Daily Archives: January 24, 2010

BRITISH cuckoos in the north may require the help of the odd sleeping pill before they go to bed at night, since the announcement of the Orams judgment on Tuesday. Not friendly at the best of times, the Brits in the north seemed particularly edgy and hostile when they were approached by a Mail journalist for comments, after the judgment.

They got their comeuppance in the end, the properties they bought on the cheap, because they were stolen, now, being practically worth a fraction of their bargain price as there are no buyers. This could not have happened to nicer people, as they say. And now they have to look over their shoulder wherever they go, in case there is a devious Greek Cypriot waiting to hand them a court summons.

THE PERCENTAGE of Cypriots under ‘poverty risk’ is 16 per cent, one percentage point under the EU average, according to an EU survey published this week. The poverty risk is above 20 per cent for countries like Greece, Bulgaria and Spain. What is even more remarkable is that the poverty line for Cyprus is set higher – average annual income of €11,300 – than affluent countries like Sweden and Denmark.

SECONDARY School teachers who smoke will not be given a special room in which to do so, the Education Minister has said.

Andreas Demetriou said under no circumstances would teachers be exempt from the law and allowed to set up special smoking rooms in schools.

“I understand the psychological dimensions of smoke addiction. However your request for special smoking areas of one form or other in schools goes against the spirit and the letter of the law,” the minister told teachers’ union OELMEK in writing.

Union president Eleni Semelidou said the teachers had wanted to sit down to discuss the issue with the minister but that he had refused.

BIRDLIFE Cyprus has welcomed the UK Parliament’s urgent call for action to tackle bird trapping in Cyprus and urges local politicians to stand up and speak out in the face of a massive increase in trapping levels.

The House of Commons resolution, dated January 12 and signed by British 34 MPs, calls for “immediate and urgent action” by the British Sovereign Base (SBA) Authorities “in collaboration with the Cypriot authorities to put an end to this illegal and cruel practice”1.

The House of Commons action comes after widespread recent coverage of the problem in the UK media, which focused on the extent of the illegal bird slaughter within the Dhekelia SBA.

FOUR Labradors that were left to starve in an empty house after the tenant fled back to Britain are recovering from their ordeal at the Argos animal shelter in Ormedia.

Police called in animal welfare officials after the landlord discovered that his tenant had left unannounced, leaving the dogs locked in the house.

Stella Stylianou from Argos thinks the dogs could have been caged in for as long as two weeks.

“This is a disturbing case; these are beautiful, tame friendly dogs. I simply cannot understand how someone, who has obviously loved and taken care of these dogs, can do something like this. Why didn’t they call animal rescue or us?” she wondered.

If you’re looking to buy a car there’s plenty to see at the Motorshow, but little to engage the casual visitor says ROSIE CHARALAMBOUS

IT’S CERTAINLY the biggest ever for Cyprus in terms of the number of cars on display, and also square footage of exhibition space, but having spent most of Tuesday at the International State Fair grounds attending press conferences for the much hyped Motorshow 2010 I came away with a sense of disappointment.

Yes, if you want to buy a car, you have the chance at the show to see pretty well every model available in Cyprus – including some vintage classic cars, and some new vehicles getting their Cyprus premiere – but there’s a distinctly mundane feel about the whole affair.