Cyprus government 'to present bailout plan B on Thursday'

The president of Cyprus will later present political leaders with a "Plan B" for funding the controversial bailout, state TV has reported.

Cyprus's banks, which have been shut all week to prevent mass withdrawals, are to stay closed until next Tuesday.

Politicians have been scrambling to find a way forward after a bank levy was rejected by parliament on Tuesday.

The levy was a condition of a 10bn-euro (£8.5bn; $13bn) EU-IMF bailout for Cyprus.

"A decision on a Cyprus rescue must be made on Thursday at the latest," President Nicos Anastasiades was quoted as saying by the official CNA news agency.

State TV said the plan might include a levy on bank deposits over 100,000 euros.

The previous proposals had also included a levy on deposits between 20,000 and 100,000 euros, which had outraged many Cypriots.

The new plan is also reported to involve nationalising pension funds.