The government of the UAE has launched a new defense conglomerate called Edge in Abu Dhabi which aims to develop advanced technology for cyber protection, weapon systems and electronic warfare.

An Australian business delegation has announced its interest in investing and exploring potential opportunities that may arise from India's nationwide 'smart cities' program. The business consortium is made up of 35 members - and they flew in India this week to meet with those tasked with the responsibility of leading the smart cities initiative.

An Australian city has chosen an innovative Internet of Things platform which will deploy a network of environmental sensors that will relay real-time data on air quality, urban heat and noise. The 'Reekoh IoT' platform has been selected as part of the Technology for Urban Liveability Project (TULIP) which is based in Sydney.

Government representatives at both a national and local level are collaborating with entrepreneurs and the University of Adelaide as part of a collective effort to transform Adelaide into a 'smart city'. The initiative is part of an overall program launched by the new Australian Smart Cities Consortium.

Australian telecommunications incumbent Telstra has joined forces with the New South Wales government and a number of technology partners to launch the first driverless vehicle in the state. The consortium has begun trials on the autonomous car, which covers vehicle-to-pedestrian technology. It is expected that the trial will run over a two-year period at Sydney Olympic Park.

Chinese government officials have tabled legislation focused on 'energy efficiency' which has been specifically formulated in an effort to reduce Beijing's consumption of coal. The document which was drafted by members of the Beijing Municipal Government, firmly feel the legislation proposed will cut the capital's coal consumption to below 5 million tons by 2020.

BMW Group has announced that it has officially obtained the Shanghai Intelligent Connected Autonomous Driving Test License.

The Brazilian government is continuing to aggressively pursue its ambitions to digitize the country after announcing a new initiative aimed at discovering and subsequently integrating new Internet of Things solutions into its cities.

The Brazilian government has announced that it has defined its priority areas for the application of Internet of Things, as the public policies and legislation around the technologies begin to shape. Authorities have targeted smart cities, health and agriculture as the main target areas for digital transformation.

A security organisation will present futuristic artificial intelligence camera and sensor technology that sees, smells and listens for potential problems, at the Future Cities Show in Dubai in a push to make Dubai the world's safest smart city.

British entrepreneur and founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson has announced plans to construct an ambitious high-speed Hyperloop system specifically designed to revolutionize the transportation industry in India.

British telecommunications colossus BT has announced that it will invest £600m in faster broadband services in rural parts of the United Kingdom. BT believe the investment will enable them to provide all households in Britain with access speeds of at least 10 megabits per-second, which will allow users to be able to stream content from OTT services such as Netflix and YouTube.

Canada is set to introduce driverless trucks to its transportation fleet despite the imminent threat it poses to many jobs in the country. 2017 was a year in which the self-driving electric truck industry made huge advancement in autonomous technologies and has paved the way for the driverless trucks to be deployed on Canadian roads by 2019.

Toronto has launched an open data portal, one of the key outcomes from the Canadian city's open data master plan and roadmap.

The Canadian government has once again reiterated its commitment to the smart city movement by officially launching a new $50m 'Smart City Challenge'. The innovative project has been specifically designed to encourage communities nationwide in the country to leverage new technology.

Canada's government has taken aim at the tax advantages enjoyed by ride-sharing platforms over traditional taxis in its latest national budget which was unveiled by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau's liberal government indicated in its budget statement that it plans to amend Canada's Excise Tax Act to redefine ride-sharing firms as taxi companies. This redefinition would force them to collect the goods and services tax (GST) on every ride provided, just as taxi operators are required to do.

China has revealed its plans which it believes if successfully executed will make it the world leader in AI (artificial intelligence) by 2030 - which would see the industry worth around $147.7 billion. China's state council disclosed a three-step roadmap it has established, in which it outlined its thinking behind AI and how it expects the technology to be developed and deployed.

The Chinese government has announced that it will invest a staggering $2.1 billion into the development of a new industrial park for AI research in Beijing. Other global superpowers such as Russia, the United States and the UAE have already invested heavily in AI (artificial intelligence) which has been recognized as a key economic driver in the future.

A UK-based financial services firm has claimed that China has stolen a march on other countries, and will lead the global autonomous vehicle market, which is expected to be worth around $1 trillion by 2040. IHS MARKIT has suggested that China will spearhead the self-driving revolution and said that the country had already embarked upon a number of initiatives aimed at establishing itself as the major player in the emerging industry.

Deutsche Telekom has been working with representatives from various municipalities and cities to accelerate digitization in Germany.