[01] P>

The President of the Republic immediately gave orders for the full mobilisation of the police to investigate the crime and bring the criminals to justice.

Government Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou in a statement described the act as a "criminal act of sabotage" and said "such actions undermine the struggle of the Cypriot people and the Government is not prepared to show the least tolerance".

[02] P>

They also emphasised that the next six months are very crucial for the future of Cyprus and urged the Cyprus government to put more funds into their enlightenment campaigns.

The positions were outlined, in a press conference at the end of their meeting which took place between 22-26 August, by the leaders of the World Federation of Overseas Cypriots, POMAK and the International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus, PSEKA, Haris Sofoklides and Philip Christopher respectively.

In a resolution overseas Cypriots said they "demand that the international community and especially the US and European Union countries exert substantial pressure on Turkey" to comply with international law principles.

They said they consider "Turkish intransigence and those who tolerate it as being responsible for non progress towards a final political settlement in Cyprus which should be based on a single state with a single sovereignty and international personality, with its independence and territorial integrity safeguarded".

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Inspections of Cypriot vessels have been increased on a systematic basis in an effort to upgrade the safety and pollution prevention standards of the fleet as well as the living and working conditions on board.

During the second quarter of 1999 119 vessels under the Cyprus flag were inspected by the Department of Merchant Shipping and deficiencies were found on 55 of them. The deficiencies were either rectified before sailing or the owners opted to change flag to another registry.

The government believes that its more stringent policy will eventually lead to the reduction of detentions and casualty rates of Cyprus ships to levels below the respective averages for the world merchant fleet.

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The Italian archaeological mission involved in the excavations at the sanctuary of Apollo at Toumballos in Paphos have uncovered a fragment of a marble inscription which supports the scriptures on the Apostle's links to Cyprus.

Mission director Filippo Giudice, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Catania in Sicily, said that the inscription confirmed that Paul had preached in the area of the Christian basilica which the site later became.

He said that the basilica was established by St Hilarion from Palestine who, after a stay in Sicily, came to Paphos to preach and may even have carved the inscription himself.

The archaeologists this year also uncovered an ancient 72-metre length of road and two chambers which have been partly explored.

Previous finds at Toumballos include a staircase, a circular chamber and a long corridor onto which three chambers open.

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Tourist arrivals showed an increase of 3,9 % in July while for the period Jan-July the figure rose by 8,5 %.

The vast majority of tourists come from the United Kingdom with 47,2 %, followed by Sweden with 6 %.

From the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office (PIO) Server at http://www.pio.gov.cy/

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