TURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash yesterday accused President Tassos Papadopoulos of acting as if the Cyprus problems had already been solved, as negotiations resumed to discuss “core issues” after a three-day break. “We have started discussing the essential problems but we have still not found a way out (of the deadlock),” Denktash told reporters after three hours of negotiations.
PHILELEFTHEROS: “Give-and-take” Leading with the new round of talks this week, the paper cited sources saying that the negotiations would focus on substantive issues. President Papadopoulos will reportedly be raising the issue that some of Denktash’s demands are outside the framework of the Annan plan. And Athens and Nicosia have said that an agreement must be ratified before the referenda.
Fact of the day: Bang: the EU has landed and workers all over the continent are scrambling for the sunny shores of Cyprus. Maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but the general idea is that workers are free to work in any member state within the EU without the fear of discrimination.
A FURTHER six flamingos were found dead at Larnaca Salt Lake over the weekend, bringing the total number of deaths to 12 last week. The existence of lead traces coupled with the threat of poaching guarantee that the death count will rise within the protected wetland.
POTATO farmers yesterday stepped up their mobilisation of tractors in preparation for a large-scale blockade if the government fails to meet their demands for early retirement pay-offs.
A BILL legalising irregularly built houses and apartments will pave the way for the issuing of thousands of title deeds that have been on hold for decades, The planned amendment defines and extends derogations from town planning regulations, the aim being to ‘legalise’ the thousands of residences that fall into this category.
AN OPINION poll in Politis newspaper has revealed that almost 30 per cent of the population is still undecided about the Annan plan to solve the Cyprus problem. Last week, a similar poll on Sigma TV had shown 61 per cent of those asked would vote ‘no’ to the plan as it stood. But the ACNIELSEN/Politis poll published on Sunday was far more nuanced.
BY OPENING an information centre for Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia, Constantinos Candounas says he is doing something the government should have done long ago. Candounas’ Information Centre, close to the capital’s popular Ledra Street, opened just two weeks ago to help orientate Turkish Cypriots to life in the south.
GREEK-born Cypriot entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou is launching his easyCar franchise in Cyprus to target tourists after sealing a deal with a local car-hire firm. According to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, the easyJet tycoon has reached agreement with a Greek Cypriot businessman, Spyros Spyrou, who will own and operate 200 cars in return for a royalty to use the easyCar name.
COLLEGE owners yesterday threatened to seek compensation from the government for financial losses incurred after the Interior Ministry changed its entry requirements for foreign students at the last minute.
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.
