Niinistö visits today Turkey

President Sauli Niinistö and his wife Jenni Haukio depart on an official visit to Ankara, today  to meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

The two presidents will meet on Tuesday to discuss Finnish-Turkish relations, Turkey’s relationship with the EU, the situation in the Middle East and the European refugee situation.

Niinistö is also scheduled to meet other politicians and representatives from Turkish business community.

Despite bombings in Ankara that killed nearly 100 people on Saturday, the meeting will take place on schedule, according to the office of the president.

Niinistö strongly condemned Saturday's bombings, which are suspected to have been carried out by the Islamic State.

Source YLE NEWS

Turkish Cypriot commemorates the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus every 16th of August for the last 11 years

Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika newspaper (17.08.15) reports that a Turkish Cypriot named Kamil Hur reiterated yesterday the activity he has been holding for eleven years on 16 August, the date considered as the anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.

Under the title “The Republic of Cyprus is alive”, Afrika writes that Hur accused the guarantor powers of the Republic of Cyprus for the suffering of the Cypriots. Hur said that the only solution to the Cyprus problem is the Republic of Cyprus and those who look for other solutions are actually “breeding” the non-solution. 

PIO

Updated for Tilleys news  by A.Tilley

Talks on Cypriot Problem : “the leaders agreed that the individual`s right to property is respected”.

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, agreed that the individual’s right to property is respected, during their meeting on Monday, the last before the summer holidays.

In remarks after the leaders` meeting at UN Protected Area in Nicosia, the UN Secretary-General`s Special Advisor, Espen Barth Eide said the leaders on Monday continued to make progress towards their shared vision of a united, federal Cyprus.

He said the meeting today focused on issues of property and criteria on territory and “the leaders agreed that the individual`s right to property is respected”.

Eide explained that there shall be different alternatives for the regulation of the exercise of this right” with dispossessed owners and current users having various choices regarding their claims to affected properties. “These different choices shall include compensation, exchange and reinstatement. The exercise of any such choice shall be subject to agreed criteria. There shall be a list of categories of affected properties” he said and there shall be an “independent Property Commission mandated to resolve property claims based on mutually agreed criteria. The Property Commission shall comprise of equal number of Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot members”.

The UN envoy said Akinci and Anastasiades welcomed the appointment of Peter Van Nuffel as the Personal Representative of the president of the European Commission to the UN Good Offices Mission in Cyprus and were also briefed on the informal consultations held with the UN Security Council last week. “They welcomed the strong expression of support of the members of the Council for a settlement in Cyprus”, said Eide.

Eide said the leaders also underlined their commitment to maintain the momentum of the process and that the next meetings will be held on the 1st and 14th of September. Meanwhile, the negotiators will continue to meet intensively between leaders` meetings in support of this endeavour and over the coming days, they will have joint sessions with the Working Groups on European Union Matters, Property and the Economy to more effectively guide their work.

The UN envoy announced that in the prevailing positive climate, Anastasiades and Akinci, will on Tuesday participate in a musical event at the Othello Tower as agreed by the Technical Committee on Culture.

Meanwhile, in his remarks after returning to the Presidential Palace, President Anastasiades said the talks today took place in the same good atmosphere.

He also said Eide`s statement “speaks for itself.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The leaders of the two communities, President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Akinci have been engaged in UN-backed talks since mid May with the aim to reunite the island under a federal roof.

   Source : CNA(Cyprus News Agency )

CYPRUS PARADISE ON EARTH..

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DESTINATION IN THE WORLD

Greece debt crisis: France presses to keep Greece in eurozone

France will do all it can to keep Greece in the eurozone, because allowing it to leave would be too risky,  FRENCH PM Manuel Valls has said.

"The basis for a deal exists," he said, ahead of an emergency eurozone summit in Brussels.

However, Germany has warned against any unconditional debt write-off.

Eurozone ministers have called on Greece to put forward fresh proposals after Greek voters rejected the latest draft bailout deal in a referendum.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met Greek political party leaders on Monday and headed to Brussels on Tuesday morning, where he is expected to present new proposals.

Source: BBC NEWS

Time changes tomorrow morning.. Set your clocks one hour ahead.

Daylight saving time goes into effect at 2 a.m. tomorrow. Remember the adage, "Spring forward, fall back," and set your clock ahead by one hour before you go to bed tonight.

The clock change slices an hour of shut-eye from your routine, so there are a lot of strategies available to help you manage the switch. Several sleep experts suggest easing into the routine, such as going to bed a few minutes earlier reach night until you've accounted for the hour you'll lose on Sunday, says the CBC.

But if you haven't prepared ahead of time, the Chicago Tribune cites a sleep researcher who suggests adopting your normal schedule immediately after the time change and not letting yourself nap until you adjusted.

The National Sleep Foundation suggests people use the change to daylight saving time to "reset sleep habits," such as going to bed and rising at the same time each day, keeping quiet bedrooms free of televisions and computers, and creating bedtime rituals, such as listening to quiet music.

Of course, if you live in Arizona or Hawaii, disregard this advice: Those states don't advance the clock. Phoenix station KNXV-TV reports Arizona officials decided against time changes years ago, because it meant more sunlight and hotter temperatures later in the evening.

One quick plug from the Consumer Product Safety Commission: While you're changing your clock, change the batteries on your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, too.

The Voice o f Lahti

ARTHUR TILLEY 

74 per cent of Finnish  citizens believe that the president Sauli Niinistö  has operated  correctly in the Russian-Finnish policy interests . The results  were shown today  in  the  economic research  commissioned  by the newspaper  Iltalehti .  43 per cent  of the respndents feel that Niinistö should, however, be more closely contacted the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The majority of citizens feel that Niinistö does not contribute to the so-called Finlandisation. Only 14 percent of respondents are of the opinion that Niinistö has given the impression that Finland would give Russia too much influence in Finnish politics. The study also touched upon NATO. 59 percent of citizens support Niinistö's view that Finland is not applying the prevailing conditions for NATO membership.

A clear minority, or 29 per cent of them would turn NATO's position, if Niinistö tickets would be clearly in favor of membership.

President Niinistö receives in  the survey citizens overall grade eight plus. For example, the President of Finland Tarja Halonen got  in  her own office Taloustutkimus  at the end of October 2011 study, only  grade 8.

SOURCE: Iltalehti.fi