Snogging and the Snow!

2010-12-22

I thought I had missed all the snow but in the last few days, I have seen more snow in London than I have ever seen in my life. I want to just enjoy it but it isn’t easy. It is three days to Christmas and I have only just got the heating working, half my family is stuck in Cyprus and I have barely started the Christmas shopping. If they don’t get here tonight, I may just end up spending all my quality time over Christmas with the nice man from British Gas! He has been very helpful sorting the heating problem, even if it has taken five visits so far…

Turkish Cypriots protest shopping crack down

2010-12-22

TURKISH Cypriots yesterday waved cucumbers and other groceries in the air at a Nicosia crossing point as they protested against the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state’s seizures of products purchased in the government-controlled areas.

The protest was organised by the Trade Union Platform following seizures of products, including toys, last Saturday.

Members of the platform yesterday visited the government-controlled areas and purchased groceries and toys, which they subsequently carried through the Ayios Dhometios crossing point.

Ivory Coast: a tale of two countries

2010-12-22

ALL THE foreigners and about half the Ivorians agree that Alassane Ouattara won last month’s presidential election in Ivory Coast – but not the southerners, who say that it was their man, Laurent Gbagbo. So the Election Commission declared Ouattara the winner, and the Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner.

It’s been eight years now since Ivory Coast, once the richest country in West Africa, was divided. This election was supposed to end the division, but it has just perpetuated it. Maybe it’s time to accept that Ivory Coast is two countries, not one.

Is it possible to be a peaceful protester anymore?

2010-12-22

THERE’S a new version of the twelve days of Christmas doing the rounds in Athens it includes the lines: six soldiers a’shooting and five fire bombs.  For it feels the days when one could hold a placard safely and protest against a government’s policies, or watch a march go by without having to barricade windows and protect your property are long gone.

Online gambling ban on hold

2010-12-22

MALTA AND the United Kingdom are purposely trying to derail Cyprus’ attempt to ban online gambling, DISY deputy Ionas Nicolaou said yesterday.

“The interventions and comments by Malta and the United Kingdom were made purposely as online gaming is licensed in both countries and they receive huge amounts of money for those licenses,” the chairman of the House of Legal Affairs Committee said yesterday speaking after the European Union had sent back a draft bill which seeks to ban most online gambling in Cyprus.

Cyprus had sent the bill to the EU in September and government ministers had hoped to implement it by the start of the New Year. However the EU’s reply means the bill will be delayed for at least another three months.

Parents’ long fight for file into son’s death

2010-12-22

THE PARENTS of a 17-year-old conscript found shot dead at his guard post at a Larnaca army camp last year were yesterday finally given the full file of the investigation carried out by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

The parents, Androula Larkou and Pavlos Pavlou, sought access to the file for months, following the death of their son Tefkros Pavlou on October 9, 2009, and blame the ministry for failing to be honest with them about the conditions of his death.

Witnesses take to the stand in Hadjicostis murder trial

2010-12-22

THE trial for the murder of media boss Andis Hadjicostis continued yesterday with the testimony of three key witnesses, including a housemaid who nearly came face to face with the culprit.

The other two witnesses were the victim’s neighbour, Michalis Koursaros, and the travel agent who issued the tickets to Moldova for one of the four main suspects in the case, 29-year-old Gregoris Xenofontos, who fled Cyprus just days after the murder.

First to testify was travel agent Savvas Papademetriou, who briefed the court on what happened the day Xenofontos purchased the tickets to Moldova.

Former official denounces pension claims

2010-12-22

THE former director of the President’s Office, Vasos Georgiou, yesterday said he would sue the Republic of Cyprus if the Attorney-general’s rejection of his employment contract – providing among others almost €170,000 as a retirement bonus – was accepted.

Georgiou also refuted reports he attempted to increase his bonus from the state by €100,000.

In a lengthy announcement yesterday, Georgiou denied reports claiming he had returned his bonus on two occasions to wait out for a much bigger payment, which would be estimated based on the last of three contracts he signed with the state.

Reprieve for lambs in wake of abattoir overtime ban

2010-12-22

LARGE numbers of lambs could be spared this holiday season as workers at a main slaughterhouse have refused to work overtime because they have not received their 13th salary.

Workers at the Kofinou slaughterhouse said they will not work overtime because the board cannot pay their Christmas bonus, which would mean that a large number of lambs will not be slaughtered, Larnaca Mayor and board chairman Andreas Moiseos said.

The action started yesterday.

“These days there is always a lot of overtime work in order to slaughter” all the animals for the holidays, Moiseos said.

So you think you would like a dog for Christmas

2010-12-22

Hundreds of unwanted dogs end up at the Nicosia Dog Shelter each year. The shelter’s director, Sharon Beckett, urges those thinking of getting a dog for Christmas to consider the work and expense it entails

Can you afford a dog?

There are necessary vets’ expenses. Microchipping, annual vaccinations, regular anti parasite treatments, sterilisation operations and other veterinary bills can mount up to hundreds of euros. Other costs include food, bedding and maybe special dietary needs, dog proofing the garden and sometimes the house, and lots of little extras along the way.

A lifetime commitment

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.