https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/medical-association-calls-for-restriction-of-az-jab-to-under-65s
The scientific committee Cyprus Medical Association (CyMA), the professional organisation of doctors in Cyprus, called on the Health Ministry to re-evaluate its decision of allowing the AstraZeneca vaccine to be administered to the 65+ age groups, noting that there’s not enough scientific evidence to proving its effectiveness among these groups....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/erdogan-says-only-solution-on-cyprus-is-two-states
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that the only way to resolve decades of dispute over Cyprus was to establish two states on the island, and a federation favored by Athens would not be on the agenda of upcoming talks....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/illegal-refrigerant-seized-in-buffer-zone
Three dozen boxes of refrigerant gas were seized by authorities in the buffer zone on Tuesday, with police saying the illegal goods had been stashed away in a remote area near Potamia village...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-imposes-72h-quarantine-on-arrivals
The Cabinet on Wednesday agreed to impose a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period on all airport arrivals flying in from categories A and B, as well as a mandatory PCR test at the end of those three days....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-fires-up-engines-as-lockdown-eases
The Republic of Cyprus launched on Monday a gradual unlock of a three-week lockdown, citing signs of improvement with fewer hospitalizations and a major ramp up in the state’s rapid testing strategy...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/speed-limits-drop-for-city-centre-streets
Drivers on major roads in Cypriot cities may soon need to slow down further, if a new effort by the Road Safety Council takes hold reducing speed limits further from 50 down to just 30 kilometres per hour...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/greece-and-turkey-resume-exploratory-talks
Exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey are set to resume in Istanbul, with Ankara trying to gain an upper hand over the agenda and Athens appearing to have low expectations citing disagreement on both sides on what to discuss...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-limit-cars-in-troodos-square
Police say they will limit the number of vehicles allowed into or near Troodos Square, following reports of health protocol violations, in an effort to slow down the rapid spread of COVID-19...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-launches-online-social-insurance-payment-system
Cyprus’ new online system for the payment of social insurance contributions was presented on Thursday by Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou and Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Kyriakos Kokkinos....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/smoothening-the-cliff-edge-in-eu-uk-relations
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the United Kingdom and the European Union came into effect on January 1, 2021, capping a tumultuous four-and-a-half-year period since the shocking result of the July 2016 Brexit referendum, in which 51.9% of the British voters voted in favor of leaving the EU. Subject to the delayed assent of the European Parliament, this UK-EU free trade agreement (FTA) extends zero-tariff and quota-free trade in goods between the two economic areas....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/violent-brawl-breaks-out-at-pournara
A large-scale violent confrontation between groups of asylum seekers erupted at Pournara camp on Monday night, with police calling for backup and two dozen ending up in the Emergency Room...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-vaccine-appointments-booked-solid
Appointment slots for the vaccine were booked solid in Nicosia after midnight, with other districts quickly following suit as Cypriots rushed to the state’s vaccine portal to reserve their shot...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/travel-categories-of-sms-system-that-returns-sunday
The SMS system that Cyprus was happy to be rid of in late spring last year will be returning on Sunday as the island grapples with the rampant spread of coronavirus that has left the healthcare system increasingly burdened....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/sms-system-returns-as-cyprus-enters-three-week-lockdown
Cyprus Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou announced the new restrictions agreed upon by the Cabinet on Friday, which include a clampdown on unnecessary movements, and social and professional gatherings....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/pfizer-suggests-vaccine-can-beat-mutations
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appeared to work against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in the UK and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the US drugmaker...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/churchgoers-verger-booked-after-jam-packed-epiphany-service
Police have booked nine churchgoers and the verger of the church who openly defied government coronavirus restrictions on Wednesday during the Epiphany service held by the controversial Morphou Bishop Neophytos, who has since the outbreak of the pandemic caused headaches to authorities by outspokenly refusing to comply with government restrictions....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/police-criticized-over-botched-twitter-raid
Police continue to be criticized over a home raid on the weekend when officers confiscated a woman’s computer and phone after Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis complained about a parody account on Twitter, with the woman's lawyer accusing police of fishing for evidence at the wrong house...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cabinet-narrowly-waters-down-measures
The President’s Cabinet has decided to extend measures throughout the winter holidays with only slight deviations on special days, noting recent developments did not allow a further lift of restrictions aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/dbrs-warns-against-protracted-process-in-approving-bugdet
Global credit rating agency DBRS Morning Star said it is monitoring the situation in Cyprus following the rejection of the 2021 state budget by lawmakers on Thursday, warning that a protracted process to approve the budget could affect economic sentiment and could eventually weigh on economic activity....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/blame-game-in-full-swing-after-budget-vote
The government in the Republic of Cyprus faced an unprecedented challenge on Thursday, after failing to pass a 2021 budget in the House, with lawmakers approving stopgap measures to keep making payments for the next couple of months...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-president-absolutely-satisfied-with-ec-conclusions
President Nicos Anastasiades expressed absolute satisfaction with the Conclusions of the European Council regarding Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-leaders-pull-turkey-punch-at-last-minute
European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to prepare limited sanctions on Turkish individuals over an energy exploration dispute with Greece and Cyprus, postponing any harsher steps until March as countries sparred over how to handle Ankara...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/bishop-vows-to-keep-churches-open
The Bishop of Morphou says he will keep churches in his diocese open to the public, contrary to the latest government measures, with the Metropolitan adding he is ready to face trial in a court of law...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-brings-back-tough-measures
The Cypriot government on Wednesday announced additional measures to combat the spread of coronavirus, as Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said extending current measures through New Year’s Eve was necessary due to a worsening situation...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/past-week-was-the-worst-epidemiologically-since-outbreak
Health minister Constantinos Ioannou was the bearer of unpleasant news on Tuesday, announcing that the current epidemiological situation doesn’t appear to leave room for the planned relaxation of measures from December 14....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/golden-passport-findings-hard-to-come-by
The president of the Cyprus Bar Association says he has received adequate information from the audit office in connection with golden passports, adding that other agencies and officials have refused to share their findings citing direct orders from the interior minister...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/another-road-death-more-incidents-over-weekend
A pedestrian was killed in a traffic accident on Sunday marking the second road fatality over the weekend, while two others were arrested in separate road incidents in Paphos and Limassol...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/off-duty-cop-arrests-woman-going-wrong-way
A woman cited for traffic civil infractions may end up being charged with a lot more offences, after an off duty police officer in Limassol said he avoided a collision with her car that was going the wrong way on the highway...