Government proposes freeze in state payroll, tax on private sector incomes and companies

2011-11-18

 

15:30 THE government is pushing for a freeze in the state payroll for two years as part of additional austerity measures that also include taxing high incomes in the private sector and a small levy on companies with domestic activities, it was announced on Friday.

The measures aim at restoring Cyprus’access to the international markets for its financing needs, lost after successive downgrades by all ratings agencies.

“Otherwise, Cyprus joining the EU support mechanism should be considered a given,” Kazamias said.

Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias said the state payroll freeze would save the state around €355 million in 2012 and 2013.

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2011-11-18

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2011-11-18
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2011-11-18

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‘Europe in the grip of drug-resistant superbugs’

2011-11-18

SUPERBUGS capable of evading even the most powerful antibiotics are increasing their grip in Europe with rates of drug resistance in one type of bacteria reaching more than 50 per cent in the worst-hit countries, including Cyprus, European health officials said yesterday.

In a report on multi-drug resistant bacteria, or so-called superbugs, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which monitors disease across the European Union, said the need to combat resistance was “critical”.

“We need to declare a war — a war against these bacteria,” the ECDC’s director Marc Sprenger told Reuters in an interview about the report.

Our View: Student protests over grant cuts reflect again our dependency culture

2011-11-18

STUDENT organisations have been protesting because the government, as part of the cuts to social spending, decided to stop the misguided practice of giving grants to all university students. The ludicrous, indiscriminate grant was one of the first measures introduced by the Christofias government when it was labouring under the illusion that by mindlessly squandering the taxpayer’s money it would build a fairer society.

Public servants: if Cyprus needs a bailout, it won’t be our fault

2011-11-18

DEFIANT civil servants said yesterday that the economy’s problems were not their fault, as the finance minister warned that if the conditions were not reversed, Cyprus could soon be seeking a bailout to cover its needs for financing.

However, the government workers union PASYDY suggested they were not to blame for the situation and that eradicating tax evasion would solve the economy’s problems.

Union boss Glafkos Hadjipetrou said government workers have already made several concessions.

“This cannot go on indefinitely,” he told state broadcaster CyBC.

LNG plant would take a decade, says gas expert

2011-11-18

THE SHEER logistics of building and operating a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Cyprus would require far longer than the four to five years frequently cited – try a decade.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion organised by the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC) in Nicosia yesterday, Peter Wallace called for a “reality check”, pointing out that the site at Vassilikos earmarked for the plant is way too small for a facility of that size.

Wallace, an engineer and energy consultant with more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas, petrochemical, and power generation sectors, argued that a plant with a capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum (mpta) might take up to a decade before it’s up and running.

Brits, Greeks and even a Slovenian running in local elections

2011-11-18

ALTHOUGH candidates for local councils and village leadership are not officially submitting their names until Monday, the Cyprus Mail can reveal that 11 EU nationals have declared their interest in running.

A spokesman for the Paphos district office said yesterday: “There are eleven candidates from EU countries standing in the forthcoming municipal elections. Yeroskipou has one from Slovenia, whilst Peyia has three British candidates, Paphos has six Greek nationals and Polis has just one Greek national. This is a huge increase compared with the last elections.”

This is also the case of registered voters from EU member states, which now tops 12,343.The total number of registered voters is 546, 110. 

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.