Nikos Christodoulides

Cyprus's president has urged an immediate investigation into the killing of seven aid workers in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, saying the US-based charity they were members of was a "crucial partner" in efforts to get aid to the enclave by sea.

Nicosia has unveiled a set of targeted and broad-ranging measures aimed at alleviating the financial strain on citizens, in response to concerns over price hikes.

The second ship transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of the Amalthea project is likely to depart from Larnaca, Cyprus on Saturday, according to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

The United States and Cyprus said Tuesday they're formalizing their collaboration in fighting money laundering, sanctions evasion and other financial crimes with an agreement offering Cypriot law enforcement authorities US expertise.

The United States and Cyprus are to boost their cooperation in enhancing Cypriot capabilities in countering and prosecuting illicit finance operations, the two governments said on Tuesday.

Cyprus has long had an unwanted reputation as a conduit for illicit money flows, even though authorities have significantly tightened oversight and closed loopholes in the past decade.

This past week Washington's attention has been on Cyprus and the humanitarian corridor from Gaza, from President Biden's letter thanking President Christodoulides, to the National Security Council's chief of staff visiting Cyprus. 

Cyprus is also going to be a central theme for diaspora Greeks as celebrations for Greek Independence Day take place. 

Discussions are ongoing to decide whether EU-Turkey relations will be on the European Council's agenda at the two-day EU summit in Brussels starting Thursday. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, along with five more European leaders, will travel to Cairo Sunday.

The other leaders are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and the Prime Ministers of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, and Italy, Giorgia Meloni.

The Mount Olympus, an old Boeing 727 of Olympic Airways, which was founded by Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1957, has been dismantled 24 years after it stopped flying so that it could be moved to its new home, on Vouliagmenis Avenue, a few meters from the Elliniko metro stop.

Charity workers loaded relief supplies bound for Gaza on to a barge in Cyprus on Saturday as part of an international effort to launch a maritime corridor to a Palestinian population on the brink of famine.