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New EU rules will better living conditions but can Cypriot farms survive?

Island’s drivers beware. Your selfish parking habits could end up on the Internet

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December 23, 2012

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COFFEESHOP: THE FOUNDING FATHERS OF DISASTER ECONOMICS PAGE 17 INSIDE Cyprus School land lease sours long-time friendship 3

World ‘Vatileaks’ butler gets Christmas pardon from Pope 8

Reportage Greek triangle of power brought it down centre

Feature The man who spent over £120,000 on drinks 20

Sport Barry leaves it late to rescue Citizens back

Little sign of festive cheer ‘It may look like Christmas but it doesn’t feel like it’

Killed by a drunk driver as she swept pavement

By Poly Pantelides and Christos Theodorides

T

HE CHRISTMAS lights are on, though in less abundance than last year, and the streets are crowded, but fewer and fewer people are willing to spend their money, yet some shopkeepers remain hopeful for today and tomorrow.

Colourful window displays may create a warm and cosy atmosphere as they try to lure in custom, but it is the shops which have lowered their prices which obviously have the best chance of making sales.

Nicosia’s Ledra Street has been packed all week – the numbers bumped up considerably yesterday with lengthy traffic jams snaking through the municipal market area at Ochi roundabout – but other than for food and bargains, people weren’t buying.

“It might look like Christmas, but it certainly doesn’t feel like it,” said Christina 36 who did not receive a 13th salary. “I haven’t even put up the tree yet. It’s going to look a bit stupid with hardly anything under it.”

Few on the street yesterday were carrying bags, and those who were, were those with children. Most were just looking around or shopping for the basics, especially after Debenhams announced a

Nicosia’s Ledra Street is busy but it’s all window dressing last-minute 50 per cent sale on clothes and homewares.

“Now that we’ve advertised the sales, we’ve had more people coming in,” said a Debenhams sales assistant yesterday.

One middle-aged shopper there yesterday said that she was lured in because of the sales. “It goes without saying that we’ve been shopping less,” she said.

Even those who have now received their 13th salaries for all too many people this year the Christmas bonus will never arrive – were be-

ing careful. “I’m only shopping for what’s necessary, and that for my children and grandchildren,” housewife Toula Constantinou said. Her husband got his 13th salary, so she finally got some shopping done for her two sons and three grandsons, she added. But many walked out of Debenhams with shopping from the food hall rather than with bagfuls of clothes or gifts yesterday.

One woman was carrying only one bag and some wrapping paper. “I’m mostly just looking around,” she said,

(Christos Theodorides) adding that she did get some gifts “but only for my family”.

Aside from Debenhams, only Mavros toy shop was teeming, with many shoppers saying they would only be buying gifts for their children.

“Christmas is about them anyway,” said Maria, 26.

‘Bata’ shoe shop sales person Mzia had a similar view: “People are going to spend their 13th salaries on Christmas dinners and children’s gifts. We expect purchases to be fewer around this time

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A 28-YEAR-OLD Filipino domestic worker was killed yesterday morning in Limassol when she was sweeping the pavement in between two parked cars when a drunk driver hit one of the cars, throwing her onto the other vehicle.

The accident happened at 6.40am. The driver, a 26-yearold Cypriot man, was over three times the alcohol consumption limit, with a final breathalyser test showing 72 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres, although the legal limit is 22 microgrammes, police said. The domestic worker from the Philippines was taken by ambulance to Limassol hospital, where the doctor on duty announced her dead on arrival.

The driver, who reports suggest was devastated, was taken to Limassol district court yesterday where he broke down in tears, still drunk but aware of what had happened, state broadcaster CyBC said.

The court remanded him for two days. The police said they needed to wait for the man to sober up before they could question him but said they would aim to get their investigation completed within two days, to enable the 26year-old to spend Christmas with his family, CyBC said.

TV footage showed the two cars parked on the pavement outside the entrance of the Limassol home.

The cars were parked on either side of the front gate. The one to the left hand side of the gate was hit at the back, and its back left wheel had shifted.

When the driver hit that vehicle, the collision pushed it forward hitting the woman who was thrown onto the other car.

2 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Home Weather

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TODAY: Cloudy patches to give way to scattered showers. Temperatures will reach 16C inland, 18C along the coasts and 7C over higher ground OUTLOOK: Rainy spells on Monday to turn into sunshine and a slight increase in temperature on Christmas day. Wednesday overcast.

Investor files suit against Popular Paphos man claims he was defrauded out of €108,000

By Poly Pantelides

YESTERDAY

Nicosia Larnaca Limassol Paphos Paralimni Prodromos

max/min temp 17 - 8 18 - 9 18 - 9 19 - 14 18 - 10 6-3

Humidity 56% 52% 51% 53% 52% 98%

SUNRISE: 06.52 am

SUNSET: 16.39 pm

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CLAIMING he was defrauded of €108,000, a Paphos-based man has filed a civil suit against the Popular (Laiki) Bank as a legal entity, the bank’s former brass, and former Central Bank governor, Athanasios Orphanides, it emerged yesterday.

The civil suit is the first filed by an individual belonging to a group of investors claiming they were duped into investing highrisk and high-yield securities, the association for holders of securities’ Phivos Mavrovouniotis told state broadcaster CyBC. Mavrovouniotis said the lawsuit names Orphanides, and the Popular Bank’s former executive chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos.

It was not clear yesterday who else has been named in the lawsuit claiming, among others, that the man was allegedly de-

frauded and misled by the Popular Bank. Thousands of people were affected when the island’s two biggest lenders, the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank, stopped paying interest and blocked access to the investors’ capital following losses on a Greek sovereign debt write-down in late 2011.

Back in July, about 50 investors said they would sue, dissatisfied with the security and exchange commission’s (SEC) statement that the banks did follow regulations by listing risks. The SEC did allow for the possibility that people were not informed by experts, but said that was up to the Central Bank to investigate.

In October, the investors renewed threats to sue, issuing an ultimatum to the finance ministry, the central bank, the Bank of Cyprus, the Popular Bank and SEC. They want their bonds to be converted into

Civil suit is first filed by one of hundreds of investors five-year securities with 5.0 per cent interest rate and the option to retrieve 20 per cent a year. On that front, Mavrovouniotis told CyBC yesterday they were waiting on a report by investment firm Pimco on

the Cypriot banks’ recapitalisation needs, which is expected next month. Last week, a group of investors pushed past police lines and stormed into parliament, demanding their money.

Christofias: a job well done THE STATE’S top mandarins attended an event at the Filoxenia conference centre yesterday marking the end of Cyprus’ presidency of the EU council.

President Demetris Christofias thanked everyone who was involved in a “very successful Cyprus presidency” that compared favourably with other EU member-states presidencies, he said.

Christofias told ministers, the attorney-general, volunteers and civil servants that they had all honoured their posts, “overthrowing suppositions that civil servants supposedly do not work hard”.

Under very harsh financial conditions for Cyprus, the island managed to harness praise from commissioners and EU top brass, Christofias said.

Deputy Minister for European affairs, Andreas Mavroyiannis, also thanked everyone who was employed under the presidency. “From the moment guests stepped foot on Cyprus and up until they stepped back onto a plane, we were by their side,” Mavroyiannis said. Everyone was left more than content,” Mavroyiannis added.

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Dead in his bed A 31-YEAR-OLD man was found dead in his bed by his father yesterday morning in Paphos, authorities said.

The Georgian expat retired to his bedroom at 10pm on Friday night, police said.

A number of pills were found in the home of the man who – according to family and friends – was a drugs user, police said.

Police suspect no foul play, given their preliminary investigation, Paphos police spokesman Nicos Tsappis said.

A post-mortem has been scheduled for today, police said.

3 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

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School land lease divides former friendly neighbours

SEC asks BoC to explain its actions

English School alumni up in arms over Junior School land deal

By Poly Pantelides

By Peter Stevenson FOR MANY years the English School and Junior School were friendly neighbours, sharing a prime piece of extensive, forested real estate in the centre of Nicosia, but that friendship has turned sour with one school accusing the other of engaging in a vicious land grab.

The increasingly acrimonious falling out started in June when the Junior School signed a lease agreement with the government to the tune of €1000 a month for 99 years for a piece of land next to their school grounds to extend their premises. Unfortunately the land the Junior School coveted and signed the lease for houses the recently refurbished English School Old Boys and Girls Association (ESOBGA) club house.

The response from ESOBGA has been vitriolic and it accused the Junior School of trying to take land from under the English School’s noses.

“We’ve attempted to be dignified,” chairman of the Junior School board, Nick Papandreou told the Sunday Mail.

“We tried to find a solution but they (ESOBGA) have attacked members of our board personally,” he added.

“We’ve been accused of going behind ESOBGA and English School’s back to get the lease in record time,” Papandreou explained. “We followed legal procedure by finding out who owned the land, the government, and making a lease agreement with them.”

He also dismissed claims that the Junior School had used connections within the

Recently refurbished ESOBGA clubhouse in the shared grounds of the English and Junior schools government to get the lease agreement in record time.

“Those are false as we applied back in October 2010,” he said.

ESOBGA, the Junior School says, has accused them of being a private, profit-making organisation and one that intends to destroy the environment by chopping down swathes of trees near the clubhouse and adding to traffic congestion in the area. The school has also been accused of leasing the land in order to build new premises for their sister secondary school, The Senior School, which at present is located elsewhere in Nicosia.

The Junior School has denied the allegations saying the institution was established in 1948 as a not-for-profit organisation. Their revenues and assets can only be used to forward the aims of the school, the school said in a recent statement.

“The Junior School has no intention or plans whatsoever of commissioning any kind of building facilities within this

leased plot of forest land. The plot in question will be exclusively used as a much needed schoolyard and for sports facilities,” the school’s statement said.

As for the plans to move the Senior School, the school board said they are currently in the final stages of securing a suitable plot from the Archbishopric for the new premises and will publicise the location once they have signed legal documents.

The Junior School said it was the English School’s alumni, not their school which threatened the local environment.

“It is the ESOBGA itself that has, through the years, shown a blatant disregard to the forest environment without any licence whatsoever,” the statement said.

“The public’s best interests are better served through the upgrading of a non-forprofit school, which through its operations saves the government and the taxpayer approximately €10 million annually rather than by turning a blind eye and supporting a

facility, illegally built within forest land, which is operated as a coffee shop, kebab house and meeting place of an association of leavers of a private school.”

But ESOBGA members remain convinced they have been treated shoddily and that the Junior School has mishandled the way it leased the land.

“We have been neighbours for so long and always had a great relationship with the Junior School, their headmaster and the chairman of the board,” head of ESOBGA, Magda Nicholson told the Sunday Mail this week. “So it was a big shock to find out that they had gone behind our backs, straight to the ministry.

To think that many of those on the Junior School board are English School alumni makes it even harder to believe and comprehend.”

ESOGBA has currently filed an interim order with the courts to delay the Junior School acting on the lease. It is a move that Nicholson regrets but she said the Junior

School had left them with no choice.

“Things were not done correctly on their behalf and we wouldn’t have been forced to file an interim order against the Junior School if they had just come to us with any demands they had,” Nicholson said. “We could have sat down and come to some kind of compromise to find a solution.”

With a lease agreement in place it would appear that it is checkmate to the Junior School, but Nicholson remains defiant.

“We wouldn’t have pushed through an interim order had we not believed we could win,” she said. “Some people say we may be fighting a losing battle and that the interim order was only filed to delay the inevitable, but we believe that justice will be upheld.”

Papandreou was equally scathing. “They have knowingly said lies about zoning, about the legality of the building and about what we plan to build just to drum up support,” he said.

THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called on the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) executive board members to explain why they failed to inform their shareholders of the bank’s real recapitalisation needs as per the law’s requirements.

Banks are legally obliged to inform their shareholders of “any confidential information that directly impacts [the banks]”, ensuring that the data is available online for at least five years.

The BoC told shareholders in its annual general meeting (AGM) that it needed to cover – through private funds – a shortfall of €200 million.

But soon afterwards on June 27, the BoC requested €500 million in state assistance after failing to raise the necessary capital to meet a regulatory shortfall because of increased provisions and its exposure to Greek bonds.

The SEC looked at whether shareholders should have been told about these additional needs that were not made public in the AGM. “In our opinion, [the BoC] should have announced [its needs] on June 15, not later,” said SEC chairwoman Demetra Kalogirou.

The AGM was held on June 19, and shareholders would have had until June 15 to pose any questions they had in writing four days prior to the AGM. The SEC can impose a fine on the bank as an entity and the executives and board members at the time, but has for now only called for an explanation, Kalogirou said.

The BoC issued an announcement yesterday saying while it was reserving its legal rights, it disagreed with the SEC because the information it held at the time did not qualify as “confidential information” to be shared as laid out in the law.

“Despite its disagreement, the BoC will continue collaborating with the SEC and all regulators, in full awareness of its obligation and mission, given the unprecedented difficulties that Cyprus and its financial system is facing,” the announcement said.

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4 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Home A busy Ledra Street, but people are spending less this year (left). The Winter Wonderland in Limassol

Little sign of festive cheer

Teenagers at the Nicosia Christmas fair earlier this week

This year, Christmas loses its sparkle (continued from front page) because people always wait for the sales. We hardly sell during this period.” On the other hand, the special offers and lower prices in some shops were helping. Olga, sales person at the ‘People’ clothing shop said: “Sales are maybe better than last year.” ‘People’ has been offering discounts of between 30 per cent and 70 per cent for weeks.

Sotiris, 24 said there was no way he could have done any shopping without his 13th salary. “There’s was no other way,” he said.

Miranda, an unemployed 28-year-old said “The situation is horrible. I will shop at some point but I will wait for lower prices.”

Andria, a 25-year-old student said “I already did my shopping in Thessaloniki. Prices are cheaper there and it is more convenient for me. I made fewer purchases than last year though.”

While toys and bargains seemed to be doing well, some of the smaller shops on Ledra Street were pessimistic.

“It seems like every year is worse than the previous one,” said Angela, who owns a boutique.

“The lucky ones that are going to be shopping this year are the ones that have jobs and bonuses to expect.”

Costas, the owner of another shop nearby, fears Ledra Street is about to change. “After the holidays I fear the street will fill up even with restaurants offering cheap and good food, or small coffee shops, seeing as people seem to be forced to buy just the bare necessities in clothing,” he said.

Shopkeepers on the more ‘upmarket’ Stassicratous Street were also disappointed with low sales. A sales manager at ‘Marina Rinaldi’ said: I personally will not be buying Christmas gifts this year. I will only buy things I need, like medicine and food.”

Simoni, manager of ‘Max&Co.’ Said: “Sales are nothing like last year. People do come in, but they come in to look around, not to buy anything.” When asked about her personal Christmas shopping, she said “I got my 13th salary but I haven’t shopped.

And all the shopping I do is going to be for my children.”

Small shopkeepers union POVEK official Stefanos Koursaris however was hopeful for

a small turnaround given that there are still two more shopping days.

He said the fact that most – who were going to get it - had by now received their 13th salaries would boost sales somewhat.

“Up until [Friday] sales were indeed disappointing as shoppers are more cautious,” Koursaris told the Sunday Mail.

But he said he was hopeful that local authorities’ efforts to encourage people to shop, along with the fact that shop owners had been forced to drop their prices, would help them recover the losses of the past few weeks.

“Cypriots are - at any rate - last-minute shoppers,” Koursaris said, adding that they expected market movement to increase on a

daily basis over the holiday period.

Over the past four years, sales have been dropping, “but we shouldn’t present the situation as being all doom and gloom,” he said.

One shopper was pragmatic in his approach this year. He said he had started shopping weeks ago. “I calculated what I could afford to buy for those close to me and have been doing a little bit of shopping over the last couple of weeks to try and fool myself into thinking I’m not spending that much,” he said.

Andreas, who roasts and sells chestnuts on a small cart on Ledra Street, was philosophical about slow sales: “At least we have our health,’ he said.

A way to help forget the gloom

By Daphne Vrahimi and Chloe Hashemi EVEN the Christmas funfairs, or Winter Wonderlands, in Limassol and Nicosia have lost some of their sparkle this year as parents count the cost of an evening’s entertainment for their children.

A typical night at the Nicosia fair this week saw plenty of teenagers wandering around, but the rides were mostly far from full. Harun and his wife, meanwhile, were busy bargaining with their children as to how many rides they would go on.

“If you’re not careful you may spend €50 in 15 min-

utes,” he said. “It’s hard to convince a child how many times to go on which ride, but it is our fault as well,” said Constantia, a mother from Limassol. “We need to teach them to be more careful, since our visits to this type of place are going to be fewer because of the current economic situation.”

But there is some hope for the kids. Both Nicosia and Limassol municipalities are organising free events with performers on stilts, balloon-making clowns, children’s face painting and theatrical magic tricks at their respective Christmas Wonderlands, hoping to brighten up these gloomy holidays.

When asked if the number of customers have either increased or decreased this year, Tonia Georgiou, Manager of the Nicosia fair said: “No major difference, but we have had to close quite often due to the rain.”

She added, “It has not been a great year. It has not been busy during the week, only on the weekends, and the weather hasn’t helped.”

Friday was a bit busier as it was the last day of school and the park had opened during the daytime.

Also, several schools had organised group outings, leaving Georgiou run off her feet, she said, as children arrived by the busload.

A young girl enjoys a ride on the carousel

More shops are offering discounts

5 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

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New blog names and shames selfish drivers If you park badly, be warned. Your crimes could end up for all to see on the internet

By Daphne Vrahimi A NEW blog has been set up to ‘name’ and shame selfish drivers who park in disabled spaces, on double yellow lines and pavements or decide they need two parking spaces to protect their fancy vehicles from scratches.

The Cyprus Drivers blog was created for the purpose of taking photos of offenders and posting them online.

Two weeks after its creation, it already has 282 views.

Under the pseudonym ‘Andreas Halloumis’, the blog

creator spoke to the Sunday Mail and explained that the idea came about because bad parking is not a one or two case phenomenon but endemic.

“If there’s going to be a change in attitude, it has to be from the bottom up.

People need to stop being so tolerant,” he says. He went on to speak of a ‘macho culture’ where owners of expensive cars in particular think they can park anywhere at any time.

The aim of the blog, says the creator, “is not to offend or insult anyone, but rather

Classic examples of bad parking uploaded on the internet

to raise awareness of this phenomenon”.

He explained that he hopes that by posting photos of this kind of wrongdoing, the phenomenon will become a matter of discussion and eventually one that will die out.

Part of this campaign is an option found on the blog called “Issue your own parking ticket!” which visitors can save and print. Upon finding a car parked badly, they can place the ticket, informing them that a photo of their wrongdoing will be found online for everyone to see - thus the ‘shaming’. Options on the ticket include “two spots, one car”, “over the painted lines”, “diagonal parking”, “double yellow” and “you got legs that work”.

The blog creator felt the need to emphasise that issuing a ticket is meant to be funny but at the same time raise awareness.

As a sign of how far Cyprus still has to go in terms of considerate parking, Halloumis was reluctant to allow his real name to be printed in the newspaper. After all, ‘named and shamed’ drivers are unlikely to be grateful for their fame.

Visit the blog at cyprusdrivers.blogspot.com

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6 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

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Pig farms likely to close as EU deadline looms EU warns: farms will get no extensions to deadline for changes to living conditions

By Poly Pantelides and Alexandra Anastassiades LARGE number of pig farmers may be forced to shut down for failing to comply with an EU directive on animal welfare effective from January, stakeholders have said.

Both the closing down of the farms and the new regulations will almost inevitably force up the price of pork.

As of January 1, 2013, pregnant sows will not be allowed to be kept in individual gestation stalls, as has been standard practice so far. They will instead be kept in group pens, allowing them to freely move around during their pregnancy.

Farmers use ‘sow’ stalls in intensive pig farming to help with often fraught feeding times and deal with aggression such as ear-biting. But animal welfare campaigners say sows suffer psychologically from being separated from other animals, and are hit by ailments such as lameness. The stalls are so narrow and constricting that sows can only stand up to eat and then lie back down.

While animal welfare groups across Europe have welcomed the move, many member states predict that the cost of applying the ban will force more breeders out of the sector, leading to lower output and higher pork prices. The European Commission expects only 17 out of the 27 member states to fully comply by the end of the year, leaving more than a third of the bloc behind schedule despite the 11-year notice.

Cyprus is certain to be among those failing to meet the deadline.

“We still have a long way to go in this area. There are a lot of pig farms

A

that have not adapted to the new directive,” head of the pig farming department at ministry of agriculture, Petros Mavrommatis, told the Sunday Mail.

Cyprus has had a history of not complying with EU animal welfare directives. A previous directive which forced farmers to use larger chicken cages was not complied with on time, and the European Commission had given Cyprus an extension.

‘The pig farms which have not adapted to the new directive will simply not be allowed to operate’ “The European Commission has said that we will not be giving any extensions this time around. The pig farms which have not adapted to the new directive will simply not be allowed to operate,” said Mavrommatis.

The veterinary services that are in charge of implementing and regulating the new rules were not prepared to release any information this week on how many farms have complied so far, even though the deadline is less than two weeks away.

In 2011, the vet services inspected 91 pig farms and found 77 farms that had not complied with regulations, according to their end of year report on their website. But there was no breakdown of violations per regulation and no figure was given for breeding procedures’ violations.

Though there was funding available via the EU agricultural development scheme, only a few farmers in Cyprus have applied, Mavrommatis said.

Though Mavrommatis said that a few farmers are trying - even at the last minute - to benefit from the scheme, “that opportunity has effectively closed” for most who have not applied in the current period of 2007-2013, he said.

The scheme offered 60 per cent EU-funding to help farmers comply with regulations.

Giorgos Neophytou from the pig farmers’ association said there was reason to be pessimistic anyway because the state’s financial difficulties and uncertainty over the EU budget affected how much funding the pig farmers will actually receive.

According to the pig farmers’ association, 15 pig farms have closed in the past 15 months. A number of factors have contributed to this decrease, including the pig welfare directive, and another EU directive involving the biological processing of waste.

Grain prices - that account for about a third of pig farmers’ cost -

The banned stalls are so narrow and constricting that sows can only stand up to eat and then lie back down

Under the new directive sows and their piglets will still be kept apart as the mother can flatten her young when she lies down have also surged this year.

The Pancyprian Pig Farmers’ Association highlights the injustice they feel the pig farmers are facing.

“What are pig breeders supposed to do? The veterinary services are pressuring the farms to make the changes, but the government won’t allow the farms to make them because of planning permission rules.”

The agriculture ministry’s Mavrommatis said that when planning permission licences were introduced in 1990, “many pig farms found themselves in areas where expanding or developing their farm was prohibited. Since the grounds of the farms need to be expanded in order to comply with the new regulations, many farms will inevitably have to close down.”

Most pig farms are on the outskirts of Nicosia and have effectively become enclaves, surrounded by residential areas and other agricultural and farming zones, Mavrommatis said.

N. Armenis pig farm outside Limassol is one of the larger pig breeding units in Cyprus. They are in the final stages of making the changes, as could be seen from all the building material scattered on the grounds during a recent visit.

The owner of the pig farm, Kostas Armenis, explains the breeding process. Whilst pregnant sows have to now be kept in group pens, five days before they give birth they can still be taken to individual farrowing stalls. The new directive allows these stalls to remain mainly for the protection of the piglets. Because of the large size and weight of the sows, there is a risk that they can flatten their young when they lie down.

The sows can only be kept in the farrowing stalls for a maximum of four weeks, after which they must be returned to their group pens.

Sows are also allowed to be kept in individual stalls during impregnation.

“The new regulations provide that each sow must have 2.25 square metres of space. How large the pens are depends on the pig farmers,” Armenis explains. He estimates that the new directive will cost pig farmers a minimum of €500 per sow and predicts that many pig farms

may have to close down, especially the smaller units. The interiors of pig farms need to be entirely re-designed and outdoor pens need to be created.

The agriculture ministry said that the cost to farmers varied, depending on the existing infrastructure and the size of the farm. But moving farms would be “very costly”, Mavrommatis said.

The European Commission predicted between 3.0 and 4.0 per cent of EU pig breeders would halt production next year. According to farm and industry officials, EU pig production would in turn fall 5.0 per cent over the next three years because of the sow stall ban - 1.0 per cent this year, 3.0 per cent in 2013 and 1.0 per cent in 2014.

While the impact will be felt across the full range of Europe’s food products, quantifying the exact effect is hard. As a benchmark, in France, pork prices already gained 24 per cent between May and September to 180 euros ($230) for 100 kilograms (220 lbs) due to the drop in output, according to French farm office FranceAgriMer. The impact of the ban will differ widely by country. Britain, Sweden and Luxembourg have already banned the stalls. Britain, which put its ban in place in 1999, saw a 40 per cent fall in its herd over the last decade as its farmers were unable to compete with countries which did not use such stalls. Production this year is finally recovering. But output has been hit hard in Germany, the EU’s largest pig meat producer with a market share of 25 per cent in 2010.

The extent to which the Cyprus pig farming industry and pork prices will be affected will be seen after the January 1 deadline. Pork prices this year have already risen, from between €2.90 and €5.20 per kilo last year to between €4.60 and €5.25 per kilo this year, the commerce ministry has said.

But because pork has been traditionally considered the cheap meat alternative in Cyprus, convincing the consumer to pay more for pork so that farmers account for increased production costs will be hard, the agriculture ministry’s Mavrommatis said.

7 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

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A Boxing Day dip for charity Braving the cold to raise funds for animals and cancer victims

By Bejay Browne UNDRAISERS will brave the winter seas in Paphos to take part in a Boxing Day swim to raise money for local charities.

Supporters of Paphos-based Paphiakos and CCP animal welfare charity will take a 15 minute dip in the sea on December 26, aiming to match last year’s total which raised 2,000 euros for the charity.

“This is the third year that Paphiakos has done the swim and it’s growing in support every year.

The first year it was just me and last year there were 15 of us,” said Suzanne Ashmore, the public relations manager of the charity said.

Swimmers are sponsored to raise money for the charity and have to remain in the water, either swimming or treading water.

They are not allowed to wear wet suits. Other than that they can wear anything they want, even fancy dress.

“The first year I swam, I was sponsored an extra 500 euros to swim out to a rock and sit on top of it for five minutes singing the

F

‘Hawaii Five O’ theme tune and then I had to get back into the icy water. It was absolutely freezing,” she said.

Ashmore said that swimmers supporting other charities, such as the cancer patients support group, also joined last year’s event.

The CCP is a registered charity which operates an animal rescue shelter and a clinic situated in Kato Paphos. The charity also recently opened a spaying and neutering clinic in Polis.

The Paphiakos Shelter in Paphos provides a caring home to numerous dogs, cats, donkeys, horses, rabbits, goats and even has one sheep. Visitors are encouraged at the shelter, which is open every day of the year.

Participants of the swim range in age. This year, for example, two teenage boys from France will be holidaying with their grandparents and are also taking part.

“We also have a lady in her 80s who will be braving the waters; the swim attracts all nationalities and ages,” she said.

Bathers meet on Boxing Day at 10.30 am at Vardas Beach which is off the Coral Bay road in Kis-

A group of fundraisers preparing for their swim during last year’s event.

Left: many of the funds raised will go to Paphiakos animal charity sonerga and at 11am, they will all enter the water.

According to Ashmore, last year’s temperatures were bearable unlike the previous year which was freezing.

There are currently over one thousand animals at the Paphos shelter and although all of the dogs and cats are looking for new loving homes, Ashmore says the charity prefers not to re-home animals during Christmas week.

“It’s the same all over the world, animals don’t make good presents, the new owner should really bond with the animal before taking it

and giving an animal as a present is not the best way of re-homing it,” she said.

As well as re-homing animals Paphiakos and CCP animal welfare also offer a range of services including a pet travel service, grooming and boarding facilities and a pet cremation service.

Sponsorship forms are still available from Paphiakos and CCP animal welfare and are also available to download from the website. Contact Suzanne Ashmore on 99151996. Website www. cyprusanimalwelfare.org

8 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

World A handout photo shows Vatican ex-butler Paolo Gabriele meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican City prison yesterday

Papal pardon for ‘Vatileaks’ butler Pontiff ’s jailed ex aide freed to join family

By Philip Pullella POPE Benedict made a surprise pre-Christmas visit to the jail holding his former butler yesterday and pardoned him for stealing and leaking documents that alleged corruption in the Holy See. The pope and Paolo Gabriele spent about 15 minutes together before Gabriele was freed and allowed to return to his family in their Vatican apartment, a Vatican spokesman said.

Gabriele was convicted of aggravated theft on October 6 in a case that shone publicity on the Vatican and had been serving an 18-month sentence in a jail cell in the city state’s police headquarters.

“This was a paternal gesture towards a person with whom the pope shared his daily life for several years,” Father Federico Lombardi, a spokes-

man, said. “This is a happy ending in this Christmas season,” he said.

Gabriele was arrested in May after Vatican police found many documents in his possession that had been stolen from the pope’s office.

The former butler gave them to the media in what mushroomed into an embarrassing scandal for Benedict’s pontificate that became known as “Vatileaks”.

Gabriele told investigators he had leaked the documents because he saw “evil and corruption everywhere in the Church” and that information was being hidden from the pope.

The Vatican said the pope had also pardoned a second Vatican employee, Claudio Sciarpelletti, who was convicted in a separate trial of helping Gabriele and given a two month suspended sentence.

Gabriele will no longer be able to work in the Vatican but will be helped to find a job and start a new life outside its walls together with his family, the Vatican said.

Gabriele, 46, told the court that convicted him at the trial - one of the most sensational in the recent history of the Holy See - that he did not consider himself a thief and that he had done what he did out of “visceral” love for the Church.

He said during the trial that from his perch as papal butler he was able to see how easily a powerful man could be manipulated by aides and kept in the dark about things he should have known.

The documents Gabriele leaked triggered one of the biggest crises of Pope Benedict’s papacy when they emerged in a muckraking expose by an Italian journalist earlier this year.

Merkel rival attacks Germany’s arms exports PEER Steinbrueck, set to challenge Angela Merkel as German leader next year, criticised her centre-right government yesterday for letting arms exports surge and vowed to end that if his centre-left opposition wins power.

The former finance minister, nominated to lead the Social Democrats (SPD) into September’s election against Merkel, said it was a scandal that Germany has become the world’s third largest arms exporter on her watch.

Arms exports are a sensitive issue in Germany due to its Nazi past and the role arms makers such as Krupp played in stoking 19th and 20th century wars with exports to both sides. After World War Two, successive West German and later united German governments placed tight restrictions on arms exports, especially to regions where there

were armed conflicts or where human rights were poorly respected.

“It’s a scandal and extremely dangerous that Germany has become the world’s third largest exporter of weapons,” Steinbrueck, who hopes to form a coalition with the Greens party, told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper yesterday.

“An SPD-Greens government led by me would change that,” said Steinbrueck, 65.

“We’re even exporting weapons to regions in conflict and to areas where human rights aren’t respected.”

The SPD and Greens would win a combined 43 per cent of the vote, according to an ARD TV opinion poll by the Infratest dimap institute published on Friday. That is more than Merkel’s conservatives but not enough to form a majority coalition.

Argentina slams UK move to claim Antarctica swathe ARGENTINA has protested at Britain’s decision to name a vast swathe of Antarctica Queen Elizabeth Land.

The Foreign Ministry handed a formal protest note to British ambassador John Freeman in Buenos Aires.

The note rejects London’s claim since 1908 to a chunk

of Antarctica known as the British Antarctic Territory and criticises what Argentina calls Britain’s “imperialistic ambitions going back to ancient practices”.

Argentina has long claimed as its own the land named after the Queen this week.

That area is about a third

of the British Antarctic Territory.

Argentina also claims the British territory of the Falkland Islands, known as Las Malvinas in Spanish.

The two nations fought a brief but bloody war over the South Atlantic archipelago 30 years ago.

9 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Egypt plebiscite voting extended

WORLD TODAY Blasphemy burning

End of voting pushed back by four hours

A MOB broke into a Pakistani police station and burnt a man accused of desecrating the Koran alive, police said yesterday, in the latest violence focusing attention on the country’s blasphemy laws.

The man was a traveller and had spent Thursday night at the mosque, said Maulvi Memon, the imam in the southern village of Seeta in Sindh province.

The charred remains of the Koran were found the next morning.

“He was alone in the mosque during the night,” Memon said. “There was no one else there to do this terrible thing.”

By Shaimaa Fayed and Edmund Blair

Mandela better FORMER South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela, who is 94, continues to respond to treatment two weeks after being taken to hospital, the government said yesterday.

The Nobel Peace laureate, who has been treated for a lung infection and gallstones after being hospitalised on December 8, was visited by South African President Jacob Zuma, presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement.

Non-royal Xmas BRITAIN’S Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate will spend Christmas Day with her parents, their office said yesterday, in a break with the tradition of royals joining Queen Elizabeth at her country estate at Sandringham.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will celebrate in private with Carole and Michael Middleton at their home in the village of Bucklebury, about 50 miles (80 km) west of London.

World

An Egyptian woman casts her vote in Bani Sweif, about 115 km (71 miles) south of Cairo yesterday

EGYPT extended voting by four hours yesterday in the second and decisive round of a referendum that was expected to approve the country’s new Islamist-drafted constitution after weeks of protests and violence.

Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June, say the charter is vital to move Egypt towards democracy, nearly two years after an Arab Spring revolution overthrew authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak.

It will help restore the stability needed to fix an economy that is on the ropes, they say.

But the opposition says the document is divisive and has accused Mursi of pushing through a text that favours his Islamist allies while ig-

noring the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of the population, as well as women.

“I’m voting ‘no’ because Egypt can’t be ruled by one faction,” said Karim Nahas, 35, a stockbroker, heading to a polling station in Giza, a province included in this round of voting which covers parts of greater Cairo.

At another polling station, some voters said they were more interested in ending Egypt’s long period of political instability than in the Islamist aspects of the charter.

“We have to extend our hands to Mursi to help fix the country,” said Hisham Kamal, an accountant.

Queues formed at some polling stations around the country and voting was extended by four hours to 11pm (2100 GMT).

Unofficial tallies were likely to emerge within hours of

the close, but the referendum committee may not declare an official result for the two rounds until tomorrow, after hearing appeals.

As polling opened yesterday, a coalition of Egyptian rights groups reported a number of alleged irregularities.

They said some polling stations had opened late, that Islamists urging a “yes” vote had illegally campaigned at some stations, and complained of irregularities in voter registration, including the listing of one dead person.

The first round of voting last week resulted in a 57 per cent vote in favour of the constitution, according to unofficial figures.

Analysts were expecting another “yes” yesterday because the vote covered rural and other areas seen as having more Islamist sympathisers.

Rape protests surge Syrian strife in stalemate - Russia POLICE in India’s capital used tear gas and water cannons today to push back thousands of people who tried to march to the presidential mansion to protest the gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus.

Several protesters suffered injuries when they repeatedly tried to break through steel barricades in a high-security zone in New Delhi.

Police fired tear gas and chased the protesters with sticks, and some of the protesters attacked police with stones during sporadic clashes throughout the day.

The see-saw battle became fierce in the evening as a large number of protesters ran toward the nearby parliament building and again targeted police with stones and sticks. Hundreds of police deployed in the area chased them away. The demonstrators later regrouped and lit candles as the dusk fell.

The protesters were demanding the death penalty for all the six suspects who have been arrested by police following the December 16 attack in New Delhi.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters that the government would examine this demand expeditiously and announced an official inquiry into last Sunday’s rape attack and to suggest measures to improve safety and security of women.

Shinde said five New Delhi police officers have been suspended for lack of prompt action following the rape attack.

He also met a delegation of student demonstrators and urged them to end their protest.

The attack last Sunday sparked days of protests across the country from women demanding tougher action to protect them against the daily threat of harassment and violence.

SYRIA’S civil war has reached stalemate and international efforts to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to quit will fail, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday.

Mainly Sunni Muslim rebels seeking to overthrow Assad are fighting on the edge of the capital Damascus and expanding southwards from their northern strongholds in Aleppo and Idlib into the central province of Hama.

But Assad, from the Alawite minority linked to Shi’ite Islam, has responded with artillery, air strikes and - according to NATO with Scud-type missiles.

The Kremlin’s Middle East envoy was quoted as saying earlier this month that

Russia FM Sergei Lavrov rebels could defeat Assad’s forces and that Moscow was preparing a possible evacuation of Russians.

That followed concerted calls from Western powers and some Arab countries for Assad to step down before Syria’s 21-month-old

conflict, which has killed more than 44,000 people according to activists, wreaks more destruction.

Nonetheless, he told reporters en route to Moscow from the Russia-EU summit in Brussels, that: “no one is going to win this war ... Assad is not going anywhere, no matter what anyone says, be it China or Russia.”

Lavrov said Russia had rejected requests from countries in the region to pressure Assad to go or offer him safe haven, and warned his exit might lead to an upsurge in fighting.

He also said Syrian authorities were gathering the country’s chemical weapons in one or two areas and that they were “under control” for the time being.

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10 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

World feature

Lawyer’s long fight with church vindicated

In God’s House, a harrowing novel of sex abuse within the Roman Catholic church

Lawyer who defended abusive priest finally tells his story

By Angus MacSwan

R

AY Mouton was a successful young lawyer in Lafayette, Louisiana, respected in the community and blessed with a loving family, when he received a call from a vicar in the Roman Catholic diocese for a lunch meeting on a fateful day in 1984.

The diocese asked him to defend an errant priest, accused of abusing dozens of children in a rural community. Mouton reluctantly agreed to take on the task.

What followed over the next few years was the uncovering of an institution riddled with paedophile priests on a national scale and efforts at high levels in the Catholic Church to hide the problem away.

For Mouton, it meant the end of his law career, health problems, and anger, depression and guilt.

After many years of writing from his self-imposed exile in France, he finally tells his story in the novel In God’s House. It is a harrowing read laden with sickening detail, but also for Mouton, a work of atonement.

‘I could not believe a Catholic priest could do this. I thought he was just one then it all unravelled’ “There’s not a day I don’t think about the children. When I was writing the book, whenever I wanted to quit, I thought about the victims and their families,” he told Reuters.

In person, Mouton, now aged 65, looks like a southern lawyer from central casting, with a head of thick white hair and a sonorous Louisiana drawl.

He chose to tell the story in novel form although the characters, from the lawyer to a senior Vatican official who proves an obstacle to addressing the scandal - are based on real figures.

“The novel is a dramatic experience. My experience was a traumatic one. Every day there were revelations. I didn’t want to believe, the country didn’t want to believe,” he said.

Mouton and his family - Cajuns whose ancestors came to Louisi-

ana as part of the Acadian diaspora - were strongly Catholic. His family had donated land for the cathedral in Lafayette and built schools, churches and a seminary.

When he first agreed to defend the priest, Father Gilbert Gauthe, he believed he was dealing with an isolated case.

“I believed priests were somehow superior. I had never heard of a priest having sex with a child. I could not believe a Catholic priest could do this. I thought he was just one then it all unravelled. In that diocese alone there were a dozen or more.”

The church preferred to deal with the problem by paying off victims’ families. But one family wanted to see justice done.

As a lawyer, Mouton believed Gauthe had the right to a fair trial. He soon realised the church was deeply compromised. It had known about Gauthe’s crimes since his days in seminary but had moved him around various parishes, where the abuses continued.

The church was in effect harbouring criminals, Mouton said.

“I did start out on the side of the church. I couldn’t imagine they had foreknowledge,” he said.

Mouton joined forces with Father Tom Doyle, a canon lawyer in the Vatican Embassy in Washington, and Father Michael Peterson, a psychiatrist priest who treated sexually deviant clergymen. The two had heard many other cases across Louisiana and the United States - and of the attempts to bury the problem.

Believing they had the support of the church hierarchy, they set out on a crusade to bring it into the open and seek justice for the victims.

They spent a year working on a document detailing the scale of the abuse, the steps the church should take to address it and the consequences if it did not. It stated that there was a national crisis involving dozens, if not hundreds, of priests.

“It told them what the deal was - you’ll lose 1,000 priests and a billion dollars.”

They hoped to present the document to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for debate. But after a meeting in a Chicago hotel in 1985 with a cardinal, they were told to kill it.

“They put the reputation of the church above the value of the little children. They did all they could to avoid scandal.”

In God’s House details a powerful apparatus at work involving local politicians, expensive lawyers, insurance companies and bishops.

It also reached into the Vatican, which Mouton says considered the institution above the law.

It also shows the devastation of the victims and their families shame, anger and frustration as well as physical damage. Many

The family of lawyer Ray Mouton (right) were staunchly Roman Catholic and had donated land for the Catholic cathedral in Lafayette, Louisiana (above) were told that to seek redress would be disloyal to the church, adding further conflict to their emotions.

Mouton himself suffered verbal abuse and even death threats in the community for defending Gauthe. He was accused of trying to extort the church for exorbitant fees.

He put up an insanity plea for Gauthe but the priest himself insisted he was sane. He was sentenced to 20 years.

However, a senior jurist in Louisiana involved himself personally in Gauthe’s case. Instead of going to a prison that was a treatment facility for paedophiles, the priest was sent to a prison where juveniles were held. He was released after serving only half of his sentence.

Gauthe was picked up in Texas soon after his release for molesting a three-year-old boy, but put on probation rather than being sent back to prison.

Mouton’s marriage broke up and he became an alcoholic.

“It was a cataclysmic event. It broke me in half. I did fall from grace,” he said.

It took many years but subsequent events have vindicated Mouton as widespread sexual abuse by priests came to light across the United States and the world, from

Ireland to Australia.

The church and its insurance companies have paid out more than $2 billion dollars in the United States, bishops have been disgraced, and its reputation has suffered to the point that the faithful have deserted in droves.

Mouton now lives in southern France close to the Pyrenees with his second wife Melony and travels frequently to Spain, Mexico and other countries.

He is still bitter about the coverups and that many of those responsible have never been brought to justice. Nor has the problem been

eradicated, he believes.

“I don’t think we’ve reached critical mass on it yet. The question is what can the church do? The church needs to release all the documents and demand the resignations of those involved.”

The novel is dedicated to Scott Anthony Gastal, the first child to testify in court against a bishop, and to the victims and their families, who, he says, “were abandoned not by their God, but by their Church”.

“I was haunted by my experience.

I felt I had to do something,” he said.

11 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

News Review Orphanides woes

High school students enjoy an early finish on Wednesday as teachers went on strike for the last period

ORPHANIDES Supermarkets’ hopes for a reprieve appeared to have been dashed on Monday after its main creditors reportedly rejected the appointment of an administrator to oversee the company’s restructuring.

The news came as the company, in the red for well over €200m, announced it was temporarily shutting down 11 stores across the island amid depleting stocks.

Popular Nick A new poll on Monday revealed that presidential contender and DISY leader Nicos Anastasiades currently tops the popularity table with 46 per cent.

His potential coalition partner, DIKO leader Marios Garoyian, enjoys the support of 25 per cent while AKEL’s leader Andros Kyprianou also received 25 per cent. EDEK-backed presidential candidate Giorgos Lillikas pipped both AKEL and DIKO leaders, enjoying 35 per cent support, while AKEL-backed candidate Stavros Malas came in third with 32 per cent.

Domestic victims MORE THAN a quarter of women in Cyprus have suffered some form of domestic violence, according to the first national study carried out on violence in the family. Based on the study’s findings, 28 per cent of Cypriot women have experienced some form of abuse from their husbands/ partners, with the highest proportion of abuse (36 per cent) recorded in women in the 45-64 age group.

Job well done DEPUTY MINISTER for European Affairs Andreas Mavroyiannis on Monday hailed the “tangible and significant results” achieved by the Cyprus EU presidency in the last six months. As the Cyprus presidency entered its final week of meetings, Mavroyiannis joined Irish ministers in Brussels to mark preparations for handing over the baton.

Flood anger AFTER a night of rain almost islandwide, which continued into much of Tuesday causing countless problems to homes, shops and drivers, shopkeepers, already hit by recession, showed their anger at being fed the same old lines year after year when it rains, as they spent another morning clearing mud from their damaged premises.

No default THE FINANCE ministry said on Tuesday it had secured the necessary cash to cover its current financing needs and there

Weather and postal woes was no possibility of a default, a day after a high-ranking official warned that without loans from semi-government companies (SGOs), the state would run out of money in a matter of days.

Switchover THE GOVERNMENT on Wednesday announced its decision to end talks with the French-Russian energy consortium over licencing rights for the preferred Block 9 in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), choosing instead to start negotiations with the previously overlooked Italian-Korean consortium. Speaking after a cabinet meeting, a spokesman announced the termination of negotiations with the consortium comprising French energy giant Total, Russian company Novatec and GPB Global Resources BV (a Gazprombank subsidiary) for an offshore gas exploration licence in block 9, citing lack of progress in the talks.

Budget approved

The finance ministry said on Tuesday it had secured the necessary cash to cover its current financing needs and there was no possibility of a default

PARLIAMENT on Wednesday night voted through the 2013 budget incorporating the terms agreed between Cyprus and its international lenders after marathon speeches made over two days by MPs criticising government policy. With

QUOTES OF THE WEEK “The company is a step before final closure, and we desperately await the banks to make up their minds on whether an administrator will be appointed and if they will back the company” Orphanides general manager Constantinos Ioannou “What have they been waiting for? Should people die for them to do something?”

An angry shopkeeper flooded out in Paphos “We are angry because you have brought an era of poverty and misery, because it looks like you are leading us to an era when debt rules, and because we suspect that despite blaming each other, no one will be punished for the biggest crime against our people since [the Turkish invasion of] 1974” Greens deputy Giorgos Perdikis at the budget debate

“Over the last three or four years we – as the he postal service departtment – have been collecting the letters whether or not they are stamped, open them… and after reading and compiling the requests, we answer each child separately if a sender’s address is written” Postal service’s chief Andreas Gregoriou.

“You can imagine how ow difficult it is to survive e in this day and age when you don’t receive ive a salary for three connsecutive months” Giorgos Constantinou, acting secretaryrygeneral of trade union ion OEKDY SEK

“We have hav made it clear and I told this th to the teachers, that nothing can change in no how the terms have been laid lai out” Education Minister Giorgos Demosthenous “If you were the SGOs would you trust the government to pay you back?” b Theodore PanayoT tou, director of the t Cyprus International C Institute of ManageIn ment m “There is no issue of “ a haircut (of Cypriot debt) therefore all d these reports in t various media are allegations of IMF positions” Finance Minister F Vassos Shiarly (left) V

51 votes in favour and two against, the plenum passed the austerity-geared annual budget that will see the state spend some €9.5 billion and earn €7.6 billion.

Go ahead THE CABINET on Wednesday gave its approval to the state borrowing a total of €250 million from three semi-governmental organisations so it can pay wages and pensions in the public sector for the month of December. According to spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, the cabinet approved the three loans to be granted by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority and the Cyprus Ports Authority.

CY cash CYPRUS Airways (CY) on Wednesday thanked the parliament’s finance committee for releasing over €16 million earmarked for a share capital increase, which the ailing airline said would help them get back on their feet. The tranche

is part of some €31.3 million the airline had requested – and has now received – to help make the airline viable.

Christmas post PEOPLE are still waiting for Christmas letters and parcels from the UK, but the postal services said on Thursday they were trying to resolve the situation with the Royal Mail. Most of the post traffic hails to and from the UK and on an average postal services are receiving between 150 and 200 postal sacks a day, an increase of up to 25 per cent compared to the rest of the year.

Perks AMID the blitz of salary and benefit cutbacks, the overwhelming majority of MPs on Wednesday voted against a proposal for slashing their own representation allowance by 15 per cent. The amendment, proposed by Greens MP George Perdikis, was backed by a grand total of seven deputies.

12 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Opinion Cyprus’ debt sustainability complicating bailout PRESIDENT Christofias may have agreed to the memorandum of understanding and the legislature put this agreement into force by approving a long list of bills in the last week, but there is still a long way to go before the lenders release funds.

Approval of the bailout is not just a formality, as some have suggested, but will require a lot more effort and planning on our part to reach this goal, as many complications have surfaced. Nothing could be simple or straightforward when a host of parties, with different interests are part of the decision-making process.

There have been press reports of a dispute between the IMF and the European Commission over who would provide the funds for the bailout, with the former taking the line that it would not contribute to the loan package, in its current form. According to a report, earlier this week, in the German newspaper, Suddeutsche Zeitung, the IMF supported a haircut of the government debt, on the grounds that Cyprus would be unable to pay the

interest on the loan, even after the memorandum provisions were implemented.

Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly categorically denied there was such a possibility, insisting the IMF had not made any such reference. The head of the euro group Jean-Claude Juncker also denied the report, saying that “on my part I want to rule out this possibility.”

However, Juncker will be stepping down at the end January and behind closed doors, European politicians and technocrats are expressing serious concerns about the sustainability of the debt. On Friday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, pressed to say whether there would be a haircut of the Cyprus debt, said nothing could be ruled out and everything was on the table.

Another hair-cut would be problematic for the euro group, which had insisted the Greek hair-cut was a one-off, as it would shatter its credibility and put additional pressure on the euro. But the fact that it has not been ruled out by the

SundayMail German government should give cause for concern. Even more worrying is the threat of the IMF not to contribute to the bailout package, which Germany considers of critical importance for the obvious reason that it does not want to be burdened with a bigger share of the funding. This dispute complicates things for Cyprus, even though an IMF suggestion that its contribution to the bailout could be funded

by Russia has not been ruled out by Moscow. President Putin said on Friday this was a possibility, confirming earlier reports that Russia would be willing to lend money to Cyprus within the framework of an EU bailout.

While this would resolve the issue of IMF funding, which Germany insisted on, we would then have to deal with debt sustainability.

Although, everyone is said to be waiting for the Pimco report about the financing needs of the banks, it

is considered certain at the Commission and the European Central Bank that even with our best case scenario – banks requiring €9.3 billion – the debt would be unsustainable. An ECB board member, quoted by Reuters of Friday, confirmed this point. “It is already foreseeable that after the final data, the financing need will be so high that the debt level will be very high and unsustainable,” said Joerg Asmussen, adding that measures to achieve a budget surplus and privatisations would then be looked at.

Would President Christofias give his consent to privatisations after insisting that he would never agree to them? And to achieve a budget surplus, even more austerity measures would be required, that is difficult seeing any Cypriot politician agreeing to. Christofias would be more than happy not to sign a memorandum including privatisations and additional measures, leaving the responsibility to his successor. But would the state have any money to meet its financial obligations by the time the new

president is sworn in? What if the debt would be unsustainable even after privatisations and more austerity measures?

This may seem a wild shot, but the only other option is for the Cyprus Central Bank to propose to the troika that the methodology that was used for defining non-performing loans, for so many years, was not changed so abruptly. The abrupt change of methodology has added billions to the banks’ financing needs.

We should argue that first the legal framework needed to be put in place and a three- to four-year adjustment period given before the new methodology for calculating NPLs was fully adopted. This would be good, regular practice that would drastically reduce the banks’ financing needs and make the debt sustainable, something which would suit all parties concerned.

We may have left it late, but it is worth a shot, because it is the only way debt sustainability would cease to be an issue.

Letters to the Editor Impartiality must not only be delivered it must also be seen to be delivered Your opinion column on the Attorney-general’s decision not to prosecute a Cypriot woman who stabbed and killed her Romanian husband implies that the Attorney General has not clearly demonstrated his impartiality in this particular case.

The primary requirement of any Attorney-general is that they should ensure the efficient, fair and impartial administration of justice for all.

One area where some doubt exists about this matter concerns his relationship with lawyers.

Not only does he sit on the Disciplinary Board of Advocates but he actually chairs it and, moreover, sends out board correspondence and decisions on his Attorneygeneral letter heading with a government logo and signed as the Attorney-general.

The significance of this is that there appears to be a clear conflict of interest between, on the one hand, the Attorney-general role and duties to uphold the efficient, fair and impartial administration of justice for all and, on the other hand, his involvement

in the professional activities of one particular body of people (lawyers) with whom he may enjoy a close relationship but some of whose members regrettably may, on occasion, be accused of illegal and possibly criminal conduct.

Let us assume that he is a person of total integrity.

Nevertheless, how could anyone in this position, even an absolute paragon of probity, possibly ensure that he or she does not intervene with partiality, even subconsciously, to favour an accused Bar Association member and perhaps dismiss the charges or dilute the punishment or even obtain a Presidential pardon?

Impartiality must not only be delivered it must also be seen to be delivered.

To avoid all possible doubt, for this reason alone in my opinion no Attorney-general should ever be involved in the deliberations of any professional body or its disciplinary board. Clear blue water should separate the two.

Dr Alan Waring, Larnaca

Bring on the crying candidates Patroclos has been somewhat scornful about the tearful performance of President Christofias compared with the performance of his predecessor. In an effort to keep up the crying standard, could it be arranged for the current candidates to appear together on television to give examples of their potential tearfulness?

Maurice Sokel, Paphos

You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone Mr Steeley, (letters Sunday Mail, December 16) has a point when he calls for more transparency in the CTO figures, particularly for those referred to as domestic tourists’.

An example quoted to me was; A Cypriot man goes to a hotel and conditionally reserves a room for the following week. He leaves a €100 deposit which is refundable.

The hotel owner uses the €100 to pay its wholesaler who supplies food for the kitchen. The wholesaler now use the €100 to pay the farmer who produced the goods.

The farmer being €100 richer uses the money to take him and his wife for a weekend break to the hotel.

At the end of the week the Cypriot man returns and says he no longer requires the room and his €100 is refunded.

So what happened to the €100 profit made by the hotel and how does

this benefit the country?

When I came to Cyprus in 2002 the expat community contributed C£2.4 billion (over €4.15b) a year to the island. Unlike domestic tourism all this money came from abroad.

None of this group were a drain on the community as they were not entitled to use resources or claim support, even though they contributed to the welfare of the island.

Over time many of these expats have returned to their home country or moved to France or Spain.

A recent comment by a wholesaler to one of my neighbours was that his company misses the British.

In his words he said they did not “understand their value” but their company has now lost over 50 per cent of its customer base.

When I first arrived in Cyprus I joined a group of expats who did sequence and ballroom dancing at one

of the hotels in Paphos.

These people were in their 60’s gentle folk, always willing to help the dance instructors employed by the hotel. We mingled with guests from the hotel and often danced with single ladies who otherwise had no partner. But a new manager disliked the expats and banned them from attending.

This winter there is no dance instructors and two of the four hotels in the chain are closed.

Maybe come the summer there will again be domestic tourists to support the income of the island, whilst the CTO ignores the prospect of expats within the community who are here all year round with money from overseas. What will I be doing this winter? Staying at home and saving my money as there is nowhere to go.

Peter G Davis, Drousia

EAC: how are you going to do it? Smoking ban?

With the impending increase in VAT charges, up 1.0 per cent to 18 per cent with effect from January 1, 2013, it got me thinking how are the EAC going to work out what part of your electricity consumption will be charged at the current 17 per cent VAT with the remainder thereafter at 18 per cent.

I know, you might well ask “what is 1.0 per cent going to do to my bill? Well that really all depends on how thrifty you are with your electricity, but then again it’s not about that, it’s a principle.

An increase in any part of the already over priced electricity is most unwel-

come and one might be paying 1.0 per cent more VAT on consumed electricity pre January 1, unless the EAC have a system already in place to alleviate any potential overcharge.

As an example; my last bill reading was up to November 24.

That will leave approx 37 days at the old VAT rate, therefore my question is very simple: “How are you going to work it out, without having to send your meter readers out on December 31?

Now, 1% might not appear too drastic on your bill, but let’s assume for argument’s sake that we multiply the 37 days by

200,000 consumers at the low end, a lot of bucks... get my drift. Oh and by the way who gets to keep the additional 1.0 because it’s not VAT. I do have a solution to this conundrum which is very simple; 50 per cent of the total consumption is charged at 17 per cent and the other 50 per cent at 18 per cent.

I know that this will require just a little extra effort and work when raising the bills as I am sure you don’t really want us to pay more than we have to, do you?

We wait and see.

I am not surprised the smoking ban has had no affect on profits. I lived in Cyprus for seven years until late 2011.

I never noticed any smoking ban in bars and restaurants. Maybe the ban has not reached the ‘red villages’ yet.

Martin, ex Sotira now Scotland

PL, Limassol

Costas of Chlorakas,

Evita: the sequel Dear Patroclos, Is there any truth in the rumour that Cyprus’ next entry for the Eurovision Song Contest is entitled; ‘Don’t cry for me Christofias?”

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13 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Opinion ‘Better to lose an eye rather than lose your good name’ goes the old saying. We’ve lost both

Presidents of Europe, beggars and oilmen Comment Nicos Rolandis

I

N MAY 2004 Cyprus acceded to the European Union, together with nine other countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary and Malta. At that time we were the jewel in the crown of these new members. We were the financially strong and affluent.

Eight years on, those nine countries are managing to survive albeit with some difficulties, but without memoranda. Unfortunately we, the strong ones of the past, have been running around, from Moscow to Beijing, unsuccessfully asking for money before ending up on the inhospitable path of the troika.

President Demetris Christofias’ notion of a “society of justice” has failed to come to fruition. Of course the president ought to have known that this world of ours is not and has never been the land of Canaan, the “Promised Land”, and the smiling old friend Demetris of 2008, who believed that his five-year term would go well and his second term even better, has been transformed into a “crying president” at the end of 2012.

I shall not delve into the many details about the responsibility of the government, the banks and others for what went wrong - a subject covered by thousands of articles thus far. I shall only state that the leader of a country is accountable when everything collapses around him, especially when his minister of finance makes an appeal “to avert the possible danger of disaster” (December 7),

and when his government is forced to seek loans from the pension funds of semi-governmental organisations to avert bankruptcy (December 17).

So we are on the move, running in the streets and avenues of Europe, with the crown of the European president on our head, clad in the Arab jellaba of the oilman yet at the same time begging for money. Our appearance is a paradox, which is very rare, even in this peculiar world of ours.

We are a very small country. The size of our economy (€17 billion or US$22 billion) is a little larger than one per thousand of the EU economy ($20 trillion) and tantamount to three per ten thousand of the world economy ($60 trillion). Consequently, our contribution to the world economy affairs is almost nonexistent.

However, despite our small size we have run into trouble again.

I remember, back in 1974, when our lives were turned upside down and our properties lost through events of extreme violence. At that time though, we faced the coup d’état and the Turkish invasion.

Today, who are the invaders? Unfortunately it appears that we ourselves and some of our leaders are the culprits. We have managed to cut our own throats.

It is not the first time that the Greek Cypriots and Hellenism have made wrong assessments and paid the bitter price: We paid dearly in 1963, when we attempted to amend the constitution and instead planted the seeds of partition.

We paid dearly in 1974, when we wrongly assessed the thinking of the strong ones in the international community and the ruthlessness of Turkey. We opened the gates, through the Greek Cypriot and Greek coup d’état, for a Turkish invasion which we had considered unfeasible.

Natural gas cannot secure any financing and is not bankable at present because we are at the very preliminary stages

We paid dearly when we repeatedly rejected through the years the various initiatives for the solution of the Cyprus problem, which while certainly intractable has now become almost unsolvable.

We paid dearly in 1983 when we rejected the plan of the UN secretary-general, despite the warnings from various quarters about the Turkish unilateral declaration of independence. (That is when I resigned from the post of foreign minister). That declared “state” is unfortunately currently upgraded by various countries.

We paid dearly in 1998, when all parties (with the exception of the Liberal Party) pursued the purchase and arrival of the S300 missiles. We thus dumped US$270 million on the mountains of Crete.

We paid dearly in 2000/2001 with the stock market.

And we have paid dearly in 2012 with the troika, whose mechanisms will demolish our lives and our economy to a great extent, even though in the present state of affairs without the troika there would be neither life nor an economy to demolish.

What causes a lot of concern today, if I judge by our negative track record, is the prospect of oil and gas. So, I would like to underscore once more two basic fears of mine: Firstly, I am certain that we are addressing the issue of hydrocarbons wrongly. We refrain from utilising them as a catalyst for the solution of the Cyprus problem and of the wider Cyprus-Greece-Turkey issues. Oil and gas will be down there in the offshore basin surrounding Cyprus for the next 30-50 years, until the reserves are pumped to the shore.

They constitute large wealth for a long period of time, for a small country. But unfortunately we live next to a ruthless, mighty and dangerous predator, Turkey. I fear that, unless we correct our course of action, we shall

pay just as dearly at a fatal moment in the next 30 years, as we did in all the cases I referred to above. Unfortunately for us, Turkey will find a number of pretexts to justify her possible action, as she did in the past.

Secondly, natural gas, the efforts for the extraction of which I first started back in 1998 cannot secure any financing and is not bankable at present because we are at the very preliminary stages. This is the truth and we should have no illusions which may lead us to disastrous results.

To render natural gas commercially exploitable we must go through several vital stages.

We need one to two more drillings in block 12 to have the quantity confirmed. We need investors and financiers for the undersea pipeline and the liquefaction terminal (cost, US$1.5 billion for the pipeline and US$10-$12 billion for the terminal). In order to secure these enormous amounts we must have the quantity of the gas confirmed for the next 20-25 years and marketing and price projections for 20 to 25 years. Furthermore, an appraisal of the political and military hazards in Cyprus and in the region is also needed. The pumping of the gas must commence.

There is an old Cypriot saying, that it is “better to lose an eye rather than lose your good name”. We have unfortunately lost both. We were blinded and failed to realise our problem in time and lost our credibility.

The darkness around us may be dissolved in the medium term by the hope of financial growth, if we can secure the necessary funds.

If we are prudent in its handling, I hope that we can achieve progress through natural gas after the year 2020.

Nicos Rolandis is a former foreign minister and commerce minister, MP and leader of the Liberal Party

AKEL even mess up when they apportion blame Comment Loucas Charalambous THE POLITICAL audacity of President Christofias and the AKEL leadership scales new heights every week, not to mention the utter contempt they show for our intelligence.

One would have expected that considering the complete chaos they have caused with their irresponsibility in the last five years, they would have kept quiet, seeing as though they do not have the decency to apologise. But listening to them every day, I cannot believe what I am hearing.

We heard the president attacking EU leaders in a very crude way. “The troika descended on Cyprus. We were stabbed in the back by different quarters of the EU - allegations of money

laundering, allegations that we were a paradise for Russian plutocrats, allegations that we would use the loan to protect Russians and much more, all of which were blows below the belt,” he said on December 13.

He forgot two things. First the troika did not descend on Cyprus, but he invited it to save us from the mess he had made.

Second, a few months ago he said that EU leaders were crestfallen when they heard he would not be standing for re-election.

In a meeting with people from the broad left, a few weeks ago, among other nonsense, Christofias told them that “in Brussels they are distraught I am quitting.” Those people who were distraught about losing him are the same people he now tells us were stabbing him in the back and hitting him below the belt.

Then we hear the AKEL chief Andros Kyprianou making sick

jokes. At the time that the management committees of the pension funds of semi-governmental organisations (SGOs) were discussing whether to loan the government €250 million to pay public employees’ December salaries, and a little while after the finance ministry permanent secretary told the House finance committee that the state could default on its payments, Kyprianou was criticising the DISY leader in a radio interview for speaking about the danger of bankruptcy for the country.

So while the government was informing the legislature that in a few days, if the SGOs did not lend it money, the state would declare bankruptcy, Kyprianou was attacking Anastasiades for scare-mongering about the prospect of bankruptcy. What can you say about this insanity?

Then we have the AKEL

presidential candidate Stavros Malas, declaring that if elected, he would not sign a second memorandum and calling on Anastasiades to do the same.

Two months of electoral campaigning have been enough for Malas to develop into a first class demagogue. But the first memorandum of understanding agreed to by Christofias, clearly envisages a second (regarding privatisations), but also a third and a fourth if the need arises.

So if Malas is elected and a few weeks later the troika tells him that a second memorandum was needed - otherwise we would not receive any money what would the tough guy do?

Would he tell them to go to hell?

And where would he find the money to pay salaries, pensions and other state expenses?

According to his capital statement, he is bankrupt therefore he would not be able to pay

out of his own pocket. So what would he do? Would he go for the selective default we narrowly avoided this month, thanks to the SGO pension funds?

We also hear Christofias and the AKEL leadership monotonously repeating every day, that Athanasios Orphanides is to blame for everything because he did not perform his bank supervision duties properly.

But even if this were true Orphanides was appointed by Tassos Papadopoulos who was elected president thanks to AKEL. So if we had an inadequate president who appointed an inadequate governor of the Central Bank, the biggest share of the responsibility belongs to AKEL for what they did, or did not do.

But is it any surprise that the party and the president cannot even shift blame with any competence or credibility?

14 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Opinion

Classic carrot and stick B

USINESS is much tougher during bad times and therefore each of your managers and employees must be 100 per cent committed to the business. Since you are facing challenges and you have to fight for customers every step of the way you cannot have anyone in your staff that is less than 100 per cent committed or who does not understand the consequences of underperformance in tough times.

Those who don’t get it when survival is at stake will never get it.

Their presence “poisons the well” for everyone else and puts the business’ survival at risk.

During tough times all your actions must convey exactly the same consistent message, that performance is rewarded while sluggishness is punished. Therefore, reward your best performers and weed out the sluggards to give the right message and a powerful incentive. To do otherwise is tantamount to committing suicide.

Be passionate about what you do. Passion is contagious; it makes people want to “work with you, buy from you, invest in you”.

Those who fail to get infected by your passion have other agendas and you don’t want them around.

If you keep them, you are wasting resources you don’t have. It is also unfair to the others, and most importantly they demotivate others. Crisis is an ideal time for that weeding you always wanted to do and you were putting it off since times were good and you felt you could afford some slack; now you cannot. Those who “are not fired by enthusiasm should be fired with enthusiasm”.

Don’t say “this guy was doing well when the economy was booming; it must not be his fault, it is the fault of the sluggish market”. Everyone looks like a good performer in a thriving economy but not everyone is. Now you are finding out

Managing in a business in tough times means rewarding performers and weeding out sluggards Comment Theodore Panayotou the impostors.

The biggest mistake that employers do in bad times is to cut salaries equally, proportionally or progressively in an effort “to be fair” or to show that all are called to contribute. The message they inadvertently give is that when business is down performance doesn’t really matter! The best performers, who have been unhappy but tolerating the underperformance of others in good times, now feel punished rather than rewarded. The sure outcome is that motivation will weaken and productivity will fall, when exactly the opposite should be happening.

At times of crisis, performance is at a premium. The Most Admired Companies, as ranked by Fortune, go out of their way to “to reassure their most driven and focused employees”, those most important to keep, by rewarding them even in tough times, especially in tough times. With what resources?

With the resources they save from cleaning up the company from unproductive employees.

The Most Admired Companies go even further and scout their competitors for best performers who are demotivated by equal, proportional or progressive cuts and attract them to their own company.

The bottom line is that with the same or lower cost these compa-

nies manage to boost productivity and put in place the foundations of not only recovery now but also profitability and growth post-crisis.

Be religious about measuring the productivity of departments and teams and the performance of individuals within them. It has been said and well documented that whatever is not measured cannot be improved, no matter how much you try. Targets must be quantitative and have specific deliverers and specific delivery dates. Missing targets should not be without consequences. Weak managers buy a litany of excuses that blame nonattainment of agreed upon targets on factors beyond the responsible person’s or team’s control. This creates moral hazard that perpetuates under performance and a progressive watering down of targets making the demise of the business inevitable.

Determine which of your business costs are truly fixed and which are variable. You should be doing variable spending, only when it’s making you more money than it costs.

For example, instead of hiring staff, consider outsourcing and contract labour. You only need to have your best performers in key positions, the rest you can contract out making sure that you buy value for money but never sacrifice quality to save money. Instead, research alternatives and reconfigure procurement so as to secure the desired quality at the lowest possible cost.

Other cost-saving solutions include moving to more cost effective methods, such as moving some of your marketing budget from traditional media to the internet,

the web, the cloud and the social media which, if used right, are significantly more cost effective than traditional methods. The technology can also play an important role in helping to make your firm more efficient and it doesn’t have to cost a lot since there are many free and open source solutions.

Speed and flexibility of response is of the essence. Much will depend on how quickly you move. It’s human nature to avoid confronting bad news and to imagine that today’s troubles will pass more quickly and easily than they really will. Assume conditions will be worse than you actually expect.

Intuit’s CEO Brad Smith put it best when he said “You identify areas where you think you can be more efficient by assuming the worst-case scenario. Then you end up saying, why don’t we just do that anyhow?” Facing the coming reality before your competitors do can make a big difference in who survives.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase told a group of Harvard Business School students, about managing in tough times: “I am

‘Those who are not fired by enthusiasm should be fired with enthusiasm’

shocked at the number of people who are watching that train coming down the track, and they’re still worrying about their strategic plan for the year. We cancelled all that stuff - all of it - meetings, travel, you name it, to focus on the fact that we’re in the middle of a real crisis.”

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and a different thinking. Build alliances with companies which may be competitors through creative arrangements such as cost sharing and barter, which help you conserve cash and better cope with the tough times, and at the same time constitute an investment in the future of your business. It has been observed that historically, “tough times have spawned the next generation of great companies!”

Managing in tough times calls for a combination of technological innovations (more use of open source solutions, the internet, the cloud and the social media) and institutional innovations (the right messages and incentives for employees and memorable experiences for customers). A high-tech, high-touch combination would produce both the savings in costs and the boost in revenues that business needs to survive through tough times and thrive during good times, provided that performers are rewarded and sluggards are weeded out with religious fervour.

Dr Theodore Panayotou is professor and director of the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM). He served as Professor of Economics and the Environment at Harvard University and as consultant to the UN and several governments. He has published and was recognised for his contribution to the Intergovernmental Committee on Climate Change which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007

Alternative approach to funding SMEs Comment Erol Riza IT IS generally accepted that one sector that is suffering as a result of the financial crisis in the EU, with the exception of Germany, are the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which have little access to funding.

Traditionally SMEs have been able to fund their businesses from the so called “house bank” and in Cyprus the co-operative societies have also been a source of funding. The implications of the regulatory changes from Basel III and the downsizing of balance sheets which the banks will have to implement to be recapitalised will mean that the access to funding

by SMEs in Cyprus, which are over 90 per cent of businesses (SMEs defined as businesses with less than 250 staff), will be a major issue which needs to be addressed by embracing alternative sources/ channels of funding.

In the UK, despite the efforts of the government to boost funding options from the banks, there has been a very limited success. This is symptomatic of the problems which banks face. On the one hand the banks are being asked to take measures to improve their capi-

tal adequacy ratios (which means lend less and avoid capital heavy risk) whilst on the other hand they were being encouraged to lend to SMEs which require banks to use more capital. Lending to SMEs is capital heavy under the Basel III framework and unless changes are made to the “risk weighting” (this determines the capital to be set aside) banks will be averse to lending to SMEs. The same problem is prevalent in most EU countries with the exception of Germany where SMEs have no credit constraint due to the traditional relationships between the savings banks and the SME sector and also the prudent management of SMEs in the country.

BALANCE SHEETS In Cyprus, SMEs will face problems in accessing funding as banks are being asked to shrink their balance sheets and improve their capital ratios. Thus the stakeholders which are critical to the future course of the economy (the government, banks, the central bank and the chambers of commerce) need to consider how alternative sources of funding will be established to support SMEs businesses and hence growth and employment.

Politicians pay lip service to financial support for SMEs when

they ask banks to lend to SMEs under the current financial environment. If, as expected, the coops will come under the Basel III framework and central bank regulation, albeit gradually, they will have to introduce stricter credit criteria as well. Hence the problem cannot be solved by relying on the co-op movement.

One of the solutions that seems to have had a measured success in the UK are non bank providers of funding to SMEs in the form of public private partnership funds set up to fund SMEs. These funds do not have to comply with Basel III capital adequacy requirements and have no legacy loan problems.

The government matches funding raised by the private sector and the fund is run by the private sector. There are guidelines as to eligibility of fund managers in terms of the experience of the fund managers and the lending criteria to be used. One such source of SME funding could be established in Cyprus and regulated by the Securities Commission. In order to attract investors the government will have to provide some of the funding and incentives. The funding from government could possibly be sourced from EU funds.

Another development which has been announced recently is the creation of a “Business Bank” in the UK. While in Cyprus the Cy-

prus Development Bank was set up originally to serve this purpose it was deemed to have outlived its purpose and was sold to the private sector. It is highly unlikely that such a solution would work for Cyprus since the need is to move away from the banking sector as the solution.

Other interesting non bank finance entities used to provide short term solutions to SMEs with credit worthy receivables are web based “invoice discounters” (Marketinvoice) which is quite similar to factoring. This has been very successful in providing short term credit to SMEs but at a high cost since the implied annual cost of discounting is in double digits.

INTERESTING SOLUTION This could be a very interesting solution for Cyprus if the private sector could raise sufficient capital and obtain support from the European Investment Fund or the European Investment Bank, both institutions tasked with supporting the SMEs in the EU. The previous channel of using the banks for similar facilities suffers from the same issues of capital at risk. Other similar SME alternatives are web based platforms such as Funding Circle which has been funded recently also by the UK government (£20m) to provide

such SME funding.

It is very important for the stakeholders in Cyprus to seriously consider the non bank sources of funding for SMEs since the problems of SME funding by the banks will not be the answer in the next 24 months. Banks will remain providers of funding but on a very selective basis. Moreover, there is a need to embrace alternative sources as these offer the best promise of providing innovation and flexibility in the funding process which is highly desirable in Cyprus. The government should consider also how to bring some of the institutional savings from pension and insurance funds into funding infrastructure since passive investment has not been supporting the economy. Whilst these sources of funding need to have their investment guidelines amended, the industry in the EU is already stepping in to the property development sector, a very important one for Cyprus.

Last, but not least, the government should seek to attract investors in new and alternative non bank funding of SMEs by offering attractive tax incentives such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme in the UK. Erol Riza is managing director of the UK-based Totalserve financial consultants

15 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Opinion Intentionally or not, we have all abused this economy in one way or another

uotes of the week

Comment

“What next for the EU? The Nobel Prize for Economics?”

Tory MEP Dan Hannan mocks the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union

Hermes Solomon

J

EAN Hougron (1923-2000) a French novelist wrote, “The soul of a man can only be found through understanding his language.”

Understanding our Greek Cypriot dialect is not easy for a mainlander.

Let’s take the word ‘rusfeti’ for example, which DIKO leader, Marios Garoyian was accused of after Phileleftheros published copies of faxes sent from his office, requesting ‘low people’ be employed in ‘high places’ at huge public expense.

Our president claims to abhor ‘rusfeti’, although a close relation of his was employed recently at a major bank and rapidly promoted to a high post during the bank’s bankruptcy proceedings. Our ‘working class caring’ president knows full well which class of smoker smokes rolling tobacco, never mind our finance minister’s claim that the new Immovable Property Tax (IPT) won’t ‘bleed to death’ already highly indebted showoffs (aspiring middle-class) yet barely tickle the self-effacing.

We have all abused this economy in one way or another, whether intentionally or not. We borrowed from banks never expecting to have to repay loans - much to the delight of banks given their criminally high interest rate charges - even though banks and borrowers are now (metaphorically speaking) bent double with their pants down and pockets empty - all usury and rusfeti being a form of rape!

Slightly ahead in the wearing of flashy neck-ties competition, thrice married and presumed to be extremely butch, Garoyian is capable of violent political penetration. By shouting, ‘I am innocent’, or words to that effect, in his defence against accusations of rusfeti, he has become a target for ridicule.

We are all obsessed by and exploit rusfeti - he is no exception - so why doesn’t he simply shut up and accept that rusfeti is, and has been, the way of life here and elsewhere since the beginning of time. His shouting will not decrease our mounting disrespect for a profoundly corrupt electoral and governmental system, where all participants sound and behave exactly the same - that is of course, apart from that cunning old fox and supreme thespian, Nicos Anastassiades, who smiles smugly while Stavros Malas hopelessly attempts to recover lost ground and Georgios Lillikas promises us the moon, when all we really want from any of them is the truth about the economy.

We are being taken for a ride by this government and opposition parties over the amount of debt incurred by our banks and administration - Pimco or Bimgo Report, whatever - never arriving at any fixed amount that we, the ordinary man can understand or cope with, thus enabling the troika to administer ‘medicine’ ad hoc et infinitum, pillaging our pockets in the same manner as banks exploited naive bondholders, and politicians, through rusfeti, knowingly violated our naïve souls.

I have kept vigil outside the House of Representatives every day, when

Police keeping the protesters behind the barriers, but will they soon be on other side themselves?

Reaping an eternal whirlwind police behind barbed wire barricades, refused demonstrators access to the House, forecourt and street. Elite riot squads were strategically grouped in the smoky shadows of the filthy old general hospital car park, ready to becalm any outraged single parent family demonstrator, the disabled, blind, teachers, junk bondholders, farmers, PASYDY members, nurses, doctors, and eventually I suspect, our disgruntled police force. All barricades, barbed wire, police and riot squads mysteriously evaporated into thin air immediately after the teachers’ weakly supported demonstration was turned back.

Politicians? Bin the lot of ‘em I say.

Apart from the IPT, all cuts required by the troika, whose language we are only now beginning to understand, have been voted through the House of Reps unopposed; vociferous demonstrations will not change ‘que sera, sera’, our politicians having avoided whirlwind collisions with increasingly irate farmers and infuriated bondholders, who are no longer in control of their senses or emotions.

I have calculated the average weight of a demonstrator to be around 90 kilos and that of the police and elite riot squad at 120 kilos. When push comes to shove, demonstrators will find their backsides up against barbed wire and fronts looking into a fiscal cul-de-sac, while politicians, who no longer speak our language, lock themselves securely into the chamber and do exactly

what they’re told!

Unlike Greece, Cyprus is a very, very small place indeed, and we all know where our politicians live! I recommend they buy ‘un petit pied-à-terre’ in the north, where property is cheap and tempers still under control - costs incurred will be attributed to their already grossly inflated expenses allowance.

Democracy is dead. Long live the troika, which has imposed long term poverty upon the innocent masses of Europe, where past years of profligacy was the cause of bankruptcy and troika memoranda merely the after effect!

This country is in an absolute mess - what have I been writing about this past five years if not that? But don’t think we will be asked to exit the euro. Why did the EU let us carry on digging our own grave until gas was definitively discovered? Energy chief Solon Kassinis has been telling everyone it was there this past five years.

Gas had to be there (Block 12) after Israelis established adjoining Leviathan field two years ago and claimed the entire East Med basin was rolling in the stuff; enough for everyone but us, since we will be giving ours away paying off debts for the next 30 years.

It is incumbent upon us all to find a sober and sensible way forward and out. Hopeful that we will, I wish Cyprus and Sunday Mail readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

“When I hear Ding Dong Merrily On High, I get an overwhelming urge to lob a brick at someone”.

Ozzy Osbourne

“I don’t think that is necessarily the end of the world” Boris Johnson, mayor of London, on the prospect of Britain leaving the EU “She is 27 years old with very solid values, beautiful on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside”.

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, 76, on his new fiancee Francesca Pascale

“Blimey, remind me to ask a celebrity how many times I should chew my food”.

Janey de Nordwell, professional event organiser, on Gwyneth Paltrow’s “blindingly obvious” tips in her step-by-step guide to organising the perfect party, following in the wake of Pippa Middleton’s much-derided volume Celebration “This was a bourbonfuelled beast of a dessert, heaving its creamsoaked carcass towards you with all the benign intent of an instant cardiac arrest”.

Broadcaster and commentator Rowan Pelly describing Nigella Lawson’s “terrifying monster” of a caramel croissant pudding “I love the chaos of it all, but it has got to be planned”.

Mary Berry, star of The Great British Bake-Off, on her vision of Christmas Day

“Everybody talks about how they spend their time bicycling around their capital cities. But I can tell you that the Stockholm palace is infinitely bigger than Buckingham Palace, and they have plenty of flunkeys”.

Lady Pamela Hicks, daughter of Lord Mountbatten and great-greatgranddaughter of Queen Victoria, discussing the Dutch and Scandinavian royal families “I have just received a Christmas card from my vision clarification technician, aka the window cleaner”.

Ken Brady, of Swanmore, Hampshire, in a letter to the Daily Mail “I am so bored with being miserable”.

Actress Kristin Scott Thomas, who has had more than her fair share of gloomy roles

“The audience watch it with good-humoured attention and curiosity, as if they were watching Morris dancing or cheeserolling” Theatre director Richard Eyre after seeing longrunning Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap

16 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

World in pictures

University students celebrate their graduation in front of a replica of a Mayan pyramid in central Taichung (AFP) St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in the background of statues by Mexican artist Javier Marin in downtown Rome (AFP)

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (centre) sits flanked by Prime Minister David Cameron (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and members of the Cabinet after she attended her first-ever cabinet meeting on Tuesday (AFP)

A ferris wheel next to a giant illuminated Christmas tree in Nice, southeastern France

(AFP) A Bangladeshi labourer pulls a cart full of empty drums during a nationwide strike in Dhaka (AFP)

Members of the Joint Task Force take part in a ceremony to end the year’s activities in Bolivia (AFP)

A Maasai woman presents her ink marked thumb after registering to vote in the general elections in Kenya (AFP)

A Bahraini Shiite Muslim woman holds a rock during an antigovernment demonstration in the capital Manama (AFP)

Indian girls of Nepali origin perform during the inauguration of the Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival (AFP)

17 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Coffeeshop

Founding fathers of ‘disaster economics’ THIS IS the season of good cheer goodwill to all men so our establishment was seriously considering closing down until it was over as the idea of adopting the Christmas spirit does not appeal to us. Everyone should stick to what they do best and showing goodwill to all men, I am not ashamed to admit, has never been our establishment’s strong point.

So if you were hoping for a Christmas edition that showed goodwill to all men including the incompetent comrade Tof and his Akelite poodles please stop reading now if you do not want to be disappointed. I will mention the one positive thing I could say about his presidency, to avoid accusations of anti-Tof bias – our dams are full of water.

The dams were empty when he took over in 2008 and we were suffering water cuts, but on his departure in February they will be full to overflowing. It is beyond even his incompetence to mess this up in the little time he has left in office. We can therefore safely say that he took up office when the dams were empty and on his departure they are full.

We can also say that when he took office, state coffers were full and on his departure they will not just be empty, but we will be needing billions in loans to avoid bankruptcy. The dams are full because his government’s decisions do not affect rainfall whereas the empty state coffers are the crowning achievement of his presidency.

ONE PERSON who embraced the season of goodwill was the district court judge who fined an unemployed father of three from Limassol €700 for stealing three halloumia, a pack of sliced lounza and pack of sliced turkey, worth €20 from a supermarket, in order to feed his family.

Talk about punishment that is out of proportion to the crime.

The judge had to punish them man, as he had confessed to the crime, but €700? Where was a penniless man without a job, who had resorted to stealing in order to take some food home, going to find €700 from?

The judge eventually showed his humanity by allowing the guilty man to pay his fine in four installments.

District court judges, we should not forget, filed appeals in the Supreme Court against the state’s decision to impose a five per cent cut on their fat salaries last year, so we should not be surprised if some of them show no compassion when an unemployed family man with no money is brought before them for stealing €20-worth of food.

THE HALLOUMI and lounza were stolen from the Orphanides supermarket in Limassol, which is the last company that should be reporting anyone stealing from it to the cops. The supermarket chain had almost certainly not paid the suppliers of the lounza and halloumi taken from its fridges because it is bankrupt.

But its management had no problem reporting the hapless, unemployed man to the police for stealing €20 worth of prod-

ucts. Orphanides supermarket, as everyone knows, owes its suppliers €85 million that it cannot pay them, but this is not regarded as theft. It also owes the banks some €150 million that it cannot repay, but it feels a moral obligation to ensure that the law punishes a €20 theft.

The man who drove a once flourishing business into the ground, founder, chief executive and majority shareholder, Christos Orphanides has been displaying acute symptoms of Tofitis – sufferers of this disease have the tendency of putting the blame for all the problems they create on others, their main preference being the banks.

The supermarket boss blamed the banks for the continuing uncertainty over the future of his business, the day after he closed down 10 of his shops and sent home, on unpaid leave, 250 workers. He accused the banks of indecision over whether to appoint an administrator; he also wanted them to lend him more money. It was inconceivable for the banks to allow a company with hundreds of millions of assets to go under, he said.

A week earlier he also had the nerve to attack his suppliers for putting the squeeze on his supermarket chain. I suspect this was because suppliers did not comprehend the Orphanides business model by which they provided the company with products and the company did not pay for them.

A DAIRY company that is owed €3 million was being particularly unreasonable in putting the squeeze on Orphanides, whose collapse could lead to the bankruptcy of many of its suppliers that borrowed money from the banks to keep going until Orph paid them.

Laiki and B of C, the company’s lenders, are considering allowing Orph to sink and writing off the debts. This however would mean that they would also have to write off the bad debts of the supermarket chain’s suppliers that would follow Orph on the path to closure.

The company chairman has been trying to persuade the banks to appoint an administrator of his choosing and lend the company a few more millions to help it survive in the hope that some idiot would eventually buy the company.

But if a mug willing to buy a failing business with debts of €250 million is not found Orph could get a strategic investor, like the one that will save Cyprus Airways.

CONGRATULATIONS to DIKO deputy Athina Kyriakidou who has decided to take on the ‘candidate of the citizens’ Yiorkos Lillikas despite the latter’s decision to file a libel suit against her, for things she said on Astra radio, two weeks ago.

Lillikas, a committed supporter of transparency, called his lawyers and ordered them to take legal action as soon as Kyriakidou raised questions about the big advertising contracts his wife’s company, Marketway was securing from public organisations since he entered politics.

Ms Kyriakidou also asked “how many poor people from Panayia (Lillikas’ village) became multi-millionaires in the last 15 years?”

Was she suggesting that Lillikas was a multi-millionaire and if she was, since when is this defamatory? Why did Lillikas not explain that public organisations that awarded contracts to Marketway followed the correct procedures and that he never once used his influence to help his wife’s company?

Surely telling the truth is better than resorting to libel suits, which gives the mistaken impression that the multi-millionaire from Panayia had something to hide. Yiorkos got his communications strategy wrong on this.

THE IRREPRESSIBLE Kyriakidou was not intimidated by the libel suit, filed by the Tassos Papadopoulos law office.

During the budget debate on Wednesday she put a series of perfectly legitimate questions to Lillikas, regarding the Harvard Institute which he brought to Cyprus, at a cost in excess of 50 million bucks to the taxpayer, and installed his first cousin as its director, despite never engaging in rusfeti.

He has still not answered any of Kyriakidou’s questions regarding the Harvard Institute which turned out to be a spectacular flop that has been taken over by TEPAK, despite being a firm believer in transparency and openness. Sadly the ‘multimillionaire from Panayia’ cannot file another libel suit against Kyriakidou because her questions were posed in the legislature.

WE WOULD like to ask a question regarding Lillikas that we hope will not lead to a libel suit.

Why is the Ethnarch’s family such a keen supporter of his candidacy? Why is our leading political dynasty backing his candidacy so zealously?

Even Ethnarch junior who totally disagrees with Yiorkos’ cheap, anti-bailout demagoguery, is fervently supporting him for president. Everyone expected the Cypriot version of the Kennedys to back the Fuhrer especially after Nice Nik ensured the election of Junior’s brother Constantinos Yiorkadjis as Nicosia Mayor.

Not only did they choose not to support him but Junior launched a vicious attack on Nik when DIKO was discussing which presidential candidate to back. This public show of ingratitude came us a big surprise,

Finance ministry permanent secretary Christos Patsalides peddling doom at the House finance committee on Monday (Christos Theodorides) but it was reportedly ordered by the ethnarchic matriarch Fotini, who is calling all the shots in the family.

The matriarch is influenced by the youngest daughter of the family, Anastasia, who has always been a very big fan of Lillikas.

IF ANYONE still had doubts that the Tof government is the worst in the history of the Republic, they must have been dispelled on Monday when the finance ministry perm sec Christos Patsalides went to the House and openly blackmailed the management committees of the semi-governmental pension funds into lending the state €250 million.

The perm sec told deputies that if the money was not given, after a couple of days the state would have to go for ‘selective default’ – in plain language, it would be bankrupt and be unable to pay wages. It would have been a great shame, after the great effort made by the comrade to save the 13th salaries, not to have the money to pay them.

In the end, the pension fund committees gave in to the blackmail and saved the day, but this episode reminded us - as if we could have forgotten – of what a bunch of dim-witted amateurs we were being governed by. They had been assuring us and the EU that our cash needs were covered, but finally remembered that the state needed €250 million to avoid declaring bankruptcy.

This government just cannot take a decision before we reach the brink of disaster. It followed the same tactic with regard to the bailout. Only when the banking collapse was a few hours away did the comrade agree to the bailout. Without disaster looming he just cannot take a decision.

WE HAVE finally heard the real reason the comrade is not standing for re-election and it has nothing to do with his failure to solve the Cyprob. He is not standing because nobody told him there are elections in February. Incidentally, 61 days left if the elections go to a second round and just 54 if they are decided on the first Sunday.

18

SUNDAY MAIL •

Reportage

Greece’s triangle of A nexus of media, business and politics lies behind the country’s crisis, say critics. Stephen Grey and Dina Kyriakidou report

A priest looks at newspapers for sale in Syntagma Square, Athens

Fair and socially acceptable: PASOK leader Venizelos

N LATE 2011 the Greek finance minister made an impassioned plea for help to rescue his country from financial ruin.

“We need a national collective effort: all of us have to carry the burden together,” announced Evangelos Venizelos, who has since become leader of the socialist party PASOK. “We need something that will be fair and socially acceptable.”

It was meant to be a call to arms; it ended up highlighting a key weakness in Greece’s attempts to reform.

Ve n i z e l o s ’ idea was a new tax on property, levied via electricity bills to make it hard to dodge. The public were furious and the press echoed the outrage, labelling the tax

I

Power: George Bobola

‘haratsi’ after a hated levy the Ottomans once imposed on Greeks. The name stuck and George Papandreou, then prime minister, felt compelled to plead with voters: “Let’s all lose something so that we don’t lose everything.”

But not everyone would lose under the tax. Two months ago an electricity industry insider revealed that some of the biggest businesses in the land, including media groups, were paying less than half the full rate, or not paying the tax at all. Nikos Fotopoulos, a union leader at power company PPC, claimed they had been given exemptions.

“It was a gift to the real bosses, the real owners of the country,” he said. “The r i c h

don’t pay, even at this time.”

This time the media made little fuss. “The news was not covered by the media... because media owners were among those favoured,” Fotopoulos said later. Leading daily newspapers in Athens either did not mention or downplayed his claims, a review by Reuters found.

To many observers the episode illustrates the interplay between politics, big business and powerful media owners.

The interwoven interests of these sectors, though not necessarily illegal or improper, are seen as an obstacle to Greece’s attempts to rescue its economy. They are, say critics, partly to blame for the current crisis and for hindering reform.

But given the international impact of Greece’s crisis, concerns now extend beyond the country. A source from the troika said: “The system is extremely incestuous. The vested interests are resisting reforms needed to make the economy competitive.”

Opposite sides of the Greek political spectrum speak about the subject in colourful terms. “In Greece the real power is with the owners of banks, the members of the corrupt political system and the corrupt mass media. This is the triangle of sin,” said Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, the main opposition.

Panos Kamenos, leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks party, said: “The Greek media is under the control of people who depend on the state. The media control the state and the state controls the media. It’s a picture of mutual blackmail.”

Others are more measured.

Asked about the haratsi tax, Venizelos acknowledged

there were some “blatant cases of paying less tax or none at all”, but blamed this on poor records held by the state-run electricity company. “In no way was there any discrimination in favour of specific property owners,” he said.

Interplay between politicians and the media is common in many European countries, notably in Italy where

To many observers the episode illustrates the interplay between politics, big business and powerful media owners Silvio Berlusconi was both prime minister and head of a media group, and in the UK, where media owners such as Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp, have had contacts with successive prime ministers.

But critics say such connections are particularly significant in Greece because

the state plays a large role in the economy, and because of the way media has developed there.

Private radio stations and TV channels emerged only in the 1980s, after decades of state media control. As businessmen hurried into the fray, regulation was haphazard.

Successive governments let broadcasters operate without proper licences, according to the 2011 EU report on Greek media. This semi-regulated approach led to Greece having a large number of media outlets for its population of 11 million.

In 2009 the country had 39 national daily newspapers, 23 national Sunday papers and 14 national weekly papers, according to an earlier EU study of media. Per capita, Greece has far more national newspaper titles than, say, Germany or the UK. The country also has nine national TV stations, six of them privately owned, and numerous private radio stations.

A 2006 cable from the US Embassy in Athens, obtained

by Wikileaks, noted: “How can all these media outlets operate profitably? They don’t. They are subsidised by their owners who, while they would welcome any income from media sales, use the media primarily to exercise political and economic influence.”

Media owner Ioannis Alafouzos told Reuters that some of the media “are in effect press offices for business groups.”

Alafouzos, whose family owns SKAI TV, Greece’s fifth largest station, and Kathimerini, a leading

newspaper, added: “on developed into a completely unhealthy situation. The purpose of media has been largely to execute specific tasks for their owners.”

One nexus of interwoven interests is MEGA Channel, Greece’s biggest TV station, which is co-owned by businessmen who are leaders in, or have strong connections to, other sectors of the economy.

The biggest collective stake in the TV station is owned by members of the family of George Bobolas. One of his

19 December 23, 2012

power

sons, Fotios, is a director of Teletypos, the channel’s holding company. Another son, Leonidas, is chief executive and a major shareholder of Ellaktor, a construction giant founded by his father that has participated in multi-billion euro contracts with the state. Leonidas has no stake in Teletypos.

The Bobolas family also controls Ethnos, a popular daily and Sunday newspaper, other print media and websites. From the large, grey headquarters of their publishing company in Halandri,

a northern suburb of Athens, the extent of the family interests is evident. Nearby is the Athens ring-road, built by an international consortium that included Ellaktor. Alongside the road is a new railway line to the airport, also built with Bobolas involvement.

George Bobolas said former prime ministers could verify he had never asked for any favours and added: “One could say that Ethnos’ severe judgment on governmental actions and politicians in general, could be considered as obstacle and not help to El-

Triangle of sin: Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, the main opposition

laktor’s corporate interests”.

In a written statement, construction firm Ellaktor said its subsidiaries engage in both private and public contracts, and that it pursues public contracts “by participating exclusively in open international tenders, in accordance with Greek and European legislation.”

Critics of links between media and business also cite the case of a gold mine project in Halkidiki, northern Greece.

The mines were sold by the Greek government in 2003 to a newly-formed Greek mining company. Soon afterwards the construction firm in which the Bobolas family has an interest acquired a stake in it.

Local opponents campaigned vigorously against a licence for the mining project being granted, claiming it would harm the environment. Tolis Papageorgiou, a leading figure in the protest group Hellenic Mining Watch, alleged that newspapers controlled by the Bobolas family failed to report large demonstrations opposing the mine and vilified an environment minister, Tina Birbili, who blocked a licence for it.

“Just days into her new job in 2009 she became the target of media controlled by Bobolas because she refused to issue a licence to the mining company,” Papageorgiou alleged.

Soon after Birbili’s appointment in 2009, newspapers owned by the Bobolas family christened her “Green Tina” and criticised her performance. Reports said she was blocking many kinds of development. The articles did not mention that the newspapers’ owners had a family interest in the mine or the construction trade.

Birbili, who declined to comment for this article, was sacked in June 2011; a licence to operate the mine was subsequently granted. After it was issued, construction firm Ellaktor, according to its annual accounts, booked a profit of €261 million from partly selling off and partly revaluing its stake in a Canadian company that had by that time bought 95 per cent of the mine.

A former aide to the Greek prime minister of the time said Birbili’s sacking was not related to the mine. The

former environment minister who authorised the licence, George Papaconstantinou, said “the decision was made solely on the basis the environmental impact study”, which had been positive about the mine.

In the media, potential conflicts of interest can arise even at low levels. Tucked away inside the headquarters of the Athens union of journalists, ESHEA, is a list of its members who work for the government, for example in press offices; dozens wear a second hat as newspaper journalists at the same time.

The union’s rules ban its members from working for bodies they cover as journalists. In an effort to unmask those breaching that rule,

needed were hired and it was clear it was a perk,” Trimis said.

A spokesman for the ministry said the studio never employed full-time staff and that it closed in 2009.

A journalist, who did not face direct conflicts of interest, was still nicknamed Ms Light-Water-Telephone by fellow journalists because she was said to work both for To Vima newspaper and three public utility companies.

Ioanna Mandrou, who now works for Kathimerini and SKAI TV, confirmed she had worked in the press office of OTE, a state telecoms company, and briefly as a consultant to a state water company.

She said she had not worked for an electricity company.

‘Just days into her new job in 2009 she became the target of media controlled by Bobolas because she refused to issue a licence to the mining company,’ Papageorgiou alleged the union obtained a list of government-employed journalists in 2005. But it was never published.

Some of those named on the list complained; Greek officials judged that publishing the list would violate personal privacy. It was a decision that Dimitris Trimis, the union president, calls a serious defeat.

“There is a triangle of political powers, economic powers and media owners, and nobody can tell who has the upper hand,” he told Reuters, sitting under the dusty portraits of his predecessors. “It starts from the top, between the minister and the publisher, and it trickles down to the press office and the journalist. It’s a pyramid.”

One example, he said, was a TV studio set up in 2007 by the Agriculture Ministry to promote its activities. Although about 50 people, including political journalists, were hired, only a few had anything much to do, he said.

“Many more than would be

“In To Vima I was a reporter covering judicial affairs and that had nothing to do with my work in OTE. And when I say I ‘worked’ for OTE, I literally mean I worked,” she said.

“I can tell you that around 95 per cent of the people employed in similar jobs do nothing.”

She said it was common for politicians to arrange such jobs as favours.

Over wine and kebabs on a cool October evening in 2004, then prime minister Costas Karamanlis declared war on powerful forces in Greek society.

“We will not let five pimps and five vested interests manipulate our political life,” he told conservative lawmakers invited for dinner at Bairaktaris taverna in Athens, according to people present at the meeting. He did not specify who he was referring to.

Karamanlis’ subsequent efforts to restrict access to state contracts by media owners were met with

full-frontal attacks from the press. But in the end, defeat came from the European Commission: in 2005, it said Karamanlis’ plans violated EU competition rules, forcing him to scrap them.

Since then, no significant attempt has been made to tackle the interweaving of interests. Politicians who clash with media owners risk a bad press, according to one senior Greek politician who spoke to Reuters about his experiences when he was a minister in a former government. In one instance, he said, a media owner asked him to help stop a judicial investigation into the media owner’s affairs. And, in another, a newspaper publisher who owed a million euros to a state-owned company contacted him seeking a deal to escape the debt.

“He said ‘I will put an advert for the state-owned company every day in the paper to settle it.’ He expected me to call the company and make a deal.

I refused to intervene,” said the ex-minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said he was subsequently the subject of negative reports in the publisher’s paper.

Even without legislation, the landscape is changing.

By 2013 Greece’s economy will have dwindled by a quarter in five years. Financial pressures have intensified.

Advertising has shrunk and a Reuters study of recentlypublished accounts shows the top 18 Athens-based media companies have declared debts totalling more than €2 billion.

At the same time the international lenders keeping Greece afloat want real reform in exchange for their billions. They are, for example, demanding that trustees appointed by the troika sit on bank boards and have the final say in approving major loans, including those to media organisations.

The newspapers Ethnos and To Vima reacted to that proposal with scathing editorials. “Greece is not a colony,” wrote Stavros Psycharis, who controls the DOL media company in a front page article in To Vima. “I address those who think that what the Third Reich failed to do will now be achieved by Europe’s money peddlers.”

20 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Feature

Dexter Koh made headlines blowing £121,000 on Champagne and is not ashamed of using a website for sugar daddies to find sex. But I’m no sleazy slimeball he tells Jasmine Gardner

I

T WAS A big, big night.

The biggest of the party season so far. Last Wednesday at the Aura nightclub in Mayfair, Cristal champagne corks began to pop competitively and one man was pictured grinning wildly, surrounded by girls, racking up a bill of £121,000.

That man is Dexter Koh, the head of a Shoreditch PR company, with an unexplained life straight out of EL James’ Fifty Shades. He is dubbed the real-life Christian Grey because of his penchant for paying young women for sex through a sugar-daddy dating site. But who is this man? A 30-year-old living the dream? Or a sexual predator abusing his power?

Travelling to London to do this interview, Dexter Koh had an anxiety attack. “I had one coming back on the train. It felt like my chest was tight,” he explains. Koh has just arrived back in London from Liverpool, where he has been in hiding with his grandparents “because of the heat”. “After looking in the papers over the past few days I’ve wanted to go on a cosmetic surgery holiday.”

He’s referring to the pictures in last Thursday’s newspapers. When he posted his £121,000 bar bill on Twitter “the hate started instantly”. People have been telling him, “That I’m a prick. That I could have paid for life changing operations. That I look like an extra out of Lord of the Rings.” This is my cue to feel sorry for Dexter Koh. But on Twitter the word “legend” appears next to his name far more frequently than “prick”.

SENSITIVE Confounding first impressions, he must be very sensitive. “When it’s all the time it gets to you,” he admits in his surprisingly soft-spoken tones. Koh hasn’t had surgery since last week - just a haircut . He also confesses to bringing hair straighteners and concealer along to neaten up for our photographs. Fortunately he is back in London Searcys Champagne Bar at St Pancras station in this case otherwise he might look overdone in his dress shirt , skinny tie and diamanté belt.

“To be honest with you I was a little bit ashamed of what I did,” he says of his big spending. So why do it? “It was kind of a bottle race. There were a lot of arrogant people in the club... It is competitive,” he says, puffing his chest out proudly. “Flaunting your wealth just to show you’re a bigger man is very shallow of course. I do it more for shits and giggles.”

Of course, there was also a girl involved. Earlier that night, Koh had been playing online poker with “some serious hitters. The game was getting up to about £235,000.”

Koh won the pot and called a girl - lingerie model Danielle McMahon. She is one of eight “favourites” in an “extended network” of 15 women – or “sugar babies” as he calls them – that Koh is currently seeing. He met all of them on dating site Seekingarrangement.com, a place where wealthy men find women who accept payment in exchange for their company. “I have to stress that it’s not prostitution in any way,” Koh pro-

of guy that always wears my heart on my sleeve’. I use sales techniques and a bit of neurolinguistic programming.”

It sounds terrifying - and unnecessary when the girls are a salaried sure thing. Of the “in excess of 45” girls he has dated from the website over three years, there were just three with whom he didn’t have sex. Any attempt on their part at faking it won’t wash either. “I can tell a faker from a mile off. When you train girls [in table-dancing clubs] to take guys for thousands for a living you get to know what a faker looks like.”

Koh argues that “it’s more honest” paying for relationships through a website because “I’ve had so many women take me for thousands of pounds and they don’t want to be with me for me”. Perhaps naively, he believes that this is not the case for the women on Seekingarrangement.com “because we talk so much and we get to know each other”, he says.

No expense spared: Dexter Koh and (right) the photo of himself he posted on Twitter after his wild night out at Mayfair’s Aura nightclub

CONNECTION

Young, wealthy and handsome. Why does this man pay for sex? tests, before admitting when I ask him to define “prostitution” that, “it is a bit of a grey area”.

“A lot of these girls need my help. It comes out of the goodness of my heart. Either they’re at university and they need to pay their fees or their parents are sick and they need help with their operations.” McMahon, he says, whom he hasn’t slept with, wants to open a riding school. The fee charged (it could be £3,000 or up to £10,000 a month), how many dinners, “overnight stays” and shopping trips is all pre-arranged. “It’s like a little wealth negotiation game,” says Koh. “I always talk about what they like in the bedroom. That’s all ne-

gotiated in advance.” Subsequently money is never discussed.

Koh won’t reveal his salary, but the average annual earnings of men on the site appears to be £170,000 and he does say that his international property portfolio is worth “in excess of £3.6 million”.

Koh’s father, a pianist in Singapore, and his mother, a ballroom dance teacher, separated when Koh was eight and his mother’s second husband “ran a hostess club with entertainment” in London. Koh grew up in Barnes and attended a private performing arts school before leaving at 16. His money was made first from the sale of the family business and then he worked his way up via a

chain of table-dancing clubs.

Now it’s all about high-stakes poker and property.

“I fell into the business at 17 years old. When you are surrounded by lovely ladies from the age of 17 you’re going to develop a penchant for them... you become a product of your own environment.”

He says of his mother, “She brought me into the world through the gentleman’s club so she is partly to blame for the problem.” He now also runs a PR agency in Shoreditch called Earthhorse, which trades in paparazzi pictures and represents various reality TV clients, called, shudderingly, Earthhorse girls.

I ask what he would say if in the future he has a daughter who was using the site. He

sucks on his glass of water. “If my daughter was in trouble and needed to do something to help herself, or even pay for a life-saving operation for me, as long as he [the sugar daddy] wasn’t completely horrible about it...” He tails off as he realises he is saying that he wouldn’t mind a daughter of his being paid for companionship or sex - provided it was to save his life.

Not surprisingly, Koh is an audacious flirt. Several times he tries - “I need someone like you.” He even demonstrates one of his gambits. “These are my favourite dating cufflinks,” he says, unleashing his “Titanic Hearts” by pressing his elbows into the table.

“When I’m building rapport with a girl I say, ‘I’m the kind

“I’m not some sort of sleazy slimeball who is going to make them do nasty things.

I make sure that we have a connection... Whether they fall in love with me or not, that’s up to them.”

It sounds to me as if he is lonely, but he protests.

“There’s genuinely no time for loneliness... Every week I’m seeing someone from the site.” He claims to remain in touch with most of the girls he meets, which leaves him with a plethora of female companions but “I have no male friends,” he says.

But a connection is, after all, what Koh seeks. Despite having praised the contractual agreement he suddenly declares that “I know people think I went out there and bought that champagne with my winnings to buy fake friends. In reality I did it because that girl Danielle whispered in my ear and said, ‘I’ve had such a good night. Don’t make the transfer. Don’t pay me’. I felt happy and something just snapped in my brain and I thought ‘Bugger it, let’s really have a good time’.”

With that remark, Dexter Koh has switched modes.

“Maybe it shouldn’t be called Seekingarrangement.com, maybe it should be called Seekingfulfilment. com,” he says. “Next year is going to be a good year for me. I’m very superstitious.

More women who I meet on the site are going to not want the money.” Or, Dexter, you could simply try another site.

21 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Business & Jobs CySEC Changes to the UK’s pensions approves licence for and tax: will they affect you?

ForexTime We are unlikely to have seen the NEW Forex broker ForexTime Ltd (FXTM) has been awarded a CIF licence by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and will soon launch its operations.

Upon activation of the CIF licence, the company will be officially open for business early in 2013, offering trading and other investment services in Forex, commodities, precious metals, shares, indices and other financial instruments. There will be further announcements to come when the website is launched and once the company is ready to take on clients and there will be announcements made each time a new product is released, it said.

The company was created by Andrey Dashin, founder of the Alpari brand who has more than 14 years experience in international finance.

“The new company is great news for Cyprus as it comes with a multi-million euro investment that is expected to bring a number of economic benefits to the island in a difficult economic climate, including new job openings and a substantial income from corporate tax,” said an announcement from the company.

Dashin said: “It is my ambition for ForexTime to be a game-changer. I know that ForexTime is going to change the industry for the better as my team and I possess the combined experience and commitment needed to elevate the industry to another level”.

“With the current global crisis having created a unique set of conditions in the Forex market, ForexTime represents an adaptation to an evolving market by fulfilling investors’ and traders’ new demands and expectations”.

end of tax rises, and this applies to many European countries THE UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered his Autumn Statement (‘mini budget’) on 5th December. The draft Finance Bill for 2013 was then published on 11th December.

TAX RATES AND ALLOWANCES UK personal allowances are increasing to a higher level than expected (£9,440 instead of £9,205). However, the top of the basic rate band is being reduced to £32,010 from £34,370, which will offset the increase for higher rate taxpayers.

The higher rate band threshold will only increase by 1% in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, instead of by inflation.

Since inflation is expected to exceed 1% this means that more people will fall into the higher rate band and have higher tax bills.

While the capital gains tax rates will remain at 18% for gains falling within the basic rate band and 28% for higher rate bands, the actual annual tax free exemption will only increase by 1% for 2014/2015 and 2015/2016.

The inheritance tax threshold has been frozen at £325,000 since 2009. It is now scheduled to increase in 2015/16, but again only by 1% (rounded up to £329,000) instead of by the rate of inflation as in the past.

RESIDENCE TEST The government confirmed that the new Statutory Resi-

Bill Blevins Bill Blevins is Financial Correspondent at Blevins Franks International

dence Test, which will determine whether you are liable for income and capital gains tax in the UK or not, will come into effect on 6th April 2013.

This is welcome news for expatriates as it provides more certainty, but you still need to take advice to ensure you have your tax position right.

PENSIONS From April 2014, the lifetime allowance will drop from £1.5 million to £1.25 million. Transitional protection – “Fixed Protection 2014” - will be introduced for those already in excess of this amount or who believe they will be when they choose to take benefits, subject to certain conditions.

If you think you may be affected by this lower allowance speak to a wealth management firm like Blevins Franks which specialises in providing pension, investment and tax planning advice to British expatriates The capped drawdown limit will increase from 100% to 120% of the value of an equivalent annuity. Draft legislation will be published in January 2013.

This includes funds held in a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS).

While this will bring some measure of relief to retirees in need of a higher income, you need to be aware that taking a higher income

Investment

Protect your wealth, wherever you live stream will increase pressure on the underlying investments and in turn increasing the risk of reducing the underlying funds along with future income levels.

You should seek advice on your situation before increasing your income.

The annual £50,000 allowance is set to drop to £40,000

from April 2014. This includes both personal and employer contributions.

Careful planning is required so as not to incur charges.

QROPS UK pension transfers made to a QROPS will be reportable indefinitely (as

opposed to 10 years), although still not subject to unauthorised payment charges once the member is outside of the five year non UK residency period.

We will not know the effective date until next year, but it could be either be 6th April 2013 or backdated to 11th December 2012.

QROPS providers will have to re-certify to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) every five years that they still satisfy the QROPS regulations. We are unlikely to have seen the end of tax rises, and this applies to many European countries, not just to the UK. For peace of mind that you are protecting your wealth from tax as much as possible, wherever you live, speak to an established tax planning and wealth management firm like Blevins Franks which specialises in providing expert tax advice to British expatriates.

The tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual must take personalised advice.

To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com

22 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Business & Jobs

Plan B: should we not consider that the ‘rainy day’ has arrived?

Gold reserves could be used as collateral AST WEEK it became clear that the Cyprus government did not have a Plan A for raising funds to pay for its immediate obligations, and definitely did not have a Plan B either. Essentially we are talking about a very difficult situation that is caused by the down grading of sovereign Cyprus bonds over the past three years to “non – investment grade” in 2012, which means that Cyprus cannot go to the market for funds.

As a consequence the Cyprus government was not able to seek funds in international markets, or perhaps more accurately, was unable to seek funds at reasonable rates. This situation was originally handled by means of a Russian loan in 2011 for €2.5 billion to be repaid over four and a half years at 4.5% interest. Additional funds have since then been provided

by Cyprus-based banks.

What has made things more difficult in recent months is the troika (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) arrangements for the Greek bail out, which resulted in a “haircut” in April 2013, which brought about heavy losses for Greek bond holders. This caused a great loss at Laiki Bank, which was holding substantial Greek Bonds, and a more moderate loss at Bank of Cyprus.

The losses at Laiki depleted its own capital base, and consequently the government nationalised it and took control. Thereby, through guarantees and bond issues the need for funding by the government increased.

As a result the government options for obtaining funding were becoming exhausted, and last week it sought financing of €240 million in exchange for sovereign bonds from the huge Pension Funds of the employees of both the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, and the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, and the reserves of the Cyprus Ports Authority.

After some resistance by the CyTA trade unions, and a meeting before the Finance Committee of the House of Representations, the EAC employees agreed to loan the state €100

L

Comment Costas Apostolides million, and CyTA and the CPA chipped in to provide the funds required.

Under normal conditions, pension funds would be quite happy to take in government bonds, though such funds need to diversify their investment portfolios. It is necessary, as we have seen, with the state social insurance fund to have a balanced portfolio, for even governments may not be able to meet all their commitment all the time. Nevertheless, agreement was reached.

What was surprising, however, was that the government did not have a proper Plan A or a fallback Plan B for dealing with the situation.

Yet the government holds valuable assets, the most important of which are gold said to be worth €600 million, which is under the control of the Central Bank of Cyprus, the state corporations (CyTA, EAC, CPA, the Housing Finance Agency and others), and lots of valuable land. All of which are valued at several billion euro.

These could be used as collateral for bonds to be issued, thereby allowing the government to finance its operations for some months.

In fact the troika was right to suggest privatisation of CyTA and the state corporations in order to reduce the financial support required

by Cyprus, but the government and the trade unions resisted.

A phased privatisation would enable their true value to be received over the medium terms, and help Cyprus to get out of its present difficulties more easily. But dogma and union self-interest defeated the proposal.

With respect to the gold reserves, there is also resistance, in part because they are seen

Gold reserves, under the control of the Central Bank are said to be worth €600 million, as savings for a “rainy day”. Given that Cyprus is caught in a crisis of such dimensions, they should be used in order to provide collateral, not for sale. After all how much rain needs to fall before you can make use of such reserves.

The gold reserves could be used as collateral, and would only be sold-off if the government had no other option. But lenders would be guaranteed their money.

The precondition for Plan B to succeed would be that the government budget must be balanced within 2013, so that no more ad-

ditional lending is necessary other than that agreed with the troika. Assuming that occurs and the support for the banks is provided, then the situation should improve, and maybe the authorities can concentrate on growth and the reduction of unemployment. All of which should bring about the much needed upgrading of Cyprus sovereign debt.

Costas Apostolides is Chairman of EMS Economic Management Ltd (costas.a@highwaycommunications.com)

Dirty money costs developing world $6 trillion, led by China

By Stella Dawson CRIME, corruption and tax evasion have cost the developing world nearly $6 trillion over the past decade, and illicit funds keep growing, led by China, a financial watchdog group said in a new report.

China accounted for almost half of the $858.8 billion in dirty money that flowed into tax havens and Western banks in 2010, more than eight times the amounts for runner-ups Malaysia and Mexico. Total illicit outflows

Currencies USD GBP CHF JPY AUD CAD SEK

21-Dec-2012

1,3151 0,8094 1,1996 110,26 1,2473 1,2906 8,5077

1,3256 0,8159 1,2140 111,59 1,2789 1,3233 8,7231

increased by 11 per cent from the prior year, Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based group that campaigns for financial accountability, said in its latest report released on Monday.

“Astronomical sums of dirty money continue to flow out of the developing world and into offshore tax havens and developed country banks,” said Raymond Baker, director of GFI. “Developing countries are haemorrhaging more and more money at a time when rich and poor nations alike are struggling to spur economic growth. This report should be

14-Dec-2012

1,3054 0,8095 1,2039 109,37 1,2292 1,2749 8,6370

1,3132 0,8144 1,2135 110,24 1,2538 1,3004 8,8097

a wake-up call to world leaders that more must be done to address these harmful outflows,” he said.

All the countries in the top 10, which this year saw India, Nigeria, the Philippines and Nigeria join the ranks, face significant problems with corruption, and in most there are vast gaps between rich and poor citizens as well as internal security problems.

Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies increasingly are focusing on ways to crack down on money laundering, bank secrecy and tax loopholes to prevent funds stolen

07-Dec-2012

1,2919 0,8048 1,2037 106,29 1,2244 1,2718 8,5189

1,2997 0,8096 1,2133 107,14 1,2489 1,2972 8,6893

1wk 1mth 2mth 3mth 6mth 1yr

from public coffers or earned through criminal activity from depleting the budgets of developing countries.

The sums are so huge that for every dollar in foreign direct aid, $10 leaves developing countries.

China lost $420.4 billion in 2010 and over the decade lost a total of $2.74 trillion. And its losses are steadily rising. In an October report, GFI said another $602 billion in illicit flows left China in 2011 for a total of $3.79 trillion between 2000-11.

However, the numbers in the latest report are not directly comparable with earlier data because GFI has

USD 0,19 0,21 0,25 0,31 0,51 0,84

EUR 0,02 0,05 0,09 0,12 0,22 0,44

GBP 0,49 0,49 0,51 0,52 0,67 1,01

CHF -0,01 -0,01 0,00 0,01 0,07 0,25

updated its methodology, making the estimates somewhat more conservative. It measures illicit flows by calculating the difference between fund inflows from loans and net foreign direct investment, and the outflows from a country to pay for trade, cash transfers and other earnings.

Aware of the destabilising impact of corrupt money, Chinese leaders are embarking on a crackdown.“Our report continues to demonstrate that the Chinese economy is a ticking time bomb,” said Dev Kar, GFI’s lead economist, who compiled the report.

JPY 0,10 0,13 0,15 0,18 0,29 0,49

LIBOR RATES (London Interbank Borrowing Rates) AS AT 24/12/2012

CAD 1,00 1,05 1,15 1,24 1,52 1,95

AUD 3,02 3,14 3,19 3,24 3,37 3,69

23 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Property France overtook Spain, Italy continued to enchant in a bumpy 2012, reports Cathy Hawker

National debt is not always bad news T

HE PAST year has seen continued mixed fortunes in the overseas homes market. Top-end international buyers kept prime markets relatively buoyant from the Swiss Alps to the Côte d’Azur and there was also cause for some optimism at the opposite end of the scale: Taylor Wimpey reports sales up 74 per cent this year along the Costa del Sol, with prices from less than €150,000.

Yet many of Europe’s traditionally best-loved secondhome locations, in France, Italy and Spain, were forced to slash prices by as much as 50 per cent below their 2007 peaks. So where do these markets stand as the year ends?

France: the favourite France overtook Spain as the favourite country to visit in 2012 but a new president did little to encourage second home buyers to enter the marketplace this autumn.

François Hollande’s “will-Iwon’t-I” dance around the issue of increasing property and personal taxes meant buyers became justifiably cautious.

Interest focused on two prime areas: the south of France and the Alps. In 2011, Paris property prices outperformed those in London, rising 22 per cent. But while wealthy buyers from South America and Asia continued to invest in Paris this year, the market was noticeably quieter.

On the evergreen coast of southern France, buyers looked for value west of St Tropez in the pine treecovered Var, where it is still possible to find a substan-

tial house with sea views for about €985,000, or apartments beside the beach for €550,000.

Var specialist Sheeran Sheere reports fewer sales but a substantially higher average sales price than last year.

France remains a favourite skiing destination, too, but where once it was all about altitude and slope-side access, buyers are now more concerned with rental potential and year-round appeal.

Leggett Immobilier reports a 300 per cent increase in Alpine home buyers this year, typically spending €400,000 to €800,000 for a mix of lifestyle choice and long-term investment potential. Look at the low-level and low-lying villages of the Portes du Soleil on the French-Swiss border - Châtel and Les Gets - where lifts provide skiing up to 7,800 feet and there is a thriving summer season based around cycling and hiking.

Year round appeal: Les Gets, in the French Alps. Below (left to right): Palazzo Molin del Cuoridoro in San Marco, Venice; an 18th-century stone farmhouse in the Var department, the south of France; flats at The White Angel development in Ibiza

Italy: for lifestyle Italy’s supreme quality of life drives buyers there despite its economic troubles but this year it was the cities that took centre stage. Smaller homes close to international airports and with manageable running costs can rent well and provide owners with a weekend bolt hole.

In Venice, where 30 weeks’ annual rent is possible, Palazzo Molin del Cuoridoro in San Marco is a 15th-century gothic palace being converted into 18 apartments. Muted interiors, strong architectural integrity and a canal-front location with communal courtyard gardens make this an exciting and very rare project in the city of water. Prices

start from €735,000 for one to four bedrooms. The renaissance cities of Tuscany provide some lush options, too.

In Florence, Knight Frank reports strong sales above £2.5 million while in Lucca, 30 minutes from Pisa airport, prices have fallen by up to 25 per cent making a lock-andleave apartment in this quietly prosperous walled city alluring. Two-bedroom apartments in the centre start from €250,000, with countryside homes beyond the rampart

walls from £350,000.

The pain in Spain Headlines from Spain became increasingly desperate throughout 2012, with youth unemployment over 50 per cent, rocketing national debt and, according to credit rating agency Fitch, more than a million unsold properties lying empty.

Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index showed prices continued to tum-

ble, down 7.3 per cent year on year. However, in a country more than twice the size of the UK but with half its population, you can still find pockets of resilience. Taylor Wimpey sold out six new developments priced from €140,000 on the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca and Mallorca.

Tax concessions by the Spanish government to stimulate the market - lowering VAT to four per cent and reductions on capital gains tax - certainly helped, but wise buyers knew

it was still all about value for money and locations, says Marc Pritchard, of Taylor Wimpey.

On Ibiza, Savills had success with resale villas of €1.25 million-plus and welllocated and well-priced new developments. More than half of the 67 off-plan homes at The White Angel scheme have sold since August. The two- and three-bedroom contemporary apartments, in Ibiza Town, are priced from €350,000.

Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Arizona home will be preserved

By David Schwartz A PHOENIX home designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright for his son and daughter-in-law was purchased by anonymous benefactors on Thursday, sparing the distinctive residence from possible demolition.

The David and Gladys Wright House, which features a circular spiral layout reminiscent of Wright’s iconic Guggenheim Museum, was purchased for $2.38 million, listing agent Robert Joffe said.

The Chicago-based Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy said it had facilitated the purchase of the home by the anonymous buyers, who would in turn transfer the property to a not-for-prof-

it organisation for restoration and maintenance.

The conservancy said plans for restoration were already under way and that donations would be sought from the public to continue that work.

The new owners were also seeking historic landmark designation for the home from the city of Phoenix.

The home was completed in 1952 and Wright’s son, David, lived there with his wife Gladys until his death in 1997.

It was purchased from the family in 2009 and sold three years later to a local development company, 8081 Meridian, which had initially planned to demolish it and build new homes on the site.

Phoenix-area real estate agent Bob Hassett, who represented the buyers, said

his clients wanted to remain anonymous and purchased the home in order to see it preserved.

“They just absolutely love Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and always admired (the home) and cared about its historic value,” Hassett said.

The conservancy has gathered more than 28,000 signatures on a petition urging the city to give the home landmark status. Local agencies have approved that designation but it still awaits final approval by the city council.

Wisconsin-born Frank Lloyd Wright, designed more than 1,100 structures, nearly half of which were completed, according to the conservancy.

Considered one of the most important architects of the 20th Century, he died in 1959.

Spiral layout: the Arizona home

24 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Property Titles, titles, titles: an ongoing problem on the island

LEGAL ISSUES WITH GEORGE COUCOUNIS

Transfer of property pending a recourse

Should we care?

The urgent issues in real estate facing new government

By Antonis Loizou FRICS ONE WONDERS sometimes whether we should bother with the problems that Cyprus is facing. As we say in Greek, ‘it is like throwing eggs at the wall’. This is primarily relevant to the existing government, but also to opposing parties. In a recent article we asked ourselves “who loves Cyprus”.

Our answer is, not a single politician, who all use situations to help them with their own targets. There appears to be little knowledge of the various subjects discussed, a lot of shouting and aggravation takes place at the House committees’ debates and on a number of occasions without reasoning and rationale decisions are taken.

With reference to outstanding matters regarding real estate, we wish to remind all those who are interested in Cyprus’ wellbeing to remember the following outstanding issues: Title Deeds The much publicised Building Amnesty which would have helped the issue of the deeds ran into trouble. Both due to the retention of the original archaic system and also because it had adopted the prevailing boom prices of the year 2008 (for compensation purposes). We suggested a sharp reduction of the compensation rates by at least two thirds and the adoption of a simple procedure for the title issue, a sort of a certificate issued by the supervising architect on whose particulars the titles could have been issued. Let’s call these temporary ti-

tles (but titles they will be) until the proper titles are issued.

Property Taxes What a time to increase property taxes indeed. With 40,000 people out of work, income reductions by all and difficulties to make ends meet, is it the time for this? What is this 12% for high value properties and the increase of the 1.1.80 values by three times? Where will the people find the money to pay such a sudden increase and at this point of time?

Municipal Taxes A crazy idea not to allow transfers unless all the property units in a single project are paid. So it is better to collect nothing (including transfer fees) rather than some? Who on earth thought about this?

Memos/VAT/Income Tax A new approach now is for the several government departments to place a memo on anything due by developers/ owners. So if a developer is in the wrong for something, all buyers are blocked.

How does this make any sense? Leave the buyers alone and chase the developer with whatever he has and not damage the innocent parties/ buyers.

Common Expenses A stupid law which does not work, with the end result the creation of problems, the running down of the buildings, non collection of common expenses and with no one knowing if this law actually exists!

Deed Registration An inheritance of a procedure in place since the 1950s is still with us. A simple procedure is required, undertaken by specialised private firms. The period of waiting, now

WHAT YOU GET FOR

two years (once the various papers are deposited at the Lands Office), will be cut down to three to five months.

The development of a single house No explanations are yet to be given regarding the development in agricultural areas of single housing, leaving thousands of people wondering.

Minimum sizes for residences No reason on the fixing of the sizes regarding residential units. Still nothing, artificially high housing costs, waste of governmental land, unaffordable houses and loads of handouts borne by taxpayers.

These and others are some of the problems that the new government will have to handle. Will the new government be better do you think? We doubt it seeing the various parties MPs’ behaviour, but at least it will not be the same government. In Greece there is a law regarding the responsibility of ministers, something which could have been most suitable for our own country. At the same time, in a recent case in Italy, some civil servants were sentenced for seven tears jail term, because they did not predict the level/rating of an earthquake – lovely and this is what we need in Cyprus to address the narrow mindedness of our government, civil servants and by putting them away at least, they will do less harm!!

Antonis Loizou & Associates Ltd – Property Valuers & Property Consultants, www.aloizou.com.cy, ala-HQ@ aloizou.com.cy

A RECOURSE against an act or a decision of an administrative body by an affected citizen requires him to have a legitimate interest not only at the time of such an act or decision but also at the time the recourse is filed. Moreover, the applicant must have the same legitimate interest during the time the recourse will be decided. If for any reason the applicant loses his interest, this will be a valid reason for his recourse to be dismissed.

Such an issue can be raised when an owner of a property decides to sell or donate it after having filed a recourse before the Supreme Court against an administrative act, such as a decision of a local authority, the Town Planning and Housing Department or in case of compulsory acquisition. The alienation of the immovable property before the recourse is completed terminates the relation between the owner and the property causing the loss of his legitimate interest and consequently his recourse will be dismissed.

While the recourse is pending, the property must remain registered in the name of the applicant and should not be transferred.

The issue has been examined and ruled on by the Supreme court in various instances, including a judgment recently whereby the recourse was dismissed due to the transfer of the property to another person without the court proceeding further to examine the reasons of the recourse.

The leading case was about an applicant whose property was affected by street planning and appealed before the Supreme Court. While the recourse was pending, the applicant donated the affected property to her children, something which came to the knowledge of the local authority. This was mentioned to the court and an objection was submitted that the applicant lost her legitimate interest. The court examined the objection and stated that for a recourse to be legally exercised the applicant must have an immediate, existing and present legitimate interest. Its existence creates

the jurisdiction of the court, while if it does not exist, the court is deprived of its power to examine the recourse. The applicant has the burden to prove that there is legitimate interest and that he has suffered damage due to the administrative act or decision.

Thus, there must be an existing relation between the applicant and the sub judice decision and the interest is not equivalent to a right.

The court decided the legitimate interest implies the existence of a special relation between the applicant and the administrative act, which must be ascertained at the time of the act, of the filing of the recourse and during its trial. If the applicant loses his capacity as an owner, he also loses his legitimate interest and there is no point in examining the recourse.

The interest of the owner derives from his ownership in the affected property and any transfer terminates the relation between him and his property. The fact the property is transferred to a relative does not change the consequences, since the legitimate interest is not transferable. As long as the property is transferred, the legitimate interest ceases to exist. Even the transfer of the property to a family company where the owner is a shareholder changes the status of the applicant and he loses his interest. He is no longer an owner and the other person, even a relative or a family company, is considered another owner who acquired the property later and has no right to the recourse.

The time for the recourse is limited to 75 days from the time the administrative act or decision was communicated to the affected person. Therefore, the change of ownership taking place later, after the time limit passes, does not qualify the new owner to carry on with the recourse or to file a new one.

George Coucounis is a lawyer specialising in the Immovable Property Law, based in Larnaca, Tel: 24 818288, coucounis.law@cytanet.com.

€99,000

How much: €99,000 What you get: This three-bedroom, three-storey semidetached town house in a quiet area on the outskirts of the village of Oroklini, Larnaca is part of a complex consisting of four town houses and six apartments.

From: www.bestcyprusproperties.com, Tel: 80007474

How much: €99,000 What you get: This five-year-old one-bedroom flat is fully furnished, with air-con and electrical equipment, parking and storage. It is located on Kato Polemidia and has easy access to main roads and all amenities.

From: www.propertyincyprus.com Tel: 7000 3211

How much: €99,000 What you get: This luxury, ground floor, two-bedroom flat on the outskirts of Paralimni has a generously sized veranda. The dining room and lounge are spacious and open plan. The apartment has 2 double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes.

From: www.buysellcyprus.com Tel: 80000222

25 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

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Build-up of soot can cause respiratory problems and fires. All areas, call Dave, a professional sweep, now on 99819137. Also available for weddings. www.paphosluckychimneysweep.com ***************************** DO YOU WANT A SHINY LOOKING FLOOR? Full repair & restoration of chipped, scratched, dull and stained, Marble, Terrazzo, Stone & Ceramic tiled floors and surfaces.

Professional cleaning, repair & sealing of internal/external ceramic tiles & grout lines. For a free professional consultation & demonstration contact Mark at Premier on 70006766 or 96333961 All areas K.D.FLYSCREENS LTD We manufacture top quality sliding screens, opening doors and roller systems. We also do repairs. For a FREE QUOTE please contact Phone: 99119582 Website: www.kdflyscreens.com WE UNDERTAKE REFURBISHING of houses or holiday homes, construction of pergolas, undertaking of plumbing, house painting, garden work.

For information call JIMMYS: 96587137, MELIS: 96547879

FOR SALE MISCELLANEOUS CLOTHES STOCKS AND SHOP FITTINGS FOR SALE. Excellent women’s brands for sale including Italian, Spanish and French clothes and shoes. Also women’s dummies and modern wall fittings (clothes rails.) Selling at very low prices for clearance. Tel: 99-168943

TO LET BUSINESS/ PROPERTY/LAND BUSINESS FOR RENT on Ap-

Paphos - tel: 26 911383 fax: 26221049 ostolou Pavlou avenue, Paphos, prime location, large area, can be used for office or any business, no goodwill, excellent price: €750 o.n.o. Tel: 99654122

FOR SALE BUSINESS/ PROPERTY/LAND FOR SALE 721SQ.M. PLOT AT A PRIVILEGED LOCATION IN STROVOLOS AREA. THE PLOT IS ON A PARALLEL OF IOSIF HADJIOSIF AVE. & LAODIKIAS, BETWEEN THE TRAFFIC LIGHTS OF K. THEODOROU AND STAVROU AVE. AND IS CLOSE TO A BUS STOP. TEL: 99321785, 22421785 TIMI, PLOTS, a few selected available, seaview, near the 2 golf courses, Venus rock and airport. 60% Building factor, eu 99,000. Half registration fees till the 31.12.12. Tel. 99 621914 ***************************** LARNACA, Alethriko, plots for sale, 525 sqm, 90% building factor, near highway Limassol-Larnaca, 5 min from airport, quiet residential area, eu 109,000. Half registration fees till the 31.12.12. Tel. 99 621914 ***************************** PRIME LAND IS AVAILABLE FOR LONG LEASE IN LIMASSOL. 40, 000 sq.m., zoning Ka7 (80% -45% - 3 stories). Regular amphitheatrical shape overlooking Ladies Mile. Close to New Limassol Hospital with direct access to Limassol – Paphos Highway.

Water supply, electricity and telephones are readily available. Suitable for immediate development. Ideal for various health facilities and resorts, holiday centres, commercial and shopping centres, entertainment enterprises etc.

Information: Tel. 22 674338, 99621554 FOR SALE LAND in Anthoupoli (half plot) 288 sq.metres. for information 99621554.

WANTED TO RENT FLAT OR HOUSE TO RENT, 2-3 bedrooms, veranda/terrace or garden, prefer furnished, SW of Nicosia (in approx area Lakadamia to Kapedes and Kalo Chorio) alan.tye@birdlifecyprus.org.cy, 22455072, 99089083.

FOR SALE MOTOR VEHICLES ***************************** FORD FOCUS GHIA (2006) diesel, 1600cc, 98000km,

Larnaca - tel: 24 652243 fax: 24 659982

classified contents Employment Opportunities pg -Employment Miscellaneous 25 Pets 25 Lessons 25 Health & Fitness 25 Personal 25 Services 25 For Sale Miscellaneous 25 For Sale Land/ Property Business 25 For Sale Motor vehicles 25 Wanted -To Let Nicosia 26 To Let Limassol 27 To Let Larnaca 27 To Let Paphos 27 To Let Protaras, Ayia Napa, Paralimni -For Sale Nicosia 29 For Sale Limassol -For Sale Larnaca -For Sale Paphos 29 For Sale Ayia Napa -For Sale Famagusta Protaras 29 For Sale Athens -Property& Home Services display ads --

abbreviations bdrm c/h a/c s/pool f/f apt pm pw sw nw st rd p/s c/l swb r/cass e/w

bedroom central heating air conditioning swimming pool fully furnished apartment per month per week south west north west street road power steering central locking short wheel base radio cassette electric windows

Please note tel nos. that begin with: 22 = Nicosia 23 = Paralimni/Protaras 24 = Larnaca 25 = Limassol 26 = Paphos

26 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Advertiser FOR SALE MOTOR VECHICLES blue, automatic - tiptronic. dual zone climate control, power steering, electric windows, 6 airbags, central locking, cruise control, computer board, alloy wheels, and many extras. €7500 ono. Contact: 99022779 - Nicosia *****************************

PROPERTY TO LET NICOSIA ***************************** LUXURY ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT on third floor with view of the Presidential Palace, spacious living room and fully equipped kitchen, a/c, storage heaters and covered private parking. €450 ( common expenses inclusive).

Call 99300020. ***************************** FLATS TO LET - Nicosia: A wide selection of furnished & unfurnished in all areas of Nicosia. NIKARIA ESTATE LTD Theo Loizides 22761616 / 99660050 nikaria@cablenet. com.cy ***************************** FOR RENT spacious modern 5 Bedr house, next to Metro Supermarket, Strovolos, Nicosia. Furnished, 3 Restrooms, air-conditioning throughout, central heating, extra office room, amble storage spaces, covered garage, verandas with pergola, garden, barbecue area, quiet street in a qul de sac. Call 99606856. ***************************** TO LET 3 bedroom house situated on a dead end street next to a small quiet park near Falcon School. Has an En-suite master room, large study room, central heating, a/c and fire place in the living room. For enquiries tel

TO LET NICOSIA 99660758 ***************************** LUXURIOUS APARTMENT FOR RENT A luxurious one floor apartment situated in central Nicosia in an area of exceptional Beauty at 3 Museum Street, is available to let. It has been recently renovated and consists of four bedrooms, two bathrooms, big dining and sitting rooms, kitchen and a huge veranda. Approximate covered area 250 sqm. Monthly rent €1400.00 o.n.o. Tel: 99622370. www.parcon.com. cy ***************************** MODERN 2 BDRM, first floor flat in attractive building in Anthoupolis, very quiet area between the Grammar School and the European University, also very convenient for Pascal and Highgate Schools and the University of Nicosia. Large front veranda, all appliances, modern fittings, light and bright. Furnished or unfurnished €550p.m. Call 99900177. ***************************** 2 ROOMS €125 each, near McDonald’s Engomi only Philippine girls. Call 99663927. ***************************** FOR RENT 3 B/R apartment fully furnished close to Central Bank. 3 W.C., fully airconditioned extra storeroom, owned covered parking. Excellent condition. Information: Tel. 99621554 ***************************** 3 BEDROOMS flat on second floor in a block of six flats, in a nice position at Strovolos area, fully a/c, c/h, covered parking place for one car, recently painted. Rent €650pm. (furnished if required). Tel: 97773358. ***************************** LUXURY HOUSES:

1. 5 bedrs detached house, 550sq.m, built in 2 big plots of

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

land, big garden with grass, big swimming pool with extra fence for children and big covered patio with bbq area, big reception areas with marble floor, fire place and bar, big kitchen with all electrical appliances and sitting room with fire place, maid’s room, floor heating, full a/c, blinds on the windows, master bedroom with en suite bathroom and shower, big bathroom for the other 3 bedrooms and extra shower in the 5th bedroom - Strovolos €2500 (H5ST10001-R), (photos in the website).

2. H3AR0004-R, 3 bedr luxury detached house with central heating, full a/c, 3wc, 2 bathrooms, parquet floor throughout the house, big sitting and dining area, big kitchen with family room opening onto the swimming pool which has big covered area with wooden deck, bbq area, covered parking, in a very quiet area behind Apoel football training ground - Archagelos - €1700 (photos in website).

3. 2 bedr fully renovated semi detached house 120 sq. m, a/c for hot and cold, small yard, FULLY FURNSIHED or not, double glazed windows with aluminum shutters, in a quiet area off Nikis behind Burger King - ACROPOLIS €650 (H2ACS0001-R), (photos in the website).

4. 3 bedr luxury semi-detached house with character, 200sq.m, central heating, full ac, sitting and dining room with fire place, big kitchen with cooker and oven, dishwasher and refrigerator, nice mature garden with flowers, trees and small garden with grass, covered parking, 3wc, 2 bathrooms in a quiet neighborhood. Available middle of January. Agios Andreas €1200 - H3AAD0001-R (photos in website).

5. 4 bedr new luxury detached

house, separate maid’s room, central heating, full Ac, 260sq.m, big kitchen with all the electrical appliances, blinds on all the windows, 4wc, 2 showers, 1 bathroom, 2 covered parking, big garden with grass in a quiet neighbourhood in a dead end near French Ambassador house - Strovolos €1400 (H4ST10045-R), (photos in the website).

6. 3 bedr+big attic room with shower and wc luxury new house, 210sq.m, central heating, full a/c, 4wc, blinds on all windows, cooker and oven in the kitchen, small garden, covered parking near Alpha Mega supermarket - STROVOLOS €1200 (H4ST10007-R), (photos in the website).

7. 3 bedr detached ground floor house with separate maid’s room, with very big garden with grass(200sq.m) and covered patio with bbq and bar, central heating, full a/c, 180sq.m, FULLY FURNISHED or NOT, 2 covered parking, storage room, in a very quiet neighborhood opposite Acropolis park - Acropolis - €1200 - H3ACS0004-R (photos in website).

8. H4LAK0002-R, 3 bedr + office space luxury detached house, built on a big plot, 350sq. m, big swimming pool with cover, garden with grass, big sitting and dining room, separate family room, central heating, a/c, curtains on all the windows, cooker, dishwasher and dryer, parquet floor throughout the house,3wc, 2

bathrooms, 2 covered parking in a quiet area on the borders of Strovolos with Lakatamia Lakatamia- €1600 (photos in website).

9. 3 bedr upstairs and 2 separate bedroom in the basement luxury detached house(all the bedrooms with en suite bathrooms/shower), also separate kitchen and sitting room in the basement which has also separate entrance from the house, central heating, full a/c, solid parquet floor all the house, big sitting and dining room with fire place, big fully equipped kitchen with breakfast area and family room, big overfloor, swimming pool with covered patio area with fully equipped bar(bbq, fridge, freezer, cooker), mature garden around the house, 2 parking places, alarm system near the Cyprus Conference Centre- PLATY AGLANTZIAS €3500 (H5PAG0002-R), (photos in the website).

10. 4 bedr semi detached house with central heating, 4 a/c, 3 wc, 2 bathrooms, 180sq.m, electrical appliances, small yard, bbq area, off Kostantinoupoleos street near French ambassador residence.- STROVOLOS €700 (H4ST10043-R), (photos in the website).

11. 4 bedr luxury semi detached house with good size garden with grass, big covered patio with bbq area, central heating, a/c units, 3wc, 2 bathrooms, 2 covered parking, FULLY FURNISHED AND EQUIPPED, in a quiet area in a dead end close to all amenities and

schools. - ANTHOUPOLIS €1300 (H4ANT0002-R), (photos in the website).

12. H4AGZ0010-R, 3 bedr RENOVATED GROUND FLOOR HOUSE with big separate 1 bedroom flat with multi room, big sitting and dining room , separate tv room, big kitchen with family room and fitted cooker and oven, 3wc, 2 bathrooms, very big 5 X 6 bedrooms with solid parquet floor, central heating with petrol independent, a/c units, double glazed windows with shutters, big verandas around the house, in a very quiet neighbourhood 200metres from FRENCH school and near Athalassas park Aglantzia - €1300 (photos in website).

13. 3 bedr ground floor house with big separate 80sq,m room with shower and wc for multi use, central heating independent, full a/c, 2wc, 2 shower,1 bathroom, fully furnished, small garden, bbq area, parking, on a small building in a very quiet area near Agios Vasilios church. Strovolos - €900 - H4ST10028-R (photos in website).

14. 3 bedr + big attic room with shower and wc luxury new house,210sq.m, central heating, full a/c, 4wc, blinds on all windows, cooker and oven in the kitchen, small garden, covered parking near Alpha Mega supermarket - Strovolos - €1200 – H4ST10007-R (photos in website).

15. 3 bedr detached house with extra room for office,

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27 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Advertiser

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

250sq.m, central heating independent, 4a/c, big renovated kitchen with cooker and oven, big sitting and dining room with parquet floor and fire place, 1bathroom, 2 shower, 3wc, 2 covered parking, double glazed windows and shutters in bedrooms, big verandas surrounded by trees and bushes off 28th October street in the central part of Makedonitissa - Makedonitissa - €1100 – H3MAK0004-R (photos in website).

For many more properties with photos visit our website at www.landtouristestates.com which is updated daily. LANDTOURIST ESTATES LTD 22-422225/96422225/96422226, www.landtouristestates. com

windows, covered parking in a quiet neighborhood off Prodromou close Ministry od Defence – Engomi- € 700 – A3ENG0026-R (photos in website).

4. A1DAS0010-R, 1 bedr luxury spacious apartment with big sitting and dining room, big bathroom, big bedroom with shutters, covered veranda, storage heaters, 2a/c, cooker and oven in the kitchen, covered parking in a quiet area in a small modern building near Acropolis Park. Dasoupolis €400 (photos in website).

5. 2 bedr new luxury modern furnished apartment , central heating ind, 2 a/c, big covered veranda and covered parking in a quiet area behind the Municipal building – Agios Dometios - € 660 - A2ADO0004-R (photos in website).

6. 2 bedr luxury spacious apartment on a small modern building with central heating independent(with petrol), full a/c, solid parquet floor, big bedrooms, big sitting room with open plan kitchen, big covered veranda, FULLY MODERN FURNISHED, covered parking off Makarios avenue in a quiet area near the centre – Nicosia Centre- € 800 – A2NIC0030-R (photos in website).

7. 4 bedr luxury floor apartment,250sq.m, office, maid’s room, central heating ind, full hidden wall unit a/c,2 showers, 1 bathroom, 3wc, parquet floor, big kitchen with cooker and oven, bbq on the veranda in the kitchen, big sitting area, roller blinds on all the windows, alarm system, big veranda on a small building off Athalasas avenue near Alpha Mega supermarket and Areteion hospital – Dasoupolis - € 1100 - A4DAS0002-R (photos in website).

8. A1ACS0007- R, 1 bedr luxury spacious apartment with 2 a/c for hot and cold, electrical appliances in the kitchen, big bedroom, covered veranda, blinds, covered parking, in

a quiet area near Acropolis park. NICELY FURNISHED. Acropolis €450 (photos in website).

9. 3 bedr new luxury finished PENTHOUSE apartment 150sq.m internal areas+120sq. verandas, solid parquet floor all the flat, big bedrooms, big sitting and dining room, big semi separate kitchen with electrical appliances, home cine ma with big screen, LCD tv, covered parking in a quiet neighborhood near CYTA, Laiki + Hellenic bank headquarters and French school. CAN BE RENTED ALSO expensive MODERN furnished – Dasoupolis - € 1200 - A3DAS0019-R (photos in website).

10. A2AOM0009-R 2 bedr luxury finished apartment in a small building with 4 flats only, central heating with petrol independent, full a/c, 2 bedrooms with en-suite bathroom/shower, separate guest wc, NICE MODERN EXPENSIVE FURNITURE, big covered veranda, covered parking, storage room, in a very quiet neighbourhood very close to Junior school and the park - Agioi Omologites € 800 (photos in website).

11. 3 bedr luxury spacious ground floor apartment with separate entrance, big verandas and garden, big sitting and dining room, central heating independent, full a/c, 2wc, very big master bedroom, electrical appliances in the kitchen, aluminum shutters on windows, parquet laminate floor all the flat, covered parking, storage room, in a very quiet neighbourhood in a dead end street, off Athalasas Avenue behind Stephanis near English School €700 (A3ST10030-R), (photos in the website).

12. A2LYK0006-R, 2 bedr penthouse apartment with big veranda 60sq.m, storage heaters, full a/c, 2 bathrooms (one en suite), big sitting room, big separate kitchen with cooker and oven, blinds, covered

parking near Agios Antonios market CLOSE TO THE UNIVERSITY. Lykavitos €510 (photos in website).

13. 3 bedr luxury apartment with central heating independent, full a/c, 2 bathrooms, parquet floor, big sitting and dining area, big covered veranda, covered parking, storage room, blinds, shutters in the bedrooms, big kitchen with all expensive electrical appliances, off Makarios avenue near the centre – Nicosia Centre- € 800 – A3NIC0025-R (photos in website).

14. 4 bedr new spacious luxury finished floor apartment with floor heating independent, full a/c, 3wc, electrical appliances in the kitchen, blinds on all windows, very big 50sq.m covered veranda, fire place, covered parking and big overfloor heated covered swimming pool on the ground floor, on a small 3 storey building in a quiet neighborhood near a playground and near Ippokration private hospital Engomi - €2000 A4ENG0003-R (photos in website).

15. 2 bedrs new luxury apartment, sitting room open plan with kitchen which includes cooker, oven, refrigerator and washing machine, 2 wc, central heating, full AC, blinds on the windows, very big covered verandas, covered parking and storage room in a dead end off Athalassas avenue near Laiki popular bank and Hellenic bank headquarters. - DASOUPOLI €550 (A2DAS0006-R), (photos in the website).

For many more properties with photos visit our website at www.landtouristestates. com which is updated daily. LANDTOURIST ESTATES LTD 22-422225 / 96-422225 / 96422226 www.landtouristestates. com

***************************** LUXURY FLATS:

1. 3 bedr luxury finished spacious floor apartment with very big sitting and dining areas with family room with fire place, solid parquet floor all throught, central heating independent, full a/c, all the bedrooms with en suite shower/bathroom, 4wc, big kitchen with all the electrical appliances, blinds on all windows, big covered veranda, covered parking, big storage room, on a small 3 storey building in a quiet neighborhood – Agios Andreas- € 1300 – A3AAD0005-R (photos in website).

2. AINIC0006- R, 1 bedr., fully furnished and equipped apartment, 50sq.m, 2AC for hot and cold, covered verandah, covered parking, nice view, off Makarios avenue between Hilton and DEBENHAMS shop. Nicosia centre, € 450 (photos in website).

3. 3 bedr new luxury big apartment 150sq.m+big 25sq.m veranda with very nice view, big sitting and dining areas, big separate kitchen with all the electrical appliances, big bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, storage heaters, full a/c, shutters and blinds on the

Card designed by Martin Sebok, Year 3 (Age 7)

THE MANAGEMENT, STAFF & PUPILS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PAPHOS WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Let us welcome the New Year with health, hope & love.

This year, instead of sending Christmas cards, the school has made a donation of 950 to the children’s ward of the General Hospital.

***************************** 2 BDRM flat in the centre of Nicosia. Rent €450. For information call 99453663,

TO LET LIMASSOL 99663927. *****************************

LIMASSOL ***************************** 4 BEDROOM HOUSE IN EPISKOPI Split level 4-yearold house detached with central heating, a/c all over the house, lounge dinning room, separate kitchen, utility room, en-suite master bedroom, parking, three wcs. Price 800 euros (negotiable) 25337400 ***************************** 3 BEDROOM HOUSE IN YPSONAS 3-year-old two storey detached house situated in a private area of Ypsonas with separate kitchen, lounge dinning room, garden, parking en-suite master bedroom a/c all over house. 25 337400 Price 700 euros

TO LET LARNACA rent, €350.00 per month For more info pls call 99639378 ***************************** FULLY FURNISHED one bedroom flat near Larco hotel Larnaca. Price €370. Tel: 99202543 *****************************

PAPHOS PAPHOS / PEYIA VILLA, villa for rent in Peyia, 4 bedroom, 4 bathrooms, large sitting-dining area, fully airconditioned and heated, unfurnished, panoramic views, large parking, low rent contact: 99490953, 26815534 3 BDRM VILLA with pool for rent furnished or unfurnished, garden, garage (covered) near Tsada golf course, Tel: 99603330. *****************************

***************************** GROUND FLOOR HOUSE, furnished renovated this year.

Laminated parke floor, and big wardrobes in the 3 bedrooms.

Rent €590.00 Tel 99497576 99886775 *****************************

LARNACA ***************************** 2 BEDROOM NICOLADES SEA VIEW CITY BLOCK, a/c’s in all rooms, private parking, sea view, walking distance to everything, can be used for office or residential. €750, minimum 12 months contract. 99320077 Larnaca ***************************** FOR RENT spacious 3 bedroom apartment with balcony situated in centre of town, semi furnished. Please call 99311152 ***************************** FOR RENT 2 bed, 2 bath, new built apartment, in a quiet scenic location In Alethriko, Larnaca 5 min. to Larnaka, 5 min. to the beach Fully furnished, A/C, communal pool, under covered parking, Long term

APHRODITE HILLS - Villa share at this amazing resort? Now available for discerning people, luxury double rooms, each with own en suite and heating unit and plus of large lounge/dining/ kitchen area, external patios, gardens and swimming pool.

Fully furnished and equipped €800pm plus share of running expenses, min period 6 months or yearly contract renewal. To enquire (or view from January 2013) ring 99178141. A chance not to be missed! ***************************** MR RENT PAPHOS, THE LEADING PROPERTY RENTAL AGENCY IN PAPHOS OFFICE: 26271858 (00357) IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY TO RENT WE ARE THE RENTAL AGENCY TO CONTACT OFFERING FULL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & RENT COLLECTION SERVICE 1. UNIVERSAL AREA €450

28 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

spacious 3 bedroom first floor apartment, master with ensuite. Situated on small complex with no pool. Fully furnished with modern furniture, fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher. Balcony leads to a large private roof terrace with shaded barbeque area offering views of the sea, storage & sunbathing deck.

2. SEA CAVES €500 we are delighted to offer this detached 2 bedroom villa situated on a corner plot in a quiet residential area offering sea views.

Gated drive for off street parking. Fully enclosed good sized low maintenance garden with private pool offering privacy and shaded areas. Available unfurnished or part furnished.

Pets allowed at owners discretion. Website reference number: RTL_482 3. KISSONERGA €550 modern detached 3 bedroom villa situated in a quiet residential area.

Master bedroom with ensuite, separate kitchen, downstairs guest wc. Enclosed garden offering private pool & off street parking. Available unfurnished though can include kitchen appliances. Pets allowed at owners discretion. Website reference number: RTL_501 4. PEYIA €700 price includes pool cleaning. If you are looking for a villa with breathtaking views & privacy than this property is for you. This modern detached 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom villa is furnished with modern furniture, including satellite TV. One bedroom & bathroom on ground floor.

A spacious enclosed garden with private pool offering stunning views. Off street parking.

Website reference number: RTL_401 5. CHLORAKA €750 modern detached 4 bedroom 3 bathroom villa with ground floor bedroom & bathroom. Beautifully furnished with good quality modern furniture includes sky satellite, fly screens & feature fireplace with modern gas fire. Private pool offering views of the sea. Off street parking.

Situated within walking distance of bus routes & shops.

Website reference number: RTL_611 6. KATO PAPHOS €800 large 4 bedroom detached villa situated in the sought after residential area of Limnaria. Walking distance to the beach and the many amenities of Kato Paphos. Spacious living accommodation offering an enclosed garden with c/pool. Fully furnished with modern furniture & solar panels. Website reference number: RTL_442 7. ANAVARGOS €895 we are delighted to offer this unique 5 bedroom 3 bathroom rustic country home offering spacious living accommodation with large gardens, private pool & stone built bbq & entertainment area. Fully furnished with log burner for those winter months. A real character home worth viewing. Pets allowed. Website reference number: RTL_635 offers considered.

8. TALA €900 a charming detached 4 bedroom villa with

character, situated on a corner plot in a quiet residential area with breathtaking sea views. Spacious living rooms with central heating & real fireplace. Separate kitchen & dining room. Good sized garden offering private pool and stone built barbeque area.

Undercover parking. Available fully furnished. Website reference number: RTL_638 TEL: 97790883 OFFICE: 26271858 VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MANY MORE PROPERTIES www.mrrentpaphos.net Email: info@ mrrent-paphos.net

FOR RENT A selection of 1 to 5 bedroom houses & apartments F/F & U/F Universal, Peyia, Tomb of the Kings, Tsada, Timi, Chlorakas & Kato Paphos Landlord & Owners please call 99329357 Or please view at are website www.cyprussands.com Fully Registered Company in Cyprus

communal swimming pool, air conditioning throught, 2 balconies euro 375 p/m o.N.O 2. SEA CAVES, 3 bedroom bungalow, specially fitted for people with disabilities , stunning sea views, free wi-fi, fully furnished with modern furniture, swimming pool, all bedrooms with en-sute, utility room, air conditioning throughout, shutters, very green and secluded area euro 1100 p/m o.N.O 3. EMBA, 2 bedroom apartment, 2 bathroom, modern

furnished, air conditioned throughout, communal swimming pool, covered parking, close to all amenities, euro 330 p/m 4. CHLORAKA, 3 bedroom furnished villa with pool, amazing views, master en-suite, in culde-sac, fully airconditioned with fireplace, euro 700 p/m PLEASE CALL : 99 387842

***************************** 1. UNIVERSAL – superb 2 bed furnished apartment for rent.

Lovely quiet complex with pool, private parking, entry phone system & storage room. €350 per month.

2. UNIVERSAL – one bed furnished apartment on 2nd floor, small quiet well maintained complex with sea views. €300 per month.

3. UNIVERSAL – 2 two bed, 2 bath apartments on superb quiet complex, with 3 pools, gym, sauna, jaccuzi & bowling green. 1 apt furnished, 1 unfurnished from €400 per month.

4. TALA – 2 two bed, 2 bath villa style apts on stunning quiet complex with 4 pools, with off road and underground parking. 1 apt furnished 1 U/F from €360 per month.

PLEASE CALL 96203009 *****************************

***************************** 1. MANDRIA, 2 bedroom apartment, fully furnished with modern furniture, separate kitchen,

***************************** CHLORAKAS, 2 bedroom apartment, fully furnished, large

29 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

TO LET PAPHOS veranda, very quiet location, communal pool, Euro 280 – o.n.o Please call: 99699019 /26910140 ***************************** A DELIGHTFUL AND SPACIOUS 1 bedroom apartment, F/F, top floor, new, located at a peaceful location just 500 from St. George hotel in Chloraka.

A+ quality apt. Within walking distance to amenities, part of a beautiful building with swimming pool, list and other amenities. Only €250p/m Other apts also available near Carrefour in the Centre of Paphos. Call 99403261, 26934650 ***************************** FLOWRON PROPERTY SERVICES LTD: PROVIDING AN EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE FOR TENANTS AND LANDLORDS: PROPERTIES AVAILABLE FOR RENT LONG TERM RENTAL, PROPERTIES WANTED: FULL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WITH KEY HOLDING AND RENT COLLECTIONS OFFERED

ANAVARGOS: 1 to 3 Bedroom apartments available near to the general hospital, furnished or unfurnished. All properties, have white goods and are modern. The building has a lift and off street parking. Prices from 300-400 Euros per month. Ref 7777 Price 300-400 ANARITA: 3 bed nicely furnished villa in the centre of Anarita village with private pool, off street parking. Prop-

Advertiser

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

FOR SALE PAPHOS

erty has a modern kitchen with granite work tops, sitting and dining area, guest wc. Upstairs 3 bedrooms Master with en suite shower, separate family bathroom. Outside shaded pergolas. Ref 855 Price 600 SECRET VALLEY: 3 bed villa fully furnished 3 bedroom villa with private pool. Nice furniture, master bedroom with on suite shower, family bathroom, 2 bedrooms with twin beds.

Dining area, kitchen, guest WC, off street parking, private pool. Modern Villa. Ref: 1035 Price 700 SERCRET VALLEY: 4 bed beautiful furnished bungalow to the highest of standards, with large bedrooms - en suites, Modern large kitchen fully equipped, sitting and dining area with fire place.

Outside heated pool, off street parking, landscaped gardens and great views. Ref: 1151 Price 1800 TIMI: 3 bed nicely furnished villa with large sitting and dining areas, fire place, full AC. Upstairs large family bathroom, 3 bedrooms, master bedroom having en suite shower and walk in wardrobes. Off street parking, private pool Ref: 722 Price: 600 PEGEIA: 4 bed villa with stunning situated in a lovely quiet location in Pegeia offered unfurnished. The property has 2 down stairs bedrooms, a large sitting room with fire place, central heating, kitchen with Stylish design, dining area.

Upstairs 2 bedrooms, large outside veranda. Outside stunning views Private pool.

Ref: 765 Price: 900 MESGOI: large unfurnished villa situated in a residential area. Property is very modern with fire place, downstairs bedroom with en suite, kitchen and separate utility room, 3 additional bedroom upstairs with master en suite, family bathroom. Outside private pool, fully fenced and private, nice views, pets welcome, suit family with children going to local international school. Ref: 783 Price: 750 TALA: A family home offered part furnished in a quiet residential area, property has off street parking, private pool, central heating and AC, modern kitchen, sitting/dining area, guest wc, upstairs 3 bedrooms with master en suite, family bathroom, sea views. Ref: 988 Price: 750 OFFICE: 120 MAKARIOS AVENUE, PAPHOS. OFFICE: 26600450 MOBILE: 97614070 many properties available on WEB: www. flowron.com Email info@ flowron.com

nished apartment in handy location close to the shopping areas. Large open plan living area and dining area..

Fully fitted dining/kitchen with appliances . Guest WC. Utilty room. 3 double bedrooms one with en-suite. Family bathroom. Balcony & and parking. €500.00 a month. Suit nondrivers!

3. TOMB OF THE KINGS – 3 bed fully furnished apartment in established block. Own entrance via stairway. Open plan living area. Dining kitchen. 3 bedrooms and family bathroom. A/C, sat TV. Internet available. Large balcony area.

Parking. €350.00 per month 4. TALA - 3 bed 3 bath quality furnished villa. Set in enclosed gardens the villa consists of open plan living area with dining space. Fully fitted kitchen with all appliances, door to rear garden. Storage room. Ground floor bedroom with adjacent shower. Stairs to two double bedrooms both en-suite, one with Jacuzzi tub.

Small seating area with adjacent balcony. Pool and off street parking. Landscaped gardens €750.00 per month or close offers only 5. SEA CAVES – 2 bed, 2 bath fully furnished large townhouse set in quiet location.

Open plan living area. Fully fitted kitchen. 2 double bedrooms and family bathroom.

Garden area and parking. Realistically priced. Suit retired people or those wanting a quiet area. €400.00 per month 6. UNIVERSAL AREA. 2 bed fully furnished apartment. Living area, fitted kitchen. 2 double bedrooms and family bathroom. A/C, Enclosed garden area. Comm pool and parking. Euros 375.00 a month or offers. 1 & 2 bed apartments available on Universal starting at €250 per month.

7. LOWER PEYIA - 3 bed, 2.5 bath part furnished villa situated in quiet cul du sac. Open plan living and dining area with doors out to pool and garden. Very large breakfast fitted kitchen. Doors out to garden and pool. Separate guest WC. Stairs to 3 double bedrooms.

Master bedroom very large with en-suite shower. Family bathroom. Private pool, gardens, shutters. €550.00 per month or close offers only.

8. STROUMBI– 3 bed 2.5 bath large unfurnished villa in quiet village area. Spacious open plan living area with feature fireplace and dining space Good sized fitted kitchen and breakfast area. Guest WC with storage area.3 double bedrooms. Master with en-suite bathroom. Family bathroom.

Enclosed gardens, pool and off street parking. Realistically

priced €550.00 per month.

OVNO FOR FULL LISTINGS OF A PA R T M E N T S / T O W N HOUSES AND VILLA PLEASE CALL FOR DETAILS. ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LONG TERM RENTAL LANDLORDS/OWNERS PLEASE CALL. PLEASE CALL 97648440 or email:- inforentals@aol.com

KATO PAPHOS UNIVERSAL, large 2 bedroom apartment, ground floor, 1 bathroom, kitchen, large veranda, private parking, A/C, satellite TV. Near bus route, shops, banks, quiet apartment. Full furniture.

Communal pool. 92 sq.m covered area. Full TITLE DEEDS. REDUCED €92,000

FOR SALE Semi-detached house in Archangelos area split level on a hill, no houses in front, 3 big bedrooms, 2 big bathrooms and TV room big lounge & dining area, fireplace, fitted kitchen, 40 sq.m. store room, C/H, A/C, solar.

For information call: 99496541

***************************** PEYIA – 3 bedroom villa with modern quality furniture and finishes. Central heating, sky, alarm, infinity pool and stunnning sea and mountain views €700 per month, call: 99389426 ***************************** BRAND NEW APT, opposite Poseidonio Gym, near Carrefour, F/F, a/c, great quality, 1 bdrm, from €340p.m.Tel 99403261 ***************************** RENTAL POINT - PAPHOS PROPERTIES AVAILABLE TO RENT IN THE PAPHOS DISTRICT. JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF AVAILABLE PROPERTIES. ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LONG TERM RENTAL. CALL 97648440 FOR MORE INFORMATION. LANDLORDS CALL IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY FOR RENT.!!!

1. MESA CHORIO – 2 bed 2 bath fully furnished ground floor apartment set on an elevated position in this prestigious development. Open plan living area. Good sized kitchen. 2 double, bedrooms, master with en-suite shower room. Family bathroom. Large patio areas with enclosed gardens and lovely sea views.

Covered parking and security gates.. Comm swimming pool and landscaped gardens. €425.00 a month. 2 bed apartment same complex €400.00 a month.

2 MESOGI 3 bed 3 bath fur-

***************************** REFURBISHED stone-built village house located in Kili Paphos. Consists of 3 large rooms 1 small. Traditional wood burnt fireplace, fully tiled secluded yard and garage. Tel: 99210610. *****************************

PROPERTY FOR SALE NICOSIA ***************************** NICOSIA, FLAT FOR SALE: 2 bedroom flat with title deeds, 110 sqm, fully renovated, best central area, 800m from the european university,excellent view, eu 99,000. Tel 99 621914 *****************************

PAPHOS ***************************** BARGAIN OFFER Chlorakas, 2 bedroom apartment, large veranda, very quiet location, communal pool, sea view, €75.000 o.n.o please call: 99699019 /26910140 ***************************** PAPHOS, FLATS FOR SALE OR RENT: kissonerga, 3 bedroom flat with title deeds, in a block of 4 flats only, fully renovated, 2 baths, 146 sqm closed area, ch, ac, covered parking, excellent view of sea and mountains, half registration fees till 31.12.12.Reduced to eu 135,000,or rent eu 450 pm. Tel 99 621914 *****************************

EURO 6.95 !!!

VERY LOW PRICES !

• OPEN FOR CHRISTMAS DAY LUNCH & NEW YEAR’S EVE CALL PETER NOW FOR ANY ENQUIRIES: 96870774 – PAPHOS

***************************** FOR SALE special offer, €79, 000 first floor apartment in Protaras, fully furnished with 2 bedrooms and a swimming pool. Walking distance to the beach of Ayia Triada and all amenities. Tel: 97 608941. *****************************

FAMAGUSTA ***************************** AYIA NAPA, studio for sale, 38 sqm, furnished and fully renovated, with title deed, in licensed complex, 500m from nissi beach, eu 49,000, tel. 99 621914

Nicosia ........................22 802 020 Limassol ......................25 805 050 Larnaca .......................24 804 040 Paphos ........................26 806 060 Famagusta ..................23 803 030

Nicosia General .............22-801400 Nicosia Makarios ...........22-405000 Limassol Old ................25-305333 Limassol New ................25-801100 Larnaca Old...................24-630312 Larnaca New .................24-630300 Paphos ..........................26-821800 Famagusta ....................23-821211

Rescue Co-ordination Centre ............................. 1441 (Immediate Response Service for Aeronautical or Maritime Accident & Incidents)

• BOOKINGS FOR PRIVATE PARTIES AVAILABLE AT

***************************** UNIVERSAL AREA, 3 bedroom detached villa, covered area 122 sqm, master bedroom ensuite, air conditioned throughout, all white goods, solar panels, garden irrigation, plot size 273 sqm, communal pool, euro 165.000 o.v.n.o.

– title deeds available Call : 99682644- no agents

HOSPITALS ........ 1400

GOOD HOME COOKING- RUN BY FAMILY-ESTABLISHED 1988

• SUNDAY ROAST LUNCH & DINNER FOR ONLY

***************************** Chlorakas, 2 bedroom townhouse. Exceptional sea views.

New kitchen, bedrooms and bathroom. Private parking, On mains sewage system. Communal pool. A/C, quality fixtures. Fully furnished. Security barrier. FULL TITLE DEEDS Now €92,000 Call 99716390.

POLICE DIVISION HQ

Drug Law Enforcement Unit ......................................... 1498 (Confidential Information)

• OPEN ALL WINTER 7 DAYS A WEEK !

***************************** 1 BEDROOM APARTMENT, TOMBS OF KINGS AREA, close to the sea, large private roof terrace with electric and water, covered parking, veranda, furnished, swimming pool. Full TITLE DEEDS, was €95,000 reduced to €65,000.

U SEFUL PHONE NUMBERS

THE DEVONSHIRE RESTAURANT

• BE ASTOUNDED BY OUR LOW WINTER PRICES !

***************************** PAPHOS 1 bedroom apartment, fantastic central location, lounge/kitchen, bathroom, veranda, covered parking, communal pool, Furnished. Near all amenities. TITLE DEEDS NOW REDUCED €45,000.

Game Fund Service: (Wildlife and hunting) Central offices (Nicosia): 22867786, 22-867897 Nicosia: 22-664606, 99-445697 Limassol: 25-343800, 99-445728, Larnaca/Famagusta: 24-805128, 99-634325 Paphos: 26-306211, 99-445679

Narcotics Helpline ......... 1410 (Outside hours.............. 22304160) AIDS Advisory Bureau ................................ 22-302826 Domestic Violence Centre .......................................... 1440 (Emergency Centre for Victims) Drug Info & Poison Control ............... 1401 Cyprus Samaritans ... 77777267 Police Duty Officer ......... 1499 (Confidential Information)

Forest Fires ..................... 1407 Airports Larnaca ..........................77778833 Paphos ...........................77778833

30 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Advertiser FOR PAPHIAKOS ANIMAL WELFARE SOS HELPLINE, 24 HOUR MEDICAL EMERGENCY SERVICE - CALL 99655581 CONTACT DETAILS FOR PAPHIAKOS. Paphiakos & C.C.P. Animal Welfare Education/Information Centre, No. 12 Dedalos Building, 8049 Kato Paphos PO Box 61272 8132 Kato Paphos Web. www.cyprusanimalwelfare.com www.facebook/paphiakos Email info@cyprusanimalwelfare.com Larnaca Emergency Service - The contact point for animal emergencies in Larnaca is Maria at the Paphiakos Animal Welfare Charity Shop, telephone 24623494 or 99325897 STOP, SHOP AND GIVE TO THE ANIMALS! ALL DONATIONS ARE WELCOME AT OUR CHARITY SHOPS! PAPHIAKOS & C.C.P. ANIMAL WELFARE Registered Charity No 1529 Contact our shops and we can take your clutter The Charity Shops are located at: Shop No.1 Agapinoros Street, Kato Paphos Tel 26910325 Shop No.2 Ap Pavlou Avenue, Kato Paphos Tel 26942894 Shop No.3 Gr. Afxentiou Avensia Court 3 Larnaca 24623494 Shop No.4 9 Ayiou Ioanni Street 3061 Limassol 25561695 Peyia Information Centre & Shop & T Rooms 26622828 Polis Information Centre & Shop & T Rooms 99223572 Book Exchange Shop Trimithousa 99771763 Our shops are always happy to receive your unwanted goods!

NOW YOU CAN HELP BY COLLECTING YOUR ALUMINIUM CANS AND HANDING THEM IN AT ANY PAPHIAKOS CHARITY SHOP OR THE CLINIC. SAVE AN ANIMAL AND SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT!!

PAPHIAKOS CAR BOOT SALE EVERY SATURDAY at the Ambassador Restaurant and outside in the grounds at Paphiakos. Free parking. Sellers from 7am, buyers from 8am. For information & bookings please call MIKE on 96702600.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS FOR PAPHIAKOS CHARITY NO. 1529 WORLD ANIMAL DAY. On Thursday October 4th Paphiakos will be micro chipping pets for only €20 including all the paperwork. For further information telephone 26953496.

To celebrate World Animal Day on Thursday October 4th Paphiakos will be offering free spaying/neutering for all feral and unwanted animals as they do throughout the year. Contact 26953496 for further details.

PAPHIAKOS SHELTER OPEN DAY The Open Day will be held on Sunday October 7th between 10am and 3pm. It will be a Family Fun Day out with a lot of different activities. There is car parking, toilets and refreshments on site so enjoy and join in the celebration of animals and what they bring to our lives. Entrance is €2 CHARITY HAIR CUT. On Thursday 4th October 09.30-17.30 without an appointment Andri at Atlantic Bay Hotel (2nd Floor) will be charging €5 for a haircut with all proceeds going to Paphiakos. Telephone Suzanne on 99151996 or Andri on 99604783.

PAPHIAKOS CHRISTMAS BAZAAR. Saturday November 24th 9am – 3pm at the Crazy Spoon Restaurant. For further details contact 99151996. Stalls, Santa’s Grotto, Donkey Rides, Pirate Pat and many more.

CHEMISTS NICOSIA SUNDAY 23/12/2012 I. Kitiris, 63 Metochiou St. Tel: 22774950, 22774368 (H) N. Nouris, 33 A. B D. Akritas Ave. Tel: 22751801, 22374323 (H) M. Charalambous, 48A Armenia Ave, Acropolis. Tel: 22426655, 22492968 (H) A. Christodoulou, 73C Stadiou St, Strovolos. Tel: 22590396, 22512252 (H) Ch. Kari, 50 Andrea Avraamide, Tel: 22771999, 22351072 LIMASSOL D. Theofilou 26 Georgiou A Germasoyia Tel: 25322570, 25323790 (H) G. Nicolaidou, 72 Omonias Ave. Tel: 25560981, 25563693 (H) Ch. Christidis, 140 Ayias Fylaxeos Tel: 25870520, 25770084 LARNACA E. Constantinidou , 64 Z. Kitiea St. Tel: 24655129, 24657435 (H) M. Synesiou, S. Timayia Ave. Tel: 24638765, 24634887(H) PAPHOS P. M. Caraolidou, 1 Mylonas St. Tel: 26935495, 99490987 (H) PARALIMNI P. Loizou, 150 Gr. Dighenis Ave. Tel: 23821368, 23823608 (H)

NICOSIA MONDAY 24/12/2012 D. Athanasiadou, 132D Athalassa Ave. Tel: 22427707, 22431301 (H) N. Christodoulou, corner Virona & M. Karaolis St. Tel: 22679780, 22622250 O. Solomou, corner Strovolos & Pythonos St, Strovolos. Tel: 22313123, 22375724 (H) M. Proestou, 49 Digeni Akrita Avenue Tel: 22758758, 22311767 A. Koliou, 22A Ayias Paraskevis Engomi, Tel: 22103884, 99383067 LIMASSOL K. Kleovoulou Theodorou Potamianou K. Polemithia Tel: 25735505, 25561798 (H) E. Prastiti 150 Ay. Fylaxeos Tel: 25383120, 25735573 (H) A. Vasiliou 63 Griva Digheni Ave., Tel: 25580906, 25386449 (H) LARNACA G. Zoppou, 122 Faneromenis St. Tel: 24622810, 24651003 (H) Despo Theodosis, Lordou Vyronos & Gladstonos 1, Tel. 24622522, 24720083 PAPHOS C. Nicolaidou, 14 Gr. Dighenis Ave. Tel: 26935642, 26933793 (H) PARALIMNI A. Mavroyiannou, 216 Gr. Dighenis St. Tel: 23828880, 23829202 (H)

SATURDAY SERVICES NICOSIA St Paul’s Church Hall, Byron Ave LIMASSOL ‘Meeting Point’, 193A Christodoulou H’pavlou, opp Molos Park on beach rd BIBLE STUDY FOR ADULTS & CHILDREN 10.00 am Nicosia • 10.30 am Limassol FAMILY WORSHIP SERVICE 11.30 am Nicosia • 11.45 am Limassol Pastor: Branislav Mirilov 96702349 Info: Nsia 96207014 • Lsol 99322614 www.adventist.org | www.hopetv.org

DOCTORS ON DUTY NICOSIA Pathologist: Costas Schizas, Tel: 22311077, 99606611 Urologist: Achilleas Corellis, Tel: 70007773, 99562642 Gynaecologist: Marios Eleftheriou, Tel: 22469000, 99433384 Paediatric Surgeon: Eliana Eliadou, Tel: 99384324 Dentist: Georgia Mavrommati, Tel: 22331258, 99797020

LIMASSOL Pathologist: Christos Christodoulou, Tel.: 99454612, 25338618 Surgeon: Kyriacos Tsaggarides, Tel.: 25369030.

Neuro-Surgeon: Michalakis Spirou, Tel: 99624939 Paediatric: Gavriil Kaimis, Tel.: 25335366 Paediatric Surgeon: Georgios Hadjiconstantas, Tel.: 25730055, 25723914 Doctor: Maro Hadjikyriacou, Tel: 25341814, 25342003

AYIA NAPA and DHERYNIA (Anglican Church in S.E Cyprus) Sunday Worship 9.30am Morning Prayer every Sunday morning at St Constantinos & Eleni Chapel, Dherynia (near Hospital in Dherynia) 11am at Scandinavian Church, off Nissi Avenue (opp Tassia Maris Hotel), Ayia Napa nd 6pm at St Constantinos & Eleni (2 week) Chaplain : Revd Simon Holloway M.A. Tel: 97 839349 www.angsecyp.org Visitors especially welcome

31 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Compiled by Rosie Ogden

Motoring

Volvo Hybrid scores highest ever Euro NCAP for an electric car THE new Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid has achieved the highest ever Euro NCAP score for a plug-in hybrid.

The Swedish car giant says the five stars awarded in the recent test, which included a frontal offset collision at 64 km/h (40 mph), demonstrates that the Hybrid (right) has “the same high safety level as the standard V60”.

“The Euro NCAP score demonstrates that the ingenious V60 Plug-in Hybrid features the same outstanding safety level as the standard car,” says Jan Ivarsson, Senior Manager Safety Strategy & Requirements at Volvo Car Group.

The European rating institute Euro NCAP presents an overall rating for

each car model tested. Separate tests are carried out in four sub-categories, which are used to produce an overall grade.

Volvo says that the integration of the battery pack and the added weight the batteries create required a ‘unique safety approach’ during the development of the Plug-in Hybrid. The structure has been modified and reinforced ‘to enable a controlled deformation to help provide a high safety level’.

“The Plug-in Hybrid also offers all unique Volvo active safety functions, such as City Safety, Collision Warning with full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection” says Jan Ivarsson.

The first 1,000 ‘Pure Limited’ cars were sold out even before they reached the showrooms. After this initial production of cars for model year 2013, production will increase to 4,000-6,000 cars for model year 2014.

Drivers “need make no compromise in their motoring” by using the car’s three driving modes: Pure, Hybrid and Power.

Fuel consumption is just 1.8 l/100 km (48 g/km CO2) in Hybrid mode.

The driver can choose to cover up to 50 kilometres on electric power with zero tailpipe emissions - or release the combined capacity of the diesel engine and electric motor to create a performance drivers car.

Manufacturers on track to meet 2012 emissions

The Type R5 met its first objective when it successfully took part in its first test programme before the end of 2012

Peugeot 208 Type R5 hits the road FOLLOWING its unveiling at the 2012 Paris Motor Show in September, the 208 Type R5 met its first objective when it successfully took part in its first test programme before the end of 2012. The jubilant Peugeot team said that the 208 is consequently the first car built in compliance with the FIA’s latest ‘R5’ regulations “to have broken cover and turned a wheel”.

The replacement of the 207 Super 2000 was put through its paces on a gravel stage in Riboux in south-eastern France, where it completed a four-day programme in the hands of Bryan Bouffier and Xavier Panseri.

“That first run was a key step which is now behind us,” says Alexis Avril, technical manager of Peugeot Sport’s customer competition department. “We still have a great deal of work on our hands, though, since we now need to move on to the next phase of development. This will involve putting as many kilometres on the car’s clock as possible in order to validate its reliability. After that, we will be able to turn our attention to the optimisation of its performance potential.

Between now and the 208 Type R5’s release for sale, its schedule includes more than 10,000km of testing on gravel and asphalt, in testing and on events.

“Choosing gravel for last week’s test was the logical option. There are a high number of components that

will be used for both types of surface, so our aim was to evaluate their strength on the tougher of the two.

“At a later stage, we will begin to focus on the suspension and the turbocharged engine which are the two chief factors of the global performance package. The development work in both these areas will be carried out directly by Peugeot Sport.”

Bryan Bouffier added “The car felt good out of the box.

I was happy with its overall balance and I was comfortable behind the wheel. It seems to be a strong basic car and I particularly liked the turbocharged engine which delivers plenty of torque.

That makes it easy to use, and that’s a big asset on loose surfaces.”

‘The car felt good out of the box. It’s easy to use and that’s a big asset on loose surfaces’

Carmakers to pay premiums if they don’t meet targets IN 2011, average CO2 vehicle emissions for most carmakers were below target levels estimated for 2012. This was the situation for 47 carmakers, responsible for 95% of the new cars registered in the EU in 2011, according to the latest European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis.

The findings come from the EEA report, ‘CO2 emissions performance of car manufacturers in 2011’.

The EU has a target for the average new passenger car to emit less than 130 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g CO2/km) by 2015.

Within this overall target, individual manufacturers have specific targets, calculated using the average mass of their fleet. This means that the vehicle fleet can stay diversified by allowing higher emissions from heavier cars than from lighter vehicles.

The targets will be gradually phased in to apply to an increasing proportion of cars - 65 % of the fleet is taken into account for 2012 targets, rising to 100 % in 2015.

Manufacturers have a longterm target of 95 g CO2/km by 2020.

According to EU legislation, manufacturers can pool their fleets to receive a collective target, and smaller manufacturers can apply for special derogations. In 2011, 20 derogations were granted and all declared pools were in line with the estimated 2012 targets.

Next year the EEA will publish data showing whether the targets were met in 2012. If carmakers do not meet the targets, they will have to pay ‘excess emissions premiums’.

“Some carmakers have made deep efficiency improvements in recent years, showing what is possible,”

The EU has a target for the average new passenger car to emit less than 130 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g CO2/km) by 2015 says EEA Executive Director Jacqueline McGlade.

“However, the transport sector needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 68 % between 2010 and 2050.

This objective cannot be met with technical improvements alone, it will also require a significant reduction in transport demand and a shift to greener transport modes.”

All major car manufacturers reduced their emissions between 2010 and 2011. The average EU emissions of all cars registered in 2011 were 135.7 g CO2/km. Only 65% of the least emitting vehicles in each fleet is considered for compliance with the 2012 targets.

Total fleet average emissions among the major manufacturers ranged from the

Fiat group’s 118 g CO2/km to the highest average level for Daimler, at 153 g CO2/ km. In 2011 both manufacturers were, nonetheless, below their individual 2012 targets.

As in 2010, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd had the lowest average emissions level of the conventional fuelled cars (104 g CO2/km).

Of the 20 largest manufacturers in 2011 (see graph), 18 were within 2012 targets, with the remaining two very close. Five of these manufacturers are also on track to meeting their 2015 target.

The EEA figures confirm findings from preliminary data published in June 2012, which showed that new cars in 2011 were on average 3.3 % more efficient than those

registered in 2010. A growing proportion of diesel vehicles was partly behind the drop in emissions. Decreasing average engine and vehicle size has also been a factor for some manufacturers.

Alternative-fuelled vehicles made up a small proportion of new registrations in 2011, and while they are expected to contribute to future greenhouse gas emission reductions, they did not significantly influence the overall trend.

Registrations of pure electric vehicles remained low, with under 9 000 cars registered in the EU - although this was a dramatic increase from the 700 registrations in 2010. In 2011, the number of manufacturers selling only pure electric vehicles increased to four.

32 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Sport West Coast clash headlines tension over playoff spots

CHRIS Paul and Blake Griffin combined to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to their 12th consecutive win, a 9785 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Paul scored 24 points and provided 13 assists, while Griffin had 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jimmer Fredette led the Kings from the bench with 16 points.

Tony Parker scored 25 points as the San Antonio Spurs bounced back from consecutive defeats by beating the New Orleans Hornets 99-94.

The Spurs had lost four of their last five, but led by Parker and Tim Duncan, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, they inflicted a 10th straight defeat on New Orleans.

Luol Deng had 29 points and 13 redounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 110-106 win over the Knicks in New York.

Carmelo Anthony, who led the Knicks also with 29 points, was one of four players to be thrown out of the game.

Monta Ellis scored 27 points as the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away from the Boston Celtics in overtime for a 99-94 win.

Ellis led the surge with five points in the additional period, while Paul Pierce scored 35 points in a losing cause for the Celtics.

Greg Monroe led a balanced Detroit offence with 15 points as they strolled past the hapless Washington Wizards 100-68.

The Pistons snapped a sixgame losing streak against the Wizards, whose leagueworst record slipped to 3-21.

The Charlotte Bobcats saw their league-worst losing streak hit 14 games as Stephen Curry scored 27 points in a 115-100 win for the Golden State Warriors.

Rudy Gay poured in 26 points to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 92-82 win over Dallas Mavericks.

The Indiana Pacers claimed a 99-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks 99-80 and the Toronto Raptors edged out the Orlando Magic 93-90.

Seahawks49ers encounter headlines this weekend’s NFL fixtures

IN BRIEF

Paul, Griffin star for streaking Clippers

By Simon Evans

TODAY’S divisional clash between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers headlines a fascinating penultimate weekend of regular season National Football League (NFL) action where playoff dreams are on the line.

Nineteen teams still have a mathematical shot at qualifying for the playoffs but the field of hopefuls dreaming of a berth in February’s Super Bowl will be cut after the weekend action.

The New England Patriots (AFC East), Houston Texans (AFC South), Denver Broncos (AFC West), Green Bay Packers (NFC North) and Atlanta Falcons (NFC South) have already secured their respective division titles.

The Baltimore Ravens and 49ers, still looking to lock up their division titles, are guaranteed places in the 12-team playoff where five more spots are up for grabs.

Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck, who took over a team that finished with the NFL’s worst record last season, can cap a remarkable Colts turnaround as a win at the Kansas City Chiefs or a Pittsburgh Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, would give his team a playoff berth.

A victory by the Bengals, who enter the game having won five of their last six contests, will give head coach Marvin Lewis’s team a surprise ticket to the playoffs and knock the Steelers out of contention.

Several other teams know that a win today keeps their playoff hopes alive going into the final day of the regular season on December 30.

There is much at stake in Seattle this week where two stingy defences meet when the Seahawks, undefeated at home this season, host the 49ers in

Seattle, riding a three-game win streak enjoys solid form from rookie quarterback Russell Wilson (#3) a matchup featuring two teams chasing the NFC West division crown.

The 49ers are ranked first in scoring defence, allowing just 15.6 points per game, while Seattle have given up just one more point over the season.

Seattle, riding a three-game winning streak and enjoying solid form from rookie quarterback Russell Wilson, need a win to secure a playoff spot while a victory for the 49ers secures them the divisional title.

“We have got our work cut out this week, we have to keep him contained,” 49ers safety Dashon Goldson said about Wilson.

“He looks a lot more comfortable back there. He is making a lot of plays with his feet. He’s scoring touchdowns and making big runs.”

The 49ers have also hit form at the right time. Since Colin Kaepernick took over as quarterback from Alex Smith, San Francisco have gone 4-1.

“Colin is giving them a spark that they obviously really favour,” said Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

“He has such a strong arm and he really can fire the ball downfield

and when he gets out and runs he can really go.”

The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants have won just two of their last six games and need another late-season turnaround to make it out of the tough NFC East, starting at Baltimore today.

The Minnesota Vikings are one of the teams hoping their ambitions last until at least the final week of the season but they face a tough test at Houston.

While the focus is on team achievement at this crucial stage of the campaign, the Vikings can be forgiven for celebrating if their running back Adrian Peterson reaches an individual goal.

Peterson is 188 yards shy of his first 2,000-yard season and also has a chance to beat Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984.

The Vikings running back’s numbers are impressive enough in themselves but are remarkable when in the context of a recovery from major reconstructive knee surgery a year ago.

Robson, Watson to warm UCI introduces equal prize up for Melbourne in Hobart money for women and men BRITISH Olympic silver medallist Laura Robson and compatriot Heather Watson will warm up for the Australian Open at the January 4-12 Hobart International, organisers said yesterday.

Robson, 18, who won mixed doubles silver with men’s singles champion Andy Murray at the London Olympics, will make her first appearance at the Tasmanian tournament headlined by former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy. Watson, 20, who became Britain’s first WTA champion in 24 years with her win at the Japan Open in October, returns for her second appearance after playing this year’s tournament as a qualifier.

FEMALE riders will earn as much as their male counterparts at cycling World Championships from next year, the governing body of the sport have said.

The move is part of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) efforts to improve the sport’s reputation, badly tarnished by the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

“The UCI Management Committee this week approved a proposal for equal prize money for men and women at all UCI World Championships,” the UCI said in a statement.

“Coming into effect from January 2013, this decision applies to all of cycling’s disciplines with the exception of the road team time-trial.”

The San Francisco side have also hit form since Colin Kaepernick (above) took over as quarterback

Morgan helps England level series against India ENGLAND squared the two-match Twenty20 series against India with a dramatic six-wicket victory in Mumbai.

England won the toss and put India in and the hosts made the most of some wayward bowling to post 177-8, Virat Kohli top-scoring with a dashing 38.

In reply, openers Michael Lumb scored 50 and Alex Hales 42 before Yuvraj Singh put the brakes on with 3-17.

But Eoin Morgan (49no) and Jos Buttler (15no) led England home, Morgan hitting the winning six from the last delivery.

33 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Sport

Nadal: priority is fitness over results

Pocock signs new three-year contract

Knee still not ‘100 pct’ ahead of Abu Dhabi

AUSTRALIA captain David Pocock has signed a new three-year contract with the Australian Rugby Union to ensure he will remain until at least the next World Cup. Acting ARU Chief executive officer Matt Carroll claimed it had been a “smooth and straightforward process” to re-sign the Wallabies’ openside flanker.

Friday’s announcement means Pocock, who has represented Australia on 45 occasions, will be available to play for the Wallabies when the British and Irish Lions tour next year.

2015 WORLD CUP He is also now likely to be the man to skipper Australia at the 2015 World Cup. “It really is great news to have him on board not only for next year’s Lions Tour but the next Super Rugby Championship series and, quite possibly, the next Rugby World Cup in 2015,” Carroll said.

Pocock will line up for the ACT Brumbies in next year’s Super Rugby season, after six seasons with the Western Force.

The 24-year-old revealed he was looking forward to his new challenge, writing on his Twitter page: “Happy to announce I’ve signed with the ARU for another three years. Excited about next season with @BrumbiesRugby!”

Brumbies coach Jake White is confident the 24-year-old flanker will fit into his team “perfectly”, while he considers the capture of Pocock as something the Canberrabased side can be proud of.

“To have a guy like David Pocock want to be involved with the Brumbies is very encouraging,” White said.

“The attitude and commitment of Brumbies players both during 2012, and as we prepare for 2013, has been outstanding. I see David thriving in this environment.

“He will fit in here perfectly.

At the end of the day, we want to make David a better player.”

Pocock will now be able to play for the Wallabies when the British and Irish Lions tour next year

Nadal has missed the last six months of the season after playing at Wimbledon while knowing he was not fully fit

Nissan confirms withdrawal of cycling sponsorship NISSAN has confirmed that it has withdrawn its co-title sponsorship of the Luxembourg-based RadioShack-Nissan-Trek cycling team with immediate effect.

The car manufacturer has announced its decision to quit a squad which has felt the full force of the Lance Armstrong scandal.

David Reuter, vice-president corporate communications Nissan Americas, said: “Nissan and the management team of RadioShack Nissan Trek cycling have reached an agreement that provides for Nissan’s immediate withdrawal as a sponsor of the team, while enabling the team to continue competing in the upcoming 2013 season.

“Nissan wishes the riders, team management, and professional cycling well in future endeavours.”

Johan Bruyneel left his role as general manager of the team after being implicated in the United States Anti-doping Agency investigation into the practices of Armstrong and his United States Postal Service team.

Belgian Bruyneel was team director of the US Postal team during the Armstrong era, and continues to protest his innocence and fight charges, long after the Texan was banned for life and stripped of all results from August 1, 1998, including seven Tour de France titles.

The RadioShack squad also had to face the most

Nissan’s withdrawal comes in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal high-profile drugs scandal of the 2012 Tour, when Frank Schleck, third in the 2011 Tour, tested positive for banned diuretic Xipamide and had to exit from the race.

Schleck protested his innocence, with suggestions he had been poisoned, and his position, and any suspension, is still to be clarified by the International Cycling Union.

On a brighter note for the team in 2012, Fabian Cancellara won the Tour prologue and led for the first week of the race.

The team declined to comment and directed all enquiries to Nissan.

Armstrong was influential in the foundation of the RadioShack team and rode for it in 2010. It later merged with the Luxembourg-based Leopard Trek squad.

RAFAEL Nadal will not worry about results as he makes his latest comeback from persistent knee problems.

The 26-year-old Spaniard won the French Open this year, but missed the last six months of the season after playing at Wimbledon when he knew he was not fully fit.

Now he is ready to return at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi next week, although he admits his knee is still not 100 per cent and his focus is not on results.

“I am not nervous,” he told The Times. “The only thing is the knee.

“The rest of the things - I can play better, I can play worse - it doesn’t matter how I play tennis in the next month or month and a half.

“For me my goal is not Abu Dhabi, it is not Doha, it is not the Australian Open my goal is to try to be fit, to be 100 per cent recovered with my knee and 100 per cent fit in my personal per-

formance by Indian Wells and Miami [in March], to try to arrive to Monte Carlo and the clay-court season in good shape.”

He added: “It will take time. The people have to know when you are outside of the competitions and haven’t played for a long time, you will have problems to come back to your best.”

Since Nadal last swung a

racket in anger, there is a new grand-slam winner on the scene with Andy Murray (inset) having beaten Novak Djokovic in the US Open final shortly after seeing off Roger Federer to win Olympic gold.

It was not easy at Flushing Meadows, as Djokovic roared back from two sets down to level at 2-2, but Murray held his nerve to win the trophy as Nadal felt he would.

“I really thought Andy would win because the tennis owed him something,” said Nadal. “That was my feeling.

“The Olympics was a big change and with the calm of winning that at home, you go to a grand-slam final and you feel that Andy, before the match, believed he was favourite.

“If you really believe in yourself, it doesn’t matter if you were leading by two sets to love and the opponent comes back.”

34 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Sport ‘Torres form shows my methods working’ RAFAEL Benitez has claimed Fernando Torres’s long-awaited return to form is proof that his Chelsea revolution is working.

Almost two years since Torres’ recordbreaking move from Liverpool and he is finally starting to score the number of goals to justify his £50million price tag.

Six in five games is by far the most sustained run of the 28-year-old’s Stamford Bridge career and it has coincided almost exactly with his reunion with former Anfield boss Benitez.

Chelsea’s interim manager immediately identified that Torres had lost some of the physical conditioning that had made him one of the most feared forwards in the world, as well as an obvious lack of confidence from failing to find the back of the net.

“Two or three things that we are doing for some players are really good,” Benitez said, claiming the sharpness in the majority of his players was now “much better”.

“Fernando is one of the examples.”

He added: “He’s scoring goals and the team is winning and playing well, so he’s really happy, not just because

he’s scoring goals but also because the team’s doing well.”

Despite the clear impact Benitez has made on Torres, he played down the extent of his own influence on his fellow Spaniard.

‘TAKING CHANCES’ “I think that the team has an influence on him because the team is doing well, so the team is playing better, creating more chances,” he said. “So Fernando is taking more chances.”

Benitez refused to speculate on exactly how much his training methods had improved Torres and others during his month in charge ahead of today’s Barclays Premier League clash with Aston Villa.

“You can more or less think but imagine I will say to you that they are 90 per cent [fit] and we lose on Sunday, you will say, ‘What is going on?’” he said. “[What] if I say 20 per cent and we beat Aston Villa 5-0?

“Football is so special that you cannot guarantee 70, 50 or 60.

“What I can say is we have time to

bring players in the team and then change players, so we can manage the tiredness a little bit better.”

Indeed, Benitez has rotated his squad far more than predecessor Roberto Di Matteo and he revealed fatigue had been a real concern in the wake of Chelsea’s gruelling Club World Cup trip to Japan.

So much so in fact it threatened to derail Benitez’s plans for Wednesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final win at Leeds.

“Some players, they were quite tired,” he said.

“We decided to change some ... but I didn’t want to change too many.”

With no end in sight to their punishing fixture schedule, tiredness is likely to become more of a problem as the season progresses.

That makes reinforcing what is an alarmingly thin squad imperative during the January transfer window.

However, reports yesterday suggested Benitez faces a battle to convince Chelsea’s board to spend big rather than recalling some of the youngsters the club currently has out on loan.

The recent net-finding form of Chelsea’s Fernando Torres (left) has coincided almost exactly with his reunion with former Anfield manager Rafa Benitez

Everton investigate assault allegation

Swansea’s continental style likely to suit United - Evans

EVERTON have suspended a youth-team coach and a female goalkeeper as they and Merseyside Police investigate an allegation of assault at a club Christmas party.

Academy coach Mick O’Brien, a former player with Torquay, is alleged to have struck Everton Ladies’ second-choice goalkeeper Danielle Hill outside the Blue Bar in the city’s Albert Dock last Sunday.

However, it is understood there are conflicting reports over who threw the first punch and both have been suspended while the matter is looked into. Everton are not commenting on the allegations.

Police have confirmed they have received a complaint which they are currently investigating.

“Merseyside Police can confirm an investigation is under way following the assault of a 24-year-old woman in Liverpool city centre on Sunday, December 16,” said a statement.

“The incident occurred near to the entrance of the Blue Bar. “An investigation into the full circumstances of the incident is ongoing.”

Exposure to European sides in Red Devils’ favour

Investigating: Everton FC

By Simon Stone JONNY Evans hopes Swansea’s continental style will benefit Manchester United today.

The progressive Welsh outfit developed a reputation for neat passing football, first under Roberto Martinez, then Brendan Rodgers before his departure for Liverpool in the summer.

Michael Laudrup’s arrival has led to subtle changes, but Swansea’s core philosophy remains the same.

Already this term it has brought success against Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle, plus a draw against Chelsea.

Evans has the utmost respect for the work Laudrup is doing in south Wales, but he feels United’s vast European experience could work to their advantage.

“We have got a history of being a counter-attacking team, but if you look at Swansea, they play like a European side,” said the Northern Ireland defender.

“They like to keep the ball on the floor and pass it around, which you don’t always get an awful lot of in the Premier League.

“That will suit us. We are used to playing against European competition and this will be no different.

“Swansea will have large periods where they have the ball, so we have to be patient

Despite the optimism of United’s Evans ahead of today’s clash with the Welsh outfit, Swansea can also rely on Michu who is currently challenging van Persie for the Premier League’s Golden Boot and keep our formation and our shape.

“Hopefully we can nick the ball off them and score goals.”

Evans recognises the task will not be straightforward.

In Michu, Swansea have the man currently challenging Robin van Persie for the Premier League’s Golden Boot prize and Evans has already seen enough to recognise a stern examination awaits at the Liberty Stadium.

“I have been really im-

pressed,” said Evans.

“We watched a couple of videos on them and I have seen them quite a bit on TV. The football they play is very good.

“When they changed their manager, maybe people thought they might change their style. But, although they are a little bit more direct, largely they stuck to it.

“They are still a side that scores a lot of goals.

“We know it is going to be a tough game but we know how

to play against them and it is a game we are looking forward to.”

United managed to keep a couple of clean sheets against Swansea last season.

Now Sir Alex Ferguson and his players would like one of those given they have managed only four in all competitions this season, with memories of losing out on the title to Manchester City on goal difference last term still vivid.

And the knowledge United

presently head their major rivals by just one, despite boasting a six-point advantage heading into the weekend fixtures, is causing a little bit of concern.

Certainly it justified Ferguson’s irritation after last weekend’s tussle with Sunderland when the Red Devils cruised into a three-goal lead before easing off, allowing the Black Cats to get themselves one back and create the opportunities for more.

35 SUNDAY MAIL • December 23, 2012

Sport

Unnecessary red cards spoil Toffees victory at Upton Park Pienaar nets decisive goal over 10-man West Ham West Ham 1 Everton 2

By Ben Rumsby REFEREE Anthony Taylor was the pantomime villain in West Ham and Everton’s final match before Christmas as two needless red cards spoilt the latter’s victory at Upton Park yesterday.

Taylor all but handed the Toffees three points and a place back in the top four after controversially deciding Carlton Cole had left his foot in on Leighton Baines midway through the second half.

The official evened up the red-card count in stoppagetime, finding Darron Gibson guilty of a similar offence, having earlier angered Everton by chalking off Leon Osman’s early header.

Cole gave West Ham a halftime lead and Victor Anichebe marked his Everton recall with his first goal for three months three minutes before Cole saw red, with Steven Pienaar making the man advantage count six minutes later.

With Toffees star Marouane Fellaini starting a three-match ban and Hammers talisman Mohamed Diame still out injured, there certainly appeared to be a lack of drive from both sides initially. But then in the ninth minute Baines delivered a devilish free-kick that is certain to keep him in the thoughts of bigger clubs with the transfer window looming,

Triumphant: Everton continued their rich vein of form by coming from behind to beat the 10-man Londoners 2-1 at Upton Park yesterday the unmarked Sylvain Distin nodding it into the ground and over the crossbar.

Baines produced another special three minutes later for Osman’s disallowed goal, his corner headed home by one of the smallest players on the pitch but ruled out seemingly for Anichebe’s block on Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Having on Friday called for clarification on “grappling” in the box, the irony surely could not have been lost on Everton boss David Moyes.

His players’ ire only increased when Cole fired West Ham in front two minutes later, the striker cutting inside the recalled Johnny Heitinga far too easily before cracking

Lukaku late header ends Canaries win streak West Brom 2 Norwich 1 WEST Brom striker Romelu Lukaku smashed Norwich’s 10-game unbeaten record in the Barclays Premier League with a late winner at The Hawthorns.

Robert Snodgrass gave the Canaries an early lead after fit again Baggies goalkeeper Ben Foster failed to keep out his dipping freekick.

But Zoltan Gera ended West Brom’s near six-hour goal drought just before the break, and then onloan Chelsea player Lukaku headed the winner with eight minutes remaining to leave Baggies boss Steve Clarke hoping the Blues do not decide to recall their player during the January

Albion were also indebted to a solid display by McAuley transfer window.

Victory ended Albion’s mini slump from which they had collected only two points from four games after climbing to third spot.

They deserved their suc-

cess after looking the more threatening during the second period.

But Albion were also indebted to another rock solid display from central defender Gareth McAuley.

in a low drive from the edge of the box.

Heitinga continued to flounder and Moyes must have been ruing his decision to switch Phil Jagielka to right-back in order to accommodate the surprise return of Phil Neville from knee surgery, the Toffees captain filling in for Fellaini.

Thereafter Osman almost

provided a moment of inspiration when Nikica Jelavic just strayed offside onto the midfielder’s through-ball.

Jelavic got his timing all wrong again four minutes after half-time when a rare mistake from James Collins saw the ball ricochet through to the striker, who could only send it straight at Jaaskelainen.

Gibson curled a free-kick narrowly wide and Everton continued to probe, prompting West Ham boss Sam Allardyce to replace Gary O’Neil with Modibo Maiga just before the hour mark, a move that almost paid off immediately when the Malian scuffed Cole’s cross wide.

Maiga then got himself booked for pushing Pienaar over in the 64th minute and, from the resultant free-kick, the ball was worked left to the South African, whose cross was glanced home brilliantly

by Anichebe.

Three minutes later, Taylor made the call that swung the game.

Cole hung his leg out in a bid to control a dropping ball and definitely made contact with Baines but it looked anything but a reckless lunge. To Cole’s horror, Taylor thought otherwise, brandishing a straight red card.

Everton completed their comeback six minutes later, and Osman’s cross inadvertently played against Pienaar

by Kevin Nolan before trickling into the net.

Ten-man West Ham refused to concede defeat and Nolan almost made amends by volleying narrowly wide. Then, just as the game was drifting towards the finish, it exploded into life in the dying seconds.

Jelavic sent a rebound wide from barely six yards and Nolan was unable to prod home after being played in at the other end.

And Gibson then saw red for an almost identical challenge to Cole’s on Mark Noble, although this one was slightly less debatable.

Premier League standings Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Manchester United Manchester City Chelsea Arsenal Everton Manchester City Tottenham Liverpool Hotspur West Brom Hotspur Tottenham Chelsea Everton Stoke City Norwich City Bolton Wanderers Swansea West Brom West Ham Utd Fulham Liverpool Newcastle United Fulham Sunderland Sunderland Aston Villa Aston Villa Rovers Blackburn Newcastle United Wolves Southampton Birmingham Wigan Athletic Blackpool QPR Wigan Athletic Reading West Ham United

P

W

D

L

F

17 37 18 36 18 36 18 36 18 36 18 36 16 37 18 36 18 37 17 37 18 36 17 36 17 37 18 36 17 37 17 37 17 36 18 37 17 36 18 36

14 22 11 21 8 19 7 19 9 17 9 14 8 12 5 13 6 12 6 12 6 10 5 11 5 11 4 10 4 10 4 11 4 8 4 10 1 7 1 7

0 11 6 7 6 10 9 8 3 7 3 14 5 15 10 7 7 10 5 10 5 15 7 11 5 11 7 12 6 10 5 7 3 15 3 9 7 15 6 12

3 4 1 8 4 7 2 9 6 12 6 8 3 10 3 16 5 15 6 15 7 11 5 14 7 15 7 14 7 17 8 19 10 13 11 18 9 14 11 17

43 74 34 67 32 69 30 55 30 59 26 51 28 50 15 46 20 52 26 53 22 45 23 51 28 42 19 45 15 43 19 44 22 36 18 53 15 36 21 41

A Pts 24 35 15 30 18 39 22 33 25 41 22 45 17 45 13 44 27 54 22 68 22 41 23 52 29 56 24 58 24 57 26 63 33 54 33 74 30 59 37 64

42 77 39 70 30 67 30 65 30 58 30 56 29 51 25 46 25 46 23 46 23 45 22 44 20 44 19 42 18 40 17 40 15 39 15 39 10 36 9 33

‘Ronaldo not likely to re-sign for United’ SIR Alex Ferguson does not believe Cristiano Ronaldo will ever return to Manchester United.

Nearly four years after leaving for Real Madrid in a world record £80-million deal, Ronaldo will be back at Old Trafford on March 5 to try and help his current team knock his old one out of the Champions League.

It is bound to rekindle memories of the brilliance Ronaldo brought to the Premier League in his six-year stint with the Red Devils, as well as trigger thoughts about whether it ever could be revived.

Ferguson has spoken optimistically about the prospect in the past - and he still won’t rule it out completely.

‘FANCIFUL’ THINKING However, in sober analysis, the Scot is not convinced it will ever happen.

“I don’t see it,” said Ferguson.

“I would love to think it.

Maybe when he is about 39 and you are coming past my grave, but it is fanciful thinking really.

“First of all, how much would it take to get him from Real Madrid?

“Secondly I don’t think there is any chance they would want to sell him anyway.

“You never know. I don’t know when his contract finishes and he may want to go to another club at some point in his career.

Of course I would hope he’d want to come here.

But that is a long way off.”

Ronaldo’s return is fixed though. And Ferguson knows the player he spent £12.24million on to sign from Sporting Lisbon as a 17-year-old in 2003 represents a significant threat to his side’s hopes of progression in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS Wigan Arsenal

0 1

Man City Reading

1 0

Newcastle QPR

1 0

Southampton Sunderland

0 1

Tottenham Stoke

0 0

West Brom Norwich

2 1

West Ham Everton

1 2

Liverpool Fulham

L L

Playing Today Swansea v Man Utd 3.30pm Chelsea v Aston Villa 6pm

36 December 23, 2012 • SUNDAY MAIL

Sport Arteta spot on as Gunners manage to frustrate Latics Wigan 0 Arsenal 1 MIKEL Arteta’s penalty proved enough for Arsenal to defeat Wigan and make it three Barclays Premier League victories in a row for the first time since March.

The goal came on the hour mark after Jean Beausejour was deemed to have fouled Theo Walcott, much to the anger of the Wigan fans, and Arteta made no mistake.

The three points lifted Arsenal up to third ahead of Chelsea, who play today, while Wigan remain in the bottom three and have now taken only one point from their last five games.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger named the same team that defeated Reading 5-2 on Monday. Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was hoping to have a couple of his eight injured players back but it was only James McCarthy who was able to start, with captain Gary Caldwell on the bench.

The Latics started with a flat back four but with McCarthy providing a shield in midfield, particularly against the skills of Monday’s hat-trick hero Santi Cazorla.

Rain had poured down all morning but the pitch had held up well and both teams set about playing their similar brands of possession football.

Arsenal had the first chance of the game in the ninth minute when Arteta was allowed time and space to drive forward and play in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right but his shot was well saved at the near post

by Ali Al Habsi.

The goalkeeper was making his 100th appearance for the Latics and in the 11th minute beat away a stinging shot from Lukas Podolski.

The frustration for the hosts was they could not turn possession into chances, with both Ronnie Stam and Beausejour having a crossing off day.

There was very little between the sides and it was the hosts

who had the best chance of the first half but it was wasted by Arouna Kone.

Wigan’s pace up front certainly had the potential to trouble Arsenal, and Kone timed his run to perfection in the 24th minute to collect Franco Di Santo’s through ball.

There was nothing Per Mertesacker could do but, with only Wojciech Szczesny to beat, Kone dragged his shot horribly wide.

Arsenal were getting increasingly frustrated at their failure to break down what has been a porous Wigan defence this season. Emmerson Boyce was playing a captain’s role in the absence of Caldwell and a shot from Walcott was one of many blocks.

Four minutes before half-time Jack Wilshere entered referee Jon Moss’s book for a sliding challenge on Shaun Maloney but it was harsh on the midfielder who appeared to time the tackle to perfection.

Oxlade-Chamberlain began the second in fine fashion and his pull-back set up Walcott for a shot from 10 yards that Al Habsi blocked with his arm.

Arsenal broke the deadlock after an hour, though, as Moss judged Walcott was pushed

by Beausejour in the area.

It was a clumsy challenge by the Chile international and Arteta was coolness personified from the spot, sending Al Habsi the wrong way.

With 20 minutes to go, the Latics twice tested Szczesny, first Maynor Figueroa sending in a low skidding shot and then Kone drawing a block from the Pole after doing very well to cut in from the left.

Szczesny was then a spectator a couple of minutes later as James McArthur set up David Jones on the edge of the box for a shot that flew just wide of the upright.

Stam finally found a decent cross in the 82nd minute, but it was stabbed clear by Mertesacker with Kone waiting for a tap-in, and two late appeals for handball in the area were turned down to complete a thoroughly frustrating afternoon for the hosts.

Arteta celebrates after sending Al Habsi the wrong way

Nadal: priority is fitness over results 33

Red cards spoil Toffees victory at Upton Park 35

CITY DENY READING A MORALE-BOOSTING POINT AT ETIHAD STADIUM

Gareth Barry (left) headed a last-gasp winner for champions Manchester City in injury time

Barry leaves it late to rescue Citizens Man City 1 Reading 0

By Andy Hampson

G

areth Barry headed a last-gasp winner as champions Manchester City denied Reading an unexpected and morale-boosting point at the Etihad Stadium.

City created numerous chances in a mostly one-sided affair completed in heavy rain, but the visitors looked set to hold firm and lift themselves off the bottom of the Barclays Premier League.

But City fought to the end and Barry got on the end of a cross from David Silva to head home to much relief in injury time.

A seventh successive defeat was harsh on Reading, who after slumping 5-2 to Arsenal on Monday were much more resilient.

Under-pressure manager Brian McDermott always knew the game was a tough assignment but was moments away from claiming a more than creditable draw.

McDermott had made four changes with Jem Kara-

can returning from injury to make his first appearance since October while Chris Gunter, Ian Harte and Alex Pearce also came in.

It took less than two minutes for Adrian Mariappa to collect the game’s first booking as he clattered into Carlos Tevez in an early attempt to impose himself.

Thereafter, City could only curse their luck as they carved out several opportunities but failed to take them.

The hosts were so dominant that 18-year-old Karim Rekik, making his Premier League debut at left-back in the absence of Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov, was able to get through mostly untested.

The centre-back pairing of Kolo Toure and Matija Nastasic, while senior duo Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott looked on from the bench, also had a largely comfortable afternoon.

Tevez played in strike partner Sergio Aguero for City’s first serious opportunity but Adam Federici rushed out to claim.

Aguero made another good run to reach the byline but his cross evaded everybody before Javi Garcia planted a firm header straight at Federici.

Silva played a neat one-two

with Tevez but shot wide and Aguero then teed up Tevez but Federici saved. The ball rebounded to Tevez but his follow-up was deflected over.

A rare attack from Reading saw Karacan shoot well wide but City responded with Tevez crossing for Barry to head at Federici.

Silva jinked his way through the area to create another opportunity but Reading scrambled clear as Yaya Toure and Tevez jostled to reach his cross. Toure claimed he was impeded but referee Mike Dean saw nothing untoward.

Pablo Zabaleta had an effort deflected over and Nastasic also missed the target as City maintained the pressure.

Aguero burst through just before the break but Reading closed down shooting angles and Tevez could not get on the end of his cross.

Tevez threatened after the restart but could only shoot at Federici.

Tevez tried his luck again from a free-kick outside the area but his curling effort was pushed away from the top corner by the Reading keeper.

Reading could have snatched a shock lead when Pearce got forward to win a clear header from a Harte corner but his effort was well wide.

City boss Roberto Mancini thereafter sent on Edin Dzeko for the mostly ineffective Garcia.

The Bosnian was quickly into the action and was millimetres away from connecting with a header after good work

by Zabaleta.

Dzeko did win a clean header at a corner on 66 minutes but his attempt flew narrowly over the bar.

Mancini made another change as Scott Sinclair came on for Tevez but it was Reading who next threatened as Pavel Pogrebnyak broke and crossed for Jay Tabb.

Tabb went down after colliding with Rekik but Dean did not feel there was a foul and nor did he see a possible handball against Nastasic as the ball came in.

As the game moved into four minutes of injury time, Aguero fired into the side-netting but Barry came good as he jumped above the defence to reach Silva’s ball and head firmly past Federici.