Friday, June 19, 2026
1c71e0c0-02ec-4970-94a0-a94b35d4beb6
| Summary | ⛅️ Partly cloudy until evening. |
|---|---|
| Temperature Range | 20°C to 27°C (67°F to 81°F) |
| Feels Like | Low: 70°F | High: 87°F |
| Humidity | 75% |
| Wind | 13 km/h (8 mph), Direction: 235° |
| Precipitation | Probability: 90%, Type: No precipitation expected |
| Sunrise / Sunset | 🌅 05:34 AM / 🌇 08:03 PM |
| Moon Phase | Waxing Crescent (17%) |
| Cloud Cover | 36% |
| Pressure | 1009.87 hPa |
| Dew Point | 66.34°F |
| Visibility | 5.97 miles |
Cyprus has emerged as a leader in protecting young people from severe material and social deprivation, according to newly released figures from Eurostat for 2025.
The island recorded a rate of just two per cent for this demographic, placing it among the top ten best-performing nations within the European Union.
This performance stands in contrast to the broader continental picture, where the rate for young people aged 15 to 29 years stood at 5.8 per cent, maintaining the same share recorded in 2024.
Across the union, this figure for the youth remains slightly lower than the rate observed for the total population, which sat at 6.3 per cent.
While the situation in Cyprus remains stable, other member states face significant challenges in ensuring the wellbeing of their younger citizens.
The highest shares of young people facing severe material and social deprivation were reported in Romania at 15.1 per cent, Greece at 14.7 per cent, and Bulgaria at 14.0 per cent.
Conversely, ten nations successfully kept this rate below 3.0 per cent, including Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Portugal.
Despite this relative success in preventing material hardship, young people across Europe continue to confront a higher risk of poverty or social exclusion compared to the general population.
In 2025, the overall at risk of poverty or social exclusion rate for those aged 15 to 29 years hit 24.2 per cent across the European Union.
This figure was 3.3 percentage points higher than the rate for the total population, which stood at 20.9 per cent.
When analysing specific components of this risk, young people faced an at risk of poverty rate 3.3 percentage points higher than the general population, recorded at 19.6 per cent compared to 16.3 per cent.
However, the disparity was less pronounced regarding the share of individuals living in households with very low work intensity.
In this category, the rate for young people was only 0.3 percentage points higher, at 8.2 per cent, compared to 7.9 per cent for the total population.
Municipalities across Cyprus are increasing charges for sunbeds and umbrellas on organised beaches this summer, with local authorities arguing that higher fees are necessary to support upgraded facilities and services.
The maximum fee for a beach set consisting of two sunbeds and one umbrella has risen from €7.50 to €10 under limits approved by the central beach committee.
Several municipalities have adopted the higher charge, although local authorities retain the discretion to set lower prices.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Ayia Napa mayor Christos Zannettou said the increase was the first substantial adjustment in around two decades.
The increase comes amid criticism from consumer organisations, which have warned that higher beach charges are adding to financial pressures already facing households.
Complaints have also emerged regarding alleged overcharging, difficulties renting individual items and uncertainty over the application of official pricing rules.
Addressing concerns over costs, Zannettou argued that Cyprus remains competitively priced when compared with other destinations.
He said the cost of organised beach facilities was “almost below 50 per cent of the amount charged in other countries” for comparable services.
Authorities have also sought to reassure beachgoers that public access remains protected.
Zannettou said the “designated free areas on beaches remain available to anyone” wishing to use their own equipment, adding that authorities “must respect those who choose to bring their own umbrellas and sunbeds”.
He also stressed that visitors are “not required to rent complete sets”.
A person visiting alone should be able to rent a single sunbed, while the umbrella remains unavailable for use unless separately hired.
The issue has drawn attention following reports from consumers who claimed they were required to pay for full sets despite only requesting individual items.
Zannettou said the committee had not officially received complaints regarding refusals to rent single sunbeds or umbrellas.
However, he acknowledged that such situations could create difficulties for visitors.
“For a competent authority to refuse to rent a citizen even a bed certainly causes unpleasant situations, which must be avoided,” he said.
He added that any formal complaints received by the committee would be referred to the relevant local authorities for examination.
Beachgoers who believe they have been treated unfairly are encouraged to raise concerns initially with beach managers before submitting complaints to the municipality concerned.
If unresolved, complaints can then be referred to the committee for further consideration.
Zannettou said local authorities continue to spend significant sums on improving beaches and supporting tourism infrastructure.
He said the Ayia Napa municipality alone had invested more than €2 million over the past three years in beach upgrades, including sanitary facilities.
According to the mayor, seven employees are currently assigned to sanitary facilities serving organised beaches in the municipality.
Zannettou also clarified that businesses operating sunbeds and umbrellas on beaches adjacent to their premises may set their own prices where permitted by law, provided the facilities do not fall within protected coastal zones.
Where beaches fall under local authority jurisdiction, operators must comply with the fees established by the relevant municipality and the central beach Committee.
Asked whether further increases were likely, Zannettou said he did not foresee additional rises in beach charges during the remainder of his term as committee president.
“We hope that tourism will do well and all of this will be evaluated along the way,” he concluded.
Two young Somali women lost their lives on Thursday afternoon after going for a swim in Oroklini area, Larnaca district.
A search and rescue operation failed to get to the two women in time before they drowned.
Both women were aged 20, residing in Cyprus on a work permit.
According to a police spokesman, the two deceased were part of a group that had gone to the beach. At one point, three of the women entered the water.
When they were swept away by sea currents near the breakwater, they began calling for help. Onlookers rushed to help, managing to salvage one of three bathers.
In a statement, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (Jrcc) said that at 7.30pm it mounted a search and rescue operation in the area.
The operation involved two police speedboats, a National Guard helicopter, a boat belonging to the lifeguards team stationed at Larnaca airport, a boat belonging to the Larnaca lifeguards club, as well two ambulances.
Rescue crews located the two women and recovered their bodies from the sea. The two women were rushed to Larnaca general hospital, where doctors pronounced them dead on arrival.
Oroklini police station is investigating.
The filing of tax returns for 2025 began on Thursday, and will run until October 31.
In a statement, the tax department said all employees, pensioners and self-employed persons – and whose gross annual income exceeds €19,500 – must file a tax return by that deadline.
October 31 is also the cutoff date for the payment of outstanding taxes.
Tax returns filed belatedly incur a €150 penalty.
The filings must be made online using the Taxisnet system.
The European Commission is set to soon announce the EU’s new envoy for the Cyprus problem, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday.
He was speaking to journalists on arrival at the summit of EU leaders taking place in Brussels. The two-day European Council concludes on Friday.
Responding to a question, Christodoulides said: “We shall have a new appointment on the part of the European Union.
“Today we discussed some names, subsequent to previous discussions, and very soon the President of the Commission [Ursula von der Leyen], having gone through the necessary internal deliberations, will make a public announcement.”
Also on Thursday, Christodoulides said the EU has “the most decisive role” to play in the current drive to bring about a resumption of Cyprus peace talks.
The European Union’s position of special envoy for the Cyprus problem is currently vacant following the unexpected resignation of former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn in March 2026.
The European Commission is actively seeking a replacement to coordinate with the United Nations and resume negotiations on the island’s reunification.
Direct talks on a Cyprus settlement have stalled since a failed effort in the summer of 2017.
The newly created metropolitan municipality of Nicosia has reduced its deficit by 80 per cent and resolved more than three-quarters of citizen requests during the first two years since the local government reform came into force, Mayor Charalambos Prountzos said on Thursday.
Presenting a review of the municipality’s first two years in office, Prountzos said the capital had successfully navigated the transition following the merger of several municipal authorities, overcoming financial and operational challenges to create a more efficient organisation.
The presentation was attended by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, deputy mayors, councillors and representatives of local organisations.
According to the municipality, 659 decisions have been taken since the reform took effect, with officials describing the process as one based on collective decision-making and transparency.
Municipal director-general Myria Pilakouta said the success of the reform was largely due to municipal employees who embraced the changes and worked to ensure their implementation.
Prountzos acknowledged that the newly formed authority inherited financial obligations, ageing infrastructure and equipment shortages, but said it had managed to move beyond the initial merger phase and focus on improving residents’ daily lives and implementing major projects.
He highlighted the municipality’s financial recovery, saying the deficit had been reduced by 80 per cent through tighter control of revenues and expenditure and efforts to combat tax evasion.
Services for the public have also been consolidated, with five service centres, a unified call centre and expanded digital services introduced. Of the 22,594 requests submitted over the past two years across 84 categories, 17,457 have been completed, representing a completion rate of more than 77 per cent, while the remainder are still being processed.
The municipality reported significant activity in environmental management, including more than 22,000 new tree plantings and the maintenance of 1,052 green spaces. It said waste collection services had improved by 50 per cent, while 177 parks and 106 playgrounds are now maintained, with 15 playgrounds either newly created or upgraded.
Nicosia has also launched what it described as Cyprus’ first citizens’ energy community, known as “Lefkothea”, as part of efforts to promote sustainable development and the green transition.
Officials said improvements had also been recorded in sanitation and public health. More than 4,500 truckloads of garden waste, bulky items and rubbish were removed, while 2,199 abandoned vehicles were cleared and 122 environmental fines issued.
The municipality said it had established 21 designated cat-feeding stations and new dog parks, while carrying out 883 inspections of food premises.
It also noted that the first court order in Cyprus relating to unhealthy living conditions had been issued, with a number of nuisance properties subsequently sealed.
On digitalisation, the municipality said it had completed an automated irrigation system and was developing a comprehensive geographic information system. Smart parking and smart waste applications are already operating, while plans are under way to install 7,000 sensors under the Smart Cyprus project.
Prountzos also pointed to Nicosia’s cultural sector, citing more than 150 annual events, three municipal museums and international distinctions including Europa Nostra awards in 2025 and 2026 and the title of European Best Cultural Destination 2025.
The municipality said 3,578 people benefited from social services in 2025 and that €522,000 had been distributed directly to charitable organisations. The 2026 budget for social programmes and institutions amounts to almost €3 million, the largest ever allocated for social policy.
The municipality also highlighted the ongoing revitalisation of the historic centre and the arrival of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the University of Cyprus in Faneromeni, where around 1,000 students are expected to be studying by 2029.
According to a recent Cyprus Forum Cities survey cited by the municipality, 73 per cent of residents now approve of the municipality’s work, up from 66 per cent a year earlier.
The race for the vacant deputy mayor post of Aglandjia officially began on Thursday, with two candidates submitting their nominations ahead of the June 28 by-election.
Prokopis Prokopiou submitted his candidacy at the Nicosia district administration, backed by former Aglandjia mayors and current Disy MPs Charalambos Petrides and Andreas Konstantinou.
After filing his nomination, Prokopiou thanked both men for their support and praised their long-standing contribution to the municipality.
He highlighted his experience in local government and pledged to focus on everyday issues affecting residents, including cleanliness, green spaces and traffic congestion. He singled out traffic linked to the University of Cyprus as a major challenge requiring coordinated action with state authorities.
“I am ready to help improve the situation through my experience,” he said, stressing the need for practical solutions rather than promises.
Nicosia district governor and election commissioner Andreas Hadjipakkos welcomed his candidacy, describing local government as “the cell of democracy” and urging Aglandjia residents to vote in the by-election.
Petrides wished him success, describing him as “a man of local government”, while Konstantinou expressed confidence that Aglandjia would maintain its high standards.
The post became vacant after Konstantinou was elected to parliament.
Independent candidate Andri Hadjiandreou, backed by Akel and Edek, also submitted her nomination.
Speaking after filing her candidacy, she said she felt honoured to be running in a community she considers home. She argued that Aglandjia needs a stronger voice and clearer direction following local government reforms, emphasising the deputy mayor’s role as a link between residents and the municipality.
“With determination, we will elevate Aglandjia,” she said, thanking Akel and Edek for their support while appealing for broader backing from political and community groups.
Hadjipakkos also welcomed her candidacy, highlighting the importance of local government in driving progress and encouraging citizens to cast their vote on June 28.
By the end of the 2025-26 school year, 70 per cent of the school transport fleet had undergone inspections at state vehicle testing centres (KEMO), the road transport department (TOM) said on Thursday, adding that stricter safety measures are already being implemented ahead of the new school year.
“The safety of pupils remains a top priority,” the department said in a statement issued following the publication of the auditor-general’s report on school buses. It added that inspections would continue and that contractual, regulatory and supervisory procedures governing school transport services would be further strengthened.
The department said instructions had already been issued to all parties involved, taking into account both the findings of the additional checks and the recommendations made by the Audit Office.
According to TOM, the technical faults highlighted in the auditor-general’s report had already been identified by them through extraordinary sample inspections carried out at state testing centres and had led to corrective measures and sanctions.
The additional checks were introduced as a preventive measure on top of the inspections required by law at private vehicle inspection centres (IKTEO).
Through the process, inspectors identified vehicles with technical defects that had not been detected during previous inspections at private centres. Depending on the severity of the problems, buses were either repaired and returned to service or permanently withdrawn from the school transport fleet.
The transport department noted that, under instructions issued by the transport minister in recent years, school buses are required to have successfully passed a technical inspection within three months before the start of the school year, in addition to statutory requirements.
TOM said it had taken a series of measures to ensure contractors complied with instructions regarding the timely presentation of vehicles for inspection, with contractual penalties imposed in cases of non-compliance.
Investigations have also been launched into cases where buses approved by private vehicle testing centres were later declared unsuitable during checks at KEMO facilities.
Where violations are established, the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Technical Inspection and Technical Inspection Centres) Law will be applied and the appropriate sanctions imposed, the department said.
Refresher training for personnel at private inspection centres responsible for heavy vehicle inspections is also being planned.
The transport department added that investigative files had been prepared and forwarded to police in relation to school buses in the Famagusta district found operating without valid roadworthiness certificates.
Contractors have also received strict warnings and financial penalties in accordance with concession agreements, it said.
According to the department, the findings highlighted in the auditor-general’s report confirmed the importance of the additional inspections and reinforced the need for continued and enhanced oversight of the school transport service.
The municipality of Paphos on Thursday began cleaning and improvement works in the Anavargos area after serious issues were identified near the community kindergarten.
Officials said the area had become overgrown and poorly maintained, with dense vegetation, neglected public spaces and trees left unpruned for extended periods.
They added that the conditions posed safety risks and contributed to the deterioration of an area used daily by young children.
Concern was also raised over two abandoned houses near the kindergarten, which were found to be neglected and reportedly accessed illegally.
Residents and parents have expressed concern about possible antisocial activity linked to the properties.
The municipality said it is proceeding with cleaning, pruning and general maintenance works to improve safety and restore the area.
Work is also continuing on pavement upgrades near the Paphos hospital roundabout to improve road safety and accessibility.
Phaneromeni Square in Nicosia will fill with colours, community spirit and multicultural energy this Friday as the World Refugee Day Street Festival returns. From 6pm to 10pm, downtown Nicosia is a hub of solidarity, music, art and global flavours.
“On World Refugee Day we come together to honour refugees around the world,” say organisers, the Cyprus Refugee Council. “Here in Cyprus, we celebrate their journey and contributions by coming together for the 13th Street Festival at Faneromeni Square.”
World music will blast throughout the square as tune choices are left in the skilful hands of DJ Cotsios o Pikatillis. On the food front, world cuisine will be highlighted, offering visitors the chance to taste international food and homecooked flavours from near and far.
Information stands will offer insights into the activities of various refugee-led organisations and civil society organisations in Cyprus, sharing opportunities for collaboration and networking. Young visitors will be entertained at a dedicated kids’ corner where they can play and create. At 7pm, a clown storytelling performance titled Mr Hat & the Adventures of the Newspaper will entertain old and young audiences of all backgrounds, bringing shared experiences in the heart of the old city.
World Refugee Day Street Festival
One-day festival celebrating World Refugee Day. June 19. Phaneromeni Square, Nicosia. 6pm-10pm. Free admission
By Lanting Liu
The 2026 Cyprus-China Film Week, held to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cyprus, drew to a successful close in Nicosia on June 15, the organisers said on Thursday.
The six-day cultural gala was jointly organised by the Chinese embassy in Cyprus, the National Film Administration of China and the Cypriot deputy ministry of culture.
The event featured the premiere of the Chinese martial arts film Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert as its closing highlight.
“Wu Jing portrayed the righteous chivalrous bodyguard Daoma, demonstrating classic Chinese knight spirit with solid martial arts skills. Chen Lijun, a celebrated Yue Opera performer, delivered a stunning cross-field performance as the valiant Western Regions leader Ayuya, presenting distinctive Eastern artistic charm. Both stars remained approachable, watching the film with local audiences and engaging in sincere on-site interactions.”
In the sharing session, Wu Jing pointed out that sincere stories and emotions transcend national and cultural boundaries. Chen Lijun shared her unique cross-acting experience and spoke of the profound beauty of civilisational integration felt during her Cyprus trip.
“The two artists’ presence embodies the inheritance and innovation of contemporary Chinese literature and art. As a powerful cross-cultural bridge, the film week has brought splendid Eastern culture to the Mediterranean, effectively deepening China-Cyprus friendship and showcasing a vivid, confident Chinese cultural image to local society.”
Nearly 200 distinguished guests gathered for the closing ceremony. Among them were chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Chinese embassy in Cyprus Zhou Yunliang and executive deputy director of the National Film Administration of China Mao Yu, Cypriot senior officials from the deputy culture ministry and the police, as well as local dignitaries, diplomatic envoys and overseas Chinese representatives.
The Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign ministry’ on Thursday expressed disgust with the European Parliament’s latest annual report on Turkey, which was accepted by the parliament by a majority vote on Wednesday.
It said that the report’s references to Cyprus “once again reveal the European Union’s biased and detached from reality approach to the Cyprus issue”.
“We completely reject the baseless accusations made against our motherland, Turkey, and the assessments which disregard the Turkish Cypriot people’s inherent rights and sovereign will, and the existing realities on the island,” it said.
It lambasted the report’s reference to the Turkish Cypriot people as a “legitimate community of the island” and its call on Turkey to allow the Turkish Cypriots the “space to act”, saying that this language “clearly ignores the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was established by our people’s democratic will”.
“The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a sovereign and independent state which maintains its existence with its institutions, democratic structure, and the free will of its people,” it added.
On this matter, it said that the European Parliament’s “continued insistence on imposing a federation-based agreement as the only option” for a solution to the Cyprus problem is “incompatible with the political and factual realities on the island”.
“Reintroducing a negotiation model which has been exhausted due to the Greek Cypriot side’s intransigence is far from contributing to the search from an agreement. A lasting and just agreement will only be possible with the acceptance of the Turkish Cypriot people’s sovereign equality and equal international status,” it said.
It went on to criticise “the unfounded claims regarding Strovilia, Pyla, and Varosha”, and “the biased and untrue assessments concerning immovable property, missing persons, cultural heritage issues, buffer zone violations, and Turkey’s legitimate presence in Cyprus”.
These references, it said, are “entirely biased and null and void from our perspective”, with the report being largely critical of the Turkish military’s actions in Cyprus’ buffer zone, deploring what it described as a lack of maintenance of churches in northern Cyprus, and also criticising the development of property owned by Greek Cypriots before 1974.
Additionally, the ‘ministry’ rejected the report’s request for a new European Union envoy for the Cyprus problem to be appointed, declaring such an appointment to be “unwarranted”.
“It is far from credible for the European Union, which has ignored the Turkish Cypriot people’s fundamental rights for years, to claim that it can contribute to an agreement as a ‘neutral’ actor. EU intervention will never be accepted,” it said.
It added that “the European Union’s failure to fulfil its 2004 commitments to lift the isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people … [has] once again revealed the union’s biased position on the Cyprus issue”.
This, it said, has been exhibited by “its rewarding of the Greek Cypriot side’s intransigent stance, and even its attempts to obstruct the relations which the TRNC has developed within the Organisation of Turkic States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation”.
“We invite the institutions of the European Union to adopt a constructive and balanced approach which is based on the existing realities on the island and respects the inherent rights, sovereign equality, and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people, instead of unilateral political approaches favouring the Greek Cypriot administration,” it said.
It added that “the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, in full harmony and solidarity with its motherland, Turkey, will continue to protect the sovereignty, security, and well-being of its people, and will resolutely continue its just fight for the recognition of its sovereign equality and equal international status by the international community”.
Former president Nicos Anastasiades will hold a press conference next week regarding the anti-corruption authority’s findings in relation to their investigation into the book Mafia State.
Earlier this week, the authority released a lengthy statement, where it said that Anastasiades, as well as others, may be criminally liable.
The report found that Anastasiades may have committed abuse of power while in office on several occasions, with one possible abuse of power on Anastasiades’ part found in relation to the payments made between a company named Focus Maritime and another named Rizokarpasso Shipping.
In response, Anastasiades issued a statement denying any wrongdoing but also calling for an investigation “by the competent authorities”.
On Thursday, his political office issued a new statement saying the former president would hold a news conference on Tuesday June 23 addressing these matters.
The news conference will take place at the Journalists’ House in Nicosia, starting at 11am.
The anti-corruption authority’s statement summarised the findings of its probe, but did not publish the report in full.
In the aftermath, a public debate is taking place on the extent of a former president’s immunity from prosecution.
The constitution, though dedicating an entire article to this issue, appears unclear as to under what circumstances a former president may be prosecuted. Its provisions are subject to interpretation.
Paragraph 1 states that the president “shall not be liable to any criminal prosecution during his term of office” except under certain conditions.
Paragraph 2 states that the president “may be prosecuted for high treason on a charge preferred by the Attorney-General and the Deputy Attorney-General of the Republic before the High Court upon a resolution of the House of Representatives carried by a secret ballot and a majority of three-fourths of the total number of Representatives”.
This is provided that “no such resolution shall be taken and no item shall be entered on the agenda or debated in the House of Representatives in connection therewith unless the proposal for such resolution is signed by at least one-fifth of the total number of Representatives.”
Paragraph 3 says that the president “may be prosecuted for an offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude upon a charge preferred by the Attorney-General and the Deputy Attorney-General of the Republic before the High Court with the leave of the President of the High Court”.
Upon being prosecuted, the president “shall be suspended from the performance of any of the functions of his office”.
If convicted, “his office shall become vacant and on his acquittal he shall resume the performance of the functions of his office.”
However, Paragraph 5 notes that the president “shall not be liable to prosecution for any offence committed by him in the execution of his functions but he may be prosecuted for any other offence committed during his term of office after he ceases to hold office”.
And Paragraph 6 states that “no action shall be brought against the president…. in respect of any act or omission committed by him in the exercise of any of the functions of his office.”
The phrase “functions of his office” is subject to interpretation.
One way around all this might be for a former president, like Anastasiades in this case, to personally waive any immunity and make himself available to authorities.
Mafia State was published in late 2022.
In April 2024, Anastasiades filed a lawsuit against Drousiotis, seeking over €2 million in defamation damages and a ban on his books Mafia State and The Gang, alleging malicious falsehoods.
Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Thursday acclaimed the deal signed by Iran and the United States to bring a halt to the war which broke out between the two countries in the spring as “an important step towards strengthening regional stability” in a telephone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi.
He wrote in a post on social media that he had “welcomed” the deal, which was signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump on Thursday, and that, both he and Araghchi had “underlined the importance of continued dialogue and diplomatic engagement”.
After the signing of the deal, Trump pushed back on criticism that he had not been adequately firm with Iran, writing in his own social media that “these fools, who think I haven’t been tough enough on Iran, when the stock market just hit a record high and oil prices are ‘tumbling’ down, are either jealous, bad people, or stupid”.
Pezeshkian, meanwhile, described the deal as a “historic document” and said that “peace will be achieved through mutual respect”
The text of the deal states that both Iran and the US, “and their allies in the current war”, declare “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”, and foresees that a “final deal” to bring about a “permanent termination” of the war will be reached within 60 days – before August 17.
Crucially, it also states that Iran will “make arrangements using its best efforts for the sage passage of commercial vessels” through the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint through which the majority of the world’s oil passes, during this 60-day period.
However, the deal has already showed signs of strain, with news website Al Jazeera reporting that Israel has continued its strikes on Lebanon in spite of it, with at least three people having been killed.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted a senior official close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as having said that Israel has “no intention of backing down on its positions” regarding its continued military action in Lebanon, and that the country is “conducting stubborn negotiations” with the US over the matter.
On this front, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has already warned that “the continuation of the Zionist entity’s attacks on Lebanon will be a violation of the pledges contained” in Thursday’s deal.
“The Zionist entity does not want to provide any opportunity for any diplomatic path to calm the situation in our region,” he told Lebanese news website Al Akhbar.
Earlier in the week, when the announcement of an agreement was first made, Cyprus’ foreign ministry had said that it “represents a critical step for sustained de-escalation across the region, including Lebanon, and for the restoration of freedom of navigation”,
It added that the deal “renewed momentum towards a comprehensive negotiating framework for a lasting settlement of the nuclear issue and all other critical issues”.
As such, it added that it encourages “all parties” to “seize this opportunity and remain committed to dialogue, restraint and diplomatic engagement”.
Journalist Makarios Drousiotis said on Thursday that the findings of the anti-corruption authority’s investigation into allegations contained in his book Mafia State had vindicated years of reporting, after the authority concluded that former president Nicos Anastasiades and others may bear criminal liability.
Speaking to Sigma, following the publication of the authority’s conclusions, Drousiotis said he felt “a sense of satisfaction” after years of legal disputes and public criticism stemming from the publication of the book in 2022.
He stressed, however, that the process was far from complete.
“I am satisfied because Mr Anastasiades chose four points from the book to take legal action against me, and for all four there are reports from the anti-corruption authority,” he said.
The authority’s report recommends further investigation into a number of individuals and entities, including former president Anastasiades, over allegations ranging from abuse of power and influence peddling to money laundering and perjury.
The findings followed a lengthy inquiry during which investigators examined hundreds of pieces of evidence and heard testimony from scores of witnesses.
Drousiotis argued that the conclusions broadly confirmed issues he had previously raised through his investigative work.
“What I write in the books is confirmed and I am not a slanderer, as Nicos Anastasiades claimed,” he said.
He maintained that the authority’s investigation had limitations because it lacked full criminal investigative powers.
According to Drousiotis, the material ultimately examined represented only part of a wider body of evidence collected during his own research.
“The investigators came and to a certain extent confirmed my findings,” he said.
“If they had investigative powers, what I found is the tip of the iceberg.”
Drousiotis further criticised the handling of allegations raised in recent years, claiming that many issues drawn attention to in his book had remained in the public domain without attracting substantive investigation.
“They did not investigate a single issue that was revealed,” he said.
Addressing the recusal of attorney-general George Savvides and his deputy Savvas Angelides from the case, Drousiotis said concerns surrounding perceived conflicts of interest could continue to affect public confidence in the process.
He also expressed support for the participation of foreign experts in future investigations, citing the role played by Australian jurist Gabrielle McIntyre, who chaired the committee that examined the allegations.
At the same time, he said Cyprus possessed capable professionals who could also contribute to such inquiries.
Beyond the legal and political implications of the report, Drousiotis said the wider significance of the investigation lay in strengthening accountability within public life.
He argued that scrutiny by journalists, investigators and institutions could act as a deterrent against future misconduct.
“The positive thing is that when there are checks and balances, even journalistically speaking, those who hold positions and institutions know that they can find themselves exposed,” he said.
Drousiotis also repeated claims that “billions” had left Cyprus and said his ultimate objective was to see any improperly obtained funds identified and recovered.
“What would satisfy me would be for this money to be identified and returned to the state,” he said.
Reflecting on his own period working alongside Anastasiades before entering journalism, Drousiotis rejected suggestions that he had personally benefited from or participated in any improper activity.
“You will not find any evidence or testimony that I had any personal participation in anything reprehensible,” he said.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Thursday said there is no “lack of understanding” between himself and Turkey, as efforts aimed at bringing about a resumption of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem continue.
“I meet the president, the foreign minister, and all the visiting ministers. I do not feel any unhappiness, unease, or lack of understanding. As I said before the election, whatever I do regarding the Cyprus issue, I do it in coordination and consultation with the Republic of Turkey,” he told television channel Kanal Sim.
He added that the question of “who is happy and who is unhappy” is a “very subjective thing”.
The comment comes after unsubstantiated reports had suggested that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had advocated for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem during his most recent meeting with United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin on Monday.
Following that meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone call in which they discussed “the latest developments on the island of Cyprus”.
High-level sources informed the Cyprus Mail last week that Erdogan has green-lit the UN’s “new initiative” aimed at bringing about a resumption of negotiations in earnest to solve the Cyprus problem.
Erdogan is said to be of the view that the lack of a solution to the Cyprus problem has “unduly cost Turkey through no fault of its own” in recent decades.
The sources said that Turkey’s support of both the 2004 referendum and the 2017 negotiations, both of which were rejected by the Greek Cypriot side, constitute evidence of Erdogan’s “pragmatic and constructive stance” and “will to engage in the hope of securing a solution to the Cyprus problem”.
On Tuesday, Erhurman convened a meeting of Turkish Cypriot political party leaders, after which he said the next enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN, must not pass without a tangible result.
“It should not be a five-plus-one for just for the sake of a five-plus-one. It should be a five-plus-one so that results are achieved,” he said after the meeting.
He added that “the rational path in Cyprus and the region is a lasting solution, lasting peace, and lasting stability”, and that “this can only be achieved through diplomacy and dialogue”.
On this matter, he stressed that “this time, it must be different”, following the failure of the most recent round of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana in 2017.
Holguin said last week that she expects the next enlarged meeting to take place either in late July or early August.
A Ukrainian woman who brought over almost €8 million in cash into Cyprus over a seven-month period was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of making false declarations to customs authorities.
The 32-year-old was convicted by the Larnaca criminal court for giving false statements to the customs department concerning funds she brought into Cyprus during 20 separate trips between August 2023 and March 2024.
The court’s decision followed an earlier ruling in which the same tribunal acquitted the woman of 20 money laundering charges, finding that prosecutors had failed to establish that the funds originated from criminal activity.
A 43-year-old Ukrainian man who had also faced money laundering allegations in connection with the case was similarly acquitted.
The investigation began after the woman reported to police on March 1, 2024, that she had been robbed of €420,000 in Limassol by two unidentified individuals travelling on a motorcycle.
Her complaint triggered an extensive inquiry into the circulation of large amounts of cash through Larnaca airport.
Investigators subsequently established that the woman had entered Cyprus 20 times over a period of approximately seven months carrying a combined total of €7,769,300 in cash.
At the outset of the investigation, authorities charged the woman with money laundering and providing false information.
Police questioned the origin of the funds after identifying inconsistencies in her explanations.
According to evidence presented during the proceedings, the woman initially stated that the money originated from a loan intended for the purchase of residential property in Cyprus.
During subsequent questioning, she reportedly provided a different explanation, telling investigators that the funds came from her personal savings.
Those contradictions formed a central element of the prosecution’s case regarding false declarations, although the court ultimately determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove the money itself was linked to criminal conduct.
The case also attracted attention after investigators alleged that, shortly after the reported robbery, the woman entered a restaurant and handed a paper bag containing cash to another individual before police arrived at the scene.
The 43-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of receiving the package, though he was eventually cleared of money laundering allegations.
In determining sentence, the criminal court took into account several mitigating factors.
These included the fact that the woman had declared the cash to customs authorities upon her arrivals in Cyprus and that she is the mother of two minor children.
Akel have demanded the immediate resignation of attorney-general George Savvides and his deputy Savvas Angelides despite their decision to recuse themselves from any involvement in the case.
In secretary-general Stefanos Stefanou’s statement issued on Thursday, he argued that the anti-corruption authority’s findings represent a crucial test for institutions and warned that any failure to pursue accountability would further undermine public confidence.
He further stressed that both Savvides and Angelides “should have already gone home”, insisting that their continued presence in office prevents the possibility of an impartial process.
The party argued that, under the constitution, any criminal investigation arising from the findings would ultimately fall under the auspices of the attorney-general.
“It is an insult to the public’s intelligence to tell us that they will check Anastasiades, those being the two crutches of Anastasiades,” the party said.
The intervention came a day after Savvides and Angelides announced they would recuse themselves from evaluating or making decisions regarding the Anti-Corruption Authority’s report.
Savvides cited his friendship and relationship with former president Nicos Anastasiades, saying the decision was necessary to ensure “objective impartiality”.
Angelides likewise said he would refrain from involvement.
Stefanou also turned his criticism towards both Disy and President Nikos Christodoulides.
The party accused Disy of continuing to protect Anastasiades and that Christodoulides must recognise that the findings concern “the government of which he was a key figure” and “his political mentor, the one who installed him in the presidency”.
The anti-corruption authority’s findings are currently before the law office of the Republic, while the government has announced plans to appoint an independent investigator to examine the case further.
President Nikos Christodoulides said that the European Union has “the most decisive role” to play in the current effort being undertaken to bring about a resumption of negotiations in earnest aimed at solving the Cyprus problem, after he met European Council President Antonio Costa.
He linked efforts to solve the Cyprus problem to the government’s six-month term as the holder of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, which he said has been “universally acclaimed, by all accounts”, and “successful”.
The term, he said, was conducted “with a specific plan, design, vision and deliverables of particular added value towards further European integration”.
He said that this “demonstrates, among many other things, our commitment to the European project and to a Europe which is more autonomous, stronger and more competitive”.
“Within this context, the EU has the most decisive role to play in the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ effort to restart the talks to find a sustainable and functional solution to the Cyprus problem, fully compatible with the principles, values, and law of the EU,” he said.
Christodoulides’ comments come with United Nations envoy for the Cyprus problem Maria Angela Holguin set to visit Brussels in the coming days, having already travelled to Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece for contacts.
At the same time, House President Annita Demetriou had on Monday called on the European People’s Party, the European political grouping to which both she and Christodoulides belong, to offer its support in pushing for the appointment of a new EU envoy on the Cyprus problem, after the previous envoy, Johannes Hahn, resigned in March.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, too, has expressed openness to the idea of the European Union playing a greater role in efforts to solve the Cyprus problem, but stressed that, given the Republic of Cyprus’ membership of the bloc, it cannot act as a mediator.
“Can the European Union support the process in a positive process through its own decision-making mechanisms? The answer is yes, and it should. Typical examples include issues like the direct trade regulation. However, if they imagine this as being at the table, it is absolutely impossible, both for us and for Turkey,” he said.
The direct trade regulation is a pending EU regulation which would allow Turkish Cypriot goods, as certified by the Turkish Cypriot chamber of commerce, to be exported directly into Europe via the Green Line, and given preferential treatment inside the European single market as European goods.
It was proposed in July 2004, three months after the rejection of the Annan plan by the Greek Cypriot side in a referendum, shortly after the Republic of Cyprus’ accession to the EU.
Erhurman said that the EU has “become part of the problem” after it accepted Cyprus as a member state without the Cyprus problem being solved, and added that “after the Annan plan, some of the things it said would happen if the Greek Cypriot side said no did not happen”.
“It caused the process to move in a negative direction. Therefore, I think the EU is somewhat indebted to contribute to the process, not by being at the table, but by facilitating it through its actions away from the table. If the EU makes meaningful contributions, it will help the process,” he said.
Cyprus on Thursday took receipt of its first payment under the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence procurement programme, with a total of €177.2 million being disbursed to the island’s government.
The disbursement amounts to 15 per cent of Cyprus’ total allocation of just shy of €1.2 billion, with the European Commission saying that the funds will “enable Cyprus to advance key defence investments, reinforce resilience, and upgrade its military capabilities in line with common European objectives”.
European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, meanwhile, said that “today’s pre-financing for Cyprus under Safe shows Europe’s commitment to strengthening our common security and defence”.
“This support will help Cyprus invest faster in the capabilities it needs, while contributing to our common European objectives of a stronger, more resilient, and more connected defence industry. Safe is about solidarity, readiness, and ensuring that member states can deliver for Europe’s security together,” he said.
The disbursement comes after the Cypriot government and the European Commission signed a loan agreement earlier this month, with Cyprus having been the sixth EU member state to have signed a loan agreement, after Poland, Lithuania, Croatia, Romania and Belgium all signed their own agreements last month.
Poland was also the first country to receive funds, being given a little over €6.5bn of the almost €44bn to which it is entitled under the scheme at the end of last month. Poland is the largest recipient of Safe programme funding of any EU member state.
Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said last year the funding would see the National Guard acquire military hardware to “cover [its] priorities” until 2030.
He added that the Safe programme came about “at a time when the European Union’s needs to cover shortcomings are significant”, and at a time “when the mobilisation of equipment programmes and joint procurement programmes is becoming urgent”.
“The €150bn which will be invested by member states in the joint procurement of high-tech weapons systems is expected to be the trigger for a new promising era for European defence, with the ultimate goal of autonomy, technological dominance, and resilience,” he said.
Cyprus’ investment plan had been approved by the Council of the EU in February, with President Nikos Christodoulides at the time describing the Safe programme as “an important financial tool”.
He added that the Council of the EU’s approval of the funding is “an indication of the correct work which was carried out in Cyprus”, before highlighting the fact that Cyprus is “among the first member states where the relevant amount was approved”.
We will deprecate Opus 4.6 (fast) across all GitHub Copilot experiences (including Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions), on June 29th, 2026:
| Model | Deprecation date | Suggested alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Opus 4.6 (fast) | 6-29-2026 | Opus 4.8 (fast) |
Please update your workflows and integrations to use the supported model before these dates. Copilot Enterprise administrators may need to enable access to the alternative model through their model policies in Copilot settings. As an administrator, you can verify availability by checking your individual Copilot settings and confirming that the policy is enabled for the specific model. Once enabled, you’ll see the model in the Copilot Chat model selector in VS Code and on github.com. No action is required to remove the model once it has been deprecated.
GitHub Enterprise customers with questions or concerns are encouraged to reach out to their account manager for further assistance.
To learn more about the models available in Copilot, see our documentation on models and get started with Copilot today.
Join the GitHub Community to share your feedback.
The post Upcoming deprecation of Opus 4.6 (fast) appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
MAI‑Code‑1‑Flash, Microsoft’s purpose‑built small coding model, is now available across additional GitHub Copilot surfaces. MAI‑Code‑1‑Flash can now be used in:
MAI‑Code‑1‑Flash delivers best‑in‑class quality for its size, outperforming other small models in early testing. It’s also designed and tuned specifically for GitHub Copilot.
MAI‑Code‑1‑Flash is available in Copilot Free, Student, Pro, Pro+, and Max plans. Availability will start with a limited set of users and expand gradually over the coming weeks. Access for Copilot Business and Enterprise is coming soon.
To learn more about the models available in Copilot, see our documentation on supported models and choosing the right AI model for your task.
The post MAI-Code-1-Flash available on more Copilot surfaces appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Copilot code review now supports repository-level AGENTS.md files, and it’s easier to request a review from Copilot on draft pull requests with the Request button. These changes are all generally available.
AGENTS.md SupportYou can now add an AGENTS.md file at the root of your repository to help shape Copilot code review feedback. If your repository already has an AGENTS.md file, Copilot code review will now utilize that context automatically as part of its workflow. This makes it easier to get reviews that better reflect your repository’s conventions and expectations.
With this update, Copilot code review:
AGENTS.md from the root of your repository.You can already request Copilot code review on draft pull requests to get a first pass on your draft before even publishing your pull request. Now, the Request button shows up next to Copilot on draft pull requests. This makes that workflow easier by letting you request Copilot directly from the reviewer picker without needing to search for Copilot first.
On the Conversation tab of your pull request, Copilot code review events documented in the timeline can get noisy. We’ve collapsed certain Copilot code review timeline events together to help declutter your conversation tab, allowing you to find what matters, quickly.
The post Copilot code review: AGENTS.md support and UI improvements appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Duplicate issues are one of the biggest time sinks for maintainers: triaging the same bug filed multiple ways, closing duplicates, and linking back to the original. For large repositories, this can take up hours every week.
As a first step to reduce maintainer triage time, issue creation now flags potential matches against existing issues in the repository as issue details are being populated. If potential matches are found, they appear inline in the issue creation form with up to three suggestions. You can review the suggested issues or continue creating your issue.
This feature is available as a public preview.
Share feedback in the community discussion — it directly shapes what we build next.
AI tools connected to the GitHub MCP server can now read and write issue fields. Agents can create fully triaged issues with priority, area, dates, and other fields automatically set, plus filter existing issues by field values.
For more information, see the community discussion about issue fields in the GitHub MCP server.
The post Detecting Duplicate Issues – Public Preview and issue fields MCP support for GitHub Issues appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Searching for pull requests using author: now shows pull requests opened by Copilot cloud agent on the user’s behalf. For example, searching with author:@me on github.com/pulls will return your own pull requests and any pull requests Copilot opened at your direction. With a single query, you can easily view and manage all the pull requests you authored, whether you authored them directly or with Copilot cloud agent.
Currently, this change applies to the github.com UI and GitHub Mobile. On July 16, we will also roll out this change to the REST API and GraphQL API.
author:[username] or author:@me in any pull request search returns human-authored and Copilot-authored pull requests together.Created by me view on github.com/pulls, will automatically include Copilot-authored pull requests in the list.username with Copilot as the author of pull requests, not only Copilot. Similar changes will continue to roll out across the platform over time.The post Copilot-authored pull requests now included in author searches appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
You can now quickly jump between repositories without leaving your current page. The new repository switcher in the global navigation is generally available.
Select the chevron next to the repository name in the navigation breadcrumb to open a dialog. From the dialog, you can search for and select another repository in your organization or owner namespace to navigate to. This shortens cross-repo navigation, which is especially helpful if you work across many repositories.
The post Repository switcher generally available in global navigation appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Custom images for GitHub-hosted runners are getting new capabilities that give you more flexibility over how you compose and manage your image-generation pipelines.
You can now build custom images on top of other custom images, enabling layered image workflows for GitHub Actions. Teams can maintain a shared base image with common tooling and let individual teams build on top of it with their own dependencies. This reduces duplication and speeds up image builds.
Additionally, you can now use conditional logic around the snapshot keyword in your workflows to control when a new image version is generated. This gives you more flexibility over your testing and rollout strategy for your images.
For more information, check out our docs about custom images for GitHub Actions
The post Actions: Build custom images from custom images appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
The pull_request_target event is one of the most commonly misused triggers in GitHub Actions, leading to vulnerabilities in workflows. Workflows triggered by pull_request_target run with the base repository’s GITHUB_TOKEN, secrets, and default-branch cache access. Checking out the head of an unreviewed pull request from a fork inside one of these workflows typically lets attacker-controlled code execute with the workflow’s full privileges. This pattern is known as a “pwn request,” and it has been the root cause of multiple supply-chain incidents across the ecosystem. For more information, see our blog posts about helping to prevent these requests.
Starting today, actions/checkout v7 is generally available and refuses common pwn request patterns by default.
On July 16, 2026, we’ll backport the enforcement to all currently supported major versions. Workflows pinned to a floating major tag (e.g., actions/checkout@v4) will automatically pick up the change. Workflows pinned to a specific SHA, minor, or patch version aren’t affected by the backport and will need to upgrade using Dependabot or through established upgrade processes.
Same-repository pull requests aren’t affected, and the pull_request event is unchanged.
actions/checkout v7 refuses to fetch fork pull request code in pull_request_target and workflow_run workflows (the latter only when workflow_run.event is a pull_request* event). It refuses when the pull request is from a fork and any of the following apply:
repository: resolves to the fork pull request’s repository.ref: matches refs/pull/number/head or refs/pull/number/merge.ref: resolves to a fork pull request’s head or merge commit SHA.This change is focused on preventing the most common form of pwn requests in the Actions ecosystem. actions/checkout will now fail for usage in pull_request_target events from forks with insecure inputs such as:
ref: refs/pull/${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}/mergeref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha }}repository: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name }}Pwn requests can be introduced in other ways outside of the scope of this change. For example, a run block uses git or the gh CLI to pull a HEAD ref or other untrusted source that is subsequently executed. Additionally, pwn requests triggered in other event types besides pull_request_target (such as issue_comment) will not be blocked by this change. Further hardening of additional events may be explored in future releases.
This change only blocks checkouts of the fork pull request head and merge commits. It does not block checkouts of other untrusted repositories. For example, setting repository: to an unrelated third-party repository is not blocked. Checking out and executing any untrusted code in a privileged event remains a pwn request risk that should be reviewed.
Some workflows need to check out fork pull request code with elevated trust, and this is why pull_request_target was created in the first place. For example, generating coverage reports that require a private artifact registry or producing and running authenticated checks against the changes introduced from the pull request. We’re keeping an opt-out available so these workflows can continue to function, but you should treat opting out as a deliberate security decision.
Before you opt out, read our guidance for securely using pull_request_target. After confirming the event is needed and safely used in your workflow, you can opt out of this protection by adding the allow-unsafe-pr-checkout input on the actions/checkout step. The flag is intentionally named to be easy to spot in code review and static analysis.
For more details, see the actions/checkout repository, the GitHub Actions documentation on pull_request_target, and the security hardening guidance for GitHub Actions.
The post Safer pull_request_target defaults for GitHub Actions checkout appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
Workflow execution protections are now in public preview for GitHub Enterprise, organizations, and repositories. This new capability lets enterprise administrators define an allow list that controls who can trigger GitHub Actions workflows and which events are permitted to run them, giving you predictable, secure workflow execution.
Previously, a workflow ran based on the workflow file in the commit that triggered it. An attacker with repository access could modify that file to run malicious code. Workflow execution protections close that gap. Administrators define the rules and GitHub Actions evaluates them before a run, so an unauthorized actor or event can never trigger an unwanted workflow execution.
Workflow execution protections are built on the GitHub rulesets framework, so the targeting you already know from rulesets works here too. You can apply protections across your enterprise with organization-wide rulesets and scope them to specific repositories using repository custom properties. That means you stop reasoning about security one YAML file at a time and instead make broad protections visible and enforceable in one place. You can also use evaluate mode to run your rules in shadow, so you can see exactly what a rule would block before you enforce it and roll out policies. This helps prevent you from breaking existing workflows.
Event and actor are the first two rule types, and we’ll add more over time.
Read, Maintain, and Admin), GitHub Apps, Copilot, and Dependabot.push, pull_request, pull_request_target, and workflow_dispatch.By default, every user with write access to a repository can trigger workflows. Actor rules let you separate who contributes code from who runs your CI, so you can grant a contributor write access without granting them the ability to execute workflows.
Workflow execution protections disrupt several real-world attack patterns:
pull_request_target across your organization, including in public repositories where it’s most often exploited.workflow_dispatch to maintainers so untrusted identities can’t kick off workflows.You’ll find workflow execution protections in your organization and repository settings under “Actions”, in the new “Policies” section. This “Policies” section is new and separate from your existing “General” Actions settings.
To learn more, read about workflow execution protections in the GitHub Actions documentation.
Join the discussion within GitHub Community.
The post Control who and what triggers GitHub Actions workflows appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
When you generate release notes for a new release, the generated notes include a list of pull requests merged since the last release. For more information about automatically generating release notes, see our docs.
Now, if a pull request created with Copilot cloud agent has been merged, the developer who asked Copilot to open the pull request gets credit alongside @copilot:
create_feature_flag MCP tool by @copilotcreate_feature_flag MCP tool by @monalisa with @copilotThis means you get recognition for the work you do with Copilot cloud agent, even when the agent opens the pull request on your behalf.
This is available now for all repositories on GitHub and all plans.
The post Generated release notes credit you for Copilot pull requests appeared first on The GitHub Blog.
wanted to build a simple api for my side project a couple endpoints, a database, proper structure. wrote handlers, set up routing, deployed
an hour later i check logs 5000 requests from different ips, perfect headers. same patterns
thought someone from my friends was testing. messaged the group - nobody knows about it. ok
added a rate limiter 10 minutes later i check - bots adjusted. now they send requests slightly slower. exactly at the limit edge
ok, interesting. added user-agent check. they faked it. added cookie check. they faked it. added a captcha. they ...
at some point i realized im not writing business logic. im playing cat and mouse with algorithms
googled golang bot detection. found a couple libraries. but they all solve one problem and create three new ones
id agree to anything at this point. even an eye scanner. just so bots stop eating my free tier
We're pretty pragmatic at Zep about which languages and runtimes we use for product engineering: our custom inference servers are written in Rust, Graphiti is written in Python, and all of our agentic development is in Go.
Go fits the agent runtime because of the shape of the work. An agent is a long-running process that runs concurrently and spends most of its time waiting on a model, a tool, or a human. Go was *built* for this type of workload. We don't use a framework, as most gophers are leery of doing. :-) Our agent loop came out to about 40 lines on top of an OpenAI SDK.
I wrote up how we approached this here: https://blog.getzep.com/agentic-development-in-go
What are everyones preferences - validate application side with protovalidate, or custom validation rules?
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Hi r/golang,
First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to this community. A few months back, while lurking and reading various architectural discussions here, the consensus heavily pointed towards avoiding heavy frameworks/ORMs and sticking to simpler, standard-library-friendly tools. Your collective wisdom convinced us to pull the trigger on a massive migration, and the results speak for themselves.
We applied this advice to our open-source project, Paca (an AI-native, self-hosted alternative to Jira/Linear built for Scrum teams).
When we started out, we did what many teams do to move fast for an MVP: we built our backend API using Gin for routing and GORM as our ORM. It worked well to get the project off the ground, but as a self-hosted tool where deployment footprint matters, we quickly noticed our compiled binary was getting uncomfortably bloated.
At its peak, our API binary sat at 82.63 MB.
Following the advice we gathered here, we decided to do a clean migration: swapping Gin for Chi and GORM for sqlx. The results blew us away—our production binary dropped down to 20.63 MB (a ~75% reduction) with zero loss in functionality.
Here is a breakdown of why we did it, how it went, and what we learned.
net/http, lightweight, has a fantastic idiomatic middleware pattern, and utilizes standard library types.sqlx forced us to write explicit SQL, which actually felt refreshing and gave us complete control over our database interactions.It wasn’t just the lines of code; it was the dependency graph.
sqlx, we stripped away a massive chunk of metadata and runtime overhead that Go had to bake into the executable.go build -ldflags="-s -w" in our release pipeline to strip debugging information.sqlx made it much easier for us to audit indexes and optimize N+1 query problems that GORM was silently hiding from us.Since this sub essentially shaped our current backend stack, we’d love for you to take a look and see if we did it justice.
The project is entirely open-source: GitHub - Paca-AI/paca
We are looking to optimize and expand this even further, and we have a couple of architectural questions for the community:
sqlx, do you eventually migrate directly to pure jackc/pgx or sqlc for compile-time type-safety?Thank you again for steering us in the right direction. Check out the repo, tear our architecture apart, or drop your advice below!
Hey everyone!
I just finished building the initial version of a Go SDK for my company's REST API (disclaimer: this was not made as a part of my professional work and this is not an advertisement).
With this project, I really wanted to immerse myself in Go by writing a production-grade, idiomatic library that provides type-safe wrappers and utilities to easily communicate with the API. Because my company is not a Go shop, I don't have too much guidance on how and where I can improve my Go skills, so I am turning to the community for feedback/suggestions! Also, please ask questions about my design decisions if something looks off :)