“Hero” pub landlord helps nab armed intruder
APUB landlord has been hailed as a hero for helping to catch a knife wielding intruder who broke into his neighbor’s home in the Girne area.
London-born Turgay Hassan, known as Tony, owner of The Castle Pub in Karaoğlanoğlu, stepped into action after his wife,Geargina, heard a window being smashed next door.
He alerted police and kept guard outside the house with his German Shepherd dog, Benson, to prevent the burglar from escaping.
“We thought he broken window and a man was moving around inside the house,” he said.
“We thought he might have a weapon so I kept watch on him from outside with Benson and waited for police to come,” he said.
“I had to hold Benson back on his choker chain. He’s a big dog and I think that scared the guy inside.”
Mr Hassan,28, also telephoned Stan Osburn – whose brother Paul owns house – and he arrived at the scene 10 minutes later with police.
While Mr Hassan blocked an escape route at the rear of the house, Mr Osburn and police officers used a spare set of keys to open the front door.
“The door opened and I saw a man coming downstairs with a nine-inch knife,” Mr Osburn told Cyprus Today after the break-in on Tuesday afternoon.
“The policeman took his gun out and said, “Drop the knife or I’ll shoot”.”
The intruder dropped the blade and police officers handcuffed and arrested him
Inside the house, clothes lay strewn across the floor where the burglar had smashed open a secured wardrobe in his search for cash and jewellery.
But Mr Osburn, who retired to North Cyprus from Salisbury, said the damage would have been far worse if Mr Hassan hadn't’t intervened.
“Tony is a hero,” he added. “My brother only left to go back to England a couple of days ago, so someone must have been watching the house.”
“We are so thankful that Tony was there, otherwise the whole house would have been cleared out.”
Mr Hassan,who moved from England to North Cyprus in 1992, modestly said it had turned out to be ”a busy afternoon.”
A 19-year-old is being held in police custody in connection with the break-in. Police say the man is also being questioned over the theft of a digital camera from the home of Mehmet Hacışevki last month.
Robb’s time up
TIME is running out for Gary Robb: he must either finish his half-built villas or his company, Aga Development Construction, will be liquidared and the work carried out by government contractors.
“Gary Robb is playing the final round,” Cafer Gürcafer, chairman of the Construction Contractors’ Union, said yesterday. “He either provides the finance to finish construction work, as he promised, or the state will liquidate his company and take on the job.”
And Mr Gürcafer vowed: “The work will definitely be completed one way or the other.”
He added: “If the state is going to complete it, Gary Robb will not be in the picture. Aga development will be liquidated and the necesassary legal investigation against Gary Rabb will being.”
Mr Gürcafer said that at his last meeting with afficials, before Bayram, Mr Robb had asked the government to return his TRNCcitizenship for him to complete his developments, which include the Amaranta Valley site, where some 400 homes are under construction.
“Before that he asked for credit from the government. He once asked the government. He once asked the government to allow him to bring workers from Thailand.”
“He even said that if his citizenship were returned he would bring £3 million to the TRNC – if not, he wouldn’t finish the work.”
“His inconsistent approach has caused us to lose confidence in him.”
Mr Gürcafer also answered claims that Aga could not carry out the work because its machinery was elsewhere by saying the company had asked for saying the company had asked for sub-contracting work in order to bring in some income to pay off debts.
“Now Aga Development has taken back the machinery but since then not a single stone has been put in place on the Amaranta Valley site.”
Open Ercan Airport and then we’ll see, Soyer tells Finns
DIRECT international flights into Ercan Airport and an end to the sporting embargo on Turkish Cypriots must be included in the Finnish proposals if they are to be considered balanced, Prime Minister FerdiSabit Soyer has said.
However, the Premier rebuffed opposition party calls for immediate rejection of the proposals – aimed at averting a “train smash”in process through limited opening of Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot vessels in exchange for the return of Maraş under United Nationscontrol and the opening of Gazi Mağusa port to free trade under European Union supervision for a period of two years.
Mr Soyer said the Turkish Cypriots were prepared to discuss the Finnish proposals and to defend their rights rather than rejecting th plan outright. Opposition to the Gazi Mağusa proposal has been mounting, with a newly formed lobby group, called the Supporter Platfrom for Gazi Mağusa Port, campaigning to block it.
Commenting also on the release,approved yesterday, of the first 38,1 million euro tranche of EU aid to Turkish Cypriots, Mr Soyer commented: “Our aim is not to secure money, but to establish direct relations with the EU.”
Esentepe golf course: Rumours will end next week
AN announcement on the official unveiling of the first 18-hole golf course in North Cyprus will be made next week.
The long-awaited Korineum Golf and Country Club in Esentepe is nearing completion and is expected to open its golfers soon.
The announcement,expected on either Tuesday or Wednesday, follows months of speculation about the cost of playing the course and annual fees.
It is now believed that membership recruitment will be carried out in three phases, to a maximum of 800 golfers when the course is full up-and-running.
Golfers who want unrestricted access to the course will have to fork out £4,500 joining fee plus a yearly subscription of £1,600- making a total of £60100 in the first year, according to reports.
Other fees are thought to be based on an increasing scale, with early applicants paying a discounted rate.
For example, to become a seven day member – which restricts golfers to 110 rounds per year – will cost a total of £2,200 for the first 100 applicants, but this figure rises to £2,600 for golfers who become members later.
Other categories are for five-day, junior, family corporate members.
Green fees for weekend players in the high season are said to reach £70 per player and this will fall to £35 on weekdays.
Cyprus Today’s sports columnist, Rev Walker, said:”There has been some mystery about the course fees but one thing’s for sure – they’ll be out of most people’s price range.”
Korineum Golf and Country Club bosses are marketing the facility as the first21-hole golf course in the country – the only other TRNC course is at Yeşilyurt, in the west of the island.
The Esentepe complex will feature an 18-hole course measuring 6,600 yards,plus three extra training holes.
It will also boast a clubhouse, 30 bay driving range, shop, conference facilities and bar.
Villas surrounding the course will be up for sale through local estate agents.
Landscaping work began at Esentepe in 2004 and the course, designed by Arne Van Amerongen, was initially due to be open this spring.
Next week’s announcement is set to end speculation over the official tee- off date.
