* Expectations for growth low; painful adjustment measures seen * International lenders assessing Cyprus's bailout needs found the economy in a "worse state than expected" and in need of painful adjustment in coming months, according to documents seen by Reuters. Officials from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank –

A group claiming to represent dissident Syrian diplomats has swung behind the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, calling for a power transfer to a body "representing the Syrian people" and urging more diplomats to join its ranks. Syrian Diplomats for a Democratic and Civil State includes six or seven diplomats who have defected and others

With 80,000 sets of eyes locked on the world's best sprinters and an electrically-charged silence hanging heavy inside the Olympic Stadium one lucky ticket holder decided to add to the drama on Sunday and lob a bottle towards Usain Bolt. Hardly the most sensible of things to do, especially when sitting next to Dutchwoman Edith

Judges in the trial of hundreds of Turkish military officers accused of plotting to overthrow the government agreed on Monday to give the defendants one last chance to argue their case as the two-year trial approaches its end. In setting a new date for testimony, the court rejected the state prosecutor's request for a verdict

Four times world champion Tom Slingsby won Olympic sailing men's Laser gold on Monday, banishing the demons of his failure in Beijing in 2008 and succeeding after 12 years of preparation. The Australian raced calmly to victory in the medal race on the Nothe course, comfortably leaving his main challenger Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus well

Doctors at the University of Tokyo saved a small child who was seriously suffering from a severe heart condition, aided by a BerlinHeart Excor ventricular assist device, the first time this procedure has been achieved in Japan. “The 14-month-old girl would only have been able to survive a few more weeks without the ventricular assist

                  Cyprus and Zenon Consortium have signed a contract for a joint transformation of the Larnaca port and the Larnaca Marina, in a massive project entailing total investment close to 800 million EUR. Speaking to CNA, Cyprus Minister of Communications and Workds Efthymios Flourentzou said the project

Pavlos Kontides is set to become the first Olympic medal winner for Cyprus this week after guaranteeing himself at least silver in the single-handed Laser class. The 22-year-old shipping science student was ecstatic as he came ashore after the two final races in the pre-medal series. "This has been the greatest day of my life,"

Police detained more than 150 people in weekend raids on casinos and hotels in Macau after a recent spate of killings raised fears of a new gang war in the world's largest gambling destination. In Hong Kong, police raided 21 locations on August 2 as part of the joint operation and arrested 130 people on

The Mars science rover Curiosity landed on the Martian surface shortly after 10:30 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday (1:30 a.m. EDT Monday/0530 GMT) to begin a two-year mission seeking evidence the Red Planet once hosted ingredients for life, NASA said. Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles burst into applause and cheered