Latest news with #Cyprus
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Cyprus struggles to contain wildfire, homes damaged
NICOSIA: Firefighters in Cyprus were battling on Wednesday to contain a huge wildfire forcing the evacuation of at least four villages on the first day of a heatwave which sent temperatures soaring. Authorities said the fire was raging in terrain north of the southern city of Limassol, stoked by strong winds and high temperatures. 'I can confirm that there is considerable damage to some dwellings,' fire brigade spokesperson Andreas Kettis told Cyprus's state broadcaster CyBC. He said 14 aircraft and workers on the ground were trying to extinguish the blaze, which broke out around midday on Wednesday. Temperatures on the east Mediterranean island hit 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) inland on Wednesday, forcing authorities to issue an amber weather warning. It was expected to climb further to 44 C on Thursday, making it the hottest day of the year. Although heatwaves and forest fires are common, the impact on human life and the damage have become more pronounced in recent years. Four men from Egypt died in a fire in 2021.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Climate
- Reuters
Cyprus struggles to contain wildfire, homes damaged
NICOSIA, July 23 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Cyprus were battling on Wednesday to contain a huge wildfire forcing the evacuation of at least four villages on the first day of a heatwave which sent temperatures soaring. Authorities said the fire was raging in terrain north of the southern city of Limassol, stoked by strong winds and high temperatures. "I can confirm that there is considerable damage to some dwellings," fire brigade spokesperson Andreas Kettis told Cyprus's state broadcaster CyBC. He said 14 aircraft and workers on the ground were trying to extinguish the blaze, which broke out around midday on Wednesday. Temperatures on the east Mediterranean island hit 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) inland on Wednesday, forcing authorities to issue an amber weather warning. It was expected to climb further to 44 C on Thursday, making it the hottest day of the year. Although heatwaves and forest fires are common, the impact on human life and the damage have become more pronounced in recent years. Four men from Egypt died in a fire in 2021.
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Israeli cruise ship turned away from Greek island by Gaza war protest
A cruise liner carrying Israeli tourists has been forced to reroute to Cyprus after being turned away from the Greek island of Syros after a quayside protest over the Gaza war. Around 1,600 Israeli passengers on board the Crown Iris were prevented from disembarking amid safety concerns. More than 300 demonstrators on the Cycladic isle made clear they were unwelcome over Israel's conduct of the war and treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. A large banner emblazoned with the words 'Stop the Genocide' was held aloft alongside Palestinian flags. A statement from the protesters also took issue with Greece's increasingly close 'economic, technological and military' relationship with Israel. 'As residents of Syros but more so as human beings, we are taking action that we hope will contribute to stopping this destruction from the genocidal war that is taking place in our neighbourhood,' it said. Some passengers on the vessel reacted by raising Israeli flags and chanting patriotic slogans, eyewitnesses said. Confirming the incident, Mano Maritime, the Israeli shipping firm operating the vessel, said: 'The ship arrived at Syros, encountered a demonstration by pro-Palestinian supporters, and passengers were stuck on board without permission to disembark.' Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion. During the delay at the port, passengers told Israel's Channel 12 news that they had been told by onboard security to remain indoors, rather than to go out onto the deck. One Israeli passenger told Israel's Kan public broadcaster, however, that when one of the passengers saw the protest, 'we raised Israeli flags and some of us started singing'. 'We felt safe inside the ship, but the children are a little stressed,' the passenger said. In recent years, Greece has become popular among Israeli tourists, reflecting the increasingly close ties between the two Mediterranean nations. An estimated 621,000 visited the Hellenic Republic in 2024 alone. Although the protest concluded without injuries nor arrests, the episode highlighted mounting disquiet in Greece over Israel's actions in Gaza. Anti-Israeli graffiti have proliferated across the country, as has signage in support of Palestinians. Israel's national security council's current guidelines for travel to Greece put the country's threat level at two, of a possible four, meaning Israelis and Jews are advised to take 'increased precautionary measures' there. - The Guardian and agencies
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Protest against Gaza war prevents Israeli visitors from touring Greek island
Greece Israel Cruise Ship ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists left the Greek island of Syros Tuesday without its passengers disembarking, after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island's port, unfurling Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Carrying banners that read: 'Stop the Genocide' and 'No a/c in hell' — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip — the protesters chanted slogans on the dock near where the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, was docked on Tuesday, local media said. There were no reports of any violence. The ship is operated by an Israeli company, Mano Cruise, which said about 1,700 passengers were on board and it is sailing to Cyprus. Greece's coast guard said the ship set sail at around 3 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled, but did not immediately have any further details. 'The management of Mano Cruise has decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination,' the company said in a press release. 'All passengers and crew members are resting and spending time on the ship on their way to the new destination.' Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.
Russia Today
7 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Jailed Russian-Armenian tycoon wins lawsuit against Yerevan
A Stockholm arbitration court has blocked the Armenian government from moving forward with plans to nationalize a major electricity supplier owned by a jailed Russian-Armenian billionaire. Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in June on charges of calling for the seizure of power after publicly supporting the Armenian Apostolic Church in its confrontation with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government. Following his arrest, Pashinyan stated that 'it is time to nationalize' Karapetyan's company Electric Grids of Armenia and called for swift action. The Armenian parliament later passed legislation enabling the state to confiscate the company. In response, the Karapetyan family filed a lawsuit with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), a tribunal that specializes in commercial and investor-state disputes, invoking a 1995 bilateral investment treaty between Armenia and Cyprus. On Tuesday, the tribunal ruled that Armenia must refrain from enforcing the new laws and from taking any further steps to seize the company. The SCC stated that such measures would make it difficult for the plaintiffs to recover full damages if they lose control over the firm. The decision is binding on the Armenian government. Karapetyan is one of several high-profile figures to have been targeted in Yerevan's recent crackdown on the opposition. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and the head of the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Mikael Ajapakhyan, have also been detained. Furthermore, earlier this month, an Armenian court ordered the arrest of opposition lawmaker Artur Sarkisyan on charges of conspiring to stage a violent coup. The arrests were in response to a wave of mass protests led by the church and its supporters. Demonstrators accuse Pashinyan of betraying Armenia's national interests by handing over several border villages to Azerbaijan, a move the prime minister has defended as necessary to normalize relations with Baku. Moscow has said it is closely monitoring the developments, especially those concerning Karapetyan, who holds Russian citizenship. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that while the unrest is an internal matter for Yerevan, Moscow wants Armenia to remain 'a prosperous and stable country that is friendly to Russia.'
