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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 99-10-07Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999<h1 style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso-hyphenate: none">Disgraced Bishop denies clerical error _ <h1 style="text- align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso-hyphenate: none">over luxury residence<o:p></o:p> _ <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">THE current Bishop of Limassol, Athanassios, and his disgraced predecessor, Chrysanthos, are reportedly at loggerheads over the luxurious Church home the latter is living in.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Chrysanthos was given the Limassol seaside residence after he resigned as Bishop in the face of allegations he was involved in multi- million pound scams to defraud investors in Cyprus and abroad.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">But Athanassios, according to newspaper reports yesterday, has now asked the Holy Synod to let him turn the spacious home into a youth centre. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The Synod has reportedly told Athanassios to raise the matter with Chrysanthos himself, and insisted that alternative -- equally comfortable -- accommodation would have to be found for the former Bishop.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Phileleftheros newspaper reported that Chrysanthos was having none of it.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"I'm staying here: the house was given to me with the Archbishop's signature. I won't leave and I have passed this on to Athanassios," the paper reported Chrysanthos as saying.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Apart from the home, the Church also promised Chrysanthos a handsome retainer after his ignominious departure from active clerical service.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">A police investigation into Chrysanthos's alleged illegal activities is continuing, and the ex-Bishop may yet find himself in court if the Attorney-general’s office decides to press charges.<o:p></o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold}Thursday, October 7, 1999CONTENTS
[01] Police name tourist in horror crash<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">POLICE yesterday released the names of the four British tourists killed in a car accident on Tuesday afternoon.<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The four victims were Michael Salisbury 54, and his 57- year-old wife Margaret, from Hull, and John Tucker, 63, and his wife Bertha, 61, from Birmingham.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The four were driving their rental car towards Ayia Napa on the new Dhekelia-Famagusta when it veered into the right lane and hit two cars coming in the opposite direction.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Sovereign Base Area police said that they are still investigating the conditions and cause of the accident.<o:p> </o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[02] Foundry 'not violating emission law'<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">By Martin Hellicar<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">A FOUNDRY linked to high incidences of cancer in a Nicosia district village is not violating emissions limits set down in law, the Labour Ministry said yesterday.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"The set limits for particulate concentrations in gas emissions from the chimney of the factory are considered adequate for the control of pollution, bearing in mind the practice followed in various European countries," a ministry announcement said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Ergates village residents say the metal works is poisoning their environment with lead and cadmium, and that it is to blame for the high levels of cancer and breathing problems in the area.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The House Environment Committee heard on Tuesday that levels of heavy metals emitted by the works were routinely six times those permitted under EU law.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">But the Labour Ministry yesterday said EU law did not define emission limits for such factories, but only stated that the "cleanest available" technology should be used. The ministry added that the relevant EU regulations made allowances for older works, such as the Marios and Eleni foundry at Ergates.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The ministry statement did not deny that the village was polluted, but stressed the foundry was not the only dirty industry in the area.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The villagers claim the government is not doing enough to protect their health. The environment committee wants the foundry closed down until it can limit heavy metal emissions.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">An epidemiological study has shown that one in three children in Ergates suffers from breathing problems. It also reveals unusually high incidences of lung, brain, kidney and pancreas cancers.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[03] Canned food scare "not so serious"<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">By Anthony O. Miller<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">HEALTH Minister Frixos Savvas says he is waiting for guidance from the European Commission on whether the anti-rust coating inside tinned food from Belgium is dangerous enough to human health to warrant restricting its import and sale.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"The official news up to now from the European Commission is that the matter is not as serious as it was initially portrayed in the press," he said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"It is being investigated, and we are talking about thousands and thousands of products," he said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"They are investigating the principle of chemical reaction between foodstuffs which have been canned in tins coated with this special (anti-rust) varnish or lacquer" in Belgium, especially citrus products and foods of more acidic content.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"They are investigating possible reactions to see if the reaction exceeds the limits set by the European Commission, which is one kilogram per kilo of food."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Savvas advised anyone worried about possible harm from eating Belgian canned foods to “stay away from using tins... for a few days. We have plenty of food in abundance in Cyprus. We don't know what's wrong; nobody knows what's wrong. There is nothing specific that we can identify or target with a view to taking it off the market."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"I'm not telling people not to eat canned food," he said, "but if somebody is super-worried about this, the answer is, it's up to the individual to consider and decide.”<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The current tin-can scare is the second to strike the Belgian food industry this year. In early June, the world began slapping bans on Belgian foods of all varieties after deadly, cancer- causing dioxin was found contaminating Belgian foodstuffs.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The dioxin scare lasted more than a month and decimated the Belgian food industry, from the farm to the supermarket domestically and in the country's lucrative food export market.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[04] Minister hits back in dolphin dispute<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">By Anthony O. Miller<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">AGRICULTURE Minister Costas Themistocleous yesterday turned up the heat in a dispute with MP Demetris Eliades that could end with the courts defining the limits of Parliament's power to supervise the actions of the government.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The flap began when Themistocleous refused to give Eliades' House Environment Committee a copy of a letter the minister wrote to the Council of Ministers.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Themistocleous, of the United Democrats, accused Eliades, an Edek deputy, of "politically suspect" behaviour for seeking to sue him for refusing to surrender the letter.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Eliades has charged Themistocleous with "contempt of Parliament" and "ignoring the law" by refusing to hand over the letter. On Tuesday, his committee requested the House plenum to ask Attorney-general Alecos Markides to sue Themistocleous and two of his top employees for defying his committee's request.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou yesterday urged the House not to rush into any action that would create a crisis in the Republic's institutions, since the issue concerns not only Themistocleous, but all of government policy.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">"Of course, the government will position itself when the plenum takes the relevant decisions," Papapetrou said. But he added that he hoped the House will behave responsibly and “not rush to adopt positions which could create a serious institutional crisis".<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Themistocleous wrote the letter to the Council before its April 21 meeting, and in it urged the Council to grant Ayia Napa Marine Park (ANMP) a permit to import four more Bottlenose Dolphins. At the April 21 meeting, the Council did just that.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Eliades’ Committee opposed the Cabinet's permit grant to ANMP, and demanded to see the minister's letter to the Council recommending it.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Themistocleous claimed the letter was privileged and refused to give it up. He said that while the law requires his and the Council's decisions to be made public, it does not require the thinking behind them to be.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Besides, he said yesterday: "The dolphinarium has shut down. ... The essence of the issue is: the dolphinarium is closed. The interested party (owner Kikis Constantinou) has not taken advantage of the decision taken by the Cabinet in April 1999 (to let him import more dolphins). Therefore," he said, "...in practice government policy has been implemented."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">Constantinou, however, told The Sunday Mail in July that the Marine Park is closed "for renovation" and that he did not know when it would.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">All four of the dolphins there died between 1994 and 1998 due to what marine biologists have called abuse and neglect. One of two seals on show there also died in early September.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt">The surviving seal is now being fed under the supervision of the Department of Veterinary Services.<span style="font- size:12.0pt; letter-spacing:-.15pt"><o:p> </o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[05] Agrifair outstanding in its field.<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">NEED a new tractor? Then the eleventh Cyprus Agricultural fair, opening at the Nicosia State Fair on October 13, is the place to go.<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Agrifair '99 will include exhibits by 90 local, Greek and Israeli companies. Running alongside the agricultural show will be the second Watertech show, with 25 exhibitors.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">State Fairs Authority chairman Demetris Ioannou yesterday said the Agrifair had proved itself a "particularly useful" exhibition. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"On show in its various sections are the latest achievements in the agricultural and livestock sectors demonstrating notable progress and development in our rural economy," Ioannou told a news conference.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The show is organised by the State Fair Authority, the Ministries of Agriculture and Commerce and farmers' unions.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Agrifair '99 will be opened by President Clerides at 9am on Wednesday and will then be open from 10am to 1pm and 5pm to 11pm until Friday October 15 and between 10am and 1pm and 4pm to 11pm on Saturday and Sunday, October 16-17.<o:p> </o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[06] New GSP stadium opened<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">THE New GSP, Nicosia's impressive new out-of-town football stadium, was inaugurated yesterday evening by President Clerides.<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The £8.5 million stadium in Latsia can hold 26,000 spectators.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The opening cermeony included a blessing by Archbishop Chrysostomos and a parachute display, before an exhibition match between the capital's two top teams, Omonia and Apoel.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The first official game at the new stadium will be on October 23, when Apoel face Olympiakos in a Nicosia derby.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">But not everyone is happy with the new venue: the Green party yesterday complained that the ground was being opened when the road network in the area was in a state of chaos and a ‘spaghetti junction’ was still under construction.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The fringe party added that 300 tonnes of precious drinking water are being used to water the stadium's pitch every day.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt; letter-spacing:- .15pt"><o:p> </o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[07] Official denies forcing workmen to moonlight<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">THE CHIEF foreman of the Famagusta District Office forced his subordinates to work for nothing on his Aradippou home, a court heard yesterday.<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">District Office building inspector Loukas Ilia, 33, told the Famagusta District court that his superior, 53-year-old Costas Demetriou, threatened to take away his work vehicle if he did not join his colleagues moonlighting on Demetriou's home outside Larnaca.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The court, convening in Larnaca, heard that Demetriou had repeatedly used his subordinates in this way between late 1997 and October 1998. Demetriou has been on suspension ever since his alleged abuse of authority came to light a year ago.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">He denies any wrongdoing. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The former director of the Water Development department, Christodoulos Christodoulou, recently served a short prison sentence after being found guilty of similar charges to those Demetriou is now on trial for. Christodoulou was jailed for using departmental employees and machinery to do work on his out-of-town mansion.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">By Anthony O. Miller<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">MOTORISTS in Cyprus can expect a price-hike of two or more cents a litre at the pump for both petrol and diesel -- and soon, according to BP’s Cyprus Managing Director, Cyprus George Petrou.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">That is how much the four oil companies that operate the six petrol brands in Cyprus have suggested the government raise the pump price so they can recover the share of sale proceeds the government agreed they should, he said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">A decision on how much and when to raise prices could emerge today from a meeting planned between Commerce and Industry Minister Nicos Rolandis, Finance Minister Takis Klerides and the island's four oil companies. Rolandis already met the oil companies about this on Monday.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">When both sides agreed upon the oil companies' current share of the pump price, crude oil was nearly half the $23 per barrel it is today, Petrou said. Then the oil companies were reaping windfall profits far above their agreed-upon share, he said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">So the government slapped a surcharge on those windfall profits, sending the money to the Defence Fund and the Electric Authority fund.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">But as the crude oil price rose, the oil companies' agreed profits per litre steadily fell to a point where they actually became a net loss per litre, especially before the windfall surcharge was lifted, Petrou said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">He said the government lifted that windfall levy yesterday. (Rolandis on Monday said the levy was being lifted "instantly".) But that will not be enough to get the oil companies in the black by the end of the year, Petrou added.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">In fact, unless the government raises the pump price by "at least two cents per litre per product", Petrou said, the oil companies will lose £4.2 million by the end of the year.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">This is because their share of the pump price, as set by the earlier boom-times agreement, will not cover their rising costs, much less give them the profits that shareholders want, he said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Petrou declined to say what part of the pump price was the oil companies' allocation. Instead, he said their pact with the government lets them make "12 per cent return on our equity".<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Rolandis conceded the crude-pump price squeeze was such that the oil companies "cannot make the agreed profit at the end of the year. ...We have agreed the figures."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The oil companies, he said, "are pressuring us for a fast increase. ... The price at the pump should go up," he said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Asked if and when that price rise might occur, Rolandis said the answer could come as early as today.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";letter-spacing: -.15pt"> </o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[08] Exercise ends with T-80 assault<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">AN ASSAULT in the Larnaca area by Russian-made T-80 tanks brought this year’s Nikiforos exercise to a close yesterday.<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The National Guard launched a full-scale attack for the recovery of lost territory, according to scenario for the war games.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Greek fighter planes softened up the ‘enemy’ on the ground before giving way to helicopters, the tanks, and paratroopers who dropped from a C-130.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">President Glafcos Clerides watched the exercise with Defence Minister Socrates Hasikos, Greek Deputy Defence Minister Demetris Apostolakis, and Greek Chief of Staff General Manousos Paragioudakis.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Clerides expressed his satisfaction at the performance of all units taking part in the exercise and praised the Greek Air Force pilots for the accuracy of their bombing.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Apostolakis, who arrived on Tuesday for a four-day visit, said Nikiforos was one of the best organised and executed military exercises he had seen.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">He said the presence of Greek planes demonstrates solidarity between Greece and Cyprus.<o:p> </o:p> A:hover {color: #800000; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold} Thursday, October 7, 1999[09] Petrol price rise decision put off<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">By Anthony O. Miller<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">COMMERCE and Industry Minister Nicos Rolandis said yesterday that a petrol price rise is "inevitable, unless the crude (oil) price goes down", but the government will defer deciding for a few weeks whether and how much to raise it.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Rolandis' view contrasted with the more urgent call earlier this week by George Petrou, the Managing Director of BP Cyprus, for the government to raise the motor fuel pump price soon, so oil company losses cease and profits resume.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"We shouldn't move very fast. We should wait for a while to see what the trend will be on the crude (oil price)," Rolandis said yesterday after his second meeting this week with the island's four oil companies.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">He said he would brief the Cabinet tomorrow before leaving on a trade mission to Japan next week. On his return, he said, he would discuss the matter with the House Representatives, and again with the oil companies and "evaluate the situation once more" before raising any pump prices.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">But he conceded that if crude stays at its current price, “an increase (at the pump) will be inevitable, because there will be continuous losses (to the oil companies) and nobody can absorb them".<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Rolandis said his ministry agrees with the oil companies' loss estimates, pegged at some £4 million for this year if crude prices stay at current levels and pump prices do not rise.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Part of the blame lies with Opec's doubling of the crude price to its current $23-per-barrel level this year. Part also owes to the windfall profits surcharge the government slapped on pump prices when crude oil cost half what it does now and the oil companies were reaping profits the government thought excessive.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">But with crude prices high and likely to rise this winter, the windfall surcharge absorbed any profit cushion the oil companies had, catching them in a cost-price squeeze now and for the remainder of the year, Petrou said.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The high price of crude oil is also hurting the economy, Rolandis said: "On a yearly basis, the extra burden on the economy is in the region of $200 million."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"This includes the purchase of crude and also the purchase of fuel oil by the Electricity Authority," he said. "This is a huge burden on the economy, and somebody will have to absorb it."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"Of course there is a commitment to the oil companies to make a certain return on their investment," the minister said, "and we shall try to ensure that they make it this year."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"If they cannot make the whole of it this year, then we shall take the two years together, this year and next, and make sure they make 12 per cent (profit) on average for each of the two years."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> Thursday, October 7, 1999[10] Former top cop blows lib on exam scam<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">By Martin Hellicar<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">A FRESH police corruption scandal broke yesterday, with an ex- police chief claiming officers had sold police exam papers to candidates.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Ex-head of police Costas Papacostas -- now a deputy for the opposition communist party Akel -- told the House of Representatives ad hoc crime committee that a network of crooked officers was stealing the papers and selling them to aspiring officers for up to £200.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The committee had convened to discuss a police probe into allegations that members of the force and relatives of top politicians were abetting an underworld prostitution ring. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Deputies were shocked to hear of the new scandal and demanded that Papacostas' claims also be investigated.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Papacostas said he was so sure that his information was accurate that he wanted an independent investigator appointed to look into the matter and ensure the guilty parties are brought to justice.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The Akel deputy said that on September 29 he had sent letters to both Justice Minister Nicos Koshis and Attorney-general Alecos Markides informing them of the alleged scam.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Papacostas said the same network of corrupt officers was guilty of arranging for the exam results of "selected" candidates to be "reviewed" if they failed to make the grade.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The deputy implied that the network was working to ensure only supporters of governing Disy succeeded in police recruitment and promotion exams.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The committee also heard more about the police investigation, launched on Monday, into claims that members of the force were in cahoots with underworld gangs forcing foreign cabaret artistes into prostitution.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Deputies heard that the brother of Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades, Pambos -- whose name has been linked to the foreign workers scam -- had served as a special police officer with a licence to carry a gun.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Police chief Andreas Angelides, who was at yesterday's committee session, said he could not confirm this information and suggested that Pambos might have been given a gun so he could protect his famous brother. This suggestion met with an incredulous response from deputies.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Committee chairman Aristophanis Georgiou demanded that the committee be informed -- within 24 hours -- on whether Pambos Anastassiades had been a gun-carrying special policeman.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Pambos Anastassiades has worked as a labour agent specialising in foreign workers.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Assistant police chief Nathanael Papageorgiou, one of three senior officers conducting the prostitution investigation, told the committee that a number of statements had been taken. Papageorgiou said 12 foreign artistes had been found with fake residence stamps on their passports. One of the allegations under investigation is that officers were supplying false permits for cabaret artistes. Papageorgiou said the 12 cabaret dancers were helping police with their enquiries.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The government, the police chief and Nicos Anastassiades have all been at pains to insist there will be no cover-up, and that any guilty parties will face the full consequences.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The Justice Minister has launched a campaign to cleanse the island of its sordid reputation as a centre for the import of female cabaret dancers who are then allegedly forced into the sex trade.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> Thursday, October 7, 1999[11] Quake-pledge minister tours refugee estates<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">INTERIOR Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou yesterday toured refugee estates in Nicosia earmarked for a multi-million pound quake- proofing effort.<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The government has promised to spend £50 million over the next five years on renovating ageing refugee estates in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The restoration plan was announced last month following a minor quake in Limassol and two major earthquake disasters, in Turkey and Greece.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The government admitted it could not guarantee that the refugee housing, put up in a hurry after the 1974 invasion, could withstand a major tremor and promised to do something about it.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Christodoulou yesterday visited the Strovolos II, Anthoupolis and Ayios Pavlos estates. He reiterated the government's determination to act swiftly to ensure the refugee housing was made quake- proof.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> <o:p> </o:p> Thursday, October 7, 1999[12] Shares defy predictions and soar to record high<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">By Hamza Hendawi<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">SHARE prices rose sharply for the second consecutive day yesterday, registering an all-time high and taking the market's gains to 15.61 per cent since business resumed on Monday after its one-month closure.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"It is totally illogical," said one trader who did not want to be named. "Does it make sense to you?"<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Traders and analysts had expected the market to take a serious beating on reopening, partly because of the blow to investor confidence caused by the market's lengthy closure. The four-week shutdown was the third in two months to be decreed by the exchange to allow brokerages to clear a backlog of unprocessed transactions.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The all-share index fell by only 1.27 per cent on Monday, a slight retreat that was taken as a good sign by pundits expecting a meltdown. But then the index reversed direction on Tuesday to close 8.69 per cent up. And yesterday the index shot up by 8.19 per cent to close at 487.94, eclipsing the previous all-time high of 477.17 recorded on August 30. Volume yesterday was £21.78 million, of which £12.98 went to the blue- chips of the banks.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Yesterday's rise in the index took the market's gains so far this year to a mind-boggling 438.38 per cent.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Attempting to explain the market's unexpected behaviour since Monday, Yiannos Athienitis of leading brokerage Severis and Athienitis Securities had this to say: "It is perhaps because investors are getting their share certificates slowly, and so are coming back to the market in batches. So, whatever selling that is happening is being absorbed.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"Having seen that the market did not crash on Monday and actually rose yesterday (Tuesday) may have helped change the mind of some who had been intent on selling," he told the Cyprus Mail.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"Maybe if all investors had their certificates on Monday the market would have crashed due to heavy selling," Athienitis said. "But the crash did not materialise and the small number of foreign investors that we have in the market are still with us, though they are puzzled by what is happening."<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Traders say that many investors were planning to sell once their share certificates are available to repay debts in the tens of millions owed to brokerages, banks and co-operatives. These debts were mostly incurred during the boom months of the summer when thousands of first-time investors took a chance on shares in the hope of making a quick and handsome profit.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">But the market's eye-popping gains and the heavy exposure it is currently enjoying in the media may actually generate a new wave of first-time investors, traders believe. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">"There are still some out there who may be tempted now to come in and invest for the first time," said Athienitis.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">As on Tuesday, all seven sectors of the market yesterday finished the day in positive territory with the largest gains made by investment companies.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The Bank of Cyprus notched up 89.50 cents to close at £10.97, nearly £2 up since Monday. Yesterday's trade in the bank's share amounted to £8.37 million, or 38.6 per cent of the day's entire trade. The bank's 1999-2003 warrants did not do badly either, rising by 65.50 cents to close at £8.97. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The Bank of Cyprus is heading for a listing on the much larger Athens Stock Exchange by early next year, a prospect that, together with extremely healthy results, is contributing to continuing interest in its titles. <o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The Popular Bank also had a field day yesterday, rising by 72.50 cents to close at £12.05 in heavy trading. The bank's warrants did well too, rising to £20.67, a 67-cent increase.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> Thursday, October 7, 1999[13] Council of Europe adopts Loizidou resolution against Turkey<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">By George Psyllides<o:p> </o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">THE Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe voted yesterday to adopt the resolution urging Turkey to comply with a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the Titina Loizidou case, concerning the continuous violation of human rights of Greek Cypriots.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Turkish counter-measures failed to prevent the resolution being passed with an overwhelming majority, delivering Turkey "a slap in the face", according to Achilleas Demetriades, Loizidou’s lawyer.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Last year the European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to pay around £500,000 to Loizidou as compensation for depriving her of her right to enjoy her property in Kyrenia, which has been occupied by Turkey since its 1974 invasion of the island.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Turkey has so far refused to pay Loizidou, despite several deadlines and extensions, claiming it is not liable for the occupation of the north of Cyprus.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The decision by the Committee of Ministers clears the way for other cases, said Demetriades. He said it proves the Greek Cypriots right when they say Turkey is to blame for human rights violations in Cyprus.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">The vote had been postponed from late last month, after a British proposal and an overriding decision by the committee chairman which bypassed the rules governing the functioning of the committee.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none">Diplomatic sources said at the time that the postponement took account of developments in the Cyprus problem, considering that Turkey might react negatively to any decision against it at that point.<o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:12.0pt;mso- hyphenate: none"> © Copyright Cyprus Mail 1999Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |