on Thursday and national flags hung from balconies across the capital as unionists used a public holiday to demonstrate unity in the face of moves by Catalonia to declare independence. The wealthy region’s intention to break away has plunged Spain into its worst political crisis since an […]

Conservationists have expressed concern over reports of corruption in the police anti-poaching unit, which they say was a deterrent in previous years whose force has been recently diminished. In a joint letter to the chief of police in which they requested a meeting, BirdLife Cyprus and Terra Cypria said the island was going through the […]

Swiss prosecutors said on Thursday they had opened a criminal investigation into former FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, chief executive of Qatar’s beIN Media, focused on corruption linked to World Cup broadcasting rights. Barry Bercke, Valcke’s US lawyer, declined to comment. Representatives in Qatar and Paris for beIN did not immediately respond […]

Authorities in the north have detained a 26-year-old Indian man wanted for murder in the republic, it emerged on Thursday. Malkit Singh was arrested while trying to cross over to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state. He was brought before a military court, which remanded him in custody for one day. Singh is wanted by police […]

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States on Thursday of mistreating a strategic ally, in a blistering speech which appeared to rule out swift resolution to a dispute between two Nato members jointly fighting Islamic State. Hours after Ankara announced officials would meet soon to settle differences, Erdogan accused the US consulate in Istanbul […]

Gordon Strachan left his post as Scotland coach on Thursday after failing to guide the nation to the World Cup playoffs. Strachan, who took charge of 40 games since being appointed in 2013, failed in his bid to take Scotland to a first major tournament finals since the 1998 World Cup. “The Board of the […]

The Pakistani military rescued a kidnapped US-Canadian couple and their three children after receiving intelligence from the United States, Pakistan said on Thursday, nearly five years after the couple was kidnapped in Afghanistan. American Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle and the children born in captivity were believed to be held by the Taliban-allied Haqqani […]

The construction area of projects that obtained a building permit in the first seven months of the year rose 42 per cent, to 773,251 square meters, compared to the respective period of 2016 and their value rose 49 per cent, to €857.6m, the statistical service said. This is mainly due to a 41 per cent […]

Unesco, the cultural and educational agency of the United Nations, expressed regret on Thursday over the United States’ official decision to leave its organisation. “After receiving official notification by the United States Secretary of State, Mr Rex Tillerson, as Unesco Director-General, I wish to express profound regret at the decision of the United States of America to […]

Italy’s Gucci will stop using fur in its designs from next year, joining a growing number of fashion houses looking at alternatives after coming under pressure from animal rights activists and changing consumer tastes. Gucci, part of Paris-based luxury group Kering, has paraded models down the catwalk in luxurious fur coats in the past and creative director […]

Turkish Cypriots said on Thursday they want to have a say in negotiations between the republic and the British government on the status of the military bases post Brexit. Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci’s spokesman Baris Burcu said international law dictated that discussions of the status of Turkish Cypriots living and working in the bases […]

Household spending in the period 2015-2016 decreased significantly, according to the results of the Household Budget Survey 2015-2016, published on Thursday by the Statistical Service. Recreation and culture, clothing and footwear and transport presented the biggest decrease in expenditure, the survey showed. The average annual consumption expenditure per household for 2015-2016 amounted to €31,206, compared to €38,547 […]

Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe believes that he needs a high-scoring season for his club to boost his chances of being named in the England squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Defoe’s goalscoring exploits for former club Sunderland last campaign earned him a recall to Gareth Southgate’s team in March and the veteran is […]

Palestinian rivals Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal on Thursday in the presence of Egyptian intelligence officials after talks in Cairo, according to a video broadcast on Palestinian media.