General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will earmark 2% of gross domestic product to defense spending in line with other European Union member states as a means to strengthen the east Mediterranean island nation’s foreign policy bargaining power, the new Cypriot president said Friday.
Nikos Christodoulides told reporters after a visit to a Special Forces training camp that he aims to put Cyprus, along with other countries including Greece and France, “at the core” of a recent EU push to bolster its deterrent capabilities and defense infrastructure.
“I also served as foreign minister and I know that without a strong deterrent force, without a strong defense, your say in foreign policy matters is clearly limited,” Christodoulides said.
According to official figures, Cyprus’ GDP in 2022 was estimated at 27 billion euros. A 2% of GDP target would mark a slight increase in current expenditure on ethnically split Cyprus’ military. It’s also reflective of NATO members’ commitment to spend 2% of their GDP on defense spending, although Christodoulides has said he has no intention to apply for membership in the military alliance at this time.
Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded following an Athens junta-backed coup aimed at union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third where it maintains more than 35,000 troops.
“As long as there’s occupation in our country, we are obligated to bolster our deterrent capabilities,” said Christodoulides.
The president, who defeated a career diplomat in a Feb. 12 runoff to win the presidency, said his government would also strive to underscore Cyprus’ status as a member of the EU to upgrade defense cooperation with neighboring countries.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst.
ATHENS - The tragedy of the Tempi train collision is a much greater issue than an opportunity for parties to table a motion of censure against the government, but the opposition parties used it anyway "to turn society's pain into a tool to strike at the government and me personally," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday night in parliament.
ATHENS - PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis, speaking at the Hellenic Parliament on Thursday, emphasized that there is "an established belief among the Greek people" that the government "operates as a well-oiled machine of corruption, cover-up, and propaganda.
ATHENS — Greece’s center-right government survived a motion of no-confidence late Thursday that was brought by opposition parties over its handling of the country’s deadliest rail disaster a year ago.
ASTORIA – Greek Minister of the Interior Niki Kerameus offered an informative presentation on postal voting in the upcoming European Union elections for Greek citizens in a well-attended event held at the St.