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Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letibiotis briefed the media today at the Presidential Palace.
In his opening statement, the Spokesman said: "February 15 has been established as World Day Against Childhood Cancer, honoring all children and their families who experience the impact of the disease, recognizing their pain and difficulties and raising awareness in the global community."
Cancer and leukemia are the second most common cause of death in children after accidents. But it is the leading cause of mortality in children due to disease.
Every year at least 400,000 thousand new cases of cancer and leukaemia are diagnosed in children and adolescents worldwide, but the actual number is probably higher. In a large number of countries, many cases of childhood cancer go unrecognized or underreported.
Early diagnosis and proper treatment help cure most children. In developed countries, the cure rate for children's cancer and leukaemia is over 80%.
In Cyprus from 1998 to 2020, 957 cases of cancer and leukaemia were recorded in people under 19 years of age. In our country, an average of about 42 new cases of cancer and leukaemia are detected in this age group.
In this battle fought by children and their families, the contribution of all of us is needed. With our support, help and care, we must strengthen the daily struggle of doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, physiotherapists, families and others to ensure that young patients receive optimal treatment.
The children and their families have the constant support of a large team of doctors, nurses and many other specialists at the Centre for Paediatric Oncology and Haematology of the Archbishop Makarios III Hospital in Nicosia. We thank them and are grateful for the work they do.
We also owe warm thanks to all the volunteer blood and bone marrow donors and to the voluntary and non-governmental organizations that work tirelessly and continue the fight against childhood and adolescent cancer with determination and faith that they can bring smiles and hope to our little friends.
Yesterday's natural disaster and the tornado that hit mainly the eastern Limassol area caused extensive damage to homes and businesses. The images we all saw yesterday are indicative of the extent of the damage in the affected areas and the nightmarish moments experienced by dozens of our fellow citizens.
From the very first moment, the state mechanism was on alert to immediately address the damage and take all necessary measures, while the Minister of Interior personally visited Limassol yesterday to inspect and assess the situation.
The immediate recording of the damages started yesterday morning and today there are already 9 crews with 2 technicians per crew in the areas to continue recording, while 2 crews, with 3 people each, are providing assistance in cleaning up waste and other materials. The aim is, weather permitting, to complete the recording of all the damage within the day in order to proceed immediately, as instructed, with the immediate assessment of the damage.
By 11:00 today, incoming requests related to:
- 156 dwellings of which damage has already been recorded in 81
- 2 apartment buildings
- 8 commercial premises of which damage has already been recorded in 3
- 24 vehicles
- 1 church (Prophet Elias in Germasogeia)
All necessary arrangements have been made for temporary accommodation in hotels in the city for our fellow citizens whose homes have been damaged to the extent that they are not suitable for accommodation.
We would like to thank all the state services and especially the personnel of the Civil Defence, the Limassol District Administration, the Yermasogeia and Limassol Town Halls, the AIC, the Fire Brigade, the Social Welfare Services, as well as the Police Directorate, who from the early hours of the morning, when the damage occurred, responded promptly and immediately, under adverse conditions, to their duties.
The Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry issued a short while ago an announcement stating that the operations of the appraisal well "Cronos-2", within Block 6 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus, by the consortium of Eni Cyprus Limited (Operator) and TotalEnergies EP Cyprus B, have been successfully completed.V.
The well, which was drilled 160 kilometres off the coast of Cyprus and three kilometres from the original 'Cronos-1' exploration well, demonstrated the existence of the same gas column, with a production zone within a geological formation exceeding 115 metres. It confirmed that this is an extension of the "Cronos" field, with the same characteristics in carbonate rocks.
A full production test (DST) was also carried out during the drilling operations, which demonstrated the excellent quality of the gas in the field, as well as the high production capacity of the reservoir.
Cronos is the third gas discovery in Block 6 of the Cypriot EEZ, along with Calypso (2018) and Zeus (2022). At this stage, the Ministry of Energy and the licensing consortium are considering ways to optimally exploit the fields, which will peacefully involve supplying gas to the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus and Europe, with the cluster of discoveries that has been created expected to help accelerate their development.
Eni and TotalEnergies have also made announcements on the successful completion of the Cronos-2 project.
The President of the Republic today received a delegation from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus (APPG-CYP) in the British Parliament.
The President of the Republic briefed the members of the delegation on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue following the appointment of the UN Secretary General's (UNSG) personal envoy Ms Holguín, while he reported on his upcoming visit to London where he will hold a meeting with a British Foreign Secretary and possibly the Prime Minister of the country. The President of the Republic expressed his thanks to the members of the delegation for the long-standing work of the Group within the British Parliament and the support for our efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, while he called for further strengthening of efforts so that the UK sends a clear message to the Turkish side to resume the talks from the point where they have been interrupted, maintaining the acquis of the talks, with the aim of reaching a solution on the basis of a bizonal bicommunal federation. The operation of the Unit, which was a long-standing request of the Paphos District and a long-awaited project, constitutes another step in the efforts to further upgrade the Paphos Hospital.
This is the most modern Dialysis Unit in Cyprus and in the wider Eastern Mediterranean region, with 16 dialysis stations and the possibility of expanding them to 25. The needs of the Paphos District, with the operation of the Unit, are secured for at least 15 years based on the planning that has been done.
The first patients underwent dialysis in the new building yesterday morning, while today the Minister of Health himself visited the Paphos General Hospital and the new Unit.
The effective operation of the Public Hospitals and the imperative upgrading, at all levels, of the health services provided are key priorities for the government of Nicos Christodoulides.
The Minister of Education, Sports and Youth participated on Tuesday 13 February in a meeting of the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament, following an invitation.
During her intervention, the Minister highlighted in an emphatic manner the serious problems that the attitude of the occupying regime continues to cause in the daily life of our imprisoned compatriots, resulting in a dramatic decrease in their number (330 according to the last count, compared to 20.000 in 1974).
Specifically on the issue of the obstacles interfering with the full access of our interned persons to the right to education, the Minister, after noting that the occupation regime has further "hardened" its stance in recent months, referred to specific unacceptable actions, such as:
[A](a) censoring and/or banning school textbooks,
(b) "rejecting" teachers appointed by the Education Service Commission in our occupied schools, including the schools in Kormakitis, which are ready, after 20 years, to reopen following Government action; and
(c) the prohibition of inspectors or other officials of the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth from going to the Rizokarpaso schools, currently attended by 43 pupils, unless so-called "special permission" has been secured in advance from the occupying "authorities".
The Minister, in contrast, presented all the actions taken by the Republic of Cyprus for the full access, without exceptions or discrimination, of our Turkish Cypriot fellow citizens living in the free areas of Cyprus to the right to education and other rights.
The MPs - members of the Committee showed particular interest in the Minister's reports, even asking for more information on the issue, and their positive reaction to the Minister's intervention was followed by their intention for a delegation of the Committee to visit our country and seek to go to the occupied Rizokarpaso to see for themselves the situation.
The Deputy Minister of Social Welfare held a meeting yesterday with the Presidents of the Union of Municipalities and the Union of Communities where she informed them about the nationwide extension of the Neighbourhood Social Worker programme.
The institution of the Neighbourhood Social Worker has been operating on a pilot basis since April 2023 in 8 Municipalities and Communities and has been very positively evaluated by both the Deputy Ministry and the Local Authorities.
The Neighbourhood Social Worker intervenes directly and timely to the challenges of citizens and enhances citizens' access to Social Services, maps the problems of the areas, makes recommendations for programmes to the Local Authorities and is the first point of reference for our fellow citizens seeking support.
This is a successful synergy between the State and Local Authorities, which, especially for social services, is of crucial importance because Local Authorities are the most direct institution to citizens and know better than anyone else the problems and needs of the citizens living in them.
We are awaiting expressions of interest from Municipalities and Communities.
We look forward to receiving expressions of interest from Municipalities and Communities. Already, several have shown interest.
The nationwide coverage will be based on the needs as they arise according to the Social Welfare Services and the Welfare Benefits Management Service, but also according to the new data as they will be shaped by the Reform of Local Government."
The nationwide coverage will be based on the needs as they arise according to the Social Welfare Services and the Welfare Benefits Management Service, but also according to the new data as they will be shaped by the Reform of Local Government".
(PM/EAth/NZ)
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