NewsOpinions

Our View: Both AKEL and DISY guilty of double standards when it comes to CBC Governor

23/05/13
THERE is a sense of deja vu in the political row over the powers of the Governor of the Central Bank, but the roles have been reversed. Whereas three years ago, AKEL was publicly pillorying the then Governor Athanasios Orphanides, accusing him of undermining the government and attempting to curtail his powers it is now the biggest champion of the Governor’s independence and staunch defender of his powers... 4 comments

Our view: Threat to society is from the hooligans, not the police

22/05/13
FAILURE and ineptitude have marked our society’s efforts to deal with football hooliganism. At the weekend, a group of masked hooligans decided to attack policemen on duty by the Apoel clubhouse, throwing stones, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at the officers. The hooligans managed to set a police patrol car ablaze, which was completely destroyed by the fire, before they fled. ... 9 comments

Our View: CyBC should not expect the taxpayer to cover loss of advertising revenue

21/05/13
IT DID NOT take the leadership of the CyBC long to respond to the DISY plan to pass an amendment bill depriving the state broadcaster from carrying advertisements. Just a few hours after the new DISY leader Averof Neophytou spoke about the party’s intention, the chairman of the CyBC board Makis Symeou declared that if the corporation was deprived of advertising revenue it would not be able to carry out its mission... 8 comments

Our View: Politics remains the art of the unattainable

19/05/13
VACUOUS rhetoric and conspiracy theories have been constant features of our political life. The politicians may change but the tradition of churning out empty and usually irrational slogans and unearthing imaginary plots against Cyprus are always preserved. Nothing can temper the passion for meaningless sloganeering, cynically calculated to caress the ears of the electorate and keep politicians free of any responsibility for the problems facing the country. Not even the devastating shock our economy has suffered has persuaded them to change their ways and abandon this immature political behaviour... 3 comments

Break eggs or become Christofias II

By Loucas Charalambous 19/05/13
THE NEW DISY leader Averof Neophytou, departing from the presidential palace on April 29, made a rather unusual statement for our strange country. He said, “to make an omelette you have to break eggs.” This is a far from original metaphor, but it was a daring suggestion nevertheless.He called on the president to proceed with decisiveness and determination, warning him that he should be prepared to clash with vested interests and change people’s mentality. What Neophytou meant is very clear. The vested interests he wanted President Anastasiades to take on were the unions of state and semi-governmental employees... 9 comments

Our ‘heroic’ No’s have cost us dear

By Nicos Rolandis 19/05/13
WE HAVE reached a point where people have started wondering how it could have ever been worse. Where will this bumpy road lead us? How will the wounded grassroots react, now that they realise that the past five years have brought about the pulverisation of their dreams?There are people who have offered part of their possessions to soothe the pain. I do not know whether this will be sufficient. Poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran writes in his “Prophet”:“You give but little when you give of your possessions     it is when you give of yourself that you truly give”.Probably some people have really given of themselves as well. Probably…... 27 comments

Paradise Lost! Have We Learned Anything?

By Theodore Panayotou 19/05/13
Cyprus has been invariably called a paradise; a paradise for tourists, a paradise for lawyers and accountants, a paradise for bankers and civil servants, a paradise for Russian oligarchs, even a paradise for money launderers; a paradise nevertheless... Read on

Property highlights all that is wrong

By Hermes Solomon 19/05/13
During Cyprus’ property sale ‘boom years’, most estate agents/developers employed at least one Russian/English speaker part-time. Now they employ a Mandarin/English speaker, who is likely to be a Chinese lady married to a Cypriot. Mainland Chinese do not speak English, and those who say they do are limited to several tens of words enunciated incomprehensibly. In fact, it would be nigh impossible for any to negotiate the purchase of a house and live in Cyprus without the assistance of an interpreter... 10 comments

The memorandum is the consequence and the measure of our failure

By Yiannis Tirkides 19/05/13
Cyprus faces a crisis that is both profound and multi-faceted. To deal with it effectively and constructively will require equally profound and multi-faceted approaches. But however varied these approaches might be, they will have to embrace the faithful implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding and eurozone membership. Success will depend on the decisiveness with which the adjustment programme is implemented and the speed at which the banking system is stabilised... Read on

The achievements of Anastasiades’ visit to Israel

By Andrestinos Papadopoulos 19/05/13
IN TWELVE articles, written since April 2010 until recently, I have been unreservedly in favour of further strengthening and deepening our relations with Israel, the only non-Muslim country in our region... Read on
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