When I start Impress, I can move the mouse-pointer freely across the canvas ("Normal" view of the slide).

But if I click on any any shape button (line, rectangle,oval, text, etc.), and then move the mouse to the canvas (slide) pane, the mouse pointer disappears. Thus I am unable to see where I will be placing my anchor point for that object.

As long as the mouse pointer is inside the pane, it remains invisible. To start drawing the object, I have to guess where the pointer is. 

But as soon as it enters the other panes (Slides, toolbars at top/bottom, menu bar, etc.),  it reappears.

If I press CTRL and roll the mousewheel, the pointer appears for that duration.
But the moment I release CTRL, it disappears again.

If I switch to another slides (by clicking in the "Slides" panel or by pressing Up/Down), it stays invisible.

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Thus I have to click "blindly" and create the anchor point anywhere on the screen. After that, the pointer re-appears and starts drawing the object. As a result, the only way I can draw any object is to draw it blindly anywhere on screen, and then drag it to the correct place.