https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/smoothening-the-cliff-edge-in-eu-uk-relations
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the United Kingdom and the European Union came into effect on January 1, 2021, capping a tumultuous four-and-a-half-year period since the shocking result of the July 2016 Brexit referendum, in which 51.9% of the British voters voted in favor of leaving the EU. Subject to the delayed assent of the European Parliament, this UK-EU free trade agreement (FTA) extends zero-tariff and quota-free trade in goods between the two economic areas....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/top-editor-quits-over-anastasiades-claim
A renowned journalist and editor-in-chief at Kathimerini Cyprus has resigned his post amid backlash from a piece he wrote on Sunday, where he claimed Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades let slip information that he had been flying millions generated from golden passports to the Seychelles on private flights...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/travel-categories-of-sms-system-that-returns-sunday
The SMS system that Cyprus was happy to be rid of in late spring last year will be returning on Sunday as the island grapples with the rampant spread of coronavirus that has left the healthcare system increasingly burdened....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/report-says-ministry-was-shuffling-papers
An initial redacted report on golden passports made public in the Republic of Cyprus on Tuesday painted a picture of an Interior Ministry serving as a “filing office” without ability to examine cases in any meaningful way, with opposition crying foul over the committees’ selective method...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/redacted-report-to-be-published-noon
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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/home-searched-over-minister-s-parody-account
Police officers knocked on the door of a woman who manages a Twitter parody account about the justice minister, prompting some social media users to inquire about the incident...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/report-on-passport-scheme-to-be-released-president-says
President Anastasiades said the report of the investigative committee spearheaded by Securities and Exchange Commissioner Demetra Kalorigou on the island’s disgraced citizenship-by-investment program will be released next Tuesday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/state-budget-battles-rage-on-in-cyprus
Ruling party DYSI has been mounting a campaign over the last 24 hours to secure votes to pass the state budget, which is up in the air over golden passport probe wars, with added pressure also causing rifts even within smaller parties...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-focus-on-larnaca-in-passport-probe
Police in Larnaca carried out searches on Tuesday in connection with an ongoing criminal probe into golden passports, with reports saying investigators were focusing on at least five persons of interest but were not calling them suspects...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-asked-to-explain-passport-probe-impasse
The Cypriot government says it will comply with a request from an international organization of audit institutions, which asked to hear the administration’s view over the golden passports probe impasse after the state’s auditor sought support from the global network...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/golden-passport-findings-hard-to-come-by
The president of the Cyprus Bar Association says he has received adequate information from the audit office in connection with golden passports, adding that other agencies and officials have refused to share their findings citing direct orders from the interior minister...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/finmin-confirms-cyprus-won-t-reinstate-‘golden-passports-scheme
Finance minister Constantinos Petrides assured that the government will not be reinstating the Cyprus Investment Program (CIP), that was shut down after the shocking corruption revelations that emerged through an Al Jazeera investigation and the subsequent stark criticism by the European Commission. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cabinet-shrinks-oversized-security-detail-for-vips
Party leaders and former state officials in the Republic of Cyprus will see their security detail downsized following a Cabinet decision on Thursday, also tasking police to evaluate the size of the presidential guard...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/president-says-anti-corruption-measures-to-be-announced-by-year-s-end
The new anti-corruption measures will be announced to the public before the end of the year, President Nicos Anastasiades said Wednesday, noting that the delay is due to the government’s efforts to take into account the suggestions of all stakeholders....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/auditor-general-makes-jiu-jitsu-move
The audit office is reportedly preparing an unflattering report on Cyprus’ film industry government scheme, with local media suggesting some type of possible connection between newly-established Olivewood and golden passports...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/government-ups-rhetoric-against-auditor
The Cypriot government hinted over the weekend it might refer the auditor general to the Supreme Court over “indecent” behaviour, after the audit office published yet another damning report alleging offences in a Cabinet decision to grant investor passports to individuals linked to a casino project without meeting the criteria...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/al-jazeera-turns-attention-to-jho-low
Cypriot-naturalized citizen Jho Low, the Malaysian fugitive financier whose golden passports came under scrutiny last year, was back in the news this week after Al Jazeera published a video with actual voice recordings of 'the biggest fish' seeking a way out of the 1MDB colossal scandal...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/elusive-businessman-with-cyprus-ties-pops-up
The whereabouts of elusive Russian hedge fund manager German Lillevali, who was linked to a flurry of companies in Cyprus after he became a resident, are no longer a mystery after reports that he was detained in the US on an immigration violation but released due to overcrowding amid the coronavirus pandemic...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/al-jazeera-video-stirs-privacy-debate
The former speaker of the House is reportedly calling on the chief of police to investigate two Al Jazeera journalists, saying they violated his rights when a hidden camera was used to capture footage that became part of the network’s corruption investigation known as The Cyprus Papers...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/citizens-to-protest-over-passport-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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/passport-committee-shuns-media-over-covid
The special investigative committee probing the passport scandal in the Republic of Cyprus cited the pandemic this week after banning reporters from hearings, while it was unclear how Thursday’s additional COVID measures would further affect media coverage...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/‘wanted-man-takes-police-to-supreme-court
A foreign national who says he was living in Denmark with his family ended up being detained in Bulgaria on a Cypriot warrant, with his lawyer saying it was issued without due diligence...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/roxy-s-charo-takes-cyprus-to-echr
A Dominican woman, who was recognized as a sex trafficking victim after her ordeal in the capital’s Roxy strip club over a decade ago, is taking the Republic of Cyprus to the European Court of Human Rights, after the country’s Supreme Court sided with a lower court judge who threw out her lawsuit seeking damages...
