Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-02-13

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

Tuesday, February 13, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] CSE falls below 200

[02] Police play down criminal rampage in Limassol

[03] Larnaca port will still have a cargo role

[04] Missing army lovers found camping in Holland

[05] Rape suspects to face trial

[01] CSE falls below 200

"Breaking through the 200 mark will do little for investor confidence," one foreign analyst remarked. "But the real issue is what this lack of confidence says about the country's overall credibility. If local investors aren't ready to put their money into local firms, then why should anybody else?"

Such remarks appear to contradict the brighter view of government officials.

In Phileleftheros yesterday, Finance Minister Takis Klerides called attention to the excellent prospects of the Cypriot economy, insisting that the downward trend of the CSE was not in line with the state of the economy.

According to the Finance Minister, in the medium term the performance of the CSE will reflect the performance of the economy, which is "very satisfactory", adding that it will be a "matter of time" before that happens.

But online analysts at xak.com caught the mood of the day, noting that "there are no motives for anyone to withdraw their safe deposits which gain a respectable interest and invest them in CSE."

Meanwhile, the results of the day continued to portend ill for the future.

Volume fell by almost a million pounds compared with last Friday, a decrease of around 11 per cent. Of total shares traded, 114 saw losses, 69 saw no change at all and only 30 reported gains.

Banks were responsible for 34 per cent of total trading volume, with Bank of Cyprus (BOC) and Cyprus Popular Bank (CPB) the most active shares. But banking dropped in value by 2.79 per cent and was second to the finance sector in overall losses.

BOC closed the day at £2.66 down 1.48 per cent with the 15 per cent of the total volume, while CPB ended at £2.19 losing 4.36 per cent with the 14 per cent.

Finicas Ammochostou Ltd (FIA) was the top gainer of the day, showing returns of 12.2 per cent ending at 101 cents, while Dome Investments (DOME) was the top loser of the day dropping 14.49 per cent to close at 59 cents.

The exchange saw the entry of its first new share of the year yesterday, with Top Kinisis Travel Ltd (TOP) listing 10 million ordinary shares offered.

The TOP debut caused a stir, with the firm's shares near the top of total trading volume at 5.4 per cent. TOP opened at 69 cents and closed at 63 - just below the IPO price of 65 cents.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Police play down criminal rampage in Limassol

No one was hurt in the attacks, which included two grenade explosions, an arson and a burglary.

Limassol District Police Director Charalambos Koulendis admitted police were concerned at the recent upsurge in crime, insisting they were taking all necessary measures.

But he asserted that the incidents were a result of personal differences and had nothing to do with organised crime.

The spate kicked-off early on Sunday morning, when arsonists torched a luxury car owned by Serbian offshore company director, Miodrag Babic, aged 35.

The 5am blaze gutted the £20,000 cabriolet, which had been parked at the Azur Hotel Apartments parking lot on George I Street in Yermasoyia.

Fourty-five minutes later, police had to scramble again after a grenade attack against a shop on the corner of Tombasi and Ithaki Streets.

The windows of the shop, owned by 26-year-old Christos Nicolaides from Greece, were smashed, while the explosion damaged numerous electrical appliances among his merchandise.

Police said the hand-grenade used was a fragment type RG-42.

The bomb squad had barely started its search when it was called in again after a second fragment grenade exploded in the front yard of a house on Kyriacos Matsis Street in Trahoni.

But while police were combing the area, they discovered a pipe bomb, hidden in the weeds on the pavement.

The device, made from low intensity explosive material, was destroyed using a robot.

Later in the day, Herodotos Herodotou told police that his home had been burgled and that an army G3, with five empty magazines, and a sealed box of 270 shells were missing.

The thieves also got away with a video camera and three stills cameras worth £950, along with jewellery of unknown value, four credit cards and two passports.

No arrests had been made by late yesterday in connection with any of Sunday's incidents.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] Larnaca port will still have a cargo role

At the same time, Limassol, which will be transformed into Cyprus' main cargo port, will still host a number of small cruise liners, sailing to regional destinations.

The government last year announced a four-part plan for revitalising the island's ports, covering modernisation, 24-hour service, cost cutting and more efficient service.

Currently, business at the Larnaca's container port is very slow and port employees are underemployed. Limassol serves both as a passenger and as a container harbour.

The ports have both suffered in recent years in the face of stiff regional competition.

The reform plan would take five years to implement, Hadjimanolis said yesterday.

"The government plans to make Larnaca the island=s main passenger port with a harbour capable of housing large cruise ships coming from the western Mediterranean and the Caribbean. But what we have recently decided is that the harbour will maintain its container status. In the same way, Limassol port, which will serve as the main container port, will continue to house some small cruise liners that are based in Cyprus," he explained.

Hadjimanolis added that Vassiliko port outside Limassol, would be developed into the island's main industrial harbour.

"Three big container companies, one European, one Arabic and one in the Far East intend to use Limassol as a container port," Hadjimanolis added.

Plans for the Larnaca port area include building hotels, apartments, shops and even a bowling alley, and extending the harbour to the Phinikoudes area.

The government admits that until the plans come into effect, Larnaca port workers will remain under-worked, while costing the state £200,000 a year in wages.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Missing army lovers found camping in Holland

A BRITISH army 'pin-up' who went AWOL from UN duty in Cyprus, disappearing with a married sergeant to an unknown destination, has been found camping with her lover in Holland.

The Sunday Times reported that the Royal Artillery's Lance Bombardier Heidi Cochrane, who was used as the face of a new non-sexist army on a recruitment poster, and Sergeant Jason Archer had been found living in a tent on the Dutch coast.

Cochrane, 24, went missing on July 30 last year and did not contacted friends or family to tell them where she was.

Her unit was part of the 300-strong British UN contingent monitoring the Nicosia Green Line. She joined the army straight from school and disappeared shortly after receiving a promotion from private.

Going AWOL (absent without leave) is a serious military offence and can carry punishment ranging from disciplinary measures to military incarceration.

Having been tracked down, Cochrane said she and 30-year-old Archer, were "head over heels in love" and had no option but to run away in order to be together.

Archer had served in the army for 15 years and was with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He phoned his wife the day after he and Cochrane ran away and said he wanted a divorce, the Sunday Times said.

The pair said they had escaped through a gap in a fence and flagged down a passing car to take them to Larnaca airport. They then purchased cheap tickets to Britain, bought camping gear and went to Holland.

"They now live as fugitives, sleeping in a tent designed for mountain expeditions. They disguise themselves with woolly hats and use false names, " the Sunday Times said.

Archer works in a Dutch concrete factory and Cochrane as a delivery driver

"We are not criminals," Archer told the paper, "but if we are found and court-martialled we could do six months in an army prison."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] Rape suspects to face trial

FIVE men suspected of the alleged gang rape of a Moldavian artiste were yesterday committed to trial before a criminal court.

The trial will start on March 5.

The men, aged between 18 and 23 and hailing from villages around Nicosia, will remain in custody until their trial begins.

They were arrested earlier this month after a 20-year-old woman told police that five men had raped her for four hours at a remote spot outside Nicosia.

Police heard the men had threatened to kill her if she reported the rape, and subjected her to horrific brutality before abandoning her in the fields.

The crime is alleged to have taken place in a derelict shack in a deserted area between the villages of Marki and Kotsiatis between 3am and 8am.

The 20-year-old told police she left the cabaret where she worked in Larnaca with five men, who offered to drive her home.

Instead, she said, they took her to the shack, where they took turns in raping her for four hours.

When the alleged assailants sped off, she called a taxi for help from her mobile phone, and returned to her Larnaca apartment.

She then called her employer and together they went to the Pera Chorio Nisou police station, where they reported the incident.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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