Question: “I want my child to become a successful coder. What should we do now while the child is still in secondary school?”

First, I should clarify that I am not a career counselor and I hold no professional license in that field. However, drawing from my personal experiences and observations of others, I believe that a child who develops a strong foundation in physics, mathematics, and chemistry during the early stages of education has a much greater chance of thriving in computing and engineering than one who is pushed too early into coding and programming languages without those fundamentals.

The best developers and creators in computer science and engineering are typically excellent students of mathematics and physics. They use computational thinking as a tool to solve complex problems. Before a problem can be translated into code, it must first be understood and resolved at the level of mathematical reasoning and physical principles. In that sense, coding is not the pinnacle of the process; mathematics and physics form the intellectual architecture upon which useful software and systems are built.

I experienced this firsthand during my PhD studies at Johns Hopkins University. In a course titled Computer Integrated Surgery, my major project involved building a machine capable of controlling a needle through an endoscope / laryngoscope so that it could pass through the larynx, enabling a physician to perform minimally invasive throat surgery with the assistance of the da Vinci medical robot. It was an extremely complex engineering challenge.

The real difficulty of the project was not writing code. The challenge lay in solving the mathematical equations required to track the needle, the surgical instruments, and the human tissues involved in the procedure. Using markers and imaging systems, mathematics had to ensure precise positioning and movement within the human body. Without the math, the coding phase would not arrive.

For young people interested in computing, the message is clear. Learn to code, certainly, but build a deep foundation in mathematics, physics, and analytical thinking. Those foundations enable you to operate at the upstream layers of technology, where systems are designed, algorithms are invented, and real breakthroughs occur. Without that depth, coding risks remaining at the downstream layers, where the opportunities for differentiation and long-term impact are far more limited especially now that coding is being commoditized by AI.

Donald Trump on Saturday called on countries that rely on Middle Eastern oil to deploy naval forces to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open, as tensions escalate amid ongoing U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory operations in the region.

The U.S. president said nations that benefit from the crucial maritime corridor should take a more active role in protecting it, while Washington coordinates military efforts to safeguard the passage.

“The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!” Trump wrote in a post on the social platform Truth Social.

In a separate message earlier in the day, he predicted that many countries would soon deploy naval assets alongside the United States to ensure shipping continues through the strategic waterway.

“Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” Trump wrote.

He specifically cited China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom as countries that could contribute naval forces.

The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most important energy transit routes. Roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the strait, making it a critical artery for energy supplies flowing from the Gulf to Asia, Europe, and other markets.

The current disruption to the passage has triggered sharp spikes in oil prices and threatens global economic stability.

Iran’s proximity to the strait has long given Tehran the ability to threaten shipping in the area, a factor analysts say provides the country with significant geopolitical leverage during periods of conflict with Western powers.

Trump warned that the United States would take aggressive action to counter Iranian efforts to disrupt traffic through the corridor.

“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water,” he wrote.

The call for an international naval effort comes as Western countries expand their military presence around the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf amid the widening conflict. Security concerns intensified after an Iranian-made drone struck a British military base in Cyprus on March 2, raising fears that the conflict could spill further into regional infrastructure and shipping routes.

The United Kingdom is already considering additional deployments to the Gulf region following a series of attacks on vessels.

John Healey, Britain’s defense minister, said the government was examining options alongside allied nations to protect maritime traffic. A spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defense said London was discussing “a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”

Meanwhile, the French Navy has begun deploying about a dozen naval vessels, including an aircraft carrier strike group, across the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, with the possibility of extending operations toward the Strait of Hormuz.

French officials said the deployments are intended as defensive support for allies and could eventually support tanker escort missions through the strait if tensions continue to escalate.

Officials in France said the government has been consulting with European, Asian, and Gulf Arab partners about forming a coordinated maritime security effort. One proposal under discussion would involve naval vessels escorting commercial oil tankers through the strait to protect them from potential attacks.

Such escort missions have been used in previous crises in the Gulf, particularly during periods when Iran threatened to block shipping lanes.

Trump had already indicated on Thursday that the United States was willing to escort ships through the strait if necessary to protect them from Iranian attacks.

The escalating confrontation has rattled energy markets, with traders increasingly worried that prolonged disruption in the Gulf could restrict global oil supplies. Because the Strait of Hormuz serves as the primary export route for oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait, any sustained closure could significantly reduce global energy flows.

Analysts have warned that even temporary disruptions can drive sharp increases in oil and natural gas prices, raising inflation risks and placing pressure on governments already grappling with fragile economic conditions.

Thus, Trump’s call for a multinational naval presence is seen as part of efforts among Western and allied governments to prevent the conflict with Iran from turning into a broader energy crisis that could ripple across the global economy.

Creditors to Thames Water have offered to inject 3.35 billion pounds ($4.43 billion) in fresh equity into Britain’s largest water utility, escalating efforts to secure a private-sector rescue and prevent the company from slipping into government control.

The proposal, submitted to regulator Ofwat within the past 10 days, forms part of a revised recapitalization plan designed to stabilize the heavily indebted utility, according to a report by Sky News.

The lenders behind the offer include major investment firms such as Invesco, Elliott Management, and Silver Point Capital, which have been negotiating with regulators and other stakeholders to engineer a market-led rescue.

Under earlier terms reported in January, the creditors would receive at least a 10% equity stake in the recapitalized company in exchange for providing new funding.

A spokesperson for Thames Water declined to comment directly on the report but said the company was “working constructively with stakeholders” to deliver a recapitalization that serves customers and the environment.

The rescue proposal comes as Thames Water faces a looming liquidity crunch. The company is believed to require hundreds of millions of pounds in fresh funding by the end of the month to maintain operations and avoid triggering government intervention.

If a long-term restructuring agreement fails to materialize, the company is expected to be placed into the British government’s special administration regime, effectively a temporary nationalization designed to keep essential services running while financial restructuring takes place.

Such a move would mark one of the most significant state interventions in Britain’s privatized utilities sector in decades. The government has already been quietly preparing contingency plans in case the company collapses financially, reflecting the strategic importance of the service it provides.

Thames Water supplies drinking water and wastewater services to around 16 million people, covering large parts of London and southern England. Its vast customer base means any disruption to the company’s operations could have far-reaching consequences for households, businesses, and public health.

Despite its critical role in Britain’s infrastructure, the utility has struggled under a mountain of debt that has grown to nearly £20 billion, making it one of the most heavily leveraged water companies in Europe. The debt burden has constrained the company’s ability to invest in ageing infrastructure, even as regulators and environmental groups push for major upgrades to address pollution and leakage problems.

Beyond its financial troubles, Thames Water has become a lightning rod in the national debate over the performance of Britain’s privatized water industry. The company has faced widespread criticism over repeated sewage discharges into rivers and coastal waters, a problem that has sparked public anger and led to heightened scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers.

Environmental advocates argue that water utilities have prioritized debt financing and shareholder returns over long-term infrastructure investment.

The crisis at Thames Water has therefore evolved into a broader test of the UK’s regulatory framework for utilities. Ofwat and government officials must now determine whether a privately financed restructuring can restore stability while ensuring that environmental commitments and infrastructure upgrades are adequately funded.

For the creditors involved, the rescue proposal could also represent an opportunity to take control of a strategically important asset at a discounted valuation. Distressed infrastructure investments have increasingly attracted hedge funds and private capital firms willing to inject funding into struggling utilities in exchange for equity stakes and long-term returns.

Lenders are expected to gain influence over Thames Water’s restructuring and future investment plans by converting debt into equity through recapitalization. Analysts say such deals can help stabilize essential infrastructure companies, but they often involve complex negotiations with regulators, governments, and existing shareholders.

However, the outcome of the Thames Water crisis could have implications beyond a single company. Britain’s water sector, privatized in 1989, has faced growing criticism over rising debt levels, environmental failures, and the ability of private operators to fund the massive investment required to modernize ageing infrastructure.

The company’s fate may therefore influence how regulators and policymakers approach oversight of other utilities facing similar financial pressures. If creditors and regulators succeed in crafting a market-led rescue, it could help preserve the current ownership model while imposing stricter financial discipline. If not, a temporary nationalization could trigger renewed political debate about the future structure of the UK’s water industry.

This means that Thames Water remains in a race against time to secure funding and convince regulators that a privately funded rescue can stabilize the company before the government is forced to step in.

Meta Platforms is weighing sweeping layoffs that could affect 20% or more of its workforce as the social media giant attempts to manage the enormous costs of building artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The move is believed to be a part of the conglomerate’s preparation for a future in which AI systems perform many tasks once handled by large teams of employees.

Three people familiar with the discussions told Reuters that senior executives have begun signaling the potential cuts to other leaders inside the company and have asked them to examine ways to streamline their organizations. No final decision has been made on the timing of the layoffs or their precise magnitude, the sources said.

If implemented at the level being discussed, the move would represent Meta’s largest workforce reduction since the restructuring campaign in 2022 and 2023 that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg labeled the company’s “year of efficiency.”

Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest regulatory filing. A 20% reduction would therefore translate to more than 15,000 jobs — a scale that would mark one of the biggest technology-sector layoffs in recent years.

A company spokesperson, Andy Stone, responded cautiously when asked about the reported plans, saying: “This is speculative reporting about theoretical approaches.”

AI spending reshaping Meta’s priorities

The internal discussions point to the growing financial strain created by Meta’s massive push into artificial intelligence. The company has outlined plans to spend as much as $600 billion building new data centers by 2028 in order to support the computing demands of increasingly powerful AI models.

These facilities are designed to house vast clusters of specialized processors capable of training and running large-scale machine-learning systems that power chatbots, recommendation engines, and autonomous digital agents. Such investments are becoming a defining feature of the global technology race as companies compete to develop advanced AI capable of performing complex reasoning tasks and generating content across text, images, video, and audio.

However, the spending surge has dramatically altered Meta’s cost structure. Alongside infrastructure investments, the company has been offering unusually large compensation packages to recruit elite artificial intelligence researchers. Some offers reportedly reach hundreds of millions of dollars over several years, reflecting the fierce competition for talent in the AI sector.

Efficiency Gains From AI

The potential layoffs also align with Zuckerberg’s view that artificial intelligence will enable companies to operate with significantly smaller teams. He indicated earlier this year that the company was already seeing productivity improvements from AI-assisted development tools.

“I’m starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person,” Zuckerberg said in January.

Such comments suggest that Meta expects automation tools — including AI capable of writing software code, generating marketing material, and performing data analysis — to reduce the need for large organizational structures over time. The shift mirrors a broader transformation underway across the technology industry, where companies increasingly view AI not only as a product opportunity but also as a tool for internal efficiency.

A broader wave of AI-driven job cuts

Meta’s plans are part of a pattern emerging across major U.S. companies as executives reassess staffing needs in light of rapid improvements in artificial intelligence systems.

Earlier this year, Amazon confirmed plans to eliminate roughly 16,000 jobs, representing close to 10% of its workforce. Fintech company Block also cut nearly half of its staff, with chief executive Jack Dorsey pointing explicitly to the growing capabilities of AI tools that allow businesses to “do more with smaller teams.”

Across Silicon Valley, the narrative is increasingly consistent: artificial intelligence is expected to boost productivity to the point where fewer employees can accomplish the same amount of work.

Meta’s aggressive spending on artificial intelligence comes after a series of challenges that raised questions about its progress in the AI race. Last year, the company’s Llama 4 models drew criticism after researchers said early benchmark results had been presented in a way that overstated their capabilities. Meta later scrapped the planned release of the largest version of the model, internally known as “Behemoth,” which had been scheduled for launch in the summer.

The company’s newly formed “superintelligence” team is now working to regain momentum with a new model code-named “Avocado.” However, people familiar with the project have said the model’s early performance has lagged expectations compared with competing systems.

Meta has also turned to acquisitions to accelerate its artificial intelligence strategy. The company recently bought Moltbook, a social networking platform designed specifically for AI agents, reflecting a broader vision in which autonomous digital assistants interact with users across Meta’s services.

In addition, Meta is spending at least $2 billion to acquire Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus, according to earlier Reuters reporting. These deals highlight the company’s attempt to build a full AI ecosystem that extends beyond traditional social media into areas such as automated content generation, intelligent assistants, and digital commerce.

Balancing Investment With Investor Expectations

While Meta’s long-term bet on artificial intelligence has been welcomed by some investors, the scale of spending has also raised concerns about profitability. Data centers, advanced chips, and AI research require enormous capital investment, and the financial returns from such spending may take years to materialize.

Cutting operating costs through layoffs could therefore become a key part of Meta’s strategy to reassure investors that the company can fund its AI ambitions without undermining margins.

However, the potential workforce reduction highlights how dramatically Meta’s priorities have shifted over the past decade. The company once expanded rapidly to support the growth of its core platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — as well as ambitious projects such as virtual reality and the metaverse.

Now the focus has turned to building the infrastructure and research capacity needed to compete in the global race for artificial intelligence leadership.

If Meta ultimately proceeds with layoffs on the scale being discussed internally, it would mean not only a major restructuring for the company but also a broader turning point for the technology industry. It would broaden a trajectory in which AI is beginning to reshape not just the products companies build, but also the size and structure of the organizations behind them.