News

Plano, Texas – September 30, 2026 -- International Vacations, Inc., a Plano, Texas-based host and full-service travel agency, is preparing to launch a new group-travel initiative anchored by a partnership with an emerging travel technology platform, the company said.

Host agency model lowers entry barriers for new travel advisors

International Vacations, Inc. supplies independent travel agents with established industry credentials, consortium access, preferred supplier relationships, commission tracking and processing, basic CRM technology, and ongoing training, according to the company. Agents operate as independent contractors, building their own client bases and brands while drawing on the host agency's infrastructure.

"You don't have to know everything about the travel industry when you start. That's where having a host agency behind you can make a difference," said Shamali Przywara, President of International Vacations, Inc.

Holmdel, N.J. – September 30, 2026 -- Index Engines' CyberSense Research Lab found that 47.8% of 1,064 ransomware strains detonated in the first half of 2026 relied on directory-entry destruction, more than double the 18.3% that used full encryption, marking a shift away from techniques that trigger standard security scans.

Attackers now suppress the telltale signs security tools rely on

The lab documented new ransomware built to preserve file extensions and timestamps, maintain low entropy, and encrypt only selected sections of files slowly enough to avoid detection thresholds. One variant, Encoder, destroyed file content while leaving names, sizes, timestamps, and entropy readings unchanged, according to Jim McGann, CMO of Index Engines. A surface scan would report that data as clean, McGann said, while CyberSense identified the corruption by analyzing file content and structure directly.

Stamford, Conn. – September 30, 2026 -- Philip Morris International's U.S. businesses (PMI U.S.) donated $340,000 to four military relief societies, bringing its cumulative giving to these organizations to $1,220,000. The recipients are Air & Space Forces Aid Society, Army Emergency Relief, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Only 31 percent of military families say they are getting the support they need right now

PMI U.S. cited new data showing the gap in support as an increasing number of service members are actively engaged in conflicts around the globe, underscoring the case for the funding.

Vancouver, BC – September 30, 2026 -- Lake Victoria Gold Ltd. (TSXV: LVG) has launched its first land compensation programme at Tembo, covering 111.32 acres directly over the Ngula 1 deposit in Tanzania's Lake Victoria Goldfield, with completion targeted for early October 2026.

Maiden resource at Tembo delivers 480,100 inferred ounces next to Barrick's Bulyanhulu mine

The August 11 NI 43-101 estimate for Tembo reported Inferred resources of 13.33 million tonnes at 1.12 g/t gold for 480,100 ounces, plus Indicated resources of 2.69 million tonnes at 1.16 g/t for 99,700 ounces, based on a 0.25 g/t cut-off and a US$2,400/oz gold price. At a tighter 1.00 g/t cut-off, grade rises to 2.15 g/t for 331,700 Inferred ounces and 2.00 g/t for 68,600 Indicated ounces. Ngula 1 holds roughly 56% of Inferred and 63% of Indicated ounces and is the target of a planned 4,000-to-5,000-metre close-spaced drill program.

Austin – September 30, 2026 -- Ørsted has begun construction on Blackwater Solar, a 200 MW solar farm in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, marking the Danish energy developer's first project in the state.

Project will supply power equivalent to 56,000 homes under long-term contract

Located between Portales and Clovis, Blackwater Solar is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement designed to meet rising industrial electricity demand within the Southwest Power Pool territory. The facility will generate enough electricity annually to power the equivalent of more than 56,000 homes. Ørsted sourced the project's solar panels from domestic manufacturer First Solar. Commercial operations are expected to begin in late 2027.

Wilmington – September 30, 2026 -- DuPont has launched the Sugar Separation Advisor, a digital tool that helps sugar and sweetener manufacturers identify candidate DuPontTM AmberLiteTM chromatography resins for food and beverage ingredient production.

Tool draws on years of experimental laboratory data to speed resin selection

Built on decades of chromatography application expertise, the platform allows users to select a target sugar or sweetener for recovery or purification, add up to four additional sugars or impurities representing their feed stream, and generate a predicted chromatogram based on laboratory-generated separation data. The system then delivers a qualitative separation assessment and suggests AmberLiteTM resin candidates for further testing, rather than relying on a theoretical performance model.

Washington, D.C. – September 30, 2026 -- Volo Sports has acquired recreational sports operators Fray and CLUBWAKA Miami, adding Phoenix and Jacksonville as new markets and deepening its footprint in Washington, D.C. and Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood.

Fray brings nearly 40,000 annual player registrations across three cities

Founded in 2009 as United Social Sports, Fray operates leagues in Washington, D.C. (over 20,000 player registrations annually), Phoenix (over 9,000) and Jacksonville (over 9,000). The deal marks Volo's first entry into Phoenix and Jacksonville and expands its existing D.C. presence into Virginia across the DMV region. Jacksonville leagues run in Murray Hill, Southside, The Beaches, Arlington, Downtown, San Marco, Springfield and Town Center; Phoenix operations span Arcadia, Avondale, Downtown Phoenix, Mesa, North Scottsdale, Scottsdale and Tempe.

Arlington, Virginia – September 30, 2026 -- Nisos has launched Identity Integrity, a new module within its Ascend platform that cross-references an individual's identity signals against independent intelligence sources and delivers a risk report within minutes.

Module Targets Gaps Left by Document-Based Verification

Traditional identity checks confirm that a document is legitimate or that submitted information matches a database record, but they do not establish that the person presenting that information is who they claim to be. Identity Integrity cross-references data an organization already holds — such as a name, email address, phone number, resume or professional profile — against official public records, breach data, investigation databases and digital footprint information to surface inconsistencies or gaps.

Rockville, Md. – – September 30, 2026 -- Quantum Space, LLC has signed a mission-specific work order with All Points Logistics, LLC to handle spacecraft processing, propellant servicing and launch-site operations for its Prime mission at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, targeting a launch in the second half of 2027.

All Points will manage clean-room and ground support work ahead of Prime's launch campaign

Under the new agreement, All Points will provide clean-room facilities, propellant servicing support, launch-site safety and operational reviews, ground support activities, and transportation of the spacecraft to the launch vehicle integration facility. The scope builds on an existing Master Services Agreement between the two companies and establishes dedicated tasks for Prime's ground processing at Vandenberg.

Durham, N.C. – September 30, 2026 -- Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults said they would or might let an AI shopping assistant choose brands on their behalf if it consistently saved them 20% on purchases, according to a nationwide survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Talker Research on behalf of payments platform Spreedly.

The findings arrive as AI shopping agents, including Meta's newly launched Muse, expand from product discovery into checkout, intensifying scrutiny over how much purchasing authority consumers will cede to automated systems.

Younger consumers show the weakest brand loyalty against AI-driven savings

Thirty-four percent of Gen Z and 30% of Millennials said they would abandon brand loyalty if an AI assistant consistently found the best products at the lowest prices. Among parents with children under five, 60% said they would let AI select brands for a consistent 20% savings.