EU foreign ministers have approved a new mechanism to sanction entities involved in unauthorized oil drilling in Cypriot waters. But Turkey can avoid financial penalties if it ends its illegal drilling, diplomats said.

A British woman accused of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has been given a four-month suspended jail sentence. The trial has caused widespread backlash over concerns that it was unfair.

Accustomed to living on the remains of restaurants and roadside stalls, around fifty stray cats are seen yawning and stretching under the rays of the spring sun of the island of Cyprus, in the almost deserted streets due to the measures taken in mid-March to stem the Covid-19 epidemic.

With the arrival of the first rains of November come the pink flamingos who take refuge until March in Cyprus' Lake Aliki. These migrating birds feed and rest by the lake for a few months before undergoing their long flight to Africa to spend the winter there.

Lavender, basil or roses: history and aromatic plants are being grafted in Cyprus to broaden its sun-and-sea appeal and regain its lofty status dating back to Roman times.

A huge forest blaze in Cyprus has killed four people, destroyed homes and forced evacuations of villages as Greece, Israel and other countries deployed fire-fighting planes to the Mediterranean island.

President Nicos Anastasiades has described the blaze as "an unprecedented tragedy." Firefighters are worried that the wind could fan the flames, making the fire worse.

Young wildlife vet Constantinos Antoniou, known in his country and among animal lovers as the "Birdman of Cyprus", passionately takes care of hundreds of wounded or sick wild birds every year before releasing them back to their natural habitat.

Gaynor Georgiou, 77, is a British national known as the 'cat lady' of Cyprus. Everyday she visits eight selected spots to feed the felines of Paphos, come rain or shine. Georgiou, who has consistently looked after around 160 daily cats for the last 32 years, relies mostly on her own money to provide the cat food, water and medical assistance. She also receives donations, but these have suffered recently due to the coronavirus and the lack of tourists.

Newly hatched Loggerhead sea turtles dodge micro plastic pollution littering the beach as they head out to sea in a turtle conservation area at Lara Beach in the Akamas Peninsula, in the west of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Facilities to encourage visitors to avoid the use of single use plastics are installed by several NGOs and the municipality at the Ayia Triada beach in Paralimni. The beach is now equipped with a water station for cold, filtered and free water. It includes an area for smokers and signs with information on how the visitors can become part of the solution, not the problem are also found at selected points.

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus is now the European country that receives the most asylum seekers relative to its population. In 2020, this nation of 875,000 registered 7,000 applications for asylum. With borders on the Balkan route largely closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and migration policies tightening, Cyprus now finds itself on the frontline. More and more migrants from Syria, Lebanon and sub-Saharan Africa are taking great risks to get to the island in the hope of reaching Europe.