Update what's new (#545)

* update what's new

* update what's new

* minor coderabbit suggestion

* Update modules/get-started/pages/whats-new-cloud.adoc

* add Iceberg JSON Schema blurb

Author: micheleRP

modules/get-started/pages/whats-new-cloud.adoc

@@ -8,24 +8,6 @@ This page lists new features added to Redpanda Cloud.
 
 == March 2026
 
-=== Cloud Topics
-
-xref:develop:topics/cloud-topics.adoc[Cloud Topics] are now available, making it possible to use durable cloud storage (S3, ADLS, GCS) as the primary backing store instead of local disk, eliminating over 90% of cross-AZ replication costs. This makes them ideal for latency-tolerant, high-throughput workloads such as observability streams, analytics pipelines, and AI/ML training data feeds, where cross-AZ networking charges are the dominant cost driver.
-
-You can use Cloud Topics exclusively in Redpanda Streaming clusters, or in combination with standard topics on a shared cluster supporting low-latency workloads.
-
-=== User-based throughput quotas
-
-Redpanda now supports throughput quotas based on authenticated user principals. Unlike client-based quotas (which rely on self-declared `client-id` values), xref:manage:cluster-maintenance/manage-throughput.adoc#set-user-based-quotas[user-based quotas] enforce limits using verified identities from SASL, mTLS, or OIDC authentication. You can set quotas for individual users, default users, or fine-grained user/client combinations.
-
-=== Ordered rack preference for leader pinning
-
-xref:develop:produce-data/leader-pinning.adoc[Leader pinning] now supports the `ordered_racks` configuration value, which lets you specify preferred racks in priority order. Unlike `racks`, which distributes leaders uniformly across all listed racks, `ordered_racks` places leaders in the highest-priority available rack and fails over to subsequent racks only when higher-priority racks become unavailable.
-
-=== BYOVPC on AWS: GA
-
-xref:get-started:cluster-types/byoc/aws/vpc-byo-aws.adoc[BYOVPC on AWS] is now generally available (GA). With Bring Your Own VPC (BYOVPC), you deploy the Redpanda data plane into your own VPC and manage security policies and resources yourself, including subnets, IAM roles, firewall rules, and storage buckets. The Redpanda BYOVPC Terraform Module contains Terraform code that deploys the resources required for a BYOVPC cluster on AWS. Secrets management is enabled by default with the Terraform module. 
-
 === Redpanda Connect updates
 
 * Inputs:
@@ -48,6 +30,38 @@ xref:get-started:cluster-types/byoc/aws/vpc-byo-aws.adoc[BYOVPC on AWS] is now g
 +
 Use the unified xref:develop:connect/components/inputs/redpanda_migrator.adoc[`redpanda_migrator`] input and xref:develop:connect/components/outputs/redpanda_migrator.adoc[`redpanda_migrator`] output instead.
 
+=== Cloud Topics
+
+xref:develop:topics/cloud-topics.adoc[Cloud Topics] are now available, making it possible to use durable cloud storage (S3, ADLS, GCS) as the primary backing store instead of local disk, eliminating over 90% of cross-AZ replication costs. This makes them ideal for latency-tolerant, high-throughput workloads such as observability streams, analytics pipelines, and AI/ML training data feeds, where cross-AZ networking charges are the dominant cost driver.
+
+You can use Cloud Topics exclusively or in combination with standard topics on a cluster supporting low-latency workloads.
+
+=== User-based throughput quotas
+
+Redpanda now supports throughput quotas based on authenticated user principals. Unlike client-based quotas (which rely on self-declared `client-id` values), xref:manage:cluster-maintenance/manage-throughput.adoc#set-user-based-quotas[user-based quotas] enforce limits using verified identities from SASL, mTLS, or OIDC authentication. You can set quotas for individual users, default users, or fine-grained user/client combinations.
+
+=== Iceberg: Expanded JSON Schema support
+
+Redpanda now supports additional JSON Schema patterns when translating to Iceberg tables:
+
+* `$ref` support: Internal references using `$ref` (for example, `"$ref": "#/definitions/myType"`) are resolved from schema resources declared in the same document. External references are not yet supported.
+* Map type from `additionalProperties`: `additionalProperties` objects that contain subschemas now translate to Iceberg `map<string, T>`.
+* `oneOf` nullable pattern: The `oneOf` keyword is now supported for the standard nullable pattern if exactly one branch is `{"type":"null"}` and the other is a non-null schema.
+
+See xref:manage:iceberg/specify-iceberg-schema.adoc#how-iceberg-modes-translate-to-table-format[Specify Iceberg Schema] for JSON types mapping and updated requirements.
+
+=== Ordered rack preference for leader pinning
+
+xref:develop:produce-data/leader-pinning.adoc[Leader pinning] now supports the `ordered_racks` configuration value, which lets you specify preferred racks in priority order. Unlike `racks`, which distributes leaders uniformly across all listed racks, `ordered_racks` places leaders in the highest-priority available rack and fails over to subsequent racks only when higher-priority racks become unavailable.
+
+=== Cross-region Remote Read Replicas on AWS
+
+xref:get-started:cluster-types/byoc/remote-read-replicas.adoc[Remote read replica] topics on AWS can now be deployed in a different region from the origin cluster's S3 bucket. This enables cross-region disaster recovery and data locality scenarios while maintaining the read-only replication model. 
+
+=== BYOVPC on AWS: GA
+
+xref:get-started:cluster-types/byoc/aws/vpc-byo-aws.adoc[BYOVPC on AWS] is now generally available (GA). With Bring Your Own VPC (BYOVPC), you deploy the Redpanda data plane into your own VPC and manage security policies and resources yourself, including subnets, IAM roles, firewall rules, and storage buckets. The Redpanda BYOVPC Terraform Module contains Terraform code that deploys the resources required for a BYOVPC cluster on AWS. Secrets management is enabled by default with the Terraform module. 
+
 === Iceberg topics with Snowflake Open Catalog: GA
 
 The xref:manage:iceberg/redpanda-topics-iceberg-snowflake-catalog.adoc[Snowflake and Open Catalog integration] for Iceberg topics is now generally available (GA).