New York – September 08, 2026 -- XTEND, an AI-powered defense robotics and software company, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol XTND following a business combination with JFB Construction Holdings.

XTEND merges with JFB Construction Holdings to form XTEND AI Robotics

The combined entity will operate under the new name XTEND AI Robotics once the transaction closes. XTEND CEO Aviv Shapira said the listing marks the next chapter in the company's growth.

Everett, Mass. – September 08, 2026 -- More than 1,300 workers at Encore Boston Harbor have walked off the job after management refused to bargain in good faith, disrupting operations at a resort that generated $847 million in revenue last year.

Macau – September 08, 2026 -- Global eye care nonprofit Orbis International has launched its first-ever simulation-based training project in Macau, marking 20 years of local partnership that has raised more than US$33 million for the organization's work in China and worldwide.

Langenfeld – September 08, 2026 -- Logistics billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne has died at age 89, leaving no children but a succession structure built years in advance around the nonprofit Kühne Foundation, which now holds the bulk of his business assets and will control his corporate empire going forward.

Wiesbaden – September 08, 2026 -- Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) will publish a wave of economic indicators between September 7 and September 11, 2026, including final August inflation figures and first-half insolvency statistics.

Destatis opens the week with July production data on September 7

The production index for July 2026 (Report No. 316) will be released Monday, September 7, offering the first read on German industrial output for the month.

Qingdao – September 08, 2026 -- The 2026 China International Consumer Electronics Exposition opened at the Qingdao International Convention Center, drawing more than 300 domestic and international enterprises from 12 countries and regions across a 60,000-square-meter exhibition floor.

Beijing – September 08, 2026 -- The Early Spring, a workplace romance produced by Youku, Alibaba's online video platform, has reached No. 2 on Netflix's Global Non-English TV list for the week of Aug. 24-30, the highest-ever ranking for a Chinese mainland drama on the chart.

Series logs 21.5 million viewing hours in just five days

The 24-episode drama premiered simultaneously on Youku and Netflix on Aug. 26. Despite being available for only five days during the tracking period, it recorded 2.4 million views and 21.5 million hours viewed on Netflix.

Wiesbaden – September 08, 2026 -- A net 0.6 hours per worker could be shaved off Germany's average working week if all employee time-preferences were realized, according to first results from the 2025 Mikrozensus survey released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

Hong Kong – September 08, 2026 -- The Yidan Prize Foundation named its 2026 laureates on the tenth anniversary of the award, granting HK$30 million (approximately US$3.8 million) each to Professor Paul W. Glewwe and a three-member team behind the Reach Up early childhood program.

Hollywood, Fla. – September 08, 2026 -- The South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners has confirmed Shane Strum as permanent President and CEO of Memorial Healthcare System, ending a two-year interim term that began in September 2024. Strum will continue leading a system of more than 17,000 physicians and employees across six hospitals, including Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.