Eastern Mediterranean

The number of Russian nationals who flew to the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus went up sixfold last year, when calls for direct flights in the unrecognized part of the divided island gained traction after an EU flight ban in the south.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has welcomed the maritime demarcation deal between Israel and Lebanon and underlined it can constitute a good example for the Mediterranean region, particularly for the Turkish and Greek Cypriots.

Foreign tourist arrivals in January-September rose by 98 percent from a year ago, while the country's tourism revenues in the third quarter leaped 27 percent, separate data showed on Oct. 27.

Including Turkish citizens residing abroad, Türkiye welcomed a total of 40.25 million visitors in the first nine months of the year.

Türkiye and the European Union will hold a high-level business dialogue meeting in Istanbul this week, after nearly three-and-a-half years in a bid to underline the importance of bilateral economic cooperation and amid Brussels' warning of circumvention of the sanctions against Russia.

The US lifted its arms embargo on Cyprus in September but the US decision has rankled Turkey which is at odds with NATO ally Greece over the island

Authorities in northern Iraq on Oct. 16 unveiled an "archaeological park" of 2,700-year-old carvings from the rule of the Assyrians, including showing kings praying to the gods.

The 13 stunning monumental rock-carved bas-reliefs were cut into the walls of an irrigation canal that stretches for some 10 kilometers (six miles) at Faida in northern Iraq.

Ankara has criticized the EU's 2022 Türkiye report as another example of Brussels' biased stance against the candidate country, rejecting its findings on backsliding of fundamental rights as well as its pro-Greek approach on the eastern Mediterranean dispute.

Israel's prime minister said Tuesday that the country has reached an "historic agreement" with neighboring Lebanon over their shared maritime border after months of U.S.-brokered negotiations.

Premier Yair Lapid called the deal an "historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border."

The Greek Minister met with his Egyptian counterpart and talked about bilateral matters

Türkiye has strongly condemned the expansion of the scope of the decision taken by the U.S. in September 2020 to lift the arms embargo on Greek Cyprus, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said.

In a statement issued on Sept. 17, the ministry highlighted that the country "fully supports" the reaction of Turkish Cyprus authorities regarding the decision.