- NICOSIA: Dervis Eroglu, a strong supporter of Turkish Cypriot independence, led northern Cyprus's presidential election on Sunday with almost two-thirds of votes counted.
Eroglu led with 49.5 percent against 43.2 percent for incumbent Mehmet Ali Talat. The winning candidate requires more than 50 percent of the vote to win outright. Election officials said 63 percent of the votes had been counted.
Eroglu, who wants more independence for each community in any peace settlement, rules out concessions to Greek Cypriots in reunification talks. A continuing stalemate on Cyprus will further complicate Turkey's ambitions to join the EU, where Greek Cypriots represent the island and will not allow Turkey to join until there is a deal.