Irene Charalambidou: Where is she now?

2011-10-23

THERE used to be a time when current AKEL MP Irene Charalambidou was everywhere.  

She became famous as the host of ‘Efharisto Savvatovrado’, a hugely popular CyBC Saturday light entertainment show in the late 1980s and 90s, before reinventing herself as a controversial political talk show host who put politicians on the spot and discussed still sensitive subjects such as homosexuality.

She was used to the limelight.

So when she announced she was standing in this year’s parliamentary elections, most expected the new MP to gravitate with ease towards the news cameras and radio mikes at every opportunity. After all, most of our politicians do.

Our View: Social injustice a disincentive to tax paying

2011-10-23

AS A GENERAL rule, most people do not like paying taxes and will avoid doing so if they feel they can get away with it. This is why in all developed states, Inland Revenue and other tax collection services have sweeping powers while courts impose severe punishments on individuals found guilty of cheating the tax authorities. 

Tales from the coffee shop: Just how many reasons do you need not to go to a concert?

2011-10-23

WHO COULD have believed that one of the comrade’s fiercest and most outspoken critics, radio show presenter Lazarus Mavros would have ended up defending the man he loves to hate. It happened on his Monday show when his caller was one of the self-styled leaders of the ‘indignant-awakened citizens’ Costas Tsangarides.

Tsangarides concluded a vitriolic attack on the comrade with the customary call for his resignation. Lazarus countered that Tof was the lawfully elected president, voted in by the majority of the Cypriot people, to which Tsangarides responed by saying “Hitler was also voted in by the majority of the Germans*.”

Christofias’ National Council briefing fails to convince parties

2011-10-23

PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias’ briefing of the National Council earlier this week failed to convince the majority of parties who yesterday accused him of making the institution “obsolete” and of going to New York “unprepared”.  

The president came under widespread criticism from all parties bar ruling AKEL, following his three-hour briefing on Friday night on the latest developments on the Cyprus problem. 

House Speaker and EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou yesterday said the failure to keep the National Council properly updated has made the institution virtually “obsolete”. 

Banks tighten loan standards amid falling mortgage demand and home prices

2011-10-23

CYPRUS’S banks have tightened their standards for mortgages in the third quarter of the year and plan to keep them unchanged in the fourth quarter, as demand for new loans drops along with home prices, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

According to the latest central bank data, home prices fell 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of this year compared to the one before and 4.9 per cent year-on-year. 

Home prices fell mainly in coastal areas, where non-Cypriot buyers buy holiday homes. As a result of the bank’s tighter standards, low income households may find it more difficult than before to benefit from lower home prices. 

Ayios Epiktetos-Vrysi a ‘national treasure’

2011-10-23

AYIOS Epiktetos-Vrysi in the occupied north is a national treasure and a prize possession in the heritage of Cyprus, according to an expert tasked with compiling excavation records from the site pre-1974.

Professor Edgar Peltenburg handed over his records to the Antiquities Department in a special ceremony on Friday night in Nicosia.

In 1969 the Department of Antiquities, under the directorship of Dr Vassos Karageorghis, issued a license for the University of Birmingham, to undertake excavations at the Neolithic village, located in the Kyrenia district somewhere over 6,000 year ago people chose to live on a coastal headland between two beaches. 

Online photo and film competition sparks climate change and energy debate in Cyprus

2011-10-23

A NEW online photo and film competition has been launched, sparking debate about Climate Change in Cyprus. 

The organisers, NGO Support Centre and the Cyprus Community Media Centre, with the support of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, are calling on entrants to creatively express the issue through photography and film. The competition deadline is November 18 and the winners in both categories will win an iPad2.

The competition is open to all, with the condition that the photos and videos submitted have as a theme Climate Change or Energy in Cyprus.  A large proportion of the judging process will involve how actively the films and photos are promoted online and the attention they receive in terms of views and social media ‘likes’.

Users of contaminated feed to be prosecuted

2011-10-23

AGRICULTURE MINISTER Sophoclis Aletraris yesterday warned that farmers found to have fed their animals contaminated produce will face criminal prosecution.  

 “Unfortunately, some farmers have been using contaminated feed for their animals and their products will have to be confiscated,” he said.  

Around 15,000 tonnes of soybean animal feed originating from Argentina was confiscated by the ministry last Wednesday after salmonella was detected. 

The test results will be ready early next week, after which the final decisions will be taken, said the minister.   

“Be sure that those who used contaminated feed, and the tests prove the existence of salmonella bacteria, will be prosecuted,” said Aletraris. 

Census maps our changing society

2011-10-23

WE DON’T reply to our mail, and our internet use is below the EU average. These are two major reasons why in the year 2011, our census is still being carried out by door-to-door census takers.

“Bearing in mind the Cypriots’ slackness in responding to their mail, had we sent out census forms through the post, I bet we would have only received 10 per cent of them,” said Dora Kyriakidou, coordinator of this year’s census.

Kyriakidou explained that the Cypriot mentality, along with environmental costs and the island’s small size made door-to-door the most practical – though perhaps anachronistic – method for conducting the census. 

Reservoirs netting fishing tourists

2011-10-23

THE IDEA of using Cyprus’ many reservoirs to reel in tourists to go fishing is not new, but with steady rainfall keeping water levels high over the last two years, this specialised type of tourism is on the increase.

“This year we issued over 3,000 licences,” said Loizos Loizides, head of the Fisheries Department, adding that this was a sharp increase from the 1,888 given out in 2008.

He said most are issued to tourists and foreign residents on the island, with Cypriots lagging way behind.

“Many of the licences are issued to tourists coming from England and Germany,” said Loizides.

“We have ideal conditions in Cyprus especially in terms of the weather.”

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.