Current Events

The island nation of Cyprus has donated ?380,000 to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP).

With this in tow, the organization?s total money raised since by Cyprus alone stands at a grand total of ?4,772,700.

The CMP has thanked the island nation for the contribution, highlighting how the funding will make a big difference in helping the organization run and advance its core mission, which is to find and return missing persons? remains to families, where applicable. They further said that this will go a long way in helping families with decades of trauma get much-needed closure.

Since its activation in 2006, the CMP has set a target of finding the 2,002 individuals who were declared missing in communal conflicts. So far, they have managed to find 1,717 bodies, identified 1,069 of them, and brought closure for another 217 people not on the list in the process. This includes 764 Greek Cypriots and 305 Turkish Cypriots.

In 2025, the CMP found the remains of 23 persons, 12 of whom were identified. This included 4 Turkish Cypriots and 8 Greek Cypriots.

The CMP also receives donations from other nations and international organizations. In 2026, the European Union donated ?2.6 million, while the UK donated ?15,000.

Cyprus Consumers? Association has conducted a series of lab tests on food delivery transport bags, which has revealed that they contain dangerous pathogens.

Marios Drousiotis, who is the association?s president, has expressed the organization?s concerns over the handling of food in the journeys between leaving the restaurants and reaching customers? destinations.

According to Drousiotis, the organization has already received several public complaints regarding the lack of cleanliness in boxes used to transport food. They reported that the containers appeared to be dirty on several occasions. Drousiotis stated that this may imply a lack of safe hygiene practices in spaces less visible to both restaurants and customers.

The complaints prompted the association to contact the relevant authority that is responsible for food safety inspections. The latter responded to them by saying that they are aware of the matter and are soon going to begin checks.

Notably, this chain of events unfolded prior to the mass food poisoning at the wedding party in Limassol, which has been widely circulating in the news.

A two-vehicle collision in Limassol led to three individuals being rushed to the hospital.

The road accident happened at approximately 2 pm in the afternoon at Omodos in Limassol.

Both cars were being driven by men, aged 73 and 36, respectively. The latter?s car had a female, aged 35, riding as a passenger.

Officers reached the crime scene as soon as they heard, carried out the examinations, and collected evidence as applicable.

Meanwhile, an ambulance transported them all to the general hospital in Limassol.

Primary medical examinations of the three have revealed that the 36-year old?s leg was fractured, the 36-year-old passenger was injured in the head and stomach, and the 73-year-old sustained a broken rib and sternum.

While serious, their situation has been deemed stable and not life-threatening.

Further police investigation into the collision and its aftermath is currently underway.

The long-awaited Lebanon-Cyprus ferry has once again been postponed for a period of 10 days.

The Larnaca-bound ferry, which departed from Jounieh, known as the Cedar Waves, and operated by the Abou Merhi Group, is now docked at the port instead of embarking on its return journey.

According to a source in the government, this development had no relation to security issues, despite the current conflict situation in Lebanon. In fact, the decision was made prior to the situation escalating.

The Cedar Waves website has confirmed this, along with the fact that it is all set to return after the stipulated time period.

Charges begin at $95 for a one-way trip. Tickets go up to $145 for the ?Plus? ticket, and $175 for the ?Lounge? ticket. The latter of these will give upper deck access, but will not include food.

The Cedar Waves website also states that journeys to Latakia, Syria, and to Mersin, Turkey will also be launched soon. If this does happen as they say it will, it would be the first international passenger ferry service to be launched in the region in over 20 years.

The Lebanon-Cyprus ferry?s return has been highly rumored for some time in both Lebanon nd Cyprus. There was an attempt to relaunch it earlier, but it was cancelled on account of logistical issues.

The returned ferry route will last over four hours and function as a great beacon of hope for a nation marred by war and its ricocheting effects.

The southern suburban area of Beirut was hit by the Israeli army after Hezbollah attacked northern Israel. However, Jounieh, the departing destination, which is located in the country?s Christian area, over 20 kilometers from Beirut, remains intact.

The war in Iran and resultant conflict in the Middle East at large has led the World Poker Tour to announce that both their Main Event and their Prime Championship will now be held in Cyprus.

This marks a return of the WPT to the island nation after a long time.

Both the WSOP circuit event and the WPT Prime Championship were postponed and cancelled in March, respectively. The reason for this was the mass cancellations of flights, which led to WPT not being able to attend the tournament. This was the same time when Cyprus?s UK air bases were struck by drones.

Now, WPT Cyprus shall be held in August, and will now be featuring a championship event worth $3,500 and a guarantee worth $2 million. Meanwhile, the postponed WPT Prime worth $1,100 shall now be held in October and will have a guarantee worth $1 million.

Notably, poker pros in Cyprus are not fazed in the least. The WSOP-C replacement festival hit record numbers, demonstrating the region?s love for the sport.

Adam Pliska, the CEO of WPT, expressed his excitement for the Chamada Prestige Hotel & Casino to host two huge festivals for WPT?s 24th season.

The criminal court of Limassol has sentenced two individuals a five-year prison term each after they were proven guilty of sex trafficking.

The court also sentenced two others, aged 50 and 29, to prison terms of nine and eighteen months, respectively.

According to the police, the crimes in question occurred between the months of August 2022 and May 2023.

The case popped up on the radar after the office for combating trafficking received information about a twenty-four-year-old who had been trafficked and sexually exploited.

The court said that this was a part of an organized trafficking operation actively conducted on both sides of Cyprus. Court investigators identified that the syndicate operating this includes up to two hundred members.

A migrant worker tragically lost his life after an unfortunate construction accident.

The worker, aged 21, was originally from Pakistan and was working in an open space when he was brutally crushed by glass panes.

This led to the discovery that he was, in fact, illegally employed by another man, aged 56. It is unknown in what capacity he hired the now-deceased 21-year-old.

When the accident happened, the 56-year-old was working on a forklift.

The police said they shall reveal the man?s details after the investigation is complete and the family of the deceased is informed of all details on the matter.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides?s maiden state visit to Kazakhstan was marked by the official opening of the island nation?s embassy in Astana – the first of its kind not just in the country but in the entire region of Central Asia.

This is notably a huge milestone in Cyprus and Kazakhstan?s budding bilateral relations. Not only does it demonstrate Kazakhstan?s role as Cyprus?s new trade partner, it also helps create new opportunities for the two countries to cooperate on matters of investment, economics, and, of course, trade.

Yermek Kosherbayev, the Kazakhstan foreign minister, was present at the ceremony, and in his keynote, said how Cyprus has grown as a key strategic EU partner. He further added that the Embassy marks the beginning of ongoing development between the Mediterranean and Central Asia at large.

Constantinos Kombos, his Cypriot counterpart, also remarked on the significance of the embassy and expressed his optimism on the embassy opening, as well as the developing relationship between the two nations.

This comes after the two countries signing five agreements for the purpose of developing cooperation in investing, sports, education, culture and digitalization.

Cyprus’ Election Commission’s Chief Returning Officer has said that polling booths will only provide black and blue ballpoint pens for ballots during elections.

Should voters use pens of any other color, their ballot papers shall be marked as invalid.

Voters need not bring their pens – pens shall be given to them in their polling stations when they arrive to cast their ballots.

The Cypriot authorities have sincerely urged any and all voters to exclusively make use of the pens given to them to prevent their vote from being invalidated.

The Turkish Cypriot Police has arrested a man for trying to smuggle 4 embryos out of the country.

The man, aged 24, was trying to leave from Tymbou (Ercan) airport in Northern Cyprus when he was caught by security.

He has immediately been remanded.

Media reports say that he was trying to escape to an unspecified foreign country, and had put the embryos in tubes which had been labelled as ?life parcel? and even had a reference number.

According to preliminary Investigations, the embryos were stolen from an illegal IVF center in Northern Cyprus.

Further investigation is currently underway.

Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus, visited the Mumbai-based National Stock Exchange in Mumbai as part of his India visit, where he participated in a traditional bell-ringing ceremony.

He delivered his keynote address after the ceremony, where he emphasized the Cypriot-Indian bilateral relations and explained how Cyprus functions as an instrumental link between India, European countries, and the Middle East at large. In the process, it provides all parties concerned with economic and political stability, and fosters a culture imbued with an innovative and future-oriented outlook.

He further added that Cyprus is looking into ways to further enhance the relations between itself and India, especially in the areas of finance, energy, technology and shipping. The end aim is to open new avenues for financial connectivity, capital markets and investment. He then said that the NSE can go a long way to making this happen.

Others present during the ceremony include Shrinivas Injeti, the chairperson of the NSE, Ashishkumar Chauhan, the MD & CEO of the NSE, along with other CXOs.

A man has reportedly adducted his own child from their mother’s home.

The man, a Turkish Cypriot aged 29, illegally crossed over into Greek Cyprus and abducted the two-year-old from the home of their mother, who is a British national.

The Cypriot Police has said that this happened in the hours of the morning. The father once again illegally entered the mother’s home with an accomplice and physically dragged the child out and forcibly left in their vehicle.

Lefteris Kyriakou, Deputy Police Chief of Limassol has said they are in the process of issuing an arrest warrant for both individuals. The father already has an active arrest warrant against him for perpetrating a domestic abuse incident in 2025.

Further investigations, including finding out the exact way the man crossed over into Greek Cyprus, is currently underway.

The Cypriot Ministry of Agriculture has launched its new website, which is heavily focused on the country’s water issues.

According to the Ministry, this is a deliberate attempt to keep the public informed about the ongoing issues of scarcity of water and how to best conserve it.

They said that the website shall function as a main source of information regarding the current situation of water supply in the island nation, along with projects and initiatives to improve water sufficiency.

The website shall also list various water-saving arrangements that are and will soon be available for public use.

People can access a wide variety of information, from measures to be taken during water shortage to infrastructure projects, and from general awareness to practical tips.

The high-schooler who won the national essay competition on what they’d do if they became the country’s health minister has been awarded with holding the position for a day.

The winner in question, Lina, spent her day with Neophytos Charalambides, the real Health Minister, and bore witness to all the official meetings and visits that take place as part of the daily operations of the ministry.

A tour of all healthcare facilities was conducted, and the details were discussed. Work continued throughout the day as the duo went from one appointment to another.

The Health Charalambides posted a video about this on socials, citing how Lina earned her spot by winning the essay competition. He congratulated her again, wished her all the best for her future endeavors, and wished that she ?returns’ to the post for more than a day in the near future.

The Police in Cyprus caught a man trying to smuggle tons worth of fuel from Turkish Cyprus to Greek Cyprus.

Specifically, the man was found carrying over 9 tons of it in a metal tank in his truck, trying to enter Nicosia’s Dhali via the buffer zone installed between the two divisions on the island.

The man, aged 54, was additionally carrying over 54 liters of engine oil in three metal canisters, and 80 liters of petrol across four plastic canisters.

The man was immediately arrested by the police, but was released later once an out-of-court deal was made and ?40,000 was paid to secure his release.

A fire severely damaged at a cafe in Paphos in the early hours of the weekend.

The police found out about the incident after several witnesses, who are residents of the area, alerted them to it.

The fire was put out by the efforts of the local people. However, it managed to cause enough irreparable damage to the exterior and the interior of the cafe.

Firefighters and police officers finally arrived at the scene to find the extinguished fire and the extensive damage, and sealed the scene.

The Police has said that further investigation shall be made into the matter.

Cyprus Police has revealed that they have made a major stride in reducing tenancy document scamming by busting a ring that had a major role in producing such fake documents.

A total of nine individuals from this ring have been arrested so far. The Police has said that they were found to be directly involved in the matter, and even had their own fake stamps.

Apparently, they used these to create the forged agreements and gave them to people belonging to the same nationality. Then, these people submitted the documents with other paperwork to the authorities and fraudulently secured registration as students on the island nation.

The arrests were made over a period of 11 days.

Furthermore, the investigation is complete, and the case has been filed before the district court of Famagusta.

The nine arrested shall remain in custody until the hearing.

Authorities and the public alike are welcoming the news of Cyprus, indicating a significant reduction in the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Special Scientific Committee for the Reconstruction and Upgrade of the Livestock Sector’s head Stavros Malas stated that, despite being serious, the situation is currently stable and that he is optimistically cautious that the situation can improve from this point.

Malas, who also serves as the President of the Cyprus Institute, said that prompt vaccinations made a major difference in curbing the spread of the disease. He further to stop the spread in areas where it has not slowed down as much, authorities shall carry out comprehensive inspections.

He ended his statement with the acknowledgement that while the numbers are looking good, and there is every chance the spread of the disease will be stopped soon, the outbreak will continue to have a long-lasting impact on livestock in Cyprus.

In a bid to reduce carbon footprint and make sports sustainable, over 1.6 metric tons of medals are set to be recycled.

The medals have been collected from three different events – all of which were organized by Eleven Blue Events, a famous company in Limassol.

The medals will be given to a local blacksmith, who will then reuse the metal in other structures.

Eleven Blue Events issued a statement to the press, which explained that the initiative has been taken to help the company be more socially and environmentally responsible, and to help sports become more sustainable as a whole.

They stated that their aim is to propagate the circular economy, expecting it will help both the local community and the environment at large.

The three events from which the medals are used are – Bank of Cyprus Nicosia Marathon, XM Limassol Marathon, and Radisson Blu Larnaca International Marathon.

Cyprus?s Forest Department has announced that the lightning-induced forest fires that had broken out have been contained.

The announcement was made in a press statement, which stated that the first fire started at around 10:25 in the morning in Karvounas when lightning struck a tree.

A passer-by saw the fire and reported it, which led to the deployment of 2 fire engines and 13 firefighters. The fire was doused in 15 minutes before it had any chance to spread.

Another fire occurred ten minutes later in Evrychou?s Lachani area. This too was contained within ten minutes and prevented from spreading. Unlike the previous incident, this only needed 1 engine and 5 firefighters to get the job done.

This was a stellar example of how a quick response can prevent an incidental fire from turning into a big disaster.