Current Events

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.

Cyprus is all set to open up its border to 16 different countries that were previously not on its safe list.

The countries in question include the US and UK, Qatar, Belarus, Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE, Ukraine, Serbia, Israel, and Russia.

From April 1, visitors from these countries will not be required to follow any quarantine rules. They will still need to carry a negative PCR test within 72 hours prior to arrival and be prepared for any spot testing.

Furthermore, the island nation will allow vaccinated British tourists to enter sans restrictions.

All said and done, all tourists (regardless of where they arrived from) will need to follow basic protocol such as using sanitizers, wearing masks, and social distancing.

The changes have been made keeping the failing Cyprus tourism industry in mind. Tourism, which constitutes around 15% of the GDP, has seen its earnings plunge to over 85% in 2020.

The Cyprus News Agency has reported that someone tried to hack the website of the Cyprus Defense Ministry but was unsuccessful.

According to a reliable source from the Defense Ministry, despite the attempt, the website did not suffer any damage as the effort was stopped in time.

The source further added that this incident only serves to prove that the Defense Ministry is very sincere in taking every measure to both address and prevent actions set to undermine its functioning.

The Israeli military is set to hold a mass exercise on Cyprus.

According to the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom, the elite units of the Israeli armed forces will use Cyprus as a substitute for Samaria, Judea, and the Gaza Strip.

The elite troops in question will include commandos and high-performing soldiers from the Air Force, Navy and Special Forces, along with the Depth Corps’ reserve and regular forces.

All of these are known to be specialized in conducting long-rage operations and carrying out missions deep within enemy territories.

The exercise is a part of the famed “war month” – a four-week-long exercise that simulates long-drawn battle conditions to assess and boost their wartime readiness. They will include a variety of maneuvers such as simulated combat and battle scenarios behind enemy lines.

So far, it is not known if Cypriot forces will be participating in the drill.

A group of youths carried out a vicious attack on a man, which has led the latter to be hospitalized.

The man was taken to Paphos general hospital and admitted in their A&E department. One of the doctors there confirmed that he had sustained substantial bruising on his face.

The police were only alerted of the incident by the 37-year-old after he returned home to his village from the hospital.

According to the Cyprus New Agency, the police did get to the scene of the attack but did not find any youths there. Further identification is impossible since the victim could not identify any of his perpetrators.

The man, 37, was attacked by the gang of youths in the central Paphos area.

Cypriot Health Minister Cyprus Constantinos Ioannou has revealed that the island nation has one of the highest pediatric cancer survival rates worldwide.

On the occasion of International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15, the minister gave his regards to the children who have fought and survived cancer.

He also went on to give a shout out to the healthcare workers and staff of Makarios hospital’s pediatric cancer unit, emphasizing on how their continued efforts have made the statistic a reality.

Lastly, he thanks the paramedical community for their continued emergency services to help the hospital in its battle.

The Department of Taxation has allowed businesses to take more time in order to fulfill their value-added tax dues for the period of December 31, 2020 to January 31, 2021.

Usually, the tax for the period must be paid between February 10 and March 10, 2021. But the Tax Department has made the concession to allow businesses to forego monthly payments and pay in three monthly installments instead.

Those companies which have tax due for both of the above periods must pay their first installment by April 10, 2021, second by May 10, 2021, and the third on June 10, 2021.

Companies are not obligated or mandated to pay their due in equal installments. They can pay their entire liability with no interest or incurring charges by April 10, 2021.

The migrants’ crisis has taken a toll on the Cypriot administration, which in turn has led to the island nation calling for international assistance to best deal with the situation.

In a joint statement to the press, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris and Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Christodoulides and Interior Minister Nicos Nouris have expressed the country’s concern over handling the scores of migrants constantly arriving on their shores.

The statement said that as of now, the number of applicants seeking asylum is equivalent to 4% of the island nation’s population – an alarmingly high percentage compared to the less than 1% in any other European country.

The government has announced that the restrictions will be eased in the view of declining COVID-19 cases.

Turkish Cyprus Prime Minister Ersan Saner has revealed that the region will reduce the current level of restrictions beginning the 22^nd of February.

If the decline in cases continues, then businesses, shops, and other economic activities will continue to reopen.

Eventually, all that will remain is the curfew between the hours of 8 p.m. – 5 a.m. during the weekends.

Under the new ease of restrictions, markets shall remain open from between 8 a.m.- 6 p.m and merchandising and retail services shall remain open from 10 a.m.to 6 p.m on the weekdays. All places selling essential goods (such as groceries, pharmacies, bakeries, supermarkets, convenience stores and gas stations) will remain open from between 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. every Saturday.

Only bakeries and pharmacies will remain open on Sundays.

Schools shall remain closed and online classes will continue till at least the 28^th of February.