Harlan is a passionate researcher and writer with a Masters of Journalism from the University of Melbourne.

Harlan Ockey

Business

Economy

Politics

World

Real Estate

Technology

Wealth

Lifestyle

Travel

Airbus’ new ‘extra long range’ plane has begun rolling out, with its first commercial flight heading from Madrid to Boston last week.

The Airbus A321XLR — short for “Xtra Long Range” — seats between 180 and 220 passengers, and is the world’s longest-range single-aisle commercial plane. Its flight range is 4,700 nautical miles, or 8,700 kilometres.

“The A321XLR will enable countless new non-stop destinations; it truly opens a new chapter in air connectivity. It is another proud ‘first’ for all of us at Airbus in our constant quest to innovate and bring value to our customers,” said Airbus commercial aircraft CEO Christian Scherer.

Spanish flag carrier Iberia is the A321XLR’s first operator. Airlines like Qantas, Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Wizz Air, and IndiGo have also ordered planes, and will begin flights next year.

Qantas aims to replace its Boeing 737-800s with the A321XLR, and will operate non-stop flights to destinations like Tokyo and Bangkok. Aer Lingus has planned direct flights from Dublin to Nashville.

The plane includes business and economy class seating. Business class aboard Iberia’s A321XLR planes boasts 76-inch lie-flat beds and Bluetooth-capable televisions.

According to Airbus, the A321XLR bu

Airbus' 'extra long range' plane takes off, orders fly in

Microsoft has unveiled Interpreter, a new Microsoft Teams feature for real-time speech-to-speech translation.

Interpreter was showcased at Microsoft’s Ignite conference this week. It will use artificial intelligence to simulate users’ voices in languages including English, Chinese, and Spanish.

“The Interpreter agent enables real-time interpretation in Teams meetings in up to nine languages so each participant can speak and listen in the language of their choice,” according to Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Interpreter will be available to Microsoft 365 subscribers, and a preview version will be released early next year.

The feature is opt-in only and does not store users’ biometric data, a Microsoft spokesperson said. “Voice simulation can only be enabled when users provide consent via a notification during the meeting or by enabling ‘Voice simulation consent’ in settings.”

The company also announced a new Presentation Translator tool at Ignite, which can translate PowerPoints into up to 40 languages through AI suite Copilot.

“Copilot will translate the text in text boxes shapes, tables, charts, speaker notes, comments, and smart-art. It saves time and money, and promotes inclusivity,” said Microsoft spokesperson Abigai

Microsoft reveals its real-time AI voice translator for Teams

Journalists at The Guardian and The Observer have voted to strike for two days due to Tortoise Media’s bid to buy The Observer.

The Observer is owned by Guardian Media Group, The Guardian’s parent company. Tortoise began talks to acquire The Observer in September.



Tortoise, a “slow journalism” news startup, has said it “plans to invest over £25 million in the editorial and commercial renewal of the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper”.

The Observer was projected to post losses within three years.

“We have a consortium of investors who can bring not just capital but a commitment for the long term and editorial independence,” said Tortoise founder James Harding.

According to Harding, Tortoise hopes to add around a dozen new staff, retain existing staff contracts, and increase the commissioning budget. The Observer’s print edition would continue, while its digital content would leave The Guardian and be put behind a paywall. The strike is scheduled for December 4 and 5.

“We believe the transfer is a betrayal of the Scott Trust’s commitment to The Observer as part of the Guardian News and Media family,” the National Union of Journalists motion said. “The trust should protect a vital element of the UK and internationa

The Observer to be sold to Tortoise; journalists strike

Swiss voters will decide on whether to approve the A$60.8 million budget to host the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest on Sunday.

Eurovision is set to be held in the Basel-Stadt region in May. The Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland, a right-wing political party, collected signatures to trigger a referendum on the budget.

"This is a totally disproportionate public expenditure, a true waste,” said Philippe Karoubi, a party board member.

Karoubi also said Eurovision had become "a vector of ideological provocations, which are clearly contrary to Western Judeo-Christian values.”

Eurovision is planned to last 10 days, including public events around the city of Basel as well as the main televised contest.

If voters block the budget, Eurovision will be cut down to a single televised event.

“Eurovision will need to be scaled way back,” according to Eurovision 2025 communications lead Edi Estermann.

"And that would of course create far lower value for the city and for all of Switzerland."

Swiss singer Nemo won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024. The winning country is typically asked to host the contest the following year.

Basel, Switzerland to vote on $60bn Eurovision budget

Sony is aiming to acquire Japanese media company Kadokawa, Kadokawa confirmed today.

Kadokawa is the parent company of FromSoftware, the developer of award-winning video games Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and Armored Core. The company also produces manga and anime.

“There are some articles on the acquisition of Kadokawa Corporation by Sony Group Inc.,” Kadokawa said today. “The Company has received an initial letter of intent to acquire the Company’s shares, but no decision has been made at this time.”

Sony hopes to reach a deal in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.

Sony already owns a 2% stake in Kadokawa, and purchased a 14% stake in FromSoftware in 2022. FromSoftware games Demon's Souls and Bloodborne were released exclusively on Sony Playstation.

Kadokawa is a prominent manga publisher, and acquired animation studio Doga Kobo in July.



Sony is a major anime distributor, having bought anime streaming service Crunchyroll in 2021.

Kadokawa also owns Niconico, which ranks among the largest Japanese video-sharing websites at 89 million active members, as of June. Niconico and Kadokawa were targeted by hackers in June, leading to a temporary shutdown of the platform.

Kadokawa’s (TYO: 9468) share price stoo

Sony aims to buy games and media company Kadokawa

NASA has tasked SpaceX and Blue Origin with delivering heavy cargo and infrastructure to the moon, in preparation for its Artemis moon missions.

SpaceX’s large cargo landers will bring a pressurised lunar rover to the moon, and Blue Origin will deliver a lunar surface habitat.

“These large cargo lander demonstration missions aim to optimize our NASA and industry technical expertise, resources, and funding as we prepare for the future of deep space exploration,” said NASA’s Human Landing System programme manager Lisa Watson-Morgan.

“Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches for crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued discovery and scientific opportunity,” said Stephen D. Creech, assistant deputy associate administrator at NASA’s Moon to Mars Program Office.

NASA’s Artemis III mission is scheduled for 2026, and will be the first American crewed moon landing since 1972.

SpaceX is expected to deliver its pressurised rover to the moon no earlier than the 2032 fiscal year, and Blue Origin’s lunar habitat is set to arrive no earlier than the 2033 fiscal year.

NASA first asked SpaceX and Blue Origin to develop these c

NASA joins with SpaceX, Blue Origin for moon deliveries

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed 37 new trade and business agreements at a meeting on Wednesday.

The deals will allow more than US$150 billion of bilateral trade, as well as cooperation on environmental protection, scientific research, and telecommunications.

"China-Brazil relations are now at their best moment ever,” said Xi.

“We are determined to build our cooperation over the next 50 years in areas such as sustainable infrastructure, energy transition, artificial intelligence, digital economy, health and aerospace,” Lula said.

While Brazil declined to join China’s Belt and Road initiative last month, these new agreements would facilitate cooperation between Brazilian government programmes and the Belt and Road. This will include a link between Brazil and the China-funded Chancay port in Peru.

Chinese satellite company SpaceSail, a competitor to Starlink, struck a deal to enter the Brazilian market during Xi and Lula’s meeting.

Brazilian food processing company BRF will purchase a factory in Henan for $43 million.

BNDES, Brazil’s state bank, will receive a $690 million loan from China Development Bank.

Lula and Xi met in Brasilia, following the G20 summ

China, Brazil mint new trade agreements for $150bn

Legal software company Dye &amp; Durham has halted its sale process due to shareholder feedback amid reported bids from firms like PEXA Group.

Dye &amp; Durham’s efforts to sell will be paused until an annual shareholder meeting on December 17 following a dispute with investors Mawer, EdgePoint, and Engine Capital.

PEXA declined to comment on a potential bid on Tuesday, saying in an ASX statement: “In the ordinary course of business, the Company is continuously assessing opportunities to deliver increased shareholder value. PEXA, is aware of, and will continue to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations and is comfortable that it has nothing to disclose at this time.”

Engine Capital has recommended Dye &amp; Durham replace its board directors, rather than proceeding with a sale or merger. After first rejecting the proposal on procedural grounds, Dye &amp; Durham accepted this week.

Mawer and Edgepoint also reportedly stood against the potential bids, and favour replacing the company’s management team as well as its board.

PEXA Group, an Australian property technology company, has informally bid for Dye &amp; Durham, according to the Australian Financial Review.

This would be PEXA’s second overseas expans

Tech firm Dye & Durham pauses sale; PEXA aims to buy

The U.S. Department of Justice will reportedly require Google to sell its Chrome browser.

The department’s antitrust officials will request a federal judge’s order to mandate a sale today, according to Bloomberg. Chrome is the most widely used browser worldwide, and Bloomberg estimated it could sell for US$20 billion (A$30.75 billion).

“The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed,” said Google’s Regulatory Affairs Vice President Lee-Anne Mulholland.

The federal judge, Amit Mehta, ruled in August that Google violated the law in its efforts to hold a monopoly on online searches. It was sued by the Department of Justice in 2020.

Prosecutors argued Google paid over $10 billion each year to companies like Apple and Samsung to ensure Google was installed as the default search engine on their products.

“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta said in his opinion.

Google plans to appeal the ruling.

The Department of Justice will also reportedly require Google to license the data from its search engine.

“Forcing the sharing of your searches with oth

DOJ will order Google to sell Chrome in antitrust case

Air New Zealand is reportedly considering reintroducing flights between Auckland and London.

The airline has secured 236 slots at Gatwick Airport for daily service beginning in mid-2025, according to ch-aviation.

“We are constantly reviewing our network and we actively listen to the feedback we get from New Zealanders as to

where they would love to fly,” an Air New Zealand spokesperson said.

“It’s not uncommon for airlines to apply for slots in new airports as part of this network review process.”



“London is one of those destinations New Zealand has a very special connection to and we continue to explore options.”

Air New Zealand first reportedly applied for 420 slots at Heathrow Airport, though its bid was unsuccessful.

Flights between Auckland and London are 18,354 kilometres long. If Air New Zealand relaunches the service, it will again become the longest flight in the world, surpassing the 15,400 kilometre flight between New York City and Singapore.



The airline operated flights from Auckland to London from 1982 to 2020. It was Air New Zealand’s only European route.

"Today Kiwis have more than twice the number of ways to fly to London than a decade ago and preferences have changed,” acting CEO

Air NZ may be considering Auckland-London in 2025

Harlan is a passionate researcher and writer with a Masters of Journalism from the University of Melbourne. | Azzet™