Three drown in three days

2010-07-18

A TOURIST drowned off the coast of Paphos yesterday making it the third drowning in as many days.

The 64-year-old Lebanese man, in Cyprus with his wife for a holiday, drowned around midday yesterday in the sea near the Tombs of the Kings area in Paphos. Earlier in the day, divers found the body of a man missing since Friday night in a lake in Archangelos while in Limassol, mourners attended the funeral of former MP Yiannakis Agapiou who drowned at sea on Thursday.

The 64-year-old Abdel Malek Basbous went swimming with his wife, Elham Salloum, 52, in the sea near the Venus Beach Hotel yesterday. According to the Paphos CID head, Klitos Erotocritou, police were informed at around 12.30 that someone had drowned at that beach.

Tales from the Coffeeshop: ‘Grey anniversaries’ would offend no one

2010-07-18

THE MARKING of, what AKEL traditionally describes as the ‘the black anniversaries of the twin crime of 1974 against Cyprus,’ begun last week and are set to be completed on Tuesday, presumably with yet another public gathering for the AKEL hordes.

Akelites are the only ones who show up in numbers for these anniversary events because party discipline remains strong in the commie party, in contrast to the other parties whose less idealistic members would probably demand a permanent job in the civil service in exchange for attending the tediously boring gatherings for the condemnation of the twin crime.

Our View: The tax evaders protected by law

2010-07-18

LAST SUNDAY, a newspaper published a list of the tax-free allowances paid to deputies and a collection of top-ranked state officials including the president, ministry permanent secretaries, Supreme Court judges and commissioners.

Known as a ‘representation allowance’, it is €18,000 per year for most state officials while for deputies it is €22,000. The president’s aides – government spokesman and presidential under-secretary – receive the highest representation allowance of €33,000, presumably because their basic salary is a bit lower than a minister’s and not because they have great ‘representation’ needs. These allowances were not always so high, but the government increased them last year by about 50 per cent.

Bicommunal peace event takes place this week

2010-07-18

A GROUP of more than 50 Greek and Turkish Cypriot organisations will come together this Thursday to remember the innocent victims of almost 50 years of violence and war on the island. The bicommunal peace movement will gather at the Peace Park in the village of Kontea in the north, along with relatives of the victims of massacres, unionists, teachers, students, artists, peace activists and common people from all walks of life “to remember our violent past and to pledge to build a common peaceful future”.

In a released announcement, the movement acknowledged the contribution of everyday people to the humanitarian issue of the missing, which “has suffered for many years in the hands of politicians”.

War of words over gays

2010-07-18

A CYPRIOT MP has drawn fire from a group of European parliamentarians for suggesting a causal link between countries providing a legal status for same-sex couples and the decriminalisation of bestiality.

DISY deputy Andreas Themistocleous has found himself in hot water after engaging in a public debate with a group of 88 MEPs representing the European Parliament’s Intergroup for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people.

Sentences reduced for Akhtar brothers

2010-07-18

AN Appeals Court has unanimously decided to reduce the sentences of the Akhtar brothers and their father from Limassol, who were convicted of attacking policemen and causing serious injuries back in 2008.

Andreas Akhtar, 57, along with his two sons Elias, 24, and 29-year-old George, were found guilty of a string of charges in November 2008, including causing grievous bodily harm, aggravated assault, resisting police arrest and illegal possession of weapons.

Following Friday’s court ruling, the father’s sentence has been reduced from two years to 18 months in prison, while Elias’ has reduced from four and a half to three years and George’s from three and a half years to two and a half years.

Former EU official’s Turkish post deemed provocative

2010-07-18

FORMER EU Commissioner Gunter Verheugen has come under the spotlight, with Cypriot MEPs crying foul over his new role as adviser to the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges.

The European Commission gave Verheugen the go-ahead to take on a number of advisory positions in the private sector after spending ten years as German commissioner, first for enlargement (1999-2004) and then enterprise until 2009.

Maronites conduct ‘historic’ church service

2010-07-18

MARONITE Archbishop Joseph Soueif yesterday delivered the first service in 36 years at the Church of Agia Marina Skylloura in the occupied north, in the presence of over 500 followers.

In his speech, Soueif described the day as “historic for all Maronites of Cyprus” and especially the Agia Marina residents, who he said had always expressed their desire to witness a service being carried out in their village church.

“My prayer today is of gratitude to God; a plea for just and continuing peace on our island,” said the Archbishop, adding his hopes for this historic service to be the start of a whole new era for Cyprus.

Holiday scheme for pensioners

2010-07-18

PENSIONERS will receive holiday benefits for their autumn holidays, according to a new Holiday Funding Scheme by the Social Welfare Services.

According to an official announcement yesterday, the benefits will be offered for the September-December period and will be given to OAPs (Old-Age Pensioners) who are registered in the Social Security Fund, and who either receive pensions, or who are over the age of 63.

The monthly income of beneficiaries as of June 2010, should not exceed €960 per person or €1,700 for two pensioners.

Furthermore, a household cannot have received any other form of state funding for their 2010 holidays.

Both hands off the wheel in a begging position

2010-07-18

IT SEEMS strange that a 17-year-old road hog can be directly responsible for the death of an 86-year-old and get away with it. Drunken driving and driving without due care and attention in Cyprus receive minimal sentences, rather like smoking in public places.

Last Saturday morning, as if to flout the law, a large young man not wearing a crash helmet drove his high powered motorbike at great speed and repeatedly past the House of Representatives; around the block imperiously twenty times, raising dust and causing a hell of a din. Nobody stopped him, chased him, booked him for dangerous driving or displayed the slightest concern. Not a cop in sight other than those in 4WDs on their way to protect foreign embassies or parked sleepily outside periptera.

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.