UK’s Labour gets tough on refugees
The UK government’s new interior minister Shabana Mahmood was asked rhetorically whether she would be applying to join the anti-immigration populist party Reform UK as a backhanded compliment after ...
Articles
The BBC and an ironic twist to its impartial legacy
President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Airforce One on Friday that he will sue the BBC for between $1 and $5 billion for cheating and putting words in his mouth in a ...
EU presidency to benefit all Cypriots
Cyprus’ stint at the helm of the rotating presidency a lesson in political equality
“The Cypriots know they cannot become a world power; but they have succeeded in becoming a ...
Andrew Windsor: some lies were implausible, others demonstrably false
Last Thursday Britain’s King Charles III initiated the process by which he will deprive his brother of all titles including that of prince. Henceforth he will be known as ...
What do the Greek Cypriots do now?
Federalism is back on the agenda after the election of Tufan Erhurman as “TRNC president” by a landslide comparable to the resounding approval Turkish Cypriots gave the UN-EU sponsored bicommunal ...
UK’s government had no choice but to drop China-spying case
Abandoning a criminal prosecution is as controversial in England as it has been in the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) where there is a proposal to transfer the prosecutorial function of ...
Katie Clerides: a true believer in a bizonal, bicommunal federation
Katie Clerides who died last week was a rare bird. Her father was the Greek Cypriot president of the Republic of Cyprus 1993-2003 and her mother was from India which ...
Might be time for permanent residents to apply for citizenship
If elected to government Reform UK said it would deprive millions of foreign nationals living in UK of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) which is the right of permanent settlement ...
Trump’s Nobel obsession and the UN he scorns
Even allowing for his hyperbolic style, US President Donald Trump is not the peacemaker he boasted in his UN General Assembly speech last week nor is the UN as ineffective ...
Can Reform replace the Conservatives?
Reform is the party to watch in UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, who was an also-ran in previous elections, is now an elected MP and odds-on favourite at 7/4 to ...
Scandal at Washington embassy
Peter Mandelson’s excellent relations with US President Donald Trump could not save his job as UK’s ambassador in Washington. Guilt by association owing to his close friendship with ...
When flags and anthems cause a spat
If Cyprus has problems of identity so too does the UK
Flags and national anthems were in the news in UK and Cyprus lately in ways that caused mild but ...
Populism has no place in the administration of justice
On Friday, the English court of appeal overturned a temporary injunction granted by a high court judge requiring the owner of the Bell Hotel in Epping Forest, London to stop ...
Trump may very well go to Moscow
But a ceasefire and security guarantees need to be broached before any talk of land for peace
Next time in Moscow would make a great sequel to Midnight in Moscow, ...
Israel should provide positive proof journalist was a terrorist
Widespread scepticism over reason for his death as it has not yet done so
There was widespread condemnation of the killing by Israel of Anas Al Sharif, the Palestinian Al ...
The beautiful friendship between Trump and Putin
It seems there will be a summit between presidents Trump and Putin to discuss Ukraine in the absence of Ukraineand Europe. There has been no diplomatic preparation for a summit, ...
Palestine has a strong case, so why isn’t it recognised?
Even though it is recognised as a state by 143 of the 197 states of the UN
TV pictures of starving babies dying of hunger in Gaza was too much for France, ...
International Court of Justice adds weight to urgency of climate change action
On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave an advisory opinion on the obligation of states to protect the climate system and the environment from manmade emissions of greenhouse ...
The great advantage of BBF is its flexibility
A two-state solution is too inflexible and too terminal
Rumours about the death of BBF have been greatly exaggerated. A bizonal bicommunal federation is both possible and desirable. It is ...
Legal service answerable to Human Rights Court
In rape cases the central task, according to the court, is assessing the issue of non-consent
There is a public outcry in Cyprus following the finding by the European Court ...
How a tear made UK stock market plunge
Rachel Reeves, the UK finance minister, was tearful last Wednesday during prime minister’s questions (PMQs). She looked miserable as the prime minister rose to take questions after a U-turn ...
Challenging the Attorney-general is not unknown
In Cyprus, immunity from challenge is a hangover from colonial times
Thanasis Nicolaou, a newly conscripted soldier in the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) national guard was found dead under Alassa ...
An antidote to the hysteria over Iran
When a war of words gets out of hand an actual war usually follows. The war of words between Iran and Israel has been going on for many years and ...
Various reasons for contempt of court
In last week’s Tales from the Coffeeshop, Patroclos asked rhetorically: is everyone who publicly repeats some wild allegation about the courts investigated for contempt? To which the answer is ...