Few European leaders understood science during Covid
Chief medical officer: with hindsight UK went into lockdown a week late
By an uncanny coincidence, news emerged from northern China of a new type of unusual pneumonia last week ...
The law is above the UK’s immature government
And why would East African Asian refugees support dumping other refugees in a part of the world they themselves were forced to leave?
A lot can happen in British politics ...
Horror entertainment for the young
THE WAY THINGS ARE
On a favourite site among the usual gems of advertised literature, I found horror stories especially written for children. Young adults enjoy scary thrills. I lied ...
Could Cyprus’ gas really be a catalyst for peace?
Rejecting Turkey’s energy proposals is not enough. Cyprus should also be ready with counter-proposals that could contribute to reviving and speeding-up the Cyprus talks
By Dr Charles Ellinas and ...
Artificial Intelligence is not an existential threat – yet
I’m sorry that I didn’t get my article on Artificial Intelligence last week during the ‘AI Safety Summit’ at Bletchley Park, the historic Second World War decoding centre ...
Boris Johnson’s zero leadership skills
Decisions were made foolishly, chaotically and with a lot of expletives
There is a judge-led inquiry going on in the UK about the central government’s response to the Covid 19 ...
Ukraine is stuck in a military stalemate
On September 10 the great breakthrough was underway. “The Ukrainians went forward again”, said breathless reports from the front lines. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces are moving west of Novoprokopovka, east of ...
Change in the moral equilibrium amid Gaza conflict
The UN Charter preserves self-defence as an inherent right of states in the event of armed attack. As its name suggests, self-defence is more of a shield than a sword ...
War: words are never enough
THE WAY THINGS ARE
In the Jewish insurgency against the British, Israel’s Irgun, led by Menachem Begin, bombed the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Ninety one people died, 49 were ...
Crunch time for Aphrodite amid Mid East crisis
The future of Cyprus’ gas beset by war, COP28 and tough negotiations with Chevron
In our region the Israel-Hamas war overshadows most other issues. Right now, it is characterised by ...
Israel and Hamas: Netanyahu and his ‘objective allies’
“If we look at it over the years, one of the main people contributing to Hamas’ strengthening has been (Prime Minister) ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu,” said Yuval Diskin, head of Israel’s ...
Cyprus: self-serving government budgets again
The proposed Government budgets for 2024 to 2026 presented to the House of Representatives in early October 2023 are once again self-serving in that the short-term financial and political interests of the decision-making ...
UN chiefs have often been deemed controversial
And after his comments on the Israel-Gaza crisis this week, Antonio Guterres is no different
Israel called for the resignation of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG), António Guterres, last Tuesday, ...
Updated ‘pothen esches’ not fit for purpose
It is apparent that the authors of the legislation lacked the know-how necessary. As has happened in the past, omissions will lead to deadlocks
Recently, I had the opportunity to ...
Collective punishment even for an atrocity is unlawful
Israel’s aim is to give vent to rage, revenge and self-defence
It has been raining bombs on Gaza for the last two weeks. Bombs dropped by the Israel Defence ...
Afxentiou, is this what you fought for?
THE WAY THINGS ARE
My son one day excitedly told me of a real life hero whose story he heard in class, that of Afxentiou in Macheras. On Sundays pre ...
Energy security in the East Med
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine global energy geopolitics and trade flows have undergone massive realignments. With the Western embargo on Russian oil and gas, Europe has ...
Two-state policy in Cyprus is not an opening gambit but the end game
But it would never work because the RoC would have to relinquish sovereignty over areas not under its effective control, which is just not going to happen – not now, not ...
Yom Kippur: a short war 50 years ago
In 1973, 50 years ago on Friday, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, coincided with Ramadan, the Islamic lunar month of fasting. But nobody raised an alarm in Israel ...
Double hit for workers as inflation depresses real wages and drives taxes up
Short-term patchwork government measures to deal with cost-of-living crisis and persistent inequalities are not enough
By Les Manison
A report by the OECD on “taxing wages” reveals that the increase ...
A woman Chief Justice is a big deal
The appointment of Sue Carr last week as the first Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is another first for the Conservative party. Chief Justice Carr was appointed by ...
Nasty men and women who admire them
THE WAY THINGS ARE
Yet another famous man is hitting headlines for alleged lewd, predatory behaviour towards women. Russell Brand wowed audiences with his audacious style – not for him the ...
Oil, diesel, petrol prices – it will get worse
As demand grows around the world, two top producers have cut output
Oil, diesel and petrol prices have only one way to go over the next few months: up. Brent ...
Hands off the Refugee Convention
In a speech in the US last week, UK interior minister Suella Braverman floated the idea that the definition of refugee under 1951 Refugee Convention needed to be tightened to stop ...