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Wealthy Russians stand to lose billions of euros in Cypriot banks under draconian terms being hammered out on Sunday night in Brussels to prevent the Mediterranean tax haven becoming the first country forced out of the single currency. Negotiations got underway amid a hardening of the stance held by the International Monetary Fund and Germany, who insisted that depositors must take the hit for bailing out the eurozone's latest crisis economy. There were signs of panic in Cyprus as a €100 (£85) limit was imposed on ATM withdrawals, with more stringent capital controls to follow if a deal is reached....

Turkish Grand Prix organisers have been summoned before world governing body the FIA, accused of breaching Formula One rules. Controversy erupted after organisers put forward Turkish-Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to present the winner's trophy to Felipe Massa in Istanbul on Sunday. The Turkish-controlled area of northern Cyprus is not recognised as a separate country by the United Nations and the FIA expressed anger that their political neutrality had apparently been compromised. Now the Turkish federation TOSFED and race organisers MSO have been called to a special meeting of the FIA's world motor sport council where they will face charges...

Paris - A confusing series of alarm signals and the lack of an effective common language between its pilots doomed a Cypriot airliner that crashed near Athens last month, killing all 121 people on board, the daily International Herald Tribune said on Wednesday, quoting investigators. An air system knob that had been incorrectly set during maintenance on the ground prevented the Helios Airways Boeing 737 from pressurising properly, but the crew failed to notice the problem during their preflight checks, people connected to the investigation told the newspaper. Then, as the aircraft ascended through 3 000m, a pressurisation alarm -...

Cypriot Pilot Cried 'Mayday!' Two Seconds Before Crash Monday, August 22, 2005 ATHENS, Greece — The last man conscious in the cockpit of a doomed Cypriot airliner (search) made a desperate call for help — "Mayday! Mayday!" — two seconds before the plane carrying 121 people smashed into a mountain near Athens. The man, apparently a flight attendant with pilot training, twice issued distress calls in the final 10 minutes of Helios Airways Flight 522 (search), chief investigator Akrivos Tsolakis told The Associated Press on Monday. "The second time was a couple of seconds before the crash," Tsolakis said, adding...

Greek Police Raid Helios Airways Offices By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press Writer Police in Cyprus raided the offices of Helios Airways in the coastal city of Larnaca on Monday, a day after one of the company's passenger jets slammed into a mountainside near Athens, killing all 121 people on board. Police spokeswoman Christalla Dimitriou said officers "carried out a search" after asking the city's court for a search warrant. There were no arrests and she did not say whether police had confiscated any material from the office. Coroners testing the remains of passengers and crew of the Cypriot airliner will...

Cypriot police raid Helios Airways officesNICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot police on Monday raided the Nicosia offices of Helios Airways, owners of the Boeing 737 that crashed in Greece a day earlier killing all 121 people on board, a government spokesman said. "After allegations brought by the Communications and Works Minister and the chief of police, the attorney general issued search warrants for the central offices of Helios to collect documents and other evidence that might be useful in a possible criminal investigation," spokesman Marios Karoyan told Reuters. Cypriot communications and works minister Haris Thrasou also oversees transport, including civil aviation....

April 13, 2005 1:20 PM Ancient Cypriot copper mine for sale By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - A copper mine in Cyprus where the metal has been mined since Biblical times faces closure unless the Church of Cyprus can find a buyer, officials said on Wednesday. The Skouriotissa mine, which produced copper ore at a site where there has been mining for some 4,000 years, suspended operations in January, leaving its workers unpaid and with debts labour unions estimate at 14 million pounds. Herod the Great, who in the Bible ordered the Massacre of the Innocents in an attempt to...