Clock ticking on Cyprus talks

2010-11-20

PRESIDENT DEMETRIS Christofias is leaving New York “very satisfied” after Thursday’s tripartite meeting at the UN headquarters, and insists he came under no pressure or threats and had no timeframes imposed.

Not all shared his view, however, with opposition DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades noting an “informal timeframe” had been set for January while government partner DIKO, through its leader Marios Garoyian said the president came under “strong pressure” in New York.

Our View: Ban issues no-nonsense message to the leaders

2010-11-20

THE COLD, sombre expressions of the two leaders, standing on either side of the UN Secretary-General, as he read his statement after Thursday’s meeting suggested that things did not go very well. This was also obvious from Ban Ki-moon’s statement which, in diplomatic language, censured Demetris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu for the total lack of progress in the talks and demanded that they adopted a positive approach.

Where the wealthiest children live behind barbed wire…

2010-11-20

BUENOS Aires must be one of the most elegant capitals in the world with its abundance of tree lined streets and neighbourhoods reminiscent of exclusive Paris arondissements, but over the past ten years there’s been a curious evacuation.

Drive an hour north towards Pilar and high walls hedged with barbed wire line the highway. They could be prisons, but they are not. They are the ‘Country Clubs’ or ‘countries’ as they are known locally. Huge gated communities with 24 hour surveillance and housing quoted in dollars. For the professional classes have runaway, taking their families into protected hibernation from the horror of urban life.

Justice minister implicates MPs in extrajudicial ‘courts’

2010-11-20

JUSTICE Minister Loucas Louca yesterday implicated MPs in the operation of the extrajudicial ‘courts’ said to be resolving financial disputes in place of the civil legal system.

The existence of the ‘private courts’ was revealed at the House earlier in the week. Deputies heard how those with disputes would take their lawyers along and argue their respective cases in front of a ‘judge’ who would issue his decision. However deputies also heard that in some cases threats of violence and blackmail were used to resolve financial differences.

“This phenomenon is being encouraged by persons, who I’m sorry to say include MPs,” Minister Louca told the House Finance Committee yesterday, during discussions on his ministry’s budget.

English School ‘running on autopilot’

2010-11-20

FOUR English school board members have tendered their resignations to President Demetris Christofias this week, which, if accepted, will bring the remaining board members to three.

None of the resigning members have been officially announced, but several sources close to the English school board and active members of the English School Parents Association (ESPA) say the outgoing individuals are all AKEL party members.

The remaining three are rumoured to be DIKO party members.

Only one of the reportedly resigning board members, Chairman Kyriakos Vassiliou was reliably confirmed as having submitted his resignation.

‘Fobbed off by the Guardian’

2010-11-20

A UK-based woman of mixed British and Turkish Cypriot origin says she plans to sue the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties over what she says is gross mismanagement of hundreds of donums of her family’s land in Nisou.

Vedia Izzet, 40, says she will take legal action against the Guardian  – the Interior Ministry – because a portion of her family’s property was parceled off and given to land developers to build luxury homes. Other parts of the 300-donum site have allegedly been used accommodate warehouses, a garden centre and a number of business outlets.

Good chance of a deal on economy package

2010-11-20

A CRITICAL meeting took place yesterday, to discuss the measures that need to be taken to improve the economy and to finalise a package that will cut the budget deficit.

The meeting took place between Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis and the leaders of co-governing parties AKEL and DIKO. The meeting lasted for two. The two parties will meet again next week to finalise the package after going over the proposals with their own parties.

According to reports AKEL and DIKO do not agree on all measures suggested, but both parties are confident a final agreement can be reached since there is some common ground between the two.

Site earmarked for new prison

2010-11-20

THE new central prison will be built in the outskirts of Nicosia through a partnership between the state and the private sector, lawmakers heard yesterday.

Justice Minister Loucas Louca said the new facility will be built in an area between the villages of Tseri and Marki just outside the capital.

The prison will be built using the public private partnership (PPP) system and according to Louca, it will not affect public finances.

Louca did not say when work will start or how much the facility will cost.

The minister did say the project will be completed 18 to 24 months after the agreement was signed.

Four more arrests in CY cargo theft

2010-11-20

 

FOUR MEN were remanded yesterday after being arrested in connection to the theft of expensive luxury commodities from a Cyprus Airways (CY) air cargo warehouse at the old Larnaca Airport.

Two of the suspects are Cypriot, one is Romanian and the other is Bulgarian. The Larnaca District Court issued a three-day remand for the suspects. Police said the four admitted to being involved in the thefts, but claim that some of the stolen goods were given to them by the men arrested last week in the same investigation.

On November 12, three Romanian brothers and one Bulgarian were arrested and remanded for eight days in connection to the same case. Police had found laptops, cameras, sunglasses, watches and bracelets in the suspects’ homes, theysaid.

Exhibition goes on despite Turkish objections

2010-11-20

A CYPRIOT photo exhibition in Brussels, which was being threatened with closure after complaints over the use of the term “Turkish Invasion” in the brochure, will go ahead as planned it was announced yesterday.

The exhibition, entitled “Promotion of cultural values through the protection of cultural heritage” was scheduled to be displayed from the November 15 at the Committee of Regions (CoR), by a delegation from the Union of Cyprus Municipalities.

However, the CoR received several complaints, reportedly from Turks and not Turkish Cypriots, about the terminology used in the literature.

The complainers also objected to the distribution of flyers which contained the same text, but which they claim had not been submitted for CoR approval.

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.