"Turkish Cypriot leader set for heart surgery
ISTANBUL - Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat is set to have heart surgery in an Istanbul hospital after tests showed a problem in one of his arteries, an official Turkish Cypriot source said Monday.
Talat was hospitalised Sunday after a check-up that revealed an artery was partially blocked.
'Surgery was required because of the place of the problematic artery,' the source told AFP. 'The operation will most probably carried out Monday.' The 53-year-old Talat does not have a history of cardiac problems.
He is scheduled to return to the divided island in ten days time, the source said.
Talat has been the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) since April 2005."
The Anatolia Times