https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/director-wants-passport-probe-clear-his-name
A civil servant, whose name was dropped by the former House speaker during a secret video recording by Al Jazeera, says he did not get involved with golden passports during his tenure as director of the interior ministry, vowing to take legal action if an investigative committee failed to clear his name...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/trained-cops-but-no-animal-police-in-cyprus
A new law in Cyprus will provide for up to ten police officers to be trained on handling animal cases, with critics accusing the government of failing to deliver on its promise to create a proper animal police...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eastmed-pipeline-could-be-ready-in-five-years
The EastMed pipeline could be in place in five years, Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources, Yuval Steinitz, has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), describing it as an extremely important project....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/borrell-cyprob-solution-must-come-from-cypriots-themselves
"The European Union fully supports the resumption of a settlement process under UN auspices, as soon as possible," and stands ready to provide whatever assistance both parties and the UN would find most useful, the EU’s Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/former-ag-says-he-cautioned-over-golden-passports
The state’s former attorney general says his department had cautioned the government years ago that the country’s golden passport scheme might have been incompatible with European law, essentially contradicting the executive branch's position that nobody had said anything...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/nikos-kotzias-in-kathimerini-foreign-policy-and-exploratory-talks
Greece’s exploratory talks with Turkey are not a dialogue for the sake of dialogue. They are a structured debate in which both sides invest for a series of achievements. Greece’s target, as far as exploratory talks are concerned, has always been:...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/policy-priorities-unaffected-by-pandemic-finmin-says
Despite the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic Cyprus’ economic policies remain the same, targeting macroeconomic and financial stability, prudent fiscal policies, and establishing a competitive, business-friendly regulatory environment of high standards, Minister of Finance Constantinos Petrides said on Thursday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-energy-designs-unaffected-by-turkey-s-provations-president-says
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said Tuesday that that the Republic, as a sovereign and independent state and despite Turkey’s provocations, threats and illegal activities, is determined to go ahead with the implementation of its energy policy....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-leaders-weigh-sanctions-over-turkey-s-med-drilling-work
Concerned that their credibility is at stake, European Union leaders are set Thursday to give the green light to the expansion of sanctions against Turkey over its exploration of gas reserves in Mediterranean waters claimed by EU members Greece and Cyprus....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/finmin-confirms-cyprus-won-t-reinstate-‘golden-passports-scheme
Finance minister Constantinos Petrides assured that the government will not be reinstating the Cyprus Investment Program (CIP), that was shut down after the shocking corruption revelations that emerged through an Al Jazeera investigation and the subsequent stark criticism by the European Commission. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/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...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/support-schemes-averted-drastic-rise-in-unemployment
The package launched by the government to support employees and businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic has averted a drastic rise in unemployment, labour minister Zeta Emilianidou said Thursday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-drilling-programme-to-resume-in-mid-2021
The Cyprus hydrocarbon exploration programme will resume in the second half of 2021, energy minister Natasa Pilides said Tuesday, noting however that the pandemic has rendered drilling projects “increasingly complex.”...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/bar-set-low-as-brussels-un-in-low-spirits-for-cyprob-involvement
Foreign players ranging from Brussels and Berlin to New York have lowered their expectations and show a reduced eagerness to actively get involved in efforts to reach a solution to the Cyprus Problem....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/president-defends-block-on-audit-office
President Nicos Anastasiades invoked the Constitution during a televised interview, saying the job description of the auditor general, who is currently seeking information on foreign nationals linked to a casino project, does not authorize him to 'have a say in everything'...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/golden-passports-pushed-forward-in-commission-agenda
After the Al Jazeera revelations, the Cyprus Investment Program is being pushed into the European Commission’s discussion agenda....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-fms-call-for-reversal-of-varosha-opening
The 27 EU foreign ministers called on Monday for a reversal of the opening of Varosha, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, after chairing a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council earlier in Luxembourg....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/un-tells-turkey-to-back-off-from-varosha
The Security Council has called on Turkey to reverse course of action regarding Varosha in accordance to UN resolutions, with Ankara denying any violations and saying the statement 'does not reflect the reality'...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/nicosia-wants-teeth-in-unsc-varosha-response
The UN Security Council on Friday will hold deliberations on Varosha after the Republic of Cyprus has urged members to call on Ankara to undo steps it has taken over the divided island’s fenced-off ghost town...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/greece-denies-training-armenian-militia
Greece has recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan after what it said were “unfounded and offensive” claims by the Azeri government that Greece tolerated militants on its soil...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/greek-fm-in-cyprus-ahead-of-brussels-summit
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is visiting Nicosia on Wednesday for talks with his Cypriot counterpart ahead of a crucial Special European Council meeting later this week...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/ep-adopts-resolution-condemning-turkey-s-eastmed-activities
With 601 votes in favour, 57 against and 36 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution condemning Turkey’s activities in the EEZ of Greece and Cyprus, ahead of next week’s extraordinary European Council summit that will focus on the heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/eu-calls-on-cyprus-to-manage-migration-flows-in-line-with-eu-law
The EU said Tuesday that it acknowledges the difficulties faced by the Republic of Cyprus in terms of the flow of refugees it is called to deal with, but stressed that basic principles and EU legislation must be respected....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/un-closely-monitoring-varosha-developments-unsg-tells-president
The UN is closely monitoring developments with fence-off city of Varosha in the north and is committed to help all parties resume negotiations with the aim of reuniting Cyprus, a letter sent by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/turkey-says-it-wants-to-resolve-dispute-with-greece-through-dialogue
Turkey’s Energy Minister Fatih Donmez tweeted Wednesday that Turkey plans to lay two cables, totaling 1,750 km in length, for seismic research for energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea by August 23....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/dendias-to-meet-pompeo-in-vienna
Athens says it will not accept a fait accompli in the Eastern Mediterranean, with reports saying Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is set to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vien on Friday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/turkey-reacts-to-us-plan-for-military-education-training-for-cyprus
Turkey expressed its disagreement over a US government plan to make International Military Education and Training (IMET) available to Cyprus, saying it does not help resolve the island’s division....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/moody-s-payment-holidays-shield-cyprus-banks-in-2020-but-deterioration-likely-in-2021
Around one third of Cyprus banks’ gross loans were deferred as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Moody’s rating agency said Monday, noting that while the payment holiday may shield local banks in 2020, asset quality deterioration is “still very likely next year.”...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/anastasiades-patriotic-realism-dictates-solution-through-diplomacy-not-weapons
Instead of a catastrophic scenario, we opt for diplomacy, the weapons of international law and Cyprus’ status as an EU member state. This is what is dictated by patriotic realism and rationalism, and not a rhetoric of empty slogans. The coming days are crucial as regards initiatives taken by the EU and the US in view of preventing a potential crisis through targeted measures towards Turkey....
