Eastern Mediterranean

An architect who survived the powerful twin earthquakes of early February has started an initiative to construct wooden, eco-friendly houses for the quake-hit provinces.

Turkey's president on Monday criticized UN peacekeepers for blocking the construction of a road in ethnically divided Cyprus, calling the action "unacceptable" and accusing the peacekeeping force of bias against Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish Cypriot authorities have announced the continuation of road construction plans aimed at linking the ethnically mixed Pyla village in the buffer zone with the mainland, following a recent altercation with United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping forces in the region.

The United States on Friday announced it had extended the lifting of the US arms embargo for Cyprus for the 2024 fiscal year.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his "strong disapproval" of the attacks against a group of international peacekeepers in Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots trying to build a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled buffer zone during a call with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, engaged in a telephone conversation to discuss the Turkish Cypriot government's Pile-Yiğitler Road project and the critical grain deal.

The UN mission in ethnically divided Cyprus said Thursday it will block construction by Turkish Cypriots of a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled buffer zone and likely raise tensions on the Mediterranean island nation.

Annual Cyprus tourist arrivals have recorded a 32% increase this year, said Tourism Minister Costas Koumis. He said that a good level of tourist arrivals is expected until November. 

In September, the tourism minister will visit Scandinavian countries to further promote Cyprus as a tourist destination. 

A significant increase of 12.6% was recorded in the first quarter of 2023 in the assets under management of the Cypriot Investment Funds, compared to 2022, says the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA). 

CIFA President Andreas Yiasemides stressed the need to complete the regulatory framework to turn Cyprus into an even more attractive destination. 

The United Nations refugee agency said Friday it was "extremely concerned" over the return of more than 100 Syrian nationals from Cyprus to Lebanon without being screened to determine whether they need legal protection and who may be deported back to their war-wracked homeland.