Le Journal

Cyprus may see the first increase in student sponsorships in nearly three decades, as the finance ministry signalled its intention to raise the amount and revise eligibility criteria, potentially as soon as 2026, during a parliamentary education committee discussion. The discussion followed a proposal by Akel MPs Christos Christofides, Andreas Kafkalias, and Christos Christofias, examining procedures and criteria for student sponsorships and allowances. Christofides said, “for 27 years now, the amount of student sponsorship has been the same, which has resulted in our students, with the money they receive, being able to do half the things that their fellow students did when student sponsorship began in 1998.” “We live in a time when rents are soaring […] but support for students remains stagnant,” he added. Christofides criticised budget cuts, saying that it is insufficient for the presidential office to call for middle-class financial support while reducing the sponsorship budget. “While we welcome the progress after many years of struggle,” Christofides explained, “we will monitor developments closely to ensure these promises become reality.” Disy MP Prodromos Alabritis welcomed the move, saying, “after many statements and many calls for strengthening student sponsorship, it is with satisfaction that we heard today that there is an intention from the finance ministry to expand the income criteria and the amount of student sponsorship.” Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvidis echoed this sentiment, saying his party’s long-standing request for higher sponsorship criteria is being addressed, affirming that families with five children will face no income or property restrictions. He expressed readiness to propose amendments amid rising accommodation and tuition costs. Dipa MP Alekos Tryfonidis agreed on the need for substantial state support in the face of soaring living and student housing costs, stressing education as an investment in Cyprus’s future. He said the bill will simplify application and eligibility processes to ensure fair, merit-based distribution, particularly easing financial scrutiny for large families. He also highlighted that this expansion contributes to addressing demographic challenges and pledged continued efforts to promote social justice and support for the middle class, youth, and workers. “We will continue to work consistently for practical solutions that will promote social justice and support the middle class and lower strata of youth and workers.”

Cyprus faces mounting international scrutiny after a global report on organised crime warned that individuals within the Cypriot state are acting in ways that support criminal networks. The global initiative against transnational organised crime (GI-TOC), an international non-governmental organisation headquartered in Geneva, found growing evidence that corruption within law enforcement and public institutions is helping criminal activity thrive. The report, released this week, says “state-embedded organised crime actors” have become a serious concern, with allegations that some police officers have abused their authority or directly assisted criminal groups. Experts say the findings paint a troubling picture of how criminality has seeped into parts of the state. The warning follows a series of scandals that exposed Cyprus’ vulnerability to corruption, including Cyprus Confidential, which revealed failures in financial oversight. A parliamentary inquiry later confirmed systemic weaknesses that allowed illegal money flows to persist across public structures. Compiled by 350 specialists using data from Interpol and the Institute for security studies, the GI-TOC index ranks Cyprus 129th out of 193 countries for criminality in 2025, with a score of 4.5 out of 10, unchanged since 2023. The higher the score, the greater the criminal threat. The report identifies two key crime pressures in Cyprus: the influence of foreign criminal actors and the challenges of irregular migration. Foreign-linked networks, mostly from Eastern Europe, Western Asia and Turkey, are said to operate on the island, driving up risk levels. Cyprus ranks 34th globally in the “foreign actors” category and 38th for “illegal immigration”. Experts said that criminal activity in the north has intensified these problems. The report describes the north as a centre for arms trafficking, illegal trading in excise goods, fuel smuggling and drug trafficking, as well as money laundering through casinos. It directly connects these operations to Turkey, which ranks 10th globally for criminality. Cyprus also ranks high in nine separate crime categories, including private-sector involvement (78th), counterfeit trade (80th), cocaine trade (89th), and human trafficking (100th). While the picture is troubling, the country’s resilience score, measuring its ability to counter organised crime, has improved slightly to 4.5 out of 10, up from 4.46. This small rise lifts Cyprus six places to 111th globally. The report credits the government with maintaining political stability and establishing institutions such as the anti-corruption authority and a legal framework for whistleblower protection. “Cyprus has demonstrated capacity in maintaining stability in leadership and governance,” the experts said, noting a stated commitment to tackling criminal networks. However, concerns persist about how deeply organised crime may influence the state. Public confidence in law enforcement remains low, with surveys showing that many Cypriots view corruption as widespread and believe accountability mechanisms are weak. The report also highlights delays in the justice system, citing a shortage of judges and a growing backlog of cases. In law enforcement, it says there are continuing concerns about corruption within the police and inefficiencies in prosecution. Financial crime remains another major challenge. The report notes that Cyprus’ long-standing reputation for financial secrecy continues to attract illicit funds. Despite recent steps to tighten anti-money-laundering rules, enforcement gaps and weak asset recovery procedures have limited progress. Cyprus has signed and ratified key global agreements against organised crime, including the UN convention against transnational organised crime (UNTOC). But experts stress that implementation remains inconsistent and that stronger enforcement is crucial if the country is to shed its image as a soft target for financial and organised crime. The report’s…

A wild Wednesday of weather and seismological activity saw Cyprus struck by two earthquakes measuring above five on the Richter scale, while large swathes of the island were also hit by heavy rain, floods, and storms. The first earthquake struck shortly after 11.30am, and measured 5.3 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre in the Paphos district village of Ayia Marina. While no serious structural damage was recorded, people were seen exiting office buildings and homes as a precaution in the aftermath of the quake, with Ayia Marina mukhtar Marios Stylianou confirming that the epicentre village had escaped unscathed, and that its elderly residents are “well”. Paphos district governor Charalambos Pittokopitis had said that the earthquake had caused rocks to fall on the road between the town of Paphos and the nearby village of Tsada. Problems were also reported on Cyprus’ telecommunications networks, with the Cyprus telecommunications authority (Cyta) reporting that there had been “unexpected, particularly increased traffic” on the network, and that as such, there had been “a few minutes of network congestion”. “Cyta services which were affected for a few minutes are already operating normally,” Cyta said shortly after 1pm. Meanwhile, civil defence spokesman Panayiotis Liasides confirmed during an appearance on television channel Alpha that there had been “no reports of serious damage or injuries”, and that there had been “small landslides but nothing serious”. He added that the civil defence is “monitoring the situation”, and said that in the event of an earthquake, people should move to an open area and stay away from power lines where possible, before later saying that people should “be calm, avoid panic, and protect themselves”. Just as calm had been restored, the heavens opened, with heavy rain falling in Nicosia Just as calm had been restored, the heavens opened, with heavy rain falling in Nicosia, in other inland areas, and in the northern foothills of the Troodos mountains during the early afternoon. The rain caused flash flooding on roads across the capital, with streams of water running down streets and arterial roads alike, while swathes of the suburbs of Engomi and Strovolos were left without power. In the suburb of Lakatamia, meanwhile, children on a school bus found themselves marooned on a flooded road, with the fire brigade having to intervene to safely remove them, while Erithros Stravros street and Alexandroupoli Street in Strovolos, both of which traverse the Pedieos river, were closed by the police. Fire brigade spokesman Andreas Kettis said on Wednesday evening that more than 60 calls were made to the fire brigade for help during the storms, with most of those calls being requests for drains to be opened and for water to be pumped away from roads. With large parts of the island now drenched, the day drew to a close with a second powerful earthquake, once again measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale, shortly after 4.30pm. Geological survey department director Christodoulos Hadjigeorgiou told the Cyprus News Agency that the second major earthquake had been “slightly weaker” than the first, though he did stress that there had been “a series” of smaller tremors throughout the day, and that the phenomenon “needs to be studied”. He added that tremors were expected to continue through the night, and that the geological survey department’s seismological centre would continue to monitor the situation. The second strong earthquake also had its epicentre in the Paphos area. According to the Euro-Mediterranean seismological centre, more than 30 tremors were detected in Cyprus throughout Wednesday, two of which had magnitudes between four and five on the Richter scale. Meanwhile, Greece’s earthquake planning and protection organisation chief Efthymios Lekkas urged caution in the next 48 hours “because the nature of the faults is not always known”. “We know that faults exist and intersect the terrestrial space. However, we…

France captain Kylian Mbappe said Les Bleus would like to remember those affected by the November 13, 2015Paris attacks when they take on Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday — the 10th anniversary of the tragedy that traumatized the nation. France were playing Germany that day when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt near Gate D of the Stade de France, killing one passerby, during the friendly game attended by then president François Hollande. The series of coordinated attacks in Paris killed 130 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. “I would like to say a few words on behalf of the France team, the staff, and the players. I don’t know if we’ll have the chance to talk about it tomorrow,” Mbappe told a press conference on Wednesday. “Tomorrow will be a special day. We wanted to have a thought for those affected (on November 13, 2015). We know it won’t be a joyful day, but we want to make people understand that commemorating this day is one of the important things. “We will try to put a smile on this day but even though we are playing for qualification, we are aware that there are more important things.” France will qualify for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, if they beat Ukraine. Ten years ago, Mbappe was not playing for the national team, but he feared for his parents, who lived in the suburbs of Paris. “I was in Monaco watching the match, and I got some information,” the Real Madrid forward said. “There was fear — my parents were in Bondy. We didn’t know when it was going to stop. Playing 10 years later is special — we’ll try to pay tribute to the people affected by that tragic event.” Thursday’s game will be played at the Parc des Princes in Paris. “There are only a few staff members who were there; we know it’s part of the context of this game,” said coach Didier Deschamps, who was on the France bench that night. “I find it hard to talk about it — it’s more a matter of restraint. There’s a duty of remembrance, of support and compassion.” Among the players who were at the Stade de France on November 13, 2015, only fullback Lucas Digne will be present on Thursday.

A heated debate broke out at the House legal affairs committee on Wednesday during discussions of a bill aimed at combatting violence against women, following proposed amendments to the definitions of “gender” and “woman.” The amendments were put forward by Diko MP Chrysis Pantelidis and Disy MP Haris Georgiadis, who said they were necessary to align the bill with EU Directive 2024/1385 and the Istanbul Convention. The EU directive calls on member states to “take appropriate preventive measures” to combat violence against women and domestic violence. Paragraph 71 specifically highlights that victims experiencing “intersectional discrimination” — such as women with disabilities, undocumented migrant women, women affected by homelessness, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex persons — face a heightened risk of violence. MPs clashed over the proposal, with Elam MP Sotiris Ioannou claiming that “common sense has been abandoned,” while Volt MP Alexandra Attalidou countered that the proposal undermined the rights of transgender people. “The rapporteurs claim to be aligning with European legislation, but in reality, they are blatantly violating it,” she said, stressing that both the EU directive and the Istanbul Convention explicitly protect trans people from discrimination. She added that protecting women “cannot be achieved by depriving others of their rights,” arguing that the proposal politicised equality issues. Pogo women’s movement representative Eleni Evagorou questioned the motivation behind the proposed changes, saying the real problems faced by women stem from inadequate state support structures and barriers in the justice system. “We wonder what the social basis is for this proposed law,” she said. “The real challenges concern the lack of support structures and the difficulties within the justice system – not whether or not the law includes transgender people.” Evagorou noted that only one transgender person had sought help from gender-based violence services in the past decade, arguing that this showed there was no real issue warranting division or conflict. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail after the meeting, she said there was no “social reason” for reopening the discussion. “Our law is already aligned with the Istanbul Convention, which provides for a flexible definition of these terms,” she added. Accept–LGBTQI Cyprus spokesperson Stefanos Evangelidis said the proposal was legally incompatible with European Court of Human Rights case law. He pointed out that both the EU directive and the Istanbul Convention explicitly include transgender and intersex women, as well as women from other vulnerable groups, within their definitions. Evangelidis expressed surprise that the co-signing MPs continued to push the proposal despite criticism from key government institutions, including the justice ministry, warning that Cyprus could face repercussions from the Council of Europe if the amendments proceed.