X is rolling out new video editing and recording tools for its iOS app as the platform seeks to encourage more original content and strengthen its creator ecosystem.

A Push Toward Original Video

The update introduces several features aimed at helping creators produce and edit videos directly within the app. New tools include multilingual caption overlays with customizable styles and green-screen effects that can use photos from a user’s camera roll or other posts on X.

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“One of our biggest priorities is to give creators the tools to create original content [and] reward those creators,” X Head of Product Nikita Bier wrote in a post on the platform.

“We have plenty more updates coming to the video editor in the coming weeks,” he added.

Encouraging Native Content

According to Bier, the goal is to make it easier for creators to publish original videos on X rather than reposting content from other platforms.

Video has become an increasingly important part of X’s strategy. Bier said posts containing video already account for nearly half of all impressions on the platform, investing in creator tools a key priority.

Competition For Creators Intensifies

The launch comes as major social media platforms compete to attract and retain creators through editing tools, audience reach and monetisation programmes.

While X already offers creator revenue sharing, it faces competition from platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Meta, all of which provide more mature creator ecosystems and established content management tools.

Meta, for example, allows Reels creators to report unauthorised reposts and add attribution to eligible content, while YouTube has long relied on automated systems to identify copyrighted uploads.

Spam And Bots Remain A Challenge

The new editing tools also arrive as X continues its broader efforts to combat spam and automated accounts. Earlier this year, Bier said the company was detecting and suspending around 208 bots per minute, adding that a significant share of the product team remained focused on anti-spam development.

The challenge extends beyond X. Reddit has introduced AI-powered tools to combat increasingly sophisticated spam, while Digg shut down its app earlier this year after citing the growing difficulty of managing automated content.

For now, X’s new video editor and recorder are available only on iOS, while the Android version remains under development.

The European Parliament has backed a major overhaul of EU air passenger rights, approving new rules that strengthen compensation, speed up refunds and improve transparency around airline pricing and claims.

Lawmakers approved the revised framework on Tuesday by 646 votes to 12, with three abstentions. The legislation updates passenger rights first introduced in 2004 and aims to address long-standing gaps between passenger protections and airline obligations.

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Clearer Rules For Delays And Cancellations

Passengers will continue to be entitled to a refund or re-routing if their flight is cancelled, while compensation will remain available for delays exceeding three hours or cases of denied boarding.

Compensation will continue to depend on flight distance:

• €250 for flights of up to 1,500 kilometres;
• €400 for EU flights over 1,500 kilometres and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres;
• €600 for longer-haul flights.

Airlines will be allowed to reduce compensation by 50% on long-haul journeys if they provide alternative transport that limits the arrival delay to no more than four hours.

Exemptions will apply only in extraordinary circumstances beyond an airline’s control, such as severe weather, natural disasters, armed conflict, unruly passengers or strikes affecting airports or air traffic services.

Faster Refunds And Better Assistance

Even when disruption is caused by extraordinary circumstances, airlines will still be required to provide meals, refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation for up to three nights.

Passengers choosing a refund instead of re-routing will benefit from a simplified process. Airlines must provide clear instructions on how to claim within four days after the journey ends, while refunds or compensation decisions must be issued within 30 days. Travellers will have up to nine months to submit a claim.

Greater Transparency For Travellers

The revised rules introduce several consumer-friendly changes aimed at improving transparency during the booking process.

Passengers will be able to use the return leg of a ticket even if they did not travel on the outbound flight. A small personal item will remain free of charge, while airlines will be required to display all mandatory charges, including cabin baggage fees, from the start of the booking process.

The legislation also bans fees for correcting spelling mistakes in passengers’ names and requires airlines to provide digital boarding passes without forcing customers to create an account or download a dedicated app.

New Protections For Families

The package also expands protections for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility. Travellers who miss a flight because airport assistance failed will remain entitled to compensation and re-routing.

Children under 14 must be seated next to the accompanying adult at no additional cost. The same protection will apply to pregnant women and passengers with reduced mobility.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, vice-chair of Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, said the reforms preserve existing passenger rights while extending protections to groups that need them most.

Rapporteur Andrey Novakov described the vote as the end of more than 13 years of negotiations, saying the new rules would provide greater legal certainty for both passengers and airlines.

Next Steps

The legislation must now receive formal approval from the Council before becoming law. Once published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it will enter into force 20 days later, with member states and airlines given one year to implement the new rules.

The European Commission has rejected claims that the new digital Entry/Exit System, or EES, is to blame for the long delays reported at some European airports, arguing instead that the real problem lies in long-standing weaknesses in airport infrastructure and staffing.

Brussels Points To Structural Weaknesses, Not The New Border System

Responding to questions from journalists, Markus Lammert, the Commission’s spokesman for home affairs, said the EES is operating smoothly across the vast majority of European Union border crossing points.

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According to the Commission, the bottlenecks seen at certain airports are largely tied to pre-existing structural constraints, including insufficient staffing, limited infrastructure, a shortage of space for the new equipment and the overall capacity of the facilities themselves.

Wide Rollout Across Europe

The Commission says the system is already active at roughly 1,500 crossing points across 29 countries, with nearly 110 million entries and exits recorded so far — the equivalent of more than two million crossings per week. Lammert also stressed that the EES applies to third-country nationals, not European Union citizens.

For reference, the Commission has also published information on the system here: European Commission Entry/Exit System.

Years Of Preparation, Yet Uneven Readiness

Brussels said the gradual deployment of the system began only after all member states had confirmed they were ready to launch it. The relevant legislation, the Commission noted, has been in force for around a decade, giving national authorities ample time to prepare.

At the same time, the Commission is increasing its support for member states, while Frontex says it is ready to deploy additional personnel at airports facing elevated pressure. Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, can be found here: Frontex.

Security Gains Remain The Core Argument

Despite the operational difficulties, the Commission insists the EES delivers a significant security benefit. According to Brussels, the system has already helped identify around 1,000 individuals considered a potential risk, preventing them from entering the European Union.

In the Commission’s view, the debate is not whether digital border control is needed, but whether airports and national authorities have invested enough in the physical and human infrastructure required to support it at scale.

Visa has launched the Visa Threat Intelligence Platform (VTIP), a new cybersecurity solution designed to help financial institutions identify and contain cyber threats before they lead to fraud, financial losses or operational disruption.

A Shift From Response To Prevention

VTIP builds on the same cybersecurity technologies Visa uses to protect its global payments network. Rather than focusing solely on fraudulent transactions, the platform aims to detect the earlier stages of an attack, including credential theft, data breaches and system compromise.

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Those threats can emerge anywhere across the payments ecosystem, from merchants and card issuers to acquirers and payment service providers, with stolen data often ending up on illicit marketplaces before being used for fraud.

Detecting Threats Earlier

“Fraud is often the result of cyber attacks that are not identified in time,” said Nikos Petrakis, Country Manager of Visa in Greece.

“With the Visa Threat Intelligence Platform, we are helping financial institutions identify risks earlier and respond more effectively before they evolve into fraud or financial losses.”

According to Petrakis, combining cybersecurity intelligence with payment data enables financial institutions to strengthen customer protection, reduce fraud-related losses and reinforce trust in digital payments.

Developed Inside Visa’s Own Network

Visa said the platform was created by its internal cybersecurity teams and tested across the company’s global payments network before being offered to customers.

The company says it blocks around 90 million cyberattacks and 11 million phishing emails every month across more than 200 countries as part of its efforts to maintain uninterrupted payment services.

Built For Financial Institutions

VTIP is designed for cybersecurity, fraud prevention and risk management teams.

Its capabilities include detecting malware and indicators of compromise, identifying organisation-specific vulnerabilities, monitoring brand impersonation, protecting executives and employees from identity-based attacks, and identifying stolen payment credentials circulating on the dark web.

By combining multiple intelligence sources, the platform helps financial institutions prioritise risks and respond before cyber incidents escalate into large-scale fraud.

Growing Investment In Payment Security

The launch reflects Visa’s broader investment in cybersecurity as digital payment ecosystems become increasingly complex. The company said it has invested more than $13 billion over the past five years in technologies designed to strengthen network security and reduce fraud.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, Visa aims to give financial institutions access to the same intelligence capabilities it uses to protect its own global payments infrastructure.

The European Central Bank has given eurozone banks until October 31 to submit plans outlining how they will defend against AI-enabled cyber threats, reflecting growing concern among regulators over the impact of artificial intelligence on financial stability.

Regulators Raise The Alarm On AI-Powered Cyber Risk

The ECB’s directive comes as increasingly sophisticated AI models are expanding cyber capabilities, raising concerns about the resilience of critical financial infrastructure.

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Some frontier AI systems, including Anthropic’s Mythos, have become so capable that access to them has been restricted, a limitation that currently applies to eurozone banks.

“These developments have potentially profound implications for the confidentiality, integrity and resilience of banks’ information and communication technology (ICT) systems,” the ECB said in a letter to bank chief executives.

Focus Shifts To Critical Systems

The central bank instructed lenders to prioritise internet-facing systems and other critical technology assets, including third-party software and open-source components. It also called for faster vulnerability management, stronger monitoring capabilities and improved cyber hygiene.

Beyond technical safeguards, the ECB urged banks to modernise ageing infrastructure and strengthen crisis management, recovery planning and information-sharing arrangements.

To support the initiative, the ECB has postponed a separate IT survey and said it may adjust inspections and other supervisory activities.

Cybersecurity Becomes A Financial Stability Issue

In a separate warning issued alongside the ECB’s letter, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) said large-scale cyberattacks could undermine confidence in financial institutions and, in severe cases, trigger runs on banks or jurisdictions perceived as less secure.

“The ESRB considers these developments to be a source of systemic risks to the financial system,” the board said.

The report outlines a range of scenarios, from gradual losses of confidence in individual institutions to coordinated attacks targeting payment, clearing and settlement systems, potentially amplified by disinformation campaigns.

According to the ESRB, cyber incidents could spread rapidly through shared software providers and common technology platforms, allowing a single breach to escalate into a broader financial disruption.

A Growing Priority For Banks

The ECB’s latest guidance underscores how cybersecurity is becoming a core prudential issue rather than simply an operational concern.

As banks deepen their reliance on digital infrastructure, cloud services and third-party technology, regulators increasingly view cyber resilience alongside capital, liquidity and risk management as a key pillar of financial stability.

New mortgage lending in Cyprus rose sharply in May 2026, highlighting continued demand for housing finance despite elevated borrowing costs. Net new housing loans increased to €145.5 million from €106 million in April, according to the Central Bank of Cyprus.

Overall Lending Gains Momentum

Net new lending across all categories reached €361.9 million in May, up from €331.3 million a month earlier, reflecting stronger credit activity among both households and businesses.

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Mortgage Rates Continue To Rise

The average interest rate on new housing loans increased to 4.06% in May from 3.73% in April, as demand for residential financing remained resilient despite higher borrowing costs.

Consumer And Small Business Lending Expand

Consumer lending also strengthened, with new loans rising to €23.9 million from €21.8 million in April.

Lending to non-financial corporations for amounts up to €1 million climbed to €63.4 million from €39.4 million, while loans exceeding €1 million declined to €121.5 million from €156.8 million, pointing to softer activity among larger corporate borrowers.

Borrowing Costs Show Mixed Trends

Interest rates moved in different directions across lending categories. Consumer loan rates eased to 6.95% from 7.19%, while rates on business loans of up to €1 million edged higher to 4.27%. The average rate on loans above €1 million fell to 3.85%.

Deposit rates also increased modestly. One-year household time deposits rose to 1.25% from 1.20%, while comparable deposits for non-financial corporations increased to 1.31% from 1.23%.

Deposit Rates Remain Among The Eurozone’s Lowest

According to the Central Bank of Cyprus, lending rates remain broadly in line with the euro area median. Deposit rates, however, continue to rank among the lowest in the eurozone, reflecting the banking sector’s strong liquidity position.

Borrowers Shift Toward Fixed-Rate Mortgages

Borrowers continued to favour longer fixed-rate mortgages in May. Loans with variable rates or an initial fixed-rate period of up to one year accounted for 17.8% of new housing lending, down from almost 100% at the beginning of 2022.

The shift reflects a growing preference for payment certainty as households adapt to a higher interest-rate environment.

The 24th annual Forbes Global 2000 records highs in sales, profits, assets and market value. But there is one number that stands out from the rest.

The combined market value of 2,000 of the world’s largest public companies jumped 31.8% this year, adding more than $30 trillion (approximately €27.8 trillion) in shareholder value in the last twelve months.

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Combined sales reached $56 trillion (approximately €51.9 trillion), up 6%. Profits climbed 13.9% to $5.5 trillion (approximately €5.1 trillion). Assets grew 12.9% to $272 trillion (approximately €252 trillion). However, none of these figures explains what actually happened at the level of the market.

The biggest change occurred in markets related to technology. Hardware, semiconductor, and software firms now account for 209 companies on the list, up from 186 last year. Their combined market value has nearly doubled from $23.9 trillion (approximately €22.2 trillion) to $41.4 trillion (approximately €38.4 trillion). That single cohort accounts for 57% of the entire list’s market value increase from last year. The driver appears to be the market’s appetite for anything AI-related.

The market has not been fully welcomed. Some still fear the threat of a bubble. Others see a market that still has room to run its course.

Richard Attias, chairman of the non-profit Future Investment Institute, ahead of the Forbes Iconoclast Summit in New York earlier this month, said: “AI will have an impact everywhere.”

The Chip Cycle

Nvidia climbed 20 places to No. 27 and became the most valuable chip company on the list. South Korea’s SK Hynix, whose high-bandwidth memory chips are essential to AI servers, jumped 107 places to No. 48. Alphabet, one of the largest AI hyperscalers, rose five places to No. 4. CoreWeave, the AI cloud computing firm that joined the list last year, climbed 706 places to No. 1,093.

A similar trend could be seen in the hardware space. Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision, the iPhone assembler and AI server manufacturer better known as Foxconn, climbed 55 places to No. 82. SanDisk, the California flash-storage company, entered at No. 614 after ranking outside the top 2,000 last year.

The Physical Side Of The Trade

It is not only code and cloud that saw growth, however. The materials industry also gained from the harder edge of the chip cycle. Materials companies on the Global 2000 rose 67.5% in market value and grew profits by 38.6%, as investment interest rewarded producers of copper, cobalt, lithium and the chemicals feeding semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, power systems and data centres.

British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto climbed 24 places to No. 111 after landing a two-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services to supply copper made with its Nuton bioleaching technology to AWS’s US data centres. Nucor, the steel manufacturer, rose 84 places to No. 416 on the back of data centre demand for its pre-engineered, plug-and-play steel products, the racks that hold the servers.

The Banks Still Hold Their Own

Even with AI dominating this year’s headlines, the top of the ranking still belongs to those who are in charge of the balance sheets. JPMorganChase, for instance, holds onto its No. 1 spot for the fourth year in a row, with $4.9 trillion (approximately €4.5 trillion) in assets.

There are 314 banks on this year’s list, more than any other industry, holding $140.4 trillion (approximately €130 trillion) in combined assets. That is more than half of the total for all 2,000 companies.

Another 136 diversified financial firms made the cut, alongside 113 insurers.

Banks and insurers are responsible for enormous balance sheets by design, while technology firms tend to be lighter on assets and therefore receive less credit on that metric. Elevated interest rates helped, too, allowing banks, insurers and other lenders to earn higher profits on loans and fixed-income assets.

The rest of the top 10 show a little more diversity. Amazon takes second place on $742.8 billion (approximately €688 billion) in sales and a $2.8 trillion (approximately €2.6 trillion) market value. Alphabet sits at No. 4 and Microsoft ties for No. 7, both benefiting from investor interest for the firms producing the software, cloud services and AI platforms driving the current tech rally. Berkshire Hathaway, Saudi Aramco and Bank of America remain in the upper tier on the strength of their profits, assets and cash generation. Three Chinese banking giants (ICBC, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China) close out the top 10, a remnant from the era when Chinese lenders led the list

Of the 2003 top 10, only Bank of America is still on it today.

The Old Economy And The New

The Global 2000 still shows both faces of the world economy. The heavyweight banks continue to sit on the assets, the oil majors continue to produce the cash, and the retail giants continue to move the goods. The biggest change this year was the direction of investor interest. Businesses did almost the same work they did last year, but the markets repriced that same work with AI.

The winners of that repricing saw impressive growth in this year’s ranking. Chipmakers, server manufacturers, memory producers and the infrastructure firms powering AI data centres witnessed the biggest re-ratings anywhere on the list. Whether the market’s enthusiasm endures is the question the next twelve months will answer.

One in five workers across the European Union is exposed to high temperatures on the job, highlighting how extreme heat is becoming one of the fastest-growing workplace risks linked to climate change, according to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).

The warning comes as Europe experiences one of its most intense heatwaves in recent years, with soaring temperatures disrupting daily life, straining healthcare systems and affecting millions of workers.

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Productivity Comes Under Pressure

Robert Marks, chief climate economist at Oxford Economics, said temperatures between 30°C and 40°C can significantly reduce productivity and disrupt operations across sectors such as construction, agriculture, manufacturing, retail and hospitality, where employees often work in uncontrolled environments.

As temperatures rise above 30°C, businesses typically face a double challenge: lower labour productivity and higher energy costs for cooling buildings and equipment.

Cyprus Faces Growing Heat Risks

The issue is particularly relevant in Cyprus, where increasingly frequent heatwaves have renewed attention on workplace safety, especially for outdoor workers.

When necessary, the Labour Inspection Department issues heat stress guidance based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index, which takes both temperature and humidity into account. During periods of extreme heat, restrictions are commonly introduced for heavy and moderate outdoor work, including certain delivery services during the hottest hours of the day.

In 2025, the department issued at least five heat-related notices covering emergency measures and temporary work stoppages. No comparable emergency order has been identified so far in 2026.

Climate Change Is Expanding Workplace Risks

According to EU-OSHA, climate change is exposing workers to a broader range of occupational hazards, including extreme heat, ultraviolet radiation, air pollution and increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Heat stress can lead to dehydration, fatigue, heat-related illness and reduced concentration, increasing the likelihood of workplace accidents. Limited recovery between shifts, particularly where homes lack adequate cooling, can further worsen health risks.

The agency also points to growing exposure to floods, wildfires and poor air quality, which increase the risk of injuries, respiratory diseases and other health problems. Emergency responders face additional hazards, including toxic gases, fire and psychological stress.

Employers Expected To Adapt

EU-OSHA says employers should assess climate-related workplace risks and introduce preventive measures, prioritising engineering and organisational controls before relying on personal protective equipment.

Common measures include adjusting working hours, increasing rest breaks, providing drinking water, improving ventilation and cooling, and supplying appropriate protective clothing. The agency also recommends heat action plans, worker training and the use of digital tools such as heat-alert systems.

Outdoor Workers Face The Greatest Exposure

Outdoor occupations remain the most vulnerable to rising temperatures and extreme weather. Agricultural and forestry workers, construction employees, firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel face elevated risks from heat stress, physical exhaustion and hazardous conditions.

Indoor workers are also affected. Employees in poorly ventilated buildings or high-temperature industries, as well as healthcare staff wearing protective equipment during heatwaves, face a higher risk of heat-related illness while demand for medical services increases.

As Europe adapts to a warming climate, heat is becoming more than a seasonal challenge. For employers and policymakers alike, it is increasingly a workforce, productivity and economic issue requiring long-term adaptation.

Cyprus recorded a sharp increase in building permits during the first quarter of 2026, pointing to continued momentum in the country’s construction sector despite rising development costs.

Permits Jump On Robust Project Pipeline

According to the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat), the number of building permits issued between January and March rose 44.1% year on year to 2,276, compared with 1,580 in the same period of 2025.

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March accounted for 776 permits with a combined value of €433.1 million and a total authorised floor area of 353,900 square metres. The permits cover the construction of 1,940 housing units.

Value, Floor Area And Housing Units All Advance

Growth extended across all key indicators during the first quarter.

The total value of permits increased by 41.6% year on year, while authorised floor area expanded by 40.2%. The number of approved housing units recorded the strongest increase, rising 58.4% compared with the first quarter of 2025.

Building permits are generally viewed as a leading indicator of construction activity, as they typically precede new development projects by several months.

Construction Activity Continues To Expand

The latest figures are broadly consistent with other recent indicators from Cyprus’ construction sector.

Earlier Cystat data showed that the Index of Production in Construction rose 0.7% year on year in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, the Output Prices Index increased 3.0% from the previous quarter and 4.7% compared with a year earlier, highlighting continued cost pressures across the industry.

Housing Market Remains Supportive

The construction pipeline has also been supported by resilient demand in the residential property market.

According to Eurostat, house sales in Cyprus increased by 3.8% in 2025 after declining 1.1% in 2024. Rental prices also continued to rise during the first five months of 2026, while house prices increased 1.6% quarter on quarter in the first three months of the year.

Taken together, the latest data suggest that construction activity remains on an upward trajectory, although developers continue to face higher building costs alongside growing project volumes.

Cyta has signed an agreement to acquire the RedMax Data Centre in the Latsia Industrial Area, marking a significant expansion of its digital infrastructure and reinforcing Cyprus’ ambitions to strengthen its position as a regional data hub.

The acquisition includes a phased expansion and upgrade of the facility. The first phase is expected to become operational in early 2027, with the completed project set to become the largest privately owned data centre in Cyprus.

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Expanding Digital Infrastructure

The investment significantly expands Cyta’s data centre portfolio, increasing its capacity to provide cloud services and equipment colocation for businesses, public sector organisations and international institutions.

According to Cyta, the upgraded facility will offer secure, high-availability infrastructure built to international standards, incorporating advanced physical security and cybersecurity systems, ISO certifications and renewable energy sources to meet part of its electricity demand.

“The investment is the next significant step in the development of Cyta Data Centers,” the company said, adding that the project will strengthen its ability to deliver cloud and hosting services at a larger scale.

Cyta also said the investment, together with its existing data centres and international submarine cable network, will further enhance Cyprus’ role as a regional digital hub while supporting the country’s technological and economic development.

Part Of A Global Data Centre Expansion

The investment comes as spending on data centres accelerates worldwide, fuelled by growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Technology research firm Omdia estimates cumulative global investment in data centres will approach $1.6 trillion by 2030, while leading technology companies are expected to spend more than $600 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 alone.

McKinsey & Company projects that global investment in data centres will reach $6.7 trillion by 2030, with the majority directed toward AI-ready facilities capable of supporting increasingly complex computing workloads.

Strengthening Cyprus’ Digital Position

Against that backdrop, Cyta’s investment reflects the growing strategic importance of digital infrastructure as countries compete to attract cloud services, AI workloads and international data storage.

For Cyprus, the project represents more than an expansion of capacity. By combining a larger data centre footprint with its international submarine cable network, Cyta is strengthening the island’s position as a digital gateway connecting Europe, the Middle East and neighbouring regions.