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31. State scrambles to close isolation loophole

Officials in Cyprus are worried about another Safe Pass loophole that could potentially leave infected persons under isolation orders undetected in restricted areas unless the program gets a critical update...

32. Minister furious with infected travelers flying home

The Cypriot health minister lashed out at infected travelers who had symptoms but still chose to fly back home for the holidays, saying the “unacceptable behavior” prompted the government to require mandatory PCR tests for vaccinated passengers starting next week...

33. Safe Pass violators jailed until trial next week

Two young men arrested in connection with Safe Pass violations will remain locked up during Christmas after a judge in Limassol ordered both holder and user of the same vaccination document behind bars until trial...

34. Safe pass arrest sheds light on giant loophole

A man at a local store in Limassol was arrested on Wednesday after police officers who asked to inspect his Safe Pass determined the document did not match his ID card, but not everyone is on the same page regarding secondary inspections at the door...

35. Omicron loopholes throw Cyprus into chaos

Officials in the Republic of Cyprus were in the hot seat after vaccinated students on Friday tested positive for the Omicron variant following a trip abroad, with questions left unanswered as to how the specific situation was handled by authorities...

36. Cyprus frets ‘pandoramonium’ overshadowing good work

The Cypriot finance ministry says a European Parliament resolution on Pandora Papers and subsequent criticism by local opposition is overshadowing the amount of good work that has been done on the island against illegal activities, as some parties are calling on the president to step down...

37. Social media enabling destruction of democracy

“It’s the enabler of the destruction of democracy. It’s the enabler of the destruction of the facts,” says the Filipino Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa...

38. MEPs want Pandora audit for Anastasiades

A name-and-shame resolution approved by the European Parliament on Thursday pointed to Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and other leaders mentioned in the Pandora Papers, with calls on member states to carry out thorough investigations of alleged wrongdoing as well as close loopholes on offshore dealings...

39. The City of London Is Hiding the World’s Stolen Money

In 1969, two years after the Cayman Islands, a British territory, passed its first law to allow secretive offshore trusts, an official government report struck an ominous note....

40. Cyprus wants clean slate in naturalizations

The government in the Republic of Cyprus has laid out a new blueprint for naturalizations of foreign investors and skilled immigrants, pointing to a departure from the country’s disgraced golden passport scheme while respecting the EU position on citizenship criteria...

41. Nicosia reacts to new Al Jazeera video

Nicosia has refuted allegations concerning a Cypriot minister and his trips to London, in reaction to an Al Jazeera secret investigation into how convicted criminals could take on new identities and launder money through ownership of English football clubs by deceiving authorities...

42. Cyprus tries to patch up worsening conditions

The Cabinet will have a lot on its plate during a meeting rescheduled for Friday amid deteriorating epidemiological conditions in Cyprus, with a number of loopholes in the government’s fight against the pandemic popping up one after the other...

43. Anastasiades feels vindicated by passport probe

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades says a final report on the island’s disgraced golden passport scheme has alleged no deceit on his part, with the commander in chief apologizing for mistakes made under his administration which he attributed to lack of regulations and oversight over the years...

44. Stars in Al Jazeera video face committee

45. Self isolation travelers find SMS loophole

Travelers to Cyprus including university students visiting home may be cheating the system, a local network reports, saying a loophole in the SMS system is being exploited by some people who ought to self-isolate for at least three days after landing on the island...

46. Lawyer says Al Jazeera took him out of context

Cypriot attorney Andreas Pittadjis, who was targeted in an Al Jazeera undercover investigation into allegations of corruption over golden passports, took to social media to reiterate his position he did nothing illegal, accusing the foreign network of being dishonest...

47. Commission warns Cyprus over lacking anti-money laundering legislation

The European Commission on Friday sent a reasoned opinion to Cyprus for failing to transpose the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) into national law....

48. Game plan to circumvent passport rules

Meme culture enthusiasts in Cyprus upped their game this week following a passport scandal reported by Al Jazeera, with catchphrases such as “this is Cyprus” and name dodging tricks seen in a secret video prompting media to spot five ways a lawyer could circumvent the system in the golden passport scheme...

49. MOKAS refutes lawyer claim in passport scandal

The Republic of Cyprus’ Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) has weighed in on the passport scandal following Al Jazeera’s earth-shuttering investigative report on corruption in the island’s Citizenship by Investment programme...

50. Probe launched against Al Jazeera operation

The state attorney ordered a probe following a complaint filed by high-profile Cypriot officials targeted by an Al Jazeera secret investigation on corruption, with members of the public outraged as more shocking revelations emerged in a new Cyprus Papers video...

51. Cyprus to strip seven of citizenship granted through investment scheme

The Republic of Cyprus has begun the process of stripping seven people of Cypriot citizenship granted through the Cyprus Investment Program after a special committee found them in violation of current stricter criteria, President Nicos Anastasiades said in an interview with AFP on Friday. ...

52. Cyprus and Russia come to terms

It will no longer be possible for wealthy Russians to distribute profit via dividends to foreign firms in Cyprus, after Nicosia said it agreed with Moscow on terms to amend a double tax treaty, but some say the island still kept some competitive advantages...

53. Expert calls for tests on all arriving passengers

A local expert on the government’s public health task force says she is worried over coronavirus cases among arriving passengers who are not being detected as they land in the Republic of Cyprus...

54. EU vessels will no longer have automatic access to UK fishing waters

The automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters, in accordance with the EU’s common fisheries policy, is to be ended under the fisheries bill introduced to parliament on Wednesday....

55. Medical cannabis law back to the drawing board

The period for public discussion on a state-sponsored medical cannabis amendment has expired, with the House getting ready for a new debate on which doctors and how much they could prescribe to their patients...

56. Officials spot loopholes in medical cannabis law

A number of provisions in the medical marijuana legislation were taken out prior to a vote, prompting officials to call for amendments to block doctors from prescribing cannabis without any limits...

57. North and south exchange murder suspects

An exchange of murder suspects took place between north and south on Thursday, with officials on both sides of divided Cyprus sending a clear message against impunity for crimes...

58. Agia Fyla co-op scandal ends with acquittals

Four defendants in the Agia Fyla credit union scandal have been acquitted on all charges, with criminal judges citing failure on the part of the police to prosecute the case...

59. Minister tries to close loophole on hunting dogs

The government is scrambling to amend recent legislation to require hunters to obtain specific permits for their dogs on the condition they have a microchip...

60. European Parliament report accuses seven countries, including Cyprus, of acting as tax havens

The European Parliament urged EU member states on Tuesday to curb money-laundering in the bloc by ending programs to sell visas and passports, a step the multi-billion-dollar industry said would cause economic damage....