GREECE WOULD like French Credit Agricole to raise its offer for Emporiki bank and trump Bank of Cyprus’ rival bid, a senior Finance Ministry official said yesterday.

Greece is keen to privatise its fourth largest bank, where it controls 40 per cent, as part of its ambitious privatisation plan to raise cash and pay down public debt.

‘42 months from now we will have a new and modern terminal building’

HERMES Group chairman Nicos Shacolas yesterday pledged that the new Larnaca Airport, capable of handling 7.5 million passengers a year would be completed on time in 2009.

CYPRUS Airways (CY) will relinquish the operation of the duty-free shops at Larnaca and Paphos Airports on June 30, after a ten-year stint the airline announced yesterday.

A MAN suspected of committing two burglaries at the Cyprus University campus was yesterday remanded by a Nicosia Court for six days.

Meanwhile the defence lawyer of the suspect, who is a Syrian asylum seeker, had questioned the arresting officer over the bruises on her client’s face and body.

Move effectively creates two national carriers

CYPRUS Airways (CY) announced yesterday that it had sold its charter firm Eurocypria to the government for £13.4 million, effectively creating two national carriers on the island.

NICOSIA FOR Art, the non-profit organisation in charge of organising Manifesta6, a major art event that collapsed in a flurry of accusations and acrimony last month, has launched legal action against the curators.

THE EUROPEAN Commission has decided to release a contested 139 million euro aid package to the north, in what is the biggest per capita assistance ever given by the 25-nation bloc.

GREECE’S finance ministry is evaluating Bank of Cyprus’ 3.78 billion euro bid for Emporiki Bank, the chairman of the Cypriot bank told state radio yesterday.

So who owns it now?

A NEW ROW has erupted over the famous traditional sweet dish baklava, with several different countries claiming it as their own.