Cyprus’ economic sentiment improved in August from July, reflecting stronger activity in services but uncertainty remains, fuelled by the Covid pandemic.

Coronavirus pandemic or not, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CSEC) last year imposed administrative fines exceeding €3 million, Philenews reported on Friday.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) on Thursday named Cyprus Space Exploration Organisation (CSEO) chair George Danos as one of 11 new honorary members selected for their contributions to astronomical research in their country.

Six Cypriot SMEs were selected to participate in another five projects of the European Commission’s European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) for 2020, in what the defence ministry hailed as a significant success for local R&D in the sector.

Cyprus jointly ranked top amongst EU countries for the share of population who streamed TV or videos in 2020.

The number of registered unemployed in the second quarter of 2021 was 39,224 taking the jobless rate to 8.4% (men 7.5%, women 9.5%) from 30,451 (6.8%) in the same quarter last year.

Post-pandemic Cypriots have gained an appetite for gambling, as they have spent over €137 million on slot machines at Cyprus Casinos in just six weeks, according to Q2 data released by operators Melco.

The stolen Royal iconostasis doors of Ayios Anastasios church in the Turkish-occupied Peristeronopigi village of Famagusta have been repatriated from Japan after a complex legal struggle.

The Central Bank of Cyprus published data showing the evolution of aggregate non-performing loans for all credit institutions, with NPLs standing at €5.134 billion in May from €5.141 million the month before.

Unlike the technical university in Limassol, the University of Cyprus has stopped short of taking the bold decision to only allow vaccinated and recovered students on campus for the new semester.