Teacher unions on Friday rejected a government compromise proposal that left room for controversial cabinet decisions, which had triggered a row, to be amended, as Education Minister Costas Hambiaouris appealed for the rhetoric to be toned down and intensified talks to resolve the problems.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the three unions rejected the proposal during a joint meeting of the House education and labour committees.

The unions said there was no question of discussion as long as the government decisions were in place.

On Thursday, President Nicos Anastasiades said he was prepared to amend a July 4 decision that irked teachers and led to protests, provided it was warranted, amid an intensive dialogue based on a compromise proposal tabled on August 23 that had already been rejected by the teachers.

Following its rejection, the August 23 proposals were withdrawn and the government implemented the ones it had taken the previous month.

The spat has threatened to disrupt the smooth opening and operation of schools.

Speaking after the session, Hambiaouris said there was a need to tone down the rhetoric “and enter an intensive dialogue to enable schools to open under the best conditions.

The minister said the way out was the proposal tabled by the president on Wednesday “which I think all sides must adopt.”

He said it contained very positive elements that could resolve differences and urged unions to have second thoughts.

The unions did not make any statements after the meeting.

During the meeting, House President Demetris Syllouris expelled the deputy chairman of the secondary education teachers’ union, Oelmek, after he posted an offensive comment about the auditor-general on his Facebook page.

Pantelis Nicolaides, known for his militant manner, posted that the auditor was talking “nonsense” and “bullshit.”

“Auditor-general talking nonsense in parliament now. Positions devoid of any scientific backing. Bullshit.”

Following his expulsion, the educator removed the two offensive words.

The crux of the matter are the July 4 cabinet decisions, which include hiring about half the teachers needed according to the pupil numbers.

The cabinet decided to hire some 160 teachers while the other positions will be covered by reducing the number of exemptions teachers and union brass used to get.

For instance, form teachers had their ‘free’ periods cut to one from two, and there was also a reduction in teaching periods dropped according to years of service.

Under the current system, primary school teachers have their periods cut by two to 27 after 15 years, and to 25 after 21 years.

They also provided that union officials would be obliged to teach and conduct union work outside school hours.

On August 23, following three hours of consultation with the unions, the government submitted an improved proposal providing that two officials from each of the three unions would carry on being completely exempt from teaching.

The proposals still included a reduction in the teaching exemption hours for a form teacher from two to one.

At the same time, absence record-keeping would be undertaken by the school administrations.

The reduction of teaching periods according to years of service also remained.

The lost period would be compensated by an incremental pay rise.

An early retirement scheme was also proposed for teachers in secondary education who are 60 and above and primary school educators who are 58 and above. Their incentive would be to keep a 12 per cent penalty for early retirees that is in place at the moment.

By Kristian Chrysostomou

Friday saw the first of a series of protests expected to take place in the north due to the economic crisis as Turkish Cypriots immobilised their vehicles outside ‘government’ offices, expressing their frustration over the rise in fuel prices.

The demonstration was organised by drivers of taxis, buses, and private cars protesting against the effects the drop in the Turkish lira was having on their livelihoods.

The call to protest went out through Facebook and was supported by the association of Turkish Cypriot drivers. It took place in front of the Turkish Cypriot’s ‘prime minister’s’ office, with reports saying demonstrators threw cucumbers at the building.

Cars parked in front of the office and in the middle of the road caused a jam. The protestors shouted slogans and called for the ‘prime minister’ to “turn off the air conditioner and come outside”.

A similar protest took place in Famagusta, according to Turkish Cypriot media, but drivers were given fines for obstructing traffic.

Turkish Cypriot daily Kibirs reported on Friday that the economic crisis had created chaos and caused unprecedented support for the unions, which say that the measures announced by the ‘government’ are insufficient.

People are furious because of the successive price increases, the paper adds, and as of Friday a series of protests and strikes would begin and continue into the coming week.

On Monday the Turkish Cypriot secondary school teachers’ trade union (KTOEOS) said they would stage a protest, threatening an indefinite strike.

The Trade Union Platform will meet with the ‘prime minister’ on September 4 in order to submit its economic and political proposals, and has scheduled a protest march for September 6.

Another protest was announced by the union of livestock producers and breeders for September 5.

Meanwhile, public sector unions in the north have lifted their work-to-rule measure after striking a deal on overtime pay.  The industrial action had caused numerous problems in recent days, especially in the health and commerce sectors.

Unions had applied the measure after the administration cut overtime pay as part of an austerity drive to tackle the effects of the crisis.

Reports said the two sides agreed for overtime to be restored based on pay scales but with a 15 per cent reduction across the board until the end of the year.

It was not immediately known whether their scheduled demonstrations planned for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, would now go ahead.

Daily Kibris also reported on Friday that freight ships remained anchored off the northern coast while trucks full of food and other items remained at Mersin, Turkey. Perishables ‘trapped’ at Kyrenia ‘customs department’ were also at risk, Kibris said.

Business organisations in the north have warned that if everybody did not make the necessary sacrifices, the north would end up facing a much bigger crisis with even worse consequences. Turgay Deniz, chairman of the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce, expressed the hope that everybody would cooperate.

Cyprus will be among 22 countries that will present arguments before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week in a dispute between the UK and Mauritius which is claiming a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean held by the former colonial ruler.

Mauritius declared independence in 1968 and argues that it was illegal for Britain to break up its territory while still under colonial rule.

In what is described as a diplomatic blow to Britain last year, the UN adopted a resolution presented by Mauritius and backed by African countries, asking the ICJ to offer an advisory opinion on the Chagos islands’ fate.

Starting Monday, 22 countries including Cyprus, also a former colony with a similar issue, will present their arguments before the ICJ.

“Very serious matters of principle are being raised, which affect and concern all cases in general where something similar happened,” Attorney-general Costas Clerides, who will represent Cyprus at the ICJ, told state television.

Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960 but the former colonial ruler retained around 3 per cent of the island’s territory for use as military bases.

The ICJ will decide whether the break up of Mauritius’ territory was lawful according to international law.

How a potentially favourable ruling for Mauritius would be used was up to the government, Clerides added.

“This is a matter of a political decision,” he said. “Any country can use such a ruling any way it thinks best.”

Mauritius argues that London “unlawfully dismembered” its territory by declaring the Chagos Island group a “British Indian Ocean Territory”, thereby reducing Mauritius in size.

In the early 1970s, Britain also resettled the archipelago’s residents — some 2,000 in total — on Mauritius and Seychelles to house a US military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia.

Mauritius claims that it has received threats from London over the dispute.

“We have had verbal threats,” said the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, in an interview with BBC News.

According to the BBC, Jugnauth did not dispute a report that Britain’s former foreign secretary Boris Johnson had called him personally to pressure Mauritius to back down on its demand that the islands be returned.

“Unfortunately, we have been threatened with retaliation… on issues of trade and on issues of investment, you know, and on our relationship with the UK,” Jugnauth added.

A British Foreign Office spokeswoman told the BBC they were disappointed that Mauritius took a bilateral dispute to the ICJ.

“This is an inappropriate use of the ICJ Advisory Opinion mechanism and sets a dangerous precedent for other bilateral disputes. While we do not recognise the Republic of Mauritius’s claim to sovereignty of the archipelago, we have repeatedly undertaken to cede it to Mauritius when no longer required for defence purposes, and we maintain that commitment.”

Authorities on Saturday voiced deep concern over the wave of migrants and refugees from Syria apparently headed for Cyprus – some of whom could also pose a security threat — as the inflow is rapidly increasing with several groups arriving in the space of a few days.

Over 90 people arrived in the Republic in the past 10 days or so, intercepted in Paphos, Nicosia, and Famagusta, deepening the authorities’ concerns that the island has become a destination for people fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.

Most of the 15,000 people who have been granted or are seeking asylum in Cyprus are Syrian with a 40 per cent increase in applications in the first five months of this year alone.

Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides said on Saturday the government was very concerned and a meeting has been called for next week to take stock of the situation.

“Indeed, there is a worrying upward trend of irregular migrant inflows to Cyprus, either from the sea or through the occupied areas,” the minister said.

“As an EU member-state, Cyprus respects its obligations but it has also reached its limits as regards the number it can absorb.”

Petrides had previously told the Sunday Mail that Cyprus insists on the creation of an automatic mechanism for redistributing asylum seekers, a position expressed during the European Council on migration.

“We have serious reservations regarding the operation of large centres in Europe, especially in the absence of this mechanism,” he said. “There must be a holistic approach and not one that deals with the issues in piecemeal fashion.”

The situation will be discussed in a board meeting between the ministries of interior, labour, justice, and foreign affairs.

Beyond the apparent problem, authorities are also worried about the security risks the influx may create.

Responding to criticism over the apparent ease with which groups of migrants and refugees cross the buffer zone into the Republic, a security source said it was near impossible to effectively monitor the 180-kilometre line that divides the island.

In any case, they pointed out, it didn’t matter how they arrived; anyone who claims asylum cannot be turned back.

However, whereas previous arrivals mostly concerned families, in recent days the authorities have seen young men between the ages of 16 and 30.

Instructions to the police are to conduct thorough background checks as it is feared individuals linked with militant groups could be among the ranks of those arriving.

Security authorities suspect the youths may be former fighters fleeing Idlib, the last rebel-held stronghold in Syria, fearing an all-out attack by Syrian forces to capture the strategic northwest province bordering Turkey.

What they are certain of is the existence of a well organised ring that brings the migrants to Cyprus, possibly with Turkey’s blessing.

In the past 10 days, 92 irregular migrants have arrived in the Republic, either on boat or through the buffer zone from the north.

The statistics show that while all migrants arrived by sea until February 2017, from then on there has been a steady influx of arrivals through the north of the island.

Ten were intercepted in Akamas on Saturday, 24 in Cavo Greco and five in Larnaca on Friday, 10 in Peristerona and six on Paphos on Thursday, 23 the previous day in Akaki, and 14 the week before again in Akaki.

Official statistics now show a 56 per cent rise in asylum applications in 2017 and around 40 per cent in the first five months of this year.

Between 2002 and 2017, the island afforded international protection – asylum and subsidiary protection – to some 10,000 foreign nationals. There are 3,000 pending applications since last year plus a further 2,435 in 2018.

The majority of international protection applications in Cyprus in recent years concerned Syrian nationals.

Interviews conducted with newly arrived migrants in June found that Cyprus is considered and promoted by traffickers as an ideal destination in relation with Europe and Turkey.

A 95-year-old British World War II veteran, Ray Woolley, broke his own record on Saturday as the world’s oldest scuba diver after taking the plunge to explore the famous Zenobia shipwreck off Larnaca.

Dozens of divers accompanied Ray as he dived down to 40.6 metres for 44 minutes and the entire process was filmed, photographed and documented in line with guidelines approved by Guinness World Records.

“It was a wonderful experience diving on the Zenobia with so many divers, I think there were around 35, but it was really difficult to count them, as there were three dive boats,” Woolley told the Sunday Mail after his dive. “This was the highlight for me and a dive I will remember for a long time.”

The nonagenarian, who lives in Limassol, already held the Guinness record title following a similar successful dive on his 94th birthday last year, where he dived to a depth of 38.1 metres for 41 minutes.

Ray’s main dive buddy, David Turner, the diving officer at WSBA (Western Sovereign Bases Area) Sub Aqua Club at RAF Akrotiri, organised the record attempt.

“It was a brilliant day and a pleasure diving with Ray and the other divers,” he said. “He is an inspirational and skilled diver, who at 95 years of age puts many younger people to shame.”

Ray, who turned 95 on August 28, said that a reception was also put on for him after the dive, where the mayor of Larnaca gave him gifts and both spoke to the throng of press.

“Everyone clapped and cheered as I came to the surface, and they also sang Happy Birthday to me as I cut a cake supplied by the Larnaca Tourism Board.”

Ray is a World War II veteran who served in the Royal Navy and ‘SBS Special Force 281’ in the Dodecanese. After the war, he trained as radio engineer and whilst working for the British foreign office was posted to Cyprus in 1964.

He is originally from Port Sunlight on the Wirral Peninsula in the UK, and started swimming at his local swimming baths aged five. In Cyprus he dives with the British sub aqua club- BSAC-at RAF Akrotiri and began diving with the Portland and Weymouth British Sub Aqua Club in 1960.

“I shall celebrate later with a glass of wine with my family who flew out to Cyprus for my dive and my Birthday. If I can keep fit and my dive buddies will still dive with me, I hope I will be able to repeat this again at 96 years of age.”
The 95-year-old is now featuring in a documentary film about his life. ‘Life Begins at 90’, which was filmed in Cyprus and highlights Ray’s life, his passion for diving and the water, and his healthy approach to ageing.

He will find out if he officially held on to his Guinness world title as the world’s oldest scuba diver in a few weeks’ time.

Zenobia, which now lies on its side with its 90-odd trucks still chained to the vessel, is extremely popular with divers and about 60,000 visit the site each year.

Ray Woolley at the Zenobia wreck (Andy Dickens)

Film trailer: https://www.facebook.com/documentaryfilm90/videos/443791259383879/

The summer of 2018 has brought cataclysmic changes to the Cypriot banking system.

They ended the operation of the Co-op and compelled the parliament to finally act, paving the way for a massive reduction in non-performing loans in the system, which is massive progress towards financial stability.

The acquisition of the Cyprus Co-operative Bank by Hellenic Bank, the transfer of the residual assets to a government-owned subsidiary asset management company (AMC), the sale of a large amount of non-performing loans by the Bank of Cyprus and the modernisation of legislation to tackle strategic default, have — for the second time in five years – reshaped the banking system.

Yet, both the troubles within the banking system and the economy are far from over as they will continue to face challenges policymakers should not underestimate, two University of Cyprus academics have told the Sunday Mail.

“Removing delinquent loans from the other side of the balance sheet by transferring them to a more patient entity, can help reduce the risk and stabilise the banking system,” said economist Marios Zachariadis.

But while the removal of delinquent loans out of the “impatient” banking system is a positive development, they do not entirely disappear and “remain in the economic system”, he added.

For instance, those bad loans remaining with the legacy Co-op could, depending on how they are managed, potentially affect public debt, which in July peaked, mainly as a result of the government’s efforts to complete the deal with Hellenic Bank to €21.6bn, roughly 107 per cent of economic output, he said. This in turn, could also have an impact on banks, especially those holding government bonds, he added.

For borrowers “not paying back their loans to the bank, it is less likely that they will do so with an AMC,” Zachariadis said. “So, unless we handle this non-performing loans’ management body very efficiently, the problem of non-repayment of loans increases. It may even create expectations that decrease repayment of loans within the banking system.”

Zachariades added that the consolidation in the banking system that ultimately led to an oligopoly, with Bank of Cyprus and Hellenic practically controlling seven tenths of the market, may not necessarily lead to less competition.

“There is some concern related to the market position of these two major banks, which is something that Cyprus is accustomed to, and the competition watchdog should monitor them closely,” he said. “But this is a contingent secondary problem.”

His colleague, financial economist Andreas Milidonis, said that the two largest banks will continue to face challenges in the future, some will be general, often a result of government policies. Others are bank specific.

Hellenic Bank, for instance, which has become the second-largest bank on the island after absorbing the Co-op’s healthy operations which tripled its balance sheet’s size, will see its non-performing loans reduced to around a quarter of the total, “which is a step in the right direction”, he said.

Still, the largest challenge Hellenic Bank, which together with the Co-op’s operations agreed to employ up to 1,100 of its staffers, faces is merging different organisational corporate cultures into one, he said.

Indications about the difficulties in successfully completing a merger can be found in testimonies given in recent weeks by Co-op officials to the committee investigating the failure of the state-owned Cyprus Co-operative Bank — itself the product of a merger of 18 co-operatives last year. A number of witnesses also referred to a deficit in skills amid its workers plus the lack of sophistication of its procedures, which may further highlight the risks facing Hellenic.

The Bank of Cyprus, on the other hand, is expected to reduce its non-performing loans ratio to 26 per cent by 2020, Milidonis said.

Last week the bank got a thumbs-up in the form of an upgrade from Standards & Poor’s – which cited the sale of non-performing loans at a price close to their book value after provisions and the lender’s intention to further boost its capital with the issue of a €220m security, even with a coupon price of 12.5 per cent.

“But even after the important steps the bank has made, it has still a long way to get close to the European Union target of a non-performing loans ratio of 5 per cent or below,” he said.

On the other hand, RCB Bank, which also had its rating upgraded last week by Standard & Poor’s, enjoys a strong capitalisation which combined to its good asset quality and profitability, makes it stand out compared to the two other systemic banks.

Another risk, Cypriot banks may be facing may result from Estia, the government scheme designed to help banks collect from non-paying borrowers, he said.

“It was presented as scheme to help cover the needs of vulnerable groups and not only,” Milidonis said. “Nothing has changed in it since it was announced, but it has to change as 44 per cent of the programme will cover social groups that cannot be considered that vulnerable. Borrowers with sufficient income and assets could repay their loans by changing their way of life.”

Therefore, while Estia is likely to help make delinquent loans performing in the short term, it is also likely to “become the source of moral hazard that will generate and adverse long-term impact”, the financial economist said.

Milidonis also warned about the impact of the government’s Golden Visa scheme, which allows foreigners investing as little as €2m in mainly real estate to acquire Cypriot citizenship.

While the scheme was able five years ago of helping to jump start the economy when it plunged into a deep recession caused by a twin fiscal and banking crisis, “now it has to be reduced or changed significantly,” he said.  “The government has to launch initiatives with a longer-term impact on the economy. We have indeed suffered a blow in our credibility following all these reports in the press or those prepared by government agencies, especially in the US.”

His references may apply to the content of a US Treasury report dated August 6. The document described Cyprus as a “jurisdiction of concern” which is at “elevated” risk level of laundering illicit Russian funds. The Cypriot “permissive citizenship by investment programme” combined with its weak regulatory and supervisory framework, is “exploited by illicit actors” to set up front companies and access the global financial system, according to the US Treasury.

“Restoring credibility takes longer than to destroy it,” Milidonis said. “Trust arrives on foot but leaves on horseback. We need important steps to regain the confidence of the markets and governments which directly or indirectly influence global markets.”

He said that it was an encouraging sign that the island’s banks and policymakers are beginning to react positively to EU directives and guidelines, and they should continue to be ready to adjust to new situations.

“Let’s keep in mind that our banking system undergoes changes every few months and it is hard to forecast what regulators decide that will force banks to take additional measures,” Milidonis added.

Two teacher unions, Oelmek and Oltelk, on Sunday released a list of the measures they would take in protest against the cabinet’s recent decision to streamline education that has caused a crisis in education and remains unresolved at the start of the school year on Monday.

The unions have rejected compromise proposals from the government – the latest one last Friday  – and are effectively planning a work to rule until they meet again on Wednesday to decide whether to strike. In the meantime, they are also looking at legal ways to overturn the cabinet’s July 4 decision by examining labour laws.

The cabinet had decided to hire some 160 teachers while covering gaps in teaching periods by reducing the number of exemptions teachers and union brass used to get. For instance, form teachers had their ‘free’ periods cut to one from two, and there was also a reduction in teaching periods dropped according to years of service. Under the current system, primary school teachers have their periods cut by two to 27 after 15 years, and to 25 after 21 years. They also provided that union officials would be obliged to teach and conduct union work outside school hours.

Some of the measures were slightly scaled back as a compromise but unions still rejected them.

As of Monday, teachers are back at school though classes don’t begin until later in the week.

According to the joint announcement on measures from Oelmek and Oltek, from September 3 to 6, teachers will not attend a seminar for head teachers of secondary and technical schools but will remain at school. They will also not attend seminars for inspectors, and will elect a committee at each school as a liaison with the two unions.

A vote will be held on September 5 seeking the green light to strike.

Other measures include writing a letter requesting health and safety inspections at all schools, and if they get no response, to report this to the department of labour inspection to ensure all buildings are fit for use.

Another is that teachers would not collect, count or distribute books but to have someone else do that job, and they will also refuse to read out any messages from the education minister, or meet any officials.

In other words, they plan not to carry out any task other than classroom teaching, no school exchange visits or extra-curricular school competitions, conferences, workshops, European programmes or any voluntary activities.

The unions also decided to limit school celebrations to what is “absolutely necessary” and will see parents only in the mornings, and will not engage in training or drafting action plans.

“We assume that all colleagues will follow the unanimous measures, and they will receive the legal support and coverage from Oelmek and Oltek,” the joint statement said.  “With unity and determination, we will defend our dignity.”

By Annette Chrysostomou and Liam Carter

Pedestrians mostly blame inconsiderate and bad drivers when cars fail to stop for them at pedestrian crossings, but all too often faded road markings may well be equally to blame.

Nicosia old town seems to be particularly at fault.

“On our first day here, we couldn’t actually figure out where the zebra crossings actually stood. We only noticed the faded pedestrian crossings the moment we saw other people crossing,” said Mike, 32, a British tourist visiting Nicosia.

Maya, a 29-year-old local shopkeeper, who happens to have a zebra crossing right in front of her shop in the old town, lamented the fact that she regularly observes pedestrians nearly getting run over by cars.

“I see it every day. First and foremost, not all of the drivers are keen to stop at a possible pedestrian crossing. But some of the pedestrian crossings are in a terrible condition. You can’t even see the paint,” she said.

Two other visitors, Simon and Anne, expressed their concerns from a driver’s point of view.

“The zebra crossings leading to the city seemed all right to be fair, but for instance, inside the city, we didn’t even notice the crossing; it was only when a bunch of people crossed,” Anne said.

“The faded paint on the crossings is not only a hazard for pedestrians but it’s also problematic for people who might be new to town and are not accustomed to the regular points of crossings,” added Simon.

Barely noticeable zebra crossing at the top of Ledra st in Nicosia (Liam Carter)

Pedestrian crossings at the top of Ledra street and in Philokyprou street, for example, are in a particularly sorry state.

“We paint them whenever necessary,” a public works’ department official told the Sunday Mail.

He said the department has technicians who go around and evaluate when maintenance is necessary. Head of the department Socrates Savvides stressed they would look at any problems that are reported.

“Keep in mind that we are not in charge of all roads, but only of the main roads,” he cautioned. “The others are being maintained by municipalities and communities.”

A Nicosia municipality official who preferred to remain anonymous said: “we have a dedicated annual programme that restores the paint of pedestrian crossings, amongst other things.”

Asked if he thinks the bad condition of some of the pedestrian crossings poses a risk to locals and foreign tourists alike, he remarked that “everyone should be aware of the specific points dedicated to pedestrian crossings.”

However, he conceded the fact “that more enforcement is needed in the streets of Nicosia”.

Head of the Nicosia traffic department Harris Evripidou commented his department regularly points out issues of unrecognisable pedestrian crossings to the relevant authorities and “more often than not they are rectified”.

A 47-year-old foreign woman was in the intensive care unit with injuries to her leg, arm and pelvis in July after a 74-year-old man driving along Protaras Avenue towards Paralimni failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing. The woman was crossing it at the time and was struck by the car.

Last year, three members of one family were hit by a car as they used a pedestrian crossing near the Paphos Mall.

They were hit when a man failed to stop at the crossing on Apostolou Pavlou Avenue.

A rusting passenger vessel called Nedim Kaptan docked at the harbour of Kato Pyrgos since last November when it was towed by Cypriot authorities with some 170 mostly Syrian refugees onboard, has become a bit of an attraction, but not a very pleasant one for the local community.

It is one of four vessels used for carrying refugees and migrants over the past 18 months that have remained docked in the harbour.

The sign explaining the presence of the boats that has since been removed

The four vessels are stuck in the harbour as evidence until the prosecutions of the suspected people smugglers who brought the refugees over are finished. After that, the government will auction them off.

But the bad shape of the largest of them, ‘Nedim Kaptan’, and its long stay at the harbour had angered the Kato Pyrgos community council which posted a sign explaining why the vessel was there and apologising for the unsightly scene.

The boat, the sign said, carried migrants from Turkey and had been confiscated by the Republic of Cyprus on November 3, 2017.

“It has since been abandoned here and despite the actions of the community council, police and the justice ministry refuse to remove it because it is ‘evidence’,” the sign explained. It also apologised for its “ugliness”.

The sign was recently removed after authorities reassured the town that all vessels would soon be auctioned off.

“It was an ugly situation, but we’re confident that it’ll be over soon when the boats are auctioned off, maybe even in a matter of days,” Kato Pyrgos community leader Nicos Kleanthous told the Sunday Mail this week.

The boat Nedim Kaptan had arrived in Kato Pyrgos last November carrying 174 men, women and children – including a two-day-old infant – from Antalya, Turkey.

In February 2017, 93 refugees had arrived in another boat, while more recently in June 2018, 61 Syrians arrived in an unsafe and overcrowded boat, from which they disembarked, also in Kato Pyrgos.

Two of the other boats that were used to smuggle migrants and refugees into Cyprus

A massive fire raced through Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, probably destroying its collection of more than 20 million items, ranging from archeological finds to historical memorabilia.

The destruction of the building, once a palace for emperors that had fallen into disrepair, was an “incalculable loss for Brazil,” President Michel Temer said in a statement.

“Two hundred years of work, research and knowledge were lost.”

There was no word of the possible cause late on Sunday, nor if there were casualties or the exact extent of damage.

Firefighters in Rio did not reply to requests for comment.

Live television broadcast images of the fire, which began after the end of visiting hours at 5 p.m., burning out of control throughout the building late into the night.

The museum, which is tied to the Rio de Janeiro federal university and the education ministry, was founded in 1818. It houses several landmark collections, including Egyptian artifacts and the oldest human fossil found in Brazil.

The museum had suffered from years of neglect under numerous governments, the institution’s vice-director the Globo TV network on Sunday night.

“We never got anything from the federal government,” said the official, Luiz Duarte. “We recently finalized an agreement with (state-run development bank) BNDES for a massive investment, so that we could finally restore the palace and, ironically, we had planned on a new fire prevention system.”

In a statement posted on its website in June, BNDES agreed to financing of 21.7 million reais ($5.35 million) to “physically restore the historic building” and also to carry out work to “guarantee more security to its collections.”

Two memorandums for cooperation in the fields of financial intelligence and the environment were signed on Monday morning between President Nicos Anastasiades and Indian President Ram Nath Kovind at the Presidential Palace as part of the latter’s official visit to the island.

The Indian president was accompanied by his wife, Shri Savita Kovind, and both were welcomed by Anastasiades and his wife Andri.

Kovind talked about further enhancing the already special ties between the two countries, in particular in the field of financial and economic partnership as well as other fields including IT.

He thanked Cyprus for supporting India becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

On his part, Anastasiades expressed gratitude and appreciation to the President and the Indian government for the principled stance and important support they offer to Cyprus in its efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement to reunite the island.

He assured his counterpart of his determination to further enhance the historically excellent relations of the two countries.

“We have today agreed to set up a ministerial working group to oversee work on the completion of pending bilateral agreements which will ensure the implementation of existing agreements, particularly in the fields of economy, merchant shipping, investment and tourism,” he said.

Later in the day Kovind attended a special session of the House of Representatives in the presence of Anastasiades.

In addressing MPs, Kovind focused on the joint values ​​and close relations between India and Cyprus.

“Cyprus is not only a friend, but one of our staunchest supporters,” he said.

He spoke of the friendship between Archbishop Makarios and Mahatma Gandhi, noting that in India there is great respect for the name of Makarios III.

Kovind also referred extensively to the progress made by India at business, tax and technological levels by inviting Cypriots to invest in the country.

“India has opened for business. It is open to Cyprus. Come and come quickly,” he urged.

Before the session House Speaker Dimitris Syllouris welcomed the Indian president outside the House of Representatives and after laying flowers at the bust of Mahatma Gandhi next to the parliament building they went to Syllouris’ office where they had a private meeting.

During his visit, President Kovind will also be unveiling the bust of one of India’s greatest poets, Rabindranath Tagore, a Noble Laureate, at the campus of the University of Cyprus.

On Monday night Anastasiades will host a state banquet in honour of Kovind at the Presidential Palace.

President Kovind is the first Indian President to visit Cyprus in the past nine years. The previous president who paid Cyprus a visit was Pratibha Patil, in 2009.

The president`s visit to Cyprus follows President Nicos Anastasiades’ visit to India last year.

A vessel carrying 36 migrants and refugees from Syria, including babies and underage children, arrived in Cyprus on a boat on Monday, the most recent of several arrivals in the past 10 days or so.

The vessel was escorted by marine police to a fishing harbour in Paralimni where the 11 men, 11 women, and 14 underage children, including four babies, were received by the immigration service and members of the civil defence.

The vessel had been detected by radar at around 2.30pm sailing 14 nautical miles off Cape Greco.

A marine police patrol boat was dispatched to the area and escorted the vessel to the fishing harbour at Paralimni at around 5pm.

The migrants will be processed by the authorities before they are transferred to a reception centre in Kokkinotrimithia, Nicosia.

The frequency of irregular migrant arrivals from Syria has seen a spike in recent days with over 100 people coming to the Republic either by boat or through the buffer zone from northern Cyprus.

Deeply concerned over the fact, Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides has summoned a meeting on Tuesday with his counterparts at the ministries of foreign affairs, justice, and labour to take stock of the situation.

Petrides has previously said that Cyprus has reached its limits as concerns asylum seekers and called for a holistic approach that includes an automatic mechanism for redistributing asylum seekers.

Most of the 15,000 people who have been granted or are seeking asylum in Cyprus are Syrian with a 40 per cent increase in applications in the first five months of this year alone.

Between 2002 and 2017, the island afforded international protection – asylum and subsidiary protection – to some 10,000 foreign nationals. There are 3,000 pending applications since last year plus a further 2,435 in 2018.

Teachers returned to their classrooms on Monday on a work-to-rule basis, and so determined to win their summer-long battle with the government that union reps filed abuse-of-power complaints against the education minister at local police stations after the end of the school day.

Teaching unions say the action was the first step in taking the government to the European courts over the cabinet’s decisions on July 4 to streamline education which triggered the ongoing education crisis.

One of the points of conflict concerned the appointment of 159 teachers for the 2018-19 school year who also began work on Monday. The unions claimed back in July that 393, not 159, new teachers were needed.

The cabinet had decided instead to cover gaps in teaching periods by reducing the number of exemptions teachers used to get. For instance, form teachers had their ‘free’ periods cut to one from two, and there was also a reduction in teaching periods dropped according to years of service.

They also provided that union officials would be obliged to teach and conduct union work outside school hours.

“The decisions taken by the council of ministers on July 4 included the appointment of an additional 159 teachers, which when added to the 685 teachers that were employed last year, teachers will this year total 844,” education ministry spokeswoman Ioanna Pastella told the Cyprus Mail on Monday.

“All reported to work this morning, as was decided,” Pastella added.

Back in July, the unions said that the government decisions would lead to the laying off of a large number of teachers. The education ministry had responded on August 7, claiming that all involved were aware since 2015, when the new education appointment system passed as law, that some teachers who had been previously appointed would not be appointed in this school year as positions would also be given to candidates awaiting appointment.

While the government has not gone back on its decisions, unions seem to be equally resolute.

On Monday, representatives of teachers’ union Poed reported the education minister Costas Hambiaouris at local police stations after the end of their first school day for abuse of power, arguing that the cabinet decision abolishes trade union time, a breach of local and international legislation, as well as UN conventions.

Unions aim to take the case beyond Cyprus courts and to the European Court, while more complaints are expected to follow, including regarding “the unilateral taking of decisions without dialogue”, Charis Charalambous, general secretary of the primary school teachers’ union, Poed, said on Monday.

The teachers returned to the classrooms to prepare for the start of the new school year, which begins on Friday for primary schools and next Monday for secondary schools.

School books at a Nicosia secondary school awaiting distribution to students

Though they reported to work, they have vouched to perform the bare minimum of their duties as part of their work to rule action. This means that they will not carry out any task other than teaching, including no extra-curricular tasks or even sorting and handing out school textbooks, among other tasks.

In a circular issued by Poed on Monday, in addition to the work-to-rule measure, the union listed further actions, which will be enforced until September 7, after which new measures will be announced if so decided.

“We emphatically note that our primary goal is to ensure that the children are to the greatest extent unaffected by the decided and the to-be-decided measures,” the union said in the circular.

Other measures include the establishment of ‘struggle committees’ in each school, which will be coordinated by local Poed officers, while another measure dictates that messages from the education minister will not be read out in classrooms.

As part of a steady escalation of measures, unions will meet on Wednesday in order to decide on further measures, including whether to strike.

“These measures are mostly symbolic. We wanted to give the message to the government and the education minister that in light of their decisions, schools cannot function this year as they have done in the past…More effective measures will be announced after Wednesday’s general meeting,” Charis Charalambous said.

On Sunday, Poed head Filos Fylaktou called the first day of the school year a “dark day” expressing the readiness of the unions for a “long-term struggle”.

The competition process to develop Larnaca’s marina and port as a single project has been pushed back yet again, with the town’s mayor warning that the interested foreign investors may walk away entirely should the government insist on certain unreasonable terms.

Recently the transport ministry announced another extension to releasing the final tender documents to the interested investors.

The documents are now to be released on September 7, and the investors will need to submit their final offer by October 5.

It follows several extensions to the procedure over the past few months alone.

Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras said the Israeli suitors are having reservations about a clause that places a cap on the volume of cargo to be processed at Larnaca port.

A ceiling of 900,000 tonnes per annum has been placed. The clause was inserted in the agreement for the development of the new Limassol port and terminal, inaugurated in May this year.

It’s understood the term had been intended as an enticement for the Limassol port investors, constraining competition from other ports on the island.

“Where is the free competition, and why would any prospective investor go along with it?” Vyras told the Cyprus Mail.

The mayor confirmed that the Israeli consortium are justifiably “troubled”. He is convinced the investors will walk away if the government insists on the clause.

Initially three suitors had expressed an interest in the Larnaca project. Two subsequently withdrew, leaving only Ampa Ltd & Israel Shipyards Ltd in the running.

Vyras has already stated that the people of Larnaca will hold the government responsible should this investment opportunity be missed.

A lesser matter – not insurmountable – is that the Larnaca operator will be required to pay some sort of compensation to the Limassol port operator.

The mooted project in Larnaca is set to feature a 1,000 berth marina and port involving a development of up to 510,000 square metres.

General terms for the development allow for the construction of high-rise buildings. Investors will have the option to build residences, shopping areas, offices, restaurants, recreational or sports venues.

Plans for expanding and privatising the Larnaca marina have been plagued by years of delays and failure to find investors.

Back in 2010 the government struck a deal with Zenon Consortium for a €700 million project to transform both the existing port and marina. The consortium failed to raise the necessary funds even though the government extended the deadline up to 20 times until 2015 when the deal fell through.

Much of the blame fell on the recession and the 2013 banking crisis.

India’s President Ram Nath Kovind told students at the University of Cyprus (UCy) that although technology has opened a new world of learning and has made it easier to accomplish tasks, they should continue to work hard without expectation of immediate reward in pursuit of excellence.

The Indian president concluded an official visit to Cyprus on Tuesday with a lecture at UCy entitled Youth, technology and ideas: Shaping the contours of the 21st century, and a ceremony unveiling the bust of Indian poet and Nobel Laureate in Literature Rabindranath Tagore, Kovind.

Of UCy, Kovind said “the works of Nobel Laureate Christopher Pissarides and the cutting-edge research being undertaken in this campus are truly inspirational.”

“Technology, indeed, has opened a whole new world of learning,” he said, adding that “it has also made it easier to accomplish our tasks.”

“You should, however, not get carried away by the instantaneous nature of technology. You must continue to work hard without expectation of immediate reward,” he told university students.

The pursuit of excellence, he stressed, “should be the key factor that should dominate the minds of future generations.”

Kovind quoted Tagore who said that “the highest education is that which does not merely give us information, but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”

“These words of wisdom are more relevant today when we try to find our balance in the new world of technology and environmental action,” he pointed out.

On the challenge of climate change, he said the problem was not insurmountable.

“India and Cyprus have lived in harmony with nature for centuries. It is time for us to bring back our sustainable practices into our modern lives. New age technology combined with the wisdom of the past can solve many of our ecological problems.”

Referring to the celebrations to mark the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, India’s President said “his message of peace, compassion and justice may always guide us as we seek to create a better world for ourselves and for others.”

UCy collaborates with five higher education institutions and research centres in India to promote research and innovation and encourage academic and student mobility, its rector, Constantinos Christophides said in an introductory address.

He said Tagore’s bust will give students and guests and the community the opportunity to learn about the first non-European to win the Nobel prize in Literature.

“It will be a stimulus for discussion of literature, social sciences and the importance of culture in general,” he added.

Universities, he stressed, “are places challenging peoples’ limits, spirits and minds, daring people to put their imagination in practice.”

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning for he was born in another time,” he noted.

Parliament has tabled the early release from jail of former deputy attorney-general Rikkos Erotokritou for discussion.

The matter was tabled for discussion by MPs Aristos Damianou (Akel) and Christiana Erotokritou (Diko) on the grounds that “serious questions are raised about the circumstances and speed with which the parole hearing took place… it is therefore deemed necessary to summon the parole board so that it may explain its decision.”

Erotokritou was released on August 3, just 17 months into his 42-month prison sentence.

He had been jailed in March 2017 for conspiring to subvert the course of justice and bribery while serving as deputy attorney-general in 2013.

The early release was made possible through an amendment to the Prisons Law tabled by Disy MP Giorgos Georgiou and voted by all the parties in the plenum on May 18 of this year.

The amendment provided for granting convicts the right to apply for parole six months before being eligible.

Previously, convicts were eligible to apply for parole only once they had served half their sentence.

The reasoning given for the change in the law was that parole requests typically took too long to be examined once filed, which defeated the purpose of a request for early release.

The change would also help decongest the prisons, it was said at the time.

Erotokritou took advantage of the change, which provides that the parole board can take into account the reduction in the sentence that has been granted or is expected to be granted due to good behaviour.

Without the amendment, Erotokritou would have spent the rest of 2018 behind bars and either secured early release through a presidential pardon or applied for parole on completion of 21 months in jail.

In the wake of criticism sparked by news of Erotokritou’s early release, Akel’s Damianou had issued a statement placing the blame squarely on the parole board.

“If anyone should be censured, it is the parole board on how and when it exercised its discretion to release Rikkos Erotokritou,” he stated.

Likewise Diko had said that the germane issue is “how the parole board’s decisions can be checked, whether there exist objective criteria and if these are applied uniformly.”

Meantime Erotokritou has applied to renew his licence to practise law, thebar association announced on Tuesday.

Given that he was convicted, his application is to be reviewed by the bar association’s disciplinary panel.

Sources familiar with the matter told Politis that in 2013, when Erotokritou was appointed deputy attorney-general, he did not renew his licence as it was not deemed necessary at the time.

In 2015, when he was charged for corruption, his licence was suspended. In 2016, Erotokritou applied to have his license reactivated, but was told a review was not possible then because he was facing trial.

With just days left to the start of the new school year, the government on Tuesday recoiled from a confrontation with state teachers, conceding a number of their demands relating to mandatory teaching hours.

At the same time, teachers were vowing to fight on for their labour rights, which they say are under assault by the ministry of education.

Following an extraordinary meeting of the cabinet, chaired by president Nicos Anastasiades, government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou said it was decided to amend the July 4 decision which had sparked the standoff to begin with.

“The government is determined to press ahead for a comprehensive dialogue with all stakeholders with the objective of modernising and upgrading public education. We hope that the teachers’ trade unions will see it in the same light.” The government said that the dialogue cannot go on beyond Decemeber.

The measures decided by the cabinet are designed as an interim deal, in force until the end of the year, by which time it is hoped that an ongoing dialogue with teachers unions will have crystallised into a final agreement. They are a compromise, intended to allow schools to reopen normally next week.

The Council of Ministers also appointed two three-member ministerial committees. The first, made up of the ministers of education, labour and finance, will discuss labour issues connected to the ongoing spat.

The second, consisting of the ministers of labour, education and agriculture, will discuss the reduction in hours and other exemptions from teaching.

Although form teachers will still see their ‘free’ periods, according to years of service, cut from two to one, as announced back in July, the government now promises to subsequently compensate this loss via a ‘credit system’ or through other incentives or benefits granted over the long term.

Further, the proposed reduction in free periods will apply solely to existing teachers; people hired in the future are to be exempted and so will be entitled to all free periods.

Moreover, the government commits to consider the demand for establishing a dedicated provident fund for new hires.

And any savings generated from reductions in staff are to be diverted to improving school infrastructure as well as funding ongoing training for teachers.

The government also promised that, upon the implementation of an early retirement scheme, vacancies will be filled with people on the waiting lists.

The decision, to be published in the government gazette, further authorises the finance ministry – provided the teachers accept the interim proposal as a whole – to prepare a scheme for a one-off retirement bonus, as well as implementing an early retirement scheme.

The early retirement scheme will apply once teachers reach the age of 60 for secondary schools and 58 for primary schools.

Union reps from each trade union will be allowed time to engage in union-related work inside working hours, but this will be regulated.

Earlier in the day, and prior to the government unveiling its new proposal, the unions were in full battle mode.

They had already decided that on Wednesday, primary and secondary teachers across the country would hold a ballot to decide a single question: whether to authorise their unions to take strike action at their discretion.

Yiannos Socratous, head of the secondary education teachers union Oelmek, said all logistics were in place to hold the ballot.

Following the count, and depending on the outcome, on Thursday a supreme committee would take the decision.

High school teachers union Oelmek will meet on Wednesday to discuss the latest proposals and primary school union Poed will meet on Thursday. Its head Filios Fylaktou said they are waiting for an official version of the proposal.

Since Monday, when teachers reported to work in preparation for the new school year, they have enforced work-to-rule, carrying out the bare minimum of duties required under their contract.

Socratous confirmed that, as part of this industrial action, teachers would not for example sort or hand out textbooks, leaving pupils’ parents to do the job.

However, teachers would monitor the distribution of textbooks and advise parents which books to deliver to which pupils.

“We shall help out in the process. Since they want us back at our desks, we shall return but we shall be performing our teaching duties only.

“We shall no longer be doing what we used to do on a voluntary basis, because it is evident that the government does not appreciate all the voluntary work we used to put in,” he added.

Socratous demurred when asked whether union reps would be attending a parliamentary discussion on the education crisis scheduled for Wednesday.

The controversy was triggered by a July 4 decision of the cabinet for streamlining the operation of public schools.

A major point of contention concerned the appointment of 159 teachers for the 2018-19 school year. The unions claimed back in July that 393, not 159, new teachers were needed.

Instead, the cabinet decided to cover gaps in teaching periods by reducing the number of exemptions teachers get. For instance, form teachers had their ‘free’ periods cut to one from two, while the number of mandatory teaching periods that were dropped, according to years of service, was reduced.

Moreover, the July 4 decision provided that union officials would be obliged to teach and conduct union work outside school hours.

Ten per cent more hotel beds will be available in Paphos for the upcoming winter season compared to last year’s figures, officials said on Tuesday.

Head of the Paphos regional board of tourism Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, told the Cyprus Mail that this is just one of the many positive steps being implemented with the aim of re-establishing Paphos as an all year round tourist destination.

“The entire region is on the right track and the priority for us now is that the establishments that are operational during the winter are booked to capacity for the coming winter period,” he said.

If this were the case, he said, it would encourage other establishments to remain open all year long.

Last year Paphos had around 10,500 beds in operation for the season, while this year that figure has increased to 11,600.

Hadjigeorgiou said the accommodation covers a wide variety, ranging from basic tourist apartments up to five star hotels. “There is the capacity to accommodate thousands of tourists”.

Although the winter season is expected to be better than last year it remains a difficult period, he added.

“Paphos’ airline connections with market priorities is still limited, many travel organisers don’t include Paphos in their programmes, this is partly due to the image still emanating from Cyprus that we are only a main destination for summer holidays.”

However, there are a number of positive developments for Paphos with new air links and special market segments, he said.

During last year’s winter season Paphos attracted more than 200,000 visitors.

Based on official statistics in 2017, Paphos took around 39 per cent of arrivals of approximately 1,400,000 visitors, of which 1,100,000 arrived between May and October.

“This shows good prospects for Paphos to extend the tourist season for November to April,” Hadjigeorgiou said.

In March, Ryanair announced 12 new routes from Paphos for winter 2018, increasing its capacity by 74 per cent over last year.

The new routes include Bournemouth and Liverpool and twice weekly flights connecting Paphos with Amman, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Chania (which has been reinstated), Krakow, Liverpool, Riga and Tallinn.

They will contribute 940,000 passengers annually as Ryanair nearly doubles its operation in Paphos.

Hadjigeorgiou said that hotels, the tourist board and other stakeholders were continuously promoting Paphos at all sorts of exhibitions and workshops, inviting international journalists and meeting with a large range of sales agents.

“We are continuing to do so much to ensure that the season is extended and grows, and obviously we are concentrating on places where we have air connections,” he said.

He added that concerted efforts are also being made in various ‘niche’ markets including sports tourism, which has shown a promising increase of thirty per cent over the last three years.

“The numbers are not big overall, but they are encouraging,” he said.

A powerful typhoon killed 10 people in western Japan and an airport company started to transfer some 3,000 stranded passengers by boats from a flooded airport, the government said on Wednesday, as more than a million homes were without power.

Jebi, or “swallow” in Korean, was briefly a super typhoon and is the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years. It follows heavy rains, landslides, floods and record-breaking heat that killed hundreds of people this summer.

About 3,000 tourists stayed overnight at Kansai Airport in western Japan, an important hub for Japanese companies to export semiconductors. Television footage showing people lining up to buy food and drinks at a convenience store in the airport.

Airport officials began transferring the stranded passengers to nearby Kobe airport by high-speed boats and buses on Wednesday morning, the government said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said about 300 people were injured. It was uncertain when the airport would reopen and some roads and train lines in the affected areas were still closed, he said. About 1.2 million homes were without power.

“The government will continue to do everything possible to tackle these issues with utmost urgency,” Suga told a news conference.

Japan’s JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp shut at least one of the refining units at its 135,000 barrels-per-day Sakai refinery in Osaka in western Japan due to typhoon damage to part of the cooling tower, the trade ministry said.

Many chip plants operate in the Kansai region. Toshiba Memory, the world’s second-largest maker of flash memory chips, was monitoring developments closely and may need to ship products from other airports if Kansai remains closed, a spokeswoman said.

She said the company was not expecting a major impact because its plant in Yokkaichi in central Japan had not been affected by the typhoon.

It could take several days to a week to reopen Kansai airport depending on the damage, the Yomiuri newspaper quoted an unidentified person in the airline industry as saying.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, criticised for an initially slow response to devastating floods in July, posted repeated updates on the rescue efforts at Kansai.

Jebi’s course brought it close to parts of western Japan hit by rains and flooding that killed more than 200 people in July but most of the damage this time appeared to be from the wind.

Former Co-op board member Lambros Pieri told the committee investigating the causes of the state-owned bank’s demise that an annual payment to a finance ministry worker was in accordance with a December 2015 ministerial decree, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Pieri said that the decree provided that Dionysis Dionysiou, the finance ministry’s official who acted as liaison between the bank’s largest shareholder and the board overseeing the government’s investment in the bank, would receive on top of his salary another €25,000 a year.

The former board member was giving a supplementary testimony to the committee appointed two months ago by Attorney-General Costas Clerides. In his first testimony, on August 28, he said that supervisors punished the Cyprus Co-operative Bank, into which taxpayers injected almost €1.7bn in 2014 and 2015, for being a state-owned bank.

On August 27, Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides told the committee that he believed that Dionysiou had informed Finance Minister Harris Georgiades about how the Co-op decided to enter a controversial agreement with Spain’s Altamira over the handling of the failed lender’s €7bn in non-performing loans and Georgiades ultimately failed to intervene.

According to Michaelides, Dionysiou had received also in addition to his salary and the €25,000 payment from the Co-op, which he described as “baksheesh,” another €6,000 in 2014, €5,754 the following year and €11,000 in allowances from the ministry over an unspecified period.

Pieri, who was appointed to the bank’s board in 2010 and stepped down in June in protest over the takeover of the Co-op’s operations by Hellenic Bank, after he first tendered his resignation in March, is a member of Akel’s central committee. He said his party voted in parliament against the composition of the bank’s board in 2013.

The board, he said, had no political agenda and that none of its members’ actions was influenced by political ideology.

When asked by the committee whether Dionysiou had approached him to ask him to influence Akel lawmakers in the parliament ahead of the vote, Pieri said that the finance ministry official, who was at the bank every day, had never asked him to do so.

Pieri, who also served as chairman of the Co-op’s non-performing loans committee, said that it wasn’t only that body that was informed about the negotiation with Altamira as it was up to the board to decide. He also submitted a number of documents and minutes.