Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-08-17

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

Friday, August 17, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Vanessa tickets prove elusive

[02] Trade unionist Avraam Antoniou dies at 73

[03] Hooded British squaddie held after woman's stalking ordeal

[04] Cyprus challenges US-Canada probe on accident at sea

[05] Man in missing doctor case has heart attack after release from custody

[06] CY monitoring situation in Israel for flight crew safety

[07] Woman held over fire that left brother seriously burned

[08] Fire warning ahead of hunting season

[09] Microlight warning

[10] Scrapie found on Paphos farm

[01] Vanessa tickets prove elusive

WOULD-BE concertgoers desperate to buy tickets for next month's Vanessa Mae concert at Curium, were yesterday left high and dry by organisers at the Laiki Cultural Centre, who mistakenly announced that seats would go on sale on August 16, when in fact they are to be kept waiting another four days.

Music lovers and fans of the sultry 22-year-old violinist were delighted when Laiki Bank last week announced that Mae would perform at Curium on September 30.

But yesterday they were confronted with closed booking offices and unanswered telephones when they tried to contact the Nicosia Municipal Theatre and the Pattichion Theatre in Limassol on what was promised to be the first day of ticket sales.

But a spokeswomen for Laiki yesterday admitted that the marketing department had made a mistake.

The August 16 date had been publicised, despite failing to realise that the municipal-run theatres were closed for a week in mid-August - only to re- open on August 20.

Patience wore thin as telephones rang endlessly. Those who drove into town to reserve seats in person were even more annoyed that their journey had been wasted.

One lady was disgusted. She travelled into Limassol early in the morning from an outlying village to book tickets for her family, on the request of her grown-up son.

But when she arrived at the Pattichion, the booking office was deserted, despite the assortment of Cypriots and expatriates gathering outside, chequebooks at the ready.

"I walked away in disgust. Now I'm concerned that I won't get tickets for all the family if the Nicosia theatre was open, and the Limassol one shut," she said.

But it was exactly the same in the capital. Another woman keen to secure tickets was fed up with the unmanned telephones.

Flabbergasted that the theatre was shut, she called the Cyprus Mail to find out how else she could secure seats at the one-off event.

But Laiki confirmed that tickets were only available at the theatres and that spectators would have to wait until Monday to buy them.

Singapore-born and London-raised violinist Vanessa Mae attracts an avid following all over the world for her virtuoso playing, which tries to bridge the divide between classical and pop.

Her Curium performance on September 30 falls into the category of once or twice yearly high profile classical concerts staged on the island with world-famous stars. Tickets for her concert are selling at £40 each.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Trade unionist Avraam Antoniou dies at 73

FORMER AKEL deputy Avraam Antoniou died yesterday afternoon after a two- month battle with leukaemia.

Seventy-three-year old Antoniou was hospitalised a few days ago at the Makarios Hospital's Oncology Ward.

He was General Secretary of PEO for 10 years and retired a few months ago before being diagnosed with leukaemia.

He was a former AKEL deputy, elected in 1991 and 1996, when he was elected president of the Cabinet's Labour Committee and was also a member of the Finance Committee.

He was born in 1928 in Karpasia, Kyrenia.

His funeral will be held in Nicosia on Monday at 4.30pm.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] Hooded British squaddie held after woman's stalking ordeal

Donning gloves and a black hood, he reportedly hid in the bushes next to his ex-girlfriend's home in Livadia near Larnaca on Tuesday evening.

Terrified her former lover might be armed, the woman called the police for help at 9pm.

Larnaca, Oroklini and British military police arrived on the scene, but it took another two hours to arrest the soldier.

The soldier finally approached his ex-girlfriend's house at 11pm and police tried to ambush him, but the suspect managed to escape.

Police fired four warning shots into the air, before the Briton surrendered.

He was taken to Oroklini police station and charged with forced entry to private property and threat of violence. He was then released into British military custody.

His black hood and pair of gloves were confiscated as evidence.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Cyprus challenges US-Canada probe on accident at sea

CYPRIOT shipping authorities will challenge the legality a joint Canadian- US criminal investigation into the alleged ramming of an American trawler by a Cyprus-flagged tanker, in which three fishermen died last week, sources said yesterday.

The sources in the Merchant Shipping Department alleged that both the US and Canada had violated the UN Law of the Sea Convention by initiating criminal proceedings in the case of the Russian-owned tanker Virgo.. The department has asked the Attorney-general to rule on the issue.

The Russian Transport Ministry yesterday sent a letter to Canadian maritime authorities "raising certain questions about the investigation of the sinking of an American fishing vessel," the Interfax news agency reported.

Russia also wants to know why it was not asked to join the investigation since the suspects are all Russian nationals.

Sergey Palekhov, head of the maritime policy department of the Russian Transport Ministry, told a briefing in Moscow that one question concerned why the investigation was being conducted in Canada, instead of the flagging country Cyprus, as it should be under the law of the sea.

The Cypriot-flagged ship came under suspicion after three fishermen on board the US trawler Starbound were killed on August 5, when their boat was hit by an unidentified ship off the coast of Massachusetts.

The Russian captain of the Virgo and two crew members were arrested at Washington's request on Tuesday in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland. They appeared in court on Wednesday to learn the United States wanted to try them on charges of involuntary manslaughter, misconduct and aiding and abetting.

But the shipping department argues that the US-Canadian investigation is in breach of Article 97 of the UN maritime convention, which states: "In the event of a collision or any other incident of navigation concerning a ship on the high seas, involving the penal or disciplinary responsibility of the master or of any other person in the service of the ship, no penal or disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against such person except before the judicial or administrative authorities either of the flag State or of the State of which such person is a national".

In 1991, three Indian crew members from the Cypriot-flagged Zulfikar were tried in Cyprus after their ship collided with a trawler off Portsmouth in the English Channel in an accident which claimed the lives of several fishermen.

"This is a very very explicit provision so it is more than clear that neither Canada nor the US has jurisdiction here for criminal prosecution," the shipping source said yesterday, adding that the alleged incident had happened in international waters, some 140 nautical miles off the coast.

"We have sent all of the details to the Attorney-general for his opinion and we expect both his office and the Foreign Ministry to come out with their positions on this."

The shipping source said the department sent its maritime attaché to the Virgo to carry out an investigation jointly with the US coastguard and the Canadian National Transport Safety Board "in accordance with the relevant IMO resolutions".

"But as soon as he boarded the vessel he was informed that a criminal investigation was being carried out," the source said. "Our people stopped their investigation after discovering all the evidence had been taken by police."

The arrested crew members have been released on bail and are due to appear in court again on September 13, when they could be extradited. That decision lies with Washington, which now has 60 days to make a formal extradition request.

The US Coast Guard is leading the probe and two US officials flew to Newfoundland to look at the Virgo, which was one of a dozen or so vessels being examined as part of the investigation.

Primorsk Shipping Corp., which owns the Virgo, said in a statement it was outraged by the arrests, especially since police had told a court hearing on Monday the crew members were free to leave Canada. Police said they had only received the arrest warrants after the hearing.

The ship is currently in the Newfoundland port of Come-by-Chance where it will be examined over the next couple of days.

Russia formally complained to Ottawa on Tuesday that Canadian police had illegally removed the crew of the Virgo during a search of the vessel on Monday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] Man in missing doctor case has heart attack after release from custody

Sophocleous was rushed to Paphos hospital's intensive care unit, but was later transferred to a Limassol clinic.

The court postponed the case until August 31 and issued an arrest warrant in case the contractor failed to appear.

The foreigner involved in the case has been jailed for three months for illegal residence. Sophocleous has pleaded not guilty.

Sophocleous had been arrested 16 days ago in connection with the abduction of 45-year-old George Kinnis, as well as offences concerning forgery and obtaining cash using false pretences.

Kinnis, the head of Limassol hospital's X-ray department and a father of two, has been missing since May 8.

Sophocleous is believed to have been the last person to see Kinnis on the day he disappeared.

Kinnis, who was in business with the contractor, allegedly gave him half a million pounds to purchase some land on his behalf.

But after the land failed to materialise, Kinnis confided with a friend that he was afraid Sophocleous would not return the money. Kinnis disappeared a few days later.

During the investigation, a contractor came forward and accused Sophocleous of extorting large amounts of cash from him.

After that, the court renewed Sophocleous' remand for six days in connection with extortion.

But after the expiry of his remand order on Wednesday, he was released pending investigation into the forgery and swindling case, since police had no evidence linking Sophocleous to Kinnis' disappearance.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] CY monitoring situation in Israel for flight crew safety

CYPRUS Airways (CY) staff said yesterday they would continue to monitor the situation in Israel before taking a decision on asking the airline to change its schedules to Tel Aviv.

Pilot and union representative Marios Karantonas said yesterday they had discussed the security implications of staying overnight in Tel Aviv with the company but decided not to make an issue of it unless the situation worsened.

CY said on Monday it had not altered its flight schedule for Tel Aviv, making it one of the few European airlines that hasn't done so.

KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and Swissair have altered schedules to safeguard the security of their crews, which leaves CY among the few airlines keeping staff overnight in Tel Aviv.

"For the time being, we don't have the same problems as the other airlines whose crews sometimes have to stay up to 12 hours in Israel," Karantonas said. "Our crews stay only four to five hours."

CY operates almost daily flights to Tel Aviv, one of the national carrier's three most profitable routes along with Athens and London Heathrow.

The flights leave Larnaca at 10.30pm and return the following morning at 6am, giving staff a short stopover at a hotel near Ben Gurion Airport. The early morning flight is to allow travellers from Israel in making early connections to European capitals from Larnaca Airport.

Karantonas said unions were in constant contact with the company in Israel to monitor the situation and that so far pilots operating the Tel Aviv route had not complained. "We will keep an eye on the situation and if things escalate we will ask the company to take measures to protect the crew," he added.

KLM was the first European airline to alter its schedule last week after the latest escalation of violence in Israel to allow crews to stay overnight at Larnaca.

Lufthansa and British Airways on Sunday joined other major European airlines in altering schedules to Tel Aviv to avoid flight crews having to stay the night.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[07] Woman held over fire that left brother seriously burned

Pavlos Charalambous was yesterday being treated in Nicosia Hospital's intensive care unit with severe burns. Yesterday, he slipped into a coma. He had been in custody until yesterday, when police released him due to the severity of his condition.

Seventy per cent of Charalambous' skin had burns, police said yesterday.

When he was still conscious on Wednesday, Charalambous denied having anything to do with the blaze, which broke out at 2.30am on Wednesday. He claimed he was injured trying to put out the fire after he passed by the shop and saw it burning.

The shoe shop was completely destroyed and nearby shops suffered damages.

Police suspect the brother and sister planned the arson after preliminary investigations showed there was flammable material inside the shop but that the entrance was intact. Police believe Pavlos Charalambous was injured because he had not taken fire hazards into consideration.

Police are also looking for a person who they believe carried Charalambous away from the scene in a car.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[08] Fire warning ahead of hunting season

In a statement issued yesterday, the department said hunters should not light fires or discard cigarettes and lit matches.

It stressed that the risk of starting a fire, which could spread rapidly, was great due to the high temperatures.

The Forestry Department noted that in the past few years, fires had destroyed huge swathes of forest and countryside, which were important sites for endemic game and fauna in general, with serious consequences to the natural environment.

Anyone noticing smoke or fire near or inside a forest, or any action that could start a fire and endanger the forest, should immediately notify the nearest forestry or police station on the number 1407.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[09] Microlight warning

The Department invited owners of homebuilt microlight and ultralight aircraft to secure the necessary certificates and safety instructions.

Aviators have also been warned that any violation of the regulations "constitutes a violation of the Air Law in Cyprus and will be subject to all consequences of breaking the law."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[10] Scrapie found on Paphos farm

Signs or effects of the disease usually do not appear until 2 to 5 years after the animal is infected, but death is inevitable.

Government scientists yesterday assured the public that the disease - related to mad cow disease - could not be passed on to humans.

However, the situation is serious as the two farms in Paphos supply the rest of the farms in Cyprus with male lambs for the purpose of breeding.

There are 500 animals on the farm in question and it is unknown how many were sold before the disease was discovered a few weeks ago.

Samples from the infected animals have been sent to EU veterinary authorities for further testing and to determine what needs to be done.

The Veterinary Department will be visiting the farm on Monday to investigate the matter.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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