Cyprus | featured news

Europe's horsemeat scandal is spreading, as French consumer safety authorities say companies from Romania, Cyprus and the Netherlands were part of a supply chain that resulted in horsemeat being disguised as beef in frozen lasagna sold around the continent.

The finance minister of the island nation, Vassos Shiarly, criticized international lenders on Friday for imposing losses on banks with exposure to Greece.

Cyprus, the fifth euro zone country to seek emergency funding from Europe, may need a bailout of up to 10 billion euros — over half the size of its economy — officials said.

Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Belgium, Cyprus, Italy, Slovenia and Spain on Friday, indicating there was a 1-in-2 chance of further cuts in the next two years.

A massive explosion ripped through a military base in southern Cyprus, witnesses said on Monday, with the official news agency reporting at least eight people dead.

One of 11 members of an alleged Russian spy ring has gone missing on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, police say.

Police in Cyprus arrested Tuesday an 11th suspect in an alleged Russian spy ring in the United States.

The body of Tassos Papadopoulos had been taken in December, about a year after he died.