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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-09-18Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>Tuesday, September 18, 2001CONTENTS
[01] State Department says Clark terror comment 'unfounded'By Jean ChristouTHE GOVERNMENT yesterday hit back at reported statements by former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General Wesley Clark linking Cyprus to international terrorism. Clark, now a military commentator for the American broadcaster CNN, said in an interview on Friday that terrorists reach Europe and the US through places like the Middle East and Cyprus. The government has officially protested about the comments to the US State Department, which later made it clear the allegations were unfounded. Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said yesterday Cyprus welcomes the State Department's comment that it was " crystal clear that Cyprus firmly stands on the side of the forces that fight against terrorism in certain parts of the world" . " The allegations that Cyprus is in any way directly or indirectly connected with terrorism are absolutely unfounded and violate the truth and the real facts,"Papapetrou said. " The Cyprus Republic in the areas controlled by the state has an absolutely clean record concerning terrorist issues, and there is nothing that could even create even a shadow against Cyprus." Papapetrou said perhaps Wesley had been referring to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot regime in the north. He said the government has had " from time to time"information about such organisations operating in the north, but he didn't elaborate further. Commenting on heightened activity in and around the British Bases since last week's terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, Papapetrou said the government understands that the bases are in a state of " preparedness" . He said, however, that this was nothing to do with any terrorism threat in Cyprus. " It's pertinent to the preparation of the US and its allies for a possible reaction to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington,"he said. Papapetrou said it was up to the British government to use the bases in any way they saw fit. The British press has been mooting the role of the bases in any military action planned by the US government and its NATO allies. A bases spokesman said yesterday that there was a lot of speculation surrounding recent activity on the bases, which he said was primarily linked to the pre-planned military exercises in Oman. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [02] Two separate attacks on Limassol policeLIMASSOL POLICE were yesterday looking for a young man suspected of assaulting two officers at a nightclub on Sunday night, and in a separate incident a 37-year-old man was arrested for allegedly attacking a policeman investigating a spouse abuse complaint.The first incident happened at 4am when police were called to investigate a nightclub brawl. Police said the fight stopped as soon as the officers showed up at the establishment, but a 23-year-old apparently involved in the squabble allegedly attacked the officers when they started asking questions. The man subsequently vanished and police are now seeking him for questioning. Earlier on police had received a report that a man was beating his wife. A patrol car rushed to the scene on the crossing of Othonos and Amalia Streets where officers saw a half-naked man chasing his wife in the street. They got out of their car and asked the man what was going on only to find themselves on the receiving end of verbal abuse. When he was finished swearing the man allegedly attacked one of the officers, but was restrained and arrested. He was taken to Limassol police HQ where he was charged with assault against a police officer and released late on Sunday evening. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [03] Traffic cops ring the changesMORE THAN a thousand drivers have been booked during a two-week police clampdown on motorists using their mobile phones while behind the wheel.Police said they have reported 1,204 drivers in two weeks, averaging 426 bookings per week, which represents a weekly increase of 242 per cent. Before the campaign, which began on September 9 and ended on Sunday, mobile phone-related bookings had averaged 176 per week, police said. Police said 702 drivers were caught in the first week and 502 during the second week. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [04] Limassol restaurant to hold TitanicdinnerA LIMASSOL restaurant is re-creating the exact same gourmet dinner eaten by the first-class passengers on board the fateful Titanic the night that it hit an iceberg and sank in April, 1912.Eighty-nine years later, the owner of La Maison Fleurie in Yermasoyia, Yiannis Ioannou, has painstakingly put together the luxury four-course dinner for pre-booked guests this Friday, costing £20 with half a bottle of wine included. Ioannou said the dishes, prepared to the same recipes, would dazzle the palate, but he refused to give any more details. " I'd prefer to keep it a surprise,"he told the Cyprus Mail . Ioannou has spent the past three months doing his research in books and on the Internet. Daina Ioannou of Daina's Gym Centre, will also perform two of the dances that the first class guests were treated to, just hours before they met their icy deaths. Ioannou said yesterday he didn't think holding the dinner was too morbid. " I don't think so, I'm not interested in the sinking. It's a very nice experience. Many people are very interested in the Titanic ,"he said. More than half the dining room has already been booked, he said. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [05] Clerides signs book of condolencesPRESIDENT Glafcos Clerides yesterday signed the book of condolences for the victims of last Tuesday's terrorist attack in New York and Washington, D.C., and pledged the island's assistance the fight against terrorism.After the signing a frail-looking Clerides, flanked by US Ambassador Donald Bandler, said that the government of Cyprus unreservedly condemned the barbaric acts against the US, which claimed thousands of victims. " We express our deepest sympathies to the families of the dead and missing, "Clerides said. The President pledged that Cyprus would assist the US and other governments in the fight against terrorism. Bandler said he was grateful on behalf of the American people for the outpouring of sympathy in the wake of the attacks, and extended his condolences to any Cypriot families who have lost relatives or friends in the terrible act. The ambassador read an excerpt from Pericles' 429BC Funeral Oration and thanked Clerides for sharing the moment of profound sadness for the American people. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [06] Civil defence accord signed with ChinaCYPRUS and China signed a bi-lateral agreement yesterday on civil defence and local authority elections.Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou and Chinese Minister of Citizens' Affairs, Duoji Cairang, signed the document in Nicosia. Cairang is in Cyprus at Christodoulou's invitation, after a reciprocal visit to China last year. Christodoulou underlined China's huge experience and expertise in civil defence, particularly in matters relating to natural calamity. " For us it will be very important to use this experience and technology. The second objective of this agreement is to upgrade the already very good relations between the two countries,"he said. Cairang echoed his sentiments: " I believe the signing of this agreement will give us a chance to promote co-operation between the two ministries further." Representatives from the two ministries will make annual visits to implement the collaboration. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [07] People should have more say on local issues: DIKOBy Melina DemetriouD.I.K.O. HAS begun its municipal election campaign, announcing a series of events aimed at involving citizens in decision-making on local authority issues. Addressing a news conference yesterday, DIKO Secretary-general Andreas Angelides said that the two-day campaign, called 'Man is the town', will take place this Friday and Saturday, and will include speeches and open discussions on how citizens could have a greater say in local authority matters. " We are inviting citizens to the events in an effort to involve them in local policymaking,"he said. " We intend to draw conclusions from the discussions and use them to convince local authorities to give the people a bigger say." The DIKO Secretary-general said there was no mechanism enabling citizens to express their opinions on matters such as road works or the building of schools in their neighbourhoods. Angelides said that only by forming pressure groups would citizens ever be able to put an end to " decisions being made on the basis of private interests" . The campaign will start with an open discussion at Ayios Kassianos Square in Nicosia at 6.30pm on Friday followed by remarks from academics. On Saturday, professionals and specialists will give speeches at the Famagusta Gate's Cultural Centre, starting at 9 am. On the emerging opposition alliance between AKEL, DIKO and KISOS ahead of the municipal elections taking place in December, Angelides said: " We should be ready to announce some candidates' names by the end of the month or the beginning of October. It looks as if the three parties agree on many things." Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [08] MP alleges insurance firms lost clients' money on CSEBy Melina DemetriouTHE HOUSE Finance Committee yesterday charged that Finance Minister Takis Klerides had given the green light to insurance companies to invest all their clients' money in the Cyprus Stock Exchange without informing the public. AKEL deputy Stavros Evagorou, who tabled the matter before the Committee for discussion, yesterday told the Cyprus Mailthat most insurance companies had invested their own and their clients' money in the CSE -- and had lost much if it as a consequence. " I have received about 200 complaints during the past few days from people who said they had lost money they had entrusted with insurance companies because it disappeared as share prices went down. But I know there are thousands of sufferers,"Evagorou said. The AKEL deputy blamed Klerides for changing a relevant regulation last June. " Until June, the regulation provided that a company could invest only 40 per cent of a client's money in the CSE. But without informing Parliament or the public, the minister went ahead and changed the rule, allowing companies to invest 100 per cent of their customers' money in the Stock Market,"Evagorou alleged. Evagorou said " huge political responsibility rests with the Finance Minister"and that Klerides should to be held responsible by the state for his action. But Evagorou also blamed some insurance companies, which he claimed, were misleading the public about the benefits they were offering. " I have received many complaints about companies which publish false announcements that their clients' savings double or triple,"he said. " The Committee will see that all clients' claims are investigated by Attorney-general Alecos Markides to establish who has to face legal action, "said the deputy. Evagorou also said that the current situation was irreversible. " The problem for those who lost their money due to mishandling by companies cannot be fixed. The only thing which we can do is allocate responsibility and make sure that stock market regulations are passed by the House of Representatives before being enforced." Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [09] 'Brace for oil rise and tourism downturn'By Jean ChristouCOMMERCE, Industry and Tourism Minster Nicos Rolandis warned yesterday that Cyprus must brace itself for oil price hikes and a possible slump in tourism. Rolandis' warning came immediately after the Madrid-based World Tourism Organisation predicted that last week's events in the US would deal a " terrible blow"to the industry unless the situation was confined to a single region. " It's not only what happened in New York. It's what may follow,"Rolandis said, referring to oil prices. " By and large when you have a crisis of this nature the price of crude oil goes up, and a lot will depend on where the US will strike and to what extent it willaffect the oil producing countries. I think one should brace for such a situation. If we want to be realistic the risk is there for an increase and nobody knows how steep it will be." Rolandis was more optimistic about tourism prospects, however. " Tourism is extremely sensitive, but so far Cyprus has managed, until the end of last week, to keep tourism intact,"he said. The Minster said there had been some minor cancellations but nothing of significance. " But no one can say what will happen in the future. It may prove to be a blow to winter tourism,"he said. " It's a global situation which may cause a reluctance of tourists to travel." He said, however, that even if international tourism dropped, he believed Cyprus would not suffer to the same extent as other Eastern Mediterranean destinations. " Cyprus is a good destination and should be last to be affected in eastern Mediterranean because it's safe,"Rolandis said, adding that because many people had already booked and paid for their holidays already no immediate cancellations were expected. " The general situation however is unpredictable. It's too early yet. We have to play it by ear -- there is no other way." When the Gulf War broke out in 1991 tourism to Cyprus dropped 50 per cent overnight. Last year a record 2.7 million tourists visited the island and this year the number is expected to exceed three million. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [10] Soldier critical after death crashBy Rita KyriakidesA 20-year-old National Guardsman was in a critical condition yesterday after a road accident on Sunday morning that killed another man. Georgios Charalambous, from Alassa was driving on the Limassol to Platres motorway at 3.35am on Sunday when he lost control of his car and swerved into oncoming traffic, colliding with a car driven by 23-year-old teacher Georgios Frangiskou. Frangiskou, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown on to the back seat of his car and was critically injured. He died on the way to Limassol General Hospital. Charalambous was seriously injured and is in the Intensive Care Unit of Limassol General, where doctors yesterday said he was in a critical condition. Limassol police are asking for anyone with information regarding the accident to contact them. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [11] Police hurt in soccer clashesNINE policemen were injured and ten people arrested during clashes at a soccer match in Nicosia at the weekend.Soccer fans threw chairs on to the pitch during the match between Omonia and Apollonas at the Makarios Stadium on Sunday night and began fighting outside the stadium afterwards. Police intervened and arrested ten men between the ages of 16 and 20 from Nicosia and Limassol. The injured policemen were taken to the Nicosia General Hospital and released after receiving first aid. The ten men were charged in writing and released. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 [12] £9,200 raised for donkey sanctuaryTHE FRIENDS of the Cyprus Donkey sanctuary raised a total of £9,200 at its Open Day on Sunday.Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous was guest of honour at the third annual Open Day at the Friends of the Cyprus Donkey sanctuary in Vouni village. A new Information Centre was also opened by Themistocleous and the President of the association, Katy Clerides. At the ceremony, Themistocleous handed over a cheque for £5,000 to the association from the Agricultural Ministry and commended them for their contribution to animal welfare. More than 1,000 people attended the open day, buying various goods on sale such as books, prints and home produce. Limassol restaurant to hold Titanicdinner Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001 Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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