Tourist attacked in Limassol
A 16-YEAR-OLD girl from Finland was attacked by a group of masked revellers in Limassol who ripped off her clothes and left her half-naked in the street, police said yesterday.
The incident happened at 4.30pm on Athens Street during the carnival celebrations.
A large group of masked youths assaulted the tourist and ripped off her clothes.
The incident was noticed by several shop owners who rushed to the girl’s aid.
They gave her clothes and notified the police but there was little they could do as the youths mixed with the crowd.
Verheugen: Cyprus is on target for EU
EUROPEAN Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen said yesterday that the time schedules for Cyprus’s accession would remain unchanged and hoped an initial settlement to the Cyprus problem would be reached by June.
He flew in yesterday for a two-day official visit of the island and a series of top-level contacts.
Speaking after a dinner with President Glafcos Clerides Verheugen said that the EU was preparing for the accession of a united island for technical reasons and repeated the EU’s offer of 260 million euros for the development of the occupied areas.
The EU Commissioner reiterated that Cyprus would be in the first wave of countries to join the 15-member bloc without the solution of the Cyprus problem being a prerequisite.
Clerides said that it was obvious from the timetable they had in mind that the proposals regarding which countries to accede would be ready in October.
The President stressed that all chapters should be completed by then, though some would be closed shortly after the German elections.
Verheugen praised Clerides for his role in the talks to find a lasting settlement to the Cyprus problem and encouraged him to continue in the same way.
The Commissioner will meet Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and UN Special Adviser to Cyprus Alvaro de Soto, today.
Greece demands law reform
THE GREEK Expatriate Council yesterday demanded the amendment of a controversial citizenship law, which could force people born on or after August 16, 1960 to a Cypriot mother and foreign father serve in the National Guard.
In a written statement the council said it agreed with the philosophy of the law to equalise the status of the two sexes but stressed that its retroactive nature created obligations and demands from people who until now were deprived of equal opportunities.
The council said the law should be amended to take effect from the day it was passed – December 31, 2001.
The Greek expatriates complained that they had not been informed prior to the law’s approval but they said they trusted that the government and House as well as political parties would overturn any injustice deriving from the law.
But what could raise eyebrows is the council’s plea to the Greek ambassador to “safeguard the rights of Greek citizens from the potentially inconsiderate and extreme actions of various officials of the Republic of Cyprus”.
The law, which has caught the state mechanism unawares, could force people up to 42-years-old to join the army and serve for 26 months.
Those eligible await the ruling from Attorney-general Alecos Markides who was asked to study the law’s retroactive nature.
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.
