Tiger faces Westwood/Kaymer showdown in the desert

2011-02-09

TIGER Woods will discover just how far his game has slipped when he joins Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer in a mouth-watering matching of golf’s top-ranked three players in the Dubai Desert Classic starting today.

Woods was overtaken by Briton Westwood at the end of last year and then the mercurial 26-year-old German Kaymer, the US PGA champion, in January at the summit of golf’s world rankings.

The American’s swing as well as his private life fell apart last year following allegations of multiple infidelities which cost him his marriage and a chunk of the 2010 season.

Tutu urges Archbishop to play a greater role

2011-02-09

ARCHBISHOP Desmond Tutu yesterday urged the head of the Cyprus Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos, to play the role of Saint Barnabas in Cyprus and “facilitate” efforts for a solution on the island.

The Cypriot primate, on the other hand, expressed eagerness to emulate Tutu’s role in South Africa as an activist and proponent of human rights, saying he will launch a crusade to promote human rights in Cyprus.

Elders’ chair Tutu and his fellow Elder Dr Gro Brundtland, a former Norwegian Prime Minister, yesterday visited Cyprus for a fourth time, meeting with President Demetris Christofias, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Our view: Any pension bill needs to tackle fraud

2011-02-09

THE HOUSE Finance Committee began discussing reform of the state pension system on Monday but, from what was reported, it was evident ‘reform’ was too strong a word for what they planned to do. In fact, they prepared public opinion for half-baked measures, arguing this was a complex issue affected by a host of different laws and collective agreements impacting the livelihood of many people.

Akel deputies distanced themselves from the legislature’s efforts to draft its own legislation claiming they would wait for the government’s ow reform proposal, to be processed by the Attorney General’s office so there would be less chance it would have any loop-holes, they claimed.

€17 million of taxpayers’ money wasted on airspace control system that doesn’t work

2011-02-09

AN AIRSPACE control system that has already cost the taxpayer €17 million without actually working has been given one more chance to get it right, the House Watchdog Committee heard yesterday.

Technical problems have been preventing airspace control system LEFCO from operating since 2005, yet the government will give it one more chance before reporting it as a breach of contract.

MPs on the House Watchdog Committee were yesterday baffled to see the company had received so many chances to have the system up and running, with three trial runs failing so far.

Further reports of false civil servants promotions

2011-02-09

FRESH REPORTS emerged yesterday of civil servants being bumped up immediately before retiring, thus allowing them to pocket a higher pension.

All people employed in the broader public sector receive two pension payouts on retirement; one from Social Security, to which they contribute 3.45 per cent of their gross income, compared to the 6.8 per cent paid by employees in the private sector; and a one-off tax-free bonus, which is calculated according to their last (highest) salary. The latter payout is also known as the ‘government pension’.

Daily Politis yesterday revealed a technical inspector at the Geological Survey Department was promoted on December 15, 2010 and retired less than a month later, on January 3, 2011.

Downer must be seen to be impartial

2011-02-09

OPPOSITION leader Nikos Anastassiades said yesterday he has urged the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser Alexander Downer to be, but also appear to be, impartial.

During their meeting, Downer briefed the DISY chief on the Geneva meet between the leaders of the two communities and the UN Secretary-General, as well as on the progress of reunification talks.

But it appears the main purpose of the meeting was to discuss reports in the local media claiming Downer is scheming behind the scenes to force or expedite an agreement between the two sides.

Care for those with special needs ends at 21

2011-02-09

PARENTS OF children with special needs have protested that their offspring have nowhere to turn to after they graduate from special schools and enter adulthood.

According to what was heard at the House Human Rights Committee yesterday, Cyprus has very little to offer in terms of daycare centres for adults with disabilities – mental or physical, severe or mild – and their parents, who mostly have to work during the day, have no choice but to shut them up at home.

“These children, especially those with mental disabilities – big or small – have great problems in finding what to do after graduation,” said Committee Chairman, DIKO’s Sophocles Fyttis, after the meeting.

Erdogan spat with the north continues

2011-02-09

THE STORM created over Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s reaction to a mass Turkish Cypriot rally continued yesterday with politicians and columnists rounding on the unapologetic Turkish leader.

According to yesterday’s Hurriyet Daily news, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in Turkey, Devlet Bahceli, accused Erdogan of showing his “true intentions” after flying into a rage and insulting “our Cypriot brothers and sisters”.

Bahceli condemned Erdogan’s suggestion that Turkish Cypriots receive handouts.

Time to act against illegal parking

2011-02-09

 

A YELLOW sticker will be stuck on cars parked illegally on pavements and in spaces designated for disabled drivers on Saturday as a new group tries to highlight drivers’ shameful act.

“We decided that we want to make people aware,” said a member and of Cyprus Act, which is organising the campaign, adding that they want it to be a continuous effort “until people become aware, if they do.”

Cyprus Act is currently made up of about four people who want to take action on issues that concern them, “problems we face in everyday life that nobody does anything about.” The idea was inspired by a similar group in Athens.

“We’re an open society and we would like to tackle new ideas,” the ACT member said.

Vietnamese ban aims to foil agents

2011-02-09

THE AIM of the government in banning the entry of domestic workers from Vietnam is to stop their exploitation and tackle the ring of agents, making up to €6,000 from each, the migration department said yesterday.

According to the department’s Riginos Polydefkis, agents from both Cyprus and Vietnam have been exploiting Vietnamese women coming to the island to work by charging up to €6,000 for arranging their arrival and employment, a figure easily surpassing their annual income in Cyprus.

“The exploitation is by both (countries),” said Polydefkis.

The government announced on Monday that it decided on February 3 to ban the entry of domestic workers from Vietnam with immediate effect.

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.