POLITICAL giants AKEL and DISY were yesterday left licking their wounds, as Sunday’s legislative elections saw resounding gains for President Tassos Papadopoulos’ DIKO, as well as partners EDEK and the European Party.
TWO of the three religious minority incumbents were re-elected on Sunday as observers in parliament, while the third Armenian representative Dr Vahakn Atamyan, only elected last October in a by-election, was ousted by newcomer Vartkes Mahdessian.
SUNDAY’S parliamentary election, in which voters clearly showed their confidence in President Tassos Papadopoulos, is not likely to affect his handling of the Cyprus issue, analysts and diplomats said yesterday.
AN Interior Ministry representative yesterday visited 100 asylum seekers camped outside the Red Cross building in Nicosia to collect personal information on their pink slips, welfare status, alien books and medical cards.
HIGH hopes that Greek Cypriot singer Anna Vissi would put Greece back on top in Saturday’s Eurovision were dashed when the long-time Diva came in a disappointing ninth.
THE SUPREME Court yesterday shortened a sentence for a Georgian man jailed for entering and residing on the island illegally.
A PRISONER convicted of drug dealing was yesterday jailed for five months for a crime he committed when he was just 15.
THE DEMOCRATIC Rally (DISY) and communist AKEL yesterday put on a brave face despite sustaining losses in Sunday’s elections.
The main opposition party lost one seat in parliament and almost four per cent of the popular vote, compared to the 2001 legislative elections.
SUNDAY’S elections saw 12 deputies lose their seats from the previous Parliament, while there will be 20 new faces in the new, reshuffled House of Representatives.
In total, there were six new deputies elected for AKEL, seven for DISY, four for DIKO, two for EDEK and one for the European Party.
AN Iranian man has been arrested in Larnaca on suspicion of circulating counterfeit money and being in possession of illegal drugs.
After a tip-off, police found the man on Mackenzie Beach apparently buying the drugs with fake £10 notes.
He was immediately arrested with both the drugs and the fake notes in his possession.
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.
