PRESIDENT Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday he was not at all surprised that the US had welcomed the announcement of an initiative by Turkey on the Cyprus issue.

NOT SINCE the 2004 referendum on the Annan plan has one topic so dominated conversation in coffee shops, schools and offices in Cyprus.
Greek Cypriots are already gearing up for tomorrow’s Australian Open final to watch their own unseeded Marcos Baghdatis take on world number one Roger Federer in Melbourne.

A TOTAL of 33 drug-related deaths took place between January 2004 and January 2006, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (EKTEPN) announced yesterday.

THOSE who took out loans in euros in early 2005 proved financially shrewder (or luckier) than those who took out loans in Cyprus pounds, since the euro weakened in relation to the pound over the last year by roughly four per cent.

A 67-YEAR-old woman was yesterday fined £350 for mugging a man of 68 after luring him into her garden.

Latsia resident and taverna owner Maroulla Solomonidou pleaded guilty to charges of assault and theft against 68-year-old Charalambos Stavrou.

IRISH low-cost carrier Ryanair has set its sights on daily flights from Italy and Germany to Cyprus, possibly as early as October, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CT) has revealed.

According to CTO chairman Photis Photiou, the company is in the first stages of implementing flights from Italy and the second stage in relation to Germany.

INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed Cypriot singer Anna Vissi has decided to represent Greece in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.

ALITHIA: “The Thirteenth God”. In an almost dreamy appearance that could make even Zeus jealous, Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis unfolded all his skills and virtues during his semi-final match and beat David Nalbandian, forcing the Argentinean to go back home and watch the finals of the Australian Open next Sunday from his television set.