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Saturday, August 1, 2026

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• Gemini 2.5 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash deprecated

  As of today, July 31, 2026, we have deprecated the following models across all GitHub Copilot experiences (including Copilot Chat, inline edits, ask and agent modes, and code completions).

  Model	Deprecation date	Suggested alternative
  Gemini 2.5 Pro	2026-07-31	Gemini 3.1 Pro (Preview)
  Gemini 3 Flash	2026-07-31	Gemini 3.6 Flash

  Please update your workflows and integrations to use supported models. Copilot Enterprise administrators may need to enable access to alternative models through their model policies in Copilot settings. As an administrator, you can verify availability by checking your individual Copilot settings and confirming that the policy is enabled for the specific model. Once enabled, you’ll see the model in the Copilot Chat model selector in VS Code and on github.com. No action is required to remove the deprecated models.

  GitHub Enterprise customers with questions or concerns are encouraged to reach out to their account manager for further assistance.

  Share your feedback

  To learn more about the models available in Copilot, see our documentation on models and get started with Copilot today.

  Join the GitHub Community to share your feedback.

  The post Gemini 2.5 Pro and Gemini 3 Flash deprecated appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• Enterprise teams model policy targeting in public preview

  You can now take advantage of user-based model policy targeting for GitHub Enterprise customers with Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise licenses. This feature empowers AI administrators to set a baseline of models for the entire enterprise and then grant additional models to specific enterprise teams. This enables admins to tailor access by job role or early experimentation by frontier teams, without deferring entirely to organization-level decisions.

  This public preview is the first step in a broader shift toward team-level governance. Historically, model access has been managed at the organization (i.e., resource) level, but enterprise teams give you finer grained, user-based control that better maps to how people actually work: by role, training level, or function. Over time, we’ll continue adding controls to the team level, giving admins better granularity and precision than org-level settings can offer.

  We are rolling this feature out gradually, with most enterprise customers gaining access to the preview opt-in on August 3rd.

  How it works

  At the enterprise level, you can now set models to:

  • Enabled: Available to all members of the enterprise.
  • Disabled: Not available to any member of the enterprise.
  • Optional: Available to assign to enterprise teams.

  Enterprise teams model access evaluates with a least-restrictive strategy. If a user gets a model from any one enterprise team, that user has access to the model everywhere. In order to opt into this preview, turn on the Enterprise teams mode toggle found in the Copilot page under “Models”.

  When enabled, model access is managed at the enterprise level and through enterprise teams, and organization-level model settings no longer apply. During the preview, you may roll back to reset your policy to its previous configuration. To learn more, see our docs about managing model availability for your enterprise.

  Migrating to enterprise teams mode

  As part of the preview, you can start creating enterprise teams and assigning Optional models to those teams before enabling enterprise teams mode. This allows you to prepare model-to-user assignments similar to those you may have used with organization delegation. Review your enterprise model policy and create enterprise teams to grant additional model access before opting into the preview.

  Behavior for users in multiple enterprises

  If your enterprise does not use Enterprise Managed Users, you may have enterprise members who have been granted a Copilot license from additional enterprises. In enterprise teams mode, only the model policies from your enterprise apply to users if they are using a Copilot license assigned from your enterprise. Restrictions from any other enterprise will not apply.

  Join the discussion within GitHub Community.

  The post Enterprise teams model policy targeting in public preview appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

• Restricting npm bypass-2FA granular access tokens

  npm granular access tokens (GATs) configured to bypass 2FA can no longer perform sensitive account, org, and package management actions. These now require an interactive 2FA challenge, closing one of the largest credential-based attack surfaces on the registry.

  This only impacts npm granular access tokens. This does not affect GitHub personal access tokens, GitHub App tokens, or GITHUB_TOKEN in Actions.

  What now requires an interactive 2FA challenge

  • Creating or deleting tokens
  • Changing package access, maintainers, or trusted publishing configuration
  • Managing organization/team membership and package grants

  An attacker could previously use a leaked 2FA-bypass token to take over an account and mint new tokens, add a maintainer, and more. A token that skips 2FA shouldn’t also be a way to manage your account.

  How to prepare

  Stop using 2FA-bypass tokens for these operations and perform them interactively (web or CLI) with a 2FA challenge.

  Coming next

  2FA-bypass tokens will also lose direct publish. Their publishing surface will reduce to reading private packages and staging a publish, which a maintainer approves with 2FA. We are targeting January 2027 for this update. You should move automated publishing to trusted publishing (OIDC) or staged publishing.

  This continues the deprecation we announced on July 8. Have questions or a workflow that would be blocked? Tell us in the community discussion.

  The post Restricting npm bypass-2FA granular access tokens appeared first on The GitHub Blog.

Other

• Athienou and Strovolos municipalities to protest over state funding dispute

  The municipalities of Athienou and Strovolos will hold three-hour peaceful protests on Monday, after their councils announced opposition to “insufficient state support for local government”.

  The protests will take place from 9am to 12pm outside the Athienou municipal hall and at the Strovolos municipal hall courtyard, with both municipalities calling on employees and residents who wish to participate to attend voluntarily.

  The two municipalities said they object to the state’s approach towards local government, arguing that inadequate funding is forcing municipalities to consider increasing fees and charges paid by the public.

  “Instead of the state essentially supporting local government, as it should, especially through adequate and fair state funding, it attempts to transfer the financial burden to the municipalities themselves and, ultimately, to the citizens,” Athienou municipality said.

  Strovolos issued a similar statement, saying the state was attempting to shift financial responsibilities onto municipalities instead of providing the necessary support.

  It cautioned that the public “should not become the final recipients of insufficient state support for local government”.

  Both municipalities stressed that participation by municipal staff would be voluntary and that no employee would face consequences for choosing either to join the protest or continue working.

  Strovolos said it would take measures to maintain essential services during the protest period, advising the public who require assistance at municipal offices to arrange visits before or after the three-hour demonstration.

• Guterres seeks stronger preparation for next round Cyprus talks

  UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that the United Nations will work with both sides in Cyprus and the three guarantor powers to ensure the next informal expanded meeting is properly prepared and has the best chance of producing results.

  Speaking at a press conference in New York, Guterres said his recent visit to Cyprus had reinforced the urgency of efforts to restart meaningful negotiations.

  “My visit to Cyprus showed that in a region that is changing rapidly and becoming increasingly unstable, the search for solutions is more urgent than ever,” he said.

  Guterres confirmed he intends to convene another informal five plus one meeting following consultations on confidence building measures, methodology and substantive issues.

  “Based on our discussions on the way forward, I have decided that I will convene another 5+1 meeting, after adequate preparation in terms of confidence building measures, methodology and substance, taking into account the convergences that have already been achieved,” he said.

  Responding to a question on what he meant by adequate preparation, Guterres said previous meetings had demonstrated the importance of detailed groundwork before leaders return to the negotiating table.

  “We have had several 5+1 meetings that could not conclude because they were not well prepared. This time, we must prepare the next meeting well, to ensure that it leads to a solution,” he said.

  He added that the UN would consult all participants before convening the next round of talks.

  “We will work in consultation with both sides and the guarantor powers to create the conditions for the success of the meeting,” he said.

  The informal five plus one format brings together the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities with representatives of the three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, under the auspices of the United Nations.

  Guterres did not indicate when the next meeting would take place, saying only that it would follow sufficient preparation aimed at increasing the prospects of meaningful progress.

• Disy vice president criticises reported cabinet appointments

  Disy vice president Yiannis Karousos on Friday criticised reports that party figures Tina Pavlou and Christos Angelides are set to join President Nikos Christodoulides’ cabinet, saying they should not accept appointments while the party remains in opposition.

  The remarks came after local media reported that Pavlou is expected to become health minister and Angelides the deputy tourism minister as part of an anticipated cabinet reshuffle.

  In a social media post, Karousos also questioned the president’s decision to approach members of the opposition party.

  “History remembers those who remained faithful to their values, not those who exchanged them,” he said.

  “In my opinion, the two Disy executives should not have accepted the appointment, just as the president should not have addressed executives of a party that is in the opposition.”

  Karousos said the two figures had a responsibility to those who supported them in recent elections.

  “Above all, they had to respect the thousands of Disy voters who trusted them in the recent parliamentary and European elections, as well as the principles and values that they themselves represented when they asked for their votes,” he said.

  “Respect cannot be bought. It is earned.”

• Man guilty of attempted murder and rape over hotel attack

  A 20-year-old man was found guilty on Thursday by the Famagusta criminal court of attempted murder and rape of a 26-year-old woman at a hotel in the district in August 2024.

  The court ruled that the defendant attempted to kill the woman, raped her while she was unconscious and abandoned her believing she was dead.

  Sentencing will take place at a later hearing.

  According to the court’s findings, the pair met at a nightclub before going to the hotel where the woman was staying.

  After she refused to consent to full sexual intercourse, the defendant launched what the court described as “a particularly violent attack” before raping her.

  The woman was admitted to the intensive care unit for 48 hours before being declared out of danger and remained in hospital for several more days.

  The conviction was based on the complainant’s testimony, supported by forensic evidence, DNA findings, independent witness testimony and CCTV footage, with the court rejecting the defendant’s account as unreliable.

• Apoel motorcade causes major traffic disruption in Nicosia

  A motorcade organised by Apoel supporters to mark the club’s 100th anniversary caused significant traffic disruption across parts of Nicosia on Thursday, with police temporarily closing key roads to allow the procession to pass.

  Police told the Cyprus Mail that the operation was under control and confirmed that Limassol Avenue, from the traffic lights to the Apoel fan club on Makarios Avenue, had been closed, while the Aglandjia roundabout was also temporarily shut to facilitate the convoy.

  Large queues of traffic formed as motorists were diverted or delayed while the procession moved through the capital.

  Members of the public reported hearing repeated firecrackers during the motorcade, while unconfirmed reports suggested that pyrotechnics may have been thrown towards passing vehicles.

  Police had not confirmed those claims at the time of publishing.

  The procession formed part of celebrations marking Apoel’s centenary, with officers deployed along the route to manage traffic and maintain public order as the convoy travelled through the city.

• Union condemns prison guard dismissal as ‘illegal’

  The Isotita (Equality) trade union on Friday described the dismissal of prison guard and union official Giorgos Maltezos as “manifestly illegal”, announcing legal action after the justice ministry terminated his employment over what it described as “repeated dereliction of duty”.

  The ministry earlier said Maltezos, who was employed on an indefinite contract, had been dismissed following a disciplinary investigation which found “repeated noncompliance with official instructions” and unauthorised absences from duty.

  It said the conduct amounted to “a serious breach of official duties” and justified the termination of his employment.

  In a statement issued after the dismissal, Isotita rejected the ministry’s reasoning, arguing that Maltezos had been dismissed “without notice and without the right to compensation” despite serving as vice president and spokesman of the prison guards’ sector council and as a member of the union’s board.

  The union said the dismissal decision stated that Maltezos’ conduct “may function as a role model or cultivate corresponding perceptions and practices among other members of staff”.

  It argued that the disciplinary case concerned absences arising from trade union duties rather than failures in carrying out his responsibilities as a prison officer.

  According to the union, those absences had been communicated to the prisons department in advance and in writing, while it claimed no specific operational damage resulting from them was recorded in the case file.

  Isotita also questioned the timing of the dismissal, pointing out that it came three days after the state submitted observations to the European social rights committee in relation to trade union rights.

  The union said it would ask the committee to include the dismissal in the complaint, suspension of the decision and Maltezos’ reinstatement.

  It also announced complaints to the international labour organisation’s committee on freedom of association, the trade union commissioner, the auditor general and the independent authority against corruption.

  The union further called for clarification over a meeting between Justice Minister Costas Fitiris and Pasydy on Thursday, asking whether the Maltezos case had been discussed. It said it was not attributing motive but sought an explanation regarding whether the meeting had influenced the decision.

  Maltezos, the union said, continues to hold his elected trade union positions despite the termination of his employment.

• Raouna bows out of government after deputy ministerial term ends

  Marilena Raouna officially left her post as deputy European affairs minister on Friday, marking the end of her term after parliament rejected government legislation which would have extended her appointment until the end of the year.

  Raouna confirmed her departure in a public message, thanking President Nikos Christodoulides for the confidence he had shown in appointing her to oversee Cyprus’ preparations for and management of its presidency of the EU Council.

  “Mr President, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the trust and for the supreme honour of serving the country,” she wrote.

  Her departure follows a vote in parliament earlier this month rejecting the government’s request to extend the temporary deputy ministry until December.

  The legislation had sought to amend the expiry date of the post after Cyprus completed its six-month presidency.

  Raouna was appointed in January 2024 specifically to coordinate the country’s preparations for the presidency and oversee its implementation.

  In her farewell message, she reflected on the beginning of her tenure, recalling the words she addressed to the president upon taking office.

  “Mr President, I am fully aware of the responsibility I am assuming and the great importance of the mission assigned to me. I will work tirelessly to be worthy of your trust, worthy of the debt to our Cyprus.”

  She said the submission of the Cyprus presidency activity report to the president marked the conclusion of that work.

  “The Cyprus Presidency made us proud,” she wrote.

  The government’s unsuccessful effort to retain Raouna sparked a political dispute between the administration and opposition parties.

  Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis criticised parliament’s decision, arguing that continuity was needed as negotiations continue over the EU’s next multiannual financial framework for the 2028 to 2034 period.

  President Christodoulides also expressed disappointment after the vote, criticising both Akel and Disy for opposing the extension, saying he had expected resistance from Akel but not from Disy.

  Under the legislation establishing the deputy European affairs ministry, the position was intended to exist for the duration of Cyprus’ presidency preparations and the immediate period following the presidency, bringing Raouna’s term to an end at the close of July.

• TUI and Jet2 to expand Larnaca programmes for 2027 season

  TUI and Jet2 will expand their presence in Larnaca for the next tourist season, with the two major British tour operators adding the district to their programmes.

  The Larnaca tourism board described the move on Friday as a significant step in strengthening Larnaca’s position in the British tourism market, with TUI including major hotels in the district for the first time and Jet2 returning after a multiyear absence.

  It said TUI’s decision to add Larnaca hotels to its programme represented “a significant milestone for the destination”, while Jet2’s return would include “a particularly strong programme” through partnerships with hotels across the district.

  According to the organisation, the development is expected to increase the region’s visibility among British travellers while supporting tourism growth beyond the traditional peak season.

  “A particularly important element is the fact that this programme, beyond the summer period, creates favourable prospects for further expansion during the winter period,” the statement said.

  It said the inclusion of Larnaca in the programmes of Britain’s two largest tour operators reflected “the result of coordinated and long-term efforts by all stakeholders to upgrade and strengthen the competitiveness of the destination”.

• Palmas ‘did not care about the truth’ of Kalo Chorio fire, Akel says

  Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas “did not care about the truth” of the fire which broke out at a firing range near the Larnaca district village of Kalo Chorio on Monday, Akel said on Friday.

  “The revelation that the detonation of ammunition at the Kalo Chorio firing range, which caused the fire in Larnaca, was part of a planned exercise approved by the National Guard’s leadership, in the presence of American soldiers, raises inexorable questions,” it said.

  It added that Palmas has been “irreparably exposed” by the revelation, and that he “cannot be saved by the cover which the military’s leadership is attempting to give him”.

  “Could it be that, before making pompous statements the other day, unjustly blaming the battalion, Palmas had not spoken to the military’s leadership to be informed that it had approved the exercise? Or was it possible that he was aware of the exercise from the beginning and was lying publicly to cover himself and others?” it asked.

  It then asked whether “the minister is supposed to be informed about exercises involving foreign soldiers”, and “who, in the end, allowed the detonation of ammunition in these climactic conditions which posed an increased risk of fire?”.

  “What is certain, however, is that in the face of the danger and destruction faced by the fire-stricken communities, Palmas did not care about truth and honesty, but instead about covering himself and his government, and did not hesitate to unjustly incriminate the battalion and command, which were only following orders,” it said.

  As such, it said, “Palmas is called upon to realise his responsibility and take it”.

  It was reported on Thursday that American soldiers had been involved in Monday’s exercise, and that the investigation of the incident had moved on from the 70th engineers’ battalion to the higher military chain of command.

  On Monday, Palmas had said that “I must say that those responsible have names and surnames, and the responsibility lies with the 70th engineers’ battalion”.

  He also stressed that responsibility for the matter was not in any way his, saying that “no reasonable person would place any responsibility on the president or the defence minister regarding this issue”.

  “As far as the president is concerned, we must leave him completely out of this issue. If issues of political responsibility are raised, then I want you to know that I will take it on with all responsibility,” he said.

  He added that he is “not under any emotional stress”, but that “this should not imply that I am not angry”.

• Parents’ names to become optional on biometric ID cards

  Parents’ names will return to Cyprus’ new biometric identity cards, while members of the public will also be given the option of obtaining a version omitting them.

  The interior ministry announced the move on Friday, after receiving guidance from the European Commission, which had confirmed that issuing different types of identity cards within the same member state is not prohibited, although it does not encourage the practice because of concerns over uniformity and easier border controls.

  Following consultations with the contractor responsible for producing the cards, the ministry said it had decided to restore the previous format displaying the full names of both parents, as recorded in the population register and on the holder’s birth certificate.

  At the same time, the ministry said it was also pursuing a second option allowing individuals to choose an identity card without parents’ names.

  It said the contractor had confirmed that operating both systems in parallel was technically feasible and that it was now awaiting an implementation timetable.

  The announcement marks a change in the ministry’s position after it had defended removing parents’ names from the new biometric cards on the grounds of personal data protection as well as alignment with European practice.

  The issue prompted political debate this week, with Disy proposing that the public should be free to choose whether their parents’ names appear on their identity cards, while Elam called for their mandatory reinstatement.

  The ministry said holders who have already received a biometric identity card without parents’ details but wish to have them included will be able to replace their card free of charge through citizen service centres or district administrations once the previous format is restored.

• Christodoulides reportedly preparing centre-right cabinet reshuffle

  President Nikos Christodoulides is preparing the cabinet reshuffle, with changes expected to include both internal transfers and the appointment of new figures from the centre right, according to information emerging on Friday.

  The reshuffle is expected to strengthen the presence of Diko within the government, with several party members reportedly set to assume ministerial and deputy ministerial positions, alongside appointments involving figures associated with Disy.

  According to reports in local media, Diko MP Christos Senekis is expected to replace Maria Panayiotou as agriculture minister, while Diko member Evi Tsolaki is set to take over as deputy social welfare minister.

  The changes also reportedly include the transfer of Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides to the transport ministry, replacing Alexis Vafeades.

  At the health ministry, Tina Pavlou, who ran as a candidate supported by DISY during the last parliamentary elections, is expected to take over the portfolio.

  The deputy culture ministry is expected to be assumed by Clea Hadjistefanou Papaellina, who currently serves as deputy social welfare minister, replacing Lina Kassianidou.

  The government changes are also expected to include the appointment of Christos Angelides as deputy tourism minister, replacing Costas Koumis.

  Angelides previously served as general director of the hotelier’s association (Pasyxe) and was a Disy candidate in the 2024 European elections.

  Further changes are expected within the presidential palace, with current civic commissioner Panayiotis Palates reportedly set to become the Presidential Commissioner.

  Presidential Commissioner Marios Hartsiotis himself is expected to move to the position of civic commissioner, having previously served as justice minister.

  The reshuffle follows weeks of speculation over changes to the composition of the government, with Christodoulides expected to formally announce the final decisions once all appointments have been confirmed.

• Five hectares of vegetation burnt in Arsos fire

  A total of five hectares of dry grass, wild vegetation, waste materials and large piles of rubbish were burned in the fire that broke out in Arsos on Thursday.

  Community leader Yiannakis Yiannakis on Friday said that he did not rule out that the fire was started maliciously, as recently “pallet loads of clothing pressed into cubes” had allegedly been transported to the old garbage dump.

  “We located, in a box and in an envelope, logos of two companies, which we forwarded to the police for investigation,” he said, adding that these would be analysed in order to determine whether there was any connection with the fire.

  The fire brigade was called to the scene at around 3pm yesterday afternoon.

  Responding with eight fire engines and the support of six vehicles from the forestry department, the fire was brought under full control at 6pm.

• Fitiris dismisses union prison guard on ‘dereliction of duty’

  The justice ministry confirmed on Friday A prison guard employed on an indefinite contract has been dismissed for dereliction of duty, after an investigation found repeated failures to comply.

  The ministry said the decision followed the findings of the investigation and “the evaluation of all the evidence presented to the minister”.

  Reports identified the dismissed employee as Giorgos Maltezos, vice president and press secretary of prison officer’s branch of the trade union Isotita (Equality).

  Maltezos had recently raised allegations concerning conditions at the prisons department and criticised the department’s leadership and Justice Minister Costas Fitiris.

  The ministry said investigators found “repeated noncompliance with official instructions and decisions of the Prisons Department”.

  According to the statement, the employee had been “systematically absent from his duties on specific days of the week” without receiving the required approval from the competent authority, despite repeated written and verbal instructions.

  It described the conduct as “a serious breach of official duties” adding that the behaviour affected discipline and the proper functioning of the service.

  The statement however did not address the allegations previously levied by Maltezos regarding the prisons department.

• Red alert issued for forest fire risk tomorrow

  The forestry department warned that the risk of forest fires will reach Red Alert level tomorrow, urging the public to exercise extreme caution to prevent fires.

  The department appealed to people to be particularly careful during outdoor activities and to avoid any actions that could ignite a blaze.

  Anyone who sees smoke or fire is urged to immediately call the forestry department on 1407 or the fire service on 112.

  The department also reminded the public that causing a fire is a criminal offence and carries severe penalties.

• Fitto ‘here to listen’ in first Cyprus visit as envoy

  The European Commission’s Cyprus envoy Raffaele Fitto on Friday said he is “here, above all, to listen” as he concluded his first visit to the island since being appointed to the role earlier this month.

  “Today in Cyprus, I had the opportunity to meet President Nikos Christodoulides, leader of the Greek Cypriot community, and Mr Tufan Erhurman, leader of the Turkish Cypriot community … This is my first visit to the island in this role, and I am here, above all, to listen,” he said.

  He added that the European Union “remains fully committed to supporting the United Nations-led process and the efforts of the UN secretary-general”.

  “I look forward to returning to Cyprus soon to continue engaging with the stakeholders,” he said.

  In addition to meeting both Christodoulides and Erhurman, Fitto also met Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, who offered some insight into what the envoy’s next steps may be.

  “I think we can all understand that a commission vice president also has points of contact with Turkey, which have existed for quite some time,” he said, before saying that “we need to be a little patient in terms of external organisational planning which needs to be done within the European Union”.

  However, he said, “we hope that very soon, these contacts will bring positive results which will continue to exist”.

  Later in the day, Fitto met the staff of the European Union programme support office in the north. The office falls under the EU’s directorate general for structural reform support (DG-Reform), which falls under Fitto’s main brief as the commission’s executive vice president for cohesion and reforms.

  Of this visit, he said that “every project, partnership, and dialogue we support, also through the aid programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, reflects the EU’s commitment to bringing people closer, fostering opportunities, and investing in a better future for Cyprus”.

  At the most recent annual allocation of the EU’s aid programme for the Turkish Cypriot community in September last year, the European Commission provided €33.7m worth of funding, which said it wished to “support its socioeconomic development and facilitate Cyprus’ reunification process”.

  “The aid programme aims to boost trade between the two communities across the Green Line by facilitating the alignment of Turkish Cypriot products with EU standards, for instance in the dairy and agricultural sectors,” it said.

  More than €760m worth of funding has been allocated to the Turkish Cypriot community through the programme since 2006.

• Cyprus ‘will have had a say’ in BG Group sale

  The Cypriot government “will have had a say” in the sale of the BG Group’s Cyprus unit from British multinational corporation Royal Dutch Shell to Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, former energy minister George Papanastasiou said on Friday.

  “I would expect the Republic of Cyprus to have had a say. A change in ownership will have been subject to government approval,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

  He explained that as the licensor for the gas field in which the BG Group’s Cyprus unit was active, the Aphrodite deposit in Block 12 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Republic of Cyprus would have had the right to refuse to acquiesce to the sale.

  “Cyprus can say no, but it would have needed a documented reason to do so,” he said, giving the example that “if Royal Dutch Shell would have intended to sell to [the Turkish Petroleum Corporation] Tpao”, the Republic of Cyprus “would, of course, have given a negative answer”.

  Regarding what MOL may be able to offer Cyprus, he said that “a larger corporation like Royal Dutch Shell may not have been as interested in a relatively smaller deposit, such as Aphrodite”, as “a bigger corporation will have access to bigger deposits elsewhere in the world which will interest it more”.

  He said that MOL, however, could show more interest and “move to commercialisation quicker” as, given that it is a smaller company, it will likely be more focused on Cyprus than Royal Dutch Shell had been.

  On the other hand, he said that Royal Dutch Shell “was always a big player”, and that while MOL is “not a small player”, the Hungarian company “does not have the displacement of a company like Royal Dutch Shell”.

  This, he said, “may prove important in a turbulent region like the one in which Cyprus finds itself”.

  Royal Dutch Shell had announced earlier on Friday that it had reached an agreement to sell the BG Group’s Cyprus unit, trading as BG Cyprus Ltd, to MOL, for up to $720 million (€628m), with that fee contingent on customary adjustments and other milestone-linked payments further down the line.

  The BG Group’s Cyprus unit holds a 35-per-cent share in the rights to exploit natural gas in Block 12 of Cyprus’ EEZ, with another 35-per-cent share belonging to American multinational corporation Chevron, and the remaining 30 per cent belonging to Israeli energy company NewMed Energy.

  As such, when the transaction of the BG Group’s Cyprus unit is complete, MOL will assume all of Royal Dutch Shell’s rights and obligations in Block 12.

  The BG Group, Chevron, NewMed Energy, and the governments of Cyprus and Egypt had all last year signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the Aphrodite field.

  The Cypriot government had said at the time that this memorandum of understanding “establishes the framework for the effective commercialisation of the natural gaswhich will come from the field”.

  However, warnings have since been issued about the potential high cost of exploiting natural gas from the field, with energy expert Dr Charles Ellinas saying that Chevron had suggested that it would cost €4 billion to extract and export the gas in the field, even without the installation of a floating processing unit above the field in the sea.

  However, he said, “we forced them to install a platform and they did, but I believe they will come and start asking us for more concessions”.

  “I hope they do not, but I am worried about it,” he added.

  Royal Dutch Shell confirmed on Friday that the agreement “includes a floating production unit”, and said that a final investment decision “has not yet been taken” regarding the Aphrodite deposit.

  Nonetheless, the corporation’s integrated gas president Cederic Cremers stressed on Friday that “we believe Aphrodite remains an attractive development opportunity and will play an important role in supporting regional energy needs”.

  “Our decision to exit is driven by disciplined capital allocation and portfolio choices, as we focus on opportunities that strengthen our integrated [liquefied natural gas] value chain,” he said.

  Royal Dutch Shell added that “Egypt remains an important country for Shell, where we continue to have a significant presence”.

  It also stated that the transaction is expected to be complete in the early part of next year “subject to regulatory approval and closing conditions”.

• Irregular migration to Cyprus ‘down 92 per cent since 2022’

  Irregular arrivals to Cyprus fell by 92 per cent and new asylum applications dropped by 93 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2022, Deputy Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides said on Friday.

  Ioannides said the government’s approach had shifted Cyprus “from passive management of arrivals to a decisive and strict treatment of flows”, with policy focused on granting protection to those entitled to asylum, returning those without a legal right to remain and creating regulated pathways for legal migration.

  He attributed the decline in irregular arrivals to increased patrols along both the Green Line and at sea, as well as tackling migrant smuggling networks.

  Ioannides said pending asylum applications had fallen from around 24,000 in June 2024, when the deputy ministry was established, to 14,000 by the end of June this year, before dropping below 13,500 by the end of July.

  He further heralded a sharp fall in applications from Syrian nationals, saying new claims were down 96.8 per cent compared with the first half of 2024.

  Almost 2,000 Syrian applications had been rejected since the start of last year, while around 5,200 Syrians had withdrawn their asylum claims or voluntarily returned home following the regime change in Syria.

  Ioannides urged Syrians who no longer qualify for international protection to use the revised assisted voluntary return scheme before it expires on October 30.

  “Those who do not have a legal right to stay will have to depart, otherwise forced return procedures will be applied,” he said.

  The deputy minister said 4,145 returns of third country nationals had been carried out during the first six months of the year, while total voluntary and forced returns had exceeded 5,000 by July 30.

• ‘If I was wrong, hang me’ says Paschalides on Videogate probe

  Questions over the handling of the Videogate investigation intensified on Friday after independent criminal investigator Andreas Paschalides admitted he “may have made a mistake in the wording” of statements issued after submitting his findings to attorney-general George Savvides, while his deputy Savvas Angelides defended withholding details of the ongoing probe.

  The House institutions committee convened an extraordinary session to examine Paschalides’ public statements following his report on the Black Cube produced Videogate recordings.

  MPs also questioned the legal service’s decision not to provide the investigative file while criminal investigations remain ongoing.

  Committee chairman Demetris Demetriou said the investigator’s first statement prompted parliament’s intervention, while the second “created more questions than answers”.

  He challenged Paschalides over references to a “hybrid attack”, apparent contradictions over possible offences and his decision to issue public statements before Savvides had completed his assessment.

  Akel MP George Loukaides questioned the timing of developments surrounding the case, remarking that, “as soon as Videogate came out, Simon Aykut was sent to Israel within a week to serve his sentence.”

  He also pressed investigators over the authenticity of the footage, asking whether the people shown had actually spoken the words attributed to them or whether “it was the result of artificial intelligence or editing”.

  Alma MP Irene Charalambides said the public had waited “six whole months” before the announcement was issued last Monday, adding that the wording of the first statement had allowed the presidential palace “to celebrate”.

  Angelides said the legal service respected parliament’s oversight role but had a duty to protect an active criminal investigation.

  “The paradox, and I think this is the first time this has happened, is that we are within the framework of the investigation. It has however not been completed, and now the House is coming to exercise control,” he said.

  He said Savvides could still order further investigative work, bring prosecutions or determine there was insufficient evidence.

  Discussing the case publicly, he warned, created “a serious possibility of influencing the process”.

  Angelides said three outcomes remained possible, returning the file for further investigations, bringing criminal prosecutions or concluding there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

  After outlining the legal service’s position, Angelides declined to answer questions on the substance of the investigation and swiftly left the committee room.

  Demetriou replied that parliament was “indeed not a court” and questioned whether the legal service was unnecessarily restricting scrutiny.

  Paschalides accepted responsibility for issuing the statements, saying he wanted to update the public after completing one part of the investigation but later realised his wording had caused confusion.

  “I realised that my own impression was not completely understood,” he said.

  “Perhaps I also made a mistake in the wording.”

  He stressed his conclusions reflected the evidence available when he submitted his report and could change if new evidence emerged.

  “If in the course of things this situation changes, then I will adjust my findings,” he said.

  Rejecting criticism over the timing of his announcement, Paschalides said he completed the report on July 17 and drafted the statement over the weekend.

  “I finished it on the 17th of the month and received it on Friday. I sat down over the weekend to write the announcement,” he said.

  “If I was wrong, hang me.”

  Addressing the video itself, Paschalides said experts had informed him it had been edited.

  “The video we all saw is edited. As a judge, I tell you that an edited video has zero evidentiary value,” he said.

  He later clarified that his assessment had been made after reviewing the original 26 hours of footage.

  Paschalidis dismissed suggestions his reappointment as president of the watchdog tasked with investigating complaints against the police (Aadipa) had influenced his work.

  “The attorney-general recommended me. Ask him why he recommended me. I want to believe that it is because I am doing my job correctly,” he said, adding that he had “never spoken” to President Nikos Christodoulides.

  Black Cube’s lawyer Antonis Demetriou disputed claims the company had carried out a hybrid attack against Cyprus, telling MPs it possessed “26 hours of authentic material”.

  Deputy minister to the president Irene Piki refuted any notion that Paschalides’ appointment had been politically motivated, insisting that his roles in both 2021 and 2026, followed recommendations from the attorney general.

  She also rejected suggestions government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis had been misled by the investigator’s initial statement.

  After the hearing, Demetriou lambasted the legal service for having “attempted to limit parliament’s oversight role” and described Paschalides’ admission that the wording of his announcement had been mistaken as “significant”.

• Turkish Cypriot ‘FM’ rejects EU envoy

  Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu on Friday sharply criticised President Nikos Christodoulides’ meeting with newly appointed EU envoy for the Cyprus problem Raffaele Fitto.

  Referring to what he described as the EU’s “insistence on intervening” in the Cyprus problem, Ertugruloglu condemned Fitto’s appointment, saying it had been made without the consent of the Turkish Cypriot side.

  He said Fitto had “no legitimacy” in the eyes of the Turkish Cypriots.

  “Therefore, any activity undertaken in our country in this capacity, or any attempt to interfere in a possible process, is unacceptable to our government and will not be considered in any way a legitimate interlocutor,” he said.

  Ertugruloglu added that if the EU was “sincere” about contributing constructively to efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, it should first fulfil its commitments to the Turkish Cypriots and take concrete steps to end what he described as their cultural, economic and political “isolations”.

  He said, however, that he did not expect the EU to respond positively.

  “[Today there are] two separate peoples, two separate states and two separate democratic authorities on the island,” he said, adding that “a lasting and sustainable agreement is only possible by accepting these realities, affirming the sovereign equality and equal international status of the sides, and establishing a cooperative relationship between the two states.”

  Christodoulides and Fitto met earlier on Friday at the presidential palace, two days after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the island and met both leaders before announcing plans for a new enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem.

• Power crisis looms as Cyprus faces loss of half its conventional electricity

  Cyprus could lose up to half of its conventional electricity generation capacity by 2030 unless critical energy projects are completed, officials and industry representatives warned the House energy committee on Friday.

  The committee heard that nine ageing conventional units at Dhekelia and Vasiliko will have to be withdrawn under European environmental protocol, creating a potential shortfall of around 750 megawatts (MW) if natural gas has not arrived and the island’s planned electricity interconnection with Greece (GSI) has not been completed.

  Energy Minister Michael Damianos said last week’s outages resulted from high electricity demand combined with failures at conventional units.

  He said the immediate situation should improve from next January with the installation of the transmission system operator’s (TSO) first 120MW central storage facility.

  Addressing concerns over longer term electricity security, Damianos said supply would remain adequate until 2030 through storage and existing generators.

  Beyond that, he stressed “we need natural gas to have sufficiency in 2030.”

  He declined to provide a timetable for the arrival of natural gas, saying he did not want “to make the same mistakes” as in the past, although he confirmed the terms of a new tender for completing the Vasiliko infrastructure had been approved and expressed hope the project would resume soon.

  Representatives of the energy regulatory authority warned that the country’s structural problem begins after 2029 when six units at Dhekelia and three at Vasiliko must be permanently withdrawn.

  They said all electricity adequacy studies since 2015 had assumed natural gas would arrive by 2022 and that an electricity interconnector would be operating by 2030.

  The authority said it has already begun procedures to seek an exemption to the EU regulation, allowing Cyprus to establish an emergency capacity mechanism after the deadline of 2030.

  However, officials warned the process would be expensive, time consuming and may not be completed before the generating units are retired.

  The electricity authority (EAC) painted an equally concerning picture.

  EAC technical director, Charalambos Menelaou told MPs that some conventional units are operating up to 20 years beyond their expected lifespan.

  “The units in Dhekelia are 45 years old,” he said, explaining that their intended operational life was approximately 25 years.

  He said ageing equipment has resulted in frequent breakdowns, increasing maintenance requirements, shortages of spare parts and greater risks to system reliability.

  Menelaou added that although the authority completed construction of a new natural gas unit at Vasiliko, it remains idle as the fuel has still not yet reached Cyprus.

  He further cautioned that new generators planned for Dhekelia would provide only 80MW, far below the expected 750MW loss after 2029.

  Trade unions representing EAC employees warned they had raised concerns for years regarding the deteriorating state of the electricity system.

  They argued the network was operating without meaningful reserve capacity because units that should remain on standby are now required every day to meet demand.

  Committee chairman and Disy MP Nikos Georgiou said Cyprus “cannot operate with the hope that there will be no further damage to the EAC’s conventional production units,” describing the issue as one of national security and critical infrastructure.

  He said MPs had demanded “a specific plan, a clear implementation timetable, measurable commitments and full accountability” to address the looming energy shortfall.

• Self-Host Weekly (31 July 2026)
  Become a paid subscriber to access the newsletter’s full-text RSS feed or continue reading on selfh.st.

Reddit

r/golang

• Network Programming with Go

  What's the best approach to read Adam Woodbeck's Network Programming with Go book?
  Is there any exercise problem? Or any site that help me to practice?
  I just finish chapter-1 [This chapter topics contain basic networking]

  submitted by /u/Informal-Opening-139
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• Looking for advanced Kubernetes/Go communities, cohorts, or mentorship

  Hi everyone,

  I'm currently working as an Infrastructure Engineer at a large tech company with around 2 years of experience. While I'm grateful for the role, I've reached a point where I feel like my learning has plateaued.

  For the past year, most of my work has been operational, and I haven't had many opportunities to work on challenging infrastructure problems or learn from senior platform engineers. I feel like I'm coasting instead of growing, and I don't want to stay in that position.

  I'm particularly interested in going deeper into:

  • Advanced Kubernetes (operators, networking, internals, scheduling, etcd, Gateway API)
  • Go for cloud-native and infrastructure development
  • Platform Engineering
  • SRE and distributed systems
  • Observability (OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Grafana)

  I'm not looking for another Udemy course or recorded videos. I'm looking for places where I can interact with experienced engineers—live cohorts, mentorship programs, study groups, communities, or open-source communities where people discuss real production problems and architecture.

  If you've been in a similar situation, what helped you level up? Are there any communities, cohorts, Slack/Discord groups, or programs you'd genuinely recommend?

  I'd really appreciate hearing from engineers who've made the jump from "keeping systems running" to designing and building production infrastructure.

  Thanks in advance!

  submitted by /u/Heisenberg016
  [link] [comments]
• Go 1.27 interactive tour

  submitted by /u/awesomePop7291 [link] [comments]

• A shell auto-completion tool for your terminal

  I want to introduce to IRIS - a command suggestion tool that works like code editor's IntelliSense, but for the terminal. It also has history mode that lets you quickly find previous commands with fuzzy search like Zsh Autocomplete (as you can see in the gif)

  IRIS was #1 Golang repo of the day (07/29/2026) on trendshift.io, and #2 Golang repo of the day on Github Trending (07/31/2026)

  It's a PTY wrapper so basically it runs everywhere, like in any terminal, tmux, ssh, even Linux virtual terminals (Ctrl + Alt + F1-F9)

  It also supports AI suggestions (disable by default) like Cursor or Antigravity, using your own API key or a local model (please don't use API key that costs you from subscription, free cloud model is enough)

  It currently supports Bash, Zsh, and Fish (PowerShell isn't supported yet, I have no plan for it at the moment). It also comes with a config file for customization. I admit that at the moment, IRIS cannot suggest as good as fish because I have to handle everything manually, not a wrapper of any shell suggestion, so if you find that fish is still better, you can just skip this post

  I hope it becomes a helpful tool that y'all can use every day

  It's still in development, may cause bugs, so if you find any bugs, I'd really appreciate it if you could report them or share your feedback

  Link: https://github.com/versenilvis/iris

  submitted by /u/zeno_0901
  [link] [comments]
• proposal to add some generic collection types

  https://github.com/golang/go/issues/80590

  I'm pleasantly surprised, as I wasn't expecting these sorts of collections to be added to the standard library.

  submitted by /u/pekim
  [link] [comments]
• OpenChoreo: A Go-Based CNCF Developer Platform for Kubernetes

  Contributor disclosure: I contribute to OpenChoreo.

  For Go developers interested in Kubernetes controllers, CRDs, APIs, CLIs, and cloud-native platform engineering, OpenChoreo may be worth exploring.

  OpenChoreo is an Apache 2.0 open-source developer platform for Kubernetes and a CNCF Sandbox project. Its Go-based control plane translates higher-level concepts such as components, endpoints, environments, and deployment pipelines into Kubernetes resources.

  The project includes:

  • Kubernetes-native APIs and controllers
  • Go-based platform services and CLI tooling
  • CI/CD and GitOps workflows
  • Built-in observability
  • A Backstage-powered developer portal
  • Interfaces for both developers and AI agents

  GitHub: https://github.com/openchoreo/openchoreo

  Take a look through the code, try the project, and share your technical feedback. If you find it interesting, consider starring the repository and picking up an issue.Thank you!

  submitted by /u/No-Income-2235
  [link] [comments]
• Go -> Ruby (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

  Not really anything groundbreaking here but wanted to share a bit about the experience moving from a high volume distributed eng role working daily in Go to building out a more early stage product with Ruby/Rails/GQL

  TLDR - I miss this language so much. Everything I had grown to love and understand so well has been completely tossed out the window. Ruby and Rails lean into magic and convention more than any language I have worked in. The ability to even navigate through a stack by seeking definitions is almost gone.

  I’m really struggling with the “faith” or “trust” I have to put into Rails where I’m Go what you see is literally what you get. Dataloaders, lazy query building, active records, literally kms let me write the damn query.

  Yes yes I know Rails is powerful and should be respected and I have been finding those moments too but damn did I have it good. Don’t underestimate the joy of working with a tool you love.

  submitted by /u/FunDeer914
  [link] [comments]