Former Cyprus President Christofias dies

Former Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias died on Friday in Nicosia General Hospital. He was 72.

He was admitted to hospital in critical condition with respiratory problems. 

He led the communist-rooted AKEL party as its general secretary for more than two decades.

Educated in the former Soviet Union, Christofias served a single five-year  term as Cyprus' sixth President from 2008 until 2013.