The 44th Lefkara Festival gets underway on Friday, August 7, bringing more than two weeks of concerts, exhibitions, family activities and traditional celebrations to one of Cyprus’ best-known villages.

Running through August 22, the annual event will fill Lefkara’s cobbled streets with live performances, local crafts, street food and cultural experiences celebrating the village’s rich heritage.

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Opening Weekend

The festival begins with an embroidery and silversmith exhibition, followed by its official opening concert, a tribute to the late Greek singer Marinella. Elena Giannakou, Liza Theofanous and Christodoula Tsangara will perform alongside a six-piece orchestra.

On Saturday, Thanos Petrelis and Eleftheria Eleftheriou will take the stage for a ticketed concert, with admission starting at €20.

Sunday’s programme honours the music of Manos Loizos, featuring choirs from Lefkara and Kornos together with the Pano Lefkara dance ensemble.

Family Activities And Live Entertainment

The programme continues with a children’s fun fair on August 10, offering theatre, music, dance, inflatables and face painting, followed by the comedy I Marikkou I Raftena on August 11.

A bridge tournament and a multimedia tribute to Lefkara’s silversmithing tradition are scheduled for August 12, while DJ Louis will host a “Back to the 80s, 90s and 00s” party the following evening. Live music continues on August 14 with performances by Giorgos Stamataris and Stavriana Koutra.

Street Food And Traditional Culture

One of the festival’s highlights returns on August 16 with the Lefkara Street Food Festival, accompanied by a live performance from Greek band Alcatrash. Visitors will also be able to enjoy traditional music and dance throughout the village.

The festival concludes on August 22 with performances by the ensemble Asikides and the Pano Lefkara dance group, bringing this year’s celebration of Lefkara’s music, craftsmanship and culture to a close.

Three former Spotify engineers have raised $10 million in seed funding for Malachyte, a startup that aims to bring AI-powered personalisation to online retail.

The company was founded by Sidd Motwani, Ian Anderson and Shivaditya Sinha, who previously helped build Spotify’s recommendation technology. Their goal is to apply a similar approach to e-commerce by predicting what shoppers want in real time rather than relying on purchase history or demographic profiles.

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Beyond Traditional Recommendations

Malachyte’s platform analyses browsing behaviour as customers interact with an online store, using signals such as searches, clicks, scrolling and items added to a cart to continuously refine recommendations.

According to Chief Executive Sidd Motwani, the system begins building a customer profile from the moment a page loads and becomes more accurate as the shopping session progresses. That allows retailers to personalise product rankings even for first-time visitors without requiring an account or previous purchases.

The company also considers contextual factors, such as the device being used or how a customer arrived at the website, to better understand purchasing intent.

Expansion Plans

Founded in 2024, Malachyte tested its technology with more than 20 enterprise customers across retail, travel and grocery before focusing on e-commerce.

The platform launched with Fun.com in late 2025 and has been available to Shopify merchants since June through a native integration, while larger retailers can access it via an API.

The $10 million seed round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Gradient, with participation from Harpoon Ventures. The funding will be used to expand the company’s commercial operations, strengthen product development and accelerate growth.

AI startup Mirendil has signed a multi-year agreement worth more than $100 million with Google Cloud to secure computing infrastructure for its self-improving AI research.

The partnership reflects growing competition among AI companies to lock in access to high-performance computing, while cloud providers race to attract promising startups developing next-generation AI models.

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Backing The Next Stage Of AI Research

Mirendil plans to use Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Nvidia GPUs and managed training infrastructure to develop AI systems capable of improving their own performance over time.

Known as recursive self-improvement, the concept focuses on building AI that can refine its knowledge and capabilities with minimal human intervention. The technology is attracting growing interest across the industry, with several startups and leading AI labs exploring similar approaches.

According to co-founder and Chief Executive Behnam Neyshabur, the long-term goal is to develop AI that can automate scientific research and accelerate discoveries in fields such as medicine, biology and materials science.

Compute Capacity Becomes A Strategic Asset

Training increasingly advanced AI models requires enormous computing resources, making long-term infrastructure agreements a critical competitive advantage.

Mirendil said Google’s combination of TPUs and GPUs allows workloads to be matched with the most suitable hardware, improving efficiency while reducing costs for customers.

For Google Cloud, the agreement strengthens its position in the race to provide infrastructure for frontier AI developers, while giving the company exposure to one of the industry’s emerging approaches to next-generation artificial intelligence.

Google is adding a new wave of AI-powered capabilities to Google Maps, allowing users to order food, compare hotels and discover local events directly through its Ask Maps assistant.

The update marks another step in Google’s effort to turn Maps into more than a navigation app, positioning it as an AI assistant that can help users complete everyday tasks.

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From Recommendations To Reservations

Users can now ask Ask Maps for specific recommendations, such as nearby restaurants serving particular dishes or drinks. After selecting a venue, they can place an order through supported platforms, including Square, Toast and Uber Eats, without having to search multiple apps.

The assistant can also help travellers find accommodation by comparing hotel prices, checking availability and directing users to partner websites to complete their bookings.

In addition, Ask Maps can suggest nearby entertainment, including comedy shows and live music, while providing links to purchase tickets. These new agentic features are initially rolling out in the United States.

More Personalised Travel Planning

Google is also introducing Personal Intelligence to Ask Maps, enabling the assistant to tailor responses using information from a user’s Gmail and Google Calendar.

For example, it can answer questions about upcoming flights, hotel reservations or dinner plans, and recommend attractions or restaurants near a booked hotel. The feature is optional and remains disabled by default.

Conversations Continue Where They Left Off

Ask Maps will now remember previous conversations, allowing users to continue planning trips without repeating earlier requests. Google is also launching a live public transport widget that provides real-time updates on delays and travel conditions.

Unlike the food-ordering tools, Personal Intelligence and the live transit widget will be available in all markets where Ask Maps is currently supported.

Limassol has launched a €9.2 million project to replace around 100 kilometres of ageing water pipelines, to improve water quality, reduce leaks and lower maintenance costs.

Funded through the EU-co-financed THALIA 2021-2027 Cohesion Programme, the project will modernise the city’s water infrastructure and serve around 40,000 residents across central Limassol.

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Two-Year Infrastructure Upgrade

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Limassol District Local Government Organisation (EOA) President Yiannis Tsouloftas said the investment represents an important step in upgrading essential public infrastructure.

“This project modernises and strengthens our water supply network. It will improve residents’ daily lives while supporting Limassol’s continued development,” he said.

Construction is expected to take 24 months, with completion scheduled for summer 2028.

Coverage Across Central Limassol

The new network will extend for approximately 100 kilometres, covering 220 streets across an area of about 2.6 square kilometres.

Works include the installation of new pipelines using modern materials, excavation and backfilling, as well as the restoration of roads and pavements once construction is complete.

The upgrade will cover the Enaerios area, Makarios III Avenue, the Garillis river corridor, the Tessera Fanaria neighbourhood, Pentadromos and Anexartisias Street before reaching the seafront.

After more than 26 years in the making, the new Larnaca-Dhekelia road has officially opened to traffic, marking the completion of a major infrastructure project for the district.

Valued at €14.8 million, the third phase includes a 3.25-kilometre four-lane carriageway and 4.5 kilometres of service roads, improving access to one of Larnaca’s busiest coastal areas.

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Final Works Continue

Larnaca District Public Works Engineer Lazaros Lazarou said the main carriageway has been fully open to traffic since July 24, extending to the Pyla roundabout.

Construction of the remaining service roads, which were added after revisions to the original contract, is expected to be completed by the end of October.

Work on the project began in September 2022 and was initially scheduled for completion in March 2025. Following an extension, the road was completed in mid-July 2026.

Boost For Connectivity And Investment

According to Lazarou, the new road will improve road safety, enhance accessibility and create opportunities for further investment in the area. He also highlighted the addition of dedicated cycling lanes, reflecting the growing emphasis on sustainable transport.

Welcoming the opening, Larnaca Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Nakis Antoniou said the project ends years of waiting and delivers a major improvement for residents, businesses and visitors.

French infrastructure investment group Meridiam has officially become the majority shareholder of the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), marking a significant step forward for the electricity link between Cyprus and Greece.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday at Greece’s Maximos Mansion in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who described the project as strategically important for regional energy security and for ending Cyprus’ energy isolation from the European electricity grid.

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Mitsotakis also said the deal demonstrates Greece’s ability to attract international investors and pledged continued government support to ensure the project moves forward.

Project Gains New Momentum

Alongside the shareholder agreement, Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), GSI and French cable manufacturer Nexans signed a separate agreement covering seabed survey work, one of the next stages in the project’s development.

Greek officials said Meridiam’s entry strengthens the project’s financial position and credibility, creating better conditions to accelerate construction. IPTO will remain a strategic shareholder, retain technical responsibility for the project and operate the interconnector once it is completed.

The European Investment Bank is also assessing potential financing, while IPTO is preparing to submit a cost-benefit study for the planned Cyprus-Israel electricity interconnection to regulators in Cyprus and Israel.

Long-Term Infrastructure Investor

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Paris, Meridiam specialises in financing, developing and managing long-term infrastructure projects. Its portfolio includes more than 130 projects across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, spanning sectors such as transport, energy and water infrastructure.

Among its flagship investments are the NeuConnect electricity interconnector between the UK and Germany, Sofia Airport in Bulgaria and the Florence tram network in Italy.

Despite a series of heat warnings, July 2026 ranked as only the eighth-hottest July in Cyprus since systematic records began in 1968, according to the Meteorological Department.

The island was placed under yellow or orange heat warnings on 11 of the month’s 31 days. Even so, temperatures remained below previous July records, including the all-time high of 44.7°C recorded at Athalassa in 2025.

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Prolonged Heat Shaped Public Perception

Meteorological Department official Chrystalla Papachristodoulou said many people perceived this July as one of the hottest because of the prolonged heatwave rather than record-breaking temperatures.

Nine yellow and two orange warnings were issued, including seven consecutive days of yellow alerts. After a brief break, temperatures climbed again, reaching 40.7°C on July 31. The month’s highest temperature was 43.2°C, while overnight lows exceeded 30°C at Athalassa.

Hot, But Not Record-Breaking

The highest temperatures this July reached 43.2°C at Athalassa, 38.5°C at Polis Chrysochous, 38.2°C at Larnaca Airport and 33°C at Prodromos, all below historical records for those locations. Yellow warnings were also issued in the Troodos mountains on four days.

The department added that temperatures can feel even higher in central Nicosia, where dense urban development amplifies heat beyond official weather station readings.

Although July brought several days of extreme heat, long-term data show it was warm rather than exceptional by Cyprus’ historical standards.

OpenAI has agreed to three years of federal oversight of its hiring practices after reaching a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations linked to employment-based green card applications.

The agreement also covers Statsig, an AI testing company that was previously owned by OpenAI. While neither company admitted wrongdoing, they agreed to pay a total of $3.2 million, including a $1.2 million civil penalty and $2 million earmarked for potential compensation of U.S. applicants found to have been affected.

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Hiring Practices Under Scrutiny

The Justice Department alleged that the companies failed to properly recruit qualified U.S. workers before sponsoring foreign employees for permanent residency, as required under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

According to the DOJ, some positions were not advertised through standard public channels, job announcements aired on late-night radio, and applications were accepted only in paper form, practices the department said could discourage U.S. candidates from applying.

Although the case involved fewer than 10 positions, the settlement requires OpenAI and Statsig to implement new hiring policies, submit them for government approval and provide semiannual reports detailing PERM applications, interviews with U.S. candidates and other recruitment data.

Part Of A Broader Enforcement Effort

The Justice Department said the investigation began in 2025, before OpenAI acquired Statsig later that year. The inquiry covered five OpenAI cases between 2023 and 2025, along with one involving Statsig.

Officials described the settlement as part of a broader effort to enforce employment rules governing permanent residency sponsorships. Similar cases have previously been brought against major technology companies, including Apple and Facebook, under the same legislation.

A group of senior Google researchers, led by longtime executive Jeff Dean, is leaving the company to launch Discovery Loop, a startup that aims to accelerate scientific research using artificial intelligence.

Dean, one of Google’s earliest employees, will serve as chief executive. He is joined by Google Fellow Sanjay Ghemawat, Google Brain co-founder Quoc Le and Google DeepMind senior research scientist Oriol Vinyals.

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AI-Powered Research

Discovery Loop plans to use AI to automate the design, execution and refinement of thousands of experiments simultaneously, with the goal of speeding up scientific discovery. The company also intends to explore how AI can help improve future generations of AI systems through recursive self-improvement.

“While science and engineering have tremendously advanced society over past centuries, progress has traditionally relied on slow, sequential human iterations,” the company said. “Discovery Loop is developing advanced AI systems that leverage massive computational scale to fundamentally transform the speed and efficiency of innovation.”

Backed By Alphabet And Venture Investors

The startup has already secured funding from Alphabet alongside venture capital firms Radical Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed and Doerr Capital.

“The next great frontier for AI is to go beyond answering questions and to begin making discoveries,” the founding team said.

Dean joined Google in 1999 as the company’s 30th employee and helped build key parts of Google Search before leading major AI initiatives, including work on Gemini. Explaining the vision behind Discovery Loop, he said AI could automate much of today’s research process, enabling scientists to conduct more experiments and accelerate breakthroughs.