Around 150,000 more tourists are expected to visit Cyprus during the coming winter compared to last year’s, Transport Minister Tasos Mitsopoulos said yesterday.

The president's speech at the UN General Assembly reflected a changing wind in the rhetoric of the Cyprus peace process and was welcomed by Turkey and ruling DISY’s coalition partners, but not the opposition.

The potential of Cyprus to be a leader in efforts to exploit the Eastern Mediterranean’s hydrocarbon resources to benefit all players was discussed yesterday when President Nicos Anastasiades met US Vice President Joe Biden in Washington.

Cyprus plays an important role in global shipping, offering good reputation, a supportive tax system and an efficient maritime administration.

The damage caused by the Eurogroup’s decision on aCyprus ‘bail-in’ bailout in March made this a “difficult” year for tourism, Minister of Tourism Giorgos Lakkotrypis said yesterday.

Banks said yesterday they were all for a reduction in borrowing rates but not without a study into the potential effects of such a move.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Wednesday that Cyprus was in the process of stabilising following the messy bailout decision last March, which brought the island’s economy to the brink of collapse.

The Central Bank (CBC) has approved all the directors elected to the board of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC), the lender said, some 14 days after the AGM.

Texas-based Noble Energy is due to announce the results of its appraisal drilling at the Aphrodite gas field early October, the energy minister said.

The Interior Minister said yesterday there were still a few kinks to iron out with regards to implementing changes to the Immovable Property Tax (IPT) regulations.