A RAGING fire in Paphos forest destroyed 40 hectares of forestland yesterday.

The fire blazed dangerously close to Anathiou village, and authorities used water-carrying aircraft to help extinguish the blaze.

Forestry department chief for Paphos Demetris Christofides confirmed initial reports that the fire started in a fruit orchard before quickly spreading.

GREEK Cypriot politicians yesterday piled on the criticism over Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the north at the weekend.

“This visit happened at an inopportune time,” Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told London Greek Radio.

“Now we trying to create a new climate with the objective of beginning direct negotiations between the two leaders.”

CYPRUS CAN expect less water and more droughts in the future, according to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Environment Commissioner Charalambos Theopemptou said the IPCC’s Technical Paper on Climate Change and Water only confirmed what had been known for some time now about the effects of climate change on the southern Mediterranean.

THE MAYOR of Peyia is refusing to allow a new non-organic dump to be sited in his Municipality.

Mayor Neophytos Akourshiotis is opposing the government proposed site, claiming it would be a disaster for the community.

The new dump would be a place for building materials, rubble and the like to be deposited.

TURKEY’S refusal to bankroll the Turkish Cypriot authorities this month means it will take a “miracle” to pay public sector salaries, ‘finance minister’ Ahmet Uzun has warned.

CYPRUS Airways has been accused of ruining a teenager’s holiday after the airline allegedly insisted on serving peanuts on a flight.

Yesterday’s Mirror newspaper ran a story in which it was stated that 14-year-old Rebecca McNamara, who has a severe peanut allergy, was told seven months ago that her flight to Cyprus would be nut free.

THE Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) yesterday expressed its satisfaction with the number of incoming tourists reported during June 2008.

The announcement issued by the CTO said the total increase in tourist arrivals for the month reached 8.8 per cent, while in the period January-June 2008 the increase was 2.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

TWO OFFICERS of the Drug Squad Unit (YKAN) were taken to Nicosia General Hospital following an attack by a 26-year-old man from Nicosia yesterday.

A SERIES of police seminars is under way, teaching officers how better to communicate with tourists.

Entitled, ‘Tourism and Tourist Consciousness’, the seminars are taking place at the Police Academy in Nicosia, with 131 officers involved this year as part of their ongoing training.

These officers are currently serving at police stations located close to tourist areas.