Current Events

Cyprus is currently facing a major – in the shape of meeting the European Commission’s standards on waste management and recycling.

According to Philenews, the island nation might not be able to reach the minimum 55% recycling rate, and may spectacularly fail at reducing non-recycled waste by half within 2030.

According to the report, there are several issues when it comes to implementing both the separation as well as separation of collection of waste that is organic and recyclable. It also highlighted the time-sensitiveness of the Pay as You Spend (PAYS) system, which uses prepaid bags.

Several concerns have been aired in the recent debate of the House Environment Committee, and questions have been asked about the Municipal Waste Management Strategy of Cyprus for 2022 to 2028.

A strategy is currently being formed, which includes actively reducing the amount of solid waste in coastal regions, introducing a suitable system to sort waste in higher and hilly regions, and create dedicated composters and re-use in the cities. Other features include the developing a collection procedure for industrial and medical wastes.

Cyprus has revoked Low Taek Jho’s citizenship status.

Popular by the name Jho Low, the decision was made on the suggestion of the interior minister, who had received some new – and disturbing information on the fugitive.

The ministry had previously declined the revocation, citing that they did not have enough evidence to justify the act. The current data, however, makes things clearer.

Low was originally granted citizenship in the year 2015. This was after he transferred over €6 million to the Bank of Cyprus, and purchased seaside mansion worth a similar amount in Ayla Napa. He even donated €300,000 to the then Archbishop Chrysostomos.

While he has been under investigation since before then, it was only in October 2016, when Interpol officially issued a red notice against him, was he declared a fugitive. The government of Cyprus had been officially investigating him since 2021, but only became successful in recent days.

Nikos Christodoulides, the president of the former nation is going to Germany to speak with Olaf Scholz, the country’s Chancellor.

They will discuss several topics, which include (but are not limited to) the issue of divided Cyprus and what the European Union at large can do to help out clear the process.

Christodoulides shall also attend the European Central Bank’s Silver Jubilee celebrations. His itinerary also includes meeting its Christine Lagarde, its President, as well as attend a dinner later that day.

The trip will end with a collaborative press conference, followed by a presidential visit to the Denkmal Holocaust Memorial.

Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus has expressed his congratulatory wishes on Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s victory in the island nation’s general election.

This came after the former personally called Mitsotakis to show his appreciation of the win of him and the New Democracy party.

A separate tweet was posted by Victor Papadopoulos, the director of the press office of the Cypriot presidency. He also congratulated the victorious Greek leader as well as his party.

The Cyprus Police has issued an appeal to the public to get information on Cameroon national Eugene Anjeh, 27, who is believed to have been involved in illegal drug importing, possession and with intent to distribute.

This is related to the case involving the nearly 5kgs of methamphetamine found by Larnaca customs.

So far three persons, two men, 25 and 24 and a woman, 29, have been arrested thus far.

A Russian cultural center in Cyprus’ capital city of Nicosia has sustained fire damage, and led Moscow to call it a “terrorist attack.”

Fire department spokeswoman Andreas Kettis said that investigation into what caused the fire is still underway.

Meanwhile Christos Andreou, the spokesperson for the police explained how no signs of an explosive device, such as a bomb was found.

The fire started at the complex at 12 noon and caused alerts everywhere once people began to see black smoke. It took 2 hours to extinguish it.

Famed Cypriot actor Demetris Xystras, renowned for playing “Officer Kattos’ ‘ in the TV Show ‘Vourate Geitonoi,’ has passed away at the age of 68.

Born in Ayios Epiktitos in Kyrenia in June, 1954, Xystras completed his graduation from the Karolos Koun Higher School of Dramatic Art Theater, Athens in the year 1983.

While in Greece, he performed Aeschylus’ ‘Oresteia’ as a chorus member in the famed ancient Epidaurus theater.

Upon his return to Cyprus, he began working with the various high-profile theater organizations such as Theatro Technis in London, the Theatre Organization of Cyprus (THOC), the Satyricon Theatre and the New Theatre.

His career, which spanned over the course of 40 years, included him appearing in a variety of TV series and films, such as ‘Vourate Geitonoi, ‘Chrysopsara’ and ‘Ena Milo Tin Imera.’

The first group of British citizens who were evacuated from Sudan have arrived in the island nation of Cyprus.

After the opposing forces agreed upon a 72-hour-long ceasefire, the UK brought 40 civilians on a Royal Air Force passenger aircraft to Larnaca airport.

Some reports, however, do claim that while 40 people are said to be on board, the actual number was in fact 39. This is yet to be confirmed.

Additionally, flights carrying around two hundred and twenty people are set to arrive within days.

The actions have followed after the UK requested Cyprus to activate a rescue system to help evacuate civilians from third countries via their nation.

According to the forecast, Cyprus will receive a lot of sunshine with breezes in the afternoons, especially in coastal regions.

Inlands will see strong or moderate winds at 3 to 4 Beaufort, while coastal areas can see 5 Beaufort strength winds.

Temperatures are predicted to be 17C, 22-24 C, and 27 C in the mountains, at the coasts and inland, respectively.

The President of the island nation Nikos Christodoulides took part in a futsal match at Nicosia’s GC School of Careers as part of the Telethon awareness campaign event.

The annual event, which is dedicated to those suffering from degenerative and neurological ailments, commemorated the late Thomas Efthymiou, formerly the deputy police chief of Nicosia.

President Christodoulides spoke to reporters on the event’s sidelines, explaining to them how the event is significant in not one, but many ways. He further added that he, along with the Minister of Justice, are dedicated to supporting initiatives both now and in the future.

He played with a team of Presidential Guard officers in 2 games of ten-a-side.

In a bid to prevent disasters in the Cyprus buffer zone, the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in Cyprus have started training on all matters of fire safety before the onset of the summer.

The UN, in a Twitter post declared that the peacekeeping forces have already started to make their preparations to prevent disasters such as fires from breaking out in the buffer zone on the divided island of Cyprus.

They have started training with the module on managing fire safety, to help locate the reasons fire happens and neutralize them prior to that.

Greece’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias has announced that Greece will be sending military help to evacuate Cypriot and Greek citizens from conflict-ridden Sudan.

Dendias emphasized that safely rescuing citizens is the topmost priority, and that the government of Greece is working with its allies and partners to achieve that goal. And this, of course, includes citizens of the island nation of Cyprus.

To that end, the Foreign Ministry of Greece is constantly communicating with other EU nations to coordinate a potential rescue operation for EU citizens.

Dendias intends to raise this issue as a priority at the oncoming Foreign Affairs Council meeting of the European Union in Luxembourg.

According to Andreas Katsaniotis, the Greek deputy minister of diaspora, over 120 Greek and Cypriot citizens have requested evacuation from Sudan.

The crisis itself has emerged from armed conflict between opposing military groups in Sudan.

The Cyprus Police are actively searching for a 34-year-old woman who they suspect stole a 61-year-old man’s car and thereafter sold it.

According to Michalis Nicolaou, the chief and spokesperson for the CID in Paphos, the woman burglarized the 61-year-old man’s office, and stole several items – including his car keys.

The police believe that the woman then proceeded to take the car, which at that time was parked outside of the office.

The police did locate the car being driven by a man, 24 – on the basis of a tip-off. The police questioned the man, who failed to give adequate answers – and then arrested him with an illegal possession of stolen vehicle charge.

Upon further investigation, the police found out that the 34-year-old woman in fact sold the car to the 24-year-old man who was found driving it.

The Cyprus Police is requesting the public to help them locate a man from Limassol.

The man, Angelous Pericleous, 31, has been missing from his home for over 72 hours.

According to the police, there is a strong suspicion that Pericleous might have been abducted, based on the fact that his car was discovered burnt at a shooting range in nearby Paliometocho.

The man has been described as being around 1.60 meters tall, having a medium build, short black hair, as well as a beard. Witnesses last saw him wearing a trousers, a t-shirt, and trainers – all black in color. Other identifying markers include a tattoo on his left wrist, and another “half-sleeve” style tattoo on his right arm.

Over 14 individuals have succumbed to influenza during the winter in Cyprus.

Those who passed away include a girl, aged 8, a 24-year-old who had the A-Type Influenza, and a 37-year-old, who died of Type-B Influenza.

According to the Ministry of Health’s Valentinos Silvestros, a total of 440 people were hospitalized, including 274 minors.

The data was collected between late December 2022 to Early March 2023.

The government of Cyprus is all set to open 4 new embassies.

According to a statement by Theodoros Gotsis, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, the Cyprus High Commission in Kenya has reopened, whereas three others – in Manama, Bahrain and Buenos Aires, Argentina are set to open soon. Furthermore, the Cyprus embassy in Indonesia is set to reopen in later 2023

In his statement, Gotsis remarked how the embassies will help strengthen their inter-country relations – given that Argentina is one of the biggest countries of Latin America, and Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic country.

Last but not least, several Cypriot diplomats will have their positions restored to what they were before the economic crisis.

The Dali Police in Cyprus are investigating an attempted murder, which involves a man, aged 26, being attacked and ending up in the emergency room with a skull fracture.

According to the statement by the police, the attack happened at 4 am in the morning. The victim, 26, was from Syria while the alleged perpetrator of the crime was a Romanian national, 38.

The police became aware of the incident after they received tips about the victim being found outside the bar.

The police have arrested the 38-year-old, who it seems worked at the bar as staff.

A man returned the lost wallet of a pensioner containing 288 Euros by submitting it in a police station.

According to the Famagusta Police, a man, aged 43 found the unattended purse and promptly submitted it to the local police station.

The wallet’s contents include hundreds of Euros worth of cash, along with 3 photos. The latter was used to find the owner of the wallet – a 76-year-old resident of Paralimni.

This incident comes close to another recent one when two teenagers submitted an unattended wallet with €1,150 in cash in another Famagusta police station.

Cyprus’s Aliens and Immigration Unit along with FRONTEX and Greek immigration enforcement deported several foreign nationals.

A Cyprus Police press release says that 29 individuals are being returned to the country of their citizenship.

21 of these were Pakistani and 8 of them Georgian nationals.

The mass deportation is the result of the coordinated efforts between the various organizations.

According to the press release, Cyprus has deported over 1,590 people, as of the 1st of January, 2023.

Cyprus is set to face heavy rain and thunderstorms, courtesy the high-pressure atmosphere over the island nation.

While the week is set to start off sunny, it is most likely to become turbulent, leading to heavy rains and possibly, thundershowers.

The in-between phases would include part-sunny-part-cloudy skies, random clouds, some isolated showers in elevated regions.

The end of the week will probably include a return to warm sunny weather.