Day: March 15, 2023

A total of 30 arrivals and departures to and from the airports of Larnaca and Paphos will be affected due to the 24-hour strike that begins at midnight in Greece. Hermes Airports sources told CNA that due to the 24-hour strike that will take place in Greece tomorrow which will include members of the Union of Air Traffic Controllers, the flight schedule of the airlines that had scheduled flights to and from Greek airports and the Larnaca and Paphos airports will be affected. The strike, which begins at midnight tonight and ends at midnight on Thursday, will affect 13 arrivals and 13 departures at Larnaca airport and two arrivals and two departures at Paphos airport. About 3,000 passengers are expected to be affected by the specific flights. It adds that the passengers that are affected have already been informed, either by the airline or by their travel agent, about the rescheduling of their flight. However, in the event that an affected passenger has not been notified, he or she should contact the airline or the travel agent.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

After the decline experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of nights spent in EU tourist accommodation reached 2.73 billion in 2022, which marks a 5% difference compared with the number of nights spent in 2019 (2.88 billion nights), according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU. Compared with 2021 (1.83 billion nights), nights spent were up by 49% in 2022. A recovery to numbers closer to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 has also been recorded in Cyprus, particularly during the summer months. Also, Cyprus has shown the second highest increase in nights spent by domestic guests compared to 2019 (+35%), even if nights spent by international guests remained approximately 15% lower (a little bit lower than the EU average). In the course of 2022, tourism figures for the EU in all months were higher than the corresponding months in 2021, with the fourth quarter of 2022 recording 472 million nights. This was a decline of only 2% compared with the pre-pandemic fourth quarter of 2019 (483 million nights). In the beginning of 2022, tourism levels were much lower than the in same months in 2019. However, starting in May 2022, the difference became less noticeable. For the remainder of the year, nights spent in tourist accommodation were less than 5% lower than 2019, and in July, August, September, and October, they were less than 1% lower than the same months in 2019. In Cyprus, the number of nights spent in tourism accommodation was significantly lower during the first three months of 2022 compared with the same months in 2019 (-41% in January, -54% in February, -30% in March). April marks the beginning of a significant recovery (-16%), with a dip in May (-36%) and a return to relative recovery in June (-14%). In July, the number of nights spent in tourism accommodation in Cyprus fully recovers, even increasing slightly compared to 2019 (+1%) and remains improved in August (-3%). During the autumn, the reduction compared to 2019 is much milder (-8% in September and October, -10% in November and December). Data for 2022 also show that nights spent by domestic guests all over the EU exceeded 2019 levels (1.53 billion nights in 2022 compared with 1.51 billion nights in 2019; +1%). On the other hand, nights spent by international guests were close to full recovery, but still some way off (1.20 billion nights in 2022 compared with 1.36 billion in 2019; -12%). Among the EU countries, Latvia was the furthest from full recovery in terms of nights spent by international guests (-45% in 2022 compared with 2019), followed by Slovakia (-40%) and Lithuania (-37%). Denmark was the only EU member to record an increase in nights spent by international guests (+4%), while Croatia (-2%) and Luxembourg (-3%) came close. On the other hand, Malta recorded the highest increase in nights spent by domestic guests (+39% in 2022 compared with 2019), followed by Cyprus (+35%) and Slovenia (+25%). The largest drops in nights spent by domestic guests were recorded in Slovakia (-22%), Romania (-15%) and Hungary (-13%), all of which also recorded rather large decreases in nights spent by international guests (at least -30%).

Source: Cyprus News Agency

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, reiterated on Wednesday the commitment of the UN-Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, to supporting a resolution of the Cyprus issue. In a short statement after a one hour meeting at the Presidential Palace, with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, DiCarlo said that she had an excellent meeting with him, adding that she congratulated him on his election and wished him every success during his term of office. ‘We discussed at length the Cyprus issue and we just want to reiterate the commitment of the Secretary – General to supporting a resolution of the Cyprus issue,’ she added. Moreover, she noted that after that she would meet with Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, ‘to discuss further a way forward.’ In the afternoon DiCarlo will inaugurate a photo exhibition about the participation of women in Cyprus talks, outside Ledra Palace, and with meet with a bicommunal group of women. Later on she will meet with the members of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP). On Thursday she will visit Nicosia buffer zone. She will also fly with a helicopter along the ceasefire line from Nicosia to Famagusta. In Famagusta she will meet with Slovak peacekeepers and she may also visit the fenced off city of Famagusta (Varosha). DiCarlo will meet on Thursday with a bicommunal group of young people. She will leave the island on Friday morning to return to New York. Next week she will be flying to Brussels escorting the UN Secretary-General there. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

UN Under-Secretary-General, Rosemary DiCarlo, expressed on Wednesday during her meeting in Nicosia with Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres’ commitment to the UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus, something which leaves Nicosia satisfied. According to diplomatic sources, the high-ranking UN official told Christodoulides that the Secretary-General is committed to the Security Council resolutions, something that means that the bizonal, bicommunal federation remains the basis for a Cyprus settlement. This is considered by Nicosia as particularly important, given the demand of the Turkish side for a two-state solution. The same sources noted that during her one-hour meeting with Christodoulides, DiCarlo said that an additional reason the UN wants a solution to the Cyprus issue and stability is also the current circumstances due to developments in other regions, such as Ukraine, where the war has been going on since the Russian invasion in February 2022. Moreover, according to information, President Christodoulides told DiCarlo that there have been no violations by Turkey during the recent period and there has been in improvement of the climate in Greek-Turkish relations, in light of the earthquake diplomacy, after the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey, and that this climate must be utilized in the framework of efforts aiming at the resumption of the talks for a Cyprus settlement. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

In a meeting on Wednesday, Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) and Turkish Cypriot Dev-Is trade union discussed issues concerning the workers of the two communities and the latest developments of the Cyprus problem. The two syndicates are in favour of the resumption of Cyprus talks. At the beginning of the meeting, held at PEO headquarters, PEO Secretary General Sotiroulla Charalambous, referred to the long-standing cooperation and common struggles of the two trade unions. Charalambous presented the main pillars of the cooperation between the PEO and the Turkish Cypriot trade union Dev-Is. One of the axes of this cooperation concerns the reunification of Cyprus. She emphasised that the joint action on this front is being launched in the conditions of a deadlock in the Cyprus problem. Having completed the programme of joint activities for Women’s Day, it is now focusing on May Day. Charalambous pointed out that the common message of the two syndicates to the elected President and the pro-solution forces is the need for the resumption of the negotiation process. Charalambous also said that at today’s meeting, there would be “mutual information on what is happening on the issues that concern the workers of the two communities and the actions that express class solidarity.” Charalambous noted that the aim is to strengthen cooperation concerning the possibility of employing Turkish Cypriots in the areas under the control of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, noting that during the last tourist season, hundreds of Turkish Cypriots worked in the tourism industry in Famagusta district. The aim, she said, is to continue cooperation in this area. For his part, Dev-Is General Secretary Koral Asam expressed his condolences to the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and the deadly train accident in Greece and sent the message that “cooperation in the common homeland is inevitable”, adding that even though the two sides have different approaches to the Cyprus problem, the trade unions continue their cooperation. According to the Turkish Cypriot trade unionist, the status quo in the Cyprus problem serves the interests of the imperialist powers, adding that the trade unions oppose the status quo. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Cyprus Airways announced on Wednesday its winter flight schedule, adding that it is waiving booking fees for a limited time across all flights and destinations. The airline’s winter flight schedule includes a range of destinations across Europe and the Middle East, and is designed to meet the needs of both business and leisure travellers, offering convenient flight times and affordable fares, it said in a press release. In particular, the winter flight schedule starts on October 29th and includes routes to Athens (double daily flights), Tel-Aviv (daily flights), Rome (two weekly flights), Paris (three weekly flights), Yerevan (three weekly flights), Beirut (daily flights), Cairo (two weekly flights), Prague (two weekly flights), Milan (two weekly flights), Zurich (two weekly flights), Thessaloniki (two weekly flights), Heraklion (three weekly flights) and Dubai (two weekly flights). It is noted that in order to make travel even more accessible, Cyprus Airways is waiving booking fees of 15 Euros for a limited time across all flights and destinations, meaning that customers can save on the cost of their flights, making it easier to plan and book their travel. Paul Sies, Chief Executive Officer of Cyprus Airways, said that the airline “remains committed to providing its customers with convenient and affordable travel options, and believes that this offer will make it easier than ever for people to plan their travel and explore new destinations.”

Source: Cyprus News Agency

More than 4,100 publicly disclosed data breaches occurred in 2022, with approximately 22 billion records leaked. Most of it was not encrypted. Vaultree, the Data-In-Use Encryption leader, today announced the general availability of a first-of-its-kind software development kit (SDK) to address this massive need. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230315005361/en/ Vaultree’s first-of-its-kind Fully Functional Data-In-Use Encryption toolkit will transform enterprise security. (Graphic: Business Wire) Made possible by a series of major cryptographic breakthroughs by the Vaultree team, the SDK is a user-friendly, simple-to-integrate, and easy-to-use fully scalable solution that enables organizations to benefit from Fully Functional Data-In-Use Encryption, allowing for the processing of fully encrypted data without server-side decryption and complex intermediaries or noticeable delays in data processing. Vaultree developed the solution to address the problems associated with processing completely encrypted data at scale, ensuring that companies no longer need to sacrifice security for performance and are able to keep their data safe at all times with unmatched simplicity and exceptional encrypted data processing rates. Businesses can retain their tech stack, database, code and SQL syntax, follow the rules, and operate without any perceptible changes, with the added benefit of being completely encrypted and at scale. Vaultree’s SDK provides protection, including adherence, security and effectiveness. So, in the event of a leak, rather than issuing an apology about the wholesale exposure of sensitive data, companies will be able to inform clients that although their data has been compromised, it is encrypted, meaning it is protected by encryption, an unparalleled level of security. This layer of protection also makes CISOs’ lives easier by solving one of the most difficult challenges in cybersecurity: persistent data encryption, even in the event of a leak, with the world’s first Fully Functional Data-In-Use Encryption solution. Encryption technologies to date have not been able to process encrypted data, decrypting it to plain text for processing and therefore impacting organizations’ overall data security, making their data readily available to cyber criminals. Vaultree’s encryption solution is smarter, quicker, easier, and more efficient than anything else on the market. Truly zero-trust, it allows users to work with fully encrypted data without key disclosure or server-side decryption. Data-In-Use Encryption maintains data encrypted at all times, even during processing. As an added benefit, there are no intermediaries, which translates to zero learning curve or implementation overhead, making adoption seamless. Ease of integration and use is another critical differentiator of Vaultree’s SDK encryption solution. There is no need to be a cryptographer, no intermediaries (such as APIs, proxies or plugins), no change of data architecture, and no code or SQL syntax change. This remarkable adaptability has made the product a prime mover in the market. “Vaultree’s groundbreaking solution is the first of its kind and will change the encryption landscape as we know it. Data security is not only one of today’s hot topics but also the topic of tomorrow. Vaultree is leading the way to a safer future,” said Rinki Sethi, member of Vaultree’s executive board of directors. Vaultree’s SDK encryption solution tackles the drawbacks of both conventional and contemporary encryption methods with a variety of features, including: Close to plaintext processing speed, even at scale Keys reside with the client end-to-end encrypted in use, decrypted only client-side No changes to stack, SQL syntax, data structure, architecture, and network topology Complex processing from fulltext search to computations on randomized encrypted data Performance and scalability at enterprise levels No need for special purpose hardware Peak performance processing on fully encrypted data enables enterprises to scale to billions of datasets while processing data at speeds similar to unencrypted data processing. Enterprises handling large amounts of sensitive data, including those in financial services, healthcare, pharmaceutical, insurance, retail, telecom, and energy sectors, will be able to mitigate the tremendous economic, cyber, legal, reputational, and business risk of a data breach in plain text – because of the data being encrypted. “Breaches or leaks will continue happening, no matter how many tools are in the first line of defense, but the second line of defense – encryption – has been neglected for decades because data still has to be decrypted to be worked with. The only way forward is an always-encrypted approach,” said Tilo Weigandt, Co-Founder and COO of Vaultree. Amongst other developments, Vaultree is the first and only (Data-In-Use) encryption solution vendor to partner with Google’s AlloyDB for PostgreSQL, leading a new era with a fully functional encryption solution in the cloud. To further expand usage of its revolutionary data protection solution, Vaultree has also partnered with Qrypt. The partnership leverages Qrypt’s ability to independently generate identical symmetric keys at multiple endpoints and quantum-secure future-safe one-time pad encryption paired with Vaultree’s Fully Functional Data-In-Use Encryption to enable fast, future secure data processing in a cloud-first world. “As it stands, we are the only company globally with the capacity and innovation we have. We are going to grow significantly over the next year enabling organizations with our Data-In-Use encryption technology. We are focusing heavily on bringing this to market fast with our target markets being North America and Europe,” said Ryan Lasmaili, Co-Founder and CEO of Vaultree.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary Anne DiCarlo, paid a visit on Wednesday to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP). According to a tweet from the UN in Cyprus, DiCarlo and Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Colin Stewart paid today a tribute to the work of CMP. The tweet adds that “when people go missing, it deeply influences their families and communities and the efforts of reconciliation”. Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Numerous rounds of talks under the UN aegis failed so far to yield results. Since the Turkish invasion, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown. A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Thundercomm, a world leading IoT product and solution provider, announces the release of new offerings in its smart IoT module portfolio to lower the barriers to enter the market and accelerate innovation in various AIoT industry segments, including robotics, handheld devices, tablets and smart cameras. TurboX C2210 SOM is powered by the Qualcomm® QRB2210 System-on-Chip (SoC). It’s designed with an optimized Linux operating system, discrete memory for more memory options to save the cost, and system fast boot, supports 1080P@30FPS video decode and a long life cycle to 2028, aiming to bring advanced features to entry-level devices with better performance and improved power consumption. The TurboX C2210 SOM supports the Linux system and can be applied to a variety of products like entry-tier robotics, e-scooter, smart home dock, smart camera and rugged handheld, etc. TurboX C4210 SOM is powered by the Qualcomm® QRB4210 SoC. It features triple ISPs for advanced dual-camera experience, dedicated Compute DSP for computer vision and video post-processing. It’s designed to support advanced graphics, bringing high value features to mid-tier devices. It’s an ideal platform for both industrial and consumer applications requiring high data rates multimedia function, and can be applied to a broad range of devices including robotics, dash camera, video conference, smart retail, etc. TurboX C5430 SOM integrates the Qualcomm® QCS5430 SoC, a 6nm processor with superior performance, power efficiency, premium connectivity, and 3.5 TOPS computing power. It supports 4K@30FPS video decode and 4K@30FPS video encode, Wi-Fi 6E, long range bluetooth, four MIPI CSIs, as well as a rich set of peripheral interfaces. The C5430 SOM is a high performance AIoT SOM for building handheld devices, industrial robots, service robots, Edge Box, providing customers with hardware interfaces and software SDK to validate functions and build the prototype quickly. ‘Robotics industry is growing faster than ever as technology continuously advances in 5G, computing power and AI. Today, we see robots in almost every aspect of our lives, helping us do much more than we can do alone. Our newly released C2210 SOM and C4210 SOM will unlock the potential of more innovations in robotics, lowering the barriers for brands to enter and compete efficiently in this growing market,’ said Pier Zhang, Director of Product Marketing at Thundercomm. ‘We are offering not only the hardware SOM and dev kits, but also the robot brain, software solutions to help customers build future-proof robot products faster and cost-effectively.’ ‘We congratulate Thundercomm on the launch of their industry leading SOMs. Recognizing the innovation of these new products, Qualcomm Technologies recently announced Qualcomm® Robotics RB1 and RB2 Development Kits are based on TurboX C2210 and C4210 respectively,’ said Dev Singh, vice president, business development, and head of building, enterprise and industrial automation, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. ‘Boosting a suite of complete robotics capabilities, including pre-integrated sensors from TDK, cameras, and AI SDKs, our development kits will enable developers to more easily prototype everyday robotics applications thus helping push the IoT ecosystem forward.’ The Qualcomm Robotics RB1 and RB2 Development Kit and SOMs of TurboX C2210, C4210, C5430 are available now for evaluation and testing. About Thundercomm Thundercomm, a joint venture between Thunder Software Technology Co., Ltd and Qualcomm (China) Holding Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., was established to accelerate innovation in the Internet of Things and automotive industry, providing one-stop solutions powered by Qualcomm Technologies. Through its capabilities in operating systems including Android, Linux, and others, abroad software and on-device AI technology portfolio, and a global sales and support network, Thundercomm is a valuable and trusted partner to global customers aiming to build high-quality, next-generation products and shorten time-to-commercialization. Learn more at www.thundercomm.com Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patented technologies are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Thundercomm Launches its New SOMs TurboX C2210, C4210, C5430 at Embedded World 2023 to Accelerate Innovations in Robotics and Handheld Devices NUREMBERG, Germany–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Thundercomm, a world leading IoT product and solution provider, announces the release of new offerings in its smart IoT module portfolio to lower the barriers to enter the market and accelerate innovation in various AIoT industry segments, including robotics, handheld devices, tablets and smart cameras. TurboX C2210 SOM is powered by the Qualcomm® QRB2210 System-on-Chip (SoC). It’s designed with an optimized Linux operating system, discrete memory for more memory options to save the cost, and system fast boot, supports 1080P@30FPS video decode and a long life cycle to 2028, aiming to bring advanced features to entry-level devices with better performance and improved power consumption. The TurboX C2210 SOM supports the Linux system and can be applied to a variety of products like entry-tier robotics, e-scooter, smart home dock, smart camera and rugged handheld, etc. TurboX C4210 SOM is powered by the Qualcomm® QRB4210 SoC. It features triple ISPs for advanced dual-camera experience, dedicated Compute DSP for computer vision and video post-processing. It’s designed to support advanced graphics, bringing high value features to mid-tier devices. It’s an ideal platform for both industrial and consumer applications requiring high data rates multimedia function, and can be applied to a broad range of devices including robotics, dash camera, video conference, smart retail, etc. TurboX C5430 SOM integrates the Qualcomm® QCS5430 SoC, a 6nm processor with superior performance, power efficiency, premium connectivity, and 3.5 TOPS computing power. It supports 4K@30FPS video decode and 4K@30FPS video encode, Wi-Fi 6E, long range bluetooth, four MIPI CSIs, as well as a rich set of peripheral interfaces. The C5430 SOM is a high performance AIoT SOM for building handheld devices, industrial robots, service robots, Edge Box, providing customers with hardware interfaces and software SDK to validate functions and build the prototype quickly. ‘Robotics industry is growing faster than ever as technology continuously advances in 5G, computing power and AI. Today, we see robots in almost every aspect of our lives, helping us do much more than we can do alone. Our newly released C2210 SOM and C4210 SOM will unlock the potential of more innovations in robotics, lowering the barriers for brands to enter and compete efficiently in this growing market,’ said Pier Zhang, Director of Product Marketing at Thundercomm. ‘We are offering not only the hardware SOM and dev kits, but also the robot brain, software solutions to help customers build future-proof robot products faster and cost-effectively.’ ‘We congratulate Thundercomm on the launch of their industry leading SOMs. Recognizing the innovation of these new products, Qualcomm Technologies recently announced Qualcomm® Robotics RB1 and RB2 Development Kits are based on TurboX C2210 and C4210 respectively,’ said Dev Singh, vice president, business development, and head of building, enterprise and industrial automation, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. ‘Boosting a suite of complete robotics capabilities, including pre-integrated sensors from TDK, cameras, and AI SDKs, our development kits will enable developers to more easily prototype everyday robotics applications thus helping push the IoT ecosystem forward.’ The Qualcomm Robotics RB1 and RB2 Development Kit and SOMs of TurboX C2210, C4210, C5430 are available now for evaluation and testing. About Thundercomm Thundercomm, a joint venture between Thunder Software Technology Co., Ltd and Qualcomm (China) Holding Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., was established to accelerate innovation in the Internet of Things and automotive industry, providing one-stop solutions powered by Qualcomm Technologies. Through its capabilities in operating systems including Android, Linux, and others, abroad software and on-device AI technology portfolio, and a global sales and support network, Thundercomm is a valuable and trusted partner to global customers aiming to build high-quality, next-generation products and shorten time-to-commercialization. Learn more at www.thundercomm.com Qualcomm branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm patented technologies are licensed by Qualcomm Incorporated.

Source: Cyprus News Agency