Unemployment in Cyprus in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to 7.8% marking a reduction of 18.7% compared with the respective period of 2017, Cyprus Statistical Service said recently.

After a record number of tourist arrivals in 2017 in the town and district of Larnaca, the local tourism promotion company is confident 2018 will end with a small increase.

Bank of Cyprus announced recently it had completed the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary bank in the UK, Bank of Cyprus UK Limited and its subsidiary Bank of Cyprus Financial Services Limited, to Cynergy Capital Limited following the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the European Central Bank.

Ryanair has announced a new Paphos to Kiev route as part of the low-cost carrier’s 2019 summer schedule.

Cyprus’ Research Promotion Foundation (RPF) unveiled two new calls for proposals to fund research from Cypriot and Russian stakeholders with €600,000.

The Greek import/export company Diversa appears to be pursuing its interest in acquiring collapsed Cypriot airline Cobalt by making more enquiries with Cypriot financial regulators, reports said recently.

Cyprus ranks 15th among 63 world countries in its ability to develop, attract and retain talent, according to the IMD World Talent Ranking 2018.

The Stena Icemax drillship leased by ExxonMobil, arrived last week in Cyprus and began drilling in Cyprus’ offshore block 10, named by ExxonMobil as ‘Delphine’ after the Greek mythology dolphin-shaped sea daemon that was in the service of Poseidon.

Cyprus needs a new economic model which utilises both the traditional sectors and strengthens the role of young people if it wants to get ahead, the head of the chamber of commerce and industry (Keve) Christodoulos Angastiniotis said recently.

Among highly indebted European countries, Cyprus is most exposed to credit risks related to high household debt because it has a small economy, weak banking sector, and very high public and private debt levels, Moody’s Investors Service said in a recent report.