May 11, 2022 – Cyprus News Gazette

May 11, 2022

Heineken Hosts Biggest UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour in Africa

In its continuing effort to bring the UEFA Champions League (UCL) experience closer to more football fans around the world, Heineken has staged its most elaborate Trophy Tour in Africa yet. The 10-day tour, which ended on April 13 in Abuja, Nigeria, ahead of the 2022 final match on May 28, included several public events that featured the UCL trophy at major stops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. Fans from Rwanda and Congo Brazzaville also attended the tour in Nigeria and DRC respectively.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220509006222/en/

Clarence Seedorf on tour with the UEFA Champions League trophy in Ethiopia, as part of the pan-African tour, courtesy of Heineken.

The events around the tour included open-truck city parades, novelty matches with local celebrities, UCL quarter final match viewings, fan meet and greets, photo sessions, media rounds, Afrobeats concerts, and visits to government ministries in charge of football.

Heineken, sold in 192 countries around the world, has been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since 2005 and the company’s leadership said its Africa-wide trophy tour for the 2021/2022 season was structured to reach 50,000 Africans directly while an estimated 10 million more are reached via media coverage.

A highlight of the trophy tour was a Heineken-sponsored football match in Lagos, Nigeria. It pitted Nigerian music superstars and football legends against senior staff of Nigerian Breweries, which is the local Heineken brewer, and the Trophy Tour Ambassador, professional coach and former Dutch international midfielder, Clarence Seedorf.

BET Awards-winning Afrobeats star Davido captained Team Nigeria, which had ex-Nigerian internationals Austin Jay Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, and Taribo West. Also on the squad were rapper M.I. Abaga, R&B singer Darey, and Nigerian Breweries Marketing Director, Emmanuel Oriakhi. Seedorf led Team Heineken, playing, among others, Nigerian Breweries Finance Director, Rob Kleinjan; and the company’s Supply Chain Director, Martin Kochl.

The novelty match preceded an Afrobeats concert that was headlined by African superstar, Davido and Peruzzi, another topflight Nigerian singer. Members of the Heineken management team and Seedorf then met with the Nigerian Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, at the MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja, the country’s capital.

The Union of European Football Associations, the umbrella organisation for 55 national football associations across Europe, organizes the Champions League as an annual competition among top-division football clubs. The 2022 final match is slated for May 28 at the Stade de France in Paris.

“The goal of the Trophy Tour is to inspire a new generation of African footballers and appreciate fans for their love of the UEFA Champions League and Heineken,” said Heineken’s Senior Global Director, Bram Westerbrink.

The continent’s importance to the growth of football and the UCL is evident, Bram also noted. Several European clubs in the English, French, Italian, Spanish, and German leagues have notable African following, with many of the fans organising meetups and celebrations when their favourite teams record tournament successes. With more than 100 Africans currently playing professionally, over 25 Champions League winners from Africa, and about 300 million African fans, football has taken hold as the most popular sport on the continent.

“This is why Heineken is proud to celebrate its association with the UEFA Champions League,” said Hans Erik Tuijt, Director, Global Heineken Sponsorships, adding that Heineken has the highest awareness on the continent as a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

The great importance of sports tourism highlighted at a Sports Tourism Conference

The great importance and the great contribution of sports tourism in the further development of tourism in Cyprus, were highlighted by speakers at the Sports Tourism Conference entitled “Sports Tourism & Industry – Development, sustainability and innovation of Sports Tourism services in Cyprus”.

Sofia Zacharaki, Greek Deputy Minister of Tourism was the keynote speaker of the Conference, organised by the Cyprus Sports Organization.

In her presentation at the conference, Zacharaki firstly spoke about the prospects of sports tourism in Greece, which could be a model for Cyprus.

The Greek Deputy Minister referred to the importance of mobilising local communities to embrace sporting events that are hosted in small communities and villages. She gave the example of running events organised in small villages in Greece and attract thousands of foreigners, participants and tourists.

On his part, Cyprus Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios explained the reasons why since 2019 the Ministry considers sports tourism as one of the most important special types of tourism in Cyprus.

He said that in 2019 about five thousand athletes came to Cyprus, who with their families, translated to 50 thousand overnight stays in Cyprus during the unseasonable months of January, February and March.

“Cyprus must invest in sports tourism,” he said, stressing that his Deputy Ministry has given importance not only to traditional sports tourism events but also to many other emerging ones, such as swimming, marathons, shooting, karate and cycling.

The President of Cyprus Sports Organisation Andreas Michaelides, said that the Board of Directors of the Organisation is determined to set the foundations for the immediate development of sports tourism.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

President says he briefs EU leaders on Turkey’s provocative behaviour in relation to EU measures on Ukraine

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said that the reason he very often has meetings with EU member states leaders’ is to inform them on the position the EU should have vis-à-vis provocative behaviours of states who aspire to join the EU or are partners in NATO in relation to the measures that the EU is taking on the war in Ukraine.

President Anastasiades was replying to a journalist’s question upon his arrival at the University of Cyprus campus for a foundation stone laying ceremony of the faculty of medicine and health sciences ‘Nicos Shacolas”.

Invited to comment on Turkey’s announced intention to drill in the Eastern Mediterranean in July, President Anastasiades said that “this is why I very often have contacts and visits by European partners, leaders of (EU) member states, so that there can be awareness on everything that is happening in relation both to the Ukrainian war, the measures taken by the EU and the position it should have vis-à-vis such provocative behaviour of states.”

Particularly, he added, of “states who wish or have the ambition of joining the EU or are partners in NATO.”

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

Bounced cheques of €438,000 were presented in April

Bounced cheques worth €438,000 were presented to Cyprus banks in April, according to data announced by the CBC on Wednesday. This is the largest monthly value of bad cheques presented at least since 2020, and it corresponds to more than half of the total amount of bad cheques presented throughout 2020.

In January 2022 the total amount of bounced checks presented was €149,558, in February € 93,811 and in March €64,852. In total, in 2021, the bounced cheques were worth €933,945, and €741,700 in 2020.

According to the CBC data, the number of individuals and legal entities registered in the preliminary list from January to April 2022 amounts to 81, while 69 persons were registered in the Central Information Registry (CIR) during the same period.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

On average 630 new breast cancer cases in women and five in men are recorded each year in Cyprus, Health Minister says

Each year, on average, 630 new breast cancer cases in women and five in men are recorded in Cyprus, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said on Wednesday in his address at the event to mark 20 years since the establishment of Europa Donna Cyprus that is launching a campaign for legislation ensuring Cancer Survivors’ Right to Be Forgotten and access to financial credit services.

The Minister said breast cancer is a major cause of death globally and of diminished quality of life for women, stressing that it is the duty of all decision-making centers to act so that all women in Europe have equal opportunities as regards participation in systematic screening programmes, and receive the most appropriate treatment, but also have a strong support network.

He referred to his Ministry’s breast cancer screening programme, that offers free mammograms to all women between the ages of 50 and 69, while, he said, it is now planning on expanding this to cover all women between 45 and 69.

Hadjipantela also said many women have been able to fully recover from breast cancer thanks to the screening programme, that contributes to early detection. He also referred to the state-of-the-art digital mammography equipment introduced in the programme but also the Breast Centre at the Nicosia General Hospital which offers a holistic approach and treats each breast cancer patient according to their needs.

EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, and founding member of Europa Donna Cyprus, Stella Kyriakides, in a recorded message, welcomed what has been achieved so far by Europa Donna Cyprus but also the commitment, determination and courage of all those who participated “in this great journey”.

Referring to the EU actions for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, Kyriakides said that an important action of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is the Right to be Forgotten.

The Commissioner said it was an “inalienable right” of every cancer survivor, to have the right to access to financial credit services, without any discrimination.

The EU, she said, calls on the Member States to guarantee, by 2025 at the latest, the Right to Be Forgotten to all cancer survivors, ten years after the end of their treatment and five years, for those diagnosed before the age of 18. She said other EU states such as Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy have legally ensured this right, while Luxembourg has entered into a special agreement with insurance companies to provide insurance for cancer survivors.

The President of the Board of Europa Donna Cyprus, Mary Perdiou, said they launched today a campaign aiming at a new law ensuring that cancer survivors will be able to have access to insurance coverage a number of years after their diagnosis and, by extent, be able to secure financial credit services.

Hadjipantela said he would take initiative, in cooperation with other competent Ministers, for expediting procedures for the preparation of such a bill.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

Prime Minister of Croatia says his country stands in solidarity with Cyprus during a meeting with House President

Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic has stressed that his country stands in solidarity with Cyprus and reaffirmed its principled stance on the Cyprus issue.

According to a press release, the Prime Minister of Croatia, who is paying an official visit to Cyprus, held a meeting on Wednesday with President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou and reaffirmed the principled positions of his country as regards the Cyprus issue stressing that Croatia stands in solidarity with Cyprus. Plenkovic also referred to the ongoing discussion on the “Future of Europe”, the press release says, adding that there was a convergence of views on various aspects.

The President of the House of Representatives expressed her appreciation for the principled stance of Croatia towards the Cyprus problem and underlined the willingness of the Greek Cypriot side to return to the negotiating table, with the aim to achieve the reunification of Cyprus.

Demetriou referred to the human rights violations as a result of the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus since 1974 as well as to the Turkish provocations in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus and stressed the need to exert pressure on Turkey to return to the negotiating table.

They both talked about the importance of promoting the Cyprus-Croatia relations at the parliamentary level and the prospects of establishing Friendship Groups in the Parliaments of the two countries.

During the meeting, they discussed about the war in Ukraine focusing on the humanitarian aspect, the press release says.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

FM refers to Cyprus’ role in efforts to defeat Daesh in ministerial conference in Marakesh

Cyprus Foreign Affairs Minister Ioannis Kasoulides referred to the role Cyprus played at the height of efforts by the Global Coalition against Daesh at a ministerial meeting of the Coalition in Marakesh and urged states to sign and ratify the Nicosia Convention which criminilises illicit trade of cultural heritage, which constitutes a source of terrorism funding.

The ministerial meeting of the Coalition concluded its work on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

The Coalition was established in 2014 and comprises 84 states and international organisation.

The ministerial meeting was organised by Morocco Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Burita and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken with the key aim of coordinating international efforts to combat terrorism.

In his intervention, Kasoulides spoke about the situation in Africa. He spoke of the importance of coordinating the international effort to combat terrorism and the main reasons that give rise to it.

“He noted the role Cyprus played at the height of the Coalition’s efforts in order for Daesh to be defeated, while urging states to sign and ratify the Nicosia Convention which criminilises the illicit trade of cultural heritage, something which constitutes a source of funding for terrorism,” the press release says.

He stressed, it adds, that members of the coalition should remain vigilant since Daesh maintains the capacity to act as a destabilising force, as new combatants are recruited. He further spoke of the importance of combating foreign malicious influence in the African continent, which incites the action of terrorist organisations.

Kasoulides also informed members of the Coalition of Cyprus’ intention to contribute in the effort by organising training programmes to combat terrorism at the centre CYCLOPS.

During his stay in Marakesh, the Foreign Affairs Minister had bilateral contacts and meetings with his counterparts from Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Georgia.

He returns to Cyprus on Thursday.

May 11, 2022

Number of COVID-19 patients needing hospitalisation has dropped, Minister of Health says

The number of COVID-19 patients who need hospitalisation has dropped, Minister of Health Michalis Hadjipantela has said.

In statements after an event marking the 20-year anniversary since the foundation of Europa Donna Cyprus, on Wednesday, Hadjipantela said that in the COVID-19 Reference Hospital in Famagusta there are four patients with coronavirus who are being treated, but noted that the hospital is operating normally.

He was also asked about the increase of acute hepatitis cases of unknown origin that were announced by the World Health Organisation. Hadjipantela said that there is no suspicious case in Cyprus so far and assured that the Ministry is on high alert and if an incident is detected it will be announced.

The Minister will be at the Famagusta Hospital on Thursday to visit the new Paediatric Ward.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

Diaspora issues discussed at meeting between Photiou and SG for Greeks Abroad

Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou held a meeting on Wednesday in Nicosia with Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy Ioannis Chrysoulakis.

A press release says that during the meeting, they discussed about the contribution of Education and the Church in maintaining the ties of the new generation with their roots, language, history and culture.

Photiou pointed out that the Cyprus-Greece bilateral cooperation is one of the most important pillars of the National Strategy for the Diaspora.

They also discussed about the forthcoming Trilateral Meeting between Cyprus, Greece and Egypt that is set to take place in Marseille, France, in September as well as the Trilateral Meeting between Cyprus, Greece and Armenia that will take place in Patras, Greece, on the 24th of June on diaspora issues.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

May 11, 2022

Hillstone Networks Receives “Customers’ Choice” Distinction in Gartner® Peer Insights™ “Voice of the Customer” Network Firewalls Report for the 3rd Consecutive Year

Hillstone Networks, a leading provider of infrastructure protection solutions, today announced it has received “Customers’ Choice” distinction in the 2022 Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Network Firewalls. “Gartner Peer Insights is a free peer review and rating platform designed for enterprise software and services decision makers.”

In the report, vendors, including Hillstone Networks, “placed in the upper-right quadrant of the ‘Voice of the Customer’ quadrants are recognized with the Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice distinction, denoted with a Customers’ Choice badge. The recognized vendors meet or exceed both the market average Overall Rating and the market average User Interest and Adoption.”

“In addition to delivering innovative, proven, and effective network security solutions, Hillstone Networks is committed to providing a superior customer experience,” said Tim Liu, co-founder & CTO, of Hillstone Networks. “To be recognized with a ‘Customers’ Choice’ distinction, we believe, is a testament to our commitment to provide the exceptional service and support our customers need to keep their companies safe.”

Key findings for Hillstone Networks in the Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” Network Firewalls report as of 28th Feb 2022 include:

Hillstone Networks received a 100 percent “willingness to recommend” rating from its users.

85 percent of surveyed Hillstone users gave the company a 5 out of 5 stars rating.

Hillstone Networks’ Support Experience received a 4.9 out of 5 rating based on 94 reviews.

Hillstone Networks’ Sales Experience received a 4.9 out of 5 rating based on 93 reviews.

To read the 2022 Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” Network Firewalls report, click here.

With over 23,000 global customers, Hillstone Networks has established a reputation of “security that works.” Its intuitive solutions span SD-WAN, ZTNA, Microsegmentation, CWPP, NDR, as well as XDR. Hillstone Networks has been named a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Network Firewalls and has also been recognized for eight consecutive years.

Gartner, Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: Network Firewalls, Peer Contributors, 29th April 2022. *

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls, By Rajpreet Kaur, Jeremy D’Hoinne, Nat Smith, Adam Hils, 1 November 2021

About Gartner Peer Insight

Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

About Hillstone Networks

Hillstone Networks’ proven Infrastructure Protection solutions provide enterprises and service providers with the visibility and intelligence to comprehensively see, thoroughly understand, and rapidly act against multilayer, multistage cyberthreats. Favorably rated by leading analysts and trusted by global companies, Hillstone protects from the edge to cloud with improved total-cost-of-ownership. To learn more visit www.hillstonenet.com.

Source: Cyprus News Agency