Current Events

An on-road collision led to the death of a young motorcyclist in Nicosia.

Christos Tsamis Tsangaris, aged 25, a resident of Pallouriotissa, died due to his motorbike colliding with another?s at high speed. The other motorcycle was being driven by a 19-year-old.

The collision led to both motorbikes overturning, although the former one immediately collided again with a car parked nearby.

Both riders were admitted to the General Hospital in Nicosia – the 25-year-old was pronounced dead-on-arrival, while the 19-year-old suffered minor injuries and was later given a discharge.

The police checked the latter for drugs and alcohol – both came out negative. Nonetheless an arrest warrant was issued and the younger man was taken into custody.

The mishap occurred in the evening in Aglandjia?s Larnakos Avenue. Further investigation is currently underway.

Cyprus? Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas has said that the defense is taking every possible measure to safeguard the island nation in light of the Iran war.

He said this in a statement to the Cyprus News Agency, right after Iran declared both the Cypriot Navy and the Air Force as ?terrorists? by extension of declaring the same of all EU members.

This declaration was made after the European Union and the Council of Europe declared the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

Cyprus, which currently sits in the chair, is the one that formally adopted the declaration.

Geadis Geadi, the MEP of Ilam, had very famously said in this discussion how the large number of missiles that had Israel as its target were seen in Cyprus? skies. He had said then that the unfolding situation poses a huge threat to the entire area, especially Europe and the West at large.

This was followed by a motion to condemn the Iranian government. An overwhelming 524 MEPs voted in support, 3 against, while 4 abstained.

All of Cypriot MEPs ? Akel?s Giorgos Georgiou, Disy?s Michalis Hadjipantela, Costas Mavrides and Loucas Fourlas, and independents Geadi and Fidias Panayiotou voted to support the motion.

A police check executed countrywide has led to the arrest of 7 individuals for a litany of crimes, which include unlawful employment, driving without a driver?s license, illegal residency, violating traffic rules, and not abiding by the instructions of an officer of the law.

The Police said that they patrolled numerous urban spaces, and overall stopped 234 cars, checked 274 passengers and drivers, and raided 29 areas.

Traffic stops led them to ninety-one registered complaints – forty-seven of them were for speeding, four were for traffic violations, and one each was registered for driving under the influence and one for vehicle seizure. Meanwhile, the raids led to the registration of three cases where people were operating businesses without a permit.

According to the police, the aim of the large-scale operation was to reduce criminal activity, maintain law and order, and improve safety within the larger community.

Cyprus is set to receive over half a million vaccines to combat the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

The request was put forward by Maria Panayiotou, the Agriculture Minister of Cyprus to Christophe Hansen and Oliv?r V?rhelyi, the agriculture and health commissioners, respectively. The latter then approved their request.

Panayiotou said that V?rhelyi shall be visiting Cyprus for reasons other than this, but will endeavor to include it in his agenda.

V?rhelyi also said that this was the amount of vaccines available right now. He took to X (formerly, Twitter) to explain that the top priority right now is to help farmers do their job by stopping the outbreak as swiftly as possible. He also mentioned that the EU will support the island nation through other means, such as compensation and funding.

Vaccines were also delivered to the breakaway Northern Cyprus. V?rhelyi said that it?s too soon to tell what kind of impact that has had yet.

The EU also confirmed they will be assigning an ?EUVET? team, who are subject matter experts in this field. Once their job is done, they will report their findings to the Standing Committee on Animal Health. They reiterated that the focus right now is on managing the crisis, regardless of its origin.

Emily Louise Pugin, the new Australian High Commissioner in Cyprus, has presented President Nikos Christodoulides with her letters of credence.

She described the event as an honor, and expressed her pride at serving in a country that has a long-standing, deep friendship with her native Australia.

Australia is the biggest center of the Cyprus diaspora – big enough to be identified as a group and to have made a large contribution to the country?s progress. The two countries have also enjoyed a historically pleasant bilateral relationship.

Ms. Pugin also stressed upon the various values that bind the nations together, which include every nation being sovereign and a peaceful international system of order that is based on rules.

The Cypriot High Commission in Australia congratulated Ms. Pugin and expressed their good wishes. They said that they sincerely hope that both High Commissions will keep working closely and deepen the very good relations enjoyed by the two nations.

Andreas Vyras, the chairman of the Union of Municipalities, has said that Easter celebrations will be celebrated with full pomp and fervor, but will also be fully adherent to rules and regulations, especially those surrounding safety.

Vyras said that there will be tighter controls on lambradjies, i.e. the tradition of lighting Easter bonfires. This especially comes after some hooliganistic behavior that happened, and which Vyras said had nothing to do with the actual reverence of the custom or of the morals at large.

His reveal came after his meeting with Costas Fitiris, the Minister of Justice.

According to Vyras, the issue of hooliganism includes not just the bonfires but a larger pattern of actions that tends to start in the weeks before Easter.

He called out the biggest of these as collecting bonfire materials in bulk and then storing them unprotected in residential areas, posing threats to their own homes and those around them.

Vyras said that the need of the hour here is for the fire department, police, and other local bodies to cooperate and suss out any delinquent activities to ensure that the public is safe and can actually enjoy a revered traditional celebration.

In the previous year, many teenagers and even children were found handling dangerous explosives – and in one instance, a young man, Daniel Christian Fratilescu, died while making a bonfire that was far beyond his skillset.

Not only did this traumatize many, but it also led to a call for tighter rules and safety measures around the bonfires.

Cyprus? Electricity Authority (EAC) has warned its customers regarding a scam which has been fooling tenants in apartments to part with their hard-earned money.

According to them, the scammers make fake requests for them to make large sums of money as payment to get smart meters installed by private electricians.

To this point, the EAC clarified that it doesn?t levy any charges for the replacement of conventional meters with smart ones. This cost is borne by them and the recovery and resilience funding of the EU.

The EAC stressed upon the fact that it owns all electricity meters and is thus the only responsible party for any activity related to it. Also, only EAC electricians will work on them – they do not outsource any work, let alone electricians.

Every once in a while, they announce the areas where they will be replacing meters en masse. These schedules are live on their website, and tenants will receive a notification on their mobiles prior to replacement.

The public is urged to identify EAC workers through their official vehicles, uniforms and IDs, and to ask to see them if they are unsure. They must also know that there is no mention of payment anywhere in these services – anyone who claims as such is by default a scam.

Several people were arrested on a variety of offences on an overnight patrol orchestrated by the Cyprus Police.

The police checked over eight-hundred-and-ninety-two individuals, including passengers and drivers, and checked thirty-nine properties.

Checking the passengers and drivers led to over one-hundred and twenty reports for traffic violations and found seventeen old violation cases under investigation. Checking the properties led to ten reports.

Ten people were arrested on a variety of offences, including physical assault, illegal staying, narcotics possession, evading court orders, impersonation, and prohibited immigrant status. Meanwhile, forty drivers were booked for speeding and fifty-one were booked for driving under the influence. Last but not least, 20 cars were impounded.

An apartment fire occurred on the third-floor of an apartment in Engomi after an oil heater caught on fire on its terrace.

It started with the Cyprus Fire Department receiving a report in the morning about the fire in the residential building in Nicosia. All residents were evacuated to ensure safety.

Immediately, a hydraulic telescopic platform and three fire engines were dispatched to combat the fire.

It took a little over 60 mins to bring the fire under control. However, by this time, much of the paint in the verandahs was damaged due to the smoke. No deaths or injuries were reported.

That was a busy day in general, since the fire department responded to over thirty-two incidents within the span of 48 hours. Fourteen of them were fire-related.

Cyprus Police has confirmed the death of a woman and three others critically injured after an early morning car crash in Sotira, Limassol.

The crash happened at approximately 1:30 AM on Sotira?s Ayia Thekla, with the vehicle being driven by a man, aged 19. There was another man, aged 20, on the passenger?s seat and two women, both aged 19, in the back.

Preliminary investigations show that the car veered off the road and collided straight into the tank wall made of concrete.

The driver, passenger and one of the women in the back seat were admitted to Famagusta hospital and later to the General Hospital in Larnaca.

The other 19-year-old woman, however, was declared dead immediately. She was a Sotira resident.

Further investigation is currently underway.

A construction worker fell from a great height while at work, which has rendered him gravely injured.

The worker, aged 24, was admitted to the General Hospital in Paphos after having fallen from an astounding eleven meters high.

He has sustained grievous and extensive injuries in multiple places, including his pelvic area, head, neck and also his lungs.

While he is still in a critical condition, his situation has since stabilized.

The mishap originally happened while the young man was making a photovoltaics installation on the rooftop.

According to the doctors, his situation is severe, but he is not in any immediate danger at the moment.

Police investigation into the incident is currently underway to find out exactly how the chain of events played out.

A senior citizen died after being run over by another vehicle on the Nicosia-Limassol highway.

The mishap took place at around 7:30 pm in the evening, when a vehicle struck and killed the man, aged 70.

The man has been identified as Paphos resident Savvas Ioannou, who was a crew member placing traffic cones on the same highway?s right side.

The car which ran him over first hit the illuminated ?arrow? signboard, and then straightaway slammed into the man.

The car?s driver, 37, was also injured in the mishap. He was tested for narcotics as well as alcohol, but tested negative for both.

Further police investigation is currently underway.

Cyprus Police have arrested a man for assaulting two police personnel and allegedly mugging a teenager at knifepoint.

The Police said that they were tipped off about the robbery at the Limassol kiosk at a little under 3 pm in the afternoon.

This was when they saw the man attack the teenager.

The officers took action and were attacked by the same man in turn. They ultimately subdued the man and arrested him on multiple charges.

When the police searched him later, they found a switchblade knife along with a cellphone that was probably the minor?s that he stole.

The man, aged 39, is under police custody and will soon have his court hearing.

A Larnaca CID police officer shall be produced in Larnaca?s district court for giving his cellphone to a suspect involved in the Larnaca shooting.

The officer was arrested by the police?s Internal Affairs, who levied several charges against him, including abusing trust and power, bribery, neglecting duty, letting a cellphone into a police cell, fraud, disobeying the law, corruption and more.

According to them, the CID officer gave his cellphone to the suspect, a Cypriot man aged 49, while he was guarding holding cells at Larnaca Police Station.

The detained man, who is suspected to be the leader of a gang which demanded protection payments from a Grigori Afxentiou Avenue-based businessman, made several calls.

Internal affairs also found that the officer had done this multiple times.

The incident in question is a brawl and subsequent shooting that happened in Larnaca. Along with the Cypriot national, four foreign nationals have been detained to stand immediate trial.

After the CID Officer?s arrest, the Cypriot national was transferred to Central Jail on remand.

The police offer has been suspended; his cellphone has been seized and is being examined for further evidence.

A team of specialists from tech giant Amazon is going to Cyprus to launch a test program for satellite internet, amid speculation that the island nation is being considered as a potential location.

This was announced in the Deputy Ministers? press release, where Nicodemos Damianou and Irene Piki shared the outcome of the Cypriot President?s US visit. President Christodoulides and select ministers, along with investment officers, visited several US cities such as Houston, San Francisco and New York and pitched Cyprus as an ideal destination for energy, tech and shipping.

The group from Cyprus held several meetings and two roundtables with tech mammoths such as Tenstorrent, Nvidia, Google, Plug and Play, OpenAI, and, of course, Amazon.

Piki also spoke about Nvidia helping Cyprus get its first supercomputer, which expectedly will go live in the month of June. Once installed, the supercomputer will massively improve the country?s computing capacity, which would help with things like research and emergency response.

Neophytos Charalambides, the Health Minister of Cyprus, said that heart diseases are the main cause of death in people in Cyprus.

Charalambides spoke on the topic at the conference, where he stated that while instances of heart diseases have reduced a lot, they still make up the largest percentage of causes of death.

According to him, the percentage, which was previously 40%, has slid down to almost twenty-four.

Meanwhile, 87% of fatalities include those over the age of sixty-five.

Specifically, the most common issues are strokes, heart failure and arterial blockages.

Charalambides emphasizes that several of these issues and subsequent deaths caused by them can easily be prevented by eliminating ill habits and direct intervention in problem areas. For instance, having a balanced diet, avoiding smoking, and regular exercise can go a long way in reducing the risk factors.

This comes soon after the Health Minister announced the European Union-wide ?safe hearts? plan – an initiative that aims to aptly diagnose, monitor, and treat heart diseases within the region.

Admiring the initiative, he emphasized how health policies need to be centered around the people they serve, and should include both treatment and prevention, along with unfettered access to the supply of medicines and medical equipment.

Charalambides also said that the Cypriot government has created its own strategy to help people manage their heart-related health issues, and that it will be applied soon.

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.