Current Events

In what is being considered a great news for the Cypriot and the European tech scene, Natasa Pilides, Deputy Minister of Shipping has announced that the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI) along with other projects that will form the groundwork for Larnaca Municipality’s Blue Growth.

The projects will have experts from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the MaRITeC-X project team.

MaRITeC-X is a special project that has its focus on shipping and marine innovation and research and aims to establish the CMMI on the island country.

The ambitious project has been lauded by policy makers and academics from Cyprus and beyond. Besides Pilides’ elaborate description of the several social and economic benefits that Cyprus would stand to gain from this entire arrangement, Nicholas Makris from MIT emphasized on how Cyprus, with its superior offshore territory would be benefited not just economically and socially, but culturally and intellectually.

Constantinos Christofides, Rector of the University of Cyprus said that the project had great potential and should be funded by the government itself – if the EU fails to do so.

The constantly devaluing Turkish Lira has caused several Turkish Cypriots to spend their holidays celebrating the ‘Feast of the Sacrifice’ in government-controlled areas on the island nation.

According to Havadis, a Turkish Cypriot daily, Nicosia’s Ayios Dhometios crossing was dotted with long lines consisting of several Turkish Cypriots observing Kurban Bayramı spending their time in the government-controlled areas during the holidays of Kurban Bayramı. The paper reported a surge in traffic density at the crossing, though it did clarify that an increase in Greek Cypriots crossing to the north also contributed to the traffic.

The Lira’s devaluation has impacted travel agents as well, who have been adversely affected by the lack of demand for travelling abroad in what was previously considered the peak period of selling packages for trips abroad. This is since the average middle-class Turkish Cypriot can no longer afford to travel abroad thanks to successive price increases.

Countermeasures have been taken by the authorities, who have declared to deal strictly with any business found guilty of profiteering by overcharging for products. Not only will authorities slap such businesses with fines, they may temporarily close their businesses, and/or subject the owner and operators involved to imprisonment.

A 20-year-old man has been remanded in connection to the trident bakery robbery.

The man was remanded from Liopetri, Famagusta district on grounds of using a speargun trident to rob a prominent bakery.

The suspect, who was arrested a few days prior to being remanded, confessed to conducting a robbery at around 4am the same day the bakery was robbed. According to the police, the 20-year-old surrendered €75, which he said was the money taken by him.

According to the employee of the bakery who reported the incident, an unknown individual with his face covered with a hood had forcibly entered the shop. The man was armed with fishing trident and threatened various members of staff demanding for money. The man finally opened the drawer by force and took the small bag that contained the money.

In what is being considered a tragic accident Cyprus, 19 people have been reported dead after a boat had capsized off the northern coast of Cyprus.

The Turkish coastguard has said that while rescue crews did save 103 people, 25 more are yet to be found. The coastguard also shared footage of helicopter and a plane along with four rescue boats being dispatched to the accident scene.

The exact cause for the capsizing, which had occurred around 30km north of Cyprus’ Karpas Peninsula, could not be determined immediately. The nationalities of the people on board haven’t yet been confirmed.

The survivors have been airlifted Mersin, Turkey. At least one person has been treated for serious injuries there.

This incident is one of several that have taken place in the Mediterranean region, exacerbated by the migrant crisis that has thousands of refugees moving on often overloaded boats.

According to Thomas Cook Group, their annual profit will scale lower than their expectations, courtesy the adverse effect on late holiday bookings caused by the sudden surge in temperature weather all over Europe.

The British travel company usually makes most of its profit during the summer, when its northern European customers (especially those from Scandinavia, Britain, and Germany) go on holiday to southern European destinations like Greece, Spain, Turkey and of course, Cyprus.

The sudden surge in weather all over northern Europe, however, has led to travelers getting discouraged to make their booking, which has visibly affected late bookings. According to Thomas Cook, this new development will make the full-year underlying operating profit end up on the lower end of market expectations.

Thomas Cook, which runs an airline as well as a tour operator business, said in its third quarter statement that a strong airline performance in Germany helped to offset the impact of a warm summer. However, the “sustained period of hot weather” during the June-July period caused a delay in customer bookings in the tour operator, which in turn has restricted their ability make their intended profits in the late bookings market.

This news comes in contrast to Thomas Cook’s earlier statements made in May, which stated how the travel company was on its way to meet analysts’ expectations of a 7 percent rise in its post-operating profit to 352 million pounds ($462.04 million) for the 12 months to Sept. 30, on a constant currency basis.

In what is being considered an overarching action made by Cyprus, the island nation’s government has announced its plans to ask the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to help it defend the two Turkish Cypriot journalists who are being detained and investigated in Turkey over an article that is being considered as “derogatory” to the latter.

According to Prodromos Prodromou, spokesman for Cyprus government, the OSCE has been asked to defend the “right of free speech and media freedom” of the journalists, which they have a right to keep by default. He further said the European Union is keeping a close watch on the case.

The two journalists – Sener Levent and Afrika columnist Ali Osman – must be defended as they “haven’t done anything wrong” and should not forcibly work with authorities.

The article which has led to the controversy was published in Turkey in January, and compared Turkey’s Syrian military operation to its Cyprus military occupation in the northern third. This is also the place where Ankara has been keeping 35,000 troops since as early as 1974.

The man who was charged with the murder Robert Birch, the Welsh builder who was on holiday in Cyprus has been accused in court.

The 35-year-old accused, who was arrested on charges of pre-meditated murder, will be entering plea the following month.

A 23-year-old woman was also arrested but has been released without being charged.

Robert Birch, also known as Charlie and 39 years of age, from Welshpool, Powys, was murdered on 24 June in what is being considered as a deliberate hit-and-run incident. The builder was in Cyprus holidaying with family, and during the time of the crime was with another 32-year-old British man.

The police later found the perpetrator’s car in the sea at Agios Georgios in Pegeia.

The defendant, who under Cypriot law is unable to be identified successfully, was remanded into custody on grounds of not being ready for trial. He will appear once again at court on 19th September.

Panayiotis Kafkaris, the island nation’s longest-serving convict has been released.

The 72-year-old, who had killed a man along with his two children, was released post the parole board’s approval of his repeated appeal requests.

Kafkaris has served 31 years after being given three life sentences in 1987 in Limassol. The man he had murdered was businessman Panicos Michael, 45, who had two children aged 11 and 13 by placing a bomb under Michael’s vehicle, which killed all the three upon detonation. According to Kafkaris’ trial testimony, he was paid CYP £10,000 (€17,000) to carry out the killings.

Kafkaris has been known to have fought his imprisonment using several legal means early on during his incarceration, which included recourse to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). That was stalled when the Nicosia Criminal Court re-interpreted life imprisonment as the end of the biological life of a convict – as opposed to 20 years.

Kafkaris has previously sought to be released on parole in 2012, which was rejected. He re-appealed in February 2015 when the Supreme Court cancelled the parole board’s ruling on grounds of improper examination.

The parole board later rejected the request once again after its re-examination. After another appeal by Kafkaris, the Supreme court cancelled the parole board’s decision on the same grounds.

Kafkaris sought a third review on April 3, 2017, for which he did not get any reply. He then went on to submit another request seeking permission to apply for a preferential order. This was denied by the Supreme Court.

In July 2015, Kafkaris wrote to the ombudsman as well as the ECHR, requesting them to put him to death if they do not intent to re-examine his request for parole.

Cyprus has always been keen on making the world a better place, and recent events have made this a bigger fact. In what is being a welcoming news for the philanthropic community, The Cyprus Hotel Association has announced a donation of €100,000 to aid those affected by the wildfire that took place in July in eastern Attica.

Haris Loizides, the president of the association, expressed his deepest sympathies in a letter to Elena Kountoura, Greek Tourism Minister on the matter. He also expressed solidarity towards the victims and their families who were adversely affected by the wildfire in eastern Attica which killed over 90 people.

Loizides went on to say that the association and its members have a “national obligation” to help as much as they possibly everyone can to relieve the Greek fire-stricken communities, and in turn contribute to the universal effort of Cypriot Hellenism.

He also stated that the contribution will be paid through procedures foreseen by both the Cypriot Volunteer Commissioner and the Republic of Cyprus.

Cyprus tourism has recently experienced a much-deserved boost, and it comes as no surprise the passenger traffic too has increased exponentially. Hermes Airports operator data has revealed that Paphos and Larnaca airports have seen a combined total of 5,939,198 passengers passing through terminal recording – going by an increase of 8% in the seven months to July. This amounts to 438,834 more travelers than the same time in 2017.

In the month of July, the two airports processed 1,414,954 passengers, up by 3.8% from last year’s 1,363,165.

Over 1.06 million passengers have been reported to have traveled to and from Larnaca Airport in July, as opposed to 1.04 last year. This marks an impressive increase of 1.7% in arrivals.

Passenger traffic for Larnaca reached 4.38 million against 2017’s 4.14 million, marking an increase of 0.24 million passengers.

Paphos airport too, despite being smaller in size, displayed an impressive increase in percentage.

A total of 351,723 passengers has passed through the airport in July 2018, marking an increase of 10.8% from last year’s 317,557.

The amount of passenger at the airport was reported to be 1.56 million, which is an increase of about 14.6% on the same figures from the previous year.

A 37-year old woman, who has stolen over thousands of Euros from tourists from all over Cyprus under the guise of booking holiday packages, is currently being actively hunted by Cyprus police authorities.

The woman is currently suspected to have fled the country and has been put on a stop list to help track her whereabouts.

According to the police, the suspect “owned” a travel agency in Aradippou, which she used to book holidays for customers. She asked for the entire package cost in advance, but in fact paid a very small deposit to book the vacations.

After repeated reporting by multiple customers, it became clear that the woman had appropriated around €26,000 in this manner. The police, however, suspects that the total amount may go ahead of €80,000, keeping the increasing number of people coming by to report her.

In a decision that may go on to change the spending styles and habits of Cypriots, international supermarket giant SPAR has announced its plans to open its first shop in Larnaca in collaboration with CTC Group’s ERMES.

The supermarket chain, which aims to open over 20 stores on the island country, will make its debut in Larnaca’s city center by August-end.

The new store will be over 1,300 square meters in area and will have full parking. While they will have an entire range of products, the focus will remain on fresh items like vegetables, fruits, fish, sea food and meats, along with sweets, coffee, delicatessen, and sweets.

While the store will have SPAR’s native brand products, other retail brands’ products will also be available. The company will also work with local producers to maintain “glocal” philosophy.

SPAR is one of the world’s biggest supermarket chains. First opened in 1932, the chain employs 350,000 employees across 12,500 stores in 48 countries on 4 continents. Serving over 13 million customers per day, the Dutch origin company has a retail sales worth of €34.5 billion as of 2017.

Those affected by the scorching heat can now rejoice as the temperature in Cyprus is set to drop after reaching a peak point of 37C.

Cyprus has been going through a period of hot weather, which will come to a stand point with forecast of 35C in Nicosia and along the east coast, and 29C in the coastal areas and mountains. It is predicted with bar some fog and clouds, the day will be sunny.

More clouds may form during the evening and subsequent mornings. Mornings may be misty. Nighttime temperatures may fall to 20C in the Nicosia area and at the south and east coasts, 23C in the west and north and 14C around Troodos.

The Met office has said that over and above everything, the weekend will have the island country seeing sunny weather in general.

Those looking for some quality entertainment can now rejoice in the fact that the temporary casino which will pave the way for the City of Dreams Mediterranean Resort has opened its doors in Limassol. Called the C2 Cyprus casino, the establishment will run till 2021 – when City of Dreams will be set to open.

Craig Ballantyne, property president of City of Dreams Mediterranean and Cyprus Casinos, spoke for the event, speaking that C2 is much more than a pop-up casino. Having invested over €13 million into the facility, the company will seek to make sure that all guests experience the renowned service quality for which Melco is famous.

Housed in the former Orphanides supermarket, in Zakaki, the building, which has been renovated for €12 million is sprawled across an area of 4,600 square meters and includes a 1,300-square-metre gaming area and can host 1,000 people.

The casino itself has 242 slot machines, 33 tables, a VIP gaming area, and a restaurant, along with two bars which will serve both food and drink. It employs 593 people, with Cypriots taking up 75 per cent them.

The casino is set to be officially inaugurated in September. The establishment will work on trial basis till then.

In what can be considered welcoming for civil society, the European Commission has announced that it will extend an increased budget of €358,000 to help cover the identification costs made Committee on Missing Persons’ (CMP).

Said increase was made in response to a budget extension by the CMP, and the confirmation for the same was made to three CMP Members in Brussels. The budget extension will help the CMP cover the increasing costs of DNA testing that is often a part of complex cases. Such cases involve the CMP having to re-associate human remains which were jumbled up in mass graves.

CMP members expressed their gratitude to the EC on behalf of the families of missing people in Cyprus for what stands. The latter is currently the largest donor since the commencement of the project in 2006.

A young British girl, who had gone missing during family holiday in Cyprus has been found, ending a wide-scale police search.

Miss Phoebe Collorick, 11, had gone missing after having last been seen in Agios Epiktitos, north Cyprus at around 6.40pm.

Not much later, the British High Commission issued a widespread appeal encouraging people help find her by providing credible information about her whereabouts.

According to local reports, she was in the village as a part of her holiday with her grandfather, and might be trying to get a lift or a local minibus.

The British High Commission issued a statement after her being found, thanking all of those who helped them find the British child. They were the first to report her being found safe and sound.

The recent boost in tourism has created positive ripples throughout the Cypriot economy, and the authorities and regulating bodies are no exception. Among a recent series of appreciation, Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) has expressed its positive views on tourist revenues in 2017.

According to a press release by the CTO, tourist arrival revenues for 2017 has reached € 347.2 million, going up by around 16%, when compared to 2016. The press release also added that Cyprus has reached record cumulative total revenue of one-billion (i.e. € 996.4 million tourists), an increase of a significant 19.9% from the previous year.

The press release also mentioned about increase in other avenues, such as travel expenditures for the January – June period. The CTO says that both increased daily expenses and due increase in the length of stay of the tourists amount for this statistic.

Nationality-wise, the biggest increase in the number of tourists has been from Russia, Germany and Israel – both in terms of increased daily expenses and average length of stay.

Wes Mitchell, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in the US, has announced that the country is working with Cyprus to strengthen energy and security relations between the two countries. The announcement, which was made to Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee, also professed Washington’s plan of constructing a long-term strategy which would enhance their presence in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Assistant Secretary Mitchell went on to add how the US government is planning to make Greece an anchor of stability in the West Balkan and East Mediterranean regions and are working to improve their level of cooperation with Cyprus to achieve their goal. He also added that they are bidding to improve their relationship with Turkey and are trying to first Mitchell deal with the Ankara situation. They intend to secure the release of unjustly detained US citizens and local embassy staff in Ankara, curb the purchase of the Russian S-400 system, and develop partnerships that will help stabilize the situation northern Syria and keep ISIL from returning.

As part of the ongoing efforts for cooperation, American gas and oil magnate ExxonMobil has partnered with Qatar Petroleum (QP) to acquire an exploration concession for block 10 in Cyprus’ EEZ during the third licensing round in April 2017. The drilling for the same is set to commence in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Exxon Mobil, the reputed tech company has received the 2018 Invest Cyprus International Investment Award, which recognizes the benefaction of foreign investors to the growth of the Cypriot economy.

The International Investment Award titled “Invest Cyprus” is a special award presented to elite outside investors in Cyprus every year and is meant as a form of appreciation for their constant and consistent support in seeing Cyprus’ potential as a suitable destination for current and prospective businessmen and investors.

The winners were congratulated by none other than the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, who continued to talk about the growing positive reputation of Cyprus. He emphasized on how far Cyprus has come from a few years back, when Cyprus was in the front pages for the wrong reasons. He lauded the resilience of the Cypriot economy and highlighted the prospects of its main productive sectors.

Exxon Mobil, the international oil and gas company, which has been doing impressive work in the Mediterranean area, recently announced that it would be continuing with exploration of hydrocarbons on the island and has plans for two different natural gas wells this year. Jay Jackson, Exploration Manager for the Europe/Caspian region, who was among those speaking on behalf of the company, also added that the East Mediterranean region’s concentration of hydrocarbons coupled with Cyprus’s ‘stable financial and political environment’ made the place an ideal location for investors.

Exxon Mobil’s current activities in Cyprus include the supply, distribution and marketing of petroleum products via Esso-branded Service Stations.

In a bid to crack down on threats and enemies and make the eastern Mediterranean region a safer place, Cyprus, Israel and Greece’s defense ministers have emphasized on the need to forge better military ties.

Savvas Angelides, Avigdor Lieberman and Panos Kammenos – the defense ministers of Cyprus, Israel and Greece respectively, have all recently expressed their plans to expand cybersecurity along with joint military drills as well search and rescue operations in the eastern Mediterranean.

According to Defense Minister Lieberman, there is a credible threat of terror attacks and challenges caused by illegal migration in this region, which requires immediate attention. This will truly effective only when countries counter threats together, as they all share the region and are affected by it. Defense Minister Lieberman also added that Israel will be hosting the next trilateral meeting of the Defense Ministers.

The three ministers also hailed the first conference which brought them together along with various Cypriot, Greek and Israeli companies that are active in the defense sector.