STARTRADER Launches XAUUSD247, Extending Gold CFD Access Across the Full Week

The new instrument provides XAUUSD247 quotes during weekends and overnight hours, subject to scheduled maintenance windows. 

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — STARTRADER today announced the launch of XAUUSD247, a gold CFD that provides quotes across the full week, including weekends and overnight hours when the traditional gold market is closed. The instrument goes live on MetaTrader 5 on 21 August 2026, with Web and app availability to follow in early September. Availability depends on account type, client classification and jurisdiction; the instrument is not available to clients in all countries.

The launch responds to the fact that developments affecting gold can occur outside traditional market hours. Gold responds to geopolitical developments, central bank decisions, and shifts in risk sentiment that do not follow a five-day trading week.

Now, XAUUSD247 sits alongside the existing XAUUSD, which remains available on unchanged terms. Clients can access XAUUSD247 alongside the existing XAUUSD, subject to applicable account and jurisdictional availability.

The launch is consistent with STARTRADER’s broader 24/7 product direction, reflecting an effort to extend access beyond standard market hours where the product structure allows. XAUUSD247 extends that approach to commodities.

“Gold is one of the most event-sensitive instruments on the market. Developments that move it do not wait for Monday. XAUUSD247 provides quoted pricing during these periods, including when the traditional market is closed.”

– Peter Karsten, Chief Executive Officer, STARTRADER

STARTRADER expects to explore continuous access across other asset classes where client activity and market-moving developments are least aligned with standard trading hours.

CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Entity-specific disclosures apply by jurisdiction.

About STARTRADER

STARTRADER is a global multi-asset broker empowering retail and institutional partners to access global markets through a range of platforms, including MetaTrader, STARTRADER APP, and STAR Copy. STARTRADER operates through entities licensed and regulated by authorities including CMA, ASIC, FSCA, FSA and FSC, combining strong governance with a client-first approach, serving both retail clients and partners with a commitment to transparency, reliability, and long-term growth.

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Colgate-Palmolive elevates Prabha Narasimhan to EVP – Marketing, Asia-Pacific and announces Manish Anandani as new MD & CEO for India

MUMBAI, India, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Colgate-Palmolive India Limited today announced a key leadership transition. Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, has been elevated to the role of Executive Vice President – Marketing, Asia-Pacific Division, Colgate-Palmolive, effective close of business hours on 27 September, 2026.

To lead the company into its next growth phase, the Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Manish Anandani as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective 28 September, 2026.

During Prabha Narasimhan’s four-year tenure at the helm of Colgate-Palmolive India, she steered the company through a transformative growth journey, reinforcing its position as the market leader in oral care. Under her leadership, the company doubled down on strategic premiumisation, accelerating premium portfolio growth to five times the pace of the broader market, while delivering volume-led growth, industry-leading profitability, and consistent top-line momentum.

Her tenure was marked by a sharp pivot toward digital transformation, quick-commerce expansion, and consumer-centric innovation, alongside a renewed push for category expansion by driving oral hygiene habits across urban and rural India. She also strengthened the brand’s purpose-driven impact through flagship initiatives like Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures and the Oral Health Movement.

Prabha brings extensive experience across markets, categories and geographies, with a proven track record of building brands and driving category growth. Before joining Colgate-Palmolive India, she held senior leadership roles at Hindustan Unilever, including as Executive Director for Home Care, where she led businesses across diverse consumer categories. Her experience spanning India and international markets, combined with her expertise in brand building and category development, positions her strongly for her new Asia-Pacific mandate.

Colgate-Palmolive India is stepping up its premiumisation strategy as it looks to build on strong business momentum and create higher-value growth in the country’s oral care market. The company’s focus on premium products, category development and operational efficiencies comes as it marks 90 years of operations in India and seeks to strengthen its growth trajectory in the market.

The company is also stepping up investments behind its brands and growth opportunities. Winning on the digital screen has been a central engine in the recent past for Colgate-Palmolive’s growth. Driven by good execution and performance across e-Commerce and quick commerce, these channels have served as major growth catalysts, being growth, margin, premiumisation, and share accretive. The e-Commerce channel has been delivering high double-digit topline expansion with more than 50% of sales coming from premium products and gross margins at an impressive 400 basis points higher than overall company averages. As Indian consumers increasingly embrace rapid delivery, our strong execution ensures we are uniquely positioned to capture value across these evolving platforms.

Manish Anandani brings 30 years of rich and varied experience across sales, marketing, general management and senior leadership roles. He joins Colgate-Palmolive India from Kenvue (erstwhile Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health) where he was the Managing Director for India and South Asia. An expert in enterprise strategy, digital and eCommerce transformation, and market expansion, his appointment marks a homecoming to Colgate-Palmolive. He previously spent 13 years with the company (2005–2018), rising through critical leadership roles across India, Indochina, and the Corporate office, culminating as Worldwide Director in Global Customer Development.

About Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited

Colgate-Palmolive is a caring, innovative growth company that is reimagining a healthier future for all people, and the planet. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited is the market leader in Oral Care in the country, committed to delivering sustainable, profitable growth for its shareholders, while fostering an inclusive workplace for its people. With a primary focus on science-led innovations in Oral Care & Personal Care in the Indian market, the company is recognized for its leadership and innovative efforts in advancing sustainability and community well-being. Among its recent accomplishments, the company has made significant strides in reducing plastic waste and promoting recyclability, conserving water and energy at its manufacturing facilities, empowering women with financial and digital literacy and enhancing children’s oral health through its flagship, Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures® program. For more information about Colgate’s global business and how it is building a future to smile about, visit: www.colgatepalmolive.co.in

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Binance Donates INR 3.3 Crore to Goonj’s Rahat Initiative for Assam Flood Relief

 Contribution funds emergency food, clean water, hygiene kits and shelter for families across 349 flood-hit villages in seven districts

GUWAHATI, India, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Binance Charity, the philanthropic arm of Binance, today announced a donation of INR 3.3 Crore (USD 350,000) to Goonj’s Rahat Initiative to deliver urgent humanitarian relief in the state of Assam, as the Indian state faces its worst floods in over 60 years.

The scale of destruction caused by the floods has been unprecedented, displacing thousands of families and leaving many in urgent need of support. The death toll has risen to 105, while more than 12 lakh people across 25 districts and 2,734 villages have been affected by flooding at various stages this year, according to the latest reports. A total of 349 villages in Golaghat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Bajali, Dhemaji, Sonitpur, and Jorhat were reported affected earlier in August.

The contribution will fund urgent relief and recovery needs, including access to essential relief materials, including household items, hygiene items, tarpaulins, and other supplies, based on the needs and priorities of affected communities.

The contribution is expected to reach 27500 families across the affected districts and is intended to help communities meet immediate needs while beginning the longer process of recovery and rebuilding.

Commenting on the situation, SB Seker, Head of APAC, Binance, said, “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the devastating floods. In times like these, it is crucial that communities and organizations come together to support those most in need. By working with Goonj’s ‘Rahat Initiative’, we hope our contribution will provide urgent relief on the ground and help families begin the long journey of rebuilding and recovering.”

Anshu Gupta, Founder of Goonj, said, “The scale of loss across Assam this monsoon has been staggering, and further nonstop rains have forced people to be in makeshift arrangement. Months of stored grain and livelihoods gone overnight. Support like this lets us move faster; getting relief material into the hardest-to-reach districts now, and staying on the ground through the recovery phase, not just the emergency. A long term intervention is needed apart from the immediate support and that is what we are aiming for.”

Timely support is crucial in helping affected families recover. Goonj also has an open fundraiser for anyone wishing to support the affected communities directly through their official campaign page.

About Binance Charity

Binance Charity is a leading philanthropic organization that leverages blockchain technology to provide transparent, efficient, and timely assistance during times of crisis. By harnessing the power of cryptocurrencies and Web3 solutions, Binance Charity aims to bridge the gap between those in need and the resources required to rebuild lives and communities. With a strong commitment to global humanitarian causes, Binance Charity continues to spearhead innovative approaches to drive positive change worldwide.

About Binance

Binance is a leading global blockchain ecosystem behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and registered users. Binance is trusted by more than 300 million people in 100+ countries for its industry-leading security, transparency, trading engine speed, protections for investors, and unmatched portfolio of digital asset products and offerings from trading and finance to education, research, social good, payments, institutional services, and Web3 features. Binance is devoted to building an inclusive crypto ecosystem to increase the freedom of money and financial access for people around the world with crypto as the fundamental means.

For more information, visit https://www.binance.com

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2026 World Robot Conference: Zoomlion Showcases Industrial Embodied Intelligence

BEIJING, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (“Zoomlion” or “the Company”; 1157.HK) is showcasing its embodied intelligence technologies and robotic products for industrial applications at the 2026 World Robot Conference (WRC), taking place from Aug. 19-23, 2026, in Beijing, China.

Since 2015, the WRC has brought together companies, researchers and industry stakeholders to showcase advances in robotics and practical applications. The 2026 edition focuses on human-robot collaboration and closer alignment between technology development and industrial demand.

A Showcase for Zoomlion’s Embodied Intelligence Systems

At the WRC, Zoomlion is presenting the bipedal humanoid robot Z01, the wheeled humanoid robot Z03, and the quadrupedal robot dogs D15 and D40, as well as its self-developed joint modules.

These robotic products reflect Zoomlion’s application of embodied intelligence to address practical manufacturing pain points such as flexible sorting, precision assembly and wire-harness handling, with each robot configured for the requirements of its assigned task.

Zoomlion’s booth features Robot Ops, an embodied intelligence operating system that debuted at Hannover Messe in April 2026. Designed as a professional development platform for embodied intelligence in the Software 3.0 era, Robot Ops integrates four core modules: basic tools, imitation learning, reinforcement learning and task orchestration. It supports a closed-loop development lifecycle covering data collection, model training, simulation and validation, as well as deployment and operations.

The platform is designed to support applications involving humanoid robots, industrial robots, construction machinery and autonomous driving, empowering industries through a single integrated platform while providing a standardized and replicable engineering pathway for the large-scale deployment of embodied intelligence.

Alongside Robot Ops, Zoomlion is also presenting ZBrain, an embodied intelligence system which enables traditional industrial robots to move beyond fixed-program execution and become intelligent operating units capable of sensing their environment, understanding tasks, making autonomous decisions and executing closed-loop operations.

Empowered by ZBrain, users can issue task instructions, after which the system autonomously performs detection, planning, execution and verification. It is designed to support high-mix, low-volume production, significantly shortening deployment timelines, accelerating changeover cycles and lowering the barrier to adoption.

At the conference, Zoomlion is highlighting capabilities that are grounded in real-world testing. Zoomlion has validated its robots across nearly 20 manufacturing scenarios at Zoomlion Smart City, where they have been deployed in active manufacturing environments. This operational experience provides the data and know-how needed to move intelligent technologies and robotic products toward large-scale industrial deployment.

Industrial and Interactive Demonstrations

Visitors can experience the capabilities of Zoomlion’s robots firsthand through a series of industrial and interactive demonstrations. The Z03 performs material picking, sorts irregularly shaped items and completes the preassembly of rearview mirrors, while the Z01 handles and organizes wire harnesses. The demonstrations also include synchronized dance performances, robot-guided tours and gesture-based interactions with Z01.

The Company is advancing embodied intelligence from laboratory research to deployable industrial applications and supporting intelligent manufacturing across industries.

Visitors to the WRC 2026 can find Zoomlion at Booth D403 in Hall D.

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Chandigarh University Electronics & Communication Engineers Develop Solar Powered Robot for Garbage Management

Granted Patent for Developing Touch Free Garbage Collection, Segregation and Disposal System

CHANDIGARH, India, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In a bid to addresses the challenges of labour-intensive garbage collection and segregation, a team of Chandigarh University (CU) researchers has conceived and patented a solar-powered mobile robotic garbage collection system for automatic segregation and disposal of the garbage.

Chandigarh University researchers including Prof (Dr) Nitin Sharma, Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE), Chandigarh University along with Dr Paras Chawla, former professor at CU’s ECE department and three ECE students Hemant Kalia, Jayant Pathak, and Ritesh Sharma have been granted a patent for this invention titled ‘Garbage Collection System and Method Thereof’ by the Patent Office, Government of India in June 2026.

Sharing details of the invention, Prof (Dr) Nitin Sharma said, “India is constantly facing difficulty in managing its municipal solid waste due to its increasing population, urbanization, and lack of land for final disposal of their waste. Solid waste consists of a highly mixed mass of discarded materials. This waste mixed with liquid waste is very difficult for labourers to collect and the manual segregation of waste is time-consuming and also causes health problems for the labourers. So the segregation of waste at source is very important as it reduces the cost of transport and treatment of waste. The process of segregating waste at source decreases the segregation cost but the human efforts are required to collect the waste from the dustbin.”

“The Garbage Collection System and Method conceived by us for automatically locating, collecting and segregating garbage. This solar-powered mobile robotic garbage collection system does not require any human involvement in performing tasks. It picks up waste, separates it into wet and dry categories, compresses the waste to increase storage capacity, monitors the chambers for filling and smoke, and transports the collected waste to a designated dumping site. It not only reduces transport and treatment cost of garbage, this system generates its own power through renewable resources,” he added. 

Prof Sharma further said, “This garbage collection system comprises of a housing mounted on 360-degree wheels, allowing the machine to move or turn in different directions automatically. The system comprises wet and dry chambers attached to the housing for storing collected garbage. A vision sensor is configured to detect objects in front of the system and determine whether an object is garbage or an obstacle. Upon identification of garbage, the system is configured to collect the garbage using a robotic arm. The collected garbage is then analyzed using a capacitive sensor to determine whether it is wet or dry. Based on the detected type, the garbage is directed to the respective wet or dry chamber. Both chambers comprise a compressor unit configured to compress the collected garbage, thereby reducing its volume and creating additional storage space within the chambers. A pressure sensor is provided to monitor the pressure applied during the compression process. Once the chambers reach their designated capacity, the system is configured to locate the nearest dumping site for disposal of the collected garbage. The system further comprises a smoke sensor configured to detect the presence of smoke within the chambers, a GPS module for tracking the location of the system, and an Arduino microcontroller configured to control and coordinate the various operations of the system. The method for garbage collecting system comprising the steps of unlocking the system through fingerprint lock. Solar panels mounted on the machine generate electricity and charge a battery. A light sensor can adjust the position of the panels toward sunlight to improve efficiency.”

Congratulating Chandigarh University researchers for getting the patent for attendance-based health monitoring system, Deepinder Singh Sandhu, Senior Managing Director, Chandigarh University said, “This achievement reflects the strong research and innovation eco-system at Chandigarh University to support research excellence and intellectual property generation for advancement of technology. Chandigarh University’s students and faculty members have filed more than 6,100 patents out of which 5,800 patents have been published and 260 patents have been granted. Chandigarh University is ranked number one as a single institution in India for filing highest number of patents. CU’s 44 faculty members featured in Stanford University–Elsevier list of the world’s top 2% scientists. Making research a core pillar of education, Chandigarh University nurtures next-generation leaders in emerging domains with its research-intensive, innovation-driven and unique experiential learning model. Establishing a strong presence in global academic databases, CU has produced 25,000+ scholarly documents in key areas including engineering, computer science, life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and management, according to Scopus. Over 1.53 lakh Scopus citations of CU’s diverse research output reflects a robust and growing research ecosystem.”

“The range of research activities at Chandigarh University is wide-ranging and profound. University scholars conduct research in practically every domain, and pursue to develop human knowledge through investigation, invention, and understanding. Chandigarh University is recognized as Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) for promoting and advancing the research. To amplify research, Chandigarh University has dedicated an annual budget of Rs 15 Crore for research and has also 60 Research Centres and 15 Centres of Excellence. CU’s research initiatives are further strengthened by 67 projects funded by the corporate sector and government bodies with Rs 90 Crore,” he added.

About Chandigarh University

Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university in India and the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC.

Website address: https://www.cuchd.in/

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