Heat starts to take its toll

2010-08-04

A 67-YEAR-OLD man from Kokkines in Larnaca was found dead yesterday from suspected heatstroke.

Earlier in the day a 90-year-old woman was hospitalised suffering from heatstroke, doctors said, as the island went through the fourth day of a heatwave, unprecedented in terms of temperature.

The 67-year-old man was found by his wife behind the chicken coop on the family’s property yesterday afternoon. Aradippou police are investigating his death but reports from Larnaca said heatstroke was the likely culprit.

Our View: Turkish Cypriots better get used to Ankara’s belt-tightening

2010-08-04

 

DESPITE living separately for more than 30 years, it is quite astonishing how in some respects society has developed similarly, north and south of the dividing line. For instance, both sides have created an over-staffed and over-paid state sector, which is threatening to bring their respective economies crashing down.

‘It’s not global warming, just a load of hot air’ says Met office

2010-08-04

THE EXTREME weather, which saw a record high of 45.6 degrees on Sunday, has raised concerns about the state of global warming.

While this may have played a part, the short term cause is more easily identified.

Panayiotis Michael, Meteorological officer at the MET office said the hot and humid conditions were due to a mass of hot air from the Levant, which has coincided with Cyprus’ seasonal trough of low pressure, disrupting the normal upward flow of air as it is heated.

He said “The hot air mass came from the east, from Syria and Jordan and stayed in the area (above Cyprus).” This phenomenon known as ‘subsidence’ effectively traps hot humid air at the ground level that would otherwise have risen up.

Positive prospects for investment by Saudi prince

2010-08-04

THE PROSPECTS of one of the world’s twenty richest men investing in Cyprus seem positive, after it was confirmed that Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Al-Saud met President Demetris Christofias, Archbishop Chrysostomos and Paphos Mayor Savvas Vergas during a four-day stay on the island.

The Archbishop himself confirmed to Politis newspaper that he had a meeting lasting over an hour with Al-Waleed on Saturday, which took place on the Saudi prince’s 90-metre luxury yacht, anchored off the coast of Latchi (near Polis Chrysochous).

Although Chrysostomos declined to confirm what was discussed, he was accompanied by a cleric carrying a briefcase, and it is probably safe to assume that the Church’s investments and assets cropped up during the conversation.

Over 300 booked for drink driving in one week

2010-08-04

ALMOST 6,000 drivers were checked for driving under the influence of alcohol during a recent campaign with 316 reported by police during a week-long European-wide operation of the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL).

TISPOL said more than 7,500 motorists failed the breathalyser tests in 21 countries out of some 422,000 tested.

A total of 7,699 alcohol and 561 drug offences were detected during the operation between June 7 and 13, TISPOL said.

In Cyprus, police tested 5,964 drivers – booking 316 for drink driving.

No drugs offences were detected as Cypriot police do not yet test drivers for narcotics.

It is expected that instant drug screening kits will be used by the police in Cyprus in the near future, police said.

It was a case of smoke without fire says airline

2010-08-04

THERE is such thing as smoke without fire, according to Russian airline Transaero, which yesterday played down reports of an incident at Larnaca airport on Saturday, when a plane’s engine set alight on landing.

According to the fire services deputy chief, Stelios Stylianou, small flames and smoke were visible coming out of the starboard engine of Transaero Boeing 767, which arrived from St Petersberg at 10am on Saturday morning.

However, a Transaero press spokesman told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that there were no flames, and that the smoke was due to a minor – and harmless –  fault in the engine’s water system.

Chiropractors warn against charlatans

2010-08-04

A 57-YEAR-OLD who allegedly caused paralysis to an elderly man who subsequently died was not a qualified chiropractor and was not registered with the Cyprus Chiropractic Association (CCA), it emerged yesterday.

The family of Apostolos Socratous, 70, are accusing the so-called chiropractor of paralysing their loved one and have pressed charges against him.

The heart failure that caused Socratous’ death was directly linked to the damage done to his spinal cord and nerves by the man, according to state pathologist Eleni Antoniou.

Socratous spent three months suffering in a private clinic and spent his last days in agony.

Agrotourism spreading its wings

2010-08-04

AGROTOURISM has grown from being of interest only to tourists and is on its way to becoming an alternative to the beach for Cypriots as well,

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, Evi Panayiotou, a representative of the Cyprus Agrotourism Company said Cypriots too were discovering the benefits of “this new way of holidaying”.

“In the past four years, we have noted increased development in agrotourism in Cyprus. I believe that the demand and the interest in agrotourism will increase,” she said.

Initially established by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation in the nineties, the agrotourism project set in motion a programme of restoration of traditional houses and enhancement of the traditional element in Cyprus villages,

Bank robbers make off with €40,000

2010-08-04

 

TWO robbers yesterday made off with some €40,000 in cash after robbing a Limassol bank at gunpoint.

Witnesses said two men wearing crash helmets and wielding a sawn-off hunting shotgun entered the Bank of Cyprus branch on Ayias Fylaxeos Street at 10,30 am and demanded the money.

Around 20 customers were in the bank at the time of the robbery.

Police said the robbers’ operation lasted five minutes and they escaped on a dark-coloured motorcycle.

The scene was cordoned off by police who searched for clues as the force’s helicopter scrambled to locate the robbers.

Police said one of the perpetrators was slim while the other had a normal built.

At the time of the robbery they were wearing jeans and black jackets.

STUDIO TO BE LET, FULLY…

2010-08-04

STUDIO TO BE LET, FULLY FURNISHED, WITH PANORAMIC VIEWS OF ST. LAZARUS CATHEDRAL IN THE HEART OF LARNACA.
For further details please ring: 99-353323

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.