Breaking news

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.

Google Bets On AI Agents To Move Beyond Chatbots

Google is expanding Gemini beyond conversational AI with a unified agent designed to complete tasks on users’ behalf. Announced at a Google Cloud event, the system can plan work, use specialised tools and connect to business software, reflecting a broader shift from answering prompts to executing complex tasks.

AI companies are increasingly developing agents that can write code, schedule meetings, manage projects and interact directly with enterprise systems.

Enterprise Customers Lead Google’s AI Push

Google is prioritising business users, relying on its existing corporate reach to scale agentic AI. CEO Sundar Pichai said Gemini has more than 1 billion monthly active users, while nearly 90% of Fortune 100 companies use Gemini Enterprise.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said the new agent can work towards “objectives, not just instructions,” allowing users to delegate tasks without guiding every step. It can select the most suitable model automatically, while users can choose alternatives such as Anthropic’s Claude. Google plans to add more open-source and private models.

Connected To Business Tools And Data

The agent works with files, folders and projects while connecting to platforms including Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, Jira, Confluence, Git, BigQuery, Databricks, Postgres and Snowflake. It can also connect to Model Context Protocol servers inside or outside a company’s network.

A dedicated tasks inbox lets users track progress, including specialised skills, delegation to subagents and code execution, providing greater visibility into how work is completed.

A Digital Colleague With Its Own Identity

Gemini will have its own Google Workspace account and email address, allowing it to function more like a digital team member. The agent will take organisational structures, time zones, approval processes and calendars into account.

Employees can interact with it by tagging it, emailing it, sharing documents or adding it to group chats. Its actions will be recorded under its own identity, creating an audit trail separate from individual employees’ activity.

Availability And Early Adopters

Google said the agent will be available on iOS and Android, Windows and Mac desktops, the command line, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, ServiceNow and Slack.

Early testers include On, Shopify and PayPal. Other named Gemini Enterprise customers include BNP Paribas, Bradesco, Merck, Orange Spain, Santee Cooper, SOMPO, Ulta Beauty and Wesfarmers.

Managing Enterprise AI Costs

To help businesses control spending, Google is introducing multi-model orchestration, smart routing and real-time spending limits.

The strategy reflects a broader shift in enterprise AI: systems are increasingly expected not just to generate answers, but to execute tasks across existing software while remaining subject to company oversight.

eCredo
Uol
The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties
Aretilaw firm

Become a Speaker

Become a Speaker

Become a Partner

Subscribe for our weekly newsletter