Cyprus

An accord reunifying ethnically split Cyprus could unlock a deal to convey gas discovered in fields off Israel, Egypt and Cyprus to markets through neighboring Turkey's existing pipeline network, the leader of the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriots said Monday.

An accord reunifying ethnically split Cyprus could unlock a deal to convey gas discovered in fields off Israel, Egypt and Cyprus to markets through neighboring Turkey's existing pipeline network, the leader of the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriots said on Nov. 12.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly reiterated Ankara's intention to persist with its energy plans in the Eastern Mediterranean, in pointed remarks seen addressed to Greece, Cyprus and the United States.

A Turkish Cypriot girl in traditional dress gives gifts to a Greek Cypriot as he drives through the newly opened checkpoint linking the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in Lefka-Aplici, Monday.

The drillship Stena IceMax, commissioned by US oil giant ExxonMobil to drill for hydrocarbons, has been in Block 10 of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone since Sunday night, according to Cypriot state radio RIK.

The ship went straight to Block 10 without first stopping off at Limassol as had been expected, RIK reported.

Turkey's defense minister Hulusi Akar has presented maps to the Libyan government in a bid to indicate that Greece is trying to encroach upon Libya's continental shelf, according to reports in Turkey's Yeni Safak newspaper.

In its reports, the newspaper accuses Greece of "stealing Libya's EEZ," referring to the country's exclusive economic zone.

A new security alliance, also involving US participation, appears to be in the offing in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, according to analysts. A security structure of this sort would most likely rely on the trilateral partnerships that Greece and Cyprus have in recent years forged with Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

The drillship Stena IceMax is expected to arrive by Monday at the Cypriot port of Limassol.

The ship has been commissioned by US oil giant Exxon Mobil to drill for hydrocarbons in Block 10 of Cyprus' exclusive economic zone. Block 10 is on the EEZ's southwest.

The midterm elections in the United States on Tuesday were a good day for Hellenism in America. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, widely seen as an ally of Greece and Cyprus for over two decades, was re-elected to a third term, while the number of Americans of Greek descent in the House of Representatives also increased.

The European Commission expects to see a political solution to the issue of the power interconnection of Crete with Attica next week.