Cyprus Beat

In today’s episode, face masks will become mandatory as of tomorrow, following a decision on Wednesday by the cabinet. It was also reiterated that the fine for violating the mask mandate is €300. In other news, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar to encourage more direct contact and cooperation between the two communities, expressing his concern about the likelihood that the already difficult climate between the parties could worsen, and a murder investigation has become a double murder investigation after a 73-year-old woman died on Wednesday a month after she was seriously burned in a house arson in the village of Pyrgos in Limassol.

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

In today’s episode, we hear that stakeholders failed to agree on a national minimum wage during a meeting with the president.

Elsewhere, the attorney-general announced that he will appeal the 12-month sentence imposed on the British tourist found guilty of the fatal Ayia Napa crash which killed a Swedish mother.

There’s also the finance minister’s warning of even higher fuel and electricity prices - mainly due to the EU’s push to transition towards green energy.

And don’t miss our feathered friend: the African Desert Warbler, whose first confirmed sighting in Cyprus was captured in Akrotiri.

Finally, a protest demanding improved abortion laws is set to take place on Friday outside the US embassy.

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

In today's episode, a travel company executive in Cyprus said he expected the airport and airline chaos gripping Europe to subside in the coming weeks as thousands of flights have already been cancelled and more people were finally rejoining the workforce.

In today's episode, the percentage of flights to and from Cyprus affected by Europe's travel chaos is much smaller than in other countries, deputy minister for tourism Savvas Perdios said while still urging people to travel outside July and August.

In today’s episode, the state health services organisation (OKYPY) on Thursday suggested that the June 2024 target for public hospitals to attain financial autonomy may have to be pushed back, but critics countered that OKYPY’s failure to balance its budget was due to waste and mismanagement. In other news, the Defence Ministry has pledged that if anyone were found responsible for the National Guard accident that led to the fatal injury of a 27-year-old commando, they would be held accountable, and Larnaca hoteliers are ‘relatively satisfied’ with occupancy rates in June, especially in view of the loss of tourists from two of their main markets, Russia and Ukraine, the Larnaca Tourism Board has said, citing the results of a survey.

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

In today's episode, around 80 percent of businesses in Cyprus used social media in 2021 to get their message across, a steep rise on 2015 when the figure was just under 60 per cent.

In today's episode, face masks will become compulsory in pharmacies and laboratories as of tomorrow, less than a month after their use became optional, the health ministry has announced. In other news, Cyprus is at the forefront of a shifting pattern of illegal border crossings on the Eastern Mediterranean route, an EU agency for Asylum report said on Tuesday, and the Paphos criminal court on Tuesday handed six-year concurrent sentences to a 23-year-old man over the rape and sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl from the United Kingdom. 

In today’s episode, we hear that Diko has backed presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides.

Elsewhere, the interior minister has called on both sides in the Akamas debate to acknowledge that the truth of the matter likely lies somewhere in the middle.

There’s also the president’s call for Cyprus to emerge as a regional firefighting hub, while on social media a filthy intercity bus went viral, and a small earthquake was recorded over the weekend.

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

In today's episode, centre-right Diko's central committee unanimously decided to support the candidacy of former foreign minister and independent, Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday.

In today’s episode, flare-ups in at least two locations late on Thursday night dashed hopes that a massive fire raging since Tuesday in the north’s Kantaras area was being brought under control. In other news, DIKO's executive bureau has decided to propose to the central committee that the party back independent presidential candidate Nikos Christodoulides in the February elections, and the House of Representatives has passed legislation that allows the police to hire 300 special constables who will be deployed to help stem migrant flows.

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