Proceedings continued in Cyprus on Thursday at the District Court in the southern coastal town of Limassol where a man is being tried of allegedly planning terror attacks on Israeli tourists on the island, similar to the Hezbollah bombing in Bulgaria last year that left five Israelis dead. The 24-year-old Lebanese who holds a Swedish
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The head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus has thrown his support behind the leading opposition leader who is challenging the outgoing communist administration’s favourite in Sunday’s second round of presidential elections. Archbishop Chrysostomos II endorsed the candidacy of Democratic Rally leader, Nicos Anastasiades, saying that the country needs a strong government. “We will
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About 5,000 flag-waving protesters rallied on Wednesday against Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's re-election, saying his victory was tainted by fraud. Supporters of Sarksyan's second-placed rival Raffi Hovannisian filled Freedom Square in the center of the capital Yerevan to condemn what they said were uncounted ballots and other violations. "Are you ready to stay here long?"
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U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday, indicating the S&P 500 would extend declines after its biggest percentage drop in three months a day earlier, ahead of data on the labor and housing markets. A flurry of economic data is due, which investors will peruse for signs of economic progress, including weekly initial jobless claims
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Russia needs to create a specialised financial police force to combat illegal capital flight and monitor state spending, Alexander Bastrykin, the country's top investigator, said on Thursday. Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, appeared to be responding to concerns raised by the central bank over illegal schemes to siphon tens of billions of dollars
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Asda, the British arm of U.S. retailer Wal-Mart, said underlying sales growth had slowed in the fourth quarter of its financial year as consumers tightened spending. Britain's second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco said on Thursday that sales at stores open for more than a year, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, were up 0.1% in
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Assumptions by the global bond manager Pimco that real estate prices in Cyprus will fall off by a further 30-40% is grossly exaggerated, according to the Association of Valuers and Property Consultants. The association issued a statement saying that "projections on real estate values are rather difficult to be made given the present uncertainty in
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Above the Black Sea city of Sochi, one of Russia's richest men is spending billions of roubles to turn a patch of mountainside into a global showpiece. Metals magnate Vladimir Potanin has paid for new buildings, new lifts and hundreds of snow canons in the hope of transforming slopes not far from sub-tropical Sochi into
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French energy giant Total is expected to start drilling for natural gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean near the Cyprus coast some time in 2014, while the construction of a gas terminal should begin in early 2015. Total secured two blocks in the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone earning a license fee of about 100 mln
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Standard & Poor’s said that Cyprus faces a “substantial and rising risk” of default on its public debt, especially if the Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund do not provide the necessary bailout. Cyprus sought a bailout of nearly 17.5 bln, equal to its gross domestic product (GDP), of which about 5-8 bln euros will
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