CYPRUS - Anti-Terror Drill

"US Navy SEALs, Cyprus Special Forces Hold Anti-Terror Drill" Military.com (AP), 09/11/2021

LIMASSOL, Cyprus (AP) — Members of the U.S. Navy’s elite special forces SEAL unit joined Cypriot underwater demolition soldiers on Friday in a joint drill to hone skills in countering terrorist hijackings at sea.

The exercise involved teams of U.S. and Cypriot special forces re-taking a ship controlled by terrorists.

Cypriot Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides said after the drill that Cyprus and the U.S. are on the same “strategic path” to ensure security and stability in a turbulent region.

He said close cooperation between the two countries’ special forces in the past two years aims to achieve peak preparedness in order to deal with “asymmetrical threats and emerging crises.”

U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus Judith Garber said more joint drills will follow in the near future.

The U.S. decided for the first time last year to provide military education and training funding to Cyprus following Congressional approval as part of Washington’s [DC] push to enhance ties with countries in the region in order to boost security.

The funding is part of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy and Security Partnership Act that U.S. legislators approved in 2019.  The legislation underscores U.S. support for a partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel founded on recently discovered offshore gas deposits in the region.

The Act also partially lifts a 1987 U.S. arms embargo on Cyprus that was imposed to prevent an arms race that could hamper efforts to reunify the ethnically divided island nation.

CYPRUS - Banking Crisis Effect

"In Cyprus, Banking Crisis Prompts Government to Tax Citizen Savings" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 3/18/2013

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour):  The day's biggest economic story came from Europe, where old worries about debt, bailouts, and public anger found new life again.  European markets were rattled today by events that occurred on the tiny Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.  The island is part of the European Union, and plans for the government to seize individual bank deposits set off outrage there.

It also prompted worries about whether other nations could follow suit in time.  As the day wore on, concerns about the region's debt crisis dragged on U.S. markets as well.  The Dow Jones industrial average fell 62 points to finish the day at 14,452.  The NASDAQ lost more than 11 points to close above 3,237.

We begin our coverage with this report from Emma Murphy of Independent Television News in Nicosia.

EMMA MURPHY, Independent Television News:  They held their hands in protest and not inconsiderable despair.  These of Cyprus say they are furious with their government and other Eurozone leaders.  They are the people who are having to carry the weight of the E.U. bailout.

The banks will get 10 billion Euros to keep them afloat, but Cyprus has to find 5.8 billion more.  It would come through a levy, meaning these people will lose between six percent and nine percent of their savings.

MAN:  It's like people putting your hands in your pockets and receiving something.  It's outright theft.  And this is something that should not have happened in Cyprus.

EMMA MURPHY:  These are the people who are really suffering.  They saved their money.  They put it in the bank.  And they believed that it would be safe.  Then they woke up to find that their balances had gone down considerably and they couldn't even get access to cash, little wonder after promises from their president that their money would be protected, they're now so angry.

SUE HALL, Business Owner:  We do probably about 50 weddings a year.

EMMA MURPHY:  Sue Hall moved to Cyprus to run a wedding company.

SUE HALL:  My big concern is the business, because most of the money in my business account actually belongs to brides that have paid for weddings here.  So, you know, what do I do?  Do I ask them for more money or do I have to carry the loss?

EMMA MURPHY:  Banks are closed until Thursday.  And there's a limited amount of money left in the cash points.  The Cypriot government has to get parliament to agree the deal or the bailout fails.  They're not confident.

HARRIS GEORGIADES, Cyprus Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance:  We shall face a total collapse of the banking system and of the whole Cyprus economy.

EMMA MURPHY:  Such talk may well be brinksmanship.  If not, these people and many more across Europe face futures which will be forever changed by the events of the past three days.

"Will the Banking Crisis in Cyprus Rock Other Markets?" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 3/18/2013

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Off the coast of Greece, the small nation of Cyprus is facing big economic problems.  Judy Woodruff interviews Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics on the magnitude of the banking crisis in Cyprus and how it may be causing aftershock effects in others markets.