Cyprus MPs Due To Vote On Plan B To Secure Bailout

MPs in Cyprus are due to begin voting on a series of bills that aim to raise the funds the country needs to secure an international bailout.

The country is in a race against time after the European Central Bank gave Cyprus until Monday to find the money.

If it does not, liquidity to the country's banks could be cut off and they could collapse.

Many Cypriots express fears they are set to lose their savings, and there have been long queues at cash machines.

"The next move may prove its salvation or destruction," warned the Bank of Cyprus, the country's largest - itself said to require urgent funding to prevent collapse.

It said the Cypriot economy was "on the brink".

Parliamentarians flatly rejected a plan to tax bank deposits earlier this week.

They need to find 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn; $7.5bn) to qualify for a 10bn-euro bailout loan from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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