Cyprus Electricity Authority staff staging a 12 hour-strike Wednesday were accused of exploiting the pre-election period at the public’s expense. Trade unions are protesting the government’s “unwillingness to hire the necessary staff to fill vacant positions while obstructing the authority’s RES investments”. All customer service centres across the island remained closed for the day. However,
More
Cypriots seeking to change their gender identity will soon be able to do so after Justice Minister Stephie Dracos tabled a bill enabling anyone over 16 to switch their sexual identity. The bill was tabled by Dracos on Wednesday before the House Legal Committee, with the minister expressing her satisfaction. “This is a pioneering bill,
More
By Craig Erlam Equity markets appear to be treading water on Wednesday as we await the latest batch of FOMC minutes later in the day. Asia played catchup overnight after Europe and the US posted decent gains on Tuesday that built throughout the session. But futures on both sides of the pond are barely changed
More
Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides has lashed out at the House’s decision to extend a freeze on foreclosures until the end of January, warning of dire economic consequences. In his latest attempt to end the freeze, after calling on President Nicos Anastasiades to refer the House’s decision, Petrides wants Attorney General George Savvides to intervene. According
More
Cyprus has condemned Wednesday’s twin bomb attacks at Jerusalem bus stations that killed a teenager, expressing solidarity with Israel. The Foreign Ministry Tweeted that it was “dismayed by the bomb attacks”. “Cyprus stands in solidarity with Israel and “condemns these acts of terror in the strongest possible terms.” The ministry conveyed “our deep condolences to the families of the
More
The highest incidence of road fatalities in the European Union was recorded in rural regions, while Cyprus was where road fatalities per million inhabitants were above the EU average, according to Eurostat. In 2020, there were 19,102 road fatalities, equivalent to 43 road fatalities per million inhabitants in the EU, and no less than 935,555 injuries
More
Tourist arrivals in 2023 could exceed those of record-breaking 2019 through concerted efforts by the government and the airports’ operator, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said. Addressing the 44th Cyprus Hotel Summit and Exhibition, Karousos said smashing the four million tourist barrier was possible. The record of 3.97 million arrivals was set in pre-COVID 2019 when
More
The Law Commissioner’s Office is preparing a bill to speed up asylum seeker applications and introduce penalties if they violate their terms of stay. The Interior Ministry requested tighter time frames for examining applications by authorities, while the asylum seeker will personally have to appear before the court. And if an asylum seeker violates the
More
New technology can enable the economic recovery of important metals from mining waste created decades ago, improving resource efficiency, and contributing to CO2 reduction while facilitating the rehabilitation of abandoned mine sites across Cyprus. Cyprus has a mining history of at least five thousand years, which has historically generated over US$10bn in today’s prices. It
More
Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides shot down two bills tabled by the Opposition targeting excess profits with a 90% windfall tax on producers of Renewable Energy, arguing they lack fiscal logic. “The two AKEL law proposals, for a windfall tax on profits of renewable energy production companies, and the imposition of a retribution fee on bilateral
More
