By Demetra Molyva
THE bird flu virus found in Turkish poultry was the H5N1 strain that scientists fear may mutate into a human virus and spark a pandemic, it was confirmed yesterday. EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Marcos Kyprianou told a news conference in Brussels yesterday: "We have now received confirmation that the virus found in Turkey is an avian flu H5N1 virus," "There is a direct relationship with viruses found in Russia, Mongolia and China," said Kyprianou...... read more
Akel backs homes hand-over scheme
By Menelaos Hadjicostis
SENIOR coalition partner Akel backed a scheme to hand ownership of government-owned homes to Greek Cypriot refugees amid opposition criticism of a politically-motivated policy reversal ahead of parliamentary elections slated for May. ... read more
Rapporteur tough on Turkey
Rapporteur tough on Turkey over customs pact ‘Implement now’ EUROPE must insist that Turkey implement the customs agreement swiftly as a key test of its commitment to EU ideals, European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey Camiel Eurlings said yesterday. "The challenge is to have (protocol) implementation as soon as possible," he told The Cyprus Weekly during a fact-finding visit to the island...... read more
Turkey fumes over EU stance
By Alex Efthyvoulos
Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership continued to fume yesterday over the European Union's counter-declaration which demands that it must recognise Cyprus, while the Cyprus government spokesman spent more time rejecting Greek Cypriot criticism the declaration was not strong enough..... read more
UN man promises moves on Cyprus
New UN man promises moves on Cyprus THE UN’S new Director for Political affairs, who supervised the end of apartheid in South Africa, this week promised equivalent moves on Cyprus, New Under-Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari, gave an exclusive Interview to The Cyprus Weeklyas the temperature mounted in New York after Turkish Foreign Minister Abdulah Gul's astonishingly brutal attacks agains.... read more
Zodhia checkpoint opens
By Menelaos Hadjicostis
A diplomatic tussle over who would take credit for opening up the Zodhia crossing point was promptly upstaged Wednesday when the first vehicles slowly traversed the buffer zone to inaugurate the opening of the fifth checkpoint linking the occupied north with the government-controlled south.... read more
Expats call for pressure on Turkey
By Philippos Stylianou
The World Federation of Overseas Cypriots (POMAK) meeting in Limassol has called on the international community to impress upon Turkey to fulfill its obligations under the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions on Cyprus..... read more
Lawyers look for crash compensation
By Philippos Stylianou
Legal specialists from Britain and the US who work with a large American law firm specializing in airplane accidents were in Cyprus this week in the wake of the recent air disaster and asked to speak to the Cyprus Weekly about the purpose ..... read more
Tassos committed to finding cause of crash
By Charlie Charalambous
President Tassos Papadopoulos has dismissed any suggestions of foot dragging in efforts to find out those responsible for the Helios Airways crash. He is also ready to take the burden of responsibility if the government is found to be at fault, according to a lengthy statement he issued this week...... read more
Tension over Cyprus
By Alex Efthyvoulos
TENSION between the EU and Ankara mounted here yesterday during the meeting of EU foreign ministers after Austria and some other EU members urged rejecting Turkey's full membership as long as it refuses to recognise Cyprus.... read more
Tassos off to Athens
PRESIDENT Papadopoulos flies to Athens next week for consultations with the Greek government in view of forthcoming key discussions in the European Union concerning Turkey’s future relations with the bloc.... read more
