Current Events

A man has lost over €89,000 after unwittingly becoming part of a property scam. The man, 45, situation came to light after he made a complaint to the police about him being scammed.

He explained that he was approached by a man who claimed he could get him in touch with “Harry” the Prince of Gabon, who apparently was interested in buying his cellar for one million Euros.

He claimed that the money would need colour-correction with chemicals, which would require him to send a “small sum” of money prior.

This led to the 45-year-old handing over €89,000. One of the suspects informed him they would “need a few days” to bring the chemicals, at which point they disappeared.

The police’s investigations have not been able to locate the suspects so far. Further investigation is currently underway.

According to the Cyprus Meteorological Department, the temperature over the weekend is set to reach around 40 Degrees Celsius on an average.

The Met Department said that the overall temperatures will be 3-4 degrees higher than the seasonal average everywhere, making it rise up to 28 degrees Celsius in the mountains, and 31 and 34 degrees Celsius in the western and southwestern coastal areas and other coastal areas, respectively.

Humidity levels will proportionately be higher all round, especially in the coastal areas.

Residents are advised to stay hydrated, while those with chronic health issues are advised to stay indoors.

The police in Turkish Cyprus have arrested two protesters for attacking the police while carrying out a demonstration against the new government complex.

The building, which is worth €155 million, is being criticised over its insensitivity towards the Cypriot economic situation. According to various members of the public and opposition, the construction of the building is unnecessary, and does not respect the financial difficulties faced by average Cypriot citizens.

This led to protests from some members of the public.

In the latest round of protests, the protesters ran through the barb wired fence to enter the construction site. Some of them went to attack members of the police and the government.

According to Turkish Cypriot ‘Prime Minister’ Unal Ustel, such acts of condemnation shall not be tolerated. He further added that those carrying out protests do not have good intentions in mind.

The Cypriot Health Ministry has issued a warning on the presence of Aedes Aegypt mosquitos, having found and identified them in the Dromolaxia area near Larnaca.

The discovery happened when a bicommunal health committee project revealed the existence of the pests. The mosquito has been known to cause serious diseases such as yellow fever, Zika fever and dengue.

According to a statement from the Cypriot Ministry of Health, the public has been urged to do their part by keeping their area clean and removing any sites of water accumulation, which could encourage the breeding of mosquitoes.

It further stated that should the situation escalate, they will not hesitate to start an information campaign to educate people personally and even carry out mass exterminations.

The Republic of Cyprus is due to celebrate its 62nd anniversary of its independence from Britain.

The highlight of the celebrations will be a traditional military parade. This will include several sections such as pedestrian, motorised, airborne, with participants from the Police, the Fire Service and of course, the National Guard.

Prior to the parade, President Anastasiades will give his speech. This will be followed by the hoisting of the flag of Cyprus, the singing of the national anthem, and a 21-gun salute.

Other national attendants include Chief Lieutenant General Dimocritos Zervakis of the National Guard, and Defense Minister Charalambos Petrides.

Several Foreign dignitaries and army attaches will also be attending the parade. The guests of honor will be National Defense General Staff Chief General Konstantinos Floros and National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.

The Cyprus Police in Paphos has arrested a man on grounds of suspicion that he masterminded two burglaries.

The man, 24, is allegedly supposed to have carried out the criminal activities – one of which happened at a restaurant while the other happened at a hotel.

The police suspect that the suspect broke into the spaces to steal electronic items and small sums of money.

Further investigation is currently underway as the police is trying to ascertain if he is connected to any other incidents.

A violent homicide attempt has left its victim in serious condition.

The victim in question, a 36-year-old man and Cypriot permanent residency holder, was found grievously injured in his home by his neighbors

He was subsequently rushed to Paphos General Hospital via ambulance, where the doctors treated him for his injuries. The doctors revealed to the police that he suffered two major head injuries and some minor scratches.

The police later revealed that a 27-year-old has been arrested on grounds of suspicion. They have put the crime scene with the victim’s apartment under seal while they continue their investigation.

A British man was discovered dead mid-flight by his wife.

The man, 63 and his wife, 62 were traveling to Paphos for their vacation when this happened.

Once the plane landed, the man was sent to Paphos General Hospital, and at that location the man was declared DOA (dead-on-arrival).

The police’s preliminary investigation into the matter says that they do not consider the death to have any criminal or otherwise suspicious links.

With the COVID-19 pandemic waning, several countries are loosening their restrictions and Cyprus is no exception to this. The island nation recently lifted the mandatory use of face masks in indoor spaces after the country’s health authority deemed the situation to have considerably improved.

According to Michalis Hadjipantela, Cyprus’ health minister, the rule, however, will continue to apply to clinics, nursing homes and hospitals, and public vehicles. People suffering from chronic illnesses are also recommended to use face coverings.

Also lifted are the capacity limitations for public places like casinos, churches, stadiums, stores, malls, restaurants, and nightclubs.

The Republic of Cyprus has issued a Navtex revealing that the French Navy has started its military exercise.

Coinciding with this is a “war” Navtex warnings issued between Turkey and the island nation over the BILIM 2 Survey/Research vessel.

So far, Cyprus has slammed Turkey’s Navtex for scientific research. Part of this actually takes place in the continental shelf of the island nation.

This comes after Turkey issued an anti-Navtex where it disputed Cyprus’ sovereignty.

The BILIM 2 was first to the north of Cyprus, where Turkish-majority village Yiallousa is located.

Cyprus has signed a brand-new defense agreement with fellow EU country Romania.

Specifically, the agreement in questions was signed by Cypriot and Romanian Defense Ministers Charalambos Petrides and Vasile Dincu respectively at an informal meeting held around the European Union Foreign Affairs in Prague.

According to Andreas Stylianou, a spokesman for the defense ministry, this agreement will form the basis of a series of cooperative activities, which include personnel exchange, joint personnel training, among other military training-related topics.

The Paphos police has arrested 2 individuals on DUI and narcotics possession charges.

Paphos police has revealed that they stopped a 23-year-old car driver earlier, and upon a search found him to have €1,170 case, along with a scale and 82 gms of cannabis. He has been put under house arrest for 3 days.

The police also stopped a 22-year-old scooter driver. He was later found to have been possessing 0.86 grams, and even tested positive on the police’s drug test.

The police stopped a third vehicle, driven by a man, 23, with 4 passengers. The driver was found with traces of cannabis, two hand-rolled cigarettes, and also tested positive on the narcotics test.

Further investigation by Paphos police is currently underway.

A three-year-old girl has died, hours after she was found unconscious in a hotel pool in Kato Paphos.

The infant, who was found by hotel staff, was with her parents and family members, who intended to stay in the hotel during the weekend.

The police’s preliminary investigation has revealed that while the child had asked her parents to go to the children’s pool, she was found floating in the adults’ one, implying she somehow went there instead.

The hotel staff called a lifeguard the moment they found the girl’s body floating in the pool, but he was unable to save her.

Exactly how she ended up in the adults’ pool is yet to be known. Further police investigation is currently underway.

The digitization process of the now-defunct Nicosia Airport is now complete.

The result of this development includes a “virtual walk” for the old airport, launched under a special scientific project.

The project itself, the product of the collaboration of Climate and Atmosphere Research Center, the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center and the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus – was first announced in the summer of 2021.

The project’s core is an interdisciplinary 3D visualization and modeling technology developed specifically to create an interactive application for virtual tours. This is important as a real visit to the area has become increasingly unsafe courtesy abandonment and the absence of maintenance.

Cyprus’ Foreign Ministry has officially lodged a complaint to the United Nations, seeking the latter to look into the reports of the Greek Cypriot farmer being harassed by Turkish Cypriot soldiers as he was grazing cattle in the buffer zones between the two divisions.

Cyprus Mail says that the incident in question was reported by the farmer himself, who also stated that he was harassed despite having the license to graze sheep in the area.

Despite said license, the Turkish soldiers asked the farmer to vacate the area, and soon thereafter proceeded to chase him off of the area. One of these soldiers even pointed his armed weapon at him, while another went on to throw rocks at him.

The UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus has responded to the complaint, asking Greek Cyprus to stay calm as they are conducting their investigation into the matter.

A Ukrainian woman has been arrested by the police on grounds of threatening a group of Russians who were celebrating their National Flag Day.

The woman, 55, was wielding a knife when a group twenty Russians were in a gathering waving their flags in Larnaca. They were about to begin a car convoy that would go all the way through the city.

The police have arrested her on alleged charges of public intoxication, assault, possessing a weapon and disrupting a peaceful gathering.

The Ecologists Movement have informed Cyprus’ Department of Fisheries of a mishap that led to the death of a turtle.

The turtle in question died after it got stuck in the engine of the boat of a one of the small cruise lines that were operating in the region.

The line is operated by a tourism agency, which runs its boats around the areas where turtle live so the tourists can see them up close and feed them.

The police in Cyprus have arrested 5 people on alleged trafficking charges after their patrol boat intercepted both with another 32 people from a boat which sank near the southernmost section of the island nation.

The five men – all Syrian nationals between the ages of 46 to 53 are currently facing multiple charges, which include helping people enter illegally to gain financially, and endangering their lives by knowingly transporting them on an unsafe vehicle.

According to Christos Andreou, a spokesman for the Cyprus police, over 37 Syrian nationals, including 7 children, have been picked up from the sea.

All of the five men were arrested almost immediately upon arrival after multiple witnesses claimed them to be “in charge” of the transport.

The police later found one of those five men to have earlier been deported from the country, making him an illegal resident as well.

In the interest of public health and safety, the Cypriot government has brought back the mandate for residents to wear masks indoors.

The mandate, which makes it compulsory for all above the age of 12 to wear masks indoors, has come after a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases being recorded.

According to a statement from the government, the spike in infection follows a global one where people are largely infected with the BA.5 and BA.4 strains of the virus.

The Health Ministry numbers reveal that in a total population of 916,000, 147,623 were submitted between 25th June to 5th July. Out of these 19,503 samples were returned positive – a fairly high number.

These numbers exclude the 250,000 people who reside in the separated Turkish or Northern Cyprus, based on ethnic grounds.

While indoor mask wearing does not mean that people have to wear masks at home and when with family members (or others you may live with) in a vehicle, it applies to all other spaces with an indoor setting. Masks are also not compulsory for athletes, cooks when they are grilling, and those suffering from deformities or ailments that make it difficult for them to wear masks.

Those who violate the mandate – including individuals and businesses – will be awarded a fine of 300 euros on the spot.

The employees of Paphos Municipality went on a 2-hour-long strike in the morning hours on grounds of the management of violating labor agreements that should have been honored in 2021.

According to an announcement by the trade unions DEOK, SEK, and PEO, the Paphos Municipality failed to implement the filling in of 22 positions in labor, which it should have already wrapped up by the end of 2021.

According to the agreement, the management should not have taken any later than January 31, 2022 at the most.

Both the staff and the unions have also spoken out against the prolonged operating hours of the Traffic Department of Paphos Municipality as a hot topic.