Greek Press

ALITHIA: “House plenum increases alcohol prices”. The price of alcohol has skyrocketed from £1.90 to £2.50 a litre, the paper reports. The decision was taken on Thursday at the House of Representatives, and prices of alcoholic drinks on the island are expected to rise according to their alcohol content. The new pricing will be imposed as of January 1 2004, with Zivania being the worst hit due to the drink’s high alcohol content.

HARAVGHI: “Church property suspects released on bail”. The three suspects arrested in October in connection with the alleged squandering of church property have been released on bail, the paper reports. The three suspects, Joseph Aristodemou, Chrysostomos Philippou and Elias Demetriou appeared before a Nicosia court on Thursday. They face 14 counts including conspiring, theft and forgery. Bail was set at £50,000 each.

SIMERINI: “Cypriots are getting poorer”. The successive price increases of basic goods have had an impact on the Cypriot standard of living, according to Workers’ Union SEK. SEK warned that should the government’s tax policy continue, Cypriots would suffer. SEK’s comments were backed by economist Marios Mavrides who explained that the increase in the prices of fuel, water and other basic goods increase inflation.

I KIPROS SIMERA: “Cypriot terrorists wanted”. The Greek Anti-terrorist Service is looking for seven other members of the November 17 terrorist organisation, including three Cypriots, the weekly claims. According to the paper’s sources, fingerprints found at Dimareos and Patmou are thought to belong to seven other members of the terrorist group that was thought to have been dismantled with the arrests of Alexandros Yiotopoulos and Demitris Koufodinas.

POLITIS: “Turks say no”. Sources at the Turkish Foreign Ministry have revealed that Turkey has sent a clear message to the Turkish Cypriot opposition that Ankara is not bound for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem by May 2004. “We are not bound for May 2004. The critical period is December 2004, the source said.” This could mean that Turkey will use the Cyprus problem for its EU accession negotiations in December.

PHILELEFTHEROS: “Involvement from high places”. US State Department co-ordinator for Cyprus Thomas Weston has hinted that Washington would be more involved in order to restart the talks on the Cyprus problem in January, with President George W. Bush expected to intervene with a letter to both sides. US and Britain discussed the Cyprus issue at the UN Security Council, and it was decided to ask the two sides to get back to the negotiating table and find a solution based on UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan’s plan.

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.