TURKEY sprang another surprise on Cyprus yesterday when Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Ankara favoured swift referenda on the basic principles of the Annan plan, adding other thorny issues could be resolved later. President Tassos Papadopoulos responded by saying Ankara was sowing the seeds of confusion.
CERTAIN deputies took great exception to a bill approved by the Council of Ministers which would enable a foreigner who married a Cypriot to apply for citizenship. During the discussion of the bill at a House committee meeting, deputies were horrified at the prospect of Turkish settlers being given citizenship, because they had married a Turkish Cypriot.
SIMERINI: “Arrest in the occupied areas”. Two Greek Cypriots were arrested in the occupied north on Saturday after Turkish soldiers found 34 cartridges in their car. The two 31-year-olds from Ayia Napa crossed the Strovilia checkpoint and were stopped and searched by the Turks. When the latter found the cartridges the men were arrested and released on bail set at £150.
FOREIGNERS who enter and remain in Cyprus illegally will be able to obtain citizenship if they are married to a Cypriot, according to a new bill tabled by the Cabinet. If passed, the bill would theoretically allow Turkish settlers married to Turkish Cypriots to gain naturalisation. However, the Cabinet has stated that each case would be reviewed separately depending on the circumstances.
THE BELEAGUERED Paphiakos animal welfare has been given a year’s extension to vacate its shelter.
JUVENILE delinquents should be doing community service instead of serving time in jail, according to a new proposal. The proposal was discussed by the newly-founded ‘crime council’, which yesterday convened for the first time under Justice Minister Doros Theodorou.
THE board of CytA was due to meet yesterday afternoon to asses the implications of a Supreme Court decision cancelling a £20 million fine imposed on the telecommunications authority 18 months ago.
THE European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has fined the Republic €15,000 plus €10,000 expenses following an appeal by a lawyer convicted of contempt of court four years ago.
TWENTY-NINE tourists from Sweden and Norway escaped with minor injuries after their bus overturned on a roundabout on the Paralimni to Ayia Napa road yesterday morning. According to police, the bus, driven by Modestos Thoma from Dherynia, overturned at the roundabout at around 11am.
LONG gone are the days when drivers could leave their personal belongings lying in their cars unattended without a second thought. Now, not only are motorists advised to take their bags with them or to lock them in the boot, they are also cautioned to keep their doors locked and windows closed. These warnings follow daily reports of car break-ins in all districts, police said yesterday.
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.
