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1201. President: mistakes, complacency over Easter will mean restrictions drag on

Addressing the nation anew on Thursday, President Nicos Anastasiades said that this weekend, which marks the Greek Orthodox Easter, will test the island’s population but stressed the need for absolute compliance with restriction measures so that it can remain feasible to begin a gradual lifting of the measures as soon as possible....

1202. 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...

1203. Coronavirus derails southern Europe's clean-up from the last crisis

This year was meant to mark a turning point for Greek and Italian banks as they finally laid the ghosts of the financial crisis to rest. Then the coronavirus struck....

1204. 20 Cyprus coronavirus patients to participate in drug clinical trial

20 coronavirus-positive patients currently being treated in Cyprus hospitals will participate in the third phase of clinical testing of the influenza antiviral drug Avigan, to evaluate its safety and efficacy against Covid-19....

1205. Boris Johnson spends night in hospital

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was still in hospital on Monday suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus, although Downing Street said he remained in charge of the government...

1206. Foreign Ministry in lockdown after diplomat tests positive for COVID-19

A diplomat at the Foreign Ministry has tested positive for the virus, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Thursday, with the diplomat said to have come in contact with a small number of coworkers at the Ministry which was placed on lockdown on Wednesday night....

1207. Coronavirus takes one more life, 32 new cases confirmed

1208. 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...

1209. President: Unnecessary travel strictly prohibited, violators to be fined

Addressing the nation on Monday night for the second time since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Cyprus in early March, President Nicos Anastasiades announced that all unnecessary travel will be banned as of 6pm on Tuesday until April 13....

1210. Health Minister: better safe than sorry

The top priority at the moment is to ensure the health of each person individually and of the public as a whole, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Friday, stressing that “I prefer to take painful decisions, even if they prove excessive in the end, rather than to remain unprotected.”...

1211. Second largest hospital goes into lockdown, doctor at Paphos private hospital tests positive

1212. Trump declares coronavirus outbreak a national emergency

President Donald Trump said Friday he was declaring a national emergency -- "two very big words" -- to free up $50 billion in federal resources to combat coronavirus, part of a raft of new measures Trump hopes can bring a roiling health crisis under control....

1213. Travel agents issue SOS as cancellations mount

Cancellations and minimal new bookings have brought travel agents to “the brink of disaster”, the President of the Cyprus Association of Travel Agents, Vasilis Stamataris, said in a press conference on Wednesday....

1214. The era of asymmetric threats

Kyriakos Mitsotakis would never have expected to star in a Greek edition of the perfect storm. Yet fate and events have put the Greek prime minister in charge of the country at a very crucial moment. He has shown determination in dealing with the migration/refugee issue, which has also bolstered his political image. The public was craving for a strong leader – a notion that was largely eclipsed by a sense of humiliation over the past 10 years....

1215. Police hold the line at Ledra checkpoint

Greek Cypriot police at Nicosia's Ledra crossing thwarted a barricade breach by Turkish Cypriot protesters on Saturday, as demonstrations against the checkpoint shutdown continued on both sides of the divided island...

1216. Turkey deploys 1,000 police at Greek border to stem pushback of migrants

Turkey is deploying 1,000 special police forces along its border with Greece on Thursday to halt the pushback of migrants toward its territory, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, adding that 164 migrants had been wounded by Greek authorities....

1217. Greek army, police dig in along Turkey border after migrant clashes

Greek troops and riot police remained on high alert on Tuesday along the land border between Greece and Turkey, the main flashpoint in an escalating row between the EU and Ankara over how to deal with a new wave of migrants and refugees....

1218. Guards use tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants at Greek-Turkish border

Guards on Greece’s northeastern land border with Turkey made “deterrent use” of tear gas to disperse some 500 refugees and migrants trying to enter the country and the European Union after Ankara loosened controls on migrant flows....

1219. Finland to accept 175 asylum seekers from Mediterranean 'hotspots'

The government of Finland announced on Thursday that it will be accepting up to 175 asylum seekers from Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Italy, in a bid to facilitate their humanitarian situation in EU member states in the Mediterranean....

1220. Fourth Italian dies from coronavirus in worst flare-up outside Asia

A fourth person infected with the coronavirus has died in Italy, officials said on Monday as the government struggled to contain an outbreak of the illness and financial markets slid on fears over the economic impact....

1221. Summit standoff as EU leaders grapple with Brexit-sized hole in budget

EU leaders made no headway on Thursday in fractious talks on a joint 2021-27 budget that was left with a 75 billion-euro (62.9 billion pounds) hole after Britain’s departure at a time when they face costly new challenges from climate change to migration....

1222. French Defence Minister expresses solidarity with Cyprus

The French Defence Minister, Florence Parly, who met on Tuesday with President Nicos Anastasiades and her Cyprus counterpart Savvas Angelides, expressed France’s solidarity with Cyprus, which she said is under intense pressure when seen from an international perspective....

1223. Israeli investment announced for Larnaca port

Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos hinted at a deal with Israeli investors, saying they are ready to throw 1 billion at Larnaca’s port project...

1224. Potatoes to be brought in from the north after cold blast damages crops

Potatoes harvested in the north will be transferred next Monday to government-controlled areas, where potato crops suffered heavy blows after successive days of heavy rain and frost....

1225. Coronavirus emergency 'holds a very grave threat' for world, says WHO

China’s coronavirus outbreak poses a “very grave threat for the rest of the world,” the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday in an appeal for sharing virus samples and speeding up research into drugs and vaccines, Reuters reported. ...

1226. Greece to speed up creation of migrant holding centers to ease tension

Greece plans to accelerate the creation of detention centers on its outlying islands in the Aegean Sea after a backlash against overcrowded camps by some migrants and nearby residents....

1227. British High Commission replies to British expats FAQ

The British High Commission in Cyprus compiled and replied to some of the most frequently asked questions by UK nationals in Cyprus, providing further clarity on what British expats living on the island can expect post-Brexit. ...

1228. House President holds meeting with outgoing Ambassador of Japan

Cyprus House President Demetris Syllouris met on Tuesday with the outgoing Ambassador of Japan in Cyprus, Shinichi Nakatsugawa....

1229. British High Commissioner talks trade, free movement after Brexit

In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, British High Commissioner in Cyprus, Stephen Lillie, talks about what tomorrow will look like, and what applies for Cypriot and British nationals living in both countries, which he said share a deep historical relationship....

1230. Driver in head-on crash dies in hospital

A young footballer, who was critically injured last week in a road accident, passed away on Thursday after his parents took the end-of-life decision...