A COUPLE of anecdotes spring to mind when meeting Sener Levent, editor of Turkish Cypriot opposition paper Afrika. One is about a house that is painted completely red. Inside the house, there is one little room, also painted red, where all the furniture is red, the door is red, the curtains are red, even the sockets in the walls are red.

EXCITED Harry Potter readers in Cyprus yesterday joined other fans worldwide in getting their hands on the long-awaited Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; the fifth book in the seven-book boy wizard series by JK Rowling.

THE Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) has hit back at a press report on Friday criticising the handling of the new Financial Times FTSE Med 100 index, a joint index it has undertaken with its Athens and Tel Aviv counterparts.

THE lottery ticket seller whose body was retrieved from Limassol harbour on Friday morning died from asphyxia due to drowning, state pathologist Eleni Antoniou said yesterday. Eighty-six-year-old Andreas Parpas’ death was accidental, she said. There was no evidence that a crime had been committed or that he had committed suicide.

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday accused Turkey of misleading Europe in the Titina Loizidou case, after Ankara did an about-turn on its promise to pay unconditionally the Kyrenia refugee compensation awarded to her in 1998 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

WITH the number of strike threats on the island escalating with the temperatures in recent weeks, it looks as though Tassos Papadopoulos’ government could be in for a long hot summer of discontent.

EMPLOYERS and universities around the world regard A Levels as one of the premier qualifications, and real proof of the ability to study at an advanced level. As a result, the A Level has become a stepping-stone to serious academic study or a good career. Students planning to start A Level courses this September will have to make their choices soon and must look carefully at subject choice.