Day: June 10, 2023

The Cyprus National Guard and the French Armed Forces are conducting a small-scale special operations exercise entitled “BOLD WINGS – 2023”, which will be concluded on June 15.

The drill, which began on May 30, takes place in Cyprus at land and is attended by special operations personnel of the National Guard and the French armed forces.

According to a press release by the National Guard General Staff, the scenario of the drill includes various types of individual and group weapons shots, execution of free-fall jumps, training in combat First Aid, as well as execution of special operations within a residential area.

On June 07, the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis, attended part of the joint training, in the presence of the Ambassador of France, Salina Grenet – Catalano. The Chief congratulated the special operations teams and pointed out the great importance of conducting joint trainings, both for increasing the level of cooperation and understanding between the armed forces of the two countries, as well as for the security and stability in the region.

The exercise, which is part of the Bilateral Defence Cooperation Program between the Republic of Cyprus and France, is considered to be particularly beneficial, as it provides the opportunity for the special operations staff of the National Guard to train together with their counterparts of the French forces, thus promoting the level of training, interoperability and highlighting the excellent relations between the armed forces of the two countries.

In a post on his twitter account, Demokritos Zervakis wrote that this is an important cooperation, a valuable exchange of knowledge and experience, which strengthens the long-standing ties of friendship between the armed forces of Cyprus and France.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

With the completion of the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020 we will ensure the granting of more than 850 million euro from European and national funds, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Petros Xenophontos said Friday, addressing an event for the promotion of the Mediterranean Diet organised by the Cypriot Farmers’ Union in collaboration with the National Agricultural Network.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, he said, is working tirelessly to strengthen the competitiveness of the primary sector, adding that the goal is to revive the countryside, ensure a fair income for the producers, ensure food quality and support the renewal of the agricultural sector.

He pointed out that the agricultural sector in Cyprus was faced with serious difficulties, adding that the economic crisis of the previous decade was followed by the coronavirus pandemic, affecting significantly the economy and therefore the agricultural sector.

Moreover, he pointed out that the conflict in Ukraine has created an energy and food problem in the world, which affected Cyprus as well, with energy prices and agricultural supplies rising rapidly.

“Taking into account the above, three measure packages were provided, with a total expenditure of 41.5 million euro as financial aid to the sectors that were most affected and also for addressing inflationary trends”, Xenophontos said.

He added that for the modernisation of the agricultural sector, all available European financial tools are being used.

“With the completion of the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020 until this year, when its transitional period is completed, we will ensure the granting of more than 850 million euros from European and national funds”, the Minister noted.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides has stressed that the government will not allow a very small minority of people in the country to tarnish Cyprus’ reputation, which was built after many years of efforts.

Addressing Saturday the Annual Pancyprian Conference of the Cyprus Union of Bank Employees (ETYK), the President referred to corruption and Cyprus’ image abroad, saying that everyone must cooperate to change this negative image.

“It is for this reason”, he said, that the government has reacted in the specific way it has, right from the beginning when the US and UK sanctions were announced.

Saying that the government has already launched an action plan to improve the country’s image, he stressed the importance of economic diplomacy strategy.

Referring to the economy, President Christodoulides noted that “our economy, like the banking sector, has recovered and demonstrated resilience in recent years in a very difficult international environment, having to face unprecedented challenges, such as the pandemic, as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine”.

Despite these difficult conditions, he said, the performance of the Cypriot economy has demonstrated its potential, while in the medium term it is expected to continue to show positive growth rates, “despite the expected slowdown, due to mainly external factors”.

Public finances, he went on to say, are expected to “maintain their sustainable course, while high inflation remains a challenge, although its gradual de-escalation has begun,” he said.

Regarding the Cypriot banks, he said that they have made remarkable progress in relation to Non-Performing Loans, reaching a single-digit rate in 2022, at approximately 9.5% of total loans.

He also added that high inflation, combined with rising interest rates, is expected to reduce the disposable income of borrowers, which may lead to difficulty repaying their loans. To this end, the President called on the banks to follow the restructuring procedures where applicable, giving special priority to vulnerable citizens.

Addressing the conference, Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus, Konstantinos Herodotou, said that the macroeconomic data of Cyprus and the developments in the banking system, reflect the significant resilience that the economy has shown to the negative external developments of recent years, such as the pandemic, the energy crisis in 2022, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Referring to the banking sector, he said that the significant progress of recent years is due to the hard work of bank staff. But he pointed out that “in the rapidly changing environment, challenges remain”.

In her address, which was read out by the Chair of the House Finance Committee, Christiana Erotokritou, President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou said that the Parliament understands the great importance of the banking profession for the Cypriot economy, underlining its support for the Union, but also for the effort to create the appropriate frameworks that will support the Union and bank employees in general.

ETYK Honorary President Loizos Hatzikostis, referred to the issue of corruption, saying that “we must regain our dignity as a people and put a stop to the those who think they can buy everything and everyone” and asked the government to make sure that this will be the case.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

A mine explosion in the north of Mali killed a peacekeeper and left eight others seriously injured Friday, according to a United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission report in Mali (MINUSMA).

“Today, one of our patrols near the town of Ber, in northern Mali, was the target of a complex attack,” said the mission.

“This tragic loss is a stark reminder of the risks our peacekeepers face as they work tirelessly to bring stability and peace to the people of Mali,” said El-Ghassim Wane, head of MINUSMA.

The patrol was targeted in an attack involving an improvised explosive device (IED) followed by direct fire, it said.

Attacks on peacekeepers in Mali are common.

Last year, the death toll in the country for the past 12 years was recorded as at least 494 UN and associated personnel.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A Turkish ship that was attacked by armed stowaways was secured by security forces off the southern city of Naples, the Italian defense minister said Friday.

“The ship’s hijackers have been captured. All ended well,” Guido Crosetto wrote on Twitter and congratulated security forces taking part in the operation to regain control of the ship.

Crosetto told reporters earlier that stowaways, who he described as a group of illegal immigrants with “dagger-type weapons,” took control of the Turkish-flagged Galata Seaways ro-ro ship, which was sailing from Trkiye’s Yalova province to the French port of Sete.

Following the operation by two Navy helicopters, coast guard personnel and customs police, control of the ship was regained off Naples.

Trkiye’s General Directorate of Maritime Affairs (DGM) said relevant authorities were alerted at 11.20 a.m. local Turkish time that 15 stowaways with dagger-type knives were detected onboard.

The crew locked them in safe areas to secure themselves.

Following evaluations, Turkish authorities contacted Italian and French authorities, and upon the request of the ship’s company and approval from Rome, it was decided that the ship sailed toward Naples, the DGM said in the statement.

Later, sharing images from the ship’s security cameras, the DGM announced on Twitter that Italian security forces regained control of the ship and rescued the crew.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The third round of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group ended Friday with an agreement on a cease-fire, the main point on the agenda in talks in Havana.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro and ELN top commander Antonio Garcia signed the agreement after several failed attempts to reach an agreement.

When will it take effect?

On July 6, offensive operations will cease following a preparatory process that will take place from June 9 to July 5. The official national cease-fire will take effect Aug. 3 and last six months.

How far along and how far to go?

The parties have completed three rounds of talks since January. The talks began in Caracas, Venezuela with the second round in Mexico City. The third round in Havana began May 2. The next round will be in September in Venezuela.

The peace process has suffered various setbacks, including Petro´s announcement Dec. 31 of a six-month cease-fire with the ELN and other armed groups — a claim that was denied by the guerrilla group.

Who will monitor the process?

The agreement will be closely monitored and verified by the UN, Catholic Church, guarantor countries and civil society delegates.

What does agreement include?

Although the deal suspends hostilities between military forces and the ELN, it does not halt criminal actions by the guerrillas such as extortion and kidnapping.

ELN chief negotiator Pablo Beltran said Friday that the guerrillas’ “finance operations” will be maintained “for now” and for kidnappings, or ‘retentions’ as they are called by the ELN, “if they are not necessary, they will not happen.”

The government has not commented on that issue, which has generated controversy among leaders in Colombia’s regions, who said excluding those behaviors from the agreement will increase criminal activity.

Petro said he plans to end the decades-long war with the ELN in May 2025.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A ceremony was held Friday in Germany to mark the 19th anniversary of a bomb attack by Neo-Nazis that targeted a Turkish neighborhood in Cologne.

During the ceremony, attendees placed wreaths at the scene and released doves.

Turkish Consul General in Cologne, Turhan Kaya, and Mayor of Cologne Henriette Reker, attended.

Keup Street, known as ‘Little Istanbul,” was targeted June 9, 2004, with a bomb attack by the neo-Nazi terror group, the National Socialist Underground (NSU).

Twenty-two people were injured, including six who were seriously wounded in the terror attack.

The NSU killed eight Turkish immigrants, a Greek citizen and a German policewoman between 2000 and 2007, but the murders have remained unresolved.

German public first learned of the NSU’s existence and its role in the murders on Nov. 4, 2011, when two members of the group, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Bohnhardt, committed suicide after an unsuccessful bank robbery. Police found evidence in their apartment showing they were behind the murders.

Mundlos, Bohnhardt and another member, Beate Zschaepe, have lived clandestine lives for nearly 13 years, apparently without arousing the suspicions of German police or intelligence services.

Zschaepe was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 after a five-year trial. During the trial, she declined to give insight about the NSU, and tried to lay blame on her friends — Mundlos and Bohnhardt.

Source: Anadolu Agency

At least five workers died on Saturday in an explosion at a rocket and explosives factory in Trkiye’s capital Ankara, according to the country’s National Defense Ministry.

“An explosion occurred at the MKE Rocket and Explosives Factory in the Elmadag district of Ankara. As a result of the explosion, five of our workers have been martyred,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into the incident.

The early-morning blast took place at a dynamite production section of the facility, owned by Trkiye’s Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), at around 8.44 a.m. local time (0544GMT), Governor Vasip Sahin told journalists at the site.

He said a “chemical reaction” is thought to have caused the explosion.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was briefed on the incident by National Defense Minister Yasar Guler after the incident, said a statement by the country’s Communication Directorate.

Erdogan offered his condolences to the families of the five deceased workers, the statement added.

Deputy Minister of National Defense Alpaslan Kavaklioglu also released a statement on the incident, noting that the explosion had occurred in a “very small building.”

“When we look at the camera recordings, there is nothing out of the ordinary until the moment of the explosion. Our workers were carrying out their normal activities, and the explosion happened suddenly,” he said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Two Australian divers reported missing off the coast of Tasmania have been found alive, according to media reports on Saturday.

The two divers, a 24-year old woman and 25-year old man, had been missing since the morning off eastern Tasmania, Sydney-based broadcaster ABC News reported.

Authorities launched a search operation involving multiple boats and a police helicopter for the missing divers after they failed to return from a dive at the town of Bicheno.

Local police confirmed that both divers were rescued alive after an hours-long search effort in nearby waters.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid

Source: Anadolu Agency