Monday, August 17, 2026
df3e3b58-ae6c-4c45-9fa1-a0afeab5286c
| Summary | ⛅️ Mostly clear until afternoon, returning in the evening. |
|---|---|
| Temperature Range | 22°C to 30°C (72°F to 86°F) |
| Feels Like | Low: 76°F | High: 94°F |
| Humidity | 66% |
| Wind | 14 km/h (9 mph), Direction: 262° |
| Precipitation | Probability: 57.99999999999999%, Type: No precipitation expected |
| Sunrise / Sunset | 🌅 06:09 AM / 🌇 07:33 PM |
| Moon Phase | Waxing Crescent (17%) |
| Cloud Cover | 27% |
| Pressure | 1009.06 hPa |
| Dew Point | 67.51°F |
| Visibility | 6.08 miles |
A new framework aimed at ending the uncontrolled dumping and burning of agricultural plastics shall head to the House, with farmers set to receive free collection points for waste.
The regulations seek to establish a nationwide system for the separate collection and recycling of agricultural plastic waste, with producers required to cover the costs of both collection and transport.
The House environment committee is examining the bill before it is brought before the plenary for a vote.
The framework was approved by the cabinet in July 2024 and submitted to parliament in October of that year.
The proposed rules cover a wide range of agricultural plastics, including greenhouse coverings, ground covers, nets, and plastics used for silos.
Farmers would be required to separate the material and deliver it free of charge to designated collection points.
Collective management systems would have 12 months from the regulations coming into force to organise and operate collection.
They would then be responsible for transporting the waste to treatment facilities.
The costs would be borne by producers of agricultural plastic products under an extended responsibility system.
Distributors would also be required to accept waste for delivery to the relevant scheme.
The regulations are intended to address the environmental and public health effects of uncontrolled agricultural plastic waste.
Burning or dumping such material pollutes both soil and water as well as contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
An impact assessment by the environment department found that the new system would create additional costs for businesses producing or importing agricultural plastics but would also reduce environmental damage and public spending on clearing illegally dumped waste.
The proposed system follows several years of consultation between government departments, producers, importers and waste managers.
A public consultation on draft regulations was held between July and October 2021, following discussions among stakeholders that began in 2017.
Agricultural plastic packaging is crucially excluded from the new framework and remains subject to existing packaging waste legislation.
A severe storm caused significant damage to Trikomo on Sunday, with beaches being evacuated.
Turkish Cypriot media reported that the worst of the weather was concentrated around the villages of Ayios Iakovos and Arnadi.
According to a statement from the ‘municipality’ of Trikomo, strong winds damaged the building of the Ayios Iakovos hunting club.
In Arnadi, electricity poles were brought down, causing a small fire which was quickly extinguished by fire crews.
During the firefighting operation, a main water pipe was also damaged, temporarily disrupting the water supply to the village until repairs could be carried out.
Beaches were evacuated as a precaution, while residents were advised to avoid unnecessary travel.
Crews remained in the affected areas to assess the damage and work on restoring electricity and water services.
The storm comes as Cyprus experiences heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
A small forest fire in Menoyia was brought under control within 20 minutes on Sunday after starting when a vehicle caught fire, the forestry department said.
The fire broke out at around 2.50pm, spreading to around two acres of carob fields before firefighters extinguished the blaze at 3.10pm.
Eight forestry department personnel attended with three fire engines, while a further six firefighters responded with two fire engines.
A fire which broke out near Pissouri on Sunday afternoon has been contained, with the Limassol-Paphos highway having been reopened in both directions as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.
The fire started at around 3pm in an area beside the highway, according to the statement issued by fire brigade.
Four fire engines were deployed to the scene, while aircraft is dropping water on the fire.
Support was also requested from the Episkopi fire brigade, with volunteer teams expected to assist.
The highway was temporarily closed to traffic in both directions near Pissouri, with drivers travelling towards Limassol and Paphos being diverted onto the old Limassol-Paphos road.
Police and Fire brigade officers remained at the scene to manage traffic and support the firefighting operation.
Police urged motorists to follow the instructions of officers and exercise particular caution while travelling through the area.
More to follow…
President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday described the Republic as the country’s “most important achievement” as Cyprus marked 66 years since its proclamation.
In a message published on X, Christodoulides said the anniversary represented “the pinnacle moment in the centuries-old history of our country”, describing independence as the result of the struggles of the Cypriot people and the Eoka campaign against British colonial rule.
“Our state, the Republic of Cyprus, is our most important achievement,” he said.
Christodoulides said the government’s priorities included the “protection and continuous upgrading” of the Republic’s status, alongside strengthening its domestic and international position.
Domestically, he said this would involve strengthening security and the economy, modernising the state and improving the public’s quality of life.
Internationally, he said the government aimed to strengthen the Republic’s position so it would be regarded as “a reliable and creative partner”.
The president said a stronger Republic would be better placed to pursue the “long-desired goal of liberation, the end of the Turkish occupation and the reunification of our homeland”.
He said this should be achieved through a solution that is “functional and sustainable” and provides “peace and security”.
When I was talking to people ahead of coming to Cyprus for the summer, one recurring issue I was warned about was the public buses. Buses in Cyprus, I heard, are totally unreliable. They don’t come on time, or they don’t come at all. You can’t trust them to get you to where you need to go.
It was with this context in mind that I formed a pleasant impression of public transport. The buses, both intercity ones and those within Nicosia, were generally able to get me where I wanted.
I wondered, however, how reliable the bus was for those in less populated areas of the country. I decided to find out during a weekend trip to the Troodos mountains, where I intended to travel mainly by public bus. It was not exactly a success.
While making a tentative plan for the weekend, I had only a few concrete goals in mind. I wanted to see Kykkos monastery, make it to the Platres on Sunday and stop by a winery to bring something home for my family.
There is only one bus route that goes to Kykkos from Nicosia: Bus 82. It doesn’t run on Sundays, and it passes by just twice in each direction on other days. I had to go on Saturday morning if I wanted to get there because, if I went on the second bus on Saturday, I would have no way of getting back for the rest of the weekend.
So it was that I set out from Nicosia shortly after 7am on Saturday morning. I took a packed, standing room only, bus to the Apolloneio hospital in the city before catching Bus 408, headed towards Troodos square. I got off midway through the route at a stop named “Mitropoliti Chrysanthou Sarigianni – Atsas” five minutes before the connecting 8.55am bus to Kykkos was due.
The map showed that I would be departing from the same stop that I arrived at, so I waited in the same place. At 8.55am, I checked Google Maps, which indicated that the bus was delayed five minutes, so I wasn’t too worried.
Seconds later, two buses pulled out from the bus parking lot behind the nearby petrol station and exited to the left of me. In front was Bus 82. I ran towards it from the bus stop, but it had turned the corner and driven away. I was too late.
I wondered in a daze where I had gone wrong. Evidently, I was supposed to board the bus where it was waiting near the parking lot rather than at the bus stop along the road, but I saw no signage to convey that. The next bus to Kykkos was six hours later, at 2.55pm, and a quick check on the Bolt app confirmed to me that no Bolt driver was nearby.
Out of options, I walked to the petrol station and asked for help calling a taxi to the Kykkos monastery.
I spent time at the monastery and made the trek up Throni hill to the tomb of Archbishop Makarios III. After a quick lunch, I set out to find the bus stop and make sure I was in the right place.
The bus ride was quiet. Besides the three people who had got on at Kykkos with me, there was only one other person from an earlier stop. No one else got on or off the rest of the ride, and we arrived at Atsas only one minute behind schedule.
Seven minutes later, I was on Bus 408 headed towards Troodos Square – the final one of the day. The bus came at 2.43pm, five minutes early, and I wondered what would have happened if the bus from Kykkos was slightly later and the bus to Troodos was slightly earlier.
Once I got to Troodos Square, I considered my options. I wanted to go to the wine village of Omodos, but the only way to get there by bus would be to go down to Limassol first before going back up – a three hour long ordeal. I thought about going to the famed Tsiakkas Winery near Pelendri, but after getting to Trimiklini, the bus to Pelendri would not come in time to get to the winery before closing at 5pm.
I didn’t have much time before the last bus going south out of Troodos Square for the day – the 64 Bus at 3.30pm – so I got on the bus when it came. I decided to get off at the picturesque village of Lania and, with further bus options so limited, was forced to ask a friend who lives in the mountains to pick me up for the night.
I awoke on Sunday morning in a small village in Limassol district, determined to make it to Platres.
With a little waiting, I could take the bus to Omodos pretty easily. But, despite Omodos and Platres being prominent villages that are a 15-minute drive apart, there is no bus that goes between them without requiring you to detour to Limassol first.
I didn’t see the point in spending nearly three hours on the bus to get to Platres, so I asked my friend to drive me there. On the way, we stopped in Omodos, where I bought some commandaria and zivania.
In Platres, I went for a walk in the Platres forest to the waterfalls nearby. It was refreshing to see a steady stream coming down from the mountains following strong rainfall this year and to get a reprieve from the heat.
I wanted to stay longer, but I had to catch the last bus of the day to Limassol at 3.45pm. I got to the bus stop and waited, and waited and waited. No bus came, and I began to lose hope for myself and the two other people waiting there.
Suddenly, 20 minutes after the scheduled time, a bus coming from a different direction arrived, and the driver told us she could get us to Limassol. The mysterious bus brought us quickly to Saittas, where a larger bus was waiting to take us the rest of the way.
I wasn’t sure what happened to the original bus that was supposed to come, but I had made it successfully to Limassol. I enjoyed a dinner in the city, stumbled across the Wind Orchestra Festival and caught the intercity bus back to Nicosia.
I pondered my weekend adventures while on the bus to Nicosia. Even for a region with understandably less demand for buses, having a bus go through a stop only twice a day seemed too infrequent.
I wondered whether anybody, except for those with absolutely no other options, would choose to structure their day around those bus times. How many tourists who don’t rent a car might see the hassle that travelling to the Troodos is and decide not to go?
And, most of all, I was frustrated by the difficulty of getting between some villages without going to Limassol first. It seemed like adding a short route that connects the Troodos square–Limassol line with Omodos could open up much greater mobility.
I’m not the first person to notice these shortcomings. Etap Troodos president Nikos Matthaiou has spoken about how lack of efficient connections from the airports to the Troodos is hindering tourism. Former Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades acknowledged that mountain areas need “not only a better road network but also a better bus service”.
Additionally, perhaps the idea of a railroad connecting Cyprus is not an impossible dream. European transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told people last year to “don’t laugh” at the idea of trains in Cyprus.
Ultimately, for a country with the lowest use of public transportation in the European Union, there is still much room for improvement, especially in mountainous communities.
A 20-year-old man will remain in police custody in the north for three days as authorities investigate allegations that he sexually abused a 14-year-old child in Nicosia, according to Turkish Cypriot media reports on Sunday.
The suspect, a Turkmenistan national, appeared before a court after being arrested on charges of sexual assault of a child under sixteen.
A police officer informed the court that the alleged incident took place sometime in 2025 at an empty construction site at a school in Nicosia.
Police became aware of the allegations yesterday after the child’s mother discovered screenshots of WhatsApp conversations involving her daughter on a cloud storage application connected to their shared email account.
The suspect’s phone and the child’s phone were seized as part of the investigation and are to be examined by police.
Authorities also said the suspect had provided a voluntary statement in which he admitted to the allegations, but that the statement would need to be verified and supported by further evidence.
The child is also expected to undergo a medical examination.
Speaking in court, the suspect claimed that the child had been his girlfriend and expressed remorse.
The court ordered the suspect to be remanded for three days to allow the investigation to proceed.
Heavy rain is causing reduced visibility and hazardous conditions on the Nicosia to Limassol highway.
Police said rainfall was affecting the road, with visibility for drivers on the Nicosia to Limassol highway “limited” and the surface “slippery” due to water flowing and accumulating in several areas.
Drivers were urged to reduce their speed, keep a safe distance from vehicles ahead and use their headlights.
Heavy traffic was also reported on the Limassol to Troodos road, with police advising motorists to exercise patience and follow instructions.
Alternative routes towards Troodos include the Kantou, Omodos and Mandria roads, as well as the route from Ayia Fyla through Apesia, Kapiliou and Trimiklini.
Former Disy leader Averof Neophytou has criticised the government’s handling of the Cyprus issue, warning that political calculations must not take precedence over efforts to secure progress in negotiations.
Speaking on Sunday to Alpha, Neophytou said President Nikos Christodoulides appeared not to have fully understood the conditions set by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for convening a multilateral conference on Cyprus.
He said the president “seems not to have understood them well”, further remarking that if he had actually understood them but was misleading the public, “then it is tragic”.
He further lambasted Christodoulides for apparent political machinations, for when asked as to whether the president was sincere in his intent on solving the Cyprus problem, he replied that “while Guterres was here it would seem some were running polls for 2028.”
Neophytou was referring to the UN framework for moving towards a broader meeting on the Cyprus problem, which requires sufficient progress on the issues under discussion before such a conference can be convened.
He also criticised what he described as a failure to make progress on opening new crossing points, saying the government should overcome the obstacles preventing movement on the issue.
Neophytou urged Christodoulides to overcome what he called the obstacle of a roadblock and “open the way for a solution”.
Neophytou has previously warned that closing the crossing points would be a “strategic mistake”, arguing that it could strengthen Turkish arguments in favour of a two-state settlement.
On Sunday, he also rejected the idea that party interests should influence positions on the Cyprus issue.
“For the good of the Cyprus issue, know that for me there is no party that is above my country,” he said.
Asked whether he was preparing a return to frontline politics, Neophytou left the possibility open without setting out any specific plans.
Repeated fires in Paphos are raising concerns that arsonists may be responsible, forestry department director Savvas Ezekiel said on Sunday.
The two fires that broke out in Lysos yesterday were reported around 500 metres apart, with the first breaking out at about 4pm in the Potamoudes area.
It burned approximately seven hectares before being brought under control at around 6pm.
A second fire broke out shortly afterwards in the Mersinia area.
Forestry department spokesman Glafkos Kyriakou said on Saturday that “the two incidents point to a malicious act”.
Ezekiel informed the Cyprus News Agency that the two outbreaks formed part of a wider pattern of fires reported in recent years between Droushia and Prodromos, as well as in Skoulli and now Lysos.
“We cannot have five fires starting from Drouseia to Prodromos as consecutive incidents,” he remarked.
“The phenomenon in this ‘triangle’ that I mentioned to you occurs every year. Why does it happen every year? Something is up and we must identify it.”
He said the repeated incidents required closer investigation, further commenting that he was prepared to submit proposals concerning the area at forthcoming meetings.
Asked in regard to the investigation into the Lysos fires, Ezekiel said only that “the case is being investigated” and declined to provide further details.
Ezekiel also warned that the risk of major fires remained high despite recent rainfall in parts of the mountains.
The forestry department remains on alert as the investigation into the Lysos fires continues.
Journalist Makarios Drousiotis has announced today that his crowdfunding appeal has raised €52,874.63.
Drousiotis said that the total included donations made through the GoGetFunding platform, direct contributions and €3,100 in cash from supporters.
He said an independent audit of the accounts and payments would be made public.
The campaign, launched on Monday to help cover his legal expenses, reached its target within 36 hours, according to Drousiotis.
After platform and payment fees, he said €46,586.49 remained in a separate PayPal account.
A further €3,188.14 was transferred to a Revolut account used exclusively for the campaign, while another €3,100 in cash is due to be added.
Drousiotis assured the money would be used only for the purpose for which it was donated and that all transactions would be reviewed by an approved auditing firm.
The final figure comes as legal questions continue over the legality of the appeal.
Lawyer Simos Angelides said the campaign did not appear to fall within the legislation as currently written.
“Based on the law as it currently stands, this crowdfunding campaign does not appear to fall within the interpretation of the legislation,” he said.
Drousiotis’ own lawyer Maria Theristi similarly argued that the appeal concerned “the expenses of a specific court case and his personal legal defence” rather than a charitable or social cause.
The interior ministry referred the matter to police for examination after the campaign came to its attention.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou has said that no prosecution would follow if authorities determined that the campaign does not fall under the legislation.
The journalists’ union (ESK) has raised concerns on the implications of the cases against Drousiotis for stifling freedom of expression.
Drousiotis is facing criminal proceedings over the case involving a woman known as Sandy, as well as separate proceedings concerning alleged personal data offences arising from his book Mafia State.
He has rejected the allegations and described the Sandy prosecution as “vindictive in nature”.
Drousiotis has maintained that his fundraising appeal is intended to meet the legal costs arising from his journalistic work and has pledged to make the campaign’s financial records publicly available.
A Cypriot national who died in a car accident has donated her heart to a 45-year-old woman in Israel who had been waiting almost two years for a transplant.
The transplant was successfully completed at the Rabin medical centre in Tel Aviv on Friday after a 26-hour operation involving medical teams from Cyprus, Greece and Israel, the hospital said on Sunday.
Israeli authorities were informed on Thursday morning that a heart from the Cypriot donor was available.
Tests confirmed it was suitable and doctors immediately began searching for a suitable recipient.
The heart was scheduled for removal in Nicosia at 3am on Friday.
Four medical teams worked simultaneously. The Israeli team removed the heart, while teams from Cyprus and Greece recovered the lungs, liver and kidneys for other recipients.
The Israeli team was then taken by helicopter to Larnaca airport. The aircraft landed in Israel at 7.40am and the heart reached the operating theatre less than an hour later.
Doctors subsequently informed their Cypriot colleagues that the transplant had been completed successfully.
Dr Tamar Ashkenazi, director of Israel’s national transplant centre, said the operation required close coordination between medical teams, hospitals, airports and customs authorities.
“Every hour was critical,” she said, stressing the need for precise coordination throughout the process.
The donation was part of continued cooperation between Cyprus and Israel in organ transplantation.
Rabin Medical Centre said Cypriot patients have also benefited from the cooperation in recent years.
Former environment commissioner Antonia Theodosiou has described her departure from the post as “sudden”, while criticising delays in environmental policy and the handling of the Akamas.
In an interview with news outlet StockWatch published on Saturday, Theodosiou said she had no indication that she would be replaced in the recent government reshuffle.
“I had no suspicion, my departure was sudden, as was my appointment,” she said, whilst acknowledging that she was grateful President Nikos Christodoulides for having selected her as a scientist rather than as a representative of a political party.
Theodosiou said her office received almost 10 complaints a day during her two and a half years as commissioner.
The complaints covered issues including tree cutting, uncontrolled rubbish dumping, interventions in forests and nature, and irregularities involving beaches.
She said around 90 per cent of the complaints were justified but argued that the commissioner’s advisory role limited the office’s ability to secure action on matters requiring political decisions.
“I had no intervention from the government in the issues I was promoting,” she said.
“However, when it comes to issues that require political decisions, they are all at an early stage or have not even started yet.”
Theodosiou identified the protection and management of Akamas as one of the main areas where she believed progress had been inadequate.
She argued that Akamas should be treated as a wider natural, cultural and social area, including surrounding communities, rather than solely as a protected landscape.
“Today we are faced with an open construction site,” she said, describing the management and protection of areas requiring protection as being in a “disastrous state of limbo”.
She also criticised the continued reliance on studies and consultations, saying the issue required comprehensive action combining environmental protection with sustainable development.
Theodosiou was appointed by Christodoulides in January 2024 after working on the sustainable development plan for Akamas.
Environmental organisations expressed “strong disappointment and concern” over her removal earlier this month, describing her departure as a loss of environmental expertise.
The government has since replaced her with former Edek MP Elias Myrianthous.
Theodosiou said one of her main proposals was the creation of a deputy ministry for climate change and sustainable development, arguing that existing environmental structures did not provide sufficient capacity to plan and implement policy.
Baby turtles were spotted making their way into the sea at Pervolia beach in Larnaca on Sunday, with footage showing the hatchlings moving from the shore towards the water.
The turtles were seen in the coastal area of Pervolia, according to a post by Sanida Club, which shared video of the hatchlings making their way to the sea.
The sighting comes during the nesting season for sea turtles in Cyprus, whose beaches provide important nesting grounds for species including the loggerhead and green turtle.
Under Cyprus conservation measures, nesting beaches are monitored during the breeding season, with measures taken to protect nests and hatchlings from disturbance.
The movement of hatchlings from their nests to the sea is a particularly vulnerable stage of the turtles’ life cycle.
Greek Cypriot crossings through checkpoints from the government-controlled areas to the north increased during the first half of 2026 while Turkish Cypriot crossings declined, according to police data reported on Sunday.
A total of 1,733,326 crossings were recorded through the checkpoints between January and June, with 920,679 involving Greek Cypriots and 812,647 involving Turkish Cypriots.
Greek Cypriot crossings increased by approximately 108,000 compared with the second half of 2025 and by around 280,000 compared with the first half of last year.
Turkish Cypriot crossings followed the opposite trend, for the number recorded during the first six months of 2026 was approximately 143,000 lower than in the second half of 2025 and around 215,000 below the corresponding period of 2025.
The figures concern crossings recorded at the checkpoints and do not represent the number of unique individuals who crossed, as the same person may have crossed multiple times during the period.
Separate figures reported by Turkish Cypriot media showed that 146,096 arrivals were recorded by air and sea in the north during the first half of 2026.
Of those arrivals, 2,440 were Greek Cypriots, compared with 2,685 during the corresponding period of 2025.
Akel MP Christos Christofides met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday and used the brief encounter to raise the Cyprus problem and the destruction of cultural heritage.
In his social media post issued today, Christofides said he presented the Pope with books on the history of Morphou, as well as publications concerning the destruction of the north’s cultural heritage, the 1974 coup and Turkish invasion.
“We asked the Pope to assist in the efforts for the liberation and reunification of our homeland and people in conditions of peace,” Christofides said.
The meeting took place on August 12 following the Pope’s customary address to crowds gathered at St Peter’s Basilica.
Christofides described it as a brief meeting conducted as part of a standard Vatican procedure in which religious and political figures and other dignitaries are invited to meet the Pope.
“We tried to convey the magnitude of the destruction and the dangers that the Republic of Cyprus, a member state of the European Union, has faced and is facing,” he said.
Christofides had previously accompanied former president Demetris Christofias to the Vatican in 2012 and participated in talks with the Holy See.
Christofides said the visit had given him an understanding of the “quality and depth” of relations between Cyprus and the Vatican and the assistance he believes could be obtained from the Holy See.
Police made 20 arrests and carried out hundreds of checks on drivers and premises during overnight operations nationwide last night.
The arrests involved offences including illegal residence, possession of a knife, illegal drug possession and burglary.
Officers stopped and checked 598 drivers and 204 passengers during the operations, while 28 premises were inspected.
Traffic police issued 201 violations with 15 new cases being investigated.
Police reported 70 cases of speeding and 29 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol following 350 breathalyser tests.
One driver was reported for driving under the influence of drugs following a drug test.
A total of 29 vehicles were impounded during the operations.
Cyprus marks 66 years of independence today, with the establishment of the Republic on August 16, 1960, ending 82 years of British colonial rule.
The republic was formed under the Zurich and London agreements, signed in 1959 by Britain, Greece, Turkey and representatives of both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
Archbishop Makarios became the first president, while Turkish Cypriot leader Fazil Kucuk became vice-president.
The settlement was reached amid the ongoing armed struggle led by Eoka against British rule.
Eoka, led by Georgios Grivas, sought to end British rule and achieve enosis (union) with Greece.
For the Turkish Cypriots, the prospect of enosis was opposed as a threat to their security, with Turkey increasingly advocating for taksim (partition).
Britain itself sought a settlement that would end the insurgency while preserving its strategic interests on the island.
The Zurich and London Agreements established Cyprus as an independent bi-communal republic.
The agreement was reached in Zurich in February 1959 before being finalised through negotiations in London.
Makarios initially held reservations regarding elements of the proposed settlement yet against the advice of his counsel and Grivas himself, ultimately accepted it as the basis for independence.
Sir Dick White, former spymaster of both MI5 and MI6, alleged that British officials presented Makarios with a dossier containing compromising information on the Ethnarch, which was reportedly obtained through Operation Sunshine, a British intelligence operation targeting Eoka.
According to the account, Makarios withdrew his remaining objections the following day and accepted the settlement.
Kucuk, a prominent advocate himself for the island’s division, also reluctantly accepted the agreement.
The constitutional arrangements were unusually detailed and were supposedly designed to prevent either community from dominating the other.
The president was to be a Greek Cypriot elected by Greek Cypriots, while the vice-president was to be a Turkish Cypriot elected by Turkish Cypriots, with each granted a veto over certain decisions.
The cabinet was to contain seven Greek Cypriots and three Turkish Cypriots, members of the House were to be elected separately by the two communities, while important legislation required separate communal majorities.
The constitution also entrenched a series of provisions that could not easily be altered by a simple parliamentary majority.
The intention was to ensure that the new state could not be transformed unilaterally by either community.
Under the Treaty of Establishment, Britain retained ‘sovereignty’ over Akrotiri and Dhekelia for their military bases.
The Treaty of Alliance established a defence relationship between Cyprus, Greece and Turkey.
Greece was permitted to station 950 military personnel in Cyprus and Turkey 650, while the treaty also provided for cooperation between the three countries in the defence of the new republic.
The Treaty of Guarantee placed the independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus under the protection of Britain, Greece and Turkey.
It also prohibited Cyprus from pursuing either union with another state or partition of the island.
The transition from colonial rule was completed on August 16, 1960. At the independence ceremony, held at the House, Sir Hugh Foot, the last British governor, read the declaration proclaiming Cyprus an independent republic.
The British flag was lowered on Government House, and the flag of the new Republic of Cyprus was subsequently raised over the present presidential palace.
The formal anniversary remains August 16, although Cyprus celebrates its national Independence Day on October 1.
A new undersea cable connecting Cyprus and Syria is expected to enter service by early 2028, creating a new internet link between the two countries.
According to a joint press release issued on Sunday, the Ugarit 2 system will connect Pentaskhinos in Cyprus with Tartus in Syria across a route of about 240 kilometres.
The project is being developed by Cyta, the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment and UNIFI Communications.
The project is intended to replace the existing Ugarit cable, which has connected Cyprus and Syria since 1995.
The current system has a capacity of only 622 megabits per second.
The construction and maintenance agreement was signed in Damascus on July 28, with the companies describing it as the first major international infrastructure agreement to be completed under Syria’s new economic framework.
UNIFI founder and chief executive Adrian Shatku said the project would help reconnect Syria with international digital networks.
“Ugarit 2 is proof that US technology, European partnership and Syrian determination can together deliver critical infrastructure,” he said.
Cyta chief George Metzakis said international network infrastructure was important for strengthening connectivity in the region.
“Strategic investment in regional and international network infrastructure is fundamental to enabling secure, resilient, high-capacity connectivity for the Eastern Mediterranean region,” he said.
Italian manufactuer Prysmian has been selected to supply the submarine cable, while Elettra will carry out the marine installation.
Nokia will provide the optical transmission equipment for the first phase.
A marine survey of the proposed route and cable manufacturing are already under way, with the consortium targeting completion in early 2028.
The project has been developed under a licence issued by the US treasury’s office for foreign assets control and is being presented by the companies as a post sanctions infrastructure project for Syria.
A suspected arson attack is being investigated after a second fire broke out some 500 metres away from an earlier blaze in Lysos.
The first fire broke out at around 4pm in the Potamoudes area, burning approximately seven hectares of land before being brought under full control by 6pm.
Forestry department spokesman Glafkos Kyriakou said that “the two incidents point to a malicious act”.
The second blaze broke out at around 6pm in the Mersinia area, around 500 metres from the first fire.
Firefighting crews intervened immediately and brought it under control before it could spread.
The scale of the initial fire prompted the activation of the “Icarus” protocol, with nine firefighting aircraft taking part.
A total of 57 forestry department personnel and 11 fire engines were deployed, with six diggers, two tractors, and water tanker also assisting in the operation.
The causes of the fires remain under investigation.
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