THERE are not enough planes to accommodate the hundreds of fans from Cyprus who want to watch tomorrow’s Euro 2004 semi-final between Greece and the Czech Republic in Portugal, a tour operator said yesterday.
In fact only one aircraft could be chartered with a capacity of 189 passengers, despite the immense demand.
THE House Interior Committee has until next week to reach agreement on a proposed bill on title deeds, set to raise £40 million for a government desperate to reduce a spiralling fiscal deficit.
THE Central Bank Governor yesterday expressed his support for the measures proposed by the government to boost the economy and achieve convergence with the Maastricht criteria.
A SECOND World War explosive was found and detonated in the sea along Curium beach near Limassol early yesterday morning.
The object – either a mortar shell or part of a rocket dating back to the Second World War – was discovered when a team of underwater archaeologists dived down in search of pottery.
AIR traffic to and from Cyprus has increased by 10 flights per day since the beginning of this month due to increased tourist arrivals, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister George Lillikas said yesterday.
Fire breaks across divide
A FIRE that broke out in Lefka in the occupied areas at 2.30pm yesterday burned out of control, travelling over the Green Line to reach the Troodos mountains by 6pm.
PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday conceded there was political responsibility in the case of MEP Marios Matsakis, who allegedly sought £10,000 to help acquit a police officer involved in an attempted manslaughter case. But Papadopoulos insisted that any responsibility should be applied through legislation.
IF THE government insists on continuing to raid the coffers of the semi-government Electricity Authority (EAC), the organisation will have no option but to increase prices to consumers, EAC spokesman Costas Gavrielides warned yesterday.
PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday that taking the EU to the European Court of Justice over the issue of direct trade with the north would be a last resort.
Speaking on his departure yesterday for an extraordinary EU summit in Brussels, the president said he had no wish and no intention of taking the EU to the European Court of Justice over the issue.
THE GOVERNMENT is to commission two studies to examine the impact of setting up a casino in Cyprus.
At a news conference yesterday, Tourism Minister George Lillikas said he had completed consultations with political parties on the issue of casinos on Monday.
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.
