Current Events

The Larnaca Criminal Court has released information that the 22-year-old man who has been charged with the rape of three tourists in the Ayia Napa area will appear in court on August 31.

The original hearing for this was meant to take place on July 14. However, the man ended up requesting legal aid, which led to the process of a defense counsel being appointed the following Monday.

That Monday was also the day the court received the report from the welfare office, before the date for the next hearing was set.

The man is currently facing charges in relation to having abducted and sexually assaulted three tourists. He was arrested after a citizens recognized him from a photograph and forwarded his details to the police.

The Cypriot Meteorological Department has issued a fresh Yellow Warning in anticipation of high temperatures prevailing in the island nation.

Temperatures in the week are expected to rise as high as 40C in the interior areas.

The warning shall remain in effect for around one and a half days, and might be extended if the situation continues to prevail.

A tourist from the UK was found dead in a swimming pool in a hotel in Cyprus.

The tourist, a 21-year-old man was found floating in the water in a prominent Paphos hotel at around 6pm.

The lifeguards, who initially spotted his body, hauled him out of the pool and tried their best to revive him – which included emergency CPR. They were, however, unsuccessful in their efforts.

The man was then rushed to Paphos General Hospital, where he was intubated, but still could not be revived.

He was then pronounced dead at around 9pm the same evening.

Cyprus Police arrested a man on grounds of public nuisance. The man, 24, was intoxicated and in state of near-undress, disturbing passers-by.

The man continued to behave offensively towards police officers when they approached to warn him about his conduct.

The police then arrested the man and took him into custody. They proceeded to charge him in writing and then released him, subject to being summoned at a later date.

The government of Cyprus is getting rid of the mandatory requirement for visitors to show up with their vaccination or recovery certificates for COVID-19.

The government is also removing the requirement for people to wear face masks in all indoor spaces. This of course does not include hospitals, nursing homes or any other indoor medical facilities.

According to Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos, the removal of restrictions is being done for a smooth transition of the island nation to a system of post-pandemic normalcy.

The Cyprus police has arrested a 33-year-old man in connection with the fire which broke out in the night near the village of Dierona in Cyprus’ Limassol District, near to the state forest.

According to the Cyprus News agency, the firefighters went on scene almost immediately after the fire broke out and were successfully able to douse the blaze. Their investigations, however, revealed that the fire was a case of arson.

Further investigations by the police found incriminating evidence against the 33-year-old man, who was then arrested. His appearance in court is currently pending.

The Cyprus government is putting the full strength of its aviation capabilities into its firefighting efforts in Kantara.

The country has sent a helicopter and two firefighting planes after the Turkish Cyprus authorities requested help to fight the disaster, which is taking place on the eastern part of the Kyrenia mountain range.

In response to the request, the Cyprus police first sent a helicopter which joined the aircrafts sent by Britain and Turkey.

The aerial firefighting ceased at 7:30 PM, but is expected to resume at 5:00 AM the next morning.

In the meantime, ground-based firefighting forces are still actively fighting the disaster.

This was a natural fire that broke out in the afternoon and became stronger due to winds. So far, it has affected the villages of Ayios Iacovos, Ardana, Mandres, Flamoudi, and Ayios Andronikos.

The Cypriot government has launched an inquiry into the alleged accusations from the country’s prisons’ director. The allegation in question is about a senior police officer who recruited an inmate for the purpose of gathering information about her private life and using the same to blackmail her.

Lawyer Achilleas Emilianides has been appointed by Attorney General George Savvides to conduct the investigation into Prisons’ chief Anna Aristotelous’s allegations, along with that of Athena Demetriou, her deputy. Savvides is of the opinion that the investigation should come to a conclusion within a month.

While Aristotelous has not specified any ulterior motives on the part of the police officer to decode the inmate, he has admitted to something sinister going on beneath the surface.

The inmate in question is currently serving a long sentence on drug conviction. According to the Prisons’ Director, he had been communicating with the police officer via an illegal cell phone.

It is not yet clear if the senior officer has been suspended, however Aristotelous has said that it should be done on account of the risk his not being arrested poses to the investigation.

According to Marios Pelekanos, a spokesperson for the government, further steps will be taken after the investigation is complete to make sure that the proper responsibility is assigned.

The Cyprus police has arrested two people, aged 41 and 40 in Paphos for physically assaulting a 46-year-old man.

According to a spokesman for the police, the incident came to the police’s attention after the 46-year-old filed a complaint explaining how he was attacked by the two people while he was spending time with his friend on the beach of Lemba.

After being attacked, the man was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a hematoma on his head and a broken left leg.

The police arrested the two people, who were first accused in writing and later released.

The Pournara Reception Center in Kokkinotrimithiathe saw two fires breaking out within the span of a single day.

The incidents, each of which took place on consecutive mornings, had the fire service sending out fire engines with expert personnel. While they did manage to put out the fires, the building sustained major damages.

Investigations are currently underway. The investigators are saying that the first fire was in all possibility caused due to arson.

The recent spate of strong winds that have been blowing all over the island nation have intensified, greatly increasing the chance of vehicular accidents.

For this reason, the Cyprus police are actively urging people to drive slower and be extra careful when on the road. According to them, a vehicle with higher velocity makes it vulnerable to be thrown off course.

The results of the spring Eurobarometer of the European parliament has revealed that as less as 54% of participants in the island nation of Cyprus agree with the sanctions against Russia, as opposed to European Union average of 80%.

Parallelly, as many as 80% of Cyprus citizens also believe that the Russian invasion in Ukraine will affect their daily lives. This is by far the biggest percentage after Greece (86%), as opposed to the much lower European Union average of 61%.

Interestingly, 36% of participants said they had a positive view on Russia, quite higher than the European Union average of 10%.

Meanwhile, 42% of Cypriots said they have a positive image of the EU, which is not very far behind the 52% EU average.

Other percentages recorded from Cypriot participants include guarantee of freedom and democracy (48%), and the feeling that the European volume and should pay attention to Cyprus’ public health (58%).

The island nation of Cyprus has established a sea link with Greece – something that hasn’t been done in the last 21 years.

According to president Nicos Anastasiades, who attended the ceremony that marked the launching of the sea link, the event is indeed historic. He called the connection between Cyprus and Greece an “umbilical cord,” and that having the modern ships will further strengthen both countries.

According to Xinhua news agency, the last ferry that moved between these two countries was in October 2001.  So far, only international cruise ships and cargo vessels have moved between them.

While a sea link did exist till 2001, the more affordable 90-minute flights to Athens became more common, effectively putting the former out of business.

Daleena – a Cyprus-based cruiser will be operating on the route. Each trip will last 30 hours, and carry 100 cars and 270 passengers.

A major traffic accident that occurred this morning in Limassol has left a 59-year-old woman in critical condition.

The accident in question, which took place at Promachon Eleftherias street involved a car hitting said woman, who at that time was crossing the road.

The woman, who was gravely injured on spot was first transferred to the Limassol general hospital. But she was later admitted to the Nicosia general hospital on account of her critical condition.

Investigation of the accident is currently underway. The Limassol traffic police is appealing to people to contact them if they have any useful information about the accident.

The District Court in Limassol, Cyprus has sentenced a 23-year-old man to a 15 months prison term for negligence that led to a major car accident.

The accident in question, which occurred right after 12am on the 14th of September in 2020, had the 23-year-old as the driver of a car with an 18-year-old woman as his co-driver moving towards the south of the Kyvides-Kantou road. It was here that he lost control of his car, which then proceeded to overturn and hit a house fence. The collision caused the 18-year-old to be thrown straight out of the vehicle and die on the spot.

In addition to his sentencing, the man’s driving license will be suspended for 24 months.

A 72-year-old man in Paphos is in serious condition in the hospital after falling from his balcony.

The man, a pensioner, was trying to climb up his balcony, which stood at two-meter-high, to get into his home as he had accidentally locked himself out.

After neighbors informed the police, he was found and taken to Paphos general hospital’s A+E department, where the doctors diagnosed him with facial fracture and a head injury.

His condition has been described as serious.

The Cyprus police has arrested a 25-year-old British nation in connection to the traffic accident that led to the death of a Swedish tourist.

The man was allegedly driving the dune buggy that struck the tourist on a crosswalk in Ayia Napa and killed him on the spot.

The man, who will not be named in public due to state rules, shall stay in custody for 6 days will charges are formally brought against him in court for the manslaughter of 46-year-old Camilla Christina Pamdahl.

According to the police, the accident happened early Wednesday evening, when Pamdahl was moving along the then busy crosswalk. Once the accident happened, the suspect proceeded to flee the scene on foot. The Police, however, soon tracked him down and killed him.

The Courts in Cyprus have charged a 30-year-old in their investigations into the incidents that happened during the Anorthosis-Apollon football match, which led to a 20-year-old man getting gravely injured.

The suspect in question willingly surrendered himself to law enforcement once the police published the information of the ten people who are wanted in connection with the incident.

The incidents of Saturday led to the 20-year-old man suffering serious burns, with up to 45 percent of his body sustaining severe damages.

According to eyewitness reports, the incident was started by fans of the rival football teams who had started fireworks. The resulting fire went out of control and caused considerable damage.

Aside from the 20-year-old, damages include five police cars, and several plants. Reports say that the man who was injured had been walking his dog when a Molotov cocktail got thrown at him.

The Cyprus Police caught a driver driving much higher than the speed limit, and then discovered that he was under the influence of narcotics the whole time.

At around 3am, the police caught the 27-year-old man speeding along the Kofinou-Larnaca motorway at 174 kph, much higher than the prescribed 100 kph limit.

The police initially signaled him to stop, but the driver ignored the signs and continue to speed through. Officers finally stopped him near Klavdia, and gave him an alcohol and a narcotest. The man tested positive for the latter.

The man is currently in custody, pending his appearance in court.

The Cyprus Police have arrested a man for allegedly conducting a robbery at knifepoint at a hotel.

The man, 26, is a Cypriot citizen who wore a hood, entered a hotel, threatened one of their employees with a knife, and forced him to give up his car.

Paphos Police Director Nikos Tsappis has said that the man, who was later caught by the police, had the key belonging to the hotel employee, along with the hood and a plant of cannabis in his possession. The car itself was found at Ha-Potami in an open space near his home.

Further interrogation of the man is currently underway.