IF THE government does not take action in the Paphos tourist area now, there will be dire political and economic consequences, hotelier Andreas Constantinou warned yesterday.

A 1.5 kilometre strip of the coastal road on Poseidon Avenue is currently being widened, and work was to have finished by April 30 – the start of the summer season.

POLICE raided a popular Limassol night-spot early yesterday and handed out fines of £20 to people smoking — many of them tourists. They also fined the owner the same amount.

Two weeks ago Health Minister Frixos Savvides warned that smoking would be banned from all public buildings, including banks, restaurants, cafés, bars and nightclubs.

A CONTAINER full of potentially dangerous toxic materials has not been removed from the Limassol port because the customs department is demanding duties to be paid.

A port employee told the Sunday Mail yesterday that there had been a company willing to move the container to Greece, but it pulled out when the customs department wanted it to pay duty.

THE CABINET will examine a proposal by the Defence Ministry to assess the retroactive nature of the amended citizenship law, Defence Minister Socrates Hasikos said yesterday.

A 47-year-old man has been missing since last week, police said yesterday.

Panayiotis Kyriakou left the Nicosia hostel where he had been staying last Monday and never returned, they said.

He is 1.70 metres tall, and has a moustache, short black hair and brown eyes. Police said he walks with a slouch, looks unkempt and has an irregular gait.

THE ONLY time we ever see harmony and unity in political life here, with ideological barriers and personal rivalries disappearing and all politicians working constructively together, is when they vote themselves pay rises.