Speaking on Wednesday, he said his office had held numerous discussions with the communications ministry about restoring connectivity.
He warned that education and technological research cannot function without internet access.
The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive in Basra, Iraq, on Thursday, where ports are not under a US blockade, according to MarineTraffic.
MarineTraffic said the vessel attempted the transit again after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days.
The Commission is consulting member states before adopting a final version by the end of April, the report said.
Once adopted, the aid measures will run until the end of the year and cover up to 50% of additional fuel and fertilizer costs arising from the Iran crisis, the report added.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir announced in a statement on Wednesday that he instructed the Israeli soldiers to eliminate all "Hezbollah terrorists" in southern Lebanon, "up to the Litani [River] line."
He shared that he approved new battle plans against Lebanon and Iran yesterday. "Hezbollah has more than 1,700 killed since the start of the campaign. This is a severe blow to the terror organization," Zamir claimed.
Meanwhile, officials from Israel and Lebanon met in the United States a day prior to discuss a possible ceasefire. While some reports said that the truce announcement could come as early as today, an Israeli source told the Jerusalem Post that this will not happen.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/IDF-instructed-to-hit-all-Hezbollah-fighters-in-South/66077071
United States President Donald Trump will visit Pakistan under the condition that an agreement is reached with Iran, Saudi Arabian state-owned Al-Hadath news reported on Wednesday, without providing any further details.
Previous reports claimed that Washington and Tehran have agreed to meet for another round of talks, after failing to reach a deal over the weekend. The US is also allegedly expected to extend the two-week ceasefire, should the two come closer to an agreement.
Meanwhile, Trump mentioned earlier that an extension of the truce won't be necessary, showing confidence that the two sides will make progress in the coming days.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Trump-said-to-go-to-Pakistan-if-Iran-deal-reached/66077185
The United States military claimed on Wednesday that no vessels violated the blockade of Iranian ports in the initial 48 hours, with nine vessels adhering to orders to return to Iranian waters.
"During the first 48 hours of the US blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports, no vessels have made it past US forces. Additionally, 9 vessels have complied with direction from US forces to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or coastal area," the US Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X.
https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US:-No-ships-breached-naval-blockade-in-2-days/66076758
Despite the rapidly increasing cost of healthcare, productivity in the industry remains stagnant. In nearly every other sector of the economy automation drives efficiency and lowers costs. In healthcare, regulators are creating roadblocks by restricting AI tools that improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficiency. Instead of preemptively limiting these technologies, AI should be allowed to compete with human providers and legacy systems.
The United States faces a growing physician shortage. Making the existing workforce more productive is essential. That means allowing autonomous AI tools in clearly defined use cases when performance exceeds human standards, and robust real-world validation data support deployment.
AI technologies can already outperform humans in many healthcare tasks. In diagnostics they are often both faster and more accurate than physicians. They can predict medical complications, personalize drug dosing, conduct routine but time-consuming follow-up calls, and automate the collection and organization of patient records. These are exactly the types of tasks that should be automated in a system struggling with rising costs and workforce shortages.
Yet most states have enacted healthcare AI regulations that restrict its use. While caution is understandable with emerging technologies, many of these rules prevent AI from automating processes where it has demonstrated superior performance. Instead of streamlining care, regulators are adding redundant steps that require physicians to double-check work that could be safely automated. AI is not ready to handle every medical decision, but where it clearly exceeds human benchmarks, it should be given greater latitude.
Outdated clinical restrictions also preserve healthcare scarcity. Requiring mandatory human review for every AI-generated result ensures specialists remain bottlenecks, driving up costs and limiting access. This problem is especially acute in rural areas, where specialists are often unavailable. These are precisely the settings where validated autonomous AI could expand access to high quality diagnostic services.
States governments are not alone in limiting AI’s healthcare potential. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates AI diagnostic and treatment tools as medical devices. While oversight is appropriate, FDA approval timelines are often far slower than software development cycles. AI systems improve incrementally and continuously. Requiring lengthy re-approvals for updates delays deployment and can prevent improved versions from reaching patients in time.
AI does not fit neatly into a regulatory framework designed for static hardware devices. The FDA should create a streamlined approval pathway specifically for adaptive software, particularly for upgrades. Predetermined Change Control Plans (PCCPs), could be a path forward. While not yet standard practice, PCCPs allow companies to list anticipated updates and how those updates will be validated in advance. This aligns AI oversight with the evolving nature of software instead of treating each update as an entirely new device. This approach should become the norm.
Overregulation of new technology is a recurring pattern. Regulatory systems built for earlier eras rarely anticipate emerging innovations. Agencies are incentivized to avoid visible errors rather than maximizing long-term system-wide improvements. Incumbent providers also have strong incentives to resist technologies that threaten their economic position, often framing the argument as patient protection. But patients are best protected by a healthcare system that deploys the most advanced and effective tools available.
Regulation should be outcome-based. Once AI tools are evaluated on measurable performance metrics—accuracy, error rates, complication reductions—those that match or exceed human performance should be approved and subject to ongoing post-market monitoring. Autonomy should be permitted within clearly defined boundaries, with physician oversight available when clinically appropriate but not mandated as a universal requirement.
The stakes are huge. Healthcare costs will continue rising faster than inflation without productivity growth. AI is one of the few technologies capable of expanding capacity, reducing wait times, lowering administrative expenses, and improving healthcare outcomes simultaneously. Healthcare does not need more precautionary barriers. It needs more capacity. Properly deployed AI is the fastest path to delivering it.
Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization that advocates for consumers through evidence-based analysis and data. Visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal.
