Friday, July 24, 2026
bdff06b8-8817-476f-ab15-5a8f44a5c2cb
| Summary | ⛅️ Mostly clear throughout the day. |
|---|---|
| Temperature Range | 24°C to 31°C (74°F to 88°F) |
| Feels Like | Low: 80°F | High: 102°F |
| Humidity | 73% |
| Wind | 14 km/h (9 mph), Direction: 249° |
| Precipitation | Probability: 0%, Type: No precipitation expected |
| Sunrise / Sunset | 🌅 05:52 AM / 🌇 07:56 PM |
| Moon Phase | Waxing Gibbous (35%) |
| Cloud Cover | 21% |
| Pressure | 1001.53 hPa |
| Dew Point | 72.85°F |
| Visibility | 6.15 miles |
Romani Youssef sits in a detention centre, waiting to be deported back to Egypt after being arrested as a ‘prohibited immigrant’ two months ago.
Meanwhile, his Cypriot fiancée Anthi Giatrou sits in a small flat without any job or support system (or even air-conditioning), six months pregnant with their child.
“I’m not asking to be special in Cyprus,” Youssef told the Cyprus Mail. “All I ask is a chance to fix my life.”
That said, the details of his case mean that he has to be ‘special’ – in that an exception must be made, for humanitarian reasons.
Youssef came to Cyprus in 2015, and applied for asylum. Nine years later, in November 2024, he was definitively told – having exhausted the appeals process – that his application had been rejected.
“At the end, I stayed illegally,” he admits. “Because I cannot go back.”
The case is both simple and surprisingly complicated. On the one hand, Youssef can have no complaint with the legal process, even if he thinks the court came to a wrong decision. Having been turned down for asylum he can legally be deported, though it’s unclear when the order will be enforced.
Equally, though, every case is judged on its own merits and the authorities may – at their discretion – allow Youssef to stay, as the soon-to-be father of a Cypriot child.
The case for doing so is obvious. A child shouldn’t be deprived of its father. The mother confirms that it’s his child, and that their relationship is genuine. “It was our decision” to get engaged, she told the Cyprus Mail. “We both wanted it – and the baby, too.”
In fact, even keeping Youssef detained while his fiancée is pregnant is needlessly cruel. Giatrou, who had dizziness and vaginal bleeding earlier in the pregnancy, is constantly tired and needs support. Youssef was actually arrested when he went to pay her mobile-phone bill, because she was unable to do it herself.
There’s an added complication, in the ongoing issue of stateless kids.
At the moment, due to a gap in the law, if one parent is residing in the country illegally when a child is born – even if the other parent is fully Cypriot – the child doesn’t get citizenship, and remains (scandalously) stateless.
This creates a kind of Catch-22 situation. Youssef is seeking an exemption as the father of a Cypriot child. If he’s registered as the father, however, the child won’t be officially Cypriot!
One possible solution is for Youssef to agree to the deportation order and go back to Egypt. Once there, and once the child is born, Giatrou can visit him and they can get married.
He could then apply to be removed from the stop list (the order prohibits his re-entry to Cyprus for five years) and come back legally, with a DNA test, as her husband and the child’s father – and, since he wouldn’t have appeared as the father at birth, the child would have citizenship.
It’s a possibility – but the risks are too great.
Not just the risk that it wouldn’t work, leaving the couple permanently separated. There’s also the risk of what would happen to Youssef in Egypt – which is why he preferred to stay here illegally, rather than return, in the first place.
“He was a journalist there,” says Giatrou, and quite vocal on what he calls “Christian rights”, making him a target for militant Muslims.
“From what he told me, they attacked his family too, and tried to kill him many times. He has the scars on his body.”
The Cyprus Mail saw an Egyptian medical report (a key piece of evidence in Youssef’s asylum application) noting his extensive injuries – mainly stab wounds – after an altercation, which he says was religiously motivated.
Even so, that was in 2011, when he was 21. It’s unclear if he’d still be in danger now, all these years later.
Then again, is it right to send him back, and force him to take the risk – especially when it also risks a Cypriot woman losing her fiancé, and a Cypriot child losing its father?
In the end, the simplest – and most humane – course of action may just be to let him stay, for the child’s sake.
Fidias Panayiotou, the 26-year-old TikToker and now leader of the Direct Democracy party, said on Thursday he will not attend another meeting of the National Council.
In a video published online, Panayiotou began with a troll: “Christodoulides kicked me out of the National Council!”
He quickly added: “Just kidding.”
The social media influencer explained that he does not feel he has the requisite knowledge of the Cyprus problem to attend sessions of the National Council – an advisory body to the president.
As the leader of a parliamentary party, he had previously attended once.
“Because I have self-awareness, and like Socrates used to say, know thyself…I recognise that I don’t know enough things about the Cyprus issue so as to advise the president,” the young politician said, speaking in the Cypriot dialect.
“Due to rapid developments that we’ve recently had on the Cyprus issue…the UN secretary-general will come to Cyprus…I felt that I should not be the one to represent Direct Democracy [at the National Council].
“So we intend to send someone else who has the knowledge and experience.”
The person designated to sit in for Panayiotou will be Mike Spanos, an economist and banker.
“He is not a member of Direct Democracy, but he’s someone I trust because he has a great deal of knowledge about Turkey, the Cyprus problem and the economy.
“I think it would be a big plus for Mike Spanos to be at the National Council.”
The public school system must become more student-centred, place greater emphasis on critical thinking and creativity, and better adapt to the needs of every child, Education Minister Athena Michaelidou said on Thursday.
Speaking during a meeting with the top-performing students in the 2026 university entrance examinations, Michaelidou said the education ministry was committed to reducing the curriculum, limiting the need for private tutoring and expanding full-day schooling.
“Our goal is to reduce the amount of material students have to study, lessen the need for private lessons, offer more opportunities for full-day schools and, above all, make schools more attractive,” she said.
The minister congratulated the students on their success and invited them to share ideas on how schools could be improved, saying they were best placed to advise the ministry after spending around 13 years in the education system.
Several students called for changes to the way pupils are assessed.
Christos Kalyvitis, who secured a place to study mathematics at the University of Cyprus, proposed reducing the number of non-exam subjects in the final year of secondary school.
Nikolas Christou, who will study French and European Studies, and Marilia Constantinou, who secured a place in accounting, finance and economics, both argued that non-exam subjects should carry less weight in the overall assessment.
Chara Orfanou, who will study medicine, said greater emphasis should be placed on examined subjects, while Marina Hadjimichael, who secured a place at the University of Cyprus law school, highlighted the heavy workload in the classical studies stream, particularly in history and ancient Greek.
Achilleas Papadimitriou, who will study computer science, said schools should become more student-centred and focus on equipping pupils with practical skills rather than simply preparing them for examinations.
Medical student Giorgos Lipertis called for pupils’ individual talents to be recognised and suggested setting less predictable examination questions, particularly in Greek composition, to encourage critical thinking instead of memorisation.
Petros Nikolaou, who also secured a place in medicine, said schools should place greater emphasis on character development and moral values, while calling for improved school infrastructure in Paphos.
Several students also praised opportunities offered through Erasmus+ and other European programmes, saying they had broadened their horizons and exposed them to different cultures and ways of thinking.
Michaelidou said the ministry would examine the students’ proposals, particularly calls for a lighter curriculum and greater emphasis on critical thinking and creativity rather than rote learning.
She added that public schools should support children’s overall development by helping them build relationships, socialise and develop their personalities, rather than focusing solely on academic achievement.
Addressing students who did not secure their preferred university place, Michaelidou said there were many alternative academic and professional paths available.
“This is not the end,” she said. “Many opportunities lie ahead, whether through trying again or choosing a different path.”
She urged all students to continue pursuing their ambitions.
“My only advice is never stop dreaming and never stop trying,” she said. “Nothing is impossible. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”
A Cyprus-based outfit has partnered up with a Greek company to develop new industrial capabilities in defence systems in Cyprus, the two companies announced on Thursday.
Metlen, through M Technologies, signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Cyprus-based Houtris that provides for “the establishment of a joint company in Cyprus and further strengthens strategic industrial cooperation between Greece and Cyprus in defence”, the statement read.
“It is intended to build additional production capabilities in the Republic of Cyprus and expand Cypriot industry’s ability to manufacture, integrate and support defence equipment.”
The partnership will bring together M Technologies’ international experience, know-how and advanced industrial capabilities with Houtris’ long-standing industrial expertise and manufacturing capabilities in Cyprus. It also provides for the transfer of know-how, the development of specialist skills and the further strengthening of Cyprus’ defence industrial base, supporting the faster development of large-scale production capabilities in integrated defence systems.
“Under the European Safe programme, the new entity will move ahead with the production of military vehicles. The two companies will also explore further opportunities to produce, integrate, support and maintain defence systems in Cyprus and the wider region, with the aim of establishing a long-term presence in the country, a tangible industrial footprint and meaningful added value for the Cypriot economy.”
Metlen Energy & Metals (formerly known as Mytilineos) is a major Greek industrial and energy multinational company founded in 1990 by Evangelos Mytilineos.
M Technologies is Metlen’s defence arm and has experience in delivering complex defence industrial programmes. It contributes to the production and support of advanced defence systems, including Patriot systems, Leopard tanks and sections of the FDI HN (Belharra) frigates, while developing strategic partnerships with leading international defence companies.
Houtris is an established industrial company in Cyprus, specialising in defence, special vehicles and integrated industrial solutions. The company has experience in the development, manufacture, integration and technical support of specialised vehicles and defence systems, having delivered complex projects for the ministry of defence, the national guard, the fire service and other government organisations in Cyprus and abroad.
Yiannis Houtris, CEO of S. Houtris & Sons Ltd, stated: “Cyprus now has the know-how, experience and industrial base to play a meaningful role in the European defence industry.”
Special investigator Andreas Paschalides has been summoned to a parliamentary committee that will scrutinise his findings over the Videogate affair, but it’s unclear if he will attend, it transpired on Thursday.
On July 31 the House ethics committee will come together in an extraordinary session to discuss in depth the Videogate case. MPs are expected to ask a series of questions that they feel were left unanswered by Paschalides’ statement earlier this week.
Committee chair Demetris Demetriou (Disy) confirmed that they have summoned Paschalides.
However, it remains unclear if the investigator will appear.
MPs are expected to ask that the entire investigative dossier be handed over to them.
The dossier is now with the attorney-general’s office. The attorney-general is unlikely to hand it over, arguing that there’s an ongoing assessment of the findings and that therefore disclosure at this time might interfere with potential future criminal proceedings.
According to Paschalides’ statement, no criminal wrongdoing was found on the parts of any of the public figures who appeared in a video leaked in January alleging pay-to-play influence peddling and campaign finance lawbreaking on the part of President Nikos Christodoulides and his associates.
The investigator said the video is “not authentic” but instead “the product of editing”, and that “therefore, in addition to being a product of unconstitutional actions and therefore inadmissible testimony, it is of little, if any probative value”.
Paschalides spoke of three Cypriots appearing in the clip, “two of whom are known for their active involvement in the country’s political events, while the third is known for his activities in the business sector”.
As such, he added, “the goal of the production of the video appears to be to harm the Republic of Cyprus and not private interests”.
Paschalides said “responsibility for the production of the video lies with a private company, with non-Cypriot interests, registered abroad” – referring to Black Cube, an Israeli private intelligence outfit.
Given this, one question which MPs want an answer to is how Paschalides concluded that the affair constitutes a case of ‘hybrid warfare’ against Cyprus, when it has yet to be established who commissioned Black Cube to carry out the undercover operation.
Paschalides has meantime secured an extension until the end of the year to identify the person or persons who paid Black Cube.
Another question MPs may ask is how Paschalides concluded that the published eight-minute clip is inauthentic, whereas the raw footage – about 26 hours – has been confirmed as authentic.
Lawmakers will also want to know why Paschalides – along with the attorney-general’s office – agreed to let Black Cube ‘off the hook’ without previously having secured evidence on who bankrolled their operation.
Contacted by the Cyprus Mail, Disy’s Demetriou confirmed these will be some of the questions posed by MPs.
“Mr Paschalides’ statement contains several contradictions,” he said.
Yet another question is how Paschalides can assert he found no criminal wrongdoing, while at the same time referring to potential influence peddling – which is a criminal offence.
Others summoned to appear at the House ethics committee are officials from the attorney-general’s office, senior police officials, a representative of the justice minister, the head of the anti-corruption authority, and an attorney for Black Cube.
The video’s publication in January led to the resignation of the president’s chief of staff Charalambos Charalambous – one of the persons appearing in the clip – and to First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides resigning her role as chairwoman of the social support body.
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus’ (EAC) trade unions, Epopai, Sidikek, Sepaik and Syvaik, announced on Thursday that they had suspended planned strike action until September, citing the “difficult conditions” facing the country’s electricity system.
In a joint statement, the unions said recent developments had “confirmed in the worst way” the warnings they had been making for years about the state of the electricity sector.
They expressed concern over the inconvenience caused to consumers by the recent power cuts, arguing they had become necessary because of state failures and the “inability of independent institutions to ensure sufficient electricity in the area”.
“With sincerity and a sense of responsibility towards society and consumers, we assure that all EAC employees are making and will continue to make superhuman efforts night and day to immediately correct any damage that may occur, both in power plants, as well as in the distribution and transmission networks,” the groups added.
The unions also criticised the government for failing to present solutions to the country’s energy challenges, saying a meeting on Wednesday with Energy Minister George Papanastasiou and Deputy Minister to the President Irene Piki had produced no new proposals.
Describing the situation as one of continuing “energy insecurity”, they called on the government to take immediate action and said they had decided to postpone industrial action in light of the current circumstances.
“Taking into account the difficult conditions prevailing in the country’s electricity system, the industrial measures announced are suspended until September 2026,” the unions said.
The announcement follows the government’s decision to impose rolling power cuts across parts of the island on Wednesday after demand outstripped available electricity generation during one of the hottest days of the year.
Limassol criminal court on Thursday ordered asset seizures worth €164,000 against two suspects in a drug trafficking case.
According to a police statement, following the discovery of five kilograms of cocaine and 12 kilograms of cannabis in November 2024, authorities filed a criminal case against four persons – two aged 52, one aged 35, and one aged 34.
During the course of the investigations, the drug squad and Mokas -the anti-money laundering unit – carried out a financial investigation against the defendants.
As a result, authorities requested the seizure of the defendants’ assets, such as cash and vehicles.
The court granted the request, allowing the seizure of €144,000 in assets belonging to the 35-year-old defendant, and €20,000 belonging to the 34-year-old.
Paphos has been named the world’s best destination for sunrise and sunset views in a ranking from the European photo-printing company Cewe, the Paphos regional tourism board (Etap) shared on Thursday.
The ranking was chosen by Cewe in partnership with the travel and wildlife photographer Bella Falk. It was highlighted in the Travel + Leisure magazine on Wednesday, which also pointed out that Cyprus is one of the magazine’s top 50 places to travel to in 2026.
Locations were considered for their “visual impact, variety, accessibility and composition opportunities”, according to Cewe.
The company said Paphos has especially appealing sunsets due to its “west-facing coastline and dramatic scenery”. It specifically listed the “sweeping seascapes” of Petra tou Romiou, known as Aphrodite’s Rock, the Paphos Castle and the Erdo III shipwreck as locations for strong sunsets.
Paphos’ sunsets combine “light, the sea, mythology, history, and the destination’s distinctive landscape”, Etap Paphos executive director Nasos Hatzigeorgiou said.
He said that the Travel + Leisure recognition will strengthen Paphos’ position in overseas markets.
In its statement, Etap Paphos said the recognition furthers its strategy of promoting experiences in the region “beyond the traditional sun-and-sea model”.
In addition to the locations listed by Cewe, the tourism board also highlighted the Akamas Peninsula, Latchi, Polis and Pomos as locations to view sunrises and sunsets with “light, colours, landscapes and sensory appeal”.
Bishop Neophytos of Morphou claimed on Thursday that Nikola Tesla, not Thomas Edison, “invented electricity”, while using a sermon to make a series of disputed assertions about his scientific achievements.
Speaking during a liturgy at the Prophet Elias chapel in Evrychou, Neophytos described Tesla as “the greatest inventor of the 20th century” and attributed the invention of electricity to him rather than American inventor Thomas Edison.
“The greatest inventor of the 20th century was a Serb, Nikola Tesla. His father was a priest, Serbian Orthodox. He is the one who invented the electricity we have, he is not Edison as the Jews tell us”, he said.
The bishop went on to claim Tesla was “the father of computers” and alleged he had developed methods to trigger earthquakes, bring rain and cause drought.
Neophytos said Tesla had ultimately concluded that “everything is frequencies”, asserting that God had placed those frequencies within creation for humanity to understand.
The bishop also claimed many people believed Tesla had received divine enlightenment, saying God had created the world “for good” and intended people to uncover its underlying principles.
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian inventor and electrical engineer whose work on alternating current systems transformed the generation and transmission of electricity.
Electricity itself was not invented by either Tesla or Edison, while both men made major contributions to science through different inventions and innovations.
Two women arrested over a TikTok livestream in which a child with Down syndrome was allegedly encouraged to perform indecent acts were released by the Nicosia district court on Thursday after it rejected a police request to remand them in custody, despite a third suspect being arrested in the same investigation later the same day.
The decision came after police sought detention orders for the two women, who had been arrested under court warrants following a cybercrime investigation into the livestream.
Police confirmed that the court refused their request but offered no explanation to the Cyprus Mail as to why the detention application had failed.
The justice ministry further declined to comment, saying the matter fell solely within the police’s remit.
In a statement issued later on Thursday, police announced the arrest of a third suspect under a separate court warrant as investigations continued.
The ruling has raised questions after police had previously argued the seriousness of the allegations justified the women’s detention.
It also follows criticism over the handling of the investigation after it emerged that an initial complaint had been submitted on June 1 but the inquiry was discontinued due police insisting that they were unable to identify those involved.
That position was later lambasted by disability organisations, which argued members of the public had identified those appearing in the video within a matter of hours after it resurfaced online.
A criminal lawyer, speaking to the Cyprus Mail, said the court has broad discretion when deciding whether to grant a remand order and is required to consider whether there are reasonable grounds to believe a suspect could tamper with evidence, commit further offences or abscond through the north.
He said the circumstances surrounding the case nevertheless “appeared unusual”, particularly given police’s earlier position that they had been unable to identify the suspects after the original complaint was made.
The case centres on a TikTok livestream in which the child was allegedly encouraged to expose himself while being mocked during the broadcast.
The footage prompted widespread condemnation, with the union for the disabled (Kysoa) stating the incident was clearly abusive and urging the public to stop sharing the video.
Its president, Themis Anthopoulou, said earlier on Thursday that “circulating a video is equivalent to the abuse recorded in the video” and questioned why police had failed to identify those involved for almost two months when, she said, “an ordinary member of the public” had done so within an hour.
The Paphos municipality and the town’s police are to boost their efforts to rid the town of the illegal use of electric scooters and other electric personal mobility devices, following a meeting of police officials and acting mayor Angelos Onisiforou on Thursday.
As a result of the meeting, local police will place “particular emphasis” on efforts to ensure that unlicenced scooter rental companies do not operate in the town, with the municipality saying that it will “utilise all means provided by law” to support these efforts.
The municipality added that the police “already has the authority to enforce the law and report violations thereof”, with the municipality itself responsible for issuing licences to rental companies.
Additionally, it said that “the circulation of personal mobility devices is only permitted in the areas provided for by law”, with those areas including roads with a maximum speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour, cycle paths, cycle lanes, and public paths “where the appropriate signage indicates so”.
It also stressed that the use of electric scooters in town squares and on pedestrian streets is prohibited, with the exception of mobility scooters used by disabled people.
So far this year, the Paphos police have filed 132 reports regarding scooter rental companies operating illegally.
Nineteen individuals residing illegally in Cyprus were arrested during a coordinated police operation on Thursday, with six having already returned to their countries of origin as authorities continue efforts to increase deportations.
Police said the operation was carried out in Nicosia by immigration units and the Green Line surveillance sub directorate.
According to police, six of those arrested have already departed Cyprus, while procedures are continuing to repatriate the remaining thirteen individuals.
Police said the campaign is being carried out in coordination with the Deputy Migration Ministry, with a focus on increasing the number of returns.
British Cypriot member of parliament Nesil Caliskan on Thursday confirmed that she has left her position as parliamentary undersecretary of state for devolution, local growth, and communities, three days after Andy Burnham became the United Kingdom’s prime minister.
“It’s been an honour to serve in a Labour government, especially at the [housing ministry]. As a former council leader, I know that positive difference that putting power and resources into local communities makes,” she said.
She added that during her two-month stint as parliamentary undersecretary, “I was proud to help drive our mission to deliver ‘pride in place’ improve high streets, devolve power, and work to address the challenges our country faces with community cohesion”.
“Pride in place” is a UK government scheme launched last year to allow local authorities, small businesses, and community groups to access funding to implement small infrastructural improvements to their local communities.
Caliskan also wished “every success” to the UK’s new Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and the other individuals who have been appointed to junior ministerial and undersecretary roles inside the ministry, adding that “they will be fantastic”.
“I look forward to supporting them and the new prime minister as they work to bring opportunity and hope to every postcode,” she said.
A spokesperson for the UK’s housing ministry told the Cyprus Mail that it has not yet been decided who will replace Caliskan, with it yet to be decided which briefs within the ministry will be allocated to the various individuals appointed to housing ministry roles by Burnham on Wednesday night.
Florence Eshalomi, Sir Stephen Timms, Jacqui Smith, Sally Jameson, Satvir Kaur, Ray Collins, Jim McMahon, Judith Blake, and Simon Lightwood were all appointed to housing ministry positions.
Previously, British Lord Privy Seal Angela Smith announced on Tuesday that the evolution, local growth, and communities brief would be moved to Burnham’s new “No 10 North” as part of his new initiatives to move government offices from London to Manchester.
“To ensure places are at the very heart of government strategy, the prime minister is establishing No 10 North as the engine room of devolution and good growth in every postcode, across government and the wider economy,” Smith said.
She added that the move will ensure “that local economic growth policy and regional empowerment are no longer isolated from one another”, thereby “establishing No 10 North as the dominant driver of the UK’s economy”.
The name “No 10 North” is a reference to the UK prime minister’s official residence, 10 Downing Street in London, with Burnham having said that the plan to relocate government offices and functions to Manchester will constitute “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen”.
Caliskan represents the London constituency of Barking, and was appointed to the undersecretary role by Burnham’s predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, in May.
She will now return to the backbenches.
Power cuts across Cyprus left 14 people trapped in lifts on Wednesday night, prompting multiple rescues by the fire brigade, which cautioned that responsibility for such incidents lies primarily with lift maintenance companies.
Speaking to Alpha, Fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said crews responded to 14 calls during the rolling electricity outages, including five in Nicosia, four in Limassol, four in Larnaca and one in Paphos.
He explained that when electricity fails, lifts without automatic emergency evacuation systems can leave passengers stranded.
“When this power outage occurs in a specific city or area, all elevators that are in operation, we will probably have to proceed with evacuations as a fire department,” he said.
Kettis warned that simultaneous incidents could delay response times because of limited resources, adding that the law places the responsibility for rescuing trapped passengers on lift maintainers and installers.
Both lanes of the Nicosia-Limassol highway were closed for several hours on Thursday afternoon after a lorry carrying gravel overturned, spilling its load across the road and causing major traffic disruption.
One lane of the highway – in the Nicosia direction – finally opened at around 9pm. The other lane was expected to open around 11pm, police said.
The crash happened near the Dali industrial area shortly before 4pm, when the lorry struck the metal central barrier, crossed into the opposite carriageway and overturned.
Police said the vehicle was transporting a large quantity of gravel, which scattered across both sides of the motorway, forcing the closure of the road in both directions while emergency services responded and clearance operations began.
Late in the afternoon, a tow truck was brought in to move the lorry off the road.
Traffic heading towards Nicosia was diverted through the emergency lane, while motorists travelling towards Limassol were instructed to leave the motorway via the exit to the new Nicosia ring road before joining the old Nicosia Limassol Road.
Drivers were advised to rejoin the motorway at the Pera Chorio-Nisou interchange once past the affected area.
Long queues quickly formed in both directions as traffic built up following the closures. Hundreds of cars were backed up.
Police urged motorists to follow diversion signs, comply with officers’ instructions and allow extra time for their journeys while efforts continue to remove the overturned lorry and clear the gravel from the carriageways.
The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation.
The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) will remain central to the country’s energy transition as the government pushes ahead with investments in electricity networks, energy storage and conventional generation to safeguard security of supply, Energy Minister Michael Damianos said on Thursday.
Addressing the EAC’s presentation of its 30-month review, Damianos described the EAC as a strategic pillar of Cyprus’ energy policy, saying the transition to a cleaner electricity system depended not only on expanding renewable energy production but on maintaining a reliable, resilient and affordable electricity network.
“The common denominator in all our efforts is affordable electricity for consumers and the safe operation of the electricity system,” he said.
He said the energy transition required “cohesion, national resilience and professionals serving the public interest”, adding that the authority’s contribution remained critical both to achieving Cyprus’ national energy targets and safeguarding the reliability of electricity supply.
EAC general manager Adonis Yiasemides said the organisation’s mission extended beyond commercial performance, describing electricity as a public good rather than simply an economic commodity.
“EAC will continue to serve society with responsibility, technical expertise and financial prudence, fully recognising that energy is a prerequisite for security, development, social cohesion and the country’s future prospects,” he said.
Yiasemides paid tribute to the authority’s employees, highlighting their response during the devastating Limassol mountain fires last summer, when more than 100 staff worked continuously for 33 days to restore electricity supplies, rebuilding over 100 kilometres of damaged network and replacing around 1,400 electricity poles.
He said the experience had strengthened the authority’s emergency preparedness through additional investment in drones, specialised equipment and wildfire response capabilities.
Presenting the report, chairman George Petrou said the authority’s 30-month term had coincided with one of the most demanding periods for Cyprus’ electricity sector, marked by high energy prices, increasing renewable energy penetration, growing investment needs and the introduction of the competitive electricity market.
“EAC is not an ordinary commercial organisation,” he said. “It is an organisation of critical infrastructure and public utility.”
Petrou argued that the authority should be judged not only by its financial results but by its ability to maintain reliable electricity supply while funding the infrastructure needed for the country’s long-term energy transition.
During 2025, the Vasiliko power station produced around 66 per cent of EAC’s electricity generation, while Dhekelia accounted for 32 per cent and Moni around one per cent, illustrating the continued importance of conventional generation while renewable energy capacity expands.
According to the authority’s audited 2025 accounts, EAC recorded revenues of approximately €1.12 billion, expenditure of €1.092 billion, operating profit of €28.7 million and net profit of €12.3 million.
He also highlighted the securing of €215 million in European Investment Bank financing for transmission and distribution projects, describing it as a vote of confidence in the organisation’s financial stability.
Among the authority’s major achievements during the period, Petrou cited the continued expansion of renewable energy, with nearly 97,600 renewable energy systems connected to the distribution network by the end of 2025, representing more than 1,068MW of installed capacity. A further 1,000MW is expected to be connected by 2030.
He also pointed to the completion of photovoltaic installations at 405 schools, the nationwide replacement of street lighting with LED technology, expansion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and broader digitalisation of the electricity network.
Significant investment has also been directed towards modernising the electricity network.
Between 2024 and 2026, he said, EAC advanced major transmission and distribution upgrades, while by the end of 2025 around 97,600 renewable energy systems, representing more than 1,068MW, had been connected to the distribution network.
The authority has also installed 390,000 smart meters, with a target of 500,000 by June 2027. The project is supported through Cyprus’ Recovery and Resilience Plan, with certified funding of €29.6 million, of which €13.7 million has already been received.
Petrou acknowledged that renewable energy curtailments had become one of the sector’s most pressing challenges, arguing that solving the problem required investment in storage, smarter networks and market reforms rather than limiting renewable energy production.
“The major challenge from now on is to transform green generation into green consumption,” he said.
Petrou also highlighted EAC’s social role, noting that the number of households benefiting from the authority’s special domestic tariff for vulnerable consumers increased from 18 to 20 eligibility categories, with almost 29,900 customers enrolled by the end of February 2026.
He added that no single board could complete Cyprus’ energy transition within one term of office.
Looking ahead, Damianos said modernising the electricity system would remain one of the government’s main priorities.
He highlighted continued investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure, the rollout of smart electricity meters and the development of large-scale battery storage, which he said would be essential to reducing renewable energy curtailments and making better use of solar generation.
According to current planning, Cyprus will require around 600MW of electricity storage by 2030 to support the next phase of the energy transition.
The minister also referred to the completion of Combined Cycle Unit No. 6 at Vasiliko and upgrades to existing generating units, which are being prepared to operate on natural gas once fuel becomes available, while stressing the importance of maintaining conventional generation during the transition.
He said the authority also continued to play an important social role through special electricity tariffs for vulnerable consumers and energy efficiency schemes supporting households and businesses.
“The energy transition cannot succeed without infrastructure, national resilience and people who serve the public interest with professionalism,” Damianos said.
Asked by the Cyprus Mail during the press conference whether there were any short-term solutions to the recent power cuts, given that the ageing generating units will not be replaced until 2028, hence there will be further power cuts, EAC chairman George Petrou said the first improvements would come with the rollout of battery storage.
“As you know, the first batch of batteries should be operational at the beginning of 2027,” he said, adding that a second battery storage project at Dhekelia is “expected to come online in September or October 2028”.
Petrou said that as far as the wind turbines are concerned, three new wind turbines have been ordered for Dhekelia, despite what he described as the difficulties and high cost involved, which would also strengthen the system. The first turbine is expected to be ready for shipment in early 2028, the second in mid-2028 and the third in early 2029. “It is a series of developments that will help us,” he said.
Concern has been raised over the condition of the historic palm trees lining Larnaca’s Finikoudes promenade after they were heavily pruned.
In a social media post issued on Thursday, Dr Marios Kyriazis said the Washingtonia robusta palms were planted 106 years ago by his grandfather, Neoklis Kyriazis, giving them pa rticular personal significance.
He said he was alarmed after seeing the trees following the recent pruning.
“I saw them in such a state, stunted with only three or four leaves each, and I was afraid that we would lose them,” he wrote.
Kyriazis acknowledged that the palms are pruned in a similar way each year but said he sought further information about the possible consequences of such extensive trimming.
Citing information, he said he had received, he claimed that removing most of a palm’s foliage could place the tree under severe stress by reducing its ability to produce nutrients, slowing recovery and weakening its structure.
He also expressed concern that excessive pruning could make the trees more susceptible to pests, including the red palm weevil, which has caused significant damage to palm trees across Cyprus.
According to the information shared in his post, leaving “only three or four leaves” could weaken the palms’ natural defences and increase the risk of structural failure during severe weather.
Kyriazis said an open letter had been sent to Larnaca mayor Andreas Vyras calling for the maintenance practices used on the historic trees to be reviewed.
Limassol remains Cyprus’ most expensive city for tenants despite signs that the rental market has stabilised this year.
Speaking to CyBC, the real estate registration council president Marinos Kynigeirou said parents had every reason to be concerned as rental prices remained high across the island, even though increases have largely stalled during 2026.
He said the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment ranges between €1,000 and €1,100 in Limassol, compared with €600 to €650 in Nicosia, €500 to €600 in Larnaca and €500 to €550 in Paphos.
For two-bedroom properties, average rents stand at between €1,400 and €1,500 in Limassol, €800 to €900 in Nicosia and €700 to €800 in both Larnaca and Paphos.
Kynigeirou said that while rental costs remain high, the market appears to have entered a period of stability.
“No increases in rents have been recorded in 2026,” he said, attributing the trend to an increase in the supply of long-term rental properties.
He said reduced tourist numbers had prompted many owners to move away from short term holiday lets in favour of long-term tenants, increasing the availability of housing.
Kynigeirou also called for legislative changes to strengthen protections for landlords dealing with tenants who fail to pay rent, arguing that the current legal framework creates significant difficulties for property owners.
He urged parents and students searching for accommodation to use only registered and licensed estate agents, warning that unlicensed operators continue to exploit prospective tenants and create serious problems during property transactions.
Dr Stavri Morti, Co-Managing Director of the XM Group, explains the work being carried out in support of the fire-affected villages of Limassol.
“The XM Group was founded in Cyprus in 2009 and has served more than 20 million clients worldwide to date. When communities face hardship, we stand alongside those in need with responsibility and respect. Cyprus is our home. It is where approximately 800 of our colleagues work and where this company was built from the ground up. When Cyprus is in distress, we are in distress, too. We did not act as donors, but as people who love their country and recognise the responsibility we have towards it.”
The XM Group was among the first companies to provide immediate assistance to those affected by the 2025 wildfires in the Limassol district.
The XM Group responded without delay because there was an urgent need to support people who had lost their homes. Our initiative strengthened the sense of security and solidarity during an exceptionally difficult period for local communities and highlighted the importance of responsible and immediate corporate action in times of crisis. Working closely with local authorities, our objective has always been to improve living conditions while supporting the sustainable development and long-term resilience of rural communities.
The decision to commit €5 million was made swiftly by the Group’s shareholders, leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility team. Every internal department mobilised immediately, including our finance team.
Our CSR team travelled to the affected area with a mandate to listen and the authority to act. To address urgent needs, the team was empowered to commit resources without requiring approval for every individual decision. From the very first day, the team met with residents and community leaders. Architects and civil engineers were brought in to work alongside local communities, while close co-operation with the relevant authorities ensured the systematic implementation of the infrastructure projects funded by the XM Group. We will continue to stand by these communities until every project has been completed and formally handed over to them.
Funding for these infrastructure projects comes from the total amount the XM Group pledged towards the regeneration of the wildfire-affected areas.
Part of the €5 million committed by the XM Group was distributed immediately to families whose homes were destroyed by the fires. We are now beginning the next phase of regeneration through four major infrastructure projects in Vouni, Agios Amvrosios, Agios Therapon and Souni-Zanatzia. More than €1 million will be invested in these projects.
The aim is to transform these villages into attractive destinations for both residents and visitors. The projects were selected by the communities themselves to secure the future of their villages, encourage young people to remain in the area and attract visitors. Our role is to fund the projects that local residents identified as priorities for their communities.
In Souni-Zanatzia, a new multi-purpose open space will soon become a landmark for the village. It will provide opportunities for relaxation, recreation and sport while hosting cultural, social and sporting activities. The development will include a modern children’s playground, padel courts and a café. It will serve as a community hub set within the natural landscape, with easy and safe access for everyone.
The project in Agios Amvrosios is expected to bring neighbouring communities closer together through the construction of a modern 11-a-side football pitch serving local clubs and football academies. The facility will feature an artificial playing surface, metal fencing, a refreshment kiosk, changing rooms and toilet facilities. It will also host sporting, social and cultural events, attracting visitors from across the surrounding area and throughout Cyprus.
In Agios Therapon, a multi-purpose venue is being developed to accommodate cultural, recreational, educational and sporting events. Designed to blend harmoniously with the surrounding natural environment, the building will host a wide range of community, cultural and educational activities, including wedding receptions, children’s programmes and activities for older people.
In Vouni, a multi-level public space is being developed in connection with the historic Venetian Havouza monument. The project will include event spaces, a café, a relaxation area with a pond and a climbing wall offering panoramic views. It is intended to showcase the area’s natural beauty while strengthening local tourism.
All projects are expected to be completed within 18 months of obtaining the necessary planning and regulatory approvals. Responsibility for their operation and management will then be transferred to the respective community councils.
Part of the total funding committed by the XM Group will also be allocated to wildfire prevention measures.
Yes, prevention is of paramount importance to us. For this reason, we are funding the installation of 10 mobile water tanks across all districts of the Republic of Cyprus under the effective control of the Government. These reservoirs will serve as additional water collection points, particularly in areas where there are no rivers, coastline or reservoirs, enabling aerial firefighting aircraft to return to wildfire fronts more quickly.
The Cyprus Fire Service selected the locations for the water tanks to ensure they provide the greatest operational benefit to aerial firefighting resources. Three water tanks will be installed in the Paphos district, due to the topography of the area. Two will be installed in each of the Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca districts, while one will be installed in the Famagusta district.
Independent criminal investigator Andreas Paschalidis confirmed that he has indeed recommended criminal prosecutions against exposed individuals in the Videogate affair, rejecting claims that his findings cleared everyone involved and accusing critics of deliberately distorting his conclusions.
In a public statement on Thursday, Paschalidis said commentary surrounding his report had created the false impression that he had exonerated all those connected to the case, despite his recommendation to attorney-general George Savvides, that prosecutions be pursued under legislation implementing the Council of Europe Convention on the Criminalisation of Corruption.
“In light of my finding that criminal offences have been committed by a number of individuals and my recommendation for criminal prosecution of these individuals, the following questions reasonably arise. On the basis of what facts do some conclude that with my finding I acquit and absolve everyone and everything?” he said.
Paschalidis said he had chosen to respond publicly because he had witnessed an “attempt to distort” his findings “aimed at serving political expediencies”, as well as what he described as an attack on his personal integrity.
He stressed that he had acted solely in his capacity as a criminal investigator operating under specific terms of reference, rather than as the head of an investigative committee with a broader political or ethical mandate.
“My role was exclusively that of a criminal investigator,” he insisted, adding that critics “either out of ignorance, confusion, or deliberately” refused to recognise that distinction.
He also defended the decision not to publish the full report, saying he had no objection in principle because the investigation itself had been completed.
However, he warned that releasing the findings before any decision on prosecutions could undermine the presumption of innocence.
Paschalidis rejected criticism that he had failed to examine the political or moral aspects of the affair, arguing that such matters fell outside the scope of the mandate he had been tasked with.
He also explained why the report had been submitted on Monday, saying his appointment expired on that date and extending the investigation after it had already concluded would have been unjustified.
While the report found that no offences had been committed under the criminal code, Paschalidis said his assessment of the evidence and relevant case law led him to conclude that offences under the anti-corruption convention legislation had in fact been committed.
The statement follows criticism from opposition parties after the findings were submitted earlier this week.
Disy has called for the Legal Service to examine the findings and determine whether criminal offences arise, while maintaining that legal responsibility and political accountability should be treated separately.
Akel accused the government of attempting to escape accountability and called for the report to be published in full through the House institutions committee.
Paschalidis also rejected suggestions that his appointment as president of the watchdog tasked with investigating complaints against the police (Aadipa) was the result of an arrangement with President Nikos Christodoulides.
“My appointment to the position of Aadipa is in no way the product of a transaction with the President,” he insisted, adding that he did not personally know Christodoulides and that his appointment followed a recommendation by the attorney general, as required by law.
Concluding his statement, Paschalidis said he had carried out his duties “without fear or prejudice”, adding “If anyone questions it, let him speak now, otherwise let him hold his peace.”
You can now assign issues in Linear to Copilot cloud agent, our asynchronous, autonomous background agent.
When you assign a Linear issue to Copilot, it will:
You now have more control over how the agent runs, right from your Linear workspace:
Set these per issue, or apply them across your workspace or team with Linear agent guidance.
Copilot cloud agent is available with Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise.
The post Copilot cloud agent for Linear is now generally available appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
The MCP protocol is going stateless on 28th July 2026, and the GitHub MCP Server supports the latest spec ahead of the official release.
initialize are both removed, so you can connect to servers faster and easier. Clients can also complete the handshake in parallel.Since all tier 1 SDKs have preserved backwards compatibility and they have all already shipped beta support, you don’t need to do anything to maintain support. The GitHub MCP server uses the official Go SDK.
For GitHub MCP Server, we made three changes:
initialize are gone, and database reads are gone from every call, which makes things snappier without users losing anything.
Avoided deep packet inspection: We need to read some values from MCP requests for logging and secret scanning. In the new spec we can do that from HTTP headers guaranteed to be present. That means no more inspecting the payload of every single request before the SDK does.
Upgraded our elicitation implementation: Our stdio MCP server uses URL elicitation for easy user login. In the new protocol version, each step is a separate HTTP request. To make this work with old and new clients, the Go SDK provides a wrapper that makes both mechanisms work.
In addition, MCP added official conformance tests. Strict validation helps agents to verify their work. To use this, point Copilot at your codebase and provide access to:
This is a huge boost to all tiers of the official SDK, and to bespoke clients and servers too, because AI assisted development is much easier to verify with these tests.
GitHub MCP Server already supports the latest spec ahead of the official release.
To learn more, see the blog post about this release.
The post GitHub MCP Server supports the next MCP specification appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Now when a GitHub Actions check fails on your pull request, you can ask Copilot coding agent to investigate and directly fix the problem from GitHub Mobile. From the failed check, select Fix with Copilot to start the process.
Copilot opens a new pull request on top of your existing pull request, analyzes the failing check, and attempts to implement a fix. Once the changes are ready, Copilot tags you for review so you can inspect the proposed solution, run any additional checks, and decide whether to merge it.
This one-tap workflow makes it easier to respond to CI failures while you’re on the go, helping you keep pull requests moving forward.
This is now available on the latest production build of GitHub Mobile on iOS and Android.
Join the discussion within GitHub Community.
The post GitHub Mobile: Fix failing Actions checks with Copilot cloud agent appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
You can now create multi-select fields in Projects and Issue fields so a single field can hold more than one value. Tag an item with everything it relates to (e.g., multiple teams, modules, or categories) instead of picking just one.
Issue Fields
Projects Fields
To try it, create or edit a field and choose the multi-select type. You can set multiple values from the sidebar, and then filter by them in your project views.
Share your feedback in the GitHub Community.
The post Multi-select fields for Projects and Issues in public preview appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Agent automations increasingly label, type, assign, and close issues for you. GitHub Issues now shows the reason behind each change and lets you review them before they’re applied, so you decide how much to automate and when to stay in the loop.
We’ve released three new capabilities:
Use has:suggestions in issue search to find issues with changes waiting for review. Repository admins can also configure the automation level to set the confidence threshold, controlling which changes apply automatically and which are held for review.
Reviewing changes is optional. If you tell your automation to apply directly, it will. If you tell it to suggest, you get a review step. A small team moving fast might let the agent run on its own, while a busy public repository can hold changes for review. Because GitHub Issues hold back low-confidence actions, you only spend time on the changes most likely to need a second look.
Approvals are a workflow convenience, not a security control. They don’t enforce a server-side boundary, and an agent with permission to change issues can directly apply changes rather than suggest them.
Rationale, confidence, and approvals work with GitHub Agentic Workflows and Copilot cloud agent automations, and are also available through the REST and GraphQL APIs. At launch, they cover changes to labels, fields, type, close, and assignees.
If you already use GitHub Agentic Workflows, upgrade your workflows to add issue intent support. After upgrading, supported safe outputs include intent information automatically while remaining backward compatible. To require intents for a specific safe output, set issue-intents: true in your workflow frontmatter.
Set issue-intents: false to explicitly opt out. Issue intents are supported for the set-issue-type, set-issue-field, add-labels, close-issue, assign-to-agent, and assign-to-user safe outputs.
No update is needed. Create an automation from the Automations pane in your repository’s Agents tab and use supported tools to see confidence and rationale in action.
Rationale, confidence, and approvals are available now in public preview. Create an automation today using the supported tools to see suggestions and rationale in action, or join the discussion within GitHub Community.
The post Agent automation controls in GitHub Issues in public preview appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Disclosure: I work at Synadia (the company behind NATS, which is a pure-Go project). Sharing because these are free and might be useful to Go folks working with messaging/streaming.
We ran a set of hands-on workshops led by the engineers who actually build and support NATS, and the recordings are now available. The ones most likely to be relevant here:
Link to the full lineup and recordings: https://www.synadia.com/lp/rethinkconn-2026/workshops
Happy to answer NATS questions in the thread — I can pull in the engineers who ran these if something's over my head.
i've been building a distributed token bucket rate limiter in go over the past few months. it supports both an in-memory store and a redis + lua backend for atomic distributed rate limiting.
i've benchmarked it both on a single machine and across two machines (4 cores / 8 threads) using k6.
current numbers:
in-memory ~19k req/s p50: 4ms p99: 114ms redis + lua ~10.9k req/s p50: 17.5ms p99: 35.9ms algorithm only ~26m ops/s (single thread) ~10m ops/s (8 goroutines) 0 allocs/op i'm planning to benchmark multiple instances behind a load balancer next.
my questions are:
would appreciate any feedback. i'm more interested in learning where to improve than showing off benchmark numbers.
We're building a static analyzer for Go, and we just added a new rule to catch cases where the len function gets used as an index. We almost didn't bother finishing it, as it felt like a made-up error that would never actually fire in real code. Here's a little write-up if curious: https://pvs-studio.com/en/blog/posts/go/1393/
A few days ago I posted a loopback benchmark of a small API gateway I have been building in Go, and the top comment was basically "loopback measures nothing, use two machines and k6." That was correct, so I redid it, and it was far more useful.
Setup: client is a Mac running k6 over gigabit ethernet, server is a Ryzen 3600 on Pop!_OS running each gateway, every one reverse-proxying to a local no-op upstream on the same box. Plain proxy only, no auth or rate limiting in the path, so it is apples to apples.
Results (VUS=100, 15s):
gateway RPS p50 p95 p99 fails upstream 48203 2.00ms 2.14ms 2.60ms 0 mine 47607 1.89ms 2.94ms 3.58ms 0 traefik 47639 1.95ms 2.77ms 4.54ms 0 nginx 47345 1.98ms 2.25ms 3.11ms 0 caddy 42880 1.71ms 4.85ms 6.47ms 0 krakend 42799 1.85ms 4.43ms 5.64ms 0
The part worth reading: on the first real run mine was dead last, 37.9k vs 42 to 48k for the rest, about 21% below the upstream ceiling. I profiled it expecting lock contention and I was wrong. httputil.ReverseProxy allocates a fresh 32KB copy buffer per request unless you hand it a BufferPool. At ~48k rps that is over a GB/s of garbage, and the GC was the bottleneck. Adding a buffer pool (and making my circuit breaker lock-free while I was in there) took it from 37.9k to 47.6k, and per-request allocation from 44KB to 11.5KB. If you use httputil.ReverseProxy in anything hot, set BufferPool.
Two other things that bit me:
keepalive_requests defaults to 100. It was recycling the upstream connection every 100 requests. Bumped it, back to ~48k.Caveat: nginx, traefik and mine are all pinned to the upstream ceiling (~48k) here, so the top three are not really separated yet. Caddy and krakend are genuinely a bit behind on this workload. Separating the leaders needs a faster upstream, which is next.
Where I want to take this. It is a single Go binary plus a YAML file: JWT auth, per-route rate limiting (in-memory or Redis), round-robin and least-connections load balancing, health checks, circuit breakers, a Prometheus endpoint, and a small live dashboard. It is at the point where other people banging on it would teach me more than more of my own tests.
I am sorting out a couple of housekeeping things before I put the code up, so I am not linking it yet. But I want to line up some testers for when it is ready. If you would be up for trying to break it, I would love help with:
If that sounds interesting, say so in the comments or drop me a DM and I will ping you when it is out. Also genuinely curious what you would want from a gateway like this before I get there. It is a learning project, so blunt feedback is welcome too.