NewsCyprus

House passes law for co-ops to raise capital

17/05/13
PARLIAMENT last night passed a law designed to enable cooperative banks to raise capital on their own so as to minimise their need for possible state assistance.The government-drafted legislation makes it mandatory for cooperative credit institutions to issue shares for the purposes of raising capital, by converting cooperatives from unlimited liability to limited liability companies.By law, all 92 cooperatives have now been converted into limited liability shareholder companies. The cooperatives are allowed to issue class B shares, and to purchase class A shares in addition to class B shares... 3 comments

Cabinet slashes pensions for community leaders

By Stefanos Evripidou 17/05/13
THE GOVERNMENT yesterday decided to subsidise rent increases for businesses operating in government industrial estates while decreasing pension allowances for ex-community leaders. Speaking from the Presidential Palace, deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos announced a series of measures adopted by cabinet yesterday, starting with a 10 per cent reduction in pension allowances of former community leaders. “The reduction is part of efforts to consolidate public finances and due to the fact that community heads are otherwise employed and their retirement is covered by other pension plans such as, for example, the social insurance fund, and others,” said Papadopoulos... 5 comments

‘Holiday at home this year’ residents urged

By Bejay Browne 17/05/13
The tourism industry is urging residents to holiday at home this year to help beat the crisis.The head of the Paphos regional board of tourism Nassos Hadjigeorgiou said this would be the message given to everyone who attends the three-day annual travel exhibition ‘Taxidi’ which opens in Nicosia today.“In particular the Paphos tourism board is urging Cypriots and locals to spend the summer at home this year,” he said.Hadjigeorgiou said officials are still unsure as to how the domestic market will react to the crisis. The exhibition may give them an idea what people’s intentions are... 19 comments

Tourism still numb from banking crisis

By Peter Stevenson 17/05/13
THE ASSOCIATION of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA) has said that despite a 20 per cent decrease in reservations since the banking crisis in March, there had been a turnaround in recent days. Head of the association, Victor Mantovani told reporters ahead of the Travel (Taxidi)  2013 exhibition which opens today, that tourist arrivals were due to increase by ten per cent this summer... 11 comments

Cyprus finally asks for return of its moon rock

By Stefanos Evripidou 17/05/13
CYPRUS HAS finally requested the return of its very own piece of moon, originally gifted to the island around 40 years ago and lost during the chaos of the 1974 coup and invasion, according to the Associated Press.  The tiny moon rock, weighing 1.14 grammes and taken from the moon’s Taurus Littrow valley during the 1972 Apollo 17 mission, was supposed to be a gift from then US President Richard Nixon to the people of Cyprus as a symbol of “the unity of human endeavour” and “hope of the American people for a world at peace... 10 comments

Moving forward on LGBT rights

By Maria Gregoriou 17/05/13
THE QUESTION of when the bill for civil partnerships would be passed was raised yesterday at a press conference at the EU house in Nicosia in light of international day against homophobia and transphobia, which is marked today.Costas Gavrielides, President of Accept – LGBT Cyprus said it was important that steps had been taken to change the Cypriot mentality when it came to homophobia but in reality, little had changed, he said.One of the biggest problems of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people is their visibility in society “which until recently was nonexistent. This invisibility allowed this vulnerable population to be sidelined,” Gavrielides said... 2 comments

Annual state fair postponed

17/05/13
THE 38TH Cyprus international fair, which usually takes place in May, has been postponed until October this year due to the inability of some exhibitors to clear their products through ports as a result of capital controls imposed in March. “It is very difficult for most participants to pay for the items they want to be exhibited to be taken out of the ports, we thought it best to postpone the exhibition for later in the year when things will hopefully be more flexible. In this way exhibitors can have the opportunity to prepare and make any necessary orders,” a representative of the state fairs authority said yesterday... 1 comment

Police looking into illegal botox treatment

17/05/13
ALLEGEDLY illegal botox injections from a hairdresser have left a 39-year-old Romanian woman needing expensive dermatological treatment. The woman, who lives in Limassol, reported to police that some friends of hers had recommended she visit a 37-year-old hairdresser who could give her cosmetic treatment.She said she visited the hairdresser at his home in Limassol and received the botox treatment which cost her €250 but a few hours later said she realised that she had fallen victim to an amateur cosmetician as her face had swelled up. A police spokesman told the Mail that the woman subsequently visited a dermatologist who gave her medical treatment... 4 comments

Sharp fall in demand for property

17/05/13
THERE has been a sharp drop in the demand for property in all towns except Paphos it emerged yesterday.According to data released by the land registry, 285 sale deeds were filed in April compared to 461 filed in April 2012. This shows an annual decline of 38 per cent. Nicosia had the largest decrease at 65 per cent, with sales falling from 628 last year to 222 this year. Famagusta had the second largest decrease of 61 per cent, with sales reduced from 201 last year to 78 this year.Limassol had a 54 per cent decrease and Larnaca had a 42 per cent decrease.Paphos had an increase of six per cent in sales and reached 480 sales compared to 452 last year. This is due to Russian and Chinese investors, the registry said... 8 comments

British women fined for smuggling cigarettes

17/05/13
TWO BRITISH women, aged 36 and 20 were fined €2,000 between them yesterday by the Larnaca court for trying to smuggle 623 packs of cigarettes and 300 packets of tobacco, bought from the occupied area, out of the country.The two women were caught at around 10pm at Larnaca airport on Wednesday.After being fined, the cigarettes and tobacco were confiscated and the women were released.According to police the tobacco was found hidden at the bottom of their suitcases during a search by customs and Larnaca airport police.They were first held at the customs and then taken to the Larnaca police station. When questioned they said they had been in the occupied area and bought the tobacco for their personal use... 10 comments
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