Friday, May 8, 2026
2cb04028-7d85-4984-a6d4-a561ef13f8e3
| Summary | ⛅️ Mostly clear until evening, returning overnight. |
|---|---|
| Temperature Range | 13°C to 24°C (55°F to 76°F) |
| Feels Like | Low: 52°F | High: 81°F |
| Humidity | 63% |
| Wind | 10 km/h (6 mph), Direction: 275° |
| Precipitation | Probability: 0%, Type: No precipitation expected |
| Sunrise / Sunset | 🌅 05:51 AM / 🌇 07:38 PM |
| Moon Phase | Waning Gibbous (71%) |
| Cloud Cover | 22% |
| Pressure | 1018.42 hPa |
| Dew Point | 52.44°F |
| Visibility | 6.12 miles |
Kemal Ataturk Street in Paphos’ Moutallos neighbourhood will be renamed “Nikos Kapetanidis Street” after the town’s council voted to approve the change, Disy councillor Nina Gkaraklidou said on Thursday.
She told the Cyprus Mail that a proposal she had put before the council had been approved by a majority of councillors, and that as such, the street will be renamed in due course.
Earlier, she had written in a post on social media that the fact that the street was named after the Republic of Turkey’s founding president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk “creates and provokes a painful emotional reflection” among Moutallos’ current residents, most of whom are Greek Cypriots who were displaced from the north in 1974 and their descendants.
“Street names are not simply practical markings, but reflect our values, roots, history and choices,” she said, adding that she had chosen to propose the renaming of the street “with the awareness of the burden and responsibility towards the truth and future generations”.
Prior to 1974, Moutallos had historically been the town of Paphos’ Turkish Cypriot community, and the names of the streets in the neighbourhood reflect that fact, often being named after Turkish and Turkish Cypriot historic figures, such as poet Namik Kemal, late Turkish president Ismet Inonu and the Republic of Cyprus’ first vice president Dr Fazil Kucuk.
However, since then, with the neighbourhood becoming the home of displaced Greek Cypriots, and the wider Paphos area experiencing an influx of Pontic Greeks following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, moves have been made to rename some streets bearing names deemed offensive by those communities.
Talat Pasha Street was renamed as Justice Street in 2021, with Paphos’ Pontic Greek and Armenian communities pointing out that the late Ottoman grand vizier had been convicted and sentenced to death for organising massacres of Greeks and Armenians during his stint as grand vizier and, earlier, interior minister.
While Talat Pasha was sentenced in absentia and thus escaped execution, having escaped to Berlin with the Ottoman Empire facing defeat in the first world war, he was later shot dead during organised assassinations carried out by the Armenian revolutionary federation.
Distaste at Mustafa Kemal Ataturk among Pontic Greeks is sourced from the Greco-Turkish war, during which both sides committed sundry atrocities against one another, including massacres, torturing and the burning of towns and villages.
Amid those atrocities, Nikos Kapetanidis, a journalist from the Black Sea city of Rize who published a newspaper in Trabzon, was convicted and sentenced to death during the Amasya trials, which were carried out by the Turkish national movement, which at a national level was led by Kemal, in 1921 in the eponymous Black Sea town.
Kapetanidis was one of hundreds to be sentenced to death in Amasya, convicted of agitating for a Greek-led breakaway of the Black Sea region.
Livestock farmers late on Thursday called off a protest planned for Friday, after authorities said they’d take a firm hand in dealing with the demonstrators, which might have possibly set the stage for violent confrontation.
In a statement, a group calling itself ‘The Voice of Livestock Farmers’ said they decided to cancel a demonstration they planned at a key roundabout in Larnaca district.
This, they said, was thanks to an initiative undertaken by the presidential palace, the veterinary services and the agriculture ministry.
During the day, officials had held talks with representatives of the farmers.
“One week was given to examine our demands,” the group said.
They were therefore canceling Friday’s protest “in good faith and in hopes that substantive decisions will be taken regarding the future of livestock farming”.
Shortly prior to the farmers’ move, authorities had indicated they’d crack down on disruptive protests.
The decision came during a meeting of the police leadership with Justice Minister Costas Fitiris.
“No one will be allowed to occupy any section of the road,” Fitiris said later.
“If they try to shut down the road, the police will prevent them from doing so.”
Farmers, up in arms at measures to contain the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, were planning a demonstration on Friday at the Rizoelia roundabout, which sits at the intersection of the motorway connecting Larnaca and Nicosia, and the motorway connecting Larnaca and Ayia Napa.
The farmers had signaled they’d block the junction, with one spokesman stating that “we are sure that everyone will see something very big and correct which the whole world will understand.”
In a statement issued on Thursday evening, the police were unequivocal:
“Approaching, loitering, gathering and/or preventing traffic at the Rizoelia roundabout or at any other point on the fast lanes, by any person and by any means, will not be permitted.”
The police noted that whereas it respects the right to peaceably assemble and demonstrate, nevertheless it would intervene wherever such actions affect “public safety, public order or the free transit of the public”.
As such, it added, the gathering as planned by the livestock farmers at Rizoelia was “not permitted”.
The police, intending to come out in force at Rizoelia, said they would instruct farmers to gather at a designated site that did not interfere with traffic.
Two weeks ago, dozens of farmers had blocked the same junction. At the time police avoided clearing them out, instead opting to close the entire roundabout on safety grounds, diverting traffic through alternative routes.
The Supreme Court on Thursday granted attorney Nikos Clerides permission to apply for the annulment of a search warrant on his premises, in connection with the ‘Sandy affair’.
The petition, filed as a ‘certiorari’ – an order or writ by which a higher court reviews a case tried in a lower court – seeks to have the warrant annulled, effectively rendering it void from the outset.
Clerides at one point – around late 2021 – had briefly been the attorney for ‘Sandy’, the woman at the centre of the affair who alleges to have been raped years ago by a former Supreme Court judge. In a trove of text messages – recently released by journalist Makarios Drousiotis – she also alleges the existence of a political-judicial cabal pulling the strings in Cyprus.
In early April, police had secured a warrant to search Clerides’ residence, office and car. The warrant had been signed off on by a Larnaca-based judge. It was issued at 12.45am.
Clerides claimed the warrant was illegally issued. It was based on the affidavit of one of the police officers investigating the ‘Sandy’ case. The attorney then applied to the Supreme Court to have the warrant annuled.
In its judgment on Thursday, the Supreme Court found fault with the issuance of the warrant.
The court cited four reasons. First, that there were no reasonable grounds that the affidavit was connected to the premises searched.
Second, that the description of the exhibits police were searching for was too general and vague – what Clerides calls a “fishing expedition” by the police.
Third, that there was no evidence whatsoever that Clerides was in any way connected with the creation of the fake text messages by ‘Sandy’ – as stated on the police warrant.
And fourth, that the search warrant was issued in contravention of attorney-client privilege – namely that Clerides’ seized mobile phones contained information pertaining to his communications with clients in general.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Clerides said police had confiscated three mobile phones of his.
One of them he used as a computer, storing all his clients’ files on it.
The police subsequently – belatedly according to Clerides – returned the mobile with the clients’ files, but have held onto the two other phones.
They cloned the phone with the clients’ files before returning it to Clerides.
Meanwhile the police have secured separare court orders allowing them access to the telecoms data on the two phones they still hold.
Thursday’s Supreme Court decision does not mean the automatic annulment of the search warrant. Rather, it means the attorney-general will now have to decide whether to uphold the search warrant, or agree to have it annuled.
In the former case, Clerides would contest the AG’s decision and the matter would end up at the Supreme Court.
Were the search warrant to be declared null and void, any material contained on the seized devices would be inadmissible as evidence in a court of law.
Also on Thursday, Clerides opined that some of the text messages held by ‘Sandy’ are likely fake, while others are “100 per cent authentic”.
The implementation of a major flood protection project in Paralimni is expected to provide a long-term solution to chronic stormwater management problems affecting residents and businesses in the area, president of the Famagusta district government Yiannis Karousos said on Thursday.
According to a statement, the total cost of the flood protection works amounts to €14.28 million, including VAT.
The project concerns the construction and upgrading of stormwater drainage infrastructure aimed at reducing flood risks, protecting homes and businesses and improving public safety and quality of life.
The organisation said the project forms part of its wider strategy to upgrade infrastructure and strengthen flood resilience across areas under its jurisdiction.
Karousos described the scheme as the most significant infrastructure project currently being promoted by the Famagusta district government, adding that authorities had secured a substantial increase in co-financing, from €5.5 million to €14.3 million.
The project is being carried out under the “Thaleia 2021-2027” cohesion policy programme with co-financing from the European Union.
The picturesque village of Vavla is set to fill with music, art and culture once more as the Musical Promenade in Vavla event returns for the fourth consecutive year. On May 16, the entire village will transform into an open-air stage. With a map in hand, visitors can wander through Vavla’s narrow streets to enjoy 11 different acts performing in its corners, squares and the courtyards of local residents, who once again warmly open their doors.
The one-day festival will present a rich and diverse musical programme, blending the sounds of the Eastern Mediterranean with contemporary song-writing, jazz, soul, classical music and experimental soundscapes.
Eleven musical acts comprised of ensembles, duos, solo sets and DJs will offer tuneful moments and live performances. Scattered around the village’s ‘stages’, listeners will be able to enjoy Alexa Michael, Christos Fountos, Eleonora Roussou and Odysseas Toumazou, En Phyē, Epea Pteroenta, Jan Van x Fotis Siotas, Mihalis Siammas, Naz Atun, Panayiotis Loizou, DJ Vanesha and Ya Na Ma Na.
To make this an event for all of the senses and to celebrate creativity in every form, a small market with local products will run throughout the festival as will street food stands offering tasty bites as bars will operate serving cocktails, beers and wine.
Musical Promenade in Vavla
Live music, street food, art market and more. May 16. Vavla village, Larnaca district. 5.30pm-12am. Free admission. Facebook event: Musical Promenade in Vavla
The Electricity Authority (EAC) said on Thursday that though it can’t entirely rule out the possibility of power outages, it has taken all necessary steps to prevent such an eventuality.
Giorgos Petrou, chairman of the EAC board, made the remarks to the media following a meeting with the leader of the Disy party. Also attending the meeting were representatives of EAC-affiliated trade unions.
Taking questions, the EAC boss said that if the two substations continue to operate “normally” then there shouldn’t be any issue with adequate electricity supply.
But he noted that the two substations are powered by generators that are 40 years old.
“So, anything is possible,” he said.
For its part, he stressed, the EAC has done all it can – including necessary upkeep – to ensure the smooth running of the substations.
And the organisation plans to begin installing new generators at the substations as of 2028.
“If something unexpected comes up, we’ll see how to handle it. But we have taken steps, we’ve increased production by at least 80 megawatts this year, and we believe there won’t be any problems.”
Petrou was also asked about electricity prices.
He said there are two ways for the state-run power utility to bring down prices: first, the operation of solar parks, and secondly the use of natural gas for power generation.
But until such time as the EAC acquires solar parks “of a serious scale, we don’t anticipate price reductions”.
As of early 2026, the EAC owned approximately 20 MW in solar installations.
The organisation complains it’s been hamstrung by the state in expanding into solar parks, with preferential treatment allegedly given to private commercial interests.
Speaking to the press, trade union rep Kyriacos Tafounas said workers are still in industrial-action mode.
In mid-April EAC workers staged a 24-hour strike. The EAC headquarters and customer service offices were closed for business. Supply was not disrupted.
Tafounas warned of escalating industrial action unless their demands are heard. He did not specify the how or the when of such measures.
The visit of President Nikos Christodoulides to the United Arab Emirates has reaffirmed and further strengthened strategic ties between the two countries, the government said on Thursday.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the president’s meeting with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan took place at a critical time for regional security and stability.
The visit, he said, was a “tangible expression of solidarity” by Cyprus towards the UAE following what he described as unjustified attacks, while also reaffirming Nicosia’s support for the sovereignty and stability of a key strategic partner.
Letymbiotis noted that there has been close coordination between the two countries since the onset of the crisis, highlighted by recent high – level exchanges, including visits by the foreign ministers of both nations in March.
He added that relations between Cyprus and the UAE have gained “real strategic depth” in recent years, built on mutual trust, consistent political coordination and shared interests.
During the meeting, the two leaders discussed regional developments, the need for de-escalation, and the importance of maritime security.
Cyprus reiterated its support for international initiatives aimed at safeguarding navigation and maintaining regional stability, stressing that security in the Gulf is directly linked to that of Europe.
The visit also carries added significance in light of Cyprus’ role within the European Union, with the country positioning itself as a bridge between Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf.
Letymbiotis pointed to recent cooperation between the two countries as evidence of the strength of bilateral ties, including joint efforts on the ‘Amalthea’ humanitarian corridor, UAE support in providing mobile desalination units to Cyprus, and the signing of a strategic agreement.
Discussions also focused on future cooperation through a joint Cyprus – UAE action plan for 2026 – 2030, covering sectors such as trade, investment, energy, defence, shipping, infrastructure, tourism, culture and education.
Particular emphasis was placed on energy cooperation and collaboration in defence and security, while the two sides also exchanged views on connectivity initiatives linking India, the Middle East and Europe under the IMEC framework.
Letymbiotis said the visit confirms that bilateral relations are entering a new phase, with a stronger focus on concrete outcomes, joint initiatives and broader regional objectives.
“In times of crisis, the quality of bilateral relations is judged not only by declarations, but by consistency, immediacy and reliability of actions,” he said.
He added that Cyprus will continue efforts to strengthen ties with the UAE, deepen cooperation between the EU and countries in the region, and promote stability, security and peace.
Meanwhile, Cyprus, Greece and Jordan on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation and addressing regional challenges, following the conclusion of their fifth trilateral summit in Amman.
In a joint declaration issued after the meeting, President Nikos Christodoulides, King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis highlighted the need to strengthen coordination in the face of what they described as a rapidly evolving international and regional landscape.
A Limassol court on Thursday adjourned proceedings in the case of a private criminal prosecution concerning the death of Thanasis Nicolaou, a national guardsman found dead under the Alassa bridge near Limassol in September 2005.
The next hearing has been scheduled for May 14.
Nicolaou’s family has filed a private criminal prosecution against five defendants, following earlier decisions by the state not to pursue indictments.
The defendants include a former state pathologist and senior police officials, facing a total of 38 counts connected to alleged misconduct.
They face charges including conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, neglect of official duty, and interference with judicial proceedings in relation to the handling of the death.
The defendants have yet to enter a plea.
In court on Thursday, the prosecution presented an amended charge sheet, following earlier objections by the defendants’ attorneys that some of the indictments were vague and non-specific.
The defence requested time to review the revised document.
The judge granted the request, but said that by May 14 when the court reconvenes the defence must definitively state whether they accept the charge sheet or not. If they do, the judge instructed, they must also be ready to make their opening arguments.
The judge expressed frustration at the delays, given that the trial proceedings had begun in December.
The labour ministry’s inspectors identified four undeclared employees in the education sector and nine in retail businesses, imposing fines totalling €25,000.
In the education sector, inspectors carried out checks at 63 premises, identifying 40 employers and 23 self-employed individuals among a total workforce of 211 people, made up of 25 men and 186 women.
Of those employed, 153 were Greek Cypriots, 40 were EU citizens and 18 were third-country nationals.
Four undeclared salaried employees were identified, leading to the issuance of two administrative fines amounting to €16,500.
Meanwhile, in retail businesses, inspectors checked 202 premises and identified 188 employers and 14 self-employed individuals among a total workforce of 617 employees, including 205 men and 412 women.
Of those workers, 405 were Greek Cypriots, 108 EU citizens, one Turkish Cypriot and 103 third-country nationals.
Nine undeclared employees were found in the sector, with eight administrative fines issued amounting to €8,500.
The inspection service said that under existing legislation, employers face an administrative fine of €1,000 for each undeclared employee for the month in which the violation is detected, increasing by €500 for each additional month over a six-month period.
For repeat offences within two years, the fine rises to €2,000 for a second violation and €3,000 for a third and subsequent offences.
An anonymous or named complaint about undeclared work or employment breaches can be made via the Cyprus-wide hotline 77778577.
In a judgment on Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found in favour of a Cypriot judge who had complained he had been arbitrarily refused promotion to the post of district court president.
The case concerns Costas Constantinou, a senior district court judge. He had lodged his complaint with the ECtHR in October 2023.
Having reviewed the case, the European court ruled that the applicant’s right to a fair hearing – Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights – had been violated.
Constantinou alleged lack of judicial review available to him in respect of a decision refusing to promote him to the post of district court president.
He complained that he had no access to a court to challenge the allegedly arbitrary decision of the transitional Supreme Council of Judicature (SCJ) and that the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) failed to act as an impartial tribunal, as the SCC judges who dismissed his complaint were, in their majority, the same judges who decided, as members of the transitional SCJ, not to promote him.
In its ruling, the ECtHR found that the applicant was in fact denied judicial review in the Cypriot courts, and awarded him €13,887 for legal costs and expenses, to be paid by the Cypriot state.
The ECtHR held that the finding of a violation constituted in itself sufficient just satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage sustained by Constantinou.
Non-pecuniary damages are monetary awards for intangible, non-monetary losses in personal injury cases, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress.
Pecuniary damages are quantifiable, monetary losses resulting from an injury or incident, such as medical bills, lost wages, and property repair costs.
Constantinou had also sought €15,000 in non-pecuniary damage as well as €18,472 in pecuniary damage, representing the difference between his salary as district court judge and the salary that he would have received as district court president had he been promoted on July 1, 2023.
The ECtHR did not award him either pecuniary or non-pecuniary damages.
According to a press release issued by the law firm representing Constantinou, the ruling is significant as it constitutes the first ECtHR judgment concerning the court system in Cyprus following the judicial reforms.
In 2022 Cyprus enacted major judicial reforms establishing a new Supreme Constitutional Court and a Court of Appeal, both separate from the already existing Supreme Court. Those reforms also restructured the Supreme Council of Judicature, expanding its membership to include legal professionals as non-voting participants and granting it authority over matters concerning the careers of judges, such as appointments and promotions.
Initially set to begin in January 2023, the implementation of the reforms was postponed until July 2023.
The Nicosia district court will pass sentence on May 15 for two of 11 defendants charged with dereliction of duty in the trial into the suicide of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou in September 2019.
The two are the fifth and seventh defendants, who changed their pleas to guilty – a social services officer who admitted to three charges and a welfare services officer who admitted to one.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the court rejected an objection by one of the defendants regarding multiple indictments.
Defence lawyer Constantinos Nicolaides argued that eight charges against the fourth defendant related to neglect of duty and were therefore repetitive, differing only in the time periods during which the alleged offences took place.
He also argued that the number of indictments created “confusion” and deprived his client of an effective and fair trial.
Prosecutor Eleni Constantinou said the matter was procedural and that the charges would simply be read out.
Judge Pavlos Agapitos dismissed the objection, ruling that multiple charges for the same offence do not invalidate proceedings when they relate to separate incidents.
Following the interim ruling, the trial continued with the cross-examination of criminal investigator Andreas Andreou, who had been appointed on January 10, 2020.
Proceedings will resume at 11am on May 15, while sentencing for the two defendants who pleaded guilty will be delivered at 9.30am by Judge Maria Stylianou.
The case centres on the suicide of Stylianos in September 2019, which prompted an investigation into alleged abuse within the family and possible institutional failures.
A total of 218 charges have been brought against 11 defendants, including the boy’s parents and nine social welfare officials, the latter facing dereliction of duty charges.
The father faces charges relating to alleged physical and psychological abuse, including “cruel and inhumane treatment”, while the mother is accused of failing to report known violence.
A police officer is being tried separately.
Antonella Lydia Mantovani was on Thursday re-elected as the Latin Cypriot community’s non-voting representative in parliament.
She was the sole candidate to have registered for the seat on Wednesday, and with 24 hours having passed after the closing of nominations and no objections to her candidacy having been filed, she was proclaimed as the election’s winner unopposed.
The 54-year-old was first elected to the role in 2016 and will now serve in the role for a third five-year term.
The seat will be up for re-election in 2031.
Vartkes Mahdessian was on Thursday re-elected as the Armenian Cypriot community’s non-voting representative in parliament.
He was the sole candidate to have registered for the seat on Wednesday, and with 24 hours having passed after the closing of nominations and no objections to his candidacy having been filed, he was proclaimed as the election’s winner unopposed.
The 76-year-old was first elected to the role in 2006 and will now serve in the role for a fifth five-year term.
The seat will be up for re-election in 2031.
Gender Equality Commissioner Josie Christodoulou has expressed concern over the low level of female participation in candidate lists for the upcoming 2026 parliamentary elections, noting that women remain significantly underrepresented.
In a statement issued on the occasion of the submission of candidacies, the commissioner said that while women make up 50 per cent of the population, their representation on electoral ballots stands at just 29.7 per cent.
The figure, she said, once again highlights the persistent gap in equal participation of women in political life.
The commissioner stressed that balanced representation in the House of Representatives is essential to ensure legislation reflects the real needs of society as a whole.
She added that, in recent contacts with party leaders and representatives, held together with women’s organisations within the National Machinery for Women’s Rights, the need for concrete measures to support and encourage women’s participation in politics was underlined, particularly in winnable positions on party lists.
Despite these efforts, she said, current candidate figures still fall short of society’s expectations, with women continuing to be underrepresented.
The commissioner expressed hope that the final outcome of the elections would improve the situation, leading to increased female representation in the new parliament and a legislature that more accurately reflects the composition and needs of society.
“Equality between women and men is not a choice – it is a social imperative,” she said, adding that achieving it is a shared responsibility.
The agriculture ministry and farmers’ unions on Thursday reached an agreement regarding the amount of compensation to be paid to farmers whose livestock are culled as a result of the ongoing outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
The government will now pay farmers between €43 and €178 per regular sheep and goat and between €47 and €420 per sheep and goat which is deemed to be of “high genetic value”.
Additionally, the government will now pay farmers between €150 and €1,500 per regular cow culled, with this figure rising to up to €2,500 for exceptional cattle.
The figures were announced following a meeting of the ad hoc committee formed by the government with the aim of stemming the disease’s spread, with Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou saying after the meeting that “beyond the veterinary dimension, we must not forget that this crisis affects people in the livestock industry first and foremost”.
“It is tragic to lose in an instant the livestock which constitutes the work of a lifetime,” she said, before adding that as such, the government is now offering “substantial support for livestock farmers”.
She added that she will now put forward a new proposal to cabinet in the coming days for the government to give the already mandated advance payment to all impacted farmers, regardless of the number of animals on their farms, so as to be able to “expedite payments”.
Additionally, she said that the agreement provides for higher payouts than those provided for by the European Union’s reference prices, saying that “European reference prices are much lower” and that “the Republic of Cyprus consciously chooses to support livestock farmers with compensation up to 200 per cent higher than European levels”.
The prices to which she was referring were the European Commission’s maximum values on which it will agree to co-finance compensation for culled animals, which sit at €1,000 per cow and €140 per sheep.
In such cases, the commission pays 30 per cent of the compensation for the animal, though it remains unclear whether the commission will continue to do this if a member state then offers to pay more than those maximum figures.
An agriculture ministry spokesperson told the Cyprus Mail that the government’s position is that the commission will pay up to €300 per cow and up to €42 per sheep – 30 per cent of its own ceilings. The Cyprus Mail has contacted the European Commission for clarification.
Panayiotou also said that payments will begin next week, and that livestock farmers who intend to return to the profession after having their animals culled “will receive income loss support for at least 12 months, until their units fully return to production”.
“This will take into account labour, fixed costs, social insurance, financial obligations, and so on, so that it is fair and based on the real needs of the livestock farmers,” she said.
She added that farmers who farm animals of “high genetic value” will be subject to a “state support plan” to ensure their future, with this plan set to be based on the committee’s findings.
“Financial support will be determined based on the genetic value, productivity, age, and so on, of the animal, and a maximum value will be set per animal category. In cases where this amount exceeds the amount of compensation that the livestock farmers will have received for the killings, the state will subsidise the difference,” he said.
She later said that “a state official will be appointed for each livestock farmer to support and guide the reconstruction of their unit”, with the government later clarifying that these officials will only be appointed to affected units, thus requiring around 110 officials so far.
The cost of the measures is expected to exceed €35 million.
Disy will support any action that contributes to cheaper electricity, the party’s president Annita Demetriou said on Thursday, while meeting the Electricity Authority’s (EAC) board of directors and trade unions.
Employee strikes and other developments concerning the energy sector were discussed at the meeting and Demetriou admitted that there had been delays in drafting a final plan that would address the challenges faced.
The strikes, she added, were a result of the absence of a clear strategy.
Disy, Demetriou said, has submitted its own proposals to bring the cost of electricity down and secure adequate energy.
Police on Thursday announced the dismantling of a criminal ring allegedly involved in producing forged tenancy agreements and supplying them to third parties, following the arrest of nine people.
According to police, the suspects are alleged to have prepared fake rental agreements using forged stamps and supplied them to individuals of the same nationality, who then submitted the documents along with other paperwork to the Famagusta aliens and immigration service in an effort to secure registration as students in Cyprus.
The nine arrests were made between April 17 and April 28, 2026.
Police said the investigation has now been completed and the case was filed before the Famagusta district court on April 28.
The court ordered that all nine suspects remain in custody until May 15, when they are due to reappear before the court.
Dietary habits are decisive for people’s health, affecting growth, disease prevention and quality of life, for today’s generations and those to come, Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference to mark Cyprus’ Nutrition Day, Charalambides said his ministry was focused on promoting policies and actions that encourage a healthy diet.
“Adopting healthy ideals early in life contributes to forming positive behaviour with long term effects, while on the contrary consuming overprocessed food and a low intake of nutritional ingredients is linked to a higher risk of chronic disease and a significant burden on public health and health systems,” he pointed out.
The health ministry, he added, was collaborating with services to promote healthy dietary habits and enhance public health.
National strategies have already been developed to address diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which include actions to prevent obesity, promote healthy living and enhance awareness.
“Focusing on the prevention of chronic disease from a young age, the health ministry services are implementing annual checks in schools and organising awareness actions for students regarding healthy eating and exercise,” Charalambides said.
A guidebook is also being prepared for parents and guardians for managing children’s weight.
European best practices are taken into account when preparing actions, which the minister said necessitated the involvement of the state, the food industry, professional organisations and the social partners.
In the framework of this year’s nutrition day, the health ministry urges the public to discover the power of nutrition as a means to improve health and wellbeing.
“At the health ministry, we remain dedicated to promoting policies and actions that promote a healthy diet and physical activity, aiming at a healthier and more resilient society,” the minister added.
Two men have been arrested after police found a stolen vehicle and suspected stolen goods, the police said on Thursday.
The suspects, aged 65 and 35, were detained after officers acted on information and searched a property belonging to the older man.
Police said a car reported stolen was located inside the premises.
Officers also found an electric bicycle, generators, batteries, cables, tree trimmers and other tools believed to be stolen.
The 65-year-old was arrested on the spot for flagrant offences.
The 35-year-old was also arrested after being found during the search at the same property.
Both suspects were taken into custody and appeared before court.
A five-day remand order was issued for the 65-year-old, while the 35-year-old was remanded for two days.
The multi-storey Ledra–Ariadne car park in central Nicosia will be fully renovated following the signing of upgrade contracts, the municipality announced on Thursday.
This project is a key part of the broader plan to enhance the capital’s walled city area.
The facility has seven levels, including two underground, a ground floor and three above-ground levels. It provides 158 parking spaces, including nine designed for people with disabilities.
The project covers extensive internal and technical upgrades.
These include a new lighting system, improved ventilation, a modern fire safety system and the installation of solar panels.
A parking management system will be added, along with refurbished toilets, new flooring, interior painting and updated road markings.
The work will take 10 months and be done in three phases to minimise disruption. During each phase, three levels will close for construction while the others remain open.
Towards the end, the ground floor will close for about six weeks to complete final works.
The municipality stated that this phased approach aims to keep the car park operational throughout the project and lessen public inconvenience.
Officials noted that the upgrade is part of a wider strategy to enhance accessibility, functionality and appearance in the historic city centre.
We will deprecate the following model across all GitHub Copilot experiences (including Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions) on 6/1/2026:
| Model | Deprecation date | Suggested alternative |
|---|---|---|
| GPT-4.1 | 2026-06-01 | GPT-5.5 |
Please update your workflows and integrations to use supported models before these dates. Copilot Enterprise administrators may need to enable access to alternative models through their model policies in Copilot settings. As an administrator, you can verify availability by checking your individual Copilot settings and confirming that the policy is enabled for the specific model. Once enabled, you’ll see the model in the Copilot Chat model selector in VS Code and on github.com. No action is required to remove the models once they have been deprecated.
GitHub Enterprise customers with questions or concerns are encouraged to reach out to their account manager for further assistance.
To learn more about the models available in Copilot, see our documentation on models and get started with Copilot today.
Join the GitHub Community to share your feedback.
The post Upcoming deprecation of GPT-4.1 appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
We have deprecated the following model across all GitHub Copilot experiences (including Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions) on May 6, 2026.
| Model | Deprecation date | Suggested alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Sonnet 4 | 2026-05-06 | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
Please update your workflows and integrations to use supported models. Copilot Enterprise administrators may need to enable access to alternative models through their model policies in Copilot settings. As an administrator, you can verify availability by checking your individual Copilot settings and confirming that the policy is enabled for the specific model. Once enabled, you’ll see the model in the Copilot Chat model selector in VS Code and on github.com. No action is required to remove the deprecated models.
GitHub Enterprise customers with questions or concerns are encouraged to reach out to their account manager for further assistance.
To learn more about the models available in Copilot, see our documentation on models and get started with Copilot today.
Join the GitHub Community to share your feedback.
The post Claude Sonnet 4 deprecated appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Enterprise Live Migrations (ELM) is now available in public preview. ELM gives enterprise administrators a new way to migrate repositories from GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES) to GitHub Enterprise Cloud with data residency, without the extended code freezes and business disruption that come with traditional migrations. Key features of ELM to consider when selecting a tool for your next repository migration are:
Built for the largest monorepos: ELM was purpose-built to handle the repositories that push existing tooling to its limits (i.e., massive monorepos with deep git history, large volumes of issues and pull requests, and constant activity around the clock). Resource-level progress tracking surfaces failures before cutover, so you can make an informed decision about when to proceed.
Use ELM alongside GitHub Enterprise Importer: ELM complements GEI, giving you flexibility to choose the right tool for each repository based on its size, shape, and activity. Use GEI for straightforward migrations where brief downtime is acceptable, and ELM for the repositories that need a zero-disruption approach. Run them concurrently as part of the same migration strategy.
ELM runs as a service on your GHES appliance, driven by the elm CLI. ELM is delivered as part of GHES versions 3.17.14+, 3.18.8+, 3.19.5+, and 3.20.2+. This release ships with the most recent GHES patch releases.
To get started, check out the Enterprise Live Migrations documentation. Have feedback or questions? Join our community discussion.
The post Enterprise Live Migrations is now in public preview appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Rubber Duck, the cross-family review agent in GitHub Copilot CLI, is now available using a Claude-powered critic agent when your session is using a GPT model. For sessions using Claude as their orchestrator, we’ve upgraded the GPT model used to seek a second opinion.
## What’s new
/experimental is enabled, Copilot will dispatch a Claude-powered Rubber Duck agent to provide a second opinion. The same second-opinion benefits (architectural catches, subtle bugs, and cross-file conflicts) now apply to GPT-driven sessions.To try it, run copilot and ensure /experimental on is toggled.
To learn more about how Rubber Duck combines model families to improve Copilot CLI’s performance, read our recent blog post.
The post Rubber Duck in GitHub Copilot CLI now supports more models appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
GitHub repository rulesets now support two frequently requested features: adding individual users as bypass actors and renaming branches covered by organization rulesets.
You can now add individual users as bypass actors on repository-level rulesets through the UI, REST API, and GraphQL. If you’ve been creating dedicated teams or roles just to grant bypass access for a single person or service account, you can now skip that step and add accounts directly.
Repository administrators can now rename a branch that’s covered by an organization or enterprise ruleset, as long as the new branch name remains within the scope of every ruleset that applied to the original name. This removes the need to involve an organization or enterprise administrator for routine renames (e.g., migrating from master to main) when the rename doesn’t change which rules apply.
Enterprise-level setting:
Organization-level setting:
To learn more, see the rulesets documentation.
The post Repository rulesets: User bypass and branch renaming appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Hey r/rust,
I just open-sourced AnamDB (v1.0), a database engine built to solve LLM hallucinations by embedding ML models directly into a Datalog reasoning engine. It lets you run probabilistic inference constrained by hard, deterministic logic rules at the kernel level.
Repo: https://github.com/jam5991/anam
Docs: https://jam5991.github.io/anam
I built it entirely in Rust using the Arrow ecosystem: - Execution: Apache DataFusion (custom PhysicalExprs for ONNX models) - Storage: Lance (columnar disk storage) - Logic: scallop-core (Datalog engine)
Since it's all Arrow under the hood, data moves from disk to GPU to Datalog engine with near zero-copy overhead. Managing an async tokio runtime alongside a Datalog engine and an ONNX C++ FFI would have been a nightmare without the borrow checker.
Take a look.. I’d love to hear your critiques
Hello, everyone. I have recently been working on implementing a code translation tool.
I built a parser based on Tree-sitter, then used Rust to translate the Tree-sitter nodes into a typed\_ast. Next, I performed some preprocessing on the typed\_ast to transform it into a High-Level Intermediate Representation (HIR), and finally, I translated the HIR into the target language.
However, I have currently run into some issues, and I feel that I may need to insert an additional semantic layer after the HIR stage. At the moment, I only need to check for the existence of self-referential types; in the future, I may need to implement features such as full type checking, symbol resolution, and the handling of import statements.
Last night, I push ai implement a simple semantic layer. I added a new semantic module to the parser; after the HIR is generated, semantic::analyze is executed to perform semantic checks. During this process, the recursive field within the HIR's struct definitions is updated to indicate whether a given field is a self-referential type.
rust // parser/src/hir/spec.rs let mut spec = Specification(definitions); semantic::analyze(&mut spec); spec
diff // parser/src/hir/struct_dcl.rs pub ident: Vec<Declarator>, pub default: Option<Default>, pub field_id: Option<u32>, + pub recursive: bool,
However, I don't know if this is a best practice.
I have also implemented a Language Server based on Tree-sitter. I think that, in the future, this server could directly leverage the semantic layer to provide more accurate type checking and similar functionalities.
I am not particularly familiar with this specific area; could anyone offer some advice or suggestions?
Hey all,
I just released the first version of push-packet today:
https://github.com/ct-b/push-packet
https://docs.rs/push-packet/latest/push_packet/
I've been using Rust for a few years for work, but never really had time to do much open source stuff. So I am excited to release something.
push-packet is a high-level library for copying and routing packets to userspace, and dropping packets, based on a simple rules system. For example, here is some minimal code I set up to test the library as distributed with default features:
use push_packet::{ Tap, rules::{Action, Rule}, }; fn main() -> Result<(), push_packet::Error> { let mut tap = Tap::builder("eth0") .rule(Rule::source_cidr("0.0.0.0/0").action(Action::COPY_ALL)) .build()?; let mut rx = tap.copy_receiver()?; let mut total = 0; while let Ok(event) = rx.recv() { total += event.packet_len(); if total > 100 { break; } } println!("Got {} bytes", total); Ok(()) } Then to run: sudo -E cargo run --release It needs sudo for the kernel to load the eBPF program.
This copies all ingress from the `eth0` network interface and quits when it has received more than 100 bytes. A more real-world setup can be found in the `histogram` example, which includes rules based on ip version and protocol, as well as dynamic rules added and removed at runtime.
This is based on aya and xdpilone. It uses eBPF XDP programs to intercept traffic before it goes through the kernel's networking stack. If you are not familiar with eBPF- it's essentially a hook point, such that the kernel runs small JIT'd bytecode programs in a privileged context, which allows for high performance.
As shown in the small example, the main entrypoint is a Tap, which is used to tap into a network interface. A Tap contains a filter, which tracks rules and issues RuleIds, and an Engine, which specifies the core eBPF program that applies the rules, and initializes/stores maps as necessary.
Rules are simply an Action (copy, drop, route, or pass), coupled with at least one constraint: source_cidr (or single ip), destination_cidr, ports, protocol, etc.
Copying means the bytes are copied to userspace, and has an optional take parameter that allows you to specify how many bytes to copy. So it can be used for headers. Internally this uses a BPF Ring Buffer which preserves packet order.
Route uses an AF_XDP socket, to actually divert traffic to userspace, and allows you to send it back (tap.route_channel() to get tx and rx). On supported hardware, this can be zero copy. The kernel side is given a list of memory addresses it can use to read packet data from the NIC into, and then sends the memory address via another ring, so we can read from it.
My immediate use cases for this were testing route with one IP, or simple traffic monitors. So right now there is only one engine, the LinearEngine, which just checks rules in order. I made this a swappable trait because I think that different use-cases might want a Trie or bit vector, or something more complicated. So right now, this is good for small rule sets (like 1-10). I think the next obvious one is a TrieEngine.
Both copy and route rx's return some Event<'a> that borrows into the underlying buffer- it's important to discard quickly or call .into_owned(), which implicitly drops the borrowed event.
I initially got into this stuff because I wanted to make a kernel networking-stack bypass for low-latency work. For cases where you want to have one IP routed to userspace on a dedicated thread, with a pinned core. Without DPDK taking the whole NIC, or a specialized NIC. I started setting up the rules system, and thought it would be fun to incorporate copy semantics, because it would be pretty easy and allow me to write simple traffic analysis tools.
If you don't have experience with eBPF/aya, the point of this is to provide a simple entry point into eBPF networking stuff, with clean ergonomics. For example the rule constraint inputs are pretty lax (port or ranges work, CIDRs and single IPs work, same with interface name or ifindex). The point is to be able to inspect packets in minutes of setup.
If you have experience already, the point is to be a flexible foundation, that doesn't require dealing with the verifier, or setting up AF_XDP internals. The goal is to support a couple more engines tuned to different applications, so it's flexible enough for many use cases without writing BPF code.
This is examples/histogram, a simple histogram of bytes transferred over a given time window (10s)
build-ebpf feature.I use LLMs as required for client work. I used some for learning, and for writing parts of the histogram example, and the integration test setup (veth harness). I hand-wrote the core parts of the library, as part of this is a learning process for me, and I wanted it to be ergonomic and well-crafted, to the best of my abilities.
I've been working on Bundlebase which tries to bring the Docker workflow to data--where you are able to collect up related data files into a single, standardized interface. And then be able to share and remix them in a versioned and stable manner. While also not requiring any complex or external infrastructure.
The data files can be either manually added or automatically pulled in, transformed, and cleaned in a way that automatically stores the history. The bundles can be created and read with either a native Python API or SQL through the CLI or any Arrow Flight client. Basically letting you expose your raw data file(s) into something that looks and acts like a database table without needing additional infrastructure or requirements on the tech stack consuming it.
It is Apache licensed, uses Datafusion as the query engine, with Python bindings on top of the Rust core and CLI
Burn 0.21.0 brings 4 months of improvements that make the framework significantly faster and more reliable across the board. The gains span distributed workflows for training large models all the way down to small-model inference, where the reduced framework overhead becomes especially noticeable.
We rethought our distributed computing stack around differentiable collective operations. Kernel selection is now more reliable thanks to better autotuning and a new validation layer, and a project-level burn.toml file lets you tweak those internals (and many others) without recompiling. A reworked device handle reduces framework overhead, and a new burn-dispatch crate simplifies backend selection while paving the way for faster compile times. The release also ships burn-flex, a lightweight eager CPU backend for WebAssembly and embedded targets that replaces burn-ndarray. Finally, we added early off-policy reinforcement learning support and a fresh round of kernel work on GEMV, top-k, and FFT. The post highlights the headline changes, the release includes many bug fixes and other changes, all listed in the release notes.
For more details about the release, don't hesitate to read the post on burn.dev where we highlight the main changes of this release along with the migration guide.
An experimental Rust-to-CUDA compiler directly to PTX.
Allows writing CUDA kernels directly in Rust with a custom codegen backend (no other tools needed).
#[kernel] fn vecadd(a: &[f32], b: &[f32], mut c: DisjointSlice<f32>) { let idx = thread::index_1d(); if let Some(c_elem) = c.get_mut(idx) { *c_elem = a[idx.get()] + b[idx.get()]; } } I like to keep Cargo projects as bloat-free as possible by finding out if I can disable default features and pick the minimum subset needed for every dependency.
I don't think there exists any tool, similar to cargo-machete for finding unnecessary dependencies, but that finds unnecessary features of dependencies. Am I mistaken?
Short long story: I am a computer science undergraduate that knows C++ in the educational level.
And I don't really have a lot of time available in my life rn...
Btw, I learned C++, Python and Pascal by osmosis. Just started using. But this isn't that easy with Rust.
I want to learn Rust for my business, as a plan B if my business goes wrong, and for hobbist programming.
Back when I was an undergrad, I had just learned C and wanted to learn C++ next. But I never really continued with it because of the small differences between them that kept annoying me. Things like taking input and printing output felt different for no reason to me, especially when C code could still work in C++. I didn’t dislike C++, I just couldn’t get comfortable with it at that time.
Later, after taking a compiler design course, I started getting interested in low-level systems and how things work underneath. While browsing around, I came across Rust and also read about why the language was created. That made me curious enough to try it.
I also have a strange habit of judging languages by how their hello world program looks. If it feels simple and clean, I usually end up exploring the language more seriously. Rust somehow gave me that feeling.
After learning it for a while, I started liking concepts like shadowing, ownership, and borrowing. They felt new at first, but slowly they changed the way I thought about writing programs and handling memory.
Now I want to build a proper Rust project that I can actually use often instead of making something that I forget about after a few days.
Hi r/rust, I've been building servo-fetch a Rust library + CLI that embeds the Servo browser engine directly as a crate dependency. It fetches a URL, runs JS with SpiderMonkey, computes CSS layout, and extracts clean Markdown — all in-process, no Chrome, no Docker, no CDP. Most AI-agent web-fetch stacks wrap headless Chrome through Playwright and pay for a ~300 MB runtime and a separate process. The project is still early-stage (v0.8.1, API will shift before 1.0). Feedback, issues, and contributions are very welcome! Repo: https://github.com/konippi/servo-fetch
A SwissTable hash map with direct SSE2 SIMD — works on stable Rust, support custom alloc,build_hasher and can keys can be embedded to value
PR's are welcome,current direct intrinsics is only available for x86_64
| Benchmark | probemap | hb+fxhash | hb+foldhash | vs hb+fxhash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| insert (random) | 6.03 µs | 6.51 µs | 6.89 µs | -7% |
| insert (serial) | 4.55 µs | 5.90 µs | 6.64 µs | -23% |
| grow_insert | 19.8 µs | 21.7 µs | 27.3 µs | -9% |
| lookup (random) | 2.83 µs | 4.11 µs | 4.47 µs | -31% |
| lookup (serial) | 2.73 µs | 4.11 µs | 4.58 µs | -34% |
| lookup_fail | 2.71 µs | 3.17 µs | 3.54 µs | -15% |
| insert_erase | 10.0 µs | 15.4 µs | 16.0 µs | -35% |
| iter | 1.21 µs | 1.25 µs | 1.25 µs | -3% |
| clone | 1.19 µs | 1.25 µs | 1.29 µs | -5% |
Hello Rustaceans!
It's been a while since I last posted here about Par.
Par is an experimental programming language, implemented fully in Rust (including the custom VM), that uses linear types. Those are similar to Rust's affine type system, but unlike Rust values, linear types cannot be arbitrarily dropped.
Par is not about using linear types for efficiency, and it is not a systems language. It is about exploiting linear types for concurrency as session types. Under the hood, Par is fundamentally a process language, in the spirit of pi-calculus, with expression syntax layered on top to make it usable for practical programming.
The big news is that Par has a new home at https://par.run.
Aside from being a cute website, it hosts: - The Book - The standard library docs - The interactive Playground
The browser Playground is a Rust egui app compiled to WASM, with the language compiler and runtime included.
Since the last time I posted, there's been so many additions to the language, for example: - Packages & Modules (including an MVP package manager) - Infix arithmetic and comparison operators - Pipes - Server & Client nondeterminism
Par's goal is to take decades of theory around session types and classical linear logic, and try to bring it out of the papers into something people can actually program with. At the same time, it is not trying to be maximally theoretical: there are no dependent types, for instance. It is trying to be usable. The paradigm is quite different from Rust, and the syntax may look unfamiliar for a while, but it's a fun rabbit hole.
Let me know what you think!
Hi
Is there a cargo tool to check at CODING/COMPILE TIME where my code is going to do a heap allocation
Something like
- "on line 314, function is allocating a vector"
- "on line 21, you are using a box"
Does such a tool exists ?
Thanks
Monocurl is a programmatic animation language and editor fully written in rust (built with the gpui framework). It's fully interactive which makes it easier to pick up if you're a beginner.
The project is open source and you can download it at monocurl.github.io . Would appreciate to hear any feedback!
When I was starting out in the world of programming, I came across many programming languages, each with its own purpose in many cases. My first contact was with C#, and I didn't like it at all, perhaps because of the way I was learning it. Then I migrated to C, and then I discovered Python, and it was love at first sight. I really liked Python; I said it was the best programming language. Only later did I migrate to C++ because I wanted to make games, mainly a game engine. But this year I discovered this beauty of computing, Rust. I'm really enjoying this language, even though I don't understand many concepts, but it's incredible. I never thought I would love another language like Python and C++. Now it's part of my trio, and I hope to learn even more of all three, not for money or work, but for the love of programming, what I call the art of programming.
[FIXED, my clock was changed and cargo was trying to read from a "future" build. `cargo clean` fixed it immediately.]
so, i'm a supernoob with rust, and i am learning from a guide i found on youtube that follows the official book. so please forgive me if this is a stupid question (this feels infuriatingly stupid.)
`cargo run` *builds and runs* the program that i coded. but when i restart windows10, `cargo run` just *forgets* how to build, and runs with the old code. (see image 1)
it doesn't run the "main.exe" as i expected, as i deleted it, and it just gives me the same old results.
going directly into /src and running `cargo build` doesn't work either.
i tested this after making a new project with `cargo init`, copypasting my own code, and running `cargo run` inside the new directory, and it works just fine. so i reset my PC, and the same thing happens. test confirmed. cargo just forgets how to build when i run the `cargo run` command.
magically, strangely, the second project just began working again, and idek what i did to fix it aside from taking a screenshot. (can't post image 2 i guess)
am i going insane? is my rust installation broken? why can't `cargo run` build after a PC restart? is windows playing with me? i feel like rust is pointing at me and laughing at this point, with how it just stops working, and then starts working again when it wants.
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/trbi1zj0uqzg1.gif){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/77qzacofrpzg1.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/silcibka6nzg1.png){kind=link}