Former Polly Peck tycoon Asil Nadir was arrested in London today for an alleged breach of his court bail conditions, Scotland Yard sources said.

Israeli authorities boarded a British yacht, took down its flag and "almost strip searched" its crew as they attempted to break the blockade to Gaza, a Briton on board said today.

A BOAT carrying Jewish activists from Israel, Germany, the US and Britain set sail yesterday for Gaza, hoping to breach Israel’s blockade there and deliver aid.

BUSINESSMAN Asil Nadir has flown back to Britain, 17 years after he fled while awaiting trial on theft charges stemming from the collapse of his Polly Peck business empire.

Cyprus authorities stepped up their search today for the 11th alleged member of a Russian spy ring who vanished after skipping bail, but police refused to answer questions about why the suspect was granted bail in the first place.

A BRITISH couple face having to demolish their holiday home in northern Cyprus after the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that orders from a Nicosia court must be enforced.

English jockey Darryll Holland will appear in court in Cyprus today in connection with passing counterfeit cash.

Leading jockey Darryll Holland was arrested in connection with passing counterfeit cash in Cyprus, his manager said today.

Two men who hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul have surrendered to Turkish authorities after holding some crew members and passengers hostage for more than four hours.

Two men claiming to be carrying a bomb hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul today.

Hijackers claiming to have bombs and to be members of al-Qaida today hijacked a Turkish passenger plane heading from northern Cyprus to Istanbul.

Turkey’s prime minister accused the European Union of not treating the issue of Cyprus fairly but said his country still wants to join the 25-nation bloc and will continue to work to meet the criteria for membership.

Turks were sharply divided today over the government’s surprise proposal to open a major port and airport to long-time foe Cyprus and save the country’s troubled EU membership talks.

European Union officials today warned that time was running out for Turkey to open its ports to Cypriot planes and ships or face a possible break in EU membership negotiations.

Turkish Grand Prix officials are confident of staging next year’s race, despite being handed the largest fine in motorsport history.

Turkish Grand Prix organisers will today learn whether next year’s event in Istanbul will be scrapped from the Formula One calendar.

Turkish Grand Prix organisers have been summoned before world governing body the FIA, accused of breaching Formula One rules.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan left for northern Cyprus today, saying the lifting of the crippling economic isolation on Turkish Cypriots was a government priority.

The European Commission said today that tests conducted in a British laboratory on samples from birds in northern Cyprus reveal they died of the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was greeted with angry criticism from Cyprus’ president as he arrived on the divided island in hopes of gauging support for a stalled UN. peace plan.

A fishing boat carrying dozens of illegal immigrants sank off the coast of northern Cyprus, leaving one person dead and 33 others missing, the Turkish Cypriot news agency TAK reported today.

Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to Turkey early today to a hero’s welcome, as hundreds of supporters waved Turkish and European Union flags at the airport to celebrate a historic agreement to start EU membership talks next year.

AN INVESTIGATION into Britain’s richest underworld figures has found that the richest drug dealer and smuggler are Irish.

THE European Commission plans to set up a mission in northern Cyprus to co-ordinate support for Turkish Cypriots after their exclusion from the EU’s imminent enlargement, a top official said yesterday.

The Greek Cypriot government today urged the EU to give Turkish Cypriots all the support it can muster to offset the collapse of a plan to have a unified island.

TURKEY proclaimed its biggest diplomatic victory in 50 years yesterday after Turkish northern Cyprus voted for a UN-backed reunification plan while Greek Cypriots rejected it.

FROM May 1, the number of official languages used in the European Union will increase to 20, but so far, Irish will not be one of them.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will travel to Cyprus this month in hopes of forming the outline of an agreement to reunify the Mediterranean island after a 27-year split, his chief envoy for Cyprus said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash crossed into the Greek Cypriot-controlled part of Cyprus today for the first time since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The leaders from both sides of Cyprus’s divided society have met for the first time in more than four years in a new effort to break the deadlock in talks regarding the future of the island.