News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
Anthropic steals AI spotlight from OpenAI at HumanX
Anthropic AI and enterprise AI tools are reshaping industry attention away from OpenAI If one thing became clear at the HumanX conference in San Francisco this week, where 6,500 executives, founders and investors gathered to talk about artificial intelligence, it is that Anthropic AI and enterprise AI tools are reshaping industry attention away from OpenAI, at least for now. The event demonstrated an increasing tendency of businesses to adopt artificial intelligence coding systems, which included the showcase of Anthropic's Claude Code at the event. The executives highlighted the tool as the main topic during their discussions about software development and productivity, which included competing products from OpenAI, Cursor, and Google. Anthropic established its business operations in 2021 when former OpenAI scientists created the company. The company has maintained its growth trajectory despite facing legal challenges and policy conflicts, which included a recent Pentagon-related restriction. The company retains multiple federal partnerships while legal proceedings continue, which strengthens its market position in enterprise artificial intelligence. The public release of Claude Code occurred in May 2025, and since that time it has become a popular tool for software code generation and code editing and code review purposes. Industry experts believe that the software has generated billions of dollars in yearly revenue, which has created what some business leaders call "Claude mania" throughout the industry. Glean enterprise AI company chief executive Arvind Jain reported that businesses have quickly adopted the tool because of its increasing popularity. He described a strong preference among leaders for a single standout AI system that can handle complex coding workflows. The conference showcased Anthropic's latest model release, Claude Mythos Preview, which attracted interest because of its cybersecurity and reasoning abilities that are currently accessible only to selected organisations. Industry leaders say the rise of AI coding agents is also reshaping internal workflows. Companies are increasingly restructuring engineering teams, with some reporting smaller teams achieving faster output through automation. Cisco president Jeetu Patel said many firms are beginning to treat AI systems as "digital coworkers", changing how teams are organised and how work is delivered.
OpenAI Launches $100 Monthly Plan to Challenge Anthropic's Claude Pricing - iAfrica.com
OpenAI has introduced a $100 per month subscription tier for ChatGPT, filling a pricing gap between its existing $20 Plus plan and $200 Pro plan as the company moves to compete more directly with Anthropic's Claude, which has long offered a $100 monthly option. The new tier is designed to support heavier daily usage of Codex, OpenAI's AI-powered coding tool. The company said the $100 plan will offer five times more Codex usage than the Plus plan, while the $200 plan offers 20 times the limits of Plus. Neither plan offers unlimited usage. "The new $100 Pro Tier is designed to give developers more practical coding capacity for the money, especially during high-intensity work sessions where limits matter most," an OpenAI spokesperson told TechCrunch, adding that the company believes Codex delivers more coding capacity per dollar than Anthropic's Claude Code across paid tiers. OpenAI is offering elevated Codex limits on the $100 plan through May 31 as part of a promotional period. The company cautioned that those higher limits will not continue beyond that date. OpenAI's current pricing structure includes a free tier that now incorporates ads, an $8 per month Go plan also supported by ads, the $20 per month ad-free Plus plan, the new $100 per month plan and the $200 per month plan. The $200 plan, while not currently listed on OpenAI's pricing page, remains available, the company confirmed. OpenAI said more than 3 million people globally are using Codex every week, a figure it described as five times higher than three months ago, with usage growing more than 70% month over month.
'That's a Lie!': After Bondi's Embarrasing Exit, Trump's AG Thought the Epstein Chaos Was Dying Down -- Then Massie Fires Off a Brutal Shot That Instantly Has Them Scrambling Again
The Justice Department appeared to think it had found a way out of the Epstein files chaos. Just two weeks after former Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired, officials moved to block her from testifying under oath before Congress -- arguing that because she no longer holds the position, she is no longer bound by the subpoena issued while she was still in office. The timing raised immediate questions. Bondi had been scheduled to testify about her handling of millions of pages tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a deposition lawmakers from both parties had been pushing for as frustration grew over what they see as an incomplete and heavily redacted release of the files. To some on Capitol Hill, the move looked less like a legal technicality and more like an attempt to sidestep accountability altogether. But if the administration believed that would quiet things down, it didn't last long. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stepped into the role projecting confidence, praising Bondi's tenure and signaling a desire to move forward. Instead, he walked straight into the same storm and lawmakers were already waiting. Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie wasted no time putting Blanche on notice. "Congratulations AG Blanche. Now you have 30 days to release the rest of the files before becoming criminally liable for failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act," Massie said bluntly in a post on X. Massie, along with California Democrat Ro Khanna, co-authored the legislation that mandated the release of all Justice Department files related to the deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and Trump signed it into law last year. Blanche, however, insisted there was nothing left to uncover. During a tense exchange with a reporter at a Justice Department press conference, he pushed back on the idea that key information was being withheld. "Just to clarify, is the public going to learn the identities of the men who abused the girls with the information that you're releasing, and if not, why not?" a journalist asked. Blanche shot back, "You just baked in an assumption into your question that I've never said and don't know to be true. Is the public going to learn about men that abuse these girls and what does that mean? I don't understand what that means." Pressed further, he doubled down. "If we had information -- we meaning the Department of Justice -- about men who abused women, we would prosecute them," Blanche said. "That is not the case." But critics say that claim doesn't square with the facts. It took an act of Congress to force the release of the files in the first place. Even then, millions of pages remain undisclosed, and many of the documents that have been released are heavily redacted and often identify victims while obscuring alleged perpetrators. Blanche later took to Fox News to defend the administration's handling of the situation, insisting the department had been fully transparent. "We have made every single congressman, senator available to come and see any document, redacted, unredacted, that they want," he said. He also made clear he wants to move on. "To the extent the Epstein files were a part of the last year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward," Blanche added. That stance was quickly challenged. "This is a lie," California Rep. Robert Garcia fired back. "About 50% of the files have been released and per our subpoena it's illegal to withhold them." Much like Massie, Garcia has no plans to back down. "Blanche may think it's over, but we are just getting started," he warned. The dispute now circles back to Bondi and whether the administration can actually keep her off the witness stand. In a letter to Congress, the Justice Department argued that Bondi is no longer obligated to comply with the subpoena issued while she was attorney general, effectively asking lawmakers to withdraw it. But lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are rejecting that argument outright. Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican who supported compelling Bondi's testimony, didn't mince words. "A Department of Justice with nothing to hide doesn't avoid a subpoena," she said. Democrats have been even more direct. "It is shameful that Pam Bondi is still trying to protect powerful men and their connections to Jeffrey Epstein," members of the House Oversight Committee said in a joint statement, accusing her of defying Congress. Garcia has gone further, warning that the subpoena still applies regardless of her job status and that failure to comply could lead to criminal contempt charges. "Legally, at the end of the day, if somebody is under subpoena, it doesn't matter if they change jobs," Garcia said. "They're still expected to appear before Congress." "If she doesn't come forward... then we will hold Pam Bondi in contempt." That looming confrontation threatens to keep the Epstein files controversy alive, even as the administration tries to move past it. And for Blanche, what may have looked like a reset is quickly turning into something else entirely -- a continuation of the same battle, with pressure building from both parties and no clear off-ramp in sight.
Anthropic isn't just spooking stock markets.
Anthropic isn't just spooking stock markets. It's rewriting who builds software, how work gets done, and what security means. The SaaSpocalypse headlines focus on falling stock prices. The real story is deeper: a single AI lab has structurally challenged the per-seat software model, the definition of a developer, and the future of cybersecurity all in 90 days. Act I: The death of the per-seat model For 20 years, SaaS economics had one engine: headcount growth equals seat growth equals revenue growth. A company scales from 100 to 1,000 employees? That's 900 new Salesforce licenses, Workday seats, ServiceNow subscriptions. The math was simple and the compounding was beautiful. Agentic AI breaks the engine. If an AI agent does the work of five humans and companies can grow output without growing headcount the per-seat revenue expansion assumption collapses. The market isn't waiting for this to show up in earnings. It's repricing the risk right now. The key insight Wall Street is pricing: In the agentic era, a company can grow its output 10x while shrinking its headcount. That decoupling of labor from productivity is a nightmare for SaaS valuations built on the assumption of perpetual seat growth. Act II: What Anthropic is actually replacing The conversation often gets reduced to "AI will replace jobs." The more precise statement is: AI is replacing the workflow layer that enterprise software was built to serve. That's a different and bigger problem for SaaS vendors. Coding tools & dev productivity : Claude Code now accounts for 4% of all public GitHub commits -- projected to hit 20%+ by year-end. VS Code installs went from 17.7M to 29M daily. GitHub Copilot makes developers faster at typing. Claude Code eliminates entire development cycles. Workflow automation (ServiceNow, Workday) : Claude Cowork plug-ins do IT service management, HR workflows, and process automation natively. The exact functions that ServiceNow and Workday charge premium subscriptions to provide -- now handled by an agent that doesn't need a seat license. Data infrastructure (Snowflake) : AI agents increasingly query, synthesize, and act on enterprise data natively -- without routing through a separate analytics warehouse. Snowflake's consumption model assumes humans operating data-heavy workflows. That assumption is softening. CRM & sales software (Salesforce) : Cowork sales plug-ins draft personalized outreach, update CRM records, log summaries, and flag follow-up actions in real-time -- tasks Salesforce charges per seat to enable humans to do. Salesforce's own Agentforce ($800M ARR) is their answer -- not yet enough to stop the selloff. Cybersecurity (CrowdStrike, Palo Alto) : Mythos creates better attackers AND better defenders. AI-powered attacks require AI-powered defense. CrowdStrike is a founding Project Glasswing member. JPMorgan reiterated overweight on both. The thesis: AI proliferation expands attack surface = more cybersecurity spend, not less. Network infrastructure (Cloudflare): Cloudflare's infrastructure sits exactly where AI agents operate. The bear case: AI natively handles orchestration. The bull case: more AI agents = more traffic, more edge compute demand, more need for Cloudflare's network. Infrastructure bulls are treating the 30% drop as a buy. Act III: The productivity numbers that explain the panic The market isn't reacting to a theory. It's reacting to measurable productivity data that has no precedent in enterprise software history. The number that changes the conversation: A 50-developer team using Claude Code vs GitHub Copilot sees a $4.8M annual productivity gap -- and it compounds every quarter. Microsoft, the company that sells Copilot, has widely adopted Claude Code internally. When the seller of a competing product uses yours, that's the strongest market signal possible. Act IV: The cybersecurity paradox Claude Mythos is the most alarming product story in tech right now -- and also potentially the most misunderstood by markets. Mythos found exploitable vulnerabilities in every major OS and browser, including a 27-year-old flaw in OpenBSD and multiple critical Linux kernel bugs. It reproduced those vulnerabilities and created working exploits on the first attempt in 83% of cases. Anthropic's less-powerful Opus model had found 500 zero-days. Mythos makes that look routine. Anthropic decided it was too dangerous to release publicly. But here's where the market logic breaks down: Mythos makes the attacker stronger -- but it also makes the defender dramatically more capable. CrowdStrike's 2026 Global Threat Report shows an 89% YoY increase in AI-assisted attacks. The only coherent response to AI-powered attacks is AI-powered defense. The companies that just sold off are the ones being handed $100M in Anthropic credits to build exactly that. Verdict: what's real and what's panic The Anthropic Effect is real. The per-seat model is under structural pressure. The developer workflow is being rebuilt from scratch. Cybersecurity is entering an AI arms race. But the companies being repriced aren't standing still they're adapting, partnering, and building. The question for investors and operators isn't which SaaS companies will survive. It's which ones have proprietary data, deep workflow integration, and genuine AI-native products and which ones are renting time before the substitution catches up. The bottom line: Anthropic went from $18B to $380B in 14 months by turning the "AI assistant" narrative into "AI as the worker." That shift doesn't just affect stock prices. It restructures who builds software, how enterprises buy it, what security means at the infrastructure level, and how productivity is measured. That's not a correction. That's a new era.
xAI exodus: Why cofounders left and Musk's comeback plan - The Economic Times
xAI has seen a wave of cofounder exits this year as the company undergoes major internal changes and restructuring. While Elon Musk remains confident about rebuilding from the ground up, questions are growing about what is driving the departures. Here's a closer look at what's happening inside the company.Elon Musk and the rest of the world have watched a stream of exits from his AI startup xAI, with eight cofounders leaving within this year. But the company CEO appears unperturbed. He has a simple explanation. "xAI was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up. Same thing happened with Tesla," he said in an X post last month. It is an unusual and surprising admission, especially from a founder not known for taking criticism kindly (at least in public), and it comes as xAI works to regain stability after a wave of departures. The exits xAI has lost eight cofounders since January, including Manuel Kroiss, Ross Nordeen, Guodong Zhang, Zihang Dai, Toby Pohlen, Jimmy Ba, Tony Wu, and Greg Yang. Kroiss and Nordeen were the last to leave. Most departures began shortly after SpaceX's merger with xAI ahead of what could become one of the biggest IPOs in history. In February, Musk reorganised xAI and introduced a new structure. Since then, several leaders overseeing key products, ranging from coding tools to image generation, have also left the company. What's driving the exits The reasons appear to run deeper than routine restructuring issues. For instance, Zhang, who led xAI's Imagine team, reportedly decided to step down after being held responsible for problems in the coding product and being removed from his main responsibilities by Musk, according to the Financial Times. In another case, Ba's exit is said to have followed internal pressure within the technical team over the push to rapidly improve AI model performance. Some researchers also left due to exhaustion linked to Musk's "extremely hardcore" work culture, while others were reportedly drawn away by more attractive offers from rival firms. Meanwhile, former employees speaking to The Verge say dissatisfaction had been simmering for a while inside the company. One ex-staffer described xAI as being trapped in a perpetual "catch-up phase", constantly following what OpenAI had already shipped the previous year instead of pushing into genuinely new territory. Another source said: "Trying to do what OpenAI was doing a year ago is not how you beat OpenAI." Additionally, concerns around safety also surfaced repeatedly. The Verge report said several former employees claimed there was no real functioning safety team left at xAI. One of them stated: "Safety is a dead org at xAI." Notably, the post-restructuring organisation chart shared by Musk did not include any dedicated safety team. What is Musk's plan? Despite the churn, Musk is pushing ahead rather than slowing down. Musk said that he is revisiting old resumes and even apologised to those whom he passed over. In a post on X, Musk said: "Many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview @xAI. My apologies. @BarisAkis and I are going through the company interview history and reaching back out to promising candidates." He also brought in two high-profile hires: Jason Ginsberg and Andrew Milich, who helped scale Cursor from zero to $2 billion in annual recurring revenue. They are expected to work on xAI's coding products, an area where Musk himself admitted at the Abundance Summit that "Grok is currently behind," according to the report. Competitive gap remains Even with a large funding base and high valuation, xAI still faces a clear gap with rivals in scale, users and product reach. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk's xAI is sending engineers directly into the offices of potential corporate clients in an effort to win business away from competitors OpenAI and Anthropic. The challenge is clear: xAI trails behind rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic in both adoption and product maturity. Closing that gap will be crucial before the potential IPO. And this fact is not lost on Musk either. He has acknowledged the challenge, even as he remains confident about the company's long-term prospects. In an X post last month, he said, "xAI will catch up this year and then exceed them all by such a long distance in 3 years that you will need the James Webb telescope to see who is in second place"
Anthropic's 'Mythos' AI Triggers Urgent Washington Warning to Bank CEOs
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell have summoned the leaders of the nation's largest financial institutions to an urgent, short-notice meeting to address concerns about potential cyber risks posed by Anthropic's unreleased Mythos AI model and similar advanced models. The gathering at the Treasury's headquarters in Washington marks another sign that federal regulators now view a new class of highly capable AI systems as a top-tier systemic risk for the financial industry. According to Bloomberg, officials convened the meeting to ensure that major banks are aware of the risks associated with Anthropic's latest model and are taking defensive precautions. The concerns center on Mythos, which Anthropic says is capable of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities across every major operating system and web browser when directed by a user. In its own technical write-up, Anthropic said the model also proved capable of autonomously discovering many vulnerabilities during testing, including exploit chains that were previously the sort of work associated with expert offensive security researchers. Anthropic's security team said Mythos was able to compromise a web browser so that a malicious site could read sensitive data from another website, such as a victim's bank. The company also described the model as capable of autonomously identifying zero-day vulnerabilities and, in some cases, turning them into working exploits without human intervention after an initial prompt. Anthropic said it found the model's capabilities had emerged as a downstream effect of broader gains in code generation, reasoning, and autonomy, rather than from explicit training for offensive cyber tasks. Powell's participation underscored that the matter is being treated as a systemic issue, not a narrow industry concern. Many of the executives were already in Washington for a meeting of the Financial Services Forum, an advocacy group made up of the country's largest lenders. Bloomberg reports that CEOs from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo attended, while JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon was unable to attend. Anthropic has responded by restricting Mythos to a small group of major technology and finance firms through its Project Glasswing initiative. The group includes Apple, Amazon, and JPMorgan, and is intended to help secure critical systems before models with similar capabilities become more broadly available. Anthropic said it does not plan to make Mythos generally available at this time. The move also puts fresh attention on the security implications of increasingly autonomous software tools. Apple has recently embraced AI-assisted development, including with Xcode 26.3, while continuing to issue urgent fixes for real-world threats such as its recent iOS 18.7.7 security update. Anthropic's Mythos findings highlight how the same advances making AI more useful for defenders and developers could also sharply increase the speed and scale of offensive cyber activity. Other regulators are moving as well. Bloomberg says the Bank of Canada met Friday with major financial firms to discuss the cybersecurity implications of Mythos, and the Bank of England is preparing its own meeting with banking and insurance executives. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on X, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more updates.
EES - Schengen: Chaos at airports with waiting times up to 3 hours and missed flights
-Waiting times at passport control reached 2 to 3 hours during peak periods Serious problems were recorded from the very first day of full operation of the new Entry/Exit System (EES) in the Schengen area, with airports and airlines calling for greater flexibility in its implementation. According to a joint statement by ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe, the launch of full operations was accompanied by significant delays, operational issues and passengers missing their flights. The issue had already been highlighted by money-tourism.gr, both regarding changes at Athens International Airport and at the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece. The EES, which makes the registration of data mandatory for all third-country nationals as of March 31, has been fully implemented without the possibility of a general suspension of the system. Although the European Commission states that the registration process takes on average 70 seconds when the system operates normally, the reality at airports proved different. According to initial data: * Waiting times at passport control reached 2 to 3 hours during peak hours * Massive flight delays were observed * Passengers missed flights due to the control procedures Characteristically, on one flight to the United Kingdom, 51 passengers did not board in time, while in another case the gate closed without passengers and, 90 minutes later, only 12 had reached it. The heads of the two organizations, Olivier Jankovec and Ourania Georgoutsakou, stressed that immediate intervention is required, noting that authorities should have the ability to fully suspend the system when delays exceed acceptable limits. As they point out, strengthening border controls cannot come at the expense of airport operations and passenger experience, especially ahead of the summer season, when passenger traffic peaks. At the same time, concerns are being raised that these problems could damage Europe's image as an easily accessible and reliable tourism and business destination, at a time when air transport is already being tested by geopolitical developments in the Middle East. Recommendation: Arrive at least 2.5 hours early The competent authorities emphasize that travelers should arrive at airports at least 2.5 hours before their scheduled departure in order to complete in time: * check-in * security screening * passport control It is stressed that late arrival at the departure gate may lead even to denial of boarding, especially during the adjustment period to the new system. Implications for Tourism The implementation of the EES constitutes one of the most significant changes in the operation of European borders and directly affects: * airport operations * airlines * the traveler experience For countries such as Greece, with a high volume of international arrivals from outside the EU, the smooth implementation of the system is a critical factor in avoiding congestion and maintaining the quality of the travel experience. The full implementation of the EES from March 30, 2026 marks the transition to a new, stricter and more technologically advanced border control system. However, in practice, the initial period is expected to test the resilience of both airports and travelers, with the recommendation to arrive 2.5 hours early now becoming a key rule for avoiding problems.
Teenage girl whose Snapchat video captured chaos in Beirut as Israeli strikes hit
After six weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment, there was a fragile hope that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might ease tensions in Lebanon. Yalda Hakim, lead world news presenterPublished 2 hours ago Instead, the country was plunged into one of the most devastating assaults since this war began. In just 10 minutes, 100 Israeli strikes rained down, killing at least 357 people across the country. Residents in Beirut described a scale and intensity unlike anything they had experienced before. Entire neighbourhoods shook. Buildings collapsed. Just before it began, on Wednesday afternoon, 13-year-old Naya Fakih was in central Beirut doing what most teenagers do - recording a playful video for her friends on Snapchat. Then, everything changed. "We heard something," she told me. "We didn't know what it was...and then they bombed the building in front of us." Naya and her father ran. "I was so scared," she said. "You never know what they could do next." Naya has lived through bombings before. But this, she said, was different: "I've never seen a building fall in front of me. I've always known I was safe where I was." That sense of safety is now gone. After an explosion...the line cut When I met her days later, she was shaken but surrounded by her supportive family. Her mother, Ghida, tells me she was at work that afternoon when her phone rang. "It was Naya. She was shouting and crying. All I could understand was 'explosion' and 'a building'. And then the line cut off." What followed was confusion layered with fear. Calls that would not connect. Fragments of information that did not quite make sense. Her husband eventually reached her and said they were safe. Even then, she did not fully understand what had happened. Then Ghida said something to me which helps explain what life is like here in Beirut now. "We disregarded it," she said of the blast she initially heard. "Because we've normalised it." Explosions, sonic booms, the distant thud of strikes have been absorbed into daily life. But this time feels different. For so many in Beirut, it feels indiscriminate. "I couldn't stay where I was," Ghida said. "As a mother, I had to go to my children." But the roads were blocked. Traffic froze. Beirut, in that moment, was paralysed by fear. It was only when she watched Naya's video that the reality fully hit. "I saw what happened," she said. "And then it started to sink in." 'No child deserves to go through this' What the video captured, almost by accident, was terror. A child filming a social media video one moment, running for her life the next. "I hope nothing like that ever happens again," Naya told me. "No child deserves to go through what I have gone through." Her mother said she shared the footage as a message to the world. "It's not about Naya," she said. "It's about childhood. About what is happening to children here." Read more from Sky News: UK not prepared for looming wider war Police review Reform UK bills competition Israel says it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, but the strikes hit densely populated residential areas. The dead included children, mothers, elderly couples, doctors, poets. The scale of the attack raises serious questions about proportionality, with the Lebanese government accusing Israel not only of breaching international law, but of committing war crimes. Beirut has known war before. It understands loss. But this time there was no warning. No evacuation order. No time to escape. What remains is a traumatised population still searching for bodies in the rubble. Naya's video will fade from timelines, replaced by the next viral clip. But for her, and for countless children across Lebanon, this is not a moment. It is a reality that does not end when the camera stops rolling.
Polymarket Launches pUSD in Major Polygon Protocol Upgrade
Polymarket launches pUSD, a USDC-backed ERC-20 on Polygon, cutting gas fees and failed trades with audited CTFv2 smart contracts Polymarket has announced a protocol upgrade that introduces Polymarket USD, known as pUSD, as part of its system changes on Polygon. The update focuses on improving trade execution, lowering costs, and simplifying how balances are managed. The company stated that daily use will remain the same, but the underlying process will change through a new collateral structure. Polymarket USD, or pUSD, is a new ERC-20 token built on the Polygon network. It acts as the platform's collateral token and is fully backed by USDC. When users deposit USDC, their balances appear as pUSD within the system. These balances can be converted back to USDC at any time during withdrawal. The platform explained that pUSD is a technical layer that operates behind the scenes. Users will still deposit funds, place trades, and withdraw in the same way. The company stated, "pUSD is the technical layer underneath," meaning the upgrade does not change the visible user flow. The token does not rely on algorithmic mechanisms or fractional reserves. Instead, each unit of pUSD is backed by USDC held within the system. The smart contract enforces this backing and manages withdrawals. This structure aims to maintain a direct link between pUSD and USDC at all times. The upgrade introduces changes that target failed trades and high gas fees. Polymarket stated that nonce-related execution failures will be removed. These failures had caused issues in earlier versions of the platform. The new system reduces such errors and improves trade reliability. Gas costs are also expected to decrease due to more efficient contract libraries. The company noted that users can migrate through a one-click process. This approach reduces friction and allows users to move to the updated system quickly. The platform also updated how fees are handled. Fees are now calculated at the time of trade matching instead of order placement. This change removes certain edge cases that previously caused execution problems. As a result, users are expected to experience smoother transactions. Read Also: Polymarket Meets Binance: The Crypto Edge You Can't Ignore Polymarket confirmed that its CTFv2 contracts have been audited by Cantina and Quantstamp. These audits review the smart contracts for security and reliability. The company also plans to release the contract code publicly and launch a bug bounty program. The new architecture introduces changes to order management. Orders are now tracked using timestamps and signatures instead of on-chain nonces. This method reduces issues tied to nonce invalidation and improves order tracking. The central limit order book also receives updates. The system now reduces race conditions linked to balance checks. This change aims to improve execution consistency. According to the platform, these updates lead to fewer failed trades and more stable performance. Polymarket stated that the protocol continues to settle all activity in native USDC. This approach supports scalability and aligns with broader market standards. The upgrade combines this settlement model with the new pUSD layer to improve internal operations while keeping the user experience unchanged.
'I was so scared': Teenage girl whose Snapchat video captured chaos in Beirut as Israeli strikes hit
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. After six weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment, there was a fragile hope that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might ease tensions in Lebanon. Instead, the country was plunged into one of the most devastating assaults since this war began. In just 10 minutes, 100 Israeli strikes rained down, killing at least 357 people across the country. Residents in Beirut described a scale and intensity unlike anything they had experienced before. Entire neighbourhoods shook. Buildings collapsed. Just before it began, on Wednesday afternoon, 13-year-old Naya Fakih was in central Beirut doing what most teenagers do - recording a playful video for her friends on Snapchat. Then, everything changed. "We heard something," she told me. "We didn't know what it was...and then they bombed the building in front of us." Naya and her father ran. "I was so scared," she said. "You never know what they could do next." Naya has lived through bombings before. But this, she said, was different: "I've never seen a building fall in front of me. I've always known I was safe where I was." That sense of safety is now gone. After an explosion...the line cut When I met her days later, she was shaken but surrounded by her supportive family. Her mother, Ghida, tells me she was at work that afternoon when her phone rang. "It was Naya. She was shouting and crying. All I could understand was 'explosion' and 'a building'. And then the line cut off." What followed was confusion layered with fear. Calls that would not connect. Fragments of information that did not quite make sense. Her husband eventually reached her and said they were safe. Even then, she did not fully understand what had happened. Then Ghida said something to me which helps explain what life is like here in Beirut now. "We disregarded it," she said of the blast she initially heard. "Because we've normalised it." Explosions, sonic booms, the distant thud of strikes have been absorbed into daily life. But this time feels different. For so many in Beirut, it feels indiscriminate. "I couldn't stay where I was," Ghida said. "As a mother, I had to go to my children." But the roads were blocked. Traffic froze. Beirut, in that moment, was paralysed by fear. It was only when she watched Naya's video that the reality fully hit. "I saw what happened," she said. "And then it started to sink in." 'No child deserves to go through this' What the video captured, almost by accident, was terror. A child filming a social media video one moment, running for her life the next. "I hope nothing like that ever happens again," Naya told me. "No child deserves to go through what I have gone through." Her mother said she shared the footage as a message to the world. "It's not about Naya," she said. "It's about childhood. About what is happening to children here." Read more from Sky News: UK not prepared for looming wider war Police review Reform UK bills competition Israel says it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, but the strikes hit densely populated residential areas. The dead included children, mothers, elderly couples, doctors, poets. The scale of the attack raises serious questions about proportionality, with the Lebanese government accusing Israel not only of breaching international law, but of committing war crimes. Beirut has known war before. It understands loss. But this time there was no warning. No evacuation order. No time to escape. What remains is a traumatised population still searching for bodies in the rubble. Naya's video will fade from timelines, replaced by the next viral clip. But for her, and for countless children across Lebanon, this is not a moment. It is a reality that does not end when the camera stops rolling.
After Reaching a Deal With Anthropic, Is CoreWeave Proving to Be the Ultimate Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Own?
Shares of CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) jumped more than 12% on Friday after the company announced it reached a multi-year deal with Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) company behind the Claude chatbot. It's yet another big win for CoreWeave, after recently announcing a $21 billion deal with social media giant Meta Platforms, adding on to an already existing deal. CoreWeave rents out computing power to tech companies in need of access to the latest chips. And with demand for all things AI-related being through the roof these days, and CoreWeave's valuation being relatively low compared to the big tech giants, could it be the best AI stock to own right now? Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue " Image source: Getty Images. While CoreWeave's stock has been rising lately and it's up over 42% for the year, it's still nowhere near the high of $187 it reached last year. At a market cap of $54 billion, CoreWeave is a fairly small tech company when compared to the "Magnificent Seven" stocks that are over $1 trillion. Given the ongoing spending in AI now and for the foreseeable future, CoreWeave's stock could have a lot of upside given the important role it plays in the industry these days. There is admittedly some risk with the company as it isn't profitable and has a high debt load. But for investors who want to profit from the growth in AI spend, CoreWeave may be the AI stock with the most long-term upside. If you can stomach the risk and volatility that comes with it, it may be worth hanging on to for the long haul. Before you buy stock in CoreWeave, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and CoreWeave wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $555,526!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,156,403!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 968% -- a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. David Jagielski, CPA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
After Reaching a Deal With Anthropic, Is CoreWeave Proving to Be the Ultimate Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Own? | The Motley Fool
The company lacks profitability but has tremendous growth opportunities due to artificial intelligence. Shares of CoreWeave (CRWV +10.87%) jumped more than 12% on Friday after the company announced it reached a multi-year deal with Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) company behind the Claude chatbot. It's yet another big win for CoreWeave, after recently announcing a $21 billion deal with social media giant Meta Platforms, adding on to an already existing deal. CoreWeave rents out computing power to tech companies in need of access to the latest chips. And with demand for all things AI-related being through the roof these days, and CoreWeave's valuation being relatively low compared to the big tech giants, could it be the best AI stock to own right now? While CoreWeave's stock has been rising lately and it's up over 42% for the year, it's still nowhere near the high of $187 it reached last year. At a market cap of $54 billion, CoreWeave is a fairly small tech company when compared to the "Magnificent Seven" stocks that are over $1 trillion. Given the ongoing spending in AI now and for the foreseeable future, CoreWeave's stock could have a lot of upside given the important role it plays in the industry these days. There is admittedly some risk with the company as it isn't profitable and has a high debt load. But for investors who want to profit from the growth in AI spend, CoreWeave may be the AI stock with the most long-term upside. If you can stomach the risk and volatility that comes with it, it may be worth hanging on to for the long haul.
Irish police clear demonstrators to reopen refinery as fuel protest causes chaos
DUBLIN -- Police removed protesters Saturday to reopen Ireland's only oil refinery as a fifth day of disruptive demonstrations over the soaring price of fuel left many gas pumps dry and threatened to cripple transportation across the country. Trucks and tractors continued to block access to vital fuel depots and a major port, and vehicles blocking traffic led to closures of part of the main highway around Dublin, the capital, as well as sections of other major roadways. Irish police put all officers on notice they could be called to duty over the weekend and the military was prepared to use heavy equipment to remove trucks and tractors blocking facilities and roadways as the government renewed talks to resolve the dispute. The protests began Tuesday and have grown as word spread on social media, leading truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators to stage blockades and call for caps on fuel prices or cuts to excise or carbon taxes. Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports. Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away at ports during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply. "It is unconscionable, it's illogical, it is difficult to comprehend," Martin told national broadcaster RTE. Plumber Paddy Murray said he joined the protest outside the port in Rosslare because he'd paid taxes all his life and was looking for the government to help him with the cost of living. "We can't continue to do business with the cost of fuel, cost of wages, everything," Murray told RTE. "We need somebody to help. It's the government's here like, to, represent us. You know, do your job. We're the working lads that keep everything going. We're the working lads that pay taxes." More than a third of the 1,500 service stations had run out of fuel Saturday and that number was expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said. Reopening the Whitegate refinery in County Cork will help restore some service. At midday, police vans from the public order unit rolled into the refinery to clear the protesters as the military stood by to assist. Officers used pepper spray, and video on RTE showed several officers dragging a protester from a tractor. A convoy of seven fuel delivery trucks from different companies was escorted to the refinery, according to footage posted on X by police. Another police video showed tanker trucks leaving the Foynes Port fuel hub in Limerick after protesters let them through. Two weeks ago, the government approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs. But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise. Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them. People took to the streets of Dublin in support of the protest Saturday and tractors slowly rolled through the streets of Cork. Protesters shut down the road leading to Rosslare Europort, a major entry point for freight and passenger ferries in Wexford, and stranding cargo there. The port will reach capacity Sunday, Harbormaster Tom Curran told RTE.
Irish police clear demonstrators to reopen refinery as fuel protest causes chaos
DUBLIN, Ireland -- Police removed protesters Saturday to reopen Ireland's only oil refinery as a fifth day of disruptive demonstrations over the soaring price of fuel left many gas pumps dry and threatened to cripple transportation across the country. Trucks and tractors continued to block access to vital fuel depots and a major port, and vehicles blocking traffic led to closures of part of the main highway around Dublin, the capital, as well as sections of other major roadways. Irish police put all officers on notice they could be called to duty over the weekend and the military was prepared to use heavy equipment to remove trucks and tractors blocking facilities and roadways as the government renewed talks to resolve the dispute. Protesters make their way to O'Connell Street during the fifth day of a National Fuel Protest, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, April 11, 2026. AP PHOTO The protests began Tuesday and have grown as word spread on social media, leading truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators to stage blockades and call for caps on fuel prices or cuts to excise or carbon taxes. Get the latest news delivered to your inbox Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports. Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away at ports during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply. Advertisement "It is unconscionable, it's illogical, it is difficult to comprehend," Martin told national broadcaster RTE. Plumber Paddy Murray said he joined the protest outside the port in Rosslare because he'd paid taxes all his life and was looking for the government to help him with the cost of living. "We can't continue to do business with the cost of fuel, cost of wages, everything," Murray told RTE. "We need somebody to help. It's the government's here like, to, represent us. You know, do your job. We're the working lads that keep everything going. We're the working lads that pay taxes." More than a third of the 1,500 service stations had run out of fuel Saturday and that number was expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said. Advertisement Reopening the Whitegate refinery in County Cork will help restore some service. At midday, police vans from the public order unit rolled into the refinery to clear the protesters as the military stood by to assist. Officers used pepper spray, and video on RTE showed several officers dragging a protester from a tractor. A convoy of seven fuel delivery trucks from different companies was escorted to the refinery, according to footage posted on X by police. Another police video showed tanker trucks leaving the Foynes Port fuel hub in Limerick after protesters let them through. Two weeks ago, the government approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs. Advertisement But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise. Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them. People took to the streets of Dublin in support of the protest Saturday and tractors slowly rolled through the streets of Cork. Protesters shut down the road leading to Rosslare Europort, a major entry point for freight and passenger ferries in Wexford, and stranding cargo there. The port will reach capacity Sunday, Harbormaster Tom Curran told RTE.
Anthropic: The mythos of cybersecurity | Inquirer Technology
In 2009, centrifuges at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility began behaving abnormally, damaging equipment and setting back Iran's uranium enrichment program. The culprit was a computer worm later dubbed Stuxnet by cybersecurity researchers. Due to the very sophisticated way the worm was able to infiltrate its target industrial machines, researchers widely believed that only powerful nation-states had the capability to create Stuxnet. Fingers were quickly pointed at Israel and the United States and both nations still officially deny their involvement in the cyberattack. Enter Anthropic's Mythos Artificial intelligence company Anthropic announced on April 7 the latest version of its Claude large language model, codenamed Mythos Preview. However, unlike previous versions, Anthropic refused to release this model to the public and instead created Project Glasswing, an initiative to provide Mythos only to a select group of companies, including Google, NVIDIA, JPMorganChase, Apple, Cisco, and the Linux Foundation. The reason for this exclusivity? Anthropic believes that Mythos was too dangerous to be given to the public. In their own words: "AI models have reached a level of coding capability where they can surpass all but the most skilled humans at finding and exploiting software vulnerabilities." Anthropic claims that Claude Mythos is a significant step-up in coding capability and that, in the wrong hands, could be used to hack systems and wreak havoc on global systems. Consider this: what if anybody with access to Mythos could create their own Stuxnet and target just about anyone? Capability previously reserved to nation-states is potentially in everybody's reach. According to Anthropic's internal testing, Mythos had already identified security flaws in numerous operating systems, web browsers, and apps, including a 27-year-old bug in the popular OpenBSD operating system, and a complex vulnerability in the Linux kernel -- used in millions of internet servers and Android devices -- that chained together multiple weaknesses that only the most experienced security developers could have figured out. Project Glasswing aimed to give companies the time to identify and fix vulnerabilities in their systems before Mythos is released to the public. The alarm has even reached the United States government leading to a meeting between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and various major bank CEOs. Is this real or just marketing hype? Given that Anthropic, reasonably, does not give out details, this Claude Mythos danger appears to be a case of "trust me, bro!" And while lots of industry experts are taking Anthropic seriously, many others remain quite skeptical. Maybe Anthropic is just capitalizing on their reputation for being a "safety first" AI company and is using their improved model to generate hype, secure contracts, and gain more investors. Maybe Mythos is not actually that much better and we already know that cybercriminals are using earlier models of Claude, GPT, and Gemini to launch countless scams and hacks. Maybe Anthropic is only ahead of other companies by a few months, and it is just a (very short) matter of time before the likes of OpenAI and DeepSeek can roll out their own mythological models. In fact, OpenAI is actually contemplating a comparable move to Anthropic's but with far less fanfare. And speaking of OpenAI, several people remember that they made a similar move way back in 2019 by withholding the general release of GPT-2 because supposedly it was too dangerous. Security-first as a philosophy Whether the Anthropic announcement is a real danger or overblown hype, it reminds us that security should always be taken seriously by any company or organization that deploys systems for public consumption. Too often in many companies, security is viewed as an afterthought competing with the relentless drive to chase profits, release new features, and retain customers. And regardless of how one may personally feel about AI itself, LLMs, even older models, can actually be used to augment the capabilities of security researchers in identifying and patching vulnerabilities. And for the software industry at large, the lack of support given to many open source software and libraries that the entire world depends on is embarrassing. Exploits like Heartbleed in 2014 highlighted the fact that trillion-dollar companies use free open source software without giving back. This means investing in audits, funding critical open-source projects, and designing systems with security as a default -- not an afterthought. Maybe Mythos, despite the hype, can be a real wake up call.
Anthropic's Claude for Word is another challenge to Microsoft's software empire, and a bid to appeal to lawyers
The AI startup's latest launch is partly aimed at legal professionals. Anthropic launched a beta version of Claude for Word, another challenge to Microsoft's software empire and a bid to appeal more to the legal profession. The AI startup, having pushed Claude into Excel and PowerPoint earlier this year, said its latest add-in for Word is "designed for professionals who work extensively with documents, particularly in legal review, financial memo drafting, and iterative editing." On Saturday, Anthropic said Claude for Word would allow users to ask questions about their documents and get answers with clickable section citations. Other features include the ability to edit selected text while preserving surrounding styles, numbering, and formatting, while a "tracked changes mode" would allow users to accept or reject every edit as a revision, Anthropic explained. Claude could also work through comment threads, editing the anchored text and replying with what it changed, according to the release. Anthropic gave examples of prompts lawyers could try when reviewing a legal contract while using Claude for Word. It's currently available only to Team and Enterprise plans. With this and other recent launches, Anthropic is making clear it no longer wants to be known primarily as a tool for developers. It wants Claude embedded across the enterprise, supporting finance teams, HR departments, analysts, and executives alike. Read the original article on Business Insider
Best Crypto Presale of 2026: Why Major Capital is Flowing Into XAIVELON ($XAI) After $50M Milestone
With the global crypto market pushing beyond the $3 trillion mark, a structural inefficiency continues to affect both retail and institutional participants alike: liquidity fragmentation. In response to this growing issue, XAIVELON has entered the final phase of what many analysts are calling one of the most compelling crypto presales of 2026. After surpassing $50 million in funding, XAIVELON has moved beyond early-stage speculation and into a phase where its underlying infrastructure is being viewed as a necessary evolution in decentralized finance. The conversation is no longer about potential -- it's about execution and scale. Much like how next-generation AI tools have reshaped trading intelligence, XAIVELON's proprietary liquidity engine is designed to rebalance market access, giving everyday users tools once limited to high-frequency institutional systems. The Core Innovation: XAIVELON's Advanced Liquidity Engine At the center of XAIVELON's ecosystem is its next-generation routing system, an AI-powered framework engineered to optimize asset conversion across fragmented markets. Rather than relying on simple swap routes, the system evaluates thousands of potential pathways simultaneously, identifying the most efficient execution routes across multiple liquidity pools. This approach allows users to access pricing advantages that are typically inaccessible through standard decentralized exchanges. By treating liquidity as a dynamic network rather than isolated pools, XAIVELON introduces a more intelligent method of trade execution -- reducing inefficiencies such as slippage while improving overall transaction outcomes. The result is a trading environment designed to compete with institutional-grade infrastructure while remaining accessible to everyday users. Expanding Beyond Trading: Payment Infrastructure at Scale XAIVELON is not positioning itself solely as an exchange protocol. A major component of its long-term vision is the development of a universal payment layer for digital assets. Through its payment integration framework, XAIVELON aims to enable merchants to accept a wide range of cryptocurrencies while settling instantly into stable assets or fiat equivalents. This removes one of the largest barriers to adoption -- volatility and complexity at the point of sale. By bridging the gap between digital assets and real-world commerce, XAIVELON is targeting a massive global payments market and positioning itself as a foundational layer for on-chain transactions. This shift toward real-world utility is a key reason institutional participants are beginning to take interest. Projects that generate activity through actual usage -- rather than speculation -- tend to attract more sustainable capital over time. Built-In Scarcity: The Deflationary Model Another defining aspect of XAIVELON's structure is its deflationary token design. Instead of relying purely on demand growth, the ecosystem incorporates mechanisms that systematically reduce circulating supply over time. Fixed Supply: 1 billion $XAI tokens Deflationary Mechanics: A large portion of protocol-generated revenue is used for token buybacks Supply Reduction: Tokens acquired through these mechanisms are permanently removed from circulation As network usage increases -- particularly through trading activity and merchant adoption -- the rate of token reduction accelerates. This creates a model where ecosystem growth directly contributes to long-term scarcity. Rather than being a theoretical concept, this structure ties token value to actual platform performance. The Closing Phase: A Narrowing Entry Window Recent data indicates that XAIVELON's presale is approaching its final allocation stage. With a significant portion of its development milestones already completed and increasing attention from larger market participants, the dynamics of the opportunity are shifting. Early-stage pricing, which initially attracted retail interest, is now being viewed through a different lens as institutional capital begins to accumulate positions ahead of broader market exposure. Once the presale concludes and the token transitions to open market trading, pricing will be determined by external demand rather than fixed entry tiers. Additionally, the activation of automated ecosystem mechanisms -- such as liquidity optimization and token reduction -- could further alter supply dynamics. For those evaluating early access opportunities in 2026, XAIVELON represents a project that has moved from concept to execution, with its final presale phase marking a critical inflection point. Final Perspective As the crypto market matures, the focus is shifting toward infrastructure that solves real inefficiencies. XAIVELON's approach -- combining AI-driven liquidity optimization, payment integration, and a deflationary economic model -- places it at the intersection of several key narratives shaping the industry. While many presales rely heavily on hype cycles, XAIVELON is building around functionality, scalability, and measurable utility. That distinction is what continues to attract attention from both retail participants and institutional observers. With its funding milestone achieved and its presale entering its final stage, XAIVELON is emerging as one of the most closely watched opportunities in the current cycle. Official Website: https://XAIVELON.com Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry risk, including the potential loss of capital. Readers should conduct independent research and consult licensed financial advisors before making any investment decisions. This content is strictly informational and does not promote or solicit investment in any digital asset. Related Items:bitcoin, Blockchain Recommended for you Cardano Shifts as Securitize News Hits - Hyperliquid Rises, APEMARS 100x Crypto Shiba Inu, Trump Struggle as APEMARS Emerges 1000x Meme Coin - Turn $3K to $83K 7 Top Cryptos: APEMARS Presale Surges Past $400K as Stage 15 Nears Its End XFund Ventures Expands Its Liquidity Vision with Coinstore Listing, Signaling a New Phase of Growth TRON Announced as Title Sponsor for Hong Kong Web3 Festival 2026 7 Best Altcoins Now: APEMARS Surges 2600% ROI as Stage 15 Ends in 24 Hours
Irish police clear demonstrators to reopen refinery as fuel protest causes chaos
DUBLIN (AP) -- Police removed protesters Saturday to reopen Ireland's only oil refinery as a fifth day of disruptive demonstrations over the soaring price of fuel left many gas pumps dry and threatened to cripple transportation across the country. Trucks and tractors continued to block access to vital fuel depots and a major port, and vehicles blocking traffic led to closures of part of the main highway around Dublin, the capital, as well as sections of other major roadways. Irish police put all officers on notice they could be called to duty over the weekend and the military was prepared to use heavy equipment to remove trucks and tractors blocking facilities and roadways as the government renewed talks to resolve the dispute. The protests began Tuesday and have grown as word spread on social media, leading truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators to stage blockades and call for caps on fuel prices or cuts to excise or carbon taxes. Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports. Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away at ports during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply. "It is unconscionable, it's illogical, it is difficult to comprehend," Martin told RTE. More than a third of the 1,500 service stations had run out of fuel Saturday and that number was expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said. Reopening the Whitegate refinery in County Cork will help restore some service. At midday, police vans from the public order unit rolled into the refinery to clear the protesters as the military stood by to assist. Officers used pepper spray, and video on national broadcaster RTE showed several officers dragging a protester from a tractor. A convoy of seven fuel delivery trucks from different companies was escorted to the refinery, according to footage posted on X by police. Another police video showed tanker trucks leaving the Foynes Port fuel hub in Limerick after protesters let them through. Two weeks ago, the government approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs. But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise. Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them. People took to the streets of Dublin in support of the protest Saturday and tractors slowly rolled through the streets of Cork. Protesters shut down the road leading to Rosslare Europort, a major entry point for freight and passenger ferries in Wexford, and stranding cargo there. The port will reach capacity Sunday, Harbormaster Tom Curran told RTE.
Agentic AI is transforming supply chain agility, resilience
ACCORDING to NielsenIQ (NIQ), the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing e-commerce markets -- the region's FMCG e-commerce sector has doubled over the past five years and is expected to double again. While this growth presents a massive opportunity, it is also pushing supply chains to their breaking point as consumers demand faster, more reliable deliveries -- from shipment visibility and last-mile delivery to fleet efficiency, improved inventory accuracy and multi-warehouse coordination. In an exclusive media briefing, Chitransh Sahai, founder and chief executive officer of GoComet, a supply chain automation platform, provided early insights into the future of digital supply chains and how visibility helps businesses track and manage every step. With the Philippines acting as both a consumption-driven market and a strategic import hub, local supply chains are exposed to fluctuating port conditions, fragmented logistics networks and global shocks that ripple quickly into domestic operations. Industry leaders noted that while basic tracking has become table stakes, organizations are now prioritizing systems that can interpret live data, flag risks early and support faster decision-making -- especially across inbound freight and cross-border trade. Get the latest news delivered to your inbox Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. "Visibility tells you where things are. Intelligence tells you what to do next," said GoComet's Chitransh Sahai. "AI helps supply chains move from reacting late to planning early, which is where real resilience is built." Sahai emphasized that AI's growing role in supply chains is about strengthening human judgment. By automating monitoring, exception detection and data consolidation, intelligent systems like agentic AI are freeing teams to focus on strategy, supplier collaboration and scenario planning. This approach is gaining traction among Philippine enterprises seeking to modernize operations without adding complexity or operational overhead. Advertisement "Technology only creates impact when it fits naturally into how teams work," Sahai said. "The goal isn't more dashboards -- it's fewer surprises." For most enterprises, global logistics has been reactive. Once a shipment moves, visibility drops and delays surface late -- leaving teams chasing updates, missing OTIF commitments and facing unpredictable transit times. Fragmented, manual processes make it difficult to manage exceptions proactively, reduce lead times or deliver a consistent consignee experience. GoComet addresses this challenge through a single, AI-powered visibility and execution platform. It enables real-time shipment tracking, intelligent alerts and standardized workflows, helping teams anticipate delays, take proactive action and improve on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance. In his presentation, Sahai highlighted GoComet's major capabilities, which include: (1) Incident Lens, which connects live port, weather and geopolitical signals directly to shipments for early disruption detection; and (2) Viera, a conversational AI that enables teams to query logistics data in natural language and receive instant insights. Advertisement Together, these systems convert millions of data points across shipments, documents and communications into prioritized, explainable actions -- helping enterprises improve productivity by up to 2x, reduce freight costs by up to 30 percent, increase inventory turnover by 17 percent, and drive stronger CSAT and NPS outcomes. Sahai further showcased how GoComet's AI Centre brings together multiple intelligent systems that continuously observe operations, reason over real-world context and assist teams across planning, execution and risk management. The AI agents act as personal digital assistants embedded in daily work. Sahai said, "GoComet is easy to use. You can literally just chat through a simple interface, and the platform will give you the answers -- like you do with ChatGPT or Gemini and similar tools." Based on the company's experience, GoComet makes maximum impact in industries with complex supply chain operations such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, chemicals and fast-moving consumer goods, as well as among Filipino enterprises with global ambitions such as Jollibee and major tuna exporter Century Pacific. Advertisement The message of the briefing is clear: AI is no longer a future concept for supply chains in the Philippines. It is already shaping how organizations anticipate risk, protect service levels and scale confidently in an increasingly complex global environment.
Irish police clear demonstrators to reopen refinery as fuel protest causes chaos
DUBLIN (AP) -- Police removed protesters Saturday to reopen Ireland's only oil refinery as a fifth day of disruptive demonstrations over the soaring price of fuel left many gas pumps dry and threatened to cripple transportation across the country. Trucks and tractors continued to block access to vital fuel depots and a major port, and vehicles blocking traffic led to closures of part of the main highway around Dublin, the capital, as well as sections of other major roadways. Irish police put all officers on notice they could be called to duty over the weekend and the military was prepared to use heavy equipment to remove trucks and tractors blocking facilities and roadways as the government renewed talks to resolve the dispute. The protests began Tuesday and have grown as word spread on social media, leading truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators to stage blockades and call for caps on fuel prices or cuts to excise or carbon taxes. Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the global price spike is due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports. Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away at ports during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply. "It is unconscionable, it's illogical, it is difficult to comprehend," Martin told RTE. More than a third of the 1,500 service stations had run out of fuel Saturday and that number was expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said. Reopening the Whitegate refinery in County Cork will help restore some service. At midday, police vans from the public order unit rolled into the refinery to clear the protesters as the military stood by to assist. Officers used pepper spray, and video on national broadcaster RTE showed several officers dragging a protester from a tractor. A convoy of seven fuel delivery trucks from different companies was escorted to the refinery, according to footage posted on X by police. Another police video showed tanker trucks leaving the Foynes Port fuel hub in Limerick after protesters let them through. Two weeks ago, the government approved a range of measures to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs. But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise. Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them. People took to the streets of Dublin in support of the protest Saturday and tractors slowly rolled through the streets of Cork. Protesters shut down the road leading to Rosslare Europort, a major entry point for freight and passenger ferries in Wexford, and stranding cargo there. The port will reach capacity Sunday, Harbormaster Tom Curran told RTE. News Nevada Top stories Old Granite Street Eatery officially closes near downtown Reno New lane closures and detours begin next week on Sparks Boulevard Washoe County School District hosting three upcoming recruitment fairs
