CYPRUS AIRWAYS (CY) yesterday called for the government to pay the company millions of euros in loss of earnings due to the island's long-running differences with Turkey, as revenues continued to tumble.

CY chairman Kikis Lazarides said the airline was seeking financial compensation for being unable to fly over Turkey.

TURKEY HAS no hidden agenda behind efforts to reunite the island, said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to a group of Cypriot journalists in Istanbul, adding that Greek Cypriots needed to overcome their mistrust of Turkey and help work towards building a region of peace and cooperation.

WHEN the previous government decided in 2003 to offer free healthcare to all Turkish Cypriots with a Cyprus Republic ID card, it never considered the implications of its decision. It seemed a good idea at the time, as the checkpoints had just been opened and the government wanted to show that it considered Turkish Cypriots citizens of the Republic and would treat them as such.