Category: Cyprus News Agency

An Informal Meeting of EU Culture Ministers will be held in Cyprus on June 1-2 as part of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026, under the chairmanship of Deputy Minister of Culture Vasiliki Kassianidou.

According to a statement issued by the Cyprus EU Presidency, Ministers arriving in Cyprus on Monday will take part in guided visits to museums in Nicosia, while the meeting’s proceedings will be held on Tuesday at the Nicosia Conference Centre.

Discussions will focus on cultural rights and the illicit trafficking of cultural property.

The programme includes two roundtable sessions featuring keynote interventions and an exchange of views among participants.

The first session will explore policy approaches aimed at safeguarding culture as a democratic public good, with particular emphasis on cultural rights, creativity and artificial intelligence.

The second session will examine challenges arising from armed conflicts, as well as legislative approaches to combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property, the statement said.

Cyprus finished first in the overall standings of the European Challenger Championships in Monaco on Saturday, with 127 points, the Cyprus Amateur Athletic Association said.

According to the Association, Cyprus secured first place for the fifth consecutive year in the competition, formerly known as the Small States of Europe Athletics Championships, despite taking part in 18 of the 26 events.

Malta finished second with 111 points and Luxembourg third with 104.

Cyprus also topped the medals table with seven gold, seven silver and two bronze medals.

Cyprus’ seven gold medals all came from the women’s team. Philippa Fotopoulou won gold in both the 200 metres and the long jump, while Cyprus also won gold in the women’s 400 metres, 800 metres, 400 metres hurdles, pole vault and Swedish relay.

The women’s Swedish relay team set a new Cyprus all-time best of 2:07.28.

Fotopoulou was also named the top female athlete of the championships, based on the Hungarian scoring system, after her 6.48-metre performance in the long jump.

In the men’s events, Cyprus won six silver medals and one bronze.

The Cyprus Civil Defence is ready for the summer season, its Spokesman Panayiotis Liasides told CNA noting that the “Polyvios” Plan for community evacuations in the event of a fire has been updated, exercises were held in May in the five districts, while the CY-Alert early warning system will launch next week.

Liasides also referred to the Cyprus Regional Aerial Firefighting Station (CRAFS) in Paphos that will operate this year, noting that it will be a great help not only for Cyprus but also for the neighboring countries.

Regarding the preparedness of the Civil Defence in the event of fire, Liasides, said that the “Polyvios” Plan has been updated, which concerns the evacuation of communities in the event of a fire.

He said that the Civil Defence visited all the communities and discussed with the Community Councils to determine the needs of each community.

“The local authorities are now fully informed about how to act, how to help the residents in case of need. There is a plan for each community, maps, lists of people who may have some needs, the coordination team, the first aid team, a list of the resources that each community has, such as vehicles, etc.”

Liasides told CNA that five exercises were held in May, one in each district, while five more exercises are planned in June.

“The goal is to see how coordination works when we have more incidents, not just in one district, and to familiarize citizens with the procedures,” he pointed out.

Referring to the CY-Alert population early warning system, he said it will give real-time information on emergencies and natural disasters and will start on Tuesday.

“For three weeks we will use it to send alerts for educational purposes and for exercise purposes. It is an additional important tool for better informing the population in addition to the other tools that already exist,” he said.

Regarding the emergency number 112, he said that in 2027 a new advanced technology will be installed to make calls more efficient, saying that it will include many details, such as location of the caller. This, he said, helps a lot because someone may not be able to speak at that particular moment.

Regarding the Cyprus Regional Aerial Firefighting Station, Liasides said that it will operate this year at the air base in Paphos.

“We will have support from the EU, which will be a great help not only for Cyprus but also for the neighboring countries. The EU will be able to respond to requests from countries in the Middle East and the Mediterranean,” he noted.

Moreover, he said that the station will also operate as a Center of Excellence where exercises and training will be held on air firefighting and civil protection issues “for the better preparation of both the services and colleagues from the neighboring countries.”

Asked when the station will operate, he said that it is already in the final stage.

Deputy Minister of Shipping to the President Marina Hadjimanolis departs for Athens on Sunday to attend the international maritime exhibition “Posidonia 2026” before travelling to Luxembourg on Saturday to participate in and chair the European Union Transport Council meeting on maritime transport, in the framework of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

According to a statement issued by the Deputy Ministry of Shipping, Hadjimanolis will visit the Posidonia 2026 exhibition, where the Deputy Ministry is participating with its own pavilion, as well as the stands of Cypriot companies taking part in the event.

During her stay in Athens, the Deputy Minister will hold meetings with shipowners and representatives of shipping companies, promoting the Cyprus Ship Registry and the Cypriot shipping sector. She will also attend a series of events organised on the sidelines of the exhibition.

On Wednesday, the Deputy Ministry of Shipping will host a reception on the sidelines of Posidonia 2026.

Contacts with the Turkish Cypriot side on foot-and-mouth disease are continuing, but there is so far no indication of any change in the situation in the occupied areas regarding the management of the crisis, the Greek Cypriot co-chair of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Health, Leonidas Fylactou, told CNA.

Fylactou said contacts are held whenever possible and that the two sides are expected to meet again in June, after the Bayram holiday.

Regarding the adoption of EU protocols for managing the crisis, he said there is so far no indication of any shift by the Turkish Cypriot side, which maintains that there are no active cases of foot-and-mouth disease in the occupied areas.

He added that this was the position conveyed at the latest meeting, as well as in previous contacts held since December.

Fylactou noted that meetings will continue within the framework of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Health.

Thousands of animals, including cattle and sheep, were affected in several livestock units initially in Larnaca and then in Nicosia district, following a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, first reported on February 20. FMD spread to Limassol in May. This followed an FMD outbreak in the island’s Turkish-occupied areas last December. Authorities proceed with a nationwide vaccination campaign of animals to contain the virus, while EU rules require all animals in the infected areas to be culled, bringing about a series of repercussions in livestock farming and other agricultural economic activities. Halloumi, Cyprus’ top agricultural export product, has been spared. Experts reiterate that FMD is not dangerous to humans.

Department of Meteorology

Today’s weather and temperatures for Cyprus according to the Department of Meteorology

Date 31/05/2026

Station

TEMPERATURE (C) (FROM 20:00 PC of the previous one until the time of the show)

Highest

Lowest

Humidity at

1200 UTC

Nicosia (Athalassa)

30

15

48

Larnaka Airport

26

17

68

Limassol

26

19

63

Pafos Airport

25

18

68

Frenaros

28

17

53

Prodromos

21

12

100

Polis Pafos

26

17

68

CNA/EA/AGK/2026 CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (A)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 0600 31/05/2026 UNTIL 0600 01/06/2026

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1012hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure and an unstable air mass are affecting the area. The weather will be mainly fine, but early morning, locally increased low cloud coverage will be present at times, mainly over the west, the south and the east, while local mist and/or fog patches is likely, mainly over the southeast. During the afternoon locally increased cloud coverage will be present.

Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in mist

Sea surface temperature: 21°C

Warnings: NIL

AREA PERIOD WIND STATE OF SEA

West Coast

Morning Southeast to South 3, later Southeast to Southwest 3 to 4 Smooth to Slight

Afternoon Southeast to Southwest 3 to 4, later Southwest to Northwest Smooth to Slight

Night North to Northeast 3 Smooth to Slight

South Coast

Morning Southeast to South 3, gradually 3 to 4 Smooth to Slight

Afternoon Southeast to Southwest 3 to 4, later Southwest Smooth to Slight

Night Northwest 3 Smooth to Slight

East Coast

Morning East to Southeast 3, later 3 to 4 Slight

Afternoon Southeast to South 3 to 4, later South to Southwest Smooth to Slight

Night West to Northwest 3 Smooth to Slight

North Coast

Morning Northwest to Northeast 3, later Southwest to Northwest 3 to 4 Smooth to Slight

Afternoon Southwest to Northwest 3 to 4, later Northwest to Northeast Smooth to Slight

Night Variable 2 to 3 Smooth to Slight

Time of issue: 0530

Date: 31/05/2026

CNA/EA/AGK/2026

Bids are underway for conservation works at a church in the Turkish-occupied Agios Amvrosios village and a study is being prepared for conservation of a hammam in Nicosia, Sotos Ktoris, Co-chair of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage said.

In recent posts on social media Ktoris said that bids have been announced for the execution of conservation works at the church of Panagia tis Ypatis, which dates back to the 12th century. The church is located near the community of Agios Amvrosios, in the occupied Kyrenia district.

The project is co-financed by the European Union and will be implemented under the supervision of the UNDP.

He also said that an architectural study is conducted for the conservation of the Turkish bath (Hammam) of Tantis, in Agios Kassianos area in Nicosia. The study is carried out by Ozge Ozbekoglu and Christos Siamaris.

The Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage (TCCH) is dedicated to the identification and safeguarding of the rich immovable cultural heritage of Cyprus and of all its communities.

Since 2012, the Technical Committee, with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has restored, conserved, structurally supported or physically protected, including with non-structural small-scale works, over 100 cultural heritage sites across the island.

The latest situation regarding foot-and-mouth disease, the implementation of measures and the issues raised by livestock farmers’ and agricultural organisations will be discussed in two consecutive meetings at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis told CNA on Saturday.

He said that during the first meeting, the President of the Republic will be briefed by the epidemiological team and the Veterinary Services on the latest developments regarding foot-and-mouth disease.

The meeting will also review and assess the measures taken so far, including support measures for livestock farmers.

According to Letymbiotis, the meeting will be attended, among others, by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and the Ministry’s Director General.

A second meeting will follow with livestock farmers’ and agricultural organisations, during which the issues concerning livestock farmers will be raised, including matters put forward by the recently founded ‘Voice of Livestock Farmers’, while ensuring full compliance with regulations, legislation and protocols.

The aim, he said, is to hold a discussion and exchange views, with the organisations presenting proposals and concerns, so that the issues raised can be examined on a documented and evidence-based basis.

Thousands of animals, including cattle and sheep, were affected in several livestock units initially in Larnaca and then in Nicosia district, following a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, first reported on February 20. FMD spread to Limassol in May. This followed an FMD outbreak in the island’s Turkish-occupied areas last December. Authorities proceed with a nationwide vaccination campaign of animals to contain the virus, while EU rules require all animals in the infected areas to be culled, bringing about a series of repercussions in livestock farming and other agricultural economic activities. Halloumi, Cyprus’ top agricultural export product, has been spared. Experts reiterate that FMD is not dangerous to humans.

Moody’s has kept Cyprus’ credit rating unchanged at A3 and its outlook stable, in its periodic review published on May 29, the Ministry of Finance said on Saturday. Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said the assessment confirms the resilience of the Cypriot economy, noting that sound, strict and preventive fiscal policy must continue ‘with consistency and responsibility.’

According to the Ministry, Moody’s said the rating reflects Cyprus’ strong economic resilience and positive medium-term growth prospects, despite an expected short-term slowdown due to risks stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, with possible effects on tourism and inflation.

The Ministry said the agency also pointed to Cyprus’ strong institutional capacity and effective policymaking, while public debt continues to decline steadily and debt sustainability indicators remain strong.

Growth has been in line with Moody’s projections, supported by the continued diversification of the economy, while the banking sector is backed by strong capital adequacy and improved profitability, the announcement added.

At the same time, the Ministry said Moody’s noted a number of challenges, including the small size of the economy, fiscal spending pressures, the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on growth and risks in the banking sector. Although these risks have been gradually easing due to structural improvements, they remain a key source of potential sudden developments.

According to the Ministry, further upgrades could follow if fiscal performance and public debt indicators exceed Moody’s expectations and if medium-term growth proves stronger than forecast, including through public and private investment and improved labour market conditions.

Conversely, negative deviations from Moody’s fiscal and debt projections, affecting the downward path of public debt, could put Cyprus’ ratings under downward pressure.

In a written statement, Keravnos said the Government agrees with and takes seriously Moody’s remarks on the challenges arising from ongoing negative geopolitical developments.

‘As a Government, we are well aware of the enormous efforts being made as part of our rational economic policy to preserve the resilience of our economy and secure the positive assessments that place the Republic of Cyprus’ borrowing capacity in investment grade,’ he said.

He added that the Government also knows that ‘even greater effort is needed’ to maintain positive ratings.

‘Therefore, sound, strict and preventive fiscal policy must continue with consistency and responsibility,’ the Finance Minister concluded.