Cyprus

Bank of Cyprus, which recapitalised by turning investors' deposits to equity in 2013, said it would discuss funding and capital issues at its next board meeting on June 26.

The bank said it would explore funding and capital options that could speed up its restructuring.

Police in Cyprus are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of 73-year-old Cypriot businessman Yiannos Kalopsidiotis, who was allegedly shot four times inside his farmhouse in the area of Ayia Napa late on Friday.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, 67, was admitted into a private Cypriot hospital late on Friday where he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis. The Cypriot politician was elected president of the island nation in 2013.

The Bulgarian community in Cyprus has launched a fundraising campaign to help the flood-hit areas in Bulgaria, Friday.

Charity boxes have been placed in all Bulgarian stores in Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paralimni, as well as in the Consular Section at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Nicosia, and the Bulgarian school.

Greece’s six-month presidency of the European Union, which is set to end on June 30, is likely to be the least costly on record, according to sources at the Foreign Ministry who indicated that less than half of the 50 million euros earmarked for the presidency by former Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras have been spent so far.

Cyprus returned to international debt markets on Wednesday, just a little over a year after being forced to accept a 10-billion-euro bailout, with a five-year bond issue.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Twitter: “It’s done. Cyprus back to the markets.”

The bond, he said, was for 750 million euros at an interest rate of 4.75 percent.

In the dead heat of the Cypriot summer in 1996, a young Greek Cypriot, Tassos Isaac, was beaten to death by a group of ultranationalist Turks.

Bulgaria’s foreign minister said Cyprus could supply his country and other Central European nations with natural gas to lessen the region’s heavy dependence on Russian deliveries.

The Bulgarian community in Cyprus can serve as a model for our communities around the world, Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin said during his visit to the island nation.

Minister Vigenin met with the local Bulgarian community and handed out the diplomas for graduates of the Bulgarian weekend schools. In turn, the students put up a short performance, including poetry recitals.

There cannot be anyone in northern Cyprus who does not demand a settlement. Settlement ideas might differ, but the status quo cannot be acceptable to anyone. Yet, there are some confused minds who see surrender to Greek Cypriots or becoming a part of Turkey as some sort of a resolution.