Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-12-30

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>

CONTENTS

[01] Hope for a more stable market in the new year

[02] Fake visas intercepted

[03] Bank robber nets £7000

[04] It's a penalty!

[05] Doctors prepare to strike

[06] Cyprus gets £5.1m on the EU trail

[07] New ambulances for Cyprus

[08] Irish PM to visit

[09] Paphos Bishop denounces icon `tears'

[10] New Year's Eve: the place to be

[11] Car fires

[01] Hope for a more stable market in the new year

THE BOURSE ended the year with overall losses of 64 per cent as the index fell a further 2.18 per cent yesterday to close at 244.5 points, a far cry from the 700 points with which it began the year. Trading opened slightly under Thursday's close but just when it looked as if the index would head north it began to slide steadily hitting a low of 242 before a slight rally in the last five minutes. Volume was high at £21 million but blue chips continued their downward trend with the FTSE/CySE closing 3.03 per cent down at 1,017 points. All but three of the bourse's sub-sectors, fish farms, tourism and manufacturing ended in the red with the heaviest losses sustained in the banking sector - down 3.52 per cent. Bank of Cyprus (BoC) headed closer to the three-pound mark shedding another ten cents to close at £3.15 while rival Cyprus Popular Bank ended the day 11 cents poorer at £3.03. In Athens BoC ended the year on a positive note, gaining 1.9 per cent to close at 2,125 drachmas (£3.55) after hitting an intraday low of 1,910 (£3.19). The CSE's most active share yesterday was CLR Investments, heavily traded on a volume of £1.4 million with over five million shares changing hands. Profit taking on two of Thursday's main gainers, Pharmakas and Europrofit dragged them back by nine cents and six cents respectively to £1.38 and £1.81. GlobalSoft continued its slide shedding another 13 cents to £5.09 as did Sharelink, which ended four cents down at £1.34. Newcomer Kanika Hotels debuted at 40 cents but ended the session at 36 cents after hitting an intraday high of 41 cents The majority of the analysts suggest that the CSE has reached its real value after a year of hard lessons and will stabilise around the 250 mark. "Unfortunately we will leave the year with memories of a stock exchange that opened the year at 700 but is leaving with losses amounting to 64 per cent," said one CSE analyst. "We all hoped the index would end the year on an upward note but it seems it was not to be." Another analyst expressed the hope that when the exchange reopens on Tuesday investors might display a renewed optimism and confidence in the CSE. "But 2000 will always be remembered as the year when a lot of money was made by the few and a lot was lost by the masses," he said.

[02] Fake visas intercepted

TWO PAKISTANI students headed for Hamburg, Germany, were detained by police at Larnaca airport after an officer suspected something amiss with the visas on their passports. The Immigration Department later determined the visas were fake and detained the two students. Anwar Muhammad, 24, and 20-year-old Jhous Muzfar were both students at a Nicosia college. They later admitted to police they had paid an Arab man from Limassol $1,500 each for the fake visas for Germany, and that they planned to travel to Hamburg to look for work. The students were yesterday remanded in custody for eight days, after appearing before the Larnaca district court. Police investigators said that testimonies from at least another dozen people would be taken to establish the students' accomplices in the scam.

[03] Bank robber nets £7000

EMPLOYEES opening a Paphos bank were yesterday confronted by an armed man demanding money. The disguised man eventually walked away with £7,000 pounds, as cashiers were held at gunpoint and told to fill a black bag with cash. The robbery occurred around 8 am at an Alpha Bank branch in downtown Paphos. The only people inside the bank at the time were two employees and the manager. They later told police the perpetrator was aged between 45-50, 1.70m tall, wore a black hood, sunglasses, an army overcoat and gloves. They also said the man, who spoke in the Cypriot dialect, took off after bagging the cash and made his getaway via an underground tunnel located just outside the bank. Closed circuit TV cameras recorded the man's actions, and police unleashed a manhunt, but until late yesterday the search produced no results. Local residents told police they had noticed suspicious activity around the bank branch in the past few days, but this failed to produce any concrete leads.

[04] It's a penalty!

`Totting up' system that can lead to a driving ban starts Monday

MONDAY marks the start of much tougher penalties on offending drivers in Cyprus, with the long awaited penalty points system -- that can lead to loss of licence -- finally coming into force.

Drivers not abiding by traffic regulations face both fines and penalty points which will be noted on their driving licences. Under the `totting up' procedure, drivers whose penalty points reach 12 face being suspended from driving or having their licence revoked by a court.

The new law, approved since June, goes into force as of Monday, January 1, and it's hoped that the crackdown will prove a major success in the campaign to cut the island's excessively high road deaths.

The point system, widely in use in Europe and the United States, will cover a wide range of traffic violations. Offending drivers will be fined and police will have the authority to impose penalty points.

Explained Traffic Police Chief George Voutounos: "While all offences carry penalty points, the fines will be payable at either police precincts or the road transport department (in each district) depending on the nature of the offence."

Police will have the authority to impose penalty points for such common driving offences as speeding or `shooting' traffic lights, and on a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet. The police will not themselves impose penalties for serious violations such as reckless driving or causing a road death since these are penal offences to be tried in court, which then has the power to impose maximum penalty points.

Voutounos told the Cyprus Mail that new driving licences would include a special section indicating traffic violations and the corresponding penalty points. The new licenses will be issued by the Road Transport Department to future "first-time offenders". Anyone found trying to conceal the number of penalty points is liable to a fine of up to £1,000 and/or one year's imprisonment.

Voutounos said there were minimum and maximum penalties and police could only impose the minimum. For example, for speeding up to 25 per cent above the limit a driver could be saddled with two penalty points, but if the case goes to court he or she could end up with the maximum four points.

So, if an offending driver chooses to contest a fine in court -- and the penalty points -- ordered by traffic police, he or she runs a `double or nothing' risk since the court could impose the maximum penalty.

The only good news for offending drivers is that, as in other countries, road traffic violations, and their corresponding penalty points, are regarded as `spent' three years after the date on which an offence was committed.

According to Voutounos, the changes to the legislation are "long-awaited, since Cyprus currently ranks third in Europe in the number of road deaths per head of population".

Among the offences incurring penalty points are:

Breaking the speed limit by 25 to 50 per cent -- minimum number of penalty points 2, maximum 4.

Breaking the speed limit by 50 per cent or more - min 3, max 6.

Thoughtless or dangerous driving - min 3, max: 6

Careless driving - min 2, max: 4.

Driving under the influence of alcohol - min 3, max 6.

Ignoring traffic light signals - min 2, max 4.

Causing death due to unreasonable, thoughtless or dangerous action - min 5, max 10.

Hit and run, without providing help - min 5, max 10.

Motorcyclists not wearing a helmet - min 1, max 2 in built-up areas; min 2, max 4 outside built-up areas.

Not wearing seatbelt outside built-up areas - min 2, max 4.

[05] Doctors prepare to strike

DOCTORS AT state hospitals and emergency departments will walk out for 24 hours on January 12, if their demands for higher salaries are not met. This was the warning issued yesterday by the State Doctors' Union (PASIKY). "There will not be a single state doctor working on January 12, not even at the emergency departments," PASIKY'S President Stavros Stavrou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday shortly after doctors announced their decision taken at a Union Council's meeting. Health Minister Frixos Savvides countered the Union's threats, claiming that health services were more than ready to face a strike but did not refer to any specific measures to deal with such a crisis. Stavrou said: "The minister said he was ready to face anything. Ask him how he plans to deal with patients showing up at the emergency departments. We are more than willing to co-operate with colleagues working in the private sector to treat emergency cases if we are asked to." He said more strikes could follow, adding that everything depended on the government's willingness to meet with the Union's demands. "The strike measures could be called off altogether if the government starts addressing our problems," Stavrou noted. PASIKY'S call to action followed a recent government decision to satisfy schoolteachers' demands for a pay rise. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail earlier this month, PASIKY President complained, "teachers earn as much as we do. We spend an average of 12 years studying and we start working at 35 while teachers start at 23. Plus, the pensions and providence funds we receive after retirement are 80 per cent of what teachers receive." The starting salary for schoolteachers is £800-900 per month, the same as unspecialised doctors. Doctors with a specialist degree get £950. Health Minister Frixos Savvides told reporters yesterday just before Doctors' Union announced its strike measures: "If PASIKY goes on strike it will be my burden and problem to solve. But I want to believe that doctors' final decision will be a reasonable one, giving us adequate time to address their problems. "However government services are more than ready to face a strike staged by the doctors but I will not refer to specific measures" he added. It is thought that the ministry plans to assign part of state doctors' work to private clinics. The Union has repeatedly blamed the Finance Minister for the "unacceptable situation" accusing the government of going back at its promise two years ago to see that doctors' demands for higher salaries were met by 2000. PASIKY argues that the government is taking advantage of the fact that the nature of their profession makes it difficult for them to just drop everything and leave. Deputies from across the political spectrum back the Union's struggle. According to Stavrou, Savvides admitted to understanding the doctors' position but failed to apply any pressure on the Cabinet to address their problems. The minister is due to address the Union's General Assembly in mid-January to broach the matter. Meanwhile, Stavrou has pleaded with the state, the political parties, the House of Representatives and non-governmental agencies, such as patients' organisations, for support.

[06] Cyprus gets £5.1m on the EU trail

FINANCE MINISTER Takis Klerides yesterday signed two financial memoranda, under which the government will receive 9 million euros (£5.1 million) from the EU as part of the pre-accession aid allocated to Cyprus for the year 2000. The aid will be used to co-finance the application and enforcement of the EU acquis and projects contributing to the reconciliation of the Cypriot communities. For political reasons, the Turkish-Cypriot community has refused to participate in the bi-communal projects, meaning the money has remained idle. The total amount of pre- accession aid allocated to Cyprus for the period 2000-2004 is estimated around £32.7 million. "The nine million [euros] will be used correctly according to EU regulations and we still hope that Cyprus will benefit more from EU funds in its effort to continue its accession course as smoothly as possible," Klerides said shortly after signing the memoranda in the presence of Donato Chiarini, head of the EU Commission delegation. The package allocation is broken down into funds for upgrading administrative efficiency, police administration (in line with the Schengen Treaty), modernising the VAT services and upgrading the customs and excise department. Around half a million pounds will be allocated for Cyprus' participation in the Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates and Youth Community programmes in 2001. Although the amount made available to Cyprus is thought to be relatively low, the EU considers Cyprus has a high per capita income and does not require more aid. For the first time ever, control over the implementation of the projects will be partly delegated to the governments receiving the aid. Previously the EU Commission supervised all stages of implementation.

[07] New ambulances for Cyprus

THE HEALTH service was yesterday given a shot in the arm with the unveiling of four state-of-the-art ambulances bringing the government-operated fleet to 60 vehicles. Health Minister Frixos Savvides received the £100,000 vehicles during a special ceremony outside the casualty department of Nicosia general hospital. The ambulances are to be used by Makarios hospital, Limassol general hospital and Paralimni hospital. Most of the 60 ambulances are based at urban hospitals but have no permanent attendants and usually driven by hospital nurses. A 1994 World Health study condemned the current ambulance system and urged them to replace it with a paramedic one 1995. A 1996 study by a British consultant concluded that, two years on, none of the WHO report's recommendations had been implemented. House Health Committee testimony in 1996 also indicated 40 people died each year in Cyprus due to the island's poor ambulance service. Savvides in October 1999 promised to open a paramedic training school in September 2000, and have its first graduates in urban ambulances by mid-2001, and throughout Cyprus by 2003. But in early February Savvides said he had advanced that timetable so the first paramedic attendants would be in ambulances in Cyprus "before the end of the year." Senior Health Ministry officials were yesterday unavailable to comment on the current state of the paramedic training school.

[08] Irish PM to visit

IRISH PRIME Minister Bertie Aherne has announced a visit to Cyprus. Arriving on January 9, Aherne will spend two days meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, Foreign Minister Takis Klerides and Commerce Minister Nicos Rolandis. He will also be meeting House president Spyros Kyprianou, Cyprus' Chief EU negotiator George Vassiliou and prominent Cypriot businessmen before seeing UN Chief of Missions Zbigniew Wlosowicz and the Irish UN peacekeepers serving in Cyprus. Aherne leads the Fianna Fail party, which forms the government with the Progressive Democrats, led by Mary Harney and the independent TDs (members of the Irish parliament, Dail Eireann). The popularity of the Taoiseach remains high since his involvement in the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland, and the continuing relative good health of the Irish economy. The Good Friday agreement in 1998 saw David Trimble and Seamus Mallon, a Unionist and a nationalist, elected as Minister and Deputy Minister of the new Northern Ireland Assembly, which sat for the first time on July 1 of that year. The assembly was the result of elections in both parts of Ireland, which overwhelmingly voted to accept the agreement.

[09] Paphos Bishop denounces icon `tears'

WHILE AN eighth century icon continues to shed `tears' in a small Limassol district church, the Bishop of Paphos has dismissed any possibility of a miracle and directed an attack against his Limassol counterpart. Arakapas village priest father Dimitrios Panayiotou told the Cyprus Mail that while the icon periodically stopped crying its tears "fell like a river" at other times and had continued yesterday. Panayiotou also said the village had received an influx of visitors praying before the icon since the phenomenon began on Christmas Day. "It is something too important for our human minds to comprehend," he said. Panayiotou was the first to spot it during preparation for a Christmas morning service while Limassol Bishop Athanasios declined to comment on the icon saying that God loved mankind and would not try to scare people. He visited the site earlier this week. However, Paphos Bishop Chrysostomos on Thursday said the faithful should not believe such phenomena too easily and the miracle might be serving personal interests, "I have heard they are building a new church there." When speaking to Ant1 on the icon, he swiftly changed the topic saying the real miracle in his opinion was that the Major Synod, made up of two visiting Patriarchs and over 20 visiting and local bishops, acquitted Athanasios of homosexuality charges in mid November. He said, "I do not consider (the icon) a major miracle. We had an important miracle a few days ago. The Major Synod's unanimous decision. That is a miracle if there ever was one."

[10] New Year's Eve: the place to be

NEW YEAR'S Eve sees Nicosia's seven municipalities banding together to provide a cherry alternative to expensive nightclubs and hotels with dancing in the streets, live music from various artists alternating with a DJ, a Russian dance troupe and a magnificent fire works display. The municipalities believe last year's millennium celebrations in Nicosia's Eleftheria Square were so successful they hope to set the mood all over again. Pieces of traditional Vassilopitta cakes will be handed out video wall units are set to once again transmit images of merrymaking in other parts of Cyprus and the rest of the world. Traditionally, a coin is put into a Vassilopitta and the person who finds it is said to have good luck for the New Year. Nicosia Municipality was unable to say how much the party was expected to cost this year, adding that Keo would once again be sponsoring the event. Millennium celebrations on the same scale last year cost the company about £30,000, but Keo was yesterday unable to put a figure on this year's festivities having closed their headquarters for the holidays. The company will also once again be operating kiosks with free Keo products in the Square. Limassol Municipality was yesterday unavailable for comment on their New Year festivity plans while Larnaca residents are this year to be treated to a fire-works display. Paphians, however, will also have a chance to party with dancing and music outside the Town Hall, plenty of complimentary food and drink as well as the cutting of a Vassilopitta. Popular singer Stella Georgiadou will also be entertaining the Paphos masses during the 7pm to 2am celebrations with the Municipality yesterday saying that the festivities would be sponsored but would not say by which company.

[11] Car fires

TWO CARS were destroyed in separate Limassol fires in the early hours yesterday. The first broke out at approximately 2.15am causing extensive damage to a saloon car owned by 23-year-old Chrysoulla Theodoulou. The second fire began two hours later destroying a pick-up truck belonging to Sotiris Andreou. Limassol police yesterday said investigations were underway into whether the fires had been set deliberately.

Cyprus Mail 2000

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