Eastern Mediterranean

The overall solvency ratio of the Cyprus banking sector stood at 21.2% at the end of December 2022, the same as September 2022, according to data published by the Central Bank of Cyprus last week.

According to key aggregate financial indicators for the Cyprus banking sector, by CBC, an annual increase of 50 base units was recorded.

For Cypriots, it was a collective "here we go again" moment.

In April, the US and the UK included a handful of Cypriot nationals and Cyprus-registered companies on a list of "enablers" helping Russian oligarchs skirt sanctions. It was an unwelcome reminder of the lingering perception that the island nation somehow remains Moscow's financial lackey.

Two young men, aged 22 and 30, have been remanded on suspicion of assaulting a Turkish Cypriot woman in Greek Cyprus over the weekend, with police seeking another one.

Cyprus is launching an information campaign to counter a spike in irregular migration, authorities said on Tuesday, saying they were struggling with the highest inflows in the European Union.

The island has had the highest new asylum applications in proportion to its population for the past six years. Eurostat data for 2022 showed it at double that of second-placed Austria.

Cyprus is making a new push to cement energy ties with Israel, and there have been recent reports about a pipeline that would link Israel with Cyprus where gas will be liquefied and exported abroad to Europe.

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) agrees with Nicosia's priority to bring natural gas το Cyprus, in order to produce cheap electricity, said CCCI President Christodoulos Angastiniotis, after a meeting held between the CCCI and the country's President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday. 

The European Commission has announced the establishment of an information and support center, in collaboration with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce (TCCC), to facilitate legal trade across the Green Line for Cypriot businesses and individuals.

The rate of associate degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate aged 25 and over in Türkiye's total population was 23.9 percent in 2022, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

Cyprus wants more direct involvement of the European Union in attempts to end the decades-old division of the island, its president Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday.

Cyprus authorities say they're take extra efforts to ensure flight safety isn't compromised from Turkish warplanes and military drones flying inside Cypriot-monitored airspace without filing either flight plans or communicating with air traffic control.