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1. Landmark golden passport trial begins Feb 15

The Nicosia Criminal Court gears up for a high-stakes trial in five months, probing the naturalization of foreign investors and a potential twist involving a Chinese businessman....

2. Al Jazeera case to be refiled as court reshuffling halts proceedings

Next week, the criminal case related to the Al Jazeera media network's reporting and events surrounding the exceptional naturalization of foreign investors and businessmen will be refiled based on the findings of the Nicolatos Committee, as reported by CNA....

3. The absences, the applause, and the omissions

The ceremony to confirm the new President of the Republic began at 11:39 a.m. The outgoing President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, was the first to enter the House of Representatives packed plenary session. ...

4. Nikos Christodoulides: Discussing changes to the Guterres framework

"I didn't hear anyone mention Mr. Kasoulides, the foreign minister, after the wreckage in Crans Montana. Nobody could blame him. He was not the most directly involved, nor was he the one who would take the final decisions..." ...

5. The Belgian wheel is in motion...

Many Cypriots live in a state of frustration. How did Belgian authorities respond decisively to the well-known case, while the island's law enforcement took two weeks to visit Syllouris?...

6. The fall

The tale of Eva Kaili is a metaphor for the glitzy, quick ascent to power in politics and the ultimate fall from grace brought on by dishonesty. After all, a corrupt politician is one who has been bribed by the state or a private individual....

7. Lawyer Andreas Pittadjis denies all charges in 'golden passport' trial

Based on the findings of the Nicolatos Committee, the four defendants in the criminal case involving Al Jazeera news network reporting and the events surrounding the naturalization of foreign investors and businessmen were brought before the Nicosia Permanent Criminal Court....

8. Evidence from defendants' computers and phones excluded from trial

Following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the court order to search Christakis Tziovanis and Antonis Antoniou's telecommunications data, an important development has occurred in the Al Jazeera case....

9. Cyprus starts golden passport trial with a paradox

A defense attorney in the golden passport trial set to begin next month raised a conflict of interest on Monday, when his client and former House speaker along with three other defendants appeared for their arraignment before a Nicosia district judge...

10. Criminal case in passport scandal set for September 12th

The criminal case against four people in the "golden passport" scandal, exposed by Al Jazeera in October 2020, is scheduled to be brought to trial on September 12, according to the state prosecutor Elena Kleopa,...

11. Four individuals charged with conspiracy in Al Jazeera expose

Four individuals have been charged with conspiracy and will appear before a criminal court in September for their role in granting citizenship to foreign investors who didn't quite meet the criteria....

12. Nicosia reacts to new Al Jazeera video

Nicosia has refuted allegations concerning a Cypriot minister and his trips to London, in reaction to an Al Jazeera secret investigation into how convicted criminals could take on new identities and launder money through ownership of English football clubs by deceiving authorities...

13. Syllouris declines questions in passport probe

A former Cypriot parliamentary speaker secretly filmed in an expose on a now discredited cash-for-passports scheme declined to answer questions on Wednesday into his role in a scandal which rocked the island nation...

14. Stars in Al Jazeera video face committee

15. Director wants passport probe clear his name

A civil servant, whose name was dropped by the former House speaker during a secret video recording by Al Jazeera, says he did not get involved with golden passports during his tenure as director of the interior ministry, vowing to take legal action if an investigative committee failed to clear his name...

16. Damning State Dep. report highlights Cyprus human rights issues

A US State Department country report on human rights practices in 2020 proved damning for Cyprus which was found to have had significant human rights issues last year....

17. 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...

18. Anti-corruption measures on the way, Anastasiades says

President Nicos Anastasiades said Friday he will be announcing new measures aiming to crack down on corruption next week. ...

19. Police search homes, offices of those implicated in Al Jazeera video

Police on Thursday searched the homes and offices of the people embroiled in the Al Jazeera video on the Cyprus Papers that caused ongoing political turmoil on the island. ...

20. MPs reject dissolution of parliament amid passports scandal

After officially electing AKEL MP Adamos Adamou as the new House President following the resignation of Demetris Syllouris amid intense backlash against his involvement in the recent golden passports scandal, MPs on Thursday debated on whether parliament should be dissolved making way for early elections, with the proposal eventually rejected with 26 votes in favour and 30 against....

21. 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...

22. Police get to work on passport scandal

Cypriot police appear to have their plate full with three different probes into alleged corruption in the golden passport scheme, with investigators facing their biggest challenge by a shocking Al Jazeera video that dealt the fatal blow in the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme...

23. Cypriot minister has one regret over passports

Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, who oversaw Cyprus' disgraced golden passport scheme while he was serving as interior minister, says he should have pushed harder to end the program much sooner...

24. 'Father of the House' calls for calm

AKEL MP Adamos Adamou became the Republic of Cyprus’ new House Speaker on Friday, as well as acting president, following the resignation of Demetris Syllouris amid a passport scandal and a pending investigation...

25. Game plan to circumvent passport rules

Meme culture enthusiasts in Cyprus upped their game this week following a passport scandal reported by Al Jazeera, with catchphrases such as “this is Cyprus” and name dodging tricks seen in a secret video prompting media to spot five ways a lawyer could circumvent the system in the golden passport scheme...

26. House Speaker resigns over passport scandal

House Speaker Demetris Syllouris resigned on Thursday following public outcry over his involvement in a golden passport scandal exposed by Al Jazeera...

27. Cypriots rise up against corruption

A crowd of protesters gathered outside Filoxenia Conference Centre in Nicosia on Wednesday evening, calling on House Speaker Demitris Syllouris to resign after he was featured in an Al Jazeera undercover story on corruption...

28. Syllouris accepts waiving of his parliamentary immunity

President of the Cyprus Parliament Demetris Syllouris said Wednesday that he won’t stand in the way of his parliamentary immunity being waved to accommodate a probe launched by local police after a fresh batch of Al Jazeera allegations situated him at the epicentre of a massive corruption scandal involving the island’s golden passports scheme....

29. Judge in Cypriot passport probe resigns

Retired Supreme Court Judge Costas Pampallis has resigned from his position as a member of an indepednent investigative committee, a team that was tasked to sift through Cyprus’ golden passport scheme in the wake of corruption scandals and systemic failures...

30. Commission slams Cyprus over passports, mulls infringement procedures

The European Commission expressed “disbelief” over new revelations concerning Cyprus’ investment for citizenship scheme, saying that the body is looking into infringement procedures for Nicosia. ...