AMSTERDAM – October 28, 2026 -- The Philips Lumea 9900 Pro, which Philips describes as the first at-home IPL device with audio feedback and motion guidance that talks to you, is now on sale at a recommended retail price of EUR 799.99. The launch arrives alongside three beauty technology trends outlined by a dermatologist, a foresight analyst and a wellness founder.

Shoppers expect guidance, not just information

Mintel research cited by Philips shows that 62% of U.S. beauty and personal care buyers are interested in hyper-personalized products. Alice Crossley, Principal Strategic Foresight Analyst at The Future Laboratory, says consumers now expect beauty technology to respond in real time and explain why it recommends a given step. Brands that turn complex science into practical, personal advice will shape the next wave of innovation, she says.

SINGAPORE – October 28, 2026 -- Trip.com has added a feature called My Travel Impact to its app. It pulls a traveller's more sustainable hotel, flight and rail choices into a single dashboard. The launch follows Trip.com Group's 2026 Sustainable Travel Consumer Report, which found that 56.8% of travellers now intentionally choose more sustainable options and 75.4% say sustainability matters when they make travel decisions.

My Travel Impact covers hotels, flights and rail

The dashboard draws on three parts of a journey:

Washington – October 28, 2026 -- Midland, Michigan, is the No. 1 place to retire in the United States for the second year running, according to the 2027 Best Places to Retire list from U.S. News & World Report. Affordability was the deciding theme of this year's ranking.

Midland scores high on affordability and retiree taxes

Midland kept its top spot thanks to strong marks for affordability and retiree taxes. Homosassa Springs, Florida, placed No. 2 on affordability, growth in its 55+ population and retiree taxes. Weirton, West Virginia, took No. 3 with high scores for quality of life, retiree taxes and affordability.

New scoring weights push Paducah into the top 10

U.S. News adjusted its scoring weights to reflect growing concern about affordability in America. The change produced several double-digit jumps within the top 25. Paducah, Kentucky, climbed to No. 8 and entered the top 10 for the first time.

SINGAPORE – October 28, 2026 -- Turbo VPN has added 42 server locations and 35 streaming connections to its Windows and Mac desktop apps, and it is running a limited-time Halloween deal of 75% off subscriptions plus three extra months of service. Both desktop apps now cover 105 countries. The service is operated by INNOVATIVE CONNECTING PTE. LIMITED.

Windows coverage grows from 98 to 105 countries

On Windows, server locations rise from 133 to 159. The 26 new locations include Brussels, Graz, Tirana, Boston, Denver, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.

Mac gains 16 locations, including Cairo, Mumbai and Tashkent

Mac coverage moves from 100 to 105 countries, and server locations climb from 148 to 164. Several U.S. cities are also among the new additions.

Boston – October 28, 2026 -- People living with Friedreich's ataxia (FA) have a new gene therapy candidate heading toward human testing: Solid Biosciences says the FDA has cleared its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for SGT-212, with a Phase 1b trial planned for the second half of 2025.

SGT-212 attacks FA through two delivery routes

The company describes SGT-212 as the first gene therapy in the industry to use a dual route of administration. It delivers full-length frataxin protein in two ways:

United States – October 28, 2026 -- Solid Biosciences has dosed 40 participants with its Duchenne gene therapy SGT-003 and reported positive interim safety and biomarker data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 INSPIRE DUCHENNE trial. The company presented the update at the 2026 MDA Clinical & Scientific Conference.

The therapy delivers a shortened dystrophin protein

SGT-003 delivers microdystrophin, a shortened version of dystrophin designed to help support and protect muscle cells during movement. The data show robust microdystrophin expression. They also show restoration of beta-sarcoglycan and nNOS, proteins that normally work with dystrophin in the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC), the muscle cell support system.

McLean, Virginia – October 28, 2026 -- Hilton Honors members with Silver, Gold, Diamond or Diamond Reserve status can now use their Points toward hotel charges straight from their phone, with no front desk visit. The new Pay with Points benefit is live at 150 participating hotels in the U.S.

Points are applied during Digital Check Out in the app

During Digital Check Out in the Hilton Honors App, eligible members can review their folio, choose from available redemption options and apply Points toward eligible charges. Guests can do this at the hotel or on the go.

Hilton says it is the first major hotel brand to offer this through a fully digital check out. According to the company, comparable offerings require front desk assistance.

Madrid – October 28, 2026 -- Casa Verbena Madrid, a 45-room hotel on Calle de Preciados in the centre of the Spanish capital, has opened as the first European property in Hilton's Outset Collection. Interiors come from Madrid-born designer Lorenzo Castillo, and every morning starts with a traditional Madrileño breakfast.

The name comes from a Madrid street party

Casa Verbena is named after the verbena, a lively Spanish neighbourhood celebration built around food, music and shared traditions. The hotel also draws on costumbrismo, the Spanish artistic tradition of depicting local customs, characters and daily rituals. The aim is to show guests the cafés, streets and squares that shape life for Madrileños, beyond the landmarks.

United States – October 27, 2026 -- Solid Biosciences has expanded its INSPIRE DUCHENNE gene therapy trial to 43 participants and now accepts children aged 4 to under 12, up from the previous range of 4 to under 8.

Three participants dosed with no serious adverse events

INSPIRE DUCHENNE is a first-in-human, multicenter, Phase 1/2 open-label study. It tests the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a single intravenous infusion of SGT-003, a next-generation AAV gene therapy candidate, in ambulant boys with Duchenne.

Three participants have been dosed so far. According to Solid, SGT-003 has been well tolerated to date, and no serious adverse events have been reported. The company plans to share safety, expression and biomarker data from these first three patients, along with a trial update, in the first quarter of 2025.

Global – October 27, 2026 -- Fifty-three boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy have now received the investigational gene therapy SGT-003, and a Phase 3 trial is already enrolling patients in Australia and Canada. Solid Biosciences shared the update in a letter to the Duchenne community as the annual Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) conference got under way.

The Phase 1/2 trial spans ages 0 to 10

The count comes from the Phase 1/2 INSPIRE DUCHENNE trial and reflects a June 22, 2026, enrollment cutoff. Participants range from 0 to 10 years old. One of them is a 6-month-old boy who, to the company's knowledge, is the youngest child ever dosed with a microdystrophin gene therapy.

Solid reports no cases of four serious safety conditions

The company describes SGT-003 as generally well tolerated. It reports no observed cases of drug-induced liver injury, myocarditis, thrombotic microangiopathy or atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.