FINAL BUILDING PERMIT ISSUED FOR EGYPT-CYPRUS ELECTRICITY INTERCONNECTION STATION

 in-cyprus 3 September 2020 - by Maria Bitar

The Republic of Cyprus has issued the final building permit for the Egypt-Cyprus electricity interconnection EuroAfrica Interconnector.

EuroAfrica Interconnector is the official project developer of the Egypt-Cyprus electricity interconnection.

According to a press release by the EuroAfrica Interconnector, the issue of the relevant permit provides the green light for the construction of the HVDC converter station, for which Siemens has been chosen as the preferred constructor.

“EuroAfrica Interconnector will be the ‘electricity highway’ that will interconnect Egypt with Europe, through Cyprus, and create an energy hub for Africa and the Arab world”, it adds.

It is recalled that already, the Planning and Housing Bureau of the Republic of Cyprus approved, since November 2019, the planning permit for the HVDC converter station with a capacity of 2,000 MW, as well as the landing points of the subsea cable that connects the electricity networks of Cyprus and Egypt with Greece through Crete and the EU.

In June 2019, the 33-year land lease agreement was signed at the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry for the construction of the HVDC converter station in Cyprus, with the project developer having the option to renew the lease for two more periods of 33 years each.

The necessary environmental, technical and other studies have already been completed and the relevant permits received from the Cypriot authorities.

The construction cost for the first phase of the Egypt-Cyprus interconnection with a transmission capacity of Stage 1 of 1,000 megawatts is estimated at €1 billion, with significant social and economic benefits for all countries involved.

The Cyprus-Crete interconnection will be commissioned by December 2023 and parallel to this, the Egypt-Cyprus electricity interconnector will be completed.

“We express our warm thanks to the Government of Egypt and for the personal support of H.E. the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi”, the press release concludes.

(CNA)

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STABBINGS AT A BUSY SPOT IN KATO PAPHOS

 Filenews 3 September 2020 - by Dora Christodoulou

A 36-year-old woman from the Philippines was working in the morning in the kitchen of a leisure centre located on the ground floor of a building complex on Othello Street in Kato Paphos, when at one point a man in a furious state stormed the premises and began hitting the unfortunate woman with a knife. It was then revealed that her 27-year-old partner, from Bangladesh, had been able to disarm and immobilize other workers and bystanders at the scene after the first shock.

The stabbing, now being investigated by police as attempted murder, alarmed the police who were informed of the incident. Members rushed to the scene, where they located the 36-year-old in a pool of blood, seriously injured, while with minor injuries to his hands the perpetrator of the stabbing was also found at the scene. It is estimated that his own injuries were caused by the eyewitnesses' attempt to immobilize him and extract his knife, saving the unfortunate woman's life.

Both were taken to Paphos Hospital by ambulances who rushed to the scene, with doctors talking about the woman's very serious condition and the man's frivolous injuries. The 36-year-old from the Philippines was detained for hospitalization in the ICU of paphos hospital.

Investigations into the causes and circumstances of the case are continuing, with the Police investigating in the first instance the possibility of personal disputes between the two foreigners.

 

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TEAM SOLD, WILLIAMS FAMILY TO LEAVE F1 AFTER ITALIAN GP

 Cyprus Mail 3 September 2020 - Reuters News Service

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams will step down after the Italian GP this weekend

Claire Williams, Formula One’s only female team boss, will step down after Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix and following the sale to U.S.-based Dorilton Capital, the former champions announced on Thursday.

Williams, officially the deputy to her 78-year-old father Frank who no longer attends races and is also leaving, effectively ran the British-based team whose sale was announced last month.

The once-dominant but now-struggling team, who have not won a grand prix since 2012 and are currently last and without a point, will continue to race under the Williams name .

The family’s departure marks the end of an era after 43 years and 739 Grands Prix.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am stepping away from my role with the team,” Claire Williams, who took over day-to-day running of the team in 2013, said in a statement.

“I had hoped to continue my tenure long into the future and to preserve the Williams family’s legacy into the next generation.”

Williams, 44, said she had taken the decision to go “in order to allow Dorilton a fresh start” and to spend more time with her family.

“It has not been an easy decision but it’s one I believe to be right for all involved,” she added.

“I have loved every minute and will be forever grateful for the opportunities it has given me. But it’s also an incredibly challenging sport and I now want to see what else the world holds for me.”

Williams, who has a two-year-old son, has spoken in the past of the responsibility she felt. Two years ago she said she wondered every day whether she was the right person to be in charge.

A champion for gender diversity in F1, Williams appointed female drivers Susie Wolff — now running the Venturi Formula E team — and W Series champion Jamie Chadwick to development roles.

Williams are the third most successful constructor in the sport’s history, with 114 wins and 16 titles, but their last championship was with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.

Founded in 1977 as Williams Grand Prix Engineering, the team were at their peak in the 1980s and 90s with champions Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Villeneuve.

“We have been in this sport for more than four decades. We are incredibly proud of our track record and the legacy we leave behind,” said Claire Williams.

“We have always been in it for the love of it, for the pure pleasure of going motor racing, so this is not a decision that we have taken lightly but after much reflection and as a family.”

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HOPES RISE THAT SOLDIERS WITH UK UNIVERSITY PLACES CAN START THIS MONTH

 Cyprus Mail 3 September 2020 - by Annette Chrysostomou

File photo of national guardsmen during an exercise

The defence ministry will decide what to do about male conscripts who face increased fees in the UK if they do not go to university until 2021 only after their exact numbers are known, defence ministry spokesman Christos Pieris said on Thursday.

The men will have to pay the higher tuition fees at UK universities because army service prevents them from starting their studies this year. In July, the UK announced that from September 2021 fees will increase substantially because of Brexit and all EU students will pay international fees instead of home fees.

Parents of the students previously said there are about 500 of them, but this includes both the ones who have already been accepted at a specific university, but deferred because of army service, and those who were only going to apply this year for a place next year.

The defence ministry is now going to find out exactly how many already had a university place.

“We are going to ask all to give us their letter of acceptance and then we will decide what to do. There may be a hundred or fifty, anyway far fewer than 500,” Pieris told the Cyprus Mail.

He explained a meeting to discuss possible measures was cut short on Wednesday in which President Nicos Anastasiades, members of the education ministry and the defence ministry took part after Anastasiades decided to determine the numbers first.

“They didn’t even discuss suggestions,” the spokesman explained. “So we don’t know if they might have to finish the army and will be given some money [to cover the increased fees] or whether they will be allowed to study now and do their service afterwards.”

This will be discussed at the next meeting which will likely be next week when the numbers are out, said Pieris.

If it is decided that the affected men can go to university now, it will leave them very little time to prepare as most English universities start at the end of September and Scottish ones even earlier.

The government announced in July students should discuss enrolling under current terms with the universities of their choice.

Though the education ministry was hoping to make a special agreement with the UK for all the roughly 500 young men concerned, the UK government said it was not in the position to make an exception for Cyprus, as it would discriminate against other EU countries.

At the time the parents asked for the students to be allowed to start studying this year and serve in the army afterwards but the defence ministry initially countered an exception could not be made for all of them, as 500 was too many a number for Cyprus’ small national guard to manage without.

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CORONAVIRUS - CABINET EXTENDS GOVERNMENT SUPPORT SCHEMES

 Cyprus Mail 3 September 2020 - by George Psyllides

The cabinet has decided to extend a number of programmes designed to mitigate the fallout of the coronavirus crisis until the end of October, Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou said on Thursday.

The measures to support workers and businesses were announced on March 16 as the island was entering a period of restrictions designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Measures in place to support the hotel industry, which was hit hard were also extended until the end of October.

The schemes provide for a 60 per cent subsidy of the hotel workers pay provided the business had seen a reduction in turnover of over 40 per cent.

The government will also continue to support activities linked to tourism and businesses, like night clubs, that remain shut because of Covid measures.

These businesses will receive government support as long as they agree not to lay off any staff until the end of the year.

Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides said the government had implemented around 60 schemes in three phases concerning five main categories: protection of workers’ income, support of vulnerable groups of the population, support of the health sector, support of borrowers, and support of businesses.

Speaking at a news conference with Emilianides, the finance minister said recession in the second quarter of the year – a  period, which saw restrictive measures and a full lockdown – rose to 11.9 per cent versus 5.5 per cent in the first quarter.

Taking into account the current data, the minister said last April’s forecast of a 7 per cent reduction in GDP remained the same despite the worst-case scenario unfolding in tourism.

Consumption in the first half of the year recorded an overall rise of 1.3 per cent year-on-year, buoyed by a 16.9 per cent increase in public consumption. Private consumption during the first six months on 2020 dropped by 2.5 per cent.

On the employment front, Petrides said, the jobless rate rose slightly to 7.1 per cent compared with 6.7 per cent last year.

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ROYAL BRITISH LEGION - CANCELLATION OF REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY SERVICE 8 NOVEMBER 2020

 

Remembrance Sunday Service 8 November 2020

 

PRESS RELEASE REGARDING CANCELLATION OF THE EVENT

It is with great sadness that the Royal British Legion, Paphos Branch BR3692, must cancel the Remembrance Sunday Service at Paphos Harbour this year. 

With the current coronavirus situation, we cannot guarantee the availability of the harbour or permission to hold such a large event. 

Safety at the event is of paramount importance, but we cannot ensure everyone's protection from the virus in such a large group. 

This is such an important event and the culmination of the Poppy Appeal, that we cannot let the day go by without a service of some kind. We are actively seeking a smaller location where the service may be held, but the number of attendees will be restricted and by invite only

To enable as many people as possible to watch the service, we intend to live stream the event. However, this is currently very much at the planning stage. We will advise everyone as soon as the details are finalised. 

We are sorry to disappoint the many loyal Remembrance Sunday attendees who support us each and every year, but the situation is out of our hands. 

We look forward to seeing you all at the 2021 service, where we will also be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Royal British Legion,

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GOV UK - CYPRUS BEREAVEMENT - DEATH ABROAD

 

Cyprus bereavement: death abroad

Information to help the family and friends of British nationals who have died in Cyprus.

Published 29 April 2014
Last updated 3 September 2020 — see all updates

From:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Documents

Bereavement information for Cyprus

ODT, 962KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Bereavement information for Cyprus north

ODT, 780KB

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Details

Includes information on:

• what to do when someone dies in Cyprus
• burial and cremation
• returning bodies to the UK (repatriation)

See also what to do when someone dies: death abroad

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GOV UK - ARRESTED IN CYPRUS?

 

Cyprus: arrested abroad

Information on the Cypriot legal and prison systems for British prisoners, their family and friends.

Published 15 March 2013
Last updated 3 September 2020 — see all updates

From:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Documents

Information pack for British prisoners in Cyprus

ODT, 102KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Information pack for British prisoners in Cyprus north

ODT, 72.6KB

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Police station detainee information pack for Cyprus

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Details

Explains how to:

• arrange visits
• send money to a prisoner
• apply for a transfer to a UK prison

See also help if you’re arrested abroad.

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GOV UK - TRANSLATORS IN CYPRUS

 

Cyprus: translators

List of English-speaking translators and interpreters for British nationals in Cyprus.

Published 15 March 2013
Last updated 3 September 2020 — see all updates

From:

Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Documents

List of translators and interpreters in Cyprus

ODT, 41KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Details

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not accept any liability to any person or company for any financial loss or damage arising from the use of this information or from any failure to give information.

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CORONAVIRUS - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MARKET AND A FAIR?

Thank you to Anita Hopkins, In Any Event for the following:

From  Filippos Georgiades, Environmental Health Officer

I would like to inform you with regards to the operation of Fairs and Markets amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to clarify the difference between a Fair and a Market.

A Fair is seen as a Festival for the purpose of the Law, covering measures against the spread of COVID-19, and is therefore prohibited (presently banned).

Markets are defined as places where stallholders sell items. No other activities take place at any of these Markets.

Markets are allowed to operate under the conditions and rules laid out in the guidance instructions published by the Ministry of Health. These are available (in the Greek language only) at the following website: https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/pdf/erg18.pdf

Please note that the instructions refer to Markets that operate Legally under the permit of Local Authorities. The main rules for their operation under the measures against the spread of COVID-19 are as follows:

- Permit required from the local authority [Paphos District Office]

-The Markets shall operate at no more than 50% of their capacity.

-The entrances shall be controlled and no more than one person per 8m3 shall be allowed within the Market.

-Customers shall maintain a distance of 2m from each other and for this purpose there should be suitable placing of signs on each stall.

-There shall be suitable containers with antiseptic liquid/gel placed at the entrances and exits of each Market, at each separate stall, and at the toilets (wherever applicable), for use by the customers visiting the Market.

-Food that is consumed without washing or cooking (e.g. nuts) shall be offered for sale only in a packaged form.

-All persons selling food or any other items at each stall, and all persons working at the Market, shall wear a suitable face mask. Face masks are compulsory also for customers only if the Market is an Indoors Market.

-Diligent and frequent cleaning and disinfection of objects of common use in particular, and generally of all spaces.

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