North Cyprus Record: First Seven Star Hotel Opened in Kyrenia

Wow..!    This hotel is a magnificent edifice...

The 7-star Les Ambassadeurs hotel & casino, which opened its doors to its guests in December 2017 in Kyrenia, has showed once again that there has been significant investment in TRNC tourism, a report by Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Havadis’ writes. The hotel, which has also a 150 yacht marina, belongs to the Falyali Group.

According to the paper, the Les Ambassadeurs group continues its works aiming to become a 1,000-room capacity quality chain with the Famagusta Ambassadeurs Park hotel, which is planned to open in 2019.

Havadis

Tensions on the Rise in the E. Mediterranean

Reports in the local press reflect a rise in tensions in the eastern Mediterranean drilling for hydrocarbons. The unilateral initiative by the Greek Cypriots to undertake new drilling projects in their search for gas and oil is raising the stakes.

The deepwater drillship commissioned by French energy company Total and Italian ENI continues its preparations to drill offshore Cyprus. Meanwhile, Turkey’s new drillship ‘Deepsea Metro 2′ is on its way from Norway via the Aegean, and is expected to arrive at Istanbul by the end of the week.

According to Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Starkibris’, Turkey has deployed warships to follow the drillship, although they are maintaining a considerable distance. However a Turkish warplane reported trailed a Greek C130 from Larnaca upto Greek airspace.

‘Havadis’ reports that Turkey is sending its seismic survey vessel ‘Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa’ to continue its operations offshore the island. It adds that there will be a takeover ceremony for Turkey’s latest acquisition the Deepsea Metro 2 when it arrives at Istanbul with TRNC Energy Minister Sunat Atun in attendance.

‘Yeni Duzen’ reports that Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, who made announcements regarding the arrival of the new drillship, also said that no one should consider the eastern Mediterranean as “his father’s property”. He noted that Turkey’s drilling activities would disturb those in some quarters.

StarKibris, Havadis, Yeni Duzen


In another report;

The TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has said the planned hydrocarbon drilling by the Greek Cypriot side and its unchanged mentality was an indicator that a solution based on a political partnership was not possible.

He said that the prospect of negotiating a two-state solution could be on the horizon as an option in the near future.

In a written statement issued yesterday, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said that the Greek Cypriot side ignored the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

“We are watching the Greek Cypriots continue hydrocarbon explorations in the Eastern Mediterranean in amazement despite all warnings made to this date”, he said.

Ertuğruloğlu said that the launch of new hydrocarbon activities was the latest example of the Greek Cypriot side’s illegal activities and a blunt repetition of the mistakes made in the past.

“Their activities are an indication that they consider themselves the island’s only legitimate owner”, he added.

Ertuğruoğlu also pointed out that it was the Greek Cypriot side to blame for the failure of the Conference on Cyprus held earlier this year despite the Turkish Cypriot side’s constructive efforts.

“We would like to use this unfortunate occasion to once again remind that the Turkish Cypriot people, as joint owners of the island, have legitimate and equal rights in the natural resources of the island. It is therefore required to seek the approval Turkish Cypriots before any exploration or drilling activity takes place”, the statement read.

The TRNC Foreign Minister said the best way to contribute towards a just and lasting Cyprus solution would be to ‘freeze hydrocarbon activities around the island’ or to proceed with exploration through a ‘mutually agreed framework’.

“If this approach is not taken, the Turkish Cypriot side, alongside motherland and guarantor Turkey, will take all necessary measures to secure our rights and interests,” the statement read.

BRTK

Christmas Lights in North Cyprus this year 2017 seems awesome! Take a look ....

The Turkish Cypriots in North Cyprus celebrate the New Year rather than our traditional Christmas, although they seem to enjoy that as well, but there is no lack of glitter when it comes to street decorations and most of our superb hotels go all out to impress. 

We spent an hour or so one evening driving around the local area to capture some of the wonderful Christmas/New Year lights and the photos are shown below for your enjoyment.

2 Las Vegas security guards fatally shot in hotel-casino

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Las Vegas security guards were fatally shot Saturday while investigating a disturbance in a room at a hotel-casino and the suspected shooter is facing critical injuries after turning the gun on himself, police said.

The gunman's motive wasn't known but investigators believe it was an isolated incident.

"I want you to know right now that this has nothing to do with terrorism," Capt. Robert Plummer told reporters outside the scene of the shooting.

The shooting happened before 7 a.m. at Arizona Charlie's Decatur, which is located west of the Las Vegas Strip. According to police, the suspect, Christopher Olague, ran from the hotel-casino after the shooting and into a nearby neighborhood where he tried to enter two homes but the residents were able to keep him out.

Police found him in a laundry room accessible through a garage of the second home after he appeared to have shot himself in the head, Lt. Dan McGrath said.

According to McGrath, Olague tried to enter the first home with the intention of stealing a car and also tried to take a vehicle on the street.

Police described Olague's condition as a "non-survivable wound."

The victims' identities were not released. Police said the uniformed security guards were a man and a woman in their 40s and that one was armed. Their identities and their causes of death will be released by Clark County Coroner's Office.

McGrath said the circumstances of what happened in the hotel room still unclear.

The hotel-casino's office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The shooting comes a day before law enforcement officers expect tens of thousands of New Year's Eve revelers on the Strip and three months after the city dealt with the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Officials have been trying to reassure residents and visitors that the city is safe, especially in the wake of the Oct. 1 shooting. A high-stakes gambler killed 58 people and injured hundreds more after he shattered the windows of his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino on the Strip and unleashed gunfire on a country music festival below. He then killed himself.

Turkish man jailed for love in north

A Turkish man has been handed a two-year prison sentence for illegally returning to north Cyprus to be with his lover.

Ayhan Demirci was deported from the north on 4 August for residing illegally, but returned 12 days later using an altered identity card belonging to his uncle.

The suspect was found guilty of ‘falsifying a document’, ‘impersonation’, and ‘entering the TRNC illegally’ at the criminal court in Kyrenia.

After the verdict, Demirci said his university student girlfriend was distraught after he was deported and that ‘she was going to commit suicide if I didn’t return, that’s why I came back’.

The judge, Pinar Beyoglu, said Demirci was caught after telling an acquaintance he returned using a false document to be with his girlfriend, which led to police arresting him.

Beyoglu said Demirci had been remanded in custody since September 6 and that the crime of ‘falsifying a document’ carried a sentence of up to 10 years.

Demirci first entered north Cyprus two years ago and worked as a blacksmith in Morphou, but became an illegal immigrant when his boss failed to get him a work visa.

 AYDIN CALIK

Uber Driver Accused of Raping 16-Year-Old Passenger

Uber driver has been arrested on charges of raping a heavily intoxicated 16-year-old passenger, and authorities fear there may be other victims.

Abdoulie Jagne, 58, drove a 16-year-old girl to an apartment complex  early Monday morning after she had been drinking at a bar outside Atlanta, the Washington Post reports. When the girl got out of the car, she reportedly began knocking on doors with her pants around her ankles, saying Jagne had assaulted her during the ride. Police were then called to the scene.

The girl was taken to the hospital by police on Monday, but Jagne was not arrested until Thursday, the Post reports. Information provided to authorities by Uber showed that the ride took longer than it should have, according to Fox 5 Atlanta, leading police to suspect that Jagne raped his passenger along the road where he eventually dropped her off.

Authorities suspect that Jagne, who had been driving for Uber for about two months and was banned after the incident, may have assaulted other women. The suspect was “surprisingly calm” and “did not act surprised” when he was arrested Thursday, Fox 5 Atlanta reports. He remains in jail.

Uber has had periodic rider safety issues since the company’s founding, 

Woman admits letting three-year-old son freeze to death outside house while she slept off drug binge

A mother has admitted to letting her three-year-old son freeze to death outside her house while she slept off a drug binge.

Jamie Basinger pleaded guilty to the involuntary manslaughter of Landyn Melton and he 24-year-old will be expected to serve 36 months of supervised probation and between 19 and 32 months of prison time, after cutting a plea deal with Prosecutors in her home town of Morganton, North Carolina.

Basinger's mother, Brenda Basinger, said it was something her daughter was "going to have to live with this the rest of her life."

“She’s going to have a battle, we all are, she told the Morganton News Herald, adding that she still had unanswered questions about the three-year-old's death.

Landyn was found dead on 15 March after a neighbour called the police when they spotted him laying on the porch.

Assistant District Attorney Michelle Lippert said when he arrived at the scene he knocked so hard on the door "he was surprised he did not break the storm door glass".

He said Basinger's boyfriend, Joshua Steffey, answered the door and went to find Jamie. Both later admitted they smoking meth two days before Landyn's death and marijuana the night before.

Basinger's attorney, Frank Webster, said she had cooperated with the authorities because she wanted answers herself and was grief-stricken at her son's death.

He told the court: “She didn’t understand this. It didn’t make sense to her."