Cyprus Latest News Feb08

Cyprus adopted the Euro on January 1st 2008.

The Cyprus Consumers Association has been closely monitoring shops and businesses to see where prices have gone up or in some cases even down. And they have been naming and shaming those who have tried to capitalise on the introduction of the new currency.

The worst culprits seem to be doctors and dentists and shops selling wheat related products. We can certainly vouch for the fact that a loaf of bread now costs around €1.65 versus what should have been €1.45 (after converting 85 Cypriot cents to euros) - a 13% price increase.

Our local bakery has also hiked the price on things like milk where 1.5 litres now costs €1.80 when it should only be €1.64. They can hardly use the excuse of a general increase in wheat prices for what is blatant profiteering.

Even bags of oranges bought at the side of the road now cost €2.00 whereas their previous price was only €1.71. Our advice is to vote with your feet and boycott any shops where prices seem excessively high.

And just to remind you again, the new Cyprus money looks like this.

The HOTTEST Cyprus latest news Feb08.

Cypriots are generally very conservative in their politics, sticking to the party they know. But this time round, there is a real feeling that change is needed and there are a large number of "undecided" voters meaning a wide open contest. Whilst there are several candidates in the two round contest, the big three are:

• Papadopoulos, the incumbent president who is relying on his experience as he has been there and done that.
• Kasoulides, the dynamic young challenger full of fresh ideas and wanting an end to the rhetoric of previous politicians.
• Christofias, the former foreign minister, who likes to think of himself as a man of the people, someone you can trust as he is down to earth.

Core to the election campaign has inevitably been the candidates stance on resolving the Cyprus problem. Under severe pressure from the EU, Cyprus will have to act positively to resolve the issue and each candidate has been pressurised to make their own position clear.

Given a choice of either partition or creating a bizonal, bicommunal federation, the main candidates have been sitting on the fence about their real views with Kasoulides, in particular, playing down the fact that he supported the Annan plan which was later rejected by the Cypriot people.

Whilst we are not experts on Cypriot politics, our view would be that it is high time for change and a fresh young face would be the best way to take Cyprus forward in this critical time for the island's history. We'll keep you informed so watch out for the election report next month.

We reported last month that from January 1st 2008, VAT would be applied to all land purchases. This has now been delayed to June.

So get in quick if you still want to build your dream home by purchasing a plot of land first.

With a round of bowling costing only €5.00, it's a great way to spend an hour or two either with family or friends and there are already several clubs that use the bowling alley on a regular basis.

You can find the Magic Bowl in the centre of Prodromi, close to the Alkio Nest holiday apartments and opposite a row of shops on the main road from Polis to Latchi. Although Magic Bowl only has six bowling lanes, this is more than enough when the venue is open until well into the night.

It's worth making a booking in advance (tel 26815030) although the bowling alley in Polis is fairly quiet up to 7.30pm. Perfect timing for a quick game followed by a meal afterwards.

The bowling alley has a good selection of drinks and three strikes in a row gets you a free soft drink, four strikes a beer and, if you are really good, five strikes in a row wins you a cocktail. Have fun!

That's all from our Cyprus Latest News Jan08.

See you next month

Helen

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