The conflict has led to a higher inflation rate, lower-than-target economic growth, a wider current account deficit and a risk to remittances, said Walter Wassmer, a member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ policymaking Monetary Board.
The United Arab Emirates has begun talks with the US about a financial backstop in case the Iran war plunges the country into further crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials it didn’t identify.
UAE Central Bank Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama raised the idea of a currency swap line with Federal Reserve and US Treasury officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, during meetings in Washington last week, according to the report.
by Bryan Jung via PJMedia.com,
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declared the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) campaign to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers "wildly successful," after over 6,000 applicants submitted forms within the first twelve hours of the program's launch.
The FAA is reporting thousands of applicants applied after its unconventional new recruitment initiative launched on April 17, with the application portal reaching its cap at 8,000 candidates.
The Trump administration is currently looking to address a persistent nationwide shortage of air traffic controllers, as many of the most experienced have retired in recent years.
“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt,” Duffy said in a statement.
“This campaign’s innovative communication style and focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.”
The recruitment drive features a high-energy promotional video and messaging that frames job requirements as “mission objectives," which is designed to appeal to Gen Z applicants.
Duffy said that skills common among gamers, such as rapid decision-making, sustained concentration, and the ability to manage multiple inputs simultaneously could be applied to directing air traffic.
“If you think about what gamers are doing on screens, they’re talking, reacting, and managing a lot at once — that’s very similar to what happens in a control tower,” Duffy said during remarks in Washington.
The push comes as the FAA confronts a shortfall of roughly 3,500 air traffic controllers, a gap that has developed over the past decade amid rising demand for air travel.
Federal data shows the number of controllers has declined even as flight volume has increased, placing additional strain on existing personnel and raising broader concerns about system resilience.
To attract candidates, the agency is highlighting the role’s long-term earning potential, noting that certified controllers can earn more than $155,000 annually within three years, but stress that certification remains highly selective and rigorous.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens under the age of 31 and fluent in English, while those who accepted face a multi-stage evaluation process, including the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, medical examinations, and security clearances.
Even then, only about 2 percent ultimately complete the training pipeline, which can take between two and five years.
Industry stakeholders have largely welcomed the campaign as a creative way to broaden the applicant pool.
The air traffic controllers union has expressed support for the program, citing the need to bring in new talent amid ongoing staffing pressures, but cautions that it is not a quick fix due to the significant time required to complete training and certification.
Some aviation experts caution that the influx of applicants will not immediately resolve the shortage, as the lengthy training process and high attrition rates mean that even a successful recruitment effort may take years to translate into fully certified controllers in control towers and radar facilities.
The initiative arrives at a time of heightened scrutiny of aviation safety and operations, with recent incidents drawing attention to a decline in highly trained personnel.
While aviation officials maintain that the system remains safe, they acknowledge that staffing remains a critical issue.
For now, the FAA’s gamer-focused outreach appears to be achieving its immediate goal: capturing the attention of a new generation of potential recruits.
Whether that interest translates into a sustained expansion of the controller workforce will depend on the agency’s ability to guide candidates through one of the most demanding training pipelines in the federal government.
On April 19, 2026, UBS has started coverage of Amneal Pharmaceuticals AMRX with a Buy rating and a price target of $19, citing its strong growth potential in the specialty pharmaceuticals sector. After a 14% decline in shares over the last two months, UBS considers this an opportune moment for investors.
The initiation of coverage by UBS highlights Amneal Pharmaceuticals' potential for growth, particularly in its specialty pharmaceuticals segment. Analysts project a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% for this segment from 2025 to 2030, outpacing the broader market consensus of 4%. Key products driving this growth include Crexont, a treatment for Parkinson's disease, and Brekiya, a newly launched migraine therapy.
Despite the months-long feud between Anthropic and the Pentagon, the National Security Agency is using the AI company's new Mythos Preview, according to Axios, which spoke to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic announced Mythos Preview at the beginning of April, describing it as a general-purpose language model that is "strikingly capable at computer security tasks." But back in February, Trump ordered all government agencies to stop using Anthropic's services after the company refused to budge on certain safeguards for military uses during contract talks.
The news comes days after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and other officials, reportedly to discuss Mythos. The White House later said the meeting on Friday was "productive and constructive," though President Trump said he had "no idea" about it when asked by reporters, Reuters reports. According to Axios' sources, the NSA is one of the roughly 40 organizations Anthropic gave access to Mythos Preview, and one said it's "being used more widely within the department" too.
The company is still embroiled in a legal battle with the US government. Anthropic filed lawsuits against the Department of Defense in two courts in March after the Trump administration labeled it a "supply chain risk," and the Pentagon filed a response shortly after. While Anthropic was granted a preliminary injunction by one court to temporarily block this designation, federal judges in the other denied its motion to lift the label.
https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-nsa-is-reportedly-using-anthropics-new-model-mythos-211502787.html
Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire Kelonia Therapeutics for more than $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
https://www.newsmax.com/us/eli-lilly-kelonia-therapeutics-2-billion/2026/04/19/id/1253454/
Iran’s lead negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf defended indirect talks with the United States in a televised interview Saturday after hardline critics accused him of “betrayal” and even hinted at a “coup” over the negotiations in Islamabad.
The backlash, which has intensified in recent days across hardline media and social platforms, prompted Ghalibaf to sit for a lengthy interview on state television aimed largely at persuading critics who reject any form of diplomacy and advocate continued confrontation.
In the interview, Ghalibaf framed negotiations not as a retreat but as a continuation of the conflict by other means. Diplomacy, he said, is neither a withdrawal from Iran’s demands nor separate from the battlefield, but a way to consolidate military gains and translate them into political outcomes and lasting peace.
Most notably, perhaps, he cautioned against exaggerating Iran’s leverage, stressing that US military superiority and capabilities should not be underestimated.
Hardline critics have intensified attacks on Ghalibaf, particularly on domestic social media platforms such as Eitaa, accusing him of ignoring red lines set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and signaling weakness toward the United States.
One critic wrote in a post that “there is no good in negotiation except harm,” adding that Ghalibaf’s remarks suggested an optimism about progress in the talks that was “worrying.”
Another post went further, calling on the Revolutionary Guard to intervene and stop what it described as Ghalibaf’s “betrayal.”
Similar rhetoric has surfaced in nighttime gatherings by pro-government supporters, where speakers denounce negotiations and potential concessions—such as handing over enriched nuclear material, a core US demand—and chant slogans including “Death to compromisers.”
Ghalibaf did emphasize his personal commitment, declaring that for him there is no distinction between the battlefield and the negotiating table and that he is ready to sacrifice “both my life and my reputation” for “the people to attain their rights.”
The controversy widened after a social media account linked to ultrahardliner Saeed Jalili, a longtime political rival of Ghalibaf and a member of Iran’s national security council, published a post with the hashtag “coup plotter.”
The post called on Mojtaba Khamenei to publicly clarify his position if he indeed supports the negotiations, warning that without such confirmation officials could be accused of acting without the leader’s authorization.
The account was deactivated shortly afterward without explanation.
Jalili, who previously served as Khamenei’s representative on the Supreme National Security Council, has not commented publicly on the controversy, and there has been no official announcement about whether he retains that role under the current leadership.
Despite the backlash, several reformist figures have publicly backed Ghalibaf’s approach.
“A rare historical moment has placed Ghalibaf in a position where anyone who even slightly cares about Iran should support this rational soldier-politician and his decisions on war and peace,” Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president under Mohammad Khatami wrote on X.
Journalist and commentator Ahmad Zeidabadi also defended him, arguing that volunteering to negotiate in such a tense environment required significant political and reputational risk.
Iranian media outlets have also offered differing interpretations of the interview. The conservative website Tabnak said Ghalibaf was outlining a strategic framework in which military strength, public support and diplomacy operate simultaneously.
The centrist outlet Asr-e Iran described the remarks as a broader roadmap for confronting the United States and Israel, arguing that diplomacy should be seen as a continuation of Iran’s battlefield resistance rather than a departure from it.
