Western Asia

Prof. Gabriel Haritos joins Thanos Davelis to discuss the significance of President Nikos Christodoulides' recent trip to Israel and message it sends about the importance of this bilateral relationship, and look at the issues discussed - from energy to the question of Israeli investments and tourists in the occupied northern part of Cyprus.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a speech on Sunday broadcast on all national TV channels.

Iraqi officials on May 11 said Mosul's once-celebrated museum had entered the final stages of restorations ahead of a planned 2026 reopening after being closed to the public for 20 years.

The museum closed its doors in 2003, amid the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and was later ransacked by Islamic State group jihadists after they seized the city in 2014.

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar expressed "hope" on Wednesday that "the Greeks will find the right path and come to the right place" during an interview where he proposed the joint exploitation of the natural wealth of the Aegean and the possibility of extending the moratorium between Greece and Turkey.

Stanford University has offered an 18-year-old Turkish student a scholarship of approximately 10 million Turkish Liras ($500,000).

Efe Zaladin, who graduated from a private high school in the Central Anatolian province of Konya last year, discovered his interest in science as a child.

The allegation that three hotels in Turkish Cyprus' Varosha city have been sold to a Turkish businessman by their Greek owners has sparked concerns in the Greek administration as the sale or transfer of real estate in the area opened to civilian visits three years ago after a 46-year hiatus is under the control of a commission.

Italy on Friday returned to Turkish authorities a funerary stele, dating from the second century and carrying a loving inscription to the dead woman's spouse, after investigation determined that it was illegally excavated from southeastern Türkiye.

"The United States is an unreliable friend. Iraq should not allow American troops on its territory" - said the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the President of Iraq Latif Rashid last night, reported Reuters.

The latest protest against the Israeli government's controversial judicial reform plans packed central Tel Aviv on Saturday, as divisions persist before lawmakers return to parliament.

A statue of Buddha has been discovered in Egypt's ancient seaport of Berenice on the Red Sea, shedding light on trade ties with India under the Roman empire.

A Polish-U.S. mission discovered the statue "dating back to the Roman era while digging at the ancient temple in Berenice," an antiquities ministry statement said on April 27.