New National Guard chief takes command

NEW National Guard Commander Evangelos Florakis officially assumed his duties yesterday at army headquarters.

Speaking during the ceremony, 58-year-old Lieutenant-General Florakis said he was assuming a difficult task with many responsibilities, but he would try to continue the work of outgoing Commander General Demetrios Demou.

"I will try with the help of my colleagues and Cypriot Hellenism to raise the operational ability and readiness of the National Guard because we need it," Florakis said.

"I understand the pain of the Cypriot people and will try with God’s help when we get the chance to see Pentadactylos free," he added.

Demou said he was lucky to be succeeded by Florakis.

Florakis, who served in Cyprus during the 1980s, is married to a Cypriot from Paphos.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.