THE STATE is hoping to rake in up to £200 million from new taxes on secret accounts, once a bill is approved enabling officials to crack down on tax evasion. Deputies yesterday hinted at new legislation this week to address the issue, helping give state finances a much-needed boost.
THE E.U. accession date may be drawing closer, but the public, to a large extent, remains in the dark about the effects that membership will have on their daily life. There is no shortage of stories in the papers about how many businesses will be closing down because of the inability to meet the quality, health and safety standards set by the EU.
PHILELEFTHEROS “Looking for an antidote for break-ins” The police are looking for ways to crack down on breaks-ins and theft, as there has been a steady increase in the crime rate. Assistant to the Chief of Police Sotiris Charalambous said he was dissatisfied with the way crime is dealt with. He has called on police to take stricter measures to cut down on crime.
THE BI-COMMUNAL Rockathon was a day to remember as over a thousand screaming teenagers partied on the Green Line at the Ledra Palace, but the climate was marred by police refusal to allow a group of Pakistani youths to cross into the buffer zone to attend the event. Greek Cypriot police turned the Pakistanis back, arguing there was no way of ensuring they did not end up in the occupied north.
LIMASSOL municipality has launched a drive to collect several million pounds in back taxes from the public, according to the Financial Director of the municipality, Christos Kyriacou. The amount due is about £5 million, Kyriacou told the Cyprus Mail.
THE U.N. Security Council yesterday approved a six-month renewal of the four decade-old peacekeeping force in Cyprus and said Turkey should remove restrictions on the UN troops.
WHEN, as babies, we first ham fistedly scribble a circle and two sticks the irresistible process begins. We know it is Mummy. Or, perhaps Daddy. We are too young to know that it is also figurative art at its most direct. In the hands of a mature artist the figure becomes a subject so potent that you could say it has been the greatest vessel of thought and ideas in the history of world art.
CORONARY artery disease continues to be the main cause of death in Cyprus, Health Minister Dina Akkelidou said yesterday. Despite this fact, more than half of Cypriot children under the age of 18 are overweight and one third do not take regular exercise, she said.
CAR dealers remained open throughout the weekend to deal with the surge of interest from buyers flocking to their doors following the recent change in tax legislation, which has slashed the cost of new cars. Showroom windows were buzzing with people until as late as 7pm on both Saturday and Sunday as excited salesmen reported activity up by at least 500 per cent.
DISY last night withdrew its confidence in Paralimni mayor Nicos Vlittis, calling on the embattled official to resign from his post. A defiant Vlittis replied there was no question of his resignation, saying he was accountable only to the people of Paralimni.
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.
