Cyprus

New sewage plant contributes to peace in Cyprus

Development of a new sewage treatment plant in Nicosia brought the Turkish and Greek communities together with a new hope of peace and tolerance.

UN peacekeeping troops patrol the Green Line in Nicosia. [AFP]

Hundreds of Greek Orthodox pilgrims, some coming home after 40 years of forced exile, commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus in a rare Good Friday service in northern Cyprus.

Economic sanctions by Europe against Russia “would destroy Cyprus’s economy,” Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides (photo) said in a German newspaper interview on Wednesday.

President Nicos Anastasiades said discovery of natural gas around Cyprus could galvanize international efforts to resolve a longstanding division of the island and smooth development of an alternative energy supply source to Russia.

But he said it was too early to speak of tangible progress in recently relaunched peace talks on the ethnically split island.

A new sewage plant was opened in Cypriot capital Nicosia by the mayors of northern and southern part of the city as a joint initiative of the city's Greek and Turkish population.

The high-tech plant costs EUR 29 M, with a third of the money provided by the European Union, BusinessWeek reported.

Greece's largest toy seller Jumbo reported a 7.6 percent rise in sales for the nine months to March on Wednesday thanks to double-digit growth in Cyprus and Bulgaria.

The figure is higher than the company's outlook for an increase in sales of between four and six percent in the 12 months to June 2014.

EU supporting water treatment effort in Cyprus

The boss of a Bitcoin company in Cyprus has fled abroad days after it suddenly stopped operations, in a blow to the virtual currency’s once-vaunted prospects on the island.

Privately owned television channel Sigma TV said late on Thursday that it had repeatedly tried to contact Neo & Bee CEO Danny Brewster, but to no avail.

Cyprus is making a comeback from near bankruptcy although its banks are still struggling with bad loans and political support may be waning for tough measures, an International Monetary Fund report said on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it had reviewed Cyprus’s economy under a bailout program and approved a loan disbursement for about $115 million.

The international lender said the disbursement brings total lending to date under the IMF’s $1.4 billion program with Cyprus to about $459 million.