Word: flashpoint
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...flow of histories and cultures," Lawrence Durrell once wrote of Cyprus, "it has time and time again been a flashpoint where Aryan and Semite, Christian and Moslem, met in a death-embrace." The legendary island of Aphrodite gained independence from Britain a decade ago. Yet it remains an uneasy homeland to 490,000 Greek Cypriots, most of whom have traditionally espoused enosis (union with Greece), and 110,000 Turkish Cypriots, who have long favored partition of the island. In December 1963, savage fighting broke out between the two communities. In November 1967, war between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus...
...might be agreeable, since continued uncertainty would be a serious strain on West Berlin's morale. Dean Rusk was aware of this. But he was apparently determined to find a device that would permit both sides to back away from a crisis that had moved too close to flashpoint...
...Cabinet (which includes Dr. Morteza Yaz di, a wealthy Soviet sympathizer) got the posts of Commerce & Industry, Education and Health, but not the key posts of War, Foreign Affairs (Gavam) and Justice. To counter Tudeh agitation the British moved some troops up to Basra, close to the Abadan flashpoint...