House passes outright ban on plastic bags
Parliament on Thursday passed regulations banning outright the use of carrier plastic bags – such as those used in supermarkets and kiosks.
The regulations passed with 37 votes for, while the two ...
Merck sees 2022 sales up nearly 20%, mostly on new Covid pill
Merck & Co said on Thursday it expects its 2022 sales to increase as much as 18 percent over last year, mostly on sales of its new COVID-19 pill, molnupiravir.
The drugmaker ...
Amended infectious diseases bill ‘lacks checks and balances on the state’
Opposition lawmakers on Thursday expressed disappointment at the latest version of a bill governing the state’s handling of pandemics, saying it still failed to address concerns over curtailing human ...
Coronavirus: No deaths, 3,078 people test positive on Thursday (Updated)
Health authorities announced no fatalities from Covid-19 on Thursday, while testing detected 3,078 new positives.
The death toll since March 2020 remains at 736.
In hospitals, 222 people were being treated for Covid-19, of ...
Canada will not use troops to deal with truckers’ protest, Trudeau says
The Canadian government has no plans to send in troops to deal with a vaccine mandate protest by truckers that has brought traffic in central Ottawa to a halt, Prime ...
President urges ministries to speed up LNG project
President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday instructed government departments to do what they can to speed up the project for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
A meeting held at ...
Hadjidemetriou honoured by president for bicommunal work
The former Greek Cypriot head of the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage Takis Hadjidemetriou was awarded the Medal of Excellence for his years of dedicated service during a special ...
Beijing will deliver ‘safe and splendid’ Olympics, says Xi
The Beijing Olympics, which officially opens on Friday, will be streamlined, safe and splendid, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, as the head of the IOC decried boycott ghosts “...
Serbia president praises Djokovic’s ‘great fight’ in Australia
Serbia’s president on Thursday praised tennis star Novak Djokovic’s “great fight” over his bid to play at the Australia Open despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
An Australian ...
Coronavirus: Primary and nursery teachers to stage one-hour work stoppage Monday
Primary and nursery schoolteachers will stage a one-hour work stoppage on Monday to protest the way the pandemic is being handled at schools, teachers’ union Poed said on Thursday.
As ...
Yellow weather warning for storms
The met office expects intense storms and issued a yellow weather warning valid from 2pm Thursday to 5pm Friday.
Social media was awash with posts about heavy rain and hailstorms ...
Historic Dutch bridge to make way for superyacht built for Bezos
The city of Rotterdam has agreed to remove a section of historic bridge in the Netherlands to make way for a superyacht, reportedly built for Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
...
Turkey’s Erdogan slams Greece after migrants freeze to death near border
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday slammed Greece’s stance on migrants after more than a dozen people were found frozen to death this week just inside Turkey’s border.
...
US forces kill Islamic State leader in Syria, Biden says
US special forces have killed the leader of the jihadist group Islamic State in a raid in northwest Syria, President Joe Biden said on Thursday.
A senior U.S. administration ...
EU plans to extend Covid digital cert until June 2023
The European Commission is proposing to extend the EU Digital Covid Certificate by a year, until 30 June 2023, it said on Thursday.
The Commission said Covid-19 continued to be prevalent in ...
Bank of England hikes rates in clamour to contain spiralling inflation
The Bank of England raised interest rates to 0.5 per cent on Thursday and nearly half of its policymakers wanted a bigger increase to contain rampant price pressures, as the central ...
Jaguar Land Rover to feature new integrated voice control
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Jaguar Land Rover announced Amazon Alexa will be available on all new and existing vehicles fitted with its advanced Pivi Pro ...
Turkish central bank begins distributing 2021 profits to shareholders
Turkey’s central bank said on Thursday it had decided to pay advance dividends from its 2021 accounting period and distribute its reserve fund from 2020 profits to shareholders, including the Treasury.
...
Introduction of minimum wage at centre of palace meeting
The introduction of a national minimum wage was at the centre of a meeting between Peo trade union federation with President Nicos Anastasiades at the presidential palace on Thursday.
Cyprus ...
NATO: Russia to have 30,000 troops on drills in Belarus, north of Ukraine
NATO said Russia had stepped up deployments to Ukraine’s northern neighbour Belarus in recent days and was expected to have 30,000 troops there for joint military exercises this month.
The ...
Coronavirus: Friday’s free testing sites for eligible groups
A total of 35 free rapid testing sites for coronavirus for eligible groups will operate nationwide on Friday, the health ministry announced.
Free rapid testing for the general population has been ...
Restaurant review: Divinus, Larnaca
We all like to travel but in recent times haven’t really been able to. However, if you want a slice of Italy and an authentic Italian experience you’re ...
Taiwan battery maker ProLogium signs investment deal with Mercedes-Benz
Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium Technology Co on Thursday said it has signed a cooperation agreement with Daimler AG’s (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz to build test vehicles equipped with co-developed solid-state ...
Lebanon’s savers to bear burden under new rescue plan
Two years into an economic meltdown the World Bank says is one of the worst recorded, Lebanon’s rulers have proposed a way to plug a huge hole in the ...