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1921. Wealthy Britons turn to Cypriot citizenship

Interest in additional citizenships by British entrepreneurs is rising even as the European Commission examines possible steps to curb EU states selling passports and visas to wealthy foreigners, due to concerns it can help organized crime groups...

1922. Omonia on high alert after player tests positive

Coronavirus has once again infiltrated the local football scene, as after dozens of new cases were detected among players and staff of the Nea Salamina and Ethnikos Achnas clubs, a player of first division AC Omonia was also announced positive on Friday....

1923. Bad blood continues over golden passports

A prolonged and bitter dispute between the interior minister and auditor general, over probing Cyprus’ golden passports scheme, was renewed this week following a mini report with details on a number of applications through citizenship by investment...

1924. Commission presents new migration plan for EU

The European Union's executive proposed on Wednesday overhauling the bloc's broken migration and asylum rules, seeking to end years of feuds and bitterness over the many people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa....

1925. Coronavirus measures bring sharp drop in EU asylum applications

First-time asylum applicants in the EU recorded a sharp drop of almost 70% during the second quarter of 2020, mainly as a result of coronavirus emergency measures imposed by member states from March, Eurostat figures showed Wednesday....

1926. Officials nervous ahead of flu season

A recent climb in confirmed coronavirus cases, especially in Larnaca district, has prompted health officials to contemplate new tougher measures possibly across the island...

1927. Six countries downgraded, one upgraded in Cyprus travel list

The Republic of Cyprus’ health ministry announced on Monday that six countries will be bumped down a category in its three-tier coronavirus risk-based classification system governing travel, with the updated list to come into effect on September 24....

1928. Commission signs vaccine contract with Sanofi-GSK

A contract between the European Commission and pharmaceutical company Sanofi-GSK came into force on Friday, allowing for EU member states to purchase up to 300 million doses of the vaccine being developed....

1929. Berlin to take in 1,553 refugees from Greece

As Germany indicated on Tuesday that it would take in more than 1,500 refugees from Lesvos and other Greek islands, the Greek government welcomed the move, indicating however that it should not be seen as rewarding irregular immigration. ...

1930. Von der Leyen: rule of law violations through 'golden passports' won't be tolerated

The European Commission has prepared the first annual report the rule of law in EU member states, to be published later in September, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said Wednesday, indirectly referring to the Cyprus Investment Program....

1931. Cyprus updates risk-based travel list

The Republic of Cyprus on Tuesday downgraded Estonia and Georgia from category A to B, the Czech Republic and Hungary from B to C, while upgrading Rwanda from C to B, and Australia from B to A, in its three-tier coronavirus risk-based classification system governing travel rules....

1932. Yiolitis clarifies role in passport applications

Cypriot Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis has issued a statement on Twitter concerning her involvement in “golden passports” applications during the time when she was a founding partner at a law firm...

1933. KPMG Cyprus supports ‘Back to School Supplies for ALL children’

KPMG in Cyprus supports the Pancyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council’s campaign ‘Back to School Supplies for ALL children’...

1934. Police request for 'golden passports' documents from Parliament unconstitutional, lawyers say

Lawyers from whom Parliament requested advice after law enforcement officials said they would crack down on the Cyprus Papers whistleblower(s) said Parliament’s non-compliance with police requests for documents relating to the investment scheme is reasonable, as such a request is “not constitutionally legitimate”....

1935. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

1936. AG announces makeup of new committee to probe passports scheme

Attorney General George Savvides announced the members of the newly-established four-member committee tasked with probing the entire length of the Cyprus Investment Program, which was introduced in 2007....

1937. Cyprus to strip seven of citizenship granted through investment scheme

The Republic of Cyprus has begun the process of stripping seven people of Cypriot citizenship granted through the Cyprus Investment Program after a special committee found them in violation of current stricter criteria, President Nicos Anastasiades said in an interview with AFP on Friday. ...

1938. Politics turn ugly over Cyprus Papers

The main left party opposition in the Republic of Cyprus is firing back at the government, after reports emerged over threats and a confidential letter about Cypriot golden passports a decade earlier...

1939. New committee to probe entire length of Cyprus Investment Program

The Cabinet on Thursday agreed to appoint an independent investigative committee to look into all passports granted through the Cyprus Investment Program from 2008 until July this year, when stricter rules were implemented....

1940. Greek citizenship to require written exams, interview

Foreign nationals in Greece wanting to acquire citizenship will have to sit and pass written examinations, testing their knowledge of the Greek language, geography and history, according to an Interior Ministry bill that has been submitted for public consultation until September 10. ...

1941. Cabinet throws ball in attorney general’s court

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is calling on the state’s attorney general to appoint yet another committee to probe golden passport applications to settle a dispute between the auditor general’s office and the interior ministry over the “Cyprus Papers”...

1942. Golden passports scheme to remain as is

The citizenship-by-investment program will not be terminated, nor will it be suspended for a short period as a way of managing the crisis developing crisis, the government decided during its Tuesday morning coffee at the Presidential Palace. What was strongly tabled was that a potential freezing or termination of the investment program at this point in time would send a message that the government is acting in light of the Al Jazeera publications, and that by extension, that it accepts them....

1943. Fierce battle over ‘Cyprus papers’

A fierce battle over documents has began following Al Jazeera’s “Cyprus papers” on golden passports, with the audit office demanding to examine specific files and the interior ministry refusing to hand them over...

1944. Cyprus revises classification of countries for travel

The Cyprus health ministry on Tuesday downgraded Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lichtenstein to category B in its three-tier risk-based travel classification system, while Rwanda and Monaco were bumped down to category C....

1945. 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....

1946. House President calls for suspension of 'golden passports' scheme

House President Demetris Syllouris has formally suggested to President Nicos Anastasiades that the Cyprus citizenship-by-investment scheme is paused until decisions for its improvement or even complete termination are taken, and called for a meeting of party leaders to discuss the scheme that has recently attracted international attention after a document leak led to a series of articles and videos published by the media network Al Jazeera....

1947. EU mulls legal action against Cyprus 'golden passports'

The foreign media network Al Jazeera, that has this week been publishing a series of articles and videos on the murky side of the Cyprus ‘golden passports’ program after it was leaked classified documents, reported that the European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders is looking into the possibility of legal action against Cyprus....

1948. Police caught off guard in anti-corona protest

Cyprus police were heavily criticized over the weekend for not taking action against a large crowd of anti-maskers, who gathered outside the Presidential Palace in violation of health protocols...

1949. Cyprus collects additional 170 tonnes of Beirut relief

The Cyprus public has amassed an additional 170 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the people of Lebanon, who were ravaged by deadly blasts at a Beirut port area earlier this month, with the aid currently being loaded into containers that will be transferred to the Limassol port, from where they will be shipped to the neighbouring country....

1950. EU reaches vaccine deal with AstraZeneca

The Cyprus-born EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety announced Thursday the EU’s first vaccine deal, reached with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, for a quantity of up to 400 million doses of the vaccine under development....