Vidya Subrahmaniam

Nicosia: President Pratibha Patil arrived in Nicosia, capital of the tiny Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Thursday night on a two-day state visit focussed on trade and business.

Aviation and shipping should cut their respective carbon dioxide emissions to 10 and 20 percent below 2005 levels over the next decade, the European Union is likely to propose at global climate talks this week.

A sharply divided European Union failed Tuesday to protect the threatened bluefin tuna, as Mediterranean nations refused to back even a temporary ban on catching the fish prized by sushi aficionados. The bloc

Cyprus, facing its worst drought in a decade, will start importing water from Greece within the next two months, Agriculture Minister Michalis Polinikis said on Monday. Reservoirs are dangerously low and the crisis has forced emergency water rationing and sped up plans by Cyprus to desalinate more seawater. Its two desalination plants are already running at full capacity. "We are looking at many options to find conclusive solutions to this issue," Polinikis told reporters.

Droughts in Cyprus have forced government officials to ship in water from Greece to help ease the crisis. Minister signed a deal on Monday with shipping firm Ocean Tankers Holdings to transport drinking water to the island. Eight million cubic metres of water is set to be shipped to Cyprus by the end of June following a sustained period of drought on the island, which is a popular tourist destination. Last month, the government decided to impose water cuts for the first time in seven years.

Rare Wild Cyprus Donkey Threatened - Campaigners CYPRUS: April 3, 2008 NICOSIA - Conservationists who found 10 wild donkeys shot dead in northern Cyprus said on Wednesday the rare breed could disappear entirely if hunters continued to shoot them for sport. Environmentalists in the Karpas region believe many more of the brown donkeys had been killed since a 2003 study counted some 800 living in the wild.

A controversy is raging over ambelopoulia