'Cyprus' - tagged features

For weeks now the European Union has debated about what should be done with EU candidate Turkey which is refusing to open its ports to Cypriot ships. Should the EU partially suspend accession talks or totally freeze negotiations? The European Commission recommended this week a suspension of talks on eight of the 35 "chapters", or policy areas, into which the accession talks are divided. The final decision though will be taken by EU heads of states later this month. And it will be a difficult one, as member countries are divided over Turkey. Sweden for instance warned that sending negative signals to Ankara could be a "strategic calamity", while Finland, the current president of the EU welcomed the partial freeze. And so does Cyprus, as the Cypriot Foreign Minister told Network Europe. 

Ever since scientists identified HIV, fear, denial and stigma have accompanied the AIDS epidemic. In many countries around the world the disease is closely associated with discrimination. Individuals affected by HIV have been rejected by their families, their friends and their communities. In Cyprus the official number of HIV positive persons is around 500, but AIDS support groups estimate the figure is four times higher. A significant figure for an island of less than one million people where everybody knows each other. Cypriot society believes AIDS is not a problem, but prejudice is killing HIV sufferers. Deutsche Welle reporter Barbara Gruber traveled to the Mediterranean island to investigate. 

Turkey's chances of joining the exclusive EU club took another downturn this week. The issue of whether Turkey joins the EU has become one of the most divisive issues in european political life. The question many want answered is if it were to become a member, would Turkey become more European or would, as some western Europeans fear, Europe become less secular? The European commission released a much anticpated report on Turkey's accession progress on Wednesday and it didn't make for cosey bed-time reading for Ankara. Turkey was attacked on its human rights, religious freedoms and its attitude towards the divided island of Cyprus. There wasn't a call for a suspension of talks but the report's bound to fuel speculation that Turkey's whole bid is going off the rails. 

Tens of thousands of evacuees streamed into the usually sleepy holiday resort of Cyprus. How are residents coping? Our correspondent Tabitha Morgan reports on their calls for international help.