THE CABINET is today expected to approve legislation bringing Cyprus’ anti-smoking laws in line with EU norms and putting an end to cigarette advertising.
Health Minister Frixos Savvides outlined the anticipated changes during a World No-Tobacco Day news conference yesterday.
TESTS at the Limassol kindergarten shut down by parents because they said an electrical sub-station had caused leukaemia to four pupils, have shown electromagnetic emissions to be seven times the accepted levels, Parents’ Association Spokesman Michalis Michail said yesterday.
THE SPAT between Akel and Disy continued without letup yesterday as the two parties exchanged fire over the alleged existence of a ‘paramilitary’ group that Akel claims is harboured by Disy.
THE CYPRUS Hotel Association (Pasyxe) yesterday said that higher tourism arrivals and receipts should not give the impression that all was well in the industry.
SHARE prices fell marginally yesterday as slight gains in most sectors were offset by a one percent slide in the sector representing blue chips Louis and Globalsoft.com.
The CSE all-share index was down 0.71 points, or 0.13 per cent to a close of 528.69. There were thin fluctuations, with an intraday high and low difference of just two points.
BROKERS meet today to discuss increasing the security collateral of brokerages — which hasn’t changed since the market was dabbling in maximum volumes of two million pounds daily.
MOODY’S ratings agency yesterday cut Cyprus’s A-2/P-1 foreign debt and deposits ratings outlook to negative from stable, citing lack of timely fiscal reform.
The effective downgrade comes hard on the heels of a damning IMF report last week which warned the government to shore up its economy ahead of European Union accession scheduled after 2003.
A PLEASURE cruiser went up in flames yesterday, injuring the captain and sending 41 tourists diving for their lives into the sea.
The glass-bottomed Lady Diana from Ayia Napa harbour had anchored about 500 metres off the beach at Konnos bay near Cape Greco in the Famagusta District to allow the passengers to have a swim.
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.
