Paphos residents suffered in the recent face-off between the Commerce Minister and petrol station owners, who shut up shop over a freeze in petrol prices. Many motorists were down to the last drops of fuel in their tanks, with no way of filling up. Not a single petrol station was open in Paphos, with locals resorting to carpooling and skipping work altogether, rather than running out of petrol. Paphos seemed to be forgotten, with at least two stations open in the rest of the island's major towns. At a meeting of petrol station owners in Paphos during the crisis, regional president Andreas Kommados said he felt sorry for the people of Paphos as it's the only town where all stations are closed.“There is nothing we can do about it,” he said. “I'm upset that there are many stations open in other towns such as Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol, breaking the embargo.”He added that petrol station owners in Paphos fully supported the stance of their president Stefanos Stefanou, who ordered the strike and had demanded that the eight-day price cap on fuel be lifted before any sort of negotiation could take place. An agreement between the parties came none too soon for Paphos residents, and the matter at least for the time being, has been resolved, with stations now fully operational. In the meantime, local petrol stations increased their prices in line with rises in the price of crude oil. EKO and Exxon Mobil were the first to implement the price hike , followed by Lukoil and Petrolina.

EKOs' 98 petrol went up by 3.3 cents, 95 by 2.7 cents and diesel by 2.1 cents. Exxon Mobil-behind the islands' Esso petrol stations put 98 petrol up by 2.2 cents, 95 by 2.7 cents,and diesel by 2.2 cents.

Pope Benedict 16TH will visit Cyprus on June 4th arriving on the island at Paphos airport. The 82-year-old pontiff will be welcomed by President of the Republic of Cyprus Demitris Christofias, Archbishop Chrysostomos and other dignitaries. Pope Benedict will visit Ayia Kyriaki church-also known as St. Pauls' pillar church- where he will conduct a church service. This will be followed by a visit to the UNESCO sites in Paphos harbour. The Pope will then leave for Nicosia. He will leave Cyprus on June 6th.

Local Paphos councillor Vassos Demitriou has accused SABBA engineers of not looking after the sewerage works project underway in Paphos properly, and in the interests of the organisation. His serious accusations are being added to the growing list of complaints expressed by other members of the council and the general public against the second phase of the sewerage works taking place in the town. A multitude of complaints have been levelled at engineers and contractors, who are facing a list of gripes ranging from not filling in holes and trenches properly to inadequate safety measures and signage and slow progress. In addition to Demetriou, local councillor and SABBA committee member, Polis Polydorou has urged the speeding up of the red tape procedures for employing a manager for the project, a decision that was taken months ago. Polydorou said, ‘if it takes much longer it will be silly if we employ a manager at a later stage, when the contrast will be nearing completion.'