Huginn Daily

Thursday, August 13, 2026

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• New MPs to roll sleeves up come September

  The new parliament that emerged from May’s elections has a demanding legislative agenda ahead of it when the session reopens at the beginning of September, with important bills and proposed legislation to be discussed and decided on.

  These include judicial reforms, strengthening the anti-corruption authority, changes to the monetary system, promoting renewable energy sources, new legislation on immigration and issues that directly impact the public, such as the protection of tenants from excessive increases in rent.

  The new MPs will also be dealing with a backlog of proposals from the previous parliament, such as the powers of the attorney-general, penitentiary system reforms, university clinics, the employment of nurses from third countries and the purchase of property by foreigners.

  On judicial reforms, a package of bills was tabled on June 17, regulating fundamental aspects of justice, including the powers of the chief registrar and the operation of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Constitutional Court.

  Amendments are also proposed for the ombudsman’s powers, particularly to exclude his authority over courts under the two supreme courts.

  Alma has submitted two proposals for legislation to strengthen the powers of the anti-corruption authority, so that it will be able to authorise criminal investigations instead of only submitting a report to the attorney-general.

  On June 25, Disy tabled a proposal for the same authority aiming at strengthening its institutional and operational framework.

  As regards the financial sector, the finance ministry submitted a series of bills on July 9 concerning the monitoring and operation of banks, macroprudential supervision, the capital adequacy of investment firms, and supervising investment services and regulated markets.

  Bills concerning the civil service were also tabled on July 9, with provisions concerning interdepartmental promotions and the evaluation of candidates for promotion and appointment.

  The new parliament will also be discussing energy policy through a bill to promote renewable energy sources, which will harmonise Cypriot legislation with the EU’s acquis communautaire.

  One of the pending bills is extending the term of the deputy minister for European affairs until December 31, after the plenum on July 9 threw out the request for it to be discussed urgently.

  Social issues

  Proposals with an immediate social impact with also be discussed, including the one tabled by Alma for the protection of tenants from excessive rent increases. The proposal provides for a proportionate framework of protection, without affecting existing contracts until they expire.

  Disy MPs Andreas Constantinou and Michalis Koukounis also submitted a proposal for the faster nationalisation of athletes who represent of have represented Cyprus in European or international competitions, which would see evaluation procedures being concluded within three months.

  Also from Disy, Fotini Tsirides proposed shortening deadlines for the examination of objections to taxation and for submitting a report to the tax council in the event of a hierarchical appeal.

  Still on taxes, Elam proposed the taxation of capital gains, particularly to correct distortions concerning the deadline for completing the construction of a building in the context of exchanging property.

  On migration, the interior ministry on July 14 tabled an amendment to the law with the aim of bringing Cypriot legislation in line with the European framework regarding the return of third country nationals who are illegally residing in member states.

  Also on July 14, an amendment to the street and building law was submitted so public health and safety risks from dangerous buildings would be more effectively addressed, particularly in the historical centres of major municipalities.

  Tsirides furthermore proposed the creation of a national library system.

  Pending issues

  Important issues pending from the previous parliament include a 38-bill package concerning the powers of the attorney-general, as well as the reform of the penitentiary system.

  In the health sector, the new MPs will be dealing with legislation concerning nursing and midwifery, which has been linked to the ability to hire Greek-speaking nurses from third countries and the framework for university clinics and hospitals, where differences had been voiced, particularly concerning the involvement of private hospitals.

  Reforms are also to be discussed concerning state health services Okypy, so that patients can be represented on the board of directors. Other issues pending have to do with biomedical laboratories, biobanks, blood donation, establishing the profession of nutritionists, and other professional and health regulations.

  Another issue is the loss of use fund for the properties belonging to individuals displaced during the 1974 Turkish invasion. The previous parliament had not managed to bridge the gap concerning the manner in which the owners would be supported.

  The purchase of property by foreigners is another pending issue, along with the framework for jointly owned buildings.

  Social policy issues still pending are the child allowance, single-parent families, the minimum guaranteed income and unemployment benefits.

  Larger reforms, including pensions and collective agreements, have yet to be tabled as complete bills.

• Woman scammed out of €10,000 in online loan fraud

  Police have issued a warning over a new online loan scam targeting the public through social media advertisements, after a woman lost €10,000 to fraudsters.

  Police said that the woman followed an electronic link that contained the advertising post which led to a website, where she entered her personal details including her phone number.

  The woman was then contacted by unknown individuals on July 24, who invited her to proceed with the transfer of €10,000 to secure the loan. The suspects sent the woman a QR-code through which they urged her to complete the online transfer.

  After following the instructions and transferring the money online, the woman suspected that she had been defrauded and filed a complaint with the police.

  Investigations into the case are ongoing.

• Yellow weather warning issued for Thursday

  The met department has issued a yellow weather warning for extreme heat as temperatures are expected rise above 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

  According to the department, the warning will be in effect from 2pm to 4.30pm.

• Paphos animal shelter to be completed within 18 months

  A total of €250,000 will be allocated for the creation of a modern animal shelter in Paphos, which is scheduled to be completed within 18 months, animal welfare commissioner Elias Myrianthous said on Wednesday.

  Speaking after a meeting with acting Paphos mayor Angelos Onesiforos, Myrianthous said that efforts would be made to find a solution for the most appropriate location for the shelter to provide a “definitive solution” to the problem of managing stray animals in the area.

  Myrianthous said that despite the existing infrastructure in the four municipalities of the province, the care for stray animals had up until now relied largely on private and mainly voluntary initiatives, as the former was insufficient to effectively address the problem.

  A state-owned plot of land in the Anarita community was initially selected as a possible site for the provincial shelter. However, this decision was met with strong opposition from the Paphos community union and the local authority.

  According to Myrianthous, the present endeavours are centred on eliminating possible hurdles so that the initiative can advance as promptly as possible, whilst he also left open the possibility of finding an alternative location for the creation of the shelter.

  Onesiforou acknowledged the seriousness of the problem, but expressed hope that it could be overcome through cooperation from all parties involved.

• Suspects in Kornos forest fire case to appear before court in October

  The two individuals suspected of attempted arson in the Kornos forest earlier this month are scheduled to appear before the Larnaca criminal court in a trial in October, the Larnaca district court ruled on Wednesday.

  The 28-year-old woman and the 26-year-old had been arrested as part of the police operation that was launched after a fire broke out in the Kornos forest on the evening of  August 2.

  Residents driving near the forest noticed the fire and saw two people leaving the scene. They proceeded to extinguish the fire before it could spread further.

  As part of the investigation, the police secured testimony and subsequently issued an arrest warrant against the two suspects.

• Cypriot novelist’s thriller ranks among top 50 of century

  Greek Cypriot author Alex Michaelides’ debut novel The Silent Patient has been ranked among the 50 best thrillers of the 21st century, according to a list published by The New York Times Book Review.

  The novel placed 36th in the ranking, which was compiled after crime fiction writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers were invited to select their 10 favourite thrillers published since 2000.

  Published in 2019, The Silent Patient centres on Alicia Berenson, a successful painter who is convicted of killing her husband and subsequently stops speaking.

  The story follows forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber, who becomes determined to discover why Alicia has remained silent and what happened on the night of her husband’s death.

  The novel became an international bestseller and established Michaelides as a prominent thriller writer.

  Michaelides has received recognition in Cyprus for his literary career, having been named Man of the Year in 2023.

  The New York Times ranking brought together works from across the thriller and crime fiction genres and covered books published during the 21st century.

• Ryanair operations in Cyprus deemed safe by transport ministry

  Inspections carried out by the civil aviation department show no reason for concern regarding the safety of Ryanair flights in Cyprus, the transport ministry said on Wednesday.

  The statement came in response to a question by Limassol MP Ephraim Christou regarding the recent incident on a Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Munich, during which a passenger was sucked out of a plane window.

  Former Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said that the department of civil aviation has been informed about the incident and was monitoring its investigation by the Greek authorities and would take appropriate measures in accordance with the evaluation of safety recommendations issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

  He said that the department had conducted four on-site inspections of Ryanair aircraft within the last two years which had not revealed any reason that justified restrictions or safety concerns regarding the group’s operations in the Republic.

  Vafeades said that the specific aircraft with the registration number 9H-QEU, belongs to Malta Air Ltd, a Ryanair Group company, which holds an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the civil aviation authority of Malta, with the latter being responsible for the continuous supervision of the company.

  He added that Cyprus civil aviation authority holds the power to carry out inspections of aircrafts of foreign air carriers operating to and from Cyprus airports to verify the compliance with relevant safety requirements and could impose corrective or restrictive measures if deemed necessary.

  Regarding the possibility of increased inspections, Vafeades said that the frequency of inspections were determined based on a risk assessment and available safety data, as well as results from previous inspections, noting that additional measures would be considered in cooperation with relevant European bodies.

  Concluding his response, Vafeades emphasised the existing mechanism that ensures the Republic is immediately informed of “significant safety incidents” occurring outside the Republic but concerning air carriers operating in Cyprus. He said that this mechanism allowed for the relevant information to be evaluated within the framework of the Republic’s supervisory activity in a timely manner.

• Fourth suspect arrested in Limassol betting shop arson

  Police have arrested a fourth suspect in connection with the arson attack on a betting agency in Limassol on June 1, with a 30-year-old man taken into custody in Nicosia on Wednesday.

  The fire was reported at about 2.50am on June 1 after a person allegedly set fire to the premises.

  Residents managed to extinguish the blaze before it spread inside the agency, although the glass display was destroyed and the building’s walls were damaged.

  Two 20-year-old men were arrested on the day of the incident, while a 44-year-old man was arrested on June 4.

  According to evidence reported during the initial investigation, one of the two younger suspects allegedly admitted involvement and identified another person as having instructed them to carry out the attack.

  Police previously said the suspects travelled from Nicosia to Limassol before fleeing to the capital after the fire.

  Surveillance footage and items recovered from the impounded vehicle were examined as part of the investigation.

  The initial investigation also indicated that clothing and footwear found during police examinations resembled those seen in surveillance footage of the suspected perpetrators.

  Items including clothing, hoods, gloves and material believed to have been associated with the use of an accelerant were seized for further examination.

  Police have also been examining a reported personal dispute involving the betting agency’s 40-year-old owner and another individual who may have orchestrated the attack.

  The owner had informed investigators of a long running history of disputes between them, with the individual reported to be running a competing gambling enterprise.

• Applications soar for Kapodistrian University’s Cyprus branch

  The new Cyprus branch of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) has recorded a surge in application numbers, with the acceptance rate for its medical school standing at 20 per cent.

  “Obtaining a place was a real academic battle between the candidates, with the selection being made according to strict criteria of quality and academic proficiency, with excellent male and female candidates ultimately receiving a place in the top medical school,” NKUA said.

  It added that evaluations for other departments were ongoing with proceedings for the final evaluation of the “many applications” underway.

  “The same philosophy is followed in all academic units with very high interest from male and female students and hundreds of applications,” the university said.

  According to NKUA, the professors teaching at the university’s Cyprus branch are the same ones who teach at the corresponding parent departments in Athens. Meanwhile, the university has announced plans to hire further professors who will be based exclusively at the Cyprus branch.

  At the same time, the university stated that the facilities and laboratories at NKUA’s Cyprus branch have been completed and fitted with “state-of-the-art equipment”.

  “Access to newly built student dormitories has been ensured, on particularly privileged financial terms, so that finding housing does not constitute an additional obstacle for students and their families,” it added. 

  The Cyprus branch of the NKUA first opened in downtown Nicosia in 2025. It has a dedicated student residence in the old town.

• Bar association chief urges caution over Drousiotis crowdfunding probe

  The president of the Cyprus Bar Association, Michalis Vorkas, has urged caution over the investigation into journalist Makarios Drousiotis’ crowdfunding campaign for his legal expenses, stressing that the presumption of innocence must be respected while raising questions over whether Cyprus’ fundraising law applies to an online platform based abroad.

  Following the complaint lodged by the interior ministry alleging a possible breach of the Fundraising Law of 2014 (Law 68(I)/2014) by Makarios Drousiotis, uncertainty has emerged over whether the Cypriot legislation applies to crowdfunding. 

  Police confirmed on Wednesday that they have received a letter from the chairman of the licensing authority for nationwide fundraising appeals requesting an investigation into whether any offences may have been committed in connection with journalist and author Makarios Drousiotis’ online crowdfunding campaign.

  Police spokeswoman Marina Christodoulidou said the letter requests that police examine whether the campaign gives rise to any offences under the relevant legislation.

  Christodoulidou added that the matter will now be examined by police, who will determine what further action, if any, should be taken.

  Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Vorkas explained that the legislation requires organisers of public fundraising campaigns to obtain prior authorisation from the licensing authority, which includes representatives of the interior ministry, the police and the social welfare services. 

  “The purpose of the law is to establish the procedures, terms and conditions governing fundraising campaigns, to enable the necessary oversight and inspections, and to provide for sanctions aimed at preventing unlawful and misleading fundraising activities,” he said.

  Vorkas said that the legislation provides for penalties of up to €10,000, two years’ imprisonment, or both, for organisers of unauthorised fundraising campaigns.

  However, he questioned whether those provisions apply in Drousiotis’ case.

  “The law requires such a permit when the fundraiser is organised within the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.

  “In this case, Mr Drousiotis is seeking contributions towards the costs of defending criminal proceedings against him through the GoGetFunding platform, which is based abroad. His appeal is not directed only to the Republic of Cyprus but to the international community.”

  He said “this raises the question of whether the alleged criminal offence is in fact committed under the provisions of Cypriot law referred to above. In any event, these are matters that will ultimately depend on the outcome of the police investigation.”

  Vorkas also warned against treating the matter as though an offence had already been established.

  “It is important that no public statements attribute the commission of a criminal offence to Mr Drousiotis while the investigation is still ongoing, bearing in mind the presumption of innocence,” he said.

  He further criticised what he described as the growing practice of non-lawyers offering public legal opinions.

  “No person who is not a lawyer and a member of the Cyprus Bar Association should be issuing legal opinions publicly, as appears to be happening. The relevant legislation prohibits this,” he said.

  The Cyprus Bar Association, he added, “while respecting the fundamental rights of all citizens, calls on everyone to respect the presumption of innocence and the right to freedom of expression, to exercise restraint in their public statements, and to allow the police to carry out their investigation without interference”. 

  Earlier Drousiotis’ lawyer, Maria Theristi, also argued that the campaign does not appear to fall within the scope of the Fundraising Law. She said it was doubtful that the authorities could even have granted permission had Drousiotis applied for a fundraising licence, because the campaign concerns his personal legal expenses rather than any of the charitable or public-interest purposes envisaged under the legislation.

   Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the authorities had referred the matter to police for examination after the campaign came to the ministry’s attention, while stressing that no one would be prosecuted if the campaign was ultimately found not to fall under the law.

  The campaign launched by Drousiotis to meet legal and related costs reached its €50,000 target three days in, according to figures published by the campaign.

• 22-year-old woman dies after motorbike crash in Lythrodontas

  A 22-year-old Romanian woman died on Wednesday after being critically injured in a traffic accident on the Delikipou to Lythrodontas road on Saturday.

  Anreea Larisa Harabor succumbed to her injuries at 11.45am in Nicosia general hospital, where she had been receiving treatment since the accident.

  The collision happened shortly before 5pm on Saturday, when Harabor was riding a motorbike which collided with a car driven by a 45-year-old man.

  Doctors found that she had suffered a head injury and admitted her to the ICU whereupon she was intubated and remained until her death.

  An autopsy is expected to be scheduled tomorrow.

  Police are still investigating the circumstances of the crash.

• Increased police measures planned for August 15 holiday weekend

  Police will step up security and traffic measures during the three-day August 15 holiday period, from Friday to Sunday.

  The police department said officers will have an increased presence on main roads and in busy areas, focusing on road safety and the prevention of crime, nuisance and delinquency.

  Police will carry out regular traffic checks, focusing on drink and drug driving, speeding, dangerous overtaking, not wearing seat belts or helmets, using mobile phones while driving, and reckless driving.

  Additional motorised and foot patrols will also be carried out in urban and rural areas to prevent property offences, including burglaries and thefts.

  Increased security measures will be introduced in areas likely to attract large crowds, such as commercial streets, popular destinations, and resorts, to ensure public safety.

  Police said the public can stay informed through its social media accounts and the Cyprus Police News website

• Woman loses more than €2,200 in online accommodation scam

  A 32-year-old woman lost more than €2,200 in an online accommodation scam, police said on Wednesday.

  The woman reported the case to Nicosia police on Tuesday, saying she had booked accommodation through an online platform on August 4.

  Later that day, an unknown person contacted her, claiming to be the accommodation provider.

  He allegedly persuaded her to cancel the original booking and make a new reservation through another online travel platform, sending her a link.

  The woman followed the link and on August 11 transferred more than €2,200 to a bank account provided to her.

  She received no booking confirmation and later realised she had been defrauded.

  The case is being investigated by the Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Nicosia Financial Crimes Investigation Unit.

  Police urged the public to be cautious when making online accommodation bookings and not to respond to suspicious messages or payment requests.

  Anyone receiving such a message should contact the hotel or accommodation provider directly using official contact details and avoid making payments through links sent by message or email without checking their authenticity.

  Police also advised anyone who has entered bank card details through a suspicious link to contact their bank immediately and cancel the card.

• Welfare benefit increases to be paid in Q4 2026

  Welfare benefit increases will be paid retroactively to beneficiaries in the last quarter of 2026, without any action needed on their behalf, the deputy welfare ministry announced on Wednesday.

  The increases come from the implementation of the July 2 cabinet decision and legislation on social inclusion and independent living for individuals with disabilities, the minimum guaranteed income (EEE) and in general social benefits.

  The welfare benefit management service said the EE for August would be paid on Friday, while the monthly care allowance and the increase would be paid on August 28.

  The payments are made directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts, while the increases will appear as a separate imbursement.

  Those entitled to the 10 per cent increases on benefits are individuals with disabilities who had registered by July 31.

  Individuals under 18 years of age will receive €87 extra, with the total disability benefit reaching €455.

  Those aged 18 to 65, as well as those over 65, will receive €37 with the total reaching €405.

  For home care, an additional amount equal to 10 per cent of the approved benefit for August will be paid, while the transport benefit will be brought up to a total of €100 regardless of the amount paid so far.

  The deputy ministry said the only action required from beneficiaries was to make sure their bank and contact details were up to date, in order to avoid any delays.

  For additional information or clarifications, the public can call the 1450 helpline from Monday to Friday, from 8am till 5pm, or visit the service’s website [www.wbas.dmsw.gov.cy]

  The welfare benefit management service said the automatic payment of allowances was part of efforts to reduce administrative burden and reduce inconvenience for beneficiaries.

• Forestry dept catches BBQs and stubble burning in time

  A group of young picnickers was caught lighting charcoal on Sunday in Akamas and was reprimanded by the forestry department, while in a separate case a man in Koutrafas is being prosecuted for burning stubble in his orchard in the buffer zone.

  Forestry department spokesman Glafkos Kyriacou told the Cyprus Mail  that apart from these isolated incidents, the past few days have been “calm” and that patrols have been significantly increased.

  On Wednesday, the picnickers had travelled to Lara beach with their barbeque and lit charcoal.

  Kyriacou explained that the barbeque fire had been “picked up by the optical sensor system of the automatic fire detection system installed in Akamas”.

  “We informed the patrol that was near the Avakas gorge and it went there immediately,” Kyriacou added.

  Lara beach is part of the Akamas national forest park and is thus out of bounds for lighting any kind of fire.

  The forestry department put the fire out and reported the picnickers.

  Kyriacou said patrols were more frequent during the summer months when the fire risk was higher.

  The forestry department also dealt with a case of stubble burning in an orchard in Koutrafas, in close proximity to the forest.

  The fire was immediately extinguished and procedures were initiated to prosecute the man.

  Kyriacou told the Cyprus Mail that the Koutrafas fire was detected by the forestry department and the case is being handled by the police as the area was inside the buffer zone and thus outside the department’s jurisdiction.

  He explained that when a fire is detected, the circumstances determine the course of action.

  “If someone lights a fire and no damaged is caused, a fine may be imposed by the forestry department and the case closes upon payment. If someone causes a fire and there is damage, then they go to court,” Kyriacou said.

  He added that “the past few days have been calm.”

  “We have increased our patrols by forestry officers, who comb the whole forest. They advise people at picnic places, they pass from remote houses, especially where people are holidaying, in sub-forest communities where summer events are on, we advise community leaders and the people on how to prevent fires,” he said.

  Kyriacou urged people to report any suspicious activity and in case of smoke or fire to immediately call the forestry department on 1407 or the fire service on 112.

  In regular warnings, the forestry department appeals to the public to be particularly careful during outdoor activities and to avoid any actions that could ignite a blaze.

  The department also reminds the public that causing a fire is a criminal offence and carries severe penalties.

• Arikli mocks Cyprus’ arrest warrant for Tassos Isaac’s murder

  The north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli has lashed out at the Republic over efforts to maintain an arrest warrant against him in connection with the 1996 killing of Tassos Isaac.

  According to Turkish Cypriot journalist Sefa Karahasan of TRT, Arikli responded to reports in Greek Cypriot media regarding a fresh warrant over the killing.

  “A dog whose death is near urinates in the mosque courtyard,” he said.

  The expression is a derogatory Turkish proverb used to describe a person who, believing they have little left to lose, behaves provocatively or without restraint.

  Arikli is among those wanted in connection with Isaac’s murder and has previously been detained abroad under an Interpol alert.

  He was arrested in Kyrgyzstan in 2012 but was released after Turkey intervened, with Cyprus’ request for his extradition unsuccessful.

  Isaac, 24, was beaten to death in August 1996 after becoming trapped in barbed wire in the UN buffer zone at Dherynia during an anti-occupation demonstration.

  Three days later, 26-year-old Solomos Solomou was shot dead after climbing a flagpole at a Turkish military position in an attempt to remove a Turkish flag.

  Eight arrest warrants were issued in connection with Isaac’s murder, with the original warrants cancelled in 2013 on procedural grounds and replaced with new warrants issued by the Famagusta district court.

  Five warrants were also issued over Solomou’s killing, although Interpol red notices were obtained for only two suspects.

  Police said the remaining requests were rejected because investigators had not provided sufficient evidence.

  The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2008 that Turkey was responsible under international law for violations of the right to life arising from the killings.

  The ruling did not, however, remove the individual criminal responsibility of those allegedly involved.

  Arikli later travelled unhindered to Tunisia in 2017 without being detained.

• Water supply disruption in central Limassol on Friday

  Water supplies will be interrupted in parts of central Limassol on Friday due to water network replacement works, the Limassol water supply and sewerage authority said on Wednesday.

  The interruption will affect the area north of the 2nd Technical School from 7am to 1pm.

  Affected streets include Filippou Konstantinidis, Vasiliou Kousoulis, Lieutenant Nikolaos Papageorgiou, Nikolaos Lazarou, Leonidas Christodoulou, Captain Kapotas, Revekkas, Agios Andronikos, Stravinsky and part of Aiolou Street.

  Residents can contact the authority for further information.

• Cypriot filmmaker wins Emmy for documentary on Israel-Palestine conflict

  Cypriot journalist and filmmaker Kyri Evangelou has won a News & Documentary Emmy Award as producer and editor of The Guardian’s three-part series Along the Green Line, which follows communities living along the 1949 armistice border between Israel and the Palestinian territories.

  The series received the award for outstanding continuing coverage, with reporter Matthew Cassel travelling along the divide that was once regarded as a possible basis for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

  Evangelou was part of an international team that also included cinematographer Ayman Abu Ramouz, fixer Guy Barak and editor Frances Rankin.

  Filmed amid military incursions, checkpoints and continuing violence, the series examines how physical barriers, political rhetoric and fear have affected people living on either side of the conflict.

  It also explores the distance between political ambitions for peace and the reality faced by communities on the ground.

  Temujin Doran, The Guardian’s acting head of video, said the series was made “under incredibly difficult circumstances” by teams committed to “truthful, humane storytelling”.

  The Guardian’s editor in chief Katharine Viner described the project as combining “deeply reported journalism with bold multimedia innovation”.

  Previous winners include the paper’s coverage of Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency revelations in 2014, the US immigration crisis in 2015 and the plight of Libyan asylum seekers in 2022.

• Averof: calls to close Cyprus checkpoints would play into Turkey’s hands

  Former Disy leader Averof Neophytou has denounced calls to close the crossing points, cautioning on Wednesday that such a move could create new political problems for the Republic and hand Turkey an argument to revive the issue of direct trade with the north.

  Neophytou said closing the checkpoints from the government-controlled areas could allow the Turkish side to argue in Brussels that the Republic was restricting movement across the Green Line, potentially reopening a debate that Nicosia has previously sought to prevent.

  Neophytou recalled that former president Glafcos Clerides feared that easier movement between the two sides could make the division more tolerable and reduce pressure for a settlement.

  However, following the rejection of the Annan plan by the Greek Cypriots in 2004, Brussels moved to support Turkish Cypriots economically and proposed allowing direct trade with the north.

  Neophytou said the proposal was successfully opposed by the Republic, with former president Tassos Papadopoulos playing “a key role” in preventing direct trade arrangements that Nicosia considered “politically and legally problematic”.

  Closing the crossing points today he said could reverse that upper hand by allowing Turkey and the north to claim that the Republic itself is restricting movement across the Green Line, reviving the direct trade issue in Brussels.

  He warned those advocating closures their intentions did not determine the consequences of such a decision.

  “Sometimes even genuine patriotism and selfless motives like yours inadvertently lead to national misadventures,” he said.

  Neophytou has also criticised the government for failing to make progress on opening new crossing points.

  Earlier this month, he urged President Nikos Christodoulides to overcome what he called the obstacle of a roadblock “to open the way for a solution”.

  The issue remains unresolved, with discussions over four proposed crossing points continuing to face an impasse.

  Neophytou has previously described proposals to close existing crossings as a “strategic mistake”, arguing that they could strengthen those advocating a two-state settlement.

• Cyprus deal impossible without Turkey, says Erhurman

  Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Wednesday that no Cyprus settlement could take effect without Turkey’s approval, whilst acknowledging that conditions were emerging for a renewed round of negotiations.

  “A 5+1 meeting is not possible without Turkey,” Erhurman said in an interview in the north.

  “No solution agreement to which Turkey does not say yes can come into force,” he insisted, saying the same principle applied to the other guarantor powers.

  Erhurman said recent international developments were creating a perception “for the first time” that a settlement of the Cyprus problem was necessary and argued that “ground is beginning to form for renegotiation”.

  He commended UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent visit to Cyprus as successful, rejecting claims that it was merely a farewell visit.

  “Saying that he came for a vacation and farewell is as wrong as saying that he came for a solution,” he remarked.

  Erhurman stressed he wanted “result-oriented negotiation” rather than talks for their own sake and conveyed that Guterres had asked him and President Nikos Christodoulides to meet at least once a week after assigning tasks to the two sides.

  He said discussions on confidence building measures had focused on crossing points and demining, accusing Christodoulides of changing proposals on crossing points agreed in New York.

  On the form of a settlement, he said the sides should focus on “the content, the transitional period and the steps that will facilitate the life of the communities”, rather than debating formalities such as its name.

Github

• Agent Plugins 1.0 in VS Code, Copilot CLI, and the Copilot app

  You can now build a plugin once and use it across all compatible agent clients. We published Agent Plugins 1.0 on August 6 with AWS, Anysphere, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Vercel. Google also joined as a core maintainer on the same day. Agent Plugins 1.0 is an open standard that packages agent skills and MCP servers into one installable plugin that is governed independently of any single vendor.

  Publishing a plugin for several agents was already possible, but it cost you duplication. A plugin can bundle a skill with an MCP server, such as a deployment runbook and its tool integration. While the skill and the server underneath were the same for every client, the packaging around them wasn’t, so you maintained a separate manifest and directory layout for each one.

  Support is generally available in VS Code, Copilot CLI, the GitHub Copilot SDK, and the GitHub Copilot app, on all Copilot plans.

  What you can do

  • Install spec plugins from a marketplace. You can find plugins in the Awesome Copilot marketplace, available by default in VS Code, Copilot CLI, and the Copilot app.
  • Share one plugin across tools. Compatible clients can discover the skills and MCP server configuration they support from the same package.
  • Keep your existing plugins. Existing GitHub Copilot plugins that don’t target Agent Plugins 1.0 remain supported, with no migration required.

  Building or migrating a plugin

  If you maintain a plugin, adopting the spec is mostly manifest work:

  • Add $schema to plugin.json
  • Keep skills under skills/ and MCP configuration in mcp.json
  • Move Copilot-specific files into the com.github.copilot/ directory, which other clients ignore

  That last step is what keeps a plugin portable without giving anything up. The spec standardizes skills and MCP servers, so Copilot capabilities beyond those live in the namespaced directory. Custom agents, commands, rules, and hooks load from there across VS Code, Copilot CLI, and the Copilot app, and the CLI and app also load extensions such as canvases. One package stays portable and keeps its Copilot behavior.

  See Build an Agent Plugin for the minimal package and where each component goes, or start from the example plugin and migration guide.

  Govern plugins with the settings you already use

  As plugins become portable across tools, organizations need a consistent way to manage which plugins are available to developers. Copilot Business and Enterprise customers can use existing enterprise managed settings across VS Code, Copilot CLI, the GitHub Copilot app, and Copilot cloud agent.

  In managed-settings.json, use enabledPlugins to automatically install or block specific plugins, extraKnownMarketplaces to add marketplaces available to developers, and strictKnownMarketplaces to restrict installation to managed marketplaces. Enterprise values establish a baseline, and plugin and marketplace settings combine additively with approved team-specific overrides. To learn more, see our docs on setting overrides for specific teams.

  If you already manage these plugin settings for supported Copilot clients, they also apply to Agent Plugins 1.0. No separate Agent Plugins policy is required.

  Plugins can also carry MCP server configurations, so pair this with MCP allowlists, which approve or block individual servers by URL, command, or name.

  Learn more

  • Plugins in VS Code
  • Finding and installing plugins in Copilot CLI
  • About GitHub Copilot plugins
  • Published Agent Plugins 1.0 specification

  The post Agent Plugins 1.0 in VS Code, Copilot CLI, and the Copilot app appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• Rule insights for organizations in public preview

  The rule insights dashboard is now in public preview at the organization level. You get a visual, high-level view of how GitHub evaluates and enforces your GitHub repository rulesets, so you can spot trends and report on governance without stitching data together by hand.

  You can now view rule insights across every repository in your organization in one place. In your organization’s Settings > Repository tab, you get an aggregated view that helps your governance and compliance teams report across the whole organization, instead of individually checking each repository. At the organization level, you can:

  • Review aggregated rule evaluation metrics for all repositories in your organization.
  • Identify your top repositories by bypasses to focus your review where it matters most.
  • Filter results by evaluation status, branch, ruleset, and date range to focus on the activity you care about.
  • Export the data to CSV for reporting and record keeping.

  This extends the repository-level rule insights dashboard, which we shipped in public preview earlier this year, to the whole organization. Whether you’re responding to an incident or auditing bypass activity, the dashboard helps you spot trends at a glance and drill into the details when you need them.

  To learn more, see our docs about GitHub repository rulesets.

  Join the discussion within GitHub Community.

  The post Rule insights for organizations in public preview appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

Reddit

r/golang

• It seems TinyGo is totally broken on XIAO ESP32C3

  Hello, sorry not sure if I should put it on this subreddit or not.

  I am currently trying a TinyGo project with XIAOESP32C3.

  The posts here indicate that this board is supported by TinyGo: - https://tinygo.org/docs/reference/microcontrollers/featured/xiao-esp32s3/ - https://github.com/tinygo-org/tinygo-xiao-examples - https://www.seeedstudio.com/blog/2026/04/21/tinygo-v041-wireless-support-xiao-esp32-c3-s3/?srsltid=AfmBOopT4qkGQFA4Wgk-Kq06FpZrF58YdJcskbJEDLdRL6o6_05_Kpix

  But I can't get it to even print text over serial (USB CDC). I am not sure what is going on.

  I tested it on Arduino and it worked, so its not my MCU that's broken, but it seems TinyGo is totally broken for XIAOESP32C3, hence I post in this subreddit.

  Here is a reproducible bug repository

  https://github.com/nodebotgithub/tinygo-serial-bug

  I also already filed an issue in TinyGo Github repo.

  submitted by /u/TKI_Kesasar
  [link] [comments]
• A tree-sitter call graph that gopls fills in where syntax alone can't tell. (open-source)

  Graft builds a structural map of a codebase. Tree-sitter for the base parse, no LLM, no key. It writes the result into the repo as markdown, so a coding agent reads it instead of re-exploring the same files every session.

  Go's interfaces made this a good language to think hard about edge resolution. The shortcut, resolving calls by matching names instead of real scope tracking, tripled edge count in testing but dropped precision from 73% to 37%. Most of the added edges were noise. An agent trusting a wrong call edge does worse than one that never saw it.

  The static tier only adds an edge when it's sure. Same file, a resolved import, a unique cross-file match. Everything ambiguous gets dropped instead of guessed. There's an opt-in tier for what's left over, it pulls call-hierarchy data straight from gopls instead of pattern-matching syntax. If gopls isn't set up, you just don't get those extra edges. The rest of the graph works the same either way.

  MIT licensed: github.com/NanoNets/Graft

  submitted by /u/shhdwi
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• agentic code review mostly catches my agent writing java in go

  I've been running agents on a mid size Go service for about four months. The code compiles, the tests pass, and it is consistently not Go.

  The same things keep turning up. A mutex wrapped around something that wanted a channel. Interfaces declared next to the implementation instead of where they get consumed. Errors wrapped four layers deep without a single one adding context. A config struct with getters on it, actual getters.

  None of that fails CI. All of it makes whoever touches the file next slower.

  What helps more than I expected is having coderabbit / bugbot sitting on the diff, since they'll actually argue about interface placement and pointless indirection where a linter just shrugs and passes it. Not magic. It misses the channel stuff pretty regularly and last week it went three rounds with me over a switch statement that was ugly but correct.

  Still beats me finding it in january.

  I think the real issue is the models have read a lot more Java and TypeScript than Go, and it shows up in structure rather than syntax, which is exactly the layer tooling is worst at

  submitted by /u/Upset-Day9099
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• Accept interfaces return concrete types. But what about returning Type vs *Type?

  I know about the idiom of accepting interfaces and returning types, but I am struggling to find information about how to return type. Example I have this type

  type MyTest struct { Value: string Label: string } func (test *MyTest) String() string { return fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", Label, Value) } 

  Now I can return it as value or as pointer when building it

  func Foo(input string) (MyTest, error) { err := someValidation(input) if (err != nil) { return MyTest{}, err } return MyTest{ Value: input, Label: "test"}, nil } // or func Foo(input string) (*MyTest, error) { err := someValidation(input) if (err != nil) { return nil, err } return &MyTest{ Value: input, Label: "test"}, nil } 

  What's the preferred way? In one way I can return `nil` with error, in other I have to return empty structure. In one way I get an reference for data manipulation inside structure (if needed), for other I get simple data that will get copied on pass.

  I would imagine that pointers should be used for big structures, mutations while values should be used for small, immutable, basically an "data class" structures.

  submitted by /u/Eivyses
  [link] [comments]