Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 02-10-25

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

Friday, October 25, 2002

CONTENTS

[01] Kyprianou released; case now with Attorney-general

[02] Four teenage girls held over Ypsonas assault

[03] Calls for more incentives to restore crumbling heritage in Limassol

[04] Pinpoint choreography for Man Utd travel arrangements

[05] Solana: UN plan for Cyprus is ready

[01] Kyprianou released; case now with Attorney-general

Kyprianou was arrested ten days ago in connection with allegations of conspiracy to defraud and exporting currency under false pretences.

He was remanded in custody for seven days and was released yesterday without being charged.

The case is now in the hands of the Attorney-general's office.

The arrest of Kyprianou was the result of a 12-month investigation into Globalsoft, which police claim exported millions of pounds under false pretences.

Police said that Globalsoft, through one of its subsidiaries, claimed to have paid Bulgarian company Express Consult $8 million in 2000 through companies based in the Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man, but that money never in fact reached the company.

Globalsoft, police said, then asked for permission to transfer an additional $8.2 million abroad for the purchase of a second Bulgarian company, Comsyst, but the Central Bank only gave permission for $4.6 million.

Police alleged that the $4.6 million earmarked for Comsyst ended up in the hands of the Express Consult shareholders just three minutes after it had been transferred into the account of a firm linked to Comsyst.

Investigators believe the second company was made up to justify further transfer of funds abroad as a way of paying the first company.

Kyprianou denied all charges, arguing that both transactions had been carried out legally.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[02] Four teenage girls held over Ypsonas assault

The proceedings were held behind closed doors, but the four suspects are understood to have admitted to carrying out the assault, which police believe was motivated by a relationship one of the victims is alleged to have had with the boyfriend of one of the suspects.

The 15-year-olds claimed on Wednesday that four young women had forced them into their car and driven them to a remote area near the Ypsonas industrial estate.

The three girls alleged that two of them were tied to an electricity pylon while the third was bundled into the boot if the car.

The kidnappers then allegedly beat them and robbed them at knifepoint of a mobile phone worth £120, a packet of cigarettes, and £5 in cash.

The two girls were left tied to the pylon while the third was later dumped off in Zakaki.

The unprecedented incident of juvenile delinquency has sparked a public outcry, prompting the House Criminal Affairs Committee to put it on the agenda for discussion.

Committee chairman Costas Papacostas said juvenile delinquency had taken on worrying proportions and the state and society should study the matter in depth.

Justice Minister Alecos Shambos put the phenomenon down to the lack of proper education aimed at shaping children's characters and urged society to work towards preventing youths from committing crimes.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[03] Calls for more incentives to restore crumbling heritage in Limassol

LIMASSOL residents' fears over the safety of listed buildings in the old city were increased after a wall of a house being restored collapsed on Wednesday, crushing a foreign worker from the waist down.

According to reports, the accident follows the collapse of a balcony last week, an incident that could have resulted in tragedy had there been people in the area at the time.

Sotiris Hailis, the man who rushed to the rescue of the foreign worker after the wall came down, blamed local authorities for allowing the houses to reach a state of collapse.

"This is the third time in our neighborhood that a building has collapsed and it's amazing how no one was killed," he said.

Hailis said the municipality had given permission to restore the house, not caring that it was beyond repair.

"What kind of safety measures did the municipality take before starting work on the building?" he said.

But Limassol Mayor Demitris Kontides blamed the fact that owners neglected to maintain listed buildings in the old city.

"The municipality cannot force the owner of a listed house to repair it," he said.

"The government should step in and find other ways and provide more incentives for people to repair their houses, since what they have done until now has not been successful."

Kontides said many houses in Limassol were on the verge of collapse and stressed that this would destroy the city's history.

"The whole city will soon be wearing a sling," he said.

Green party activist and architect Roxanne Koudounari told the Cyprus Mail yesterday the government should offer better incentives to the owners of listed buildings, and even suggested the local authority should intervene and repair the house if it could not get in touch with the owner.

"Through the efforts of organisations such as POAK, the Architects' Association, and ETEK, as well as the Department of Restoration of Town Planning, many incentives have been set up in order to motivate the private sector to restore properties and avert further deterioration, with the authorities paying as much as 40 per cent of the restoration expenses.

"The Municipality should inject more funds into restoring and preserving listed houses which are part of our heritage, instead of building new roads, " she said.

"Some people cannot afford to have their houses refurbished and although the incentives are good the municipality should throw them a lifeline."

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[04] Pinpoint choreography for Man Utd travel arrangements

FROM the moment Manchester United arrive at Larnaca airport on Sunday night to when they leave next Wednesday, they will adhere to a carefully- formulated programme designed to ensure that the rigours of travel and the uncertainty of new surroundings have no bearing on how the team performs on the big night.

After securing a 3-2 victory over Olympiakos Piraeus in Athens on Wednesday the pressure is off Sir Alex Ferguson's players to perform, with qualification secured. It is highly probable that the manager will take the opportunity to rest some of his key players, with sources suggesting that United's Player of the Year, Ruud van Nistelrooy will not be making the trip in order to allow full recuperation from a hamstring injury. But qualification was only secured on Wednesday and all the arrangements for their game in Cyprus have been made well in advance in anticipation of it being a must-win game. The source also suggested that even Manchester United with all their resources were still keen to secure the extra prize money from UEFA, European footballs governing body, for winning the match.

In post match interviews, players were quoted as saying how they wished to maintain the team's 100 per cent record and that qualification would have no bearing on how they performed in their final two qualifying matches.

As a venue, Cyprus represented something of a challenge to Kenneth Merrett, the club's travel co-ordinator. Having recently played in both Athens and Leverkusen, Merret had a very clear idea of what to expect from those trips, but for Cyprus he had to arrange a security visit as well as taking time out to chose which hotels would best suit the club's needs.

Speaking to The Times Merret discussed the factors he looked for in assessing accommodation before making his recommendations to Travel Care Sports, the agency responsible for finalising all the arrangements.

Asked what he looked for in hotel, Merrel said, "Proximity, you don't want to travel too far to training and the ground. Although we've got lots of foreign players, we're typically British and like hotels to have some English-speaking TV channels, such as movies, Eurosport and Sky News."

On security, Merrel admitted it was sometimes a sensitive area. "We've travelled with our own people in the past, but we try not to if we can possibly help it. The hotels are usually very good about security and are just as keen that their other guests aren't put out by Manchester United being here. We always ask them if they are used to having teams stay, as we have certain requirements, such as a private dining area and certain foods."

The team have booked into Nicosia's Hilton, while their special guests and VIPs will be staying at Limassol's Le Meridien, both hotels demonstrating to the club their experience in dealing with the special requirements of football teams. Most recently, the Hilton hosted the French national side followed by APOEL's opponents in the UEFA cup, the Austrian side AK Graz.

The club must have been satisfied that the hotels and facilities were more than adequate to fulfil their needs because they put in a request to the Football Association to postpone their fixture with Aston Villa on Saturday in order to be able to fly directly from Athens to Larnaca and avoid the extra air miles. The club's request was turned down, but as Merret suggests, the travelling that players are required to do is a concern for the manager.

"We look for an aircraft that will give the players the extra legroom. That's important, especially when we are going to places like Cyprus and Athens. We need a reasonable sized aircraft because, for games in Western Europe, we will probably take something like 14 cargo skips containing boots, kit, medical equipment and so on."

Many of United's fans also choose to stay in the same hotels as the club and with Maccabi Haifa agreeing to increase the ticket allocation to English fans, more than 2,000 will be expected to descend on the island for the match, even though its relevance as a game has diminished.

Ronis Soteriades, President of Manchester United's Supporters club in Cyprus, summed up the interest in the game. "I have been responsible for ensuring my members get hold of tickets, and I have arranged the distribution of somewhere in the region of 1,000 tickets."

The GSP are expecting a sell out for the match. Those who wish to see the Red Devils but haven't been able to obtain a ticket could always enter our competition, details on page 39.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

[05] Solana: UN plan for Cyprus is ready

Asked by CNA about prospects for a Cyprus solution before the EU proclaimed Cyprus and nine other candidates "under accession" at the Copenhagen summit in December, Solana said he had been in touch with UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan "in the last days" about Cyprus.

"Mr Annan will make every effort to get a solution before December," Solana said, admitting, however, that this was "very difficult".

Asked if he was aware of a UN plan that had already been prepared on Cyprus, he answered: "You want me to say... I will say 'Yes'."

"One must not forget that Cyprus is a candidate country. If a solution to the Cyprus problem is not achieved, then Cyprus will be named a country 'under accession' to the EU at the summit in Copenhagen this December, together with the other candidate countries," he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2002

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