Category: Cyprus News Agency

Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Clea Papaellina, presented the social priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU during an official visit to Brussels, on Monday and Tuesday.

The Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare said in a press release that on Monday the Deputy Minister had a meeting with Cypriot Commissioner Costas Kadis, who serves as the European Commissioner responsible for the portfolio of Fisheries and Oceans.

Papaellina also met with the Director General of the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU, David Brozina. ‘During the meeting, a substantive and constructive exchange of views took place on the priorities, planning and pace of progress of the Presidency, as well as on ways to strengthen the dialogue with the European institutions,’ the press release noted.

The Deputy Minister held bilateral meetings with MEPs, including Petar Hristov, member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), as well as Cypriot MEP Loukas Fourlas. ‘These discussions examined issues of social policy and cooperation during the Presidency, including the support of joint initiatives and the promotion of files related to social rights and the protection of people in vulnerable situations,’ the press release added.

On Tuesday, she had a bilateral meeting with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Social Rights, Skills, Quality Employment and Preparedness, Roxana Minzatu. “The discussion was held in a positive and productive atmosphere and focused on key social policy issues: preventing and combating poverty with an emphasis on child poverty, protecting the best interests of the child, strengthening the social integration of people with disabilities, as well as addressing the challenges of long-term care and active ageing,’ the press release said.

The Deputy Minister informed institutional interlocutors about the planned High-Level Conferences that will take place during the six-month period of the Cyprus Presidency in Cyprus and Brussels, stressing the importance of continuing the work and strengthening political dialogue.

“Papaellina’s visit substantially contributed to strengthening cooperation with the European institutions, supporting the successful promotion of the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU,” the press release concluded.

An 3.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the early hours of Tuesday, at 03:28 local time, by the seismological network of the Geological Survey Department.

According to preliminary data of the Geological Survey Department, the epicenter of the earthquake was approximately 80 kilometers northwest of Polis Chrysochous, with a focal depth of 25 kilometers.

The tremor was slightly felt in areas of the Paphos district, without any damage or injuries being reported.

The need to further deepen the strategic cooperation between Nicosia and Beijing was discussed during the visit of a delegation of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism to China, according to an announcement by the House of Representatives.

The delegation of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism – headed by Dr. Kyriakos Hadjiyianni and members Averof Neofytou, Kostas Kosta and Michalis Yiacoumi – paid a visit to China between January 3 and 11, following an invitation by the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Cyprus, Liu Yantao.

During the visit, it said, the Cypriot delegation held a series ‘of important meetings’ in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Suzhou.

‘During all the meetings, the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries were underlined on both sides as well as the need to further deepen the strategic cooperation between Cyprus and China in various areas of mutual interest, including tourism, trade, shipping, energy, technology and education,’ it added.

The Cypriot delegation held meetings with senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and the China Chamber of Commerce of Import and Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products. They also met with the Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation of the National People’s Congress, Lu Xinshe, and with the Vice Chairmen of the Standing Committees of the National People’s Congress of the Jiangsu Province, Zhou Guangzhi, of the Suzhou Province, Houang Jing and of the Shanghai Province, Zong Ming, the press release said.

During the meetings, ‘the excellent diplomatic and friendly relations between the two countries’ were stressed, but also the need to strengthen tourism flows from China to Cyprus, promote further cooperation in the field of higher education and, by extension, the integration of Chinese students into the domestic labour market, to make the most of opportunities for investment in technology parks and centres of excellence, as well as develop cooperation in the shipping sector.

It is also noted that China reaffirmed its firm support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, while the Cypriot side expressed Nicosia’s long-standing commitment to principled positions, especially the ‘One China’ policy, it adds.

While in China, the MPs visited enterprises and technological innovation facilities, as well as places of historic, cultural and educational interest, it said.

Record success of students of Cypriot schools in Commonwealth Essay Competition

Students of Cypriot schools achieved, this year also, outstanding success in this year’s The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC); an annual competition organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) since 1883. The QCEC features two distinct categories: Senior Category for students aged 14-18 and the Junior Category for those under 14 years of age.

RCS Cyprus, which was founded in 2018 and is associated with the University of Nicosia, promoted the QCEC to Cypriot schools, and some of its members contributed to the essays evaluation. A record of nearly 53.434 students from 54 countries of the Commonwealth participated in this year’s QCEC. Cyprus also set a new record with 381 participations (compared to 275 participations in 2024).

Although participation is on its own worthy of praise, RCS Cyprus is specifically pleased to note that a significant number of students of Cypriot schools received medals in this year’s QCEC. In particular, in the Senior Category students of Cypriot schools received 12 gold medals, 41 silver, and 81 bronze, whereas in the Junior Category there were 11 gold medals, 40 silver, and 57 bronze. In total, 23 gold medals, 81 silver and 138 bronze, were conferred in 2025 in students of Cypriot schools, a total of 242 medals compared to 116 in 2024.

The BoD of RCS Cyprus warmly congratulates all students for their achievements. In addition to their awards, RCS Cyprus will offer to students a book on the relationship between Cyprus and the Commonwealth as a gift.

The Cyprus Composite Leading Economic Index (CCLEI) recorded a year-over-year increase of 2.0% in December 2025, the Economics Research Centre (CypERC) of the University of Cyprus said on Tuesday, noting that this “indicates that the Cypriot economy maintains a stable growth trajectory, despite the challenges arising from the international environment of increased uncertainty.”

The CCLEI performance in December is similar to that of previous months, as the year-over-year growth rate of the Index had been 1.9% in both November and October 2025.

During the last quarter of 2025, the CCLEI maintained a relatively stable year-over-year growth rate, reflecting the positive contribution of the majority of individual leading indicators.

In particular, CypERC said, positive year-over-year growth rates were recorded in property sales contracts, in the temperature-adjusted volume of electricity production, in tourist arrivals, and in retail trade.

At the same time, the price of Brent crude oil continued its downward trend, while the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in the euro area strengthened further in December.

In contrast, the ESI in Cyprus showed a deterioration, compared to December of the previous year, a development mainly linked to the deterioration of the business climate in the services sector.

Overall, it is noted, “the stability of the year-over-year growth rate of the CCLEI indicates that the Cypriot economy maintains a stable growth trajectory, despite the challenges arising from the international environment of increased uncertainty.”

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1200 13/01/2026 UNTIL 1200 14/01/2026

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1010hPa (hectopascal)

Low pressure and cold air mass are affecting the area. The weather will be mainly cloudy at times with local showers and isolated thunderstorms, but from the evening all phenomena are gradually ceasing.

Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in showers

Sea surface temperature: 19°C

Warnings: WARNING NR: 8 VALID FROM: 131200 TO: 131800 STRONG NORTHWESTERLY WINDS FORCE 6 BEAUFORT WILL BE AFFECTING THE WESTERN AND THE NORTHERN COASTAL AREAS. THE STATE OF SEA WILL BE ROUGH.

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (C)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1800 13/01/2026 UNTIL 1800 14/01/2026

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 high pressure is starting to affect the area. Initially, isolated showers are likely but soon the weather will become mainly fine.

Visibility: Good

Sea surface temperature: 19°C

Warnings: NIL

Paphos FC and Krasava Ypsonas secured important victories on Sunday, closing the Matchday 17 of the Cyprus League by Stoiximan and improving their positions in the standings.

Paphos FC claimed a 2-0 home win over Omonia Aradippou, moving up to second place with 37 points, just two points behind leaders Omonia. Pafos also have a game in hand.

Krasava Ypsonas also celebrated a home victory, defeating Olympiakos 1-0. The result saw Ypsonas draw level on points with Ethnikos Achnas in 12th place and reduce the gap from Anorthosis, Omonia Aradippou and Olympiakos to three points.

Results of the Matchday 17: AEL – Omonia 0-2, APOEL – Akritas Chlorakas 2-1, Aris – AEK 1-0, Anorthosis – Ethnikos Achnas 1-0, ENP – Apollon 0-1, Paphos FC – Omonia Aradippou 2-0, Krasava Ypsonas – Olympiakos 1-0.

Standings: Omonia 39, Paphos FC 37 (16 matches), Aris 34, AEK 34, APOEL 32 (16 matches), Apollon 30, AEL 24, Akritas Chlorakas 19, Olympiakos 17, Omonia Aradippou 17, Anorthosis 17, Ethnikos Achnas 14, Krasava Ypsonas 14, ENP 1.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) All Share Index closed at today`s stock exchange meeting as follows:

MEETING DATE: 13/01/2026

INDICES BASE VALUES: FTSEMed=5000, OTHERS = 1000

EURO (pound )

TRADED VALUE 280,116.88

INDEX

VALUE

%DIFF.

VALUE

FTSE/CySE 20

173.400

0.630

238,370.970

MAIN MARKET INDEX

228.720

-0.010

109,136.900

INVESTMENT COMPANIES MARKET INDEX

3,067.280

0.330

18,778.530

CSE GENERAL INDEX

286.100

0.340

242,692.440

HOTELS INDEX

2,063.590

-1.020

1,266.890

ALTERNATIVE MARKET INDEX

1,959.750

1.300

134,776.940

* The second column presents the percentage variation of the indices as compared to the last meeting.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of the United Nations peacekeeping force on the island (UNFICYP), Khassim Diagne, will brief on Tuesday, behind closed doors, the representatives of the countries contributing troops to UNFICYP.

On 15 January, he is scheduled to brief the members of the UN Security Council in closed consultations on the situation in Cyprus.

On 29 January, the Security Council will vote on the renewal of UNFICYP’s mandate for a further year.

The United Kingdom, which also serves as the penholder of the relevant resolution, while as one of the three guarantor powers, Greece, which was elected on 6 June 2024 as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2025-2026, is a key stakeholder with regard to UNFICYP and has played a decisive role last year through its interventions during drafting the resolution.

Since the collapse of the talks at Crans-Montana in 2017, the central issue for the Security Council has remained the absence of substantive progress toward the resumption of a formal political process. Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman had a meeting on 11 December 2025, facilitated by the UNSG’s Personal Envoy, María Ángela Holguín, after which the UN said that the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to participate in the next informal meeting in a broader format to be convened by the UN Secretary-General and to continue to work in Cyprus to produce tangible results for the benefit of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and to ensure the success of the next informal meeting in a broader format.

During the closed consultations, the Security Council is expected to consider how the new resolution could be used to encourage the two sides to build on recent contacts and to avoid actions that could undermine the political climate, including activities that heighten tensions in the buffer zone.

According to information, the Security Council may also consider inviting Holguín to brief members, in the context of the consultations, on her assessment of whether the conditions are being shaped for a meeting in an expanded format.

In addition, Council members may examine the potential operational implications of the proposed budgetary and staffing adjustments under the UN80 initiative for the Office of the Special Adviser on Cyprus, as well as the possible impact of the broader UN liquidity crisis on UNFICYP and on the Secretary-General’s Good Offices in Cyprus.

The Secretariat has stated that the Office will continue to perform its core political role through a streamlined structure; nevertheless, some members appear likely to seek greater clarity on how fiscal and structural constraints could affect political engagement, support for confidence-building measures, and the implementation of UNFICYP’s mandate ahead of its renewal.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

In 2025 the Secretary-General hosted two informal meetings on Cyprus, in March in Geneva and in July in New York, while a tripartite meeting with the Cyprus leaders was also held in late September, at the end of the UN General Assembly High Level Week.

María Angela Holguín, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties, while former European Commissioner Johannes Hahn, designated by the Commission as Special Envoy for Cyprus, is also expected to contribute to the settlement process, in cooperation with Holguín.