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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

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Deputies throw out bailout deal Disarray as MPs reject a revised proposal on levy

By Stefanos Evripidou

P

ARLIAMENT last night rejected a second draft bill on the proposed levy on bank deposits in Cyprus, considered a precondition to any bailout of the troubled island.

The initial deal banged out in Brussels at the weekend imposed a 6.75 per cent levy on small savers with insured deposits of under €100,000 and 9.9 per cent on those over €100,000.

Following the global and local backlash to the idea of taxing insured depositers, eurozone finance ministers decided on Monday night that the finer details of the levy could be left up to Cyprus as long as the near-bankrupt member state is able to come up with a €5.8 billion ‘bail-in’ which would then trigger a €10 billion EU/IMF ‘bailout’.

The surprise haircut introduced by the IMF, Germans, Finnish and Dutch in the Eurogroup meeting hit a nerve among small and big depositors, both in Cyprus and abroad, particularly Russia, given that this would be the first time a eurozone bailout requires bank depositors, not bondholders or investors, to take a hit.

With an acute sense of the pervading anger among depositors, the government tabled a new draft bill before parliament yesterday, this time leaving deposits up to €20,000 exempt from the bank levy, while imposing a 6.75 per cent levy on savings between €20,000 and €100,000 and a 9.9 per cent tax on anything higher.

President Nicos Anastasiades was reportedly reluctant to increase the contribution

of big depositors even if this meant forcing insured depositors with over €20,000 to contribute, fearful that any levy over 10 per cent would cause the flight of foreign capital from Cyprus, and the end of the country’s business model as a financial services centre, not to mention a potential run on banks.

However, failing to increase the levy on big depositors while exempting a portion of small savers meant the new bill would create a shortfall in the €5.8 billion expected to be raised.

Perhaps the foreseen deficit was a moot point for the government as Anastasiades earlier yesterday told reporters he expected parliament to reject the tax on bank deposits “because they feel and they think that it is unjust and it’s against the interests of Cyprus at large”.

And he was right. A total of 36 MPs - from opposition AKEL, EDEK, the Greens, as well as coalition partners DIKO and EVROKO - all voted against the bill.

Ruling DISY’s acting head Averof Neophytou requested a postponement of the vote until today, which was rejected, after which he and 18 other DISY deputies decided to abstain. Only one MP did not vote, DISY’s Stella Kyriakidou who was abroad.

Ahead of the parliamentary session, between 6,000 and 7,000 people gathered outside parliament waving mostly Russian flags and chanting “Troika out of Cyprus” and “People fight, they’re sucking your blood”.

During the parliamentary debate, DIKO leader Marios Garoyian said now was the time for parliament to send

TURN TO PAGE 3

Police stand guard last night as thousands of people demonstrated outside the House of Representatives as deputies inside rejected the Eurogroup deal that included a levy on all bank deposits (AFP)

Last hope now appears to lie with Moscow

By Elias Hazou AS PARLIAMENT yesterday rejected a bank levy bill, the government was working on a contingency plan, dispatching its finance minister to Russia.

Finance minister Michalis Sarris flew out to Moscow some 24 hours before initially announced.

The economy chief ’s mission, informed sources said, was to sell the Russians the latest idea geared at preventing the flight of billions of

euros from the island’s already hammered banks.

They said the finance minister’s trip to Moscow was moved forward to give Sarris the chance of striking a deal with the Russians as it was a foregone conclusion that the Cyprus parliament would reject the bank levy as it stood yesterday.

The cornerstone of Sarris’ proposal to the Russians, the same sources said, is for deposits over €100,000 to be guaranteed at 100 per cent of the cash they would lose via the bank tax.

The collateral guarantee would come in the form of bank shares backed up by future state revenues from the sale of Cyprus gas.

The proposal is an improvement on a previous one, where only 50 per cent of the taxed amount was guaranteed.

The guarantee was targeted at Russian investors with over €100,000, to dissuade them from pulling their money out of Cyprus – or to at least contain the phenomenon as far as

TURN TO PAGE 5

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

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Home PICTURE OF THE DAY

Weather Paralimni

Nicosia 22

14 1 Troodos

21 21

LLarnaca

21 2

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Paphos

LLimassol

TODAY: Mostly fine. Temperatures will reach 22C inland, 21C along the coasts and 14C over higher ground OUTLOOK: Fine weather continues on Thursday, but cloudy patches, scattered showers and a dip in temperatures likely over Friday and Saturday YESTERDAY:

Max Temp Nicosia 19 Larnaca 18 Limassol 18 Paphos 18 Paralimni 17 Prodromos 11

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Min 6 7 11 9 7 2

Humidity 26% 45% 45% 56% 43% 50%

SUNRISE: 05:50am

SUNSET: 5:58pm

Pollution Low/Low Low/Low Medium/Low Low Low No data

Air quality in Cyprus is assessed with the aid of a network of nine advanced monitoring stations. Data is recorded hourly.

Information provided by the Air Quality Section of the Department of Labour Inspection (DLI)

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EXCHANGE

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For a full list of exchange rates, see page 12

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A giant mosquito on display promoting an exhibition of the Wonderland of Animals and Insects in Taipei. The organiser, Paperwindmill Arts Foundation, said the activity will be held between April 4 and 14 (AFP)

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For cryptic crossword and answers to the previous quick crossword see page 21

ON THIS DAY MARCH 20

WHAT THE MAIL SAID

1815

25 years ago, Sunday March 20, 1988

After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris and starts his ‘Hundred Days’ rule.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has called for a new basis for negotiations with Greek Cypriots, occupied Cyprus newspapers reported yesterday. The opposition Kibris Postasi newspaper said the change of policy followed pressure on Denktash to soften his stance from a special envoy of Prime Minister Turgut Ozal.

1966 The football world cup trophy, the Jules Rimet, is stolen whilst being exhibited in London.

1974 In England, Princess Anne survives a kidnap attempt when shots are fired at her car while driving along The Mall in London.

1995 At the height of morning rush hour, terrorists from the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult converge at the Kasumigaseki subway station in Tokyo and release lethal sarin gas into the air.

2003 The US and her allies launch an invasion of Iraq in order to topple the regime of dictator Saddam Hussein.

35 years ago, Monday March 20, 1978 The hearing of an appeal by the EOKA B deputy leader Lefteris Papadopoulos against the double sentence of life imprisonment will continue today before a full bench of the Supreme Court. He had been sentenced by the Nicosia Assize Court for his active participation in the coup and his activities in the unlawful EOKA B organisation before the coup.

45 years ago, Wednesday March 20, 1968 The government has decided to withdraw its request that ambassadors have no official contacts with certain Turkish Cypriot leaders. The move comes on the eve of the anticipated talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

The embargo on heads of missions meeting Turkish Cypriot leaders was imposed after the formation of a provisional Turkish Cypriot administration at the end of last December.

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

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All those against: deputies voting against the new proposals last night (left) while thousands gathered outside to protest the troika proposals

(Christos Theodorides)

Disarray as bailout deal rejected President is set to meet party leaders, Archbishop and troika representatives today continued from page one its own message. He warned that some want to see Cyprus starved so that when the time comes they will give away their natural gas deposits and agree to supply them via pipeline to Turkey.

EVROKO leader Demetris Syllouris complained that during his recent visit to the German parliament, German MPs adopted an air of polite insult, telling the delegation of Cypriot MPs that their intelligence service had compiled a report saying Cyprus is engaged in money laundering.

“I’d like to see that report and see what it says about Germany,” he said from the plenum floor.

House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou said the Eurogroup’s decision made Cyprus a guinea pig of neo-colonial policies while violating the EU’s own rules on deposits and private property.

The EDEK leader also questioned those who tried to “blackmail” Cyprus by saying failure to pass the bill would be catastrophic.

“Are we naïve? If we pass this, won’t every foreigner leave?” he asked.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou said the upcoming German elections should

not be the criteria for putting together such an unpopular and unprecedented measure as a haircut on deposits, which destroys any hope for Cyprus’ future.

He called on the government to withdraw Cyprus’ application for an EU bailout and instead work with the opposition party on a number of new proposals to raise cash, including issuing state ‘solidarity’ bonds of 10-year length.

Neophytou noted his disappointment with the Eurogroup’s position last Friday. He said just a few hours before the eurozone finance ministers’ meeting, EU friends and partners were assuring Anastasiades that there would be no haircut, but then slapped it on the table.

A haircut on deposits was the equivalent of “economic hara-kiri (ritual suicide) for the eurozone”, said Neophytou.

He called on all political parties to show a united front to send the message that they are behind the president as he works to find an alternative proposal and to send the message to Brussels, Berlin and Washington that Cyprus does not want to be pushed out of the

Police outside the House of Representatives last night single currency.

Speaking to foreign media outside parliament, Chairman of the House Finance Committee Nicolas Papadopoulos said parliament’s message was clear: Cyprus does not want to be Europe’s experiment, nor does it want to leave the euro; it accepts that reforms are necessary but what is being proposed will lead to the collapse of the country’s economy. “Parliament wants to renegotiate,” he said.

One MP said that an idea being floated is the nationalisation of state pension

funds which could raise up to two to three billion euros, which still leaves an equal figure to be found.

Anastasiades last night expressed his absolute respect for the decision taken by parliament, said government spokesman Christos Stylianides.

He noted that the president has already called a meeting of the party leaders for this morning to discuss the situation, after a planned meeting with Archbishop Chrysostomos at the Presidential Palace.

Anastasiades will chair a

cabinet meeting after his discussion with the party leaders and before meeting a delegation from the troika at midday.

After sending his finance minister to Moscow yesterday, the president also had a half-hour phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin last night on the latest developments regarding a Cyprus bailout.

He also spoke on the phone with Greek PM Antonis Samaras and Greek President Karolos Papoulias.

Reports said he had a second phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following his earlier call on Monday about the latest news on the domestic front in Cyprus.

Reacting to the Cypriot parliament’s rejection of a proposed levy on savings in banks, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said he “deeply regretted” the lawmakers’ decision.

“The offer from the eurozone and the Eurogroup to Cyprus still stands,” Dijsselbloem told reporters.

“The ball is in Cyprus’ court... the greatest volumes of wealth in Cyprus are in the banks, and it’s the banks that have problems, so it’s unavoidable that we

look at this.”

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said he also regretted parliament’s decision.

Speaking to ZDF television, he said: “Cyprus requested an aid programme.

For an aid programme we need a calculable way for Cyprus to be able to return to the financial markets. For that, Cyprus’ debts are too high.”

Schäuble added that it was a “serious situation” now in Cyprus and that the country had no one to blame for its situation other than itself.

He said he doesn’t think its “business model” works anymore and warned Cyprus must act quickly.

“In a situation like this, when an insolvency looms, then the creditors have to participate if they want to avoid an insolvency. If you want to avoid that, then the investors in the bank have to make a corresponding contribution. Whether that’s a ‘bail in’ or a levy, that’s for Cyprus to decide itself.”

The European Central Bank said it “took note” of the vote and remained “committed to provide liquidity as needed within the existing rules”.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

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Greece close to picking buyer for Cypriot banks Alpha and Piraeus had expressed interest in the units

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos GREECE is close to completing a deal for a Greek takeover of the local units of Cypriot banks, after at least two of the country’s biggest lenders showed interest, government officials and bankers said yesterday.

Greece has been rushing to wrap up the deal in a bid to protect its battered banking system from the fallout from a plan to impose a levy on bank deposits in Cyprus, but its efforts have been held up by delays in Nicosia in approving the tax.

Eurozone finance ministers excluded the Greek branches of Cypriot banks from the controversial tax included in the island’s international bailout on condition that those units would be transferred to Greek banks.

“The Greek government is ready to conclude the transfer of Cypriot bank operations in the country to Greek banks in a few hours,” a senior government official told Reuters. The leaders of Greece’s three-party ruling coalition were due to meet later yesterday, with the

A woman reads a ‘closed’ notice at a Cyprus Popular bank branch in Athens yesterday Cyprus issue expected to feature high on the agenda. The official said Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank had expressed interest in absorbing the Cypriot operations in Greece and that there was also a plan B, without providing details.

Such a plan could involve Hellenic Postbank, a small lender controlled by the country’s bank bailout fund Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, if interest by other lenders is deemed unsatisfactory, bankers have said.

The three Cypriot banks with operations in Greece - Bank of Cyprus, Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB) and Hellenic Bank -

have about a 10 per cent share of the banking market based on loans and about 8 per cent of deposits.

They operate as branches of their Cypriot parents and not as subsidiaries, meaning they are regulated by Cyprus’s central bank, which also provides them with funding through its emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) facility.

Their ELA exposure stems primarily from their Greek operations and covers their funding gap - the difference between assets and liabilities.

The Greek units have higher loan-to-deposit ratios compared to their Cypriot par-

ents. Together they run a network of just over 300 branches in Greece and employ about 5,000 people. Their combined loan portfolio tops 20 billion euros, according to analysts.

The biggest of the three is Bank of Cyprus, which has a network of 181 branches in Greece.

The branches of the three Cypriot banks will stay closed today, in line with the extended bank holiday in Cyprus.

Shares of Bank of Cyprus and CPB, which are also listed in Athens, will not trade over those two days. Athens has rushed to reassure savers in Greece they will not be affect-

(AFP) ed by the Cypriot levy and that the country’s banking system is stable and there was little indication of panic as Greek banks reopened on Tuesday after a three-day weekend.

“We don’t have withdrawals because of the Cypriot issue,” a senior bank executive said.

“It’s like any other day - we don’t see any differences.”

Bankers said there was no rush to withdraw savings on Tuesday although concerns remain that the tax on deposits may reverse a trend of deposit inflows back into the Greek banking system since fears of a Greek euro exit began to fade.

Businesses say already affected by banks’ closure CYPRUS has already suffered considerable damage since the Eurogroup’s decision to insist on a levy on bank deposits according head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE), Phidias Pilides.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, general-secretary of KEVE, Marios Tsiakis said that the longer banks and the stock market remained closed the more damage would be caused to businesses in Cyprus. “Although bank closures have caused some minor problems, the fact they are closed for one or two days will not hugely affect business,” he said. “Cyprus will never be the same again,” he said, referring to the decision to impose a haircut on deposits and the subsequent rush by the public to withdraw their money from bank ATMs. “The situation is very difficult, these are tragic circumstances and we have reviewed how the situation is evolving and certainly understand that we face very difficult choices,” Pilides said after a KEVE board meeting yesterday.

“On the one hand, if we don’t accept the extortionate suggestions and the conditions set by Eurogroup our banks will close,” he added.

He said if a levy was imposed, it should be done in a fair and lawful manner.

Pilides added that the banks need to give acceptable collateral to depositors in exchange for the levy they will be charged to pay.

“It appears a large majority of depositors are not happy with the proposed collateral of bank shares and would appear they would be satisfied with other bonds related to natural gas as it is the only realistic resource left after the hit our economy has taken,” he said.

UK sends plane-load of cash for troops Co-ops: everything under control on our end BRITAIN sent a military plane carrying €1 million in cash to Cyprus yesterday for its troops on the island in case cash machines and bank cards stop working, the defence ministry said.

About 3,500 British military personnel are based in Cyprus, which has been granted a 10 billion euro bailout. But a tax on its banks’ depositors as part of the deal sparked outrage and rattled financial markets.

“An RAF (Royal Air Force) flight left for Cyprus this afternoon with 1 million euros

on board as a contingency measure to provide military personnel and their families with emergency loans in the event that cash machines and debit cards stop working completely,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

“We will keep this under review and consider further shipments if required.”

British troops in Cyprus will be given the choice of having their monthly wages paid into British bank accounts rather than Cypriot ones in future, the statement added.

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CO-OP bank ATMs have been refilled and are ready to serve the public during the bank closure according to Co-op representative Constantinos Lyras.

He assured Co-op customers they would be compensated for any losses a proposed haircut of deposits would incur with high-interest stock. He called on customers to remain calm and

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not attempt to withdraw all of their money as soon as the banks re-open. “We must show trust towards our banking system,” he said.

“A plan is in place, safety measures have been taken so that Co-op ATMs will be constantly refilled so the public can withdraw as much money as is permitted by the machines,” he added. He noted that Co-op institutions would soon release high-interest shares to compensate any money lost by its members according to what will be decided in terms of a potential levy.

“Any money that will be cut from our customers will be

returned to them in the form of shares of the Co-operative Central Bank with a reasonable amount of interest, with customers given the option to redeem the cost of the shares after a specific timeframe,” Lyras said.

He added that the sooner the banks opened the better. “The more days banks remain closed the more uncertainty grows and it is my opinion that they should open as soon as possible,” he said. “I hope the correct decisions are taken because if the haircut is not approved without another plan in place then people will panic,” he concluded.

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CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

5

Home Sarris says ‘no truth’ to reports that he resigned

Last hope now appears to lie with Moscow Finance minister flies out to Russia some 24 hours before he was initially scheduled to (continued from front page) possible.Issued jointly by the government and the state hydrocarbons company, the guarantee would be activated provided depositors kept their money in Cyprus for a period of two years.

And the amount guaranteed would not add to Cyprus’ debt as it is a secondary liability, sources said.

Those electing to take the scheme would be compensated in about seven years’ time – once revenues from gas sales started coming in.

Under the latest (third) revision of the bank levy, the government would come short of raising €5.8 billion from the bank levy, as agreed with euro-zone leaders last week.

But the difference could be borrowed from the Russian Federation.

The sources said Sarris would be asking the Russians for a €2 billion loan to make up the shortfall.

It was “no coincidence” that the €2 billion is 10 per cent (like the bank tax) of the estimated €20 billion held by Russians on the island, they added.

Essentially the idea was for the Kremlin to step in and guarantee the amount taxed on Russian deposi-

EAC reprieve on government bond THE Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) decided yesterday not to redeem a threemonth government bond, in order not to place additional burdens on the cash-strapped state.

The move was intended as “a show of tangible support to the Republic in these critical times,” read a statement by the EAC’s pension fund management committee.

“At the same time,” it added, “we shall continue to maintain faith in the financial system of Cyprus, by keeping the deposits of the pension fund in Cypriot banks and cooperatives.”

In December the EAC lent the state €100 million, after desperate pleas from the state that it was facing imminent bankruptcy.

The cash came from the workers’ pension funds.

Telecommunications company CyTA had also chipped in with €100 million loan, and the ports authority pledged another €38 million.

Finance ministry officials warned at the time the government would default without the cash.

tors. A withdrawal en masse of Russian money would prove a devastating blow to the island’s financial system.

While in Moscow, Sarris would also try to push for Russian institutional investors to acquire a controlling stake in Popular Bank.

Cyprus has to make a move to salvage its second largest lender, under threat from eurozone leaders that Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) would be cut off unless it agreed to enforcing the bank levy.

THIRD REVISION International creditors made it clear they will not release a promised €10 billion loan unless Nicosia raises €5.8 billion internally, in what is referred to as a ‘bail-in’. However they have left the particulars up to the Cyprus government.

The finance minister would additionally seek to get the Russians to extend a €2.5 billion loan to ease the island’s immediate debt.

Sources told the Mail also the government might work the collateral guarantee into a third revision

of the bank levy bill, which would be amended (again) as follows: zero tax on deposits of up to €20,000; 3 per cent tax on deposits from €20,000 to €100,000; and a 9.9 per cent levy on deposits over €100,000.

The same sources said that – depending on the outcome of Sarris’ contacts in Moscow – the government could reveal the third version of the bill this morning.

Parliament’s expected rejection of the second draft of the bank levy yesterday would thus give Anastasiades the ammunition to convince international creditors there was no other way, the sources hinted.

Should Sarris’ trip bear fruit, President Anastasiades would call a meeting of party leaders before noon to get their consent.

The House Finance Committee would then convene, followed possibly by another plenary session of the House for a vote on the third version of the bill, although most likely that would take place tomorrow.

Financial institutions will remain closed today to prevent a run on the banks, but when they will re-open is anyone’s guess.

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris leaving the presidential palace grounds on Monday (AFP)

FINANCE Minister Michalis Sarris denied reports yesterday that he had resigned, as lawmakers were set to debate a divisive tax on bank deposits to secure an international bailout.

Sarris, who was in Moscow yesterday, told Reuters by text message there was “no truth” to the reports, which surfaced shortly after noon.

Daily Phileleftheros posted on its website that Sarris had offered to step down before departing for Russia.

President Anastasiades did not accept the resignation, the daily said.

Other media outlets quickly reproduced the report, but did not back up the claim.

Kathimerini said Sarris would be tendering his resignation on returning to the island.

On Monday DIKO MP Nicholas Papadopoulos called for Sarris’ removal, arguing that this would convince European leaders of Cypriot determination not to accept a haircut on bank deposits.

Sarris has come under fire from media quarters for his handling of the Eurogroup meeting last Friday, which decided that Cypriot savers must bear some of the cost of a bailout.

In Moscow, Sarris will be meeting with his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov, among others.

Travelling with Sarris are former finance minister Christos Mavrelis and Marios Hadjiyiannakis, a member of Popular Bank’s board of directors.

The state broadcaster said last night that a delegation of the Popular Bank was also in the Russian capital to discuss the lender’s fate.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

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Bank crisis worries charity

By Bejay Browne THE recent developments in the bailout crisis, and the ensuing uncertainty regarding the levy on bank deposits, has further jeopardised efforts to help poor families, volunteers said yesterday.

Paphos business-woman Pavlina Patsalou, who heads up the group of volunteers which she started with Paphos councillor George Sofokleous to help what has now grown to over 400 families, said the news of bail-in of depositors has come as a terrible shock.

Whatever would be ultimately decided, the immediate future for all Cyprus would be difficult in the coming weeks, Pataslou said.

“We are particularly concerned as to what will happen

Lacking cash due to crisis? People can now donate shopping bonus points to poor next; either way it will be a tough time for everyone. I’m fearful that we could end up with a lot more people without food and although we are trying very hard to help everyone I think it may be difficult for us to cope,” she said.

Patsalou said more people are seeking help every day, and are now even being referred to the volunteer group, ‘Solidarity Paphos’ by the welfare department.

‘Solidarity’ is reliant on donations from the public, local businesses and fund raising events.

To help alleviate the bur-

den of making cash donations from the public in such an uncertain time, a system has now been put in place where the public can donate their supermarket bonus points through an account set up at Papantonios supermarkets. Alison Fudge joined the volunteers before Christmas with the aim of raising awareness of the problem to the English-speaking community She has since set up a Facebook page, ‘ Aphrodite’s Angels Paphos- Solidarity ‘ which lists goods most needed at any given time. The page also

contains information on all of the fund-raising events which are taking place.

Fudge said: “We have now set up a Solidarity bonus card at Papantonios supermarkets.

We realise that times are hard for everyone- but if people would like to donate points to us, which are accrued during a shopping trip they can now do so.” She added: “The points will add up quickly and the charity will cash them in for vouchers to buy items for the Paphos needy families.

Together we can really make a difference.”

Other than the new points’

system, Solidarity still needs other forms of donations, specifically food and clothing.

They also need more volunteers to help sort out the donations they have received.

Solidarity is asking for food donations, which include dried goods, such as rice, pasta, pulses and tinned goods.

They also need blankets, nappies, baby food and powdered milk.

Shoppers at Papantonios supermarkets wishing to donate points should supply the telephone number -96337984when t hey get to the till.

Contact Patsalou at 99-2201-52 or Sofokleous at 99-5423-43 for further information, Drop off points and directions can be found at : www.solidaritypaphos.com, FacebookAphrodites-Angels-PaphosSolidarity-Paphos

Concerns in Cyprus blip on consciousness project WHILE much of the world’s international press is closely following the Eurogroup/Cyprus bailout process, there is a little-known project that is also keeping tabs on what is happening in recent days in Cyprus.

The Global Consciousness Project (GCP), has a network that records responses of random event generators (REGs) to events that attract mass world attention. One of the REGs is in Cyprus, based at Coral Bay, and hosted since April 2004 by the Paphosbased research organisation Psychognosia, a not-for-profit centre for the dissemination of scientifically reliable information on the paranormal and related areas.

One of the guiding models for the project is the idea of a Noosphere or layer of intelligence enveloping the earth.

The GCP is an international effort involving researchers from several institutions and countries, designed to explore whether inter-connected consciousness can be scientifically validated through objective measurement.

The GCP does not have a physical laboratory but exists in the virtual space of the internet, with REGs based all over the world. Dr Roger Nelson, a retired Princeton University researcher, directs the GCP from his home office in the US, with logistical support from the Institute of Noetic Sciences.

The project aims to demonstrate that human consciousness interacts with random event generators (REGs), apparently “caus-

ing” them to produce nonrandom patterns.

REG outputs are examined to determine if they deviate from chance expectation during events of widespread interest. The data seem to show that when people around the world all focus on the same event, the graphs spike or trough, much like a seismograph.

With the current bailout turmoil attracting worldwide attention, Psychognosia asked the GCP director to take a look at preliminary data over the past weekend.

Data from 56 “eggs” around the world were studied in an Exploratory Analysis.

Nelson cautioned that there was no precise prediction but the graph had shown powerful ups and downs that appeared to be aligned with the time slots of important Cyprus events such as when the news starts to spread widely and the Cyprus President’s TV address to the nation.

Psychognosia said: “We know that in over 35 years of GCP investigation we’ve seen a correlation between what happens to the random event generators when there is some sort of an event of world-wide interest.

It seems that the recent Cyprus event may have had an effect on the network.”

Cyprus graph: http://teilhard.global-mind.org/cyprus. bank.html Global Consciousness Project website: http://teilhard.global-mind.org Psychognosia: www.psychognosia.org

Foreign press being briefed by government spokesman Christos Stylianides yesterday

Foreign media flock to island

By Maria Gregoriou FOREIGN press have flocked to Cyprus since the weekend, both from European and non-European countries to cover the aftermath of the bailout agreed on Saturday.

Many foreign press members started to arrive in Cyprus on Saturday and Sunday.

Hotels around the city centre each have up to 50 foreign press members staying with them. Some journalists have booked hotel rooms for two days, but may extend their stay depending on developments.

“We were waiting for a decision to be made on Saturday and when we heard the news we couldn’t believe our ears. That woke us up and we had to come to Cyprus to be close to the reactions,” said Dan Ekholm from YLE – The Finnish Broadcasting Company.

“This really is a heart-breaking situation.

We want to get the Cypriot opinion and also listen to the political decisions. It is important to explain to our audience why we should consider helping with the bailout and what the terms are,” Ekholm said.

Ekholm said that a taboo had been broken. “This is the first time that the saver is directly affected. The principle of the situation is bigger than just Cyprus. We have to ask ourselves if it can happen again or is this proposed solution unique to this region,” he said.

The representatives of the YLE – The Finnish Broadcasting Company are also planning to visit Limassol to have a wider understanding of the people’s reaction.

A journalist and a cameraman from Canal Plus France were also interviewing people on Ledra Street yesterday, and filming the queues at ATM machines. Emmanuel Goubert said: “The whole of Europe is now focused on what is going on in Cyprus. This is not the first time that a European country has been in financial trouble, but it is the first time that troika has asked for such a hard measure to be taken.”

“It is crazy to think that this happened over the weekend and that the banks remain closed. We want to share people’s reactions with our audience in France because everyone is concerned about their money,” he said.

Cyprus tourism officials in Russia to reassure operators

By Peter Stevenson THE EUROGROUP decision to impose a levy on Cypriot banks has caused a slew of concerns from tourist agents in Russia and the UK according to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

A group of CTO representatives led by CTO chief Alecos Orountiotis and generalmanager Marios Hannides left for Moscow yesterday where they will participate in Russia’s Tourism Exhibition due to begin today.

They also hope to ease fears and assure Russians of the safety of Cyprus as a tourist destination.

“One of the goals of our representatives visiting Russia is to put Russian tour operators at ease with regards to the investment they have already made as many of them have invested millions of euros in Cyprus,” Hannides said. He explained that the investments came in the field of hotels, hotel restorations, advance payments and reservations.

“The current situation is causing an uncertain atmosphere because nobody knows exactly what will happen,” he said. Hannides revealed that the CTO had been bombarded with questions asking what would happen regarding the financial situation in Cyprus. “If there are cancellations then it will cause irreparable damage to our economy,” Hannides said.

“We have to give the message to Russian tourist agents and our partners that they can continue working in Cyprus without any trouble,” he added.

Orountiotis said that there had been no cancellations of either flights or hotel rooms from Russia or the UK. “Everything is continuing as it was before and I am confident that tourism will not be affected by the financial goings-on in Cyprus,” he said.

Orountiotis said that there had been no indications that tourism had been affected, and that his visit to Russia had been planned to coincide with the exhibition.

“It had been planned from before but now it is of more importance as we have many subjects to discuss apart from those that were already in our plan,” he said. “I am sure we will have to answer questions relating to what is happening and we will explain to them that tourism has not been affected in any way in Cyprus,” he added.

It is estimated that more than 550,000 Russian tourists will flock to Cyprus in 2013.

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

7

Home Fatal road accidents dip in 2012

German court rules on return of artefacts Part of 1997 Dikmen haul is to be returned to Cyprus One of the mosaics that had been stolen from a church in the north

By Peter Stevenson THE COURT of appeals in Munich ruled on Monday that part of the stolen religious artefacts found in the possession of Turkish man, Aydin Dikmen in 1997 in Munich, should be returned to Cyprus.

German police moved in on Dikmen after they received help from former Archbishop Chrysostomos I, Tasoula Hadjitofi, Cypriot police and artdealer Michel Van Rijn.

Despite the fact that the decision is positive for Cyprus, a large amount of stolen artefacts have remained with Munich Police since 1997 and it is unknown yet when or if they will ever be returned.

There were a total of 422 different artefacts found in Dikmen’s possession including mosaics, paintings, icons and manuscripts according to the catalogue given to German authorities by Byzantine expert, Athanasios Georgiou.

The artefacts came from 51 different churches in occupied Cyprus. German authorities appointed a German Byzantine expert, Johannes Deckers to study Georgiou’s

catalogue and he ascertained that at least half of the list was undoubtedly from Cyprus.

The decision by the appeal court on Monday concerned the artefacts that Deckers confirmed were Cypriot. The court said that it considered it possible to issue a partial decision which would cover those items only.

On September 23, 2010, after a 13-year judicial battle, a Munich court ruled that the Cypriot artefacts found in Dikmen’s possession should be returned to the island. In November of the same year, Dikmen appealed the court’s decision and after various time-consuming legal procedures, problems and postponements the court ruled the items should be returned.

Despite the ruling the case is not closed as other experts will need to be summoned by the court to ascertain the origin of the rest of Dikmen’s loot.

Hadjitofi expressed her satisfaction that the truth had finally come out, vindicating her long battle for the truth and the return of the Cypriot artefacts.

“The most important thing for me and all of those that

believe in the foundation ‘Walk of Truth’ is that what we have won is more important than those items that have remained in Germany,” she said.

“The decision by the German judicial system is symbolic and at the same time it will prompt every civilised person to fight for their cultural heritage,” she added. Hadjitofi concluded that ‘Walk of Truth’ would continue its fight as there were many artefacts that had been stolen from the occupied areas that were still abroad.

Hadjitofi was nominated as the Cypriot representative for the “Woman of Europe” Award organised by the International Association for the Promotion of Women of Europe (AIPFE) for her achievements in combating illicit art trafficking in Europe and beyond.

Since 1988, Hadjitofi has traced and retrieved sixty pieces of stolen artefacts of significant historical and cultural value from Cyprus. Although her work had its origins in Cyprus, the tracing and retrieval of stolen artefacts transcended national borders and took on European dimensions and beyond. Her work has required the cooperation of various

One of Denktash’s grandsons shoots himself by father’s grave

By Simon Bahceli CAN Denktash, grandson of former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, died early yesterday morning, allegedly after shooting himself in the abdomen with a single bullet at the graveside of his father in northern Nicosia.

According to police reports, the 37-year-old father of one was found seriously wounded but conscious at his father’s graveside after alerting a relative by mobile phone of his intentions to commit suicide.

“I am at my father’s grave. I am going to end my life. Don’t come,” Denktash is quoted by Turkish Cypriot media as telling his second cousin Rauf Denktash (also a grandson of the former Turkish Cypriot leader) minutes before shooting himself in the abdomen.

According to the cousin, the fatally injured Denktash pleaded with him to look after the welfare of his son before being admitted to a private hospital where surgeons battled unsuccessfully for six hours to save him.

The pistol used was allegedly registered in Denktash’s name and licensed, and highlights the high level of gun ownership among business and political figures in the north.

Speculation over Denktash’s death was at almost fever pitch yesterday, with some drawing a link between his and his father Raif’s death in 1985.

Raif Denktash was known to be a political opponent of his father Rauf. When he died in a car crash that involved a Turkish military vehicle, some claimed he had been assassinated.

A more widely-held belief is that the young Denktash faced serious financial difficulties stemming from a number of failed investments in the entertainment sector - and it is this that led him to take his own life.

Giving credence to such speculation is the fact that Aydin Denktash, his grandmother and wife of the late communal leader, last year rescued him from a jail sentence stemming from non-payment of debts.

Can Denktash was widely known among Turkish Cypriots of his generation and many are expected to attend his funeral today.

governmental authorities, Europol and Interpol as well as German, Cypriot and Greek police authorities. These concentrated efforts raised media interest which precipitated the collapse of open art trafficking.

Walk of Truth is an independent, non-profit, non-govern-

mental organisation.

It was established in recognition of the need to protect cultural heritage and to provide an independent platform for respectful, constructive dialogue between people living in conflict-ridden environments.

LAST YEAR saw a large fall in the number of fatal road accidents on the island, the second biggest fall in percentage rates in the EU according to statistics released by the European Commission.

The number of fatal accidents in Cyprus in 2012 came to 59 per million residents compared to 85 per million in 2011. That is a decrease of 28 per cent which is the second highest decrease after Malta which recorded a 48 per cent decrease. According to statistics released by the European Commission, 2012 was the year with the lowest number of fatal road deaths since records began being taken.

“These are very encouraging results although 75 people lose their lives every day on the roads in Europe so we cannot become complacent,” vice-president of the European Commission Sim Kallas said. According to Kallas the EU-wide 9 per cent decrease in deaths is equal to 3,000 saved lives.

He said results were very encouraging although the goal is to halve the number of fatal road accidents by 2020.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

8

Business

ECB wins EU watchdog role Major move marred by cloud over Cyprus

By John O’Donnell and Claire Davenport THE EUROPEAN Union agreed yesterday to let the ECB police eurozone banks, taking its first step towards a banking union just as a levy imposed on Cypriot savers showed that the bloc will struggle to respond in a united way to bank problems.

The European Parliament and member states’ representatives sealed an accord reached late last year to give the European Central Bank (ECB) powers to supervise eurozone banks from the middle of next year.

That agreement had initially been applauded as a step towards integration. But the surprise levy on Cypriot bank deposits agreed as part of the country’s bailout deal at the weekend has dented confidence that Europe will be united in tackling bank problems rather than leaving countries to struggle alone.

“The deeply distressing problems faced by Cyprus show how insufficient this step is in itself,” said Martin Schulz, the German president of the European Parliament, calling for an EU-wide scheme to close failing banks and guarantee deposits.

Under the deal, banks that have assets of 30 billion euros

Rates These Bank of Cyprus rates for telegraphic transfer transactions (spot deals) apply to yesterday, but provide a good guide to today’s value against the euro.

Buying Selling Pound St

0.8675 0.8589

US Dollar

1.3083 1.2953

Australian $

1.2708 1.2394

Canadian Dol.

1.3477 1.3145

Swiss Fr

1.2405 1.2257

Denmark Kr

7.5509 7.3645

Japan Yen

125.9110 124.4090

Norwegian Kr

7.6251 7.4369

Polish Zloty

4.2105

4.1065

Romanian Leu 4.4829 4.3071 Russian Ruble 40.4494 39.4506 Swedish Kr

8.4661 8.2571

or more than one-fifth of their country’s economic output will be overseen by the ECB rather than national supervisors. The ECB will also be allowed to intervene if it sees problems in smaller banks as well, giving it the clout to trigger the closure of struggling banks.

Although designed chiefly for the 17 countries in the eurozone, non-euro countries that sign up for ECB monitoring will be given equal rights of representation in the system. Countries that wish to stay out such as Britain will also be given protection from interference from the ECB through a special voting scheme to be used when supervisors across the entire 27-member European Union meet.

The agreement, which will later be rubber-stamped by all EU countries, will also allow the European Banking Authority to conduct and publish annual stress tests on banks, one EU official said.

“This is a fundamental step towards a real banking union which must restore confidence in the eurozone’s banks,” said Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of regulation.

The next pillar of the banking union will be the creation of a central system to close troubled banks and a fund to cover the costs, ensuring that individual countries such as Cyprus or Ireland are not left to shoulder these burdens alone. But the reluctance of Germany and other economi-

cally strong countries to underpin such a fund will make it hard to set up.

Paul De Grauwe, an economist with the London School of Economics, said that the levy to be imposed on Cypriot savers illustrated the lack of support for pooling national resources.

“This is almost a fatal blow to banking union,” he said.

“The one key element of banking union is a system to help each other out and share the cost when there is a banking crisis in one country. There is no willingness to do that.”

Nicolas Veron of the Peterson Institute for International Economics think tank in Washington said the Cypriot “default on insured deposits” undermined efforts to establish a common eurozone approach to dealing with failing banks.

“Clearly we don’t have a banking union yet, even if we will have single supervision,” he said. “Deposit guarantee is a central plank of that. I hope that lessons will be learned from this episode.”

Without a fund or backstop to tackle problem banks wherever they arise, there is little chance of breaking the “doom loop” that can drag banks and governments down together.

A separate pledge by eurozone leaders to enable the bloc’s rescue mechanism to directly recapitalize struggling banks once the ECB has taken on supervision also appears to be unraveling.

Again, eurozone paymaster Germany is worried it could

be forced to foot the bill for struggling banks across the region. Finland, the Netherlands and Germany want any banking problems that arise before the ECB takes over as supervisor to be disqualified

when it comes to applying for assistance from the European Stability Mechanism.

The new role of bank supervisor for the ECB has worried some at the central bank, who fear it will interfere in its work

as guardian of monetary policy. Such a conflict of interest would arise if the ECB were to keep interest rates low in order to help struggling banks that it is also responsible for supervising.

Island’s worries cause share-fall for second day

By Ryan Vlastelica GLOBAL stock markets fell yesterday, extending the previous day’s decline as investors continued to fret about Cyprus and the possible effect on the eurozone should the island nation default and its banking system collapse.

Markets were volatile, with US stocks gyrating between solid losses and break-even as investors used strong US housing data as an opportunity to pick up beaten down shares. The S&P 500 closed down for a third straight day, though the Dow ended in slightly positive territory.

European stocks, along with the euro and oil, had been pressured on concerns over the risk of failure for a bailout deal aimed at saving Cyprus.

The Cypriot parliament rejected plans agreed by eurozone officials over

the weekend to part-fund a 10 billion euro rescue by seizing between 6.75 per cent and 9.9 per cent of deposits in Cypriot banks. A failure for parliament to come to an agreement would put the bailout in jeopardy and raise the risk of default.

Rejection of the tax, which was a condition of a European bailout, eased worries that savers will begin withdrawing funds. At the same time, it left efforts to rescue the country - the latest casualty of the eurozone debt crisis - up in the air.

“Regardless of the vote in Cyprus, we still have the problem. No one knows: ‘What is the Cypriot financial restructuring going to look like?’” said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at the ConvergEx Group, in New York.

“This could be a flash in the pan but it is a reminder to investors that the situation in Europe is not resolved. It

could be the start of a spring correction just as we saw in 2011 and 2012,” Andrew Milligan, global head of strategy for Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh, said in a note.

The euro fell and hit a session low against the dollar, while European shares closed 0.4 per cent lower. London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 per cent and Paris’s CAC-40 fell 1.3 per cent, while Frankfurt’s DAX fell 0.8 per cent.

MSCI’s measure of global stock markets was off 0.3 per cent.

In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 3.76 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 14,455.82.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 3.76 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 1,548.34.

The plan to seize deposits in Cyprus shredded confidence in the 100,000 euro guarantee on savings offered across the European Union

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Citing Cyprus as an example, Martin Schulz, the German president of the European Parliament, called for an EU-wide scheme to close failing banks and guarantee deposits

ENTER OUR COMPETITION (living page 28)

and raised fears of bank runs in other debt-strained countries, putting safe-haven German government bonds again in demand.

The Bund future built gained steadily through the morning before solid ZEW data tempered some of the demand, leaving it up 0.5 per cent at 144.62. “We are just waiting for another headline out of Cyprus,” one trader said, adding that buying Bunds “is the only trade to have on.” With the exception of German government bonds, the knee-jerk flight to safety seen on Monday was showing signs of subsiding. The dollar rose 0.24 per cent against a basket of major currencies after Monday’s rise.

Brent crude oil remained sensitive to the jitters, however, falling 1.7 per cent to $107.61. If the situation in the eurozone deteriorates again, analysts warn it could affect the health of the global economy.

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

9

Britain British government brings state pension reform forward one year to 2016

By Sarah Mortimer UP TO 400,000 more Britons will qualify for a new higher flat-rate state pension, the government said yesterday after it announced it would introduce the reform a year earlier than expected.

The Conservative-led coalition said the simplified scheme

providing a flat-rate payment of £144 a week, would benefit low earners, the self-employed and women who have taken time out from work for childcare.

The change - one of the biggest overhauls of Britain’s pension system in decades - was expected to come into force in April 2017 but has been moved forward to April 2016, the government said.

The current system includes a basic pension, a second state pension and the ability to top up pension contributions with pension credits. This will all be merged into the universal flatrate payment.

Critics of the new scheme say Britons would have to work five years longer to qualify for a full pension - 35 rather than the cur-

rent 30 - and end up with less than they get today.

The government has sought ways to stem the soaring cost of its universal basic pension provision - which is projected to hit 8.1 per cent of economic output by 2060.

It has already said the pensionable age will rise to 67 for both sexes by 2028, from 65 for men

Warmer homes link to better health Study shows better heating doesn’t just feel comforting THAT toasty warm building in winter may not just be psychologically comforting.

According to a UK study, improving buildings to enhance “thermal comfort” with central heating or insulation, for instance - pays off in both physical and mental wellbeing.

“I think the main message is that housing improvement can improve health, especially if it’s warmth and energy improvement targeting people with respiratory illnesses,” said Hilary Thomson, the study’s lead author from the Medical Research Council in Glasgow, UK. Several studies have tied poor housing conditions to poor health, but there are some questions about the quality of evidence for that link, according to Thomson and her colleagues.

Researchers have trouble teasing apart the effects of poor housing and other factors that may play a role, such as age and poverty, Thomson and her team write in The Cochrane Library.

The most common housing conditions tied to poor health are air quality, heat and humidity conditions, radon, noise, dust, tobacco smoke, falls and fires.

To see whether improving physical conditions in homes could translate into tangible improvements in resi-

dents’ health, the researchers pooled information from 39 previously published studies on the topic.

The past research examined a number of possible housing improvements including refurbishing existing homes, relocating people to new homes and providing bathrooms.

Most of the data from these studies could not be combined into a single pool for analysis because the research designs were too different, so Thomson’s team concentrated on the results that stood out across studies.

Overall, they found that programmes that improve temperature control in the homes of people who are in poor health and in the worst quality housing lead to the greatest benefit, compared to improvements that are applied to whole areas of housing regardless of need.

For example, two studies from New Zealand targeted people who lived in homes with inadequate heating.

They added insulation to better regulate the houses’ temperature and found that the number of children and adults listed in “poor or fair health” fell by about 40 per cent, relative to a comparison group with no housing changes.

A UK study found more mixed results when it looked at heating improvements in an entire community.

Flashmob: Parliament Square stunt before Budget today

Flashmob march on parliament MORE than 400 people wearing Chancellor George Osborne masks marched to parliament in central London yesterday, campaigning for overseas development aid and against tax avoidance.

Ahead of today’s budget expected to pile on more austerity pain - the flashmob called on Osborne to keep his promise to ringfence foreign aid and to close corporate tax loopholes in Britain and in developing countries.

International aid, health and schools are the only areas the government has pledged to exempt from deep public sector spending cuts as it tries to reduce its budget deficit.

Official Development Assistance spending is on track to reach 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income from 2013 compared with 0.56 per cent in 2012, according to last year’s Autumn statement.

Orkney, Shetland eye Scotland break THE three largest island groups in Britain: Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, are pondering whether to capitalise on a period of constitutional flux by asking for more powers, including possible independence.

As Scotland heads for an independence referendum next year, the islands, which have a joint population of just under 70,000 people, are debating the benefits of their own home rule.

For us, Edinburgh is almost as far away as London and equally as remote, say supporters of a break.

The islands are looking at a host of options from a largely independent crown dependency, like the Isle of Man and the Falklands, to a home rule similar to that of the Faroe Islands, which broke away from Denmark in

1948.

Less radical options include gaining control of local fisheries and the sea bed owned by the Crown Estates in London, to help the islands profit from new windfarms and marine energy projects about to start in the region.

“Shetland and Orkney want to use this period of intense constitutional navel-gazing to decide what we want,” said Scottish lawmaker Tavish Scott. “This is the time to seize the opportunity of Island Home Rule.”

Scott, a Liberal Democrat who represents Shetland in the devolved Scottish parliament, also argued that two thirds of the North Sea and west of Shetland oil reserves are in the coastal waters of his constituency, giving the region added leverage.

and 60 for woman.

In a bid to try to force more Britons to start saving for retirement, the government has also introduced an “auto-enrolment” scheme, under which employees will be automatically enrolled into their company pension scheme or a state scheme, while having the choice of opting out.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

10

World

Alleged chemical attack kills 25 in northern Syria

By Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon SYRIA’S government and rebels accused each other of launching a deadly chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo yesterday in what would, if confirmed, be the first use of such weapons in the two-year conflict.

US President Barack Obama, who has resisted overt military intervention in Syria, has warned President Bashar al-Assad that any use of chemical weapons would be a “red line”. There has, however, been no suggestion of rebels possessing such arms.

Syria’s state television said rebels fired a rocket carrying chemical agents that killed 25 people and wounded dozens. The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, said 16 soldiers were among the dead.

No Western governments or international organisations confirmed a chemical attack in Syria, but Russia, an ally of Damascus, accused rebels of

Bombs kill ten years after Iraq invasion

carrying out such a strike.

Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faisal Meqdad, said his government would send a letter to the UN Security Council “calling on it to handle its responsibilities and clarify a limit to these crimes of terrorism and those that support it inside Syrian Arab Republic”.

He warned that the violence that had engulfed Syria was a regional threat. “This is rather a starting point from which (the danger) will spread to the entire region, if not the entire world,” he said.

The United States said it had no evidence to substantiate charges that the rebels had used chemical weapons.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said it was not in a position to confirm the reports, adding that if either side used such weapons it would be a “grave violation of international law”.

A Reuters photographer said victims he had visited in Aleppo hospitals were suffering breathing problems and that people had said they could smell chlorine after the attack.

Insurgents still plague Iraq on decade’s anniversary

By Patrick Markey and Kareem Raheem

Opposition elects Hitto as provisional premier SYRIAN opposition leaders chose Western-educated technocrat Ghassan Hitto as provisional prime minister in what they hope will be the first step to fill a power vacuum arising from a two-year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

At a meeting of the Syrian National Coalition in the Turkish city of Istanbul that stretched into the early hours of Tuesday, Hitto, who is little known in Syria, received 35 votes of around 50 cast by coalition members.

Hitto was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and opposition coalition Secretary General Mustafa Sabbagh, who has strong links with Gulf Arab states and has emerged as a kingmaker, according to sources at the meeting.

The 50-year-old said the government would operate “in liberated areas” and make restoring law and order a priority, as well as reactivating schools and government departments.

An Iraqi man walks past a destroyed car at the site of a blast in Baghdad’s impoverished Sadr City yesterday, one of a wave of attacks and explosions that killed at least 60 (AFP)

MORE than a dozen car bombs and suicide blasts tore through Shi’ite Muslim districts in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and other areas yesterday, killing nearly 60 people on the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda are regaining ground in Iraq, invigorated by the war next door in Syria and have stepped up attacks on Shi’ite targets in an attempt to provoke a wider sectarian confrontation.

One car bomb exploded in a busy Baghdad market, three detonated in the Shi’ite district of Sadr City and another near the entrance of the heavily fortified Green Zone that sent a plume of dark smoke into the air alongside the River Tigris.

A suicide bomber in a truck attacked a police base in a Shi’ite town south of the capital, and another blew himself up inside a restaurant to target a police major in the northern city of Mosul.

“I was driving my taxi and suddenly I felt my car rocked.

Smoke was all around. I saw two bodies on the ground.

People were running and shouting everywhere,” said Ali Radi, a taxi driver caught in one of the blasts in Baghdad’s Sadr City.

The Iraq war began shortly before dawn in Baghdad on Thursday, March 20, 2003, with US air strikes on the capital.

Shortly afterwards, President George W Bush, addressing Americans on television late on March 19 US time, said the

offensive was under way.

Now a decade after US and Western troops swept Saddam from power, Iraq still struggles with insurgents, sectarian friction and political feuds among Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions who share power in the government of Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

In a sign of concern over security, the cabinet yesterday postponed local elections in two provinces, Anbar and Nineveh, for up to six months because of threats to electoral workers and violence there, according to Maliki’s media adviser Ali al-Moussawi. The polls will go ahead elsewhere on April 20.

No group claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attacks, but Islamic State of Iraq, a wing of al Qaeda, has vowed to take back ground lost in its war with US troops. This year the group has carried out a string of high-profile attacks.

Violence is still below the height of the sectarian slaughter that killed tens of thousands after Sunni Islamists bombed the Shi’ite Al Askari shrine in 2006, provoking a wave of retaliation by Shi’ite militias.

After Operation Iraqi Freedom promised to liberate the Iraqi people, Iraq has struggled with a decade that drove the country into sectarian mayhem which killed tens of thousands and the turmoil of a young democracy emerging out of dictatorship.

The political turmoil has only worsened since American troops left Iraq in December 2011, removing the symbolic buffer of US military power and weakening Washington’s influence.

Libya to destroy gas stockpiles Israelis warming to Obama visit LIBYA is expected to restart destroying its ageing stockpiles of mustard gas next month after a break of more than two years, the global chemical weapons watchdog said yesterday.

Destruction of the stockpile at facilities in Ruwagha, about 700km from the capital Tripoli, was suspended in early 2011 due to technical problems and was further delayed by the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi later the same year.

Securing Gaddafi-era weapons stockpiles has been seen as a major challenge for Libya’s new rulers as they struggle to bring law and order after the conflict. Last year, there was an estimated 13 tonnes of sul-

phur mustard gas at the site.

“Now the equipment is repaired,” Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said.

“We expect that the destruction... will resume some time in April under the verification of our inspectors,” he told a seminar of the Vienna Centre for Disarmament and NonProliferation.

The 15-year-old OPCW enforces the Chemical Weapons Convention which has been joined by 188 countries, including Libya. It says almost 80 per cent of the world’s global stocks of chemical weapons have been eliminated.

ISRAELIS are warming up to Barack Obama, but only slightly, according to a new opinion poll published on the eve of the US president’s visit to Israel.

Obama arrives in the Jewish state today for the first time as president, hoping to reassure a wary Israeli public of his oft-stated commitment to its security in the face of fears that arch-enemy Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons.

The survey, conducted last week by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, found 36.5 per cent of Jews in Israel view Obama as friendly toward their country compared with 29 per cent a year ago.

A majority of the Jewish public - 51 per cent - sees the president’s attitude toward Israel as neutral, while 10.5 per cent regard him as hostile.

However, Israel’s Arab minority, which comprises 20 per cent of the population, regards Obama as staunchly proIsrael. During Obama’s tenure, Israeli Arabs’ Palestinian kin have seen Jewish settlements expand steadily in occupied territory and negotiations on a Palestinian state there frozen indefinitely.

Israeli Arab leaders have long seen Washington as taking Israel’s side in its conflict with the Palestinians.

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

11

World WORLD TODAY Nevada military blast kills 7 AN explosion at a US Army munitions depot in western Nevada killed seven Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and injured seven more during a training exercise, US military officials said yesterday.

Army and Marine officials said the cause of the Monday night blast was under investigation, but a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said initial reports from the scene indicated that a 60mm mortar round exploded in the tube of a mortar firing point.

The official said three Marines were killed instantly.

Hawthorne Army Depot is a 147,000-acre site used for the storage and destruction of demilitarised ammunition. It was first established as a naval staging area for bombs, rockets and ammunition, and was used by the US Navy during most of World War Two. The facility was transferred to the Army in 1977.

Elephants killed POACHERS killed at least 86 elephants in Chad last week, including 33 pregnant females and 15 calves, conservation groups said yesterday, warning that elephants in Central Africa risked being wiped out by such slaughters.

The killing was the worst in the region since more than 300 elephants were slaughtered in Cameroon early last year. Both raids took place during the dry season when poachers armed with automatic weapons launch coordinated attacks on herds of elephants in the region.

Conservationists warn that organised criminal gangs are illegally trafficking huge quantities of tusks to cash in on soaring demand for ivory in Asia.

Pearl arrest PAKISTAN has arrested a former militant leader in connection with the 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, security officials said.

Qari Abdul Hai, once a leader of the outlawed Sunni militant group Lashkare-Jhangvi, was arrested on Sunday during a security crackdown in Pakistan’s biggest city, Karachi.

Pearl, an American, was kidnapped in Karachi while researching a story on Islamist militants in the months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the al Qaeda militant who claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks, said he beheaded Pearl after his abduction.

It was not clear what role Hai is suspected of playing.

The faithful: priests walk in the middle of crowds to give the holy communion during Pope Francis’ grandiose inauguration mass (left) Pope Francis waves during the mass (centre) and cardinals take their places for it (AFP)

Pope of the people sets the tone for a humbler papacy Inauguration mass ceremony simplified, shortened to match Francis’ style

By Philip Pullella and Catherine Hornby POPE Francis set the tone for a new, humbler papacy at his inaugural Mass yesterday where he called for the Church to defend the weak and protect the environment.

Addressing up to 200,000 people including many foreign leaders gathered under bright sunshine in St Peter’s Square, the Argentine pope underlined his central message since he was elected by a secret conclave of cardinals last Wednesday - that the Church’s mission was to defend the poor and disadvantaged.

The Mass, formally installing Francis as head of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, was much simpler and an hour shorter than the baroque splendour of his predecessor Benedict’s inauguration in 2005.

Although he is as conservative doctrinely as Benedict, Francis’ simpler style and emphasis on the poor marked a sea change from

his predecessor that has been widely welcomed by Catholics.

The first Jesuit pope inherits a Church mired in scandals over priests’ sexual abuse of children and the leak of confidential documents alleging corruption and rivalry between cardinals inside the Church government or Curia.

He has also been accused by some critics in Argentina of not doing enough to oppose human rights abuses under a military government during the 1976-1983 “dirty war” when some 30,000 leftists were kidnapped and killed. The Vatican has denied the accusations.

In his homily, delivered on the steps of the giant St Peter’s Basilica, Francis said the Church’s mission “means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

“It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think

about.”

The message chimed with the teachings of the 13th century St Francis of Assisi, from whom the pope took his name and who is a symbol of poverty, simplicity, charity and love of nature.

Francis said that whenever human beings failed to care for the environment and each other, “The way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically in every period of history there are ‘Herods’ who plot death, wreak havoc and mar the countenance of men and women.”

Before the Mass, the pope toured St Peter’s Square in an open white jeep, abandoning the bullet-proof popemobile often used by Benedict.

He stopped frequently to greet those in the huge, flagwaving crowd, kissing babies and getting out to bless a disabled man.

“He is a simple, humble person, he is not like the untouchable popes, he seems like someone normal people can reach out to,” said Argentine electrician

Cirigliano Valetin, 51, who works in southern Italy.

For the Mass he wore plain white vestments, trimmed with gold and brown, and black lace-up shoes, in contrast to the stylish red loafers that Benedict wore.

The ceremony was shortened to two hours after a three-hour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy.

“We have gone from the rigid theology professor to a teacher of Christian simplicity,” said Italian church historian Alberto Melloni, referring to the contrast between the warm, common touch of Francis and Benedict’s stiff, intellectual manner.

Before the Mass, Francis collected his newly minted gold ring and pallium, a liturgical woollen band worn around the neck, that had been placed overnight on the tomb of St Peter under the basilica’s altar.

Hundreds of priests, sheltering from the sun under umbrellas in the Vatican’s white and yellow colours, distributed communion to the crowd while Fran-

cis watched from a raised throne behind the altar.

Francis greeted foreign delegations inside the basilica after the Mass. They included Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who has been under a European Union travel ban since 2002 because of allegations of vote rigging and human rights abuses. He was able to travel to the Vatican because it is a separate territory, outside the EU. The pope also met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians has attended a Roman pope’s inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.

Before the Mass, Latin America’s first pope made a surprise phone call to thousands of his Catholic compatriots, listening at loudspeakers in the Plaza de Mayo square in Buenos Aires where they had gathered hours before dawn to watch the celebrations on large television screens.

Pilgrims hope Francis can revive Church with simple values

By Catherine Hornby

Pope Francis waves as he arrives in St Peter’s square

PILGRIMS who flocked to Rome for the inaugural Mass of Pope Francis yesterday had high hopes he can reform and revive the Catholic Church, bring it closer to ordinary people and focus attention on helping the poor.

“Ideas are changing under Francis.

The powerful have to finally understand they can’t destroy the world for money,” said Francisca Fernandes, a psychologist who travelled to Rome from Argentina for the inauguration.

People watched and cheered as Francis toured St Peter’s Square in an open white jeep, frequently stopping to greet the crowds and kiss babies. Many of them said they were struck by the new pope’s openness and accessibility.

“He has a very special presence, his smile and attitude. I feel close

to him,” said Veronique Blaise, a 40-year-old purchasing manager from Paris. “We need someone sincere and simple like him to bring back traditional values.”

Up to 200,000 people waving flags and banners crammed into the square to hear a homily in which Francis appealed for the protection of the environment and the defence of the weakest in society.

“He touched me the most when he was talking about the poor, the sick and the aged - he has the world at heart,” said Rev. Emmanuel Korsah, a priest from Ghana studying Church law at a Catholic university in Rome.

“There will be a lot of challenges, but he means to face them, in the name of St Francis and with the lifestyle of simplicity he wants to live,” he said.

Others noted that the Jesuit pope’s humble style was a clear break with

the past.

“The new pope seems different.

He is closer to young people,” said Michele Del Grosso, a 17-year-old student who travelled overnight from Olevano sul Tusciano in southern Italy to take part in the Mass.

“His approach is almost revolutionary,” said 42-year-old sports writer Marco Da Milano. “His words are very interesting and also easy to understand.”

The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has tried his best so far to flout Vatican pomp, stressing his role as bishop of Rome and frequently reaching out to greet well-wishers, to the obvious discomfort of his security detail.

“I hope he can reform the establishment. Because he is an outsider, he can clean up a bit, said Franz Schoen, a 70-year-old from Lucerne, Switzerland. “There’s a lot to do. I hope he has enough time to do it.”

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

12

World

Global study shows Britons are watching TV in the toilet

By Katie Hodge NEARLY one in five people in Britain uses a smartphone to watch television in the toilet, a report has revealed.

The study also found Britons spend more than one day a week enjoying programmes and movies.

They factor around 24.3 hours of viewing into their weekly routines, increasingly watching programmes

on the go, the study showed.

It found 16 per cent of consumers use their smartphones in the bathroom and 10 per cent of people watch shows on a tablet in the toilet.

The study of global viewing habits across 17 countries showed the average viewer watches 19 hours of television and six hours of film content a week.

These figures are highest in the US - where consumers spend

around 29 hours watching programmes and movies - and lowest in Sweden and Japan, with around 17 hours on average.

Further findings suggest almost a third (29 per cent) of weekly TV viewing is recorded content.

However, almost a third of recorded content is never watched.

Live viewing still dominates, particularly when it comes to news programmes, the study showed.

Some 73 per cent of people watch

shows as they air, the report found.

The study also pointed towards a shift in household viewing habits.

It found more consumers watch content on their smartphones or tablets than on a television in their bedrooms.

Meanwhile 79 per cent of consumers are frustrated with a lack of storage space on their devices.

John Burke, of Motorola Mobility which conducted the study,

said: “This year’s study shows us that consumers take their viewing experiences very seriously.

“They want to be firmly in control of the way they experience their videos, but they’re frustrated. Increasingly, they’re using tablets and smartphones to view their content, and they expect this experience to transition seamlessly across their favourite programmes, whenever and wherever they like.”

Study sees sugary soft drinks deaths

By John von Radowitz SUGARY soft drinks could be causing almost 200,000 deaths a year worldwide, a study has found.

Researchers used data from a major investigation of global disease to calculate the death toll associated with consumption of sodas and other sweetened drinks.

They linked the drinks to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 from heart disease and 6,000 from cancer.

The vast majority, 78 per cent, of the deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries rather than rich countries.

Although a causal link cannot be proved, sugar-sweetened drinks are known to contribute to excess body weight which in turn increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

The scientists based their findings on information collected as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases study.

Of nine world regions, Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest number of diabetes deaths linked to soft drinks.

East and central Russia had the largest number of heart disease deaths.

Mexico, which has one of the highest levels of sugary drink consumption in the world, had the greatest overall death rate.

In Mexico, 318 deaths per million adults each year were associated with sugarsweetened drink consumption.

Japan, whose population is among those consuming the least sugary drinks, had the lowest death rate - just 10 per million adults.

“Because we were focused on deaths due to chronic disease, our study focused on adults,” said lead researcher Dr Gitanjali Singh, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, US. “Future research should assess the amount of sugary beverage consumption in children across the world and how this affects their current and future health.”

Children displaced after cyclone Haruna lashed the Indian Ocean island three weeks ago get water in the Tulear military camp. The displaced are housed in tents and complain about lack of food and medicine (AFP)

Guatemalan trial of Nasa rover finds more signs of water on Mars ex-dictator begins MORE signs of past water on Mars have been uncovered by the American space agency Nasa’s Curiosity rover.

Powder drilled from a Martian rock last week revealed evidence of drinkable water and conditions favourable to life.

Now instruments on the rover have found more waterbearing minerals in the area around the rock.

Curiosity is exploring a region within Gale Crater, near the Martian equator, called Yellowknife Bay. Scientists believe that billions of years ago water poured down the rim of the crater and formed streams that might have been up to three feet deep.

The new discoveries were made using the infrared imaging capability of Curiosity’s mast camera, and an instrument that shoots neutron particles into the ground to probe for hydrogen.

Differences in brightness between near-infrared wavelengths of light can indicate the presence of some hydrated minerals that have been altered by water.

Yellowknife Bay contained more water than other areas previously visited by Curiosity, the results showed.

EU crime gangs find new ways to make money in bad times EUROPE’S economic crisis has made criminal gangs move into new kinds of illegal activities ranging from the counterfeiting of food and medicine to illicit waste trafficking and fraud in the energy markets, Europol said yesterday.

Economic crimes including fraud and corruption cost European governments, companies and individuals billions of euros in lost taxes and revenues a year and hamper the region’s economic recovery, the European crime-fighting

agency said in a new report on serious and organised crime.

An estimated 3,600 organised crime groups are active in the EU, it said, operating mainly in traditional areas such as international drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking and money laundering.

“Many organised crime groups are flexible in their illicit business activities and capable of quickly identifying new opportunities that have arisen during the current economic crisis,” Europol said.

Rios Montt faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity

By Mike McDonald THE trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity opened yesterday, the first time a country has prosecuted an ex-head of state in a national court on such charges.

For decades, Rios Montt was not prosecuted for alleged atrocities committed during his 1982-1983 rule in a particularly bloody phase of the country’s long civil war, protected as a congressman by a law that grants immunity to public officials.

Rios Montt, who left Congress in 2012, was ordered to stand trial in January when a judge found sufficient evidence linking him to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in a counterinsurgency plan executed under his command.

“It’s historic,” Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz said ahead of the trial. “We cannot leave thousands of deaths unpunished. We must deliver justice to the victims.”

A court charged the former

Keeping quiet: Rios Montt ruler in January 2012 for the war crimes, but his defence team had until now stalled the process with a series of appeals, arguing he did not control battlefield operations and that there was no genocide in Guatemala.

Prosecutors allege Rios Montt turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson against leftist insurgents and targeted indigenous people during a “scorched earth” military offensive that killed at least 1,771 members of the Ixil group.

Rios Montt had few words as he entered the courtroom.

“Whatever I say or don’t say will be used against me,” he told reporters. “I have to keep quiet. I am staying quiet.”

In opening statements, prosecutors argued that Rios Montt’s government put indigenous people in concentration camps while employing rape and torture as a means of terrifying the population.

A lawyer for Rios Montt said the defence will disprove the prosecution’s arguments.

“We will demonstrate and you all will confirm that there was never a genocide in Guatemala. General Rios Montt is not guilty. He did not participate in the crimes that have been attributed to him,” lawyer Francisco Garcia said.

Roughly 200,000 civilians, most of them of Mayan descent, were killed during the 1960-1996 conflict as a string of right-wing governments attempted to rid Guatemala of leftist guerilla fighters suspected of being in league with communists.

A United Nations-backed

truth commission report released after the 1996 peace accords found that the army and paramilitary groups were responsible for more than 90 per cent of the hundreds of massacres carried out during the war.

“This is the first time, anywhere in the world, that a former head of State is being put on trial for genocide by a national tribunal,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement.

Victims and human rights advocates applauded the start of the trial into Rios Montt’s 17-month rule.

Born in Huehuetenango, a province in Guatemala’s rural western highlands dotted with indigenous communities, Rios Montt took power in March 1982 when he led a military coup that toppled President Angel Guevara.

Often sporting thick glasses and a gray mustache, Rios Montt has been under house arrest for more than a year.

The right-wing party that he founded changed its name this year to distance itself from its past.

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

13

Opinion

Did deputies’ heroic negativity contemplate the consequences?

IN THE END, the twice-postponed debate on the bills for the levy on bank deposits was finally held yesterday evening and the House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected it. Not even President Anastasiades’ party, DISY, supported it, its 19 deputies abstaining. The defeat of the bills was expected as all the political parties, apart from DISY had taken a stand against the idea of the haircut on deposits.

It was immaterial that the government had yesterday morning presented a revised bill that left deposits under €20,000 untouched.

No matter how the levy was raised, the political parties would have voted against it because they are opposed to it on principle as it would destroy the Cyprus economic model as a provider of financial services to foreign businesses. Any levy on bank deposits would drive away foreign businesses, spark an exodus of Russian capital from Cypriot banks and drastically contract the economy.

While this was a correct evaluation, as were the repeated references to the lack of EU solidarity and the harshness of the measure, we heard nothing about how the party leaders proposed to proceed. Fiery and defiant speeches are all very good when they are about the Cyprus problem and there is always the status quo to fall back on. But in the case of a bankrupt economy desperate for financial assistance, heroic negativity carries a very high cost that deputies would have done well to contemplate.

Nobody told us what happens now? Will the banks be kept closed for another week until our political parties realise the alternative to a haircut is total collapse of the economy and the impoverishment of everyone? Perhaps they would prefer to leave the euro and return to the Cyprus pound, as TV economists have been demanding, rather than suffer the ‘indignity’ of a deposits haircut.

Without a bailout the haircut of deposits would be much greater – in the region of 60 to 70 per cent - than what had been agreed by the Eurogroup because the two largest banks would be bankrupt and probably take with them the smaller banks as well.

A return to the Cyprus pound would be followed by a devaluation and super-inflation destroying living standards and causing widespread poverty. As for the Russian bank deposits, which deputies thought they were protecting by voting against the bill, these would be wiped out in a banking collapse - a certainty if there is no bailout. Did deputies ask Russian businessmen if they would prefer a 10 per cent or 60 per cent haircut of their bank deposits?

The truth is that with or without a deposits’ haircut Cyprus is finished as an international business centre. We could salvage something from the economic ruins left behind by the Christofias government by agreeing to the Eurogroup bailout because the consequences of its rejection are too frightening to think about.

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There are far too many ill-qualified men in suits A

NASTASSIADES is no King John, and his finance minister, no Robin Hood.

Between them they held a gun to savers’ heads and said, ‘We are going to rob you. Yes, we will rob you, rob you!’ And some savers said, ‘Touch our money and we’ll crush your fingers, cap your knees and close down all banks indefinitely.’

If there’s one thing artful Cypriots hate more than being robbed

by Brussels it is being robbed by our own. We don’t mind robbing foreigners, but when it comes to this fifteen-day wonder government, attempting to spread the losses of our banks, SGO’s and inefficient civil service evenly across the board of depositors, then listen and watch out for the dirge of old Cypriot ladies followed by the violent resistance of EOKA’s grandchildren.

Don’t forget who we are and what we are capable of! If you must rob anybody, line those many thieves and tax-evaders up against a wall and investigate their on/offshore bank accounts and dispossess them. Find those ‘insider traders’ who withdrew their cash ahead of Friday’s catastrophic news. Expropriate the property of bankrupt developers.

Issue title deeds. Imprison and dispossess bankers responsible for the banking collapse and systemic disease it has caused.

Or at the very least explain to the people why we are the only nation of five seeking a bailout that has been ordered to steal funds from depositors.

Why Mr President did you not call Schäuble’s bluff? Why did you go to Brussels if not to accept their demands without dispute? Why have you blackmailed us with phrases like, ‘If we don’t sign we will be bankrupted anyway?’ Tosh, Mr President, absolute tosh! You have no God given right to carry out troika demands in the first place. The Republic of Cyprus is a democracy.

We may be a small and insignificant member of the European (Dis) Union, but we refuse to be stepped on and walked over by this ‘Bruno Ganz in his last days’ of a German finance minister, Herr Wolfie Schäuble. How dare he accuse us and only us of money laundering! How dare he

Comment Hermes Solomon endanger the entire eurozone with this madness of stealing from depositors? How dare he make Cyprus debt a German election issue?

Cyprus went down the drain after being forced to buy worthless Greek bonds, and the Greeks, as expected, have refused to come to our aid. And do remember those of you who elected Anastasiades on promises he has already failed to keep, waved Greek, not Cypriot flags on victory day.

Mr President, don’t you understand that we must fight for our EU rights? Don’t you know that robbing savers is illegal no matter how you word it? Don’t you even know that you are betraying those very same people who put you where you are today – in the sh**t, big time!

Such is my disgust for the former president’s handling of troika bailout talks, I refuse to mention his or political party’s name. Suffice it to say that you, Mr Anastasiades were elected on a ‘save Cyprus ticket’ and have, in just 15 days, lost the trust of every Cypriot in the country.

How can we believe whatever you say ever again?

On Sunday night you said that this would be the only memorandum if we signed it. I don’t believe you. You are simply playing for time and then more bad news and excuses will follow; more guns held to our heads.

The next memorandum will include privatisation of SGO’s, a radical reduction in the number of civil servants, closure of at least half of the country’s banks, the end of our financial services industry, a huge increase in taxes probably followed by exit from the eurozone and a worthless Cyprus pound.

But then again, tell me, which government. can avoid complete collapse of their currency if they start robbing savers? Who will use banks; trust banks, trust governments, trust the mandarins in Brussels? Who?

German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble This now green and emerald isle has ignited the fuse paper of a bomb that might cause the destruction of the world’s monetary system as we know it – lend, lend, print-print, lend! Yours, Mr President, is a dance with wolves like Wolfie that might bring down the entire capitalist system. The markets are panicking. Savers in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland might cause a run on world banks, not just their own.

This man, Wolfie is insane – no not you Nicos, you are simply vain. But Wolfie has to be watched and his accusations and irrational demands must be kept under stricter control.

UK debt is now standing at 2 trillion. Uncle Sam at 17 trillion and Cyprus needs a mere 17.5 billion. Come on, who are we trying to kid? We aren’t even a speck of dust beside these giants. And just what do you expect to happen to the eurozone, European Central Bank and world trade when these two giants crumble, which they will, eventually?

Look for a better job Christine Lagarde! Many of my compatriots are either out of work or moonlighting to survive while you grow taller on fine words and crush the small with impunity. There must be alternatives.

Three months ago we were told that an agreement with the

troika was ready for signing and today we are being blackmailed not only by Wolfie, but our president and his pallid finance minister. This is extortion!

We need fighting men/women up front, not losers. We need serious negotiators not jokers.

We need true patriots to unite and fight for our rights as an equal member state of the EU. Artfulness no longer suffices. I nominate for one, MEP, Antigoni Papadopoulou of DIKO as a true fighter – Nicos Papadopoulos as another…

There are far too many ill qualified men in suits on top salaries, perks and pensions and far too few competent workers with their sleeves rolled up in overalls. Time for drastic change or they’ll continue to rob you, rob you!

But if they get it wrong again we will, we will rock them from the ivory towers and make them accountable…

Any vote of confidence by MP’s on acceptance of troika demands is meaningless. The vote cannot be trusted to save us.

Gazprom, here we come! Sarris must keep his arse in Moscow until he gets what we need followed by him being rewarded with what he likes – beluga caviar! Who is bluffing who, Herr Schäuble??

LETTER to the Editor Tough and unpopular decisions need to be made THE eurozone’s bailout of Cyprus has left many Cypriots shocked. And so it should.

The deal is unjust in its current form. Certainly, negotiating a German bailout of wealthy Russian funds was always going to be a tricky affair. But the terms that have come out are socially unacceptable.

Firstly, to bail in depositors under the insurance threshold of €100,000 is a breach of an explicit guarantee that deposits will be safe, even if a bank folds. Despite leaders claiming that Cyprus is a unique situation, capital flight in the peripheral countries such as Portugal and Spain will increase also. Taxing depositors under €100,000 is self-defeating and will likely worsen the eurozone crisis over time.

Secondly, it is morally unconscionable

that Cypriots with a few thousand or even a few hundred euros in deposits will have to pay from their life savings. To add salt to the wound, Cypriot branches in Greece are unaffected and the small amount of bank bond holders out there have been left untouched in this mess.

Common sense dictates that at least equity and bond holders should be wiped out first. Then the depositor tax ought to be imposed only on deposits over a certain amount. Taxing small depositors in a country which is in a state of economic crisis and high unemployment is not very fair. Further, it wouldn’t play a very big role in raising money anyway.

Bank deposits are the only large asset that the Cypriot government can use. It must

find a more equitable way to use it for the sake of its people. The government must find a way to at least exclude the very small depositors from paying any levy at all and offer something more than just worthless bank shares to compensate larger depositors that get hit with a tax.

Certainly there’s a lot of blame to go around and Nicos Anastasiades is stuck somewhere between a rock and a hard place right now. Given the mess he inherited from Demetris Christofias, Nicos must make some very tough and unpopular decisions which will impact the country for many years to come.

Rui Zhi Dong, Investment Consultant, Limassol

14

Wednesday, Wednesda d y, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Showbiz

Bowie storms to the top of British album charts DAVID Bowie returned to the top of the British album charts on Sunday for the first time in 20 years with a collection of new recordings acclaimed by one critic as the “greatest comeback in rock’n’roll history”.

The Next Day, recorded in secret over two years, shot straight to number one in its first week on release, shifting over 94,000 copies to become the fastest-selling album of 2013, the Official Charts Company said.

Bowie surprised fans and the music industry in January with the

unexpected release of the single “Where Are We Now?” on his 66th birthday and the announcement that an album of fresh recordings would be issued in March.

He had shunned the limelight since suffering a heart attack on tour in 2004 and last performed on stage in 2006.

Produced by his long-time collaborator Tony Visconti, The Next Day is Bowie’s first new work since Reality a decade ago, and his first chart-topping success since 1983’s Black Tie White Noise.

Critics have showered praise on the album, which topped digital iTunes charts in 40 countries in the days after its release on March 8, according to Bowie’s official website.

“David Bowie’s The Next Day may be the greatest comeback album ever,” said The Independent’s Andy Gill in a five-star review.

The question will now be how the recording fares in the United States, where Bowie has never had a number one album.

American sales data from Billboard will show today whether

wie has outsold What Bowie out Now, a rival new reAbout se from US rockers Bon lease vi, beaten into second Jovi, ace in the British place arts. charts. so new in Also e week’s the bum rankalbum gs were ings itish British nth-pop synth-pop o Hurts duo at number ne with nine ile.

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Smith hails ‘epic’ Doctor Who year Denial: Michael Jordan

Basketball star escapes paternity suit AN Atlanta woman who says basketball legend Michael Jordan is the father of her 16year-old son has dropped her paternity suit against him.

Pamela Smith, 48, filed a paternity suit against Jordan last month seeking child support. Jordan denies he is the father of the child and has also filed a counterclaim seeking sanctions against Smith for making false claims.

Smith acknowledged in a previous divorce proceeding that her now ex-husband is the father of the child, according to Jordan’s lawyers.

The case has not been settled, Smith’s attorney, Randy Kessler, told Reuters on Monday. His client has voluntarily dismissed the case “without prejudice” which means she can re-file it later if she chooses, Kessler added.

“She began this case without an attorney and did her best to file what she believed to be a legally appropriate case,” Kessler said.

“She then hired our firm just before the first court appearance. Ms. Smith has relied on our advice and determined that dismissal at this time, without prejudice, is in her son’s best interests,” he said.

In a statement, Estee Portnoy, Michael Jordan’s spokeswoman, confirmed that the suit has been dropped and said, “There has been no settlement or money paid to Ms. Smith.”

Jordan, 50, is widely hailed as the best basketball player of all time and was a member of six NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls. He is majority owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats team.

John Mayoue, Jordan’s attorney, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on the case.

Last week, Smith asked a Georgia court to force Jordan to submit to a DNA test to prove or disprove whether he is the father.

Doctor’s biggest secret is revealed in 50th anniversary series

By Jennifer Cockerell ACTOR Matt Smith has said Doctor Who fans can look forward to it being the “biggest, best, most inventive and most exciting year for the show” as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The first episode of the new series hits television screens next month and sees the timelord defy gravity by roaring up the side of the Shard building on a motorbike.

A special 3D anniversary show will also be broadcast in November but Smith and co-star JennaLouise Coleman, who plays his latest assistant, are remaining tight-lipped about what viewers can expect.

Smith said he clapped when he read the script.

“It sort of does what it says on the tin, you won’t be disappointed,” he said.

“I think it’s hilarious, I think it’s epic and I think it’s fast and I’m telling you nothing more but you will not be disappointed.

“I think it’s going to be the biggest, best, most inventive and most exciting year for the show and I think this script delivers on all those points that you want it to for where the show is at this time, it’s brilliant.”

Coleman said: “It pays homage to the last 50 years of the show and kind of really celebrates that, but at the same time as looking forward.”

The pair were speaking at a special screening of the first episode of series eight in London.

The Bells of St John is described as a modern day urban thriller and sees

the duo battling a new adversary, the Spoonheads, against a backdrop of London landmarks including Westminster Bridge and the Shard as they discover something sinister lurking in the Wi-Fi. Smith said: “It’s sort of Doctor Who meets the Bourne Identity with motorcycles. We’ve got Celia Imrie being saucy and sexy, we have got aliens in your Wi-Fi, Westminster, the Shard, London - present day, with the Tardis in the middle of it.”

He said he thought Coleman had made a “brilliant” start in her role as Clara Oswald.

“She’s inventive, she works tirelessly hard. And I’m really proud of what she’s achieved,” he added.

“After the Ponds I think the doctor was a little blue, and I think she’s reignited his curiosity in the universe and her impossibility has sort of awakened his mind and his soul and I think that’s something that we’ll see grow and evolve as the series continues.”

Former Emmerdale star Coleman said she had had a “wonderful” time on the show so far.

She added: “It’s such a unique job. I can honestly say there really is no job like Doctor Who. You can be a big kid at work and run down the corridors being chased by monsters and the scripts are just absolutely fantastic.”

Speaking of Smith, she said: “He’s just an absolute genuine joy, he’s been absolutely so supportive and totally and utterly there for me and he’s a really good friend.”

Executive producer and

Bowie has yet to achieve a number one spot in the US album charts

Forget the Oscar, Adele just wants a driving licence ADELE is planning to finally take her driving test.

The Skyfall hitmaker reportedly put off taking her motoring exam due to the phenomenal success of her album 21 in 2011, but the singer is eager to earn her driver’s licence so she can drive her five-monthold son Angelo - her child with fiancé Simon Konecki - around.

A source told The Sun newspaper: “She’s never taken a test because of her busy schedule over the past few years. Now she’s back in the country she wants to use her downtime to finally pass her test.

“She may have various awards to her name but all she wants is her driving test certificate. There will be no sports cars though - she is eyeing up a more familyfriendly car so she can carry the whole clan.”

The 24-year-old singer rented Sir Paul McCartney’s Los Angeles home during her stay in Hollywood to prepare for the Oscars last month and she became so enamoured with the city she is reportedly considering a permanent move there to raise Angelo.

A source recently said: “Adele can see the benefits of bringing up a child in the US. They can be outside, enjoying the weather and loving life out of the spotlight.

“Los Angeles is a great place for children to grow up and she intends on working a lot more with a new album. She could afford to put a studio in her house. That way she could beaver away on new music without having to worry.”

Adele owns homes in London and Brighton, southeast England, and currently divides her time between the two properties.

The timelord gets to defy gravity in new series lead writer Steven Moffat said the new series would see Doctor Who’s biggest secret revealed.

“We’re not kidding, we are actually going to do it, we’re going to reveal his biggest secret,” he said.

Starmaker Simon Cowell is seeking fresh talent on YouTube TALENT show guru Simon Cowell is taking his popular television formula to find new stars seeking fast fame to YouTube, joining a growing trend of companies using the internet to bypass traditional broadcasters.

Cowell, the mastermind behind global TV franchises The X Factor and Got Talent, unveiled plans on Monday for the

first global audition channel, called The You Generation, that will be launched in 26 countries on March 20.

Syco Entertainment, Cowell’s joint venture with Sony Music, said it had teamed up with YouTube to run 26 fortnightly contests over the next year to give people the chance to upload audition videos showing their skills

and win a cash prize.

“Our mission is to discover the world’s next big YouTube stars and showcase their amazing and unique talents on The You Generation channel,” they said.

YouTube, the video-sharing website set up in 2005, has become a new way to uncover talent, notably launching the career of teen pop star Justin Bieber.

Adele: learning to drive

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

15

Education Girls ‘face Olympic champion Ennis wants more teenagers to take exercise pressure’ on Strength and beauty: Jessica Ennis powers way to gold in body image her the heptathlon at the YOUNG women are under increasing pressure to live up to the ideals of boys who want their girlfriends to look like porn stars, it has been suggested.

Girls are attempting to copy ever-more extreme body images, with some even ranking each other on how they look each day, according to Helen Porter, a member of Britain’s Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

She said it is “deplorable” that teenagers desire unattainable body types, and suggested that they need to be taught that for most people, this is not achievable.

“In the last five years there’s been an increase in girls becoming increasingly concerned at body image, comparing themselves to celebrities and unrealistic ideals portrayed by the media,” she said.

“The desirable body image has become more extreme, they are all trying to have a narrow waist, long, slim legs and big boobs. That’s the desirable thing.”

She warned that young people do not realise that these types of extreme body images are only achievable by a small proportion of the population.

Don’t let getting sweaty stop you, Jessica tells girls

London Olympics.

Inset: at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards last year

By Anna Davis THE ability to get out of breath and work up a sweat could almostt be a quallete. Howification for an aspiring athlete. ete Jessica ever, Olympic gold heptathlete oid taking Ennis fears too many girls avoid part in sport because they don’t like getting hot and sweaty.

Ennis said she feels a responpondel sibility to act as a role model for young women who are not rds keen on exercise. At an awards nal ceremony for inspirational he students and teachers, she revealed sport helped her to beat shyness.

She said: “When you get to ng 13 or 14 sport is not the thing re girls want to do, there are ls other things happening. Girls in my year didn’t want to gett phot and sweaty. It didn’t ape peal to them. It is still the g case now but it is changing more and more.” o Having a mentor is key to s, changing girls’ attitudes,

and she wants to help raise the profile of female sport, she said. startin sport at the age of 10 it “After starting a changed me and made me who I am. I was quite shy at school and sport gave con dence. I mixed with difme more confi peop and was put in differferent people situatio ent situations - you have to travel a t bit around the country.

“Things like that made me more focused and more determined g and gave me structure in what di I did... it carried through int my whole life. There into n needs to be more sport in s schools. I would like more time dedicated to it at school.”

Ennis has warned before th that budding sportswomen can be put off by the fear of beco becoming too muscular and lookin looking different from their friends. “I’m always saying to them that strong s can look good,” she said.

She believ believes the London 2012 Olympics have hav inspired more children to take up sport.

schoolsreport French-Cypriot School joins Inspirational theatre trip to the Aglandjia carnival parade London for AISC students CHILDREN and parents from the French-Cypriot School in Nicosia took part in the Aglandjia Carnival, which is fast becoming Nicosia’s answer to the famous Limassol Carnival, before carrying on the festivities at the school premises with a huge open-for-all barbeque.

The carnival, organised by the Aglandjia municipality, was a lively affair, with hundreds of festively dressed Nicosians entering into the spirit of carnival, parading colourfully through the streets, while many spectators stood in the sunshine and cheered them on.

The French-Cypriot School, which in previous years has held its own carnival parade, was proud to be included in this very local celebration and almost a hundred children and parents from the school joined the parade, singing French songs and bringing a little international flavour to the event.

In keeping with the school’s multicultural identity, the theme chosen this year was ‘People of the World’, which inspired a series of costumes ranging from vraka-wearing Cypriots to flamboyant flamenco dancers to

By Semeli Hadjiloizou

Nearly one hundred children and parents took part sombrero-waving Mexicans to baguette-wielding Frenchmen. And that was just the parents!

After the parade, the French-Cypriot school hosted a party which was open to all, and about 300 people enjoyed a giant barbeque feast, with bouncy castles and games to keep the children amused, as well as a Best Fancy-Dress Costume competition.

Mrs Lagleize, the headmistress of the FrenchCypriot School, explained how happy she was that the school had taken part in the carnival parade.

“Since moving to Aglandjia last year, we have been made to feel so welcome both by the municipality and the local residents. We are eager to play an active role in our new community and contribute as much as we can,” she said.

LAST month the group of theatre students from the American International School of Cyprus, under the fearless leadership of Thadd Correia and Heather Charalambous, departed on a promising and highly inspirational trip to London’s incredible theatre scene.

On our first day there, we excitedly made our way to the Club For Acts and Actors where we participated in a three hour acting and singing workshop on Les Misérables and reenacted the passionate barricade scene from the musical, complete with costumes and props!

We were also lucky to have a backstage tour of Queen’s Theatre where we were shown the mechanics of the moving stage and props.

It made us appreciate all the more the Les Misérables matinee performance after we had completed the workshops and experienced firsthand the complexity of a musical.

Our next theatrical venture was a trip to the Criterion Theatre where we settled into our plush red velvet seats and waited for 39 Steps to begin. As the lights began to dim, I noticed that an unusual number of bodyguards seemed to enter the theatre from various doors. Just as darkness fell, I saw Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall being ushered to their seats on the level below ours! Fortunately, the performance was so lively and entertaining that the choice between watching the royals and the play was clear.

Snow accompanied our trip to the open air Globe Theatre the next day when we participated in a workshop focusing on Romeo & Juliet.

The three full days that we spent in the heart of London were so rich in experiences that it felt as though we had stayed there for weeks.

AISC students in London’s theatre district We not only participated in incredible workshops, but experienced the performances on stage as well as behind the scenes. We had a taste of the city’s diverse cultural groups through its incredible restaurants and had some hilarious moments of digging through our pockets in search of our underground day passes, which somehow managed to disappear every time we were supposed to present them at a checkpoint.

Semeli Hadjiloizou is a Grade 9 student at AISC

CYPRUS MAIL Wedn

16

Lifestyle

‘My biggest fear is bec old lonely actor’ or’

Nicholas Hoult is Holly a stack of blockbuster films Max, X-Men and Birdsong, an to keep him level-headed. B g from his rec is still smarting ence e.

Jennifer Lawrence. sensitive side to

2013: Jack the Giant Slayer

Understanding of women: Hoult was raised in a very female household

N

ICHOLAS Hoult may be newly single, following his split from Hollywood golden girl Jennifer Lawrence in January, but he isn’t short of distractions. The boy from Berkshire will soon be starring opposite Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in the dystopian reboot Mad Max: Fury Road; then, further down the line, there is the Hollywood adaptation of Birdsong, which will see him play the First World War officer Stephen Wraysford. And already this year he has lent an undead charm to the zombie romp Warm Bodies, and is now carrying Jack the Giant Slayer, yet another fairy tale given the big-budget 3D CGI treatment.

“It’s a good adventure, not trying to be super-dark or anything,” says the 23-yearold. “Bryan Singer [the director] has done the 3D really well. They’ve all done a very good job on it.” Indeed they have, the film is zippy and fun, there’s a lively supporting cast (including Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci and Ian McShane), but mainly it is Hoult bringing such shambolic charisma to the beanstalk-scaling hero that you can’t help rooting for him.

In person, Hoult is surprisingly tall - 6ft 3in - and has piercing blue eyes and designer stubble. He has an intriguing combination of candour and evasion, and tends to respond to questions by asking a question in return. We meet on Valentine’s Day, so naturally I ask him how much post he has received. “I don’t know, I haven’t been home.

I’ve been staying in town, doing all this. How about you?”

No one cares about that, Nicholas! They want to know what you do on Valentine’s Day. “Oh, I dunno. Dinner or something. It’s the little gestures, nothing too grand.”

How is it being a single man again? “It’s good to keep busy and focus, and have a lot of other stuff to think about,” he says. He and Lawrence, 22, met on the set of X-Men: First Class in 2010 and went on to

have a two-year relationship that seems to have ended amicably. Lawrence has called Hoult her best friend. “Hopefully I’m his best friend, too...

He’s my favourite person and makes me laugh harder than anybody,” she said recently.

In turn, he has spoken of his “pride” at her awards nominations, though he didn’t make the Oscars to see her win Best Actress.

They are shortly to reunite on the set of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the seventh in the series. Will that be awkward?

“No, not at all. We had a great time making that first film and the whole cast got along really well. And I’m really pleased that Bryan [Singer] is directing...” he begins to waffle on about how this one will be great, because Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen are in it, just like the X-Men

I wonder what he thinks he gained from this - aside from his unlikely interest in knitting (“I had to stop, I got obsessed with it and it wasn’t fun”).

“Well, I’d like to say I gained some sort of understanding of women. I think I can kind of make sense of some of the ways they think. And I guess it makes you more relaxed around girls. You know how guys with brothers are very rough and tumble? Though actually, come to think of it, I did used to fight my sisters occasionally... Until I got bigger, and I thought: ‘Well, that’s no fun. I can actually win these fights now.’ Though they’d

It was A Single Man that opened doors for Hoult in Hollywood even if he didn’t get to keep the magnificent white jumper that he wore throughout the film films he watched when he was growing up. “Did you see what I did there? I segued out of that quite skilfully,” he beams. Did they teach you how to do that in Hollywood?

“No, I’m just very intelligent.”

Isn’t it weird seeing your ex voted the sexiest woman in the world? “No, because I know her. I never really get starstruck by actors.”

Hoult was raised in a fairly feminine household. His father was a commercial airline pilot and spent a lot of time away, while his older brother left home when Nicholas was nine, leaving him with his mother and two sisters. “I was basically raised by them,” he says.

probably beat me up still, come to think of it.” I suggest that while boys with brothers tend to take a more pugnacious approach to scrapping their way to the top, those of us with sisters tend to seek accord. “I’d go with you on that,” he says. “I’m pretty easy-going about things.”

Hoult still lives in Berkshire with his family when he is not being kennelled in hotel rooms by film companies. He was first spotted when he was three: he was in the audience to watch his older brother in an amateur dramatics production (all three of Nicholas’ siblings, James, Rosanna and Clarista, are also actors), and the director was so impressed

by Hoult’s toddler focus that he signed him up. He gained his first professional work at seven in the British 1950s period film Intimate Relations with Julie Walters, before getting his break opposite Hugh Grant in the film adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel About a Boy, at the age of 12. He was at comprehensive school at the time, and, given that he seems a sensitive soul, I wonder if he was ever bullied? “Minimal amounts, really,” he says. Even with that pudding-bowl haircut?

“There would be the odd comment, but it didn’t really worry me that much. Kids are horrible anyway – I was horrible when I was growing up. You just accept it and it toughens you up.”

He acted through school Richard E Grant cast him as a young Ralph Compton in his autobiographical film WahWah, and he also appeared in Kidulthood - but it was the part of Tony in the zeitgeisty E4 drama Skins when he was 16 that helped him make the bridge from child acting to adult roles. The ultra-confident teenage rebel was clearly fun to play. “You can come back from these roles with a slightly different outlook,” he says. “Maybe sometimes the thing that your character is striving for is something that you realise you could be striving for.” So, did he come back from Skins vowing to have more sex and take more drugs? “That would be the obvious thing. The thing about him was his confidence. Obviously, he was very manipulative, very intelligent, but he was always trying to push the boundaries and see what he could get from life.”

I ask what scares him. “Becoming a sad, old, lonely actor,” he says quickly. “Genuinely, that’s probably the

biggest fear. You see it a lot.

Have you ever seen that Sofia Coppola film Somewhere with Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning? He is estranged from his wife, he never sees his daughter, he just lives in the Chateau Marmont, drinking... It’s very actory. That’s the ultimate life I don’t want to end up having.”

I wonder if that early ex-

perience of acting alongside Hugh Grant left a stronger impression than we thought?

“It’s weird not being able to do anything for yourself,” he says, warming to the theme.

“You get told where to stand, how to look, what to wear, continually. That’s why it’s good to have some time off occasionally, just to do your own thing. Although that

esday, March 20, 2013

17 Television

20

Crossword

21

Sport

28-32

coming a sad,

ywood’s new crush, with lined up, including Mad nd his mentor, Colin Firth, But the boy from Berkshire ent split wit with Oscar winner He re reveals his R ic Richard Godwin

Lost love: Hoult with Jennifer Lawrence last year

2007-8: Skins

2002: About a Boy

then becomes terrifying in itself - when you don’t have a schedule. During a film, you have every minute of your life planned. You come out of the other end and you’re like: ‘Now what do I do?’ It takes a few days to adjust.” What is his usual process? “Just doing nothing. Pottering around, being very boring, until I have to get out and do

something.” He pauses. “This feels like home, being in this room here now.”

At least he has Colin Firth to turn to; his co-star in A Single Man has become something of a mentor to him. “I had dinner with him the other night; he’s always the best person to go to for advice.” What sort of advice?

“You have to take your work

seriously, obviously, but you have to also recognise the ridiculousness of it. Colin has had the ups and downs, been through all the actor breakdowns, and he’s very intelligent, so he can see it for what it is.”

It was A Single Man that opened doors for Hoult in Hollywood - even if he didn’t get to keep the magnificent white jumper that he wore throughout the film. “I didn’t!

Colin took to calling me Lambchop because of that jumper.” Despite being ungenerous with his knitwear, the designer-turned-director Tom Ford was “very passionate and caring, knew exactly what he

wanted from the film”.

At least Hoult got to beef up a little bit for Mad Max: Fury Road, in which he plays Nux, a feral young warrior who fights alongside Tom Hardy’s Max. “That was a very masculine environment,” he says. Following that there is the more intellectually challenging indie film Young Ones, directed by Gwyneth Paltrow’s brother Jake, and Rupert Wyatt’s adaptation of Birdsong. “That’s a character that I just really care about,” he says. “He’s very hardened, surviving that atrocious war, though he doesn’t care about his own life. I’m looking forward to that. That’s not me

2009: A Single Man

dressed up in a load of makeup, prancing around.”

Ultimately, he says, he would like to emulate his screen heroes. “Jack Nicholson. Steve McQueen. Peter Sellers. Most Bonds...” A Bond who knits!

When we’re all tired of Daniel Craig’s machismo, that could be just the ticket, I say. “Give me 15 years,” he smiles. “Let’s start the campaign now. I’m going to start walking round Pinewood in a tuxedo.”

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

18

What’s on

films

(K) All Audiences (12/15/18) No admittance to Under-12s/ 15s/ 18s (N/A) Not Available

NICOSIA The Last Stand (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 4) at 5.40, 7.50 and 10.10pm, weekends also at 3.30pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 4) at 5.40, 7.50 and 10.10pm, weekends also at 11am, 1.20pm and 3.30pm Identity Thief (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 1) at 5.40, 7.55 and 10.15pm, weekends also at 3.25pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 1) at 5.40, 7.55 and 10.15pm, weekends also at 11am, 1.10pm and 3.25pm Oz the Great and Powerful (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 2) at 5.30 and 8pm, weekends also at 3pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 2) at 5.30 and 8pm, weekends also at 11am and 3pm Mama (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 3) 7.50 and 10.10pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 3) 7.50 and 10.10pm Warm Bodies (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 5) at 5.30 and 7.50pm, weekends also at 3.20pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 5) at 10.05pm

Barbie in the Pink Shoes (K) K-Cineplex (Screen 3) (in Greek) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 3.30pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 3) (in Greek) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 11.30am, 1.20pm and 3.30pm Gangster Squad (18) K-Cineplex (Screen 6) at 10.15pm Love in the End (K) K-Cineplex (Screen 5) (in Greek) at 10.05pm Sammy’s Great Escape (K) K-Cineplex (Screen 6) (in Greek) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 3.20pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 5) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 11.20am, 1.15pm and 3.20pm Et maintenant on va où? (in Arabic, with English subtitles) Cine Studio, tonight only at 9pm.

Free entrance. Tel: 96-420491, www.ofk.org.cy

CINEMA WEBSITES: K-Cineplex: http://kcineplex.com, Friends of the Cinema Society: http://www.ofk.org.cy

LIMASSOL The Last Stand (15) Rio 2, weekdays at 7.45pm, weekends at 8pm; Rio 4 at 10pm, weekends also at 5.30pm; K-Cineplex (Screen 4) at 5.40, 7.50 and 10.10pm, weekends also at 3.30pm Identity Thief (12) Rio 3 at 7.45 and 10pm, weekends also at 3.30 and 5.30pm; K-Cineplex (Screen 1) at 5.40, 7.55 and 10.15pm, weekends also at 3.25pm Oz the Great and Powerful (12) Rio 2, weekdays at 5.20pm, weekends at 3 and 5.30pm; KCineplex (Screen 2) at 5.30 and 8pm, weekends also at 3pm Mama (15) Rio 1 at 7.45 and 10pm; KCineplex (Screen 3) at 7.50 and 10.10pm

Identity Thief

Times are subject to change, so check first with cinemas before you Lincoln (12) head out

Telephone no:

Warm Bodies (12) Rio 5 at 7.45 and 10pm, weekends also at 5.30pm; KCineplex (Screen 5) at 10.05pm

Mama (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 3) at 7.50 and 10.10pm

Lincoln (12) Rio 6 at 7.30pm, weekends also at 4.30pm; K-Cineplex (Screen 5) at 7.15pm Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (15) Rio 2, weekdays at 10pm, weekends at 10.10pm; KCineplex (Screen 2) at 10.30pm Barbie in the Pink Shoes (K) Rio 1 (in Greek), weekends only at 3, 4.30 and 6pm; K-Cineplex (Screen 3) (in Greek) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 3.30pm

Lincoln (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 6) at 7.15pm Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 2) at 10.30pm

The Last Stand (15) Rio 7, weekdays at 5.30, 7.30 and 9.45pm, weekends at 6, 8 and 10pm Identity Thief (12) Rio 1 at 5.30, 7.30 and 9.45pm, weekends also at 3.30pm Oz the Great and Powerful (12) Rio 6 at 5.15, 7.30 and 9.45pm, weekends also at 3pm Mama (15) Rio 5 at 5.30, 7.30 and 9.45pm Warm Bodies (12) Rio 3 at 6, 8 and 10pm, weekends also at 4pm

A Good Day to Die Hard (15) Rio 6 at 10.10pm Love in the End (K) Rio 4 (in Greek) at 7.45pm, weekends also at 3.30pm

Gangster Squad (18) K-Cineplex (Screen 6) at 10.15pm

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (15) Rio 4 at 7.30pm

Sammy’s Great Escape (K) Rio 5 (in Greek), weekends only at 3.30pm; K-Cineplex (Screen 5) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 3.20pm

Love in the End (K) K-Cineplex (Screen 5) (in Greek) at 10.05pm

Barbie in the Pink Shoes (K) Rio 7 (in Greek), weekends only at 3 and 4.30pm

Sammy’s Great Escape (K) K-Cineplex (Screen 6) (in Greek) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 3.20pm

A Good Day to Die Hard (15) Rio 4 at 9.45pm

The Last Stand (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 4) at 5.40, 7.50 and 10.10pm, weekends also at 3.30pm

K-Cineplex: 7777-8383

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (15) Rio Limassol: 25-871410 K-Cineplex (Screen 2) at 10.30pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Rio Paphos: 26-207000 Cyprus (Screen 2) at 10.30pm

Warm Bodies (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 5) at 5.30 and 7.50pm, weekends also at 3.20pm

PAPHOS

Barbie in the Pink Shoes (K) K-Cineplex (Screen 3) (in Greek) at 5.25pm, weekends also at 3.30pm

LARNACA

K-Cineplex (Screen 6) at 7.15pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 5) at 7.15pm

Oz the Great and Powerful (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 2) at 5.30 and 8pm, weekends also at 3pm

Identity Thief (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 1) at 5.40, 7.55 and 10.15pm, weekends also at 3.25pm

To Tama (in Greek) Thursday at 8.30pm, presented by the Larnaca Cinema Society.

Tel: 99-658831, 99-462903. www.lfcinema.org

Lincoln (12) Rio 2 at 5, 7.30 and 10pm

Love in the End (K) Rio 4 (in Greek) at 5.45pm Sammy’s Great Escape (K) Rio 4 (in Greek), weekends only at 3.30pm

listings Today Music DSCH The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra presents concert dedicated to Dmitri Shostakovich and his works. March 20. Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €12/7. Tel: 22-313010 Maraveyas Ilegal Popular Greek artist Kostis Maraveyas and his band play live in Cyprus for the first time playing a combination Mediterranean and Balkan elements. March 20. Melina Merkouri Hall, Famagusta Gate, Athina Avenue, Nicosia. 8pm. €12. Tel: 99-870053/ 99-875285 Colours of Love Concert with well-known excerpts from Italian and German operas as well as works for piano solo featuring Margarita Elia (soprano), Kyros Patsalides (baryton) and Nicolas Costantinou (piano). All proceeds from the concert will go to the multipurpose centre of Nicosia Municipality as well as to the Cyprus Red Cross Home for Sick Children. March 20. Pallas Theatre, old Nicosia. €20. Tel: 99-322230

Other Events Loss and Grief Cyprus Samaritans lecture with Dr Vasilios Silivistris, psychotherapist.

March 20. Kapetanios Hotel, 4-6 Panayioti Symeou, Limassol. 7-9pm.

Free admission and refreshments. Tel: 25-586266/99-109177 Is Your Organisation Ready for Analytical Talent?

Lecture by Inga Dengel – Head of Insights Creation, Frankfurt, Germany.

March 20. CIM Lecture Theatre, 25 Zannetos street, Ayios Andreas, Nicosia. 6.30pm-7.30pm. Tel: 22-778475

Tomorrow

Chris Combette Concert exploring the fertile musical terrain of the Caribbean. March 21.

Barrel House, 3 Ioanni Sikoutri Street, Larnaca. 8pm. Free. Tel: 99-331088 Javier Perianes Pharos Arts Foundation presents concert by acclaimed Spanish pianist.

March 21. The Shoe Factory, 304 Ermou Street, old Nicosia. €20/15.

Tel: 22-663871/70-009304. www. pharosartsfoundation.org

Other Events

The Glass Menagerie New theatre group Krama presents classic play by Tennessee Williams. March 21-22. Technohoros ETHAL, 76 Franklin Roosevelt Avenue, Limassol. 8.30pm. in Greek. €10/8. Tel: 25-877827

15th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Live streaming of documentary screenings shown at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. March 18-22.

Tassos Papadopoulos Entrance University of Nicosia. 8.30pm. Tel: 22-431355 ext:124

Other Events

The Last Bride Exhibition by Asteris Gkekas and poetry reading. March 21, 7.30pm until April 5.

ARTos Cultural and Research Foundation, Ay. Omoloyites Ave, Nicosia. TuesdayFriday: 9am-5pm. Tel: 22-445455

The Other Town Screening A public screening of the awarded documentary film followed by a public discussion with the film’s producers.

March 21. Home for Cooperation, 28 Marcou Dracou Street, UN Buffer Zone, Nicosia. 7pm. For additional information about the event, please visit www.ahdr.info or call 22-445740/+ 90-5488345740

DSCH The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra presents concert dedicated to Dmitri Shostakovich.

March 21. Markideion Theatre, Paphos.

8.30pm. €12/7. Tel: 26-932571

Ongoing

Theatre

Exhibition

Music

Fifth International Cartoon Exhibition Exhibition of cartoons by Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and foreign cartoonists from around the world on the theme of Troika. Journalist’s House, 12 CyBC (RIK) Avenue, Aglantzia, Nicosia.

Opens March 21, until March 27. Open daily: 10am-1pm and 5pm-8pm. Tel: 96-683786. cartoonscy@gmail.com

Theatre Tone Clusters The Second Stage of ETHAL presents work of famous American author Joyce Carol Oates. Until March 24.

Technohoros ETHAL, 76 Franklin Roosevelt Avenue, Limassol. Tuesdays, Saturdays at 8.30pm and Sundays 6.30pm. In Greek. Tel: 25-877827

Shakespeare in an Hour Pirasmos Productions presents comedy directed by popular Cypriot actor and director Loris Loizides. Until March 29. Pantheon Art Cinema, 29 Diagorou Street, Nicosia. Thursday and Friday at 8.30pm. In Greek. Tel: 70-001910

Pinocchio Theatre Maskarini unique adaptation of well-known tale. Until April 14.

Russian Cultural Centre, 16 Alassias Street, Nicosia. Premier at 4pm and every Sunday at 10.30am. In Greek.

Tel: 22-761607/22-270420

The Children of Cain Theatro Ena presents psychological thriller by Andreas Thomopoulos. Until March 31. Theatro Ena, Athinas Avenue, Nicosia. Friday to Sunday 8.30pm.

In Greek. €15/12. Tel: 22-348203

Tom, Dick and Harry Satiriko Theatro presents comedy. Until April 28. Vladimiros Kafkarides Cultural Centre, 11-15 Vladimiros Kafkarides Street, Aglantzia, Nicosia. On Saturdays at 8.30pm and Sundays at 6.30pm. €15/10. Tel: 22-312940/ 22-421609

How to Rob a Bank Skala Theatre presents a three act comedy by Samy Fayad. Until March 31. Skala Theatre, 15 Kyriakou Matsi Street, Larnaca. Saturday at 8.30pm and Sunday at 6.30pm. In Greek.

Tel: 99-490102 The Switch Theatro Ena presents play by Argiro Toumazou. April 3. Theatro Ena, 4 Athinas Avenue, Nicosia. Every Wednesday at 8.30pm. In Greek. €15/12. Tel: 22-348203 The Harley Jacket THOC’s New Stage presents play by Vasilis Katsikonouris. Until April 5.

THOC New Theatre Building, 9 Gregori Afxentiou, Nicosia. Performances at the exterior spaces of THOC’s New Theatre Building. Every two weeks Wednesday through Friday at 8.30pm. €12/10. In Greek. With Greek and English surtitles on March 20. Tel: 77-772717

Exhibitions The Colour of Truth Group art exhibition from both communities about the Missing Persons issue. Until March 22. Goethe-Institut’s Gallery (Nicosia buffer zone). Mondays to Fridays: 11am-7 pm. Tel: 22674607 Spontaneous and Raw Solo painting exhibition. until March 23. Argo Gallery, 64E D. Akrita Avenue, Nicosia. Monday-Friday: 10am-1pm and 5pm-8pm. Saturday: 10am-1pm. Tel: 22-754009. www. argogallery.org Cheapart Limassol Group exhibition at affordable prices.

Until March 23. Penindaplinena Gallery, 49 Ellados, Limassol. Monday-Friday: 4pm-8pm. Saturday: 12-4pm.Tel:

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

19 To have your event included for FREE in our listings, send details to: Arts Editor, Cyprus Mail, PO Box 21144, Nicosia. Fax: 22-676385.

Email: whatson@cyprus-mail.com Please send your information as early as possible. Include full details, a contact number and good quality photos

The funny side of politics

TROIKA and the Greek financial crisis have provided endless inspiration for foreign and local cartoonists this year. atirical drawings More than 100 of their satirical morrow until next will be on show from tomorrow ’s Journalists House Wednesday at Aglandjia’s h International Caras part of the annual Fifth ed by toon Exhibition, organised ulture. the Group Initiative for Culture. eflectCartoons have always refl ory ed key moments in history s and this event celebrates ek the artistic talents of Greek ts Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and foreign cartoonists n from around the world in a unique exhibition that takes a d their stand against Troika and policies.

Despite the grim side of the gues us economic crisis that plagues all, the financial climate ofsts fers a bonanza for satirists hwith a talent for the scathoney ing image or caption. Money and financial security is on nearly everyone’s mind follow-

Review Theatre A production free from limitations DIRECTOR Achim Wieland puts his mark on the challenging Buchner tragedy Woyzeck, labelled by Sarah Kane as the “first really modern play”. As if the original script did not pose enough difficulty, Wieland is daringly staging the seven-character plot with only two actors, and an exceptionally minimal set.

The attempt is supported by the Goethe Institute Cyprus.

Loosely based on a true story, the play traces the life of Franz Woyzeck (Marios Ioannou), a sol-

ing recent developments. The timing of the exhibition couldn’t be more perfect, with the Eurogroup decision that a haircut on all bank deposits could be imposed in Cyprus, along with an increase in corporate ta tax and a doubling of the tax on interest fro savings. earned from Suddenl Suddenly the euro crisis is back with a vengeance and the arts sector worldwide is displaying an up upheaval of creativity and development.

Cartoo Cartoons have provided satirical, witty or humo humorous comment on political and public affairs affairs, social customs, fashions, sports even events and personalities. A picture, as the say, is worth a thousand words, and they po political cartoons and caricatures have tra traditionally been a devastating method of c cutting the powerful and the proud down to s size.

The cart cartoons featured in the upcoming exhibition prov provide an insightful record of a turbulent and unpre unpredictable year in Greek and Cypriot polit politics. With biting irony, an image of so society is created that reveals double st standards and ignorance, with social injus injustice, the financial crisis, banking scandals and exploitation recurring themes in the work works selected for the exhibition. Armed

dier living with a woman named Marie (Elena Kallinikou) and their illegitimate child. In order to provide for his family, Woyzeck undertakes medical experiments, including living off a diet of peas.

As these experiments begin to affect his mental health, Marie turns her attention to a handsome drum major, who ends up raping her. In a fit of jealous rage, Woyzeck kills Marie.

Buchner’s script, even in its fragmented, unfinished state (he died before its completion) is quite brilliant, effectively capturing the helplessness and frustration of a poor, lower class soldier whose obligatory obedience forces him to suppress a madness that ultimately explodes and consumes him.

Wieland’s directorial choices highlight the banality of this man’s routine, both in his activities and his relationships. The re-

petitive movement, monotonous reciting and slow tedious action effectively denotes the rhythm of this tragic existence, paying tribute to the ultimate tragedy by paving an abstract yet realistic road for its unfolding.

Ioannou is an exceptionally strong performer, and the role could accept nothing less, but it is in his final moments, as he stands before his crime and spits out at the audience ‘what are you looking at? What are you looking at?’ that his true brilliance shines, and that the vital essence of this momentous character is wholly captured. Kallinikou supports him well, and displays a raw talent that marks her as worthy of a position in this production.

It is undoubtedly a challenge for two performers to take on a production written for seven, yet this duo has risen to it with flair.

While they opt for a simplistic set

with paper, pencils and ink, these talented artists present views with works that are provocative, powerful and playful, both entertaining and informative.

The Group Initiative for Culture has worked with over 200 cartoonists from around the world and organised many exhibitions over the past four years including publishing books with works by major artists. The exhibitions have been popular with individuals from political and journalist circles, the art scene and people from all over Cyprus. In particular, schoolchildren have taken a keen interest in these works.

Come and have a look at the comical side of the economic crisis through the eyes of a cartoonist.

It’s a great opportunity to reflect on what has happened and is happening, appreciate some great artwork and maybe crack a wry smile in the midst of the doom and gloom of the current economic climate.

Fifth International Cartoon Exhibition Exhibition of cartoons by Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and foreign cartoonists from around the world on the theme of Troika. Journalist’s House, 12 CyBC (RIK) Avenue, Aglantzia, Nicosia. Opens March 21, until March 27. Open daily: 10am-1pm and 5pm-8pm. Tel: 96-683786. cartoonscy@gmail.com

(designed by Sossee Eskidjian), it makes an instant impression as the lights reveal two measly rows of fluorescent tube lights… and… well, that’s it, the minimalistic aesthetics ultimately contribute to the audience’s struggle to follow the events, events that are written to be set in a whole series of random and lively locations.

While the entire original script is offered in the free programme (with director’s cuts marked in grey), unfortunately this effort does not quite suffice.

For the sake of those who struggled to grasp the details of the action, perhaps the occasional break from the monotony in order to offer a little more clarity might not have entirely tainted the ultimate aim. However, the enthusiasm exhumed by audience members relieved at finally having been offered a production so free from the limitations

By Ledha Socratous

of what we conceive theatre to be strongly justifies the directorial choices, and marks this bold production worthy of two extra impromptu performances set for this Friday and Saturday at Satiriko in Nicosia. It’s also on in Paphos on March 27.

Woyzeck Multi-media performance of one of the most performed and influential plays in contemporary German theatre. In Greek Language with English songs and text fragments. 8.30pm March 22-23: Vladimiros Kafkarides Cultural Centre, 11-15 Vladimiros Kafkarides Street, Aglantzia, Nicosia. Tel: 22-674607 March 27: Polihoros Cultural Centre Old Electricity Authority, 8 Vladimiros Heracleous Street, Paphos. €15/10. Tel: 99-655796

By Eleni Cosma

For a full listing of the day’s events see facing page

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

20

Television CYBC 1 06.45 08.15

Proti Enimerosi Kali Sas Mera Early morning entertainment magazine featuring segments on cooking, fashion, lifestyle issues and more.

11.00

Kaftes Piperies (rpt)

11.30

Istories Tou Horkou (rpt)

CYBC 2 07.00 08.00 17.00

12.00 15.30 15.35

Apo Mera Se Mera Lottery Draw Entehnos

18.00 18.50 19.00 19.10

Mazi Sto CyBC News Kaftes Piperies Paizoume Kypriaka Local game show, asking questions having to do with the Cypriot dialect.

19.20

Moiraia Fengaria Local drama series inspired by Maro Kranidioti’s book Otan i Moira Apofasizei.

20.00 21.15

20.00 21.00

22.30

News Vimata Stin Ammo Friends (rpt) American comedy about the lives and loves of six New Yorkers.

22.30 23.30 23.45

I Kypros Konta Sas News Repeats

Kato Apo Ton Idio Ourano News In English News In Turkish Somewhere On Earth (rpt)

NRG Zone FILM: A Class Apart

23.15

07.50 08.40 09.30 10.25 11.15 12.10 13.00 13.20 14.00 14.50 15.45 16.40

Proini Enimerosi Me Agapi Strivein Dia Tou Arravonos (rpt) Akros Oikogeneiakon (rpt) Lyke, Lyke Eisai Edo (rpt) Einai Stigmes (rpt) Pansellinos (rpt) Ekeino To Kalokairi (rpt) Niose Me (rpt) News Mera Mesimeri Konstantinou Kai Elenis (rpt) To Kafe Tis Haras Ta Koritsia Tou Baba (rpt) Aiyia Fuxia (rpt) Local comedy series, with village setting.

Drama, starring Jessie Wallace and Nathaniel Parker. 2007. See Pick Of The Day.

17.30 17.40

Lefta Sto Lepto Vals Me 12 Theous (rpt)

Brothers & Sisters (rpt)

18.40 19.30 20.15 21.15 22.10 23.00 00.00 00.05 00.20 01.40 02.30 03.20 04.40

Tin Patisa (rpt) Niose Me News Vals Me 12 Theous Ekeino To Kalokairi Oikonomahies News Sports News Ola Bahalo Fetos Klemmeni Zoi (rpt) Angigma Psihis (rpt) News Deal (rpt)

Fourth season. ‘The Road Ahead’. The drama centred on the lives of a California family returns with Kitty holding a dark secret she fears could devastate the Walkers. Nora and Holly host a lavish engagement party for Justin and Rebecca, and Sarah searches for a new business venture in France.

Local period drama, based on true events.

22.00

06.30 06.50 07.00

A series of documentary films whose aim is to shine the spotlight on some of the few places on earth where nature and man exist in harmony.

Local cultural show.

16.00 18.00 18.15 18.45

NRG Zone Kids’ TV Kati Psinetai (rpt) Greek version of reality gameshow where contestants try to outdo each other by throwing the perfect dinner party, which is then judged on its merits by their rivals.

Cookery show.

Local comedy series, which happens to be the longest-running show on TV.

ANTENNA

Repeats

With News at 18.00.

MEGA 06.00 06.30 07.00 10.00

Ta Epta Kaka Tis Moiras Mou Retire Nea Mera Proino Mou Lifestyle programme features entertainment, music and more.

Hosted by real-life couple Giorgos Liagas & Fay Skorda.

12.45 14.00 15.00 16.00

Enimerosi Tora Klemmena Oneira (rpt) Eheis Meson Yia Sena

18.00 18.20 19.30

News Greek Series TBA Oi Vasiliades

Local talk-show.

Daily family comedy based on the Argentinian sitcomtelenovela Los Roldan.

20.15 21.20

SIGMA 07.00 08.20 10.00 10.50 12.00 14.30 15.20 17.15 18.00 18.05 18.40 19.30 20.20 21.15 22.20 23.20

Fifth season.

‘Forbidden Fruit’. The discovery of a woman’s body leads the detectives to investigate a party where a strange African fruit was used by guests to confuse their taste buds and allow them to eat unpleasant food.

Meanwhile, Stella puts her career on the line in pursuit of a shady Greek diplomat.

News Klemmena Oneira Two episodes of Greek drama series.

22.30

Piso Sto Spiti New season of Greek drama series.

23.30 00.00 01.30 03.30

Pername Kala (rpt) News Yia Sena (rpt) Proino Mou (rpt)

Protoselido Eleni Vasiliki (rpt) Aspra Balonia (rpt) Mesimeri Kai Kati Efta Ourani Kai Sinnefa Alites (rpt) Magazino Siga Min To’ Xeres News Ti Tha Fame Simera Mama Anna Paola Efta Ourani Kai Sinnefa Alites News Oikogeneiakes Istories 60 Lepta CSI: NY

00.10 00.15 01.20 02.10 02.40

News Istories Tou Astinomou Beka (rpt) Siga Min To’ Xeres (rpt) Mono Mia Fora (rpt) More Repeats

PLUS TV 07.20 08.30 09.05 10.00 10.45 11.40 12.30 13.00 15.30 17.00 17.50 19.40

Fotis - Maria Live Best Of Exelixeis Sti Showbiz Mesimeriani Meleti Best Of I Kouzina Me Ti Dina (rpt) Mila (rpt) To Kleidi (rpt) Star News Mesimeriani Meleti Kids’ TV To Kleidi Fotis - Maria Live Mila Discussions about various issues based on a woman’s life (men, relationships, sex, kids etc.) with showbiz guests.

21.15 22.00

CAPITAL 06.45 08.30 09.00 09.30 10.00 11.00 11.30 12.30 13.25 15.15 16.10 16.50 17.35 18.15 19.15 19.50 20.05 21.00

Exelixeis Sti Showbiz The Closer Sixth season of detective drama. ‘Layover’.

A double date with two flight attendants goes wrong for Provenza and Flynn when a body is found in one of the girls’ flats.

22.45

Vathi Kokkino

23.30

Nistikoi Praktores (rpt)

A detective faces a race against time to stop a cunning serial killer fascinated

by Sherlock Holmes.

Thriller, starring Michael T Weiss. 2002.

22.45

00.15 01.15 02.20

LTV Sports News Star News Repeats

FILM: Double Jeopardy A lawyer offers to defend her husband’s former lover, little realising their affair is still very much on the cards. Steamy thriller, starring Rachel Ward.

1999.

Greek drama series.

Cooking show, with helpful tips on eating well and nutrition.

Kids’ TV Magikos Kosmos S’ Agapo (rpt) Akti Oneiron (rpt) Ston Asterismo Tis Imeras Kouzina Me Apopsi Igeia & Zou (rpt) Milagros Kids’ TV Top Models S’ Agapo Sabrina, To Koritsi Tis Agapis Akti Oneiron Pacific Blue News Sports News Epi Topou FILM: Written In Blood

00.45

FILM: American Buffalo A junk-shop proprietor and a petty crook try to recover a valuable old coin. Drama, starring Dustin Hoffman. 1996.

The Town (LTV, 21.00)

01:05 The Weakest Link 01:50 The Impressions Show With Culshaw &... 02:20 EastEnders 02:50 Doctors 03:20 As Time Goes By 03:50 32 Brinkburn Street 04:35 Doctor Who Confidential 04:45 Lab Rats 05:15 The Impressions Show With Culshaw &... 05:45 Fawlty Towers 06:15 The Weakest Link 07:00 3rd & Bird 07:10 Me Too! 07:30 Boogie Beebies 07:45 Tellytales 07:55 Tweenies 08:15 3rd & Bird 08:25 Me Too! 08:45 Boogie Beebies 09:00 Tellytales 09:10 Tweenies 09:30 Fawlty Towers 10:00 Lab Rats 10:30 The Weakest Link 11:15 EastEnders 11:45 Doctors 12:15 The World’s Toughest Driving Tests 13:10 As Time Goes By 13:45 32 Brinkburn Street 14:30 Fawlty Towers 15:00 The Weakest Link 15:45 EastEnders 16:15 Doctors 16:45 The World’s Toughest Driving Tests 17:40 32 Brinkburn Street 18:25 The Weakest Link 19:10 EastEnders 19:40 Doctors 20:10 Casualty 21:00 ‘Allo ‘Allo! 21:30 Little Britain 22:00 Outcasts 22:50 One Foot In The Grave 23:20 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 00:25 Money

07:00 How It’s Made 07:25

Wheeler Dealers 08:15 American Chopper 09:10 Dirty Jobs 10:05 Deadliest Catch 10:55 Ultimate Survival 11:50 How Do They Do It? 12:15 How It’s Made 12:40 Extreme Engineering 13:35 Fast N’ Loud 14:30 Wheeler Dealers 15:25 American Chopper 16:20 Mythbusters 17:15 Dirty Jobs 18:10 Deadliest Catch 19:05 Ultimate Survival 20:00 How It’s Made 21:00 Gold Rush 22:00 Gold Divers 23:00 Jungle Gold 00:00 Deadliest Catch 01:00 Swords: Life On The Line 01:55 Gold Rush 02:50 Gold Divers 03:50 Jungle Gold 04:50 Deadliest Catch 05:45 How Do They Do It? 06:10 Overhaulin’

09:30 Curling: World Women’s Championship 11:30 Tennis: Mats Point 12:00 Cycling: Tour Of Catalunya 13:00 Biathlon: World Cup Russia 13:30 Ski Jumping: World Cup Norway 14:30 Curling: World Women’s Championship 16:30 CrossCountry Skiing: World Cup Sweden 18:15 Cycling: Tour Of Catalunya 19:15 Football: Next Gen Series 22:00 Athletics: Greene Light 22:15 All Sports: Campus 22:45 All Sports: Wednesday Selection 22:50 Equestrian: Fei World

Cup Netherlands 23:50 Equestrian Sports: Riders Club 23:55 Golf: The European Tour-Avantha Masters New Delhi 00:25 Golf: Golf Club 00:30 Sailing: Vendée Globe 01:00 Sailing: Yacht Club 01:05 All Sports: Wednesday Selection 01:15 Cross-Country Skiing: World Cup Sweden 02:00 Cycling: Tour Of Catalunya

05:40 Desperate Housewives 06:25 Bones 07:10 Raising Hope 07:35 Scrubs 08:00 Grey’s Anatomy 08:50 Masterchef 09:40 Desperate Housewives 10:25 Bones 11:10 Raising Hope 11:35 Scrubs 12:00 Grey’s Anatomy 12:50 Private Practice 13:40 Grey’s Anatomy 14:30 Masterchef 15:20 Desperate Housewives 16:05 Bones 16:50 Raising Hope 17:15 Scrubs 17:40 Grey’s Anatomy 18:30 Masterchef 19:20 Desperate Housewives 20:10 Bones 21:00 Grey’s Anatomy 21:50 Private Practice 22:40 Raising Hope 23:05 Scrubs 23:30 Grey’s Anatomy 00:20 Private Practice 01:10 Bones 02:00 Desperate Housewives 02:45 Raising Hope 03:10 Scrubs 03:35 Surviving Suburbia 04:00 Grey’s Anatomy 04:50 Masterchef

07:30 Oscar 09:20 Unthinkable 11:00 Adventures In Babysitting 12:45 Simple Twist Of Fate, A 14:35 Taking Lives 16:25 Eye Of The Dolphin 18:15 Dark City 20:00 LTV Sports News 21:00 Town, The 23:10 Sleepless In Seattle 01:00 Hustler TV 02:30 Splice 04:20 Lost In Space 06:30 LTV Sports News

07:00 Kids TV 15:45 Justice League Unlimited 16:10 Legion Of Super Heroes 16:35 Young Justice 17:00 Winter X-Games Europe 18:00 E-60 19:00 Barclays Premier League 2012-13 21:00 La Liga World 21:30 Planet Speed 22:00 Barclays Premier League 2012-13 00:00 La Liga Review 2012-13 01:00 Liga Bbva 2012-13 03:00 Barclays Premier League 2012-13

07:15 According To Jim 08:00

Big Bang Theory The 08:30 Mentalist The 09:15 Southland 10:00 Friends 10:30 Privileged 11:15 Closer, The 12:00 Five Days 2 13:05 Harry’s Law 13:50 According To Jim 14:35 Mentalist The 15:20 Southland 16:10 Friends 16:35 Gossip Girl 17:20 Fringe 19:00 Harry’s Law 19:45 According To Jim 20:30 Eastbound & Down 21:00 Hawaii Five 22:30 Ncis: Los Angeles 23:15 Supernatural 00:05 Flypaper 01:45 Shining, The 03:50 Friends 04:15 Gossip Girl 05:00 Fringe 06:30 Harry’s Law

08:00 Aspen Extreme 10:00 Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure 12:00 Crackie 14:00 PleasanTVille 16:15 Strictly Sexual 18:00 Cairo Time 19:45 What Women Want 22:00 Biutiful 00:30 Daring! TV 04:05 Faces In The Crowd 06:00 Dealing: Or The Boston-To-Berkeley Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues

06:50 Young Adult 08:25 From Prada To Nada 10:15 War Of The Buttons 12:10 Anonymous 14:25 Action Zone 15:00 I Don’t Know How She Does It 16:35 Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3 20:10 The Deep Blue Sea 00:05 Po-

lisse 01:55 Cine News 02:10 Transit 03:40 The Raven

06:15 Barney’s Version 08:30 The Hunting Party 10:15 Welcome To The Sticks 12:05 Cine News 12:40 Doctor Dolittle 16:10 Rumor Has It... 17:50 Films & Stars 18:25 I Am Legend 20:10 Never Let Me Go 22:00 The Grey 00:00 Conviction 01:50 We Need To Talk About Kevin

19:00 TheLongest Yard 21:00 Fast Five 23:15 Person Of Interest 00:05 Shark Night 01:35 Les Soubrettes

“A working-class single mother appeals to send her son to the best state school in her area. When the headmaster of a local private school hears of her campaign, he is intrigued, and offers her son a place at his school.” Not the most exciting plot of all time - then again this British drama stars Jessie Wallace, a.k.a. Kat Moon on EastEnders. Kat is the sharp-tongued chavette with the fake tan, heavy make-up and hoop earrings (“Oi, what you lookin’ at?” is the catchphrase cited on the BBC website) who’s been delighting soap fans for years - and “she gets to outdo herself in EastEnderishness” in this star vehicle, according to a Brit at the Internet Movie Database, which is good news

for Albert Square aficionados. Those unfamiliar with EastEnders (or the stereotypes of the UK class system) might be less impressed, the film being apparently quite clichéd as it charts the burgeoning relationship between Jessie and the posh headmaster (Nathaniel Parker) - but it’s still a good week for British TV faces, with Mitchell & Webb on Monday and now this. Can Holby City be far behind? Made for the BBC in 2007.

Biutiful (LTV3, 22.00) A serious film. No really - a very, very serious film, at least if lugubrious gloom counts as serious. Javier Bardem is our hero, trudging through his life on the seamier side of Barcelona. He works with illegal im-

06:00 Only Hits 08:00 MTV GreekLips 09:00 MTV Hollywood Heights 10:00 MTV Plain Jane (Commissioned Version) 11:00 Pure Local 12:00 MTV VHI Pop up Video 13:00 MTV Made 14:00 MTV Big Time Rush 14:30 MTV Victorious 15:00 MTV Hollywood Heights 16:00 MTV Crash Canyon 17:00 MTV Pranked 18:00 S7S Lockdown Top10 18:30 Only Hits 20:00 MTV Movies & Stars 21:00 MTV Awkward 22:00 McCafé Music Project 22:30 MTV Awkward 23:00 MTV Underemployed 00:00 MTV Jersey Shore 01:00 Only Hits

18:45 Courageous 21:00 A Dangerous Method 22:50 The Romantics 00:35 London

17:30 Nhl: Washington Capitals At Pittsburgh Penguins 18:00 Pre Game 18:45 Cup 2012-13: Apollon Vs Ayia Napa 20:45 Post Game 21:30 Snapshots Cyprus Football 22:00 Lucas Oil On The Edge We Rock Pro Modified 22:30 Wrecked On Top Of The Game 23:00 Sports Un-

By Preston Wilder

A Class Apart (CyBC2, 21.00)

limited 00:00 Golf Central International

migrants, bribing cops and selling pirate goods. He’s also dying of cancer. He also has some kind of psychic gift, enabling him to communicate with the recently deceased. He’s also raising two kids, which he had with his ex-wife who’s (deep breath) an abusive bipolar nymphomaniac! Everything’s extreme and outlandish in this film, making it hard to connect with its grim slice-of-life style - and there’s no doubt the images are lovely (there’s a wondrous moment when a flock of birds appears above a bridge at dusk, seems to coalesce, then flies away) but director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, of Babel and 21 Grams fame, overdoes everything, drowning even the good moments in artificial melodrama. In Spanish; made in 2010.

Biutiful

07:00 The Man Who Came To Dinner 09:00 Jailhouse Rock 11:00 East Of Eden 12:50 Challenge To Lassie 14:05 Ninotchka 15:55 Travels With My Aunt 17:40 San Quentin 18:50 Doctor Zhivago 22:00 The Dirty Dozen 00:30 Stay Away, Joe 02:15 The Man Who Came To Dinner 04:10 In This Our Life 05:45 San Quentin

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

21

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD 2342 1

2

3

4

PREVIOUS DAY’S SOLUTIONS

5

6

7

8

11

9

10

12

13

HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9. There’s no maths involved, you solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.

With the ‘X’ sudoku, the shaded X must also contain the numbers 1-9.

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

EASY

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

21 22

Across

Down

5 Like this climbing course (4) 7 One getting into press tent unusually tena-

1 Some of the cheap seats are in the recess

cious (10) 8 Being round about the whole (8) 10 Some free dinners produced in a rush! (4) 11 Rebuke for returning cakes (4) 13 He still has not met his match (8) 15 The least expensive monkey in the box (8) 16 Jack, it is reported, can be found in church (4) 17 Nudge gently with a stick (4) 18 Allowance for breadth of interpretation (8) 21 Role of holding up (10) 22 A short distance in church (4)

2 I sat reordering wine (4) 3 Meet to see lambs frolicking (8) 4 Refuse to obey when fed up before end of

Rating MEDIUM

Rating EASY Rating HARD

day (4)

5 Fish that’s sour, gent discovered (8) 6 Still not settled, not having done the puzzle

Rating MEDIUM

(4)

again (10)

9 It is only half way round of course (5,5) 12 Wave large bowl of roughage (8) 14 In attic conversion, nothing can be quoted (8) 18 Bound to see short letter brought up (4) 19 Two half turns in a ballet-skirt (4) 20 Indeed gynaecologist in part felt nervous (4)

Answers to crossword 2341

HOROSCOPE

CRYPTIC: Across – 1 Bank; 8 Adolescent; 9 Eton; 10 Ordnance; 12 Local; 13 Elm; 16 Cocoon; 17 Astute; 18 Dry; 21 & 22 Piano practice; 24 Kris; 25 Last in line; 26 Nine. Down – 2 Astronomer; 3 Kangaroo; 4 Plural; 5 Using; 6 Mean; 7 Stye; 11 Contention; 13 End; 14 May; 15 Stricken; 19 Recall; 20 Strip; 22 Poll; 23 Also.

QUICK: Across – 1 Acme; 8 Castigated; 9 Amos; 10 Prenatal; 12 Judas; 13 Bow; 16 Virile; 17 Haslet; 18 Thy; 21 Brain; 22 Weakling; 24 Nett; 25 Dethroning; 26 Eddy. Down – 2 Communiqué; 3 Ecstatic; 4 Stereo; 5 Agony; 6 Stet; 7 Idol; 11 Alleviated; 13 Bet; 14 Why; 15 Estrange; 19 Honing; 20 Glory; 22 Wide; 23 Ante.

ARIES March 21 - April 20

LEO July 23 - August 22

SAGITTARIUS November 23 - December 21

You can feel particularly sparky today as the Sun returns to the start point in the Western Tropical Zodiac, and re-enters Aries. With your ruler Mars also alongside the erratic influence of Uranus, you can find yourself much less bothered about what others think - quite a change from recent events. Rouse yourself, and go show some devilment.

Any, and I mean just any, even tiny limitations on your freedom today, or perhaps even what you perceive as an unfair criticism, could see you boil over with frustration.

So, if there are people you encounter on a daily basis that regularly wind you up, you may be best to do everything in your power to avoid spending more than a minimum of time with them.

You want to play today, and anyone who is not up for your fun outlook can be seen as a killjoy. Go carefully Archer.

You are absolutely fine to find something entertaining and pleasurable to do, but just because others see it differently, does not make them wrong. Be careful you are not adopting the mantle of the person who is always right.

TAURUS April 21 - May 21

VIRGO August 23 - September 23

CAPRICORN December 22 - January 20

This could be quite an intense day Taurus. If you have a side to your nature which can be stubborn, it could come out now as the Moon faces Pluto. Yet if you feel any anger, whilst it may seem to be generated by one person’s attitudes, ask yourself if there is a sensitive spot that they touched that may relate to your past. It is quite possible.

You might find yourself in the mood to be blunt. People’s excuses will probably cut very little ice, and you’ll want to tell it how it is. Yet this direct approach could arouse quite a bit of anger, should you try to hustle anyone out of your way, or brush off others’ points of views. In a settled situation, there can be quite a lot of charged electricity, and a tiff may ensue.

Do you want space to yourself, or do you want company?

You may find yourself switching between the two all day long. Whilst it’s fine for you to have your own inner ups and downs, it may prove harder for those who live around you, who may not know whether they should leave you in peace, or try to cheer you up. Try to work out your own mood.

GEMINI May 22 - June 21

LIBRA September 24 - October 23

AQUARIUS January 21 - February 19

What’s yours is yours. And even if you have been friendly with someone in the past, today’s astral vibes could create a break with someone that in the past you have got on well with. Just be careful that you are not forcing something too hard. What can seem like a very important point of principle today, may seem less crucial in a while.

If you are not happy with your love life, you can find yourself charged with determination to do something about it to change things. But equally, if you feel you have been needled by a colleague, or someone is lacking appreciation, perhaps even respect for your recent efforts, you may find yourself wanting to put them right too.

There can be a tremendous amount of nervous energy crackling in the air today. This can see you very mentally alert, but also a tad agitated. Try not to do too much at once. Yet if you can find ways to stimulate your mind, do.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have structure or interests today, you might find yourself becoming bored and irritable.

CANCER June 22 - July 22

SCORPIO October 24 - November 22

PISCES February 20 - March 20

A much more assertive you is coming to the surface, but you need to handle this right. If the kids or co-workers are used to you being more easy going, you may need to step up your new found authority in stages, or else you could create a lot of resentment, and quite a bit of negativity. Yet, this can be a time for setting new, exciting goals Cancer.

You might find yourself on a mission today. Just what you focus your energies upon is really down to you. But if you have got a project or plan on the boil, you can give it considerable time and effort. This would also be a good day to do something more physically strenuous. You can get a perverse pleasure from pushing yourself to your limit.

You can find yourself becoming very determined on the financial front. This can see you hunting down bargains or looking at price comparison websites for better deals on your utilities or phone cost. Getting sharper elbows may surprise some of the people that know you well, but perhaps it will do no harm to create a small wave or two.

22

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

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Nicosia - email: classified@cyprus-mail.com Limassol - email: limassol@cyprus-mail.com Paphos - email: paphos@cyprus-mail.com make a difference. Please bring your donation to our clinic’s or charity shop in Limassol. Telephone 26946461 (Paphos), 97894005 (Polis), 25543304 (Limassol)

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EXPERIENCED PADI INSTRUCTORS WANTED for a 5* IDC in Limassol. MUST be fluent in BOTH Russian and English, with at least 5 Instructor Specialties. Please do not apply if you are not able to teach in both Russian and English. E-mail: Jonathan@primehouse.com

***************************** WANTED: Experienced Dog Groomer - Full/Part time hours For wellestablished business in Limassol. For more info please contact: 96578094

LESSONS PRIVATE TUITION experienced, UKqualified teacher offers full-time or part-time private home tuition in Maths, English, the Sciences, I.C.T., Geography, History, Business Studies and Economics, from KS3 to iGCSE, AS and A2 levels.

9 years experience in Cyprus; references available. Telephone 99318796 – Paphos ART AFTERNOONS Drawing Thursdays Painting Fridays Sketching Saturdays 14.30 – 17.30 IDC at Art Studio 55, Heroes Square, Limassol. Tel 99 409 829 info@idclimassol.org ART ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CONSTRUCTION

MISCELLANEOUS WANTED OF: COUPLES OF EU CITIZENS LIVING IN CYPRUS We are currently conducting research as regards European families living in Cyprus. If both you and your spouse come from the same or a different country of the EU (except Cyprus and Greece, e.g. both from Germany, or Germany and France), if you have children over 6, and if you are interested in taking part in some research financed by the University of Cyprus please contact us 96530033. Participants will complete a questionnaire and participate in a face-to-face interview.

They will also receive a symbolic amount of money.

NOTICE is hereby given that.SERGY LYSOV of KOILANEMOY STREET 4 BLOCK D ART 303 LIMASSOL , CYPRUS, has applied to the minister of the Interior for naturalisation and any person who knows any reason why naturalisation should not be granted is hereby invited to send a written and signed statement of the facts to the Minister of Interior, Nicosia PAPHIAKOS CHARITY SHOP (Limassol) open 7 days a week 9.00-13.00. Donations required of bric a brac, clothes, electrical goods, household goods, soft furnishings etc. Telephone Jackie 25543304 PASTA APPEAL. We need your help!

Every day we feed our cats and dogs with a hearty meal of pasta.

Please donate a bag of pasta to

Nicosia - tel: 22 818583 fax: 22 676385 CONDITION AT REDUCED PRICES. PLEASE CALL : 99622678

PERSONAL

MURDER MYSTERY NIGHT at Alfie T’s, 29 Tomb of the Kings Road, Paphos 7pm, 23rd March €25 per person includes 3 course meal telephone 99099254.

***************************** ALCOHOLICS CYPRUS

ANONYMOUS

-

GERMAN MAN, 50 years, searching for a nice women. Mobile: 00491736590562

Is drink costing you more than just money? AA could be the answer.

SERVICES

Meeting at the following locations/ days. Call to speak to an AA member.

Limassol Tuesday / Wednesday / Friday / Saturday 25368265 / 99559322 Nicosia 99013596

Wednesday/Sunday

Paphos Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday 99916331 / 99399240 Details of meetings are available on www.aa-europe.net

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FOR SALE MISCELLANEOUS ***************************** FOR SALE: SUZUKI VITARA Saloon 1.6 benzini, dark green from 2002, mileage: 135.500 km. MOT till 2015. Road Tax paid all 2013. €2.200 Electric Cooker, Bosch 4 ceramic hotplates and oven, used 1 1/2 year, €350 Washing Machine LG 7 kg, silent, used 1 1/2 year €200 Big Electric heater, Matestar, used 8-10 times €25 For further information contact phone 9918 2310

***************************** OFFICE FURNITURE FOR SALE with 50% discount, price per unit: 1. ECO Desk 160x80x71 – 8 units/ €96.

2. Extention 120x60x71 – 6 units/ €76.

3. Small under-desk Cabinet with 3 pullout drawers – 7 units/ €99.

4. ECO Low cabinet with 2 low doors - 8 units /€107.

Tel: 25 200 600, 99 316 582

***************************** FOR SALE – PAPHOS CATERING EQUIPMENT 1. Industrial freezer – CORECO Height 200cm, width 68cm, depth 58cm 2.

Electrolux Freezer, model EUC3109X, width-595mm, height1800mm, depth- 623mm, freezing capacity-24kg/24hours, energy class A

3. CONVOTHERM OVEN modelOBG 6.10Combi Oven-Steamer with Gas Steam Generator Extra: Stand with stainless steel shelving, extractor fan, water supply system and gas installation connections, PLUS CHAFING TRAYS & THERMO BOXES, ALL IN EXCELLENT

1) PLOTS OF LAND FOR SALE ANAVARGOS AREA GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY The plots can be sold as a single unit or individually. From 626 sq.m up to 776 sq.m with building factor 60% and title deeds. Mountain and sea view with nice villas developing around the area. Tel: 96885030 owner 2) COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FOR SALE IN KATO PAFOS 96sq.m The shop is within the ‘’Limnaria Complex’’ and faces the main road Melina Mercouri Avenue It’s in good condition with suspended ceiling, recessed lighting, VRV AC, fitted carpet, motorised shutters, CCTV and more. Tel: 96885030 owner

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Ayia Napa Monday 97798043 Larnaca Tuesday (Polish spk) 96616589 Thursday 24645523 / 99259264

Limassol - tel: 25 761117 fax: 25 761141

PROFESSIONAL UPHOLSTERY CLEANING, also carpets, rugs and mattresses. Special offers now available. FREE STAIN GUARD FOR LIMITED TIME For a quote call Rickys Cleaning Services on 99131044 (all areas) info@rcs-cyprus.net / www.rcscyprus.net

************************** PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH PAINTER AND DECORATOR City and Guilds Advanced 46 years experience of interior and external finishes. Quality work, reliable, estimates and advice freely given. Tala based Phone Terry 96407703 K.D.FLYSCREENS LTD. We manufacture top quality sliding screens, opening doors and roller systems. We also do repairs.

For a FREE QUOTE please contact Phone: 99119582 Website: www.kdfl yscreens.com

***************************** SWIFT SERVICE AND REPAIRS air-cons, commercial and domestic fridges and freezers, ice machines, cool rooms, supply and fi t air-cons VRV S. Call Nik on 99579602 Limassol

LAND FOR SALE MITSERO. 7 skalas. 10% build. South facing, unobstructed views. Access road, water, electricity. Fenced compound with 48sq.meter timber framed 2 bedroom unit, septic tank, grey water system, storage, workshop. €135,000 mobile 99594205 pumpitch@hotmail.com PLOT FOR SALE IN KATO PLATRES in a pine tree area. It comes with title deeds, 1095 square feet.

Tel. 99881051.

DOG GROOMING BUSINESS FOR SALE Do you like animals? If you do you would love doing this. Well established client base for 7 years.

Willing to train if needs require.

Open to offers for a quick sale this includes training, equipment and transport. For more information please call: 96301768

***************************** FOR SALE LAND in Anthoupoli (half plot) 288 sq.metres. for information 99621554.

PETS

PAFOS

FOR SALE MOTOR VEHICLES HONDA 400 TWIN, blue, 1984 in very good condition, chrome exhausts, only 38.000 kms, road tax up to date, €900 o.n.o, please call : 99266282 - Paphos area.

***************************** TOYOTA IQ 2009. Automatic 1ltre.

White pearl, 33.000km. Medium tinted windows, Zenon lights. Perfect condition only €8500.00. Call 99511737

***************************** BLACK HONDA CBR1100XX SUPERBLACKBIRD registered new in June 2011 as new condition with 12000 km. Any inspection welcome. €6950. Call Philip 99680747

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PROPERTY TO LET NICOSIA FOR RENT One bedroom apartment in Lycavitos area near Hilton Hotel – Covered parking – Air-conditioning – Electrical appliances – Under floor heating – Parquet floor – Blinds. Call: 99673008

Mak/ssa lux., pool, 4 bedr., attic, offi ce, maid’s room, modern style, c/h a/c €2000

*****************************

Photos www.markidesestates. com Markides 22- 378898 / 99464764 Reg.No. 487 E 16

Engomi 4 bedr., house ff €1200 without €1000 Acropolis 4 bedr.,house, c/h a/c only €850 Whole fl oor apart., Agios Andreas, Acropolis, Engomi from €1000

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LIMASSOL

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AGAPI is now in a foster home! She is very sweet and playful! Agapi is looking for a permanent home! For adoptions call 99 520 511 MondayFriday or email ndsadoptions@ gmail.com

HOUSES/FLATS

*****************************

2) RESIDENTIAL LAND FOR SALE GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY The plot of land is located in the area of Foinikaria Total area 5,686 with a 20% Building Factor Tel: 96885030 owner

10-2 or email ndsadoptions@gmail. com. Visit by appointments only

HONEY is a 3 month old pincher/ terrier mix. She is very small sized and very sweet and playful. Honey is looking for a loving family to be hers forever! She will remain small sized so she is ideal for a family with an apartment! For adoptions call 99 520 511 Monday-Friday between hours 10-2 or email ndsadoptions@gmail.com

FOR SALE BUSINESS/ PROPERTY/LAND

1) GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY PLOT OF LAND FOR SALE 1,789 sq.m, IN THE AREA OF AGIA ZONI BUILDING FACTOR 140% WITH TITLE DEED. The land is located at a central point in the city, very close to various amenities and has excellent accessibility. Tel: 96885030 owner

Larnaca - tel: 24 652243 fax: 24 659982

classified contents Employment Opportunities pg 22 Employment Miscellaneous 22 Pets 22 Lessons 22 Health & Fitness -Personal 22 Services 22 For Sale Miscellaneous 22 For Sale Land/ Property Business 22 For Sale Motor vehicles 22 Properties Wanted -To Let Nicosia 22 To Let Limassol 24 To Let Larnaca 25 To Let Paphos 25 To Let Protaras, Ayia Napa, Paralimni -For Sale Nicosia 27 For Sale Limassol 27 For Sale Larnaca -For Sale Paphos 27 For Sale Ayia Napa -For Sale Famagusta Protaras 27 For Sale Athens -Property& Home Services display ads --

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************************** DO YOU WANT A SHINY LOOKING FLOOR? Full repair & restoration of chipped, scratched, dull and stained, Marble, Terrazzo, Stone & Ceramic tiled fl oors and surfaces. Professional cleaning, repair & sealing of internal/external ceramic tiles & grout lines.

For a free professional consultation & demonstration contact Mark at Premier on 70006766 All areas

Paphos - tel: 26 911383 fax: 26221049

LOST HUSKY – PAPHOS Answers to the name of Chico went missing on Monday the 4th of February around the International School area chipped Paphiakos Animal Welfare have advised that many large dogs have been taken from the Mesogi/ Anarvagos/Ttremithousa areas.

Please call 99622678 if you have seen him

***************************** DILAN is a male dog approximately 2 years old. He is nice with kids and people. He is looking for a forever home. For adoptions call 99 520 511 Monday-Friday between hours

LUXURIOUS APARTMENT FOR RENT - A luxurious one floor apartment situated in central Nicosia in an area of exceptional Beauty at 3 Museum Street, is available to let. It has been recently renovated and consists of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, big dining and sitting rooms, kitchen and a huge veranda. Approximate covered area 250 sqm. Tel: 99622370.

TO LET 1 bedroom upper floor house, large veranda near restaurant Periyiali in Acropolis 5 Aeantos Street €370 call 99680208 NEW LUXURIOUS spacious (130m²), 2 bedrs flat, 2 balconies, 2 WC, indep. CH, solar system, A/C, granite floors, shutters, Italian kitchen and appliances, storeroom, covered parking in small quiet building (4 flats) in Ay. Dhometios 1.5km form Alfa-Mega Engomi. €590 p.m.

Same building very large ONE bedr flat (75m²) with similar amenities

abbreviations bdrm c/h a/c s/pool f/f apt pm pw sw nw st rd p/s c/l swb r/cass e/w

bedroom central heating air conditioning swimming pool fully furnished apartment per month per week south west north west street road power steering central locking short wheel base radio cassette electric windows

Please note tel nos. that begin with: 22 = Nicosia 23 = Paralimni/Protaras 24 = Larnaca 25 = Limassol 26 = Paphos

23

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Advertiser TO LET NICOSIA €480 p.m. TEL:99 544141

***************************** FLATS/HOUSES FOR RENT Ag. Andreas studio €290, Kennedy €300, 1bdrm Str/los €400, Makarios av. €500, 2 bdrm European University furnished top floor €600 Ag. Dometios ground floor + garden €450, Lycavitos furnished €530, Ag. Paylos rear house newly built €450, 3bdrm M/ssa ground floor €700, Archangelos detached with pool €1,200, 4bdrm Kosta Theodorou new house €1,100, Ag. Andreas g/f €900, Ag. Omologites colonial traditional house pool €2,500. 21 property Finder Ltd. 99474839, 99646822, A.M.627 A.A.108/E

***************************** LUXURY HOUSES: 1. 4 bedr luxury detached house built in 3/4 of a plot, office space, central heating, full a/c, big sitting and dining area, separate big kitchen with family room and all the electrical appliances, blinds and curtains on all windows, aluminium shutters, big garden with grass, 3 wc, covered parking, in a quiet area – Strovolos €1000 (H4ST10051-R), (photos in the website)

TO LET NICOSIA marble floor in the sitting areas and solid parquet floor on stairs and bedrooms,4 wc,3 bathrooms, 2 en suite, big verandas, electrical appliances in the kitchen, 3 covered parking spaces, roof garden access, in a quiet neighbourhood on Mon Parnas hill – Engomi €800 (photos in the website).

3. 3 bedr detached house with extra room for office, 250sq.m, central heating independent, 4 a/c, big renovated kitchen with cooker and oven, big sitting and dining room with parquet floor and fireplace, 1 bathroom, 2 shower, 3 wc, 2 covered parking, double glazed windows and shutters in bedrooms, big verandas surrounded by trees and bushes off 28th October street IN the central part of Makedonitissa – €1100 (H3MAK0004-R) (photos on the website)

2. 3 bedr luxury terraced house, 210sq.m,central heating, full a/c,

4. 3 bedr luxury semi-detached house with character, 200sq.m, central heating, full ac, sitting and dining room with fireplace, big kitchen with cooker and oven, dishwasher and refrigerator, nice mature garden with flowers, trees and small garden with grass, covered parking, 3wc, 2 bathrooms in a quiet neighbourhood. Available middle of January. Agios Andreas - €1200 - H3AAD0001-R (photos

FOR RENT

English-Painter & Decorator

2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Larnaca near new hospital. €400 per month including service charge and refuse collection Call 99358916

Fully Qualified 30 years’ Experience SUMMER OFFER 30% OFF ALL AREAS • External & Internal painting • Damp Damage Repairs • Spritez Repairs • Free Estimates + very clean work • All areas. All types of woodwork stained and preserved • All work guaranteed

Tel. Tony on 99176557

TO LET NICOSIA on website).

5. 3 bedr luxury house, office space, attic room, with central heating, full a/c, separate kitchen, NICELY MODERN FURNISHED, 2 verandas, in a quiet area – Lakatamia €680 (H4LAK009-R), (photos in the website).

6. 3 bedr + attic room with shower and wc luxury detached house with central heating, a/c, fireplace, modern kitchen open plan with expensive electrical appliances, blinds, garden with grass, over flow swimming pool, covered parking in a quiet area. – Makedonitissa €1600 (H4MAK0023-R), (photos on the website).

7. 4 bedr luxury detached house with big sitting and dining room with parquet floor, separate big kitchen with family room and all the electrical appliances, small garden with grass and bbq area,3wc, central heating, full a/c, covered parking, in a very quiet neighborhood – Archangelos €1200 (H4AR0017-R), (photos in the website).

8. 3 bedr +office space partially renovated detached ground floor house, 280sq.m, central heating with oil, full a/c, 3wc, separate tv room, big sitting and dining area, big verandas around the house,

TO LET NICOSIA bbq area, covered parking, private yard near the parking.– Strovolos €1200 (H4ST10048-R), (photos in the website).

9. New modern luxury very good quality finished semi detached house built in 3 levels. Upstairs 1st level 3 bedrs all en suite+ laundry room, 2nd level big attic room which can be used for office space or bedroom. Ground floor with 2 sitting areas ,dining area and breakfast area, kitchen with all the electrical appliances, central heating, full a/c units. Basement with kitchen with cooker and oven, dishwasher, microwave and 2 refrigerators, sitting room with fireplace, and 2 bedrooms with one bathroom. Outside private fenced garden with artifi cial grass, bbq area and covered veranda. The house has blinds and shutters on all windows, false ceiling with spot lights throughout house, pressure system, covered parking, satellite dish, central music and network system, storage room, very good double glazed windows. Behind General flooring in the centre of Makedonitissa - €2000 (H4MAK0001-R), (photos on the website).

10. 4 bedr semi detached house with central heating, 4 a/c, 3 wc, 2 bathrooms, 180sq.m, electrical appli-

SELECT Fencing & Decking Specialist For all your Garden and Security Fencing ♦ Quality approved workmanship ♦ 15 years experience + guaranteed work ♦ English workers ♦ also garden gates ♦ sheds ♦ chain link fencing ♦ free estimates ♦ all types of fencing & decking

Roofing flat & tired roofing repairs and construction Tel. SELECT fencing 99176557

TO LET NICOSIA ances, small yard, bbq area, off Kostantinoupoleos street near French ambassador residence.- STROVOLOS €700 (H4ST10043-R), (photos in the website).

11. 4 bedr new luxury finished detached house with central heating independent, full a/c, 3wc, 2 bathrooms, big kitchen with cooker oven, dishwasher and big family room, aluminium shutters in all the house, separate big sitting and dining room with parquet floor, 2 covered parking, alarm system, big covered patio, SWIMMING POOL, in a newly built area near Falcon school – Strovolos €2000 (photos in the website).

12. 3 bedrs luxury 2 storey, FULLY RENOVATED LISTED HOUSE with high ceilings in the centre of Nicosia, 260sq.m, 2 small attic rooms, big sitting room upstairs, big sitting room and dining area downstairs, wooden floor, kitchen with all the electrical appliances, 2 bathrooms(one en

TO LET NICOSIA suite),3wc,CH independent, A/C, big garden – Nicosia Centre €1400 (H4NIC0002-R), (photos in the website).

13. 3 bedr upstairs and 2 separate bedrooms in the basement luxury detached house (all the bedrooms with en suite bathrooms/shower), also separate kitchen and sitting room in the basement which also has separate entrance from the house, central heating, full a/c, solid parquet floor throughout house, big sitting and dining room with fireplace, big fully equipped kitchen with breakfast area and family room, big over flow, swimming pool with covered patio area with fully equipped bar (bbq, fridge, freezer, cooker), mature garden around the house,2 parking places, alarm system near the Cyprus Conference Centre – Platy Aglantzias €3500 (H5PAG0002-R).

14. 4 bedr very big luxury semi detached house 350sq.m, with big

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24

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Advertiser TO LET NICOSIA separate basement 80sq.m with 2 rooms, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom. Consists of big sitting and dining areas upstairs, big kitchen with big family room and breakfast area, big bedrooms, 3 showers, 1 bathroom, central heating, full a/c, black out blinds on all windows, cooker and oven in the kitchen, covered parking and patio with bbq in a very quiet neighbourhood close to Makarios football stadium.CAN BE RENTED FURNISHED, PARTIALLY FURNISHED OR UNFURNISHED - Makedonitissa €1500(H4MAK0032-R), (photos in the website) 15. 4 bedrs new luxury detached house, all the bedrooms very big and all with big bathroom/shower, sitting room upstairs, attic room with shower and wc, office space/ maid’s room with shower and wc, central heating, full AC,450sq.m, big sitting and dining areas, big kitchen with sitting area and fitted cooker and oven, 6wc, 2 covered parking, yard with tiles and SWIMMING POOL, bbq area in a very quiet neighbourhood near CYBC ( RIK) station and near a neighbourhood park – Platy Aglantzias €2500 (H4AGZ0005-R), (photos in the website) For many more properties with

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA photos visit our website at w w w.landtouristest ates.com which is updated daily. LANDTOURIST ESTATES LTD 22422225/96 - 422225/96422226, www.landtouristestates.com

100sq.m + 80sq.m veranda with flowers and bbq, big sitting and dining room with big 60” TV, storage heaters, full a/v, 2 wc, en suite bathroom/jacuzzi, roman blinds, cooker, oven, microwave, washing machine and refrigerator in the kitchen, covered parking, near Metro supermarket – Aglantzia €600 (photos in the website).

***************************** LUXURY FLATS: 1. 3 bedr luxury finished spacious floor apartment with very big sitting and dining areas with family room with fire place, solid parquet floor all through, central heating independent, full a/c, all the bedrooms with en suite shower/bathroom, 4wc, big kitchen with all the electrical appliances, blinds on all windows, big covered veranda, covered parking, big storage room, on a small 3 storey building in a quiet neighbourhood – Agios Andreas- €1300 – A3AAD0005-R (photos on website).

2. 1 bedr spacious fully luxury renovated apartment,60sq.m, big sitting and dining room, big bedroom, fully newly modern furnished with LCD TV 32’, covered veranda, covered parking, storage heaters, full a/c, near Cyta, Laiki and Hellenic Bank headquarters – Dasoupolis €550 (photos in the website).

3. 2 bedr penthouse apartment,

4. 2 bedr luxury ground floor apartment with central heating-independent, full a/c, structure cabling internet and satellite network, FULLY MODERN EXPENSIVE FURNISHED, with 46”LCD TV, covered parking, double glazed windows, aluminium shutters, on Pericleous street near Klimataria traffic lights – Strovolos €650 (A2ST10054-R) (photos in the website) 5. 4 bedr new spacious luxury finished floor apartment with floor heating independent, full a/c, 3wc, electrical appliances in the kitchen, blinds on all windows, very big 50sq.m covered veranda, fireplace, covered parking and big over floor heated covered swimming pool on the ground floor, on a small 3 storey building in a quiet neighbourhood near a playground and near Ippokration private hospital – Engomi €1500 (A4ENG0003-R) (photos in the website) 6. 1 bedr new luxury apartment in a modern building(TSENTAS),with central heating ind, 2 a/c, cooker and oven, refrigerator and washing machine in the kitchen, parquet floor, NICELY FURNISHED big covered veranda, big sitting room off Kyriakou Matsi street, 1 km from the centre €460 (A1AOM0002-R), (photos in the website).

7.

1 bedr cozy luxury apartment,60sq.m,parquet floor, nicely furnished ,all fitted electrical appliances (cooker, oven, microwave, washing machine, dishwasher, fridge), roman blinds, provisions for home cinema, big

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

covered verandah, storage heaters, 2 a/c ,covered parking in Dasoupolis near Alpha Mega supermarket and Areteion hospital.

– Dasoupoli €470 (A1DAS0009-R) (photos in the website)

verandas, pressure system and 2 Pcovered with remote control entrance, walking distance to the centre very close to Debenhams €1300 (A3NIC0028-R), (photos in the website)

8. 2 bedr spacious renovated apartment 100sq.m with separate big kitchen, air condition for hot and cold in all the rooms, covered veranda, nicely newly fully furnished , off Kyriakou Matsi street very close to the centre on foot– Agioi Omologites €500 (A2AOM0003-R) (photos in the website)

12. 2 bedr new modern luxury finished apartment with parquet floor, central heating independent, 2 a/c, modern kitchen with all fitted expensive electrical appliances, blinds on the windows, big covered veranda, FULLY NICELY FURNISHED, covered parking in a quiet neighbourhood off Kallipoleos Street - Lykavitos €700 (A2LYK0024-R) (photos on the website)

9. New top quality 2 bedr apartment, 93sq.m+20sq.m veranda, on a small modern building with 6 flats only. Central heating independent, full a/c, 2 bathrooms, 2wc, fully fitted kitchen with all the electrical appliances, water pressure system roller blinds and shutters on windows, big sitting and dining room, big bedrooms, covered parking and storage room, in a quiet neighbourhood near Akropolis park. AVAILABLE end of March – Acropolis €800 A2ACS0002-R (photos in the website) .

10. New luxury finished 1 bedr penthouse apartment with big verandah with nice view, in a small modern building,55sq.m,storage heaters,2 a/c, blinds on the windows, expensive electrical appliances(cooker, oven, extractor, refrigerator, washing machine, dryer),covered parking and storage room, off Kalippoleos street opposite Dessange Day Spa near the University – Lykavitos €420 (A1LYK0002-R), (photos in the website).

11. 3 bedrs luxury penthouse one floor apartment in a small building with 3 apartments,250sq.m plus big covered verandas, fire place, solid parquet floor,2 bathrooms,3 wc, cooker, oven, fridge, washing machine and dishwasher in the kitchen, CH independent, full a/c, big reception areas opening to the

13. 3 bedr luxury penthouse apartment with central heating independent, full a/c, 2wc, big sitting and dining room with fireplace, separate kitchen, NICELY MODERN FURNISHED, big covered and uncovered veranda, covered parking, in Strovolos near the Municipal building - €650 (A3ST10014-R) (photos on the website) 14. 3 bedr spacious luxury finished apartment 150sq.m+30sq.m covered veranda, central heating independent with petrol, full wall a/c units, solid parquet floor, expensive electrical appliances in the kitchen, 3wc, curtains and blinds on windows, 3 COVERED PARKING, storage room, near Pizza Hut in Strovolos €1100 (photos in the website).

15. 3 bedrs luxury penthouse,165sq. m+80sq.m verandah with bbq, central heating ind, full AC, 3 wc, 2 bathrooms, solid parquet floor all the flat, big kitchen with dining area, fully MODERN FURNISHED, covered parking off Athalassa Avenue near Stephanis Electrinics and English school – Strovolos €800 (A3ST10013-R) (photos in the website) 16. New luxury finished 4 bed PENTHOUSE apartment in a

TO LET NICOSIA small modern building, 186sq. m+90sq.m big veranda with nice view, separate floor heating, fully air conditioned, 4wc, 2 en suite bedrooms with shower,1 bathroom, solid parquet floor all through, big sitting and dining areas with electric modern shutters opening to the veranda, fully equipped kitchen with expensive electrical appliances, 2 parking places (1 covered), in a very quiet neighbourhood ,near the Russian Embassy. AVAILABLE END OF MARCH –Engomi €1900 (A4ENG0005-R) (photos in the website) For many more properties with photos visit our website at w w w.landtouristestates.com which is updated daily. LANDTOURIST ESTATES LTD 22422225 / 96-422225 / 96422226 www.landtouristestates.com

***************************** 2 BDRM flat in the centre of Nicosia. Rent €450. For information call 99453663, 99663927.

*****************************

LIMASSOL ***************************** FOR RENT office of around 85m2, with partitions, kitchenette and parking in a peaceful, green yet central area at Helladion House(off.

302; 3rd floor), 5 Andrea Kalvou Str. For viewing, please call Ms. Jenny on 25-340987(3rd flloor of building; office hours). For further details, please call 25-521873 after 8:00pm.

***************************** FOR RENT IN IPSONAS near highway, first floor house, 3 bedrooms, C/H, A/C, fitted kitchen with all electrical appliances, and TV room.

Roof garden with extra kitchen,

25

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Advertiser TO LET LIMASSOL

TO LET LIMASSOL

BBQ, pergola. Rent €600pm. Tel 99672925

***************************** UN-DETACHED HOUSE for rent in Apshiou village, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room, bathroom with solar water heater. A/C, satellite, 15mins to roundabout. €350.

Tel 25369219, work 10.30-17.30 25542968 home 99773151

***************************** TO LET Large 4 bedroom unfurnished house in the village of Asomatos nr Akrotiri Limassol. Fully A/C & Heating (storage heaters). 5 wc’s, large kitchen/diner, lounge and sitting room. Large loft with own shower/ wc (suitable for office/playroom/ gym). Carport - prominent position in cul-de-sac - lots of parking. €850 pcm (negotiable). Available from April 2013. Tel. 99831431

***************************** FOR RENT 1,2,3,4,5 bedroom houses, flats and villas furnished or unfurnished and in some cases with swimming pool in all areas of Limassol town, Erimi, Episkopi, Kolossi, Ypsonas, Souni, Kivides, Agios Tihonas, Pyrkos, Pareklisia, Trahoni, Zakaki and Yermasoyia Tel: 99675752

***************************** FOR RENT 4 bedroom detached

house situated in a quiet area of Erimi, with spacious, living area, kitchen, guest WC downstairs, and four bedrooms upstairs with en-suite master bedroom, and bathroom. It has central heating, and air-condition. beautiful garden and parking. €800. 99675752 FOR RENT 4 bedroom detached house in Episkopi, on top of a hill with panoramic views of Curium Beach and garden all around (very private). It has a spacious living area, separate kitchen, utility room, guest WC downstairs and four bedrooms with bathroom upstairs.

Central heating, air-conditioning, parking. €750. (negotiable) Tel: 99 675752 FOR RENT five bedroom villa for rent in Agios Sylas (7 minutes from town of Limassol) detached with beautiful panoramic mountain and sea views. It has large sitting dining area, separate kitchen, utility room, office, laundry shoot, four w/c, en-suite master bedroom with walk-in-wardrobe. Small kitchen area upstairs between bedrooms, large bedroom balconies. Central heating, air-conditioning, barbaque area. Also has a separate apartment below the house with small kitchen and shower with WC. A nice large gargen and covered

STUDIOS FOR RENT

TO LET LARNACA

TO LET LIMASSOL

flat near Larco hotel Larnaca. Price €370. Tel 99202543

parking. €1300. 99675752 TRADITIONAL VILLAGE STONE HOUSE IN APESHIA. Very quiet village, 20mins from Limassol.

Road to heritage school/Troodos.

2 bedrooms, office available top floor with veranda great view of mountains. Small courtyard with trees. Electric solar water. A/Ctoilet in main bedroom. Semi/ full furnished. Fitted kitchen with electrical appliances, fireplace.

Toilet/shower. €550pm negotiable. Tel 96891800.

GROUND FLOOR HOUSE, furnished renovated this year. Laminated parke floor, and big wardrobes in the 3 bedrooms. Rent €590.00 Tel 99497576 99886775

LARNACA HOUSE FOR RENT 3 Bedrooms, 3 WC, A/C, C/H, white goods, VERGINA Larnaca. €570 per month Tel. 99 478749 FOR RENT fully furnished 1 bedroom

1 BEDROOM flat in Ermou Square area Larnaca - 2 bedroom flat in Phaneromenis area Larnaca.

Call 96693375

*****************************

2. Superior Real Estate Larnaca.

2 bedroom fully furnished apartment, nr the Metro/American Academy Larnaca. Ref. TLL1654 Please call to arrange a viewing Tel. 24815926

CHLORAKAS: 3 Bedroom unfurnished villa private swimming pool, utility room, walk in wardrobes, en suite shower 180 m2 covered area fenced garden fully a/c, € 575 p/m For more information phone 99400697

3.

*****************************

www.superiorrealestatelarnaca.com – LARGE RANGE OF RENTAL PROPERTIES. From studio apartments to 5 bedroom villa’s for rent, all properties have detailed descriptions, professional photographs. Interactive Virtual/Video Tours. Please visit our website. www.superiorreales-

Tel: 25-324800 (office hours)

If interested please call 99 314108, 70005150, Email: singles@kronos2.net

EMBA

Very energetic, sweet, pretty and stylish lady. She is divorced 42. Scientist self employed, well-off financially. She prefers to spend her free time playing tennis, swimming and exploring nature. ID-ALAN

VISIT US NOW FOR:

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FRESH VILLAGE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES WATCH REPAIRS & JEWELLERY POTTED FLOWERS NEW & USED HANDBAGS & CLOTHES SECOND HAND BOOKS COMPUTERS & TELEPHONE ACCESSORIES SECOND HAND FURNITURE & ANTIQUES INDIAN TAKE AWAY HOME MADE FRESH CAKES & PIES FROZEN FISH CHILDREN’S TOY’S AND MUCH MORE ….

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LANDLORDS AVERTISE YOUR PROPERTY WITH US FOR FREE. Tel. 24815926 Email. info@superiorrealestatelarnaca.com

*****************************

Fully furnished renovated studios for rent at Dassoudi beach Limassol. They have air-condition, balcony and private parking area.

FRIDAY – SATURDAY – SUNDAY 8:00AM – 2:00PM ALL YEAR ROUND

tatelarnaca.com 4.

1. Superior Real Estate Larnaca.

3 bedroom detached unfurnished property set on a fantastic development in the village of Tersefanou. Available for immediate occupation. Ref. TLL973. Tel 24815926

Are you looking to meet an Attractive, Beautiful, Gorgeous, Successful lady who has a lot to offer, love, beauty and personality.

INDOOR MARKET & CAR BOOT SALE

TO LET LARNACA

PAPHOS

KISSONERGA - Beautiful Detached

TO LET PAPHOS U/F 3 Bedroomed Villa, Large Pool, 2 Bedrooms Upstairs Master En-suite, Family Bathroom, modern Fitted Kitchen, Downstairs Bedroom with En-suite Shower room, Low maintenance Garden, Large Terraces and Separate Storage Room €600.

TALA - Modern 2 and 3 bedroom apartments U/F, P/F and F/F, some with communal pool, A/C, Separate Storage and own Parking €325.

TREMITHOUSA - Traditional Spacious 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom, and Large Mature enclosed Garden, Open Fireplace, Beautiful Fitted Kitchen, A/C, Wonderful Family Home €400.

EMBA - Spacious 2 Bedroom Corner house ,U/F, Separate Downstairs Cloakroom, Balcony, no garden €300.

26

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS URGENTLY WANTED – 2/3 Bedroom F/F Properties MORE PROPERTIES AVAILABLE FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 99862922

***************************** FOR RENT KATO PAPHOS spacious 2 bed F/F garden apartment. Enclosed garden with 2 covered patios next to green area, cul-de-sac setting. AC, SAT TV, comm. pool.

Superb location with private covered parking and entrance. Quiet yet close to all amenities. â‚Ź400 p/m.

Contact 26 911540 or 99955302.

***************************** TOK’s – 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, Immaculate, very high spec top oor apartment, Luxury furnished with Flatscreen TV’s in living room and bedrooms, lift, pool, beautiful development, fantastic location ₏425 pm Lower Peyia – 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom Modern Unfurnished Villa with beautiful sea views. Spacious villa with wood burner, utility room, white goods, storage area, alarm system, low maintenance manicured garden & private pool ₏1100 pm Lower Peyia – Good size detached 3 bedroom Villa in lovely residential no through road, separate kitchen,

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

well maintained, large balcony, private pool and garden with sea views ₏750 pm Universal - 2 bedroom fully furnished ground oor apartment, a/c, large bedrooms, communal pool, o/s parking ₏350 Please contact us whatever your rental requirements as we have many other properties available. LANDLORDS/OWNERS – We always require more properties to list for waiting clients. Please call NOW: 96241965

***************************** PEYIA, luxury villa, 3 double bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, fully or part furnished, private pool, quiet location, paved garden area, sea and mountain views. Sky satellite, euro 650 ono, please call: 99771532 – no agents KILI – PAPHOS, 3 bedroom villa, with swimming pool and garden, unfurnished, gas central heating, large verandas, lovely mountain views, very quiet and tranquil area, ₏475 per month o.n.o. Call : 99479006

***************************** LOW COST, long term 3 bedroom bungalow, Polis area, Gialia village, on 3 acres of property, large variety of fruit trees, extremely

private with panoramic mountain and sea views, unfurnished, swimming pool, a/c and ďŹ replace, fence around the property â‚Ź550 per month ono – available from 1st of April For more info call: 99 442485

***************************** MR RENT PAPHOS, THE LEADING PROPERTY RENTAL AGENCY IN PAPHOS OFFICE: 26271858 (00357) IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY TO RENT WE ARE THE RENTAL AGENCY TO CONTACT OFFERING FULL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & RENT COLLECTION SERVICE 1. UNIVERSAL AREA ₏370 spacious 2 bedroom ground oor apartment in the sought after complex Paradise Gardens, offering luxurious communal pool & gardens.

Fully furnished with good furniture, fully equipped modern kitchen with American fridge freezer. Solar panels for free hot water. Fully enclosed patio garden. Covered parking. Pets allowed at owners discretion. Website reference number: RTL_305 2. ANARITA â‚Ź375 beautifully furnished modern 2 bedroom townhouse situated in a quiet complex with air conditioned spacious gym also communal pools & well tended

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

gardens. Townhouse offers modern quality furniture & ďŹ ttings. Guest wc and small patio garden. Viewings highly recommended. Website reference number: RTL_667

Spacious living area with real ďŹ replace. Downstairs guest wc. Master bedroom with ensuite. Available fully furnished. Website reference number: RTL_550

3. PEYIA â‚Ź550 modern detached 2 bedroom villa situated on private road. Available unfurnished though includes central heating throughout, pressurised water & security alarm system. Modern ďŹ tted kitchen & bathrooms. Roof terrace with sea views & private pool. Website reference number: rtl_447. Also available modern detached 3 bedroom villa on this private road. Website reference number: RTL_572

6. KATO PAPHOS â‚Ź800 large 4 bedroom detached villa situated in the sought after residential area of Limnaria. Walking distance to the beach and the many amenities of Kato Paphos. Spacious living accommodation offering an enclosed garden with c/pool. Fully furnished with modern furniture & solar panels. Website reference number: RTL_442

4. MESOGI â‚Ź700 spacious 4 bedroom villa plus playroom or ofďŹ ce including gas central heating. One bedroom & bathroom on ground oor. Available unfurnished. Enclosed low maintenance garden with private pool offering privacy & views over countryside. Situated in a quiet residential area. Website reference number: rtl_618 5. LOWER CHLORAKA â‚Ź750 spacious detached 3 bedroom villa offering stunning views of the sea. Situated in a quiet residential street opposite orange groves.

Gated entrance enclosed good sized low maintenance mature garden with fruit trees & private pool.

7. PEYIA â‚Ź950 we are delighted to offer this ultra modern 4 bedroom villa with luxury furnishings & ďŹ ttings. Offering spacious accommodation with breathtaking sea views.

Finished to a very high quality. Spacious living area with modern ďŹ tted kitchen & utility area. One bedroom on ground oor with ensuite & kitchenette. Guest wc. Private inďŹ nity pool & enclosed low maintenance garden. A must to see! Website reference number: RTL_670 8. CHLORAKA â‚Ź2,200 substantial lux-

ury 4 bedroom villa, spacious (350 sq meters), beautifully designed with unique detail. Conservatory with views of landscaped gardens.

Large modern ďŹ tted kitchen, living room with working ďŹ replace. Circular dining room with vaulted dome ceiling. Stunning private pool area.

Available unfurnished. Website reference number: RTL_579 Tel: 97790883 Tel: 99133422 ofďŹ ce: 26271858 visit our website for many more properties www. mrrent-paphos.net email: info@ mrrent-paphos.net

***************************** FOR RENT A SELECTION of 1 to 5 bedroom houses & apartments F/F & U/F Universal, Peyia, Tomb of the Kings, Tsada, Timi, Chlorakas & Kato Paphos Landlord & Owners please call 99329357 Or please view at are website www.cyprussands.com Fully Registered Company in Cyprus

***************************** FLOWRON PROPERTY RENTALS: Offering a full range of property services, the company you can TRUST. LOCATION DESCRIP-

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27

CYPRUS MAIL Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS TION MANDRIA 2 bedroom furnished bungalow within walking distance of the village. Large bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room/ dining area with fireplace, large bathroom.

Outside gated area and fenced off, pets welcomed Ref: 1217 450 Euros AYIA MARINOUDA 2 bedroom furnished bungalow in lovely quiet complex with communal pool.

Property has fireplace, off street parking, nice stone features, character property. Ref: 1224 500 Euros MESOGI 4 bedroom house offered furnished, near to all amenities.

Property has sitting, dining area, kitchen, storage, downstairs bedroom, guest wc. Upstairs 3 additional bedrooms, master en suite, family bathroom. Off street parking, back garden with lawn Ref 1211 650 Euros SEA CAVES Modern Bungalow offered furnished or unfurnished, 3 bedroom, master en suite shower, family bathroom, kitchen, sitting area, outside private pool, roof garden, outside shower, toilet, fly screens nice location with sea views . Ref: 1213 750 Euros CORAL BAY 4 bedroom large villa, modern kitchen, sitting room with

TO LET PAPHOS fireplace, heating, ac, fly screens, large bedrooms, master en suite, family bathroom, closed garage, storage area, off street parking with gated access, very private villa Ref: 1212 1500 Euros

ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LONG TERM RENTAL. CALL 97648440 FOR MORE INFORMATION. LANDLORDS CALL IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY FOR RENT.!!!

PEGEIA 3 bedroom unfurnished villa with great sea and mountain views. Property has sitting/dining area, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, master en suite, private pool, covered parking. Ref: 1214 550 Euros

1. MESA CHORIO– 2 bed 2 bath fully furnished ground floor apartment set on an elevated position on this prestigious development. Open plan living area.

Good sized kitchen. 2 double , bedrooms, master with en-suite shower room. Family bathroom.

Large patio areas with enclosed gardens and lovely sea views.

Covered parking and security gates.. Comm swimming pool.

Euros 400.00 per month

CORAL BAY 3 bedroom Villa offered furnished or unfurnished in a lovely private and peaceful location. Property is cosy with a small kitchen, sitting room and dining area with a fire place, ac, guest wc, 3 bedrooms master en suite, family bathroom. Nice views Ref: 842 750 Euros CHLORAKA 2 and 1 bedroom apartments in a lovely modern complex offered furnished or unfurnished with fly screens, nice large kitchen, bathroom, communal pool, nice location. Ref 1219 from 300 Euros Please call for a free viewing on Office 26600450 Mobile: 97614070 many more properties on our website at www. flowron.com - Your Vision is our Mission LANDLORDS IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY FOR RENT, PLEASE CALL US!!!!!!

*****************************

Cello & piano duet wide repertoire available for bars, cafes, hotels,

PEYIA – 3 bedroom villa with modern quality furniture and finishes.

Central heating, sky, alarm, infinity pool and stunnning sea and mountain views €700 per month, call: 99389426 BRAND NEW APT, opposite Poseidonio Gym, near Carrefour, F/F, a/c, great quality, 1 bdrm, from €340p.m.Tel 99403261

*****************************

receptions etc.

99947442 or 99418282

TO LET PAPHOS

RENTAL POINT - PAPHOS ***** PROPERTIES AVAILABLE TO RENT IN THE PAPHOS DISTRICT. JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF AVAILABLE PROPERTIES.

2 FYTI 3 bed, 3 bath furnished villa in a very quiet location. The property offers stylish accommodation and has many luxury features. Open plan living area with feature fireplace. Dining area.

Large fully fitted L shaped kitchen with appliances and breakfast bar Doors out to rear garden and pool. Guest WC. Stairs up to 3 very spacious bedrooms. Master with ensuite. Family bathroom and storage cupboard. Stairs up to roof garden with panoramic views. Outside there is a feature pergola, swimming pool and landscaped gardens. Euros 700.00 a month.

3. OLYMPUS ESTATE, NR TSADA – 3 bed, 2.5 bath furnished bungalow set on this prestigious estate. The house has central heating, A/C, fireplace, shutters & flyscreens. Spacious open plan living area with dining space.

Large “L” shaped kitchen. 3 double bedrooms all leading to pool and gardens. Master with en-suite. Covered patio with sea and rural views, swimming pool and garden areas. Feature outside dining area. Breakfast area to the side of the property. Easy care gardens. Pool with Roman steps. Parking for 3 cars. Bargain price!!! Euros 800.00 per month

TO LET PAPHOS furnished, unfurnished by arrangement at lower cost.

4. TALA - 3 bed 3 bath quality furnished villa. Set in enclosed gardens the villa consists of open plan living area with dining space.

Fully fitted kitchen with all appliances, door to rear garden. Storage room. Ground floor bedroom with adjacent shower. Stairs to two double bedrooms both ensuite, one with Jacuzzi tub. Small seating area with adjacent balcony. Pool and off street parking. Landscaped gardens Euros 650.00 per month 5. AYIOS DEMITRIANOS (POLEMI) – 3 bed, 2 bath furnished villa (bungalow style) set in a private and quiet location. Open plan living area with fireplace. Fully fitted kitchen with quality appliances.

Utility room and storage. Master bedroom with adjacent shower.

Two more double bedrooms with family bathroom with Jacuzzi bath. Garden areas, large terraces with outstanding views. Private pool 10x5, Covered parking. Euros 700.00 per month furnished, 650 unfurnished.

6. UNIVERSAL AREA. 2 bed, 2 bath fully furnished penthouse apartment. Living area with dining space. Doors out to massive balcony area overlooking the pool and gardens. Fitted kitchen.

2 double bedrooms, master bedroom has ensuite shower. Family bathroom. A/C, Comm pool and parking. Euros 450.00 a month or offers.

7. LOWER PEYIA - 3 bed, 2.5 bath unfurnished villa situated in quiet cul du sac. Open plan living and dining area with doors out the to pool and garden. Very large breakfast fitted kitchen. Doors out to garden and pool. Separate guest WC. Stairs to 3 double bedrooms. Master bedroom very large with en-suite shower. Family bathroom. Private pool, gardens, shutters. Euros 550.00 per month or close offers only.

8. CHLORAKAS – 2 bed 1 bath large furnished apartment in quiet area. Spacious open plan living area with doors out to balcony.

Good sized modern fitted kitchen and breakfast area. Small balcony off the kitchen. Two double bedrooms. Family bathroom. Off-street parking, comm pool. Euros 380.00 per month.

FOR FULL LISTINGS OF APARTMENTS/TOWNHOUSES AND VILLAS, PLEASE SEE www. rentalpointpaphos.com ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LONG TERM RENTAL LANDLORDS/OWNERS PLEASE CALL WITH DETAILS PLEASE CALL 97648440 or email:- inforentals@aol.com

Tel: 99753334

2 beds. Gas CH. Double glazing.

Mains drainage. Plot 730 sq.m. Fruit trees flower beds. Large workshop.

Jacuzzi. Car port. Open view. Easy drive to Limassol. TITLE DEEDS 187500 Tel 99995906.

**************************** EXECUTIVE PENTHOUSE for sale in central Limassol (Glastonas Street area). Five minute walk to the beach. 4/5 bedrooms. Private rooftop walk-in swimming pool with large terraces and conservatory. Total area: 800m2 (300m2 covered) €825,000 negotiable Tel: 99169485 Photos & more info: http://penthouse-forsalecyprus. blogspot.com/

*****************************

******************************

PAPHOS

PROPERTY FOR SALE

*****************************

NICOSIA STROVOLOS, Symi street, Tseriou new one bedroom apartment, 55 sqm, large sunny balcony, airconditioned, private parking, lift, title deeds, reduced price €95.000 (including VAT) (no offers) tel: 99266282 (no agents) FOR SALE upper floor house 210 sq.m built on 301 sq. m land, Lapatsa area, Pereous 1a. 4 bedrooms with attic room (not finished), c/h ,4 a/c, aluminium doors& window, covered parking and storage room.

Price €310.000 pm call 22431095 99330632.

LIMASSOL

2 BEDROOM top floor apartment built in 2006, 75 sqm, large sunny balcony with sea views, 2 bathrooms (en-suite), communal pool, air conditioning. Small block of 9 apartments, located behind darmart store, near the debenhams roundabout, underground private parking, storage room and lift, reduced price: €98.000 (including VAT) with title deeds (no agents) please call: 99266282

****************************

PROTARAS ***************************** FOR SALE special offer, €79, 000 first floor apartment in Protaras, fully furnished with 2 bedrooms and a swimming pool. Walking distance to the beach of Ayia Triada and all amenities. Tel: 97 608941.

***************************** SMART EASILY MAINTAINED BUNGALOW. Pano Kivides. 110 sq.m.

ARIS EMPIRE BINGO Address: Paphos street 207, next to Carrefour Kato Polemidia, Limassol Email: arisempire@yahoo.com

FOR SALE LIMASSOL

TO LET PAPHOS

A new and very different place has opened its doors today to the bingo world, inviting people to come and try their luck. Aris Empire Bingo is impressively and luxuriously decorated and can host up to 1000 people providing all the comforts for a night of fun or relaxation.

Visitors can have fun, playing bingo, trying to win one of the big money prizes that are handed out each time. People can also choose from the large choice of food on the menu, which is reasonably priced. The meticulous work done by the owner is apparent at every corner, even in the kitchen which is HACCP certified, with everything designed by the CTO. Bingo has now taken-on a different character of being more enjoyable and of more quality for all those who love the game but have kept their distance as they could not find a place that expressed them. The spacious hall has good ventilation and Aris Empire Bingo has a large parking, making it easier for any visitors.

Opening hours is from 8pm till 2am Restaurant hours from 8pm Bingo starts at 9pm

28

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Sport Del Potro confirms Queen’s commitment

THE Miami Heat extended their winning streak to 23 games on Monday night the second longest in NBA history - with a dramatic 105-103 victory over the Celtics in Boston.

LeBron James poured in 37 points and contributed 12 assists to prolong Miami’s amazing run despite a career-high 43-point haul from Jeff Green.

The triumph ensured the Heat surpassed the 22 consecutive wins achieved by Houston in 2007-08.

The Denver Nuggets also continued their winning run, narrowly clinching a 12th straight success thanks to a 119-118 overtime victory against the Chicago Bulls.

Wilson Chandler paced Denver with 35 points, but it was Andre Iguodala’s three-pointer with 7.1 seconds left in overtime which secured the win.

A late surge from Luis Scola, who scored all 14 of his points in the final quarter, led the Phoenix Suns to a comprehensive 99-76 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The New York Knicks snapped a four-game losing streak by seeing off the Utah Jazz 90-83, JR Smith contributing 20 points and Raymond Felton 19 for the victors.

The Washington Wizards’ three-game winning run ended in a 119-114 loss against the Bobcats in Charlotte, Gerald Henderson leading the victors with 27 points.

Jrue Holiday scored 27 points, including a couple of decisive late free throws, as the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Portland Trail Blazers 101-100, while the Detroit Pistons went down 119-82 against the Brooklyn Nets.

Elsewhere, Gerald Green’s 20 points helped the Indiana Pacers topple the Cavaliers 111-90 in Cleveland, 24 points from Darren Collison lifted the Dallas Mavericks to a 127-113 triumph over the Atlanta Hawks, the Memphis Grizzlies overcame the Minnesota Timberwolves 92-77 and the Golden State Warriors cruised past the New Orleans Hornets 93-72.

INDIAN Wells finalist Juan Martin Del Potro has joined Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych in confirming his place in the field for the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in June.

The Argentinian world number seven enjoyed one of the best weeks of his career when he beat Murray and Novak Djokovic back-to-back at the BNP Paribas Open last week, the first player to get the better of the world number one this year.

He was also a set and a break up on Rafael Nadal in the final on Sunday, but the Spaniard hit back to seal a stunning victory.

Grass has not been Del Potro’s strongest surface, but he showed his potential last summer when he beat Djokovic to win the bronze medal at the Olympic tournament at Wimbledon.

The 24-year-old said: “I like to play on grass, and at the AEGON Championships you feel like you are at home.

They provide some great facilities for the players and it’s a very good tournament.

“I have a fantastic memory from last year when I won the bronze medal at the Olympics. It was a magnificent experience for me. I had never played at an Olympics before so it was a big moment for me and my country.

“To win on grass at Wimbledon as well made it an even bigger moment. I think that if I play my best tennis I have a chance to win a grand slam tournament on grass, but it will be very difficult.”

IN BRIEF

Miami Heat’s hot streak continuing

England suffered a record thumping by Wales at the Millennium Stadium last Saturday

Cohen tells England to learn from pain of loss

By Alex Lowe BEN Cohen has told England that experiencing and understanding the pain of last Saturday’s Grand Slam failure will only improve their chances of winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Cohen was part of the England set-up under Sir Clive Woodward that saw their Grand Slam ambitions crushed at the final hurdle in both 2000 and 2001.

But that England side grew from those setbacks and in 2003 they completed a Six Nations clean sweep before going on to win the World Cup. Cohen drew a number of parallels between his own experiences at Murrayfield in 2000 and England’s record thumping by Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

Forming more resilience to setbacks key for World Cup “I look back to 2000 when we went for the Grand Slam in Scotland and we got completely out-passioned on the day. That happened to England on Saturday,” Cohen told TalkSport.

“They have come a long way in the last 12 months and had some fantastic wins but you can’t gain the whole experience and be a rounded player without losing big games.

“I think in some respects they need to lose some games and understand the hurt of losing, so when they come to the World Cup and they are at Twickenham under huge pressure they can go out and win.

“There will be a lot of pres-

sure on England at the next World Cup and this is character-building for them.”

That was the message England head coach Stuart Lancaster tried to instil in his players in the immediate aftermath of the defeat - that by learning the lessons they will come back stronger.

Lancaster vowed he would learn too and the summer tour of Argentina, which runs in parallel to the British and Irish Lions tour, will be used to run the rule over potential new players.

Cohen has been disappointed by England’s lack of penetration in attack. They only scored five tries in the tournament and four of them

Woods and Vonn announce Springbok flyhalf faces long that they are now a couple layoff after freak accident GOLFER Tiger Woods and Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn have confirmed they are dating.

Woods released a statement and photographs of the pair on his website and Facebook page before Vonn posted similar messages on her social media accounts.

“Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating,” said Woods.

“We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy. We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes.”

SOUTH African flyhalf Johan Goosen suffered a cruciate ligament tear in a freak accident in training on Monday and could miss the rest of the season, officials said yesterday.

The 20-year-old, already capped by the Springboks and hailed as a brilliant prospect, slipped while training with the Cheetahs in Sydney ahead of Saturday’s Super Rugby game against the Force in Perth.

“He slipped while kicking balls during practice,” Cheetahs manager Eugene van Wyk told South African media. “It was a freak accident, there was no one near him at the time. He was just running when it happened.”

were against Scotland on the opening weekend.

“This is constructive criticism but England don’t have an attack that could outplay an opposition and sometimes I think they are one-dimensional and I don’t think they have a counter-attack,” Cohen said.

The former Northampton and Sale wing would like to see Ben Foden restored to the team while Lancaster is likely to cast his eye over Christian Wade, Jonny May and potentially Marland Yarde on the summer tour.

Lancaster is also anxious to increase England’s ball-carrying options and the Wasps number eight Billy Vunipola is in line for a Test debut against the Pumas.

“I’m hoping we will lose some players to the Lions, which will give us a chance to bring other lads in,” Lancaster said.

Potential: Del Potro

De Kock to take place of Du Plessis in SA squad SOUTH Africa have called up Quinton de Kock to their squad for the two remaining one-day internationals against Pakistan.

The 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman replaces Faf du Plessis, who will rest a lower back problem that has also ruled him out of the first four weeks of the Indian Premier League, where he plays for the Chennai Super Kings.

“Faf has been troubled by low back pain over the past while,” Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee said in a statement released by Cricket South Africa yesterday.

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McLaren team boss salutes Button and Perez

Positive attitude: despite McLaren’s poor start to the F1 season, drivers Button (left) and Perez remained upbeat

MCLAREN team boss Martin Whitmarsh has vowed to deliver the goods for Jenson Button and Sergio Perez after hailing them “exemplary” in the face of such a poor start to the new Formula One season.

Whitmarsh has admitted it was the inspirational attitude of Button and Perez over the course of the Australian Grand Prix weekend that raised the spirits of not just himself, but everyone in the team.

McLaren’s latest car is woefully off the pace - three seconds to the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel in qualifying - whilst Button finished ninth and 81 seconds down on race winner Kimi Raikkonen in his Lotus, with Perez 11th.

The decision to radically redevelop a car that won in the United States and Brazil at the end of last year rather than opt for a natural evolution into this season has proven costly.

Although frank in his assessment of his team’s failings in Melbourne, it

clearly pained Whitmarsh to admit the gravity of the problems.

To that end, he was grateful to oldhand Button and young Mexican Perez for remaining so upbeat.

“On a weekend like we had you look for positives, and one of them was how great the drivers were,” said Whitmarsh.

“Their attitude, their approach over a difficult weekend was very, very good.

“Jenson we know and love, so we expect that from him. He is that sort of professional.

“For a young driver like Checo to arrive in this situation, and to cope with it so well and perform in such difficult circumstances and in such a positive way, is very encouraging.

“They’re working with the team, they are team players, and we are all in this together.”

Instead of McLaren’s management doing the tub-thumping, it was left to the drivers, which in turn has left

Whitmarsh promising to repay them for their energy.

“Both the guys were an inspiration with how they conducted themselves and helped pull the team together,” added Whitmarsh.

“They were exemplary, and I can tell you, even myself you get raised by them, you want to fight for them, they deserve it.

“It makes you even more determined to deliver for them because they did a great job over the weekend in circumstances that were not good for them.”

In turn, Button has defended Whitmarsh, whose head is potentially on the chopping block after four barren years in charge without a title, and after overseeing this latest horrendous wrong turn.

The 33-year-old, speaking to Press Association Sport, said: “He is the boss. Everyone looks up to Martin.

“It’s difficult to always be strong, but he is doing a bloody good job.”

Nick Compton dreaming of a place at Ashes

Japan cuts judo funds after abuse investigation

But has more to prove yet for tourists in NZ

By David Clough NICK Compton puts the Ashes out of his mind by day, but cannot stop himself dreaming about facing Australia once the lights are out.

Compton knows he will do himself, and England, no good if he veers off on Ashes-themed reveries when his eye should be on the ball against New Zealand.

Yet there is no point wasting energy by battling the human sub-conscious, he reasons, once the pressure is off for the evening.

Compton has put himself in line to begin England’s sequence of 10 Ashes Tests home and away between July and next January, with his back-to-back hundreds against the Kiwis in Dunedin and Wellington.

Rain-affected draws in those first two Tests have helped to concentrate the mind too on the series finale, which starts at Eden Park on Friday and is being billed as a ‘cup final’.

Alastair Cook’s new opening partner has earned his position the hard way, by perseverance and endeavour - eschewing the flair associated by millions with his famous grandfather Denis.

If he is to become the second Compton to take on Australia, Nick must complete his qualifying stage with more success against New Zealand this week and then in two Tests at home in May. He admits nonetheless that it can sometimes be a struggle, away from the crease, to banish the ‘A’

word from his mind.

“It is at night - you go to bed thinking about the Ashes,” he said.

“You get that youthful exuberance, which is something that keeps pushing you.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to play in an Ashes series - of course I do.

“But looking too far ahead and what have you, it doesn’t do you any good.

“You have to make sure you stick to the next game.”

It will be no hardship for any of Cook’s tourists to do that in Auckland, where they have a chance to clinch a series many initially predicted they would win 3-0.

THE NEXT STEP For Compton, it will be just the next step to prove he is the right man to open the innings for England long term.

“After this series, I go back to county cricket, I get my head down again and make sure if that time arrives I’ve put my name in the box seat,” he said.

“I have played enough cricket now to know that that line between success and failure is quite thin.

“The more you play, the more respect you have for the game, the more humility you have to have in some ways - because things can change very quickly.

“They have on the up here, but they can go wrong (as well).”

The 29-year-old has two hundreds in the bank and much to be proud of already,

having upheld the family tradition in the presence of his father Richard - son of Denis and in attendance to see those breakthrough innings at the University Oval and Basin Reserve.

Compton is simply not the type, however, to let himself start to feel too comfortable in his new rarefied surroundings.

“You’re always on nought (when you start an innings) - remember that as a batsman, it doesn’t make any difference whether you’ve got five or six hundreds behind you,” he said.

“There is a lot of cricket to play, going back to county cricket - and then we have another series against New Zealand and then, of course, there is the Ashes.

“It’s a long time, and a lot can happen.”

Compton does allow himself a degree of satisfaction nonetheless that his determination has paid off in a career which began at Middlesex, faltered and then flourished for Somerset.

“You look back over a number of years, and it’s a testament to your perseverance and the fact I’ve kept going,” he said.

“I’m also happy about the fact that I could back up (my first hundred) - because I think it’s important that when you reach some form as a batsman you keep hungry, you keep the desire up, and keep pushing forward.

“There’s only so much talking you can do.

“It comes to the stage where you perhaps feel there’s something inside

England’s Nick Compton has two hundreds in the bank and much to be proud of already having upheld the family tradition of cricketing achievement there - but you need to show it.

“It’s nice to put those markers down which say, ‘There you go, there’s two hundreds’.

“I had a feeling I could do it, but you never really know until you do it at this level.

“So yes, I’m chuffed that I’ve managed to pass that test.”

His next, of course, is to prove he belongs - to himself, and others.

“I’m not the sort of guy who would ever allow myself to feel at home (in Test

cricket).

“I am feeling a bit more comfortable; I am enjoying the guys; I am getting to know everyone a bit better - and it’s nice to have played a couple of innings that are a reflection of what I believed I had inside me and what I can do.

“That takes the pressure off a little bit - just to be able to show people that that’s how I can bat.

“But to say I feel settled, it’s early days still... two or three years down the line, if I’m still here, then I might say that.”

JAPAN has cut funding to its judo federation after an investigation into the alleged physical abuse of female athletes found evidence of serious misconduct by coaches.

The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) said in a statement yesterday that it had issued 13 directives to the All Japan Judo Federation (AJJF) after the probe carried out by executive board members and a thirdparty lawyer.

Fifteen current and former members of the women’s team had sent a joint letter of complaint to the Olympic Committee alleging harassment and violence by head coach Ryuji Sonoda and his staff in the build-up to last year’s London Games.

The athletes said they had been slapped, shoved and beaten with bamboo.

Sonoda announced his resignation in January after the country’s sports minister called for a fresh inquiry into the allegations.

“After a thorough review, the committee concluded that serious misconduct had occurred,” the JOC statement said.

“The directives include prohibition of violence or misconduct directed at athletes by coaches, the establishment of a framework for athletes to communicate concerns to the organisation’s decision makers, clear and transparent procedures for selection of national team members and the increased hiring of women as coaches and AJJF executives.

“The Executive Board also decided to cut the AJJF’s annual subsidy for team development in the fiscal year starting next month,” it added.

Japan is the birthplace of the martial art, but the team suffered one of their worst judo medal hauls in London with only one gold after being tipped to take home at last seven.

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FOOTBALL IN BRIEF Germany’s U-21 keeper Trapp breaks his hand GERMANY under-21 goalkeeper Kevin Trapp has been forced to pull out of the squad to face Israel in a friendly on Sunday after breaking his hand in training.

The Eintracht Frankfurt custodian, who has earned plaudits for his performances for the Eagles this season and has been linked with a first senior cap, flew back to Frankfurt today to receive further treatment after suffering up the injury during training.

The 22-year-old’s season is over as a result, leaving Frankfurt with veteran custodian Oka Nikolov for their remaining eight Bundesliga matches.

Trapp is the fourth player to pull out of Rainer Adrion’s under-21 squad with Jan Kirchhoff of

Forced to pull out: Trapp Mainz and Freiburg duo Oliver Sorg and Oliver Baumann also withdrawing due to injury.

Adrion has called up Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn and Sampdoria defender Shkodran Mustafi as cover.

Diarra ends his France career LASSANA Diarra has said his international career with France is “finished”.

The Anzhi Makhachkala midfielder has not been called up for Les Bleus since August 2010 and he claims he has paid the price for publicly praising former coach Raymond Domenech.

Domenech handed the 28-year-old his international debut in 2007 but then presided over France’s dismal World Cup campaign in South Africa after which he left the post.

Successor Laurent Blanc included him in his first squad, but Diarra was then overlooked and that situation has not changed under current France boss Didier Deschamps.

Diarra told L’Equipe: “The Blues is finished.”

Ramos looking forward to reaching landmark REAL Madrid defender Sergio Ramos will fulfil a major personal goal if he becomes the latest player to make 100 appearances for Spain in the coming days.

Ramos currently has 99 caps for his country but looks certain to reach three figures in the next week with Spain facing Finland on Friday and France the following Tuesday in a key World Cup qualifying double-header.

If he does feature in one of those games, Ramos will become the eighth Spanish player to achieve the milestone, joining a grow-

ing group that includes five of his contemporaries - Iker Casillas, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres and Carles Puyol - and the 26-year-old admits it will be a proud moment for him.

He said in AS: “It will be something to enjoy on a personal level. I hope I can enter into the history books of Spanish football.

For me it’s something to be proud of and a very big personal challenge.

“I’ve been in the national team for a long time and I’m proud of that. Hopefully I can say in the future that I’ve played many more games than 100.”

Belgium chance for Kompany MANCHESTER City captain Vincent Kompany could return to action in Belgium’s World Cup qualifier in Macedonia on Friday.

City’s defensive linchpin has not played since suffering a calf injury in the FA Cup fourth-round win at Stoke on January 26.

City boss Roberto Mancini said last week he hoped Kompany would be able to face to Newcastle in their next Barclays Premier League game on March 30.

In the meantime Kompany has been summoned for international duty and is being assessed ahead of his country’s Group D double-header against Macedonia in Skopje, on Friday, and Brussels next Tuesday.

Optimism: Germany captain Philipp Lahm (right) has his sights on winning the World Cup next year

Lahm unconcerned with Swedish clash prospect GERMANY captain Philipp Lahm is not concerned about the prospect of a qualification decider against Sweden in October as he prepares for the next two World Cup qualifiers.

Germany, who play Kazakhstan on Friday and then again on Tuesday, currently lead the Swedes by three points at the top of Group C, but Erik Hamren’s men have a game in hand.

Furthermore, following a 4-4 draw in Berlin, they enjoy home advantage for the final group game between the two nations on October 15, a game which could determine who will book a ticket for Brazil automatically and who would have to go into a play-off.

Germany top Group C, but Swedes have game in hand “We can’t prevent that by ourselves,” said Lahm.

“If Sweden win all of their games, then that’s how the situation would be.

“But I wouldn’t be afraid.

Knockout games are always interesting and I see that as a challenge, but we don’t need to concern ourselves with Sweden just now.

“We have a few other challenges to overcome and we shouldn’t place the second step before the first.

“We are just looking at ourselves and if we perform,

then I’m sure our quality will see us through.”

Lahm’s optimism does not end at simply qualifying for the World Cup, however, as he has his sights on winning the trophy next year.

Germany have reached the last four of every major tournament since 2006, losing in the final of Euro 2008 and stumbling at the semifinal stage of the last two World Cups, as well as at Euro 2012.

“Given our history and the quality of our current squad,

we cannot go to a major tournament without the ambition of winning it,” he told the German Football Association’s (DFB) website.

“As a professional sportsman, you are always ambitious, you want to win as many titles as possible.

“Of course I have the dream of winning the World Cup, but we have to focus on our current goals and once we have done that, our aim has got to be to prepare as well as we can for the World Cup. “The next aim has got to be to get through the group stage. Step-by-step, a dream can be the result of many aims, which is why the next aim is always the most important one.”

Backing for winter World Cup in 2022 increasing THE prospect of the 2022 World Cup being switched to the winter has increased after both Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards and Britain’s FIFA vicepresident backed a move.

The Premier League has always strongly opposed a change but Richards admitted the tournament cannot be staged in the summer due to the heat.

Jim Boyce, Britain’s FIFA vice-president from Northern Ireland, has now backed UEFA president Michel Platini’s call for the tournament to be held during the winter.

Richards, speaking to Sky Sports News at the Securing Sport conference in Qatar, said: “I think they will play (the World Cup) at a time that is proper for football but they will have to speak to the leagues in Europe.

“They will have to agree proper times when we can start and finish.

“At the moment it has a tremendous amount of implications for Europe. For us, at this minute, the answer is ‘no’.

“But, if we take a proper view, we have to find a way to have a winter spell where we don’t play and I think common sense will prevail.

“We’ve got FIFA now saying that medical people are saying that they can’t play in Qatar in the summer because of the heat, which is probably right. I think over the next few years, things will change and they will come to a compromise.”

Boyce believes the searing heat of July in Qatar, where temperatures often reach more than 45 degrees centrigrade, will be too much for players and spectators even with the promise of air-conditioned stadiums.

Boyce told the Press Association: “I was not part of the process that gave the World Cup to Qatar, but my feeling is that

common sense should prevail.

“The World Cup is the greatest event in football and from a spectator point of view it has to be played at a time of year when people can enjoy it in comfort.

“People I know who live in Qatar say it would be very uncomfortable for the fans. There is also a medical and health concern for both players and spectators and if it is going to be safer to play it in January instead of July then I would be in favour of that.”

Boyce insisted, given enough notice, it should not cause too much disruption.

He added: “Many other countries already have a winter break so for them it should not be too problematic.

“England is probably the main country where there is no winter break, but I believe that even there if they are given enough notice then for just one season it should be possible.”

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Mertesacker expresses his loyalty to Gunners

Lampard: England duties for Ferdinand are not finished yet

Insists he has no intention of leaving Emirates Stadium

MIDFIELDER Frank Lampard believes Rio Ferdinand still has an England future despite the Manchester United defender pulling out of Roy Hodgson’s squad this week.

Hodgson selected Ferdinand for the first time for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro, only for the 34-year-old to withdraw, citing the disruption it would cause to his fitness programme.

Ferdinand insisted he still wanted to be considered for England and Lampard believes it would be hard to overlook his former West Ham team-mate on current form.

“He’s a top-drawer player Rio, and he’s certainly not finished,” he told a press conference televised on Sky Sports News.

“Looking at his performances against (Real) Madrid, especially away, he was outstanding.

“Regular performances week-in and week-out, he’s a top performer, has been and still is.

“I don’t know the ins and outs of his future, but the way he’s playing at the minute he is one of the top defenders in the Premier

GERMAN defender Per Mertesacker has rejected suggestions he was set to quit Arsenal and return to the Bundesliga in the summer.

With Gunners boss Arsene Wenger last week warning no one’s place in the side was guaranteed after dropping captain Thomas Vermaelen and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for the Champions League game away to Bayern Munich, there had been suggestions Mertesacker could find himself surplus to requirements should Arsenal recruit a new defensive line in the summer.

However, the 28-year-old signed from Werder Bremen in August 2011 - insists he has no intentions of leaving the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking to German newspaper Sport-Bild as he prepares for the World Cup double-header against Kazakhstan, the 6ft 6in centrehalf said: “A change is not an issue. Our manager Arsene Wenger gives me absolute confidence, I play every game. I can think of nothing else, but to stay at Arsenal.”

Most of Arsenal’s first-team squad, including England’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, are now away on international duty.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere, however, will continue his rehabilitation with the club after spending some time in Dubai to aid recovery from a slight ankle problem which Arsenal hope will clear up in time for the resumption of Barclays Premier League action against Reading on March 30.

Santi Cazorla has joined up with Spain for their games against Finland and France.

The 28-year-old has enjoyed a successful first season in the Premier League following his summer move

League for sure.”

Lampard admitted Ferdinand’s withdrawal had been a blow. “(I was) sorry for him and the team, he’s been in fantastic form,” he said.

“We’re losing a player of quality. As I said, now it’s very important that the squad gets the results that it needs so there are no personal issues - it’s about all of the team.”

England sit second in Group H but will be short on experience at the back after Gary Cahill was ruled out of Friday’s trip to San Marino.

The Chelsea defender could still play a part against group leaders Montenegro four days later but Lampard dismissed thoughts of a defensive crisis.

“It happens, these are the moments when you need a strong squad,” he said.

“It sometimes happens when you lose two, three or four players from the same position.

“That would probably affect any squad in the world and we’re probably fortunate that we’ve got some very good young players. It will be time for those players to stand up.

“I’m sure they can do it because they do it regularly.”

There had been suggestions that German defender Mertesacker (right) could find himself surplus to requirements should Arsenal recruit a new defensive line in the summer from Malaga.

Cazorla has chalked up 11 goals for the Gunners, including a hat-trick in the 5-2 league win at Reading before Christmas.

The creative midfielder hopes that tally will be extended as Arsenal look to close back in on the top four and Champions League qualification once again.

“It’s an aspect of my game I’ve always tried to improve,” said Cazorla on the club’s official website, www. arsenal.com “Last season at Malaga I

hit nine and my target was to go beyond that.

“I think a figure of 11 goals this season is good for a midfielder, but I think I can score more and improve in that facet of the game.

“Everything influences it (the improvement in front of goal). You have to try and improve as an individual and, ultimately, if you’re better, the team makes you better too.

“It all works in tandem and you need the two to come together, the individual and the collective.”

‘Our manager Arsene Wenger gives me absolute confidence’ Lampard admitted Ferdinand’s withdrawal had been a blow

Appleton latest manager to fall at Ewood Park McManaman escapes FA punishment BLACKBURN have sacked Michael Appleton after just over two months in charge at Ewood Park.

Rovers have made the decision to wield the axe on a third manager this season following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with local rivals Burnley and last week’s FA Cup quarterfinal defeat to Millwall.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “Blackburn Rovers FC can confirm that Michael Appleton has been relieved of his duties as manager along with assistant manager Ashley Westwood, first team coach Darren Moore and head of senior recruitment Luke Dowling.”

The club, without a win in eight games in all competitions, are 18th in the npower Championship table and just four points above the relegation zone.

Appleton left Blackpool to

Blackburn’s official website confirmed Appleton had been relieved of duties join Blackburn in the new year after just 65 days in charge at Bloomfield Road.

During 67 days in the Rovers job, Appleton won four, drew five and lost six of his 15 matches in charge.

In total, Appleton was the fifth man placed in charge of first-team affairs at Ewood

Park this season.

Steve Kean’s turbulent reign ended at the end of September, with Eric Black taking over on a temporary basis until former Rovers defender Henning Berg was appointed on November 1.

Berg last just 57 days before he was removed the day after Blackburn’s 1-0 Boxing Day defeat at Middlesbrough.

Gary Bowyer was then placed in charge and he remained unbeaten during his fourgame spell as interim boss, winning his first three matches against Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City before drawing at Wolves.

Appleton continued the upturn in results following his appointment, losing just one of his first seven games and guiding Rovers to four victories, including a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup.

WIGAN forward Callum McManaman has escaped any retrospective action from the Football Association following his studs-up challenge on Newcastle’s Massadio Haidara.

The FA confirmed that the incident was seen by at least one of the match officials - even though referee Mark Halsey was unsighted - meaning that retrospective action cannot be taken.

Haidara suffered potentially serious knee ligament damage after the challenge by 21-yearold McManaman, but no action was taken against the Wigan player during the match.

The FA said in a statement: “The FA can confirm that no action can be taken against Wigan’s Callum McManaman retrospectively following his side’s game against Newcastle United on Sunday 17 March 2013.

“Following consultation with the game’s stakeholders (the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association, the League Managers’ Association, Professional Game Match Officials Limited and the National Game) in the summer, it was agreed that retrospective action should only be taken in respect of incidents which have not been seen by the match officials.

“Where one of the officials has seen a coming together of players, no retrospective action should be taken, regardless of whether he or she witnessed the full or particular nature of the challenge. This is to avoid the rerefereeing of incidents.

“In the case of Callum McManaman, it has been confirmed that at least one of the match officials saw the coming together, though not the full extent of the challenge.

In these circumstances retrospective action cannot be taken.

“The principal objective behind the not seen policy is to address off-the-ball incidents where match officials are unlikely to be in a position to witness misconduct.”

Newcastle’s managing director Derek Llambias expressed disappointment at the FA’s decision and said the club would make approaches to change the disciplinary process.

He said in a statement: “Whilst we understand that the current procedures give the FA limited options, it cannot be correct that the most serious offences - those which have the potential to cause another player serious harm - can go unpunished, even if the original incident was seen by match officials.”

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Lampard: Ferdinand’s England days not over 31

Birthday boy Herath helps Sri Lanka to victory

Herath (left) took his 200th Test wicket to inspire Sri Lanka to victory over Bangladesh in the second Test in Colombo

RANGANA Herath celebrated his birthday by taking his 200th Test wicket to inspire Sri Lanka to a sevenwicket victory over Bangladesh in the second Test in Colombo.

Herath, 35 yesterday, finished with career-best Test figures of seven for 89 as the Tigers were bowled out for 265 before lunch on the fourth day to leave the hosts a victory target of 160.

Despite losing Dimuth Karunaratne early on in their chase, experienced duo Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara registered half-centuries to put Sri Lanka on course for a victory which wraps up a 1-0 series success.

Having started in confident fashion, Karunaratne offered no shot to a ball that came back into him from Rubel Hossain and was trapped lbw for 16.

Dilshan creamed fours through extra cover off Abul Hasan and Robiul Islam respectively, while Sangakkara, who had made three centuries in as many innings in this series, settled into his stride by lofting Sohag Gazi over midon for his first boundary.

Dilshan cut Nasir Hossain through backward point for four in the final over before tea and then brought up his half-century with a clip to fine leg for two runs off the next ball.

The opener was then cleaned up having made 57 soon after the resumption

by Robiul, but Sangakkara reached his 50 off the next ball when he clubbed Gazi to the mid-off boundary.

WINNING RUN The left-hander also perished soon after bringing up his half-century, bowled

by Gazi for 55 to depart for his first score below three figures in this series.

It proved a mere blip, however, with Lahiru Thirimanne hitting the winning run to finish on 13 not out, the same score as Angelo Mathews, who claimed his first Test win as Sri Lanka captain.

That he was able to break his duck was largely down to slow left-armer Herath, with Bangladesh’s hopes of setting a more challenging target undermined by the steady fall of wickets.

Mominul Haque departed in the first over of the day, bat-pad to Herath having added just one run to his overnight 36.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim hit the same bowler for six to relieve the pressure, but Herath would seal his fivefor when Nasir Hossain was bowled for a seven-ball duck.

Gazi added a quickfire 26 - which included three fours and a six - before he lofted to long-on off Herath, who celebrated his 200th Test wicket when Rahim’s resistance ended as he faintly edged to Mathews at slip having made 40.

Despite seeing an inside edge off Rubel Hossain put down by Karunaratne at slip, bowler Dilshan would have the last laugh in his next over when he bowled the tailender.

Hasan (25 not out) provided some late impetus with two booming sixes off a Dilshan over as well as another maximum off Herath, but last man Robiul was undone by Shaminda Eranga’s inswinging yorker to end Bangladesh’s innings with the last ball before lunch.

Owen retiring at season’s end Great displays eclipsed by injuries

By Eleanor Crooks

F

ormer England striker Michael Owen has announced he will retire from football at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old made his name with Liverpool and went on to play for Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United before signing for Stoke at the start of this season.

But Owen, who has been dogged by injury in the latter stages of his career, has found opportunities very difficult to come by at the Britannia Stadium and has made the decision to hang up his boots.

The striker wrote on his personal website: “It is with an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my intention to retire from professional football at the end of this season.”

The striker will probably be best remembered for his exploits with England, for whom he burst onto the international scene as an 18year-old and scored his most famous goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. He ended up with 40 goals from 89 caps, behind only Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker and Jimmy Greaves on the all-time list.

In the statement on his website, Owen continued: “Having progressed through the ranks at Liverpool to make my first-team debut at 17, before embarking upon spells at Real Madrid, Newcastle

Bringing the curtain down: striker Michael Owen (right) will probably be best remembered for his exploits with England, for whom he burst onto the international scene as a prodigiously-talented 18-year-old United, Manchester United and Stoke City, not to mention representing my country on 89 occasions, I now feel it is the right time to bring the curtain down on my career.”

Owen went on to thank his family, ending with a message to his father Terry, a former professional footballer with Everton and Chester.

He said: “We did it my old mate! From those freezing local parks to terrorising the best defenders in the world on the biggest stages of all.

I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Owen was a prodigious talent as a schoolboy and signed

for Liverpool when he was 12 before turning professional at Anfield five years later.

He scored on his first-team debut against Wimbledon in 1997 and did not look back, winning the Premier League Golden Boot in his first two full seasons and being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1998.

In the 2000/01 season, Owen helped Liverpool to a treble of FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup titles and was named European Footballer of the Year - the first Englishman to win the award since Kevin Keegan in 1979.

Liverpool won the League

Cup again two years later but they were unable to achieve a first Premier League title and speculation about Owen’s future at Anfield grew, particularly when manager Gerard Houllier left in May 2004.

In August of that year Real Madrid got their man when the striker headed to Spain having scored 158 goals for Liverpool at better than a goal every two games.

Injuries had already begun to surface, though, with hamstring problems impacting on his pace, and he had only limited opportunities among the Galacticos at the Bernabeu.

Owen returned to England a year after moving to Spain, joining Newcastle for a club record fee of £16.8million, but injuries increasingly took their toll.

He managed only 79 appearances in four years, scoring 30 goals, with a broken foot and a knee ligament injury sustained on England duty at the 2006 World Cup proving particularly damaging.

A disastrous 2008/09 season culminated in Newcastle being relegated and Owen moved again that summer, joining Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson used him sparingly but there were no-

table highlights, particularly a very late winner in a 4-3 derby victory over Manchester City in September 2009 and a hat-trick in the Champions League against Wolfsburg.

The 2010/11 season brought Owen his first Premier League title, with the striker making 17 appearances and scoring five goals.

He was released at the end of last season and was without a club during the summer before joining Stoke in September, but he has made only seven appearances for the Potters, scoring once against Swansea in January.

His final cap for England came in a 1-0 defeat by France in March 2008 while his last goals for his country were a brace against Russia the previous September.

As well as that goal against Argentina in St Etienne, Owen was also the hero of one of England’s greatest recent wins, scoring a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Germany in Munich in September 2001.

The Football Association paid tribute to Owen, with Club England managing director Adrian Bevington saying on www.thefa.com: “Michael Owen enjoyed a tremendous career with England, playing at every level.

“He has always conducted himself with outstanding professionalism when on England duty and performed at the highest level, scoring important goals at major tournaments.

“We are already in talks with Michael about how he can share his international experience with our younger players in the future in an ambassadorial role.”