New Delhi/Washington, May 19 (BNP): In a significant boost to bilateral defence cooperation, the United States has approved a military support package worth over USD 428 million for India, covering sustainment support for AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and M777A2 ultra-light howitzers, according to the US Department of State.

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The approved package includes an estimated USD 198.2 million for support services and related equipment for Apache helicopters, aimed at ensuring operational readiness through engineering, logistics, technical support, training, and maintenance assistance. Major US defence firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin are expected to serve as the principal contractors for the Apache support programme.

In addition, the US has cleared a USD 230 million long-term sustainment support package for India’s M777A2 ultra-light howitzers, which are already in service with the Indian Armed Forces. The package includes spare parts, repair support, technical assistance, training, and logistics services, with BAE Systems designated as the principal contractor.

The approvals were issued under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and notified to the US Congress. The US Department of State said the proposed support arrangements are intended to strengthen India’s defence preparedness and contribute to regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Officials noted that the proposed support packages would not alter the military balance in the region and would further reinforce growing strategic and defence ties between India and the United States.

Abu Dhabi, UAE – 19 May 2026: AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS), a leading global enabler of integrated trade, industry and logistics solutions, has signed a partnership agreement with Borouge Plc (ADX: BOROUGE), a leading petrochemical company providing innovative and differentiated polyolefin solutions, to explore expanded collaboration opportunities aimed at enhancing export resilience and operational flexibility. 

The agreement paves the way for both parties to collaborate on the establishment of an alternative international export hub on the UAE’s East Coast, as an essential element of Borouge’s long-term export strategy. This initiative aims to strengthen export continuity while embedding resilience by design across Borouge’s logistics network.

The collaboration will leverage AD Ports Group’s strong marine connectivity and access to its comprehensive port services of Fujairah Terminals and Eastern ports facilities in the UAE, while assessing the development of dedicated polyolefins infrastructure on the East Coast.

Both parties will assess ways to reduce reliance on constrained maritime passages and enhance flexibility in vessel scheduling and routing through joint engagement with shipping lines to enable new routes via Fujairah Terminals. Together, these efforts aim to support stable and reliable export flows across a diversified portfolio of ports and logistics facilities.

Saif Al Mazrouei, Chief Executive Officer, Ports Cluster – AD Ports Group, said: “We look forward to collaborating with Borouge to explore opportunities that leverage AD Ports Group’s integrated port and logistics capabilities to support essential industrial exports and strengthen regional and global trade connectivity in line with the vision of our wise leadership.”

Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Borouge Plc, added: “This strategic partnership marks a significant step forward in Borouge Plc’s logistics capabilities, supporting our continued growth. Together with AD Ports Group, we are building a more flexible and diversified network that enhances reliability, ensures continuity of supply, and reinforces our position as a trusted global supplier, supporting the UAE’s industrial strategy.”

Borouge Plc is the largest exporter through AD Ports Group. This collaboration builds on a longstanding partnership between the two companies established in 2001, and reflects the shared ambition of AD Ports Group and Borouge Plc to strengthen supply chain resilience and reinforce the UAE’s position as a globally competitive logistics and industrial hub.

Renowned Saudi Arabian fashion label HINDAMME and Arts AlUla’s Madrasat Addeera, a platform dedicated to creativity and traditional arts inspired by heritage, today revealed a limited-edition, slow fashion collection inspired by AlUla’s more than 7,000 years of continuous human heritage and iconic natural landscapes.
Designed by one of Saudi’s leading fashion names, Mohammed Khoja, and co-created with more than 26 local artisans from Madrasat Addeera, this exclusive launch champions Saudi craftsmanship and heritage with a distinctly modern take.

The collection features a refined selection of stylish abayas and shirts made from diverse materials capturing the essence of AlUla as the crossroads of ancient civilisations. Motifs reflect rock carvings – or petroglyphs – from AlUla’s millennia-old heritage sites, such as the open-air library of Jabal Ikmah known for its Dadanitic and Lihyanite inscriptions dating to the first millennium BCE. Intertwined with the petroglyphs are illustrations of indigenous flora and fauna, from the moringa plant to the Arabian oryx, translating AlUla’s natural and human heritage into contemporary wearable art.

Madrasat Addeera, located in the AlJadidah Arts District, was once home to the region’s first girls’ school. Today, its building has transformed into the first arts and design centre in AlUla where craft skills and practices are passed down and reimagined through immersive, hands-on training. A community-driven initiative, it provides vocational training in traditional arts to support AlUla and the region’s creative economy as well as a year-round public programme where visitors of all ages can attend traditional arts workshops.

The partnership underscores Madrasat Addeera’s role as a hub for heritage-driven creativity and artisan empowerment shaping AlUla’s cultural and creative landscape. Khoja worked directly with the school’s artisans to develop eight unique designs that authentically capture local identity and creative traditions, including block printing, hand embroidery, silk-screen printing and metalwork. Each piece took between one and two months to complete, demonstrating slow fashion principles and the meticulous labour of handmade products.

“AlUla has been a source of inspiration and creativity. This legacy, reflected across its heritage sites and natural landscapes, is brought to life through this collection by HINDAMME in collaboration with Madrasat Addeera’s skilled artisans,” said Hamad AlHomiedan, Director of Arts and Creative Industries, RCU.

“This collaboration embodies our commitment to transforming local heritage and craftsmanship into a vibrant creative economy that benefits AlUla and its people. Supporting local craftsmanship and handmade products, particularly as the world becomes more digitised and globalised, is key to preserving Saudi identity for generations to come. This collection celebrates this tangible heritage and how AlUla’s remarkable history continues to influence creative expression in the Kingdom and beyond.”

The HINDAMME and Madrasat Addeera collection builds upon a legacy of collaboration between Mohammed Khoja and AlUla. In 2019, the designer developed a bespoke collection inspired by the destination’s history as a crossroads of ancient civilisations, which was exhibited at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia.

“AlUla has always been a profound source of inspiration for me,” commented designer Mohammed Khoja. “It is a place where history feels alive, layered and deeply present. This collection is about proving that heritage is not something we preserve behind glass, but something we evolve, wear and carry forward. The artisans were central to this collaboration. Their knowledge, intuition and approach to craft added depth and authenticity, and learning about Madrasat Addeera building as the first girls’ school in the region added an emotional depth. The memory held within that space, and its transformation into a place of creation, is a powerful narrative within the collection.” 

“It has been such an honour to be a part of this project,” said Mona Al Joud – Textiles Artisan at Madrasat Addeera. “There was so much to learn from someone as established as Mohammed Khoja, and it was exciting to share our knowledge and skills in exchange. This collection is a letter from the people of AlUla to Saudi and the world. A lot of love, precision and intention go into each stitch and cut. I hope that people can appreciate that every piece carries our story.”

May 19 : The Zero Prize, India’s national challenge for measurable pollution reduction, has opened applications for startups, innovators, companies, research institutions, and implementation agencies developing scalable solutions across air, water, and land pollution.

Conceptualised by the School of Policy and Governance and chaired by Mr. Saket Burman, Vice Chairman of Dabur India, the ₹5 crore initiative aims to identify and support implementation-ready innovations capable of delivering independently verifiable environmental impact under real-world conditions.

Applications submitted on or before 31 May 2026 will receive structured expert feedback to strengthen impact measurement methodologies, scalability pathways, and verification frameworks before the final evaluation. The final submission deadline is 31 August 2026.

The challenge is open to applicants operating with advanced solutions, including deployed technologies, operational models, pilot-stage interventions, and scalable implementation frameworks.

The Zero Prize will evaluate applications across three core categories:

• Air Pollution: Solutions enabling measurable reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 emissions

• Water Pollution: Innovations improving wastewater treatment, reuse, improving oxygenation, biodiversity and reduction in total solid levels

• Land & Waste Management: Interventions supporting landfill diversion, recycling, waste recovery, and circular economy systems 

In addition, the initiative will feature special recognition categories, including the Youth Innovation Award, Civic Innovation Award, and Popular Vote Award, with each category carrying a prize of up to ₹10 lakh.

Applications will be assessed based on measurable environmental outcomes, scalability potential, and independently verifiable performance. The prize will also play the role of accelerator, helping the most promising ideas scale through partnerships with corporates, introductions to funders and customers.

“India does not lack innovation. What we urgently need are credible systems that can identify, validate, and scale solutions already demonstrating measurable environmental impact on the ground,” said Saket Burman, Vice Chairman of Dabur India Ltd and Chairperson of Zero Prize

“The Zero Prize has been designed to shift the conversation from environmental intent to verified outcomes. By introducing an early feedback process, we aim to strengthen the quality of applications while helping innovators build robust impact measurement systems capable of supporting larger-scale adoption.”

The challenge is expected to attract more than 500 applications from across India, spanning climate-tech startups, waste management companies, research institutions, urban innovators, civic organisations, and implementation agencies. It aims to build a national pipeline of scalable environmental interventions capable of supporting India’s broader sustainability, climate, and urban infrastructure priorities.

Applications will undergo technical assessment and independent evaluation supported by a Technical Braintrust and Board of Advisors comprising experts from the environmental, scientific, industrial, and policy ecosystems.

The initiative is also expected to strengthen collaboration between innovators, researchers, industry, investors, urban bodies, and implementation agencies while accelerating the adoption of data-backed environmental interventions across sectors.

The Zero Prize was formally launched earlier this year at the India Habitat Centre during Delhi Climate Innovation Week, alongside Dia Mirza, with participation from policymakers, climate experts, industry leaders, startups, and ecosystem stakeholders.

SINGAPORE – May 19, 2026 – Planetcast, a global leader in media services and technology, today announced its expanding media delivery and distribution footprint ahead of BroadcastAsia 2026.

Anchored by the region’s largest commercial teleport and a hybrid delivery ecosystem spanning broadcast, IP, OTT and cloud-based workflows, Planetcast is helping media companies manage rising distribution complexity while improving flexibility, reliability and speed to market.

Backed by WTA Tier 4 certification and a Global Top 10 teleport ranking, Planetcast combines large-scale infrastructure with broadcast-grade reliability to support increasingly complex live and linear streaming operations. Today, Planetcast powers more than 450 channels worldwide, reaches 1.3 billion viewers and supports more than 50 leading media brands.

With facilities in Noida and Singapore, Planetcast’s infrastructure supports flexible delivery across the GSAT, Intelsat and AsiaSat networks, while enabling hybrid satellite, IP and OTT workflows designed for modern multi-platform distribution.

At BroadcastAsia 2026, Planetcast will demonstrate how its integrated technology ecosystem enables broadcasters and content owners to manage the content supply chain through a more unified operational model. Demonstrations at Booth 5C1-1 will feature Cloud.X for cloud playout, ReCaster for IP transport, MediaHQ for orchestration, Contido for media asset management and BATS for teleport operations.

ReCaster, Planetcast’s IP-based signal transport platform, now supports hybrid deployment models with SRT, RIST and UDP protocols, enabling broadcasters to deliver high-quality live content with approximately 2,500ms latency across distributed environments. The platform supports both SPTS and MPTS workflows, as well as mixed-mode operations for large-scale, multi-destination distribution. Today, ReCaster is deployed by more than 50 customers across Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

Planetcast will also highlight real-world deployments that demonstrate the growing convergence of broadcast and streaming infrastructure.

beIN SPORTS Asia Pacific is using Cloud.X and ReCaster to support dynamic live sports workflows across APAC, including:

• 40+ simultaneous live sports events during peak periods
• 18 linear and 24 OTT channels across 12 APAC markets
• 99.99% uptime across playout and delivery

Planetcast also supports global live streaming and 24/7 channel operations for Willow by Cricbuzz, managing live ingest, multi-format distribution, ad insertion and compliance across international markets.

“Broadcasters across APAC must deliver more content to more endpoints without adding complexity,” said Mark Johns, Head of International Sales & Marketing at Planetcast. “At BroadcastAsia, we’re showing how hybrid infrastructure — spanning teleport, cloud, IP and OTT — helps customers scale faster, simplify operations and support both traditional broadcast and streaming.”

Together, these deployments reflect how broadcasters and streaming platforms are increasingly adopting hybrid infrastructure models that unify satellite, IP and OTT delivery into more scalable and efficient operational frameworks.

At BroadcastAsia 2026, Planetcast will showcase workflow demonstrations covering live ingest, cloud playout, IP transport, OTT packaging, ad insertion, compliance and multi-market distribution, highlighting how broadcasters and content owners can launch channels faster, simplify operations and deliver content more efficiently across satellite, IP and streaming environments.

To learn more or schedule a meeting, visit www.planetc.net or stop by Booth 5C1-1.