Grave by grave, a new project in divided Cyprus tries to mend mistrust

TOCHNI, Cyprus (AP) — On opposite sides of ethnically divided Cyprus, even the resting places of the dead haven't been spared the fallout of war.

Shattered granite crosses are strewn about the weed-choked Greek Cypriot cemeteries in the island's northern third that's in Turkish Cypriot hands. In the Greek Cypriot south, Muslim headstones in Turkish Cypriot cemeteries are concealed by overgrowth. Until 2003, no one could cross a United Nations-controlled buffer zone to place flowers at loved ones’ graves.

In the five decades since a Turkish invasion, vandalism and the ravages of time have transformed hundreds of Cyprus' cemeteries into evidence of the geographic and political rift. But even as chances for bilateral talks to end the divide appear bleak, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have teamed up to mend mistrust and push for peace, one grave at a time.

Restoration is underway at 15 civilian cemeteries on each side of the so-called Green Line cutting across the Mediterranean island. Expansion of the roughly 700,000-euro project ($815,000) to more cemeteries is being considered.

“The maintenance and restoration of cemeteries constitutes one of the most symbolic and morally pressing acts for a place that strives for reconciliation," said Sotos Ktoris, a Greek Cypriot member of the committee from both communities overseeing the work.

Turkey's 1974 invasion, triggered when Athens-backed supporters of uniting Cyprus with Greece mounted a coup, prompted some 160,000 Greek Cypriots to flee their villages to safety in the south, where the internationally recognized government is seated. Some 45,000 Turkish Cypriots moved north, where authorities declared independence a decade later. To this day, only Turkey recognizes Cyprus' northern authorities.

Among the displaced were the custodians of places of worship and cemeteries, both Orthodox Christian and Muslim. Churches in the north were vandalized and looted. Mosques in the south fell into neglect and decay.

As part of U.N.-mediated efforts to achieve a peace deal, both sides have found ways to address past wrongs, including the restoration of churches, mosques and other monuments by the committee.

Earlier this year, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar expanded the committee’s work to cemetery restoration, with European Union funding and U.N. support and assistance. Work began in May.

Greek Cypriot workers last month were rebuilding the 100-year-old stone wall at one Muslim cemetery in Tochni, a village nestled in hilly countryside near the southern coast. Turkish Cypriot residents had outnumbered Greek Cypriots here by nearly three to one until they were transferred north a few months after the Turkish invasion ended.

Many Turkish Cypriots from the north are now visiting the village to reconnect with their past, find family homes and honor their ancestors, according to Tochni’s Greek Cypriot community leader, Charoulla Efstratiou.

“Just as we demand that they respect us, our dead, our religion and so forth, I believe that we owe the same respect to them,” Efstratiou said.

At the Tochni cemetery, a small patch of crimson flowers emerged from the parched soil atop the grave of a man who died 65 years ago, planted recently by his descendants.

In the village of Palaikythro that Turkish Cypriots have renamed Balikesir, broken crosses at the Greek Cypriot cemetery have been set upright again until they’re fully mended.

Virtually nothing was left intact. Turkish Cypriot contractor Recep Güler said it wasn’t easy to restore the external walls and gate.

Mürüde Erzen, the village’s Turkish Cypriot community leader, said the cemetery is part of shared cultural heritage.

“When I saw this place, I was very upset, wondering why it had become like this,” Erzen told the United Nations Development Program in footage shared with the AP. Turkish Cypriot authorities had denied the AP access.

When Erzen became community leader, she resolved to do something about it.

Sotiroulla Mina Iniati, the Greek Cypriot community leader of Palaikythro, said the cost of full restoration of crosses will be borne by families or the community council. Greek Cypriots continue to elect their own community leader to affirm their claim to their lost lands and preserve their memory.

“For us, this is a sacred place,” Iniati said. “We feel that in this way, the souls of our dead who have for 51 years remain neglected, will be able to rest."

The last major push for a peace deal in Cyprus collapsed in 2017.

Today, the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey shun the U.N.-endorsed framework for reunifying Cyprus as a federation. They insist on a two-state deal that Greek Cypriots reject because they view partition as dooming the island to Turkey’s influence, with its military hardware and troops stationed there in perpetuity.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has met Christodoulides and Tatar twice this year and is expected to meet them again in the coming months in a bid to keep peace talks alive.

CORRECTS DATE - Shade from pine trees covers some of the graves of Turkish Cypriots at the Muslim cemetery in the village of Tochni, Cyprus on July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Shade from pine trees covers some of the graves of Turkish Cypriots at the Muslim cemetery in the village of Tochni, Cyprus on July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A headstone at the grave of a Turkish Cypriot man lies slightly tilted at the Muslim cemetery in the village of Tochni, Cyprus on July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A small patch of crimson flowers lies at the foot of the headstone of a Turkish Cypriot man who died 65 years ago at the Muslim cemetery in the village of Tochni, Cyprus on July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation likely remained elevated last month as the cost of electricity, groceries, and clothing may have jumped and continued to pressure consumers' wallets.

The Labor Department is expected to report that consumer prices rose 2.6% in December compared with a year earlier, according to economists' estimates compiled by data provider FactSet. The yearly rate would be down from 2.7% in November. Monthly prices, however, are expected to rise 0.3% in December, faster than is consistent with the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation goal.

The figures are harder to predict this month, however, because the six-week government shutdown last fall suspended the collection of price data used to compile the inflation rate. Some economists expect the December figures will show a bigger jump in inflation as the data collection process gets back to normal.

Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, are also expected to rise 0.3% in December from the previous month, and 2.7% from a year earlier. The yearly core figure would be an increase from 2.6% in November.

In November, annual inflation fell from 3% in September to 2.7%, in part because of quirks in November's data. (The government never calculated a yearly figure for October). Most prices were collected in the second half of November, after the government reopened, when holiday discounts kicked in, which may have biased November inflation lower.

And since rental prices weren't fully collected in October, the agency that prepares the inflation reports used placeholder estimates that may have biased prices lower, economists said.

Inflation has come down significantly from the four-decade peak of 9.1% that it reached in June 2022, but it has been stubbornly close to 3% since late 2023. The cost of necessities such as groceries is about 25% higher than it was before the pandemic, and other necessities such as rent and clothing have also gotten more expensive, fueling dissatisfaction with the economy that both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden have sought to address, though with limited success.

The Federal Reserve has struggled to balance its goal of fighting inflation by keeping borrowing costs high, while also supporting hiring by cutting interest rates when unemployment worsens. As long as inflation remains above its target of 2%, the Fed will likely be reluctant to cut rates much more.

The Fed reduced its key rate by a quarter-point in December, but Chair Jerome Powell, at a press conference explaining its decision, said the Fed would probably hold off on further cuts to see how the economy evolves.

The 19 members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee have been sharply divided for months over whether to cut its rate further, or keep it at its curent level of about 3.6% to combat inflation.

Trump, meanwhile, has harshly criticized the Fed for not cutting its key short-term rate more sharply, a move he has said would reduce mortgage rates and the government's borrowing costs for its huge debt pile. Yet the Fed doesn't directly control mortgage rates, which are set by financial markets.

In a move that cast a shadow over the ability of the Fed to fight inflation in the future, the Department of Justice served the central bank last Friday with subpoenas related to Powell's congressional testimony in June about a $2.5 billion renovation of two Fed office buildings. Trump administration officials have suggested that Powell either lied about changes to the building or altered plans in ways that are inconsistent with those approved by planning commissions.

In a blunt response, Powell said Sunday those claims were “pretexts” for an effort by the White House to assert more control over the Fed.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

FILE -American Giant clothing is displayed at the company's showroom in San Francisco, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE -A cashier rings up groceries in Dallas, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)