California regulators on Monday approved new rules that will restrict which replacement tires can be sold across the state in an effort to meet energy-efficiency standards.

The new regulations, unanimously adopted by the California Energy Commission (CEC), will phase out tires that fail to meet these standards — a move that could restrict a large portion of the tires currently available to drivers.

“This ultimately is about protecting consumers,” said David Hochschild, Chairman of the California Energy Commission, as reported by KCRA-TV. “I see this as sheltering the public from higher costs in the long run.”

TOYOTA RECALLS 655K CAMRYS GLOBALLY OVER DISPLAY DEFECT THAT CAN KNOCK OUT SAFETY INDICATORS

A tire at a manufacturing plant.  (Getty Images / Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has reached out to several tire manufacturers, including Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone.

The new rules target rolling resistance: the amount of energy it takes for a tire to roll down a road. Lower rolling resistance allows vehicles to consume less gasoline or electricity.

While factory-installed tires on new vehicles typically feature low rolling resistance, drivers often replace them with cheaper, less efficient tires. The new rules aim to ensure that replacement tires maintain energy efficiency levels similar to those of original factory tires.

WAYMO RECALLS MASSIVE AUTONOMOUS FLEET AFTER INCIDENT FLAGS MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE

A mechanic fits a wheel on a car in Heilgersdorf, Bavaria, on Oct. 4, 2024. California regulators on Monday approved a new set of rules that would limit the kinds of replacement tires consumers could purchase. (dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The first phase of the program begins in 2029, targeting the most inefficient replacement tires on the market. The allowable rolling-resistance threshold drops even further starting in 2033.

According to the CEC, California drivers could save $79 in fuel or electricity costs over four months during Phase 1, and about $153 over seven months during Phase 2. The CEC estimates that Phase 2 rules will add an average of about $6.50 to the cost of each tire, the New York Post reported.

“These regulations are a tool within our authority that can save money for every Californian,” said Commissioner Nancy Skinner.

Goodyear voiced concerns over the mandate, arguing that it would pass additional costs onto consumers. Representatives noted that around 70% of tires currently sold in the state would be eliminated by 2033.

Used vehicle tires are piled outside an auto repair shop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July 26, 2026.  (Getty Images)

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Several categories are excluded from the new rules, including snow tires, used and retreaded tires, deep-tread off-road tires, motorcycle tires, and tires sold for emergency vehicles.

The regulations stem from Assembly Bill 844, a 2003 California law requiring the commission to set state tire-efficiency standards.

Two years ago, AI in a website builder meant a chatbot bolted onto the help centre. Now it means describing your business in a sentence and watching a structured site appear with drafted copy, sensible page architecture and images already placed.

For a small business owner who has been putting off building a website since 2019, that changes the calculation entirely.

What has not changed is the commercial small print. Builders are priced per month, the cheapest tiers often carry the platform’s own branding, and the things a business actually needs, a proper domain and email on it, are frequently sold separately. This guide ranks five options on what a working business site really costs once those pieces are included.

1. one.com Website Builder: best all in one value

one.com wins here on bundling rather than on raw design power, and for the target reader that is the right trade.

The one.com AI website builder generates a starting site from a description of your business, drafts the copy across the standard pages, and hands you a drag and drop editor to refine it. An AI writing assistant helps with the text you rewrite afterwards, and the practical necessities are present: contact forms, analytics integration, social components and a cookie banner.

The reason it ranks first is what comes with it. The builder sits inside a hosting plan that already includes a free domain for the first year, email addresses on that domain, an SSL certificate and daily backups, starting from around £1 per month. Compare that with paying a builder subscription, then a domain, then a mailbox subscription, and the gap is substantial.

Be clear about the ceiling. Reviewers consistently find the template range narrower and the design controls shallower than the specialist platforms offer. If your website is your brand, you will feel constrained. If your website needs to explain what you do, prove you are real and take enquiries, you will not. The wider bundle is covered in our one.com review.

Best for: small businesses that want a site, a domain and email for one price.

2. Wix: best AI generation and app ecosystem

Wix has the most mature AI site generation on the market. Answer a short series of questions and it produces a genuinely complete site, images included, that many owners would publish with light editing. The editor gives you pixel level control if you want it, and the app market covers bookings, payments, memberships and almost anything else a small business needs bolted on.

The pricing needs care. The free tier carries Wix branding and is not suitable for a business. Paid plans are reasonable in isolation, a domain is usually included free for the first year on annual plans, but professional email is typically a paid add on through Google Workspace rather than something bundled. Add that per mailbox cost and the monthly total climbs.

One structural limitation: your site is not portable. There is no meaningful export, so moving to another platform later means rebuilding.

Best for: businesses that want maximum design control and add on functionality.

3. Squarespace: best design quality

Nothing else produces a site that looks this good with this little effort. Squarespace templates are genuinely well designed rather than merely numerous, and the AI tooling now handles first draft layout and copy competently. For photographers, restaurants, studios and anyone whose customers judge on appearance, it remains the strongest option available.

The costs are the highest here. There is no free tier, monthly pricing sits above the alternatives, and email again arrives as a paid Google Workspace subscription after an introductory period. A domain is typically included for the first year on annual billing.

The editor also trades flexibility for polish. Templates guide you firmly, which is why the output looks good and why designers find it restrictive.

Best for: visually led businesses where presentation drives sales.

4. GoDaddy: fastest route to live

GoDaddy’s builder is built around speed. Its AI tooling produces a functional site quickly, marketing features such as email campaigns and social posting are integrated rather than bolted on, and the whole thing connects directly to a domain bought in the same checkout.

Design ambition is limited. The output is competent and generic, and customisation runs out sooner than on Wix or Squarespace. As with the rest of GoDaddy’s range, watch the basket for pre selected extras and check the renewal rate against the introductory offer.

Best for: businesses that need something live this week.

5. Hostinger: best for growing into WordPress

Hostinger bundles its builder with hosting, so the pricing structure is closer to one.com’s than to the pure builder platforms. The AI tools are capable, performance is strong for the price, and the same account gives you a route into WordPress, and eventually VPS resources, if the site outgrows a drag and drop editor.

The trade off is the commitment. Hostinger’s headline prices generally require paying several years upfront, and renewal rates are considerably higher. The builder itself is younger and less refined than the established names.

Best for: businesses expecting to migrate to WordPress later.

What to compare before you subscribe

The total monthly cost, with email. A builder at £10 plus a mailbox at £6 is a £16 product. Compare like with like.

Whether hosting is included. Builder only platforms include hosting in the subscription. Bundled builders sit inside a hosting plan. Either works, but you should know which you are buying, and our guide to the best web hosting UK businesses can choose explains where the value sits.

Domain ownership. Register the name in your own account rather than accepting whatever a builder assigns. If the relationship ends, you want to walk away with the address.

Whether you can leave. Most builders lock content to the platform. Weigh that against the convenience before you build fifty pages.

How much you will actually maintain it. An AI generated site is a starting point, not a finished asset. Opening hours change, prices change, and a site that still advertises last year’s services does more harm than no site at all. Choose the platform you will find least irritating to edit on a Tuesday evening, because that is when the updates get made.

Compliance basics. Any site collecting enquiries handles personal data, so check that your builder gives you a privacy notice, a cookie banner and a lawful way to store what people submit. The ICO’s UK GDPR guidance sets out what is expected, and the government’s cyber security guidance covers protecting the account itself.

The verdict

For most UK small businesses, the winner is whichever platform gets a professional site live at a total cost you can justify. Squarespace produces the best looking result and Wix the most capable one, but both price the domain and mailbox separately once the first year ends.

one.com takes the top position because it treats the website, the domain and the email as one purchase rather than three, which is how a small business actually experiences the problem.

This is the comparison most UK small businesses end up making. Both providers are European, both start at about a pound a month, and both promise a domain, a website and email in one place. From the outside they look interchangeable.

They are not. One has built its business on simplicity and bundling, the other on infrastructure and scale, and the right answer depends almost entirely on how much complexity you are willing to manage in exchange for capability.

The domain question first

Start here, because it is where the two providers differ most in practice and least in marketing. Both include a free domain for the first year with hosting plans, and both charge standard rates from year two.

The difference is what surrounds it. In practice, buying a domain name from one.com puts the registration, DNS, SSL and email in a single control panel with one renewal date, and the interface assumes you are not a systems administrator. IONOS gives you more control over DNS records, more extensions and an included mailbox with the registration, inside a considerably busier account area.

For a business registering one .co.uk and pointing it at one website, one.com’s approach removes decisions you did not want to make. For a business managing several names across several projects, IONOS gives you tools you will actually use. Our wider guide to where to buy a domain in the UK puts both against the specialist registrars.

Price, and what happens next year

Both providers open at roughly £1 per month for entry level hosting. That is where the similarity ends.

IONOS renewals land in the region of £8 to £9 per month depending on the plan, which is a substantial increase but relatively moderate by industry standards, and the company is comparatively clear about it upfront. one.com also raises prices at renewal, and the honest advice with either provider is identical: calculate three years, not one.

Where one.com pulls ahead is on what is included at that price. Email addresses on your domain come with every plan rather than as a separate subscription, and the AI Website Builder is part of the package rather than a paid tier. With IONOS, the equivalent capability often means a higher plan or an add on.

Where IONOS pulls ahead is on resources. Even its shared hosting allocates dedicated CPU and memory rather than pooling everything, so performance is more consistent under load. If your site is doing real work rather than sitting as a brochure, that is worth paying for.

Infrastructure and reliability

IONOS wins this section clearly. Its data centres are Tier IV certified in the UK and across the EU, run on renewable energy, and hold ISO 27001 certification. Independent testing regularly puts its response times among the fastest for UK visitors. The company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which brings a level of disclosure smaller competitors do not offer.

one.com’s position is more modest. It has operated from Denmark since 2002, is subject to EU data protection law, and independent reviewers report performance that is good for the price bracket. They also note that it does not publish an uptime guarantee, which is a fair criticism if you need a contractual commitment rather than a track record.

If uptime is a business risk you have to document, IONOS gives you something to point at. If it is a practical concern rather than a compliance one, both will keep a small business site online.

Support

Both offer 24/7 cover. one.com provides chat, phone and email support in several languages, and reviewers consistently rate the experience as friendly and quick for straightforward problems.

IONOS does something structurally different by assigning every account a named personal consultant at no extra charge, alongside standard 24/7 phone, chat and email support. For a business owner who wants one person who understands their setup rather than a fresh agent each time, that is a genuine advantage and the single feature IONOS customers mention most.

The counterpoint is that one.com’s product is simpler, so there is less to need support for.

Website building

one.com’s builder leads with AI: describe the business, receive a structured site with drafted copy, then edit by dragging. It is straightforward and fast, and it is included in the hosting plan rather than priced separately. The limitation is depth, with a narrower template range and less design control than the specialists offer.

IONOS also offers an AI builder with a personal consultant attached to every plan, and its SEO controls cover the basics competently: editable titles, meta descriptions, alt text and automatic sitemaps. It lacks built in SEO analysis and offers limited control over URL structure.

Neither will satisfy a designer. Both will produce a credible small business site in an afternoon. Our roundup of the best AI website builders puts them against Wix and Squarespace, which is the more revealing comparison if design is your priority.

Growing beyond shared hosting

Both providers offer an upgrade path, and both handle it reasonably.

one.com provides managed VPS and cloud server options with dedicated resources and NVMe storage, positioned as a step up rather than a developer playground. IONOS goes considerably further, running a full cloud portfolio from VPS through dedicated servers and enterprise infrastructure, with pricing that stays competitive at the higher tiers.

If there is any chance your requirements will become genuinely technical, IONOS has more room above you. If the ceiling you are worried about is a busy brochure site outgrowing shared resources, either will do.

Complexity, which is the real deciding factor

The honest summary is that IONOS offers more and asks more. Its product range is enormous, its control panel reflects that, and buyers regularly report that the sheer number of options and upsell paths makes the early experience harder than it needs to be.

one.com offers less and asks less. Fewer plans, fewer decisions, a simpler panel, and a shorter path from signing up to a live website. For a plumber, a consultancy or a shop owner doing this alongside running the business, that is not a compromise. It is the feature.

Who should choose which

Choose one.com if you want your domain, hosting, email and site builder in one plan with one renewal date, you value a simple interface over granular control, and your priority is getting online affordably without managing infrastructure. Our full one.com review covers the bundle in detail.

Choose IONOS if you need certified data centres and documented reliability, you want a named consultant rather than a support queue, you are running something resource intensive, or you expect to scale into serious infrastructure later.

The verdict

IONOS is the better hosting company. one.com is the better product for most UK small businesses, which sounds contradictory until you notice they are answering different questions. IONOS optimises for capability and gives you the tools to use it. one.com optimises for the owner who wants a professional website, a working email address and a bill they understand.

Neither choice is wrong. Both appear in our ranking of the best web hosting UK businesses can buy, and the deciding question is simply how much you want to be responsible for.

LONDON — Remarks Kate, the Princess of Wales, made nearly a decade ago about the isolation many new mothers experience have resurfaced online, offering what commentators describe as a timely reminder that feelings of loneliness in motherhood are far more common than they may appear.

Speaking on April 20, 2017, at the opening of Global Academy, a new school in west London, then-Duchess of Cambridge addressed the emotional difficulty many parents face after having children. “It is lonely at times, and you do feel quite isolated,” she said. “But actually, so many other mothers are going through exactly what you are going through. It is being brave enough, like you obviously were, to reach out to those around you.”

The remarks were directed specifically at Katie Massie-Taylor and Sarah Hesz, the co-founders of Mush, an app designed to connect new mothers with one another. The two women had built the platform after becoming genuine friends themselves while supporting each other through the isolation that often accompanies early motherhood. The event took place as part of the royal family’s Heads Together mental health campaign, and Kate’s husband, Prince William, along with his brother Prince Harry, were also present that day, both speaking openly about their own experiences with grief and mental health following the death of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Kate has returned to the theme of maternal isolation on more than one occasion since that 2017 appearance, often drawing on specific personal experience rather than speaking in general terms. During a separate visit to a children’s center in Cardiff, she described the period immediately following the birth of her eldest son, Prince George, when William was still serving as a search and rescue helicopter pilot with the Royal Air Force. “I was chatting to some of the mums, I had just had George and William was still working with search and rescue, so we came up here when George was a tiny, tiny little baby, in the middle of Anglesey,” she said. “It was so isolated, so cut off, I didn’t have my family around me, he was doing night shifts.”

That specific, personal account has continued to lend particular weight to Kate’s broader public comments on motherhood and mental health, distinguishing her remarks from the kind of generalized advice more commonly associated with royal engagements. Rather than speaking about isolation as an abstract concept, she described a concrete period during which she personally experienced the kind of disconnection many new parents report.

Kate has continued to speak on related themes of connection and isolation in subsequent public appearances. In other remarks attributed to her, she has warned more broadly about the paradox of modern connectivity, observing that current generations may be simultaneously more digitally connected than any before them while also experiencing greater isolation and loneliness. She has also spoken about the importance of early childhood development, saying she believes the experiences children have in their earliest years carry lasting effects throughout the rest of their lives, a theme that has anchored much of her public work, including her long-running early years initiative through the Royal Foundation.

Kate’s 2017 remarks and subsequent related comments have taken on renewed relevance in recent commentary examining the gap between the public perception of motherhood and the private reality many parents describe experiencing. Coverage of her remarks has noted that motherhood is frequently portrayed publicly through milestones and family moments, while more difficult aspects, including exhaustion, uncertainty and loneliness, often remain unspoken. That silence, according to the commentary, can create a misleading impression that other parents are managing the transition to parenthood with relative ease, leaving individual mothers feeling as though their own struggles are unusual or isolating in a way others do not share.

Public health experts and parenting researchers have separately noted that the transition to parenthood often brings substantial disruption to a new parent’s existing social routines and relationships, even when family, friends or other parents remain physically present nearby. The shift in daily responsibilities that accompanies caring for a young child can significantly reduce opportunities for the kind of regular social contact that previously helped maintain a person’s sense of connection, a dynamic that can produce feelings of emotional isolation even in the presence of considerable practical support.

Kate’s broader public engagement around maternal mental health has continued in the years since her original 2017 remarks, including through her work establishing the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which has focused on raising awareness of the formative importance of a child’s earliest years of development. Her public statements on the topic have generally emphasized both the significance of early childhood experiences and the importance of parents receiving adequate emotional and practical support during that period.

Kate has also spoken publicly about maintaining a positive outlook during difficult periods in her own life, including remarks she made regarding the importance others placed on her mindset during a personal health challenge. “Everyone said to me, please keep a positive mindset, it makes such a difference,” she has said, reflecting a broader pattern in her public commentary of connecting personal experience to wider themes of resilience and emotional wellbeing. She has also spoken about her professional work bringing her genuine fulfillment, saying in past remarks that her work “has always brought me a deep sense of joy,” and expressing eagerness to return to public engagements when circumstances allow.

Kate’s continued willingness to speak candidly about difficult personal experiences, including isolation during early motherhood, has been credited by commentators with helping normalize public conversations around maternal mental health, a topic that has historically received less open discussion in public life despite affecting a significant proportion of new parents. Her remarks continue to circulate in commentary examining parental mental health nearly a decade after they were first delivered, reflecting the resonance many parents have found in hearing a public figure describe personal struggles with isolation in terms that closely mirror their own experiences.

As renewed attention returns to Kate’s original 2017 comments, the broader message embedded in her remarks — that reaching out for support represents an act of courage rather than a sign of struggling to cope — continues to be cited by parenting advocates and mental health commentators as a meaningful counterpoint to the isolation many new parents report experiencing, even while surrounded by supportive family, friends and communities.

BASE,Inc. (BAINF) Q2 2026 Earnings Call August 5, 2026 3:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Ken Harada – Senior Executive Officer, CFO & Director
Tsuruoka Yuta – Founder, Chairman, Senior Executive Officer & CEO

Tsuruoka Yuta

Thank you for joining us today for BASE, Inc.’s financial results briefing. This is streamed as a recorded video. If you have any questions, please contact ir@binc.jp. We will respond to your questions via email as appropriate.

Today’s attendees are myself, Tsuruoka, Representative Director; and Harada, Director, Senior Executive Officer, and CFO. We will now start the financial results briefing.

First, as usual, I will present the Company overview and executive summary. Our CFO, Harada, will then present the results for Q2 of the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026.

First, as always, this is our mission. We develop all of our products under the mission statement “Payment to the People, Power to the People.”

We are deeply focused on this concept of “Power to the People”, the idea to enable individuals and small team so that they can play a more active role in society. In particular, as reflected in our “Payment to the People” initiative, we are dedicated to bringing “Power to the People” to the fields of payments, e-commerce, and finance. We work tirelessly every day to build our products under the mission.

The number of products within the BASE Group has been growing recently. The overall idea is that we are developing one of two main types of products: those that generate GMV, gross merchandise volume, or those that drive take rates through added value, which are then converted into net sales and gross profit.

While BASE and PAY.JP are primarily focused on growing GMV, the products built on top of them, such as YELL BANK and PAY ID, exist to provide all kinds

The 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks is approaching next month and a prominent foundation serving first responders and servicemembers is partnering with a major beer brand as the American public remembers those who stepped forward in response to the attacks.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Anheuser-Busch have deepened their partnership in advance of the anniversary, with the company stepping in to help sponsor events around the country. Stephen Siller Jr., who manages the In the Line of Duty program at the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, told FOX Business in an interview that the company stepped in to support the foundation’s “never forget” mission.

“For the 25th anniversary of September 11th, we wanted to give the country the opportunity to mourn. The events are very New York, Shanksville, Pentagon-focused – we wanted to do something this year where we traveled the country, allowing as many people as possible to pay their respects,” Siller explained.

This year, the group is traveling the country with a 21-foot, 16,900 pound beam from the South Tower of the World Trade Center with 35 stops in about 30 cities. The journey will conclude by going through a tunnel into New York City, following in the footsteps taken by Siller’s father as he responded to the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

TUNNEL TO TOWERS LAUNCHES ‘STEEL ACROSS AMERICA’ TOUR TO HONOR 9/11 VICTIMS AND HEROES

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation hosts memorial races, including an annual 5K in New York City that Anheuser-Busch is sponsoring. (Andy Katz/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Stephen Siller was an FDNY firefighter who was off-duty on the day of the September 11 attacks but responded to the World Trade Center after hearing the news. When he reached the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, it was closed to vehicle traffic for security purposes, so he walked through the tunnel while carrying his gear to the Twin Towers, where he was tragically killed while trying to save others.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation began with a run that followed his footsteps on September 11, and has built off that tradition with a growing number of events, including a tower climb where participants go up 104 flights of stairs at the World Trade Center and hundreds of run events around the country. This year’s “Steel Across America” tour builds on that legacy.

“One of our main goals when we set out on the steel tour across America was to make sure kids like me who were nine months old or not even born at the time understand what was done for them,” Siller said.

“We’re going to be arriving back in New York, taking that piece of steel through the tunnel following the footsteps my father took that day and ending at the World Trade Center after a long four months of speaking of the stories of that day, making sure the men and women who lost their lives that day will never be forgotten,” he added.

9/11: THE IMPORTANCE TO NEVER FORGET

Budweiser’s “Respect” ad pays tribute to the victims of 9/11 and those who sacrificed their lives in responding to the attacks in service of our country. (Courtesy of Anheuser-Busch / Fox News)

Anheuser-Busch has helped sponsor those events and also plans to re-air the Budweiser “Respect” commercial on September 11 for just the fourth time to commemorate the 25th anniversary. 

The commercial features the brand’s iconic Clydesdale horse mascots, which are depicted traveling into New York City and bowing at the Twin Tower memorial beams and the Freedom Tower.

Cesar Vargas, chief external affairs officer at Anheuser-Busch, noted that the original “Respect” ad aired just once during the 2002 Super Bowl, and has been re-aired to mark the 10th and 20th anniversaries of 9/11. The version that will air this year is the one that first aired on the 10th anniversary and includes the Freedom Tower.

“By partnering with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation to re-air the commercial, we’re following that approach, honoring the ad’s original sentiment to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11,” Vargas said.

WORLD TRADE CENTER REBUILD REVITALIZED LOWER MANHATTAN AND BROUGHT HEALING

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation and Anheuser-Busch are continuing their partnership to ensure 9/11 is never forgotten. (Courtesy of Tunnel to Towers and Anheuser-Busch / Fox News)

Vargas added that the company’s partnership serves to “honor the memory of those who were lost by providing meaningful support for the heroes who serve our communities and our country.”

Siller said that the advertisement is “in the same realm as our piece of steel is. It was a memento that is sacred, that was meant to pay respects to those who gave their lives on September 11th, those who give their lives to protect this country on a daily basis.”

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The annual Tunnel to Towers NYC 5K Run & Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27, which Anheuser-Busch is sponsoring for the fifth consecutive year with 250 employees, family members and friends participating. The event is capped at 30,000 participants.

The Budweiser Clydesdales will escort the Siller family in the opening procession, and the company plans to share commemorative cans at post-race gatherings.

Thailand and Qatar aim to boost tourism collaboration, focusing on luxury and wellness offerings. Despite a slight decline in Qatari visitors, extensive air connectivity supports ongoing promotional efforts targeting high-value travelers.

Key Points

• Thailand and Qatar aim to enhance tourism ties by focusing on luxury, wellness, medical, family, and culinary tourism to attract high-value travelers, leveraging Qatar’s strong purchasing power.
• Thai Ambassador Pensom Lertsithichai and TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool discussed travel trends and opportunities on August 13, noting 13,603 Qatari visitors to Thailand from July 1 to August 9, a slight decline from last year.
• TAT will implement a “Value over Volume” strategy, targeting luxury and family travel, and increasing collaboration with Qatar Airways and local agencies to promote tourism and share market data.

Thailand and Qatar are seeking to expand tourism ties and attract more high-value travelers, with luxury, wellness, medical, family, and culinary tourism offering key growth opportunities in the Qatari market.

Thai Ambassador to Qatar, Pensom Lertsithichai, met with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool on August 13 to discuss travel trends and future market opportunities. Qatar is an important Gulf Cooperation Council market for Thailand, supported by travelers with strong purchasing power and demand for premium tourism experiences.

Thailand welcomed 13,603 Qatari visitors between July 1 and August 9, a 0.52% decline from the same period last year despite uncertainty in the wider Middle East. Air connectivity remains extensive, with Qatar Airways operating a combined 49 weekly flights from Doha to Bangkok and Phuket.

TAT plans to pursue its “Value over Volume” strategy by promoting luxury and wellness travel, targeting families during summer, and using influencer marketing to convert interest into bookings. The agency is also seeking closer cooperation with Qatar Airways, Qatari government agencies, and private-sector partners, while expanding tourism promotion and the exchange of market data to reach travelers from Qatar and the wider Middle East.

Source : Thailand Targets More High-Value Travelers From Qatar

Mark Walter, who sold his ownership stake in the Los Angeles Lakers and may be looking to unload his shares of Chelsea Football Club, continues to cut back amid a federal investigation. 

TWG Global, Walter’s holding company, said on Tuesday it had agreed to cut up to $6.5 billion of Delaware Life Insurance Co’s investments in his businesses. The billions in swaps would be related-party investments for an equivalent amount of assets classified as independent, according to Reuters. 

“The Group 1001 insurance companies are working with the Delaware Department of Insurance to address the identified investments, and TWG is committed to resolving this matter to the Department’s satisfaction,” a spokesperson for TWG Global told the outlet. 

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Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Baseball Management group, applauds a speech by partner Earvin “Magic” Johnson at a press conference introducing them as new Dodgers owners in center field at Dodger Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times / Getty Images)

This comes as The Wall Street Journal reported U.S. federal prosecutors and the SEC are investigating Walter’s businesses to determine whether he, or his entities, committed fraud by concealing financial dealings while borrowing billions from insurers he controls. 

In February, Delaware Life and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co received grand jury subpoenas in connection to an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. 

MARK WALTER LOOKING TO UNLOAD CHELSEA STAKES DAYS AFTER SELLING LAKERS TO JOSH KUSHNER, BOB IGER: REPORT

Also, one of Wall Street’s top regulators has been conducting its own investigation, focused on whether private credit investments, which were categorized as unaffiliated investments by Delaware Life and Clear Spring Life, were in fact connected. 

Delaware Life conducted its own internal investigation after received the subpoenas, where they found errors in how certain related-party investments were presented. 

Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, Ilana Kloss attend day 13 of the French Open 2022 held at Stade Roland Garros on June 3, 2022 in Paris, France. (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images / Getty Images)

It was also reported earlier that the FBI recently seized Walter’s phone and laptop, as well as a high-ranking Guggenheim Investments executive’s, this past year. 

While the investigations are ongoing, Walter shockingly sold his majority stake in the Lakers just one year after purchasing the team for a then-record $10 billion. He sold his majority stake to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for a whopping $12.5 billion. 

Now, Walter and his business partner, Todd Boehly, are reportedly looking to sell their shares in the English Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club, per the Financial Times. Walter and Boehly are hoping to sell their stakes to Clearlake Capital, the majority owner of one of the most popular soccer teams in the entire world. 

Clearlake Capital reportedly has had some friction with the two minority stakeholders after they purchased a piece of the club four years ago. The outlet reported there have been negotiation talks for years between both sides, but no deal was made. 

Mark Walter, Owner and Chairman, Los Angeles Dodgers speaks during the unveiling ceremony of a brand new Koufax commemorative statue at the Centerfield Plaza at Dodger Stadium. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / IMAGN)

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Some are viewing the Lakers’ sale as a quick way to liquify assets for Walter with potential legal problems ahead, and now Chelsea could be yet another way to do so. 

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