Latest Cyprus government News

Leaders of Jordan and southern Europe want Lebanon's army to reassert itself in the country's south

Oct. 11, 2024 15:24 PM EDT

PAPHOS, Cyprus (AP) — The leaders of nine southern European Union countries on Friday pledged support for Lebanon’s armed forces to reassert control over the country’s southern territory in hopes of bringing peace to an area plagued by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In...

Cyprus breached right of 2 Syrian cousins to seek asylum, European court says

Oct. 08, 2024 10:23 AM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Europe’s top human rights court ruled on Tuesday that Cyprus violated the right of two Syrian nationals to seek asylum in the island nation after keeping them, and more than two dozen other people, aboard a boat at sea for two days before sending them back to Lebanon. ...

Cyprus approves electricity cable to link its power grid with Greece's

Sep. 17, 2024 14:10 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus has given the green light for construction of a 1.9 billion euro ($2.1 billion) undersea electricity cable linking its grid with Greece's, aiming to sharply reduce electricity bills and end its energy isolation, the country's energy minister said Tuesday. ...

Canadian envoy in Cyprus to draw on its experience accommodating needs of women migrants and minors

Sep. 11, 2024 16:16 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Canada is drawing on Cyprus ' experience of accommodating the needs of women migrants and children and those fleeing regional conflict zones at a time of unprecedented global displacement, the Canadian envoy on women, peace and security said Wednesday. The...

Cyprus and the US sign a defense deal outlining ways to tackle regional crises

Sep. 09, 2024 12:50 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the United States have signed a defense cooperation framework agreement that outlines ways the two countries can enhance their response to regional humanitarian crises and security concerns, including those arising from climate change. Cyprus...

Rights group alleges Lebanon and Cyprus violated refugees' human rights and EU funds paid for it

Sep. 04, 2024 02:54 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — European aid sent to Lebanon in an attempt to regulate migration by sea is funding practices that violate human rights, according to a global watchdog report published Wednesday. As part of a policy to contain migration, authorities in Cyprus have physically pushed...

A sailor is rescued at night off Cyprus 5 hours after falling off a vehicle carrier

Aug. 18, 2024 06:23 AM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A sailor is thanking his lucky stars for being rescued unharmed from the dark waters of the east Mediterranean early Sunday, nearly five hours after falling 18 meters (60 feet) off a commercial ship. Cypriot authorities say 24-year-old Lebanese national...

UN refugee agency urges Cyprus government to process asylum seekers pushed into a UN buffer zone

Aug. 09, 2024 16:51 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said government authorities in ethnically divided Cyprus have rounded up dozens of migrants and pushed them back inside a U.N.-controlled buffer zone that they crossed to seek asylum. UNHCR spokeswoman Emilia...

Future of undersea electricity cable linking Greece, Cyprus and Israel will be decided next month

Jul. 25, 2024 13:19 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The future of an electricity cable linking the power grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel will be cleared up next month when a ruling is expected on whether Cypriot consumers would pick up the tab for the cable's four-year construction costs, Cyprus' energy minister said...

Turkish president dampens hopes for restarting talks on Cyprus' 50-year ethnic split

Jul. 20, 2024 15:55 PM EDT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkey's president on Saturday put a damper on hopes for a quick resumption of talks to heal a half-century of ethnic division on Cyprus, reaffirming his support for a two-state deal that Greek Cypriots dismiss as a non-starter. President Recep Tayyip...