ISTANBUL: Ankara is planning to open the abandoned town of Varosha on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
“Yes there are preparations. Varosha will be opened,” Cavusoglu told the private CNN-Turk broadcaster.
Varosha was fenced off by the Turkish military in 1974 when they invaded the north of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup attempting to unite Cyprus with Greece.
Varosha was the premier tourist resort on the island of Cyprus, but has been abandoned for more than four decades since the Turkish invasion.
The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 in a move recognized only by Ankara.
Varosha residents were forced to flee south and the town remains occupied by Turkish troops to this day.
Turkey says Cyprus ‘ghost town’ to be opened
Turkey says Cyprus ‘ghost town’ to be opened
- Varosha was the premier tourist resort on the island of Cyprus, but was abandoned after the Turkish invasion in 1974
- Varosha residents were forced to flee south and the town remains occupied by Turkish troops to this day
UK upper house approves social media ban for under-16s
LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament voted Wednesday in favor of banning under?16s from using social media, raising pressure on the government to match a similar ban passed in Australia.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he was not ruling out any options and pledged action to protect children, but his government wants to wait for the results of a consultation due this summer before legislating.
Calls have risen across the opposition and within the governing Labour party for the UK to follow Australia, where under-16s have been barred from social media applications since December 10.
The amendment from opposition Conservative lawmaker John Nash passed with 261 votes to 150 in the House of Lords, co?sponsored by a Labour and a Liberal Democrat peer.
“Tonight, peers put our children’s future first,” Nash said. “This vote begins the process of stopping the catastrophic harm that social media is inflicting on a generation.”
Before the vote, Downing Street said the government would not accept the amendment, which now goes to the Labour-controlled lower House of Commons. More than 60 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to back a ban.
Public figures including actor Hugh Grant urged the government to back the proposal, saying parents alone cannot counter social media harms.
Some child-protection groups warn a ban would create a false sense of security.
A YouGov poll in December found 74 percent of Britons supported a ban. The Online Safety Act requires secure age?verification for harmful content.
