Volvo Delivers 22 Electric Buses to Transport for NSW
Volvo Bus Australia has delivered 22 BZL electric buses to Transport for NSW, bolstering the state’s Zero Emission Buses Program that targets roughly 1,700 electric units by 2028. The vehicles, built on Volvo’s BZL platform and bodied locally by Volgren, will serve five new permanent routes linking key western‑Sydney suburbs and the new airport, while four are already operating on existing lines. The BZL chassis supports up to three battery packs, offering 282‑kWh, 376‑kWh or 470‑kWh configurations. Volvo also launched high‑voltage safety training with TAFE NSW to support the rollout.
Design Contract for the Signalling System on the Wessex Line
AtkinsRéalis has secured a £98 million (≈ $124 million) design‑build contract from Network Rail to upgrade signalling and telecommunications on 43 km of the Wessex Line near Portsmouth over the next three years. The project will deploy the firm’s Advanced Signalling Method – the...
Iranians Don’t Have a Missile Alert System, So Volunteers Built Their Own Warning Map
Amid a U.S.-Israel air campaign that has struck over 9,000 sites in Iran, volunteers have launched Mahsa Alert, a crowdsourced mapping app that sends push notifications about confirmed strikes and evacuation zones. The lightweight Android and iOS platform works offline,...
BharatNet Phase 3: Pratap Technocrats Signs ₹8,025 Crore Contract with BSNL for Three Packages
Pratap Technocrats has secured an approximately $980 million contract with state‑run BSNL to design, build, operate and maintain the middle‑mile fiber network for BharatNet Phase 3 in Rajasthan, Haryana and Assam. The deal, covering three packages worth ₹2,839.25 crore, ₹836.78 crore and ₹831.61 crore respectively,...
The UAE CIO: From Technology Operator to Digital Value Architect
The United Arab Emirates is redefining the CIO role from a traditional IT operator to a strategic digital value architect. Driven by ambitious national AI‑first policies and massive sovereign cloud investments, CIOs now sit at the nexus of technology, strategy,...
America’s New 911 Drone Is Always Ready
Police departments across the United States are scaling Drone‑as‑First‑Responder (DFR) programs, but many current drones suffer from short flight times, limited range, and connectivity gaps. BRINC’s new Guardian drone tackles these issues with an automated battery‑swap dock that delivers up...
Will Utah’s Proposed Ad Tax Survive in Court?
Utah lawmakers have passed a bill that taxes "targeted advertising"—digital ads that use individualized data profiles— and earmarks the proceeds for youth sports, literacy, mental‑health and foster‑care programs. Governor Spencer Cox has not yet signed the measure, and the state...
Australia’s New Military AI Policy Comes at a Crucial Time. The Challenge Is Turning It Into Practice
Australia’s Department of Defence has issued a new policy governing the use of artificial intelligence across all military functions, from chatbots to advanced general‑purpose models. The framework sets three core requirements: compliance with Australian law and international obligations, human accountability...
Shark Tank Meets Military: Dragon's Lair Winner To Bring New Tech To The Battlefield
Two 82nd Airborne paratroopers have taken a modular drone case from a Dragon's Lair competition to production in just eight months. The lightweight, rigid case fits into rucksacks, shields drones on drop zones, and features quick‑deployment compartments. Development was accelerated...
DBT-Led Group Explores Using Post Office as Single High-Street Shopfront for Government Services and Digital Support
UK government, via a Department for Business and Trade (DBT)‑led cross‑government group, is examining whether the Post Office’s 11,600 branches could serve as a common physical front‑end for a range of state services. The consultation response identified three opportunities: consolidating...
The Philippines: National ID for Smarter, Faster, Safer Services
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is intensifying its push for nationwide enrollment in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), a free, smart national ID that streamlines access to government and private services. A barangay‑based drive in Palawan targets indigent seniors, making...
Australia: AI and Satellite Tech Boost Bushfire Management
Australia is deploying a multi‑layered satellite network that fuses geostationary and polar‑orbiting assets with onboard processing to slash fire‑detection latency. Artificial‑intelligence models are being trained to recognise heat signatures, smoke and vegetation‑specific patterns, while also generating predictive spread simulations. The...
Thailand: AI, Digital Innovation Enhance Equitable Welfare
Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deploy artificial intelligence and digital tools for vulnerable populations. The National Science and Technology Development Agency...
New Zealand: Smart Health Roadmap Transforming Diabetes Care
New Zealand has unveiled a National Diabetes Roadmap that uses smart technologies and digital health tools to overhaul prevention, diagnosis, and management of diabetes. The plan addresses an estimated 348,000 New Zealanders with diabetes, especially high‑risk Māori, Pacific and South Asian groups,...
Social Media Bans and Digital Curfews to Be Trialled on UK Teenagers
The UK government is launching a pilot that will impose social‑media bans, nightly curfews, or one‑hour daily limits on 300 teenagers to gauge real‑world effects. Participants are split into three intervention groups and a control group, while parents and children...
Sage, Orban to Demo Virtualized EAS at NAB
Sage Alerting Systems and Orban Labs will demonstrate a virtualized Emergency Alert System (EAS) at the NAB Show, using a deck‑size industrial PC to handle alerts alongside normal audio. The demo integrates AES‑67 audio output and AAC‑LC streams for live...
Cobb County, Ga., Eyes Federal Grant for World Cup Security
The Cobb County Police Department is set to receive a $10.68 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to purchase counter‑unmanned aircraft systems (C‑UAS) ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The funding will equip the department with radar‑camera...
Microsoft and Nvidia Launch AI Partnership to Speed up Nuclear Power Plant Permitting and Construction — Simulation Tools and Generative...
Microsoft and Nvidia have teamed up to embed generative AI, digital‑twin simulation, and Nvidia’s Omniverse platform into every stage of nuclear power plant development, from design through operations. The collaboration targets the decades‑long permitting bottleneck and fragmented engineering data that...
Baltimore Sues xAI over Grok Deepfakes
Baltimore filed a municipal lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI, accusing the company of violating the city’s Consumer Protection Ordinance by marketing its Grok AI assistant without warning about deep‑fake risks. The suit follows reports that Grok’s image generator produced roughly...
One Year in, UK Digital Inclusion Action Plan Has Launched Fund, Drawn Roadmap
The UK government released its first‑year progress report for the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, highlighting the launch of an £11.9 million (≈$15 million) Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund that has backed 85 local projects. A pilot device‑donation scheme has already placed around 200...
Contractors Weigh in on How AI Fits Into GSA Rules that Weren’t Built for It
The General Services Administration issued a draft modification to its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) to incorporate artificial‑intelligence procurement, but the comment period and implementation timeline are unusually short. Contractors, represented by the Professional Services Council (PSC) and its 400 member...
Zambia Looking for MOSIP System Integrator to Support Digital ID Project
Zambia’s Smart Zambia Institute (SZI) is seeking an international MOSIP system integrator to deploy, customize and integrate a biometric‑based digital ID platform with its civil registration architecture. Backed by more than $100 million in World Bank funding, the rollout aims for...
Smart Africa Partners to Strengthen Digital Governance, Innovation Across Africa
Smart Africa has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rwanda’s Certa Foundation to boost digital governance and innovation across the continent. The partnership will deliver technical support to policymakers, regulators and public institutions while creating a pipeline of youth policymakers...
ACMA to Tap CTO-as-a-Service to Help Architect Core Modernisation
The Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA) is launching a CTO‑as‑a‑service contract to provide on‑demand technology leadership for its core modernisation programme. The arrangement, slated to close in March 2026, will supplement internal capabilities and report to chief information and...
Australia's Critical Infrastructure Security Laws "Toothless"
An independent review has labelled Australia’s Security of Critical Infrastructure (SoCI) Act “toothless,” arguing that its penalties are treated as a routine cost rather than a deterrent. The review urges a shift from paperwork‑centric compliance to a penalty‑based risk‑management regime...
Four Ways Government Agencies Can Overcome the Azure Skills Gap
Federal agencies are rapidly adopting Microsoft Azure for modernization, security and public‑service delivery, but a shortage of specialized talent threatens progress. The article outlines four practical strategies to close the Azure skills gap: role‑based training, internal Centers of Excellence, strategic...
HPD Pledges Overhaul of Housing Lottery System
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development announced a comprehensive overhaul of its Housing Connect lottery platform, signaling a possible full replacement rather than incremental tweaks. Commissioner Dina Levy highlighted that the agency placed over 10,000 households...
Efforts to Meet HR 1 Medicaid Rules Can Also ‘Build for the Future’
HR 1 requires states to redetermine Medicaid expansion beneficiaries every six months and enforce an 80‑hour work, volunteer or education requirement before renewal, dramatically increasing staff workload. Experts advise leveraging existing ex parte automation—already used for income‑based renewals—to incorporate work‑requirement data...
IRS Faces AI Skills Gaps After Pushing Tech Talent Out, Watchdog Finds
The Government Accountability Office reports that the IRS’s push to adopt artificial intelligence is being undermined by massive workforce reductions, including a 40% cut in IT staff and an 80% loss of technology executives. These cuts have stripped the agency’s...
DoE Publishes 5-Year Energy Security Plan
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) unveiled a three‑pronged, five‑year energy security plan covering fiscal years 2026‑2030. The plan targets world‑class security technologies, hardening of critical energy infrastructure, and streamlined response and...
Phase 3 of Signal Work at MBTA’s Columbia Junction Starts March 26
The MBTA has finished Phase 1 and 2 of its Red Line signal modernization ahead of schedule and will launch Phase 3 on March 26, with each phase expected to last about two weeks. Phase 4 is projected to start around April 9. The work replaces...
ALPR Tech Now Preventing Parents From Enrolling Their Kids In School
Thomson Reuters Clear is marketing an AI‑assisted license‑plate reader (ALPR) tool to school districts for residency verification. In an Illinois district, the system flagged a parent’s vehicle as residing outside the district, leading officials to deny the child’s enrollment despite...
FCC Looks to Win ‘Space Race 2.0’ with Satellite Infrastructure Buildout
The Federal Communications Commission announced a strategic push to dominate the emerging "Space Race 2.0" by accelerating satellite licensing and allocating over 20,000 MHz of new spectrum. FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz outlined a "licensing assembly line" to speed approvals and...
The Hidden Infrastructure Challenge of the Genesis Mission
The White House’s Genesis Mission tasks the Department of Energy with delivering a working AI demonstration in just 270 days, aiming to prove that artificial intelligence can materially accelerate nationally significant science challenges. The initiative assumes existing high‑performance computing resources...
FAA Updates GNSS Interference Guide Months After First Release
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued Version 1.1 of its GPS/GNSS Interference Resource Guide, just three months after the initial release. The update adds detailed cockpit instructions for spotting interference, such as time shifts, map anomalies, and false terrain alerts. It...
GovTech Panel on DPI Cautions on Dogmatic Digitalization
A GovTech panel highlighted the need for hybrid, citizen‑co‑designed digital public infrastructure, stressing legal, organizational, semantic, and technical interoperability and offline options. Speakers warned against dogmatic digitalization and advocated AI‑compatible, inclusive designs, especially for digitally illiterate groups. Concurrently, UN Women...
Nepal Rolls Out Integrated Digital System, Faces Acceptance Problem with Nagarik App
Nepal’s Ministry of Home Affairs has linked its Centralized Citizenship Management Information System with the National Identity Management Information System, creating a unified digital platform for citizenship certificates and national ID cards. The integration is live at 12 pilot service...
Berg Insight Sees Steady Growth for Public Transport ITS in Europe and North America Through 2030
Market research firm Berg Insight projects the public‑transport intelligent transport systems (ITS) market in Europe to rise from roughly $2.9 billion in 2025 to $3.6 billion by 2030, and North America from about $1.3 billion to $1.8 billion, reflecting a mid‑single‑digit CAGR of about...
NIST Releases Latent Fingerprint Biometrics Training Data, Quality Assessment Software
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the fully annotated SD 302 latent fingerprint dataset, containing 10,000 images from 200 volunteers, now split into nine specialized subsets. The data, originally gathered for the IARPA Nail‑to‑Nail challenge, was updated...
Theodore Roosevelt National Park To Go Cashless
Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota will switch to a fully cashless fee system on May 1 2026, requiring mobile, credit or debit payments for entrance and on‑site sales. Cash transactions, which now represent less than 10% of sales, will only...
Coast Guard Details Its Plan for a New 'Acquisition Superhighway'
The Coast Guard announced its Acquisition Superhighway initiative, a blanket purchase agreement to procure an AI‑enabled procurement and acquisition system. A solicitation is due in the second quarter with a performance period through April 2028. The effort focuses on automating...
North Carolina Invests $26M to Expand High-Speed Internet Into Additional Rural Areas by 2026
North Carolina announced a $26 million investment to extend high‑speed broadband to an additional 5,161 homes, businesses and community anchors across 66 rural counties by the end of 2026. The funding, part of the Stop‑Gap Solutions program, draws on American Rescue...
TTC, TMU Partner to Drive Transit Innovation
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has teamed up with Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) through the Transit Innovation Yard to test five cutting‑edge research projects. The initiatives span automated rail inspection, cross‑device wayfinding kiosks, a sustainability‑focused digital twin of a TTC...
Philippine Model City Deploys Electric Minibuses To Offset Rising Fuel Costs
Pasig City unveiled five fully electric minibuses on March 23, expanding its free‑ride program with a $332,300 investment. Each vehicle, costing roughly $66,900, seats 22 passengers and accommodates eight standing riders, and will initially run along Caruncho Avenue. The rollout...
Treasury Asks Whether Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Should Bolster Cyber Coverage
The U.S. Treasury Department has opened a public comment period to consider expanding the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (TRIP) to cover cyber‑related losses stemming from acts of terrorism. The agency will incorporate feedback into a mandatory report to Congress due...
ZeroEyes Launches ZeroLink to Deliver AI Gun Detection and Situational Awareness Anytime, Anywhere
ZeroEyes announced ZeroLink, an off‑network AI gun‑detection solution that can be installed on any digital camera, from light poles to vehicles. The system leverages Lanner’s Edge AI inference computers to analyze video locally and transmit alerts through the ZeroEyes Operations...
How Federal Agencies Can Start Their SRE Journey
Federal agencies are turning to Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) to meet rising expectations for fast, dependable digital services. The guide recommends starting with robust observability to turn raw telemetry into actionable signals, then defining service‑level indicators (SLIs) and objectives (SLOs)...
The Role of Advanced Technologies in Ensuring Water Security
Advanced digital dosing systems and digital‑twin technology are reshaping water‑utility operations, delivering precise chemical management and predictive planning. These tools cut energy and chemical expenses while minimizing disruptions. Utilities are also leveraging micro‑filtration and UV disinfection to meet stricter EPA...