President Nicos Anastasiades called on his cabinet on Tuesday to push the reforms introduced by the government, as four new ministers were sworn in during a ceremony at the presidential palace.
Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris, Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou, and Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos are expected to officially take office later Tuesday.
The president also appointed a new government spokesman, lawyer Kyriacos Kousios, and deputy spokesman, Panayiotis Sentonas.
In his speech after the ceremony, Anastasiades asked his ministers for hard work, perseverance, determination, and political will.
The president also emphasised the need for a number of reforms to be implemented.
He urged ministers to intensify their efforts to complete the implementation of the health scheme, justice reforms, modernisation of public administration, and local authority reform.
The Israeli owner of a so-called spy van under investigation by the police suggested on Tuesday that certain circles in Cyprus were targeting him because of his ethnicity with the aim of destabilising relations between the two countries.
In a written statement, Tal Dillian, the CEO of WS Wispear Systems, denied once more that he had used the technology to carry out surveillance on the island and described the affair as a witch hunt.
Dillian said he was considering moving his business elsewhere.
“This kind of behaviour by Cypriot authorities will hurt the country appealing to any foreign investors and international companies, as no company can tolerate unstable business and legal environment, totally unprotected (against) rumours towards corporate activities,” the statement said. “Given the fact that our company is a Cypriot company, it is now very clear that the hostility, especially from certain political parties, is targeting our Israeli ethnicity and aims to destabilize the CyproIsraeli relations, something far more worrying that the already fragile business profile of the country.”
Police are currently investigating the matter while Attorney-general Costas Clerides has appointed an independent investigator to look into whether there were any privacy violations.
The van’s capabilities were advertised through an August report by Forbes, which was picked up by local media in mid-November.
This prompted the reaction of main opposition Akel, which demanded an explanation from the government over the presence of the vehicle and whether it had operated in Cyprus.
According to Forbes, the van can intercept WhatsApp messages, Facebook chats, calls, and all the contents of a smartphone. Cypriot law bans phone tapping while written communications can be intercepted under certain circumstances but only with a court order.
Dillian, an ex-Israeli intelligence officer, said the police were either stalling or lacked the necessary technical expertise to understand the essence of the investigation and conclude whether or not there had been any wrongdoing.
“I have found myself embedded into a vicious circle of ‘accusations,’ all of which are solely based on an interview given to an international medium! The interview has been altered and used to fuel rumours and innuendos about illegal activities, coming from unnamed sources and serving unclear motives,” Dillian said.
The statement said it appeared that the police were under extreme pressure by various parties, not involved in the investigation, “who are clueless as to the facts and evidence in place” to issue arrest warrants against company officials.
Such actions, it said, were legally unjustified and not be in line with the rule of law.
On Saturday November 23 the International School of Paphos (ISOP) parents-teachers association organised a very successful International Winter Fair with more than 1,000 guests attending. The main yard of the school was filled with 100 different stalls from different countries expressing the multicultural mood of the event. There was a live link by Rock FM where the students of the school took park in presenting the entertainment programme which was filled with a lot of dance and singing shows.
The event is organised every year and it is dedicated to charity.
“We are happy to see more and more people joining us every year and contributing to make this a big success,” said the president of the ISOP PTA Stella Luizinho.
“We are always happy to welcome to the International School of Paphos the children and the families of the wider community of Paphos so as to share with us a beautiful event with such a good cause inspiring it,” head of school Dr Olympiou said in her short speech.
Parents, students and teachers organised enticing stalls with food, games, books and other interesting products either from the country of their origin or by using their imagination.
The 27th Psatharis Auction features 129 artworks by artists whose work has shaped and influenced Greek and Cypriot art. In addition, the collection includes rare books and maps as well as six volumes of The Illustrated London News. A preview of the collection will be held until Wednesday at the Landmark Nicosia Hotel.
“The auction is highlighted by the uniqueness and rarity of its collection stretching from the 19th century to date. Also, it has a focus on contemporary art as we wish to give collectors the opportunity to acquire and invest in contemporary art. This is also the trend in international auction markets,” said Founder and Managing Director of the Psatharis Auction House Nikos Psatharis.
Works given high presale estimates and expected to command top prices include Threshing (€18,000-25,000) by great Cypriot naïve Michael Kashalos, Marseilles with Port (€19,000-27,000) by modernist Christoforos Savva, Flowers in Space (€4,800-7,000) by widely known Angelos, End of an Era by Spiros Vasiliou, an important Greek artist of the acclaimed 1930s generation. High presale estimates were given also to Landscape with Tree (€7,000-11,000) by Telemachos Kanthos and to a bronze sculpture titled John Fitzgerald Kennedy (€9,500-15,000) by internationally acclaimed sculptor Nikos Kotziamanis.
The auction will take place on Wednesday at the hotel at 7pm. Until then interested buyers can visit the art pieces exhibited at Landmark. The works can be viewed at www.psatharis-auctions.com.cy
27th Psatharis Auction of Greek and Cypriot Artworks
Art auction selling pieces by acclaimed Greek and Cypriot artists. December 4. Landmark Hotel, Nicosia. 7pm. Tel: 24-621109
Turkish Cypriots are demanding explanations for Saturday’s collapse of a school being built in Kyrenia which injured five workers, newspapers in the north said on Monday.
The five injured workers remain in hospital but their condition is not serious.
Afrika newspaper said there was widespread anger over the building’s collapse while Halkin Sesi said the people responsible for the incident must be identified.
The construction manager Dervis Tandogan told Yeniduzen on Monday that the workers were rushing to finish construction by February, a very tight deadline for such a project, so the school can operate at once.
A movement calling itself Independent Road called for the implementation of safety measures in the workplace and blamed the “government” for failing to inspect the building and construction conditions.
Jaffer Gyurjfajer, the head of the contractors’ association, asked for an investigation by the chamber of engineers and said those responsible must be found.
The ‘education ministry’ said responsibility falls under the ‘department of public works’. and denied any association with the incident.
The Republican Turkish Party and the Democratic Turkish Party both called for the incident to be investigated but said the construction of the school must be completed. Kyrenia faces a serious problem in terms of its growing population and a lack of schools to accommodate students.
The mini government reshuffle to take hold on Tuesday has buttressed the notion that ministers are increasingly operating as managers rather than seasoned technocrats who know their subject matter, a political analyst has told the Cyprus Mail.
The reshuffle was announced by President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday and sees changes at the top of four ministries – finance, interior, education and transport– plus two government spokesmen and two commissioners, one for mountain development, the other for the environment.
“As examples we can cite Prodromos Prodromou’s upcoming appointment as education minister, or Disy MP Nicos Nouris – a pharmacist by trade and education – landing the key post of the interior ministry,” said the analyst, Christoforos Christoforou.
The choices for new government spokesman Kyriakos Kousios and deputy spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas are likewise odd. The former is a lawyer, while the latter is the current president of the Youth Board. Neither appear to have much experience with politics, at least not at the high level.
Ayia Napa mayor Yiannis Karousos has been given the transport ministry portfolio. Whereas he does have a background in tourism and business, his appointment raises eyebrows for entirely different reasons.
In public, Karousos has been steadfastly opposed to the proposed merger of Ayia Napa with Paralimni, Dherynia and Sotira.
With him out of municipal politics, it will perhaps be easier for the government to finesse its plans for reforming local administration through the creation of so-called clusters.
“One’s mind goes to a quid pro quo here,” Christoforou says.
Party-political calculations may also have factored into Karousos being whisked away from Ayia Napa.
Though Karousos was elected as an independent, he is a Disy man.
Should the proposed merger with Paralimni go ahead, due to sheer population numbers Paralimni would rule the roost in the emergent Famagusta cluster.
Paralimni has long stood a Disy stronghold, whereas Ayia Napa is more complicated. In the 2016 municipal elections in Ayia Napa, Disy got 32 per cent of the vote, while main opposition Akel came on top with 38 per cent.
Dherynia is likewise mostly Akel territory, with the party winning 54 per cent of the popular vote there in 2016.
The proposed fusion of Disy-dominated Paralimni with Ayia Napa, Dherynia and Sotira could arguably strengthen the conservative party’s grip on the Famagusta district.
But what is especially curious about the cabinet shakeup, relates to Constantinos Petrides’ transfer from the interior ministry to finance.
Harris Georgiades announced months ago he wanted to leave the finance ministry but appointing Petrides to the post comes just as the government presented its local government reform plan, announced by none other than Petrides on Monday.
The intended reform is a massive undertaking, fraught with logistical and legal issues. It is a policy drive which Petrides has led as interior minister – but now someone else entirely will be taking over.
“Petrides’ successor has to start from scratch, so to speak. One does wonder whether this is the most efficient or logical decision,” the analyst commented.
Meantime education minister Costas Hambiaouris has been effectively demoted to Mountain Communities Development Commissioner.
Stepping into his shoes will be Prodromos Prodromou, up until now the government spokesman.
A big question mark hangs over whether Prodromou is the right man for the job, says Christoforou.
“The role of education minister entails a great deal of compromise and conciliation – with the teachers unions, the parents, and so forth. Prodromou doesn’t exactly strike me as a conciliatory figure.”
Moreover, Prodromou’s political ideology – he gravitates toward a more nationalistic plank – could cause friction.
“The education ministry has always been an ideological battlefield,” the analyst notes.
“We shall have to wait and see whether trouble erupts under Prodromou’s watch.”
The ministry of labour, welfare and social insurance will be spending over 90 per cent of its 2020 budget on social benefits, minister Zeta Emilianidou said on Monday.
Of the €989m budgeted, 93 per cent is earmarked for social benefits, 5 per cent for salaries, and 2 per cent for operating costs.
The 2020 budget is €14.3m lower than that of 2019.
The slight reduction, Emilianidou told MPs, is due to the overall decrease in funding for unemployment and social exclusion programmes, as the jobless rate continues to decline.
The government in general has set a target of bringing unemployment down to at least 5 per cent. Currently it stands at 6.5 per cent, according to official statistics. By comparison, in the wake of the 2013 financial meltdown 16 per cent of the labour force were out of a job.
For 2020, spending is to be cut by €5.4m on child benefits, by €6m on pensioner benefits, by €3.9m on the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI), and by €3.5m on asylum seekers.
At the same time, the ministry will spend €1m more on lower-rung pension supplements, and €3.9m extra compared to 2019 on mobility allowances and for disabled persons.
Emilianidou said her ministry is undertaking a “gigantic effort” to assist people in need.
“There is no magic wand to tackle all the issues overnight, because the crisis has left thousands of our fellow citizens with problems that can’t be solved simply through disbursing benefits,” she noted.
The minister said that when GMI was introduced in 2014, authorities received 100,000 applications from people who lacked sufficient means for subsistence.
The government maintains a register of welfare beneficiaries, tracking their assets, income and bank savings.
“The objective was to enable us to see that the money spent is going to those who really need it. Today this register holds data on more than 250,000 families, while 22,300 families are enrolled in GMI.”
Among the ministry’s plans is the creation of special lodgings for people with serious physical and mental disabilities.
According to Emilianidou, these will be ‘family-style’ lodgings within communities, offering specialised services and skills-learning. The aim is to enable individuals to become as self-sufficient as possible, thus avoiding their institutionalisation.
The ministry has also decided to phase out cash counters at welfare offices, and to automate all social insurance contributions, for example through credit card payments.
Another goal is to make available online all welfare applications.
Ombudswoman Maria Lottides said on Monday that compiling the report into the suicide of 15-year-old Stylianos had been extremely painful, but she had no doubt that the social workers assigned to the boy’s case had shown gross negligence and gravely underestimated the risks.
She was addressing the House human rights committee on the report she released last week into the boy’s death and which has incensed the social welfare department. Workers have gone on strike in protest over her findings.
They argue that the ombudswoman had not taken into account the staff shortages within the department and the pressure social workers are under.
“If there was any help from the social workers who were assigned to handle the case, Stylianos could still be with us today,” she told MPs.
Stylianos was found dead by his father at the family farm in Nicosia district on September 5.
The family was reportedly experiencing abject poverty, psychological problems and domestic violence. The social welfare department had first been alerted of the case back in 2007.
The Minister of Labour and Social Security Zeta Emilianianidou reiterated her sadness over the loss of the child.
“Tragedies such as this one shock us all. The report filed by the ombudswoman will help us prevent that incidents such as the one involving Stylianos will not happen again in the future,” she said.
“We are all responsible for the death of a child.”
Police chief Kypros Michaelides was also present at the committee meeting as police officers were also criticised in the report. Lottides said officers had failed to assess the risk of violence in the family and that first response officers had failed to alert the social welfare service and the violence prevention unit whenever the mother reported a violent incident.
“The report does not include the names of police officers, so we are trying to find out who was responsible from our side as well, in order to issue disciplinary actions,” said Michaelides.
The European Commission has sent a letter to Cyprus seeking clarification of a government decision in November to revoke the Cypriot citizenship of 26 individuals who were granted it under the country’s investor scheme, according to Reuters.
The letter was sent on Friday.
In the letter, seen by Reuters, the commission’s director-general for justice Tiina Astola asked Nicosia whether it would investigate “possible misconduct” in these cases and how it intended to prevent people with high-risk profiles from getting passports in the future. Astola’s letter asked for a response by January 6.
A government spokesman was not immediately available for comment, Reuters said.
The government announced it would start procedures for the revocation of the passports granted to 26 people after the uproar caused by recent revelations that among the successful applicants were a Malaysian wanted by his country in connection with alleged financial crimes, as well as relatives and allies of the Cambodian authoritarian leader.
The 26 had all been granted citizenships up to 2018, prior to the introduction of stricter eligibility criteria. They have the right to file an appeal.
The European Commission has also asked Malta to clarify how it intends to address Bank of Valletta’s shortcomings over its monitoring of foreign customers who applied to buy Maltese citizenship under a so-called “golden passport” scheme.
Last month, Reuters reported on a confidential decision by the European Central Bank that required Malta’s largest bank to take remedial action after an inspection exposed “severe shortcomings” that could have allowed money laundering or other criminal activities.
The ECB report said when foreign nationals seeking to buy passports under the scheme opened an account at Bank of Valletta (BoV), the bank registered them as Maltese citizens, which reduced their risk profile.
State-owned BoV said at the time it was strengthening its risk controls, governance structure and anti-financial crime defences.
A spokesman for BoV was not immediately available to comment on Monday.
In the letter sent to Maltese authorities on Friday, and seen by Reuters, the Astola asked whether the government had acted on the ECB findings.
“Is there any specific follow-up given by the Maltese government to those parts of the report of the European Central Bank that concern the Individual Investor Programme?,” she said referring to the passport scheme. She asked for a response also by January 6.
In the letter, Astola said these schemes posed a number of risks, including money laundering, corruption and tax evasion.
Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who on Sunday said he planned to step down amid a crisis over an investigation into a murdered journalist, created the passport-for-sale scheme in 2014.
A spokesmen for Muscat was not immediately available for comment.
Under the passport programme, foreign applicants must invest at least €1m in Malta to obtain a passport that allows the holder to work and live in most EU countries.
Among EU countries only Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria grant citizenship in exchange for investment – the so-called “golden passports”. Bulgaria said in January it would halt this programme.
Social welfare workers started a 24-hour strike on Monday morning in protest over the results of an investigation into a teenager’s suicide which accused the social workers dealing with the case of criminal negligence.
Welfare offices all over Cyprus are participating in the strike.
Public servants’ union (Pasydy) leader Iosif Michail said that social welfare workers are protesting “as they are feeling their work is being overlooked, considering the countless problems, including staffing, that the officers are facing.
“We expect the state to start taking care of our problems as well,” he said.
“We work in very adverse conditions. We are calling for an immediate intervention to improve our infrastructures, some of which are extremely outdated and dangerous.”
The strike follows a one-hour work stoppage last week in support of the four social welfare officials who were dealing with the case of 15-year-old Stylianos who committed suicide in September.
Ombudswoman Maria Lottides’ report said the four social workers showed “utter criminal negligence” and bear disciplinary and possibly criminal responsibility.
The four were suspended on the same day the report was issued.
Michail said the four social workers had been “victimised and, basically, have been blamed for boy’s death.”
He also lamented the huge workload social workers are face, suggesting they should be handling far fewer cases.
“Our officials handle between 100 and 120 cases, we are overwhelmed with work,” he said, adding that in other developed countries they are called to handle up to 20.
Stylianos was found dead by his father at the family farm in Nicosia district on September 5.
The family was reportedly experiencing abject poverty, psychological problems and domestic violence.
After his death, his two younger siblings were also removed from their family home.
The ombudswoman also recommended that the boy’s father ought to be investigated for criminal offences for using psychological violence on the teen and his siblings and physical violence on the mother.
Seventeen new municipalities were presented on Monday by Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides, the results of the government’s plan to merge local authorities resulting in the creation of four in Nicosia, four in Limassol, four in Larnaca, three in Paphos and two in Famagusta.
Thirty municipalities and 48 communities will be merged, which means 83 per cent of the population, 700,000 residents, will now be part of a municipality, compared to 71 per cent currently.
The four new municipalities in the Nicosia district result from the merger of 17 existing local authorities, 10 municipalities and seven communities. The number of residents in municipalities will increase by 13,560, from 255,000 today to 270,000.
The four new municipalities result from the merger of six municipalities and 12 communities. The number of residents will increase by 32,000, from 177,000 to 209,000.
The new municipalities result from the merger of six municipalities and 12 communities, which will also increase the population of the district by 17,714.
In the Paphos district:
Paphos, Geroskipou, Achelia, Dimi, Konia (44,344)
Western Paphos, Peyia, Emba, Lemba, Kissonerga, Chlorakas (16,674)
Polis Chrysochous, Argaka, Markountas, Chrysochous, Goudi, Pelathousa, Kinousa, Peristerona (3,778)
The three new municipalities resulting from the merger of 19 local authorities, four municipalities and 15 communities. The population will increase by 18,454, from 46,741 to 65,195.
The Cyprus Paraplegic Organisation staged a protest outside the House on Monday to mark tomorrow’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The organisation said they are not invited to parliamentary discussions on important issues related to people with disabilities, such as accessibility to buildings and outdoor spaces.
“We are feeling ignored by the House, as they decided to scale back on accessibility for people with disabilities for as far as building and outdoor spaces are concerned.
“We have sent countless letters but we have always been ignored,” they said.
“We cannot understand why we haven’t been invited to express our opinion on matters that concern us directly, unless they consider people with disabilities to be of no use.
“We urge the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the Parliamentary and members of Parliament to start protecting our rights by ensuring that our voices are heard loud and clear whenever necessary and that our human rights are respected.”
Last month Chairman of the paraplegics’ association Demetris Lambrianides left parliament in protest because he could not access the plenum with his wheelchair, although a straightforward and speedy solution was found the following day.
Lambrianides had been invited to parliament to attend the inaugural session of the Parallel House on the environment, ecology, and health.
But he could not access the floor in his wheelchair as there was no ramp
The appointment of Ayia Napa Mayor Yiannis Karousos as transport minister is not linked to the issue of which municipality Ayia Napa will merge with, the outgoing mayor said on Monday.
will merge with or with Paralimni, the outgoing mayor said on Monday.
Karousos told media that the two issues are not related to each other and he was only informed about the decision on Sunday morning.
“I was informed yesterday morning basically, between 10 and 10.15… I had no information beforehand … The President contacted me yesterday morning,” he said.
Asked about what he believes are the reasons behind his appointment, he said he is certain that the decision was mainly made because of his work in the Ayia Napa municipality.
A key part of sweeping local authority reform is due to conclude on Monday when Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides will announce the government’s proposal to merge municipalities, cutting the current number by up to a half.
Ayia Napa initially opposed the reform outright and now has joined forces with Sotira and Liopetri to but has spoken out against merging with Paralimni municipality.
“As for the Paralimni issue, it’s not even up for discussion. We will never merge with Paralimni,” Karousos told the Sunday Mail last week.
He said the municipality of Ayia Napa and the nearby local councils of Liopetri, and Sotira have much more in common. Karousos pointed to shared economic models focusing on tourism which would witness a significant boom if they were allowed to increase development in a way they saw fit.
The Ayia Napa mayor had written to the interior minister asking a review of the study because it did not take into consideration the merger with Sotira and Liopetri.
Police on Sunday evening arrested a man in connection with a burglary in Larnaca after he fell and fractured his ankle.
Around 8.20pm a resident, returning home, spotted two people leaving the first floor of the building by jumping onto a pergola and from there to the ground.
One of them was injured by the fall and remained on the ground while the other fled.
Police officers who rushed to the scene found the suspect, 35-year-old man. In his possession they found various valuables and two watches which were allegedly stolen from the building.
The injured man was arrested and taken to Larnaca general hospital by ambulance. He underwent surgery for a broken ankle and remains in hospital for treatment.
More than five decades after the barriers were erected, the Green Line has become an unofficial open-air sanctuary – safe from human activity – for hundreds of species of plants and animals.
This rewilding, albeit unplanned by conservationists, is now literally a green line, an area of biodiversity and rich ecosystems.
An article posted this week on the online nature website natureworldnews.com highlighted the bitter irony of nature thriving in areas of the world frozen in time by human conflict. The article mentioned the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, the ‘purple line’ of the Golan Heights and, of course, Cyprus’ Green Line and UN buffer zone.
Schneider’s Skink lizard
Residents close to the Green Line in old Nicosia can hear the call of the wild: hooting owls, scurrying mice, prowling cats and – all too often unfortunately – packs of stray dogs.
These vibrant sounds of nature are one positive for residents in the area’s narrow and picturesque streets close to what is often called the “dead zone”.
But according to the natureworldnews article the area is anything but dead. The rare Cyprus Bee Orchid and Cyprus Tulips flourish in the buffer zone areas – along with at least 356 other plant species. Previously presumed to be endangered or extinct Schneider’s Skink lizard, Lapwing and Cyprus Spiny Mouse are also present.
In total, the Unficyp-patrolled buffer zone spans an area of 346 square kilometres varying in width from less than 20 metres in the historic heart of Nicosia to more than seven kilometres in some rural areas.
The spur-winged lapwing (BirdLife)
“We’re doing our best to preserve and protect the unique environment within the buffer zone – its landscape as well as its diversity of flora and fauna – not to mention safeguarding its history in light of the current peace talks, while supporting an overall return to normal conditions,” the article quotes Aleem Siddique, Unficyp’s spokesman as saying.
Caring for the island’s habitats can also help promote peace, he said.
“The environment has the ability to act as almost a catalyst, bringing the two communities together to work together for a common cause.”
The bee orchid
The buffer zone in Cyprus was first established in 1964, when Major-General Peter Young was the commander of the British peace force (a predecessor of the present UN force) set up in the wake of the inter-communal violence of the early 1960s.
After stationing his troops in different areas of Nicosia, the general drew a cease-fire line on a map with a green chinagraph pencil, which was to become known as the ‘Green Line’. The line was drawn in green as it was the only coloured pencil in the office at the time.
After the 1974 Turkish invasion, Nicosia’s green line became a 180 km-long frontier slicing across the entire width of Cyprus and taking up about three per cent of the island’s territory.
More than five decades after the barriers were erected, the Green Line has become an unofficial open-air sanctuary – safe from human activity – for hundreds of species of plants and animals.
This rewilding, albeit unplanned by conservationists, is now literally a green line, an area of biodiversity and rich ecosystems.
An article posted this week on the online nature website natureworldnews.com highlighted the bitter irony of nature thriving in areas of the world frozen in time by human conflict. The article mentioned the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, the ‘purple line’ of the Golan Heights and, of course, Cyprus’ Green Line and UN buffer zone.
Schneider’s Skink lizard
Residents close to the Green Line in old Nicosia can hear the call of the wild: hooting owls, scurrying mice, prowling cats and – all too often unfortunately – packs of stray dogs.
These vibrant sounds of nature are one positive for residents in the area’s narrow and picturesque streets close to what is often called the “dead zone”.
But according to the natureworldnews article the area is anything but dead. The rare Cyprus Bee Orchid and Cyprus Tulips flourish in the buffer zone areas – along with at least 356 other plant species. Previously presumed to be endangered or extinct Schneider’s Skink lizard, Lapwing and Cyprus Spiny Mouse are also present.
In total, the Unficyp-patrolled buffer zone spans an area of 346 square kilometres varying in width from less than 20 metres in the historic heart of Nicosia to more than seven kilometres in some rural areas.
The spur-winged lapwing (BirdLife)
“We’re doing our best to preserve and protect the unique environment within the buffer zone – its landscape as well as its diversity of flora and fauna – not to mention safeguarding its history in light of the current peace talks, while supporting an overall return to normal conditions,” the article quotes Aleem Siddique, Unficyp’s spokesman as saying.
Caring for the island’s habitats can also help promote peace, he said.
“The environment has the ability to act as almost a catalyst, bringing the two communities together to work together for a common cause.”
The bee orchid
The buffer zone in Cyprus was first established in 1964, when Major-General Peter Young was the commander of the British peace force (a predecessor of the present UN force) set up in the wake of the inter-communal violence of the early 1960s.
After stationing his troops in different areas of Nicosia, the general drew a cease-fire line on a map with a green chinagraph pencil, which was to become known as the ‘Green Line’. The line was drawn in green as it was the only coloured pencil in the office at the time.
After the 1974 Turkish invasion, Nicosia’s green line became a 180 km-long frontier slicing across the entire width of Cyprus and taking up about three per cent of the island’s territory.
More than five decades after the barriers were erected, the Green Line has become an unofficial open-air sanctuary – safe from human activity – for hundreds of species of plants and animals.
This rewilding, albeit unplanned by conservationists, is now literally a green line, an area of biodiversity and rich ecosystems.
An article posted this week on the online nature website natureworldnews.com highlighted the bitter irony of nature thriving in areas of the world frozen in time by human conflict. The article mentioned the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, the ‘purple line’ of the Golan Heights and, of course, Cyprus’ Green Line and UN buffer zone.
Schneider’s Skink lizard
Residents close to the Green Line in old Nicosia can hear the call of the wild: hooting owls, scurrying mice, prowling cats and – all too often unfortunately – packs of stray dogs.
These vibrant sounds of nature are one positive for residents in the area’s narrow and picturesque streets close to what is often called the “dead zone”.
But according to the natureworldnews article the area is anything but dead. The rare Cyprus Bee Orchid and Cyprus Tulips flourish in the buffer zone areas – along with at least 356 other plant species. Previously presumed to be endangered or extinct Schneider’s Skink lizard, Lapwing and Cyprus Spiny Mouse are also present.
In total, the Unficyp-patrolled buffer zone spans an area of 346 square kilometres varying in width from less than 20 metres in the historic heart of Nicosia to more than seven kilometres in some rural areas.
The spur-winged lapwing (BirdLife)
“We’re doing our best to preserve and protect the unique environment within the buffer zone – its landscape as well as its diversity of flora and fauna – not to mention safeguarding its history in light of the current peace talks, while supporting an overall return to normal conditions,” the article quotes Aleem Siddique, Unficyp’s spokesman as saying.
Caring for the island’s habitats can also help promote peace, he said.
“The environment has the ability to act as almost a catalyst, bringing the two communities together to work together for a common cause.”
The bee orchid
The buffer zone in Cyprus was first established in 1964, when Major-General Peter Young was the commander of the British peace force (a predecessor of the present UN force) set up in the wake of the inter-communal violence of the early 1960s.
After stationing his troops in different areas of Nicosia, the general drew a cease-fire line on a map with a green chinagraph pencil, which was to become known as the ‘Green Line’. The line was drawn in green as it was the only coloured pencil in the office at the time.
After the 1974 Turkish invasion, Nicosia’s green line became a 180 km-long frontier slicing across the entire width of Cyprus and taking up about three per cent of the island’s territory.
An ongoing project aims to rectify the role of women in Cyprus’ history
There are a lot of firsts surrounding the 19th century poet Polixeni Loizias. She was the first to create a women’s movement in Cyprus, the first female journalist, the first to push for physical education classes for schoolgirls and the first to found a female sports centre, Palladion.
She also understood only too well the importance of names. Loizias changed her surname, from Loizou, with its masculine possessive form, to the female possessive suffix ‘ias’. She wanted to show she was the mistress of herself.
Not surprising therefore that Loizias, who was born in 1855, is one of the major subjects of a project involving seven academics and researchers to create a women’s history archive expected to launch in 2020.
‘Clio for Gender’ will be an online Women’s History Archive open to the public, studying the life of women in Cyprus from the start of British rule in 1878 until independence in 1960.
“Loizias is mentioned in Cyprus’ history books as just a female poet, despite all her achievements. It was better not to mention her at all,” said Thekla Kyritsi, from the Centre for Gender Equality and History and one of the project’s researchers.
Currently also doing a PhD on the Cyprus Women’s Movement, Kyritsi said that high school history books reveal a major absence of women.
“Apart from Loizias, the only women mentioned in Cypriot history books are Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary!” she added.
“The aim of the archive is to empower women by learning their history and give them confidence to seek power positions in today’s employment market,” said Soteroulla Yasemi, the project’s manager.
Despite Cyprus’ progress on gender equality over the last ten years, the island still scores just 56.3 in the Eurostat’s Gender Equality Index of 2019 while the EU average is 67.4. Only 11 per cent of board members and 15 per cent of senior executives are female in 2018.
But the project has another purpose.
“Clio is an attempt to diminish the stereotypes that follow women’s absence from history. Most pictures showed women sewing or cooking. Cypriot women were definitely not invisible from the public sphere,” said Eleni Evagorou, from Promitheas Reasearch Institute which is also involved in the project.
The first women’s group in Cyprus was created by a man, Kiti’s archbishop Kyprianos Economides in 1870 but it was completely dependent on the church and therefore limited in scope. So Kyritsi prefers to think of the first women’s movement as the Greek Women’s Union established by Loizias in 1898 which was an extension of an existing movement in Greece.
“Nationalism and the church acted as a foreground for the feminist movement but which later restricted its ideas,” she explained, since the archbishop was the one who created the first school for girls. Essentially what it gave with the one hand – a form of education and prospects – it took away with the other with its conservatism and submissive position of women.
Young girls coming from poor families had the opportunity to get educated, even though the curriculum was limited, and become teachers. Although working was an embarrassment for middle and upper class women, for the rest teaching was the only prestigious career path.
As a result, the majority of women leading the feminist movement in Cyprus were teachers. They were single, educated women with a job that provided them some sort of validation.
“Women were immediately fired from their job after they got married, according to the law. Many women chose to stay unmarried so they do not lose their jobs. The communist, Katina Nicolaou, for example was engaged for 15 years,” said Kyritsi.
Katina NicolaouClio Christodoulidou
Nicolaou was the only woman who participated in the first meeting of KKK, the precursor of the Akel communist party in Cyprus which was formed in August 1926.
Another woman also wished to participate in the meeting was Clio Christodoulidou. Although she had helped organise the party, her strict father would not let her attend.
“Other members wouldn’t let her participate in KKK, so she took it upon herself to prove them wrong. She borrowed her brother’s bicycle at midnight – which was already scandalous enough – and rode it to make a proclamation from a set location to give to the members,” Kyritsi said.
The researchers’ goal is to be as inclusive as possible. For that purpose, Kyritsi has been learning Turkish to research into the history of the Turkish Cypriot community, as their funding from the government and the EU Regional Development Fund does not cover translation.
Pembe Marmara
There was the Turkish Cypriot teacher called Pembe Marmara. She was also a poet who wrote about the liberation of women under a pseudonym. Her conservative father, Yusuf Saraç Hüseyin, unaware of her writings, once read one of her poems in the paper and screamed that there was ‘no shame left in women’ and ‘the sky will fall on their heads’.
“The Turkish Cypriot female movement started around 30 years after the Greek Cypriot one,” said Kyritsi.
Ulviye Mithat was the first to write about women in 14 newspaper articles advocating women’s rights in the 1930s. She also spoke about women and their right to participate in sports.
“Similar to today, there was a problem with the communication between women who spoke different languages in Cyprus which was an obstacle to their organisation. The communities came together for employment issues, when all female workers despite their race or religion united,” Kyritsi said.
A famous example is the three-month strike at Ioannou weaving factory in Famagusta in 1938. The cause for the strike was a working accident, when the skin of a woman’s face caught in one of the machines causing her severe injury. All female women united to demand better working conditions including eight-hour shifts and a wage raise.
“The female protesters’ demands were not met and some of them ended up in jail but it was a great start for women to remember to fighting for their human rights,” explained Kyritsi.
As soon as the archive’s search engine is established, in collaboration with the University of Cyprus, the researchers will organise a number of workshops for students informing them about the history of women to test the archive’s impact. Students will answer questionnaires measuring their gender stereotypes before and after the workshop to track even a slight change in their view of women. The establishment of Clio as a methodological tool will conclude the last part of the project.
“It is difficult to find funding for social interest projects. Around 90 per cent of the national funding goes to science and 10 per cent to the humanities. We were very lucky and we will have to try to get the job done by the end of the upcoming year when the funding ends,” said Yasemi.
Despite the end of the funding in 2020, researchers aspire to find additional funds and keep upgrading the archives including more sources from the set period, or even extend the period.
Residents of Yeroskipou on Sunday morning planted 600 trees within municipal limits to help fight climate change.
The planting was held in co-operation with 100,000 trees in Paphos, the municipality and the research centre Akti.
The event started at the central Ayios Spyridonas church and included a tidy up of various areas within the town.
A different kind of planting ceremony will be held on Tuesday at Athienou primary school following an initiative by Cypriot singer Alexia Vasiliou and the Re-bE programme, which will see children green the environment of their school.
The trees will be provided by the forestry department through its programme I Plant for the Environment, which encourages children to appreciate nature by the planting of trees.
The event will be attended by Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis as well as Alexia.
Our Christmas decorations are steeped in tradition, some dating back to the times of the Druids. They believed that mistletoe, which is a parasitic plant growing on trees, especially oaks and apples, gave some protection against evil and symbolised the light of life during dark winter days and nights. Kissing under the mistletoe derived from a Nordic legend when visitors would kiss the hand of the host when they arrived, but nowadays people stand under the mistletoe hung in the doorway, hoping for a kiss!
The Romans held a seven day festival in mid-December in honour of Saturn, the God of Agriculture. Homes were decorated with green boughs and candles and we still do this nowadays. Evergreens, which do not drop their leaves in wintertime, were said to symbolise the perpetuity of life through dark winter days, until spring comes round again and lightness is back again.
We all know that Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s German husband, is attributed with bringing fir trees into homes in Great Britain at Christmas time, mirroring this long standing German custom that we have been following ever since.
Cream pink edged Poinsettias
Along with decorating our houses at this festive time, we feast on fruit and nuts, sometimes the products of our gardens. I am always being asked why we can eat almond nuts and not the kernels from the other prunus fruits, like apricots, peaches and nectarines. These others contain a compound called amygdalin that breaks down into hydrogen cyanide, and when ingested is poisonous. Don’t worry if you ate a few kernels in error, to try them out, (not advised though), but do give them a miss. Instead eat the almonds in their natural state with their skins on, as blanched almonds do not have the same nutrition value.
Almonds are native of the Middle East, although they are grown in vast orchards in the USA nowadays. Bee hives are trucked in from other parts of the country in order to pollinate the blossoms, as there just aren’t enough bees in California to do the job. They were also the first known snack food and pilgrims and travellers carried them on their long treks along the Silk Road and on other epic journeys
Not only are they high in healthy, monounsaturated fats, fibre and protein, they are a good source of Vitamin E nutrients, protecting cells from aging and disease. They are also high in magnesium, which is good for people with Type 2 diabetes and to an extent can help control blood pressure. They can lead to some reductions in bad cholesterol, as well as being low in carbohydrates. They are high in protein and fibre and might even help with weight loss. What more could you desire from a nut! So along with other good nuts like pecans, get cracking!
What to do in the garden this month
I know that you are busy with Christmas preparations, but there are jobs to do outside, too. We have a weather window now until March when new trees and shrubs can be planted and if necessary other plants moved around the garden. There should still be a little residual heat in the ground and after the autumn rains and it should be quite damp and amenable to planting. If you select citrus trees from a garden centre at this time of year there may be some fruit on them, which is always helpful in knowing that it is the tree you wanted.
Bee heading for citrus blossom
If you are just setting out your orchard then remember that not only will your tree grow upwards but outwards as well, so leave about 5 metres between one tree trunk and the next. It may seem a big gap at this time but the trees will quickly fill that space. The planting hole should be deeper and wider than the root-ball and if the roots are tangled and twisted around, which usually means that they have been in the pot for too long, then gently tease them out and they may benefit from a little trim. If you can get bone meal, then spread some evenly in the bottom of the hole otherwise use some slow release fertiliser. Ensuring that the graft point is above the soil level, support the tree whilst you are filling in the sides with soil and stamp around the area to make it secure. If the spot is likely to be windy then you may need to insert a pole to support the tree, but put this in place before you put the tree into the hole or you may damage the roots. If there is no rain, then water for several days.
December is the time for feeding fruit and nut trees again, as they haven’t been fed since May. The roots, shoots and fruits all need a boost after the long hot summer, so use 20.10.10 fertiliser – 900 g for large trees and 300 g for young trees, spread evenly around the base area. Any rain will probably water it in for you.
Keep clipping your hedges and topiaries lest they get out of shape and tie in climbers before they are buffeted about in the inevitable winter winds. Lots of climbers are top heavy by this time of year and branches and stems can be torn off if they are not supported. At ground level keep weeding as the plants grow. I find that unless I keep pace with the weeds in my freesia beds the plants become dependent on them for support. When they are eventually removed the freesias flop over and drag in the soil, spoiling the flowers. Large clumps of plants such as chasmanthe need more positive supports and more are available here now. They are quite substantial and should keep the tall spear-like leaves from toppling over.
Most houses in Cyprus will have a poinsettia plant at this time of year, although they are not everyone’s favourite plant. They do not fare well outdoors as they are fussy plants not liking draughts or to be too hot or too cold and you really have to cosset them as they do not like to be too wet or dry either. When you get them home take off the cellophane wrapper and let the stems assume their natural position. The stems are very brittle and snap easily, so take care, as they ooze a sap from the break, which is an irritant to some people. This plant belongs to the Euphorbia family and they all do that! Stand the pot in a bowl of water for it to recover. Hold it up above the bowl to let the water drip through and place it on a saucer or in a fancy pot. Before you water again, feel the soil and if it is dry on the top then repeat the watering process. Sadly many poinsettias don’t last the Christmas period and end up on the compost heap, but some people manage to keep them growing and they turn red again on their own in time for the next Christmas celebrations.
PLANT OF THE MONTH
Orchids
It is highly likely that some of you will receive an orchid plant as a Christmas gift. What a lovely exotic gift to be given. The orchid will probably be either a Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) or a Dendrobium, as these two plants are the most popular orchids available here, out of some 28,000 species growing world-wide. You should remember that orchids were first discovered growing on trees in tropical rain forests, so in order for them to survive in your house here are a few growing tips to ensure their well being.
There are several things you shouldn’t do, and one is not to pour water onto the growing medium. They are better plunged in their plastic see-through pot into a bowl of tepid water and then lifted out to drain, as they will not survive if their roots are wet. Their leaves are designed for water conservation and have a heavy wax coating with specialised stomata (holes) through which the leaf breathes. Orchid stems are in fact pseudo bulbs in which water and food is stored. They do not like to be in direct sunlight, but need indirect light to thrive. Don’t cut off the aerial roots or stems and if you need to move them up a pot size, use specially formulated orchid compost now available in garden centres, which will probably have bark, mixed with some dried moss and perhaps some Perlite in it. After re-potting, do not water straight away, but wait a few hours before you do that. Don’t use ordinary plant food, but try specially formulated orchid food-stuff, which is high in NPK.
Most orchids bloom once a year, with some flowers lasting up to a month. When the flowers are finished let the plant rest, although it may need a little water and humidity from time to time, which could be from a bathroom or a kitchen.
President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday praised outgoing Finance Minister Harris Georgiades for his work in the position, which led the economy “from the depths of the crisis to growth”.
“Commenting on the very positive performance of the economy and the steady growth path, I take this opportunity to reiterate my warm thanks to outgoing Finance Minister Haris Georgiades, one of my closest associates, for the great work he has done,” he said in a written statement.
In his seven years as finance minister Harris Georgiades said on Sunday he did not promote the privatisation of semi government bodies as he should have.
In an interview with Phileleftheros, he said in the case of Cyta he said there was “dogmatic denial” to get on board.
But he said he will leave things easier for his successor. “I leave the largest surplus ever recorded by public finances in the history of the Republic of Cyprus. Surplus is the margin of safety that will allow the new minister to function, handle situations and pursue policy,” he said.Last week Georgiades said he will not be in the position of minister to present the 2020 budget to the House on Friday.
Georgiades, who took on the ministry at the beginning of the financial crisis in 2013 said the role had turned into a life’s mission. “The responsibility was huge,” he said.
And to arrive at today’s stability took sacrifices by many. “It took strenuous efforts to get back on our feet. Difficult, unpopular decisions needed to be made and someone had to take them. Today I think we have reached a point that allows me to complete my role”.
When it was suggested his critics would define his time in office as one that saw the collapse of Cyprus Airways and the Co-op bank, Georgiades said his critics were the same people who abused the two organisations.
“Cyprus Airways was seriously overstaffed and operated with waste and criminal misconduct,” the minister said. Once the island joined the EU, the airline was no longer able to compete without the government pouring in funds, which was deemed illegal by Europe.
But “the closure of Cyprus Airways led to the operation of new airlines which helped in the massive increase in tourist numbers to the island. Amongst these is the new Cyprus Airways, a completely private company that competes against other airlines with no support from the government”.
The same principle applies to the Co-op, said, where for year there was a lack of control and abuse of the system. The unchecked issuing of loans led the Co-op to a dead end, Georgiades said.
Whether they want to stick with parties that have ruled for decades with nepotism, scandals, mismanagement and policies that oppress people and the environment or whether they want to see more Greens in power is the key question the public must answer in elections in May 2021, Green leader George Perdikis said on Sunday.
Speaking at a party conference, he said the government is defined by nepotism, serving big business and the destruction of the natural environment.
He said the conference had been called to re-establish the policies of the ecological, environmental and social movement.
He said the party had played an important role for the last 19 year’s in the island’s parliament.
People have many reasons to support his party, he said, such as its actions on the environment, social issues, animals, the economy and more.
The public must decide if they prefer populism and empty promises.He said green is now the colour of hope, for a Cyprus that will make its citizens proud.
Non-dairy milk is increasingly popular, but is it always a good choice?
Non-dairy milk alternatives are proving to be big business in Cyprus as almond, oat, soya and even quinoa milks take up ever more space on supermarket shelves and in coffee shops.
But we’re not quite in the same league as the US where the consumption of cow’s milk is down 40 per cent since 1975, according to a recent report in the Sunday Times.
The reason for the change “seems to be a combination of ethical concerns, health consciousness and a splash of following-the-herd faddism” the paper said.
Cyprus is definitely following that trend. Health food shops are no longer the sole suppliers of coconut, soya, almond, oat and quinoa milks.
A soya milk frappe
“The most popular is coconut,” said a manager of a Nero café in Nicosia’s Onasagorou street. “It is more expensive, but about 20 per cent of people prefer it.”
They are both young and old, and he believes they are the health-conscious clientele, while taste also plays a role. The local cafes started selling the alternative milks about two years ago, and demand has been increasing ever since.
Eretrio health shops also offer all of them, even quinoa, but an employee said the three bestsellers are coconut, oat and almond milks.
Marios Michaelides, financial controller of Michaelides Ltd, the company which distributes Alpro, one of the well-known brands of cow milk alternatives, said the customers’ favourite is almond milk.
He said the products are now widely available. Even small supermarkets and kiosks stock them.
“One of the biggest findings of our research is that they are used a lot in 5-star hotels, for example in non-dairy desserts,” he said.
Sales of alternative milks, both soy and non-soy, have soared in the past five years, company figures show. While soy drink sales rose by more than 30 per cent every year in 2014, 2015 and 2016 the real winners are the non-soy drinks. In 2014 the company recorded a 125 per cent increase, in 2015 159 per cent. By 2018 the growth slowed down but was still a remarkable 38 per cent.
The latest thing – quinoa milk
As the Nero manager observed, a growing number of people believe these drinks are a healthier choice than milk. The Eretrio health shop employee agrees.
“Only people who know about a healthy diet ask for the alternative milks,” she told the Sunday Mail, adding that coconut milk is the healthiest.
“I use it because of hormones in the cow milk,” a young shopper added. She uses it all the time “in cereals, coffee, desserts, I ask for anything lactose-free in cafes”.
For vegans and those opposed to factory farming methods, the choice of non-dairy milks is obvious, while those trying to lose weight soon discover that alternatives to cow’s milk have far fewer calories than even semi-skimmed milk.
But are non-dairy milks the healthier alternative? The answer is not that simple.
Dietitian and nutritionist Flora Georgalla does not agree that the healthiest is coconut, nor that it is necessarily part of a healthy diet to avoid drinking cow’s milk.
“The best plant-based alternative to cow’s milk is the unsweetened soy milk that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D,” she said. “The second-best plant-based alternative for those with cow’s milk protein allergy and intolerance is considered to be the unsweetened almond milk which is free of allergens and contains neither lactose, soy protein, nor gluten.”
However, she said cow’s milk remains the best source of calcium and the best choice for infants and adolescents. The most recent scientific evidence supports the consumption of cow’s milk as a part of a balanced diet.
Her main concern is young children. She said that if young children ‘turn’ to plant-based milks there is a risk they will not be able to cover their nutritional requirements because these products cannot cover all their needs in proteins, vitamins (B12, B2, D and E) and mineral content (especially calcium).
“Cow’s milk is considered to be a ‘complete’ food which contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals essential for sustaining life,” she said.
The one exception is goat’s milk. It too is considered a ‘complete’ food with characteristics similar to cow’s milk but with 15 per cent more calcium, less lactose and cholesterol and better quality casein. The problem is the taste, Georgalla said.
“Many people don’t like its taste and they avoid it.”
The heated debate about cow’s milk and possible harmful effects on the body such as allergies, diarrhea, acne and slightly increased risk of prostate and ovarian cancer is controversial she said.
“No clear data are available about the association between milk intake and cancer. In general, the findings of these studies are controversial. Contrary other scientists point out its health benefits such as bone development, bone and dental health, diabetes prevention.”
Clearly those who are allergic to milk or lactose intolerant should avoid milk and dairy products.
“But they should always bear in mind that plant-based milks – soya, rice, almond, coconut milk etc – are generally of lower nutritional quality compared to animal-derived proteins,” she said.
President Nicos Anastasiades announced a reshuffle of his cabinet on Sunday.
This will see current Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides take on the role of finance minister.
He will be replaced by current Disy MP Nicos Nouris.
Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou will become education minister while Ayia Napa mayor Yiannis Karousos will become minister of communications and works, replacing Vassiliki Anastasiadou.
Lawyer Kyriakos Kousios will become government spokesman and the position of deputy government spokesman will be taken on by current president of the Youth Board Panayiotis Sentonas.
Current education minister Costas Hambiaouris will be appointed as the Mountain Communities Development Commissioner and Klelia Vasiliou will become Environmental Commissioner.
He thanked current officials Anastasiadou, Hambiaouris, environmental commsioner Ioana Panayiotou and mountains commissioner Yiannakis Papadouris for the co-operation and creative work.
The new ministers and others will be sworn in on Tuesday and will take over their new duties on Wednesday.
Arson was behind a fire in Polis Chrysochous, the police announced on Sunday.
On Friday afternoon police were called to the scene of a burning car in Pomos.
Members of the police and the fire brigade went to the scene and extinguished the fire.
Further investigations showed that the car had been reported stolen from Peyia.
The scene was examined on Saturday by police experts who ruled that the fire had started as the result of a malicious act by people trying to destroy evidence.
Paphos police have arrested a 40-year-old man for drunk driving, causing a traffic accident and inflicting actual bodily harm.
According to the police, while at the traffic lights on Apostolos Pavlou avenue the Romanian slammed his car into reverse and hit the car behind him, driven by a British woman.
Her brother was in the car behind her and when he got out and asked the first driver what he was doing he was doing the Romanian reportedly hit him with a wooden bat.
Police arrived and concluded the 40-year-old was drunk and they took him in to help with enquiries.
The two Britons were taken to Paphos hospital where doctors said their injuries gave no cause for concern.
Cyprus Mail: reporting for three-quarters of a century
The Cyprus Mail has just entered its 75th year. When the very first issue of the island’s oldest newspaper was printed on November 2, 1945 the Second World War had just ended and a major concern for the fledgling publication was paper rationing.
Three quarters of a century later, the challenges remain, this time caused by the internet and the all-conquering advance of digital technology. Unlike so many newspapers worldwide which have folded in defeat, the Cyprus Mail still produces a high-quality print edition, available six days a week.
But the Cyprus Mail has also met the digital age challenge head-on with its website and phone app. It boasts the top SEO for news and information on Cyprus, a reflection of the high regard in which it is held by its readers worldwide.
With a proud history spanning three quarters of a century, the Cyprus Mail has become a well-known news brand known for its reliability and objectivity.
That the Cyprus Mail can continue to operate so successfully in print and online is down to its new owner, prominent Limassol lawyer Andreas Neocleous who recognised its importance and potential. New investment has seen the expansion of the news room and the re-design/upgrade of the print and digital platforms, which are now providing round-the-clock news coverage and regular updates. Revived and re-energised, the newspaper can continue its mission of enriching unique content, but also expand the breadth of its coverage.
Before the end of the year the operation will move to new, modern offices on Lemesos Avenue in Nicosia, specially designed for a modern news operation.
The first copy of the Cyprus Mail, November 2, 1945
Editorial board
Under the new ownership, the Cyprus Mail will be run by an editorial board, consisting of distinguished personalities from Cyprus and abroad. The newly formed editorial board’s mission is to better define the future strategy and philosophy of the newspaper. The chairman of the board is Ioannis Kasoulides, a former Foreign Minister of Cyprus and ex-MEP. Other members include: Roelf Meyer, the South African government’s chief negotiator in the talks that ended apartheid and member of the Nelson Mandela unity government; Elie Hatem, a professor of international relations and law; Giorgos Nicolaou, former judge at the European Court of Human Rights and the Cyprus Supreme Court; Tasos Telloglu, a Greece-based investigative journalist and television presenter, and Kyriacos Iacovides, managing editor of the Cyprus Mail. The editorial board is independent of the newspaper’s editorial staff.
The Cyprus Mail’s first major story in the mid to late 1940s was the detention of thousands of Jewish refugees in camps in Cyprus. Escaping war-ravaged Europe, they had attempted to run the British blockade of Palestine and were interned here until the creation of the state of Israel in May 1948. In this way, Cyprus became part of the never-ending convulsions in the Middle East.
It is therefore fitting that to launch its 75th anniversary celebrations, the Cyprus Mail is organising a symposium on Syria, the Middle East’s latest deadly fault line. ‘The Syrian Crisis and its Consequences in our Region’ on December 6 will see prominent political leaders and personalities from different corners of the world provide their insights into the issues at stake and offer ideas on how long-term stability can be achieved in the region. This event is by invitation only.
The Syrian Crisis and its Consequences in our Region
The symposium on The Syrian Crisis and its Consequences in our Region, brings together a diverse group of speakers from different corners of the world, each with their own expertise and ideas on the issues facing the war-ravaged country and the way ahead.
Can long-term stability be achieved and how? Can there be a compromise that keeps all parties happy? How will the new power balances shape up and how will they affect our region? Has Russia taken over the role of the US in the Middle East? Is there a role for the EU in the rebuilding of the country?
These are a few of the questions the nine speakers will try to answer, some of whom – such as the former President of Lebanon, Amine Gemayel – can speak on behalf of a country that will be directly affected by the course of events in Syria. The same is true of Somar Al-Assad, the geopolitician nephew of the late Hafez Al-Assad, who will speak about the reconstruction of Syria.
Rosine Ghawji, president of Women for Donald Trump will explain President Trump’s policy on Syria and the Middle East and what its objectives are, while Russian political scientist Konstantin Truevstev will explore how a Syrian peace will influence security in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.
For the EU, the war in Syria caused an immigration crisis, which was brought under control through an agreement with Turkey where some three million Syrian refugees are currently staying. France’s role in the peace process in Syria, which will be the subject of the speech by Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, former political advisor to the late President Francois Mitterrand, will offer a European perspective.
Former United Arab Emirates ambassador to Russia and France, Omar Ghobash, will present his country’s role in promoting peace and stability in Syria, while Roelf Meyer, a former minister in South Africa, will talk about the key elements of successful transitions in conflict situations drawing from his personal experience as the chief negotiator of the South African government in the negotiations to end apartheid.
Professor of international relations law, Elie Hatem, a former advisor of the late Boutros Boutros-Ghali will look at the effects of the war in Syria on world order. Finally, former foreign minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, chairman of the symposium, will speak about Cyprus’ role in the Syrian peace process, after which participants will be invited to join the discussion.
The symposium will be held on Friday, December 6, at the Amara Hotel in Limassol and starts at 3.30pm.
