Eastern Mediterranean

Royal Navy type 45 destroyer deployed to reinforce security around RAF base in Cyprus to undergo short maintenance stop, says MoDHMS Dragon has docked in the eastern Mediterranean after suffering technical issues with its water systems.The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, announced on 3 March that the type 45 destroyer would be deployed to reinforce security around RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, two days after the base was struck by a Shahed 136 drone. Continue reading...

Ship arrives three weeks after Iranian-made drone hit British base of RAF Akrotiri on CyprusMiddle East crisis – live updatesHMS Dragon has arrived in the eastern Mediterranean, three weeks after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base of RAF Akrotiri, the defence secretary has said.The Type 45 destroyer will begin “operational integration into Cyprus’s defence” from Monday night, John Healey told MPs. Continue reading...

Summer holidaymakers opting for ‘more familiar, easy-to-reach locations’ as travel industry counts cost of Middle East conflictHolidaymakers who had planned to visit the eastern Mediterranean this summer are moving their trips to the west and the Caribbean because of the US-Israel war on Iran, travel companies have said.Travellers from the UK and mainland Europe are increasingly swapping their holiday destinations away from Cyprus, Turkey and Greece towards Italy, Spain, Malta and Croatia, as the region around the Middle East grapples with flight cancellations and airspace closures. Continue reading...