Current Events

A spike in new novel coronavirus cases means that Cyprus will be rolling out a new set of restrictions to curb the spread of the disease.

The restrictions will be imposed on its most populous districts – Nicosia and Limassol.

Gatherings in both private and public areas will be limited to 10 persons, children included. Religious service attendance is to be restricted at 75 persons per gathering. Sports arenas are banned from having sectators.

Receptions for baptism and wedding is prohibited. Meanwhile attendance at theaters, cinemas, restaurants and bars is capped at 150 persons outdoors and 75 indoors. Any eating place can have a maximum of 10 persons per table.

In light of the recent controversies surrounding the ‘Golden Via’ passport, the Cypriot government has announced that it will suspend its scheme.

As the name suggests, “Golden Visa” allowed foreigners to gain a Cypriot passport if they could a make a substantial investment in the island nation.

According to Kyriakos Koushos, a spokesman for the government, the move has been made due to the scheme’s inherent weaknesses and exploitation by applicants.

As of November 1, 2020, the scheme will go on the fritz.

Discussions will be made to create a new scheme, which will be replacing the Golden Visa.

The move comes years after Cyprus being pressured to suspend the Golden Visa scheme, mainly on the basis that the situation makes something as sensitive as the Cypriot as ‘up for sale.’

The scheme was originally set up in 2013.

Cypriot interior minister Nicos Nouris has announced that the Sun City project will have to demolish 2 of its floors.

According to the town planning department’s notice, the illegal floors violate both the urban planning permit and the environmental impact assessment, and will therefore have to be taken down.

The Sun City project, which is located near the marina in the Ayia Thekla, has the Giovani Group involved. Their former head, the former Akel deputy Christakis Giovanis resigned from his post after an undercover Al Jazeera video caught him helping a Chinese businessman with a criminal record.

The five-star resort had originally received permission for a ground floor and basement, five stories and seven levels, along with 203 rooms. They have, however, managed to violate that adding another two floors during constructions.

This goes against the rules of the Sotira Municipality’s tourist zone T2a, which mandates hotels to keep their floors to a maximum of five levels.

A horrific car crash has claimed the life of three people.

The persons, all of whom are Zimbabwean students studying at the European University of Lefke in Cyprus passed away while on their way home from an outing.

The 3 students in question were identified as current students Dean Tafara Marufu and Elliot Simbarashe Kanofema, along with the recently graduated Electious Vhere.

They were killed in what was a head-on collision on the Guzelyurt-Nicosia highway.

The European University of Lefke later posted the tragic news on their website.

This latest incident has a man beaten and shot. The police are currently investigating a robbery incident during which this person was both assaulted and shot in Nicosia.

The man, a 28-year-old resident of Larnaca, was taken to the hospital immediately. There, he was diagnosed with a head injury, a broken nose and various abrasions.

The man was discharged after being given first aid.

In the course of investigations, he reported to the police that the attack, which happened in the evening hours, was done by persons who he could not identify. They went on to snatch his cellphone and car keys.

The attackers, one of whom was a woman, proceeded to flee in his car, as well as rental one.

A top astronomy event has been canceled due to a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases.

The event, which was due to be held at the Nicosia town hall, had a lot of preparations done, including arranging special facilities for those who are disabled.

The organizers of the event issued a statement, citing an increased number of COVID-19 cases. The cancellation was made in the interest of public health.

Cyprus has been facing a recent increase in the number of coronavirus cases, but that hasn’t stopped the island nation from slipping off their safety list.

It remains on the UK’s ‘Green List,’ meaning that those traveling to the UK from Cyprus have unrestricted access and do not need to isolate.

However, they are required to have celebrated the entirety of their previous 14 days in Cyprus, or at least on another country that is on the green list.

In case they have visited anywhere not on the green list, they will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

The only country removed so far from UK’s green list is Liechtenstein.

A team of archeologists in Northern Cyprus have excavated over 137 pieces of artifacts that are around 3,200.

It is estimated that the artifacts pertain to various works done during the latter part of the Bronze Age in all of the eastern Mediterranean region.

According to Bülent Kızılduman, chief of eastern Mediterranean Cultural Heritage Research Center (DAKMAR), the team of archaeologists were investigating commercial and political relations between the Cypriot and the Anatolian civilizations, and carrying out expeditions within the Karpas peninsula.

Known as “King’s Hill,” the site literally located on a hill in the Kaleburnu village, around 1.5 kilometers near the sea.

Kızılduman said that the site belongs to one of the then several important kingdoms that date back around 3,200 years. He went on to state how a significant number of bronze artifacts were found here.

The aim for the team is to preserve the artifacts in their DAKMAR conservation and restoration laboratory, to later exhibit those in a soon-to-be-opened museum.

The health authorities have announced that rapid PCR tests are going to be introduced.

In a statement to the press, Cypriot epidemiological team member Petros Karayiannis, mentioned how the rapid tests, which as efficient as their normal counterparts, will be instrumental in speeding up the process.

Mr. Karayiannis added that as scientific advisors will be discussing implications of the test with the health ministry, an announcement indicating the extent of the application of the tests is due to be issued.

He went on to explain how these tests, which will be used in crowd-intensive areas a such as hospitals, schools, and airports will simplify the otherwise complicated process of contact tracing.

Rapid tests work by detecting certain types of proteins called antigens, which are present on the virus’ surface. Reading the antigens can also determine other factors, such as how long the person has been infected, and how much at risk they are when it comes to spreading the disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the Cypriot travel industry. But the island nation’s Deputy Minister of Tourism doesn’t think that it is all setbacks and bad news.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios says that while Cyprus has missed out much on the summer tourism season, but it still has the potential to emerge as a top winter destination.

According to Perdios, the fact that Cyprus is less chaotic in general, along with its cleaner epidemiological situation means that country could serve as a first-class winter tourism destination.

Speaking to the CNA, Perdios said that the willingness of tourists to travel in spite of the pandemic can mean good business.

That of course, is fully dependent on safety measures and adherence of social distancing guidelines.

Top talent advisory and leadership company Boyden, which has over 70 offices in 45 countries, has finally entered Cyprus.

The entry into Cyprus is part of a larger expansion phase into the Mediterranean, and will include an expansion into Greece.

The expansion will be headed by Anny S. Chatzikonstantinou, the new Managing Partner. Chatzikonstantinou is a well-known figure within the industry, having spend a 20-year-long career in senior roles with companies of the likes of Hasbro, Unilever, SingularLogic, and Diageo. She then spent over 10 years in consulting.

At Boyden Cyprus and Greece, she will be joined by partners Fani Mamalaki, Michalis Moraitis, and Simi Farrou, each of whom are an expert in HR, Consumer & Retail, and strategy IT respectively.

The next soccer game for Europa League will be moved to Cyprus, after safety issues that arose from the security lapses due to Armenia’s increasing conflict with Azerbaijan.

According to the UEFA, the playoff game, which had Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade and Ararat-Armenia playing against each other in Yerevan, will now be played in island nation city of Nicosia.

The winner of this game will be advancing to the Europa League group phase.

In honor of Cyprus’ 60^th anniversary of independence from the British rule, Athens has sent a message of solidarity, expressing their undaunting support to island nation in solving the issue of division.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece showed his utter disapproval on the violations made by Turkish forces both on sea and on land for Cyprus and vowed to go all in if needed to protect the sovereign rights of Cypriots.

Mitsotakis clarified that Greece refuses to accept the legalization of the Cyprus problem, which Turkey is currently pushing for. He added how Cyprus ‘political situation happens to be a top priority for Athens, and that efforts are currently underway to aid the resumption of talks.

The unbearably hot weather on the island is said to continue till the month of October.

The meteorological office said that the general temperatures will be rising to up to 23C in the mountainous region, 28C on the coastal areas in general, and 32C on the east and south coast.

While there may be slight drop in the temperature in between, this will only be a temporary phase, for the temperature will continue to rise.

This sudden rise in temperatures has been extremely unusual and uncharacteristic. The general temperatures for October on the island nation are around 4 to 7 degrees lesser than the usual seasonal levels.

Mike Pompeo, State Department Secretary of the United States has announced that Cyprus and the US have recently signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This is for the purpose of building a new training centre for border security.

The institution will serve to offer expertise to Cyprus for the on the topics of nonproliferation and border security in the Mediterranean region.

State Secretary Pompeo met with Cypriot President Anastasiades, tweeting about how wonderful his experience was. He further added that he is looking forward to have the Republic of Cyprus as a key partner within the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The US State Department also released a statement, explaining how the foreign minister of the tqo countries signed the MoU. Fully funded by the US, the training center will serve to function as intended, and will be officially named as the Cyprus Center for Land, Open-seas, and Port Security (CYCLOPS).

A Turkish Imam has declared his “demand” for invading Cyprus.

İhsan Şenocak, one of Turkey’s most popular imams, has aggressively endorsed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign policy, publicly urging the country’s military to invade and occupy Greek Cyprus, just as it has once what is now Turkish Cyprus.

He went on to say that the activity should be done in the name of the prophet Mohammed and his Umm Haram (also known as Hala Sultan). The latter’s tomb is currently within the Greek Cypriot territory.

Imam Şenocak tweeted how the time for the Turkish to greet Hala Sultan in person must come very soon.

The statements have attracted immense uproar and condemnation from communities the world over, many of whom have openly claimed the statements as undermining human rights.

Famed international law firm Ince has opened a brand-new office in Cyprus.

Having merged with local law firm LG Zambartas, Ince has opened its 6^th European office in the location of the form.

The office, which is focused on maritime issues, will be headed by George Zambartas, who up until recently was the head of shipping and corporate law in LG Zambartas. He will have the support of a premium staff supplied by Ince.

The Ince office will have 6 Cypriot and English lawyers, all of whom have been working for the 14-year-old LG Zambartas.

As mentioned earlier, this office will serve to handle maritime issues such as yachting transactions and shipping funds, along with other common law topics such as immigration, private wealth, energy and financial litigation. This office will also work in a consultancy capacity, offering business corporate support services such as trust management, project management, and other management services.

Acquired company Zambartas specialized in offering consultancy services to shipping companies in Ukraine and Russia and helped them find ship finance from other banks in Western Europe. They further offered legal opinions to international banks on Cyprus law, and even drafted security documents.

BirdLife Cyprus has revealed the killing of dozens of birds in mass animal shooting.

The non-government organization released photos of several birds, which were slaughtered by hunters near Larnaca Salt Lake in the Meneou region.

The highly cruel act of violence against animals led to the death of over a hundred birds, along with at least a few dozen bee-eating birds.

According to Tassos Shialis, the campaigns coordinator of BirdLife Cyprus, this hasn’t been the only incident – or even the first. As a matter of fact, the area has been notorious for hunters going on illegal bird killing sprees. Despite incidents being reported time and again, the criminal activity has not ceased at all. Birds belonging to several protected birds and even many migratory species birds have been killed in this year already.

This is quite ironic, given as there is virtually no chance for the area in question to be anywhere close to a designated hunting area. Such areas much meet a number of criteria, not least of them being that they must be located a minimum of 500 meters from any residence. The Meneou lake completely fails this criterion, seeing as the near residential property is as little as 150 meters away, along with a plethora of coastal properties.

The slaughter incident has been reported to the relevant authorities, while the bodies of the birds have been handed to the Game Fund.

The latest results of a Europol study on Cyprus tourism has revealed that the as much 95% of the revenue earned from travel comes from foreign visitors.

It is therefore no wonder that the island nation’s tourism sector has been completely battered as the Covid-19 pandemic has almost halted international travel. According to various hoteliers on the island, the worst-case scenario of only a fraction of non-resident arrivals have already rung true.

This has been a sharp contrast from 2019, which had welcomed over 4 million tourists. While a target of meeting at least 20% of those figures have been set this year, fulfilling them is difficult at best, seeing as Israel, Russia and the UK – Cyprus’ biggest sources of visitors, have either been excluded or shrouded in complicated safety-related paperwork.

To meet these numbers, the government is currently making an effort to encourage as much local tourism as possible. A number of schemes have been introduced to this end.

Cyprus’ position comes next only to Malta and Crete, both of which attribute 96% of their revenue to non-resident tourists. Other major destinations that follow the same trend include the Austrian mountainous regions of Vorarlberg and Tirol, as well as the cities of Budapest, Brussels, Vienna and Prague.

In the middle of ongoing tensions between Turkey and Greece, the former has made a sudden announcement to hold a military exercise off of Cyprus’ northwestern coast for 2 weeks.

This announcement comes right in the middle conflicts between Turkey and Greece, over the multiple claims of exploratory rights in the eastern Mediterranean region.

The dispute between NATO members Turkey and Greece arose after both countries signed clashing accords regarding their maritime boundaries with Egypt and Libya. Turkey took matters into its own hands and sent a survey vessel, which sparked off the confrontation.

Both countries have conducted military exercises thus far, with Greece conducting a joint naval exercise with Italy and Cyprus only recently.

Not much time after that, Turkey has issued its own Navtex notice explaining how it will conduct its own “gunnery exercise.”