The European Court of Human Rights held an appeal hearing Wednesday into the case of nine Cyprus nationals who went missing in 1974 during Turkish military operations that separated the north of the island.

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias voiced support on Wednesday for Moscow`s plans for a new European security pact during talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow.

NICOSIA, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said on Thursday he had presented UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with a package of measures to build confidence between the island's divided communities.

Talat said the proposals included 'military measures' as well as other steps to bring Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots closer together.

Among the measures was the opening of a sixth crossing point across the UN-patrolled buffer zone that divides the island, he said.

NICOSIA, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Cyprus' justice minister on Thursday sacked the governor of the Mediterranean island's only prison and suspended four wardens over breaches which allowed two high-security prisoners escape.

The minister, Sophocles Sophocleous, told reporters that prison governor Michalis Hadjidemetriou had been sacked and four wardens suspended from duty over Monday's breakout.

Three non-permanent staff at the prison also faced disciplinary measures, he said.

NICOSIA, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Cyprus tourist arrivals edged 1.1 percent in the first nine months of 2007 after a 6.4 percent hike in September, official figures showed on Wednesday.

The Mediterranean island welcomed 315,437 tourists last month compared with 296,532 visitors in September 2006. That took arrivals for the first nine months to 1.97 million from 1.95 million a year earlier.

Arrivals from Britain -- the island's biggest holiday market -- increased by 4.7 percent last month. The number from Russia grew 43.9 percent and from France by 35.5 percent.

NICOSIA, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - A new security breach at Cyprus's only prison allowed a convicted sex murderer and another man on trial for murder to escape the complex in the first such breakout in 15 years, officials said on Monday.

A police manhunt was launched after warders discovered the disappearance of Turkish Cypriot Panicos Netzadi, 32, serving life for the brutal sex murder of a Slovakian waitress, and Georgian Greek Odysseas Kalanides, 28, on trial for the killing of a Russian woman whom he tied and gagged during a robbery.

NICOSIA, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Cyprus on Friday voiced its disappointment over the start of a ferry service between Syria and the Turkish occupied part of the divided island despite its protests to Damascus against such a move.

'We express our regret that a route has begun at a time when we find ourselves in a dialogue with the Syrian government,' government spokesman Vasilis Palmas told reporters.

'This certainly doesn't help create a desirable climate we are striving for in this dialogue,' he added.

NICOSIA, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - David, a Congolese who has been an 'illegal' in Cyprus since 2005, paces each morning up and down in front of Nicosia's historic Venetian walls waiting to be picked up as a day labourer.

'This is not the Europe that I imagined,' he sighed after several hours of waiting in vain, ready to do any job for a day's wages.

'For me, Cyprus was a stepping stone to France or Belgium, but I'm stuck here without work, without any future. This is a real prison,' said the young French-speaker.

NICOSIA, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The Cyprus parliament on Thursday unanimously approved a wide-ranging 121 million pound (294.4 million dollar) benefits and tax relief package aimed at improving living standards and closing the gap between rich and poor.

The package, including higher tax breaks and cheaper heating fuel, was unanimously passed by parliament.

The windfall for Cypriot consumers was never in any doubt as politicians were unlikely to vote down a populist package with the 2008 presidential elections looming.

DAMASCUS, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - A ferry service between Syria and the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus began with a first planned regular sailing from Latakia to Famagusta on Thursday, a Syrian maritime official said.

'A ferry did sail today between Latakia and Famagusta,' Tahsin Shehade, in the Syrian port town, told AFP.

'The link by ferry between the two port cities of Famagusta and Latakia is now assured every Monday and Thursday,' the official said, adding: 'This is aimed at promoting tourism between the two countries.'