Wanted man

POLICE HAVE issued an arrest warrant for a Nicosia man in connection with fraud and theft to the tune of nearly £60,000. A statement said that Costas Michaelides, a.k.a. Ecevit was wanted for the theft of property worth £7,000 and for stealing three cheque books which he used to write £50,000 worth of fraudulent cheques. Anyone who might know of his whereabouts should call 1460. Ecevit was acquitted by the Nicosia court last year of stealing a cheque book and defrauding a company out of ten new television sets when the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was connected to any of the crimes.

Convict escapes from custody

A 25-YEAR-OLD convict escaped from police custody yesterday while he was being taken to Paphos court for hearing, police said. Iraclis Iracleous from Larnaca was sentenced to 30 months in June for burglary. Yesterday he was being transported from the Central Prisons in Nicosia to Paphos court to answer charges related to other burglaries in that area at around midday. On the way into court he managed to give police the slip and disappeared into the crowd in the entrance hall of the court building. Police said they have launched an investigation.

Cyprus building permits up

BUILDING permits in Cyprus by area rose in the five-month period to May by 6.7 per cent, the statistics department said yesterday. The number of permits in terms of value rose 19.5 per cent. For the month of May building permits in terms of area decreased 12.4 per cent, but rose 12 per cent in terms of value year on year.

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.