A master plan formally submitted under the name “Fasouri School”, and described in accompanying technical documents as the “Fasouri Academy and Sports Hub”, is being examined by the authorities for a major educational and sporting development in Kato Polemidia.

The two names refer to the same proposed campus, rather than separate projects. “Fasouri School” is the formal umbrella name used in the environmental application, while “Fasouri Academy and Sports Hub” appears as a descriptive project name in supporting technical material.

Despite the singular “School” in the application title, the proposal is not for one conventional school. It envisages three autonomous school units, identified at this stage as Schools A, B and C, alongside an extensive shared sports centre.

Each school is planned to accommodate about 1,500 pupils and provide education from pre-primary level through primary, middle and secondary school. Together, the three units would serve 4,500 students, supported by an estimated 145 teaching, administrative and other staff.

The luxury lifestyles presented by some of Cyprus’ best-known social media personalities have proved far less impressive once tax officials looked beyond their carefully curated photographs.

Audits of people with a strong online presence uncovered cases of well-known figures displaying wealth without having corresponding income or bank deposits.

Instead of revealing hidden fortunes in every case, the checks exposed a different discrepancy. Some of the personalities under review were not concealing the wealth shown on their accounts because, in financial terms, much of that wealth did not exist.

Their apparent prosperity was largely confined to the photographs and videos they posted, emphasising the distance between the lifestyle presented on social media and the reality behind it.

Parents in Cyprus face large differences in the price of school supplies as they prepare for the new school year, with school bags alone ranging from €1.89 to nearly €210, according to the Cyprus consumers’ association.

The association urged families to plan their purchases carefully, compare prices and avoid being influenced by advertising, particularly when buying branded products that may carry a considerably higher price.

Its findings were based on a survey conducted both online and in stores across 10 businesses with outlets in all Cypriot cities. Overall, school supply prices remained at broadly the same levels as in 2025, although small fluctuations were recorded in some categories.

The survey also found that some retailers charge less for products purchased online than for the same items bought in their physical stores, making price comparisons between the two channels particularly important.

Among the widest price differences were those recorded for school bags, which ranged from €1.89 to €209.95, depending on their size, design and brand. Pencil cases were priced between €0.48 and €45.55, while pencils, pens and markers ranged from €0.20 to €18.99.

The Association of Cyprus Banks (ACB) expanded its financial literacy initiatives during 2025 and the first half of 2026, supporting national efforts to improve financial education as Cyprus experienced strong economic growth alongside mounting social and economic pressures.

In an article on Banking Insight, the association’s online publication, the association said its work complemented the National Strategy for Financial Literacy and Education coordinated by the Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Committee (CyFLEC), which is chaired by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

The ACB provided expertise, trainers and educational resources aimed at turning the national strategy into practical programmes for students, young adults and other members of the public.

The initiatives came as Cyprus recorded real economic growth of approximately 3.5 per cent in 2025, placing it among the faster-growing economies in the European Union.

Bank transfers accounted for 85 per cent of the total value of government receipts during the first half of 2026, reflecting the state’s rapid shift towards digital payments, accountant-general Andreas Antoniades told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Alongside bank transfers, online payments represented 10 per cent of receipts, while electronic payments made in person accounted for a further 1 per cent. This left just 4 per cent for traditional payment methods.

Antoniades said the prevalence of electronic payment channels was now “universal in the state”, while the use of digital methods to settle debts to the government continued to increase.

According to him, the figures confirmed “the smooth path towards the complete digital transformation of state transactions”.

Deposits held with Cyprus financial institutions increased by a net €562.3 million in July, while total loans declined by €68.7m, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

The rise in deposits was largely driven by Cyprus residents, whose holdings increased by €603.2m during the month.

More specifically, household deposits rose by €195.7m, while those held by non-financial corporations increased by €257.1m. Deposits belonging to other domestic sectors grew by a further €150.4m.

Consequently, the outstanding balance of total deposits reached €59.2 billion at the end of July, more than double the corresponding balance of loans.

At the same time, the annual growth rate of deposits accelerated to 6.2 per cent, up from 5 per cent in June.

However, despite the strong monthly inflow, the increase was slightly lower than the net rise of €601.2m recorded during the previous month.

The global entertainment and media industry is expected to generate $4.2 trillion in revenue by 2030, supported by AI-powered advertising and continued demand for live experiences, according to PwC.

The firm’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026–2030, covering 12 sectors across 53 countries and territories, projects average annual growth of 3.4 per cent. This would add around $600 billion in revenue by the end of the decade, with digital ecosystems driving most of the expansion.

At the heart of that growth will be advertising. Revenue surpassed $1tn for the first time in 2025 and is forecast to reach $1.4tn by 2030, representing average annual growth of 5.6 per cent.

PwC said the increase would be supported by AI-powered, real-time personalisation, which allows advertisers to target audiences more precisely and command higher rates for every thousand impressions.

Figures from Moldova’s Civil Aviation Authority show that 78,912 passengers travelled on the Chisinau–Larnaca route in 2025, compared with 26,988 in 2024.

This represented an increase of 51,924 passengers, or 192.4 per cent, making Larnaca one of the fastest-growing destinations from the Moldovan capital.

SkyUp Airlines has opened ticket sales for summer 2027 and confirmed that it will continue operating scheduled direct flights between the two cities.

The service will operate from March 26 until October 30, 2027, connecting Chisinau International Airport with Larnaca airport throughout the summer season.

According to the airline, the continuation of the route reflects growing demand for direct air connectivity between Cyprus and Moldova. It is expected to support tourism and business travel, as well as visits to friends and relatives and wider contact between the two countries.

Cyprus’ petroleum product sales returned to annual growth in July, rising 1.3 per cent to 146,656 tonnes, according to figures released on Thursday by the state statistical service (Cystat). The result marked a clear turnaround from June, when sales fell 8 per cent year on year to 129,479 tonnes, while the monthly comparison was even stronger, with July sales increasing by 13.3 per cent.

The return to growth came during a month in which Cyprus’ fuel price growth slowed considerably, although prices remained higher than a year earlier. According to Eurostat, fuels and lubricants for personal transport were 9.9 per cent more expensive in Cyprus in July than in the same month of 2025, down sharply from annual increases of 18.6 per cent in June and 20.5 per cent in May.

Across the EU, by comparison, prices rose 16.9 per cent year on year, meaning Cyprus recorded a considerably smaller increase than the bloc as a whole. The island also registered some of the EU’s largest monthly price declines between June and July, with diesel prices falling 7.9 per cent, the steepest drop in the bloc, while petrol prices decreased 5.4 per cent, behind only Sweden’s 11.1 per cent fall.

Cyprus’ unemployment rate fell to 3.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, from 4.3 per cent a year earlier, as employment continued to grow, according to the state statistical service (Cystat).

The figures, released as part of the labour force survey, showed that the number of employed people increased by 2.9 per cent year on year to 520,763, compared with 506,318 in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

As a result, the overall employment rate rose to 63.2 per cent from 62.6 per cent.

At the same time, the labour force expanded by 2.1 per cent to 540,130 people, accounting for 65.6 per cent of the population. This compared with 528,981 people and a participation rate of 65.4 per cent a year earlier.

However, the changes differed between men and women. The male labour force increased to 283,680, although the participation rate fell slightly to 70.9 per cent from 71.1 per cent.

Demand in Limassol’s residential market is increasingly shifting toward homes that offer more than space and location, with buyers weighing wellness, community and daily convenience alongside traditional criteria such as size and design. Amby, known in Cyprus as “the Urban Island Developer”, is betting on that shift with AMANI, a new residential development in the Panthea area of Agios Athanasios, Limassol, built around the concept of well-being living.

Amby is a Limassol-based real-estate company specialising in high-end residential and commercial urban projects, and AMANI is one of four large-scale developments the company currently has under way — its most ambitious step yet toward what it calls a complete living ecosystem, rather than a residence with amenities simply added on.

The development spans seven buildings on a 17,000-sq.m plot and will comprise 167 units — one, one-plus-one, two- and three-bedroom apartments, some with private gardens, and views over the sea, the shared gardens, the pool or the surrounding park, alongside two-, three- and four-bedroom penthouses with sea or panoramic city views.

EU imports of goods from outside the bloc rose 9.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter, while exports increased 5.4 per cent, according to Eurostat, as Cyprus separately recorded a sharp widening of its trade deficit during the first half of the year.

The EU imported €701.8 billion worth of goods from non-EU countries between April and June, while exports reached €680.0 billion.

Compared with the second quarter of 2025, EU imports increased by 11.7 per cent and exports rose 4.5 per cent.

China remained the EU’s largest source of imported goods, accounting for €153.6 billion, or 21.9 per cent of all extra-EU imports.