Cyprus Beat

In today’s episode, we hear that tuberculosis and HIV positive cases at the Pournara reception centre for asylum seekers have been screened and there is ‘no cause for concern’ - after the interior ministry released alarming stats. Elsewhere, the transport ministry has called on airport employees and companies to respect the relevant decrees and regulations, a day after an unlawful work stoppage ca...

In today's episode, the attorney general said yesterday that the independent criminal investigation findings on the infamous ‘spy van’ case in 2019 cannot be made public as they are part of a criminal investigation. The AG spoke to journalists after meeting members of the European parliament’s committee of inquiry on Pegasus and other spyware (Pega) - currently in Cyprus to shed light on the ‘spy...

In today's episode, medicine shortages have been the biggest problem for patients during the first nine months of the year, head of the patients’ association Marios Kouloumas said on Tuesday. According to Kouloumas, the observatory of the association said that the majority of complaints they received from January to September this year referred to medicine shortages. In other news, President Nicos...

In today's episode, ten people working at the prison have been suspended after a Turkish Cypriot inmate at the Nicosia central prisons was beaten to death. In other news, the police chief did not rule out the possibility of banning fans from football games following fights that broke out before, during and after a match between Apollon and Apoel at the Tsirion stadium on Sunday; and electricity pr...

In today's episode, the leader of the People’s Party in the north, Kudret Ozersay, accused the United States of putting its own national interests ahead of regional stability and “violating” airspace in the north of the island as a means of sending a message to the Turkish Cypriot side following the US lifting a decades-old arms embargo against Cyprus. In other news, two men are wanted by Larnaca...

In today’s episode we hear that during the two years of restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, police carried out 3.2 million checks on the public and issued 42,482 fines, raking in almost €6 million for state coffers from the 16,474 fines that were paid. There’s also the opening of Makarios Avenue in Nicosia as a “shared space” for pedestrians and authorised vehicles, in what the m...

In today’s episode, we hear that the use of spyware software will be the focus of discussions between Cypriot and EU lawmakers, which will meet on November 2 - after links to the island became a point of interest in a Greece eavesdropping scandal. There’s also the postponement of a key ‘golden passport’ scandal trial to November 30. Elsewhere, a police officer has been suspended after he was caugh...

In today's episode, Cypriot courts did not violate the right to a fair trial of three people sentenced to life in prison for the 2010 murder of the Dias publishing group CEO Andis Hadjicostis, according to a European Court of Human Rights ruling. In other news, tensions are rising in and around the buffer zone after a Greek Cypriot farmer on Tuesday was approached by Turkish military personnel nea...

In today's episode, the health condition of Archbishop Chrysostomos remains critical, according to the latest medical announcement issued on Monday. Newer medical announcement will be issued depending on the progress of the archbishop’s health. In other news, Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides yesterday defended the 2023 state budget as being a "responsible" one, with substantially augmented s...

In today's episode, President Nicos Anastasiades will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican today as part of his third official visit there during his ten-year term. In other news, a new species of dangerous mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has been found in Limassol, according to reports on Sunday, and the amount of water that has poured into the island’s dams so far this month has broken previous records...

In today’s episode, we hear that the row over dangerous buildings has reignited after a small part of an apartment building in Limassol detached and fell to the pavement – with a similar, but separate incident occurring later on Thursday. Elsewhere, Nicos Christodoulides looks set to wipe the floor with his rivals in the 2023 presidential race, the latest poll published by state broadcaster CyBC h...

In today's episode, the state health services has vowed significant spending on the national health service Gesy with a projected €250 million for 2022-2024, while also acknowledging complaints and the need to constantly improve. In other news, Patriarch of Jerusalem Theofilos III arrived yesterday to visit Archbishop Chrysostomos II, who has been fighting intestinal cancer. According to reports,...

In today's episode, the Cyprus economy is expected to grow by 5.7 per cent this year, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday addressing The Economist conference in Nicosia. In other news, a 69-year-old man who admitted shooting his son with a shotgun after a family argument has been sentenced to five years in jail. Elsewhere, works and renovations have begun on the Cetinkaya football pitch l...

In today's episode, torrential rains and storms battered the island yesterday, with rainfall expected to continue through to Thursday. Larnaca experienced heavy flooding while parts of Nicosia were similarly affected. According to fire service spokesman Andreas Kettis, by around 3pm they received some 90 calls for help from across Larnaca district. Off-duty firefighters were called in to assist. C...

In today’s episode, a day of isolated thunderstorms on Sunday left several roads across Cyprus flooded, including the highway between Limassol and Paphos. In other news, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said Cyprus will not sit idly amid the flow of irregular migrants from the north; and increasing prices for coffee and ingredients such as sugar and milk may leave a dent on the island’s coffee cultu...

In today’s episode, we hear that President Nicos Anastasiades said that as things stand Cyprus will not send weapons to Ukraine, following the buzz generated by earlier remarks from the government spokesman. In other news, authorities yesterday did not rule out foul play after a body in an advanced state of decomposition was found outside Limassol general hospital. Elsewhere, Cyprus is in the fina...

In today's episode, the trial of David Hunter, who faces charges of the pre-meditated murder of his wife, has been postponed for fifth time since his arrest last December. He has been held in custody since then. The new date was set for November 18, 2022. In other news, the barbed wire along the green line to discourage irregular migrants arriving from the north was produced in Turkey, it was repo...

In today's episode, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Tuesday he had made both correct and wrong decisions during his term as leader. “The countdown to the end of the term has begun and I will be watching the country’s progress from afar. At some point I hope some of the important reforms during my presidency will be recognised,” Anastasiades said. In other news, the final plan for the Akamas p...

In today's episode, the new head of the embattled Health Insurance Organisation which runs Gesy said yesterday they are committed to tackling all outstanding issues affecting the agency, beginning with their budget for fiscal year 2023. Stavros Michail – appointed to the job only last week – said they would work hard throughout the week so that they prepare their budget and forward it to the minis...

In today's episode, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Sunday that as long as the international community, including the EU turns a blind eye to Turkey's belligerence, it rewards the aggressor. He was addressing an anti-occupation event by Morphou residents in Astromeritis and said nothing else could explain the behaviour of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. In other news, Famagusta police are c...

In today's episode, President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday told Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan the Cyprus problem needs to be solved and efforts made to revive stalled peace talks. The two chatted briefly on the sidelines of a European summit in Prague, amid a backdrop of increasingly bellicose rhetoric from Turkey directed at Greece and Cyprus over maritime jurisdictions in the eastern Mediterra...

In today’s episode, a UN report delivered in Nicosia said yesterday said Europe should show "far greater ambition" on climate change because its overall greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, and so countries must embrace recycling, tighten air quality and spend more on the environment. In other news, the fifth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine is set to begin today. Elsewhere, Unficyp has not rece...

In today's episode, Nicosia on Tuesday expressed concern over an agreement signed between Turkey and the Government of National Unity in Libya, which is expected to escalate tensions between Ankara and Athens. In other news, police received the conclusions of the latest report into the 2005 death of national guardsman Thanasis Nicolaou. Attorney General George Savvides delivered the circumstances...

In today’s episode, we hear that Attorney-general George Savvides said his office will be turning over part of the report into the 2005 death of a soldier to the family after they had repeatedly requested the file. Elsewhere, firefighters on either side of the divide were busy on Sunday as numerous fires broke out across the island. There’s also news that a 25-year-old man remained in hospital on...

In today’s episode, we hear that the US Pentagon has announced Cyprus’ membership in the State Partnership programme and the cooperation between the Cyprus National Guard and the United States National Guard. Elsewhere, firefighters on either side of the divide were busy on Sunday as numerous fires broke out across the island. There’s also news that Famagusta police are investigating a case of all...