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- Catholic Church : Vatican stunned by Irish embassy closure
- 7th Moufflon book fair : A bibliophile’s paradise
- Javier Perianes : Spanish piano master Javier Perianes comes to Nicosia
- AEK : AEK: Cyprus is not just a tourist destination
- Cyprus : Read today's Cyprus Mail pdf edition here
NewsFeatures
A question of transport
ENERGY experts and politicians alike agree that a pipeline running from Cypriot gas fields onto Turkey and then linking to the proposed Nabucco conveyor would make the most sense, both from a technical and financial standpoint. But pipelines need stability; deals can go sour even among the best of friends. By contrast, giving Russia gas concessions might be the easy answer for Cyprus; but is it the best?The Nabucco conveyor is a proposed natural gas pipeline from Turkey to Austria diversifying natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe. An intergovernmental agreement between Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria was signed on 13 July 2009... 8 comments
History in miniature
WITH the art of letter-writing seemingly consigned to the dustbin of history by global internet usage, you could be forgiven for thinking that the sound of the death knell for stamp-collecting cannot be far behind.But for philatelist and director of the Cyprus Postal Musuem Ploutis Loizou, nothing is further from the truth.“Seventy per cent of collectors are actually under the age of 40,” he says.The museum, housed in a traditional house in Nicosia’s old city, is a treasure trove of Cypriot history which, according to Loizou, is still highly relevant... Read on
Pancreas transplants now available in Cyprus
THE CHANCE to avoid a lifetime of insulin-dependency along with other complications that diabetes brings with it, is now available for Type I diabetes patients in Cyprus in the form of a pancreas transplant, according to director of transplantation in Cyprus, Dr Vassilis Hadjianastassiou. “This is the best solution for many patients as it gives them a better quality of life,” said Hadjianastassiou.Patients eligible for the transplant are those suffering from Type 1 diabetes. The procedure is typically performed on sufferers who are over the age of 18... 2 comments
Irene Charalambidou: Where is she now?
THERE used to be a time when current AKEL MP Irene Charalambidou was everywhere. She became famous as the host of ‘Efharisto Savvatovrado’, a hugely popular CyBC Saturday light entertainment show in the late 1980s and 90s, before reinventing herself as a controversial political talk show host who put politicians on the spot and discussed still sensitive subjects such as homosexuality.She was used to the limelight.So when she announced she was standing in this year’s parliamentary elections, most expected the new MP to gravitate with ease towards the news cameras and radio mikes at every opportunity. After all, most of our politicians do... 7 comments
Census maps our changing society
WE DON’T reply to our mail, and our internet use is below the EU average. These are two major reasons why in the year 2011, our census is still being carried out by door-to-door census takers.“Bearing in mind the Cypriots’ slackness in responding to their mail, had we sent out census forms through the post, I bet we would have only received 10 per cent of them,” said Dora Kyriakidou, coordinator of this year’s census.Kyriakidou explained that the Cypriot mentality, along with environmental costs and the island’s small size made door-to-door the most practical - though perhaps anachronistic - method for conducting the census. ... 1 comment
Reservoirs netting fishing tourists
THE IDEA of using Cyprus’ many reservoirs to reel in tourists to go fishing is not new, but with steady rainfall keeping water levels high over the last two years, this specialised type of tourism is on the increase.“This year we issued over 3,000 licences,” said Loizos Loizides, head of the Fisheries Department, adding that this was a sharp increase from the 1,888 given out in 2008.He said most are issued to tourists and foreign residents on the island, with Cypriots lagging way behind.“Many of the licences are issued to tourists coming from England and Germany,” said Loizides.“We have ideal conditions in Cyprus especially in terms of the weather... 1 comment
A changing language
The story of the Greek Cypriot dialect is one of conquest by a bewildering array of invaders, many of whom helped create a rich linguistic tapestry that some now fear may well be wearing thin.The future of this unique dialect was one of the themes of Thursday’s European Commission and University of Cyprus organised event on the Cypriot dialect, which was held to celebrate the European Day of Languages.The audience was told at length about numerous conquerors who brought with them new words and languages. Migration from Anatolia and Mycenae in the Bronze Age introduced dialects of Greek. Much later, members of the Greek Achaeans arrived in waves, as did Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians... 19 comments
Learning the painless way
Milate Kypriaka? Turche Bilirmisiniz? Hablas Ingles?If your response to these is something along the lines of: “eh what?” Then fear not, you are in the right place. Those who could reply with a “nai” or an “evet”, but could probably do with brushing up on dialects, might also be interested to read on.Enter the “Language Transfer” project: an innovative scheme that is underway in Cyprus offering free downloadable Greek lessons for English speakers, and English for Spanish speakers. Turkish, Greek Cypriot dialect and Turkish Cypriot dialect lessons are also in the pipeline... Read on
Ready for crisis at sea
WITH THE wounds of the Mari blast still raw, and with exploratory drillings for hydrocarbons already underway in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the issues of security, safety and crisis response seem more relevant to Cyprus than ever. The Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), which celebrates 16 years of operation this year, says its 26 trained staff, which is comprised of air-force and navy personnel, is ready for anything.“With respect to the hydrocarbons platform at Aphrodite, JRCC is following all the appropriate procedures,” said JRCC’s operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Minas Solomonides this week. ... Read on
Veteran Manchester footballers play for charity
A TEAM of veteran football players from Manchester will take on local Paphos teams at Peyia municipal stadium in a charity match today, to mark world hospice and palliative care day and raise money for the Friends Hospice Paphos.Players from Manchester Veterans FC have flown out to Cyprus at their own expense to help to raise money for the facility, which relies wholly on fundraising and donations to operate.“We are a gang of professional and semi professional players who have played for teams in the greater Manchester area,” said player-manager of the veterans, Peter Bradley. “We all came to the end of the road in our careers and got together and started playing about 20 years ago... 3 comments
