Cyprus Beat

In today’s episode, we hear that the citizenship by investment scheme sparked a blazing row on Thursday at the House watchdog committee amid a series of claims and counterclaims. There’s also the latest on the Cyprus-Greece ferry service which the government has said is set for further improvements. Elsewhere, there’s the latest on the immigration data to Cyprus as well as a work stoppage at Limas...

In today’s episode, we hear that the row at the English School is rumbling on as protests continue over the dismissal of three unionised teachers. There’s also the publication of a part of a ‘top secret’ plan on how the north of the island was to be settled in the wake of the 1974 Turkish invasion. Elsewhere, Disy leader and presidential candidate Averof Neophytou has returned from his trip to the...

In today's episode, the state will stand by filmmaker Panicos Chrysanthou so his work can be reborn from the ashes, deputy culture minister Yiannis Toumazis said in the aftermath of a large fire that destroyed the former’s home in Pelathousa. Elsewhere, the government was widely slammed on Tuesday over the findings of the audit service report on the citizenship by investment scheme released a day...

In today’s episode, Italian gas giant Eni announced that it has made a significant gas discovery in the Cronos-1 well, located about 160 kilometres off the coast of Cyprus in Block 6. In other news, the audit office’s report into the golden passports found that the public lost millions in lost VAT and unfulfilled investment contracts; and, Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis said on Monday that the...

In today’s episode, there was a strong police presence in Lara in the Akamas peninsula on Sunday in efforts to prevent the residents of Ineia from digging turtle nests on Lara beach. In other news, “the status quo in Cyprus and Turkish activity in Varosha are unacceptable and contrary to the resolutions of the UN Security Council,” the president of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert...

In today’s episode, a Turkish ‘spy plane’ on Thursday flew over a section of the island’s offshore Block 6 where a drillship is currently prospecting for natural gas. In other news, the statistical office (CYSTAT) revealed over 17 per cent of the population in Cyprus, or 154,000 people, was at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2021, and a draft road map for how Covid-19 will be dealt with in...

In today’s episode, Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis warned that Ineia landowners were entitled to stage protests but not to engage in extreme behaviour or cause damage after the mukhtar threatened to dig up nests at the protected Lara turtle beach next Sunday. In other news, six more companies have been fined between €6,000 and €10,000 for various workplace lapses that resulted in injury to empl...

In today's episode, vocational training is being given a boost with new facilities underway in Limassol, Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou has said. Construction on a brand new, properly equipped building at which the courses would be provided will be completed in the autumn. Elsewhere, the health ministry has prepared a draft plan which details how the state will handle Covid-19 in the month...

In today's episode, police are investigating the death of a three-year-old girl who was found floating unconscious in a hotel swimming pool in Kato Paphos on Sunday. A post mortem on the little girl is to be carried out today. Elsewhere, residents of the Akamas village of Ineia have vowed to step up measures to fight against the Akamas local plan to protect the environment, which they say has left...

In today’s episode, almost all the presidential candidates piled on Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday, slamming him for what they called his apparent attempt to dodge the televised debates scheduled for next month. In other news, amid heightened concern among the public over costly energy, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus has issued advice to consumers on what to do regarding possible discrepan...

In today's episode, Deputy Attorney-general Savvas Angelides has denied accusations of an alleged cover-up in the 2019 “black van” spyware scandal which returned to the news after the spyware affair in Greece. In other news, Cyprus issued a total of 22,190 new residence permits in 2021, the largest number of which went to Russians, according to Eurostat figures, and the Water Development Departmen...

In today's episode, Turkey resumed its hydrocarbon drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday after a two-year hiatus. The Abdulhamid Han, Turkey's fourth drill ship, will operate 55 kilometres off the Gazipasa region in the southern coastal province of Antalya. Elsewhere, President Nicos Anastasiades congratulated Cyprus’ athletes after clinching 16th place among 72 countries in...

In today's episode, main opposition Akel hectored the government for its silence over the eavesdropping scandal raging in Greece, and claimed a possible link to the earlier 'spy van' affair in Cyprus. In Athens, two officials have resigned in the wake of reveals that the country's intelligence service tapped the phones of an opposition politician and a journalist - allegedly using spyware known as...

In today's episode, seven people, contacts, of Cyprus' first monkeypox case, were vaccinated on Sunday, a day after a quantity of the jabs arrived on the island. Cyprus detected two more cases of monkeypox over the weekend and just as 1,260 vaccines arrived on the island on Saturday. Elsewhere, landowners from the Akamas community of Ineia say they will block the roads in and out of the Lara area...

In today's episode, hoteliers hope to meet their revised targets for 2022 but are bracing for a difficult 2023 as the cost-of-living crisis eats into the purchasing power of potential visitors and a labour shortage take its toll, Cyprus Hotel Association Director, Philokypros Roussounides has said. In other news, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday it may tax RES producers found to have earned w...

In today's episode, the chairman of the health insurance organisation Thomas Antoniou told the president yesterday that he wishes to resign – citing constant and unprovoked attacks on Gesy. Elsewhere, protesters from local communities near Mitsero have successfully halted the work on the new asphalt factory, after the excavator left the site. In other news, this summer’s Perseids meteor shower is...

In today's episode, the House of Representatives rejected the referral of three bills by President Nicos Anastasiades in a session of the plenum on Tuesday. Two of the bills aimed at scrapping double taxation on fuel and ending the charging of VAT on emission costs in electricity bills, while the third looked to suspend the foreclosures law for three month. Elsewhere, the first case of monkeypox w...

In today’s episode, we hear that the president has sent back to parliament three bills passed by the house - two on VAT and electricity, the other on extending a freeze on property foreclosures. There’s also the Nicosia prison debacle, which shows no signs of abating after the police on Monday confirmed that they are now investigating the director and her assistant for leaking classified informati...

In today's episode, despite the ongoing pandemic and the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Cypriot tourism is recording significant gains during the 2022 tourist season, according to new reports. In other news, the three villages that were badly affected by the Arakapas fire last summer, said that money donated privately to buy them each a small fire truck was misspent, leaving them with...

In today’s episode, the Finance Minister announced on Thursday that the state would absorb a sizeable chunk of cost increases in energy to buffer anticipated rises of up to 25 per cent in bills for households and businesses to the tune of €50 million in the autumn. In other news, Greece and Cyprus accused rival Turkey of stoking tensions as Ankara prepared to dispatch a drill ship to the Mediterra...

In today’s episode, we hear that one of the longest prison sentences imposed by the Cyprus courts was handed down yesterday - as Mamalikopoulos received another 40 years in jail. Elsewhere, the target of the man facing charges for racist and violent behaviour confronted him in court, forcing police to intervene and escort her outside. There’s also the latest on the Agathangelou row, as the Cyprus...

In today's episode, Turkish Cypriot ‘Prime Minister’ Unal Ustel on Tuesday told the media that two people have been fired over the use of the wrong photo on lottery tickets. In other news, four people are set to appear in court in September in the ‘golden passports’ case, and have been handed the charge sheets, the police said. And travellers are in for a treat, as efforts are underway so that the...

In today's episode, the Audit Office said it has wrapped up its report on the 'golden passports' and will be releasing it next month. Audit Office spokesman Marios Petrides said the report's findings will "surprise, but not pleasantly". Elsewhere, Cyprus is prepared for the “new pandemic”, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said after a wide-range meeting on monkeypox yesterday, as cases in Eur...

In today's episode, a meeting to evaluate the new data emerging, as well as how prepared Cyprus is to deal with monkey pox, has been organised for today at Nicosia General Hospital by Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela. Elsewhere, scorching temperatures will continue through Monday, according to a new yellow weather warning from the met office. The maximum temperature is expected to rise to aro...

In today’s episode, oil major Chevron and the Cyprus government have said they are committed to speeding up development of the offshore Aphrodite gas field, with a new well to be drilled in the first quarter of 2023. In other news, health authorities will prepare a road map for autumn, relating to testing and the date when schools will open depending on the state of play with Covid-19, officials a...