Swiss business warns tax vote will drive out rich

2010-11-16

By SWISS business warned this week that a plan to impose minimum taxes on the ultra wealthy will prompt rich residents to emigrate and make the country less attractive as a location for top companies.

Switzerland votes in a referendum on November 28 on a proposal by the centre-left Social Democrats (SP) to levy a minimum tax of 22 per cent on income above 250,000 Swiss francs ($254,000) and 5 per cent on assets above 2 million francs.

“This initiative would be damaging for Switzerland,” said Ursula Fraefel of business lobby economiesuisse, which is leading the campaign against the initiative.

Former Tiffany exec to revamp elite Italian brand

2010-11-16

AFTER leading Tiffany & Co’s expansion in Europe, Italian jeweller Cesare Settepassi is on a new mission – turning an elite jewellery brand into a global luxury player.

The 67-year-old member of one of Italy’s oldest goldsmith families told Reuters last week he saw scope to relaunch niche brand Faraone, known as the former jeweller of Italy’s royal Savoy family and opera diva Maria Callas, to meet growing demand from wealthy families in both mature and emerging markets.

“Money has not dried up during the crisis. Big spenders are everywhere, from Milan to New York, from Dubai to China,” Settepassi said at the opening of his showroom in Italy’s fashion capital. “Money never stops, it changes hands,” he said.

Prince William to marry girlfriend Kate Middleton next year

2010-11-16

* Announcement ends months of speculation

PRINCE William is to marry his long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton next year, Buckingham Palace said yesterday, ending months of media speculation about the couple’s plans to wed.

William, 28, the elder son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, and Middleton, 28, daughter of self-made entrepreneurs, became engaged while on holiday in Kenya last month.

“The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince William to Miss Catherine Middleton,” Charles’s office said in a statement.

“The wedding will take place in the spring or summer of 2011, in London. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.”

2 Bedroom Flat to Let in City…

2010-11-16

2 Bedroom Flat to Let in City Centre Beautiful two bedroom flat for rent in the Nicosia city centre, off Makarios Avenue. 4th floor, recently renovated, includes light fittings, kitchen appliances, air-conditioning and curtains. Enquiries: 99646816 or 99684964.

What is the world coming to?

2010-11-16

The Queen launched herself on Facebook last week. You can’t be her friend but you can ‘like’ the British Monarchy link. Apparently 41,000 users had clicked the ‘like’ button, an hour after the page was launched. There are pictures of the family and YouTube videos. Whatever next? Videos of Prince William at Count Bastion and more interestingly, Prince harry launching the Soldiers Challenge at the Imperial War Museum. Yes, I have watched them all.

Omonia leave it late for ‘important’ win over Anorthosis

2010-11-16

OMONIA coach Dusan Bajevic expressed his delight with a 1-0 victory over Anorthosis in the tenth round of the national football championship at the GSP Stadium over the weekend.

“I think it was a very good game, especially in the first half, as we faced a difficult opponent. It was an important game for both teams since we both wanted to win,” he explained.

“We played well throughout the first half and created opportunities that unfortunately we did not take advantage of because we were anxious to convert,” said Bajevic.

“In the second half, due to tiredness, we started a bit slowly and the opposition changed their approach and went forward in numbers trying to win the game.

Our View: Making it easy for Turkey to realise its objective

2010-11-16

 

TURKISH and ‘TRNC’ flags decorated the north’s Kucuk Square at which yesterday’s celebration rally for the 27th anniversary of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) was held. Banners declaring ‘Nobody can separate the TRNC from Turkey’ and ‘TRNC forever’ also featured at the rally that was addressed by Dervis Eroglu and Turkey’s deputy prime minister Cemil Cicek.

Four arrests after random attacks

2010-11-16

FOUR ARRESTS were made at the weekend and three teenagers remanded in custody in connection with a series of violent and reportedly racist attacks against members of the public in an area of Nicosia on Friday night.

Nicosia Divisional Police Commander Kypros Michaelides said yesterday that based on statements made by the arrested youths, the group roamed the streets targeting foreigners. The fact that Cypriots were also beaten boiled down to mistaken identity, he told the Cyprus Mail.

Teens take to the streets

2010-11-16

‘CYPRUS is Greek’ and ‘Cyprus united and federal’, depending on what youth group they belonged to, were some of the slogans shouted yesterday by protesting students on the 27th anniversary of the north’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI).

Students from all over Cyprus took to the streets to voice their opinions on the setting up of the so-called “pseudostate,” in 1983. In Nicosia, some students marched down to the Ledra Street crossing, some to the Green Line near the Orpheas stadium and others down Makarios Avenue, to the Ledra Palace. But as usual, most were just glad of the opportunity to bunk off school.

Two sides trade barbs ahead of Thursday’s New York meeting

2010-11-16

THE Turkish side does not have the good will and cannot convince anyone it wants a solution to the Cyprus problem, the government said yesterday.

Responding to comments made by Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, the government spokesman said “it shows the Turkish side lacks good will and does not convince anyone that it wants a solution.”

On the 27th anniversary of the declaration of the breakaway state yesterday, Eroglu said there are two states, two republics and two peoples in Cyprus.

“A solution in the Cyprus problem cannot be found with separatist perceptions or perceptions, which are outside and beyond United Nations resolutions,” Stefanos Stefanou said.

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.