Middle Eastern countries

Fourteen candidates formally joined the race on Thursday to become Cyprus's next president in an election next month dominated by the island's decades-old division, irregular migration and corruption scandals.

Cyprus has a presidential system of government and the head of state has wide executive powers.

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.

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

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."

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.

A Greek spy watching and photographing the military bases on the Turkish Cypriot's Karpas Peninsula has been caught as he had forgotten his radio in his hotel room.

Turkish Cyprus national football team will have its own jersey for the first time since its establishment in 1955, thanks to a new sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Puma.

As part of the cooperation between Puma and the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (KTFF), the Turkish Cyprus men's national football team will be on the pitch with specially designed jerseys for three years.

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has returned Egypt's stolen artifacts to the country.

The artifacts, such as the Kaaba key and an embroidered bag, which were found in a cargo package sent from Egypt last year, were returned by Gökhan Yazgı, the head of the Directorate General of Cultural Assets and Museums of the ministry.