Cypriot coast guard forces summarily pushed back, abandoned, expelled or returned more than 200 migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers coming from Lebanon during the first week of September 2020 without giving them the opportunity to lodge asylum claims, a Human Rights Watch report released on Wednesday said. People involved reported...
On the eve of a crucial EU summit both Turkey and Cyprus on Wednesday made competing claims for support. The Special European Council is due to tackle the issues of European sanctions on Turkey called for by Cyprus and those on Belarus, which the island is alone in not backing....
If churches were assessed by their risk factor, Abuna Yemata Guh would be our new Sistine Chapel. Perched 650 feet above a steep cliff in Northern Ethiopia, visitors face a 45-minute climb up the cliff’s vertical face in order to access the precariously positioned church. Dating back to the 5th...
A march in support of Armenia, amid the ongoing active conflict with Azerbaijan, was held in Nicosia on Wednesday, in front of the American, Russian and French embassies. Fierce fighting broke out on Sunday between Armenian and Azeri forces over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic...
It’s time for another concert by the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra: Music for Theatre will be staged in Paphos and Nicosia, three classical compositions led by Wolfgang Schroeder. Contemporary British composer John Woolrich made a magnificent version of selected Domenico Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas, to open the programme. As the composer himself...
Perched atop a mountain peak in central Bulgaria, a giant UFO-like concrete monument, built to glorify the Balkan country’s communist rule, has been left to crumble since the totalitarian regime collapsed in 1989. Some 30 years later, a team of restorers from five European universities is working against time and weather...
Twelve new coronavirus cases were confirmed by the health ministry on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,755. The new cases were identified as a result of 3,147 tests. One positive test came from private initiative, seven from contact tracing, three from the Larnaca programme to test 3,000 people and one...
Cyprus will mark the 60th anniversary of its independence on Thursday with a military parade although festivities will be kept to the minimum due to the social distancing measures in place. In the absence of President Nicos Anastasiades, who will be in Brussels for the EU leaders’ meeting taking place...
A French fighter jet broke the sound barrier on Wednesday as it scrambled to join a commercial jet that had lost contact with air traffic control, causing a sonic boom that reverberated through Paris and its suburbs, the defence ministry said. The boom rattled windows, scattered startled birds, briefly interrupted tennis at the French Open...
Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Wednesday called for an end to trials by media over problems in Gesy, arguing the system is not to blame for the unacceptable behaviour of some people. Recent complaints will be investigated, the minister said, also calling for patience and cooperation to iron out system...
As Turkey and Greece prepare for talks to calm a bitter maritime dispute, Ankara released a video this week glorifying a 16th century naval victory which led to the Ottoman Empire taking control of the Mediterranean. The video, shared on Twitter by the presidential communications department and viewed nearly half a million...
Timothy Ray Brown, the first person known to be cured of HIV when he had a unique type of bone marrow transplant, has died in California after relapsing with cancer, his partner said. “It is with great sadness that I announce that Timothy passed away … this afternoon surrounded by myself and...
Greece and Cyprus have made the EU their hostage, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, adding that Cyprus was threatening to veto sanctions on Belarus if there are none imposed on Turkey. In an interview with Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, Cavusoglu, speaking ahead of a crucial EU Council...
Protests erupted in several parts of India on Wednesday following the late night cremation of a gang rape victim, that was carried out against the wishes of her family. The 19-year-old victim from the Dalit community – the lowest rung of India‘s ancient caste system – was attacked and raped on Sept. 14 in a field...
The Cyprus Sports Ethics Committee has received word from Uefa that two games from the Cypriot first division are suspected of having been manipulated or otherwise influenced as the abnormal or heightened gambling activity around them indicates the possibility of match-fixing. The Cyprus Sports Ethics Committee has released a relevant...
The EU’s first-ever report cards for member states, the Rule of Law Reports, issued on Wednesday, honed in on justice reforms in Cyprus, saying the system was experiencing serious efficiency challenges and a nearly complete lack of digitalisation but overall the island appeared to receive a decent ‘pass mark’. The...
Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha González Laya on Wednesday expressed Madrid’s solidarity and support for Cyprus in the face of tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean and said Spain rejected unilateral moves. A long lasting solution could only be found through dialogue, she said, following a meeting with her...
The Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) on Wednesday said it would fine Gesy health providers that offer services to beneficiaries for the issuance of health cards for athletes, security guards, or for private insurance contracts. The organisation, which runs Gesy, said it wished to remind both healthcare providers and beneficiaries that...
A bill to make rape punishable with life imprisonment will be tabled at the House plenum on October 9, the house legal affairs committee decided on Wednesday. Discussions began in June to modernise the definition of rape, which has not been changed for the past 60 years. The bill was...
By Richard Dickenson It appears that my grandchildren and friends are applying for citizenship of Greater Thunbergia (GT). GT was founded by a sour-faced, pallid young autistic with attitude. Whether or not the whole thing was a good idea to start with, regrettably GT has since been taken over by...
In the present-day world, people are always in a hurry. There is always so much to do. The situation is even more complicated for students who need to balance education, spending time with friends, and sometimes part-time jobs. How to handle everything successfully and not have a nervous breakdown. Time management is the solution. Probably,...
Serena Williams withdrew from the French Open with an Achilles tendon injury on Wednesday shortly before she was supposed to face Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round on Wednesday. The 39-year-old American, a three-time former champion at Roland Garros, was striving to claim a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title. “Struggling...
The foreign ministers of Greece and Spain, Nikos Dendias and Arancha González Laya, are both paying working visits to Cyprus on Wednesday during which they will hold separate talks with their Cypriot counterpart Nicos Christodoulides. At 9am, the Spanish minister was received by President Nicos Anastasiades. The meeting with Nicos...
Progress thrives with free speech and tolerance, even of intolerance By Michael J Harakis WHEN asked about her position in relation to the now infamous paintings of Mr Gavriel which include various depictions of Christ, George Grivas being peed on, and others of the Archbishop, the justice minister said, “in...
