Category: Asean

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Coventry, the leader and creator of the secondary market for life insurance and a pioneer of the life insurance-backed asset class, today announced a new category-exclusive national sponsorship agreement with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). Under the agreement, Coventry will serve as NAIFA’s exclusive Gold sponsor in the life settlement category, supporting advisor education and engagement around the secondary market for life insurance.

As part of the sponsorship, Coventry will support several of NAIFA’s key national initiatives and events throughout 2026, including the FSP Institute, the Congressional Conference, and the National Leadership Conference, as well as Life Happens programming. The collaboration is designed to expand NAIFA members’ access to educational resources and practical perspectives on the role of life settlements within broader financial planning strategies.

“Advisors are being asked to deliver more holistic, informed guidance as clients’ needs evolve, particularly around unneeded or underperforming life insurance policies,” said Reid Buerger, Chief Executive Officer of Coventry. “NAIFA plays a vital role in supporting advisors, and Coventry is pleased to contribute its expertise to that mission. Through this sponsorship, we seek to enhance advisors’ understanding of the secondary market for life insurance and the role that life settlements may play in broader planning conversations.”

Coventry has a longstanding relationship with NAIFA and has previously supported the association through its Limited and Extended Care Planning Collective. This expanded sponsorship reflects a shared commitment to advancing advisor education and providing resources that support informed, client-focused planning. Coventry encourages members to visit the dedicated NAIFA resources page to begin exploring the exclusive benefits now available to them.

The NAIFA sponsorship is part of Coventry’s broader approach to engaging advisors through established national professional organizations, providing education and market insight on the secondary market for life insurance. By working with organizations that reach advisors across practice models and career stages, Coventry aims to support informed planning conversations and thoughtful consideration of life settlements as an integral part of comprehensive financial planning.

About Coventry
Coventry is the leader and creator of the secondary market for life insurance and a pioneer of the life insurance-backed asset class, operating an integrated platform across four complementary verticals: the secondary market for life insurance, longevity lending, life insurance and annuity distribution, and insurance technology. Through these businesses, Coventry expands financial options for policyowners, provides capital solutions backed by life insurance policies and other longevity-linked assets, broadens access to protection and retirement products, and applies technology to enhance pricing, risk management, and operational efficiency across the life insurance ecosystem.

Guided by a longstanding commitment to consumer rights and market integrity, Coventry leverages its leadership position to raise industry standards, expand consumer choice, and responsibly develop institutional-quality life insurance-backed investment solutions. Over its history, Coventry has acquired more than 23,000 life insurance policies, completed more than $50 billion in longevity-linked transactions, delivered more than $6 billion to policyowners, and originated more than $1 billion in life insurance-linked loans. To learn more about Coventry, visit Coventry.com.

Media Contact:
Jonny Shiver
Vice President, Marketing
[email protected]
(215) 836-8300

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9656195

Showcasing AI innovation at Mobile World Congress (#MWC26) with live product demonstrations of next generation use cases

MADRID, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Telefónica, S.A., a global leader in integrated communications, and Mavenir Systems Limited, the telco-first, cloud-native, AI-by-design technology provider, today announced the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create a joint AI Innovation Hub. This collaborative lab is designed to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence into the evolution of Core Networks.

The AI Innovation Hub will serve as a real-world testbed where advanced capabilities, such as AI-driven autonomous network orchestration, intent-based services, and AI-enabled monetization frameworks, can be developed, validated, and optimized. By emulating production-grade traffic patterns in a controlled environment, the Hub will enable both companies to rigorously test and refine next-generation solutions ahead of large-scale commercial deployment.

This collaboration marks a significant leap toward a new era of intelligent, autonomous, and self-optimizing telco networks, systems that continuously learn, anticipate, and adapt in real time. It underscores Telefónica’s and Mavenir’s shared vision to redefine the future of AI-driven network evolution, with cloud-native intelligence embedded into every layer of connectivity. The initiative also represents a transformative milestone in Telefónica’s journey to reimagine its network as a highly autonomous, intent-aware digital platform capable of intuitively understanding enterprise and consumer needs, predicting them before they arise, and seamlessly translating those intents into precise, automated network actions.

The collaboration will champion industry-leading practices in AI, data security, and regulatory compliance, while driving joint marketing initiatives, technical thought leadership, and active participation in global industry forums. Together, Telefónica and Mavenir will shape new business models, align closely with operational units, and accelerate the development and launch of AI-native solutions in the Core networks, firmly positioning Telefónica at the forefront of telecom innovation, service differentiation, and next-generation monetization.

Cayetano Carbajo, Core, Transport and Ecosystem Director at CTIO, speaking on behalf of Telefónica, said: “Our collaboration with Mavenir sets a new benchmark in Telefónica’s commitment to lead the industry in AI-driven Core network transformation. By combining Mavenir’s cloud-native core and service platforms with our real-world operational environment, we can transform the core network and rapidly operationalize AI-powered services that are ready for commercial deployment.”

Pardeep Kohli, President & CEO, Mavenir, said: “Mavenir’s cloud-native platform is what makes this AI Innovation Hub real. With a long history of delivering core, voice, and messaging platforms across multiple Telefónica operating companies, we bring proven, production-scale innovation into this collaboration. By exposing these network capabilities through open interfaces, we enable AI to turn the network into a programmable service platform, creating a unique opportunity for Telefónica to operationalize AI, launch new digital and enterprise services faster, and unlock new revenue streams.”

Meet Mavenir and Telefónica at Mobile World Congress 2026 (Barcelona, March 2–5, 2026, Hall 2, 2H60): Experience the future of AI-driven telecommunications firsthand with a live demonstration from Mavenir and Telefónica at MWC 2026. The demo will showcase next-generation use cases in AI-enriched communications, autonomous service exposure, and intent-driven operations, bringing to life the collaborative innovation.

Visit our teams in Hall 2 (Stand 2H60) to see how Telefónica and Mavenir are accelerating the evolution toward autonomous, AI-native networks. Contact us to reserve a meeting with our team of experts at #MWC26 https://www.mavenir.com/mwc-2026/#request-a-meeting-mwc

About Telefónica
Telefónica is one of the world’s leading telecommunications service providers, with the mission of delivering the best digital experience to its customers. The company offers fixed and mobile connectivity as well as a wide range of digital services for residential and business customers. With more than 350 million customers, Telefónica’ s main markets are Spain, Brazil, Germany and the UK.

About Mavenir
Mavenir is enabling intelligent, automated, programmable networks through the development of telco-first, cloud-native, AI-by-design software solutions for mobile operators. The company’s deep telco domain expertise has been proven through deployments with 300+ operators globally in over 120 countries, which together serve more than 50% of the world’s subscribers. Mavenir combines its deep telco experience with the cloud and IT expertise and data science skillsets essential to solving real customer challenges. Its proven software solutions are AI by design, delivering the AI-native future and operators’ evolution to TechCos.

For more information, please visit www.mavenir.com

Mavenir PR Contacts:
Emmanuela Spiteri
[email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9657136

RICHARDSON, Texas, Feb. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mavenir, the software company building AI-by-design mobile networks, today announced a collaboration with Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open-source solutions, to deliver Conversational AI and Agentic AI service assurance solutions using Red Hat AI. These carrier-grade generative AI (gen AI) offerings are powered by Red Hat OpenShift AI running on-premise, empowering telecommunications service providers with a highly scalable, security-focused, resilient and cost-optimized foundation for network operations.

This collaboration is focused on transforming the telecommunications industry by providing service providers with AI solutions that leverage their existing platform investments while delivering additional security, resiliency, with low latency that is critical for real-time network operations.

With this effort, Mavenir provides AI solutions tailored to the telecommunications industry that are purpose built to be more cost-effective and more secure than hosted as-a-service AI solutions.

Sachin Karkala, EVP & General Manager, IMS & RAN of Mavenir, stated: “In the race to monetize AI and evolve to autonomous networks, service providers need control of the user experience, cost and data privacy. Our collaboration with Red Hat enables us to develop on-premise AI solutions that do just that. Generative AI models can be fine-tuned using service provider data to build specialized, on-premise agents helping deliver optimal performance.”

With conversational AI, the industry is moving up the value chain from merely providing connectivity between entities, to AI agents taking over critical control of acting on the content and intent of the communication.

Agentic service assurance is a significant evolution of today’s service assurance solutions relying on machine learning models alone. Agentic systems have a broader perspective, being able to create workflows and drive decision making between different domains in the network and disparate data sources. They adapt and self-learn, ultimately being able to detect and correct issues before they impact the customer.

As a step toward deployment readiness, Mavenir and Red Hat engaged with the Dell Technologies Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab (OTEL) which hosts an advanced AI infrastructure based on the Dell PowerEdge R760xa – a high-performance air-cooled server engineered for a wide range of applications, including AI, machine learning and deep learning-training and inferencing. Dell’s OTEL AI experts collaborated with the Mavenir and Red Hat engineering teams to fine tune the large language model and maximize the solution’s efficient use of the underlying infrastructure.

By deploying these solutions on-premise with Red Hat OpenShift AI, service providers can optimize the efficiency of their GPU resources, maintain full control of security and governance requirements and more easily manage the complex AI lifecycle.

Honoré LaBourdette, Vice President of the Global Telco Partner Ecosystem at Red Hat, commented: “For enterprise AI to move from proof-of-concept to production, it requires a validated foundation with mandatory components like guardrails, observability and a robust lifecycle. Red Hat OpenShift AI provides that necessary foundation. Together with Mavenir, we are demonstrating cost-effective GPU efficiency through tools like Kueue and Dynamic Accelerator Slicer (DAS) for multi-tenant resource sharing, which helps optimize utilization of high-dollar hardware investments. This, paired with low-latency model serving using vLLM, helps ensure that real-time applications like AI voice translation, achieve the deterministic performance the market demands, proving the tangible value of the on-premise model. This is our first announcement in a series of joint initiatives with Mavenir to leverage Red Hat AI technology.”

About Mavenir

Mavenir is enabling intelligent, automated, programmable networks through the development of telco-first, cloud-native, AI-by-design software solutions for mobile operators. The company’s deep telco domain expertise has been proven through deployments with 300+ operators globally in over 120 countries, which together serve more than 50% of the world’s subscribers. Mavenir combines its deep telco experience with the cloud and IT expertise and data science skillsets essential to solving real customer challenges. Its proven software solutions are AI by design, delivering the AI-native future and operators’ evolution to TechCos.

For more information, please visit www.mavenir.com.

Mavenir PR Contacts:

Emmanuela Spiteri
[email protected]

Red Hat, the Red Hat logo and OpenShift are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries.

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9656153

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Feb. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Coventry, the leader and creator of the secondary market for life insurance and a pioneer of the life insurance-backed asset class, will attend SFVegas^® 2026 to engage with structured finance leaders as the institutional market for longevity-linked asset-backed securities continues to mature.

Through its LILY platform, Coventry structures longevity-linked assets into investment-grade asset-backed securities designed to emphasize durable collateral and predictable cash flows that are generally uncorrelated with traditional markets. Since April 2025, the LILY program has completed $750 million in asset-backed notes across three securitizations, establishing a repeatable, programmatic issuance platform designed for institutional scale.

Coventry’s presence at SFVegas^® reflects the continued development of longevity-linked ABS as a distinct segment within structured credit. The firm brings together scaled life insurance policy origination, actuarial analytics, and institutional-grade securitization infrastructure to support LILY’s ongoing expansion.

“The life insurance-backed asset class is entering a new phase of institutional maturity,” said Reid Buerger, CEO of Coventry. “Through LILY, we have established a programmatic securitization platform grounded in disciplined underwriting, actuarial rigor, and consistent capital markets execution. Our objective is to establish a durable infrastructure that supports sustained issuances and long-term market development. SFVegas^® provides an important forum to engage with structured finance leaders as longevity-linked assets become an increasingly established component of institutional portfolios.”

As institutional demand for differentiated, uncorrelated assets continues to grow, Coventry will meet with capital providers, rating agencies, and distribution partners to discuss the continued expansion of the LILY platform and the broader evolution of longevity-linked ABS.

Conference attendees interested in learning more about LILY and Coventry’s broader capital markets initiatives are encouraged to connect with the Coventry team during SFVegas^® or by requesting additional information at https://www.coventry.com/LILY.

About Coventry
Coventry is the leader and creator of the secondary market for life insurance and a pioneer of the life insurance-backed asset class, operating an integrated platform across four complementary verticals: the secondary market for life insurance, longevity lending, life insurance and annuity distribution, and insurance technology. Through these businesses, Coventry expands financial options for policyowners, provides capital solutions backed by life insurance policies and other longevity-linked assets, broadens access to protection and retirement products, and applies technology to enhance pricing, risk management, and operational efficiency across the life insurance ecosystem. Guided by a longstanding commitment to consumer rights and market integrity, Coventry leverages its leadership position to raise industry standards, expand consumer choice, and responsibly develop institutional-quality life insurance-backed investment solutions. Over its history, Coventry has acquired more than 23,000 life insurance policies, completed more than $50 billion in longevity-linked transactions, delivered more than $6 billion to policyowners, and originated more than $1 billion in life insurance-linked loans. To learn more about Coventry, visit Coventry.com.

Media Contact:
Jonny Shiver
Vice President, Marketing
[email protected]
(215) 836-8300

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9656255

Address Beach Resort Dubai Introduces Private Jacuzzi Pool Suites, Designed for Moments Worth Celebrating

Access to Press Kit HERE
Access to Images HERE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Address Beach Resort Dubai introduces a new chapter in beachfront living with the launch of its Jacuzzi Pool Suites, bringing private outdoor indulgence and elevated space to one of the city’s most iconic destinations.

Created for guests who want to linger a little longer – whether celebrating something special, escaping the everyday, or simply craving stillness by the Arabian Gulf, the new Jacuzzi Pool Suites place private outdoor living at the heart of the experience.

The One Bedroom Jacuzzi Pool Sea View Suite with Balcony offers a private retreat for couples or friends looking to switch off from the city’s hustle. Framed by sweeping views of Ain Dubai, Palm Jumeirah and the Arabian Gulf, the suite opens onto an expansive balcony set against open sky. Here, a private Jacuzzi-style plunge pool becomes the focal point ideal for slow starts to the day with coffee in hand or evenings spent soaking as the city lights begin to glow. Inside, the living space connects seamlessly to the outdoors, creating a stay that feels relaxed, intimate and quietly elevated.

For families or friends travelling together, the Two Bedroom Jacuzzi Pool Sea View Suite with Balcony offers space to connect without compromising privacy. Featuring two en-suite bedrooms anchored by a central living area, the suite is designed for shared moments, from relaxed breakfasts indoors to sunlit afternoons stretched out on the terrace. The private Jacuzzi-style pool becomes the natural gathering point, framed by uninterrupted views of Bluewaters Island and the Arabian Gulf beyond. As daylight moves into golden hour, the terrace transforms into the perfect setting for unhurried evenings overlooking the sea.

Beyond its newly introduced suites, the resort is home to the world’s highest outdoor infinity pool, Dubai’s highest spa and a curated collection of lifestyle-driven dining experiences, delivering an experience-led approach to luxury that is confident, urban and unmistakably Address.

With the introduction of the new Jacuzzi Pool Suites, Address Beach Resort Dubai further enhances its accommodation portfolio with spaces designed not only to stay in but to truly experience, unwind, and celebrate every moment.

Meghan Lane
[email protected]
+971 58 595 8196

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c544cc49-c4a0-48fe-be27-239a2c9585f4

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 1001165240

Adds to executive focus on early clinical development and deepens medical and scientific partnership with clients

DURHAM, N.C., Feb. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortrea (Nasdaq: FTRE) (the “Company”), a leading global contract research organization (CRO), today announced it has expanded its executive team. Oren Cohen, MD who previously served as both Fortrea’s chief medical officer (CMO) and president of Clinical Pharmacology Services (CPS) is now dedicated to his CMO responsibilities, namely medical strategy, scientific leadership, ethics and governance oversight across Fortrea’s portfolio. Scott Dove, PhD joins Fortrea as its new president of CPS, responsible for Fortrea’s early clinical development solutions across its global network of clinical research units. Cohen and Dove both serve on Fortrea’s Executive Committee.

“The addition of Scott to the Fortrea team while Oren becomes fully dedicated to the medical and scientific aspects of development is a win for clients,” said Anshul Thakral, CEO. “Working closely with our business leaders across all phases of clinical development, Oren will deepen his relationships with clients. He’s engaging earlier in scientific dialogue and collaborating closely with our physicians and therapeutic leaders to help address complex development challenges, all while upholding the highest standards of scientific integrity and patient safety. Scott is making a fast start with our Clinical Pharmacology team and is getting a first-hand view of our world-class clinics. He combines a strong technical background in clinical development and operations with a successful track record of leadership in building and leading global organizations, and I’m looking forward to his insights on how we further strengthen our offering.”

Oren Cohen, MD Chief Medical Officer

Oren Cohen, MD is a veteran of drug development, bringing more than 20 years of experience in various medical and scientific executive leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to Fortrea, Dr. Cohen served as CMO and head of Clinical Pharmacology Services at Labcorp Drug Development. Previously, he was CMO at Viamet Pharmaceuticals and served in several senior medical and operational leadership positions at Quintiles, now part of IQVIA.

Dr. Cohen received his MD from Duke University and served his internship and residency at The New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center in New York City. He completed his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he stayed as a Principal Investigator and served as the institute’s assistant director for medical affairs. He is a Consulting Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, a member of the Board of Visitors for Duke University School of Medicine and a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Scott Dove, PhD President Clinical Pharmacology Services

Scott Dove, PhD brings more than 25 years of drug development experience to Fortrea, serving in roles of increasing responsibility at pharma, biotech and CRO companies. Most recently, he has served as an advisor to a variety of companies, including Fortrea. Previously, Dr. Dove was chief operating officer at Aravive, leading R&D operations for a clinical stage, oncology-focused biotech. He also served in leadership roles at PPD for more than a decade, where he led early development services. Dr. Dove also held leadership roles at Allergan and Furiex Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Dove received his PhD from Texas A&M Health Science Center and earned his bachelor of science in biochemistry at Texas A&M University.

About Fortrea

Fortrea (Nasdaq: FTRE) is a leading global provider of clinical development solutions to the life sciences industry. We partner with emerging and large biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and diagnostic companies to drive healthcare innovation that accelerates life changing therapies to patients. Fortrea provides phase I-IV clinical trial management, clinical pharmacology and consulting services. Fortrea’s solutions leverage three decades of experience spanning more than 20 therapeutic areas, a passion for scientific rigor, exceptional insights and a strong investigator site network. Our talented and diverse team working in about 100 countries is scaled to deliver focused and agile solutions to customers globally. Learn more about how Fortrea is becoming a transformative force from pipeline to patient at Fortrea.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).

Fortrea Contacts:
Tracy Krumme (Investors) – 984-385-6707, [email protected]
Sue Zaranek (Media) – 919-943-5422, [email protected]
Kate Dillon (Media) – 646-818-9115, [email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9655383

BEIJING, Feb. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — On Monday evening, China Media Group’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala lit up screens across the country and around the world. For more than four decades, the annual gala – widely known as Chunwan – has been the spiritual feast of the Chinese people on the eve of the Chinese New Year, and a shared cultural ritual that accompanies family reunions.

This year, CGTN partnered with its multilingual platforms in 85 languages, working with more than 3,500 media outlets in over 200 countries and regions to broadcast and report on the gala live.

As the Chinese New Year increasingly evolves from a “Chinese festival” into a global celebration, the Spring Festival Gala has taken on a new mission: to allow the world to share in the joy and festivity of the season, and to experience the richness and vibrancy of Chinese culture.

Rooted in Chinese culture with celebrations of various forms, the Spring Festival symbolizes renewal and family unity. It carries a universal resonance of hope and aspirations for a better life.

A cultural feast

The 2026 gala once again delivered a grand audiovisual spectacle, bringing together a mix of performances, from music, comedy, and traditional arts like opera and martial arts to spectacular acts such as magic and acrobatics. The stage became a window through which audiences at home and abroad could glimpse the enduring charm of China’s fine traditional culture.

A highlight of the evening was a cross-cultural acrobatic performance that blended Chinese traditional techniques with international staging and choreography, symbolizing dialogue and mutual appreciation among civilizations. In another much-discussed act, ballet met street dance in a dynamic fusion piece that seamlessly combined classical elegance with urban rhythm– a vivid expression of cultural confidence rooted in tradition yet open to innovation.

Meanwhile, comedic sketches drew on everyday life, reflecting social changes with warmth and humor. Together, these diverse programs painted a portrait of a society that values heritage while embracing contemporary creativity.

For Chinese people, the Spring Festival Gala is more than just a TV show. It has become an indispensable “cultural feast” and emotional bond for the Chinese people on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Through fostering reunion and companionship and telling the stories of ordinary people, it encapsulates the country’s hopes and heritage, making it an irreplaceable emotional and cultural touchstone for billions of Chinese people worldwide.

Broadcast globally in multiple languages, the gala allowed overseas Chinese to participate in the same celebration as their families back in China, bridging geographical distances and reinforcing a shared cultural identity. It is a reminder that, no matter where they are, they are part of a larger community.

Technology on full display

With culture at the heart of the gala, technology provided its powerful wings. This year’s gala integrated cutting-edge digital tools into many aspects of the show.

Advanced applications, including artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR), transformed the stage into an immersive, multidimensional space. Incorporating cutting-edge technologies, such as VR glasses, Beidou navigation, and drones, vast digital landscapes unfolded behind performers, bringing different traditions to life through dynamic, interactive projections.

The 2026 gala coincides with a pivotal moment in China’s technological development. AI, robotics, and other foundational technologies – poised to shape human society for decades – are now rapidly entering the consumer market.

This broader technological wave was clearly reflected in the gala’s production. One of the highlights came when humanoid robots brought Kung Fu to the next level, performing vaults and backflips with smooth and precise movements. The performance has amazed overseas netizens who expressed their admiration for the development of China’s robotics industry.

In 2025, China’s humanoid robot industry moved from a phase of technological novelty to one of increasingly wide social deployment. The country is now home to more than 150 humanoid robot companies, and the sector is expanding at an annual rate of over 50 percent, with the market scale expected to reach 100 billion yuan (about $14.22 billion) by 2030.

The Year of the Horse extravaganza stands out in the 43-year evolution of the Spring Festival Gala as one of the most technologically advanced editions to date. The presence of AI applications and robotics was not superficial decoration, but an integral part of storytelling and artistic expression.

For more than 40 years, the Spring Festival Gala has mirrored China’s transformation – from an era of scarcity to one of digital connectivity and global engagement. As families gathered before their screens and international audiences tuned in from afar, the gala offered more than entertainment. It presents a living narrative of a civilization that treasures its heritage, embraces innovation, and shares its festive spirit with the world.

For more information, please click:
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-02-16/2026-Spring-Festival-Gala-A-spiritual-feast-for-the-Chinese-people-1KOo6b5HcIg/p.html

Contact：
Jiang Simin
[email protected]

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 9655297