Current Events

The famous Cypriot sausage dish sheftalia has been awarded the accolade of being the world’s second-best sausage-based dish.

Famous platform Food Atlas ranked it, putting it above several classics such as Pigs in Blankets and Toad in the Hole. In fact, it was only outranked by Spetsofai, a dish from Greece.

The sheftalia is served with souvlakia in pita within a mixed kebab. The sausage itself contains minced lamb and pork, along with finely chopped parsley and onions – all of which are mixed and wrapped in caul fat (fatty lining in the stomach of animals like pigs, cows and sheep). It is prepared by seasoning the meat and aromatics with pepper, cinnamon and salt, shaping them into sausages and then grilling or skewering them. At this point the fat melts and the exterior becomes crisp, while the interior cooks and gets juicy and tender.

There is some debate on the origin of the dish’s name. Some say it comes from the seftali, a Turkish-language word meaning peach – owing to it being soft to touch. Yet others say it is named after the man who created it.

The other preparations that made Food Atlas’ Top Ten include Salchicha Parrillera and Chorizo a la Parrilla from Argentina, Currywurst from Germany, Ovos mexidos com Farinheir from Portugal, Rougail Saucisses from Madagascar and Nem Nuong from Vietnam.

Barbara, the storm which had been looming in the Mediterranean, has brought quite a bit of disturbance to Cyprus, leading to wide-range disruptions and causing roads to turn hazardous within hours of landfall.

The fire department in Paphos tended to two incidents – one involving a drain clearing and the other involving flooding at a hotel. The latter of these resolved on its own before the firefighters reached the scene. Other than this and intense rainfall, no other large-scale damage was reported.

In Famagusta and Larnaca, strong winds caused Electricity Authority Cables (EACs) to snap and cause sparks. Two teams comprising firefighters and EAC technicians fixed the issue in three separate locations where this had happened.

According to a statement by Charalambos Pittokopitis, the governor of Paphos, the storm did not cause any greater damage in the district at large. He mentioned that the intensive inspections carried out for the winters have largely to credit for this.

Meanwhile, several grates and drains were cleared in Yeroskipou as well as in Paphos.

Cyprus’ meteorological department had a yellow warning issued for the entire time the storm was in effect.

The Department of Environment of Cyprus has confirmed its approval of what will soon be the island nation’s first even HESS (Hybrid Energy Storage Systems)-powered battery energy storage system.

The plan in question is to construct a facility that can support over 59 Megawatts and run over 120 MWh in circulation.

The construction of this facility will greatly ease the burden on Cyprus, which today has the EU’s sole non-interconnected electricity grid.

Cyprus had been making the effort to improve its infrastructure – especially through an underwater cable link that would run from Israel to Greece via Cyprus. But it has since been stalled.

Between that and the increasing demand for electricity from all facets of life, as well as more frequent current outages, the Department of Environment decided to approve the installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS), which they hope can be done fast.

Not much later, Cyprus’ government-funded Electricity Authority (EAC) launched its own tender looking for a suitable contractor to power its BESS facilities.

So far, one private company has won the opportunity of making a planned investment.

Sprawled over 4.9-hectares, the facility is located in Larnaca’s Psevda, close to the 10.8 MW wind park in Ayia Anna.

An Israeli national, who has an Interpol warrant against him was intercepted and arrested in Cyprus.

Alexei Kratzgor, aged 47 had arrived on the island nation on a Mano Maritime cruise, apparently unaware that Russia has Initiated an Interpol Notice in his name.

According to the Russian government, Kratzgor played a major part in the Arctic Sea cargo ship’s hijacking in the Baltic Sea in 2009 – and has been at large since.

was arrested in Cyprus on Saturday under an international warrant issued by Russia over his alleged role in the 2009 hijacking of the cargo ship Arctic Sea in the Baltic Sea, authorities said.

One of the most striking incidents of recent times, the hijacking involved imposters pretending to be police officers, boarding the Arctic Sea (almost a day after it departed Jakobstad port in Finland). The impostors beat up all of the fifteen people who constituted the crew, restrained them and forcibly locked them up in cabins – and then assumed control of the ship themselves.

After this incident, the Arctic Sea could not be found for weeks, sparking all kinds of speculation from intelligence conspiracies to transporting secret and deadly weapons. However, the Russian government denied any and all claims, insisting the ship was a victim of sea piracy.

The vessel was finally intercepted in August 2009 in the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Verde.

The Russian government arrested 8 suspects who were Latvian and Estonian nationals. They were charged with kidnapping and piracy and were subsequently awarded up to fifteen years of prison sentences. Many of them confessed to being hired as mercenaries to test the current scenario as a part of security assessment.

The Latvian authorities conducted a special investigation into the matter – where they named Kratzgor as an organizer. At the time he was deemed to be a Riga-born ad specialist who loved PC games and sushi. They alleged that he in fact recruited the participants and handled all the logistics.

While Kratzgor was arrested, he freed himself on bail and then fled the country, remaining at large since.

If he gets extradited to Russian, he will most probably be charged with extortion, abduction and of course piracy.

The Greek side of the divided island nation of Cyprus celebrated the 65th anniversary of its independence with great pomp and fervor.

The ceremony was held in the capital city of Nicosia, and kicked-off with a military parade, which showcased the country’s resilient spirit and ambitions to reunite.

Nikos Christodoulides, the country’s president in his televised speech even called for everyone concerned to continue their hard work into trying to resolve the issue of reuniting the divided nation – which has been in effect since 1974.

President Christodoulides said that while reunification seems mammoth, it is very much achievable. He further highlighted his and the government being committed to making sure every resident of the island nation gets equal access to benefits and rights.

In 1974, the island nation was attacked by the Turkish military troop, followed by a resistance by officers of the Greek Army. Cyprus has since remained a nation divided into two – Greek Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus.

The latter is only recognized by Turkey.

Cyprus originally stood independent on Aug. 16, 1960. However, since 1979, the country has been celebrating it on the 1st of October every year.

Natural gas MNC Exxon Mobil has confirmed a sizeable quantity of natural gas reserve near the Cypriot coast.

The media in Cyprus has reported that the specific site of the reserves is somewhere between eight and nine trillion cubic feet. They said that they to the information at a meeting between the Cypriot President and the Supermajor. More precisely, the reserves, called ‘Pegasus’ is alongside the ‘Glafkos’ reserves.

Konstantinos Letympiotis, a spokesperson for the Cypriot government called the discovery a highly positive indication of the future Cyprus and for ExxonMobil as well.

According to a report by the Greek City Times, Exxon has been working with QatarEnergy to try and find more natural gas reserves. The first of such discoveries was made in 2019, which made the prospect of finding more promising.

In early-2025, a large-scale drilling expedition in an offshore block turned out to be a dud – while gas was found, the quantity for far too short for any kind of development to happen.

At the time, it has raised concerns if there actually was any potential for finding true resources in and around the southern coast of Cyprus (if not the nation itself).

However, not much later a second reserve was found in the same Block 10, putting doubts to rest and leading to two major sources for commercial work.

Cyprus has been taking advantage of the situation to propel its status as a hub for natural gas export, with Block 10 being a major stepping stone in the process. Potential development plans may include creating a subsea tieback to the Egyptian liquefaction plants in Damietta or Idku, which might help create a more updated export route for Europe as well as Asia.

That said, the matters pertaining development in the deep waters and recent developments are quite complex – which means that it will take time before concrete plans come into the picture.

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Exxon-Confirms-Significant-Reserves-at-Cyprus-Gas-Discovery.html

Cyprus’ visually impaired swimmer Carolina Pelendritou has won the silver medal for swimming 50m freestyle S11 in the finals of the World Para Swimming Championships, hosted by Singapore.

Pelendritou finished the race at 30.30, which earned her the second position.

This has been her best performance in 2025, with the 30.63 achieved in Berlin in June coming in a close second and.

Her time for the qualifying round earlier that morning in Singapore was a solid 30.84.

The gold medal went to Russian swimmer Daria Lukyanenko, who clocked 30.22, while the bronze went to Dutch national Lizette Bruinsma, who clocked 30.34.

This win makes Pelendritou the third-time champion of the 50m freestyle category at the Paralympics. She had previously won a gold and a bronze at the World Championships held in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2025/09/21/pelendritou-takes-second-at-world-para-swimming-championships

The trial of the Greek Cyprus national who has been detained in Turkish Cyprus since the 19th of July has been postponed on account of the man being taken to hospital after complaining of debilitating back pain.

Apparently, the back pain occurred due to him being denied required medication. The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) has reported that the man suffers of health issues and was denied life-saving drugs for all of his 2+ months in state custody.

This led to his condition deteriorating to the extent that he needed hospital-level medical intervention.

The man was hospitalized on the eve of his trial at the Trikomo court. This has been postponed to a later date.

The man is one of the five nations of Greek Cyprus who were arrested and detained in Trikomo for illegally seeing their ancestral lands. All of them are above the age of 60, and are facing charges related to invading a military zone.

According to authorities in Trikomo, the men were trying to gather information regarding construction work being done on their properties by the current administration – based on the maps and documents that were found in their cars.

Greek Cyprus sees the arrests as a hostile act in retaliation for them taking action against Turkish Cypriots for trying to occupy properties owned by Greek Cypriots within the Turkish Cyprus region.

So far, any legal proceeding that takes place in Turkish Cyprus is not recognized by anyone bar Turkey.

Greek Cypriot held in occupied north hospitalised as trial postponed

The Indian stealth naval vessel INS Trikand has landed in Cyprus, specifically at the port of Limassol as part of its Mediterranean deployment.

A part of the Talwar section of guided missile frigates, the INS Trikand is loaded with a majestic arsenal pf sensors, equipment and weapons, which enable it to carry out missions via air, surface and under the water.

The ship has been named after the Sanskrit word for trident (i.e. Trikand) meaning strength and power, and was originally built in Russia prior to being given to the Indian Navy back in 2013.

Upon reaching Limassol, Captain Sachin Kulkarni, the Commanding Officer of the vessel met with relevant officials. This included the Indian High Commissioner in Cyprus and the Cyprus Navy’s Commander. The meetings were done as a gesture of warm relations between the two countries.

Other joint activities were also carried out – talks were held between officers of both navies to foster ideas and knowledge-sharing. A session of yoga was conducted to demonstrate Indian culture and its dedication to maintaining and spreading the concept of healthy living. A cultural exchange program was also held on board, where the was briefly opened for specific guests to show them a glimpse of the strength of the Indian navy, and how they dealt with life in the open waters.

India’s INS Trikand docks at Limassol to strengthen naval partnership with Cyprus

Cyprus has sent formal request to the United States, with the former asking the latter for military equipment. The island nation’s President Nikos Christodoulides has said so himself in a late-night interview on TV, while touting it as a “natural” step in Cyprus further cementing its tied with the United States.

Christodoulides added that the Cypriot government sent in the request about getting certain types of defense equipment from the US via specific diplomatic pathways. There is a basis for the request – an American program which gives partner nations the permission to ask for surplus gear.

Christodoulides mentioned that they are waiting for the US to give its response, while they remain optimistic about the outcome.

In the event that the US approves the request, defense representatives from Cyprus shall travel to America to check the gear prior to actually signing any deals.

President Christodoulides has touted this step with Cyprus’ larger goal of improving its military partnership with the United States. Right now, the island nation is a part of 3 US programs, – this includes SAFE, helps the support of defense industries of partner countries.

He also managed to add that Turkey will not be able to join SAFE as it does not have a formal defense agreement with the EU, and that getting the same would require all twenty-seven nations to unanimously say yes.

https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-eyes-u-s-military-gear-to-bolster-defense

Cyprus has received the Barak MX air defense system from Israel, right after India obtained it – sparking anticipations of retaliation from Turkey.

Several media outlets in the island nation reported the Barak MX having arrived at the port of Limassol. A number of videos have been shared on social media, which show a number of fast-moving military vehicles leaving the port to an undisclosed location. According to the media outlets, this is the process of the system being transported to different parts in Cyprus.

The port of Limassol was heavily secured for the occasion, and it is expected that the vehicles were moving to strategic locations within Greek Cyprus.

No official statement on the matter has been given yet.

Türkiye Today once famously reported that the Barak MX is a lot more lethal than the famed Russian S-300. Greek Cyprus had originally requested one of those in 1997, but did not get it courtesy military and political pressure from Turkey.

Barak MX is equipped with AESA technology and a 3D MMR radar, which greatly enhances defense and provides Israel with more intelligence on the Eastern Mediterranean region.

https://www.india.com/news/world/turkeys-biggest-enemy-acquires-israels-most-powerful-weapon-more-dangerous-than-russian-s-300-the-country-is-greek-cyprus-cypriot-weapon-is-barak-mx-air-defense-systems-8072474/

In a bid to prove his ability to play for the World Cup in 2026, Guillermo Ochoa, the famous Mexican goalkeeper has signed on to play for Cyprus-based club AEL Limassol.

Ochoa, aged 40, had previously played for AVS in Portuguese topflight in the previous season, which helped the club avoid any relegation issues.

The AEL issued a press statement on the development, mentioning how Ochoa’s extensive experience, leadership skills and personality would serve to strengthen their existing squad.

Having made his debut all the way in 2005, Ochoa has made one-hundred-and-fifty-two appearances on behalf of Mexico so far. He was also first choice at three previous World Cups in succession.

The forty-eight team strong World cup event shall be hosted by Mexico along with Canada and the United States.

The Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) has awarded the Cyprus Electricity Authority (CEA) the license to set up a brand-new commercial power storage system.

İsmet Korukoğlu, the Turkish Cypriot ambassador in Ankara, Turkey has said that he is very optimistic on the breakaway island nation to get headway in its quest for recognition as a nation internationally.

In a press conference, he mentioned that Turkish Cyprus has many milestones to fulfill in this regard, such as signing the SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement], discussing the current state of activities and operations, and getting relevant consent.

He mentioned how Turkish Cyprus’ ‘observer’ status in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is highly instrumental, and that participating in international meetings involving high-ranking ministers and in the diplomatic circles in Baku will serve to work in their favor.

Korukoğlu further emphasized that any further talks on the reunification matter can only happen once the Turkish population of the island have been recognized as sovereigns.

He even criticized Greek Cyprus to stonewall their processes, as well as try to get Turkish Cypriots to stay isolated – two approaches that have furthered fractured the relations between the two.

The island nation of Cyprus is a divided one since 1974. In 2004, the United Nations proposed a peace plan, which was rejected by Green Cyprus. The UN also tried to mediate some talks, but ultimately failed and efforts are on pause as of 2017.

Only Turkey recognizes Turkish Cyprus so far.

https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-cypriot-envoy-optimistic-on-northern-sides-status-213247

The CERA made the decision to award the license based on the article 26 of the Electricity Market Regulation Laws (2021-23). The license’s terms shall follow Article 30’s criteria and shall be available on their website, in addition to being sent to the CEA.

Two major airports of Cyprus have crossed important milestones in August 2025 in terms of passenger volume.

August itself was the busiest month for Cyprus airports, with an 1,800,000+ footfall of passengers. This was over than 12 percent more than the footfall in August 2024. Over 58,000 people passed through the airports daily during this time, with 20th August seeing the largest volume at 64,000+ passengers, and the weekend of 23rd and 24th August seeing over 127,000 within that period.

This came after Cypriot Airports already saw dealt with over 4.9 million visitors from June to August 2025 – over 11% more than a year earlier.

The Larnaka Airport (LCA) crossed a milestone of handling 1.1 million passengers for the third consecutive month in August 2025, which has so far never been done.

On the other hand, Pafos Airport (PFO) handled over 500,000 passengers in the month of August – its busiest month so far. For a regional airport, successfully dealing with such a volume was a major feat and solid indication of the airport rising in popularity as well as contributing to travel and tourism on the island.

All of these developments at large demonstrate that Airports in Cyprus are continuing to act as an important benchmarks of travel and tourism.

Meanwhile, Hermes Airports are looking forward to a strong winter. The company, which operates both LCA & PFO remains dedicated in its effort to enhance the connectivity within the island nation of Cyprus, as well as that of the island with other countries at large. It largely fulfills this via incentive programs and strategic partnerships with airlines and tourism authorities.

https://www.routesonline.com/airports/8258/hermes-airports/news/299665098/cyprus-airports-achieve-first-time-ever-milestones-in-august-2025/

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has exited the Bank of Cyprus by selling its entire 5% stake.

The shares – 22,401,744 in number had been offered via accelerated bookbuild on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX).

The Bank of Cyprus received its first investment from the EBRD in 2014 for stabilizing and restructuring itself while navigating the EU’s downturn and the financial crisis worldwide.

Since then, the Bank of Cyprus has become profitable once again. Its ratio of non-performing loan exposure has gone down from 60% to 2.5%. In 2023-2024, it averaged 20% return on equity.

EBRD selling its stake shall serve to help the Bank of Cyprus increase its liquidity on the ATHEX.

Kristina Zagar, the Director of European Union Banks & Structured Finance of EBRD has saif that they are very proud to have aided the Bank of Cyprus for over a decade as it navigated ups and downs. Since their strategic investment, the Bank of Cyprus has managed to tighten its credit process and reestablished itself as a reliable lending partner. Now it has also re-listed on ATHEX – even after being delisted from London – which demonstrates the bank’s transformation arc.

The EBRD originally made an investment of €600 million in the island nation for the period of 2014-2020, mainly to help the financial sectors recover themselves.

EBRD exits Bank of Cyprus

Turkey has been busy in recent months, trying to strengthen the amount of military presence it commands in its occupied section of Cyprus.

They have increased the number of Turkish troops in the breakaway nation, and plan to further double the number.

According to TRT Haber, Turkey’s move comes after Greek Cyprus is being seen making stride to improve its stability and importance – both in the East Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The local command in Turkish Cyprus is under the charge of a lieutenant general appointed by the Supreme Military Council – this shows the intention of installing a rather permanent form of military presence.

According to various sources in Turkey and Turkish Cyprus, there are probably over 100,000 soldiers already – strategically spread across air, sea, land, electronic and of course support forces.

Allegedly, the authorities there are framing the developments as a precautionary response in light of military activities orchestrated by Germany, the UK & US, as well as Israel in Greek Cyprus and adjoining areas.

The south-eastern European countries of Greece and Cyprus are seeking assistance from the European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism to fight extreme cases of wildfires.

The European Union has responded by mobilizing 2 Canadair aircrafts from their ‘rescEU’ fleet.

This request for assistance comes after a huge wildfire that started in Cyprus’ Limassol, and brunt over 120 square kilometers of land in a matter of days. The situation was made worse by the combination of 44°C+ hot heatwaves and fast winds.

The villages of Malia, Lofou and Souni, have all been largely affected – the air quality of these places have deteriorated greatly all over the area.

The team fighting the fire included over two-hundred-and-fifty firefighters and eighteen airplanes – from Israel, Jordan, Spain and of course Cyprus.

A large portion of the blame for the wildfires goes to the scorching heatwave and wind gusts being experienced by people all over Europe.

Dr. Petros Karayiannis, Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Virology at the University of Cyprus has said that the island nation is under no threat from the mosquito-borne disease.

However, he has confirmed that there may be a slight transmission risk.

The Chikungunya virus was identified in 1952 in Tanzania in 1952, and has been found to has cause outbreaks of various sizes, primarily in sub-tropical and tropical areas.

Several case clusters have been spotted in countries such as France and China – although Cyprus is not facing any such issue at the moment.

Dr. Karayiannis mentioned that Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – the mosquito variants which are responsible for transmission, have been found on the island nation. However, he added that for the transmission to actually happen, the mosquitoes need to bite an infected traveler, which would lead to the spread of the virus.

Much like Dengue, Chikungunya spreads via the bites of mosquitoes. There are also overlap with symptoms – most common of them pain in the joints and muscles, headaches, rash and of course fever. Most people recover without major complications – but the elderly, children and those with co-morbidities might be at risk of death.

The disease has neither a vaccine not an antiviral course of treatment. The only action is the treatment of symptoms till they ease up – and of course prevention in the first place. Those living and especially traveling to areas with case clusters have been advised to wear protective clothing, use an insect repellent, and sleep inside a mosquito net. They can also use electric fans, which have been known to deter the activity of mosquitoes.

Due to its symptoms resembling other mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever, dengue and Zika, a PCR test is the only way to confirm the presence of the virus.

The German Medical Institute of Cyprus has established an AI-powered medical testing center as part of its digital transformation initiative titled Agora 3.0. Their intention is to advance medical science and launch strategic partnerships with the Indian healthcare and innovation sectors.

Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist of the German Medical Institute conducted a thorough review to ascertain the progress achieved on the facility – whose ultimate goal is to create the first ever 100 percent digital-based hospital in Cyprus.

German Medical Institute Medical Director Professor Constantinos Zamboglou has stated that an AI-powered supercomputer has already been installed, and the basic infrastructure to enable the AI medical testing, diagnosis and development have been laid down. He further added that the aim of Agora 3.0 is to function as a premier hub for AI-powered Testing and Validation. The hub here will offer a solid base for developing and testing AI-powered medical tools and machines.

The intention for the hub is to act as a contact point for all global AI companies that are looking to enter the European Union market through Cyprus. Officials of the institute have said that they are working on offering regulatory assistance such as pathways for CE certification, among others.

Right now, the first spinoff company, GMIC has been launched, which is all set to create collabs with counterparts in the US (specifically Stanford), Germany, Serbia and Bulgaria.

Zamboglou will be visiting India in mid-September within a delegation of Cypriot nationals at the upcoming ICC Global Business Summit. The plan is for the GMIC to sign an MoU with Tata Memorial Cancer Centre and the ARIA Matrix, an India-based AI startup.

These partnerships are coming after recent visits between India’s Narendra Modi and Cypriot President Christodoulides.

The second day of incessant blackouts in Cyprus led to many patients being stuck mid-way in diagnostic machines, causing distress to doctors and patients alike and bringing up topics of potential public health risks.

The blackouts originated after Cyprus’ Transmission System Operator specifically ordered controlled load-shedding meant to last for approximately 30 minutes going area-by-area.

Ironically, this was not due to power shortage, since Cyprus does have the structural capacity. It was due to availability – since several normal generators were not online due to the sun setting and production dropping, the power grid could not match demand with supply.

However, with the heat wave in the picture, the fairly short blackout seemed very long. Families having small kids, elders or even equipment-reliant patients felt the crunch of the power outages. Tourists too bore the brunt of having no power for 30 mins at a time.

The most burnt are hospitals – Pancyprian Association of Diagnostic Centers’ Director George Kouttoukis said that many patients were stranded midway in diagnostic machines. Not only was this emotionally distressing, it could have caused great bodily harm – especially for patients using pacemakers or those given medicines prior to their procedures.

Unsurprisingly, the elderly and/or those with co-morbidities were the most at risk, followed by those with mental health conditions such as claustrophobia. Being trapped in an elevator or an MRI machine could cause them great panic, if not any more.

Kouttoukis claimed that he was given full assurance that organizations offering medical services would not be affected – but found out the hard way that diagnostic centers did not make the cut. He claimed that any and all his calls to the minister, or the director-general went unanswered.