NICOSIA: Multiple explosions at a Turkish military base in northern Cyprus damaged a hotel in a neighboring holiday resort early Thursday, prompting the evacuation of terrified tourists, officials said.
Fire broke out in the arms depot at the base in Catalkoy, west of the town of Kyrenia, without causing any casualties, police said.
The nearby Acapulco Hotel was damaged in the explosions, which began around 1:30 am (2230 GMT Wednesday) and continued until 5 am.
Panicked hotel residents were evacuated to a safe area.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the blasts. Officials said they had launched an investigation.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci visited the hotel.
“What matters is nobody was harmed, we can handle the rest,” he said.
Emergency services in Kyrenia said the fire had been contained by early morning.
The Kyrenia area on the north coast of Cyprus lies within the breakaway state which Turkish Cypriot leaders declared in 1983 but which remains recognized only by Ankara.
The island has been divided on ethnic lines since Turkish troops occupied its northern third in 1974 following a Greek Cypriot coup sponsored by the military junta then in power in Athens seeking union with Greece.
Turkey continues to maintain a sizeable military presence in the north of the island.
Arms depot blasts damage north Cyprus hotel
Arms depot blasts damage north Cyprus hotel
- Fire broke out in the arms depot at the base in Catalkoy, west of the town of Kyrenia
- The nearby Acapulco Hotel was damaged in the explosions, as panicked hotel residents were evacuated to a safe area
Britain needs ‘AI stress tests’ for financial services, lawmakers say
- Lawmakers urge AI-specific stress tests for financial firms
LONDON: Britain’s financial watchdogs are not doing enough to stop artificial intelligence from harming consumers or destabilising markets, a cross-party group of lawmakers said on Tuesday, urging regulators to move away from what it called a “wait and see” approach.
In a report on AI in financial services, the Treasury Committee said the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England should start running AI-specific stress tests to help firms prepare for market shocks triggered by automated systems.
The committee also called on the FCA to publish detailed guidance by the end of 2026 on how consumer protection rules apply to AI, and on the extent to which senior managers should be expected to understand the systems they oversee.
“Based on the evidence I’ve seen, I do not feel confident that our financial system is prepared if there was a major AI-related incident and that is worrying,” committee chair Meg Hillier said in a statement.
TECHNOLOGY CARRIES ‘SIGNIFICANT RISKS’
A race among banks to adopt agentic AI, which unlike generative AI can make decisions and take autonomous action, runs new risks for retail customers, the FCA told Reuters late last year.
About three-quarters of UK financial firms now use AI. Companies are deploying the technology across core functions, from processing insurance claims to performing credit assessments.
While the report acknowledged the benefits of AI, it warned the technology also carried “significant risks” including opaque credit decisions, the potential exclusion of vulnerable consumers through algorithmic tailoring, fraud, and the spread of unregulated financial advice through AI chatbots.
Experts contributing to the report also highlighted threats to financial stability, pointing to the reliance on a small group of US tech giants for AI and cloud services. Some also noted that AI-driven trading systems may amplify herding behavior in markets, risking a financial crisis in a worst-case scenario.
An FCA spokesperson said the regulator welcomed the focus on AI and would review the report. The regulator has previously indicated it does not favor AI-specific rules due to the pace of technological change.
The BoE did not respond to a request for comment.
Hillier told Reuters that increasingly sophisticated forms of generative AI were influencing financial decisions. “If something has gone wrong in the system, that could have a very big impact on the consumer,” she said.
Separately, Britain’s finance ministry appointed Starling Bank CIO Harriet Rees and Lloyds Banking Group ‘s Rohit Dhawan as “AI Champions” to help steer AI adoption in financial services.
