GREEK Foreign Minister George Papandreou said yesterday he believed a political settlement in Cyprus could be achieved “very soon” if the political will existed in Turkey.

UNITED Nations offices in Cyprus returned to normal yesterday after it was determined that an envelope of white powder which triggered an anthrax scare on Wednesday was harmless.

An announcement from the UN said they had received official confirmation from the Cypriot authorities that tests conducted on the substance showed it was harmless and posed no danger to anyone.

A NEW organisation called ‘Platform for a Solution: Reunification Now’ yesterday accused Greek Cypriot politicians of not being interested in solving the Cyprus problem.

PIG farmers in Cyprus are already keeping their pigs happy with toys and straw, in line with a new EU directive.

The ruling by the European Commission, which was passed as law in the UK on Wednesday, aims to stop pigs getting bored and becoming aggressive.

DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades yesterday rejected claims a survey by his party showed DIKO leader Tasos Papadopoulos would win the Presidential election, while Papadopoulos complained that ministers acted as “highly paid propagandists” for President Glafcos Clerides.

GREEK Cypriot property owners said yesterday the government could never afford fully to compensate them for what they had lost during the 1974 Turkish invasion, but said payments should start somewhere, warning they would take to the streets if they did not obtain satisfaction.

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday released £700,000 in initial relief funding for properties damaged after three tornadoes ripped through Limassol on Monday morning.

CHRISTOS Orphanides, owner of Orphanides Supermarkets, yesterday denied allegations that his company forbade its employees from joining trade unions.

AT FIRST, the four tiny spots on the horizon off RAF Akrotiri looked harmless, but as they neared shore, they grew into landing craft, packed to the brim with camouflaged figures, armed to the teeth. With a war in Iraq looming, the message was ominous.

UNITED Nations special envoy Alvaro de Soto said yesterday that if the two sides on the island and Greece and Turkey agreed, then the UN plan for the settlement of the Cyprus problem could be amended.

“But we must see if an agreement is reached or not,” De Soto said in Ankara.