Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides warned MPs that any tampering with a European Union directive to reduce the size of homes entitled to lower 5% VAT could invoke sanctions. Addressing MPs concerns over the implications on the economy, the Finance Minister said the directive could see the EU withdraw funding provided to Cyprus through the Recovery
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Cyprus has an outsized problem with irregular migration that Turkey deliberately stokes, said Interior Minister Nicos Nouris. “For us, this is a state of emergency,” Nouris told AFP, adding that 4.6% of the country’s population are asylum seekers or beneficiaries of protection, the highest ratio in the EU. The Greek Cypriot minister accused Turkey, whose
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Plans to establish a national anti-corruption agency to conduct real-time audits on politicians and their asset declarations will be voted on by MPs on Thursday. The move comes just weeks after MPs approved legislation protecting people who blow the whistle on corruption. The new law creates a five-member committee tasked with monitoring state officials assets,
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Another endemic reptile species has been added to the island’s biodiversity, the University of Cyprus (UCy) announced Monday. According to the UCy, the lizard known as ‘kοurkoutas’ corresponds to a distinct species (Laudakia cypriaca), found only in Cyprus. It now belongs to the country’s important biodiversity with the Cypriot snake (Hierophis cypriensis) and the Troodos
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Recent travel relaxations in the EU have local authorities hopeful that along with an uptick in tourist arrivals, couples from abroad will again head for the island of love to tie the knot. Cyprus coastal municipalities are already reporting a boost in civil wedding bookings, rekindling hopes the industry will recover in 2022. In comments
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UK House of Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, begins a landmark three-day official visit to Cyprus on Monday at the invitation of his Cypriot counterpart. “It is the first official visit by a Speaker of the House of Commons to Cyprus. It marks a milestone for the parliamentary relations between the two countries,” a Parliament
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Alpha Bank Group has reached an agreement with an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management L.P. to sell a portfolio of Cypriot non-performing loans and real estate properties of a total gross book value of €2.4 bln. The Portfolio will be sold by the group’s 100% (indirect) subsidiary, Alpha International Holdings S.M.S.A to the U.S. equity
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Bitcoin’s returns are higher than traditional investment vehicles, despite suffering significant volatility so far this year, with the digital asset’s dominance over equities continued, beating the performance of leading tech stocks. Data presented by financial analysis site Finbold reveals that as of February 13, the cryptocurrency had outperformed the top six tech stocks by an
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Cyprus reported no coronavirus deaths on Sunday, the first time in ten days, with new cases continuing on their downward path and dropping by 73 to 2,047, while hospitalisations inched up to 182, of whom 41 were critical, up from 37. The Health Ministry said in its Covid bulletin that the February death toll remained
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Cyprus and Saudi Arabia plan to pick up the pace in their bilateral ties, especially in regional geopolitical as well as relations with the EU, with the foreign ministers of the two countries setting a cooperation framework within the Kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 plan. Host Ioannis Kasoulides, welcoming on Sunday the first official foreign delegation
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