Current Events

Constantinos Kombos, Cyprus?s Foreign Minister, said that the island nation supports de-escalating the situation there by exercising restraint and finding a resolution that respects both people?s sentiments and international law.

The urging comes weeks after US military forces conducted airstrikes and arrested its now-former President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

He further added that he is closely watching events unfold in Venezuela with the help of the European Union as well as other partners. He mentioned being in touch with Kaja Kallas, the high representative for foreign policy of the EU.

He also stated that Cyprus has a long-term travel advice of avoiding travelling to Venezuela, which remains in effect. That being said, if there are citizens from Cyprus there, the government is willing to offer consular help via its partners in the EU.

Greek authorities temporarily closed their airspace due to radio-frequency issues, which in turn disrupted Cypriot aviation operations.

According to Cyprus?s Ministry of Transport, closing the airspace impacted flights running between the two Mediterranean nations, as well as flights departing from Cyprus that were to fly over Greece.

As a first response, Cypriot authorities advised both current and prospective passengers to speak with their airlines and know the latest information prior to getting into airports.

According to Euronews, the problem happened due to a breakdown of communication between control towers and aircrafts. ERT, the Greek public channel, reported that all Greece-bound aircrafts were being asked to divert their route.

Eventually, most of said flights landed in or travelled via Turkey.

The police found the body of an unidentified person in coastal Avdimou, which they suspect might be that of a Russian man, aged 56, who has been at large for over 3 weeks.

The police said that the body was found highly decomposed, making it difficult to find any solid identifiable markers.

A coroner from the UK military will be conducting the autopsy. This is because the area where the body was found is under British jurisdiction. For this reason, British police officers were present on the scene along with their Cypriot counterparts.

Any identification on the body will only be made after an extensive forensic investigation.

The Police are continuing their investigations and so far haven?t ruled out any reason for the cause of death.

The missing person in question is a Russian businessman, Vladislav Baumgertner, former CEO Uralkalihas, who was last seen in his Pissouri home.

Former Cypriot President George Vassiliou has died, aged 94, at Nicosia General Hospital.

The sad news was announced by his wife, ex-Commissioner of the EU, Androulla Vassiliou, on the social media platform X (formerly, Twitter). She said that after two difficult years health-wise, her husband of fifty-nine years has passed away in peace. She said that he was a great husband, parent and person, and had nothing but love and kindness for Cyprus and its citizens.

Not only was Vassiliou very famous, he was a prominent figure in the history of Cypriot polity. While being the son a famous leftist, he always kept his political practice free from the vagaries of ideology.

Vassiliou?s educational background includes studies at London, Vienna, Geneva, and Hungary. He came back to Cyprus and founded the Middle East Marketing Research Bureau – a pioneer in market research in the country and region at large.

He became the President of Cyprus in 1988 with the support of AKEL – and stunned everybody with his Western-leaning liberal policies. His term, which lasted till 1993 were peppered with reform measures – most important of all being introducing VAT to keep Cyprus in line with then EU standards. He also founded the University of Cyprus in 1992.

In 1990, Vassiliou led the application Cyprus joining the EEC, the first ever step towards its integration as a European country. While he lost the next elections in 1993 by a small margin, he retained his strategic importance and led the team which secured Cyprus membership of the EU.

Sales of petrol and petrol-related products in the island nation of Cyprus has seen an uptick of around 4.9% in December 2025, in comparison to sales in the same month in 2024.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), an increase in sales of aviation and marine fuels led to the sale of over 123,274 tons of it.

Marine gasoil saw the highest uptick, surging by 76.3%, while aviation-specific kerosene sales rose by 23.6%. Sales of asphalt, heating gasoil, motor gas and diesel rose by 51.4%, 10.9%, 7.5%, and 6.1%, respectively.

There were certain declines too – sales of light fuel oil, heavy fuel oil, and LPG fell by 82.8%, 34.9% and 0.6%, respectively.

On the flip side, sales via gas stations also saw an uptick of 5.7% compared to the previous year.

Cyprus Police have arrested a man for stealing a motorcycle and several assault-related offences, including assaulting an officer of the law.

The matter started with the police getting a tip on an unidentified individual using a motorbike that has been reported as stolen days prior.

The individual who made the tip at first tried to approach and delay the man, only to be attacked and threatened with a knife.

Once the police arrived, the man tried to attack the complainant as well as his friend, which led he police to arrest him. The man did not stop at this and assaulted the officers on scene.

The police did a full body search, where they found a knife.

The man, aged 25, shall be produced before court soon

StartupBlink?s Innovators Business Environment Index 2026 has ranked the island nation of Cyprus 15th worldwide and first in all of Southern Europe in the field of global business innovation.

Said ranking indicates that the island nation performs strongly in the areas of taxation and incentives to businesses and has an overall attractive market.

The Index ranked Cyprus in first place in the EU on taxation – the country ranked tenth on the global scale on this parameter.

The Index also ranked the island nation second on business incentives EU-wide. This shows how innovative businesses can benefit by moving here by taking advantage of the financial and fiscal benefits available.

Furthermore, the Index ranked Cyprus above 75% of other countries in the world in matters of key indicators such as dividend tax, corporate tax, and capital gains tax.

In its press release, the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) praised Cyprus? performance indicators and expressed its admiration for the country having the ideal foundation a company requires to grow and innovate optimally.

They also said that Cyprus has mastered the difficult art of fostering an environment for innovation that is both competitive and healthy by encouraging both commercial and scientific endeavors.

The Index collects data from over 125 nations and compiles results that offer comparative insights into innovation situations. Over thirty different parameters are taken into consideration.

A court in Nicosia has ordered an 8-day remand for the inmate accused of killing their fellow prisoner in Central Prisons.

The inmate was produced before the court, where he was told about his charges and the remand, as the investigation is underway. After consulting with his advocate, the inmate decided not to contest.

Gennadios Ioannou, investigator for the Nicosia CID, said that the murder was committed at night in the prison’s Fourth Wing. There was a major fight between the two inmates, after which the victim was taken to the office of the guard. This is where he collapsed and later passed away.

The victim was found to be injured under his left eye.

The police have so far collected CCTV footage and statements from twelve eyewitnesses, and are expecting around thirty more.

Scientific and forensic work is underway to best reconstruct the exact circumstances.

According to the court, a remand was required give how serious the nature of the crime is and that it was committed in a prison itself. The remand would also prevent anyone from tampering with evidence or obstructing a police investigation.

UNESCO has finally accepted Cyprus’ Commandaria into its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This decision was announced on the 20th session of Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi in India.

According to Deputy Culture Minister Dr Vasiliki Kassianidou, this marks a major milestone for Cyprus’ cultural identity. He called the Commandaria more than wine – emphasizing how it captures the very heart and soul and rich history and culture of the island nation and its people. He further added that getting this award honors tradition as well as the generations of winemakers and vine-growers from the fourteen villages dedicated to making it.

Dr Kassianidou said that while Cyprus is indeed small, it has a great spirit and has contributed a lot to the world. He expresses his happiness at the Commandaria now being recognized as one of them.

The last entry to this list was the Art of Midwifery in 2023.

Five-star resort City of Dreams has been voted as the best MICE hotel in Cyprus.

The Limassol-based destination is now among a list of exclusive locations that are known as some of the finest destinations for international-scale meetings, incentives, conferences and events (i.e. MICE).

The votes for this came from consumers, the media and from MICE professionals themselves.

Opened as recently as 2023, City of Dreams has been fast to establish itself as a world-class venue for events with high-quality hospitality, service and facilities.

It already has an impressive portfolio of events hosted, which include I-CON and IFX EXPO, meetings hosted by the likes of Exness, LVMH, NMBS and Google, events hosted by Coca-Cola and Cyprus Tourism. It has also hosted several international and local wedding ceremonies, which include the largest Indian wedding in Cyprus so far.

GM Grant Johnson was very pleased with the development and expressed his appreciation. He added that the award not only highlights the exceptional services, but also he people working behind making them happen.

This year’s MICE Awards was held at Bahrain’s World MICE Awards Gala Ceremony along with the World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala.

Located in the heart of the Mediterranean, City of Dreams is spread across a vast area of 8,000m�. Facilities within the premises include the largest expo center in Cyprus, a convertible Grand Ballroom, an Amphitheatre that works outdoors, bespoke business areas and meeting spaces, and a sprawling lawn for outdoor events.

The resort has over five hundred suites and rooms, and sports the biggest pool complex in Cyprus. It even has its own catering system and highly prestigious restaurants such as Amber Dragon, Prime Steakhouse and Anais.

Cyprus President Nicos Christodoulides has stated that one of his main activities during his upcoming Council of the European Union presidency would be to support Moldova’s goal of becoming an EU member in 2026.

Christodoulides said this after meeting with his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu in Cyprus.

Moldova was one of the countries that had applied to join the EU after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Their aim is to become a full-fledged member by 2030.

Sandu, who is on an official visit to the island nation, criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its attempts to destabilize its neighboring country.

Sandu also said that their inclusion in the EU will determine how Moldova will survive facing aggression and threats. Their inclusion would also help the European Union strengthen the eastern side and protect Ukraine better.

Finally, she said that an EU membership would enhance security on the regional level and protect Moldova’s electoral systems from becoming an instrument to pull it under Russia’s thumb.

The European Commission released its annual enlargement package around a month ago. It lists progress made by Ukraine as well as its partners over the last year. According to this document, Ukraine qualifies for opening Clusters 1, 6 and 2 – Foundations, External Relations, and Internal Market, respectively.

The Israeli yacht that had gone missing due to stormy weather has been found off the Cypriot coast after a nationwide search.

According to CyBC, its crew were four in total – all of them male. They were all sound and did not need any further assistance.

The yacht in question had engine issues while returning to the Israeli city of Haifa from Crete in Greece. After being missing for more than 24 hours, Cyprus launched a nationwide search operation along with Greece and Israel.

After a thorough search, the yacht was finally located within the Cyprus Search and Rescue Region (SRR), specifically around 165 kilometers away from Paphos.

The island nation of Cyprus has one of the largest SSR zones in the eastern Mediterranean region and is known to conduct joint operations with neighboring countries.

As mentioned before, the vessel is back on track and is currently en route to Haifa. It is expected to take longer due to its mechanical issues.

The yacht’s engine trouble and subsequent route loss are being attributed to Storm Byron, which caused high-speed winds and heavy rainfall in and around Cyprus.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides has announced a cabinet reshuffle. One minister has been shuffled to a new post, while four new ministers have been introduced.

According to the statement by the Presidency, George Papanastasiou has left the post of Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister, and has been replaced by Michalis Damianou, who was previously the Health Minister.

Marinos Mousiouttas has replaced Yiannis Panagiotou to become the Labour and Social Insurance Minister.

Marios Hartsiotis, who was the Justice and Public Order Minister, will be replaced by Constantinos Fytiris. Hartsiotis himself will now become the Commissioner to the President.

Michalis Damianou will replace Neophytos Charalambides as Health Minister, while Klea Hadjistefanou Papaellina will replace Marilena Evangelou as the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare.

The village of Tala in Cyprus saw major destruction as it was hit by a tornado, including at least 10 uprooted trees and widespread damage to a car parking area as well as the area near Vrasidas Folk Art Museum.

Tala Community Council President Ioannis Konnikos revealed that he was informed of the cables in the parking zone which caught on fire due to an uprooted tree.

The EAC was brought in to make repairs almost immediately, although it led to a two-hour-long power outage to make room for said repairs.

Konnikos was also informed of the trees which fell in the area near the museum, which caused widespread damage. He said that due to the extent of the damage, the community authority will try and help rectify the situation.

Museum owner Vrasidas Neofytou spoke about the ‘significant’ damages, while also mentioning Tala had borne witness to a similar storm nearly a decade ago.

Government employees, both active and retired, have a reason celebrate as the Cypriot Treasury has announced that salaries as well as pensions for the month of December shall be released early.

Payments were personally approved by the Minister of Finance and will include government officers and civil servants, as well as staff paid on an hourly basis.

The treasury also clarified that bonus payments and pensions shall be released on the 29th of December.

According to the announcement, beneficiaries shall be able to see the amount reflected in their accounts within twenty-four hours of disbursal.

Greek villages like Sartana, based in Mariupol, Ukraine, have been resettled in Cyprus. Residents of the village are well on their way to finding suitable work and integrating themselves into the larger community.

Ukrinform says that the initiative was made by Serhiy Nizhynskyi, the ambassador of Ukraine in Cyprus.

Cyprus’ Interior Ministry has revealed that Cyprus has a total of thirty-three thousand Ukrainians, and around twenty-four thousands of them came after the war and have a temporary protection status.

Nizhynskyi called the move a great step in relocating people who will easily adjust to a place physically far, but culturally near. He also said that being from Ukraine, they will not waste the chance they have received and will get themselves gainfully employed and integrated as fast as possible.

Nizhynskyi also spoke about whether this move would lead to them losing their Ukrainian identity and citizenship. He said that this depends entirely upon them, and they may choose either path.

This development comes on the heels of the opening of the ‘Ukrainian House’ – a place where Ukrainians can meet, exchange ideas and celebrate their culture.

Hakan Fidan, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, has accused Cyprus of blocking the growing rapport between the European Union and Turkey.

While speaking in Brussels, Belgium, at NATO, Fidan said that Cyprus and Greece together were blocking the progression of relations between the Middle Eastern nation and the EU.

He further explained how the two countries’ actions are behaving in a way that’s stalling relations between the two.

He said that everyone he speaks with complains about the Greek Cypriot authorities, and that their behavior is causing great obstruction between the EU and Turkey. However, he did not give any further details.

Fidan also spoke about how quick and solid steps need to be taken to jumpstart EU accession. Steps include reversing certain decisions taken in 2019. This is a direct referral to the European Parliament suspending Turkey’s accession over issues of law, freedom of media and state of human rights in the country.

According to Fidan, it is imperative to remove blockages and reopen chapters that have been in limbo. He emphasized recent conversations with top European Union officers such as Kaja Kallas, the High Representative, and Marta Kos, the Enlargement Commissioner. Topics covered in said discussion include visa expansion, Turkish European banking operations, modernizing the EU-Turkey Customs Union, and visa liberalization.

The nations of Lebanon & Cyprus have finally signed the long-awaited maritime border agreement, putting an end to over two decades of impasse, which had put a pause on oil & gas exploration initiatives in the Mediterranean Sea.

This is an extremely crucial time for this development, since Europe is already seeking suitable alternatives to fuel from Russia.

Lebanese and Cypriot Presidents Joseph Aoun and Nikos Christodoulides respectively signed the agreement at Baabda presidential palace near Beirut. This deal was initiated first in 2007 and now being finalized.

According to Christodoulides, the deal is historic, while Aoun says that its signing sends across a clear message to those wishing to foster better collaboration.

The 2007 agreement was ratified by Cyprus but not by Lebanon on account of the latter?s internal political crisis, as well as their sea border disagreement with Israel.

In 2012, Cyprus did offer their mediation services but failed. A mutual agreement between Lebanon and Israel on this matter was reached in 2022, after US acted as the mediator.

Aoun expressed his hope that this would help them improve their offshore exploration, which in turn would benefit their still-fledgling economy.

All said and done, Lebanon is yet to reach upon a similar agreement with Syria, which too is dealing with political crisis after the ousting of former President Assad.

Cyprus? Fire Department received over sixty calls from all over Nicosia, which was badly affected by large-scale floods caused by torrential rains.

One of the more severe incidents in the line was that of students getting trapped in a school bus with the water rising rapidly.

According to Fire Department spokesman Andreas Kettis?s post on social media platform X (formerly, Twitter), calls originated from as far as old Nicosia, Engomi, Lakatamia, and Strovolos. Several calls were reporting culvert openings and requests for emergency pumping of rainwater. In the case of the schoolchildren, the brigade helped them by unlocking the bus and evacuating the students to a safer space.

As a result of the flooding, the streets of Erithros Stavros and Alexandroupoli were closed, and drivers were urged to avoid these and other areas negatively affected.

The results of a government survey has revealed that people?s satisfaction with their internet services is steadily and surely rising.

Conducted by the Commissioner of Communications, the survey was carried out via a series of questions prepared by the market observation team. Over 1200 people participated in the survey in the span of approximately a month, with one-third of the respondents living in rural areas and the rest in urban ones.

The overall score of satisfaction with internet services was found to be 8.3 – a small but sure uptick of 0.1 from the same time last year. That said, the people?s level of satisfaction with price and quality had decreased by a similar number to land at an underwhelming 7.6.

It was also found that more than eighty per cent of those who responded had no idea about the details of their own internet services as mentioned in their service agreements – a whopping 4% increase from the previous year. Details-wise, over 50% & 62% of the respondents had no idea what their download and upload speeds were, respectively.

Concurrently, the number of users who don?t measure how their internet performs also fell to 6 in 10, from last year?s 8 in 10.

Qualitatively, the respondents rated their feelings of satisfaction with the speeds to an average of 7.9 and network reliability at a solid 8.1 – indicating good performance with regards to expectations.

It was found that the majority of the users (roughly 88%) used Wi-Fi as their primary route of access. 78% also used their mobile phone networks as the main device used to access the internet.

According to other results, 29% of all users reported seeing a complete lapse of their connection at least once every month. 24% though reported never experiencing any lapses at all.

Those who reported bad connections largely said to have experienced them between 8 and 10 PM in the evening, and pinned the reason as operational issues.

As for switching a service provider – the main reasons cited were more affordable rates, better service quality, and an increase in fixed service costs.