Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-03-16

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

Sunday, March 16, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] Anti-war campaigners march to US embassy

[02] What they're worth

[03] Campaigners battle for the consumer

[04] Tables turned on 'gamblers'

[01] Anti-war campaigners march to US embassy

AROUND 2,000 people yesterday staged a peaceful march in Nicosia against the looming war in Iraq.

The march, under the slogan 'No more blood for oil', was organised by the Social Forum and started from Eleftheria Square in the town centre. The demonstrators marched to the US embassy where they were met by a large contingent of police in riot gear, blocking all access to the building.

The marchers reached the embassy building at around 12pm and assembled in an empty plot across the road, behind concrete barricades and barbed wire.

The peaceful yet noisy protesters held placards and balloons bearing anti- war slogans. 'No more blood for oil', 'How many lives per litre' and 'No to terrorism' were just a few of the messages on placards carried by the demonstrators.

Blowing whistles and beating drums, the peace campaigners, people of all ages, shouted slogans against US President George Bush and his main ally, British Prime Minister Tony Blair. “Bush, Blair, (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon are murderers of people” was one of the chants.

Under the watchful eyes of the police, which included officers in plain clothes, the demonstrators approved a petition for the United Nations condemning “USA's and Britain's provocative and unashamed policy to attempt a new crime against humanity”.

The petition expressed solidarity with the people of Iraq who, they said, had been suffering the consequences of an 'inhuman embargo' and who lived in poverty, while the country's children died from disease which could not be treated due to the lack of medicine.

The demonstrators dispersed peacefully at around 12.30pm after setting a date for next Saturday to try to block access to the American radio station in Macedonitissa.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, March 16, 2003

[02] What they're worth

President and ministers declare assets and liabilities

THE assets of the President and his ministers were made public yesterday, fulfilling a pledge by Tassos Papadopoulos that members of the Cabinet would state their finances upon assuming their offices.

Among the declarations are those of the government spokesman and the under- secretary to the president.

According to the detailed statements, Papadopoulos' assets on February 28, the day he was inaugurated, totalled £1,006,302 while his liabilities were £305,906.

Among his assets were £66,370 in savings, £871,395 in investments and a four-litre Jaguar Sovereign bought for £50,270 - presumably duty-free. Foreign Minister George Iacovou declared £93,010 in savings, two cars bought for £26,900 - one being a duty-free Mercedes E240 for £22,000 - and fixed assets totalling £76,000.

Defence Minister Koullis Mavronikolas stated £43,500 in fixed assets and £3, 000 in debts. Agriculture Minister Timis Efthimiou declared £591,375 in assets and £193,368 in liabilities.

He owns a Mercedes 400 SEL whose value on March 1, 2003, was £40,000 and a Harley Davidson motorcycle valued at £12,000. His fixed property is worth £440,000.

Trade Industry and Tourism Minister George Lillikas had no savings on March 1, while his investments amounted to £6,775. Lillikas owns a Lexus, bought duty-free for £46,000 and his liabilities are listed at around £170,000.

Interior Minister Andreas Christou stated £3,234 in savings, while his Citroen and a Yamaha scooter were bought for £6,500 and £165 respectively. His fixed property was worth £68,000 while his loans amounted to £67,128.

Finance Minister Markos Kyprianou declared £55,400 in savings and investments worth £42,373. Kyprianou owns a BMW worth £28,400 (duty-free) while his total assets on March 7 amounted to £205,551.

Education Minister Pefkios Georgiades declared £210,201 in assets and £65, 342 in liabilities. Communications Minister Kikis Kazamias stated £236,731 in assets - including £160,000 in fixed property and a £25,000 Mercedes.

Health Minister Dina Akkelidou has around £10,000 in savings and £7,267 in investments. Her two cars were bought for £33,000 while she owes £11,126 in loans.

Labour Minister Iakovos Keravnos declared assets worth £198,440 while his liabilities amounted to £79,071. Justice Minister Doros Theodorou has £54, 000 in savings and his Mercedes C200 was bought for £16,000 duty-free. Theodorou's liabilities are £102,500 in loans.

Under-secretary to the President Christodoulos Pasiardis owns eight plots of land in the Tseri area of Nicosia, though their value was not disclosed. He has 4,000 shares at 11 cents each and owes £11,670 in loans.

Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides has around £240,000 deposited in banks while his investments were worth £99,623. He has two cars - a Rover and a BMW - which cost him £41,000, and his fixed property has been valued at £425,325.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, March 16, 2003

[03] Campaigners battle for the consumer

CONSUMER organisations around the world marked World Consumer Rights Day yesterday with campaigns and press releases, focusing on one topic of particular global interest -- the genetic modification of food.

The Commerce Ministry will be organising a presentation at the Conference Centre in Nicosia tomorrow to mark the international consumer movement, in co-operation with the Cyprus Consumers Association (CCA) and business and union organisations.

Commerce Minister George Lillikas, EU Ambassador to Cyprus Adriaan Van Der Meer, CCA president Petros Markou and a University of Cyprus expert on multinational corporations and GM food will address the public on consumer rights issues.

Many consumers are angry at the higher prices of fresh foods after a spate of bad weather, and are likely to be further upset by hikes in the cost of fuel which will have a trickle-down effect on general prices in the market.

World Consumer Rights Day commemorates a historic declaration of the four basic consumer rights by former US President John F Kennedy, on March 15, 1962. Kennedy's Bill of Rights include the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard. Consumer Day was first celebrated 21 years later on March 15, 1983, and over the years the consumer movement has expanded those rights to include the right to redress, the right to satisfaction of basic needs, the right to consumer education and the right to a healthy and sustainable environment.

More than four decades ago, Kennedy's speech before the US Congress acted as a catalyst for the international consumer movement. He said: “Consumers, by definition, includes us all. They are the largest economic group in the economy, affecting and affected by almost every public and private economic decision. But they are the only group whose views are often not heard.”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, March 16, 2003

[04] Tables turned on 'gamblers'

NINE people were charged and released yesterday, accused of illegal gambling at a coffee-shop in central Nicosia.

Officers from the Crime Prevention Unit raided the coffee-shop in the early hours of the morning yesterday, and police said they caught the suspect gamblers red-handed, engrossed in a game of dice.

Police confiscated a number of items as evidence including £2,889 in cash and a large dice table which was hoisted from a first floor window with the help of the Fire Service. One bystander was quoted as saying “Never mind the table, they took the money!”

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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