Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-07-18

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Saturday, July 18, 1998

UK detectives seek Limassol bishop

ALL THE papers gave prominence to Attorney-general Alecos Markides's statement that an arrest warrant could be issued for Bishop Chrysanthos of Limassol should he fail to return from Athens to face questioning by British detectives investigating fraud scams.

The papers reported that Chrysanthos, facing a barrage of accusations which include money-laundering and misuse of Church funds, flew to Athens on Thursday. The detectives will be in Cyprus on Monday to question him.

Machi reported on "revelations" in a Russian daily about when and how the S-300 missiles will arrive on the island. Russki Telegraf said the controversial ground-to-air missiles would be delivered by the nuclear- powered Russian warship Peter the Great in August - months earlier than the government says they will arrive. The Russian paper's front-page report was carried under the headline "Peter the Great to holiday in Cyprus", Machi said. The warship is to follow a course from a port in northern Russia through the Baltic to the Atlantic, then through the straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean and to Cyprus.

Final arrangements for delivery of the missiles were ironed out during President Clerides's recent talks with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in Moscow, Machi said.

Simerini carried the same story, adding that transporting the S-300s would be Peter the Great's maiden mission. The warship will be accompanied by a Russian aircraft-carrier and will travel on for exercises in the Indian Ocean after delivering the missiles.

Left-wing Haravghi devoted its front page to coverage of an Akel rally against the coup and invasion in Nicosia's Eleftheria Square on Thursday night - an event mentioned only in passing, if at all, by the other dailies.

Akel leader Dimitris Christofias was quoted as telling the thousands-strong crowd that his party would always fight the forces of fascism.

On the same theme of the coup and fascism, Machi reported that House and acting President Spyros Kyprianou had again called for the "file" on the coup to be re-opened so that the whole truth about the events of the summer of 1974 could be known. It was not, as many seemed to believe, too late to re-examine this dark chapter of Cyprus's history, Kyprianou was quoted as saying.

Phileleftheros reported that police were to investigate a Limassol betting company organising 'pyramid' games. The probe was ordered after a Finance Ministry officer noted the game was illegal because punters had no chance of winning.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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