Word: also
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...tropical islands that make up the Okinawa Prefecture (also known as the Ryukyu Islands) look and feel very different from the rest of Japan, with their own language, cuisine and customs. While East Asian travelers have long been aware of their charms, the 1,000-km-long archipelago stretching out toward Taiwan remains something of an unknown to long-haul visitors, apart from its dubious renown as the location of the Battle of Okinawa. Visiting Japan? Here are five reasons why the Ryukyus should figure on your itinerary...
...forests. Tailored ecotours like those offered at Hirata Tourism's Jungle Adventures, hirata-group.co.jp, allow you to get up close and personal, either on foot or by canoe, with mysterious creatures such as the Chinese box turtle and the indigenous yamaneko wild cat. Abundant reefs and sparkling blue waters have also made the island a playground for scuba divers and snorkelers. And with just 2,000 inhabitants, it feels like you've got it all to yourself...
Turkey maintains some 35,000 troops in the north but the Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recognizes that divided Cyprus is a potential embarrassment to its new-found ambitions to become a regional power. It also threatens to derail Ankara's long-standing -albeit slow-moving - bid to join the European Union. The E.U. has frozen discussions on eight of the 35 policy chapters towards membership since December 2006 to punish the Turks for not opening their ports and airspace to Cypriot vessels as required. At a summit last week, the E.U. agreed to open just...
More tactically, the Greek Cypriots also gained E.U. veto power, which they threatened to use last week to block the opening of five new chapters in the negotiations for Turkey's membership next year. "The problem as far as a deal is concerned is that Greek Cypriots are basically content. As it stands they are an E.U. member, they're happy and prosperous," says Munir. "They know that any deal will inevitably entail some loss for them and they don't like that idea." The Greek Cypriot leader who presided over that fateful referendum was Tassos Papadopoulos, the hard-liner...
...concrete roadmap, would have to be agreed by late February to be approved in time for Talat's election run. "The only way really to get the Greek Cypriots to move forward is pressure from outside," says Munir. "But the question is who could apply that?" It is also a delicate issue. Christofias last week complained that "our tragedy has its roots in intervention by outsiders" and some say the previous U.N. peace plan was rejected because Greek Cypriots felt it was imposed by foreigners. (See the top 10 news stories...