Fact: The government drafted a bill to expand Cyta’s business activities, which was approved by the legislature in a few days due to the urgent need to install 50,000 smart meters to avoid losing a €35 million grant from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The Nicosia central prisons in Cyprus are overcrowded, with some accommodation blocks operating at more than 300 percent of their design capacity. Prisoners are forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor and urinate in bottles due to lack of access to toilets at night. The report also highlighted instances of violence against prisoners, including staff slapping prisoners and using wooden sticks to intimidate them. Additionally, there were concerns raised about racist behavior, inter-prisoner violence, and the development of informal prisoner hierarchies within the prison.
The European Central Bank stated that the use of artificial intelligence in finance is still in its early stages and needs to be monitored and possibly regulated to prevent harm to consumers and ensure market functioning.
The Legal Service questioned the timing of the anti-corruption authority’s announcement regarding former drug squad chief Michalis Katsounotos.
A fire broke out in Liopetri, in the Famagusta district, burning one hectare of unharvested crops and wild vegetation. It took three fire trucks and five firefighters 45 minutes to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and arson has not been ruled out.
The consortium constructing the natural gas terminal at Vasiliko accused Etyfa of not taking delivery of the vessel “Prometheas” despite it being ready since mid-January 2024.
The government is investing in the European Union to achieve a final resolution of the Cyprus problem. Cyprus’ accession to the EU in 2004 is considered the most significant achievement for the country since its establishment in 1960.
Tourist arrivals to Cyprus in April 2024 amounted to 333,563, marking a decline of 2.7 per cent from the previous year.
Purchasing secondhand farm machinery can be a cost-effective way to equip agricultural operations without the hefty price tag of new equipment.
Undeclared work is a growing concern in the construction industry, according to Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou. If not addressed soon, it will become a much bigger problem. Panayiotou also expressed optimism for the renewal of the collective agreement in the construction sector and emphasized the need for improving, not worsening, the terms and conditions of work.