Current Events

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.

In one of the most tragic accident cases in Cyprus in recent years, Charlie Birch, the victim of a recent suspected deliberate hit-and-run in Cyrus was given a poignant tribute by family, friends and strangers like.

The 39-year-old Welsh man, who hailed from Powys, was hit a car as he was walking along a road near Paphos at 2:30 am. Accompanying him was another 32-year-old man, who survived without sustaining any fatal injuries. Mr. Birch, however, died at the scene.

The victim’s family is in shock on the series of events, Adrian Bowen, Mr. Birch’s brother emphasized on how traumatic the state-of-affairs are, especially to Birch’s wife and children. Cyprus Police has arrested two people – a 35-year-old man and 23-year-old woman in connection to the event. Both are currently facing premeditated murder charges.

Mr. Birch’s social media was soon inundated with tributes from family, friends, remote acquaintances and even strangers who may only have had a passing meeting with the man.

In what is being considered a bold move to strengthen Cyprus’s financial security system and curb corruption, the Central Bank of Cyprus, after much pressurization from US officials, has announced that it will take measures to discourage brokers from setting up shell companies on the island country.

Cyprus’s premier bank has sent said measures as an email to all compliance officers in financial credit institutions, informing them of the new directive, which involves banks and other financial institutions boycotting commercial relations clients from shell companies.

With such a rule in place, it will become more difficult for companies to do business in Cyprus, as they will have neither physical presence nor the ability to engage in economic activity. The directive also expands on the existing definition of “shell companies,” going forward from the outsiders point-of-view that shell companies are only those based in tax havens or are offices without any tax residence.

The move has been heavily criticized by the Cyprus Fiduciary Association (CFA), which has helmed the CBC for being careless with consulting stakeholders. According to the CFA, the shell companies issue is a long-standing one, and the CBC should not have flown-off with a directive before taking into consideration the discussions on the new model which aims to put focus more on meaningful business activities.

Cyprus has been described as a “country of primary concern” by the United States regarding international money laundering and terror funding activities, with a United States Report from the  State Department alleging that the country of Cyprus is working as an median for criminal organizations looking for places to launder finances.

Turkish Cypriots can now celebrate their holidays to the fullest as Dherynia beach, which lied by the fenced area of Famagusta in the north will be reopening to both Turkish citizens as well as people with valid ‘TRNC’ papers.

According to an article published by Yeni Duzen, the beach will be operated jointly by security forces and the ‘municipality’ of Famagusta.

A deal was signed between the forces and the Famagusta “municipality” to open and operate the beach jointly, but delays were caused due to the ‘municipality’ having to undertake some tasks at the beach.

This had also led to rumors that the beach’s opening was in fact cancelled, until the security forces and Famagusta mayor Ismail Arter specified that the protocol was present and functional. Arter even went on to publicly deny other rumors such as expenses for Dherynia beach amounting to over 1m Turkish lira (around €200,000).

The Cyprus News Agency has reported that the beach, which had actually opened in August last year, operation under controlled entrance for people with TRNC documentation only, which caused immense grief in the north.

In what can be considered a strike back against claims of “selling” EU passports for cash, Cyprus has announced that it will tighten the reigns on the vetting procedures for granting Cypriot citizenship to investors.

Harris Georgiades, finance minister of Cyprus has said that stringent controls have been introduced and the number of passports granted per year has been limited to 700. He further added that apart from checks by the Cypriot authorities, due diligence checks will be conducted by specialized foreign firms on a case-wise basis.

Mr. Georgiades did not hesitate to make it clear that the amendments actually serve to make the process transparent and reliable, and prove that citizenship was being granted on the basis of merit alone.

In a recent slew of criticisms against Cyprus, the island country was implied to “sell” passports to wealthy Chinese and Russian nationals.

Introduced after Cyprus’ near-bankruptcy situation in 2013, the scheme is meant to raise much needed cash in the form of investment from foreign nationals. Eligibility criteria include (but are not limited to) making a minimum of a two-million-euro investment in business, property, and/or government bonds, and a willingness to shift their permanent residence to Cyprus. Often dubbed as the “golden visa” scheme, the program has generated around €4.8 billion as of 2016.

Cyprus is a vibrant place buzzing with things of art and culture, and the latest band set to perform here only serves to further this point. Sarah’s Jazz Club, one of the most famous clubs in Nicosia is all set to to feature some top end Cuban music.

Famous six-member Cuban band Havana Noche is all set to perform on Sarah’s Jazz Club’s stage. Based on authentic genres of Cuban music such as salsa, cha cha, timba and son cubano, this band has a solid Cyprus connection as it was founded by percussionist Paouros in Cyprus, along with other musicians from Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, and of course, the island nation itself. The band will have Alberto Mendez Vega, Alejandro Gonzalez and George Morfitis on vocals, by George Morfitis on piano, Costas Challoumas on bass, Alejandro Gonzalez on congas, Constandinos Paouros on timbales and drums, and Mike Michael on trumpet, and will give a much-appreciated refreshment to the club’s usual music scene.

The club will then host Cyprus-based jazz band Mood Indigo. The band formed by Armenian-Cypriot bass player Greg Makamian and

Canadian-Cypriot vocalist Irene Day and Armenian-Cypriot bassist Greg Makamian founded the band, playing American jazz standards. Joining them are Charis Ioannou on the saxophone, Ioannis Vafeas on drums and Marios Toubas on the piano.

Crime rate in Cyprus is on the rise, and if recent events are anything to go by, they’re not slowing down anytime soon.

Among the latest incidents of robberies is a kebab shop which was robbed by armed robbers who stole €40,000.

The incident involved the kebab shop’s owner closing his business and leaving in his car when two armed and hooded individuals appeared. While one fired a shot up in the air, the other grabbed the owner’s bag, which had over €40,000 worth of cash in it.

According to the owner of the shop, the perpetrators were both men. He also said that he tried to fight with the attackers but got injured in the process.

After grabbing the bag full of money, the thieves left the scene in a stolen Mazda 323 car.

This was not the only such robbery that had taken place that day – another had taken place in Mesoyi not much later. This incident also involved armed robbers who fired a shot in the air outside a resident’s house, and once he opened the door, hit him with a wooden object and stole over €2,000 before fleeing.