Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 02-07-07

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

Sunday, July 7, 2002

CONTENTS

[01] 'My life has been threatened by SBA,' claims Matsakis

[02] Turkish Cypriot footballer with AEK goes back to the north

[03] Motorcyclist seriously hurt in crash

[04] Body found in the Akamas

[05] Two remanded after heroin seized in police 'sting'

[06] At least the pool is cool

[01] 'My life has been threatened by SBA,' claims Matsakis

D.I.K.O. DEPUTY Marios Matsakis yesterday claimed he has received threats against his life from British bases (SBA) secret police because of his activities in trying to stop the installation of a huge new aerial in the Akrotiri salt lake area.

“I have received serious threats against my life from agents working for the British, that is from SBA pseudo-police officers,” Matsakis alleged.

The deputy said the threats were made by telephone and personally by numerous people of whom he could only identify one.

Asked whether he could confirm Matsakis' claims, SBA Spokesman Tony Bromwell said: “Not at all.”

Bromwell added that if that was Matsakis' allegation then he needed to report the person he thought had threatened him to the police in order for them to investigate.

The allegations followed a Friday night incident during which the outspoken deputy had managed to grab the keys of an SBA police patrol car, leaving the officers stranded.

“I took the keys to stop them from following me,” Matsakis said.

He added that the SBA patrol had been following him while he was driving in Republic territory and that he was handing the keys over to Justice Minister Nicos Koshis.

“I will hand the keys over to Mr Koshis, Cyprus' Justice Minister, along with a complaint that deputies of the Republic were being followed by SBA pseudo-police inside the island's free areas,” he said.

Matsakis vowed to use any means to obstruct the installation of the “killer antennas” in Akrotiri.

SBA authorities countered that Friday's patrol had been legal, citing an agreement which allows the Republic's police to patrol SBA areas and vice versa.

Meanwhile work at the antenna site continued as scheduled yesterday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[02] Turkish Cypriot footballer with AEK goes back to the north

Police told the Sunday Mail that Sabri Selden, his brother Musafer, and their parents, had left their Larnaca flat and returned to the north through the mixed village of Pyla.

No further information was available concerning the reasons that led the footballer and his family to return.

Former AEK chairman Stavros Xenis was not available for comment yesterday.

Sabri had left the occupied north around two months ago and moved to the Republic where he and with his brother were granted citizenship and signed professional contracts with AEK.

Their departure from the north prompted the Turkish Cypriots to ban footballers from visiting Pyla in an attempt to prevent high profile players from moving to the free areas.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[03] Motorcyclist seriously hurt in crash

Stelios Panayiotou from Liopetri was returning home from work at the Ayia Napa water-park when at around 12.15am he crashed into a car driven by an 18-year-old man.

Panayiotou, who police say was not wearing a crash helmet, suffered serious head injuries and was rushed to Paralimni hospital and then to Larnaca.

At Larnaca hospital doctors decided to transfer him to Nicosia because of the severity of his injuries.

Doctors said he was in a critical condition.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[04] Body found in the Akamas

The badly decomposed body of Yiannis Symeou Yiannikkaris from the village of Inia was found at 6am yesterday by a fisherman in the Lara sea area. The fisherman spotted the body on the rocks and immediately notified police.

The scene was examined by State Pathologist Eleni Antoniou who said that the body was badly decomposed.

Yiannikkaris was reported to have been living on his own and working as a waiter. He had been missing for the past six days.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[05] Two remanded after heroin seized in police 'sting'

The court heard that Ali Nasser Eldin, 43, and 39-year-old Horsep Matenzian were arrested during a police sting operation on Friday night.

Detective Efthymios Panayiotou told the court that for the past two months police had been receiving information that the two suspects had heroin in their possession and were looking for buyers in Larnaca and Limassol.

An undercover officer acting as a potential buyer approached the suspects to negotiate a deal and was twice provided with a sample of the product in order to check its quality, the court heard.

Panayiotou said that the suspects had provided them with excellent quality heroin in the form of brown powder.

The deal was set to go down on Friday night with the agreement being for the officer to buy a larger quantity for cash.

But according to police, the suspects changed their minds at the last minute and asked for cannabis instead of cash in exchange for their heroin.

Drugs squad officers immediately moved in, arresting the two suspects with four grams of heroin allegedly found in Eldin's possession.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[06] At least the pool is cool

Those who stayed behind headed for swimming pools or took refuge indoors with the air-conditioning on full blast.

The meteorological office offers little hope for an immediate let-up in the sweltering conditions as the temperature is predicted to drop by only one degree today and then cool only gradually -- until soaring again by Friday.

Fortunately, the humidity in the capital remained relatively low at 18 per cent.

As always, the authorities advise avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun, drinking plenty of water, and wearing light-coloured clothing and a hat if going out during the day. Spicy oily meals should be avoided in favour of light foods such as vegetables and fruit. Anyone suffering from symptoms of heatstroke such as gastric discomfort should see a doctor immediately.The weather men say the stifling weather is because of a high-pressure system over Cyprus.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

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