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Cyprus Faces Energy Strain As Cold Wave Hits: Authorities Call For Power Conservation

A cold wave sweeping across Cyprus threatens to test the island’s energy infrastructure in the coming days. Chará Kousiappa, spokesperson for the Cyprus Transmission System Operator (TSOC), warned that the country could face serious challenges as energy demand surges.

“It will be a tough situation,” Kousiappa told the Cyprus News Agency. “We’re already seeing very high demand, and we’re continuously assessing the situation. We hope things will go smoothly, but we’re ready to act if necessary.”

The cold front is expected to hit shortly, with the most critical period for electricity demand falling between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM—when renewable energy production drops off. During these peak hours, the power supply will be under significant pressure, as several key power units are offline due to scheduled maintenance or technical issues.

TSOC is closely monitoring the situation, and Kousiappa hopes that some of the power units currently under repair at the Dhekelia and Vasilikos stations can be brought back online before temperatures fall. She also emphasized the importance of energy conservation, urging the public to reduce electricity usage during peak hours and shift high-energy tasks, like laundry and dishwashing, to the day when solar power is at its peak.

As Cyprus braces for a difficult few days, authorities are calling on citizens to play their part in ensuring the stability of the island’s power grid.

Anthropic Brings Opus And Sonnet To Claude Voice Mode

Anthropic is expanding Claude’s voice capabilities as competition in AI assistants intensifies, allowing users to choose between its Opus, Sonnet and Haiku models in voice mode. The update comes just weeks after OpenAI introduced a new family of conversational models and refreshed ChatGPT’s voice experience.

A More Capable Voice Experience

Until now, Claude’s voice mode relied exclusively on the Haiku model, prioritizing speed over more complex conversations. With the latest update, users can switch between Opus, Sonnet and Haiku while speaking with Claude, while voice mode automatically defaults to the fastest version of the model most recently used in text chat. The change creates a smoother transition between typing and speaking and is designed to support more demanding tasks, including preparing client presentations, refining communication and brainstorming product ideas, Anthropic said.

Voice That Works Across Apps

Beyond expanding model choice, Anthropic is also extending Claude’s ability to work across third-party services. Voice mode can now connect with Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Canva and Notion, allowing users to reschedule meetings, draft emails or create documents without leaving the conversation.

The update also sets Claude apart from many competing voice assistants by extending conversations into workplace tasks through connected applications, rather than focusing solely on natural dialogue.

Multilingual Support

Anthropic has also been broadening Claude’s reach. Earlier this year, the company added beta support for multiple languages, allowing users to speak in English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, although the language must currently be selected manually. The expansion is aimed at teams operating across multiple regions and languages.

Availability

The updated voice mode is now available in beta across platforms. Free users can access only the Haiku model and connect a single app, while paid subscribers can choose between all three models and use additional integrations.

Anthropic did not announce changes to the underlying voice model or disclose the technology powering the feature. It also did not say whether the update includes improvements to conversational behavior, such as interruption handling.

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