‘One day this nightmare will become a dream’

2011-12-04

THE long-dreaded day when banks move to repossess homes sold by bankrupt developers with outstanding mortgages could be looming, after one bank has applied to auction up to 70 peoples’ homes.

According to the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) Alpha Bank filed applications to the Land Registry to auction eight plots that were mortgaged to bankrupt property developer Yiannis Liasides.

Liasides’ story will be familiar to followers of Cyprus’ treacherous property market. He ceased trading in 2007 without paying off Alpha Bank, leaving around 250 people in 14 plots who bought properties from him without title deeds. 

Now the bank has moved in on eight of the 14 after the official receiver faced opposition from residents and former Liasides directors.

Tales from the Coffeeshop: Parasites, professors and pretty boys

2011-12-04

 

THE PARTY leaders all looked pretty pleased with themselves after Friday’s crunch meeting for the economy at the palazzo di popolo. They all took credit for collectively taking the decisions that would spare the country from entry into the support mechanism.

We have been hearing nothing else but tributes to the political consensus achieved, for the last 24 hours, with hacks and politicians getting misty-eyed over the unity that would supposedly save the economy and spare the country entry into the support mechanism.

All this self-congratulatory fuss about one positive decision – the wage freeze in parasite sector, which should have been implemented two years ago – and several unjust tax measures adopted for no other reason than to keep union bosses happy.

Kazamias: EU’s measures would have been a lot worse

2011-12-04

FINANCE Minister Kikis Kazamias yesterday said over 7,000 public workers would have to be laid off, VAT would increase to 20 per cent and corporate tax would hit the roof if measures for economic recovery were imposed by the EU.

So, he added, Cyprus’ public servants should be happy with the measures decided between government and the parties on Friday – instead of complaining they were “one-sided” and unbalanced.

Kazamias called on government workers to “not underestimate the ability of going to bed and knowing that they will still have a job in the morning”, which he said was more than what most workers in the private sector could say.

Joint public-private sector projects worth €3b

2011-12-04

THERE ARE currently over €3 billion’s worth of private and public developments that are either underway, have just been approved or are in the process of being approved, Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said yesterday.

Describing Cyprus as “an endless worksite”, Sylikiotis said this figure concerned this year and 2012 alone – “with all the benefits this would have in reducing unemployment figures”.

In a joint press briefing with Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias, the minister of interior said over €180 million was paid out a year as part of the government’s housing policy. Furthermore, the island’s new waste management system is under construction, with the total cost amounting to over €450 million – two thirds of which will be co-funded by the EU.

Winter power supply ‘just enough’

2011-12-04

CYPRUS WILL have enough power supply to get through the winter if there are no malfunctions to the production units, said energy heads yesterday following a meeting with President Demetris Christofias. 

The heads of the Cyprus Energy Regulation Authority (CERA), the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) and the Transmissions System Operator attended the meeting chaired by Christofias  to discuss power supply adequacy for the coming year. 

They were joined by the ministers of finance, commerce and labour, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou and the Undersecretary to the President. 

CFA appeal board rejects Omonia ban plea

2011-12-04

 

THE APPEALS Body of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) yesterday rejected a plea to temporarily suspend a six-month pitch ban dished out to the coach of Nicosia football club Omonia until his appeal could be heard. 

Chairman of the Appeals Body, Haris Kyriakides, refused to exercise his discretionary powers to suspend the sentence, ruling that the appeal would be heard swiftly.  

The CFA judicial committee recently issued a controversial decision to hand a six-month pitch ban to Omonia coach Neophytos Larkou and chairman Miltiades Neophytou after a referee accused them of assaulting him at the end of a fixture in October.

A place at the top table

2011-12-04

 

NO ONE can accuse the Archbishop Chrysostomos II of being boring. A few words spoken by the colourful primate get more press coverage than most politicians could dream of. 

During official visits to Cyprus, notable figures like the presidents of Russia, Syria and Israel make time in their busy schedules to stop by the archbishopric for a chat with the religious leader. According to diplomatic sources, Cyprus protocol makes a visit to the president, house president and archbishop compulsory despite claims to the contrary by the foreign ministry. 

Paphos: a poor cousin no longer

2011-12-04

SAVVAS Vergas, the incumbent mayor of Paphos, is hoping to be re-elected for a second term in municipal elections on December 18, and until recently it seemed nothing could stop him. 

And then the former Paphos mayor and Member of Parliament Fidias Sarikas, backed by DISY, EDEK and the Greens, declared his intention to stand again.

Vergas, backed by AKEL and DIKO, admits the Sarikas candidacy is his “biggest challenge” but remains confident his track record over the last five years will assure his re-election.

“I want what is best for the area and its residents, and I urge people to vote for me to be able to carry on the work we have done in the last five years,” he said, adding that his vision is to turn Paphos into a “truly European city”.

TEDxNicosia: creating inspiration

2011-12-04

 

Last Wednesday around 150 people took the day off work to be told what happens to your body during passionate kisses, to watch a scientist put a mobile phone in a bun while wearing a headlamp, and to learn about our deep, dark psyche which we’d rather ignore. 

The event was part of TEDxNicosia, a locally organised event licensed by TED which is a nonprofit organisation “devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading”. 

TED started in 1984 in the USA as a four-day conference aiming to bring together professionals from different areas, that of technology, entertainment and design. 

An oasis of peace and quiet

2011-12-04

MAZOTOS might be famous for its Camel Park but it is becoming increasingly visited by those who enjoy looking at modern sculptures in a garden setting. Petreon Sculpture Park, created by artist Savvas Koulendros and his wife Stavroulla Mbirou-Koulendrou, is situated close to the sea. Surrounded by fertile fields and edged by ancient carob trees, through which Egyptian shepherds herd flocks of sheep during the autumn, this garden is an oasis of peace and quiet. The silence is only broken by the tinkling of the many wind chimes throughout the garden, where some very fine statues are inter-planted with hundreds of cactus and succulent plants.

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.