🦠On This Day: Coronavirus Emergence and Cyprus' Response
17 Nov 2019: First COVID case appears in China, later studies indicate. 31 Dec: China notifies WHO of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan. 7 Jan: New coronavirus identified. By Feb, 29 countries report cases; nations adopt border and movement restrictions. 9 Mar 2020: Cyprus confirms two cases; government announces measures, full lockdown from 16 Mar. Health services face several waves over three years: dozens dead, thousands infected and hospitalized. May 2023: WHO ends emergency status but advises continued vigilance.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

Kiti Range Turns Battlefield, Precise Naval Artillery Barrage
Kiti firing range: sustained artillery strikes with high precision on sea targets.
Exercise confirmed combat effectiveness and advanced operational training of the National Guard.
Drill capped the second training cycle for artillery of the 2025 intake.
"Train as you fight" applied — gunners evaluated in realistic conditions alongside unit professionals.
Command noted high training level, flawless execution and effective technical and tactical use of weapon systems.
Training covered fire direction procedures, fire support coordination, targeting and joint-arm cooperation.
Aim: reinforce jointness, interoperability and operational readiness.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🛵Heavy toll on Cypriot roads; motorcycles hit hardest
Countless incidents. Young people, motorcyclists, parents struck by split‑second fatal mistakes. This year motorcyclists form the largest group of road casualties, many under 25. Brief distractions often prove deadly. Main cause of fatal collisions in 2025: mobile phone use — spot checks show nearly half of drivers admitted using a phone during the same trip. Prolonged fair weather boosted motorcycle use. So far 40 fatal crashes and 40 deaths. Traffic police carry out targeted checks in residential areas and train professional riders such as couriers.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

📝Ayaz appeals German conviction to ECHR
Four-year sentence in Germany for participation in peaceful Kurdish cultural events, lawyer says. Efstathios Efstathiou argues acts are protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention. German court acknowledged legality but criminalised actions due to political context, applying collective responsibility, defence says. October appeal to ECHR alleges violations of fair trial, expression and assembly rights. Returned to Cyprus in Sept 2025 as recognised refugee, Ayaz remains in legal limbo after Cyprus enforced German warrant. MPs and Kenan Ayaz Observatory demand release and asylum restoration. Ayaz rejects temporary release and electronic monitoring.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

💻Organised parents urge POED to reconsider
Organised parents ask POED to reconsider. If POED insists, the Pan‑Cyprian Parents' Confederation board will reconvene. Statement: strike is a constitutional right, but so is education, and interruptions harm pupils. The evaluation system was broadly reviewed and points of convergence were recorded. The strike will disrupt schools and inconvenience pupils and parents. We respect teachers' right to strike but demand equal respect for our children and families. We expect POED to give the matter second thoughts.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

👮Two Georgian suspects to be handed to Cyprus Thursday
Two Georgian men arrested in Thessaloniki will be transferred to Cypriot authorities Thursday over the killing of Stavros Demosthenous one month ago. Greek police teams will travel to Thessaloniki to escort them to Cyprus. The 28‑year‑old cousins entered Greece separately—one via airport, one via occupied areas—and were detained on European arrest warrants issued by Cyprus. They agreed to the transfer. On arrival they will appear before a court; if prosecutors convince the judge they will be charged. Four people, two Cypriots and two Georgians, already face charges and remain remanded.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🔥Fire in riverbed vegetation at Kivisili, drilling installation destroyed
At 23:21 last night Larnaca fire stations responded with two fire engines, aided by a fire vehicle from EMAK, to a blaze burning about one hectare of dry grass, wild vegetation and reeds in a riverbed in rural Kivisili, Larnaca district. The fire caused extensive damage and destroyed a drilling installation. A partial recall of Larnaca fire personnel was implemented to meet operational needs. At 06:00 EMAK later deployed a rescue vehicle to save a dog stranded on a cliff in Gerasa, Limassol.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🔥Fire service mobilised for blaze in Paphos, homes threatened
Monday evening fire in Paphos prompted response at 18:25 by city and district fire stations with six fire engines, supported by one Forestry Department vehicle, one Wildlife Service vehicle and three bulldozers. Fire burned about two hectares of dry grass, wild vegetation and reedbed in a riverbed between Skoulli and Goudi. Electricity Authority poles were affected and a repair crew attended. Houses were threatened but were protected. Fire engines remained overnight on standby and operations continued today; extra personnel were recalled in Paphos District.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

💊OAY to Diplaros: Unfounded targeting, transparent drug handling
Statement — OAY rejects claims it denies drugs to people with cancer, autoimmune or severe chronic illnesses; decisions follow scientific committee recommendations and established procedures. Since 1 Jan 2025 OAY also reviews named requests; a five‑member Review Drug Council including oncologists examines appeals. In the last four weeks 188 named requests were assessed, 54 rejected, 13 oncology; of five drugs cited by Diplaros only one was oncologic. Four in five requests are approved overall; rejection reasons were sent to treating doctors and no appeals have been filed. OAY confirms commitment to transparent, evidence‑based processes and invites constructive proposals.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🔥⚠️Fire in Limassol, photos from eyewitnesses, details are being clarified🔥⚠️
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🚖Audit: Officers Turn Service Vehicles into 'Taxis'
Audit of Ministry of Defence 2021–2024 lists major deficiencies. Widespread use of military vehicles for home commuting continues contrary to rules; fuel consumption shifted from unit needs. Many senior officers' appeals over service termination pending; several court wins already. Energy upgrade projects delayed, risking loss of EU funds. Seventeen greywater systems removed without technical studies. Time‑tracking system shows long unexplained absences and technical faults. Building projects stalled; telecom pricing agreement absent despite €3.14m 2023 spend. Auditor urges immediate corrective measures.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🫨No earthquake-free areas in Cyprus — 26-year experience gap
Prof. M. Demosthenous: Recent seismic sequence overloaded services; measurements must be processed and shared. Limassol–Paphos, long seen as nearly aseismic, had three significant quakes in three years — no area is immune. Land epicentres raise risk to towns and infrastructure. Many buildings predate modern codes; post‑quake inspections must improve. 112 needs organised support. Seismology centre under strain; send teams abroad to gain experience. Calls for unified planning and ongoing preparedness.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🪶Rescue of Bonelli's Eagle in Limassol
Wildlife wardens rushed after a citizen found an exhausted Bonelli's eagle trapped inside a mountain water cistern near Limassol. Using protective gear they freed the bird and moved it to Nicosia for veterinary treatment and recovery, with plan to release it back to the wild.

Authorities note cisterns can trap wildlife; exit platforms have been installed under conservation projects. Bonelli's eagle began nesting in Cyprus about 30 years ago and now exceeds 115 pairs, but secondary poisoning from rodenticides remains a serious threat.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

😢One report every 20 hours — Child sexual abuse in Cyprus
Nov 18, European Day for Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Cyprus logged 438 reports in 2024 — about one report every 20 hours. Figures likely lower than reality; many children remain silent. Commissioner Elena Perikleous launched campaign #20ForYou, asking citizens to spend 20 minutes on Nov 18 to mark the 20‑hour gap. Five demands: easier mental health access; life education; psychologists in schools; prevention policies; fast removal of abusive content online. School project "The Wall has a Voice" lets pupils signal safety needs. Message: No child alone; speak, listen, protect.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

📲Cloudflare outage briefly disrupts major websites worldwide
5:20 a.m. ET — Surge of abnormal traffic crashed routing and protection software; cause: an auto-generated configuration file ballooned far beyond intended size and overwhelmed part of the system.
Affected: X, Shopify, Indeed, Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI (ChatGPT, Sora), Truth Social and some New Jersey Transit tools; Downdetector briefly impacted.
9:57 a.m. ET — Cloudflare deployed a fix and monitored recovery; OpenAI reported full restoration after the fix.
Cloudflare says no evidence of malicious activity and apologized; shares fell over 4%. Incident follows recent outages at other cloud and security providers.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

⚠️🔥Fire at Moni factory; nearby plants secured
Firefighting continues at a factory in Moni. Fire Service spokesperson Andreas Kettis says adjacent factories were protected. Crews operate mainly inside the plant where thick layers of polyurethane panels burn. Teams use water and foam. The fire is contained to the factory but extinguishing will be prolonged due to the materials. No further risk of spread at present. Causes will be investigated after full extinction, expected tomorrow. Police warn of very low visibility on the old road by Moni; dense black smoke seen from the Nicosia-Limassol motorway.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🌲Move to transfer Forests Department to Interior Ministry draws broad opposition
Parliamentary committee: experts, officials, unions and farming groups oppose transfer; cite absence of studies and consultation.
Committee chair calls decision "unthinkable" and asks suspension.
Government: change part of post‑Limassol fire measures, ministry renamed, Fire Service moving, new civil protection posts; decision dated 17 Sep 2025, aim to implement before April 2026 fire season.
Forests director, unions and farm bodies warn splitting management will weaken fire prevention and response; demand reversal and evidence.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺

🇪🇺Council "FONI" supports European Day for Protection of Children
Council FONI joins the Council of Europe on European Day, 18 November, to highlight strengthening protection of children from sexual exploitation and abuse through policies grounded in evidence. As the national authority, FONI emphasizes prevention, timely intervention and a central registry for incident recording, in line with the Lanzarote Convention, so data guide effective measures. President Klea Chatzistefanou-Papaellina says prevention is ongoing work; reliable data enable informed decisions. FONI pledges interagency cooperation, knowledge sharing and child participation, and calls all stakeholders to contribute to safe, dignified childhoods.
➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿**
**👉FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧**
**👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺