ATTORNEY-GENERAL, Petros Clerides, yesterday refused to answer a question on whether he had authorised the issuance of a European arrest warrant for former National Guard chief Petros Tsalikidis, who had previously failed to show up before Larnaca district court in relation to last July’s blast at Mari.An arrest warrant – valid only in Cyprus – was issued for Tsalikidis after he had failed to show up for a routine referral. As a response, Larnaca court postponed the hearing until May 18. A Greek national – Tsalikidis – currently resides in Greece and his arrest warrant needs to be converted to a European arrest warrant before he can be extradited to Cyprus. ... Read on

THE Electricity Authority (EAC) is working round the clock to operate the units at the Vassilikos power plant that were almost destroyed in the Mari naval base blast last July.EAC Chairman Haris Thrassou said yesterday the two units which suffered major damage have a 300-MW capacity and would be ready to operate in June and July.“We expect to start operating unit 5, which has a capacity of 220-230MW and part of unit 4 which has a 70MW capacity, totalling 300MW, and we are also planning to import 120MW from overseas. We have already placed the order,” he said.With the additional units Thrassou said the EAC believed it could cover the high summer demand. “There is always a danger of a blackout but the danger is quite remote,” he said... 7 comments

THE SPEEDY restoration of power supply across the island in the wake of the Mari disaster was nothing short of miraculous, people with first-hand knowledge of the efforts said yesterday.“Superhuman efforts went into restoring electrical power,” said Sotos Savva, head of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus’ SEPAIK union which organised a presentation outlining the actions taken by the power utility on and after July 11.In the early morning hours of that day, a massive munitions blast at a naval base unleashed a powerful shockwave devastating the neighbouring power plant at Vasilikos In a flash, the island’s largest station was knocked out... 9 comments

THE EIGHT persons indicted in connection with last July's blast at Mari naval base are to reappear before Larnaca district court on May 18 so that they may be referred to a criminal court.The Larnaca court yesterday convened but decided to postpone the routine referral because one of the eight accused - former National Guard chief Petros Tsalikidis - did not show up.An arrest warrant has meanwhile been issued for Tsalikidis, believed to be currently residing in Greece. It will likely be converted to a European arrest warrant so that Tsalikides may be extradited to Cyprus.The Larnaca court ordered also that, once arrested, Tsalikidis remain in custody until the next hearing of May 18... 6 comments