Huginn Daily

Saturday, July 11, 2026

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• Parcel delivery tops postal satisfaction survey

  Parcel delivery received the highest customer satisfaction ratings among postal services, according to the findings of a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey published on Friday.

  The survey evaluated the consumers’ experiences of sending and receiving documents, letters and parcels, finding that parcel delivery generated the highest satisfaction levels overall.

  Among respondents, 82 per cent said they had received documents or letters during the past 12 months, with 95 per cent of those deliveries handled by Cyprus Post. Other providers included ACS (11 per cent), Akis Express (4 per cent) and DHL (3 per cent).

  The main reason why respondents said they would not recommend a provider for receiving documents or letters were delivery delays, 61 per cent, and delivery errors, 16 per cent.

  Meanwhile, 81 per cent of respondents said they had received parcels during the same period. ACS handled the largest share of deliveries at 73 per cent, followed by Cyprus Post (32 per cent) and Akis Express (25 per cent).

  Across all categories, delivery delays were the main reason respondents said they would not recommend a provider, cited by 61 per cent of those receiving documents or letters and 66 per cent of those receiving parcels.

  Delivery errors were the second most common complaint.

  Only 18 per cent of respondents said they had sent documents or letters during the past year, with three-quarters using Cyprus Post, followed by ACS (23 per cent) and Akis Express (8 per cent).

  Among those who would not recommend a provider, 40 per cent cited delivery delays.

  Nineteen per cent of respondents had sent parcels during the previous 12 months. ACS accounted for 47 per cent of parcel shipments, followed by Cyprus Post (40 per cent) and Akis Express (17 per cent). The main complaints were delivery delays (29 per cent), delivery errors (10 per cent) and damaged items (6 per cent).

  Overall, parcel collection received the highest customer satisfaction rating, with an NPS score of 39, followed by parcel sending at 37. Receiving documents or letters scored 33, while sending documents or letters recorded the lowest score at 32.

• New evidence links attempted robbery to earlier case

  New evidence has emerged regarding the July 6 attempted robbery of a jewellery shop in Larnaca, with testimony apparently linking the two suspects with the attempted robbery of a bank in Kiti on June 19.

  Larnaca police criminal investigation head George Charalambous said on Friday evening that the police were now investigating both cases together.

  Two suspects aged 41 and 33 have been arrested in connection with the attempted robbery of the jewellery shop.

  The police are investigating conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted robbery, illegal possession of a firearm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and carrying a firearm to incite terror.

  On June 19, two people in a saloon car parked outside a bank in Kiti. Wearing masks and carrying a sports bag, they approached the bank but the security doors did not open. After a few seconds they drove away.

  On July 6, the 73-year-old jewellery shop owner was injured after resisting an attempted armed robbery in central Larnaca.

  Charalambous said the police were notified at around 9am that a man had entered a jewellery store wearing a black motorcycle helmet, a black long-sleeved shirt and a food delivery company vest.

  The suspect allegedly threatened the owner with a gun. In the struggle that ensued, the suspect hit the owner on the head, causing an injury that required stitches.

  The police said the owner managed to force the suspect out of the shop before he escaped in a vehicle waiting outside.

• Tufan Erhurman hospitalised 

  Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman was on Friday evening taken by ambulance to hospital after falling ill at an art exhibition. 

  An ambulance had been called to the Quirini bastion mansion in Nicosia’s old town, where the exhibition was being held, at around 9pm, and Erhurman was taken to northern Nicosia’s Dr Burhan Nalbantoglu hospital.

  Late on Friday evening, Turkish Cypriot ‘health minister’ Hakan Dincyurek explained that Erhurman had suffered a drop in blood pressure, and as such had been taken to the hospital’s cardiology department.

  He described Erhurman’s condition as “good”, and said that the Turkish Cypriot leader is “undergoing further examinations” and “is being kept under observation”.

  “Following the initial assessments, blood tests were performed, examinations of the aorta were conducted, and a contrast-enhanced CT scan was taken. No anomalies were detected in the aorta during these tests. As a precaution, an emergency angiography was performed, and no findings were observed,” he said.

  As such, he said, “further examinations are ongoing for a definitive assessment”. He then added that further announcements regarding Erhurman’s health are expected to be made “in due course”.

  The Quirini bastion mansion was the official residence of Turkish Cypriot leaders until last year, when the new official residence, in the northern sector of the Nicosia suburb of Ayios Dhometios, was opened. 

• Vasiliko power fault plunges areas into darkness

  Areas across Cyprus were left without electricity from 8.10pm onwards on Friday due to a fault in the production system.

  The Cyprus Transmission System Operator said the fault caused one of the units at Vasiliko power station to shut down.

  Power was restored at 8.37pm.

• Cyprus way behind EU goal in learning experience through work

  Only one in four workers in Cyprus obtained learning experience at the workplace in 2025, according to a European Commission report to the European Council, made public on Friday.

  The report on the implementation of the recommendation for vocational training aimed at sustainable competitiveness, social justice and resilience, indicated that Cyprus remained below the EU goal of 60 per cent.

  At an EU level, this goal has already been met, as 66 per cent of recent vocational training graduates had obtained learning experience at the workplace.

  According to the survey, progress differed significantly among countries. The highest percentages were recorded in The Netherlands with 95.4 per cent, France 93.2 per cent and Germany 93 per cent. On the other end of the scale, Romania came in last with 9.1 per cent, Czechia 15.2 per cent and Italy 22 per cent.

  The EU survey indicated that Europeans consider vocational training to be a fast track to attractive and well-paid jobs.

  Of those asked, 85 per cent said training provided useful skills, while 82 per cent said opened up better opportunities and 66 per cent better paid jobs.

  Over half those asked said the main reason the chose vocational training was to start work and earn money earlier, as it combined learning with practical experience.

• Cyprus decries Turkey’s energy MoU with north

  Cyprus has decried the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Turkey and the occupied north for the development of an undersea natural gas pipeline.

  The foreign ministry said on Friday that the MoU in question constituted “yet another manifestation” of Turkey’s policy in the eastern Mediterranean and was “part of the ongoing efforts to consolidate faits accomplis of the occupation and the further integration of the occupied areas with Turkey”.

  It said the MoU contradicted international law, including the UN convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), under which promoting energy projects without the permission of the Republic of Cyprus constituted a violation the Republic’s rights.

  “The Republic of Cyprus will continue to defend its legitimate rights, intensifying its efforts at a legal, political and diplomatic level, on the basis of international and EU law, in all competent organisations, including the European Union,” the ministry said. 

• Erhurman acclaims ‘harmony’ with Turkey as Cyprus problem efforts continue

  Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Friday evening extolled the “harmony” of his cooperation with the Turkish government, as he met Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz at his official residence in Nicosia, with efforts both on the island and abroad ramping up with the aim of bringing about a resumption of negotiations in earnest on the Cyprus problem.

  “I am extremely pleased that our harmony regarding the process we are conducting has been confirmed once again, as emerged from our meeting with the president of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before the Antalya Diplomacy Forum,” he said of the pair’s meeting in April.

  He added that “we have always said that we will conduct this process in consultation” with Turkey, and that “we are continuing this process in intensive consultation”.

  “We have the opportunity to maintain constant contact, and these contacts will continue uninterrupted,” he said.

  Yilmaz, meanwhile, said that “mutual visits are an indication of the unbreakable ties between our two states, our shared history, and our common future”.

   “This is a clear manifestation of the strong support given by the motherland and guarantor Turkey to the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said.

  He said that he and Erhurman had “naturally also discussed the latest developments regarding the Cyprus issue”, and that they had “reaffirmed once again that we are in complete agreement and harmony on this matter”.

  “The freedom, rights, and security of the Turkish Cypriots are not merely an ordinary foreign policy issue for Turkey, but the defining characteristic of our national cause,” he said.

  As such, he added, “Turkey, with the responsibility bestowed unto it as a guarantor state, will always stand by the Turkish Cypriot people, defend their just cause on every platform, and mobilise all its resources to establish a just, lasting, and sustainable solution based on sovereign equality”.

  Friday’s meeting comes two days after the conclusion of this week’s Nato leader’s summit, which took place in Ankara, with Erhurman describing Turkey’s hosting of the summit as an “extremely great achievement”.

  On the sidelines of that summit, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Erdogan to “seize the renewed momentum” to bring about a solution to the Cyprus problem.

  They said that “we must also seize the renewed momentum to advance a settlement of the Cyprus issue through the UN-led process”, with the United Nations having undertaken a “new initiative” in recent weeks and months with the aim of bringing about a resumption of negotiations in earnest to resolve the Cyprus problem.

  Nato continues to form part of the ongoing discussions regarding security guarantees in a post-solution Cyprus, with it having been suggested that those guarantees may come in the form of the new Cypriot republic’s accession to Nato, alongside the presence of Nato troops from Turkey, Greece, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States on the island.

  In light of this, UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin postponed her latest round of contacts until after this week’s summit. Her next meeting of note will be with Antonio Costa on Monday.

  She is then expected to return to Cyprus with a view to holding more meetings with both Erhurman and President Nikos Christodoulides with a view to convening an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem.

  That meeting will involve the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the UK, and the UN, and will likely take place next month.

  In advance of that, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, and Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner all visited Turkey and signed a joint declaration with Hakan Fidan offering their support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ efforts in Cyprus.

  Holguin, meanwhile, called on Cypriots to “seize this historic opportunity to negotiate a lasting solution” and saying that Guterres is “evaluating which could be the next phases that will convince both parties to take concrete steps towards a final solution”.

  The way forward is not yet completely clear, however, with Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou having offered vehement pushback to the idea of Nato involvement in a solution to the Cyprus problem during a meeting with diplomats on Wednesday.

  “Those who think about Nato involvement in [a solution to] the Cyprus problem should do their calculations without Akel. Those who know the situation in Cyprus well can easily understand that a solution without Akel’s support cannot be supported by the people,” he said.

  This assertion is not without precedent, too, given that the party had withdrawn its support for the Annan plan to reunify Cyprus prior to the 2004 referendum, officially because the UN security council did not provide adequate guarantees regarding post-reunification security.

  At the time, the party had said it was “saying ‘no’ now to cement the next ‘yes’”. This hypothesis has not yet been tested at a public vote.

• Defence ministry, Oev sign crisis pact

  The defence ministry and the Cyprus employers and industrialists federation (Oev) have signed a memorandum aimed at strengthening public-private cooperation on crisis management, the protection of critical infrastructure and national resilience.

  “Effective crisis management requires coordination and cooperation among all government agencies and society, including the private sector,” Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said.

  He described the memorandum as an institutional framework designed to help ensure the uninterrupted operation of critical state services and businesses during emergencies while strengthening support for the security forces in responding to threats and crises.

  Palmas said the agreement provides for closer cooperation on emergency planning, training and joint initiatives with the Central Civil Emergency Planning Agency (KYPSEA), as well as greater involvement by Oev members in supporting security forces during crises.

  Oev president George Pantelidis described the memorandum as a “substantive initiative” to strengthen Cyprus’ preparedness and resilience during crises and emergencies.

  He highlighted that modern crises were not limited to defence and security alone, but extended far beyond to cybersecurity, energy, transportation and the economy as a whole.

  Describing the private sector as a “crucial partner” of the state, Pantelidis said that Cypriot companies possess the expertise, infrastructure and productive capacity which could contribute decisively to crisis management and the maintenance of operational continuity of both the economy and the state.

  Pantelidis said the memorandum establishes a practical framework for cooperation between KYPSEA and Oev, covering planning, training, organisation and the exchange of expertise.

  KYPSEA head General Iakovos Mikellidis said cooperation with Oev began in 2024 through consultations on contingency planning and the role private companies could play in supporting national emergency plans.

  He said the memorandum formalises that cooperation by establishing a permanent framework for collaboration between the public and private sectors.

• Ecofin approves Cyprus’ revised recovery plan

  The revised recovery and resilience plans for Cyprus, Lithuania, Finland, Luxembourg, Germany, Latvia, Slovenia and the Netherlands, as well as Hungary’s new €10 billion plan, were approved on Friday at the Ecofin in Brussels.

  During the council, Cyprus expressed support to the Irish EU presidency’s goal to secure a negotiating mandate at the October council on the market integration and supervision package.

  Speaking at the first Ecofin under the Irish presidency, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said the significant progress achieved during Cyprus’ EU presidency provided a strong basis for continuing the negotiations.

  Keravnos said Cyprus agreed with the paper tabled by the Irish presidency, which places particular emphasis on asset management, financial innovation, the supervisory framework and the governance of the European Securities and Markets Authority.

  Presenting the Irish presidency priorities, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said they would focus on competitiveness, security and values, recalling that the presidency’s motto draws on an old Irish proverb meaning “there can be no strength without unity”.

• Unions warn over construction workers’ conditions

  Trade unions Peo, Sek and Deok on Friday warned about the growing use of temporary workers in the construction sector, saying many are being forced to work in dangerous conditions and treated as “mere tools”.

  “Some employers are turning construction sites into places where medieval working conditions prevail, violating the collective agreement and the law while also circumventing the social insurance system,” the unions said.

  The unions said they had raised the issue during a recent meeting with Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas and warned they would not hesitate to take industrial action if the problems were not addressed.

• Turkish Cypriot mayor convicted of document forgery, jailed

  Turkish Cypriot Ayios Sergios mayor Katip Demir was on Friday convicted of document forgery and sentenced to six months in prison.

  According to newspaper Ozgur Gazete, Demir had “forged a municipal council decision” in 2017, and on Friday became the first Turkish Cypriot mayor to receive a criminal conviction while in office.

  Born in 1959 in Turkey’s Trabzon province, he migrated alongside his family to northern Cyprus in 1975.

  He is currently serving his third stint as Ayios Sergios mayor, having been in post between 2002 and 2006 and between 2014 and 2018, before being elected in 2022 with the support of the north’s three ruling parties, the UBP, the DP, and the YDP.

  At the 2022 election, he won 42 per cent of the vote, beating incumbent Mustafa Zurnacilar and opposition party the CTP’s Sifa Colakoglu.

  The next Turkish Cypriot local elections will take place on December 6.

• Over 25,400 Ukrainians under temporary protection in Cyprus

  The number of Ukrainians under temporary protection in Cyprus has risen to 25,490, according to figures published by the European Union’s statistical service Eurostat on Friday.

  The figure, recorded in May, was up from 24,880 in April.

  Cyprus recorded the third-highest rate of temporary protection beneficiaries relative to its population, with 25.9 beneficiaries per 1,000 inhabitants, behind Slovakia (26.8) and Poland (26.5). The EU average stood at 9.7 per 1,000 inhabitants.

  Germany hosted the largest number of Ukrainians under temporary protection, with 1.28 million people, followed by Poland with 967,505.

  Across the EU, 4.38 million Ukrainians were under temporary protection in May, a 0.2 per cent increase from April. Ukrainians accounted for 98.5 per cent of all temporary protection beneficiaries in the bloc.

  The number of people under temporary protection increased in 22 of the 26 reporting member states, with the largest rises recorded in Italy (15.3 per cent) and Spain (0.9 per cent).

  The biggest declines were registered in Bulgaria (14.8 per cent) and France (1.3 per cent).

• Larnaca identifies 1,084 dangerous buildings

  The Larnaca district government (EOA) announced on Friday that 1,084 buildings have been identified as potentially dangerous, with the cost of removing safety risks estimated at €5.94 million.

  “Through the systematic updating of data, on-site recording and the evaluation of new reports from citizens, municipalities and communities, the register currently includes 1,084 potentially dangerous buildings, a fact that reflects the true scale of the issue,” the EOA said.

  So far, private civil engineers have carried out 310 visual inspections, the results of which are being evaluated.

  “Of these, 204 buildings have been classified as dangerous, while 116 are classified in the highest risk category, as they present a visible risk of collapse,” it said.

  The district government said 31 interventions have already been carried out to reduce risks.

  These include fencing off dangerous buildings by either the EOA or property owners, while three buildings have been demolished by their owners following EOA intervention.

  A further eight buildings have officially been declared dangerous, while procedures are under way to declare another 10. In one case, a temporary evacuation order was issued after the owners failed to comply with instructions from the competent authority.

  “The technical assessments completed on 209 buildings estimate the cost of the required safety works at around €5.94 million, which demonstrates the magnitude of the challenge that the Larnaca EOA is called upon to manage,” it said.

  It called on property owners to “immediately cooperate” with the authorities and take the necessary measures to reduce risks posed by unsafe buildings.

  “The EOA will consistently continue implementing the management plan, strengthening controls and cooperating with all stakeholders, with the aim of effectively addressing the issue of dangerous buildings,” it concluded.

• Teachers, parents urge more school psychologists

  Teachers’ union Oelmek and the secondary school parents’ association on Friday criticised the finance ministry’s reported decision not to include 60 additional educational psychologist posts in the 2027 state budget.

  In a joint statement, the two organisations expressed “deep disappointment and concern”, saying the finance ministry had rejected a proposal by the education ministry to create the new positions.

  They called on the government to reverse its decision, arguing that schools are facing growing challenges, including increased incidents of violence, delinquency, mental health issues and emotional difficulties among students.

  The organisations said the educational psychology service is a vital part of the education system, supporting students with behavioural, emotional and learning needs, while also assisting teachers dealing with violence, crises and other difficult situations in the classroom.

  According to the statement, the service is already understaffed, resulting in delays in providing support to students, parents and teachers and reducing the effectiveness of interventions.

  They added that Cyprus currently has one educational psychologist for every 1,859 students, well below international standards, where ratios are often closer to one psychologist for every 500 students or fewer.

  Oelmek and the parents’ association said children’s mental health should not be treated as an expendable cost but as an investment with significant educational and social benefits, urging the finance ministry to approve the additional posts to strengthen support services in schools.

• Turkey, Turkish Cypriots sign deal for natural gas pipeline

  The Turkish government and the Turkish Cypriot authorities on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding which foresees the construction of a natural gas pipeline between Turkey and Cyprus.

  According to Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who travelled to the island to sign the agreement, it will stretch from the town of Anamur, which sits on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast in the Mersin province, to the Teknecik power station, located just outside Kyrenia.

  Anamur is located between the cities of Mersin and Alanya, with work currently underway to connect those two cities with a natural gas pipeline. At present, Mersin is supplied by natural gas flowing from Azerbaijan via Georgia, and from Turkmenistan via Iran.

  Bayraktar also said that the project would in fact consist of two parallel pipelines, each 22 inches (56 centimetres) in diameter, thus allowing the system to be “bidirectional”.

  “We will design the pipeline not only to transport natural gas from Turkey to the island, but also to be able to deliver any natural gas source which may emerge in the region to Turkey and from there into Europe,” he said.

  He explained that the natural gas which is to be delivered to the island through the pipeline will “primarily be used for electricity generation”, and said that “the project will be an important part of the TRNC’s energy transformation and energy supply security”.

  On this front, he said that with “the widespread adoption of electric cars” anticipated in Cyprus in the coming years, electricity demand is expected to increase.

  “Today’s step will contribute to the meeting of these growing electricity needs of the future in a safe and sustainable manner,” he said, before adding that the pipeline will “make a significant contribution to the TRNC’s economy by reducing oil and petroleum product imports”.

  “We believe that the natural gas we will bring will provide an abundance of electricity to the TRNC. The TRNC can become a net electricity exporter. In this respect, this project is also of historical significance.”

  He closed by describing the pipeline as “one of the projects of the century”.

  Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz joined his energy minister in Cyprus, and began his address at the signing ceremony by saying that “the most expensive energy is the energy which is not available”.

  He said that Turkey “considers meeting the energy needs of the TRNC to be a strategic priority”, and pointed out that Turkey has spent more than 8 billion TL (€149m) on energy infrastructure in northern Cyprus in the last five years.

  On the pipeline project itself, he said that “within the scope of the project, pipelines, receiving terminals, and auxiliary facilities will be constructed to enable the transmission of natural gas”.

  “Thus, the infrastructure which will provide the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with access to natural gas will be created,” he said.

  As such, he said, “the commissioning of natural gas will usher in a new era”, before adding that “the project will not be limited solely to energy production”, as “natural gas could also be used in transportation, agriculture, tourism, and industry”.

  “Turkey will continue to support the TRNC in achieving a strong infrastructure and a highly competitive and sustainable economic structure. This step taken in the energy sector will be a historic turning point in cooperation between the two countries,” he said.

  Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, meanwhile, said that “energy is security, development, production, competitiveness, and sustainable growth”.

  “It is becoming increasingly difficult for countries without strong energy infrastructure to achieve their economic goals. As a government, we prioritise permanent investments which consider future generations instead of short-term solutions,” he said.

  He stressed that the pipeline will “strengthen the security of energy supply” and “reduce electricity production costs”, and as such “increase the competitiveness of industry, contribute to the tourism sector, and pave the way for an environmentally friendly energy transition”.

  “The project is not for today, but for future generations. It is a demonstration of our will to leave a stronger, more sustainable, and more competitive country for our children,” he said.

  On the political front, he said that the signing of Friday’s agreement “sent a strong message to the eastern Mediterranean”,

  “The Turkish Cypriot people are present in this region, have deep roots, and are building their future with their sovereign will. With the strong support of their motherland, Turkey, they will continue on their path. We know that where Turkey is, there is security, and where Turkey is, there is strength,” he said.

• Old digital TV platform restored for three months

  The previous Velister digital terrestrial television platform has been brought back into operation for a further three months to help viewers experiencing reception problems transition to the new system, the department of electronic communications said on Friday.

  The department, which falls under the deputy ministry of research, innovation and digital policy, said the old platform resumed operating on Friday and will run in parallel with the new digital television platform during the temporary transition period.

  The decision was taken to give households still experiencing reception issues additional time to make the necessary adjustments, including retuning their television sets, purchasing compatible set-top boxes or upgrading their home reception equipment.

  Viewers can continue to tune their televisions to the same channels used to receive the previous platform’s signal before June 30.

  The department added that newer television sets and compatible decoders are capable of receiving signals from both the old and new platforms.

  It stressed that the temporary reactivation of the Velister platform is intended solely to ensure a smooth transition to the new digital terrestrial television network.

  Later on Friday, the pensioners’ union urged the government to assist those affected by the recent television system change.

  They reported that many elderly individuals have had to pay for new equipment and installation to restore their TV reception.

  The organisation also called for an investigation into complaints of excessive charges and profiteering related to the transition.

• Potato irrigation solutions probed at meeting with minister

  Securing an adequate water supply for potato crops was discussed on Friday, with the agriculture ministry saying the issue would be taken up with the Water Development Department.

  In a meeting with Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou, the potato growers complained that the cost of production had risen due to drought and international developments, saying that ways should be found to support farmers who have lost income.

  Panayiotou requested information from the forestry department regarding forest land that could be used for cultivation.

  The farmers also suggested using state land, with the minister saying it would be looked into.

  The minister said potato growing had been enhanced over the past years through compensation for damaged crops due to extreme weather conditions, as well as other interventions.

  The ministry’s initiative to modernise the sector was also discussed, along with evolving the potato trading council into a more modern and effective organisation.

• Cypriot appointed as advocate-general to European Court of Justice

  Cypriot lawyer Stephanie Laulhe-Shaelou was on Friday appointed as one of the 11 advocates-general to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), replacing the outgoing Nicholas Emiliou.

  She will serve in the post until October 6 next year, completing the remainder of Emiliou’s term, after he was initially appointed to the role for a six-year period in October 2021.

  He left the role in January after he was elected as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights. There, he will serve a nine-year term, expiring in 2035.

  Laulhe-Shaelou is the head of the University of Central Lancashire’s Cyprus’ campus’ law school, and is also an invited rule of law expert at the United Nations institute for training and research

  In addition to the appointment of Laulhe-Shaelou, the European Council also announced on Friday that ECJ president Koen Lenaerts of Belgium will be reappointed as an ECJ judge for another six-year term, beginning in October next year and lasting until October 2033.

  Lenaerts has served on the ECJ since 2003, and was vice president of the court between 2012 and 2015, before becoming president in 2015, and remaining in post ever since.

  He succeeded Vasilios Skouris in the role, with Skouris having returned to prominence in recent weeks after having been named by the Cypriot government as one of the five criminal investigators it had appointed to examine the findings reached by the anti-corruption authority during its own probe into the book, Mafia State.

  The book concluded that, among other things, that former Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades may be criminally liable for abuse of power.

  Skouris had become well known in Cyprus during his term as president of the ECJ when bought a plot of land near the Kyrenia district village of Lapithos in 2002 and built a villa on it.

  However, when the first crossing points between the island’s two sides opened the following year, the land’s pre-1974 owner Meletios Apostolides discovered that a villa had been built on his land and as such took the case to the Republic of Cyprus’ Nicosia district court.

  In 2004, the Nicosia district court ordered the Orams to demolish the villa, give Apostolides the land, and pay him damages. They appealed the decision at the Cypriot supreme court and lost.

  Given that the UK was still a member of the EU at the time, Apostolides used EU regulations to have the Cypriot ruling apply against the Orams couple’s assets in the UK, with the Orams then successfully appealing the decision at the UK’s high court of justice.

  Apostolides then appealed that decision at the court of appeal, which referred the case to the ECJ, which, led by Skouris, ruled in his favour in 2009.

  After the ruling, Skouris’ neutrality was called into question, given that he had been awarded the Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III – the highest honour the Republic of Cyprus can bestow – by Tassos Papadopoulos in 2006.

• Witness says welfare services had grounds to seek removal order for Stylianos

  A former liaison officer told the Nicosia district court on Friday that, based on her professional experience, there were sufficient indications for the Social Welfare Services to apply for a court order removing 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou from his family environment before his death.

  The witness, identified as S.K., was testifying in the ongoing trial examining the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death after he took his own life in September 2019.

  During cross-examination by defence lawyer Victor Akamas, who represents the third defendant, S.K. said she had revisited the case files following her previous testimony to ensure she would not “do an injustice to anyone” through her evidence.

  She stressed, however, that she did not know exactly what actions were or were not taken by the specific social welfare officer who is facing charges in the case, saying that was a matter for the court to determine after considering all the evidence.

  Nevertheless, she maintained that, based on her experience handling particularly difficult family cases, the welfare services routinely sought removal orders even where there were only indications of abuse or neglect.

  “In my personal opinion, there were enough elements that the services ought to have examined and which should have led to an application before the court for a removal order,” she said.

  She added that she had worked with welfare offices in other districts where similar procedures had been followed in comparable cases.

  When the defence suggested her opinion reflected her views as a mother, teacher and citizen rather than as a professional, S.K. rejected the claim, insisting her position was based solely on her professional experience and the practices followed by the Social Welfare Services at the time.

  She reiterated that she could not say whether the officials involved in this particular case had fulfilled all of their obligations, stressing that her testimony was limited to her own professional experience rather than the specific handling of the case.

  Asked about multidisciplinary team meetings, S.K. said the objectives set during those meetings were collective decisions rather than the personal views of individual participants.

  She also told the court there was no separate objective dealing specifically with domestic violence, explaining that assessing such issues fell within the responsibility of the Social Welfare Services.

  According to the witness, the welfare officer responsible for the case was informed about discussions held during the multidisciplinary meetings, mainly through telephone conversations.

  She said she kept personal notes in her diaries and was certain the officer had been informed, although she could not recall who had passed on the information or exactly when.

  Addressing the absence of official minutes from later multidisciplinary meetings, S.K. explained that there was no requirement at the time to keep formal records.

  She said the ministry’s B1 form, completed after the first multidisciplinary meeting, was an official recommendation form rather than minutes of the meeting, while the notes she kept herself were “personal.”

  S.K. also explained why she had not made a definitive finding of domestic violence in her report.

  She said it was not her role to determine whether domestic violence had occurred, but rather to identify information and incidents that could indicate neglect or domestic abuse. She added that she did not possess sufficient evidence to reach a definitive conclusion.

  During cross-examination, the defence also questioned her about her contact with Stylianos.

  S.K. rejected the suggestion that she had never met the children, saying she visited them at school and observed them there alongside colleagues.

  However, she acknowledged that, after so many years, she could no longer identify Stylianos with certainty from a photograph, although she remembered some of his general physical characteristics.

  Following the completion of S.K.’s cross-examination, the court adjourned proceedings until September 7, when a new prosecution witness is expected to testify.

  The case concerns the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Constantinou. The court is examining potential criminal responsibility both within the family and among state officials, including whether reports of possible abuse or neglect were properly assessed and acted upon by the Social Welfare Services.  

• Municipalities threaten strike over ‘insufficient’ govt grants

  The union of municipalities on Friday threatened that municipal workers across the island may go on strike if the central government does not increase the grants given to local authorities.

  Larnaca mayor and union of municipalities chairman Andreas Vyras said after a meeting of mayors that there is “unanimity” among them “for taking measures”, though he did acknowledge that Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou had “viewed” the municipalities’ requests for more funding “positively”.

  “We will await [the government’s] final written position next week, and accordingly, the union of municipalities’ board of directors will meet and inform our colleagues about how we are progressing,” he said.

  The key issue municipalities have raised is that the local government reform law of 2024, which set the conditions under which they currently operate, foresaw a fixed amount in grants offered to municipalities across the island, while “operating expenses” have been “on an upward trend” in the intervening two years.

  Additionally, he said, his municipalities may be asked to “bear the burden of the cost of landfilling waste”, as well as repaying €16 million for waste management units in the Larnaca district village of Koshi and the Limassol district village of Pentakomo.

  He said the central government had suggested that municipalities increase local taxes to cover the losses.

  “This is something people should know, that it is not the municipal councils which are responsible for tax increases, but essentially, it is the proposal from the central government’s side, an official proposal, not just something which was said in a corridor,” he said.

  On this front, he stressed that local authorities are not mismanaging their resources at present, and that as such, more funds from the central government are required.

  “I challenge anyone to come and see how municipalities are managed now. I challenge any [audit] body to come and see whether or not there is mismanagement in any municipality. Huge steps have been taken in recent years,” he said.

  He added that “people must know that tomorrow there is no other proposal” other than to either ask the central government for more money or to raise municipal taxes, as “we must also collect rubbish, clean our towns, and maintain the roads where they are dangerous”.

  “We do not want to increase taxes, but the central state is forcing us to do so,” he said.

  He went on to say that as such, taxes may exist by between €150 and €200 per resident, and described this as a “time bomb”, before saying of this that it has come about due to “negligence for years” on the part of the central government.

  Asked why municipalities agreed in advance of the 2024 reform to fixed grants, he said that “it was the only way for the reform to proceed”, but that “since then, we have found that a fixed amount cannot remain so, because it means that a euro five years ago is worth about 30 per cent less than it is today”.

  “In recent years, the same expenses have increased by around 25 to 30 per cent, with the result that in order to be able to cover our expenses, we have to increase our taxes,” he said.

  He added that “we are the country which has the smallest proportion of state grants [for local government] of all the European country”.

  Meanwhile, Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos complained that since the reform was implemented, municipalities in the Nicosia district receive less funding from the state than they did beforehand.

  He said that municipalities receive around €22.5m per year, having received around €24m before, while around 94 per cent of his own municipality’s outgoings constitute “inelastic expenses” – funds which cannot be cut.

• Self-Host Weekly (10 July 2026)
  Become a paid subscriber to access the newsletter’s full-text RSS feed or continue reading on selfh.st.

Github

• CodeQL 2.26.0 adds Kotlin 2.4.0 support and AI prompt injection detection

  CodeQL is the static analysis engine behind GitHub code scanning, which finds and remediates security issues in your code. We’ve recently released CodeQL 2.26.0, which adds support for Kotlin 2.4.0, introduces a JavaScript and TypeScript query for system prompt injection, and improves analysis accuracy across multiple languages.

  Language and framework support

  Kotlin: CodeQL now supports Kotlin versions up to 2.4.0.

  C#: We’ve added Razor Page handler method parameters, such as parameters for OnGet, OnPost, and OnPostAsync, as remote flow sources. Security queries such as cs/sql-injection can now detect vulnerabilities involving these parameters in PageModel subclasses.

  Go: We’ve added models for the log/slog package introduced in Go 1.21. The go/log-injection and go/clear-text-logging queries can now detect issues in code that uses slog package functions and slog.Logger methods.

  JavaScript/TypeScript: We’ve added prompt injection sinks for additional OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google GenAI SDK APIs, including Sora prompts, OpenAI Realtime session instructions, Anthropic legacy completion prompts, and Google GenAI cached content and system instructions.

  Query changes

  JavaScript/TypeScript

  • We’ve added the js/system-prompt-injection query to detect when untrusted, user-provided values flow into an AI model’s system prompt, allowing an attacker to manipulate the model’s behavior.
  • We’ve added the experimental javascript/ssrf-ipv6-transition-incomplete-guard query to detect server-side request forgery (SSRF) guards that reject private IPv4 ranges but can be bypassed with IPv6 transition address formats.

  Go

  • The go/unhandled-writable-file-close query now produces fewer false positives. It no longer flags a deferred call to Close when every execution path first handles a call to Sync on the same file handle.

  Python

  • The py/modification-of-locals query no longer flags modifications to a locals() dictionary after it has passed out of the scope where it was created, reducing false positives.

  Swift

  • We’ve improved CryptoKit modeling for the swift/weak-sensitive-data-hashing and swift/weak-password-hashing queries. These queries may now detect additional results.

  GitHub Actions

  • We’ve updated the actions/pr-on-self-hosted-runner query to recognize the latest standard runner labels, reducing false positives.
  • We’ve corrected the name, description, and alert message for actions/untrusted-checkout/medium to clarify that it applies to a nonprivileged context.

  For a full list of changes, please refer to the complete changelog for version 2.26.0. Every new version of CodeQL is automatically deployed to users of GitHub code scanning on github.com. The new functionality in CodeQL 2.26.0 will also be included in a future GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES) release. If you use an older version of GHES, you can manually upgrade your CodeQL version.

  The post CodeQL 2.26.0 adds Kotlin 2.4.0 support and AI prompt injection detection appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• Clearer names for secret scanning detector types

  To make secret scanning easier to understand, we’re updating the names we use for our detector types to better reflect how each one finds secrets. This is a naming change only; detection behavior is exactly the same.

  Before	Now
  Non-provider patterns	Generic patterns
  Copilot secret scanning	AI-detected secrets

  All existing product documentation links continue to work. We’ve added redirects and updated the terminology across our documentation. There are no changes to webhook events, audit log events, or the REST API.

  There are two kinds of secrets we detect:

  • Provider secrets are issued by a specific service (e.g., an AWS key, a Stripe token).
  • Generic secrets aren’t tied to any provider (e.g., private keys, connection strings, passwords).

  There are two ways we detect them:

  • Patterns use deterministic detection (i.e., regular expressions combined with additional checks like entropy analysis). Patterns reliably catch secrets with a recognizable structure and include both provider patterns for provider secrets, as well as generic patterns like private keys and connection strings.
  • AI-detected secrets use AI to catch generic secrets that don’t follow a predictable format (e.g., passwords). The model reads the surrounding code to find harder-to-detect unstructured secrets.

  Learn more

  Learn more about secret scanning and see the full list of supported secrets in our documentation. Let us know what you think in the community discussion.

  The post Clearer names for secret scanning detector types appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• Per-user states for multi-user budgets in the REST API

  You can now retrieve every user’s progress against a multi-user budget from a single REST API endpoint. This makes it much faster to find who is close to their limit across a large enterprise.

  Previously, you had to make one API call per user to check per-user consumption, and you couldn’t filter by how much of the budget someone had used. Reviewing spend across a large budget was slow and pushed teams to build their own scripts. Now you can page through all users from one endpoint and go straight to the people who need attention.

  With this endpoint, you can:

  • Get how much each user has consumed and their allocated limit for a multi-user budget, one page at a time.
  • Filter by how much of the budget each user has used, so you can pull everyone at or above a certain percentage of their limit in one request.
  • Filter to a single user or sort the results by how much of the budget each person has consumed.
  • See when a user has an individual budget override that changes the limit applied to them.

  This works for both types of multi-user budget: a universal budget that applies to every user in your enterprise and a per-user budget scoped to a cost center.

  Who can use this

  Enterprise owners and billing managers on GitHub Enterprise Cloud can call this endpoint for any multi-user budget in their enterprise.

  To learn more, see Get user states for a multi-user budget in the REST API documentation.

  The post Per-user states for multi-user budgets in the REST API appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• GitHub Mobile: Improved filters and sorting for Copilot sessions

  GitHub Mobile now includes improved filters and sorting for Copilot sessions, making it easier to find the right session as your session list grows.

  You can now narrow your session list using lightweight filters designed for mobile, including:

  • Active (non-archived)
  • Status
  • Repository
  • Type
  • Agent
  • Sort

  These controls help you quickly find sessions that are active, completed, need your attention, or are associated with a specific repository or session type.

  Sort options also make it easier to organize your sessions in the order that works best for you, such as most recent, oldest, active first, or needs-attention first. Changing the sort order preserves your current filter context, so you can refine the list without starting over.

  This is now available on the latest production build of GitHub Mobile on iOS and Android.

  Join the discussion within GitHub Community.

  The post GitHub Mobile: Improved filters and sorting for Copilot sessions appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• New pull requests dashboard is now generally available

  The refreshed pull requests dashboard is now generally available at github.com/pulls. It gives you a single home to track, prioritize, and act on the pull requests that need your attention, whether you’re an individual contributor or a manager working across many teams and projects. This experience was previously in public preview.

  📥 Inbox

  Inbox is your new home for discovering the pull requests that need your attention. It surfaces your review requests, pull requests that need fixing (e.g., CI failures or new comments), and pull requests that are ready to merge or in the merge queue. You can reorder or hide sections to match your workflow and filter by repository or recent activity to focus on what matters most.

  📂 Saved views

  You can now create, edit, and organize custom views based on your most-used search queries, so you no longer need browser bookmarks to return to a specific filter. To create a saved view, select the Create a view (+) icon in the sidebar, name your view, and select Save view.

  🧐 Powerful filtering and search

  New filtering and search options help you find exactly what you’re looking for:

  • Smart default filters give you quick access to pull requests with built-in filters like Authored by me, Assigned to me, Involves me, and Review requested.
  • Content assist and auto-complete help you find pull requests across repositories, teams, organizations, and projects.
  • Advanced search supports AND and OR keywords as well as nested searches. For example, (org:github AND author:@me) OR (org:dizzbot assignee:mona) finds pull requests across multiple organizations.

  🆕 What’s new since the public preview

  Since the public preview, we’ve shipped improvements based on your feedback:

  • You can now reorder or hide inbox sections to match your workflow.
  • Inbox has better handling for in-progress CI, ready-to-merge, and branch-update states.
  • Keyboard navigation lets you move through the list with the j and k keys.
  • The new team-review-requested-user filter returns pull requests where you’ve been asked to review as part of a team. For example, team-review-requested-user:@me returns all team review requests you’re included in.
  • The new review-involves filter returns any pull request you’ve been asked to review, regardless of its current review or approval state. For example, review-involves:@me returns those pull requests even if someone else has already approved them.
  • The author filter now includes agent-created pull requests. For example, author:@me returns pull requests that you directed GitHub Copilot to create on your behalf.

  The post New pull requests dashboard is now generally available appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

Reddit

r/golang

• Seen in the wild.

  https://imgur.com/a/q3Pv4fJ

  submitted by /u/Elnono
  [link] [comments]
• Geoffrey build service for Fyne apps

  Anyone using this? There is no longer a sane way to run unsigned apps on macOS, looking for a way to package my fyne apps, this seems a sensible alternative if it works well.

  submitted by /u/lamyjf
  [link] [comments]
• GUI framework bundled with all Go distro like Tkinter with Python

  I see a lot of GUI frameworks for Go, but is any simple GUI bundled with all Go distribution?

  For example Python at the most times is bundled with Tkinter. Is something similar with Go? I look for something similar like in Python, labels, buttons, typical dialog like open, save for very simple use case when I want start text based application and on start running window to setup how work further (like select input file and output directory).

  submitted by /u/pepiks
  [link] [comments]
• [Announcement] Shirei v0.5: Cross-Platform GUI framework in Go (native)

  submitted by /u/hasen-judi [link] [comments]

• Should I migrate my Node.js/Express backend to Go?

  Hi everyone,

  I'm building a fintech application, and the backend is currently built with Node.js + Express. Development has been fast, and the ecosystem has been great so far.

  However, I'm wondering if it's worth migrating to Go before the project grows larger. My main reasons are better concurrency, lower memory usage, and improved CPU utilization under high load.

  The backend primarily handles:

  • REST APIs
  • WebSockets
  • Authentication
  • Payments

  I'm not facing performance issues right now—this is more of a long-term architectural decision.

  For those who've worked with both stacks in production:

  • Would you stick with Node.js or migrate to Go?
  • At what scale does Go start offering a meaningful advantage?
  • Is the migration worth the added complexity?

  I'd love to hear your experiences.

  Thanks!

  submitted by /u/Massive_Rabbit2064
  [link] [comments]
• How large are your largest structs?

  How many of them exist? Do you usually pass them by value or by reference? Did you already have noticed a performance improvement when replacing pass by value with pass by reference?

  submitted by /u/vmcrash
  [link] [comments]
• Go-flavored concurrency in C

  submitted by /u/Charming_Skin_8549 [link] [comments]

• Transactional Outbox Pattern in Go with PostgreSQL

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

• Is anyone using Zitadel? How’s your experience so far?

  I’m looking to self-host zitadel and get an authentication and authorisation working. Just wanna know what the development experience is like for you guys?

  submitted by /u/lelleepop
  [link] [comments]
• DI containers in golang

  I'm curious about the current state of dependency injection in the Go ecosystem.

  From what I've seen, the Go community has traditionally favored manual dependency injection over DI containers. However, there are frameworks and tools like Wire, Fx, Dig, and others that seem to be gaining traction.

  For those working on production Go applications:

  - Do you use a DI container or stick with manual DI?

  - If you use a container, which one and why?

  - At what point (team size, codebase size, number of services, etc.) did a DI container become worthwhile?

  - If you've tried both approaches, what trade-offs have you experienced?

  - Looking back, would you make the same architectural decision again?

  I'm especially interested in hearing from teams maintaining large Go codebases (100k+ LOC or many services). Real-world experiences are much more valuable than theoretical arguments.

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