PAPHOS MAYOR LOOKS TO ATTRACT AMERICAN TECH COMPANIES

 Cyprus Mail 5 September 2020 - by Kyriacos Nicolaou

Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos this week met American ambassador Judith Garber to discuss attracting high tech and other innovative companies to the town, with the mayor providing information on pertinent projects that the city is in the process of implementing.

These projects aim to transform Paphos into a smart and digital city, and became the launchpoint for the discussion between the two parties on how American companies can become involved, both in terms of the bidding process for projects that have yet to start, and also in terms of convincing these companies to set up shop in the city.

Garber and Phedonos visited a prominent building at Kennedy Square in Old Town Paphos that is being renovated and refurbished, internally and externally, so that it can become capable of being used by a technology or otherwise innovation-driven company.

They also visited the Pafos Innovation Institute where the ambassador was shown around the facilities and informed about the operation and programmes of the institute.

Garber said she was impressed by the work being carried out by the Paphos municipality, particularly when it comes to innovation and technology, but also in education. She also expressed her and the US embassy’s support.

Although Garber’s educational background is rooted in Economics, she is no stranger to matters of science and technology. In parallel to her role as the US Ambassador to Cyprus, Garber is also the Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Environment and Science at the Department of State.

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AKROTIRI SALT LAKE HAS POTENTIAL TO HOST FIRST GREATER FLAMINGO BREEDING COLONY IN CYPRUS

 Cyprus Mail 5 September 2020 - by Staff Reporter

Photo: A Stoecker

Although this year’s promising nesting attempt has been abandoned, BirdLife Cyprus is optimistic that given the right conditions Akrotiri Salt Lake has the potential to host the first Greater Flamingo breeding colony in Cyprus.

Several attempts have made during wetter years raising hopes that just like Agios Mamas in Greece’s Chalkidiki, Greater Flamingos will breed here.

According to the NGO, around 200 nesting mounds were recorded at Akrotiri Salt Lake this summer, more than in earlier breeding attempts, but unfortunately, this promising colony was once again abandoned.

The Greater Flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus, is the largest of the world’s six species of flamingo and is found in the Mediterranean, West, East, and South Africa and South and Southwest Asia.

BirdLife Cyprus notes that they are nomadic and disperse widely, traveling long distances in search of good habitat: shallow brackish or salt-water lakes.

In Cyprus, the Greater Flamingo is a common winter visitor at Akrotiri and Larnaca Salt Lakes, with birds also recorded on passage.

Their numbers and how long they spend here vary according to fluctuations in rainfall and hence the water levels in the salt lakes.

Flamingo nest mounds and egg at Akrotiri Salt Lake (Photo Christina Ieronymidou)

In the winter months, thousands of flamingos can be found in large flocks in the salt lakes and in years with wet winters, some flamingos spend the summer in Cyprus too.

The plentiful rains of the past two years led to high water levels at the salt lakes throughout the summer, and a large number of flamingos in the summer months.

Conditions at Akrotiri Salt Lake during the summers of 2019 and 2020 were such that some of the flamingos even attempted to breed there, the NGO added.

Usually, the majority of the flamingos that stay in Cyprus over the summer months are immature birds, so breeding attempts are unusual here.

The first time that there was a suspicion that Greater Flamingo was breeding in Cyprus was in 2001, another year of heavy rainfall. Two years after that, in summer 2003, a few deserted Flamingo nesting mounds were discovered at Akrotiri Salt Lake. In 2005, there was another breeding attempt at Akrotiri, this time with evidence that some Flamingos had managed to lay eggs. Unfortunately, the 2005 colony was also abandoned, as the water levels rapidly declined.

Following a few years of low to average rainfall, the water levels at Akrotiri Salt Lake seemed appropriate for another nesting attempt in 2012, which unfortunately started late in the season and didn’t get very far, BirdLife Cyprus said.

Last year, good water levels allowed flamingos to spend the whole year at Akrotiri Salt Lake in large numbers, and they once again attempted to nest.

During the NGO’s wetland surveys, carried out in collaboration with the Game and Fauna Service, nesting mounds were found at three different locations, along with remains of eggs, but unfortunately no hatchlings were seen.

And this summer, around 200 nesting mounds were recorded at Akrotiri Salt Lake, more than in earlier breeding attempts. “Unfortunately, however, this promising colony was once again abandoned,” BirdLife Cyprus said.

“It is clear that Akrotiri Salt Lake could have the potential to host the first Greater Flamingo breeding colony in Cyprus, given the right conditions. In Greece, 2020 marked the first successful breeding of the species at the wetland of Agios Mamas in Chalkidiki, following a number of nesting attempts at other sites in previous years. So it is not beyond the realms of possibility that future flamingo nesting attempts at Akrotiri Salt Lake could lead to success. Yet another reason to effectively protect and properly manage this rich and delicate ecosystem,” it concluded.

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MET OPERA ONLINE - W/c 7 September

 

During this extraordinary and difficult time, the Met hopes to brighten the lives of our audience members even while our stage is dark. Each day, a different encore presentation from the company’s Live in HD series is being made available for free streaming on the Met website, with each performance available for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 6:30 p.m. the following day. The schedule will include outstanding complete performances from the past 14 years of cinema transmissions, starring all of opera’s greatest singers.

The streams are also available through the Met Opera on Demand apps for Apple, Amazon, and Roku devices and Samsung Smart TV. To access them without logging in, click “Browse and Preview” in the apps for connected TV, and “Explore the App” on tablets and mobile devices.

Week 26 (French Week)

Supplementary content—including synopses, articles, and more—is available here.

Monday, September 7
Massenet’s Manon
Starring Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczała, Paulo Szot, and David Pittsinger, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From April 7, 2012.

Tuesday, September 8
Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
Starring Diana Damrau, Vittorio Grigolo, Elliot Madore, and Mikhail Petrenko, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. From January 21, 2017.

Wednesday, September 9
Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust
Starring Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, and John Relyea, conducted by James Levine. From November 22, 2008.

Thursday, September 10
Massenet’s Cendrillon
Starring Kathleen Kim, Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote, Stephanie Blythe, and Laurent Naouri, conducted by Bertrand de Billy. From April 28, 2018.

Friday, September 11
Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles
Starring Diana Damrau, Matthew Polenzani, Mariusz Kwiecień, and Nicolas Testé, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. From January 16, 2016.

Saturday, September 12
Berlioz’s Les Troyens
Starring Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Karen Cargill, Bryan Hymel, Eric Cutler, Dwayne Croft, and Kwangchul Youn, conducted by Fabio Luisi. From January 5, 2013.

Sunday, September 13
Massenet’s Werther
Starring Lisette Oropesa, Sophie Koch, Jonas Kaufmann, David Bižić, and Jonathan Summers, conducted by Alain Altinoglu. From March 15, 2014.

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BRITISH NEWSPAPERS DISTRIBUTION HIT BY EXTINCTION REBELLION BLOCKADE

 in-cyprus 5 September 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

The distribution of several British newspapers was disrupted on Saturday after Extinction Rebellion climate change activists blockaded printing presses used by Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, the publisher of The Times and The Sun.

The group said late on Friday that nearly 80 people had blocked roads leading to two printworks, at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, north east of London, and at Knowsley, near Liverpool.

Hertfordshire police said they had made 42 arrests, while Merseyside police said they had made 21.

The Murdoch-owned Newsprinters works also print the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times.

Extinction Rebellion said it took the action to highlight what it regards as the newspapers’ failure to accurately report on climate change.

The protests, which continued through to Saturday, were condemned by interior minister Priti Patel.

“This morning people across the country will be prevented from reading their newspaper because of the actions of Extinction Rebellion,” she said on Twitter.

“This attack on our free press, society and democracy is completely unacceptable.”

A Newsprinters spokeswoman said the disruption meant printing had to be transferred to other sites.

“We apologise sincerely to any readers of The Sun, The Times, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times who may be unable to buy their usual newspaper this morning due to late deliveries,” she said.

“This attack on all of the free press impacted many workers going about their jobs. Overnight print workers, delivery drivers, wholesale workers and retail newsagents have faced delays and financial penalty. This is a matter for the Police and the Home Office.”

The blockade is part of a week of protests by Extinction Rebellion, including on Wednesday in Parliament Square where demonstrators lay under white sheets to represent corpses.

The group says an emergency response and mass move away from polluting industries and behaviours is needed to avert a looming climate cataclysm.

It said it plans further protests in central London on Saturday. (Reuters)

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EU's MICHEL SAYS RELOCATION NO SILVER BULLET TO MIGRATION FEUDS

 in-cyprus 5 September 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

Europe must improve migration procedures on its external borders, seal more deals with foreign countries and synchronise asylum policies in the bloc before it tackles the thorny issue of hosting asylum seekers, a top EU official said on Friday.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs summits of EU leaders, spoke to Reuters and five other European news agencies as the bloc prepares to have a fresh go at reforming its troubled asylum laws.

The system all but collapsed amidst a surge in arrivals of those fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa with more than a million people reaching the EU in 2015. This fuelled support for eurosceptic and nationalist groups, as well as contributing to Brexit.

“It’s not easy, it’s a difficult question and a difficult topic,” Michel said. “Let’s start with some initiatives which will help us be more efficient and maybe decrease political sensitivity of some other topics.”

By the latter, he meant deep rifts among the 27 EU countries over how to care for refugees and migrants.

Under the EU’s now-defunct rules, the southern states of arrival like Italy, Malta or Greece are responsible but they were quickly overwhelmed at the height of the sea arrivals season.

Countries opposed to immigration, such as Poland and Hungary, as well as Austria, however, refuse to help by hosting some of those people.

Years of such disputes damaged the EU’s cohesion, as well as leading it to tighten its external borders and asylum policies.

That has cut the numbers crossing the Mediterranean on unsafe dinghies but also drawn fire from rights groups over drownings and “Fortress Europe” denying help to those in need.

The bloc’s executive now wants overhaul of EU asylum law.

Sources told Reuters the proposal would still include obligatory relocation of asylum seekers among all member states at times of major immigration spikes, the element previously vehemently rejected by several states.

While the Commission’s proposal is expected at the end of September at the earliest, Michel said member states should first work more on external borders and clinching deals with foreign capitals under which the EU offers money and assistance in exchange for them hosting migrants and refugees rather than letting them embark for Europe.

Michel also proposed convergence of asylum benefits across the EU, where rich countries like Germany and Sweden are the most desired destinations, which contributes to uneven distribution of people across the bloc.

“Mandatory relocation is not the alpha and omega of the migration discussion. These threee points are more important,” he said.

Germany, which now holds the EU’s rotating presidency, hopes to get before the end of the year a “political road map” for a future deal to end rows over migration at a time when the EU faces challenges in its ties with Russia, China, Turkey and the United States.

Stressing how tall an order that would be, a senior EU diplomat told Reuters: “We are very far away from any sort of consensus. For different political reasons, the matter is still completely poisonous.” (Reuters)

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ORANGE WEATHER WARNING ISSUED FOR SATURDAY

 Cyprus Mail 5 September 2020 - by Evie Andreou

The met office on Saturday issued an orange warning for extreme high temperatures.

According to the announcement, the temperature is expected to reach 42 degrees Celsius inland and around 35C in the higher mountainous areas.

The warning concerns the period between 12 noon and 5pm.

Temperature is expected to gradually drop until Monday. On Tuesday, as slight rise in temperature is expected.

 

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HEALTH DEPARTMENT APPEAL AFTER ONE PERSON HAD SYMPTOMS FOR DAYS

 Filenews 5 September 2020

A re-appeal, in response to a positive incident announced on Friday, which had symptoms for days prior to the laboratory examination, is addressed by the Ministry of Health, to all citizens to contact their Personal Physician as soon as they experience the symptomatology of the coronavirus, for further investigation.

As highlighted in the communication, the delay in seeking medical assistance carries a risk of transmission of the virus and contamination of other people from the family, social and professional environment of the individual and, by extension, spread of the virus in the community.

It is noted that any citizen who presents COVID-19 symptomatology must at the same time terminate all his social contacts and activities and remain in self-isolation, strictly following the instructions of the Doctor's Staff.

Source: eyenews

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LARGE PERCENTAGE OF DOMESTIC TRANSMISSION OF CORONAVIRUS

 in-cyprus 5 September 2020

New data on the course of the virus in Cyprus was provided on Saturday by the Ministry of Health. The total number of cases is 1498, while 28 deaths were recorded, of which 21 had a final cause of death in COVID-19.

According to the data, 500 cases of coronavirus have been recorded since 1 July, most of them involving domestic infections.

In detail, 283 domestic transfer incidents, 188 cases with travel history and 29 cases of unknown origin have been recorded.

In terms of the median age of cases, it amounts to 30 years while 80% of cases are aged 18-59 years. Also, 53% are men and 47% are women.

Since 1 July, there have been 26 hospital admissions, of which 14 have been discharged.

At the same time, two imports into ICU were made.

Source: eyenews

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BIG BROTHER FOR DIGITAL AND 5G

 Filenews 5 September 2020 - by Petros Theoharidis

State-of-the-art monitoring system for all radio broadcasts, their sources and technical parameters, automatically identifying which of them are legal and which are not, as well as interference analysis, including new digital and future types of radio broadcasts, such as 5G, is soon acquired by Cyprus.

The system will record all emissions in the range from 9 KH2 to 6 GH2, i.e. virtually the entire spectrum in which radio frequency transmission can be made. It will supervise compliance with the legislation in relation to spectrum in Cyprus, but will also identify sources and characteristics of interference at a distance of up to hundreds of kilometers outside Cyprus, since often the fact that Cyprus is an island and surrounded by sea creates various phenomena in radio broadcasts and radio communications.

As announced yesterday, by launching a tender, the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, through the Electronic Communications Department of the Ministry of Digital Policy, wishes to replace the existing national radio frequency surveillance system of the national radio frequency spectrum management and surveillance system (ESDEF) in order to continue to effectively manage existing radio communications and to ensure the availability of a clean (free from interference) spectrum of radio frequencies to new radio frequency services and infrastructures in Cyprus.

The existing system installed in 2008 is now considered technically exhausted after 12 years of operation, but also outdated since it does not cover new technologies and emission standards mainly of new digital technologies.

The cost of the new advanced system, including ten years of maintenance, is estimated at €9m.

The new monitoring system for all radio broadcasts will consist of four existing fixed monitoring stations, which will be upgraded with new antennas, computer systems and software, while another one will be added, i.e. there will be a total of five ground stations that will have infrastructure when necessary and will also be staffed, i.e. staffed.

The system will also have two mobile surveillance stations, one in a 4X4 SUV and one in a 4X4 VAN vehicle.

Under the microscope radio transmitters 24 hours a day

All stations will be connected 24 hours a day to the Management and Supervision Center at the offices of the Department of Electronic Communications, which will be modernized with new sophisticated systems for recording data, detecting violations and illegalities or interference.

The system will be able to accurately detect a building or neighbourhood anywhere in Cyprus if there is a source of radio broadcasts.

In the four existing stations (Koroni, Endealos, Kakomallis, Dense), as well as in the new one to be built northwest of Cyprus, monitoring and radio angle measurement equipment will be installed, so that the operator can quickly identify and detect the emission from any source.

Mobile stations will also be able to detect emissions and their parameters even in motion, i.e. while the vehicle will be moving on and off roads, and will even be able to detect relatively low emission sources. They will perform all these functions and measurements, which cannot be performed by fixed stations either because of the morphology of the ground or because of low signal emission power.

The operator over the network will use these computers to perform the required measurements of user detection, frequency and spectrum, signal parameter measurement, real-time signal analysis, radio cornering, triangulation and position detection of the emission reflected in digital maps, analysis, recognition, signal deformation, signal evaluation, analog and digital audio recording.

Tv signals will also be de-coded, TV signal parameters analysed and the data obtained from the measurements will be automatically compared with the licensed broadcast data.

This means that, inter alia, a radio, television and other radio transmitter, e.g. mobile telephony, broadcasting with a power beyond the approved one, will be detected immediately.

The new system will also be able to analyse digital signals in real time to detect interference from analogue to digital broadcasts as well as signal processing of recent and new technologies.

The maps, on fixed and laptop screens, will depict at least 1,500 km around Cyprus in all directions, so that operators immediately know the emission source inside and outside Cyprus.

Emission technologies recognised and analysed by the new system include the identification of signal quality indicators in broadband broadcasts, including those via 4G, 5G, Bluetooth, TETRA, Wi-Fi, etc. networks with automatic decoding procedures for these signals.

On-board units

The self-propelled units will be two and one will be installed on a VAN vehicle with four-wheel drive while for reasons of greater safety and stability, the rear axle will have dual wheels.

The second will be suv type (or double-car), also with four-wheel drive. They will, among other things, make measurements of ten different parameters in 5G emissions.

Already, according to information from "F", interest has been shown by the largest international companies that manufacture such equipment, and it should be noted that the Department of Electronic Communications asks that the system be delivered by turnkey, with single equipment, in which case basic equipment and software from different companies (puzzle type) are discarded.

Special strict provisions are provided for both station security and the whole system, even in the event of cyber attacks.

With special provision, the Department of Electronic Communications makes it clear that it is "not interested in de-forming or decoding military applications or military communications or encrypted communications" and the contractor should take such measures that the algorithms it will introduce into the system, either initially or in the future, do not involve military applications.

 

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S&P CREDIT RATING FOR CYPRUS CONFIRMS ECONOMY'S RATIONAL MANAGEMENT - FinMin

 in-cyprus 5 September 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

Standard & Poor’s latest credit rating for Cyprus is a confirmation of the rational management of the economy and public finances by the Government despite the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is what Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides said in a written statement on Saturday, following Friday’s announcement by S&P’s Global Ratings affirming its `BBB-/A-3` long-and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit rating Cyprus, with a stable outlook.

The Minister underlined the importance of the affirmation of the Mediterranean island’s rating, despite the fact that the economy is in the midst of the negative effects of Covid-19.

“The rating is a confirmation of the rational management of the economy and public finances by the Government, which is the key to ensuring macroeconomic stability and fiscal sustainability,” he said.

“The key factors that have contributed to the strong confidence in the Cypriot economy are the Government`s permanent commitment to maintain budgetary surpluses, the trend of reducing public debt, the persistent efforts to consolidate the banking sector, as well as the management of the public debt and securing strong cash reserves by the State,” he added.

Petrides also noted that especially under the difficult conditions in the world economy and in the international markets due to the crisis of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic challenges, the Ministry of Finance remains committed to maintaining the credibility of the Cypriot economy.

Standard & Poor’s report expressed the view that Cyprus’ eurozone membership, strong cash position, solid growth prospects, and historically prudent fiscal policies will mitigate the Covid-19 impacts on its creditworthiness.

The report points out that authorities are implementing measures to curb the spread of the virus, while safeguarding incomes and shielding businesses from a temporary, albeit critical, liquidity shock.

It adds, however, that Covid-19 fallout has pushed Cyprus’ tourism-dependent economy into a severe recession and prompted a large deficit in 2020 and estimates that GDP will contract by 7.3% in 2020 before recovering by 5.5% in 2021.

According to S&P the stable outlook captures our view of Cyprus’ solid long-term growth prospects, improving public debt dynamics and track record of running budgetary surpluses against high stocks of public and private debt.

The agency considers, however, the inherent vulnerability of the country`s small open economy, given its large tourism sector and exposure to external shocks, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We could consider raising the ratings on Cyprus if the banking sector materially reduced its nonperforming exposures (NPEs) and financial conditions improved, alongside faster-than-expected deleveraging in the economy or stronger external performance”, says the report.

Alternatively, it adds, ratings downside could stem from markedly lower-than-projected economic growth in the coming years, impeding private debt servicing and financial sector improvements. A negative rating action could also occur if, contrary to our expectations, fiscal performance does not improve and the general government debt burden rises substantially.

The ratings S&P notes, are underpinned by Cyprus` wealthy economy and solid growth prospects, teamed with policymakers` commitment to operating budgetary surpluses and progress restoring the banking sector`s health.

“We believe that EU membership supports Cyprus` creditworthiness, particularly favourable decisions taken at both the level of the EU and the European Central Bank (ECB) in recent months”, it notes.

While public debt remains high, it points out, proactive debt management has considerably improved the country`s public debt profile, as have the highly supportive monetary policies introduced by the ECB since 2012. Furthermore, it is added, authorities hold significant cash buffers, at least equivalent to nine months of financing needs, reducing short-term refinancing risk.

Rating constraints–which S&P expects will be amplified by COVID-19 impacts–include Cyprus` elevated stocks of public and private debt and the still-high proportion of NPEs in the banking system.

Moreover, the report noted that Cyprus is more vulnerable to external shocks than larger, more diversified economies, because of the country`s small open economy with an important tourism sector, and despite having a fairly diversified services sector, including contributions from professional services, information, communication, finance, and insurance activities.

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