As Syria begins recovering from 50 years of autocratic rule by the Assad family, an international envoy says Christians and other religious groups expect their rights and freedoms to be preserved under a new constitutional settlement.

A Cypriot official says more than 1,000 Syrian nationals have withdrawn their applications for asylum or international protection because they intend to return to their homeland.

Gaza's Health Ministry says more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month conflict.

Cyprus has adopted tougher policies in the last few years to stem the arrival of thousands of migrants either by boat from neighboring Lebanon, Syria or Turkey via the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

Kurds in Cyprus participated in a protest in Nicosia on Sunday, demanding the termination of Turkey’s offensive against Rojava in north Syria, and stressing the need for the international community to adopt a joint position towards Turkey.

A rightist ally of President Erdogan, Devlet Bahceli of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party, this week openly questioned Greece’s sovereignty over the islands of the southeastern Aegean. In so doing Mr. Bahceli challenges the provisions of international laws and agreements such as the 1923 Lausanne Treaty.

Hundreds of demonstrators on Thursday afternoon booed Israeli president Isaac Herzog and shouted “killer go home” as he departed the presidential palace in Nicosia after a meeting there with President Nikos Christodoulides.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides held meetings with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed on Thursday, the Cypriot presidency said, discussing with each how to reinforce regional security.

The best time to travel to Cyprus is between April and June, as well as from September to November, when the weather is pleasant and the crowds are smaller.