Cyprus Mail daily newspaper

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Thursday, March 21, 2013

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CYPRUS

SPORT

WORLD

In stand-off with Nicosia, Germany refuses to blink

Sackings in football are ‘embarrassing’

In Israel, Obama warns Syria on chemical weapons

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Deposit haircut back on the table Banks stay shut as government works on Plan B

T

HE government yesterday ordered banks to stay shut until next week as it toyed with the idea of re-submitting a proposal on tax deposits – at a much lower rate than the previous scheme – as it scrambled to avert a financial meltdown.

The government was yesterday trying to find alternative solutions after parliament on Tuesday rejected the terms of a bailout from the European Union and turned instead to Russia for a lifeline.

“We don’t have days or weeks, we have only hours to save our country,” Averof Neophytou, ruling DISY deputy chairman, told reporters as crisis talks in Nicosia dragged into the evening. Neophytou tried to get the message through to other parties.

“I believe we will not be the cursed generation of politicians who will let our country go bankrupt,” Neophytou added.

It was suggested yesterday that the government may submit a bill today proposing a haircut on deposits but at lower rates than legislation that was rejected by parliament on Tuesday.

MPs threw out a proposed tax on bank deposits in exchange for a €10billion bailout from the EU, a stunning rejection of the kind of strict austerity accepted over the past three years by crisis-hit Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy.

The tax – 6.7 per cent on deposits under €100,000 and 9.9 per cent on deposits over €100,000 – was designed to fetch the government €5.8 billion.

The shortfall from the lower rates could be covered by nationalising the provident funds of semistate companies.

Bank of Cyprus vice president Evdokimos Xenophontos said the situation could be reversed but warned against touching foreign deposits.

“We cannot do it to foreign depositors who trusted us.

“This could be theft,” he told reporters after meeting President Nicos Anastasiades last night.

Xenophontos said only Cypriots must foot the bill in exchange for bank warrants, better interest rates, etc.

“If we protect them (foreigners) even if they leave, they will come back. We lived through an invasion and we overcame the difficulties on our own,” he said.

Meanwhile, facing the prospect of a run on banks, the government said lenders would remain shut on Thursday and Friday, making next Tuesday, March 26, the next normal working day. Greece said Greek branches of Cypriot banks would also stay shut there.

The extended bank holiday has taken its toll on businesses, with people reduced to limited withdrawals from cash machines.

The European Central Bank’s chief negotiator on Cyprus, Joerg Asmussen, said the ECB would have to pull the plug on Cypriot banks unless the country took a bailout quickly. “We can provide emergency liquidity only to solvent

TURN TO PAGE 3

Members of the troika of international lenders arrive at the Presidential Palace yesterday

(Christos Theodorides)

Sarris: nothing concrete from Moscow visit

By Stefanos Evripidou FINANCE Nminister Michalis Sarris has vowed to stay in Moscow to reach an agreement on ways to help Cyprus out of the quagmire, after yesterday’s meetings proved inconclusive.

Sarris went to Moscow on Tuesday evening ahead of the Cypriot parliament’s rejection of the revised draft bill regarding a one-off bank levy on deposits.

Russian assistance had become the great eastern hope of many Cypri-

ots following rejection of the troika’s hard-hitting measures to ‘rescue’ Cyprus, which involved an unprecedented hit to depositors, including small insured savers.

Many of the thousands of protestors demonstrating outside parliament on Tuesday waved Russian flags and even held up Gazprom posters, believing Russia would provide a silver lining to the daily forecasts of doom and gloom for the Cypriot economy.

However, news of a helping Russian hand were nowhere to be found yesterday following the first day of talks

between Sarris and the Russian authorities.

Sarris described his meetings yesterday with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as “constructive”, a polite term used after almost every meeting among diplomats and politicians, sometimes combined with “fruitful”.

“There were no offers, nothing concrete,” said Sarris, adding, “We’ve underscored how difficult the situation is. We’ll now continue

TURN TO PAGE 3

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

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Home PICTURE OF THE DAY

Weather Paralimni

Nicosia 23

18 Troodos

21 21

Larnaca

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21

Paphos

Limassol

TODAY: A clear and sunny start to the day will give way to thickening cloud.

Temperatures will reach 23C inland, 21C along the coasts and 18C over higher ground OUTLOOK: Some rain is forecast for Friday before clearer weather moves in for the weekend YESTERDAY:

Max Temp Nicosia 22 Larnaca 20 Limassol 21 Paphos 19 Paralimni 20 Prodromos 16

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Min 6 7 10 8 8 4

Humidity 28% 45% 38% 52% 43% 51%

SUNRISE: 05:49am

SUNSET: 5:59pm

Pollution Low/Low Low/Low Low/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)

Worldwide Athens Beirut Budapest Bucharest Brussels Cairo Copenhagen Dublin Frankfurt Geneva Istanbul London

19 23 14 16 1 23 -1 5 6 9 16 6

Cloudy Sunny Clear Clear Light Snow Sunny Light Snow Cloudy Rain Light Rain Cloudy Fog

Madrid Manchester Moscow Oslo Paris Prague Rome Sarajevo Sofia Stockholm Tel Aviv Vienna

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Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Clear Light Rain Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Sunny Cloudy

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An activist from the animal rights group ‘Animal Equality’ poses in a giant meat packaging tray at the Cathedral square in Barcelona yesterday during an event to mark global meat-free day (AFP)

QUICK CROSSWORD 2343 Across

Down

1 Execute (10) 8 Mineral spring (3) 9 Canadian island (9) 10 Astute (anag.) (6) 11 Chartered (5) 13 Bendable (6) 15 Estate (anag.) (3-3) 17 Track (5) 18 Universe (6) 21 Vanish (9) 22 Southern American (abbrev.) (3) 23 People present (10)

1 Writing-table (4) 2 Nationwide (5-2-5) 3 Swivel (5) 4 Old sixpence (6) 5 Metrical foot (7) 6 Regularly (5,2,5) 7 Dryness (7) 12 Nearest centre of road (7) 14 Low wall (7) 16 Plan (6) 19 Scrap (5) 20 Spindle (4)

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

ON THIS DAY MARCH 21

WHAT THE MAIL SAID

1804

25 years ago, Monday March 21, 1988

The French Civil Code, later renamed the Code Napoléon, is promulgated, providing a uniform civil law.

The national council met in its first session after the return of President Vassiliou from Athens to have a firsthand report from the president on his talks with the Greek prime minister and the government and to decide what should be the new strategy and tactics in the light of the Davos spirit which is initiated in the Greco-Turkish relations.

1960 South African police open fire on a crowd protesting against apartheid in the township of Sharpeville.

35 years ago, Tuesday March 21, 1978

Cyprus Mail Established 1945. Number 21,485 NICOSIA 24 Vass. Voulgaroctonou, P.O. Box 21144, 1502 Nicosia Tel: 22-818585, Fax: 22-676385 email: mail@cyprus-mail.com LIMASSOL 5A Nicolaou, Pentadromos Centre, Thessaloniki St,

1963 Alcatraz, a federal prison for dangerous criminals in the San Francisco Bay, closes.

1965 In America, 3,200 civil rights demonstrators, led by Martin Luther King Jr, begin a historic march from Selma, Alabama, to the State Capital Montgomery.

Tel: 25-761117, Fax: 25-761141 email: cyprusmail@cytanet.com.cy LARNACA Tel: 24-652243, Fax: 24-659982 PAPHOS 62 Apostolou Pavlou Avenue, Office 2, 8046 Paphos, Tel: 26 911383 Fax : 26 221049 email: paphos@cyprus-mail.com

1980 President Jimmy Carter announces that America will boycott the Moscow Olympics in protest to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.

Defence Minister Ezer Weizman said tonight Israel had now completed its take-over in South Lebanon and was ready for a ceasefire. Asked whether Israel might defy the UN call for its troops to withdraw, Weizman replied “I hope not. I sincerely hope it would not come to a head-on argument with the Security Council decision... ”

45 years ago, Thursday March 21, 1968 Defence Secretary Denis Healy today rejected a suggestion that Britain’s sovereign base in Cyprus should be transferred to Malta. It was made in Parliament by Opposition Conservative Member Sir John Langford-Holt.

He said a background of political stability was vital in an overseas base, and this was not and would not be provided in Cyprus.

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

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Home Sarris says nothing concrete from Moscow

President Nicos Anastasiades meeting political party leaders at the palace yesterday

(Christos Theodorides)

Deposit haircut is back on the table Anastasiades says decision must be made by today at the latest and new plan presented to parliament (continued from front page) banks and ... the solvency of Cypriot banks cannot be assumed if an aid programme is not agreed on soon, which would allow for a quick recapitalisation of the banking sector,” Asmussen told German weekly Die Zeit in an interview late on Tuesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is Europe’s main paymaster, said it was up to the Cypriot government to come up with an alternative proposal but it was fair to expect those with savings over €100,000 – the normal limit for state deposit insurance – to contribute to a bailout.

The EU has a track record of pressing smaller countries to vote again until they achieve the desired outcome.

Nicosia was eerily quiet on Wednesday, and there was evidence the bank closure was slowing trade.

“Things won’t be so bad as long as people can withdraw from ATMs but if they go too there will be a huge prob-

lem,” said Titos Pitsillides, 50. Several petrol stations were refusing credit cards, insisting on payment in cash.

Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said a “Plan B” was in the works.

DISY lawmaker Marios Mavrides told Reuters one option under discussion was to nationalise pension funds of semi-government corporations, which hold between €2 billion and €3 billion.

An opposition politician present at yesterday’s crisis talks said: “The idea is we can get the pension funds of organisations like the Cyprus Telecoms Organisation and the Electricity Authority, maybe some others as well, and raise two to three billion euros.

“If we raise half of the money then maybe we could top up to the €5.8 billion amount by passing the Cypriot banks into Russian hands.”

But there was nothing concrete out of Moscow last night. President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy yes-

(continued from front page) our discussion to find the solution by which we hope we will be getting some support.”

Sarris told journalists he would stay in Moscow till some sort of agreement on Russian assistance could be reached.

Talks are expected to continue in Moscow today, though no meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been scheduled.

Commerce Minister Georgios Lakkotrypis was also in Moscow yesterday, officially for a tourism exhibition, but fuelling talk that access to untapped offshore gas reserves could be on the table as part of a deal for Russian aid.

Sarris is seeking to negotiate a lower interest and five-year extension on a €2.5 billion Russian loan, as well as some kind of assistance to prop up the island’s biggest banks and help Cyprus come up with the €5.8 billion demanded by the troika as a precondition to approving a €10 billion bailout.

Meanwhile, 14 EU Commissioners are due in the Russian capital tomorrow for an EU-Russia Summit where Cyprus will almost certainly be discussed, if even only on the sidelines.

According to Reuters, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the EU bloc had behaved “like a bull in a china shop” and compared its proposals, which would force Russian customers to

contribute to the rescue of Cypriot banks, to Soviet-era confiscations.

A possible sign that Russia may be willing to see Cyprus consigned to the “dustheap of history” than put its money in a sinking Mediterranean ship was a report from Interfax news wire yesterday quoting the Russian PM. Medvedev warned that Russia may denounce the double taxation avoidance agreement with Cyprus should things get hairy in the Cypriot banking system.

“We have an agreement on avoiding double taxation with Cyprus. I do not know whether we need this agreement in this case,” Medvedev said.

He further warned that the collapse of Cyprus’ banking system may have “very many consequences”.

The Russian media’s response to news of a haircut on deposits in Cyprus was one of fury with one prominent commentator, Yulia Latynina from Novaya Gazeta, accusing the EU of “robbing” billions from Russian depositors in Cypriot banks.

The tabloid paper Moskovskiy Komsomolets said the real objective of the Europeans was clear: “This is an undisguised act of expropriation, in other words something from the arsenal of the Bolshevik class struggle, but not civilised economic policy”. (see editorial page 13)

terday stressed the need to find a solution for the economic crisis in Cyprus.

Van Rompuy, who was speaking before the European Parliament, said that the situation in Cyprus must be resolved urgently.

“The current, highly uncertain situation is highly damaging, especially for the people of Cyprus, and has to be addressed as soon as possible,” he stressed.

Van Rompuy said the EU was ready to show its solidarity with a €10 billion deal and added that the EU was open to alternative solutions. What was now important, Van Rompuy said, was to save Cyprus and the prosperity of the Cypriot people.

President Nicos Anastasiades said late last night a decision would have to be made today at the latest. Everyone would have to rise to the occasion, he warned.

(Reporting by George Psyllides and Reuters news agency)

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris in Moscow yesterday

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Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

4

Home Bank deposit haircut would affect tens of thousands of non-Cypriots

Russian residents play waiting game ‘There’s nothing else that we can do’

By Maria Gregoriou

By Bejay Browne AS the eyes of the world are turned on Cyprus, Russian residents in Paphos are waiting for details of a contingency plan being hammered out by the government.

Olga Sozou, is the president of ‘The Cyprus-Russian Association of Paphos’ which was formed in 2011 by a group of Russians and Cypriots – who according to Sozou – represent the leading educational associations and business groups in Paphos, cultural and recreational centres and Russian media.

Sozou has lived in Paphos for 16 years and has a Cypriot husband. “The Russians in Paphos are very different from those you will find in other towns in Cyprus. Paphos has the largest number of wealthy Russians in Cyprus. We are talking about those who do not have to work for a living.

They have invested in large houses here, in areas such as Tala, Ha Potami and Koili as well as other areas of the district. They come and go and many have their country houses in Paphos,” she said.

Sozou said the situation was shocking but everyone was waiting to see what would happen. “There is nothing else that we can do,” she said.

Sozou says that even if the family’s savings were taxed, she had no intention of leaving Cyprus as it’s her home, and her children were happy at school. “We have an account which has savings in

for our children’s schooling.

As this costs around €20,000 a year, you can imagine that we will be affected,” she said.

The Paphos based association aims to strengthen the economic and political ties between Cyprus and Russia and to promote Paphos as a business hub connecting Cyprus, Russia and the rest of the world. According to Sozou, Russian residents were discussing moving their money elsewhere but say that at the moment most would keep it on the island. “They are afraid for the future, but no one is panicking yet,” she said. “It’s a waiting game.

They are weighing up the situation.”

Sozou added that some Russian investors in Cyprus believed that the bailout conditions may have been the outcome of envy over the amount of Russian money on the island.

“These investments and deposits are probably the main source of income for Cyprus at the moment,” she said.

Sozou said that if Russia were to come to the aid of Cyprus, Russian residents and investors would feel more secure about the future.

“When the parliament voted ‘no’ to the conditions- the initial reaction of Russians was happiness but this soon gave way to concerns about what would happen next. No one knows how Cyprus will come out of this.” Russian businessman Maxim Okulov, lives in Paphos with his family. He said: “This is a very serious

period, the first since the invasion of 1974. I’m very concerned about the future of Cyprus. The reputation here has already been damaged; the financial systems, the banks and foreign business will all suffer. I don’t understand the reason behind these measures to tax people’s money and I don’t understand what the government is doing now.”

Both of Okulov’s children are attending private schools and he says that Cyprus is the best place in the world to live.

“Its safe, great for the kids, the climate and food is good, the people are friendly and it’s an Orthodox country, as we are in Russia. I love Cyprus, it’s quiet and peaceful.

But I believe that the time for Cyprus is now changing.”

Okulov said that despite the uncertainty, he believes the rejection of the bailout terms by parliament was a good decision.

“I don’t understand the position of Angela Merkel and I find the terms of the levy unbelievable. Maybe we will now see a new trend of European politics in the financial market, there will be repercussions for other countries.”

But the Paphos based businessman says that Cyprus’ reputation might still be salvageable.

“If Cyprus can manage not to take money from people’s accounts, we may be able to avoid a bad reputation – and we have stopped a wider problem. Cyprus has saved other countries from the same

A man exits a Russian supermarket in Limassol fate.” The father of two added that he hoped that Russia would step forward.

“There is a lot of Russian money here in Cyprus and I hope that Putin helps. Another problem is Cyprus’ position; it’s in a special area. So many countries have inter-

(AFP)

ests such as Russia, Turkey, and USA and now there is the added problem of oil too.

Cyprus is so small and yet the problems are global. “I will leave my money here at the moment and have no intention of leaving Cyprus. This is our home.”

‘Russians don’t want to leave the island, they feel safe here’

By Peter Stevenson RUSSIAN residents have expressed solidarity with Cyprus in the wake of Parliament’s ‘no’ to the troika on a bailout deal.

According to Russian entrepreneur and editor of Russian community website sevodnya. com, Irina Bykova, Cypriot’s “show of strength” inside and outside parliament on Tuesday endeared them to their Russian counterparts. “Rus-

sians don’t want to leave the island, they feel safe here, and so they are waiting to see what decisions will be made both in Nicosia and Moscow in the coming days,” she said.

Bykova confirmed that many businessmen from Russia had arrived on the island, with many on their private jets, now parked at Larnaca airport.

They came to speak with their accountants, lawyers and consultants but until the banks re-open and a concrete decision is made by the gov-

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ernment they will have to be patient. “These businessmen need to be informed as soon as possible about what the government plans to do in order to reassure them that their money is safe and that there is no need for them to move their money,” she said.

Bykova believes that a minority of less-rich Russian businessmen will move their deposits elsewhere regardless of any positive news on the bailout deal. “Any move will be based on panic and emo-

tion and you cannot do anything about it now after the initial reports about a haircut on deposits,” she said.

Russian interest in the current situation has escalated with Tuesday night’s House Plenary in Nicosia being televised in Russia. “Russians are constantly monitoring the situation online and through the television with yesterday’s session in parliament going out live and translated in Russian,” Bykova said.

She claimed that allegations

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that Cyprus is a haven for money-laundering were wide of the mark.

“This is not the nineties and any dirty money that came to the island is no longer here as all businesses need to supply documentation which confirms the legality of money transfers and transactions,” Bykova added.

No Russian companies have requested to terminate their business on the island according to corporate service provider for Russian companies in Cyprus, Natalia Patsalidou.

“Many of the companies were waiting to see what parliament would decide and after MPs voted against the haircut they are all waiting to see what will happen next,” she said.

THE NUMBER of nonCypriots living on the island number over 170.000, many of whom would be affected by a deposit haircut.

The full figure of 170,383 is from the population census carried out by the statistical services in October 2011, published in January this year.

From the 170,383 nonCypriots living in Cyprus at the time, 106,270 were EU citizens and 64,113 were non-European. Of the European citizens, statistics show that the number of Greeks was the highest at 29,321, then Britons at 24,046, Romanians 23,706, and Bulgarians 18,536.

From the non-European citizen, Filippinos numbered 9,413, Russians 8,164, Sri Lankans 7,269, and Vietnamese 7,028.

Greeks, Romanians and Bulgarians mainly resided in Nicosia while most UK citizens resided in coastal areas such as, Paphos during the research period.

The majority of Russian citizens resided in Limassol.

From the non-European citizens the majority lived in Nicosia.

“The population census is carried out once every ten years,” Georgia Ioannou, a statistics officer said. “Since 1982, we have been conducting this survey on October 1.

“We do not do the survey during the summer period as many people are on holiday and we also do not want to visit people’s homes during Christmas or Easter,” she said.

“We use the traditional method of going from home to home with a questionnaire. We mark down all residents of Cyprus who have been in the country for more than one year or are planning to stay for over a year,” Ioannou said.

The population of Cyprus during the latest population census was 840,407 people, 431,627 were women compared to 408,780 men.

From the 106.270 European citizens, 53,607 were men and 52,663 were women. From the 64,113 nonEuropean citizens, the women were 41,114 and men were 22,999.

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CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

5

Home With banks closed, people turn to increased card usage Church offers

By Maria Gregoriou THE BANKS’ closure, and continued closure, until next Tuesday has caused a spike in card usage islandwide.

“We send an electronic file to the banks concerning the electronic transactions made during the day,” JCC payments systems said yesterday. “It is then the bank’s job to update the personal accounts with the transaction details. However these accounts have not been updated since Monday.”

The company said its data showed that cards were being used much more frequently at ATMs in the past few days, plus they are being used to purchase items people would normally pay for with cash.

Small and large shops have had to take measures to secure the cash that is taken into their tills every

day. Some small organisations keep their cash intake in safes while some larger organisations have held meetings to decide how they will handle the cash that their shops take in on a daily basis. These decisions were then shared with the employees involved and the appropriate actions taken.

“We have learnt to take faster decisions during recent situations and are able to handle any event that may affect our shops,” said a representative from one shop. “There has been no need for extra security.” Marios Chiromerides, the General Manager of The Mall of Cyprus said: “People’s psychological state has been altered by the world crisis and now even more so by our local crisis,” he said. “Fewer people actually buy things lately. Before, people visited The Mall as a social event and maybe they would purchase something

while there. Now they just come to buy what they need,” he added. Petrol stations yesterday urged people to pay by cash, rather than use cards.

The island’s 280 petrol stations are working normally and say they have enough fuel on hand for now.

“There is enough petrol in the market so consumers should not worry,” said Stefanos Stefanou, the president of the petrol station association. He said however the stations needed people to pay in cash wherever possible.

Stefanou said petrol stations have to pre-pay in order to receive their petrol supply and this could not now be done by cheque. “Petrol station owners can only come up with the money if they receive cash payments,” he added. “During this period everyone should try not to waste petrol until the banks reopen.”

‘Cypriot banks must reopen before it’s too late’ European bank industry chief warns of impact on wider banking industry

By John O’Donnell A SOLUTION must be found to reopen Cypriot banks within days before it is “too late”, one of Europe’s top bankers warned yesterday, saying he feared the island’s problems risked knocking confidence across the region.

“Everything needs to be solved very quickly. This is a matter of a very few days before it gets too late,” Christian Clausen, president of lobby group the European Banking Federation told Reuters in an interview.

“Speed is extremely important,” said Clausen, who is also chief executive of Nordea Group, the Nordic region’s biggest lender.

Clausen’s comments were echoed by Hung Tran, deputy managing director of the Institute of International Fi-

nance, a global bank lobby group.

“The country is small and the numbers involved are small but the symbolism is significant,” Tran told Reuters. “The protection for small depositors has been violated.

“Deposits have never been haircut in five years of financial crisis,” said Tran, who helped negotiate an earlier restructuring of Greek debt that handed losses to investors. “The risk is that there will be a deposit flight out of Cyprus.”

The remarks underscore a growing sense of alarm in the banking community as Cyprus tries to avoid a default and bank crash having rejected the terms of a eurozone bailout.

Banks in Cyprus are set to remain closed today and tomorrow as the country races to find an alternative to im-

Electricity will not be cut if people unable to pay through bank accounts THE Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) will not cut-off the supply to those who will not be able to pay their electricity bills on time due to the banks remaining closed.

On Tuesday the EAC instructed the groups of employees who handle the cut-offs to postpone their programme until further notice.

According to the announcement made by EAC, the cuts that were made at the beginning of the week were not because of late payments “but because of illegal connections to the authority’s network, which is a criminal offence. The amount of electricity consumed has not been recorded for such cases,” the announcement stated.

The European Banking Federation chief says speed is extremely important posing a levy on bank deposits in return for financial aid. With Monday a public holiday, the move effectively closes lenders until Tuesday, March 26.

Describing the closure of bank branches as “a very

bad thing to do” and the imposition of a levy on depositors as “unfortunate”, Clausen said he feared that events in Cyprus would snuff out a gradual return of confidence.

“We are all very concerned

(AFP)

that if it continues it may spread to some of the closer countries who do have problems with government debt,” he said. “The real issue is how much this will impact confidence throughout Europe.”

land to help the country exit crisis THE CHURCH said yesterday it was at the government’s disposal to save the economy and the banking sector by offering all the land it owns to help Cyprus. out of its current financial troubles.

Speaking after a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades, Archbishop Chrysostomos II said he suggested to the president to issue a national bond.

“All of the parishes, dioceses and monasteries will receive government bonds,” he said.

“All the land that belongs to the church is at the state’s disposal to help the people so that the banking sector does not collapse and so we can stand on our own feet,” he added.

“We can mortgage all of the church’s property and with that money we can invest in bonds to help support the government,” he said. He did not specify from which financial institution a mortgage would emanate. “The church’s property is enormous and I am confident and sure that the people can support the government,” he added.

The Archbishop said he felt the situation was manageable and congratulated MPs for voting against the proposed levy on bank deposits.

“They made the right decision and sent a strong message to Europe that they should respect small countries too,” he said.

He said a committee would be set up to study his proposal. “The final decision is not mine as it will definitely have to pass through parliament, but we will support it and the president said he is ready to do everything,” he added.

The Archbishop said he would not attempt to intervene the president’s communication with Russia. It is not the first time that the Archbishop has made sweeping statements about handing out the Church’s assets.

When he was Bishop of Paphos he encouraged refugees to vote against the Annan Plan in 2004, promising to compensate those who stood to lose land in the north.

When he was asked to keep his word he denied he had made any such comments.

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

6

Home

In stand-off with Cyprus, Germany refuses to blink The perfect test case for Merkel’s ‘adapt or fail’ paradigm OR THREE years, the eurozone crisis has played out according to a familiar pattern: German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a rock-hard line towards struggling southern states only to buckle at the last minute and offer aid when disaster threatened.

F

No longer. With Cyprus, a tiny Mediterranean island that for Berlin exemplifies much of what is rotten with Europe’s currency bloc, this pattern may be finally breaking down.

In public statements and private conversations, top German officials led by wheelchair-bound Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble are sending strong signals that, this time, they will not blink.

The bailout offer for Cyprus agreed on Saturday in Brussels, which would force big losses on depositors in the island’s oversized banks and perhaps shatter the shaky financial foundation on which its economy is based, looks final.

If Cyprus rejects it, Germany may be prepared to accept the risks associated with a banking collapse and a disorderly debt default that might ultimately force Cyprus out of the eurozone. “Cyprus may be the end of muddle through,” JP Morgan analyst Alex White said in a research note.

“Germany appears ready to live with the consequences of Cyprus stepping out of Europe.”

The German line, spelled out by Schaeuble to his euro zone counterparts late last week, is simple.

Unless Cyprus comes up with a 7 billion euro contribution from its banking sector, Berlin will not approve desperately needed aid of 10 billion euros from Europe’s rescue mechanism.

In a vote on Tuesday, the Cypriot parliament overwhelmingly rejected that offer. The country’s banks, dependent on emergency liquidity from the European Central Bank and shut since Monday, may be un-

Analysis Noah Barkin able to reopen until a deal has been ratified.

The assumption in Berlin, spelled out by a senior official this week, is that the Cypriot government and parliament will back down once the bank closures start wreaking havoc on the island’s 18 billion euro economy.

But if Nicosia doesn’t flinch, it would be wrong assume that Germany will.

First, a loose consensus has formed in Berlin over the past months – reinforced by muted market reaction to the crisis this week – that a collapse of Cyprus would not have devastating contagion effects on the rest of the eurozone.

Schaeuble has openly questioned for months whether Cyprus is “systemically relevant”. Recently he has been joined by other prominent politicians in Germany’s ruling parties.

“Given the instruments we now have at our disposal, I think it would be manageable,” Rainer Bruederle, parliamentary leader of the Free Democrats (FDP), told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the risk of Cyprus going bankrupt.

Second, there is an overwhelming feeling in Berlin that the Cypriot business model – built on attracting foreign money with low taxes and loose regulation – is not only deeply flawed but also at odds with the currency bloc’s economic values.

This conviction transcends party lines, even in an election year. The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens criticised the government for backing an EU plan to make smaller savers in Cypriot banks share the burden. But they do not dispute the substance of its demands that big depositors must suffer losses.

Any Cyprus deal will need to pass through the lower house of parliament. Six months before the election,

Officials say Merkel would face greater political risks if she backed down Merkel has no hope of pushing a watered-down deal through the Bundestag, officials close to her say.

In the case of Greece, Merkel equivocated for months before concluding that a default was too risky for the currency bloc.

With Cyprus, the opposite has happened. Officials say Merkel would face greater political risks if she backed down than by standing firm, even if it means chaos on the streets of Nicosia.

“No one but Cyprus is to blame,” Schaeuble said in a combative appearance on German public television.

“Its business model doesn’t work anymore and it must be restructured. There is no way around this.”

Top-selling daily Bild, often a close gauge of the public mood, railed against “ungrateful” Cypriots on Wednesday for making Germany a “bogeyman” despite Berlin’s readiness

to pay the largest share of any bailout.

“If the future of Europe wasn’t at stake there would be only one reasonable response: do your dirty work alone,” Bild commentator Hugo Mueller-Vogg wrote in a column next to protest pictures from Nicosia of Merkel dressed in a Nazi uniform.

A more fundamental reason why Berlin feels compelled to stick to its guns has to do with Merkel’s own view of the causes of the euro crisis and her longer-term vision of what it will take to pull Europe out of it.

According to this analysis, either Europe becomes more like Germany – competitive, industrialised, innovative and frugal – or it is doomed to mediocrity in a globalised world dominated by more nimble powers like China.

Cyprus, with an economic

In the matter of Sputnik Media Holdings Limited (the “Company”) and In the matter of the Cyprus Companies Law Cap 113

NOTICE OF LIQUIDATOR’S APPOINTMENT

Notice is hereby given that the creditors of the Company which is being voluntarily wound up are required on or before the 8th day of April, 2013 to send in their full names, their addresses and descriptions, full particulars of their debts or claims and the names and addresses of their solicitors (if any) to the undersigned liquidator, of 16, Kyriakou Matsi Avenue, Eagle House, 10th floor, Agioi Omologites, P.C. 1082 Nicosia, Cyprus, the liquidator of the Company, and if so required by notice in writing from the said liquidator, to come in and prove their said debts or claims at such time and place as shall be specified in such notice, or in default thereof they will be excluded from the benefit of any distribution made before such debts are proved.

EAGLESTAR GROUP LIMITIED

Dated this 4th day of March, 2013 Phivos Pelides Liquidator

(In Voluntary Liquidation) NOTICE is hereby given that in accordance with Section 204 (a) of the BVI Business Companies Act, No. 16 of 2004, the liquidation of EAGLESTAR GROUP LIMITED commenced on 26/02/2013 and Michalis Thomaides of Omirou 20, Agios Nikolaos, 3095 Limassol, Cyprus has been appointed Liquidator on 26/02/2013.

Dated this 26/02/2013 (signed)

model that relies on supersized banks stuffed with billions of euros in foreign money, mainly Russian and British, is a poster child for all that is wrong in Europe and must now change, the Germans believe.

Because of its small size – the city of Berlin alone has three times the population of Cyprus – it also happens to be the perfect test case for Merkel’s “adapt or fail” paradigm.

Analyst White of JP Morgan believes Germany’s hard line on Cyprus may end up as a watershed moment for Europe in which Berlin signals to other members, including bigger states like Italy and France, that it is prepared to take a much tougher line on aid if it does not get its way on reforms.

“We think Germany is increasingly prepared to say ‘no’ in an extreme environment and to deal with the consequences,” he said.

Cypriot ‘no’ inspires Greeks to rail against austerity

By Harry Papachristou GREEKS and opposition parties inspired by the Cypriot rejection of an unpopular bailout deal urged Athens yesterday to stand up to foreign lenders whose demands have resulted in repeated rounds of austerity that have made Greek life a misery.

“See what Cyprus did? We are proud of them,” said Fey Papadopoulou, 22, a university student. “They should be an example for our politicians, who have succumbed to every demand.”

“The Cypriots set an example to follow,” left-leaning Eleftherotypia said in its leading editorial. “How can the Cypriots say ‘no’ and we can’t even reject a single property tax?”, ran a headline on Greek television channel Antenna.

Greece, which first sought aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in 2010, has yielded to demands for harsh austerity measures that have slashed household income by almost a third and sent unemployment up to a record 26 per cent.

“Cyprus said ‘No’ on our behalf too,” said Odysseas Panagiotou, a 45-year-old clerk.

“It’s about time that our traitors – politicians – say a big ‘No’ to the troika demands.”

Whether Athens – which in the past has ignored riots and mass protests to approve austerity packages and avert bankruptcy – will be swayed by the latest outcry depends on whether Cyprus ends up bankrupt or finds a solution elsewhere, analysts said.

“If Cyprus goes bankrupt, then the government’s argument that we must stay on the austerity path will be reinforced, but if it wins better bailout terms the main opposition’s arguments will be stronger,” said Thomas Gerakis, head of Marc pollsters.

Greece’s anti-bailout opposition, including the radical leftist Syriza party, accused the government of bowing to the austerity demands of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“After the Cypriots’ proud ‘no’, Mr. Samaras and Mr. Stournaras are the most faithful adherents of Ms. Merkel’s strategy,” said a statement from Syriza.

“The Cypriot parliament shows the way of real negotiation, which no pro-bailout government in Greece even considered.”

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

7

Home Worried by what it sees as an increasingly assertive Russia, some believe Germany is hoping a bailout will ultimately reduce Moscow’s influence on the island Insight Peter Apps and Henning Gloystein S IT tries to play Russia off against Europe to salvage its economy, Cyprus has embarked on a highstakes poker game that could see almost everyone lose. Its banks shattered by exposure to Greek debt, the island state urgently needs a way of bailing out its financial system.

A

Cypriot policymakers hope they can begin to monetise as yet undeveloped offshore gas fields and position themselves as a vital source of energy for Europe.

However, such income is still years away and delusions of becoming the Qatar of the eastern Mediterranean in the 2020s may prompt Cyprus to overplay its hand now.

In the coming days, Nicosia may have to choose between a European bailout that punishes savers – including both ordinary Cypriots and much richer Russian investors – and a deal with Moscow with as yet unknown strings attached.

At worst, it could emerge with its financial system – by far the biggest contributor to the economy – in ruins along with relations with its closest allies.

“Cyprus has always been complicated,” said James Ker-Lindsay, a senior fellow at the London School of Economics and expert on the 50-year-old conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. “But this is by far the most complex it has been. They are in trouble. They may not want to make these decisions, they know they have to.”

The implications go well beyond Cyprus. Images of shuttered banks and queues at cashpoints could spark bank runs elsewhere in Europe, endangering the stability of the single currency.

In the background, a long-simmering conflict between the Greek Cypriots in the south and the Turkish Cypriots in the north of the divided island worries the rest of the region.

Greek Cypriot officials hoped speeding up gas exploration would help them out of a financial hole. But in doing so, they have raised tensions with the Turkish Cypriots who want a joint approach and a share of the revenue.

Turks and Greeks, Israelis and their neighbours are all discovering potential reserves along their disputed borders.

In Washington and Brussels, there are fears that increasing strains between Cyprus and Turkey could lead to confrontation.

“Cyprus may set the tone

Cyprus plays risky geopolitical game

Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris leaves the Russian Finance Ministry in Moscow yesterday. Sarris said he was off to a “very good” start in seeking Russia’s assistance after the island’s rejection of the terms of an EU bailout for the rest of the eastern Mediterranean,” says Eric Thompson, director of strategic studies at the Centre for Naval Analyses, a US government-funded agency that advises the US military.

“It is where the financial crisis and the gas issues come together. And it is also where they become immediately militarised.”

So far, some 200 billion cubic metres of natural gas worth $80 billion at current prices have been discovered in the Aphrodite gas field in Cypriot waters, although the figures still have to be audited.

That would be enough to cover around 40 per cent of the European Union’s annual gas consumption.

Cyprus hopes to start exporting in 2018, but energy analysts say extracting the gas will prove more costly and be slower than Nicosia thinks, and Cypriot supplies may run into a global glut, with shale gas plentiful by then in North America, Russia and even Europe.

Successive Cypriot governments have viewed closer ties with Europe as central to their strategy to hold back Turkey and prosper as a bigger regional player.

Working closely with Israel, they aimed to sell east-

‘One Londonbased fund described the Cyprus bailout as the eurozone’s “Franz Ferdinand moment”, comparing it to the assassination of an Austrian archduke in Sarajevo that sparked world war in 1914’

ern Mediterranean gas to a Europe keen to wean itself off dependency on sometimes politically unreliable supplies from Russia.

Cypriot officials say European firms were deliberately prioritised over Asian and other rivals in granting new drilling rights, with the newly elected government of President Nicos Anastasiades keen to lean further towards Europe.

That, one official told Reuters last week, could extend to easier access to Cypriot military bases for any European military operations.

Many western states have used the island as a logistics hub to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Former colonial power Britain retains two sovereign bases there but refrained from using them for air strikes on Libya in 2011 out of sensitivity to Cypriot opposition.

The bases are also a listening post for eavesdropping on communications around the Middle East, although intelligence satellites have made such outposts less important.

Until news of Saturday’s bailout broke, most Greek Cypriots would have endorsed ever closer European relations.

But with the initial bailout terms – which would

have seen even the smallest savers lose more than six per cent of their deposits – denounced as a little better than robbery, anger at the EU and Germany in particular has soared.

Having committed billions to bailing out other fringe eurozone economies, northern European taxpayers have little appetite for more. That is especially true for Cyprus which Slovakian Finance Minister Peter Kazimir told reporters has a business model based on “low taxes, network of lawyers and accountants, as well as hidden ‘shadow’ companies”.

Worried by what it sees as an increasingly assertive Russia, some believe Germany is hoping a bailout will ultimately reduce Moscow’s influence on the island and elsewhere in Europe.

If recent days are anything to go by, however, it may have had the opposite effect.

Cyprus is not the first indebted European island to turn to Moscow in hope of help in a financial storm.

Iceland did so in 2008 as its currency and banking system imploded, angering allies who saw the NATO member as trying to sell itself out to Russian interests barely a month after

the Georgia war.

In the event, Russia did not bite, preferring to leave the struggling country to the International Monetary Fund and European Union. Cyprus, however, has long had closer ties with Moscow based on business interests, a shared antipathy towards Turkey and similar Orthodox Christian faith.

No sooner had news of the bailout terms broken on Saturday than rumours began to circulate suggesting that Russia – and gas giant Gazprom in particular – might offer an alternative deal.

Gazprom denies any such plan. But a host of ideas are now circulating in Moscow and Nicosia, many of them complex and involving gas fields, Cypriot banks and real estate.

Russia could certainly be attracted by access to Cypriot gas, tightening its grip on European supply.

A strategic relationship with Cyprus could make it harder for Western states to use the bases for any military action in Syria, and even offer the Kremlin an alternative Mediterranean port should ally Bashar al-Assad lose his civil war.

Whether such a deal would work as well for Cyprus, however, is another question.

Barred from NATO by a Turkish veto, the island was officially “unaligned” during the Cold War but has shown little appetite to be a direct Russian satellite.

A bailout from Moscow might solve the immediate banking crisis but greater Russian sway over Cypriot banks could scare off their Russian clients.

Many moved money to Cyprus precisely to avoid unreliable Russian banks, rapacious tax officials and the reach of the Russian state itself.

Fed up with bailing out Mediterranean states and perhaps confident they can ring fence collapse in Cyprus – which makes up less than 0.2 per cent of the eurozone economy – European powers may decide they can afford to let Cyprus fail.

How bad a Cypriot bankruptcy might be for the rest of Europe is, as yet, far from clear.

Earlier this week, one London-based fund described the Cyprus bailout as the eurozone’s “Franz Ferdinand moment”, comparing it to the assassination of an Austrian archduke in Sarajevo that sparked world war in 1914.

“That might be an overstatement,” said Fiona Hill, a former senior official on the US National Intelligence Council and now head of the Europe Programme at the Brookings Institution.

“But it’s a very serious situation. You went to bed on Friday night thinking that the eurozone would survive and woke up on Saturday (after the bailout) wondering how it can.”

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

8

Europe

Lagarde apartment searched as part of probe into payment FRENCH authorities searched the Paris apartment of IMF chief Christine Lagarde yesterday in an investigation into her award of a 2008 arbitration payment to a businessman supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, her lawyer said.

Lagarde, who was Sarkozy’s finance minister at the time, has denied wrongdoing in ending a court battle with Bernard Tapie and to instead opt for arbitration. It resulted in a 285 million euro ($367 million) sum being granted to the billionaire.

Although Lagarde has never been accused of profiting personally from the controversial payment, the long-running Tapie affair is a distraction as the ex-lawyer, a major player on the international stage, seeks to restore stability to the global financial system.

Her predecessor at the IMF, Dominique StraussKahn, resigned over sexual assault charges that were later dropped.

Magistrates from a special tribunal that judges alleged abuses by government ministers suspect her of complicity in misusing public funds after she overruled objections from advisers to proceed with arbitration.

The police investigation has been open since 2011 and Lagarde has never been summoned for questioning.

“This search will help uncover the truth, which will contribute to exonerating my client from any criminal wrongdoing,” Lagarde’s lawyer, Yves Repiquet, told Reuters.

Lagarde was in Frankfurt and not in her Paris flat at the time of the search, which Repiquet said was carried out by investigating magistrates.

An IMF spokesman declined comment but said that before Lagarde was named managing director, the global lender’s board discussed the matter and determined she would be able to lead.

The timing of the search of the apartment was sensitive, coming a day after France’s budget minister

Lagarde, who was Sarkozy’s finance minister at the time, has denied wrongdoing resigned after being targeted in a tax fraud inquiry.

Socialist President Francois Hollande came to power last May saying he would create an “exemplary” state free from the unfair advantages accorded the elite he said were rife under Sarkozy.

Sarkozy’s ex-labour and foreign ministers resigned in 2010 and 2011, respectively, after allegations of influence peddling.

The Tapie affair has done little to quash a widely held perception in France that relations between politicians and the business elite are cozy.

Tapie, a colourful and often controversial character in the French business and sports world, sued the state for compensation after selling his stake in sports company Adidas to then state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais in 1993.

He claimed the bank had defrauded him after it later resold his stake for a much higher sum. Credit Lyonnais, now part of Credit Agricole, has denied any wrongdoing.

Lagarde was a star in Sarkozy’s cabinet and wellrespected by peers, pushing through many of the high-profile initiatives in France’s presidency of the G20 group of nations.

French hostage killed in retaliation for Mali A FRENCH hostage has been killed in retaliation for France’s military intervention in northern Mali, a website based in Mauritania has claimed.

It claimed that al Qaeda’s North African branch had killed Philippe Verdon on March 10.

He was kidnapped with another Frenchman from their hotel room in eastern Mali in November 2011.

The Noukachott Information Agency, or ANI, posted the report late yesterday.

The ANI website is frequently used by al Qaida’s North African chapter to post messages. It was not possible independently to verify the claim.

ANI quoted a man who identified himself as Ghairawani, a spokesman for al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, as saying the group’s fighters had killed Verdon.

French troops launched a campaign in January to help the country’s embattled government drive Islamic militants out of northern Mali.

Rescue miners team enter the Rudna copper mine in Polkowice, southern Poland, on March 20, 2013.

Nineteen miners trapped nearly half a mile underground by a cave-in at a copper mine in southern Poland were freed yesterday after a seven-hour search.

The men were trapped by fallen rock at the Rudna copper mine in Polkowice after a magnitude-4.7 earthquake struck the area.

“It was a very difficult rescue action,” the head of the rescue team, Grzegorz Wolak, said.

“We did not know if they would live.”

A team of 25 worked through the night to dig their way to the trapped miners, who were luckily all together and in a well-ventilated area when the cave-in occurred.

One of the rescuers, Tomasz Szafirowicz, said that the miners “were very tired but very happy to see us”.

“They knew they would return to their families,” he went on to say.

One man suffered minor head injuries but all the others are in good shape and were able to return home.

Napolitano seeking solution to stalemate

By James Mackenzie ITALIAN President Giorgio Napolitano began consultations with political leaders yesterday to try to find a way of forming a government after the deadlocked election last month left no party with a majority in parliament.

Senate speaker Pietro Grasso said after meeting Napolitano the president was determined to reach an accord, saying there was “an absolute necessity to give the country a government” but the parties were deeply divided before talks opened.

Italy’s political stalemate and the prospect of months of uncertainty has created alarm across Europe just as the standoff over bank deposits in Cyprus reawakened fears that the eurozone debt

Prospect of Italy returning to the polls as early as June crisis could flare up again.

Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who won a majority in the lower house but not in the Senate, commands the largest bloc in parliament but cannot govern unless he has support from one of the other parties.

However, there has been no sign that an accord is possible with either former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right alliance, the second biggest force in parliament, or the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement led by ex-comic Beppe Grillo, which holds the balance of power.

Berlusconi said only a broad cross-party alliance was ca-

pable of addressing the problems facing Italy, but has been rebuffed by Bersani.

“We have declared ourselves open to this but Bersani and his supporters keep stubbornly paying court to Grillo and the ‘Grillini’ even though they only keep getting rebuffed,” he told his own Italia 1 television.

If no agreement can be struck, Italy faces the prospect of a brief period under a caretaker government followed by a return to the polls, possibly as early as June or after the summer holiday months, in September or October.

Napolitano was also to

meet minor parties, including Prime Minister Mario Monti’s centrist group yesterday before the main meetings today when he sees representatives from the 5-Star Movement, Berlusconi’s People of Freedom (PDL) party and Bersani’s Democratic Party (PD).

Bersani, 61, received a small boost at the weekend when his candidates were elected the speakers of the two houses of parliament, despite the centre left’s lack of a Senate majority.

Bersani is proposing to present a limited package of reforms aimed at fighting corruption and creating jobs that he hopes can be backed by the 5-Star Movement.

Given the fractious climate, the prospects of a minority government surviving more than a short time are slim but Bersani has little alternative.

German government decides against trying to ban far-right NPD party THE German government decided against trying to outlaw the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), branded by its critics as neo-Nazi, over doubts judges would back such a move.

The government said it would instead support a separate bid by Germany’s 16 federal states to ask the Constitu-

tional Court to ban the party which the domestic intelligence service has called “racist, anti-Semitic and revisionist”.

Banning a political group is especially sensitive in Germany, still haunted by memories of Nazi and communist regimes which silenced dissent. A previous attempt to ban the NPD

failed in 2003.

Germany’s large ethnic Turkish community, the Central Council of Jews and Central Council of Sinti and Roma have criticised the government over its failure to take a united stance on the NPD, saying it has shirked its responsibility.

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

9

Britain

Support for fired Oxford librarian FAMOUS Oxford alumni yesterday joined a growing campaign to reinstate a college librarian sacked for failing to stop students from making a Harlem Shake video.

Best-selling crime writer Val McDermid was among those criticising St Hilda’s College after graduate Calypso Nash was relieved of her post at the university library after students recorded a dance craze clip and posted it on YouTube.

The 30-second clip received 5,000 hits before it was taken down on Monday.

It showed around 30 students sitting quietly in the library while one lone man dances energetically in the aisle wearing an American football helmet.

The shot suddenly switches to all the students dancing in fancy dress, with some standing on the chairs and desks, mimicking thousands of Harlem Shake videos posted online since the beginning of February.

Award-winning novelist McDermid, who went to the 120-year-old college, and is now an Honorary Fellow said she was “baffled” by the college’s po-faced response.

The 57-year-old, whose novels inspired the ITV crime drama Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green, tweeted: “I’m baffled that my alma mater appears to have lost its sense of humour.”

Students launched a campaign to reinstate Nash, 23, a classics graduate from Teddington, in west London, who was awarded an academic scholarship.

They have also requested that the dean’s fines - thought to be about £50 against individuals identified in the video - be rescinded.

Pair ruled liable for Omagh bombing

Fall: the woman leapt from a balcony at the Hotel Agra Mahal

Accused denies attempt to rape London dentist

By Kiran Randhawa and Josh Loeb A MAN yesterday appeared in court accused of attempting to rape a London woman who jumped from her hotel balcony in India after fearing she was going to be attacked.

The 32-year-old woman from Greenwich leapt from the hotel in Agra - close to the Taj Mahal - after reportedly barricading herself in her room and screaming for help for more than an hour.

The hotel manager, Sachin Chauhan, and a hotel security guard were seized on charges of “molestation” shortly after the incident on Tuesday.

Yesterday police charged Chauhan with an additional charge of attempted rape shortly before a brief hearing at an Agra court. He denied

Woman had leapt from her hotel balcony to get away the charges.

Ashutosh Pandey, the Police Inspector General in Agra, told the Evening Standard: “We have increased the charges against the accused. He is now charged with attempted rape as well as molestation.

The intentions of the accused were very clear which is why we added the charge of attempted rape.

“Rape is a heinous crime and we want to make sure we do everything that is possible to make sure the victim gets justice for what happened to her.”

The woman, who is now under police guard, said in a wit-

ness statement that the manager of the Agra Mahal hotel refused to leave her alone after he knocked on her door at 3.45am saying he wanted to give her an oil massage.

She said: “I refused and asked him to leave but he was insistent. I had to push him out with the door, and then I bolted the door. He remained outside my door trying to get in with his keys until 5am. I was shouting at him to stop harassing me, I told him I wanted him to go.

“I was too scared to leave my room as he was waiting outside. I was kicking the door and shouting for help but no one came.”

The woman said another man, believed to be a hotel security guard, joined the manager outside her room after 45 minutes and demanded she unlock the door.

She said: “I shouted at them to stop harassing me but it continued.”

After an hour and a quarter spent trying to prevent a feared assault, the woman decided to try and leap to safety and then took a rickshaw to a police station.

She suffered hairline fractures to her legs and was initially being treated at the Sarojini Naidu Medical College in Agra.

Around 25,000 rapes are reported in India every year, and the incident comes just days after a Swiss tourist on a cycling trip was gang-raped by up to eight men in front of her husband in central India.

TWO republicans have been found liable for the Omagh bombing following a landmark civil action taken by relatives of some of the victims.

Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly were ordered to face a retrial after they successfully appealed a finding of liability against them in the original case in Belfast High Court.

But their second trial delivered the same outcome in the same court, with judge Mr Justice John Gillen ruling the men were responsible for the 1998 Real IRA atrocity.

Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, died when the dissident republican car bomb ripped through the Co Tyrone market town on August 15 1998.

More than 200 were injured in the blast.

No-one has been successfully criminally convicted of the bombing, but in 2009 Murphy, a builder and republican from Dundalk, Co Louth, and Daly, a bricklayer from Cullaville, Co Monaghan, and two others were held responsible in the initial civil action taken by some of the bereaved families.

Along with Real IRA chief Michael McKevitt and Co Louth republican Liam Campbell, the men were ordered to pay £1.6 million in damages.

McKevitt, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the Irish Republic for directing terrorism, and Campbell, who recently successfully fought extradition proceedings to Lithuania on arms smuggling charges, failed in their bids to overturn the Omagh civil judgment.

They are now seeking to have their case heard in the European Court of Human Rights.

Murphy and Daly’s appeals were upheld but both men were ordered to face another trial. The retrial started in January and finished last month, with Mr Justice Gillen delivering his reserved judgment today.

Top-selling Sun deputy editor charged with making illegal payments to public officials

Support: best-selling crime writer Val McDermid

BRITISH police, investigating allegations of phone-hacking centred on Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, charged the deputy editor of his top-selling Sun tabloid yesterday with making illegal payments to public officials.

Geoff Webster is the latest senior figure from News International, the

British newspaper arm of Murdoch’s News Corp, to be accused of criminal offences in a scandal which has rocked the media mogul’s empire and escalated into a crisis embroiling the entire industry and the political establishment. Dozens of current and former staff from Murdoch’s Sun and News of the World

SundayMail A NIGHT FOR TWO WITH BREAKFAST AT

THIS WEEK IN YOUR

WIN

newspapers have been arrested by police since early 2011 when detectives re-launched an inquiry into allegations journalists had repeatedly hacked into voicemails of mobile phones to find exclusive stories.

Inquiries later were extended to cover allegations journalists paid cash to public officials in return

ENTER OUR COMPETITION (living page 28)

for information.

Police and prosecutors said Webster, 53, would face two charges of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office, which related to payments of 6,500 pounds ($9,800) and 1,500 pounds made to two officials between July 2010 and August 2011.

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

10

World WORLD TODAY Colorado prison chief shot dead THE head of Colorado state’s prison system was shot and killed at his home on Tuesday night, just hours before the governor signed landmark gun control legislation drafted in response to a series of mass shootings.

Police said Tom Clements, 58, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, was shot once at his home in the town of Monument. The shooting did not appear to be linked to home invasion or robbery, said El Paso County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Jeff Kramer.

Officials said they had started a search on Tuesday night, but by yesterday morning they had not identified any suspects.

“We don’t know if the shooting was random,” Kramer said.

He said investigators were considering the possibility that Clements’ position as head of state prisons could have motivated the shooting.

Governor John Hickenlooper yesterday morning signed legislation to expand background checks on gun buyers and limit the size of ammunition magazines that may be sold.

‘Frustration fuels hunger strike’ GUANTANAMO prisoners are frustrated by the U.S. government’s failure to close the detention camp and have launched a growing hunger strike to “turn the heat up,” an American general told a congressional committee yesterday.

Marine Corps General John Kelly took over in November as head of the US military’s Southern Command in Miami, which oversees the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in Cuba.

Twenty-four Guantanamo captives were on a hunger strike and eight of them had lost enough weight that doctors were force-feeding them liquid nutrients through tubes inserted into their noses and down their stomachs, Captain Robert Durand, a spokesman at the detention camp, told Reuters.

Two were hospitalised with dehydration, he said.

Kelly attributed the hunger strike to frustration among the 166 Guantanamo prisoners, who were captured in overseas counterterrorism operations after the 9/11 attacks. Nearly all have been held for 11 years without charge, and half have been cleared for transfer or release.

North Korea suspected of South computer shutdown Bank and TV network computers malfunction COMPUTER networks at two major South Korean banks and three top TV broadcasters went into mass shutdown yesterday, paralysing bank machines across the country and prompting speculation of a cyber attack

by North Korea.

Screens went blank at 2pm local time (0500 GMT), with skulls popping up on the screens of some computers - a strong indication that hackers had planted a malicious code in South Korean systems, the state-run Korea Information Security Agency said.

Some computers started to get back online more than two and a half hours later.

Police and South Korean officials investigating the shutdown said the cause was not immediately clear.

But speculation centred on North Korea, with experts saying a cyber attack orchestrated by Pyongyang was probably to blame.

The shutdown comes amid rising rhetoric and threats of attack from Pyongyang in response to UN punishment

Customers are not seen at a Shinhan Bank branch as the bank’s computer network was paralysed in Incheon, South Korea yesterday

for its December rocket launch and February nuclear test. Washington also expanded sanctions against North Korea this month in a bid to cripple the regime’s ability to develop its nuclear programme.

North Korea has threatened revenge for the sanctions and for ongoing routine

US-South Korean military drills it considers invasion preparation.

Accusations of cyber attacks on the Korean Peninsula are not new. Seoul believes Pyongyang was behind at least two cyber attacks on local companies in 2011 and 2012.

The latest network paraly-

sis took place just days after North Korea accused South Korea and the US of staging a cyber attack that shut down its websites for two days last week. The Thai-based internet service provider confirmed the outage, but did not say what caused the shutdown in North Korea.

“It’s got to be a hacking at-

tack,” Lim Jong-in, dean of Korea University’s Graduate School of Information Security, said of today’s events.

“Such simultaneous shutdowns cannot be caused by technical glitches.”

Shinhan Bank, a lender of South Korea’s fourth-largest banking group, reported a system shutdown, including online banking and cash machines. The company could not conduct any customer activities at bank windows, including retail and corporate banking.

At one Starbucks in central Seoul, customers were asked to pay for their coffee in cash, and queues formed outside disabled bank machines. Seoul is a largely cashless society, with many people using debit and credit cards.

Broadcasters KBS and MBC said their computers went down at 2pm, but officials said the shutdown did not affect daily TV broadcasts.

The YTN cable news channel also said the company’s internal computer network was completely paralysed.

Local TV showed workers staring at blank computer screens.

The South Korean military raised its cyber attack readiness level today following the shutdown, the Defence Ministry said. Defence officials reported no signs of cyber attacks on its ministry’s computer network and had no immediate details about the broader shutdown.

Kim supervises ‘drone attack’ drill NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised a drone attack on a simulated South Korean target yesterday, Pyongyang’s KCNA news agency reported, and the armed forces shot down a target mimicking a cruise missile.

North Korea has stepped up its military exercises in response to what it regards as “hostile” joint drills by South Korea and the United States after Pyongyang was sanctioned by the UN Security Council for a nuclear test in February. It is not known if North Korea possesses drones, although a report on South Korea’s Yonhap news agency last year said it had obtained 1970s-era US target drones from Syria to develop into attack drones.

“The (drone) planes were assigned the flight route and time with the targets in South Korea in mind, Kim Jong-un said, adding with great satisfaction that they were proved to be able to mount (a) super-precision attack on any enemy targets,” KCNA reported.

It is extremely rare for KCNA to specify the day on which Kim attended a drill. It also said that a rocket defence unit had successfully shot down a target that mimicked an “enemy” Tomahawk cruise missile.

North Korea has said it has abrogated an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War and threatened a nuclear attack on the United States.

Although North Korea currently lacks the technology to carry out such an attack, the US said it would deploy anti-missile batteries in Alaska to counter any threat.

The KCNA report said that Kim, 30, the third of his line to rule North Korea, would give orders to destroy military installations in any war zone and also US bases in the Pacific if the North was attacked.

North Korea’s missiles have the capacity to hit bases in Japan and on the island of Guam.

Earlier in the day, KCNA denounced US moves that it said were aimed at staging a “pre-emptive nuclear strike” on North Korea, citing the deployment of a US B-52 bomber over the Korean peninsula as well as what it said were nuclear-armed submarines.

The United States and South Korea say their drills are defensive.

Tensions have mounted on the Korean peninsula since North Korea staged its first successful long-range rocket launch in December. It followed this up with its third nuclear weapons test in February. Pyongyang is barred from developing missile and nuclear-related technology under UN sanctions imposed after previous nuclear tests.

Earlier yesterday, China’s new leader, Xi Jinping, said he would offer to promote “reconciliation and cooperation” on the Korean peninsula.

The KCNA report said Kim would order military installations in any war zone destroyed if the North was attacked

Indian government unlikely to call election despite loss of ally THE Indian government is unlikely to call a snap election despite its biggest ally abruptly quitting the ruling coalition, as it needs time to implement flagship welfare schemes and hopes the economy will improve, government sources said yesterday.

The withdrawal of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has

rattled markets, which are worried that it has left Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unable to pass reforms needed to turn around the worst economic slowdown in a decade.

That, in turn, has fired speculation that the government, which is in a minority in parliament and relies on the support of powerful but unpredict-

able regional parties to stay in power, could call a quick election before its term officially runs out next year.

However, leaders in the ruling Congress party said the government will wait in order to pass legislation aimed at shoring up its popularity, which has been punctured by corruption scandals and anger over high prices.

“We have been given a mandate for five years and we intend to ensure that it is not aborted,” Jairam Ramesh, rural development minister, told Reuters. But big-ticket economic reforms such as opening the pensions and insurance sectors to foreign investors are likely to face stiff opposition in parliament, analysts said.

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

11

World

Syrian adversaries demand inquiry into ‘chemical’ attack

Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R), welcome US President Barack Obama (C) yesterday at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv

In Israel, Obama warns Syria on chemical weapons

BOTH sides in Syria’s conflict yesterday demanded an international inquiry into a deadly attack they each cite as evidence that the other has used chemical weapons.

The deaths of 26 people in a rocket attack on a northern town on Tuesday have become the latest focus of a propaganda war between President Bashar al-Assad’s supporters and opponents, who accuse each other of firing a missile laden with chemicals.

The United States and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria, took contrasting views of the strike on Khan alAssal, near Aleppo, which, if confirmed, would be the first use of chemical weapons in the two-year-old conflict.

Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Damascus who left Syria more than a year ago, said his government had no evidence so far to substantiate reports that chemical weapons munitions had been used in Syria on Tuesday.

“But I want to underline that we are looking very carefully at these reports,” he added, in testimony in Washington to a US House of Representatives hearing on the crisis in Syria.

Ford also said there would be consequences for Syria’s government if it were found to be using chemical weapons, but would not discuss

The Assad regime accuses rebels of a chemical strike what those would be.

Washington has so far shunned direct military intervention in Syria, although it says Assad must be removed from power after 43 years of his family’s iron rule in the major Arab country and two years after the start of an uprising against it.

Rebels might latch onto any suspicions of chemical weapons use to bolster a case for Western military intervention, although not all of Assad’s opponents favour this.

Russia, citing information from the Assad government, has accused rebels of carrying out a chemical strike.

Syria’s restrictions on independent media and foreign aid groups make it hard to

verify what happened, but survivors interviewed in hospitals complained of breathing difficulties.

The opposition Syrian National Coalition said it wanted an international investigation into alleged chemical attacks on Tuesday in both Khan alAssal and Otaiba, a town near the capital Damascus.

“The Coalition would like all parties and individuals involved in this reprehensible crime to be brought to justice,” it said in a statement.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry has asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to set up an independent, neutral specialist technical team “to investigate the use of chemical weapons by the terrorists in Khan alAssal”, state TV reported.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad had said on Tuesday that officials would test soil and rocket debris in Khan al-Assal and report their findings to the “relevant bodies”.

The World Health Organisation said it would send medical supplies to Aleppo yesterday but could not verify if chemical agents had been used. Experts contracted by the U.N. agency will visit Aleppo health facilities to identify immediate health needs and provide support for treatment of toxins, it said.

“The AKP rules the people with police and judicial terror ... To those who constantly enforce terror, the people’s justice will one day knock on your door,” a statement posted on a website close to the DHKP-C said.

The blasts preceded an anticipated ceasefire call today by jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan. He has been negotiating with state officials to end a 29-year conflict that has killed 40,000 people, limited economic growth and undermined Turkey’s bid for European Union membership.

1-14 March 2013 in Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos 18 - 31 March 2013 in Larnaca and Famagusta Every contribution adds value to our cause. Support the work of the Cyprus Red Cross by making a donation during the “DOOR TO DOOR” fundraising campaign.

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A LEFTIST group claimed responsibility yesterday for bomb and missile strikes on Turkish government and ruling party offices overnight which Turkey’s prime minister said were aimed at derailing a peace process with Kurdish rebels.

The Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) said its members attacked the Justice Ministry and offices of the ruling AK Party with hand grenades and a shoulder-fired missile in the capital Ankara late on Tuesday.

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he

was “absolutely convinced that the president is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons”.

However, the right-wing leader said he was certain Obama appreciated that Israel “can never cede the right to defend ourselves to others, even to the greatest of our friends”, a hint at a possible go-it-alone plan to attack Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Today we have both the right and the capability to defend ourselves,” said Netanyahu.

Obama, whose administration has in the past privately sought to head off a unilateral military strike against Iran, said Netanyahu was “absolutely correct” that each country has the right to defend itself.

The president said there was “not a lot of daylight” between US and Israeli assessments of where Iran is on its nuclear development. But he was quick to note “there is time to resolve this diplomatically”.

“The question is, will the Iranian leadership seize that opportunity,” Obama added.

et

US President Barack Obama pledged yesterday to hold Syria to account if it used chemical weapons and reassured Israel of US resolve against Iran as he tried to allay the security fears of the main US ally in the Middle East.

Obama, visiting Israel for the first time as president and seeking to bolster his image among Israelis, said he had asked for an investigation to determine if chemical weapons had been unleashed in Syria as has been alleged.

Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he has had rocky relations, Obama expressed scepticism that Syrian rebels had launched chemical weapons and said there would be retaliation if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had used them.

“We have been clear that the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people would be a serious and tragic

mistake,” Obama said at a news conference in Jerusalem with Netanyahu.

“The Assad regime must understand that they will be held accountable for the use of chemical weapons or their transfer to terrorists,” he said.

Obama also expressed a desire for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian talks but brought no new proposals and made no mention of Israeli settlement-building, a main factor behind the collapse of the US-sponsored negotiations in 2010.

He said he wanted to hear from each side before determining a way forward. He meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah today.

Much of Obama’s three-day visit to Israel is aimed at resetting relations with a valued ally that became offended during Obama’s first term when he pressured Netanyahu to halt settlement construction and did not visit the Jewish state.

Displaying a markedly warmer approach toward Obama, Netanyahu said he

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Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

12

Business Barclays investment bank boss cashes in $26-million reward RICH Ricci, the head of Barclays’ investment bank, has sold shares worth more than 17 million pounds straight after receiving them as part of previous deferred bonuses or longterm awards.

Barclays said yesterday Ricci was awarded 5.7 million shares on Monday and sold them all when the shares were priced at 308.1 pence, valuing the stake at 17.6 million pounds. Barclays shares have fallen through this week and closed yesterday at 295.2p.

Ricci’s pay does not have to be disclosed as he is not on the board, but he has long been one of the highest paid people at Barclays.

He was paid 10.6 million pounds and awarded shares worth another 17.3 million pounds for 2010 alone.

Ricci did not get a bonus for last year after Barclays was fined $450 million for rigging Libor interest rates, but is expected to have received 1.5 million pounds for last year, including 700,000 pounds in salary and 800,000 pounds in longterm share awards.

There has been speculation he will not stay at Barclays as new chief executive Antony Jenkins overhauls the bank.

Ricci joined Barclays in 1994 and led its acquisition of Lehman Brothers in 2008, becoming co-head of investment banking in 2009 and sole head of corporate and investment banking last June.

He owns a number of top racehorses based in Ireland, including many that ran at last week’s prestigious Cheltenham festival in England. One horse is named Fatcatinthehat.

Ricci was one of nine directors to receive shares, and often about half of them are

Chancellor Osborne seeks help from BoE UK growth forecast for this year halved

By William Schomberg and David Milliken

Rich Ricci has long been one of the highest paid people at Barclays sold to cover taxes. Jenkins, who took over as CEO at the end of August, received shares worth about 5.6 million pounds, and sold just over half.

Tom Kalaris, head of wealth and investment management, cashed in all the shares he was awarded, worth 5.5 million pounds.

Barclays said the share awards included deferred shares awarded from previous years’ annual bonuses and the vesting of longterm incentive plans. Under its deferred plan a third of shares are paid each year over three years - so Ricci’s bonuses date back to 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Barclays said all its future short- and long-term share awards would be based on new principles it set out in its annual report, released on March 8.

It said then that a new performance assessment would be based on delivering performance consistent with values Jenkins has set out to rebuild Barclays’ reputation.

Boeing faces compensation pressure Pressure grew yesterday for Boeing to compensate airlines in hard cash for disruption caused by the grounding of its 787 Dreamliner as two airlines maneuvered for immediate help instead of future purchase discounts.

Leading 787 customer All Nippon Airways wants cash refunds, rather than discounts on future orders, for losses inflicted by the worldwide grounding in place since midJanuary, a person familiar with the airline’s intentions told Reuters.

In India, a senior government source said state carrier Air India would take the same stand in favour of direct refunds.

All 50 Dreamliners delivered worldwide since it entered service in late 2011 were idled after separate incidents with the plane’s battery at a U.S. airport and on a domestic flight in Japan.

ANA operates 17 of those aircraft and is likely to have been hit hardest by having them out of service. The airline has cancelled more than 3,600 flights to the end of May.

BRITISH Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne turned to the Bank of England yesterday to help galvanise a stagnant economy which he said would grow this year at just half the rate previously expected.

In his annual budget speech to parliament, Osborne stuck to his austerity drive in the face of intense calls for a change of course, but said monetary policy could do more to help Britain get out of its rut of nearzero growth.

The central bank’s inflation target would remain at 2 per cent a year, but that was not enough on its own, he said.

“As we’ve seen over the last five years, low and stable inflation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for prosperity,” Osborne said to jeers from the Labour opposition, which wants more spending to help growth.

Osborne said the country’s economy was now expected to grow 0.6 per cent this year, half the rate predicted just three months ago, but he vowed to stay the course on austerity.

“It is taking longer than anyone hoped, but we must hold to the right track” he said.

Britain’s meagre growth projection is better than that for the neighbouring eurozone, which is expected by many to contract over the year. But it pales against most of the rest of the world, including the United States, which is seen growing closer to 2 per cent over the year.

Despite a slump in opinion polls, Osborne and Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron have stuck to their push to fix Britain’s budget deficit and rising public debt, hoping for a recovery before they fight for re-election in two years time.

But Britain’s economy may already be back in a recession again after a contraction in the fourth quarter of last year, while rising inflation is hurting households.

Osborne said Britain’s economy was now likely to grow 0.6 per cent this year, half the rate predicted just three months ago, but he vowed to stay the course on austerity The pound has also been falling. It is down around 7 per cent against the dollar and 5.5 per cent against the euro this year.

Among the measures announced by Osborne yesterday were cuts to business taxes and incentives for home-buyers.

Osborne paved the way for potentially big changes at the Bank of England, asking the central bank’s top policymakers to report back to him in August about the merits of setting “intermediate thresholds” for monetary policy.

Such changes might make the Bank of England operate in a way similar to the US Federal Reserve which late last year said it would keep interest rates near zero unless unemployment and inflation breached specific

levels.

The response in August by the bank will be one of the first tasks awaiting its next governor, Mark Carney, currently the head of the Bank of Canada.

Under Carney, the Bank of Canada spelt out how long it would keep interest rates low, something the Bank of England doesn’t do now but may do under its new remit.

Carney and the current governor, Mervyn King, both agreed to the new remit.

It also recognised the potential need for further “unconventional monetary policy instruments”, such as the massive bond-buying programme already undertaken. Another review of the mandate will be carried out before the end of 2019.

After an initial fall, sterling rose against the dollar but

was weaker against the euro.

British government bond futures pared losses.

“The change to the remit doesn’t go quite as far as some ... had speculated, and therefore the reaction from the currency and gilts has reflected this,” said Philip Shaw, an economist with Investec. “It does, however, potentially give the (Bank) more flexibility to ease monetary policy further.”

Shortly before Osborne began speaking in parliament, some details of his market-sensitive statement were leaked on the Internet, prompting goading by the opposition.

Forecasts by Britain’s budget watchdog showed growth was expected to pick up to 1.8 per cent in 2014, Osborne said.

That was also lower than the watchdog’s December forecast.

Osborne said Britain was on track to eliminate its underlying budget deficit by the 2016-17 fiscal year, one year before the end of a rolling five-year horizon over which the government aims to balance the budget.

But a secondary target of getting debt to fall as a share of GDP would not happen until 2017-18. That was a year later than forecast in December, when it was also pushed back by a year.

Britain’s fiscal watchdog said one measure of the budget deficit in the fiscal year ending this month put the shortfall at 7.4 per cent of GDP, among the highest in the European Union.

France’s government has been criticised for not being tough enough with its budget which is expected to post a deficit of 3.7 per cent of GDP this year.

With little sign of strong growth any time soon that would help restore its fiscal health, Britain could suffer further downgrades of its credit rating. Moody’s stripped Britain of its prized triple-A rating last month.

Yesterday, Moody’s said it expected its assessment of the new budget to underpin its stable outlook on its lowered Aa1 rating for Britain, meaning little chance of a further cut.

Osborne announced several tax changes including cuts in corporation tax to 20 per cent in 2015 and on employment taxes for businesses. Individuals will also not pay tax on their first 10,000 pounds of income from 2014, a year earlier than previously expected.

OFFSHORE Lufthansa cancels over 500 flights following workers’ union strike decision C O M PA N I E S

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DEUTSCHE Lufthansa (LHAG. DE) has cancelled more than 500 flights after German union Verdi called on 33,000 workers at the company to go on strike today over a wage dispute.

The strike is expected to last for about five hours from 5 a.m. (12am ET), the union said yesterday, setting the stage for the next round of wage talks on Friday.

Efforts by big European airlines

such as Lufthansa and Air FranceKLM (AIRF.PA) to shrink costs in the face of soaring jet fuel prices and fierce competition from Middle Eastern airlines and low-cost carriers have fanned tensions with workers.

Strikes at Spanish airline Iberia (ICAG.L), for instance, caused thousands of flight cancellations at a cost of about 30 million euros ($38.7 million) until workers ac-

cepted a mediated deal last week.

In negotiations that started last month, Germany’s Verdi is demanding a 5.2 per cent increase in wages for 12 months for employees at Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Systems, catering unit LSG Sky Chefs and ground crews, as well as a commitment by Lufthansa to safeguard jobs.

Lufthansa, Europe’s biggest airline by revenue, has said it wants to

freeze pay and ask employees to work one hour more each week to help it to remain competitive in a tough market. Verdi called that counter-demand a “provocation” and called on Lufthansa to make a new offer.

Today’s strike will affect operations across Germany, though Hamburg and the airline’s main hub in Frankfurt will be most affected, the union said.

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

13

Opinion

Russia has no moral, legal or political obligation to save our insolvent banks IN THE LAST four days, we have been hearing and reading an array of rumours about how the Russians would step in with their billions and spare Cyprus having to agree to the odious levy on deposits that is a condition for the EU bailout.

So far not a single one of these rumours has proved to have any basis in reality, but the production was unaffected.

On Sunday night the state broadcaster reported that Gazprom would step in and give us €17 billion and take over the banks in exchange for several of our natural gas plots and participation in the liquefaction unit that would be set up. The CyBC’s head of news reported this rumour on a current affairs show on Sunday night without providing the source or questioning its veracity.

The report was denied both by the government and by a Gazprom spokesman, but this did not stop a TV economist repeating it the following evening.

Since then we have heard that Gazprom Bank would take over Laiki that the Cyprus finance minister would go to Moscow to secure a loan of €5 billion in exchange for guaranteeing the full amount of money Russian depositors would lose from a hair-cut.

Yesterday the government once again had to issue a denial about a report that Laiki Bank had been bought out by Russian investors.

The rumours do not even stand up to rational scrutiny. What rational investor would even contemplate investing in an insolvent bank that owes billions? Why would the Putin government lend money to Cyprus to protect the deposits of Russian businessmen who have chosen to keep their money out of the country? The previous government had been unsuccessfully begging President Putin for months for a loan – supposedly to strengthen Cyprus’ bargaining position with the troika – so what could have changed now?

Yesterday, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris who was in Moscow, supposedly to ask for €5 billion loan, was having difficulty persuading his Russian counterpart to agree to the extension of the repayment period of the €2.5 billion, on which we are paying an interest rate of 4.5 per cent. According to reports discussions would continue.

The Russian government has no moral, legal or political obligation to give us a new loan or to save our insolvent banks and it is puzzling why Cypriots have such unreasonable expectations and spin tales about Russia acting as our saviour.

The Russian Federation is not a charity organisation but a state which looks after its national interests and in case we have not realised these are not identical to the interests of Cyprus.

Incredibly, this fantasy about Russia giving us billions has become so ingrained in people’s minds that at Tuesday evening’s demonstration outside the legislature people were waving flags of the Russian Federation.

It will not be long before these false hopes will be shattered.

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How did the geniuses who designed this get it so wrong?

C

OULD a failed bank robbery in Cyprus cause the collapse of the euro? It’s hard to imagine how anything that happens in Cyprus, with less than one million people, could bring down the common currency shared by three hundred million Europeans, but there are few human behaviours as infectious as a run on the banks.

Strictly speaking, the GreekCypriots are not having a bank run, because their banks have all been closed since last Saturday and the cash machines will only give out 500 euros per customer.

But there would certainly be a nationwide bank run if they reopened the banks without strict limits on cash withdrawals and transfers overseas.

A financial disaster in remote Cyprus will not directly affect the fate of the rest of the European Union, but any suspicion that the bailout of an EU country might involve the actual confiscation of money in people’s bank accounts is financial and political dynamite. The terms of the Cyprus bail-out have just confirmed that suspicion.

The banks in Cyprus had certainly got too big for their boots. They had grown fat on the deposits of Russians, many of whom were using the island republic as “a gigantic washing machine” to launder illegal funds. And they had lent out far too much money, especially to Greek banks and companies: their loans amounted to eight times the entire country’s national income.

Everything seemed all right until Greece’s economy crashed and needed not one but two bailouts. During the second one, last

Comment Gwynne Dyer year, foreign investors holding Greek bonds were forced to take a “haircut”: they had to agree to a 70 per cent cut in the value of their holdings. That gave Greece a little relief, but it plunged the Greek-Cypriot banks into a nearly terminal crisis.

So now it was Cyprus’ turn for a 17 billion euro bailout – but this time it was not the bond-holders who got a “haircut”; it was the depositors.

Cyprus was ordered to raise €5.8 billion of the bail-out money itself. It was to do it by confiscating 6.75 percent of the money in the savings accounts of everyone with less than €100,000 in their account, and 9.9 per cent of the money in all larger accounts. In most people’s eyes, that is just straight theft. Worse yet, people in other EU countries realised the awful truth: EU bailouts CAN cause bank runs.

If there’s going to be a run on the banks, you want to be first at the counter. If you think there might be an EU bailout for your country, you should get all your money out right away, just in case. And while Cyprus is too

small to be significant, much bigger EU countries like Italy and Spain, with one-third of the eurozone’s population, are also potential candidates for a bailout. Bank runs in those countries could spell the end of the euro.

How did the geniuses who designed this bailout get it so wrong? They included the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund, but the real culprit appears to be Germany. Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German Finance Minister, insisted on targeting bank accounts in Cyprus (although they have never been directly raided in any other bailout), and the rest of the geniuses went along with it.

Schaeuble’s problem was that there will be an election in Germany in a few months, and German voters are deeply reluctant to see their money bailing out (as they see it) feckless Southern Europeans. They are particularly unhappy to see it being spent to save Cypriot banks, where some big percentage of the money on deposit belongs to Russians and much of it is “dirty”.

So rather than make the Cypriot banks’ investors (mostly other banks) pay the price of their folly, Schaeuble made the depositors pay it instead. Some of them were very rich Russians

‘The geniuses swore that the Cyprus bank heist was a one-off, and that no such measure would ever be imposed on another EU country’

– though the really big deposits were probably moved to Singapore or Dubai a year ago, at the first hint of trouble – but most of them were ordinary Greek Cypriots who were seeing their savings taken to pay for rich people’s greed and stupidity.

So Greek Cypriots took to the streets in protest, and they didn’t go home when the government promised to exempt accounts with less than 20,000 euros in them. Newly elected President Nicos Anastasiades urged parliament to back the bail-out, but in the vote on Tuesday not a single MP supported it.

The whole deal is dead, and Schaeuble is now warning that the banks in Cyprus may never reopen if it is not resurrected in some form. Cyprus’ finance minister is off in Moscow to see if the Russians will bail the country out. But the real crisis may be happening in other EU countries that are vulnerable to a bailout, including Italy and Spain.

The geniuses swore that the Cyprus bank heist was a one-off, and that no such measure would ever be imposed on another EU country. Nobody in Spain or Italy believes them, of course, and the wealthy and well-informed will already be moving their euros to accounts in other countries. The less rich and knowledgeable will just be taking their money out of the bank and hiding it in socks under the mattress.

Could all this end up with bank runs that bring down the euro itself? It’s still unlikely, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries

The long night between Friday and early Saturday THERE is nothing more undignified than the sight of a bankrupt person begging for assistance. The contrasts between the cosy and sometimes sumptuous living before the event and the state of helplessness and destitution soon after are stark indeed.

While generous persons may come forward to offer their help, they know in their heart of hearts that lending money to a bankrupt person is very risky and is not unlike saving a drowning person, which may cost you your life.

In the eurozone, this sight concerning a whole country is becoming quite a common occurrence. The classical and distinct case of Greece was soon to be followed by that of Ireland, then Portugal, then Spain and now Cyprus. All of them have their own story to tell but all serve a lesson to other eurozone members including Malta.

Cyprus, more than all the others, holds a special place not so much with regard to the unique factors which brought about the financial crisis upon it but as a case study of how an EU microMediterranean island member state is expected to be treated if ever its unfortunate turn would come to seek aid from its fellow member states.

The long night between Friday and early Saturday morn-

Comment Edward Sicluna ing, locked in a meeting room in the Brussels-based EU Council building with 16 fellow finance ministers, was indeed an eyeopener. Sharing the night with us was the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, and the EU Commissioner for the Economy and Finance Olli Rhen. The meeting and subsequent oneto-one negotiations were very ably conducted by the Eurogroup President.

I was lucky enough to see the event unfolding with Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sitting next to me and the Cyprus minister right opposite us at the same end of the hall. It reminded me of an unavoidable cross-Atlantic flight where you are not allowed to move from your seat though you are wined and dined several times during the endless voyage.

Though the unit of account was in billions of euros, the sums involved in Cyprus’ case were by European standards almost insignificant. But at stake were matters of principle.

Firstly that creditor countries,

including us, would ensure they get their money back. Secondly, that an equal effort is seen to be made by both creditor and debtor countries. The latter contribution is now fashionable and quaintly referred to as bailingin, in contrast with bailing-out.

Thirdly, that all the past sources of irritation which went unheeded by the country concerned are finally and forcefully settled with the now all-powerful creditor countries.

In the case of Greece these irritations included profligate public spending, corruption and misuse of EU funds. In the case of Ireland it was the conspicuously low corporate tax rate.

In the case of Cyprus it was the Russians, with the implication of it being recognised as a tax haven with abundant stories of flagrant gross money laundering activities.

So the package had to create the precedent of penalising the depositor rather than the taxpayer. Of course, like all attacks, the collateral damage to be suffered by the Cypriot people could not be avoided. The €18 billion financial gap had to be filled in partly by a €10 billion EU bail-out and a matching €8.5 billion bail-in.

This includes gold sales, privatisation, a stiff levy on interest from bank deposits covering both guaranteed and non-guar-

anteed ones, and an ambitious 4.5 per cent of GDP consolidation which will cut Cyprus’ enormous debt back to 100 per cent by 2020.

More questionable for a micro state is a proposed downsizing of their domestic banking sector to European average proportions. All this was “agreed” to by the Cypriot government representative who, with a pistol to the head, was naturally unusually co-operative. But it took nearly 10 long hours before the Cypriot minister’s body and soul became exhausted enough for him to assent to this accord. As soon as that happened Schaeuble demanded that all wire transfers to and from the Cypriot banks would cease forthwith.

The feeling one got on exiting the meeting in the early hours of the day was that never in one’s life would one like to dream the experience let alone live it. That is indeed salutary to any finance minister who needs to be reminded that any fiscal slippage in the country’s public finances is done at a great risk to the country’s economic welfare.

Edward Sicluna is the Maltese Finance Minister who was at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. The article was published yesterday in the Times of Malta

14

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Showbiz

Meyer hopes aliens lure vampire fans to The Host

Daily Variety goes out of print after 80 years

First film of Twilight author’s new book series

By Steve Gorman

By Piya Sinha-Roy AUTHOR Stephenie Meyer is hoping her vampire fans will be willing to step into a new world and embrace aliens as the first film of her new book series, The Host, hits the big screens.

Fans of the successful Twilight Saga box office franchise have been eagerly anticipating Meyer’s next offering on the big screen with The Host out in US theatres on March 29.

But Meyer, speaking at the film’s red carpet premiere in Los Angeles, said the new film may not be what fans of the popular vampire series expect from her.

“If fans go into it wanting a repeat of Twilight they probably will not be thrilled, because it is not. It is a very different kind of story,” Meyer told Reuters TV. “I think if they are willing to go on a new ride with me and try out something a little different than I think they will really like it.”

The five Twilight films, based on Meyer’s best-selling novels, focus on a love story between a vampire and a human and grossed more than $3.3 billion at the global box office, according to movie

Fans of the successful Twilight Saga box office franchise have been eagerly anticipating Stephenie Meyer’s (right) next offering on the big screen with The Host sales tracking website BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The films, which attracted a devoted teenage following, launched lead stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner into Alist fame.

The Host, adapted from Meyer’s novel of the same name, explores a post-apocalyptic world where alien beings called Souls invade Earth and take over human bodies and minds, causing conflicting emotions between the two beings in the

same body.

Meyer has already said that she has plots in mind for follow-on books and hoped this would become a trilogy, which would open the way for sequel films.

In The Host, Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan, 18, plays human Melanie Stryder who is taken over by a Soul called Wanda.

Ronan, who starred in The Lovely Bones and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscars for Atonement, said she enjoyed the

challenge of switching between two personalities.

“I really enjoyed playing Melanie because the majority of the film I am playing Wanda, who is quite a pure, serene and understanding character,” said Ronan on the red carpet.

British actor Max Irons, 27, the son of Irish actress Sinead Cusack and English actor Jeremy Irons, plays Melanie’s love interest Jared Howe.

He said the film’s complex story touched many different genres, appealing to more

than just Twilight fans.

“It is a science fiction movie at heart, it is a story of human survival. Yes, it has the romance, but I think it has a lot more for a lot of different people,” said Irons.

Diane Kruger, Jake Abel and William Hurt also star in The Host, directed by Andrew Niccol. The film is distributed in the United States

by Open Road Films, a joint venture between theatre owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc.

Next James Bond movie Dench can’t remember scripts expected within 3 years

By Lisa Richwine and Jill Serjeant MOVIE studio MGM said it expects to release the next James Bond movie within three years, and soon hopes to announce a new director after Sam Mendes decided to move on.

In a conference call with investors, MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary Barber said the studio was developing the screenplay for the next, 24th movie in the 50year-old franchise about the British secret agent.

“We are very excited about the franchise, we look forward to announcing a director soon,” Barber said.

“We are currently developing the screenplay and working with our partners. We look forward to developing the script soon and signing a director. We are hoping within the next 3 years it will be released,” Barber added.

He gave no details on casting but Daniel Craig has already signed on for two more films in the lead role as the suave 007 agent.

The 2012 Bond film Skyfall, starring Craig, made $1.1 billion at the global box office and impressed critics. But Britain’s Mendes said earlier this month that he wanted to focus on his theatre projects for the foreseeable future.

Barber said Mendes “did an amazing job on Skyfall. We are very thankful for the work that he did.”

MGM said on Monday that Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had helped bring a three-fold increase in its 2012 net income.

Dame Judi Dench says she takes pills to help her memory

DAME Judi Dench takes pills to help her remember scripts.

The 78-year-old actress admits her memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be, so she relies on a supplement recommended to her by a university professor in order to help boost her recall skills.

Asked how she remembers her lines, she told Channel 4 News: “I don’t know how I retain it.

“I take that wonderful thing called Eye Q every morning because the Master of Magdalen College (Cambridge) told me about it ages ago and he said, ‘Oh you should take that for your memory, it’s wonderful’ and I’ve taken it ever since.

“It is of course more difficult to remember, to retain something, but it’s really a question of retaining the story.”

Eye Q is an over-the-counter fish oil supplement which contains high doses of Omega 3 and Omega 6.

THE venerable Hollywood trade magazine Daily Variety published its last printed edition on Tuesday, ending an 80-year era by beckoning readers to a recently revamped website and announcing plans to launch a new weekly version of the publication.

The glossy magazine, under new ownership since last autumn, bid farewell to its daily paper-and-ink audience in a front-page inset headlined: “VARIETY ANKLES DAILY PUB HUBBUB,” using the Variety-coined verb it typically uses to report departures of studio executives.

“This marks the last official print version of Daily Variety, which reported what happened yesterday,” the magazine said. “For news of what happened two minutes ago, keep going to Variety. com, which will be updated constantly.”

Long considered the bible of the entertainment industry, Variety said it would merge the editorial content and staff of Daily Variety and its weekly international sister publication, known simply as Variety, to form a new weekly printed edition that will debut on March 26 and publish every Tuesday.

Variety said its new weekly publication and the website would continue the daily magazine’s insider emphasis on the business of entertainment, with expanded in-depth coverage.

The move reflects forces shaping much of American print-based journalism, as an increasing number of newspapers have either shifted all their content online or stopped publishing a physical edition on a daily basis.

Variety’s website was relaunched on March 1 with a new format eliminating the subscription ‘pay wall’ and providing free access to all its content.

In a column titled: “Change will do you good” and celebrating Variety’s new era, Timothy Gray, a veteran senior editor, wrote that dropping the daily to focus on weekly and online products should yield economic benefits and improve the overall quality of stories.

“I’m sure some of you will go through withdrawal symptoms without the print Daily,” he wrote. “But it’s a new world. You either go with it, or else you mourn the death of vaudeville.”

Variety was founded in 1905 in New York as a weekly publication covering the vaudeville circuit and in 1933 spawned Daily Variety in Hollywood, where it grew into the entertainment industry’s leading paper of record.

By newspaper standards, Daily Variety had a relatively modest circulation of 30,000 five years ago. But the magazine has long been considered compulsory reading for some of the richest and most powerful people in US media and show business.

15

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

Noticeboard String workshop offers array of skills to youth

EC antismoking push a hit in Cyprus “EX-Smokers are Unstoppable”, the European Commission’s campaign to support smokers in becoming smokefree for life has proven successful in Cyprus, with one in 100 Cypriot smokers currently seeking help through iCoach.

This ranks Cyprus as the third country in the European Union with the highest iCoach registrations in relation to the number of smokers, after Malta and Luxemburg.

Across Europe more than 336,000 people have sought help to quit smoking via iCoach to date. iCoach offers practical support to those who want to stop smoking, as well as those who are curious to know more, but have yet to make up their mind. iCoach is a digital tool available for FREE in 23 languages including Greek. It has no time limitation for users. Therefore, users can progress at their own pace until they succeed in quitting. iCoach offers users interactive functions such as a daily diary, useful advice, access to forums, but also mini tests that give them both encouragement and a better insight into their progress.

On behalf of the Association of Cancer Patients and Friends, Ms. Dora Constantinidou commented that: “The results up to now showcase the remarkable success of this campaign in Cyprus, but also throughout Europe ... The Association of Cancer Patients and Friends looks forward to partnering up with the ExSmokers team in further future collaborations in 2013”.

For more information visit www.exsmokers.eu and on Facebook www.facebook.com/ Unstoppable.kypros

PrimeTel backs education event THE 20th International Education Fair recently took place with great success.

Thousands of students and graduating high school, university and college students, parents, teachers and guidance counsellors benefited from the resources on offer.

Among the companies represented was PrimeTel, which provided an update on the mobile and privileges offered by the prepaid service, PAY AS YOU GO. Meanwhile ahead of the event, the company had contributed substantially to informing the public about the exhibition.

For more information about PrimeTel, you can visit www.primetel.com.cy or call 133 or visit one of our PrimeTel service centres

INTERNATIONALLY-re nowned teachers are offering classes for viola, cello and double bass at the successful string workshop set up by the Ministry of Education and Culture under the artistic direction of Professor Matheos Kariolou.

The fact that, only five years after their enrolment in the string workshop, a group of youngsters from Cyprus was able to thrill audiences in Europe and enjoy standing ovations for their violin performances in places like Vienna, Brussels, Rome or Moscow, is a great achievement.

The Cyprus String Workshop was established in 2006, initially operating only classes for violin, under Professor Matheos Kariolou, currently professor for violin at the Music University of Linz, Austria.

Kariolou is an internationally acclaimed teacher, renowned for his specialising

in developing talent from the tender age of three.

He has held workshops all over the world, from Paris, to Vienna, Malta, Taiwan and Korea but, as a passionate Cypriot he regards the "string workshop" as his legacy to his home country. Christian Euler, Professor of Viola and chamber music at the Music University of Graz, Austria and former member of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra teach viola.

Susan Vargas professor at the University of Music in Lausanne, Switzerland will also be teaching violoncello and Luga Petru professor at the University of Music in Mannheim, Germany will be in charge of the double bass class.

Lessons are free of charge for children who are chosen to participate, but they are expected to strive to reach the high standard set by the teachers.

Sweet reward for love from Galaxy

Maria Sofocleous of Nicosia won a trip for two to Paris

ON the occasion of Valentine's Day, GALAXY® chocolate organised the competition ‘Passion for Love’ – a competition full of celebration for that sweet state.

The competition took place from February 4th until March 3rd and, along with daily prizes, grand prize winner Maria Sofocleous from Nicosia won a trip for two to the city of light and romance, Paris.

To enter the comeptition participants had to buy any GALAXY® chocolate (Galaxy Milk, Galaxy Roasted & Caramelised Hazelnut or Galaxy Minstrels) and send an SMS to 1212.

Please ‘like’ Galaxy's facebook page facebook.com/ GalaxyCyprus for all news and upcoming competitions

by GALAXY® chocolate.

Local students honoured for examination achievements Three top in the world winners among honorees OVER 40 learners received awards for exceptional performance in Cambridge examinations, including three learners who achieved the highest marks in the world and 28 learners who attained the highest marks in Cyprus in a single subject in the June 2012 Cambridge examination series.

The ceremony was hosted by the Cambridge International Examinations and the British Council Cyprus and took place on March 1.

The awards were presented

by HE British High Commissioner Mr Matthew Kidd and Dr John Guy, Senior Education Advisor, Cambridge International Examinations.

Mrs Ann Gibson, Cambridge’s Regional Manager for Europe, also attended the ceremony to congratulate the students.

Awards were presented to learners who attained the

The ceremony was hosted by the Cambridge International Examinations and the British Council Cyprus highest marks in Cyprus in a single subject; learners who have been recognised for ‘High Achievement’ based on outstanding performance in subjects not so widely taken and learners who have achieved the total highest cumulative marks across a number of subjects. The winning learners out-performed thousands of candidates worldwide who

sat examinations in Cambridge IGCSE, Cambridge International AS and Cambridge International A Level subjects so it is a tremendous achievement.

These outstanding results are recognised by employers and universities around the world as proof of academic excellence.

Highlights of the event were

an outstanding music performance by learners from The International School of Paphos and the award presentation to first candidates from Cyprus for Cambridge ICT Starters, ages six and seven.

Ann Gibson, Cambridge’s Regional Manager, Europe said: "I am very proud to congratulate learners across Cyprus on their outstanding

results in the Cambridge examinations.

"These achievements are a credit to the partnerships which Cambridge has established with schools and demonstrate the dedication and commitment of teachers, support provided by families and friends, and learners’ determination and passion to succeed."

Global S&C represented at local education fair ONCE again, Global, the largest organisation in the provision of student services and university representatives, took part in the International Education Fair which was recently held with great success from March 1 to March 3.

The prospective students had the chance to talk with the admission officers who were invited by Global and came from the universities of Middlesex, Derby, Bolton, Nottingham Trent and Kaplan International Colleges.

Also, at the Global stand, a competition was conducted where participants had the op-

portunity to win an iPhone; the winner was Despina Papaioannou.

Global S&C Educational Service has provided educational consulting for studying in Britain or America for the last ten years.

The choice of the right specialisation and the most suitable university for higher studies is probably the most important decision that you will ever make. This decision will determine to a large extent your future career and your life in general. Our role as educational consultants is both essential and indispensable to you.

CYPRUS MAIL Thurs

16

Reportage

Argentina’s pope stood has his critics ics Common touch then Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Bergoglio performs the foot bath ceremony

His willingness to speak out has made him some enemies report Helen Popper and Karina Grazina

A

RGENTINA’S pope, Jorge Bergoglio, is a fearless critic of the powerful and a bold advocate of the poor, but some say he let down his country by staying silent during a “dirty war” dictatorship.

Links between some highranking Roman Catholic clergymen and the military regime that kidnapped and killed up to 30,000 leftists between 1976 and 1983 tarnished the Church’s reputation in Argentina and the wounds have yet to heal.

Critics of Bergoglio, the Jesuit former archbishop of Buenos Aires, say he failed to protect priests who challenged the dictatorship, and that he has said too little about the complicity of the Church during military rule.

That is reason enough for some human rights activists to question the moral credentials of Pope Francis, or Francisco as he will be known in the Spanish-speaking world.

“He has never said anything about the genocidal priests... we’ve really never heard him say anything,” said Taty Almeida, one of the leaders of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who marched for years before the presidential palace to demand information on their missing children.

Bergoglio’s harshest critics go much further.

“He turned priests in during the dictatorship,” said Horacio Verbitsky, a journalist and author close to President Cristina Fernandez, with whom Bergoglio has a prickly

relationship.

According to Verbitsky’s book The Silence, Bergoglio withdrew his order’s protection of two Jesuit priests after they refused to quit visiting the slums, paving the way for their capture.

“I used to have the same opinion of him that most people have, of a humble, intelligent man dedicated to the poor... but then I discovered everything that is contained

Simple man Pope Francis

in my books, in my research,” he added.

Verbitsky’s accusations, based on the testimony of one of the two Jesuits who were kidnapped, are controversial, however.

Bergoglio, who led the Jesuit order in Argentina at the time, gave evidence at a major human rights trial that he asked junta leaders Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Massera to free the two priests, who were kidnapped and held for five months. And defenders of the new pope say he helped many dissidents flee.

“What Bergoglio tried to do was help where he could,” said Adolfo Perez Esquivel, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for defending human rights during the dictatorship.

“It’s true that he didn’t do what very few bishops did in terms of defending the human rights cause, but it’s not right to accuse him of being an accomplice,” Perez Esquivel said. “Bergoglio never turned anyone in, neither was he an accomplice of the dictatorship.”

In more recent years, Bergoglio’s thinly veiled criticisms of those in power have been a constant of his leadership of Argentina’s Roman Catholics and his willingness to speak out has made him some enemies.

“He’s a real straight talker.

He doesn’t beat around the bush, so to speak,” said Mercedes Zamuner, an assistant at a chapel where Bergoglio used to give Mass in Buenos Aires.

Pope of the people - Francis at his inauguration on Tuesday

“When it’s been necessary, he’s said really tough things directed at certain quarters.”

At the height of a devastating economic crisis in 200102 that plunged millions into poverty, Bergoglio’s criticism of those in power was blunt.

Former President Eduardo Duhalde sat stony-faced as Bergoglio delivered an unusually harsh homily in 2002 as the crisis raged outside the cathedral gates.

“Let’s not tolerate the sad spectacle of those who no longer know how to lie and contradict themselves to hold onto their privileges, their rapaciousness, and their ill-earned wealth,” Bergoglio said in the televised sermon.

The former cardinal, the first Jesuit to become pope, was born into a large middleclass Buenos Aires family, his father an Italian immigrant railway worker and his mother a housewife.

People who know him say he shares two national passions - soccer and tango - and is endowed with the common touch, though he never worked in the ramshackle slums that encircle most of Argentina’s large cities.

“Bergoglio is willing to mingle with the people; he has washed the feet of AIDS sufferers, of pregnant women... he blessed the trash collectors,” Eduardo de la Serna, an Argentine priest who works with the poor, told Pagina 12 newspaper.

In the run-of-the-mill Flores neighbourhood where Bergoglio grew up, his former home has been knocked down, but he is well-known among neighbours who remember him from childhood.

“When we were 12 he wrote me a letter saying that if he didn’t marry me, he’d become a priest,” said Amalia Damonte, 76, a childhood friend and neighbour who still lives there.

At a nearby Church school where Bergoglio attended nursery and had his first communion, he played football on Sundays, a 90-year-old nun recalled.

Bergoglio’s passion for the game has continued and he is a card-carrying member of leading Buenos Aires team San Lorenzo, who are nicknamed The Saints.

“He says he lives in a permanent state of suffering for

San Lorenzo,” said fellow fan Oscar Lucchini, although he added that Bergoglio did not attend games.

Known for travelling by bus and shunning the luxuries of high Church office, Bergoglio lived in a one-room apartment next to the cathedral and is said to wear worn-out shoes.

“Bergoglio is willi the people; he has AIDS sufferers, of p he blessed the t “When he arrives in Rome he takes the bus from the airport,” said Francesca Ambrogetti, who co-authored a biography of Bergoglio that was published in 2010 after carrying out a series of interviews with him over three years.

“On one occasion, a driver from the Argentine Embassy in the Vatican asked Bergoglio if he’d please let him

sday, March 21, 2013

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Football crazy - Pope Francis is an avid fan of San Lorenzo

Television

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Crossword

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d up to power, but

drive him because if he didn’t he’d get told off,” she said.

“He showed us his office once. It was incredibly luxurious (but) he turned it into a store room and received people in a really simple office instead.”

Bergoglio has had a rocky relationship with Argentina’s left-leaning president, Cris-

ng to mingle with washed the feet of pregnant women... rash collectors” tina Fernandez, and her late husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner.

In the midst of a chaotic uprising by farmers in 2008, the Church infuriated Fernandez’s government with a call for “a noble gesture and constructive dialogue.”

It was not the first time Bergoglio was accused of taking sides by the Kirchners,

whose idiosyncratic blend of leftist rhetoric, unorthodox economic policy and the championing of human rights has kept them in power since 2003.

Kirchner avoided Bergoglio by shunning a traditional Mass in Buenos Aires cathedral to mark an important national anniversary and has often directed harsh words toward the clergy.

“God is for everyone. But the Devil reaches everyone too - those of us who wear trousers and those of us who wear cassocks,” Kirchner said in 2006.

Bergoglio once complained that Kirchner “sees me as the head of the opposition, and I’m not a politician,” according to 2007 comments by Joaquin Pina, bishop emeritus of Puerto Iguazu in northern Argentina.

Bergoglio’s relationship with Fernandez hit a fresh low when Congress passed a law in 2010 making Argentina the first Latin American country to approve gay marriage.

Fernandez offered her congratulations to Bergoglio during a speech last Wednesday and attended his inaugural

Mass on Tuesday.

The Kirchners are not the only ones to have found themselves on the wrong end of Bergoglio’s unflinching approach.

In 2011, after a long economic boom, he took aim at Buenos Aires’ city government

over the persistent exploitation of illegal immigrants in clandestine sweatshops.

“This city has failed and continues to fail in freeing us of this structural slavery,” he said.

Some think Bergoglio’s bold approach will prove an asset as he takes the reins of a troubled Church shaken by scandal.

An admirer of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio must overcome crises caused by child abuse by priests and the leak of secret papal documents that uncovered corruption and rivalry inside the Church.

“You get the sense of someone who has the capacity to defend what needs to be defended with great intensity,” his biographer Ambrogetti said.

Bergoglio became a priest at 32, nearly a decade after losing the use of one lung due to respiratory illness and quitting his chemistry studies. Despite his late start, he was leading the local Jesuit community within four years, holding the post of provincial of the Argentine Jesuits from 1973 to 1979.

He then held several academic posts and pursued

Childhood sweetheart further study in Germany. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992 and archbishop in 1998.

A solemn man deeply attached to centuries-old Roman Catholic traditions, he is not expected to stray far from Church doctrine on divisive matters of sexuality, divorce and abortion, but he is seen bringing a more pastoral touch.

“He has always stayed close to priests who got married. He even told us that he had married some (former) priests,”

Prickly relationship Pope Francis with Fernandez earlier this week

Ambrogetti said.

Bergoglio once branded priests who refuse to baptise children born outside marriage as “hypocrites.”

Argentina has not faced as many high-profile scandals of priests sexually abusing children, meaning Bergoglio has not been forced to take a public position on the issue like his peers in other countries.

“He mentioned that in cases of paedophile priests he considers it a perversion that predates ordination and that ‘you need to be very careful when choosing candidates for the priesthood,’” Ambrogetti said.

Almeida, from the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, urged Bergoglio to make his position on abuse cases clear now that he is in the Vatican.

“I really hope he now has the power in his hands to clarify and investigate these things,” she said, linking the sex abuse scandals to the Church’s role in the dirty war.

In Bergoglio’s former neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, his childhood friend Damonte said she shared the high hopes of millions of Latin Americans celebrating the election of the region’s first pope.

“He is a good man, the son of a working-class family,” she said, standing on her flowerfilled front porch. “I hope he can achieve all the good that he holds in his heart.”

Thursday, March 21, 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; KCineplex, 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

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

Telephone nos: K-Cineplex: 7777-8383 Rio Limassol: 25-871410 Rio Paphos: 26-207000

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 Lincoln (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 6) at 7.15pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 5) at 7.15pm

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 2) at 10.30pm; K-Cineplex, Mall of Cyprus (Screen 2) at 10.30pm 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 La vie d’une autre (in French, with Greek subtitles) Cine Studio, tonight only at 9pm.

Tel: 96-420491, 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

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

5.30pm; K-Cineplex (Screen 4) at 5.40, 7.50 and 10.10pm, weekends also at 3.30pm

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

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

A Good Day to Die Hard (15) Rio 6 at 10.10pm

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

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

Mama (15) Rio 1 at 7.45 and 10pm; KCineplex (Screen 3) at 7.50 and 10.10pm

LARNACA

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

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

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

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

To Tama (in Greek) Tonight only at 8.30pm, presented by the Larnaca Cinema Society. Tel: 99-658831, 99462903. www.lfcinema.org

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

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

Love in the End (K) Rio 4 (in Greek) at 7.45pm, weekends also at 3.30pm

Oz the Great and Powerful (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 2) at 5.30 and 8pm, weekends also at 3pm Mama (15) K-Cineplex (Screen 3) at 7.50 and 10.10pm Warm Bodies (12) K-Cineplex (Screen 5) at 5.30 and 7.50pm, weekends also at 3.20pm

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

PAPHOS The Last Stand (15) Rio 7, weekdays at 5.30, 7.30 and 9.45pm, weekends at 6, 8 and 10pm

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 Lincoln (12) Rio 2 at 5, 7.30 and 10pm Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (15) Rio 4 at 7.30pm Barbie in the Pink Shoes (K) Rio 7 (in Greek), weekends only at 3 and 4.30pm A Good Day to Die Hard (15) Rio 4 at 9.45pm 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

Identity Thief (12) Rio 1 at 5.30, 7.30 and 9.45pm,

listings Today Exhibition The Last Bride Exhibition by Asteris Gkekas and poetry reading. Opens March 21, 7.30pm until April 5. ARTos Cultural and Research Foundation, 64, Ay. Omoloyites Ave, Nicosia. TuesdayFriday: 9am-5pm. Tel: 22-445455

Music DSCH The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra presents concert dedicated to Dmitri Shostakovich and his works. March 21. Markideion Theatre, Paphos.

8.30pm. €12/7. Tel: 26-932571 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 Email: info@pharosartsfoundation. org. www.pharosartsfoundation.org

Theatre 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

Other Events 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 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

Tomorrow Music Chris Combette Concert exploring the fertile musical terrain of the Caribbean within the framework of Francophonie month accompanied by Thierry Vaton on the piano and Thomas Bellon on percussion. March 22. Pallas Theatre, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €10/Free of charge for children under 9, students and senior citizens. Tel: 22-459333 The Firebird Theatro Versus presents drama based on the play by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman. March 22 until April 7. B Municipal Market (Theatro Ena), Limassol. Wednesday, Fridays

and Sundays. 8.30pm. In Greek. Tel: 96-458399 Woyzeck Multi-media performance of one of the most performed and influential plays in contemporary German theatre. March 22-23. Vladimiros Kafkarides Cultural Centre, 11-15 Vladimiros Kafkarides Street, Aglantzia, Nicosia. 8.30pm. In Greek Language with English songs and text fragments. Tel: 22-674607

Other Events The Other Town Lecture A public lecture on how to transform the images of the ‘other’ in education. March 22. Home for Cooperation 28 Marcou Dracou Street, UN Buffer Zone, Nicosia. 5pm. For additional information about the event, please visit www.ahdr.info or call 22-445740/+ 90-5488345740 Kath’ Odon – ECO-inSite Discussion concerning the relationship between installation/interaction and the viewer/ as well as with the Ancient monuments as a surrounding environment. March 22. Art Studio 55, 23A Andrea Drousioti, Heroes’ Square, Limassol. 8pm. Tel: 25-340739 Second International Motion Graphics Festival Screenings of selected motion work, keynote lectures by industry professionals and workshops relating to motion graphics and broadcasting software and tools. March 22-24.

European University of Cyprus, Nicosia. All presentations/talks and workshops will be in English. Festival participants will be able to register on all three days from 9am to 8pm. www.motionfestivalcyprus.com

Ongoing

Street, Larnaca. Saturday at 8.30pm and Sunday at 6.30pm. In Greek.

Tel: 99-490102

Other Events

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.

Tel: 77-772717

15th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival Live streaming of documentary screenings shown at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. March 1822. Tassos Papadopoulos Entrance University of Nicosia. 8.30pm. Tel: 22-431355 ext:124

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 a theatrical 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 The Children of Cain Theatro Ena presents the psychological thriller by Andreas Thomopoulos.

Until March 31. Theatro Ena, 4 Athinas Avenue, Nicosia. Every Friday through Sunday at 8.30pm. In Greek. €15/12. Tel: 22-348203 How to Rob a Bank Skala Theatre presents a three act comedy by Samy Fayad. Until March 31. Skala Theatre, 15 Kyriakou Matsi

Gone With the Jobless A comedy performance by Marinos Hatzivasiliou who, together with other actors from the popular TV programme Patates, present a hilarious show with humour and laughter. Until May 5. Diachroniki Music Stage, 2 Yianni Koromia Street, Kaimakli, Nicosia. Every Sunday at 9pm. €15.

In Greek. Tel: 99-783455 The Dispute The Main Stage of THOC presents tragic comedy by Pierre de Marivaux.

Until May 17. THOC New Theatre Building, 9 Gregori Afxentiou, Nicosia. Friday and Saturday at 8.30pm and Sunday 6pm. In Greek. The performances on March 30 and 31 will be with Greek and English subtitles. €12/10. Tel: 77-772717

Exhibition 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: 22-674607 Spontaneous and Raw Solo painting exhibition. Until March

For a full guide to the week’s events and regular meetings, make sure you get a copy of the Sunday Mail

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: 25-340727 The Journey Continues Solo painting exhibition by Andreas Karayian. Until March 23. Apocalypse Gallery, 30 Chytron Street, Nicosia. Monday- Friday: 10.30am1pm and 5pm-8pm. Saturday: 10.30am-1pm. Tel: 22-766655 Andreas Savvides Solo painting and sculpture exhibition. Until March 27. Gallery Gloria, 3 Zinonos Sozou Street, Nicosia.

Monday-Friday: 10.30pm-12.45pm and 5pm-8pm. Saturday: 10.30pm12.45pm. Tel: 22-760286 Art is not a Luxury, Cypriot Artists in Silkscreen Limited edition, numbered silkscreens signed by the artists and with a certificate of authenticity. Until March 30. Loukia and Michael Zampelas Art Museum, 27 Arch. Makarios III Avenue, Kaimakli, Nicosia.

Monday to Thursday: 10am-1pm and 4pm-7pm. Friday: 10am-1pm and 4pm-8pm. Saturday: 10am-7pm.

Tel: 22-456099 info@zampelasart. com.cy. www.zampelasart.com Constantinos Partsilis Solo painting exhibition. Until March 30. Opus 39 Gallery, 21 Kimonos Street, Nicosia. Monday: 5pm-8pm.

Tuesday-Friday: 10.30am-12.30pm and 5pm-8pm. Tel: 22-424983

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 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

Time for IImages mages Most ost Fascinating ascinating

The IMF is back in town. No, no, not the global monetary cooperation, by IMF we mean the International Motion Festival.

Following its successful debut last year, which was the first of its kind in Cyprus the broader Mediterranean and Middle East region, the IMF is set to return tomorrow for a second year in a row, with an explosion of inspirational energy and an impressive schedule.

Professionals, graphic designers, educators, academics, students and the general public will be brought together in a three-day festival where they will be informed about the latest developments in the field of motion graphics and will enjoy viewing a great film screening selection.

But hang on, what are motion graphics!? Well, motion design is essentially graphic design within the context of motion and moving graphics such as film, video or computer animation which accounts for around 12 minutes in every hour of broadcast television.

Think of it as commercials where buildings explode with paint, music videos where rock stars appear to be floating in thin air or film title sequences where Plasticine figures morph into live action people and back again.

This is motion design, sometimes known as the invisible art, as many viewers are unaware of this component of programming.

This year other than the excellent screening programme, crowds will get chance to enjoy a festival within a festival. IMF is taking a major step forward to

cooperate with two important film festivals from two continents, Asia and Europe. The IMF brings Cyprus’ cinema lovers in touch with 10 award-winning screenings from the Short Shorts Film Festival of Japan, one of the world’s greatest short film festivals. First held in 1999, the festival has grown rapidly and become an official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards in 2004.

Moreover, the festival organises a joint screening with the Cologne International Videoart Festival. Abbreviated CologneOFF, the festival is devoted to present and encourage the creations in the field of art and moving images, whereby the focus is directed at art and not cinema. Since 2012, CologneOFF is covering some new festival formats like – animateCOLOGNE – Cologne Art & Animation Festival. The aim of animate is to give animation more attention, relevance and space as a particular artistic expression. Thus, the audience has a chance to see over 15 animated art pieces throughout the Festival.

This year’s IMF 2013 Festival will screen 261 films from 41 countries, in 10 categories ranging from The Singlechannel Show: inspired by video art to Documental Brisk: short documentaries of up to 20 minutes.

Furthermore there’s an additional Late Night category on Saturday, featuring a selection of bloodcurdling investigations into the dark side of our fears. This 18+ screenings, is packed with fearful visions of the future, sexy takes on relationships, and unconventional rapports.

There are six lectures/talks to see, Fred Burdy and Sean McGrath will be giving a talk on Trid an Stoirm – A Case Study of An Animated Short Film. Trid an Stoirm is a short animated film that was financed by the Irish Film Board. The duo will discuss everything from the initial inception of the film, to its eventual delivery to the general public. They will also cover artistic and technical challenges faced during the project, and the overall organisation of the production itself.

High school students also get a chance to discover their own creativity through a 3D Figures workshop with Tasos Anastasiades and Yianna Christophorou. The objective of this workshop is to engage students in the construction of 3D characters from wire, combined with different materials; the participants will then give them life by means of Stop Motion techniques.

There is a limited amount of seats (especially for workshops) and it’s advised to register prior to attending. All presentations/talks and workshops will be in English.

Second International Motion Graphics Festival Screenings of selected motion work, keynote lectures by industry professionals and workshops relating to motion graphics and broadcasting software and tools. March 22-24.

European University of Cyprus, Nicosia. All presentations/ talks and workshops will be in English. Festival participants will be able to register on all three days from 9am to 8pm. www. motionfestivalcyprus.com

By Ledha Socratous

NIGHTLIFE Diamond and Streisand classics celebrated in a last week of Flower Power Watch out for the last four concerts of the Flowers Tour, bringing together soprano Tina Chester and baritone Ross Neil to commemorate the vocal talents of two music legends.

Audiences have literally doubled for this tour – which grew naturally from their performances in Fusion 2 with Andrew Oliver in January. The tour title is shortened from the poignant and very famous duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”. The story behind this tour’s title is a peculiar one. Written as the theme for a US TV series, but never used, the song was then recorded separately by Neil Diamond and

by Barbra Streisand for their own albums. Then, when a DJ made his own early mash-up of the two versions, Streisand and Diamond got together and recorded “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” as a proper duet. It duly became a huge hit and did no harm to the career of either artist.

Organisers are keen to point out that the series of concerts are in no way a tribute act, Flowers is quite simply a celebration of the music of Diamond and Streisand, who, in their individual ways, have contributed so much to the music from the 1970s until today.

Both Streisand and Diamond have performed many duets

with other celebrity singers and the concert contains many such favourites as “Evergreen”, “Second Hand Rose”, “The Way We Were”, “Guilty”, “Beautiful Noise”, “America” and “Love on the Rocks”.

Oliver concluded: “The Flowers show contains something for everyone. The final Gala night will be at King Solomon Tavern, Coral Bay, on March 30, but before then there are tickets still available for Latchi and Pyla, on Ross’ own home turf. These are the last performances of this show in this format, so if you like Diamond and Streisand songs, make a point to catch this celebration.”

The You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Tour nd Barbra The classic songs of Neil Diamond and er & Streisand with Ross Neil, Tina Chester Andrew Oliver.

March 30: King Solomon Tavern, Coral Bay, Paphos. 7pm - Showtime 8.30pm. €20 inc. dinner. End of tour party. Tel: 99577247/99-826919/99-832538

March 23: Michael’s Tavern, Erimi, Limassol. 7pm -Showtime 8.30pm. €18 inc. half meze dinner. Tel: 25-934104// 99-83253 March 26: Y & P Latchi Hotel. 7pm Showtime 8.30pm, €20 inc. dinner.

Tel: 99-885428/26-321411/99832538 March 29: Pyla Village Tavern, Larnaca. 7pm - Showtime 8.30pm. €20 inc. buffet dinner. Tel: 99975863/99-070168

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

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

20

Television CYBC 1 06.45 08.15

Proti Enimerosi Kali Sas Mera Local variety show, with entertainment options, cookery tips and more.

11.00 11.30

CYBC 2 07.00 08.00 17.00

12.00 15.30 16.00

Apo Mera Se Mera Entehnos Mazi Sto CyBC

18.00 18.15

News Kaftes Piperies

18.45

Paizoume Kypriaka

18.00 18.50 19.00 19.10

Live cookery show.

19.20

20.00 21.00

Moiraia Fengaria

News Patates 8 Local satirical show, using comedy sketches and embarrassing TV clips to skewer local politicians.

22.00

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

22.30 23.30 00.45

Proektaseis News Repeats

22.30 23.00

05.30 06.30 06.50 07.00 07.50 08.40 09.30 10.25 11.15

NRG Zone A Touch Of Frost: If Dogs Run Free David Jason reprises his role as Jack Frost for the last time in this two-part finale to the popular drama series.

The detective teams up with RSPCA inspector Christine Moorhead in a raid on an illegal dogfight organised by criminal Gerry Berland.

However, when a scuffle results in the murder of a teenage boy, to which Christine is the sole witness, she becomes the target of Berland’s cronies.

Meanwhile, a copycat killer emerges with a vendetta against Frost.

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

20.00 21.15

Biz/Emeis News In English News In Turkish Somewhere On Earth (rpt) 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 talk-show.

New season of local game show, asking questions having to do with Cypriot dialect.

NRG Zone Kids’ TV Kati Psinetai (rpt) Greek version of reality show featuring a group of amateur chefs each staging a dinner party to find who will be crowned the winning host.

Kaftes Piperies (rpt) Istories Tou Horkou (rpt) Local comedy series, which happens to be longest-running weekly show on Cyprus television.

ANTENNA

Motor Sports Repeats

12.10 13.00 13.20 14.00 14.50 15.45 16.40 17.30 17.40

Erotas (rpt) 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 (rpt) Ta Koritsia Tou Baba (rpt) Aiyia Fuxia (rpt) Lefta Sto Lepto Vals Me 12 Theous (rpt)

MEGA 06.00 06.15 07.00 10.00 12.45 14.00 15.00

Local investigative show.

16.00

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.

20.20 21.15

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

News Klemmena Oneira

07.00 08.20 10.00 10.50 12.00 14.30 15.20 17.15 18.00 18.05 18.45 19.30 20.20 21.15 23.20

22.10

Stoli Original Bar & Club Awards 2012 The only competition in Cyprus promoting and awarding the Most Original on trade venues.

00.00 00.10 01.00 03.00 04.30

Protoselido Eleni Vasiliki (rpt) Mila Mou (rpt) Mesimeri Kai Kati Efta Ourani Kai Sinnefa Alites (rpt) Magazino Siga Min To’ Xeres (rpt) News Ti Tha Fame Simera Mama Anna Paola Efta Ourani Kai Sinnefa Alites News Pame Paketo CSI: NY Fifth season. ‘Help’. A woman is found dead after a scuffle with a rival customer at a bridal shop sale and the detectives realise she was once a victim of a serial rapist who has gone on to murder a subway musician.

As the team tries to find a link between the two women, the case proves troubling for Hawkes, whose former girlfriend was attacked by the same man eight years previously.

Two episodes of Greek drama series.

With News at 18.00.

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

Ta Epta Kaka Tis Moiras Mou Retire Nea Mera Proino Mou Enimerosi Tora Klemmena Oneira (rpt) Eheis Meson

SIGMA

News Gimnoi Angeloi (rpt) Yia Sena (rpt) Enimerosi Tora (rpt) Proino Mou (rpt) 00.00 00.05 01.20 02.10 03.00

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 Kid’s TV To Kleidi Fotis Maria Live Mila Discussions about various issues based on a woman’s life (men, relationships, sex, etc.), with showbiz guests.

21.15 22.00

Exelixeis Stin Showbiz Fringe Third season of action sci-fi series.

‘Marionette’. The team investigates a series of mysterious reanimating events, and Peter comes to terms with the reality of his relationship with Olivia.

22.45

06.45 08.20 08.50 09.25 10.00 11.00 11.30 12.30 13.25 14.30 15.20 16.10 16.55 17.40 18.15

LTV Sports News Star News Repeats

Kids’ TV Magikos Kosmos S’Agapo (rpt) Akti Oneiron Ston Asterismo Tis Imeras Kouzina Me Apopsi Igeia & Zoi (rpt) Milagros Kids’ TV Telemarketing Top Models S’Agapo Sabrina, To Koritsi Tis Agapis Akti Oneiron Pacific Blue With News at 18.30.

19.15 19.50 20.05 21.00

News Sports Time O Anthropos Tis Thalassas FILM: Salvador A veteran photo-journalist gets entangled in the civil war raging in El Salvador. Fact-based drama, starring James Woods. 1986.

23.15

FILM: Showdown In Little Tokyo Two mismatched police officers take on Yakuza gangs terrorising Los Angeles’ Japanese community.

Martial arts adventure, with Dolph Lundgren.

1991.

00.15 01.15 03.00

CAPITAL

FILM: House Of The Games A psychiatrist gets drawn into a seedy world of deception by her relationship with a confidence trickster.

Thriller, starring Lindsay Crouse. 1987.

01.05

FILM: Standing Tall A small-town sheriff and former football hero meets the teenage daughter he never knew. Drama, with Rick Johnson. 2000.

John Carter (Novacinema2, 09.00)

01:15 Beautiful People 01:45 The Weakest Link 02:35 EastEnders 03:05 Doctors 03:35 Casualty 04:25 ‘Allo ‘Allo! 04:55 Little Britain 05:25 Alan Carr: Chatty Man 06:30 One Foot In The Grave 07:00 3rd & Bird 07:10 Fimbles 07:30 Boogie Beebies 07:45 Tellytales 07:55 Tweenies 08:15 3rd & Bird 08:25 Fimbles 08:45 Boogie Beebies 09:00 Tellytales 09:10 Tweenies 09:30 ‘Allo ‘Allo! 10:05 One Foot In The Grave 10:35 The Weakest Link 11:20 EastEnders 11:50 Doctors 12:20 Casualty 13:10 Oliver Twist 13:40 Oliver Twist 14:10 Outcasts 15:00 The Weakest Link 15:45 EastEnders 16:15 Doctors 16:45 Casualty 17:35 Great Expectations 18:25 The Weakest Link 19:10 EastEnders 19:40 Doctors 20:10 The World’s Toughest Driving Tests 21:00 Keeping Up Appearances 21:30 Gavin & Stacey 22:00 Lennon: Naked 23:25 Dad’s Army 00:00 The Stephen K Amos Show 00:30 The Invisible Leopard

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 Rides 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 Extreme Fishing 22:00 Outlaw Empires 23:00 Inside The Gangsters’ Code 00:00 Trouble In Paradise 01:00 Kidnap And Rescue 01:55 Extreme Fishing 02:50 Outlaw Empires 03:50 Inside The Gangsters’ Code 04:50 Trouble In Paradise 05:45 How Do They Do It? 06:10 Overhaulin’

09:30 Fia World Touring Car Championship 10:00 Curling: World Women’s Championship 11:30 Ski Jumping: World Cup Norway 11:45 Ski Jumping: World Cup Slovenia 13:00 Cycling: Tour Of Catalunya 13:45 Cross-Country Skiing: World Cup Sweden 14:30 Curling: World Women’s Championship 16:30 Cycling: Tour Of Catalunya 18:00 Ski Jumping: World Cup Slovenia 19:00 Football: Next Gen Series 22:00 Fight Sport: Fight Club 00:00 Poker:

European Poker Tour 01:00 Ski Jumping: World Cup Slovenia 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 Scandal 12:45 The Hour 13:45 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 Scandal 21:50 The Hour 22:50 Raising Hope 23:15 Scrubs 23:40 Scandal 00:25 The Hour 01:25 Bones 02:10 Desperate Housewives 02:55 Raising Hope 03:20 Scrubs 03:45 Surviving Suburbia 04:10 Grey’s Anatomy 04:55 Masterchef

07:30 Ticking Clock 09:15 Cold Creek Manor 11:15 Swing Kids 13:10 Run 14:45 It Runs In The Family 16:35 Fast Freddie, The Widow & Me 18:00 Green Hor-

net, The 20:00 LTV Sports News 21:00 Twilight Saga: Eclipse 23:15 Sin Nombre 01:00 Hustler TV 02:40 Heart Of Darkness 04:30 Spaced Invaders 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 A’ Division Cyprus Soccer Championship 2012-13 19:00 Barclays Premier League Review 20:00 Planet Speed 20:30 La Liga World 21:00 Barclays Premier League World 21:30 Pba All-Star Shootout 22:00 Grand American Series 2012 23:00 Espn Films 00:30 Planet Speed 01:00 Liga Bbva 2012-13 03:00 Barclays Premier League 2012-13

07:15 According To Jim 08:00 Eastbound & Down 08:30 Hawaii Five 10:00 Friends 10:30

Gossip Girl 11:15 Fringe 12:50 Harry’s Law 13:40 According To Jim 14:30 Hawaii Five 16:00 How To Make It In America 16:30 One Tree Hill 17:20 Strike Back 19:00 Harry’s Law 19:45 Privileged 20:30 Friends 21:00 Closer, The 21:45 Five Days 2 22:50 Ncis: Los Angeles 23:35 Supernatural 00:20 Men In Black (1997) 02:00 Rich Man’s Wife, The 03:35 How To Make It In America 04:05 One Tree Hill 04:50 Strike Back 06:30 Harry’s Law

07:30 Mafia! 09:00 Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) 11:45 Unthinkable 13:30 Mr. Troop Mom 15:00 Ant Bully, The 16:30 Noises Off... 18:30 Kisses 20:00 My Best Friend’s Wedding 22:00 Taking Lives 00:05 Daring! TV 04:05 Slave 05:45 Bad Boys

05:35 The Rum Diary 07:35 War Horse 10:00 Action Zone 10:50 Think Like A Man 13:00 Open Season 3 14:20 Mad On Novacinema 15:00 Chalet Girl 16:35 My Father The Hero 18:10 Do No Harm 22:00 Rampart 23:55 Brake 01:35 Cine News

02:00 Outrage 03:50 Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

05:30 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 07:25 Cheri 09:00 John Carter 11:10 Cine News 11:30 Emma 13:35 The Artist 17:10 Hollywood 1on1 17:45 Air Force One 19:55 Rounders 22:00 Kingdom Of Heaven 00:30 Albert Nobbs 02:35 La Fille De Monaco 04:10 Cine News 04:30 Blitz

18:45 TheGame 23:15 TheFollowing 00:05 Cine News 01:00 Bachelorette Party In Caribbean

shots Cyprus Football 22:00 Pass Time 22:30 Stuntbusters

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 MTV GreekLips 19:00 McCafé Music Project 19:30 Only Hits 20:00 MTV Young and Married 21:00 MTV Underemployed 23:00 MTV Flash Prank 00:00 MTV Jersey Shore 01:00 Only Hits

18:35 The Portrait Of A Lady 21:00 Sling Blade 23:20 Killing Bono 01:20 The Names Of Love

14:30 Lucas Oil On The Edge We Rock Pro Modified 15:00 European Tour Maybank Malaysian Open Rd. 1 18:00 Pre Game 18:45 Championship 2012-13:Apollon Vs Olympiacos 20:45 Post Game 21:30 Snap-

07:00 High Sierra 09:00 Stay Away, Joe 10:45 Doctor Zhivago 13:55 To Have And Have Not 15:40 Jeremiah Johnson 17:20 The Golden Arrow 18:30 Billy The Kid 20:10 Grand Hotel 22:00 Brass Target 23:50 Live A Little, Love A Little 01:25 Jeremiah Johnson 03:05 High Sierra 04:50 Billy The Kid

By Preston Wilder

Rampart (Novacinema1, 22.00) “You’re a dinosaur,” our cop hero (Woody Harrelson) is told in this excellent crime drama. “You’re a classic racist, a bigot, a sexist, a womaniser, a chauvinist, a misanthrope...” Harsh but true, or at least it looks that way early on when he’s harassing a young female colleague (“This used to be a glorious soldiers’ department,” he says of the LAPD. “Now it’s ... you”) - but then she mentions that she never knew her father and he backs off abruptly, his protective instinct (or obsession) kicking in. Woody isn’t (just) a bad guy: he’s a white knight in rusty armour, a man who wants to protect women but only ends up doing damage.

He’s obsessed with ‘keeping the family together’, liv-

Rampart

ing with two of his ex-wives (who also happen to be sisters) and daughters - but all the women secretly despise him, and his life starts to unravel when he’s filmed beating someone half to death. The script is by legendary crime writer James Ellroy, the (slightly tooflashy) direction is by Oren Moverman - but Harrelson is the MVP here, capturing the man’s nobility and incongruous (albeit patriarchal) gentleness with women as well as his violence. Recommended. Made in 2011.

Outlaw Empires (Discovery Channel, 22.00) The Devil has all the best music, goes the saying - and bad guys have all the best stories, this six-part series

looks at American outlaws, gangsters and criminal outfits “directly from the mouths of people who were on the inside”. Kurt Sutter, creator of Sons of Anarchy, uses his TV cachet to get “no-holds-barred accounts” of criminal life from various bad boys (and girls?) kicking off tonight with the infamous Crips, one of the most-feared street gangs in America (coming soon: the Aryan Brotherhood, the Gambino crime family and the world of American biker gangs). Whether it’s morally right to make shows about criminals is another question - and I’m sure the families of the many innocents killed by street gangs aren’t thrilled to have the Crips turned into TV stars - but hopefully Mr. Sutter tries to answer that question in the show. Part 1 of 6.

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

21

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD 2343 1

2

3

4

PREVIOUS DAY’S SOLUTIONS

5 6

8

7

9

10

11

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.

12 13

14

15 16

17

18

19 20

21

MEDIUM

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

22

1 Do give mother most of the answer (4) 2 Refuse to go in here (6-6) 3 Virginia left one day having legal force (5) 4 Pupil on an old boat in town near Glasgow

(9) 10 Metal frame has finish in iron in France (6) 11 During the contest, you become irritable (5) 13 Young scout with first modern painter (6) 15 Alternative potion was mixed (6) 17 In a charge, we object to the match (5) 18 Payment for written material coming from Ealing (6) 21 Choose exam at this college? (9) 22 Old boy right inside the circle (3) 23 Headland’s conspicuousness (10)

(6)

5 Always going on about the fast train (3-4) 6 Bandage with soft feathers used for thrashing (8-4)

Rating EASY

1 Love mental torture being evil-minded (10) 8 Kay has it, the soldier’s bag (3) 9 Man in rank not stopping at old Russian city

Rating HARD

Down

Rating HARD

Across

Rating MEDIUM

23

7 Edward, languishing, was moving round and round (7) 12 One mocking old Bob on the box (7) 14 Pullover was entangled with tree (7) 16 Warning when a fresco is brought up (6) 19 Material of some funny long johns (5) 20 Fit bachelor getting in the drink (4)

Answers to crossword 2342

HOROSCOPE

CRYPTIC: Across – 5 Soup; 7 Persistent; 8 Entirety; 10 Reed; 11 Snub; 13 Bachelor; 15 Cheapest; 16 Nave; 17 Prod; 18 Latitude; 21 Supporting; 22 Inch. Down – 1 Apse; 2 Asti; 3 Assemble; 4 Defy; 5 Sturgeon; 6 Unresolved; 9 Ninth green; 12 Brandish; 14 Citation; 18 Lope; 19 Tutu; 20 Edgy.

QUICK: Across – 5 Cube; 7 Boneshaker; 8 Salesman; 10 Soft; 11 Stew; 13 Capsicum; 15 Achilles; 16 Gaga; 17 Adit; 18 Bodywork; 21 Electorate; 22 Stud. Down – 1 Ibis; 2 Mete; 3 Chemical; 4 Skin; 5 Crashing; 6 Beefburger; 9 Antecedent; 12 Whistled; 14 Postdate; 18 Beep; 19 Wart; 20 Keel.

ARIES March 21 - April 20

LEO July 23 - August 22

SAGITTARIUS November 23 - December 21

Your impulsive and assertive approach today may be softened by the Moon in Cancer, encouraging you to empathise with other people’s feelings. Homely issues may be on your mind along with plans to make personal progress.

However, on this generally lively day, conversations may be filled with fun and useful information. It may be hard to sit still.

A dream may have significance, and could even encourage you to change the course of action, especially if it has a warning or encouraging tone. Flights of fancy and desires to get away may still bring feelings of restlessness.

You may find it hard to settle on any one thing, but it may be necessary to do so if you want to make real progress.

Intimacy and entertainment may go hand-in-hand as someone may find you adventurous, loving and inspirational. A budding romance could easily move to the next level, as impulsive forces encourage you to flow with your feelings no matter how careful you’re trying to be. You may also be in the frame of mind to take something of a risk or a gamble!

TAURUS April 21 - May 21

VIRGO August 23 - September 23

CAPRICORN December 22 - January 20

An optimistic outlook on life may encourage you to make new and exciting plans for the future. Though you may not be in a position to start just yet, simply thinking about them may get you feeling very excited and enthusiastic. Your financial situation continues to look upbeat. Make the most of this time to pay off debts and perhaps save a little.

There’s a lot of energy in the air, and it may feel like turmoil for part of the time. Deeper emotions fuelled by buried issues, may be causing a commotion. If your self-confidence is challenged, then it may help to speak to your partner or perhaps to arrange lunch with a friend so you can talk over problems at a leisurely pace. Get support today if you need it.

You may have reason to be in a good mood, provided you don’t demand perfection. Your efforts may produce more than satisfactory results, even if you are feeling restless. At home, events could disrupt the flow of the day. However, your mind may be working overtime. Perhaps you’re thinking about how you can earn money working from home.

GEMINI May 22 - June 21

LIBRA September 24 - October 23

AQUARIUS January 21 - February 19

It’s a great day for broadening your social horizons, strengthening ties and seeing where certain friendships might lead. You’re not so much in a romantic mood, as determined to forge new connections that might lead to exciting and fulfilling projects or relationships. Today’s Moon may encourage you to think more deeply about financial security.

You may be busy reaching out to friends today, having conversations, making plans and offering suggestions.

Though some social plans may meet with opposition, your ability to co-operate and negotiate may mean you find a much better alternative as a compromise. If your partner seems tetchy, they may need space to go do their own thing.

Friends, including local folk and relatives, may have lots to say and useful information to share. However, they can’t help you if you don’t ask. It may be an idea to let others know about goals and plans, and what you might need to accomplish them. Watch out for a tendency to come on too strong. Is it really necessary to go to extremes?

CANCER June 22 - July 22

SCORPIO October 24 - November 22

PISCES February 20 - March 20

The Moon in your sign may mean you’re more concerned about yourself today and your own personal needs and desires. With a major focus on your career zone urging you to forge ahead and make new professional connections, don’t waste this opportunity to fulfil some of your primary goals. Try not to let a persistent mood stop you in your tracks.

Today could be full of surprises, with plenty of hard work, and perhaps situations with colleagues who may be disgruntled or who have a chip on their shoulder. Under the current dynamic influence, it may be up to you to take the lead and be the author of your own success. Take whatever steps necessary to change a situation for the better.

Try to stop worrying about credit card expenses or money already spent. There could be hassles over financial concerns which may absorb energy that could be used more productively for other things. You may want to splash out, but it may not be the best time to make a dent in your wish list or to be extravagant. Try window shopping instead.

22

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Advertiser

ADVERTISER helps you find what you’re looking for

Only

€14 (plus VAT)

a week for classifieds (up to 40 words)

Send your classified by fax or email and pay by credit card, cheque or cash. It couldn’t be simpler!

Nicosia - email: classified@cyprus-mail.com Limassol - email: limassol@cyprus-mail.com Paphos - email: paphos@cyprus-mail.com

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

Nicosia 99013596

Paphos Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday 99916331 / 99399240 Details of meetings are available on www.aa-europe.net

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PERSONAL GERMAN MAN, 50 searching a nice Mobil:00491736590562

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

years, women.

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 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 ANONYMOUS - CYPRUS

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 MISCELLANEOUS ***************************** FOR SALE:

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.rcs-cyprus. 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

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

Limassol - tel: 25 761117 fax: 25 761141

TOYOTA IQ 2009. Automatic 1ltre.

White pearl, 33.000km. Medium tinted windows, Zenon lights. Perfect condition only €8500.00. Call 99511737

***************************** OFFICE FURNITURE FOR SALE with 50% discount, price per unit: 1. ECO Desk 160x80x71 – 8 units/ €96.

2. Extention 120x60x71 – 6 units/ €76.

***************************** FOR SALE LAND in Anthoupoli (half plot) 288 sq.metres. for information 99621554.

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WANTED WANTED: Toyota RAV or Nissan Quasquai built 2007 or younger in a very good condition only. Nonsmoker car, accident free and with full service history is a must.

Tel: 99906823 or 26-813975.

Email: info@terramarna.com

FOR SALE BUSINESS/ PROPERTY/LAND ***************************** LIMASSOL 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

Tel: 25 200 600, 99 316 582

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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

FOR SALE – PAPHOS CATERING EQUIPMENT

*****************************

SWIFT SERVICE AND REPAIRS air-cons, commercial and domestic fridges and freezers, ice machines, cool rooms, supply and fit air-cons VRV S. Call Nik on 99579602 Limassol

**************************** DO YOU WANT A SHINY LOOKING FLOOR? Full repair & restoration of chipped, scratched, dull and stained, Marble, Terrazzo, Stone & Ceramic tiled floors 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

PETS

3. Small under-desk Cabinet with 3 pullout drawers – 7 units/ €99.

4. ECO Low cabinet with 2 low doors - 8 units /€107.

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 CONDITION AT REDUCED PRICES. PLEASE CALL : 99622678

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PAFOS 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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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.

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

Ayia Napa Monday 97798043 Larnaca Tuesday (Polish spk) 96616589 Thursday 24645523 / 99259264 LOST HUSKY – PAPHOS Answers to the name of Chico went missing on Monday the 4th of February around the International School

SUZUKI VITARA Saloon 1.6 benzini, dark green from 2002, mileage: 135.500 km. MOT till 2015. Road Tax paid all 2013. €2.200. Call 99182310.

*****************************

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

BLACK HONDA CBR1100XX SUPERBLACKBIRD registered new in June 2011 as new condition with 12000 km. Any inspection welcome. €6950. Call Philip 99680747

Big Electric heater, Matestar, used 8-10 times €25 For further information contact phone 9918 2310

Paphos - tel: 26 911383 fax: 26221049

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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.kdflyscreens.com

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

Limassol Tuesday / Wednesday / Friday / Saturday 25368265 / 99559322

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SERVICES

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MISCELLANEOUS

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

Wednesday/Sunday

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

Nicosia - tel: 22 818583 fax: 22 676385

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.

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

***************************** HOUSES/FLATS 2 bedr. lux. flat, Ayioi Omoloyites, wooden floors €800, 3 bedr.

Acropolis c/h a/c wooden floors €650, Mak/ssa 3 bedr., modern, open plan €1000 f/f €1200, Nicosia 3 bedr., f/f, luxury €1000 f/f, Latsia 2 bedr., pool €430, Strovolos f/f house 4 bedr €1300, Mak/ ssa ground floor house detached €850 Photos www.markidesestates.com Markides 22- 378898 / 99464764 Reg.No. 487 E 16

***************************** 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 €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

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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 --

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:

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

22 = Nicosia 23 = Paralimni/Protaras 24 = Larnaca 25 = Limassol 26 = Paphos

23

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

Advertiser TO LET NICOSIA a quiet area – Strovolos €1000 (H4ST10051-R), (photos in the website) 2. 3 bedr luxury terraced house, 210sq.m,central heating, full a/c, 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) 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

FOR RENT 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Larnaca near new hospital. €400 per month including service charge and refuse collection Call 99358916

TO LET NICOSIA and small garden with grass, covered parking, 3wc, 2 bathrooms in a quiet neighbourhood. Available middle of January. Agios Andreas - €1200 - H3AAD0001-R (photos 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

English-Painter & Decorator 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 house, 280sq.m, central heating with oil, full a/c, 3wc, separate tv room, big sitting and dining area, big verandas around the house, 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 artificial 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

TO LET NICOSIA on the website).

10. 4 bedr semi detached house with central heating, 4 a/c, 3 wc, 2 bathrooms, 180sq.m, electrical appliances, 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 suite),3wc,CH independent, A/C, big garden – Nicosia Centre €1400 (H4NIC0002-R), (photos in the

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 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 separate basement 80sq.m with 2 rooms, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom. Consists of big sitting

TO LET NICOSIA 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

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24

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Advertiser TO LET NICOSIA ( RIK) station and near a neighbourhood park – Platy Aglantzias €2500 (H4AGZ0005-R), (photos in the website)

heaters, full a/c, near Cyta, Laiki and Hellenic Bank headquarters – Dasoupolis €550 (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

3. 2 bedr penthouse apartment, 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

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

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 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)

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) 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) .

TO LET NICOSIA 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 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) 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) 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 cov-

TO LET NICOSIA ered 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 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.

*****************************

TO LET LIMASSOL 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, 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

25

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

Advertiser TO LET LIMASSOL

TO LET LIMASSOL

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 ensuite 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 apart-

ment below the house with small kitchen and shower with WC. A nice large gargen and covered 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 flat near Larco hotel Larnaca. Price €370. Tel 99202543

STUDIOS FOR RENT

TO LET LARNACA 1 BEDROOM flat in Ermou Square area Larnaca - 2 bedroom flat in Phaneromenis area Larnaca. Call 96693375

*****************************

TO LET LARNACA com - License No. 419. LANDLORDS AVERTISE YOUR PROPERTY WITH US FOR FREE. Tel. 24815926 Email. info@superiorrealestatelarnaca.com

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

*****************************

2. Superior Real Estate Larnaca.

2 bedroom fully furnished apartment, nr the Metro/American Academy Larnaca. Ref. TLL1654

CHLORAKAS: 3 Bedroom unfurnished villa private swimming pool, utility room, walking wardrobes, en suite shower 180 m2 coverd area fenced garden fully a/c, € 575 p/m For more information’s phone 99400697

Please call to arrange a viewing Tel. 24815926 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.superiorrealestatelarnaca.com 4. www.superiorrealestatelarnaca.

PAPHOS

***************************** KISSONERGA - Beautiful Detached 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

Are you looking to meet an Attractive, Beautiful, Gorgeous, Successful lady who has a lot to offer, love, beauty and personality.

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

Tel: 25-324800 (office hours)

If interested please call 99 314108, 70005150, Email: singles@kronos2.net

EMBA

Fully furnished renovated studios for rent at Dassoudi beach Limassol. They have air-condition, balcony and private parking area.

INDOOR MARKET & CAR BOOT SALE FRIDAY – SATURDAY – SUNDAY 8:00AM – 2:00PM ALL YEAR ROUND VISIT US NOW FOR:

ba m ch Le ur Ch

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 ….

GREAT PRICES FOR ALL !!!

STALLHOLDERS & CAR-BOOTERS WELCOME COFFEE SHOP ALL ENQUIRIES CALL: 96533839/99771532

TO LET PAPHOS 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.

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 pa-

TO LET PAPHOS tios 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. €400 p/m.

Contact 26 911540 or 99955302.

***************************** TOK’s – 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, Immaculate, very high spec top floor 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

26

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS 3 bedroom Villa in lovely residential no through road, separate kitchen, 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

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

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 gardens. Townhouse offers modern

quality furniture & ďŹ ttings. Guest wc and small patio garden. Viewings highly recommended. Website reference number: RTL_667 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 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.

Spacious living area with real ďŹ replace. Downstairs guest wc. Master

TO LET PAPHOS bedroom with ensuite. Available fully furnished. Website reference number: RTL_550 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 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 luxury 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.

In Op ves p o tm r t en un t ity

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TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS 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 DESCRIPTION MANDRIA 2 bedroom furnished bungalow within walking distance to the village. Large bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room/ dining area with ďŹ re place, 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 ďŹ re place, 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 of-

fered furnished or unfurnished, 3 bedroom, master en suite shower, family bathroom, kitchen, sitting area, outside private pool, roof garden, outside shower, toilet, y screens nice location with sea views . Ref: 1213 750 Euros CORAL BAY 4 bedroom large villa, modern kitchen, sitting room with ďŹ re place, heating, ac, y 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 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 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 ďŹ re 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 y screens, nice large kitchen, bathroom, communal pool, nice location. Ref 1219 from 300 Euros Please call for a free viewing on OfďŹ ce 26600450 Mobile: 97614070 many more properties on our website at www.owron. com - Your Vision is our Mission LANDLORDS IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY FOR RENT, PLEASE CALL US!!!!!!

***************************** PEYIA – 3 bedroom villa with modern quality furniture and ďŹ nishes.

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t (B[J "SFB OFYU UP UIF .FUSP 4UBUJPO XJUI GSFF 8J 'J t 'SPN FVSPT QFS QFSTPO

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info@centurycyprus.com

70 000 970

27

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS 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

***************************** RENTAL POINT - PAPHOS ****** PROPERTIES AVAILABLE TO RENT IN THE PAPHOS DISTRICT. JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF AVAILABLE PROPERTIES. ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LONG TERM RENTAL. CALL 97648440 FOR MORE INFORMATION. LANDLORDS CALL IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY FOR RENT.!!!

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 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

TO LET PAPHOS & 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 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 en-suite, 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.

TO LET PAPHOS 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

TO LET PAPHOS 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 SMART EASILY MAINTAINED BUNGALOW. Pano Kivides. 110 sq.m.

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/

NICOSIA

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

****************************

Tel: 99753334

***************************** 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.

*****************************

FUN AND FASHION FAYRE - FUNDRAISING EVENT TO BE HELD ON SUNDAY 7TH APRIL WE NEED DONATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING

2 BEDROOM top floor apartment built in 2006, 75 sqm, large sunny

Cello & piano duet wide repertoire available for

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)

bars, cafes, hotels,

FOR SALE upper floor house 210 sq.m built on 301 sq. m land, Lapatsa area, Pereous 1a. 4 bedrooms

99947442 or 99418282

receptions etc.

TOYS/GAMES BOOKS BRIC-A-BRAC CAKES/SAVOURIES IF YOU CAN HELP PLEASE CONTACT: HELEN 99 447482 OR GEORGINA 99 673841 OR DROP OFF AT: KIVOTOS PET SHOP (COCA COLA TRAFFIC LIGHTS ) Or ANGEL PAWS PET SPA, 35 ARMENIAS STREET, STROVOLOS The deadline for dropping off will be Thursday 4th April. Except for Cakes or saviories which can be brought on the morning of the 7th April.

Thank you for your support – “together we make a difference”

ARIS EMPIRE BINGO Address: Paphos street 207, next to Carrefour Kato Polemidia, Limassol Email: arisempire@yahoo.com

PROTARAS

LADIES/GENTS AND CHILDRENS GOOD CONDITION CLOTHING

PAPHOS

*****************************

PROPERTY FOR SALE

FOR SALE PROTARAS

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.

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28

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Sport Twelve-year-old enters Euro Tour record books

By Patrick Johnston TWELVE-YEAR-OLD Ye Wocheng became the youngest golfer to qualify for a European Tour event when the Chinese schoolboy survived a late wobble to grab a place at the Volvo China Open on Wednesday.

Ye’s two round two-underpar total of 142 at the Western China qualifier earned him a spot at the May 2-5 European and OneAsia

Tour event and his participation will see him better the mark of his compatriot Guan Tianlang, who competed last year as a 13-yearold.

The amateur who lives in the industrial city of Donggaun in Guangdong province and is a member of the local HillviewGolf Club had his father caddying for him as he belied his age and lack of experience to claim one of the three places on offer.

After shooting an opening

four-under 68 on Tuesday, Ye raced to the turn in his second round leading the field on seven-under after four birdies on Wednesday, but the pressure began to tell on a tumultuous back nine.

Shots were dropped at the 11th and 14th before he appeared to settle down with a birdie two at the 15th only to rack up a horror eight at the par five 16th.

His opening 27 holes had, however, provided an ample

cushion and he could even afford to drop another shot on the last hole and claim the third and final place with two shots to spare.

Eighteen-year-old Li Xinyang and Jin Da Xing finished joint first on five-under 139 at the Wolong Valley Country Club with no other player finishing under par.

The 19th edition of the Volvo China Open will take place at the Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club in northeast China.

China’s Ye Wocheng is the youngest golfer to qualify for a European Tour event

Pietersen blow for England Explosive batsman could be out for eight weeks

IN BRIEF

KEVIN Pietersen has been ruled out of the final Test against New Zealand with a knee injury that could sideline him for up to eight weeks.

The England and Wales Cricket Board revealed Pietersen had suffered “possible cartilage damage” to his right knee after complaining of the problem since the warm-up match to the Test series in Queenstown.

Pietersen is set to return home for further tests and is also set to miss the Indian Premier League, which begins on April 3.

“England and Surrey batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the remaining Test against New Zealand commencing Friday March 22 due to an injury to his right knee,” a statement from the ECB read.

“Pietersen experienced knee pain while fielding in preparation for the fourday game in Queenstown earlier this month, ahead of the Test series. This has failed to resolve satisfactorily.

You know nothing, Hamilton tells critics

By Alan Baldwin

Kevin Pietersen is set to return home for further tests on ‘possible cartilage damage’ “Recent scans confirm an injury to the right knee with bone bruising and possible cartilage damage to the kneecap. The 32-year-old will return to the UK for further investigations and specialist review.

“The injury is likely to re-

quire ongoing assessments and a likely six-eight week period of rest and rehabilitation. Pietersen has therefore been withdrawn from all cricket, including the Indian Premier League.”

Pietersen had been due to meet up with the Delhi

Daredevils after the tour of New Zealand for the lucrative IPL season.

His absence will be a blow to the tournament’s organisers as he instead prepares himself for a hectic English summer that will include New Zealand’s return tour

and the Champions Trophy before the first of back-toback Ashes series.

Pietersen is the second England player to fly out early from the New Zealand tour after an elbow injury forced spinner Graeme Swann home.

Olympic Committee survey 76ers’ Bynum to have knee sheds light on violence surgeries, to miss season THE Japanese Olympic Committee has promised to take steps to wipe out violence among its sports federations after a survey revealed more than 10 per cent of its athletes had been victims of bullying or harassment.

The results of the JOC survey came after Japan cut funding to its judo federation following an investigation into the alleged physical abuse of female athletes found evidence of serious misconduct by coaches.

The report released at a JOC executive board meeting showed 11.5 per cent, or 206, of the 1,798 athletes who responded to its survey said they had been bullied, Kyodo news agency said.

PHILADELPHIA 76ers centre Andrew Bynum will undergo arthroscopic surgery on both knees that will end his season before it ever started, the team announced.

The injury-prone seven-footer has a lengthy history of knee ailments and the latest setback dashed hopes of his long-awaited debut for the 76ers this season after they had traded for him during the summer.

Philadelphia landed the 25-year-old Bynum in a four-team blockbuster deal that also saw Dwight Howard head to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bynum was supposed to be the missing piece to make them a legitimate threat for years to come.

LEWIS Hamilton has taken a swipe at critics, including former Formula One drivers, who had warned that his move to Mercedes was a mistake.

“It’s nice to prove people wrong,” the 2008 world champion was quoted as saying as he savoured his fifth-place finish at last weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The 28-year-old Briton had qualified third on the grid.

“It has been everyone, particularly all the ex-drivers, a lot of them commenting and saying that it was the worst decision ever, saying: ‘he’s going to finish nowhere, they are going to be nowhere’.

“And then they contradicted themselves, going the other way... they don’t know what they are talking about,” Hamilton told British reporters.

Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren, perennial championship contenders who gave him his F1 debut in 2007, for a Mercedes team who were largely off the pace last year was widely considered a gamble at the end of 2012.

However Mercedes have looked far more competitive in testing and in practice while the new McLaren has had a troubled start.

Ireland centre O’Driscoll suspended for three weeks IRELAND centre Brian O’Driscoll has been suspended for three weeks after being found guilty of stamping on Italy’s Simone Favaro during his side’s Six Nations championship defeat last Saturday.

O’Driscoll, who was playing his 125th international for his country, was cited for the incident which completed a woeful day for the Irish who were beaten 22-15 in Rome.

The 34-year-old was sin-binned for only the second time in his long career during the match but could have faced a suspension of nine weeks.

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

29

Sport Nadal heeds doctor's advice, pulls out of Miami

Grand slams, not top spot, the lure for Sharapova

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

‘It’s a really spectacular story,’ says Austin

By Mark Lamport-Stokes MARIA Sharapova rose to number two in the rankings this week after her impressive title run at the BNP Paribas Open but says she is motivated much more by grand slam glory than the prospect of regaining the top spot.

“Number one is a great number,” the elegant Russian laughed after demolishing eighth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki 6-2 6-2 in Sunday’s final of the elite WTA event at Indian Wells to land her 28th title on the circuit.

“The more consistent you are and the better results that you have and the more wins that you’re able to get, the better chances you have of getting that spot.

“Is it something that all of us want? Absolutely. It’s a ‘no-brainer’ question. But I think at this point in my career, titles and grand slams are just a bigger priority.”

Four-time grand slam Sharapova is well accustomed to the allure of being viewed as the game’s best player, having become the fifth youngest woman to reach the top of the world rankings, at the age of 18 in 2005.

For her to regain that top spot, however, she will have to overhaul American Serena Williams who, when fully fit and on her game, is virtually unbeatable in women’s tennis.

“Serena was very dominant last year,” Sharapova said of Williams, who won Wimbledon, Olympic gold and

the US Open as she piled up seven titles in a dazzling 2012 campaign. “She played tremendous, confident tennis.

“She’s also very strong and very athletic, so you need to be consistent with her. She’s also a great frontrunner.

You’re down a little bit and she goes with it. She’s a confidence player.”

When it comes to head-toheads between Sharapova and Williams, it is virtually no-contest. The Russian has won only twice in their 13 career meetings with her most recent victory dating back nine years to the Tour Championship in Los Angeles.

Sharapova has been beaten in straight sets by Williams in their last six matches.

In the eyes of many, the battle for top spot in the women’s game could come down to a seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs between Williams, Sharapova and thirdranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the reigning Australian Open champion.

“Serena is the most dangerous and she is the favourite at this point when she goes into tournaments because she has the most weapons,” former world number one Tracy Austin told Reuters.

“She’s an extraordinary athlete and I think because she has had some time off in her career, for extended periods where she was either injured or just away from the game, she still has the hunger.”

Asked whether anyone could get close to Williams when the American was in prime form, Austin replied:

“Azarenka gave her a good show at the US Open last year, losing 6-2 2-6 7-5 in the final.

“Then we thought Serena was on her game at the Australian Open in January and she lost to Sloane Stephens (in the quarter-finals). So it’s certainly possible.”

Austin, who at 16 became the youngest US Open champion in 1979 before claiming a second US crown in 1981, regards Azarenka and Sharapova as the likeliest challengers to Williams for top spot.

“Victoria has really come through,” said Austin. “She got mentally tougher, has more belief, got speedier about the court and now she has the two grand slams.

“She is the most likely challenger right now. And then you have Maria. She is just a great story because she’s already won so much and yet the motivation never seems to dissipate.

Austin said she had been hugely impressed by the Russian’s fighting spirit after having surgery on her right shoulder in October 2008 before dropping out of the top 100 in the rankings by May of the following year.

“After the surgery, I am sure she was concerned whether she was ever going to get that big weapon of a serve back again, as most of us were.

“But she just kept on fighting and working and believing in herself, won the French Open last year and got back to number one for a short time. It’s a really spectacular story.”

Maria Sharapova has moved up to No.2 in the rankings following her win at Indian Wells on Sunday

Dominant Dominicans on top of the world after win

By Larry Fine

Dominican Republic’s Robinson Cano, the tournament MVP, holds the World Baseball Classic trophy aloft

DOMINICAN Republic players were on top of the baseball world on Tuesday after capping a perfect run at the World Baseball Classic to raise the champions’ trophy.

The Dominicans swept through baseball’s top international competition with an 8-0 record, their 3-0 victory over Puerto Rico handing them the title and bringing a phone call from the Caribbean nation’s president.

“He just wanted to say congratulations for the hell of a job that we did,” said shortstop Jose Reyes, who doubled and tripled in their victory.

“This win is all about the Dominican Republic. They were hungry waiting for this moment and we did it. We gave everything that we have and we left it all on the field.”

Back in the Dominican Re-

public, tens of thousands of fans gathered outside Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo to watch the WBC action on giant screens.

The victory will have gone a long way to erasing bitter memories of their first-round exit at the 2009 Classic.

“In the DR, we are one of the countries which produces the greatest number of baseball players,” manager Tony Pena said. “I had had enough of that shame of not having a trophy like this.

Second baseman Robinson Cano, who was on the New York Yankees’ 2009 World Series championship team, was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament and said the WBC triumph would live long in the players’ memories.

“This is always going to be in our hearts for the rest of our lives,” he said. “Every one of us who’s played in this game will always remember the

World Classic. This is such a thrill.”

The Dominican Republic, which accounted for about 10 per cent of all major leaguers last season, had 20 MLB players on their WBC roster including a slew of All Stars.

“Having taken the DR’s name and shown the world what we’re capable of and having won ... I’ll never forget this,” said Reyes, who plays for the Toronto Blue Jays.

“This is one of the greatest moments of my career and my life.”

Striking a fun-loving note was closer Fernando Rodney, who has taken to brandishing a “lucky” plantain sent to him from home, the banana being one of the popular staples of the Dominican diet.

“It goes back to the plantain. That’s how we developed.

“And this is the greatest gift we could give to our country.

This trophy.”

RAFA Nadal has withdrawn from next week’s Sony Open in Miami to strengthen his left leg over the next few weeks before beginning his build-up for the French Open.

The Spanish left-hander, who returned to the ATP circuit only last month after seven months out with a left knee injury, has played four tournaments in the last five weeks, winning three of them.

“The doctors recommend me to be back home for a few weeks, rest a little bit and keep practising the right way,” the world number five told reporters after beating Juan Martin Del Potro 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the BNP Paribas Open final at Indian Wells on Sunday.

“You know, I need more power in the left leg quadriceps, so I need to keep working hard. The competition is hard for the body, so after four fantastic weeks I can’t go to Miami. I need to prepare and rest for the next one.”

Nadal said he would next be in action in Monte Carlo, followed by Barcelona, Madrid and Rome.

“That’s my schedule, the four obligatories (including Indian Wells) and Barcelona,” the 11-time grand slam singles champion said.

“That’s my schedule. I go week-by-week since I came back.

“For example, I cannot go to Miami. I’m very sad for that. I’m very sorry for the organisation of the tournament and I’m very sorry for the fans, but we never thought we’d be able to play all matches possible since I came back.”

Sony Open tournament director Adam Barrett had announced Nadal’s withdrawal from Miami in a statement.

“We are disappointed to hear the news that Rafael Nadal will not be competing in Miami this year, especially given his strong results since his return to the Tour,” Barrett said.

“He is a tremendous ambassador for the game and has thousands of adoring fans here in South Florida. We wish him well and hope to see him back in Miami next year.”

Nadal’s withdrawal from the second ATP Masters 1000 event of the year, like Indian Wells played on a hardcourt surface, had always looked likely due to his packed tournament run over the past five weeks.

He won two ATP titles on the clay of South America last month and, following his victory at Indian Wells, has improved his record this year to a career-best 17-1.

The claycourt specialist has won seven of the last eight French Opens and his focus will now be fixed on the year’s second grand slam, starting in late May.

30

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

Sport

Katidis is banned for rest of Greek season for Nazi salute ‘I want to clarify I am not a fascist or neo-Nazi or racist’

By Gennady Fyodorov

By Graham Wood AEK Athens have suspended Giorgos Katidis for the rest of the season after the 20-year-old midfielder made a Nazi salute to fans during a game at the weekend.

The former captain of his country’s under-19 side had already been banned from all international teams for life by the Greek Football Federation (EPO) for making the gesture after scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 Super League victory over Veria on Saturday.

“AEK have decided to leave the player out of the squad until the end of the 2012-13 season ... thus imposing the worst possible punishment (we can),” the club said in a statement.

“Whether the player will remain at the club beyond this season will be judged in the summer after which time he will firstly have been given the opportunity to demonstrate in practice his behaviour was the result of immaturity and secondly whether or not his possible reinstatement to the squad does not cause any negative effects within the club.”

On Monday, Katidis asked to be dropped from AEK’s first team and called his

Russia face ‘most important’ game in Belfast

The former captain of Greece’s under-19 side had already been banned from all international teams for life by the Greek Football Federation for making this gesture after scoring the winning goal over Veria on Saturday actions “totally unacceptable”.

“I feel terrible for those I upset with the stupidity of my act,” he said.

“I also understand fully the reasons for the decision made by the Greek Football Federation to which I owe a huge apology as it has helped me to get where I am in the professional game.”

Katidis joined AEK from Aris Salonika last year after impressing in Greece’s run to the final of the European

Under-19 Championship where they lost to Spain.

“I cannot turn the clock back but I want to clarify I am not a fascist or neo-Nazi or racist,” he said. “I have a step brother from Puerto Rico and all my family are from the Black Sea and have experienced racism in the worst ways.

“There is no reason to look for excuses. I was completely wrong and I will pay for it with a lot of pain because despite being only 20 my ca-

reer is now at risk.

“I sincerely apologise to my team mates and everyone involved with the club that I have insulted in not knowing exactly what I had done in my celebration. The fact I did not know what I was doing is no excuse,” the midfielder added.

Katidis was heavily criticised by political parties and on Twitter and Facebook following the incident at the Athens Olympic Stadium.

Last Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of Greek Jew deportations in Nazi concentration camps in the Second World War. “The player’s action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi bestiality and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game,” the EPO said.

AEK are 11th in the league with 29 points from 26 games.

Stimac: love must win through in historic match

By Zoran Milosavljevic

Croatia coach Igor Stimac has called for calm as Croatia and Serbia prepare to lock horns for the first time

WITH the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil looming, local bragging rights between Croatia and Serbia will be at stake when the bitter Balkan rivals meet in a potentially explosive Group A qualifier tomorrow.

Having long battled problems with hooliganism and racism, both nations want the match, billed as epic and historic by the media, to be trouble-free as much as they crave a win that would boost their pride and their chances of reaching next year’s tournament.

It will be the first time they lock horns as independent countries after the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia, which should take a back seat to entertaining football if efforts by both sets of players and coaches to defuse tension are anything to go by.

“I implore the Croatian fans to back us with their love for the national team and not hatred for our opponents,” Croatia coach Igor Stimac told reporters ahead of the fixture which will be played under tight security in Dinamo Zagreb’s Maksimir stadium.

“All those who turn up should support us in the most dignified manner and if they do, they will put the muchneeded wind in our sails to get the result we want in this historic match.

“This is a great chance to show everyone, including FIFA and UEFA, what we are really like. Both teams have the capacity to keep this event a football match and show the world that they are great football nations.”

Stimac’s plea echoed assessments by his Serbian counterpart Sinisa Mihajlovic that those with football at heart should lay the ghosts of a bygone era to rest and let the beautiful game take centre

stage.

Among other things, Mihajlovic instructed his players when he took over last May to applaud the national anthems of Serbia’s rivals in every match and said the games against Croatia, with the reverse fixture in Belgrade on September 6, would be no exception.

Both federations have agreed not to take away fans to either match in order to allay fears of crowd trouble.

While they both had to deal with the same kind of adversity in the stands at club and international level, Croatia and Serbia could not have made more contrasting starts to their qualifying campaigns.

The Croatians top the group alongside Belgium on 10 points from four games, with Serbia a distant third on four points from as many matches after a 3-0 home rout by the Belgians followed by a 1-0 loss at southern neighbours Macedonia in October.

RUSSIA coach Fabio Capello says tomorrow’s match against Northern Ireland is their most important remaining World Cup qualifier as he looks to extend their winning streak to five matches and move closer to 2014’s finals.

“A win in Belfast would take us a huge step towards the World Cup in Brazil,” said the former England manager, who replaced Dick Advocaat as Russia boss following the team’s poor showing at Euro 2012.

After they made a flying start to their Group F qualifying campaign by winning four matches on the trot without conceding a goal, the Russians lead both second place Israel and Portugal in third by five points.

The 97th-ranked Northern Ireland are a distant fourth with three points from four games and have only an outside chance of clinching a runners-up spot having failed to beat either Luxembourg or Azerbaijan at home.

Such is their dominant position, Russia can afford to lose June’s reverse fixture against Portugal, considered their main challengers for top spot, and still remain in the driving seat.

They will have home games against minnows Luxembourg and Israel in September, before facing Luxembourg again and Azerbaijan in their final two qualifiers the following month.

“A positive result against the Irish would allow us to go to Portugal without too much pressure,” Capello said. “Portugal would then feel all the pressure as they need to make up ground on us. That’s why I say the Belfast game is the most important.”

The Russians, who also face five-time world champions Brazil in a friendly at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium on Monday, have been put through their paces at Arsenal’s training ground in London this week before making the short trip to Belfast.

Northern Ireland have never beaten Russia, or their predecessors the Soviet Union, in five previous attempts, although they held the Soviets to draws in qualifiers in Belfast in 1969 and 1971.

Manager Michael O’Neill is still waiting for his first win after eight games in charge, but has received support from his predecessor Nigel Worthington.

“Knowing Northern Ireland these are the type of matches where they may get a win and O’Neill can get the monkey off his back,” Worthington said.

“But it is not an easy job because you have limited resources in terms of players.”

CYPRUS MAIL Thursday, March 21, 2013

31

Sport Platini accuses Blatter of attacking European football

By Mike Collett

Spurs superstar Gareth Bale scored both Welsh goals in the 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Scotland back in October

Wales are a ‘one-man team’

By Ronnie Esplin FORMER Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough believes the hype surrounding Wales superstar Gareth Bale could work in the Scots’ favour in tomorrow night’s World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park.

The build-up to the Group A game has been dominated by the spectre of the Tottenham forward, not least because he scored both Welsh goals in the 2-1 win over Scotland in Cardiff in October.

However, former Partick Thistle and Hibernian shot stopper Rough claims Gordon Strachan could use

Scotland desperate for a win at Hampden Bale’s status in the return encounter to help win his first competitive game as Scotland manager.

Speaking at the national stadium where he was helping publicise the match, Rough, who was capped 53 times for Scotland, said: “All I hear about Wales is Gareth Bale.

“I take that as a positive because they are relying on him so much. It is a oneman team.

“I think Gordon Strachan will be able work that to our

advantage.

“If they think he is the only player who is going to trouble us then I think that is a good thing.”

Qualification looks a forlorn hope for either country.

Scotland are bottom of the group with two points from four games ahead of the trip to Serbia next week, while the Welsh are one place higher following their win in Cardiff.

Rough was able to joke when asked about the

claim of former Manchester United and Wales wideman Mickey Thomas, who was quoted as saying this is the “worst” Scotland team ever.

“Obviously he never saw any of Berti Vogts’ teams,” Rough said.

“We went through a bad spell but I think we are more organised.

“We have more players playing down in England. I know we talked that up for the last game in Wales and that didn’t happen but I

think it will turn.

“The priority is to win games and get us out of the qualification pots that we are in. Every game we win takes us up the rankings.”

Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam meanwhile has promised the Tartan Army that they will see a Scotland team going all out to win.

“We are a better team (than the points total suggests) but we are the only ones who can fix it.

“We will need to attack and we will do.

“It is a challenge. Everyone in Scotland thinks we can win, the players think we can win but it is going to be a tough match.”

Germany to burn midnight oil

By Karolos Grohmann

German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (bottom) says it will be hard to break down the defensive Kazakhs

GERMANY’S players will be going to bed at dawn and training just before midnight as they prepare for their World Cup qualifying game in Kazakhstan tomorrow, the team said yesterday.

With a five-hour time difference between Germany and Kazakhstan, the team have been advised not to change their watches to local time once they arrive but instead stick with German time so as not to interrupt their rhythm on such a short trip.

“We have a five-hour time difference and that normally needs about five days to adapt,” said team doctor Tim Meyer. “We do not have that time and we have to go straight back to German time.

“Our clocks will be on German time, and the schedule with things like eating and

sleeping also on German time. We have a kick-off which is good for German time but it is midnight in Kazakhstan.

“We will not check everyone’s watches but we advise them to do it and expect them to do it. You can do it for a day or two.” Meyer told reporters.

The plan means the Germans will have a late training session in Astana (11pm local) tonight. “The schedule then will be like we have after an afternoon training at 6pm in Germany,” team spokesman Jens Grittner told reporters. “Then sleep at 4am which is 11pm in Germany.”

Meyer, who said the artificial pitch should be no real problem for the players, also eased concerns over an ankle injury in training for Sami Khedira on Tuesday, saying it was less serious than expected, with the midfielder fit to train again.

Bastian Schweinsteiger

and Lukas Podolski also overcame minor injuries and are back in training “It will not be an easy game. The Kazakhs will go way back like a handball team and it is really hard to get through it,” Schweinsteiger told reporters.

Germany top Group C with 10 points from four games with Sweden in second place on seven from three games.

“We need solutions and maybe try to get an early goal. Otherwise it might not be as easy as some have predicted,” Schweinsteiger said.

He dismissed talk of pressure on him and the team to win their first major title since 1996.

“It is not that I will die sooner if I don’t win a title.

What I want is to qualify for Brazil and then play our best football. But it is not always the team that plays the most beautiful football, it is the one that scores a goal more.”

MICHEL Platini has accused FIFA president Sepp Blatter of attacking European football while defending UEFA’s decision to stage Euro 2020 across the continent and its right to question FIFA’s reform process.

UEFA’s 57-year-old French president, who is likely to stand for FIFA’s top job, possibly against Blatter, in 2015, was reacting to recent criticism from the FIFA president.

Platini made his comments to German magazine Kicker in an interview to be published today.

Although he said he got on “perfectly well” with Blatter, Platini was clearly unhappy with the 77-year-old Swiss who said last week that holding Euro 2020 in 13 cities across Europe would mean a championship “that lacks heart and soul”.

Platini explained that both decisions were taken after exhaustive dialogue and that 52 of UEFA’s 53 members supported the idea of a pan-European championship.

“At UEFA, all our major projects, such as Euro 2020 or financial fair play, are the fruit of extensive dialogue and a collective decision taken by all those involved.

“I am not sure that this is how (former Libyan leader) Colonel Gaddafi did things. On the contrary, I think we are a model of what good governance should be.

“An attack on Euro 2020 may well be aimed at the UEFA president but, in fact, it is really an attack on 52 out of 53 European football associations.

“Everyone has the right to an opinion on UEFA projects. I have no problem with that, and I respect everyone’s opinion, including, of course, that of Mr Blatter, with whom - contrary to what I have read in some places - I get on perfectly well.

Our relationship is intact, even though we obviously cannot always agree on everything.

“What I can say about Euro 2020 is simply that there was lengthy consultation with all those concerned, and that in the end, 52 of the 53 UEFA member association presidents enthusiastically supported this new concept, which will make Euro 2020 the first Euro with shared responsibility and solidarity - an innovative and visionary project in the eyes of many.”

Thursday, March 21, 2013 CYPRUS MAIL

32 Blow for England as injured Pietersen returns home 28

Sport Beckham back as king of football’s money men HE may be in the twilight of his glittering career but David Beckham has regained his crown at the top of football’s rich list - despite donating his wages to charity.

The Paris Saint-Germain star has overtaken Barcelona’s Lionel Messi at the top of the pay list with annual earnings of £30.8 million.

And while Manchester United may lead the way at the top of the Premier League, it is rivals Manchester City who have the most players in the top 20 of highest earners.

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham is estimated to earn £28.3m from sponsorship deals with adidas, Sainsbury’s and Samsung, and has a new £50m fiveyear deal to be an ambassador for the Chinese Super League.

The recent survey in France Football shows that Beckham earned less than five per cent of his income through his wages while playing for LA Galaxy and PSG with the bulk coming in sponsorships and endorsements.

The 37-year-old is expected to take home the French league minimum wage of £132,000 from his five months in Paris while around £4m will be donated to local charities. ed his When he signed deal at PSG, Beckham ever said: “It has never e biggest been about the e contract or the money.

“It’s always been about playing football. I’ve been lucky to achieve what I’ve achieved and earn whatt I’ve earned.” nd The ex-England captain is cur-rently on a

four-day whistle stop tour of Beijing and the rest of China to promote football in the country and seemed to be enjoying his new role as he took part in a small football game with local students yesterday - complete in grey suit, tie and shoes (below).

Beckham arrived in China as the country tries to clean up its football image after a spate of corruption scandals.

But he said he isn’t concerned about the matchfixing scandals, with several players and officials sentenced to prison.

‘I’m not here to clean up anything. I’m here to educate the children and give them a chance to become professional footballers.’

It is the sixth year that Beckham has topped the rich list and he has been in the top 10 every year since 1999.

The rest of the top 20 has six stars from the Premier League and only five from La Liga.

But there are no English based players in the top five, with Barcelona’s Messi again finishing just ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

City star Sergio Aguero is the top earner in the Premier League in sixth place ahead of Wayne Rooney, Yaya Toure - who is looking for a new contract at Manchester City despite £ having a £220,000-a-week deal - and Chelsea flop Fernand Torres.

Fernando T Carlos Tevez and David Villa are both on £13.8m, meanin City have meaning fou players in the four top 12 despite the fa a they could fact e en end the season w without a trophy.

G Golfer Tiger W Woods is still the highest-paid athlete, ahead o boxer Manny of P Pa Pacquiao, with B ck Be Beckham in seventh place overall.

MONEYBALL: SPORT’S RICHEST STARS Top 10 Footballers

Top 10 Sportsmen

1) David Beckham (PSG £30.8m) 2) Lionel Messi (Barcelona £30m) 3) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid - £25.7m) 4) Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala - £20.5m) 5) Neymar (Santos - £17.1m) 6) Sergio Aguero (Manchester City - 16.3m) 7) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United - £15.4m) 8) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG £15m) 9) Yaya Toure (Manchester City - £14.2m) 10) Fernando Torres (Chelsea - £14m)

1) Tiger Woods (Golf - £39.4) 2) Manny Pacquiao (Boxing £37.7m) 3) Kobe Bryant (Basketball £36.8m) 4) LeBron James (Basketball - £36m) 5) Roger Federer (Tennis £34.2m) 6) Phil Mickelson (Golf £31.7m) 7) David Beckham (Football £30.8m) 8) Lionel Messi (Football £30m) 9) Lewis Hamilton (Formula One - £30m) 10) Floyd Mayweather Jnr (Boxing - £29.1m)

Katidis banned for rest of Greek season 30

‘VOLATILITY UNDERMINING PROFESSION,’ SAYS MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

You cannot be serious: Roberto Di Matteo was sacked as Chelsea manager just six months after winning the club’s first Champions League, while Michael Appleton (below) was fired by Blackburn after two months in the hot seat

Sackings in football are ‘embarrassing’ F

OOTBALL’S attitude to sacking managers in Britain is “arrogant” and the statistics on dismissals are “embarrassing”, the League Managers’ Association claimed yesterday.

LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said the number of departures is at a five-year high, following Michael Appleton’s dismissal by Blackburn on Tuesday.

In total, 103 managers and coaches have lost their jobs in 2012-13.

Bevan said: “It’s embarrassing for the game that all of those sackings are unfair dismissals. The volatility is undermining the profession.”

Appleton became the 32nd manager to be sacked this season after 15 games and 67 days at Ewood Park, while Gary Smith took the tally to 33 yesterday when he was dismissed by League One club Stevenage.

Fourteen managers have resigned from their posts, while another 60 coaches have also been dismissed, the LMA said.

“That’s over 100 people, 100 managers, 100 families,” Bevan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“I’m not sure where the arrogance of football comes from that we don’t have to

behave as any other industry.”

Four Premier League managers - Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea, Brian McDermott at Reading, Nigel Adkins at Southampton and Mark Hughes at QPR - have been sacked this season, but job security further down the Football League seems even more volatile.

In the Championship 17 managers have been dismissed, while in Leagues One and Two there have been a combined total of 26 managerial departures.

Nottingham Forest have appointed three managers since July and last month Paul Ince became Black-

pool’s third permanent boss of the season, after Ian Holloway left to become Crystal Palace boss and his replacement Appleton took up the Blackburn job.

Appleton is the third manager to leave Rovers this season, following the departures of Steve Kean in September and Henning Berg in December.

“The owners probably made the first mistake when they sacked their executive chairman John Williams and their managing director Tom Finn and since then they’ve gone downhill,” said Bevan of the situation at Blackburn.

“Everything in business is about communication.

Michael told me he had no conversation at all during his tenure since January with the Indian representative running the club.

“He’s got 20 players on the injury bench. What he needed was support, not a letter of sacking.

“Blackburn need to look very hard into stability, they need to look at communication with the fans and they need to look very hard into how they can invest in personnel, look medium term.

That’s the only way they’re going to climb up the table.”

Bevan added that the Football Association “needs to work harder” over the issue of managerial instability.

He said: “We need to work as a group - the Premier League, the Football League, the Professional Footballers’ Association, the League Managers’ Association - to ensure that we have better training not only for managers but also an understanding of how you run a football club.”