BANK OF CYPRUS AGAIN SET TO REDUCE STAFF-RELATED COSTS

in-cyprus 5 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

Bank of Cyprus is set to reduce staff-related costs with changes in salaries and early retirement and part time employment options again on the table, according to a July 31 circular by the management.

The Human Resources Department’s circular also informed the lender’s some 3,700 employees that unpaid leave could also be considered, Philenews reported on Wednesday.

“The coronavirus pandemic has affected us all, ushering in a new reality to the labour sector and indicating that we all have to adjust to a new state of play,” the circular also said.

“Within this framework and with the main goal being the provision of facilities to staff that will lead to a better work life balance, we are immediately proceeding with labour institutions,” it added.

It then clarified that for part-time work, earnings will be calculated as a ratio of the agreed number of weekly working hours to the normal full-time working hours.

In addition, it specified that approval of requests of this kind is subject of approval by Management of the Group so that the smooth operation of affected branches/departments continues.

Bank of Cyprus, the island’s largest lender, posted a net loss of €70 million for 2019, due to increased provisions after postponing a sale of non-performing loans and the cost of a voluntary retirement scheme.

In view of the COVID-19 outbreak, the bank has been updating macroeconomic assumptions.

 

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CYPRUS SAYS READY TO SEND MEDICAL TEAMS TO LEBANON, AS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 100

in-cyprus 5 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

As death toll from a massive blast which ripped through Beirut port has risen to 100, neighbouring Cyprus has said it stood ready to offer medical aid to the thousands injured.

“Cyprus is ready to accept injured persons for treatment and send medical teams if required,” Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides told state broadcaster CyBC on Wednesday morning.

Tuesday’s explosion was heard throughout Cyprus, which lies about 160 kms away.

Christodoulides also said the Cypriot embassy in Beirut, which was closed at the time of the blast, was extensively damaged.

In the meantime, the head of the Lebanese Red Cross told local broadcasters on Wednesday that more victims are under the rubble.

George Kettaneh told LBCI TV by telephone that the Red Cross was coordinating with the health ministry for morgues to take victims because hospitals were overwhelmed.

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AKAMAS COMMUNITIES CONFRONTED WITH SERIOUS DEMOGRAPHIC DECLINE

in-cyprus 5 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

Akamas region communities are confronted with a serious demographic decline and they are slowly but steadily deserted, Philenews reported on Wednesday citing statistical data.

Specifically, the population of Inia, Neo Khorio, Droushia, Panos Arodes, Kato Arodes, Androlykos and Kathikas was totalling 2,527 in 1976 compared to 1,498 in 2011. The decrease was up to 41 per cent.

“Akamas communities are on the respirator for years, waiting for governments throughout the years to seriously study their needs and not just succumb to slogans by environmentalists,” said Andreas Christodoulou Mahimos who heads the Neo Khorio community council and is also a member of the community’s Akamas Action Plan.

“Undoubtedly, the next census will record a further population decrease in the area,” he added.

A total of 52 deaths and only seven births were recorded in Neo Khorio over the past eight years, he also said.

The new generation is forced to leave the area because of lack of employment that could secure a dignified standard of living, he added.

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BRITISH WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER HUSBAND IS STABBED WITH KITCHEN KNIFE

in-cyprus 5 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

Paphos police have arrested a 53-year-old British woman who appears to have injured her husband with a kitchen knife following a domestic violence incident late on Tuesday.

The husband, also a Briton, is out of danger after sustaining injuries to the abdomen and chest, police said.

The couple live permanently in the coastal city, according to state radio.

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FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS CYPRUS READY TO ASSIST DISASTER-HIT LEBANON

in-cyprus 5 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides has expressed Cyprus’ readiness to provide evacuation and other assistance to neighbouring Lebanon after Tuesday’s two huge explosions which left 80 dead and over 4,000 injured.

“Expressing our overwhelming and heartfelt sympathy to the Lebanese people. We are in communication with the Lebanese government and have informed of Cyprus’ immediate readiness to assist, #Lebanon, #Cyprus, @CyprusMFA, @CyprusinLebanon,” Christodoulides wrote on Twitter.

In another tweet the Minister asks “all Cypriots who are in Lebanon to get in touch with the Foreign Affairs Ministry Crisis Management Centre at tel. 99660129 or with our Embassy in Lebanon at tel. +9613572139 for reasons of immediate help in case of need, @CyprusMFA, @CyprusinLebanon.”

Later on Tuesday, President Nicos Anastasiades said in a tweet: “My deep condolences to the Government and the people of #Lebanon, particularly to the families of all those who died at the tragic #Beirut explosions. We wish and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured ones. We stand ready to provide any assistance deemed necessary.”

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CYPRUS DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN BEIRUT SUSTAINS DAMAGE FROM BLASTS

in-cyprus 5 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

The chancery of the Embassy of Cyprus in Beirut as well as the Ambassador’s residence on Tuesday sustained damage from the two explosions which shook the capital of Lebanon.

The diplomatic mission’s charge d’affairs Eleni Papanicolaou was slightly injured.

The embassy’s duty officer, Serge Bou Samraat, told CNA the extent of the damage has not been assessed.

Two other Cypriot women were also injured in the blast.

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ELVIS & FRIENDS SHOW by Mario Kombou - Colosseum Restaurant - 12 & 13 September

Elvis & Friends Show by Mario Kombou

Colosseum Restaurant

12 & 13 September - 7pm dinner, 9pm show

€23pp including 3 course dinner.

Reservation essential - 26 962415, or email:  colosseum@cytanet.com.cy

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ANDREW BROWNING TRIBUTE TO GEORGE MICHAEL - Colosseum Restaurant - 5 & 6 September

Andrew Browning tribute to George Michael

Colosseum Restaurant

5 & 6 September - dinner 7pm, show 9pm - NOTE 5/9 SOLD OUT!

Tickets €25pp including three course dinner.

Reservation essential - 26 962415 or email:  colosseum@cytanet.com.cy

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HANDBUILDING CERAMIC MUG ACTIVITY - The Makers Space, Tala

HANDBUILDING CERAMIC MUG ACTIVITY

The Makers Space, Tala

2 week activity €45pp - class size max 4 people.

Enquiries and bookings - Laura 97 769641

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Discovering A Classic Anthology

Beyond Baker Street, where have you been most of my life?

This Sherlockian anthology edited by Michael Harrison, which Steve Doyle considers “a classic,” came out in 1976 in the wake of the Sherlockian wave created by Nicholas Meyer’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. But, somehow, I missed it.

It recently came to me from Carolyn Senter among a number of Sherlockian books that belonged to her late husband and our good friend, R. Joel Senter, Jr. I consider an inheritance from Joel. 

 By coincidence, I’d only owned the book for about a day when I came across a reference to it in Commissionaire, Sonia Fetherston’s new biography of Julian Wolff. The reason is that the book is fulsomely dedicated to Wolff, who was then head of the Baker Street Irregulars and editor of The Baker Street Journal.

Even before I began reading Beyond Baker Street, I noticed something curious: pages 205-236 of the volume I have are printed upside down! S. Brent Morris says this is almost certainly a complete “signature,” in bookbinding terms, and when the worker gathered the signatures together this one was inadvertently inverted.

That novelty aside, the content of the anthology has something of the feel of such masterworks as Edgar W. Smith’s Profile by Gaslight and Vincent Starrett’s 221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes, published more than a generation earlier. 

The quality of the essays by 25 American and British writers is not as uniformly interesting as in those early books, for my taste, but the best ones are very good indeed. John Gardner offers a masterful overview of the Victorian underworld, David Pearson has one of the best articles I’ve read on the question of Holmes’s religious faith, and Martin Gardner’s proof that ACD didn’t write the Canon is clever though rather mean-spirited.

My favorite essay, though, is Anthony Howlett’s piece on “The Impersonators: Sherlock Holmes on Stage and Screen.” His frank assessment – and the frankness is what makes it so enjoyable – lauds Basil Rathbone and Arthur Wontner, but surprisingly finds Peter Cushing “a rather lightweight and prissy Holmes” and his Hound “a feeble and disappointing production”!

Among the many illustrations that add to the enjoyment of the anthology are 13 delightful line drawings by Henry Lauritzen.

Now you must excuse me. I have to add a book to my library shelves.

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