Wednesday, July 29, 2026
2df667f7-ce5f-4eee-9234-e4a0f9544ed7
| Summary | ⛅️ Clear throughout the day. |
|---|---|
| Temperature Range | 25°C to 32°C (77°F to 90°F) |
| Feels Like | Low: 80°F | High: 103°F |
| Humidity | 60% |
| Wind | 10 km/h (6 mph), Direction: 134° |
| Precipitation | Probability: 0%, Type: No precipitation expected |
| Sunrise / Sunset | 🌅 05:55 AM / 🌇 07:52 PM |
| Moon Phase | Full Moon (50%) |
| Cloud Cover | 6% |
| Pressure | 1006.6 hPa |
| Dew Point | 68.29°F |
| Visibility | 6.33 miles |
By Alexandra Cousteau
In every coastal community, there comes a moment when the sea begins to feel different from how it should be.
Fishers notice it first: fewer fish in the nets, seasons arriving out of step and balance, waters that once felt abundant becoming barren, habitats that once supported life now devoid of it. For island nations like Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean and Ireland on the Atlantic, these changes are not abstractions in a policy paper. They are daily reminders that Europe must turn its promises for the ocean into real change at sea.
As one island nation passes the EU Council presidency to another, Europe has an opportunity to show something too often missing from politics: ambition with empathy, continuity with foresight, and commitment with action.
Over the past six months, Cyprus helped bring islands, coastal communities and sustainable fisheries more firmly into Europe’s conversation about the future of the sea. Ireland, with its vibrant coastal communities and deep maritime identity, is well placed to carry that momentum forward as debate around the EU Ocean Act gathers pace.
For my family, the ocean has always been a place of discovery and hope. The place where my grandfather revealed a hidden world of life and beauty, and where my father saw the first signs of its decline.
In my own lifetime, I have seen abundance disappear from waters that once teemed with life. The Ocean is a living system that feeds people, supports livelihoods and protects coastlines. When marine ecosystems decline, coastal communities are among the first to feel the consequence
The proposed EU Ocean Act comes at a time when Europe must confront a simple but uncomfortable truth: pledges are plentiful, delivery far less so.
Europe has no shortage of commitments, from restoring nature and rebuilding fish stocks to supporting sustainable fisheries and protecting 30% of its seas by 2030. Yet, too often, there is still a gap between commitments made in Brussels and the reality in the water.
We see it when marine protected areas exist on paper while destructive activities continue within them. Fish populations remain overfished despite the knowledge that their populations are falling. Coastal communities are asked to adapt to climate change and ecological decline while having too little influence over decisions that affect their future. Is Europe prepared to implement what it has already agreed and turn ambition into visible recovery?
Recent discussions at the Ocean Act conference in Wexford, hosted by the Irish EU Presidency, showed that this is no longer an abstract idea. The Ocean Act is now clearly at the centre of a real political conversation about how Europe governs the sea, and whether it can turn promises on paper into healthier ecosystems, more abundant marine life and stronger coastal communities.
Ocean Act: Recovery in the water
Ultimately, that is the standard by which the Ocean Act should be judged: whether it delivers real, measurable recovery in the water. Some of that recovery will be visible — healthier habitats, more abundant fish populations, thriving coastal waters. But some of the most important gains will be less visible: restored nursery grounds, healthier food webs, stronger ecosystem resilience, carbon-rich habitats protected, and marine life given the space and time to recover. The Ocean Act must help make marine protected areas genuinely protected, restore damaged habitats rather than simply manage their decline, and ensure that ocean governance supports the living systems on which every maritime sector ultimately depends.
It must also recognise the value of small-scale, low-impact fishers. Across Europe, these communities have cared for coastal waters for generations. Many of them can point to specific places where they have watched change unfold in their own lifetimes.
They have a direct stake in healthy fish stocks, thriving marine ecosystems and resilient local economies. Giving them greater priority in coastal waters is not only a good environmental policy, but also a good social and economic policy. Ocean protection and livelihoods do not have to be in conflict.
Oceana has highlighted the benefits of exclusive coastal zones; these are preferential access areas where low-impact fishers are prioritised, and more harmful large-vessel activity is restricted. Ireland’s efforts to limit damaging activity by larger vessels in its coastal waters point in the right direction.
Cyprus, too, is showing how this debate can move from principle to practice. The government is exploring ways to reserve territorial waters for small-scale fishers, and Oceana’s analysis suggests this approach could bring substantial benefits to marine life and fishing communities while imposing only minimal costs on industrial operators.
A shared responsibility
The transition from the Cypriot Presidency to the Irish Presidency should therefore be seen not as the end of one chapter, but as the continuation of a shared responsibility. If Europe is serious about ocean leadership, it must maintain momentum beyond institutional handovers and ensure that the Ocean Act translates political attention into practical action.
Europe often speaks of global leadership at sea. Leadership begins at home. It is measured by what happens in European waters. The Ocean Act is an opportunity for Europe to show that leadership starts with effective protection, restored ecosystems, fairer access for low‑impact fishers and funding that matches the scale of the challenge.
In a world where science, cooperation and multilateralism are under pressure, this is also a leadership test: whether the EU can act collectively, follow the evidence and protect the marine life, habitats and coastal communities on which so much depends.
The ocean has sustained Europe’s islands for generations. Now Europe must show that it is ready to sustain the ocean.
*Alexandra Cousteau is co-founder of Oceans 2050 and Senior Advisor to Oceana, continuing her family’s legacy of ocean advocacy with a focus on restoration and abundance.
Cyprus is among the European Union member states highlighted for its approach to collecting and reporting data on human trafficking, according to a study published by the European Commission on Tuesday.
The Commission said that the study examines current challenges, good practices and possibilities for the further strenghteneing of the collection of statistics on human trafficking in the EU.
While data on human trafficking across the EU has been recorded for more than a decade, differences in national systems and reporting practices continued to make it difficult to develop a clear picture of the situation on an EU level, the Commission said.
In Cyprus, the responsible body for the collection of relevant data is the anti-trafficking unit of the police. Applying the Commission’s and Eurostat’s definition of human trafficking, the body holds information on both identified and suspected victims.
Cyprus is among the EU member states with more detailed human trafficking data collection practices, recording victims’ actual ages, nationalities and countries of origin, analysing prosecutorial outcomes, and having a legal basis for data collection and reporting.
The European Commission study highlights that while EU member states have made progress in improving human trafficking statistics, differences in definitions, counting methods, data collection practices and institutional responsibilities continue to limit the comparability and accuracy of data across the bloc. From July 15, 2026, member states are required under the revised Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings Directive to collect and report harmonised annual statistics on trafficking cases to the Commission.
The study sets out a series of recommendations aimed at improving the quality, consistency and comparability of human trafficking data collected across EU member states.
Among the key priorities identified are giving greater focus to alleged victims in data submitted to Eurostat, improving reporting on victims, suspects and perpetrators linked to the criminalisation of knowingly using services provided by trafficking victims, and strengthening the collection of criminal justice data.
The report also highlights the importance of developing stronger coordination models and closer cooperation between the various national authorities and institutions responsible for collecting, sharing and analysing trafficking data.
The bicommunal peace initiative “United Cyprus” on Tuesday held two events in view of UN General Secretary Antionio Guterres’ visit to the island.
In its first event, the group held a demonstration in support of federation outside the House of Cooperation in the buffer zone at Ledra Palace on Tuesday morning. A second event, organised by the same initiative in support of Guterres’ efforts, was set to begin at 6.30pm at the entrance to Nicosia airport.
A parallel event was also scheduled to take place at the roundabout near the Agios Dometios crossing in the north.
Civil society organizations, representatives of political parties and individuals from both communities participated in the events.
Guterres was later awaited by another group in favor of a solution and peace as soon as his motorcade passed the Ledra Pallas roadblock towards the north, consisting of people from other unions and organisations at the initiative of a Turkish Cypriot association, which usuallz welcomes the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Maria Angela Holguin, when she travels to the occupied territories to meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.
In addition to the events, a separate demonstration was held at the roundabout near the new “presidential” building in the north, drawing only a small turnout, according to Turkish Cypriot media.
A separate group of demonstrators also gathered at a central junction, waving Turkish flags and flags of the north.
The interior ministry on Tuesday said it has no intention to reverse a recent change where new ID cards will no longer feature the names of the bearer’s parents.
For any biometric IDs issued as of July, the fields for the names of the parents have been removed.
According to Politis, the decision was taken by Civil Registry, and on the advice of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
The change was instituted without prior notification to the public.
Interior ministry sources said also that the change is reflected in the amended contract between the government and the private company printing the cards.
There are currently no plans to revert to the old format, the same sources said, asked about reactions by some quarters.
They said the policy is in line with EU Regulation 2025/1208 which sets out uniform standards for ID cards across the bloc.
The regulation does not expressly prohibit the printing of the parents’ names, leaving it up to individual EU member-states.
The decision to remove this field from the IDs was therefore Cyprus’ choice.
Explaining the reasoning, the sources said that displaying an ID card is done to verify the identity of the holder alone, not their parents. Moreover, any information regarding the parents will be maintained on other relevant documents – like the birth certificate.
The change was introduced for personal data privacy reasons. As an example, an interior ministry source cited the case of persons with father unknown. In these cases, under the old system, which did feature the fields for the parents’ names, this had to be left blank – revealing personal information about the holder.
The ministry said also that, from research they conducted, ID cards in most EU states do not have fields for the parents’ names.
But the change drew a strong reaction from Elam, which complained about “an unacceptable attempt to undermine the sacred institution of the family”.
Party spokesman Marios Pelekanos asked rhetorically whether the next step will be to introduce the terms ‘Parent 1’ and ‘Parent 2’.
And he tied the change to ID cards to “the onslaught of the woke agenda”.
Elam demanded the immediate reinstatement of the old format, calling on the minister to intervene personally.
It even warned of taking “dynamic measures” if its demands go unheeded.
By law, possessing an ID card is mandatory for any citizen of Cyprus who has reached the age of 12.
The Cyprus Mail heard of at least one person who had a new card issued in July and still featured the parents’ names.
An interior ministry official said the card must have been issued during the narrow transition phase.
The National Guard on Tuesday appointed Brigadier general Savvas Stefanou as criminal investigator to look into the fire at Kalo Chorio firing range on Monday afternoon, which led to a blaze in two nearby villages.
It referred to Stefanou’s appointment as an “essential and necessary step” towards a comprehensive and objective investigation into the case, noting it was crucial to determine the exact circumstances of the fire.
The fire broke out near the Larnaca district village of Kalo Chorio on Monday afternoon, prompting the evacuation of two villages and the closure of roads before it was contained by the fire brigade at around 8pm.
Defence Minister Vassilis Palmas on Monday assured that the ministry had already ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the fire.
“It will be investigated why they proceeded to let these munitions off with tragic results, fortunately without threatening human lives and destroying property,” he said.
Palmas said that the responsibility lies with the 70th engineers battalion, adding that such explosions are prohibited in the summer months.
Ahead of his joint dinner with UN Secretary General Antionio Gueterres and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday evening said he was positive it would be as “productive” as his meeting with Guterres earlier in the day.
“All I want to say is that I hope and wish tonight’s discussion will be as good as this morning’s discussion with the UN Secretary-General,” he said.
The dinner follows Guterres’ first separate meetings with both Christodoulides and Erhurman to discuss the Cyprus problem.
After them, Guterres said he would do “everything I can to support” Cypriots in their path towards a solution.
“This visit is a visit of solidarity to the people of cyprus and to show my strong commitment to make sure that we are able to have, finally, the solution in Cyprus,” he said.
The met department on Tuesday issued a yellow weather warning for temperatures climbing to around 40 degrees Celsius and above for Wednesday.
The weaning will be in place from 2pm to 4.30pm.
The met office also advised the public to refrain from practical activities exposing themselves to “meterological risks” and demonstrate overall caution regarding the prevailing weather conditions.
An investigation has been launched into the brain damage caused to a child who is being treated in hospital for meningitis, it was made known on Tuesday.
State health services (Okypy) are looking into the facts of the case following public complaints by a woman who said her four-year-old boy was now brain dead due to the handling of his health by the paediatrician and Limassol general hospital.
Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaou said the services had taken the complaints into account and had already launched an investigation.
He said Okypy sympathised with the family and assured that every report was looked into in a responsible and objective manner.
According to Reporter, the boy developed a fever on July 8 and for the next few days his parents were in contact with the paediatrician, who prescribed medication and tests.
When the boy’s health did not improve, he was taken to Limassol general hospital, where he was diagnosed with meningitis.
As the boy’s health continued to show no sign of improvement, the parents insisted he be transferred to Makarios hospital in Nicosia.
On July 14, while on the way to the Makarios hospital, the boy appears to have become brain dead.
He is still being treated at the Makarios hospital.
The number of products in the e-kalathi did not climb to 1,000 in the first half of 2026 as forecast by the head of the consumer protection department, the consumers’ association said on Tuesday.
The association said no new product has been added to the list, instead the number has dropped from 478 to 476, while prices increased.
Unlike Greece, where the development minister announced that a series of measures had managed to push prices down in dozens of categories of products by up to 6 per cent, in Cyprus “we have not seen any measures to hold down prices”, the association said.
“On the contrary […] for the same categories of products, we only saw increases,” it added.
From March to May 2026, pasta prices increased by 13.8 per cent, flour by 5.71 per cent and pulses 4.9 per cent.
The association is concerned that “the policy for the protection of consumers in Cyprus is suffering seriously, not from a lack of legislative regulations, but from a lack of decisiveness to effectively implement of the laws.”
Attorney-general Giorgos Savvides put his foot down on Tuesday, letting MPs know that neither the special investigator for the Videogate affair nor police officers may answer questions during an upcoming discussion in parliament.
In a letter addressed to parliament, the AG advised MPs to tread carefully when they come together this Friday to discuss the findings of investigator Andreas Paschalides.
The previous week, Paschalides released a statement summarising his findings regarding the Videogate affair – a probe into a video published online in January and appearing to show influence peddling on the part of associates of President Nikos Christodoulides.
The House ethics committee is convening in an extraordinary session, where MPs plan to pose a series of questions they feel were left unanswered by Paschalides.
Summoned to appear before the committee are Paschalides, officials from the attorney-general’s office, senior police officials, a representative of the justice minister, the head of the anti-corruption authority, under-secretary to the President Irini Piki, and an attorney for Black Cube – the private intelligence outfit that produced the video.
But in his missive, Savvides set out some firm boundaries.
First, he let MPs know that the investigative dossier – now in the possession of the attorney-general’s office – will not be handed over to parliament.
“There are reasons which do not permit the dossier’s presentation and/or disclosure of its contents, as such reasons are laid out in case-law and the applicable legislation…” the AG said.
The reason is that the dossier is currently being assessed by the AG to determine whether any criminal offences were committed.
“The criminal investigation is still ongoing. For part of it, the investigative work has not been completed, while for another part of it an assessment is pending as well as a decision by the attorney-general’s office.”
The part still not completed is understood to refer to continuing investigations as to who commissioned Black Cube to produce the video. Paschalides has been given until the end of the year to identify the person or persons who bankrolled the company for this project.
The AG said that “any discussion about the investigative work or any attempt to have any information divulged, in a space other than the competent court, assuming the case goes to court, carries the risk of interfering with the investigative process and affecting the fundamental rights of the implicated persons.”
As such, he went on, persons summoned to the committee and who have knowledge of the case “may not answer any question posed to them nor present any document pertaining to the case, as this may affect the administration of justice”.
Concluding, Savvides advised MPs and anyone else attending the committee session to take his views “seriously under consideration”.
Asked for a comment, chair of the House ethics committee Demetris Demetriou told the Cyprus Mail that in his opinion parliamentarians are not bound by restrictions imposed by the AG.
“Parliament is an autonomous body,” he said. “On our part, we will ask the questions we plan to ask.”
MPs could decide on the day whether to hold the session behind closed doors, he added.
Cyprus gymnastics star Marios Georgiou capped a memorable 24 hours for the island when he won silver medals in the Men’s Parallel Bars and the Men’s Horizontal Bar at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
On Monday evening, Cyprus celebrated winning two medals, with hammer thrower Iosif Kesidis claiming silver and hurdler Milan Trajkovic winning bronze to secure two athletics medals for the island.
According to Cyprus Olympic Committee correspondent Ilias Pratsos, Kesidis delivered Cyprus’ first medal of the Games by throwing 76.97 metres to finish second behind Canada’s Olympic champion Ethan Katzberg.
The 20-year-old recovered from a foul on his opening attempt to improve steadily throughout the competition. He moved into the medal positions with his second throw before climbing into second place with his third, a position he held until the end of the event. The medal is the first of his career at the Commonwealth Games.
Also competing in the hammer final was Alexandros Poursanidis, the bronze medallist from the 2022 Games, who finished seventh with a best throw of 66.79 metres. The 33-year-old said he was disappointed with his own performance but proud of his younger teammate’s achievement.
Minutes later, Trajkovic doubled Cyprus’ medal haul by finishing third in the men’s 110 metres hurdles final in a season’s best time of 13.32 seconds. The 34-year-old came within seven hundredths of a second of his Cypriot record of 13.25.
Also on Tuesday meanwhile,, Neofytos Kyriakou won the bronze medal in the men’s vault of the artistic gymnastics competition.
The four medals are the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth won by Cypriot athletics in the history of the Commonwealth Games. Trajkovic’s bronze is also Cyprus’ first ever medal in a track event at the competition.
In weightlifting, Dimitra Ioannou finished tenth in the women’s 58kg category with a combined total of 160kg, lifting 70kg in the snatch and 90kg in the clean and jerk. Nigeria’s Rafiatu Lawal won gold with a Games record total of 229kg.
Customs officers seized more than 125kg of tobacco from four British passengers at Paphos airport before their flight to Manchester, the customs department said on Tuesday.
The passengers, all women, were stopped on Monday after officers identified their luggage during checks.
A total of 2,507 packets of tobacco for hand-rolled cigarettes were found, weighing 125.35kg.
The tobacco did not carry health warnings in Greek and Turkish, security features or traceability codes, indicating duty had not been paid.
The four were arrested while customs seized the tobacco.
They were taken to Paphos district court on Tuesday, which remanded them in custody for four days.
The cycling lane on Goddess Aphrodite avenue in Yeroskipou is getting a €108,452 makeover, with works set to begin on September 1 and last for two months, the Ierokipia municipality announced on Tuesday.
The contract for the restoration of the cycling lane was signed on Monday by Ierokipia mayor Nikos Palios and ANC Waterproofing Industries Ltd representative Rogiros Anastasi.
The project is part of a broader plan to upgrade public infrastructure in the tourist area of Yeroskipou.
Once works are completed, the cycling lane will be safer for locals and tourists.
Plans for further strengthening the safety of the energy centre at Vasiliko, with emphasis on prevention, readiness and effective coordination, were presented on Tuesday by Justice Minister Costas Fitiris at a broad meeting of all involved parties.
The justice ministry said the safety of the energy centre and the surrounding area was a matter of priority for the government, due to the strategic importance of infrastructure surrounding it.
The meeting was attended by the ministers of justice and defence, the deputy chief of police, the National Guard chief of staff, representatives of ministries, deputy ministries, the fire brigade, the army, state services and companies with headquarters or interests in the Vasiliko area.
Fitiris elaborated on the measures already in place and those in the pipeline to enhance land, sea and air security.
The plan aims at protecting human life and the environment, as well as crucial infrastructure and installations in the area, at the same time securing the unhindered operation of the Vasiliko energy centre.
The core of the plan is to create a joint coordination centre, which would provide a unified operational picture and facilitate direct cooperation and coordination between all services in the area.
The justice ministry said the concentration of crucial energy, port and communications infrastructure in the area made it necessary to draft a comprehensive security framework, based on preventing risks and maintaining continuous operational readiness, and timely and effective response to any incident.
The participants “reaffirmed the need for close and continuous cooperation between the state services and companies in the area, on the basis of a joint plan and clear authorities”.
A 62-year-old businessman from Larnaca was arrested over alleged financial offences, including fraud, forgery, fraudulent property transactions and money laundering, police said on Tuesday.
Larnaca CID said these offences, involving ten separate incidents, occurred between 2022 and 2024.
The allegations also include conspiracy to commit a felony, obtaining money by false pretences, circulating forged documents, fraudulent property dealings, fraud in property sales, false company accounts aimed at defrauding and defrauding creditors.
The suspect is due to appear at Larnaca district court later on Tuesday.
The Court of Appeal upheld the pre-trial detention of a Turkish Cypriot man facing rape, indecent assault and sexual harassment charges, rejecting his appeal against a district court ruling ordering that he remain in custody until the start of his trial before the Famagusta criminal court, the law office announced on Tuesday.
In a judgment dated July 23, the appeal court found that the Famagusta district court had properly exercised its discretion when ordering the defendant’s detention, dismissing defence arguments that there was insufficient evidence to suggest a likelihood of conviction and that his personal circumstances ruled out any risk of absconding.
The defendant faces four charges relating to the same complainant, all alleged to have taken place at the same time and location.
Following his committal for trial, the prosecution successfully applied for his continued detention pending the hearing, citing a risk that he would fail to appear before the court.
The appeal court reiterated that remanding a defendant in custody before trial is an exceptional measure and falls within the discretion of the trial court.
It said appellate intervention is justified only where that discretion has not been exercised properly or where established legal principles have been ignored.
Addressing the defence’s claim that there was no realistic prospect of conviction, the court said the argument relied on a selective reading of the evidence.
“We do not agree with the appellant’s counsel that the evidence does not indicate a likelihood of conviction,” the judgment said, adding that the defence had relied on “a fragmented and selective reading” of the complainant’s statement rather than an assessment of the evidence as a whole.
The court stressed that, at the stage of considering pre-trial detention, it does not assess the credibility of witnesses or determine guilt or innocence. Instead, it examines whether the evidence is sufficiently strong to establish a reasonable prospect of conviction.
The appeal court also rejected the defence’s argument that the defendant’s ties to the Republic, including his Cypriot citizenship, eliminated any risk of absconding.
While acknowledging those ties, it agreed with the lower court that they were not sufficient to outweigh concerns that he might fail to appear for trial.
The judgment also addressed the defendant’s links to the north, clarifying that the detention order was “not based on the fact that the appellant is a Turkish Cypriot”, but rather on his “strong ties to the occupied areas not under the effective control of the Republic”, which were considered relevant to the risk of absconding.
Referring to previous case law, the court reiterated that Cypriot citizenship does not in itself entitle a defendant to more favourable treatment.
When childhood friends Anna and Eftyhia travelled through Southeast Asia before starting their careers, they did not expect the trip to inspire a business idea.
But their experiences abroad, combined with a desire to create something missing from the Cyprus market, led them to launch anef swim, a sustainable swimwear brand designed around confidence, comfort and timeless style.
The pair, both born and raised in Cyprus, met at the age of 15 at school. Their friendship grew through shared classes while years later they found themselves following similar paths abroad.
After having both studied at the university of Manchester, the two decided that before entering the world of work they would spend three months travelling around Southeast Asia. That journey became a turning point.
“Travelling through Southeast Asia, particularly Bali, was a huge source of inspiration for us,” they said. “We came across so many beautiful boutique brands creating unique, thoughtfully designed and sustainable pieces.”
They noticed a gap when they returned to Cyprus, where the swimwear market was dominated by larger international brands.
“We wanted to create something different, something intentionally designed to celebrate women’s bodies, enhance confidence and provide support in all the right places,” they said.
The process of creating the brand was far from simple. Neither Anna nor Eftyhia had a background in fashion, and they had to learn everything from scratch, from design processes to technical drawings and manufacturing.
“We had absolutely no fashion background and honestly had no idea where to begin,” they said.
They spent months researching, watching tutorials and teaching themselves the skills needed to bring their ideas to life. From the beginning, they wanted their designs to combine style with practicality.
Adjustable straps and convertible elements became central features of their collections, allowing pieces to be worn in different ways. Supporting fuller busts was also a key priority.
“As women ourselves, we know how difficult it can be to find swimwear that is both stylish and genuinely supportive,” they said.
Their designs draw inspiration from Cyprus. Many feature gold details influenced by Mediterranean and Greek aesthetics, while one of their most personal creations is a reversible Cyprus themed swimsuit.
The piece was created in collaboration with local artist Evina Economidou and features symbols connected to Cypriot culture, including the evil eye, Commandaria and traditional Lefkaritiko embroidery patterns.
Building the brand while working full time brought its own challenges. “Most of the work happened outside normal working hours, during lunch breaks, on the London Underground, after work, late at night and throughout weekends,” they said.
Their time was filled with conversations with manufacturers, reviewing samples, planning photoshoots and creating content for social media.
Balancing careers, personal commitments and a growing business required discipline, but the pair said their passion for the project helped them continue. “It was a great creative outlet after a day in the office. We knew that every small step was contributing to something we cared deeply about.”
Sustainability has been at the heart of anef swim from the beginning. The brand uses REPREVE recycled fibre, made from recycled plastic bottles, with swimwear consisting of 78 per cent recycled nylon and 22 per cent spandex. The resulting OEKO TEX fabric provides UPF 50 plus sun protection.
But for Anna and Eftyhia, sustainability also means creating pieces that last rather than contributing to disposable fashion.
“When selecting a manufacturer, we looked beyond product quality and chose partners that meet internationally recognised standards for recycled materials, supply chain traceability and textile safety,” they said.
Since launching, the response has been encouraging, both in Cyprus and abroad. The brand has hosted pop up events in Cyprus and London, while orders have been sent to customers in the United States, Germany, France and across the UK.
One of the highlights was seeing people who had never met them connect with the brand. “When customers try on the swimwear, they often notice the attention to detail and the thought that has gone into every design decision.”
The founders said they understand the challenge of competing with fast fashion, where consumers have access to large numbers of inexpensive options.
However, they believe quality and longevity remain important. “Creating fewer, better products has always been part of our philosophy,” they said.
The journey has also introduced them to a wider creative community, including Cypriot content creators, models, photographers, videographers and website designer Philippos Pilakouris, who helped bring their vision to life.
For other young women thinking about starting a business, their advice is straightforward: begin.
“It’s easy to become overwhelmed by everything that could go wrong or by how much there is to do,” they said. “Instead, focus on one challenge at a time and keep moving forward. Don’t be afraid to send the email, make the phone call, attend the event or ask for the opportunity”.
Anna and Eftyhia hope to expand anef swim’s presence across Europe while developing new collections.
Their aim remains the same as when the idea first began during their travels: creating sustainable swimwear that helps women feel confident, comfortable and ready for their next adventure. “We’re still at the beginning of the journey, and we’re excited to see where it leads”.
For more information, visit www.anefswim.com or follow @anefswim.com on social media
Viral hepatitis accounted for 0.21 deaths per 100,000 people in Cyprus in the year 2023, Eurostat data released by on Tuesday showed, while at an EU level the virus caused 0.64 deaths per 100,000 people.
The highest death rates were recorded in Italy with 1.62 deaths per 100,000 people, Latvia 1.54 and Austria 1.02. The lowest rates were in Luxembourg with no recorded deaths from hepatitis in 2023, Finland 0.07 and Slovenia 0.13.
In 2023, there were 3,172 deaths from viral hepatitis in the EU, the lowest figure recorded since the data collection started in 2011.
The figure represents a 9.3 per cent decrease compared with 2022, when 3,499 deaths were seen, and a 53.7 per cent drop since 2013 with 6,856 deaths.
The disease disproportionately affected men, who accounted for 58.3 per cent of all viral hepatitis deaths. It affected both the elderly and the working age population.
People under the age of 65 accounted for 35.7 per cent of hepatitis-related fatalities, compared with 14.8 per cent among deaths from all causes.
Looking at the regional data, 15 regions recorded at least 1.5 deaths from viral hepatitis per 100,000 inhabitants, namely ten regions in Italy, two in France and one in Austria, Romania and Latvia.
The French outermost regions Mayotte and Guyane had the highest death rates, with 4.86 and 2.80 deaths per 100,000 people. Next were regions in southern Italy and islands, namely Campania 2.65, Puglia 2.58 and Sardegna 2.48.
The data was released to coincide with World Hepatitis Day, observed each year on July 28 to raise awareness and encourage action on prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis.
Ahead of World Hepatitis Day, Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides spoke at a press conference on July 17 organised by the liver patients’ association Promitheas, saying prevention through the national vaccination programme had delivered positive results and placed Cyprus among the better-performing EU countries.
The Nicosia criminal court said on Tuesday it would not decide whether evidence in the case of classified documents stolen from the central prison will be admissible until the prosecution provides clarifications as to why the material was not handed over to the defence.
The court adjourned until Friday to hear the positions of both sides. It clarified that its decision would be issued at a later stage.
On May 5, prosecutors involved in the missing files from the central prison case handed over 1,116 documents of the 2,900 total to the defence.
On Tuesday, the court said there three were issues in total that needed clarifying on behalf of the prosecution.
The first was a reference by prosecution’s Anna Mattheou, who spoke of five documents that had been submitted to the defence, later saying that there had been objections about handing some of them over.
The second was attorney-client privilege and were not part of the indictment. The court requested clarifications on whether they included material connected to the charges.
The third matter was a position expressed by the prosecution, according to which the defence was not obliged to disclose its line of defence, however it should indicate the way in which it would be impacted if the documents were not delivered in their entirety.
The prosecution requested time to state its position.
Defence lawyer Christos Triantafyllides said he would present his position after hearing those of the prosecution. The defence lawyers for the other defendants agreed.
Triantafyllides also expressed reservations over the new delay and pointed out that his client continued to be on suspension.
In April 2025 a police search of the home of a prison warden revealed a large volume of official documents, some marked “confidential.”
Subsequent to an exhaustive investigation, law enforcement officials apprehended five individuals, four prison guards and a police cadet, on suspicion of misconduct relating to the removal of said documentation.
Police believe that the majority of the documents were removed between November and December 2022. Both former director Anna Aristotelous and former deputy director Athina Demetriou have since given testimony.
In November 2025, authorities officially registered a case against Aristotelous.
A 19-year-old national guard soldier has been remanded in custody for three days after allegedly assaulting an 18-year-old recruit during a violent altercation in Paphos, police said on Tuesday.
The two soldiers, stationed in Kissonerga, had a verbal dispute in the camp and agreed to meet outside to resolve it.
The incident took place in the Yeroskipou coastal area, where the 19-year-old is suspected of attacking the younger soldier, causing serious injuries.
The 18-year-old was taken to Paphos general hospital, where doctors diagnosed a facial fracture and bruising around the eye.
He remains under medical observation.
Police arrested the 19-year-old following the incident, and on Sunday the Paphos district court issued a three-day detention order to facilitate investigations.
Authorities are continuing inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the assault, including whether events within the military unit contributed to the incident.
Copilot app usage is now reported across much more of the Copilot usage metrics API.
Individual Copilot app activity is now attributed to users in the enterprise-user and organization-user reports. In addition, Copilot app coding activity is now broken out in the feature, model, and language rollups alongside every other Copilot surface.
This builds on the earlier release that brought the Copilot app into the usage metrics API with enterprise-level Copilot app totals.
used_copilot_app: Whether a user was active in the Copilot app on a given day.totals_by_copilot_app: A per-user section reporting session_count, request_count, prompt_count, and a token_usage breakdown of output_tokens_sum, prompt_tokens_sum, and avg_tokens_per_request.copilot_app feature value: Copilot app activity now appears in totals_by_feature, totals_by_model_feature, totals_by_language_feature, and totals_by_language_model, so you can see which models and languages Copilot app work happens in.daily_active_users: Now counts users who were only active in the Copilot app.Copilot app usage was previously only visible as a standalone enterprise and organization-level total, so you could see that the Copilot app was being used but not who was using it or what it produced. With Copilot app activity attributed to individual users and folded into the standard breakdowns, you can identify your Copilot app adopters, and measure the code the Copilot app generates.
You can also compare the Copilot app against the IDE, chat, code review, and coding agent surfaces using the same fields you already consume.
used_copilot_app and the user-level totals_by_copilot_app section are available in the enterprise-user and organization-user 1-day and 28-day reports. The copilot_app feature value and the code activity, lines-of-code, and daily_active_users changes apply to the enterprise, organization, and user reports for both the 1-day and 28-day windows.totals_by_copilot_app and produce no copilot_app breakdown entries, and existing fields keep their current shape.Visit the Copilot usage metrics API documentation to get started.
The post GitHub Copilot app usage metrics now expand across report rollups appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
As part of our ongoing supply-chain security work, npm is introducing automatic scanning of packages at publish time. This changelog covers what publishers can expect and a new metadata requirement for dual-use content.
Newly published packages will be automatically scanned before they become available for install. Depending on the results, a package may be published as normal, held for manual review, or blocked.
This introduces a short delay between publishing and availability, typically around five minutes. It may take longer, up to 15 minutes or more, at peak times or depending on a package’s content and size. These times reflect current typical behavior and may change as scanning evolves; they aren’t a service guarantee.
For most publishes, no action is required beyond allowing for this brief delay. If you have automation that assumes a package is installable immediately after publishing, update it to tolerate a short availability delay.
While scanning is pending, the npm dist-tag command continues to work. Other operations that depend on the published version, such as npm deprecate and npm unpublish, will not work until the package becomes available.
If a package is blocked, the publisher may receive a notification with the option to appeal. Depending on the severity and confidence of a finding, further action may be taken on the associated maintainer account(s), consistent with our existing policies.
npm blocks the malware we can detect and we are continuously working to improve detection coverage and reduce scan time. For what is and isn’t permitted on the registry, see the npm Acceptable Use Policies.
Some legitimate packages have security-relevant capabilities that can resemble malware to automated scanning (dual-use content). We are introducing a contentPolicy field in package.json for maintainers to declare this content.
Maintainers declaring dual-use content must also include a DISCLOSURE file in the package’s root directory, containing only text content. This file is free-form and should describe both the dual-use functionality and its intended legitimate use. Our Trust & Safety team uses it when reviewing dual-use packages.
Declaring this metadata may trigger additional automated scanning suited to dual-use content when needed. It does not automatically grant publication, and our Trust & Safety team may review dual-use packages on a case-by-case basis.
contentPolicy field or the DISCLOSURE file; publishes that drop them will be rejected.This requirement will be progressively enforced over time. We are reaching out directly by email to maintainers of dual-use packages that need to add this metadata to avoid being blocked by default.
For more information, see our docs about dual-use content policy.
Follow along and ask questions in the community discussion.
The post npm publish-time malware scanning and dual-use metadata appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Grok 4.5, xAI’s latest reasoning model, is now rolling out in GitHub Copilot. It is designed for fast, agentic coding and complex multi-step workflows, with a context window of up to 500,000 tokens, support for text and image inputs, as well as low, medium, and high reasoning effort.
In our internal testing, Grok 4.5 showed strong results across terminal-based coding tasks in Visual Studio Code and Copilot CLI. It performed especially well when dispatching tools in parallel and taking direct action, making it a strong fit for exploration, unblocking complex tasks, and time-sensitive coding workflows.
This model is billed at provider list pricing under usage-based billing. See GitHub Copilot’s pricing for models and requests for details.
Grok 4.5 will be available to Copilot Pro, Pro+, Max, Business, and Enterprise SKUs.
You’ll be able to select the model in the model picker in:
Rollout will be gradual. Check back soon if you don’t see it yet.
Copilot Enterprise and Copilot Business plan administrators must enable the Grok 4.5 policy in Copilot settings. The policy is off by default.
To explore all models available in GitHub Copilot, see our documentation on models and get started with Copilot.
Join the GitHub Community to share your feedback.
The post Grok 4.5 is now available in GitHub Copilot appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
The GitHub Advisory Database now ingests malware advisories from the OpenSSF malicious-packages repository, significantly expanding the breadth of malware data available to you through Dependabot alerts.
With this update, advisories from the OpenSSF malicious-packages project are automatically ingested into the GitHub Advisory Database, giving you broader coverage across ecosystems including npm, PyPI, and more. You can view these using the type:malware filter.
If you have malware alerting enabled, Dependabot will now match your dependencies against this expanded set of malware advisories and alert you when a match is found.
You get broader ecosystem coverage. Malware advisories now cover additional ecosystems beyond npm, powered by the OpenSSF community’s malicious-packages data.
If you already have malware alerting enabled, you will automatically benefit from the expanded coverage without any additional configuration needed. New advisories will generate alerts as they are published.
If you haven’t enabled malware alerting yet, navigate to your repository or organization Settings → Code security → Dependabot and enable Malware alerts under the Dependabot alerts section.
You can browse malware advisories directly at github.com/advisories.
To learn more, check out our docs about Dependabot malware alerts.
The post Dependabot alerts on malicious packages across more ecosystems appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Recent supply chain attacks use compromised GitHub credentials to push malicious GitHub Actions workflows that steal CI/CD credentials and carry out additional attacks. To help protect public repositories from these attacks, GitHub Actions now holds certain workflow runs for approval before they start.
When a workflow run is identified as potentially malicious and held, the workflow won’t execute until a repository collaborator with write access reviews and approves it. The approval must be submitted through an authenticated web session. Once approved, the workflow continues normally.
You don’t need to configure this protection; GitHub applies it automatically.
This protection currently applies to public repositories on github.com only. GitHub Enterprise Server doesn’t add this protection at this time.
The post GitHub Actions holds potentially malicious workflows for approval appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
This update brings more control and clarity to your GitHub Copilot for JetBrains workflows. You can now connect MCP servers and custom agents in Claude agent flows, tune telemetry and token settings for advanced scenarios, and work with a cleaner chat and model-selection experience.
You can now configure OpenTelemetry export settings for agent workflows. This makes it easier to align plugin behavior with your organization’s requirements for observability. You can configure this under Settings > Tools > GitHub Copilot > Chat.
You can now set default token limits, including maxInputToken and maxOutputToken, for BYOK and custom endpoints. You can also disable or enable all built-in Copilot models from model-management controls.
These options make it easier to align plugin behavior with your organization’s requirements for cost control and model governance.
You can now use MCP servers and custom agents directly in Claude agent flows. This gives you more flexibility when you need specialized tools, custom instructions, or team-specific workflows in your IDE.
If you rely on shared agent setups across projects, this update helps you keep your flow consistent while still adapting to repository-specific needs.
Copilot CLI sessions now support forks, include the /rubber-duck command, and show a todo list in the harness. These additions help you break down work, reason through implementation ideas, and keep progress visible while you iterate.
For enterprise users, we now display the number of AI credits consumed when their organization has not configured a user-level budget. For more information, see our docs about user-level budgets.
We are also enhancing day-to-day experience across chat, inline chat, and model selection.
This release also improves path handling and session recording. Copilot CLI now preserves path capitalization more reliably in working sets and snapshots on macOS and Linux.
We encourage you to try out the latest version of the GitHub Copilot plugin and share your feedback. Your input is invaluable in helping us refine and improve the product.
Your feedback drives improvements. We’d love to hear about your experience in the following channels:
The post GitHub Copilot for JetBrains adds improved OpenTelemetry configuration and model management appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
I’m building a few medium-sized services in Go and trying to keep things clean as they grow.
Right now the common pattern I see is a huge services or handlers package that slowly turns into god objects.
For those of you running Go in production, what’s worked best for you in terms of layering and package structure?
Do you stick to something like hex/clean architecture, or a more pragmatic layout?
Curious to hear how you balance simplicity and long-term maintainability - especially for services that are too big to be “just a single main.go”, but not large enough to justify a massive microservices setup.
Hi guys. I'm learning Go backend. So I found out some platform to practice basic syntax about Golang but didn't have. So I have been building a website to practice it.
This web is deploying, so leave some feedback to build a community website.
Thank you guys!
Pure freshie of Go here, I'm from C# background, and feel like wanna pivot to fully Golang in future
I saw only companies with Java are switching to Go but haven't seen any C# company switch to Go yet.
Why?
What's the common reason for Java being switched to Go?
This has been a pet peeve of mine for a while. If your examples needed to take or return any parameters, you couldn't make them appear in the Go docs.
So currently, the Go toolchain allows this:
ExampleXXX() // only allows empty func signature
This will make sure that the example appears in Go doc.
But this won't appear:
ExampleFoo(t *testing.T) // func param isn't allowed
or
ExampleBar() error // return type isn't allowed either
This is a bit annoying as sometimes I want to show my code alongside some helper that takes or returns extra params. Go doc will elide that.
So this is allowed now (once the implementation is merged i mean) and will appear:
func ExampleTest(t *testing.T) { synctest.Test(t, func(t *testing.T) { // ... }) }
Another thing is that if an example takes or returns params, you can't run it as a test with a //Output comment as Go won't know what to pass or how to run that as a test.
Proposal: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/79808
_I expanded this with a few more examples here:
https://rednafi.com/shards/2026/07/go-example-any-signature/_