Front Page Headlines
Tayyip Erdogan was crushed in Istanbul
Clear victory of Ekrem Imamoglu with 54 per cent. The opposition put an end to the 25-year domination of the Islamists. The new mayor is already presented as Erdogan’s presidential opponent.
- Demetris Christofias: Condolences from all over the world
Erdogan lost Polis (Istanbul)
Imamoglu’s victory in yesterday’s elections is a strong slap to the Turkish president. Ekrem Imamoglu, 54 per cent, Binali Yildirim, 45 per cent.
- Tomorrow the final goodbye to Christofias – Sadness also within the diaspora.
- Possibilities for a new initiative diminish – Question marks over a new visit by (UN) envoy Jane Holl Lute.
- Drillship Yavuz is getting closer to its target
- Police-military have been ‘running under the moon’ – They were alerted on Friday evening over the hovering of drones over military camps. Officials who have been called in to present in their units after the incident found roads closed (due to the ‘Running under the moon’ semi-marathon event in Nicosia).
- The (restored) hammam and Ayia Sophia have been delivered in Paphos (by the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage)
- The (Tassos) Isaac- (Solomos) Solomou monument is being moved – The plot (it is in) is being sold.
- Εxplorations for the next drillings took place
Real estate worth €125m is being auctioned off
Property worth €125m is includes the auction calendar until mid-July, while new ones are constantly added. In fact, the list includes more than 130 residences most of which are valued below the ‘Estia’ scheme limit. Banks and credit acquiring companies are in a race on who will first get rid of mortgage loans.
- “He put (his) stamp on Cyprus’ modern history” (AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou on Demetris Christofias)
- Racist attacks have quadrupled
- Tayyip Erdogan’s chosen one lost again
Loss with implications
Yildirim lost the Istanbul municipality. Erdogan is in pain. The first political loss for Erdogan in 25 years. He sees in the face of the up-and-coming and popular Imamoglu his rival. Clear victory by the opposition with 54 per cent and more than eight per cent difference (from Yildirim).
- Yavuz is coming – It was off Rhodes yesterday.
- Immigration bomb – The Turkish people smugglers have changed their method and inundate us with asylum seekers. Today 11,600 applications for political asylum are pending, while another 10,000 are expected to be submitted within a year.
- Throwback: When Anastasiades was giving journalists lessons on political maturity
Main News
Turkish side’s actions hinder Cyprob progress
Alithia, Phileleftheros, Politis
Negotiations Process, Energy
OVERVIEW
The paper reports that the dispatch by Turkey of a second drillship in the sea area off Cyprus and the moves by the occupation regime on Famagusta basically diminish any possibility for the relaunch of the talks in the near future, although UN envoy Jane Holl Lute may attempt a new round of contacts within July.
In an analysis by Andreas Pimbishis, the paper said that given the situation, a new visit by Lute to Cyprus for contacts is considered unlikely while Nicosia has been announcing for weeks that Turkey’s actions make the resumption of talks difficult especially now that it sent its second drillship to Cyprus to drill.
As regards Famagusta, despite that the TC ‘government’ has made clear its decision concerns only an inventory and not opening Varosha, the intentions of the occupation regime, are clear, the daily said.
The cocktail of negative actions by the Turkish side seems to make difficult the presence of Lute on the island.
Citing sources, the daily reported that Lute might however attempt a new round of contacts with stakeholders either through meetings or telephone conversations.
The daily also reports that TC leader Mustafa Akinci who recently broke his silence and made statements on the Cyprus problem aims at taking advantage of the momentum and re-pitch the proposal on a joint committee on natural gas.
According to the daily, Akinci’s recent statements on cooperation between the two sides on natural gas and forming a joint committee as a CBM, show that he is very much in line with Ankara whose aim is to have the energy issue being managed by a committee which, in reality, would operate as an obstacle to the promotion of Cypriot drillings.
Phileleftheros, Politis and Alithia also report that the Yavuz that is on its way to Cyprus is
fast approaching as it was seen on Sunday passing off the island of Rhodes. The
drillship is to drill south of the Karpasia peninsula.
Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage delivers two monuments in Paphos
Alithia, Phileleftheros, Politis
CBMs, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage delivered on Saturday to the local communities of Paphos two restored cultural heritage monuments, the hammam in Kato Paphos and the Ayia Sophia-Kebir mosque in Mouttalos.
The special ceremony was attended by TCs who arrived in Paphos from the occupied areas for the event. Present were also members of the European Commission and of the United Nations Development Programme.
The TC head of the technical committee, Ali Tuncay, said that the hammam in Kato Paphos and the Kebir mosque are two important monuments, which were used by people who considered Paphos their home for centuries.
He announced that the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage has launched a programme for the repair and cleaning of the cemeteries, while EVKAF would too help to repair many cemeteries.
The GC head of the Committee, Takis Hadjidemetriou, congratulated the Antiquities Department for its contribution to the restoration effort of the two monuments.
“We cannot solve all problems through culture but we can send out the message of the common journey, joint pain and shared hope for a better and peaceful future,” he said, according to the dailies.