A CONTROLLED RETURN TO SPORTS POST-QUARANTINE FOR FANS . . .

in-cyprus 16 July 2020 - by ByMaria Bitar

A lengthy announcement has been issued by the Ministry of Health, which includes all the instructions in view of the new season in sports. There are amongst other things relevant tips for using the toilets, the availability of tickets, as well as the classification of the fans. In regards to football, a differing protocol will apply which will be announced in the coming days.

In a nutshell here are some general guidelines and precautions that will be taken:

– The manager of the sports venue will keep for at least 60 days a file with the names, and ID number or telephone number of each spectator who comes to watch a sports match or training. For this purpose, incoming spectators will be required to complete a form, with the name, telephone or ID number, date, time and place they arrived as spectators at the sports facility. The Administrator ensures that this information is kept for COVID-19 tracking purposes alone and is kept secure and confidential, in accordance with the relevant Privacy Policy.

– The manager of the sports venue has appropriate procedures in place in order to avoid the gathering of spectators from different matches.

– The manager of the sports field is obliged to provide the employees with the necessary personal protective equipment.

– It is not recommended that people attend sports venues as spectators if they belong to any group vulnerable to Covid-19.

– Indoors, where there are windows, will remain open throughout the match and/or training session.

Source: Philenews

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WEDDINGS ON HOLD, PROFESSIONAL EVENT PLANNERS IN DESPAIR

in-cyprus 16 July 2020 -ByMaria Bitar

The Pancyprian Association of Professional Events (PASYEPEK) demands that the holding of open weddings, baptisms and other events without restrictions be re-instated again starting September 1st, with the President of the Association, Konstantinos Mosaikos, stating that after the latest decisions of the government, the companies are left hanging and exposed and face the risk of going bust if they continue to suspend work, with the possibility of redundancies opening starting on November 1st.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Mosaikos said that with the extension of the restrictions to September 15th instead of their being lifted on September 1st as planned initially, there are about 250 to 280 weddings which were planned before the pandemic with a turnover that was to be between 40 to 50 million euro left “in the air”.

In his statements, Mr. Mosaikos said that after the initial announcement of the government for complete removal of all restrictions on September 1st, if the epidemiological data allowed, the Association had drafted a manual which they handed over to the Ministry of Health and health services, requesting that they are allowed to restart working, from August 16th till the end of August, without restrictions or otherwise as the specific manual was applied following the instructions of the Health Services and the Epidemiological Team.
He continued by saying: “Today, ladies and gentlemen, we are in an unfavourable position having to declare that not only what we asked for has not been heeded, but, arbitrarily and without any substantial or legal justification, the preliminary date of September 1st was transferred to September 15th 2020.”.

Acknowledging that weddings and baptisms have been allowed since August 22, 2020, increasing the number of people entitled to attend wedding ceremonies, Mr. Mosaikos added, however, that “again our state has deprived us of the constitutional and human right to work since the promise that was given to us, that is the complete lifting of measures starting from September 1st as was already announced publicly, is now revoked”.
For his part, Paris Anastasiou on behalf of OEB stated that the Federation considers that companies should be supported, and a way to resume business as usual from September 1st if possible needs to be found or alternatively support to companies in the sector needs to be provided.

Source: Phile news/CNA

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BREAK-INS WITH THE USE OF PLASTIC TRANSPARENT CARDS ON THE RISE

in-cyprus 16 July 2020 -ByAnnie Charalambous

It has become common practice for burglars in Limassol to break into apartments using small plastic transparent cards which are hard to be noticed by the occupants of the premises, according to Phileleftheros.

Such burglary attempts were reported on July 13 and 14 from occupants of a newly-built apartment building. Police investigations showed that transparent small plastic cards were placed between the window and the front door of a number of apartments there.

The residents of the apartment notified the authorities of suspicious movement in the area, and the perpetrators were tracked down after someone noticed a rented vehicle near the apartment building and videotaped it with his mobile phone.

The registration plates were recorded and police put the vehicle under surveillance.

Three foreigners were shortly arrested, while knives were also found in their possession.

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Prince Ernst August of Hannover Placed In Psychiatric Facility after Attacking Police

Prince Ernst August of Hannover

Yesterday, there was quite a turbulent occurrence at the hunting lodge in Grünau im Almtal (Upper Austria) owned by Prince Ernst August of Hannover.

According to the police record, Ernst August made an emergency call at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday night: he said that he was in the ditch and was being murdered. Upon arrival at the scene, the officers found two people - a man and a woman - but there was no trace of Ernst August.

The police finally found the prince in his hunting lodge at Grünau. There Ernst August is reported to have reacted irritably towards the man and woman, who had come with the police. The prince stormed out of the house and ordered the couple to get off his property.

After returning to his house, Ernst August told officials that the man had tried to kill him three times by not giving the prince his medication. According to the police record, Ernst August then became increasingly aggressive and grabbed one of the two officers by the head. The police officer reacted in a defensive manner. Then the prince threatened the police with a knife sharpener. The officers then knocked the instrument out of Ernst August’s hand and pinned him to the ground.

Somehow, shortly thereafter, the prince managed to hit one of the police officers in the face. Ernst August was restrained again. Prince Ernst August of Hannover was then admitted to the psychiatric facility in Vöcklabruck on the orders of a doctor who had since arrived on the scene.

Source: https://www.rnd.de/promis/prinz-ernst-august-nach-vorfall-in-osterreich-in-psychiatrie-eingewiesen-4P4LBLCPVBGXPNM3TRE2MMHSRU.html

Prince Ernst August of Hannover is sixty-six years-old. He is the Head of the Hanoverian Royal House. Since 1999, he has been married to Princess Caroline of Monaco; however, the couple have been separated for many years. Ernst August has a personal and familial history of substance use issues.

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IRELAND, ROMANIA FINED BY EU TOP COURT OVER ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING RULES

in-cyprus 16 July 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

The European Union’s top court fined on Thursday Romania and Ireland for delays and incomplete application of the bloc’s rules against money laundering, it said in a statement.

Romania was ordered to pay to the European Commission a lump sum of 3 million euros, while Ireland was fined 2 million euros.

(Reuters)

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RISING VIRUS TOTALS FORCE RETHINK OF BARS, SCHOOLS, TOURISM

Associated Press 16 July 2020

© Provided by Associated Press Tourists stand in a terrace at the resort of Magaluf on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca, Spain, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Authorities in Spain's Balearic Islands are pulling the plug on endless drunken nights to the beat of techno music by closing bars and nightclubs in beachfront areas popular with young and foreign visitors. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

MITO, Japan (AP) — Bars may be off the menu and many schools look set to remain closed for months to come as the new coronavirus causes more illness and death in many countries and the U.S. South and West.

India's record daily increase of nearly 32,7000 cases pushed its total close to 1 million and led authorities to reimpose a three-day lockdown and night curfew in the popular western beach state of Goa, two weeks after it was reopened to tourists.

© Provided by Associated Press Funeral home workers in protective suits carry a body during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas, Manila, Philippines on Thursday, July 16, 2020. Coronavirus infections continue to rise in the country after reopening the economy that is on the brink of a recession while still struggling to combat the pandemic. The cause of death is unconfirmed. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

The top elected official in the popular backpacking destination, Pramod Sawant, said people were flouting social distancing norms. Nearly 40,000 people were fined about $1.30 each in the past two weeks for not wearing face masks.

© Provided by Associated Press Residents watch as a police officer rides atop an Armored Personnel Carrier by their home during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas, Manila, Philippines, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Coronavirus infections continue to rise in the country after reopening the economy that is on the brink of a recession while still struggling to combat the pandemic. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he might have to rethink plans for a domestic tourism campaign to help offset losses from keeping borders closed to foreign visitors. Tokyo's new cases have been rising by hundreds daily.

“We are looking at the situation with a high level of nervousness,” Abe said of his “Go To" campaign offering discounts for traveling within Japan which was set to start next week.

As is true of many places, Tokyo's nightlife — bars, clubs, cabarets and karaoke parlors — has been seen as a weak link in efforts to contain the virus. But the most recent data show the illness also spreading in offices and among older Japanese, in nursery schools and senior facilities, undoing earlier progress.

The Japanese government is constrained by how far it can restrict businesses and public activities and it never imposed a full lockdown. Officials have struggled over the trade-off between curbing the spread of the virus and protecting the ailing economy.

© Provided by Associated Press People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus ride escalators in a subway station Thursday, July 16, 2020, in Tokyo. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he might have to rethink plans for a domestic tourism campaign to help offset losses from keeping borders closed to foreign visitors. Tokyo's new cases have been rising by hundreds daily. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

In Australia, where some have advocated a policy of virus eradication rather than suppression, Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out the strategy as costly, risky and a potential illusion.

“You can’t mortgage off your economy for what would prove to be an illusory goal,” he said.

After initially suppressing the pandemic, Australia saw the virus regain a foothold with breaches of controls in Melbourne hotel quarantines just as the nation was lifting its lockdown restrictions. The city has been shut down again, for six weeks, as 317 new cases were added Thursday to the tally in Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state.

© Provided by Associated Press A resident sits inside her home during the start of a lockdown due to a rise in COVID cases in the city of Navotas, Manila, Philippines, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Coronavirus infections continue to rise in the country after reopening the economy that is on the brink of a recession while still struggling to combat the pandemic. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Australia's smaller neighbour, New Zealand, has had success with its goal of eradication, having had no community-spread cases in 76 days. All of its 27 active cases are people in quarantine after returning from foreign travel.

With its borders closed to foreigners, New Zealand has resumed most activities. But for most countries a return to normalcy appears further off than many envisioned just weeks ago.

Governors in several U.S. states ordered requirements for masks and imposed further limits on operations of bars and restaurants as the number of cases in the U.S. surged. California, Arizona, Texas and Florida together reported about 36,000 new cases on Wednesday.

© Provided by Associated Press Tourists walk on the street at the resort of Magaluf, in Punta Ballena town, on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca, Spain, Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Authorities in Spain's Balearic Islands are pulling the plug on endless drunken nights to the beat of techno music by closing bars and nightclubs in beachfront areas popular with young and foreign visitors. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

The four states reported a total of more than 450 new deaths. In Alabama, which reported a one-day high of 40 deaths, officials said the state will begin requiring face masks.

The mayor of Los Angeles declared the nation's second-largest city is on the verge of a shutdown of all but essential businesses and more school districts made plans to start the fall semester without on-site instruction.

San Francisco and Sacramento joined Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland and other districts in announcing public school students will not return to classrooms but stick with digital learning when the new term begins because of the spreading virus and testing delays.

In Texas, which again set a record for confirmed new cases, with nearly 10,800, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has increasingly emphasized face coverings as the way to avoid another lockdown.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock required masks at indoor public spaces and at larger outdoor gatherings in counties where four or more people are known to have COVID-19. The Democrat's order came as the state reported a record number of new confirmed cases.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appealed in a televised address to Ohioans to make “once-in-a-hundred year sacrifices” to protect their neighbors — whether or not the government requires them to do so.

Alluding to the dire death tolls of the Spanish flu pandemic and the Vietnam War, he urged them to wear face coverings at all times while in public, but issued no mandate.

“Friends, this is not a drill. It certainly is not any hoax. This is not a dress rehearsal,” he said.

Businesses have been tightening precautions, with Walmart becoming the largest U.S. retailer to require customers to wear face coverings at all of its Sam’s Club and namesake stores. In Las Vegas, some casinos began limiting smoking to keep customers from removing the masks they are required to wear.

Showing that there can be a way forward, China became the first economy to resume growing since the pandemic began in its central city of Wuhan. It reported an unexpectedly strong 3.2% expansion in the latest quarter after anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened.

The 6.8% contraction in January-March was the country's worst downturn since at least the mid-1960s.

Economists say China is likely to recover faster than some other major economies due to the ruling Communist Party’s decision to impose the most intensive anti-disease measures in history. Those cut off most access to cities with a total of 60 million people and suspended trade and travel — steps later imitated by some Asian and European governments as the virus spread.

Few other countries have shown the will to impose such stringent measures to keep the virus at bay.

More than than 13.5 million people have been infected worldwide and over 580,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are thought to be far higher for a number of reasons, including limited testing.

___

Associated Press reporters around the world contributed to this report.

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MAJORCA BARS AND CLUBS POPULAR WITH FOREIGN TOURISTS ORDERED TO CLOSE

pa media 16 July 2020 - by Associated Press Reporters

© Nick Ansell A view of Punta Ballena, the main club strip in Magaluf (Nick Ansell/PA)

Authorities in Majorca have ordered the closure of bars and nightclubs in beachfront areas popular with foreign visitors.

Arguing the need to stop the spread of the coronavirus, regional authorities issued the order for all establishments along “Beer St” and “Ham St”, as the popular party areas near the beach of Palma de Mallorca are known, and another boulevard in nearby Magaluf.

The Ballearic islands’ tourism minister, Iago Negueruela, said they want to shake off their reputation as a wild party destination.

“We don’t want uncivil tourists in our islands, we don’t want them to come,” Mr Negueruela said at a press conference, announcing that the establishments should close as of Thursday until further notice.

© Provided by PA Media Authorities have closed popular beachfront areas in Palma and Magaluf (Nick Ansell/PA)

Scenes of boozy Majorca visitors ignoring social distancing rules and going without face masks went viral on social media in recent weeks and made headlines in Germany and the UK, home to many of the tourists that the islands typically court.

Spanish regional authorities are also banning straws and glasses containing more than 0.5 litres of alcoholic drinks because they want to stop them being shared by different people, as well as bar stools that might tempt party-goers to linger.

Mr Negueruela warned that authorities would take action against tourists who disregard the regulations.

“We are not going to allow this lack of control,” he said.

© Provided by PA Media (PA Graphics)

It is not the first that the popular Balearic Islands have attempted to curb binge-drinking. Earlier this year, the regional government passed a law prohibiting the organisation and promotion of pub crawls and publicising alcohol sales by means of “open bars” and “happy hours”.

They also banned the practice of jumping from hotel balconies into swimming pools, a practice known as “balconing” that has led to many injuries and several deaths.

The archipelago is trying to brand itself as a safe destination for tourists after a three-month halt on all economic activity during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 30% of the islands’ economy depends on tourism.

Spain has recorded at least 28,400 Covid-19 deaths and is grappling with dozens of fresh outbreaks after the country started to reopen last month.

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BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTER STATUE REMOVED BY BRISTOL COUNCIL

Sky News 16 July 2020 

© PA It was only there for one day after it was secretly installed on Wednesday

The statue of a Black Lives Matter protester has been taken down after it was secretly installed to replace the monument of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

Council contractors were seen removing the statue at around 5.20am on Thursday.

The life-size sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid was only in place for one day, after it was installed in secret by London artist Marc Quinn without the knowledge of city officials on Wednesday.

© PA The statue of Jen Reid was removed by council contractors on Thursday morning

Today Bristol City Council said in a statement: "This morning we removed the sculpture. It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection."

On Wednesday, Mayor Marvin Rees tweeted: "I understand people want expression, but the statue has been put up without permission. Anything put on the plinth outside of the process we've put in place will have to be removed."

Mr Quinn said he was inspired to create the sculpture of Ms Reid when he saw a picture of her standing on the empty plinth after protesters toppled the original statue of Colston and dumped it in the harbour.

The piece, which he named A Surge of Power (Jen Reid), was praised by BLM activists after Ms Reid was photographed posing in front of it making the same gesture.

She said she hoped it would be allowed to stay, adding: "I'd like the council to keep it here, because obviously of what it represents and who was there prior.

"I think the most important thing is that something is up there replacing Edward Colston. And for people to discuss, educate, learn and just keep talking about it."

© PA Jen Reid had said she hoped the council would let it stay there

But Mr Rees said whatever replaces the slaver's statue "must be decided by the people of Bristol", "tell our full history" and be subject to consultation.

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SUPREME COURT ORDERS RELEASE OF SYRIAN MAN ON TERRORISTS' LIST

in-cyprus 16 July 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

The Supreme Court in Cyprus has ruled as illegal the 16-month-long detention of a Syrian national who is on a terrorists’ list and on Wednesday ordered his immediate release.

The Court also ordered the Republic of Cyprus to find a way to deport the man who entered Cyprus through the divided island’s non-recognised northern part and cannot be deported because his country is in the midst of war.

The Syrian had applied for political asylum the day after he entered the Republic which was on February 2, 2019.

His lawyer argued that the applicant’s continued detention was in contradiction to the provisions of Article 9F (4) (a) which provides that detention should be kept as short as possible.

And that continued detention for reasons of national security, without serving a specific purpose, is illegal.

 

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DRUG DRIVER CAUGHT IN PAPHOS

Cyprus Mail 16 July 2020 - by Annette Chrysostomou

Paphos police on Thursday caught a woman driving under the influence of drugs after she drove through a red light.

Traffic police officers noticed the woman at 1am when she ran the red light on the way from Paphos to Peyia and stopped the vehicle.

The 26-year-old woman was driving without a licence while the car was not insured nor covered by road tax.

She tested positive for a preliminary drug test while another sample she gave is still being tested.

The 34-year-old passenger, the owner of the car, was booked for not wearing a seat belt and allowing the 26-year-old to drive her car without insurance.

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