https://www.scmp.com/rss/51227/feed Cyprus became the latest euro zone domino to teeter in 2012 just when the worst of the crisis appeared to be over. In March 2013, a compromise rescue plan backed by euro zone finance ministers called for Cyprus to wind down one largely state-owned bank, Popular Bank. The raid on Popular Bank was intended to raise most of the 5.8 billion euros that Cyprus was required to raise as part of the bailout. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain is sending short-range air defence systems to the Gulf to help counter Iranian missile attacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. “We’re deploying short-range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed,” Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding the UK was “doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia”. The UK is working with industry to “distribute air defence missiles to Gulf partners”, which have faced waves of Iranian barrages in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes, and has... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347637/uk-sending-air-defence-systems-gulf-help-counter-iranian-missile-attacks-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347637/uk-sending-air-defence-systems-gulf-help-counter-iranian-missile-attacks-starmer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:35:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago. Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean”, the Elysee said on Sunday. The visit will take place as the war pitting the US and Israel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345905/macron-visit-cyprus-france-deploys-warships-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345905/macron-visit-cyprus-france-deploys-warships-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:54:36 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain What began as a US-Israeli assault on Iran is rapidly evolving into a conflict with the potential to spread far beyond the Middle East. Iranian missiles and drones have already struck or reached Turkey and Azerbaijan, while European powers are rushing additional warships, fighter jets and air defences to the eastern Mediterranean and Gulf to contain the fallout. Analysts warn the longer the war continues, the greater the risk that long-simmering regional fault lines – from Kurdish militancy to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345689/how-far-could-war-iran-spread-beyond-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345689/how-far-could-war-iran-spread-beyond-middle-east?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Reuters Reuters European powers said ⁠on Thursday they would work together to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and send naval and other assets to protect Cyprus as the expanding US-Iran war entered its sixth day. The conflict – which has widened beyond Gulf states to the Mediterranean, where a drone strike hit a British airbase on Cyprus on Monday, and as far afield as Asia – has convulsed global markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring. Italy, ‌Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345596/italy-send-aid-gulf-states-and-cyprus-after-iranian-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345596/italy-send-aid-gulf-states-and-cyprus-after-iranian-strikes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 11:33:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The unfolding Iran war has ricocheted across the region and beyond, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel, many reporting casualties, and key embassies, economic engines and passageways closing down. Off the coast of Sri Lanka, a US submarine sank an Iranian warship as the war intensified and its footprint grew. Foreign governments have for days urged their citizens to leave Middle East countries on any available commercial... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345492/guide-how-iran-war-has-ricocheted-across-middle-east-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345492/guide-how-iran-war-has-ricocheted-across-middle-east-and-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 02:01:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse,Reuters Agence France-Presse,Reuters The United States has ordered non-emergency staff at two Pakistani consulates to leave the country and granted permission for staff to leave missions in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Oman as Iran retaliates over US-Israeli raids. The State Department ordered non-emergency US government employees and their family members at the consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan due to “safety risks”, the US embassy in Islamabad said in a statement on Wednesday. It said there was no change to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3345490/us-pulls-diplomatic-staff-karachi-lahore-amid-pro-iran-protests-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3345490/us-pulls-diplomatic-staff-karachi-lahore-amid-pro-iran-protests-pakistan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:13:46 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by Nato air defence systems, Turkish officials said on Wednesday. The defence ministry said it had been “engaged and neutralised by Nato air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean”. It did not specify the missile’s intended target. A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been “aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345473/turkey-says-missile-launched-iran-destroyed-nato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3345473/turkey-says-missile-launched-iran-destroyed-nato?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:52:34 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets during the war in the Middle East. Macron said the Charles de Gaulle carrier will be escorted by frigates and its air wing. In a pre-recorded speech on French television, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air-defence systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the past few hours in the Middle East. “And we... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345329/iran-war-macron-orders-frances-nuclear-powered-aircraft-carrier-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3345329/iran-war-macron-orders-frances-nuclear-powered-aircraft-carrier-mediterranean?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:02:10 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham,Xiaofei Xu Finbarr Bermingham,Xiaofei Xu The simmering war in the Middle East fractured Europe on Monday, as allies clashed, tempers flared and the shock waves from the US and Israeli bombing of Iran threatened to reverberate through the continent. The crisis exposed a familiar European fault line: while leaders insist they are the last guardians of the rules-based international order, they remain split over how to respond when allies bend or break those rules. With oil price spikes threatening to compound the European economic... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3345187/europe-divided-and-edge-us-israeli-attacks-iran-ripple-across-continent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3345187/europe-divided-and-edge-us-israeli-attacks-iran-ripple-across-continent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 19:10:18 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times South Korea will take part as an observer in the inaugural meeting of the US-led “Board of Peace”, dispatching a former envoy to Thursday’s session in Washington, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Kim Yong-hyun, former ambassador to Egypt, will attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace scheduled for February 19, as the South Korean representative,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. A ministry official said that South Korea would attend as a non-member observer... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3343904/south-korea-signals-cautious-support-trumps-board-peace-attending-observer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3343904/south-korea-signals-cautious-support-trumps-board-peace-attending-observer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 08:45:35 +0000 Tom Hussain Tom Hussain Israel is cashing in on soaring international demand for combat-proven air defence systems, as analysts say the billions of dollars' worth of weapon sales will significantly expand the country’s influence beyond the Middle East. The weapon exports to Europe, Asia and Africa are helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration overcome its diplomatic isolation over the Gaza war by making the Jewish-majority state a key long-term security partner for its customers. “Exporting air defence... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337726/israels-rising-air-defence-sales-become-its-most-potent-foreign-policy-weapon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3337726/israels-rising-air-defence-sales-become-its-most-potent-foreign-policy-weapon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Dec 2025 05:30:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on ‍Monday he will discuss Iran’s nuclear activities during his visit next week with US President Donald Trump. Speaking at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was aware Iran had been conducting “exercises” recently, without elaborating. Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media reported Iran had held missile drills in various cities... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3337396/netanyahu-discuss-irans-nuclear-activities-next-phase-gaza-plan-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3337396/netanyahu-discuss-irans-nuclear-activities-next-phase-gaza-plan-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 20:33:22 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Hopes for a resumption of long-stalled talks to heal Cyprus’ decades-old ethnic rift were buoyed on Sunday when Turkish Cypriots elected a leader who campaigned on getting back to negotiating a two-zone federation with rival Greek Cypriots after an eight-year stalemate. Tufan Erhurman, 55, won by a landslide, receiving 62.76 per cent of the vote, against incumbent Ersin Tatar’s 35.81 per cent, according to unofficial figures broadcast on BRT TV. Nearly 65 per cent of 218,000 registered voters... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329598/turkish-cypriots-elect-new-leader-boosting-hopes-talks-heal-cyprus-ethnic-split?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329598/turkish-cypriots-elect-new-leader-boosting-hopes-talks-heal-cyprus-ethnic-split?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 20:41:23 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The island of cats has a cat problem. Officials in Cyprus, a small island nation in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean, estimate there is roughly one feral cat for every one of its 1 million inhabitants, though activists contend the actual population is hundreds of thousands higher. In late September, the island’s parliamentary committee on the environment was told that an existing sterilisation programme was not enough to contain the burgeoning cat population. “It’s a good programme, but... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3329070/cyprus-island-cats-has-major-cat-problem-feral-felines-outnumber-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3329070/cyprus-island-cats-has-major-cat-problem-feral-felines-outnumber-people?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings A member-driven organisation representing European business interests in China is urging policymakers to seize the opportunity – while forming the nation’s next five-year plan – to rebalance the economic-development model and strike at the heart of cutthroat price competition that hurts both foreign and domestic firms. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, which has more than 1,600 member companies, recommends in its latest position paper that China should use its 2026-2030 plan to... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3325859/eu-chamber-china-flags-manufacturing-maladies-urging-course-correction-5-year-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3325859/eu-chamber-china-flags-manufacturing-maladies-urging-course-correction-5-year-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Sep 2025 09:01:04 +0000 Mark Magnier,Finbarr Bermingham,Khushboo Razdan Mark Magnier,Finbarr Bermingham,Khushboo Razdan US and European leaders reacted with veneration, concern and stiffened resolve on Wednesday to China’s epic military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Over 25 foreign leaders – including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – joined Chinese President Xi Jinping at the showcase event marked by intimidating weaponry and choreographed troop manoeuvres. “I thought it was very, very impressive, but I understood the reason they were doing... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3324250/western-leaders-parse-china-military-parade-displaying-authoritarian-strength?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3324250/western-leaders-parse-china-military-parade-displaying-authoritarian-strength?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 20:21:26 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham China’s shipments of hi-tech goods to the European Union went into overdrive last month, coinciding with a big drop in exports of the same goods to the US, suggesting that the superpower trade and tech wars could be affecting trade with Europe. Calculations based on recently published Chinese trade data showed that China in May exported huge amounts of batteries, laptops, smartphones and solar panels to the 27-member bloc, sending import numbers for some countries to unprecedented... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3315546/chinas-shipments-hi-tech-goods-eu-surge-its-exports-us-plunge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3315546/chinas-shipments-hi-tech-goods-eu-surge-its-exports-us-plunge?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jun 2025 16:16:24 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg US President Donald Trump has a wide range of military assets in the Middle East and across the globe to bring to bear in a potential fight against Iran as he weighs one of the most momentous foreign policy decisions of his administration. That arsenal includes powerfully destructive bombs, long-range stealth bombers, an aircraft carrier strike group, US Navy destroyers and US troops - offering Trump multiple options if he decides to intervene more directly in support of Israel. Some resources... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3314882/trumps-iran-options-stealth-bombers-warships-and-bunker-buster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3314882/trumps-iran-options-stealth-bombers-warships-and-bunker-buster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jun 2025 06:26:23 +0000 A US-Russian dual national imprisoned in Russia on treason charges was freed on Thursday in exchange for a Russian man jailed on smuggling charges in the US, a prisoner swap that comes as Moscow and Washington have made efforts to repair ties. Ksenia Karelina, also identified in the media as Ksenia Khavana, is “on a plane back home to the United States”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X. She was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3306014/us-russian-citizen-released-moscow-washington-prisoner-swap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3306014/us-russian-citizen-released-moscow-washington-prisoner-swap?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Apr 2025 10:21:45 +0000 Praised by the ancient Greek literary giants Homer and Euripides for its superb quality nearly 3,000 years ago, Cyprus’ Commandaria is the world’s oldest recorded and named wine. Despite its rich heritage, the sweet wine has struggled to find its niche in the global market. Now a number of micro-wineries in the eastern Mediterranean island nation are reviving traditional winemaking techniques and giving Commandaria a chance at a long-awaited comeback. Makers hope to tap rich legends around the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3302046/praised-homer-ancient-greece-can-worlds-oldest-recorded-wine-make-comeback?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3302046/praised-homer-ancient-greece-can-worlds-oldest-recorded-wine-make-comeback?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Mar 2025 07:15:07 +0000 Alagadi Turtle Beach is one of the most closely monitored beaches in the Mediterranean, manned around the clock by an international protection force. Constantly on the lookout, they survey the bay off the port city of Girne in northern Cyprus, chasing off intrusive fishermen and bathers during the day, and lighting up the sea and dunes by night. Their watchful eye is focused on the nests of the green sea turtle, an endangered species. The team is made up of a dozen students who skip their... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3294522/where-go-cyprus-more-pristine-peaceful-north-beaches-and-hiking-castles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3294522/where-go-cyprus-more-pristine-peaceful-north-beaches-and-hiking-castles?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jan 2025 08:15:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters Australia started evacuating its nationals from Lebanon via Cyprus on Saturday, in the first large-scale operation to get citizens out of the country amid an Israeli onslaught on Iran-backed Hezbollah. Some 229 people arrived on the east Mediterranean island, which lies a 40 minute flight time from Beirut, on a commercial airline chartered by Australia. A second flight is scheduled later in the day. More evacuation flights could be expected based on demand, Australian and Cypriot officials... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3281235/australians-evacuate-lebanon-cyprus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3281235/australians-evacuate-lebanon-cyprus?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Oct 2024 15:02:29 +0000 A near-audible sigh of relief emanated from European Commission headquarters on Friday as it gained enough backing from the EU’s 27 members to slap tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. In the end, the result was not even close: just five of the 15 capitals required to block duties of up to 35.3 per cent on the imports voted against, despite frantic lobbying from Beijing and Berlin to oppose them. A dozen abstentions might not look like glowing support on paper, but in Brussels they were... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3281178/win-china-ev-tariffs-vote-leaves-eu-relieved-yet-wary-over-beijings-likely-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3281178/win-china-ev-tariffs-vote-leaves-eu-relieved-yet-wary-over-beijings-likely-retaliation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Oct 2024 04:00:10 +0000 Lebanese government officials worked to maintain friendly relations with Cyprus after the militant Hezbollah group threatened to attack the Mediterranean island if it allows Israel to use its territories to attack Lebanon. Lebanon’s state news agency said Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib told his Cypriot counterpart that Beirut relies on the positive role that Cyprus plays in support of stability in the Middle East. On Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Cyprus in a rare threat... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3267434/lebanese-officials-work-maintain-friendly-relations-cyprus-following-hezbollah-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3267434/lebanese-officials-work-maintain-friendly-relations-cyprus-following-hezbollah-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2024 21:12:44 +0000 A three-ship convoy left a port in Cyprus on Saturday with 400 tons of food and other supplies for Gaza as concerns about hunger in the territory soar. World Central Kitchen said the vessels and a barge carried enough to prepare more than 1 million meals from items such as rice, pasta, flour, legumes, tinned vegetables and proteins. Also on board were dates, traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. It was not clear when the ships would reach Gaza. The first... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3257344/ships-second-round-aid-gaza-have-departed-cyprus-concerns-about-hunger-soar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3257344/ships-second-round-aid-gaza-have-departed-cyprus-concerns-about-hunger-soar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Mar 2024 18:58:48 +0000 Paphos in Cyprus – declared a European Capital of Culture in 2017 and a European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2023 – attracts archaeology enthusiasts, wine lovers, nature fans and shipwreck enthusiasts. Home to Unesco World Heritage site Nea Paphos – the remains of a historic ancient Greek settlement now covered in wildflowers, thyme and yarrow – the small city in the south of the island is rooted in myth and legend. It is in a region rumoured to have been the birthplace of Aphrodite, whose son... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3256589/best-things-do-paphos-cyprus-reputed-birthplace-aphrodite-ancient-greek-goddess-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3256589/best-things-do-paphos-cyprus-reputed-birthplace-aphrodite-ancient-greek-goddess-love?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:15:11 +0000 A first aid ship plying a new maritime corridor from Cyprus began unloading its cargo of desperately needed food in Gaza on Friday as Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in the war. Agence France-Presse footage showed the Open Arms, which set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, towing a barge that the Spanish charity operating it says is loaded with 200 tonnes of food for Gazans threatened with famine after more than five months of war. “World Central Kitchen is unloading the barge connected now to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3255594/aid-ship-reaches-gaza-coast-cyprus-israel-rejects-hamas-truce-offer-based-unrealistic-demands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3255594/aid-ship-reaches-gaza-coast-cyprus-israel-rejects-hamas-truce-offer-based-unrealistic-demands?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2024 11:34:08 +0000 The Open Arms rescue ship of the eponymous Spanish aid organisation is fully loaded with humanitarian supplies for Gaza and can imminently depart from the Cypriot port of Larnaca, officials said on Sunday. The 37-metre-long converted tugboat, carrying around 200 tonnes of drinking water, medicines and food, should weigh anchor by Sunday evening at the latest, the island’s government said. This is a test run along the route of a planned aid corridor announced by European Union Commission... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3254875/ship-loaded-aid-gaza-ready-set-sail-cyprus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3254875/ship-loaded-aid-gaza-ready-set-sail-cyprus?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 16:38:55 +0000 Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalise same-sex marriage under civil law. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one. Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm. Public opinion in majority Orthodox countries has mostly been opposed, too. But there are some signs of change. Two... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3252215/greece-legalises-same-sex-marriage-will-other-orthodox-countries-join-them-any-time-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3252215/greece-legalises-same-sex-marriage-will-other-orthodox-countries-join-them-any-time-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:00:15 +0000 With the election of a staunch MAGA Republican to take the gavel of the House of Representatives in Washington, the end game of Ukraine counteroffensive might have come. House Speaker Mike Johnson is against continued aid to Ukraine, and the Republican-controlled House could simply kill US President Joe Biden’s demand for aid both to Israel and Ukraine. The Western alliance’s military aid is the only lifeline for Ukrainian efforts to continue the war. If the United States drops out, it is hardly... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239380/ukraine-war-stalemate-makes-ceasefire-only-realistic-option?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239380/ukraine-war-stalemate-makes-ceasefire-only-realistic-option?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Oct 2023 21:30:20 +0000 Iran on Monday warned of a possible “pre-emptive action” against Israel “in the coming hours”, as Israel readies for a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of the long-blockaded Gaza would be met with a response from other fronts – prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries. “The possibility of pre-emptive action by the resistance axis is expected in the coming hours,” Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3238167/iran-warns-israel-strike-hamas-releases-first-video-suspected-hostage-held-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3238167/iran-warns-israel-strike-hamas-releases-first-video-suspected-hostage-held-gaza?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Oct 2023 23:44:02 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Chinese criminals have a new must-have in their villains’ tool kits to cross borders, evade jail and wash the billions of dollars sucked up from phone scams, online gambling and pyramid schemes across Asia: passports from Cambodia, Cyprus, and even the tiny South Pacific island of Vanuatu. This “citizenship for sale” phenomenon has come under renewed scrutiny since Singapore’s August 15 seizure of US$1.3 billion in assets – and arrest of 10 Chinese suspects holding a cornucopia of other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3234760/citizenship-sale-singapores-u13-billion-money-laundering-probe-exposes-chinese-criminals-paid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3234760/citizenship-sale-singapores-u13-billion-money-laundering-probe-exposes-chinese-criminals-paid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Sep 2023 01:30:13 +0000 Israel’s prime minister on Sunday floated the idea of building infrastructure projects such as a fibre optic cable linking countries in Asia and the Arabian Peninsula with Europe through Israel and Cyprus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Nicosia, Cyprus on Sunday, said he is “quite confident” such an infrastructure “corridor” linking Asia to Europe through Israel and Cyprus is feasible. He said such projects could happen if Israel normalises relations with other countries in the region.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3233284/israels-prime-minister-pitches-fibre-optic-cable-idea-link-asia-and-middle-east-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3233284/israels-prime-minister-pitches-fibre-optic-cable-idea-link-asia-and-middle-east-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2023 18:45:16 +0000 Police in Cyprus have made 20 arrests after a spate of racism-fuelled violence against migrants which erupted in the west of the island last week and spread to its southern city of Limassol in a weekend rampage. Shops belonging to migrants in the island’s second city were smashed and Asian delivery drivers assaulted in a string of violent incidents which started on Friday night and continued until the early hours of Sunday. Cyprus has seen an upsurge in anti-migrant sentiment in recent years, as... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3233283/cyprus-police-arrest-20-people-racism-fuelled-violence-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3233283/cyprus-police-arrest-20-people-racism-fuelled-violence-spreads?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:59:08 +0000 Turkish Cypriot forces assaulted UN peacekeepers on Friday as they attempted to block the construction of a controversial road in the buffer zone that separates the island from the Greek side, the UN mission on the island said. The incident occurred in Pyla, a village in the UN-patrolled Green Line that slices between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north. The United Nations mission had on Thursday warned the Turkish Cypriot... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3231609/turkish-cypriot-forces-assault-un-peacekeepers-buffer-zone-separates-island?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3231609/turkish-cypriot-forces-assault-un-peacekeepers-buffer-zone-separates-island?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Aug 2023 14:01:52 +0000 A Cyprus court on Friday found a British man who killed his ailing wife in their home guilty of manslaughter, saying that the prosecution didn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that the 76-year-old man committed premeditated murder. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge bench said that David Hunter’s decision to suffocate his 74-year-old wife Janice as she was sitting in a recliner in December 2021 was a spur-of-the-moment decision: he snapped as he could no longer stand seeing her weeping in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3228547/british-man-who-killed-ailing-wife-suffocation-cleared-murder-cyprus-court?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3228547/british-man-who-killed-ailing-wife-suffocation-cleared-murder-cyprus-court?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:24:42 +0000 Standing amid ears of wheat growing tall in the buffer zone dividing Cyprus, farmer Christodoulos Christodoulou can rest easy. The rodents that once ran rampant in the decades since the no-man’s-land was created and destroyed his crops are being driven out by owls. “Our village was full of rats and mice. They ate our crops, nibbled on our tyres,” recalls Christodoulou, who owns a farm in the demilitarised corridor that splits the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3223693/cyprus-no-mans-land-owls-come-rescue-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3223693/cyprus-no-mans-land-owls-come-rescue-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jun 2023 05:25:34 +0000 Britain has evacuated 301 people from conflict-ridden Sudan and the aim is to reach a total of eight British evacuation flights by the end of Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said. Sunak told lawmakers that a large-scale evacuation of British nationals was under way to help Britons stranded in the North African country. His spokesman said that four flights had departed Sudan and another was being loaded as of noon GMT, and that Britain aimed to continue evacuation flights over... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3218483/uk-evacuates-more-300-people-sudan-large-scale-operation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3218483/uk-evacuates-more-300-people-sudan-large-scale-operation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Apr 2023 13:48:28 +0000 Former Cypriot foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected president on Sunday in a run-off vote, promising a unity government tasked with breaking a deadlock in peace talks with estranged Turkish Cypriots. Official results showed Christodoulides, 49, taking 51.9 per cent of the vote, compared with run-off rival Andreas Mavroyiannis, 66, who took 48.1 per cent. Christodoulides ran as an independent with the backing of centrist and right-of-centre parties which typically take a hard line... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209974/former-cypriot-foreign-minister-nikos-christodoulides-elected-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209974/former-cypriot-foreign-minister-nikos-christodoulides-elected-president?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Feb 2023 18:29:56 +0000 Cyprus’s former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides faces career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis in a second round of presidential elections next week after neither secured a majority of the vote on Sunday. The winner needs 50 per cent plus one to succeed two-term President Nicos Anastasiades. Pre-poll favourite Christodoulides is leading a close-fought contest with 32.04 per cent of the vote, followed by Mavroyiannis with 29.58 per cent. “Today, Cyprus spoke. It spoke clearly,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209187/cyprus-presidential-vote-goes-second-round-after-neither-candidate-secures-majority?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209187/cyprus-presidential-vote-goes-second-round-after-neither-candidate-secures-majority?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Feb 2023 21:09:13 +0000 Greek Cypriots voted on Sunday in a close presidential election between three front runners, with the electorate focused on corruption and the economy amid deadlock over the island’s long-standing division. A record 14 candidates – but only two women – are standing, with the winner needing 50 per cent plus one vote to succeed two-term President Nicos Anastasiades. Opinion polls predict a run-off on February 12, with no contender expected to secure an immediate outright majority. “I expect the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209170/greek-cypriots-vote-new-president-close-contest-passports-scandal-dominates-debate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3209170/greek-cypriots-vote-new-president-close-contest-passports-scandal-dominates-debate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Feb 2023 12:53:27 +0000 Swiss bank documents wanted by a UK investigation into the late Uzbek ruler Islam Karimov’s eldest daughter can be transferred to Britain, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court decided in a ruling released on Wednesday. The court dismissed a challenge by a company which opposed transferring the papers relating to accounts with banks in Geneva and Zurich, claiming they would not be of any use to the money-laundering investigation launched by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office relating to Gulnara... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3204867/swiss-court-helps-uk-criminal-investigation-late-uzbek-rulers-daughter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3204867/swiss-court-helps-uk-criminal-investigation-late-uzbek-rulers-daughter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Dec 2022 17:43:14 +0000 Britain and France are set to agree a deal possibly as soon as Monday to ramp up their joint efforts to stop illegal migrants from making perilous crossings of the English Channel, a British newspaper reported on Saturday. The agreement will significantly increase the 200 French officers and volunteers who operate on Channel beaches and France will aim for a “much higher” proportion of migrants to be prevented from leaving, the Telegraph newspaper reported. France will agree to a joint control... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3199425/uk-france-seen-striking-migrant-deal-efforts-stop-illegal-migrants-crossing-channel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3199425/uk-france-seen-striking-migrant-deal-efforts-stop-illegal-migrants-crossing-channel?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Nov 2022 18:31:31 +0000 Greece has the right to take “all defensive measures” to protect its easternmost islands amid threats by neighbouring Türkiye that dispute Greek sovereignty rights and raise the spectre of war, the Greek defence minister said on Saturday. Speaking after Cyprus’ independence day military parade, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said Türkiye’s “revisionist and destabilising behaviour” also undermines security in the wider eastern Mediterranean region. Panagiotopoulos dismissed Türkiye’s demands to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3194545/greece-can-defend-islands-despite-turkiyes-threats-says-defence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3194545/greece-can-defend-islands-despite-turkiyes-threats-says-defence?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Oct 2022 20:23:12 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, countries in Europe have struggled with Russia and its critical supply of natural gas. Control over this economic lifeline has allowed Russia to stand firm... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3193026/germanys-seizure-rosneft-assets-sets-bad-precedent-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3193026/germanys-seizure-rosneft-assets-sets-bad-precedent-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Sep 2022 06:30:11 +0000 Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades welcomed on Saturday a “landmark” decision by Washington to fully lift a decades-old arms embargo, conditional on Nicosia continuing to block Russian warships from its ports. The US imposed the arms embargo on the entire Cyprus in 1987 in the hope it could encourage its reunification. The Mediterranean island has been divided between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and a breakaway northern statelet, set up after a Turkish invasion launched in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3192882/cyprus-welcomes-landmark-us-lifting-1987-arms-embargo-even?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3192882/cyprus-welcomes-landmark-us-lifting-1987-arms-embargo-even?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Sep 2022 12:36:37 +0000 How the war in Ukraine ends is the question many people have been asking over the past six months. For the first few months, each side had hopes of getting the upper hand. But, with Ukraine’s failure to take back Kherson, one must be a hopeless optimist to believe the military stalemate can be broken. Ukraine has turned into a quagmire, reminiscent of the meat grinders in the first world war. Many in the West still hope the Russian economy will implode under sanctions pressure. The Russians will... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3191558/how-russias-war-ukraine-could-end-donbas-next-northern-cyprus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3191558/how-russias-war-ukraine-could-end-donbas-next-northern-cyprus?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Sep 2022 17:30:14 +0000 A Cypriot scientist defended his assertion that a new strain of Covid-19 exists that combines characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants. Other scientists have speculated that Leonidos Kostrikis’s findings are a result of laboratory contamination. But he said in an emailed statement on Sunday that the cases he has identified “indicate an evolutionary pressure to an ancestral strain to acquire these mutations and not a result of a single recombination event”. Deltacron infection is higher... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3162762/coronavirus-deltacron-discovery-not-mistake-says-scientist-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3162762/coronavirus-deltacron-discovery-not-mistake-says-scientist-who?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jan 2022 03:12:15 +0000 France on Monday showcased its military muscle with a tour of its new frigate Auvergne in the eastern Mediterranean, seeking to underscore what the ship’s captain said was the importance that Paris attaches to ensuring security and stability in the region. Captain Paul Merveilleux de Vignaux said the Auvergne with its 150-strong crew would be deployed in the eastern Mediterranean until January to gather intelligence in order to “show how the respect of international law and especially freedom of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3155337/france-shows-military-might-auvergne-warship-be-deployed-eastern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3155337/france-shows-military-might-auvergne-warship-be-deployed-eastern?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Nov 2021 15:56:11 +0000 An investigation by the Al Jazeera broadcaster to be released on Monday found that middlemen were prepared to enable a fictitious criminal investor to buy a storied English football club. The investigation found that, with the help of a fixer, Derby County FC was prepared to go through with a £99 million (US$137 million) sale to a fictitious Chinese buyer, despite a ban on serious criminals purchasing a club. Under the English Football League’s owners and directors’ test, anyone with an unspent... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3144436/english-football-club-derby-county-ready-sale-criminal-investor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3144436/english-football-club-derby-county-ready-sale-criminal-investor?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Aug 2021 18:25:28 +0000