Global

Atlanta – October 05, 2026 -- Three in four people worldwide are cutting back on essentials like food and healthcare just to keep a roof over their heads, according to a new global report from Habitat for Humanity International.

The report, titled "Home at What Cost?", draws on nationally representative surveys of 30,758 people across 22 countries, conducted between April 10 and June 30, 2026. It finds that 75% of respondents cut back on at least one expense in the past year to cover housing costs.

The pressure hits hardest on the most vulnerable groups

People in informal housing arrangements reported the steepest sacrifices, with 89% cutting back on essentials, followed by lower-income groups at 85% and younger generations -- Gen Z and Millennials -- at 81%. One-third of respondents (33%) said they are spending less on food, 32% are dipping into savings or emergency funds, and 13% are delaying or avoiding medical care.

New York – October 03, 2026 -- A new episode of the climate interview series Net Zero Speaks tackles a question coastal communities can no longer ignore: what happens when rising seas meet sinking land. The episode, produced by the Planet Classroom Network with the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement, features Professor Marco Marani of the University of Padova, Director of the Centre for Climate Change Impacts (CRITICAL).

Hosted by youth climate advocate Ivan Ransom and produced by Gillian Cameron, the conversation centers on what Marani calls 'relative sea-level rise' -- the combined effect of ocean rise and land subsidence. He points to Venice and major river deltas as places where natural sediment compaction and human activity speed up sinking and worsen flood risk.

San Jose, Costa Rica – October 02, 2026 -- Americas Cardroom will kick off its Dual Venom PKO tournaments this Sunday, October 4, offering a combined $6.5 million in guaranteed prize money.

Two flagship events launch at 1:05 p.m. ET with a shared $2,650 buy-in

The $5 million guaranteed No-Limit Hold'em PKO and the $1.5 million guaranteed Pot-Limit Omaha PKO both start at 1:05 p.m. ET on October 4. The PLO event ties the largest PLO PKO guarantee in Americas Cardroom history. Players earn bounties by knocking out opponents, with individual NLH bounties potentially reaching tens of thousands of dollars.

Five Day 1 flights run through mid-October before the finals

Each tournament offers five Day 1 flights, scheduled for October 4, 8, 11, 15 and 18, all starting at 1:05 p.m. ET. Day 2 play happens Monday, October 19, with both final tables set for Wednesday, October 21.

Englewood Cliffs, N.J. – October 02, 2026 -- LG Electronics has partnered with Miniclip to bring 8 Ball Pool, the mobile game with more than 1 billion downloads worldwide, to LG Smart TVs for the first time. The free-to-play title launches this week on LG Smart TVs and monitors running webOS 6.0 and above across 165 countries.

A new Couch Play Mode lets two players compete on one screen.

The game is accessible through LG Apps or the LG Gaming Portal, where users can earn badges and rewards by completing tasks.

Seoul – October 01, 2026 -- Eye Level has opened registration for the 2026 Eye Level Math Olympiad (ELMO 2026), inviting elementary and middle school students worldwide to compete in the annual global math contest.

Ecuador joins the competition for the first time, marking ELMO's expansion into South America.

ELMO 2026 will run across Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Macau, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Ecuador. Schedules vary by country and region.

Newark, Del. – October 01, 2026 -- Roughly one in four travelers gets their electronic travel authorization wrong on the first try, according to a new analysis from Service eVisa, a platform that helps applicants prepare documents for destinations like the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The company's Travel Readiness Index reviewed more than 10,000 anonymized applications for the UK ETA, US ESTA, Canada eTA, New Zealand NZeTA and Australia ETA submitted between January 1 and September 1, 2026. It found that 76% of applications passed caseworker review with no corrections needed.

Kobe – September 30, 2026 -- ASICS has issued what it calls the world's first conservation warning for human movement, after new research found people report spending 86% of their waking day not moving.

The Japanese sportswear brand released the findings ahead of World Mental Health Day, alongside a short nature documentary titled Human Nature, narrated by actress Sigourney Weaver. The film explores how sofas, screens and modern convenience are quietly replacing everyday movement.

More than half of adults fail to meet activity guidelines today

The global study, conducted in July 2026 among 34,000 people across 31 countries, found 53% of adults are not meeting recommended physical activity guidelines. ASICS worked with experts, including Professor Brendon Stubbs, to create a Movement Conservation Status, classifying weekly activity as active, at risk, or endangered based on WHO and national health guidelines.

New York – September 29, 2026 -- EssilorLuxottica has launched Nuance Audio Plus, an upgraded version of its invisible hearing glasses, now available in the United States with a recommended retail price starting at $829 depending on lens configuration.

The glasses are FDA-cleared for mild to moderate hearing loss

Nuance Audio Plus is cleared for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss and builds on the original Nuance Audio Glasses, which debuted a year ago. The device combines vision correction and hearing support in a single frame, using open-ear speakers built into the temples so ears stay uncovered.

Dubai – September 29, 2026 -- Bybit has added six new tickers to its Perp Options lineup, including Tesla, Invesco QQQ, and Micron Technology, while opening a trading challenge with up to 70,000 USDT in combined rewards through October 27, 2026.

Eight tickers are now live on Bybit's TradFi Perp Options platform

The exchange's Perp Options product launched September 17, 2026 with SpaceX and NVIDIA as the only underlying assets. As of today, Tesla, Invesco QQQ (Nasdaq 100 ETF), Direxion Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL), Micron Technology, SK Hynix, and Sandisk have joined the roster, bringing the total to eight tradable tickers.

Fort Lauderdale – September 28, 2026 -- Princess Cruises has become the first global cruise line to launch a native app inside ChatGPT, letting travelers search, compare and plan trips across its fleet using plain conversational language.

Travelers can tag @princesscruises to search 330+ destinations across 17 ships

Once the Princess app is installed in ChatGPT, guests can type requests such as "@princesscruises Show me seven-night cruises that visit Santorini in August 2027" or "@princesscruises Help me plan a cruise to Alaska next summer." Within the same chat, they can compare itineraries and ships, check current pricing and availability, and explore ports, shore excursions, cruisetours and onboard packages.