Cyprus Politics

Paphos -- Interior Minister Neoklis Sylikiotis said that establishing a state oil company is a priority for the government.

(Adds Lombard's statement) Cyprus's Marfin Popular Bank said today it made a record net loss of €3.3 billion euros in 2011 after incorporating a 62 per cent "haircut" on toxic Greek bonds. There were net losses of 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion) due to Greek government bond restructuring, Marfin said in a statement. Marfin owns 48.9 per centy of Lombard Bank. In a statement this evening, Lombard said Marfin was not a majority sharholder in Lombard. Lombard, it said, held no financial exposure whatsoever to any member of the Marfin Popuar Bank Group or to any other Greek or Cypriot entity. It also held no exposure to any form of non-Maltese sovereign or corporate securitieis. Lombard said it will continue to implement its policy of a prudent and cuatious approach to treasury management. Apart from the Greek debt writedown, a 796 million euro"goodwill impairment" related to Marfin's Greek operations was also taken into account, making total losses after tax of 3.335 billion euros for 2011. "With these actions, the group can look forward to a new era of increased operational profitability, enhanced liquidity and ...

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Cyprus' Marfin Popular Bank said Wednesday that it's being courted by several strategic investors despite posting a huge loss of euro2.5 billion for 2011 after taking a 60 percent writedown of its Greek government bond holdings.

GWU and Forum this morning presented a letter to the Prime Minister calling for support and emphasising the importance of quality jobs, fighting precarious employment and social justice. As members of the European Trade Union Confederation, GWU and Forum joined another 83 other confederations in a European Day of Action on the eve of an important European summit during which heads of government will decide on measures that will affect millions of workers. Other confederations in Italy, Spain and Cyprus organised demonstrations, rallies and strikes. Forum president John Bencini said CMTU, which was also affiliated to the ETUC decided to opt out of the event. He said the economic and social crisis was affecting millions of European workers and the austerity measures were making the situation worse. Unemployment had reached record levels in Europe with 23 million people, including five million youths, unemployed. In Europe, 115 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, were at risk of poverty and social exclusion. The Maltese government was asked to reduce its budget by €40 million, including a €1.4 million cut in the...

Malta has maintained its first place in the 24th edition of the Internal Market Scoreboard issued by the European Commission within its 'Annual governance check-up 2011' report. This is the seventh consecutive time that Malta placed first in the scoreboard, issued twice a year. The scoreboard benchmarks member states' efforts in the implementation of internal market law by recording the transposition deficit, which is the gap between the number of internal market laws adopted at EU level and those in force. The Scoreboard also describes Malta, together with Cyprus, as the "member states with the best compliance deficit." This concerns the correct transposition of EU directives, an essential element in ensuring that citizens and businesses are able to benefit from the full potential of the internal market. Malta's permanent representative to the EU, Ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana, welcomed this recognition of Malta's commitment to ensuring the fullest possible access to the opportunities available in the EU's Single Market, stating that "this report is a testament to the hard work carried out by government officials and others to ensure that...

A total of 20 flights to and from Cyprus international airports of Larnaka and Paphos will be affected by the strike of air traffic controllers announced to held on March 2, to protest against government austerity measures.

The government has described as totally unfounded and contrary to international law Turkey's claims on Cyprus' exclusive economic zone, and called on Ankara to end its illegal, provocative and arrogant behaviour with regard to the Republic's exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons.

The government has described as totally unfounded and contrary to international law Turkey's claims on Cyprus' exclusive economic zone, and called on Ankara to end its illegal, provocative and arrogant behaviour with regard to the Republic's exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons.

NICOSIA, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay a one-day working visit to Cyprus on Thursday, the first ever visit by an Israeli head of government to the eastern Mediterranean island, a Cypriot official statement said Wednesday. The statement said he will head an official delegation to have talks with a Cypriot delegation under President Demetris Christofias. No details were announced, but reliable sources said energy issues will be at the center of their ...

House President Yiannakis Omirou expressed in Melbourne Cyprus' appreciation for the continuous support of the government and political parties of Australia to the struggle of the Cypriot people to reach a just Cyprus solution.

The government of Cyprus expressed on Sunday its appreciation for the clear positions of principles expressed once more by the Russian Federation on the Cyprus problem in the light of the outcome of the New York meeting, which took place earlier this week, between the UN Secretary General and the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus.

The government of Cyprus expressed on Sunday its appreciation for the clear positions of principles expressed once more by the Russian Federation on the Cyprus problem in the light of the outcome of the New York meeting, which took place earlier this week, between the UN Secretary General and the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon will start two days of talks with the rival leaders of divided Cyprus on Monday having warned them that time is running out to seal an accord.

Ban has in the past told Demetris Christofias, head of the internationally recognized Greek-Cypriot government, and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, that he could end UN efforts to broker a peace deal.

The two have since redoubled efforts to overcome the legal and political obstacles to rejoining the island split since 1974, diplomats said.

The Cyprus government fully supports the efforts of the interim government of Libya for reforms in the country, following the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markoullis stated to her interlocutors, during her two-day visit to Tripoli.

NICOSIA, Cyprus - Air traffic controllers in Cyprus will walk off the job for four hours on Wednesday to protest a two-year government worker wage freeze and other deficit-reduction measures.

(Adds government statement) Standard and Poor's has lowered Malta's credit rating a notch to A-. The government said it noted the decision, which highlighted the fact that the international crisis was worsening. The agency downgraded France's top AAA to AA+, with a negative outlook, but left European powerhouse Germany's unchanged at AAA, stable. S&P also downgraded Italy by two notches to BBB+, negative outlook, with Spain cut two notches to A, negative outlook, as part of a major overhaul of ratings on 16 of the 17 eurozone nations, with Greece excluded. S&P said its rating actions reflected its view that "the policy initiatives taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone." S&P, one of the top three global ratings agencies, said it cut its long-term ratings on Cyprus, Italy, Portugal and Spain by two notches. Austria, France, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were cut one notch while Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands all had their ratings affirmed. In December, S&P announced that...

A ship reportedly carrying ammunition to Syria will be allowed to leave Cyprus after giving authorities assurances it will change its destination, a government official said on Wednesday.

The Government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is considering the issues of a new constitution and change of name of the republic in 2012, President Dervis Eroglu said on Monday, the newspaper Sabah said.

NICOSIA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- A natural gas deposit of 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet has been located in an offshore Cyprus field, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said on Wednesday. This figure was based on what a government spokesman said was "a moderate estimate" by Noble Energy, a U.S. company that has just completed an exploratory drilling 165 km south of Cyprus. The mean average of the gas deposits could be 7 trillion cubic feet, enough to cover Cyprus's needs for almost 2 ...

Three new airline incentive schemes, designed to stimulate the growth of tourism to Cyprus, have been announced by the Cypriot Ministry of Communications and Works government and Hermes Airports.

Israeli car comes under fire in northern West Bank Saturday. No casualties a Syrian Muslim Brotherhood says Assad's officials forged an MB statement issued Saturday claiming responsibility for Damascus bombings a The statement warned citizens to stay away from government centers ahead of fresh strikes in Aleppo and Damascus in next 10 days a Death ... (more)

Israeli car comes under fire in northern West Bank Saturday. No casualties a Syrian Muslim Brotherhood says Assad's officials forged an MB statement issued Saturday claiming responsibility for Damascus bombings a The statement warned citizens to stay away from government centers ahead of fresh strikes in Aleppo and Damascus in next 10 days a Death ... (more)

By Debbie Emery - Radar Reporter

Love him or hate him, it was impossible not to respect author and journalist Christopher Hitchens, who died Thursday at the age of 62.

As fans of his work mourned his death from pneumonia stemming from oesophageal cancer, RadarOnline.com reveals the man behind the famous byline who spoke out against Mother Theresa, Hilary and Bill Clinton, and even God.

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Born in Portsmouth, England in 1949 to parents who were both in the Royal Navy, young Christopher was educated at a boarding school in Cambridge where he later confessed to having experimented with relationships with other male students, and even fell in love with a boy named Guy, who he exchanged poems and "white-hot snatched kisses" with.

He continued his sexual experiments at Oxford University where he had affairs with two men who went on to become prominent politicians in Margaret Thatcher's government.

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Hitchens embraced the political activism of the sixties after becoming fuelled by anger over the Vietnam war, racism and oligarchy, and was arrested at many rallies and protests that he passionately took part in.

The left-wing enthusiast began writing for the New Statesmen, where he became friends with now-esteemed authors Martin Amis and Ian McEwan.

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Soon after tragedy struck his family, when his mother overdosed on sleeping pills in a hotel room in Greece as part of a tragic suicide pact with her clergy-man lover.

After moving to America in 1981 and writing for liberal weekly, The Nation, Hitchens later got the job that he would be best known for as Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair magazine in 1991.

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Throughout his career he became famous for his essay-style columns from around the world, including Cyprus, Chad, Uganda, and Sudan, and he was celebrated for his work with a National Magazine Award in 2007.

“There will never be another like Christopher,” Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said in a statement, reported TheWrap.com. “A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar."

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Hitchens was never afraid to take on even the most powerful political opponents including President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, but his opinion began a gradual swing to the right that was solidified in 2001 with the 9/11 attacks, after which he became a staunch supporter of the war in Iraq and an outspoken critic of Islamic extremism.

During a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania in 2006 with Amis, he announced, "I am no longer a socialist, but I still am a Marxist."

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Author of God Is Not Great, Hitchens contended that religion is "the main source of hatred in the world," and has criticized all religions claiming, "The real axis of evil is Christianity, Judaism, and Islam."

He went on to become an advocate of the New Atheism and the National Secular Society, and went on to debate religion with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is a Roman Catholic convert.

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Hitchens was rambunctious when it came to his social life as he was in his written work, and he confessed in his memoir,  Hitch-22, that his daily alcohol intake was big enough "to kill or stun the average mule"

A NPR profile of him in 2006 revealed: "Hitchens is known for his love of cigarettes and alcohol — and his prodigious literary output."

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Following his cancer diagnosis in 2010, Hitchens faced his cancer head-on, like he did everything else in his life, and for his final column in the current Vanity Fair he wrote candidly, "I lay at the point of death."

He went on to reveal, "One thing that grave illness does is to make you examine familiar principles and seemingly reliable sayings.

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"And there’s one that I find I am not saying with quite the same conviction as I once used to: In particular, I have slightly stopped issuing the announcement that 'Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.'"

Hitchens is survived by his second wife, Carol Blue, and their daughter, Antonia, and his children from a previous marriage, Alexander and Sophia. He also leaves behind a brother, Peter, a conservative columnist for the British paper Daily Mail.

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Malta has again ranked in 83rd place in The Global Gender Gap Index 2011. This is the same ranking as in 2010, however last year there were 134 countries listed. This year there were 135. The countries ranked below Malta include Armenia, Hungary, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Tajikistan and Turkey. Malta has been falling in its ranking since 2006 when it stood at the 71st place. The worst year was 2009 when the ranking fell to 88th place. The worst showing for Malta, as in previous years, was in the Economic Participation and Opportunity index, where Malta was ranked 110th falling six places from the 104th in 2010. The Malta Confederation of Women's Organisations (MCWO) expressed its concern at the lack of progress being made in reaching the government's objective of ensuring de facto equality in Maltese society in line with United Nations and European Union commitments. "In spite of the number of incentives introduced to attract women to the labour market and the slow increase in women's participation rate, Malta is still falling back in this sector when compared to other countries on a global basis. This means that Malta...

Nicosia - Cyprus government services and airports came to a halt on Thursday as thousands of civil servants went on strike over austerity measures to reduce a bloated fiscal deficit.

NICOSIA: Cyprus' airports and government offices will shut down Thursday in a daylong strike to protest a proposed public sector wage freeze and other austerity measures.

Thousands of Cyprus government workers briefly walked off the job on Tuesday to protest against a proposed two-year salary freeze they say is being unfairly foisted on them.

Cyprus is the only country in the EU not to have either an access to information law or a draft law proposed by the government, putting it behind its EU partners as regards a Right to Access to Information Law.

NICOSIA, Dec 5 - It was a "terrible mistake" to ask private holders of Greek government debt to forgo half of their investment, European Central Bank Governing Council member Athanasios Orphanides said on Monday.

The Cyprus government unveiled on Saturday its plans to contain rising unemployment and stimulate economic growth.

Mustafa Hulusi's latest film, The EMPTY Near East, chronicling a new Eden on a post-human Cyprus, builds on his mysterious conflation of politics and commercial culture. The London-born, ...

NICOSIA, Nov. 29 -- The Cyprus government is committed to further developing the existing excellent relations with China, Cyprus foreign minister said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Deliberations of the Joint Committee of technocrats from Cyprus and Lebanon on delimitation of mutual Exclusive Economic Zones took place in a good spirit, the government said Saturday.

There are many international companies which have either expressed interest or have bought the results of initial research conducted on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus within its Exclusive Economic Zone for hydrocarbons, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou has said.

There are a number of companies worldwide who have shown an interest or have bought the results of research carried out by the Republic of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said on Thursday.

(Adds reactions) The Labour Party is not being informed and consulted on the restructuring of Air Malta, spokesman Gavin Gulia said this afternoon. Addressing a news conference, Dr Gulia said Labour condemned the hostile manner in which the workers at Air Malta were threatened by the minister during the presentation of the budget last Monday. He noted that the government was recalling its €52 million loan to Air Malta this year and asked whether this was the right time. On tourism, Dr Gulia said that although he acknowledged the increase in the number of tourists, they were coming for shorter visits and therefore spending less. Comparing the situation to other countries, he said that according to the World Tourism Organisation report, the number of tourists in Greece between January and September had increased by 14 per cent and in Portugal and Cyprus by 11 per cent. Malta, on the other hand, only had a seven per cent increase so there was a lot more that needed to be done. He noted that hoteliers were to remain burdened with the same operating costs they had last year. This was in spite of indications that their revenue...

Australia only recognizes the Republic of Cyprus as the legal government of Cyprus and supports UN efforts for solution to the Cyprus problem, Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has said.

A second round of licensing for the commencement of exploration in Cyprus' EEZ, will soon be announced, the Government Spokesman said.

A second round of licensing for the commencement of exploration in Cyprus' EEZ, will soon be announced, the Government Spokesman said.

The Plenary of the House of Representatives approved on Friday by majority a resolution calling on President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias to assume the responsibilities attributed to him in a report by a government-appointed Commission of Inquiry on a deadly blast, at a naval base last July, and resign from his post, contributing ... (more)

The main opposition parties, Disy and Diko, have also joined the arguments, fuelling daily skirmishes on TV debates and tempers often running high with government officials.

DEMETRIS ELIADES: TURKEY IS FACED WITH GREAT CHALLENGE Panorama Oct 17 2011 Armenia The government has challenged Turkey to actively contribute to a political settlement in Cyprus, instead of threatening and being intransigent in its approach towards a solution, Famagusta Gazette reported.

Over 200,000 residents and about 87,000 housing units have been recorded so far in the population census in the government-controlled areas of the Republic of Cyprus, which began on October 1 and is expected to be concluded by the end of November.

A Wim Kortenoeven, a prominent Dutch MP and Middle East expert, blasted Turkey's government for its jingoistic policies toward Cyprus and Israel on Sunday at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

A Wim Kortenoeven, a prominent Dutch MP and Middle East expert, blasted Turkey's government for its jingoistic policies toward Cyprus and Israel on Sunday at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

A Wim Kortenoeven, a prominent Dutch MP and Middle East expert, blasted Turkey's government for its jingoistic policies toward Cyprus and Israel on Sunday at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Cyprus plans to get a 2.5 billion euro loan from Russia, the country’s government spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, said on Wednesday.

Internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government started drilling off divided island on Monday

In the face of menacing warnings from Turkey on Monday, the Greek Cypriot government said it was proceeding with exploratory drilling for oil and gas off the coast of the disputed island.