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France Sides with Cyprus amid Tensions with Turkey over Gas Search

France's Defense Minister Florence Parly talks to the media after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 18, 2020. (AP)
France's Defense Minister Florence Parly talks to the media after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 18, 2020. (AP)
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France Sides with Cyprus amid Tensions with Turkey over Gas Search

France's Defense Minister Florence Parly talks to the media after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 18, 2020. (AP)
France's Defense Minister Florence Parly talks to the media after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, Feb. 18, 2020. (AP)

France's defense minister said Tuesday that her country stands in solidarity with Cyprus amid tensions over a Turkish search for natural gas inside Cypriot waters.

Florence Parly said France supports Cyprus, which finds itself under “strong pressure.”

“France is a friend of Cyprus," Parly told The Associated Press after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades. “And we also express our solidarity regarding, for instance, what's going on in the EEZ" — Cyprus' exclusive economic zone.

Turkey has sent warship-escorted vessels to drill for gas in waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights, including areas where the Cypriot government has licensed energy companies Total of France and Italy's Eni to carry out exploratory drilling.

European Union member Cyprus has denounced Turkey's actions as a flagrant violation of its sovereign rights and of international law. The EU has also rebuked Turkey over the drilling.

Turkey, which does not recognize Cyprus as a state, says its acting to protect its rights and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence that came after a 1974 Turkish invasion of the island following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004 but only the south — where the internationally recognized government is seated — enjoys full membership benefits.

Parly said France is grateful for Cyprus' assistance in French naval operations in the region by allowing French ships to resupply at Cypriot ports.

The French defense minister said she would visit the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle that's sailing off Cyprus to conduct air strikes against ISIS group targets in the region.

Cypriot deputy government spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas said Parly discussed with the Cypriot president ways of bolstering bilateral cooperation, especially in the defense sector.

Cyprus said earlier this month that it has signed 240 million euros' ($260 million) worth of contracts with French companies to upgrade weapons systems.

A Cypriot official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss military matters, said France is looking to station warplanes at an airbase on Cyprus' southwestern coast.

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World

Australia Pledges Cyclone Aid to Pacific Neighbors

Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
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Australia Pledges Cyclone Aid to Pacific Neighbors

Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Australia pledged Au$2.5 million ($1.7 million) in aid to Pacific neighbors Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Sunday, after tropical cyclone Maila caused devastating floods and landslides that killed 11.

In Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea that is seeking independence, school was cancelled this week after the cyclone destroyed critical infrastructure including roads and bridges and severely disrupted food supply chains, the region's government said in a statement Saturday.

Eleven people were killed in the region, including eight in a landslide.

Access to Panguna, home to a gold and copper mine that was once among the world's largest, had been cut.

The Bougainville autonomous region president, Ishmael Toroama, urged the population to "not lose hope" in a statement Friday.

The weather system began to weaken Saturday and has since been downgraded to a tropical low.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong pledged Au$1 million for Papua New Guinea to respond to the cyclone's impact in Bougainville and Milne Bay.

Another Au$1.5 million will be provided to Solomon Islands, where severe impacts have been felt in remote communities across Western and Choiseul provinces.

World

Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations on Easter Truce Violations

People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations on Easter Truce Violations

People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops are violating the Easter ⁠truce while Russian ⁠forces are observing the ⁠declared ceasefire.

Civilians, including a child, were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Kursk region, ⁠the ⁠Ministry was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Moscow accused Ukraine of 1,971 violations, while the Ukrainian army said that Russia has violated the truce in place for Orthodox Easter nearly 2,300 times since it came into effect.

"As of 7:00 a.m. on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specifically: 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, 747 strikes by attack drones... and 1,045 strikes by FPV drones," the Ukrainian military's general staff said in a post on Facebook.

"There were no missile strikes, guided aerial bomb strikes, or Shahed-type UAV strikes," it added.

World

At Least 30 Dead in Stampede at Haiti’s Historic Laferriere Citadel

A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee
A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee
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At Least 30 Dead in Stampede at Haiti’s Historic Laferriere Citadel

A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee
A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee

At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede in the northern countryside of Haiti, authorities said, warning that the death toll could rise.

Jean Henri Petit, head of Civil Protection for Haiti's Nord Department, said the stampede occurred at the Laferriere Citadel, an early-19th-century fortress built shortly after Haiti's independence from France, Reuters reported.

One of Haiti's most popular tourist attractions, the fortress was packed with students and visitors ⁠on Saturday who had ⁠come to participate in the annual celebration of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Petit added.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said in a statement that he "extends his sincere condolences to the bereaved families and assures them of his profound ⁠solidarity during this time of mourning and great suffering."

He added that "many young people" were in attendance at the Citadel's celebrations, although it is unknown who died and the prime minister's statement did not give an estimate of the death toll.

Petit said the stampede occurred at the entrance to the site, adding that the rain further exacerbated the disaster.

The deadly stampede comes as Haiti is grappling ⁠with widespread ⁠violence by gangs that have massacred civilians, as well as an increasingly deadly crackdown by security forces.

The island nation has also been the site of various disasters in recent years, including a 2024 fuel tank explosion that killed two dozen people, another fuel tank blast in 2021 that killed 90 people and an earthquake that left some 2,000 people dead that same year.