Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-05-13

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

Sunday, May 13, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Hundreds attend Sampson funeral

[02] Better than bottle?

[03] Two held after police stake-out

[04] Pupils grilled over bomb at school

[01] Hundreds attend Sampson funeral

HUNDREDS of friends and former comrades in arms gathered in a Nicosia church yesterday for the funeral service of one of the most controversial figures in Cyprus' recent history.

Newspaper publisher and EOKA veteran Nicos Sampson died on Wednesday at the age of 66 in a Nicosia clinic.

Sampson, a hero to some and a traitor to others, will be remembered most for taking over the presidency after the 1974 coup that ousted President Makarios.

The Panayia Pallouriotissa church yesterday proved too small for the hundreds of people who had gathered to bid a final farewell to a man many consider to be a prime example of patriotism, and who was the only person punished for his part in the coup.

In a eulogy read by former Health Minister Manolis Christofides, Sampson was described as a man who would sacrifice everything for his country he loved so much.

Sampson was made the scapegoat for other people's actions, Christofides said, adding that he became the only person condemned to bear the heavy burden of the tragedy suffered by the Cypriot people.

No representative of the government was present at the funeral, although DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades and other party deputies paid tribute to Sampson.

President Glafcos Clerides was represented by his daughter Katy.

Sampson and Clerides were close friends and together, along with several others, they founded the Enieon Metopo party, which later evolved into DISY.

Clerides' decision not to attend the funeral drew criticism from many mourners.

After the service, Sampson's son Sotiris delivered a fiery speech in which he vowed to continue in his father's footsteps until the island was reunited. Sotiris Sampson is standing as a DISY candidate for Famagusta in this month's House of Representatives elections.

Light rain fell outside the church as the pall bearers made their way through the crowd, which burst into applause.

Born in Nicosia in 1935, Sampson studied journalism in Athens and fought against the British in the EOKA struggle from 1955 to 59.

In 1964, Sampson led an armed group which took part in the intercommunal strife, most notably freeing Greek Cypriot residents from the besieged Nicosia suburb of Omorphita.

He was elected deputy for Famagusta in 1970 at the age of 35.

In 1977 Sampson was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the coup.

In 1979 then President Spyros Kyprianou allowed Sampson to travel to France for medical treatment.

He remained in exile until 1990, when he returned to prison for a few months before being released.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Better than bottle?

THE COUNTRY'S massive expenditure on bottled water could be a complete waste of money, after a series of studies have shown there is no added nutritional benefit from drinking mineral rather than tap water.

A new report published by the World Wide Fund (WWF) has concluded that bottled water is no safer or healthier than tap water in many countries.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) stands by the same conclusion.

Given that the World Health Organisation (WHO) classed Cyprus water supplies in both rural and urban areas as 100 per cent safe in 1999 and 2000, consumers may be left wondering why they spend hundreds of pounds on bottled water every year.

There are areas in which tap water contains significantly more boron, chloride or sodium than WHO-suggested guidelines.

But the WHO is anxious to stress that all three chemicals are difficult to control in certain geographical areas, and that higher measurements do not cause adverse ill affects.

Nevertheless Cypriots buy mineral water as back-up during common water cuts and because the impression is that mineral water is of higher quality than tap water.

But with water cuts a thing of past since the Larnaca desalination plant became fully operational earlier this week, that excuse no longer holds.

With prices as much as five times lower here than in Europe and the United States, the expense is not prohibitive, nor is it such a rip-off for water that may be no better for you.

People may claim they prefer the taste of mineral water, but fears that tap water is poorer quality or unsafe are untrue.

Although the EU has approved Agros and Saint Nicolas -- two of the three mineral waters produced in Cyprus -- Pedhoulas, at one cent cheaper for a 1.5 litre bottle, has not been given the official OK.

Scientists maintain that only water with a high magnesium content has any real health benefit, in reducing heart attacks by up to 40 per cent, and significantly reducing outbreaks of asthma and migraines.

They claim the best water contains at least 90mg/l magnesium, less than 10mg/l of sodium and a ratio of calcium to magnesium not higher than 2:1.

But the only mineral waters to conform to these statistics are Vichy Novelle from Finland and Adobe Springs from California.

Saint Nicolas has a magnesium content of 28mg/l, Agros of 13.1mg/l, and Pedhoulas of 39.

Nevertheless, some 29 tap water sources in Cyprus scored higher contents of magnesium -- water in Armenochori, for example, contains 130mg/l magnesium.

The WWF launched a campaign to wean people off bottled water for environmental reasons and persuade people to filter or boil local water that may not be safe straight from the tap.

“Our attitudes towards tap water are being shaped by the pollution which is choking the rivers and streams which should be veins of life. We must clean up and properly protect these waters at source and not just at the treatment works, so that we can all rest easy in drinking from the tap,” said director of the WWF Living Waters Campaign, Richard Holland.

They are also battling to cut down on plastic consumption - 1.5 million tonnes of which package bottled water every year.

Toxic chemicals are released into the atmosphere in the manufacture and disposal of plastic.

The WWF maintains that exporting 89 billion litres of bottled water round the world also contributes to a build-up in harmful carbon dioxide emissions.

Although Cyprus doesn't export mineral water, it does import bottled water from Europe.

Saint Nicolas would not say how much plastic the firm consumed every year, or how much water the company sold for “market reasons”.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] Two held after police stake-out

TWO Limassol men were yesterday remanded in custody for six days suspected with possession and trafficking of 360 grams of cannabis.

Police said the two were arrested after a stake-out in the town on Friday afternoon.

One suspect, together with a friend, had parked his car in an empty plot on Edessis Street at around 4.45pm.

They got out, opened the boot and walked a few metres away where they stood and watched the car.

At the same time a second car pulled up and the passenger got out and put a paper bag in the boot of the first car, police say.

Police moved in and caught the first suspect, aged 34, before he had the chance to leave, but his partner and the two men in the second car managed to escape.

In the paper bag police found around 360 grams of what is thought to be cannabis, packed into plastic bags.

They also found a radio transmitter believed to have been used to monitor the police frequency.

Later in the day, the suspect's alleged partner surrendered to police escorted by his lawyer.

He was released later without being charged.

Police later found, through his car's licence plates, the 33-year-old driver of the second vehicle who was immediately arrested.

He was remanded yesterday along with the first suspect.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Pupils grilled over bomb at school

TWO 15-year-old pupils were yesterday being questioned by police in connection with a bomb explosion and other damage caused at a Nicosia school.

The headmaster of the Anthoupolis gymnasium reported to police that a homemade explosive device had gone off, causing damage to an aluminium door in the school's office building.

The perpetrators, according to police, broke into a classroom and also used a fire extinguisher to spray water on computers and other electronic equipment.

The scene was examined by police forensics officers who collected evidence.

Later police called in for questioning two 15-year-old pupils who have allegedly admitted to causing the damage, along with other damage in another act of vandalism earlier this month.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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