Regulation & Accountability: Norway’s Telenor has been charged over alleged crimes against humanity and alleged sanctions breaches tied to its former Myanmar operations, including claims it repeatedly handed over customer traffic data to the military and included sanctioned surveillance equipment in a sale. Public Safety Networks: The US FirstNet Authority approved new investments for 220 additional cell sites to expand rural and remote coverage, plus upgrades for mission-critical push-to-talk and situational awareness services. Digital Payments Policy: India’s RBI backed a new Merchant Discount Rate for UPI: from Oct 15, a 0.4% MDR applies to person-to-merchant payments above ₹2,000 (capped at ₹300 for ₹75,000+), while P2P and payments up to ₹2,000 stay free for users. Telecom Governance & Local Planning: Oxford Township in the US held a public hearing on a proposed data-centre ordinance after residents pushed back hard; commissioners sent the draft back for revisions. Network & Service Moves: Spark New Zealand is expanding wholesale optical transport to link data-centre campuses around Auckland for enterprise customers. Fraud & Cross-border Scams: A Malaysian expert warned online scams now operate as transnational criminal enterprises, calling for deeper intelligence sharing among banks, telecoms and law enforcement. Access & Inclusion: Pakistan’s PTCL is rolling out ConnectHear’s AI sign-language agent across customer care centres in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.