Clearing touts off the streets of Paphos

2011-05-28

PAPHOS police have issued special hotlines where locals and tourists can anonymously report public nuisances such as touts, bad drivers and noise pollution.

Nassos Hadjigeorgiou, the tourist manager of the Paphos regional board of tourism said he had promised months ago to “fight to clear our streets”, a promise that was now being fulfilled.

“It was our initiative to introduce hotlines where the members of the public can call up anonymously if they wish and report any instances of touting, traffic problems and noise pollution in the main tourist areas, which are mostly in Kato Paphos,” he said.

Callers will be able to report all three types of incident and according to Hadjigeorgiou, the police will respond immediately, sending officers to investigate.

Our View: No thought given to who would be in charge

2011-05-28

WHILE the political parties were engaged in the customary horse-trading over the presidency of the newly-elected House of Representatives, retired deputy and lawyer Andreas Angelides raised a constitutional point to which little thought had been given. Since President Christofias’ departure for Australia on Monday and until his return to the island early next week, there would be nobody to exercise executive power.

Our View: It’s about restoring faith in the game

2011-05-28

THE MOST eagerly-awaited sports event of the year takes place tonight as Manchester United take on Barcelona in the Champions League Final at Wembley stadium. The match pits the extravagant skills and flair of Spain’s champions against the power and discipline of the England’s premiership winners, in a repeat of the 2009 final which the Catalan club won comfortably.

Barcelona the undisputed custodians of the beautiful game will no doubt have the support of the neutrals and purists, their flamboyant passing game a joy to behold. But Sir Alex Ferguson’s United is made up of true fighters who are intimidated by nobody and never give up, as a superior Bayern Munich found out in stoppage time in the 1999 final.

Police called to school after year-end celebrations get out of hand

2011-05-28

POLICE WERE called to bring order to a school in the Nicosia district yesterday after pupils ran riot during celebrations to mark the end of the school year.

Things got a little out of hand during the end of year revelry at Archangelos gymnasium when around 250 pupils at 9am turned the school into a battlefield, throwing eggs, tomatoes, shaving cream and water balloons at each other.

The school’s security staff were unable to bring matters under control, leading to further chaos as pupils responded by breaking chairs and windows.

In an effort to remove them from the area, the school administration called buses early to the school to transport the riotous pupils. The move failed, resulting in police being called.

Outdated laws leave woman, 93, without widow’s pension

2011-05-28

AUTHORITIES have denied a 93-year-old woman a widow’s pension because she had never married her partner of 67 years who was also the father of her eight children, it emerged yesterday.

The government puts the blame for the refusal on the island’s antiquated legislation, whose provisions, a top official said, are currently under review in a bid to bring it in line with current socioeconomic developments.

Cypriot law does not provide for any other form of recognised cohabitation beyond marriage.

But it did not look likely yesterday that anything could be done for the woman before the legislation was amended.

The case was examined by the Ombudswoman, who concluded that the woman had been subjected to “unfair and discriminatory treatment.”

Slew of new protections for consumers

2011-05-28

BATTLING with a retailer to get money back for a faulty product or one that was never delivered may soon be a thing of the past if a new EU Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) is made law.

The proposal will be reviewed by both the EU parliament and the council who will then agree on a final text to be voted on. According to Cypriot MEP Kyriakos Triantafyllides they should agree on a final text by the next plenum on June 22 and 23.

Triantafyllides is also a member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), which put forward the proposal.

Backing for DIKO’s Garoyian but dissent in the ranks

2011-05-28

COALITION PARTNER DIKO yesterday officially announced the candidacy of its leader Marios Garoyian for House Speaker, joining EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou in the two-horse race.

The omens, however, were not good for the centre right party as one of its voting deputies Zacharias Koulias failed to attend the meeting where the decision was taken to field the incumbent Speaker, Garoyian, in the June 2 elections. The party’s deputy president Giorgos Colocassides was the other notable no-show at the joint meeting of the executive office and parliamentary group.

As expected, within hours of DIKO spokesman Fotis Fotiou announcing the decision, AKEL’s central committee agreed to back Garoyian’s candidacy.

‘Hands off our woods’ say Dhasoudi residents

2011-05-28

LIMASSOL residents were up in arms yesterday over plans by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) to construct new facilities in the area known as Dhasoudi – a wooded stretch on the coast of Yermasoyia.

Residents are planning a protest today at 12pm, against what they see as plans to destroy the area used by hundreds of Limassolians for many years as an escape to nature.

The CTO, which leases the area from the forestry department, denied the charges, saying that its sole aim is to improve the public services with strict respect of the environment.

The organisation said claims that its plans were against the preservation of the natural environment in the area were “unfortunate, to say the least.”

Social worker attacked at Limassol courts

2011-05-28

A SOCIAL worker was beaten by a man involved in a custody case at the Limassol courts yesterday, resulting in a wildcat strike at the district’s welfare office.

The social worker went to the court to attend a case on parental care. Once the case was heard, he was attacked as he walked out the courtroom by one of the parties involved in the case.

According to the state broadcaster CyBC, the social worker was accused of lying by the lawyer of the attacker who then kicked, punched and ripped the clothes of the social worker, even biting a person who tried to intervene.

Police arrested the attacker while the victim was taken to Limassol hospital, shaken after sustaining cuts and bruises.

EU Trio agree on presidency programme

2011-05-28

AN AGREEMENT has been reached in principle on the text of the 18-month programme of the three EU Presidencies of Poland, Denmark and Cyprus, following a high-level meeting of the three delegations in Nicosia yesterday.

According to a press release by the Secretariat of Cyprus’ EU Presidency, the 18-month programme aims to ensure consistency throughout the 18-month period while essentially outlining the Council’s work programme during that period.

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.