DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoreNest Capital , one of the most dynamic emerging players in venture capital, has announced its latest round of investments, backing seven innovative companies: OpenAI, xAI, Weave Robotics, Blaze Money, Domu, Phonely, Andromeda Surgical, and Texture Capital. These strategic investments underscore CoreNest’s commitment to driving transformative growth across AI, robotics, MedTech, and fintech sectors. “Our focus is on backing founders who are reshaping industries and solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology,” said Bob Ras , Co-Founder & GP of CoreNest Capital. “This round of investments underscore CoreNest’s commitment to driving impactful innovation and supporting visionary teams that are defining the future of AI, Robotics, MedTech, and Fintech.” OpenAI: OpenAI is setting new standards in artificial intelligence by driving advancements that push the boundaries of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). xAI: xAI , founded by Elon Musk, is pioneering advancements in artificial intelligence, aiming to deepen our understanding of the universe through the development of cutting-edge AI technologies. Weave Robotics: Weave Robotics is reshaping personal robotics with Isaac, the world’s first autonomous home assistant robot, designed to handle tasks like tidying, folding laundry, and home monitoring. Blaze Money: Blaze Money revolutionizes financial services with a seamless app designed for global nomads, enabling instant, fee-minimal payments worldwide. Domu: Domu leverages AI to transform client interactions in the insurance sector, automating real-time, 24/7 sales and service calls. This innovation empowers businesses to engage clients efficiently, handle payment reminders, and respond to inquiries. Phonely: Phonely enhances business communication with AI-driven phone support that handles calls, schedules appointments, and integrates with existing tools, elevating customer service efficiency. Andromeda Surgical: Andromeda Surgical is advancing precision surgery with AI-guided robotic systems, initially focused on endourology, optimizing accuracy and patient outcomes. Texture Capital: CoreNest has strategically invested in Texture Capital , positioning itself to acquire a significant stake in the firm. This investment will support the launch of the SoloTex platform, the first regulated trading and tokenization platform for U.S. stocks. SoloTex is changing the way people trade and invest in U.S. stocks by enabling users to have self-custody of their tokenized stocks and ETFs and allowing fractional trading of these assets, bringing unprecedented flexibility and accessibility to the securities market. This funding round builds on CoreNest’s history of high-impact investments, including companies like Artisan AI , Piramidal , Avatar Medical , OpenCall , Fleak.ai , Algorized , itsElectric , and Dili . Each of these companies is making strides in their fields, reflecting CoreNest’s mission of driving global innovation and delivering meaningful technological progress. About CoreNest Capital CoreNest Capital is a powerhouse for nurturing and funding startups in cutting-edge sectors like AI, Robotics, MedTech, and Fintech. For more information on CoreNest Capital, visit corenest.com . Innovative startups tackling real-world challenges and seeking investment are encouraged to submit their pitch decks for consideration.TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — On the Saturday after Christmas, a beat-up, baby blue former ice cream truck with bows taped to the sides will pull up to Santa Rita Park, bringing with it a Christmas feast, three Santa Clauses and over 100 gift bags. Mutual Aid group Community on Wheels, or COW, has been bringing a Christmas celebration to its unhoused neighbors since 2022, though the group has been providing weekly meals to the community at Santa Rita Park for five years now. Community on Wheels community organizer Victoria Devasto says this is their biggest event every year, and she expects 2024 to be bigger than the past few years. This year, they're giving out gifts like sketchbooks and colored pencils, basic tools, games, and self-care items. “A lot of people don’t get to receive gifts when they’re unhoused and on the streets," Devasto said "And what they are getting is often times like a toothbrush and a pair of socks.” Devasto says she and the COW crew have spent the past few months preparing for the event, buying items for 100 generic gifts and a few more personalized one for the people living in Santa Rita that they've known for years. “We do care about these people," Devasto said "They are our friends and neighbors but also our family. We've built significant long-lasting relationships with these people.” The Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homeless counted over 1,200 people sleeping on the streets for their 2024 point-in-time count. COW is expecting to serve 150 of them at Saturday's event. Devasto says those wanting to support COW and its mission, both for COW Christmas and every other Saturday distribution, can either make monetary or physical donations by contacting them on Instagram or can help by spreading their message. "A lot of people throughout the city are struggling, and there is a lack of empathy towards people on the streets in general," said Devasto. She says Community on Wheels wants to bring attention to that lack of empathy and work to change it. —— Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com , or connecting on Instagram or X .
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s online media association said two reporters were killed and several others were wounded in a gang attack on Tuesday on the reopening of Port-au-Prince’s biggest public hospital. Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and they forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year. Authorities had pledged to reopen the facility Tuesday but as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire in a vicious Christmas Eve attack. Robest Dimanche, a spokesman for the Online Media Collective, identified the dead journalists as Markenzy Nathoux and Jimmy Jean. Dimanche said an unspecified number of reporters had also been wounded in the attack, which he blamed on the Viv Ansanm coalition of gangs. Haiti’s interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the attack. He did not specify how many casualties there were, or give a breakdown for the dead or wounded. “I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said, pledging “this crime is not going to go unpunished.” A video posted online by the reporters trapped inside the hospital showed what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied. One of the men had a lanyard with a press credential around his neck. Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were wounded. Police and officials did not immediately respond to calls for information on the attack. Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. They forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year during violence that also targeted the main international airport and Haiti’s two largest prisons. Authorities had pledged to reopen the facility Tuesday but as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire. Video posted online earlier showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. That video could also not be immediately verified. Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of a gang known as Viv Ansanm, which that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince , posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack. The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening. Haiti has seen journalists targeted before. In 2023, two local journalists were killed in the space of a couple of weeks — radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally shot in mid-April that year, while journalist Ricot Jean was found dead later that month. In July, former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, more widely known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of it from gangs. The hospital had been left ravaged and strewn with debris. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, signaling fights between police and gangs. The hospital is across the street from the national palace, the scene of several battles in recent months. Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse with looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources to treat them. Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america Evens Sanon, The Associated PressAnge Postecoglou's 'make or break' Tottenham game revealed as Daniel Levy makes sack decision
Texas Supreme Court overturns ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in lawsuitMIAMI (AP) — The top United Nations human rights watchdog on Tuesday ordered Venezuela to avoid destroying tally sheets and other electoral material as it investigates allegations that President Nicolás Maduro stole this summer’s election. The U.N. Human Rights Council announced the opening of the probe in a letter to several Latin American jurists who in October petitioned the U.N. agency to take action in the face of what is said was widespread evidence of electoral fraud that violates the political rights of millions of Venezuelans. Maduro claimed he won the July contest by a large margin and is preparing to start a third, six-year term in January. But electoral authorities have so far refused to publish voting records to back such claims, as they have in the past, amid calls by the U.S., European Union and even leftist allies from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to do so. Meanwhile, the opposition has published online what appear to be authentic showing that its candidate, , won by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The October petition, made on behalf of a regular Venezuelan citizen, alleges that Maduro officials committed multiple human rights violations by restricting the ability of millions of Venezuelans abroad, publishing false results and blocking any challenges in court. Paulo Abrao, a Brazilian attorney who was among those behind the complaint, said the decision comes as a crucial time, as the Maduro government is seeking to “normalize its nebulous electoral process” in the hopes the rest of the world will move on amid so many other pressing international crises. “We cannot allow that to happen,” said Abrao, the former head of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. “Now there is a formal case being processed in an international body with binding force. Venezuela has the obligation to comply with the decision.” ____ Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at