An island wide clean-up campaign was launched by Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis in Anavargos village in Paphos on Friday.

The campaign, “See it clearly,” is organised by the ministry in collaboration with the commissioners of environment and volunteering and the ministry of interior.

The aim is to reverse the degradation of the natural environment and the risks to public health.

Kadis and Paphos Mayor Phedonas Phedonos attended a refuse collection operation in Anavargos to launch the project. Kadis stated that the campaign urges “all citizens to adopt attitudes and practices through which we will see our homes and our country clean”, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

“The few tarnish the image,” the minister noted, adding that recently the state of the countryside does not reflect well on anyone. He referred to scenes such as those he witnessed in Anavargos to urge the public need to be more aware and not create huge problems to the environment and public health.

Phedonos welcomed the minister in Anavargos with a bouquet of flowers to mark his name day.

Efforts to clean up problem areas and keep Cyprus tidy are vitally important and show respect for both the environment and cleanliness, Phedonos said. “As of today, the message is all over Cyprus, ‘See it clearly’, and we will all see clearly by cleaning every corner of our city.”

The campaign is structured using three pillars, cleaning, checks and awareness, he said.

The first pillar concerns the cleaning of the points where there is a systematic dumping of rubbish. The second is monitoring and prevention to check the points after their restoration and prevent the uncontrolled accumulation of waste. The third will inform and raise public awareness, with the aim of encouraging voluntary participation and creating a “green consciousness”.

“With sensitised citizens we can certainly hope for better days.”

The project is also divided into two phases, the first phase will be implemented in May and June, where around 25 areas full of garbage will be cleared; many more will be cleaned in the autumn. Simultaneously, dozens of other less polluted areas will be cleaned by groups of volunteers under the supervision of the commissioner for volunteerism.

Kadis announced that in addition to local government inspectors, a large number of the public service workers will visit sites to monitor the areas that and impose substantial penalties to anyone who commits an offence.

The minister also congratulated Phedonos for the initiatives he has already taken.

On its own initiative, the Municipality of Paphos started its own campaign to proceed with the cleaning of sites that have been polluted and must be congratulated, he said.

In the past few months, Paphos has undertaken a substantial clean-up campaign, removing 1,100 trucks of debris and rubbish from the city and previously, 3,000 trucks of rubble were removed. The aim is to make Paphos both clean and green, the mayor said.

Where conditions permit in cleaned areas, the municipality has planted new trees and installed special signs to call the public not to dump rubbish or to pollute the environment again.

The minister thanked and congratulated all those participating in the effort, and to be assured of the ministry’s support to see a clean Cyprus.

A second peaceful protest, a global ‘freedom rally,’ against the violation of fundamental human rights and tyranny in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic will be held in Paphos on Saturday.

The event will take place at Paphos town hall square at 6pm.

Last week the event protested against the so-called ‘SafePass’, masks, coerced vaccines and tyranny. The protest attracted around 500 people, according to Peyia councillor, Linda Leblanc, who attended.

The global initiative, ‘A stand in the Park’, has gathered support from numerous counties and is still gaining momentum.

“The movement is in over 100 countries, and hundreds of thousands of people gather every week. They value freedom, transparency and fundamental rights guaranteed by EU treaties, constitutions and so on. It has nothing to do with a ‘hugging festival’ and is not ‘anti-vaxx’, as it has been misreported in some media,” Leblanc told the Cyprus Mail on Friday.

Supporters of the initiative are concerned about the increasing pressure on people to get vaccinated, with onerous requirements for workers, she said.

To have to undergo tests, sometimes every 72 hours, is being successfully challenged, she added.

“There are also many reports of employers demanding employees be vaccinated and even some employees already being fired for refusing to be part of this medical experiment,” Leblanc said.

Supporters, she said, were in favour of full disclosure, protection of freedoms, informed consent and medical freedom of choice.

Leblanc said the current programme of “experimental injections” was part of an ongoing clinical trial, pointing out that the vaccines being used on the population have yet only received what is known as ‘emergency use authorisation’ and were not ‘approved’ vaccines as such since clinical trials are not due to end until 2023.

Leblanc is also part of an ‘EU Covid Citizens’ Initiative’, working on such issues in 21 EU member states, which includes lawyers, scientists and activists.

‘We protest for our FREEDOM and the future of our children. WE ARE NOT AN EXPERIMENT AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE, the movement writes on its Facebook page

The official line of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective and it advises everyone to get the jab as soon as possible.

Hotels hope to entice domestic tourism with prices capped at €60

Hotels in Cyprus are enticing permanent residents to holiday at home this year with an incentive scheme that caps bed and breakfast prices at €60 per night, even at participating five-star accommodation.

The scheme was initially earmarked to conclude at the end of May but has been extended, Philokypros Roussounides, director general of the Cyprus Hoteliers’ Association, informed the Sunday Mail this week.

“The scheme has been extended until the end of June and will also be in place, running from September until the end of November. This excludes the months of July and August,” he said.

“It is expected that the plan will continue to help reduce the recession and maintain employment in the difficult times due to the coronavirus,” the deputy tourism ministry said after cabinet extended the Extraordinary Plan for the Support of Domestic Tourism.

The scheme includes tourist accommodation such as hotels, organised apartments, tourist villages and agrotourism accommodation.

There are currently around 140 hotels in the scheme, ranging from one or two star accommodation, right up to five star hotels. The number of participating hotels and accommodation providers included in the initiative will change with others expected to join in September, October and November.

Domestic tourism has always been a small slice of the pie chart, but every little bit helps, said Roussounides.

Boosting domestic tourism in this way adds additional incentives to travellers to visit Paphos, which is always a popular destination with locals during holiday periods and for ‘getaways’, said head of the Paphos regional board of tourism, Nasos Hadjigeorgiou.

“Any incentive to stay in Cyprus is good, particularly with external factors such as the situation in Gaza. Hundreds of Israelis that had planned to visit Paphos have cancelled,” Hadjigeorgiou said.

There is a ceiling on the price that participants in the incentive scheme for Cypriots are able to charge; no more than €60 per night for a double room with bed and breakfast, explained Roussounides.

A minimum stay of two nights is required, 35 per cent of the accommodation cost is subsidised by the ministry so that a client will only pay €40 maximum at the counter, he said.

“For a couple that is more than cheap, especially if it’s in a four- or five-star hotel.”

The offer is proving very attractive to Cypriots and they are calling the participating hotels in good numbers since it was announced, he said.

“It is a great opportunity to take advantage of the scheme and probably the best option for holidays this year,” Roussounides added.

Residents will need a SafePass – a negative rapid test or proof of having received at least the first jab or having antibodies after recovering from Covid – to book a stay at a hotel or visit indoor areas of hotel restaurants.

By the end of May in Paphos, which would usually be heaving with visitors, only around 34 hotels out of 103 in Paphos will be open. This means about 12,500 beds will be available from a possible 28,378.

This is because hoteliers are still not sure how the inflow will be moving forward. However, maybe for the first time in the pandemic, there a dim light is at the end of the tunnel, Roussounides said.

However, from mid-June, Hadjigeorgiou said that flight plans would be further enriched and that a “considerable number of international visitors are expected in Cyprus, particularly in Paphos”.

All stakeholders have informed hoteliers that Cyprus sits at the top of the list of holidaymakers, especially in the Mediterranean region, Roussounides said.

“We have done everything we can to establish a really attractive framework for visitors; how countries are categorised, and that they can all come with no quarantine in place. For red they need a double test and so on. We also announced that vaccinated passengers that are double jabbed can enter with no restrictions or quarantine,” Roussounides said.

As the epidemiological picture improves day by day, this will allow Cyprus to enter the green category of the UK, which is a huge market for Cyprus and has been an important one for years, he added.

Entry into the green category will be a “blessing for the industry” that hopes to go green at the end of this month when the UK government carries out its next evaluation, he said. This would mean UK travellers will not have to self-isolate on their return home. Cyprus is currently in the UK’s amber category.

If this happens, by the end of June or early July, Cyprus will see numbers greatly increase from the UK.

“We have done whatever was needed to announce to the market that we are safe, strict with destination protocols in hotels and so on and have a developed healthcare system in place, just in case it is needed by anyone.”

Hotels participating include: Adams Beach hotel, Ayia Napa; Constantinos the Great beach hotel, Protaras; Amphora hotel and suites, Paphos; Forest Park hotel, Platres, Poseidonio Beach hotel, Limassol; Cleopatra Hotel, Nicosia; King Evelthon Beach hotel and resort, Paphos; the Sun Hall hotel in Larnaca; The Library hotel and wellness retreat, Kalavasos, Limassol (all for €60/pay €39); Aunt Maria’s, Pano Lefkara (€58/pay €38), and Mayfair hotel, Paphos (€59/Pay €38).

A full list of hotels participating in the subsidised scheme is available here (in Greek): https://www.visitcyprus.com/index.php/en/domestic-tourism-2020-2021

The Friends Hospice in Paphos, which had to close its doors last year, is on track to reopen at its new premises before the end of the year, according to officials.

“Next week we are due to sign off on the necessary paperwork at the land registry and will take it from there. We expect to be up and running before the end of the year,” president of the Friends Hospice foundation, Chris Jones, told the Cyprus Mail.

A local family donated the nine-bedroom house to the foundation to use as a hospice and it will initially operate as a six-bedroom facility, with the option to increase capacity to seven bedrooms if required. There is also space for families to stay if needed and the building is set in spacious grounds, Jones added.

The change of use from private house to a hospice has been approved by the local authorities and an annual grant has been awarded to the charity, after approval from the health ministry.

Found at the end of a cul-de-sac in a quiet area of Tala in Paphos, supporters have continued to raise funds and donate items to the hospice’s four charity shops to boost funding.

“We need about six months operating costs in our back pockets to ensure the smooth running of the hospice moving forwards. People have been incredibly generous, and I know many are very happy that we are coming back,” he said.

It is estimated that the hospice will cost around €250,000 to €300,000 a year to operate, which is a manageable amount according to Jones.

Dr Aristos Georgiou will remain as the facility’s clinical director and Dr Sylvia Lazaridou as the volunteer medical director.

The facility will be named The Friends Hospice Waugh House and will meet all health ministry stipulations. Although the building is in a generally good condition, a lift will be added and some other works needs to be undertaken.

”A local architect, Yiannis Koutsolambros, has drawn up plans for what needs to be done free of charge,” Jones said .

Members of the public that would like to support the hospice and raise funds are welcome to get in touch, he said.

The Friends’ Hospice opened its doors in 2006 and was the first hospice in Paphos. It offers free palliative care to people with life limiting illnesses, as well as support to their families. More than two thousand people have used the facility.

Housed in a wing of St George’s Polyclinic, it had to close last year as the space was needed for future operational purposes

Volunteers and donations have dried up while the cats are multiplying

The cat lady of Paphos says she is overwhelmed with dozens of stray cats and kittens that are being dumped on her doorstep and is appealing to the public to step in and help her.

Gaynor Georgiou, 76, has been feeding stray and unwanted cats of Paphos old town for the last 33 years, but after recent spinal surgery that has left her with mobility issues, along with the fallout of the Covid pandemic, she has reached a ‘brick wall.’

“There are no tourists, and no-one has any money. People keep dumping cats and they have changed as well. They tell me off when they see me feeding the cats and say I should be helping people instead,” she told the Sunday Mail.

“But people can ask for help and articulate when they are in pain, animals can’t, they just slink away and die. Everything deserves to live and have food.”

The numbers are overwhelming. Gaynor feeds around 160 stray cats on her daily rounds of the old town and is also looking after 15 kittens that were recently born in the area, as well as a mother cat and her six kittens that were dumped on her doorstep last week. On top of all that, she feeds 30 street cats in an area behind her house and spends almost all of her modest pension on cat food each month.

The cat lady is a popular sight around Paphos in her ‘branded’ car, and both tourists and locals used to approach her with offers of help or donations. However, this has all dried up since the first lockdown last year, she said.

“There is no end to this, it’s like a daily battle. If the cats didn’t all rely on me, I wouldn’t go every day, but at each stop there are groups of them waiting for me. When I die, I won’t worry, but as long as I’m alive, I can’t stop, I have to keep going.”

Each ‘cat stop’ has a story, she explained, and it all began in 1990 when a woman asked Gaynor to feed her 15 cats whilst she went on holiday, leaving 80 tins of food for her to use.

“She never came back. And there was nowhere really to get them spayed, so they had babies and that was the start of it all,” she said.

Gaynor is not internet savvy and has a volunteer in the UK that operates her Facebook page, so often doesn’t realise all of the comments of support she receives. She is desperate for donations and volunteers, as all but one, have had to stop for a variety of reasons.

Although the cat lover takes as many felines as she can to be neutered or spayed, there are also a growing number of that need these operations as well as dental treatment,’ she said.

“I really need people to help. People often think I’m an organisation, but it’s just me.”

To help Gaynor continue to look after the cats of Paphos old town, you can donate at:https://paphoscatlady.com/

Find her on Facebook : www.facebook.com/paphoscatlady

Or call: 97 673986

Paphos Municipality on Tuesday urged the public to use water sparingly because of a technical problem and warned there may be limited supply on Wednesday.

The municipality said that because of required maintenance work on the pipeline through which the Water Development Department supplies Paphos, there may be problems with water supply to various parts of the town on Wednesday from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm.

The municipality urged residents to restrict water consumption as much as possible to prevent a deterioration of the problem.

Nearly 200 people were booked in Paphos over the weekend after a police campaign to prevent road accidents, burglaries and thefts, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Tuesday.

It said that as part of the campaign police checked cars and individuals.

Police booked a total of 199 people, of whom 24 for drunk driving. Eight drivers were booked for not wearing a seatbelt, 86 for speeding and two for using a mobile phone while driving. One driver did not have a licence and four were not insured.

Moreover, police booked another 72 individuals for various other offences. Two people were booked for breaking the decrees to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The Cyprus News Agency added that there were six road collisions over the weekend, with a serious injury in one case and minor damage in the other five.

Police on Thursday appealed for information regarding the whereabouts of a 32-year-old woman who has been missing from her residence in Paphos for a week.

In a statement, police said Ekaterine Khutsishvili from Georgia was last seen last Thursday afternoon.

She is described as slim, 1.75m tall, with long hair. When last seen, she was wearing a black t-shirt, green shorts and trainers.

Anyone with information should contact Paphos CID on 26806021 or the public hotline 1460 or their nearest police station.

The expansion of close ties and further co-operation between Paphos municipality and the Polish Embassy was the main topic of a meeting at the town hall on Friday morning.

“The enrichment and expansion of the already close cooperation that the municipality of Paphos has maintained in recent years with the embassy of Poland in Cyprus, was discussed today by the Mayor Phedonas Phedonos, and the Polish Ambassador Irena Lichnerowicz-Augustyn,” the municipality announced.

The two discussed, among other things, the organisation of joint high-level events to be held in Paphos in October as part of the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of official diplomatic relations.

They also discussed and decided to further support the Polish Archaeological Mission in Paphos by providing the municipality with a suitable space to house the Polish Research Centre which is expected to operate in the autumn in Paphos.

“Missions of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow and the University of Warsaw have now been consolidated under Professor Eudoxia Papoutsi-Vladika,” the municipality noted.

The presence of the Polish Archaeological Expeditions in Paphos dates back to the 1960s when an excavation team of the University of Warsaw under the direction of the late Professor Andreas Dzefski, brought to light the famous mosaics of Paphos.

“The archaeological mission of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow, began and continues the excavation of the Ancient Agora,” it concluded.

Paphos Hotels saw occupancy rates of close to 60 per cent over the long weekend, a significant jump from the 15 per cent averaged over the month of June, Thanos Michaelides, president of the Paphos branch of the Cyprus Hotels Association told the Cyprus News Agency on Tuesday.

But he said that June was effectively a ‘lost month’ while projections were that July would also be a problematic month as regards tourism.

“July is developing into a problematic month because there are no tourism flows and moreover after developments in the UK, we also had cancellations,” Michaelides said.

But if the British government decides to lift quarantine on returning vaccinated passengers, this would be helpful to Cyprus’ tourism sector, he said.

Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News on Tuesday that Britain was working on easing travel restrictions for the fully vaccinated to allow people to enjoy a summer holiday on Europe’s beaches, but the plans were not finalised yet.

Hancock told Sky News that the government did want to let people have a family holiday abroad, but only when it was safe to do so.

“So, we are working on a plan for double vaccinated people, using tests, to have that testing regime in place, instead of having to have the quarantine, in some circumstances,” he said.

As regards the Russian market, Michaelides said this was expected to open towards the end of the month but noted that it is mainly directed to the free Famagusta area with a share coming to Paphos.

For Paphos hotels to remain in operation with such low occupancy rates, the labour minister would need to continue its support scheme for employees at least for the month of July.

The future, so far, looked bleak with occupancy rates worse than in 2020.

The three-day Kataklysmos weekend saw a large number of beachgoers at the district’s beaches, with Coral Bay, Venus, Sodap, Geroskipou and Latchi beaches reporting brisk business, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, speaking to CyBC radio on Tuesday, Cyprus Hotel Association president Haris Loizides said that most hotels had recorded satisfactory business over the three-day weekend, with occupancy rates of between 60 and 70 per cent.

He added that contacts have been held with the labour minister regarding extending the hotel employees support scheme, which ends this month, to cover July. Loizides said the minister looks positively on such a development and would be instrumental in persuading hoteliers to stay open.

Loizides again appealed to those working in the hotel sector to be vaccinated.

Three houses were destroyed and four damaged by the fire in Tala on Saturday, officials said on Sunday as estimates of damage began after instructions given by Interior Minister Nicos Nourris, Paphos District Officer Mary Lambrou said.

She said that one car was also destroyed by the flames.

The people living the destroyed homes have been temporarily taken to hotels, she added.

“Yesterday was an extremely difficult day on the fire front,” the interior ministry said in a statement, referring to the fire in Kamares as “catastrophic”.

It said the fire was put out as a result of “a coordinated effort by all the services of the Republic under adverse conditions due to the inaccessible soil and harsh weather conditions”.

A team of officers from the technical services of Paphos district office will record damages to buildings and property in the area based on the instructions given the interior ministry.

A similar evaluation is set to start from Monday to assess the damage to vegetation.

Leader of the Tala community council Areti Pieridou said she was thankful that “in this catastrophe we did not mourn human lives”.

In a written statement, Fire Service spokesman Andreas Kettis said the efforts of firemen on Saturday to put out the blaze were painful.

Assistant police chief of Paphos Nicos Tsapis said the fire was the result of a short circuit of aerial cables.

Preliminary examinations show that the fire started from sparks from electricity cables that fell to the ground. High winds in the area at the time caused the cables to touch each other.

The fire was brought under control at about 8pm on Saturday and burnt wild plants, damaging some vehicles and homes according to Kettis. He said that two square kilometres of plants and trees had burned, in addition to some wheat fields.

The fire also damaged electricity poles.

He said fire officials remained on site throughout the night to make sure the fire did not restart.

The fire broke out shortly before 3pm on Saturday afternoon and was brought under control with the help of seven aircraft from the forestry department and the government plus two from the British Bases in addition to fire engines from Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca.

With a yellow weather warning in place until 5pm on Sunday the chance of forest fires breaking out through the day is said to be high.

Disgruntled boat owners lash out at port authority over ‘absurd’ ban on repairs

Boat owners at Latchi harbour are despairing over the port authority’s continued ban on vessels being taken out of the water for service or repairs.

For many years, boat maintenance and cleaning were carried out on dry land or hardstanding situated next to the harbour, but last year the Cyprus Ports Authority (CPA) said this would no longer be permitted.

The CPA did not inform owners of the move and have not permitted even a small area to be allocated for repairs, according to both owners and the local mayor.

“This is destroying the heart of Latchi and is absurd. How can you have a port, which they are also hoping to increase the size of and yet no facilities for repair. They expect us to take our boats to Limassol for repairs and service. My boat is small and wouldn’t make it that far,” one disgruntled owner told the Sunday Mail.

The problem has been exacerbated by the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, where at one point, no travel from Paphos was permitted.

“It is a ridiculous situation and makes no sense to any of us whatsoever. The new rules were introduced without any formal announcement, and they are not budging one bit,” he said.

In 2020 an independent report concerning health and safety at the harbour had highlighted a number of issues, and more or less called out the authority responsible, the CPA.

Mayor of Polis, Giotis Papachristofi, said the port authority made the decision regarding banning boat repairs. Although the harbour is far tidier now, the council have requested if a small area could be put aside to service around five or six boats at a time.

So far the CPA has refused.

“The port wasn’t good before, it was very messy and dangerous for pedestrians, but boat owners are complaining that there is nowhere for them to do repairs. We (the council) don’t have a problem with a small area, but the port authority said no. We raise the matter every time we meet, and we will do it again,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

However, the mayor added that he expects relaxations for fishermen, at least, during the upcoming winter season.

Private boat owners argue that the CPA is being unreasonable and that the area was kept tidy by owners and did not present a danger to pedestrians.

“A boat works safety proposal was submitted to the CPA, suggesting routine (not major works) maintenance could occur only in the winter – having little effect on tourists. It was rejected out of hand,” boat owner Thomas, who did not want use his full name, told the Sunday Mail.

The reasoning that it was unsafe for pedestrians and further exacerbated by unlicensed and uninsured boat owners is just not true, he said.

“None of the board of the CPA is interested in boating. Instead of rectifying issues (most still outstanding a year later), they shut down everything and make it impossible to raise Cyprus’ profile or attract international sailors as they state is their intention.”

A new nautical club has recently been set up in the area, representing in excess of 40 boats. Their request for a meeting with the CPA has been refused.

“The Cyprus Ports Authority are destroying Latchi harbour for unknown reasons. They claim that they have to stop boat maintenance for health and safety concerns, but this is a complete fabrication. Latchi Nautical Club supplied documents by qualified engineers and architects to explain how to secure harbour health and safety for the general public and sailors. However, the authority refused to consider them,” a spokesman for the committee said.

The club also questioned present safety measures saying that if a member of the public fell into the harbour, there is no method to retrieve them and no escape ladders exist.

The CPA is also denying visitors an authentic experience of boats and the maintenance they must undergo to keep them seaworthy said Thomas.

“Who doesn’t enjoy seeing fishermen mending their nets for instance?”

Both the CPA and the mayor are irresponsibly forcing small boats, many of which are small coastal cruisers, into a perilous journey by sea to Limassol or Larnaca for repairs, he added.

The harbour is earmarked for expansion to facilitate around 550 boats, Papachristofi said. Works are due to get underway next year.

There are numerous enquiries from boat owners wishing to leave their vessels at the port, from both visitors who may wish to stay for a couple of weeks and others that wish to use the facility for the winter months.

“If we make it bigger it will help the entire area and we welcome the expansion,” he said.

However, one local business owner said the idea of creating a larger marina in the area is ridiculous if facilities to take the boats out of the water for maintenance and repairs is not included.

“There are commercial ventures at the harbour and a large number of private owners. It is a big expense to factor in going to Limassol for maintenance. There is no plan from the port authority, they haven’t come back with any guidelines for us, and in other ports you have designated areas to take boats out of the water. It’s normal,” he said.

Thomas stressed that boat owners in Latchi are committed to the environment, however, every other harbour has facilities for boat maintenance and so should Latchi.

When contacted by the Cyprus Mail, the CPA would not comment beyond confirming that there are no current plans to reintroduce an area of hardstanding for boat owners.

The fire service and the forestry department on Wednesday responded to several calls for large and small blazes in all districts with authorities warning that the risk of fires is very high due to the heat.

Firefighting crews had to tackle a fire between Stroumbi and Tsada on Wednesday afternoon, the second reported in the Paphos district in the past 24 hours, while a third broke out near Ergates in the Nicosia district.

Six fire engines and a portable firefighting unit from the game and fauna service were sent to extinguish a fire burning dry grass and wild vegetation in the inaccessible area between Stroumbi and Tsada.

According to fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis, the fire was put under control just after 5pm, after almost four hours since they were alerted about the blaze. It burned around two hectares of dry vegetation, trees and vineyards.

Firefighting crews also responded to a forest fire in the afternoon near the village of Ergates.

The fire was brought under control by crews of the forestry department an hour after it started and after burning around one hectare of olive and other trees.

The forestry department and fire service also jointly responded to a call about a fire on the road between Saittas and Pera Pedi in the mountainous Limassol area. The blaze was put out in just 15 minutes after authorities were alerted at 4.15pm. It burned a small area of wild vegetation.

Earlier in the day, Kettis tweeted that the blaze that broke out between the villages of Kelokedara and Trachipedoula overnight, was being brought under control after a mobilisation of the ‘Ikaros’ contingency plan early Wednesday morning.

The fire did not damage any properties, and air and land forces remained in the area to extinguish the remaining flames and bring the blaze under control, as strong winds kept causing re-ignitions.

Four fire engines from Paphos fire departments initially responded when the blaze started just before 1am. In the early morning hours, three more fire engines arrived at the scene from the forestry department, along with two helicopters.

According to Kettis, more aerial responses arrived from the forestry department, police, national guard and the British bases, with additional firefighting crews on ground joining from Limassol, Larnaca and the Disaster Response Special Unit.

The causes of the fire will be investigated later.

Earlier this month, another fire in Kelokedara destroyed five hectares of dry grass and wild vegetation before four fire engines and two helicopters intervened to put out the blaze.

Paphos police arrested two men aged 33 and 27 on suspicion of breaking into and stealing €17,000 worth of clothing and other items from an Emba home.

The burglary was reported to the police by the 38-year-old owner of the house, who said a large number of items including clothing, accessories, shoes and mobile phones had been stolen from his house. The man, who filed his complaint on June 28, estimated the value of the stolen objects to be around €17,000.

After examining the scene, police said that burglars had entered through the balcony door of the house which was unlocked. They also collected evidence to try and identify the suspects.

The house did not have an alarm system, security cameras or safety locks.

A female neighbour who was questioned by police gave testimony pointing to the two suspects, both permanent residents of Cyprus.

Police issued arrest warrants against the two. They were arrested on Wednesday after officers found various items during a search in their house that they believe were stolen from the 38-year-old’s house.

Paphos on Tuesday welcomed the Seabourn Ovation cruise liner that docked off Kato Paphos harbour.

The 420-crew liner with 305 passengers on board, in their majority Americans, arrived at the Kato Paphos harbour at around 6am from Patmos island in Greece.

Among the activities available to passengers is visits to the monasteries of Ayios Neophytos, and Panayia Chrysoroyiatissa, archaeological sites and points of interest within the town of Paphos as well as beaches but also trips to Kourio, Omodos and elsewhere.

The cruise ship is to depart for its next stop, Rhodes at 3pm.

A 20-year-old motorcyclist is being treated for head injuries in the ICU of Paphos hospital after he was involved in a traffic collision in Paphos, police said on Wednesday.

The man was on his motorcycle at the junction of Griva Digenis avenue with Christou Keli and Loizou Filipou street, when, under conditions that are being investigated, his bike collided into the back of a car being driven by a 30-year-old man.

Police arrived at the scene to investigate the conditions of the rear-end collision.

The 20-year-old was transferred to Paphos general hospital where he was diagnosed with a serious head injury and bleeding. His condition is described as serious.

The renovation of a listed building and construction of an adjacent one is set to get underway in Paphos to bring all of the offices of the social insurance and labour departments that are currently in various areas of Paphos to one area, a municipality spokesman told the Cyprus Mail on Tuesday.

“The decision was taken to go ahead with his project which is another positive step for Paphos,” he said after a meeting between Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos and ministry officials.

The now defunct building in Athena Street in Paphos will be fully renovated, while a three-storey building, along with with parking and storage areas will be constructed on the rest of the plot.

“This will be used to accommodate the five departments of the ministry of labour and social insurance,” he said.

The old building is owned by the social insurance fund, he added.

An architectural competition is due to be launched in September.

“It will be dependent on the architectural plans as to how long construction will take to complete, but the aim is to start construction work in the first quarter of 2022,” he added.

The municipality of Paphos will be in charge of the project and overseeing the construction.

The total cost of the project, including VAT, is expected to amount to approximately €7 million.

The fight to stop a lone pine in Konia from being chopped down has become a symbol for the Paphos Greens in their struggle to save trees.

“This pine tree symbolises all trees for us and should not be cut down. Every single tree is important and it’s stupid to cut any tree. This is a way to save nature, one tree at a time,” Andreas Evlavis of the Paphos Green party told the Cyprus Mail.

The tree, which is around 30 years old, is the subject of a wrangle between the local community council and the forestry department, said Evlavis.

Initially, the Konia community leader applied to the forestry department for permission to fell the tree, which is on a pavement.

The forestry department gave the green light for the tree to be removed.

However, along with the community council, the mukhtar changed his mind and sent a second letter to the authority to request that the tree remain in place.

“He felt guilty about the initial decision and asked the Greens to get involved to ensure a future for the tree,” Evlavis said.

Both pedestrian and wheelchairs are able to access the pavement properly and the tree is not impinging on the area at all, he said, adding that the wall should have been built further back, further away from the tree.

“Obviously, the tree was there first and it needs to be protected.”

However, the forestry department wrote a second letter to the community council stating that the Electricity Authority, EAC, had cut some of the branches, and as the tree now looks ‘ugly’, it should be cut as it would be aesthetically much better, and also, that it is also causing some problems with a wall.

“This is playing a silly game and the pine tree should not be cut. There is pavement access and far too many trees are always being cut in Paphos,” Evlavis said.

He was referring to a spate of cutting established, old trees in Paphos and then planting new saplings. However, this is not the correct way to deal with nature, he said.

“We need to save the big and old trees as well as planting new ones. This is the correct solution,” he said.

“These trees have been helping the atmosphere for dozens of years and we need to ensure they continue to do so and not rely on ones that will mature in 30 or 40 years.”

The community board of Konia and the Paphos Greens are hoping that the forestry department will rethink its decision insisting the tree be cut and save it instead.

“It would be a small step but part of something greater to save all of our trees,” Evlavis concluded.

Paphos is the seventh cheapest holiday destination in Europe for British travellers, according to the latest British Post Office Travel Money survey.

The survey covered 16 destinations in Europe, 13 in the Americas and Caribbean and 17 in the rest of the world.

Overall, Paphos came in the 11^th cheapest destination among the 46 with a total cost of £66.74 for a basket of eight tourist items comprising dinner for two with a bottle of wine, a range of soft and alcoholic drinks, sun cream and insect repellent.

Coronavirus has dealt a huge blow to the world travel industry, and like many tourism-reliant economies, Cyprus’ tourism sector is struggling to cope with a significantly lower number of foreign visitors that account for most of its business.

The UK is traditionally Cyprus’ biggest tourism market, but numbers are down amid travel restrictions in place until recently in the UK, compounded by a surge in cases here, though there are hopes of increased arrivals in autumn.

For the fourth year running, Post Office Travel Money research found that holidaymakers can expect to pay less for meals, drinks and other tourist staples in many of the world’s most popular resorts and cities.

The 15th annual Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer found that prices have fallen in over three-quarters of the destinations surveyed.

Sunny Beach, Bulgaria emerged the cheapest of 46 destinations surveyed for the fourth consecutive year with a total of 27.71.

Turkey (Marmaris) was second with £37.19 and Portugal’s Algarve, third in Europe with £44.13 and also Eurozone’s cheapest resort area.

Prague came in fourth with £57.39 and Spain’s Costa del Sol a close fifth with £57.96. Funchal in Madeira was sixth with £62.11 followed by Paphos.

Sliema in Malta was eighth with £69.52 while Greece’s Corfu was 13^th with £91.01

The breakdown for Cyprus’ total of £66.74 was: dinner with wine £47.72, water £0.24, coffee £2.43, soft drink and beer £2.21 each, wine £2.92, insect repellent £3.37 and sun cream £5.65.

The Post Office Worldwide Holiday Costs Barometer was compiled with the help of national and regional tourist boards, specialist tour operators Balkan Holidays (Bulgaria) and Travelbag (various longhaul destinations) and Marmaris Info (Turkey).

A poll of more than 2,000 UK adults indicated that 44 per cent of families planning to travel abroad this year will budget more to allow for rising resort costs and coronavirus tests.

The tests required to enable tourists to enter their destination and return to the UK can add several hundred pounds per person to holiday bills.

“After such a long wait, it is understandable that families want to head to European beach resorts for some summer sun,” head of Post Office Travel Money Nick Boden said.

“However, the big variations we found between costs in European resorts means it will pay dividends to do some homework before leaving home to get a realistic view of the holiday cash needed in the resorts they are considering.”

Paphos police on Monday launched an investigation after two small dogs were found covered in tar near the district’s municipal market.

The dogs were found stuck in the tar late on Sunday by a passerby, a vegetable farmer who along with his two children removed the dogs and put them on some municipal rubbish bags that he found near by. He then transferred them to the charity organisation Animal Rescue Cyprus in Paphos.

Seven volunteers and staff at the charity “worked for four solid hours… doing everything they could to save them,” Animal Rescue said.

The workers successfully removed all the tar from the dogs by 2am on Monday and gave them first aid.

Paphos municipality, which collaborates with the charity to support stray animals, condemned the incident.

According to their announcement, a barrel of tar had been thrown to the ground by unknown people and then the dogs got stuck in it as they were walking in the area.

“Such actions, especially if proven to be intentional, constitute a criminal act for which the perpetrators must be held accountable,” the municipality said.

Meanwhile, a Paphos police spokesman told the Cyprus Mail that no report was submitted to the authority regarding the incident, and no proof has emerged so far that this concerns a deliberate act of animal abuse.

“Some mindless people overturned the garbage bin, which contained tar, spilling it on the ground and then the dogs stepped in the puddle of tar,” officer Michalis Ioannou said.

Asked where the tar came from, Ioannou said that it might have been part of road construction works in the district.

He added that rubbish bins are often vandalised by hooligans, usually teenagers, who might overturn them or set them on fire.

Police are expected to assess CCTV material to determine the exact details of the incident and whether this was a malicious act, Ioannou said.

“The bottom line is that the dogs… are alive. If it was a mistake or a deliberate act, we will of course never know and we will not speculate on it,” Paphos-based Animal Rescue said.

The two dogs’ suffering, as well as the conditions of the rest 1,600 animals at the shelter, was unnecessary and could have been “easily avoided”, they added.

“We can understand there are people who don’t like animals, but to not respect them and harming them is a totally different story. Cruelty, abuse and neglect do not have a passport, they know no boundaries. They come from somewhere deep down inside the human nature, in that corner where light never shines and there is only darkness,” the charity’s announcement said.

The incident was condemned by The Animal Party, which thanked the volunteers and said they expect “immediate actions by the municipality of Paphos and the police”.

The party also questioned why the area with the tar was not marked “so that we did not mourn human victims” adding that ”anyone could have access, even children.”