About Larnaca

The Business outlook in Cyprus becoming concerning

2012-02-12T22:58:00.001+02:00

With the news that VAT will rise by 2% from 15% to 17% as from the 1st of March 2012, the business international community in Cyprus is starting to get concerned. Possibly the worst way to stimulate our much needy economy is to raise the VAT threshold percentage. What often happens in such cases is that the consumer simply spends less to compensate, which results in the Government receiving the same of less VAT income, even though the rate is higher. Worse still more Companies are forced into bankruptcy meantime, due to the depleted consumer confidence. This in turn further negatively impacts on the potential Government income.

Company registrations in Cyprus are already slowing, which was demonstrated by the very slight increase of just 26 with 1,425 applications in January 2012 compared to 1,399 applications in 2011 during the same period. This is at a time when Cyprus with its original Tax base would have been highly attractive for Companies wishing to relocate or start up. Malta is picking up the slack in Europe and a number of non EU countries are also benefiting.

At the end of 2011 the Government innovated a completely new tax just to have a Company of around 350 euro per year. Moreover the tax on the dividends of shareholders resident in Cyprus was raised from 15% to 17% and soon it will be 20%. This tax further penalises overseas investors that reside, spend and distribute wealth in Cyprus, as opposed to non residents who spend little on the Island and pay no tax on dividends.

Now the international Business community fears that the Government may start to play with the Corporate Tax, which will make Cyprus even more uncompetitive.

The international Business community is holding out for a glimmer of good news arising from the 2013 elections, hoping that a more Business orientated administration gets into power. However, the damage may have already be done by this time, as one thing all Business investors need to see is fiscal stability, hence the recent changes send all the wrong messages.

MRSA fears caused by overdoses of antibiotics

2012-02-12T22:01:00.001+02:00

The Health Minister Stavros Malas recently stated that Cyprus suffers from one of the highest rates of multiple drug resistant infections, which appears to be a direct result of a high use of antibiotics on the Island. It transpires that after only Greece, Cypriot Doctors and health professionals distribute antibiotics liberally and as such much more so than any other country in Europe.

This reality generates fears about the dreaded MRSA, which is an international challenge, however In Cyprus, as the Island nation is the second worst offending country within the EU concerning the use of antibiotics, regardless of what additional actions are taken, MRSA will still pose significant problems.

Prevention is better than cure, hence the use of antibiotics must be minimised. In the past antibiotics were prescribed for all manner of things including a common cold or flu. Antibiotics should only be used where an infection is involved that the body’s own immune system cannot deal with.

Although Hospitals do feature air-filter systems and the Government is trying to improve the way patients are moved around hospitals, the situation is still alarming regarding MRSA. In particular, crammed public hospital conditions (over capacity) are making things worse..”

A number of patients have contracted MRSA in the past few years, however the real numbers are somewhat unknown, as the Health Ministry does not actually presently collate statistics concerning MRSA-related deaths, as the EU does not currently request this information.

If MRSA is detected early it can be treated with alternative antibiotics, which are likely to work. This however comes as no comfort to the general public or the families of past victims that contracted MRSA from a Hospital in Cyprus. There are even a number of cases whereby people caught something worse than what they went into Hospital with in the first place. This makes some people skeptical to visit Hospital when taken ill, which generates its own set of concerns.

In a world of every man for himself, it seems the best advice is to go private and avoid the use of antibiotics wherever possible.

Аэрофлот инвестирует в Cyprus Airways?

2012-02-10T09:31:00.000+02:00

После сообщения СМИ о возможной продаже и общей финансовой ситуации торговые акции национального перевозчика острова Cyprus Airways (Цайпрус Аирвэйс) были отстранены от торгов на 9 февраля. По данным биржи предложение приостановить торги возникло из Комиссии по ценным бумагам.

Это кабинет Кипра уполномочен министром финансов вести переговоры о продаже доли контролируемой государством авиакомпании. Поговаривают, что истецом является Аэрофлот, росийский национальный авиаперевозчик.

Нынешняя ситуация в Cyprus Airways заключена в том, что 69 процентов авиакомпании контролируется государством. Целью правительства является, вероятно, поднятие капитала авиакомпании, а затем переговоры о продаже пакета акции для частного партнера, скорее всего, Аэрофлоту.

Cyprus Airways зафиксировал убыток в 29 миллионов евро в первой половине 2011 года (как показано последним финансовым результатом), следовательно, новый частный инвестор будет более чем желатен. Кроме того, правительство будет только радо уменьшению финансового риска для убыточного перевозчика.

Be careful what you say about the President

2012-02-10T00:31:00.002+02:00

Following the news of a man that is facing charges of being a ‘public nuisance’ after calling the President of the Cyprus Republic Demetris Christofias an ‘idiot’, makes one wonder what happened to ‘freedom of speech’?

The 35 year old man attended a hearing at the Nicosia District Court on the 1st of February to face the charges. It transpires from the Police that the man in question was driving his car on the 3rd of August 2011 when he saw the presidential limousine in the Lycavitos area at which time he stuck his head out of a car window and allegedly uttered these words: “Idiot President, quit”. This emotional outcry apparently promoted a quick response from 2 presidential guards.

The prosecution was reported to say that he was charged with being a public nuisance “by committing an act not authorised by law - which as a consequence disturbed the practice of the public’s rights”.

The man facing the charges pleaded not guilty and will appear in Court on the 5th of June 2012. It should be considered also that the incident occurred in the wake of the 11th of July blast in Moni last year, which tragically killed 13 people and brought the island’s main power station to its knees.

What is more interesting, is that at the time, literally thousands of people were demonstrating in their masses around the presidential Palace, many of which were publicly chanting for President Christofias to resign. No doubt the language was more savoury on occasions, hence if the man is found guilty is may have ramifications beyond this incident alone. About Larnaca also received information that between the months of July and September 2011 no less than 3 other people were charged with being a public nuisance under somewhat similar circumstances.

The Maximum penalty for this charge is a year of imprisonment. More specifically, the actual law clearly states the following:

“anyone doing acts not authorised by law or failing to do their duty necessary by law and consequently cause damage, endanger, disturb, obstruct or disturb the public during the exercise of the public’s rights, commits a misdemeanour, called public nuisance”.

No doubt that the European Courts will be interested in the case and the moral of this story is that one must be careful what one says to the President of Cyprus whatever the situation.

Aeroflot may invest in Cyprus Airways

2012-02-09T21:41:00.002+02:00

Trading shares of Cyprus Airways the Islands national carrier were suspended from trading on the 9th of February following media reports about a possible sale and the general financial situation. According to the stock exchange the suggestion to suspend trading originated from the Securities Commission.

It was the Cabinet of Cyprus that authorised the finance minister to negotiate the sale of a stake in the state-controlled airline. The word on the street is that the suitor is Aeroflot, the Russian national flag carrier.

The present situation at Cyprus Airways is that 69 per cent of the airline is controlled by the state. The goal of the government is likely to be for the airline to raise its capital and then negotiate the sale of a share package to a private partner, most likely Aeroflot.

Cyprus airways recorded a loss of over 29 million euros in the first half of 2011 (most recent financial results) hence a new private investor will be more than welcome. Moreover, the government will only be too pleased to reduce their financial exposure to the loss making carrier.

Malev goes bust, badly affecting the passenger numbers in Larnaca

2012-02-05T23:23:00.001+02:00

Hungarian airline Malev went bust last week, which will no doubt negatively affect the passenger numbers to Larnaca and cause financial losses for the Larnaca airport operators Hermes.

The 66 year old Hungarian national flag carrier was actually forced to stop flying, following the fact that the Hungarian government were prevented by the EU in financing the struggling airline. This will result is a significant number of job losses in Hungry and beyond and serves as a chilling reminder of the EU’s strict financial policy.

Malev carried in the region of 78,000 passengers from Budapest to Larnaca in 2011. More specifically, the airline operated 3 weekly flights from Hungry over the winter and up to 8 flights a week during the summer months.

One passenger even turned up at the airport last Friday blissfully unaware of the news that Malev had gone Belly Up.

Here below is a copy of the English text featured on the Malev website:

IMPORTANT PASSENGER NOTICE

Dear Passengers

Concerning your travel, we suggest that you ask other airlines about their offers or, if possible, you choose an alternative method of transport.

As a consequence of the closure of scheduled Malév flights, you should proceed as follows in order to assert rights set down in Government Decree 5/2012. (I.31) (download available in edition 11 of Magyar Közlöny – 31 January 2012, available at http://www.magyarkozlony.hu/):

- If you fall under the provisions of Paragraph 2 (1) of Government Decree 5/2012. (I.31)

- that is, you purchased a ticket prior to closure of operations; and

- your ticket is for a flight between 3-6 February 2012, or you travelled out on the day of closure or prior to this, and you hold a valid ticket for a Malév scheduled flight operating with a Malév flight number, with the return date until 29 February 2012;

Please send your claim for refund of costs to malev@malev.com or to the following address: 1476 Budapest, Postafiók 79. Please attach to the claim copies of all documents relevant to the travel since we are only able to assess the claim when in possession of these documents. You should ensure that all original documents are kept safe.

- You should proceed as follows in order to obtain a refund of the cost of the airfare.

- if you paid by bank card or through PayPal (online, travel agency, Malév ticketing office), we suggest that you contact your bank to ask about the refund options;

- if you purchased your ticket in a travel agency for cash or by bank transfer, you should submit your refund claim to the travel agency by 2 March;

- if you purchased a package holiday including the air ticket in a travel agency, please speak to the travel agency about a refund;

- if you purchased your air ticket in a Malév office, for cash or by bank transfer, please submit your refund claim to malev@malev.com or to the following address:1476 Budapest, Postafiók 79. A decision on reimbursement of claims is expected to be handled within the impending bankruptcy procedure and in compliance with the provisions of effective laws;

- in the case of tickets issued for Malév flights by any other airline, please approach the airline that sold the ticket;

- If you paid for taxes and charges on a Malév frequent flyer ticket by bank card, we suggest that you contact your bank to ask about the refund options;

- if you paid for taxes and charges on a Malév frequent flyer ticket by bank transfer, please submit your refund claim to malev@malev.com or to the following address: 1476 Budapest, Postafiók 79. A decision on reimbursement of claims is expected to be handled within the impending bankruptcy procedure and in compliance with the provisions of effective laws;

- if you purchased a ticket for another airline using Malév frequent flyer points, please approach the airline in question;

- if you are travelling on a Malév air ticket issued for the flight of another airline, please submit your refund claim to malev@malev.com or to the following address: 1476 Budapest, Postafiók 79. A decision on reimbursement of claims is expected to be handled within the impending bankruptcy procedure and in compliance with the provisions of effective laws;

If you have any further questions, please call the Malév Contact Center.

- From Hungary: 06-40-21-21-21
- Abroad: +36-1-802-11-11

Bus driver strike causes mass commuter chaos

2012-02-03T03:29:00.000+02:00

An indefinite bus strike in all 5 districts of Cyprus inconvenienced literally thousands of local residents these past days. There seems to be no end in sight too, as the government and militant transport companies (who were not paid January's wages) continued to disagree over the interpretation of an agreement.

The ministry was locked in negotiations, however bus drivers in Larnaca led the way and agreed to suspend their actions. All remaining bus companies said they would answer the official side soon.

Camel Park

2012-01-26T16:31:00.000+02:00

Description

Games area
Swimming pool
Camel riding
Cafe/Bar Restaurant
and lots more

Contact Details
Telephone: 24991243 - 99416968
email: info@camel-park.com
www.camel-park.com

Barrel House

2012-01-26T16:22:00.002+02:00

Description
Barrel House will revive the true bar concept in an old mansion building located in the center of Larnaca.
Designed to satisfy, Barrel House, is the ideal place to chill, have a drink and taste quality food while listening to some of the best music in town. More over Barrel House will host a variety of special events and live music nights filled with passion and undiscovered talent!
Additionally here at Barrel House you can enjoy important and not so important football & basketball matches, including champions league, UEFA, etc with 6 screens and the capability to show up to 5 different matches at the same time from all divisions.

Contact Details
Address: 3, Ioanni Sikoutri-Larnaca
Telephone: 24622455 - 99331088

Astra Car Rental

2012-01-26T16:19:00.001+02:00

Description
Quality, reliability and excellent service is what makes Astra so unique. Now with your car rental you'll get to see why Astra guarantees, a service to remember always.

Contact Details
24HR call center: 77777800

Cyprus Post office getting modern approach

2012-01-26T16:13:00.001+02:00

The Cyprus Postal Service opened its first Internet portal www.cypruspost.gov.cy, where users will be able to rent PO boxes, buy stamps and pay the bills.
According to the Director of Andreas Gregoriou, the purpose of innovation - to improve the quality of public services.
As expected, the new system will reduce the number of man-hours spent on the organization of the postal service.Due to this mail will increase efficiency in other areas - for example, to reduce delays in the delivery of correspondence.
Now in Cyprus leased 27 147 subscriber mailboxes, and even 3892 free. Prior to launching the portal lease extension usually took about 15 minutes. Now it can be done in just 8 minutes.
Administration Department of the Postal Service hopes to turn his office into a modern and flexible organization that is independent economically and administratively.

Source: vestnikkipra.com

Первая HOREXPO на Кипре

2012-01-26T15:49:00.000+02:00

27 января свои двери откроет I Международная выставка оборудования
для гостиниц, ресторанов и развлекательных центров.

В выставке участвуют 70 компаний, деятельность которых связана с профессиональным оборудованием, системами водоснабжения, кейтерингом, косметологией и пр. Выставка продлится до 29 января, и в этот же заключительный день компании с Крита представят «Панораму вкусов с Крита». Параллельно с ней пройдет и 2-ая Кипрская выставка сувениров и подарков (Cyprus Gift & Souvenir EXPO). Часы работы: 16:00 – 22:00.

Source: vestnikkipra.com

The belief factor is missing in solving the Cyprus problem

2012-01-22T11:29:00.001+02:00

Here we are in January 2012 and the outlook on finding a solution to the so called "Cyprus Problem" seems to be no clearer.

Whilst the UN in addition to the EU are attempting to transmit a measure of hope for the coming New York talks (meeting between President Demetris Christofias, the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and UN chief Ban Ki-moon in Greentree New York ), at the same time, President Demetris Christofias has reportedly told Turkish Cypriots residing in London that a breakthrough would take a miracle! The President was speaking at an event arranged by the Turkish Democratic Association, and was sadly openly pessimistic.

More specifically he stated that serious differences between the 2 sides persisted and no real negotiations were taking place.

Looking at this turn of events from a philosophical perspective, we can conclude that in life we know "Only what the mind can conceive it will achieve". Those that appreciate the "Law of attraction" will understand that fundamental principle of Vision is that whatever one openly says will be!

What we need is proactive vision and to turn the situation upside down. For example, instead of talking about the "Cyprus Problem", we should write and speak about the "Cyprus Solution". Leaders need to focus primarily on solutions with real belief. For example, if our leaders talk about the problem, criticize the problem from each side, compete with the problem, complain about the problem and make open statements about the problem, they starting becoming part of the problem.

Cyprus is downgraded to a "Junk Credit Rating" by S&P

2012-01-19T23:29:00.000+02:00

As predicted the credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) carried out a mass downgrade of the euro zone countries the outcome of which caused France and Austria to lose their formerly top-grade Triple A (AAA) rating.

This news whilst somewhat expected is set to yet further complicate efforts to solve a complex 2 year old EU debt crisis. The only saving grace was that Germany, the bloc's largest economy, retained its triple A status.

All in all no less than 9 of the 17 members of the euro bock experienced downgrades to their credit ratings. France and 4 more countries had a one-notch clip while Portugal, Italy, Spain and Cyprus were cut by 2 notches.

For all intense and purposes Cyprus has now what can be best described as a "Junk Rating" from the S&P.

The S&P went on to state that of the 16 countries reviewed, all except Germany and Slovakia possess a negative outlook, which suggests that yet more downgrades are likely in the coming years.

The UK maintains its Triple A status and as such their is a trend of British Expats returning to the mother land.

How to watch TV Abroad

2012-01-19T23:22:00.003+02:00

Times have changed significantly for Expats living abroad in the 21st Century. This would never be more true with watching TV in Sun. Once upon a time in the 90's the nearest we could get to BBC was the World Service on Radio.

Then came the Satellite dishes abroad hung from balconies and roof tops, Pirate decoders and the possibility to watch the somewhat outdated BBC Prime or other free or accessible programs from the skies. Some Expats even created a Sky set-up with a huge dish to capture the service. Over the years the dish got bigger and the picture less reliable, as attempts to scramble satellite signals in general deterred people living abroad to go the satellite route.

Today the full range of BBC programming is available on BBC I-Player through the Internet, which is of course the future. This includes Catch Up TV and even LIVE. Even all BBC Radio shows are available from the same Player. ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 have a similar service and NBC, CBS and others are available from the US. In fact most countries are offering a similar service.

There is sadly a snag, as such services are only available for people viewing from the home country; BBC in the UK for example. Many Expats figured out a work-a-round however via a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which is a kind of tunnel that transports the user to appear as though they are in the home country. VPN's were used to great effect during the uprisings of the Arab Springs.

Here below is in our view one of the best Companies offering the TV Abroad service...

View TV Abroad

The legality of such services is somewhat a grey area. The websites claim it is perfectly legal, but perhaps BBC and other channels have a different idea. Either way no-one to our knowledge has been taken to court as yet and if the legal course was pursued an awful lot of people around the world would be affected giving negative Press to the TV Channels.

Either way if you are an Expat wishing to see the latest dose of Eastenders, Coronation Street, Dragon's Den, Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor or even Doc. Martin, then all you need is a good Internet connection and a decent Laptop.

Happy Viewing!

Costa Concordia Cruise Ship tragedy

2012-01-14T12:28:00.001+02:00

Our thoughts and hearts go out to Costa Cruises at this time of great difficulty and all of those on board the Costa Concordia who were affected by the tragic incident detailed below that occurred in the evening of 13th of January whilst passengers were taking dinner.

Costa have a good safety record in general and this kind of event is most rare in the cruise industry. The Costa Concordia was built in 2006 at a cost of over 400 million. It was the largest ship constructed (in Fincantieri) in Italy of its time. This Mega ship previously docked into Limassol on many occasions before.

There are conflicting reports as as to how many fatalities there are. Numbers at the time of writing are thankfully low and range from 3 - 7. The number of missing people is also low and varies.

Costa created an Emergency number which is: +390104206099 and the Cruise Line has made a statement shown below...

Statement from Costa Cruises

Time 5.00 am
It is a tragedy that deeply affects our company. Our first thoughts go to the victims and we would like to express our condolences and our closeness to their families and friends. In this moment all our efforts are focused on the completion of the last emergency operations, besides providing assistance to the guests and the crew who were onboard in order to have them going back home as soon as possible. The emergency procedures started promptly to evacuate the ship. The slope, gradually taken over by the ship, made the evacuation extremely difficult. We would like to express our profound gratitude to the Coast Guard and all the forces co-ordinated by the Coast Guard, including the authorities and citizens of the island “Isola del Giglio”, who have been involved in the rescue and assistance to guests and crew members. The company will fully co-operate with the relevant Authorities in order to determine the causes of what happened.

Time 1.00 am
Costa Cruises confirms the evacuation of about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members on board of the Costa Concordia. An incident occurred near the island 'Isola del Giglio' of the coast of Italy. The evacuation started promptly, but the position of the ship has worsened, making it more complicated to complete the last part of the evacuation. At this moment, the cause of the incident cannot yet be confirmed. The Company is currently working with the highest commitment to provide all the needed assistance. The Costa Concordia was sailing across the Mediterranean Sea, starting from Civitavecchia with scheduled calls to Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo. About 1.000 passengers of Italian nationality were onboard, as well as more of 500 Germans, about 160 French and about 1.000 crew members.

The Guests had to embark today in Savona and in subsequent ports will be contacted directly by Costa Cruises.

Source: http://www.offradarcruisenews.com/

Ryanair set to create a new base in Cyprus, but not in Larnaca

2012-01-14T12:11:00.003+02:00

The low cost airline Ryanair recently confirmed that it would open its 50th base worldwide in the coastal town of Paphos in Cyprus. In all 2 aircraft will be based in Paphos and operate 14 routes with over 80 weekly flights.

This good news for Paphos Tourism (candidate city for the European capital of culture in 2013) is expected to generate over 600,000 passengers annually and sustain over 600 jobs.

The Paphos routes will commence in April 2012 and feature the following destinations:

Patra
Chania (Crete)
Frankfurt Hahn
Kaunas
Krakow
Stansted
Memmingen (Munich)
Bergamo (Milan)
Oslo
Pisa
Rome Ciampino
Stockholm
Thessaloniki
Treviso (Venice)

Sadly Larnaca will not be part of this operation and a clear pattern is emergency whereby most Budget, Charter and independent travel is being planned in Paphos. Larnaca features only the scheduled more expensive routes, which is reflected in the cost difference between the 2 airport operations.

Currently Larnaca does feature flights to the following destinations:

Bologna
Girona (Barcelona)
Brussels
Dusseldorf

Subsequently Larnaca will play very much second fiddle to Paphos in terms of Ryanair and Easyjet (for that matter) operations.

Siblings injured in teen joyride

2012-01-03T15:12:00.003+02:00

One boy and two siblings were involved in a road accident on Tuesday night after the boy, aged 15, lost control of his car and hit a parked vehicle. The 15-year-old boy was driving at 11.50pm in Larnaca with two siblings: a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.

Both passengers were injured and treated at Larnaca hospital’s emergency room The 15-year-old’s mother, who works during the night, said that she had not given her son permission to drive her car. The 15-year-old was charged for driving without a licence, insurance, or permission from his mother, Larnaca police spokesman Christos Andreou said.

His mother was also charged in relation to causing a road accident and not taking the necessary measures to safeguard her car, Andreou said.

Source: cyprus-mail.com

Cyprus’ population grows over 21 pct to nearly 839,000

2012-01-02T09:48:00.001+02:00

The population of Cyprus has increased 21.7 per cent to 838,897 since 2001, according to the official results of the census, which were published yesterday. “It answers the question ‘how many are we?’ which is what you’ve all wanted to know”, the head of Statistical Services’ Giorgos Georgiou said.

From the total, 51.3 per cent are female and 48.7 per cent male, the census showed. The census counted all residents of Cyprus who have lived or intend to live on the island for at least a year. It showed an increase of 21.7 per cent over ten years. Census takers counted about 670,000 in 2001, again with slightly more women than men. When it came to foreign residents, the figures were revealing, even without taking account of the thousands of illegal immigrants believed to be on the island.

According to the census, Cyprus currently has 179,547 foreign residents who now comprise 21.4 per cent, or one fifth of the total population. When the last census was taken ten years ago, foreign residents comprised only 9.4 per cent of the total population – around 65,000 people. “It is a dramatic increase,” said census coordinator Dora Kyriakidou. Over 112,000 EU nationals make up 62.6 per cent of the island’s current foreign population.

Around 31,000, or 17 per cent hail from Greece; some 27,000, or 15 per cent are British. Romanians comprise 13.6 per cent of foreign residents with over 24,000 nationals and around 19,000 Bulgarians make up 10.7 per cent of the foreign input. Most third country nationals come from the Philippines (almost 10,000), followed by Russia (around 9,000), Sri Lanka (around 7,000) and Vietnam (also around 7,000).

Filipinos comprise 5.4 per cent of the whole migrant population, Russians 4.8 per cent, Sri Lankans 4.1 per cent; and Vietnamese 4.0 per cent. The Syrians, Ukrainians, Indians and Georgians make up smaller numbers lying at various points of the 1.0 per cent spectrum. Paphos holds by far the greatest proportion of non-Cypriot to Cypriot residents at 34.9 per cent of the town’s total population.

Relative to population, Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta’s populations are made up of around 20 per cent foreigners, while in Nicosia the figure is 19 per cent. However, in terms of real numbers more foreign nationals live in Nicosia which hosts 61,534 non-Cypriots - around 34 per cent of the 179,547 foreign residents.

In terms of the population increase since 2001, Paphos marked the most dramatic hike at 33.0 per cent from about 66,000 in 2001 to over 88,000 this year. Larnaca followed with a 24.4 per cent rise, from a population of about 115,000 in 2001 to over 143,000 this year. Famagusta followed suit with a 23 per cent rise in population; from about 38,000 to over 46,000.

Nicosia and Limassol had a 19.0 per cent and 19.6 per cent population increase respectively with the capital counting almost 326,000 people and Limassol just over 235,000. Cities vary in relative size with Famagusta’s residents comprising 5.5 per cent of the total population; Paphos 10.5 per cent; Larnaca 17.1 per cent; Limassol 28 per cent; and Nicosia 38.8 per cent. The population census data has not yet been analysed to give a more detailed representation of the population’s structure, Kyriakidou said.

Georgiou – the head of statistical services - said that they still needed to adjust the 2011 numbers to make up for those people they did not manage to interview. The census started on October 1 and was wrapped up on December 23, over three weeks after its expected completion following difficulties in locating people. The project was budgeted at €3.3 million.

Kyriakidou said that all housing units were visited and census takers talked to at least one person from each block of flats or housing unit. “All personal data is strictly confidential,” Kyriakidou said.

Source: cyprus-mail.com

Happy New Year; What will happen in 2012?

2012-01-01T16:45:00.001+02:00

The Editor and writers of About-Larnaca would like to take this sincere opportunity to wish all readers a Happy and prosperous New Year. By many historic accounts 2012 will be special, but as many of our readers wrote in to ask us, what is the 2012 phenomena all about?

Well, lmany people associate the 2012 subject with the somewhat dark theory that the Mayan long calendar marks the end of the world by December 21, 2012 through a doomsday or apocalypse circumstance. To survive the coming changes that 2012 will bring about, this kind of doom and gloom belief is precisely the kind of thinking you need to avoid at all costs.

Other people philosophize that 2012 may well bring the 'end of days' however in synergy, as a race we will witness the beginning of what is termed the 'Golden Age' and in astronomical terms the Age of Aquarius.

Moreover, by 2012, others (more extreme) theorize that we may well experience a return of Planet X otherwise known as 'Nibiru' and as such they are seeking a subsequent means to survive 2012.

Finally, there are those who simply believe absolutely nothing will occur by December 21, 2012.

Who is right?

First and foremost anyone who claims to know exactly what will happen is certainly the last person one should believe. That said, if we have any respect for our ancient ancestors the most believable 2012 predictions originate from the below vastly different ancient civilizations, through the fundamental means of calendars and text:

Mayan
Aztec
Hopi
Hindu
Egyptian

What is most fascinating with respect to all of the above unconnected ancient civilizations is that they all unanimously agree on the Maya December 21, 2012 end date, hence this is far too much of a universally staggering coincidence to ignore. Any rational man can conclude that something exceptional is linked to this date in time.

More specifically, it is on the 21st of December 2012 at precisely 11:11 am, the earth will be in the exact alignment with the sun and the center of the our galaxy known as the 'Milky Way'. This is a extremely rare astrological event that occurs only once every 26,000 years. Yet, as spectacular as is it, this is only part of the equation, as the earth will also experience what is known as the "Precession of the Equinoxes" by the same date. This is another event that occurs only once every 26,000 years.

The question that arises; is this a one in a billion coincidence or planned synchronicity?

Lack of lighting in Larnaca

2012-01-01T16:30:00.001+02:00

Electricity charges have risen steeply in Cyprus over the past couple of years. This is in part due to the fairly recent terrible accident that occurred in Moni (near Zygi) and other factors linked to supply and demand in addition to world fuel costs.

Every Municipality and household in Cyprus seems to be cutting back and this winter it has been more noticeable than ever to experience a general lack of street lighting in the city of Larnaca.

Most notable is the reduction of lighting on the Palm lined Boulevard of Finikoudes whereby only the inside light bulbs are activated. No doubt this saves 50% of the lighting cost in that area and the impact is not so significant, except for the ambiance of a more darkened street in the city's center of attraction.

Darkly lit streets are also now common place in and around the city limits, along with a significant cut in Christmas decoration lighting. Surrounding villages seem to be following this trend and it looks like its going to be a dark January and February!

Biodiagnostiki-Chemist Center

2011-12-30T16:46:00.001+02:00

Dr.Andreas Evaggelou
Tel: 24 818183 & 24 818184

Fax: 24 818185
Giannou Avenue
Kranidioti 20-22
Orphanidi Court, 1st Floor
6046 Larnaca, Cyprus.
www.biodiagnostiki.com
e-mail: info@biodiagnostiki.com

The Oak Tree-Wine Cellar

2011-12-30T14:27:00.001+02:00

The Oak Tree
Wine Cellar
Sergios Katodritis-Director
info@katodritiswines.com
S.G. Katodritis & Co. Ltd
Wine importers & Distributors
P.O. Box 40549, Larnaca 6305, Cyprus
Tel.(+357) 24 815044 Fax: (+357) 24654808
World Wide Deliveries www.cypruswinesonline.com

Smile Quest-Dental Center

2011-12-30T14:21:00.002+02:00

Smile Quest
Dental Center
Andonios Chr. Andoniou DMD
Doctor of Medical Dentistry
Zakinthou Avenue 2
6018 Larnaca, Cyprus
Tel: 24 639222
Mob: 99 439252
tufts.antoniou@cytanet.com.cy

Voreas Tavern-Ouzeri

2011-12-30T14:13:00.002+02:00

Voreas Tvaern Ouzeri
Oroklini, Larnaca
For Reservations call: 24647177 or 99485911