Word: islanded
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Kayaking in Iriomote Ninety percent of the beautiful and remote Iriomote Island in the southernmost reaches of Okinawa Prefecture (it's an hour's flight from Naha to Ishigaki Island and then a 40-minute ferry ride) is covered in mountainous virgin jungle and mangrove 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...
Though bitterly divided for 35 years, the Greek and Turkish communities on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus share an islander's love of conspiracy theories. But the macabre theft of the remains of a hard-line Greek Cypriot President from his grave on Friday has even the most far-out pundits stymied. Was it politically motivated? For ransom? Was a mysterious gang of Romanian grave robbers involved...
...Mehmet Ali Talat is up for re-election. If peace talks with Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias fail to produce any substantive development by then, he is likely to lose to a hard-liner opposed to negotiations. That could close the door indefinitely on what observers agree is the island's latest and best shot at peace in three decades...
...island has been partitioned since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded the north in response to a coup in Nicosia backed by the military junta then ruling Greece. Numerous international peace plans have since been floated - and failed - but several factors conspire to make this a moment of opportunity. "There is reason to be more optimistic than ever before," says Metin Munir, a Turkish Cypriot political commentator. "The biggest change is that Turkey, a dominant party in the conflict, now wants a solution. They are willing to compromise." (See pictures of the streets of Istanbul...
...complicating factor. The island's last major opportunity for resolution was arguably lost when Brussels accepted Cyprus, as represented by its Greek Cypriot government, as a member in 2004, even though Greek Cypriots had rejected a painstakingly crafted U.N. peace plan in a referendum vote just prior. (Turkish Cypriots voted yes.) As a result, the Greek-Cypriot republic lost any incentive it might have had to speed up negotiations. (Read: "On the Run in Cyprus...