Cyprus Mail

British house prices fall 0.5 per cent in March as Iran war hurts demand

British house prices slid unexpectedly last month ​as economic uncertainty stemming from the ‌Iran war hurt buyer demand, mortgage lender Halifax has reported. House prices fell by 0.5 per cent month-on-month ​during March, Halifax said, following a ​0.3 per cent increase in February. A Reuters poll of ⁠economists had pointed to a 0.1 per cent […]

City blow Chelsea away to move closer to Arsenal, Spurs stuck in relegation zone after desfeat

Manchester City reignited the Premier League title race on Sunday, scoring three goals in 17 second-half minutes to crush Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and move within six points of leaders Arsenal. Nico O’Reilly started the rout, shrugging off Andrey Santos to head the ball home from a Rayan Cherki cross in the 51st minute. Cherki […]

Trump vows to blockade Strait of Hormuz after Iran peace talks stumble

President Donald Trump said on Sunday the U.S. Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardising a fragile two-week ceasefire. Trump also said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. would take action against every […]

Hungary’s opposition centre-right Tisza party was backed by 55% of voters versus 38% for Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party in a final opinion poll conducted by pollster 21 Research Centre in the days before Sunday’s election. Tisza was projected to win 132 mandates in Hungary’s 199-seat parliament in the poll announced on news […]

Power, illusion and the Thucydides warning

Power rarely collapses from weakness. It collapses from the consequences of misjudgement. The confrontation between the US and Israel with Iran may prove to be one of those moments.  My late professor David L Larson of the University of New Hampshire, used to say that there is nothing ancient about the ancients. They are not relics of the past, but analysts of the present. […]

Benin finance minister expected to coast to presidential election win

Benin’s finance minister Romuald Wadagni was expected to coast to victory in a presidential election on Sunday, buoyed by strong economic growth and the absence of a credible challenger amid mounting fears over jihadist violence. President Patrice Talon, who has ruled the West African nation since 2016 but is unable to seek a third term […]

Russia, Ukraine trade accusations of Orthodox Easter ceasefire violations

Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Sunday of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire in their four-year war, reporting more than a thousand drone and shelling attacks just hours after the truce began on Saturday to mark Orthodox Easter. The Russian defence ministry said it recorded 1,971 ceasefire violations overnight into Sunday, while Ukraine’s general staff […]

Israeli strike kills infant girl in south Lebanon during father’s funeral

Wrapped in bloodied bandages, Aline Saeed, seven, barely survived the Israeli strike on her home in south Lebanon last week. She was there to bury her father as hopes of a truce spread across the region, but a new strike killed her infant sister and other relatives. The strike on the Saeed family home in […]

Israel’s Ben-Gvir visits flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

Israel’s far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying he was seeking greater access for Jewish worshippers and drawing condemnation from Jordan and the Palestinians. The compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Known to Jews as […]

What kids can enjoy at Cyprus Film Days

Fast approaching, the Cyprus Film Days International Festival this April will be a meeting hub for filmmakers, directors, film lovers and aspiring youth as organisers have prepared a packed agenda for all. Young visitors will be treated to a dynamic programme of masterclasses creative filmmaking workshops, the National Short Film Competition, and film screenings to […]

Who could be the EU’s new envoy in Cyprus?

As soon as Johannes Hahn left his post as the European Commission’s envoy for the Cyprus problem, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis was at pains to stress that processes were already underway for the commission to appoint a replacement. The commission, Letymbiotis said, is “already taking the necessary steps with the aim of appointing a new envoy … in […]

Accept incensed by anti-LGBT lambradjies

Non-governmental organisation Accept – LGBTI Cyprus on Sunday reacted with fury to images of Easter bonfires, known as “lambradjies”, adorned with LGBT flags, describing them as “fires of hatred”. “When LGBTQI+ flags are burned at the lambradjies instead of effigies of Judas, we do not have a custom, we have education in violence and in […]

British bases’ status ‘not up for negotiation’, minister says

The status of the United Kingdom’s two sovereign bases in Cyprus is “not up for negotiation”, British undersecretary of state for the armed forces Al Carns said on Sunday. “We have to be really clear on this, the legal status of the sovereign base areas is rock solid,” he told British newspaper the Daily Telegraph. […]

Cypriot singer ‘denied entry to Greece’

British Cypriot singer Isin Karaca said she was denied entry to Greece and deported from Athens airport after having attempted to go on holiday to the country. She posted a video on social media in which she said that upon her arrival in Athens, “I was not declared a tourist, I was practically declared an […]

Dinosaur collagen used to create one-of-a-kind handbag

Scientists and designers recently unveiled a handbag made with collagen derived from Tyrannosaurus rex fossils from the US ‌in a unique creation intended to demonstrate the value of laboratory-grown leather. The teal-coloured bag will be displayed on a rock in a cage under a replica of a T. rex at Amsterdam’s Art Zoo museum until […]

Ustel faces censure from all sides as welfare deadlock continues

Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel continues to face criticism from both inside and outside his ruling coalition over his handling of attempts to cut payments of the cost-of-living allowance for some public sector workers, after having announced that the matter will not be debated in the Turkish Cypriot legislature in the coming week. The […]

Rocks thrown at police in Latsia

Rocks were thrown at police officers in the Nicosia suburb of Latsia on Saturday evening after the officers had responded to reports of bins being set on fire. One of the rocks smashed the window of a police car. Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, a 16-year-old boy was arrested in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos after […]

Police defend decision to issue search warrant for Nikos Clerides

The police on Sunday defended their decision to issue a search warrant for the home and office of lawyer Nikos Clerides, stressing that the decision was taken within the bounds of the law. “The submission of the request [for the warrant] by the police was based on an evaluation of specific testimony which has legally […]

Boat completely destroyed by fire in Kofinou

A boat was completely destroyed by a fire which broke out in the Larnaca district village of Kofinou, the police said on Sunday. The boat had been on the back of a trailer in a field in the village, which does not have a coastline. The fire was noticed at around 3.50am, with the fire […]

Letymbiotis demands investigation over Limassol building collapse

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Saturday night said that an investigation will be “necessary” into the collapse of a block of flats in the Limassol suburb of Yermasoyia, which killed two. “The government expresses deep sorrow for the tragedy which occurred today in Yermasoyia, with the collapse of a block of flats and the loss […]

Kentucky bourbon makers slash output and jobs amid cooling global demand

Like many whiskey distillers, Heaven Hill Brands is rolling back bourbon production this year, as demand lags. Yet, as the American spirit faced a tumultuous market in 2025, the Kentucky company built a new, $200 million distillery in the heart of bourbon country, adding 155,000 barrels of capacity. Famous for brands like Evan Williams and […]

Today’s weather: Partly cloudy, scattered showers expected

Sunday’s weather is expected to be partly cloudy across most of the island, with scattered showers forecast and thunderstorms not ruled out. The skies are expected to gradually clear over the course of the day, with maximum temperatures expected to range between 20 and 23 degrees Celsius. Over the coming days, the skies are expected […]

Cyprus Business Now: weekly wrap-up

Here are the top business stories in Cyprus from the week starting April 6: The Bank of Cyprus (BoC) on Monday announced a targeted initiative to support the hotel industry while rewarding its customers amid ongoing regional challenges. The bank said the move comes in response to the impact of the Middle East crisis on the […]

Hungary votes in high-stakes election with EU, Russia watching closely

Hungarians vote on Sunday in an election that could end Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year hold on power, rattle Russia and send shockwaves through right-wing circles across the West, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House. Orban, a eurosceptic nationalist, has carved out a model of an “illiberal democracy” seen as a blueprint by Trump’s […]