THE FIRST round of negotiations on the Cyprus problem comes to a close at the end of this week without having achieved any results; the outcome of the procedure now hinges on next week’s four-way meetings involving Greece and Turkey. Rauf Denktash has used the talks so far as a stage to launch his campaign in favour of a ‘no’ vote in the referenda to be held on April 20.
IF ANYONE needs proof that economics is not an exact science, Cyprus is the perfect case study. Reunification talks on the island have exposed deep concerns by both sides about the cost and means of stitching back together the diverse economies of the Greek south and Turkish north for European Union entry on May 1.
WHENEVER the police use force to control a crowd threatening disorder – be they political activists, protesting farmers or football hooligans – they are publicly censured by the politicians for not exercising adequate restraint. The standard criticism against the police is they had used excessive force, irrespective of how threatening the behaviour of the demonstrators may have been.
ALITHIA: “UN fully supports its envoy” Reporting on the Cyprus problem, the daily commented that while Nicosia was trying to convey the message that the UN were not playing fairly, UN undersecretary-general Sir Kiran Prentergast stressed that its special envoy Alvaro de Soto had the full backing of the organisation.
PRIVATELY owned licensed fixed telephony operator CallSat Telecom yesterday unveiled its calling rates, which offer consumers reductions of up to 15 per cent on national calls and 60 per cent on international calls.
THE British Olympic Association (BOA) yesterday confirmed that “all necessary security measures” were being taken to protect their athletes in Cyprus in the run-up to the Athens Olympic games. The confirmation follows reports that undercover guards are set to accompany British and American athletes to this summer’s games as part of unprecedented security and anti-terrorism measures.
BBC news, CNN, National Geographic, Movie channels and more will soon be made available to ADSL users through CyTA’s new miVision service that will be up and running in May. MiVision will offer entertainment, information and communication all through the television set.
The right of return The issue of the right to return for residents of Karpasia comes up regularly in questions from members of the public.
A SRI Lankan woman’s future is hanging in the balance because foreign workers are not entitled to free health care in Cyprus, even though they pay social security like everyone else. Wimala Wijekoon’s four-month-old daughter Ioanna recently underwent emergency surgery and now she is unable to pay for the operation.
PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday rubbished claims that a document filed by the UN was unfair for the Greek Cypriot side and blamed the media for blowing the issue out of proportion. But Foreign Minister George Iacovou said the document contained points that the Greek Cypriot side does not even consider debatable.
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.
