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The United Kingdom's government is sitting on a quiet crisis. One in four public sector computer systems are running on outdated technology, costing taxpayers an estimated forty-five billion pounds every year. That's before accounting for the compounding losses from missed opportunities in AI and automation — a bill that only grows the longer reform is delayed.
Shifting to infrastructure of a different kind, Amazon is moving to acquire Apple's stake in Globalstar, the satellite communications company. The deal signals Amazon's continued push to build out space-based connectivity, likely to complement its own Kuiper satellite network. It's a reminder that the next frontier of internet access is increasingly being carved up by a handful of very large players.
And in a development with serious real-world consequences, cuts to American foreign aid under Elon Musk's DOGE initiative appear to have worsened the Ebola outbreak spreading across Central Africa. Reduced funding has hampered vaccine distribution and outbreak response, while a new travel ban is now blocking even American citizens in affected regions from returning home. It's a stark illustration of how decisions made in Washington's budget offices can ripple outward in ways that are very hard to contain.
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