Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 99-07-17

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Friday, July 16, 1999

CONTENTS

[01] Market in sustained northern marchBy Hamza HendawiSHARE prices continued their tireless northward march yesterday, closing at an all-time high for the fourth successive session amid heightened expectations that even better days are still to come to the small but energetic Cyprus bourse.Yesterday's close, at 188.80, capped a week in which shares appreciated by an eye-popping 11.41 per cent with a combined volume worth £81.60 million.Significantly, the week saw share prices cross the 100-per cent threshold of gains on the year. These gains now stand at an astonishing 108.31 per cent, placing return in the Cyprus Stock Exchange so far this year as one of the highest among emerging or traditional markets.Put differently, investors who obtained a cross-the-board portfolio of blue-chips and debuting shares may have more than doubled their money by now. The more savvy investors who successfully followed a pattern of buying on dips and selling on highs, and had Lady Luck on their side, may have by now tripled or even quadrupled their money.Such a level of profitability, traders point out, make deposit accounts held at banks with an annual return of about seven per cent a bad joke. But, the same traders say, while the more savvy investor made money, a large number of Cypriots, some lacking even the basic knowledge of how the market works, have now taken the plunge with borrowed funds. These speculators, they warn, could be caught short if the market's current trend is reversed."This market, like any other market, goes up and down," said one trader from a top Nicosia brokerage.The 108.31-per cent appreciation of the shares with more than five months remaining in 1999 may not be the end of the market's dream run, the traders say."As the market went up and up, there were periods of consolidation, especially in the banks sector," said one trader. "This means that the resistance levels of the shares which appreciated by about 100 per cent and more are now much higher than before."An Initial Public Issue by Louis Cruise Lines Ltd whose registers closed on Thursday has captivated the country, sent hundreds scurrying for cash to try and snap up as much of the stock as possible and, more significantly, maintained interest in a market which may otherwise begin to go sideways.The Louis IPO is the largest ever by a company in Cyprus, and the title will take sixth place in the market in terms of capitalisation. According to provisional estimates, the £9.5 million issue has been oversubscribed by 30-fold or more.The value of yesterday's trade was an impressive £19.61 million, the highest this week, with the largest single slice -- £4.70 million -- of trade going to the blue-chips of the banks. The tourism, trading and ‘other’ companies sectors combined for £7.47 million.The Bank of Cyprus continued its awesome rally of recent days, shooting up by 14 cents to close at £7.88. The stock is headed for a two-for-one split next month as part of the bank's restructuring. The Popular and Hellenic banks also had a good day yesterday, finishing up at £4.29 and £5.62 respectively.The tourism sector was strong again too, with its sub-index up 3.10 per cent at 172.35 and the second biggest slice of trade -- £2.22 million. All but one of the sector's 12 titles finished higher amid reports of a takeover by the Libra Holidays-backed Drousia Heights Ltd of hotel operators Astarti Development, which finished up 17 cents to close at £4.41.

[02] Haglund and Matsakis on mission to KosovoBy Charlie CharalambousPHYSICIANS for Human Rights expert William Haglund and forensic pathologist Marios Matsakis arrive back in Cyprus today after a fact-finding mission to Kosovo.They left the island on Tuesday to assist the Albanian Kosovars identify their dead and confirm those who may or may not be missing in the aftermath of the Kosovo conflict.Haglund chose the sometime controversial Matsakis and pro-Serb supporter in his capacity as a forensic pathologist."I chose him to come because of his expert knowledge as a forensic pathologist," Haglund told the Cyprus Mailby satellite phone from Pristina yesterday.The two are in Kosovo to help build up an infrastructure which facilitates the efficient registration of the missing, along with identifying and exhuming the bodies.They are also helping to establish procedures in which the families of the dead receive appropriate counselling, have access to their loved ones, and are able to bury them properly."It is not just about atrocities or locating bodies but confirming people are alive," said Haglund.As there is no administrative authority to speak of in Kosovo -- apart from Nato -- Haglund said that he and Matsakis were assessing the local capacity to exhume and identify bodies."We have visited grave sites in Kosovo. Pristina has not been affected physically but the underlying administration is totally gutted," Haglund said.Although he says it is "very likely" he will return to Kosovo in the near future, Haglund said it would not affect his work on the missing in Cyprus."My absence from Cyprus will not affect progress on the exhumations and the analysis, which is going splendidly," he said.

[03] Denktash stance ‘not surprising ’THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday it was not surprised at the latest statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash that he would not go to talks unless the ‘TRNC’ is recognised."Denktash's comments add nothing to the long-standing positions Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership," spokesman Costas Serezis said.On Thursday Denktash, in a speech to the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara, repeated that he would not return to UN-sponsored talks unless they take place between two equal states.He said reconciliation in Cyprus is not possible as long as the sovereignty of the Cyprus Republic is not negotiable and as long as all UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus remain intact."The way to lasting peace is confederation," Denktash said.A joint declaration made after the Turkish assembly session condemned and rejected the G8 and UN call to the two sides to return to direct negotiations.The declaration said the Cyprus issue will not be resolved "until the reality of two separate states in Cyprus is accepted and both states are treated equally".Meanwhile yesterday the National Council held its final meeting before the holidays to conclude discussions on the UN call to return to the table.No statements were made after the meeting.

[04] Jet-ski operators plan civil disobedience campaignBy Anthony O. MillerWATER-sports operators said yesterday their patience has run out and they plan to sue the government and engage in more public civil disobedience in an attempt to win the repeal of new regulations they say are driving them out of business."We are not going to wait any further for an answer from (Communications & Works Minister Leontios) Ierodiaconou. He is hiding somewhere. We don't know where or why," Demetris Hadjidemetriou, Cyprus Water Sports Association president, told the Cyprus Mail."He took our proposal a week ago. We haven't had any answer. In the meantime, we have had all this pressure from the police and the municipalities" to comply with the new government regulations, he said.Marine Police have run into opposition on the beaches while trying to enforce the new rules, which require those who rent out water-sports equipment to move their sea-access corridors from swimming areas to the margins of tourist beaches.A Limassol operator and his wife this week doused themselves and their boats with petrol and threatened to light it if Marine Police persisted in trying to confiscate their equipment. They had refused to move to a new site, as the regulations require.The operators say moving their sites bunches them together away from the hotels, concentrating competition and forcing tourists to walk great distances to rent water-sports equipment.Hadjidemetriou said his association’s members now plan to demonstrate outside one of the island’s main ports to dramatise their cause. "We’re not going to tell anybody which port it is going to be, or when it is going to happen. We will block the port as long as we can," he said."We are going to sue the government for the actions it has taken, and we are also going to contest the legality of all the government regulations" concerning water-sports, he added.In addition to civil disobedience, Hadjidemetriou said they are planning a massive media campaign to inform tourists of their plight. He said the story of the near-immolation of the Limassol man and his wife this week has been plastered all over the Internet."We are getting a lot of telephone calls from abroad," as a result, he said. "People are showing a lot of interest."Hadjidemetriou said his association expects to meet House Speaker Spyros Kyprianou next week, and also to enlist the support of the members' party leaders to win a rule reversal.But the water-sports operators have refrained from going on strike, he said, because if the association’s members walk out, non-members "will take advantage of the strike," and draw away customers.The new water-sports regulations are the government's reaction to at least three jet-ski accidents last year, which killed one British tourist and seriously injured three others.After a road- closing mass protest outside the Presidential Palace, the Water Sports Association last week met Ierodiaconou, author of the new rules, and Commerce and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis. Both ministers promised to review the rules in light of the complaints."Unfortunately the government is playing a double game," by claiming to reconsider the new rules, while simultaneously enforcing them, Hadjidemetriou said. "I don't know what is happening. It's very strange. I cannot find a logical explanation."

[05] Second man held after raid on Co-opA SECOND man was remanded in custody yesterday in connection with Wednesday’s armed raid on the Zakaki Co-operative bank.Xenios Anastasiou, 41, was arrested in Limassol at around midnight on Thursday and remanded by Limassol District Court for eight days.The robbery was carried out by a man and a woman who stormed into the bank while it was closed to the public at lunchtime, and only a manager and a female teller were inside. Armed with pistols and wearing masks, the couple demanded cash and were given three bundles of banknotes.They dropped one bundle of cash before they made off in a mini-bus which was later found abandoned. They got away with £967. Police on Thursday arrested Yiannakis Andrea Athanasiou in conjunction with the robbery after finding £760 in his house. He denies the charges.Meanwhile, police are still searching for a hooded man who tried to rob the Ora Co-operative bank in Larnaca at 8.30 am on Thursday. Also armed with a pistol, he demanded the keys to the bank safe from secretary Phanoulla Kyriakou Demetriou, 31. She didn’t have the keys and when she started to scream the raider fled empty-handed.

[06] Man remanded after chapel sex attackA 26-year-old Episkopi villager was yesterday remanded in connection with Thursday's sex attack on a 50- year-old spinster at a remote chapel near Ypsonas, outside Limassol.A Limassol couple found the victim chained to a water tank outside the chapel at about 10am on Thursday, some three hours after the attack took place. The woman, from Ypsonas village, was badly beaten and half-naked.She was in a serious but stable condition yesterday in the intensive care unit of Limassol hospital.Renos Agisilaou was arrested yesterday after he was spotted by police hanging around near the scene of the attack.He was later brought before Limassol District court and remanded for eight days on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm, attempted rape, theft and impersonating a policeman.The court heard how the victim went to the out-of- the-way chapel to light a candle at 6am, as she did every day.On her way home, she was approached by a man claiming to be a police officer on the trail of bank robbers who raided a branch at Zakaki, Limassol, on Wednesday. The man insisted that the woman lead him to the church so he could check if the raiders had stashed their loot there. He threatened to handcuff her if she did not comply, the court heard.The woman led the man to the chapel and he then attacked her, the court was told.The victim was left chained to the water tank and was in a state of shock by the time she was rescued by the passing couple.

[07] Probe into possible surgery overtime abuseBy Martin HellicarAUDITOR- GENERAL Stella Yiorkadji has uncovered evidence of an alleged abuse of surgery overtime at the island's hospitals.According to the findings of a year-long study by Yiorkadji's office, publicised by Phileleftherosnewspaper yesterday, 25 top surgeons net an average of £10,000 each in overtime pay every year.One surgeon, Yiorkadji notes, made a total of £77,248 from overtime pay between 1994 and 1998.The Auditor-general is critical of procedures for recording surgeons’ overtime, and notes that the surgery overtime ledger for 1997 has gone missing from Nicosia's Makarion Hospital.The report describes the disappearance of the ledger as "very serious" and possibly warranting a separate disciplinary or criminal investigation.The Health Ministry was silent on Yiorkadji's criticisms yesterday.Her report records the spending of astronomical sums on surgery overtime at hospitals: £1.535 million in 1998, £2.025 million in 1997 and £1,749 million in 1996.Yiorkadji found that most emergency surgery took place outside regular hospital hours.She notes serious weaknesses in internal checks on the overtime pay demands of hospital surgeons."The practice of delayed submission of applications for overtime compensation creates serious dangers, because it greatly lessens any chance of control," Yiorkadji states."Unusually high overtime demands are not investigated," she adds.

[08] Air fares to Greece ‘must be reduced’TOURISM to and from Greece will remain unable to reach its full potential until air fares are reduced, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday.He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the inauguration today of the new Cyprus Airways weekly flight to the Greek island of Lesbos. The flights will leave from Larnaca every Monday.Rolandis said that with 70,000 arrivals a year from Greece, that the figure was lower than it should be.Asked if the problem was due to high fares, Rolandis said: "I have said many times in the past that this is an obstacle for Greeks and Greek Cypriots. Charges are prohibitive and people can't pay them."The Minister said that Cyprus Airways would just have to fall in line with the requirements of air transport deregulation."We want it to happen sooner rather than later, not just for the needs of tourism but for the needs of the nation," Rolandis said."I believe if the fares end up at a level expected by liberalisation, the flow of tourists from Greece to Cyprus will double or triple."

[09] Trial within a trial at Hambis murder caseTHE CASE'S second ‘trial within a trial’ continued at the Hambis Aeroporos murder trial in Nicosia yesterday.The criminal court heard opposing defence and prosecution arguments about the admissibility as evidence of a statement suspect Zoe Alexandrou gave to police after her arrest in connection with the December 16 murder.Alexandrou's lawyer, George Georgiou, is claiming the statement was not made voluntarily.The three-judge bench is expected to give its verdict on the admissibility of the statement on Monday.The trial, which began last month, has already been delayed by the court having to rule on the admissibility of a statement made to police by one of the other suspects, former special policeman Savvas Ioannou, alias Kinezos. That evidence was found admissible.Hospital cleaner Alexandrou, 51, and her brother -- 43-year-old cabaret owner Sotiris Athinis -- have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to murder 36-year-old Hambis Aeroporos.His suspected killers are 35-year-old waiter Prokopis Prokopiou, policeman Christos Symianos, 35, and Kinezos, 33. All three had pleaded not guilty to murder, but on Tuesday Prokopiou suddenly told the court he was guilty and that Symianos and Kinezos were innocent.The waiter is to be sentenced at a later stage.Hambis was shot dead by two machine-gun toting hooded hit-men as he drove from Ypsonas into Limassol on the morning of December 16. The killing was seen as part of an ongoing feud between suspected underworld figures.The murder trial was moved to Nicosia for fear of gangland reprisals against the suspects and is being conducted under unprecedented police security.

[10] Lordos hotels strike over, say unions

[11] Cypriots in Viagra-fuelled bedroom boomBy Charlie CharalambousMIDDLE- AGED Cypriot man has never had it so good in the Viagra-assisted bedroom, according to local sales figures of the sex wonder drug.Cyprus is apparently in permanent sex overdrive, with sales of the diamond-shaped blue pill outstripping the rest of Europe in the race to cure impotency.In less than three months the local representatives for Viagra makers Pfizer have sold a staggering 32,000 tablets, turning over £40,000 a month.Most of those looking to resurrect their sex lives are men aged between 40 and 50.With some 65,000 males aged between 40 and 54 on the island, the figures suggest that one in two middle-aged Cypriots is opting for a Viagra fix."We believe that Cyprus is number one in Europe for Viagra sales in relation to the population," Viagra importers Geo. Pavlides and Araouzos sales manager Nicos Neophytou said yesterday.But the jury is still out on whether the pill is being administered to cure impotency or merely to add spice to flagging passions."It's a difficult question... but I think people are using it because they want to have better sex, not because they have a problem," Neophytou told the Cyprus Mail.Viagra is available in Cyprus strictly on prescription and only urologists are allowed to prescribe it.Although sales of Viagra were rather sluggish when they first became available at chemists at the end of April, middle-aged males have since been popping the pill like there's no tomorrow."Sales were slow, but then after two months they increased rapidly and are still going up. We are very satisfied," said Neophytou.In May, Geo. Pavlides & Araouzos shifted 1,400 packets of Viagra and they expect that figure to reach 2,000 packets (more than 8,000 tablets) this month.Nicosia is where the most units are sold (around 38 per cent of all Viagra sales islandwide) and Paphos has the lowest demand (10 per cent of sales).The retail price for a 50mg tablet -- the most popular dosage -- is £6.70, and the highest dosage of 100mg costs £8.16 per tablet.The company hopes to make at least £500,000 in Viagra sales by the end of the year as it sets to cash in on the island's rekindled sexual revolution

[12] Summer sales start on MondaySTRICT dates for sales periods must be defined and adhered to, the general secretary of small shopkeepers’ union Povek, Melios Georgiou, said yesterday.Speaking at a press conference to mark the beginning of this year’s summer sales, Georgiou said bigger shops holding ‘pre-sales sales’ currently had an unfair advantage. He blamed the commerce ministry for not taking stronger action."Sale prices are defined by competition," Georgiou said, adding that as chain-stores and other larger retailers can sell cheaply all year round, there needed to be a distinction made between selling items cheaply and actual sales.The summer 1999 sales period starts on Monday and continues until August 28, a six- week period instead of the usual four.

[01] Market in sustained northern marchBy Hamza HendawiSHARE prices continued their tireless northward march yesterday, closing at an all-time high for the fourth successive session amid heightened expectations that even better days are still to come to the small but energetic Cyprus bourse.Yesterday's close, at 188.80, capped a week in which shares appreciated by an eye-popping 11.41 per cent with a combined volume worth £81.60 million.Significantly, the week saw share prices cross the 100-per cent threshold of gains on the year. These gains now stand at an astonishing 108.31 per cent, placing return in the Cyprus Stock Exchange so far this year as one of the highest among emerging or traditional markets.Put differently, investors who obtained a cross-the-board portfolio of blue-chips and debuting shares may have more than doubled their money by now. The more savvy investors who successfully followed a pattern of buying on dips and selling on highs, and had Lady Luck on their side, may have by now tripled or even quadrupled their money.Such a level of profitability, traders point out, make deposit accounts held at banks with an annual return of about seven per cent a bad joke. But, the same traders say, while the more savvy investor made money, a large number of Cypriots, some lacking even the basic knowledge of how the market works, have now taken the plunge with borrowed funds. These speculators, they warn, could be caught short if the market's current trend is reversed."This market, like any other market, goes up and down," said one trader from a top Nicosia brokerage.The 108.31-per cent appreciation of the shares with more than five months remaining in 1999 may not be the end of the market's dream run, the traders say."As the market went up and up, there were periods of consolidation, especially in the banks sector," said one trader. "This means that the resistance levels of the shares which appreciated by about 100 per cent and more are now much higher than before."An Initial Public Issue by Louis Cruise Lines Ltd whose registers closed on Thursday has captivated the country, sent hundreds scurrying for cash to try and snap up as much of the stock as possible and, more significantly, maintained interest in a market which may otherwise begin to go sideways.The Louis IPO is the largest ever by a company in Cyprus, and the title will take sixth place in the market in terms of capitalisation. According to provisional estimates, the £9.5 million issue has been oversubscribed by 30-fold or more.The value of yesterday's trade was an impressive £19.61 million, the highest this week, with the largest single slice -- £4.70 million -- of trade going to the blue-chips of the banks. The tourism, trading and ‘other’ companies sectors combined for £7.47 million.The Bank of Cyprus continued its awesome rally of recent days, shooting up by 14 cents to close at £7.88. The stock is headed for a two-for-one split next month as part of the bank's restructuring. The Popular and Hellenic banks also had a good day yesterday, finishing up at £4.29 and £5.62 respectively.The tourism sector was strong again too, with its sub-index up 3.10 per cent at 172.35 and the second biggest slice of trade -- £2.22 million. All but one of the sector's 12 titles finished higher amid reports of a takeover by the Libra Holidays-backed Drousia Heights Ltd of hotel operators Astarti Development, which finished up 17 cents to close at £4.41.

Friday, July 16, 1999

[02] Haglund and Matsakis on mission to KosovoBy Charlie CharalambousPHYSICIANS for Human Rights expert William Haglund and forensic pathologist Marios Matsakis arrive back in Cyprus today after a fact-finding mission to Kosovo.They left the island on Tuesday to assist the Albanian Kosovars identify their dead and confirm those who may or may not be missing in the aftermath of the Kosovo conflict.Haglund chose the sometime controversial Matsakis and pro-Serb supporter in his capacity as a forensic pathologist."I chose him to come because of his expert knowledge as a forensic pathologist," Haglund told the Cyprus Mailby satellite phone from Pristina yesterday.The two are in Kosovo to help build up an infrastructure which facilitates the efficient registration of the missing, along with identifying and exhuming the bodies.They are also helping to establish procedures in which the families of the dead receive appropriate counselling, have access to their loved ones, and are able to bury them properly."It is not just about atrocities or locating bodies but confirming people are alive," said Haglund.As there is no administrative authority to speak of in Kosovo -- apart from Nato -- Haglund said that he and Matsakis were assessing the local capacity to exhume and identify bodies."We have visited grave sites in Kosovo. Pristina has not been affected physically but the underlying administration is totally gutted," Haglund said.Although he says it is "very likely" he will return to Kosovo in the near future, Haglund said it would not affect his work on the missing in Cyprus."My absence from Cyprus will not affect progress on the exhumations and the analysis, which is going splendidly," he said.

Friday, July 16, 1999

[03] Denktash stance ‘not surprising ’THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday it was not surprised at the latest statements by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash that he would not go to talks unless the ‘TRNC’ is recognised."Denktash's comments add nothing to the long-standing positions Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership," spokesman Costas Serezis said.On Thursday Denktash, in a speech to the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara, repeated that he would not return to UN-sponsored talks unless they take place between two equal states.He said reconciliation in Cyprus is not possible as long as the sovereignty of the Cyprus Republic is not negotiable and as long as all UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus remain intact."The way to lasting peace is confederation," Denktash said.A joint declaration made after the Turkish assembly session condemned and rejected the G8 and UN call to the two sides to return to direct negotiations.The declaration said the Cyprus issue will not be resolved "until the reality of two separate states in Cyprus is accepted and both states are treated equally".Meanwhile yesterday the National Council held its final meeting before the holidays to conclude discussions on the UN call to return to the table.No statements were made after the meeting.

Friday, July 16, 1999

[04] Jet-ski operators plan civil disobedience campaignBy Anthony O. MillerWATER-sports operators said yesterday their patience has run out and they plan to sue the government and engage in more public civil disobedience in an attempt to win the repeal of new regulations they say are driving them out of business."We are not going to wait any further for an answer from (Communications & Works Minister Leontios) Ierodiaconou. He is hiding somewhere. We don't know where or why," Demetris Hadjidemetriou, Cyprus Water Sports Association president, told the Cyprus Mail."He took our proposal a week ago. We haven't had any answer. In the meantime, we have had all this pressure from the police and the municipalities" to comply with the new government regulations, he said.Marine Police have run into opposition on the beaches while trying to enforce the new rules, which require those who rent out water-sports equipment to move their sea-access corridors from swimming areas to the margins of tourist beaches.A Limassol operator and his wife this week doused themselves and their boats with petrol and threatened to light it if Marine Police persisted in trying to confiscate their equipment. They had refused to move to a new site, as the regulations require.The operators say moving their sites bunches them together away from the hotels, concentrating competition and forcing tourists to walk great distances to rent water-sports equipment.Hadjidemetriou said his association’s members now plan to demonstrate outside one of the island’s main ports to dramatise their cause. "We’re not going to tell anybody which port it is going to be, or when it is going to happen. We will block the port as long as we can," he said."We are going to sue the government for the actions it has taken, and we are also going to contest the legality of all the government regulations" concerning water-sports, he added.In addition to civil disobedience, Hadjidemetriou said they are planning a massive media campaign to inform tourists of their plight. He said the story of the near-immolation of the Limassol man and his wife this week has been plastered all over the Internet."We are getting a lot of telephone calls from abroad," as a result, he said. "People are showing a lot of interest."Hadjidemetriou said his association expects to meet House Speaker Spyros Kyprianou next week, and also to enlist the support of the members' party leaders to win a rule reversal.But the water-sports operators have refrained from going on strike, he said, because if the association’s members walk out, non-members "will take advantage of the strike," and draw away customers.The new water-sports regulations are the government's reaction to at least three jet-ski accidents last year, which killed one British tourist and seriously injured three others.After a road- closing mass protest outside the Presidential Palace, the Water Sports Association last week met Ierodiaconou, author of the new rules, and Commerce and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis. Both ministers promised to review the rules in light of the complaints."Unfortunately the government is playing a double game," by claiming to reconsider the new rules, while simultaneously enforcing them, Hadjidemetriou said. "I don't know what is happening. It's very strange. I cannot find a logical explanation."

Friday, July 16, 1999

[05] Second man held after raid on Co-opA SECOND man was remanded in custody yesterday in connection with Wednesday’s armed raid on the Zakaki Co-operative bank.Xenios Anastasiou, 41, was arrested in Limassol at around midnight on Thursday and remanded by Limassol District Court for eight days.The robbery was carried out by a man and a woman who stormed into the bank while it was closed to the public at lunchtime, and only a manager and a female teller were inside. Armed with pistols and wearing masks, the couple demanded cash and were given three bundles of banknotes.They dropped one bundle of cash before they made off in a mini-bus which was later found abandoned. They got away with £967. Police on Thursday arrested Yiannakis Andrea Athanasiou in conjunction with the robbery after finding £760 in his house. He denies the charges.Meanwhile, police are still searching for a hooded man who tried to rob the Ora Co-operative bank in Larnaca at 8.30 am on Thursday. Also armed with a pistol, he demanded the keys to the bank safe from secretary Phanoulla Kyriakou Demetriou, 31. She didn’t have the keys and when she started to scream the raider fled empty-handed.

Friday, July 16, 1999

[06] Man remanded after chapel sex attackA 26-year-old Episkopi villager was yesterday remanded in connection with Thursday's sex attack on a 50- year-old spinster at a remote chapel near Ypsonas, outside Limassol.A Limassol couple found the victim chained to a water tank outside the chapel at about 10am on Thursday, some three hours after the attack took place. The woman, from Ypsonas village, was badly beaten and half-naked.She was in a serious but stable condition yesterday in the intensive care unit of Limassol hospital.Renos Agisilaou was arrested yesterday after he was spotted by police hanging around near the scene of the attack.He was later brought before Limassol District court and remanded for eight days on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm, attempted rape, theft and impersonating a policeman.The court heard how the victim went to the out-of- the-way chapel to light a candle at 6am, as she did every day.On her way home, she was approached by a man claiming to be a police officer on the trail of bank robbers who raided a branch at Zakaki, Limassol, on Wednesday. The man insisted that the woman lead him to the church so he could check if the raiders had stashed their loot there. He threatened to handcuff her if she did not comply, the court heard.The woman led the man to the chapel and he then attacked her, the court was told.The victim was left chained to the water tank and was in a state of shock by the time she was rescued by the passing couple.

Friday, July 16, 1999

[07] Probe into possible surgery overtime abuseBy Martin HellicarAUDITOR- GENERAL Stella Yiorkadji has uncovered evidence of an alleged abuse of surgery overtime at the island's hospitals.According to the findings of a year-long study by Yiorkadji's office, publicised by Phileleftherosnewspaper yesterday, 25 top surgeons net an average of £10,000 each in overtime pay every year.One surgeon, Yiorkadji notes, made a total of £77,248 from overtime pay between 1994 and 1998.The Auditor-general is critical of procedures for recording surgeons’ overtime, and notes that the surgery overtime ledger for 1997 has gone missing from Nicosia's Makarion Hospital.The report describes the disappearance of the ledger as "very serious" and possibly warranting a separate disciplinary or criminal investigation.The Health Ministry was silent on Yiorkadji's criticisms yesterday.Her report records the spending of astronomical sums on surgery overtime at hospitals: £1.535 million in 1998, £2.025 million in 1997 and £1,749 million in 1996.Yiorkadji found that most emergency surgery took place outside regular hospital hours.She notes serious weaknesses in internal checks on the overtime pay demands of hospital surgeons."The practice of delayed submission of applications for overtime compensation creates serious dangers, because it greatly lessens any chance of control," Yiorkadji states."Unusually high overtime demands are not investigated," she adds.

Friday, July 16, 1999

[08] Air fares to Greece ‘must be reduced’TOURISM to and from Greece will remain unable to reach its full potential until air fares are reduced, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday.He was speaking at a ceremony to mark the inauguration today of the new Cyprus Airways weekly flight to the Greek island of Lesbos. The flights will leave from Larnaca every Monday.Rolandis said that with 70,000 arrivals a year from Greece, that the figure was lower than it should be.Asked if the problem was due to high fares, Rolandis said: "I have said many times in the past that this is an obstacle for Greeks and Greek Cypriots. Charges are prohibitive and people can't pay them."The Minister said that Cyprus Airways would just have to fall in line with the requirements of air transport deregulation."We want it to happen sooner rather than later, not just for the needs of tourism but for the needs of the nation," Rolandis said."I believe if the fares end up at a level expected by liberalisation, the flow of tourists from Greece to Cyprus will double or triple."

Friday, July 16, 1999

[09] Trial within a trial at Hambis murder caseTHE CASE'S second ‘trial within a trial’ continued at the Hambis Aeroporos murder trial in Nicosia yesterday.The criminal court heard opposing defence and prosecution arguments about the admissibility as evidence of a statement suspect Zoe Alexandrou gave to police after her arrest in connection with the December 16 murder.Alexandrou's lawyer, George Georgiou, is claiming the statement was not made voluntarily.The three-judge bench is expected to give its verdict on the admissibility of the statement on Monday.The trial, which began last month, has already been delayed by the court having to rule on the admissibility of a statement made to police by one of the other suspects, former special policeman Savvas Ioannou, alias Kinezos. That evidence was found admissible.Hospital cleaner Alexandrou, 51, and her brother -- 43-year-old cabaret owner Sotiris Athinis -- have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to murder 36-year-old Hambis Aeroporos.His suspected killers are 35-year-old waiter Prokopis Prokopiou, policeman Christos Symianos, 35, and Kinezos, 33. All three had pleaded not guilty to murder, but on Tuesday Prokopiou suddenly told the court he was guilty and that Symianos and Kinezos were innocent.The waiter is to be sentenced at a later stage.Hambis was shot dead by two machine-gun toting hooded hit-men as he drove from Ypsonas into Limassol on the morning of December 16. The killing was seen as part of an ongoing feud between suspected underworld figures.The murder trial was moved to Nicosia for fear of gangland reprisals against the suspects and is being conducted under unprecedented police security.

[10] Lordos hotels strike over, say unions

AN INTERIM agreement has been reached in the six-month-old Lordos hotel strike, unions said yesterday -- but they warned that the dispute was not over.

The agreement, the details of which were not revealed, was brokered between lawyers for the two sides, both of whom have reportedly accepted the terms. Sek hotel workers' representative Nicos Epistithiou said striking workers would be showing up for work this morning, but he could not confirm whether management would be re-instating them.

The union sent a letter to the company requesting today's work schedule and said the strikers would be reporting for duty. He also said that those who initially received letters of redundancy also have the right to return to work to serve their 40 days’ notice. Lordos Hotels representatives were not available for comment last night.

"The dispute is not solved but if the strike action is stopped it means the employees have to be accepted back at work," Epistithiou said. "If the employer doesn't accept the employees back at work then they will have to dismiss them. If they dismiss them then there will be different terms to discuss."

The dispute centres on 54 workers from the Lordos Hotels who received redundancy letters in January when management began a cost-cutting operation which involved contracting out some hotel functions. Unions initiated a strike over the move and a further 60-plus workers joined what has proved to be one of the most lengthy and acrimonious industrial actions Cyprus has even seen.

Epistithiou said the deal to conclude an interim solution was initiated by lawyers for Lordos Hotels last Monday. The proposals were given to both sides in front of the special committee set up last month by the government to help solve the dispute.

"Both sides said they would give an answer on Tuesday but management said they would not accept the deal. On Wednesday they said they would give their final position on Friday," Epistithiou said.

"They want the Ministry of Labour to say that those who received the letters in January be declared as redundancies, but in this type of case the unions don't have the right to go to court, as in the case of a dismissal." He said the employers are obliged to say why the workers in question were declared redundant since the employees affected were replaced by other people, which is in effect a dismissal, the unions say.

Epistithiou said the unions are suspending strike action until the final results of the committee are known. He said the committee would be continuing its work to find a permanent solution. "If they declare that it is the right of the company to replace the workers then we will accept it," he said.

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Friday, July 16, 1999

[11] Cypriots in Viagra-fuelled bedroom boomBy Charlie CharalambousMIDDLE- AGED Cypriot man has never had it so good in the Viagra-assisted bedroom, according to local sales figures of the sex wonder drug.Cyprus is apparently in permanent sex overdrive, with sales of the diamond-shaped blue pill outstripping the rest of Europe in the race to cure impotency.In less than three months the local representatives for Viagra makers Pfizer have sold a staggering 32,000 tablets, turning over £40,000 a month.Most of those looking to resurrect their sex lives are men aged between 40 and 50.With some 65,000 males aged between 40 and 54 on the island, the figures suggest that one in two middle-aged Cypriots is opting for a Viagra fix."We believe that Cyprus is number one in Europe for Viagra sales in relation to the population," Viagra importers Geo. Pavlides and Araouzos sales manager Nicos Neophytou said yesterday.But the jury is still out on whether the pill is being administered to cure impotency or merely to add spice to flagging passions."It's a difficult question... but I think people are using it because they want to have better sex, not because they have a problem," Neophytou told the Cyprus Mail.Viagra is available in Cyprus strictly on prescription and only urologists are allowed to prescribe it.Although sales of Viagra were rather sluggish when they first became available at chemists at the end of April, middle-aged males have since been popping the pill like there's no tomorrow."Sales were slow, but then after two months they increased rapidly and are still going up. We are very satisfied," said Neophytou.In May, Geo. Pavlides & Araouzos shifted 1,400 packets of Viagra and they expect that figure to reach 2,000 packets (more than 8,000 tablets) this month.Nicosia is where the most units are sold (around 38 per cent of all Viagra sales islandwide) and Paphos has the lowest demand (10 per cent of sales).The retail price for a 50mg tablet -- the most popular dosage -- is £6.70, and the highest dosage of 100mg costs £8.16 per tablet.The company hopes to make at least £500,000 in Viagra sales by the end of the year as it sets to cash in on the island's rekindled sexual revolution

Friday, July 16, 1999

[12] Summer sales start on MondaySTRICT dates for sales periods must be defined and adhered to, the general secretary of small shopkeepers’ union Povek, Melios Georgiou, said yesterday.Speaking at a press conference to mark the beginning of this year’s summer sales, Georgiou said bigger shops holding ‘pre-sales sales’ currently had an unfair advantage. He blamed the commerce ministry for not taking stronger action."Sale prices are defined by competition," Georgiou said, adding that as chain-stores and other larger retailers can sell cheaply all year round, there needed to be a distinction made between selling items cheaply and actual sales.The summer 1999 sales period starts on Monday and continues until August 28, a six- week period instead of the usual four.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999

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