Day: August 2, 2022

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Pure new credit climbs by an annual 26% to €1.72 billion in the first half of 2022

Pure new credit granted by the Cypriot banking institutions in June rose to €343.6 million marking an increase of 32% compared with the previous month, data published on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) show.

According to the CBC, pure new credit granted in the period of January – June 2022 amounted to 1.72 billion marking an increase of 26% compared with the respective period of last year.

The monthly rise of pure new credit in June is attributed to loans over €1 million which amounted to €187.5 million (the highest level in 2022 so far) compared with €93.5 million in the previous month. Pure new loans up to €1 million rose slightly to €44.6 million in June compared with €44.1 million in May, the CBC added.

The remaining pure new loans declined in June. Consumer credit amounted to €15.7 million in June from €17.1 million the month before, housing loans dropped to €93.8 million from €97.5 million in May, while other pure loans declined to €4.2 million in June from €10.2 million in the previous month.

For the period of January – June housing loans registered the biggest share of pure new credit with €693.5 million or 40% of total pure new loans, followed by loans over €1 million which amounted to €626.1 million or 36% to the total pure new credit.

Pure new loans up to €1 million amounted to €274.6 million representing 16% of the total pure new credit granted in the first half or 2022, while consumer credit reached €77.9 million or 4.5% of the total pure new credit. Other pure new loans amounted to €40.5 million or 2.36% of total new loans.

According to the CBC, restructured loans in June amounted to €90.6 million compared with €100.5 million in the previous month.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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Most famous painting in the world, Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’, to star in Cypriot TV production

The most famous painting in the world, Sandro Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’, will star in a Cypriot TV production.

Screentale Cyprus issued a press release stating that it is the first Cypriot company that managed to get a unique license agreement with the Uffizi Gallery in order to use the famous ‘Birth of Venus’ in their future TV series production.

it is noted that ‘The Birth of Venus’ is a painting by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli and is considered to be one of the most famous masterpieces in the world. The composition depicts the goddess of love and beauty arriving on land, on the island of Cyprus at Aphrodite’s rock, born of the sea spray and led there by the winds.

Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, is one of the oldest and most famous art institutions in Europe, and the second-largest and most important museum in the world ranking after the Louvre in Paris.

“This is of great significance and importance to relations between Cyprus and Italy, and especially to the Cypriot company that expands its cooperation internationally,” the press release concludes.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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Minister of Defence discusses cooperation with Serbian FM

Cooperation in defence issues between Cyprus and Serbia was discussed during a working dinner between Cyprus Minister of Defence Charalambos Petrides and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selakovic.

In a tweet, Petrides said he had an “especially constructive meeting” with Selakovic where they discussed broad cooperation between the two countries in “the field of defence and ways to enhance the cooperation”.

On his part, in a tweet, the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Selakovic ended his one-day visit to #Cyprus with a working dinner with Minister Petrides during which cooperation was discussed.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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Deposit interest rates remained close to zero levels in June, variation in lending rates

Deposit interest rates remained at the close to zero levels in June with lending rates showed small variations, according to data released on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

In June the interest rate on deposits from households with an agreed maturity of up to one year remained unchanged at 0.05%, compared with the previous month, while the rates for deposits from non-financial corporations registered an increase to 0.03%, compared with 0.01% in the previous month.

Concerning loans, the interest rate on consumer credit fell to 2.89%, compared with 2.91% in the previous month and the interest rate on loans for house purchase increased to 2.32%, compared with 2.28% in the previous month.

Furthermore, the interest rate on loans to non-financial corporations for amounts up to €1 million increased to 3.36%, compared with 3.31% in the previous month, whereas the interest rate on loans to non-financial corporations for amounts over €1 million registered a decrease to 2.89%, compared with 2.97% the month before, the CBC said.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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Thirty-two writers participate in the “Literary evenings at the Pier” in Larnaca

Thirty-two writers participate in the “Literary evenings at the Pier”, which are organised every year by the Cultural Movement of Larnaca FILOPOL and the Municipality of Larnaca.

According to information from the organising team, 32 Greek-speaking and English-speaking writers are participating. Therefore, 16 writers will be presented on August 12 and 16 writers on August 26, 2022.

The literary events will take place at the Larnaca pier from 19:30 to 21:30.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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PRESS RELEASE – BW – Access Advance VVC Patent Pool Momentum Grows

Access Advance, an independent licensing administrator, today announced recent additions to its growing list of patent owners (i.e., Licensors) participating in the VVC Advance Patent Pool.

New VVC Licensors:

ChipsandMedia, Inc.

Fujitsu Limited

NEC Corporation

SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.

Company to be disclosed at a later date

“We are very pleased that these important companies with substantial numbers of VVC SEPs have joined our VVC Advance patent pool as licensors,” stated Access Advance CEO, Pete Moller. “With VVC product implementations expected to be available in the near future, these additional patent owners allow us to provide even greater value as the VVC SEP patent portfolio we license continues to grow while our royalty rates remain constant.”

About Access Advance:

Access Advance LLC (formerly HEVC Advance LLC) is an independent licensing administrator company formed to lead the development, administration, and management of patent pools for licensing essential patents of the most important standards-based video codec technologies. Access Advance provides a transparent and efficient licensing mechanism for both patent owners and patent implementers. Access Advance currently manages and administers the HEVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing patents essential to H.265/HEVC technology, and the separate and independent VVC Advance Patent Pool for licensing essential patents to VVC/H.266 technology. For more information about Access Advance or the HEVC Advance or VVC Advance Patent Pools, please visit www.accessadvance.com.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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Yellow warning for extreme high temperature in the mountains on Wednesday

The Cyprus Department of Meteorology has issued another yellow warning, due to extreme high temperature expected on Wednesday.

Specifically, the maximum temperature over the highest mountainous areas is expected to reach 32 degrees Celsious, according to the announcement.

The warning is valid from 11am to 3pm on Wednesday.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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HEALTH UNION: COMMISSION SIGNS JOINT PROCUREMENT CONTRACT WITH HIPRA FOR COVID-19 VACCINES

HERA, the European Commission’s Health Preparedness and Response Authority, has signed a joint procurement Framework Contract with the company HIPRA HUMAN HEALTH for the supply of their protein COVID-19 vaccine. 14 Member States and countries are participating in this joint procurement, under which they can purchase up to 250 million doses. As the number of cases is again on the rise in Europe, this agreement will make the HIPRA vaccine rapidly available to the participating countries, as soon as this vaccine has received a positive assessment by the European Medicines Agency.

Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, said: “With COVID-19 infections on the rise in Europe, we need to ensure maximum preparedness as we head into the autumn and winter months. The HIPRA vaccine adds yet another option to complement our broad vaccine portfolio for our Member States and citizens. An increase in vaccination and boosting is essential over the coming months. We are working tirelessly to make sure there are vaccines available for all. This is our European Health Union in action – preparing ahead and being ready to act.”

The joint procurement contract with HIPRA complements an already broad portfolio of vaccines secured through the EU Vaccines Strategy, including the contracts already signed with AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, BioNtech-Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax and Valneva. Some 4.2 billion doses have been secured under the EU Vaccines Strategy. This diversified vaccine portfolio will ensure Europe continues to be well prepared for COVID-19 vaccination, using vaccines that have been proven to be safe and effective. Participating countries could decide to donate the vaccines to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct them to other European countries.

The HIPRA bivalent recombinant protein vaccine, which is currently under rolling review by the European Medicines Agency, is being developed as a booster dose in previously immunized persons 16 years and older. The HIPRA vaccine is stored at refrigerated temperature between 2 and 8ºC, facilitating storage and distribution in Europe and across the world.

Next steps

The COVID-19 vaccine from HIPRA is currently under rolling review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). If the vaccine receives a marketing authorisation participating countries will be able to purchase the vaccine through the framework contract in place.

Background

HERA is a key pillar of the European Health Union and a fundamental asset to strengthen the EU’s health emergency response and preparedness. HERA was established in September 2021 to replace ad hoc solutions to pandemic management and response with a permanent structure with adequate tools and resources to plan the EU action in case of health emergencies.

The EU’s Joint Procurement Agreement offers the 36 participating countries to jointly procure medical counter-measures as an alternative or complement to procurement at national level. Framework contracts for COVID-19 therapeutics have previously been concluded with Hoffmann-La Roche and GlaxoSmithKline Ltd for the purchase of monoclonal antibodies, as well as with Gilead for the purchase of an antiviral. HERA continues to work closely with the participating countries to identify and implement priorities for joint procurement.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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PRESS RELEASE – BW – UNAIDS, WHO Must Increase Focus on Test and Treat, Late Presenters, says AHF

As the world’s largest HIV/AIDS conference, AIDS 2022, is set to conclude today – amid a visa scandal that barred many advocates from the most HIV-affected countries in the Global South – AHF calls for UNAIDS and WHO to place a renewed and urgent focus on HIV testing and treatment initiation and retention. Those aspects of the HIV response are sorely lacking from the worrisome UNAIDS report released last week.

“While leaders in the global fight against HIV/AIDS have touched on some aspects of Test and Treat during the 24th International AIDS Conference, it certainly seems there’s no sense of urgency in identifying new cases and getting and keeping patients enrolled and retained in care globally,” said AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy Terri Ford. “Even though the UNAIDS report shows how much COVID-19 has harmed the HIV/AIDS response, that cannot be an excuse for neglecting proven Test and Treat initiatives, especially for communities most affected by HIV/AIDS.”

Another vital and urgent aspect of the HIV response not represented in the UNAIDS report is a focus on late presenters. Late presentation to HIV/AIDS care presents serious health concerns, such as increased transmission, high healthcare costs, increased mortality, early development of opportunistic infections, and an increased risk of resistance to ART.

According to the latest UNAIDS data, there are an estimated 38.4 million people living with HIV globally. Tragically, every year a staggering 650,000 people still die of AIDS-related causes.

Global targets for HIV/AIDS control cannot be achieved until there is a concerted effort to ensure people living with HIV enter care and treatment before their immune systems are severely weakened.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.6 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. We are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

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First monkeypox case detected in Cyprus

The first case of monkeypox was detected in Cyprus, according to the Ministry of Health.

The case was detected after a molecular test, carried out by the microbiological lab of the Nicosia General Hospital. According to an announcement issued by the Health Ministry, the person infected is a 40-year-old man with a travel history who presents clinical symptoms compatible with monkeypox.

According to the Ministry, the protocols for the transfer and management of suspected and confirmed cases were activated immediately.

The 40-year-old man is hospitalized in the specially designated area of Nicosia General Hospital, which is the island’s reference hospital, for monitoring and further evaluation of his condition.

Source: Cyprus News Agency