Cyprus

Though Greece's credit rating has enjoyed gradual upgrades by rating agencies in recent months, reaching the coveted investment grade that will attract investors to the country's bonds will not be easy, according to analysts and banking groups examining Greece's position.

NICOSIA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- EU member-states Bulgaria and Cyprus are at loggerheads over the failure of an insurance company based on the eastern Mediterranean island and on who is to foot the bill for insurance claims totaling 43.5 million euros, Cypriot media reported on Thursday.

SOFIA, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's financial regulator said it will "make every effort" to protect clients of Cyprus' Olympic Insurance Company, whose closure has left 200,000 Bulgarians without car insurance, as it blamed its former head of insurance supervision for the crisis.

Vecernje Novosti reports that the interested companies are Chinese Zijin Mining, Ugold Limited based in Cyprus and backed by Russian capital and Canadian-Finnish investment fund Champion Iron.

Egypt's chief prosecutor says Cyprus has extradited the hijacker of an EgyptAir plane that was diverted to the Mediterranean island in 2016.

Prosecutor Nabil Sadek said late Saturday that Egyptian police have taken custody of Seif Eddin Mustafa in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia.

Cyprus's energy minister says the country will renegotiate the financial terms of its contract with a consortium on exploiting a gas field off its southern shore.

Georgios Lakkotrypis told reporters on Tuesday that the consortium made up of Texas-based Noble Energy, Israel's Delek and Royal Dutch Shell wants to renegotiate the contract on the Aphrodite gas field.

Lawmakers in Bulgaria will break off their summer recess on Tuesday for an extraordinary session to discuss the collapse of the country's Company Register and the insolvency of the fourth largest insurer, Olympic.

* Cyprus-based insurer put into liquidation

* Public anger as 200,000 Bulgarians left without car insurance

* Government calls for resignation of regulator's deputy chair

By Angel Krasimirov

Next month could prove pivotal for Greek-Turkish relations as a series of contentious issues are expected to come the fore, including the possibility of a resumption of the Cyprus peace talks and Ankara's plans to drill for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The main suspect of the 2016 murder of George Barker at a gym in Bexley, United Kingdom has been arrested in Turkish Cyprus.