Wednesday, April 29, 2026

An AI agent deleted a company’s entire database in 9 seconds - then wrote an apology

Copyright Credit: Pexels

By Theo Farrant
Published on 28/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The AI system, powered by Anthropic’s Claude Opus model, had been handling a routine task when it independently chose to “fix” an issue by wiping the data - without any human approval. Whoopsy!

An artificial intelligence agent designed to streamline coding tasks instead managed to wipe out an entire company database in just a matter of seconds.
PocketOS, which makes software for car rental businesses, experienced a major 30-plus-hour outage over the weekend after the autonomous tool erased its database.
The digital culprit was Cursor, a popular AI coding agent powered by Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6 model, widely regarded as one of the most capable AI systems for programming tasks.
PocketOS founder Jer Crane blamed "systemic failures" in the current AI infrastructure, arguing they made the incident "not only possible but inevitable".

'The most destructive, irreversible action possible'

According to Crane, the AI agent had been performing a routine task when it chose "entirely on its own initiative" to resolve an issue by deleting the database. And then all the backups, for good measure.
There was no confirmation request before carrying out the action, he said, and when prompted to explain itself, the agent issued an apology.
"It took nine seconds,” Crane wrote in a lengthy post on the social media platform X. "The agent then, when asked to explain itself, produced a written confession enumerating the specific safety rules it had violated."
The explanation showed the system had disregarded a key safeguard preventing destructive or irreversible commands without explicit user approval.
According to Crane, the AI responded with the following message: "Deleting a database volume is the most destructive, irreversible action possible - far worse than a force push - and you never asked me to delete anything. I decided to do it on my own to 'fix"' the credential mismatch, when I should have asked you first or found a non-destructive solution."
The outage meant rental businesses using PocketOS temporarily lost access to customer records and bookings. "Reservations made in the last three months are gone. New customer signups, gone," Crane wrote.
“This isn’t a story about one bad agent or one bad API. It’s about an entire industry building AI-agent integrations into production infrastructure faster than it’s building the safety architecture to make those integrations safe,” he added.
Crane later confirmed on Monday, two days after the incident, that the lost data had been recovered.
The incident comes as AI models become more sophisticated, especially since the announcement of Anthropic's latest model, Mythos, and bankers and governments sound the alarm over potential cybersecurity incidents.

Explained: Why Elon Musk and Sam Altman are facing off in trial over OpenAI

By Pascale Davies

Published on 27/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The trial will see Elon Musk face off against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over allegations that the AI company abandoned its nonprofit roots in favour of profit — with Microsoft also named in the suit.

Technology titans Elon Musk and Sam Altman will face off in a high-stakes trial on Monday in the culmination of a years-long battle.

Billionaire Musk, an early investor in the artificial intelligence company, is suing OpenAI’s CEO, Altman, its president Greg Brockman, and Microsoft for allegedly betraying an agreement about keeping OpenAI as a nonprofit that benefits humanity.

Musk alleges he was misled when Altman transformed the company from a nonprofit into a for-profit enterprise. The company now has a valuation of almost $1 trillion and is expected to go public.

Here’s everything to know about the trial.

The trial will happen at the US District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

The court hearing begins on Monday and is expected to last around two to three weeks.

The witness stand is expected to gather Musk, Altman, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

What does Musk allege?

Altman, Musk, and other founders launched OpenAI in 2015 as a non-profit organisation.

Musk was the biggest individual financial backer of OpenAI in the beginning, contributing more than $44 million to the then-startup.

Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018 after clashing with Altman. A year earlier, he reportedly made a failed bid to get more control over the company.

In 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT and grew to become one of the most valuable and important AI companies with major investment from Microsoft.

Then in 2025, OpenAI restructured its main business to become a for-profit company.

Musk’s lawsuit was filed in 2024 and claims OpenAI had breached an agreement to make breakthroughs in AI “freely available to the public” by forming a multibillion-dollar alliance with Microsoft, which invested $13 billion (€12 billion) into the company.

“OpenAI, Inc has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft,” Musk’s lawsuit alleges.

The Tesla boss, who also has his own generative AI company xAI, says this constitutes a breach of a contract.

What does OpenAI say?

OpenAI released a trove of emails in 2024 that show Musk supported its plans to create a for-profit company, which he wanted to be the head of, have board control, and merge it with Tesla.

OpenAI has always denied Musk’s allegations, saying that he agreed in 2017 that establishing a for-profit entity would be necessary.

Which country in Europe has the most data centres driving the AI boom?

By Servet Yanatma

Published on 27/04/2026 -EURONEWS

The US is the clear global leader of data centres, with more than double the EU total. Germany and the UK rank ahead of China. Euronews Next takes a closer look at the number of data centres and the factors driving investment.

Data centres are the backbone of artificial intelligence and power everything from AI chatbot queries, streamed video, and cloud-stored files.

They are large facilities that house servers, storage systems and networking equipment used to store, process, and distribute data. The more data centres, the more AI. But they use large amounts of energy and require a lot of land.

Data centres are “where compute is housed”, according to the AI Index Report 2026, published by Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. The report emphasises that “their capacity, geographic distribution, and underlying supply chains shape what AI systems can be built and where.”

Which countries host the most data centres worldwide? How many are located in Europe? And how does Europe compare in the global distribution of data centres?

US leads by a wide margin

Most of the world’s data centre infrastructure is concentrated in a small number of countries. According to Cloudscene, which the report also uses, the United States (US) leads by a wide margin with 5,427 data centres in 2025. This is more than ten times the number in any other country, showing the scale of US leadership.

Germany and UK ahead of China

Two major European economies, Germany (529) and the United Kingdom (523), follow behind the US. It is striking that they rank ahead of China, which hosts 449 data centres, despite its strength as a technology and innovation power.

Canada (337), France (322) and Australia (314) are other countries with over 300 data centres. The Netherlands is also close to that level with 298 centres.

Most of the remaining countries each have fewer than 300 facilities.

Russia (251) and Japan (222) complete the top 10 in the number of data centres. Brazil and Mexico also host between 150 and 200 centres.

EU’s total is less than half of the US

EU countries together host 2,269 data centres. This is 42% of the US total. When the UK is included, the figure rises to around 51% of the US level. This emphasises the strong position of the US again.

Distribution of data centres across Europe

Following the strong positions of Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands, only a few other European countries host more than 100 data centres. These are Italy (168), Spain (144), Poland (144) and Switzerland (121).

Sweden (95), Belgium (81), Austria (68), Ukraine (58), Ireland (55) and Denmark (50) host between 50-100 data centres.

Regional patterns are clear in the distribution of data centres in Europe. Western Europe dominates, while Northern Europe is smaller but strategically important. Central and Eastern Europe are more fragmented and less developed.

Several EU countries have fewer than 35 data centres. Among the EU candidate countries, Turkey leads with 35.\

FLAP-D markets

Europe’s data centre industry is centred around a familiar group of cities: Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, the so-called FLAP-D markets. They attract most investment, infrastructure and operator activity according to Atlas Edge.

These locations dominate because they combine major internet exchange points, strong demand from finance and tech sectors, excellent connectivity, a strong cloud presence, and stable regulatory and business environments.

While the FLAP countries rank among the top across Europe, including the EU, candidate countries, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the UK, Ireland lags behind in the total number of data centres.

Capacity matters

These figures reflect only the number of data centres. “The U.S. may show a clear lead, but the other country rankings should be assessed with the understanding that data centre counts do not capture differences in facility size, computing capacity, or utilisation,” the report notes.

According to the World Bank’s “Advancing Cloud and Data Infrastructure Markets” report, four factors determine cloud and data infrastructure investment decisions:

reliable and affordable energy,
resilient broadband connectivity,
favourable geography and access to land,
and a stable political and business environment.

“Low- and middle-income countries face challenges in attracting investments in data centre infrastructure because of weaknesses in power and broadband infrastructure, and in the strength of their business environments,” the report finds.

Qatar pushes ahead with North Field expansion despite LNG disruptions

By Mohamed Elashi

Published on 28/04/2026 - EURONEWS

Qatar is moving ahead with its North Field gas expansion after awarding a key contract, even as regional tensions continue to disrupt LNG output and exports.

Qatar is moving ahead with a major expansion of its North Field gas project even as disruptions to LNG output and exports highlight the growing impact of regional tensions on global energy supply.

US-based Baker Hughes has secured a “major” contract from QatarEnergy for the North Field West (NFW) project, according to its first-quarter 2026 results.

The award covers critical equipment for two LNG “mega trains”, including six gas turbines, 12 centrifugal compressors and integrated power systems, which are central to gas liquefaction.

The deal highlights continued investment in large-scale LNG infrastructure despite short-term disruptions.

Expansion plans

The North Field West project forms part of Qatar’s broader strategy to increase LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes per year to 142 million tonnes per year once all expansion phases are completed.

The NFW phase alone is expected to add around 16 million tonnes per year through two new production lines.

QatarEnergy has already awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the project to an international consortium, with first output previously expected towards the end of the decade.

A Baker Hughes centrifugal compressor used in liquefied natural gas processing. Baker Hughes

The Baker Hughes contract also includes equipment for a carbon capture and transport facility capable of handling up to 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, reflecting efforts to integrate emissions-reduction technologies into new energy infrastructure.

Disruptions and tensions

The expansion push comes as Qatar’s gas output and exports face disruptions linked to escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Data and industry estimates point to a decline in production and a sharp drop in LNG exports in recent months, with part of the country’s export capacity affected.

Recovery is likely to take time due to the complexity of repairs and long lead times for specialised equipment.

The disruptions have raised concerns over supply flows from the Gulf, a key source of global LNG.

Long-term strategy

Despite these challenges, Qatar is maintaining its long-term LNG expansion strategy as global demand for gas remains strong and energy security concerns intensify.

Baker Hughes reported total orders of $8.2 billion (€7bn) in the first quarter, driven in part by strong demand for LNG and gas infrastructure, reflecting continued investment momentum in the sector.

The North Field, the world’s largest non-associated gas field, remains central to Qatar’s ambitions to cement its position as a leading global LNG exporter.

How the Iran war boosted profits at BP and Barclays

By Doloresz Katanich

Published on 28/04/2026 -

Barclays' profits rose, but loan losses weighed on its first-quarter results. At the same time, oil giant BP’s earnings jumped, largely driven by an exceptional oil trading boom linked to the Iran war.

British multinational oil and gas company BP’s first-quarter results were boosted by sharp swings in oil prices during the Iran war, which began on 28 February 2026

The company said that underlying replacement cost profit more than doubled to $3.2 billion (€2.7bn) in the first three months of 2026.

“Underlying RC profit for the quarter was $3.2 billion, compared with $1.5 billion for the previous quarter,” the company said in a statement, adding that “compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, the underlying result reflects an exceptional oil trading contribution and stronger midstream performance.”

BP's oil trading operation posted strong profits as energy market turmoil intensified during the Iran war.

Brent crude prices rose from just above $70 per barrel in early February to over $120 per barrel in late March, before settling at around $110 per barrel in April.

Oil production and operations remained steady compared with the previous quarter, with upstream production resilient at around 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The company also highlighted its exposure to the Middle East, with approximately 411,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of upstream production in the region. This includes operations in Abu Dhabi, Oman and Iraq.

BP’s share price was up by more than 2% in afternoon trading in Europe.

Barclays earnings up as trading offsets loan losses

At the same time, British bank Barclays reported steady first-quarter growth, as trading volatility linked to the Iran war boosted income, though concerns over its loan portfolio weighed on sentiment.

Shares fell around 2% by early afternoon trading in Europe.

Total income rose 6% to £8.2bn (€9.5bn), while profit before tax increased to £2.8bn (€3.2bn), up from £2.7bn (€3.1bn) a year earlier.

However, its key profitability metric — return on tangible equity (RoTE) — slipped to 13.5%, from 14.0% last year.

Rising loan losses offset some of the strong performance. Barclays booked a £228m (€264m) charge linked to the collapse of UK mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS).

Chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan said the bank would scale back complex lending and reduce exposure to highly leveraged companies following the hit from MFS.

In a statement, he said growth was driven by broad-based performance across the business, highlighting the strength of the investment bank. Income there exceeded £4bn (€4.6bn) for the first time in a quarter, supported by strong trading and advisory activity.

Will Howlett, financial analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said the performance was driven by equities trading amid heightened volatility since the onset of the Iran war. He noted this led to growth of 16% year on year, or 23% in US dollar terms, alongside a 17% rise in investment banking fees.

Barclays also announced a £500m (€580m) share buyback, bringing total buybacks this year to £1.5bn (€1.74bn). The bank reiterated its financial targets, citing a strong and supportive capital position.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, described the quarter as “another bumper performance” for Barclays’ investment bank, potentially marking its strongest quarterly profit this decade.

However, he added that investors are now assessing whether recent loan losses were isolated or point to weaker lending standards.

Iran war will trigger largest energy price surge since 2022, World Bank warns

By Quirino Mealha

Published on 28/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook report predicts a 24% surge in energy prices this year as the Iran war delivers a historic shock to global supply chains.

The World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook, published on Tuesday, predicts a 24% surge in energy prices this year as the Iran war and the consequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz deliver a historic shock to global markets.

This projected increase represents the most significant energy price spike since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, threatening to entrench high inflation and stall economic progress in developing nations.

According to the report, global commodity markets face their most volatile period in four years, with energy and fertiliser prices expected to lead a broad 16% rise in overall commodity costs during 2026.

The regional instability has already resulted in the largest oil supply disruption on record, with global production falling by over 10 million barrels per day during the crisis.

While some prices have moderated from their initial peaks, the study shows that the lingering effects of infrastructure attacks and shipping bottlenecks in the Strait of Hormuz will keep energy costs at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.

Analysts suggest that the current turmoil has effectively reversed the downward trend in commodity prices that had been observed throughout the previous year, creating an environment of stagflation and making it difficult for central banks to manage rates.

Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s deputy chief economist, further stated that governments must resist the temptation of broad and untargeted fiscal support that could distort markets and instead focus on temporary aid for the most vulnerable households to navigate the coming months of economic uncertainty.

Oil and gas markets in the eye of the storm

The primary driver of the current market instability is the unprecedented disruption to shipping routes in the Middle East.

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passage that handles approximately 20% of the world’s seaborne crude oil trade, has seen effectively a halt on traffic during the war.

According to the World Bank, Brent crude oil is now forecast to average $86 a barrel throughout 2026, which marks a sharp increase from the $69 average recorded in 2025.

This forecast rests on the assumption that the most severe disruptions will begin to ease by May and that shipping volumes will gradually return to pre-war levels by the end of the year.

At the time of writing, US benchmark crude, WTI, is above $102 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, is over $110 for the first time in three weeks.

The UAE also announced on Tuesday that it is leaving OPEC and OPEC+ effective on 1 May, with the UAE energy minister citing a restructuring of the country's energy strategy "to help meet changing demand" and promising a "gradual boost to oil production".

It remains to be seen whether the added supply will contribute to lowering prices or if less coordination among major oil suppliers will actually be disadvantageous amid the crisis.

The World Bank warns that if the conflict proves more protracted or spreads to involve more regional actors, the pressure on prices will only intensify. Even under the current baseline, the shock has already caused significant ripples through other energy sectors.

The study shows that the volatility in the oil market has direct consequences for natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) benchmarks, as countries scramble to secure alternative energy supplies.

The European Union has already spent over €27 billion in additional costs for fossil fuel imports since the Iran war began. The IEA is also already calling the situation the biggest energy security threat in history.

This heightened cost of fuel is expected to dampen global growth, with serious implications for job creation and industrial development across both emerging and advanced economies.

This month, the IMF cut its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.1%, down 0.2% from its previous projection, and lowered its estimate for the eurozone to 1.1% from 1.4%

The war also drove the IMF's global inflation expectations up to 4.4%, and if energy volatility persists into 2027, the fund warns of a "severe scenario" where global growth could plummet to 2%.

Geopolitical volatility and the ripple effect

A special focus section of the World Bank report highlights the disproportionate impact of geopolitical risk on market stability. The analysis finds that oil price volatility during periods of rising conflict is roughly twice as high as during calmer periods.

Specifically, the study indicates that a geopolitically driven 1% decline in global oil production typically pushes prices up by an average of 11.5%.

These shocks have a powerful "spillover" effect, with the impact on other commodity markets being about 50% larger than under normal conditions.

According to the report, a 10% increase in oil prices triggered by a geopolitical shock leads to natural gas prices peaking 7% higher and fertiliser prices rising by more than 5% approximately one year later.

These lagging effects mean that even if the conflict in the Middle East resolves in the near term, the global economy will likely continue to feel the inflationary pressure well into next year.

Meryl Streep: ‘Would we have fashion without gay people?’

By David Mouriquand

Published on 23/04/2026 - EURONEWS

The award-winning actress, who has long been an LGBTQ+ ally, returns to her iconic role of Miranda Priestly in the upcoming 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'.

Acting royalty Meryl Streep is returning as sharp-tongued fashion editor Miranda Priestly in the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2, which hits cinemas worldwide next week.

During the press tour for the sequel to the 2006 film, Streep commented on the popularity of The Devil Wears Prada with the LGBTQ+ community.

“It makes me so happy! Would we have fashion without gay people?” she told Out magazine. “Forgive me, would we have anything? I wouldn’t know how to put together anything. It’s a joy to have made it with [the LGBTQ+] community in mind. Top of mind.”

She added that the new film has been well received by people from a wide variety of backgrounds, saying: “It’s cross culture. We’ve just been around the world with this. The reaction is the same in Mexico City as Tokyo, as Seoul, as Shanghai... I honestly was surprised. I really was surprised by the universality of the response and from so many different kinds of people.”

Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, the editor-in-chief of Runway Magazine, in The Devil Wears Prada 20th Century Fox

The Devil Wears Prada 2 sees Streep joined by returning cast members, including Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.

Streep said of her cast members: “I feel so lucky to be able to come back to something we did 20 years ago. Who gets to do that? We've had a whole lifetime. Look at Stanley Tucci! He's blossomed! [Emily Blunt] blossomed at birth.”

Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Anne Hathaway at the New York world premiere of 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' - 20 April 2026 AP Photo

Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt at the London premiere of the film 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' - 22 April 2026 AP Photo

Streep has long been an LGBTQ+ ally, expressing support for the queer community on numerous occasions.

In 2004, during her Golden Globes acceptance speech for Angels in America, she spoke out in support of marriage equality, condemning then-president George W. Bush for his anti-gay marriage stance.

In 2017, the Human Rights Campaign honoured her with its Ally for Equality Award, saying she had used her voice throughout her career to support LGBTQ+ people. In her speech, she took aim at anyone threatening to disrupt the progress women, people of colour and the accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We should not be surprised that fundamentalists, of every stripe, are exercised and fuming,” she said. “We should not be surprised that these profound changes come at a steeper cost than we originally thought. We should not be surprised that not everyone is actually cool with it.”

Streep also memorably ended her speech by saying: “There is a prohibition against the establishment of a state religion in our Constitution, and we have the right to choose with whom we live, whom we love and who and what gets to interfere with our bodies. As Americans, men, women, people, gay, straight, L, G, B, T, Q, all of us have the human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And if you think people got mad when they thought the government was coming after their guns, wait till they come and try to take away our happiness!"

Why is ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ facing backlash and calls for boycott?

By David Mouriquand

Published on 27/04/2026 - EURONEWS

'The Devil Wears Prada 2' - out this week - is facing a boycott in Asia after a social media clip released before the film hits cinemas presents a character deemed to be an offensive stereotype.

The hotly anticipated sequel to 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada hits theatres this week, and a 38-second clip from the film has already sparked backlash online.

The extract shows “the former assistant’s new assistant” Jin Chao, played by Chinese-American actress Helen J Shen. She introduces herself to Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, who is back at work at the fictional Runway magazine.

During their interaction, Chao displays the characteristics of social awkwardness, is eager to please, dressed in unflattering clothing, and proceeds to list her academic achievements...

“If you don’t want me, you can interview someone else, I don’t mind,” she tells Hathaway’s character. “I did go to Yale, 3.86 GPA, lead soprano of the Whiffenpoofs and my ACT score was 36 on the very first try.”

This clip has been viewed over 26 million times and has been blasted online for being guilty of caricaturing Asian behaviour and leaning on dated stereotypes, with accusations of “blatant anti-Asian racism”.

“Hollywood is so out of touch it’s embarrassing. It’s 2026 and THIS is your Asian rep? The name, styling, whole look. Lazy stereotypes,” wrote one X user, while another commented: “Child-like dress, glasses, overqualified, Ivy League credentials and at top of her game yet obsequious and insecure of her competency: these are not Asian American stereotypes, they’re white women’s fantasies.”

Other social media posts have also highlighted that the character’s name sounds like a racist slur.

One Japanese post, which has been viewed over a million times on X, states:

“The Devil Wears Prada 2

・Asian (Chinese)

・Name is Chinchon

・Glasses

・Nerdy bookworm

・Even if they graduated from a prestigious school, they’re uncool

Hits us with the most blatant racial stereotype racism in 2026 and it gives me chills. Did they use this scene in the promo because it’s “funny”? #BoycottTheDevilWearsPrada2″

On the Reddit forum r/asianamerican, one commenter said the name “is what a white person thinks a Chinese name should sound like”, before drawing comparisons to Cho Chang - the name of the Asian student at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 sees Hathaway joined by returning cast members Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.

The Devil Wears Prada grossed $326 million globally and became a streaming hit.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is out on 30 April in China and on 1 May worldwide.

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