Ersin Tatar

A new government has been formed in Turkish Cyprus after a cabinet list was approved by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Feb. 21.

The National Unity Party (UBP), the Democrat Party (DP) and the Rebirth Party (YDP) will take part in the new coalition government to be led by Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu, also the head of UBP.

Halil Falyalı, a Turkish Cypriot businessperson, hotel and casino owner, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in North Cyprus on Feb. 9.

Falyalı was traveling in a motorcade when unknown gunmen sprayed his car with long-barreled weapons at the entrance to Çatalköy town of Kyrenia (Girne).

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 6 and extended his good wishes to him and first lady Emine Erdoğan after they tested positive for COVID-19.

Erdoğan thanked Herzog, and the two leaders discussed holding a meeting soon, according to the presidency.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar discussed the issue of Cyprus on Feb. 1 with the U.N. mission chief appointed to facilitate the solution of the decades-old dispute on the divided island.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has condemned the recent arson attempt on a mosque located in the southern part of the divided island of Cyprus.

In a statement, Tatar condemned the attempt to burn the Grand Mosque in Larnaca and called on the Greek Cypriot authorities to prevent such attacks and arrest those responsible at the earliest.

The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) expressed his support for a Turkish Cypriot singer who was criticized for a video clip filmed in the coastal city of Maraş, also known as Varosha.

The proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is a result of the Greek side's refusal to accept Turkish Cypriots' sovereign equality, the TRNC's president said on Nov. 15. 

The new prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Nov. 14 that the economy tops the government's priority list.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Faiz Sucuoğlu said he wants the TRNC to stand on its own feet in terms of the economy.

All political parties in Turkish Cyprus have come to a mutual agreement to hold an early election on Jan. 22, 2022, according to a statement released on Nov. 8 by North Cyprus' Parliament Press Office.

"The chairmen of six political parties gathered in a meeting held by Parliament Speaker Önder Sennaroğlu and took the decision," it said.

Faiz Sucuoğlu, former Labor and Social Security minister of Turkish Cyprus, has been elected as the head of the National Unity Party (UBP), a major coalition partner of a newly-resigned government, at its 22nd ordinary congress.