The Cyprus issue: the next opportunity

2004-08-15

IT IS commonplace that without any international pressure on Turkey, and particularly from the European Union, there can be no solution of the Cyprus problem. Such pressure can effectively be exercised when international players link a strategic aim of Turkey to the Cyprus issue.

Unstoppable gee-gees

2004-08-15

THE WESTERN flank of Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canaries is going to slide into the Atlantic one of these days: a diagonal fracture has already separated it from the main body of the volcano, and only friction still keeps it attached.

A lesson in political hypocrisy

2004-08-15

“We should all be careful not to give the impression that parallel negotiations are taking place, because in that way we’ll all become negotiators and make a complete mess of things,” AKEL general secretary Demetris Christofias said a few days ago, with the signs of jealousy clearly evident on his face for the contacts DISY is having with the Turkish Cypriot leadership.

Casinos could bring in billions

2004-08-15

CASINO owners in the occupied areas are raking in the money that Greek Cypriots are losing at their establishments. Betting laws in the Republic prohibit the creation of a casino and Greek Cypriots flock to the north in order to play.

Do Europeans still need pink slips?

2004-08-15

CYPRUS’ accession to the European Union on May 1 signalled a colossal tide of change for the small country of under a million inhabitants. Enlargement flung wide the gates to a single market of 25 member states while granting 450 million citizens certain inalienable rights.

Tales from the coffeeshop

2004-08-15

THREE cheers for the small minority of hecklers who booed and jeered Nicos Cleanthous when he was laying a wreath during the non-anti-occupation ceremony for Famagusta, eight days ago. It could not have happened to a nicer guy.

Curses and spells. My visit to Elmas

2004-08-15

“SIMON, son of Taylan, son of Ann, 37 years old.”
Elmas, the famous fortune-teller of Famagusta repeats these words three times and then mumbles something in Arabic. Her fingers fumble across words and through pages of a thick, well-worn book of Arabic texts.

Drinking to the games: head north and to the islands

2004-08-15

BY THE time you read today’s article, the talk of the day will be all about the opening ceremony. Assuming, it will be successful and, above all, safe, we can toast to organisers with more Greek wine. As mentioned last week, our Olympic tour of wineries continues looking further afield from the main games venues in Athens. We move north to Thessaly.

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.