Current Events

The British man was arrested for killing his terminally sick wife has been released from prison in Cyprus.

David Hunter, 76, a retired miner who had been serving 19 months in prison for the crime, was released after Paphos’ apex court ruled the time to be “enough” given the circumstances.

This development comes within a month of Hunter being cleared of charges of premeditated murder, which were then replaced by manslaughter charges and an accompanying 24-month sentence.

He first went on trial in 2021, for killing his wife, Janice (then 74), who had been suffering from a rare manifestation of blood cancer. She was constantly in pain, and tired of being in that position, had been repeatedly asking her husband, to whom she was married for over five decades – to assist in her death.

Mr. Hunter proceeded to listen to her, suffocating her with his own hands in their home. He then tried to commit suicide using alcohol and pills.

Andreas Hadjikyrou, prosecutor for the state, said in a statement to the press that he and the court did understand that the act, despite everything, did come from a place of love.

The court also It also considered other factors, like his advanced age and lack of any prior criminal records.

The news was well-received by Lesley Cawthorne, his daughter, who began a fundraising campaign to aid in her father’s predicament.

The legal system in Cyprus does not allow assisted deaths so far.

Russia is set to open a new consular office in Turkish Cyprus.

This comes after a major push from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey to for legally and internationally recognizing Cyprus as a sovereign entity – a status that has never been fulfilled since the Turkish army’s invasion of the area in 1974.

According to Ersin Tatar, the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed nation, they are welcoming Russia’s decision to open their office.

So far, the UK already has an office in the region.

Meanwhile, Tahsin Ertugruloglu, the foreign minister said to TRT Haber about Russia’s intentions to open their office being on the cards for a while now.

They have, however, made it clear that this is not in any way instrumental in recognizing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent entity.

Robert Paschall, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs of the United States’ Department of Homeland Security has issued a statement regarding Cyprus’ status via-a-vis their Visa Waiver Program.

Mr. Pascall said that while Cyprus has fulfilled certain key requirements, it needs to fulfill some more to be truly eligible.

These remarks were made while Paschall was in Cyprus on an official visit, which included meeting with Constantinos Kombos, Cyprus’ Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He also gave an interview to the CNA, explaining how both the US and Cyprus are dedicated to achieving results on the matter as early as possible.

He also emphasized on the program’s importance, mentioning how it can both enhance security, help facilitate travel, and generally speaking strengthen the ties between people and communities.

The Visa Waiver is a special US program, which allows citizens from participating nations to travel to the United States with a 90-day term – for either tourism or business.

Terrorists attacked a mosque in Limassol with a Molotov cocktail.

According to Azernews and Yeni Shafak, the attack at Koprulu Haci Ibrahim Aga Mosque happened at nighttime, when the Molotov cocktail was lobbed at the property.

The mosque sustained damages to its wall and door.

Some other sources have revealed that the attackers spray painted the phrase “Immigrants’ Islam not welcome” on the mosque prior to attacking it.

The attack has been highly condemned by Ersin Tatar, the president of Turkish Cyprus. Unal Ustel, the Prime Minister also criticized the attack, calling it severely Islamophobic.

Tom Wlaschiha, famous for playing the role of Enzo in the TV series Stranger Things and Jaqen H’ghar in HBO’s Game of Thrones is all set to headline the celebrity presence at Cyprus Comic Con.

According to a spokesman, Wlaschiha being present at Comic Con in Cyprus should immensely boost its presence. With a screen and theater career as versatile as his, he should attract audiences unlike ever before.

Wlaschiha will be present on both days of the event, including offering a Q&A panel and a talk on the main stage. He will also be present for a meet and greet with fans in the special guest zone, where autographs and selfies will be permitted. These can be purchased beforehand online and available for €20 (each).

Aside from starring in various US and European TV shows and movies, Wlaschiha has spent decades perfecting his talent. He is fluent in English, Russian, Italian and French.

He came into the public eye in 2011, when he played Jaqen H’ghar in Game of Thrones.

Tom Wlaschiha will be joined by several other celebrities, namely Miltos Yerolemou, famous cosplayer Pretzl, Brian Muir and Ferran Rodriguez.

Cyprus has rejected the development plan from a consortium led by Chevron.

The consortium in question is for the Aphrodite gas field in Block 12 of the island nation’s EEZ. Discovered originally in 2011, this field is situated 30 km northwest from the Leviathan field and 160 km south from Limassol.

Giorgos Papanastasiou, the Energy Minister of Cyprus did not disclose the specific reason for the plan’s rejection, but did inform the news agency that project parties are now permitted to engage in discussions and come to agreement within a 30-day-period, with effect from 25th of August, 2023.

As of today’s date, Chevron and Shell each have 35% stake in the field, followed by NewMed Energy, which has 30% stake.

Estimatedly, the offshore field has over 124 billion m³ worth of gas.

The plan, which was originally submitted In May 2023, included an up to date development plan for Aphrodite, including constructing an underwater pipeline to transport gas, as well as using the system to connect the reservoir of Aphrodite to existing Egyptian onshore and offshore infrastructure.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel has praised the act of Cyprus successfully foiling the potential attack on Israeli citizens in Cyprus.

While the statement from the Prime Minister did not disclose any more details.

However, Ynet – an Israeli news website disclosed the details of an attack being planned against Israeli nationals based in Limassol.

Meanwhile, Cyprus itself has declined to give any comments on the matter.

The Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus has launched an investigation into the Cyprus Police Force on grounds of finance and compliance matters.

According to Philenews, which broke the story, the former began its Investigation in January 2023, focusing on 3 main issues that involve police services within the public domain.

In particular, the matters concern the compliance audits of 2015 to 2023, 2022’s financial audit and certain submitted complaints concerning said audits.

According to some inside sources, the investigation is also partially focused on police’s behavior with regards to out-of-court complaints, their in-house system of photocopying and their conduct with the Department of Aliens and Migration.

Last but not least, the Audit Office is also looking in to the Police Security Commission’s system of issuing licenses and permits for carrying weapons.

Their latest development includes have sent an inquiry to the Police with regards to their legal status whereby they allow certain members to carry their weapons even outside their shifts – or to members of the public.

The Cypriot authorities have arrested the captain of a migrant boat which recently arrived in Cyprus.

The police have stated that a boat filled with over twenty-three migrants including children and women were found near Cyprus’ Cape Grecco.

They were captained by a 17-year-old boy, who was arrested upon interception and is due to be produced in court.

This comes only 2 days after another boat – also with twenty three people on board – were found in the same area, and roughly a week after the coast guard has spotted a boat carrying forty-nine migrants near the Paphos coast. The latter, however, was found to had Italy as its destination.

It is said that the passengers on both (and similar boats) pay over thousands in Dollars to get their place.

The surgery of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel has led to the postponement of the trilateral meeting with Greece & Cyprus.

According to a statement by the office of PM Netanyahu, his previously planned journey to Turkey & Cyprus have been moved to a later, yet-to-be-undisclosed date.

The surgery happened after Mr. Netanyahu, 73, was rushed to Sheba Medical Center right outside Tel Aviv after the heart monitor which was implanted one week prior detected an arrhythmias episode.

The surgery was successful, with the Israeli PM confirming it himself via video conference.

The Sheba Medical Center confirmed the same, also adding that Mr. Netanyahu shall remain under the cardiology department’s supervision.

In a bid to protect the safety of delivery persons, Yiannis Panayiotou the Labour Minister has announced that delivery services shall remain banned during the daytime owing to the extreme heat wave.

This includes both food and other delivery services, which will not operate between noon and 4pm on days that are on red or even orange alerts.

All two-wheelers are liable to adhere to this directive.

On a parallel scale, any type of outdoor work will not be allowed on days with red alerts.

The announcement comes after the government of Greece’s announcement of banning delivery and outdoor work from noon till 5 pm wherever the temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek PM has postponed his planned trip to Cyprus owing to the firefighter aircraft disaster in the former country.

The development was made public after a conversation between the Greek PM & Cyprus President.

Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus expressed his condolences for the disaster which happened in Karystos in Evia, also extending his support to Greece for the fires.

Given the disaster, the leaders of the neighboring countries decided that it would be best to postpone the visit to a future date.

The aircraft, a Canadair CL-215 aircraft, flown by Hellenic Air Force officers, crashed while fighting a wildfire in Platanistos village near Evia.

The airmen, Captain Christos Moulas, 34 and Lieutenant Pericles Stefanidis, 27 both died at the scene.

The number of COVID-19 patients has risen sharply over the last 2 weeks.

In the last 10 days alone, over 32 patients landed in hospital ICU and 2 under Increased Care.

Notably, the increase has been on a more gradual scale, given that the national average of hospital COVID patients in the previous months was an average of fifteen.

So far, over 660,000 people have been infected by the virus, and over 1,350 have lost their lives. That being said, other issues such as viral and bacterial diseases and infections, accidents and injuries and heat wave illnesses have also caused the filling up of ICUs nationally.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has granted an investment license to UAE-based Hoxton Capital Management.

The news of the license being granted comes over one year after Hoxton being granted a conditional license in the island nation.

According to a statement from Chris Ball, the firm’s managing partner, achievement of the license marks as a major step for the company’s growth and operations in the EU region, and a result of their dedicated to bringing their bespoke expert knowledge and to expat investors worldwide.

Previously, Hoxton Capital Management had announced reaching a total of €1.16bn in AUM as of March 2023.

An excessive amount of public demand has led the Limassol municipality to extend their Beach Sports Centre’s free-use status for one more month.

Inaugurated in July 2023, the sports center had an initial status of being free for use to foster engagement and give their potential users the chance to make use of their facilities.

A sum of €400,000 was spent to make the center, and the Cyprus Sports Organization (CSO) paid €122,000 of that amount.

The sports center has 3 beach tennis and volleyball courts along with a convertible beach football court.

The man whose body was found in the sea has been determined to have died of drowning.

According to Angeliki Papetta, the medical examiner, the preliminary autopsy has reveals that the man died from being asphyxiated by the water.

They further revealed that the man, 42, is a British national and permanent resident of Mazotos, who had gone to swim with his friends before disappearing.

He was later located by his friends, who found him unconscious in the water. They got help, and the man was taken out of the water and given first aid.

He was also taken to the general hospital in Larnaca by ambulance, but was pronounced DOA.

In the interest of safety, the Cyprus Police posted at the crossings of the divided area shall keep residential documents of those employed in the Republic of Cyprus who have their origins in third-countries.

The decision has been taken to cease the rise of third-country nationals exiting the Republic through the unrecognized Tymbou airport for other EU nations.

According to several insiders, many employers in Cyprus have been taking advantage of such people by charging them high fees for work permits and residential permits.

Many of them also go to the north of the island, which since 1974 has been under the thumb of Turkey. Once going there, they move to other EU states like Austria or Portugal, where they can use what is a valid EU document, they received from Cyprus anyway.

A Paphos resident has reported the police about his home being the victim of a burglary, where his jewelry and vehicle have been stolen.

Police mentioned a resident of Paphos placed a report that strange people had burglarized the home, stealing his jewelry, his passport and his vehicle.

The incident happened during the night.

The Paphos police have, upon preliminary investigation, determined that the perpetrator(s) entered the property via a window. They also said that they have collected different evidence pieces, aiming to identify the perpetrators.

A house was damaged in an explosion in Limassol.

The explosion happened after an improvised bomb was placed in a plastic box and thrown in the home’s first-floor veranda.

The police arrived at the scene not soon after, only to find the floor and door of the balcony completely damaged in the blast.

Further investigation is currently underway.