Nikos Christodoulides

A study on the level of chargeable income tax is in progress, as part of the tax reform in Cyprus, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday.

Aid shipments to Gaza are expected to resume soon from Cyprus, officials said on Wednesday, after the project was brought to a halt last week following Israel's killing of seven aid workers.

The Lebanese caretaker prime minister and the Cypriot president are calling on the European Union to provide financial support to help cash-strapped Lebanon stop migrants from reaching European shores.

Migration is top of the agenda this week in Cyprus, with President Nikos Christodoulides calling for the EU to step in to help Cyprus deal with a surge in arrivals on its shores. Cyprus is pressing Brussels to designate parts of Syria as safe for returns of migrants, and also to condition EU aid to Lebanon on its preventing migrants from departing.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides will discuss with the head of the European Commission on Sunday an unprecedented surge in arrivals of mainly Syrian refugees this week on the island and he will then visit Lebanon on Monday, officials said.

Cyprus's president has urged an immediate investigation into the killing of seven aid workers in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, saying the US-based charity they were members of was a "crucial partner" in efforts to get aid to the enclave by sea.

Nicosia has unveiled a set of targeted and broad-ranging measures aimed at alleviating the financial strain on citizens, in response to concerns over price hikes.

The United States and Cyprus said Tuesday they're formalizing their collaboration in fighting money laundering, sanctions evasion and other financial crimes with an agreement offering Cypriot law enforcement authorities US expertise.

The United States and Cyprus are to boost their cooperation in enhancing Cypriot capabilities in countering and prosecuting illicit finance operations, the two governments said on Tuesday.

Cyprus has long had an unwanted reputation as a conduit for illicit money flows, even though authorities have significantly tightened oversight and closed loopholes in the past decade.

Discussions are ongoing to decide whether EU-Turkey relations will be on the European Council's agenda at the two-day EU summit in Brussels starting Thursday.