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Nutty professor leads shambolic week for the island’s banks

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Cyprus Central Bank Governor and ECB Governing Council member Panicos Demetriades speaks to members of the media during a news conference in Nicosia

IF THE Bank of Cyprus is eventually saved and becomes a normal bank again, it would be by some miracle or divine intervention. It would certainly not be thanks to the gang of clueless mediocrities currently starring in the comedy show known as the restructuring of the bank.

As usual, we are being extremely naive in thinking that the man in charge of the restructuring – Central Bank Governor Professor Panicos – knows what he is doing and would do an adequate job. Yet the truth is that he has blundered his way along for the last year and a bit, making a bad situation in the banking sector worse.
We should also remember that he was not chosen as Governor by some wise leader but by the village idiot, whose piss-poor judgment and low intelligence led the country to mega-mess it is in today, because he was an AKEL sympathiser and had written articles praising the deluded leader’s insane economic policies.
Now we hear that that the man with the job of saving the B of C committed another super-blunder when he negotiated the donation of the Cypriot banks’ operations and assets to Greece’s Piraeus Bank (B of P) last March. This blunder left the bank with an additional exposure of €700 million.

I REFER to the letters of credit and letters of guarantee that had been issued by the Greek branches of Laiki and the B of C. For a bank to issue these, it usually secures some form of collateral from its client, either in the form of cash, shares or real estate.
When the smart professor negotiated the sale of the two banks in Greece, the letters of credit or guarantee stayed with the B of C while the assets used as collateral for them were transferred to Piraeus Bank. So now the B of C has to honour letters of credit and guarantee totalling €700 million without having legal access to the collateral provided by the client.
When Panicos set up the deal with the Greeks, the letters of credit and guarantee should have been transferred to B of P as a matter of routine but he did not think of it and now the Greek bank does not want to know. It has told the B of C it would deal with the matter on a case by case basis, which means that it would leave the problematic guarantees to ‘of C’ to pay.
So far, B of P has agreed to take guarantees of a value of €300m that are backed by super-solid collateral and left the remaining €400m to the B of C to pay. This is another illustration of Professor Panicos’ cluelessness and incompetence, which he might have a bit of trouble blaming on anyone else, as he normally does.
Perhaps, the insane arrangement to transfer the collateral to ‘of P’ and leave the payment obligation to ‘of C’ was a political decision by the Eurogroup and the nutty professor, once again, was blameless.

THE SAME blunder was committed in the takeover of Laiki by the B of C. Some €700m worth of letters of credit and guarantee were left with the former while the assets used as collateral were transferred to the latter. The Laiki administrator has been trying, unsuccessfully, to persuade the B of C to take on letters. Apparently the B of C has taken the same stance as Piraeus – it told Laiki that it would deal with the matter on a case by case basis. Was this cock-up also a political decision by the Eurogroup that Panicos could do nothing about?
One very senior ECB official remarked that the former Governor was “arrogant but intelligent”, while the current one was “compliant but limited,” which says it all.

WHEN the professor has no time to mess up the slim prospects of recovery of the B of C, his bickering appointees on the board, many of whom have their own agenda, take over. Many of the directors have even less knowledge about how banks operate than the Governor who appointed them.
“We have already watched this movie,” is the remark of senior Laiki staff, with regard to what is going on at their new employer. A weak and ineffective Laiki board of directors sat back and did nothing even though everyone could see the collapse approaching.
Chairman Sophocles Michaelides, who had an undistinguished career as a Central Bank pen-pusher, sees the job as an opportunity to raise his public profile and show that he is somebody. Now the administrator – a person with decades of banking experience – has been removed, the self-regarding Sophocles is in charge of the bank, although still taking orders from the Governor.
He celebrated this promotion by appearing on radio and TV shows to inform us of his grandiose plans for the bank. On Wednesday night he was Tsouroullis’ guest on Sigma TV and announced that 2,500 bank employees would be made redundant, but as it turned out he did not know what he was talking about.
The next day bank employees union ETYK issued a statement putting the chairman in his place, saying the B of C administration admitted that this was wrong. According to the statement, Sophocles told ETYK there was no study on the future of the bank so there could be no forecast about staff numbers, currently at 5,640.

IT GETS worse, Sophocles did not object to ETYK announcing he did not know what he was talking about, because he realises that the union’s megalomaniac boss, Loizos Hadjicostis will be a big player at the B of C, once the restructuring is complete.
I hear that as a result of the bail-in of depositors, ETYK will be the bank’s second biggest shareholder, after Laiki. ETYK’s uninsured deposits (staff provident fund) were even bigger than those held by Russian businessmen. This may explain why Hadjicostis is calling the shots and publicly reprimanding the bank chairman.
So would Sophocles, who wants to remain chairman after the restructuring, sanction any measure that the second biggest shareholder of the bank would not approve of? I suspect no decision about redundancy numbers, redundancy compensation and branch closures would be taken without Hadjicostis’ approval, something guaranteed to restore public confidence in the B of C.

SO FAR Hadjicostis has sanctioned the staff pay-cuts which penalise the highest earners the most in keeping with union policy which wants as little difference as possible between the salary of a general manager and a messenger. But there is disagreement over the compensation to be paid to staff that would leave ‘voluntarily’.
In the banking sector, like the state sector, getting rid of staff against their will is not permitted by the unions. Those who would volunteer to leave would be those with long service and high salaries as they would be entitled to big compensation – Hadjicostis is demanding a month’s salary for every two years of service. Under the scheme someone with 30 years of service would receive 15 months’ salaries, when he volunteers to leave.
Only in Kyproulla, would a bank be paying such big redundancy compensation without having a say over who it would sack. Hadjicostis is also demanding that those who leave should receive 85 per cent of their provident fund, even though 40 per cent of it was lost in the bail-in. In other words he wants the bank to pay an extra 25 per cent from its own funds to cover the hair-cut shortfall in addition to the monthly salaries.
In the end, the bank might have a better chance of surviving if it made nobody redundant, because it might be cheaper than paying the compensation packages demanded by its second biggest shareholder.

WHILE this is all going on, the recently-appointed CEO Christos Sorottos is away on holiday and has not bothered to call and find out what is happening at the sinking ship he was hired to save. He has left Panicos and Sophocles to obey the diktats of Hadjicostis.
The ETYK bully, for instance, insists that positions in the restructured bank should be shared equally between Laiki and B of C employees, as should the redundancies. This diktat is being loyally followed by the Central Bank apparatchiks monitoring events at the bank and reporting to Panicos. The first thing CB apparatchiks will always raise, at committee meetings dealing with restructuring issues, is why there are fewer representatives of Laiki – another sad reminder that the Governor does not have a clue.

PREZ NIK’S letter about helping save the B of C did not go down well with our EU partners, all of whom responded in a condescending and didactic tone as if they were reprimanding a naughty kid that refused to eat his broccoli.
The message was very clear – broccoli is good for us and we had to eat it, because there was no way the menu would change. Perhaps in a few years’ time – the medium term – they would also let us eat some cherries, but first we had to eat the broccoli. German papers were scathing about the letter, accusing us of ‘sulking’.
The hostile reception may explain government spokesman Christos Stylianides’ announcement that we did not want to change the terms of the memorandum, just “resolve practical problems.” How ironic that the government was asking for help from the EU to save the B of C, while at home it was doing nothing to save it from Panicos, Sophocles and their overlord Loizos.

WHO WOULD have thought that a fine upstanding citizen, like Ttooulis Ttoouli of Avgorou, who served his country from so many posts and was always at the forefront of all our national struggles, could have his name dragged through the mud by sensationalist reporters keen to sell a few extra newspaper copies?
The great patriot, Ttooulis had done so much for this country – he was paid well for his services by the taxpayer, but that is beside the point – he should have been untouchable, commanding everyone’s respect. Politis, which broke the story, forgot that he was known as the ‘Mother Teresa of Cyprus’ when he was minister of interior, distributing money and love (not his own) to the poor and destitute.
We were shocked that the Attorney-General ordered a police investigation into the transfer of one million euro in July 2007, into an account in a Greek bank, held by the company AC Christodoulou Consultants Ltd, owned by his daughter Athina, a very well-known business consultant who charges premium rates for her services.
The payment for consultancy services was made two and a half months after Ttooulis stepped down as Central Bank Governor, by a Greek shipowner, with allegedly close ties with Andreas Vgenopoulos, the man who bankrupted Laiki. But so what? A respected consultant like Ttooulis’ daughter could offer business consultancy services to whomever she chose. Our establishment had once tried to secure her services but we could not afford her fees.
The consultancy firm passed into the ownership of her father, in 2010, a long time after the million euro payment, conclusive proof of Ttooulis’ innocence. The only tiny blemish on Ttooulis’ outstanding career of honesty and public service was the letter sent by Vgenopoulos to the president of the Republic in 2007, urging him to give Ttooulis another five-year term as Governor of the Central Bank.
Then again, Vgenopoulos, despite all his faults, could always spot a good CB Governor. He never got on with Orphanides but I am sure he would have loved Panicos as much as he loved Mother Teresa.


Developers warned over Chinese market

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CYPRUS-CHINA-ECONOMY-IMMIGRATION

By Bejay Browne

DEVELOPERS in Paphos keen to get their hands on Chinese investments in property have been warned to treat potential investors fairly as complaints of cheating have already surfaced.
Until now, more 1,000 Chinese have bought properties in Cyprus. “The Chinese investors started off in Paphos and about 80 per cent of Chinese homeowners are there, the other 20 per cent is spread between the other towns,” said Huali Che, president of the Chinese friendship association in Cyprus.
But he cautioned that “a lot of Chinese people who have purchased properties in Cyprus have felt cheated and complained, whether it’s down to the agents in China or in Cyprus or the developers I can’t say.”
Many of the Chinese buying property on the island are doing so to qualify for residency permits, for which a home of €300,000 must be purchased, leading to the valuation of almost anything for around that amount.
“In the beginning they (Chinese purchasers) didn’t know anything about Cyprus; many agents were charging too much money. A property may be valued at €200,000 but they are charging more than €300,000 to the Chinese,” said Che.
“But now the average Chinese client is a lot more clued up and goes to the internet for information, approaches the embassy and so on – it’s not like in the beginning when they were just buying properties.”
China’s ambassador to Cyprus Liu Xinsheng is keen to see this investment in property develop into other areas of cooperation. “The potential is huge for broader, deeper and more fruitful cooperation,” he has said, saying that China and Cyprus are looking at the feasibility of cooperation in energy, infrastructure, financial services and shipping.
But for now many of the property developers in Paphos are looking towards the Chinese market for investment.
Aristo developers and Constantinou Bros both have Chinese language buttons on their website and Leptos Estates is looking for “Chinese speaking individuals as interpreters with the role of assisting the Leptos Estates Sales team”. Even smaller Paphos developers such as Korantina Homes say most of their current clients are from China.
But a new beachfront project under development by Pafilia has added fuel to the ‘overpricing for the Chinese market’ fire. The development at the Lighthouse area in Kato Paphos is aimed at the foreign market.
The new development is described as “contemporary” by Pafilia and one bedroom apartments start from €275,000 + VAT (five to 18 per cent depending on the buyer).
The price tag may seem a bit hefty and could be seen to be aimed at foreign investors – in particular the Chinese. But Pafilia Sales Director Simos Simillides explained the substantial price tag by pointing out that the “prime market” in Cyprus only has a few beachfront developments, as Cyprus is a small island with tough planning restrictions on beachfront locations.
“Similar developments in Limassol for example are sold at around €8,000 – €10,000 per square metre (almost three times higher than the Lighthouse).” He added: “The Lighthouse is aimed at international buyers as it represents excellent value for money at the prime location.”
Che issued a stark warning though to property agents and developers who may try to dupe Chinese clients: “There have been massive problems with the banks and some Chinese lost their money in the so called haircut. Cyprus needs to go carefully now if they want the Chinese people, they are not investing without advice now.”
Pafilia pointed out that buyers of all nationalities are careful about purchasing properties as the amount of investment involved is significant.
“We are doing lots of work explaining situation in Cyprus and conditions of property market,” Similides said and Pafilia assures that this particular project represents value for money as it is a prime location.
“This is an excellent location near the Lighthouse and Faros Beach in Kato Paphos. The Lighthouse developments border the archeological park so unobstructed views are guaranteed. Five star hotels, the harbour and the new Mall are all only minutes away,” he added.
In the meantime, the Chinese ambassador also expressed his belief that through joint efforts, China-Cyprus relations will continue to grow from strength to strength.
He said that currently the number of Chinese citizens who come to Cyprus for investment, study and tourism is increasing and the two countries are faced with new opportunities for cooperation in trade, education and tourism.
Che agreed. He said: “The Chinese will slowly come back to invest in Cyprus. It will get better economically in three to five years.”

South Africans Resigned Over ‘Critical’ Mandela

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South Africans appeared resigned on Monday to the inevitability of one day saying goodbye to former president Nelson Mandela after the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader’s condition in hospital deteriorated to critical.

Madiba, as he is affectionately known, is revered among most of South Africa’s 53 million people as the architect of the peaceful 1994 transition to multi-racial democracy after three centuries of white domination.

However, with his latest hospitalisation – his fourth in six months – a realisation has set in that he will not be around for ever.

His deterioration this weekend, two weeks after being admitted in a serious but stable condition with a lung infection, has caused a perceptible switch in mood from prayers for recovery to preparations for a fond farewell.

“If it’s his time to go, he can go. I wish God can look after him,” said nurse Petunia Mafuyeka, as she headed to work in Johannesburg.

“We will miss him very much. He fought for us to give us freedom. We will remember him every day. When he goes I will cry.”

In a statement, President Jacob Zuma’s office urged South Africa and the world to pray for Mandela “during this difficult time”. But there was some concern among the public about doctors trying to prolong the life of one of the 20th century’s most influential figures.

“I’m worried that they’re keeping him alive. I feel they should let him go,” said Doris Lekalakala, a claims manager. “The man is old. Let nature take its course. He must just rest.”

Since stepping down in 1999 after one term as president, Mandela has stayed out of active politics in the continent’s biggest and most important economy and his passing is expected to have little political impact.

His last public appearance was waving to fans from the back of a golf cart before the final of the soccer World Cup in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium in July 2010.

During his retirement, he has divided his time between his home in the wealthy Johannesburg suburb of Houghton, and Qunu, the village in the impoverished Eastern Cape province where he was born.

The public’s last glimpse of him was a brief clip aired by state television in April during a visit to his home by Zuma and other senior officials of the ruling African National Congress.

At the time, the 101-year-old liberation movement, which led the fight against white-minority rule, assured the public Mandela was “in good shape”, although the footage showed a thin and frail old man sitting expressionless in an armchair.

Spain top group with 3-0 win over Nigeria

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World and European champions Spain stayed on course for the title they have never won when they beat African champions Nigeria 3-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

Two excellent goals from defender Jordi Alba, one of eight Barcelona players in the starting lineup, and a fifth of the tournament from Fernando Torres gave Spain a third successive win and top spot in Group B.

In the groups other game Uruguay’s reserves won 8-0 against Tahiti, taking the South Americans into a Confederations Cup semi-final with Brazil and sending the Pacific islanders home after a third successive drubbing.

Abel Hernandez grabbed four goals.

Brazil take on Uruguay in the first semi-final on Wednesday while Spain entertain Italy on Thursday.

Le Mans win tinged with tragedy for Kristensen

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Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro Number 2 drivers Duval of France, Kristensen of Denmark and McNish of Britain celebrate after winning the Le Mans 24-hour sportscar race in Le Mans

By Alan Baldwin
Audi’s Tom Kristensen won the Le Mans 24 Hours for a record ninth time on Sunday in a victory dedicated to fellow-Dane Allan Simonsen, the friend whose death cast a pall over the race’s 90th anniversary.
With Danish flags at half-mast over the podium, a standing ovation was held before the victory ceremony in memory of the Aston Martin driver who died after crashing only minutes into the race on Saturday.
Kristensen (left), Denmark’s greatest racing driver, told the crowd he had intended to pay tribute to his father but the first race fatality in 27 years at the Sarthe circuit had forced a change of plan.
“He can wait for the next victory of mine,” he said, voice laden with fatigue and emotion after the final stint to the chequered flag. “This victory today I dedicate to Allan Simonsen, a great fellow Dane.”
The muted win, after a race littered with safety car periods on a wet weekend in western France before the sun came out at the finish, was Audi’s fourth in succession and 12th in a dominant 14 years.
Kristensen, whose last Le Mans success was with Audi in 2008, shared the number two car with Britain’s Allan McNish – now a three-time winner – and local man Loic Duval making his first appearance on the top step.
“Three’s a much nicer number than two, especially when it’s at Le Mans,” said McNish, whose Audi R18 e-tron quattro diesel hybrid had started on pole position.
His 45-year-old team mate was already the most successful driver in Le Mans history, having surpassed Jacky Ickx’s tally in 2005. The two greats hugged on the podium in an embrace laden with sadness.
Toyota finished as runners-up in the the endurance classic with their number eight car driven by France’s Stephane Sarrazin, Britain’s Anthony Davidson and Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi finishing one lap behind the winners.
That provided more of a feel good story with Davidson stepping onto the podium a year after he broke his back in a huge crash at Le Mans.
“This time last year I was lying on my back in Le Mans hospital,” he said. “I felt like a needed a bit of luck this time. This race has been so cruel to me so many times.”
Davidson also paid tribute to Simonsen, an old rival he first raced against in go-karts in 1996.
“It’s very hard, especially with what happened to me last year, to fight my own demons and carry on driving,” said the Briton. “It’s sad, sad news and it puts everything into perspective.”
Audi’s number three car took the final podium place with Spaniard Marc Gene, Britain’s Oliver Jarvis and Brazilian Lucas Di Grassi.
Toyota took fourth place while the number one Audi finished fifth, denying a third win in a row for Germany’s Andre Lotterer, Switzerland’s Marcel Fassler and Frenchman Benoit Treluyer.
Simonsen’s Aston Martin team had vowed to carry on and win their GTE Am class in a tribute to the 34-year-old and at the request of his grieving family but that was not to be with Porsche taking that honour.
“The whole team pushed because they wanted to get the win as a tribute for Allan but a series of small incidents, small accidents, small mistakes and we did not quite achieve it,” said Aston Martin boss David Richards.
The most recent fatality connected with the race was Frenchman Sebastien Enjolras, killed during pre-qualifying in 1997, but the last to die during the race was Austrian Jo Gartner in 1986.
Le Mans, the scene of motor racing’s deadliest accident when at least 80 people died and scores more were injured in a 1955 disaster, ranks with Indianapolis and Monaco as one of the sport’s great events.
Most of the first hour of the race was behind the safety car before racing renewed in a battle between Audi and Toyota that lasted through the night and into the dawn.
The number one Audi suffered a knockout blow at the quarter distance when a problem with the motor generator kept the car in the pits for 43 minutes before it returned to the track in 24th place and 12 laps behind.
The number three Audi also hit problems, dropping to fourth place where it remained through the night after limping back to the pits with a right rear puncture and then also requiring repairs in the garage.
Through it all, the number two Audi kept out of trouble with neutrals willing Kristensen on for the emotional finale.

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Civil unrest in Turkey

By Adrian Croft

The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara’s already slim hopes of joining the bloc anytime soon and damage its relations with Brussels.

Germany, the EU’s biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey’s EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last few weeks, EU sources say.

The Netherlands, too, has voiced reservations about the EU’s plan to open talks with Turkey next Wednesday on a new “chapter”, or policy area, the sources say.

EU officials had hoped that opening the new chapter, on regional policy, would breathe new life into Turkey’s deadlocked EU membership negotiations.

EU ambassadors, who failed to agree last week, were due to discuss the issue for a last time on Monday morning.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who has been more positive on Turkey’s accession to the EU than Chancellor Angela Merkel, said he still hoped for an agreement in the coming days.

“We are on a good path,” he told the broadcaster ARD, adding that there was still the possibility of a positive outcome, although he did not expect a decision on Monday. “We are working on this,” he said.

If there is no last-minute change of heart in Berlin, Ireland, currently holder of the EU presidency, will have to tell Turkey that Wednesday’s meeting has been postponed or cancelled.

Turkey, already locked in a diplomatic row with Germany after Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was appalled by its crackdown on protesters, has made clear it would respond forcefully to any EU decision to scrap Wednesday’s talks.

ALARM

Germany’s hardline stance is causing alarm among some European policymakers who think the EU should be engaging more with Turkey to support civil rights rather than moving away.

“It would be a huge mistake to try to block Turkey’s EU progress right at this time,” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted on Sunday.

Marietje Schaake, a Dutch liberal member of the European Parliament, said it would be unwise for the EU to slam the door on Turkey.

“This situation creates … a chance for the EU to step up efforts to improve the rule of law in Turkey, such as the independence of the judiciary and respect for the fundamental rights of all people in Turkey,” she said on her website.

Analysts see electoral considerations as playing a role in Germany’s position. Merkel’s conservatives oppose Turkish EU membership in their manifesto for September’s parliamentary election and delaying talks with Turkey could help them politically.

Amanda Paul, a Turkey expert at the European Policy Centre think tank, said Germany’s stance would have an “extremely serious” impact on Turkey’s membership negotiations, already virtually blocked for three years.

“I don’t see the logic behind what the Germans are doing … because it is not going to be helpful to either Turkey or the EU. This relationship is an important relationship, it is not one that can just be thrown away,” Paul said.

STRATEGIC CASE

Fadi Hakura, a Turkey expert at London’s Chatham House think tank, said the Turkish government was in a “very prickly and combative mood” and was likely to respond to an EU snub by suspending political contacts and meetings with EU institutions, and possibly recalling its ambassador.

However, Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, did not see Turkey breaking off accession talks, which began in 2005, 18 years after Turkey first applied to join.

Given Turkey’s position adjoining Iran and Syria, the strategic case for Europe having a relationship with Turkey was greater than ever, he said. Turkey is an influential power in the Middle East and a member of the NATO military alliance.

Turkey’s negotiations to join the EU have so far advanced at a glacial pace. It has provisionally closed just one of 35 chapters or policy areas.

It has opened a dozen more chapters but most of the rest are blocked due to disputes over the divided island of Cyprus or hostility from some EU members, especially France – though that has eased under President Francois Hollande. It has not opened a new chapter since 2010.

Turkey has been leapfrogged by many other EU applicants. Croatia, which applied for EU membership in 2003, is set to become the EU’s 28th member next month. The deadlock means the EU has lost its appeal for many Turks.

France and Germany have always had doubts about allowing a largely Muslim country of 76 million people into the European club, fearing that cultural differences and its size will make it too difficult to integrate.
Ankara’s supporters, led by Britain and Sweden, say the EU can benefit from Turkey’s growing economic clout and its role as an intermediary in the Middle East, and that Europe needs its cooperation to secure energy supply routes. (Reuters)

Film review: Trance **

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By Preston Wilder

“Amnesia’s bollocks!” says a thug in Trance, the new film by Danny Boyle – but in fact it isn’t bollocks. Nothing to do with the mind is bollocks (besides, amnesia’s making something of a comeback, having also featured in Fast & Furious 6). The mind deals in mindscapes that are often more vivid – and real – than reality itself. You imagine the postman delivering a package, and inside that package is a misplaced memory that’ll change your life. You hear the word ‘strawberry’ and your mind reels with thoughts of being buried alive. You’re in the French countryside, driving down a country road in the company of a beautiful French girl; you drive past a field of sunflowers, then come to a stone house where priceless masterpieces (a Cezanne, a Van Gogh, a Rembrandt) are ranged in a room like exhibits. All these things happen in Trance – but did any of them really happen? Does it matter?

Simon (James McAvoy) has amnesia, brought on by a head injury. This is awkward because Simon has stolen a painting – a valuable Goya – and he’s forgotten where he stashed it, information being sought by Franck (Vincent Cassel), the mastermind behind the heist and a gangster to whom Simon owes money. Torture having proved ineffective, Simon is dispatched to Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), a hypnotherapist with seemingly endless powers of suggestion – but Elizabeth goes beyond the call of duty, dallying first with Simon then Franck, and the line between real and imagined gets increasingly blurred.

Trance should be more fun than it is – a criticism that’s been true (for me) of almost all the films directed by Boyle (others include Trainspotting, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire), a flash-merchant who badly needs to curb his undoubted talent for glitzy images. Boyle’s is what the French used to call a “cinéma du look”, a style where absolutely everything is stylish. Boyle uses filters, fast cuts, unexpected angles and shallow focus; when all else fails, he tilts the camera. If he wants to show a car driving off (this is a shot from Trance), he shows the reflection of the driver’s face in the side-mirror then pulls back as the car moves away to create a vertiginous, disorienting effect (only at the end do you even realise that was a reflection in a side-mirror). Another example: the only shot of full-frontal nudity in Trance starts as an out-of-focus blur that turns out to be a reflection in a shiny floor – then the camera cranes up, and we suddenly gaze at Ms. Dawson in all her glory.

There isn’t a boring shot in a Danny Boyle movie; trouble is, boring shots have their uses too. The style worked in Trainspotting, a film about young heroin addicts with jumpy, hopped-up psyches – but, for instance, 127 Hours never evoked the feeling of a man being trapped for 127 hours, because Boyle’s camera was so obviously untethered, and Trance never evokes the feeling of a trance-like state. When you look at people who make ‘dreamlike’ films (David Lynch, most obviously) it’s usually because they elongate Time so trivial things seem significant, as they do in a dream. Here, on the other hand, everything seems trivial, fleetingly experienced before we move on to the next dazzling image.

There’s dazzle, certainly. A lot of work went into Trance (special mention to ace DP Anthony Dod Mantle, who also photographs Lars Von Trier’s films). But I kept waiting for the pleasure to kick in, and finally decided it wasn’t going to. The basic template comes from film noir – hard-boiled men manipulated by a woman, albeit in this case with her specialist knowledge rather than her looks – but the characters are ciphers, and the plot just isn’t strong enough. “We keep secrets from ourselves, and call that forgetting,” says Elizabeth at one point, which is precisely the theme of Christopher Nolan’s wonderful Memento (2000) – but Memento built a whole drama around that theme, using amnesia as a metaphor for wilful denial, whereas here it’s just window-dressing for a bunch of unlikely twists.

Does it matter that the twists are unlikely? Not really (though the whole plot might’ve been avoided if Franck had found his own hypnotherapist, instead of letting Simon choose). When you watch fragmented, aggressively-edited scenes in which Boyle cross-cuts between three or four layers (reality? flashback? dream?), all in glittering visual shards, the thrill is sensory and has nothing to do with plot. But the thrill fades, the senses are sated and the film keeps going. Secrets are unveiled, mindscapes mined, motivations muddled, other possible themes – Love as a kind of transference (“There’s a space to fill, so he fills it with me”), and/or battered Elizabeth taking revenge on behalf of all women – cited and invariably discarded. Then the film is over, and you find you’ve forgotten all about it. Is it amnesia? Or just bollocks?

 

DIRECTED BY Danny Boyle
STARRING James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, Rosario Dawson
UK 2013 101 mins

Memories created in an instant

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Bringing the photobooth images created yesteryear right up to date, one company will bring the experience to your event in Cyprus. ALIX NORMAN meets them

The inside of my fridge is usually akin to Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. But while the shelves may be bare, the outside is festooned with magnets, memos and postcards (people do still send them!). And in pride of place on the door is the black and white photostrip of my sister and me, taken 20 years ago at Heathrow airport. We’re pulling faces, grinning like asylum escapees and having a whale of a time, knowing that we wouldn’t meet again for quite some time (Key West and Nicosia not being on the same bus route). In actual fact, it was over five years before we both managed to coincide our funds and schedules, and for those 1,824 days (and ever since) that five minutes in a photobooth at Heathrow cheered me up every time I’ve opened my fridge.
Such is the influence of a photo, that they’re now recognised as the primary form of social media: facebook, instagram, pinterest, tumblr – they’re all based on the power of image. If you want to capture a memory, recall the emotions, relive the moment, then nothing is going to conjure up that instant faster than a snapshot or two. Which is why, in my humble opinion, the latest venture to hit the shores of Cyprus is bound to be a surefire success.
Photobooth CY is a far cry in terms of technology from that modest cubicle in the Deaprture Lounge 20 odd years ago: it’s a state-of-the-art, digitally driven, endlessly customisable photobooth that you can rent out for events. But what it offers is fundamentally the same thing: a permanent remembrance of good times past. You may already have come across the enterprise because it’s taking off faster than you can say ‘smile please’; even if you haven’t attended an event where an actual Photobooth was present, someone you know has – and if they haven’t already, then they’re uploading their shots to facebook as you read this.
But, unlike the photos, the process of getting the Photobooth to Cyprus wasn’t instant. “I was at a wedding in Greece when I first came across the idea,” says Kyriacos Ashikalis who, along with partner Lefkos Kallenos, is co-owner of Photobooth CY. “There was a lot of excitement around the booth, guests were obviously very into the idea, and so I gave it a go. It was great fun, magical. But the after-effect was even better: when I woke the next morning and saw the pictures, it was an instant reminder of a great night.”
Alexis immediately realised that Cyprus was missing out, and seizing on the idea, decided to start up a similar venture on the island and see where it led. After sourcing the best equipment available, and constructing a detailed website, Photbooth CY launched in July 2012, available for hire at all sorts of different events, from corporate parties to weddings, christenings and even private parties for hosts who really want to make an impact. “We wanted to catch the summer season,” Alexis explains, “and the first booking was for an Absolut Vodka event at Guaba. Everyone at the event loved the idea, crowding into the booth in their swimsuits to take fun snaps with their friends, and we realised we had a huge success on our hands!”
With unlimited photos, customisable backgrounds, headers and footers and an instant take-home copy of the moment, Photobooth is “ideal for corporate events,” says Alexis. “But,” he adds, “where it’s really taken off is in the wedding business! Whenever we take the booth to a wedding, it’s a hit.” Photobooth creates two photostrips at the same time: one to keep and one which can instantly be stuck in the happy couple’s Memory Book, next to a written message; an excellent way of not only reliving the fun of the moment but also of keeping track of exactly who your guests are (crucial when you’re obliged to invite distant cousins of your dentist to the celebration, one suspects!).
“Unlike many wedding photographers, Photobooth provides the couple with a disc of unlimited high resolution digital images of every photo taken that night, and a take-home memory of the happy event is far more permanent wedding favour than the usual loukoumi!” Alexis suggests, adding that there’s also the option of creating a private online gallery for guests to visit in the ensuing weeks, as well as a video option which compiles 30-second messages from the guests to the bride and groom. “And there’s even a direct link from the booth to facebook, so guests can choose to upload the photos straight to their page during the actual event!”
With three booths currently in operation around the island, business has been so brisk that a fourth will shortly be up and running, ready for the summer wedding circuit. “We’ve been booked solid since we began,” says Alexis with a grin. “People can’t get enough of the idea. Although photobooths are common at events in the States, in Dubai and across Europe, we were the first people to bring this state-of-the-art technology to Cyprus. Everyone loves the magic that happens when the curtain closes and you’re free to express yourself!”
It turns out that the problem isn’t getting people into the booth – it’s getting them out, especially when a selection of amusing props are on offer for guests to use in the photos. “There are always huge queues,” says Alexis. “And we have had to discreetly remove the odd couple who get a little carried away behind the curtain,” he says!
With any number of events filling the calendar, anyone looking for all the fun of the Photobooth better book quickly. “Once you’ve tried it, you realise the magic,” Alexis concludes. I think back to the monochrome photostrip on my fridge and smile. In the last few years, skype and facebook may have enabled my sister and me to communicate on a regular basis. But no online conversation, emailed photos or instant messages have managed to conjure up that happy moment like my own photobooth memory. Twenty years from now, I’ll probably have forgotten I even have those countless digital images stored somewhere on my hard drive. But I’ll still be smiling at my fridge every time I pass.

For more information visit thephotobooth.com.cy or www.facebook.com/thePhotoboothCy or call 7000 55 99


A touch of magic

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After selling their wine bar in London, one couple decided they were too young for retirement, spending their time instead travelling the world performing magic shows. They are on the island until October. ALIX NORMAN meets them

 

Within five minutes of meeting magical duo Evans Plus Evans, Mike Evans has correctly guessed a random number between one and 100, and the his wife Julie has turned my twenty euro note into a crisp fifty. It only took a couple of flicks of the wrist, but though I’m watching her hands like a hawk, I cannot fathom how it’s done. Now there’s a stunt I need to learn before the summer sales!
“Julie performed the same trick for last night’s audience,” laughs Mike, referring to the couple’s regular Tuesday evening performance at Kikkos Bar in Coral Bay, “and one guy immediately proposed!” Sadly for the avaricious spectator, Julie and Mike Evans have been married for 20 years, and happily spend “24 hours a day in each other’s company! In fact, the only time I ever try to kill Julie is when she’s inside the box,” Mike jokes, referring to one of their many routines in which Julie climbs into a box that wouldn’t hold a kitten, is speared 16 times and emerges clad in sequins!
Like their show, the couple are filled with boundless energy, and a quiet retirement in their forties just wasn’t for them: “When we sold our wine bar in London, I had a lot of time on my hands and needed something to do,” says Mike. “I thought magic might be the answer, and went along to the local magic club, then a magic convention. It was such great fun that I immediately rang Julie and asked her to come along – and she was hooked!”
Their people skills translate perfectly to the engaging – and often hilarious – stage act which takes them round the world. “There’s a real comedy emphasis to our show,” says Mike. “There’s a lot of fun involved, especially in the audience participation. It’s great to astound and amaze your audience, but even better to make them laugh, and if you’ve got both those aspects in your show, you’ve got a winner.”
And the couple have come up with a show that appeals worldwide: they’ve played all over the UK – including the House of Commons! – regularly get booked at resorts in Jamaica and Antigua and have even been known to perform underwater magic, 90 feet below the surface of the sea! But Cyprus, where they spend six months a year, is their first love.
“We’ve been coming here for the last 10 years, ever since we sold the business and decided to invest in property abroad,” says Julie. “I’d live here all the time if I could; I love the climate – even the summer, though Mike is less fond of the heat! Everything is local, the people are wonderful, and Kikkos Bar is an ideal location for our act – there’s a proper stage, everything is modernised and the owner has put a great deal of hard work into the place.”
As well as Kikkos Bar, the couple often perform at corporate events and hotels around the island, with a considerable amount of their time dedicated to philanthropy: “When we first moved to Cyprus we had to rehome a family of cats in our area,” says Julie. “We took them along to the Paphiakos Animal Shelter, and were so impressed by what they were doing that we offered to do a show in aid of the charity.” The duo regularly perform for free at fund-raising events, including Paphiakos and PARC (Peyia Animal Rescue Centre), and very recently did a show for the One Dream, One Wish children’s charity at Elea Golf Club. Wherever they’re performing, Evans plus Evans are a hit with adults and children alike: from Mike’s balloon-swallowing antics to Julie’s ‘Cyprus Has Talent’ number, the show always brings down the house.
“We are very lucky indeed to have such a great life,” says Julie. “We travel the world and we’re doing something we enjoy.” And it’s something – clearly evident in the screams of laughter and gasps of amazement that punctuate their show – that their audiences love. Speaking for myself, I won’t sleep for a week trying to work out how Mike predicted I would choose number 44. Pop along to Kikkos Bar on Tuesday evening and see if you can figure out how it’s done – I certainly can’t. I think it must be magic.

 

Evans Plus Evans will be performing at Kikkos Bar in Coral Bay every Tuesday at 9.30pm until mid-October. Entrance is free, but an early arrival is recommended as seats fill up very quickly. For further information call 99 173801 or visit www.evansplusevans.co.uk

A minute with Kyriacos Christodoulou Gold award rider and member of road safety organisation RoADAR Cyprus

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 Where do you live?
In Nicosia, with my wife and two children

Best childhood memory?
Watching motorcycle racing with friends

Most frequented restaurant and absolute favourite dish?
My favourite food is chicken.

What did you have for breakfast?
Due to the distance I travel every morning to go to work at6 am I had a quick coffee and a piece of bread in hand.

Would you class yourself as a day or night person? What’s your idea of the perfect night/day out?
Definitely a day person. The perfect day for me is for all the family to return home healthy; I believe is the first thing someone should have in mind.

Best book ever read?
The biography of Steve Jobs. The impression from Jobs’ biography was that despite the many ups and downs in his life he always managed to be a winner. Even with his illness I think he was a winner. He had a flair for distorting reality and see it only as he thought was right.

Favourite film of all time?
The Bone Collector. Because the protagonist is a woman of all times, seriously because it’s a movie that made me reflect whether people could defeat or fight their fears

Favorite holiday destination? What’s your dream trip?
My best holiday was in Thailand in 2000, because I saw different cultures. I also travelled to areas where people are not familiar with the internet, visa cards etc. I found only in Thailand, and India, a real life experience. I would like to visit China because of its culture and history.

What music are you listening to in the car at the moment?
Usually nothing because I move with a motorcycle.

What is always in your fridge?
Milk (for the kids)

Dream house: rural retreat or urban dwelling? Where would it be, what would it be like?
A shelter at the forest village Sarandi with fresh air and silence. I would like at some point in my life to dwell permanently in a small house in the village because in the city we have a lot of stress and psychological oppression and eventually one day we will crash.

If you could pick anyone at all (alive or dead) to go out for the evening with, who would it be?
Someone who is positive, not prejudiced, a pleasant person and not whiny.

If the world is ending in 24 hours what would you do?
I would stay home with my family.

What is your greatest fear?
I believe this is not always the same. Right now my fear has to do with the future of my children. What will happen in this corrupt country we live in? I would not want them to stay here although no parent would want to let his children go but in order for them to be happy they must be compatible.

Tell me a joke…
One night a husband and wife were sitting on the sofa watching the draw for the Joker. The man turns and says to his wife: here is your coupon, what will you do if you win? (She went mad and smiled) She said: Did I win? He said: Yes. And she says with hate: I had enough of you in misery and problems; I’ll give you half the money and leave and do whatever you want. And the husband says: nice – no problem since you will give me half the money, get your bags prepared and go wherever you want and when you redeem the coupon send me the ten euros you promised.
RoADAR Cyprus, a charitable group specialising in advanced driving and riding techniques is currently offering free professional advice and guidance to all full driving licence holders to improve their ability and road sense. For more information Tel :99 858880 or 97 727635 or visit www.cyprusdriving.net

A glamorous life

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Without a profession, one Limassol man spends half his life outside the country tracking down the stars of yesteryear. THEO PANAYIDES meets him

 

People want to know what you do. It’s inevitable. ‘What line of work are you in?’ they ask. It’s an ice-breaker, it’s a conversation-starter – which is why I can only assume that Hermes Angeloudis has stopped many a conversation in its tracks by admitting that he does nothing, and never has done.

He studied Law, but never practised (“never needed it”). Back when he lived in London – as he did for over 30 years – he often worked in charity shops like Oxfam in the afternoons, but it wasn’t exactly a job. “I used to go and work for them for no money, because it made me feel good. [But] of course it was glamour in the evenings, theatre in the evenings, getting up late in the morning, and the time flies…”

‘Glamour’ is a key word with Hermes. If he ever writes a book about his life – and he might, someday – its title might be ‘Glamorous Times’ or ‘Glamorous People’, he muses dreamily. Or ‘The People I Met’, he adds as an afterthought. He’s met lots of people, especially movie stars. “I met Joan [Collins] 30 years ago, I have a photo with her,” he’ll say. Or perhaps: “The Kim Novak story. Do you want to hear the Kim Novak story?”.

Not that he’ll tell his stories to just anyone. “I respect my privacy,” he tells me, sitting in the bar of the Four Seasons in Limassol (it’s mid-afternoon; we’re the only people there). “I don’t want to be interesting because I’m with a star, or diva, at a party. Not my style”. His gestures are flamboyant, his face shrewd and pouchy but still quite youthful, beneath a mop of gold-and-silver hair. He won’t give his precise age – but I calculate around 65, given that he went to university at the height of Swinging London. “The 60s was fabulous, absolutely fabulous!” he enthuses. “I wouldn’t change it for the world”. His lifestyle wasn’t exactly that of a starving student. “Lots of parties,” he recalls, “lots of beautiful things. Lovely flat. Lots of friends who liked the cinema, and theatre, and ballet, and the opera”. He saw Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in Covent Garden. He saw the Rolling Stones at their peak. “Carnaby Street and all that. Premieres, film stars.”

The only small fly in the ointment were his actual university studies. He never had much interest in Law. What he really wanted was to be a dancer – but his family in Limassol wouldn’t hear of their only son doing anything so louche and un-respectable. Looking back, says Hermes, that’s his only regret in life – that he gave up his dream for unworthy, rather craven reasons, because his parents opposed it and he didn’t want to lose their financial support. “If you tell me that now, I’ll say ‘To hell with the money, I’ll work hard and do it myself!’. But then it was a different time”. He never became a dancer – though he’ll dance like a dervish at nightclubs and parties – so instead he became a film obsessive. “It was the nearest to what I wanted to do,” he sighs. “But it was from the outside looking in”.

Is it fair to call him an obsessive? How big a part of his life is cinema?

“The cinema, once upon a time, was the biggest part of my life,” he confirms.

Was it serious, though? Or just a hobby?

“What pleases me becomes serious. I don’t have to show anybody else my collection”. He has hundreds of film books, 1,800 DVDs and 17 albums of movie-star photos, many of them autographed. “And you will not see in my collection Brad Pitt [or] Angelina tres jolie. These are irrelevant for me. Completely irrelevant, I’m sorry to say”. Hermes sighs, and takes a sip of tea: “I like glamour. And glamour is gone”.

His interest resides in films and film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, not earlier (he’s not too keen on Marlene Dietrich) and certainly not later. He ranges from the days of Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland to the era of Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale – both of whom he’s met, Ms. Cardinale in the past few years when a re-issue of The Leopard played at the National Film Theatre in London. It was announced that she wasn’t going to sign any autographs, but Hermes accosted her as she was leaving and dangled a beautiful publicity photo – the star in her voluptuous youth – in front of her. “An exception for this gentleman!” declared Claudia, charmed. Sophia Loren was years earlier, when she was signing copies of her autobiography in Selfridges. Please put ‘To Hermes’, requested our hero. “My darling, they won’t let me!” lamented Sophia, and clasped his hand tightly. “Ms. Loren,” smiled Hermes, holding her hand in his, “this is more than enough, thank you”.

That, of course, is the caveat – that almost all his ‘meetings’ with stars have been fleeting encounters, often at stage doors or book signings. Hermes bristles at any suggestion that he’s just an autograph hound (he only approaches “people I like”) – but it’s also true that, when he claims it’s ‘not his style’ to appear at a party with a movie star, he doesn’t explain how he’d ever be able to do that, even if he wanted to.

Saying this, however, is to miss the point – and the point is class. “Lifestyle is something you can change,” says Hermes Angeloudis wisely, “but class is like bone structure: you’re born with it, you can’t change it”. How, after all, did he gain access to Joan Collins’ dressing room? “I give flowers,” he explains. “Nobody can resist flowers. And then I arrive, and I have beautiful pictures of them from my collection – original black-and-whites. Nobody can say no”. Hermes is classy. He doesn’t pester, he seduces – and actors (who, of course, have to seduce for a living) respond to that.

That, I suspect, is why he hates the undignified free-for-all of today’s celebrity culture – because Hermes charmed the stars, showed them respect, plied them with beautiful things. Hedy Lamarr was notoriously reclusive – but he sent her a hamper of food and a bouquet of flowers on her birthday, and she sent back an autograph (“No woman can resist to be remembered on her birthday”). “Julie Christie sent me a letter from Russia,” thanking him for the beautiful flowers, with a few lines of chit-chat about life in Moscow. “Faye Dunaway was lovely with me, a lovely autograph, a lovely photograph”.

Almost everyone was lovely. James Stewart told his chauffeur to go round the block a few times till he’d signed every single person’s autograph. Peter O’Toole walked with Hermes to the stage door, chatting about his career. Lauren Bacall was admittedly a bit unpleasant, though not to Hermes personally – but someone else got a bit too close and she snapped “Don’t push!”, which made a bad impression. Dirk Bogarde (easily the actor with the greatest literary talent) was signing copies of his book in Harrods. Hermes stood in line, got the book signed, chatted a bit – then went home to his Knightsbridge flat where he found some lovely old photos of Bogarde, so he went back to Harrods, stood in line…

Out of nowhere, he asks: “Am I boring you?”.

Of course not, I reply, puzzled. It’s a strange interjection – but maybe it’s because he’s unearthing a very special part of his life, and he worries that it won’t mean as much to a stranger as it does to him. I’m sure it means a lot, for instance, that he finally reached Dirk Bogarde for a second time – and Bogarde, who’d been signing autographs non-stop for hours, looked at him and said: “It’s Hermes, isn’t it?”. Clearly he’d made an impression, stood out from the crowd. Hermes can honestly claim to have ‘met’ Dirk Bogarde.

And still the stories come. He almost got in a fight over Kim Novak, and once helped Gloria Grahame carry her shopping home from Hampstead tube station. “Now, Maggie Smith is a little bit different, but Judi [Dench] is very friendly. Ingrid Bergman – wonderful! I have a personal autograph from Elizabeth Taylor, which was my dream. For me she’s the biggest star, there’ll be nobody else like Elizabeth. I adore Elizabeth”. He met her twice, once in 1967 at the premiere of The Taming of the Shrew, the second time in the 80s when she was doing The Little Foxes in the West End. The second time he “prepared the ground,” as he puts it: he loitered outside the house where she was staying, got to know her bodyguards a little, then waited till she came out and presented her with a bouquet of red roses. She accepted the flowers. He asked permission to give her a peck on the cheek, and she consented. He gave her a kiss, they talked for a while – then she trilled “Darling, I’m late”, and took her leave.

It’s time to break out the S-word. That behaviour, I point out, might be deemed close to stalker-ish these days – but he shakes his head. Stalkers didn’t exist back then, he says; there were only fans. “It was a time when people were more relaxed. Now it’s paranoia.” And of course there’s something else – because Hermes was rich, and presumably looked rich. What movie star would say no to a rich admirer?

Needless to say, that’s a big reason why he’s never had to work for a living. So what does he do all day? Oh, “I wish there were 48 hours in a day!” he replies airily. There’s occasional business to administer, things to do and people to see – and he also travels a lot, spending only half the year in Limassol. He’s ‘done’ 38 out of 50 US states, he informs me, always crossing the Atlantic on the ‘Queen Mary 2’, though his reasons for travel are sometimes eccentric (he only visited North Carolina to see the Ava Gardner Museum). Doesn’t he get bored in Cyprus? “I do get bored, but then I put a nice film on, I phone nice friends. When you’re in Cyprus, you expect to be bored. But it’s my roots”. Besides, he adds, the seven months here only sharpen his anticipation for the five months abroad – he’s a bit like Sebastian in Suddenly Last Summer. “I know Tennessee [Williams] by heart, all of his plays, because he fascinates me,” he raves, drawn into one of his frequent excited asides. “We have the same birthday, 26th of March”.

Maybe so – but there’s also a difference. Tennessee Williams was extreme and controversial, whereas Hermes Angeloudis is surprisingly moderate. Not dull, to be sure. He’s a party animal, and he likes the good life – yet he has no obvious vices. He doesn’t smoke or gamble, and he doesn’t drink much either. “I can’t stand whisky. A glass of wine, now and again. I hate beer, I’ve never liked beer, I find it a cheap drink”. He likes champagne and loves caviar, which he has shipped in from Russia – then again, I suspect he loves the concept of caviar as much as the thing itself. In a word, he doesn’t over-indulge. “I don’t go to excess,” he says simply. “I’ve never done excesses, even in personal things”.

Maybe that explains his unusual life, as if living vicariously through all those briefly-met movie stars – an ultimately private, low-profile man basking fleetingly in their glamorous spotlight. He lives quietly, doesn’t flaunt his money, doesn’t even own a car. “I treasure the most beautiful thing in the world – peace of mind”.

And how exactly does one find peace of mind?

“Beautiful classical music. A wonderful film. Nice company. Other, private things. Whatever. You know,” says Hermes earnestly, “I’m not a person who asks for too much. You might say to me, [that’s] because ‘I’m all right, Jack’!” He shrugs: “Yes. It just happened like this. But I appreciate what I have”.

Is he sunny or gloomy, as a person? “Never gloomy,” he replies instantly. “Always the sunny side of life. Always positive. Of course we have our bad days and good days, but I always try to think positively. Because, to be honest with you, Theo – I’ve been lucky. Touch wood”. And he raps briefly on the wooden table in the Four Seasons.

 

HERMES ANGELOUDIS’ TOP 10 FILMS OF ALL TIME

1. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958)
2. GASLIGHT (1944)
3. REBECCA (1940)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (1959)
6. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
7. VERTIGO (1958)
8. REAR WINDOW (1954)
9. DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
10. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

Jewellery shop robbery

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Robbers broke through a hole in the wall to raid a jewellery shop owned by a 42-year-old man in Limassol early this morning.

According to police, at around 3.10am today robbers broke into the shop next door to the jewellers and used building tools to open a hole in the wall between the two, making off with jewellery and silver, the value of which has yet to be ascertained.

Limassol CID is investigating the case.

Meanwhile, various pieces of jewellery, clothing, footwear and electronic equipment, valued at around €10,000 to €15,000 were stolen from a home in Nicosia over the long weekend.

Nicosia CID is investigating the robbery.

Petrol station pay terminal hit

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A ROBBER broke into the outdoor pay terminal of a petrol station in Pera Chorio in the early hours of the morning using a small digger.

According to police, using the digger, at 3am today the robber was able to destroy the pay terminal and take the cash inside.

The petrol station has surveillance cameras installed.

Tourist robbed

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A BRITISH tourist was robbed by two men in a car while walking towards her hotel along the Tomb of the Kings Road in Paphos in the early hours of the morning.

At around 2am, the 63-year-old British tourist was walking back to her hotel where she was staying with her husband when the co-passenger of a car driving past grabbed her bag from her shoulder, throwing her to the ground.

The bag contained £270 Sterling and a mobile phone.

The 63-year-old woman was taken to Paphos general hospital by ambulance where she is being treated for a fractured rib.

She was unable to give a description of the robbers but did say that the car they were driving was black.

Paphos CID is investigating the case.

Pizzeria targeted

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TWO HOODED individuals holding a bat and an ax robbed a pizzeria in Limassol at midnight on Monday, making off with €1,500.

The 39-year-old pizzeria manager was processing the receipts when the assailants allegedly hit him on the head and forced him to open the small safe in the office. After taking the money, they fled the scene.

The 39-year-old man was taken to Limassol general hospital where he was treated for head wounds and discharged.

Limassol CID is continuing investigations.


Cannabis arrest

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A 37-year-old man from Greece was arrested after police found almost 15kg of cannabis in his luggage at around 10.30pm on Monday at Larnaca airport.

Acting on information that drugs were being imported into Cyprus, members of the drug squad cooperated with airport police to conduct searches on passengers’ luggage.

They allegedly found 14 kilos and 677 grams of cannabis in 12 nylon bags in the luggage of the 37-year-old of Russian origin who arrived at Larnaca from Athens.

The 37-year-old is due to be taken to Larnaca District Court today for a remand hearing.

Four held in connection with Paphos muggings

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Paphos police arrested four Cypriot men on Wednesday in connection with a number of tourist muggings in the area.

Police said one of the men, 26, confessed to committing 20 separate muggings, mainly of tourists.

The pair were arrested after a tourist reported to police on Monday that she had been mugged by two men while walking home, on Michalis Papastylianou road in Paphos.

The woman managed to give police a description of the car the assailants used to leave the scene.

They took her bag, valued at €230, which had her mobile phone worth €590, a camera valued at around €350 and €100 in cash in it.

On Wednesday, police located a white saloon car fitting the description, with two men aged 26 and 22.

The two men, who are unemployed Paphos residents were arrested and taken to Paphos CID where they admitted stealing the tourist’s bag.

“One of the two men showed police where some of the stolen goods were and they were taken as evidence,” Angelides said. “The 26-year-old confessed that recently he had robbed 20 people, mainly tourists,” he added.

Police later arrested another two men in connection with the muggings. The four men were remanded for six days by Paphos district court.

House prices continue to fall

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By George Psyllides

House prices dropped 1.6 per cent overall in the first quarter of the year, continuing their downward course as the economic climate worsens.

Year-on-year, prices dropped by 5.4 per cent, according to data compiled by the Central Bank (CBC)

The CBC index showed house and apartment prices fell by 1.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, compared with 0.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2012.

The largest quarterly drop in house prices was recorded in the Larnaca district at 3.5 per cent, while Paphos and Famagusta showed signs of stabilisation with drops of 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

Apartment prices in Larnaca fell 5.6 per cent in the Q1, the biggest drop since Q1 2011. The quarterly drop in house prices in Larnaca was 1.9 per cent.

Apartment prices in Limassol remained relatively stable, while house prices dropped 1.3 per cent.

Famagusta recorded a 1.2 per cent drop in apartment prices and a 1.0 per cent rise in house prices.

Similarly in Paphos, house prices rose 1.1 per cent in Q1 compared with a 1.0 per cent drop in apartment prices.

House prices in the Nicosia district fell 2.5 per cent combined with a 1.5 per cent drop in apartments.

On a yearly basis, prices fell by 5.4 per cent – 5.0 per cent for houses and 5.8 per cent for apartments.

The lowest annual decrease was recorded in Limassol – 2.7 per cent for homes and 4.3 per cent for apartments.

The biggest drops, compared with Q1 2012, were recorded in the price of apartments and houses in Larnaca – 12.2 per cent and 8.0 per cent respectively.

In Paphos and Famagusta, apartment prices dropped by 5.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.

House prices in Paphos recorded an annual drop of 3.7 per cent  and 2.5 per cent in Famagusta.

In general, price indexes in all districts decreased, the CBC said, although Paphos and Famagusta, showed signs of a slowdown in the rate of reduction.

The annual rate of reduction in Paphos and Famagusta decelerated somewhat in the last three quarters, the CBC said.

However, the annual rate of reduction in the price of houses accelerated in Nicosia, a district which until recently had showed relatively small reductions.

Despite the drop in prices, real estate sales were down in Q1 compared with Q1 2012.

The number of sales documents submitted to the land registry recorded a 49.2 per cent drop on an annual basis.

The figure concerned only Cypriot buyers.

Paphos appeared to buck the trend, both as regards Cypriot and foreign buyers.

The district recorded an increase in sales contracts involving Cypriot buyers – 9.3 per cent – and remained stable when it came to foreigners.

 

 

Cyprus signs LNG plant MoU with Noble, Delek and Avner

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S??ed??a?? ???t?? F????e??a//Filoxenia Conference Centre

Cyprus and a US-Israeli partnership on Wednesday signed a statement of intent for the development of a natural gas liquefaction plant on the island. The parties are the Cyprus state, Noble Energy International, and Israel’s Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration Limited Partnership. It is hoped the preliminary accord will lead to a final agreement in the future setting up a joint venture between the parties – a special-purpose vehicle seeking investors for the estimated €7 to €8bn LNG plant.

“The signing of the memorandum between the Republic of Cyprus and the three companies represents the next milestone on the road map for the exploitation of indigenous gas reserves in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” Minister of Commerce and Industry Giorgos Lakkotrypis said addressing the official ceremony which took place at the Filoxenia conference centre, in Nicosia.

The LNG plant will be built at Vasilikos.

He also said that the LNG plant will constitute “the fundamental and necessary infrastructure that will allow for the export of Cypriot natural gas to the European and global markets”.

Addressing the event, head of US Noble Energy John Tomich said the agreement constitutes an important milestone for the cooperation of the Republic with its partners adding that it will lead to the full development of natural gas reserves to be found in block 12.

Speaking on behalf of Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration Gideon Tadmor said the MoU demonstrates the government’s and the three companies’ commitment to go ahead with the construction of the LNG plant.

US and Israeli Ambassadors in Nicosia John Koening and Michael Harari were also present at the event.

 

US Supreme Court delivers wins for gay marriage movement

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Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA

By Lawrence Hurley

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday handed a significant victory to gay rights advocates by recognizing that married gay men and women are eligible for federal benefits and paving the way for same-sex marriage in California.

The court, however, fell short of a landmark ruling endorsing a fundamental right for gay people to marry.

The two cases, both decided on 5-4 votes, concerned the constitutionality of a key part of a federal law, the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA), that denied benefits to same-sex married couples and a California state law enacted in 2008, called Proposition 8, that banned gay marriage.

The Supreme Court rulings come amid rapid progress for advocates of gay marriage in recent months and years in the United States and internationally. Opinion polls show a steady increase in U.S. public support for gay marriage.

Gay marriage is an issue that stirs cultural, religious and political passions in the United States as elsewhere. Gay marriage advocates celebrated outside the courthouse. An enormous cheer went up as word arrived that DOMA had been struck down. “DOMA is dead!” the crowd chanted, as couples hugged and cried.

“Our marriage has not been recognized until today,” said Patricia Lambert, 59, who held her wife, Kathy Mulvey, 47. A South African, Lambert said she no longer would have to worry about being forced to leave the country if her work visa expired.

The court struck down the federal law as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law but ducked a ruling on Proposition 8 by finding that supporters of the law did not have standing to appeal a federal district court ruling that struck the law down.

While the ruling on DOMA was clearcut, questions remained about what exactly the Proposition 8 ruling will mean on the ground. There is likely to be more litigation over whether the district court ruling applies statewide.

After hearing of the California ruling outside the courthouse, Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the fight for gay marriage would head back to the states.

“We take it to the states – state by state, legislature by legislature, governor by governor, and constitutional amendment by constitutional amendment,” he said.

EQUAL PROTECTION

In the DOMA case, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority that the federal law, as passed by Congress in 1996, violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.

“The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the state, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Kennedy wrote.

Kennedy, often the court’s swing vote in close decisions, also said the law imposes “a stigma upon all who enter into same-sex marriages made lawful by the unquestioned authority of the states.”

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonin Scalia both wrote dissenting opinions.

Roberts himself wrote the Proposition 8 opinion, ruling along procedural lines with the court split in an unusual way.

Twelve of the 50 states and the District of Columbia recognize gay marriage. Three of those dozen – Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island – legalized gay marriage this year.

Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act limited the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman for the purposes of federal benefits. By striking down Section 3, the court cleared the way to more than 1,100 federal benefits, rights and burdens linked to marriage status.

As a result of Wednesday’s ruling, Edith Windsor of New York, who was married to a woman and sued the government to get the federal estate tax deduction available to heterosexuals when their spouses pass away, will be able to claim a $363,000 tax refund.

President Barack Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to endorse gay marriage but he had long asserted that same-sex marriage was a matter for the states to handle. At the last minute, however, his administration decided to enter the California dispute and argue that federal guarantees of constitutional equality forbid states from limiting marriage to heterosexuals.

Numerous public figures including former President Bill Clinton, who in 1996 signed the DOMA law, and prominent groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics have come out this year in support of same-sex marriage and gay civil rights.

Individual members of Congress – Democrats and Republicans – also voiced new support for gay marriage.

While more developments lie ahead, the legal fight over gay marriage already constitutes one of the most concentrated civil rights sagas in U.S. history. Just 20 years ago the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that its state constitution could allow gay marriage, prompting a nationwide backlash and spurring Congress and a majority of states, including Hawaii, to pass laws defining marriage as between only a man and woman.

In 2003, when the top court of Massachusetts established a right to same-sex marriage under its constitution, the action triggered another backlash as states then adopted constitutional amendments against such unions. Five years later, the tide began to reverse, and states slowly began joining Massachusetts in permitting gays to marry.

The cases are United States v. Windsor, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-307 and Hollingsworth v. Perry, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-144.

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