A MASTERCLASS with renowned holistic therapist and energy healer Greek American, Thalia Alexiou, will take place in Paphos on Wednesday, on the side lines of the eleventh Cyprus International Film Festival.

The festival, which has attracted talent from 37 countries this year, is being held in Paphos, where it will remain in forthcoming years, according to festival organiser Petra Terzi.

She said: “This year, we are also offering a fantastic opportunity for people to take part in a seminar with Thalia Alexiou, who is an extraordinary therapist and author. People flock to Thalia for her profound therapeutic nature from all over the USA, Greece and England, where she also teaches workshops.”

The masterclass is titled the “Wheel of Fame,” and will be held at Suite 48 in Paphos. It will teach participants how to achieve their aims.

Alexiou is a healer, therapist, clairvoyant, coach and author, and is also the founder of the Western Mala School of gratitude. Alexiou has dedicated her life to the practice of the healing arts, and has studied with masters all over the world.

She also studied modern and ancient Greek prose and literature, modern and classical dance and theatre, as well as Fine Arts.

Alexiou explained to the Cyprus Mail that the title of her workshop and what participants will be able to get out of it.

“We don’t have to be in Hollywood to be famous, we can start with our friends and then there is no limit on how far you can go. The wheel of fame is not like you’re creating magic, it’s about triggering the brain how to reach the deeper level of releasing,” she said.

Her vision is to inspire, energise and motivate people to feel more joy, form greater connections and feel more purpose in their life.

She has worked extensively with clients who have cancer or other medical problems including depression. She also helps clients release emotional trauma.

Alexiou explained that the key is erasing the things which are stopping individuals from growing and moving as far forward as they desire.

“I love this work shop, because there are many elements and I will teach people the twelve stages of feelings, and focus on what people really want. For instance, I want to win the Oscar, so how do you feel about that? We’re going to erase the negative words and fears inside your own thoughts.”

She noted that participants will learn about the role of love, gratitude and how feeling it is connected with success.
The therapist will lead a number of meditations to trigger a specific part of the brain. She will also talk about the brains conscious which she refers to as ‘master of all.’

“I will teach you to put feelings in your subconscious. You’re not just going to learn, I’m going to put you in there, you’re going to work, and that’s why I call it a work shop.”

Thalia has studied with Deepak Chopra, Rahul Patel, Dr. Dyer, Louise Hay, Dr. Helene Leonetti, Beth Gray, Dr Laureine Opsitos, Elaine Panuski, Paul Scheele, Marie Diamond and many others.

The 11th Cyprus International Film Festival presents:
The Masterclass “Your WHEEL of FAME” with Thalia Alexiou on Wednesday 21st September 10:00am until 4pm at Suite 48 in Paphos.
For further information:  thetapetra111@gmail.com
(m) 99798112

www.cyiff.cineartfestival.eu

The world’s largest private residential ship aptly named The World, moored off Paphos on Monday and will stay until Tuesday evening.

The World, a 644-foot vessel, has 165 individual residences for owners to live at sea but also travel around the globe in luxury.

The Panama-registered vessel is operated by ResidenSea Ltd Cruises which is based in Florida, US. It was launched in 2002. The owners of the residences – studios, one, two and three bedroom suites – also collectively own the ship.

A studio costs around US$600,000 to buy with larger suites reaching around US$13m. Short-term rentals range from $550 for a studio apartment per person per night to US$20,000 per month for suites. Owners also pay ship service fees, depending on the property size, from US$60,000 to US$270,000 a year.

The World travels the globe, staying from two to five days in most ports. Some of its residents live full time while others come periodically on-board throughout the year.

Cyprus is part of the ship’s Mediterranean leg of its 2016 itinerary which set off with an expedition in Antarctica, and sailed up the east coast of South America, with stops including Rio de Janeiro during carnival season. It then sailed from the Caribbean to the Canary Islands and Casablanca, and spent the spring and summer months in 16 European countries including the Mediterranean.

After Cyprus, The World will pass through the Suez Canal and on to destinations in the Middle East, India, Maldives, and Malaysia before an expedition this time in Borneo. The vessel’s 2016 itinerary will end in Sydney for its residents to welcome in the New Year.

Demetris Constantinou, 65, a resident of Chlorakas on Tuesday began an indefinite hunger strike outside a Paphos school because he said the government owes him hundreds of thousands of euros for land acquisition and hasn’t paid a cent in 16 years.

But some four hours later, at around 10am he called it off after Interior Minister Socratis Hasikos gave him personal assurances his case would be examined “within the day”.

The 65-year-old claims he is still waiting to be compensated for land that belonged to him on which the Panayia Theoskepasti gymnasium in Paphos was built.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Constantinou had urged the government to review the matter as soon as possible because he and his family were facing serious financial problems.

In a written statement later on Tuesday, the interior ministry said that the property as a whole had been expropriated in 2001 in order to construct a new high school west of Paphos with a road that would serve the school. .

The department of lands and surveys according to the law, sent documents with the amount of compensation to the registered owners because outside of the section used for the school there were houses that had been sold to several persons who have filed title deeds, the ministry said.

In order for the compensation to be paid, the written consent of the other property owners was needed as to the distribution of the amount among them.

“There were successive meetings in the department to resolve the issue which proved fruitless and the co-owners have not responded,” the ministry said, adding that the department of lands and surveys referred the case to the court in 2011 to finalise the amount of compensation and the case is still pending at the Paphos district court.

“The procedure will be completed if the co-owners agree on the distribution of the amount of compensation,” the ministry said.

A 39-year-old father of five was jailed for 10 years by the Paphos Criminal Court after he was found guilty of possession cocaine with intent to supply, as well as possession of substances used to cut the drug.

The case dates back to early December last year, when drug squad officers searched a building in Marathounda village, initially finding nothing incriminating.

A subsequent search of the yard however, found three buried plastic containers with 438 grammes of cocaine, 230 grammes of levamisole, an anthelmintic (worming) drug used in animals and cancer treatment, and an amount of phenacetin, a pain-relieving and fever-reducing drug.

Both levamisole and phenacetin are used as diluents for cocaine. They are banned in Cyprus due to negative effects on human health.

Michalakis Efthymiou has two previous convictions, which, the court said, had to be taken into account.

Although he left some revenues out of his tax returns, he was never bribed, former Paphos municipal councillor Giorgos Michaelides told the court on Wednesday.

Michaelides, one of five defendants, is accused of taking bribes, and money-laundering, in connection with construction contracts awarded by the Paphos Sewerage Board (Sapa) during his time on the municipal council, from 1996 to 2011.

The other four defendants are former Edek deputy and Paphos mayor Fidias Sarikas, and municipal councilors Efstathios Efstathiou, Vasos Vasiliou, and Giorgos Shailis.

Michaelides told the court that he was able to pay for his children’s university studies with the help of his sister-in-law, Efthimia Anastasiou, and his wife’s three aunts, none of the four married.

Anastasiou, he said, paid 500 to 600 Cyprus pounds per month, and each aunt gave initially 100 pounds (€170), later graduating to 200 pounds.

Asked about a cheque for €20,000 given to him by contractor Loizos Iordanous in 2007, Michaelides said it was a loan he needed direly and his good friend volunteered, which he later repaid.

With regard to a meeting in a restaurant in the Nicosia village of Analyontas, where former Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas and former Sapa director Eftichios Malekides – both serving six-year jail terms for their role in the Sapa scandal – testified that a bribery agreement was forged between the Paphos municipal officials and private contractors awarded Sapa contracts, Michaelides denied the nature of the meeting, claiming it had merely been a social gathering.

There had never been any talk of awarding the Sapa contract to Envitec, a Greek firm, in exchange for kickbacks.

He also denied a meeting in his own office claimed by Vergas, Malekides, and Iordanous, insisting he never took or gave any money, nor did he ever travel to Athens to be paid any money by Envitec’s chief Christos Drakopoulos.

He claimed to have met Andreas Chimarides, director of Medcon contractors, at Sapa meetings, but denied having received from him a total €50,000.

Michaelides said he won 200,000 Cyprus pounds in a lottery ticket, of which he deposited in two bank accounts.

He described a business venture he entered with three other partners, which constructed six villas, one of which was sold to a Briton and the rest to Russians.

During cross-examination, Michaelides said discrepancies in his tax returns could be down to omissions, for which there was always some justification.

All the prosecution has to go on is numbers, and the numbers don’t add up, state prosecutor Ninos Kekkos said, noting a difference between his stated revenues and his account deposits of about 14,000 pounds in 2006, and over 100,000 pounds the next year.

Michaelides said the deposits reflect revenues from various sources, in addition to his job, and that not all the money deposited in a bank account should be listed in a tax return.

“You will find a deposit of €18,500 in my account, which is a loan I received from my company, and then transferred to my sister in Australia for her needs,” he said.

Asked why his company gave him cash, Michaelides said it was because his company received cash.

The prosecutor wondered what Chimarides, Vergas, or Malekides, might have had against him in order to implicate him in the case.

The only way Chimarides could have known where your office is, and shown it to police, is if he had, in fact, visited you to give you money, Kekkos submitted.

But Michaelides said Chimarides could have simply tracked down his office via a GPS navigation device.

The case resumes on Monday.

Paphos court Thursday set October 3 for hearing a case against a 53-year-old man from Paphos arrested earlier in the day in connection with obtaining money under false pretences, theft, money laundering and theft by an agent.

According to police a complaint was made by twin brothers, contractors from Larnaca, aged 58, who reported that between 2008 and 2011 they gave the 53-year-old a total of €406,700 as collateral to secure plumbing work on a Paphos hotel being renovated, as well as on government buildings and for assistance in securing a licence for the installation of photovoltaic systems.

From investigations carried out, the 53-year-old allegedly appropriated the money and did not use it for the purpose it was received.

An arrest warrant was secured resulting in his being apprehended and detained Thursday morning.

The man denies any wrong-doing saying that he had only received a small amount of money from the twins for some renovations.

Paphos CID are continuing investigations.

FOLLOWING on from the success of their first crochet art installation in Paphos in August, a group of Cypriot women will decorate an ancient tree with hand crocheted pieces on Friday afternoon.

Members of Peace2Peace, a bi-communal initiative, will assemble hand crochet flowers and squares to adorn a landmark tree outside the municipal gallery in Paphos, to promote peace and friendship.

The crochet street art has been created by more than 60 women from both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, one of the co-ordinators, Christiana Mouzouri told the Cyprus Mail.

The first initiative, which saw them cover an old anchor at Paphos harbour with colourful crochet pieces, was so successful, she said, that a number of squares were left over. These, along with hundreds of new pieces, will be used at Friday’s event.

“We have also created hundreds of flowers, to go with the pieces which weren’t used at the last event. We will create a river of flowers around the huge olive tree in the park at the top of Gladstonos Street in Paphos.”

Mouzouri said that after forging a great friendship with Nilgun Akin, a Turkish Cypriot woman who lives in Kyrenia, they started the Cyprus Women’s Association, to encourage Turkish Cypriot women and Greek Cypriot women to have a coffee, and form friendships.

Out of this came Peace2Peace, a bi-communal initiative which aims to involve women from all over Cyprus, enabling them to exchange ideas, break down prejudices and really get to know each other, she said.

“It’s to get to know the women behind the border, for us each to know that the other is a Cypriot, just like us. It’s just human interaction, building bonds and forming friendships, and no politics,” she said.

Friday’s event will take place from 5pm until around 7.30pm and will see women from both communities putting the piece together and decorating the tree.

“We will also have some homemade cakes and refreshments available and everyone is invited to come and join us, spend a day in the park and enjoy the free event,” she said.

Following the groups’ first event, a similar group made up of women from both Israel and Palestine contacted them to cooperate.

“We are called Peace2Peace and they are named Piece4peace, they do similar actions to us, but theirs involves quilting. So, in the future, we will send them some pieces and they will send us some back. These Israeli and Palestinian women also want peace and freedom.”

Mouzouri said that other projects are planned in the future, including events in co-operation with Pafos2017

For further information: Peace2Peace Open Air Crochet Installations on Facebook

A total of 7,462 counterfeit designer goods were seized by the Paphos customs department on Thursday.

Aided by police, the department searched six shops and warehouses and found a total of 7,462 bags, clothes and other items which they confiscated.

The goods will be destroyed in accordance with standard procedures.

Police arrested four young people, three in Limassol and one in Paphos, for various offences, mainly cannabis on Saturday evening.

In Limassol officers said two people aged 18 and 20 were arrested after one, spotting a police patrol on a pedestrian area, threw something on the ground that police said turned out to be half a gramme of cannabis. The 20-year-old was found to have four grammes in his possession.

During the same patrol, officers stopped a 21-year-old on a moped who was not wearing a helmet and subsequently discovered he was driving without a licence or insurance. He was also arrested.

In subsequent searches of the suspects’ homes investigations, officers found what they said was a joint, in the house of the 18-year-old and 25 grammes of cannabis in the house of the 21-year-old moped driver.

In Paphos, a 19-year-old was arrested as a drug suspect and for resisting arrest. He had been seen on CCTV entering a house and was reported. When police got there, with the homeowner’s permission, they searched the house and found the suspect hiding under a bed. Officers said he had on him a half-smoked joint and 1,200 euros they believe came from drug dealing.

Paphos police had all four tyres slashed on a patrol car in Latchi in the early hours of Sunday.
According to police the car was parked on Akamantidos Avenue in the village and the vandalism was discovered by officers at around 3am.
The car was towed to Polis police station to be examined and repaired.

Bondholders who lost money during Cyprus’ banking crisis said on Sunday they would step up measures for compensation but called off a mass protest planned outside the finance ministry in Nicosia until President Nicos Anastasiades returns from abroad.

The bondholders held a meeting on Sunday in Chlorakas in Paphos. They want to be compensated to the tune of €100,000 “in a manner to be agreed” in line with the deposit guarantee scheme extended to bank customers but without compromising their right to have all their money returned.

The bondholders group represents thousands of investors who lost around €700m when the Bank of Cyprus and Cyprus Popular Bank, or Laiki, bonds were wiped out in March 2013.

The head of the Bondholders Association Phivos Mavrovouniotis, in his speech on Sunday referred to a meeting between himself and Anastasiades in May this year and that the president had given assurances that he would discuss ways to compensate bondholders with party leaders. But, he said, they have heard nothing since.

Mavrovouniotis said that after the lapse of several months, the finance ministry contacted him to inform him that it had not gotten any instructions from the president.

“The [finance] minister’s message was forward it to the president to finally see who is lying and who is telling the truth,” he said. That was why the protest was postponed.

But he urged members of the association to attend any protest events organised by them
“We finally all understand that without dynamic actions we will not win our fight,” said Mavrovouniotis

“The minister of finance touts around the world that ‘foreigners should not worry because in Cyprus there are no protest events. It is time to disappoint him,” he added.

Many of the political parties have put forward proposals on how to compensate the bondholders or have said they would support a bill doing so, Mavrovouniotis said.

A finance ministry source told the Cyprus Business Mail recently that it was currently looking into how to rehabilitate provident funds affected by the bail-in with an unspecified amount, but that compensating bondholders was not on the agenda.

Bank of Cyprus, which absorbed Laiki’s operations in March 2013, has repeatedly rejected compensating bondholders without however, ruling out exceptions related to “humanitarian cases”. The bank told bondholders to pursue legal recourse.

Mavrovouniotis said that many of the association’s members cannot afford the financial cost of legal action against the bank, adding that even if they had the means, it would take up to ten years for the courts to adjudicate such cases.

A 32-year-old was remanded by Paphos court Monday in connection with hitting another man with his car on Sunday morning in Polis, which police are describing as attempted murder.

Investigating officer Savvas Savva told the court, that on being questioned the driver had said to police that he had no intention of killing the 33-year-old, and that he had hit him by accident.

But police investigations point to the victim, 33, having been injured deliberately during the incident at around 8.30am. The two were said to have personal differences.

Police say that, under circumstances that are being investigated, the suspect appeared to have driven his car into the victim, who was on foot, resulting in injuries to his legs. The driver immediately abandoned the scene, they said.

The 33-year-old was taken by ambulance to Paphos general hospital where he underwent surgery having sustained fractures in both legs. He was examined by state pathologist Eleni Antoniou.

Following investigations and evaluation of information received, police located and arrested the driver after securing a judicial warrant.

Police said earlier that the 32-year-old, who has come to their attention before, told them he was at the scene of the incident but had not injured the man deliberately.

An 18-year-old man from Paphos who had fled some two weeks ago leaving his car and co-passenger behind after crashing into a police vehicle, was arrested Tuesday night.

The man was located in an apartment in Chlorakas. In his possession officers found a small quantity of drug, they said.

The suspect had refused to stop during a routine traffic check on September 12 and fled after crashing his car into a police vehicle, leaving his 24-year-old female passenger behind.

Police had said that when the traffic police signalled a car to pull over, the driver turned off his  lights instead and sped off crashing initially into a metal fence and then into a police car, causing his vehicle to be immobilised.

He then ran away, while his 24-year-old co-passenger remained in the car.  During a search of the vehicle, an air gun was found and a metal box containing pellets. The 24-year-old was arrested, while police were searching for the whereabouts of the driver.

From the collision a police officer was injured in the incident and was taken to the Paphos general hospital where he was discharged after having being treated.

A raging fire in Paphos was quickly brought under control by fire services at lunchtime on Wednesday, according to a fire brigade spokesman.

The blaze started in an area between Akoursos and Peyia village, he said.

“The fire is now under control and it burnt around two acres of agricultural land.”

Seven fire engines rushed to the scene and included trucks from the forestry department and a couple of small village stations close by.

Fire fighters were also given air support by two fire prevention helicopters, he added.

A 40-year-old man from Bulgaria was arrested on Tuesday in Paralimni after crashing his vehicle into another car after having consumed almost five times the permitted alcohol level.

According to the police, the accident occurred at around 10.30pm when the 40-year-old who was driving along Bosporus Street in Paralimni, ignored a stop sign and entered another street where he crashed into a car driven by a 29-year-old man.

None of the two men were injured, but both cars were damaged.

The 40-year-old’s breathalyser indicated he had consumed 99 micrograms instead of the permitted level of 22μg.

An 81-year-old man was killed on Thursday evening when his car collided with another along the Paphos-Stroumbi road.

According to the police, the accident happened shortly after 7pm.

The 81-year-old, who hailed from Limassol, was rushed by ambulance to hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Two more people boarding the second car were injured, but their condition was said to be non-serious.

REPORTS that the oncology unit at Paphos general hospital had been closed due to lack of staff have been quashed by hospital director who told the Sunday Mail the closure had only been temporary.

“It was never ‘closed’ as such and the cancer unit at Paphos general hospital will remain open for the foreseeable future, as the current doctor has renewed her contract,” said Spyros Georgiou.

He explained that the unit was looked after by one doctor and that her six-month contract had run its course. She took a week’s leave whist waiting to hear if it would be renewed by the ministry of health.

Georgiou said that a number of panicked patients had contacted the hospital, as had local cancer charities, after rumours of the unit’s closure were rife.

“The current doctor who has been with us since March, renewed her contract with us on Thursday, and she will continue to operate a clinic at the hospital four days a week,” he said, looking to allay patients’ fears.

The doctor offers a daily clinic on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, she works at Limassol general hospital.

Georgiou said this was a huge improvement, as prior to March, the hospital only had a visiting doctor, travelling from Limassol, once a week.

At the end of last year, the government was criticised by the House human rights committee for failing to provide a comprehensive cancer care system particularly for cancer patients in Limassol and Paphos.

They said the government’s plans to create a radiology centre in Limassol by 2018 was not soon enough. At present, cancer patients from Limassol and Paphos often have to travel to Nicosia for specialised treatment such as chemotherapy.

Paphos hospital director Spyros Georgiou

In a positive move, Europa Donna Cyprus recently announced that a much anticipated breast cancer centre would be inaugurated at the Nicosia general hospital on October 17.

Europa Donna had launched a campaign in 2009, urging the health ministry to take the necessary steps to create a specialised breast centre in Cyprus, according to the European parliament resolution on breast cancer. The online petition was signed by more than 21,000 people.

Homecare nurse Rachael Grainger-Christou, provides specialist care for cancer patients in Paphos (similar to Macmillan Nurses in the UK) through her association with the Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends (PASYKAF). The island-wide organisation was formed in 1986 by a small group of cancer patients, families and friends and now has branches in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos.

She said that a general lack of communication about what was going on at the Paphos unit had led to patients’ distress.

“People who had regular appointments were not informed of the situation and turned up at the hospital. Some had to collect their files and travel to Limassol general hospital and others were able to wait and see the outcome,” she said.

She added that PASYKAF had also not initially been informed that an oncologist had been employed at Paphos general hospital or that more recently, she wouldn’t be present for some days.

Grainger-Christou is a full time home care nurse and along with another full time member of staff and two further part timers, the team of four look after in excess of 200 patients in the Paphos region.

Homecare nurses see patients from initial cancer diagnosis right through their illness and also provide help and support for the families.

The PASYKAF day centre offers self-help group therapy, volunteer training, music and stress therapy, creative therapy support groups for patients and their children, reflexology, aromatherapy, Bowen technique and Reiki. There is also a confidential telephone helpline, which is staffed by trained volunteers.

“It was a general lack of communication and now I believe we will all be working more closely together.”

The homecare nurse said that many people living in Paphos travel to Limassol and Nicosia general hospitals for treatment as well as the Bank of Cyprus oncology centre in Nicosia.

“Previously, the once-a-week oncology clinic in Paphos wasn’t enough and sometimes patients had to wait for up to five or six hours. This is a much better arrangement.”

There are no facilities at Paphos general hospital to administer chemotherapy treatment.

“People can receive blood transfusions, rehydration and bone therapy now, but a way forward would be to develop such a unit, even if it’s a small one,” she said.

Georgiou said that he held a meeting on Wednesday with representatives of PASYKAF and the oncology doctor and discussed practical problems she is facing and how she can be helped in her work.

“We will all come together to help in the future,” he said.

Georgiou also said that he will be inviting PASYKAF to attend another meeting with him next week, to see how the two entities can better cooperate in the future.

The cancer support information and helpline is available from 9am – 1pm Monday to Friday. Telephone 97760989. PASYKAF and Paphos cancer patients support group – 26222929

A fire that broke out in the area of Marathounda in Paphos on Sunday was almost under control at midday, the fire service said.
So far the fire gas burned around two hectares of wild vegetation.

The fire service has been working since 9.30am to bring the fire under control using two helicopters, five fire engines from Paphos and Stroumbi as well as a fire truck from the game fund.

The work is being hampered by the rough terrain but a perimeter has been established to stop the spread of the flames, the fire service said.

A SECOND sculpture by a Paphos based artist is drawing admiration and praise from passers-by and is part of an ongoing project for the town’s winning bid as European Capital of Culture 2017.

“The little fisherman”- a bronze of a young boy and a large fish, is the second sculpture to be placed in the area by Paphos artist, Yiota Ioannidou, as part of “Signs in time and space,” project, where participating artists were chosen from an open call in 2014.

Twelve works of art are being created by six participating artists: Andreas Makariou, Andreas Paraskeva, Harris Paspallis, Dimitris Makariou, Umit Inachi and Yiota Ioannidou.

The creations emerge between the lighthouse and the sea, along the western coastline of Kato Paphos and Ioannidou’s first work “Sol Alter”, which leans on a rock and pays homage to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, took a year to complete.

The second bronze took her ten months to finish and now stands in the harbour area, close to the castle in Kato Paphos.

She told the Cyprus Mail of her inspiration for the work.

“My idea is based on the cultural spirit of place and space. Art is not fashion, it is something different. From the moment I had the idea of the sculpture, I was concerned whether it could be incorporated into the life of local people. This is important, the relationship with people. My work should be historically and culturally related to the area, so I started thinking how I could make my work in a way that it would not influence the place, but be influenced by it.”

Ioannidou said that generally artists don’t have a direct relationship with the general public and usually, there is a limited audience at galleries and museums.  She added that there is a huge difference between a work of art exhibited in a public place and another at an indoor exhibition.

She stressed the need for ‘public’ art and, as with many other artists in Paphos, said she hoped there would be more open air creations in the future.

“For me, galleries and museums are places for research, where professional discussions between fellow artists and art experts take place.”

She said that art displayed in a public place is radically different.

“You have to face the cultural reality there and you don’t have discussions with art experts, but with everyday people. For them, it is just a matter of ‘like it or not’.”

Direct relationship with the public is something that gives great satisfaction to the artist, she added.

“In other countries, modern art is accepted more easily and is something natural for everyone.”

Other artworks in the area include, “Views of Infinity”, is a geometric marble installation by Harry Paspallis, Ioannidou’s first work “Sol Alter”, and the ‘Red Poppy’ by Andreas Paraskevas. Other works from the Cyprus based artists will placed at different spaces across Paphos to create an ‘open air art museum,’ by May 2017.

Info: www.pafos2017.eu

The 16 defendants in the case of alleged bribery and overcharging at the waste-management plants at Paphos and Koshi, Larnaca, pleaded not guilty on Monday, with the trial scheduled to resume in January 2017.

The defendants, facing a total of 104 charges, are municipal employees Demetris Patsalides, Stelios Papadopoulos, and Christos Petrou, civil servant Michalis Pantis, pensioners Antonis Kourouzides, Georgios Koullapis, and Demetris Giannakopoulos, Larnaca mayor Andreas Louroudjiatis, doctor Nicolas Koullapis, former Paphos Sewerage Board director Eftichios Malekkides, former Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas, civil engineer Imad Bagle, chemical engineer Theofanis Lolos, and companies Enviroplan Consultants & Engineers, Helector Cyprus Ltd, and N.E. Midoriaco Ltd.

They face charges of bribery, conspiracy, fraud, money-laundering, abuse of power and forgery.

During Monday’s hearing, Nicolas Koullapis’ lawyer requested that his client’s ban from leaving the country be lifted as he needs to travel abroad on business from October 19 to 24.

The prosecution raised no objections, and the court granted the request, but ordered that the ban be reinstated on his return to Cyprus.

The ban applies to all defendants, with the exception of Vergas and Malekkides, who are serving six-year jail terms for their involvement in the Paphos Sewerage Board (SAPA) scandal.

The court heard that 164 witnesses will be called.

Greek construction magnate Leonidas Bobolas, chairman of Helector, is also involved in the case, and his extradition to Cyprus to stand trial has been asked of the Greek authorities.

However, a Greek court denied the extradition request on grounds that the alleged offences, which Cypriot investigators claim took place in Greece, fall under the jurisdiction of the Greek authorities.