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1. Turkey slams EU maritime map, escalating tensions with Greece and Cyprus

Turkey has voiced sharp criticism of a European Commission map delineating potential maximum maritime zones for Greece, calling it an affront to its territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean....

2. Suez Canal blockage and South China sea clashes threaten global trade

Although the pandemic-induced disruptions in global supply chains have eased and water flow in the Panama Canal has improved, new threats to international trade have emerged....

3. Ships collide in disputed waters, China blames Philippines

4. Philippines secures China approval for ship supplies

The Philippines announced it has reached an understanding with China regarding resupply missions to the beached Filipino naval ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, a significant flashpoint in the South China Sea....

5. Chinese coast guard clashes with Philippines in disputed waters

In a harrowing encounter in the disputed South China Sea, Chinese coast guard ships aggressively confronted a Philippine patrol vessel, raising fears of a larger conflict. ...

6. Philippines accuses China of dumping cyanide into disputed Scarborough Shoal

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in the Philippines has accused Chinese fishing vessels of utilizing cyanide to harm the Scarborough Shoal, a contested atoll in the South China Sea, according to a report in Business Insider....

7. Death toll in Libya floods at 11,300 as more bodies wash ashore

International rescue teams in Libya are calling for more help to retrieve the bodies of victims killed in devastating floods that swept through the eastern city of Derna, killing thousands....

8. Tourists on jet skis killed by Algerian coastguard

Two French-Moroccan holidaymakers have been killed by the Algerian coastguard after apparently straying into Algerian waters on their jet ski....

9. Russian fighter jet collides with US drone over Black Sea

A Russian fighter jet hit the propeller of a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, according to the U.S. European Command....

10. Rumors about Israel-Lebanon gas pact as Cyprus sits out

America’s energy czar is purported to be mediating a secret gas arrangement between Israel and Lebanon, a Herculean task given delineation complexities but not farfetched given ongoing efforts to resolve similar disputes between Tel Aviv and Nicosia...

11. Erdogan keeps suspense as he helicopters to drillship

Suspense in Nicosia and Athens were unceremoniously put on hold on Tuesday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the launch of the country’s Abdulhamid Han drill ship in contested waters off Cyprus but was in no hurry to share coordinates...

12. Cyprus and Greece coordinating closely in anticipation of Turkish provocations

Greece and Cyprus accused rival Turkey on Thursday of stoking tensions as Ankara prepared to dispatch a drillship to the Mediterranean next month in a search for natural gas....

13. Hezbollah issues warning as Greek company goes deep

Tensions are rising in the eastern Mediterranean as a dispute previously thought to have been resolved between Israel and Lebanon was back on the agenda when a statement from Greek company Energean touched a nerve with Hezbollah...

14. ‘A Dark Room’: excerpts from Alexis Papachelas’ forthcoming book

“The nut, he went and did what we didn’t,” said Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos the morning of July 15, 1974 after he found out that Dimitris Ioannidis, the junta’s military police chief, had orchestrated a coup to overthrow Cyprus President Archbishop Makarios....

15. Turkey denies Cypriot vessel in contested waters

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was working the phones on Monday, a day after Turkey expelled a research vessel from waters west of the island, a maritime area with zones claimed by both Ankara and Nicosia...

16. Cypriot president warns about Turkey agenda

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has given a few more hints on what an EU agenda for Turkey ought to look like next month, only days after revealing he was prepared wield his veto power if a decision did not deal squarely with Cyprus...

17. Cyprus rejects EU draft on Turkey which seeks to deepen trade ties

Cyprus has rejected a draft prepared for a summit of EU leaders this week which seeks to deepen trade ties with Turkey, describing it as “totally unacceptable.” ...

18. Greece, France to sign $2.8 billion fighter jet deal

Greece is due to sign a 2.3 billion-euro ($2.8 billion) deal with France on Monday to purchase 18 Rafale fighter jets as tensions grow with neighbor Turkey....

19. No ‘cold turkey’ route as EU ministers meet

No big steps are expected Monday as EU foreign ministers meet to evaluate possible sanctions against Turkey, laying the groundwork for a more substantive debate between EU leaders later in the week...

20. Cat-and-mouse game with Turkey must stop, Michel says

A game of “cat-and-mouse” between the European Union and Turkey needs to come to an end, European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday, in reference to a dispute over natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean....

21. Turkish exploration vessel back in port ahead of EU summit

Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday from disputed Mediterranean waters, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara....

22. Turkey’s behavior ‘widening its separation’ from EU, Borrell says

Turkey’s rhetoric on Cyprus is aggravating tensions with the European Union and Ankara must understand that its behavior is “widening its separation” from the 27-nation bloc, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday....

23. Mitsotakis hails Cyprus, Greece, Egypt cooperation

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hailed the importance of the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt for ensuring peace and stability in the region....

24. Greece, Cyprus seek more EU pressure to stop ‘provocative’ Turkey

Greece and Cyprus pushed for a tougher European Union response to Turkey’s natural gas exploration in contested Mediterranean waters at an EU summit on Friday, after Ankara restarted operations of a survey ship....

25. France, Germany give Turkey a week to clarify positions

France and Germany accused Turkey on Thursday of continuing to provoke the European Union with its actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, and gave it a week to clarify its positions....

26. Carrot-and-stick approach to Turkey failing, EU envoys say

The European Union's latest strategy to defuse tensions with Turkey is unravelling, two weeks after it was sealed, raising the risk of conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean, diplomats, officials and experts said....

27. Turkey points finger at Greece

Ankara fired back at US and EU criticism over actions of its decision to send Oruc Reis survey vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo, while also accusing Athens of escalating tensions and refusing honest dialogue over maritime disputes...

28. Ankara accuses Athens of beating the war drum

Turkey says the European Union is not sincere in its efforts to weigh in on the maritime disputes in the eastern Mediterranean, while accusing Athens of beating the war drum by intending to expand Greek territorial waters...

29. EU set to sanction Turkey over ships in disputed East Med exploration area

The European Union is preparing sanctions against Turkey that could be discussed at the bloc's next summit on September 24 in response to the Eastern Mediterranean dispute with Greece, the EU’s top diplomat said on Friday. ...

30. Cyprus open to defining maritime zones

Cyprus said on Tuesday it was willing to engage with all its neighbours on defining maritime boundaries, amid a tense stand-off with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean over jurisdiction in the energy-rich waters...