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1591. 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.”...

1592. Second largest hospital goes into lockdown, doctor at Paphos private hospital tests positive

1593. 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....

1594. 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....

1595. 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....

1596. 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...

1597. 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....

1598. 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....

1599. 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....

1600. 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....

1601. 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....

1602. 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....

1603. 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....

1604. 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...

1605. 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....

1606. 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. ...

1607. 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....

1608. 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. ...

1609. 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....

1610. 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....

1611. 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...

1612. Cypriot hacker loses extradition appeal

A young hacker will be the first Cypriot national to be extradited to the United States and could face up to 20 years in prison after losing his appeal last week...

1613. Deadly earthquake jolts eastern Turkey

A powerful earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Friday, killing at least 20 people and collapsing buildings in affected towns near the center of the tremor, which was strong enough to be felt in several neighboring countries...

1614. Foreign powers back Libya ceasefire

Foreign powers agreed at a summit in Berlin on Sunday to shore up a shaky truce in Libya, but the meeting was overshadowed by blockades of oilfields by forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar that could cripple the country’s crude production...

1615. US Congresspersons: USA and UNSC members must continue supporting peacemaking efforts in Cyprus

The United States and the other members of the UN Security Council must continue to support peacemaking efforts in Cyprus, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Caucus stressed....

1616. Berengaria sees hope on the horizon

Local media reported on Thursday that investors have been found for a potential revival of the historic Berengaria, with rumours pointing to renovation plans for the abandoned property in the Troodos Mountains...

1617. Cyprus hopes to join US visa waiver

Cypriot officials say they are setting up a task force aimed at including the country in the US visa waiver programme the soonest possible...

1618. Cyprus hopes cooler heads will prevail

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday said he hoped more sensible ideas would prevail regarding the situation in the Middle East, while sources expect "no unpleasant surprises” ahead of a mandate review for UN peacekeeping on the island...

1619. Both US and Iran claim ‘self defence’

Iranian UN ambassador has sent a letter to the UN Security Council calling Tehran’s missile strikes a "measured and proportionate" act of "self-defense,” while the US also says killing Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani was for self defence...

1620. British teen flies back home

The British teen, who is said to be appealing her conviction in the Ayia Napa rape case, has flown back home after what she described as a 'nightmare' in Cyprus...