Current Events

Famous designer Michalis Anastasiades is on King Charles III’s Order of the British Empire (OBE) list for New Year Honors.

Lina Kassianidou, Cyprus’ Deputy Culture Minister sent her congratulations on the occasion via a post on social media platform X (formerly, Twitter).

She appreciated Anastasiades and his skills in the post, saying how proud her and everyone in the country and in the field of design is about the development. She further added that this has only been possible after decades of hard work and pure dedication.

The Order of the British Empire is an award that is presented to someone for achieving regional success in their area of expertise or by servicing their community.

Nicosia CID’s Anti-Smuggling Unit has found over five hundred kilos of illegally procured meat in a vehicle.

The police initially spotted the vehicle moving suspiciously and having its headlights switched off.

They then stopped the car and inspected it, only to find a half ton package of beef.

A second car was also found, inspected and detained – only this one was carrying large amounts of cash that is so far unaccounted for.

The first car had a 41-year-old man as its driver, while the second had a 31-year-old.

Judicial warrants have been issued against both of them – and they remain in custody pending further investigations.

Makis Keravnos, Cyprus’ minister of finance has reached Brussels to take part in the large-scale meeting with the EU council of finance ministers (Ecofin) & Eurogroup as its participants.

The meeting’s agenda includes an in-depth discussion of current policies and its negative effects on the price of energy resources. Also included will be a discussion with representatives from the International Monetary Fund about the current economic climate – and strategizing on making developments within the same.

Keravnos is expected to not only attend the meeting but to also participate in it. He will also see the reveal of Belgium’s plans as the council’s president for the first six months of 2024.

In a bid to help Cyprus in its mission to find persons missing since the war, Greece has donated 40,000 Euros to The Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP).

The addition of this amount to the donation pool makes the total funding since 2006 stand at 385,000 Euros.

Founded in 1981, The CMP was formed via a formal agreement between the two regions of divided Cyprus, supervised by the UN.

The mission of the organization is to find missing people and give them the justice they deserve.

Their special project on the ‘Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of Missing Persons in Cyprus’ started 2006. It is partially funded by the EU.

Till date more than a thousand missing persons – both from Greek and Turkish Cyprus were found, identified and taken back to their respective families.

The organization, which is the only one that works across both Cypriot communities relies solely on donations to operate.

An official from the Cypriot forces has confirmed that one of the children found in the migrant boat has died.

The child – one out of five – was hospitalized having been found in critical condition on the makeshift boat with sixty migrants on board.

The migrants, all of whom are Syrian nationals, were en route from Lebanon – and went adrift in the Mediterranean on account of the stormy weather.

They eventually ran out of food and water and were left afloat with no direction until they were spotted and rescued by Cypriot authorities.

Among the five children, two are still in intensive care while two are less serious.

Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus has completed his meeting with Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

Topics discussed during the meeting were mainly about the following up to the Reykjavik Summit. It included matters such as rising to the needs and challenges of artificial intelligence, changing climatic situations, damage to the environment and human rights in general.

Discussions also included topics such as the Convention-system and its value, how judgments must be executed, and how the European Union and the Council of Europe can make their relationship stronger.

Meanwhile Burić spoke about how the Council of Europe is ready to help Cyprus reconcile with its north and help the island nation with its Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).

The president of Cyprus has moved forward with his plan to shake-up his Cabinet.

So far, the ministers of justice, defense, environment and health, along with deputy ministers of European affairs and digital policy have all been replaced.

This development comes after only 10 months of the new president in power, and a week’s worth of heavy speculation, after the president himself said that major changes to his cabinet were afoot.

Cyprus’ new defense minister is Vassilis Palmas – an experienced politician who previously served as deputy minister and spokesperson for the government across two administrations.

Michalis Damianos is now the health minister – he is a veteran lawyer and runs a private practice.

Maria Panayiotou, a professor of history and previously the environment commissioner is now set to serve her term as the minister for environment & agriculture.

The ministry of justice shall be led by Marios Hartsiotis, who has a degree in theology and like Damianos is a practicing lawyer.

Last but not least, Marilena Raouna, who had so far served chief of the diplomatic office of the President will move to being the deputy minister for European affairs.

The Foreign Ministry of Cyprus has announced that Cyprus has been given the greenlight by Israel to send necessities to the Gaza Strip via sea.

The aim of the exercise, which is expected to last for a few months, and to help Gaza’s Palestinian civilians get the help they so desperately need. As of now, over 2.5 million of them have no access to gas, medicine food or water – and only a small amount of aid has been trickling in through their coastlines.

This development comes after the United Nations Security Council’s passing of the resolution that calls for unconditional aid being delivered in similar situations.

According to Lior Halat, a spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry Israel intends to uphold the same and for now has approved sending aid, albeit via strict routes and with close supervision from Israeli authorities within Cyprus prior to their eventual delivery. Halat further added that certain logistical issues have yet to be resolved.

So far, the island nation has offered to establish a humanitarian pathway to help in the collection, inspection and storage of aid packages to Gaza – which is roughly 210 nautical miles away. The Cypriot government has finished its side of procedural work and is waiting for the Israelis to do their part.

The authorities in Cyprus executed a major rescue mission, and saved sixty 60 Syrian nationals, children included.

According to them, they were all severely “distressed & dehydrated” having been afloat in the sea.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), which led the operation initially found the boat afloat over thirty nautical miles from the south-eastern coast of Cyprus.

Upon their rescue, a vessel of the Cypriot maritime police provided first aid, closely followed by 2 helicopters and a boat. The injured and severely ill were soon tended to. Four, including an adult and 3 children were unconscious, while 3 other people sustained fractures in their legs.

Some of the children still remain hospitalized.

According to several reports, their wooden boat could not reach Cyprus on account of the storms.

According to Constantinos Ioannou, the Interior Minister of Cyprus, emphasized how this arrival proves that humans in such situation are in grave danger, and have largely suffered at the hands of traffickers.

He further added that Cyprus recommends to open a unit in the Europol in collaboration with the Government of Lebanon, so that they can handle the situation at Cypriot borders.

The Cypriot Meteorology Department has issued a yellow warning on account of potential hail and/or thunderstorms.

The warning in question shall remain in effect for roughly 36 hours.

The Meteorological Department further said that the isolated thunder shower may hit the western side of the island nation, then move across the rest of the country.

They also mentioned that the hail could be expected, along with progressively intensifying winds.

Rain is expected to fall at a rate of 35-55 mm per hour.

The court in Cyprus has sentenced a woman who stole 22.41 Euros.

The woman, Kadriye Denise Surucu, 29, had a prior criminal record for fraud and was sentenced to two years in prison.

The woman started crying upon being given her verdict, complaining how two years was far too much for her much pettier offense.

The three-part judges panel led by Fusun Cemaller handed out the verdict.

Cemaller said that the fact that Surucu committed multiple crimes with no signs of reformation led to the panel awarding her a harsher punishment.

A car fire that took place in Paphos has been ruled as an intentional act by the authorities.

The fire in question happened in a car in a parking lot outside the residence of the owner in Paphos’ Apostolos Pavlos area.

Passersby and neighbors who then saw the major fire happening informed the police, who then called the fire department, which managed to bring the fire under control – but not before ruining the vehicle.

The fire destroyed the car and everything that was in it.

The Cyprus police sealed off the area, and further investigations revealed that the fire was not accidental.

The police have taken their statement from the owner of the car and are conducting further investigations into the matter.

The skeleton that was found near the General Hospital in Limassol has finally been identified.

The body was identified via DNA analysis. This method helped find out the age, ethnic origin and gender of the victim – but was unhelpful in finding the cause of death on account of the level of deterioration of the skeleton.

The is Limassol CID’s 2nd case that required specialist testing from forensic anthropologists and forensic specialists.

The man, a Romanian national, was living homeless.

Limassol CID’s spokesperson did say that their detectives had cross verified the information with their existing missing persons file.

Akamas National Forest Park’s famed “Avakas Gorge” trail is now officially closed on account of safety issues.

Cyprus’ Department of Forests has announced that the development comes after unfavorable observations such as slip-prone terrain, higher water levels and the gorge being vulnerable to falling pieces of soil and rocks.

They have further stated that the trail shall remain closed until the risks are fully eliminated.

They apologized to the public for causing the unintentional inconvenience, but stressed how the measures were in fact being taken in their best interest.

A violent incident in a school gym led to a student sustaining injuries and losing consciousness.

Local news platform Phileleftheros has reported that a group of 3 students picked up and threw him up, which led to him collapsing on the floor.

The victim in question lost his consciousness the moment of the impact.

The school authorities called the ambulance, which took the injured student to hospital.

The student is not in any danger of losing his life. Preliminary exams showed that the victim sustained an injury to the shoulder blade.

Meanwhile, it was found out that one of the three students was expelled for injuring another student in an altercation prior to this one.

The school is taking the necessary steps to take action against the perpetrators, while helping the victim’s parents find alternate ways for him to continue education.

The Cyprus Police have charged the man they caught for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The man, who underwent a breathalyzer test ended up testing six times more than the permissible limit.

Specifically, the police said that the man registered 138 mg on the alcohol test, as opposed to the 22 mg maximum.

The man was arrested by the police and charged at the station, whereupon he was released.

His car remains under police custody.

The meteorological department of Cyprus has announced its predictions of moderate temperatures and cloudy skies.

They have said that Sunday will expectedly be normal with cloudiness and potential cases of rain showers, fog or mist – especially in the eastern regions.

Winds shall flow towards the north-east, and is expected to be variable. They will be medium in intensity and go up to 3 or even 4 on the Beaufort scale.

The sea, on the other hand, will remain smooth and mellow.

Temperatures will expectedly be roughly 13 degrees Celsius in the mountainous regions, 22 degrees Celsius inland and 23 degrees Celsius in the coasts.

In the latest developments, Cyprus Airways is launching direct flights from Larnaca to Dubrovnik in Croatia.

The news comes after Cyprus Airways revealed their flight schedule for summer 2024.

The direct flights will run for two days a week – on Fridays and Mondays from the 1st of July to the 6th of September.

OECD’s PISA test results have revealed that a major percentage of Cypriot students lack even the basic required proficiency in reading.

According to PISA international assessments, over sixty one percent of children of 15 years of age are insufficient at reading.

In the same age bracket, fifty two percent of students had subpar skills in physical science and fifty two percent lacked math skills.

Average score in Cyprus for mathematics was 418 – lower than PISA’s 472 average and the average score of forty seven nations. The island nation’s scores are at par with Bulgaria and Moldova and are above thirty two other countries.

Average score in Cyprus for physical science was 411 – lower than PISA’s 480 average as well as the average score of fifty one countries. Cyprus’ scores are equal to nine other countries, with twenty other nations behind it.

Average score in Cyprus for reading comprehension was 381 points, much less than the 468 PISA average and lower than sixty-one other countries. Cyprus’ scores are similar to that of three nations, and stands above that of sixteen other nations.

The Cyprus Police have determined the clothes and human remains found in Akamas to be of a British man.

The man was 69 when he went missing in the month of April in 2023.

A police officer on off-duty-time found the remains while on a hunting trip with friends.

According to Michalis Nicolaou, the spokesperson for the Paphos police, the bones belonged to one person and put together constituted a full skeleton.

Nicolas Charalambous (the police’s forensic pathologist) along with the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics’ anthropologist led the investigation together.

Genetic tests results are still pending, but they believe that the remains and clothes do in fact belong to the missing British man.