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UAE 500 Dirham Polymer Banknote: Setting High Standards in EMEA Region

The UAE Central Bank’s 500 Dirham banknote has been celebrated as the ‘Best New Banknote Issue for 2025’ in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region. This honor was announced at the prestigious High Security Printing EMEA conference in Basel, Switzerland.

This cutting-edge banknote, part of the UAE’s innovative third polymer series, has been praised for its advanced security features and a design emphasizing sustainability. Building on the technological advancements of the Dh1,000 note issued in 2023, its stunning three-dimensional design includes the largest surface-applied foil stripe in the Middle East.

Manufactured by Oumolat Security Printing, a subsidiary of the UAE Central Bank, the new note entered circulation on November 30, 2023. It highlights landmarks such as the Terra Sustainability Pavilion in Expo City Dubai and the Museum of the Future, reflecting the nation’s architectural prowess and dedication to green initiatives. Notably, it incorporates Braille symbols, showcasing a commitment to inclusivity.

The shift to polymer not only extends durability but also reduces environmental impact, as these materials are fully recyclable, aligning with the UAE’s vision for a sustainable economy. Similar initiatives can be seen with Cyprus’s own efforts in promoting renewable energy, like those detailed in our article on Cyprus’s Renewable Energy Targets for 2030.

Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, noted, “We proudly lead the region in adopting banknotes with advanced security and sustainable materials. Our dedication to accessibility ensures that everyone, including the visually impaired, can easily identify our banknotes.”

Anthropic Launches Claude Fable 5 With New AI Safety Controls

New Model Sets The Bar For AI Safety And Efficiency

Anthropic has launched Claude Fable 5, the latest public version of its Mythos model, expanding access to a system designed for software engineering, knowledge work and computer vision tasks. The company said high-risk requests involving areas such as cybersecurity, biology, chemistry and AI model distillation will be redirected to Claude Opus 4.8, which has been configured with additional safeguards.

Strategic Rollout And Broader Accessibility

Mythos was initially made available to a limited group of partners in April as Anthropic evaluated potential cybersecurity risks associated with the model. Access was expanded last week to hundreds of organisations across 15 countries, primarily those operating critical infrastructure. Claude Fable 5 is now available through Anthropic’s Claude API and usage-based Enterprise plans. Early access has also been included in selected subscription tiers ahead of a broader pricing rollout scheduled for June 23.

Advancing Safety And Industry Standards

Anthropic said the model underwent extensive safety testing before release, including bug bounty programmes and red-team exercises conducted by external organisations. According to the company, more than 1,000 hours of testing did not identify any universal jailbreak vulnerabilities.

A mandatory 30-day data retention policy will apply to all traffic processed by the model, including accounts that previously operated under zero-retention agreements. Anthropic said the measure is intended to improve monitoring and protection against emerging security threats.

Outstanding Performance And Competitive Pricing

Independent evaluations, including testing by analytics company Hex, reported strong performance in complex reasoning and analytical tasks. Companies, including Base44 and Genspark, highlighted improvements in tool use and interface design capabilities. Pricing has been set at $10 per million input tokens and $50 per million output tokens, compared with lower rates for previous models. Some enterprise customers, including Rakuten, said the model’s ability to verify aspects of its own output could help improve efficiency in tasks that require higher levels of accuracy.

Implications For The AI Market

The release comes as Anthropic prepares for a potential public market debut, and competition among leading AI developers continues to intensify. Alongside performance improvements, the company has placed significant emphasis on model safety, reflecting broader industry concerns around misuse, jailbreak attempts and the risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems.

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