Tesla (TSLA.O) cut its annual capital expenditure forecast by a fifth and ​posted surprise positive free cash flow in the third quarter on Wednesday, after investing far less in its AI and robotics ambitions than Wall Street had ‌expected.

The unexpected cash generated in the quarter comes at a critical moment for Tesla, as CEO Elon Musk explores combining the EV maker with his far more capital-intensive space venture, SpaceX (SPCX.O).

While the lower spending strengthens Tesla’s financial position ahead of any deal, preserving cash at the expense of investment — in AI, robotaxis and humanoid robots — could undermine the very growth story investors are betting on.

Tesla shares, which had risen 2 per cent in after-hours trading after the company reported ​positive cash flow, higher gross margin and market-beating revenue, reversed course to trade down 2 per cent. They have fallen about 14 per cent this year.

“The free cash flow beat was a pleasant ​surprise, but when combined with the lower-than-expected capex, raises questions on the next step for the automaker,” said Ryan Lee, senior vice president of product ⁠and strategy at Direxion, which offers ETFs tied to Tesla. “Lower capex suggests less of an ‘all-in’ approach to the AI arms race than one would expect from Elon.”

Tesla said it expected capital expenses ​for 2026 to be roughly $20 billion, down from its previous forecast of more than $25 billion, but did not say what it would spend less on.

In the third quarter ended September 30, Tesla spent $4.7 ​billion in capex, double that of a year ago, but lower than the $7.5 billion analysts on average were expecting, according to LSEG data. Tesla reported free cash flow of $1.53 billion, compared with an expected $4.92 billion cash burn.

SPACEX MERGER UNDER DISCUSSION

Musk said on Tuesday that a merger between Tesla and SpaceX was a “good idea” and that the companies had formed special committees to discuss a deal. On Wednesday, Musk said on a conference call with analysts ​that he had no more to say on the matter.

A merger would create a single company at the center of Musk’s long-term vision: an integrated technology and manufacturing empire spanning AI, energy, ​robotics, communications and transportation on Earth and beyond.

Still, investors will seek evidence that Tesla is investing enough to turn Musk’s ambitions into commercial businesses, with the robotaxi rollout lagging his promises. Tesla’s energy unit has recently ‌offered a ⁠counterweight to its auto business, which remains under scrutiny as rivals globally launch newer, often cheaper models. Tesla still leans heavily on the aging Model 3 and Model Y.

“The merger still faces a high bar, but tonight’s numbers make the financial logic harder to ignore,” said Thomas Monteiro, a senior analyst at Investing.com.

“The main takeaway is that Tesla’s surprisingly positive cash flow quarter did not come from stronger profits, but from spending billions less than planned at a time when SpaceX is preparing to invest up to $40 billion in a single quarter.”

REVENUE FLAT BUT BEATS ESTIMATES

Revenue was flat from a ​year earlier, despite the end of US tax ​credits that supported sales last year. That ⁠was enough to top Wall Street targets. Net income plunged 43 per cent.

Tesla said in a statement that it ended the quarter with the largest backlog for its passenger vehicles in four years. High gasoline prices have stoked demand for EVs, especially in Europe.

With 486,532 vehicles delivered in the third quarter, ​Tesla is on track to increase annual deliveries for the first time in three years.

“Demand is growing rapidly for our vehicles. It’s exceeding ​our production by a significant ⁠margin,” Musk said on the conference call with analysts. “In a nutshell, after many years of sort of grind and things being fairly flat, I think we’re now headed for a lot of fun and significant growth.”

The FSD (supervised) attach rate reached over three-quarters of new vehicle deliveries in North America, a nearly 20-percentage-point increase from the second quarter, Tesla said.

Automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits, came in at 18.1 per cent in ⁠the third quarter, ​higher than analysts’ estimates of 16.7 per cent, according to Visible Alpha data.

Tesla said it was aiming to produce 5 million ​vehicles a year by about 2030, up from an expected 2.5 million this year.

All banks in Cyprus will be closed on Wednesday, October 28, to mark Ohi Day, the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has announced.

The central bank informed the public that banking services at branches will be unavailable for the national holiday.

Celebrated throughout Greece and Cyprus, Ohi Day (‘Anniversary of the No’) commemorates the country’s rejection of an ultimatum from Fascist Italy on October 28, 1940, and its entry into the Second World War.

Customers who need to carry out branch transactions are advised to make arrangements in advance, while online and mobile banking services remain available.

A group of Greek Cypriot businessmen are suing a company in the north of the island as well as soft drink makers Pepsi, seeking compensation to the tune of €140 million for the illegal and unauthorised use of their factory since 1981, according to reports on Thursday.

Daily Politis reported that the lawsuit was filed a few days ago with Nicosia district court. The paper saw a copy of the lawsuit claim, filed by Greek Cypriot companies CyproFruta and Cyprus Farming Ltd – the owners of which owned the factory in the north, located in now occupied Famagusta.

Since 1981, a company in the north by the name of Ektam Kibris Ltd has used the factory and the land to manufacture Pepsi brand products – including Pepsi, Pepsi Max, 7UP and Mirinda.

The plaintiffs are suing 12 companies/individuals – including PepsiCo, its global headquarters based in New York, the United States.

Others sued include Pepsi’s subsidiary in Istanbul, Turkey, as well as executives of Ektam Kibris and of associated companies.

The plaintiffs demand €135 million for loss of use of their business and for loss of profits, plus €9 million in rent – covering the period from 1981 to September 30, 2026.

According to Politis, in February of this year the Greek Cypriot businessmen had sent via their lawyers a notice to the 12 companies and individuals, calling on them to cease and desist from using the factory in the north.

The notice was ignored, after which the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit.

Founded in 1981, Ektam Kıbrıs is the exclusive bottler and distributor for PepsiCo International products in the north.

The Erkman family owns 25 per cent of the business. Tamek Holding AS, controlled by Melih and Gungor Sipahioglu, of Turkey, used to own the rest.

Semsi Kazim Erkman, Sibel Erkman, Eda Erkman, Gungor Sipahioglu and Infima Holding (formerly Tamek Holding AS) are named in the lawsuit.

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by December 11 in his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC, which has accused the US president of stalling to avoid answering questions under oath.

Trump is suing Britain’s publicly funded broadcaster for at least $10 billion over a misleadingly edited clip of a speech. The case is one of several Trump has privately filed against the news media as part of a wider pressure campaign against coverage he dislikes.

US Magistrate Judge Enjolique Lett ordered Trump to take questions from the BBC’s lawyers under oath in a ruling from the bench at a court hearing on Thursday, according to a spokesman for Trump’s personal legal team. Trump canceled a deposition in October, citing conflicts with his presidential duties.

The Trump spokesman said the lawsuit is aimed at holding the BBC accountable for defamation and “reckless election interference.”

The BBC declined to comment. It previously admitted the edits were misleading and apologized to Trump, though it denies being liable for defamation.

Trump’s lawsuit filed in December in Florida federal court accuses the BBC of intentionally misleading viewers into thinking he directed supporters to storm the US Capitol by splicing together different parts of a January 6, 2021, speech.

In court filings, the broadcaster has accused Trump and his lawyers of dragging their feet in response to their requests for records and other information that is exchanged between parties in a process known as discovery.

The BBC is seeking financial records from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and the web of business entities associated with him, saying the information is necessary to defend against Trump’s damages claims.

Trump’s lawyers say the requests are too broad and irrelevant to the case. They have also denied in court filings that Trump is avoiding a deposition, saying Trump’s duties and security needs must take precedence.

The edited speech appeared in a BBC “Panorama” documentary show shortly before the 2024 presidential election, which Trump won. A leaked internal BBC memo cited the edits as evidence of potential political bias, sparking a public relations crisis for the broadcaster and leading to high-level resignations.

Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip in separate incidents on Thursday, health officials in the enclave said.

In Gaza City, a strike on a car killed at least one person, medics said. They earlier said there had been two deaths. A crowd gathered around the burning wreckage, as orange-vested emergency crews sprayed it with water, photos from the scene showed.

Other strikes killed a Palestinian man on a bike in the southern city of Khan Younis and a man near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, and gunfire killed a woman near the Jabalia refugee camp, in the north, the medics added.

Israel’s military said it had struck Hamas militants in Khan Younis, Nuseirat and Gaza City, but that it was not aware of the reported incident in Jabalia.

The Hamas-led Interior Ministry in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike killed a non-commissioned officer and wounded another officer from the drug control police department after hitting their vehicle while returning from an assignment in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

Israel, which says the Hamas militant group has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks.

Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Last year’s US-brokered ceasefire calls for eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress has been made as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops.

Israeli airstrikes have continued. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory’s health officials, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Ebola patient in Nigeria, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, is believed to have contracted the disease while travelling in Uganda, a Swiss government statement to Reuters said on Thursday.

Nigeria reported the case, its first Ebola case in more than a decade, on Tuesday, becoming ‌the fourth African country and the most populous yet to be affected by an outbreak that was announced in Democratic Republic of Congo in mid-May and has since become the fastest-spreading on record.

Ugandan authorities have said the woman who fell ill in Nigeria had travelled to eastern Congo before transiting through Uganda. But the World Health Organization and ​Africa’s top health agency said on Thursday they had not received confirmed information that the woman had travelled to Congo.

The woman “has been in a private clinic in Abuja for around a week with symptoms. She is believed to have contracted the virus whilst travelling to Uganda around two weeks ago,” said an emailed statement from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Her husband is in isolation; he has not shown any symptoms. He was travelling with his wife when she is believed to have contracted Ebola.”

Uganda reported 20 cases in May and June, mostly imported from Congo, but the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free in August.

Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasujja told Reuters late on Thursday that Uganda had no Ebola cases.

“That’s a fact. If we did, as has happened before, we’d be the first to say,” he said.

Asked whether the Ugandan government had proof that the woman had travelled to Congo, Kasujja said, “Like what? A passport stamp? Without infringing on the patient’s rights?”

AFRICA CDC, WHO SAY NO INFORMATION THAT PATIENT WENT TO CONGO

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention official Wessam Mankoula said on Thursday that Nigeria and Uganda were sharing information to establish the patient’s movements and possible source of exposure.

“So far, there is no validated information (that) this case traveled to DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo),” Mankoula told an online press conference.

The WHO said information it had received about the case did not include travel outside Uganda.

“The facts which we have received is that the patient returned to Abuja on October 3, being away from September 16 in Uganda,” WHO representative to Nigeria Pavel Ursu told the press conference.

Ursu said the focus in Nigeria was now on containing the viral infection and that the patient remained hospitalised, with her biochemical markers improving.

Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC director, told Reuters on Wednesday that the patient had been on a two-week holiday in Uganda.

Patrick Otim, a WHO emergency response manager, said on Thursday the source of her infection was still unknown as health authorities were working to piece together her travel history.

One issue under investigation is which health facilities the woman visited in Abuja after the onset of her symptoms and before her hospitalisation 48 hours later, Otim said.

KENYA TRACES ALL CONTACTS OF FIRST CASE

Separately, a senior Kenyan health official said authorities there had now traced all 135 contacts of the country’s first Ebola case, which was confirmed on October 6 and after which a further eight cases have been reported.

“We have been able to account for them 100%,” health ministry director-general Patrick Amoth said. He said the last contact to be traced was a Ugandan citizen who had arrived in Kenya in early October on the same flight as the index patient but exited by road via the Namanga border post with Tanzania, which meant it took more time to find him.

Africa CDC is investigating whether the Kenyan case may have come into contact with the patient being treated in Nigeria, as both travelled from Uganda’s Entebbe airport on the same day, Mankoula said. Transmission between the two was one of the possible scenarios being examined, he said.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, whether living or dead. The disease can cause fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal and external bleeding.

The rare Ebola species behind the current outbreak kills about half of those infected and has no approved treatment or vaccine.

So far the outbreak is confirmed to have killed about 4,700 people across the four African countries that have reported cases, according to the Africa CDC.

A prominent leftist politician in Ecuador who was runner-up to President Daniel Noboa in the last two elections has been arrested, the head of her party said on Thursday.

Luisa Gonzalez, a protege of former socialist President Rafael Correa, is under investigation over alleged irregularities in political financing and campaign spending in the 2023 election.

In a post on X, Gonzalez said the accusation was “absurd” and she asked for unity from members of her party to reach freedom and democracy in Ecuador.

The head of the Citizens’ Revolution party, Gabriela Rivadeneira, confirmed the arrest in a social media post and argued it was politically motivated.

“We demand the immediate release of Luisa Gonzalez, who should not have to face a process of persecution and torture imposed by this government,” she told reporters.

In a video posted on social media, the Attorney General’s Office said the investigation was seeking to clarify the source of the funds used to finance election advertising between May and August 2023.

“A network of legal entities was used to channel approximately $500,000 to contract and purchase campaign advertising. The funds were allegedly channelled without disclosing their source or the identity of those who contributed them,” it said in a video.

Rivadeneira said the 2023 campaign funds were fully accounted for and prior financial penalties imposed by the electoral authority had been paid, echoing earlier statements from Gonzalez.

Former President Correa, who backed Gonzalez’s candidacy, also disputed the allegations.

“This is not about legality, or whether the rules are being followed or not. It is brutal and simple persecution,” he told a local radio program.

The Ecuadorean Attorney General’s Office in a social media post said seven people are under investigation over “inconsistencies in the contributions and the lawful source of the funds” during the 2023 presidential campaign.

Three people so far have been arrested and will face charges for alleged money laundering, it said, without providing their full names.

Gonzalez lost both the 2023 and 2025 elections to Noboa, and alleged fraud in last year’s loss. She had attempted to run in local elections set for November 29 but was unable to register her candidacy due to party registration rules.

US President Donald Trump called Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starlink, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing US officials.

The Starlink system was working more normally on Thursday, shortly after the Trump-Musk conversation, according to US and Ukrainian officials cited by the Journal.

Some Ukrainian officials told the newspaper the system was not restored to full functionality but was working at higher speeds than under the cap.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier on Thursday that Starlink speed had not been restored for Ukraine, adding that he hoped for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the coming days.

Trump told Musk he was frustrated the system’s speeds remained capped at around 100 mph (160 kph), the Journal said, citing officials.

Rubio said on Wednesday that decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were up to its parent company SpaceX and its CEO Musk, not the White House.

Ukraine uses Starlink for battlefield communications and drone operations. Restricting the satellite service hampered the country’s attack and air defense drone missions against Russia.

The House on Thursday approved the tax reduction on heating fuel, part of a relief package to tackle the cost of living unveiled in late September.

The tax on heating fuel will be cut by 5.3 cents a litre.

In voting the bill through, MPs also amended it, so that the discounted tax now kicks in as of October 23 instead of November 1.

The reduced rate will apply until April 30, 2027.

The government estimates the fiscal hit from loss of tax revenue at around €5.2 million.

In remarks on the House floor, all MPs agreed with the measure, but some argued that it was a case of too little, too late.

Alma MP Odysseas Michaelides noted that, practically speaking, heating fuel would now cost €1,600 a tonne – instead of €1,650.

He also recalled that only in March this year, a tonne cost €950.

Michaelides said the government should have also requested from the European Commission a further tax rate reduction for motor fuel, as it had done for heating oil.

Direct Democracy MP Yiannis Laouris called the measure a “stopgap solution”.

He said it’s inconceivable that energy should be taxed; rather, it should be classed as an essential item.

The government, he added, is raking in extra revenue from VAT, due to higher prices, and then giving out small relief “as charity”.

Stylianos Constantinou, who took his own life at age 14, was a severely neglected boy who would never have turned out well, a witness in the ongoing trial told the court on Thursday.

Taking the stand was a special educator assigned to Stylianos during the 2012 to 2013 academic year, when the boy was in third grade.

The teenager committed suicide in 2019.

In the trial held at Nicosia district court, the witness said that though Stylianos at the time attended third grade, his learning skills were equivalent to the first grade.

“He could barely read, but was trying hard,” the educator said.

The hearing turned emotional when the witness, reading out a statement he had made to police in 2020, began sobbing.

“Based on his [the boy’s] overall state, it was a given that he would not turn out well, but I never thought he’d do what he did,” the witness said, referring to the suicide.

“Instead, I thought that one day he’d open the door and leave home.”

The witness described Stylianos as neglected, tired and isolated from his classmates.

Whenever the session with the educator came up, they would find Stylianos asleep at his desk.

“We’d try to wake him, he just wouldn’t wake up, and then he’d tell us he was tired as he was up until 11pm working at the farm.”

The boy would never do his homework, telling teachers he had no time because of his chores at the family farm.

Stylianos looked depressed and sullen, the witness said.

“He did not get to experience childhood.”

As to the boy’s poor physical state, the witness said Stylianos had dirty fingernails and hair, and used to smell badly.

“His skin was covered with dark spots, his hair was matted, his smell…you just couldn’t bear it.”

The boy would come to school with torn shoes and soiled clothes.

Regarding the family situation, the witness said Stylianos’ mother had told him of heated arguments with the father, who allegedly was a heavy drinker, had extramarital affairs and would not give money to the family.

The witness never met the father, who never got in touch with him to ask about the boy’s school performance.

On one occasion, following an argument in the family, Stylianos left the house and spent the entire night in a field. This happened in May 2013, the witness recalled.

On another occasion, the mother took the children and went to stay with her parents in Kokkinotrimithia for a number of days. Because she was unable to take Stylianos to school, located in Ayia Varvara, Stylianos would miss classes.

The court set the next hearing for Friday, when the witness will be cross-examined.

There are 11 defendants in total, facing charges ranging from physical/mental abuse to negligence.

Cyprus recycled just 27.8 per cent of its plastic packaging waste in 2024, placing it among the EU countries with the lowest recycling rates, according to Eurostat figures published on Thursday.

The island generated 23.31kg of plastic packaging waste per inhabitant, considerably below the EU average of 35.9kg.

Cyprus’ recycling rate was also well below the EU average of 42.4 per cent, with only France at 27.4 per cent, Finland at 26.9 per cent and Denmark at 22.5 per cent recording lower rates.

Across the EU, the plastic packaging recycling rate increased by 0.6 percentage points compared with 2023.

The highest recycling rates were recorded in Latvia at 71 per cent, followed by Belgium at 58 per cent, Poland at 56 per cent and the Czech Republic at 53.7 per cent.

Between 2014 and 2024, the amount of plastic packaging waste generated across the EU increased by 6.1kg per inhabitant, while the amount recycled also increased by 3.4kg per inhabitant.

Overall, approximately 81.5 million tonnes of packaging waste were generated in the EU in 2024, equivalent to 181kg per inhabitant, an increase of 19.6kg compared with 2014.

Paper and cardboard accounted for the largest share of packaging waste, at 40.8 per cent, followed by plastic at 19.6 per cent and glass at 18.1 per cent.

Wood and metal also accounted for significant shares of the total packaging waste generated across the bloc.

Patients’ groups issued a distress signal in parliament on Thursday over inadequate blood stocks to properly treat people with thalassaemia and other haemoglobin diseases.

MPs heard that the lack of blood has led to postponements of surgeries as well as under-transfusions for thalassaemia patients.

Disy’s Prodromos Alambritis called for specific measures to boost blood donations, describing it as a public healthcare priority.

He proposed increasing staffing at the national blood centre, organising targeted awareness campaigns, and giving incentives to army conscripts and civil servants to donate blood.

For example, civil servants donating blood could be given the day off.

The MP expressed concern that the finance ministry recently rejected a request by the blood centre to hire more staff.

Akel’s Constantinos Constantinou wondered how “serious shortages” in blood stocks can exist while Cyprus has a solid track record in blood donations.

Regarding the finance ministry denying the blood centre’s request, Constantinou asserted that health-related matters should not be treated as “accounting issues”.

He added: “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. It is the state’s responsibility to ensure sufficient amounts of blood.”

For her part, Alma MP Litsa Drousiotou spoke of blood banks in Famagusta, Larnaca and Paphos remaining closed due to lack of personnel.

Her party proposes the creation of mobile blood banks.

Miltos Miltiadous, head of the Federation of Patients’ Associations (Osak), said patients are issuing a “cry of anguish” over the lack of blood stocks.

According to data presented by the health ministry in June this year, Cyprus ranked first in the world in voluntary unpaid blood donation relative to population size.

Former Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu told Reuters on Thursday that the competition’s clubs should not give up control over their future in any collaboration with the NBA’s planned European league.

The NBA is targeting October 2027 for the launch of NBA Europe, while Euroleague plans to expand its competition for the 2027-28 season.

Euroleague CEO Chus Bueno told Reuters on Monday that further fragmentation of European basketball would be “a disaster”, although both sides say they remain open to working together.

Bertomeu told Reuters that collaboration was in everyone’s interests, but the NBA’s current offer was not attractive to Euroleague.

Euroleague’s 13 shareholder clubs collectively own and govern the competition, giving them a say over its format, financial model and strategic direction. It is unclear what equivalent authority they would hold under the NBA proposal because its terms have not been made public.

“The terms being proposed, as they are being presented today, are not those of a collaboration, based on what we know,” said Bertomeu.

The Euroleague shareholders rejected the proposal at a meeting on October 6. Earlier this month a senior ​executive at a Euroleague club told Reuters that they expected the NBA to come back with an improved offer.

Euroleague and NBA Europe have both promised growth for the 13 Euroleague shareholder clubs.

Bueno says most Euroleague clubs would be sustainable within five years under its 10-year business plan, while NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum told Reuters on Tuesday that the NBA Europe model promised a “much quicker path to profitability”.

Asked about Tatum’s comments, Bertomeu, 67, warned that the path to improved economic results for shareholder clubs was no clearer under the NBA model.

“If European clubs move to a model that they are told will generate much more economic activity and much higher revenues, it is not guaranteed.”

Bertomeu said the potential trade-off could not be measured solely in financial terms.

“In exchange, they would give up control over their own future. And if, three years from now, what they have been promised does not happen, they will not be able to change anything.”

“In 26 years (of Euroleague), I was there for 22. During those 22 years we made mistakes, but we had the ability to correct them. We decided to change course and made our own decisions. (In NBA Europe) that would no longer be the case.”

The NBA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Bertomeu led Euroleague Basketball from its creation in 2000 until stepping down in 2022.

He said the NBA could make its biggest contribution to the growth of Euroleague clubs in commercial operations and stadium infrastructure.

“I have no doubt that the NBA could do an extraordinary commercial job. That is where the NBA could do great things.

“I believe these should be the points of collaboration between the two parties,” said Bertomeu, adding that format changes and economic reform were unnecessary.

FIFA launched an invitation to tender on Thursday for media rights in the United States and Puerto Rico for the 2030 World Cup along with an option to secure the 2034 edition.

FIFA said in a press release that it is open to “innovative approaches” to reach large audiences and that the bid submission deadline is November 19.

Fox held the exclusive English-language broadcast rights in the United States for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico while Telemundo held the Spanish language rights.

Spain, which won the 2026 World Cup, will co-host the 2030 edition with Portugal and ‌Morocco, ⁠although Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will stage inaugural matches marking the tournament’s 100th anniversary. Saudi Arabia have been named hosts of the 2034 World Cup.

According to FIFA, the 2026 World Cup averaged 13.5 million viewers per match on linear and streaming platforms in the United States, up 166% on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Earlier this week, Netflix announced that it secured the rights to broadcast the 2030 World Cup ​in Spain and Andorra.

A 44-year-old man has been arrested after being caught attempting to smuggle over 300 kilograms of meat across the Green Line, the Turkish Cypriot police have said.

In total, the man attempted to smuggle 305.4kg of boneless beef and 41kg of lamb tail fat across the Ayios Dhometios crossing point, all of which was seized as evidence.

The police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing.

A new and collaborative exhibition opens in Paphos this week, adding to the city’s cultural agenda. Megadence, as part of Visual Voices’ Vis-à-Vis Nicosia programme, presents the opening of ‘What does not finish disappearing’ on October 23, showcasing works by Marinos Houtris and Ekso.

Hosted at Decade (on 4 Agiou Kendea Street), the exhibition will remain open until November 6 and includes a roundtable conversation with the artists, a journalist and the co-founder of Megadence.

“Through field recordings and documentation of the landscape,” comment the organisers, “the exhibition attends to what becomes perceptible only through disturbance, exposure and transition. Construction sites in Paphos become points of access to infrastructures that are normally buried and to flows that cannot ordinarily be seen or heard.

“By recontextualising what is embedded within the seemingly ordinary and familiar, yet remains imperceptible to the everyday gaze, the exhibition hacks another layer of the city into moments of temporary visibilities. It contemplates what is revealed through these transitional spaces and what remains after they disappear.”

Taking part in this project is Marinos Houtris, who is an artist working across photography, sound and installation. In his practice, he follows things that emerge briefly or remain present without being noticed, attending to the temporary and less visible life of urban space. In recent years, this has taken him beneath the streets of Paphos, following water, pipes, vibrations and the traces left by excavation and repair.

In turn, the second participating artist of the exhibition, Angela Ioannidou, presents Ekso, a collaborative project for critical conversations through artistic and creative practices. Its name, meaning ‘outside’ in Greek, reflects an engagement with Paphos as both a geographical and cultural ‘outside,’ creating space and visibility for perspectives and voices that exist beyond dominant narratives.

A roundtable conversation on 31 October will bring together artists Marinos Houtris, Angela Ioannidou (Ekso), journalist Niki Laou, and Marina Demosthenous, the co-founder of Megadence and moderator of the discussion.

What does not finish disappearing

Collaborative exhibition by Marinos Houtris and Ekso. October 23-November 6. Decade, 4 Agiou Kendea, Paphos. Opening night: 7pm. Thursday-Friday: 5pm-7pm or by appointment. www.megadence.com

In the trial of furloughed Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos, the woman accusing him of rape was on Thursday cross-examined by the defendant’s lawyers.

The complainant was being cross-examined for a second consecutive hearing by Phedonos’ attorneys – Christos Pourgourides and Nondas Korakidis.

Earlier, she had testified during two hearings. During her testimony, Phedonos was not in the courtroom, but in an adjacent room in the court complex.

According to media reports, the complainant’s cross-examination is expected to continue at the next hearing before Paphos criminal court – set for October 27.

The trial is taking place behind closed doors.

Phedonos faces five distinct charges: rape; indecent assault against a woman; indecent assault against a woman by another act (meaning non-physical); assault causing actual bodily harm; and administering a drug or substance to another person with the intent of rendering that person unable to resist.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Once all witnesses for the prosecution have taken the stand, the court will assess the testimony to decide whether a prima facie case has been established against the defendant.

If the court determines that a prima facie case has not been established, it may acquit the defendant at that stage.

If it decides otherwise, Phedonos will be asked to mount his defence – by summoning witnesses. The defendant himself is not legally obliged to take the stand.

Witnesses for the defence may be cross-examined by prosecutors.

Once the defence wraps up, the two sides will deliver their closing arguments.

The court will assess the entirety of the testimony and the evidence, and then deliver a guilty or not-guilty verdict, followed by sentencing in the event of a guilty verdict.

President Nikos Christodoulides has sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demanding that the European Union resume discussions on its mutual defence clause, after the matter found itself at the centre of discussions when EU leaders met in Cyprus in April, but has since fallen off the agenda.

The sending of the letter was confirmed to the Cyprus Mail by presidential press office director Victor Papadopoulos, though he said he could offer no further details, while news website Politico quoted Christodoulides as having written that “I cannot overstate the importance of this provision for the EU and its member states”.

This, he wrote, rings true “especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty”.

“Given the gravity of the challenges we face, Cyprus would welcome the resumption of discussions at the relevant preparatory bodies. I would therefore appreciate an update on the proposals under consideration, as well as a timeline for next steps,” he wrote.

The leaders of the EU’s 27 member states had during a European Council summit in Nicosia in April resolved to demand the creation of a defence “playbook”, with Cypriot government sources at the time lamenting that “nothing has been done” in the decade since the first and only time that the bloc’s mutual defence clause was activated.

It was France which triggered Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union, better known as the Lisbon Treaty, after Paris was hit by a series of terrorist attacks in November 2015.

Article 42.7 not attached to any formal operational plans

While the text of the treaty states that “if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power”, it is not attached to any formal operational plans or international military structures.

Government sources lamented in April that “there is no clear picture of procedures, capabilities, or response times across member states”, and also decried what they described as a lack of clarity regarding the types of support which can be requested, what each member state may provide, and how quickly assistance can be delivered.

They also stressed that if a member state triggers Article 42.7, assistance must not be optional.

“It is a legal obligation, not a political choice,” they said, before adding that “member states cannot question the reasons” behind the triggering of the clause if it is triggered, provided that an armed attack has taken place.

However, in the six months since that summit, the matter of defence has slipped down the European agenda, with the most recent European Council summit, held in Brussels, being dedicated largely to the EU’s multiannual financial framework, its budget for the years between 2028 and 2034, while conversations on defence centred on Ukraine, which remains, for now, outside the bloc.

Focus inside EU has now shifted to multi-year budget

The focus on the budget has come with most leaders across Europe aiming to have the next multiannual financial framework devised and agreed upon by the member states by the end of this year.

Christodoulides had said on this matter last week that should an agreement not be reached by the end of this year, “I believe we would be sending a negative message, not only to European citizens, but to the world”.

Mutual defence was most recently discussed at the European Parliament last month, with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas decrying “Russia’s hybrid warfare in Europe” and calling for measures to be taken against it.

“Putin is a textbook bully. Moscow’s hybrid attacks are designed to intimidate us, paralyse our societies and make us hesitate to act. That is precisely what Putin wants. We should not let fear dictate our choices. We should match the level of these attacks with concrete action and a confident response. Europe’s security requires it and citizens expect it,” she said.

Cypriot MEPs called for stronger Article 42.7, looser relations with Turkey

In response, Cypriot MEP Costas Mavrides, of Diko, said that “hybrid attacks are also taking place for years by the neo-Ottoman Erdogan regime against member states in the eastern Mediterranean” in reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He called for the EU’s mutual defence clause, Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union, which is commonly known as the Lisbon Treaty, to be made “workable and operational”, before telling to Kallas that “your double standard policy is increasing part of the problem” regarding Turkey.

Fellow Cypriot MEP Geadis Geadi, of Elam, also called for the EU to “establish a clear roadmap for activating Article 42.7”, saying that this should “ensure that the mutual defence clause can be applied immediately and effectively”, and also criticised the EU for not treating Turkey and Russia in the same way.

“Mrs Kallas, be careful when you shake hands which are stained with the blood of hundreds and thousands of innocent people,” he said.

Demetra Holdings Plc completed the repurchase of 4,965 of its own shares on October 22, 2026, as part of its ongoing share buyback programme on the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE).

The investment firm informed the investing public of the transactions on Thursday, in accordance with the regulatory framework of the CSE and the circulars issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

The acquisition was carried out pursuant to the relevant authorisation granted by the company’s annual general meeting on June 30, 2026.

The company executed the buyback through the Cyprus Investment & Securities Corporation Ltd (CISCO), acquiring the shares at a uniform price of €1.36 per share.

The overall purchase comprised four separate transactions completed during the trading session on October 22, 2026.

The first transaction involved the purchase of 2,961 shares, while a second trade secured an additional 450 shares.

A third minor transaction accounted for 58 shares, alongside a fourth purchase of 1,496 shares, bringing the total daily volume to 4,965 shares.

All transactions were completed at the single price level of €1.36 per share.

British Cypriot businessman John Christodoulou said on Thursday that “my mind is with Disy, but my heart is with Akel” as he kept open the possibility of standing in the 2028 presidential election.

Speaking on Sigma, Christodoulou said the decision was difficult and could be made by early next year.

He said he neither “speaks nor thinks like a politician” and that even close friends had questioned his reasoning for considering giving up his comfortable life.

He cited his experience as a refugee, saying he left Cyprus aged nine and still feels the loss of land that belonged to his parents and grandparents.

He said, “52 years had been lost without a solution and that Turkey must return to the negotiating table”.

“I am a refugee, we need to go back to our homes, we must confront the Turk who stole our land”, he said.

He also conceded within the interview his personal limitations with the Greek language, deferring repeatedly into English and acknowledging a limited vocabulary.

The comments followed an interview on Wednesday with ANT1, in which he said he could not accept that no decision had been reached in over five decades of seeking to solve the Cyprus problem.

Christodoulou confirmed his close personal relationship with Direct Democracy leader Fidias Panayiotou but said he was also in discussions with figures from other parties.

Local media reported that Panayiotou had raised his name with party leaders, including Akel, and received no answer.

Akel secretary general Stefanos Stefanou played down speculation that the party was sounding out candidates.

Direct Democracy is also reportedly in talks with Odysseas Michaelides’ Alma party in regard to a joint candidate.

Christodoulou owns Yianis Group, which holds hotels and flats in Canary Wharf and elsewhere in Britain.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2026 puts his wealth at £2.7 billion.

In Cyprus he is active mainly through the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation, and in 2021 he was reported to be close to a £30 million takeover of Omonia football club, but talks with majority owner Stavros Papastavrou reportedly collapsed.

His British business affairs have drawn scrutiny, for in 2012 hotel companies in the group went into administration, costing him a Manchester Marriott and a Park Inn near Heathrow.

In 2022 he reportedly admitted to a tribunal that residents at 1 West India Quay had been overcharged by 26 per cent on utilities.

In March 2024 the UK government began legal action seeking £20.5 million from his companies towards fixing unsafe blocks at Canary Riverside.