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Cyprus Mail: News Articles in English, 03-02-23
Sunday, February 23, 2003
CONTENTS
[01] The Gang of Five surviveBy George PsyllidesD.I.S.Y. CHIEF Nicos
Anastassiades yesterday declared the 'presidential election chapter' closed
and urged an end to bickering over last Sunday's defeat.In a fiery speech
before DISY's supreme council, which convened to examine the causes of the
defeat and the possibility of taking disciplinary action against five
dissidents who supported the candidacy of Attorney-general Alecos Markides,
Anastassiades laid the blame squarely on the rebels -- but said it was not
his intention to recommend any expulsions.On the night of the elections, a
fuming Anastassiades said he would expel the five dissidents, accusing them
of playing a pivotal role in President Glafcos Clerides' election
defeat.But yesterday, the outspoken DISY leader said that everyone was
needed in the party, which should elect a leadership that would inspire
people again.In a speech that sounded more like an election campaign, he
said the rebels were trying to “justify the unjustifiable” but that he was
“bighearted” enough to ignore their personal insults and abuse and move
on.He played with the sentiment of DISY's grassroots supporters, many of
whom wanted the dissidents punished, using Clerides as his main theme, and
describing how the actions of the rebels were a personal insult to the
party's first leader, and had hurt his candidacy.Anastassiades described
how he, almost single-handedly, managed to break the three-party coalition
(AKEL, DIKO, and KISOS) by supporting KISOS leader Yiannakis Omirou for the
presidency, only for the 'Five' to push Omirou back into the coalition by
portraying Clerides and Markides as a DISY double candidacy.“Even DISY
supporters believed this was done on purpose,” Anastassiades said.He said
he was ready to leave the party if he was an obstacle to unity, but
suggested that others were to blame for the situation.Anastassiades said he
had tolerated many things in the past, often from the same people, and
challenged anyone to find him a party in the world that would allow its
members to act this way with impunity.He said party unity was paramount,
adding that real leaders do not act on their personal feelings but had the
interests of the country above everything else. He would step down if it
would bring unity in the party, he repeated.Dissident Sophocles
Hadjiyiannis accused the leadership of alienating the people by its actions
while fellow rebel Demetris Syllouris said Anastassiades' comments were
aimed at convincing people that the 'Five' were solely responsible for the
election failure.The third rebel, Prodromos Prodromou, said DISY should
look to the future to make istself strong again. He said he was ready to
give up his seat in parliament if the party chief thought it necessary.
Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides, viewed as a main contender for the
DISY leadership, censured the 'Five' but urged unity. The party did not
have the luxury of being able to lose any members, he said.The supreme
council condemned the party members who had supported Markides without
taking any measures against them “ in the hope that such behaviour will not
be repeated in the future”.
[02] 'Damaged gene' fear in siblings' cancersBy Alexia SaoulliBRITISH
EXPERTS have not ruled out genetic factors for cancers in two underage
Cypriots siblings and the death of their mother. Although environmental
factors were still a possibility, experts feared a 'damaged gene' was more
likely, since Cyprus was not a high-risk nuclear or radioactive region,
their uncle, Costas Minas, told the Sunday Mail.Melanie Papanastassiou,
aged eight, and her three-year-old brother Alexandros are now in England
fighting for their lives. Last August, Melanie underwent radical surgery to
remove an osteosarcoma (a malignant tumour of bone or soft parts) and
replace her thighbone with an implant. She is currently undergoing
chemotherapy. Alexandros was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoblastic
lymphoma five months later, and is undergoing 114 weeks of lumbar puncture
and chemotherapy. Their mother Spyroulla died of cancer just 12 days after
Melanie was diagnosed.Although the children's prognosis is good so far,
experts fear a 'damaged gene' could cause their cancer to recur, Minas
said.Local specialists have suggested the freak coincidence of a family
afflicted with three different types of cancer might be related to
environmental factors. They grew up in Nicosia's Archangelos district, only
four kilometres from Kato Lakatamia - an area long suspected of being
associated with a spate of cancer incidences. But British experts do not
support such a scenario, since Cyprus is not known for having high
concentrations of radioactivity or nuclear energy, Minas said. Instead they
are focusing on genetic factors, and the entire extended family had been
asked to participate in a genetics study.“The doctors believe there is a
greater risk of their cancer being genetic. That is their main concern at
the moment, not environmental factors. So far, there have been no
complications, which means they're doing well and according to the doctors
their treatments are going ahead as planned,” said Minas.Melanie's
chemotherapy course will end in around a month, after which experts will
carry out tests on whether she can undergo radiotherapy. “Doctors need to
look at the genetic question. If it is genetic, the radiotherapy itself
will cause cancer,” he said.Minas has gone to London to visit the children
again this weekend. His wife Athena (Spyroulla's sister) is currently in
London helping her brother-in-law Nicos, who has had to give up working to
help look after the children, who are in different hospitals.Spyroulla's
other sister, Eleni Stavrinidou, plans to fly to Britain tomorrow, to give
her sister Athena the chance to come home and see her own children.Eleni
said the last time she had seen Alexandros he had been unrecognisable. “The
doctors said they are doing well, but Alexandros is just so bloated from
all the steroids he's on. I wouldn't have known who he was in a crowd of
children. I got such a shock. He's now going to have to have more blood
tests and transfusions,” she said. “You need a lot strength and patience to
get through something like this,” Eleni added.Although the government is
paying for theit treatment, other expenses and being met by the family and
by donations, Minas said.A bank account has been set up at Hellenic Bank in
Nicos Papanastassiou's name (account number 131-12-054593-00).
[03] Sewage tax unfair, 'but not on home-owners'By Stefanos EvripidouA
REPORT by Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou on the new sewage tax levied on
houses in greater Nicosia acknowledges that the system is 'unfair', and
blames it on flawed evaluation of properties. She believes the problem is
not that people are asked to pay too much, but that they are not asked to
pay enough, leading to a loss of potential revenue for the Sewage Board,
local authorities and Inland Revenue.The report censures the Land Registry
and the Nicosia municipalities for having inaccurate and incomplete
information, resulting in many properties being undervalued.The new tax
goes towards a £150 million sewage project to connect 320,000 residents to
a central sewage system by 2010. The yearly sum to be charged over the next
18 years or so is calculated at 0.3 per cent of the value of a house in
1980. Nicolaou's office was inundated with complaints about the new tax
after the Sewage Board announcement it in November. The results of her
investigations into the value of property based on 1980 prices conclude
that the value of homes registered at the Land Registry do not represent
proper values. Some owners have since added new buildings or valuable
upgrades and extensions on their land. She cites cases where land owners
have built on land without a permit. The tax is then based on the value of
the land, not the value of the land plus the building. Another complainant
noted that owners of recently built flats worth £3 million only have to pay
an annual tax of £100 to £150 under the Land Registry's outdated
evaluations. Nicolaou's conclusions go against those who question the
legality of the charge, which they argue is a payment for services that
haven't been carried out. Referring to case law, she reports that the rates
are plainly a tax exacted by a public authority for public purposes and are
not considered a payment for services rendered. The ombudswoman points out
that if the seven municipalities in the greater Nicosia region and the Land
Registry worked together to rectify the current discrepancies, the system
will represent a fairer imposition of taxes, the project's funds will
increase causing the length of annual tax payments to shorten, and local
authorities and the Inland Revenue will get more revenue. She called on the
President of the Sewage Board, Michalakis Zampelas, the seven
municipalities and the Land Registry to meet soon to find a solution to the
problem and set a realistic timeframe to work towards that solution.The
Nicosia Sewage Board has announced that the final date for payment of the
sewage tax is February 28. Anyone who does not meet the deadline must pay a
20 per cent penalty.
[04] Minors to be charged after firecrackers foundBy a Staff ReporterFOUR
minors arrested for allegedly buying firecrackers at the mixed village of
Pyla near Larnaca have been released but will be charged later, police said
yesterday.The four pupils were caught in possession of 880 Turkish-made
firecrackers, police said yesterday. Police said they also found five
cartons of cigarettes in their possession, which were again purchased in
the mixed village.The cigarettes were confiscated.Police said the pupils
were released due to their young age but will be charged later.In a
separate incident police have intercepted another minor on the Pyla to
Larnaca road, and found five cartons of cigarettes in his possession.The
cigarettes had been bought from a Turkish Cypriot shop in Pyla and were
confiscated.The pupil was taken to the customs authorities and fined £70,
which was paid by his mother.
[01] The Gang of Five surviveBy George PsyllidesD.I.S.Y. CHIEF Nicos
Anastassiades yesterday declared the 'presidential election chapter' closed
and urged an end to bickering over last Sunday's defeat.In a fiery speech
before DISY's supreme council, which convened to examine the causes of the
defeat and the possibility of taking disciplinary action against five
dissidents who supported the candidacy of Attorney-general Alecos Markides,
Anastassiades laid the blame squarely on the rebels -- but said it was not
his intention to recommend any expulsions.On the night of the elections, a
fuming Anastassiades said he would expel the five dissidents, accusing them
of playing a pivotal role in President Glafcos Clerides' election
defeat.But yesterday, the outspoken DISY leader said that everyone was
needed in the party, which should elect a leadership that would inspire
people again.In a speech that sounded more like an election campaign, he
said the rebels were trying to “justify the unjustifiable” but that he was
“bighearted” enough to ignore their personal insults and abuse and move
on.He played with the sentiment of DISY's grassroots supporters, many of
whom wanted the dissidents punished, using Clerides as his main theme, and
describing how the actions of the rebels were a personal insult to the
party's first leader, and had hurt his candidacy.Anastassiades described
how he, almost single-handedly, managed to break the three-party coalition
(AKEL, DIKO, and KISOS) by supporting KISOS leader Yiannakis Omirou for the
presidency, only for the 'Five' to push Omirou back into the coalition by
portraying Clerides and Markides as a DISY double candidacy.“Even DISY
supporters believed this was done on purpose,” Anastassiades said.He said
he was ready to leave the party if he was an obstacle to unity, but
suggested that others were to blame for the situation.Anastassiades said he
had tolerated many things in the past, often from the same people, and
challenged anyone to find him a party in the world that would allow its
members to act this way with impunity.He said party unity was paramount,
adding that real leaders do not act on their personal feelings but had the
interests of the country above everything else. He would step down if it
would bring unity in the party, he repeated.Dissident Sophocles
Hadjiyiannis accused the leadership of alienating the people by its actions
while fellow rebel Demetris Syllouris said Anastassiades' comments were
aimed at convincing people that the 'Five' were solely responsible for the
election failure.The third rebel, Prodromos Prodromou, said DISY should
look to the future to make istself strong again. He said he was ready to
give up his seat in parliament if the party chief thought it necessary.
Foreign Minister Yiannakis Cassoulides, viewed as a main contender for the
DISY leadership, censured the 'Five' but urged unity. The party did not
have the luxury of being able to lose any members, he said.The supreme
council condemned the party members who had supported Markides without
taking any measures against them “ in the hope that such behaviour will not
be repeated in the future”.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Sunday, February 23, 2003
[02] 'Damaged gene' fear in siblings' cancersBy Alexia SaoulliBRITISH
EXPERTS have not ruled out genetic factors for cancers in two underage
Cypriots siblings and the death of their mother. Although environmental
factors were still a possibility, experts feared a 'damaged gene' was more
likely, since Cyprus was not a high-risk nuclear or radioactive region,
their uncle, Costas Minas, told the Sunday Mail.Melanie Papanastassiou,
aged eight, and her three-year-old brother Alexandros are now in England
fighting for their lives. Last August, Melanie underwent radical surgery to
remove an osteosarcoma (a malignant tumour of bone or soft parts) and
replace her thighbone with an implant. She is currently undergoing
chemotherapy. Alexandros was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoblastic
lymphoma five months later, and is undergoing 114 weeks of lumbar puncture
and chemotherapy. Their mother Spyroulla died of cancer just 12 days after
Melanie was diagnosed.Although the children's prognosis is good so far,
experts fear a 'damaged gene' could cause their cancer to recur, Minas
said.Local specialists have suggested the freak coincidence of a family
afflicted with three different types of cancer might be related to
environmental factors. They grew up in Nicosia's Archangelos district, only
four kilometres from Kato Lakatamia - an area long suspected of being
associated with a spate of cancer incidences. But British experts do not
support such a scenario, since Cyprus is not known for having high
concentrations of radioactivity or nuclear energy, Minas said. Instead they
are focusing on genetic factors, and the entire extended family had been
asked to participate in a genetics study.“The doctors believe there is a
greater risk of their cancer being genetic. That is their main concern at
the moment, not environmental factors. So far, there have been no
complications, which means they're doing well and according to the doctors
their treatments are going ahead as planned,” said Minas.Melanie's
chemotherapy course will end in around a month, after which experts will
carry out tests on whether she can undergo radiotherapy. “Doctors need to
look at the genetic question. If it is genetic, the radiotherapy itself
will cause cancer,” he said.Minas has gone to London to visit the children
again this weekend. His wife Athena (Spyroulla's sister) is currently in
London helping her brother-in-law Nicos, who has had to give up working to
help look after the children, who are in different hospitals.Spyroulla's
other sister, Eleni Stavrinidou, plans to fly to Britain tomorrow, to give
her sister Athena the chance to come home and see her own children.Eleni
said the last time she had seen Alexandros he had been unrecognisable. “The
doctors said they are doing well, but Alexandros is just so bloated from
all the steroids he's on. I wouldn't have known who he was in a crowd of
children. I got such a shock. He's now going to have to have more blood
tests and transfusions,” she said. “You need a lot strength and patience to
get through something like this,” Eleni added.Although the government is
paying for theit treatment, other expenses and being met by the family and
by donations, Minas said.A bank account has been set up at Hellenic Bank in
Nicos Papanastassiou's name (account number 131-12-054593-00).
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Sunday, February 23, 2003
[03] Sewage tax unfair, 'but not on home-owners'By Stefanos EvripidouA
REPORT by Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou on the new sewage tax levied on
houses in greater Nicosia acknowledges that the system is 'unfair', and
blames it on flawed evaluation of properties. She believes the problem is
not that people are asked to pay too much, but that they are not asked to
pay enough, leading to a loss of potential revenue for the Sewage Board,
local authorities and Inland Revenue.The report censures the Land Registry
and the Nicosia municipalities for having inaccurate and incomplete
information, resulting in many properties being undervalued.The new tax
goes towards a £150 million sewage project to connect 320,000 residents to
a central sewage system by 2010. The yearly sum to be charged over the next
18 years or so is calculated at 0.3 per cent of the value of a house in
1980. Nicolaou's office was inundated with complaints about the new tax
after the Sewage Board announcement it in November. The results of her
investigations into the value of property based on 1980 prices conclude
that the value of homes registered at the Land Registry do not represent
proper values. Some owners have since added new buildings or valuable
upgrades and extensions on their land. She cites cases where land owners
have built on land without a permit. The tax is then based on the value of
the land, not the value of the land plus the building. Another complainant
noted that owners of recently built flats worth £3 million only have to pay
an annual tax of £100 to £150 under the Land Registry's outdated
evaluations. Nicolaou's conclusions go against those who question the
legality of the charge, which they argue is a payment for services that
haven't been carried out. Referring to case law, she reports that the rates
are plainly a tax exacted by a public authority for public purposes and are
not considered a payment for services rendered. The ombudswoman points out
that if the seven municipalities in the greater Nicosia region and the Land
Registry worked together to rectify the current discrepancies, the system
will represent a fairer imposition of taxes, the project's funds will
increase causing the length of annual tax payments to shorten, and local
authorities and the Inland Revenue will get more revenue. She called on the
President of the Sewage Board, Michalakis Zampelas, the seven
municipalities and the Land Registry to meet soon to find a solution to the
problem and set a realistic timeframe to work towards that solution.The
Nicosia Sewage Board has announced that the final date for payment of the
sewage tax is February 28. Anyone who does not meet the deadline must pay a
20 per cent penalty.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
Sunday, February 23, 2003
[04] Minors to be charged after firecrackers foundBy a Staff ReporterFOUR
minors arrested for allegedly buying firecrackers at the mixed village of
Pyla near Larnaca have been released but will be charged later, police said
yesterday.The four pupils were caught in possession of 880 Turkish-made
firecrackers, police said yesterday. Police said they also found five
cartons of cigarettes in their possession, which were again purchased in
the mixed village.The cigarettes were confiscated.Police said the pupils
were released due to their young age but will be charged later.In a
separate incident police have intercepted another minor on the Pyla to
Larnaca road, and found five cartons of cigarettes in his possession.The
cigarettes had been bought from a Turkish Cypriot shop in Pyla and were
confiscated.The pupil was taken to the customs authorities and fined £70,
which was paid by his mother.
Copyright Cyprus Mail 2003
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