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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 02-01-13Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cyprus-mail.com/>Sunday, January 13, 2002CONTENTS
[01] De Soto arrives for Clerides-Denktash talksALVARO de Soto, UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan's special adviser on Cyprus, arrives on the island this afternoon for the start of direct talks between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash on Wednesday. De Soto will be accompanied by his assistant Robert Dann, who will also be present at the talks that were agreed on in early December by Clerides and Denktash and that will be conducted under the good offices mission of the UN Secretary-general. Before the talks begin, de Soto is likely to consult with Clerides and Denktash separately on procedural matters. The talks will take place within the UN-controlled Nicosia international airport where special facilities are being prepared. Ten rounds of direct talks are expected to take place in Nicosia and another round in New York. De Soto, who conducted five rounds of proximity talks between the two sides between December 1999 and November 2000, is expected to put forward a draft comprehensive agreement at the appropriate time for consideration. His team for the talks will include Swiss constitutional expert Didier Psirter and aide Madeline Garlick, who has been involved in property matters in Bosnia and is currently with the UN on the island.Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [02] Relatives hope missing persons issue can now be resolvedBy Jean Christou RELATIVES of missing persons are cautiously optimistic the issue can be resolved following two meetings on Friday between President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. Nicos Theodosiou, chairman of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Persons, (CNA) said yesterday that they would also be putting forward their own suggestions to help move the process forward. "We continue to be cautiously optimistic and are pleased that the President and Denktash are discussing practical steps for progress, as we believe this is something that would make walking away from the process of solving the problem more difficult," Theodosiou told the Cyprus News Agency. Setting a timetable for implementing such steps could make a lot of difference to resolving the problem and would make it more difficult for anyone to abandon future efforts to settle the issue, he added. On Friday Clerides and Denktash decided to put in writing a series of suggestions on practical steps to move ahead with the issue with a view to drafting an outline agreement. The last time Clerides and Denktash met on the missing persons issue was in July 1997 when they agreed to exchange information on the whereabouts of the remains of missing persons on both sides. But the agreement collapsed when the Turkish Cypriot side withdrew six months later. Theodosiou said the Committee does not want to see the July agreement nullified nor does he believe that any new document on the issue of missing persons would create problems in the implementation of the agreement. "I believe that if we set out concrete steps for progress coupled with a defined timetable, we shall see a difference from previous approaches, and this would make any deviation from what is agreed more difficult," he said. Friday's meetings, in the presence of UN Chief of Mission and Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-general, Zbigniew Wlosowicz, took place in a positive atmosphere with the two leaders expressing their readiness to settle this issue to the satisfaction of both sides. "The two leaders now want to renew their commitment to the resolution of this problem and wish to present something more concrete than the July 1997 agreement on the missing, which was not really executed," sources close to the meeting told CNA. Commenting yesterday, Wlosowicz told CNA the meetings were very productive: "I was impressed by the positive approach of both leaders in solving the problem." The identification of remains from two cemeteries in Nicosia through DNA testing has helped reduce the original list of 1,629 Greek Cypriot missing persons to 1,480. The Turkish Cypriot side lists some 800 people missing between the outbreak of intercommunal troubles in December 1963 and the Turkish invasion ten and a half years later.Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [03] Outbreak of scabies in PaphosBy Alexia Saoulli THREE cases of scabies have surfaced in Paphos, a hospital doctor confirmed yesterday. The first case of the highly contagious skin disorder came to light just over 10 days ago when a dermatology expert from Nicosia diagnosed more than 25 patients and staff with it at a Limassol hospital. It was determined that the scabies had been introduced to the hospital by a geriatric patient from a local old people's home. Since then Health Minister Frixos Savvides has said all homes must be examined for the condition. Now the parasite has surfaced in Paphos, diagnosed when three gypsies visited the General Hospital there, displaying advanced symptoms. "They had obviously had the condition for quite a while, " said the duty doctor yesterday, "because the rash and itching was at quite an advanced stage." Unfortunately the mother and her two children had visited the hospital late in the evening when the staff dermatologist was not on duty. An appointment was made for them to visit the dermatologist the following day, and the Ministry of Health was notified of the outbreak. Press yesterday said the gypsies did not show up for the appointment, however, and the Health Ministry is arranging for dermatologists to visit Ayios Yiannis village in the Paphos district tomorrow to gauge to what extent the skin condition has spread. The three are reported to have crossed from the occupied areas last year, and have been living in the village with another 10 gypsies since then. "If they have been living in close quarters with a number of other individuals, it will definitely have passed from one person to another," the Paphos doctor said. Scabies is spread by personal contact -- shaking hands, sleeping together, and close contact with infected articles such as clothing, bedding or towels. It is usually found where people are crowded together or have frequent contact, and is most common among schoolchildren, families, room-mates, and sexual partners. To prevent reinfestation, medical experts say all clothes, towels and bedding should be thoroughly laundered once treatment commences, and these items must be changed regularly. Combs, brushes and anything with which the infected person has had contact should be soaked in hot water, and children should not share clothing or other personal articles such as hairbrushes, combs or towels with another.Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [04] Three killed on the roads in less than 12 hoursBy Alexia Saoulli THREE people were killed in car accidents in Paphos and Nicosia yesterday, bringing to nine the number of road deaths since January 1 -- three more than over the same period last year. Victoria Gorokhovka, 24, died shortly after 1.40am when her car collided with another at the Danais Avenue traffic lights in Paphos, under circumstances police say are still being investigated. She was taken to Paphos General Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Gorokhovka, from the Ukraine, had been married to a Cypriot and was living in Paphos. The condition of 23-year-old Ioannis Gravitis, the driver of the other car, is described as critical. He is married and has a child. The second accident was outside Nicosia at 4.30am. Achilleas Christodoulou, 20, was driving on the Palechori to Anthoupolis road when his car swerved off the road into an adjacent field and hit a tree. He was thrown from the vehicle and killed, said police. Preliminary investigations suggest he was not wearing a seatbelt. The third fatality was 78-year-old Nicholas Evdokimou, who was killed at 10.15am as he was cycling along Electra Street in Lakatamia. He was knocked over and dragged along by a light truck driven by a 36-year-old Lakatamia resident, police said. Police gave the truck driver a breathalyser test which he passed. They are investigating the cause of the accident. Last year, six people were killed on the roads between January 1 and 12.Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 [05] Tops for births and emigrationCYPRUS has the highest birth rate and emigration rate per thousand of population of all the European Union candidate countries, a European Commission survey has revealed. It comes second to Malta for the lowest number of deaths per thousand. Compared with EU member states, Cyprus has the second lowest death rate per thousand, and it ranks joint third with Ireland for the highest number of migrants per thousand. The island is fifth in the birth-rate table per thousand compared with other EU countries. Ireland holds the number one position. With a birth rate of 12.1 per thousand, Cyprus has more new-borns than Britain, Greece and Germany, while the island also has a higher emigration rate at 5.2 per thousand than these three countries. France has the lowest emigration rate at 1 per thousand while Spain has the highest with 6.2. Cyprus registers 8.6 per thousand deaths a year, compared with 13.8 in Latvia, 10.2 in Britain, and 9.5 in Greece. The lowest death rate is in Ireland, which registers 7.5 per thousand.Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002 Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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