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Cyprus Arrests 8 Syrians on Suspicion of Terrorism Funding

Two men seat at Eleftheria, Liberty, square in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Two men seat at Eleftheria, Liberty, square in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
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Cyprus Arrests 8 Syrians on Suspicion of Terrorism Funding

Two men seat at Eleftheria, Liberty, square in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Two men seat at Eleftheria, Liberty, square in central capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Police in Cyprus on Thursday detained eight individuals for questioning on allegations they were involved in raising funds for a designated terrorist group in a third country, authorities said.

The suspects, seven men and a woman, all from Syria, were arrested in morning raids by police in the towns of Limassol and Paphos, Reuters reported. There was no indication the suspects were plotting attacks themselves and police declined to name the group or where it was based.

"There is absolutely no information these individuals were planning any terror attack in Cyprus. It's purely (related to) issues of financing a specific terrorist group based in a third country," police spokesperson Christos Andreou told Cyprus's ANT1 TV channel.

One issue under scrutiny was whether funds were raised from dealing in illicit narcotics and psychotropic substances, he said.

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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.