Our View: Public payroll reaching unsustainable levels
The 2025 state budget was approved by a sizeable majority on Wednesday evening, only Akel and the Greens plus two independent deputies voting against it. Main opposition party Disy voted in ...
Louis Vuitton, Notre Dame and the quest for ‘secular immortality’
By Ben Voyer and Perrine Desmichel
The reopening of Notre-Dame in Paris has recalled debate over the €200 million contribution of France’s Bernard Arnault, the CEO of the LVMH luxury ...
Our View: Banks are just engaging in a publicity gimmick over charges
Stung by the barrage of criticism directed at the government for its opposition to the proposed tax on the windfall profits of the banks, which failed to secure House approval, ...
The handmaiden’s tailors
Soon president-elect Donald Trump will rule the White House once more and an intelligent, educated woman I know, is ecstatic. When I asked her if his attitude and that of ...
Syria will need another miracle
They’re still celebrating the miraculous fall of the Assad regime in Damascus, and the killing has stopped in Syria except for parts of the north, east and south. So ...
Our View: Even small steps towards Cyprus talks look too much to hope for
Two months ago, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York to find a way forward in the peace process, ...
Our View: Authorities must investigate worrying anti-social behaviour
Friday’s violence and vandalism by teenagers came as something of a surprise. It was out of the blue and there had been no signs teenagers were planning to go ...
The precarious promise of the Paris Agreement’s article 6
By Georg Zachmann
Agreement on a global carbon trading framework could complete the global climate architecture, but the risks are significant
The international process for coordinating the fight against global ...
Sir Keir Starmer’s visit: an opportunity for a new strategic partnership
By Euripides L Evriviades
The recent visit of UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) marks a critical juncture in the bilateral relations between the ...
What does Cyprus’ Moody’s upgrade mean?
Cyprus’ credit rating was recently upgraded from Baa2 to A3 by Moody’s. The double upgrade reflects, firstly, the improvement in the country’s fiscal indicators. Public debt has fallen ...
Beauty is only skin deep!
By Lysandros Lysandrou
During his first stint as prime minister (1955-1963) of Greece, Konstantinos Karamanlis (1907-1998) boasted in parliament that Greece was prospering. The then leader of the official opposition ...
Pokémon GO: a data goldmine for AI training
By Elena Andreou
In 2016, the augmented reality (AR) game Pokémon GO became a global sensation, blending physical exploration with virtual gameplay. Behind the scenes, the game’s immense popularity ...
Cyprus banks unwilling to fund development
By taking fixed deposits at the second lowest interest rate in the euro area at an average of 1.8 per cent and lending part of these funds at the third highest ...
The road back to Damascus for Syrian refugees
The irony of the overthrow of the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad last Sunday is that he fled to Russia as a refugee after he turned his people into refugees and ...
Tales from the Coffeeshop: Betting on debts, bad creditors and big dreams
WE ARE deluding ourselves big-time if we believe that the abolition of the treaty of guarantee would automatically make our Kyproulla a normal country, as our politicians have been claiming ...
Our View: Government’s random spending prioritises popularity over policy
The way in which the government spends the taxpayer’s money is very difficult to understand. It is rather haphazard, without any economic or social rationale, just spending it for ...
UK benefits: AI use has brought bias and hunger
Iris Lim, SOAS, University of London
A freedom of information request has revealed that an AI system used by the UK government for assessing benefits cases is apparently getting it ...
Our View: Rushed car recall bill raises questions
The hastily prepared bill for the recall of cars with faulty components, which was chopped and changed throughout Thursday by the House transport committee, will be put to the vote ...
Our View: Overreaction to Malekkos’ comments sets a risky precedent
The angry reaction to the sexist comments made by former footballer Costas Malekkos during a television interview on Sunday night was understandable. We have not heard such backward ideas on ...
Music can change how you feel about the past
By Yiren Ren
Have you ever noticed how a particular song can bring back a flood of memories? Maybe it’s the tune that was playing during your first dance, ...
Our View: Football clubs owe millions in taxes yet government is proposing another tax break
If the political parties approve the government bill to raise the betting tax from 3 per cent to 4.5 per cent to assist football clubs that owe millions of euros in taxes ...
Do Mom and Dad really know what’s best?
By Annie Pezalla
As a psychologist who studies family relationships, I can tell you that a parent’s No. 1 job is to keep their kids safe. When a kid becomes ...
Our View: Improved relations with Britain reflect Cyprus’ turn to the West
Keir Starmer became only the second British prime minister to visit Cyprus since independence, when he arrived at the presidential palace on Tuesday for a meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides. ...
Europe’s economic problems compounded by lack of strong leadership
France and Germany’s political crises are a setback for efforts to modernise Europe’s struggling economy and are already making it harder for companies to take the investment decisions ...