Search

931. 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...

932. Probe launched against Al Jazeera operation

The state attorney ordered a probe following a complaint filed by high-profile Cypriot officials targeted by an Al Jazeera secret investigation on corruption, with members of the public outraged as more shocking revelations emerged in a new Cyprus Papers video...

933. Al Jazeera strikes again at Cyprus Papers

Al Jazeera’s investigative unit struck again on Monday with new Cyprus Papers material, involving a report accompanied by a one-hour video depicting undercover reporters who visited Cyprus and posed as representatives of an imaginary ultrarich investor, Mr X, who was convicted for palm-greasing and money laundering, to ‘test’ whether local authorities would still be willing accept his hefty investment and provide him with Cypriot citizenship....

934. Far-right EU lawmaker in Greek court for criminal trial

A member of the European Parliament has appeared in court in Greece after being convicted last week of being a member of a criminal organization along with members of the extreme-right Golden Dawn party. ...

935. Nicosia wants teeth in UNSC Varosha response

The UN Security Council on Friday will hold deliberations on Varosha after the Republic of Cyprus has urged members to call on Ankara to undo steps it has taken over the divided island’s fenced-off ghost town...

936. Government okays schemes tackling unemployment

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved three new schemes aiming to motivate the hiring of unemployed persons, ex-convicts, and youth, budgeted at €31 million....

937. Passport revocation inquiries move forward

Cypriot authorities have identified seven individuals or foreign investors who could potentially be stripped of their Cypriot citizenship, after an internal probe pointed to forged documents or misleading information during the golden passport application process...

938. Cabinet approves revocation of seven citizenships

The Cabinet on Wednesday gave the green light for the initiation of the process for the revocation of Cypriot citizenship granted to seven persons through the Investment Program. ...

939. 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...

940. Nearly 100 asylum seekers flown out of Cyprus

Fourteen unaccompanied minors have been transferred from the Republic of Cyprus to Finland, while another 84 foreign nationals were flown back to their countries in what the government described as ‘voluntary returns'...

941. Parliament passes bills to streamline asylum procedures

The House on Friday passed three amendments to the Refugee Law, streamlining asylum procedures....

942. 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. ...

943. Thousands protest after Greek refugee camp burns down

Thousands of protesting refugees and migrants left homeless on the Greek island of Lesbos after fires destroyed the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp gathered on a road leading to the island's main town Friday, demanding to be allowed to leave....

944. 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”....

945. Driver permit rules stiffer for non-residents

The Cypriot transport ministry has issued tougher rules for some foreigners seeking to obtain a driver’s permit, essentially linking visa status to eligibility while barring refugees with pending applications as well as introducing stricter criteria...

946. Passports under the watchful eye of the Commission

947. 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....

948. 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. ...

949. 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....

950. 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. ...

951. 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....

952. 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....

953. 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....

954. 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....

955. Cyprus takes a stab at Al Jazeera 'propaganda'

The daily publication of reports by the foreign media network Al Jazeera targeting the Cyprus citizenship-for-investment programme after gaining possession of over 1,400 leaked documents has sent the Cyprus government rushing to set the record straight....

956. 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...

957. Cyprus-France defence cooperation agreement comes into force

An announcement by the Cyprus Presidency on Thursday officially marked the initiation of a defence cooperation agreement between Cyprus and France, with particular focus on military and energy areas....

958. Male Cypriots urged to negotiate postponement of higher fees with UK universities

Male Cyprus high school graduates considering going on to a UK university but who must first complete a 14-month military service, by which time the UK is set to enforce its decision to scrap home fee status for EU students, are urged to directly contact their university of interest to negotiate a postponement of the fee increase, allowing them to enrol next under current fee status....

959. Cyprus to draw over €2.7b from EU pandemic recovery fund

European Union leaders reached a deal on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-blighted economies at a pre-dawn meeting on Tuesday after a fractious summit that went through the night and into its fifth day....

960. EU summit breaks up after all-night talks, to resume later

A marathon European Union summit has broken up temporarily in the fourth day of acrimonious haggling over an unprecedented 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund to tackle the crisis. The weary leaders were scheduled to resume the meeting Monday afternoon....