GRIM CHRISTMAS
EXPLOITED
INSIDE
There’s nothing festive about Nicosia’s Makarios Avenue
The wife of a ‘missing’ person who dared take on the state
TV and lifestyle supplements to see you through the week
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Pages 4-5
www.cyprus-mail.com
December 2, 2012
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TALES FROM THE COFFEESHOP: MILKING IT FOR ALL IT’S WORTH INSIDE Cyprus Turning the current crisis into an opportunity 14
World Islamists rally behind Egyptian president 9
Reportage Will Leveson inquiry tame Britain’s freewheeling press? centre
Property What you should be doing in the garden this month 23
Sport England stun mighty All Blacks with record win 40
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A positive force for bold changes Finance minister says deal was the ‘best we could get’ but would be worth it in the end By Stefanos Evripidou
T
HE DRAFT memorandum outlining the bailout terms agreed with international lenders is “the best we could get under the circumstances”, said Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly yesterday. Speaking to the Sunday Mail, yesterday, Shiarly said the “bold” structural changes the country will be forced to implement under the bailout agreement will bring muchneeded reform, acting as a “positive” force for change which will bring “benefit” to Cyprus. The government released on Friday the full text of the bailout terms, which provide for spending cuts of over €1.2 billion between 2012 and 2016 and widespread reform of the banking and public sectors. The draft memorandum includes cuts in civil service salaries, allowances and pensions and increases in VAT, tobacco, alcohol and fuel taxes, taxes on lottery winnings, property, and higher health care costs over the next three
years. Part of the massive restructuring to take place includes changes to civil service work hours in a move to cut down on overtime. Cyprus and international lenders known as the troika struck a preliminary agreement on the terms of a bailout programme last week which will be discussed in a Eurogroup meeting tomorrow, but can only be finalised once the interim results of the due-diligence into the banks’ loan portfolios are known. Reports suggest the Eurogroup will convene a special meeting mid-December to discuss in greater depth Cyprus’ request for financial assistance after the due-diligence results are out. Shiarly yesterday highlighted that Cyprus still has a long and difficult way to go until the memorandum is finalised as the contents have to be agreed by all countries of the Eurozone, including the sometimes cantankerous parliaments of Germany and Finland. In an effort to stave off changes that could be
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Charity runners dressed as Father Christmas participate in a ‘Santa Run’ event in Battersea Park in London yesterday. Hundreds dressed in Santa suits ran through the park in aid of winter sports charity Disability Snowsport in this 6km fun run (AFP)
Pensioner scammed out of €30,000 by imposter granddaughter AN ELDERLY woman from Limassol has been conned out of €30,000 by another woman claiming to be her granddaughter. Police warned the public to be extra vigilant, predicting more such scams. According to Limassol CID chief Ioannis Soteriades, a 72-year-old woman living in Episkopi was contacted by a younger woman last Monday pretending to be her granddaughter who lives in Larnaca. The woman told the pensioner she had a serious health problem and needed €20,000 to go abroad urgently for surgery. Falling for the scam, the pensioner put
the money in an envelope and gave it to a taxi driver to take to Larnaca Airport from where the supposed granddaughter was due to depart. The following day, the grandmother received another phone call from the woman saying there were complications and could she send another €10,000 by taxi, which the pensioner did. On Friday, the 72-year-old’s real granddaughter called her to wish her a happy name day, at which point the grandmother realised she had been conned. Soteriades said police located and questioned the
taxi driver who had transported the money but released him after questioning as he was not involved in the scam. The authorities are now looking for the confidence trickster and the €30,000. The woman is described as being of thin build, 1.65m in height with brown hair down to her shoulders. The Limassol CID chief called on the public to be extra cautious and not to be duped easily by potential scams. “With the economic crisis, these phenomena of deception will likely grow,” he said.