A NATIONAL Guard conscript was yesterday fighting for his life after sustaining critical injuries when an anti-tank shell accidentally exploded during morning training at a Larnaca camp.
Two officers were also in critical condition while15 other conscripts suffered lighter injuries in the 10am accident.
Sir,
Having worked in or travelled to scores of countries over the years, I can assert without fear of much contradiction that driving discipline and standards in Cyprus rate among the worst in the world. Behaviour on the roads is abysmal, and constantly life-threatening. It seems Cypriot drivers must have a great fondness for hospital food.
FOOTBALL aside, many people are already saying that Anorthosis Famagusta FC’s 3-1 victory over Turkish side Trabzonspor in the first leg of the Champions League qualifying round is one of the greatest national triumphs in the island’s history. And that’s saying something, bearing in mind the rich history of Cyprus.
PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday described his meeting on Monday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London as “excellent”, noting that the two countries had more in common than apart.
A DELEGATION of 86 Azeri businessmen, state officials and cultural figures last night claimed they had made history by being aboard the first plane to fly directly to the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport.
CONDITIONS at detention cells around the island are preposterous, inhumane and downright disgraceful and need to be immediately overhauled, DISY deputy Christos Pourgourides has charged.
POLICE have unleashed a manhunt in search of the perpetrator who heisted a Bank of Cyprus branch in Paphos, running away with about £10,000 in cash.
THE government yesterday remained tight-lipped over the embarassment concerning the illegality of recent generous pay and expense increases for deputies.
Deputies a couple of weeks ago attempted to sneak in the law through the back door, but in their haste they apparently shot themselves on the foot as the bill proved unconstitutional.
AN ISRAELI plane that took off from Larnaca airport landed in Istanbul after the pilot told Turkish authorities he was inbound from the island of Rhodes.
THOUSANDS of motorists were yesterday caught up in a huge traffic jam on the Limassol-Nicosia highway.
According to chief of traffic police, Doros Achilleos, an articulated lorry collided with a garbage truck of Strovolos Municipality, with a saloon car also involved. The incident occurred at 6.40am, just after the Kotsiatis exit.
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.
