Traditional house in Lympia

2010-02-11

Beautiful traditional 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom 2 storey house in Lympia, ideally located 1/2 way between Nicosia & Larnaca. Recently renovated to a high standard to include all mod cons whilst maintaining original features such as stone work & wooden beams. Front & back garden, verandhas. Underfloor heating throughout (including hallways, kitchen and bathrooms), a/c, stainless steel fitted appliances in kitchen, stunning ensuite with free-standing bath & rainshower. Must be seen to appreciate. 279,000 euros. Tel 99959813

Driving women crazy!

2010-02-11

It always amazes me how anybody with children manages to hold down a job here with all the driving that is required. Some parents I know spend a good couple of hours every afternoon driving their kids to private lessons, after picking them up from their private schools in their big gas-guzzling cars.

I have no intention of banging on about the environmental implications of all this because I really can’t get exercised about that. It is just that I find it incredible that people have the money and the patience, (that is nearly always the mothers) to indulge in this expensive and very time-consuming pastime….

Baghdatis brushes aside Blake in Rotterdam

2010-02-11

MARCOS Baghdatis beat American James Blake 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round of the World Indoor Tournament in Rotterdam last night.

Playing his first match since injuring his shoulder at the Australian Open last month, the Cypriot number one overcame Blake’s challenge in just over an hour.

In the first set both players held serve until the seventh game when Blake gifted Baghdatis three break opportunities by hitting three successive forehands out.

Baghdatis converted on his second attempt with a forehand crosscourt passing shot to take a 4-3 lead.

He served the set out with Blake hitting a backhand return long to surrender the advantage.

The Cypriot then built on his momentum in the second set as he raced into a 3-1 lead.

EC requests environment report on public works

2010-02-11

 

THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked Cyprus for information to assess the island’s compliance with EU legislation concerning environmental issues, officials said yesterday.

The EU’s Environment Directorate-General is inquiring to find out if certain strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) regarding large projects have been done after receiving reports alleging they have not.

DG Environment has sent “a letter requesting information to assess compliance with EU legislation,” an EU spokesperson told the Cyprus Mail.

More specifically the December 15 letter inquires whether strategic environmental assessments have been carried out regarding marinas, golf courses, wind farms and desalination units.

Our View: Big cathedrals don’t necessarily have to be ugly

2010-02-11

WHEN Archbishop Chrysostomos II announced that the hideously big statue of the late Archbishop Makarios would be removed from the courtyard of old Nicosia’s Archbishopric, we thought he had a more developed sense of aesthetics than his predecessor.

After all, he had justified his decision by saying that the statue was too big and out of proportion to its surroundings. He said another statue of Makarios would be commissioned to blend in harmoniously with the area. While many at the time believed the decision showed the new Archbishop did not subscribe to the ‘bigger is better’ aesthetic, subsequent decisions have proved them wrong.

Trio to remain in custody until murder trial

2010-02-11

TV PRESENTER Elena Skordelli, her brother Tasos Krasopoulis and Andreas Gregoriou will remain in custody pending their trial for the murder of media boss Andis Hadjicostis.

The decision was announced to a packed courtroom yesterday morning by Nicosia District Judge Charalambos Charalambous.

The ruling was met with bitter disappointment from the relatives of the accused, who had been hoping that their loved ones would be released until their February 22 appearance at the Assize Court for trial.

Property prices ‘distorted by local factors’

2010-02-11

THE HIGH prices of property in Cyprus – especially houses compared to apartments – are caused by a range of distortions in the local market, according to views canvassed by the Cyprus Mail.

According to the first results of the new quarterly Cyprus Property Price Index (PPI), launched by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Cyprus two weeks ago, low yields – the annual rental income from a property compared to its market value – strongly suggest that the market is overvalued.

Professor Patrick McAllister of the School of Real Estate and Planning at the University of Reading (UK), who was one of two academics commissioned by RICS Cyprus to develop the methodology underpinning the PPI, said at the index’s launch:

EP calls on Turkey to withdraw troops from Cyprus

2010-02-11

IN A strongly worded resolution, the European Parliament yesterday set a number of preconditions on Turkey’s EU accession, calling on Ankara to immediately withdraw its occupation forces from Cyprus and facilitate the ongoing peace talks for a political settlement.

The EP adopted a resolution on Turkey’s Progress Report, based on a report drafted by Dutch MEP Ria Oomen-Ruijten, which states that the Turkish government should contribute “in concrete terms” to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue, based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the principles on which the EU is founded.

Ayios Antonios market to get €1.8m facelift

2010-02-11

NICOSIA’S Ayios Antonios market is set for a full make-over beginning on February 24, after the signing yesterday of the project contracts by Mayor Eleni Mavrou and Sotos Lois of Lois Builders Ltd.

The project, which will take 20 months at a cost of €1.8m plus VAT, will be completed in three separate phases, in order to allow the market to continue to operate normally.

Mavrou said that signing of the contracts was “a significant step, because Ayios Antonios market is a building that is closely associated with the city. It is part of the memories of the oldest among us, and is part of the lives of the youngest among us.”

Union accuses ministries of nepotism

2010-02-11

A TRADE union yesterday accused the government of lack of meritocracy, referring specifically to the ministries of Health and Labour.

SEK, which is affiliated to opposition DISY, said it had expected things to be corrected since last year, when it reported certain cases in a meeting with President Demetris Christofias.

But instead of that, things have become worse, the union said in a written statement.

“SEK submitted before parliament last week, data that proves the Christofias government is a champion in nepotism,” the union said.

In the front line of this “unacceptable behaviour” are the ministries of health and labour, SEK added.

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.