The second edition of LPF – Limassol Photography Festival is dedicated to sports and is titled Athlos. The festival showcases the values, beauty, and importance of sports through the works of renowned photographers and artists.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of over 2,000 Swiss women who claimed Switzerland had not done enough to combat climate change. This ruling is expected to encourage more people to bring climate cases against governments.
Cyprus is hosting the World Health Organisation’s meeting of the small countries initiative in the European region. The meeting will focus on cancer, health and climate change, and countries will report progress on various health-related issues.
President Nikos Christodoulides visited Lebanon to address the increased flow of Syrian refugees to Cyprus, with over 15 boats carrying 800 migrants arriving in the last week. The president discussed ways to stop the influx with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and agreed on messages to convey to the Lebanese government. Cyprus would push for a bigger EU assistance package for Lebanon if the flow of migrants stopped, implying that lack of action from Lebanon could affect the aid. Lebanon, home to two million Syrian refugees, has received minimal EU support compared to other countries like Turkey and Egypt. The effectiveness of Lebanon’s government in tackling trafficking networks remains uncertain.
The late artist Stass Paraskos introduced the concept of turning waste into art to focus on humanity’s wastefulness. His masterpiece, ‘The Great Wall of Lempa,’ incorporates various discarded materials such as broken tiles, concrete sculptures, old bottles, and bicycles.
The Olympic rings for the Paris Games will be displayed on the Eiffel Tower, with work to set them up starting at the end of the month.
Euro zone banks lowered the bar on mortgage approvals last quarter for the first time in over two years, but demand for credit kept falling amid high borrowing costs and a stagnant economy.
The government rejected accusations of efforts to spare Tamassos Bishop Isaias of any criminal charges amid ongoing investigations of a major scandal surrounding the Osiou Avakoum monastery.
Interior ministry and audit service are in disagreement over proposed changes to laws regulating the management of Turkish Cypriot properties. The interior ministry believes that allowing Turkish Cypriot properties to be inherited by relatives of refugees residing in them will resolve inequality and feelings of injustice among displaced persons. The ministry also stated that inheritance refers to the license to use the property, not ownership. Auditor-General Odysseas Michaelides expressed concerns that well-off individuals may end up with Turkish Cypriot properties, while homeless refugees may be left without housing. The committee chairman noted that there are reservations about the transfer of properties to non-refugees and potential political issues related to succession.
Opposition MPs criticized Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou for refusing to compensate farmers who used waste material other than compost as fertilizer. The minister cited a legal opinion from the attorney-general stating that compensation is only awarded to farmers who used compost with specific specifications. The MPs argued that the farmers were being “victimized” for purchasing off-specification compost from a company listed as an approved seller on the ministry website. The minister refused to break the law and insisted on following legal procedures.