When Abba interrupts a trial

A TRIAL in Nicosia suffered a bizarre interruption yesterday as the catchy tune of ‘Dancing Queen’ by Swedish band Abba began blaring from the phone of a defence lawyer.

A woman was on trial accused of stealing money from a cash till at a supermarket she used to work for, when the tune suddenly started blaring out.

Defence lawyer Stavros Ioannou searched frantically through his pockets as his phone belted out ‘Dancing Queen’ across the courtroom, much to the amusement of the bailiffs, onlookers, prosecutor, and suspect.

Even Judge Nicos Yiapanas couldn’t resist from quipping at the blushing lawyer: “At least it is a soothing song,” he said.

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.