Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 02-06-11

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

Tuesday, June 11, 2002

CONTENTS

[01] Shirley Valentine Captain convicted of assaulting British pensioner

[02] Letters to the Editor

[03] Cassoulides: Ecevit illness hampering settlement

[04] Forest arsonists could get up to 14 years

[05] Heat wave set to recede at last

[06] Hospital under investigation after baby slashed in caesarean section

[07] Others schools come out in support of Nemitsas protest

[08] Spanish pensioner and her 70 cats homeless after Limassol blaze

[09] Paphos bishop accuses archbishop's entourage of exploiting memory lapses

[10] MPs decide to cut rise in ministers' expense allowances

[01] Shirley Valentine Captain convicted of assaulting British pensioner

THE CAPTAIN of a boat called the Shirley Valentine faces sentence by Paralimni court today after being found guilty of assaulting a British pensioner who suspected him of having an affair with his wife.

Captain Kyriacos Loucas was yesterday being held in custody in a Paralimni police cell pending sentencing for the attack on Bob Easton, 72.

The attack took place on December 28 last year after Easton grew suspicious that his wife Jean, 55, was having an affair with Loucas.

A court source yesterday confirmed that the judge had declared the statements of both Loucas and Jean Easton, who testified for the defence, to be "untrue" and based his decision largely on the evidence given by Bob Easton, who said in his statement that his wife had egged Loucas on, saying: "Go on Kyriacos kill him, finish him off."

The case opened on May 20, with Loucas pleading not guilty, and lasted for four weeks. The court heard that, on the night of the attack, Bob Easton, his wife and Loucas had all gone out together for dinner and that afterwards all three had gone back to the Eastons' house. Bob Easton then found Loucas and Jean "laughing in the kitchen where they had gone to feed Loucas' dog, which is called Keo," the court source said. Easton asked Loucas to leave after seeing the pair together, believing they were involved in a relationship. The judge heard that the assault followed after Loucas refused to leave.

Easton said in his statement that he could not recall anything that followed, until waking up in bed the next morning wearing underwear he didn't usually wear and with no recollection of having put them on.

According to his wife's testimony, Bob Easton had drunk three bottles of brandy and left the house. She had stayed in the car alone with the dog and claimed her husband's injuries were as a result of him passing out from too much alcohol.

Hospital doctors and police gave evidence in the case confirming the injuries to Easton. The court source also confirmed that the couple were now divorced.

According to a friend of Bob Easton, the couple moved to Cyprus about five years ago and became friends with Loucas after looking after his dog Keo at their home while he was at sea on the Shirley Valentine. The friend also said that the couple, who married 15 years ago, were originally from Northampton and that Easton used to be a Sales Director at Rowntrees.

Easton was not available for comment. His ex-wife refused to comment when asked about the case.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[02] Letters to the Editor

Spending $40 million on refinery was only feasible option

I was very surprised to read your article on the Cyprus Refinery in the Sunday Mail of June 9.

I never stated that money was or would be wasted on the refinery, I said that money was and would inevitably be spent:

a) because of EU harmonisation requirements

b) as a result of the decision of the Government to dismantle the refinery and build a new Energy Centre, including a tank farm, at a suitable location away from inhabited areas, with ample space available for the energy installations.

The decision to upgrade the refinery at a cost of approximately $40 million was the most economic and the only feasible one in the circumstances. Any other solution would have cost more and have resulted in serious administrative difficulties or chaos and probably shortages of petroleum products as well.

A number of detailed studies on the subject have been made by experts and the House of Representatives has been fully briefed on the subject.

Furthermore, do not forget that due to complex political and economic considerations, the final decision to dismantle the refinery was taken in 1999 and consequently before my term of office there was no possibility for a clear course of action.

Nicos A. Rolandis

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[03] Cassoulides: Ecevit illness hampering settlement

CYPRUS said yesterday the illness of Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit could reduce the chances of clinching a peace settlement for the divided island before it joins the European Union.

Ecevit, 77, has recently been dogged by ill health and said on Sunday he would rest for two or three weeks more on doctors' orders. He denied his coalition government might fall as a result.

"Ecevit's illness complicates the situation," Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides told Reuters after taking part in EU accession negotiations in Luxembourg.

"If (Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf) Denktash changes his position, it will be because he is told to do so by Ankara. Now there is a vacuum in Ankara and Denktash always gets the upper hand when there is no clear line coming from Turkey," he said.

Ironically, it was Ecevit who, as Turkish prime minister in 1974, ordered troops into Cyprus.

"He is not, of course, the ideal man to resolve this problem," said Cassoulides.

Denktash and President Glafcos Clerides have been holding UN-backed face-to- face talks since January. The talks have been lent added urgency by the fact that Cyprus is close to finalising EU accession talks.

Cassoulides said he was not hopeful about the chances for a settlement with the Turkish Cypriots before an EU summit in December in Copenhagen at which the Union hopes to wind up negotiations with up to 10 candidate countries including Cyprus.

"It is disappointing there has been no real breakthrough... As things stand at the moment, it seems there will not be a settlement by Copenhagen," he said.

"But I don't exclude any possibility. When the Turks change their mind, they do so abruptly," Cassoulides added.

The UN special envoy for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, told UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Rome on Sunday the peace talks were progressing too slowly and that the two sides were unlikely to meet a self-imposed deadline for an agreement this month.

The admission of Cyprus to the EU without a solution could spark a crisis with Turkey, which is also an EU hopeful and which keeps more than 30,000 troops on the island.

The EU says it wants to admit Cyprus as a united island, but says a settlement is not a precondition for membership.

Cyprus yesterday confirmed itself as the frontrunner among the 12 candidate states by completing talks in the policy area of competition, one of some 30 'chapters' in which candidates must bring domestic laws into line with EU legislation.

Cyprus has now closed 28 chapters and is expected to qualify easily for the next wave of EU enlargement, which is also expected to take in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta.

Bulgaria and Romania are expected to join later in the decade. Turkey itself, the 13th candidate, has yet to open accession talks due to concerns over its human rights record.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[04] Forest arsonists could get up to 14 years

THE PENALTY for deliberately starting a forest fire could rise from five to 14 years, Interior Minister Andreas Panayiotou said yesterday.

Panayiotou's announcement came after a weekend marked by dozens of brush fires, at least two of them serious, as temperatures inland rose over 40 degrees and nearly two square kilometres of land were destroyed in the Chirokitia area.

Following a meeting at his Ministry yesterday, Panayiotou said new legislation was being drafted to raise the jail sentence for arson in forested areas to 14 years from the current five.

Anyone who negligently starts a forest fire would be jailed for five years or face a £5,000 fine or both, while arson in non-forested areas would carry a sentence of three years or a £5,000 fine or both.

Cyprus has seen a number of devastating forest fires in recent years and penalties have risen accordingly from only one year in jail plus a £1,000 fine two years ago to the current five years and £5,000.

The fire fighting services have also been upgraded to include two leased Russian helicopters capable of carrying up to 20 tonnes of water, which went into operation on June 1.

Panayiotou said the government had leased the two helicopters until the end of September but that if the hot weather continued there was an option to keep them until the end of October.

He also said that he had submitted a proposal to the Cabinet to allow his ministry to continue leasing the helicopters next year because he felt the government would not be ready by then to purchase its own.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[05] Heat wave set to recede at last

THE scorching heat wave that hit Cyprus from Saturday is expected to recede today, according to the weather service.

Weather Service director Kyriacos Theofilou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that temperatures were set to drop by six degrees today.

"From Tuesday there will be a significant drop in temperatures of up to six degrees and it is expected that the highest temperatures will be under 35 degrees," he said.

The heat wave descended on Cyprus on Saturday with temperatures reaching 40 degrees, putting the health services on full alert. Yesterday, temperatures in Nicosia hit 42 degrees.

Nicosia was a ghost town this weekend as thousands of people flocked around beaches and swimming pools in an effort to escape the unbearable heat.

But Health Services Director Constantinos Mallis told the Cyprus Mail there had not been any reports of people suffering from sun-stroke or sunburn because people were well informed on how to protect themselves during temperatures over 37 degrees.

The heat also caused problems for the Electricity Authority, who were yesterday struggling to restore electricity to parts of Nicosia, after a transformer overloaded due to the number of air-conditioning units switched on as people went back to work yesterday.

District director Nicos Papadopoulos said that yesterday's electricity overload was the same as that of July last year.

"It took us by surprise, we didn't expect such an overload so early in the year," he said.

"We had some problems on Sunday as well but it's nothing we can't handle."

In case of a new heat wave, the Health Services yesterday issued a series of precautionary steps to take:

Avoid long exposure to the sun by minimising the hours you sunbathe;

Avoid manual labour;

Dress in light-coloured clothes;

Eat more vegetables and fruits and avoid overeating;

If you must go outside, cover head with wet cloth;

Wear sunglasses.

Infants and Children:

Must wear light clothing with arms and legs free to move;

Drink plenty of water and chamomile;

Eat more fruit and vegetables;

Protect head at all times.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[06] Hospital under investigation after baby slashed in caesarean section

HEALTH Ministry officials remained tight-lipped yesterday over the latest medical controversy to hit Limassol Hospital.

According to reports, the case concerned an accident during a routine caesarean section.

On May 24, an unnamed pregnant woman was admitted to Limassol Hospital to give birth via caesarean section. During the procedure, the duty doctor somehow managed to cut the newborn infant's cheek with his scalpel. According to yesterday's Alithia, the doctor was a temporary member of staff and was dismissed by the Health Ministry soon after the incident took place.

But the Ministry's Head of Medical Services Dr. Constantinos Messis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday this information was not entirely correct.

"The doctor concerned was employed at the hospital on a temporary basis. But this is nothing unusual, as it is common practice when more staff are needed to meet the hospital's requirements," he said. "However, his contract was due to expire at the end of May anyway, which is why he left. He was not fired over this incident."

The reason the doctor was not dismissed was straightforward, he said: he had not yet been found guilty of any wrongdoing.

"We have appointed an investigator to look into the matter and to try and find out what went wrong and how such an accident could have happened," said Messis.

The civil servant said the investigation would not only be examining what went on in the operating room in detail, but would be cross checking this incident with other similar accidents nationally and worldwide.

"We will be checking all relevant statistics involving caesarean sections in order to assess if this type of accident is more common than we think."

Another aspect of the investigation would entail assessing how serious the damage to the infant's cheek was and whether or not the child would be scarred for life.

"I cannot say how deep the cut was or how severe. We will only know more once all the facts have been gathered."

Messis added that the investigator would be questioning everyone involved in the medical procedure in order to determine to what extent the doctor had been at fault, if at all.

"We do not yet know if he was responsible or whether someone else was. Nor do we know whether or not this accident could have been prevented in any way. Until we know more, I'm afraid I really cannot comment. When we have studied all the facts related to the case, we will be able to establish if this is a case of medical negligence." He said the investigator's report would not be ready for quite some time as these types of enquiries took time and had to be thorough.

"The doctor in question was fully qualified," he stressed. "He never would have been employed if he had not been. When we hire a surgeon, he or she has to be specialised in surgery. We don't just go around taking on anybody.

"Once you are qualified and have specialised in a particular area of medicine, then you are always qualified and specialised" irrespective of when you last practised, he said.

If the doctor turns out not to be fully qualified, it becomes a matter for the Medical Association, its President Dr. Antonis Vassiliou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday.

"I was abroad at the time of the incident so I do not know what happened. If it is a case of medical negligence then the courts will decide what action to take. If it's a matter of lack of qualifications, we will."

Vassiliou did say, however, that caesarean section incisions have precise depth incision measurements and were not purely at the doctor's discretion.

The Health Ministry official said he had heard rumours that the parents of the child might be suing the hospital.

"I have heard something, but as of yet nothing concrete has come through and so I cannot say for sure whether or not they will go ahead and press charges," said Messis.

The Head of the Hospital, Dr. Andreas Petevis, refused to make any statements on the matter.

Limassol General Hospital has come under repeated fire in recent months and has been heavily criticised by patients, family members and politicians for being under-staffed and ill-equipped.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[07] Others schools come out in support of Nemitsas protest

AROUND 16,000 pupils from 89 Limassol primary schools stayed away from their classrooms yesterday in solidarity with the pupils of a school neighbouring a foundry, who refuse to attend their lessons until something is done about the unbearable stench emitted from its chimneys.

Despite appeals from the Education Ministry and assurances that there was no health hazard from the foundry's operation, around 16,000 pupils stayed at home to show their support to the pupils of the Eighth Primary School in the Chiflikoudia area, which neighbours the Nemitsas foundry.

The chairman of the school's parent association, Kyriacos Valanides, said he expected the problem to be solved before the beginning of the new school year or parents would transfer their children to other schools.

Health Minister Frixos Savvides assured everyone that "there was no irreversible problem with residents' health."

The foundry had been given until May 17 to limit certain emissions, but new samples have now been collected for tests following complaints, Savvides said.

He added that if the results were above the set limits then the matter would be discussed by the Cabinet ad all necessary measures would be taken.

Savvides said that an epidemiological study had found that lead readings in the residents' blood were low, unlike the readings of residents living near a Nicosia area foundry, which had been closed.

The findings of the study were never made public.

Savvides conceded that there had been symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and sore eyes among children attending the school, but argued that they were temporary.

These, however, were deemed serious enough by the Cabinet for it to appoint a special committee to set the acceptable standards.

"Extension was only given to Mr. (Takis) Nemitsas about the smell, and the deadline was May 17; samples have been taken, which are currently at the state laboratory, which will tell us officially if the emissions are within the limits," Savvides said.

"We have to know that we live in a republic with laws and rules," the minister said.

He added: "If we have to do something so drastic, either to suspend its operation, or relocate it, we have to have the legal basis to be able to act."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[08] Spanish pensioner and her 70 cats homeless after Limassol blaze

A 70-YEAR-old Spanish woman has been left homeless after her house in Limassol burned down on Sunday afternoon, police said yesterday.

The woman, known only as Louria, lived alone with her 70 cats in Limassol's Heroes Square district. She is a permanent resident of Cyprus and has also worked on the island, according to a local social worker.

On Sunday, feeling in need of some fresh air, Louria went for a walk. While she was out, a short circuit in her home's electricity supply set the place ablaze. At around 4pm her neighbours spotted the flames and called the Fire Department. But her home was beyond salvation and all that remained was ashes and cinders.

But despite the traumatic experience, Louria was not the psychological wreck one might expect, according to Andronikos Manolas, the social worker assigned to handle her case.

"She is not suffering from post traumatic stress in any form or manner," he told the Cyprus Mail.

In fact she was so attached to her cats that she initially refused the social services' offer to put her up in a hotel for the night, he said.

"She wanted to stay in an abandoned home next to her old one," he said. "However, we told her that the Republic of Cyprus could not allow such a thing. She actually intended to sleep on the floor, you see, but we, as a department, have a duty by her, and could not just sit back and accept something like that."

The problem, he said, was her 70 cats.

"She did not want to leave them alone and was worried about what would become of them and who would feed them if she was put up in a hotel for a while."

But Manolas said he could arrange for her to stay in a hotel near her old residence and that way she could visit her cats every afternoon.

"All she said she cared about are her cats and her radio. As long as she has those two things in her life she is happy," the social worker said. "I could tell she was becoming agitated about her cats' safety because she kept asking what would happen to them if she wasn't able to look after them. After the third or fourth time of asking about her pets, I said I had found her a hotel room minutes away from her home".

Once Louria was told she could visit her cats every afternoon, she was more than willing to accept the social welfare department's offer of a warm bed and square meal, he said.

"So now, every afternoon, she goes and collects scraps from nearby restaurants and takes them to feed her cats and spends several hours with them," Manolas said, adding this situation had proved to be the best scenario all round.

"We know she is safe in a hotel and being well fed, and she is kept happy knowing she can keep an eye on her cats."

At present Louria's only concern is to find a place of her own that she can call home for her and her family of cats, he added.

"She has taken the whole ordeal very well. This might because the house was not actually hers to begin with. She was merely renting it and had been told by the owners that she would have to move out soon because they wanted to turn it into a parking place."

Therefore, she was psychologically prepared to be moving anyway, said Manolas, which was probably why the news about the fire had not been devastating.

"I'm going to do my best to help her as much as I can," he said. "She doesn't get much of a pension and so we are going to provide her with more financial support through the department's welfare fund. At the moment she cannot survive on her monthly allowance from the government and we want to ensure that she is able to support herself as best as possible."

Although he could not specify a figure, Manolas said several of Louria's cats had died in the blaze.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[09] Paphos bishop accuses archbishop's entourage of exploiting memory lapses

THE BISHOP of Paphos yesterday accused people from the Archbishop's entourage of exploiting his memory problems and making him sign a number of documents, including cheques.

Bishop Chrysostomos revealed that the Archbishop has been suffering from memory problems for the past three years, and claimed that, during that time, people close to him "tried to pass him a document to sign, or a cheque."

"This bothered me and I thought it could not go on - he needs help," Chrysostomos said.

The Archbishop is currently in Greece where he is receiving treatment after a fall he had last month in which he suffered head and back injuries.

The Paphos Bishop said that after noticing these irregularities he had suggested that a three-member committee should keep an eye on the Archbishopric's finances as it did for the rest of the Church.

"As long as the Archbishop was healthy, no one worried because he was very strict; but when his memory started to weaken he needed help," Chrysostomos said.

He added: "We will support the Archbishop as long as necessary and there are brothers who could stand in for him until he is healthy again."

Health Minister Frixos Savvides yesterday said he wanted to be briefed in writing about the decisions made by a medical council, which examined the Archbishop on Sunday.

Savvides said that if he were invited he would join the Holy Synod today to discuss further measures that would help restore the Archbishop's health.

"The government is ready and always reacts positively to any suggestions from doctors who only think about the health and the best interest of the Archbishop," Savvides said.

But despite public statements of support made by a number of high-ranking clerics, Church circles do not believe that the primate's health will ever fully be restored, and everyone is now bracing for the imminent onslaught concerning his succession.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[10] MPs decide to cut rise in ministers' expense allowances

THE HOUSE Finance Committee has decided by majority vote to cut the proposed increases to ministers' expense allowances by half, it was reported yesterday.

The Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Aristos Chrysostomou, said that members belonging to AKEL, DIKO and KISOS decided to approve only 50 per cent of the proposed increases while postponing discussion concerning increases to judges' allowances.

DISY deputies said they would take a stance during plenum on Thursday and after they had discussed the matter among themselves.

According to Finance Ministry figures submitted to the committee in March, the state currently pays £71,428 per year in expense allowances, while the proposed increases would have almost doubled that amount to £138,914.

The government bill provided for ministers' expense allowances to be increased by £3,700 to £8,350 per year, but deputies yesterday approved only £1,850.

Chrysostomou said the committee wanted to send state officials a message for the need for financial prudence, though many saw yesterday's decision as the House's reply to charges levelled against it by the government over its controversial report on the stock market fiasco.

Ministers currently receive £38,153 a year plus £4,500 in expenses.

If the government's proposal goes through, highly unlikely after yesterday's decision, ministers would be making a total of £46,504 a year, of which £8,351 would be tax-free expense allowances.

The committee did, however, approve the ministry's proposals concerning the increases to the President and House President's expense allowances.

With the proposed expense increases to £12,000 from the current £5,000, the President would be receiving a total of £59,848 a year.

The House President receives a total of £46,504, of which £4,700 are expenses.

With the proposed increase of his allowance to £10,000, the House President would be pocketing £52,204.

Deputies receive £29,692 per year, which includes an £8,351 expense allowance.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

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