Current Events

The criminal court of Limassol jailed a 59-year-old man who had been sexually abusing the young son of his girlfriend.

The man, who was sentenced to jail for 16 years, pled guilty to the crime of having sexually abused the child since he was 6 years old – one that lasted from 2005 till 2014.

The Limassol criminal court, as part of their sentence, explained how the penalties levied upon the man reflected the intensity of the crime committed. It also said that they hoped that the sentence would serve as a deterrent.

They add that the sentence makes more sense considering the victim was only 6 years old while the defendant was 42. Not to mention the fact that the crime in question often led the child to have suicidal thoughts.

The European Commission and Cyprus have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the topic of better management of unregulated migrants.

As part of the agreement, the Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the European Border Force will be working together to help the Cypriot government deal with the potential crisis caused by the influx of migrants.

According to a new report by Xinhua news agency, the MOU was signed virtually by Ylva Johansson of the European Commissioner for Home Affairs (on behalf of the EU) in Brussels, with the promise of Europol and Frontex intensifying its efforts.

From Cyprus, it was the Interior Minister Nicos Nouris who virtually signed the MOU – within the presence of the President Nicos Anastasiades and Margaritis Schinas, the VP of the European Commission. He explained how the ratio of asylum seekers now stand at 4.6% of the national population – well over 1% over any given EU member country.

A part of the Venetian walls surrounding the old town of Nicosia old town has collapsed, with heavy rains being touted as the reason.

The part in question was the northern section of the Quirini Bastion – this is where the buildings that house the “presidency” lies.

Upon investigation by the municipality, it was found that the collapse occurred due to long-term damag caused by higher level of humidity and heavy rains.

They further added that tenders would be launched to make repairs and reconstruct the area.

The Cypriot Police has released the photo along with the details for a criminal – a man wanted for committing multiple felonies.

The man in question is George Moysis, a 26-year-old from Nicosia, who has an active arrest warrant against him on grounds of burglaries and theft – crimes that he committed on the 22nd of February 2022 but has since been at large.

Those who may have any related information are being urged to contact the Nicosia CID, the Citizen Line or their nearest Police Station.

Paphos police caught 2 drivers driving under the influence of narcotics in the area.

One of the drivers, aged 40 was found to be a permanent Paphos resident, and was speeding in the Geroskipou area. Besides testing positive on the drug test, he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. The police sent another sample for the man to get tested at the state lab. The police further found an outstanding arrest warrant issued against him in relation to a separate case.

In a separate incident, the traffic police stopped a 20-year-old – also a permanent Paphos resident, who tested positive on the drug test. In his case, the second sample was sent to the lab as well.

The Paphos police have arrested a man for falsely impersonating a doctor and gaining money on false pretenses.

The man, 34, is being suspected of being involved in at least 2 other cases of duping unsuspecting members into paying cash, under the pretext of paying for immediate surgery for their loved ones.

Michalis Nicolaou, chief of the Paphos CID, said that the criminal activity came on the police’s radar when a bank contacted the police on a bank account which they believed belonged to a potential victim.

With the cooperation of the bank and police, the potential victim’s movement was monitored from the bank till the rendezvous spot with the suspected fraudsters.

As it turns out, the man went to a spot next to the Ayios Kendeas church and was about to hand over the envelope with cash, when the police came in and arrested the perpetrator.

The man is being suspected of having accomplices – and was found to have secured €10,000 from one person and €7,000 from another. Both were on the prefixes of medical treatment of family members who were in a car accident.

In a thorough checking of over 1,677 persons and businesses countrywide, the Cypriot police found 8 business owners/managers and 15 persons violating Covid rules – all within the span of 24 hours.

Out of these, 328 checks were conducted in Nicosia, 481 in Larnaca, 103 in Paphos, 403 in Famagusta, 137 in Morphou and 137 traffic checks.

Out of these 3 businesses and 8 persons were fined in Nicosia, 1 business and 3 citizens were fined in Limassol, 4 businesses and 1 citizen were fined in Larnaca, 2 individuals fined in Paphos, and 1 citizen fined in Morphou. No violations were found in the traffic checks.

The Cyprus Met Department has predicted that the skies will be largely cloudy in the next few days, along with possible nighttime isolated showers.

Winds would go in the direction of southwesterly to northwesterly, and force 5 Beaufort, with a slight to moderate sea.

The temperature may increase up to 14C in mountainous areas, 22C in northern and western coastal areas, 21C in other coastal areas, and 20C in the inland areas.

Residents are advised to stay safe and remain indoors during showers.

Almost a month after Cyprus introduced its new rules for testing for both unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals, the island nation is all set to revise its rules for vaccinated visitors from the UK.

The previous rule was for all arrivals (despite their vaccination status) to test negative on a Covid-19 PCR within 72 hours prior to departure, as well as test negative on an antigen test within 48 hours before departure – and that is of course, along with testing negative on a PCR test immediately upon arrival.

But the Cyprus Foreign Office announced that those who are fully vaccinated need not test negative on any tests prior to departure, effective immediately.

They will also not be required to test negative on arrival, starting 1 March.

The not-fully vaccinated as well as the unvaccinated, however, will still need to follow the testing protocol pre as well as post-departure.

All children below the age of 11 will be exempted from tests. However, children above the age of 12 will continue to follow the same rules and guidelines as per adults who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

Cyprus police have charged 2 people found staying in an area illegally in Chlorakas.

The rule-breakers were found during a coordinated operation conducted by the police that lasted an entire day, and included officers from MMAD, the Drugs squad, Crime Prevention Unit, airport security, and Paphos police headquarters taking part.

The police said that the operation was to check an apartment complex and verify that no asylum seekers had docked there – which is against the decree of the interior ministry.

The two who were found were charged in writing in said decree’s violation – and are set to appear in court on the designated date.

The traffic police also checked over 25 cars, and lodged 1 traffic offense.

The UK is set to build a brand new communications facility on one of the island nation’s military bases.

According to a spokesman for the British Defense Ministry, the aim of said initiative is to improve the infrastructure of the Cypriot ministry and strengthen the overall resilience of the European Economic Area.

The facility shall be constructed at a site on the Dhekelia Garrison in south-east Cyprus.

While Cyprus got its independence from British rule in 1960, the U.K. continued to maintain its rights on the military bases.

Britain continues to maintain this military strength and exercises its capacity, even after Brexit officially happened in 2020.

The statue of a giant potato was destroyed by vandals on New Year’s Day.

According to local officials, the four-meters-high “potato” was destroyed after it was found chopped down from its stand.

Popularly known as the “big potato,” the sculpture was installed in the village of Xylophagou in October 2021, and had proceeded to make big headlines all over the world, not to mention a frenzy on social media on account of its “suggestive” shape. Tourists were nonetheless known to pose in front of it.

The sculpture was made by George Tasou, artist and community leader, who also guarded the statue during his spare hours. Mr. Tasou stood his guard by the state till the early hours of January 1, till he asked another person to guard it in his absence.

The damage caused is estimated to be worth around £4,000.

The police were notified immediately – and an investigation into the matter is currently underway.

The Cypriot government has announced that it will lift all entry requirements for incoming travelers from the 1st of March, provided said travelers can show a valid certificate that proves that they got both the vaccine and the booster shot.

Right now, it is mandatory for vaccinated travelers to have either a negative test for COVID-19 prior to arrival, or self-quarantine for a stipulated period once they arrive.

Travelers who have been inoculated but have not got the booster shots may be accepted if they got vaccinated 9 months (or less) prior.
Cyprus will also approve vaccination certificates from countries that are not part of the EU, provided they are approved by the European Union.

Unvaccinated adults will still be allowed in the country, but will have to face a much stricter set of tests as well as self-quarantine protocols – depending upon the country they are arriving from.

The Archbishop of the Orthodox Christian Church has suspended over 12 priests from his diocese as they did not get themselves vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, despite multiple warnings.

According to a statement to CyBC (a state broadcaster) by the Archbishop Chrystostomos II that the priests – most of whom were theologians – potentially persuaded many followers to stay away from the vaccine as well. Upon knowing of the incident, the Archbishop immediately issued the suspension of the priests based on charges of insubordination.

He further stated that upon further investigations (and its results), the priests’ suspensions could be extended – the priests could even be defrocked.

The Archbishop has been known to openly support vaccinations for both the Church and all of its followers, and has publicly urged the public to line up for the jab.

In the latest case of mountainous road networks taking a hit, Every road that leads to Troodos-Platres-Troodos, Karvounas-Troodos and Prodromos-Troodos, have shut down on account of heavy snowfalls.

As snowfall has intensified in various areas in this region, police are now advising drivers plying on the Nicosia-Limassol highway to keep their speed low and be at a safe distance from the vehicles in front of them.

A gas cylinder explosion led to a 56-year-old-man sustaining major burns.

A spokesman for the police revealed that the fire service received a call about an apartment fire at 7 in the evening.

After a preliminary search, the fire department determined that the reason for the fire was the explosion, which in turn was the result of a gas leak.

The fire department also found the man, unconscious and with major injuries, and had him rushed to Paphos General Hospital, where he was treated with first, second as third-degree burns.

He is currently recovering in Nicosia General Hospital’s burns unit.

The European Union has allocated a sum of 657 million euros to complete the construction of a major power cable.

The 2,000-megawatt power cable will run under the sea and connect the power grids of Greece, Israel and of course Cyprus.

According to Natasa Pilides, this is the biggest funding that the island nation has ever participated in. Cyprus is contributing to a large section of the money allocated by the EU.

She further added that the money will allow construction crews to begin the construction of the part of the cable supposed to connect Cyprus with Crete in Greece – a project that comes with an expense of about 1.6 billion euros. As of now, negotiations to transfer said funds are underway.

Cyprus’ northwestern coast was struck by a low impact earthquake.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Center detected two successive earthquakes hitting the region – one occurring at 3:37am and the other at 5:57am.

The first earthquake stood at 2 on the Richter scale while the second was stronger at 4.9 points on the Richter scale.

The earthquakes occurred at a depth of 2km and 10 km underground respectively.

Scientists are not ruling out the possibility of these being aftershocks after the January 11 earthquake that hit near the west coast of the island nation.

Cyprus has detected a new variant of the virus.

According to various medical reports, the variant named “Deltacron” is similar to Delta whereas its genetic makeup is concerned, but also has 10 different mutations of the Omicron variant.

25 people in the island nation have tested positive for the variant so far.

Dr. Leonidos Kostrikis, who serves as the University of Cyprus’ head of the laboratory of molecular virology and biotechnology, says that out of the 25 samples that were taken and tested positive for the new variant, 11 were previously hospitalized.

He says that the hospitalized patients having more mutations could mean that the new variant might have something to do with the hospital’s atmosphere in the first place.

The Cyprus Police has arrested a woman driving over the alcohol limit.

The woman, 39, was stopped by the police to make a routine check as she was driving near Anglisides and on the Kofinou-Larnaca motorway.

The police then gave her an alcohol test, where it showed that she had a blood alcohol level of 104μg, well above the 22μg level.

Seeing the undesirable result, the police confiscated her car. The woman, on the other hand, is set to appear in court.