PHILELEFTHEROS: “Powell’s gift to Erdogan” In its lead story, the daily recapped the latest developments on the Cyprus problem, saying Turkey was trying to promote negotiations for a settlement that were not under UN auspices. The paper also noted that US Secretary of State Colin Powell had been pressuring his Greek counterpart on a resumption of talks and the setting of a date for referenda.
POLITIS: “Bush meeting to clear things up” Another take on the Cyprus developments, focusing on the US role in jumpstarting a new round of talks. According to the paper, Turkey’s intentions should begin to clear up after Turkish PM Erdogan’s meeting with US President Bush tomorrow. Reports say Bush will pressure Erdogan into agreeing to the UN Secretary-general acting as an arbitrator, and then turn his attention to the Greek Cypriot side.
ALITHIA: “Friction in ruling coalition” According to the paper, the first signs of friction are appearing among the ruling coalition parties. Socialist EDEK has expressed its disagreement with the government’s policy on fuel prices and the partial privatisation of state-owned corporations. For his part, Green leader George Perdikis said there was a lack of co-ordination between ruling parties and the government, saying no regular meetings were held as promised.
HARAVGHI: “Bad weather causes extensive damage” The communist party mouthpiece reported that government officials were touring the island to assess the damage caused by the recent bout of bad weather. Livestock owners and farmers were the most hard-hit. Several mountain roads were closed by the police, while the heavy rains have been filling dams almost to capacity.
THARROS: “Conscripts threaten group suicide” The National Guard is conducting an investigation into conscripts’ allegations of ill treatment at the hands of officers. According to reports, conscripts have claimed living conditions are terrible, while it is rumored that some have threatened to commit suicide in protest. Investigators dispatched to the Nicosia army camp have not reached definitive conclusions.
SIMERINI: ”Competition drives call rates down” According to the daily, the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority will soon be slashing rates on international calls by as much as 50 per cent. The move is in response to the lower rates offered by Telepassport, the first privately-owned company allowed to offer telecoms services. Reports say that a second private company will be awarded a licence in May.
