CRIME ROUND UP

 Pafos Live 29 March 2026

The Police arrested a 33-year-old man yesterday, to facilitate investigations into an investigated case of illegal possession of drugs for the purpose of supplying another person, causing concern, assault on a police officer and resisting legal arrest.

Around 7.30 p.m. yesterday, members of the Police, who were on patrol in Limassol, signalled to a cyclist to stop for a check. As soon as the cyclist noticed the police, he tried to escape. In this attempt, he fell off his bicycle and continued running.

ORBAN HAS ALREADY FACED DIVINE JUSTICE

 

ORBAN HAS ALREADY FACED DIVINE JUSTICE - Cy Mail 29/3 by Gwynne Dyer

Viktor Orban has not aged well. When I met him in Budapest two months before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 he was a typical hyper-ambitious student leader. Anybody who has been to university knows the type: fluent, ruthless, perpetually on the look-out for the main chance, and oddly old still to be a student. (He was 26.)

Orban had just gained a national profile in Hungary with a bold speech demanding free elections and the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Hungarian-American George Soros, probably still just a multi-millionaire at that point but definitely the richest Hungarian, brought him over and introduced us. (I had just interviewed Soros.)

PRESIDENT HEADS TO EGYPT, TARGETS FIRST GAS EXPORTS TO EUROPE BY 2027

 

PRESIDENT HEADS TO EGYPT, TARGETS FIRST GAS EXPORTS TO EUROPE BY 2027 - Cy Mail 29/3 by James Morphakis

Cyprus is aiming to achieve its first sale of natural gas to Europe via Egypt by 2027 to 2028, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, ahead of his departure to Cairo for a major regional energy summit.

Speaking before travelling to participate in EGYPES 2026, Christodoulides said the visit “exclusively concerns energy issues” and signalled that agreements are expected to be signed during the trip.

IN SEARCH OF A DIPLOMATIC OFF-RAMP

 

Trump has been so sensitive about the effect of his tariff excesses on the financial markets that he has adopted the habit of backing down (REUTERS)

IN SEARCH OF A DIPLOMATIC OFF-RAMP - Cy Mail 29/3 by Alper Ali Riza

But it is looking increasingly like a Pyrrhic victory for Trump

A Trump apologist explained his tendency to threaten military action and then back off as a deal making tactic to frighten his enemy to accept his terms. If the threat works well and good, if not, it all depends if any resulting reputational harm was worth it.

His detractors called Trump’s pattern of behaviour a taco. For those familiar with the old Smirnoff advertisement, I thought taco was a Mexican takeaway until I discovered Smirnoff – now I know it is an acronym for ‘Trump always chickens out.’

CYPRUS NAMED IN THREE SEPARATE NON-COMPLIANCE ACTIONS BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION

 

Brussels launches infringement procedures over delays in transparency, banking and e-evidence rules. Image is AI

CYPRUS NAMED IN THREE SEPARATE NON-COMPLIANCE ACTIONS BY EUROPEAN COMMISSION - KNews 28/3

Government given two months to respond as Commission steps up enforcement across member states.

The European Commission on Friday stepped up pressure on Cyprus and a group of EU member states, launching a series of infringement procedures over delays in implementing key legislation spanning financial transparency, banking regulation and criminal justice cooperation.

In three separate actions announced within hours of each other, the Commission sent formal letters of notice to more than 20 countries, including Cyprus, warning that failure to transpose the directives into national law could lead to further legal steps if compliance is not achieved within two months.

THE 'EYES AND EARS' OF THE WEST

 

THE 'EYES AND EARS' OF THE WEST - KNews 29/3 by Yiannis Ioannou

The geostrategic and geopolitical importance of the Bases for the U.K. and beyond.

When the British destroyer HMS Dragon arrived in Cyprus last week, three weeks after an Iranian Shahed drone struck the Akrotiri base, a large U.S. and European Union air and naval force had already been deployed across the southeastern Mediterranean because of the ongoing war. Some social media users responded with sarcasm, joking that “even Astrakhan has now entered the chat.”

WHEN LONDON CONSIDERED LEAVING CYPRUS

 

Makarios’ financial demands and Kissinger’s intervention reshaped a pivotal Cold War decision. File photo PIO

WHEN LONDON CONSIDERED LEAVING CYPRUS - KNews 29/3 by Thanasis Photiou

Makarios’ financial demands and Kissinger’s rejection of the British defense review.

Surprisingly, in the mid-1970s Britain seriously considered a complete withdrawal from Cyprus. A series of declassified British archival documents show that in the early months of 1974, the government under Harold Wilson examined the possibility of fully removing its bases from the island.

The main reason appears to have been the severe economic difficulties Britain was facing at the time. As part of broader cost-cutting efforts, officials were studying a wide strategic review aimed at reducing defense spending and the high cost of maintaining bases around the world. At that time, the annual cost of maintaining the bases in Cyprus was approximately £35 to £40 million.