Cyprus Beat

In today's episode, the finance ministry confirmed that it may reduce VAT on key goods, with reports indicating these may be slashed on items such as bread, milk and baby food.

The finance ministry confirmed news that these discussions were under way with the commerce ministry, but that even if agreed between the two parties they would need EU approval to confirm the rate cuts, as VAT is regulated by Europe.

Elsewhere, police in Cyprus have lost trace of an Israeli professor who was arrested on February 16 at Larnaca airport on suspicion of arms trafficking to Libya and China between 2015 and 2023.

Meanwhile, the government announced that a national sanctions implementation unit will be set up in Cyprus, which will cooperate with the respective department in the UK.

All this and more in the Cyprus Beat briefing brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today’s episode, the Cyprus government on Tuesday stressed it was ready to explore whether there were grounds to begin criminal proceedings against sanctioned Cypriots who have been named by the US and UK for knowingly assisting Russian oligarchs to hide their assets.  In other news, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have become more estranged since the “spectacular collapse” of talks in 2017, according to the latest Crisis Group report on Cyprus – which argues that small, but meaningful, steps can be taken to lay the groundwork for future developments. And the north launched a new airline on Tuesday as Fly Kibris’ maiden flight saw an Airbus A320 travel from Tymbou to Istanbul, with flights scheduled later for Iran, Kosovo, Azerbaijan and other destinations.

All these stories and more in your Daily News Briefing, brought to you by the Cyprus Mail. For more news direct from Cyprus, visit www.cyprus-mail.com 

In today’s episode, both tourism and the property market in Cyprus are being damaged by outdated and unworkable laws governing swimming pools, which have seen many complexes closing theirs over the last few years.The problem is that Cyprus recognises communal pools found at private complexes as public ones and therefore applies stringent law geared towards public facilities.

Elsewhere, the Bank of Cyprus has become the first bank in Cyprus and Greece to receive approval from the European Central Bank (ECB) to pay dividends. The lender is expected to resume paying dividends to its shareholders after 12 years.

It also came to light that Cyprus had the highest ratio across EU member states of Ukrainian citizens granted temporary protection for February 2023.

All these and more in your Daily News Briefing, brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today’s episode, President Nikos Christodoulides hastily convened a meeting at the palace on Thursday evening to discuss US and UK sanctions that have led to a punishing blow to Cypriot individuals and companies deemed ‘financial fixers’ for Russian oligarchs. The government has called the matter “especially serious” as local banks also moved to immediately freeze the accounts of the individuals in order to uphold their own credibility, a number of sources confirmed to the Cyprus Mail.

Elsewhere, hundreds of needy Cypriot families are receiving support from volunteers or local communities to put food on their table this Easter but demand is up while donations are down at least in Nicosia as inflation continues to bite across the board.  

In other news, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou on Thursday floated the idea of importing natural gas quantities from reservoirs in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, to be used for power generation, coupled with exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) via a small terminal on the island.

All these and more in your Daily News Briefing, brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today’s episode, the UK government imposed sanctions on two alleged Cypriot “financial fixers” for “knowingly assisting” sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.

Elsewhere, doctors at a private medical centre in Limassol have asked to be given time to relocate, following a majority decision by shareholders to be inducted into the national health system.

There’s also the development that Cyprus police rejected a request from the Greek football authority to host the cup final on the island, a few days after Greece’s media reported it was a done deal, while authorities in Nicosia said they had never even received a request.

All these and more in your Daily News Briefing, brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today's episode, eighty per cent of the state’s services have been restored, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Wednesday, following the leak on Monday afternoon in the basement of the Ministry of Finance that caused them to be taken offline. In other news, footage of clashes between unaccompanied minors at a Paphos accommodation centre has prompted the city’s mayor to warn that the state is responsible “should the worst happen." And two white rhinoceros that were moved from another zoo located in South Africa are the newest additions to the animals at Paphos zoo, and are settling into their new enclosure.
All these stories and more in your Daily News Briefing, brought to you by the Cyprus Mail. For more news updates, visit www.cyprus-mail.com

In today’s episode, deputy shipping minister called the addition of the Larnaca port to the Cyprus-Greece ferry link “a success for the country and for its economy.” She said the new programme for this summer registered a huge demand.

Elsewhere, smart cameras have been installed in “sensitive” areas, such as parks and squares, with more on the way – pending a green light from the personal data commissioner.

Meanwhile, President Nikos Christodoulides said the upcoming establishment of the National Security Council in Cyprus was long overdue. Christodoulides said that “Geopolitical changes and the constant redistribution of power in the region mandates the operation of such a mechanism”.

All this and more in the Cyprus Beat briefing brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today's episode, a man has come forward after police said they were seeking information following the hospitalisation of a 31-year-old woman in critical condition following in a traffic accident in the early hours on Sunday.

Elsewhere, the broader services sector in Cyprus recorded an increase of 6.6 per cent year-on-year in 2022, with accommodation and food services, information and communication and transport and storage recording the most significant increas

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in the north on April 18, where he is set to officially open the new passenger terminal at Tymbou airport.

All this and more in the Cyprus Beat briefing brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today’s episode, the House passed a law making some 1,000 former bank employees eligible for unemployment benefits, in what some commentators earlier called a scandalous arrangement.

Elsewhere, civil servants can start and finish work half an hour earlier after the plenum approved amendments to their working hours to alleviate traffic issues.

There’s also comments by Finance Minister Makis Keravnos who stated that there are no concerns over an increase in bad loans for Cyprus’ banks.

All these and more in your Daily News Briefing, brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.

In today's episode, President Nikos Christodoulides arrived in Egypt for a two-day visit on Wednesday afternoon where he discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Elsewhere,Ombudswoman Maria Stylianou-Lottides said the auditor general had mounted a sexist attack against her for six years.

“Today was the pinnacle of a sexist behaviour ongoing for six years. It was behaviour that saw me as simply the wife of a husband and not a woman with her own personality,” she said.

Meanwhile, vets have appealed to the health ministry for hospital-grade vaccines for cats amid an upsurge of the fatal disease caused by feline coronavirus.

All this and more in the Cyprus Beat briefing brought to you by the Cyprus Mail.