NICOSIA (AFP) – Greek Cypriots would freely mix with Turkish Cypriots at work and play if a Cyprus peace deal ended 34 years of division on the east Mediterranean island, according to a poll published yesterday. The results of the survey in Politis newspaper show a significant shift in attitude among Greek Cypriots toward the Turkish Cypriots in an improved climate of trust. Most Greek Cypriots – 83 percent – responded positively when asked whether they would live next to someone from the other community. Some 31 percent said they would accept a member of their family marrying a Turkish Cypriot, and 47 percent said they would work for a Turkish Cypriot. Significantly, 53 percent of Greek Cypriot refugees said they would accept financial compensation for being unable to return to their homes in the Turkish-held north. A majority of refugees – 63 percent – said they would not live under a Turkish-Cypriot administration.

SARAJEVO (AP) – War crimes trials have given justice to some victims of Bosnia’s civil war but have not done enough to reconcile former enemies, a panel of justice and human rights experts said yesterday. The local and international experts took part in a conference sponsored by a UN agency to explore new ways for Bosnia to try to overcome the legacy of its 1992-95 war, which took more than 100,000 lives and displaced more than half of the country’s 3.5 million people. Some called for the establishment of truth commissions and for the reform of abusive institutions. Bosnia’s deputy chief prosecutor, David Schwendiman, said the generation that lived through the war must find a way not to transfer their burden to the next generation. Researchers must also establish a complete record of events so that the past cannot be abused, he said.

Police say a gas explosion in Sarajevo has killed one woman and badly injured three people. Police are investigating what caused the explosion early yesterday morning. Three apartments in a building in the city center were demolished. (AP)

Prosecutors opened corruption charges against the head of Romania’s professional soccer league yesterday, saying that Dumitru Dragomir received a bribe in 2001 for the league to buy a property for a price three times higher than its market value and built without a permit. The vendor is accused of money laundering in the same case. (AP)