Red sky at night promises well for another lovely day tomorrow. Palm tree belongs to next door neighbour but vantage point our deck.
Customs and immigration have a new story. This time a man entering the country was arrested at Ercan airport. Was a citizen but had been missing for nearly ten months. Not that anyone other than his mother had been particularly worried about his well being. Sıtkı Akargöl and another man had set out from a fishing shelter - not an authorised port of departure - for what purported to be a fishing trip but had not returned. Several days of searching failed to find them and police announced that they had fled illegally. Fled? Seems they were being investigated regarding human trafficking. So presumably more gory details to follow. Or possibly not.
Also on the sordid side are claims that North Cyprus has higher than average rates of gambling addiction. Nine percent of the population was cited. Seems improbably high, especially given that citizens are not allowed in the casinos, which specialise in attracting foreigners, reportedly particularly Turks and Israelis. There have been warnings recently about counterfeit hundred dollar US bills in circulation associated with the casinos. Local businesses are used to accepting payment from tourists in sterling or euros more or less at par but American dollars would be considerably less common. Of course - re the addiction - there are plenty of ways of becoming addicted to gambling without patronising casinos.
We’re reminded of a case in the Republic of Cyprus (South) in 2012:
“Report on the Cypriot news tonight of a court case regarding gambling, which is illegal in the Republic of Cyprus. The accused are all women aged between 70 and 99, and they’re accused of playing cards for five and ten euro stakes in a private residence in Limassol. A group thinned out somewhat since the original charges were laid, as two have died and another two lost their memories due to Alzheimer’s.”
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