Cyprus’ parliament has rejected a controversial levy on bank deposits, proposed as part of an EU-IMF 10bn-euro (£8.7bn; $13bn) bailout package.
No MPs voted for the bill, with 36 voting against and 19 abstaining.
The finance ministry had modified the package, proposing an exemption for savers with smaller deposits, but opposition had remained fierce.
Thousands of protesters who had filled the streets outside parliament reacted with joy to the news of the vote.
EU finance ministers have warned that Cyprus’ two biggest banks will collapse if the deal does not go through in some form.
However, there has been widespread outrage on the island at the prospect of ordinary savers being forced to pay a levy of 6.75%
The plan was changed to exempt savers with less than 20,000 euros (£17,000), with those over 100,000 euros charged at 9.9%, but this was not enough to placate critics — via redwolf.newsvine.com
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