Cyprus opens border crossings

Two border crossings, near the cities of Lefke, in the north, and Dherynia, in the south, were opened between the Greek and Turkish halves of the island of Cyprus on Nov. 12, the only official crossings to be open in more than eight years.

Cyprus has effectively been split in two since 1974, when a Greece-backed military coup caused Turkey to send troops to support ethnic Turks living on the island. A stalemate between the two sides created an independent (and internationally recognized) Greek government in the west and a Turkish-backed government (commonly called Northern Cyprus), recognized only by Turkey, in the northeast. At press time, UN-sponsored reunification talks remained suspended.