Cyprus Beat

In today's episode, the police investigated nearly 500 cases of domestic violence and issued 93 arrests during the months of September and October, statistics released on Tuesday showed. Meanwhile, around 500 of the 570 buses which were taken off the road on Monday are now back in service, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said. Elsewhere, Cyprus urgently needs to upgrade its electricity grid...

In today’s episode, schools and commuters descended into chaos after more than 500 buses were taken out of service amid fears they were not safe for use.  In other news, a team of US experts from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has arrived in Cyprus to investigate sanctions violations, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis conf...

In today's episode, President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday paid an impromptu visit to Ayios Dhometios, and specifically to the area of Maria’s House in the buffer zone inspect measures taken, following a Turkish incursion last week. Meanwhile, the government will announce when automatic fire extinguishing systems for buses will be acquired, following a school bus fire last week. Elsewhere,...

In today's episode, the audit service and the presidential palace were sparring again on Thursday, after the former released a special report saying use of service vehicles to transport the president’s children by themselves was illegal, which then led to a further row over the renovations at the presidential palace. Meanwhile, government spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed the activ...

In today's episode, the audit service and the presidential palace got into a row on Wednesday after reports indicated that an announcement is due to be issued on President Nikos Christodoulides’ overtime hours and stipends paid to him from 2013 to 2018, when he was serving at the presidential palace on secondment from the foreign affairs ministry. In other news, during a blood donation event o...

In today's episode, the first humanitarian aid packages for Gaza will arrive in Cyprus on Wednesday and will be sent to the besieged strip within days, the government said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou conceded that Cyprus cannot become an energy hub in the eastern Mediterranean, as it lacks the necessary infrastructures. Elsewhere, “all is calm” in the buffer zon...

In today’s episode, members of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (Unficyp) have been placed on alert after reports appeared late on Monday of a contingent of Turkish Cypriot soldiers who gathered in the buffer zone near the Ayios Dometios checkpoint in Nicosia, purportedly for construction work. Meanwhile, the interior ministry presented the House finance committee with a budget more...

In today’s episode, Giorgos Perdikis has told Green Party members “for God’s sake come and talk to me about it” if they have a problem with how the party is being run under his leadership, after being re-elected as the party's leader. Meanwhile, Akel members have approved four changes to the party’s structure aimed at modernising the party. Elsewhere, people belonging to vulnerable groups shou...

In today’s episode, MPs heard that significant legal and staffing challenges are slowing down the creation of a deputy ministry for migration, which has been deemed an important move for Cyprus given the huge uptick in arrivals of asylum seekers over the past decade Meanwhile, the transport ministry on Thursday announced the purchase of 40 electric vehicles to be used for official government busin...

In today's episode, the attorney general dampened hopes for criminal convictions over sanctions evasion on Wednesday, after he told deputies those may be difficult to achieve but pledged there would be thorough investigation over the allegations which came to light through the ‘Cyprus Confidential’ publications last week. Meanwhile, contractor Cyfield announced that it would be stopping the ro...

In today’s episode, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou on Tuesday spoke of “cautious optimism” regarding talks with energy giant Chevron over development of the Aphrodite offshore gas field. Elsewhere, prison guards have been instructed to carry out thorough checks on inmates to find illicit mobile phones as the justice ministry is trying to clampdown on organised crime unfolding in the facility...

In today’s episode, the ongoing back and forth between the government and Chevron continues, with the government expected to respond to Chevron's letter. Meanwhile, a total of 181 employees of the City of Dreams Mediterranean lost their jobs, with the casino's operator Melco citing "the ongoing conflict in Israel". Elsewhere, the European Union's One Stop Shop for Green Line...

In today's episode, the Palestinian ambassador to Cyprus Abdallah Attari said in an interview to the Sunday Mail that what is happening in Gaza 'is genocide'. Attari stressed that Hamas hostages should return to their homes but also the 6,000 Palestinian prisoners currently detained in Israel should return to their own homes, as well as the Israeli army officers in Gaza. Meanwhile, a 2...

In today's episode, health authorities in the United Kingdom have approved a drug which aims to cure beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease. The drug is called Casgevy and utilises a gene-editing tool as Crispr to manipulate the DNA of beta thalassaemia and sickle cell disease sufferers. Meanwhile, Parliament passed a new law on Thursday which sets out the rights and responsibilities of bot...

In today's episode, the government said on Wednesday that police were already investigating most of the cases in the ‘Cyprus Confidential’ report released a day earlier by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which claimed Russian oligarchs and billionaires had been laundering money through Cyprus ahead of the Ukraine invasion. Meanwhile, a 45-year-old prison guard...

In today's episode, a global investigation on Tuesday claimed to show how Russian influence in Cyprus and on local service providers helped oligarchs and billionaires structure their wealth over the years preceding the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In other news, Cyprus has seen witnessed 26 fatal traffic accidents so far this year, resulting in 28 deaths, Justice Minister Anna Procopio...

In today's episode, the top EU official for crisis management said on Monday that there were practical issues with the logistics of creating a sea route, or humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza, as proposed by Cyprus. Meanwhile, migrant arrivals from Syria have doubled in the last couple of months following the outbreak of war in Gaza, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said. Elsewhere, more...

In today's episode, Cyprus would be ready to discuss the issue of abolishing the need for unanimity in EU foreign policy, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, a day before leaving for Berlin to take part in working dinner of EU leaders. In other news, a fatal strain of cat Covid which has killed thousands of animals on the island has reached the UK, reports said on Sunday. And the v...

In today’s episode, a court decision awarding over €780,000 to a depositor who lost his Laiki Bank savings due to the 2013 'haircut' ignited a wave of reactions. Meanwhile, President Nikos Christodoulides outlined a proposal to open a maritime corridor to help to deliver more aid to Gaza at a humanitarian conference in Paris. Elsewhere, the interior ministry said they agree on the recommen...

In today's episode, the government is working towards safeguarding Cyprus’ name abroad where sanctions are concerned, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said after a high-level briefing at the presidential palace. To this end, technical support from the British government on creating a sanctions implementation unit is in its final stages and details are expected to be submitted with...

In today’s episode, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou got tough on Tuesday, warning migrants that had caused trouble the previous night they would be deported if they failed to respect the hospitality of Cyprus. In other news, Cyprus’ proposal to establish a humanitarian aid sea corridor to Gaza will be discussed by President Nikos Christodoulides at an international meeting in Paris on Frida...

In today’s episode, President Nikos Christodoulides said the United Nations requested a short pause of construction work in the Pyla area. Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is in the process of formulating a decision on the EuroAsia Interconnector. Elsewhere, police were continuing efforts to establish the motives for the murders of Thanasis Kalogeropoulos and Alexis Mavromichalis. All...

In today's episode, President Nikos Christodoulides discussed the humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza through Cyprus with both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Jordanian King Abdullah II. Blinken made an unannounced stop in Cyprus on his way to Turkey, after visiting the West Bank on Sunday, and having a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Meanwhile, Cyprus responded to a r...

In today's episode, the retail price of petrol has dropped by 8.33 cents per litre after the House of Representatives unanimously passed a law to slash fuel duty on Thursday. In other news, House President and DISY party leader Annita Demetriou has called for Syria to be classed as a safe country, so that Cyprus can send back Syrian asylum seekers. And public hospitals will be able to effectiv...

In today’s episode, further measures will be taken by police, following two high-profile Cyprus gangland murders almost 36 hours apart, police said on Wednesday. In other news, refugees in Cyprus will only be eligible for the Guaranteed Minimum Income once they have continuously lived in the Republic legally for five years, cabinet decided on Wednesday. The new amendment of the social benefits law...