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271. More than half of Cyprus nursing staff opt out of jab

Less than half of total nursing staff at public hospitals have opted to get vaccinated against coronavirus, state health services organisation spokesperson Charalambos Charilaou said....

272. Cyprus hurries to clean up company registry

Energy Minister Natasa Pilides has called on business stakeholders in Cyprus to embrace a new effort of recording and updating true information about beneficiaries of companies, saying a new digital registry can bolster transparency on the island...

273. IMF: Withdrawal of support measures should be gradual

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission met virtually with the Cypriot authorities from March 8–29, 2021 to discuss recent economic developments and policy priorities on the island. In an interview with Kathimerini Cyprus, IMF mission chief for Cyprus, Anita Tuladhar, said the longer the recovery period in sectors related to tourism, the greater the chance that permanent scars will remain in the economy of Cyprus. Tuladhar also noted the importance of state-sponsored programs to support the economy....

274. Cyprus Parliament approves Code of Conduct for MPs

Parliament on Thursday approved a decision enacting the Code of Conduct for MPs, implementing a recommendation by Greco, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption monitoring body....

275. Cyprus unveils plan to tackle corruption

Cyprus’ fight against corruption is based on three pillars, President Anastasiades said Friday, announcing the eagerly-awaited steps the government will take in a bid to restore credibility to the Republic after its reputation was shattered by revelations of corruption through the nixed Citizenship-by-Investment Program (CIP)....

276. EU scrambles for supply amid vaccine clatter

Cypriot EU Commissioner Stella Kyriakides says AstraZeneca’s revised schedule for delivering fewer doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in coming weeks is “not acceptable” while the European Ombudsman embarks on an investigation into vaccine contracts...

277. MPs vote on budget hanging by a thread

The House takes another vote on the state budget on Thursday, with representatives expected to pass the bill narrowly following behind-the-scenes consultations since the first time it was rejected in mid-December...

278. Legal experts pounce on Yiolitis case

A well-known Cypriot lawyer, who raised questions over a home search after Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis filed a criminal complaint against a Twitter parody account, has written to the Police Chief asking to obtain public information as a concerned citizen...

279. Kalogerou probe fails to impress opposition

The chair of the ad hoc committee that looked into allegations of wrongdoing last year as Cyprus’ golden passports scandal was unfolding defended the choice to go after high profile cases, following criticism from opposition parties that say the focus was too narrow...

280. Redacted report on golden passports published

A redacted version of the Kalogerou report on golden passports is expected to be made public on Tuesday afternoon, amid criticism of the government from opposition parties calling for transparency in probing corruption allegations...

281. Britain and EU publish Brexit trade agreement

Britain and the European Union on Saturday published the text of a narrow trade agreement just five days before the United Kingdom exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most momentous global shift since the loss of empire ...

282. DIKO raises conflict of interest for AG

DIKO president Nicholas Papadopoulos has raised concerns over conflicts of interest for the state’s attorney general in connection with a golden passports investigation, following a statement from the Presidential Palace on publicizing some findings but not in their entirety...

283. Cyprus’ passport probe dispute widens

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and DIKO party leader Nicholas Papadopoulos took their disagreement over probing golden passports to a whole new level this week, while questions remained over the independent committee’s reassurances of transparency in the investigation...

284. AG says release of 'golden passports' files would harm investigations

The findings of the investigative committee looking into the Cyprus’ disgraced Citizenship by Investment scheme will be made public to the degree that will not affect public interest, Attorney General Giorgos Savvides said Friday....

285. Blame game in full swing after budget vote

The government in the Republic of Cyprus faced an unprecedented challenge on Thursday, after failing to pass a 2021 budget in the House, with lawmakers approving stopgap measures to keep making payments for the next couple of months...

286. State budget up in the air over golden passports

Opposition parties are cranking up the pressure on Interior Minister Nikos Nouris, who has been refusing to hand over files in connection with the golden passports scandal, with the Democratic Party making good on its promise not to vote the state budget later this month if there is no transparency...

287. Cyprus struggles to regulate lobbying

Debate on a legislation proposal that would regulate lobbying in the Republic of Cyprus will continue next year, when parliamentary elections will be in full swing, after the justice ministry introduced amendments to reconcile transparency rules with realities of politicking on the island...

288. Justice Minister highlights government's efforts to fight corruption

The government of Cyprus is making continuous efforts to protect the country from corruption, justice minister Emily Yiolitis said Wednesday, noting that the government has undertaken a series of actions and pushed a bundle of new laws through the pipeline....

289. Comprehensive anti-corruption proposals in the pipeline

President Nicos Anastasiades will soon be presenting a package of proposals for the strengthening of transparency, accountability and the rule of law, deputy government spokesman Panayiotis Sentonas said Monday....

290. Cypriots to protest over golden passports probe

A new demonstration will take place outside the Presidential Palace on Friday, with protesters gathering to express their frustration over the government’s handling of the golden passport scandal and demand that officials take ownership of the crisis...

291. Opposition turns up pressure over passports

Parliament in Cyprus is expected to debate proposals over the passport scandal, including whether a new law can force the government to hand over files to the auditor general as well as a freeze on pending applications allegedly being squeezed through before the disgraced scheme is set to go on hiatus...

292. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

293. Curtain rising for citizenship-by-investment program

The Presidency has before it four scenarios for dealing with the issue of purchased citizenships. The most likely possibility is that of suspending the investment program for a short period, as revealed by Kathimerini on Sunday....

294. Cyprus 'golden passports' under more scrutiny

A foreign investigative report says leaked documents from the Republic of Cyprus suggest the island’s government violated its own rules in granting “golden passport” citizenships, with Cypriot officials denying the accusations and raising credibility issues over the report...

295. Cyprus must remain successful in battle against virus, Health Minister says

Cyprus has been successful so far in controlling COVID-19 but needs to remain so, said Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou, noting that the EU must improve the overall quality of its healthcare services to be better positioned to deal with issues like COVID-19 in the future....

296. Bill calls for videotaping police interrogations

The House is looking into legislation that would make mandatory the videotaping of custodial interrogations, a move that would allow the Republic of Cyprus to join other modern states in the way suspects are being treated by police...

297. Cyprus 'golden visa' scheme returns to spotlight

Cyprus’ controversial citizenship-by-investment scheme was thrust into the spotlight once again after the investigative journalism platform Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published an in-depth report on the granting of a ‘golden passport’ to a senior member of the Saudi royal family and six of his family members....

298. Need for transparency on COVID-19 public spending

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assmebly’s (OSCE PA) Special Representative on Fighting Corruption Irene Charalambides, has called for the highest levels of transparency and good governance on COVID-19 related public expenditures....

299. Twitter unfreezes Chinese ambassador account

China's ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus was back online Wednesday night after Twitter unblocked his account following a two-day freeze...

300. China's ambassador responds to US criticism

The Chinese ambassador in Nicosia is firing back at US and media criticism over his country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, adding that he believes Cyprus will win the battle against the coronavirus...