Cyprus Beat

In today’s episode, Cyprus marked 48 years since the Turkish invasion yesterday with a memorial service held at the Saint Barnabas cathedral while a tribute was paid at the Tomb of Makedonitissa commemorating those who fell during the Turkish invasion. In other news, Cyprus was upgraded to tier one status in the US’ annual human trafficking report, noting that “the government made key achievements...

In today's episode, the proposed Akamas development plan widely misses the mark of its declared intent as key provisions continue to threaten the integrity of the Natura 2000 network, the environment department’s environmental impact assessment concluded. Elsewhere, presidential candidates Nikos Christodoulides and Andreas Mavroyiannis have so far declined an offer to receive police protection unt...

In today's episode, President Nicos Anastasiades has tested positive for coronavirus, government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said on Tuesday. He said that the President had tested positive during routine tests but reassured the public that his symptoms are mild. Elsewhere, improvements that will reduce the burden on the Lakatamia welfare office that assists asylum seekers are under way, the deputy...

In today’s episode, we hear that more measures against Covid will be taken if they are deemed necessary. Elsewhere, the health minister said hospitals are ready to deal with an increased number of cases that might stem from the rise of the Centaurus variant which is already spreading through parts of Europe. There’s also optimism from the deputy tourism ministry as it said that arrivals have reach...

In today’s episode, a Greek Cypriot man was arrested on Thursday after he was caught on video kicking a Congolese woman holding her baby, an incident that was universally condemned. In other news, Parliament voted through a legislative proposal that empowers the government to order a price cap on petroleum products, and also passed bills cutting to zero the VAT charged on fuel and on electricity b...

In today's episode, 94 per cent believe corruption in Cyprus is widespread, with political parties and the health care system seen as particularly vulnerable to abusing their power, according to a Eurobarometer survey published yesterday. Elsewhere, the health minister and epidemiologists decided not to impose tighter measures despite the increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations. In other n...

In today's episode, main opposition party Akel has said a bill allowing for a cap on prices of fuel at the pump would head to the House plenum later this week. Elsewhere, Australian fugitive and underworld boss Mark Buddle is set to be extradited to his native country after he was arrested in the north on and taken to Turkey, Turkish Cypriot media has reported. In other news, Omonia is the most po...

In today’s episode, electricity bills that will be sent out, will be about 24 per cent more expensive than the last one, an EAC spokesperson has confirmed. In other news, a post-mortem – with inconclusive results – was carried out on Monday on the body of a 44-year-old man who died suddenly late last week, almost exactly a year after he was allegedly shot in the head by the police with a teargas c...

In today’s episode, we hear that the Paphos mayor has hit back at the interior ministry as the row deepens over dangerous and overcrowded buildings. Elsewhere, the health ministry has issued renewed Covid-19 travel advice as it warned that new measures may be enforced. There’s also the repatriation of a 16th century church icon which was looted in 1974 from the Antifonitis church in the village of...

In today’s episode, the House of Representatives has finally passed legislation clearing the way for broad reform of the justice system that is hoped will shorten the time of litigation. In other news, Nicosia will work through diplomatic channels to attempt to ameliorate certain references in the recent reports on Cyprus issued by the UN Secretary-General, President Nicos Anastasiades has said, a...

In today’s episode, face masks will become mandatory as of tomorrow, following a decision on Wednesday by the cabinet. It was also reiterated that the fine for violating the mask mandate is €300. In other news, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar to encourage more direct contact and cooperation between the two communit...

In today’s episode, we hear that stakeholders failed to agree on a national minimum wage during a meeting with the president. Elsewhere, the attorney-general announced that he will appeal the 12-month sentence imposed on the British tourist found guilty of the fatal Ayia Napa crash which killed a Swedish mother. There’s also the finance minister’s warning of even higher fuel and electricity prices...

In today's episode, a travel company executive in Cyprus said he expected the airport and airline chaos gripping Europe to subside in the coming weeks as thousands of flights have already been cancelled and more people were finally rejoining the workforce. Elsewhere, the government has received a request to transfer electricity to the north because one of its two power stations stopped working. In...

In today's episode, the percentage of flights to and from Cyprus affected by Europe's travel chaos is much smaller than in other countries, deputy minister for tourism Savvas Perdios said while still urging people to travel outside July and August. Elsewhere, the government is intensifying its efforts to curb illegal crossings through the buffer zone, according to Interior Minister Nicos Nouris. I...

In today’s episode, the state health services organisation (OKYPY) on Thursday suggested that the June 2024 target for public hospitals to attain financial autonomy may have to be pushed back, but critics countered that OKYPY’s failure to balance its budget was due to waste and mismanagement. In other news, the Defence Ministry has pledged that if anyone were found responsible for the National Gua...

In today's episode, around 80 percent of businesses in Cyprus used social media in 2021 to get their message across, a steep rise on 2015 when the figure was just under 60 per cent. Elsewhere, the education ministry launched an investigation and admitted racism is an issue in schools after a Larnaca secondary school graduation ceremony was marred by a racist episode involving a 15-year-old Syrian...

In today's episode, face masks will become compulsory in pharmacies and laboratories as of tomorrow, less than a month after their use became optional, the health ministry has announced. In other news, Cyprus is at the forefront of a shifting pattern of illegal border crossings on the Eastern Mediterranean route, an EU agency for Asylum report said on Tuesday, and the Paphos criminal court on Tues...

In today’s episode, we hear that Diko has backed presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides. Elsewhere, the interior minister has called on both sides in the Akamas debate to acknowledge that the truth of the matter likely lies somewhere in the middle. There’s also the president’s call for Cyprus to emerge as a regional firefighting hub, while on social media a filthy intercity bus went viral, a...

In today's episode, centre-right Diko's central committee unanimously decided to support the candidacy of former foreign minister and independent, Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday. Elsewhere, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has urged both sides in the acrimonious Akamas debate to lower the tone, saying the truth of the new plan for the environmentally-sensitive area was somewhere in the middle betwe...

In today’s episode, flare-ups in at least two locations late on Thursday night dashed hopes that a massive fire raging since Tuesday in the north’s Kantaras area was being brought under control. In other news, DIKO's executive bureau has decided to propose to the central committee that the party back independent presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides in the February elections, and the House...

In today’s episode, the two firefighting planes sent by the Cyprus government on Wednesday to help fight the big fire in the northern part of the island were back in action at dawn today. In other news, DISY leader and presidential candidate Averof Neophytou visited Varosha on Wednesday and warned that if the city, of derelict, collapsing buildings was lost, then Cyprus, too, would be lost; and Cy...

In today's episode, MPs on Tuesday discussed the possibility of a law to cap fuel prices, a drastic move as petrol at the pump continued rising and prices are fast approaching €2 a litre. Elsewhere, Diko and presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides moved a step closer to solidifying their cooperation for the February vote, with the junior opposition party expected to announce its final decisio...

In today's episode, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos has expressed his ministry’s concern with the high number of road fatalities this year after they have consistently fallen over the last ten years. Elsewhere, former government spokesman Kyriacos Koushos has been named as the new labour minister, a position vacated after the death of Zeta Emilianidou earlier this month. In other news, the fir...

In today's episode, President Nicos Anastasiades lauded the resumption of the Cyprus-Greece ferry link after more than 20 years as “historic”, as he addressed the launch of the maiden voyage of the ferry from Limassol port on Sunday. Elsewhere, prisons director Anna Aristotelous is expected to file a written complaint with the attorney-general today after she alleged that she was the victim of an...

In today’s episode, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due in Cyprus today on an official visit. The Greek leader arrives here at a time of increasingly belligerent Turkish government rhetoric against both Greece and Cyprus. In other news, feverish preparations are underway for the much-awaited resumption of the ferry link between Cyprus and Greece, which is set to depart from Limassol on...