Launch

• 川普政府宣布啟動「經濟憤怒行動」（Operation Economic Fury），作為擴大制裁行動的一部分，對伊朗實施全面封鎖。 • 該倡議代表對伊朗經濟壓力的重大升級，標誌著美國外交政策轉向更強硬的措施。 • 此行動發生在中東更廣泛的地緣政治緊張局勢之中，此前美國與伊朗之間已持續數月的外交緊張。

• 五角大廈於 2025 年 12 月推出 GenAI.mil，作為 Project Maven 的一部分，為約 300 萬名國防部 (Department of Defense) 員工提供安全的生成式 AI 存取權限。 • 該平台整合了多個領先的 AI 模型，包括 Anthropic 的 Claude、Google 的 Gemini、xAI 的 Grok 以及 OpenAI 的 ChatGPT，旨在推動 AI 在軍事行動中的廣泛應用。 • 此舉反映了美國軍方將先進 AI 能力整合至國防行動中的戰略優先事項，並展現了政府在雙用途 (dual-use) AI 技術上的重大投資。

• Aviatrix Inc. 宣布推出一個新平台，旨在封裝人工智慧 (AI) 代理人，並在無需更改 AI 代理人或程式碼的情況下，對 AI 工作負載實施安全控制。 • 該平台透過兩款新產品擴展了 Aviatrix 的 Cloud Native Security Fabric：針對 AI 工作負載的 Zero Trust（現已正式上市）以及 Aviatrix AgentGuard（處於早期測試階段），使 IT 團隊能夠設定政策以允許或拒絕存取外部 AI 服務，並透過允許清單 (allowlists) 阻擋影子 AI (shadow AI)。 • 該解決方案在不同工作負載與區域之間提供網路層級的強制執行，以解決企業環境中對於保護 AI 代理人、大型語言模型代理 (LLM proxies) 及代理框架 (agentic frameworks) 日趨增長的需求。

在 Bristol 巴士抵制行動週年之際，市府宣布了一項活動計畫，旨在啟發該市的社會宣言。Bristol 長久以來一直是行動主義者的城市，人們在此準備為改變而努力，從 18 世紀的 John Wesley 追隨者，到 21 世紀推翻奴隸貿易商 Edward Colston 雕像的市民。週三，在一場具有里程碑意義的 1963 年 Bristol 巴士抵制行動開始週年之際，一項新運動正式啟動，目標是將該市打造為英國的民權之都。閱讀更多...

• FCC 宣布將審查由 Disney 擁有或管理的八項廣播許可證，原因是該公司的多元、公平與包容（DEI）政策。 • 此舉發生在總統 Trump 要求 ABC 解雇 Jimmy Kimmel 的一天之後，原因是 Kimmel 在一個有爭議的笑話中將第一夫人 Melania Trump 比作「準寡婦」。 • 在近期發生暗殺企圖指控後，關於 Kimmel 的深夜脫口秀獨白是否可能煽動政治暴力的爭論正引起強烈反彈。

• Sevii 於 2026 年 4 月 28 日宣布推出其自主網路群集防禦 (Autonomous Cyber Swarm Defense, CSD) 能力，旨在以機器速度與規模對抗海量的 AI 驅動網路攻擊。 • 該 ADR 平台部署了 Agentic AI Cyber Warrior 代理程式，能在 15 分鐘內偵測、圍堵並修復威脅，將分析師的工作量減少 95%，並透過固定的每資產定價模型消除了 AI token 成本。 • CSD 模式具備 Myrmidon Defense Technology (MDT) 以實現高效的微編排 (micro-orchestration)；Synergem Technologies 執行長 Frank Holt 指出，這使得企業在無需額外聘人或外包的情況下，能實現可預測的預算管理。

• Cognizant 於 2026 年 4 月 28 日宣布推出其創新網路 (Innovation Network)，這是一個企業投資部門，旨在針對美國早中期階段的企業軟體初創公司。 • AI Lab 負責驗證具前景的創新技術，而該網路則支持初創公司將其轉化為產品，提供給包括物流和招聘等 Global 2000 客戶。 • 此舉旨在加速將突破性技術整合至 Cognizant 的解決方案中，在 AI 採用率上升的趨勢下提升企業價值。

Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 on Sunday, Lebanon's health ministry said, as the Israeli military warned residents to leave ‌seven towns beyond the "buffer zone" it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities.

• Google announced a $750 million fund on April 27, 2026, targeting startups developing AI agents. • The fund aims to accelerate innovation in AI agent technologies amid intensifying competition. • This initiative underscores Google's commitment to fostering the AI ecosystem, potentially challenging rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Al-Qaida-linked group JNIM claims responsibility for strikes on airport in capital, Bamako, and four other citiesIslamic militants and separatists attacked several locations in Mali’s capital and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years.The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali on its website Azallaq. It said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group. Continue reading...

• Apple unveiled iOS 20 on April 25, 2026, featuring Apple Intelligence enhancements for on-device AI processing in Siri and Photos apps, rolling out first to US users. • Key additions include real-time language translation supporting 15 languages and AI-generated summaries for Safari, trained on 3 trillion parameters without cloud dependency. • The update addresses privacy concerns post-EU DMA rulings, boosting Apple's 45% US smartphone market share amid AI race with Google Pixel.

Creator card is designed for people making money through TikTok Live, some of whom have complained of delays in paymentsTikTok and Visa have launched a debit card for content creators in the UK that they say will allow people to quickly access their earnings from the platform.The creator card is designed for the growing numbers of people making money through TikTok Live, a live streaming feature where creators receive virtual gifts from viewers that are later converted into cash. Continue reading...

• Copperhelm raised $7 million in funding to launch an agentic cloud security platform leveraging AI agents for threat detection. • The platform automates real-time remediation at scale, addressing escalating cloud vulnerabilities in US enterprises. • This funding enables Copperhelm to commercialize innovative AI-driven cybersecurity amid rising breach incidents.

HMRC is contacting 21-year-olds as part of a new awareness drive around lost child trust funds, with an average balance of £2,200Rather than demanding money, HMRC is giving it away for once with a new campaign to reunite thousands of young Britons with forgotten savings accounts typically containing £2,200.HM Revenue and Customs is contacting 21-year-olds as part of a new awareness drive around lost child trust funds (CTF) – the tax-free savings accounts set up for children born between September 2002 and January 2011. Continue reading...

• IBM announced IBM Autonomous Security on April 15, 2026, deploying coordinated AI agents to detect and contain threats at machine speed without human intervention. • The service addresses a critical gap: attackers now achieve full network lateral movement in as little as 27 seconds, compared to an average of 29 minutes in 2024—a 65% speed improvement driving urgent demand for AI-powered defenses. • AI-enabled attacks surged 89% year-over-year in 2025, with a 44% increase in assaults exploiting public-facing applications, prompting major security vendors to adopt autonomous AI defense strategies.

• Los Angeles-based SimpleClosure unveiled Asset Hub, a marketplace enabling founders to sell intellectual property, source code, data, and equipment during startup wind-down operations as closures rise across the sector. • The platform addresses investor demand for structured, transparent exit processes that preserve value and minimize operational friction during company shutdowns. • Asset Hub reflects broader industry recognition that failed startups retain valuable IP assets and that organized liquidation marketplaces can recover capital otherwise lost in traditional bankruptcy proceedings.

• Treehub launched on April 22, 2026, as a Stanford-adjacent residency program in Los Altos, California, backed by the AI Health Fund and investors including Tim Draper and 23andMe founder Anne Wojcicki. • The program functions as a venture studio, incubator, and fund, offering scientist-founders proprietary medical data, mentorship from exited startup operators, and programming with payers and investors. • It targets precision outcomes like genomic risk stratification, care efficiency via ambient intelligence, and frontier science including robotic surgery and digital twins.

• Operant AI launched CodeInjectionGuard on April 22, 2026, a tool that blocks malicious code execution by AI agents at runtime. • The guard defends against code injection attacks, preventing supply chain compromises in autonomous AI systems. • It secures AI agents used in critical operations, addressing rising cybersecurity risks in AI deployments.

Federal Communications Commission will look into the TV ratings system and whether shows with transgender or non-binary characters demand a warning for parentsThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is launching a new inquiry into the TV ratings system, including whether content related to gender identity is not adequately flagged for parents, in the latest warning shot to broadcasters from the agency headed by the Trump loyalist Brendan Carr.The new proceeding, announced on Wednesday, asks for public comment on the transparency of the TV Oversight Management Board, which oversees the rating system and guidelines. That system was developed after Congress passed a law in 1996, leading to the creation of numerous ratings such as TV-Y, for programs deemed appropriate for all children, and TV-MA, for mature audiences. Continue reading...

• Cowbell Cyber Inc. launched Prime One, a new U.S. cyber insurance product for organizations with $250 million to $1 billion in annual revenue. • The policy provides up to $10 million in coverage limits and includes affirmative protection for AI-related incidents and quantum computing risks. • Prime One addresses unauthorized use or access to AI systems in business operations, targeting advanced digital risk profiles.

Justice department’s focus seems to be on SPLC’s prior use of paid informants to monitor hate groups, group’s CEO says The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a prominent civil rights organization, the group’s CEO said on Tuesday.Bryan Fair, the CEO of the SPLC, said the details of the investigation were not entirely clear, though “the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups”. Continue reading...

About 500 farmers challenge Green Gen Cymru in high court over alleged disregard for landowners and biosecurityA group of 500 Welsh farmers have brought a landmark legal claim to the high court over the alleged conduct of a green energy developer planning to build electricity pylon routes across their land.The court will hear allegations that Green Gen Cymru “unlawfully sought entry to private land, intimidated landowners, and showed disregard for biosecurity and basic rights”, as well as examine laws that force landowners to sell property to utility companies, in a hearing on Tuesday and Wednesday. Continue reading...

• Iran launched drone attacks targeting US warships in retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. • The strikes mark a sharp escalation, with both sides issuing warnings as a fragile ceasefire nears expiry and diplomacy falters. • Fears mount of wider regional conflict disrupting global oil flows through the world's critical waterway.

• Global private markets platform Moonfare announced a new AI-focused technology strategy targeting early and growth-stage investments for diversified US-relevant AI exposure. • Strategy features curated portfolio of leading growth managers plus direct investments in category-leading US technology companies driving AI innovation. • Aims to capitalize on transformative AI advancements, providing investors access to high-potential startups in the booming sector.

Trump administration to launch online portal on Monday after supreme court struck down tariff policy earlier this yearDonald Trump said US negotiators will be in Pakistan on Monday, and he again threatened to destroy its power plants and bridges if no deal is reached.Trump did not say who would lead the delegation, but a White House official said it was vice-president JD Vance. Continue reading...

• Meta released Llama 4 on April 20, 2026, a 2 trillion parameter multimodal AI model trained on 15 petabytes of US-centric data. • The model outperforms GPT-4o on benchmarks like MMLU (92% score) and supports vision-language tasks for enterprise apps. • Open-sourcing aims to spur US AI innovation, with downloads exceeding 500,000 in first hours via Hugging Face.

• Apple announced a delay of the Vision Pro 2 launch to Q4 2026 on April 19, pushing the release back six months as initial sales of the first-generation headset underperformed internal forecasts. • The company cited mixed customer feedback regarding the $3,499 price point, limited app ecosystem, and extended battery life requirements as factors influencing the postponement and product refinement timeline. • The delay marks a strategic recalibration for Apple in the spatial computing market and provides competitors including Meta's Quest 3 and Sony's PlayStation VR2 additional time to strengthen market position.

• SpaceX's Starlink division announced commercial availability of direct-to-cell satellite service to US carriers including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T beginning May 1, 2026, expanding beyond its existing emergency SOS functionality. • The service enables SMS and data connectivity in rural and remote areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable, with initial pricing set at $5 per month for basic coverage and $15 monthly for premium data tiers. • Industry observers note this development challenges traditional carrier infrastructure investments and could accelerate satellite communications adoption, though regulatory approval from the FCC is still pending final confirmation.