The agreement between the EU and Turkey in in danger
The European Council President Donald Tusk has visited Cyprus at the beginning of the week. His plan was to convince the government of Cyprus to take a more relaxed position in relation to Turkey before the EU summit on the issue of the migrants. In order to secure the deal with Ankara, the EU made an extraordinary offer: The Union is ready to pay billions of Euros, Promises to introduce visa-free regime for Turkish nationals and provide the opportunity to join the EU. This deals did not find much approval, however only few can stand up against this incentive. One of those few is Cyprus. President Nicos Anastasiades has stated that he will not go on concession towards it’s neighbor, unless Turkey fulfils its obligations. Up until now Ankara does not recognize Cyprus as sovereign state and tries to sabotage the reunification process. Now it is clear that political heavyweights in the EU will try to find the ways to influence Nicosia, however worldwide media has already appraised Cyprus for its integrity and the headline are all about “small, yet proud Cyprus”.
Emergencies only! Nurses went on the indefinite strike
Employees in the medical sector went on strike for indefinite period. This is the largest protest of the nurses lately. Almost all state hospitals are forced to reduce the number of patients which they are able to admit. The exclusion was made only for emergencies and urgent surgeries. Among their demands are increase of salary, improvement of the conditions of work and creation of the new workplaces- according to the trade union, there is a shortage of nurses on the island. The Ministry of Health refuses to fulfil their demands and the Minister apparently has compared the strikers with the passengers of the Titanic, who were requesting to fix the ball room while the ship was sinking.
Large-scale burglary in Paphos
One of the most discussed event of the week is the burglary in Paphos. The burglars stole 1,5 million Euros in cash from the petrol station – at least this is what the owner of the petrol station said to the police. According to the entrepreneur, he kept such a large sum in a stash on the 1st floor. He stated that he withdrew all of the funds from his account because he was afraid of a new “haircut” of the deposits, like the one in 2013. Now the police must confirm his statement first- did he really have so much money, and once that is confirmed, then try to find them.
The Sales are on!
The sales in the stores can now be all year round. The Parliament has announced the relevant decision, which allows the vendors to decide themselves on the period when they would like to do the sales. The rigid restrictions, which were in force up to now, did not comply with the recommendations of the EU, so therefore the Supreme Court of Cyprus requested to abolish them. From now one the duration and size of discounts are solely at the discretion of the owners. However, they are obliged to put the price before and after the discount on the price tags.
New “perforated” tower in Nicosia
The 30-storey tower will be built on the outskirts of Limassol. The relevant announcement was made during this week. The building will be a multipurpose complex with offices, shops and residential apartments. The building which is worth almost 200 million Euros will be built in Mouttagiaka. The management promised to establish a garden and green zone for tourists around the building. In the meantime, the citizens of Nicosia are discussing the new architectural attraction. The construction of the perforated tower has been finalized. It was designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel. One of the most distinctive features of the 67-metre tower- is the large number of square (40×40 cm) windows, which is why people call it “perforated”.
