Fact: Frederick University’s Department of Architecture, in collaboration with the Cyprus Architects Association, is organizing a conference on the role of architecture in achieving affordable housing in Cyprus.
– Many provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire after 2025 unless Congress extends them.
– Fully extending the TCJA tax breaks could add an estimated .6 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
– The federal budget deficit could complicate proposals from former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
The inaugural Cyprus Forum London was held at the Cyprus High Commission’s premises in central London. Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanoli opened the conference and highlighted the growth in new ship registrations in Cyprus, which have increased by 5.5% in the last six months, positioning the Cypriot registry among the top globally.
Fact: Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer, testified that Trump ordered him to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to stay quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter, and then approved a plan to reimburse Cohen through bogus invoices.
Film director Roman Polanski was acquitted by a French court of defaming British actress Charlotte Lewis, who accused him of raping her when she was a teenager. Lewis alleged the abuse occurred in 1983 when she was 16, after traveling to Paris for a casting session. Polanski called her accusations a “heinous lie” in a 2019 interview, leading to the defamation lawsuit. Lewis disputed a quote attributed to her in a 1999 interview, and Polanski’s lawyer celebrated the verdict as a win for free speech. Despite the acquittal, Lewis expressed disappointment and stated she would appeal. Polanski has faced multiple sexual assault allegations, denying them all, and has struggled to secure distribution deals for his films in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
The winner of November’s presidential election will face a challenge with the expiration of nearly trillion in tax cuts next year.
Israel’s Embassy to the Holy See protested against Yemeni Nobel Prize winner Tawakkol Karman for accusing Israel of “genocide” in Gaza during an event at the Vatican. Israeli embassy rejected the accusations as “lies” and criticized the anti-Semitic speech. The tension between the Vatican and Israel has increased since the war in Gaza, with Jewish groups accusing Pope Francis of not recognizing Israel’s actions as self-defense.
Greece threatened to hinder North Macedonia’s EU bid after newly elected president Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova referred to her country as just “Macedonia,” violating a U.N.-brokered agreement. Greece has long argued that the use of the term implies territorial claims on a Greek province also called Macedonia. EU and Greek officials warned that progress towards EU accession hinges on North Macedonia’s respect for agreements, including the Prespa accord renaming the country “North Macedonia.” The nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, which backed Siljanovska-Davkova’s election, refuses to acknowledge the Prespa deal, causing frustration in both countries.
Fact: Hundreds of people protested outside the legal service in support of Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides.
Tunisian police arrested lawyer Sonia Dahmani, known for criticizing President Kais Saied, along with two journalists.