Foreign Minister welcomes EU report for recording Turkey’s non-compliance over Cyprus

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos expressed on Wednesday satisfaction with the European Commission’s progress report on Turkey, stressing that the document clearly records Ankara’s continued non-compliance with its Cyprus-related obligations and its conduct in the Eastern Mediterranean and on the Cyprus issue.

Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, Kombos referred to the annual enlargement report covering candidate countries, noting that it includes several points of direct relevance to Turkey and, by extension, to the Republic of Cyprus.

The Minister said the government was pleased with the report’s content, which outlines Turkey’s failure to implement its obligations toward Cyprus, as well as broader issues concerning Turkey’s behaviour in the Eastern Mediterranean and the state of play in efforts to resume negotiations on the Cyprus problem.

According to Kombos, the report highlights ‘the importance of respecting the sovereignty and sovereign rights of EU member states,’ and calls for the full and non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the EU-Turkey Association Agreement. It also refers to UN Security Council resolutions on the solution framework, and to ‘the EU’s more active engagement,’ with a specific mention of the appointment of EU Special Envoy Johannes Hahn.

The report, he added, urges Turkey to avoid unilateral actions that heighten tensions and undermine prospects for the resumption of talks. It also includes references to Varosha, noting the continued illegality of its partial opening.

Kombos made special mention of the report’s reference to the illegal detention of five Greek Cypriots held in the occupied areas since July 19.

He said the report also notes the need for good-neighbourly relations, both toward Cyprus and Greece, while reaffirming that progress in EU-Turkey relations depends squarely on Ankara’s compliance with its existing Cyprus-related obligations.

On Turkey’s European path, Kombos stressed that ‘any enhancement of EU-Turkey relations goes through the conclusions of the European Council. There is absolutely no other option for Turkey.’

‘The Republic of Cyprus wishes to underline that Turkey’s European perspective is of particular importance and should be encouraged. The options are available to Turkey to move in that direction,’ he added, while noting that Ankara ‘must make a crucial decision: If it truly wishes to proceed down that path, the roadmap is there and has been repeatedly confirmed.’

Asked whether Cyprus is fully satisfied with the report, Kombos replied: ‘No one could ever be completely satisfied with a report they did not author themselves.’

‘Nevertheless,’ he said, ‘the consistency of the report’s approach is notable, and there are elements that satisfy us. Of course, there are points that Cyprus would have liked to see stated with stronger wording or differently, but the overall outcome is significant and useful for the government’s ongoing efforts.’

Commenting on whether the report could deter Turkey’s participation in the SAFE programme, the Minister clarified that ‘the progress report and the SAFE programme are different matters.’

Referring specifically to the SAFE framework, Kombos explained that the regulation was adopted through a voting procedure that did not require unanimity, which limited the influence of individual member states during its formation. However, he noted, the final framework ‘gives each member state the right to decide whether or not to conclude a bilateral agreement with any interested country.’

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week. An informal meeting in broader format is expected later this year.

Cypriot students return safely from Tanzania, Foreign Ministry was not informed in advance

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Cypriot students and their chaperones who had travelled to Tanzania returned safely to Cyprus following an episode of unrest in the country, Foreign Minister Kombos confirmed.

‘The students arrived this morning from Tanzania along with their escorts,’ he said, explaining that there was a volatile situation, but that ‘through coordinated efforts, we managed to move them to a safe location within Tanzania and, from there, via the United Arab Emirates, they arrived today in the Republic of Cyprus.’

Responding to questions from journalists, Kombos said the Foreign Ministry had not been informed in advance of the trip, nor had it been consulted about the initiative.

‘We were informed afterwards, took the necessary actions under difficult conditions, and ultimately ensured the students’ safe return,’ he said.

He clarified that this was essentially a private initiative by the organisers. Although the situation in Tanzania was not foreseen in existing travel advisories, Kombos noted that full prior information ‘would certainly have helped our preparedness.’

New shipment of humanitarian aid to Gaza via Cyprus

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Kombos also announced that another shipment of humanitarian aid for Gaza had departed under the Cyprus-led maritime humanitarian corridor initiative.

He said the mission was conducted in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Greece, other international partners, and EU member states.

The new shipment, amounting to nearly 1,000 tonnes, arrived at Israel’s Ashdod port on November 2. According to the Minister, this adds to the approximately 30,000 tonnes of aid that have already reached Gaza through Cyprus.

GRENADA-RIGHTS-PM Mitchell defends amendment to Marriage Act

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has defended the decision to amend the 1966 Marriage Act saying it is to ensure that vulnerable children are not married off at the consent of their parents and at the same time broaden protection to citizens under the age of 18.

‘This amendment to the Marriage Act is part of a broader series of legislation, that not only this administration but the prior administration as well, via the Spotlight Initiative sought to embark upon to modernise and to get protection to our children,’ he told Parliament.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell

The amendment was later approved by Parliament.

Prime Minister Mitchell, who is an attorney, said that there is another bill which is not yet before the Parliament which created all kind of ‘whobalawho’ in the public and all kind of noise, but its main aim is the protection of children.

He was referring to the amendment to the Age of Civil Responsibility Bill which will allow for minors as young as 12 years old to receive sexual and reproductive healthcare and treatment without the consent of their parents.

Several civil society groups have raised objection to this amendment and the Bill is yet to be laid in the House for debate and approval.

In Grenada, a child is defined as a person between the ages of one day and 18 years.

Mitchell told legislators that the amendment to the ‘Age of Civil Responsibility’ Bill is merely intended to give children access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.

‘I have not heard the same set of people making all this noise talk about the existing laws on our books which permits our children to be married off and to engage in sex, the same sex they seem to think that by allowing them to have access to reproductive health care that they will engage in.

‘So, I want us to understand, that we have to resist the temptation for sensation and for all kinds of random woke conspiracy theories when it comes to how this administration seek to protect our children,’ said the Prime Minister, saying that his government has sought as much as possible to make sure that it can align with almost all government policy and legislation with a minimum threshold of 18 years.

He said 18 years is the age when people are allowed to drive, are allowed to get their identification card, register to vote and are allowed a National Insurance Service (NIS) card.

‘So, we are seeking to get consistency. There may be opportunities when exceptions are required as in the case of access to health care,’ he told legislators.

‘Should the law remain the way it is, it creates an opportunity for Grenada to be used as a place where children, first you can marry children, second a place where nefarious actors can take advantage of our children, especially those parents who are vulnerable financially and pay them to marry off young boys and girls in Grenada who at 16 will be barely living high school,’ he said.

The 1966 Marriage Act provided for people as young as 16 years to be married with the consent of their parents or guardian. The 2025 amendment put the marriage age at 18 which is the same age of civil responsibility according to the 2011 Age of Civil Responsibility Act which was approved in Parliament during the Tillman Thomas Administration.

EU High Representative in Cyprus for meetings ahead of the Cyprus Presidency

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and head of the European External Action Service, Kaja Kallas, visits Cyprus on Wednesday for meetings ahead of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, which will begin on January 1, 2026.

Kallas will be received at 1600 local time at the Presidential Palace by the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides.

At 17:15 , th High Representative is expected to arrive at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she will sign the visitors’ book. This will be followed by a tete-a-tete meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Constantinos Kombos, while afterwards bilateral consultations will take place. Later on, Kombos and Kallas will make statements to the media.

As the European Commission spokesperson for foreign affairs, Anita Hipper, has told CNA, the High Representative is carrying out this visit in the context of the upcoming Presidency, as well as part of ongoing cooperation on key issues, such as the situation in Gaza, Ukraine, and the support provided to Kyiv.

ST. LUCIA-COURT-CCJ rules in favour of Comptroller of Indland Revenue in St. Lucia

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has dismissed an appeal filed by the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) upholding lower court rulings in St. Lucia that payments made by BNS St. Lucia to related foreign associates were subject to withholding tax.

The appeal arose from a dispute between the BNS, a Canadian financial institution operating in St. Lucia through a branch, and the Comptroller of Inland Revenue. The disagreement concerned the legality of imposing withholding tax under the Income Tax Act (ITA) of St. Lucia in the sum of EC$2,142,376.80 paid by the BNS branch in St. Lucia to its head office in Canada.

The central issues were whether payments made by BNS St. Lucia to its Canadian head office and regional subsidiaries for support services constituted ‘management charges’ subject to withholding tax under the ITA, and whether interest expenses incurred by BNS in its banking operations could be classified as ‘cost of sales’ under the legislation, thereby limiting their deductibility.

The Income Tax Appeal Commissioners upheld the Comptroller’s assessment, finding that the payments were management charges and that interest expenses were part of cost of sales.

On appeal, the High Court affirmed the imposition of the withholding tax but disagreed with the classification of interest expenses. Both parties appealed to the Court of Appeal which dismissed BNS’s appeal and partially allowed the Comptroller’s cross-appeal, concluding that the payments were taxable management charges and that interest expenses did constitute cost of sales.

But the BNS appealed to the CCJ, which is St. Lucia’s highest and final court, arguing that the payments made to the BNS head office were mere reimbursements, not income, and therefore fell outside the scope of the withholding tax regime.

It also contended that the term ‘cost of sales’ was inapplicable to banking operations and should not include interest expenses. But the respondents maintained that the payments were for technical and management services and that interest expenses were a direct cost of providing banking services.

But the CCJ panle of judges was unanimous in rejecting the appeal and in an opinion authored by CCJ President, Justice Winston Anderson, and supported by the other four judges, held that the payments constituted ‘management charges’ within the meaning of Schedule 3 of the Act and were subject to withholding tax under the legislation.

Applying a purposive approach to statutory interpretation, the CCJ emphasised that Parliament’s intent in amending the legislation was to capture cross-border remittances from branches to head offices, even if labelled as reimbursements and lacking a profit margin.

On the issue of territoriality, the CCJ ruled that section 7(5) of the ITA makes income accruing to a non-resident from any source other than employment or a permanent establishment, subject to withholding tax.

‘The provision contains no territorial limitation, so the services need not be performed in St. Lucia. What matters is that the income accrues to a nonresident, which brings payments like those made by BNS St. Lucia within the withholding tax regime.

The CCJ also upheld the Court of Appeal’s correction of a drafting omission in Schedule 3, finding that the exclusion of the term ‘branch’ was a clear legislative oversight that could be judicially remedied.

Justice Eboe-Osuji  said that interest expenses incurred by BNS in its banking operations were properly classified as ‘cost of sales.’

He said that the banking sector involves the sale of financial services and that interest paid on customer deposits is a direct cost of generating income.

Drawing on accounting literature, industry practice, and comparative jurisprudence, the decision emphasised that ‘cost of sales’ is not limited to the sale of goods but includes the cost of services in modern commercial contexts.

The Court dismissed the appeal and awarded costs to the Comptroller of Indland Revenue in the sum of EC$58,061 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents).

Arrests in Cyprus that participated in the international operation «Chargeback»

Two people were arrested and documents and electronic devices were seized by the Cyprus Authorities in the framework of the international operation ‘Chargeback’.

A Police press release says that on 4 November 2025, a coordinated Joint Action Day was held, within the framework of Operation ‘Chargeback’, with the aim of dismantling three major criminal networks active in the field of electronic fraud and money laundering. Cyprus was one of the countries that participated in the operation.

Based on the results of the operation, in 193 countries, more than 4.3 million cardholders were victims, the estimated financial loss is over 300 million euros, while fraud attempts exceeded 750 million euros.

Furthermore, with regard to the crime of money laundering, numerous shell companies were used in the United Kingdom and Cyprus, through which the illegal transactions were channeled, while ‘crime-as-a-service’ providers offered the shell companies complete organizational structures with fake directors and false identification documents.

The operation was carried out simultaneously in the states involved and they achieved the execution of 60 search warrants and 18 arrest warrants, seizure of documents, electronic data and communication devices and freezing of significant assets of the suspects.

The operation was successful thanks to the close cooperation between the authorities of Germany, Canada, Cyprus, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, as well as to the assistance of EUROPOL and EUROJUST, it adds.

The active operational participation of Cyprus in the Joint Action Day resulted in the arrest of two persons, searches of company offices and residences, as well as seizures of documents and electronic devices.

Cyprus participated in the operation through the Cyprus Police, (Crime Combating Department), the Nicosia Divisional Police and the EUROPOL National Unit.

CRICKET-NZL/WIS-TOSS/TEAMS New Zealand win toss, fielding vs West Indies – 1st T20I

New Zealand won the toss and elected to field against the West Indies in the first T20 International here on Wednesday at Eden Park.

TEAMS:

New Zealand XI: Tim Robinson, Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Zakary Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Jacob Duffy.

West Indies XI: Shai Hope, Alick Athanaze, Brandon King, Roston Chase, Ackeem Auguste, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales.

Umpires: Shaun Haig, Wayne Knights

TV Umpire: Corey Blacks

Reserve Umpire: Chris Brown

Match Referee: Phil Whitticase

Number of unemployed persons down 8.8% in October

The number of registered unemployed fell by 8.8% in October, according to data published on Wednesday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat).

According to CyStat, the unemployed persons, registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of October 2025, reached 7,099 persons.

Based on the seasonally adjusted data which reflect the trend of unemployment, the number of registered unemployed for October 2025 decreased to 9,476 persons, in comparison to 9,671 in the previous month.

In comparison with October 2024, a drop of 682 persons or 8.8% was recorded.

This decrease is mainly attributed to the sectors of trade, construction, manufacturing, financial and insurance activities, as well as to the decrease recorded for newcomers in the labour market.

SURINAME-BAUXITE-Government to renegotiate multi-million dollar bauxite agreement

The Suriname government says it will resume negotiations with the Chinese bauxite company, Chinalco, after announcing the establishment of a special negotiating committee.

On Tuesday, a Chinalco delegation made an introductory visit to Acting President Gregory Rusland, who said that ‘the negotiations must lead to an agreement that is more beneficial to the nation’.

Chinalco director Bo Qu, who headed the delegation said that the collaboration with Suriname should be a ‘win-win situation’.

A government statement said that the Chinalco’s plan involves mining bauxite in West Suriname and that the agreement in principle with the previous government signed in November last year included an investment of approximately US$426 million for the construction of a mine and associated infrastructure near Apoera.

Suriname would hold a 13 per cent stake and be represented in the management of the joint venture, the statement said.

However, the project’s implementation stalled after residents of Apoera and surrounding villages fiercely protested the agreement.

‘The renewed talks should clarify the conditions under which the project could potentially proceed,’ the statement added.

Cyprus and the UK launch Europe’s first counter-terrorism programme for tourism

The British High Commission, in collaboration with the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, is hosting a conference titled ‘Safeguarding Cyprus’s Tourism Industry’. The conference will officially launch the Counter-Terrorism Awareness E-Learning Training Programme on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, at the City of Dreams Mediterranean.

According to a press release, this initiative marks the first formal rollout of its kind in Europe and represents a major advancement in joint UK-Cyprus efforts to strengthen public safety and preparedness within the tourism industry.

The programme has been developed by the UK Home Office specifically for the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen protective security in Cyprus’s tourism industry. It is designed to equip professionals working in busy environments, such as hotels, airports, ports, restaurants, bars, shopping centres, and entertainment venues, with the skills to identify and respond to a range of serious threats. These include suspicious behaviour and items, bomb threats, firearm and weapons attacks, and insider threats.

It serves as a practical, sector-wide preparedness tool for managing serious incidents that could disrupt operations or compromise public safety. By equipping frontline staff and management with the ability to recognise and respond to threats swiftly and effectively, the programme directly supports the safety of both visitors and personnel. In doing so, it reinforces Cyprus’ standing as a secure, resilient, and high-quality tourist destination, it is added.

To ensure maximum accessibility and impact, the e-learning modules will be hosted on the Deputy Ministry of Tourism’s official website. “Designed for seamless integration into existing security protocols, the training is readily adaptable across the industry, enabling consistent, high-quality security awareness for professionals at every level” the announcement says.

The launch event will feature keynote addresses by the Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Dr Costas Constantinou, and the British High Commissioner, Michael Tatham, alongside panel discussions, real-life testimonials, and case studies that highlight the importance of proactive security awareness and cross-sector collaboration. Admission to the conference is free.

SURINAME-DEATH-Suriname’s former president Ronald Venetiaan dies

Former Suriname president, Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan, died on Wednesday after he had been ailing for some time. He was 89.

Venetiaan is regarded here as one of the most authoritative and influential leaders in Surinamese political history, serving three terms as head of state during the period, 1991-1996, 2000-2005, and 2005-2010.

Venetiaan was born on June 18, 1936. He studied mathematics and physics at Leiden University in the Netherlands, returning to the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country in the 1960s.

He began his career in education, first as a teacher and later as a school principal. In 1973, he joined the Arron administration as minister of Education and Public Development and political observers say his passion for education and development remained a guiding principle throughout his political career.

In 1991, Venetiaan was elected president for the first time, a few years after the first Desi Bouterse military government came to an end in November 1987. Though civilian rule was nominally restored in 1987, the military, still under Bouterse, retained significant de facto control, a period that lasted until a second coup in December 1990.

After a break of several years, Venetiaan returned to office in 2000 and was re-elected in 2005. He inherited a severely damaged economy and prioritised financial recovery and stabilization.

Under his leadership, the Surinamese dollar was introduced, and efforts were intensified to strengthen the rule of law and governance. Venetiaan was known for his calm, principled style and his aversion to political theatrics. Integrity and sound administration were the cornerstones of his leadership.

In both his first and second presidencies, restoring democratic norms played a central role and his policies, aimed at ensuring civilian control of the military and building strong institutions, earned broad respect.

After stepping down in 2010, Venetiaan withdrew from active politics but remained a moral compass as honorary chairman of the National Party of Suriname (NPS). Venetiaan is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.