The Flipside

Keeping up the momentum in the preparations for full-fledged talks, the Cypriot leaders agreed today to meet again July 1.

Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus, announced that the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities, Demetris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, respectively, will meet at his official residence on the United Nations Protected Area.

At the same news conference in Nicosia, George Iacovou and Ozdil Nami, the representatives of the leaders, announced a series of measures aimed at easing the daily life of Cypriots across the island.

The measures provide for:

educational programs in connection with cultural heritage;
steps on road safety;
easing the movement of ambulances between the two sides;
the establishment of a Cyprus Joint Committee on Health;
cooperation for island-wide assessment of all major waste streams;
and agreement on environmental education.

“The momentum of the process has not slowed”, Zerihoun said. “It is in fact producing tangible results”.

It’s hot and it’s not even July.

Temperatures in Nicosia, where UNFICYP’s headquarters are based, registered at 40 degrees centrigrade today. When you get into your car, expect the gauge to read 47. Don’t touch anything metal; don’t walk barefoot on a tile floor outside, baking in the sun.

Like last year, it seems June brought an early heatwave. Normally, temperatures reach 40 or higher in July and August, but June should still be rather modest - relatively speaking - around 35.

At UNFICYP, non-essential outdoor activities slow down a bit in the middle of the day if the heat advisory at headquarters indicates the temperature has reached levels that can be dangerous.

And last week’s integrated medal parade was held inside a UN Flight hangar instead of outside of the tarmac, to hide participants and spectators from the afternoon sun.