A PLAN to improve the image of police in Paphos and increase the level of service offered was presented to officers yesterday.Head of the Paphos police, Nicos Sofokleous said on the first Monday of the month his door will be open to the public from 12 noon until 2.30pm. During this time members of the public can present any complaints.Paphos police spokesman, Nicos Tsapis, also announced that on the first Wednesday of every month police members can visit the police headquarters to make recommendations for improving the police service and image. ... 2 comments

TWO POLICE vehicles and a shop window were damaged in Nicosia by APOEL fans on Saturday after the Anorthosis vs. APOEL match, police said. According to reports, at around 7.20pm on Limassol Avenue in Nicosia, 30 APOEL fans with covered faces attacked officers by throwing rocks, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails at them while they were on duty in the area. Two APOEL fans then allegedly threw a rock, breaking the windscreen of a patrol car and then threw an object which they had lit, into the car, setting it on fire.The Fire Service was called to the scene but not before the car had been completely destroyed by the fire. The windscreen of a police bus and the glass door of a nearby shop were also damaged in the stone throwing... 13 comments

A KNIFE-WIELDING suspected robber was critically injured early yesterday after being shot three times by a plain clothes police officer at a bakery in Lakatamia.According to head of Nicosia Police Kypros Michaelides, the officer who was patrolling in his car outside the bakery, noticed a suspicious looking man with a knife enter the bakery and attempted to stop him. Police said the man, a 34-year-old Greek Cypriot from Nicosia, attacked the policeman who was forced to use his gun to defend himself, shooting the thief once in the foot, once in the chest and once in the head.The injured man was taken to Nicosia General Hospital where he was operated on. He is in critical condition and in the Intensive Care Unit... 11 comments

A MEETING was held yesterday at the justice ministry aimed at creating new measures to prevent the many incidents of violence and hooliganism witnessed at football matches.Justice Minister, Ionas Nicolaou, in a statement called on everyone involved to cooperate and crack down on the recent increase in violence at various football grounds. He stressed that hooliganism and violence did not reflect the Cypriot culture.Events on Saturday, before, during and after the Omonia – APOEL match in Nicosia and the Anorthosis – AEK match in Larnaca when 15 people were arrested and others injured were the worst in recent times, he added... 6 comments

OFFICIALS have confirmed that a number of people have tried to sneak substantial amounts of cash out of the island over the past couple of weeks.Under strict capital controls designed to prevent a bank run since last Thursday when the banks re-opened, individuals have only been allowed to take out €1,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies) per trip.The controls were imposed following the re-opening of the banks for the first time after a preliminary accord between the government and the EU and IMF.Police have stepped up checks at airports and harbours, and anyone caught with more than €1000 on their person is referred to Customs. The cash is seized and an invoice issued for the amount... 13 comments

CSE remains closed THE Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday announced the continuation of last week’s trading suspension in an attempt to ensure a proper functioning of the stock market and to protect investors, it said.These decisions were made because banks remain closed and therefore will not be able to carry out transactions to do with the settlement of securities, because of the economic developments which effect the banks whose securities are quoted on the stock exchange and to avoid any potential additional risk to the system as the stock exchange will not be able to check the credit limits of members during trading sessions.Petrol sales down... Read on

 BANK customers across the island who are withdrawing large sums of cash in the wake of the shaky financial climate in Cyprus are being warned by police to be extra vigilant.Police said security and safety concerns have been raised by all the extra cash carried around by people or stashed in their homes.Long queues were seen at ATM’s across the island with depositors withdrawing as much cash as possible - amid leaders scrambling to come up with a bailout deal with the European Union to stave off the financial system’s collapse. ... 7 comments

POLICE in Paphos arrested a 39-year-old from Larnaca yesterday in connection with a murder ten years ago in Paphos. According to Paphos police, 48-year-old taxi-driver Charalambos Pericleous from the village of Salamiou was murdered in August 2003 near Tsada. The 39-year-old, who has not been named, is being held in a Paphos holding cell until he is brought before Paphos district court later today. Recent DNA checks on the murder weapon - a revolver - matched that of the 39-year-old suspect. His DNA had been on record after a previous unrelated arrest... 1 comment

POLICE ARE looking at ways to expand the methods used to “encourage” citizens to pay their debts to the state, following the successful and ongoing campaign targeting debtors at the island’s airports.  Police spokesman Andreas Angelides highlighted that the decision to target those who haven’t paid fines by stopping them at airports has led to a deluge of offers from offenders seeking to pay their outstanding debts.Since the new campaign started on January 7, 2013, police have collected €2,750,000 to settle 8,000 warrants from the 155,000-odd still pending.The vast majority of these debts were paid off by people wishing to remove the warrants from their names before travelling out of the country, said Angelides... 13 comments