NICOSIA: A military assessment team from the United States will be in Cyprus this week as part of defense upgrades, Cypriot officials said on Tuesday, following an announcement from Washington of cooperation with the Mediterranean island.
The evaluation team, based in Germany, would provide know-how and recommendations on infrastructure projects to enhance interoperability with the United States and other partners, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.
“The upgrading of infrastructure, the supply of modern means and the investment in training are key pillars of our national strategy for an effective and flexible defense,” Letymbiotis told a news briefing.
The assessment will take place at a military base in the western district of Paphos.
Strategically perched on the edge of the volatile Middle East, European Union member Cyprus has played a central role in evacuating civilians from the region during the many flare-ups in tensions.
Last year, it established a humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza, where a ceasefire deal came into effect on Sunday.
Relations between the US and Cyprus have grown closer in recent years and are closely followed by Turkiye, which invaded Cyprus’s northern third in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup. Both Türkiye and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state it supports in north Cyprus have criticized cooperation.
Part of the assessment will look at the potential to upgrade landing facilities at the air base to allow for large-scale evacuation operations from the region if needed, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The source asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
As defense ties strengthen, US assesses Cyprus base
https://arab.news/v8mup
As defense ties strengthen, US assesses Cyprus base
- The assessment will take place at a military base in the western district of Paphos
- European Union member Cyprus has played a central role in evacuating civilians from the region
In rare overlap, Chinese Muslims observe Ramadan with Lunar New Year
- Lunar New Year started on Feb. 17 and is celebrated for another two weeks
- Chinese Indonesians make up about 3 percent of the Indonesian population
JAKARTA: Every year, on the first day of Lunar New Year, Febriani visits relatives and gathers for a feast with her Chinese Muslim family, part of a long-standing tradition honoring their ethnic heritage.
But this year, as Thursday marks the beginning of Ramadan, she is celebrating two important occasions within the same week, in a rare overlap that last took place in 1995.
“I’m very happy and grateful that Lunar New Year and Ramadan are celebrated so closely. I observe both every year, so it’s truly special,” she told Arab News.
Widely observed across Asia, the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year festival is believed to date back to the 14th century B.C., to the times of the Shang Dynasty, China’s earliest ruling dynasty, when people celebrated good harvests.
In 2026, it started on Feb. 17 and is celebrated for another two weeks. For many, celebrations typically involve elaborate feasts, giving children pocket money in red envelopes, and watching dragon dance parades.
In Indonesia, Chinese-descent citizens make up an estimated 3 percent of the country’s Muslim-majority population of more than 280 million. While most are either Buddhists or Christians, a small minority professes Islam.
For 25-year-old Febriani, both Lunar New Year and Ramadan are equally meaningful.
“The two celebrations teach us to strengthen bonds, to share with one another, and to become closer to family,” she said.
“They are both important to me because they happen only once every year and they’re always an occasion to gather with the extended family. It is also a chance to self-reflect and strengthen relationships with your loved ones.”
For Naga Kunadi, whose family lives in Central Java’s Cepu district, Chinese New Year is all about embracing his ethnic identity.
Earlier in the week, his family was busy preparing for the new year’s feast, which was a fusion of Chinese and Indonesian dishes, such as claypot tofu, meatball soup and shumai, or steamed dumplings.
“To celebrate Chinese New Year, we prepared halal Chinese food at home. It’s also a way to introduce to my children the traditions from our Chinese side, but there’s a bit of a fusion because my wife is Javanese,” Kunadi told Arab News.
Kunadi, an Islamic teacher at the Lautze Mosque in Jakarta, sees both Chinese New Year and Ramadan as opportunities to teach important life values for his two children.
Upholding Chinese New Year traditions with his family is for him a way of preserving his ethnic heritage.
“We want to preserve cultural values as long as it does not clash with our religion,” he said.
“If we leave our culture behind, we might lose our identity, so this is something I want to teach my children.”
The fasting month of Ramadan, on the other hand, gives him a chance to teach and practice honesty.
“I want to focus on the religious and moral aspects during the holy month of Ramadan, when we practice honesty on a personal level,” Kunadi said.
“There’s always an opportunity to eat or snack in secret without anybody knowing, but we train ourselves not to do that. For me, Ramadan is a time for everyone to put honesty into practice, including myself and my children.”
