FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE VASSILIOU DIES AT 94 - OBITUARY

 Cyprus Mail 14 January 2026 - by Jean Christou

Former president of the Republic, George Vassiliou died overnight at the age of 94, his family said in a social media post on Wednesday.

Vassiliou had been hospitalised since January 6 in critical condition with a chest infection.

“After two years of suffering, my beloved George, my life partner for 59 years, passed away peacefully in our arms tonight. It is difficult to say goodbye to this man who was an exceptional husband and father, a man full of kindness and love for his place and people,” his wife Androulla wrote on X.

REVEALING INFORMATION FROM YKAN - SHEETS WOULD HAVE PUT 300,000 DOSES OF DRUGS ON THE MARKET, REAPING €1.5 million

Filenews 14 January 2026 - by Natasha Christoforou

YKAN is on alert after 993 sheets of A4 paper were found yesterday at the home of a 68-year-old man in Larnaca, for which there are indications that they are impregnated with narcotic substances. This is the largest case of its kind ever investigated by the Anti-Drug Service in Cyprus. Indicative of the seriousness of the case is the fact that about 300,000 doses of drugs would end up on the market, with the traffickers reaping about €1.5 million.

TRUMP - 'ABSOLUTE CHAOS' IF THE SUPREME COURT CANCELS THE TARIFFS - HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

Filenews 14 January 2026

The Trump administration's tariff policy is under serious legal pressure as the US Supreme Court considers cancelling a wide range of tariffs imposed through executive orders.

Donald Trump warned that such a development would lead to "absolute chaos", speaking of huge fiscal and economic costs for the United States.

IRAN IS VULNERABLE - WHAT WILL THE US DO?

Filenews 14 January 2026

By Hal Brands*

President Donald Trump faces a decision that will determine the course of his presidency as he considers and threatens new military action against Iran. His options reportedly range from supporting opposition forces challenging the regime to continued military strikes aimed at shaking the leadership. The potential benefits are enormous, given Iran's devastating regional and global influence, but so are the complications of such a decision.

TRUMP'S ''FRIENDS' AND CITGO'S BET AFTER THE INTERVENTION IN VENEZUELA

 Filenews 14 January 2026

By Christopher Helman and John Hyatt

After the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday by the US military, Wall Street observers were quick to declare the big winner: Paul Singer, the manager of a hedge fund with a net worth of $6.7 billion known for investing in distressed assets around the world. Amber Energy, a Houston-based startup financed by Elliott, recently bought Venezuelan oil company Citgo, which has three refineries in Louisiana, Texas and Illinois, as well as a distribution network of 4,000 gas stations, at a US federal court auction, for $5.9 billion. - a price that many consider an opportunity.

"TEMPORARY'' OPERATION OF HOTELS WITHOUT A LICENCE

Filenews 14 January 2026 - by Angelos Angelodimou

A proposal, which aims to provide a solution to the chronic problem of obtaining an operating license for hotels, was submitted by DISY MP and President of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy Kyriakos Hatzigiannis. The proposal seems to be viewed positively in the first phase by the hoteliers' associations, as well as by the other parties, provided that the same strict conditions for the granting of the final license to hotels will continue to apply.

GSI AND CYPRUS - ATTENTION TO THE RELATIONS BETWEEN IPTO AND NEXANS

 Filenews 14 January 2026 - by Chrysanthos Manoli

The President of the Republic had stated on December 30 that it was a matter of a short time to know who would be assigned the study to update the techno-economic data of the Cyprus-Crete electrical interconnection.

15 days have passed and there is nothing new about the study. Not only has it not been announced which firm or which mechanism will undertake to carry out the study, but we do not even know if there is a process running, by the Cypriot Government or the Greek or jointly, to select the designer.