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☆ Cyprus leaders meet as peace talks remain deadlocked
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iakovos Hatzistavrou/Pool via REUTERSNICOSIA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Leaders of Cyprus's estranged Greek and Turkish communities met on Thursday as a deadlock persisted in peace talks on the ethnically divided island. The meeting was the first for newly elected Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, the new Greek Cypriot leader, and Ersin Tatar, the Turkish Cypriot leader. Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup, with Greek Cypriots living in its south and Turkish Cypriots in an unrecognised breakaway north. "The present state of affairs cannot be the solution to the Cyprus problem, not for Greek Cypriots, or Turkish Cypriots," Christodoulides said after the two-hour meeting with Tatar. "I didn't hear anything I didn't expect from Mr Tatar," Christodoulides said.

☆ A Cypriot High School Volleyball Team Lost 25 Children in the Turkey Quakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | Photographs Emanuele Satolli For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ADIYAMAN, Turkey—The Cypriot high school volleyball team were sleeping on the first and second floors of the Isias hotel the night after the girls team won their first match at a regional tournament in eastern Turkey when the first earthquake struck. The 7.8-magnitude tremor shook the earth beneath them, making the front of the hotel collapse. When the second, 7.5-magnitude quake hit, the building crumbled to dust, leaving 25 schoolchildren, age 12 to 14, and 10 adults accompanying them, eventually among the dead.

☆ Cypriot diplomats face off in cliffhanger presidential vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Supporters of Cyprus presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides are seen in front of a poster, at the campaign headquarters a day ahead of the presidential elections, in Nicosia, Cyprus, February 11, 2023. REUTERS/Louiza VradiNICOSIA, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A runoff election on Sunday to select the president of Cyprus pits two career diplomats against each other in what could be a cliffhanger vote that has split the political right. His candidacy was given a boost this week when DISY said its members should vote with their conscience. The DISY leadership were angered after Christodoulides, a former party member, broke ranks to run as an independent. read moreLeading DISY party members have since come out in support of each candidate.

☆ Town in North Cyprus buries last of high school volleyball team killed in quake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Mourners from a town in North Cyprus on Sunday buried the last of 39 people, including 24 children, who were killed in last week's earthquake while in Turkey for a school volleyball tournament. The team from Turkish Maarif College in Famagusta, in Turkish Cypriot-controlled North Cyprus had travelled to Adiyaman for a match together with their trainers, teachers and parents. They were caught in the devastating quake that hit southern Turkey and Syria in the early hours last Monday. Mourners, among them high school students, prayed and wept over the two coffins, between which lay a volleyball. The death toll in Turkey and Syria from the earthquake and major aftershocks rose above 33,000 on Sunday and looked set to keep growing.

☆ Cyprus probes washed up dead whales, earthquake link possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NICOSIA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A number of whales have washed up dead on the northern shores of Cyprus, authorities said on Friday, possibly affected by the massive earthquakes in neighbouring Turkey and Syria this week. Six beaked whales were found dead on Friday, while a pod of four were found beached on Thursday, the Cyprus department of fisheries and marine research said. Three of the four from Thursday were guided back to sea, while the fourth died, it said in a statement. It was unclear if the dead pod found on Friday included those whales from Thursday that had been returned to the sea, it said. Monday's mega earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, which have killed tens of thousands of people, were also felt on the east Mediterranean island.

☆ Cyprus ruling party sits on fence in presidential runoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NICOSIA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Cyprus's ruling right-wing party on Wednesday said its supporters should vote at will in a runoff presidential election on Feb. 12 between a former member of its party, ahead in polls, and a leftist-backed independent following close behind. The decision by the ruling DISY party effectively leaves the outcome of Sunday's runoff wide open; its own candidate came third in the first round of elections on Feb. 5. Polls showed Christodoulides had support of one third of DISY supporters, but his bid had been viewed by party leadership as going rogue. After Sunday, Christodoulides had attempted to mend any rift in an attempt to get DISY party backing. But Neophytou said no member of the party would participate in any new government irrespective of result, referring to 'Judas and apostates' in a party speech.

The sale of the plant to a consortium, led by Cypriot private equity firm G.O.I. The sale process is in contrast to Germany's confiscation of Rosneft's Schwedt refinery and Gazprom Germania, or Russia's takeover of Sakhalin 1 from Exxon Mobil (XOM.N). Energy is run by Michael Bobrov, who is also CEO of Israeli firm Green Oil that holds a major stake in Israel's biggest refiner Bazan Group. The deal marks an expansion into the refining sector for Trafigura that concluded a similar deal with Prax in 2021 for a refinery in Britain. Trafigura also holds a 3% stake in Italian refiner Saras, an indirect stake in India's major Nayara refinery and runs two small refineries via its subsidiary Puma Energy.

☆ Roman Abramovich transferred superyachts and private jets worth $4 billion to his children just before the Ukraine invasion, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Roman Abramovich transferred assets to his children before the Ukraine invasion, per The Guardian. Assets worth more than $4 billion were transferred to his seven children only three weeks before the start of the war, the report said. His children's beneficial interest in the trust's assets – including the Eclipse superyacht worth $700 million and shares in Russian companies – rose from 51% to 100%, per the report. Companies controlled by Abramovich's trusts had assets worth $2.5 billion at the end of 2021, per the reports. Abramovich seemingly reorganized other assets just weeks before the invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Vote for me! Cyprus clerics scramble to get public vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus is one of the few Orthodox Churches worldwide to recognise the independence of the fellow-Orthodox Church of Ukraine, in a move which triggered a rift within the Cypriot church in 2020. Chrysostomos had recognised the independence of the Ukrainian church away from Moscow's influence, butting heads with clerics considered pro-Russian. Today it has business interests as diverse as real estate to Cyprus's award-winning KEO beer. "In Cyprus the flock has the privilege of choosing who will be its shepherd," said theologian Theodoros Kyriakou. Reporting by Michele Kambas, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cyprus regulator requested FTX EU suspend operations Nov. 9
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NICOSIA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Cyprus's Securities and Exchange Commission asked FTX EU to suspend its operations on Nov. 9, the regulator said on Friday. "The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, November 9th, called upon the Cypriot Investment Firm FTX EU Ltd to suspend its operations and to proceed immediately with a number of actions for the protection of the investors," a statement from the Commission said. FTX had announced in September that it had received approval from the Cypriot regulator to operate as a Cyprus Investment Firm, allowing the company to fully own a local investment firm it had previously acquired, and operate in Europe. "The Company is regulated by CySEC under the provision of Investment Services Law and is authorised to provide investment services in Derivatives and/or other financial instruments. However, it is not licensed by CySEC to engage in the direct trading of crypto assets," CySEC said.

☆ Factbox: Global regulatory actions against FTX
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FTX and its local units, had already attracted scrutiny from regulators around the world. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said on Thursday it would freeze the assets of FTX Digital Markets, the group's local unit, and also appointed a provisional liquidator for the unit. EUROPE/CYPRUSCyprus's Securities and Exchange Commission asked FTX EU to suspend its operations on Nov. 9, the regulator said on Friday. FTX announced in September it had received approval from the Cypriot regulator to operate as a Cyprus Investment Firm, allowing the company to fully own a local investment firm it had previously acquired. The local unit resumed withdrawals on Friday.

☆ Cyprus MPs launch inquiry into spyware development on the island
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament opened an inquiry on Wednesday into the development of spyware on the island, after a draft European Parliament committee investigation report said it was an important export hub for the surveillance industry. The report cited Cypriot officials as saying 'three to four' companies produce spyware on the island. "Its been confirmed that Cyprus is a greenhouse for companies which produce spyware ... which has political backing," said MP Aristos Damianou of the opposition AKEL party, which sought the parliamentary inquiry. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades last week said any involvement of Cyprus in spyware surveillance in other countries was 'imaginary'. NSO, which sells its Pegasus spyware to government agencies, says it is a powerful tool in the fight against crime and terrorism.

☆ Head of Cyprus Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos, dies aged 81
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NICOSIA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The head of Cyprus's dominant Orthodox Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos II, died on Monday, his doctors said. The Church of Cyprus, an independent branch of the Eastern Orthodox communion, traces its lineage back to Barnabas, one of Christ's first followers. In Nicosia, a group of priests in flowing black robes were seen carrying a coffin from the Archbishopric, where Chrysostomos died, to a nearby church. Chrysostomos, who was elected archbishop in 2006, had been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the estimated 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, said he was "deeply moved" by Chrysostomos's death.

☆ A quiet US move in the Mediterranean may help put more pressure on Russia, but not everyone in NATO is happy about it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US lifted its 35-year-old arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus in September. But the US decision has rankled Turkey, which is at odds with NATO ally Greece over the island. Increased cooperationThe Cypriot Underwater Demolition Team and US Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Europe train in Cyprus in September 2021. "This is a landmark decision, reflecting the burgeoning strategic relationship between the two countries, including in the area of security," Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades said after the announcement. Cyprus is one of many points of contention between Greece and Turkey, whose worsening relations have worried other NATO members.

☆ Turkey to re-inforce military presence in northern Cyprus -Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Turkey will re-inforce its military presence in northern Cyprus after the United States lifted defence trade restrictions on Cyprus, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. Speaking in a televised interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, Erdogan said the lifting of the restrictions was "inexplicable in terms of content and timing." We cannot," he said, adding that Turkey already has 40,000 troops on the island and will reinforce them with land, naval and aerial weapons, ammunition and vehicles, Erdogan said. Since then, Cyprus has been run by a Greek Cypriot administration in the south that Ankara does not recognise. The breakaway Turkish state on the northern side of the divided island is only recognised by Ankara.

☆ Cyprus LGBT+ pride marchers seek equal family rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterNICOSIA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Hundreds of activists turned streets of the Cypriot capital into a sea of rainbows on Sunday on a pride march in a push for equal rights irrespective of sexual orientation. Marriage of same-sex couples is not permitted in Cyprus, while same-sex civil partnerships with a limted set of rights are legal. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterActivists say a lack of a family law framework for same-sex couples deprives them from the right to adopt children, or give equal parental rights to a couple in a same-sex civil partnership. Other concerns included legal gender change recognition on state documents, which has been pending since 2015. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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