Search

2131. Legal blocking tests abroad in soldier's death

The clock is ticking for the family of a dead soldier, whose official manner of death in 2005 as suicide is being disputed, with the Legal department refusing to consent to any exhumed remains being sent abroad for specialized testing...

2132. EU trying to find ways around vaccine shortage

The European drugs regulator could soon give the go ahead for an extra sixth dose to be extracted from Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine vials, an EU official told Reuters on Wednesday, lifting the number of available shots at a time when supplies are short....

2133. Officials in the dark over mutation spread

Health officials in the Republic of Cyprus say the new strain of coronavirus, found initially in the UK and confirmed on the island last week, has spread in the community but an accurate picture of the problem remained unclear due to only a very small sample size being tested...

2134. Legal experts pounce on Yiolitis case

A well-known Cypriot lawyer, who raised questions over a home search after Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis filed a criminal complaint against a Twitter parody account, has written to the Police Chief asking to obtain public information as a concerned citizen...

2135. Migrants at sea reach Cyprus after dark

A boat with Syrian refugees arrived in Cyprus around midnight, with coast guard officials allowing women and children to spend the night at the marina while COVID-19 tests have been ordered on all 55 persons...

2136. Cypriot president grateful for frontline heroes

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed his deep gratitude for 'heroes on the front line' in his New Year’s Eve address, adding that elected politicians 'owe to the people' to pass crucial reforms in the new year...

2137. Healthcare system nearing its limits, Health Minister warns

The surge in coronavirus patients has begun to put intense pressure on the healthcare system, with the Health Ministry and State Health Services (Okypy) already working on a plan to restructure how hospitals will deal with the steady influx of coronavirus patients....

2138. First batch arrives in Cyprus

The first batch of vaccines reached Cyprus on Saturday, a day after Christmas, with a senior home and a referral hospital getting the first vaccinations on the island as early as Sunday...

2139. Cabinet agrees on plastic bag ban at sales points

The Cabinet on Tuesday agreed on a blanket ban on thin plastic bags at points of sale, with the decision to come into force once passed by the House plenum....

2140. Cyprus stays calm as virus unknowns remain

Biontech says it is confident its COVID-19 vaccine expected within days in Cyprus would remain effective against a variant that has been spreading in Britain, but questions still remain over the effectiveness of the vaccine as mutations continue to spread...

2141. Syrian refugees 'roughing it' at police station

Newly-arrived presumptive refugees were on standby this week, after reports said they were taken to a police station in Famagusta district due to overcrowding conditions at a migrant reception centre in rural Nicosia...

2142. Cyprus lays out eagerly awaited vaccination plan

The Republic of Cyprus’ eagerly awaited plan for the mass vaccination of its residents against the novel coronavirus was presented on Tuesday by the health minister and Dr Olga Kalakouta....

2143. Increase in Covid-19 genetic material detected in wastewater

An increase in the genetic material of the new coronavirus was recorded in the analysis of urban wastewater of the Sewerage Board of Limassol-Amathus (SBLA) which was done in collaboration with the International Water Research Center "NIREAS" of the University of Cyprus. The aim of the cooperation is to develop a reliable early warning system regarding the degree of the Covid-19 spread....

2144. Tornado leaves some 15 homes in Nicosia outskirts uninhabitable

Visiting the site of the tornado that blew through Nikitari in the suburbs of Nicosia, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said that thankfully “there were no human casualties,” adding that families whose homes were severely affected will receive a €2,000 grant to make do for the holiday period. ...

2145. AstraZeneca hitches ride with Russia's Sputnik in vaccine race

AstraZeneca will start clinical trials to test a combination of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine with Russia's Sputnik V shot aimed at boosting the efficacy of the British drugmaker's vaccine, Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Friday....

2146. Cyprus’ migrant camp way over capacity

The overcrowding situation with refugees and asylum seekers at Pournara camp was back in the news, following an unannounced visit by the state’s Ombudswoman who said she saw some improvements but also some problems still not being addressed such as the right to move freely out of the camp...

2147. Exhumation ordered as family seeks truth

A local judge in Limassol has ordered the exhumation of the remains of a conscript soldier, whose death in 2005 was ruled a suicide but contested by his family, with the order coinciding with the visit of a Greek forensic examiner who has shown interest in the case...

2148. Greek foreign minister drops by Nicosia

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is visiting the Republic of Cyprus on Friday, here he will meet with his counterpart and the country’s president ahead of an upcoming EU Foreign Affairs Council with a focus on Turkey...

2149. Cypriot police scolded again over spy van

The Supreme Court in the Republic of Cyprus has recalled an arrest warrant for Avraham Shahak Avni, a Jewish community leader who is implicated in the spy van probe, ruling that police had no reasonable basis to detain a man who had been otherwise cooperating with authorities from the get-go...

2150. Holy Synod to support vaccine but maintains Holy Communion stance

The Holy Synod of the Church of Cyprus convened for an emergency meeting on Tuesday during which it was briefed by members of the government’s coronavirus expert task force on the coronavirus pandemic, with the Holy Synod concluding that it will support the vaccination of the public but refused to accept that the virus can be transmitted through the holy communion ritual....

2151. Biden to hit ground running with Greek pick

Greek-American political advisor and communications expert Jen Psaki has been named press secretary in US President-elect Joe Biden’s new all-female White House communications team...

2152. Domestic violence figures maintain concerning climb

The police’s domestic violence unit received 180 complaints in September and October and made 29 arrests, justice minister Emily Yioliti said Wednesday. Meanwhile, the association for the prevention and handling of violence in the family (SPAVO) said it has marked an increase of 40% in calls received at the 1440 helpline....

2153. Erdogan says Greeks behind raid on ship

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday suggested Greece and Cyprus were behind the interception of a Turkish vessel by German soldiers on behalf of a European Union mission off the Libyan coast late Sunday...

2154. Safe business and digitalisation in maritime

2155. ‘No going back’ on Varosha decision

Over 200 Varosha property owners are seeking to return to the divided island’s most popular ghost town, with Turkish Cypriots appearing ready to address Greek Cypriot grievances with or without a solution to the Cyprus problem, adding there is “no going back” on the plan to open the abandoned city...

2156. Council of Europe report critical of Greece's migrant pushbacks, detention conditions

A Council of Europe report, released Thursday, calls on Greece to stop pushbacks of migrants and calls out the country on the conditions in several migrant detention centers....

2157. Turkey and EU fall out over Varosha

Ankara is accusing the European Union of "ignoring the free will" of Turkish Cypriots, in response to EU High Representative Joseph Borrell, who deplored the latest developments in Varosha and called for them to be undone...

2158. Editorial: The third invasion

The first invasion engraved in Cyprus’ collective memory is that of July 20 1974, while the second is that of August 14 1974, when the Turkish army violated the truce agreement and moved its tanks towards Famagusta....

2159. Rescuers moved by injured man's devoted dog

A man who was out hunting with friends ended up being badly injured on Sunday after falling into a deep gorge, with fire fighters rushing to his rescue only to find the real hero was Paola, the hunter’s dog who did not want to leave her owner’s side...

2160. Partial lockdowns on Limassol, Paphos, migrant camps

The health minister Constantinos Ioannou announced stricter measures late on Wednesday night, with restrictions to be even harsher in the Limassol and Paphos districts that have developed into the epicentres of the island’s recent pandemic flare-up....