Section: Cyprus
Britain, EU ‘must work together for smooth divorce’ (Updated)
Britain and the European Union must work together to make their divorce smooth and forge a new “strong relationship”, Prime Minister Theresa May told European Council President Donald Tusk on Thursday. At their first one-to-one meeting since May became prime minister after Britain voted to leave the European Union at a June 23 referendum, Tusk...
Russian jet came within 10 feet of U.S. spy plane – U.S. officials
By Idrees Ali and Andrea Shalal A Russian fighter jet carried out an “unsafe and unprofessional” intercept of a U.S. spy plane over the Black Sea and came within 10 feet (3.05 meters) of the American aircraft, two U.S. defense officials said on Wednesday. The incident is likely to cause more tension between the United States and Russia, who are...
US warns Russia against interfering with Western politics
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday warned Russia against interfering with Western “democratic processes” and accused Moscow of aggressive behaviour aimed at eroding the international order. He did not elaborate on what Russia might be attempting to do or whether he was referring to hacking attacks on Democratic Party organisations in...
Ministry aims to boost winter tourism in North Cyprus
Fikri Ataoglu, Minister for Tourism and Environment stated that steps will be taken in order to revive winter tourism in the TRNC. Ataoglu said that for this reason they aim to bring in tourists from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Denmark with the co-operation of Turkish Airlines. Co-operation will include flights and advertisements, adding that...
Germans test air defences in Latvia as Nato expands in Baltics
German and Latvian troops have begin a joint exercise in Latvia, not far from the Russian border, as part of a broad drive by Nato to shore up air defences against a possible Russian attack. Germany has around 80 troops and 400 tonnes of equipment, including a deployable mobile control centre, for the exercise, which will continue through...
Cluster bombs kill more than 400 people, over a third of them children
More than 400 people were killed by cluster bombs in 2015, most of them dying in Syria, Yemen and Ukraine, which have not signed up to a treaty banning the weapon, an international anti-cluster bomb coalition said on Thursday. Cluster bombs, dropped by air or fired by artillery, scatter hundreds of bomblets across a wide area which sometimes fail...
Same old “polycrisis” as Europe’s summer ends
By Alastair Macdonald The European Union grinds back into action this week after its August break, still dazed by Britain’s midsummer vote to quit the EU and facing much the same “polycrisis” as a year ago: a mass of refugees, a fragile economy, hostile Russians and, yes, those Brits, now more awkward than ever. When President Jean-Claude...
Merkel sees no end to EU sanctions against Russia
There is no reason to lift the European Union’s sanctions against Russia as Moscow has not fulfilled all of its commitments under the Minsk peace plan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview published on Friday. Merkel told the RedaktionsNetzwerks Deutschland (RND) that Russia had caused a major crisis by annexing the Black...
Trump shakes up campaign; names CEO, campaign manager
By Caren Bohan U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump moved to overhaul his troubled campaign on Wednesday, hiring the head of conservative website Breitbart News as chief executive officer and promoting a seasoned political operative to a senior role. Stephen Bannon, the combative executive chairman of Breitbart, was named CEO, the...
As Ukraine tensions soar, Putin is doing what Putin does best
By Peter Apps Vladimir Putin might or might not intend to escalate his war with Ukraine in the next few days. But whatever his plans, he is certainly making it look as if he may. As Ukrainians prepare to celebrate a quarter-century of independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, Moscow is making it clear that their sovereignty only exists as...
