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yprus oday C T Your comprehensive weekly — since 1991

OCTOBER 10, 2020

ISSUE 1,721

Follow us on Instagram at cyprustodayonline

10TL

VOTERS HEAD TO THE BALLOT BOX ● Eleven

candidates running. Poll includes referendum to increase number of judges.

● Run-off

possible on October 18. YSK head: Results expected by 10pm tomorrow.

By KEREM HASAN and ELTAN HAL‹L THE TRNC will go to the polls tomorrow to choose its new president. A record 11 candidates – including seven independents – are vying for the country’s top job, including the incumbent, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the leader of the main opposition. The candidates, in the order their names appear on the ballot paper, are: Ersin Tatar (National Unity Party), Tufan Erhürman (Republican Turkish Party), Erhan Arıklı (Rebirth Party), Fuat Çiner (Nationalist Democracy Party), Arif Salih Kırdağ (independent), Ahmet Boran (independent), Mustafa Ulaş (independent), Alpan Uz (independent), Kudret

Özersay (independent), Mustafa Akıncı (independent) and Serdar Denktaş (independent). The election, which is held every five years, had been due to take place last April but was postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak. Voters will also be taking part in a referendum on a proposed amendment to the Constitution to double the number of Supreme Court judges from eight to 16. Voting will start at 8am and end at 6pm. Anyone still queuing at 6pm will be allowed to vote once they have been counted by election officials. The Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) announced this week that 198,867 people are registered to vote at 738 ballot boxes across the country.

In the event that no single candidate gains more than 50 per cent of the votes cast needed to win outright, a run-off will be held on Sunday, October 18, between the two candidates who collect the most votes. YSK head, Chief Justice Ferdi Narin Şefik, said that voters must stamp “Evet” (Yes) just once in a blank box under the name of the candidate in order for their vote to be eligible. If the stamp is made more than once, a common mistake, then the ballot paper is declared void. Voting in the referendum, however, will require the voter to use a pen and mark an “X” in the “Evet” or “Hayır” (No) box under the referendum question. Chief Justice Şefik said that she expects the election outcome to

be known by around 10pm tomorrow night. She added that “all necessary measures have been taken against Covid-19 in accordance with the recommendations of the Communicable  Diseases  High  Committee” so that voters can “feel safe”. Disposable gloves will be handed to voters, and police will be responsible for ensuring social distancing is followed as people queue to cast their ballot. No-one will be permitted to enter without a face mask. Voter cards have not been distributed to households due to the pandemic. Those eligible to vote can find out their polling station details online by visiting www.mahkemeler.net or www.ysk.mahkemeler.net where

Turn to page 4

‘Ghost town’ Maraş opens Thousands of people converged on the ‘ghost town’ of Maraş on Thursday, which has been closed to civilians for the past 46 years. ❐ Full story, page 4

LEISURE INSIDE

Photo: Kerem Hasan

● Asil Nadir addresses the nation, p7 ● TCs ‘Wigs for Heroes’ campaign, p12&13



2

News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Contact us BY TELEPHONE Lefkofla newsroom

225 2555 ext 174/131/185

Advertising Girne/Lefkoşa Gazimağusa

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Office Manager and Subscriptions Maria Djemal 225 2555 ext 220 BY EMAIL General [email protected] Advertising [email protected] What’s On listings [email protected] www.cyprustodayonline.com Cyprus Today Online cytodayonline cyprustodayonline Publisher A-N Graphics (K›br›s) Ltd Founding Chairman Asil Nadir Vice-chairman Nur Nadir Chief Reporter Kerem Hasan

TODAY

TOMORROW

Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Max 31 Min 14 Max 30 Min 15

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Partly cloudy Partly cloudy Max 30 Min 15 Max 30 Min 15

FRIDAY

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MONDAY

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THURSDAY

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Weather this week

CONTACTS POLICE Emergencies 155 FIRE Emergencies 199 Forest fires hotline 177 AMBULANCE Emergencies 112 HOSPITAL Girne 815 2266/815 2254; Lefkoşa 228 5441; Gazimağusa 366 2876/366 5328; Güzelyurt 714 2125 CIVIL DEFENCE Any disaster/accident/ emergency: Girne 815 4985 Lefkoşa 228 3036 TELECOMMUNICATIONS Telephone faults 161 Billing information 163 ELECTRICITY Reporting electrical faults: 188 Girne 815 2223 Lefkoşa 225 3436 Gazimağusa 366 5514 Güzelyurt 714 2122 WATER Reporting water problems: Girne 444 7800

Lefkoşa 228 3315 Gazimağusa 366 4483 Güzelyurt 714 3516 MUNICIPALITIES Girne 815 2118 Lefkoşa 228 5221 Gazimağusa 366 5332 Güzelyurt 714 2018 BRITISH CEMETERY COMMITTEE 0542 874 2355, 0533 845 3495, 0542 852 0236 FOREIGN CEMETERY COMMITTEE 0392 822 2874/0533 847 6908/0542 872 4291 AIRLINES PEGASUS: www.flypgs. com/en/ Tel: 228 7311. Ercan Airport: 231 4288 TURKISH AIRLINES: www.turkishairlines. com/en-int/. Tel: 225 5026. Ercan Airport: 444 0849 ATLAS GLOBAL: www.atlasglb.com/EN Information: 231 4806

RELIGION ❐ For information call: Anglican: St Andrew’s 0542 872 4291 (temporary), email St Mark’s on info@ stmarksfamagusta.org or St Paul’s on [email protected] Catholic: St Elizabeth of Hungary 0533 870 5519; Protestant: Lefkoşa Protestant Church website: www.northcypruslpc.org/eng Islam: Religious Affairs department telephone; 0392 225 3062

A positive perspective A UKRAINIAN artist has reflected traditional Turkish Cypriot culture in a series of new paintings. Kateryna Ocheredko, 35, produced the artwork for the Cyprus Museum of Modern Arts at Near East University (NEU). The paintings are titled “Music on the Quay of Girne”, “Happy Cypriot Violinists”, “First Music Teacher. Reed Whistle” and “Happy Cypriot Woman”. Each drawing is 70cm x 100cm in size and was produced using the monotype printing technique. “In all of her works, the artist tries to ensure that life is always viewed from a positive perspective by painting people who give happiness and peace,” an NEU spokesperson said. “In addition, the painter depicted the motifs and colours of Cyprus in all her works.” Ocheredko was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1985. In 2010, she graduated from the Igor Sikorsky Graphic Faculty of the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. She is a member of the National Artists Association of Ukraine. She has participated in exhibitions in Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Turkey, Egypt, Spain and at an international open-air exhibition in China.

News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

3

Nadir book donation will ‘make children happy’

Copies of Kıbrıs Media Group vice chair Nur Nadir’s Adventures of Lisanur presented to Lefkoşa Children’s Home FIFTY copies of Kıbrıs Media Group vice chair Nur Nadir’s new colouring book called the Adventures of Lisanur have been donated to a children’s home in Lefkoşa. Lefkoşa Lions Club chair Pervin Gürler, founding chairman Ezcan Özsoy, first vice chair Dr Nüket Vural and Cyprus Today chief reporter Kerem Hasan presented the books to the

Social Services Department Lefkoşa Children’s Home on Wednesday on behalf of Mrs Nadir. The book, which is named after Mrs Nadir’s daughter and is both entertaining and educational, was published with the sponsorship of Near East Bank and Creditwest Bank. Ms Gürler said: “We are delighted when we serve people;

however the services that make children happy are our favourite services. “Mrs Nadir wanted to be here and share in our happiness with these colouring books. We thank her on behalf of our club.” Melek Alp, who is in charge of the Lefkoşa Children’s Home, thanked Mrs Nadir for her support and said that the books will “make children happy”.

Arts and crafts in the dark

Janel İkram. Below, Serenay Kesim. Rachael Green. Below, Metin Çiçekseven.

Photos: Gamze Atay

Hugh O’Neill on stage

Hugh entertains The Lodge guests

Ernie and Jackie Kestner. Below, Pauline and Paul Kennedy.

AN ARTS and crafts event was held at Karma Café in Çatalköy last Friday night. Visitors browsed stands selling handmade accessories, masks and purses while acoustic music was played.

Photos: Gamze Atay

Brian Watson and Bob Neville HUGH O’Neill took to the stage at The Lodge in Çatalköy last Friday night. Guests enjoyed their food and drinks accompanied by live music.

4

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

From front page

they will be required to enter their name and TRNC ID card number. The YSK said in a written statement that TRNC or Turkish Federated State of Cyprus ID cards or passports, police ID cards, or TRNC driving licences are all acceptable forms of identification to vote. “Should any documentation required to vote have been seized by the police, the voter should obtain a certified copy from the Police Department and attest it to the

Voters head to the ballot box Lefkoşa Supreme Election Board Secretariat,” the statement said. “Otherwise, votes cannot be cast without the required documents.” Tomorrow’s vote is the 10th Turkish Cypriot leadership election since 1974 and the eighth in the TRNC era. The late Rauf Denktaş won in 1976 and

1981 under the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus. After the TRNC was established in 1983, Mr Denktaş was elected a further four times in 1985, 1990, 1995 and 2000. He stood aside for the 2005 election, which was won by Mehmet Ali Talat. Derviş Eroğlu was elected president in 2010, before losing to Mustafa Akıncı in 2015.

Only three women have ever sought to become the leader of the Turkish Cypriots. The first was Servet Sami Dedeçay, who was a candidate in 1976, 1981 and 1985. It was 20 years until another female candidate appeared on the ballot paper, Zehra Cengiz, while Sibel Siber become the third in 2015.

‘Ghost town’ Maraş opens after 46 years By KEREM HASAN Chief Reporter THOUSANDS of people descended on the “ghost town” of Maraş on Thursday afternoon after part of the Gazimağusa suburb, which has been closed to civilian life since 1974, was reopened. The “historic” event saw members of the public swarm along freshly resurfaced roads leading to a beach, although access to the crumbling buildings is strictly off limits. People, including families with children, were allowed into Maraş, also known as Varosha, through a gate next to the Dr Fazıl Küçük stadium before walking down Democracy High Street, past Eleftheria Avenue, Ermou Street and what is known as the Ayia Triada roundabout and onto the beach. Derelict buildings, including a number of hotels, were cordoned off, including one hotel called the King George. Signs in Turkish and English have been erected warning that buildings may collapse. A Barclays bank branch with the word “Enosis” (union of Cyprus with Greece) daubed on its walls was visible. Passers-by could also see a Toyota car showroom, a municipal building and the Bilal Ağa Ottoman masjid (small mosque). The area, which is still a military zone, is open to the public every day from 9am to 5pm. Visitors must stay on the designated route. No toilet facilities are available. During five hours on Thursday a total of 2,332 people had entered the area, a police official said. No ID checks are required. Photography and filming is allowed within the designated area, but the use of drones is forbidden. As well as Turkish Cypriots, it was also noted that many Greek Cypriots visited the newly opened area of Maraş plus curious foreign nationals and international media teams. There were emotional scenes as some people were seen kissing garden walls. Speaking to Cyprus Today, National Unity Party (UBP) MP Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu said that all nationalities are allowed to visit Maraş “as well as to use the beach area”. A planned opening ceremony

Prime Minister Ersin Tatar watched by the media during the opening of Maraş on Thursday

had to be cancelled following an “intervention” from the Supreme Electoral Council on the grounds that it would be in breach of preelection rules. Instead Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, who is a candidate in tomorrow’s presidential election, entered the area with his ministers at 4.30pm following a “heroic welcome” by chanting members of the public. The premier walked up to the coastal strip and made “observations” there as flag wavers cheered and applauded him. No statement was made during the visit. Following the visit, Mr Tatar, answering questions from the press, said: “The opening of Maraş will greatly serve humanity, even before the economic benefits. The step taken is in accordance with international law. “We have taken this historical move after reaching agreement with [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan, through common will. “At present, we have opened a part of the coast. We will speedily complete the infrastructure work. What was important was for us to take this historical step. With the opening of Maraş, there will be a great economic contribution to the economy of Gazimağusa. “Maraş has been wasted for 46 years. It is first and foremost inhumane to see the ghost town wasted. For many years, the return of Maraş, as part of a fed-

eral solution, has been spoken about. “It was also previously proposed as part of confidencebuilding measures or in return for direct flights. But there are deep differences between the sides for a federal solution. So, after many years, steps have been taken which conform to international law. “The steps concerning properties will be made later. Properties will be returned through decisions made by the Immovable Property Commission. We foresee, firstly, the return of the properties to their former owners. Hundreds of Greek Cypriots have made applications. It is against human rights for these people to be prevented

from being able to return to the properties.” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said it was his “full belief” that “the pearl of the Eastern Mediterranean, Maraş, will be a symbol of peace and prosperity on the island, and also the vital point of the TRNC economy”. The surprise Maraş move, which was announced by Mr Tatar during a joint press conference with Mr Erdoğan in Ankara on Tuesday, drew harsh criticism from South Cyprus. Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades described the move as an “illegal act” and claimed that it violated UN Security Council resolutions 550 and 789. “We will not remain idle on

this issue,” Mr Anastasiades was reported to have said. A statement from Athens “condemned” Turkey and warned that the matter will be “brought before the European leaders” at meetings on October 15 and 16. In the South Cyprus town of Derinya, which borders Maraş, protests were held. The UN Security Council was set to discuss the matter yesterday in New York in a “closed session”, it was reported. UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus spokesman Aleem Siddique, said the UN was “closely monitoring” the developments. ❐ Erdoğan: We’ll make TRNC

equal member, page 10

Coalition split over opening of town THE opening of part of Maraş has caused a split in the National Unity Party (UBP) – People’s Party (HP) coalition. On Tuesday the HP announced that it was “withdrawing” its support from the coalition after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay – who founded the party but stepped down as leader earlier this year so that he could be an independent candidate in tomorrow’s presidential election – claimed that he had not been informed beforehand by Prime Minister, UBP leader and election rival Ersin Tatar. “This is not the opening of Maraş, but statements related to Maraş,” Dr Özersay said. He accused Mr Tatar of “not recognising state organs” and not “fulfilling his responsibilities to

his coalition partner”. HP officials said that while they approved of the opening of Maraş in accordance with international law, they were against it being used by Mr Tatar for his “own election advantage”. The HP triggered the collapse of the previous four-party coalition in May 2019, opening the door for a UBP-led government. They returned nine MPs at the last general election in 2018 which, when combined with the UBP’s 21 MPs, was enough to form a majority in the 50-seat Parliament. There has been no change, however, in ministerial positions since the HP’s announcement this week as Mr Tatar has yet to tender the resignation of the government to the president.

News

Young man dies in crash

A YOUNG man lost his life after the car he was driving overturned on the Güzelyurt-Lefke main road last Friday night. Mehmet Cilasun, 20, died in hospital four hours after the crash that occurred at 7pm. He had been driving “carelessly” and with “excessive speed” when he “lost control” after trying to avoid colliding with a car coming from the opposite direction during an overtaking manoeuvre, police said. His car then came off the left side of the road, striking a mound of earth and rolling over. Mr Cilasun was rushed to Cengiz Topel Hospital and then transferred to Lefkoşa State Hospital but medics there were unable to save him. His death came just a day after Ali Dikbaş, 38, who was severely injured when his vehicle hit a tree at the Mehmetçik village junction on the İskele-

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

5

Retired prison officer jailed for forgery, theft A MAN who worked at the Central Prison for 27 years found himself back at his former workplace – but this time as a convict. Retired prison officer Erdoğan Güneş was found guilty of siphoning off 178,000TL from the prison canteen accounts. He was sentenced to two years for forging documents in order to steal the money over a 10-month period four years ago, plus eight other related charges. Mr Güneş said that he stole the money because both his wife and daughter had been “very ill” and that he was struggling financially as a result. However Judge Nüvit Gazi said that his actions could not be blamed on his daughter’s and wife’s illnesses and that his sentence should serve as a “deterrent” to would-be crooks.

Drugs victim dies Mehmet Cilasun's wrecked car Karpaz main road, succumbed to his injuries. Mr Dikbaş had been in a critical condition at Lefkoşa State Hospital since September 21. He died on Thursday, October 1, a police statement said. Meanwhile three people were injured in a head-on

collision on the Lefkoşa State Hospital dual carriageway on Tuesday. The driver of one of the vehicles was arrested for causing the crash, which happened when he “lost control” due to “excessive speed and careless driving”, crossed the central

Two quarantine Man to stand trial over evaders charged alleged rape of minor TWO people have been prosecuted for failing to mention that they had travelled from the UK when attempting to cross from South Cyprus to the TRNC at the Metehan checkpoint. The two individuals, aged 18 and 52, were accused of making false statements to border officials in a bid to avoid quarantine when they crossed over on August 27, a police statement said. Meanwhile two others, who have also not been named, face charges after being caught leaving their rooms while in quarantine, police said.

A MAN will stand trial after allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl. The sexual assaults took place between April and September, İskele District Court heard during a recent hearing. The 29-year-old suspect, identified only by the initials TA, admitted to “having sex” with the girl in a field between Kumyalı and Mehmetçik and in front of a women’s learning centre in Kumyalı.

A police officer who testified before the court said that he had obtained statements from both the suspect’s and the child’s families. An examination of mobile phone records showed that the two had exchanged messages as well as “sexually explicit photos and videos”, the court heard. TA was remanded in custody for up to three months pending trial over charges of abduction and rape.

Police seize half a kilo of drugs POLICE seized more than half a kilo of drugs in separate raids in Hamitköy and Boğazköy. The Narcotics and Smuggling Prevention Directorate team discovered 393 grammes of cannabis, 195 grammes of synthetic cannabinoid and two grammes of cocaine, which were exhibited to the press last Friday, along with weighing equipment. Three people were arrested during the raids – two while “trading drugs” in a park in Hamitköy and another person in Boğazköy. They were remanded in custody by courts in Lefkoşa and Girne respectively. One of the suspects, Gürsel Ferhat, said he wanted to “see a psychiatrist and start rehabilitation”, according to a report by Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs.

reservation and collided with two cars in the opposite lanes. Elsewhere a car was destroyed after catching fire following an accident on the Lefkoşa-Gazimağusa main road on Tuesday evening. No-one was hurt.

A MOTHER who swallowed cocaine to avoid being caught by police has died. Buğra Nil Kaptan had been in a coma since September 19, a day after swallowing seven grammes of cocaine when police stopped the car she was travelling in for a routine traffic check in Gazimağusa. Doctors at the intensive care unit of Lefkoşa State Hospital declared her “brain dead” last week, as previously

reported by Cyprus Today. She died at 10pm on Thursday, October 1, according to last Saturday’s edition of Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs. Police took blood and tissue samples as evidence from an autopsy as part of investigations to confirm the cause of death. Following the autopsy Ms Kaptan, who had two children, was buried at Lefkoşa cemetery.

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

‘I will get TRNC recognised’ REBIRTH Party (YDP) leader and presidential candidate Erhan Arıklı has vowed to “get the TRNC recognised and lift the embargoes” if he wins tomorrow’s election. In a statement issued on Monday, Dr Arıklı said that “condemning” the TRNC to “helplessness” is “unacceptable” and that the “best alternative” solution in Cyprus “is the TRNC”. “I can’t accept more time to be wasted on the federation tales that have been going on for 42 years,” he said. “We and the generation before us have been fooled with this tale. I think we shouldn’t allow our children to be fooled. “It is not acceptable to condemn the TRNC to . . . helplessness. This country has several alternatives, and the best of these alternatives is the TRNC. I know that I will get the TRNC recognised and I want a chance from our people.” Dr Arıklı said that the he was the “only candidate” who would not negotiate for a federation with the Greek Cypriots. “Other [candidates] say ‘we talk about everything’ and they are misleading society. There is nothing but a federation on the negotiating table. “If you are elected and will continue the negotiations, it means that you will not talk about anything other than a federation.” Explaining his other election pledges, Dr Arıklı said: “This election will be the last presidential election. In the future, people will elect their Head of State for a Turkish Cypriot State. I will work for the change of system as the president. “Reopening [the closed part of] Maraş is our other promise. It is not possible for anyone else to open Maraş except us. Maraş can only be opened with our formula; without detriment to our acquired rights, under Turkish administration and supervision of the UN in a special status.”

‘Foreign agencies are interfering’ FOREIGN intelligence agencies are “manipulating” discussions over “technical work” between the TRNC and Turkey, Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said on Monday. He issued a statement after an online newspaper published pictures purporting to show Mr Tatar and Economy and Energy Minister Hasan Taçoy visiting Turkish government officials at a hotel in Girne. Mr Tatar said that the state “closely monitors developments” and that “no intelligence organisation and their collaborators” will be given a chance to “harm the citizens, homeland or nation” and that “all necessary legal steps will be taken”. “We see that foreign intelligence agencies continue their intervention to our people and country in this election process,” Mr Tatar said in a written statement. “These agencies are trying to manipulate the technical work between Turkey and the TRNC by showing civilians as if they are officials from INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Kudret Özersay will not “imprison” Turkish Cypriots to the Cyprus negotiating table, he said on Monday. “If I become the president, I will refuse to be imprisoned at the negotiating table,” he said. “I will work to establish a relationship of trust between the two parties and to cooperate on some issues. We should be the side that shapes and directs. This is one of the missions of the president.” Pointing out that the powersharing arrangements under the 1960 Republic of Cyprus lasted just three years, Dr Özersay said that the Greek Cypriot side has a “different understanding” of what a federal partnership means and that they are not ready to share the wealth and administration of the island. “As they are in a comfortable situation, the Greek Cypriot side will not approach positively to a

Turkey; they professionally observe Turkey’s work and mislead our society with wrong news. “These agencies first use internet newspapers for manipulation, which are also established for this purpose, then they express the lies they produce to the public through these newspapers.

‘I won’t be imprisoned to negotations’ federal partnership, unless the current conditions in Cyprus change,” he continued. “The cooperation model is a new idea that can be accepted internationally. It is possible to cooperate on some issues between the two sides without having to recognise each other. “Since the natural gas resource belongs to both sides, we can cooperate on this issue. The best example of this in the international arena is the European Union. The coal and steel cooperation turned into the market over time. It is important [to decide] which path to follow in cooperation in natural gas. If I become president, I will fulfil the task of expressing new ideas in the international arena in order to be implemented. This approach is a peaceful approach. If we do not

Denktaş ‘will lobby for direct flights’ SERDAR Denktaş will lobby for direct flights between the TRNC and Azerbaijan if he is elected as the next president. Mr Denktaş, an independent candidate in tomorrow’s vote, said during a TV interview this week that his first overseas trips if he wins would be to Ankara and Baku. He said that direct flights to and from Azerbaijan existed in 2003 and that he would try to reinstate them if he becomes the next TRNC leader. “Diplomatic efforts should be made [for direct flights between North Cyprus and Azerbaijan] until the end of the day,” he said. He also called for a “brand new Constitution” because the current one, approved in 1985, is “too detailed and causes unprofitableness”. “Considering this, a new system should be contemplated,” he said. “The Constitution should be practical and include the articles for faulty

acts. In order to achieve this, a peaceful environment should be created for dialogue between the community. I believe in myself on this.” Mr Denktaş said that he would hold discussions with the Greek Cypriots to allow direct trade between Turkey and South Cyprus. “With an amendment to the Green Line regulations, the gates to Turkey could be opened to South Cyprus via ourselves,” he said. “Rather than transporting goods via Greece to South Cyprus, Turkey could transport them via North Cyprus, and vice versa. We should talk to the Greek Cypriots and show them this opportunity. If we cannot live united, we can live together.” Mr Denktaş also indicated that a “common objective” should be formed between the TRNC and Turkey, adding: “We should support our steps on Cyprus and in the Mediter-

“Our people should not worry about these news [items]. No ‘unexplained’ meeting was held, neither by me nor ministers.” Meanwhile Mr Tatar, who is the National Unity Party’s candidate in tomorrow’s presidential election, visited the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Industry and businesses and organisations in Lefkoşa on his campaign trail this week. “We envision a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which has all economic wheels working and seek a secure future with the support of guarantor Turkey,” he said during one of the visits. “If we win, the TRNC will become more powerful and welfare and prosperity will be promoted. We believe in an equal sovereignty formula.” Highlighting the importance of investments in the economy Mr Tatar said: “The Old TRNC remains in the past. It has changed in accordance with the changes in the region . . . If we carry out our struggle on the right path, the economy will be stronger.”

ranean. Plans of 50 years are not and will not be accepted by the Greek Cypriots.” On the topic of Maraş, Mr Denktaş said the area could act as a “joint zone for trading and businesses, thus contributing to both economies”. “We have the right to a 50 per cent stake in resources in all areas,” he said. “We have the right to speak on issues of the Eastern Mediterranean.” In a separate TV interview, Mr Denktaş said that the presidential elections will herald the start of a “new Denktaş period and new times”. ❐ MR DENKTAŞ became the first presidential candidate to sign a gay rights pledge this week, according to the Cyprus Queer Association. The “LGBTI+ protocol” calls on all candidates in the presidential election to promise to put issues such as “sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression” on the agenda if elected.

negotiate anything except a federal solution, we will get a negative result.” Dr Özersay stated that he proposed a “comprehensive conference” on the hydrocarbons issue a few years ago and that the idea was now “being discussed”. He said such a conference, which was recently mooted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, presents an opportunity for the TRNC to become a “playmaker” in the region. “If we can hold a comprehensive conference on the Eastern Mediterranean, we can be the playmaker here,” he said. “There is a new balance of power being shaped in the region. A president that produces new ideas and policies in order to seek the Turkish Cypriots’ rights in

the Eastern Mediterranean, acts in coordination with Turkey, makes continuous contacts internationally will benefit the Turkish Cypriot people. With my knowledge and experience in this field, I will make them negotiate with us. I am confident in these matters.” During a recent visit to Taşkınköy Sports Club in Lefkoşa, Dr Özersay said: “The USA’s struggle to remove Russia from the Mediterranean is very important for them. Therefore, the new president has to claim the Turkish Cypriots’ rights, considering these developments in the region. “These subjects will come to the forefront, instead of negotiations about the Cyprus issue. “A president who is knowledgeable and experienced about these topics, can claim the Turkish Cypriots’ rights better.”

TCs want peace not tension — Erhürman THE people of North Cyprus want “peace rather than tension” and “neither manipulations nor interventions serve democracy”, presidential candidate and Republican Turkish Party leader Tufan Erhürman said this week. “Just like London of England or Ankara of Turkey, Lefkoşa is the central sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” he said. “There is a need to reflect the public will in the polls without manipulation, and even if there is no [manipulation] in reality, [this is] the public perception. “Tension would cause the community to split in two, which is not accept-

able in terms of democracy. This is, in fact, a cold war tactic: divide, drag the community to different sides, create enemies, create ‘others’ and create tensions. These [tactics] are not only old but also the wrong tactics.” Regarding the duties of the president, Dr Erhürman said: “The president will work on the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus along with the negotiations [with the Greek Cypriots] and work at home and abroad. “Economy, health and education will be on his agenda as well. He will embrace all parts of society and unite them.”

Station excluding 5 candidates ruled legal A PRIVATE TV station’s decision to exclude five of the 11 presidential candidates from a live debate did not break election laws, the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) said this week. The YSK was responding to a complaint from one of the candidates who was not invited to the programme, Alpan Uz. In its ruling, the YSK said that its remit did not cover private TV channels and their content. In a separate case, however, the

YSK upheld a complaint from independent candidate Ahmet Boran about the state broadcaster BRTK. It ruled that BRTK had failed to provide “equal opportunity” to all candidates. Meanwhile Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP) leader and presidential candidate Fuat Türköz Çiner refused this week to take part in a BRTK election programme, accusing the state broadcaster of “unequal treatment”.

News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

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Asil Nadir’s address to the nation broadcast CONTINUING negotiations for a “peace” deal with the Greek Cypriots would be a “waste of time” Kıbrıs Media Group founding chairman Asil Nadir has said. He called on people to “be careful” of those trying to drive a wedge between the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey. Mr Nadir made the comments in a rare live “address to the nation” broadcast on Kıbrıs TV, ahead of tomorrow’s presidential election. Speaking on Tuesday, he said: “For many years, they wasted our time for half a century in negotiations. As though there will be a referendum, as though this or that will happen . . . Enough! “These people, who have been incompetent up to now, are running for office, and making various pledges whilst steering our future. I wonder what these people have done for us up to now?” Inviting the “loyal and patient” nation to go out and vote, Mr Nadir added: “When voting, do not ignore your loss of the past half a century. Let us vote for someone who will certainly not cause a further waste of time.” Referring to 2004, when Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of the “Annan Plan” by around 65 per cent, but roughly 76 per cent of Greek Cypriots rejected it in simultaneous referendums, the media magnate said: “We put forward a serious struggle in 2004 to reach a two-state setting that allowed us to govern ourselves . . . the Greek Cypriots deceived the whole world and put them to sleep by saying ‘we want peace’. “Many promises, including the lifting of the embargoes and the like, were made to us . . . if only all these promises had been written down prior to our 65 per cent ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum. However the leaders we elected did not secure this. “Because of the unsolved Cyprus problem, which has been ongoing for half a century, hundreds of our young people and families have emigrated from North Cyprus. “In order not to allow further migration from our beautiful country, in order not to waste anymore time, we will be more careful when voting. The rulers of this land belong to our people, and those who are governing us are there to serve the public.” Stating that Turkish Cypriots “have for years showed great sacrifices and courage

which cannot be ignored,” Mr Nadir added: “With the support of Turkey our small community has been able to have a homeland. “Yes, we have a homeland, but have we been able to stand up for it?” He complained that the Turkish Cypriots “deserved to live honourably” by those governing the country. “Do not give value to those who will cause us a further loss of time, to those who will cause our mothers, fathers and children to migrate. Do this so that those who come to office from now on can serve you the way that you want.” On the issue of Turkey-TRNC relations, Mr Nadir said that it was “important” not to forget the “contributions provided to the TRNC”. “Thank goodness that Turkey, our motherland, is by our side. And I say this with great honour. Like South Cyprus, Europe also does not like the Turkish Cypriots. Our life, our future existence, rests on the sympathy of Turkey towards us. Once we lay claim to this country, and bring the economic structure, justice and political stability to a point of being respected, then the respect of the world will increase towards us. The contribution of Turkey to the Turkish Cypriots is huge. The things Turkey has done for our economic prosperity, the development of our infrastructure, and defence should not be ignored. “Let us work and produce . . . With the support of Turkey, we shall open up to the rest of the world. It is then that the country will become self-sustaining and will gain the respect of the world.” Referring to those in the country who were “working to divide us from Turkey,” Mr Nadir said: “Why should we be uncomfortable with Turkey for following issues that relate to our own and [Turkey’s] rights? “There is no meaning or benefit in irritating Turkey on these matters. Do not allow for us to be labelled disloyal and harming our relations with Turkey. “Let us continue our lives in a homeland where we are governing ourselves, where there is political stability, and forming relations with the world in a manner that is under our own control. The time to live in an honourable homeland is now.”

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Turkey water back on after repairs complete FRESH water from Turkey is once again flowing into North Cyprus after repairs to the undersea pipeline that was damaged in January were finally completed following several setbacks. A live feed of the water gushing into the Geçitköy reservoir was beamed back to a press conference in Ankara between Prime Minister Ersin Tatar and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday afternoon. Mr Erdoğan said the pipeline, which he and TRNC figures inaugurated in 2015, had been fixed in the shortest possible time, despite the difficult conditions engineers had encountered at sea. Turkey’s Agriculture Minister Bekir

Pakdemirli and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Dursun Oğuz spoke to Mr Tatar and Mr Erdoğan live via video link from the Geçitköy dam. Six ships and 325 workers spent a total of 108 days to fix the pipeline. Mr Erdoğan said: “We are delighted that the pipeline is active again, as the water issue is important to the Turkish Cypriots. “Our goal is to provide an additional 127 million TL to the TRNC economy, by opening 71,540 hectares of land to irrigation.” Meanwhile it was reported on Thursday that the TRNC had used almost 12 million tonnes of water from local resources from January to October.

Agriculture and Natural Resources Ministry undersecretary Emirali Deveci said that the 11,820,686 tonnes of local water had been supplied to homes only. Mr Deveci added that the water from Turkey was now being resupplied for domestic use as of Thursday. Cyprus Turkish Municipalities Union head Mahmut Özçınar said that the water in natural resources should be used “economically” by “storing it up”. Stating that the water coming from Turkey should immediately be used for agriculture, Mr Özçınar said: “We should reduce drawing water from our local natural resources.”

Yacht explodes near Girne harbour

TRAFFIC jams will be a “thing of the past” once the widening of the Girne-Alsancak-Lapta road has been completed. Work to turn the busy route into a dual carriageway neared completion this week. It is hoped that the project, which is being financed by Turkey, will bring an end to rush-hour tailbacks.

A SIX-METRE long yacht “exploded” 500m off Girne Yacht Harbour on Wednesday evening. Four people, including two children, “cheated death” by jumping into the sea, according to a report by Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs. Ömür Erçika, Benon Selengin, Rüzgar Erçika and Pars Ozan were rescued by coastguard teams and Lord’s Palace hotel water sports employee Alihan Seçilmiş. They were taken to hospital as a “precautionary” measure. The burning yacht later sank. The explosion that sparked the fire occurred at around 6.30pm. It was believed to have been caused by a “build-up of gas in the engine” while owner Mr Erçika was trying to restart the engine after it had stalled, a police statement said. An investigation was launched into the incident.

‘Rainfall below average, the rest of autumn warm’ RAINFALL in the coming months will be below average, the head of the Met Office warned this week. Raif İlker Buran said that the rest of autumn will be “warm and semi-arid” and that rains will be “below normal for the season”. “We expect rainfall in October, November, February and March to be below average, whereas in

December and January it will be more around the average,” he said. “Every drop of rain counts. We need to put into force all mechanisms in order to benefit from the rains.” Mr Buran said that climate change was to blame for both drought and floods in North

Cyprus. “Our country . . . is in the region that is most affected by global warming and climate change,” he said. “This is proven by the average temperature rise since 2015. We can say that extraordinary meteorological incidents will be more frequent and severe in the

coming years. “According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2019 was the second hottest year of the last 14 decades . . . All of the hottest years have come since 2015.” Mr Buran added that temperatures this week, which reached almost 40°C on Wednesday in

some parts of Cyprus, were well above the average October daytime highs of 26C-29°C and came after record temperatures were set in September. Mr Buran said that there had been no dust clouds descending on the island since May, when temperatures regularly exceeded 40°C.

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

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Turkey, Pakistan discuss ‘growing cooperation’ FOREIGN ministers of Turkey and Pakistan on Wednesday discussed “growing cooperation on regional issues.” “Always a pleasure to speak to brother @MevlutCavusoglu. Discussed matters of mutual interest with a focus on growing

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (left) and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi

cooperation on regional issues,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi wrote on Twitter. “We deeply appreciate Turkey’s unwavering stance on #IIOJK,” he said, referring to the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. “Have invited FM Çavuşoğlu [to Pakistan] & look forward to hosting him soon,” he added. “In 2017, the 70th anniversary of the

establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Pakistan was celebrated through several cultural events, which were organised in both countries.” In February, the sixth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan.

‘Our military in Qatar serves Gulf stability’

Erdoğan discusses bilateral ties, regional issues with Qatar, Kuwait emirs during single-day visit TURKEY’S military presence in Qatar serves the stability and peace not only for Qatar but the whole Gulf region, the Turkish president said after he paid a single-day working visit to the Gulf states of Qatar and Kuwait on Wednesday. The president was welcomed by a Kuwaiti delegation headed by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Turkey’s Ambassador to Kuwait Ayşe Hilal Sayan Koytak. Later in the day he met Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a closed-door meeting that lasted more than an hour, the duo discussed opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation and also exchanged views on regional and international issues. “No one except for those making plans of chaos should be disturbed by Turkey and the Turkish military presence in the Gulf,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in an interview with Qatari daily The Peninsula published on Thursday.  Touching on Turkey’s position in Syria, Erdoğan highlighted that the country has no eye on anyone’s territory and never permanent in the civil war-torn country. “When the crisis is permanently resolved, our presence in Syria will come to an end.”

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019). On Libya, he said that the Government of National Accord (GNA) is the only legitimate structure in Libya and the legitimacy will succeed there while the putschists will lose. Libya has been torn by civil war since the ousting of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The GNA was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement. But efforts for a longterm political settlement have failed due to a military offensive by forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. He went on to say that Turkey will continue to work together with the US in all platforms, including Nato, on such issues as fighting against terrorism, democracy and termination of conflicts. Also touching on the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Karabakh, the Turkish leader said: “Armenia’s attempt to show Turkey

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is welcomed by a Qatari delegation headed by Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah during a visit to Doha, Qatar on Wednesday within the conflict through various tricks after its heavy defeat during its last occupation effort has been proof of its confinement and despair.” The clashes began on September 27, when Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties. Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan.

Police arrest 21 suspects for Fetö links AT LEAST 21 suspects were arrested in Turkey for alleged links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (Fetö), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, a security source said on Thursday.

Prosecutors in the northwestern Sakarya province have issued arrest warrants for 29 suspects, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Anti-terror police teams have apprehended 21 of the suspects in operations in 10 different provinces, with efforts on to track down the remaining ones, the source added.

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Erdoğan: We’ll make TRNC equal member By ELTAN HAL‹L TURKEY is “determined” to make the TRNC an “equal and honourable member of the global system”, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday. President Erdoğan was speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Ersin Tatar in Ankara where they announced the completion of repairs to the water pipeline connecting the two countries and the opening of part of the fenced-off North Cyprus town of Maraş. Describing Turkey as the “rising star of its region and the world” Mr Erdoğan said: “We are determined to continue our struggle until the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has politically and economically become an equal and honourable member of the global system.” Referring to Maraş, Mr Erdoğan said that it is an “indisputable fact” that the area is part of the TRNC’s territory. “I know very well what the re-opening of the closed part of Maraş means to the Turkish Cypriots,” he said. “It is also meaningful that this development has occurred amid increasing attacks to destroy the Turkish Cypriots’ five century-long presence on the island. We know that it will upset many places.

“However, they should know that it has always been the Turks in Cyprus that have shown patience. It has always been us. Unfortunately, our patience has gone unreciprocated.” Mr Erdoğan accused Greece and the Greek Cypriots of blocking a solution to the Cyprus problem since 1963 because of their “deal-breaker” attitude. “They want the Turkish Cypriots to pay the price for the deadlock,” he said. “Maraş, which is one of the most precious districts of the Cyprus island, has remained closed as a result of this deadlock. “Following the last multilateral talks in 2017, it has been clearly seen that there is no longer a possibility for a comprehensive solution in Cyprus. After that, we have

decided to build Cyprus’s future together on the basis of concrete facts instead of dreams. “As you [Mr Tatar] have mentioned, it is an indisputable fact that Maraş is a territory of the TRNC. The decision about it rests with the Turkish Cypriot authorities. We support to the end your decision to open up the beautiful coastline of Maraş to your people within the framework of the roadmap you drafted in light of this fact. “I believe Maraş, which used to be the favourite holiday destination in the entire Eastern Mediterranean, will regain its former glory.” Mr Erdoğan said that he was “glad” that people will be able to “benefit from Maraş’s coastline” and stressed that “no private properties on the area are being opened”, therefore “nullifying” the Greek Cypriot side’s objections to the move. “We hope that the ongoing works, which are carried out by respecting property rights, will be completed as soon as possible and that Maraş will be opened for use in its entirety,” he continued. “We stand ready to give all kinds of support to the TRNC authorities regarding this issue. “Turning Maraş into a favourite tourism destination in the region is an opportunity that will greatly stimulate the

TRNC economy. “We can receive any moment now good news from our ongoing natural gas and oil exploration activities in the region. When we take this into consideration, along with the water pipeline, we can say that the revenues from energy, agriculture and tourism will multiply in the period ahead. “As the TRNC grows bigger, richer and stronger, the shackles of the embargoes placed on it will begin to break one by one. “With the support of Turkey’s political, diplomatic and military power, we are moving towards the point, which our elders describe as ‘force changes the game’. “The strong will Prime Minister Tatar displays on all these issues is an important opportunity for the bright and prosperous future of the Turkish Cypriots. I once again wish that the decision to open Maraş may yield auspicious results for the Turkish Cypriots.” Mr Erdoğan also touched on the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean over offshore energy exploration and exploitation rights. “For us, there are two aspects of the Eastern Mediterranean issue: the first one is to protect Turkey’s rights on its continental shelf. The second one is to secure the Turkish Cypriots’ rights and interests over the natural resources around the island.”

News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

EU slammed for embargo denial By KEREM HASAN A TOP EU official has been slammed for saying that the bloc has “not imposed a trade embargo on the Turkish Cypriot community”. European Commission Director-General Mario Nava made the comments in response to a letter from TRNC resident Dr Don Campbell-Thomson. Mr Nava was replying on behalf of EU commissioner Elisa Ferreira, who Dr Campbell-Thomson had written to. In the letter, signed on September 24 and seen by Cyprus Today, Mr Nava said: “The EU has not imposed a trade embargo on the Turkish Cypriot community. On the contrary, the EU aims to foster the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community via financial support through the Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community and by monitoring the implementation of the Green Line Regulation.” The letter claimed that the EU’s “support” in the area of trade “has helped to improve product quality and health standards, as experts from EU Member States carry out inspections to ensure that products cross the Green Line, such as potatoes, tomatoes and citrus fruits, comply with relevant EU legislation”. Mr Nava added that trade across the Green Line had grown “fivefold since 2004, reaching a volume of approximately 5.4 million euros in 2019”. Dr Campbell-Thomson, 77, who lives in Gemikonağı and who served in Cyprus in the British forces in 1963, told this paper of his “surprise” at the response. “I was surprised to read the response that claims the Turkish Cypriots have not been embargoed by the EU,” he said. “Although I am British, I feel very much a part of North Cyprus and the injustices impact on all of us. For a claim to be made that there are no embargoes is outright ludicrous.” Originally from Paisley, Scotland, Dr Campbell-Thomson said he had “witnessed the attacks of Eoka in 1963”. “The great injustices on the Turkish Cypriots in terms of their right to life, trade and travel freely, must be ended,” he said. “The EU is supposed to be a project of

Mario Nava

cooperation between nations. But they have let down the Turkish Cypriots, who said yes to the ‘Annan Plan’ in 2004, while rewarding the Greek Cypriots with membership.” Cyprus Today columnist and British Residents Society honorary president Stephen Day commented: “If ever an official letter totally distorts the truth, this EU Commission reply surpasses all previous attempts to do so. “By granting the Greek Cypriot ‘Republic of Cyprus’ membership of the EU, despite their vote against acceptance of the UN Annan peace plan, and failing to honour promises made to the Turkish Cypriots that all embargoes would be lifted if they voted for that plan, the EU reinforced, as never before, the imbalance between the way the two Cypriot communities are treated, thereby ensuring that any continuing ‘peace talks’ were doomed to failure before they began. “Hence the continued trade embargoes, which exist with no foreseeable end in sight. If the clown who wrote this reply really believes such drivel then (Covid permitting) he should tryhopping on the next ‘direct flight’ from Brussels to Ercan. Deluding the world is one thing. Not content with that, the EU is now deluding itself.” Association of Turkish Cypriots Abroad UK representative Mehmet Hüseyin said: “The Turkish Cypriots have been isolated and are unable to trade directly despite

promises by the then EU Enlargement Commissioner, Günter Verheugen, who famously said that he had felt ‘fooled’ by the Greek Cypriots, as did German Chancellor Angela Merkel, following the Greek Cypriot refusal of the ‘Annan Plan’ in 2004. “For the EU to continue to make false claims that there are no embargoes because Turkish Cypriots can trade through the Green Line regulation is a misrepresentation of the facts. “The fact is that Turkish Cypriots should not be restricted from trading directly [with the EU], which was an EU promise that was never kept. We have had enough of these lies.”

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‘TRNC should follow Kosovo’s process for recognition’ THE TRNC should seek international recognition just like Kosovo, an MP has said. National Unity Party (UBP) Gazimağusa deputy Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu issued a written stateOğuzhan ment on Monday Hasipoğlu that said: “It is time for the Turkish Cypriot people to demand that the path for recognition be opened, and understand that no agreement can be made with the Greek Cypriots.” Stating that Kosovo’s process of becoming an independent state can shed light on the steps to be taken by the Turkish Cypriot side, Mr Hasipoğlu continued: “As it was stated in the UN reports, the final phase of the [Cyprus settlement] negotiation process was held in Crans-Montana in 2017, and now the Turkish Cypriots have the right to demand recognition of their independence like Kosovo. “Kosovo used be a province of Serbia. However, they found themselves at the negotiating table after the injustices and death of hundreds of people. Just like us, they held negotiations for a federation under the auspices of the UN. “These negotiations lasted only two years, and after two years they realised that they could not establish a joint state with the Serbs and requested the UN to end the federation negotiations. “Following this request, they fought for their independence demand in the international arena, and in the end, the International Court of Justice recognised their demand [and] Kosovo became an independent state.” Mr Hasipoğlu said that Kosovo has now been recognised by over 100 countries, despite the fact it is not recognised by the UN. “We have been negotiating for a federation for almost 40 years,” he added. “Certain UN parameters have been established over the years. However, in the current situation, both sides have a different understanding of what a ‘federation’ and ‘UN parameters’ mean.

Call for TC memorial in Tochni UK ‘concerned’ over Maraş A MONUMENT should be erected in South Cyprus in memory of the 84 Turkish Cypriots who were rounded up and killed by Greek Cypriot militia in August 1974, MEP Niyazi Kızılyürek said this week. Dr Kızılyürek made the call for a memorial in Tochni after a new sports park there was opened last week and reportedly dedicated to the memory of a Greek Cypriot, Minas Antoniou, who went missing from the village. Calling for the Turkish Cypriots to be “honoured” in a similar manner, which he said would contribute to “peace and reconciliation” between the two sides, Dr Kızılyürek, an MEP for the Greek Cypriot party Akel, said: “We want a united homeland, and the road to a united homeland passes through the acceptance of the crimes of both sides.” Dr Kızılyürek said that he had made a previous call for the Tochni (Taşkent) Turkish Cypriot victims to be remembered with a permanent memorial in 2015 but that the idea had been rejected by Greek Cypriot municipality officials “for numerous reasons”.

The memorial to Minas Antoniou in Tochni

THE UK is “concerned” over plans by Turkey and the TRNC to reopen the Gazimağusa suburb of Maraş, European Neighbourhood and Americas Minister Wendy Morton has said. Ms Morton’s remarks came in a letter in response to pro-Greek Cypriot Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale. Located on the east coast of the island and forming part of North Cyprus, Maraş, also known as Varosha, has been a military zone since 1974. “The UK fully supports all relevant [UN] Security Council resolutions relating to the issue of Varosha, including Resolutions 550 and 789,” Ms Morton said in the letter, seen by Cyprus Today, dated September 25. “We are aware that, on

Wendy Morton Sir Roger Gale August 5 2020, a meeting took place between Mr [Ersin] Tatar and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at which it was reported that they discussed the situation in Varosha. “UK officials have previously made clear our concerns on the issue of Varosha to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara.” The letter stated that “elements of the relevant

resolutions” make clear that “attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its original inhabitants [are] admissible and calls for the transfer of that area to the administration of the UN”. Ms Morton added: “The British government continues to be a strong supporter of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Cyprus issue, based on the internationally accepted model of a bizonal, bicommunal federation.”

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

British TC inspires and empowers with launch of her new charity which aims to help women receiving cancer treatment

‘Wigs for Heroes’ By KEREM HASAN Chief Reporter A BRITISH Turkish Cypriot cancer patient in the UK who was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer has spoken of how she was inspired to launch a new charity to help women to get their ideal wig. Meryem (also known as Kaz) Foncette, 34, from Tottenham, London, has started up her own charity called “Wigs for Heroes” to help younger female cancer patients at North Middlesex Hospital in north London. Having been first diagnosed in May 2017 with breast cancer after discovering a lump while having a shower, Mrs Foncette endured a comprehensive chemotherapy treatment programme. After six months the 4cm lump had been shrunk to a point where doctors were able to remove it surgically. She then went through radiotherapy and immunotherapy, lasting a total of 15 months. Speaking to Cyprus Today, Mrs Foncette said: “When I was told I had breast

cancer, time came to a standstill . . . [I] associated chemotherapy with death. And, of course, I could not imagine myself being without hair!” “More than the thought of dying, I was concerned about losing my hair. It’s a terrifying thought . . . looking ill . . . all that stereotype stuff. For Turkish women, hair is our thing, it forms part of our beauty, our identity.” In 2019 her cancer returned, but had not yet spread, so doctors performed a 10hour operation to remove her breast and construct a new one. She is now in remission. Her chemotherapy lasted for eight weeks, but in August of that year, she had heart failure due to the cancer medication. She is now focusing on strengthening her heart. Mrs Foncette was shown the available wigs at the NHS wig shop at the start of the cancer treatment. “I was gobsmacked,” she recalled. “They pulled out a wig from a box. I was like ‘what on earth is this?’ The wigs were not appropriate for a 30-year-old woman, but more for a 90-year old woman! They

were short, grey and with no style. I thought ‘if they can’t even sort out a suitable wig, what chance have I got? How can I get through this? “I found out that 10 per cent of women, based on surveys, refuse to undergo a treatment programme because of the fear of losing their hair. “So I went and met different people and asked for their views. It hit me that there was a lack of direction as to where

people should go for advice and assistance on finding suitable wigs.” Mrs Foncette said she was also spurred on to set up her charity by the cost of wigs. “A modacrylic (synthetic fibre) wig, for example, costs around £150 to buy in a store, but is available for £74.15p with an NHS wig prescription,” she said. “You can also get a partial human hair wig for £196.40p with the NHS prescription, or a full, bespoke human hair wig for £287.20p. “It’s a week’s worth of shopping. A wig is presented as an item of luxury and not a necessity. “So in 2018, I formed [Wigs for Heroes] — which has gone big online — only for North Middlesex hospital patients. But I intend on expanding this to be able to give grants and cooperate with other charities, including with cancer charities in North Cyprus.” While finishing chemotherapy and immunotherapy, Mrs Foncette shared her story and created an online community, which helped raise £6,000. “When I lost my hair, it was a process

of self-discovery,” she said. “It was finding out who I was again. Shopping became . . . not exactly my therapy, but the thing I could go to for happiness. “It’s about empowering people and making them feel a bit better about themselves, and not letting them feel that nobody is on their side.” Mrs Foncette “deferred” her first chemotherapy in 2017 by one week in order to go with her friends to the Glastonbury festival. “You know how it is, those tickets are like gold dust, so I said: ‘I want to let my hair down with my friends while I’m still able to’.” Mrs Foncette said her family roots are from the Karpaz village of Yenierenköy. “I love North Cyprus and Yenierenköy,” she said. “That little community spirit and solidarity that exists in the village is what I really miss.” She married Matthew in 2011, and is a part-time barber and blogger, having been forced to quit her job in HR due to her illness.

KOCAISMAIL: WIGS SHOULD BE SEEN AS PART OF CANCER TREATMENT ‘AND NOT A LUXURY’ HELP Those with Cancer Association (Tulips) founder and chairman Raziye Kocaismail (pictured above) said wigs should be seen as part of cancer treatment “and not a luxury”. “During breast cancer awareness month it is important to remember that there are different elements of treatment. Wigs are not a luxury. They are part of the treatment. “This is why cancer patients [in North Cyprus] receive free wigs, made from donations of hair from younger people that is then posted to a wigmaking centre in İstanbul. “There, wigs are made with long hair that patients are easily able to shape and style at will.” Recalling her own cancer treatment, Mrs Kocaismail added: “When I was 42 years old and had been diagnosed with cancer in the UK, there was no suitable wig, so I was wearing a head scarf to conceal my hair loss. It really is a sensitive issue for both men and women. “There were times when I believed that the chemotherapy was not working because I was not looking beautiful. I did not even want to look in the mirror. “It is important that each patient is given that confidence and care, because ‘treatment’ is not just about having chemo or radiotherapy. It includes having a suitable wig that makes the patient happy and confident.” TRNC cancer patients receive free wigs as part of their treatment, Mrs Kocaismail added.

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Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Students to flood into North Cyprus UNIVERSITY students have started to arrive in the TRNC after the government laid on charter flights to bring them. As reported by Cyprus Today last week, the lack of flights and high cost of tickets due to the Covid-19 pandemic meant that many students were unable to reach North Cyprus for the start of the new term, raising fears of further economic damage. Universities had announced that they will provide distance learning alongside face-to-face education. Education officials stated that around 30,000-35,000 students, including new registrations for the 2020-2021 academic year, are expected to arrive over the coming weeks. Students’ quarantine costs will be covered by the state and stringent health measures are in place at Ercan airport to deal with the increase in arrivals. Passengers without masks and visitors are not allowed into the terminal building and thermal cameras are in place to check everyone’s body temperature. The terminal building and baggage handling areas have

been disinfected. In a written statement, Finance Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu said: “All quarantine costs, including accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner, will be covered by the state. “We have no doubt that the students coming to the TRNC have great importance for our tradesmen. However, our main concern is that all students have a quality education in a healthy environment.” Meanwhile around 75 per cent of a 13,700 quota for university places for Turkish students has been filled, National Education and Culture Minister Nazım Çavuşoğlu announced last Friday. “Our students should not worry, we will provide a safe and healthy education environment as well as providing quarantine accommodation free of charge,” he said. Near East University, Girne American University and the European University of Lefke are the three most popular universities of choice for new students from Turkey, according to data provided by the government.

KTAMS accused the government of not paying health workers' overtime

Students arriving at Ercan airport after extra flights were laid on

Rise in child abuse during pandemic THERE has been a rise in cases of child abuse and neglect during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was claimed this week. Social services expert Barış Başel said that he was aware of recent cases involving physical, mental and sexual abuse. Neglect in the form of families failing to provide children’s food, education and health needs has also increased, he said in an interview with Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs. Abuse was not only carried out by adults, but also by other children, particularly secondary school age children, through the use of audio and video recordings that are used for “blackmail”, Mr Başel said. Children are experiencing “growing pains” because of social media, Mr Başel added.

Hürrem Tulga

Barış Başel

“They may want to lose weight, even if they are not overweight; or build a muscular appearance to be liked by their

peers,” he said, adding that children as young as 15 had asked for cosmetic surgery. He said that children are individuals, not an “extension of their parents”, who should “embrace them” rather than “setting limits” in order to “leave open the door for communication”. Mr Başel also said that the age limit for entry to “night clubs” should be raised to 21 and that children should not be “socialising” through “alcohol and smoking”. Parents should not let strangers “touch their children publicly” and “give the impression that such actions are normal”. Mr Başel also criticised some sections of the press for revealing the identities of abuse victims or the abusers, which created additional “stress and pressure on the children”.

Shopkeepers, craftspeople suffering after loss of trade CRAFTSPEOPLE and shopkeepers are suffering because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cyprus Turkish Shopkeepers’ and Artisans’ Union general coordinator Hürrem Tulga said this week. Speaking to Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs, Mr Tulga said that the economic conditions are getting worse “day by day”

Civil servants protest over unpaid wages

due to the loss of trade. Mr Tulga said that members of his organisation are “not able to pay their rents or bills” and that their situation is “worse than in March” when North Cyprus went into lockdown. Shoe and bag shops have lost almost all their income, while hair salons have seen takings plummet by “70 per cent” Mr Tulga said.

Business losses are “getting worse” following universities’ decision to start the autumn term online meaning many students have decided to stay in their home countries. “Many shops have closed down. Even supermarkets and butchers have losses. The fall in value of the Turkish lira is also affecting people’s purchasing power.”

MEMBERS of the Cyprus Turkish Civil Servants’ Union (KTAMS) held a protest in front of the Finance Ministry last Friday due to unpaid overtime of health workers. KTAMS head Güven Bengihan accused the government of failing take any steps in order to overcome the problems of health workers who have put in “extra efforts during the pandemic and suffered from social problems”. Mr Bengihan said that health workers were owed five months of overtime payments despite the Finance Ministry “making savings of 120 million TL” by not increasing employees’ cost of living allowance for the last four months. He claimed that almost 200 people have been hired “illegally” as nurses and also asked for an “explanation” as to why the Finance Ministry’s website showed that 800 million TL had been received in the form of a grant from Turkey, while only 500 million TL had been spent. Meanwhile members of the Mağusa Turkish General Labour Union protested outside Gazimağusa Municipality with the participation of Dev-İş Association chair Koral Aşam and General Labour Union chair Ömer Naşit. Protesters held placards with words such as “You have put social distancing to our salaries” and wore black t-shirts with the words “Labour is the highest value for us, what about you?”. Mağusa Turkish General Labour Union leader Halil Karagil said that the protest was in reaction to “problems that have piled up” and that, contrary to claims made, the protesters are “not linked to any political party”. Mr Karagil said that Gazimağusa Municipality staff members have not paid for their overtime “for about a year” and that salaries “are not paid on time”. Dev-İş chief Koral Asam said that “sultan ” mayors should be “reined in” and that seasonal workers are recruited for “political benefits”.

Protesters outside Gazimağusa Municipality

News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

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‘New hospital will open this month’ Fully-equipped facility will have a 100-bed capacity

Five new ambulances have been shipped from Turkey to North Cyprus. Right, equipment being unloaded at the hospital site. THE new emergency hospital being built in Lefkoşa will be opened by the end of the month, an MP said on Tuesday. Governing National Unity Party MP Özdemir Berova said in an interview on Kıbrıs TV that work was continuing at speed and that even the “biggest countries in the world” had struggled to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Berova said that the number of ventilators for Covid-19 patients had increased from “15 to 20” at the start of the pandemic in

March, to “150 today” and that the TRNC had successfully managed the pandemic “with very little money”. Funded by Turkey, the construction of the emergency hospital is largely completed. Health Minister Ali Pilli, speaking to Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper Kıbrıs, said that the hospital would satisfy a “huge need”. He also announced that eight lorry-loads of medical equipment had arrived from Mersin, Turkey, as well as five new ambulances.

The emergency hospital, which is being built on land next to the Lefkoşa State Hospital car park, will initially be used for Covid-19 cases before being opened up for other uses. Dr Pilli said that around 500 workers and 51 construction vehicles have been working on the new hospital “24/7”. It will have a capacity of 100 beds, 24 of which will be for intensive care patients. There will also be six operating theatres, a laboratory, and MRI, ultrasound,

tomography and X-ray units. The number of people receiving treatment for Covid-19 has fallen in recent weeks following the introduction of new measures in September. According to Health Ministry figures released on Thursday evening, 43 people were being cared for. The total number of coronavirus tests conducted in the TRNC since March is 184,223, with 789 people testing positive, the vast majority of whom have

recovered. One Covid-19 patient is in intensive care, while the death toll remains at four.

Health services ‘insufficient’ for pandemic ‘Polling stations should be HEALTH services and quarantine centres are “insufficient” for the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cyprus Turkish Doctors’ Union (KTTB) said this week. The cost of providing a centralised quarantine system is a “huge burden” on the Health Ministry, the KTTB stressed. It called for the immediate

introduction of a “home quarantine” system instead. KTTB chair Özlem Gürkut and Preventive Medicine and Public Health Manager Emre Vudalı stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that young and elderly patients who only experience mild symptoms or do not have any other illnesses could be taken care of

at their homes, whereas patients who have “heavy pneumonia” or other illnesses should be taken to hospital. “Those who cannot provide home care conditions can be taken to quarantine hotels and this will decrease the risk of inflammatory diseases, which are expected to rise in the coming winter.”

‘People are dying in their homes over stress, anxiety’ PEOPLE are dying in their homes because stress and anxiety, including over the Covid-19 pandemic, is triggering heart attacks, a cardiologist has warned. “Two or three people of various ages are dying suddenly in their homes every month,” Dr Cenk Conkbayır said. “Regardless of age, aches or pains in the abdomen, chest, arms and backs should not be ignored. “Panic and stress among the public triggers heart attacks. Those who are most at risk should continue to have their check-ups. “It is unfortunate that some heart patients continue

smoking and risk their lives on purpose.” Dr Conkbayır advised people with heart problems to quit smoking and cut out alcohol and to eat healthily. He also warned young people not to mix energy drinks with alcohol, which he said can cause “life threatening heart rhythm disorders”. In recent days two “sudden” deaths occurred in Girne – 27-year-old Mehmet Enginol and 38-year-old musician Fatih Girgin were both found dead at their homes in unrelated incidents, police said. Autopsies were carried out on both men to determine the causes of death, the results of which have yet to be announced.

Covid-19 positive people afraid of being ‘stigmatised’ PEOPLE are afraid of being “stigmatised” if they test positive for Covid-19, an expert has warned. Professor Aslı Bugay Sökmez, programme coordinator at the Psychology Department of the Middle East University’s North Cyprus campus, said that catching Covid-19 meant “not only being sick, but also being lonely and being an outcast”.

The fear of rejection caused people to “hide their diseases or refuse to have a PCR test”, Prof Sökmez said, hindering efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The friends and relatives of Covid-19 positive people, as well as those who have returned from abroad recently, “especially people of Asian origin”, experienced “microaggression” from others, she added.

Individuals with Covid-19 feel “self-pity, isolation, loneliness, embarrassment, social withdrawal, pessimism, hopelessness, insufficiency, despair and guilt” Prof Sökmez said. “What is important is not to eliminate the concern but to take necessary effective measures. Negative thoughts do not protect you from Covid-19 but [safety] measures do.”

set up at quarantine centres’

POLLING stations for the presidential elections should be set up at quarantine centres, the Rebirth Party (YDP) said this week. The Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) has previously stated that those in quarantine or self-isolation will not be able to vote as part of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. “According to the Constitution every citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote,” a statement from the YDP said. “We are of the opinion that the issue should be reconsidered and that condi-

tions should be enabled for citizens to use their constitutional rights. “For example, establishing ballot boxes in quarantine centres should be considered.” Meanwhile YDP leader and presidential hopeful Erhan Arıklı was discharged from hospital on Saturday following treatment for Covid-19. “I was away from the campaign trail for 28 days,” he said. “We will see what it costs us on October 11 . . . My friends, who I thank, tried to fill the gap [but] an [election] campaign where the leader is not on the field is an incomplete campaign.”

Flu jabs to arrive in TRNC

FLU jabs will arrive in the TRNC either this month or in November, the Health Ministry announced this week. Medicine and Pharmacy Department chief Ayşe Gökyiğit said the “necessary official letters” have been sent to Turkey to request the purchase of vaccines on behalf of North Cyprus. It was also announced that jabs to protect against pneumonia have arrived and are being administered at the Lefkoşa Trenyolu polyclinic. Pharmacists’ Union chairman Umut Öksüz said that pneumonia vaccines that were granted to the TRNC by Turkey have been provided to state hospitals only and are only available to children and elderly people who are deemed to be at “high risk”. Mr Öksüz said, however, that some Turkish Cypriots had been buying pneumonia vaccines from South Cyprus since September for 72 euros.

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News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

North Cyprus marks World Animal Day By KEREM HASAN WORLD Animal Day was marked across the TRNC by civil society groups and municipalities as they made fresh calls for people to

donate to charity. Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü said October 4 should be a “day of celebration and raising awareness” because of the “continuing bad treatment of animals

around the globe”. “These examples are, unfortunately, also being seen in North Cyprus which is deeply saddening for us,” he said. “As Girne Municipality

we are consistently taking in street animals and those in need of help and are having their veterinary checks done, and are treating [animals] that have been injured or are sick.”

Serdar Denktaş shared a photo with his pet dog on World Animal Day Mr Güngördü said “intensive work” at the Girne Municipality Animal Shelter and Rehabilitation Centre, which opened in 2017, was continuing. “Animals have the right to be happy and free just as much as people,” he added. “We should act with kindness and with sensitivity towards them.” Democrat Party MP Serdar Denktaş said there was a need to “make amendments to the Animal Welfare Act” that would better safeguard the rights of animals. “I have passed on the recommended amendments to Parliament,” he said. “The day should not only be one of making statements of good wishes, but actually putting into effect correct steps to protect all animals, which I can conscientiously say I am doing. In the previous weeks I met with officials from the Golden Paws Association, the Cyprus Animal Rights Association and the Freedom Sanctuary. “We had an opportunity to exchange ideas and talk about the difficulties they face and the overwhelming effort they were putting in. One conclusion we reached was the need to raise awareness of the right to life of animals.” Kyrenia Animal Rescue

(KAR) said in a statement to mark the occasion: “The purpose [of World Animal Day] is to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. “It’s celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare. “KAR tries to maintain the ethos by our specialised education programme (sadly temporarily put on hold due to Covid restrictions); liaising with the authorities about welfare issues and advising on animal welfare laws; raising awareness of cat/dog needs and entitlements; only agreeing to responsible adoptions; encouraging people to visit and learn about our rescue centre; and running a community neutering programme for street cats. “Each and every one of us can make a difference to animals. Wherever you are, you too can make a difference.”

Lions Club donates to Child Protection MEMBERS of the Lefkoşa Lions Club have donated hygiene supplies, tablet computers and stationery to two schools and the Child Protection Agency. The donations, made to mark last month’s International Literacy Day, aim to help educational institutions “continue their activities in these difficult days” Lefkoşa Lions Club 2020-2021 chair Rezan Şekerzade said. The Lefkoşa Lions Club donated 600 masks, 20 litres of disinfectant, a number of books and three thermometers to Atatürk Primary School; three tablet computers to Bayraktar Secondary School; and storybooks, Lego sets and painting sets to the Child Protection Agency.

News

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

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Study shows ‘harsh reality’ for mothers By ELTAN HAL‹L WOMEN in North Cyprus who get pregnant face losing their jobs, a new report has said. Those who return to work after giving birth are often unaware of their rights and all new mothers face a lack of adequate support from the state, according to a survey and interviews of 84 women in the TRNC. The “harsh realities” of motherhood in Cyprus were revealed in an EU-funded study. The research was conducted by Shirin Jetha Dağseven, founder of the Motherhood Truths initiative, from July to September. “At present in [North] Cyprus there is no legal text protecting pregnant women’s employment contracts from being terminated,” Ms Dağseven said. “Unfortunately, there are cases of pregnant wo me n be i ng sacke d , although other reasons for the terminations of their contracts are stated, and if a woman wishes to sue her employer and wins the case, she is not actually given her job back, but offered monetary compensation instead. “One woman in the survey explained her situation: ‘My contract expired two months before the birth and my boss didn’t want to renew it. I found another job one and half years later.’ “Another woman said a company she was working fo r had d i smi sse d an employee after learning she was five months pregnant.” The level of maternity leave and pay, and lack of paternity leave in the TRNC is a challenge for new parents, according to the report, with many working mothers reporting they had no choice but to return to work while their babies were still very young. “Mothers working in the public sector are entitled to 40 days maternity leave before birth and 40 days after birth, fully paid,” Ms Dağseven said. “Private sector workers are given 16 weeks in total; usually eight weeks before birth and eight weeks after birth, but there is also the option to take two weeks off before birth and 14 weeks after birth. Two thirds of a woman’s salary during this time is paid by social security, and one third should

be paid by the employer. “Strikingly, out of 133 women [from both sides of Cyprus], 67 (59 per cent) said they did not receive full pay whilst on maternity leave, with nearly half of these women stating that they only received three quarters of their salary paid by social security. . . Mothers also stated that it took a very long time to receive their maternity leave payment, and it was the case that some women received no payment until they returned to work, thus adding a financial strain to the family.” The report said that there is no paternity leave in the TRNC and that the three days off work new fathers usually receive are treated as “compassionate” leave. Seventy-nine out of 136 respondents (58 per cent) across the island said they did not feel they “stayed home long enough” with their baby and 75 per cent of those surveyed said that being apart from their baby was a “major challenge”. “When women are being forced to return to work when their babies are very young, it is of course very difficult, and even more so, for public workers in [North] Cyprus, when left in the impossible situation of having to leave their 40day-old baby to return to work,” Ms Dağseven said. “Fifty-three per cent of women who returned to work also expressed that they found childcare issues extremely challenging.” She added that only a third of mothers went back to work after giving birth “because they wanted to”. Working mothers also found that the “breastfeeding allowance” was inadequate, or were not even aware of it. According to the report, mothers working in the public sector in North Cyprus are entitled to a breastfeeding allowance of two hours per day, until the baby is six months old. Priva te s e cto r employees are entitled to two hours a day until the baby is nine months old. However employers are under no legal obligation to provide breastfeeding or breast pumping rooms, Ms Dağseven stated. A spokesperson for the Labour and Social Security Ministry told Cyprus Today that anyone who loses their job because of pregnancy has the right to take their employer to court to get

their job back. “New mothers who are having problems with their employers about taking time off and breastfeeding can [also] take legal action against the m,” the spokesperson added. The report also questioned the high frequency of prenatal scans and appointments – particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic – that pregnant wo me n i n the T RN C endure, as well as the relatively high rate of caesarean births. “It is widely known in [North] Cyprus that prenatal appointments and scans at private clinics are scheduled almost every two weeks, which greatly contrasts with other countries,” Ms Dağseven wrote. “For example, in the UK two scans are d o ne throughout the whole pregnancy, provided there are no complications. Continuing with the UK example, current Covid-19 measures by the National Health Service include online midwife appointments. “In [North] Cyprus, while it is already debatable if the frequency of scans is necessary or even healthy, it is argued that the number of visits should be reduced so as to protect p re gnant wo me n fro m exposure to Covid-19.” On the subject of childbirth, the report said that Cyprus as a whole has the highest rate (56 per cent) of caesarean deliveries in Europe, more than double that of the European average of 27 percent. While some caesarean deliveries were necessary, some mothers reported being pressured into having a caesarean section and stated that childbirth was seen as a “medical procedure”. “One woman I interviewed explained that she was questioned by family and friends as to why she was so insistent on what they viewed as the pain and turmoil of a vaginal birth,” Ms Dağseven said. “Some women revealed that they thought doctors prefer and often try to promote a caesarean birth, as it is more convenient for the doctor, since they could schedule births, and the delivery was quicker and less complicated. “One woman went so far as to suggest that caesarean births were more profitable for doctors, and the simpler, and more natural the birth, the less cost-

effective it was for the doctor and hospital. “This is an important point to consider in Cyprus, since many women opt to give birth in private hospitals and clinics.” The report also highlighted the lack of childbirth choices, such as home births, water births and midwifery-led birth centres. Out of 129 respondents on both sides of the island who said they worked outside of the home, 71 per cent said that they relied on family (not including husband or partner) for childcare, an “extremely high figure”. “One reason is the short maternity leave means women having to return to work when their babies are still small,” Ms Dağseven explained. “Leaving a small baby with a stranger, such as a childminder or at a nursery, may be challenging for

some mothers and therefore they prefer to choose a family member to take care of their baby. “Secondly, free public childcare is limited, and private childcare is costly . . . As a result, extended families are needed to support working parents and fill the absence of public childcare. “This is an unsustainable situation and does not contribute to a functioning society as it relies on one generation facilitating the economic needs of another. . . From the mothers I spoke with, it is mainly grandmothers caring for children. “Thirdly, public schools finish lessons fairly early in the day, usually noon, which means in most cases, parents are still at work and therefore rely on alternative means of childcare. “It was noted in conversations with women from [North] Cyprus, that private schools were often pre-

ferred by mothers, not because they felt the education level was necessarily better, but because public schools were not a viable option, as they had nowhere for their children to go after school finished.” The lack of childcare facilities in the workplace also posed difficulties for working mothers, with 92 per cent of those quizzed saying would like their bosses to make such services available. The report also looked at the emotional and physical burden experienced by mothers and “serious deficiencies” in the level of support in the TRNC for children with special needs. The full “Motherhood in Cyprus: Findings and recommendations on the needs of mothers in Cyprus” report, and its recommendations, is available online at: www.motherhoodtruths.com

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Opinion

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Why Turkey’s drilling in the East Med is legal THE tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean (“East Med”) date back to the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus’s (GCASC) activities to open tenders for the 12 hydrocarbon blocks located in the southern East Med in 2007. The tension increased when the tenders resulted in the formation of consortiums with different countries all over the world including (but not limited to) the USA, the UK, Qatar, France, Italy, Russia, Israel and South Korea and exploration efforts created by the GCASC unilaterally without considering the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) and Republic of Turkey’s rights within the region. Then, several explanations were made regarding Turkey’s attempt to stop the Italian company Eni from exploring for natural gas in 2018 and make it withdraw from the region off the coast of Gazimağusa (by declaring a Navtex). There were debates over whether or not Turkey’s move was legal if Turkey had the right to stop such operations. Last year the consortium of Qatar National Oil and Exxon Mobil commenced drilling off the coast of Egypt. More recently, the Fatih and Yavuz drilling vessels of Turkey started operations in the TRNC’s and Turkey’s continental shelf. These have raised several discussions within the context of all the aforementioned operations in the region. Then the tension increased even more when the coastal countries of the Mediterranean started to sign bilateral agreements to announce maritime jurisdictions and “exclusive economic zones” (EEZ). The main discussion point is whether Turkey’s operations are legal or not pursuant to international law and its instruments, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decisions and the law of the seas. Therefore, the analysis of the issue within the scope of international law is important both for the countries that have borders to the East Med and the countries that are operating in the region. While hydrocarbon exploration activities off the coast of Cyprus have continued, various explanations have also been raised, especially regarding Turkey’s exploration activities within its continental shelf that have been subject to objections from both the GCASC and other countries. Relations were strained, especially after the GCASC issued an arrest warrant for the Fatih drill ship’s personnel and the European Union’s decision and announcement that the operation of Fatih is in breach of EU law and that it will impose restrictions against Turkey. This once again highlighted the need to examine the elements in determining maritime jurisdictions of the states and the right to declare EEZs. It is also important to explain what the concepts of “continental

by Bilun Elmacıoğlu shelf” and “exclusive economic zone” mean as per international maritime law and how they are defined in international legal instruments. There are two basic international conventions in terms of international legislation on the subject: 1. The Geneva Convention of 1958 (the “Geneva Convention”): An international convention for the concept of the continental shelf and the determination of the boundaries of maritime jurisdictions. The continental shelf is the name given to the geologically coastal state’s extension of its land territory under the sea by its definition in the convention. 2. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS): The concept of the EEZ, which was implemented as an international term and defined for the first time the convention. According to UNCLOS, the EEZ is a region beyond the territorial waters, adjacent to these waters and a sea area extending up to 200 nautical miles from the main lines where the territorial waters begin to be measured. Article 55 to 60 of the convention regulate the research and operation of live and lifeless natural resources to member countries for 200 nautical miles, the right to general research on the sea, the right to build facilities on the sea, the exemption to lay down submarine cables and oil pipelines on the seabed and the rights of exploration and use of marine resources. Turkey has not signed either conventions and has not been a party to them. Greece and the GCASC have been parties to the convention. UNCLOS has also been accepted by the European Union as part of EU legislation. Turkey has not been a party to UNCLOS, especially due to the problem of the 12 islands and maritime jurisdiction issues with Greece and its proximity to other countries in the Aegean Sea. But in general Turkey has implemented the main rules and precedents of both UNCLOS, the Geneva Convention and international law. Therefore, it cannot be said that Turkey has no right to declare maritime jurisdictions by signing bilateral agreements with other states and operating within its continental

shelf. It is also important to state that both conventions do ensure the principle of not violating the other states’ maritime jurisdictions while signing and/or declaring the EEZ. The issue of maritime jurisdiction between Turkey and the GCASC begun with the GCASC’s announcement of a 200-mile-wide EEZ and the EEZ agreement signed with Egypt in 2003. With a unilateral decision in 2013, the GCASC tendered the remaining areas around Cyprus, mainly in the southern part, to various foreign national consortiums by opening them to unilateral tenders. Meanwhile TPAO, the national oil company in Turkey, was given the authority to search under licences issued by the TRNC as part of a bilateral agreement signed between the governments of Turkey and the TRNC in 2011. The GCASC has signed EEZ agreements with many countries in the East Med, for instance with Israel and Egypt. This has made maritime jurisdictions in the East Med increasingly complicated because there are multiple countries in that violate each other’s maritime borders. For example, Turkey-Egypt and Syria-Lebanon’s EEZs are intermingled. Through domestic legislation, the GCASC declared in 2007 that five of the 13 hydrocarbon exploration blocks (1,4,5, 6 and 7) are within the borders drawn south of the island. These blocks overlap with Turkey’s continental shelf, all of which the TRNC has rights to as well. As it is known, the situation caused by the lack of the TRNC’s recognition is another reason for this conflict. While there were discussions during bilateral talks on the “Cyprus Problem” within the course of Crans Montana, in 2017, that the hydrocarbons issue will be a peacemaking factor in reaching a solution to the “Cyprus Problem” and that a pipeline via Turkey is the most costeffective option, the GCASC met with Egypt and Greece in September 2018 to agree on the pipeline transport of natural gas from the Aphrodite Field over Egypt. As well as this meeting, Greece, the GCASC and Israel signed the East Med Pipeline Agreement at the beginning of

2020. Taking into account the East Med geography, the length of the crossing coastlines between many countries is less than 400 nautical miles. For this reason, mutual agreement is required to determine the limits of the EEZ of the states in this region. In this context, Turkey did not go on the path of a general EEZ announcement in the East Med but preferred to sign EEZ agreements, such as the most recent one with Libya (which was accepted by the United Nations recently). However, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon, and the GCASC in particular, have gone on to declare the EEZ by bilateral agreements, ignoring the rights of Turkey and the TRNC in the region. Greece, on the other hand, has not officially declared an EEZ in the East Med since it is not a coastal state to the East Med, but as the maps published by EU institutions show, Greece is trying to dictate an EEZ at the field south of the island of Meis (Kastellorizo). Turkey’s rights arising from international law related to the continental shelf and EEZ can be listed as follows: the principle of equity in resolving such disputes and the equal monitoring of the rights of the parties; the fact that the East Med is a semi-closed sea; that the limitation in this sea must be done within special circumstances; and that the limitations on maritime jurisdictions cannot be done unilaterally by the states. Similar examples have the view that the principle of equity should be based on exemplary judgments of the ICJ regarding limitation of maritime jurisdictions in the East Med. For example, in the case of determining the continental shelf between Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, that have coastlines to the North Sea, the main argument from the parties was that it should be determined according to the method of equal distance. In response to the arguments put forward by the parties, the ICJ made the following determinations: the main element in determining the continental shelf is the basis of being the natural extension of the land territory and not violating the

natural extension of another state. The ICJ has decided that it is not mandatory to implement the equal distance method in Article 6 of the Geneva Convention on the limitation of the continental shelf and that it cannot be decided according to a single method of limitation in terms of such disputes. The ICJ also states that it should be decided by adhering to the principle of equity, that the limitation should be made in such a way that the areas that constitute the natural extension of the land territory under the sea should be given to each state without violating the rights on the natural extension of the parties, in order to ensure that the principle of equity is observed and concrete due to the principle of equity. Especially according to the ICJ judgments and international law rules, it is clear that Turkey’s drilling operations with the Fatih and Yavuz do not violate international law, given that it is within its continental shelf. The GCASC’s decision to arrest ship personnel is not considered valid in international law, as it is a fundamental legal principle that decisions taken by states in accordance with domestic law are not contrary to international law, and it is clear that the aforementioned arrest warrant is contrary to the context of international law. Therefore, in the light of the above, it is clear that the hydrocarbon drilling activities of Turkey in the East Med are legal and that the ongoing discussions are mainly a part of political and martial positions of the Mediterranean states.

Bilun Elmacıoğlu (LL.B, LL.M) is the founding partner of the Elmacıoğlu Law Office in İstanbul. After graduating from Türk Maarif College in Lefkoşa she obtained a law degree from Turkey’s Marmara University before completing her Master of Laws (LL.M) degree at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, focusing on international private and public law. Her main focus is maritime law, international law, energy law and corporate law with a wide range of experience gained in ship owner and oil and gas companies.

Information

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

DUTY CHEMISTS SATURDAY, October 10

863 3883. Girne — Aydın Eczanesi: Karaoğlanoğlu Cad, Lefkoşa — Enver Beyaz Plaza No 3, Eczanesi: 74 Atatürk Alsancak. Tel: 821 3361; Meydanı Lefkoşa. Tel: Tören II Eczanesi: 227 2567; Gülizar Vakıflar Çarşısı Block A Özteknik Eczanesi: No 1. Tel: 815 1790 and Muhtar Yusuf Galeria 0533 833 3133. Shop 2, 45/2, Küçük Gazimağusa — Güzer Kaymaklı. Tel: 227 9155 Eczanesi: Next to City and 0533 835 4935; Dershaneler Yolu Mall. Özün Eczanesi: 17 Evren Su Apt, Shop No 1, Güzer Paşa Cad No 2, (opposite Çanakkale. Tel: 0533 874 new Gönyeli Belediye 0374; Veziroğlu building) Yenikent; Tel: Eczanesi: Veziroğlu 224 1210 and 0533 881 Anafartalar Cad, Alibey 3128. Apt, Karakol. Tel: 365 Girne — Dünya Eczanesi: 6977 and 0533 875 2144. Salih Miroğlu Cad, Ataker Upper Mesaoria — Gönül ‹şhanı, Starling Market. Gürdağ Eczanesi: Dr Fazıl Tel: 815 0009 and 0533 Küçük Cad. No 30. On 872 8909; Gündal the Erülkü Süpermarket Eczanesi, ‹skenderun Cad, Altınör Apt, A Block, Anayolu road. (Next to Zemin Kat No 2, Karakum Onalt Motors). Tel: 0539 (opposite Lemar). Tel: 816 105 4888. 0543 and 0533 832 0108. Lower Mesaoria — Hera Akesen: Şht Hüseyin Gazimağusa — Emir Kafa Cad, No 2, Eczanesi: Ayluka district, Beyarmudu, Pergama. Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Sok, Tel: 0533 822 2999 or No 2. Tel:365 5454 and 0542 862 0544. 0533 865 4427; Zerin Karpaz — Sakıner Volkan Eczanesi: ‹smet Eczanesi: Yenierenköy. ‹nönü Boulevard, Sosyal Tel: 374 4356 and 0533 Konut Apt, Dumlupınar. 860 7247; Fatma Tel: 365 5959 and 0548 Kahyaoğlu Eczanesi: 849 2932. Livadya Apt, No 3, Güzelyurt — Gilanlı Çayırova. Tel: 0533 821 Eczanesi: Piyale Paşa district, Industrial Site No 9606 and 0548 860 5554. Güzelyurt — ‹ncirli 583. Tel: 714 4790 and Eczanesi: Büyük Ada Sok 0533 868 4790. No 22 (by ‹ncirli Lefke — Ayşe Altıntuğ Eczanesi: Şht Fuat Yakup Children’s Clinic). Tel: 714 2874 and 0533 833 1122. Sok, No 7, Denizli. Tel: Lefke — ‹lkşen Eczanesi: 0542 8726974 and 727 Belediye shops No 18 8565. Gemikonağı. Tel: 727 ‹skele — Mevlüt Kaçmaz 8240 and 0548 860 1973. Eczanesi: Mekanzi Cad, ‹skele — Gökberk Alp Ezgi Sok, Dumika Const Yakar Eczanesi: Makenzi Ltd. Dük No:10 Cevzili Cad. Cevizli Royal Sun Iskele. Tel: 0548 860 Residence No 3, behind 5554. Doktorlar Sitesi. Tel: 0539 109 9577.

SUNDAY, October 11

Lefkoşa — Apaydın Eczanesi: 2 Selim Cad, Arabacıoğlu Apt. Next to Beşiktaş Sports Club. Tel: 227 5159 and 0533 853 4192; Gizem Behlül Eczanesi: Atatürk Cad, opposite Deniz Plaza, Gönyeli. Tel: 223 4575 and 0548 845 0825; Tuna Eczanesi: fiht Ecvet Yusuf Cad, Hacı Bulgur Apt No 16-B, Yenişehir. Tel: 227 7874 and 0548

MONDAY, October 12

Lefkoşa — Ersağ Eczanesi: Nida Cabacaba Sok, No 3 A-2 (Opposite Atatürk Fairground) Ortaköy. Tel: 223 6217; ‹yigün Eczanesi: Muhtar Yusuf Galeria No 2, K Kaymaklı. Tel: 227 2571 and 0533 857 9950; Mustafa Gürman Eczanesi: Aydemet

Kemal Şemiler Cad No 6/b, Kermiya. Tel: 330 0830 and 0533 877 7011. Girne — Aydın Life Eczanesi: Minimall Plaza, Bellapais Road (opposite the mosque), Doğanköy. Tel: 815 7350 and 0533 888 5666; Emin Eczanesi: Karaoğlanoğlu Cad, Hasem ‹şhanı No 1, Alsancak. Tel: 0533 870 1946 and 0533 870 1946. Gazimağusa — Ada Eczanesi: Salamis road, Sakarya shops No 3. Tel: 365 3130 and 0533 867 1723; Aslı Eren Eczanesi: Ziya Gökalp Cad. Canbulat No 41. Tel: 366 4747. Güzelyurt — Aycan Eczanesi: Ecevit Cad, 4/3, Tel: 714 2316 and 0542 857 1347. Lefke — Altıncı Eczanesi: Şht.Nejdet Levent Sokak No 4/A, Denzili. Tel:727 8500 and 0548 889 1707 ‹skele — Mehmet ‹lban Eczanesi: Atatürk Cad, Ada Karanfil Sok.No 9D. Opposite the carob factory. Boğaz. Tel: 0533 834 8251.

TUESDAY, October 13

Lefkoşa — Nurluöz Eczanesi: Hacet Sokak, opposite the Religious Centre, Hamitköy. Tel 225 6161 and 0533 837 7511; Emel Ataçağ Eczanesi: Çetin Kürşat Apt, Zemin Kat, No 18, Gönyeli. Opposite Kolan British Hospital. Tel: 223 4604 and 0533 865 1407; Fulden Donangil Eczanesi: Osman Paşa Cad No 29/B K Çiftlik. Tel: 228 2572. Girne — Ayşen Altan Eczanesi: Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak Cad. No:121/1 Lapta. Tel: 0533 858 5208 and 0533 858 5208; Başak Eczanesi: Ziya Rızkı Cad No 95/B. Tel: 815 3620 and 0533 862 8147. Gazimağusa — Aras Öncü Eczanesi: Opposite ‹larma Süpermarket, 15 Ağustos Bulvarı, No 46, Larnaka Road. Tel: 366 2999; Sümer II Eczanesi: Salamis road 182/A (‹smet ‹nönü Cad), opposite EMU. Tel: 365

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Duty chemists’ opening hours: 8am to 5.30pm (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) and from 8am to 1.30pm on Thursdays and Saturdays. Duty chemists in Lefkoşa, Girne, Gazimağusa, Güzelyurt and Lefke will be open from 5.30pm to midnight (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) 1.30pm to midnight on Thursdays and Saturdays and 8am to midnight on Sundays. Mesaoria, Karpaz and İskele areas will be open from 8am to 8pm (weekdays) and 8am to 4pm Saturdays. Sundays, official holidays: 10am to 4pm

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THERE WILL BE NO ON-CALL SERVICE AVAILABLE 4969 and 0548 860 3540. Güzelyurt — Süreyya Özcoşkun Eczanesi: Şht Mehmet Sokollu Sok. Lala Mustafa Paşa Mah .No 14/A. Tel: 714 2000. Lefke — Hatice Soyer Eczanesi: Cengizköy No 74/A. Tel: 0548 865 5291/0533 865 5291. ‹skele — Selin Eczanesi: Şht Üstteğmen Mustafa Orhan Cad, Yeni ‹skele. Tel: 371 2856 0533 873 3089.

WEDNESDAY, October 14

Lefkoşa — Cemile Fırıncıoğluları Eczanesi: Gaz Hasan Tahsin Cad, 81/c 9 (opposite Lemar), Kermiya. Tel: 223 8222; Özerçal Eczanesi: Raif Denktaş Cad, Siyah Kuğu 1B, No15/E Göçmenköy. Tel: 223 9731 and 0542 857 4988; Seval Kaymak Eczanesi: Prof Dr Necmettin Erbakan Cad, No 41/A. Tel: 227 9619. Girne — Erdoğan Özikiz Eczanesi: Karaoğlanoğlu Cad No 160/3 next to Starlux Cinema. Tel: 0548 870 8442; Mahmutoğlu Eczanesi: Ecevit Caddesi, Fuzuli Sokak. Öncel Çerkez Apartment, shop No1, opposite the new municipality building, next to Papageno. Tel: 815 0850 and 0548 837 3770. Gazimağusa — Güloğlu Eczanesi: M Kemal Boulevard, Northernland buildings, Alasya Park site opposite Kaliland Apt. Tel: 365 3868 and 0533 830 0990; Mehmet Arter Eczanesi: 15 Ağustos Bulvarı Piyale Paşa area. ‹lhan Apt, No 1, Larnaka Road. Tel: 0539 104 2288. Güzelyurt — Doğa Eczanesi: Bülent Ecevit

Cad, No 1/21, Piyale Paşa area. Tel 714 4640 and 0533 850 0066. Lefke — Nane Limon Eczanesi: Ecevit Cad. Yeşilyurt. Tel: 727 7470 and 0542 881 1812. ‹skele — Özbirtan Eczanesi: Dr Temel Zeki Cad, Arken Apt, B2, No 3. Tel: 371 2224 and 0533 876 9657.

THURSDAY, October 15

Lefkoşa — Çağlayan Eczanesi, ‹ffet Oruz Sok, No A/B Çağlayan. Tel: 227 6181 and 0548 861 9660; Ecem Eczanesi: Bedrettin Demirel Cad No 127. Tel 228 8956 and 0533 856 7790; Özyol Eczanesi: fiaziye Hacı Maltızlar Sok 2/4-5 (near Etik Private Hospital, Kermiya). Tel: 223 2131 and 0542 851 6050. Girne — Adaşehir Eczanesi: Girne Ecevit Caddesi, Avrasya Gold Apartment, Shop 2, Central Girne (Next to Arçelik, opposite Yok Yoktur Market ) Tel: 815 0188; Rızkı Eczanesi: Naci Talat Cad No 3 (next to Foto Berkant). Tel: 815 3496 and 0542 851 1236. Gazimağusa — Faydalı Eczanesi: Salamis Yolu 19, ‹smet ‹nönü Bulvarı. Tel: 365 6922 and 0542 872 6144; Barışer Eczanesi: Kıvanç Tapus Sok, Industrial Estate. Tel: 365 6040 and 0548 880 1020. Güzelyurt — Sevil Eczanesi: Ecevit Cad No 53. Tel: 714 3591 and 0533 831 1303. Lefke — ‹lkşen Eczanesi: Belediye shops No 18 Gemikonağı. Tel: 727 8240 and 0548 860 1973. ‹skele — Gökberk Alp Yakar Eczanesi: Makenzi

Cad. Cevizli Royal Sun Residence No 3, behind Doktorlar Sitesi. Tel: 0539 109 9577.

FRIDAY, October 16

Lefkoşa — Çağansoy Eczanesi: Kenan Evren Cad, Mustafa Dereli ‹şmerkezi No 4, Yenikent, Gönyeli. Tel: 223 6766 and 0542 881 6110; Güney Eczanesi: Yüzb Yurdabak Cad No 13, Ortaköy. Tel: 227 6695; Umut Öksüz Eczanesi: Şht Mustafa Ruso Cad No 17, K Kaymaklı. Tel:444 8688 and 0542 866 6616. Girne — Güven Eczanesi: Salih Miroğlu Cad, Ersoy 6 Apt 9A, Upper Girne. Tel: 815 2409 and 0533 859 2576; Maryam Eczanesi: Ankara Cad. No:155 Lotus Park Site A Blok Shop 1, Alsancak. Tel: 0533 842 3637. Gazimağusa — Ayşe Özbeycan Eczanesi: Topcu Bulvarı, opposite Mr Pound and Deniz Plaza. Tel: 365 6838 and 0533 838 6838; Çağkan Aksoy Eczanesi: Larnaka road, 15 Ağustos Bulvarı No 28, 200m from the Victory Monument. Tel: 366 9555 and 0533 862 9588. Güzelyurt — Uyumsal Eczanesi: Kutlu Adalı Bulvarı No 1-C, opposite bus terminal. Tel: 714 3005 and 0533 863 6183. Lefke — Şifa Bıldır Eczanesi: Fuat Yakup Sok, No1/1, Denizli.Tel: 0533 841 9578. ‹skele — Mevlüt Kaçmaz Eczanesi: Mekanzi Cad, Ezgi Sok, Dumika Const Ltd. Dük No:10 Cevzili Iskele. Tel: 0548 860 5554. ❐ ROTA MAY CHANGE

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20 Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Classified

Sport

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

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How low can you go? I

T SHOULD be noted that I’m not going to have a pop at Manchester United or Liverpool after their hammerings by Spurs and Villa last Sunday; (1-6 and 7-2 respectively) I don’t believe in kicking a man while he’s down and the readership warrant and deserve a high standard of writing that doesn’t aim to score cheap points. If people want that sort of thing I would suggest they read the Guardian.

Politics and football I’m not saying the government treats football and the football loving populace with contempt (Actually I am) but how can they justify allowing the Royal Albert Hall to put on events utilizing 53 per cent of its capacity while insisting that football clubs have to keep playing behind closed doors? Alongside the RAH there’s also the Royal Opera House which is to be permitted to reopen at 40 per cent of capacity; the main reason the government gives for shutting down football stadia isn’t the capacity given that football clubs were only asking for around 20 per cent but that fans travelling to the stadiums would compromise social distancing. So if that is the case given the anti-car stance of the London mayor how are all those people going to the RAH and the ROH going to get there if not by public transport? Could it just simply be the typical establishment attitude to working class football fans as opposed to the arty Islington Guardian reading types who frequent their favoured venues; or am I being cynical? Covid 19 It was good to see that Manchester United are faithfully and responsibly following the governments rule of six diktat but Liverpool should be severely punished for letting in seven. They still don’t get it So the Premier League referees association or whatever they’re

World of Sport

Eric Dier’s “arm is in an unnatural position”

with Rev Walker c/o [email protected] called have decided that they can apply ‘leniency’ towards certain handballs rather than using the rigid application of the law as they have been doing thus far this season. But, and there’s always a but with these people ‘offences’ like Eric Dier’s where the arm is in an ‘unnatural position will still be penalized. Leaving aside the fact that he was pushed in the back while jumping for the ball how is it ‘unnatural’ to use your arms while jumping? Compare that with the many elbowing offences that go unpunished because “it’s a natural consequence of jumping for the ball” which means if I’ve got this right, arms extended and ball unavoidably hits arm equals penalty, break a guy’s nose or worse while challenging for the ball and it’s just fine, play on. Seems fair. Paranoid moi? Ridiculous penalty given against Spurs at Southampton, ridiculous penalty given against

Mesut Özil has offered to pay Gunnersaurus’ wages

Spurs when they hosted Newcastle, ridiculous penalty given against Spurs when they played Maccabi Haifa, and don’t get me started on Harry Kane’s disallowed goal against Sheffield United. Am I the only Spurs fan to have noted that since Mauricio Pochettino called out Mike Dean last January the FA and others seem to have got it in for us? (See also Dele, Son, and Eric Dier’s iffy suspensions.) Summertime blues Am I the only one who thinks that the world’s most expensive defender Harry Maguire would have been better off staying in Greece to serve his jail sentence rather than marshalling his team’s defence? Team of the week Alphonse Areola Fulham, Luke Ayling Leeds, Ben Chilwell Chelsea, Harry Maguire United,

(Only joking) Serge Aurier Spurs, Pierre-Emile Hoejbjerg Spurs, Jack Grealish Villa, James Rodriguez Everton, Ollie Watkins Villa, Harry Kane Spurs, Son Heung-Min Spurs, Allan SaintMaximin Newcastle. Manager Jose Mourinho Spurs. Numbers of the week Sixes and sevens. A bit subtle but I think easily worked out. I nicked this one “Lads, it’s an £80 million IKEA wardrobe” “Playing in a flat pack four” Undoubtedly the best Harry Maguire put down of the week. No words His forebears survived the Ice age and he himself has given 27 years of loyal service to his employers and now he has been sacked. It’s not often (Like never) I have sympathy for anything and anyone associated with the North London Nomads but I have to say I think that Gunnersaurus the Gooner mascot has been shabbily treated just to save a wee bit of money. Whatever he was being paid he was certainly of more value to the club than 350 grand a week Mesut Özil. Back of the net! Further to the above Mesut Özil and his public relations team have just played a blinder; Özil has offered to pay Gunnersaurus’ wages for “as long as I am with the club” in one step he has made his employers look like penny pinching Scrooges of the highest order while making himself look good. Now the Nomads are in a spot big time; if they bring the dinosaur back questions will be asked about the other 55 backroom staff they axed, and if they don’t bring him back then their recalcitrant star has made them once again look like utter fools. I love it! Speaking of which Manchester United have firmly denied a report that they

had put a bid in for Gunnersaurus to bolster their defence, even though there is little doubt that in terms of mobility he would be a significant improvement on their current centre backs. This week’s games UEFA Nations League tomorrow 4pm; Republic of Ireland vs Wales. 7pm; England vs Belgium, 9:45; Northern Ireland vs Austria, Scotland vs Slovakia. Wednesday 7pm; Finland vs Republic of Ireland. 9:45; England vs Denmark, Bulgaria vs Wales, Norway vs Northern Ireland, Scotland vs Czech Republic. Jordan Pickford in goal and Harry Maguire marshalling the England defence, what could possibly go wrong? Apart from being slightly (Very) annoyed about yet another international break being foisted upon us just as the league is getting interesting is it too much to ask that all the Spurs players who are representing their various countries come back in one piece? Probably. F1 Eifel Grand Prix Nuerburgring tomorrow 15:10; And finally Last week’s question; who holds the record for goals scored in an English Football League game? That would be one Joe Payne who on the 13th of April 1936 helped himself to ten of Luton’s goals in their 12-0 win over Bristol Rovers. Payne’s career was badly blighted by the Second World War but he still managed to find the net 110 times in 118 league games while also scoring twice in his only England game. This week; Fred Perry was the first tennis player to do what? Manchester United have been fined by the government for allowing spectators into Old Trafford last Sunday; this came to light after Spurs keeper Hugo Loris was seen at the Stretford End sitting in a deckchair necking Pina Colada’s.

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Sport

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Health Ministry undersecretary and Communicable Diseases High Committee chairman Ali Çaygür

Earliest start to KTFF season is December THE 2020-2021 North Cyprus football season will not start until December at the earliest, it has been reported. Clubs need eight weeks to prepare for the start of the new campaign, Cyprus Turkish Football Association (KTFF) supremo Hasan Sertoğlu revealed in a letter to Health Ministry undersecretary and Communicable Diseases High Committee chairman Ali Çaygür. Up to 3,000 PCR tests are

Eliz thrashes rivals to win top tennis prize By KEREM HASAN TURKISH Cypriot tennis ace Eliz MaloneyYorgancı has won a top tournament in London. The 20-year-old — who hopes to become Wimbledon champion one day — played in the British Tour: Return to Elite Competition, where she proudly held up her trophy after beating Emily Appleton 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 on Sunday. The women’s “Tier 1” games were held from last Friday to Sunday at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. The tournament was organised by the Lawn Tennis Association. Playing in the first round last Friday, Eliz thrashed Sophia Hurrion 6-1, 6-1.

Eliz Maloney Yorgancı in action

In her second game on Saturday she beat Eleanor Nobbs in similar fashion, with a 6-1, 6-2 victory. Just an hour after that match Eliz was back on the court to face Sonay Kartal, who is of Turkish origin. Eliz lost the first set 6-1 but “managed to pull herself together and put on a game full of attack and volleys to win the second set 6-4” mother İlkay told Cyprus Today. “Eliz then won the third set following an intense game, winning the tie break 10-7,” she added, to make it through to the final against Emily Appleton on Sunday. “Eliz put on a strategy of attack knowing that she had a strong opponent, who she beat 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 and in doing so became the champion of the competition.” Eliz told this paper that she was “very happy to be back on court again following the Covid-19 lockdown and playing in competitive matches” and that she was “delighted to have won the tournament”.  “I am keen to start international competitions again but the opportunities are limited because of travel restrictions and the different rules and regulations in different countries and safety concerns,” she said. “I plan to search for appropriate international tournaments and to play in British tournaments while I search for these international tournaments.”

● Clubs need 8 weeks to prepare for the start ● Sertoğlu: Up to 3,000 PCR tests are needed ‘every week or KTFF chairman once every 15 days’ Hasan Sertoğlu needed “every week or once every 15 days” Mr Sertoğlu said in the letter, adding that clubs were not ready to start playing matches on October 15, the date given by the government. A “protocol” should be signed between the KTFF and the Health Ministry to confirm the “procedures” to be followed if a player tests positive for Covid-19, Mr Sertoğlu said. All team sports were cancelled in September due to a spike in coronavirus cases. In response, Mr Çaygür said in a

statement: “We are ready to conduct PCR tests for all the teams. In our previous statements, we said that [training sessions] will be allowed as of October 1 and that matches could be played without spectators from October 15 onwards. The KTFF shall start the pre-season process.” While the government “cannot afford to conduct routine tests for football clubs every week”, Mr Çaygür said that the Health Ministry was in the process of purchasing 100,000 PCR test kits.

Ex-British Cycling doctor destroyed laptop before handing it over to experts FORMER British “It had already Cycling and Team Sky been damaged by doctor Richard British Cycling. Freeman, who was “Rather than charged with ordering take it to a local 30 sachets of banned recycling centre, I substance Testogel for had seen a proan athlete in 2011, gramme about how admitted to destroying people in India can a laptop with “a screwaccess data on lapdriver or blunt instrutops. I decided I ment” before giving it cannot let that to forensic experts British Cycling and happen so I decided conducting a doping Team Sky doctor to destroy it. This investigation. was in the midst of Richard Freeman Freeman, a period when I appearing at a General Medical wasn’t feeling well.” Council (GMC) hearing, said the Freeman admitted to 18 of device was given to him by the 22 charges against him but British Cycling to replace one said he was pressured into that was stolen in Greece. ordering the banned substance The disappearance of the by former head coach Shane first laptop had hindered the UK Sutton. Sutton had denied the Anti-Doping’s investigation into allegations. a jiffy bag ordered on behalf of Freeman also said being former Team Sky rider Bradley questioned by Sky chiefs had Wiggins at the 2011 Criterium caused him to break down foldu Dauphine cycle race. lowing which he had cancelled Freeman said the second his appearance at a Digital, Cullaptop, which is believed to have ture, Media and Sport comcontained the records of the mittee hearing in 2017. riders under his supervision, “I went down to see James was damaged and that he chose Murdoch and Team Sky . . . to not to recycle it as he was afraid be briefed at an imposing information could be hacked. building at Canary Wharf . . . It “I had nothing to hide,” was very tense. Pressurised. Freeman said when accused by They wanted to know how I Simon Jackson QC, on behalf of would answer certain questions. the GMC, of damaging the I broke down in tears and laptop “in an amateurish way”. couldn’t go on,” he added.

Sport

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

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Coe suggests Tokyo WORLD Athletics President Sebastian Coe said on Thursday that he wants Tokyo to host an athletics World Championships in the National Stadium rebuilt for the 2020 Olympic Games “as soon as we possibly can”. Coe was speaking during a visit to Tokyo to meet organisers of the 2020 summer Olympics — rearranged for next year due to the coronavirus pandemic — and toured the stadium earlier in the day. “I saw a stadium that will be a fitting venue for a future World Championships in track and field,” Coe said. “It is our ambition, with the support of the municipalities and the local federations for us to come back to this great city as soon as we possibly can.” The next two hosts for the

President of World Athletics sees future of World Championships at rebuilt National Stadium event, usually held every two years, have been decided: Eugene, Oregon in 2022, delayed by a year to avoid any clash with the rearranged Olympics, and Budapest in 2023. Currently no city has secured rights for 2025. Tokyo last held the championships in 1991, whilst Japan also hosted the 2007 event in Osaka.

“I really do hope that during my tenure as president of this truly great sport, that we are able to come back to Tokyo for another great World Championships, as we did in 1991,” Coe said, speaking as he attended a meeting with Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori. Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, said he would discuss the matter with Coe.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe speaks during the meeting with Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic talking with Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) President Mori Yoshiro (not pictured) in Chuo City, Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday

Tinkler says Olympic medal not worth the abuse she suffered

Record breaker

Amy Tinkler of Great Britain in action on the beam at the World Cup of Gymnastics at the O2 Arena, London in April 2017

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey demolished the women’s 5,000 metres world record by more than four seconds on Wednesday at the Valencia World Record Day, crossing the line in 14 minutes 6.62 seconds. Gidey, 22, easily beat the previous record of 14:11.15 set by her compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba in Oslo in 2008.

Paris Masters IOC to probe claims of to go ahead discrimination against Belarusian athletes as planned THE Paris Masters will take place as scheduled from October 31 to November 8 at the Accor Arena, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) confirmed. The tournament will welcome 1000 spectators per day in line with the Covid-19 health protocols in Paris. It will follow the St Petersburg Open, back-to-back events in Cologne, a claycourt event in Sardinia, the European Open in Antwerp, the Erste Bank Open in Vienna and an indoor event in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. World number one Novak Djokovic is the defending champion, having defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov in last year’s final to seal a record-extending fifth title.

THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) is investigating claims by Belarus athletes they are being discriminated against because of their political views, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday. Belarus has been rocked by protests since an August 9 election that confirmed another term for President Alexander Lukashenko. “We are very concerned about the information we are getting,” Bach said in a conference call at the end of the body’s executive board meeting. He said the IOC had already corresponded with the national committee and would now also look into scholarship and other funds that had been directed to Belarus and whether they had reached the individuals they were meant for. “What we are hearing is in fact athletes are saying that they are discriminated against by their National Olympic Committee (NOC) just for political reasons,” Bach said. Lukashenko is also president of his country’s Olympic committee (NOC).

BRITISH gymnast Amy Tinkler said on Wednesday that her Olympic bronze medal was not worth the abuse she had to endure throughout her career. The 20-year-old, who announced her retirement in January, was a surprise medallist in the floor exercise at the 2016 Rio Games. Tinkler and others have since spoken out about their experiences with British Gymnastics, accusing coaches of bullying and “body shaming”. British Gymnastics has opened an independent review and said the allegations are being investigated. “The medal wasn’t worth it,” Tinkler told the Daily Mail newspaper. “I would give up my whole Olympic experience to have never gone through this, and for any other gymnast to not (experience it). “Nothing is worth what I have been through and what I am still dealing with.” Tinkler, who was 16 at the Rio Olympics and the youngest member of Britain’s gymnastics team, submitted a formal complaint to the governing body in November 2019

Bronze medal winner Amy Tinkler

and said in July she had yet to receive feedback. In a separate interview with broadcaster ITV, Tinkler said she was still getting professional counselling but was ready to move on with her life and hoping to bring about change through speaking out. “All I want to do is protect the next generation of gymnasts coming up and gymnasts should ever have to go through what myself and the other gymnasts have had to go through,” she said.

TENNIS

ATHLETICS

Eliz thrashes opponents to win top prize

Coe wants Tokyo to host an athletics World Championships

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CyprusToday OCTOBER 10, 2020

Rev Walker asks: How low can you go? PAGE 21

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F1 rivals set to break records at 1st Eifel GP

FORMULA One is set for a record-breaking weekend, as Nuerburgring hosts the first Eifel Grand Prix tomorrow, and one of them at least will not have Lewis Hamilton’s name on it. While the six times world champion has a second go at matching Michael Schumacher’s 91 career wins at the German’s home circuit, Kimi Raikkonen will line up for his 323rd grand prix start after equalling Brazilian Rubens Barrichello’s record in Russia two weeks ago. The Finnish “Iceman”, who made his Formula One debut with Sauber in 2001 and is now 40 and the oldest man in the race, is unlikely to give much more than a shoulder shrug at the achievement. “Record or not, I am approaching this weekend as any other because once you’re in the car, it’s pretty much the same,” said the Alfa Romeo driver, 2007 world champion with Ferrari. “I’ve raced here quite a few times, I think I should have won a couple of races but we’ve been a bit unlucky

at times, but this is how McLaren in 2011 — the racing goes.” 16th of his 90 victories to All eyes were on Alfa date — and the race, Romeo yesterday when brought back to fill gaps Mick Schumacher, 21-yearin a Covid-19 ravaged old son of seven times world calendar, is a home one champion Michael and for his Mercedes team. leader of the Formula Two Even if the 91st win feeder series, made his proves elusive, the Briton practice debut. can be expected to stretch The session had an his records for succesadded poignancy, Mick lapsive points finping at the German circuit ishes (43) closest to his father’s boyhood home in Kerpen and one where Michael — who suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in 2013 — won five times. Britain’s Callum Ilott, another promising Ferrari junior vying with Schumacher for the F2 title, will also be taking part in practice with the Haas team. Hamilton won at the NuerMercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen burgring with

and podiums (159) and maybe also poles (96). The Nuerburgring has not hosted a Formula One race since 2013, when Sebastian Vettel won on his way to a fourth championship with Red Bull, and this will be the latest ever at the circuit. That means cold, and potentially rainy, conditions to add some uncertainty. Hamilton has always gone well in the wet, however, and Mercedes have been on another level to the rest this season with eight wins from 10 races and every pole. The Briton also took the last F1 pole to date at the Nuerburgring. Mercedes had a shocker on home ground last year at Hockenheim, however, with Hamilton ending up ninth and team mate Valtteri Bottas spinning out. The Briton has a 44 point advantage over Bottas after 10 races and will be fancied to extend that if he can stay out of trouble with the stewards after being punished in Sochi for his practice starts.

Leisure Cyprus Today

October 10, 2020

Lady Leshurr is the role model kids need

‘BRUSH YOUR TEETH!’

Page 3

‘WASH YOUR HANDS!’ Cookery

TV

2

14-16

Mary Berry’s ‘soon-to be-classic’ recipies

Best films of the week

Books

Quizzes

17

20-21

Shirley Ballas: Behind the sparkle and shine

Test yourself with 5 quizzes

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

2 LEISURE

TRAVEL

The latest edition of the Good Hotel Guide reveals the weirdest and wackiest places to rest your head. SARAH MARSHALL reports.

Are these the quirkiest hotels in the UK and Ireland? IF 2020 has been the year of discovering great hotels on our doorstep, then 2021 will no doubt provide an opportunity to delve even deeper into the welcoming world of domestic hospitality. Every year, The Good Hotel Guide cherry picks the best properties on offer in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and never before has its expert recommendations been in more demand. We asked the editors to select their top quirky overnight stays — from lighthouses and windmills to former railway carriages, because right now, we could all do with a bit of escapism. Here’s a selection of the most imaginative sleeps beyond your wildest dreams.

Mickey Mouse on the wall, or are perched on a wooden bench with giant budgies in the garden, you’ll find this hotel with a spectacular setting by the coastal path ‘curiouser and curiouser’. It is a fun place, although owners Teresa and Kevin O’Sullivan are very serious about hospitality. The service is slick, there is locallysourced food in the restaurant, and some of the light, airy rooms have sea views. You can take your four-legged friends, too. Doubles from £160, B&B (tallandbayhotel.co.uk). TWR Y FELIN HOTEL Where: St Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales

with its arched windows, wood flooring and double-height living room, complete with cast iron pillars. Even the original carved pulpit and the harmonium are still present. Some of the six country-style bedrooms are quite snug, but they do come with bathrobes, coffee machines and digital radios. Breakfasts are taken seriously here, with homemade kipper paté, kedgeree made with oak-smoked haddock from the Seahouses smokehouse and a full Northumbrian on the menu. It’s just a short stroll to Bamburgh Castle. Doubles from £130, B&B (stcuthbertshouse.com).

The Ceilidh Place from Africa, with vaulted beams, bright patterns and a freestanding bath, Parisian Garret with its antiques, or China, a celebration of Willow Pattern. A revolving bookcase reveals a secret dining room, where the menu features local produce cooked over sustainably-sourced charcoal. There’s even a retail wing, Vegas Vintage, which sells everything from antiques to aged biker jackets and Eighties puff ballgowns. Doubles from £125, B&B (thedialhouse.org.uk). BELLE TOUT LIGHTHOUSE Where: Eastbourne, Sussex

NO.15 GREAT PULTENEY Where: Bath, Somerset

THE OLD RAILWAY STATION Where: Petworth, Sussex

A first-class stay at this converted station is just the ticket, especially if you book one of the rooms in the four romantic Pullman carriages, with their colonial-style furniture, mahogany fittings and plantation shutters. Breakfast, drinks and afternoon tea can be delivered to your carriage door. Two more rooms can be found in the original Station House, of which the largest, with an impressive vaulted ceiling, is up a spiral stairway. Doubles from £150, B&B (old-station.co.uk). TALLAND BAY HOTEL Where: Porthallow, Cornwall Whether you’re sitting on a zebra-print sofa looking at the 3D

It’s not every day you find a contemporary art museum in a Georgian windmill. On the edge of the UK’s smallest city, Twr Y Felin houses more than 150 original works, some of which you will find adorning the walls of the contemporary restaurant and vaulted lounge. A dozen artists were specifically commissioned to create works inspired by the surrounding area. They include Marcus Oleniuk, who photographed St Davids peninsula; and there are magnificent views of the real thing from the observatory that’s part of the Tower Suite. Doubles from £220, B&B (twryfelinhotel.com).

The Georgian facade of this Grade I listed building may be traditional, but there’s a world of eccentricity within: the spa is in a former coal cellar, room keys are kept in a doll’s house, and The Dispensary restaurant holds the contents of an antique chemist’s shop. There is artwork everywhere you look. The elegant rooms range from cosy doubles with murals on the wall to junior suites in the neo-Gothic coach house, with large pieces of statement art, coffered ceilings and fireplaces. Doubles from £184, B&B (no15greatpulteney.co.uk).

ST CUTHBERT’S HOUSE Where: Seahouses, Northumberland You can seek sanctuary in Jeff and Jill Sutheran’s imaginatively converted 19th-century chapel,

THE DIAL HOUSE Where: Reepham, Norfolk Most rooms are geographically themed at this Georgian house on the market square. You can pick

You won’t know which way to look from the lantern room of this unique B&B on the South Coast: there are superb sea views in one direction and all the beauty of the South Downs in the other. It’s the perfect place from which to watch sunrises over Beachy Head Lighthouse or sunsets over Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters. If it’s mild, there’s a walkway outside the lantern room, or the lounge below is home to a crackling fire. Only one of the six rooms is in the tower, with the bed reached by a ladder. Doubles from £160, B&B (belletout.co.uk). TUDDENHAM MILL Where: Tuddenham, Suffolk

The waterwheel is in the bar and the gearing apparatus of this 18th-century mill is on show in the beamed dining room, where creative field-to-fork meals are served. In among the history, the mill’s bedrooms are stylish and contemporary. Hobbit-style huts

in the meadow have hot tubs on the terrace, and enormous rooms in the beamed eaves come with a double-end stone bath in sight of the enormous bed. Other rooms have access to the millstream, where swans glide beside the enormous chimney. Doubles from £150, B&B (tuddenhammill.co.uk). THE CEILIDH PLACE Where: Ullapool, Scotland The Urquhart family’s hotel has only 13 rooms in a series of cottages, but it is also home to a bookshop, coffee shop and events space. There’s a more traditional bar, and a restaurant which serves creative bistro-style food fished or farmed locally, including venison burgers and langoustines. Bedrooms are full of character, with a Roberts radio and books instead of a television. There’s even a bunkhouse across the car park for those travelling on a budget. Doubles from £300 for two nights, with dinner and breakfast (theceilidhplace.com). THE QUAY HOUSE Where: Clifden, County Galway, Ireland

Don’t be surprised to find a Buddha statue rubbing shoulders with a Cupid in the Foyles’ B&B, packed with curios. There are clocks – broken and working – a collection of bovine horns and family photos a-plenty in the former Georgian harbourmaster’s house and three of its neighbours, overlooking Owenglin estuary. Most of the elegant bedrooms boast harbour views, as well as antiques, original artwork, and perhaps a four-poster or halftester bed. Doubles from £175/£161, B&B in October; the B&B closes for the season in November (thequayhouse.com). ❐ The Good Hotel Guide 2021: Great Britain and Ireland, is priced £16, goodhotelguide.com.

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

SHOWBIZ/LIFE

LEISURE 3

LADY LESHURR IS OUT TO INSPIRE WHILE you might have an image of a stereotypical rapper in your head, Lady Leshurr can’t be neatly put in a box. The 30-year-old Birmingham native – real name Melesha O’Garro – has made a name for herself with witty raps, quirky videos and impressive freestyles. Incidentally, Leshurr doesn’t swear or use violent and sexual imagery. In fact, Leshurr says one of her main goals is to inspire the youth. “[It’s not like] I’ve tried to take the role on purpose,” she explains. “It’s something that I’m very passionate about.” As a contestant on the next series of Dancing On Ice, Leshurr is going to be on our screens a whole lot more in 2021 – and this is why she’s well up to the job of being an inspirational figure…

On being a role model… Leshurr went viral in 2015 for her freestyle video, Queen’s Speech Ep.4, and the hook of the song is something you

might not expect from a typical grime track, as she urges listeners to “brush your teeth”. This is very much on-brand for Leshurr, who also released a coronavirusrelated song this year, reminding people to wash their hands. “I feel like I’m a role model in a sense, because I don’t swear, I don’t talk about violence or anything; my music is all about entertaining and trying to teach kids along the way,” Leshurr explains. So many celebrities shy away from the label, so it’s refreshing to hear the rapper wholeheartedly embrace it. “I feel like, out of all the artists in the UK, I’d probably be the best person kids are going to listen to and be inspired by, because I keep it as I am and say it how it is,” Leshurr adds, her sore and croaky throat unable to mask her enthusiasm. She recognises how humour can be a huge tool, saying: “I feel like I can speak to them [kids], and they trust me – and that’s a big thing. When kids trust and believe in you, they’ll rely on you, look up to you, and probably be influenced by you.” Leshurr admits she’s a naturally positive person, but won’t shy away from the tough subjects. “I always try to show people that there may be highs, but there are also a lot of lows,” she explains. “And there are ways to deal with those lows.” The fact her music isn’t peppered with swear words will no doubt endear Leshurr to parents, but it wasn’t a conscious decision on Leshurr’s part. “I just feel there’s no reason to swear,” she says simply – and now she appreciates it’s “a massive thing to be able to listen to songs that your kids want to listen to all together in the same environment”.

On social media… “I used to be online 24/7, my neck was nearly breaking because my head was so low – just constantly on a phone and constantly online,” Leshurr confesses – but her attitude changed when she realised “how toxic social media has become”. After monitoring how much she was consuming, Leshurr learned how to balance it for the sake of her mental health – but she’s worried for children, like her young nieces and nephews. “I think the main reason why young kids in general are feeling

so low, getting anxiety earlier and are feeling depressed is because of social media,” she says. Leshurr thinks we should be especially careful on Instagram, because “pictures are more vivid in your head”, she says. “And kids are on there, they’re seeing picture-perfect things and it’s making them feel a certain way about themselves – it’s just really horrible.” If Leshurr was in charge, she’d impose time limits on social media for people of a certain age. “Kids are literally waking up and going straight onto social media – that’s just not normal,” she says. “It’s not healthy, and it’s sad to see how social media is controlling so many people. Even me, I was controlled at one time.”

Her advice for young creatives… Leshurr credits her local youth club as the place which “really set my foundation as an artist”, and she’s devastated by the closure of these clubs all over the country. “I think that is a really important part of your childhood, and it can develop you in the early stages to whatever you want to become.” So, what is her advice for young creatives? “Follow your heart,” she says frankly. “I think everything has to be natural and come from your heart, and you have to believe in yourself. That’s the one thing I think is a small secret to success. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, the part of you that has the lack of faith is what will override the stuff that’s getting you to that place. I think that little bit of unsureness or uncertainty is what stops you from getting to the next level.”

Lady Leshurr is the 2020 Course Ambassador for Samsung’s Not A School programme. For more information on the course and how to sign up, visit www.samsung.com/uk/ notaschool

Lady Leshurr at the Brit Awards 2020

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

4 LEISURE

FOOD

Mary Berry is back with another selection of soon-to-be classic recipes. We put three of them to the test . . .

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE TRIED RECIPES FROM MARY BERRY’S NEW COOKBOOK By ELLA WALKER

WILD BRAMBLE MOUSSE A DECADENT LOOKING BOWL OF LIGHTNESS

“Pick your own blackberries in the late summer for this perfect light pudding – and freeze some to use later in the year as well,” recommends Mary Berry. “You can purée the blackberries in a food processor after cooking, as this makes it easier to pass them through a sieve.” INGREDIENTS: (SERVES 6) 600g blackberries Juice of lemon 175g caster sugar 5 leaves of gelatine 150ml pouring double cream 2 egg whites To serve: 50g blackberries Icing sugar, for dusting 100ml whipped cream METHOD: 1. You will need a 1.1 litre (2 pint) glass dish or six small dishes. 2. Tip the blackberries, lemon juice and 75g of the caster sugar into a saucepan. Stir, cover the pan and simmer for five to eight minutes until soft. Pass the blackberries through a sieve back into the pan, then discard the seeds. Reheat until piping hot.

3. Put the gelatine leaves into a bowl of cold water and leave for five minutes. Squeeze the water from the gelatine leaves and add them to the hot blackberry juice. Stir until dissolved. Set the mixture aside until it is cold and has thickened slightly. 4. Whip the cream to soft peaks. In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites, adding the remaining 100g of caster sugar a teaspoon at a time. Keep whisking until all the sugar has been incorporated and the whites are stiff and look like a cloud (as for a meringue). Take care not to over whisk or it will be tricky to incorporate the egg whites into the blackberries. 5. Add two large tablespoons of the whipped cream to the blackberry and gelatine mixture and stir in gently. Carefully fold in the rest of the cream and the egg whites until the mixture is smooth and light, with no white bits visible. Pour into the dish or dishes and place in the fridge for about six hours, or ideally overnight, to chill and set. 6. Decorate with a few blackberries, dust with icing sugar and serve with some whipped cream.

PUTTING a Mary Berry cookbook through a “tried and tested” ordeal may seem like sacrilege to some. After all, the former Great British Bake Off judge is a culinary legend, the trusted guide of many a home cook, through many a decade. But not even Berry rests on her laurels. At 85, she’s still writing cookbooks and for this one, Simple Comforts, also stars in an accompanying BBC series (and wouldn’t you, if you got to go to Paris and learn to make proper crepes like she did?). We picked three of the recipes from the new collection and gave them a go, to see if Berry still has it . . . Claire Spreadbury tested: double baked mushroom souffles Making a souffle strikes fear into the heart of any home cook, me included. But, I have successfully made one before. And this one comes fresh from the pages of Mary Berry’s latest book, which seems to lull you into a false sense of security — you just trust her, don’t you? I was wrong, of course, to trust her wholeheartedly. I spent a wonderful afternoon concocting this dish — which you can prep ahead of time and is genuinely relaxing to make. I even enjoyed finely chopping the mushrooms up into teeny-tiny dice, though I did fantasise about owning one of those vegetable chopping gadgets from the 1980s (which no doubt Berry has in a cupboard somewhere). It was all going swimmingly, but after whisking the whites to stiff peaks, the recipe says to “stir about a tablespoon of egg whites into the egg and mushroom mixture and carefully fold it in, keeping everything light and airy.” So I stirred through a good spoonful and momentarily stared

Claire’s first batch of souffles, right, her second batch, below, Claire’s double baked mushroom souffle some Googling, I realised my mistake. Thankfully, the leftover ingredients from my Ocado delivery (which cost just over £20 and serves 6-8 as an indulgent starter, or main with salad or veggies) contained enough to make another two souffles. So I divided the recipe into thirds and started again. The second coming was much more successful, though it’s worth noting that these souffles don’t rise enormously, and tall or flat, they all tasted utterly delicious. I might even make them again at Christmas.

into my mixing bowl, which still had a lot of egg white left in it. It’s obvious when you think about it, that the rest of the mixture also needs to be stirred through, but I trust Berry to be uberspecific, so I left it at that and popped them in the oven surrounded by boiling water. After 15 minutes, they were wonderfully golden but they were also flat as a pancake, and after

Ella Walker tested: brioche frangipane apple pudding All four of those words sound good: brioche, frangipane, apple, and pudding. Especially if you, like me, have a real thing for frangipane — that slightly gooey, slightly crumbly texture, like the top inch of sponge in a sugarsyrup drenched drizzle cake. This recipe, as you’d hope from Berry, is an easy to follow doddle. You simply squish slices of brioche into the bottom of a butter

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

FOOD

LEISURE 5 DOUBLE-BAKED MUSHROOM SOUFFLES BRAVE A CHEESY SOUFFLE “Pure indulgence in the best way! You can make these simple mushroom and cheese soufflés well ahead of time, then reheat them in the creamy spinach sauce and they still stand tall,” says Mary Berry. INGREDIENTS: (MAKES 6) 75g butter, plus extra for greasing 200g chestnut mushrooms, finely diced 50g plain flour 300ml hot full-fat milk 50g Gruyère cheese, grated 50g Parmesan cheese, grated 3 eggs, separated Salt and freshly ground black pepper For the sauce: 300ml pouring double cream 50g baby spinach, roughly chopped 2tsp Dijon mustard METHOD: 1. You will need 6 x size 1 (100ml) ramekins. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7 and butter

the ramekins generously. Lay a piece of kitchen paper in the base of a roasting tin – the paper stops the ramekins for slipping in the tin. 2. Melt 25g of the butter in a large, non-stick frying pan, add the mushrooms and fry them over high heat for a few minutes. Cover the pan with a lid, lower the heat and cook for another four minutes, then remove the lid and fry over a high heat to evaporate the liquid. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set them aside. 3. To make the soufflé base, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour to make a roux and cook for a minute. Gradually add the hot milk and whisk over a high heat until you have a thickened, smooth sauce. 4. Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, until the sauce is smooth. Add the mushrooms and the cheese and season, then set aside to cool a little. 5. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Stir about a tablespoon of egg whites into the egg and mushroom mixture and carefully fold it in, keeping everything light and airy. Continue doing this until you’ve folded in all of the egg whites. 6. Divide the soufflé mixture evenly between the ramekins and sit them on the paper in the roasting tin. Pour enough boiling water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake the soufflés for about 15 minutes until risen and lightly golden. 7. To make the sauce, pour the cream into a jug and add the spinach and mustard. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. 8. To serve, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7. Carefully run a knife around the edge of each ramekin and remove the soufflés. Sit the soufflés, browned side up, in an ovenproof dish, then spoon the sauce around them. Reheat for about 12 minutes until piping hot. Serve with dressed leaves or some brown bread.

Lisa’s wild bramble mousse

Ella’s brioche frangipane apple pudding before it went in the oven. Right, Ella’s cooked brioche frangipane apple pudding. greased tin, and mix the rest of the ingredients together (butter, sugar, almond and plain flour, eggs and almond extract). The trickiest bit is slicing the apples thinly enough, and then arranging them in a circular pattern on top, as though you work in a French patisserie — which, as you can see, I clearly don’t. I threw the pudding in the oven alongside a tray of wedges for dinner (both took 40 minutes, they didn’t seem to mind each other), and it was still warm in the middle after we’d finished dunking said wedges in mayo and chilli jam. Nicely golden (same colour as Berry’s – really felt quite proud), it turned out light in the middle and crisp on top, while the apple slices were slightly dried out and chewy (in a good way). The whole thing tasted like a mellower, cakey take on a Bakewell tart. Full disclosure, I did forget to brush on the melted apricot jam (it smelt too good to wait and faff with jam, and a dollop of creme fraiche on the side happened before I could stop myself), but

will endeavour to apply this golden lacquer when I bake it again. Which I will, because this pudding is autumn in a tin. Lisa Salmon tested: wild bramble mousse When I looked at the recipe for Berry’s wild berry mousse, I knew it was going to be a little fiddly, mainly because of separating and whisking egg whites, and folding them into the blackberry mixture. But I gave it a go — and, as I cracked open my sixth egg (the recipe only needs two), I wished I hadn’t. The recipe starts off easy enough, boiling what seemed like a bushful of blackberries with sugar and lemon juice, then adding gelatine leaves and leaving it to cool and thicken slightly. I was nervous about the gelatine, as I’ve not used it for a long time and have memories of

problems with gelatinous lumps in the past. But there was no problem with it, and thankfully, my berry mixture remained smooth. But then came separating the

eggs and whisking them. Oh dear . . . I separated the first two without getting any egg yolk in them, and whisked them, but as the recipe says to be careful not to over whisk, I was paranoid about over whisking. When the egg whites formed peaks I thought I’d whisked them enough, but then decided the peaks weren’t stiff enough, so I whisked them a bit more, and they went less stiff, so I decided I’d over whisked and needed to start again. I cracked open another two eggs, got yolk in them this time and tried to take it out, but was obviously unsuccessful as I whipped it for ages and it just wouldn’t thicken. So I separated eggs number five and six and whipped them up till they looked much like the first lot — I wasn’t sure if the peaks were stiff enough again, but to be honest I didn’t really care anymore. Good job I’d bought a lot of eggs! After whipping up the cream I folded it and the egg whites into the cooled berry mixture, having sieved it to get the seeds out — Berry says to discard the seeds but after tasting them, I actually ate the lot as they were nice and sweet (and I’m greedy).

BRIOCHE FRANGIPANE APPLE PUDDING AN EASY, MOREISH PUD “When you feel in need of a comfort pudding, this one really fits the bill,” says the legend that is Mary Berry. “It’s perfect for Sunday lunch, served warm with ice cream, custard, cream or crème fraîche.” INGREDIENTS: (SERVES 8) 1/2 a brioche loaf 175g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 175g caster sugar 1tsp almond extract 175g ground almonds 3 eggs, beaten 25g plain flour About 2 red dessert apples, skin on, cored and thinly sliced 2tbsp apricot jam 1tbsp flaked almonds, toasted Icing sugar, for dusting METHOD: 1. You will need a large, shallow ovenproof dish, about 28cm in diameter. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 and grease the dish with butter. 2. Slice the brioche into thin slices, about 5mm (quarter of an inch), and arrange these over the base of the dish. Make sure you cover the base and fill in all the gaps, but don’t overlap the slices. 3. Measure the butter and sugar into a food processor and whizz until pale and fluffy. Add the almond extract, ground almonds, eggs and flour, then whizz again until the mixture is soft and creamy and there are no lumps. Be careful not to over-process. 4. Spoon the mixture over the brioche base and spread it to the sides. Arrange the sliced apples in a neat overlapping circular pattern over the top. Bake the pudding in the oven for about 40 minutes until lightly golden all over and firm in the centre when lightly pressed. 5. Melt the jam with two tablespoons of water in a small pan. Brush over the surface and sprinkle with flaked almonds. 6. Dust the pudding with icing sugar and serve warm. I poured the finished mousse into a posh crystal bowl and popped it in the fridge overnight, with a few reserved berries and icing sugar on top to make it look pretty, then we ate it after Sunday dinner the next day. The verdict? “Quite nice” – not even the kids raved about it. After all that egg whites trouble I was hoping for something absolutely fantastic. It was good, but not spectacular. ❐ Simple Comforts by Mary Berry is published by BBC Books, priced £26. Photography Laura Edwards.

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

6 LEISURE

WELLBEING

KEEPING UP YOUR RUNNING REGIME As a survey shows many of us want to keep up our lockdown-inspired running habits, ABI JACKSON asks Paula Radcliffe for some expert advice. Did getting outdoors to run help you cope with lockdown? You’re in good company…

“BEING able to get out running really helps me handle whatever’s thrown at me, and just mentally put things in perspective and make decisions and think more clearly,” says Paula Radcliffe. “There’s more oxygen going through you, and just getting outside and the endorphins as well, all really helps.” She may be a former world champion and three-time London Marathon winner, but Radcliffe is firm in her message that “if you put one foot in front of the other and you run, you’re a runner”, and thinks it’s brilliant so many people have discovered the benefits of running this year. “People had a lot of worries during lockdown – and still do. I think in the first instance, maybe a lot of people thought, ‘OK, this is my chance to get outside and keep fit’, but then they found it really helped them.” Cheshire-born Radcliffe, 46, has partnered with Flora to inspire the nation to keep active, after a survey by the brand found two-thirds (67 per cent) of us have kept up our lockdown exercise habits. Plus, over half (58 per cent) of people who went jogging during lockdown are now planning to sign up for running events in the future. Want to keep up your running regime through winter? We asked Radcliffe for her top tips . . .

BE FLEXIBLE WHEN YOU NEED TO It’s normal to have “off” weeks, when life gets in the way or you’re just not feeling it, but this doesn’t mean you have to abandon your efforts

ADD SOME CROSS-TRAINING

Paula Radcliffe at the end of the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon entirely. “It’s good to be flexible,” says Radcliffe. “Use it to help you. One of the big things we saw in lockdown, and continue to see, is more people working from home and in a way that gives you a lot more flexibility. “And it’s important not to build it up into another stress in your mind – ‘Oh, I’ve got to get up and do this’, or, ‘I’ve got to do 45 minutes’. If you only go out for 10 minutes, that’s 10 minutes better than nothing. Or if you decide: ‘The weather’s horrendous today, I’m just going to exercise in the house instead’, that is still a workout. Be creative with it and use it as something you’re doing that’s good for you, not a chore you ‘have’ to do.”

USE GOALS AND REWARDS “Have a goal you’re working towards. It can be something like a virtual race, or, ‘I want to get to the point where I can run 5k in such and such a time, or run two miles without stopping’ – it doesn’t matter what it is, but having a goal keeps you connected to why you’re doing it, and build in rewards. So as you tick off the goals or get closer to them, yes treat yourself to that big glass of wine or ice-cream, or that nice soak in the bath – just little things you enjoy so you can tick off the benefits.”

Cross-training helps avoid injuries and improve your form, and Radcliffe says winter is an ideal time to squeeze in some strength-building exercises at home. “It’s important at all times to concentrate on a strong core and feet for runners, maybe even more so in winter, when you’ve got the risk of ice and the ground being more muddy and slippery, so your ankles need to be a bit stronger and more reactive,” she says. Think about “really simple things, like planks, single leg planks, side planks. Maybe make it a little competition with the family,” Radcliffe suggests. “The feet exercise can be as simple as standing on a folded towel on one leg while you brush your teeth, and then try closing your eyes to work on that proprioception [sense of body position] there. “Or tie an elastic resistance band around a table leg and do some dorsiflexion exercise – pulling your toes back towards you to strengthen the muscles down the front of the shin, and then do side to side as well, that can really help with ankle strength. “The balancing one you can do every day. The band one I’d say two or three times a week is probably enough, and the core stuff you could do every other day.”

ADAPT YOUR KIT If you’re going to be running in the dark, invest in a reflective jacket, and when it comes to keeping warm, Radcliffe says: “The biggest advice would be to layer up, because you will warm up once you’re moving. Layer thin T-shirts, tops and a jacket, then you can take some off and tie them around your waist. Gloves are a big thing as well in winter, because if your hands are wet and cold, you’re going to be uncomfortable, so a good pair of lightweight gloves. “The other thing is, because it gets muddy in winter, people may be more likely to run on the road. That slightly increases impact, so you want to look for a better cushioned pair of shoes if you’re running more on the roads.”

DON’T FORGET TO HYDRATE AND REFUEL “Hydration’s really important. A lot of people don’t think about it in winter because they don’t think they’ll need as much, but you are going to be sweating,” says Radcliffe. She suggests adding in “healthy fruits, like oranges and kiwis, as they will boost your vitamin C intake as well as your fluids. Keep your immune system strong with healthy fats, as well as good proteins

and carbohydrates, and have a nice snack to come in to when you’ve finished your run,” she adds. “Trying to eat something within 20 minutes of finishing is great – that window is when the body is most open to restocking its fuel stores and that all helps with the recovery over the next 24 hours and with things like soreness. “This is important all year round but might become a bit more obvious in winter, as you’re not only burning energy to run, you’re burning energy to keep warm too. I make a load of healthy flapjacks with the kids, with oats, bananas, a bit of agave syrup and plantbased margarine, maybe some raisins and dried fruit.”

DON’T SKIP THE WARM-UP “You want to make sure your muscles warm up gently and gradually. So if you don’t do so normally, just walking or jogging slowly to begin with can help you warm up. Sometimes in winter, I go out for a short jog with more layers on, then come back and maybe stretch a bit, ditch the top layer and then go out for my longer run.” For more info and tips from Flora running ambassador Paula Radcliffe, visit flora.com/en-gb/flora/keep-running

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

SOCIAL SCENE & WHAT’S ON

ADVICE AND INFORMATION Tuesday Anglo Turkish Association of Northern Cyprus holds a Members Clinic at Creditwest Bank, Çatalköy, from 10.30-11.30am on the third Tuesday of the month. For more details see www.angloturkishassociation. com Thursday Anglo Turkish Association of Northern Cyprus holds a Members Clinic at Creditwest Bank, Alsancak, from 10.30-11.30am on the first Thursday of the month. For more details see www.angloturkishassociation. com

ARCHERY Thursday Karşıyaka Archery members will meet at Karşıyaka Park Café at 4pm. All are welcome

BINGO Tomorrow Charity bingo in aid of North Cyprus Cancer Charity Trust takes place at The Lodge, Çatalköy, at 7.30pm. All are welcome Tuesday Bingo at Vicky’s Kitchen, Karakum, at 4pm. For more details call 0533 846 2444 Friday Bingo at Charlie’s Sport Bar, Küçük Erenköy, at 7.30pm. All are welcome. Call 0533 870 5977 Bingo at Jessic’s Bar & Restaurant, Karşıyaka, at 3.30pm. Food available. For more details call 0533 855 8589

LEISURE 7

BRS

What’s On?

Today A British Residents’ Society representative will be at The Hut, Girne, from 10am-noon, or at Lambousa Market, Lapta, same times

Your guide to upcoming events

CHARITY AFTERNOON TEA

Wednesday 112 host an Afternoon Tea event at The Black Olive Café, Alsancak, at 3pm. Entry 40TL, including sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee. Speaker will be poet Shirley Howarth. For more details & to book call 0533 840 7834

CHARITY SHOPS Today & Wednesday North Cyprus Cancer Charity Trust hut (behind Girne post office) opens from 9.30am-12.30pm. Donations always welcome Every Day Help Those With Cancer/Tulips charity boutique at Şeytanpir Plaza No 2, Alsancak opens from 10am-4pm. All donations welcome Monday - Friday Kyrenia Animal Rescue Gladrags shop, Karakum (opposite Ziraat bank) opens 9am-1pm Monday-Friday (Closed Wednesdays) North Cyprus Cancer Charity Trust Heartbeat shop opens from 10am1pm at the rear of Girne Akcicek Hospital (from Girne turn left after the Art Gallery Shop and Heartbeat is on your immediate right). Donations always welcome Monday-Saturday Kyrenia Animal Rescue Charity and House & Home shops, behind Girne fire station open 10am-1pm

MARKETS Today, Tomorrow & Tuesday Evergreen Market & Café, Lapta, open today 7am-1.30pm, tomorrow 3-8pm and Tuesday 4-8.30pm. For more details call 0548 888 6328

DANCE Monday Zambra Mora Arabic Flamenco classes, studio & online available, Çatalköy. Call 0533 885 5767 Thursday Beginners Bellydance classes, studio & online available, Çatalköy.  Call 0533 885 5767 for more details Friday Simbo African Brazilian class at The Black Olive Café, Alsancak, at 9am. First class free. For more details call 0533 835 5133

GAMES Thursday Whist Drive at the Karşıyaka Park Cafe & Restaurant at 2pm. All welcome, even beginners.  For further information call Elaine on 0533 844 1860

HELP GROUPS Today Al-Anon, support group for relatives and friends of alcoholics. For details call: 0533 824 1100 Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Karşıyaka, 1-2pm. For more information call 0533 885 7743 or 0533 824 1100 Monday Narcotics Anonymous meet 6-7pm. For more info 0533 888 4168 Wednesday Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Karşıyaka, 1-2pm. For more information call 0533 885 7743 or 0533 824 1100

LIBRARY Today & Wednesday Kyrenia Society Library behind Girne Post Office opens from 10am-noon. All welcome

Today Market selling bric-à-brac, secondhand books, clothes. 9am at Chateau Lambousa, Lapta Tomorrow Market at The Courtyard Inn, Karakum, from 9am-1pm. All are welcome Wednesday Girne Market open from 8am to 8pm selling fresh fruit and veg, dairy products, plants and clothes. Near Girne police station

QUIZZES Today Quiz & karaoke at Vicky’s Kitchen, Karakum. For more details call 0533 846 2444

Friday Quiz at Mushys Bar, Alsancak, at 6pm. Entry 10TL, with half of proceeds going to Help Those With Cancer/Tulips. Raffle, proceeds to the charity. Food available. To book call 0533 853 9936

SPORTS & FITNESS Tuesday & Thursday Body Sculpt class from 8.30-9.30am at The Black Olive Café Studio, Alsancak. Fee 40TL, with first class free. All are welcome Tuesday and Thursday Pilates class at The Black Olive Café & Studio, Alsancak, from 10-11am. £5.00 per session. For details call Sue on 0533 837 2355 Wednesday Somatic Yoga class from 10.30am11.45 at The Black Olive Café, Alsancak, suitable for all ages and beginners. For more details call 0533 835 5133

Tuesday Quiz & bingo with Tony at The Park Café, Karşıyaka, at 7.30pm. For more details call 0533 844 1793 Wednesday & Friday Fun quiz at Club Tropicana, Ozanköy, at 7pm. All are welcome. For details call 0533 861 1924 Thursday Quiz with Steve takes place at The Red Lion, Alsancak, at 7pm Quiz at Khan’s Restaurant & Bar, Çatalköy, at 7.30pm. To book call 0533 861 7224

Due to current circumstances events may be subject to change or cancellation

Please send your events and photos to cyprustodaylistings @yahoo.com by 5pm on Tuesday

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

8 LEISURE

GAMES

JAMIE HARRIS tries Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, Unrailed!, The Last Campfire and Marble Knights Marble Knights

TOP NEW VIDEO GAMES GAME OF THE WEEK

the survival genre that is challenging but could do with more scope to be an all-round train pleaser.

Campfire rests itself as a cosy puzzler — and there are certainly plenty of puzzles to choose from, although they aren’t always that original. You play the part of a lost ember trapped in a puzzling place, searching for meaning and a way home, which takes you through lands and a dark forest in face of adversities. You will encounter characters known as Forlorn along your way. It’s a well-formed tale that entwines puzzles and becomes progressively challenging – and leaves you hungry for more. Skip to the end: Taking on the calm approach to gaming works in The Last Campfire’s favour but there is a sense that we needed it to go on a little longer.

Title: The Last Campfire Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS Genre: Puzzle Price: From £4.99

Title: Marble Knights Platform: iOS Genre: Adventure Price: From £4.99 per month with Apple Arcade

Calm puzzle gaming

March on

Not all games need to be stressful, high-intensity experiences and The Last

Marble Knights is a pretty standard mobile adventure title littered with puzzles and rewards

Title: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC Genre: Sport Price: £39.99 Tony Hawk flip tricks into 2020 There have been a fair few remakes of late and it can be easy to dismiss them as a bit lazy – but this take on the first two Tony Hawk Pro Skater games is anything but. The obvious and most resounding change up is the upgraded graphics fit for 2020, which work beautiful for this type of sport, more so given how smooth the performance is. Then there’s the killer music, which has been beefed up with some new tracks. Into game play, you can expect much of the old stuff but with additions and enhancements, such as an online multiplayer modes and more in depth Create-A-Park and CreateA-Skater modes. And with new generation skaters added into the mix, this really is 360 revamp that flies high above its predecessors. Skip to the end: A loads of improvements and additions make this Tony Hawk gaming return well worth the money.

SCORE: 9/10

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 the tracks going by taking resources such as wood from trees to maintain the track before the train reaches the end. It starts off slowly but gradually picks up steam, increasing the pressure. If you reach the next station, there is a chance to carry out some upgrades, such as a new engine, which adds a health reward. There is also a versus round which adds more stress than finding a seat on packed early morning train, pre-Covid of course. Skip to the end: A novel take on

SCORE: 8/10

SCORE: 8/10

TOP 10 GAME CHART 1. SUPER MARIO 3D ALL-STARS 2. MARVEL’S AVENGERS 3. MAFIA: DEFINITIVE COLLECTION 4. ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS 5. MARIO KART 8 DELUXE 6. MAFIA TRILOGY 7. MINECRAFT DUNGEONS 8. TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER 1 + 2 9. MINECRAFT 10. GRAND THEFT AUTO V Ukie Games Charts (c), compiled by GfK

as you progress throughout the game. You play as one of the knights who, as the name suggests, roll around on a marble — yes, strange — but be careful, as you can be knocked off and it will slow you down. You encounter various baddies and challenges, which keep Marble Knights entertaining enough, but the fun really kicks in thanks to the ability to play with three other players, making it more of a team effort. Skip to the end: Marble Knights isn’t the most original concept but that doesn’t prevent it from being a fun play, especially with others.

SCORE: 7/10

Unrailed!

Title: Unrailed! Platform: Nintendo Switch Genre: Co-op survival / Puzzle Price: £15.99 On the right track Keeping a train running as long as possible is certainly a coop survival concept many didn’t see coming, but Unrailed! has made it a reality — and does so right on track. Working in a maximum of four, you must keep

The Last Campfire

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

MUSIC NEWS

LEISURE 9

Queen’s Brian May joins rock world in remembering guitarist Eddie Van Halen QUEEN guitarist Brian May has paid tribute to “original and dazzling” Eddie Van Halen following his death at the age of 65. The man described as “Mozart for guitar” died on Tuesday after a “long and arduous” battle with cancer. May said in an Instagram post: “Completely gutted to hear the sad news. This wonderful man was way too young to be taken. What a talent – what a legacy – probably the most original and dazzling rock guitarist in History. “I think of him as a boy – an innocent prodigy – always full of joy, always modest – and those truly magical fingers opened a door to a new kind of playing. “I treasure the moments we shared. His passing leaves a giant hole in my heart. RIP Ed Van Halen. Bri”. Eddie’s son, Van Halen bassist Wolfgang, announced news of his death with a statement on social media. He said: “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning. “He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. “My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.” Wolfgang added: “I love you so much, Pop.” Valerie Bertinelli, Van Halen’s first wife and 29year-old Wolfgang’s mother, shared a touching tribute and revealed she was at his side when he died. She wrote: “40 years ago my life changed forever when I met you. “You gave me the one true light in my life, our son, Wolfgang. Through all your challenging treatments for lung cancer, you kept your gorgeous spirit and that impish grin. “I’m so grateful Wolfie

and I were able to hold you in your last moments. I will see you in our next life my love.” Bertinelli was married to Van Halen from 1981 to 2007. TMZ reported Van Halen’s current wife, Janie Liszewski, was also by his side when he died at a hospital in Santa Monica. A message on the official AC/DC twitter account described Eddie as a “guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry”. It added: “To the world of music he was a special gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a very special person. He leaves a big hole in a lot of hearts. To the van Halen family my heartfelt sympathies. Angus.” Kiss singer Gene Simmons told BBC Breakfast: “I would urge you, take young people by the scruff of the neck and force them to sit down and stop texting and tweeting just for a second and introduce them for the first time to the wonder of Eddie Van Halen and the band. “Let them hear greatness, let them witness the joy this kid had and the amazing Godgiven gift that he had. And you may change a few minds, I’m fairly convinced of it…” Revered guitarist Eddie was Van Halen’s creative force as they blurred the line between hard rock and heavy metal on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world in the 1980s. Van Halen, reportedly a heavy smoker who fought alcoholism, had battled health issues. He first received treatment for tongue cancer in 2000 and the subsequent surgery removed about a third of his tongue. He was declared cancerfree in 2002. It was reported last year that Van Halen had been privately battling throat cancer for five years. More tributes flooded in

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from across the music industry and beyond. David Lee Roth, Van Halen’s former bandmate, posted a short message alongside a black-and-white picture of the pair together. “What a Long Great Trip It’s Been,” Roth, also 65, said. He had three spells as Van Halen’s charismatic vocalist. The Who’s Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone: “It’s completely tragic that we have lost him. “He was not just an innovative and stylish player with great taste, he was also a laidback virtuoso showman who just blew us all away every time. “Every shredder today has lost their Master Teacher and Guide.” Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready said he started playing guitar about a year after Van Halen’s 1978 selftitled debut album was released, saying it sounded like the late musician was “from another planet”. He added: “Eddie was like Mozart for guitar. Changed everything and he played with soul.” Sammy Hagar, a former Van Halen frontman who departed the band under acrimonious circumstances, shared a picture of him and the guitarist together. He said: “Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family.” Nikki Sixx, co-founder of the rock band Motley Crue, described himself as “crushed” by the news. He said: “RIP Eddie Van Halen. You changed our world. You were the Mozart of rock guitar. Travel safe rockstar.” Lenny Kravitz said Van Halen was “legendary” and a “musical innovator”. “Heaven will be electric

tonight,” he added. British singer Billy Idol tweeted: “Rest in peace guitar legend Eddie Van Halen. We will miss you.” Black Sabbath co-founder Geezer Butler said Van Halen was a “true gent and a true genius”. He added: “Just when I thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse, I hear Eddie Van Halen has passed. So shocking- One of the nicest, down to Earth men I have ever met and toured with. A true gent and true genius. RIP.” Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea said: “Oh man, bless his beautiful creative heart. I love you Eddie Van Halen, an LA boy, a true rocker. I hope you jam with Jimi tonight. Break through to the other side my brother.” Star Wars actor Mark Hamill sent his condolences to Wolfgang, adding: “But take solace in knowing that he will be long remembered and live on forever as one of Rock’s most extraordinary guitar virtuosos.” Van Halen was born in the Netherlands and raised in Pasadena, California. He formed the band with his brother Alex, bassist Michael Anthony and singer Roth in 1974. The group earned a name for themselves playing in Los Angeles clubs before their 1978 self-titled debut sold more than 10 million copies in the US alone and set them on the road to super stardom. They followed their debut with Van Halen II, Women And Children First, Fair Warning and Diver Down and by the mid-1980s were one of the most popular acts on the planet. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Van Halen eighth on its list of the 100 greatest guitar players of all time. The band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

AC/DC reunite remaining members of classic lineup for new album THE remaining members of AC/DC’s classic line-up have announced a new song, the first from their forthcoming album Power Up. The track, Shot In The Dark, is their first new music since 2014’s Rock Or Bust album. Founder Angus Young has reunited with Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd and Cliff Williams for the record, plus recent addition Stevie Young. To mark the launch, London landmarks Battersea Power Station, St Paul’s Cathedral, Marble Arch and the Tate Modern were illuminated with AC/DC imagery overnight. The rockers also reunited with producer Brendan O’Brien, who helmed Black Ice in 2008 and Rock Or Bust in 2014, for the 12-track project. Tracks include Realize, Demon Fire, Systems Down, Money Shot and Code Red. The Australia-formed rock band was founded in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, going on to record hits including Highway To Hell and Back In Black. The band has had a series of line-up changes over the years, including a stint with Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose as lead singer. Johnson returns to the band after experimental treatment solved a hearing problem that forced him to abandon their Rock Or Bust world tour in 2016. Doctors had warned him he risked going deaf if he continued to perform, and Rose briefly replace him on lead vocals. Johnson told Rolling Stone magazine: “It was pretty serious. “I couldn’t hear the tone of the guitars at all. It was a horrible kind of deafness. I was literally getting by on muscle memory and mouth shapes. “I was starting to really feel bad about the performances in front of the boys, in front of the audience. It was crippling. There’s nothing worse than standing there and not being sure.” Speaking about finding a specialist willing to treat him, he said: “It took two and a half years. He came down once a month. We’d sit there and it was boring as shit with all these wires and computer screens and noises. “But it was well worth it. The only thing I can tell you is that it uses the bone structure in the skull as a receiver. That’s as much as I can tell you.” Former guitarist Malcolm Young died aged 64 in 2017 after suffering dementia. In 2014 it had been announced he would not be playing with the rock band any more. Angus told Rolling Stone: “This record is pretty much a dedication to Malcolm, my brother. It’s a tribute for him like Back In Black was a tribute to (former lead singer) Bon Scott.” In 2017, AC/DC’s long-standing producer George Young, another brother of Malcolm and Angus, died aged 70. The band said at the time: “It is with pain in our heart that we have to announce the passing of our beloved brother and mentor George Young. “Without his help and guidance there would not have been an AC/DC.”

Scottish rockers Travis return with new album TWENTY years since they won the first of two best British group awards at the Brits, Travis return with their ninth studio album. True to its simple name — 10 SONGS — this offering comes in 10 unique parts, pairing lead singer Fran Healy’s breathy falsetto with a mixture of contemplative piano, classic rock guitar and drums. In many ways, this record has all the things that brought joy to fans of the Scottish rock band in their heyday. Ever the band’s strength, it shifts with ease from loud to soft, animated to moody – offering both a spring in your step and a moment of sobriety, in a collection which grows on you with each listen. Yearners for the Britpop years will enjoy a strong sense of nostalgia, but for those with their heads in the present, it stands up as a triumph too.

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

10 LEISURE

MUSIC

‘Headlining Glastonbury for us was a doubleedged sword’ Multi-hyphenate musician Skin talks writing her memoir, her childhood in Brixton and racism in the music industry “I’VE had to learn to blow my own trumpet because — as a black female singer — no-one was going do it for me,” explains Skin down the phone from her Ibiza home. As the frontwoman of Skunk Anansie, Deborah Dyer — AKA Skin — offered an alternative voice to the machismo of Britrockers such as Oasis and Blur during the 90s. “If I am modest I disappear,” she says. “I don’t like to sit here and say, ‘I was the first black woman to headline Glastonbury’. “That’s not my personality. “But one of the ways that racism works is that it erases what black people do. “It erases our successes.” Black, British and queer, Skin, now 53, was a rarity in the fairly homogeneous landscape of 90s pop and rock. Her autobiography, fittingly titled It Takes Blood And Guts, charts a difficult but warm childhood in Brixton, south London, through to her hardtouring years in Skunk Anansie — a band that defied expectation, not only because of its diverse line-up of musicians. The book also touches on Skin’s activist work, campaigning against apartheid and for LGBT rights, and glitzier turns like her stint as a judge on the Italian version of the X Factor. Add to that her late reinvention as a globe-trotting DJ and close relationship with the fashion world, including the late Alexander McQueen, and you are guaranteed some good stories. “I have three brothers so I was raised in a house of boys,” she recalls. “There was a lot of man energy around. “In Jamaican families, in Jamaican culture, if someone is hungry you feed them. “If someone comes to your house then you put down an extra plate. That’s cultural. “And my mum, a nurse, was like that. “Lots of Jamaican were like that. “They showed their love by filling your belly.” Skin’s memories of Brixton in the 70s and 80s are mixed, she says. The riots of 1981 and 1985 left an impact — spurring her on to activism. “The negative things that were happening to people were literally happening outside my front door. “Things that you read about, they were happening to me and to us and our generation. “I was raised with the concern of, ‘This just isn’t right. Why is that fair? That person shouldn’t die in that way. That person shouldn’t be treated that way’.

“You just see a lot of things growing up that you just don’t think are very fair, so you want to change things.” Today, the gentrification of the area is something that concerns her. “The wonderful thing about Brixton is Brixton Market. “But it has been under attack for years now. “Eventually we are going to see it disappear because the new people moving in don’t really get it. “They don’t really get the black food. “They don’t really get that it is supposed to be a bit edgy and bit messy, with people shouting and selling goods. “They want their market to be quiet and beautiful and peaceful.” Much of Skin’s family still lives in Brixton — including her mother and one of her brothers — but some have moved on because of various factors including rising rents. Skunk Anansie’s peak originally stretched from 1995’s Paranoid & Sunburnt to 1999’s Post Orgasmic Chill, before the band split for a decade. Throughout, Skin’s fame — she was instantly recognisable for her shaved head — was both a blessing and a curse. “Entourages can be a very dangerous thing to an artist because they shield you from things you need to know — and things you don’t need to know,” she says, with a knowing laugh. “Sometimes they get it really, really wrong — which is why I don’t have one!” Much of the book explores Skin’s struggle to maintain connection with her family, friends and partners as she tours the world. Has she got the balance right now? “Yeah, totally,” she says without hesitation. “WhatsApp groups change everything.” The first act of Skunk Anansie’s career peaked with a slot on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in 1999, alongside fellow headliners REM and Manic Street Preachers. “Headlining Glastonbury for us was a double-edged sword because, if you imagine, we were one of the biggest bands in the UK at the time, and also in Europe.

“Our second album was triple platinum. “We absolutely deserved to headline Glastonbury in terms of statistics, in terms of record sales, in terms of the size of the band. “And yet, we had so many journalists that were anti-Skunk Anansie headlining Glastonbury.” Their detractors dressed up their criticism, she says. “But what they really meant was there is a black female lead singer and she shouldn’t be singing rock music anyway. “That was what was really behind it. “You can say that now, but if we had said that at the time we would have been told we had a chip on our shoulder.” Skin is quick to point out a catalogue of black artists or predominantly black groups who could have headlined over the years. “Goldie could have done it at one point, Dizzee Rascal could have done it at one point, even Eternal could have done it at one point! It’s not that we aren’t there. It’s that we don’t get the dibs and we don’t get seen as someone who can fill a field.” Aided by journalist and friend Lucy O’Brien, Skin began her book before the pandemic, but it was finished during the first months of lockdown. “I spent the first four months of proper serious lockdown in New York with my wifey and we literally didn’t go anywhere. “New York was really serious about it. “They had a curfew which started halfway through because of all of the protesting and demonstrations that the government tried to clamp down on.” Skin finally made it to London before arriving in Ibiza about a fortnight before we speak. For now, at least, hers is a happy ending. In September, she announced her engagement to her partner, performer and events organiser Rayne Baron. ❐ It Takes Blood And Guts by Skin and Lucy O’Brien is available now.

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

MUSIC REVIEWS

LEISURE 11

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor and folk revivalists Fleet Foxes both deliver surprising releases

Melanie C pulls no punches on celebratory eighth solo album MELANIE C — MELANIE C

SUFJAN STEVENS — THE ASCENSION

MELANIE C, who first caught the public’s attention in the mid 90s as the Spice Girls’ athletic Sporty Spice, admits she has not always felt comfortable in her own skin despite coming across as talented and likeable. More than two decades later and, after last year’s successful Spice Girls reunion, Melanie, now 46, says one of the positives about getting older is that she cares less about what others think. Her celebratory eighth solo album tells the world she now accepts — even likes — herself for who she is. It’s an upbeat listen with singles Who I Am, Blame It On Me and In And Out Of Love as stand-out tracks to get people dancing. The atmospheric Fearless wouldn’t sound out of place on a Spice Girls album, with rapper Nadia Rose — a childhood Spice Girls fan — adding power, while Here I Am is a singalong anthem about finding inner strength. But despite the upbeat music, Melanie C pulls no punches in discussing the darker side of life with panic attacks in Nowhere To Run, toxic relationships in Good Enough and, finally, the relief that can come with a new start in End Of Everything. (Review by Beverley Rouse)

Sufjan Stevens was on a voyage of space discovery until the death of his mother stopped him in his tracks and led to his heartbreaking magnum opus Carrie And Lowell. It was a return to the sort of stripped-back modern folk that first earned him his legion of fans, offering up a magnifying glass to the soul. Five years on, though, the interstellar adventure is recommencing in the form of his latest full-length — the 80-minute epic The Ascension. Much like 2010’s The Age Of Adz, this latest record fuses Stevens’ knack for piercing-yet-folksy melody with his more recent penchant for sci-fi infused electronica. That means there is a bit more that can be enjoyed purely on face value. But grief and an obsession with the big questions are all still in plentiful supply — indeed Stevens’ grapples with faith and the universe he inhabits dominate much of the record.

8/10

COREY TAYLOR — CMFT I thought I knew what I was in for when I cranked up the volume for Corey Taylor’s debut solo album. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Slipknot frontman would take the aggressive heavy metal with him, but then Taylor is also part of Stone Sour — a much more mainstream rock band. This self-titled album CMFT (being his initials) meets somewhere in the middle. There is a mix of bluesy country in HWY 666, don’t be forgiven if you find yourself at a crossroads looking for a demon — because just by this opening track I swear he has sold his soul to something, Black Eyes Blue and Kansas have elements of soft rock from days of yore. Single CMFT Must Be Stopped (feat. Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie) is all drums and guitar riffs — think Run DMC mixed with Beastie Boys and throw in some tonguetripping rap.

Fans of this more esoteric Sufjan will be drawn to the album’s climax, with the stunning title track Ascension followed by the overtly political America — no spoilers, but it offers quite the counterpoint to the quirky Americana that helped him make his name. (Review by Stephen Jones)

8/10

AMANDA HOLDEN — SONGS FROM MY HEART Britain’s Got Talent judge, a sideline as a DJ on Heart radio, a loving family, a surprisingly varied acting career — Amanda Holden has ticked off much of life. Where to go for the woman who has done it all? For 49-year-old Holden, the answer is, apparently, an album. Songs From My Heart is a collection of show tunes and

This mix of rock and hip hop has the potential to generate some real staying power. Overall, I love the feel of the whole record, as it slips effortlessly from one track to the next. The driving riffs are apparent throughout, and the drums build up the momentum and even coaxed a mini-mosh from this hardened soul! (Review by Rachel Howdle)

8/10

musical classics taking in Somewhere from West Side Story and I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. These are family-friendly choices, not a curveball in sight, and aimed squarely at the middle-market. Holden’s voice is, without a doubt, strong — you would hope so given she judges singers for a living on BGT. But on her debut album, Holden lacks the one thing that has defined her TV career — personality. (Review by Alex Green)

5/10

FLEET FOXES —SHORE From the first seconds of Wading In Waist-High Water, the first track, it could only be Fleet Foxes — acoustic guitars, wheezing keyboards, a children’s choir, over almost before it has begun. But the vocals, starting with “Summer all over” are by Uwade Akhere, rather than frontman Robin Pecknold, a literal attempt to take himself out of the spotlight, a symbol of the anxiety he says he’s felt since the unexpected success of the first Fleet Foxes album 12 years ago. He then does sing second track Sunblind which references Richard Swift, the cult singer-songwriter who died too young a couple of years ago, and a host of other artists like Arthur Russell who are no longer with us but whose legacy Pecknold continues. Can I Believe You, like all classic Fleet Foxes, sounds like it could have been crafted during sessions for Neil Young’s 1972 Harvest, without in any way seeming like a museum piece. Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman samples Brian Wilson’s voice from Pet Sounds outtakes, the Beach Boys a clear influence. Shore, which comes with an accompanying 16mm road movie of the same name shot by Kersti Jan Werdal in the Pacific Northwest, was released suddenly, again perhaps in an attempt to avoid the hype. Pecknold says this fourth album was recorded as though it might be the last the band records, and not knowing if the 15 songs will ever be played live. At once tinged with melancholy yet life-affirming, Shore may not be a radical departure for Fleet Foxes, but it’s good to have them back. (Review by Matthew George)

7/10

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

Cyprus Today, Octobern10, 2020

12 LEISURE

BOX OFFICE

Daniel Craig offers advice to the next Bond actor ACTOR Daniel Craig (pictured left) has passed on his words of wisdom for the next 007: “Leave it better than when you found it”. The star of five Bond films appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon days after the announcement his last outing, No Time To Die, would be delayed. It was originally due to be released in April, but was delayed until November amid global concern around the spread of coronavirus. The film will now be released in April 2021. Speaking about the delay, Craig said: “This thing is just bigger than all of us. “We just want people to go and see this movie in the right way and in a safe way. “We want to release the movie at the same time all around the world and this isn’t the right time. So fingers cross April 2 is going to be our date.” When asked what advice he had for the next person to take on the role of the iconic spy, he said: “Don’t f*** it up. It’s a beautiful, amazing thing. Leave it better than when you found it.” No Time To Die also stars Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch and Ana De Armas and is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, with a script co-written by Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The film finds Bond after he has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica when his old friend Felix Leiter, played by Jeffrey Wright, from the CIA turns up asking for help.

Netflix stands by Cuties movie after being indicted over ‘lewd’ film in Texas NETFLIX has said it is standing by the controversial film Cuties after it emerged the streaming giant is facing a criminal charge in Texas over the movie’s alleged “lewd” depiction of children. Cuties follows an 11-year-old Senegalese girl living in Paris who rebels against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a “free-spirited dance crew”. Critics have accused the film, which is streaming on Netflix, of sexualising children. A petition was launched calling for people to boycott Netflix over the movie. A grand jury in Tyler County, Texas, has indicted the company on the charge of “promotion of lewd visual material depicting child”. The indictment says Cuties appeals to the “prurient interest in sex” and the material holds “no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”. Netflix has once again defended the film. A representative told the PA news agency: “Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualisation of young children. This charge is without merit and we stand by the film.” Following the initial backlash, the company encouraged people to watch the movie before passing judgment. Writer-director Maimouna Doucoure said she considers it to be “a deeply feminist film with an activist message” that is a “mirror of today’s society, a mirror sometimes difficult to look into”.

Jurassic World: Dominion delayed until 2022 JURASSIC World: Dominion is the latest major Hollywood blockbuster to get delayed. The dinosaur action film — starring an ensemble cast including Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum — will now arrive on June 10 2022, according to the movie’s official Twitter account. It had been set to launch in July next year. Hollywood is reeling from the impact of

Max Greenfield on cats, dogs, homeschooling and a possible New Girl reunion

the coronavirus pandemic, which has closed cinemas around the world and almost wiped out box office takings. While theatres in some areas have reopened their doors, studios are reluctant to release their tentpole offerings amid the ongoing uncertainty. The dearth of new releases has been catastrophic for cinema chains. Cineworld has confirmed

plans to temporarily close its theatres in the UK and US due to a lack of new releases. The Regal chain followed suit, while Odeon and Vue have shared their concerns over the situation. On Monday, sci-fi epic Dune became the latest film to vacate its 2020 release date ❐ Production on Jurassic World: Dominion is under way in the UK.

Film Digest

SAINT MAUD (15) THE brightly lit arcades of a nameless British seaside resort bear witness to a brutal tug of war between faith and fanaticism in writer-director Rose Glass’ striking debut feature. Infused with the creeping dread of a modern-day horror story, Saint Maud is a mesmerising portrait of religious fervour and sexual awakening anchored by a bravura central performance from Welsh actress Morfydd Clark as the eponymous tortured soul. Her porcelain features seem to hang in the pervasive darkness of the screen like some ghostly apparition, fixing us with a cold stare that perfectly and chillingly conveys the resolve of a nurse, who will follow silent instruction to the bitter and bloody end. Cinematographer Ben Fordesman is a willing accomplice, conjuring scenes of gloomily lit domestic drudgery that suddenly thrum with menace and prickle our skin with fear. Abandon hope all ye who peer through Glass’ distorted lens.

The actor lends his voice to a rule-following dog in the new family film Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! BY LAURA HARDING

She said she got the idea after seeing a group of 11-year-old girls dancing in a way “you would see in a video clip” during a neighbourhood gathering in Paris. The director said she spent the next year and a half meeting with hundreds of pre-teens to learn about how they felt about their femininity in today’s society, and how they felt about their self-image in the era of social media. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019, where Doucoure won the world cinema dramatic directing award.

LEISURE 13

MAX Greenfield is supposed to be home-schooling his five-year-old son but at the moment the little boy has a pumpkin on his head. It’s not a real pumpkin, the New Girl actor stresses, merely a plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket that is used for trick or treating. “You wouldn’t believe what is happening right now,” he laughs over Zoom from the family home in Los Angeles. “I should go and help him but it’s too funny.” He turns away from the screen for a moment. “Hey Ozzie, don’t put that on your head, you can’t see anything when you have that on there!” He turns back: “He will be fine. Oh no, he just walked into a wall.” Greenfield’s juggling of work and home-schooling will be relatable to millions of parents as he navigates the complexities of professional responsibilities and educating two children – daughter Lily, 10, and the errant Ozzie. “I’m on my phone right now cos I’m sort of multi-tasking,” he explains. “My son is homeschooling and I’ve got to keep an eye on him, “He’s currently sitting on a chair in a way that looks completely unsafe so if he falls down at some point and starts crying we will continue on but I might have to hold him.” Mercifully Ozzie has removed the pumpkin bucket now but Greenfield flips the camera around to show me that the little boy has tipped his chair backwards on to the floor and is perching on the thin edge of the seat. “I would just say this whole thing has been a test,” he says good-humouredly. “It’s actually after the homeschool where you’re like ‘Oof that

Tess Sanchez got their own dog during lockdown, who has offered hours of solace to the family while they are stuck inside the house. “We rescued a beautiful pitbull. We got a quarantine dog and he’s the best and he’s so sweet and he’s about six years old and he’s just been the greatest. “He really has been the glue of our family during this time, he’s sort of the buffer, if one of us has been like ‘I’ve had enough,’ you just go to Joey the dog, and you just lie with him and he just loves to cuddle and he’s just the greatest. “Ozzie will just go outside with Joey and play for 15 minutes and that is 15 minutes that he’s away from me that I think really helps

Max Greenfield and daughter Lilly was tiring, OK now what?’ And you’re like ‘I guess we are just still hanging out?’ “You think ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to get away from these kids and you forget the fact that they need to get away from you too.” The actor, best known for playing fastidious Schmidt in sitcom New Girl, as well as turns in Veronica Mars and The Assassination Of Gianni Versace, is hoping to offer other parents some respite with his new film Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite!, in which he voices a dog who is part of an elaborate joint-species surveillance system designed and monitored by cats and dogs to keep the peace when conflicts arise. “I was very familiar with the first two films and so when they called and asked if I wanted to do Cats & Dogs 3. I was thrilled because there are so few projects that I have been part of that my kids can watch, in fact there are many projects that I forbid them to watch.

“Lily and I tried to watch New Girl. She was like ‘Can I watch New Girl?’ and I thought ‘Maybe!’ and we sat down to watch it from the beginning and I don’t remember season one at all so we sat down and watched it. “For a minute I go ‘Man, I forgot how funny and great this was!’ and then four minutes in there is some sex joke and I go ‘Oh no, no, no, no, no, we will fast forward that!’ and then you realise especially with Schmidt stuff, I’m fast forwarding every one of my scenes. “So I go ‘You know what, let’s just wait a couple of years,’ so any opportunity that comes along where I can do a project that my kids can watch and enjoy and we can experience it together, I jump at them.” Greenfield voices rulefollowing dog Roger, who is adamant he is a monitor and not a field agent, and who bears more than a passing resemblance to the actor. Greenfield, 40, and his wife

a scene from NEW Girl

him. “That usually means I’m with the other kid though, dad doesn’t get a break.” While Greenfield hasn’t been able to share New Girl with his daughter yet, he is glad that lots of other people have been revisiting or discovering the hit show that made him a star during lockdown. “A lot of people have been watching it. I think that is a lot of the reason why I’m so happy about this Cats & Dogs movie right now, I think talking animals is the most appropriate content for anyone right now, it’s all I can handle. “Everything is so scary right now that anything heavier than

cats and dogs and parrots with human voices, I can’t handle, I’m not that strong.” And while every cast under the sun seems to be reuniting over Zoom these days, will he be getting back together with the New Girl gang any time soon? “I don’t know, I think if it was the right circumstances and it made sense, for sure, if somebody was setting it up in the right way. “Don’t ask Jake (Johnson, one of his co-stars) or I, we don’t know how to use a computer, I barely got on to this interview.” ❐ Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite! is in cinemas now.

THE ELFKINS (PG) A GOOD heart and a generous spirit bake the difference in director Ute von Munchow-Pohl’s computer-animated odyssey, inspired by the cautionary tale of the Heinzelmannchen of Cologne. Dubbed rather than subtitled for young audiences on this side of the English Channel, The Elfkins appropriates a couple of key ingredients from Pixar’s Oscar-winning 2007 comedy Ratatouille to unite two worlds in pursuit of a perfectly flaky tart and moreish macaron. Munchow-Pohl’s recipe largely ignores narrative and visual sophistication and the surprisingly quick cooking time – 77 minutes – risks an unappealing soggy bottom especially when the script insists on drizzling on the syrupy sentimentality. Technical limitations to the animation are evident in cutesy character design and the renderings of a baby and dog, which play pivotal roles in a frenetic chase sequence around city streets. The thorny – and timely – question of elf and safety in a working kitchen that serves cakes to the public is casually ignored to move the linear plot from dough to doh! as quickly as possible. MISS JUNETEENTH (15) A DOGGEDLY determined mother pins her dreams on her teenage daughter in writer-director Channing Godfrey Peoples’ assured debut , which empowers nuanced female characters to find their voices and speak their truths. Turbocharged by a powerhouse central performance from Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth nimbly sidesteps some predictable plot choices to quietly and proudly preach the strength of African American women today. Peoples’ film wears a Texan heart on its sleeve as lead characters tumble repeatedly through the emotional wringer, emerging each time with fresh bruises and an unshakeable resolve to mould their destiny. They dare to believe in something better than their current situation, in stark contrast to friends and neighbours who profess, “Ain’t no American dream for black folks. We gotta hold onto what we got.” Terrific rapport between Beharie and luminous 18-year-old co-star Alexis Chikaeze, playing her onscreen daughter, energises delicately crafted scenes of solidarity that build to a satisfying crescendo, though not necessarily the one that Hollywood convention dictates.

Cyprus Today, October 10-October 16, 2020

14 SATURDAY October 10

Films on TV — ones to watch

Pick of the week: Our guide to the best movies on TV ALL TIMES ARE BST+2

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

Shortwave 6.150 MHz. FM 87.8/105 MHz 08.00 The Breakfast Show (Can Gazi) 10.00 Non-Stop Pop Music 11.00 Inspirations (Hülya Okay) 14.00 News Weekly 14.10 Magazine in Greek 14.45 Pop Music 15.00 North Brochure (Fatoş Baykal) 17.00 The Main Event (Denise Phillips) 18.00 Top 20 (Engin & Bora) 19.00 Music Station (Nevra Çağlar) 21.00 Night Waves (Mehriban Yolcukuş) 22.00 Music Planet (Dj Sky) 23.00 Spotlight 2000’s 00.00 AUTOMATION

✰✰✰✰ (Channel 4, 9.00pm) Impossible Missions Force operative Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is sprung from a Russian jail by fellow agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). They are ordered to break into the Kremlin to steal intelligence files that reveal the identity of a terrorist codenamed Cobalt. The mission turns sour when madman Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist) detonates a bomb inside the iconic building to cover up the theft of Russian nuclear launch codes. Disavowed by the US government, Ethan, Jane, Benji and top analyst William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) must operate outside official channels to apprehend Hendricks and avert nuclear Armageddon. Brad Bird’s film is truly exhilarating, boasting ingenious gadgets, bonecrunching fights and death-defying acrobatics.

Waves (2019) ✰✰✰ (Sky Cinema Premiere, 3.00pm)

Eighteen-year-old high school student Tyler Williams (Kelvin Harrison Jr) is a star athlete on the wrestling team thanks to relentless training and sparring with his domineering father, Ronald (Sterling K Brown). His dreams of excellence are threatened by an injury to Tyler’s shoulder, which requires surgery to avoid permanent, irreversible damage. Instead, the teenager defies his doctor’s grim prognosis and secretly pops his father’s prescription painkillers. But events spiral out of control when his girlfriend Alexis (Alexa Demie) makes a life-changing discovery. Waves is a beautifully nuanced drama of two halves, which works best in its opening salvo, anchored by a mesmerising performance from Harrison Jr.

SUNDAY October 11

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) ✰✰✰ (Channel 5, 10.25pm)

Seberg (2019) ✰✰✰ (Sky Cinema Premiere, 11.50am & 8pm) Premiere In May 1968, actress Jean Seberg (Kristen Stewart) leaves Paris, her screenwriter husband Romain Gary (Yvan Attal) and young son Diego (Gabriel Sky) to travel to Los Angeles to audition for the role of Elizabeth in Paint Your Wagon. The flight is interrupted by outspoken black civil right activist Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie), who argues that Malcolm X’s widow should be given a seat in first class. His impassioned rhetoric impresses Jean, who raises a fist in solidarity with the Black Panthers on the airport runway as photographers swarm. Soon after, Jean becomes romantically entangled with Hakim, which brings her to the attention of the FBI. Seberg dramatises the persecution of the eponymous icon of the French New Wave with a disjointed narrative counterbalanced by eye-catching period details.

As a favour to her flu-riddled roommate Kate (Eloise Mumford), straitlaced English Literature student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) interviews handsome billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for an article in the university newspaper. Irresistibly drawn to the debonair yet emotionally damaged businessman, Anastasia later agrees to a date and Christian spirits her away to his red room festooned with S&M toys via a flight on his private helicopter. Lust ignites as Anastasia explores her darkest desires under Christian’s guiding hand. With its simplistic storyline about a naive heroine drawn to a dark, brooding hunk who conceals monstrous desires, Fifty Shades of Grey is Twilight with riding crops and plush furnishings, but fans of the best-selling book will be glad to see it on screen.

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

Shortwave 6.150 MHz. FM 87.8/105 MHz 08.00 The Breakfast Show (Can Gazi) 10.00 The Juke Box Show (DJ Mike) 11.00 The Main Event (Denise Phillips) 12.00 Inspirations (Hülya Okay) 15.00 North Brochure (Fatoş Baykal) 17.00 Non-Stop Pop Music 18.00 Top 20 (Engin & Bora) 19.00 Music Station (Nevra Çağlar) 21.00 Northern Guide In Arabic (Qossay Eleyan) 21.30 The Blue (Fatoş Yücesoylu) 22.00 Blues & Rock Show (DJ Roland) 23.00 Unforgettables 00.00 AUTOMATION

Cyprus Today, October 10-October 16, 2020

Films on TV — ones to watch

MONDAY October 12

15

The Great Wall (2016) ✰✰✰ (Film4, 9.00pm)

Every 60 years, hordes of flesh-hungry, green-blooded monsters called the Tao Tei rise to punish avaricious mankind. A secret military sect called the Nameless Order, led by General Shao (Zhang Hanyu) and brilliant strategist Wang (Andy Lau), exists solely to repel these hideous beasts from atop China’s Great Wall. Mercenaries William (Matt Damon) and Tovar (Pedro Pascal) stumble into the middle of this brutal conflict. The Great Wall is a special effects-heavy monster mash and glossy BMovie, elevated to entertaining hokum by directorial brio and solid performances from the international cast. Damon’s accent is a wonder of the world by itself, ricocheting between Irish, English and gruff American from one scene to the next.

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

Shortwave 6.150 MHz. FM 87.8/105 MHz

08.00 Morning Light (Mehriban Yolcukuş) 10.00 Radio Angel (Denise Philips) LIVE 12:00 Spotlight (Nermin Volkan) LIVE 14.00 News in English LIVE 14.10 Pop Music 14.30 News in Greek LIVE 14.45 News in Russian 14.50 News in Arabic 14.55 News In French 15:00 Non Stop- Pop Music 17.00 Northern Exposure (Fatoş Baykal & Can Gazi) 19.00 The Evening Show (Gülin Sabri) 21.00 Non Stop- Pop Music 23.00 Unforgettables 00.00 AUTOMATION

Skate Kitchen (2018) ✰✰✰ (Film4, 11.00pm) Premiere

Rachelle Vinberg stars as Camille, a teenager whose protective mother wants her to give up skateboarding after she suffers a painful injury. Instead, she befriends a group of female skaters in New York and begins hanging out with them, learning lessons in life and friendship. Inspired by a reallife group of skateboarders and starring a largely nonprofessional cast, director Crystal Moselle’s likeable comingof-age drama is a fascinating look at a subculture. It’s bigger on atmosphere than it is on plot, but it was enough of a critical hit to inspire a spin-off TV series, Betty, about young women’s attempts to break into what is still a male-dominated sport.

TUESDAY October 13

Enough Said (2013) ✰✰✰✰ (Film4, 7.10pm)

Sopranos actor James Gandolfini makes his final movie appearance in Nicole Holofcener’s wonderful romantic comedy, which was released shortly before he died in 2013. Julia LouisDreyfus co-stars as Eva, a massage therapist embarking on a promising new romance with TV archivist Albert (Gandolfini). Unfortunately, Eva is also wooing a new client, a celebrated poet called Marianne (Catherine Keener), who doesn’t have a nice word to say about her ex-husband. Eva realises with a jolt that Marianne’s ex-husband Albert is the very same man she is dating, and starts covertly gathering details about their failed relationship. Galvanised by the winning rapport of Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said is a valentine to the transformative power of love and to the film’s leading man.

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

Shortwave 6.150 MHz. FM 87.8/105 MHz

08.00 Morning Light (Mehriban Yolcukuş) 10.00 Radio Angel (Denise Phillips) LIVE 12:00 Spotlight (Nermin Volkan) LIVE 14.00 News in English LIVE 14.10 Pop Music 14.30 News in Greek LIVE 14.45 News in Russian 14.50 News in Arabic 14.55 News In French 15:00 Non StopPop Music 17.00 Northern Exposure (Fatoş Baykal & Can Gazi) 19.00 The Evening Show (Gülin Sabri) 21.00 Non Stop- Pop Music 23.00 Unforgettables 00.00 AUTOMATION

Cyprus Today, October 10-October 16, 2020

16

WEDNESDAY October 14

Starship Troopers (1997) ✰✰✰✰ (ITV4, 9.00pm)

In the 23rd century, citizenship and the right to vote must be earned, usually by military service. A group of high school graduates, including Johnny (Casper Van Dien), his girlfriend Carmen (Denise Richards), and best friend Carl (Neil Patrick Harris), all enlist and find themselves involved in a war against alien insects apparently intent on destroying mankind. However, the young soldiers are unprepared for the carnage that awaits them. Paul Verhoeven’s violent sci-fi adventure got a rather sniffy reception from critics on its release – perhaps they were all blinded by the young cast’s gleaming teeth – but over the years, its satirical take on a jingoistic, militaristic society has transformed it into a cult classic. The effects have held up pretty well too.

THURSDAY October 15

Films on TV — ones to watch

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

Shortwave 6.150 MHz. FM 87.8/105 MHz

08.00 Morning Light (Mehriban Yolcukuş) 10.00 Radio Angel (Denise Phillips) LIVE 12:00 Wednesday World With The Gazi (Can Gazi) LIVE 14.00 News in English LIVE 14.10 Pop Music 14.30 News in Greek LIVE 14.45 News in Russian LIVE 14.50 News in Arabic LIVE 14.55 News In French LIVE 15:00 Non Stop- Pop Music 17.00 Northern Exposure (Fatoş Baykal & Can Gazi) 19.00 The Evening Show (Gülin Sabri) 21.00 Music station (Nevra Çağlar) 23.00 90’s 00.00 AUTOMATION

FRIDAY October 116

Rio Bravo (1959) ✰✰✰✰✰ (BBC4, 8.00pm)

A small-town sheriff must keep a murderer behind bars until a marshal arrives to deal with him. It sounds simple, but the only people on the lawman’s side are a drunk and an ageing deputy, while the prisoner is the brother of a powerful rancher who will stop at nothing to break him out. Throw in a young gunslinger and a mysterious beauty fresh off the stagecoach, and the scene is set for high drama. John Wayne gives one of his best performances as Sheriff Chance, and has a convincing chemistry with Angie Dickinson, even if she is half his age. Throw in decent supporting performances from Dean Martin and then-teen idol Ricky Nelson, and you have a film that manages to be funny and tense in equal measure.

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

Shortwave 6.150 MHz. FM 87.8/105 MHz

08.00 Morning Light (Mehriban Yolcukuş) 10.00 Radio Angel (Denise Phillips) LIVE 12:00 Spotlight (Nermin Volkan) LIVE 14.00 News in English LIVE 14.10 Pop Music 14.30 News in Greek LIVE 14.45 News in Russian 14.50 News in Arabic 14.55 News In French 15:00 Non Stop- Pop Music 17.00 Northern Exposure (Fatoş Baykal & Can Gazi) 19.00 The Evening Show (Gülin Sabri) 21.00 Non Stop- Pop Music 23.00 Unforgettables 00.00 AUTOMATION

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) ✰✰✰✰ (E4, 9.00pm)

In a dystopian 2023, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his kin, including Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), stand on the precipice of extinction. The Sentinel programme, conceived by scientist Dr Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), has almost wiped out the mutant population and any human sympathisers using an army of highly skilled automatons attuned to mutant DNA. One glimmer of hope remains: if Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) can harness her abilities and propel Wolverine’s consciousness back to 1973, they might be able to stop alluring shape-shifter Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating Trask. X-Men: Days of Future Past is a solid and highly enjoyable chapter in the long-running mutant saga that doesn’t get too bogged down in bamboozling science.

ENGLISH RADIO

BAYRAK INTERNATIONAL

08.00 Morning Light (Mehriban Yolcukuş) 10.00 Radio Angel (Denise Phillips) LIVE 12:00 Spotlight (Nermin Volkan) LIVE 14.00 News in English LIVE 14.10 Pop Music 14.30 News in Greek LIVE 14.45 News in Russian 14.50 News in Arabic 14.55 News In French 15:00 Non Stop- Pop Music 17.00 Northern Exposure (Fatoş Baykal & Can Gazi) 19.00 The Evening Show (Gülin Sabri) 21.00 Music Planet (Dj Sky) 22.00 Non Stop- Pop Music 00.00 AUTOMATION

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

BOOKS

LEISURE 17

Shirley Ballas:

I’VE OPENED UP PANDORA’S BOX

Shirley Ballas

Strictly’s head judge tells HANNAH STEPHENSON about the heartache she has suffered behind the glitz and glamour of a life in dance

WE’RE used to seeing Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas in sequins and spangles, mile-high heels, not a false eyelash out of place or a painted nail chipped, as she offers contestants her words of wisdom and encouragement. But today, the normally upbeat “Queen of Latin” and nononsense judge has just returned a little tearful from a meeting with her counsellor, sparked by the heartache she has been reliving by writing her memoir, Behind The Sequins. For all the sparkle and shine, a hugely successful dance career and the top slot in TV’s top show, Ballas, 60, has endured more than her share of trauma, including two failed marriages and her brother’s death. “It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,” says Ballas, who supports the mental health charity Calm (Campaign Against Living Miserably). She has had counselling on and off for many years, but sought help after opening up “Pandora’s box” to complete the book. “But I thought, when you get this job on Strictly it can be a platform for people to be inspired. It was such a difficult journey for myself — and still continues to be a difficult journey to this day — and I wanted my son (Mark) to get a better perspective of his mother.” She’s been in lockdown at her London home with her 83-yearold mother Audrey and her boyfriend, actor Daniel Taylor, 47, whom she met in panto. They’ve been together for 18 months. She says of Taylor: “He’s also been through this difficult journey and now, as my emotions become a little bit more triggered, I think he sees another side of me that perhaps he hasn’t seen before. “He’s very complimentary and loves me just the way I am. Of course, there is a honeymoon period which will pass, but I’m optimistic for the future.” However, she’s not sure if she’ll marry again. “Danny thinks, everything is going well the way it is, so is it necessary for a marriage certificate to say that you’re in a great relationship? We’ve talked about it, but we’ll have to wait and see.” The memoir charts her life, from her working class beginnings in her hometown of Wallasey in the Wirral to the ballrooms of the world, winning major competitions with her two (now ex) husbands, teaching Tom Cruise to dance, clinching the top

HARDBACK (FICTION) 1. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith 2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 3. The Evening And The Morning by Ken Follett 4. V2 by Robert Harris 5. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke 6. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 7. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 8. The Left-Handed Booksellers Of London by Garth Nix 9. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart 10. The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves

HARDBACK (NON-FICTION) 1. 7 Ways by Jamie Oliver 2. Guinness World Records 2021 by Guinness World Records 3. It Takes Blood And Guts by Skin & Lucy O’Brien 4. Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day by Captain Tom Moore 5. Diary Of An MP’s Wife by Sasha Swire 6. Women Don’t Owe You Pretty by Florence Given 7. The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn 8. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy 9. My Garden World by Monty Don 10. Agent Sonya by Ben MacIntyre

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION) Strictly judges (from left) Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli

Shirley Ballas and her boyfriend Daniel Taylor. Left, Tom Cruise and Shirley Ballas judge job at Strictly, a spat with Craig Revel Horwood and suffering the fallout from a scathing interview given by her ex-husband Corky Ballas after she got the job. They’ve hardly been in touch since and you sense that her ex’s barbed comments still rankle. “He said, I enjoyed dancing with her but I hated her as a person. And he called my mother a termite — the woman who’d given up 21 years of her life to raise our child so we could travel and become these dance icons.” Brought up by her mother on a tough housing estate — her father left when she was two — Shirley Rich started dancing at the age of seven. Audrey, to whom she dedicates the book, took on a variety of jobs to pay for her daughter’s lessons. She left home at 14, dancing competitively during her teens and married her first husband, professional dancer Sammy Stopford, at 19. A string of trophies followed for the couple but the chemistry they had on the dance floor didn’t extend to home life and they divorced five years later, when she dramatically moved to Texas to be with wealthy Corky Ballas, with whom she also went on to win major dance competitions. They were married for 23

years before eventually separating in 2003 but it was a tumultuous relationship, one that gnawed away at her selfesteem, she recalls. He had looked after her, on the housing estate they grew up on, while Audrey went to work and had been there for her through thick and thin. She recalls that in the last year of his life, David had suffered with depression and anxiety, so much so that his mother stayed with him to look after him. In December 2003, Ballas was in London where her son was performing in a carol concert and invited her mother and brother to go. David declined but Audrey reluctantly travelled down to support her grandson, at her daughter’s insistence. The next morning, police arrived to tell them that David had died. He had taken his own life. She says: “My brother was always my go-to person. Every day at four o’clock I’d talk to him. I’d be able to rant and rage. I could really trust David and he didn’t judge. “I still harbour terrible guilt about it.

I’m having an emotional day and when I have to bring up exhusbands and the death of my brother, it all accumulates into one emotional ball, which I’m trying very much to understand. As the tears start to fall, she sits up, composes herself and we move on to the forthcoming series of Strictly. “I’m very excited about the same-sex couple. I think that’s long overdue. If you got to the theatre you’ll see two men dance together, if you go to the ballet, you’ll see two men dance together. It’s really not a big deal.” She gets on well with her fellow judges, although she had one infamous spat with Craig Revel Horwood when he reportedly made some disparaging comments about her appearance when she first joined the show. “That’s been ironed out,” she says now, adding: “We’ve got past that now, I’ve done some jobs with him and I find him a unique character with a very caring heart.” Ballas is still teaching dance privately but has no thoughts of leaving the show. “I’d like to think that I’d be on Strictly till the day I pop my clogs,” she smiles. “But as we’ve seen with other people who have a job one minute and not the next, that’s not always the case.” ❐ Behind The Sequins by Shirley Ballas is published by BBC Books, priced £20. The Strictly Come Dancing launch show is on BBC1 on October 17.

1. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith 2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 3. Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty 4. The Collector by John Fowles 5. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens 6. Watermelon by Marian Keyes 7. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 8. The Killing Room by Peter May 9. The Vanishing Point by Val McDermid 10. Killing For Company by Brian Masters

BOOK OF THE WEEK

FICTION ❐ Little Disasters by Sarah

NON-FICTION

❐ Men Who Hate Women: From incels to pickup artists, the truth about extreme misogyny and how it affects us all by Laura Bates is published in hardback by Simon & Schuster, £16.99 (ebook £8.99). THE woman who made us all aware of everyday sexism has turned her attention to a new subject: the manosphere. In this exposé Laura Bates goes undercover to lay bare the various communities of men with extremist, misogynist views, who she believes pose an increasing threat to women’s safety. From pick-up artists to socalled incels (involuntary celibates), Bates meticulously unpicks the ways members of these groups are galvanising and intensifying their beliefs and luring young recruits into their fold. She also explores the link between the psychology behind domestic violence, an everyday terror plaguing hundreds of thousands of women, and terrorist atrocities. If you don’t know your MGTOW from your foids, or your brigading, be prepared to get to grips with a radical and broad lexicon. An illuminating read, bringing urgent attention to the hatred quietly building in the shadows.

0

20

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

18 LEISURE

CROSSWORDS

Crossword hat-trick Cryptic No 1481 (answers in next week’s paper)

General knowledge 776 (answers in next week’s paper)

ACROSS 4. Inability to be seen through or work on a big place (7) 8. Father takes advantage of the intervals (6) 9. Egghead at last finds underwater workers different (7) 10. Does it help the farmer to change course? (6) 11. Silent – about to pay attention (6) 12. It will do to let clever folk get through (8) 18. Uninterested, having no leaning to one side (8) 20. The sort of shop where they’ll put the last bit on again? (6) 21. Reformed gambler? (6) 22. Noisy, like a tennis-player in action? (7) 23. Affirm everybody for example goes East (6) 24. Corporal punishment for the loser (7) DOWN 1. Pipe and hat written about for the dead (7) 2. Suck up endlessly but get last use of weapon (7) 3. He had a long time with Ivy, for example (6) 5. It doesn’t hurt for father not to be at home so much! (8) 6. Where the cricketer is likely to fold up? (6) 7. Tuft given by the Spanish to Russian news agency (6) 13. Official report – result of shooting? (8)

14. Did he stay because he paid his bills? (7) 15. Soft-hearted moneylender has taken somebody else’s place (7) 16. It’s not the females of the household who grow old (6) 17. West German money and French emporium (6) 19. Singer who reaches the top three times (6)

Last week’s answers: ACROSS: 1 Dramatising; 9 Apt; 10 Golf links; 11 Tacit; 13 Evil eye; 14 Atonic; 16 Depict; 18 Theorem; 19 Pasta; 20 Rearguard; 21 Pal; 22 Featureless.

DOWN: 2 Rat; 3 Might; 4 Teller; 5 Saltire; 6 Nunneries; 7 Past masters; 8 Essentially; 12 Co-operate; 15 Is right; 17 Impair; 19 Pedal; 21 Pus.

Quick No 1481 (answers in next week’s paper) ACROSS 4. Vex (7) 8. Mercury (6) 9. Upside-down (7) 10. Stay (6) 11. Syndicate (6) 12. Unpunished (4-4) 18. Merciless (8) 20. Swell (6) 21. Esteem (6) 22. Almsgiving (7) 23. Receive (6) 24. Contain (7) DOWN 1. Foster (7) 2. Deep red (7) 3. Faith (6) 5. Blameless (8) 6. Hypothesis (6) 7. Rota (6) 13. Iterated (8) 14. Wishes (7) 15. Declares strongly (7) 16. Moss (6) 17. Cask (6) 19. Persuade (6)

Last week’s answers:

ACROSS: 1 Substantial; 9 Roe; 10 Attention; 11 Fleet; 13 Emanate; 14 Choice; 16 Advise; 18 Emulate; 19 Toned; 20 Constrain; 21 Fen; 22 Depredatory.

ACROSS

DOWN

1 and 23. Historical romance by Alexander Dumas, set in Holland (3,5,5) 7. Nepalese soldier serving with the British army (6) 8. Birds, etc., produced at one hatching (5) 9 and 16. The framer of the theories of relativity (6,8) 10. Roman woodland deity (8) 13. An assistant or deputy churchwarden (8) 15. Edible bivalve mollusc (6) 18. Fine parchment made from animal skin (6) 20. Malleable and ductile metal resembling iron, used in alloys (8) 22. Beethoven’s symphony No 6 in F (8) 24. Drug that induces sleep (6) 26. Small ornamental mat often laid under a plate (5) 27. Genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as mimosa or wattle (6) 28. The eardrum or middle ear (8)

1. Pungent pepper sauce made from capsicums (7) 2. The grub of an insect (5) 3. Hardy, dwarf plant, from a corm, appearing in spring or autumn (6) 4. A peppermint flavoured sweet (53) 5. Largest island of the Inner Hebrides (4) 6. Small, carnivorous animal valued for its fur (6) 11. He wrote the “Hungarian Rhapsodies” (5) 12, 20 Down and 21. English writer, author of Le Morte D’Arthur (3,6,6) 14. A grinding tooth (5) 16. See 9 17. A male sheep, a ram (3) 19. In Macbeth, the elder son of the murdered king, Duncan (7) 20 and 21. See 12 23. See 1 Across 25. Tsar of Russia called “the Terrible” (4)

Last week’s answers

DOWN: 2 Use; 3 Start; 4 Anthem; 5 Tankard; 6 Agitation; 7 Proficiency; 8 Independent; 12 Eloquence; 15 Chatter; 17 Regard; 19 Tenet; 21 Far.

ACROSS: 1 Quail. 5 Shrew. 8 Eulogy. 9 Emden. 10 Laval. 11 Turnip. 13 Tasso. 15 Chilli. 18 Brad. 19 Peel. 20 Renoir. 24 Kebab. 26 Venite. 27 Anglo. 28 Apple. 29 Robert. 30 Derby. 31 Smolt.

DOWN: 1 Quentin Durward. 2 Andes. 3 Lento. 4 Flora. 5 Sylph. 6 Ravel. 7 William Cobbett. 12 Icarus. 14 Sappho. 16 Iodine. 17 Pierre. 21 Niger. 22 Ivory. 23 Linen. 24 Keats. 25 Beppo.

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

BRAIN TEASERS

EASY

LEISURE 19

Sudoku 772

DIFFICULT

RULES; ❐ Enter digits 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. ❐ Every row must contain one of each digit. ❐ So must every column. p So must every 3x3 square. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS Difficult Easy

Kakuro 772

Wordsearch Can you identify the words that contain ‘ode’ from the clues listed below? 1. Sing Swiss-style 2. Riding display 3. Self-effacing 4. Wear away 5. Communication device 6. Greek island 7. Residence 8. Porcelain 9. Cipher 10. Ideal

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS 1. George; 2. Alfred; 3. James; 4. Henry; 5. Edgar; 6. John; 7. Anne; 8. Edward; 9. Mary; 10. Harold

HOW TO PLAY; ❐ Fill in the grid so that each run of squares adds up to the total in the box to the left or above it. ❐ You can use the numbers 1-9 but you must not use the same number more than once in any run.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Wordspiral

1. Talon 2. Desire 3. 60 minutes 4. Complain bitterly 5. Heather 6. Insect larva 7. Male pig 8. Frolic 9. Entreaty 10. In addition 11. Finished 12. Coarse file 13. Conspiracy 14. Melody 15. Needle case 16. Tiny amount

Starting from from 1, fill in the grid in a clockwise direction with four-letter words. The last letter of each word becomes the first letter of the next word. If you have correctly filled in the grid there should be a seven-letter key word reading across from 8. Key word clue: Type of muscle

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

1.Fuss 2.Stud 3.Dare 4.Epee 5.Even 6.Navy 7.Yawn 8.Nazi 9.Isle 10.Eden 11.Nice 12.Exam 13.Meek 14.Knob 15.Burr 16.Rapt Key word solution: Neptune

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

20 LEISURE

FIVE PUZZLES

FOUR Ws REMEMBER WHEN 1

1 Prince Edward left the Royal Marines 2 The Herald of Free Enterprise sank off Zeebrugge 3 Mel Gibson starred in the first instalment of Lethal Weapon 4 Michael Ryan killed 16 people in Hungerford

2

When did Charlene have a UK No 1 single with I’ve Never Been To Me?

1 Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert won Wimbledon 2 The Police National Computer went into operation 3 Mikhail Baryshnikov defected while on tour with the Kirov Ballet 4 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was born

1

WHO . . . composed the Blue Danube Waltz? WHAT . . . was the surname of the author Anthony Hope? WHERE . . . were the 1992 Summer Olympic Games held? WHEN . . . was the Ideal Home Exhibition first held at Olympia?

2

WHO . . . claimed to have written the music hall song It’s A Long Way To Tipperary? WHAT . . . is the surname of Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim? WHERE . . . are the Maldives? WHEN . . . is the feast day of St Ursula?

3

1 Stalin’s body was removed from Lenin’s mausoleum in Red Square 2 The birth control pill became available on the NHS 3 Gary Player won the US Masters by a single stroke 4 Indian troops captured Goa which had been in Portuguese hands for more than 400 years

3

WHO . . . won the Best Actress Oscar for Terms Of Endearment? WHAT . . . nationality is the tennis player Kristina Mladenovic? WHERE . . . was Solomon Bandaranaike the prime minister from 1956-59? WHEN . . . did Gary Taylor win the World’s Strongest Man competition?

4

1 Sir Alec Douglas-Home resigned as Tory leader 2 Ringo Starr married Liverpool hairdresser Maureen Cox 3 The Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic met for the first time on Irish soil 4 Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time

4

WHO . . . in 1958 prevented Juan Manuel Fangio from winning the F1 Championship five times in a row? WHAT . . . football team won the 2015 League Cup Final? WHERE . . . was the comedienne and actress Libby Morris born? WHEN . . . did Charlene have a UK No 1 single with I’ve Never Been To Me?

5

WHO . . . won the 2005 Dunhill Links Championship in golf? WHAT . . . won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical? WHERE . . . in Africa is Ouagadougou? WHEN . . . was the Battle of the Alma in the Crimean War?

When was the Ideal Home Exhibition first held at Olympia?

5

1 Sting was born 2 George VI had a major lung operation 3 Kiss Me, Kate and South Pacific opened in London 4 Ludwig Wittgenstein and Andre Gide died

6

1 JR got shot on Dallas 2 Bjorn Borg won his fifth successive Wimbledon title 3 The SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy 4 Mount St Helens erupted

6

WHO . . . created the children’s characters Jennings and Rex Milligan? WHAT . . . is the colour of the central band on the flag of The Gambia? WHERE . . . were the 1992 Uefa European Football Championship Finals held? WHEN . . . did Imagination have Top Five hit singles with Just An Illusion and Music And Lights?

Mel Gibson starred in the first instalment of Lethal Weapon

Who won the Best Actress Oscar for Terms Of Endearment?

Ringo Starr married Liverpool hairdresser Maureen Cox

Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert won Wimbledon

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

FIVE PUZZLES

LEISURE 21

IMPOSSIPUZZLES 1

4

“I bought a few cheap mugs and plates,” said Kitty, unpacking a box. “Plates 59p each and mugs 97p, about nine pounds for the lot.” Jack had a look. “But why didn’t you get the same numbers the other way around, with more mugs than plates?” Kitty shook her head. “I took all they had. And anyway, that would have cost me 76p more.” How many plates and mugs did she buy?

2

When Florencia went out into the garden, she was surprised to find the men had finished the job. “That was quick work,” she said. “54 minutes for the lot!” “Well, we just kept going and it was the same for all three of us,” old Gaz replied. “Bob is two-thirds as fast as Bert, and young Bert’s half as fast as I am. But I’ve had more experience.” How long would Gaz have taken to do the whole job alone?

3

“You got yourself a new tie, Dad,” said Maisie. “I bet it wasn’t cheap.” “Nothing is these days,” her father chuckled. “But it cost three pounds less than three-quarters again more than three-quarters of what it cost.” What an answer! You work it out.

WORDWISE PUZZLES 1

The word may sound familiar, but do you know what it means? POGROM A Organised massacre B Vegetable related to the cabbage C Dwarf, gnome

2

The word may sound familiar, but do you know what it means? TRIBBLE A Kind of gardening implement B Frame used for drying paper C Dwarf shrub

3

The word may sound familiar, but do you know what it means? VIRAGO A Soloist in opera B Charlatan C Strong, warlike woman

4

The word may sound familiar, but do you know what it means? DEVALL A Instrument used in surveying B To prevaricate, evade the truth C To sink, decline

5

The word may sound familiar, but do you know what it means? PERSPICUOUS A Lucid B Persistent C Untimely

6

The word may sound familiar, but do you know what it means? FLAM A Beggar B Nonsense C To bake or cook

“Drive slower, Sean,” Maya exclaimed, as the car swerved back into its proper lane. “Sorry, honey.” Sean grinned. “But that’s another American, and I’ve noticed his number. It’s the same as ours if its second half is shifted to in front of its first half, and the funny thing is that it’s exactly six times our number.” What was Sean’s number?

5

“It’s a true triangle,” Alejandro declared. “There’s a fine old tree right in the middle, same distance from each corner, and we have to leave it untouched.” Iker nodded. “A pity, but there must still be plenty of room for building,” he said. “How far exactly is the tree from each corner?” “I’m not sure, but you could work it out,” Alejandro replied. “The sides are 104, 112, and 120 metres.” The answer is a whole number. Can you work it out?

6

“Come on, we all know your fishing stories.” Alan chuckled. “The good ones always get away, so we can’t see them.” Mario shook his head. “But its true, and the brute’s measurements were weird too. Just 132 centimetres long overall, its body was one and a half

1

A writer, director and producer, I was born in New York in 1964. I created the popular US television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, as well as it’s spin-off show Angel. I also wrote and directed the 2012 film The Avengers.

2

A glamour model, I was born in Essex in 1978. In 2006 I was briefly engaged to house music producer David Doyle. I have appeared in various TV reality shows, including Trust Me – I’m A Holiday Rep and Celebrity Big Brother. More recently, I’ve hit the headlines for becoming interested in bodybuilding.

times as long as its tail, and head twice as long as the body.” Quite a fish! How long was its head?

WHO AM I 5

3

?

An actor, I was born in Chester in 1968. I married Rachel Weisz in 2011 and we worked together on the 2011 film Dream House. My films include Layer Cake, Munich and Casino Royale.

6

4

A singer, I was born in California in 1969. I played Jean Harlow in the 2004 film The Aviator. I was the lead singer of the band No Doubt, and my solo albums

A cartoonist, I was born in Cambridge in 1920. I drew for Punch Magazine in the 1950s, and illustrated the Molesworth books. I created the series of cartoons that originally featured the St Trinian’s School.

include The Sweet Escape and Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

An actress, I was born in London in 1945. My films include Greenfingers, Calendar Girls and Raising Helen. I won the 2006 Best Actress Oscar for my role in The Queen.

ANSWERS 1. Johann Strauss (the Younger); Hawkins; Barcelona; 1908; 2. Jack Judge; Dixon; Indian Ocean; October 21st; 3. Shirley MacLaine; French; Ceylon; 1993; 4. Mike Hawthorn; Chelsea; Canada; 1982; 5. Colin Montgomerie; Monty Python’s Spamalot; Burkina Faso; 1854; 6. Anthony Buckeridge; Blue; Sweden; 1982.

FOUR Ws

1. 7 plates, 5 mugs; 2. Gaz would have taken 99 minutes alone; 3. Tie cost £9.60; 4. Sean’s number was 142857; 5. Tree was 65 metres from each corner; 6. 72 centimetres long.

IMPOSSIPUZZLES

1. 1987; 2. 1974; 3. 1961; 4. 1965; 5. 1951; 6. 1980.

REMEMBER WHEN

Stefani; 5. Ronald Searle; 6. Helen Mirren. 1. Joss Whedon; 2. Jodie Marsh; 3. Daniel Craig; 4. Gwen

WHO AM I? 1. A; 2. B; 3. C; 4. C; 5. A; 6. B.

WORDWISE PUZZLES

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

22 LEISURE

Are skinny jeans over for good thanks to the pandemic? As loungewear becomes workwear, the end may be nigh for tight-fitting denim “We’re backing categories and FOR years, retailers and trend-setters alike have been singing the customer trends that have accelerated praises of baggy “mom” jeans and claiming skinny styles are on the during lockdown with a big focus on brink of falling out of fashion. Yet for all the celebrities sporting everyday style,” says Maddy Evans, loose denim, and advertising campaigns devoid of tight trousers, head of womenswear buying for the skinny jeans remained ubiquitous in shops and on the streets. brand. Then the pandemic hit — and all of “Our bestselling jeggings are a sudden the thought of pulling on a available in black, grey, indigo, a pair of skin-tight jeans just to sit range of colours and also prints.” around the house all day wasn’t quite so appealing. Right, Marks and Spencer Now, more than six months Collection Cotton Checked High Neck after lockdown began, social Frill Detail Tunic, £25; Ivy Skinny media is rife with people saying Jeans, £19.50; Leather Loafers, they’ll never go back to their £49.50 skinnies again. So will 2020 be remembered as the year skinny jeans Meanwhile, ACAI finally died out? We Outdoorwear attributes its asked fashion success during the pandemic to experts for their sales of a particular skinny Nina take on things. garment. Whitehead “I have seen “Since lockdown, we the downturn have enjoyed a in skinny jeans over the past few weeks record-breaking quarter, coming out of lockdown,” says personal thanks in no small part stylist Nina Whitehead of Edits to our core range Styling. of Skinny “All my clients aged between 28-48 Outdoor years-old have been requesting different Trousers,” jean shapes, what are the newest jean says coshapes, and not wanting to be restricted by founder and skinny jeans any more.” creative director, Kasia Bromley. “We have absolute faith in our Left, Marks and Spencer Collection Textured core bestselling range of skinnies and know V-Neck Relaxed Jumper, £29.50; High many of our customers credit them as the Waisted Wide Leg Jeans, £29.50; hardest-working staple garment in Lace Up Trainers, £19.50 their wardrobe.” It seems that despite what trend Whitehead says her clients still forecasters and clothing designers want a flattering silhouette might say, when it comes to denim, though, even with a looser fit: shoppers still have a soft spot for “The most popular styles I am skinny jeans — but now more finding are shapes that are than ever, they’ve got to be tapered in at the hem, mom the comfy kind. jeans, and definitely highWith mom jeans waisted still.” gaining ground, could As one of the UK’s 2020 be the beginning biggest denim retailers, of the end for skinnies? Marks and Spencer “In short, no,” says reports that it’s seen Bromley. “Skinny fit continued demand for styles are here to denim throughout stay — just as long lockdown, with their as they offer Ivy skinny jean and wearers stretchy jeggings incomparable remaining style, bestsellers, though performance more relaxed fits and fit.” — such as mom, boyfriend and wide leg jeans — are growing Kasia in popularity. Bromley

FASHION

Cyprus Today, October 10, 2020

24 LEISURE

FUNNY OLD WORLD

Goofy dogs and laughing horses compete for the funniest pet photo award

Animal magic

A UK competition aims to raise awareness for homeless pets in the UK, with entry fees donated to an animal welfare charity, with startled cats, laughing horses and a dog with its nose in a biscuit jar entrants are all vying for the top prize in a photography competition. More than 2,000 entries from 81 different countries have been received for the Mars Petcare Comedy Pet Photo Awards (www.comedypetphoto.com). The winner of the contest — which is in its second year — will collect £3,000. Wildlife television presenter Kate Humble is among the judges, along with competition founders Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom

Sullam, Mars Petcare and animal welfare charity Blue Cross. “The entries this year have been completely and utterly what we needed to raise our spirits in 2020,” said Mr Sullam. “It has been a tough year for many, but these images have not only made us laugh out loud, but also re-affirmed our desire to drastically reduce animal cruelty and pet orphanage.” The awards are intended to raise awareness for homeless pets in the UK, with entry fees donated to Blue Cross. The winners will be announced on 24 November.

Your Stars

With Cassandra Nye

LIBRA (September 24 – October 23) A few wobbly moments this week must not be allowed to dent your confidence. Really, you want more than anything to be sure of ‘what comes next’. We all would! This is a time to be flexible. Take it on board, though, that most folk are feeling as though they are struggling through a fog. Will we turn the corner and find it clear? We certainly have to hope so!

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 – December 21) Looking for something new? Novel? You are always in need of stimulation. Your curiosity is refreshing, however, bringing imaginative solutions to any task. A partner who matches you in this can make life lively indeed. Changes are in your mind? Think as much about what you don’t like, as what you do like. If creativity is your goal, you are in the right place!

AQUARIUS (January 21 – February 19) Is someone throwing you a challenge? Think that it is too dull and not worthy of your talents? Remember that there is satisfaction to be had by doing even a simple task better than the next person. Using imagination, an inventive mind and research, something dull can become a sparkling success. Well, it certainly shows others what you can do! Time to shine.

ARIES (March 21 – April 20) In a wish to move things on in your life, you could be tempted to make some hasty decisions. With Mercury the messenger coming retrograde, the best course of action may be no action at all. Take advice if need be, especially if it is a legal matter. Mixed messages, however, are not so likely in your love life. Indeed, challenges that come up now could bring you even closer together.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21) Having to backtrack on something at work may make you feel awkward. Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t worry if your ego has been dented. That is what armour is for! Still smiling? Good. Business-wise you are about to turn a corner but, as Mercury the messenger is turning retrograde, you need to choose your words carefully. Get contracts checked!

LEO (July 23 – August 23) Craving an easy, sociable life? As much as you want to throw yourself into one, this is a time to be practical. Starting small can be just as stimulating and getting everyone together is something to look forward to in the future. Do you have some ideas that you want to share? Be careful when taking someone into your confidence. They could try to steal your thunder.

SCORPIO (October 24 – November 22) Have you stopped listening to the news? Is your head buzzing with the same old, same old? Turn your attention to your own personal plans. These may not be realised right away but still need a great deal of thought. If your partner is feeling a bit low then maybe you can work together? We all need to polish up our sense of humour right now. Essential to stay sane.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 20) It is frustrating not to be able to run ahead as you would normally. Still, is this a part of the ‘new normal’? Keep planning, keep looking for the best solutions to any possible problems. Then you will be truly ready to set the pace. If you are considering a partnership of any kind then look at the small print. Every new start needs a good beginning, doesn’t it?

PISCES (February 20 – March 20) A bit of unexpected luck shows you just how quickly things can change. Just when you thought that life was just a dull struggle, the sun shines on you! At this time of the year, your mood can change suddenly, startling those around you. Overall though, you are going to leave this month with a bit of a grin on your face. Now where did you find that sunshine?

TAURUS (April 21 – May 21) In a loving week, words are not needed as much as action. Many people are putting things off ‘because of lockdown’. For some, it is an excuse, but for others they feel a genuine fear. Say what you feel this week. Confiding in others makes you realise you are not alone in having certain thoughts. Indeed, being brave with your words now makes others realise that you mean business!

CANCER (June 22 – July 22) Aim high and, when faced with an opportunity, be ready to grasp it. If someone is still trying to tell you what to do, explain to them that you know exactly what you are doing. Wanting to come out of your comfort zone seems very attractive right now. Is it your time to make some real, if unexpected, progress? Your partner may be over-protective, not knowing your limits.

VIRGO (August 24 – September 23) Success at work has been a long time coming. Let’s face it, sometimes you feel downright unappreciated! This week shows you turning a corner in this area. This could mean promotion or being put in charge. Your partner is supportive? Great news, because you may be some weeks without much income. Still, the rewards are big and the long term looks golden.

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