Competition

• Bangkok, Thailand, will host the inaugural Grand Final of Eurovision Asia on Saturday, November 14, 2026. • The event marks the first-ever edition of the world's longest-running music contest in Asia, featuring 10 confirmed participating nations, including South Korea, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Vietnam. • This expansion represents a significant milestone in bringing the global Eurovision brand to the Asian market, fostering international musical collaboration.

• SoftBank announced a deepened push into AI through a new venture involving OpenAI, targeting enterprise applications in the US market. • The move comes as rival venture capital firms increase funding for AI startups, intensifying competition for talent and tech. • This investment bolsters SoftBank's position in the booming US AI sector, potentially accelerating model deployments.

• China is aggressively scaling its AI-driven cyber defense market as US developers Anthropic and OpenAI unveil new models with enhanced cybersecurity capabilities, intensifying competition in AI security innovation. • IDC projects China's AI cybersecurity industry will reach 59.35 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) by 2030, representing a more than 37-fold increase from 1.58 billion yuan ($230 million) in 2025. • Anthropic's Mythos model, launched in April, sparked rapid global response due to its unprecedented speed and efficiency in discovering and exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities, prompting competitive responses from Chinese developers.

Critics warned of ‘higher ticket prices, more fees, and fewer options’ for passengers if two travel giants try to combineThe CEO of United Airlines is said to have pitched a blockbuster merger with American Airlines during a meeting with Donald Trump, floating the combination of the world’s two largest carriers.Scott Kirby, who leads United, raised the prospect during an encounter with the US president in late February, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. Such a deal would overhaul the global air travel industry – and likely face intense competition scrutiny. Continue reading...

• Usain Bolt, 39, competed in the 4x100-meter relay at the New York Grand Prix on Friday, marking his official return to competitive sprinting after a five-year retirement. • Bolt's relay team finished second with a time of 39.12 seconds, demonstrating unexpected competitiveness for the legendary sprinter. • The return came as part of a exhibition series celebrating the careers of track and field's all-time greats.

Experts say Nigel Farage’s party is not being transparent about how it will use data it collects on people’s voting habitsReform UK risks breaching data protection laws with its competition to win free energy bills for a year, lawyers and data experts have warned.Nigel Farage announced the lottery on Tuesday as a way to advertise his latest policy to cut energy bills. The Reform leader encouraged British people to sign up via a website, nigelcutmybills.com, for a chance to have their energy bills paid for a year, as well as those of their entire street. Continue reading...