PAPHOS finally experienced steady, heavy rainfall yesterday, taking many by surprise as umbrellas came up for the first time in months.

The head of the Paphos Water Board, Kyriacos Spanos, confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that the rainfall would be very helpful in irrigating plants and gardens.

THERE IS no information showing an increase in violence against children, only an increase in the number of cases being reported, Commissioner for Children’s Rights Leda Koursoumba said yesterday.

The Child Commissioner said this was as a result of the “good law” on the issue, which, among other things, makes the reporting of violence in the family against children compulsory.

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have been nominated with four other candidates for ‘European Man of the Year’.

The award is given annually by the newspaper European Voice. The nominees are chosen by European Voice senior editors, together with a strategically-selected panel of advisors drawn from the European Union community.

NOBEL PRIZE-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen will be on the island next month to deliver a lecture on climate change and atmospheric chemistry.

The 74-year-old Dutchman is due at the old Paphos powerhouse on October 12, under the auspices of the Paphos Mayor. An introductory speech will be given by Under-Secretary to the President, Titos Christofides.

THE offices of the young ecologists’ movement in Nicosia were vandalised for the second time in less than three weeks, the organisation said yesterday.

A statement said that when members went to open up yesterday morning, they found their sign destroyed and the door damaged.

The offices are located near the end of Ledra Street in the Papadopoulos arcade.

PAPHOS’ new chief of police has promised to significantly reduce all types of crime over the coming months.

The Famagusta-born career policeman has a spectrum of issues to tackle, ranging from internecine crime within the area’s large Pontian community to contemporary issues such as noise pollution, drug crimes and delinquency.

THE BRITISH government has submitted proposals for the development of non-military land within the British bases for the residents of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The Cyprus government, 19 months on, has yet to reply.

HOLLYWOOD legend Paul Newman, who died of cancer at the weekend, aged 83, was no stranger to Cyprus. He spent several months living and working on the island in 1960 during the production of the epic Hollywood movie Exodus.

In the film, Paul Newman gives a stirring performance as a resistance fighter who leads 600 Jews from the detention camps of Cyprus to the shores of Palestine.

THE INAUGURATION of an animal sanctuary in Ormidia village is taking place on Thursday, ahead of World Animal Day.

The President of the Argos Animal Rescue and Protection Association yesterday told the Mail that, “the first phase will be the launching of the cat sanctuary, which is part of the overall project, which will see us provide refuge for any animal that is unwanted.”