Can music really build bridges of understanding amid conflicts? Participants at the 2017 European Forum on Music in Cyprus think so, though they admit that music can also become a weapon. [...] On Saturday, June 10, music will bridge that divide when Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot musicians take the stage together in Pafos to perform at the 2017 European Forum on Music.

Sitting in my bedroom, 200 miles from Aleppo, social media makes it easier than ever to spectate the atrocities of the civil war. But has social media changed the reality of organising a protest on the ground? [...] There are a small number of major competitors for protest organisation platforms. Facebook, of course, has cornered the market. Twitter also plays a role. ​

Grammy award nominee Demetra George Mustafoglu, Soprano Lenia Kallis, Mezzo soprano Katie Economidou and 10-year-old Peri Bektasoglu, one of Demetra’s students from Kyrenia, will get together for a concert without borders to support the CVAR. Their choice of arias from operas and popular songs will be accompanied by pianist Agni Sacca.

The American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) College Student Foreign Policy Trip to Greece and Cyprus begins its eighth year as students from across the United States gathered for briefings in Washington before departing for Cyprus, June 17, 2016. The two-week program concludes when the students return from Athens, Greece, July 1, 2016. 

Work to restore a monastery on the divided island of Cyprus has brought Turkish Cypriots together with Greek Cypriots, and Muslims with Christians.

President Nicos Anastasiades paid tribute to Cyprus-Israel relations during the opening of an exhibition in New York titled ‘Jewish refugees in Cyprus en route to Israel’, which was held at the Sam and Esther Minskoff Cultural Centre in Manhattan. 

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides yesterday said ties between Cyprus and Israel should not be limited to energy or security but should also embrace cultural diplomacy. Kasoulides was speaking at the signing of a cooperation agreement between the University of Cyprus and the Israeli Embassy in Nicosia for the creation of a Jewish Studies programme at the University of Cyprus (UCY).

The setback was so striking that President Vladimir Putin picked up the phone at 4 am on Thursday and ordered a surprise drill of 36 Russian Navy ships in the Black Sea. The political goal was to flood Russian TV news with images of pretend naval heroics in the Black Sea. Ideally, this would distract attention from Russia’s real defeat in the neighboring Mediterranean Sea last week, when the financial currency controls froze as much as $30 billion in Russian deposits on the island.