https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/outdoor-masks-no-longer-required-in-greece
The government will lift its requirement of mask-wearing outdoors from Saturday, the health minister said on Wednesday, as Covid-19 infections are trending lower....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/op-ed-the-new-cold-war-has-begun
With almost the same arguments of those who had mobilized Bulent Ecevit on July 20, 1974 to invade Cyprus, Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine on the morning of February 24....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/business/we-re-all-gonna-die-so-here-s-a-greener-way-to-go
Back in January 2021, Covid created such a backlog of bodies at L.A. County morgues that the local air quality agency lifted air pollution limits on crematories so they could work extended hours....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/freedom-day-in-the-uk-from-today
England woke up to freedom today after nearly two years of crippling on-off lockdowns as all emergency Covid laws introduced to tackle the pandemic ended at midnight....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/health-minister-expresses-hope-as-easing-of-covid-measures-begin-today
Relaxed covid measures announced last week are in effect as of today, Monday the 21st of February. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/relaxation-of-measures-to-begin-next-week
New covid measures have been announced today following the meeting of the Minister of Health and the Scientific Advisory Committee this morning. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/russian-skater-claims-heart-drug-found-in-her-system-may-have-been-her-grandpa-s
Scandal-hit Olympic ice skater Kamila Valieva may have failed a doping test because of her grandfather’s heart condition and the medication he takes, it has been claimed....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/unvaccinated-djokovic-could-skip-french-open-wimbledon
If forced to choose, Novak Djokovic said he would skip the French Open and Wimbledon, foregoing the chance to overtake Rafael Nadal’s record haul of 21 Grand Slams titles, rather than get vaccinated against COVID-19....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/officials-keep-tight-lid-on-relaxations-formula
Cypriot experts are signaling a relaxation of measures against people who are unvaccinated, but government officials maintain that any new criteria would still be based on individual risk assessment linked to vaccination status...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/russian-skater-can-compete-amid-doping-controversy-but-medal-ceremony-won-t-be-held
Russian teenager Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete in the women’s figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics despite failing a pre-Games drug test, setting her up for an attempt at a second gold medal....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cbms-not-proposed-to-deceive-the-turkish-cypriots
Substantial confidence-building measures (CBMs) are not made to deceive the Turkish Cypriots, President Anastasiades said Sunday, responding to statements made by the Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/kasoulides-we-need-to-save-varosha-even-at-a-dear-price
Instead of sanctions, we will present Confidence Building Measures, foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides said in an interview with "K", clarifying that we have already reviewed the policy of sanctions, which until recently was a key issue for Nicosia....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/sweden-ends-covid-19-testing-as-pandemic-restrictions-lifted
Sweden has halted wide-scale testing for COVID-19 even among people showing symptoms of an infection, putting an end to the mobile city-square tent sites, ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-taking-the-first-steps-to-freedom-and-the-arguments-for-relaxation
The de-escalation of the health crisis brings further relaxation of measures in Europe. In Spain, from Thursday, citizens will be able to walk outdoors without masks. The measure was imposed in mid-December in order to reduce the risk of "Omicron"....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/us-urges-canada-to-use-federal-powers-to-end-bridge-blockade
The Biden administration urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government Thursday to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade by Canadians protesting the country’s COVID-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/no-to-relaxations-for-now-the-omicron-could-cause-serious-illness
Relaxations of measures against the further spread of Covid-19 will depend on the epidemiological picture, Dr. Petros Karayiannis told the Cyprus News Agency on Monday, pointing out that though there has been a stabilization in daily cases, the number now is at around 3,000....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/greek-cypriots-in-last-ditch-effort-to-save-ghost-town
The foreign minister of the Republic of Cyprus says a proposal to lift international embargos on Ercan airport in the north is “the only way to save Varosha” for Greek Cypriots, but it may be too little too late for the seasoned diplomat as Turkish Cypriots say the ghost town is now off the table...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/austria-passes-covid-vaccine-mandate
Austria has become the first country in the EU to make vaccinations against Covid-19 mandatory for all adults, but questions remain over whether it can sway those skeptical of taking the jab and how much the Alpine state’s government is willing to press those who won’t comply....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/new-uk-minister-for-europe-supports-bizonal-bicommunal-federation
Chris Heaton-Harris, the recently appointed Minister for Europe in the UK government, has reiterated London’s support for the UN-led process to advocate a solution in Cyprus “in line with UN parameters based on the model of a Bi-zonal, Bi-communal Federation with political equality.”...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/take-back-life-more-nations-ease-coronavirus-restrictions
Late-night partying at clubs. Elbow-to-elbow seating in movie theaters. Going without masks in public, especially in Europe and North America: Step by step, many countries are easing their COVID-19 restrictions amid hopes the omicron wave may have passed its peak....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cabinet-approves-small-changes-to-coronavirus-measures
The Council of Ministers today approved small changes to the covid measures in place, including lifting the prohibition of entry in food and drink establishments and theatres to unvaccinated minors between 12 and 17 years of age and extending the "test to stay" measure to the National Guard....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/relaxation-of-measures-but…with-rules
In the last few days, the debate over possible relaxations has been heating up, with the positions of both the Minister of Health and a group of epidemiologists setting the tone for the next decisions....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-a-‘reliable-security-partner-to-us
In anticipation of his meeting with US secretary of state Anthony Blinken on February 1st, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kassoulides spoke to the Associated Press bolstering Cyprus as a credible and reliable partner. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/fm-kasoulides-discusses-cyprus-problem-with-unsg-s-special-representative-stewart
Cyprus Foreign Affairs Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, met on Thursday morning with the UN Secretary General`s Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/security-council-expected-to-renew-unficyp-mandate
The UN Security Council is expected to approve a resolution on Thursday morning (New York time) that will renew the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for six months, until July 31st, 2022....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/germany-wants-to-attract-400-000-skilled-workers-from-abroad-each-year
Germany's new coalition government wants to attract 400,000 qualified workers from abroad each year to tackle both a demographic imbalance and labour shortages in key sectors that risk undermining the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/sajid-javid-s-axing-of-all-covid-restrictions-draws-warnings-from-nhs
The government has pledged to abolish almost every existing Covid restriction over the coming weeks in England and “get life completely back to normal”, a course popular with Conservative MPs but which immediately prompted stark warnings from health groups....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-to-lift-entry-restrictions-in-march
Tourism-reliant Cyprus will lift all entry requirements on March 1 for inbound travelers who have a valid vaccination certificate showing they received a booster shot, the country’s tourism minister said on Wednesday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/tsunami-from-tonga-volcano-eruption-leaves-trail-of-flood-damage
Tsunami waves caused by an undersea volcano have flooded the Pacific Island country of Tonga, where entire towns have been inundated with water and scientists warn the main island could be blanketed in volcanic ash....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/test-to-stay-at-schools-details-of-additional-measures
"The rapid deterioration of epidemiological data recorded in Cyprus in recent weeks due to the predominance of the Omicron variant leaves us no room for complacency....