SUNDAY MAIL

BLACK DEATH

PROPERTY

INSIDE

Skeletons thought to be victims of the Black Death unearthed

Making your home ‘heavy metallic’ with lastest trends

TV and lifestyle supplements to see you though the week

Page 10

Page 24

www.cyprus-mail.com

March 17, 2013

€1.60

COFFEESHOP: NIK CARRIES THE CAN FOR THE VILLAGE IDIOT INSIDE Cyprus Women’s football earns place in the sun 7

World Pope wants poor Church serving the needy 9

Reportage Going underground - Europe’s big infrastructure project centre

Lifestyle Ditch the baby advice books and grab a granny 20

Sport Manchester City’s title hopes in tatters back

PAGE 17

Cyprus reels from haircut ‘They took our money while we slept’ Page 4 Decision was ‘vindictive and neo-colonial’ Page 5 Bank accounts will be cut

by Tuesday Page 6 Caught between a rock and a hard place Page 11

By Stefanos Evripidou

T

HE DECISION to impose an unprecedented all-out haircut on Cypriot deposits was a painful one, but it was the only option to avoid bankruptcy of the state, said President Nicos Anastasiades yesterday.

The statement was made after Cyprus woke up to a horrific hangover yesterday morning when it transpired after a marathon ten-hour Eurogroup session that a haircut on all bank deposits would be imposed in Cyprus, along with an increase in corporate tax and a doubling of the tax on interest earned from savings.

The tradeoff was reaching political agreement on a Cyprus bailout to the tune of €10 billion, around €7 billion less than initially estimated, with the participation of the IMF. The loan, unlike the haircut on deposits, will be paid back in cash.

Overnight, what was previously declared a red line by Anastasiades and Finance Minister Michalis Sarris became a reality. For the first time in the eurozone, a haircut would be imposed, not on state creditors or bondholders, but on everybody with savings in Cypriot-based banks, including small depositors with less than €100,000 in the bank. The move is ex-

pected to raise €5.8 billion for which depositors would receive bank equity in return.

Ironically, throughout the EU, deposits with less than €100,000 are insured by the state, meaning should the banks collapse before the levy is imposed, depositors’ savings - in theory - would be secured.

This is the fifth aid package prepared by the troika - and the smallest - but the only one where depositors take a hit, largely due to the insistence of Germany and the IMF. The deposit levy - set at 9.9 per cent on bank deposits exceeding €100,000 and at 6.75 per cent on anything below that - will take place on Tuesday after the bank holiday on Monday.

To avoid a bank run, electronic transactions were frozen while the Cooperative Movement forced its branches, which are usually open on Saturdays, to close.

Apart from forcing losses on depositors, the Eurogroup, led by Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem and under the clear direction of his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble and IMF chief Christine Lagarde, also secured an increase in Cyprus’ corporate tax rate by 2.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent, and an increase in the tax on interest on savings by 20-25 per cent.

The euro ministers argued

People were queuing up outside ATMs islandwide all day to take out what they could this should boost revenues, limit the size of the loan needed from the eurozone and keep down public debt.

“The solution chosen may be painful, but it was the only one that would allow us to continue our lives without adventures. It’s a decision that leads to the historic and permanent rescue of our economy,” Anastasiades said in a written statement.

The president highlighted that the Cypriot delegation was caught unawares, finding itself before a fait accompli during the extraordinary Eurogroup meeting on Friday

night.

“We faced decisions that had already been taken and came across faits accomplis through which we were faced with the following dilemmas: “On Tuesday, March 19, we would either choose the catastrophic scenario of disorderly bankruptcy or the scenario of a painful but controlled management of the crisis, which would put a definitive end to the uncertainty and restart our economy.”

Anastasiades said the consequences of rejecting the deal would be the collapse of the Popular Bank because the Eu-

ropean Central Bank had already decided to cut its emergency liquidity while Bank of Cyprus would not have been able to avoid the same fate.

“This would have lead 8,000 families to unemployment from one moment to the next,” the president said.

A collapse of the banking sector could have led to an exit from the eurozone and a devaluation of the island’s currency by at least 40 per cent, he said.

Never mind the lost deposits and the billions that the state

TURN TO PAGES 2-3

2 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Home

President Anastasides: we were faced with

Weather

Nicosia

Haircut leaves Cyprus reeling

18

Troodos 6

19 Larnaca

Paphos

Limassol

9 19

18

TODAY: Scattered showers and sleet or snow over the mountains.

Temperatures will reach 18C inland and along the western coast, 19C along the southern coast and 6C over higher ground.

OUTLOOK: Sunny with cloudy patches. A rise in temperatures due

YESTERDAY

Nicosia Larnaca Limassol Paphos Paralimni Prodromos

max/min temp 19 - 12 22 - 10 20 - 13 19 - 16 22 - 12 9-4

Humidity 44% 48% 51% 56% 49% 62%

SUNSET: 17.50 pm

SUNRISE: 06.04 am

Sunday Mail Established 1945. Number 21,482 NICOSIA 24 Vass. Voulgaroctonou, P.O. B ox 21144, 1502 Nicosia Tel: 22-818585, Fax: 22-676385 email: mail@cyprus-mail.com LIMASSOL 5A Nicolaou, Pentadromos Centre, Thessaloniki St, Tel: 25-761117, Fax: 25-761141 email: cyprusmail@cytanet.com.cy LARNACA Tel: 24-652243, Fax: 24-659982 PAPHOS 62 Apostolou Pavlou Avenue, Office 2, 8046 Paphos, Tel: 26 911383 Fax : 26 221049 email: paphos@cyprus-mail.com

BRAND NEW

22 44 22 10 / 99 666 703 email: yemo@cytanet.com.cy

TOP QUALITY FLATS / PENTHOUSE FOR RENT / SALE WHOLE BUILDING FOR RENT / SALE

Looking exhausted and defeated, President Nicos Anastasiades returned to the presidential palace last night to face the political party leaders for another marathon session

OFFSHORE C O M PA N I E S

L L

Cyprus & Worldwide

Complete Service A.K. COSMOSERVE LTD 89 Kennedy Ave., Off. 201 P.O. Box 26624, 1640 Nicosia - Cyprus

Tel 22379210, Fax 22379212 Email: consult@cosmoserve.com

(continued from front page) would have to pay in compensation, he added. “It is well known that the deep economic crisis and the state of emergency we are in did not come about in the last 15 days when we assumed the country’s administration,” said Anastasiades. But “the severity of the situation does not allow me, and anyone else, to engage in a blame game.”

Instead, the president said he chose a controlled management of the crisis by ensuring the liquidity of the banks and the rescue of the banking system through their recapitalization; saving deposits apart from the levy for which depositors will get shares in the island’s two main banks; saving provident and pension funds and avoiding wage and pension cuts.

He also argued that the current decision will avoid further recession and the risk of a vicious cycle leading to a second memorandum.

Anastasiades returned to Cyprus last night where he planned to meet with party leaders at the presidential palace and later the heads of commercial and cooperative banks.

This morning, the cabinet will meet to discuss

draft bills emanating from the Eurogroup decision, while the president will also meet with the House Finance Committee before addressing parliament and the nation at 11.30am.

Parliament will hold a plenary session in the afternoon where they will be expected to pass the legal amendments necessary to implement the Eurogroup decision.

Speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, government spokesman Christos Stylianides said yesterday that the Cypriot delegation came under immense pressure on the issue of a haircut, with Schaeuble and Lagarde initially demanding a 40 per cent cut on deposits.

He confirmed reports that Anastasiades twice threatened to walk out from the talks until cooler heads prevailed and Germany and the IMF brought their initial double-digit figure down.

“The situation is serious but not tragic and there is no reason to panic,” he added. Speaking at a press conference after the long negotiations, Sarris said Cyprus chose the least painful solution.

“We have managed to avoid any tax on financial transactions that would be

N E W C A B I N E T OF HOMEOPATHY – BIOLOGICAL MEDICINE AT THE “I A S I S” HOSPITAL

http://www.cosmoserve.com Dr. CHRISTOS S. LOUKOPOULOS

STROVOLOS near Falcon School

OFFICE/WAREHOUSE FOR RENT 735m² of office space and 1200m² warehousing available for long term rent on Yianni Kranidioti Avenue very close to Carlsberg Brewery.

Easy access to Nicosia-Limassol highway (only 200 metres).

Loading bays for warehouses and parking space for more than 40 cars. Hidden fuel tank plus car mechanics station.

For more information please call 99218866

Degree in Medicine and Surgery, university of Turin (Italy) Degree in Emergency Medicine, university of Nice (France) Degree in Homeopathy of the French Homeopathic Fed, Paris (France)

For information and appointments: IASIS HOSPITAL, PAFOS, 8 Voriou Ipirou Street Tel: +357 2684848, Doctor’s cell: +357 97894038

AUTO AIR PARK Secure Paphos Airport Parking-Operated 24/7, 365 days a year Park for 5 days in March and get the next day FREE!!

(excluding special monthly rates) SO DONT DELAY, BOOK TODAY. INCLUDES MEET & GREET OPTION STILL THE CHEAPEST CHOICE WITH THE BEST SERVICE Ring us now on 97785663, email info@autoairpark.com Or book online at www.autoairpark.com

3 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Home

decisions that had already been taken and came across faits accomplis

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris: I wish I didn’t have to be the minister to do this catastrophic for our economy,” he said. “We believe this was an historically difficult decision, despite its harsh aspects, which averts the disorderly bankruptcy of our country, restores confidence and gives us the opportunity to proceed decisively towards a new beginning,” he added.

As depositors and banks sobered up to the news, the search began to understand why Cyprus should be the first country in the eurozone to force small depositors to contribute a part of their savings to save the banks and help stabilise Europe’s monetary union.

Economist Alex Apostolides yesterday argued the decision will have repercussions not just for Cyprus but the eurozone as a whole as it raises huge doubts about the safety of deposits in the eurozone, especially in countries

facing serious fiscal pressures.

The basis of any successful capitalist economy is the protection of the right of personal property, he said.

“This decision to punish all savers equally across all banks, regardless of the bank’s solvency, violates this principle,” he added.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, during the ten-hour marathon session, the government had to utilise its connections with other prominent German politicians in an effort to temper Schaeuble’s hard line on a substantial deposit haircut.

At one point, during the game of brinkmanship, one official reportedly told the Cypriot delegation that if they don’t agree, they can get ready for one of their banks to collapse the next day.

Speaking to CNA, German media representatives said the tough line followed by Berlin was likely as a result of the negative climate surrounding a Cyprus rescue package and the difficulty of getting any deal through the German parliament.

For months now, German media, citing German intelligence reports, argued that any rescue package would mainly help save Russian deposits, despite the fact that the majority of deposits are held by non-Russians.

In a statement issued yesterday, Lagarde welcomed the agreement reached to address Cyprus’ economic challenges.

“The IMF has always said that we would support a solution that is sustainable, that is fully financed, and that appropriately allocates the burden sharing.

I believe that the agreed package meets these three objectives,” she said.

Dijsselbloem argued that without the deposit levy it would not have been possible to save Cyprus’ financial sector which, compared with national economic output, is more than twice as big as the EU average.

“As it is a contribution to the financial stability of Cyprus, it seems just to ask for a contribution of all deposit holders,” he added.

JOB VACANCY •Established Legal Practice in Paphos seeks a full time Executive Legal Secretary/PA. The successful applicant will be fluent in both Greek and English with excellent written English and communication skills, and able to work as part of team as well as under their own initiative.

Applicants should also be efficient in Microsoft Office Systems. Training will be provided for specific Company procedures and Systems.

Experience is preferable Working Hours 8am – 1pm and 3pm – 6pm, Monday to Friday; good rate of pay offered

Co-ops opened briefly yesterday morning but shut down again with in the hour to prevent a bank run

The Senior School ‘Craft Fair’ The Senior School will be hosting a ‘Craft Fair’ on Saturday 6th April from 10am to 2pm.

The aim is to come together, meet new people and do a little shopping. We will be selling many different craft items from woollens and jewellery to cakes and ceramics, all at reasonable prices.

If you would like to rent a table to sell your wares, please call the School on 22660156 or e-mail us at nd contact@theseniorschool.com by Tuesday 2 April.

There is an introductory charge of only €10 per table for the event.

The Senior School, 12 Lohagou Kapota, Strovolos

Interested applicants should send their CV to ddlaw@logos.cy.net

The Gan Guarantee. Simple, if you find a better price, cover and service elsewhere, we guarantee to beat it.

- EasySwitch | we will take care of all the annoying paperwork for you.

- 24hr Assistance | in any emergency, we will be there for you promptly.

- 24hr FastClaim | why wait? Your claim settled within 24 hours. Either by choosing to use one of our Network Approved Suppliers, or by cheque.

The acceptance of your proposal is subject to terms and conditions and we reserve the right not to accept it

Why Compromise?

More for Less. Guaranteed.

4 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Home

‘They took our money while we were sleeping’ Disappointment and rage were tangible on Nicosia’s Ledra Street yesterday

By Peter Stevenson THE AIR of disappointment and rage on Ledra Street yesterday morning was almost tangible with groups of middle-aged men gathering to express their disbelief and fury about the haircut on deposits.

Social websites and phones were awash with debate and complaints about where this island is headed, whose fault it was and where do we go from here? As the Cyprus Mail approached several men gathered by a bench, another passed by and could audibly be heard saying ‘take it all out, even the provident fund’.

“They shouldn’t touch the deposits. They’re just killing the people,” 58-year-old Miltiades Papamiltiades, an unemployed former construction worker, said. “They should use our natural gas to pay off our debt, they shouldn’t tax the people, they have to let the people spend money to help the country develop not take their money away,” he added.

Asked to describe how he felt when he heard the news yesterday morning he replied “I feel indignant, like they have decapitated me,” Papamiltiades said. “Noone will ever deposit money again into the banks on the island. It is the end of our economy,” he added.

Seventy-year-old Nicos Adamou, a jewellery store owner has lived through World War II and the Turkish invasion. “All of the lies that the politicians have fed us over the years are coming back to harm us now,” he said.

“Their lies are radioactive,” he added. “How do I feel?” he asked, “I feel bitter and disappointed because our fi-

nance minister stated there would be no haircut but here we are,” he added.

It is not only Cypriots who have been affected or will be affected by the proposed measures. Christos Sarianoglu, a 43-year-old Costa Coffee employee from Greece, left his home country because of the extreme austerity measures taken there. It would appear that he was not well informed on the latest news though. After explaining the situation to him, the 43year-old went straight to an ATM to withdraw as much money as he could. “This is truly unacceptable, I came from Greece because I’d had enough of having money taken from here and there and now they’re doing it in Cyprus,” he said. “I’m fed up

‘The only word that can describe how I feel, how people I have spoken to feel, is betrayed’ of this whole situation,” he added.

Amongst the outrage, though, there was not much talk of a counter-solution about what the president could have done differently until the Mail reached Barrett Costanian, a 39-yearold entrepreneur. “If they wanted to do the haircut they should have set a mini-

mum amount, leaving any deposits less than €30,000 or €40,000 untouched, and taking only from those who have more,” he said. Costanian believed the move is illogical and that they should have found another solution, as opposed to taking the people’s money. “If they wanted to tax people then tax the millionaires, not the pensioners or those who haven’t got that much saved up,” he added. Costanian believed the real problem is not the haircut in itself as much as the effects it will have on the economy. “Anyone who can move their money will, and that will completely destroy the economy so you can expect things to get much worse from now on,” he said.

“I can’t believe they have gone this far and I am angry and disappointed but so is everyone right now and it’s understandable,” he added.

A 23-year-old data analyst, Steve Johnson, was queuing up at an ATM and expressed his shock at the developments. “I have more than €100,000 in savings in various banks on the island and I plan to move it because all of this time I thought I was working for myself not so the government could come and take it away in one move,” he said. Johnson explained that his uncle has saved money up to send his children to study at university and now that money would be taken.

“This was not a good option, I believe the government should have found another way,” Johnson said. “It’s a very rough decision by the authorities and one that is difficult to swallow,” he added.

One point of view was that the media must share some of the blame.

“They should have known about it before it happened

A small group of protesters outside the presidential palace yesterday to let people know, so we wouldn’t look like fools now,” 25-year-old economist, Kristy said. “They took our money while we were sleeping and there is nothing we can do about it,” she added.

She felt that although the president was warned not to follow Greece’s example, he has not learned from Greece’s mistakes. “The only thing Anastasiades has managed is to make young people want to get up and leave the country,” she said.

“The only word that can describe how I feel, how people I have spoken to feel, is betrayed,” she added.

The only person the Mail managed to speak to that was not full of indignation was Andreas, a 27-year-old physiotherapist who felt that it is those with a lot of money who have most to lose. “I really don’t know what else could have been done,” he said. “At the end of the day those who have the most money have the most to lose,” he added. “Personally I don’t have much money saved away so I don’t really have much to lose,” he concluded.

(Christos Theodorides)

Anti-troika graffiti in old Nicosia

ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY OF CYPRUS Interruption of Supply The Electricity Authority of Cyprus announces that electricity supply will be interrupted between 8:00 to 14:00 on Tuesday 19th of March 2013 in the following areas: Kaliana (part of), Moutoullas, Kalopanayiotis (part of), Pedoulas, Prodromos, Paliomylos, Lemithou, Ayios Demetrios, Tris Elies, Kaminaria SINCE IT IS NOT CERTAIN THAT THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY WILL BE INTERRUPTED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE OF THE PERIOD STATED, INSTALLATIONS IN ALL PREMISES MUST BE REGARDED AS BEING “ALIVE” DURING THESE HOURS. We regret any inconvenience which may be caused by the interruption of supply, but this is necessary due to work on the high voltage system.

5 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Home

‘Vindictive and neo-colonial’ Political parties react angrily to the news

By George Psyllides PARTIES reacted angrily to the Eurogroup decision, with communist AKEL saying it was contemplating proposing Cyprus’ exit from the common currency, the euro.

However, Communications Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos warned that the alternative was the collapse of the banking sector and bankruptcy.

AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou described Cyprus’ treatment by the troika as “vindictive and neo-colonial,” adding that his party would discuss proposing the island’s exit from the eurozone. “They are attempting to impose their political options on Cyprus, leading our country and people to conditions that are similar to those in other countries of the European south,” Kyprianou said.

Kyprianou held President Nicos Anastasiades responsible for the developments, saying that his party’s secretariat will recommend rejection of the measures.

Ruling DISY said it was a harsh decision that followed the wrong decision to writedown Greek debt in 2011, which led to huge losses for the island’s banks.

DISY deputy chairman Averof Neophytou said the alternative would be to pay the cost of a disorderly bankruptcy.

“The decision was painful but without the agreement, the situation would probably be tragic,” Neophytou said.

He said he fully understood the people’s concerns, but things had been allowed to get so bad that the options were limited.

“We will weigh the consequences of implementing the proposal and those of rejecting it and make our decisions, having in mind

the least painful effects,” he added. Socialists EDEK slammed the EU for “burying the principle of community solidarity” and the government for its “unconditional surrender” to the absurd and outrageous demands.

“Neither the unprecedented and catastrophic measures would be tolerated nor the humiliation of the Republic of Cyprus and its people,” EDEK said.

Government partners DIKO were cautious in their approach, saying they needed to be briefed on the decision before taking a stance. The party nevertheless censured the “unacceptable blackmail” that certain EU circles used to force Cyprus to agree.

Demetris Syllouris, the chairman of EVROKO, said the government would not have his support on the matter.

“If they have killed us once it does not matter if they kill us a second time. This is my reaction,” he said.

The Green party suggested that the measures included in the decision did not ensure the salvation of the economy.

“On the contrary, the consequences on common people and workers are expected to be tough, adding to the trials this people is already going through,” the Greens said.

President Anastasiades will be briefing party leaders at 8.30 this evening, ahead of a cabinet meeting.

“As soon as he returns to Cyprus he will convene a meeting of political leaders to put before them the facts and alternative scenarios,” Communications Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos said. Asked about the alternative scenario, Mitsopoulos was blunt: “It is the closure of our banks on Tuesday and bankruptcy.”

DISY’s Averof Neophytou: painful but without aid, situation would be tragic

6 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Home

Cypriot banks to transfer Greek units to Greek owners

Levy will be cut from accounts

by Tuesday Any bank account with a credit balance will be subject to the deposit haircut

By Elias Hazou THE ONE-OFF levy on bank deposits agreed between Nicosia and international creditors will impact all Cypriot account holders.

In addition to Cypriot commercial and co-operative banks, Barclays, Russian Commercial Bank and Societe Generale, among others, would be affected.

“As we understand it, anything with credit will be subject to the levy, be it a deposit or current account,” bank sources said.

The Cyprus deal means the country’s savers, almost half of whom are believed to be non-resident Russians, are asked to pay up to 10 per cent of their deposits to raise some €5.8 billion for the government.

International lenders will put up around €10 billion to help the island pay back its debt.

People with less than €100,000 in Cypriot bank accounts will have to pay a onetime tax of 6.75 per cent, while those with more will have to pay 9.9 per cent. Euphemistically dubbed a “solidarity levy,” what it amounts to is a haircut on deposits, economic analysts said.

Savers will be ‘compensated’ in the form of bank shares of an equal value to the amount contributed, finance minister Michalis Sarris told the state broadcaster. In addition to the levy, Sarris said, a 20 to 25 per cent tax will be imposed on

the interest on deposits.

And in return for emergency loans, Cyprus additionally agreed to increase its corporate tax rate by 2.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent. The deal was reached after late-night discussions in Brussels with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In return for the €10 billion bailout, Cyprus has been asked to reduce its deficit, shrink its banking sector and increase taxes.

Bank sources said a run on bank ATMs started from Friday night – while the Eurogroup was in progress –peaking yesterday morning as soon as news broke from Brussels.

“The ATMs are running out of cash,” a source said.

The frenzy of withdrawals was triggered by savers likely thinking that by reducing their bank balance they would reduce their taxable amount.

However understandable, it was probably an exercise in futility, because the taxable amount will apply retroactively, from the moment the deal was struck in Brussels.

Joerg Asmussen, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, said the Cypriot parliament would have to legislate on the measure over the weekend and the tax, which he said had already been frozen in deposits, would be removed before banks opened on Tuesday morning.

He said also the Cypriot Central Bank had done “contingency planning” for the event

of a run on the nation’s banks after the announcement of the extraordinary measures.

Asmussen said Cyprus’s banks would have to continue receiving funding from the Central Bank of Cyprus’s Emergency Liquidity Assistance facility - an expensive lending programme - but would be able to access normal ECB financing after they had been recapitalized.

The ECB official justified the measure by saying it broadened the number of people who will shoulder the burden of the bailout. Without the measures, he said, much of it would fall on Cypriot taxpayers; by going after all large deposit holders – many of whom are Russian or British – outsiders would help fund the rescue.

Greek depositors would not be hit, Asmussen said. Cypriot bank branches would be “ring fenced” and sold off to a Greek bank at a later date.

Before Tuesday – when the banks reopen after an extended weekend – the government hopes to pass three bills in total – one on the corporate tax, another on the levy on deposits and a third on the tax on interest on deposits.

A House plenum was expected to be convened today or tomorrow at the latest; House Speaker Yiannakis Omirou was forced to cut short a visit to London and return to the island last night.

The urgency of the matter mobilised the entire state

A bank teller counts cash: they’ll be very busy next week machinery. Technocrats from the finance ministry, the Central Bank and officials from the Attorney-general’s office were yesterday summoned to the Finance Ministry to begin drafting the items of legislation. The Association of Cyprus Banks also convened.

The Mail was told also that, as early as Thursday evening, Attorney-general Petros Clerides got a call from Brussels asking him to start work-

ing on the bills.

Sources close to the Bank of Cyprus said they had received verbal instructions to suspend internal internet banking.

To avert a run on the cooperative banks the Co-operative Central Bank instructed outlets to lock their systems to prevent transactions. Many branches remained closed for the day; co-operatives are normally open for business on Saturdays.

CYPRIOT banks will transfer their Greek units to Greek owners as part of the island’s international bailout agreed earlier yesterday, two government and banking sources in Athens told Reuters.

Cypriot banks account for the bulk of the €10 billion that Nicosia will get from eurozone countries to stave off bankruptcy. In sharp contrast with previous bailouts for other indebted nations, the rescue package is co-funded by levies on bank deposits.

The units of Cypriot banks in Greece, which account for about a tenth of Greece’s banking market, were specifically excluded from the levy after a deal to transfer them to Greek lenders, one senior banking source and one senior finance ministry official said.

“They will be transferred to a Greek bank,” the finance ministry official said.

It was not yet clear which Greek bank would take them over and on what terms. Greek lenders have themselves been bailed out with up to €50 billion in EU/ IMF funds after a Greek debt cut in 2012 severely hit the value of their bondholdings.

The eurogroup said earlier yesterday, without elaborating, that it welcomed “that an agreement could be reached on the Greek branches of the Cypriot banks, which protects the stability of both the Greek and the Cypriot banking systems”.

It said this would be done in a way which “does not burden the Greek debt-toGDP ratio”.

Cyprus’ two top lenders with a presence in Greece are Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank. Greek operations accounted for more than a quarter of total group operating income at Bank of Cyprus and 10 per cent at Popular, according to nine-month 2012 results.

According to Greek media reports, Cypriot lenders’ assets will be most likely transferred to Hellenic Postbank, a formerly state-controlled lender which was itself bailed out in January.

But a Postbank official told Reuters it was not yet known if this would happen.

Postbank, whose capital shortfall was estimated at €3.7 billion passed into the full ownership of Greece’s bank bailout fund (HFSF) with a view to being sold at some point to private investors.

7 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Home

Women’s football earns a coveted place in the sun Football teams travel the globe to take part in the Cyprus Women’s Cup

By Peter Stevenson OP INTERNATIONAL football teams, top class facilities, superb stadiums, great hospitality and strict regimes.

You may be forgiven for thinking those are references to the World Cup or Euro Championships, but they refer to a tournament taking place in Cyprus.

The Cyprus Women’s Cup is the brainchild of Swedish entrepreneur and managing director of Erinor Tours, Urban Norstrom and the coach of the Scotland women’s football team, Anna Signeul, who is also Swedish. This is currently the sixth year the tournament has been running, unbeknownst to the majority of people on the island - if attendances at matches are anything to go by - with a total of 12 teams this year taking part, doubling the amount of participating teams since the first cup was played in 2008.

Cyprus’ national team has yet to participate as it is an invitational tournament. The level, the Sunday Mail was informed, is extremely high and Cyprus have yet to be invited, although there is hope that in 2014 they will participate, according to Signeul.

“This is a very serious, developmental tournament where teams have come to prepare for the Euro Championships which are taking place in Sweden in July,” tournament director and head of girls and women’s football at the Scottish FA, Sheila Begbie said.

Italy, England, Finland and the Netherlands, who all took part in the cup have qualified for the tournament in Sweden in four months’ time and used the Cyprus Cup to cast a final look over any potential additions to their final squad of 23 who will travel to Scandinavia in the summer.

“It is an integral part of the women’s football calendar and year on year the quality keeps getting better and better,” Begbie said.

Norstrom, the chief organiser of the event, has been dealing with sports tourism since he first landed in Cyprus in 1977, but he has exclusively handled football for the last 25, bringing big male football clubs to Cyprus from Scandinavia and South Korea for pre-season training.

“Rosenborg and IFK Gothenburg have both visited Cyprus, and in 2007, before Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, the Swedish national team came to prepare,” he said. The Mail asked Norstrom to impress us with some name dropping, “Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Freddie Ljungberg, Olof Mellberg would probably be the most famous three players I could think of,” he said.

He revealed the interest for women’s football came through his friendship with Signeul who was looking for a location to organise a friendly tournament in a country with a warm climate and suitable facilities.

T

“The tournament takes place at the same time as the Algarve Cup, another invitational tournament and after taking the reigns of the Scottish national team, Anna (Signeul) wanted to create an alternative for countries that were not fortunate enough to be invited to participate,” Norstrom added.

Signeul believes that the Cyprus Cup has now surpassed the Algarve Cup and she attributes that to the quality of training facilities and stadiums that have been made available to the teams by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA).

“The training pitches here are fantastic, the match pitches are great and the opportunity to use the facilities normally afforded to top male football players, in stadiums that have hosted Champions League matches is priceless,” she said.

With pitches used in Ayia Napa, Larnaca and Nicosia, Signeul and the organisers are considering using facilities in Limassol next year to involve the island’s national team.

“Many countries are now calling us to take part every year,” she added.

Teams travelled the globe to take part in this year’s tournament with Canada, South Africa, South Korea and New Zealand all making their way to the Mediterranean.

“It is a small island and so travelling from pitch to pitch has not been a problem with the longest journey being one hour which is nothing considering you could be stuck in traffic in Edinburgh for that long,” she joked.

It has not been all work on the island, although the players have been restricted from enjoying themselves too much.

England’s captain Casey Stoney taking the ball from Canada’s Vonelle Filigno (Christos Theodorides)

Luxury Cruises from Limassol

STRICT ITINERARY

“The players have a strict itinerary but we didn’t want to make it completely boring for them, so we let them go into Larnaca on Saturday and also took them quad-biking in the mountains just to mix things up a little,” she added.

Begbie has been continually impressed every year by the services and facilities on offer on the island.

“It was great foresight on behalf of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) to help us organise the tournament during low-season for hotels, bringing around 500 people to the island and we would not have been able to host the Cyprus Cup without their support,” she added.

England were crowned winners on Wednesday night, with Hope Powell’s team claiming their second Cyprus Cup since it began, with a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Canada at the GSP stadium in Nicosia.

“The tournament has been very enjoyable, the weather has been superb, the facilities have been fantastic and it has been great preparation for the Euros,” England’s press officer Glenn Lavery told the Sunday Mail.

England were also given some time off to savour the local surroundings but nothing over the top and no plans to visit Ayia Napa on their final night on the island.

“It doesn’t really make a difference if it’s the last day or the first day of the tournament, all the players are expected to act in a professional manner as many of them play professionally back home,” he added.

Wednesday’s event was also graced by €35 million England and Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, who managed to get away for a few days to watch his compatriots.

English fans at Wednesday’s final in Nicosia

Costa Mediterranea 8-day cruise

Costa Mediterranea 8-day cruise

Departures from Limassol

Departures from Heraklion

Every Tuesday from 17/9 to15/10

Every Friday from 25/6 to 6/9

€459

€999

from

from

CRUISE & TAXES

AIR FARE, CRUISE & TAXES

IZMIR

SANTORINI

ALANYA RHODES LIMASSOL

HERAKLION

SAMOS KOS

MYKONOS

RHODES

HAIFA

SANTORINI HERAKLION

For reservations or information please contact us or your travel agent.

77 77 82 77

www.amathusetravel.com

8 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

World

Kenya’s Odinga challenges elections defeat in top court Democracy test five years after polls bloodletting

By Drazen Jorgic and Humphrey Malalo KENYA’S defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga filed a legal challenge to his election loss yesterday in a major test of the country’s democracy five years after a disputed vote triggered deadly tribal violence.

Shortly before, police outside the Supreme Court used teargas to break up a rally of around 100 Odinga supporters, who were urged by the outgoing prime minister to stay calm and trust in the law to resolve his complaint.

Odinga’s petition threatens to extend the period of uncertainty shadowing east Africa’s largest economy.

The outgoing prime minister refuses to accept the slim firstround election win by Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in-

Supporters of Kenya’s defeated presidential contender Odinga sing and dance as they attend a rally on March 12, 2013 at Kibera grounds in Nairobi (AFP) dicted by the International Criminal Court over the 2007 bloodletting in which more than 1,200 people were killed.

The March 4 vote was largely peaceful by contrast, and Kenyatta declared it “free and fair” in his acceptance speech last Saturday, though he added that the electoral process

could be made more refined and efficient in the future.

Kenya’s electoral commission (IEBC) had promised a smooth election but the collapse of an expensive new electronic voting system led to a five-day wait for the winner to be announced.

Odinga’s petition alleges

widespread rigging and accuses the IEBC of inflating voter registration numbers and going ahead with the election aware that its systems were going to fail.

“These failures dwarf anything Kenyans have ever witnessed in any previous election,” Odinga told reporters

on the doorstep of his office in the centre of the capital Nairobi.

“Every mechanism and every instrument the IEBC deployed failed miserably. Its failure and collapse, on a catastrophic scale on the polling day, so fundamentally changed the system of polling and the number of votes cast.”

Kenyatta comfortably beat Odinga in terms of votes won, 50.07 per cent versus 43.28 per cent, but only narrowly avoided a run-off after winning just 8,100 votes more than the 50 per cent needed to be declared the winner outright.

The tight nature of Kenyatta’s win has given Odinga allies confidence that they can force a run-off through the courts, though the petition calls for the whole process to be declared null and void.

By the time the petition was filed in the early afternoon, hundreds of Odinga supporters gathered outside the court, many wearing T-shirts with slogans such as “democracy on trial”.

“I am not happy with the election results, since my rights have been stolen. President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta is not my choice,” Florence Bolo, an Odinga supporter, said outside the Supreme Court.

Zimbabweans vote in constitutional plebiscite ZIMBABWEANS voted yesterday in a referendum expected to endorse a new constitution that would trim presidential powers and pave the way for an election to decide whether Robert Mugabe extends his three-decade rule.

Mugabe, Africa’s oldest president at 89, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980 and has been accused of waging violent crackdowns on the opposition and weakening state institutions like the cabinet and parliament.

The new constitution would set a maximum two fiveyear terms for the president, starting with the next election, expected in the second half of this year. However, the limit will not apply retroactively, so Mugabe could rule for another two terms.

Presidential decrees will also require majority backing in the cabinet, and declarations of emergency rule or dissolutions of parliament will need the approval of two thirds of lawmakers, changes that will take effect after the next election.

Both Mugabe’s ZANU-PF and the rival Movement for Democratic Change are backing the constitution, making yesterday’s vote almost a rubber stamp exercise.

will continue until the 30th of April My Shop, 51 Ledra Street Nicosia 1011 (Next to Cafe Mercedes) tel: 22772773

WORLD TODAY 13 held over gang rape THIRTEEN men are being held after a Swiss tourist was robbed and gang-raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh of India.

Local police superintendent C. S. Solanki told the Press Trust of India that the woman and her husband had camped out for the night in a forest after bicycling from the temple town of Orchha on Friday when they were attacked by a group of eight men.

He said the couple were beaten and had their belongings stolen, and that the woman was gangraped.

Solanki said that police were questioning 13 men in connection with the assault.

India has seen outrage and protests against rape and attacks on women since the fatal gang-rape of a young woman in a moving bus in New Delhi in December.

New prosthetics for Abu Hamza An Egyptian Islamic preacher with no hands who was extradited from Britain to face terrorism charges in a New York court has received new plastic prosthetics to replace the metal hooks he had used previously.

Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, better known as Abu Hamza, received the prosthetics on Friday.

He did not wear them to federal court in Manhattan, where he appeared later in the day.

Hamza is awaiting trial on charges that he conspired with Seattle men to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon. He is also charged with helping to abduct two US tourists and 14 other people in Yemen in 1998. He has pleaded not guilty.

US in defence plan retreat THE Obama administration is abandoning a key part of its European missile defence plan - an interceptor strongly opposed by Russia - blaming development problems and a lack of money.

The axeing of the interceptors, which were to be deployed in Poland and possibly Romania early next decade, offers an opening for new arms control talks.

Russian officials suspect the interceptors were a counter to their missiles and had signalled they would not mull further nuclear arms cuts unless their concerns were resolved.

US secretary of defence Chuck Hagel announced the cancellation as part of an overall restructuring of the defence plans aimed at stopping missiles from North Korea and Iran.

9 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

World Horror blast at village procession

Francis favours a poor Church, serving needy Clearest signal yet of preference for austerity

By Philip Pullella and Catherine Hornby POPE Francis, giving his clearest indication yet that he wants a more austere Catholic Church, said yesterday that it should be poor and remember that its mission is to serve the poor.

Francis, speaking mostly off-the-cuff and smiling often, made his comments in an audience for journalists where he explained why he chose to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of peace, austerity and poverty.

He called Francis “the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man”, and added: “Oh, how I would like a poor Church,

and for the poor.”

Since his election on Wednesday as the first nonEuropean pope in nearly 1,300 years, Francis has signalled a sharp change of style from his predecessor, Benedict, and has laid out a clear moral path for the 1.2-billion-member Church, which is beset by scandals, intrigue and strife.

He thanked the thousands of journalists who had covered his election, but invited them to “always try to better understand the true nature of the Church, and even its journey in the world, with its virtues and with its sins”.

He urged journalists to seek “truth, goodness and beauty” in the world and in the Church.

Francis has set a forceful moral tone and given clear

signs already that he will bring a new broom to the crisis-hit papacy, favouring humility and simplicity over pomp and grandeur.

He recalled how on Wednesday night, as he was receiving more and more votes in the conclave, the cardinal sitting next to him, Claudio Hummes of Brazil, comforted him “as the situation became dangerous”.

After the voting reached the two-thirds majority that elected him, applause broke out. Hummes, 78, then hugged and kissed him and told him “Don’t forget the poor”, the pope recounted, often gesturing with his hands.

“That word entered here,” he added, pointing to his head.

While the formal voting

Pope Francis delivers a speech during a private audience to members of the media yesterday at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican (AFP) continued, the pope recalled: “I thought of wars .... and Francis (of Assisi) is the man of peace, and that is how the name entered my heart, Francis of Assisi, for me he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves

and protects others.”

St. Francis of Assisi, who died in 1226, renounced his family’s fortune for a life of charity and poverty and is also revered by environmentalists because he loved nature and preached to animals.

Napolitano tells Monti to remain until new government formed ITALIAN President Giorgio Napolitano told Prime Minister Mario Monti yesterday he would need to stay on as long as political parties fail to reach an accord that would allow a new government to be established after a deadlocked election.

Italy has been mired in political stalemate since the February vote that saw the centre-left alliance of Pier Luigi Bersani secure a majority in the lower house but fail to win the numbers to control the Senate as well and form a government.

“It is important that in Europe, and in the exercise of whatever initiatives are possible and needed especially for the economy and jobs, the government remains under the authoritative leadership of Mario Monti until a new government is formed,” Napolitano said.

With memories still fresh of the financial crisis that brought Monti to power in 2011, the impasse has aroused fears that bond markets could take fright, reigniting the turmoil and endangering the government’s ability to manage Italy’s 2-trillion-euro public debt pile.

A LORRY loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious procession in a rural Mexican village, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 150.

The horrific blast happened when a firework malfunctioned and landed on the lorry, igniting the fireworks it carried. Seventy people were burned or had other injuries and at least 45 were taken to hospitals, authorities in the neighbouring states of Tlaxcala and Puebla said.

“They were in a procession, they were shooting off rockets and it exploded and fell on to the other ones,” said Jose Mateo Morales, director of the Tlaxcala state civil protection department. “It was very serious.”

Human remains and burned clothes were spread around a 100yard radius, including on rooftops, a photographer at the scene said.

The victims were marching in an annual procession in honour of Jesus Christ, the patron saint of Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people, Mateo Morales said.

At least one child was among the victims, Tlaxcala governor Mariano Gonzalez said.

Helicopters, dozens of ambulances and soldiers from the area’s military base rushed to the village, about 70 miles east of Mexico City.

10 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

World

Innocent man jailed for his wife’s murder Wrongly convicted Texas man’s story the subject of new documentary

By Corrie MacLaggan

A

FTER Christine Morton was beaten to death in her bed in Austin, Texas, in 1986, her husband was taken away from their three-year-old son and convicted of her murder, serving nearly 25 years in prison before DNA evidence exonerated him.

The husband, Michael Morton, is the focus of a new documentary, An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story, that documents Morton’s long journey through the state’s judicial system and the irreversible toll it took on his life.

The film, directed by Al Reinert, premiered this week at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

The documentary features Morton speaking about the trial and how, because he knew he was innocent, everything would be OK, before a guilty verdict turned his world upside down.

“When they came back with the guilty verdict and the life sentence, I was stunned,” Morton said in the film.

“It literally knocked the wind out of me.

My knees buckled, my butt hit the chair and had that chair not been there, I’d have hit the floor.”

The audience at the premiere in Austin on Monday, where many people are familiar with Morton’s story, hissed at the prosecutors in the film and afterward, gave a standing ovation to Morton, who attended the screening with his new wife.

Christine Morton, with her son Eric, before her murder in 1986. Michael was wrongly imprisoned for the killing for nearly 25 years Morton, now 58, told the audience that he participated in the film because he wanted to prevent what happened to him from happening to someone else.

“I’m nobody special,” Morton said. “What happened to me could very easily happen to you.”

“If you don’t identify with me, you’re not paying attention,” he added.

At Morton’s trial, prosecutors persuaded the jury that he had bludgeoned his wife to death in a rage because she wouldn’t have sex with him.

Years later, Morton’s lawyers learned something they say they were never told at the time of the trial - prosecutors had a transcript of an interview investigators conducted with Christine Morton’s mother in

which she described a conversation with the Mortons’ son, Eric.

The toddler, who witnessed his mother’s murder, said he had seen a monster hurt his mother and that his father wasn’t home at the time.

The New York-based Innocence Project and Houston lawyer John Raley worked on Morton’s behalf to get DNA testing done on a bandana found near the crime scene. The DNA was linked to that of Mark Norwood, who has been charged with Christine Morton’s murder and has been indicted in the murder of another woman.

Michael Morton was released in October 2011 and was officially exonerated in December 2011. He received $1.9 million from the state of Texas in compensation for the

wrongful imprisonment, the film said.

Despite Morton’s eventual release from incarceration, he said in the film that the hardest thing was to watch his son Eric slipping out of his life.

Eric, who grew up believing that his father had killed his mother, decided as a teenager to stop visiting his father in prison. He eventually dropped ‘Morton’ from his name and took his adoptive father’s surname, ‘Olson.’

“I’d never felt so empty, bankrupt, just completely at a loss,” Morton said in the film.

The father and son have since reconciled, and Eric Olson is now married and has a baby girl. The film shows Morton cuddling his granddaughter, whose name is Christine Marie.

London’s ‘Black Death’ skeletons unearthed

By Joel Jackson and Peter Woodman MORE than a dozen skeletons thought to be victims of the Black Death have been unearthed in the City of London, it was announced this week.

So far the skeletons of 13 adults have been found under Charterhouse Square in Farringdon, London during excavation work for the £14.8 billion Crossrail project.

Archaeologists made the discovery 2.4m below the road that surrounds the gardens in the centre of the square.

They believe there could be as many as 50,000 plague victims buried in the area.

Nick Elsden from Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) says that further discoveries are likely.

“The short answer is we don’t know just how many skeletons are out there,” he said.

Tests will be carried out on the skeletons but experts are linking the discovery with the Black Death as it is

known that a burial ground for plague victims was opened in the Farringdon area.

But Elsden was quick to reassure the public that there was no longer any health risk from the plague which killed over a quarter of the British population in 1348.

“It’s not something that stays in the soil. You have to actually meet someone who has it in order to catch it.”

Pottery dated up until 1350 found in the graves by the Crossrail team and the layout of the skeletons all point to them being plague victims.

A similar skeleton formation was found in a Black Death burial site in nearby east Smithfield in the 1980s.

The skeletons are being carefully excavated and taken to MOLA for testing.

Crossrail lead archaeologist Jay Carver said: “This is a highly significant discovery and at the moment we are left with many questions that we hope to answer.

“We will be undertaking scientific tests on the skeletons over the coming months to establish their

cause of death, whether they were plague victims from the 14th century or later residents, how old they were and perhaps evidence of who they were.

He added: “The general assumption about human exhumation is that they should stay in the ground. There is normally no justification for digging up skeletons except for important research like this, but we now have our sample.”

Scientists are hoping to map the DNA signature of the plague virus and possibly contribute to the discussion regarding what virus caused the Black Death. It is also hoped that the research could help combat modern day diseases.

“Many biologists are researching ancient diseases in the hope of better understanding the modern ones,” said Carver.

These are not the first skeletons found on the Crossrail projects, with archaeologists already uncovering more than 300 at a known burial ground at Liverpool Street in London that dates from the 1500s to 1700s. That bur-

An archaeologist carefully uncovers one of more than a dozen skeletons ial ground was located near the Bedlam Hospital.

Archaeologists also hope to find Roman artefacts as they dig deeper at the Farringdon site.

Once the archaeologists have finished their work,

Crossrail excavators will dig the shaft down to around 19.8m with the site to be used to support tunnelling works.

Once analysis of the bones has been completed, the skeletons will be reburied

on the site or at another cemetery.

Around 1.5 million Britons died in the Black Death - more than a third of the population - while about 25 million perished in Europe.

11 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Opinion

Euro area solidarity is only a one-way street Comment Stelios Orphanides AS OF today, I am a sworn enemy of the European Union GmbH, a union with limited liability and selective solidarity.

As a Cypriot citizen and taxpayer, I was asked three times in the recent past to contribute to the rescue of three other eurozone members (Greece, Ireland and Portugal) when my government participated in their respective rescue packages with loans. Back then, I remember very well, I neither complained nor heard of any other Cypriot complain about the Greeks, the

Irish or the Portuguese. Once again, my country was asked and it fatally agreed - to bear the cost of the restructuring of the Greek debt when the euro zone countries decided to impose losses on the holders of Greek government securities. That decision, which was necessary because the first rescue package for Greece could only fail, as it was punitive in its philosophy, translated to a loss of more than 4 billion euros in wealth or 25 per cent of Cyprus’s economic output.

As a result of that catastrophic decision and the undoubtedly pointless (if not stupid) fiscal policy by ex-president Demetris Christofias, my country too had to ask for a bailout from the oth-

er euro area members. Undoubtedly the previous government under Christofias is responsible for the delay and the procrastination in signing a deal with the troika.

And it is also likely that the current government under Anastasiades also is responsible for agreeing to the terms for Cyprus’s rescue which include a so-called ad hoc financial stability fee in the form of a haircut on bank deposits.

However, the fact that the European leaders and finance ministers took such a stupid decision, which implies that Cyprus will lose another 5.8 billion euros or 35 per cent of its gross domestic product in accumulated wealth and in turn raises the

overall Cypriot contribution to fighting the euro-crisis to over 60 per cent of its GDP, demonstrates that solidarity within the eurozone is an one-way street.

It is only there for, and can only be expected by the systemically important countries. At the same time, while systemically unimportant countries have an obligation to contribute to the rescue of systemically important eurozone members, they have no right to expect any solidarity whatsoever.

If a so-called European rescue implied resorting to measures like confiscating private property to overcome our debt crisis, then as a country, we had no need of the eurozone’s rescue mechanism and the troika. In-

stead of confiscating up to 9.9 per cent of deposits to cover part of the banks’ capital needs, we could have confiscated 20 per cent of overall deposits - if not more -, and send Mrs. Merkel, Mrs. Lagarde and Dijsselbloem home, as we indeed would have no need of them and the likes of them and above all their contribution to our rescue.

And one last thing: I would only like to ask them just one thing, out of mere curiosity. Have they really pondered matters carefully enough before even proposing this new type of remedy as to how it will affect financial stability in other eurozone countries with marginally sustainable government debt such as Italy or Belgium?

Between a rock and a hard place The government was negotiating with a gun to its head but it was a mistake to accept the deal Analysis Elias Hazou

A

NALYSTS yesterday echoed the public’s discontent in denouncing the agreement struck in Brussels, though some acknowledged that the government was negotiating with a gun to its head.

“I think it was the wrong decision by the Eurogroup, but also a mistake on the part of the government to accept it,” said Theodore Panayotou, director of the Cyprus International Institute of Management.

“Deposits are sacred… people put their money in banks for safekeeping. After what just happened, who is going to have any confidence left in the banks?” he remarked.

“The EU made three blunders at Cyprus’ expense. First, they seem to have reneged on their promise that bank deposits would be untouched.

Second, their handling of Cyprus was discriminatory, since no other country has been forced to take a haircut on deposits. And third, they displayed a total lack of solidarity toward an EUmember.”

The silver-lining – if one could call it that – is that depositors will get bank shares in exchange for the one-off tax on their deposits: “Essentially it amounts to a forced investment in bank stocks. True, in the short run the value of bank shares will be nothing to brag about, but I think that in the long run, once the economy stabilises,

they could plausibly bring a good return on investment.” Despite the bad news, Panayotou urged people not to panic and rush to take their money out of the banks, which would only make matters worse. The government must have been forced to agree to the unprecedented measure because it had its back against the wall, he said.

Economic analyst Stelios Platis was less forgiving: “It was a failure of the highest order on our part.

I think the finance minister should resign, as a minimum sign of respect

‘The EU made three blunders at Cyprus’ expense’ to the public which only recently went to the polls.

And President Anastasiades should explain himself to the Cypriot people.”

Platis forecast the levy on bank deposits and the tax on interest deposits will cause “irreparable damage” to the country’s banking system, as it will almost inevitably drive

away foreign bank account holders. On January 21, the ECB agreed to extend Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) to the two largest Cypriot banks, Popular and Bank of Cyprus, by two more months.

The deadline for ELA expires this coming week.

Sources told the Mail that as negotiations in Brussels threatened to reach an impasse, the Cypriot delegation was presented with a daunting dilemma – either you take a haircut on deposits or we switch off emergency liquidity, sinking your island’s two largest banks and the economy at large. At that point the Cypriot team had no more wiggle room as it had gone to the Eurogroup desperate to clinch a deal there and then. It seems that some of its European partners then sprung the ELA trap, the sources said.

In a statement released yesterday after the Eurogroup decision, President Nicos Anastasiades hinted that Cyprus was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Evidently alluding to the Popular Bank and Bank of Cyprus, Anastasiades said that they would both have been forced to shut down.

For Alex Apostolides, lecturer of Economic History with the European University of Cyprus, the haircut on deposits is bound to reduce the money supply, which in turn will cause the country’s output to shrink.

Nominal GDP is money supply times velocity of circulation (the number of times money changes hands). Should the economy shrink it would fur-

ther hamper the country’s ability to repay the debt, which suggests that a second bailout could be possible. Panayotou added: “I fail to see why this was a better option than letting the most troubled bank fail. If the bank failed, the state would no longer need to recapitalise it.

“It seems that we averted one disaster – the immediate closure of the banks – but is this going to make the crisis better or worse?

In other words, was it worth it agreeing to this bailout? Frankly, I don’t know the answer.”

“The first tenet of liberal economics is the right to private property. That’s why people are so upset about the deposit levy. It’s not so much because they have to pay something, but rather because they feel something they own is being taken away from them.”

Speaking on CyBC yesterday, Sarris sought to play down the notion that Nicosia had capitulated to the lenders’ demands.

The economy chief spoke of a “historically difficult decision,” stressing that the alternative was far worse.

“Some were pressing for a far larger haircut…they were pushing for the banks to close and then see what we could salvage from the ‘good’ loans. They were threatening us with this prospect,” Sarris said of some of his euro-area counterparts.

That would have caused the banks to go into an uncontrolled default, he said, and the losses on savers would have been several times worse.

President Anastasiades in Brussels during the week

12 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Opinion The ‘rescue package’ designed to destroy the economy EVEN though the haircut of bank deposits had been on the agenda of the EU for more than a month now, featuring in Commission memos and being openly discussed by European politicians, most of whom refused to rule it out, few people thought the Eurogroup would go ahead with it.

It was an idle threat, to force Cyprus to privatise SGOs and increase the corporate tax, was the prevailing view. And after all, President Anastasiades had emphatically declared in his inauguration speech that “absolutely no reference to a haircut on public debt or deposits will be tolerated,” adding that “such an issue isn’t even up for discussion.” Finance Minister Michalis Sarris made similarly reassuring statements, arguing that it would be lunacy for the EU to impose such a measure because it would threaten the euro system.

Germany and the leaders of the Eurogroup opted for this

lunacy, calculating that Cyprus is too small and inconsequential for the haircut on its bank deposits to cause contagion in the eurozone.

Of course, the markets could view the decision differently, perhaps not when they open on Monday, but a few weeks later as it becomes apparent that not even deposits in European banks are safe from raids by the Eurogroup.

It is obvious from the statements made that Anastasiades was blackmailed into accepting this euphemistically called ‘solidarity levy’. If he did not accept it, the European Central Bank would not provide Emergency Liquidity Assistance to the Cypriot banks, after the March 21 deadline (it had been extended by two months in January) and the banks would have collapsed on the same day, with people losing much bigger parts of their deposits than the seven to 10 per cent

SundayMail that would be taken now. Was there an alternative for Anastasiades? It is difficult to say, given the pressure for a political agreement by last Friday.

All indications are that our EU partners had taken their decision before then and this was why they scheduled the Eurogroup meeting that would discuss the bailout on a Friday night.

The Cypriot banks would be closed for three days during which all the steps for bailing in deposits could be taken, and the banks could re-open normally on Tuesday.

If only things were so simple.

It is highly unlikely it will be business as usual at the banks on Tuesday as thousands of people will likely turn up to withdraw their money.

Big depositors would give instructions for the transfer of

money abroad and never again place it in a Cypriot bank. What would be the capital needs of the banks faced with a mass exodus of deposits, brought on by the Eurogroup decision?

Would the EU order another ‘solidarity levy’ in such a case or would it declare Cyprus bankrupt, having dealt a fatal blow to its financial services sector that is by far the biggest contributor to GDP, and kick it out of the eurozone?

Yesterday’s decision still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives, which will meet today or tomorrow to approve the haircut bill. Judging by the statements made by the political parties yesterday the approval of the relevant bills is far from certain.

Anastasiades was to meet the party leaders last night in an effort to persuade them to support the bills, but there are already many dissenting voices, not to mention the public outcry, which is bound to affect the

stand of the parties. One deputy yesterday wondered whether it would be better to allow the two banks that required liquidity assistance from the ECB to go under instead of accepting the haircut.

But the problem would not be confined to these two banks as there is interdependence among the banks and a bank run on two would spread to all. This will be Anastasiades’ main argument in explaining why he agreed to the bail in of deposits. The alternative would have been the collapse of the banks, state bankruptcy and exit from the euro. Under the circumstances the president opted for the lesser of two evils, even though we doubt there would be many people who would give him credit for that.

In effect, the EU offered a ‘rescue package’ that is designed to destroy rather than rescue what is left of the Cyprus economy.

Readers’ reactions@ www.cyprus-mail.com

Anger and shock as Cyprus wakes up to savings blow My question is a very simple one, if i walk into a bank with a shotgun and rob them with this new law does it mean it’s now legal?

Marios Neophytou Check all politician’s bank accounts to see how many of them have taken their money out in recent days.

Nick Yiannopoulos And still the former boss of the Bank of Cyprus is getting €2 million compensation.

Steven Kimberley The alternative would have been so much worse, this we can live with.

Alexander Reuterswärd I understand the last President, Toff, has left the building.

Alex Walker This is a shock at first glance but we don’t blame the new government.

They had no choice in this. Our previous government were warned action needed to be taken as long ago as 2008 and did nothing. So now action is forced upon us by the troika/ bankers who really run Europe.

Findingcyprus One has to wonder what choices the new government had after five years of serious mistakes from the Christofias crowd who sucked every drop of funds from CyTA, EAC, banks and more and left power running. Now, as a direct result, the new government has very difficult decisions. At least the government has the balls to make decisions to pull us out this mega mess. The final question and the most important one for me is the possible run on investments from abroad, mainly Russia.

Anthony Voscarides This has been planned. Don’t fool yourself that it will help the Cyprus economy. It will only get worse.

Fedor Bakl I like the fact the package goes straight for our pockets when privatisations is something that MAY be required. The privatisation of at least

one or two of these entities SHOULD be required to convey the right message, in that the most humble share of the population does not have to continuously foot the inefficiency bill of these mammoths.

Didier Ouzaid I fear this short term solution will not be enough to prevent a disastrous future on the island. The whole mentality has to change, the infrastructure has to change and the trust levels need to be built from the ruins. There is NOTHING to attract any kind of external investment. It’s always the same, ‘the people’ pay for the inadequacies of idiots.

Watch the crime rate soar as people try to “survive” and dodge tax and other responsibilities. People will do what they need to do to survive.

Nick Nicolaou The reputation of Cyprus is in tatters and its future is bleak because no-one will invest or buy property for many years to come. Lied to by a village idiot, now lied to by a smug lawyer.

James Sinclair Already the political blame game has started. AKEL followers are now telling us that this is all Anastasiades fault. When will we grow up? Politics in Cyprus is like a school yard, lots of pointing and sticking out tongues.

We are in the sh**t because of years of trying to keep our electorate happy - jobs when requested - and our senior professionals skimming off the top, middle and bottom. We made this mess and now we are reaping its wrath. Of course this haircut is unfair but what options are available?

Vincent Vikentiou From today we will see how Cyprus will have no more rich depositors to give us a hand.

Alexander Bear People who have lived beyond their means are the root if this issue, now some poor people who have been saving up all their lives and are about to retire with their 100K in the bank have just learned that the govern-

ment will be stealing 10K of their savings because some idiots overextended themselves due to poor banking regulations, They think there won’t be a run on the banks?

What idiots, my 91K will be filtered out of their system as quick as possible after this. This is an overnight robbery.

Lisa Pavlou One’s savings do not belong to the bank but the individual who put it there. We will have people hiding their money in their mattresses again... bad idea all around.

Anne Matthews Instead of borrowing the money, the government would rather steal it from those who have savings, stealing from our children’s college funds, the elderly, anyone trying to make a better life for themselves. The troika are probably still dizzy from what we have agreed to do - they can’t even believe it.

Yiannis Pittalis The galling thing is that expats who contribute greatly to the Cypriot economy will be hit but were/are unable to vote for the government who got the country into this mess and the present one who agreed to this, despite saying previously it would not happen.

Alastair Seago No mention of forcing politicians to pay their taxes I note.

Linda Foulkes-Stokes My sympathy goes to everyone... but no one wanted to believe that this could happen to us. Instead of measures being taken five years ago, everyone was happily accepting their rise in salary, bonuses, being employed in the government, building left right and centre, taking massive loans which they could never afford.

Georgos Ioannides The most ironic thing is 10 days before the elections Sarris actually said such a move would be catastrophic for Cyprus!

Haji Mike

I’m thinking of moving into a bank, taking my tent and setting up house!

They steal my money, I deserve an office space in return!

Debbie Parperi-Phylactou The timing of this is no accident (bank holiday weekend) and the ATM’s didn’t just get switched off after a phone call from Brussels, I bet most senior banking staff knew it was happening on Thursday and Friday, so my question is will the EU/troika appoint an ombudsman to investigate the banks employee accounts to see what funds were moved prior to Friday evening?

Vince Flynn I am sorry for the ordinary people. It is very sad reading all the stories... people losing their savings..Why? To protect the banks and Russian mafia? Now, confidence in the banks is rock-bottom, expect a run on the system from next Tuesday...the ‘systemic’ rot will continue...Who now will invest in Offshore Gas? How does this make things better?

Ozay Mehmet When I married and came to Cyprus many years ago my wife said that her uncle who had been in Cyprus many years, told her not to keep any money in Cypriot banks.

It is now coming true. My mattress is getting rather lumpy now.

Michael Herbert One of my Cypriot friends has called me in a panic. She has a mentally handicapped brother, and she and her sister live frugally, have never been abroad, own one tiny car and have been saving to pay for repairs to their old house - they have just lost 10% of their life savings while those with huge mortgages, credit card loans etc are the ones sat smiling now.

Patricia Dobson Everyone I know has removed money from the banks over the last couple of months. I even withdrew my sickness benefit the day that it was deposited.

John Rose

Instead of bankers and politicians it is the customers who get punished!

This is the ultimate insult! What is needed now is a life-long haircut on the future income of all responsible bankers and previous politicians, such funds to be re-distributed to today’s victims.

Nick Bulut Why should people who have worked all their lives and have already lost most of their savings through recession, now have their money stolen to fund more stupidity?

Annie Cator Yours and my money belong to us and if we want to move it around and do with it what we will, that’s up to us. No amount of excuses, such as saying that it’s necessary to save the economy and/or banking system, will wash. Imagine that you have €1 million in a deposit account. Let’s assume that I’ve managed to hack into your account and at a stroke I’m able to withdraw €100,000. Would you not consider that to be THEFT and quite rightly I should be convicted and put in jail? I rest my case.

Gavin Jones All the smart money left Cyprus weeks ago. The only ones to suffer are those who believed what the politician said.

Corinne Prior The problem here is the pistol that was put to Cyprus’ negotiators head in the middle of the night: Take it or let the banks go bust, in which case a lot more than 10% would evaporate. I suppose there was no other choice, since only the government knows how serious the situation really is. However the confiscated loot should be made up in future through haircuts on bankers’ salaries and bonuses and by drastic reductions of past politicians’ pensions.

Nick Bulut Bank robberies will cease in Cyprus as the coffers will be emptied next week.

Freddy Smart

Want to send a letter?

You can send letters to the Cyprus Mail by email, fax or post. Letters should include a full postal address (an email address is not sufficient), a daytime telephone number and a reference to the relevant article. A name and address may be withheld from publication if circumstances warrant. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Correspondence will be published at the discretion of the editor. Management is under no obligation to inform readers if, when or where their letters will appear.

13 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Opinion An open letter to the president on the economy, the Cyprus problem and gas

Following in Plato’s footsteps Comment Nicos Rolandis

T

O MY good friend Nicos Anastasiades, Plato in his Republic refers to the ideal organisation and administration of a state and considers that this could be achieved “if the philosophers were to reign or if the kings would philosophise in a pure and able manner”.

In a republic the elected leaders rule.

The people by their vote bestow upon the leaders the necessary authority and power.

The people also hand over the state to be governed. In your case, unfortunately, dear Nicos, the state of which you received the mandate is in ruins. You are the leader who has to activate Platonic wisdom and in a “pure and able manner” try to reverse the tragedy.

How have we reached this predicament? It is a sad story of blunders, vetted in depth by hundreds of analysts. Those who committed the blunders have never had the courage to admit them.

I reread recently the historic speech of the then president of Greece Constantinos Karamanlis on April 7, 1983, at an official dinner in Athens in honour of President Spyros Kyprianou when I was foreign minister.

He said: “Unfortunately, many errors were committed to which the crimes of the junta and of Ankara were added. These errors never came into question, so we started blaming each other and then we all blamed the foreigners. We tend to forget that the foreigners could never act in an unjust manner towards us if we did not facilitate them through our own errors. This conclusion may be unpleasant but it is useful. Because the confession of an error does not cause any harm, as people may believe, on the contrary it is beneficial.”

This is what we Greeks are, dear Nicos.

We are all infallible. We have discovered the scapegoat: foreigners and never ourselves.

This is probably the reason why the pope visited us: to get to know in person the land wherefrom the doctrine of “infallibility” originates.

I shall address today the three most important issues that you have inherited: the economy, the Cyprus problem and natural gas. I shall be sincere, as I have always been, since the 1960s and 1970s and later, when I resigned as foreign minister (September 1983), then again during the time of the S300 missiles, the United Nations plan (20022004) and on other occasions described in more than 140 articles I have written in the past 10 years.

I know that my stand is not always po-

Constantinos Karamanlis addresses Spyros Kyprianou, Nicos Rolandis and others in 1983 litically acceptable, because of lack of populism, but at the end of the day I was always vindicated.

In terms of the economy you will have, like a new Hercules, to clear the stalls of the king of Elis, Augeas. Hercules did it in one day; you probably have 30 days. I firmly believe, Nicos, that you are most suitable for the job. You have a good team of people working with you, but most importantly you have the necessary prestige and acceptability amongst the decision makers.

The former president had committed a pivotal error. He is a communist, which I fully respect. However one does not attend a top meeting at the Temple of Capitalism in Brussels to plead for a loan, while underlining his communist identity and furthermore calling his lenders “thieves”. It is as if one stands in the middle of the church on Good Friday, stating that he is an atheist, asking for money and at the same time calling the people in the congregation “thieves”. For goodness sake! It is a matter of common sense!

Lenders are always hard and ruthless.

They want to make sure that the loan will be repaid. Their terms become much more difficult and unbearable when there are delays and the borrower gets close to default and bankruptcy. This is what has happened to us. Our economy was in the doldrums last

summer but the terms of the Memorandum with the troika were still somehow bearable.

We failed to act in time. On December 17, 2012 the ministry of finance issued a statement saying that we were close to default and that we could not pay the salaries of the civil servants. Today we are in the middle of nowhere.

Your first duty is to save the country, dear president. And then you have to lead it to “resurrection”. This will be a great challenge. How and with which financial means, which investments, which pioneering ideas, which inspiration, which strength will you make the almond trees blossom again on our scorched land?

It is probable that natural gas will be our strong, very last hope.

If in the field of the economy we have blundered in the past five years, when it comes to the Cyprus problem our blunders have spread over 50 years. During all this time some political leaders kept repeating the same rubbish: words without any real substance, in which nobody is interested. In Cyprus we live in our own world. The United Nations, Europe and their representatives have become our “enemies”, and with very few exceptions we are in continuous confrontation with them.

In the northern part of Cyprus life follows its own rhythms. They have built their own

separate world, with the assistance, the huge investments and the settlers of Turkey, together with the tacit acquiescence of the international community.

You will come across many difficulties on Cyprus dear Nicos, even if you are not to blame for this outcome. Continuous delays have “killed” the potential for a solution, in the same way in which they “killed” the economy. The other community is very distant, it has moved beyond the horizon.

It is probable that natural gas will, in this case as well, be our secret, very last hope.

In 1998, when I first started to develop a policy for our oil and gas reserves with my team at the commerce ministry, I certainly had a strong vision of the development of the huge wealth which Cyprus might own, but at the same time I was aware that the “blessing” might turn into “disaster” if we did not use the immense wealth as a tool to solve our national problem. This is why I have, in recent years, put forward a series of relevant proposals.

Dear president, as stated above, I am of the opinion that natural gas is our secret and last hope both for the economy and for the Cyprus problem. I believe we may negotiate a favourable solution and at the same time utilise the gas as consideration vis-à-vis the Turkish Cypriots, Turkey and Greece. This is what I suggest in my article “Is there a WinWin situation?” in February 2012, which was viewed with interest by many foreign governments.

Turkey is a very dangerous country, which has proved in the past that she almost always implements whatever she threatens to do: invasion, 1974 (she was threatening since 1965); unilateral declaration of the Turkish Cypriot state, 1983, and the S300 missiles in 1998. Furthermore, we shall be pumping gas until the years 2045-50, which offers Turkey leeway for her plans.

If we think that in case of crisis or confrontation we shall be “saved” by the foreign corporations which have the licences to drill for oil and gas, we are simply grossly mistaken, as we were on other occasions in the past. The foreign corporations will cooperate with the new boss, in exactly the same way in which hundreds of foreign companies, operate and pay taxes to the regime in the occupied part of Cyprus.

Dear President, dear Nicos, Plato himself thought that his Republic could not materialise. “I do not think it will happen on earth, probably in the skies” he says.

Despite this, dear Nicos, do try, based on the mandate of the people, “with wisdom, purity and effective action” like Plato’s “philosophising king” to achieve what is almost not feasible.

Nicos Rolandis is a former foreign minister, commerce minister and MP

Greed is really the objection to privatisations Comment Loucas Charalambous REACTIONS to the austerity measures being imposed to clean up the economy were to be expected. These could be described as understandable when they are by citizens who are not only blameless for the precarious economic situation, but are also paying a very high price for its consequences.

But to hear complaints from all those who benefited from the continuous plundering of state coffers for the last 35 years - the main cause for today’s economic woes - is an intolerable provocation to the average citizen. More specifically, it is outrageously provocative behaviour, in today’s conditions, for state and semi-

governmental employees and their union bosses to protest every day about the measures that led to reductions in their pay.

We are talking about reductions, which in reality are not pay cuts but contributions - and very inadequate ones - towards their princely pensions. Meanwhile they are still entitled to their huge retirement bonuses without contributing anything towards them. In other words, the total deductions from their salaries are much smaller than the monthly contributions paid by workers of the private sector for their pension and provident fund; and still the monthly pension and provident fund payment (retirement bonus) are lower than those received by the state workers.

As I have written in the past, if

the 75,000 people working for the public sector and semi-governmental organisations contributed towards their pensions and retirement bonuses, from the first day of their employment, the same percentage of their wage as private sector workers, the state today would have no budget deficit, a small public debt and we would not know what a bailout or a troika was.

Under the circumstances, one has to agree with the harsh words directed at the Supreme Court judges by the attorney general last Tuesday, during the hearing of the appeal by district court judges against the reduction in their salaries. The judges’ shabby behaviour offers an explanation for our economic woes.

When the judges, instead of setting a good example during

these difficult times, are pursuing the protection of their personal interest, leading the dance towards economic oblivion, we should not wonder how we fell into the abyss.

This also applies to the union bosses mentioned above. In the last week they issued announcements, in chorus with the leaderships of EDEK and AKEL, protesting about the ‘sell-off’ of the national wealth, describing the privatisation of CyTA, EAC and the Ports Authority as a ‘national crime’ and citing reasons of ‘national security’. As Samuel Johnson memorably said, ‘patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel’.

If our national security is at risk it is because of our stupidity and our political idiocy and not because the telecommunications and electricity services

would be privatised. By the same logic, Britain, which privatised telecommunications, the ports and electricity decades ago, should today be under some foreign rule. But for some strange reason its state security is one of the best and most reliable in the world.

As regards the first argument I had explained last week that EAC, CyTA and the Ports Authority are not national assets but national minotaurs fed by the blood of the consumers while their notorious profitability was the result of gross overcharging of their customers.

They should cut out all this nonsense because everyone knows that their only concern is to maintain their profligate fiefdoms and not our national security.

14 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Opinion The troika want their pound of flesh and there’s nothing Michalis can do

Robbing the poor to give to the rich Comment Hermes Solomon YESTERDAY morning I watched two strapping guys trying to break into the Hellenic Bank on Prodromou, banging on the doors to get their money out. Incredulous! And the theft and lies go on! Immediately after, I attempted to transfer funds online and processing was refused. I then stood in a queue at an ATM for ten minutes. I won’t bother tomorrow because all of the ATM’s will be empty. After Green Monday expect a flaming Red Tuesday!!

Chaos...

If the law to haircut deposits is passed by the House of Representatives then I expect a run on all banks in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, France, etc. The eurozone, through outrageous troika/Cyprus demands, are committing hara-kiri.

They want more than their pound of flesh and there’s nothing Michalis Sarris can do about it no matter what our forty fag a day sounding govt. spokesman, Christos Stylianides says.

This week, visiting troika officials have, not unexpectedly, moved the goalposts and seek to drip-feed us funding. We are in stuck, or ‘Zypern ist verklempt’ as Herr Schauble says; and so say Moodys, Standard & Poor, Fitch, the Wall Street Journal, Der Speigel, the FT and Daily Telegraph daily among others! Not that we take a blind bit of notice of them and their accusations of our miniscule, by comparison, money laundering yet hugely overstretched banking sector.

This government repeatedly stated that a haircut on bank deposits and an increase in the island’s corporate tax was not up for discussion, and AKEL insists that privatization

of SGO’s is most definitely off the cards. Then what the hell was up for discussion – exit from the eurozone, which rating agencies and the media threatened Greece with until she signed her first troika negotiated bailout? Have no doubt; levels of taxation here will be brought into line in keeping with all EU member states.

After all, why should Cyprus receive special treatment? Clearly it hasn’t as of yesterday.

We are all discussing the present financial balls-up and how most of us are about to be robbed by men in suits. Haircuts via extortion are theft, pure and simple!

Sarris, the finance minister under the Tassos Papadopoulos govt. and now again under Nicos, knows more about finance and the Cyprus economy than all Anglo-Cypriot fish’n’chip shop owners put together. But can he tell us how to get the Cyprus economy off her knees and back onto her feet?

Born in Nicosia in 1946, Michael studied Economics at the LSE and received his Doctorate in the United States. From 1972 to 1975 he worked at the Central Bank and Bank of Cyprus before joining the World Bank as a dept. director. In September 2005, Tassos appointed him as Minister of Finance, where he served until Tof stupidly replaced him in March 2008 with that ‘couldn’t care less’ economist, Charilaos.

Under Michael’s tenure, Cyprus prepared for and successfully introduced the euro as our national currency. And that’s when things started to go wrong! Maintaining a viable Eurozone, like farming subsidies which eat into 30 per cent of the EU budget, has become an administrative nightmare – too big to be permitted to fail! The Cyprus banks have proved to be too small to save.

On Michael’s recent return from Brussels he looked surprisingly disillusioned. Shaking off the after effects of an infection with the aid of antibiotics, his weathered face and deep throated crackling voice hinted at failure to defend ‘our’ bailout conditions. He’s there again this weekend with our president, where a provisional deal has been struck with the troika

Michalis Sarris begging for cash in Brussels last week that is causing havoc back home; haircuts that would never be accepted have been!

And more importantly Mr Lillikas, we cannot keep gassing on about our gas until it surfaces in 2015 at the earliest. Did Noble Energy hold off a second drilling in Block 12 in an effort to renegotiate, for them, more favourable terms as soon as we were declared bankrupt? Cheap gas due to worldwide new finds and fracking has led many power stations to switch from oil to gas-fired, ergo the ‘markets’ predicting hugely increased demand.

Much to Noble’s surprise and our benefit, the price of natural gas has risen sharply on commodity markets and now sits close to its past 52 week high, whereas oil is stuck mid-range.

The Natural Gas Public Company of Cyprus (DEFA) announced last October “that for the Expression of Interest for the Short Term Supply of Natural Gas for Delivery to Power Stations in Cyprus, 14 expressions of interest had qualified to the next stage of submitting binding integrated proposals. On January 4th 2013, it was requested from the 14 pre-qualified companies to submit their Binding Integrated Proposals by 17.00 Local Time on 4th February 2013.

“Eight Proposals have been submitted and following evaluation 3 proposals qualified for the next and final stage of the RFP process, which will be held between 18-20 February 2013. “DEFA is bound to the Interested Parties by a confidentiality agreement and therefore no more information will be released relating

to the process.” But it would be nice to know what price we’ll be paying for gas after its meteoric rise this past year.

Last Saturday I spoke with a ‘top table’ member of the DEFA board and was told that they were in the process of deciding between a shortlist of two suppliers. He didn’t know the first thing about commodity markets or the sudden hike in the price of natural gas.

So how would the ‘board’ arrive at a decision between the two shortlisted suppliers? He said that any final decision would be political and had nothing to do with DEFA’s dilatoriness!!

That evening, the ‘top table’ board member was off to a high society wedding, where he would meet with other board members, leading politicians and elite civil servants when handing over the obligatory 200 euro envelope.

Guests invited for cocktails only and not supper would discuss niceties nicely for half an hour while sipping vintage 2003 Dom Pérignon from a tulip then return to their respective homes to watch a recording of that late afternoon’s APOEL/AEL football match. And there we have it - priorities in Cyprus kept in their respective places!

We are the world leaders at faffing about not doing the jobs we’re paid to do!

Nobody, but nobody here makes a decision or takes responsibility for not making one when they should. Now we, hoi polloi, must pay! You can hardly call this haircut Russian when it affects all savers equally, more so the poor and struggling than the oligarchs.

Why ‘mind the gap’ is central to London’s charm Comment

Andrew Martin UNTIL last year, London Underground’s iconic “mind the gap” announcement on the northbound Northern line platform at Embankment was one of the original, rather schoolmasterly ones. Yet Dr Margaret McCollum would make pilgrimages to hear it - because it was spoken by her actor husband, Oswald Laurence, in the late 1960s; he had died in 2007.

Last November, Dr McCollum realised that a new, more emollient voice had replaced that of her husband.

She wrote to London Underground, which has promised to restore her husband’s recording.

The widespread coverage of this heart-warming tale confirms the appeal of the gnomic injunction to “mind the gap”.

Gaps occur where the curvature of the platform - usually necessitated by the need to skirt around important foundations - is greater than the curvature of a train. A friend of mine can list them all as a party piece, and once undertook to do this for me. Five minutes in, I stopped him and asked, “How long is this likely to take?” He said, “about 20 minutes”, so I asked him to confine himself to gaps on the Northern line, and he was off: “Woodside Park has a very slight curvature, and West Finchley has a bigger one. Kentish Town has a small gap, as do Belsize and Chalk Farm ...”

There isn’t always an announcement. Sometimes the words are simply written on the platform. The history of the announcements is murky, and I long confused Laurence’s clipped and patrician “mind the gap” with the very first, even more clipped and patrician one recorded

by Peter Lodge, and used for years

ere on the Central line at Bank, where there is the mother of all gaps. ho Lodge was a sound engineer who es, worked on episodes of The Goodies, among other TV series. In 1969, he ose was contacted by a Scotsman whose ho name is lost to history but who nworked for Telefunken, the firm conhe tracted to supply the first “mind the re gap” announcements, which were enabled by digital technology. uLodge recorded an actor (not Lauor rence) saying the words. The actor ng then called the Scotsman, saying e he assumed royalties would be epayable every time the announcey ment was played. He was promptly d sacked, and the Scotsman returned k to Lodge’s studio planning to speak re the announcement himself. Before he he did so, Lodge said “mind the t ts gap” to test the levels, and the Scotsman, who was in a hurry, said: “Let’s use that.”

London Underground used to be embarrassed about its gaps, as if

T There was a brief campaign to rebra brand them “passenger-train interfac faces”.

B “mind the gap” has resonance.

But It expresses a pragmatic and therefor very British philosophy in three fore wo words, and it is appreciated by fore eigners - those who understand it - as an amusing piece of arcania.

An American comedian called Arj Barker used to begin his London routines: “I don’t mind the gap. In fact, I love it ...”

Today, London Underground makes a fortune every year from coffee mugs, T-shirts, mouse pads and the rest emblazoned with “mind the gap” - as I mentioned to Lodge a few years back.

“Mmm,” he mused, “one per cent of that would be nice.” they symbolised the exigencies of a poorly planned and underfunded network.

Andrew Martin is the author of Underground, Overground (Profile)

15 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Opinion

The boyfriend’s hellish relative Letter from London Alexia Saoulli

T

HE GOOD thing about living abroad is you’re far away from family. I wouldn’t know anything about that given most of my family live abroad and not back in Cyprus.

I can’t say the same for my other half.

His entire clan live over here: mum, dad, brother, sister, uncles, aunts and cousins. Worse yet, they’re on the close knit side, which means I have to hang out with the ‘in laws’ more than I’d care to. Having grown up in an environment where that wasn’t the case, I’m having teething problems during this period of adjustment.

Just last week I was faced with one such scenario when we had my boyfriend’s cousin round with his new boyfriend. Being a man slag, this is the fifth partner I’ve met in under 12 months. This time he swears he’s found ‘the one’. Being a sceptic I’m not so sure. I’ve seen him present us with ‘the one’ at least twice since last August.

Anyway, this cousin hates me. I think the only reason he comes round for dinner is because he’s a total gypo and likes a free meal. Like so many 26-year-olds in the UK today, he’s on the dole. I know I sound very scathing but I do think there is a problem with this entire social benefits system here.

The UK is always crying poverty and yet I know many able bodied men and women who prefer to claim benefits than to get a real job.

“Why should I work when I get £1,800 a month for not working?” a relative of mine once asked me. Being an alcoholic, who dabbles in Class A drugs, he boasted he was able to claim every benefit under the sun including child maintenance and housing allowance.

He was even able to claim benefits for mental health problems. Given his alcohol and drug habit, I’m not surprised he suffers from depression, but instead of helping him back on his feet the government would rather pay him to stay at home and drink himself to an early grave. The worst part is, he’s not the only person I know like this.

So back to my boyfriend’s cousin.

The guy has no job, no real desire to find a job, and looks like a hobo on the best of days. I wouldn’t mind all that if when he came round to our house he treated me with a little respect and appreciation. Instead, he swaggers in, at least 30 minutes late, and expects to be waited on hand and foot.

I seriously get the impression that he thinks I’m a necessary extra who simply cleans and cooks and washes up after him and my boyfriend.

The last time I saw this relative of my partner’s was in January and forgetting how obnoxious and argumentative he is, I decided to invite him round again last week. My boyfriend doesn’t actually ever suggest we meet up because he’s got mixed feelings about his cousin. Being family, he loves him. Whether he likes him though, is a different story. I think he feels sorry for him because he’s a bit of a lost soul and he feels a sense of responsibility for him. Unfortunately, because I love my boyfriend, I try and do the right thing and encourage him to see the little turd more often. This invariably means I suggest we have him round and I’ll cook.

So, last week, the bum comes round

uotes of the week “I hope you don’t regret this. May God forgive you”.

Pope Francis, toasting the cardinals after they had elected him to the papacy

women have given up.

In many cases I think women prefer to have a relationship with a woman”.

Actress Angela Lansbury on gender relations

“It’s official: there’s a new Pope. Phone has not rung. Guess I finished second”.

Actress and singer Bette Midler tweets her disappointment

“By saying that you are a feminist you are not saying you believe that men should be killed in a mass genocide”.

Lena Dunham, star of the TV show Girls “I don’t think there is any room for sentiment in a Bond film. It’s all about killing the baddie, bedding the girl, drinking a cocktail and moving on”.

Actress Honor Blackman, 87, a former Bond girl

The Makaronia tou fournou took three hours to make

The hobo cousin proved himself the worst dinner guest - yet again with his new boyfriend and he’s all gushy and kissy with my boyfriend, and practically ignores me. Thankfully I like the new boyfriend and so manage to keep my temper under check. I also question, for the umpteenth time, how my boyfriend’s cousin has managed to bag himself yet another nice guy.

For dinner I decided to make makaronia tou fournou (baked pasta with meat sauce). I felt a reminder for home was called for as I might need the extra energy to get through the evening. I also hoped the ungrateful wretch would like it because the last time I made a baked pasta dish he had seconds. Although he gets under my skin I do really want to get on with him and try really hard to be nice and to get to know him. Unfortunately he clearly doesn’t feel the same way and so as usual dinner involved me being ignored. Throughout. The guy makes no eye contact with me, interrupts me when I’m speaking, and addresses all questions to my boyfriend and his own partner. If I disagree with him, he jumps down my throat. When I’m talking, he sighs and changes subject.

By the end of the night I had visions of me grabbing the kitchen knife and stabbing him in the neck. I wondered how fast I’d have to be before my boyfriend stopped me. I then fantasised explaining it all to my boyfriend’s family and realised we’d likely have to break up as I spend the next 15 years in jail. I could always claim insanity, I thought.

As I sat opposite him at the table, watching him thanklessly shovel the food I’d spent three hours making into his mouth, I imagined telling him to leave my home and that he was

unwelcome to return. I only held my tongue because his 18-year-old boyfriend might cry if I caused a scene. I also didn’t want to embarrass my own boyfriend. It wasn’t his fault his cousin was the rudest pig on the planet.

Suddenly I jumped up from the table. All three of them looked at me like I’d grown two heads.

“I forgot something,” I stammered, and marched out of the living room and into our bedroom.

I don’t know what came over me. I just wanted to explode with rage and thought it best if I left the room before I said anything I might regret. The thing is, my reaction made me even angrier because I was letting him get to me and I was allowing myself to feel uncomfortable in my own home!

After a good 10 minutes I returned to the living room and pretended to be on a call to Cyprus while simultaneously doing the dishes. I basically did a lot of grunting and saying ‘kala ime’ (I’m well), hoping to God the phone wouldn’t ring and expose me, while banging about the cutlery in the sink.

Thankfully by the time I was done, they were ready to leave. I said a warm goodbye to the teeny bopper boyfriend and ignored the cousin. I know I was being rude, but sometimes a girl’s gotta do, what a girl’s gotta do. The imbecile muttered thank you as my boyfriend walked him to the door but I pretended not to hear him. This time I did not say hosting him had been our pleasure and that he was welcome back whenever he wanted. I know that wasn’t very hospitable of me but to hell with it. For all he knows, we Cypriots are right heathens and don’t know how to behave. Bit like him.

“I have more followers than eight newspapers have readers”.

TV’s Piers Morgan, a former Fleet Street editor “The great socialist coup of the last decade was making wealth an embarrassment. It is not. Wealth is the prize for aspiration and hard work, and its side-effects are higher tax revenues, more jobs and more investment”.

Tory MP Dr Liam Fox, former defence secretary “They are like a kind of broken shopping trolley. Every time you try and push them straight ahead, they veer off to the right-hand side”.

Nick Clegg on the Conservative Party

“Women are now suffering for the lack of enough men to go around. Many

“How can I forget when he complained at an EU summit that Mr Cameron had behaved like a man at a wife-swapping party who refuses to bring his own wife?”.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson recalls what former French president Nicolas Sarkozy once told him

“In the scheme of things, a grope or a fondle is hardly worthy of legal censure yet has come to be regarded as akin to attempted murder”.

Commentator Petronella Wyatt, who has been described as “an upperclass Lolita” “It is a closed shop. You can only become a comedian if you send in six tokens from The Guardian”.

Chris Addison, of The Thick Of It fame, when asked why so many comedians were “drearily left-wing”

16 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

World in pictures

A man pushes a jammed car as heavy snow falls in Moscow and temperatures reached -1 C

(AFP)

Passengers of the Airbus A330 Zero-G, who are not astronauts or scientists, enjoy the first zero gravity flight for paying passengers in Europe costing 6,000 euros (AFP)

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada skate their short programme in the pairs competition at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario (AFP)

This handout picture released by the Press office shows Pope Francis (c), Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio, leading a mass at the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on March 14, a day after his election (AFP)

A young woman operates a female robot during a show at the ‘Robot Restaurant’ in Tokyo’s red district Kabukicho (EPA) area

Journalists film during a visit of the installation “Big Air Package” by US-Bulgarian artist Christo in Oberhausen, Germany, 14 years after the installation “The Wall“ (AFP)

A model displays a creation by Turkish designer Tuba Ergin during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Istanbul (AFP)

17 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Coffeeshop

Carrying the can for the village idiot THREE weeks ago he was on the podium at the Eleftheria Stadium being applauded and cheered by thousands of flag-waving supporters for his election victory.

Today he is the most unpopular man in Kyproulla for agreeing to the haircut of deposits, abused and reviled even by people who only have overdraft accounts and lost nothing.

Poor old Nik inherited the scorched earth left behind by the village idiot and will now carry the can for agreeing to a bailout deal, which is primarily designed to appeal to German voters rather than to help Kyproulla in her hour of need. He is now being accused of ‘unconditional surrender’ to the troikans and of betraying his voters.

He did pledge during his inaugural speech that there would be no haircut of deposits and at another time said that he would ‘never’ accept it. Then again he also pledged to SGO workers, during the election campaign that he would never agree to privatisation of their fiefdoms and he did that as well.

He was not lying but he had overestimated his powers in thinking that he could successfully resist the mighty Krauts who had taken the decision to raid our bank deposits long before Nik was elected. Nik was due back to a hostile welcome last night and was to go straight into a meeting with the party leaders, which spared him the ordeal of having to attend any carnival parties.

FRIDAY evening’s Eurogroup meeting that finished in the early hours of yesterday was a set-up, if ever there was one. The group usually meets on a Monday and rarely after European Council, so why was the one to discuss the Cyprus bailout scheduled for a Friday evening, ahead of a long weekend?

The banks needed to be closed and adequate time given to Cypriot legislators to approve the bills for the deposit haircut. These decisions are always implemented at weekends to prevent panic that would lead to a run on the banks. We should have suspected that there would be haircut when it was announced the Euro group would meet on Friday. (At least the Krauts showed sensitivity to the island’s time-honoured tradition of no haircuts on Thursdays) The decision had obviously been taken long before Friday, which is why there were continual press reports about the haircut and the EU big-shots like Schaeuble and Dijsselbloem never ruled it out when asked about it by hacks. They had planned our shafting down to the last detail, knowing that Nik would be forced to agree to it, as soon as they threatened to withdraw the emergency liquidity assistance that was keeping Cypriot banks afloat. This was how the EU rescue package that will completely destroy the Cyprus economy was finalised.

OUR EU partners did actually refer to this product of blackmail as a rescue package. This rescue package will drive away all international business from Kyproulla, drastically reduce our GDP and possibly trigger a run on the banks as soon they open on Tuesday.

Of course things would be 10 times worse without the package because the collapse of the banks

All smiles in Brussels before Cyprus was politely screwed over by its European partners on Friday night bility of a return to the Cyprus pound while he would undertake several initiatives in an effort to secure support from other “friendly countries so that we would not need the troika.”

He will not attend any carnival parties, which is a shame as he would not be able to wear his Superman outfit this year, because he would be too busy calling friendly countries asking them to send us a few billion euro, before the banks open on Tuesday.

would be a certainty, the haircut of bank deposits would be in the region of 70 per cent and the state would have no money to pay the poor public parasites.

But this is the option most of our political parties seem to prefer if yesterday’s statements by deputies were anything to go by.

So there is the likelihood that when deputies are called to vote on the haircut bill today they will reject the trim thus paving the way for a number one.

Someone should inform them that it is not the Annan plan they would be voting for, because in this case heroic resistance would come at a very high price. The choice is not between change and keeping things as they are – it is between disaster and annihilation, which is a bit of no-brainer.

COURAGEOUS freedom-fighter Yiorkos Lillikas wasted little time in making political capital out of the haircut decision, telling his supporters in Limassol, “unfortunately our fears over the degree of their national resistance were confirmed.” Nik “betrayed in 15 days the mandate he had received from the citizens,” he said. And of course the only answer was a referendum or the calling of presidential elections to give the heroic Lillikas the opportunity to save the country by blocking the “nationally catastrophic decision”.

The self-proclaimed national saviour already had a team of economists studying the possi-

THE PAPHITE superman did not mention which are the friendly countries keen to bail us out. France, which he has a great fondness of, supported the deposits hair-cut so which country did he have in mind?

Even Greece let us down, refusing to give €2 billion out of the €40 billion it had received from the ESM for its banks in order to help re-capitalise the Greek operations of the Cypriots banks and thus reduce the bailout needs. A Greek bank will reportedly take over the operations of the Cypriot banks in Greece, but negotiations stalled after it demanded to be compensated for this.

Perhaps Yiorkos had our great friend, Mother Russia in mind.

This was the country that was supposed to contribute to the bailout, but we are having difficulty convincing the Putin government extending the repayment period of the €2.5 billion loan the comrade secured at 5 per cent interest.

Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov showed as much sympathy for our plight as Shaeuble, saying on Friday that in his talks with our finance minister Michalis Sarris he would demand the names of all the Russians with bank accounts in Cyprus. That would really help us out.

WORSE than Lillikas’ cheap demagoguery, is the boasting by the commies of AKEL who are now claiming that they put up a brave resistance to the troika.

Comrade Andros was on radio yesterday morning praising Tof

for not giving in to the troika, omitting to mention that it was his cowardly comrade’s incompetence, cluelessness and stalling tactics that put us in the mess we are in today.

If Tof had signed a bailout last July, the haircut of deposits might never have been an issue. But his delaying tactics and tough negotiating skills saved CoLA and the 13th salaries. The tough Tof even saved the SGOs from privatisation, but then Nik came and surrendered to the troika.

HOW APPROPRIATE that a few days before the haircut of bank deposits, it was announced that the former CEO of the Bank of Cyprus, Andreas Eliades – the man who together with Laiki’s Andreas Vgenopoulos destroyed the banking sector – would be given €2 million he was owed by the bank’s provident fund. I hope that at least 10 per cent would be deducted from it as a reminder of his undeniably big contribution to the haircut. The B of C was reluctant to pay off Eliades but he sued every member of the provident fund administration committee who rather than go to court paid him off. He was initially demanding €3.5 million but settled for two.

I suggest that he is invited to collect his money at a special ceremony that should be attended by a couple of hundred holders of the now worthless B of C convertible bonds he sold them.

B of C depositors could also be invited so they could personally thank him.

INSURANCE agents have taken on the role of footballers, receiving obscene signing on fees to switch company. An agent, who worked for the B of C’s insurance company Eurolife, was recently paid a fee close to 400 grand to move to Laiki’s insurance company CNP-Laiki.

CNP-Laiki was willing to pay this silly money because the agent would take all his contacts and customers with him and thus generate more business for it. But the ultimate objective

is to weaken its main competitor in the life insurance sector, by depriving it of a successful agent (an agent that earns annual commissions in the region of €150,000).

This cunning plan is the brainchild of the CEO of CNP-Laiki, Takis Phidias who currently is also the CEO of Laiki Bank. He has reportedly set aside €2 million for luring Eurolife agents to his company, now that the B of C is in trouble, with a view to taking a bigger market share.

There is nothing unlawful in this example of cut-throat capitalism, but who is financing Phidias’ devious plan for domination of the life-insurance market? The majority shareholding of the firm he leads is held by French insurance giant CNP (51 per cent) and the remainder by state-owned Laiki.

In other words, we the taxpayers that own Laiki are partly funding this costly drive for a bigger market share that will benefit nobody apart from Phidias as it could earn him a big fat bonus on top of his €20,000 a month salary. But using the funds of a state-subsidized bank for personal aggrandizement just doesn’t seem right.

There is one positive thing to come out of the transfer of insurance agents – it has given a touch of glamour to a profession that is more boring than accounting.

CONGRATULATIONS to the pseudo-minister of health in the north for not subscribing to the hideous diktats of political correctness. Asked whether the ‘government’ in the north should consider closing down cabarets he said: “If we close the cabarets, then the 40,000 soldiers would be screwing us.”

At least we can always rely on our European partners to avoid such crude language. So their decision to raid people’s bank accounts and steal a part of their savings was described as “a stability levy” and “a solidarity levy”. They may have screwed us but they used politically correct terms to describe it.

18

SUNDAY MAIL

Reportage

WELCOME TO TH

Far beneath London’s streets, two vast machines called Phyllis and Ada are slowly digging their way through thousands of tonnes of clay (carefully avoiding secret government tunnels) to build Crossrail. Richard Godwin has a preview of the mammoth subterranean engineering project that is the biggest infrastructure project in Europe

In training: apprentice service locomotive driver Eamon McDonald

Tunelling works in the Bond Street area of London

CCASIONALLY, I look at London from the top deck of the bus and wonder how anyone found the time and inclination to build something so massive. It must have taken ages! Making an Ikea wardrobe is effort enough, so you can only imagine how much of a faff it must have been to construct Waterloo Bridge or St Paul’s Cathedral or Liverpool Street station.

So to look at London 30 metres underground from the business end of a megaton tunnelling machine, named Phyllis, is somewhat overwhelming. Phyllis and her sister Ada are currently excavating the Western Tunnels for Crossrail, the largest infrastructure project in Europe.

At 148m each they are literally boring their way through London.

To pay a visit to Phyllis, you have to enter the tunnels through the Westbourne Park site, a slim yard where temporary offices are stacked like building blocks and cranes hoik huge sections of concrete tunnel lining from goods’ sidings. The two entrances are only accessible by the temporary service railway that the engineers are building as they go along. Ventilation ducts and conveyor belts protrude from each hole like drip tubes from a hospital patient. “The earth is a living, breathing thing,” points out assistant project manager Greg Reichmann, as we descend in our ‘man-rider’, a cage on wheels with a few seats.

Inside, the smell is damp

O

and clean, the aroma of London clay, combined with those reassuring industrial smells of oil, diesel and fresh sweat. It’s the noise that gets you - the worst thing I’ve ever heard.

At the bottom is a scraping low note like a hellish double bass; in the middle periodically shrieking horns; at the top a cranky, scraping rattle that hits the sensitive bits in your teeth. When we reach what they call a California Crossing - the track splits in two so that two locomotives can pass one another - it all

erupts. “It’s like screaming!” winces one young engineer, adjusting his ear plugs. I get the sense you don’t get used to it.

At every stage, Crossrail has been a logistical nightmare.

The idea of a trans-London railway was first floated in the 1960s, but it took decades of lobbying and politicking to convince the Treasury that there would be economic value in it. Eventually, it was the gumption of the former Labour Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, Boris Johnson

and Ken Livingstone that saw it through, with work finally beginning on the £14.8 billion project in 2009.

Only when you take in any of the 40 sites at close quarters do you get an idea of the scale of the operation. Crossrail is essentially like a new London Underground line, only twice as big. It will span 118km of track, 21km of which will be housed in brand-new tunnels like the one I am exploring.

The line starts in Maidenhead in Berkshire, taking in Slough, Heathrow airport, Paddington, the West End and the City before branching at Whitechapel, where the northern section will run to Shenfield in Essex, via Stratford and Romford, and the southern section to Abbey Wood via Docklands. There will be 37 stations, eight of which are being built from scratch. Come 2018, travellers will be able to zip from Heathrow to Tottenham Court Road in half an hour, Paddington to Canary Wharf in a quarter of an hour. Homes along the route are expected to rise in price by around 25 per cent.

We will get an idea of what the trains will look like in 2014, when the tendering process enters its next phase.

We already know that they will be powered by overhead cables (as opposed to the

‘third rail’ on the Tube) and be up to 250m in length (a typical Tube train is 100m).

With up to 24 trains per hour and room for 1,500 people on each train, 200 million people will be able to use the service each year, increasing London’s transport capacity by ten per cent.

If the statistics don’t quite evoke the scale, Phyllis certainly does. When I visit, her rear end is somewhere underneath Speaker’s Corner while her front bit is edging slowly towards the newly built Bond Street station. (The tunnels are built on a slight ascent towards the stations and descend coming out of the stations, to help with acceleration and deceleration.) She is less of a machine than a mobile mothership, complete with kitchens, workshops and a rescue pod sufficient to keep 20 workers alive for 24 hours.

The business end of the operation is the 7m circular shield, which exerts 58,000 kilo-newtons per metre of pressure as it drills - enough force to lift 2,900 London taxis. Reichmann, a 32-yearold Australian who began his career in coal mining, says that, although mechanical drills are now used instead of pickaxes, it is more or less the same system that Isambard Kingdom Brunel used to dig

the Thames Tunnel in 1825 pushing a shield against the excavated section as they build behind it. “Mining engineers tend to regard Brunel as a bit of a hero,” he says.

“This may be a German machine, and the workers from all over, but the British pretty much wrote the book on this stuff.”

At this depth, there stuff to avoid (water and cables are buried surface), but there a and there is always secret govern Currently in the cockpit is a pilot named Ludwig, who has set all the controls to German. I notice that the machine is 4mm off course.

“That’s easy to correct,” I am assured. It may weigh 1,000 tonnes, but the controls - and the safety procedures that go along with them - are so precise as to be almost dainty.

Everything is planned with laser-precision. At this depth, there is not much other stuff to avoid (water and electrici-

19

L • March 17, 2013

HE UNDERWORLD Concrete tunnel lining segments wait to be used

Ludwig at the controls onboard Phyllis

ty pipes and cables are buried much closer to the surface), but there are other Tube lines and there is always the possibility of secret government tunnels. “They don’t tell us exactly where they are,” says Reichmann. “They might just tell us to plan the tunnel a couple of metres left or right.”

e is not much other and electricity pipes d much closer to the are other Tube lines s the possibility of nment tunnels Most of Central London is built on clay, which is impermeable, malleable and almost self-supporting, making it an ideal substance for tunnelling. Many Londoners assume that there is a lack of Underground lines South of the Thames due to some sort of North London conspiracy, but actually, the further South you go, the sandier the ground becomes, meaning it makes more sense to build overground lines. When the

time comes to excavate the Woolwich section, two specialist slurry tunnelling machines, Sophia and Mary, will be used.

Phyllis also builds as she digs. As the huge factory inches forward - average speed 100m a week - it uses its massive hydraulic arms to push another section of concrete tunnel casings into place.

Each 1.6m section is made up of eight concrete segments (the factory at Old Oak Common will have to make around 250,000 of them), each one lifted into place by a vast suction machine controlled by a man with a joystick (he calls it his ‘PlayStation’). It’s like using the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner to extract a slipper from under the sofa, only this vacuum can lift 3.5 tonnes.

At the back are the mechanisms for getting rid of the excavated clay - conveyer belts pass out 7,500 tonnes of it each week. Since the machine will have moved 100m forward in that time, the belt must keep getting longer and so a conveyor belt-lengthening station is built in. Ultimately, 4.5 million tonnes of clay will be taken out to Wallasea Island in Essex, where it will become the largest wetland reserve of its kind in Europe.

All of this requires constant manpower. Twenty people

work on Phyllis 24 hours a day, in three eight-hour shifts. Then there are the armies of support staff. The driver of our service locomotive, Eamon McDonald, 31, from Palmers Green, is one of 400 apprentices being trained through the new Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) in Ilford, having been directed there through the Jobcentre.

“I trained as a carpenter but ended up doing a lot of shut-

tering, which was rubbish, not much skill to it,” he says.

“I want to do tunnels now, it’s such interesting work.” For the moment he is driving Locomotive 7 (and looks mildly disgusted when I ask if he’s given it a name: “Never name a train,” he says). Ultimately, he hopes to become a full tunnelling engineer. It takes around ten years to gain the expertise to pilot a machine like Phyllis.

By then, Crossrail 2 could be under way. The sequel, recently proposed by the lobbying group London First,

will run from Wimbledon to Cheshunt via Chelsea and Hackney, thus bringing East London hipsters into uncomfortable reach of West London Sloanes. There are also huge extensions to Victoria station and London Bridge, not to mention the High Speed 2 rail line. And there is demand for tunnelling engineers in Qatar where the preparations for the 2022 World Cup are under way. “There’s always work somewhere,” says McDonald.

I turn to Wyn Bowkett, 48, who trained as a coal miner in Wales, transferring his

skills into tunnelling around the time of the 1985 miners’ strikes. His first project was the London Ring Main, the updating of the sanitation system completed in the 1990s. Like many engineers on the Crossrail project, he also helped to build the Channel Tunnel. “It’s a shame people never get to see this,” he says, patting Phyllis. “Most people go round on the Tube and just see the shiny stations.

They have no idea. Just like they imagine that bridges appear overnight. They never think how they got there.”

Tunelling and foundation works for the new Crossrail line into Bond Street

20 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Lifestyle

Beat the

baby books

I

HAVEN’T done much in my life by the book. I dropped out of uni, giddily moved country a few times, and took a meandering route to my career. I tend to follow passions over instructions, which may explain why I found myself unexpectedly pregnant, aged 34, and single. Suddenly worried that I might not know what I was getting myself into, I resolved to become forewarned and forearmed, and read all the baby books I could find.

Praying for some order in the confusion, I really started to believe that I might find it in the parenting section of my local book shop. My interfering mum and her endless advice were kept at arm’s length – I wanted to find the perfect way of parenting. And like so many of us, I believed I was going to find it on the printed page.

There are thought to be about 10,000 parenting books currently in circulation in America. The baby publishing industry is now worth more than £1.1 billion in the UK. There are the Attachment Parents, who read Dr Sears and believe in a tribal closeness to your baby, eschewing nurseries, buggies and cots to keep little ones on the boob or strapped on their back for years. And years. (Forget about getting your marital bed back - attachment kids need to sleep with their parents, as they would in the Venezuelan rainforest where researchers first identified the practice.)

At the other end of the spectrum are the Gina Ford devotees, who read her Contented Little Baby Book looking to be reassured by routines, known knowns, and control.

They want to know when their babies will go to sleep, and when they will wake up: ideally in a separate cot, in a different room. Possibly even in a different house. I jest!

Just.

Somewhere in the middle are the French-style parenting guides, all with titles about how French kids don’t throw food, don’t answer back, and probably don’t say boo to une oie. All of which makes French mothers sound frightfully strict when, in fact, if you read them to

Sophie Heawood was a slave to parenting guides - until real life got in the way and she replaced the gurus with a grandmother

the end (yes, I have read all of them to the end), there is a lot of permissiveness, too, and a focus on reducing the parental workload. “Don’t get up unless there’s blood,” they shrug.

And so, having taken

The range of baby books runs the full gamut: from attachment parents to Gina Ford’s routines

my pick of the various approaches, I approached my due date with the most organic ideals (I had read Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett, too, so knew that once my daughter Echo reached six

months she’d be straight on to solid fruit and veg, rather than purées). A pram was bought, but I knew it would hardly be used as I’d be an attachment parent, and a fourth trimesterist - oh yes, I’d also read about how you

should treat your child’s first months as an extension of pregnancy. Keep them dark, intimate and close - so handy when you’re a single parent and all your friends want to come and have a squeeze! I would live like a tribeswom-

an, nourishing my daughter with my body. In London. In 2011. While being the principal breadwinner. What could possibly go wrong? Obviously I was going to have a home birth, too, as I had read so widely about the terrible things that drugs and hospitals do to you - and let’s not even start on the evils of formula milk!

Anyone who has actually had a child can guess what happened next: a chemically induced birth, emergency Csection, depleted breastmilk supply, nobody getting any sleep, then bottle feeding, and me getting so bored as a stayat-home mum that I thought I might chew my own feet off for something to do. Most of all, though, I spent my days wishing I hadn’t read quite so many books.

However, I still urge my friend Courtney, a brilliantly no-nonsense single parent, to write one. A sample chapter heading would be ‘Fancy Dress Parties and Other Such Fuckery’, and her advice, simply: “Wrap the child in a bin bag.” I asked her for more like this but she said that, really, all of her parenting advice boils down to bin bags.

When I look at all the things my daughter was never going to have: dummies, sugar, a telly so frequently tuned to Mr Tumble she now believes him to be her father... oh, I’ve failed her in so many ways.

Yet I don’t give a toss, because it isn’t her I’m failing, it’s the old me, with my imaginary vision of how perfect I would become once ‘all this’ happened.

What actually happened is that my mum stepped in, shoved a dummy in the wailing baby’s mouth, set up a bedtime routine that got her to sleep, gave her formula milk when I was losing the will to live, and marched her to the doctor’s surgery when I ‘went a bit tribal’ about not vaccinating her. Because of this, I now have a child who is healthy, joyful, and who we all enjoy endlessly.

It turns out there’s not a parenting book in the world that can turn you into somebody you’re not - or replace interfering grannies. And for that, I am truly thankful.

READ WITH MOTHER Why French Children Don’t Talk Back by Catherine Crawford Another French-style guide - and just as compelling as the rest.

Bottom line Let your children suffer a bit; they’ll be better people because of it.

Advice ‘The French are all about harvesting gracious members of society, so for the parents it is important to teach a child the art of discourse’ Why Did Nobody Tell Me? Home Truths Every Parent Needs to Know by Natasha Joffe and Justine Roberts Nuggets of rock-solid advice from the Mumsnet message board.

Bottom line You don’t have to have a Naughty Step but the odd star chart never killed anybody. And distract a child from their supermarket tantrum by claiming Dora the Explorer has just walked in.

Advice ‘Let people touch your baby.

It would be a sad world where people didn’t touch babies and had to order spooky dolls, which look like real babies, from eBay’

KITH: The Riddle of the Childscape by Jay Griffiths Hundreds of pages of deep, progressive poetics about being nice to children. Good grief, the drama of it all.

Bottom line Consumerism is terrible, Ritalin is terrible, governments are terrible, so go down to the woods.

Advice ‘Disney, for all its seductive appeal, blocks the holloways of the idiosyncratic mind’s eye. No through road for metaphor. No right of way to one’s own inner vision. It is another form of enclosure’ Calmer, Easier, Happier Homework by Noël Janis-Norton A programme to transform homework by working out the nuts and bolts of what your child is really struggling with. Sensible and helpful.

Bottom line Listen to your child’s homework problems but do not do his thinking for him.

Advice ‘When a child is sitting in front of his homework, but not really working at all, remove his books, pencil case and other equipment’

Mob Rule: Lessons Learned by a Mother of Boys by Hannah Evans A book in which stereotypes about boys liking farts and wrestling with their dad all seem to be true. Like reading a wacky ‘Me and my family!

What are we like?!’ column that goes on for a whole book.

Bottom line You can get your sons to eat anything by telling them whoever eats most/quickest wins.

Advice ‘Treat your male like a mastiff and you won’t go far wrong’ Love Bombing: Reset Your Child’s Emotional Thermostat by Oliver James Child psychologist Oliver James makes a noble attempt to stop parents blaming themselves when things go wrong, and tells you how

to put things right.

Bottom line It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.

Advice ‘Love bombing not only gives the child a sense of being loved, it also helps the parent to remember why she was glad to have given birth to someone who has become a little terror’ How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm by Mei-Ling Hopgood A quite readable book of parenting wisdom from around the world.

Bottom line Male breastfeeding!

There is a Kenyan pygmy tribe where fathers use their nipples to pacify the baby if the mother isn’t there.

Advice ‘Physicians during the Buddha’s time were encouraged to look after not only the physical but also

the mental aspects of the foetus during pregnancy’ Raising Girls by Steve Biddulph Author who was most anxious about the future of boys has now written a book explaining he’s also worried about girls. Thanks.

Bottom line With gems like ‘girlhood is a lot of fun, for parents and girls themselves, but it also has its intense times’ and stuff about ‘growing a girl into a woman’, you can probably leave Steve in the shop.

Advice On the subject of certain chemicals: ‘A pregnant mum who works on a checkout, uses nail varnish, drinks a soft drink out of a can, heats tinned soup for dinner and eats grain-fed beef should probably hope for a boy!’

21 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Business & Jobs

Tax deal with Isle of Man UK tax man will have access to information on bank accounts and other assets HE ISLE of Man has agreed to automatically exchange information with the UK on tax matters. The agreement is backed by a form of tax amnesty to allow UK taxpayers to regularise their affairs if necessary.

The agreement was initialled on February 19, following three months of intensive negotiations.

An HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) statement explains that it forms an integral part of the UK government’s offshore anti-evasion strategy which will be published later this year.

When it comes into force, expected to be in January 2014, Manx financial institutions will provide a broad range of information on bank accounts and other financial assets owned by UK taxpayers.

This will be automatically shared with the UK tax authorities.

The fine detail still needs to be confirmed, particularly in the case of non-domiciled UK taxpayers.

The Isle of Man government explains that the agreement extends the level of cooperation with HMRC, and ensures that the jurisdiction continues to lead from the front on implementing best standards on tax transparency and information exchange.

HMRC will offer a special disclosure opportunity for UK taxpayers with undeclared assets in the Isle of Man. More details will be released, but we do have the key facts.

It will start on April 6, 2013 and end in September 2016. Taxpayers must fully disclose all tax liabilities arising from April 1999

T

HMRC said it will seek high penalties against those who do not disclose their assets in the Isle of Man

Investment Bill Blevins Bill Blevins is managing director of Blevins Franks International. Tel: 26-912315 onwards. Penalties will be reduced to 10 per cent of the tax due for liabilities that should have been declared prior to April 2009, and 20 per cent for those after. All due tax will have to paid. Anyone already under an HMRC enquiry, or previous investigated, is excluded from this opportunity. There is no guarantee of immunity from criminal penalties; HMRC’s usual criminal investigation policy will apply.

HMRC said it will seek high penalties against those who do not disclose their assets and regularise their tax affairs - penalties could potentially be as high as 200 per cent of the unpaid tax.

UK chancellor, George Osborne, said that the agreement builds on the groundbreaking work the government has already carried out.

It follows tax deals made with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and although they work differently, the aim is to boost tax receipts at minimal cost to the UK by encouraging people to come forward voluntarily.

This new UK/Isle of Man deal is modelled on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which is intended to ensure US citizens pay all due tax on income generated overseas. Although unpopular with clients and financial institutions, experts have warned that other countries are likely to consider similar measures.

Osborne confirmed that the UK was in discussions with Jersey and Guernsey. In late February the Jersey government asked its finance industry to consult on the possibility of entering a similar agreement with the UK. Jersey Finance, the representative body, is encouraging the government to continue requesting the UK to promote automatic exchange of information

worldwide.

HMRC has said that tax transparency will be a focus of the UK’s G8 presidency, where it will look to further promote automatic exchange of information.

The Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Allan Bell, believes that it is likely to become the “international standard”.

Your tax planning should always be fully compliant with the local tax law. For advice on the legitimate opportunities to lower your tax liabilities here in Cyprus, contact an experienced advisory firm like Blevins Franks which specialises in tax planning for 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 should 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

US-style ban on trading rejected A US-STYLE ban on Britain’s banks trading with their own money is not needed and would be too difficult to enforce, a group of influential lawmakers said on Friday.

Instead, Britain should use the threat of capital add-ons or other tools to bear down on any bank that shows signs of proprietary trading, said the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS).

The PCBS said a US ban on proprietary trading, known as the Volcker rule, has shown it is difficult to define and prohibit such trading, and it would impose an extra burden on UK regulators who already have to enforce a complex separation of banks’ retail operations.

“The Banking Commission does not feel it appropriate to recommend the immediate prohibition of proprietary trading,” said Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the PCBS. But he did not rule out a ban in the future.

“Were this approach to prove ineffective, further measures, including prohibition, could be desirable,” he said in report released by the PCBS. There has been limited support for a “Volcker rule” in Britain, which is pushing through plans to shield retail banking arms from riskier investment banking activity, called Vickers reform, as a way to safeguard taxpayers and depositors from any future banking troubles.

Incoming Bank of England Governor Mark Carney last month said there was no need to add a Volcker rule, citing the difficulty in drawing a line between marketmaking and proprietary trading.

22 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Business & Jobs

Bureaucracy will set you free Comment John Lloyd

WO movements, fundamentally opposed, are at work in the world: corruption and anti-corruption. The marketisation of the economies of China, India and Russia in the past two decades has exacerbated the corruption in those countries. Businesspeople and politicians, often hardly distinguishable, become billionaires in tandem.

But corruption is falling out of favour in more and more countries as more and more governments realise that while it may get things done in the short term, it corrodes everything in the long term. As public anger rises everywhere against the grossest inequalities the modern world has seen, it provides the fuel for future fires. Bribes, the most common form of corruption, are a crime not just against the law but against the public. Those states now climbing the wealth ladder will risk worse than poverty if they do not grasp that truth.

What do they need? A good bureaucracy, that’s what.

For two centuries, disparaging bureaucracy has been a major component of our freedom myths. Charles Dickens, Franz Kafka, George Orwell and Alexander Solzhenitsyn all made the bureaucrats villains in their work. In Dickens’ 1857 masterpiece, Little Dorrit, an inventor, Daniel Doyce, goes gray attempting to register his invention at the Circumlocution Office - a tragicomic institution dedicated to squashing all private initiative. He gets a final judgement that: [U]pon the whole, and under all the circumstances, and looking at it from the various points of view, [we are] of the opinion that one of two courses was to be pursued in respect of the business: that was to say, either to leave it alone for evermore, or begin it all over again.

Likewise, anti-bureaucracy is a major trope in US culture, one that harks back to a time when government was tiny and people were free. In Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, the country’s defining president is attended by at most two officials.

When messengers bring him news from Congress during the debate on the anti-slavery amendment, they burst into a White House empty ex-

T

Disparaging bureaucracy has been a major component of our freedom myths, but the lack of a decent bureaucracy dooms institutions of all kinds

Bureaucracy in India is famous for its delays and corruption

cept for Lincoln and his young son.

It’s an entrancing picture of the way things were - and if the US’ Tea Party had its way, the way things should be. One of the Tea Party’s lodestars, Ron Paul, argued that “the judgment of politicians and bureaucrats … replaces confidence in a free society.” But it’s not confined to the Republican right: All presidential candidates must run against Washington, even as they are later embraced and soothed by its bureaucrats.

So ingrained is this reflex, at least in the western political world, that it was a surprise when Britain’s former top bureaucrat, Gus O’Donnell, who was cabinet secretary until last year,

broadcast two programmes on BBC Radio 4 titled In Defence of Bureaucracy. They argued that bureaucracy was the basis of a good society and might even save the world.

O’Donnell’s example is the British civil service, which, since the reforms of the 1850s - around the time Little Dorrit was published has progressively become free from major corruption. His bureaucrat is one who decides and allocates on the basis of rules, not on grounds of class, gender, race or status. He brings in a man with a quintessentially establishment English name, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former British ambassador to Afghanistan, to argue that the “best thing we can

do for Afghanistan is to leave a good bureaucracy behind us”.

Cowper-Coles is right. The lack of a decent bureaucracy dooms institutions of all kinds. As the cardinals gathered in Rome on Tuesday to deliberate on a new pope, among their biggest criticisms was the chaos in the Vatican curia, the administrative office, under the retired Benedict XVI. But there are several larger bureaucracies whose dysfunction is even more critical to the future of the world.

Vladimir Putin’s bureaucratic arrangements hinder rather than help him; his strategy has been to make deals with the billionaire oligarchs, keeping their corporations and prof-

its safe as long as they stay out of politics. It has meant the toleration - and alleged involvement in - massive corruption, to the point where a 2014 Winter Olympics projected to cost $10 billion is now likely to cost some $50 billion. Russian bureaucracy has the worst of both worlds: It’s corrupt, it’s unproductive in its love of forms and it has survived the privatisation of the economy, right down to the small shop level.

The bureaucracy in India is famous for its delay and corruption.

A report by the Singapore-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy puts the state, soon to be the largest by population in the world, at the bottom of a list that includes Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, by no means clean bureaucracies. The corruption means endless delays, large bribes and dragged-out disputes like that between the Indian government and the telecommunications giant Vodafone, with its retrospective tax claims.

In China, still the world’s largest country, the bureaucracy should be good: It was the Imperial Chinese civil service on which the British reforms were modelled. But corruption is in the woodwork there, too.

China’s 50 million officials (one for every 27 people) constitute a sizable state in themselves, while the wholly opaque Central Organisation Department oversees the placing and performance of every institution – public and “private” - in the country.

Does it get things done? It surely does in China, and it does, if more slowly in Russia, and even in India - as long as the wheels are well greased. But the price mounts. The protests that have been features of all three states are by men and women who don’t wish to live in a state where the elite are thieves, even if they get things done. Bureaucrats whose hands are in the public’s pockets are a curse; the answer is not their abolition but their cleansing. It can be done, and it must, if progress is to have a steady foundation.

John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he is Director of Journalism.

Lloyd has written several books, including What the Media Are Doing to Our Politics (2004). He is also a contributing editor at FT

IMF concerned over a Palestinian budget deficit which is spiralling out of control THE PALESTINIAN Authority’s fiscal situation is “increasingly precarious”, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

The IMF called for urgent action to help it close a gaping budget deficit and to stabilise the economy.

In a report prepared ahead of a donor

Currencies USD GBP CHF JPY AUD CAD SEK

15-Mar-2013

1,2966 0,8596 1,2255 124,42 1,2393 1,3144 8,2576

1,3070 0,8666 1,2403 125,92 1,2707 1,3476 8,4666

meeting in Brussels on March 19, the IMF said the Authority, which exercises limited self rule in the occupied West Bank, faced mounting debt on domestic payments, including on civil servant wages and rising domestic bank debt.

The aid-dependent Palestinian Authority

08-Mar-2013

1,3041 0,8702 1,2293 124,11 1,2622 1,3333 8,1935

1,3145 0,8772 1,2441 125,61 1,2942 1,3671 8,4009

(PA) has been in a financial crisis fuelled by a drop in assistance from Western and wealthy Gulf backers, renewed tensions with Israel and a need to meet an expanding public sector payroll.

The IMF projected a financing gap of about $400 million for 2013, which includes

01-Mar-2013

1,3031 0,8583 1,2172 120,37 1,2624 1,3301 8,3225

1,3135 0,8651 1,2318 121,83 1,2944 1,3637 8,5331

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

USD 0,17 0,20 0,24 0,28 0,44 0,73

EUR 0,03 0,06 0,09 0,13 0,23 0,43

GBP 0,49 0,49 0,50 0,51 0,60 0,91

expected donor budget support of $1 billion and payment of 2012 wage arrears.

However, the funding shortfall could reach $700 million if donors fail to deliver on aid promises, the IMF said.

It urged the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to draw up contingency plans.

CHF 0,00 0,00 0,01 0,02 0,09 0,27

JPY 0,10 0,13 0,14 0,16 0,26 0,45

LIBOR RATES (London Interbank Borrowing Rates) AS AT 18/03/2013

CAD 1,01 1,05 1,12 1,19 1,39 1,81

AUD 3,01 3,12 3,15 3,17 3,28 3,59

23 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Property LEGAL ISSUES WITH GEORGE COUCOUNIS

Can we expect more tourists this summer?

Statutory limitation of right to raise a claim

The slow revival of the tourist industry Will it also mean that the real estate industry will start to pick up?

By Antonis Loizou FRICS AMONGST the downturn of the Cyprus economy and the problems that this has created for its citizens, we note with pleasure the commencement of a revival of the tourist industry (see table below).

What we come to note and what we feel shocked is that Cyprus has no “free skies” ie. any airline to have chartered or other regular connection with Cyprus, because this would hurt Cyprus Airways. So, in addition to the heavy subsidies and to the millions of annual losses (€52 million in 2012) for Cyprus Airways, we lose out in incoming tourists because of this restriction. By expanding the licensee period by four months to Russia, we expect now a 20 per cent increase in tourist flow from the Russian market, in addition to that of Ukraine and others, who will help reduce the seasonality of the tourist period (the added income in addition).

Thus if one takes into account the expected casino licenses to be, hopefully within the year 2013-2014, which will enrich the tourist product, the new Shakolas twin golf project at Polis, plus the others (e.g. Limassol marina, the Russian sailing school, the scuba diving infrastructure which is under way etc etc) it indicates a positive direction for the future. To this end the unfortunate situation in the Arab world has also helped considerably our tourist trade.

The tourist trade goes hand in hand with the sale of real estate, especially to the foreign market. First foreigners come as holidaymakers, they like (or not) the place and then start considering real estate and other types of investments in Cyprus. For the first time after so many years new hotels are under construction (see Paphos), whereas low earning/loss making hotels of good quality have now a chance of hope. It seems that upmarket hotels on the beach are so far the preference, but it is hoped that the lower income foreign groups will follow for the other hotels, everything helps.

This state of affairs brings us back 30 years ago, when the Cyprus economy revolved around the tourist industry, which created then the more profitable real estate industry. These last two industries are not doing as well as they used to, so are we starting from scratch?

An indication of the turning of the tourist industry is that during the year 2000 we were employing three ex-hotel managers in sales (than unemployed in the tourist industry) and now two of them left to return to their industry. Towards

Tourist arrivals have shown the above increase over the recent years

WHAT YOU GET FOR

this upturn of the market, a serious role has been played by the foreign workers who, notwithstanding that we find it objectionable not to speak the local language, they are harder workers than locals and will do so for lower pay.

So, everything is happening (the Chinese potential apart) but the question is, will it happen fast enough so that the economy will not get worse? An enterprising real estate developer who has unsold properties is offering annual rentals for his units exploiting the lack of finance in property investments. He is offering with a 30 per cent down payment and seven-year lease with a fixed rent and by the end the tenant becomes the owner. We are informed that he is doing “reasonably well” although he confided in us that there could be problems for such events such as the non payment of rent etc.

A few years ago a report by the Sunday Times newspaper referred to the fact that for each one single firm that goes under another seven follow (see Orphanides supermarket example where creditors are now in desperation). If we are to adopt this analogy the other way round, could we hope that this revival of the tourist industry will help numerous others to benefit as well – especially the real estate market?

Antonis Loizou & Associates Ltd – Real Estate Valuers & Estate Agents, www.aloizou.com.cy, ala-HQ@aloizou. com.cy

THE issue of limitation is important, since according to the transitional provision of the new law, no action can be instituted after the lapse of one year as from the date the law came into force, i.e.

1/7/2012, if the cause of action was completed before the said date. However, if the time between the day the cause of the action was completed until the lapse of one year as from 1/7/2012 is shorter than the time of limitation set out in the law for the said right of action, then the time of limitation is the one set out in the law. Hence, the new law sets time limits on the exercise of a claim right through an action. It is up to every person having such a right to take a legal action within the prescribed time limit for his civil right to be assessed by the court. The setting of time limits for the exercise of a right or the fulfilling of an obligation has been held as constitutional and it does not violate the principle of equality before the law and justice. When a cause of action or an actionable right is born, it must be raised before the court within the prescribed time of limitation and cannot forever hold.

According to the provisions of the new law, the time of limitation starts running when the cause of action is completed, which includes a counterclaim. The meaning of “cause of action” refers to all the facts establishing the actionable right. As long as it is not provided otherwise in any other law, no action can be raised after the expiration of 10 years from the time the cause of action was completed. With regard to mortgages and pledges, the action must be raised within 12 years and it is added that any procedure for the forced sale of an immovable property or of a pledged movable in accordance with the provisions of any law is considered

an action. Furthermore, as regards civil wrongs such as negligence, nuisance or breach of a statutory duty, the action must be raised within three years from the day the cause of action was completed.

The time limit to raise an action regarding a contract is six years and for the agreed or reasonable remuneration of a lawyer, doctor, dentist, architect, civil engineer, contractor or any other independent professional, the time limit is three years from the day the cause of action was completed.

No action can be raised for a debt owed for a cheque, bill of exchange, bond in customary form, use of debit cards, overdraft, hire-purchase etc after the lapse of six years from the completion of the cause of action, except for loans. For an heir or a person mentioned in a will to claim his inheritance right from the estate of a deceased, the action must be filed within eight years from the day of the death.

The same applies with regard to the validity of the will of a deceased testator.

Property disputes between spouses must be raised within three years from the issue of the divorce and for a claim for defamation or libel or malicious falsehood is limited to one year.

It is also important to note that the time limit to raise a counterclaim is the time of the action if the cause of the counterclaim arose from the same or substantially the same facts of the action. Otherwise the counterclaim is considered as a separate action and cannot be raised if at the time of the filing of the counterclaim, the time of limitation has lapsed.

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

€195,000 compiled by Peter Stevenson

How much: €194,000 What you get: This one-bedroom flat in Pissouri comes with air-conditioning, covered single parking and a sea view.

From: www.foxrealty.com.cy Tel: 80080082

How much: €195,000 What you get: This three-bedroom detached house is in a quiet area of Pervolia and is on a plot of 220 square metres.

From: www.propertyincyprus.com Tel: 70003211

How much: €195,000 What you get: This three-bedroom detached house in Paphos has three bedrooms and a communal pool.

From: www.buysellcyprus.com Tel: 80000222

24 SUNDAY SU UNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Property The Burberry Prorsum show that inspired the metallic look

Seafront properties in Coral Bay

Overseas and local buyers returning to Paphos ALTHOUGH Cyprus continues to negotiate a bailout deal with the troika, there are some early signs that domestic and overseas buyers are returning to Paphos despite the economic uncertainties.

While property sales in February continued to decline, it appears that the rate of decline may be slowing and improvements were seen in Paphos, where sales to both domestic and overseas buyers increased compared to February last year by 82 per cent while Nicosia was hardest hit with a 62 per cent drop. It was the second month (January and February 2013) in succession that sales to overseas and local buyers have improved and a sign that they may be returning to the Paphos area.

As Sakis HadjiAlexandrou, Leptos Group Marketing Manager said, Paphos is back on the world property map and this is because Paphian property developers and especially Leptos Estates has put much effort into opening up new markets from all over the world.

He also added that Paphos is a wonderful place to buy property because of its rich in beauty and blessed strong cultural legacy, with a wealth of nature and archeological sites.

Bubble Gold pet bed by B.Pet (petspyjamas. com)

Just make sure it shines The latest interiors trend to take its inspiration from the catwalks is glimmering precious metals. Make your home heavy metallic, says Katie Law

W

Ogassian tiles for Ann Sacks (annsacks.com)

ELCOME to the new interior metallics, which have taken their inspiration from the catwalks – including Burberry’s resplendent S/S13 shows - and are now marching straight into our homes. It’s a lovely, fun trend distinguished by strong shimmering colours and sharp design in everyhting thing from lighting brics and tiles to fabrics and furniture.

Tom Dixon, the designer who has en made beaten nd bronze bowls and htcopper lightas ing cool, has d just launched n, a hand-blown, e glittering blue glass pendantt d light inspired n by “molten globules off he glass from the e LAfurnace”, while gner based designer gasDaniel Ogasted sian has created how a range of show gold stopping

glazed ceramics tiles with 3D surfaces for Ann Sacks.

According to interior designer Amy Hardman, clients love her metallic painted cabinets because of the light reflective properties of the paints, which are subtle and not too glitzy.

Let’s not forget Pooch, either. Italian designers B.Pet think B&B Italia for animals ha introduced the - has outr outrageously kitsch but undeniably stylish Bubble Bed in silv silver or gold, and Jas Jasper Conran is repo ported to be bringin out a metallicing in inspired homeware c collection for Deb benhams this aut tumn.

Burberry has, of c course, matched iits catwalk colllection to a range of leather iPad cases, in every colour you can think of, with a gle gleaming blue alliga gator skin version av available for a mere £5, £5,000.

Chest in metallic red

by Amy Nicholas. Left: Kartell Cindy table lamp (Johnlewis.com)

Management of the Red Palm Weevil in Cyprus

By Despina Koukkoularidou THE RED palm weevil Rhynchophorusferrugineus is an invasive insect pest of palm trees that primarily infests the Canary Island date palm and the date palm, resulting in the collapse of trees not treated in time. The insect was most likely introduced in Cyprus from Egypt via imported palm trees. The adults usually fly up to 1km in search of a suitable host during spring and autumn, they mate and each female lays an average of 250 eggs into the palm tissue. Upon hatching the larvae feed on the tissues, boring tunnels into the plant and then pupate

in cocoons inside or on the top of the palm until completely maturing into adults. This cycle may be completed in less than a year.

The first symptoms of an infested palm are difficult to notice since the insect may be active inside the palm for months before symptoms begin to appear.

Symptoms may include feeding damage on the leaves, holes in the crown or trunk, cocoons on the top of the palm or on the ground, distorted new growth, and in final stages, collapse of the leaves and the whole canopy.

In response to the EU Decision 2007/365/EC the Department of Agriculture has been implementing yearly Action Plans since 2009,

which include surveys to monitor insect populations around Cyprus, inspections of nurseries, applications of insecticides on susceptible palm trees, cutting down and carefully disposing infested palms and public awareness campaigns.

Despite all measures, the insect has spread around Cyprus due to the difficulties in engaging all palm owners in the efforts, the cryptic life cycle of the insect inside the palm and the fact that it is practically impossible to achieve eradication once the pest has established. Since last year, the Department of Agriculture has been co-operating with municipalities and communities to implement a national action

plan in an effort to limit the spread of the insect, suppress its populations and protect palm trees, especially those of historic significance. However, the desired results will not be achieved unless we have the corresponding effort of palm tree owners. We are thus urging palm owners to regularly inspect their trees and apply preventive treatments of insecticides, alternating between a chemical insecticide (e.g. products containing the active ingredient imidacloprid at a rate of 10ml/10 litres for a spraying volume of 10-20 litres) and a biological insecticide (entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernemacarpocapsae), approximately every two months.

Chemical insecticides are recommended for summer applications due to the high mortality of nematodes in hot weather, whereas nematodes can be applied during the rest of the year. If the palm is flowering, insecticides should not be applied; otherwise the flowers should be covered or removed before application to avoid bee poisoning. The spraying solution should be carefully directed to the top of the crown (base of leaves) as a low pressure shower not with high pressure as most of the solution will not reach its target but will have other non-target effects.

For further information (in Greek) visit: www.moa.gov.cy/da

25 SUNDAY MAIL • March17, 2013

ADVERTISER helps you find what you’re looking for

Advertiser Only

€14 (plus VAT)

a week for classifieds (up to 40 words)

Send your classified by fax or email and pay by credit card, cheque or cash. It couldn’t be simpler!

Nicosia - email: classified@cyprus-mail.com Limassol - email: limassol@cyprus-mail.com Paphos - email: paphos@cyprus-mail.com make a difference. Please bring your donation to our clinic’s or charity shop in Limassol. Telephone 26946461 (Paphos), 97894005 (Polis), 25543304 (Limassol)

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES EXPERIENCED PADI INSTRUCTORS WANTED for a 5* IDC in Limassol. MUST be fluent in BOTH Russian and English, with at least 5 Instructor Specialties. Please do not apply if you are not able to teach in both Russian and English. E-mail: Jonathan@primehouse.com

***************************** WANTED: Experienced Dog Groomer - Full/Part time hours For wellestablished business in Limassol. For more info please contact: 96578094

LESSONS PRIVATE TUITION experienced, UKqualified teacher offers full-time or part-time private home tuition in Maths, English, the Sciences, I.C.T., Geography, History, Business Studies and Economics, from KS3 to iGCSE, AS and A2 levels.

9 years experience in Cyprus; references available. Telephone 99318796 – Paphos ART AFTERNOONS Drawing Thursdays Painting Fridays Sketching Saturdays 14.30 – 17.30 IDC at Art Studio 55, Heroes Square, Limassol. Tel 99 409 829 info@idclimassol.org ART ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CONSTRUCTION

MISCELLANEOUS WANTED OF: COUPLES OF EU CITIZENS LIVING IN CYPRUS We are currently conducting research as regards European families living in Cyprus. If both you and your spouse come from the same or a different country of the EU (except Cyprus and Greece, e.g. both from Germany, or Germany and France), if you have children over 6, and if you are interested in taking part in some research financed by the University of Cyprus please contact us 96530033. Participants will complete a questionnaire and participate in a face-to-face interview.

They will also receive a symbolic amount of money.

NOTICE is hereby given that.SERGY LYSOV of KOILANEMOY STREET 4 BLOCK D ART 303 LIMASSOL , CYPRUS, has applied to the minister of the Interior for naturalisation and any person who knows any reason why naturalisation should not be granted is hereby invited to send a written and signed statement of the facts to the Minister of Interior, Nicosia PAPHIAKOS CHARITY SHOP (Limassol) open 7 days a week 9.00-13.00. Donations required of bric a brac, clothes, electrical goods, household goods, soft furnishings etc. Telephone Jackie 25543304 PASTA APPEAL. We need your help!

Every day we feed our cats and dogs with a hearty meal of pasta.

Please donate a bag of pasta to

Nicosia - tel: 22 818583 fax: 22 676385 CONDITION AT REDUCED PRICES. PLEASE CALL : 99622678

SERVICES

MURDER MYSTERY NIGHT at Alfie T’s, 29 Tomb of the Kings Road, Paphos 7pm, 23rd March €25 per person includes 3 course meal telephone 99099254.

Meeting at the following locations/ days. Call to speak to an AA member.

Ayia Napa Monday 97798043

**************************

ALCOHOLICS CYPRUS

ANONYMOUS

-

Is drink costing you more than just money? AA could be the answer.

Larnaca Tuesday (Polish spk) 96616589 Thursday 24645523 / 99259264 Limassol Tuesday / Wednesday / Friday / Saturday 25368265 / 99559322

PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH PAINTER AND DECORATOR City and Guilds Advanced 46 years experience of interior and external finishes. Quality work, reliable, estimates and advice freely given. Tala based Phone Terry 96407703

Details of meetings are available on www.aa-europe.net

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.kdfl yscreens.com

***************************

*****************************

Nicosia 99013596

Wednesday/Sunday

Paphos Tuesday / Thursday / Saturday 99916331 / 99399240

FOR SALE MISCELLANEOUS

SALE IN KATO PAFOS 96sq.m The shop is within the ‘’Limnaria Complex’’ and faces the main road Melina Mercouri Avenue It’s in good condition with suspended ceiling, recessed lighting, VRV AC, fitted carpet, motorised shutters, CCTV and more. Tel: 96885030 owner

***************************** PROFESSIONAL UPHOLSTERY CLEANING, also carpets, rugs and mattresses. Special offers now available. FREE STAIN GUARD FOR LIMITED TIME For a quote call Rickys Cleaning Services on 99131044 (all areas) info@rcs-cyprus.net / www.rcscyprus.net

*****************************

Limassol - tel: 25 761117 fax: 25 761141

SWIFT SERVICE AND REPAIRS air-cons, commercial and domestic fridges and freezers, ice machines, cool rooms, supply and fi t air-cons VRV S. Call Nik on 99579602 Limassol

LAND FOR SALE MITSERO. 7 skalas. 10% build. South facing, unobstructed views. Access road, water, electricity. Fenced compound with 48sq.meter timber framed 2 bedroom unit, septic tank, grey water system, storage, workshop. €135,000 mobile 99594205 pumpitch@hotmail.com PLOT FOR SALE IN KATO PLATRES in a pine tree area. It comes with title deeds, 1095 square feet.

Tel. 99881051.

DOG GROOMING BUSINESS FOR SALE Do you like animals? If you do you would love doing this. Well established client base for 7 years.

Willing to train if needs require.

Open to offers for a quick sale this includes training, equipment and transport. For more information please call: 96301768

***************************** FOR SALE LAND in Anthoupoli (half plot) 288 sq.metres. for information 99621554.

PETS

************************** ***************************** FOR SALE: SUZUKI VITARA Saloon 1.6 benzini, dark green from 2002, mileage: 135.500 km. MOT till 2015. Road Tax paid all 2013. €2.200 Electric Cooker, Bosch 4 ceramic hotplates and oven, used 1 1/2 year, €350 Washing Machine LG 7 kg, silent, used 1 1/2 year €200 Big Electric heater, Matestar, used 8-10 times €25 For further information contact phone 9918 2310

DO YOU WANT A SHINY LOOKING FLOOR? Full repair & restoration of chipped, scratched, dull and stained, Marble, Terrazzo, Stone & Ceramic tiled fl oors 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 All areas

HONEY is a 3 month old pincher/ terrier mix. She is very small sized and very sweet and playful. Honey is looking for a loving family to be hers forever! She will remain small sized so she is ideal for a family with an apartment! For adoptions call 99 520 511 Monday-Friday between hours 10-2 or email ndsadoptions@gmail.com

1. ECO Desk 160x80x71 – 8 units/ €96.

2. Extention 120x60x71 – 6 units/ €76.

3. Small under-desk Cabinet with 3 pullout drawers – 7 units/ €99.

4. ECO Low cabinet with 2 low doors - 8 units /€107.

Tel: 25 200 600, 99 316 582

***************************** FOR SALE – PAPHOS CATERING EQUIPMENT 1. Industrial freezer – CORECO Height 200cm, width 68cm, depth 58cm 2.

Electrolux Freezer, model EUC3109X, width-595mm, height1800mm, depth- 623mm, freezing capacity-24kg/24hours, energy class A

3. CONVOTHERM OVEN modelOBG 6.10Combi Oven-Steamer with Gas Steam Generator Extra: Stand with stainless steel shelving, extractor fan, water supply system and gas installation connections, PLUS CHAFING TRAYS & THERMO BOXES, ALL IN EXCELLENT

people. He is looking for a forever home. For adoptions call 99 520 511 Monday-Friday between hours 10-2 or email ndsadoptions@gmail. com. Visit by appointments only AGAPI is now in a foster home! She is very sweet and playful! Agapi is looking for a permanent home! For adoptions call 99 520 511 MondayFriday or email ndsadoptions@ gmail.com

FOR SALE MOTOR VEHICLES HONDA 400 TWIN, blue, 1984 in very good condition, chrome exhausts, only 38.000 kms, road tax up to date, €900 o.n.o, please call : 99266282 - Paphos area.

***************************** TOYOTA IQ 2009. Automatic 1ltre.

White pearl, 33.000km. Medium tinted windows, Zenon lights. Perfect condition only €8500.00. Call 99511737

***************************** FOR SALE TOYOTA LAND CRUISER/PRADO white 1998, exceptional condition inside and out.

Many extras. Any inspection welcome. €7950 ono. Tel: 99680747

***************************** BLACK HONDA CBR1100XX SUPERBLACKBIRD registered new in June 2011 as new condition with 12000 km. Any inspection welcome. €6950. Call Philip 99680747

*****************************

PROPERTY TO LET NICOSIA

***************************** FOR RENT One bedroom apartment in Lycavitos area near Hilton Hotel – Covered parking – Air-conditioning – Electrical appliances – Under floor heating – Parquet floor – Blinds. Call: 99673008

FOR SALE BUSINESS/ PROPERTY/LAND

***************************** OFFICE FURNITURE FOR SALE with 50% discount, price per unit:

Paphos - tel: 26 911383 fax: 26221049

***************************** *****************************

HOUSES/FLATS

LIMASSOL

Mak/ssa lux., pool, 4 bedr., attic, offi ce, maid’s room, modern style, c/h a/c €2000

1) GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY PLOT OF LAND FOR SALE 1,789 sq.m, IN THE AREA OF AGIA ZONI BUILDING FACTOR 140% WITH TITLE DEED. The land is located at a central point in the city, very close to various amenities and has excellent accessibility. Tel: 96885030 owner 2) RESIDENTIAL LAND FOR SALE GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY The plot of land is located in the area of Foinikaria Total area 5,686 with a 20% Building Factor Tel: 96885030 owner

***************************** PAFOS 1) PLOTS OF LAND FOR SALE ANAVARGOS AREA GREAT INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY The plots can be sold as a single unit or individually. From 626 sq.m up to 776 sq.m with building factor 60% and title deeds. Mountain and sea view with nice villas developing around the area. Tel: 96885030 owner 2) COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FOR

LOST HUSKY – PAPHOS Answers to the name of Chico went missing on Monday the 4th of February around the International School area chipped Paphiakos Animal Welfare have advised that many large dogs have been taken from the Mesogi/ Anarvagos/Ttremithousa areas.

Please call 99622678 if you have seen him

***************************** ENGLISH COCKER puppies for sale ( black girl and black and tan boy).

Will be available for sale at the beginning of April, with an excellent pedigree, vaccinated, microchipped, free from eye cataract, kidney failure and hips dysplasia. Living with a family with kids, other dogs and a cat( 450 euros). Also an adult black and tan female, fully vaccinated is given for free to the right home. For photos look at www.costopa.net or call 99884578 Anna ( Nicosia) or e mail to costopa@gmail.com DILAN is a male dog approximately 2 years old. He is nice with kids and

Engomi 4 bedr., house ff €1200 without €1000 Acropolis 4 bedr.,house, c/h a/c only €850 Whole fl oor apart., Agios Andreas, Acropolis, Engomi from €1000 Photos www.markidesestates. com Markides 22- 378898 / 99464764 Reg.No. 487 E 16

***************************** 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. Tel: 99622370.

TO LET 1 bedroom upper floor house, large veranda near restaurant Periyiali in Acropolis 5 Aeantos Street €370 call 99680208

Larnaca - tel: 24 652243 fax: 24 659982

classified contents Employment Opportunities pg 25 Employment Miscellaneous 25 Pets 25 Lessons 25 Health & Fitness -Personal -Services 25 For Sale Miscellaneous 25 For Sale Land/ Property Business 25 For Sale Motor vehicles 25 Properties Wanted -To Let Nicosia 25 To Let Limassol 27 To Let Larnaca 28 To Let Paphos 28 To Let Protaras, Ayia Napa, Paralimni -For Sale Nicosia 30 For Sale Limassol 30 For Sale Larnaca -For Sale Paphos 30 For Sale Ayia Napa -For Sale Famagusta Protaras 30 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 March17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Advertiser TO LET NICOSIA NEW LUXURIOUS spacious (130m²), 2 bedrs flat, 2 balconies, 2 WC, indep. CH, solar system, A/C, granite floors, shutters, Italian kitchen and appliances, storeroom, covered parking in small quiet building (4 flats) in Ay. Dhometios 1.5km form Alfa-Mega Engomi. €590 p.m.

Same building very large ONE bedr flat (75m²) with similar amenities €480 p.m. TEL:99 544141

***************************** FLATS/HOUSES FOR RENT Ag. Andreas studio €290, Kennedy €300, 1bdrm Str/los €400, Makarios av. €500, 2 bdrm European University furnished top floor €600 Ag. Dometios ground floor + garden €450, Lycavitos furnished €530, Ag. Paylos rear house newly built €450, 3bdrm M/ssa ground floor €700, Archangelos detached with pool €1,200, 4bdrm Kosta Theodorou new house €1,100, Ag. Andreas g/f €900, Ag. Omologites colonial traditional house pool €2,500. 21 property Finder Ltd. 99474839, 99646822, A.M.627 A.A.108/E

***************************** LUXURY HOUSES: 1. 4 bedr luxury detached house built in 3/4 of a plot, office space, central heating, full a/c, big sitting and dining area, separate big kitchen with family room and all the electrical appliances, blinds

TO LET NICOSIA and curtains on all windows, aluminium shutters, big garden with grass, 3 wc, covered parking, in a quiet area – Strovolos €1000 (H4ST10051-R), (photos in the website) 2. 3 bedr luxury terraced house, 210sq.m,central heating, full a/c, marble floor in the sitting areas and solid parquet floor on stairs and bedrooms,4 wc,3 bathrooms, 2 en suite, big verandas, electrical appliances in the kitchen, 3 covered parking spaces, roof garden access, in a quiet neighbourhood on Mon Parnas hill – Engomi €800 (photos in the website).

3. 3 bedr detached house with extra room for office, 250sq.m, central heating independent, 4 a/c, big renovated kitchen with cooker and oven, big sitting and dining room with parquet floor and fireplace, 1 bathroom, 2 shower, 3 wc, 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 – €1100 (H3MAK0004-R) (photos on the website) 4. 3 bedr luxury semi-detached house with character, 200sq.m, central heating, full ac, sitting and dining room with fireplace, big kitchen with cooker and oven,

TO LET NICOSIA dishwasher and refrigerator, nice mature garden with flowers, trees and small garden with grass, covered parking, 3wc, 2 bathrooms in a quiet neighbourhood. Available middle of January. Agios Andreas - €1200 - H3AAD0001-R (photos on website).

5. 3 bedr luxury house, office space, attic room, with central heating, full a/c, separate kitchen, NICELY MODERN FURNISHED, 2 verandas, in a quiet area – Lakatamia €680 (H4LAK009-R), (photos in the website).

6. 3 bedr + attic room with shower and wc luxury detached house with central heating, a/c, fireplace, modern kitchen open plan with expensive electrical appliances, blinds, garden with grass, over flow swimming pool, covered parking in a quiet area. – Makedonitissa €1600 (H4MAK0023-R), (photos on the website).

7. 4 bedr luxury detached house with big sitting and dining room with parquet floor, separate big kitchen with family room and all the electrical appliances, small garden with grass and bbq area,3wc, central heating, full a/c, covered parking, in a very quiet neighborhood – Archangelos €1200 (H4AR0017-R), (photos in the website).

8. 3 bedr +office space partially renovated detached ground floor house, 280sq.m, central heating with oil, full a/c, 3wc, separate tv room, big sitting and dining area, big verandas around the house, bbq area, covered parking, private yard near the parking.– Strovolos €1200 (H4ST10048-R), (photos in the website).

9. New modern luxury very good quality finished semi detached house built in 3 levels. Upstairs 1st level 3 bedrs all en suite+ laundry room, 2nd level big attic room which can be used for office space or bedroom. Ground floor with 2 sitting areas ,dining area and breakfast area, kitchen with all the electrical

TO LET NICOSIA appliances, central heating, full a/c units. Basement with kitchen with cooker and oven, dishwasher, microwave and 2 refrigerators, sitting room with fireplace, and 2 bedrooms with one bathroom. Outside private fenced garden with artifi cial grass, bbq area and covered veranda. The house has blinds and shutters on all windows, false ceiling with spot lights throughout house, pressure system, covered parking, satellite dish, central music and network system, storage room, very good double glazed windows. Behind General flooring in the centre of Makedonitissa - €2000 (H4MAK0001-R), (photos on 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 new luxury finished detached house with central heating independent, full a/c, 3wc, 2 bathrooms, big kitchen with cooker oven, dishwasher and big family room, aluminium shutters in all the house, separate big sitting and dining room with parquet floor, 2 covered parking, alarm system, big covered patio, SWIMMING POOL, in a newly built area near Falcon school – Strovolos €2000 (photos in the website).

12. 3 bedrs luxury 2 storey, FULLY RENOVATED LISTED HOUSE with high ceilings in the centre of Nicosia, 260sq.m, 2 small attic rooms, big sitting room upstairs, big sitting room and dining area downstairs, wooden floor, kitchen with all the electrical appliances, 2 bathrooms(one en suite),3wc,CH independent, A/C, big garden – Nicosia Centre €1400 (H4NIC0002-R), (photos in the website).

13. 3 bedr upstairs and 2 separate

TO LET NICOSIA bedrooms in the basement luxury detached house (all the bedrooms with en suite bathrooms/shower), also separate kitchen and sitting room in the basement which also has separate entrance from the house, central heating, full a/c, solid parquet floor throughout house, big sitting and dining room with fireplace, big fully equipped kitchen with breakfast area and family room, big over flow, 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).

14. 4 bedr very big luxury semi detached house 350sq.m, with big separate basement 80sq.m with 2 rooms, sitting room, kitchen and bathroom. Consists of big sitting and dining areas upstairs, big kitchen with big family room and breakfast area, big bedrooms, 3 showers, 1 bathroom, central heating, full a/c, black out blinds on all windows, cooker and oven in the kitchen, covered parking and patio with bbq in a very quiet neighbourhood close to Makarios football stadium.CAN BE RENTED FURNISHED, PARTIALLY FURNISHED OR UNFURNISHED - Makedonitissa €1500(H4MAK0032-R), (photos in the website) 15. 4 bedrs new luxury detached house, all the bedrooms very big and all with big bathroom/shower, sitting room upstairs, attic room with shower and wc, office space/ maid’s room with shower and wc, central heating, full AC,450sq.m, big sitting and dining areas, big kitchen with sitting area and fitted cooker and oven, 6wc, 2 covered parking, yard with tiles and SWIMMING POOL, bbq area in a very quiet neighbourhood near CYBC ( RIK) station and near a neighbourhood park – Platy Aglantzias €2500 (H4AGZ0005-R), (photos in

TO LET NICOSIA the website) For many more properties with photos visit our website at w w w.landtouristest ates.com which is updated daily. LANDTOURIST ESTATES LTD 22422225/96 - 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 through, 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 neighbourhood – Agios Andreas- €1300 – A3AAD0005-R (photos on website).

2. 1 bedr spacious fully luxury renovated apartment,60sq.m, big sitting and dining room, big bedroom, fully newly modern furnished with LCD TV 32’, covered veranda, covered parking, storage heaters, full a/c, near Cyta, Laiki and Hellenic Bank headquarters – Dasoupolis €550 (photos in the website).

3. 2 bedr penthouse apartment, 100sq.m + 80sq.m veranda with flowers and bbq, big sitting and dining room with big 60” TV, storage heaters, full a/v, 2 wc, en suite bathroom/jacuzzi, roman blinds, cooker, oven, microwave, washing machine and refrigerator in the kitchen, covered parking, near Metro supermarket – Aglantzia €600 (photos in the website).

4. 2 bedr luxury ground floor apartment with central heating-independent, full a/c, structure cabling internet and satellite network, FULLY MODERN EXPENSIVE FURNISHED, with 46”LCD TV, covered parking, double glazed windows,

27 SUNDAY MAIL • March17, 2013

TO LET NICOSIA aluminium shutters, on Pericleous street near Klimataria traffic lights – Strovolos €650 (A2ST10054-R) (photos in the website) 5. 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, fireplace, covered parking and big over floor heated covered swimming pool on the ground floor, on a small 3 storey building in a quiet neighbourhood near a playground and near Ippokration private hospital – Engomi €1500 (A4ENG0003-R) (photos in the website) 6. 1 bedr new luxury apartment in a modern building(TSENTAS),with central heating ind, 2 a/c, cooker and oven, refrigerator and washing machine in the kitchen, parquet floor, NICELY FURNISHED big covered veranda, big sitting room off Kyriakou Matsi street, 1 km from the centre €460 (A1AOM0002-R), (photos in the website).

7.

1 bedr cozy luxury apartment,60sq.m,parquet floor, nicely furnished ,all fitted electrical appliances (cooker, oven, microwave, washing machine,

FOR RENT 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Larnaca near new hospital. €400 per month including service charge and refuse collection Call 99358916

Advertiser TO LET NICOSIA

dishwasher, fridge), roman blinds, provisions for home cinema, big covered verandah, storage heaters, 2 a/c ,covered parking in Dasoupolis near Alpha Mega supermarket and Areteion hospital.

– Dasoupoli €470 (A1DAS0009-R) (photos in the website) 8. 2 bedr spacious renovated apartment 100sq.m with separate big kitchen, air condition for hot and cold in all the rooms, covered veranda, nicely newly fully furnished , off Kyriakou Matsi street very close to the centre on foot– Agioi Omologites €500 (A2AOM0003-R) (photos in the website) 9. New top quality 2 bedr apartment, 93sq.m+20sq.m veranda, on a small modern building with 6 flats only. Central heating independent, full a/c, 2 bathrooms, 2wc, fully fitted kitchen with all the electrical appliances, water pressure system roller blinds and shutters on windows, big sitting and dining room, big bedrooms, covered parking and storage room, in a quiet neighbourhood near Akropolis park. AVAILABLE end of March – Acropolis €800 A2ACS0002-R (photos in the website) .

10. New luxury finished 1 bedr penthouse apartment with big ve-

English-Painter & Decorator Fully Qualified 30 years’ Experience SUMMER OFFER 30% OFF ALL AREAS • External & Internal painting • Damp Damage Repairs • Spritez Repairs • Free Estimates + very clean work • All areas. All types of woodwork stained and preserved • All work guaranteed

Tel. Tony on 99176557

TO LET NICOSIA randah with nice view, in a small modern building,55sq.m,storage heaters,2 a/c, blinds on the windows, expensive electrical appliances(cooker, oven, extractor, refrigerator, washing machine, dryer),covered parking and storage room, off Kalippoleos street opposite Dessange Day Spa near the University – Lykavitos €420 (A1LYK0002-R), (photos in the website).

11. 3 bedrs luxury penthouse one floor apartment in a small building with 3 apartments,250sq.m plus big covered verandas, fire place, solid parquet floor,2 bathrooms,3 wc, cooker, oven, fridge, washing machine and dishwasher in the kitchen, CH independent, full a/c, big reception areas opening to the verandas, pressure system and 2 Pcovered with remote control entrance, walking distance to the centre very close to Debenhams €1300 (A3NIC0028-R), (photos in the website) 12. 2 bedr new modern luxury finished apartment with parquet floor, central heating independent, 2 a/c, modern kitchen with all fitted expensive electrical appliances, blinds on the windows, big covered veranda, FULLY NICELY

TO LET NICOSIA FURNISHED, covered parking in a quiet neighbourhood off Kallipoleos Street - Lykavitos €700 (A2LYK0024-R) (photos on the website) 13. 3 bedr luxury penthouse apartment with central heating independent, full a/c, 2wc, big sitting and dining room with fireplace, separate kitchen, NICELY MODERN FURNISHED, big covered and uncovered veranda, covered parking, in Strovolos near the Municipal building - €650 (A3ST10014-R) (photos on the website) 14. 3 bedr spacious luxury finished apartment 150sq.m+30sq.m covered veranda, central heating independent with petrol, full wall a/c units, solid parquet floor, expensive electrical appliances in the kitchen, 3wc, curtains and blinds on windows, 3 COVERED PARKING, storage room, near Pizza Hut in Strovolos €1100 (photos in the website).

15. 3 bedrs luxury penthouse,165sq. m+80sq.m verandah with bbq, central heating ind, full AC, 3 wc, 2 bathrooms, solid parquet floor all the flat, big kitchen with dining area, fully MODERN FURNISHED, covered parking off Athalassa Av-

SELECT Fencing & Decking Specialist For all your Garden and Security Fencing ♦ Quality approved workmanship ♦ 15 years experience + guaranteed work ♦ English workers ♦ also garden gates ♦ sheds ♦ chain link fencing ♦ free estimates ♦ all types of fencing & decking

Roofing flat & tired roofing repairs and construction Tel. SELECT fencing 99176557

TO LET NICOSIA

TO LET NICOSIA

enue near Stephanis Electrinics and English school – Strovolos €800 (A3ST10013-R) (photos in the website)

which is updated daily. LANDTOURIST ESTATES LTD 22422225 / 96-422225 / 96422226 www.landtouristestates.com

16. New luxury finished 4 bed PENTHOUSE apartment in a small modern building, 186sq. m+90sq.m big veranda with nice view, separate floor heating, fully air conditioned, 4wc, 2 en suite bedrooms with shower,1 bathroom, solid parquet floor all through, big sitting and dining areas with electric modern shutters opening to the veranda, fully equipped kitchen with expensive electrical appliances, 2 parking places (1 covered), in a very quiet neighbourhood ,near the Russian Embassy. AVAILABLE END OF MARCH –Engomi €1900 (A4ENG0005-R) (photos in the website)

*****************************

For many more properties with photos visit our website at w w w.landtouristestates.com

2 BDRM flat in the centre of Nicosia. Rent €450. For information call 99453663, 99663927.

LIMASSOL FOR RENT office of around 85m2, with partitions, kitchenette and parking in a peaceful, green yet central area at Helladion House(off.

302; 3rd floor), 5 Andrea Kalvou Str. For viewing, please call Ms. Jenny on 25-340987(3rd flloor of building; office hours). For further details, please call 25-521873 after 8:00pm.

FOR RENT IN IPSONAS near high-

CityCell WiFi

1ST IN CYPRUS

Installation At € 99 & Only € 25/Month WIRELESS INTERNET NO PHONE LINE , NO DEPOSIT, NO CONTRACT . UNLIMITED USE , 25-100 999

SKY HD WATCH NOW SKY SPORTS & FULL PACKAGE IN HD. Call: 25-341444 www.citycell.tv BBC ITV CH4 CH5 & 100 UK FREE CHANNELS ,NO DISH REQUIRED.HAVE A DIRECT VIEW ON YOUR TV WITH REPLAY - / +12HRS

28 March17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Advertiser TO LET LIMASSOL way, ďŹ rst oor house, 3 bedrooms, C/H, A/C, ďŹ tted kitchen with all electrical appliances, and TV room.

Roof garden with extra kitchen, BBQ, pergola. Rent â‚Ź600pm. Tel 99672925 UN-DETACHED HOUSE for rent in Apshiou village, 2 bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room, bathroom with solar water heater. A/C, satellite, 15mins to roundabout. â‚Ź350.

Tel 25369219, work 10.30-17.30 25542968 home 99773151 TO LET Large 4 bedroom unfurnished house in the village of Asomatos nr Akrotiri Limassol. Fully A/C & Heating (storage heaters). 5 wc’s, large kitchen/diner, lounge and sitting room. Large loft with own shower/ wc (suitable for ofďŹ ce/playroom/ gym). Carport - prominent position in cul-de-sac - lots of parking. â‚Ź850 pcm (negotiable). Available from April 2013. Tel. 99831431 FOR RENT 1,2,3,4,5 bedroom houses, ats and villas furnished or unfurnished and in some cases with swimming pool in all areas of Limassol town, Erimi, Episkopi, Kolossi, Ypsonas, Souni, Kivides, Agios Tihonas, Pyrkos, Pareklisia, Trahoni, Zakaki and Yermasoyia Tel: 99675752

*****************************

TO LET LIMASSOL FOR RENT 4 bedroom detached house situated in a quiet area of Erimi, with spacious, living area, kitchen, guest WC downstairs, and four bedrooms upstairs with en-suite master bedroom, and bathroom. It has central heating, and air-condition. beautiful garden and parking. â‚Ź800. 99675752 FOR RENT 4 bedroom detached house in Episkopi, on top of a hill with panoramic views of Curium Beach and garden all around (very private). It has a spacious living area, separate kitchen, utility room, guest WC downstairs and four bedrooms with bathroom upstairs.

Central heating, air-conditioning, parking. â‚Ź750. (negotiable) Tel: 99 675752 FOR RENT ďŹ ve bedroom villa for rent in Agios Sylas (7 minutes from town of Limassol) detached with beautiful panoramic mountain and sea views. It has large sitting dining area, separate kitchen, utility room, ofďŹ ce, laundry shoot, four w/c, en-suite master bedroom with walk-in-wardrobe. Small kitchen area upstairs between bedrooms, large bedroom balconies. Central heating, air-conditioning, barbaque area. Also has a separate apartment below the house with small kitchen and shower with WC.

TO LET LARNACA

TO LET LIMASSOL

area Larnaca - 2 bedroom at in Phaneromenis area Larnaca.

Call 96693375

A nice large gargen and covered parking. â‚Ź1300. 99675752 TRADITIONAL VILLAGE STONE HOUSE IN APESHIA. Very quiet village, 20mins from Limassol.

Road to heritage school/Troodos.

2 bedrooms, ofďŹ ce available top oor with veranda great view of mountains. Small courtyard with trees. Electric solar water. A/Ctoilet in main bedroom. Semi/ full furnished. Fitted kitchen with electrical appliances, ďŹ replace.

Toilet/shower. â‚Ź550pm negotiable. Tel 96891800.

GROUND FLOOR HOUSE, furnished renovated this year. Laminated parke oor, and big wardrobes in the 3 bedrooms. Rent ₏590.00 Tel 99497576 99886775

FOR RENT fully furnished 1 bedroom at near Larco hotel Larnaca. Price ₏370. Tel 99202543 1 BEDROOM at in Ermou Square

PAPHOS

***************************** 1. Superior Real Estate Larnaca.

3 bedroom detached unfurnished property set on a fantastic development in the village of Tersefanou. Available for immediate occupation. Ref. TLL973. Tel 24815926 2. Superior Real Estate Larnaca.

2 bedroom fully furnished apartment, nr the Metro/American Academy Larnaca. Ref. TLL1654 Please call to arrange a viewing Tel. 24815926 3.

LARNACA HOUSE FOR RENT 3 Bedrooms, 3 WC, A/C, C/H, white goods, VERGINA Larnaca. â‚Ź570 per month Tel. 99 478749

TO LET PAPHOS

TO LET PAPHOS

4.

www.superiorrealestatelarnaca.com – LARGE RANGE OF RENTAL PROPERTIES. From studio apartments to 5 bedroom villa’s for rent, all properties have detailed descriptions, professional photographs. Interactive Virtual/Video Tours. Please visit our website. www.superiorrealestatelarnaca.com www.superiorrealestatelarnaca.com - License No. 419.

LANDLORDS AVERTISE YOUR PROPERTY WITH US FOR FREE. Tel. 24815926 Email. info@superiorrealestatelarnaca.com

FOR RENT KATO PAPHOS spacious 2 bed F/F garden apartment. Enclosed garden with 2 covered patios next to green area, cul-de-sac setting. AC, SAT TV, comm. pool.

Superb location with private covered parking and entrance. Quiet yet close to all amenities. â‚Ź400 p/m.

Contact 26 911540 or 99955302.

***************************** TOK’s – 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, Immaculate, very high spec top oor apartment, Luxury furnished with Flatscreen TV’s in living room and bedrooms, lift, pool, beautiful development, fantastic location ₏425 pm Lower Peyia – 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom Modern Unfurnished Villa with beautiful sea views. Spacious villa with wood burner, utility room, white goods, storage area, alarm system, low maintenance manicured garden & private pool ₏1100 pm

Lower Peyia – Good size detached 3 bedroom Villa in lovely residential no through road, separate kitchen, well maintained, large balcony, private pool and garden with sea views ₏750 pm Universal - 2 bedroom fully furnished ground oor apartment, a/c, large bedrooms, communal pool, o/s parking ₏350 Please contact us whatever your rental requirements as we have many other properties available. LANDLORDS/OWNERS – We always require more properties to list for waiting clients. Please call NOW: 96241965

***************************** PEYIA, luxury villa, 3 double bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, fully or part furnished, private pool, quiet location, paved garden area, sea and mountain views. Sky satellite, euro 650 ono, please call: 99771532 – no agents KILI – PAPHOS, 3 bedroom villa, with swimming pool and garden, unfurnished, gas central heating, large verandas, lovely mountain

In Op ves p o tm r t en un t ity

Watch Your Capital Grow 66.5% NET GROWTH since launch in July 2008

No Negative Months Since inception just less than 5 years ago this Isle of Man based fund has outperformed the FTSE 100 Index, the Consumer Price Index and the Investment Property Database

7JTJUJOH "UIFOT

Capital Growth + Income Option 1 year

2 years

+13.57%

+26.42%

5% annual income, penalty free!

Since Average growth in excess of 3 years Inception 12% per annum +42.10% +66.50%

Included in the Investors Chronicle Top 100 Funds, 2012 Up one day, down the next. If you're disillusioned with equity markets, frustrated with low yields on fixed-income and low bank deposit rates consider an asset class that isn't correlated with any of them. For qualifying investors this Isle of Man Green Energy & Recycling Investment Fund could be the perfect alternative for your capital growth and income.

Family, friends? Why stay in a hotel? A new, comfortable, modern and fully-furnished apartment, giving you greater leisure and at a lower price, sounds much better. And with the added bonus of being located in one of the most vibrant areas in Athens.

For further information please call 2525 7788 or email enquiries@amasseurope.com and request a brochure or a meeting with one of our qualified Financial Advisors.

t (B[J "SFB OFYU UP UIF .FUSP 4UBUJPO XJUI GSFF 8J 'J t 'SPN FVSPT QFS QFSTPO

Amass Europe is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. Licence number 167/12

Tel 22819742 - www.menogazi.com

Krakow, Poland 4 nights including return flights, private transfers, 3* hotel B&B and FREE day excursion to Auschwitz

Departure dates 13 May - ¤399 per person 27 May - ¤369 per person 10 June - ¤439 per person

www.centurycyprus.com

info@centurycyprus.com

70 000 970

29 SUNDAY MAIL • March17, 2013

TO LET PAPHOS

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS

views, very quiet and tranquil area, €475 per month o.n.o. Call : 99479006

***************************** LOW COST, long term 3 bedroom bungalow, Polis area, Gialia village, on 3 acres of property, large variety of fruit trees, extremely private with panoramic mountain and sea views, unfurnished, swimming pool, a/c and fireplace, fence around the property €550 per month ono – available from 1st of April For more info call: 99 442485

***************************** KISSONERGA - Beautiful Detached U/F 3 Bedroomed Villa, Large Pool, 2 Bedrooms Upstairs Master En-suite, Family Bathroom, modern Fitted Kitchen, Downstairs Bedroom with En-suite Shower room, Low maintenance Garden, Large Terraces and Separate Storage Room €600.

TALA - Modern 2 and 3 bedroom apartments U/F, P/F and F/F, some with communal pool, A/C, Separate Storage and own Parking €325.

TREMITHOUSA - Traditional Spacious 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom, and Large Mature enclosed Garden, Open Fireplace, Beautiful Fitted Kitchen, A/C, Wonderful

Family Home €400.

EMBA - Spacious 2 Bedroom Corner house ,U/F, Separate Downstairs Cloakroom, Balcony, no garden €300.

URGENTLY WANTED – 2/3 Bedroom F/F Properties MORE PROPERTIES AVAILABLE FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 99862922

***************************** 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 €370 spacious 2 bedroom ground floor apartment in the sought after complex Paradise Gardens, offering luxurious communal pool & gardens.

Fully furnished with good furniture, fully equipped modern kitchen with American fridge freezer. Solar panels for free hot water. Fully enclosed patio garden. Covered parking. Pets allowed at owners discretion. Website reference number: RTL_305 2. ANARITA €375 beautifully fur-

STUDIOS FOR RENT

TO LET PAPHOS nished modern 2 bedroom townhouse situated in a quiet complex with air conditioned spacious gym also communal pools & well tended gardens. Townhouse offers modern quality furniture & fittings. Guest wc and small patio garden. Viewings highly recommended. Website reference number: RTL_667 3. PEYIA €550 modern detached 2 bedroom villa situated on private road. Available unfurnished though includes central heating throughout, pressurised water & security alarm system. Modern fitted kitchen & bathrooms. Roof terrace with sea views & private pool.

Website reference number: rtl_447.

Also available modern detached 3 bedroom villa on this private road. Website reference number: RTL_572 4. MESOGI €700 spacious 4 bedroom villa plus playroom or office including gas central heating. One bedroom & bathroom on ground floor. Available unfurnished. Enclosed low maintenance garden with private pool offering privacy & views over countryside. Situated in a quiet residential area. Website

TO LET PAPHOS reference number: rtl_618 5. LOWER CHLORAKA €750 spacious detached 3 bedroom villa offering stunning views of the sea.

Situated in a quiet residential street opposite orange groves. Gated entrance enclosed good sized low maintenance mature garden with fruit trees & private pool. Spacious living area with real fireplace.

Downstairs guest wc.

Master bedroom with ensuite. Available fully furnished. Website reference number: RTL_550 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. PEYIA €950 we are delighted to offer this ultra modern 4 bedroom villa with luxury furnishings & fittings. Offering spacious accommodation with breathtaking sea views. Finished to a very high

Are you looking to meet an Attractive, Beautiful, Gorgeous, Successful lady who has a lot to offer, love, beauty and personality.

Very energetic, sweet, pretty and stylish lady. She is divorced 42. Scientist self employed, well-off financially. She prefers to spend her free time playing tennis, swimming and exploring nature. ID-ALAN

Tel: 25-324800 (office hours)

If interested please call 99 314108, 70005150, Email: singles@kronos2.net

EMBA

Fully furnished renovated studios for rent at Dassoudi beach Limassol. They have air-condition, balcony and private parking area.

INDOOR MARKET & CAR BOOT SALE FRIDAY – SATURDAY – SUNDAY 8:00AM – 2:00PM ALL YEAR ROUND VISIT US NOW FOR:

ba m ch Le ur Ch

FRESH VILLAGE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES WATCH REPAIRS & JEWELLERY POTTED FLOWERS NEW & USED HANDBAGS & CLOTHES SECOND HAND BOOKS COMPUTERS & TELEPHONE ACCESSORIES SECOND HAND FURNITURE & ANTIQUES INDIAN TAKE AWAY HOME MADE FRESH CAKES & PIES FROZEN FISH CHILDREN’S TOY’S AND MUCH MORE ….

GREAT PRICES FOR ALL !!!

STALLHOLDERS & CAR-BOOTERS WELCOME COFFEE SHOP ALL ENQUIRIES CALL: 96533839/99771532

TO LET PAPHOS quality. Spacious living area with modern fitted kitchen & utility area.

One bedroom on ground floor with ensuite & kitchenette. Guest wc.

Private infinity pool & enclosed low maintenance garden. A must to see! Website reference number: RTL_670 8. CHLORAKA €2,200 substantial luxury 4 bedroom villa, spacious (350 sq meters), beautifully designed with unique detail. Conservatory with views of landscaped gardens.

Large modern fitted kitchen, living room with working fireplace. Circular dining room with vaulted dome ceiling. Stunning private pool area.

Available unfurnished. Website reference number: RTL_579 Tel: 97790883 Tel: 99133422 office: 26271858 visit our website for many more properties www. mrrent-paphos.net email: info@ mrrent-paphos.net

TO LET PAPHOS ***************************** 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

***************************** FLOWRON PROPERTY RENTALS: Offering a full range of property services, the company you can TRUST. ARMOU 2 bed Townhouse on a small complex of Townhouses in a lovely quiet and peaceful location, with small back garden, great views, communal pool, 2 bedrooms with en suites + guest WC. Pets welcome. Offered unfurnished Ref: 1204 €370 AYIA MARINOUDA a 3 bedroom

30 March17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Advertiser TO LET PAPHOS villa with an additional loft room conversion with en suite. Property has a downstairs bedroom, sitting/dining area, separate utility area with granite work tops, 2 bedrooms on the top level master en suite. Central heating, AC, fly screens, private pool, enclosed and fenced garden. Ref: 1199 €900 MESOGI 4 bedroom villa with private pool, nice quality fi xtures, granite work tops, separate utility room, downstairs bedroom with en suite, fireplace, ac, 3 upstairs bedroom master en suite, separate bath, nice views, pets welcome, offered unfurnished Ref 783 €700 CHLORAKA 4 bedroom large villa with quality fittings , furnished to a very high standard, downstairs bedroom, 3 upstairs, en suites, bathroom, private pool, decking, fantastic sea views, near Tombs of the Kings Ref: 806 €850 SECRET VALLEY 2 bed villas furnished or unfurnished with private pool, downstairs bedroom, kitchen , sitting/dining area, guest wc, upstairs large master bedroom with en suite bath, large veranda.

Nice location with sea views and off street parking: Ref: 1198 €450 PEGEIA 4 bed villa unfurnished, 2

Cello & piano duet wide repertoire

TO LET PAPHOS downstairs bedrooms, large sitting/dining area, Italian kitchen with white goods, 2 bedrooms upstairs with outside large veranda. Property is of a high standard with central heating, full AC, off street parking, private pool, stunning views, quiet location. Ref: 765 €900 MESOGI Large 3 bedroom apartment with full AC, bathroom, kitchen, separate utility room, clean and tidy building with without communal area, walking distance to all local amenities. Offered unfurnished Ref: 818 €400 SEA CAVES 2 bedroom town house, furnished with central heating, fire place, nice sea views, walking distance to Paphos the sea Ref 819 €300 Please call for a free viewing on Office 26600450 Mobile: 97614070 many more properties on our website at www. flowron.com - Your Vision is our Mission LANDLORDS IF YOU HAVE A PROPERTY FOR RENT, PLEASE CALL US!!!!!!

***************************** 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 *****

available for bars, cafes, hotels, receptions etc.

99947442 or 99418282

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.!!!

TO LET PAPHOS 1. MESA CHORIO– 2 bed 2 bath fully furnished ground floor apartment set on an elevated position on 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.

Euros 400.00 per month 2 FYTI 3 bed, 3 bath furnished villa in a very quiet location. The property offers stylish accommodation and has many luxury features. Open plan living area with feature fireplace. Dining area.

Large fully fitted L shaped kitchen with appliances and breakfast bar Doors out to rear garden and pool. Guest WC. Stairs up to 3 very spacious bedrooms. Master with ensuite. Family bathroom and storage cupboard. Stairs up to roof garden with panoramic views. Outside there is a feature pergola, swimming pool and landscaped gardens. Euros 700.00 a month.

3. OLYMPUS ESTATE, NR TSADA – 3 bed, 2.5 bath furnished bungalow set on this prestigious estate. The house has central heating, A/C, fireplace, shutters & flyscreens. Spacious open plan living area with dining space.

Large “L” shaped kitchen. 3 double bedrooms all leading to pool and gardens. Master with en-suite. Covered patio with sea and rural views, swimming pool and garden areas. Feature outside dining area. Breakfast area to the side of the property. Easy care gardens. Pool with Roman steps. Parking for 3 cars. Bargain price!!! Euros 800.00 per month furnished, unfurnished by arrangement at lower cost.

4. TALA - 3 bed 3 bath quality furnished villa. Set in enclosed gardens the villa consists of open

TO LET PAPHOS 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 ensuite, one with Jacuzzi tub. Small seating area with adjacent balcony. Pool and off street parking. Landscaped gardens Euros 650.00 per month 5. AYIOS DEMITRIANOS (POLEMI) – 3 bed, 2 bath furnished villa (bungalow style) set in a private and quiet location. Open plan living area with fireplace. Fully fitted kitchen with quality appliances.

Utility room and storage. Master bedroom with adjacent shower.

Two more double bedrooms with family bathroom with Jacuzzi bath. Garden areas, large terraces with outstanding views. Private pool 10x5, Covered parking. Euros 700.00 per month furnished, 650 unfurnished.

6. UNIVERSAL AREA. 2 bed, 2 bath fully furnished penthouse apartment. Living area with dining space. Doors out to massive balcony area overlooking the pool and gardens. Fitted kitchen.

2 double bedrooms, master bedroom has ensuite shower. Family bathroom. A/C, Comm pool and parking. Euros 450.00 a month or offers.

7. LOWER PEYIA - 3 bed, 2.5 bath unfurnished villa situated in quiet cul du sac. Open plan living and dining area with doors out the 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. Euros 550.00 per month or close offers only.

8. CHLORAKAS – 2 bed 1 bath large furnished apartment in quiet area. Spacious open plan living area with doors out to balcony.

Tel: 99753334

GALOW. Pano Kivides. 110 sq.m.

2 beds. Gas CH. Double glazing.

Mains drainage. Plot 730 sq.m. Fruit trees flower beds. Large workshop.

Jacuzzi. Car port. Open view. Easy drive to Limassol. TITLE DEEDS 187500 Tel 99995906.

Good sized modern fitted kitchen and breakfast area. Small balcony off the kitchen. Two double bedrooms. Family bathroom. Off-street parking, comm pool. Euros 380.00 per month.

FOR FULL LISTINGS OF APARTMENTS/TOWNHOUSES AND VILLAS, PLEASE SEE www. rentalpointpaphos.com ALL TYPES OF PROPERTY URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LONG TERM RENTAL LANDLORDS/OWNERS PLEASE CALL WITH DETAILS PLEASE CALL 97648440 or email:- inforentals@aol.com

******************************

PROPERTY FOR SALE NICOSIA ***************************** STROVOLOS, Symi street, Tseriou new one bedroom apartment, 55 sqm, large sunny balcony, airconditioned, private parking, lift, title deeds, reduced price €95.000 (including VAT) (no offers) tel: 99266282 (no agents)

***************************** FOR SALE upper floor house 210 sq.m built on 301 sq. m land, Lapatsa area, Pereous 1a. 4 bedrooms with attic room (not finished), c/h ,4 a/c, aluminium doors& window, covered parking and storage room.

Price €310.000 pm call 22431095 99330632.

*****************************

LIMASSOL ***************************** SMART EASILY MAINTAINED BUN-

ARIS EMPIRE BINGO Address: Paphos street 207, next to Carrefour Kato Polemidia, Limassol Email: arisempire@yahoo.com

FOR SALE LIMASSOL

TO LET PAPHOS

**************************** EXECUTIVE PENTHOUSE for sale in central Limassol (Glastonas Street area). Five minute walk to the beach. 4/5 bedrooms. Private rooftop walk-in swimming pool with large terraces and conservatory. Total area: 800m2 (300m2 covered) €825,000 negotiable Tel: 99169485 Photos & more info: http://penthouse-forsalecyprus. blogspot.com/

*****************************

PAPHOS ***************************** 2 BEDROOM top floor apartment built in 2006, 75 sqm, large sunny balcony with sea views, 2 bathrooms (en-suite), communal pool, air conditioning. Small block of 9 apartments, located behind darmart store, near the debenhams roundabout, underground private parking, storage room and lift, reduced price: €98.000 (including VAT) with title deeds (no agents) please call: 99266282

****************************

PROTARAS ***************************** 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.

*****************************

A new and very different place has opened its doors today to the bingo world, inviting people to come and try their luck. Aris Empire Bingo is impressively and luxuriously decorated and can host up to 1000 people providing all the comforts for a night of fun or relaxation.

Visitors can have fun, playing bingo, trying to win one of the big money prizes that are handed out each time. People can also choose from the large choice of food on the menu, which is reasonably priced. The meticulous work done by the owner is apparent at every corner, even in the kitchen which is HACCP certified, with everything designed by the CTO. Bingo has now taken-on a different character of being more enjoyable and of more quality for all those who love the game but have kept their distance as they could not find a place that expressed them. The spacious hall has good ventilation and Aris Empire Bingo has a large parking, making it easier for any visitors.

Opening hours is from 8pm till 2am Restaurant hours from 8pm Bingo starts at 9pm

31 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Compiled by Rosie Ogden

Motoring

ENGLISH CITY OF OXFORD CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF MANUFACTURING, WITH MINI LEADING THE WAY

The early days: twenty cars were built each week at the start, but the business grew rapidly and 11.65 million cars were produced over the century

A century of car-making OXFORD in the UK is probably best known abroad for its prestigious University, but the city is this year celebrating a centenary of carmaking and the MINI Plant will lead the celebrations on 28 March – 100 years to the day when the first ‘Bullnose’ Morris Oxford was built by William Morris, just a few hundred metres from where the modern plant stands today.

At the start, twenty cars were built each week but the business grew rapidly and over the century 11.65 million cars were produced.

Today, Plant Oxford manufactures up to 900 MINI’s every day.

Following on from the Bullnose Morris Oxford in 1913, came cars from many famous British brands – and one Japanese - including MG, Wolseley, Riley, Austin, Austin Healey, Mini, Vanden Plas, Princess, Triumph, Rover, Sterling and Honda.

The Pressed Steel Company, part of the Cowley operation, also built bodyshells for Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, MG, Standard-Triumph, Ford and Hillman, as well as tooling dies for Alfa Romeo.

At various stages in its history it has also built Tiger Moth aircraft, ambulances, military trucks, jerry-cans, components for Horsa gliders, parachutes and iron lungs!

Founder William Morris owned the factory both directly and through Morris Motors until 1952, when Morris merged with arch-rival Austin to form the British Motor Corporation.

Morris himself, by this time known as Lord Nuffield, was chairman for six months before retiring. He died in 1963. During the early ‘60s the plant had as many as 28,000 employees producing an extraordinary variety of

The process is mostly done by robots these days, with Plant Oxford manufacturing up to 900 MINI’s every day models.

In 1967 BMC became British Motor Holdings after merging with Jaguar, and the following year that group was merged with the Leyland truck company (which also included Triumph and Rover) to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation.

Nationalisation followed in 1974, the group undergoing several name changes until it became the Rover Group in 1986. Boss Graham Day was charged with privatising the company for the Thatcher government, which was completed in 1988 with the sale to British Aerospace. They in turn would sell the Group, which included Land Rover, to BMW in 1994.

The BMW Group invested heavily in Rover, deciding

‘The Oxford plant has a long history of export success from the 1930s onwards’ early on that a replacement for the Mini would be a priority. But considerable headwinds, including an unfavourable exchange rate and falling sales, led to BMW selling both Rover and Land Rover in 2000, while retaining the Mini brand, Plant Oxford, and the associated Swindon pressings factory.

Today, Plant Oxford is flourishing with the manufacture of the MINI Hatch-

back, Convertible, Clubman, Clubvan, Roadster and Coupé. It is currently undergoing a major investment that includes the installation of 1,000 new robots for both a new body shop and the existing facility in readiness for the next generation of MINI. The Oxford plant has a long history of export success from the 1930s onwards: Morris products ac-

counted for nearly 30 per cent of Britain’s total exports by the mid 1930s. In 1950, the plant produced its 100,000th overseas model – a Morris Minor – and by 1962 BMC was shipping 320,000 examples of its annual production of 850,000 vehicles to over 170 countries - with Oxford contributing a major part of that total. BMC was the UK’s biggest exporter in the early ‘60s, just as Morris had been in the ‘30s.

Perhaps less well known is the fact that Plant Oxford has contributed to the industrial activities of a surprising number of far-flung countries too, by producing tens of thousands of cars for export in CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kit form for assembly in overseas factories.

Countries that have built

cars from kits include Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Cuba, East Africa, Ghana, Holland, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Malaya, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad, Turkey, Uganda, Uruguay and many others. By 1967 CKD cars formed 40 per cent of BMC’s exports.

The plant has also had a positive and remarkable impact beyond car production, too. Founder William Morris, later Lord Nuffield, was one of the country’s most generous philanthropists. He manufactured iron lungs at Cowley to donate to hospitals, while Nuffield Health, Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust and Nuffield College, Oxford University, were all founded by Morris, whose philanthropic gifts are estimated to be the equivalent of £11 billion at today’s values. The Nuffield Health organisation flourishes to this day, as do Nuffield College and many other Nuffield-founded philanthropic enterprises.

Plant Oxford has employed a number of motor industry luminaries, including Sir Alec Issigonis, who designed the Morris Minor and the Mini that were built there; Leonard Lord, who would go on to run the British Motor Corporation, Eric Lord, who ran the plant when it reached a production peak of 6,000 cars a week during the ‘60s, and plant director Sir George Turnbull, who went on to help Hyundai become a manufacturer of own-design cars rather than licence-built models during the 1970s.

Today, Plant Oxford forms the central element of the BMW Group’s UK production network, which includes the Hams Hall engine factory in Birmingham and the Swindon pressings plant.

32 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Sport Broad: our patience will reap reward of Test win

Wozniacki sets up final battle with Sharapova

LEBRON James and Chris Bosh led the way for Miami as the Heat kept on rolling to their 21st straight victory by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94.

Twenty-eight points apiece from James and Bosh saw the Heat move third on the all-time list for consecutive wins in a single season as they overtook the 1970-71 Bucks.

There was a scare for the Heat when Dwayne Wade appeared to suffer a neck injury early on, but he later returned to the game.

The Los Angeles Lakers overcame the continuing injury woes of Kobe Bryant to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-93.

Bryant played despite an ankle injury, but managed only one quarter and had no impact on the game.

Dwight Howard led the Lakers in his absence with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117104 win over the Orlando Magic.

Russell Westbrook added 23 for the Thunder, who scored 73 points in the first half.

James Harden poured in 37 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Houston Rockets overcame the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-100.

Jeremy Lin added 24 points for the Rockets, who trailed by 20 points in the third quarter.

Luol Deng led Chicago with 23 points as the Bulls saw off the Golden State Warriors 113-95.

John Wall scored 29 points in the Washington Wizards’ 96-87 win over the New Orleans Hornets and Rudy Gay’s 28 helped the Toronto Raptors to a 92-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns 107-94, the Denver Nuggets saw off the Memphis Grizzlies 87-80 and the Dallas Mavericks were 96-86 winners over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Hosts NZ are still 134 runs behind tourists’ 465

England’s Stuart Broad (R) jumps to try and catch out New Zealand’s Dean Brownlie with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (back) looking on during day three of the second international cricket Test match between New Zealand and England

FORMER champion Caroline Wozniacki battled through a marathon encounter to upset fourthseeded German Angelique Kerber 2-6 6-4 7-5 on Friday and reach her third BNP Paribas Open final in four years.

The eighth-seeded Dane, winner at Indian Wells in 2011 after being a losing finalist the previous year, held off a late fightback by Kerber to scrape through in a wildly fluctuating contest lasting two-and-a-half hours.

In a match littered with 14 service breaks, Wozniacki led 4-1 and then 5-3 in the third set but the German clawed her way back to 5-6 before being broken for a seventh and final time when she netted a forehand.

Wozniacki, 22, will next face 2006 champion Maria Sharapova, who overcame fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-4 6-3 in the second semi-final at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Sharapova, like Wozniacki a former world number one, will also be appearing in her third final here, having been demolished by Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the title match last year.

“It is very special,” Wozniacki said of reaching her third final at Indian Wells.

“I have done great results here in the past, and this is another very good one.”

heel injury, and bowled without much luck in the drawn first test in Dunedin said he felt he was now feeling more confident in his delivery stride having not felt any pain for more than two and a half weeks.

He had also watched old video footage to correct his final approach to the wicket, and was now bowling wider of the crease and ensuring his feet were pointing straight down the wicket rather than “crossed over”, which allowed him to be more accurate and get his pace back up.

“It was just a bit of a technical error I had fallen into,

Wozniacki triumphed after a marathon encounter

IN BRIEF

James, Bosh keep the sizzle going for Heat

By Greg Stutchbury ENGLAND must be sure not to try to chase a result when they begin play on the fourth day of the second test against New Zealand today despite the threat of rain, England fast bowler Stuart Broad said.

Broad spearheaded the visitors’ bowling attack, taking six wickets for 51 runs, to allow his captain Alastair Cook to enforce the follow on after they bowled New Zealand out for 254 in their first innings shortly before tea at the Basin Reserve yesterday.

Peter Fulton and Kane Williamson then guided New Zealand to 77 for one at the close, but the hosts are still 134 runs behind England’s 465 and in danger of going 1-0 down in the three-match series with the final game at Auckland’s Eden Park next week.

“We talked after we enforced the follow on that we didn’t go back out there and chase it,” Broad told reporters of his team’s mindset when they returned to field after the tea break. “That’s a big danger (because) New Zealand can get off to a flyer.

“Tomorrow, build patience; it’s still a very good batting wicket, there is not a lot there especially for the seamers, so it will be about building maidens and creating pressure from there.

“Hopefully the weather will be on our side but, more importantly, we put the ball in the right place tomorrow morning.”

Broad, who left England’s tour last year in India with a

a bit of a bad habit,” Broad explained as he motioned with his hands how his feet had been landing in his final delivery stride.

“That can obviously relate to a little bit of lack of pace and being able to get left easy and stuff like that.

“I’ve managed to put that right (and)... just coming a bit wider on the crease, I can really attack the stumps.”

That confidence had allowed him to run through New Zealand’s tail yesterday, with three of his six wickets coming after England had taken the second new ball and New Zealand inching

Erratic serving sees Murray Dashing debutant Dhawan knocked out at Indian Wells sets new record in Mohali SEVENTH seed Juan Matin Del Potro took advantage of a below-par Andy Murray to book a semi-final against world number one Novak Djokovic with a 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 6-1 win at the BNP Paribas Open.

British number one Murray produced some thunderous groundstrokes to take the first set on a tie-breaker, but he fell apart at the start of the second to hand the initiative to his Argentinian opponent.

Although he finally created his first break points of the match in the third set, Murray could not convert and a raft of unforced errors - he made 49 overall - meant Del Potro won at a canter in the end, in two hours and 31 minutes.

RECORDS tumbled in Mohali as opener Shikhar Dhawan led India’s superb response to Australia’s first innings of 408 in the third Test.

The left-hander’s boundary-laden onslaught captured the crowd’s attention even more than his distinctive handlebar moustache as he took just 85 balls to reach three figures.

It was the fastest recorded century on Test debut, beating the 93-ball mark set by the West Indies’ Dwayne Smith against South Africa in 2004.

By the time Dhawan closed on 185 he had made the highest ever score by an Indian debutant, beating Gundappa Viswanath’s 137 back in 1969.

closer to the follow-on target of 266.

“Today was just my day to get the nicks. It works like that, cricket works like that,” he said. “You can bowl well one day and not get them and bowl badly one day and get them.

“I did hit consistent areas today, put the New Zealand batsmen under pressure and managed to pick up some wickets.

“The second new ball wickets were probably the most important with the follow on being so close, with the weather around it looked important to enforce that.”

Shiffrin seals a perfect season with slalom trophy MIKAELA Shiffrin proclaimed her position as the world’s number one slalom specialist when she won the season’s final race in the discipline yesterday to add a World Cup title to her world championship gold.

The 18-year-old American pipped Tina Maze to the slalom crystal globe with a blistering performance on the final section of the second run.

Both women sobbed in the finish area - Shiffrin with joy and Maze with the frustration of finishing third and missing out on the slalom title to go with her overall, giant slalom and super-G cups.

33 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Sport McLaren’s Button sees silver lining amid clouds

Winning ways: the triumphant Cyprus side, which crushed Bulgaria 79-10 yesterday, can now claim to hold the record for most consecutive victories

Magnificent Moufflons already record holders Cyprus 79 Bulgaria 10

Annihilate Bulgarians without knowing milestone was theirs

By Alexander McCowan THIS division 2 European Cup game has taken on an importance far beyond its divisional role, because it is the first time any rugbyplaying country has been able to challenge the world record of consecutive wins held by Lithuania (18) which most pundits claimed could never be exceeded.

Rugby is so controlled, that it is extremely difficult for a single country to dominate the opposition, to the extent that long runs of winning games are impossible.

However, Cyprus was obviously not taken into the equation, because when they met Bulgaria, a nation they had destroyed on the field by accumulating 149 points against them over the last year, they thought they were about to equal the world record of 18 consecutive wins.

Until October, the only countries in the rugby world that could challenge the record were New Zealand, the world champions, and the might minnows, Cyprus.

The All Blacks dominate world rugby and Cyprus doesn’t.

However, the mighty All Blacks drew with Australia and fell off the tree, leaving the field clear for the Moufflons.

So could Cyprus continue their winning ways against the Bulgarians and equal the world record?

You bet your life they could - and did.

The Moufflons’ starting line only included one non-Cypriot in the form of the ever reliable but unconventional Marcus Holden.

There was a degree of understandable nervousness among the Moufflons and inevitably it resulted in a penalty within the first two minutes: 3-nil to Bulgaria.

Within the next minute Cyprus responded with an aborted attempt at goal by Holden that was swiftly followed by a movement from Binicos, the playmaker, which saw Renos Ioannides cross for the first of his four tries.

Play continued with a number of penalties and some sloppy play that was soon rectified by the Moufflons taking complete charge of the game, their handling - which many six nations sides would envy - was excellent throughout, and scores tumbled in by Torgut and Loizides and many conversions by the ultra-reliable Holden, enabling the Cypriots to leave the field at half-time with an extra score, Fidias Efthymiou (3) taking the

total to 46-3.

The play continued in the same vein with Holden grounding the ball behind the try line and some excellent work by the young giant Frixou, who is one to watch.

The Bulgarians caused many difficulties in the set pieces and the mauls, but lacked the nous to capitalise on it.

By now, the Moufflons were rampant, but a break in concentration allowed the Bulgarians to score from a bounce off the post, giving them an easy conversion with a score of 10 points that they never improved on.

More tries followed from Loizides (2), Binicos (1) .

Holden converted 8 times.

Final score: Cyprus 79Bulgaria 10. My man of the match was the amazingly unselfish George Agathocleous, whose distribution was first rate.

A magnificent crowd enjoyed a splendid afternoon of carnival rugby and, while believing they were supporting the national side in equalling the world record, were unaware that it has now been established that the previous claim of 18 consecutive wins was flawed because two of the games were friendly and therefore not eligible for consideration in world title claims.

This means that Cyprus could have claimed the title when they beat Slovenia.

They now can claim to hold the record for most consecutive wins: most consecutive winning games of margins of four tries or more; most consecutive international winning games by the same coach; and most consecutive wins with the same captain.

Bravo Cyprus.

FORMER world champion Jenson Button said McLaren had “lucked in” with the appalling weather that cut short qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix yesterday, but his prayers for more rain may go unanswered for race day.

The 33-year-old Briton finished eighth on the timesheets in the first round of qualifying, with his new team-mate Sergio Perez fourth quickest as the overhauled car’s lack of pace was offset by the sodden conditions at Albert Park circuit.

McLaren were 2.4 seconds off the pace in the Friday practice dominated by Red Bull in dry conditions, and Button suggested there would be nowhere to hide if the rain held off today when the final qualifying sessions will be held early before the late afternoon race. “(The car) rides a little bit better and I think we’ve lucked into this weather a little bit,” a frowning Button told reporters, hunched under an umbrella to shelter from the pouring rain.

“I think we were quicker in these conditions, not on the wet (tyre) but on the inter tyre, and I think judging it right has made a big difference to us when we’ve put our lap-time in.

‘Lucked in’: McLaren’s Button speeds into the pits during the third practice session in Melbourne yesterday

CHEMISTS NICOSIA SUNDAY 17/03/2013 L. Tsangaris, Gr. Dighenis Ave. Tel: 22671531, 22439014 (H) E. Matsa, 105E Athalassa Ave. Tel. 22425078, 22428570 (H) Ch. Charalambous, Makarios III Ave & Doiranis. Tel: 22374939, 22877694 Economidou Kefala M., 84C D Ithakis St, Engomi. Tel: 22352933, 22518687 Ch. Filippou, 151A Larnakos Ave., Aglantzia, Tel: 22731020, 22484085 LIMASSOL Ch. Efstathiou 168 Ellathos Tel: 25359115, 25325354 (H) A. Michaelidou, 8C Macedonia St. Tel: 25338270, 25738636 (H) V. Lisiotis, 15 Acathemias Germasoyia Tel: 25311234, 25811818 (H) LARNACA Misiel, 24 Ermou St. Tel: 24621360, 24531859 (H) A. Clerides, 6 Patron St. Tel: 24622754, 24667765 (H) PAPHOS A. I. Loizidou, 47 Thermopilon St. Tel: 26934184, 26934343 (H) A.I. Pistenty, 24 Tombs of the Kings Rd, Kato Paphos. Tel: 26950073, 26950778 (H) PARALIMNI A. Kamilaris, 52 Korai, Tel: 23744160, 23743418

“It’s going to be a tricky day tomorrow because it looks like its going to be sunny, but we’ll do the best we can. The aim still has to be to pick up points.”

Scattered showers are forecast for today, but Melbourne’s changeable weather could easily see the track turn bone-dry before final qualifying or the race.

After McLaren’s underwhelming performance on Friday, last year’s winner Button, who won a championship with Brawn GP in 2009, said McLaren would struggle to make the third round of qualifying.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said Friday’s practice was one of the “hardest days” he could recall, and conceded the team had taken a risk making significant changes in the offseason to the car that won the final two races of last year’s championship.

“My coffee stop and the beach is blown, but there you go,” Button joked of the abridged qualifying.

“On a serious note, for the guys (in the garage) it’s a lot more stressful for them ... It’s going to be a busy busy day tomorrow but we’ve done it before and I think that their skills will come through tomorrow.”

NICOSIA MONDAY 18/03/2013 Th. Nioulikos, 22 Them. Severis Ave. Tel: 22669664, 22661852(H) A. Nicolaou, 12 Ay. Andreou St, Pallouriotissa. Tel. 22430032, 22424078 (H) E. Hadjigeorgiou, 132C Kirinias Ave. Tel: 22338002, 22330761 E. Daskalakis, 24A, Elia Papakyriakou Egkomi, Tel: 22355955, 22357220 G. Konstantinou, Giannitson 8, Tel: 22107447, 22380736 LIMASSOL P. Orphanides, 14A A. Varnavas St. Tel: 25566115, 25728033 (H) S. Gregoriou 2 Char. Fteroudi Ayios Athanasios Tel: 25725558, 25312319 (H) S. Yiannarou, 91 Ayias Fylaxeos St., Tel: 25388202, 25729948 LARNACA C. Smirillis, 12 N. Mylona St. Tel: 24650777, 24821580 (H) G. Zoppou, 122 Faneromenis St. Tel: 24622810, 24651003 (H) PAPHOS P. M. Caraolidou, 1 Mylonas St. Tel: 26935495, 99490987 (H) A. Papoudas 25 Al. Ipsilanti Tel: 26811750, 26952138 (H) PARALIMNI P. Kyzas, 82 Makarios Ave. Tel: 23823270, 23823308 (H)

DOCTORS ON DUTY NICOSIA Pathologist: Silvia Lazaridou, Tel: 99917333 Gynaecologist: Christos Ppouris, Tel: 22469000, 99680488 Paediatric Surgeon: Eliana Eliadou, Tel: 99384324 Dentist: Vasiliki Iracleous, Tel: 22756320, 99689093 LIMASSOL Pathologist: Ioannis Eliadis, Tel.: 99112587, 25028232 Surgeon: Akis Pezikis, Tel.: 25733473, 99649943 Neuro-Surgeon: Michalakis Spirou, Tel.: 99624939 Paediatric: Christalla Ioannou, Tel.: 25253511,99149635 Ophthalmologist: Andreas Elia, Tel.: 25725134,25353424, 99675811 Paediatric Surgeon: Elka Christofi, Tel.: 25762586, 99306678 Cardiologist: Constantinos N. Kyriacou, Tel.: 99511589, 25108850 Doctor: Christos Kipri, Tel.: 99543887, 70001170

34 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Sport Dembele seeking Sunday lift for Tottenham MOUSA Dembele wants Tottenham to make amends for a miserable week by beating former club Fulham today.

Having overcome Arsenal in the north London derby and trounced Inter Milan in the Europa League, Andre Villas-Boas’ side had been riding the crest of a wave little over a week ago.

However, a 3-2 defeat at Liverpool was followed by a 4-1 second leg defeat at Inter, where only away goals saved Tottenham’s blushes after extra-time.

The lackadaisical performance at the San Siro was the most concerning aspect and leaves Spurs in need of a morale-boosting victory against Fulham today.

“It was a bit embarrassing,” Dembele told Press Association Sport. “We thought it was going to be easier than this.

“We knew they were going to fight but it’s a shame that we let them into the game.

“We had to work much harder, but

Martinez banking on home comforts WIGAN manager Roberto Martinez believes the DW Stadium can still provide salvation for his side, despite an appalling record there this season.

The Latics have the worst home record in the top flight, taking just 10 points from a possible 42 with just two wins, the last coming on November 24.

They will play half of their final 10 matches in front of their own fans, starting against Newcastle today, and Martinez is confident Wigan can utilise the feelgood factor of fans looking forward to an FA Cup semi-final appearance.

“It is something we have been working at and we need to change, but to give you a clear answer it is because we concede too many goals,” said the Spaniard, trying to explain their poor home form.

“We haven’t been playing too badly and it is not much different to the way we play away from home, but what is different is the final outcome and how easy we concede goals.

“It is a big difference to play at the DW Stadium at this final time of the season where the whole environment is more intense and gives the players that extra yard and we need to take advantage of that.”

It was around this time last season the Latics put together a formidable run which saw them win seven of their last nine matches to escape relegation.

Martinez’s side are three points from safety, although they have a match in hand, but he does not know how many more points they will have to add to their current total of 24 to survive.

Meanwhile, Newcastle arrive on the back of two late wins, in the league and in Europe, but they are one of Wigan’s favourite teams, with the Latics having taken more points off the Magpies than against any other top-flight opponent.

we are through and we have to take lessons from the game into the Fulham game.

“The thing is that if you go to a place with a 3-0 lead you take a different mentality. That was wrong.

“It didn’t work, what we wanted to do. But we are through and that is okay.”

Tottenham’s reward is a clash against Swiss champions Basle at the quarter-final stage of a competition Villas-Boas won as Porto manager two years ago.

Spurs are second favourites to win the competition behind Chelsea, who are also rivalling the north Londoners in the league.

Villas-Boas’ side sit third with a twopoint advantage over the Blues but their Champions League qualification is still far from secure, making today’s fixture against Dembele’s former club particularly important.

“We lost against Liverpool, but I thought we played well,” the Belgian said. “Against Inter it was a different game to the one against Liverpool.

“This one against Inter we were not confident, but against Liverpool we were. At the weekend we have to be fully concentrated and go for the win.

“They have good players and against big teams they always play well. They are a good team. They have some good players.”

While Dembele can expect a warm reception from Fulham fans, the same cannot be said for Tottenham team-mate Clint Dempsey.

The American’s lengthy stay at Craven Cottage ended on a sour note, with the west Londoners’ supporters booing him when the teams met earlier in the season.

“Of course you hope that it doesn’t happen again because he did a lot for the club as well,” Dembele said.

“Let’s concentrate on the game.

“It was a very good time at Fulham. I enjoyed it a lot.

“They gave me a lot of confidence.

They were behind me all the time so I had a very good experience there and I have a very good feeling about the club. “

Dembele (R) can expect a warm reception from Fulham fans as Spurs host the Cottagers at White Hart Lane today

Allardyce: dissenting Blues fans can help the Hammers West Ham could clinch milestone double win

The Hammers inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Chelsea just three games into Benitez’s tenure when the fans’ wrath was still at its strongest

By Mark Bryans WEST Ham manager Sam Allardyce is hoping to achieve a Barclays Premier League double over European champions Chelsea today and believes the Blues’ supporters could actually help his side to victory at Stamford Bridge.

The atmosphere at Chelsea home games has been hostile since former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez replaced Roberto Di Matteo as interim manager until the end of the current season.

The Hammers inflicted a 3-1 defeat on Chelsea just three games into Benitez’s tenure when the fans’ wrath was still at its strongest.

Now Allardyce takes his team to Stamford Bridge looking for a famous league double over their London rivals and he reckons the animosity towards Benitez can work in his side’s favour.

“You can see the importance of your fans being behind you rather than not,” he said.

“I think Chelsea’s team has

suffered at Stamford Bridge because the fans have not been fully supportive of what has happened. That is nothing to do with Rafa, he can’t help that.

“He is a manager trying to do a job the best he possibly can and he’s obviously got a great CV at the jobs he has done at his other clubs.

“But it shows the importance of a volatile fan base that turned the other way, what effect it can have on a team.

“In the reverse of that we all know the extra man that fans can create. You see the opposite of that at Chelsea and certainly in the early stages when Rafa took over and Chelsea suffered some poor results

because of that. That’s the effect the fans have on the team that plays on the field.”

Allardyce, 58, has seen his side win just three league games since their comeback victory over Chelsea at Upton Park, but the ex-Newcastle manager knows his players are up for causing another shock.

“It would be our first double

of the year, we’ve had many other opportunities that we’ve blown,” he said.

“It would be an absolutely unbelievable result for us to win at Stamford Bridge and do the double over Chelsea in the same season. It’s one of those things that happens rarely, for you to be able to beat a top side home and away.”

Norwich boss Hughton wants his side to quickly rack up points for survival NORWICH boss Chris Hughton has called for his side to quickly accumulate the points required to ensure Barclays Premier League survival.

The Canaries have 33 points ahead of today’s match at Sunderland and, in a congested lower half of the table, Hughton hopes his side control their own fate in the final nine

matches of the season.

“It’s about looking after your own business,” Hughton said.

“You hope that if you’re able to get good enough results you don’t have to worry so much about other results.

“We’re all in there fighting; everybody’s desperate to get points.

“It is a tough part of the season where you can get unexpected results. There is so much football to be played still.

“Teams are striving to get out of the bottom three and teams not in the bottom three are striving to push further away.”

Norwich have just one win in 12

Premier League matches - against Everton last month - and one away success all season.

The Canaries, who have kept nine clean sheets this term, to the delight of Hughton, have drawn four of their last six, including last week against Southampton when Grant Holt was unsuccessful with a late penalty.

35 SUNDAY MAIL • March 17, 2013

Sport

Villans come from behind to push Rangers nearer to edge Agbonlahor, Weimann and Benteke find the net Aston Villa 3 QPR 2

By John Curtis CHRISTIAN Benteke eased Aston Villa’s relegation fears and pushed bottom-placed QPR nearer to the drop as his late winner settled a pulsating Barclays Premier League clash.

Rangers dominated the opening half at Villa Park and deservedly led through a goal from midfielder Jermaine Jenas, only for Gabriel Agbonlahor to level against the run of play.

Andreas Weimann put the home side ahead early in the second half and, after Andros Townsend made it 2-2, Villa’s Austrian striker set up the winner for Benteke.

It was Belgium international Benteke’s seventh goal in the last eight league games and took his overall tally to 17 since his £8million summer move from Genk.

For much of the first half, QPR looked like a side brimming with confidence after their back-to-back wins against Southampton and Sunderland.

Only heroics from in-form Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan and the woodwork prevented the visitors wrapping up the points before half-time.

Villa seldom posed a threat during the opening 45 minutes, with Christopher Samba

Edging Rangers: Villa’s Christian Benteke (left) and QPR’s Christopher Samba battle for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match at Villa Park, Birmingham winning his aerial battle with Benteke.

But after the break Weimann deservedly scored, following an energetic and committed display.

Benteke’s winner, meanwhile, showed again why manager Paul Lambert believes he has already doubled in value as a Villa player.

Villa knocked the ball around in confident style in the very

early stages.

QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar picked up what might have been considered a back-pass from defender Jose Bosingwa, who came under pressure from Agbonlahor, but referee Kevin Friend waved play on.

Thereafter Guzan made two excellent saves in the space of 60 seconds to keep his side on level terms.

The US international back-

pedalled to turn a looping header from Samba over the bar after he had connected with a Bosingwa free-kick.

Then Guzan made an even better save to turn aside another effort from Samba, this time from just inside the box.

QPR midfielder Stephane M’Bia was the first player to be yellow-carded, bringing down Weimann.

Villa were forced into a

Arsenal keep Champs League hopes alive

Premier League standings Team

Swansea 0 Arsenal 2 ARSENAL kept themselves firmly in the race for Champions League qualification with a comfortable victory at Swansea.

The Gunners had by far the better of the contest and Nacho Monreal’s first goal for the club gave them the lead with 16 minutes remaining, before substitute Gervinho struck in stoppage time.

Swansea faded badly after a promising opening and, aside from a couple of half-chances, they barely worked Lukasz Fabianski in the Arsenal goal.

The win moves Arsene Wenger’s side to within two points of fourth-

The win moved the Gunners to within two points of fourthplaced Chelsea and four of third-placed Spurs yesterday placed Chelsea - and four of third-placed Tottenham - with their rivals in action today.

This was the fourth meeting of the season between

the sides and Swansea had come to the game looking to complete a league double over the Gunners, having won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium in December.

change after 20 minutes when Nathan Baker appeared to be concussed in an aerial challenge with Samba and he was replaced by Joe Bennett.

The left-back’s misdirected pass then led to Jenas giving QPR the lead after 23 minutes.

Bennett played a square pass just inside his own half which was seized on by Jenas who released Bobby Zamora in space.

Zamora’s low drive was parried by Guzan but Jenas was first to the loose ball, to make no mistake from close range.

Villa midfielders Yacouba Sylla and Barry Bannan were booked for fouls on Townsend and Weimann for arguing after QPR were awarded a free-kick.

The woodwork came to Villa’s rescue when Bosingwa’s powerful free-kick struck a post.

But in first-half injury-time Agbonlahor brought the home side level when he peeled off to the far post and headed home a right-wing cross from Matt Lowton.

After the interval, a Weimann header was tipped over by Cesar from Bennett’s cross.

Then after 59 minutes Bennett set up Weimann for his 11th goal of the season.

The former Middlesbrough player suppled the pass to Weimann who cut inside before drilling a low left-footed shot past Cesar from 15 yards.

Lowton could have made it 3-1 but scuffed his shot across the face of goal.

Then with 17 minutes left the impressive Townsend made it 2-2. Loic Remy and JiSung Park combined to tee up Townsend and his shot took a slight deflection as it flew past Guzan. Villa responded and after 81 minutes Weimann turned goal-maker with his low cross turned in by Benteke after good play by substitute Charles N’Zogbia. This time QPR had no response and they now stand seven points adrift of safety with eight games to play.

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 Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal Chelsea Manchester City Arsenal Liverpool Everton Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool Everton West StokeBrom City Swansea Bolton Wanderers Stoke City West Brom Fulham West Ham Utd Newcastle United Newcastle SunderlandUnited Norwich City Aston Villa Southampton Blackburn Rovers Sunderland Wolves Aston Villa Birmingham Wigan Athletic Blackpool Reading Wigan Athletic QPR West Ham United

P

W

D

L

F

28 37 29 36 29 36 28 36 29 36 29 36 30 37 30 36 30 37 30 37 28 36 28 36 29 37 29 36 30 37 29 37 30 36 28 37 29 36 30 36

23 22 17 21 16 19 15 19 14 17 12 14 12 13 10 12 7 12 8 10 9 11 9 11 7 10 7 10 7 11 7 8 6 10 5 7 4 7

2 11 8 7 6 10 7 8 8 7 12 14 9 15 5 7 10 13 10 9 15 6 11 6 11 12 10 9 7 9 15 6 9 8 15 11 12

3 4 4 8 7 6 9 7 12 5 8 9 10 12 16 10 15 10 15 11 13 14 14 15 10 14 13 17 13 19 14 13 16 18 16 14 15 17

68 74 51 67 51 69 56 55 55 59 46 51 57 50 40 46 40 52 27 53 39 45 32 51 40 42 27 45 42 43 32 44 31 36 33 53 35 36 26 41

A Pts 31 35 26 30 36 39 30 33 32 41 35 45 39 45 38 44 38 54 35 68 44 41 41 52 50 56 45 58 52 57 41 63 56 54 55 74 56 59 48 64

71 77 59 70 54 67 52 65 50 58 48 56 45 51 44 46 40 46 34 46 33 45 33 44 33 44 33 42 31 40 30 40 30 39 24 39 23 36 23 33

Hodgson: Dawson earned spot on merit ENGLAND head coach Roy Hodgson insists Tottenham skipper Michael Dawson has earned his place in his current squad “on merit” after an injury-free run.

Dawson’s recall almost went by unnoticed after the spotlight focused on fellow centre-back Rio Ferdinand’s inclusion in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers with San Marino and Montenegro.

But Hodgson says the 29year-old’s call-up is as justified as that of Ferdinand.

It comes two years after his last appearance for his country in a 2-0 win against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Dawson had also been drafted into 2010 World Cup squad in South Africa as a late replacement for the injured Ferdinand but various setbacks have so far restricted him to just four caps.

Hodgson said: “Michael is in the squad on this occasion in the same way as Rio is in the squad on this occasion, because I think their performances merit them being there.

“Michael hasn’t really been a part of my thinking in the past because, to be frank, he hasn’t been fit enough to play.

“If we go back to the time of the Euros last summer and the autumn, he wasn’t even a potential candidate for the squad because of that reason.

“But he has been fit for the last couple of months and now he is able to play, I have decided to call him up.”

Results Premier League Everton Man City

2 0

Aston Villa QPR

3 2

Southampton Liverpool

3 1

Stoke West Brom

0 0

Swansea Arsenal

0 2

Man United Reading

L L

Playing Today Sunderland v Norwich, 3.30pm Tottenham v Fulham, 5pm Chelsea v West Ham, 6pm Wigan v Newcastle, 6pm Cyprus Championship AEK EN Paralimni

5 0

AEL Anorthosis

1 1

Ayia Napa Alki

0 3

Ethnikos Achnas 3 Doxa 1 Nea Salamis Apollon

2 0

Olympiakos Omonia

1 4

Playing Today APOEL v AEP, 6pm

36 March 17, 2013 • SUNDAY MAIL

Sport

Magnificent Moufflons already record holders 33

Villans come from behind to push QPR closer to the edge 35

Saints beat Reds to capture crucial victory

By Simon Peach JAY Rodriguez inspired relegationthreatened Southampton to what could prove to be a vital victory against Liverpool yesterday.

The 23-year-old joined from Burnley in the summer for what was a club record fee and yesterday showed why Saints forked out £6million for his services.

Rodriguez put Mauricio Pochettino on course for a second win at the helm in the sixth minute, nodding a Gaston Ramirez cross into Morgan Schneiderlin’s path to slot home.

Liverpool fan Rickie Lambert soon doubled Saints’ advantage with his 13th goal of the season coming when his 25-yard free-kick deflected

Southampton 3 Liverpool 1 home off Daniel Sturridge.

However, as good as Southampton are on the attack, they have often been found wanting at the back and Philippe Coutinho, a reported January target for the hosts, thereafter reduced the deficit in first-half stoppage time.

Brendan Rodgers’ side pushed hard for a leveller but Rodriguez made sure of the three points with 10 minutes remaining, putting Saints seven points clear of the drop zone in front of a record Premier League crowd at St Mary’s of 32,070.

Liverpool’s regular number one

Pepe Reina was unavailable for yesterday’s match, meaning understudy Brad Jones once again deputised in goal.

The Australian conceded twice in last weekend’s defeat of Tottenham, after the Spain international had to miss Liverpool’s win with a calf injury.

The loss to Southampton will be a disappointment to Rodgers, who, ahead of the encounter, had been hoping his side would continue their winning run and close the seven-point gap between them and the top-four.

“We had a tough game physically and mentally against Tottenham,” he had warned, adding: “this week has been about getting refocused and re-energised for Southampton”.

Southampton earned a crucial win in their battle against relegation, all but ending Liverpool’s top-four hopes

City’s title hopes in tatters Ten-man Toffees deal potentially fatal blow to Citizens Everton 2 Man City 0

By Andy Hampson

L

eon Osman and Nikica Jelavic struck as 10-man Everton responded to their critics to deliver a potentially fatal blow to Manchester City’s title hopes.

The Toffees have spent the week soul-searching after their devastating loss to Wigan in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but they looked back to their best in a fiery Barclays Premier League clash at Goodison Park.

Kevin Mirallas had a goal harshly disallowed before Osman scored from long range after 32 minutes and the Toffees held on despite the dismissal of Steven Pienaar and made sure through Jelavic in injury time.

City could have had a penalty late on when Marouane Fellaini was penalised for handling a Carlos Tevez shot, but referee Lee Probert mistakenly thought the offence had occurred outside the area.

Everton’s back-up goalkeeper Jan Mucha, continuing to deputise for the injured Tim Howard, also produced instinctive saves from James Milner and Pablo Zabaleta as City battled to keep their slim title chances alive.

The result meant Everton

Hunger and desire: Everton’s Nikica Jelavic (centre) scores their second goal of the game against Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League clash yesterday at Goodison Park boss David Moyes, after one of the toughest weeks of his tenure and speculation over his future, could after all mark the 11th anniversary of his appointment with some satisfaction.

It was a sixth win in eight meetings for the Merseysiders against City, whose prospects nosedived before kick-off when it emerged talisman Yaya Toure had been ruled out after suffering a migraine.

An imposter tried to join in their warm-up, and he was arrested by Merseyside Police for pitch encroachment, but it was Javi Garcia who took the Ivorian’s place.

All the urgency came from Everton as they demonstrated a hunger and desire they failed to show last week.

Fellaini, himself subject of plenty of criticism this week, left no one in doubt as to his desire with a crunching challenge on Milner. The downside for him and Everton was that it earned a 10th booking of the season and a two-match suspension.

City were slow to respond and thought they had been punished in the 13th minute when Mirallas lashed the ball into the net after Osman returned a clearance into the visitors’ box.

Much to City’s relief, a flag had been raised for offside but replays suggested the decision was an extremely harsh one.

City finally started to stir with some neat moves leading to a couple of chances for Edin Dzeko and one for Tevez but Mucha was not seriously tested.

Everton were frustrated not to get a free-kick when Sylvain Distin was knocked over by Gareth Barry in a challenge and the City midfielder was caught soon after by Pienaar, who earned his first yellow.

Aleksandar Kolarov was the next to be booked after up-ending Osman, whose

next significant contribution was to fire the Toffees ahead.

The midfielder, whose form earned another England call-up this week, took a square ball from Seamus Coleman 25 yards out and struck a first-time shot which swerved viciously away from Joe Hart.

Fellaini appealed in vain for a penalty after tangling with Matija Nastasic in the area and Victor Anichebe fired over as Everton continued to force the pace.

Tevez found room and flashed a shot across goal as City served warning of their talent but the visitors remained second best.

They were stretched again when Hart could only palm a Coleman cross as far as Mirallas but the Belgian’s header was deflected over.

The start of the second half was much quieter by comparison but City did show some urgency with Kolarov forcing John Heitinga to hack away a cross in the area.

Everton went close again when Osman had a volley deflected over from a corner and the feisty atmosphere of the first half returned when Pienaar caught Garcia and was shown his second yellow card.

Tackles flew in from both sides after that as City tried to force the pace and make their extra man count.

They almost broke through when Tevez stretched to volley a Dzeko ball at Mucha. The ball rolled invitingly across goal for Milner but Mucha recovered quickly and threw his body in the way as the England man looked certain to equalise.

Everton had no intention of sitting back and were close to a second when former City defender Distin headed narrowly over from a Leighton Baines corner.

City pieced together another good move, but Mucha again spread himself well to deny Zabaleta after David Silva had found him in space on the right.

City continued to press and had an opportunity when a Tevez shot struck Fellaini’s arm in the box, but a free-kick outside the area was awarded and Kolarov struck the wall.

Everton rode out the storm and broke away in injury time through Fellaini, who rolled wide for Jelavic to beat Hart with a deflected shot.