Current Events

A strike by employees of Gold Air at the Airport in Larnaca affected flights operating in the afternoon.

The staff, whose job was to take care of the loading process protested against the lack of staff which has allegedly caused them to overwork.

Without their services, both arriving as well as departing flight passengers were practically stranded, not knowing how they should proceed to get the luggage they own.

The protest lasted two hours, from noon till 2 PM and only ended once Gold Air management assured them that they would take adequate action. The action ended at 2 p.m. after the company pledged to address the workers’ concerns.

George Ioulianos, the PEO rep said that Gold Air will have a special meeting where they will discuss said issue with the Ministry of Labor.

The Nordic country of Sweden has closed its embassy located in Beirut due to safety concerns.

However, the embassy is not closed for good – it will be moved to the island nation of Cyprus.

Tobias Billstrom, the Foreign Minister of Sweden has made an announcement of the development, saying how the country’s embassy in Lebanon shall be closed temporarily.

For now, this closure will apply to August, with a possibility of extension to the following months – depending on the peripheral conditions.

The island nation of Cyprus has decided to amend its rules for obtaining the coveted EU Blue Card.

This includes relaxing certain eligibility pathways. In terms of work status, applicants must be legally employed or at least have received an offer letter for at least a period of six months. In terms of educational status, they must have a three-year-long minimum university degree, and in rare cases have equivalent work experience over a course of seven years. Professional experience was previously not considered.

This also includes simplifying the pathway to residence and citizenship, allowing current Blue Card holders to become permanent residents after thirty-three months, if they have full proficiency in Cypriot’s local language and are contributing to any pension account. They may also obtain citizenship after 5 years, as opposed to the previous 7.

The validity has also doubled from 12 months to 24, which will allow Blue Card holders to stay in the country for longer and avoid extra annual paperwork on the employers’ part.

Ararat Mirzoyan, Armenia’s Foreign Minister is on an official visit to the island nation of Cyprus.

He has been invited by Constantinos Kombos, the foreign minister of Cyprus.

The counterparts will have a meeting, followed by larger consultations including Armenian and Cypriot delegations.

Once this is over, statements to the press shall be made.

Topics to be discussed will include Armenian-Cypriot relations, the Cypriot reunification issue and other common issues plaguing the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Cyprus, will personally receive Mirzoyan.

Mirzoyan will also speak at the annual meeting of diplomatic missions’ leaders to be held in Nicosia.

The air ambulance helicopter with the National Guard conscript has taken off from the airport in Larnaca.

The National Guard conscript, aged 17, was admitted in a hospital after he admitted to feeling ill while participating in an exercise.

He is being taken to France, where he will be admitted in Paul Brousse Hospital – which functions as a transplant center as well as a university hospital.

Right now, the young man is in a critical condition, but remains stable.

According to Demetris Constantinou, spokesperson for the health ministry, the air ambulance left a day after its intended flight, as it had already finished its flight hours on that day.

The anticipated reduction in tourism could lead to up to 30,000 lesser visitors, which in turn could result in loss of up to €25 million in revenue.

Thanos Michaelides, president of the hotelier’s association (Pasyxe) has made a statement to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), where he talked about the need to extend the tourist season window and increase the overall capacity of hotels – these two alone would help the industry weather the season-wise variations in employment and help keep revenue consistent.

He added that introducing these measures will help offer those working within the industry a more stable income, and make tourism an attractive career for jobseekers.

His arguments stem from the dependence of the island nation’s economy on tourism – roughly fifty-three-thousand people work in the industry, which amounts to around 11% of the total population that is employed. Professionals employed include a wide range of people – from lawyers to chefs and from engineers to artists.

Michaelides continued to add how one of the biggest reasons is the reduction in hotel bookings – much of which can be traced to the Russia-Ukraine war and the turbulence in the Middle East. Coupled with a stumbling economy in the UK, a March Easter and shutdown of airlines resulting in fewer flights – mean there are more than 150,000 less tourists incoming.

FTI’s bankruptcy has further added to the woes, with the tour operator having been one of Cyprus’ biggest sources of income.

The CrowdStrike update that caused a major IT outage globally has disrupted the Cypriot operations of Wizz Air.

The airline company’s Cypriot office issued a statement, explaining how the IT outage has affected most of its digital operations, including call center, online check-ins, the online booking platforms, the mobile app and the website itself.

They added that customers might find themselves not being able to access their usual suite of services.

In the meantime, Wizz Air is allowing its customers a check-in free-of-charge – with strong advice that they reach the airport 3 or more hours prior to time of departure.

So far, Wizz Air has not given any specifications on when the technical issues will be solved.

The weather is set to see a dip in temperatures, albeit with an increased frequency of rain.

Slight-to-medium cloudy afternoons are to be expected, along with isolated incidents of rain showers or even thundershowers, especially in the southeast, the mountains, and inland areas.

The wind shall blow in a southwest-to-northwest direction. They may start an a weak 3 on the Beaufort scale, then move up to an approximate medium 4, and progress to a strong 5 in latter phases.

The southern part of the nation is set to expect winds going up to over 6 on the Beaufort scale.

Slight and/or smooth seas are expected. Temperatures are expected to be 34 degrees Celsius in the southwestern coast, 36 degrees Celsius in the east and northern sections of the coast, 33 degrees Celsius in the rest of the coast, 29 degrees Celsius in the mountainous regions and 38 degrees Celsius inland.

All operations at the Cyprus Broadcast Corporation (CyBC) shall cease for 60 minutes, starting at 2000 hours local time – as workers are protesting against the non-payment of pensions for those who retired post-January 2023.

Sek & Peo – the trade unions who announced the strike, also made the decision on the date and time, coinciding it with the main news broadcast timing.

They also sent the employees’ grievances in writing to the labor, interior and finance ministers, along with the Office of the President.

Sek & Peo have warned that should they not get a solution soon, they will take additional measures.

The problematic CrowdStrike update has crippled IT systems worldwide, and Cyprus is no exception to this.

According to the Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA), all stores, call centers and other digital channels have been affected by the disruption in IT services.

The CYTA has said that they are trying to collaborate with their suppliers to come up with a suitable solution. They added the provision of their services & products remain unaffected.

Public service elements depending on IT also remain unaffected at this time. Airports are still operating without issue, while bank systems are running as usual – with no changes in the quality of their customer service capacity. The Health Insurance Organization (HIO) has also reported no issues being faced by both providers and beneficiaries.

In the meantime, Cyprus Mail has reported disruption due to server problems and issues with connecting to the internet.

This is not very surprising, as most major media organizations such as the Associated Press and Sky News have all reported facing issues.

A drive-by shooting targeted at Retail FX and CFDs broker occurred in Limassol.

in-Cyprus & Cyprus Mail reports that the shooters, who were wearing helmets and were on a black motorcycle with no license plates.

They fired six times in total, and ended up damaging the windows in front.

No other damage or injuries have been reported thus far.

The Cyprus Police are conducting their investigation into the matter.

Croatian electrical engineering firm Koncar Elektroindustrija has signed an agreement with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC).

The contract approves the former to conduct an overhaul many of Cyprus’ high-voltage substations

Worth over €13.7 million, the contract will have Koncar officials supply as well as install the necessary equipment for 132kV electric substations at the New Limassol Port, Papacostas and Ipsonas.

The aim of this cooperative act is to strengthen Cypriot’s power supply system and boost its ability to disperse and distribute electricity, while also allowing for newer capacities to include sources of renewable energy.

As the island nation is set to grow substantially in the next couple of years, this would be the ideal time to upgrade their power supply system.

Koncar has said in its statement that the company, with its first project in Cyprus is set to expand its range of offerings, including providing solutions based on eco-friendly renewable energy.

Meanwhile the share price of Koncar went up to €298 – roughly 1.36% more than its previous price at Zagreb Stock Exchange.

Marija Pejčinović Burić the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) is on an official visit to the island nation of Cyprus.

She has already met with Nikos Christodoulides – the Cypriot President, Constantinos Kombos – the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Annita Demetriou – Speaker of the House of Representatives, among other important political figures.

She also presented a lecture in the Diplomatic Academy.

Several topics were included in the discussions held between Secretary General Burić and Cypriot leaders, including the Reykjavik Summit, the ongoing support being offered to Ukraine in the war, the European Court of Human Rights and their judgements, the AI Framework, democracy, laws and the Social Charter.

The Ukraine issue itself included several important topics, such as the civil rights protection, the forceful transferring of children and the Register of Damage.

Secretary General Burić talked about the CoE’s 75th anniversary, and exchanged ideas with Charalambos Prountzos – Nicosia’s Mayor.

The Consumer Association of Cyprus has revealed that there are major differences between the price of petrol in different areas of the island nation. In fact, some of these amount to as much as fourteen cents every liter.

According to the report published by the association, where prices per area have been compared between 2021 and 2024 – Nicosia saw the biggest difference this year – over fourteen cents between the highest and lowest price points.

Limassol saw the largest difference in 2022, with a 15.3 cents worth difference between the highest and the lowest price points.

The association says that since the supplier-offered profit margin stands at around six to six-and-a-half cents per liter, a fourteen-cent difference is near-impossible.

The association is calling in to investigate why such a difference in pricing policy could actually exist.

The latest development in the ongoing heat wave includes the death of an elderly woman from heat stroke – the second of its kind.

The woman, aged 84, experienced heat stroke symptoms, which led to her being hospitalized for treatment. Unfortunately, she passed away within a day of this.

Charalambos Charilaou, a spokesperson for the State Health Services Organization said that there are three more elderly individuals in a similar position, currently under treatment in the hospital for severe heat stroke symptoms.

The island nation has been heating up, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius (or 104 degrees Fahrenheit). These are accompanied by strong winds.

Besides affecting the daily lives of people, the weather situation has greatly interfered with the work of firefighters – as they are under enormous workload due to neutralizing wildfires. The high temp and wind have also hampered firefighting efforts, including a, area with mountains near Nicosia, where miles of forest growth was burned.

The wildfires destroyed over 3.2 square kilometers of forest land, and led to the evacuation of forty-nine residents from 2 different communities.

Aircrafts from Jordan and Greece joined the Cypriot firefighters in their efforts to douse the fire.

An injured individual, who had been claiming to be a passenger in a major traffic mishap has been revealed to be the driver.

In fact, the man who was arrested had only claimed to have been driving the car – when the one claiming he was the passenger was the one who was driving when the accident occurred.

After this discovery, both individuals are now in police custody.

The man claiming to have been the driver now has more charges levied against him, namely offering wrong information to law enforcement and obstructing a law enforcement investigation.

The other man (who was the driver) has also been charged with the same set of crimes.

Both of them have not answered the reason for their behavior thus far.

The Cypriot Police has issued arrest warrants for 5 people who are wanted in the US for committing finance fraud.

According to Christos Andreou, spokesperson for the police, arrest warrants had been issued the moment the court’s verdict overturned the prior release order.

Four among these five have been arrested so far. One of them, a UK citizen is yet to be caught.

The Police are making an active effort to find him, and depending on the circumstances, might ask for international assistance.

These 5 men were already in police custody in Cyprus for committing finance fraud in the US, when the Cypriot Supreme Court order to release them was issued.

It is only after an appeal was made by the Attorney General that the Supreme Court decided to review and subsequently reinstate the arrest warrants.

The arrested shall be extradited to the United States, charges levied against them shall include identity theft, conspiracy, laundering money, and of course, fraud.

The suspects used a Cyprus-based bank account to carry out the fraudulent activity.

The demand for electricity in Cyprus has skyrocketed due to the ongoing heat wave.

According to Chara Kousiappa, a spokesperson for the Transmission Department, the development is hardly surprising as more people are indoors and require assistance to keep cool.

She added how the maximum demand stood at around 1,150 Megawatts in the afternoon.

This is the closest so far to 2023’s 1243 Megawatts demand.

An oncoming thunderstorm has led to the Met Office issuing a yellow warning.

The warning, which shall remain in place for around 6 hours, starts at noon and ends at around 6 pm.

Met Office scientists are predicting moderate-to-heavy storms, especially concentrated inland and along the mountains.

The storms will have thunder, lightning and potentially – hail.

They are expecting rains between thirty-five and fifty-five millimeters per hour.

A man got injured while hiking in Avakas Gorge.

The man, 69, was hiking with his friend, 57, when he lost control of his balance and fell through the rocks. After the fall, he could not move.

Michalis Nicolaou, Paphos Police’s Assistant Police Director of Operations says that the police received the distress call from the friend at around 2:15 pm in the afternoon.

The police then alerted the police in Peyia, the Fire Department, who along with paramedics arrived at the scene.

It took them roughly 45 minutes to find the injured man.

They proceeded to transport him to the ambulance, which then took him to the General Hospital in Paphos.

The man was found to have sustained a gash on his thigh.