LIMASSOL, Cyprus—Members of the U.S. navy’s elite special forces SEAL unit joined Cypriot underwater demolition soldiers on Friday in a joint drill to hone skills in countering terrorist hijackings at sea. The exercise involved teams of U.S. and Cypriot special forces re-taking a ship controlled by terrorists. Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides said after the…
Two Worlds on One Island: Cyprus and the Green Line
Once, the Green Line was something a no-go zone, never to be traversed. Stretching clear across the island, it divides Cyprus, and demarcates two different worlds. Reinforced by walls, fences, barbed wire, and guard towers, this demilitarized zone completely sealed off north from south for some three decades, until 2003. The Last Divided Capital And…
France Calls Turkish-Cypriot Move on Ghost Town a ‘Provocation’
PARIS/ISTANBUL—France on Wednesday criticized as a “provocation” a move by Turkish Cypriot authorities to partially reopen an abandoned town in Cyprus for potential resettlement, in the latest critique from the West that Ankara has dismissed. Turkish Cypriots said on Tuesday that part of Varosha would come under civilian control and people would be able to…
Cyprus Protests Opening of Ghost-Suburb’s Residential Area
PARALIMNI, Cyprus—The government of ethnically split Cyprus lodged formal protests with the United Nations and the European Union on Tuesday over a decision by Turkey and breakaway Turkish Cypriots to reopen a residential section of an abandoned, military-controlled suburb. Calling the move a veiled bid to acquire more territory that could scuttle peace efforts, the…
Turkey Says Part of Cyprus Ghost Town to Reopen; EU, UK, US Object
NICOSIA—Turkish Cypriot authorities announced on Tuesday a partial reopening of an abandoned town for potential resettlement, drawing a strong rebuke from rival Greek Cypriots of orchestrating a land grab by stealth. Varosha, an eerie collection of derelict high-rise hotels and residences in a military zone nobody has been allowed to enter, has been deserted since…
UK Bases on Cyprus Boost Fight Against Migrant Traffickers
PERGAMOS, Cyprus—Authorities at a British military base on Cyprus have hired 50 percent more customs officers and procured detection equipment to better thwart illegal immigration from the breakaway north of the ethnically split island. The addition of 24 new officers and four SUVs—two with thermal imaging cameras—allows authorities to patrol around-the-clock along a 45-kilometer (28-mile)…
Cyprus: 4 Found Dead in ‘Most Destructive’ Forest Blaze
NICOSIA, Cyprus—Cyprus search crews discovered the bodies of four people outside a fire-swept mountain village on Sunday in what a government minister called the “most destructive” blaze in the east Mediterranean island nation’s history. Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said that Civil Defense volunteers discovered the remains just outside the village of Odou on the southern…
Cyprus Wants EU Border Agency to Stop Illegal Immigrants From Turkey
NICOSIA, Cyprus—Cyprus wants the European Union’s border agency Frontex to step in and prevent the flow of illegal immigrant arrivals from Turkey that authorities say have stretched the eastern Mediterranean island nation’s asylum system to its limits. It’s also asking the EU to “activate all available mechanisms” to help the country manage the arrival of…
Greece, Cyprus Woo UK Tourists as Travel Curbs Persist
Greece and Cyprus have both promised to facilitate the arrival of British tourists in the Mediterranean holiday destinations this summer, even as the UK authorities step up their crackdown on “illegal” foreign travel in the run-up to Easter. In an interview published in The Telegraph on Saturday, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said that his…
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