Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 01-12-25

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

Tuesday, December 25, 2001

CONTENTS

[01] Woman hurt in car crash

[02] Tragedy as young bride drowns in the bath

[03] Three arrested after drugs found

[04] Man, 71, remanded again on electricity tampering charges

[05] The Archbishop's Christmas message

[06] News in Brief

[01] Woman hurt in car crash

A 24-year-old British woman has been hospitalised with serious head injuries after she lost control of her car on the Larnaca to Limassol motorway on Sunday.

Belle Georgina Lisford, a permanent resident of Cyprus, was driving towards Limassol at around 5pm when she lost control, ploughed left into the crash barrier, and then swerved right into the middle barrier.

Lisford was rushed to Larnaca General Hospital, where she was admitted to intensive care with head injuries.

Kophinou police are investigating the circumstances of the accident.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[02] Tragedy as young bride drowns in the bath

A YOUNG RUSSIAN bride died in the bath at the weekend after a heavy drinking session with her 21-year-old husband.

Diana Alakhverdyan, 23, was found submerged in bath water by her husband Artour shortly after 6am on Sunday, in the bathroom of their Limassol hotel suite.

Her husband told police they had spent the previous evening on the town, having dinner and drinking, before returning to the hotel where they continued drinking.

Artour got into bed at around 9.30pm, just as his wife got into a full bath.

When he got up at about 6am, he noticed that Diana had never made it to bed.

He searched the room and found his wife's body in the bathtub. He alerted the hotel manager, who called police.

State pathologist Eleni Antoniou carried out the autopsy. She said there was no evidence of foul play and gave cause of death as asphyxiation caused by choking.

The couple fell in love during their studies and got married in October. They arrived in Cyprus for a month's holiday on Saturday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[03] Three arrested after drugs found

A 35-year-old man from Sotira and a 29-year-old woman from Ayia Napa were arrested in Avgorou in the Famagusta district on Sunday night for allegedly possessing more than half a kilo of drugs.

Police said Panayiotis Demetriou and Efthimia Simeou first raised police suspicions by the way Simeou was driving. At one point Demetriou left the car holding a plastic bag, and when police made a move towards him he ran away. He was chased and arrested.

Police say that half a kilo of cannabis and one gram of cocaine were found in his possession and that he dropped 10g of cocaine, 15 ecstasy pills and some cannabis during the chase.

The 29-year-old's car was searched and two grams of cocaine, some cannabis and weighing scales were found, police said.

The couple appeared before a Famagusta court sitting in Larnaca and were remanded for seven days.

Meanwhile police have charged and released a 25-year-old man for alleged possession of one gram of cannabis on Sunday night.

At 7pm, an officer from the Paphos Drugs Squad pulled over a suspicious looking car and searched the driver, finding one gram of cannabis in his jacket.

The 25-year-old admitted to possession and said it was for personal use.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[04] Man, 71, remanded again on electricity tampering charges

THE 71-year-old pensioner last week charged with tampering with electricity meters nationwide was yesterday remanded for another eight days in connection with a further 17 charges of committing the same crime in Larnaca.

Michalis Masouras, a former employee of the Cyprus Electricity Authority (EAC), is suspected of altering the electricity meters for a fee, in order to get customers cheaper power.

The Nicosia pensioner was remanded for four days on Thursday, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit felony and theft of electricity.

Police charged him with receiving £2,000 for allegedly tampering with electricity meters on the property of a man in Ayia Napa.

At the time of his arrest, police said they found a notebook listing at least 65 homes and businesses across the island where Masouras had allegedly offered his services.

As soon as he was released, Larnaca CID got a warrant for his arrest and picked him up on Sunday. A Larnaca court yesterday remanded him for eight days on charges of swindling the EAC out of profits on 17 properties in Larnaca town and district during 2001.

Meanwhile Limassol CID armed with a search warrant have impounded 22 electricity meters from 15 homes and properties in Limassol town and district.

They will be examined to determine whether they may have been doctored.

Police also confiscated another four electricity meters from a property in Pano Zodeia, in Morphou, belonging to a 72-year-old man from Astromeritis.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[05] The Archbishop's Christmas message

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos in his Christmas message to the people calls on Greek Cypriots to welcome Jesus into their lives as the "light and salvation", and to unite in a common struggle against the occupied Turkish forces.

In his encyclical to the people, which will be read from the pulpits in all churches today, the Archbishop says that mankind has been suffering because although many have adopted Christ's teachings, only few put them into practice.

"People shut their eyes and ears to His voice, bewitched by earthly temptations," he says.

Chrysostomos says that if peace in Cyprus is to be "permanent and real", it must be built on foundations of genuine love and justice. "Love must triumph in people's hearts" so that mankind can find true peace in society.

He invites the world's superpowers to question "how peace can be found in oppression? How can it be found when someone is thrown out of his home? Or when an oppressive force enslaves and stamps out all basic human rights? When death threatens daily?" if they want to implement peace on earth.

He says powers must come together and co-operate to protect both their own interests and the rights of smaller civilisations and to see that justice is done, because "without justice and love, peace is non-existent and superficial".

Chrysostomos also says that political rivalries and ambitions have no place in fighting for a common, national struggle. Greek Cypriots must work together and rid the island of the occupying force, he says: "Only then will the country be reunited, people will return to their homes, and trust will foster between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots once more".

The Archbishop concludes with a message of peace, joy, faith and perseverance, and that justice, freedom and peace finds its way to Cyprus and all over the world.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

[06] News in Brief

Arms raid

The team located a military G3 rifle, a Sterling submachine gun and two loaded magazines for the Sterling.

The weapons were found in good condition and have been sent to ballistics for examination.

Theft suspects

According to Sophia Charalambous, the owner of 'Psithiri' nightclub, 74 bottles of alcohol went missing this past month.

Police said the 19-year-old was arrested on Sunday morning. His car and home were searched and a number of alcohol bottles were allegedly found in his possession.

The boy was charged and then released on the same day, police said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2001

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