Tottenham 3 AEL 0 (Spurs win 5-1 on aggregate)

The average Irish worker spends less than four months working to pay income tax and Vat on their purchases throughout the year, the second shortest in the EU according to figures compiled by Ernst & Young.

Footing the bill of the Cypriot bailout

The president of Cyprus said yesterday the risk of bankruptcy had been contained and the country had no intention of leaving the euro, in a speech laden with criticism of Europe’s currency union for “experimenting” with the island’s fate.

Cypriot banks reopened after nearly two weeks yesterday and, thankfully, none of the feared street violence or chaos in banks materialised.

Cypriots will only be allowed to withdraw €300 euros in cash each day when the country’s banks open for the first time in more than a week tomorrow, the state news agency has said.

Cypriot politicians turned to the European Union today in a last-ditch effort to help their island nation forge a viable plan to secure an international bailout after failing for a week to find a solution to a crisis that could force their country into bankruptcy.

Cypriots are struggling through a sorry saga while their leaders figure out a solution, even though potential EU and Russian saviours are keeping their cards hidden. It’s a situation Europe is all too familiar with, says Kyran Fitzgerald

The deposit tax debacle in Cyprus is rich in historical resonance, as well as showing that, frankly, as Leigh Phillips has suggested on EUobserver.com, Europe is run by the Three Stooges.

Cypriot MPs are due to vote today on a raft of new measures they hope will qualify the country for a bailout package and avoid financial ruin next week. But officials in Brussels and Berlin gave no indication it would be enough.

Markets calmed down yesterday from all the excitement over whether the Cypriot economy and banks would implode as they sought an alternative source of funding having rejected the conditions for an EU/IMF bailout.

The Cypriot government is struggling to gain parliamentary support for its levy on bank accounts.

Amazingly nobody seems to want to claim credit for the great Cypriot bank raid, and it’s hard to find anyone with a good word to say about the “deal” which has put all of Europe into a Boylean “state o‘ chassis”.

The raid on Cypriot bank deposits, held in the name of ordinary people, businesses, institutions, communities, and prudent savers, breaks one of the fundamental trust-based relationships that has sustained western societies for centuries.

If bank deposits can be seized in Cyprus to fund its bailout, then they can be seized in other EU countries as well, argues Felix Salmon

At the heart of modern finance is the concept of the risk-free rate.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has taken full responsibility for the 2-1 defeat against Manchester City and will be rested by coach Carlo Ancelotti against APOEL in their final Champions League group game tonight.

CARLO ANCELOTTI defended Petr Cech and Frank Lampard ahead of tonight’s final Champions League group game against Apoel Nicosia.

Apoel Nicosia 0 Chelsea 1

Atletico Madrid 0 Apoel 0

AFTER heading home the winner in the GSP Stadium in Nicosia on Saturday night, Irish captain Robbie Keane celebrated with four fingers raised on one hand and a zero formed with the finger and thumb of the other.

HALF TIME: Cyprus 1 Republic of Ireland 1

Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane will be concentrating solely on his World Cup dream rather than any form of revenge over Cyprus tomorrow night.

Stephen Hunt is desperate to help erase a nightmare from the Irish psyche in Cyprus on Saturday evening.

DETERMINED to mine a positive from a negative, Giovanni Trapattoni says that Ireland’s 0-3 loss to Australia on Wednesday night has clarified his thoughts on the strongest 11 he can put out against Cyprus in next month’s World Cup qualifier in Nicosia.

BULGARIA overcame the absence of star striker Dimitar Berbatov and reignited their hopes of World Cup qualification with a hard-fought win over Cyprus in Sofia to claim their first victory in Group Eight yesterday.

Bulgaria 2 Cyprus 0

Cyprus 2 Georgia 1

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni believes Robbie Keane’s return to Tottenham could be good news for his country.

IT’S not exactly on the same scale as Saipan — praise the Lord — but the footballing nation again finds itself split down the middle by an Irish midfielder for the first time since those unforgettable events on that Pacific Island six years ago.

Anorthosis Famagusta 3 Internazionale 3

BARCELONA were a class apart as they hammered Basel 5-0 in Switzerland last night to go clear at the top of Champions League Group C.

Giovanni Trapattoni saluted his “wardrobe” after seeing the Republic of Ireland survive a concerted fightback to claim three more World Cup points with a 1-0 victory over Cyprus.

Cyprus coach Angelos Anastasiades has warned his players they need to cut out the errors that have blighted their World Cup campaign to date.

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni insists he has no problem with midfielder Andy Reid.

SERGIO AGUERO’S brace helped Atletico Madrid hit the ground running as a terrific performance from the Argentina midfielder saw his side rip apart hosts PSV Eindhoven 3-0.

Leaders of Cyprus’ rival communities will hold reunification talks today, seen as the best chance in years of ending the island’s division.

Cypriots will vote for a new president today, choosing between a right-wing former foreign minister and the head of a reformed communist party, who share a vision for new talks to end the island’s division.

CYPRIOT President Tassos Papadopoulos was eliminated yesterday from Cyprus’s presidential run-off in a huge surprise after a cliff-hanger election that saw three candidates neck-and-neck until the last minute.

Cypriots were voting for a new president today in an election seen as pivotal to the decades-old search for a deal to reunify the ethnically-divided island.

Revenge is very much on Robbie Keane’s mind as he prepares for tomorrow night’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Cyprus at Croke Park in Dublin.

Goalkeeper Shay Given is intent on a better outcome against Cyprus and has spoken out about his determination to secure a win for the team.

Bobby Robson is convinced Ireland will enjoy a bright future thanks to a number of emerging youngsters.

GERMANY, playing within themselves, did just enough to get what they needed.