Current Events

The fire department has confirmed that a fire that broke out near the Yiolou community in Paphos in the afternoon has finally been doused.

Several trucks and even an aircraft were used to extinguish the very powerful fire.

While ground crews worked the scene, the firefighting airplane released water from above. According to the forestry department, the extra help, including the airplane, was specifically requested by the fire department to help contain the incident in real time.

The combined ground crew included two tankers, five engines, three forest officers, and twenty-three forest firefighters.

Additional forest department officers were put on standby if any further help was required.

Yang Yundong, Cyprus?s Chinese Ambassador, visited Cyprus News Agency, where he met with Andreas Frangos and Dinos Phinicarides, the Board Chairman and Director of the organization, respectively.

Ambassador Yang remarked that the two countries have enjoyed a solid bilateral relationship and that they have a solid foundation for media-related exchanges.

He further added that he hopes the two nations? media organizations leverage their strengths to strengthen this friendship and increase the mutual understanding between their respective citizens through honest, objective reporting.

In response, the representatives from the CNA spoke highly of China and its several achievements in the world of technology and economy. They also emphasized the country?s role as a major country in the world.

Last but not least, they said that they were more than ready to take on the next string of initiatives and activities to deepen the relationship between the countries.

Cyprus?s deputy ministry of tourism has announced that 9 special Christmas villages will be opening in Cyprus in late November.

Aimed at promoting local culture and businesses during the festive season, the villages will showcase local products and expect to draw in both local and foreign visitors.

Participating villages that will host these communities include Fikardou, Agros, Statos-Ayios Fotios, Deryneia, Kalopanayiotis, Kakopetria, Lefkara, Kyperounta and Lofou. These were the finalized locations after applications from municipalities and councils participating in the Heartland of Legends grant scheme were reviewed.

More specifically, the special villages will feature festive decor, workshops on things like gastronomy and wine, nature activities such as cycling and walking, events, guided village tours and, of course, the sale of local crafts and products.

The Cyprus Police have arrested two people for abducting a teenager.

The two were arrested after someone reported that they had approached a teenager, aged 18, and were trying to force him into their car.

When the police received the news, they immediately located the car and arrested the kidnappers.

The abductors, aged 23 and 24, have been remanded till further investigations are underway.

After the police brought the situation under control, the teenager told the police that his kidnappers took him to a place and threatened him.

The police?s investigations currently include money laundering, felony conspiracy, and, of course, kidnapping.

A man has been arrested in Northern Cyprus? Yerolakkos for murdering his wife after an injury during a domestic dispute led to the loss of her life.

Allegedly, the man in question struck his wife with a power tool while arguing with her, which led to her death.

This is the second femicide reported in Turkish Cyprus within the course of five days.

The media in Turkish Cyprus has reported that the husband and wife were travelling on Nicosia Road near the industrial area when they began arguing. Then, the vehicle they were in went off-road over 100 meters into the fields.

Apparently, this was where the man took the power tool in the car and struck his wife on the head with it. Undoubtedly, this led to her death.

In his statement to the police, the husband did admit to the assault. He is currently in police custody, with further investigation underway.

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders President Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhurman will meet at the former Nicosia airport to continue with their talks.

This is one amongst an ongoing series of talks about building a better relationship and setting up the precursor for a bigger meeting to talk about possible reunification, among others.

The matters being discussed were requested by Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN. It is a part of his prerequisites for his large ?5+1 meeting? he shall conduct on his Cyprus visit.

Christodoulides has already spoken to the media in Turkish Cypriot, saying how he and Erhurman can make great strides together. He added that when it comes to reunification, his country does not have a plan B and that reunification is their only goal. He further emphasized that being divided takes away from the potential of both sides and must be done away with as soon as possible.

The meeting in question was supposed to happen earlier but was postponed due to the ferry disaster.

Guterres? personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin who specializes in Cyprus matters, was supposed to attend as well but will now attend over the phone on account of health reasons.

Medusa, a vital military exercise involving several nations, took place in the south of Crete.

The participating countries for the air and naval exercise included military forces from Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, and, of course, Cyprus.

The operations began at the island?s southeast, where the preparations were made with fighter aircraft and warships.

The actual exercise was conducted in an area of the sea under Greece?s reservation via a Navtex location in the southeast Cretan Sea. It lies within a wider area under Turkey?s assertion that it has claims, thanks to its memorandum with Libya.

The exercise comes days after the trilateral summit between Egypt, Greece and Cyprus in El Alamein, where the countries pledged to reaffirm working together to create better regional stability and security.

The exercise is also a reaffirmation of participating countries? ongoing cooperation in the Levant.

All three countries have taken part in previous Medusa exercises in one or the other capacity.

A man has lost his hand in an explosion in a warehouse in Sotira.

The man, aged 30, was allegedly making an explosive on his own when an accidental blast led to a hand injury strong enough to need his hand to be amputated.

He was immediately taken to Famagusta general hospital, where the necessary surgery was performed. However, due to his severe condition, he was transferred to Nicosia general hospital as they had the facilities to provide round-the-clock intensive care their Famagusta counterparts could not provide.

According to the Police, the man is critical but stable, and remains under constant medical supervision.

Vyron Vyronas, a spokesperson for the police said that every angle of the matter is under investigation, but confirmed that the man in question was a foreign national who has been on the police?s radar.

Meanwhile, the scene of the accident in Sotira has been sealed off and remains guarded by the police 24×7.Further investigation into the matter is currently underway as the police are looking for witness testimony and security camera footage to establish the precise chain of events that led to the blast. This includes the possibility that the man himself was making the bomb.

The first death from West Nile virus in 2026 has been recorded, with over 9 other people still suffering from the disease.

According to infectious disease specialist and pathologist Aristos Aristodimou, the deceased was a man, aged 90, with several comorbidities. In this man?s case, the viral infection had directly affected his central nervous system. Aristodimou remarked that while most of those infected have no or mild symptoms, some can take a serious turn.

The increasing numbers are a cause for worry, given that since the first case was confirmed, it took only 2 weeks for this number to climb to 10, and now a death has also been recorded.

As tracing and mosquito eradication measures are being taken, the public is being asked to stay vigilant, as the virus spreads via mosquito bites and is not infectious.

Most of those infected never even know they have it, or do not show any symptoms throughout their treatment. Others may experience mild symptoms like rashes, diarrhea, vomiting, aches and pains, and/or fever.

In isolated cases, the virus ends up attacking the brain or the central nervous system, triggering meningitis or encephalitis. Generally, children, older people, and those with chronic issues are at risk of this.

Currently, there is neither a vaccine nor medicine to help cure the infection. The main course of treatment is rest, fluids, and basic medicines that treat the symptoms. Those with severe symptoms may need hospitalization.

People can do their bit to prevent this by eliminating any and all sources of standing water, using repellent, covering up their skin with longer sleeves, and using screens on windows and doors.

Cyprus has welcomed its third vulture chick born, thus marking a major step forward in conserving the endangered species.

This comes after GPS tracking was used to save the first-ever vulture chick that had hatched, after it got stuck inside vegetation during its first flight at the UK Military bases. The Game and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the UK Army and the organization BirdLife Cyprus, conducted the rescue operation.

This bird is currently under the care of the Wildlife Care and Rehabilitation Centre. It will be released when it has recovered and is ready to fly again.

According to several authorities, this incident has reinforced the value of GPS-enabled tracking systems, which allow conservationists to protect young and vulnerable wildlife, particularly endangered species. GPS helps them know the animals? location and take immediate action should they be in any danger, especially in the early stage of their lives.

The District Court in Paphos has remanded a monk charged with attempted murder till the trial commences.

The monk, aged 51, allegedly tried to kill an employee of the Holy Stavropegic Monastery of Agios Neophytos.

While revealing its decision, the court mentioned how serious the offense in question was, and while the accused does have ties to the government, he could still be a moderate-to-major flight risk.

Aside from attempted homicide, the monk has been charged with illegally possessing and carrying a weapon, including a knife.

Alexandros Alexandrou, the monk?s lawyer, objected to the decision and offered several arguments as to why he should be free until proven guilty. According to him, there was no chance of his client getting convicted, and that he was nothing close to being flight risk. He further added that the monk is a respected citizen of Cyprus and has been living there for over 25 years. Therefore, he has no reason to leave the island nation.

The man shall remain in custody till the end of his upcoming trial, which will decide what happens to him next.

Menoyia?s former migrant detention center is all set to be used by the Cyprus Police as detention centers for law enforcement.

The step has been taken to use up empty spaces in disuse while helping reduce overcrowding in police detention centers currently in use.

Costas Fitiris, the justice minister, has already given the necessary instructions on how to execute the facility?s transformation, which is set to commence soon.

The aim of the initiative is to improve the conditions currently prevailing in temporary detention centers and to help decongest currently overcrowded facilities.

The members of the Fire Department did an exemplary job rescuing dozens of people stuck in elevators as the entire country was affected by power cuts.

While emergency calls were made from every district, most of the calls came from Limassol and Nicosia.

The cuts started in the hours of the morning, which explains the large number of emergency phone calls, and a lot of activity takes place within this time.

When the power came back, several lifts restarted automatically, negating the need for any emergency phone calls.

Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC)?s preliminary data on the matter revealed the cause to be production fault, something that falls under the purview of Transmission System Operator of Cyprus (TSOC).

According to a TSOC officer, this was indeed a big production loss which affected scores of homes as well as businesses.

Two consecutive fires in the same region has led to the Cyprus Police suspecting a deliberate case of arson in the area.

Days after a first fire burned over 7 hectares of land in Potamoudes, a second fire broke out over 500 meters away from an earlier blaze in Lysos.

Glafkos Kyriakou, a spokesperson for the forestry department stated that two events so close to each other do indicate malicious activity.

In the case of the second fire, the fire department arrived almost immediately and extinguished it before it had the chance to spread any further.

The fire even triggered ?Icarus? protocol, which led to the arrival of 9 firefighting airplanes in addition to the standard ground crew.

The total amount of power used included fifty-seven people from the forestry department, eleven fire engines, two tractors, six diggers, as well as a water tanker.

Further investigation is currently underway.

A report from a European Commission study has revealed that almost half of Cyprus?s land is looming in the possibility of desertification.

This puts the island nation on the second rank in this regard, with Spain?s 53% land at the first place and Greece?s 35% at the second.

Cyprus was also found to have the largest percentage of people living in habitable areas influenced by desertification. The approximate number for this is estimated to be 700,000 people i.e. roughly 61% of the total population.

Other countries that top this list include Romania and Bulgaria, having 39 and 37 per cent land under desertification, respectively.

As of 2026, 15% of the lands in the European Union are drylands, covering roughly 611,000 square kilometers of land. 530,000 out of these are currently under desertification, which impacts over forty-two million people in total.

A man carrying several items of animal product contraband was apprehended by officials standing guard at the crossing between the divided zones of Cyprus.

Specifically, customs agents at the crossing found over 245 kilograms of offal and bovine hides inside the vehicle the man was driving while he was going through the crossing point at Ayios Dhometios.

According to the department of customs, the vehicle in question had Republic of Cyprus number plates, but was being driven by a foreign national.

The man was arrested immediately, but released a few days later on the condition that he paid an out-of-court settlement worth ?2,000 along with ?500 for returning the vehicle.

Green Line Regulation strictly forbids the transport of both animals as well as animal products from Turkish to Greek Cyprus. Any animal products, if found, shall be destroyed immediately.

Cyprus police made a shocking discovery when they went on alert having received information regarding a car on fire in Avgorou.

The burning vehicle was found on a dirt road in the Cypriot municipality, and the fire department was called to the scene to extinguish it as soon as possible.

After it was safe to go near the vehicle, the police conduction an inspection of the same, whereupon they found a burnt body inside.

The police have not yet found the identity of this person.

Further investigation is currently underway. As the police continue their line of investigations, a forensic pathologist will be visiting the scene to run theirs.

A row of rental cars were gutted in a fire at a place of business in Protaras early in the morning.

Specifically, the fire broke out at a rental shop in Famagusta at 4 am in the morning.

The police arrived at the scene, along with the fire department who extinguished the blaze.

The police?s preliminary investigation reveals that incident may have been an act of arson as there is evidence of the fire being set on purpose.

Apart from the cars, several buggy vehicles and quad bikes were also destroyed.

For now, police have sealed the area as they work with the fire department to find out the exact cause of the fire.

The British man who lost his 3-year-old son and was charged with negligence for it was given permission to return to England to attend his son?s funeral.

The man, aged 37, had all travel restrictions lifted off of him for an exact period of a month, so he would be able to make funeral arrangement and attend the same.

However, he is mandated to return within this stipulated time, failing which the Cypriot authorities will issue a European arrest warrant against him.

The police in Cyprus arrested the man after his son had died after falling from the 4th floor of the hotel window while the family was holidaying in Paphos. The exact circumstances of the tragedy continue to stay unclear.

Before this, he was released on bail after giving his passport, checking in with the police every week, and signing a bond with 20,000-euros.

The five men who stand accused of allegedly orchestrating a Hamas-involved terrorist attack in Cyprus will be produced in a court in Larnaca.

Prosecutors on the island nation are trying to merge the three different cases lodged against them into one indictment, which will cover all five along with their offenses.

The investigation in question started when the two men, both Palestinian nationals aged 38 and 32, were arrested at Pentakomo. Further investigation led to the police discovering dangerous chemicals such as ammonium nitrate along with materials that can easily be combined to create explosives.

According to investigators, interrogation led to the 32-year-old confessing that he was recruited by Hamas to buy said materials and conduct target surveillance. Meanwhile, the other man was a physics teacher and had entered the country illegally via Turkish Cyprus.

Meanwhile, another Palestinian-origin Cypriot, aged 54, was found to have received packages with dangerous materials. While he was not granted bail and remains in police custody, he denies any involvement in the matter. Another man, a Cypriot national aged 41, thought to be the coordinator of the operation, was arrested by Indonesian authorities and sent back to Cyprus.

Finally, a Limassol resident aged 32 was arrested for allegedly arranging travel arrangements and logistics. The arrest was only made public recently.

Charges currently levied against these five include money laundering, participating in a criminal organization, conspiracy, and attempted murder. All court proceedings in this regard are currently not open to members of the public.