Cyprus Beat

In today’s episode, the United Nations Security Council late on Monday expressed its deep concern over the developments in Pyla, in which three UN peacekeepers were attacked after a confrontation with the north.  Elsewhere, the government yesterday decided migrants protesting over their living conditions in an apartment complex in Chlorakas should be kicked out and relocated to Kofinou.  Also, in...

In today’s episode, the UN Security Council is expected to discuss on Monday the incident in the buffer zone at Pyla with the attacks against UN peacekeepers as well as the Turkish plans in the area. In other news, a total of 86 people were rescued off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday afternoon, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Larnaca said.   Elsewhere, between 18,000 and 19,000 hunters were...

In today’s episode, Former Disy leader Averof Neophytou has called on the government to take immediate measures to deal with the negative trends shown by economic indicators in the second quarter of this year - warning that there are signs of a looming crisis. Elsewhere, two Cypriot passport holders were arrested in Singapore as part of an anti-money laundering bust, spurring Cyprus’ interior mini...

In today's episode, outdoor jobs in the mountains were banned on Wednesday afternoon, the labour inspection department announced, after the mountain regions recorded the highest temperatures in over 25 years. In other news, most of the property being sold to foreigners in the north is on Greek Cypriot land, reports said on Wednesday, citing data released at the end of July. And human trafficke...

In today's episode, with the summer at its peak, deputy minister for tourism Constantinos Koumis said tourist arrivals to the island have increased by 32 per cent this year, and expressed the hope that visitors will continue to flow to the island until November. Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to make moves to solve the Cyprus problem before the end of his...

In today's episode and with the summer at its peak, deputy minister for tourism Constantinos Koumis said tourist arrivals to the island have increased by 32 per cent this year, and expressed the hope that visitors will continue to flow to the island until November. Elsewhere, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to make moves to solve the Cyprus problem before the end of h...

In today's episode, the attorney-general’s office filed an appeal on Thursday over Briton David Hunter’s two-year sentence for killing his terminally ill wife. The appeal is on both the grounds of Hunter’s sentence as well the verdict. He was found guilty of manslaughter rather than premeditated murder. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejected a case brought forward by Turkish Cypriots in mixed m...

In today’s episode, the government insists that the ongoing row between health minister Popi Kanari and the ministry’s permanent secretary Christina Yiannaki is an “internal matter for the ministry”. Kanari and Yiannaki have been engaged in a very public war of words since Monday, when Kanari called on Yiannaki to provide proof of her dentistry degree from Cairo university, and proof that she coul...

In today's episode, Director of the Forestry Department Charalambos Alexandrou said due to the relentless heatwave this July, the number of fires within the department’s area of responsibility totalled 70. In other news, drivers got hit with substantial price hikes at the petrol pump on Tuesday, with officials saying the public should probably brace for even more bad news. And a new reception...

In today’s episode, the fire in the foothills of the Limassol mountains is completely under control and has no active front though firefighting forces remain vigilant in the area on Tuesday. Elsewhere, July 2023 broke multiple heat records as the Cleon weather system smothered Cyprus. The island saw temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius for 16 days in a row. There’s also claims by Edek leader Ma...

In today's episode, the fire in the Alassa dam area of Limassol on Monday was surveyed and assessed via a helicopter, with fire-response coordinator, Director Andreas Gregoriou from the agriculture ministry on board, as well as the chief of the fire service and the head of the forestry department. The fire is estimated to have burned 7.5 to 10 square kilometres of agricultural and wild lands,...

In this episode, private hospitals asserted on Thursday that they cannot – and will not – renew their contract with the Health Insurance Organisation on what they say is a take-it-or-leave-it basis, warning that this could leave the national health system in limbo. Elsewhere, controversy broke out on Thursday following the Famagusta mayor’s invitation to Turkish Cypriots to an anti-occupation even...

In this episode, embattled former Kiti bishop Chrysostomos has still not left the accommodation at the metropolis despite having been requested to do so after being found guilty of sexual assault. Elsewhere, the audit service slammed President Nikos Christodoulides’ security detail on Wednesday, saying it should have been “significantly reduced” well over a month ago after he and his family decide...

In this episode, controversial barbed wire fencing along stretches of the buffer zone may start being removed in September. Elsewhere, British bases authorities are optimistic they will be able to keep bird trapping at record low levels as the blackcap migration period begins.  Also, bilateral relations were underlined on Tuesday as President Nikos Christodoulides met Jordanian King Abdullah II in...

In today’s episode, British pensioner David Hunter was released from prison after the Paphos criminal court handed him a two-year prison sentence on the count of manslaughter.  Elsewhere, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Cyprus and said Greece and Cyprus “have common goals” concerning the Cyprus problem.   There’s also Lawyer Achilleas Demetriades’ comments that a truth commission...

In today’s episode, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due in Cyprus on an official visit. One of the main topics on the agenda today will be EU-Turkish relations, President Nikos Christodoulides said, adding that progress in this respect runs through Cyprus. Elsewhere, the Cyprus-Greece ferry from Larnaca to Piraeus marked its first journey over the weekend.  There’s also the new yellow...

In today’s episode, the audit service has undertaken an examination of the feasibility of the EuroAsia Interconnector project, it emerged on Thursday. Elsewhere, two dozen protesters gathered at Eleftheria Square in Nicosia on Thursday demanding the government to stop the sex education reform it recently passed. Also, a short hearing at Paphos criminal court on Thursday left little hint at the out...

In today’s episode, A&E departments all over Cyprus have recorded increased attendance in recent days due to the severe heatwave gripping the country, with the coastal towns worst hit because of the increased numbers of visitors. Elsewhere, the Bishop of Karpasia, Christophoros, has denied reports that he had verbally agreed to the construction of a masjid, a Muslim place of worship, on the gr...

In today's episode, the first few days of operation of the new terminal at the north’s Tymbou airport have been plagued by power cuts and other technical issues. After being officially opened in an extravagant ceremony and seeing commercial passenger services commence on Friday morning, things have been far from plain sailing. In other news, the fire in the Paphos forest that was contained on...

In today's episode, Facebook has disabled a support group page for auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides, citing violations of its community standards. The social media platform deactivated the page after receiving numerous complaints about it, possibly including from attorney-general Giorgos Savvides. Meanwhile, two new fixed traffic cameras were switched on in Limassol on Monday morning, brin...

In today's episode, Defence Minister Michalis Georgallas on Sunday ‘warmly’ welcomed the US Senator Robert Menendez’s proposed amendment to the National Defence Appropriations Act (NDAA) extending to three years from one the renewal period on arms sales to Cyprus. Meanwhile, there is no information about the exact number of Cypriots in Rhodes, where a wildfire has been raging for six days, sai...

In today’s episode, the current status quo is not and will never be accepted and cannot be the future of Cyprus, President Christodoulides said on Thursday, the 49th anniversary of the first leg of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Elsewhere, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the north on Thursday to partake in celebrations linked to Turkey’s July 1974 invasion, and to officially o...

In today’s episode, Cyprus marks the ‘black anniversaries’ of coup and invasion today on the 49th anniversary of the Turkish invasion.  Sirens blared across the island at 5:20am as a reminder of the first landing of Turkish commandos on the shores of Pente Mili in Kyrenia.    Elsewhere, a deal was signed for the EuroAsia Interconnector, but the cost has spiraled.   The company - EuroAsia Interconn...

In today's episode, Turkey’s approach on the Cyprus problem remains one of the main points of disagreement between the EU and Turkey, an EU official said during a briefing ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council, which will be held on Thursday in Brussels. In other news, Larnaca airport raised the alarm on Tuesday afternoon after an incoming aircraft from Israel had a burst tyre while landing, ca...

In today's episode, air quality had reverted back to normal levels on Monday afternoon in Geri, after a recycling plant in the area burned to the ground. Meanwhile, hospitals are ready to handle any further cases of heatstroke and vulnerable groups must exert caution, according to a top health official. State health services organisation spokesman Pambos Charilaou said on Monday morning that t...