Amid objections by members eyeing the party’s blessing as candidate mayor in the Limassol municipality, ruling Disy’s political bureau has decided to support former Edek deputy Nicos Nicolaides, who announced his independent candidacy earlier this month.

In a statement on Wednesday, Disy announced the mayoral candidates it would back in December’s municipal elections.

The party’s choices include surprises, including Angelos Odysseos, incumbent at the Polis Chrysochous municipality, originally an Akel candidate, Edek-affiliated Michalis Pavlides, Diko member Alexis Michaelides for Larnaca mayor, as well as the unusual decision to let Disy voters decide between sitting mayor Theodoros Pyrillis and Giorgos Nicolettos for Paralimni mayor.

But the biggest ripples were made by the decision of Disy’s political bureau to support former Edek deputy – and transport minister in the Christofias government – Nicos Nicolaides for Limassol mayor.

Nicolaides announced his independent candidacy earlier this month, after a bitter row with Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos, who decided to run last May for the seat Nicolaides had won in the 2006 parliamentary elections.

Disy’s move prompted complaints by both party members interested in running, including former deputies Andreas Michaelides and Andreas Themistocleous, and angered Sizopoulos, who deemed it an “intervention in Edek’s internal affairs that should have been avoided”.

Prior to the political bureau’s session on Tuesday, five Disy members who wished to be considered for the party’s backing in Limassol were told to get together and decide among themselves who the party’s nominee would be.

But, while the five were inching towards selecting Michaelides, they were told that Nicolaides – an outsider – would also be considered, at which point efforts at consensus were abandoned.

All five tabled their names for consideration and left the political bureau session, which ended up picking Nicolaides.

“Disy must always lead, for the common good, with its own ideology and its own people,” Themistocleous wrote on his Facebook profile late on Tuesday.

“The party that elects its leaders to the Presidency of the Republic cannot follow and nominate candidates who came begging, having failed for the second time to garner support from Akel.”

Although more conciliatory, Michaelides acknowledged the rift with the party’s leadership, but noted that he respected and would back the decision.

“[The five of us] were there for Limassol, while the leadership had to look at 30 or 40 cases,” he said.

“We made our case, but it was not heeded. The political bureau’s decision is fully respected, even if we disagree. Our disagreement is not over the individual, it’s a political one.”

Meanwhile, Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos said on Wednesday that it remains to be seen what will happen with party members who have broken the party’s decisions and worked against the party.

“Edek’s political bureau has called on all party members and officials to refrain from announcing any candidacies until the party has had a chance to explore the possibility of co-operation with other parties,” Sizopoulos said.

“Mr Nicolaides, as well as other members, has disobeyed the party’s decisions.”

He also laid blame on Disy for backing a member from another party, saying this could impact the chances for co-operation.

“I believe it is a form of meddling [in Edek’s affairs], and perhaps it should have been avoided by Disy,” he said.

“If there is no respect to other parties and their decisions, it causes problems in exploring potential co-operation.”

A couple who were arrested after the drug squad discovered eight cannabis plants and three kilos of the drug at their home were remanded for eight days by a court in Limassol.

The find was made following a judicial warrant being secured for a search of the house in which a 35-year-old man lives with his 29-year-old female partner.

During the search, six cannabis plants ranging from ten centimetres to one metre in height were found in the building, as well as 3,075 grammes of the dried plant.

A further look in the garden brought to light two more metre-high plants.

Limassol drug squad are continuing investigations, while the couple are being held.

Details emerged Thursday at a triple murder trial in Limassol during the examination and cross-examination of the coroners called to the scene of the frenzied knife attack last November in the busy Anexartisias area of the city.

The accused Christakis Thoma 31, who was brought to court under tight security, appeared calm showing no emotion as testimony from Nicolas Charalambous and Angela Pappeta revealed to the court the fury with which the perpetrator killed three people, aiming for their hearts with a kitchen knife.

“I appreciate that the blow was not by chance, the perpetrator knew where he was striking,” said Charalambous, who conducted the autopsy on the corpse of Emilios Miltiadous, 24. Charalambous said the victim suffered two targeted fatal stab wounds in the chest area which hit the heart.

The same assessment was made by Pappeta who said that the two victims she examined, siblings Paraschos 19, and Constantinos Ntorzi 21, bore fatal injuries to the heart caused by a knife, the blade of which was estimated to be more than 20 cm long. Paraschos was struck five times with the knife, and Constantinos four.

Also mentioned in the report of the forensic experts’ findings were the results of an examination of the woman with whom the suspect had been in a relationship, which showed his violent behaviour, as she displayed signs of past and recent wounds to various parts of her body.

Thoma denies the premeditated murders of the three youths on the night of November 24 after which he fled the scene, but was caught and arrested two days later.

Thoma maintained everything had started when he broke up with the girlfriend who had persuaded the Ntorzi brothers to phone and continually harass him and one of his two underage children. Thoma said he considered this a misunderstanding which was sorted out after intervention by mutual acquaintances.

However, one of the Ntorzi brothers who was engaged to the girl at the time of the killings, accused Thoma of badmouthing his fiancée leading to a telephone conversation in which the two agreed to meet at Thoma’s father’s restaurant in Heroes Square.

The three victims arrived and began swearing at him outside the restaurant and Thoma said he asked them to sit down and accept his hospitality. He told the court he lost his temper when they continued to curse him and his children, grabbing a knife to intimidate them at which point they began throwing chairs at him.

This led to him pursuing them with his father in tow yelling at him to stop. Not realising they were dead after stabbing them in the street, he returned to the restaurant and continued work until finding out from the internet that the three were dead.

The court has so far heard the testimony of five policemen, three eyewitnesses and both coroners, as well as having some of the accepted facts presented. The prosecution will call other witnesses on October 14, the date set for the continuation of the trial.

INCUMBENT Limassol Mayor Andreas Christou has voiced his intention to seek re-election in December’s local elections, a decision that could revive a tripartite alliance of opposition parties.

Christou, who initially planned not to run for a third term, had second thoughts reportedly after pressure from his party, main opposition Akel.

His decision, expected to be officially announced on Monday, could mean a revival of a three-party alliance between Akel, Diko and Edek that may extend to other, smaller municipalities.

The stage was now set for a showdown between Christou and former Edek MP Nicos Nicolaides, who is backed by ruling Disy.

Nicolaides announced his independent candidacy earlier this month, after a row with Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos, who had decided to run last May for the seat Nicolaides won in the 2011 parliamentary elections in Limassol.

Disy’s decision irked five party members, including former MPs Andreas Michaelides and Andreas Themistocleous, who wanted to be considered as candidates.

Sizopoulos was also angered, describing the move as an intervention into Edek’s internal affairs.

Reports said that the five Disy members were looking to field their own candidate, prompting Disy chief Averof Neophytou to travel to Limassol on Friday in a bid to calm them down.

“This is not the first time the party’s decisions creates some problems, and some disappointment among party members interested in running,” Neophytou said after meeting with the disgruntled group.

“But, for decades, despite the reactions and the disappointments, we at Disy have found the way to unite.”

Defending the decision to back Nicolaides, Neophytou praised his honesty and integrity, and threw a barb at the rumoured revival of the tripartite of the opposition parties.

“For us, it is expected that the rest of the political parties will draw outdated practices and split municipalities among them – which go to Akel, which to Diko or Edek, and so on,” he said.

Akel leader Andros Kyprianou said potential cooperation in the elections will be driven by the interests of the local communities.

Asked if Christou would be supported by Akel, Diko and Edek, Kyprianou said the party was not out to strike alliances for all districts.

“The instructions we have given the district committees is to target local collaborations and any deals should have a strong local character and revolve around the correct political positions and the personality that will lead the effort to serve the interests of the people,” he said.

Kyprianou said the party will hold discussions with other parties but what local societies have to say will be the decisive factor.

“These elections have a strong local character and this must be maintained; we cannot attach an intense political character to these elections.”

Police arrested four young people, three in Limassol and one in Paphos, for various offences, mainly cannabis on Saturday evening.

In Limassol officers said two people aged 18 and 20 were arrested after one, spotting a police patrol on a pedestrian area, threw something on the ground that police said turned out to be half a gramme of cannabis. The 20-year-old was found to have four grammes in his possession.

During the same patrol, officers stopped a 21-year-old on a moped who was not wearing a helmet and subsequently discovered he was driving without a licence or insurance. He was also arrested.

In subsequent searches of the suspects’ homes investigations, officers found what they said was a joint, in the house of the 18-year-old and 25 grammes of cannabis in the house of the 21-year-old moped driver.

In Paphos, a 19-year-old was arrested as a drug suspect and for resisting arrest. He had been seen on CCTV entering a house and was reported. When police got there, with the homeowner’s permission, they searched the house and found the suspect hiding under a bed. Officers said he had on him a half-smoked joint and 1,200 euros they believe came from drug dealing.

Volunteer diver Cyprus will on Sunday attempt to create the longest underwater human chain to secure a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

The attempt will be made between 8am and 11am at Molos in the old Limassol port.

Cypriots and not only volunteer divers from all parts of the island will join in the attempt.

The goal is to promote Cyprus and scuba diving.

More than 200 Divers (men and women) will dive to a depth of five metres, for about 10 minutes, forming the human chain.

The effort, involves organised diving academies and associations as well as individuals – volunteers of underwater diving enthusiasts.

It is being supported by Flyboarding Cyprus which will put on a show.

In 2015, Italy broke the participation record with 173 underwater divers on the island of Elba. A prior record was in 2013 with 110 divers participating on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

“We want this record and we are all working hard to achieve. We really want to show how wonderful and safe the sport of scuba diving can be,” the organisers said.

“Cyprus has year-round warm waters, suitable for year-round scuba diving.  We aim to spread our sport to all Cypriots and tourists by projecting Cyprus as a diving tourism destination – And we are sure that our event will be excellent ”

Limassol Mayor Andreas Christou on Tuesday officially announced that he would be seeking a third term in December’s local elections.

Christou, who served as MP with AKEL and interior minister in the Tassos Papadopoulos administration, said he was standing as an independent “above and beyond political and party positions.”

Initially, it had appeared that Christou would not be seeking re-election for the third time, but he changed his mind after a strong show of support from a wide range of people of various political ideologies.

“I decided, with a deep sense of respect and love, to once more be there for our city, for Limassol and its residents,” he said.

“Your vision, our vision, the programme and the planning, consensus and the municipal council’s common will, brought enviable infrastructure to Limassol.”

The coastal city was now among the top upcoming tourist destinations and has become one of the biggest business centres in the east Mediterranean, he said.

“Our development programme fetched many millions (of euros) to Limassol.”

The mayor said a new programme was in the pipeline, with new large projects on the cards and others underway.

Christou expressed his boundless appreciation towards Limassol residents who supported the effort and encouraged and worked with the municipality.

He assured them that the same policy of consensus and understanding will always govern “our thoughts and actions.”

Christou is being challenged by former Edek MP Nicos Nicolaides who is supported by ruling Disy.

None of the opposition parties have expressed their intentions yet but it is certain that Akel will support Christou.

“Of course parties are the society’s organisation and no one can disregard them or downgrade their role,” Christou said. “But at the same time there is the municipality, the municipality of the people, the residents who have their own view, especially in local elections, as has been proven repeatedly”.

Cyprus on Sunday broke the Guinness record for forming an underwater human chain at the old port in Limassol.

The divers needed 200 volunteers to break the record but 280 showed up to complete the feat, according to CNA.

The volunteer divers were joined together by holding rope which was fastened to the dock as they went five metres down for around ten minutes.

Organised groups and individual divers took part. The goal was to promote Cyprus and scuba diving.

The event was supported by Flyboarding Cyprus.

In 2015, Italy broke the participation record with 173 underwater divers on the island of Elba. A prior record was in 2013 with 110 divers participating on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean.

Police said on Monday they had located a Limassol man who was reported missing and that he was fine.

On Sunday they had issued a bulletin saying Yiannis Kouzaris, 46, had been reported missing on Friday.

A 49-year-old man was charged on Monday in connection with the fire in Arakapas in the Limassol district that burned two hectares of trees, beehives and wild vegetation.

The fire broke out at around 11.45am in an area near Arakapas when sparks created from the welding machine the 49-year-old was using fell on dry grass. It was brought under control at around 3pm, the fire service said.

To help put out the fire 10 engines were recruited, along with two airplanes and two helicopters. Around two hectares of trees, beehives and dry vegetation were burned down.

The 49-year-old, who was asked to go to the area’s police station, admitted that the fire was caused due to his activities and was charged to appear before court at a later date, police said.

Disgruntled easyJet passengers have complained that flight delays at Paphos airport saw them being transported to other towns across the island as there was ‘no space in Paphos hotels.’

Mick and Anne Hugill say they have often travelled with easyJet and the low cost carrier is their first choice for flights. Although they still hold the airline in high regard, they feel they were ‘tremendously let down’ by easyJet’s representation in Cyprus.

The couple, both aged 63, are retirees, and have had a property in Pissouri in Limassol for the last 14 years.

The trouble occurred on Friday 30 September, when EasyJet fight EJ1974 from Paphos to Manchester was cancelled due to ‘technical’ reasons. A chain of events then led to passengers, hours later, being informed that they would spend an extra night in Cyprus, but not in Paphos, where they were flying from, but some as far away as Nicosia.

Mick Hugill said: “It was almost obscene that tired passengers were being shunted to the far corners of the island when lovely Paphos was so close by with hundreds of hotel rooms. Something is not right.”

In the hours leading up to the announcement, Hugill told the Cyprus Mail that the departure board at Paphos airport showed the delay and a new time of half past midnight on Saturday October 1.

However, as the evening progressed passengers were informed that the flight would land at Milan, Italy.

“We were informed that we would spend the night and following day in Milan and then fly to Manchester Saturday night arriving in the UK on Sunday morning.”

The easyJet passenger said that this information later changed; passengers would fly to Milan, the flight crew would change and they would continue directly to Manchester.

“After this, at about 1am on the Saturday morning we were then informed that there would be no flight at all that night.” Hugill said that passengers were told that they would be collected by taxis and ‘put up’ by easyJet for the night and that they would then fly back to the UK on Saturday night.

“Lots of people were still waiting for transport outside the airport at 5am and some passengers were expected to share sleeping quarters with strangers.”

He said that passengers were taken all over the island, some as far as Nicosia, as they were informed that easyJet doesn’t have any hotels available in Paphos, only in Polis, Nicosia and Limassol.

Hugill questioned how this could be and what reason could be behind it.

“Families with young babies and the elderly were very distressed and there was a lack of communication, organisation and planning. At 3am, taxis were crawling out of the woodwork to ferry people to the far corners of the island. All this while lovey rooms remained empty in the hotels in Paphos.”

The airline’s European PR Manager, Matteo Taddei, responded on behalf of the airline: “easyJet would like to apologise to the passengers whose flight from Paphos to Manchester was delayed overnight on 30 September. Unfortunately crew were not able to operate this flight as it would have exceeded their legal operating hours following an earlier delayed flight.”

He continued: “easyJet provided hotel accommodation for the passengers in a number of hotels in Cyprus as availability was limited due to high demand at this time of year. The passengers were provided with refreshment vouchers and their flight departed on Saturday October 1. We would like to thank passengers for their understanding.”

Hugill and his wife arrived back in the UK on Sunday October 2 and said that the pair have already been offered compensation by the airline.

He said: “We feel sorry for the way that easyJet have been let down at the Cyprus end.”

Limassol taxi drivers announced on Wednesday they would go on a strike on Saturday over the problems within the sector which they said the government had repeatedly failed to address.

They said they would strike between 5pm and 8pm outside the taxi ranks of the old port and the Limassol marina over the standing problems faced by urban taxi owners and drivers including unlicensed drivers, inadequate numbers of taxi ranks and road tax licences.

During the strike, President Nicos Anastasiades will be attending the inauguration ceremony of the redevelopment project at the old Limassol port.

“When in 2014 we had announced a protest at the opening of the Limassol marina, the President of the Republic …. prevented this by promising to find solutions, but since then we have not seen any results,” a statement from the taxi drivers said.

By Angelos Anastasiou

The Melco-Hard Rock Resorts Cyprus consortium submitted the only final bid in the second leg of the government’s tender invitation for an integrated resort casino, the commerce ministry announced on Wednesday.

The consortium plans to build the proposed casino in Limassol.

“With Wednesday’s expiry of the deadline for submission of final proposals, the ministry received a proposal from the Melco-Hard Rock Resorts Cyprus consortium, which consists of Melco International Development Ltd, Seminole HR Holdings Ltd (Hard Rock), and the CNS Group (the Cyprus Phassouri (Zakaki) Ltd),” the commerce ministry said in a statement.

The casino licence will allow the operation of an integrated casino resort in Cyprus for 30 years, as a monopoly for the first 15, as well as a satellite casino and three slot-machine parlours elsewhere in the country.

“The government welcomes the fact that two colossi in the integrated casino resort sector, with vast experience in the construction and management of projects across the world, have chosen Cyprus to enter the European market,” the ministry’s statement added.

The first stage of the government’s tenders process attracted eight expressions of interest, of whom three were short-listed, with the Melco-Hard Rock consortium remaining the sole contender after the withdrawal of two.

The other short-listed bidders – Cambodian Nagacorp and Bloomberry of the Philippines – withdrew days before Wednesday’s deadline.

In June, the two candidates had requested and received a three-month deadline extension to submit their final bids, citing trouble finding suitable and affordable land, as well as delays with government bureaucracy.

Unconfirmed reports said that one was looking at land in Paphos, while the other had hoped to set up the casino in Larnaca.

“Construction work by the investor is expected to start in the first quarter of 2017, if the proposal satisfies the government,” Undersecretary to the President Constantinos Petrides said in a tweet after the final bid was filed.

“Capital investment of over €500 million, the creation of thousands of jobs, and the enrichment of our tourist product, are but some of the myriad benefits to be had for Cyprus’ economy.”

The government, he added, is “one step” away from awarding the licence, provided that the final proposal meets the terms of the tender process.

One of the terms stipulates that the final bid may not deviate from the initial bid by more than five per cent, according to Natasa Pilides, director of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency.

“[Although] there’s only one consortium left, the final proposal must be consistent with the initial one – there can’t be a deviation of more than five per cent,” she told state radio on Wednesday.

“Therefore, we are hopeful that it will comply with the terms and will be approved.”

Limassol police are looking for a motorcycle removed from the scene of an accident Wednesday night before their arrival, while the owner is on life support in intensive care.

The large capacity bike, ridden by a 24-year-old went into the back of car driven by a 30-year-old Russian woman who had a five-year-old child in the back at the time.

The biker, who was seriously injured in the crash suffering a number of fractures, was transferred to hospital while the others involved escaped unhurt.

The officer on duty in Limassol late Wednesday told the Cyprus Mail that a breathalyser test carried out on the man returned a result of 54µg, more than twice over the legal limit of 22µg, adding that blood was taken from the man for further analysis.

Police are looking at stills from CCTV footage to ascertain who took the bike after the collision, where to and why.

The centre of Limassol has had an amazing shot of life over the past few years and remains a leading attraction for any night out. Who could resist the temptation of new restaurants popping up, great views and a buzz of life that cannot be found elsewhere in the city? The rejuvenation of the Old Port has brought some great new restaurants and To Kypriakon is one of them.

The restaurant, boasting great sea views be it daytime or nighttime, has been meticulously decorated to infuse an air of modernity with a sense of the traditional, making it both homey and undeniably elegant at the same time. It is not in the strictest sense a traditional tavern, it is its much more refined elder brother. Walking in, the kitchen area is on full view, and watching the hustle and bustle of the chefs busily working to prepare food adds to working up your appetite; the sounds, the smells, the cooking add to a dining experience to look forward to.

The restaurant has a great variety of traditional dishes, but the best thing to go for, especially if you are in a group, is for the meze. Their meze consists of 22 dishes and is more than enough for even the largest of appetites. What is also great, is that they also have a vegetarian meze option too. Our meze started off as they all do with dips and fresh warm bread and as time passed each course improved and improved. We were particularly impressed the fried halloumi balls, as it was a new was to feature one of meze’s familiar tastes. The village sausages and pastourma were grilled to perfection and it was obvious that their selection came from high quality meats and the chicken and pork souvlaki made a perfect conclusion to an already full meal of traditional macaroni, zucchini and eggs and all the other assortments. The quality of the food did make a rather positive impression on me. It is not everyday you can find such bountiful mezes where each dish is of high quality.

Moreover, the fact that the restaurant offers other dishes as well; serving other traditional plates rather than just the meze also leaves space for those on the fussier side.

However, what did put a slight damper on the meal was the lack of originality. The place itself, its surroundings all beg for embracing the old but giving it a slight twist. And this is what I found was wanting. The food itself was exceptional, something that you can’t always find.

All in all, the experience was great and the ambience added to the night immensely. Take your meze with a bottle of wine and enjoy the beauties the old port has to offer. But do make sure to reserve as the place does get quite busy.

VITAL STATISTICS
SPECIALTY Cypriot Cuisine
WHERE Limassol Old Port
CONTACT 25 101555

Limassol municipality is urging residents to act discreetly when coming across homeless people and to call social workers instead of posting photos on social media.

In an announcement, the municipality called on members of the public who may come across  homeless people or people in need to inform the social workers in charge of the programme ‘social work on the street’.

The municipality also calls for discretion.

The reason for this, it said, are “recent posts of people on social media”. Such posts should be “discreet with the aim of protecting the personal data of our fellow humans by avoiding showing faces, names and other personal information”.

The ‘social work on the street’ programme, it said, works in close cooperation with all local agencies as well state services and is in a position to investigate on site, when necessary, reported cases and refer them to the municipality’s support services, state services, the Limassol bishopric or non-governmental organisations.

“Raising awareness among our citizens is an important element that kept our city solid and united, and this mobilisation we hope will result in a complete coordination for responding to the real needs of our fellow citizens,” the announcement said.

Social workers of the ‘Social work on the street’ programme may be reached at 99 728871

Limassol court sentenced a 27-year-old man to two years’ imprisonment for illegal possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

The man was caught by the drug squad in January 2015 after being stopped in his car. On seeing the officers, he got out the vehicle and attempted to run away, dropping two nylon bags containing 54g of the drug.

The man was apprehended and in a search carried out in his car police found an air pistol for which he had no licence, a set of digital scales and €1,400 in cash.

The alleged brainwashing of a young man, said to have shunned his family and turned to monastic life, has regained traction after the recent publication of his mother’s shocking testimony in an ongoing lawsuit.

In the first-of-its kind lawsuit, now being heard before Nicosia district court, the young man’s family are seeking general damages of up to €2 million from Machairas monastery in Limassol, current Limassol bishop Athanasios, the Archbishop in his capacity as the head of the Church, as well as from the Republic.

The family of Giorgos Theodolou, from Nicosia, claim that Athanasios proselytized their son beginning in 2001. As a result of the indoctrination, Giorgos, now aged 43, was completely changed as a person.

There is no legal precedent for this type of claim, and the Cyprus Mail understands that there are dozens of families with similar grievances against the church who are awaiting the outcome of this case.

The case was filed in 2010, with the hearings starting around May 2015.

In September of this year, Giorgos’ mother Maria testified in court. She told of how her son gradually came under the spell, as it were, of Athanasios.

Sources apprised of the matter told the Mail that Giorgos’ first contact with Athanasios happened when the young man was studying at the University of Cyprus. There, Athanasios was giving a series of lectures on monasticism.

The mother provided an account of how her son’s brain was re-wired. Prior to this, she said, Giorgos was an active and extroverted young man, and was involved in a romantic relationship.

That all changed, however, as he gradually turned into an introvert, morose, grew a beard and wore only black clothes, spending hours on end praying.

Matters came to a head one day when Giorgos, in a state of panic, told his mother that he had seen a “demon.”

His mother tried to make him see reason, asking him how a spiritual person could have such experiences.

His response was that “the devil” was seeking to stop him from becoming a monk and eventually a “saint.”

In desperation, the mother contacted Athanasios – who from 1993 to 1999 was abbot at Machairas monastery before being ordained bishop of Limassol.

Athanasios’ response was that Giorgos was an adult and could therefore make his own choices.

Once Giorgos discovered that his mother had spoken with Athanasios, he allegedly flew into a rage and physically assaulted her. It was the first time he had ever done so.

The family dismisses the church’s ‘free will’ argument, insisting that their son became a pawn in the hands of the monastery.

Giorgos’ mother is set to be cross-examined by the defendants’ lawyers on November 10.

The plaintiffs are also suing the attorney-general (the Republic) for failing to institute laws protecting family life. The Republic is also being held accountable for not instituting a framework that designates under what circumstances a person can become a monk, given the austere nature of the calling that involves isolation.

It is not yet clear whether Giorgos or bishop Athanasios will be taking the stand.

An ordained monk must transfer all his possessions to his monastery. It’s understood that, to prevent this, Giorgos’ father has since transferred title to his property to his daughter, to prevent the property going to Giorgos – and ultimately Machairas monastery – after he passes.

AN Israeli desalination company is threatening to sue Cyprus under its investment treaty with Israel, seeking damages of up to €50 million.

According to reports in Israeli and Cypriot media, Mekorot Development and Enterprise, a subsidiary of the Mekorot National Water Company, alleges that the Cypriot government misled it, thereby causing it nearly €50 million in damages in violation of the 1998 Israel-Cyprus Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) for mutual protection of investments.

Mekorot is now threatening to petition the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, which operates in cooperation with the World Bank in Washington.

Under BIT terms, the warning period before filing a claim with an international institution is six months.

Israeli business website Globes reports that Mekorot’s allegations relate to two tenders issued by the ministry of agriculture, which the company won jointly with local Cypriot partners.

The first, published in 2007, was for planning, constructing, and operating a desalination facility in Episkopi, Limassol. The second, published in 2012, was for the upgrading, expansion, and operation of an existing desalination facility near Larnaca.

The company asserts that the ministry of agriculture was late in providing access to the land on which the facility was to be built. It took the ministry a year to appropriate the land – located in a Sovereign Base Area – as a result of which the company sustained monetary damages.

Construction of the facility was completed in 2012.

In the second case, Mekorot claims that only once it was given the facility near Larnaca did the company discover that it was in a significantly poorer technical state than described in the tender documents.

1. Firon & Co, the Israeli law firm representing Mekorot, states that because the Larnaca facility was not operational, the project did not generate the expected cash flow which the company could have used to finance the upgrades.

Moreover, the law firm states that the agriculture ministry ordered the facility shut down for three years. The desalination facility in question had been constructed by a different company shortly after 2000.

According to Mekorot, all its appeals to the agriculture ministry were ignored for almost four years.

In early 2013, the parties reached a compromise, but it was made conditional on approval by the agriculture ministry, which announced in mid-2015 that it did not accept the compromise.

Globes reports that the law firm has also sent a letter on the matter to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as to the country’s ministers of justice and national infrastructures, asking them to exert pressure on Cyprus to negotiate compensation for the company.

In August of this year, the law firm representing Mekorot addressed a letter to agriculture minister Nicos Kouyialis and to attorney-general Costas Clerides, laying out the company’s claims and arguments. Mekorot says it received no reply.

Asked to comment, Kouyialis told the Cyprus Mail he was “surprised” by Mekorot’s talk of now seeking recourse at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington.

This is because in June or July of this year, the attorney-general’s office, which was in contact with the Israeli law firm, already agreed to Mekorot’s demand for international arbitration on the matter – though not at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Prior to that, said Kouyialis, the Central Committee on Changes and Claims had ruled against Mekorot’s claims. Mekorot next demanded international arbitration, at which point the attorney-general’s office became involved.

The same Israeli law firm, which specialises in international investment treaties, is currently representing another group of Israeli investors, who are likewise threatening to sue Cyprus unless they are awarded the concession to explore for hydrocarbons in Block 8 of Cyprus’ economic waters.

The insatiable fixation with the old port in Limassol is understandable, especially when bars are concerned; not long ago there was essentially nothing, and now you have the hippest, coolest and most elegant bars mere feet from each other vying for your attention. And which ones attract the most? The ones hanging, almost seeming to be levitating mid-air give a unique experience of overlooking just water, and in the other direction uninterrupted views of the beauty that is Limassol. Gin Fish is one of the newcomers, focusing exactly on what the name says – gin and fish.

It’s a great time to be a gin fan in Limassol right now with all these bars that focus on gin cocktails as their highlight. And Gin Fish is one that hits all the right spots. First the atmosphere and ambiance of the place is of class and elegance. It is overwhelmingly white – in the best way possible – lacing every moment with seaborn sophistication. You never forget the connection between sea and bar and both complement each other.

There’s a multitude of gin cocktails, or choose your own preference like my Bombay Saphire and tonic. At €11 a piece, the price might seem steep but given the size of the cocktail but also the view, the price seems a bit more reasonable. All other cocktails, none veering too far away from the traditional cocktails we all know and love are similarly priced and also come in decent portions.

All in all this is a great place for an early drink, or a late session as well. Just bare in mind, the later it gets the louder and busier it becomes. If you have no qualms with that then this is the place for you; otherwise just enjoy an early drink watching over the calm Mediterranean sea.

Gin Fish
Where: Old Port, Limassol
Contact: 25 354200