Nicosia International Airport

Cyprus and China have reached a new agreement to allow more flights between the two countries, aiming to boost tourism, trade and business cooperation.

The deal was signed on Thursday by Cyprus' Civil Aviation Director Panagiota Demetriou and Han Joo from China's Civil Aviation Administration, during a ceremony in Nicosia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has inaugurated the new terminal building and runway of Turkish Cyprus' Ercan Airport, dubbed the airport with the largest passenger capacity on the island.

Separated by politics but united in pride, members of LGBTQ+ communities came together in celebration late on Saturday in the no-man's-land that splits Cyprus in two.

Cyprus authorities say they're take extra efforts to ensure flight safety isn't compromised from Turkish warplanes and military drones flying inside Cypriot-monitored airspace without filing either flight plans or communicating with air traffic control.

Nicosia said the Republic of Cyprus accepted a request from Washington regarding the arrival of an American Rapid Deployment Forces unit in case of an emergency, amid rising tension in the region following the US assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq last weel.

Cyprus officials dismiss reports that say Turkish drones had interfered with flight paths of commercial airplanes taking off or landing at Paphos airport.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and the leader of the island's Turkish-occupied north were meeting in the UN bufferzone in Nicosia on Friday for informal talks aimed at restarting stalled reunification negotiations.

In a bid to revive confidence-building measures between Greece and Turkey, a delegation of Turkish military officials arrived in Athens on Monday for talks until Friday with their Greek counterparts in the presence of diplomats from both countries.

A new security alliance, also involving US participation, appears to be in the offing in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, according to analysts. A security structure of this sort would most likely rely on the trilateral partnerships that Greece and Cyprus have in recent years forged with Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades is attending on Friday the unveiling ceremony of a Greek Noratlas aircraft replica, which has been assembled at the Tymvos Makedonitissas military cemetery in Nicosia to honor the fallen.

The ceremony is part of a series of events and gatherings by which Greek Cypriots mark July 20 as the day of Turkish invasion.