Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 09-09-28

Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER SHIPPING

[02] BARONNES KINNOCK SUPPORT

[03] CYPRUS EUROPEAN CULTURE PROGRAMME

[01] COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER SHIPPING

``Shipping is by far the most efficient form of transportation and inevitably, when the demand for goods and raw materials recovers, shipping will flourish again. The questions left to be answered are when and to what extent,`` Nicolaides said in a speech titled ``A Government`s View on the Shipping Crisis`` at the Maritime Cyprus 2009 congress.

Nicolaides noted that due to the sudden financial crisis, which led to a global economic downturn, ``the demand for transport of goods and raw materials has dropped, as an immediate reflection of the slump of the consumer spending in Europe and North America, and consequently the freight rates fell below or close to breakeven levels for most classes of ships.``

``An important issue that puzzles all of us is whether the shipping crisis will have any negative impact on quality and safety,`` he pointed out, adding that ``when the markets are down, it is a good time to focus on quality, safety and efficiency.``

Nicolaides said ``phases of substantial boom followed by sharp declines are typical for the shipping industry, which is expected to see both bankruptcies and more consolidation, driven as much by massive over-supply as weak demand,`` and expressed confidence that ``the shipping industry will find its way out of the crisis and be able to stand on its own feet again.``

Referring to Cyprus, he said ``the crisis does not seem to have had, so far, any significant repercussions on the level of shipping activity in Cyprus,`` noting however that ``without the downturn, the Cyprus registry would have expanded more, especially in view of the improvement of the quality standards of the fleet and the establishment of a new image of the Cyprus flag.``

[02] BARONNES KINNOCK SUPPORT

Addressing an event organized by Cypriots living in Britain, in the framework of the Labour Party Conference in Brighton, Baroness Kinnock confirmed that he will visit Cyprus next month.

British MPs who attended the event were informed about latest developments in the Cyprus question.

[03] CYPRUS EUROPEAN CULTURE PROGRAMME

According to an official press release issued here, the first event titled IN THE BEGINNING IS THE WORD, took place on 21 March 2009 in Nicosia with 10 renowned poets from 11 European countries.

The second event is titled NOTOPOS (from the words NO and TOPOs (Greek for place, country) and it will take place in Paris on 3 October 2009 (the evening is named nuit blanche (white night), because many cultural events are taking place that last into the very early hours of the morning). This event is co-organised by the French Cultural organisation BIPVAL Biennale des Poetes en Val-de Marne and is taking place in two theatres, at the ̀aison de la poesie, at the centre of Paris and at the Gare au theatre, an old train station converted into a cultural centre / theatre at Vitry-sur-Seine. Audience, poets and other artists will be connected / transferred from the one to the other with special shuttle buses. Twenty one poets and 12 other artists from Europe will take part.

Cyprus is represented by the poets Gur Gench, Pambos Kouzalis, Niki Marangou, Lily Michaelides and the musician / composer Costas Cacoyiannis.

Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article