TURKISH Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s ‘surprise’ solution plan, which has yet to be announced, is predictably based on a confederation of two separate states, according to the Turkish mainland newspaper Milliyet. The newspaper said officials in the north and in Ankara were still working on the plan and listed several of its provisions.

Series of thefts MORE THAN £6,000 worth of goods has been stolen in a series of thefts in the Nicosia, Famagusta and Larnaca districts. Police said a used car warehouse in Latcha in the Nicosia district had been broken into. Thieves smashed the glass of an unregistered car and stole various parts, including electrical devices for the windows and door handles.

THE SWEDISH Consulate has announced that a book of condolences for murdered Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh will be opened tomorrow at the consulate building in Nicosia. Visitors can sign the book between 9am and 12 noon and also on Tuesday, the Consulate said.

A PARALIMNI restaurant was destroyed in a fire early yesterday, police said. The blaze broke out at around 4am, 45 minutes after the owner of Tony’s Pub Restaurant, Antonis Kourounyias, had locked up and left the premises. Police said preliminary investigations did not indicate arson as the cause of the fire. The damage sustained to the building is estimated at £60,000.

LIMASSOL police are investigating a bomb attack on a metal goods workshop yesterday. At around 6.45am, there was an explosion at the workshop on Emiliou Veakis Street in the Tsiflikoudia district of the town. The blast caused damage to the workshop windows and roof, police said. CyBC radio reported that only hours earlier, the owner had received threats that arsonists would hit his workshop.

THE LAST remaining troops from the British bases 2nd Light Infantry Battalion are due to fly out to Iraq tomorrow or Tuesday, a bases spokesman said yesterday. Ninety soldiers from the battalion left the island early on Friday to join the 120 who left earlier in the week and the 90 who flew out to Basra in early August.

Sir, It seems very simple these days for an aggrieved individual to be given air to vent his/her hates knowing that with careful wording he does not run any worries of being libellous. I refer to Mr Brian Semmens’ rhetoric. The man was deported for reasons he is fully aware of, but his supporters claim it was because he was rich, had many cars and attracted the ladies …

Sir, I refer to Gwynne Dwyer’s oped entitled ‘Two years on: the score’ in Tuesday’s Cyprus Mail. Dwyer’s ostrichlike assurances to his readers that since Islamic terrorism in the world is on the decline (a very debatable premise), they can sit back and stop worrying.

Sir, Q. After the double yellow line indicating no parking, what is the next most redundant road marking in Cyprus? A. The white lines painted in car parks to indicate parking bays. Parking on or over these lines not only makes it difficult for another car to be shoehorned into the adjacent bay, but if a driver does manage this he can’t then open his door to get out.