The fact described in the text is that the north’s ‘parliament’ passed a law clamping down on foreigners buying property, limiting them to one house or apartment on less than 2,500 square meters of land.
A man accused of stealing a mobile phone and a laptop claimed in court to be an agent of a “Turkish hacker group.”
Fact: Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar stated that Israel “is not our enemy” and that the country has become a brand destination in education and tourism.
A national guardsman fell down an 80-metre cliff near the Lefka crossing point and was rescued by an Emak helicopter crew. He sustained relatively minor injuries, including a broken arm. The rescue operation involved firefighters from the Evryhou and Lakatamia stations, and the area was inaccessible on foot, necessitating the helicopter rescue. The man’s health is still being monitored.
A soldier fell down a cliff of about 100 meters in Nicosia district and was transferred to Nicosia General Hospital with injuries in various parts of his body. The Evrychou rural fire station and the Lakatamia station responded to the incident, which occurred near the Lefka roadblock. The soldier was caught by rocks to stop his fall.
Tom Cleaver visited Kormakitis, a Maronite village in Cyprus, known for its unique language, Sanna, which is a derivative of Arabic brought to the island around 1,200 years ago from Mesopotamia. Kormakitis, once the largest of four majority-Maronite villages, has around 300 residents and is located in Cyprus’ northwestern corner. The village is significant as the spiritual capital of Maronite Cypriots, who are in full communion with the Catholic Church of Rome. The local church features two boxy cuboid bell towers and an interior with a statue of Saint George and writing in the Syriac script. The visit was organized by the Cyprus Bilingualism Association and the Cyprus Linguistics Society to highlight the linguistic uniqueness of Kormakitis.
The courthouse in the village of Lefka is set to reopen on Monday after being closed for over five years due to renovations. It had been closed since 2018 because of safety concerns, with court proceedings temporarily moved to Morphou. Lefka, separated from Morphou as a distinct district in December 2016, traditionally has its own courthouse and police department, similar to the other five districts in the north. With this reopening, the north will have six district courts located in Famagusta, Kyrenia, Lefka, Morphou, Nicosia, and Trikomo. Concerns about the absence of a courthouse in Lefka were raised by residents in January, highlighting an increase in crimes. They emphasized the importance of trying crimes in their place of commission as a deterrent. Additionally, there were calls for the establishment of a Lefka police department, which had been transferred to Morphou in 1977 and not re-established in Lefka since its separation from Morphou.