SME Talent Crunch: Malaysia’s Samenta is urging a rethink of new Employment Pass rules after salary thresholds for expatriates doubled (Category I to RM10,000; Category II to RM20,000), warning SMEs can’t compete for scarce digital talent like software developers, data engineers, robotics technicians and cybersecurity specialists. Tax Pressure on Island Firms: Langkawi’s SME leaders are pushing Malaysia to fix double taxation that hits goods brought into Langkawi and then taxed again when sold outside, raising operating costs and hurting competitiveness. AI Skills for Irish SMEs: Bank of Ireland and Google will fund up to 10,000 AI scholarships for SME customers via Grow with Google, including an SME AI Academy on thinkbusiness.ie ahead of EU AI Act compliance. Sustainable Finance Spotlight: Brazil’s Sicredi won a World Finance award for sustainable cooperative finance, highlighting how credit decisions can bake in environmental and social criteria. Alternative Banking Demand: UK FCA-authorised Transferra says demand for multi-currency business accounts is rising as some firms face closures or declines from mainstream banks. Industrial AI Push: Siemens is expanding its Saskatoon R&D hub by 10,000 sq ft to grow AI-driven semiconductor design work, aiming to add up to 100 high-tech roles. AI for HR Feedback: PYX Labs released a benchmark showing AI can misread employee sentiment when context is nuanced—an urgent reminder for SMBs using AI for people decisions. Agriculture Risk Tools: Treefera launched field-level Agricultural Risk Intelligence and Agricultural Credit Risk Intelligence using near-real-time satellite data to help lenders and seed/crop firms manage climate-driven uncertainty. IoT Rebound: ABI Research reports IoT connectivity is rebounding, forecasting Bluetooth shipments to reach 8.1B by 2030, while warning of new RAM shortages later in 2026. Defense Tech in Europe: A new European exoatmospheric ballistic missile interceptor consortium (Bliksem EXO) is forming, with Destinus leading integration and testing planned for 2027.