News 4 u.

Hackers remotely altered refrigeration controls at as many as 700 French supermarkets, raising freezer temperatures high enough to spoil food and, in some cases, trigger fires and sprinkler damage. Investigators say the attackers exploited internet-connected equipment running obsolete firmware, unpatched software or default passwords, while disabling alarms or extending defrost cycles. No group has claimed responsibility, and attribution remains uncertain. The incident has exposed shared responsibility among retailers, contractors and equipment makers, as France delays broader connected-device security legislation.

Large volumes in Polymarket election markets continued after results were effectively decided, with analysis identifying rapid, mostly offsetting trades that generated little profit or loss. In one Ethiopian market, more than $285 million was traded largely on losing candidates, while an analysis found over 98% of more than 38,000 trade loops ended without either side gaining or losing. Experts say the activity resembles wash trading or volume farming, but trader identities are unknown and Polymarket says it blocked the accounts.

World Bank President Ajay Banga said the lender aims to quintuple its critical-minerals business within five years, targeting $19 billion in financing during fiscal 2026-30, compared with $3.6 billion in the previous five-year period. The plan includes partnerships with 20 countries and new country compacts intended to build local industries and retain more value domestically. The expansion responds partly to US pressure for greater minerals financing, while the bank says any deep-sea-mining involvement will follow a precautionary approach.

Freedom of information responses show at least 16 NHS trusts and health boards in England do not use Palantir’s Federated Data Platform, with several saying it offers little beyond existing systems. Other trusts and NHS England report operational benefits, including more operations and fewer discharge delays, but NHS England cautions that those figures do not establish causation. The findings arrive as the government considers a break clause in the seven-year, £330m contract, amid public objections over health-data use and competing claims about the platform’s value.

Anthropic reportedly told investors that quarterly revenue rose from about $4.8 billion in the first quarter to $16.8 billion in the third, alongside an adjusted operating margin of 11 percent. The account also says distillation by rival labs represented 5 to 7 percent of revenue before Anthropic reduced it materially. These figures suggest rapidly expanding commercial demand and improving reported economics, but they are not audited results in the supplied material and rely on people familiar with the briefing.

Military historian Si Sheppard argues that Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires depended less on firearms than on horses, steel, command disruption, coastal logistics and, above all, alliances with subject peoples. Cortés and Pizarro repeatedly captured rulers and exploited internal divisions, while indigenous forces adapted but had limited time to absorb unfamiliar tactics. The conversation also examines Sheppard’s interpretation that Spain’s bullion-fueled empire stagnated and draws broader lessons about organizational flexibility, concentrated authority and outsiders exploiting fragmented systems.