Cyprus expects more French visitors in 2027 as airlines increase capacity between the two countries, Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis said after meetings with tour operators in Paris.

France, one of Cyprus’ key tourism markets, has had a difficult 2026. French arrivals fell 46% year over year to 8,453 in August, from 15,663 a year earlier, according to the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat). August arrivals were also nearly 50% below the 16,798 recorded in the same month of 2024.

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Overall, Cyprus received 2.82 million tourist arrivals between January and August, down 7% from the same period in 2025.

Air Connectivity Supports 2027 Outlook

Koumis discussed the 2027 outlook with senior executives from tour operators offering Cyprus holidays during the IFTM Top Resa travel trade fair in Paris.

Higher air capacity between France and Cyprus was a key focus of the talks. Participants also discussed the impact of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on the French market and Cyprus’ efforts to adapt its tourism offering to French travelers.

“The French market is undoubtedly an extremely important market for our country’s tourism,” Koumis said, adding that France had regained importance only a few years ago and still had room to grow.

Improved air connectivity will be an important factor in that expansion, according to Koumis. “It is now clear that air connectivity between France and Cyprus is improving significantly, which is a basic prerequisite for the further growth of the market,” he said.

Cyprus Promotes Tourism And Regional Cooperation

Koumis attended the opening of IFTM Top Resa at the invitation of French Tourism Minister Serge Papin, who later visited the Cyprus stand. Held from Sept. 15 to 17 at Paris Porte de Versailles, the event brought together more than 32,000 tourism professionals representing 177 destinations and 1,650 brands, according to organizers.

During his visit, Koumis also met Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy. Cyprus and Egypt reaffirmed their tourism cooperation and discussed opportunities to strengthen ties further.

French media interviews covered Cyprus’ tourism offering, infrastructure and services, along with efforts to develop specialized tourism products. Regional instability weighed on arrivals in 2026, particularly during the spring, although the decline narrowed over the summer.

Eurobank Wholesale Banking General Manager Phivos Stasopoulos said sustained investment and access to capital are essential to the development of Cyprus’ healthcare system.

Speaking at a healthcare sector event, Stasopoulos said banks can play a broader role than traditional lending by supporting growth, innovation and investment across the sector.

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Healthcare Investment Expands With Gesy

Eurobank said Cyprus’ healthcare sector has become more dynamic in recent years, with the General Healthcare System (Gesy) acting as a major catalyst.

Private investment, new infrastructure and growing investor interest are creating opportunities for further expansion. Stasopoulos said the key issue is how capital is deployed into projects and business models that create value for patients, investors and the wider economy.

“A modern healthcare system cannot evolve without investment and access to capital,” Stasopoulos said.

Scale And Governance Shape Growth

Stasopoulos also pointed to increasing consolidation in healthcare, saying greater scale could help providers use technology more efficiently, expand specialist services and strengthen competitiveness.

Eurobank said growth should be supported by clear strategy, strong corporate governance and sustainable operating models. Providers also face pressure from regulation, margins and the need for continued technology investment.

Cyprus Targets A Regional Healthcare Role

Eurobank highlighted opportunities for Cyprus to develop as a regional healthcare hub, including medical tourism, rehabilitation, health technology and research.

Stasopoulos said achieving that potential will require cooperation among banks, investors and healthcare providers around long-term investment plans. Eurobank said it remains focused on supporting investments aimed at competitiveness, international expansion and sustainability.

Learn more about Eurobank.

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has withdrawn the Investors Compensation Fund (ICF) membership of R.I.A.L Raising Investment Advisory Ltd following the loss of the company’s regulated status in Cyprus.

The move follows CySEC’s earlier decision to revoke the company’s Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) authorization, ending its regulated operating status in the country.

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What The Investors Compensation Fund Covers

The Investors Compensation Fund, or ICF, is a statutory scheme that compensates eligible clients of investment firms that cannot meet their obligations. Coverage is subject to the conditions and requirements set out in the relevant rules.

ICF membership provides a layer of protection for clients when a regulated firm fails to meet its obligations.

Membership Withdrawal Follows Licence Revocation

CySEC said the withdrawal of ICF membership resulted directly from its decision to revoke R.I.A.L Raising Investment Advisory Ltd’s CIF authorization.

However, the regulator stressed that losing ICF membership does not automatically remove the rights of clients who may be covered by the scheme.

Eligible Clients Can Still Seek Compensation

Clients covered by the ICF may remain entitled to compensation for investment services and operations carried out before the company lost its membership, provided they meet the conditions set by CySEC’s directive governing the fund.

The withdrawal also does not prevent the compensation process from being initiated for eligible clients. The change affects the firm’s regulatory status but does not automatically eliminate potential claims related to earlier activities.

Regulatory Status And Client Claims Are Separate

The distinction between a firm’s authorization and clients’ compensation rights is significant. Losing a regulatory licence does not necessarily end protections that may have already applied to eligible clients.

For investors and other market participants, the case illustrates that licensing, ICF coverage and compensation claims involve separate legal and procedural requirements.

More than 1.5 billion people were exposed to dangerous levels of heat this summer, according to a global analysis by nonprofit Climate Central.

The study found that Europe experienced the most unusual heat during June-August 2026, with nearly nine in 10 Europeans exposed to at least one month of what researchers classify as “risky heat.”

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Europe Emerged As The World’s Hottest Region

Climate Central defines risky heat as temperatures above 90% of local temperatures recorded between 1991 and 2020 for the same period. Researchers use the threshold to identify temperatures at which health risks begin to increase.

Across the world, people in 203 countries experienced at least 30 days of risky heat. In 54 countries, June-August 2026 was the hottest such period on record, while seven of the 10 countries with the largest temperature anomalies were in Europe.

France recorded the largest national temperature anomaly, at 3.5C above its historical average.

“Whether it’s nine in 10 Europeans enduring risky heat, hundreds of millions impacted across Asia and Africa, or relentless record-breaking temperatures in North America, human-driven warming is pushing communities beyond safe physical limits,” said Kristina Dahl of Climate Central.

She said the summer’s heat should be viewed in terms of its immediate effects on health systems, labor productivity, infrastructure and household finances.

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), who was not involved in the study, said the findings show the rising costs of climate change linked to fossil fuel use.

Clean Energy Faces Rising Demand

Europe’s extreme summer was part of a broader trend that scientists say would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change. Earlier this month, the United Nations said limiting warming to 1.5C is no longer achievable under current conditions.

The latest United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) outlook projects 1.8C of warming in the best-case scenario and more than 2C in less favorable cases. UNEP now describes the likely pathway as “overshoot, peak and decline.”

Renewable energy is central to limiting that overshoot. Renewables generated almost 34% of global electricity in 2025, but UNEP says the share would need to reach 60%-70% by 2030 under a limited-overshoot pathway.

In the European Union, wind and solar generated more electricity than fossil fuels for the first time last year. SolarPower Europe estimates that solar generation has saved the bloc €33.8 billion in avoided gas imports since the start of the war on Iran.

Power Grids Struggle With Growing Demand

Investment in clean energy has reached about $1.9 trillion annually, but renewable generation is meeting only around 40% of the increase in electricity demand. Air conditioning and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence are contributing to that growth.

According to the International Energy Agency, data center electricity use increased 17% in 2025, reaching roughly 1.5%-2% of global electricity demand. That figure is expected to double by 2030.

Europe’s aging power grids are also struggling to integrate growing amounts of renewable generation, leaving some solar and wind capacity unused. Battery storage can help reduce those bottlenecks, but investment has not kept pace with the scale of the challenge.

This summer’s heat is adding pressure on governments, businesses and infrastructure systems to adapt to higher temperatures while expanding low-carbon energy capacity.

Apple has agreed to change how apps on its platforms request permission to track users across other apps and websites following scrutiny from European competition regulators.

The changes affect App Tracking Transparency (ATT), which requires third-party apps to obtain user consent for cross-app tracking. Regulators have argued that Apple’s own services have not faced the same restrictions, raising competition concerns.

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Apple Offers Developers An Alternative Consent Screen

Under commitments agreed with European competition authorities, Apple will keep the ATT requirement and the existing point at which users receive the prompt.

Instead, developers distributing apps in the European Union will be able to use an alternative consent screen with different formatting and wording. The screen can also include a link with additional information about why tracking permission is requested.

Apple said the alternative will initially be available in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Romania because of legal obligations in those markets.

Developers Get More Flexibility Over ATT Prompts

Reports on the settlement said Apple will allow developers to present the consent request as a full-page screen rather than a pop-up. The revised version removes the word “track” and replaces the buttons with “Allow” and “Reject.”

Developers can also add a link explaining how data will be used and why permission is needed. The changes modify how the request is presented without removing the underlying consent requirement.

Tracking Rules Affect App Advertising Revenue

ATT has significant commercial implications for apps that rely on targeted advertising. When users decline tracking, developers have less data available for personalized ads, which can reduce their advertising revenue.

Apple has said ATT is designed to protect user privacy. Critics have argued that Apple’s own services can still use data from its ecosystem for personalized advertising, creating concerns about unequal treatment between Apple and third-party developers.

EU Developers Can Ask For Consent Again

Apple will also allow developers distributing apps in the EU to request consent again one year after a user’s previous ATT decision.

That change gives developers another opportunity to obtain consent over time while leaving the core ATT framework in place. For Apple, the commitments adjust how tracking permission is presented without removing the system’s central privacy requirement.

Cyprus recorded 21,387 property transfers in 2025, broadly unchanged from 2024, while the value of transactions rose about 10% to €4.73 billion.

The figures were presented at the Cyprus Property Show, where government officials and representatives from the property, construction, engineering and investment sectors discussed housing supply, planning reform and rising costs.

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Government Seeks More Flexible Planning Rules

Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou said housing remains a government priority, with measures aimed at increasing supply and strengthening citizens’ purchasing power.

The government is revising local plans for major urban areas and the Policy Statement to create a more modern and flexible planning framework. First Town Planning Officer Heraklis Achniotis said the reforms could address long-standing weaknesses and shape development over the next 20 to 30 years.

Cyprus Land Development Corporation (KOAG) Director-General Eleni Symeonidou also outlined the organization’s projects aimed at addressing housing demand.

Engineers Warn Of Rising Building Safety Risks

Scientific and Technical Chamber (Etek) President Konstantinos Konstantis said Cyprus still needs a unified housing strategy, although some measures from the chamber’s 2023 housing policy memorandum have been adopted.

He warned that the number of older and potentially dangerous buildings could rise sharply without intervention. “If measures are not taken, the 5,000 dangerous buildings that exist today will become 15,000 or more within five years,” Konstantis said.

He called for regular building inspections through an MOT-style system.

Developers Call For Faster Licensing

The Cyprus Association of Large Investment Projects called for faster licensing of strategic investments and a stable planning, tax and investment framework.

The group also highlighted infrastructure, energy costs and access to specialized labor, while calling for greater use of technology and green-transition measures in new projects. It also urged Cyprus to pursue policies that attract long-term international investors.

Rising Costs Continue To Pressure Supply

Real estate agents cited geopolitical uncertainty, higher construction costs and changing economic conditions as growing challenges for the market.

Construction contractors pointed to similar pressures, including labor shortages and energy prices. Cyprus Association of Building Contractors Secretary-General Stefanos Pieridis said rising costs affect the entire development chain, reducing project viability and pushing up final property prices.

Banks Expand Digital Mortgage Services

Bank of Cyprus Director of Retail Banking Theodosis Theodosiou said the bank has expanded housing finance solutions and digital tools for homebuyers.

“With the new online mortgage service, the process is simpler and faster than ever,” he said.

Cyprus’s property market continues to record steady transaction volumes while facing pressures from affordability, supply constraints, construction costs, labor shortages and planning rules.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for greater transparency around AI development, including public reporting on how models are built and used.

His proposal reflects a wider debate over the pace of AI development, as capabilities advance while the public and policymakers have limited visibility into how models are trained and improved.

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The call has drawn support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind Chair Demis Hassabis. Amodei has said any slowdown should preserve commercial competitiveness and the United States’ lead in AI.

Anthropic Tracks AI Development With Three Metrics

Anthropic said its first metric found that Claude models were not fully autonomous in any subset of the research and development work it measured.

A second metric found roughly 30,000 AI agents performing research and engineering work across the company’s most-used internal platform, with a system in place to monitor and intervene in their actions.

For the third metric, Anthropic examined compute use from July 13 to July 20. About 6% of compute used for AI research and development went to safety, while safety-related work accounted for roughly 12% of compute dedicated to AI-driven research and development.

Why The Metrics Matter

Anthropic said the measures complement capability evaluations by showing more about how AI systems are developed, rather than only what they can do.

The company said publishing the data could give outside observers a clearer basis for assessing the pace of AI development and added that it plans to continue releasing the measurements.

Cyprus’ short-term economic outlook returned to positive territory in August, despite continued external pressures, according to the Composite Leading Economic Index (CCLEI) from the University of Cyprus Economics Research Centre (CypERC).

The CCLEI rose 0.02% year over year in August 2026, based on revised data, after several months of decline. The modest increase reflected stronger readings in several domestic indicators, including property sales contracts, credit card spending, retail sales volumes and temperature-adjusted electricity production.

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External Pressures Continue To Weigh

Higher Brent crude prices and lower tourist arrivals compared with a year earlier limited the improvement in the index. The weighted Economic Sentiment Indicator also weakened from August 2025, adding to the external pressures facing the economy.

CypERC said the latest reading pointed to a gradual improvement in the short-term outlook while noting Cyprus remains exposed to international economic and geopolitical developments.

CBC Forecasts Slower Growth In 2026

The latest CCLEI reading comes as the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) expects economic growth to slow this year before recovering.

GDP is forecast to grow 2.9% in 2026, compared with 3.8% in 2025, before accelerating to 3.1% in both 2027 and 2028. The CBC nevertheless raised its June forecasts by 0.4 percentage points for 2026 and 0.2 points for 2027, citing stronger-than-expected second-quarter activity, improved tourism performance and robust residential investment.

Domestic Demand Remains A Key Support

Private consumption is expected to remain positive as households benefit from higher real disposable incomes, although inflationary pressures will persist. The labor market and major residential and non-residential projects are also expected to support activity.

Long completion timelines and expectations that geopolitical disruption will be temporary make cancellations of major investment projects unlikely, according to the CBC.

Net Exports Expected To Weigh On Growth

Net exports are forecast to make a negative contribution to growth in 2026, largely because tourism revenue declined in the first half of the year amid the Middle East conflict. Higher imports are also expected as domestic demand remains strong and imported services support export activity.

A stronger contribution from net exports is projected for 2027 and 2028 as tourism recovers.

Outlook Improves But Remains Exposed To External Shocks

The CCLEI and CBC forecasts point to continued support from domestic demand and investment alongside exposure to energy prices, tourism flows and geopolitical developments.

August’s marginal increase in the leading index therefore signals a modest improvement in the short-term outlook, while the CBC expects slower growth in 2026 followed by a recovery in the next two years.

The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.75% on Thursday, but the decision was not unanimous. In a 6-3 vote, the Monetary Policy Committee kept rates unchanged, while three members backed a 25-basis-point increase to 4%. Renewed energy price pressures have added to concerns that inflation could remain elevated.

Inflation Pressures Remain

Policymakers said inflation “is likely to rise further over coming quarters,” citing higher and more volatile crude oil and refined energy prices since the conflict began.

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So far, there has been “little evidence” of significant second-round effects, such as broader wage and price increases. Inflation risks, however, are now “tilted to the upside” and have increased since the July Monetary Policy Report.

Energy Prices Add To Inflation Risks

Brent crude has risen 36% since July, reaching $106 a barrel on Sept. 14, while UK wholesale gas prices increased 78% to 207 pence per therm.

Higher energy costs can feed into transport, production and household expenses, raising costs across supply chains. Refinery pressures have also pushed crack spreads, the difference between refined fuel and crude prices, well above pre-conflict levels.

Economy Shows Resilience

Despite the inflation risks, UK economic activity has held up slightly better than the Bank expected. A softer labor market and higher borrowing costs are expected to help reduce inflation over time.

Previous monetary tightening is still working through the economy, according to policymakers. So far, the latest energy shock has not produced clear evidence of a broader wage-price spiral.

Major Central Banks Take Different Paths

The decision comes during a busy period for global monetary policy. The Federal Reserve raised rates Wednesday to 3.75%-4% in its first increase since 2023, while the European Central Bank recently lifted its deposit rate to 2.5%.

The Bank of Japan is due to announce its decision Friday, with markets expecting a rate increase. Thursday’s split vote shows that pressure for tighter policy remains within the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.

Cyprus’ technology and business communities are moving to tighten their collaboration as the country accelerates its digital transformation agenda and prepares for broader artificial intelligence adoption.

Focus On AI Strategy And Business Readiness

That was the central message from discussions between the Cyprus Information Technology Enterprises Association (CITEA) and the Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev), which examined Cyprus’ digital future, the government’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and the practical challenges businesses face as they adopt emerging technologies.

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The two organisations discussed the need to speed up AI uptake across the economy, while also identifying the role industry groups can play in helping companies use these tools more widely and effectively.

Citea Sets Out Recommendations

During the meeting, CITEA outlined its main positions and recommendations on the National AI Strategy. The association said it would share its proposals with Oev in greater detail for further review and discussion.

CITEA president George Malekkos highlighted the long-standing cooperation between the two organisations and voiced support for expanding it through joint initiatives and reciprocal backing.

The objective, he said, is to help accelerate digital transformation and AI adoption across the Cypriot economy.

Shared Commitment To Cyprus’ Digital Development

Also attending the meeting were Oev president George Pantelides, director general Michalis Antoniou, and CITEA vice-president Antonia Michael.

CITEA and Oev said they will continue working together to strengthen ties between the technology and business sectors and support Cyprus’ broader digital development.