Vancouver – October 13, 2026 -- The U.S. Department of War has committed $450 million to The Elmet Group, the largest federal tungsten investment so far, as defense procurement rules barring tungsten from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea take effect on January 1, 2027.

Washington pairs equity investment with a $2 billion stockpile contract

The September 14 package includes a Defense Logistics Agency contract with a ceiling of $2 billion for tungsten supply to the National Defense Stockpile. The contract carries a guaranteed funded commitment of $150 million. The investment is funded through an initial $200 million drawdown at closing, in exchange for redeemable preferred equity and warrants for up to 19.9% of Elmet's common stock.

About $150 million is allocated to restarting and expanding ammonium paratungstate conversion at the Springer Tungsten Complex in Imlay, Nevada, through a majority-owned joint venture.

New York – October 13, 2026 -- Empiric Earth has named Jen Vescio, a board member since April and former Chief Business Development Officer at Uber, as President, effective immediately. She reports to Chief Executive Officer Zach Greenberger.

Vescio takes charge of buy, build and partner functions across four units

Vescio leads Product, Corporate Development/IR, Business Development/Sales and Marketing. She also oversees the post-M&A integration of the two merged companies. Her remit covers corporate strategy and commercialization of the business.

The appointment follows the September merger of Nexar and Nauto, which has since been rebranded Empiric Earth. The company says it was formed in 2026 through that combination.

Singapore – October 13, 2026 -- PHAL has launched PHAL OS, which it describes as the world's first Total Hotel agentic AI solution, and has confirmed a third mandate from a Top 10 global hotel group that selected the Singapore firm for an initial proof of concept.

PHAL secures third client mandate within six months

The new client, a Top 10 global hotel group, remains confidential, as with PHAL's earlier engagements. PHAL's inaugural client, also a Top 10 global hotel group, has proved three projects and is scaling to further bespoke builds, with the first solutions ready for production.

A globally recognised luxury operator has signed a Letter of Intent and is progressing to its next steps. CEO and Founder Saurabh Prakash said that three of the world's most significant hotel groups have trusted PHAL within six months.

Washington – October 13, 2026 -- Two state-specific versions of Teaching Strategies' flagship curriculum, The Creative Curriculum for Preschool and The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K, have received a "Tier 1" designation, the highest rating available from the Louisiana Department of Education.

Both versions are approved and available for use in Louisiana early childhood classrooms. The designation recognizes strong alignment with Louisiana's Birth to Five Early Learning and Development Standards. Teaching Strategies says The Creative Curriculum is the only curriculum designed to work with its GOLD assessment.

Hickory, N.C. – October 13, 2026 -- Transportation Insight (TI) has launched TI Infinity, an AI-powered Decision Intelligence platform built on a logistics book that covers $14.4 billion in managed client spend and 2.8 billion audited shipments a year.

TI Infinity replaces historical reporting with continuous analysis of live transportation data

The platform combines continuous monitoring, predictive analytics, anomaly detection, scenario modeling and conversational intelligence. It analyzes market, spend and performance data to identify trends, emerging risks and opportunities without requiring users to know what to look for. Shippers can query their data in plain language, investigate what is driving a change, evaluate potential outcomes and determine the next best action.

London – October 13, 2026 -- Allegra RMS, the airport resource management system built by AirportLabs, has been named an honoree in the user experience category of Fast Company's 2026 Innovation by Design Awards, the product's second recognition this year.

Allegra RMS shares the UX category with Adobe, Google and Framer

Fast Company describes the user experience category as honoring projects that consider a user's journey from beginning to end, whether in an app, a physical product or a brick-and-mortar experience. This year's honorees in the category include Adobe, Google and Framer. The awards span transportation, workplace, health, packaging and artificial intelligence.

AirportLabs deploys Allegra RMS at Chicago O'Hare and more than 20 airports

The system is live at Chicago O'Hare, which AirportLabs calls one of the most complex airport operations in the world, and at more than 20 airports worldwide.

Beijing – October 13, 2026 -- Yiren Digital Ltd. (NYSE: YRD) has appointed Na Mei, its former Chief Financial Officer, as Acting Chief Executive Officer, effective October 13, 2026, one day after the company announced a development concerning its chief executive.

Board installs Mei to maintain management continuity

The board of directors made the appointment to support continuity in management and operations. Mei will oversee day-to-day operations and work with the existing management team under board oversight.

The company has not stated in this announcement how long the acting arrangement will last. It has also not named a permanent successor.

Mei served as Yiren CFO for almost four years until August 2024

Mei held the CFO role from September 2020 to August 2024. Before joining Yiren Digital, she spent more than a decade at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Singapore – October 13, 2026 -- BIGO Ads, the advertising platform of JOYY Inc. (NASDAQ: JOYY), has made its SDK generally available through Google AdMob mediation as an in-app bidding partner, giving AdMob publishers access to its advertiser demand.

Five ad formats are supported at launch, with more planned

The integration covers app open, native, rewarded, banner and interstitial ads. BIGO Ads said further formats will follow.

Developers using AdMob Mediation can connect to the SDK through in-app bidding. BIGO Ads says this brings publishers demand from global premium advertisers, which raises bidding competition and eCPM without hurting user experience.

Advertisers gain access to casual, core gaming and non-gaming inventory

On the buy side, advertisers can scale user growth across traffic from casual and core gaming apps as well as non-gaming apps that integrate the SDK via AdMob Mediation.

Ashburn – October 13, 2026 -- CIS Secure has achieved AS9100:2016 Rev. D certification for its quality management system, giving the defense communications supplier the aerospace quality credential that prime contractors and government program offices increasingly require from suppliers.

American Global Standards certifies Ashburn operations after audit

American Global Standards, a U.S.-based independent registrar, awarded the designation following an audit of the company's Ashburn, Virginia, facilities. The certified scope covers design, manufacture and assembly of repackaged commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer and networking components. These products are used in both secure and non-secure communications environments.

Buenos Aires – October 13, 2026 -- Coalfire, a cybersecurity and compliance services provider, has opened Argentina Integrated Solutions (AIS) in Buenos Aires, adding delivery capacity to its global operating model.

AIS links Argentina-based staff to Coalfire teams and clients worldwide

The new location builds on Coalfire's existing international presence. AIS will connect Argentina-based professionals with Coalfire teams, clients and delivery capabilities around the world. Coalfire says this adds capacity for growth and strengthens local collaboration and continuity of service.

The company did not disclose headcount, investment size or a hiring timeline for the Buenos Aires site.