Stratfor, a leading geopolitical intelligence platform, is reporting that Cyprus is a key part of Russia’s strategy for the region in terms of politics and energy and would prefer the island remained divided.

The chairman of the European Stability Mechanism Klaus Regling, a fund that finances bailouts in the euro area, said that Cyprus needs to go harder on non-performing loans.

The government sold a total of €100m in 13-week treasury bills at an average yield of 0.31%, which is a new historic low, the second in a month, the Public Debt Management Office said.

The government posted a €142.8m budget surplus in January to September 2016, on a cash basis, compared to a €100.8m surplus in the respective period of 2015, the statistical service said.

Germania airline has announced a raft of new services between Paphos and seven German cities scheduled to begin in 2017, fuelling hopes for continued growth in visitor numbers from the northern European country.

As the summer 2016 season ends, efforts to increase tourism for the coming months are being ramped up in Paphos.

Revenue from tourism rose 9.4% year-on-year in August 2016, to €392.2m, with Cyprus getting a taste of the Brexit vote, the statistical service said.

Total and EDT signed a contract on October 6 2016, in the presence of Transport Minister Marios Demetriades and Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis, signifying the restart of drilling in Block 11 by April 2017.

The development of the domestic conventional gas resources discovered in Cyprus should be actively pursued, a recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, stresses.

Cyprus will again be an economic top performer in 2016 and will not veer from its prudent fiscal course, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told the European Commission.