London Greek Radio

The EU should play a key role in the UN framework for a just solution to the Cyprus problem, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said after the summit in Brussels.

Speaking to the press and referring to position he expressed during the deliberations at the Council, he said that in consultation with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, he told the EU 27 leaders that the forthcoming Conference on Cyprus to be held in Switzerland could lay the foundations for a just solution to the Cyprus problem, only If progress on the issue of security and guarantees is achieved.

He explained that Greece will make every effort to achieve progress on this chapter, stressing that “we have never had more allies on the Cyprus issue.”

The prime minister made it clear in his speech that “the EU itself and not Cyprus is being tested in these negotiations” and made it also clear that the EU must support the just request by Greece and Cyprus for the abolition of the anachronistic status of security and guarantees, followed by the withdrawal of Turkish troops.

Alexis Tsipras stressed in his speech,  that the Cyprus issue is a major European issue and concerns security in the wider region and the very security of Europe. EU co-operation with the UN is crucial to finding a solution, he noted.

The prime minister clarified that Turkey`s European course is passing through the solution of the Cyprus problem.

 

Responding to a question, he noted that he can not be either optimistic or pessimistic about the process of negotiations in Switzerland. But he said he views recent developments with determination and realism, considering that steps should be taken forward.

He reiterated that the Cyprus problem is predominantly European rather than Greek-Turkish. He said that the timing is not the best, but “you can not choose the conjuncture, but you can choose a methodology that for us is international law, tools and allies”.

“In friendly co-operation,” he said, “with the Cypriot President, we try to intensify the positive elements and mitigate negative”. In the positive elements, he included the fact that two leaders want the solution.

Alexis Tsipras explained that Europe would be directly affected by the outcome of the talks and no one in the EU wants a leader to be held hostage because of the presence of occupying troops or the potential intervention of a third country (guarantees).

“There will be consequences if we do not,” said Alexis Tsipras.

Replying to a question by the CNA about the positions expressed by his EU counterparts, the Prime Minister noted that “there was a complete understanding of the Cypriot positions on the anachronistic framework of the guarantees and the presence of the occupying army.”

“We have never had more allies,” the Prime Minister said. He stressed that the negotiation is within the framework of the United Nations, but the Member States have a separate position and knowledge.

 

Finally, in relation to the draft text of UN Secretary General special envoy Espen Barth Eide, Alexis Tsipras said that “we had the opportunity to talk wit the President of the Republic for a long time”.

“I will not make judgments on issues that are open to the table,” he stressed. “The Greek side will not accept  backtracking or reacting hurriedly,” he said, adding that “we should not be worried that some moves can create breaches in our negotiating line.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.  Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been engaged in UN-led talks since May 2015 with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.

The UN Conference on Cyprus will reconvene in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on June 28 at the political level, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Conference will take place with the participation of President Anastasiades and Akinci, as well as Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom as guarantor powers, and in the presence of the European Union as an observer.

Article written by CNA

On the 15^th of June the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK held its biennial elections for its Secretariat and Officers. Christos Karaolis, the first third-generation Cypriot to hold the position, was re-elected as President. Reflecting on his first term, Mr Karaolis said that “whilst we’ve had a lot of successes over the last two years to advance the Cyprus Issue and the UK Cypriot community, there is still much more to do. I’m looking forward to working with our new team which has an exciting balance of young energy and experience.”

Mr Karaolis highlighted two key areas of focus for his second term. Firstly, Mr Karaolis spoke of the importance of raising awareness of the Cyprus Issue by further expanding Cyprus’ parliamentary friends, as well as building partnerships with other diasporas and organisations. Secondly,  he spoke about the need to develop a comprehensive strategy to engage second- and third-generation Cypriots to further advance the community.

The Federation elected its Secretariat and, from the members of the Secretariat, elected its President, 3 Vice Presidents, General Secretary, and Treasurer. The full list of names and their positions can be found below.

A notable outcome of this year’s election was that, for the first time, a quarter of the Federation’s Secretariat are now under the age of 38. The Federation’s member associations welcomed this as a very positive sign that young, British-born Cypriots are actively engaged with the future of the UK Cypriot diaspora, as well as the Cyprus Issue. The large proportion of younger Secretariat members will bring fresh ideas and energy to the organisation and the UK Cypriot

community.

 

 

 

 

The following were elected as Officers of the Federation:

President | Christos Karaolis

Vice Presidents | Andreas Papaevripides, Bambos Charalambous, Michalis Ellinas

General Secretary | Michael Kashis

Treasurer | Ninos Koumettou

Secretariat 2017-19:

Andreas Chimonas

Andreas Georgiou

Andreas Gregoriou

Andreas Papaevripides

Antonia Michaelides (via NEPOMAK UK)

Bambos Charalambous

Caterina Fragkoulidou

Chriso Ioannou

Christina Pippas

Christos Karaolis

Christos Tuton (via NEPOMAK UK)

Costas Georgiou

Costas Sakkas

Eleni Palazidou

Evoulla Nicolaou

George Maifoshis

George Michaelides

Harry Charalambous (via NEPOMAK UK)

Ioanna Michaelidou

Katia David Harmanda

Lakis Andronikou

Mary Helen Karaolis

Menicos Kouvaros

Michael Kashis

Michael Yiakoumi

Michalakis Michael

Michalis Ellinas

Neophytos Nicolaou

Nikos Andronikou

Ninos Koumettou

Panayiotis Yiakoumi

Peter Charalambous

Savvas Hadjiphilippou

Savvas Pavlides

Stephanos Habeshis

Susie Constantinides

Theo Papapavlou

Vasilis Mavrou

Yiannis Koumettou

Yiannis Kouvaros

Article written by LGR

According to the latest statement by the police, 17 people so far have lost their lives after a massive blaze wiped out on the early hours of Wednesday the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in North Kensington.

The authorities expect the number of dead to rise even further.

Emergency services have said that their rescue crews do not expect to find anyone still alive inside the now charred residential tower.

30 people remain in hospital, with 17 of those in critical care.

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said on Thursday morning that the identity of a number of victims had been confirmed. “But we know there will be more.”

She also stressed that because of the size of the building and the scale of destruction a complete search might take weeks to complete.

Asked about how many people are still unaccounted for Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy said it would be “wrong and incredibly distressing” to give a number.

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a public inquiry into the tragedy.

Article written by LGR

Twelve people have died in the blazing inferno that overnight wiped out a residential tower in West London. The number of fatalities is expected to rise, according to the authorities.

Earlier police reports had confirmed the death of six people.

Commander Stuart Cundy of the Met police told reporters that he expects “the number of fatalities will increase beyond those 12”.

Danny Cotton, London Fire Brigade Commissioner, during her early morning press briefing described the Grenfell Tower fire as ‘completely unprecedented’.

The ambulance service announced that 68 people had been taken from the scene by its crews to six hospitals across the capital, with 18 in critical care.  Another 10 found their own way to the hospital.

Article written by LGR

Bambos Charalambous, who stood for Labour in Enfield Southgate, becomes the first ever Greek Cypriot in history to be elected a Member of Parliament after winning with 24,989 votes a healthy majority of 4,335 on a 74.3% turn-out.

The Greek Cypriot ousted the Conservative party’s sitting MP David Burrowes, who had held the predominantly Tory seat since 2005.

Charalambous has been a councillor in Palmers Green since 1994.

He told LGR that his stunning victory is largely owed to his Tory opponent’s strong identification with Brexit although people in the north London constituency ”had voted overwhelmingly against it in the referendum.”

As for the other two Greek Cypriot candidates, Conservative candidate Jason Charalambous came with 9,925 votes second to Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry in Islington South & Finsbury, and 22-year-old Anton Georgiou with 2,519 finished third for the Liberal Democrats in Brent Central.

Article written by London Greek Radio

The Executive Committee of the National Federation of Cypriots  in the UK after an emergency meeting on Sunday morning sent letters to the Prime Minister Theresa May and the Mayor of London Shadik Khan condemning  Saturday’s “tragic terrorist attack” and expressing the Cypriot community’s commitment to “stand together and defend the common values that we share in the UK.”

Below you can read the letters signed by the NFC’s President Christos Karaolis.

Article written by LGR

An eight year-old British Cypriot girl, Saffie Rose Roussos (pictured), has been named   as one of the 22 victims of the suicide bombing attack last night at Manchester Arena.

Lancashire County Council confirmed that the British Cypriot school girl was killed at the end of the concert by Ariana Grande that she went with her mother Lisa and her older sister Ashlee Bromwich. Both were later found injured in separate hospitals.

Chris Upton, the headteacher at Tarleton Community primary school, that Saffie attended said that she was “simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word. She was loved by everyone and her warmth and kindness will be remembered fondly. Saffie was quiet and unassuming with a creative flair.”

Article written by LGR

Cyprus Foreign Ministry has announced that so far there is no information about Cypriot citizens among the victims of the attack in Manchester. In a statement issued on Tuesday the MFA says that is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the British authorities via the High Commission of the Republic in London.

The Foreign Ministry calls on Cypriot citizens who are in Great Britain, especially in Manchester, or who plan to travel there to follow the media and the instructions of the British authorities carefully.

The High Commission in London is available to provide assistance to Cypriot citizens. For more information and consular assistance, Cypriots can contact the following numbers, especially if they have not communicated with their relatives.

Cyprus High Commission:
Address:
13 street, Jame`s Square,
SW1Y 4LB London
United Kingdom
Working hours :
09:00 – 16:30, Monday – Friday
Contact info:
Fixed telephone: +44 2073214100-10
Mobile phone (excluding work hours): +447470367047, +447435010941
Fax: +442073214164
E-mail address: cyprusinuk@mfa.gov.cy

In the event of an emergency and / or consular need, Cypriot citizens can also communicate with the following numbers:

Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (excluding working hours)
Tel. +35799660129
E-mail address: dutyofficer@mfa.gov.cy

Department of Crisis Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tel. +35722801000, +35797775998
E-mail address: cycc@mfa.gov.cy

Article written by

Cyprus’ strong GDP growth is credit positive for Cypriot banks because it will strengthen their clients’ capacity to restructure and service their high levels of distressed debt, according to Moody’s credit outlook.

Last Tuesday, the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus announced that its flash estimate for the country’s annual GDP growth rate in first-quarter 2017 was 3.3%, the highest in Cyprus since 2008.

Additionally, Moody’s points out that the growth will support real estate collateral values, on which Cypriot banks rely heavily for most lending, and increase new lending opportunities that will support banks’ declining net interest income.

At the same time Moody’s estimates that the acceleration in economic activity will strengthen businesses’ cash flows and improve labour market conditions for households.

“Ultimately, the higher growth will enhance borrowers’ debt affordability and repayment capacity, facilitating loan restructurings, particularly in the small and midsize enterprise sector, which is more vulnerable to economic changes and benefits from an economic recovery, albeit with a lag”, says the report.

Moody’s also expect banks’ asset quality to continue to improve, in line with the accelerating growth trend and banks’ restructuring initiatives.
Bank of Cyprus, is expected to gain the most, given that it has the largest direct exposure to domestic real estate.

Additionally, Moody’s expect Cyprus’ improving economy to create new lending opportunities for banks and ease the decline of interest rates that banks charge on loans.

The report says that if sustained, the country’s performance will exceed the 2.7% real GDP growth forecast for 2017. It adds that notwithstanding the improving economic environment, it will take time for Cypriot banks to rehabilitate their balance sheets because of the long cure periods for restructured loans before they are reclassified as performing, and substantial volumes of distressed debt with system -wide problem loans at 49% of gross loans as of September 2016.

Article written by

London Greek Radio are delighted to welcome their newest sponsor to the LGR airwaves.

As of this Friday 19th May, iconic dairy brand DODONI will be sponsoring radio presenter Panagiotis Balalas during his Friday show, which airs every week between 6-8pm

DODONI S.A. was founded in 1963, counting 54 years of authentic tradition and history. The company based in Ioannina produces authentic, purely Greek dairy and cheese products, using 100% Greek cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk collected daily by an expanded network of 5,000 Greek producers, mainly active in the region of Epirus.

With more than 10,000 selling points in Greece and export activity in 43 countries, DODONI has 9 categories of dairy and cheese products and produces 80 distinct products. This truly authentic Greek brand is distinguished for its taste, quality and their 100% Greek identity.

Now DODONI will not only be known for their exceptional Feta cheese, but for their collaboration with our station to bring you the best Greek hits (as well as the best Greek cheeses).

We, Greeks, have many reasons to be proud of. One of them is our feta. A cheese so special and unique that has become famous all over the world.

If you are a fan of Feta (and frankly who isn’t) Dodoni explain why every cheese lover needs to give their brand of feta a try:

“DODONI feta, using exclusively 100% greek pasteurized goat’s and sheep’s milk, that arrives every day in our premises even from the most distant farms.

DODONI feta, with its unique taste and nutrition value, has gained worldwide recognition for its high quality. That’s why it has won so many local and international awards, plus a place in tables around the world.”

For more information about DODONI and their products, visit their website dodoni.eu/en

If you love to cook with Feta, just as much as you love to eat it, then be sure to visit a special little corner of the DODONI website where they offer their unique cheese based recipes: Click here to visit their “brunch” section, which should be enough to whet the appetite and flare the creativity of any aspiring chefs.

Article written by London Greek Radio