POLICE were yesterday no closer to identifying the origin of explosive devices found in a car park near the Ledra Palace checkpoint in Nicosia on Monday.

THE GOVERNMENT has set up a committee to look into the feasibility of establishing a sea link with Greece, Communications Minister Haris Thrassou said yesterday.

The minister said the committee was processing a specific proposal in co-operation with the government of Greece.

But only on a case-by-case basis

THE JUSTICE Ministry and Attorney-general reached a compromise yesterday on the need to monitor telephone conversations and private correspondence in specific circumstances.

SECURITY Council members late on Monday night backed UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan’s call for a sharp cutback in the UN peacekeeping force on Cyprus, council diplomats said.
Annan last month recommended that the number of UN soldiers on the island be reduced to 860 from the current 1,230 after concluding the security situation had become “increasingly benign” in recent years.

‘Turkey customs agreement is only the beginning’

A MEETING took place yesterday to discuss the impact of Turkey’s customs agreement with Cyprus on the Turkish Cypriot economy in the north.

CMA furious at Europa Donna’s claims

THE MEDICAL Association yesterday lashed out at beast cancer forum, Europa Donna, after it publicly blamed botched breast surgical interventions on surgeons’ inexperience in dealing with the many different types of breast cancer.

A LARGE stretch of the Limassol coastline has been covered in patches of oil with authorities investigating the possibility that it came from an electric power station in Vasiliko.

AS IF managing the state’s tricky finances while juggling a controversial report on the Stock Exchange was not stressful enough, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos has lost his beloved pup.
Leon the collie featured in yesterday’s edition of Politis, alongside a description of the dog and a contact number and a plea for any information that could lead to his recovery.

A WOMAN attempting to withdraw money at a cash machine in the Famagusta district had her credit card swallowed up by the machine yesterday, which police believe may have been booby-trapped.

Police said the woman put her card into the machine to make a withdrawal at about 9pm but could not retrieve her card.

ALITHIA: “Tax hike storm”. The opposition daily commented yesterday that the government was trying disingenuously to put its hand deeper into peoples’ pockets by imposing new taxes. The government said it was not imposing taxes but it was introducing duties, a claim that was categorically rejected, Alithia said.