Our View: Pollution thrives as authorities pass the buck
The pollution of the sea off the Limassol coast became an issue of public debate in the last few days. An increasing number of people were complaining about the dirty ...
Easy prey: buying property in Cyprus can become a nightmare
By Dina-Perla Portnaar
I’ve moved into the house that was sold to me as fully renovated, only to discover that it’s been one thing after the other. It ...
Designing the euro: a lesson in the shared value of money
By Maria Demertzis
The European Central Bank is redesigning the euro notes and has asked the public to help her choose one of 10 candidate designs, half depicting famous Europeans and ...
Our View: Teacher reform must not be delayed again
When the Anastasiades government prepared a bill that would put an end to the anti-educational ‘waiting list appointment system’ for public school teachers in 2015, the political parties, at the behest ...
Our View: Coherent waste management plan needed
A new dispute between local authorities and the government, over waste management, appears to be on the cards. Earlier this week, the president of the municipalities union and Larnaca mayor, ...
Our View: Vague allegations of corruption no road to the presidency
Newly elected Disy deputy Giorgos Pamborides, who served as health minister during Nicos Anastasiades’ first term, made some staggering revelations in an interview on a television show. He claimed that ...
Cyprus’ AI strategy is sound – execution is what matters
Dr Panayiotis C. Andreou and Dr Costas Tziouvas, Cyprus University of Technology
The publication of the Cyprus National AI Strategy 2032 is, in our view, an important step forward for Cyprus. ...
Our View: Religious indoctrination has no place in schools
It seems strange that the education ministry felt obliged to issue a missive about prayers and religious instruction at public schools. Greek Orthodox prayers and religious instruction have been part ...
Our View: Keeping Lara beach in its natural state is non-negotiable
It is very worrying that the law breaking on Lara beach by some individuals who decided to camp there has triggered a debate about setting up an ‘organised beach’. By ‘...
‘Constructive ambiguity’ in Cyprus talks another term for ‘fudge’
On the advice of UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres, the leaders of Cyprus’ two main communities are getting ready for talks in Cyprus, hoping to find enough common ground to ...
Digital nomads: opportunity or challenge for the Cypriot economy?
In recent years, mainly due to the mild climate, quality of life, adequate digital infrastructure and a favourable business environment, Cyprus has been attracting an increasing number of digital nomads ...
AI and Spock’s ultimate sacrifice
Recently, we went out to dinner with a large group of cousins at one of Nicosia’s tavernas. The deserted August streets made the journey there almost a pleasure, rather ...
Mecca and the new Middle East: what it means for Cyprus
The Mecca Agreement, signed on August 7 by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, matters less for the alliance it creates than for the Middle East it may foreshadow.
Turkish Foreign Minister ...
The energy challenges of the next presidency
As Cyprus enters the run up to the 2028 presidential election, energy is perhaps the biggest economic challenge the next administration will inherit. From electricity prices and energy security to natural ...
Africa and getting the history of slavery wrong
“I think that there’s a strategy to divide and conquer and to create a very contrived confusion,” said Samuel Okuzeto Ablakwan, Ghana’s foreign minster. “We denounce and totally ...
Coroner to rule on black professor’s media hounding
Professor Jason Arday, the black academic at the centre of the Cambridge plagiarism controversy, was found dead at his flat in Battersea in South London last Friday, August 14.
Sadly and ...
Tales from the Coffeeshop: Bringing people together undermines Cyprus’ reunification efforts
THE PATRIOTIC forces scored another resounding victory for the national cause a few days ago when they succeeded in seeing off the threat posed to our national survival by a ...
Our View: Pension reform is not an excuse for more electioneering
The triumphal way the government presented its proposals for pension reform on Wednesday should worry everyone. One of the most serious issues facing our society was treated as part of ...
From Pax Americana to regional self-reliance and the rise of the Mecca Pact
Driven by escalating sovereign debt, domestic fiscal constraints, and a strategic pivot toward peer competition in East Asia, the United States has transitioned to an offshore balancing posture across the ...
Our View: Cars won’t revive Makarios avenue
A pressure group calling itself the Joint Platform for the Revitalisation of the Urban Commercial Core of Every City, has been demanding the re-opening of the lower part of Makarios ...
Our View: Government cannot ignore rising inflation
The finance ministry has not said very much about the rising inflation rate for July that was announced by Cystat on Wednesday. The finance ministry tends to issue announcements only ...
Our View: IPC the only option for Greek Cypriot property owners
Ever since the establishment of the Immovable Properties Commission (IPC) in the Turkish-occupied north in 2005, by decision of the European Court of Human Rights, Greek Cypriots have been discouraged from ...
Our View: Idea that all beaches must have lifeguards is absurd
The shortage of lifeguards became a big issue after a 35-year-old mother drowned on Saturday while swimming with her two daughters. It was the fifth drowning in the last two ...
A climate grand jeté
The first hurricane to hit Hawaii in 34 years. The Mediterranean on fire from Spain to Greece. ‘Heat domes’ one after another for months on end in Europe and North America. ...