Current Events

The Cyprus Police is on the lookout for a 56-year-old woman, who has reportedly been missing since Saturday.

The woman, a Russian citizen, was last seen by passers-by on the day she was to leave the island nation.

She has been described as Ekaterina Romanova – a Russian woman – 1.75 meters tall and of average built. Witnesses placed her last holidaying in coastal region of Larnaca, wearing black top and white trousers.

A 39-year-old woman has died after a blood clotting incident, allegedly from complications arising after taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

The woman, a citizen of the UK, who was under treatment in the ICU section of the Nicosia General Hospital, had received the AstraZeneca jab’s first dose.

Her symptoms began days after this development. Eventually, she died of excessive blood clotting, which irreversibly impaired her bodily functions.

According to Charalambos Charilaou, a spokesman for the government health services, the incident is being taken very seriously, and will be further investigated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Incidentally, the island nation is currently investigating 3 other – but more “mild” clotting incidents caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine, and 1 by the Pfizer vaccine.

The lockdown restrictions are being eased in view of the decrease in novel coronavirus cases.

For starters, the limits to gatherings have been increased to 20 – minors and permanent residents included. Furthermore, the maximum capacity in indoor public spaces (such as casinos, fairs, places of worship, performing arts centers and theaters) has been increased to 50% of the total capacity. Entrants are still required to carry their SafePass to access them.

Indoor dining in restaurants has been relaxed, subject to the individual venues’ health protocols, as has the group tutorials for kids below the age of 18.

All of the above only apply so long as the citizens have a negative COVID test that is less than 72-hours-old.

The overnight curfew from 00:00 to 5:00 AM shall remain in effect until further notice.

The European Environment Agency has declared Cyprus to have the cleanest swimming waters in all of the European Union.

According to a report by the environmental watchdog, the swimming waters of the island nation received the coveted 100% excellence score, defeating Austria, Greece, and Malta – which stood 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

The European Environment Agency tested over 112 swimming spots all over the island between the dates of May 1^st to October 31^st, 2020.

The news is being regarded as a great one by Cypriot authorities, as they reckon it will help boost confidence amongst prospective holiday goers – after seeing more than a year of tourist rates plunging by over 85% percent since 2019. This is an alarming statistic for a country for tourism makes up for over 13% of the GDP.

According to a statement by Costas Kadis, the Environment Minister, the results shall be extremely beneficial, for the basic reason that tourism is directly impacted by the quality of bathing water – something that is particularly of interest after the rise of the coronavirus pandemic.

Amidst a spike in COVID-19 cases, the country is set to receive over 400,000 doses of the vaccine.

The batch to be delivered to the island nation will contain all the four vaccines that the EU has currently approved for emergency use.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, the doses will be very helpful in preventing further spread of the deadly disease.

According to the Cypriot Ministry of Health, the current situation vis-à-vis COVID-19 has been very disappointing as of late. The number of positive cases rose by over 10,000 in the second and third weeks of April – higher than anything the country has ever seen before.

Surprisingly, the number of younger people contracting the disease has increased – over 65 percent of the affected were between the ages of 20 and 59, whereas 23.2 percent consisted of children below the age of 19.

In the middle of grim situation due to the pandemic and the collapse of the latest round of Cyprus talks, Judith Garber, the US Ambassador to Cyprus, said that the nation shall continue to support and develop both the international and internal situation in Cyprus.

In an Easter message video, the ambassador said that it was important to spread the ray of hope – especially given the current nature of circumstances.

She wished everyone in Cyprus a happy holiday and proceeded to explain how it was indeed a complicated year for all – especially those who fell gravely ill or lost their loved ones.

She nonetheless urged people to maintain their optimism, as the situation, no matter how grave will turn better.

And with the vaccines rolling out, it will not be long before things will be safe once again.

Bushfires in Nicosia have been extinguished by the fire department.

According to a statement by the fire services, the first of these fires, which broke out near the Stelios Ioannou foundation in Strovolos. This fire spread to an area as large as five land donums before it was brought into control.

The second fire broke out in Nisou village and burned off one donum full of trees before it was brought under control.

In what is being considered a landmark political conversation between Cyprus and China, the foreign ministers of the two nations participated in a phone conversation vis-à-vis the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cypriot foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides thanked Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi for the help they offered China in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. He also declared that Cyprus was “all in” to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Cyprus-China diplomatic relations.

Mr. Christodoulides went on to add that the island nation fully supports the one-China principle and will stay on to play a positive role there. He then briefed Mr. Yi on the UN-sponsored informal meeting on that will be held in Geneva.

He ended the call by appreciating China’s fair stand on the Cyprus issues and said that they hope the country maintains the same.

Cypriot news portal Philenews has reported that the police has found and confiscated over 2,000 different firecrackers over the course of three days.

Furthermore, the police revealed that they had found and confiscated over 50,000 firecrackers along with 7,000 fireworks.

What is interesting is that despite these confiscations, the police did not get any reports of firecracker injuries – especially in relation to the Easter celebrations.

Cyprus saw an amazingly high number of firecracker celebrations during Easter, despite the ban on crackers due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The police in Famagusta has found and recovered the dead body of the 65-year-old man.

The body was previously witnessed by passers-by floating in the sea near the Liopetri coast at around noon.

After one of said passers-by made a complaint, the matter came to the attention of the Famagusta police, who then cordoned-off the area.

After conducting their tests and examinations, they came to the conclusion that the man had in fact died from natural causes.

The police has completely ruled out any possibility of foul play.

The 65-year-old man has been identified as an amateur fisherman who frequented the area.

Cyprus will take part in the European Commission’s technical trials for the soon-to-be-launched digital green certificate system for COVID-19.

The system, which is set to be adopted in all of Europe, is currently being beta tested by 16 of its member states – including the island nation of Cyprus.

According to a European Union official who spoke to the press in Brussels, Cyprus happens to be among the first crop of countries that will start a virtual technical trial in conjunction with the EU and the EC.

He further added that the European digital portal will have tremendous benefits, especially that it will serve to connect the systems in every European country.

He concluded his speech by saying that the system shall be safe and respectful of the peoples’ private data and shall maintain full secrecy of the information it has and/or uses.

In a tragic incident, a young man was admitted in a hospital’s ICU wing after suffering from a heart attack during a swimming lap.

According to a report by the Cyprus News Agency, the man, aged 27, lost consciousness while swimming in the Dimotika Bania in the late hours of the morning.

Other fellow swimmers and members of the public brought the man back to the shore. The ambulance services and police were both notified immediately, who transported the young man to the A&E of Paphos Hospital.

The man remained intubated in the hospital for a while before regaining consciousness. He is still in the ICU though.

According to the doctors, the man, who they say has some serious pathological issues – remains in serious condition.

The Henley Passport Index has ranked Cyprus as the 13^th best passport in the world when it comes to the extent of its reach.

Those who hold a Cyprus passport can travel without visa to 176 different destinations.

The report, which was published in the second quarter of 2021, studies over 199 passports and indexes 110 ranks, based on the number of visa-free destination it has.

The Henley website says that their ranking is an authoritative and original ranking of all the world’s passports based on the number of countries they can travel to without prior visa applications.

They source their data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and enhances them through their in-house research team.

In the latest rankings, the rankings placed Japan at the first rank – a country whose passport holders can travel to 193 countries visa-free. This is followed by Singapore and South Korea at 192 and 191 countries.

In contrast, Afghanistan had the lowest rank, with a passport that gives access only to 26 visa-free countries.

In what is being regarded as another low in the series of negative developments regarding the Cyprus reunification issue, the latest series of talks has also resulted into failure.

The talks, which are informal in nature and sponsored by the United Nations, resulted in neither party coming to any kind of common ground.

The news was announced by the António Guterres, who revealed the negative development happened after over 3 days of talks between officials from the Greek and Turkish Cyprus “nations.”

He continued, however, that this development will not deter him from his resolve to fix the issue. He added that a further round of informal talks are being planned in the next few months.

Fuat Oktay, the vice-president of Turkey is set to pay a visit to Turkish Cyprus.

According to government sources, Vice-President Fuat Oktay has plans to hold some official talks on his visit as well.

Other plans include inspection of a site in Guvercinlik Village, meeting the mayor of the municipality of Gazimagusa, and attending the premiere screening of the much-hyped TV show Bir Zamanlar Kibris (Once Upon a Time in Cyprus).

Guvercinlik is the site where industrial zone is being planned to be built, as part of an economic and financial agreement between the two regions.

The traditional cheese of Halloumi has been granted a place in the European Union’s list of Protected Designations of Origins.

The cheese variety, which is called hellim in Turkish language, has long since been in controversy on the topic of its origins.

Thus far, both Turkey and Cyprus have been marketing it under their names.

That will no longer be the case, however, since the European Union has made the landmark decision of recognizing the halloumi cheese as a product exclusive to Cyprus.

President Nicos Anastasiades welcomed the decision and announced it in his tweet. He further added how the prized cheese is now under protection.

The designation awarded to Cyprus shall be formally adopted in the middle of April 2021.

In light of the crisis surrounding AstraZeneca vaccines, Cyprus has decided to buy at least fifty thousand doses of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, pending approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

According to a statement by government spokesperson Kyriakos Koushos, the move is part of the bilateral agreement made with Russia earlier this year.

He further added that the possibility of buying more of such vaccines exists in the future.

Thus far, the EMA has only approved 4 vaccines – those by Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and of course AstraZeneca.

Chinese news agency Xinhua says that thus far, 2 EU countries – Slovakia and Hungary have so far bought the Sputnik V vaccines.

The island nation of Cyprus is all set to mark the 66th anniversary of the infamous Eoka struggle.

Launched on April 1, 1955, the purpose of the struggle was to gain independence from British rule.

The occasion will start with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades attending a church service at the Ayios Ioannis cathedral, followed by attending the memorial service of the Imprisoned Graves.

Given the pandemic situation, no other big events surrounding the struggle have been announced.

The Eoka struggle is one of the biggest historical events of Cyprus. Lasting from 1955 to 1959, the struggle is what ultimately led to Cyprus becoming an independent state, he added.

After weeks of controversy surrounding the safety of AstraZeneca vaccines, Cyprus will finally recontinue vaccinations using the company’s COVID-19 vaccine – after getting the all-clear on its safety and efficacy by the European Medicines Authority (EMA).

According to a statement by the Cyprus Health Ministry, the health authorities of the island nation had suspended use of the vaccines since March 15 and had been waiting for a proper signal from the European drugs regulator.

According to a statement by the EMA, they are positive that the AstraZeneca vaccine’s benefits far outrank its potential risks.

This result comes after a large-scale investigation finding out if the vaccine indeed caused – or at least exacerbated blood disorders – and led to over a dozen nations discontinuing its use.

The Cypriot government has confirmed that it is ready to welcome back tourists from the UK pending the lifting of the existing coronavirus restrictions.

According to their statement, while the current ban on travel in the UK is set to stay till may 17th, the Cypriot authorities are ready to welcome visitors from the Thursday. The 1^st of April.

The island nation now has a separate set of protocols reviving its suffering tourism industry, and according to those, anyone visiting from the UK can avoid quarantine, provided they have a negative PCR Covid test.

The facility is now also available to children between the ages of 12-18.

Starting May 1, arrivals who have been fully vaccinated can enter without testing and will not be subjected to quarantine rules. That being said, they could still be subject random spot-testing on some flights, depending on the situation.