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Earth Day Every Day: 5 Eco-Conscious Hotels That Maximise Comfort, Minimise Footprints

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SINGAPORE, April 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — While Earth Day reminds us to celebrate our planet, working towards sustainability is a year-round commitment. Across the globe, meet five remarkable hotels that make environmental stewardship their daily mission. Set in historic cities to lush tropical landscapes, these properties prove that fun and sustainability can go hand in hand, offering unforgettable experiences while trying to protect the destinations they call home.

Centara Reserve Samui, Thailand

Set amidst lush gardens along the tranquil coastline of Chaweng Beach, Centara Reserve Samui harmonises luxury with sustainability initiatives. As a flagship property of Thailand’s leading Centara Hotels & Resorts, the resort is committed to trying to protect Samui’s delicate ecosystem, with its energy-efficient architecture and efforts to minimise single-use plastics in line with the group’s sustainability goals. Food waste is transformed into biogas to fuel kitchen operations, while a specialised in-house water treatment facility enables the safe bottling of still and sparkling water—cutting down on plastic bottle use.

Moreover, the hotel participates in global initiatives such as Earth Hour and promotes resource conservation through its Going Greener and My Green Day programmes. These programmes focus on reducing water consumption and chemical use by reusing guest room linens. Through the Centara Earth Care programme, the resort replaces plastic items with more sustainable alternatives, enabling guests to contribute to these efforts during their stay.

Discover more hotels in Thailand and flights to Thailand.

Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore

Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore by Far East Hospitality stands out as an example of urban hospitality with its distinctive biophilic design. The property was selected for Trip.Best 2024 Asia’s 100 Instagrammable Hotels.

Completed in 2016 by WOHA Architects, the 27-storey building incorporates 21 species of tropical plants and flowering vines across its vertical façade, measuring approximately 160m in height. This architecture not only regulates the building’s temperature but also fosters natural ventilation, reducing the need for air conditioning. The lush, vertical green skin provides a natural habitat for wildlife, including birds, bees, dragonflies and butterflies (even squirrels), contributing to a harmonious coexistence between nature and the building’s residents and guests. Additionally, the façade absorbs and reduces noise, providing a restful, wellness-infused atmosphere for guests.

The interior design complements the architecture, with pools integrated into plant life and rooftop spaces designed for relaxation. This project demonstrates how ecological considerations can be combined with urban hotel operations, offering a sanctuary in the heart of Singapore.

Discover more  hotels in Singapore and flights to Singapore.

Trip.com Group Country Retreats, Dawan, Jinzhai, Anhui

Located in the scenic Dabie Mountains of Jinzhai, Anhui, the countryside retreat merges natural beauty with a more eco-conscious design.

The property runs on solar power, with visible rooftop panels, and features electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Guests are invited to participate in a range of environmental education activities, including hands-on science experiments for children and real-time energy monitoring displays, making learning about sustainability both engaging and educational. Surrounded by the stunning Tianzhai Reservoir and Yanzihe Grand Canyon, the resort offers a mix of outdoor adventures and immersive travel experiences. Visitors can enjoy mountain views while participating in local cultural workshops, which range from traditional farming to artisanal crafts. This retreat aims to inspire travellers to connect with nature and local culture through interactive learning and firsthand engagement with technologies and practices.

Discover more hotels in China and flights to China.

Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo

An urban upper-upscale hotel, Ascott Marunouchi Tokyo offers a subtle approach to more eco-conscious city living. Located around the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Station, and Ginza, the hotel provides a refined and more sustainable stay that blends seamlessly into everyday life.

Designed for longer stays, the serviced apartments offer kitchens and a filtered water system, reducing the need for single-use plastic bottles. The hotel also offers a residential feel, with nearby offices and shops within walking distance. At Ascott Marunouchi, sustainability is woven into urban life through simple, effective choices, making it easier for guests to enjoy a greener stay without sacrificing convenience or comfort.

Discover more hotels in Tokyo and flights to Tokyo.

NJV Athens Plaza, Athens

Situated opposite Syntagma Square and the Hellenic Parliament building, NJV Athens Plaza offers easy access to Athens’ most iconic landmarks. Within walking distance of the Acropolis, Plaka’s charming streets, and the city’s vibrant cultural and shopping districts, the hotel combines a great location with a commitment to forward-thinking practices.

The hotel incorporates more sustainable choices into its daily operations through practical measures. For example, it uses colder linen washing machine cycles to consume less energy and concentrated cleaning products to minimise chemical waste, with biodegradable toilet paper also reducing environmental impact. Guests are invited to participate in conservation efforts, such as opting for less frequent linen changes. Additional initiatives include energy-saving key card systems that automatically power down rooms when unoccupied—small but meaningful steps that reflect the hotel’s dedication to more sustainable hospitality.

Discover more hotels in Athens and flights to Athens.

Caring for the Earth with Trip.com

These more eco-conscious hotels represent a forward-looking model proving that more sustainable choices can go hand in hand with enjoyable experiences. Moreover, Trip.com has launched an Earth Day campaign on its Thailand and Singapore sites to inspire travellers on how to meld the two. One user shared on Trip.Moments about her lower-carbon choices when visiting Promthep Cape, such as choosing bikes over cars, sticking to designated paths, supporting local artisans, and making more sustainable choices in an effort to protect fragile ecosystems.

These individual efforts are complemented by platform-wide solutions like our Country Retreats initiative, which helps distribute visitor traffic to rural areas like Jinzhai (mentioned above). By creating jobs, providing tourism training, and promoting local culture, this programme empowers communities while reducing pressure on overcrowded destinations. We envision a future where such efforts—balancing legacy conservation with infrastructure progress—shape a more sustainable, long-term model for rural tourism.

In 2024, Trip.com launched the “Certified Sustainable” feature to help travellers identify hotels with credible sustainability certifications more easily. This initiative was introduced through a partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), highlighting hotels’ efforts in areas such as governance, social and economic benefits, cultural preservation, and environmental protection. The collaboration underscores the growing importance of more sustainable options in the travel industry and empowers travellers to make more informed, responsible accommodation choices.

In addition to stays, Trip.com also collaborates with the Travel Impact Model (TIM), recommended by Travalyst, to highlight lower-emission flight options for each route. Furthermore, the carbon offsetting programme, in partnership with CHOOOSE, enables you to compensate for the emissions from your flights.

As part of our ongoing commitment, users can now use our AI tool, Trip.Genie, to find more sustainable options through its recommendations. With these new tools, travellers can compare environmental impacts and opt for greener alternatives throughout their journey.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/earth-day-every-day-5-eco-conscious-hotels-that-maximise-comfort-minimise-footprints-302432299.html

SOURCE Trip.com

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Accelecom says KCNA is Deceiving the Public About KentuckyWired

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 KCNA is Threatening to Disconnect Access to Essential Service Providers, Including Schools and Hospitals

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Kentucky Communications Network Authority (KCNA) is deceiving the people of Kentucky about the KentuckyWired project, which it has completely mishandled. In an attempt to conceal its gross incompetence—which has already cost the Commonwealth a fortune, with more to come—KCNA has advanced the false narrative that others, this time Accelecom, are to blame for the state of the project. That is categorically false, and it’s time to set the record straight.

Accelecom has faithfully honored the Wholesaler Agreement and, indeed, has supported KCNA over and above its requirements, even lending millions to KCNA to replace critical infrastructure that was left to rot due to KCNA’s deficient maintenance practices. KCNA complains publicly of the absence of wholesale customers and dark-fiber sales, yet Accelecom currently has 44 wholesale customers for dark-fiber and lit services and KCNA is denying dozens of wholesale dark-fiber sales transactions, some that have been pending KCNA’s review since 2023.

Meanwhile, KCNA has repeatedly breached the agreement in numerous ways. First by denying Accelecom access to make connections that KCNA had long reviewed and eventually by canceling the contract before its disputes with Accelecom—legitimate disputes being pursued in Kentucky courts and with the Finance Administration Cabinet (FAC)—have been resolved. To make matters worse, having exhausted its construction budget due to persistent cost overruns, KCNA breached the Wholesaler Agreement by giving away thousands of miles of its dark fiber network to third parties in exchange for construction services. The dark fiber capacity given away by KCNA is many times what it expected Accelecom to sell over its entire lifetime of the contract.

Regardless, and in the face of KCNA’s deplorable conduct, Accelecom has remained faithful to the project and fighting every day to keep the KentuckyWired system up and running.

There is no need to disconnect customers. The “emergency” that is causing so much distress is entirely of KCNA’s making. They are disregarding their contractual duties and harming the public. Accelecom, by contrast, stands ready, willing and able to continue honoring its obligations to KCNA and its customers.

Concerned citizens and business owners should make their voices heard and hold KCNA leadership to account. It is not too late to salvage this critical infrastructure project, but it soon will be. The time to act is now.

About Accelecom
Accelecom is a leading provider of next-generation fiber solutions across the Southeastern United States, delivering high-speed network, internet, voice and managed services solutions to wholesale, public sector, and business customers across the region. With its extensive fiber network and commitment to bridging the digital divide, Accelecom enables organizations to accelerate innovation, leverage emerging technologies & enhance digital transformation. For more information, visit the Accelecom website and follow the company on FacebookLinkedInInstagram, and Twitter.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/accelecom-says-kcna-is-deceiving-the-public-about-kentuckywired-302453101.html

SOURCE Accelecom

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Mahipal Reddy Yalla, COO & CTO of Virtual Networx Inc., Joins Forbes Technology Council

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Mahipal Reddy Yalla joins Forbes Technology Council, recognized for innovation in AI, infrastructure automation, and enterprise IT leadership.

DALLAS, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Mahipal Reddy Yalla accepted into Forbes Technology Council Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives.

This opportunity allows me to share insights, engage with visionary leaders, and strengthen our mission at Virtual Networx to drive enterprise innovation through AI and automation.” — Mahipal Reddy Yalla, COO & CTO, Virtual Networx Inc

Mahipal Reddy Yalla, COO & CTO of Virtual Networx Inc., a leader in AI-powered IT infrastructure and automation solutions, has been accepted into Forbes Technology Council.

Mahipal was selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.

As a member of the Council, Mahipal has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected leaders in a private forum. Mahipal will also have the opportunity to share his expert insights in original articles and contribute to published Expert Panels alongside other experts on Forbes.com.

“I’m honored to join the Forbes Technology Council. This opportunity allows me to share insights, engage with visionary leaders, and strengthen our mission at Virtual Networx to drive enterprise innovation through AI and automation.”

ABOUT FORBES COUNCILS

Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.

To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit https://councils.forbes.com

Media Contact

Mahipal Reddy Yalla, Virtual Networx Inc, 1 6264163666, vni.info@virtualnetworx.com, https://virtualnetworx.com

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SOURCE Virtual Networx Inc

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Beating the Fraudemic: Sumsub Debuts WTF Summit in Singapore

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Bringing Together Global Experts to Spearhead Collaborative Efforts in Building the Future of Digital Trust

SINGAPORE, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, today announced the launch of its inaugural flagship event—What The Fraud Summit (WTF Summit), the first visionary summit to beat the global fraudemic. The first edition of the event is set to take place at Andaz Singapore from November 19 to 20, 2025. With an assembly of over 500 experts and industry leaders from fraud prevention, compliance, financial crime, regulation, and product innovation, the WTF Summit aims to bridge the gaps between fraud prevention, AI-driven security, regulatory shifts, and digital resilience to formulate actionable anti-fraud strategies to drive the future of digital trust.

With the democratization of fraud and the continuously evolving fraud tactics, Asia-Pacific (APAC) has witnessed a 121% year-on-year increase in identity fraud in 2024, revealed by Sumsub’s 2024 Identity Fraud Report. Another alarming trend observed globally is that nearly half of companies and end users worldwide reported being victims of identity fraud at least once last year, and businesses suffer a loss of approximately $300,000 per fraud event.

“With the rapidly growing fraud risks across the globe, we recognized a critical need for a dedicated platform for industry leaders, regulators and fraud experts to have bold conversations and exchange actionable insights to beat the global fraudemic,” said Andrew Sever, Co-founder and CEO of Sumsub. “By launching the WTF Summit in APAC, we aim to fill the gap in discussions surrounding the multifaceted nature of fraud prevention in the region. Our goal is to collaborate with top minds to craft holistic strategies to create a safer digital future for everyone.”

Top Industry Voices to Shape the Future of Fraud Prevention 

The WTF Summit presents a diverse lineup of speakers, including renowned experts and thought leaders from the space of fintech, crypto, tech, and compliance to connect the dots between fraud prevention, AI security, regulation, and resilience. 

Among all, some of the highlighted speakers at WTF Summit include (arranged in no particular order):

Frans Wiwanto, Managing Director, APAC, FlywireDavid Song, Head of Digital Business Unit, Green Link Digital BankJoseph Gan, CEO, V-KeyAnson Zeall, Founder, Azentiq NexusDesmond Yong, Founder, Meta Alpha, and Legal & Compliance DirectorEelee Lua, Co-founder & COO, DefySteve Craig, Founder & CEO, PEAK IDVAnnette Lu, Head of Compliance, APAC, Hex Trust

Speaker nomination is now open and available here.

In-depth Agenda Addressing Modern Fraud Challenges 

The WTF Summit is designed to deep dive into modern fraud challenges through a mix of keynote sessions, panel discussions, hands-on workshops and networking opportunities.

At the Main Summit (November 20), attendees can look forward to sessions that provide practical takeaways focused on four key topics:

AI & Fraud: How emerging AI-driven fraud schemes are evolving and what proactive defenses businesses need to stay ahead;Digital Identity: Best practices from various industries in securing digital identity while ensuring accessibility and compliance;Compliance: The shifting regulatory landscape, including fraud and compliance trends, risk intelligence, and fraud detection;Crypto: Addressing cross-border challenges, tokenization, and regulatory shifts in the digital asset space.

In addition, Sumsub will offer expert-led workshops with certifications on the day before the Main Summit (November 19). The workshops will be in three specialized modules, which are related to modern scams and deepfakes, smart and compliant onboarding, as well as AML investigations and case management respectively.

The workshop series is proven to equip participants with hands-on experience and practical training, as Sumsub has already successfully conducted similar workshops for INTERPOL and other organizations.

Limited Early Bird Ticket Offer Opens Now

Tickets to WTF Summit can be purchased at the official website: https://sumsub.com/wtf-summit/. The first 100 tickets can enjoy an early-bird discounted offer.

Follow the official LinkedIn page of WTF Summit for the latest updates.

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About Sumsub

Sumsub is a full-cycle verification and ongoing monitoring platform that secures the whole user journey. With Sumsub’s customizable KYC, KYB, Transaction Monitoring, Fraud Prevention and Travel Rule solutions, you can orchestrate your verification process, welcome more customers worldwide, meet compliance requirements, reduce costs, and protect your business.

Sumsub has over 4,000 clients across the fintech, crypto, transportation, trading, edtech, e-commerce and gaming industries including Duolingo, Bitpanda, Wirex, Avis, Bybit, Vodafone, Kaizen Gaming, and TransferGo.

 

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/beating-the-fraudemic-sumsub-debuts-wtf-summit-in-singapore-302452425.html

SOURCE Sumsub

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