CYPRUS awarded its first private sector GSM licence to the Lebanese-backed Scancom group yesterday, beating its rival, a unit of Greece’s Cosmote, which had been widely seen as the favourite.

SIMERINI: “Drug smuggling”. DIKO deputy Marios Matsakis expressed concern over an emerging phenomenon involving Greek Cypriots purchasing prescription drugs from the occupied areas, where they are one quarter of the price and can be bought in large quantities, as there is no Health Services ban.

GET ready to splash your cash: the Radiomarathon fundraisers will be out and about Cyprus on Tuesday and Wednesday, collecting money from people in the streets in aid of persons with special needs.

Ombudswoman, Iliana Nicolaou, called for greater support from the House Finance Committee yesterday in order to cope with increased responsibilities and an increasing number of complaints, which have more than doubled since she first took office. Nicolaou told the committee she had to ask the Finance Ministry for more staff because of the work overload.

CYPRUS is considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to have one of the highest immunisation coverages in the world and has experienced no boycott of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. According to a Health Ministry official, Cyprus is expected to be named one of the leading countries in immunisation coverage with the release of next month’s WHO survey on immunisation.

THE Medical Services have warned the public to be wary of the quality and origin of medicine sold in the north following claims by DIKO deputy Marios Matsakis that Greek Cypriots were purchasing pharmaceutical products from the occupied areas because they were cheaper.

THE EUROPEAN Union is looking to harmonise and homogenise driving licences in an effort to clamp down on fraud and allow citizens to drive freely within the Union without any hiccups or bumps. This also means new driving licences and regular renewals for Cypriots over the age of 65.

TURKISH Cypriot journalist, Sener Levent, yesterday announced his candidacy for the European Parliamentary elections next June. The editor of Africa newspaper in the occupied north has become the first Cypriot to officially announce his candidacy for the euro-elections. Levent said it was more important for him to be a candidate on behalf of Cyprus rather than becoming a European deputy.

THE 22-year-old heart patient who needed to go abroad for a heart transplant was transferred to the Onasio Transplant Centre in Athens yesterday, a doctor told the Cyprus Mail yesterday. Stelios Kyprianou was finally taken there after a month of delays due to disagreements between doctors that would escort him and the Health Ministry.

A 17-YEAR-old homosexual prisoner has accused prison guards of mistreating him and his partner. The two prisoners have complained to the prison’s administrative committee that prison guards constantly monitor their every move. They maintain that they were a couple before they were imprisoned for different crimes, and one of their complaints is that they are not permitted to share a cell.