Greek Press

ALITHIA: “22 dead in Serb-Albanian clashes”. More than 20 people were killed and hundreds injured in fighting between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in the worst violence since the 1998-99 war, the paper reports. Arsonists set fire to several Serb houses in Obilic, forcing UN police and NATO troops to evacuate dozens of Serbs. All the deaths came in gun battles, riots and street fighting on Wednesday.

HARAVGHI: “Help us say yes”. UN Deputy Secretary-general Sir Kieran Prendegast has made it clear that the UN should help the Greek Cypriot side to adopt a more positive view of the Annan plan. During a meeting with Prendegast, House Speaker Demetris Christofias expressed the Greek Cypriot side’s frustration for the lack of progress in the negotiations, something he blamed entirely on Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

SIMERINI: “Cold shower from Denktash”. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash has refused to take part in the four-party meeting in Switzerland saying nothing would change and he therefore could not give out wrong impressions and deceive his people. According to Denktash, ‘Prime Minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat and Serdar Denktash will head to Switzerland instead. President Tassos Papadopoulos is planning to head to Switzerland on March 23.

MACHI: “70-year-old held on sexual harassment charges”. A 70-year-old Paphos man was remanded for six days in connection with sexual abuse charges against a 20-year-old mentally challenged fellow villager. Police arrested the man after a complaint by the alleged victim’s mother. The 20-year-old was examined by State Pathologist Sofocles Sofocleous.

POLITIS: “Europe under the shadow of al Qaeda”. The Islamic militant group which claimed responsibility for last week’s Madrid train bombings has warned that its next target could be Britain, Japan, Italy, Britain or Australia. The claim came ahead of the news that Spanish police have arrested four more suspects, believed to be of Moroccan origin, over the Madrid terror bombings.

PHILELEFTHEROS: “45 rooms at the Hilton for Vissi tour”. The government finally decided not only to allow superstar Anna Vissi to take part in the EU accession celebrations on April 30, but will also pay for the £150,000 show. But other Greek artists who were approached to take part in the show are said to have refused to be support acts for Vissi.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.