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By Nitya Chakraborty In just ten days between October 25 and November 3 this year, four national elections were scheduled. Out of these, elections were held in Brazil and Serbia on October 25 and in Israel on October 27. Only on November 3, the midterm elections will be held in the United States. The bitter […]

The article Four Elections In Ten Days: Authoritarianism Is Finally Getting A Backlash appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Singapore-founded company marks 17 years of growth as it builds a new category around everyday hydration and wellness

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Singapore-founded water brand AOX has been named ‘Top Collagen Renewing Water 2026′ by Healthcare Business Review APAC, marking a new milestone for a brand that has spent more than 17 years developing a differentiated approach to drinking water.

The recognition comes as AOX seeks to build the Collagen Renewing Water category – moving the conversation beyond the appliances that dispense water towards the properties of the water people drink daily.

Unlike conventional water dispensers, which tend to compete on temperature settings, design or convenience, AOX’s central proposition is its proprietary approach to filtration and mineral formulation. Its systems combine filtration with a formulation that includes calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and silica to deliver what the company describes as Collagen Renewing Water.

This latest recognition reflects AOX’s water-first approach, built around its proprietary mineral formulation, including the specific sourcing of minerals and the process used to create its final water profile. It adds to a long track record of business, brand and design awards accumulated over more than 17 years.

“A water dispenser can have all the features in the world, but ultimately, what matters most is the water you drink from it every day,” said John Tan, Chief Executive Officer of AOX. “That belief has shaped AOX for more than 17 years and is why we continue investing in Collagen Renewing Water, our proprietary formulation and the research behind it. This recognition encourages us to keep building that category and challenging consumers to look beyond the machine.”

The award also signals AOX’s next chapter under John Tan’s leadership. After working across finance, operations and marketing at AOX before becoming CEO, he is leading its next phase of research, product innovation and market growth, with a goal to reach new audiences and respond to changing consumer expectations around water quality and everyday wellness.

AOX has commissioned laboratory and preclinical research into the properties of its water, including collagen-related fibroblast activity, cell migration, antioxidant activity, and metabolic markers in preclinical models. The company will continue to invest in research while communicating its findings responsibly and within appropriate scientific boundaries.

Founder Jeffrey Tan said the recognition was a reminder of the original idea that shaped the business. “When we started AOX, we wanted people to think more carefully about the water they drink every day,” he said. “Over the years, the technology, products and people’s expectations have evolved, but that belief has remained the same. It is encouraging to see AOX recognised as we continue to build on that foundation.”

AOX’s product range includes direct-piped water systems for homes and organisations, spanning hot and cold, ambient and compact formats. The company’s focus remains on growing its Collagen Renewing Water category while continuing to develop products around the needs of modern households and workplaces.

Hashtag: #AOX

https://aox.com.sg/

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About AOX

Founded in Singapore in 2009, AOX is a homegrown water brand focused on the quality of the water itself. At the heart of AOX is Collagen Renewing Water, produced through its proprietary filtration and mineral formulation and delivered consistently across its range of water dispensers.

Over more than 17 years, AOX has grown to serve more than 10,000 households and organisations, while developing water systems that combine water quality, practical design and long-term after-sales support.

AOX has also commissioned laboratory studies using human cells and preclinical research into the properties of its water, including collagen-related activity, antioxidant activity, weight gain and liver-lipid accumulation. In 2026, AOX was recognised by Healthcare Business Review APAC as the Top Collagen Renewing Water Dispensers in APAC 2026.

By K Raveendran The greatest mistake Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party can make is to mistake the silence of the streets for the consent of the people. The government may have succeeded in shrinking the space for organised resistance, intimidating critics and making dissent increasingly costly. But political resentment does not disappear simply […]

The article Modi Govt’s Undeclared Emergency Will Have Its Inevitable Outcome appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

According to data from Frost & Sullivan, GREE’s leading position in the global Premium residential air conditioning market is built upon comprehensive superiority in core product performance. Consumers in the Premium segment do not pay merely for a “higher price tag”, instead, they choose products that offer superior usage experiences, more durable and stable operation, and outstanding energy-saving performance. GREE’s widespread recognition in this market is fundamentally rooted in its years of deep cultivation in energy efficiency technology, noise reduction technology, and comfortable airflow technologies. These technologies have passed the most demanding user tests across diverse scenarios in different countries and regions.

Winning recognition in the global premium market ultimately relies on what the product itself says. GREE’s reputation for quality among global consumers stems from sustained investments in core technologies, superior user experiences, and user value over many years.

To address the harsh challenges posed by diverse global climates, GREE independently developed a matrix of core compressor technologies covering all climatic zones. The Timo series, equipped with G-Boost single-stage enthalpy-adding compressors, was specifically developed for extremely hot regions like the Middle East. It remains reliable operation even at ambient temperature of 68℃, achieving non-declining cooling performance at 54℃. The Airy series pioneered the commercialization of ultra-wide frequency rotary compressors, capable of continuous heating for 10 hours without defrosting, improving the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) by 9.5% to 16.7%. The S-cool series, equipped with G-Hyper dual-cylinder two-stage compressors, was crafted for extremely cold regions such as Northern Europe and North America. It operates stably within an ultra-wide temperature range of -40℃ to 54℃, achieving industry breakthroughs of “non-declining heating at -25℃ and non-declining cooling at 46℃”. These three compressor technologies provide “all-climate comfort” solutions for users in different climate belts through their respective differentiated technical paths.

In key dimensions of user experience, GREE also addresses consumer pain points with hardcore technology. The newly launched 2026 “Ai Silent King” features GREE’s self-developed AI energy-saving chip. Paired with artificial intelligence algorithms, it saves energy from the moment it is turned on, improving annual energy efficiency by 23%. Meanwhile, GREE’s SilenzX series air conditioners achieve ultra-low sound pressure levels of just 29 dB(A) for the outdoor unit and 15 dB(A) for the indoor unit—far below the industry average. This achievement earned the Gold Medal at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, marking GREE’s leadership in the field of noise reduction technology globally.

From compressors to whole unit systems, from AI energy saving to quiet technology, GREE has built the core competitiveness of Premium products through solid technological accumulation and continuous innovation breakthroughs, creating truly high-quality air experiences for global users.

As of July, GREE holds 50 “world-leading” technologies. From residential air conditioners to central air conditioning systems, from single-refrigerant systems to solutions covering all climatic zones, GREE has constructed a complete, autonomous, and controllable technology matrix. It is this systemic innovative capability that allows GREE to maintain rapid response and technical adaptation capabilities in the face of differentiated needs across global markets.

Currently, GREE products serve more than 190 countries and regions worldwide. By adhering to serving users with core technologies and high-quality service, GREE continues to meet people’s pursuit of a better life. Honors are witnesses to the past, and innovation is the eternal coordinate. Standing at a new starting point, GREE Electric Appliances will continue to drive high-quality development through independent innovation, moving from “scale leadership” to “value guidance,” and from “Chinese Manufacturing” to “Global Brand”, thus achieving “Made in China, Loved by the World”.

Hashtag: #GREE

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The forecast identifies large language models, which underpin generative AI applications, as an area where China is particularly well positioned to establish leadership. It also anticipates that Chinese companies and research institutions will become at least competitive across other critical technology sectors, potentially reshaping the balance of technological capabilities between Beijing and Washington.

The assessment comes as Chinese AI developers narrow the performance gap with American competitors despite restrictions on access to advanced semiconductors. Improvements in model efficiency, expanding domestic computing infrastructure and competitive pricing have strengthened China’s position in the global market.

Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Robert Lea identified a sharp improvement in Chinese model performance earlier this month. Leading Chinese systems trailed their American counterparts by approximately 3% on benchmark scores, compared with around 9% in May and 15% earlier this year.

That narrowing gap followed the September introduction of DeepSeek’s V4.1 Flash model, which demonstrated further advances in reasoning and computational efficiency. The findings suggest that restrictions on sophisticated American chips have not prevented Chinese developers from improving their systems.

The projections nevertheless remain conditional on technological progress, investment and commercial adoption over the next four years. Competitive performance in individual benchmarks does not necessarily establish overall leadership, particularly when computing capacity, profitability and enterprise deployment are considered.

China’s expanding capabilities are already influencing international adoption patterns. Models developed by DeepSeek, Alibaba and Moonshot AI have attracted developers seeking alternatives to comparatively expensive proprietary systems offered by American technology companies.

Data from OpenRouter, a platform providing access to multiple AI models, showed Chinese systems gaining substantial shares of usage during 2026. However, the figures represent activity through that platform rather than the entire global market, where direct subscriptions and enterprise contracts remain significant.

Chinese developers have also benefited from distributing models with openly available weights, allowing businesses and programmers to customise systems without depending entirely on proprietary services. This approach has encouraged international experimentation and strengthened adoption among cost-conscious users.

American companies retain important advantages, particularly in advanced semiconductor access, large-scale computing infrastructure and commercial relationships with enterprise customers. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google continue investing heavily in frontier models and the infrastructure required to train increasingly sophisticated systems.

Financial performance illustrates the distinction between technological competitiveness and commercial success. Anthropic disclosed revenue of $16.3 billion for the first half of 2026, compared with $1.2 billion during the corresponding period a year earlier, reflecting strong demand for its enterprise services.

Chinese developers face greater pressure on pricing, with intense domestic competition limiting opportunities to convert growing usage into sustainable earnings. Lower-cost models can accelerate adoption while simultaneously reducing margins available to finance future development.

Semiconductor manufacturing remains another constraint. Washington’s export controls restrict Chinese access to certain advanced processors and manufacturing equipment, although domestic suppliers including Huawei are developing alternatives intended to support national computing requirements.

China’s response increasingly combines domestic chip development with software optimisation. Researchers have demonstrated that improvements in training methods, architecture and inference efficiency can reduce dependence on the most powerful available hardware.

Beijing is also pursuing greater integration between artificial intelligence and telecommunications infrastructure. A three-year programme issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in June established targets for autonomous networks, computing access and specialised AI applications through 2028.

The programme envisages significant breakthroughs in core technologies by 2030, alongside improved coordination between communications networks, computing resources and intelligent services. Its objectives complement broader efforts to establish domestic technological capabilities.

Regulatory developments could influence the international availability of Chinese technology. Authorities proposed export restrictions this month covering 23 categories of AI technology, including language models, autonomous agents, chip designs and computing clusters.

The draft measures would potentially subject transfers of certain model weights, source code and advanced technologies to government approval. Their final scope and implementation remain undetermined.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has presented the proposals as part of a wider effort to regulate strategically sensitive technology transfers. The consultation also covers technologies beyond artificial intelligence, reflecting the government’s expanding attention to intellectual property and national security.

For overseas developers using Chinese models, the eventual rules could affect access to advanced systems and associated technical resources, depending on the restrictions adopted and the thresholds applied to particular technologies.

The Summit explored the trends reshaping customer expectations and the future of financial services. Discussions focused on rising wealth, increasing cross-border mobility, and the growing convergence of data, artificial intelligence and human expertise. Participants exchanged perspectives on how deeper partnerships can enhance customer outcomes and unlock new opportunities for the next phase of growth.

Chengdu’s history provided a fitting backdrop for the Summit. More than a thousand years ago, the city pioneered “jiaozi”, widely regarded as the world’s first paper money. Its success depended on trust in the promise behind it, a principle that remains equally important in successful partnerships today.

Dennis Tan, Regional CEO, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar; Group Partnership Distribution, Prudential plc, said: “Keeping promises sits at the heart of every partnership for Prudential. Founded on trust and strengthened through collaboration, these relationships help us meet customers’ increasingly interconnected health, protection and wealth needs.

“The Summit demonstrated the strength of Prudential’s partnership ecosystem and the opportunities ahead. By bringing together distribution expertise, digital capabilities and market insights, we are working to create better customer experiences and drive long-term, sustainable growth with our partners.”

The programme also featured guest speaker Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer and referee of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final. Drawing on his experience at the highest level of international football, he shared perspectives on leadership, accountability and sound decision-making in complex and rapidly changing environments.

Partnership distribution at Prudential

Prudential harnesses the strength of its partnership ecosystem to translate shared priorities into action, helping more customers achieve greater financial security and confidence for the future.

Partnership distribution has long been central to Prudential’s growth strategy. Since establishing its first strategic bancassurance partnership in 1998, Prudential has built one of Asia’s largest bancassurance franchises, comprising more than 180 banking partnerships across markets. In the first half of 2026, the bancassurance channel delivered US$586 million in new business profit, up 13 per cent on a constant exchange rate basis from US$505 million in the same period last year.

Hashtag: #Prudentialplc

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Prudential plc

Prudential provides life and health insurance and asset management in Greater China, ASEAN, India and Africa. Prudential’s mission is to be the most trusted partner and protector for this generation and generations to come, by providing simple and accessible financial and health solutions. The business has dual primary listings on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX: 2378) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: PRU). It also has a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX: K6S) and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: PUK) in the form of American Depositary Receipts. It is a constituent of the Hang Seng Composite Index and is also included for trading in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme.

Prudential is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc. a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America, nor with The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

www.prudentialplc.com

300+ AI Applications Delivering Surges in Core Metrics and Annual Cost Reduction of Over CNY100 Million (Approx. US$15 Million)

NANJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 October 2026 – Nanjing Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (NISCO) has worked with Huawei and ecosystem partners to commercially deploy the world’s first steel model powered by swarm intelligence—the YuanYe Steel Large Model (YuanYe)—across multiple scenarios at scale. This helps NISCO transition its core operations from relying on experience to being powered by data and intelligence collaboration.

As a traditional manufacturer navigating the challenges of transformation and cost efficiency, NISCO has built a robust digital and intelligent foundation by adopting industry-leading products including Ascend, Kunpeng, Huawei Cloud Stack, and Pangu models. By embedding AI into every core stage of production—ironmaking, steelmaking, rolling, and quality inspection—NISCO is forging green and high-end AI-powered super steel plants.

Unlike general-purpose monolithic models, YuanYe innovatively fuses multiple AI models with the steel industry’s metallurgical mechanism models to create a dual-drive, multi-model cluster architecture. This architecture features a “right brain” for probabilistic computing and a “left brain” for precise and scientific decision-making. Powered by massive amounts of sensing data aggregated from millions of operational technology (OT) data points across 26 business domains, NISCO has achieved real-time digital twin mapping within its intelligent operations center, laying solid data and scenario foundations for YuanYe. This enables the entire steelmaking process to become not only visible, but also capable of precise control and intelligent assessment. Now 100% of NISCO’s key equipment is connected and digitally controlled and its new product R&D cycles have been shortened by 50%, reducing annual costs by over CNY100 million (approx. US$15 million).

As the model continues to iterate, NISCO had launched 25 business agents by October 2026. These agents cover a wide range of scenarios, from visual quality inspection and process optimization to production scheduling and operations management, setting a new benchmark for digital and intelligent steel transformation.

Breakthroughs in four core scenarios: YuanYe redefines traditional operations for significant safety, efficiency, and quality gains

• In the ironmaking stage, AI makes traditionally invisible blast furnaces transparent. YuanYe leverages blast furnaces’ internal sensor data and metallurgical mechanism analysis to perform real-time dynamic simulations of the ironmaking process. Assisted by furnace temperature prediction and health diagnosis models, furnace operators can predict temperatures and identify issues two hours in advance, with over 90% accuracy. This shifts furnace operations from reactive post-event remediation to proactive pre-control, increasing prime-grade molten iron yield by over 10% while significantly cutting unit energy consumption.
• In the rolling stage, AI drives precise predictions and codifies expert experience to enhance the operational stability of steel rolling and secure leadership in product quality. To tackle the highly dynamic and complex operating conditions during the rolling process, YuanYe’s rolling-force prediction model achieves millisecond-level response, narrowing the thickness tolerance to ±0.2 mm and reducing the steel thickness deviation to 1.9% to reach a world-leading standard. The rolling-force hit rate has jumped from 88% to 98%, supporting a steady annual output of over 2.5 million tons of steel plates and increasing the overall yield rate by 0.5%. Enhanced dimensional precision and physical-chemical stability allow NISCO’s products to meet demanding steel specifications across diverse applications, ranging from mega stadiums and oil pipelines to 10,000-ton cruise ships and LNG storage tanks.

• In quality inspection, the synergy between robots and AI models serves as a discerning “eagle eye”, doubling metallographic inspection efficiency. During metallographic inspection for finished steel, the integrated smart metallographic inspection system built on YuanYe has achieved full-process automation, covering sample grinding and polishing, image acquisition, and smart grading. Inspection accuracy has risen to over 95%, while per-sample inspection time has been shortened from 10 minutes down to 3–5 minutes. This 80% increase in overall inspection efficiency frees human operators to focus on anomaly analysis and high-level decision-making.
• In the energy and environmental control stage, NISCO leverages the YuanYe architecture to develop the S-Link Intelligent Agent for Gas and Flue Gas Sulfur Control. Integrating 602 process parameters alongside multi-modal image and knowledge capabilities, the agent achieves a smart closed loop across source prediction, process optimization, and end-of-pipe compliance. By combining mechanism inversion with time-series forecasting, it issues precise sulfur-risk warnings one hour in advance, achieving a sulfur prediction accuracy of over 95%. Operational optimization algorithms then calculate the optimal gas blending scheme within seconds. Finally, game-theoretic models dynamically allocate emission quotas, slashing natural gas co-firing consumption by nearly 50%. This has reduced downtime caused by emission exceedance by over 25%, and delivered more than CNY600,000 (approx. US$90,000) in annual economic benefits—securing both environmental compliance and drastic cost reduction.

From automating labor to empowering people: Defining a new paradigm of inclusive AI

Li Jinyan, General Manager of the Digital and Intelligent Integrated Development Department and Director of the AI Research Institute at NISCO, said: “Digital and intelligent transformation is inherently human-centric. Its purpose is not to replace people, but to unleash human potential. Our goal is to lift employees out of the endless sea of data, empowering them to direct their creative energy toward work of higher value.” To date, NISCO has deployed over 300 AI models across its plants, alongside more than 1,000 low-code agents and lightweight applications built independently by frontline employees.

As Cheng Yongfu, Senior Industrial Solution Expert at Huawei’s Steel & Non-ferrous BU, noted: “The real value of industrial AI can only be realized when it expands from single-point applications to comprehensive integration with production, operations, and management, which can unlock sustained, scalable empowerment.”

Looking ahead, as model deployment expands and computing demands continue to grow, NISCO will team up with Huawei and other partners to explore the construction of dedicated data centers for smart steel plants. Centered on the AI-native three-tier architecture (AI-native OS, AI-native factory, and AI-native enterprise) and powered by the YuanYe model, NISCO is accelerating high-quality steel development, aiming to provide a replicable and scalable benchmark for the digital and intelligent transformation of the global steel and manufacturing industries.

Hashtag: #Huawei #NISCO

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

By Nantoo Banerjee The long-drawn Ukraine-Russia war seems to be turning out to become the world’s largest and most expensive proxy war in the modern era, in which the European Union and the United Kingdom have so far spent nearly $300 billion on Ukraine to tame Russia. The Syrian civil war since 2011 may be […]

The article The UK, EU Spent Billions On Ukraine To Proxy-Fight Russia appeared first on Latest India news, analysis and reports on Newspack by India Press Agency).

Overnight AI challenge saw 60 participants tackle a series of challenges using OpenAI Codex, with Kay Hng Quek taking the top prize

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 October 2026 – Coupang, a Seattle-based technology company that serves customers in 190 countries and territories, co-hosted an overnight AI hackathon, AI Grand Prix Singapore 2026 (“AI Grand Prix“) with OpenAI. It was presented by Elev8, with Carousell Group as venue partner.

Held from 24 to 25 October 2026 at Carousell Campus, the overnight AI Grand Prix brought together 60 participants, selected from a pool of 150 applicants, to tackle a series of challenges that tested their technical skills, creativity and ability to solve problems under pressure. All participants competed in individual challenges and formed 14 teams for the group challenge. Engagement remained strong through the night, with participants continuing to work on their solutions into the early hours.

From Challenge to Working Solution

Unlike a traditional hackathon centred on a single problem statement, the AI Grand Prix was a multi-challenge competition, requiring them to adapt their approach as the competition progressed. Using OpenAI Codex, participants were tasked with three distinct challenges: Game Hack, which focused on developing creative AI-powered games; Spot the Mismatch, a technical challenge to identify discrepancies in AI-generated product descriptions, images and prices; and Group Hack, in which 14 teams developed AI-powered shopping experiences and solutions. Performance across the challenges was assessed collectively to determine the overall rankings.

Taking the top spot was Kay Hng Quek, who demonstrated strong, consistent problem-solving skills across different technical challenges. He received the Champion’s Builder Kit, a special first-place award comprising a Mac mini, DJI Mic 3 and Elgato Stream Deck Plus, designed to support continued experimentation and creation as an AI builder.

A total of US$13,000 in OpenAI API credits was shared among the winners and OpenAI subscription benefits were also provided to all participants, alongside unlimited Codex usage resets during the event to encourage experimentation with different ideas and approaches. The top 10 participants are scheduled to attend an exclusive networking dinner on 26 October with leadership and technical representatives from Coupang and OpenAI, offering an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences in building with AI.

“AI Grand Prix was an incredible opportunity to push myself beyond my comfort zone and explore what’s possible with AI. The variety of challenges encouraged us to think creatively, adapt quickly and approach problems from different perspectives. What made the experience even more rewarding was being surrounded by talented, passionate builders who shared ideas and inspired one another. I’m grateful to have been part of such an exciting community, and especially for Jerel, my cofounder, who brings out the best in me,” said Kay Hng Quek, overall champion of AI Grand Prix Singapore 2026.

“Technology and innovation are at the heart of how we create better experiences for our customers, and we see tremendous potential for AI to further transform the future of commerce. Singapore is home to an exciting community of engineers and researchers, and we are thrilled to co-host this event with OpenAI to provide a platform for them to come together, experiment and innovate with AI,” said Xin Fu, VP of Engineering at Coupang.

Derrick Choi, Head of Applied AI, Codex (APAC) at OpenAI, said, “AI is changing how software is built, giving developers new ways to accelerate the journey from concept to product. The AI Grand Prix highlighted the breadth of Singapore’s developer community. It was a great opportunity to give builders a chance to try different approaches with Codex and explore how they could use it to tackle real-world problems.”

The AI Grand Prix marks Coupang’s first event with OpenAI and underscores its continued investment in building the future of commerce with AI, while leveraging Singapore’s position at the heart of Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem.

Hashtag: #Coupang

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Coupang

Coupang is a technology and Fortune 150 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CPNG) that provides retail, restaurant delivery, video streaming and fintech services to customers around the world under brands that include Coupang, Eats, Play, Rocket Now and Farfetch. It operates in over 190 countries and territories around the world.

For more information, visit aboutcoupang.com.