Contact Energy announced a NZ$525 million equity raise to fund its Contact31+ renewable strategy. The capital will back projects including the 200 MW Glenbrook Battery 2.0, the 150 MW Glorit solar farm, and expansion of the Tauhara 2 geothermal plant. In H1 2026 the company posted a 44% profit jump to NZ$205 million, with renewable generation reaching 97% of output. The raise combines a NZ$450 million underwritten placement and up to NZ$75 million retail offer.
The Corop solar‑battery hybrid in central northern Victoria has cleared the EPBC Act assessment in just four months, receiving a “not a controlled action” verdict. The two‑stage project will deliver 440 MW of solar generation and a 290 MW/704 MWh battery, with the...
The Victorian Liberal–National coalition proposes strict independent audits and economic impact assessments for new solar, wind and battery projects, aiming to protect prime farmland and give farmers a voice through restored VCAT appeal rights. This policy emerges as Victoria lagged...

Marriott Bonvoy Titanium and Ambassador Elite members can now claim United Airlines MileagePlus Premier Silver status for free through the RewardsPlus partnership. The status provides a free checked bag, complimentary Economy Plus seat selection, and the ability to transfer up...

Koxa and Bottomline have formed a partnership to embed banking services directly within ERP systems, leveraging Koxa’s platform and Bottomline’s Commercial Digital Banking API framework. The joint solution lets banks offer integrated payments, approvals, reconciliation and statement access without building...
AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes announced that the airline’s branding unit is close to completing a Nasdaq backdoor listing, targeting a valuation of roughly US$1.5 billion. The merger with a US‑listed vehicle is expected to be announced within two months, with the...

In early 2026 a handful of carriers stand out for offering the most spacious economy cabins, measured by seat pitch and width. ANA and Japan Airlines lead with up to 34 inches of pitch, while Emirates standardises 32 inches across its A350...

Klook’s Travel Pulse 2026 report reveals that 88% of global travelers intend to keep or increase their travel budgets despite economic headwinds, with Asia‑Pacific travelers 50% more likely to boost spending than their Western counterparts. The survey of 11,000 Klook...

Saudi Arabia intensified its labour compliance drive, arresting more than 21,000 individuals in a single week across construction sites, housing compounds and transport hubs. The crackdown targets undocumented foreign workers, Saudi citizens who shelter them, and firms that fail to...

Westpac NZ, together with Saatchi & Saatchi NZ and Spark Foundry NZ, launched the immersive “Laneway Loot” experience at Laneway Festival 2026. The activation featured limited‑edition street posters that were ripped down and claimed within 24 hours, and a Westpac‑branded...
Researchers have demonstrated in‑vivo acoustoelectric neural recording in mice using ultrasound‑induced frequency mixing, achieving high‑fidelity, non‑invasive monitoring of brain activity. The technique converts neuronal electrical fields into detectable frequency shifts, delivering millimeter‑scale spatial resolution and millisecond‑level temporal precision. By calibrating...
Japanese startup KG Motors began delivering its ultra‑affordable MiBot micro‑EV in December 2025 and, in January 2026, signed a partnership with energy giant Idemitsu Kosan. The agreement gives Idemitsu’s apollostation network sales, registration, insurance and after‑sales support, starting with pilot locations...
Fujifilm Biotechnologies has opened an expanded UK site in Teesside, marking the launch of the country’s largest single‑use biopharmaceutical CDMO facility. The £400 million investment adds 2,000 L and 5,000 L single‑use bioreactors, delivering up to 19,000 L of small‑ and mid‑scale antibody manufacturing...

Lufthansa Group celebrates 65 years of Hong Kong‑Frankfurt service, reaffirming its commitment to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The carrier currently runs two daily Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt and a Swiss International Air Lines service to Zurich,...
Ticketek Entertainment Group has appointed Brad Turcotte as senior vice president of country for its global touring arm, TEG Live. Based in a newly opened Nashville office, Turcotte will steer TEG Live's dedicated country touring brand across North America and...

RX Global has appointed One Rep Global as its official partner for the Indian Buyer Program, covering flagship events such as ILTM Cannes, ILTM Asia Pacific, IBTM Barcelona and the International Golf Travel Market. The partnership aims to recruit senior Indian...

Shutaro Ida, the creative director of the upcoming Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, died at age 52 after a 1.5‑year battle with cancer, ArtPlay announced. Ida previously directed Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and contributed to major titles such as Castlevania...

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has launched a conversational platform that delivers real‑time emotional and mental‑health support to teenagers. Leveraging large‑language models tuned with culturally specific data, the service offers 24/7 chat‑based counseling, crisis detection, and personalized coping strategies. Within...
The article examines whether inverter‑based technologies can replace traditional spinning machines in providing power‑system security. It highlights AEMO’s 2025 Transition Plan, which calls for new services from synchronous condensers and advanced inverters, and references a white paper from the NSW...

BWH Hotels announced a wave of new openings across Asia in 2025, highlighted by the 91‑key Best Western Premier Imperial Dalat in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. The chain also added three properties in Thailand, a relaunched hotel in the Philippines, and...
Exoplanet atmospheric characterization has been dominated by the James Webb Space Telescope, but its high demand limits observation time. Researchers have introduced EXCITE, a balloon‑borne infrared telescope designed specifically for exoplanet climate studies. By flying on a high‑altitude gondola, EXCITE...

AI data centers are increasingly constrained by power delivery rather than compute, as conversion losses waste 15‑20% of energy. To address this, Peak XV Partners led a $15 million Series A in Indian startup C2i Semiconductors, which is developing a plug‑and‑play grid‑to‑GPU power...
The UK government has pledged up to £1 billion to accelerate community‑owned clean‑energy projects, marking the largest investment of its kind in Britain. Administered by state‑owned GB Energy, the scheme aims to fund roughly 1,000 solar, wind, hydro and biomass installations across...
Chinese researchers demonstrated that observing Earth from the lunar surface yields a unified measurement of the planet’s radiation budget, overcoming the spatial‑temporal trade‑offs of low‑Earth‑orbit and geostationary satellites. Their analysis showed that more than 90% of Earth’s outgoing radiation pattern...

Eurowings and SunExpress have expanded their codeshare agreement from five to fourteen routes, adding thirteen new connections and dropping four under‑performing services. The new routes focus on linking German cities with Western European leisure destinations, shifting away from the original...
Reseller LogiQ-On Tech has been engaged to digitize Apex Steel’s warehouse and shop‑floor operations, replacing a legacy paper‑based system with a connected solution. The rollout combines Zebra Technologies’ rugged mobile computers, printers and barcode scanners with Boyum IT’s Produmex WMS,...

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced he intends to attend the upcoming Soyuz MS‑29 crewed launch from Baikonur this summer, marking the first time a NASA chief will be present at a Russian launch since 2018. He also plans to meet with...

Sun Capital has extended its ownership of serious‑injury firm Fletchers through a continuation fund, committing another four to five years of capital. The firm’s EBITDA surged from £8 m to £38 m and case volume rose 60%, prompting a large recruitment drive...

Senior solicitor‑coroner Chinyere Inyama was struck off after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found he deliberately downplayed rape and sexual assault allegations, describing them as “touching up”, to the Chief Coroner’s Office. The tribunal labeled his conduct the “most serious form...

On 16 February 2026 the House of Lords voted to scrap the statutory ‘general’ legal qualification for Crown prosecutors, allowing CILEX lawyers and other non‑solicitor practitioners to apply. Justice Minister Baroness Levitt described the previous rule as an unnecessary barrier...

The Law Society has urged the Legal Services Board (LSB) to tighten oversight of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after the collapses of Axiom Ince and SSB Group exposed regulatory gaps. It highlighted concerns about the SRA’s ability to supervise...

CIPD’s Labour Market Outlook warns that the Employment Rights Act 2025 will curb permanent hiring, with 37% of UK employers planning to reduce such recruitment. Overall hiring intentions are at their lowest level since the pandemic, while 74% foresee higher...
Global fintech investment rebounded in 2025, reaching $116 billion despite a record‑low 4,719 deals, indicating larger, more selective transactions. Venture capital contributed $56.7 billion while M&A added $55.4 billion, with the United States leading deal value. Digital‑assets funding nearly doubled to $19.1 billion, buoyed...
Citi warns that quantum computers could break public‑key encryption within the next decade, estimating a 19‑34% probability of a widespread breach by 2034 and 60‑82% by 2044. A successful quantum attack on a major U.S. bank could generate $2‑3.3 trillion in...

Shepherds Friendly surveyed 1,500 workers and found that younger employees are the least likely to have income protection and have the lowest awareness of policy coverage. Six in ten respondents don’t realize the policy can cover mental health, and 69%...

SA Law introduced the legal director role in 2025 as a formal alternative to partnership, with Clare Mackay becoming its first appointee. The position provides seniority, strategic influence, and professional gravitas while avoiding the capital investment and personal risk associated...

British Airways’ Avios award bookings often carry fuel surcharges that can top $1,000 per way, eroding the appeal of “free” tickets. The airline’s own flights remain expensive, but many partners—Aer Lingus, Iberia, American, Alaska, Qantas, and JAL—offer the same Avios currency...
Czechia welcomed nearly 23.6 million guests in 2025, generating 59.1 million overnight stays and surpassing pre‑pandemic levels. International arrivals rose 4.1% to 10.9 million, with foreign visitors staying longer and spending more. Domestic tourism also grew, adding 2.5% more Czech residents to accommodations....
Egypt’s tourism rebounded dramatically in 2025, welcoming 19 million international visitors—a 21% year‑over‑year increase—and generating $18‑$24 billion in revenue. The surge is driven by flagship investments such as the Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened in November 2025, and ambitious Red Sea coastal...
Long‑haul travelers from the United States, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia are reshaping European tourism, according to a new Mabrian and Data Appeal report. Direct flights from these six markets grew 5.2% in 2025, spreading visitor flows to...
Chinese outbound tourism is set to expand in 2026, driven by a stronger yuan, broader visa‑free access and improved economic confidence. Forecasts predict 165‑175 million trips, roughly a 10 % rise that approaches pre‑pandemic levels. Generation Z now dominates the traveler pool, favoring...
The HelloSafe Safety Index released its 2026 rankings, evaluating 50 nations across public safety, political stability, health security, cybersecurity, and environmental risk. Iceland tops the list with a 92.4 score, followed by Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Denmark, underscoring Europe’s dominance....
Caribbean and Central America are experiencing a surge in luxury hotel investment in 2026, with a strong focus on sustainability and technology. The Dominican Republic leads the market, welcoming 11.6 million visitors and achieving over 70% hotel occupancy, which has attracted...

Microsoft has released Windows 11 update KB5077181, fully fixing the UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME boot failure that struck some enterprise machines after recent security patches. The bug, linked to a failed December 2025 update and exacerbated by the January 13, 2026 KB5074109 rollout, affected devices running 25H2...
The episode explores how Non‑Human Identities (NHIs), or machine identities, are essential for securing protected data exchanges in financial services. It explains the lifecycle of NHIs—from discovery and classification to secret rotation and decommissioning—and why holistic management platforms outperform point...
The episode explores how companies are evaluating the integration of Non‑Human Identities (NHIs) into their compliance frameworks, highlighting the benefits of reduced risk, improved regulatory adherence, and operational efficiency. It outlines best‑practice steps such as discovery, automated secret rotation, behavioral...
The episode explores how Non‑Human Identities (NHIs)—machine credentials like tokens and keys—are reshaping cybersecurity in healthcare, especially as cloud adoption and Agentic AI expand. It outlines a lifecycle‑focused NHI management strategy that includes discovery, classification, continuous threat monitoring, and context‑aware...

Insomniac Games publicly denied that any Spider‑Man title will appear on Xbox, labeling an Xbox port as "not likely" in a recent X exchange. The developer reiterated Sony’s historic preference for keeping its Marvel‑powered Spider‑Man games as PlayStation exclusives, a...

Season 1 of Year 11, titled Operation Silent Hill, launches on March 3, 2026 across PC and consoles. The update introduces Solid Snake as a full‑fledged operator with a unique Soliton Radar MKIII gadget, On‑Site Procurement ability, and two primary weapons. A...
A Redbridge Group poll of 3,000 Australians finds broad support for a pollution levy on the nation’s 100 biggest emitters, cutting across party lines. Labor supporters show 83% net approval while coalition voters register 33% net approval, with only One...