London Greek Radio

China closely follows developments in the Cyprus issue and supports its efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Foreign Minister of the People`s Republic of China Wang Yi, who concludes today an official visit here, has said.

In statements after a meeting with Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, the Chinese FM said he looks forward to a mutually acceptable solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The two Ministers discussed the deepening of bilateral relations, with Wang saying that they could cooperate in infrastructure, hydrocarbons, tourism, ports and agricultural products. Kasoulides said that Cyprus supports China`s initiative for the Silk Route and looks forward to concrete prospects of cooperation. He also said that Cyprus submitted an application to become a regional member of the Asian Infrastructure and Development Bank.

Welcoming the Chinese official to Cyprus, Kasoulides said that he was briefed in the morning by the Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on the Cyprus talks and they underlined the crucial role of the UNSC in the implementation of a solution.

Kasoulides pointed out that China follows with great interest developments in the Cyprus problem and thanked his Chinese counterpart for China`s principled stance on Cyprus` territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The two Ministers also discussed EU – China relations, Syria and other regional issues.

In his initial statement to the press, Wang Yi said that his visit to Cyprus aims to deepen the mutual political trust which defines the relations between the two states as well as the promotion of practical cooperation. He stressed Cyprus` strategic geographical position

Referring to the Cyprus issue, the Chinese FM said his country, as a permanent UNSC member state, follows developments in the Cyprus peace talks and supports the efforts of the Republic of Cyprus to retain its sovereignty and territorial integrity. China, he said, will continue playing a positive role at the UNSC.

As regards bilateral cooperation, he said that China is ready to discuss cooperation in the maritime sector by contributing to the upgrading of the Cypriot ports, as well as the development of industrial areas around the ports.

Wang said that other fields of cooperation could be infrastructure and hydrocarbons, as well as tourism. Referring to the latter, the Chinese Minister said that this year, 120 million Chinese tourists traveled abroad, noting that if only 1% of them visits Cyprus, then the island could receive 1,2 million additional tourists.

He added that the last sector of cooperation could be agricultural products such as olive oil, wine and milk products.

Replying to a question whether the Republic of Cyprus would provide facilities for Chinese warships, Minister Kasoulides noted that “Cyprus’ ports are open and Chinese warships are welcome to approach our ports. I recall that during the operation on the chemical weapons in Syria, a Chinese warship was docked here, being part of the escort of the merchant ship.”

Finally, in relation to the role that the Security Council could play in case of a solution of the Cyprus problem, Foreign Minister Kasoulides noted that his Chinese counterpart listened with great interest President Anastasiades’ views about the role of the Security Council in the adoption, as well as the monitoring and implementation of the solution. “I believe there is understanding on behalf of China, but the final outcome, will be subject to consultation among the Permanent Members of the Security Council”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs concluded.

Steve Harvey On Twitter

The wrong name was announced as the winner of Miss Universe 2015 in Las Vegas last night.

Host, Steve Harvey announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez to be the winner of Miss Universe 2015 but then after she went on stage to receive her crown and perform the ritual wave, he came back on the stage to announce that he had made a mistake and the actual winner in 2015 was Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (Awkward!)

Not only did he make a mistake on live television, he also made a spelling mistake on his first apology tweet, which he later deleted.

#MissUniverse2015 was one of the biggest trends on twitter last night; there were many jokes and memes about this mistake all over twitter. The reaction was mixed, some people were angry some were sympathetic towards Harvey however most people thought his mistake was hilarious.

Steve Harvey tweeted a second apology on twitter, now with the correct spelling of each candidate in the pageant, “I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible.” Harvey sent this apology after the public roasted him on twitter about his first apology and calling out the wrong name on live television.

Lyme disease symptoms

To raise awareness of Lyme disease in the UK, FIGHT LYME NOW has released a campaign song called ‘Fight it!’. It’s all to do with teaching people about the disease and the way it is currently treated.

The disease, which is spread by tick bites, has very limited available treatments in the UK meaning many patients have to go abroad to receive medical attention.

There is currently only one way of testing for Lyme disease in the UK and that only has a 50% accuracy rate. Many of the people tested may be getting false negative results.

The campaign is made up of a survey and a petition in aim to get the Government’s attention on the subject of the lack of awareness and treatment for the disease.

To get involved and help find a new test for Lyme disease, click here to join the fundraising efforts. Below is the song “Fight It!” We hope you’ll enjoy it and feel compelled to share it:

Winter Appeal for Refugee Camps

Everyone must be aware of the massive influx of refugees from war devastated countries to Europe, and the dangerous journeys they have endured. Transit camps are where many of them end up, a crossing point from Greece to Macedonia.

Andrew Marr, a volunteer worker with Hackney Cypriot Association, is now at one of these camps, working alongside the Hellenic Red Cross, Medicins Sans Frontieres and other charity volunteers.  Andrew has appealed for help in what is an increasingly fluid and desperate situation. Border restrictions increase; the European response to the crisis is unresolved; and the severe winter weather has taken hold.

Andrew has appealed to his friends in the UK for help, and how can we refuse?  At the beginning of November he wrote:

“We are desperately short of everything; we have not nearly enough coming in. For me, the numbers of people heading our way, with the everyday possibility of FYROM (Macedonia) closing the border and the prospect of sub-zero temperatures, biting Northern Bora winds and driving rain or snow, we have a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen here. 

We need winter clothes, particularly children’s and babies (hundreds of children come through every day, some with no shoes at all) we need just about everything for babies; blankets, small easy to transport sanitary products such as toothbrushes, shavers, soaps etc  

Local people are very generous, and visit the camp with hot cooked food, but there are no kitchen facilities onsite”

Hackney Cypriot Association is collecting essential clothing and everyday goods that are urgently required and sending it over to the camps. This appeal is for the money needed for packing, freight transport and any other urgent needs at the camps.

To find out how you can help or to send a donation click here to visit the Hackney Cypriot Association charity page.

Minus One have been named as the Cypriot representatives for the up-coming Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, which will be held in Stockholm.

The pop-rock band, which is made up of five members will be looking to lead Cyprus to their best ever finish in Eurovision history.

Vocalist, Francois Micheletto, will be assisted by fellow band members Harrys Pari, Costantinos Amerikanos, Antonis Loizides and Chris J, who will be collectively playing the drums and guitar.

The date for the release of the song has not yet been specified for listeners, which leaves Cypriot fans in eager anticipation. The LGR website will have the song on its release date in the months leading up to the competition.

Minus One have already started producing their song with the help of Swedish producer Thomas G:son who helped Sweden to a Eurovision triumph in 2012 with their song ‘Euphoria’. The involvement of the Swedish producer highlights the Cypriot ambition to impress at this competition.

In terms of performances at previous Eurovision song contests, Cyprus have never won and tend to finish in the wrong end of the leader board.

Head of Delegation Evi Papamichael helped decide who would be representing Cyprus for next summer’s contest and believes the combination can produce a winning formula. She said: ”Minus One and Thomas G:son are, I believe, a winning combination and will hopefully leave our Cypriot flag waving until the very end in Stockholm”.

The band narrowly missed out on this year’s competition with their entry ‘Shine’ and will be hoping for a vast improvement. They have since been performing at stages such as Downtown live in Nicosia and Savino in Larnaca.

The tournament Semi-Finals will span from the 10th May to the 12th May, where they will be hoping to stamp their authority on the rest of Europe.

Cypriot Eurovision representatives Minus One wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2016!

The 2016 Cypriot Eurovision hopefuls Minus One have recorded a special Christmas greeting message, wishing you the compliments of the season to you all the supporters of the Cyprus Eurovision Song Contest entry!

The Cypriot boys made up of vocalist, Francois Micheletto, will be assisted by fellow band members Harrys Pari, Costantinos Amerikanos, Antonis Loizides and Chris J, who will be collectively playing the drums and guitar.

The Cypriot entry will be drawn in one of the semi-finals on 10th and 14th May ultimately leading (should they manage to beat qualifying) to the Final on 16th May, at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm.

Check out Minus One on the festive road trip…

The much anticipated trailer for ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2‘ has finally been released. The sequel is based 13 years after the original film and is centred once more around the much loved Portokalos family. ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ was released in 2002 and made $368 million at the box-office globally, setting the record as the biggest romantic comedy of all time; meaning the expectations for the sequel are high to say the least.

Universal Pictures have finally released the official trailer, which gives fans a good idea of what to expect. The plot centres around Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) and Ian Miller (John Corbett),  who are still lovingly married with a daughter. Their daughter is played by American film and television actress Elena Kampouri. As the plot unfolds we learn that she is applying for distant colleges, to be freed of her over-protective and over-bearing Greek family.

As for the much anticipated second wedding, well it turns out that Toula’s parents, played by Lainie Kazan and Michael Constantine aren’t (technically) married to each other and the film centres around them tying the knot a second time (officially this time).

Returning also for the sequel are Andrea Martin, Louis Mandylor and Gia Carides. New characters include John Stamos and Alex Wollf. Kirk Jones directs this new chapter, which Nia Vardalos once again wrote; Rita Wilson and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goertzman are back to produce.

The long-awaited sequel is set for release on March 25, 2016. Watch the official trailer, here…

Histrionic Haircut The Movie

Histrionic Haircut, a new Greek/Cypriot film is coming to London cinemas. The film will star comedy sensation and TV personality Stavros Flatley as the main character, Periklis.

This comedy drama is due to be released in May 2016 and is predicted to be a huge hit among Greek/Cypriot families around London and the world.

The storyline goes that an English Cypriot, 50 year old family-man named Periklis (Peri) runs a fish and chip shop in London. Once Peri’s daughter gets married she decides to go live in Cyprus. She convinces Peri to sell everything he owns and deposit all his money in one of the largest banks in Cyprus at a high interest rate.

Very soon their whole lives are turned upside down, after the Eurogroup’s decision to haircut people’s deposits in Cyprus.

Peri suffers a great shock and as a result he becomes histrionic.

Alongside Stavros Flatley, will star: Elena Xadjiafxenti, Julietta, Velibor Topic, Michael, Koulis Nikolaou, Sofoclis Kaskaounias, Maria Ioannou and Andreas Tselepos.

Keep an eye out for more information about the #HistrionicHaircut film on the LGR website and social media pages. Or visit their website: www.histrionichaircut.com

Picketing the Turkish Embassy in London on Sunday 15 November, a vocal demonstration, organised by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, made itself heard despite the Embassy’s refusal to recognise the protest, or to engage in dialogue with British Cypriots. British Cypriots made their voice heard outside the Embassy condemning the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state and calling on Turkey to remove its troops from Cyprus and to honour its obligations to Europe and Cyprus.

This year marked the 32nd consecutive year of the picket outside the Turkish Embassy on the black anniversary of the illegal Universal Declaration of Independence. The declaration was condemned by UN resolutions 541 and 550 and the illegal state has not been recognized by any country except Turkey. At this year’s picket participants also held a 1 minute silence as a mark of respect for the victims of the ISIS attacks in Paris and all Cypriots who sacrificed their lives for Cyprus’ freedom.

During the picket, the President of the National Federation of Cypriots was joined by the President of POMAK, Officers and Members of the Federation’s Executive, the President of NEPOMAK and the President of EFEK (Cypriot Students in the UK) to deliver a resolution to the Turkish Ambassador. The letter of resolution demanded the withdrawal of the Turkish occupying army and the Turkish colonists illegally transferred by Turkey to the north of Cyprus and called on the Turkish government to abide by the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the European Union and international law. This year, however, the letter also urged Turkey to respond with positive actions to encourage progress in the direct negotiations taking place on the island towards a just and lasting settlement. The resolution also called upon Turkey finally to resolve the terrible human tragedy of the Cypriot people who went missing during its invasion of the island in 1974.

Federation member associations, NEPOMAK and EFEK showed their resolve against the illegal occupation and the self-proclaimed pseudo-state, which remains unrecognised by all countries in the world except Turkey.

Mr Karaolis, Federation President, said:

“We know that Turkey sustains and controls this illegal and unrecognised regime: for more than three decades, the so-called ‘TRNC’ has been a symbol of Turkey’s bullying behaviour, representing a threat to peace, security and stability on the island and in the region. As we all know the question as to whether or not Cyprus can turn a new page will depend on Turkey’s willingness to remove its army of occupation from the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, and on its sincere engagement with the UN-facilitated process. We call upon Turkey to end its intransigent policy towards Cyprus and with concrete actions respond to the positive momentum in Cyprus for a solution”

Keeping the name Rizokarpasso alive!

On the 29^th November the Rizokarpasso Association celebrates 40 years and is hosting a very special dinner & dance at The Penridge Banqueting Suite, Arnos Grove.

The event will be a fundraiser for the Association which was created in the wake of the 1974 invasion to represent all of the UK Cypriots from Rizokarpasso and to help support their enclaved compatriots.  In 1977, the Association founded the Help Rizokarpasso charity in order to provide charitable aid to the enclaved and those who have been forced out of Rizokarpasso.

The event will provide food and drink for all guests, raffle prizes and music provided by a Greek DJ. The entry fee is £30.00 per person for what promises to be a memorable and enjoyable evening in the History of the Association of Rizokarpasso.

For more information and tickets telephone 0783 051 8245 or email [email protected]