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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 00-12-20

Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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


CONTENTS

  • [01] Eerie calm pervades Pyla
  • [02] Tourism looking up for festive season
  • [03] Napa heads north for Christmas
  • [04] Soldier arrested on assault charges
  • [05] Kyknos hits the big time
  • [06] CY set sights on Olympic
  • [07] Fire yesterday
  • [08] Road death
  • [09] Cheque Stealing and Forging

  • [01] Eerie calm pervades Pyla

    By Athena Karsera AT LEAST two Greek Cypriot employers yesterday picked up their Turkish Cypriot labourers, ending their part in a weeklong protest against the detention of their colleague Panicos Tsiakourmas. Tsiakourmas, 39 and a diabetic, was abducted from the Sovereign Base Area nine days ago after he had gone to pick up some Turkish Cypriot workers near Pyrgamos. He was accused by `authorities' in the north of drug smuggling. His abduction followed a Turkish Cypriot's recent arrest just outside Pyla on charges of drug trafficking when two kilos of heroin were found on him. A British bases police officer yesterday confirmed that at least two Greek Cypriots had taken their Turkish Cypriot employees to work in the free areas. Employers had stopped fetching the Turkish Cypriots since Tsiakourmas' apprehension. Meanwhile, an eerie calm pervaded the area yesterday with visits by KISOS president Vassos Lyssarides who said, "My conviction seems that there is no tension in the village today." Lyssarides also met with Pyla's Turkish Cypriot `muktar' Ahmed Sakkalis and chief of the Turkish Cypriot Republican Party Mehmet Ali Talat and Pyla Community Council president Christakis Antoniou. Talat said it was important for tension in Pyla to be reduced and his party was working towards peace throughout the island, "We call on the two sides to act responsibly and free the two captors so that there is peace in this area." Sakkalis was also supposed to have met President Clerides earlier yesterday but missed the meeting, he said, because he had other obligations at the British Bases but said he hoped for another meeting. "Whenever President Clerides calls us I will be very happy to go to Nicosia," he said. Sakkalis also said that he would be meeting with Antoniou later in the week for improvement plans on the village to be discussed, "We have £1 million at our disposal from the United Nations and the EU to carry out these works." Clerides yesterday met with Tsiakourmas' wife Niki, who visited her husband on Monday. Speaking after the meeting, she said, "The President assured us about (British High Commissioner) Edward Clay's meeting with Rauf Denktash and said coordinated efforts for (my husband's) release have been made all round." She continued, "The President had a very positive attitude. He understands that my husband should be home with his children for the holidays and is doing everything he can. He is spending all day working on this." Government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said Turkish troops' work at the village seemed to have come to a stop as a result of the government's steps and efforts with UNFICYP. He maintained the government still demanded that the work already done be dismantled. On the government's efforts for Tsiakourmas' release, Papapetrou said, "I can not speak publicly about the efforts being made on the matter but they are taking place." The morning Tsiakourmas disappeared his car was found with the engine running, the doors open and the lights on some 400 meters away from the occupied areas but inside the bases. Evidence is mounting that his car was stopped on the road and that he was dragged violently from the vehicle before being bundled into another vehicle. He was then sped into the occupied areas where he was arrested on charges of possessing 1.5 kilos of cannabis. Clay on Monday said if it were proved Tsiakourmas was abducted from bases territory it would create a troubling legal and humanitarian issue for the occupied north.

    [02] Tourism looking up for festive season

    By Jenny Curtis THE CYPRUS Hotel Association is predicting record bookings this Christmas and New Year and says the government's winter incentive package is largely responsible. The official statistics for November have yet to be released, but Nicos Rolandis, the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, says they are between 10 and 15 per cent up on last year. "We had an excellent month and it appears our new measures to attract visitors at this time of year are working very well. We have yet to establish the proportions of which nationality visited us last month, but certainly the UK must be included." According to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), more than one million Britons are set to travel abroad for the festivities, many of whom are desperate to escape the heavy rains. It says Cyprus is the ninth most popular destination for a winter getaway and that 53 per cent of those polled said the awful weather was the main motivating factor. The government has given regional authorities £250,000 to subsidise entertainment and cultural events, as part of the Commerce Ministry's commitment to boost tourism. To date this year bookings from the UK are up by at least 23 per cent and the overall aim is to raise winter tourism from 20 per cent of the year's total to 30. In addition Cyprus Airways has axed the £7 airport tax and offered a £20 reduction for every extra passenger from Germany and the UK. As well, every eleventh hotel room will be complementary and there are other financial incentives to help boost numbers. "This is a very generous package and I think we're now seeing the positive results of our efforts," a satisfied Rolandis told the Mail. "I know we don't have the figures for December yet, but I am confident they will be significantly higher than last year." "I think the situation's looking very promising and the new programme has made the prospect of enjoying the Christmas and New Year celebrations in Cyprus a very tantalising proposition," said Zacharias Ionnides, the Director General of the Cyprus Hotel Association. Rolandis pointed out that it is too early to say exactly, but the booking situation for this winter is more than 10 per cent higher than last year. He added that the tour operators themselves have been eager to get confirmation from the Cyprus government that the current package of incentives will still be in place next year. Ten days ago it was able to give them this guarantee. "We are expecting even more encouraging results, because in the New Year, details of these incentives will be incorporated in the second edition of brochures. This means everyone will be able to see how competitive our packages of holidays are." Speaking last month to the Cyprus Mail, Avgerinos Nikitas said: "We must make sure everyone goes home happy and to do this we have to develop as a quality winter destination." He stressed the need to "enrich the product" through entertainment and sporting facilities because the Cyprus sun and sea lose their appeal when compared to tropical climates during the cooler winter months.

    [03] Napa heads north for Christmas

    By Jenny Curtis A CYPRIOT radio station is heading for Finland this year to broadcast a series of shows from Turku, the official international Christmas City where Santa Claus delivers his annual message of peace. Nathan Morley, the Programme Controller for Radio Napa, is presenting live oldies show on Christmas Eve and a chat show on Christmas day - both events will last three hours. "Every year we try and do something very special and as Santa Claus is making his annual message of peace from Turku, we thought it would be appropriate to pay the city a visit," he told the Cyprus Mail. He says the shows should help those people unable to get away from the island feel more Christmassy. "Finland is perfect - it has the snow, the atmosphere and I hear the booze is pretty good as well." Commenting on the broadcast, producer Chris Yearley said, "It all started as a silly idea, but after the success of our Radio One broadcasts to the UK in the summer we decided to go for it." Radio Napa will rely on technical support from the Finnish radio station RHR, and will broadcast the station via an ISDN line, which will produce a one second delay. In addition there will be a satellite back up. The station hopes British and English speaking tourists visiting the island will particularly appreciate the shows.

    [04] Soldier arrested on assault charges

    By George Psyllides A BRITISH soldier serving in the Dekelia Garrison was yesterday charged with killing a chicken and causing grievous bodily harm to its owner. He had been arrested on Monday night. Thirty-year-old serviceman Antony Hill was returning home in Oroklini at around seven on Monday night when he reportedly entered Simos Andreou's yard and killed the bird. Reports said that Hill had been drunk at the time of the attack. Police said the soldier entered the yard grabbed the chicken throttled it. The owner, who witnessed the whole scene from the window, rushed outside to rescue his chicken but in the ensuing struggle, Hill caused grievous bodily harm to Andreou, police said. A Sovereign Base Area spokesman said he did not know anything about the particular incident. He added: "Of course we treat any abuse to animals very seriously and will welcome any information from Cyprus police to enable us to investigate this case as well." Hill was released until his trial on January 12.

    [05] Kyknos hits the big time

    By Martin Hellicar IT WAS a quiet day on the Cyprus stock market yesterday, with a marginal loss of 0.56 per cent on the all-share index serving to slow a slide that began last week. The general price index closed at 244.51 points, 1.38 points lower than Monday's close, but a one-third increase in the volume of transactions, which reached £12,5779,025 yesterday, provided encouragement for investors. "With this volume, it is clear the market has an element of dynamism," said one market analyst. Blue-chip shares had a bit of a hard time for the second day running, with the FTSE 20 index again performing worse than the general index, shedding 0.76 per cent. Laiki Bank shares lost 2.05 per cent to close at £3.33, with £606,261.63 worth of shares traded. Bank of Cyprus shares shed 1.13 per cent to close at £3.48, with the traded volume reaching £572,910.83. Louis Cruise Line bucked the blue-chip trend by gaining a modest 1.04 per cent to close at 48.5 cents, with £707,308.96 worth of shares changing hands. This reversed the downward spiral the Louis share had been trapped in during recent sessions. But analysts suggested the `season of good will' would have a beneficial effect on the market and offset the dipping bank shares. "If we take the two banks as the basis for comment, we would predict that, in the next couple of weeks, the market may sink as low as 220 or even 212. But, the Christmas factor is now coming into play and, for psychological reasons, there won't be big declines," one observer suggested. "Thursday and Friday will be better sessions," he predicted. Away from blue-chip territory, the Kyknos share put in an impressive performance yesterday, gaining 12.69 per cent to close at 69 cents, with £2,588,619. Rumours of big investment companies sinking funds into Kyknos shares did the share no harm. Petrolina had its debut on the floor yesterday, but it was a sobering experience for the new share. It closed at 20 cents, while its IPO price was 70 cents. Overall, the market began very weakly, opening at 240 points before recovering to reach a more respectable 246. The insurance companies sector was the hardest hit, losing 3.53 per cent. The hotels sector shed 1.57 per cent. Things were rosier for the approved investment companies, tourism companies and other companies sectors, which posted gains of 1.29, 1.43 and 0.80 per cent respectively. The approved investment companies sector also attracted the most investor interest, with £3,204,828 worth of shares changing hands. The market has lost well over half its value since the turn of the year,

    [06] CY set sights on Olympic

    By Athena Karsera CYPRUS AIRWAYS said yesterday it would begin proceedings to head a consortium of investors tendering for the privatisation of Greek national carrier Olympic Airways. Making the announcement yesterday Cyprus Airways (CY) chairman Charis Loizides said the decision had followed a board meeting earlier in the day but that the choice was not binding. "Cyprus Airways' intention is for its participation to take place within the framework of a consortium made up of other interested investors. I would like to make it clear that this expression of interest does not, at this stage, signify any commitment or obligation on Cyprus Airways' part." Loizides continued that the next step would be for the company hired to oversee the privatisation process, Credit Suisse First Boston, to select the expressions of interest considered to be most significant and send the relevant parties Olympic Airways' prospectuses. "The investors that pass through this process will then have to make a non-binding proposal if they are still interested, and some may not be after receiving the prospectus, by January 31, 2001." Loizides did not reveal which other companies would be making up the Cyprus Airways consortium, "There are Cypriot, Greek and foreign companies." A limited number of selected parties will then be invited to submit binding proposals, "These will basically be business plans for the next five or ten years on what each party proposes for the section of the company they are interested in." Loizides continued that the consortiums would not be bidding for Olympic Airways (OA) as a whole but for parts of it, "For example if they are not interested in the route to Australia they will not want to purchase the planes that take this route." Loizides said that CY would, depending on the asking price, be interested in 15 to 12 per cent of the OA sections it was interested in, "because we will be heading a consortium we have to have a high enough percentage to be able to have our say." The company's role is important, as one of the privatisation's specifications is that any consortium must include an airline. Even if his company reached the final stages, Loizides continued, any purchase would also depend heavily on the asking price, "If we can't afford it or it is not in the best interests of the company and its dependents we wont make the purchase...We do not intend to drag the company through an adventure." He said that CY, a CSE listed company, had savings from a recent run of successful years and could also raise money in other ways. The entire process should be completed by April 1 2001, Loizides said, to coincide with the opening of Sparta Airport, "It is a very short time period for something like this but the airport is an added pressure." The Greek government on December 8 launched an official tender process to sell a majority stake in its struggling airline. It wants to sell at least 51 per cent of the airline while the entire process had been dealt a severe blow earlier in the year when British Airways turned down an option to acquire 20 per cent of the company. Olympic Airways, which has only once made a profit in the past two decades, is saddled with debts of more than Dr40 billion (approximately £66.7 million) and is expected to lose at least half of that amount again this year. European Union rules prevent the Greek government from recapitalising the company.

    [07] Fire yesterday

    By a Staff Reporter A FIRE yesterday gutted the living quarters of 14 artistes who work for Mirage cabaret in Yermasoyia. The 2pm blaze in the flats, which are on top of the cabaret, started, according to the fire department, when one of the residents left a towel on an electric heater. The fire destroyed two rooms along with the women's personal effects and money.

    [08] Road death

    By a Staff Reporter A 47-OLD-MAN was killed yesterday and a student's leg was severed on Monday night in two road accidents in the Nicosia district. Theofanis Kazakeos from Strovolos died in a five-car collision on the Akaki to Nicosia road at 8am. Police said Kazakeos slammed into the car in front of him, which in turn hit another two cars. Kazakeos' pick-up then veered into the other side of the road where it crashed into a parked van In the same accident a woman suffered head injuries and was kept in hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, college student Erini Sykopetritou, 19, from Palehori lost her leg when a car, driven by 24-year-old Andreas Andreou also from Palehori slammed into a crash barricade. Sykopetritou was in the passenger's seat next to the driver.

    [09] Cheque Stealing and Forging

    By a Staff Reporter TWO Limassol women were yesterday remanded in custody for eight days suspected of stealing and forging government cheques worth £2,000. Nitsa Mourmouri, 53, and 35-year-old Yiolanda Panayiotou were caught while trying to shop in a supermarket using a forged cheque. The court heard Mourmouri denied being involved in the case while Panayiotou allegedly admitted to stealing and forging at least two government cheques. Police however claimed they had testimony linking Mourmouri to the case as well. Investigators told the court that Mourmouri even went as far as breaking into a post box to steal the cheque sent by the state to a quadriplegic child.

    Cyprus Mail 2000


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