Aikido event a big success in Cyprus

2011-05-19

THE Cyprus Aikido Federation and the Martial Arts Academy have again raised the bar on fighting arts instruction on the island with the successful conclusion of the 7th International Aikido and Martial Arts Exhibition it hosted this month.

Under the expert stewardship of National Coach Sensei Agis Agisilaou, Cyprus’ premier Aikido event has firmly placed the island on the map as a regional centre for fighting and self defence arts including Aikido, Tai Chi and Martial Arts.

It was standing room only throughout the three-day event as eager Aikido and martial arts fans converged on Limassol’s Arsinoe Hotel to see competitions and training in the various disciplines

‘A new face for Larnaca’

2011-05-19

MULTI-MILLION plans involving 15 ambitious development projects, which promise to change the face of Larnaca are in the works over the next five years, the town’s tourism board announced yesterday.

“Over the next five years Larnaca will acquire a new upscale image, making it as a very significant tourist destination with excellent infrastructure, superstructure and quality services with facilities for locals and tourists,” said said Larnaca Tourism Board chief Dinos Lefkaritis, who is also president of the Larnaca Chamber of Commerce.

“These projects are expected to create a new dynamic,” Lefkaritis however stressed the need for project deadlines to be kept for the huge five-year undertaking to be achieved.

Our View: Cypriot farmers have yet to digest EU’s free market price fluctuations

2011-05-19

WHEN THE prices of local fruit and vegetables are high, some newspapers carry indignant reports claiming that we are paying gold for a kilo of cucumbers or tomatoes. When the prices of the same products are low, the same newspapers carry indignant reports claiming that farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy because they are being paid a pittance for their produce.

In the last couple of weeks we have witnessed the latter case. ‘Price of vegetables in free-fall’ read a Tuesday headline.

The following day, a headline read: ‘Cry of despair by Cypriot farmers’, and it said that producers were selling vegetables at below cost prices.

It seems the indignant reports are unavoidable, regardless of which direction fruit and vegetable prices go.

Air quality deteriorates due to dust

2011-05-19

DRIVERS heading to work yesterday morning were greeted by the sight of a dust film covering their cars, a result of an increased amount of pollutants in the atmosphere.

The levels of particulate matter PM 10 in the atmosphere yesterday ranged between 65 and 187 micrograms per cubic metre.

This far exceeded the safe upper threshold, set by EU regulation at 50, and prompted the Department of Labour Inspection to issue a warning for all vulnerable groups to stay indoors.

Children, the elderly and the sick were told to avoid venturing outside until the dust settles.

They should not have to wait too long however since the dust is expected to settle by this afternoon, said meteorological officer Panayiotis Michael.

Stavrakis pledge to solve pensions quagmire

2011-05-19

FINANCE Minister Charilaos Stavrakis yesterday pledged to resolve the state pensions matter, as dialogue with the unions is expected to start after Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

Speaking at the annual economic congress of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC), Stavrakis pledged to resolve the issue and come to an agreement with government workers union PASYDY.

“We will resolve the state pensions consensually and through dialogue,” Stavrakis said.

He later told reporters that intensive talks with the unions and political parties would start after the elections in a bid to achieve the greatest consensus possible over the challenges of the economy.

The ‘lone wolf’ of the protest vote

2011-05-19

ELECTIONS tend to come with grand promises, but one lone wolf from Limassol refuses to do that, hoping instead to gather on Sunday the protest vote from all those who feel they have had enough.

“Aren’t you fed up of being part of a party system where you need to know someone to get a job, to win the football championship, to get served by civil servants?” asked independent MP candidate in Limassol, Pambos Stavrou.

Stavrou, 34, is a chartered accountant by trade and this has led him to see politics as a technical problem.

“I’m not targeting specific problems because they all have a common route which is what we should be attacking: the way we do politics is wrong,” Stavrou told the Mail.

There are two ways people vote, Stavrou said.

Unfair criteria in Cyprus Museum contest say architects

2011-05-19

CYPRIOT architects are up in arms over the competition requirements for the design of the new Cyprus Museum, which they claim are so “strict” that most local and  European architect will not be able to participate.

“They’ve chosen the wrong procedure with strict conditions,” said President of the Cyprus Architects Association and vice president of the Cyprus Technical Chamber (ETEK ) Constantinos Constanti.

The announcement for the opening of an international competition was made about 10 days ago by Communications Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis.

Two of the main criteria that must be fulfilled for any interested architects are to have already built a museum worth €20 million and a project of a similar nature worth €40 million.

‘Make sure your vote is not wasted’

2011-05-19

VOTERS in Sunday’s parliamentary elections should take a moment to examine their ballot slip to avoid inadvertently disqualifying their vote, Chief Returning Officer Lazaros Savvides warned yesterday.

All valid ballot slips should come with the official seal of the Republic of Cyprus.

Voters can vote either for a single party or else for a single independent candidate.

Those choosing to vote for a party should mark their ballot slip with a cross or a tick inside the square box at the very bottom of the party’s column.

Additionally, they can choose to also vote for individual candidates within a party by marking the box next to their name and number.

Safety violations at work

2011-05-19

FORTY SIX cases of health and safety violations at the workplace went through the courts last year resulting in the imposition of penalties worth €141,700.

The Labour Inspection Department is the government office responsible for ensuring adherence to the relevant health and safety laws on natural or legal persons, violations of which constitute a criminal offence.

In 2010, the district courts tried 46 cases involving the violation of health and safety labour laws at the workplace, resulting in €141,700 worth of fines.

In two cases involving deaths at the workplace, four month and three month jail sentences were imposed on a three-year suspended sentence in both cases.

 

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.