Author:  Alexia Saoulli TV PRESENTER Elena Skordelli, her brother Tasos Krasopoulis and Andreas Gregoriou were yesterday all referred to the Assize Court for direct trial for last month’s premeditated murder of media boss Andis Hadjicostis. Despite objections by the defence lawyers of the accused, Nicosia district judge Charalambos Charalambous ruled that there was a prosecutable case against the trio and that they were to ... Full story

Author:  George Psyllides THE GOVERNMENT, along with the European Union are allocating €4 million as part of a new plan to bolster employment, it was announced yesterday. The new plan of business subsidies should be up and running by next month, Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous said yesterday. “The timeframe is for the plan to run within the first 15 days of March … so ... Full story

Author:  Stefanos Evripidou PARLIAMENT WILL look into the Town Planning Department’s decision to grant permission for a “huge” new church next to 500-year-old Ayia Paraskevi Church in Strovolos, said DISY deputy Christos Stylianides yesterday. Plans to build the new church have met stiff opposition from local residents and environmental groups who argue that the “huge luxurious church” will dwarf the historic Ayia Paraskevi Church. ... Full story

Author:  Helen Christophi OMBUDSWOMAN Iliana Nicolaou and the New Theatre Group are putting on a play to combat discrimination toward migrants, which has been growing in Cyprus in recent years due  the “cultural upheaval. The play, which was written by Andrea Koukkidou and directed by Fotos Fotiadis, premiers at 8.30pm on February 17 at the Pallas Theatre in Nicosia Full story

Author:  Sebastian Heller THE TURKISH Cypriot side has twice as many foreign students as college and universities in the south and more needs to be done to reverse the trend, senior staff from the University of Nicosia said yesterday. According to Dean Nicos Peristianis, there are two main universities in the north, the University of the Eastern Mediterranean in Famagusta and the Near East ... Full story

Author:  Stefanos Evripidou UNCERTAINTY REIGNS over the future of the government coalition with the domestic political front showing signs of disarray in the wake of the UN Secretary-General’s visit and the conclusion of the intensified negotiations. Following President Demetris Christofias’ briefing of the National Council on Friday, rumblings are once again being heard among government partners DIKO and EDEK regarding their potential departure from ... Full story

Author:  Patroclos EVERYONE appeared to be pulling fast ones and setting traps before, during and after Ban Ki-moon’s much-hyped visit to the island of martyrdom and victimhood. But what do you expect when the hastily-arranged visit itself was declared a diplomatic scam by several of our conspiracy-busting hacks and politicos. It was allegedly set up by the devious Big Al and the Yank at ... Full story

Author:  Stefanos Evripidou A GROUP of historians and educators from across the divide yesterday celebrated the start of renovation work on the first civil society home to straddle the buffer zone. The inter-communal Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) has spent three years fund-raising and lobbying to get all the permits, contracts of sale and general support needed to turn the run down ... Full story

LAST WEEK we had expressed the hope that, failing all else, the UN Secretary-General’s presence in Cyprus would at least help instill a sense of urgency in the very slow-moving peace process. Although Ban Ki-moon received assurances from President Christofias that he would propose a framework for the continuation of the negotiations until the end of March, the latter made no commitment to more ... Full story

Author:  Stefanos Evripidou GLOOM PREVAILED among party leaders yesterday after being briefed at the National Council meeting on the latest developments in the Cyprus problem, with calls even made for the head of UN Special Adviser Alexander Downer. The Greens and EVROKO called on Downer to step down, while DIKO leader Marios Garoyian accused the Australian diplomat of operating beyond his mandate Full story