Silia Kapsis, representing Cyprus in Eurovision, was seen at Athens airport on her way to Sweden. She will perform the song “Liar” composed by Dimitris Kontopoulos. Predictions place the song at 24th place in the competition.
A protest in Limassol on April 27 will address the death of Bangladeshi worker Anisur Rahman after a police raid. This will be the third protest about his death, with demands for justice and the release of his roommates. The police version of events has been disputed, with witnesses claiming the police entered the apartment forcefully.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken supports the protests at U.S. universities over the war in Gaza as a hallmark of American democracy. He criticized the “silence” about Palestinian militant group Hamas, urging critics to focus on them as the ones who sparked the conflict. Blinken met with Chinese officials to discuss their role in global crises, including calming tensions in the Middle East and discouraging Iran and its proxies from escalating the conflict. China is the main buyer of oil from Iran, which is under sanctions. They agreed to remain in regular contact on this issue.
Boris Becker will be discharged from bankruptcy in Britain after reaching a settlement with some of his creditors.
– Around eight per cent of the workforce, or 40,000 people, are illegally employed in Cyprus, resulting in a loss of revenue to the social insurance fund of €10 million a year.
– The government has approved a plan to strengthen measures to combat undeclared work, including implementing a system of extra-judicial fines for employers.
– The fine for each instance of undeclared work will increase from €500 to €1,000 and will be doubled in the event of a future offence by the same employer.
– Authorities will increase the number of inspections to target specific work sites and times, and there will be increased coordinated inspections between different departments.
– The government will conduct an outreach campaign for third-country nationals legally in Cyprus who are not identified as legal workers.
– The government will investigate employers of undeclared workers for links to people-smugglers.
– Legislative changes will be submitted to the House, including the creation of a digital census of all employees and liability for main contractors and subcontractors in cases of undeclared work.
Fact: Record heat in the Philippines this month has forced schools to send children home for online classes, reviving memories of Covid lockdowns and raising fears that more extreme weather in the years to come could deepen educational inequalities.
Fact: Thirty people lost their lives on the job since 2021 and more than 4,000 were injured in the workplace in the same period.
Cyprus is among the top countries in Europe in terms of the gross value added by the provision of services in the information and communication technology sector.
Experts say the proposals for reparations to black descendants of slaves in California, which include subsidized property taxes and expedited business licenses, may be unconstitutional due to violating guarantees of equal treatment of citizens regardless of race.
Two-thirds of UK business taxes were introduced in the past decade, costing businesses £13.1bn in the last year, up 27% from the previous year.