A ‘NO’ vote by Greek Cypriots in the referendum on the Annan plan could be far worse for the island than anyone imagines, diplomats warned bluntly yesterday. Members of the international community have openly expressed concern about the fact that the leaders of the two sides have not done enough to promote or explain the plan to their respective populations.
A POLICE campaign to clamp down on traffic violations in Larnaca resulted in the booking of 126 motorists in just four hours. Police said during their campaign in the Larnaca district, officers booked 126 people for various traffic violations from 10am to 2pm on Friday.
THROUGHOUT the past ten years the people of Cyprus have heard countless empty promises about the need to upgrade the island’s ambulance services, whose shortcomings are responsible for at least 50 deaths a year. Various plans have been drafted but none have been implemented because, according to various sources, the Finance Ministry Planning Bureau did not release the funds.
AT THE moment, Greek Cypriots opposed to the Annan plan appear to outnumber those who support it, depending of course on which circles you move in. Many do realise that this is the last chance, and although they are not happy about it, they are looking at the bigger picture. The biggest problem for most people appears to be the lack of information on the content of the plan and what it means.
IT SEEMS to be almost the only topic of conversation these days, at dinner parties, in offices, coffee shops and everywhere else for that matter. Not whether or not the two leaders will reach an agreement on the Annan plan, but who will vote ‘no’ and who will vote ‘yes’ in the referendum to be held in April.
A friend called the other day complaining about his string of bad luck with damaged older bottles of wine, things bought in the aftermarket some six years ago and eight years to the years after release. My initial reaction was quite simple, although unexpressed. Why are you surprised? The handling, distribution and storage of wine is one of the biggest scandals in the field.
Alexi David is a 26-year-old man suffering from a chronic incurable illness. He is a former heroin addict and this is his story. NINE years ago, Alexi decided to destroy himself. It didn’t feel like a conscious decision, but in reality that’s what it was, he admits today. Born on March 8, 1977 in Cyprus, he moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1984 with his parents and older sister.
DRIVEN by EU accession, peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have begun again. Depending on the results of planned referenda on both sides, a solution may well be found to the decades-old political division of Cyprus. For 30 years, the island has developed and grown asymmetrically.
DURING the age of enlightenment in the 18th century, many godless folk began openly to deny the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, choosing cremation as a way of expressing their lack of faith. The established church saw cremation as an attack on their teachings, responding by prohibiting members of their faith from receiving a church service if they planned to have their bodies cremated.
Back in the good old days, it was starvation, war or pestilence that resulted in a person’s impromptu death. Nowadays it’s not the absence of food, but the very food we eat that is perceived as the potential mass killer.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
