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1651. Dead shark spotted in Paphos

A dead shark possibly belonging to an endangered species was spotted on a beach along Cyprus’ western coast, with online users wondering whether the warm-blooded fish was killed or washed up dead...

1652. Four arrested on human smuggling charges

Cypriot police have arrested four individuals on human smuggling charges after a number of people including a woman and two children were apprehended in the buffer zone during an attempt to cross from north to south...

1653. Syrian boy allowed to reunite with parents

A young Syrian boy stuck in the north for over a month was reunited with his parents, following pressure on the government to allow the unaccounted minor to cross over to the south...

1654. EU court backs Czech Republic's requirement to vaccinate children

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accepts the Czech Republic’s position on mandatory vaccinations for children, it said in a landmark ruling on Thursday that rebuffed parents’ complaints that the government violated their rights....

1655. Top EU officials head to Turkey in bid to improve ties

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel are headed to Turkey on Tuesday on an official visit aimed at improving ties between Brussels and Ankara....

1656. Syrian refugees escorted to Cape Greco

A total of 75 undocumented migrants from Syria reached the Republic of Cyprus on Monday, after a Cypriot coast guard vessel escorted their wooden boat to Cape Greco...

1657. 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....

1658. EU presidents to go to Turkey next week

The presidents of the European Council and the European Commission will meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey on April 6, an EU spokesman said on Monday, in the latest sign of improving ties....

1659. EU27 open up to Turkey but with a caveat

European Union leaders made good on Thursday on a 2016 promise to deepen trade ties with Turkey, but also warned Ankara to expect sanctions if it restarts exploration over disputed hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean...

1660. Cyprus rejects EU draft on Turkey which seeks to deepen trade ties

Cyprus has rejected a draft prepared for a summit of EU leaders this week which seeks to deepen trade ties with Turkey, describing it as “totally unacceptable.” ...

1661. Gloves are off in EU-China relations

The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, in the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new US President Joe Biden...

1662. Germany: Turkey sending wrong human rights signals

Turkey is sending the wrong messages to the European Union by withdrawing from a pact designed to counter violence against women and closing down the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on Monday....

1663. EU frontline ministers talk migration in Athens

Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris is in Athens this weekend where he is attending a MED5 meeting on immigration, with some of the bloc’s Mediterranean members tackling issues stemming from Brussels’ new migration proposals that divide the union...

1664. UK variant gaining ground in Cyprus

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou expressed concern over the spread of the British coronavirus variant in Cyprus, issuing a fresh call to the public to comply with measures in place to contain the pandemic so that "the worst scenario can be averted."...

1665. EU will be present in Cyprus issue negotiations, senior EU official says

The EU will be present at the conference on Cyprus to be convened by the UN in Geneva in late April and at the formal negotiations that may follow, a senior EU official said at a press conference in Brussels ahead of the forthcoming Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of Monday....

1666. Cyprus scrambles to reduce asylum backlog

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris says the government is moving forward with rejections of asylum applications under new, faster procedures to clear a system backlog, with Europe seeking a comprehensive solution and a commissioner calling on Cypriot authorities to investigate illegal pushbacks...

1667. Ioannou: Matter of time until health system brought to its knees

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou warned Wednesday that if the current trend of rising new cases and hospital admissions continues, it will only be a matter of time until the healthcare system is brought to its knees....

1668. Minister points finger at north over barbwire

Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has fired back at critics in the north over the south’s decision to install barbwire near the UN buffer zone to halt illegal crossings, blaming the need for a fence on lack of action on the part of Turkish Cypriot authorities...

1669. State drops big marriage fraud case

Police in Cyprus were distinctly furious this week after prosecutors dropped charges against nine suspects in a fake marriage case, with the Legal department arguing an amended law linking sham marriage to immigration violations was not retroactive...

1670. Jehovah witness wins case against army

A man in the Republic of Cyprus has won an appeal against an army decision after military officers failed to prove they had acted impartially in his request for alternate military service due to religious convictions...

1671. Coordination for green digital transition needed, Kokkinos says

Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Kyriakos Kokkinos stressed the need to coordinate actions and investments at national and European level to achieve the EU's goals "for a sustainable, digital and green transition, empowering businesses with an emphasis on the SME and start-up ecosystem, and ensuring EU technological dominance", during his intervention at the informal teleconference of the Competitiveness Council for Research, under the Portuguese Presidency....

1672. EU leaders seek to inject energy into slow vaccine rollout

European Union leaders are gathering Thursday to try to inject new energy into the bloc’s lagging coronavirus vaccination efforts as concern mounts that new variants might spread faster than authorities can adapt....

1673. House Speaker says Parliament must 'raise its standards'

House Speaker Adamos Adamou said that Parliament has an obligation to raise its standards and improve its image to the public, who are turning away from politics and politicians and especially Parliament....

1674. Livadia residents upset over 5G antennas

Local residents in Larnaca district have been mounting a campaign against the installation of a 5G antenna on the rooftop of a supermarket, accusing the telecommunications company of acting illegally...

1675. Rare Cyprus snake found in Machairas national forest

The Forestry Department announced Tuesday that it located a rare Cyprus grass snake at two locations in the Machairas national forest park....

1676. Probe into police brutality has three-month deadline

The independent authority for the investigation of allegations and complaints against the police said Thursday that it instructed the four criminal investigators probing complaints of police brutality at last Saturday’s protest to wrap up investigations within three months....

1677. Cyprus excited over Mars landing

A new Mars rover is expected to touch down on the red planet Thursday night, carrying names of people all around the world including Cyprus, but all the buzz is about a live event in Nicosia and a helicopter called Ingenuity...

1678. Defying clampdown, Cyprus activists to protest again over graft

Anti-corruption campaigners in Cyprus will protest again on Feb. 20, they said on Tuesday, after a violent clampdown by police at an event on Feb. 13 drew widespread condemnation....

1679. 58-year-old driver dies in fatal Paphos rotating crash

1680. Yiolitis says police did not have orders to exert violence

Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis said Monday that police did not have instructions to use brutal violence against protestors in Nicosia on Saturday, though critical MPs stress that it is obvious that the police response was decided in advance with those responsible avoiding responsibility....