Hotel demand across Cyprus is showing mixed results this summer, with Limassol and the eastern resorts reporting strong occupancy while Larnaca continues to feel the impact of regional conflicts.

Limassol hotels are around 90% full in August, while Larnaca is about 15% below last year. Protaras and Ayia Napa are also expecting occupancy to approach full capacity in the coming weeks.

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Limassol Maintains Strong Demand

Hotels in Limassol are matching last year’s August booking levels, according to Christos Tsanos, president of the Cyprus Hotels Association branch in the city.

Prices have largely remained stable, with increases in most categories limited to around 5%. Tsanos said Limassol’s appeal among higher-income visitors was also supporting demand.

Larnaca Still Feels Regional Impact

Larnaca hotel occupancy is around 15% below last year in both July and August. Marios Polyviou, head of the local hotel association, said the city had been particularly affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

August began with occupancy at approximately 75%, compared with around 90% in 2025. Hoteliers are hoping for more last-minute bookings, while September reservations are showing a more positive trend.

Paphos And Famagusta See Stronger Demand

Paphos is showing signs of recovery, with improvements to the seafront and key tourist areas following a municipal clean-up campaign.

Hotels in Protaras and Ayia Napa are expecting occupancy of 90% to 95% over the next two to three weeks. Demand is being driven by visitors from the UK, Israel and Scandinavian countries, alongside domestic bookings.

Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, recorded a profit of 1.75 trillion Norwegian crowns ($184.3 billion) in the first half of 2026, marking its strongest first-half result on record. Strong equity markets, particularly in Asian technology stocks, provided the main boost to the fund’s performance.

Technology Stocks Drive Strong Returns

“The result is driven by good returns in the equity market, particularly from Asian technology stocks,” said Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund.

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With investments across around 7,100 companies worldwide, Norway’s wealth fund owns an average of 1.5% of all publicly listed companies globally. Among its largest technology holdings are a 1.28% stake in Nvidia worth around $62 billion, a 1.24% position in Apple valued at $52 billion and a 1.17% holding in Alphabet worth approximately $50 billion.

Other major investments include a 1.27% stake in Microsoft valued at $35 billion and a 1.7% position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company worth around $34 billion.

Norway Fund Reveals SpaceX Investment

Norway’s wealth fund also disclosed a 0.05% stake in SpaceX worth approximately $1.22 billion as of June 30. While relatively small compared with its other major technology investments, the holding adds the private space company to the fund’s expanding technology portfolio.

SpaceX shares rose sharply following its record-breaking IPO in late June before retreating as investors questioned whether a valuation equivalent to around 77 times expected revenue could be justified.

A Major Force In Global Markets

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund invests revenues from the country’s oil and gas industry across equities, property and renewable energy projects. Its broad portfolio and significant stakes in thousands of companies make it one of the most influential investors in global financial markets.

Freedom Holding Corp., the parent company of Freedom24, reported a 40% year-on-year increase in total net revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, reaching $732.5 million. The results cover the three months ended June 30, 2026.

Net income fell to $31.7 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with $37.4 million and $0.61 per share a year earlier. Total assets reached $14 billion, up from $13.2 billion at the end of March.

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Brokerage And Banking Lead Growth

The company’s performance was driven primarily by its brokerage and banking businesses. Brokerage revenue increased 60% to $282.6 million, supported by higher fee and commission income and stronger interest income. The number of retail brokerage customers reached 874,000.

Banking revenue rose 54% to $225.2 million, helped by foreign exchange operations, gains on trading securities and higher interest income. The banking customer base grew to 5.4 million from 5 million in the previous quarter.

Customer Base Continues To Expand

Across its banking, brokerage, insurance and other businesses, Freedom Holding had 8.74 million customers at the end of June.

Founder and CEO Timur Turlov said the results reflected continued growth across the company’s businesses, while highlighting the role of its digital fintech strategy and Freedom SuperApp.

Expansion Of The Digital Ecosystem

During the quarter, Freedom Holding expanded its digital ecosystem by acquiring 100% of ChessBase GmbH, a company specialising in chess software, analytics and database solutions.

The group also received an upgrade from S&P Global Ratings, which raised the long-term issuer credit ratings of several Freedom subsidiaries from “B+” to “BB-”, with stable outlooks. The upgrade reflected improvements in financial discipline, risk management and compliance.

The company’s latest results show strong revenue growth, although profitability declined compared with the same period last year.

Brad Lightcap, one of OpenAI’s longest-serving executives, is leaving the AI company to pursue a new venture after more than eight years with the organisation.

Lightcap announced his departure in a message to OpenAI employees on Tuesday, saying he was moving on to “start something new”. He did not provide details about his plans but said he would share more in the future.

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From CFO To Chief Operating Officer

Lightcap joined OpenAI in 2018 and spent four years as chief financial officer before becoming chief operating officer in 2022. In the role, he helped build and oversee teams covering finance, legal, human resources, corporate security, government and business development, as well as partnerships.

Earlier this year, OpenAI reorganised its executive structure and moved Lightcap into a role focused on special projects. Before joining OpenAI, he worked with CEO Sam Altman at venture capital firm Y Combinator.

OpenAI Faces Executive Turnover

Lightcap’s departure comes during a period of significant changes at the top of OpenAI. In July, Fidji Simo, who had served as the company’s No. 2 executive and led its AGI efforts, announced that she would step down from the role.

Several other senior executives have also left the company in recent months, including former Sora chief Bill Peebles and Kevin Weil, who previously led OpenAI’s Science division. The leadership changes come as OpenAI prepares for a potential IPO that could become one of the most significant technology listings in recent years.

Lightcap Hints At What Comes Next

In his departure message, Lightcap said he had spent recent months thinking about “the next horizon” and the challenges that could affect the success of OpenAI’s mission.

He suggested that his next project would address “important new things” the world will need to get right in the coming years, without revealing further details. Lightcap also expressed continued confidence in OpenAI, saying he believes in the company “more than ever” and plans to support its mission from a different position.

Google’s Gemini app has surpassed 1 billion monthly active users, marking another major milestone for the company’s artificial intelligence business and making Gemini the 14th Google product to reach that level of usage.

CEO Sundar Pichai announced the milestone on Tuesday, describing Gemini as one of Google’s fastest-growing products.

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Gemini Closes The Gap With ChatGPT

The milestone puts Gemini closer to ChatGPT, which surpassed 1 billion monthly active users in June.

Google has been expanding Gemini across its ecosystem, including Search, Workspace, Android and the standalone Gemini app. The latest figure, however, applies specifically to the Gemini app and does not include users accessing Google’s AI through other products.

Google’s AI Mode in Search has also surpassed 1 billion monthly active users globally.

Voice And Image Generation Drive Usage

Google said 63% of Gemini users interact with the assistant through its voice feature. The app is also generating more than 150 million images each day, highlighting the growing use of Gemini beyond traditional text-based conversations.

Gemini’s reach also extends beyond Google’s own platforms, with the company reporting more than 100 million active users on iOS.

Google Continues Expanding Gemini

The latest milestone follows Google’s second-quarter earnings report, when the company said Gemini had more than 950 million monthly users and that daily active users had tripled over the previous year.

Google has continued to introduce new models and features, including Gemini 3.5 Flash, which is designed to improve coding and autonomous AI-agent tasks.

The company is also expected to unveil additional Gemini-powered features for Pixel devices at its upcoming Made by Google event.

Uber has sold its entire stake in Serve Robotics, the autonomous delivery company that spun out of Uber-owned Postmates more than five years ago.

The sale was disclosed in a regulatory filing, marking the end of Uber’s investment in the robotics company after years of backing and partnership.

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From Postmates Division To Independent Company

Serve Robotics began as Postmates X, the robotics division of delivery startup Postmates, which Uber acquired for $2.65 billion in 2020.

The unit became an independent company called Serve Robotics in 2021. Uber remained an investor and later partnered with Serve to bring its sidewalk delivery robots to Uber Eats.

In 2023, the companies expanded the agreement to deploy up to 2,000 Serve robots across multiple U.S. markets.

Partnership Had Already Started To Weaken

Uber’s exit follows signs that the relationship was becoming less closely aligned.

Serve Robotics CEO and co-founder Ali Kashani said delivery volumes through Uber grew for 17 consecutive quarters from early 2022 through the first quarter of 2026. That trend reversed in the second quarter, which he attributed to lower-than-expected robot utilisation.

Kashani also said the two companies had “differing views” on how to scale their shared autonomous fleet, including fleet coordination and merchant integration. At the same time, Serve reported that deliveries through another food delivery partner increased by nearly 50% in a single quarter.

Serve did not expect to renew its partnership with Uber when the current agreement expires in early 2027, according to Kashani.

Uber Continues To Expand Its Autonomous Network

The divestment comes as Uber continues to work with companies developing autonomous vehicles and delivery technology. Serve Robotics is one of more than 30 autonomous vehicle technology companies that Uber has partnered with or invested in over the past several years.

The sale marks a significant shift in the relationship between the two companies, which once worked closely to bring autonomous delivery robots to Uber Eats customers.

Accel has closed a new $550 million India-focused fund, less than two years after raising its previous vehicle, as the venture capital firm increases its bet on the country’s next generation of startups. The fund was oversubscribed and closed within weeks. Accel still has more than 55% of its previous $650 million India fund available for investment.

The new vehicle is part of a wider $3.5 billion global fundraising effort covering the firm’s U.S. and European operations and a $1.35 billion growth fund.

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AI Leads The Next Investment Cycle

Accel expects India’s next startup wave to span AI, consumer internet, fintech, advanced manufacturing and deep tech. Rather than focusing primarily on foundation models, the firm sees opportunities in AI applications, infrastructure and enterprise software built on existing models.

The firm points to RapidClaims as an example. The Accel-backed startup uses AI to automate medical coding for U.S. healthcare providers, combining technology with industry expertise.

Accel also sees growing domestic demand for AI products as a major opportunity. OpenAI and Anthropic have identified India as their largest market outside the U.S., while AI coding platform Cursor has said India is one of its fastest-growing developer markets.

Global Investors Return To India

Accel’s fundraising comes as international venture firms renew their focus on India despite a broader slowdown in venture capital.

Peak XV Partners recently raised $1.3 billion across new India and Southeast Asia funds, while General Catalyst has committed to deploying $5 billion in India over five years.

Accel expects to begin deploying the new India fund in 2027. Until then, it will continue investing from its existing fund.

The firm remains focused on early-stage companies, writing the first institutional cheque in around 80% of the startups it backs. Its portfolio includes Flipkart, Swiggy, Freshworks and Zetwerk.

Larnaca is set to establish a city-to-city partnership with Bahrain’s capital Manama after the Bahraini cabinet approved the proposal, Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras announced on Tuesday.

The agreement would make Larnaca the second Cypriot city to establish a formal partnership with a Gulf city, following Nicosia’s twinning with Doha, Qatar.

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Expanding Larnaca’s International Links

Vyras described the decision as “another important step for our city”, saying it could open new opportunities for cooperation.

The mayor said the initiative is part of Larnaca’s broader strategy to strengthen its international presence, develop new channels of cooperation and reinforce the city’s position in the wider region.

The partnership comes as Cyprus and Bahrain are also expanding bilateral cooperation in defence, shipping, investment, tourism and technology.

Closer Cyprus-Bahrain Cooperation

The proposed city partnership follows broader efforts to deepen ties between Cyprus and Bahrain.

Cyprus Ambassador to Bahrain Andreas Eliades said the two countries were pursuing closer cooperation amid wider regional security developments. He identified maritime security and freedom of navigation as strategic priorities, while highlighting financial services, fintech, technology, logistics and tourism as areas with potential for stronger economic cooperation.

The Larnaca-Manama partnership could provide an additional platform for developing these links at the local level.

Spotify is introducing a new “AI Persona” label for artist profiles that appear to represent AI-generated identities, while limiting how music from those profiles is surfaced across the platform.

The new labels will begin appearing in September, as Spotify expands its efforts to distinguish between real artists, AI-generated identities and music created with AI tools.

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What The AI Persona Label Means

Artists will be able to identify themselves as AI Personas through Spotify for Artists starting August 11. However, Spotify said it will not rely solely on self-disclosure.

The company will also review artist profiles where names and images appear to depict photorealistic AI-generated identities. The initial review will focus on profiles that have reached predefined audience thresholds, allowing Spotify to prioritise more widely heard artists.

Once applied, the “AI Persona” badge will be visible on artist profiles, in Search and alongside tracks in playlists.

AI Personas Will Be Excluded From Recommendations

By default, Spotify will not include labeled AI Personas in its editorial or algorithmic recommendations. Their music will also be excluded from personalised recommendations.

There is one exception: users who deliberately follow an AI Persona can still receive its music in their recommendations. Spotify considers following an artist an explicit indication that a listener wants to hear more from that profile.

The company will also introduce a reporting tool that allows users to flag profiles they believe represent AI Personas but have not yet been labeled.

The Label Applies To The Artist, Not The Music

Spotify stressed that the new designation concerns an artist’s public identity rather than whether their music was made using AI.

Artists can use AI in different ways as part of the creative process, and the company will continue providing information about how individual tracks were created through features such as AI Credits and SongDNA.

Artists will also be able to appeal an AI Persona label if they believe it has been applied incorrectly.

Spotify Tightens Its Approach To AI Music

The new policy builds on Spotify’s broader efforts to address AI-generated content. The company previously introduced systems to identify and label AI music using industry-standard techniques and banned unauthorised AI voice clones and deepfakes.

At the same time, Spotify continues to develop AI-powered products, including Prompted Playlists, AI DJ and its AI-powered music assistant.

The company is also preparing to introduce AI-generated remixes and covers following recent licensing agreements with UMG and Merlin. The new AI Persona labels are intended to help users distinguish those features from profiles that present themselves as AI-generated artists.

Spotify’s move comes as the music industry grapples with the rapid growth of AI-generated content and concerns about low-quality material flooding streaming platforms.

Cyprus and Bahrain are looking to strengthen cooperation in defence, maritime security and investment as Nicosia seeks to deepen its links between the European Union and the Gulf region.

Cyprus Ambassador to Bahrain Andreas Eliades said closer coordination had become increasingly important amid ongoing regional security developments.

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Stronger Defence And Security Links

Speaking to Bahraini newspaper Al Watan, Eliades pointed to recent security developments in the Gulf, including attacks by Iran on Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

He said Cyprus had used its EU Council presidency to support dialogue and consultations between EU member states and regional partners.

Bilateral ties received a boost following President Nikos Christodoulides’ official visit to Bahrain and the opening of Cyprus’ embassy in Manama. Nine agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed during the visit, covering defence, higher education, culture, tourism, diplomatic training and search and rescue.

Eliades said Cyprus now has diplomatic missions in all six GCC capitals, positioning the country as a potential “bridge” between Europe and the Gulf.

Shipping And Economic Cooperation

Maritime security is another area where the two countries see room for closer cooperation. Eliades highlighted freedom of navigation as a strategic priority for both Cyprus and Bahrain.

Economic ties could also expand across financial services, fintech, technology, logistics and tourism. According to Eliades, Cyprus can offer Bahraini companies a route into the European single market, while Bahrain can provide Cypriot businesses with a platform for expanding into Gulf markets.

He described the outlook for bilateral relations as “very promising”, adding that the new embassy in Manama marked “a new chapter” in relations between Cyprus and Bahrain.