Current Events

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.

The Nicosia Police has forewarned civilians of loud noises and explosions in the Analyondas area, since they will be destroying more than a thousand different firecrackers that they have confiscated during Easter.

The police will destroy the stash in an army shooting range in this region.

They have said that the public must not be scared since every appropriate measure for safety and security have been taken.

The police in Limassol have arrested two people, aged 17 and 21 for stealing an elderly woman’s belongings. They have been charged with residence theft and felony conspiracy.

According to the police, the woman, aged 82 complained to the police about how she was sitting at home when a young man came outside her door and requested some water to drink.

The woman welcomed him and went to her kitchen to retrieve said water and gave it to the young man.

A few moments after he left, however, she found several of her personal items, including jewelry, money and documents to not be there.

The police in Cyprus have arrested two Syrian nationals for smuggling human beings after over sixteen migrants – also from Syria – were rescued from their sinking boat off of the coast of Cyprus.

According to the police, the suspects – both in their mid-forties shall remain in police custody, pending full investigation.

The police declared in a press statement that they received information about a boat in distress near Cape Greco in Ayia Napa. The migrants on the boat have since been rescued and brought to shore, while their boat sank. They have all been found to be in good health and taken to a reception center for migrants near Nicosia.

This has been the second time this has happened in less than 2 weeks.

Reports of Cyprus having foiled a terrorist attack by an Iranian group – aimed towards Israelis have been circulating.

According to the report, the attack in question, which has clear ties to the IRGC, was intended to kill Israeli nationals. However, the intelligence departments of Cyprus with that of other Western countries (including the United States & Israel) found and neutralized the threat in time.

This comes after the arrest of an Azerbaijani national holding a Russian passport, who had been working with the IRGC.

The island nation has increased the maximum awarded fine for not paying salary to €5,000, and with prompt actions.

The amended bill, which has been published in the Cyprus gazette, the other major update is the use of the Euro currency, which was Cyprus pounds before.

Prior to amendment, €170 (or 100 Cyprus pounds) was the maximum fine for not paying salary, while 150 Cyprus Pounds was the fine for giving inaccurate data to labor inspectors. The latter now also stands to be €5,000.

Furthermore, Yiannis Panayiotou has announced that the Minimum Wage Adjustment Commission will now function on a practical basis.

Last but not least, the minimum wage for Cyprus has been set at €885 straight after recruitment, with €940 gross income post a six month of employment.

In light of recent developments with the Wagner Group in Russia, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry has requested all of their citizens in the country to exercise extreme caution.

According to a statement by the ministry, Cyprus citizens in Russia must closely follow both the news and the general instructions from the government. They must travel only if absolutely necessary, and keep away from the southern part of the country.

If anyone wishes to contact the Cyprus Embassy, they can call on the registered numbers for Moscow, Saint Petersburg, the Krasnodar or Yekaterinburg – details available on the registered website.

The announcement comes on the heels of Wagner mercenaries retreating from Rostov overnight after putting a stop to their plans on invading Moscow.

According to Reuters, this happened on account of a deal, which neutralized President Vladimir Putin’s authoritative stance.

Mediated by Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, Wagner mercenaries shall return to their base, with guaranteed safety, whereas their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin shall go to Belarus.

Terkenlis, the famed Greek confectionery chain is shutting down in Cyprus.

In the past fortnight, the brand has closed up operations and has deactivated its pages on social media.

No one really knows exactly why the closure happened. It is perhaps why the company is facing great uncertainty over how its future shall unfold in the market scene of the island nation.

The Ministry of Defense received an alert following the fall of a National Guard soldier and his vehicle off of a bridge.

The incident happened on the highway of Nicosia-Limassol near the Alambra exit, where the non-commissioned officer suffered the tragedy.

According to early investigations, it was the driver who lost his control on the vehicle and spiraled into the cliff.

The officer was immediately rescued and admitted to Nicosia General Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department.