Cyprus News Gazette

Cyprus remains extremely concerned for the situation in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said in his remarks at the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU in Luxembourg on Monday, reiterating the country’s readiness continuing operation of the maritime humanitarian corridor.

According to a press release, in his intervention, Kombos also called for restraint and avoiding further escalation and destabilization in the region.

The agenda of the Foreign Ministers’ meeting also included the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, as well as the latest developments in the Middle East and Sudan.

During the discussion on the situation in Ukraine, held jointly by the EU member states’ Foreign and Defence Ministers, Kombos stressed that Cyprus looks forward to full activation of the Ukraine Assistance Fund. Regarding the sanctions against Russia, the Foreign Minister reiterated the need for effective implementation as well as addressing matters of sanctions circumvention.

On developments in Sudan, Kombos
said that Cyprus is committed in sending humanitarian assistance and supporting initiatives towards the country’s democratic transition and preventing migration flows to the EU.

After the FAC the EU High Representative and Foreign Ministers participated in the European Union – Gulf Cooperation Council High Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation.

On the sidelines of the Council, Kombos held bilateral meetings with Deputy Foreign Ministers of Kuwait and Bahrain.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

ISTANBUL: Russia on Monday said that there is currently ‘no basis’ to hold an arms control and strategic stability dialogue with the US amid the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv.?

‘There is no basis whatsoever for an arms control and strategic stability dialogue with the United States in the face of a total hybrid war being waged against our country … It will be possible to discuss these topics only after the US authorities renounce their openly hostile anti-Russian policy,’ Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a video address to the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference.

Lavrov expressed that efforts to reduce the potential of a conflict between Russia and the US should be ‘comprehensive in nature’ and based on removing NATO’s eastward expansion.

He further said the West is balancing on the ‘dangerous edge’ of a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers, indicating that Moscow is especially concerned that the three nuclear powers in the West are among Ukraine’s main supporters.

‘The US-led ‘
collective West’ is cynically complementing the deliberate destruction of balanced and equal agreements that do not suit Washington with the promotion of apparently dishonest schemes that would create advantages for the United States,’ Lavrov also said.

He argued that the West’s goal is to create a ‘unilateral military advantage for themselves by setting new limits for nuclear arsenals while formalizing the aggregate Western superiority in the sphere of non-nuclear capabilities,’ adding that the US and its allies are enlarging their network of alliances ‘directed against third countries’ to achieve military superiority.?

Lavrov went on to say that Russia’s move to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty last year was a ‘logical response to the destructive moves by the US and other Western countries.’

‘That said, we remain a full-fledged party to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Not so long ago, we completed the formation of our segment of the International Monitoring
System. We are ready to return to the issue of its ratification as soon as the US does this,’ he said.

The Russian foreign minister also accused the Western countries of ‘tailoring’ the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to their interests.?

‘We are convinced that to prevent further degradation of the world situation, maintain durable stability and create realistic disarmament, all countries should pool their efforts to upgrade the international security system relying on the principles of multilateralism, equality and indivisibility. This is the only way of reducing interstate conflicts and ensuring real progress in arms control,’ he said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The leaders of Egypt and France warned Monday against growing instability in the Middle East amid a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi discussed during a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron the ongoing developments in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Both leaders reviewed efforts to reach an immediate and durable cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid into the strip, the statement said.

The discussions also dwelt on a recent military escalation in the region following drone and missile attacks between Iran and Israel.

The two leaders warned of the danger of the region sliding into growing instability and underlined the need to exercise wisdom and utmost restraint in the region.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border Hamas attack on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 34,151 Palestinians h
ave since been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,00 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANTALYA: An endangered lynx was spotted on Monday in Trkiye’s Mediterranean city of Antalya.

The lynx found in a forested area in Antalya was photographed by Hamit Yalcin while it was resting under a tree.

The wild cat, known as the Lynx lynx and listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, is under first-degree protection due to the threat of extinction.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The Houthis in Yemen on Monday urged its fighters to intensify military operations against the Israel-linked ships as Tel Aviv continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip for over six months.

The Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea, particularly those bound for Israel, since last fall. They say the attacks aim to pressure Israel to halt its attacks on the Gaza Strip, where more than 34,000 people have been killed since October.

The attacks disrupted international trade on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, prompting the US and UK to launch retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV quoted a statement by the group’s political bureau, which highlighted the discovery of mass graves in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip.

At least 283 bodies of people were found in a mass grave at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after the Israeli army withdrew from the city on April 7 following a 4-month ground offen
sive.

The statement reiterated the group’s stance in continuing its support to the Palestinian people and their resistance in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: Rising Middle East tensions are unlikely to significantly impact oil prices unless key producers are directly involved, according to the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In an interview with Anadolu in Istanbul, Fatih Birol divulged that, rather than supply risks in the Middle East, market fundamentals are being driven by the OPEC+ oil cut policy.

‘If one or more major oil-producing countries are not directly involved in the conflict, I do not think that prices will rise to very high levels,” Birol said.

Earlier this month, the price of international benchmark Brent crude breached the threshold of $90 a barrel, reaching its highest level since October 2023 amid the heightened tensions between Israel and Iran.

Oil prices are currently hovering around $90 in global markets, which Birol said poses a serious risk for many countries worldwide by contributing to inflationary pressures, including Trkiye.

Nonetheless, he explained that the reason why oil prices are so high despite oil dem
and being relatively low compared to the last two years in 2022 and 2023 is due to the deliberate reduction of oil production by OPEC+ countries, a policy that the group is following to keep oil prices high.

Global demand has marginally increased by around 1 million barrels per day (bpd), and production is at an adequate level to meet this demand level, he said.

The latest edition of the agency’s monthly oil market report for 2024 shows that global output is forecast to rise by 770,000 bpd to 102.9 million bpd.

Non-OPEC+ production will expand by 1.6 million bpd, while OPEC+ supply could fall by 820,000 bpd if voluntary cuts remain in place.

‘Global oil demand growth is currently in the midst of a slowdown and is expected to ease to 1.2 million bpd this year and 1.1 million bpd in 2025, bringing a peak in consumption into view this decade,’ the report said.

While a tighter supply-demand balance is expected in the market, demand growth is predicted to be met by volumes from non-OPEC+ countries like the US
, Brazil, Canada and Guyana.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on late Monday met Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil and discussed counterterrorism as well as regional and global issues, Trkiye’s Communications Directorate said.

Erdogan arrived in the KRG capital after a day-long visit to Baghdad where he held talks with Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.

He was welcomed by Nechirvan Barzani with an official ceremony at the Erbil airport.

Erdogan said it was pleasing to see Iraq moving away from violence day by day, and that the time has come to remove the PKK issue from the agenda.

Trkiye attaches importance to the unity in the fight against terrorism, the president said, expressing determination to take it to the next level.

The communications office said President Erdogan mentioned that comprehensive legal texts were signed with Iraq, and this cooperation perspective also includes the KRG region.

T
he Turkish leader said agreements signed in Baghdad, along with the announced Development Road project, will serve the welfare and peace of all of Iraq.

He stressed that the administrations in Baghdad and Erbil need to establish a healthy dialogue and working relationship, without allowing intervention by third parties.

Expressing Ankara’s desire to advance its commercial relations with the Erbil, Erdogan highlighted the importance of opening the Ovakoy-Faysh Khabur Border Gate as soon as possible and initiating vehicle crossings at the Derecik-Zeti Border Gate.

President Erdogan also expressed his belief that the rights and interests of the Turkmen people in the region, particularly in terms of political representation, will be protected.

The Turkish president also received Kurdistan Democratic Party’s leader Masoud Barzani during the visit.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: Three Israelis sustained minor injuries on Monday morning in an alleged car-ramming attack in West Jerusalem.

“This morning, a report was received regarding a ramming terror attack in which three pedestrians were run over by a vehicle on Mordechai Tekhelet Street in Jerusalem,” the Israeli police said in a statement.

The police said they are investigating the incident.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 34,000 people following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 485 Palestinians have since been killed and over 4,800 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Si
o in Istanbul

Source: Anadolu Agency

Cyprus Composite Leading Economic Index (CCLEI) recorder a year-over-year decline in March, marking a negative growth rate of 0.9%. This downturn follows a marginal increase of 0.2% in January and a decrease of 0.6% in February of the same year, according to the latest data released by the Economics Research Centre (CypERC) of the University of Cyprus.

According to a CypERC press release, the fluctuation in CCLEI growth mirrors the volatility and uncertainty prevailing in the international economic and geopolitical landscape. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with military tensions in the Middle East, has heightened global uncertainty, significantly impacting Cyprus compared to the previous year.

In March 2024, both the Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESI) for the euro area and Cyprus recorded negative year-over-year growth rates. However, Cyprus experienced a more pronounced deterioration compared to the euro area, indicative of heightened economic uncertainty within the island nation
.

Several factors contributed to the negative growth of CCLEI in March. Notably, a decline in property sales contracts and an increase in the international Brent Crude oil price played significant roles. The escalation in oil prices, for the first time since December 2022, exacerbated the negative growth trend.

Although domestic components of CCLEI moderated the overall decline, recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pose further challenges. The flare-up in the region is anticipated to impact oil prices and inflation, consequently affecting the CCLEI growth rate in the short term.

According to CypERC, the CCLEI growth and the development prospects of the Cypriot economy are highly dependent on the international economic and geopolitical environment, with the year-over-year CCLEI growth rate noting a decline in March 2024.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

ISTANBUL: Russia on Monday said it will take necessary steps if US nuclear weapons appear in neighboring Poland.

“The military, of course, if such plans are implemented, will analyze the situation and in any case will do everything necessary, all the necessary retaliatory steps, to guarantee our security,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press briefing in Moscow.

Peskov’s remarks came after Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with local media earlier in the day that his country would allow the deployment of nuclear weapons on Polish territory “if this is the decision of our allies.”

During the press briefing, Peskov said Moscow would also take legal action against legislation in the US that would allow the seizure of frozen Russian assets.

“We are very skeptical about this, because this is nothing short of a breakdown of all the foundations of the economic system … In no case should this be taken as legal actions – they are illegal. And accordingly, they will be the su
bject of retaliatory actions and the subject of litigation,” Peskov said.

On Saturday, the US House of Representatives passed a $60.8 billion aid bill to Ukraine, as well as an act allowing the administration of President Joe Biden to confiscate Russian assets present in US banks and transfer them to Ukraine.

Expressing that this trial will be “very complex,” he said it would cause severe damage to US economic interests should the bill be signed into law.

“If such measures are implemented, of course, many investors will think 10 times before making any investments in the American economy or storing their holdings there,” he added.

Peskov went on to say that Russia expects more Western “sanctions exercises” to come.

“We will look at what decisions will be made, in any case we will try to minimize the consequences of such decisions and do as our national interests dictate,” the Kremlin spokesman added.

Source: Anadolu Agency