The UN Secretary General convinced Anastasiades to continue the negotiations
The President of Cyprus is ready to resume the negotiations on the reunification of the island. He changed his attitude after the telephone conversation with the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who requested Anastasiades not to waste all the accumulated cooperation experience because of the recent occasion in Ankara. Ban Ki-Moon expressed his support for the peaceful progress and stressed the UN’s position on the Cyprus problem has not changed- the island must be reunified. Last week scandal broke out when Nicos Anastasiades has interrupted his official visit and left Turkey when he found out that the leader of Turkish Cypriots Mustafa Akinchi was also invited for the official lunch. The actions of the Turkish officials were taken as a serious violation of the diplomatic protocol. The President of Cyprus has cancelled the next meeting for the negotiations with the UN special representative and the leader of the occupied area. After the conversation with Ban Ki-Moon, Anastasides said that he is ready to return to the negotiations process under the condition of the mutual respect of the both sides.
The patients in Cyprus hospitals were mistakenly treated for diabetes
The Cypriot healthcare system got involve in yet another scandal. The Ministry is trying to find out how many people were affected due to the faulty equipment in the laboratories of the public hospitals. Many patients were mistakenly diagnosed with high levels of sugar and even with diabetes. The reason is the fault in a system, which must be corrected by the manufacturers of the equipment. However, it is unclear what the patients, who already started the wrong treatment, should do. It is also unclear how the Ministry of Health will compensate the physical and moral harm.
Teachers are preparing to strike
The teachers in Cyprus are preparing to go on strike which can become the largest one in the recent years. The educators are urging the authorities to direct their attention to the situation in the primary schools. The classes are understaffed, especially in subjects such as Greek language and Math. There is no one to do the additional classes for these subjects. Moreover, there are serious problems with the discipline. Furthermore, the necessary equipment for the children with special needs is almost non-existent.
New Cyprus airline carrier has commenced the flights to Greece.
The new official airline carrier Cobalt Air, has officially commenced the flights. At the moment the company only has on Airbus, which was presented to public in the Larnaca Airport. By the end of summer, the company plans to increase the number of aircrafts up to 4. At first, the company plans to make flights to Greece and later add flights to UK and to France. There are also long-term plans to fly to South Eastern Asia. The company promised to keep the prices for tickets affordable for most of the travelers.
Heatwave after hail- what to expect next?
One of the mostly discussed topic of the week is the surprises of the weather. The unexpected strike has caused serious financial damage to the Cypriot farmers, who are now trying to calculate the losses. The ice particles with the size of a walnut almost destroyed the harvest of grapes and other fruits in several areas of the island. In the end of may, the temperature in the mountains suddenly dropped and the hail started after strong rain, with certain regions reporting snowfall. Now the Farmer’s Union is requesting help from the government. The first request is the installation of specialized nets, which protect against the hail. Furthermore, the farmers are requesting to increase the subsidies. Currently, the weather forecasters are saying that there should be no further surprises. The true summer heat has arrived to Cyprus and no rains are expected. During the day, the temperature in the coastal areas is expected to rise up to +30°C. The water near Limassol has already warmed up to +24°C and will get warmer every day.