1+ week, 3+ day ago (427+ words) (Corrects name to Micronesia, not Melanesian, in paragraph 5) SYDNEY (Reuters) -Five Chinese research vessels, including ships used for space and missile tracking and underwater mapping, were active in the northwest Pacific last month, as the United States stepped up military exercises, data from a Guam-based group shows. Rapid militarisation in the northern Pacific gets insufficient attention, says the Pacific Center for Island Security, adding that it makes island populations a potential target in any great-power conflict. "If you look at the number of U.S. and bilateral and multilateral exercises, there is a lot of activity," Leland Bettis, the director of the group that seeks to flag regional security risks, said in an interview. "Is the fact that the Chinese are sending research vessels into this area to map what is effectively undersea battle space surprising? Probably not." The centre's Micronesia Security…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (90+ words) (Reuters) -South African mobile telecoms operator Vodacom Group said on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Elon Musk's Starlink to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband internet for businesses across Africa. (Reporting by Pushkala Aripa... South Africa's Vodacom inks internet deal with Starlink (Reuters) -South African mobile telecoms operator Vodacom Group said on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Elon Musk's Starlink to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband internet for businesses across Africa. (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (276+ words) SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Adobe and Qualcomm said on Wednesday they are partnering with Humain, the artificial intelligence firm backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, to help the AI company develop tools for generating content in Arabic and for the broader Middle East. The deal is one of several expected on Wednesday at a U.S.-Saudi investment forum being held as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington. Bin Salman on Tuesday met with U.S. President Donald Trump, who hosted a dinner with the crown prince and U.S. government and business leaders. Adobe said it will integrate Allam, a large language model trained in Arabic, into its suite of apps used to create marketing campaigns, films and television shows. Humain will in turn use what the San Jose, California, company calls Adobe Foundry to "create tailored, generative AI models unique to…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (261+ words) MADISON, WI - Enter today to compete for the dairy processing industry's most prestigious title - World Champion Cheese! Beginning November 4, cheese,... MADISON, WI " Enter today to compete for the dairy processing industry's most prestigious title " World Champion Cheese! Beginning November 4, cheese, butter, cultured products, and dry dairy ingredients can be entered in the 2026 World Championship Cheese Contest at WorldChampionCheese.org. Hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) since 1957, this 36th biennial competition is the largest technical dairy products evaluation in the world. In 2024, judges evaluated 3,302 entries, with Hornbacher, made by Michael Spycher of Mountain Dairy Fritzenhaus in Bern, Switzerland for Gourmino AG, earning an incredible 98.98 points out of 100 to win the top spot. "The World Championship Cheese Contest stands out for its technical rigor, transparent scoring and results, and reputation for excellence. It's a unique opportunity for dairy manufacturers and processors…...

6+ day, 9+ hour ago (168+ words) BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -The newly formed Argentine-owned Waiken, parent company of Sky Brazil and DirecTV Latin America, said on Monday it will invest $450 million by 2031 to boost its entertainment and telecommunications business in the region. Waiken, which last year signed an agreement with Amazon through its subsidiary Vrio Corp to offer satellite internet in South America, said it will also expand its fiber-optic telecommunications business in Brazil with the acquisition of the company Proxxima. "In 2025 and 2026 we are investing heavily in connectivity, and we are focusing on Brazil at the moment," Dar'o Werthein, president of Waiken, told Reuters in an interview. The holding company, controlled by the Werthein Group, aims to boost its presence in the region by developing its sports content, pay television, and satellite and fiber-optic telecommunications businesses. The group intends to expand into the United States and…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago (232+ words) The Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes revealed their team names, logos and colors on Thursday. The 2025-26 Professional Women's Hockey League expansion franchises were previously known as PWHL Seattle and PWHL Vancouver. "The Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes are bold, distinctive, and true to who we are as a league," said Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations. "Each team identity is deeply connected to its home " Seattle draws inspiration from the waterways that shape its landscape, and Vancouver from its abundance of unique wildlife." The Pacific Northwest's natural rivals will face off for the first time on Nov. 21 in the opening game of the now eight-team league's third season at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. For Seattle, the name Torrent "draws inspiration from the powerful waterways that shape and connect Washington's unique landscape, symbolizing the team's determination to…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (363+ words) By Amy-Jo Crowley and Andres Gonzalez LONDON (Reuters) -Dutch technology investment group Prosus has expressed early-stage interest in potentially bidding for Mobile.de as the owners prepare to sell shares in the German online auto marketplace group, according to three people familiar with the matter. While shareholders Permira and Blackstone are leaning towards an initial public offering of Mobile.de, Germany's largest auto marketplace is drawing interest from companies including Prosus, which could consider a bid through its classified unit OLX, the people said. The private equity funds hired JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs earlier this year to prepare Mobile.de for an IPO that could be valued as much as 10 billion euros ($11.66 billion)in a stock market debut set for next year, the people said. No sale process has started and Prosus, which also owns European food delivery group Just…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (128+ words) PARIS (Reuters) -French consumer watchdog found that beside Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein five other online platforms used to sell illicit products in the country, French Commerce Minister Serge Papin told newspaper Le Parisien, in an interview r... PARIS (Reuters) -French consumer watchdog found that beside Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein five other online platforms used to sell illicit products in the country, French Commerce Minister Serge Papin told newspaper Le Parisien, in an interview released on Friday. The platforms were Wish, Temu, AliExpress, eBay and Joom, the newspaper said. Earlier this month, the French consumer watchdog sparked an outrage against Shein when it said had spotted child-like sex dolls and other illicit products on the Chinese giant's marketplace. (Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Alessandro Parodi)...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (216+ words) JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Discovery Bank is set to become the first lender in South Africa to integrate crypto into its mobile platform, allowing customers to trade cryptocurrencies directly in its banking app from December. The feature is being launched in partnership with London-based crypto exchange firm Luno and will allow clients to link their existing accounts to the Discovery digital banking app and buy, hold and sell crypto assets like bitcoin and ethereum. "The financial world is evolving fast, and crypto assets have matured to become an accessible, mainstream asset class," Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner said in a statement. ONE-IN-TEN HOLDING CRYPTO ASSETS "Our clients " and South Africans more generally " are already engaged in this market, with 1 in 10 people holding crypto assets, and our regulation leading in the region and aligning with global norms." The digital bank, launched in 2021, delivered…...

1+ day, 16+ hour ago (313+ words) The United States Soccer Federation and the soccer federations of Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica submitted their formal bid book to FIFA to co-host the 2031 Women's World Cup by Friday's deadline. The four-way bid is the only proposal for the 2031 tournament, meaning it's essentially a formality that those four nations will be awarded the event. There is only one submission for the 2035 Women's World Cup as well " a joint bid by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Fourteen of the 20 proposed venues in the U.S.-Mexico-Costa Rica-Jamaica bid are American cities. Eleven of them are NFL stadiums, along with Nashville SC's MLS-specific venue, Orlando's multi-purpose stadium and a relatively new stadium in San Diego that houses San Diego FC, the NWSL's Wave and San Diego State football. "Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium) "Charlotte, N.C. (Bank of America Stadium) "Denver (Empower Field at Mile High)…...