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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”The former opposition presidential candidate is a “key, unifying figure” in the once deeply divided opposition to President Nicolás Maduro’s government, said Jrgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.“In the past year, Ms. Machado has been forced to live in hiding,” Watne Frydnes said. “Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.” Machado says she’s humbled and grateful Machado’s ally, Edmundo González, who lives in exile in Spain, celebrated the Nobel award as a “very well-deserved recognition” of her fight and that of Venezuelans for freedom and democracy. He posted a short video on X of himself speaking by phone with Machado.“I am in shock,” she said, adding, “I cannot believe it.”“This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. “I am just part of a huge movement. I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honored not only by this recognition, but I’m honored to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today.”“I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she said, adding that “even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted” and insisted on struggling by peaceful means. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed.” Crackdown on dissent Maduro’s government has routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents.Machado, who turned 58 this week, was set to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government disqualified her. González, who had never run for office before, took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.The election results announced by the Electoral Council sparked protests across the country to which the government responded with force that ended with more than 20 people dead. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González over the publication of election results. He went into exile in Spain and was granted asylum.More than 800 people are in prison in Venezuela for political reasons, according to the human rights advocacy group Foro Penal. Among them is González’s son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, who was detained in January.Dozens of those prisoners actively participated in Machado’s efforts last year. Some of her closest collaborators, including her campaign manager, avoided prison by sheltering for more than a year at a diplomatic compound in Caracas. They remained there until May, when they fled to the U.S. Early Friday in Caracas, some people heading to work expressed disbelief at the news of Machado’s win.“I don’t know what can be done to improve the situation, but she deserves it,” said Sandra Martínez, 32, as she waited at a bus stop. “She’s a great woman.”There was no immediate reaction from Maduro’s government.Support for Machado and the opposition in general has decreased since the July 2024 election particularly since January, when Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term and disappointment set in.Machado was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in April. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote her entry, in which he described her as “the Venezuelan Iron Lady” and “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”Machado becomes the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, of the 112 individuals who have been honored. Speculation about Trump’s Nobel chances There had been persistent speculation ahead of the announcement about the possibility of the prize going to U.S. President Donald Trump, fueled in part by the president himself and amplified by this week’s approval of his plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Watne Frydnes said: “I think this committee has seen any type of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them leads to peace.“This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X Friday morning that “President Trump will continue making peace deals around the world, ending wars, and saving lives.” He added that “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway.Four of the other prizes have already been awarded in the Swedish capital, Stockholm this week in medicine on Monday, physics on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The winner of the prize in economics will be announced on Monday. Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City and Moulson from Berlin. Jorge Rueda contributed from Caracas, Venezuela, and Mike Corder from The Hague, Netherlands. AP coverage of Nobel Prizes: https://apnews.com/hub/nobel-prizes Kostya Manenkov, Regina Garcia Cano and Geir Moulson, Associated Press
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With year-to-date hiring plans sinking to a 16-year low according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, many people are beginning to feel the impactsand its reasonable enough to believe that artificial intelligence (AI) might have something to do with the slump. Zip, a company that creates procurement software, recently released a study that shows how AI might be factoring into hiring decisions even more than previously believed. The report surveyed 1,030 “experienced leaders” who are also responsible for some degree of spending and supply management within their companies. Seven in 10 of the leaderswhich amounts to 67%reported that theyre already using AI in “spend and supplier management,” while 17% say theyre using it widely. Basically, AI is taking over faster than most individuals and companies expected. One of the more interesting parts of the study found that optimism about AI is outpacing readiness. This can seem contradictory when you consider that 75% of companies are factoring AI into hiring decisions, but this number could reflect companies that list AI literacy in their job descriptions. The more alarming finding may be that 17% of companies now require proof from hiring managers that a job cant be performed by AI before a role is approved. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Human skills will still matter The study found that the skills being prioritized among the leaders are changing, with “AI and automation fluency” being the most critical skill expected in the next three years, followed by data analysis and decision support. The evidence further implies that AI is leading companies to rearrange their spending priorities. Respondents identified professional and legal services, gig workers, consultants, and travel and events among the areas where they’re looking for cost reductions this year. By gathering these broad perspectives, we aimed to illuminate not just how spend is managed today, but what it reveals about the future of business, Nick Heinzmann, Zips head of research, wrote in the report, which Zip calls the State of Spend survey. The study reflects that the desire to save money by having AI replace workers may represent an overall contradiction of most companies overall goalsespecially when establishing relationships with clients is more important than ever.
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E-Commerce
European shares were mixed in early trading while Asian shares mostly fell on Friday after a respite from Wall Street’s recent feverish rally. The price of gold also pulled back from record highs following recent torrid runs.The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both up less than 0.1%. Oil prices slipped.In early European trading, Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 24,652.73, while France’s CAC 40 added 0.4% to 8,076.96.Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 9,498.95, weighed down by losses for mining and energy stocks.Most Asian indexes fell. But South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.7% to 3,610.60 as trading reopened after a holiday. India’s BSE Sensex also gained, adding 0.5%.The Kospi’s surge was fueled by a rally of tech shares including SK Hynix, which rose 8.2%. Samsung Electronics added 6.1%, boosted by news that Nvidia-backed Reflection AI had raised $2 billion in funding, increasing its market value to $8 billion.Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1% lower to 48,088.80, pulling back from big gains the previous day after data showed producer prices rose more than expected in September.Political uncertainty also loomed after the ruling Liberal Democrats failed to persuade their junior coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed Komeito, to stay. The Komeito’s leader said the group was unhappy with the Liberal Democrats’ stance on cleaning up corruption.The Komeito’s move was a significant blow to hopes for LDP leader Sanae Takaichi, an ultra-conservative lawmaker, to become Japan’s first female prime minister.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.8% to 26,277.84, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped nearly 1% to 3,897.03.Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid more than 0.1% to 8,958.30. Taiwan’s stock market was closed for a holiday.On Thursday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% from its latest all-time high for just its second loss in the last 10 days. The Dow dropped 0.5% and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.1%.Gold also fell following its stellar rally this year, losing 2.4% to drop back below $4,000 per ounce, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. They’re taking a moment following big runs driven in large part by expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to support the economy.Financial markets have been climbing so relentlessly, including a 35% leap for the S&P 500 from a low in April, that worries are mounting that prices may have shot too high. Concerns are particularly strong about the frenzy lifting stocks related to artificial-intelligence technology.In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 6 cents to $61.45 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged down 14 cents to $65.08 per barrel.The U.S. dollar fell to 152.71 Japanese yen from 153.05 yen. The euro rose to $1.1585 from $1.1569. Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press
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