Huginn Daily

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

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• Schools should train people for ‘tomorrow’s jobs’

  Demand for specialists in digital and information technologies and computer engineering is expected to grow in the coming years, particularly for those able to combine technical skills with artificial intelligence, technical teachers’ union Oltek said on Monday.

  Oltek chairman Panayiotis Lyssandrou told the Cyprus News Agency that technical education must be constantly updated and upgraded to keep pace with the changing needs of the labour market.

  The union’s aim, he said, was to ensure modern, high-quality technical education.

  “We want technical schools with modern infrastructure, highly qualified teachers, close cooperation with the economy and industry, and courses that prepare young people for tomorrow’s jobs, not today’s,” he said.

  Technical education, he added, was “not just an educational choice, but a strategic investment in the future”.

  Lyssandrou pointed out that technical and vocational training had “turned a page in Cyprus” and was attracting more and more students every year.

  “The continuous increase in the number of students proves that the society in Cyprus now acknowledges its value, prospects and modern role,” he added.

  Technical schools offer modern specialisations, direct links with the labour market and significant opportunities for further study, he added.

  “Our graduates have strong career prospects, with particularly competitive and decent remuneration,” Lyssandrou said.

  “This positive development is not random. It is the result of collective efforts made over the last years by teachers, directors and the education ministry to continuously upgrade the institution,” he said.

  Among the greatest challenges facing technical education, he added, was ensuring that courses meet the needs of the labour market while keeping pace with digital and green transitions.

  Lyssandrou said courses needed to be continuously updated and called for a committee to be set up to assess labour market needs over the next 15 years.

  “Let us not forget that our students enter technical and vocational training at the age of 14 or 15. Most will join the labour market ten or 15 years later […] so planning should predict the skills and professions needed in the future,” Lyssandrou stressed.

  Demand in the coming years is expected to be particularly strong for specialists in digital and information technologies and computer engineering, alongside workers in other technical professions.

  “Artificial intelligence is a significant tool, but it cannot replace education, experience, judgement and practical human skills. It cannot replace the electrician, the plumber, the car mechanic, the builder, the cook, the carpenter, the farmer and in general technical professions,” Lyssandrou said.

  Those able to combine technical training with the potential of using new technologies and artificial intelligence will be even more sought-after in the labour market, he added.

  Lyssandrou said the quality of technical education was directly linked to the quality of teachers.

  In this direction, a proper teacher evaluation system would contribute to improving the quality of education, providing “feedback, professional development and continuous improvement”.

  Teachers should also be recruited through fair examinations that provide equal opportunities to candidates while meeting the needs of the education system, Lyssandrou said.

• Cyprus, Jordan and Greece renew trilateral defence cooperation

  Cyprus, Greece and Jordan have renewed their trilateral defence cooperation programme, with the agreement announced on Monday as the three countries move to strengthen coordination on security and defence.

  According to the General Staff, the agreement provides for the continuation and further development of cooperation between the armed forces of the three countries under the existing framework.

  The programme is intended to strengthen coordination and joint action between Cyprus, Greece and Jordan, while expanding cooperation in defence and security.

  The renewal follows a broader effort by the three countries to deepen their strategic relationship amid continuing security concerns in the Levant.

  Cyprus, Greece and Jordan have maintained a trilateral framework since 2018, with cooperation extending beyond defence to areas including energy, civil protection, economic ties and regional security.

  The three countries held their fifth trilateral summit in Amman in May, where President Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Jordanian King Abdullah II discussed regional developments and further cooperation.

  The leaders said closer coordination was needed in response to challenges affecting security, energy, migration and maritime routes.

  Christodoulides described the partnership as “vital for our region” and an important bridge between the European Union and the Middle East.

  The summit also addressed developments involving Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, with the three sides calling for de-escalation and greater regional stability.

  The General Staff said the latest renewal would further deepen relations between Cyprus, Greece and Jordan in the fields of security and defence.

• Cyprus and Bahrain deepen defence and shipping cooperation

  Cyprus and Bahrain are seeking to expand cooperation in defence, shipping and investment, Ambassador to Bahrain Andreas Eliades said on Monday, as Nicosia looks to strengthen its role between the EU and the Gulf.

  In an interview with Bahraini newspaper Al Watan, Eliades said regional security developments had shown the importance of closer coordination between Europe and the Gulf states.

  He referred to Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, saying Cyprus had worked during its EU council presidency to support consultations between member states and regional partners.

  The ambassador said President Nikos Christodoulides’ official visit to Bahrain and the opening of the Cypriot embassy in Manama had given bilateral relations a “significant boost”.

  Nine agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed during the visit, covering areas including defence, higher education, culture, tourism, diplomatic training and search and rescue.

  Eliades said Cyprus, which now has embassies in all six GCC capitals, could serve as a “bridge” between Europe and the Gulf.

  He also drew attention maritime security as an area for closer cooperation, saying freedom of navigation was a strategic priority for both countries.

  Economic cooperation is also expected to focus on financial services, fintech, technology, logistics and tourism.

  Eliades said Cyprus could provide Bahraini companies with access to the European single market, while Bahrain could offer Cypriot businesses a base for expansion into Gulf markets.

  He said the future of bilateral relations was “very promising”, with the new embassy in Manama marking “a new chapter” in ties between the two countries.

• PEO concerned over disabled children’s escorts pay standstill

  Trade union PEO expressed concern on Monday over the non implementation of an agreement in principle with the education ministry concerning the upgrade of salaries for escorts of children with disabilities.

  According to the agreement, all escorts would see their wages upgraded to the next salary scale in September, however this has been pending for the past five months.

  PEO said the move would be the first step in acknowledging the “crucial role” of escorts for children with disabilities, adding that so far the ministries of education and finance have done very little to address the issue.

  The union said there were other pending issues, such as the reduced working schedule, ten-month employment, delays in paying unemployment benefits, the absence of income during the summer months and the lack of training for escorts.

  It called on the government to make sure that the escorts for children with disabilities received their pay rise with the start of the new school year and that it entered a dialogue over the remaining issues.

  Failure to do so, the union said, would constitute a blow to the credibility of the government and would cause “great distress and labour unrest within the public schools”.

• Lifeguard positions remain unfilled

  The interior ministry on Monday said that issues with filling vacant lifeguard positions remain, citing particular difficulties for positions limited to three and four month contracts.

  “In Nicosia, because the number is small, all positions are filled. In Famagusta, there are some vacant positions, but the largest vacancies are mainly in Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca,” beach safety unit officer Andreas Karvounis said.

  He added that the number of permanent lifeguard positions currently amounted to 107, with the remaining positions are for three, four, six, eight or 11 months.

  According to Karvounis, three-month positions are mainly filled by students or people who wished to work only during the summer period.

  “We are trying to see if we can move within some other frameworks because obviously there is an issue with the three-month positions,” he said.

  Referring to lifeguard schedules, he said these varied depending the beach, its traffic and risk, as well as the available personnel

  “This year we had a total of 377 approved lifeguard positions,” he said, adding that several positions remained vacant every year but that the ministry was working to increase the number of lifeguard positions annually.

  Cyprus has long struggled to fill lifeguard positions due to the seasonal nature of employment during the summer months.

  Cyprus Lifeguard Federation president Polis Pallikaros in June said that suggestions to reduce staffing at lifeguard towers to combat the issues would run contrary to international safety standards and could hinder rescue operations.

  He called for an increase in permanent or 10-month lifeguard positions across the island, stressing that staffing needs are currently greatest in Limassol and Paphos.

• Cyprus rejects Greek Leopard tanks in favour of Israel’s Merkava

  Cyprus has rejected the possibility of receiving Greek Leopard 1A5 tanks after a National Guard delegation inspected the vehicles in Greece and found that they did not meet operational requirements, with Israel’s Merkava tanks reportedly being preferred.

  According to Phileleftheros, the Cypriot delegation travelled to Greece to assess the condition of the Leopard 1A5s that Athens was prepared to make available.

  The inspection found that the vehicles could not meet the National Guard’s requirements, even as an interim solution.

  The report suggests there is currently no agreement between Cyprus and Greece for the transfer of the tanks, despite earlier reports that the two countries were advancing discussions over a possible deal.

  The T-80 tanks currently in service are Russian-built, making the availability of spare parts, ammunition and technical support increasingly difficult amid sanctions and the deterioration in relations between Russia and the West.

  The Leopard 1A5 had been considered partly because of its use by the Hellenic Army and the potential advantages of closer logistical and training cooperation.

  However, the aging condition of the particular vehicles offered by Greece appears to have ruled out the proposal.

  Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas previously declined to comment on a possible Leopard acquisition, saying the ministry did not publicly discuss details concerning the National Guard.

  Efforts to secure alternative platforms have faced constraints as reports indicate that discussions over acquiring Israeli Merkava tanks did not progress, primarily due to the production demands required for Israel’s military occupation in southern Lebanon by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

  The Merkava, Hebrew for ‘Chariot’, is a modern Israeli battle tank equipped designed with a strong emphasis on protecting its crew and withstanding drone attacks.

  Cyprus has in recent years expanded its defence procurement, including the acquisition of the BARAK MX air and missile defence systems and radar platforms from Israel, alongside plans to obtain advanced attack helicopters.

• Androlykou quarry approved despite environment commissioner assurances

  The approval of a new quarry near Androlykou came on Monday as Environment Commissioner Elias Myrianthous vowed to protect the natural environment of Polis Chrysochous.

  Myrianthous said Polis should become “an ornament not only of Cyprus but of the whole of Europe” after meeting Polis mayor Yiotis Papachristofi, with the two discussing environmental protection and major development projects planned for the area.

  On the same day however, the environmental authority approved a new quarry outside the existing Androlykou quarry zone, subject to strict environmental conditions.

  The proposed site is 120 metres from the Akamas Peninsula’s Natura 2000 protected area.

  The project covers 49,727m² and involves the extraction of 900,000m³ of limestone, of which 720,000m³ is expected to be recoverable.

  It is expected to operate for between 2.5 and three years to meet aggregate material needs in Paphos district.

  According to Phileleftheros, the application was submitted by Gennadios Theologou & Sons Ltd and Poullas Tsadiotis Ltd, which already operate within the Androlykou quarry zone.

  Speaking in Polis today, Myrianthous said the aim was to allow the region to develop while protecting its natural environment and creating conditions for young people to remain in the area.

  The municipality has also backed major infrastructure projects, including the proposed Latchi port and Paphos to Polis highway. Papachristofi said development should proceed while taking account of the area’s environmental value.

  The quarry application has faced opposition from environmental organisations. The environmental federation criticised the loss of natural habitat and trees, while Terra Cypria called for areas containing natural vegetation to be excluded.

  BirdLife Cyprus raised concerns over impacts on the European Roller, birds of prey and cumulative environmental effects.

  The environment department’s July 2026 assessment found that 31 per cent of the proposed site had already been altered by human activity, while 69 per cent consisted of natural vegetation, limestone formations and cultivated land.

  The assessment concluded that the quarry’s effects would be mainly local and temporary, provided the imposed conditions were followed.

  The site also contains 20 specimens of an endemic Cyprus orchid protected under EU law and classified as vulnerable in the country’s Red Data Book of Flora.

  The authority has ordered the plants’ locations to be demarcated and protected.

  Blasting and excavation will be prohibited from March to June, while other conditions require dust suppression, low-noise drilling, progressive restoration and replanting, restricted vehicle routes and a ban on heavy vehicle movements at night.

• Paphos launches daily sea patrols to tackle marine pollution

  Paphos municipality on Monday announced the launch of a four-month programme to monitor the sea and respond to pollution along the coast of Paphos and Yeroskipou.

  A specialised contractor has been hired to carry out daily sea patrols, with boats and trained staff operating seven days a week in morning and afternoon shifts.

  The patrols will cover areas near beaches as well as open water, with the aim of spotting pollution quickly and taking action before it spreads.

  Staff will look for oil slicks, sewage and other rubbish found floating in the sea.

  When pollution is found, the contractor will immediately begin efforts to contain and remove it using specialist equipment and waste collection tools.

  The contractor will also work with the relevant authorities and keep records and photographs of each incident.

  The programme will cost €50,000 plus VAT, with the ports authority providing €40,000, and Paphos and Yeroskipou municipalities the remainder.

  Paphos municipality said the programme was designed to improve the protection of beaches and the wider marine environment and reduce the time needed to respond to pollution incidents.

• Entries into north fall 13.3% in first six months

  The number of people entering the north fell by 13.3 per cent in the first half of this year, with 1.98 million entries recorded by land, air, and sea compared with 2.28 million during the same period last year.

  According to figures published on Monday by Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris Postasi, the data showed that total entries fell by 303,526 between January and June.

  The sharpest decline was recorded at crossing points, where entries fell by 13.7 per cent from 2,121,216 to 1,829,954.

  Entries from the government-controlled areas accounted for the largest share of crossings but fell by 16.5 per cent from 1,227,168 to 1,024,706.

  Entries from the UK fell by 16.2 per cent to 95,695, while those from Greece declined by 17.3 per cent to 90,018.

  Poland was among the countries recording an increase, with entries rising by 5 per cent to 69,772.

  Germany also recorded an increase of 5.2 per cent at land crossings, reaching 70,035.

  Foreign arrivals through airports and by ferry fell by 7.7 per cent, from 158,360 in the first half of 2025 to 146,096 this year.

  Germany recorded the largest increase among air and sea arrivals, rising by 34.1 per cent from 16,453 to 22,063.

  Russia remained one of the largest sources despite a 2.5 per cent decline, with 19,743 arrivals recorded.

  Arrivals from the UK fell by 13 per cent to 9,546, while arrivals from Iran dropped by 42.3 per cent to 8,985.

  Some European markets recorded much sharper declines, with arrivals from France falling by 79.3 per cent to 1,100, Belgium dropped by 78.8 per cent and Croatia by 76.3 per cent.

  The figures were compiled from data from the general directorate of the police and the north’s ‘tourism planning department’.

  The data covers entries rather than unique visitors, meaning the figures can include people making multiple crossings during the six-month period.

• Party leader says he has been excluded from social media accounts

  Andreas Themistocleous, head of the Democratic National Movement (DEK), on Monday accused members of the party’s leadership effectively of insurrection, claiming he has been locked out of the party’s email and social media.

  The squabble between Themistocleous and four members of the party’s political bureau intensified after the latter withdrew ‘confidence’ in the party chairman, accusing him of arbitrary actions and actions in breach of the party’s charter.

  The political bureau consists of six members – including Themistocleous.

  Themistocleous hit back at the dissidents, dismissing their allegations that he runs the party in a non-transparent manner.

  His statement was sent to media via the spokesman’s personal email, not the official party email.

  In it, Themistocleous sought to rubbish allegations by the four, who claim that the party is not subject to financial audit.

  Themistocleous said that in mid June the leadership unanimously decided to ask the party’s accountant to present the financial statements for the years 2025 and 2026.

  The meeting to review the financial statements took place on August 7 at the party’s central office in Limassol.

  There, Themistocleous asserted, they answered all questions posed about the party’s finances.

  “No audit was prevented. No question was forbidden. No data was concealed,” his statement read.

  Themistocleous said the four ‘rebels’ had met privately a day earlier. But they did not show up at the August 7 meeting.

  He added: “I do not fear being checked; I asked for that. I do not fear questions; I answered them. I do not fear documents; I presented them to those who wanted to look at them. I do not fear transparency; I demand it.”

  The party chairman also accused Andras Soteriou – a member of the political bureau – of not handing over a receipt book.

  Whereas Themistocleous acknowledges that the four are members of the political bureau, he rejects the notion that on their own they constitute a collective body who can make decisions on behalf of the party.

  “They are not DEK. They do not represent DEK. And they cannot supplant DEK.”

  The statement also reiterated that Themistocleous is being denied access to the party’s email, social media and website.

  The matter has been assigned to attorneys, it added.

  DEK was founded in January 2025 by Themistocleous following his expulsion from the Elam party.

  Billing itself as a ‘traditionalist’ party, DEK focuses on the preservation of Greek national identity in Cyprus, as well as strong opposition to progressive social reforms and ‘Woke culture’.

  It opposes a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation as a solution to the Cyprus problem, viewing it as a threat to the Hellenic identity and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus.

• Turkish FM Fidan’s two-state rhetoric welcomed by Ustel

  The north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel on Monday welcomed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s renewed support for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, saying Ankara’s position provided “trust and strength” to the Turkish Cypriot community.

  Ustel said Fidan’s remarks directly concerned the rights, future and political will of Turkish Cypriots and demonstrated once again Turkey’s position on the Cyprus issue.

  He drew attention to Fidan’s reference to the “sovereign, equal and independent stance” of Turkish Cypriots, as well as his call for a two-state settlement.

  Ustel said the remarks also pointed to what he described as the political inequality faced by Turkish Cypriots and showed that “a new page” needed to be opened on the Cyprus problem.

  Fidan made the comments during an interview with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency over the weekend, saying that Ankara regarded a two-state settlement as the “ideal solution” because it believed the Republic would “not accept equal power sharing” with Turkish Cypriots.

  “We have always seen that the Greek Cypriot side will never agree to equal power-sharing, authority-sharing, prosperity-sharing, or state-sharing with the Turkish Cypriots,” Fidan said.

  He argued that the Republic already enjoyed international recognition, EU membership and representation at the UN, making it unlikely, in his view, that Greek Cypriots would agree to share state power with Turkish Cypriots.

  Fidan also criticised restrictions affecting the north, saying the Republic used its international recognition to obstruct benefits for Turkish Cypriots in areas including trade and transportation.

  Fidan also reaffirmed Turkey’s refusal to recognise the Republic as representing the whole island, saying, “if you do not recognise the Turkish Cypriots’ rights, I will not recognise your statehood”.

  Fidan said Turkey’s preferred outcome was for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to have “their own states” which would coexist peacefully and contribute to prosperity and regional stability.

• Cyprus ranks first in Europe for ‘antisemitic attitudes’, ADL study says

  Cyprus recorded the highest level of antisemitic attitudes among European Union countries included in the latest Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Global 100 survey, with 58 per cent of respondents registering elevated levels of anti-Jewish stereotypes.

  The findings, released on Monday, place Cyprus ahead of Greece, where 50 per cent of respondents recorded elevated levels, while Belgium followed with 30 per cent; the average across Western Europe was 17 per cent.

  The survey does not measure antisemitic crimes or determine whether respondents are likely to commit such offences.

  Instead, it measures the prevalence of apparent antisemitic stereotypes through responses to 11 statements about Jewish people.

  Respondents are classified as having elevated antisemitic attitudes if they consider at least six of the 11 statements to be probably or definitely true.

  The statements test beliefs and stereotypes concerning Jews, including conspiracies that Jews have excessive influence over politics, finance and the media, that Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars, and that Jews have too much power in business.

  The survey also examined attitudes towards Israel and other issues concerning Jewish people.

  The ADL said the latest Global 100 study involved more than 58,000 adults across 103 countries and territories, where 94 per cent of the global adult population lives.

  Globally, 46 per cent of respondents were found to hold elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes, which the ADL described as the highest level recorded since the Global 100 was first launched in 2014.

  The ADL said younger respondents globally showed higher levels of antisemitic attitudes, with 50 per cent of those under 35 meeting its threshold compared with 37 per cent of respondents over 50.

  The Anti-Defamation League is a US-based organisation founded in 1913 that describes its mission as combating antisemitism and other forms of hate and discrimination.

  The organisation’s chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said the findings showed that “negative attitudes towards Jews are an important pillar” in assessing antisemitism, while stressing the need for government action, education and measures to address hate.

• Case against German woman held over property sales in north ‘politically motivated’

  The German real estate agent on trial for usurping Greek Cypriot property in the north is facing a process that is politically motivated, her lawyer Soteris Argyrou said on Monday citing prejudice and executive influence as the reasons behind it.

  “I believe it’s political – they are prosecuting people after more than 50 years [since the invasion],” he said.

  Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Argyrou said that his client, Ewa K, had been offered a plea bargain reducing the charges in exchange for a guilty plea. K, however, rejected the court’s offer, saying she could not conscientiously admit to an offence she did not commit.

  Argyrou said that after 26 months in custody, the defence recently filed its fifth application for interim release on bail, proposing substantial financial guarantees, but the court denied the motion. He confirmed plans to appeal the remand order.

  He argued the case against K is “based on the prosecution’s contention that, due to the history of the invasion, she ought to have known the legal status of the land involved in her development projects.”

  He said the recent prosecution of similar cases that had started within the last two years particularly following the proceedings against Turkish-Israeli developer Simon Aykut were marked by political influence and alleged improper executive involvement, citing public comments by President Nikos Christodoulides to prosecute relevant cases.

  Proceedings against K are set to resume on September 7, with further defence submissions anticipated later this week.

  German tabloid media Bild said at the weekend the German woman had worked as a real estate agent in southern Germany prior to setting up her business on the island.

  After reading about it online as a potential investment destination and being introduced to the area by acquaintances, she was reportedly asked to take over the marketing of their properties, which she then started advertising on her website.

  According to Bild, the German embassy in Nicosia in March expressed its expectation of her immediate release.

  “The embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nicosia is lodging a formal protest against the violation of Ms K’s human rights,” the embassy is quoted to have said.

  K was arrested in summer 2024 after having a conversation on board of a flight with Elam MEP Geadis Geadi in which she reportedly admitted to selling Greek Cypriot-owned property in the north.

  She has remained in custody ever since.

• Yellow weather warning issued for Tuesday

  The met department on Monday issued a yellow weather warning for Tuesday with temperatures set to reach around 40C inland.

  The warning will be in effect from 2pm to 4pm.

• Fuel prices expected to drop by month’s end

  Petrol station owners said on Monday they anticipate a drop in fuel prices at the pump by the end of the month, provided however that the global price of oil continues to ease off.

  Spokesman for the petrol station owners’ association, Christodoulos Christodoulou complained that people have by and large stopped filling up the tank.

  “They might spend 20, 30, 40 euros, then come back again. Very few fill up.”

  At the same time, he said, many motorists travel to the north to buy petrol, where it’s cheaper.

  He called this “a very serious issue”.

  According to Christodoulou, since mid-July petrol has gone up by 12 cents a litre, diesel by 19 cents, and heating fuel by 10 cents.

  At the moment, Unleaded 95 averages at €1.60 a litre, diesel €1.79, and heating fuel €1.49.

  Whereas crude oil prices are falling, this doesn’t translate into corresponding decreases at the pump.

  Christodoulou surmised this is likely because current prices at the pump reflect shipments when oil was at $95 to $97 a barrel.

  “We anticipate decreases, provided that prices will stabilise downward.”

  Asked when new fuel shipments are expected, Christodoulou said this is up to importers. Usually new shipments come in every two weeks.

  “So logically, by the end of the month we should have price reductions.”

  On Monday, Brent crude traded for around $85 a barrel; three days earlier it went for $79.

  Brent crude is widely used to make petrol, as well as diesel and jet fuel.

  Uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz continued to support prices. Iran and Oman have yet to finalise an agreement to reopen the strategic waterway, while conflicting signals from Tehran and Washington have raised doubts over how quickly a deal could be reached.

• Commissioner vows to protect Polis’ nature amid development boom

  Polis Chrysochous should become a model for environmental awareness and sustainable development, Environment Commissioner Elias Myrianthous said on Monday after meeting Polis mayor Yiotis Papachristofi.

  Myrianthous said the aim was to develop the region while protecting its natural environment and creating conditions for young people to remain and build their lives there.

  “How can this beautiful region grow within the framework of sustainable development, following the model of other European regions with similar characteristics?” he asked.

  He said his goal was for Polis Chrysochous and the surrounding area to become “an ornament not only of Cyprus but of the whole of Europe”.

  The meeting covered environmental issues facing the municipality, as well as its plans for development.

  Myrianthous said his office would collaborate with the municipality and state departments on matters within its responsibilities.

  He also referred to the interest shown by President Nikos Christodoulides in Polis Chrysochous, Akamas and the Tillyria area, saying this was why he had chosen the region among the first stops in his visits around Cyprus.

  Papachristofi said the municipality was committed to protecting the area’s natural environment, describing its landscape and environmental wealth as a vital asset.

  He cautioned however that environmental protection should not prevent the development needed by people living and working in the region.

  “People must coexist and development projects must be carried out, but always with sensitivity to the environment,” he said.

  The mayor said the meeting also covered major projects planned for the area, particularly the port at Latchi and the Paphos – Polis highway.

  He called for the relevant procedures to move forward quickly to prevent further delays, saying the projects were important to the region’s development.

  “I think that the new commissioner will take initiatives with all the relevant departments of the state,” Papachristofi added.

  The meeting comes amid wider debate over the pace and scale of construction in the Latchi and Polis Chrysochous area, particularly as major hotel and infrastructure projects are planned or under way.

  The Leonardo Club Latchi hotel, part of a reported €55 million investment by the Israeli Fattal Hotel Group, has drawn further scrutiny after building permits were issued despite earlier findings of unauthorised construction and deviations from the approved planning framework.

  Planning and environmental concerns have also been raised over the wider development of Latchi, where increased hotel capacity is expected to place additional pressure on local infrastructure.

  Furthermore, the municipality’s campsite is undergoing redevelopment after the tender was awarded to Costas Myrianthous, a cousin of the newly appointed commissioner, with a projected budget of around €2.5 million.

  The campsite project has attracted attention over the future of its natural character, including its eucalyptus trees, while its redevelopment is expected to introduce upgraded facilities.

  Papachristofi said environmental protection and development needed to be considered together, adding that the municipality wanted to preserve both the environment and the people who live in the area.

  “We must do the same to preserve the environment but also the people who must make a life in the area,” he said.

• Over 1,000 charged for e-scooter violations

  Police have filed 1,042 charges against people for breaking e-scooter rules, with some 28 scooters being seized, it announced on Monday.

  In the latest campaign, which ran from Friday to Sunday, police filed 526 charges nationwide.

  Of these, 219 were for riding e-scooters in areas where they are not allowed.

  Another 116 were for not wearing a helmet, while 86 were for not having the required fluorescent clothing.

  Police also filed 23 charges for riding without lights and 82 for other offences.

  The campaign also included checks and advice for e-scooter users on the rules they must follow.

  A previous campaign, held between July 31 and August 2, resulted in another 516 charges.

  These included 249 for riding in prohibited areas, 103 for not wearing a helmet, 89 for not wearing hi-vis jackets and 21 for not using lights.

  The police checks come after tighter rules were introduced for e-scooters and other personal mobility devices.

  Under the new rules, people must be at least 17 to ride an e-scooter, up from 14.

  Adults can also face penalties for allowing children under the legal age to use them.

  The rules also cover where e-scooters can be ridden, the safety standards they must meet and the equipment they must carry.

  Police are now able to temporarily impound scooters when they are used in breach of the law.

  The speed limit at which penalties can apply was also raised from 20 kilometres per hour to 25 kilometres per hour.

  Police said the campaigns were aimed at improving road safety and making sure e-scooter users follow the rules.

• Carob growers demand minimum price or ‘no harvest’

  Carob growers are determined to skip this year’s harvest if they do not secure a minimum price of 65 cents per kilo, their association said on Monday.

  The association expressed grave concern over the future of carob growing in Cyprus and called on growers to stand united against the difficulties faced by the sector and support the joint effort to secure the minimum price.

  The costs for growing, harvesting and transporting carobs have been climbing over the last years, while low rainfall has led to a smaller yield.

  The growers stressed that the current conditions, the low marketing price and the cost of harvesting make the sector economically unsustainable.

  According to the association, 65 cents per kilo of carobs was the lowest price they could accept to harvest and continue production.

  The aim of the growers was not to shut up shop, but to continue growing carobs and keep the tradition of Cyprus’ ‘black gold’ alive.

  The association called on the agriculture ministry, traders and carob presses to help find a just and viable solution.

• Cyprus named among Forbes’ top retirement destinations

  Cyprus has been named among the 24 best countries for retirement abroad in 2026 by Forbes, with Limassol, Paphos, Pyrgos and Larnaca singled out as attractive destinations.

  The US magazine describes Cyprus as a “sunny Mediterranean island state where English is widely spoken”, commending its beaches, climate, healthcare, low crime and political stability.

  According to Forbes, the cost of living in Cyprus is around one third lower than the US average, while permanent residents can access the public healthcare system.

  With English being widely spoken across the island, Forbes identifies this as a strong advantage for American retirees.

  Forbes describes obtaining residency in Cyprus as “moderately easy”, with American retirees able to pursue a residence permit through retirement income or the purchase of qualifying property.

  The magazine also refers to the Cyprus US tax agreement, which prevents double taxation, and other tax advantages available to foreign retirees.

  A disadvantage identified for Americans is the absence of direct flights between Cyprus and the United States, meaning return journeys require a connection.

  Cyprus is one of 12 European countries included in the 2026 list, including Austria, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

• Nationwide blood supplies remain limited

  Head of the Cyprus blood bank Androula Panayiotou on Monday called on the public to donate blood, warning of a difficult period ahead as blood supplies remain limited. 

  “We are at borderline levels at the moment,” she said.

  Panayiotou said that approximately 350 bottles of blood were required to meet the daily nationwide needs and that while satisfactory quantities were collected over the weekend, indications for the coming days were a cause for concern.

  “We need 350 bottles a day. If we start collecting around 190-200, as currently indicated by the planned blood donations, then we will face a serious problem,” she said.

  She added that recent quantities were maintained partly due to organised blood donations carried out by the army, however, these have now been completed and that in view of the ongoing summer holidays, organised blood donations in other places were significantly limited.

  “Organised groups are not organising blood donations these days, as they know that many people are absent and many workplaces are closed. Thus, we do not have the organised blood donations that usually help us reach 350 bottles per day,” she said.

  She called on residents to dedicate time to donate blood, saying that blood donations took no longer than 15minutes and could help save lives.

  Blood donations centres operate at the Engomi Health Centre (Tel: 22 809098), Geri Health Centre (Tel: 22 309221), Limassol – Old Hospital (Tel: 25 730277), Larnaca – General Hospital (Tel: 24 800402), Paphos – Blood Donation Centre (Tel: 26 306409), Paralimni, Sotiros 2 (Tel: 99 287584).

Github

• Copilot on web expands conversation controls

  We’ve made improvements to Copilot Chat on github.com that make it easier to use. These include easier access to your recent conversations in chat, the ability to minimize the chat window and return to an in-progress conversation, and indicators that help you track your Copilot token spend.

  Minimize and resume conversations

  We’ve improved the chat overlay experience by adding two new features.

  The first is the ability to minimize the screen during a conversation. This allows you to browse GitHub while waiting for a Copilot response.

  The second is the ability to more easily view and continue your recent conversations.

  Monitor your token usage

  We’ve also added token spend indicators in chat. Clicking on the token spend icon lets you see your per-session and per-message quota, allowing you greater visibility into your token spend and budget.

  These features are generally available to all Copilot plans.

  Try it out at github.com/copilot.

  The post Copilot on web expands conversation controls appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• GitHub billing in India now supports automatic recurring payments

  Customers in India can now use eligible saved credit cards for automatic recurring payments on monthly and annual GitHub bills.

  This update uses a payment mandate, also known in the payments industry as an electronic mandate, to authorize future charges in line with Reserve Bank of India requirements. This helps reduce manual payment steps during each billing cycle while keeping payment method management unchanged.

  There are no changes to how you save or remove a payment method. This applies to paid GitHub products for customers in India where recurring card payments are supported.

  To learn more, see our documentation about one-time payments in India.

  The post GitHub billing in India now supports automatic recurring payments appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• Custom thread subscriptions are being deprecated

  You’ll no longer be able to configure custom thread subscriptions for GitHub notifications.

  What’s changing

  As part of this rollout, GitHub will remove support for custom thread subscription settings.

  If you currently rely on this feature, please note that the Customize option in the thread-level notification settings will be completely removed. After this change, only Subscribed and Not subscribed options will be available for a thread.

  All existing custom subscriptions will be converted to Subscribed, and users will receive notifications for all events in those threads. If this becomes too noisy, users can unsubscribe from any affected thread.

  Why we’re making this change

  This change simplifies your notifications experience by:

  • Simplifying notification behavior.
  • Reducing subscription complexity.

  What you need to do

  No immediate action is required for most users.

  If your workflow depends on custom thread subscription behavior, we recommend reviewing your notification settings and team communication patterns as this rollout progresses.

  The post Custom thread subscriptions are being deprecated appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

Reddit

r/golang

• Small Projects

  This is the weekly thread for Small Projects.

  The point of this thread is to have looser posting standards than the main board. As such, projects are pretty much only removed from here by the mods for being completely unrelated to Go. However, Reddit often labels posts full of links as being spam, even when they are perfectly sensible things like links to projects, godocs, and an example. r/golang mods are not the ones removing things from this thread and we will allow them as we see the removals.

  Please also avoid posts like "why", "we've got a dozen of those", "that looks like AI slop", etc. This the place to put any project people feel like sharing without worrying about those criteria.

  submitted by /u/AutoModerator
  [link] [comments]
• Why people promote domain driven design while Go support these all?

  Go officially support,

  • Thin handlers that can directly attached to a struct created in application start, with relevant dependencies(without additional controller-> service layer) guarantee at compile-time.

  • multi-module workspaces that support incremental and parallel compilation. The workspace can have properly isolated domains via modules.

  • And each module can simply have vertically slicing app/{usecase} or /{usecase} folders with isolated handler, repo, and non-shared model.

  • Structs support json and format attributes and Custom Unmarshaler(UnmarshalJSON) to directly decode/ encode JSON streams(zero-copy) without using a separate intermediate struct.

  Why in 2026, some Go devs still promote/ use structures like DDD, Hexagonal architecture, clean architecture, etc... while language itself can provide better architectural forms to organize complex projects, without using pure technical layers.

  Nowadays, with AI those non-standards are becoming standards at the highest rate due to legacy projects and practices. Most of those standards mainly created for the languages and frameworks do not having official modules, workspaces and parallel compilations and especially to manage dependencies in runtime environments.

  We have to write and promote idiomatic Go even for complex domains.

  submitted by /u/dumindunuwan
  [link] [comments]
• Assign value to struct instead of copy of struct

  I'm looping through a slice of "Server" structs , and I want to assign a value to one of their properties. However the assignment goes to a copy and not the actual struct.

  the default of none value of the property is false. For some of them, I want to change it to true.

  Here is an example of what I want to do, but have the struct and not the copy be changed.

  type Server struct { Online bool } for _, server := range servers { server.Online = true } 

  If I pass servers address into to function ( eg. func dosomething(s *Server ) and doSomething(&server) ) and change something , the change persists. Is there a way to do that without using a function?

  I tried

  &server.Online = true 

  which didn't work.

  Solved

  I changed servers into a the slice pointers to server structs. That didn't require much refactoring and got my back on track.

  Thank you for the great ideas!

  submitted by /u/xfinitystones
  [link] [comments]
• Go Concurrency Visualization

  I’ve been playing around with a little project about bad use cases when using goroutine. I've put together some examples with simple visualizations showing how seemingly reasonable design decisions can turn into problems as a system grows:

  https://cap99.online/bad-use-case/index-bad-use-case.html

  If you have any feedback, suggestions, or examples you think would be worth exploring, I’d love to hear them.

  submitted by /u/gofreaksyddeveloper
  [link] [comments]
• Go 18 to 25 performance benchmark

  Hi everyone,

  I just published a benchmark comparing Go 1.19 through Go 1.26.

  After sharing a few benchmarks for other runtimes, Go kept coming up in the requests. So I continued with the same approach as the last benchmark, using both microbenchmarks and a synthetic application to try to really reflect each version's performance.

  The table below shows the 4GiB GOMEMLIMIT profile:

  Benchmark	1.19	1.20	1.21	1.22	1.23	1.24	1.25	1.26
  Synthetic application throughput (M ops/s)	2.289	2.316	2.267	2.340	2.321	2.288	2.321	2.370
  Synthetic application latency (µs)	4.793	4.746	4.822	4.694	4.721	4.787	4.729	4.614
  JSON parsing (ops/s)	732,240	755,015	705,809	795,712	684,803	687,521	670,457	655,686
  JSON encoding (ops/s)	5,750,260	6,286,389	6,324,036	7,257,896	6,347,446	6,294,368	6,269,269	7,105,952
  SHA-256 hashing (ops/s)	15,704,923	15,943,093	16,075,534	16,057,873	16,058,650	15,880,248	15,964,994	14,016,980
  Base64 encoding (ops/s)	7,640,843	7,693,093	7,436,234	7,363,531	7,345,670	7,436,111	7,799,412	7,092,276
  Regex matching (ops/s)	12,952,395	13,194,985	13,562,632	14,912,476	13,405,707	13,414,299	13,875,671	12,076,118
  Integer sorting (ops/s)	716,067	719,148	717,561	716,527	711,677	713,404	735,211	645,892
  Concurrent map churn (ops/s)	8,858,041	9,064,767	8,053,420	9,251,360	9,102,061	9,206,001	9,289,951	8,315,897
  Deflate compression (ops/s)	1,007,252	980,683	985,350	965,411	980,920	978,251	849,877	765,254

  The complete benchmark source is available in the GitHub repository.

  Full benchmark charts are available here: Full Go benchmark

  Let me know what you think

  Edit: Thanks for all the comments regarding the Y-axis not starting at zero. I’ve just updated the charts. Hope this makes the differences between versions clearer.

  submitted by /u/Jamsy100
  [link] [comments]
• Profile-guided optimization in Go

  Nice and short intro to PGO with Go submitted by /u/_a4z [link] [comments]

• Streaming tshark output into Go: how I cut a 2.5 GB PCAP job from 6-7 hours to 70 minutes

  I had a Go CLI that wrapped tshark for PCAP analysis. Worked fine until I hit a 2.5 GB file — 1.9 million packets, 6-7 hours, then OOM crashes. Two problems, found in sequence. First, I was running three separate tshark queries against the same file (analytics, rows, full dissection). Three full passes over 2.5 GB. Consolidating them into one query took it to 1-2 hours. The OOM was still there though, because I was asking for full JSON dissection — tshark building the whole output in memory, then my program parsing all of it in memory. So I piped tshark's stdout directly into my program's stdin and switched to -T fields/-T ek with only the fields I needed. Memory went flat, processing dropped to ~70 minutes. Still single-threaded, which is the next problem. Curious whether anyone's found a good approach for parallelising tshark work beyond splitting the input file. Full writeup: https://robinhayer.dev/the-2-5-gb-wall submitted by /u/Hot_Interest_4915 [link] [comments]