Cyprus Beat

In today's episode, the modern Greek exam being sat by final year students was cancelled on Monday 30 minutes in, as topics on the paper were reportedly leaked by a teacher. In other news, President Nicos Anastasiades and his wife Andri met King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla at Balmoral Castle on Monday, where the two signed a memorandum of understanding on future civilian developments in the...

In today’s episode, Larnaca and Famagusta were battered by rains and thunderstorms which left people trapped in their homes and cars, as fire services scrambled to rescue members of the public. In health developments, Assistant Professor of infectious diseases at the medical school of the University of Cyprus Dr. Maria Koliou said it is a matter of time before the Kraken covid variant arrives to C...

In today's episode, a crucial meeting between trade unions and employers’ organisations has ended in deadlock over reinstating the cost of living allowance (CoLA), with the labour minister – acting as mediator –scrambling find the sweet spot by early next week amid the threat of widespread strikes. Meanwhile, doctors and nurses at state hospitals have decided to go on a two-hour work stoppage next...

In today's episode, according to the latest Henley Passport Index the Cyprus passport has been ranked 16th in the world in terms of the number of destinations its holders can access without a prior visa, dropping one spot on the table compared to last year. Holders of a Cyprus passport can travel visa-free to 177 destinations. In other news, a secondary education biology book caused an uproar on s...

In today's episode, patients organisations expressed outrage on Tuesday over allegations that an elderly person was found tied to their hospital bed using bedsheets. Demanding the state health services (Okypy) investigate the matter, they also said there were damning complaints of lax Covid-19 measures, leading to elderly people contracting the virus. In other news, as the February presidential el...

In today’s episode, President Nicos Anastasiades decided to refer the contentious law that deals with pre-primary education to the Supreme Court. In other news, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne will undertake an official visit to Cyprus from Tuesday to Wednesday, it was announced by the British High Commission. And the price of petrol fell by 44 cents per litre on January 8 from its historic high...

In today's episode, Archbishop Georgios was enthroned as the 76th head of the church on Sunday afternoon, in a ceremony at the Apostolos Varnavas Cathedral in Nicosia. In other news, three fire engines extinguished a fire which broke out in a propane tank valve on Sunday, in the yard of a Larnaca residence. And a woman, aged 53, from Romania, a permanent resident of Paphos, died in a fatal road co...

In today's episode, the UN secretary general’s mission of good offices report detailed a bleak review and outlook for the Cyprus problem, despite a poll finding that a majority hope for a mutually agreed settlement as soon as possible. In other news, plans are being set in motion to create a national suicide prevention scheme the health ministry said on Wednesday as records show a spike in suicide...

In today’s episode, the EU has agreed on a “coordinated approach” to the changing Covid situation, adding that included implications for increased travel from China. There’s also the strange case of dozens of kilos of cannabis washing ashore along Famagusta beaches, in both the government-controlled areas and the north. Elsewhere, the police announced that over 100 people have been arrested in Pap...

In today’s episode, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said there is “No reason for concern so far” regarding the surge in China Covid cases, as some nations began imposing restrictions on travellers from the Asian country. In other news, Labour Minister Kyriacos Koushos said that one of Cyprus’ largest reforms has been implemented starting this year with the national minimum wage now in force....

In today’s episode, A young mother was killed on Saturday night in a car accident that occurred after 10pm on the Akrotiri – Kolossi road near the village of Trachoni. In other news, as of 1 January 2023, Cyprus will for the first time be implementing a minimum wage set at €940 per month. And reflecting on his 10 years in the post, President Nicos Anastasiades said that Cyprus has endured and over...

In today's episode, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela is threatening to revoke the licences of doctors working in a private hospital in Nicosia who turned away two women in urgent need of medical treatment on Christmas Eve. Hadjipantela also spoke of a third incident that took place at an A&E department of a private hospital in another district on Wednesday night where a patient was told t...

In today’s episode, Cyprus this year recorded the lowest number of deaths from road collisions since the start of data-keeping. There’s also second phase of the electric vehicle scheme, with a €10m budget aimed at offering 2,518 grants. Elsewhere, the Supreme Court has agreed to an appeal reducing the prison sentence of a man who killed his father in Lefkara from 16 years in jail to 12. All these...

In today's episode, some 1,300 people will be hired in the police force and the fire department during the course of 2023. According to a briefing to parliament given by Justice Minister Stefi Drakou during the next year the police will be beefed up by 700 constables and around 300 special police officers. In other news, the “indifference” shown by the public about taking part in elections for the...

In today’s episode, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos gave an overview of several solutions to the island’s chronic traffic issues in the coming years, aimed at significant improvements or even possibly a solution to the traffic problems in Cyprus. In other news, newly elected Archbishop of Cyprus Georgios said Cyprus was still waiting for its freedom and that people are expecting the Church to...

In today’s episode, there’s the latest on the prison saga as the director’s lawyers hit out against the legal service’s decision to not proceed with action against drug-squad chief Michalis Katsounotos. Elsewhere, trade unions gave the government and employers a two-week ultimatum to agree to the full reinstatement of the cost of living allowance CoLA), dangling the threat of industrial action oth...

In today's episode, Between two and three trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been uncovered in exploratory drilling in block six of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone, the energy ministry announced. In other news, After more than a week of strikes, Wolt delivery drivers agreed to put a halt to their protests and resume work. The agreement was made after a timeline was set to resolve the differe...

In today's episode, in an unexpected turn of events, the charges faced by the 74-year-old Briton accused of the murder of his terminally ill wife in Tremithousa last December remained unchanged despite hopes it would be mitigated to manslaughter, as his trial continued on Tuesday. In other news, the four-year-old child hospitalised with strep-A is too ill to be transferred to Israel for the time b...

In today’s episode, nurses of PASYDY union on Monday condemned the recent verbal and physical attack against an ambulance worker, a day after PASYNO nurses’ union threatened to take legal measures over the incident. In other news, speculation about who will become the next archbishop took off on Monday, following the results of the popular vote the day before, with some analysts giving Paphos bish...

In today’s episode, Bishop Athanasios of Limassol won the popular vote in the election for Archbishop on Sunday, meaning the Holy Synod will chose between him, Isaias of Tamasos and Georgios of Paphos as to who will be the next leader of the Church. In other news, demonstrators at Limassol Zoo on Sunday said they would continue their protests until the facility is closed down. And nurses’ union PA...

In today’s episode, the EU Council yesterday called on Ankara to stop all actions that could potentially upgrade the breakaway state in the north of the island, a development welcomed by the foreign ministry. In other news, some 200 Wolt drivers were striking across Nicosia and Limassol yesterday, over accusations they were being exploited and getting pay cuts amid increasing costs. Elsewhere, can...

In today's episode, the labour minister appeared doubtful on Wednesday that an agreement can be reached soon with electricity authority workers after a strike threat was called off at the last moment. In other news, the New Cyprus museum – with a price tag of €144m – will be the number one tourist attraction for the millions of Cyprus’ visitors, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said on Wednesda...

In today's episode, Electricity Authority (EAC) unions called off a strike planned for Tuesday in an eleventh hour decision on Tuesday evening, which means there will be no power cuts. The U-turn was due to the intervention of Labour Minister Kyriacos Koushos, who has committed to arranging meetings between unions and the ministers of energy and finance in the coming week. In other news, the row o...

In today’s episode we heat that power cuts will take place from Wednesday if there is increased electricity demand or adverse weather conditions, as a result of a strike by the electricity authority staff that will partially suspend operation of the Dhekelia power plant. In other news, the 33-year-old who admitted to murdering two Russian women in late 2021 was handed a 25-year prison sentence yes...

In today’s episode, the interior minister is disappointed that no agreement has been reached in Brussels with regard to a proposed regulation to address situations of weaponising migration and asylum. There’s also the latest poll on the presidential elections which appears to show that since October, favourite, Nikos Christodoulides has seen a slight drop in support while Akel-backed Andreas Mavro...