Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching a new initiative, investing $1 billion to embed AI engineers directly within customer teams to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in everyday business operations.

• $1 billion investment in a new Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) organization.
• AWS aims to help businesses move from AI experimentation to practical deployment of "agentic" AI systems.
• The program focuses on delivering functional AI systems and new engineering skills to customers, with a commitment to business results over billable hours.

Kenya's innovation ecosystem is gradually expanding beyond the capital, Nairobi, with cities like Mombasa and Kisumu emerging as new hubs for startups leveraging regional economic strengths.

• Nairobi attracted 95.7% of total startup funding between 2015 and late 2024, highlighting a persistent funding gap for regional ecosystems.
• Key organizations involved include Tala-Kenya, KeNIA, and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), alongside numerous emerging startups in Mombasa, Kisumu, and Konza Technopolis.
• While regional hubs like Mombasa are showing significant growth rates (over 104%), challenges remain in accessing capital and specialized talent, often necessitating a move to Nairobi for scaling.

Japan has executed Sunao Takami, 58, for setting a pachinko parlour ablaze in 2009, killing five people. This marks the first execution in the country in over a year.

• The victims included four customers and one employee.
• The convicted man, Sunao Takami, was sentenced to hang in 2011 after a jury and judges rejected claims of mental illness.
• This execution is the first under the administration of Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi.

A collection of Mahatma Gandhi's handwritten notes on life, truth, and non-violence has been sold for a record-breaking $1.69 million at an auction in Mumbai.

• The sale set a record for the highest price paid for an Indian historical document at auction.
• The notes were owned by the family of Gandhi's close associate, Anand T Hingorani, and auctioned by Saffronart.
• The collection includes 688 messages written between 1944 and 1946, offering personal insights into Gandhi's principles.