THERE ARE great grounds for DISY and DIKO to agree on a joint government programme for next year’s presidential elections, the main opposition party’s spokesman said yesterday.Speaking the day after the leadership of the two parties met to discuss the elections, DISY’s Harris Georgiades was slightly more optimistic of a partnership than his DIKO counterpart, who strongly hinted his party could put up a candidate of its own. “I don’t know if it will be the first round, the second round or if there will even be collaboration in the end,” Georgiades told the CyBC. “I don’t want to create expectations that aren’t related to reality... 3 comments

APOEL’s Champions League triumph on Wednesday night lifted the mood, for a few hours at least, of a country that is going through very difficult times. It was no wonder that the main story on all of yesterday’s television and radio news shows was APOEL’s heroic, penalty shoot-out victory over Lyon, a victory that took tiny Cyprus’ champions to the last eight of Europe’s top club competition... 7 comments

WE ARE happy to report some positive news to lift the mood of doom and gloom that has been plaguing life on the sunshine isle, if only for a few seconds.The countdown for the departure of comrade Tof from office has begun. There is now just one year left before he steps down or is voted out of office. Every month, from now on, will be the last under the comrade’s disastrously inept, people-friendly regime. On Thursday we enter the last March under a commie president and even though there is still a hell of a lot of harm he can cause the country in the remaining 12 months, the end of our five-year ordeal is now in sight. And you can endure much more suffering and pain when the end is in sight... 13 comments

BY PASSING a law excluding the commerce minister from negotiating gas deals, parliament has downgraded what is a supremely political matter, the government said yesterday.Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday said he hoped the new law didn’t affect the second round of licensing for offshore explorations, which was announced earlier this month.“We hope it doesn’t; we can’t know for sure,” said Stefanou. “But one would wonder if there could be more problems, when a country or company is interested in exploring for hydrocarbons, with Turkey’s threats, stance and actions to prevent countries from showing an interest in the second round of licensing looming in the background... 7 comments

DEPUTIES at Tuesday’s meeting of the House Education Committee were united in praising the Cyprus University’s plan to set up a medical school. “A dream is becoming a reality,” said an AKEL deputy, while a DIKO member described Tuesday as a “historic day” because the discussion of the bill for the medical school had begun. ... 5 comments

GREECE’S New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras concluded his three-day visit to the island yesterday, after meeting the leaderships of political parties DIKO, EVROKO and the Greens.Samaras talked about the Cyprus problem, the economy and natural gas with the party leaders, while he was assured that Cyprus would stand by Greece’s side during its difficult financial condition.During his three day visit, Samaras met several politicians and influential figures of the island, including President Demetris Christofias, DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades, Archbishop Chrysostomos II and AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou.Before departing for Athens in the afternoon, the prime ministerial hopeful also visited the Greek army contingent (ELDYK) camp in Malounda... 2 comments

THE FIRST ever visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to Cyprus this week sealed a remarkable change in the two countries' relations, a symptom of the recent upheaval in the region which knocked traditional alliances off their feet. Despite the turbulence of the Arab Spring and Turkey's efforts to emerge as its guiding light, the discovery of significant amounts of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean has made Israel and Cyprus see enhanced relations as less of a symptom and more of a cure. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's one-day visit on Thursday answered a number of questions, while opening the door to dozens more. Is Israel serious about improving relations with Cyprus? Yes... 6 comments

POLITICIANS yesterday hailed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit on Thursday as one of vast importance for collaboration between the two countries.Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said President Demetris Christofias and the Israeli PM had made specific plans for energy collaboration, as well as cooperation on security – especially following Turkish threats to Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)... 6 comments

 IT HAS become an annual February tradition for the taxpayer to fork out a few tens of millions of euro to save a state-owned airline.In 2010, we generously gave €35 million to Eurocypria, which closed down before the year was out. Last year we kindly offered Cyprus Airways €25 million in compensation to supposedly cover the losses it had been incurring because it could not fly through Turkish air-space.And this year we are looking at a donation of between €20 and €30 million (nobody has mentioned a figure yet) in the form of a capital increase. The pretence the cash injection is not a state subsidy must be maintained if we are to fool the EU. ... 12 comments