Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-06-15

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

Sunday, June 15, 2003

CONTENTS

[01] DISY hits back over appointments letter

[02] Man wanted by the US held at Larnaca

[03] Woman rescued after falling into well

[04] Palestinians held ‘after illegal entry’

[05] Man, 58, held as drugs suspect

[06] Tourist knocked down and killed

[01] DISY hits back over appointments letter

THE SPAT between the government and opposition DISY continued yesterday with the latter refusing to release a list of prospective party members for the boards of semi-governmental organisations.

The move came after President Tassos Papadopoulos rejected a suggestion by DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades that representation on the boards of semi- governmental organisations should be based on the parties’ electoral strength.

In a letter on Friday, Papadopoulos said Anastassiades’ suggestion could not be applied because many able people were not affiliated to political parties.

Speaking at a two-day DISY conference in Pissouri yesterday, party spokesman Tassos Mitsopoulos said Papadopoulos’ letter did not bind the government to appoint non-party members.

“The President’s letter is written in such a way that there is in no commitment by him to appoint members of the broader society,” Mitsopoulos said.

On Thursday, Anastassiades accused the government of getting rid of all opposition supporters, starting with those working at the Presidential Palace. But the President brushed aside his complaint, saying that only a warehouse worker had been moved because of service needs.

Yesterday, however, Mitsopoulos insisted that more DISY party members had been dropped by the government.

“The purging of our members is not only at the Presidential Palace, and it is not just the case of one warehouse worker,” he said.

“People in higher positions are also being targeted. Maybe the President is not well-informed about what is happening around him.”

Mitsopoulos dismissed government accusations that the former administration had allocated all the important posts to DISY members.

“It is well known that high positions in government posts were allocated to people from all parties, and the former government and the government’s co- operation with those people was excellent,” he said.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, June 15, 2003

[02] Man wanted by the US held at Larnaca

AN ISRAELI man wanted in the US for allegedly embezzling $6 million was yesterday ordered to be remanded for 60 days until the necessary procedures for his extradition are completed.

According to the Larnaca Press news agency, Joel Robert Callaman, 43, was arrested when he arrived at Larnaca airport on Friday on a private jet from Tel Aviv.

The suspect told immigration police he had come to the island for lunch with some friends, but when the officers entered his name on the computer they found Interpol had issued a warrant for his arrest.

Callaman together with 15 other associates allegedly embezzled the money by calling people in North Carolina in the US and telling them they had won a substantial amount of money in a competition -- and that in order to claim their prize they had to pay up to $100,000 as collateral.

Callaman and his associates are thought to have carried out their scam between 1992-1996. If extradited and found guilty, Callaman faces a maximum prison sentence of 280 years.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, June 15, 2003

[03] Woman rescued after falling into well

A 63-year-old woman was rescued by the fire brigade yesterday after falling down a concealed well in Arediou village, police said yesterday.

According to Lakatamia police, Eleni Thoma fell down a 10 metre-deep well at about 8am as she was collecting figs from a relative’s tree. A police officer said the disused well had been concealed by earth and leaves. It is believed heavy rainfall may have caused the earth above the well to subside and give way beneath Thoma’s feet.

She sustained a fracture to her leg in the fall, and was yesterday being treated in Nicosia General Hospital for her injuries.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, June 15, 2003

[04] Palestinians held ‘after illegal entry’

TWO Palestinian men were remanded for three days by a Larnaca District judge yesterday suspected of illegal entry to Cyprus.

According to police, the pair were arrested at 8am yesterday after an officer on patrol saw them trying to get a lift along the Limassol-Larnaca highway near Zygi. The men, whose trousers were wet to knee-level, allegedly told the officer they had paid $1,500 each to come to Cyprus from Gaza on an Israeli boat.

On leaving the boat the two Palestinians reportedly waded ashore between Zygi and Vassiliko and tried to make their way inland.

Police said the men did not have travel documents or passports and did not reveal their ages, despite giving police their names.

They were remanded in custody after appearing before Larnaca District Court at noon yesterday.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, June 15, 2003

[05] Man, 58, held as drugs suspect

A 58-year-old man has been arrested in Paphos in connection with the suspected possession of and trafficking in cannabis, police said yesterday.

The arrest was made by Paphos Drugs Squad following a tip-off.

The suspect was arrested at about 7.50pm on Friday at a river bed in the Paphos area, where he was found to be watering cannabis plants. Police said they discovered a cardboard box camouflaged by wild shrubs near the river bed. The box contained seven plant pots in which police found 11 cannabis plants measuring 20-50cm high.

Police stopped the 58-year-old as he was leaving the river bed with two of the cannabis plants.

Paphos Drugs Squad is investigating.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

Sunday, June 15, 2003

[06] Tourist knocked down and killed

A RUSSIAN woman was killed when she was knocked down by an oncoming vehicle on Friday evening, police said yesterday.

Marina Nesterova, 45-year-old tourist, was crossing the Nicosia-Limassol highway near the Moutayiaka exit at about 9.35pm when she was hit by a car driven by a 63-year-old pensioner from Limassol.

The pensioner’s wife was a passenger in the car.

According to a police report, the 63-year-old was subjected to a breath test, which proved negative.

Limassol police are investigating the causes of the accident.

Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003

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