The economic crisis in South Cyprus has created new avenues for enterprising criminals.

These gangs are basically looking at increasing the trade between the stricken South and the relatively more stable TRNC.

As previously reported, there is increased activity by human traffickers taking refugees living in South Cyprus across the border to the North. Foreigners no longer qualify for South Cyprus State benefits they once received. Consequently a number of them are paying to cross the border illegally into the TRNC.

Now a new activity has come to light. Filipino prostitutes are congregating at Lokmaci crossing. When they cross over to the TRNC, they contact customers and are taken away in taxis. It is claimed that as a result of the economic problems in the South, payments for sex have been driven down from 40 euros to 20 euros.

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The TRNC Bakers Association has announced that the price of a standard loaf will rise from 85 kurus to TL1.

Head of the Association, Omer Cirali handed out a press statement today pointing out that prices have not changed since 2007 but will rise to TL 1 from Thursday May 16^th.

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The high voltage power lines between Gecitkale and Teknecik have been hit by lightning and this has affected the electricity supply. From 13.00 this afternoon, a number of areas  lost their electricity supplies.

The 132 kilovolt high voltage transmission lines were hit by lightning, causing power outages.

Deputy Technical head of KIB-TEK, Gurcan Erdogan said that the faults on the line were being repaired and that he had already arranged for affected areas to be given power from alternative lines.

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Presidents Eroglu and Anastasiades will meet for a dinner on May 29^th. The dinner, intended to be a social affair, has been gaining in significance; Eric Rubin, the US Deputy Foreign Minister with responsibilities for Cyprus will also be attending the dinner.

UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Cyprus, Alexander Downer will be reporting to the UN Security Council the following day.

In addition, John Kerry, the US Foreign Minister expressed an interest in visiting Cyprus during his meeting last week with the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulidis.

Apparently, Mr Kerry said that he wished to be personally involved in the Cyprus problem.

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The war of words and clash of wills between the two contenders for the ruling UBP party leadership continues.

Prime Minister Irsen Kucuk won the leadership election against Dr Kasif MP for Famagusta, under a cloud of controversy. However the war between the two factions rumbles on and threatens to split the party.

Dr Kasif has the support of President Eroglu and there have been a number of bitter exchanges between Kucuk and Eroglu. The most recent cause for strife was the election of a new secretary general. This was required, after Namsoy resigned from his post, to focus on his duties as mayor of Lapta.

Currently, Kucuk is visiting the US, where he will attend the Turkish Day Parade; however trouble awaits him on his return. Ahmet Kasif represents a significant section of opposition to Mr Kucuk. He has threatened that he will have 10 deputies that support him abstain from attending parliament.

The UBP currently has 30 of the 50 seats in parliament but needs  26 deputies to attend for parliament to be able to be assembled. It would then be relying on the opposition to provide a quorum.

If this does not happen, then it is probable that the government would fall and that elections would be held in autumn of this year instead of April 2014 as scheduled.

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Head of the TRNC Men’s Hairdessers Association, Nihat Ramazanoglu says that his industry is under attack and that his members are having a hard time.

Mr Ramazanoglu is clear about the main cause of the problems. He is accusing barbers from Turkey of undermining the hairdressing trade in the TRNC.

He feels that they come over without having to go through rigorous skill training and just set up shop. This proliferation of barbers means that there are many new shops opening up and that legitimate barbers are suffering as a result. He also maintains that prices have hardly risen since 2008.

His members are now having to work longer hours to compete and are finding it hard to take holidays. Mr Ramazanoglu says that because nearby Turkish barbers do not have families in the TRNC, they do not take holidays and that every time that he does, he loses customers.

He also feels that there is another problem, namely corruption; claiming that the Youth and Sports Ministry is handing out scarce barber premises to favoured applicants and he threatens to disrupt the allocation meetings unless this is stopped.

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Turkey has announced an oil exploration deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government and Exxon Mobil. This appears to be a follow up to the recent willingness of Mr Erdogan to engage in talks with the PKK and remove some of the harsher laws against Kurdish culture and political rights.

This unexpected news has surprised many as it goes against Turkish policy in not challenging the authority of the Iraqi central government.

The Iraqi government has declared the deal illegal because it does not have the approval of the central government. The KRG, which has headquarters in the Kurdish city of Erbil, is equally adamant it has the right under the post-2003 federal constitution to conduct its own exploration and sell its oil and natural gas to whomever it wants

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, will be meeting US President Obama later this week and will no doubt be reminded that US policy does not approve of oil exports from Iraq without government approval. The US is trying to minimise the risk of accelerating the disintegration of Mr Maliki’s government in Baghdad though this process has gained considerable momentum on its own.

In his announcement, Mr. Erdogan emphasized that Turkey backs the Kurds’ position and that Turkey can pursue deals directly with the Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government, in this case through Turkiye Petrolleri AO (TPAO).

The logic for both parties to the deal, Turkey and the Iraqui Kurds, is overwhelming.
Turkey’s huge current account deficit largely matches its energy imports. By tapping more of the Iraqi oil and gas in KRG territory, Turkey will gain in both price and security – it currently relies on Russia and Iran for gas.

Striking an agreement with Ankara offers Iraq’s Kurds a gateway to export its huge reserves of crude oil directly to world markets via Turkey through a new pipeline it hopes to build. Most of the region’s oil is normally sold domestically.

Once Ankara completes the promised oil and gas pipelines from Iraqi Kurdistan to export terminals on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, the KRG will be totally free of the only outlets available right now, which Baghdad controls.

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Prime Minister, Irsen Kucuk, met at a working lunch in Washington, yesterday with Eric Rubin, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. The latest developments in the Cyprus problem were discussed during the meeting and Kucuk conveyed the message that the Cyprus negotiations should start without delay.

After his meeting with Eric Rubin, Kucuk met also with Robert Wexler, president of the Middle East Peace Centre, one of the most important think tanks. Kucuk expressed his views and expectations on the Cyprus problem during this meeting and argued that the time has come for this problem to be solved as its continuation poisons regional and global relations and cooperation.

Kucuk in his first speech made in the US said that there were new opportunities for a lasting peace on the island.

Speaking at a meeting of the Turkish American Association, he said that the new factors were the gas reserves in the South and the water pipeline to the North.

The Prime Minister went on to stress that cooperation was needed between the two sides and re-iterated that negotiations should start without delay. He felt that the Greek Cypriot leadership should not postpone talks until they had sorted out their economic problems adding that surely any agreement would enhance the economic strength of both sides.

Kucuk felt that if the Greek Cypriot side insisted on claiming the offshore gas reserves as their own rather than acknowledging that they belonged to the whole island, then this would cause problems for the future. In addition, it would exclude using Turkey as the natural bridge to transmit the gas finds to Europe. This would make their project difficult and expensive.

The Prime Minister will attend a dinner at the Turkish American Association in Washington and will then meet with some members of congress individually before flying to New York.

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A number of unions representing doctors, nurses and other health workers are on indefinite strike.

This has left Kyrenia hospital unnaturally quiet and empty. Only emergency services are exempt from the strike.

The strike will continue until the government allows staff vacancies to be filled. It has had numerous requests to do so but has so far refused to give way.

TIP-IS union leader, Erol Seherlioglu is adamant that the strike will go on as long as necessary and would also extend to other hospitals. The union is not looking for more pay but for more staff to be hired so that an adequate health service can be given to the public.

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The Hava-IS union has begun strike action at Turkish Airlines.

The airline did not make any comments on the strike much to the frustration of passengers who have bought tickets for flights today. Many passengers were expecting the Council of ministers to use their powers to postpone the strike. However, this was not done.

Most tour operators have moved the start date of tours by two days to May 17^th. These operators and other agencies have also not been notified by Turkish Airlines.

Turkish Airlines is hoping to minimise the disruption to its flights by ferrying in staff that have not joined in the strike. Pilots for the airline have decided not to join the strike.

Collective bargaining negotiations between the airline and the union broke down last night.

Riot police have been sent into the airports to prevent disturbances.

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The Council of Ministers has allocated £300,000 to the promotion of the TRNC in England in an attempt to increase the number of English tourists.

The council has also approved the opening of 6 new tourism offices. These will be in Baku (capital of Azerbaijan), Amsterdam, Stockholm, Brussels and Rome.

Istanbul will also be the focus of a major push, where advertisements for the TRNC will be running for the next 2 months.

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Eight flights to and from South Cyprus’ airports are expected to be affected by a strike, announced by Greek air traffic controllers, today.

The strike, starting at 12 noon (0900 GMT) until 4 pm, is expected to affect an estimated 1,200 passengers, from various airliners.

According to South Cyprus airports Spokesman Adamos Aspris, the strike will affect four arrivals and four departures, between Larnaca and Paphos on the one hand and Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras on the other.

Aspris further said that the airliners are expected to inform their passengers whether their flights will be canceled or rescheduled.

He urged passengers to be in contact with their travel agents and the airliners before going to the airport

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A man who was wanted in connection with drug possession and had escaped arrest eight years ago, has finally been captured.

Huseyin Yildirim has been wanted by police since 2005 and was caught entering the TRNC through Ercan on May 14^th.

He had been sought by police in connection with the seizure of one gram of heroin in Guzelyurt. At that time he had escaped before being interviewed by the police.

He appeared at Nicosia Criminal court yesterday, where the judge ordered that he be held for two days while police continue their investigations.

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The people of Dikmen have given the authorities one week to remove the wireless base stations from their villages. They have threatened to dismantle the masts and protests and street demonstrations were held yesterday.

It is claimed that the number of cancer cases has grown sharply since the erection of the base stations and the protesters want the masts relocated outside the villages.

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Kyrenia Council has been working for weeks to clear rubbish and diesel oil from a dirt road leading to Zeytinlik village.

Teams have removed 60 lorry loads of rubbish and dirt. However before the villagers could enjoy the cleaned up area, rubbish was being dumped there again. Some of the perpetrators were spotted and reported to Kyrenia Council and the Department of Environmental Protection (EPA).

The EPA has launched an investigation and a number of individuals have been fined the equivalent of the minimum wage.

If this is not paid within two weeks, the fine will be doubled.

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In an apparent reversal of the norm, a number of Greek Cypriots are having treatment for serious medical conditions in the North.

In an interview with Anatolia news agency, the deputy head of the Near East University’s trustee committee, Dr Irfan Gunsel, evaluating the progress of the hospital said, amongst other things, that a number of Greek Cypriots visit the university hospital for medical treatment.

Dr Gunsel said that around 10% of the 500 patients being treated in the hospital come from the South. He added: “Greek Cypriots, who didn’t even take a bottle of water from the Turkish Cypriots, now they trust their own life to the Turkish Cypriots.”

Most of them seek medical treatment for heart and cancer diseases.

Since the economic crisis hit the South, the Greek Cypriot government recently withdrew free healthcare for Turkish Cypriots and other foreign nationals. Anyone who had not paid three years worth of tax and social security payments was also denied free healthcare.

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The Silk Route International music festival will go ahead this year from September 26-29, but not in the national park, in the Karpaz.

The Silk Route Festival 2013 had originally been slated for the protected Natura 2000 area at Golden Beach, but plans were stalled when environmental organizations mounted protests and enlisted the support of the EU.

The Turkish Cypriot director of Silk Route Entertainments Ltd, Hilmi Ekrem said that they are now looking for a new site which is outside protected areas.

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The TRNC government has finally taken action and stopped the illegal construction of houses in the Karpaz area.

These developments were being constructed without permission, in the Karpaz Golden beach area. A number of environmental organisations have been petitioning the government for months to put a stop to them.

The Ministry of Tourism and the Environment has now acted. Teams from the Ministry were out in the area yesterday. They investigated 11 building companies and sealed 100 bungalows, effectively stopping further work on them.

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Any “yachties” amongst our readers may be interested to know that the Turkish Ministry of Transportation has initiated a tender process for the Halic (“Golden Horn”) Yacht Port and Complex Project, according to the Official Gazette, following the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

The tender documents will be made available for consultation at the Ministry of Transportation headquarters at no charge from May 15, 2013.

Companies which are intending to bid for the tender must pay TL 50,000 to obtain the tender files. The amount of the bid bond has been set at TL 50. The deadline for the submission of the bids and the conditions required from potential bidders are specified in the tender documents.

The Turkish Treasury says that it will not provide any guarantee to the winner for its loans or other expenditures.

The Turkish Ministry of Transportation is rapidly expanding its infrastructure projects, from airports to marinas and highways.

The ministry last week announced its plan to extend the Fenerbahce-Kalamis Marina yacht capacity from 1,300 yachts to 2,000 yachts.

It aims to increase Turkey’s yacht capacity from the current level of 17,000 to 20,000 in 2015 and to 30,000 in 2023, the year of the Turkish Republic’s 100th anniversary.

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Members of the Baraka Cultural Centre demonstrated in front of the Ministry of the Interior Building in Nicosia, yesterday.

Carrying placards and waving flags, they stressed that the budget should be used for health and education and not the purchase of eight BMW X3 vehicles for the Police Department management.

On behalf of the Baraka Centre, Mehmet Adaman read out a press statement saying that the government used the pretext of an economic crisis to reduce citizens’ rights on a daily basis. How could they then, afford this fleet of luxury vehicles?

The BMW X3 is a luxury SUV (sports utility vehicle).

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