ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has decided to set the proposed wheat price for 2027 at Rs4,500 per maund, in a key move to promote the country’s agriculture sector, protect farmers’ economic interests and boost wheat production next year.
According to the prime minister, the main aim of the decision is to give farmers relief from rising production costs, higher petroleum prices and inflationary pressure, to provide effective incentives for wheat cultivation, and to stabilise the national agricultural economy.
The consultative process for the decision was guided by President Asif Ali Zardari and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, with the advice and cooperation of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
Shehbaz Sharif offered special thanks to Maryam Nawaz for her valuable proposals and cooperation in the consultative process, and praised her role. He also expressed gratitude to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for his cooperation.
He expressed hope that the increase in the proposed wheat price would help growers cover their production costs and earn a reasonable profit. Encouraging farmers to grow wheat is among the government’s key objectives, so that maximum sowing and higher national output can be achieved in the coming season.
The prime minister pointed out that in recent years, inflation and rising agricultural expenses have left farmers facing financial difficulties, while Pakistan has also had to import wheat over the past two years. In such circumstances, he said, raising the proposed wheat price could prove an important step toward encouraging local production and improving the country’s ability to meet its food needs.
The government expects the new proposed price to make farmers more interested in cultivating wheat, improving prospects for a larger sown area and higher overall production in the coming season. The move is being described as an important part of efforts to improve farmers’ economic well-being, stabilise the agriculture sector and promote food security.
Shehbaz Sharif said that increasing domestic wheat production would not only help protect farmers’ economic interests but also strengthen efforts to make the country more self-sufficient in food. The government expects the decision to yield positive results in 2027 in the form of benefits for agriculture, wheat availability and farmers’ prosperity.
It should be noted that the Rs4,500 per maund price has so far been described only as a proposed or indicative price. Therefore, before treating it as a finally implemented official procurement price, confirmation through the relevant official announcement and procedure will be necessary.
The post PM Shehbaz proposes Rs4,500 per maund wheat price for 2027 appeared first on Daily Pakistan English News.
© PA Wire
© PA Wire
© PA Wire
© PA Wire
Lordos United Public Ltd completed the payment of its €200,000 final dividend to eligible shareholders on Friday, the company announced.
The payment follows a decision by the company’s annual general meeting on September 23, 2026, to approve a final dividend of €0.0039576 per share, in line with a proposal submitted by the board of directors.
The company had announced the dividend on September 24, with the distribution now completed earlier than expected on Friday.
The announcement comes a day after Lordos United confirmed the completion of its €8.16 million acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in P&S Carton Industries Ltd, following regulatory approval.
The transaction involved the acquisition of 35,700 shares in the Cypriot cardboard packaging manufacturer under a share purchase agreement signed on July 10, 2026.
The Commission for the Protection of Competition approved the deal, finding that the concentration was compatible with the functioning of competition in the market.
Following completion, P&S Carton became a subsidiary of Lordos United, while the sellers retained a combined 49 per cent shareholding.
The acquisition marks Lordos United’s entry into Cyprus’ corrugated cardboard packaging sector, expanding its activities beyond its existing plastics manufacturing and packaging operations.
The Bank of Cyprus will announce its financial results for the first nine months of 2026 on November 5, after the group’s board reviews the figures at a meeting scheduled for the previous day.
Bank of Cyprus Holdings Public Limited Company said on Friday that its board of directors would convene on Wednesday, November 4, to examine the financial results for the period ended September 30, 2026.
The results will be released before the opening of trading on the Athens Stock Exchange and the Cyprus Stock Exchange on Thursday, November 5.
The announcement comes shortly after the completion of the acquisition of performing loans worth approximately €130 million and deposits of around €440 million from the Cyprus Development Bank (CDB).
The transaction, announced by the two banks on Wednesday, followed receipt of all required regulatory approvals and covered substantially all of CDB’s performing loans and deposits, alongside certain other assets and liabilities.
The acquisition, which was agreed in March, was completed at a price close to the book value of the transferred assets and liabilities.
According to CDB, the total estimated discount on the assets transferred amounted to approximately €2.8 million, with the consideration agreed at nearly par.
Any balancing amount arising from the transaction was settled in cash, the banks said.
The upcoming results will also follow the decision earlier this month to extend group chief executive Panicos Nicolaou’s tenure until December 31, 2031.
The decision builds on an earlier extension approved in November 2024, which had secured his position until December 31, 2028.
Nicolaou has served as group chief executive since September 2019, and the latest extension will keep him in the role for a further three years beyond the previously agreed expiry date.
The nine-month results are expected to provide an updated picture of the banking group’s financial performance following the completion of the CDB transaction and the extension of its chief executive’s tenure.
Cyprus tourism arrivals fell by 5.6 per cent in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the previous year, recovering from a much sharper decline earlier in the year, Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis said on Friday as he presented the department’s €59.4 million budget for 2027.
Around 62 per cent of the proposed budget will fund destination promotion and the enrichment of the tourism product, including promotional activities, participation in tourism fairs and incentive schemes.
Presenting the budget before the House finance committee, Koumis said the sector had faced an extremely difficult time in 2026 because of external factors, with some describing the period as the most difficult for the industry in decades.
“2026 will undoubtedly remain in the history and memory of those working in the sector as a year during which our country’s tourism industry was called upon to face an unprecedented crisis as a result of external factors,” he said.
During March and April, Cyprus recorded tens of thousands of cancellations, while the pace of bookings slowed considerably.
There were also periods when bookings effectively froze altogether, both for the immediate travel period and for the remainder of the year, Koumis said.
The government introduced measures in response to the disruption, and the deputy minister briefed MPs on those interventions as well as the sector’s subsequent performance.
Visitor arrivals have recovered substantially from the decline recorded during the first four months of the year, when the annual decrease stood at 17.9 per cent.
For the first nine months of 2026, arrivals were down by just 5.6 per cent compared with the same period in 2025.
However, they remained 4.1 per cent higher than in the first nine months of 2024 and 8.5 per cent above the corresponding period in 2023.
“This indicates that the tourism sector has entered a recovery phase,” Koumis said, while acknowledging that further efforts would be required to restore demand in some markets.
He also highlighted September’s performance, describing it as the best September on record for tourist arrivals in Cyprus.
Tourism revenue figures, which were available from the Cyprus Statistical Service up to July, showed a decline of 7 per cent during the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
Despite that decrease, revenues were 9.2 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of 2024 and 13.8 per cent above the level recorded in 2023.
Koumis said the full-year outcome would depend on how the remaining months performed.
If tourism revenue followed a similar pattern to that of 2025 during the rest of the year, the annual decline was expected to be limited to between 3 and 4 per cent.
“Under the circumstances, this would be a very satisfactory performance,” he said.
The deputy minister stressed that the industry’s performance should not be taken for granted, pointing to the difficulties experienced during 2026 as evidence of the sector’s exposure to external developments.
“I consider it very important to underline that success in tourism can never be taken for granted,” he said.
“This was also demonstrated this year,” he added.
Looking ahead, Koumis said the government would continue working to ensure tourism generated benefits for the national economy, tourism businesses and communities across Cyprus.
“We are continuing with the aim of ensuring that tourism continues in 2027 to generate benefits for our country’s economy, tourism businesses and, certainly, local communities,” he said.
The proposed €59.4 million budget places destination promotion and the development of Cyprus’ tourism offering at the centre of the department’s spending plans for 2027, as the sector seeks to consolidate its recovery following a year marked by significant disruption.
Cyprus recorded an income inequality coefficient of 31.2 in 2025, above the European Union average of 29.2, according to figures published by Eurostat on Friday.
At the same time, separate earnings figures from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) highlight significant differences in pay across the island.
The Eurostat figure suggests that income was distributed less equally in Cyprus than across the EU as a whole, although the bloc’s overall level of inequality edged down from 29.4 in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus Statistical Service’s 2025 earnings figures reveal substantial gaps between average and median pay, differences between men and women, and considerable variations across economic sectors and nationalities.
The Gini coefficient measures how evenly income is distributed across a population, using a scale from zero to 100.
A score of zero represents perfect equality, where everyone receives the same income, while a score of 100 indicates complete inequality, where one person receives all the income.
Cyprus’ score of 31.2 was slightly below Greece’s 31.6, while Turkey recorded a considerably higher coefficient of 43.9.
Across the EU, income inequality varied considerably between member states, with the Gini coefficient ranging from 23.0 in Slovakia to 37.7 in Bulgaria.
Slovakia recorded the most equal income distribution among EU countries in 2025, followed by Belgium at 23.4, the Czech Republic at 24.0, Slovenia at 24.6 and Poland at 24.9.
At the other end of the scale, Bulgaria had the highest income inequality, with a coefficient of 37.7, followed by Latvia at 35.6 and Lithuania at 35.5.
The EU’s overall score of 29.2 represented a modest improvement on the previous year, indicating a slight move towards a more equal distribution of income across the bloc.
Cyprus’ earnings figures show a substantial gap between average and typical pay.
According to Cystat, average gross monthly earnings stood at €2,591 in 2025, compared with median earnings of €1,953, leaving a difference of €638.
The average was approximately 33 per cent higher than the median, a gap that points to the influence of higher salaries in lifting the overall average above the amount earned by the middle employee.
The distribution of earnings also showed that nearly a quarter of employees earned less than €1,500 per month.
Some 24.2 per cent of employees fell into this category, while the largest single earnings bracket was €1,000 to €1,249, which accounted for 13 per cent of employees.
Gender differences were also apparent in the distribution of salaries, with women more heavily represented in the lower-paid brackets between €1,000 and €1,499 per month.
Men, meanwhile, had a 3.1 percentage point advantage in the highest earnings bracket, comprising employees earning €6,000 or more per month.
Pay also varied sharply between economic sectors, with average monthly earnings ranging from €956 in agriculture to €5,038 in financial and insurance activities.
This difference highlights the extent to which the sector in which someone works can influence their earnings, with average pay in financial and insurance activities more than five times the agricultural figure.
Nationality was another dividing line in the earnings data, with Cypriot employees recording median monthly earnings of €2,145, compared with €1,597 among non-Cypriots.
The figures also showed particularly wide variations in average earnings among non-Cypriot employees, ranging from €664 in agriculture to €6,649 in financial and insurance activities.
The data therefore points to considerable differences within the workforce, both in the typical salary received by Cypriot and non-Cypriot employees and in the earnings available across different sectors.
Eurostat’s indicator refers to the distribution of equivalised disposable income per inhabitant, which takes account of household size and composition to make income levels more comparable between households.
The measure assesses income inequality rather than the absolute level of income or the overall wealth of a country.
Taken together, the European and national figures provide different perspectives on income disparities in Cyprus, with Eurostat measuring inequality in disposable income across the population and Cystat’s earnings data illustrating differences in gross pay between employee groups.
Brent crude increase follows Tehran threatening retaliatory attacks on Gulf oil and tech facilities
Oil has hit its highest level in more than five months as fears of fresh escalation in the Middle East conflict grip the energy markets.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose by 1% on Friday morning to above $115 a barrel – its highest level since May.
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© Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters
© Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters
© Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters
You fill out a job application or a benefits form, attach the last document, and the portal refuses it. Sometimes the message says the file is too big. Other times it says the format isn’t accepted, with no hint about what would work.
Both errors have simple causes, and most can be fixed in a few minutes without special software. Here’s what each one means and how to get your document through on the next try.
Upload caps protect the servers behind a site. Every file a portal accepts has to be stored, scanned, and sometimes passed on to a reviewer, so large files slow the whole system down.
Limits vary widely. Gmail allows attachments up to 25 MB, while Outlook stops at 20 MB. Job portals and web forms often set the bar at 5 to 10 MB, and government or court e-filing systems can be stricter still, sometimes 5 MB or less per file.
Format rules exist for similar reasons. A portal that only accepts PDF and JPG doesn’t have to support dozens of file types or worry about files that open differently on every computer. When you see “file format not supported,” the site is telling you it only works with a short list of types, which is usually printed somewhere near the upload button.
Some documents hit the limit far more often than others:
– Scanned PDFs: each page is stored as a full image, so one page can weigh several megabytes.
– Reports and brochures with photos: uncompressed images inside the PDF add up fast.
– Phone photos: a single picture from a modern phone can run 5 to 15 MB.
– Merged PDFs: combining a dozen scans into one file stacks their sizes together.
If you’re stuck with a PDF file too large to upload, it’s usually a scan or a merged file. The text itself takes up very little space. The images inside the file are what push it over.
When a portal says “File exceeds size limit,” compression is the fastest fix. A PDF compressor lowers the resolution and quality of the images inside the file while leaving text untouched. For most forms, IDs, and contracts, the difference isn’t visible on screen.
Upload the PDF to a compression tool, pick a compression level, and download the smaller copy. Start with a medium setting. If the file is still over the limit, try a stronger level, then zoom in to check that small print and signatures are still readable. Keep the original file, too, so you can go back to it if a stronger setting blurs something important.
If a file size too large error keeps appearing after compression, split the document. Many portals allow several uploads, so a 40-page application can go up as two or three smaller PDFs. You can also split by page range and send only the pages the form actually asks for.
For photos, resize before you upload or convert them. Cutting a 4000-pixel-wide image down to around 1200 pixels shrinks the file dramatically and still looks sharp on a screen.
A rejected format is often easier to fix than a rejected size. Many portals ask for a PDF but get a phone photo of a document, which saves as JPG or HEIC. Others want a single file but receive five separate images.
Converting the images to one PDF solves both problems at once. If you’re looking for a way to convert JPG to PDF free, JPGtoPDF runs in the browser without an account and can combine several images into a single PDF in the order you arrange them. Check the portal’s accepted types first, since some forms take JPG directly and don’t need the extra step.
Word and PowerPoint files cause the same error on PDF-only portals. Both programs can save a copy as PDF from the Save As or Export menu, which also locks the layout so fonts and spacing don’t shift on the reviewer’s screen.
A few settings save you from rejected uploads in the first place:
– Scan documents at 300 DPI, which keeps text crisp without creating huge files.
– When exporting from a word processor, choose the smaller or “minimum size” PDF option if there is one.
– Compress files ahead of time if you know a portal has a strict limit.
– Name files clearly, such as “Smith_Passport.pdf,” so reviewers can find them.
A rejected upload almost always comes down to size or format. Compress or split oversized files, resize photos, and convert images to PDF when a portal asks for it. Once you know a site’s limits, dealing with a file too large to upload takes minutes instead of stalling an application.
DISCLAIMER – “Views Expressed Disclaimer – The information provided in this content is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, legal, tax, or health advice, nor relied upon as a substitute for professional guidance tailored to your personal circumstances. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any other individual, organization, agency, employer, or company, including NEO CYMED PUBLISHING LIMITED (operating under the name Cyprus-Mail).
Cyprus must balance long-term economic stability with responses to rapidly changing global challenges, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Friday, warning that Europe can no longer rely on assumptions that held true 10 to 20 years ago.
Addressing this year’s Limassol Economic Forum, Keravnos said wars, geopolitical tensions, disruptions to international trade, energy challenges, technological advances and climate change were creating an unprecedentedly complex international environment.
“The wars in the wider region of Europe, geopolitical tensions and shifts, the disruption of international trade, the global energy crisis and energy challenges, the technological revolution and climate change are shaping an unprecedented and exceptionally complex international economic and political environment,” he said.
He praised the forum’s organisers, saying the event had established itself as an important platform for examining geopolitical developments, economic trends and major global challenges.
Keravnos stressed that these developments were interconnected and could not be addressed by individual countries acting alone.
“No country, however powerful it may be, can face them on its own,” he stated.
“This highlights the enduring value of the European Union,” he continued. “In times of uncertainty, European cooperation proves to be the most important tool for preserving economic stability and social cohesion.”
Changing geopolitical balances are creating new risks, while technological advances, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), are transforming daily life, productivity and employment, as well as giving rise to new economic models.
At the same time, inflation and the rising cost of living are placing pressure on governments, businesses and households, while Europe faces the challenge of reconciling social cohesion with economic competitiveness.
Keravnos argued that Europe’s response to international competition should not involve withdrawing from the global economy, but instead combining greater autonomy with continued openness.
“The European response clearly cannot be international isolation,” he said.
“On the contrary, it must be based on a dual strategy, autonomy on the one hand and an open economy on the other,” the minister explained.
He added that this approach was reflected in the slogan of Cyprus’ presidency of the Council of the EU, “An Autonomous Union. Open to the World”.
Geopolitical developments had highlighted the risks associated with dependence on other countries, making it necessary for Europe to strengthen its capacity to act independently while maintaining international economic ties.
Fiscal stability, meanwhile, must remain the foundation of European economic policy, Keravnos said, stressing that flexibility and fiscal discipline were not mutually exclusive.
“Fiscal stability should be the main and non-negotiable framework and objective of European economic policy,” he said.
“Flexibility and commitment to fiscal stability are not mutually exclusive,” he added.
Turning to Cyprus, Keravnos said the country had strengthened its credibility and competitiveness through prudent fiscal policies, a gradual reduction in public debt, a stable financial system and structural reforms.
“The Cypriot economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience in recent years,” he said.
“Prudent fiscal policy, the gradual reduction of public debt, the stability of the financial system and the implementation of reforms have strengthened the country’s credibility and competitiveness,” the minister added.
He also highlighted the speed of the ongoing technological transition, warning that economies had to adapt to the changes it was bringing.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer optional,” he said, describing the technology as essential for improving productivity and competitiveness.
For this reason, Europe needed to increase investment in skills, research and technology, while ensuring that its existing strengths were channelled towards productive activities.
The bloc had significant advantages, including its universities, accumulated knowledge, traditions and culture, Keravnos said, but these needed to be translated into targeted investment and effective training for workers.
He also called for a reduction in bureaucracy, arguing that excessive administrative burdens could undermine Europe’s ability to respond to changing conditions.
Economic stability, he said, remained non-negotiable, but this did not mean Europe should be unable to adjust its policies to meet emerging challenges.
Turning again to Cyprus’ role within the bloc, Keravnos said the country was actively participating in European efforts despite its relatively small size, contributing to the development of common policies and solutions.
“Despite its small size, our country has demonstrated that it can make a meaningful contribution to shaping European policies and promoting common solutions,” he said.
As an EU member state in the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus also had an important role to play in strengthening cooperation between Europe and the wider Middle East.
“Cyprus plays an important role as a bridge for cooperation between Europe and the wider Middle East region,” he said.
Energy security remains a key European priority, alongside resilient supply chains, the green transition and the development of cross-border infrastructure projects.
Cyprus was actively seeking to contribute to these efforts, Keravnos said, underlining the importance of cooperation in strengthening Europe’s energy security and addressing wider economic vulnerabilities.
He argued that current conditions demanded common action and a clear long-term vision, with Europe needing to make better use of its strengths and reinforce its economic competitiveness without increasing inequality.
The continent had the capacity to overcome its present difficulties and create better prospects for the future, provided it was willing to adapt to the changing international environment.
However, such adaptation should not come at the expense of the principles underpinning fiscal stability, economic responsibility and long-term prosperity.
“We must adapt to changing circumstances without moving away from the fundamental principles that safeguard fiscal stability, economic responsibility and long-term prosperity,” Keravnos said.
Summing up his message, he called for change without instability, adaptation without abandoning fundamental principles, and flexibility without compromising fiscal discipline.
“Change without losing stability. Adaptation without abandoning fundamental principles. Flexibility without retreating from fiscal discipline,” he concluded.
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