US denies Helios report

THE US Embassy in Cyprus has categorically denied recent media reports in Greece that the U.S. Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has issued a secret report that partially blames the Cypriot Civil Aviation Department for last August’s Helios air crash.

An announcement issued last night said, “This is false. There is no US-government report on the Helios crash. The government of Greece has final responsibility for investigating the crash and publishing the accident assessment.”

According to Greek daily To Vima, the FAA report was said to have been particularly damning of both Cypriot Civil Aviation authorities and Helios Airways whilst it also pointed to the airline’s “problematic maintenance team”.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications also issued an announcement yesterday denying that they handed information on the Helios crash to any US governing bodies.

KOA Budget

THE BUDGET for the Cyprus Sports Federation (KOA) was yesterday approved unanimously at the plenum. Representatives at the house agreed that KOA would receive £24,619,149 for 2006 which would be comprised of subsidies and funds needed to pay off a loan by the organisation.
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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.