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Tag Archives: stores
The trouble with Big W: don't blame online for killing discount department stores
Gary Mortimer, Queensland University of Technology
After weeks of speculation, Woolworths has confirmed it will close 30 of its Big W stores in Australia, as well as two distribution centres. This represents about 16% of its 183-strong network.
The obvious culprit, and the one identified by many analysts, is online shopping.
As one industry analyst explained: "The physical department store footprint is likely to continue to shrink as online sales penetration increases further."
Online shopping is certainly a factor, but it is not the primary reason for Big W's troubles.
Though online shopping in the department and variety stores category is growing fast (by 29.6% in 2018 according to the NAB Online Retail Sales Index, the total amount of money spent online by Australian shoppers – A$28.8 billion – is still only about about 9% of what is spent in traditional bricks-and-mortar stores.
Online retail sales growth by industry in the 12 months to December 2018,
NAB Online Retail Sales Index
More important to Big W's woes is the growth of the so-called category killers, which are disrupting the entire discount department store business model. It a threat to which Big W has failed to respond with the same agility of rival Kmart.
Departed departments
If you're old enough you may remember getting your wall paint mixed in the Big W hardware department, or buying car accessories from its automotive department. There was also a large "sight and sound" department filled with televisions, sound systems, videos and CDs. Discount department stores truly lived up to the idea of a variety store.
'You know the price is low, everyday': A television advertisement for Big W in 1994.
But the profitability of all these market segments for department stores has been eroded by the growth of "category killers" – retailers specialising in the same product categories.
Examples include Office Works for office supplies, Rebel for sports equipment, JB Hi-Fi for audiovisual, Super Cheap Auto for car parts, and Bunnings for hardware. All have taken market share from the discounters. These stores compete on price and have superior range, and shoppers trust the expertise of staff working in a specialist shop.
The popularity of category killers explains in large part the stagnant sales and talk of store closures throughout the department store segment.
Harris Scarfe and Best and Less are reportedly struggling. The Reject Shop's net profit for the first half fell from an expected A$17 million to less than A$11 million.
David Jones' half-year profit fell 39% to A$36 million. Myer reported a 2.8% drop in total sales for the same time frame.
What does the future hold for our traditional department stores?
Wesfarmers expects earnings from its department store brands Kmart and Target to fall about 8% this financial year. Eight Target stores closed during the first half of the financial year, with another six closures expected by the end of June.
Cutting losses
Kmart is considered Australia's discount department store "darling". A decade ago it was on life support. Under the direction of chief executive Guy Russo it doubled it profits by 2015.
A key to the turnaround was recognition it needed to quickly reduce or exit categories it could not compete in, such as hardware, automotive, fishing, consumer electronics and sporting goods. It has turned to homeware, soft furnishings, manchester and kitchenware.
There appears no such swiftness in Big W's moves.
Big W's chief executive from January to November 2016, Sally MacDonald, reportedly wanted to closes stores and make other major changes but was thwarted by the board of Woolworths Group, owner of Big W.
Such differences in strategic vision explain why MacDonald left the role within the year.
This process of "right-sizing" therefore seems long overdue. To what extent it makes Woolworths a sustainable business, however, will depend on future response to changing circumstances.
What is certain is that discount department stores aren't what they used to be; and if they want to be around in future, they probably can't be what they are now.
Gary Mortimer, Associate Professor in Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology
Posted in Australia, news, Shops & Shopping	| Tagged article, Australia, Big W, department, discount, news, online, shopping, stores | Leave a comment
Posted on July 10, 2010 by particularkev
Karnataka, India, June 30 (CDN) — Hindu extremists on June 23 beat two pastors, seriously injuring them in Chandapura, Anekal. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that after pastors Shidu Kurialose and Nithya Vachanam of Bethel Assembly of God Church conducted a Christian meeting in a home, armed extremists attacked them at a tea stall. The extremists accused the pastors of forceful conversion and started beating them with iron rods. Both pastors sustained serious injuries and were admitted in a local hospital. No police complaint was filed.
Tamil Nadu – After opposing a Christian convention on June 17-20, Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on June 22 burned at least seven vehicles belonging to Jesus With Us Pentecostal Church in Mathikere, Hosur. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the incident started when the extremists on June 18 called on local authorities to revoke the organizers' permit and convinced local Hindu shop owners to close their stores. Police arrested five Hindu extremists in connection with anti-Christian violence. Subsequently, under police protection, Christians moved their meeting to another area eight kilometers (five miles) from the original site.
Uttar Pradesh – Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh disrupted the prayer meeting of the Jesus Church (Isha Garh) on June 21 in Firozabad and accused the pastor of forceful conversion. A source said the extremists forced their way into the church building and manhandled Pastor Breymond Shastri. The next day the extremists went to newspaper Amar Ujala with the accusation, and the local periodical published a false report that Pastor Shatri was taking part in forceful conversion activities. Area Christian leaders said no forceful conversion was taking place. The extremists warned the pastor he would be harmed if he continued to conduct worship services.
Uttar Pradesh – About eight Hindu extremists on June 20 disrupted the Sunday worship service of Apostolic Christian Assembly Church in Gorakpur. After shouting anti-Christian slogans outside the church building, the extremists stormed in and ranted against Christianity, putting a halt to the meeting as they accused the pastor of forceful conversion. Police arrived and chased the extremists away. At press time the extremists were still issuing threats to the pastor, warning him of harm if he continued conducting worship meetings, the Evangelical Fellowship of India reported. Police have provided protection to the pastor.
Karnataka – Based on a complaint by Hindu extremists against Christians of forceful conversion, Karnataka officials closed down a Christian orphanage on June 16 in Karwar. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that state officials visited a school at the orphanage and issued a closure order to Spring of Hope Orphanage and Vocational Arts Training Centre, which has 61 tribal students. The home has been functioning for four years in an area long occupied by Siddi tribal Christians. At press time area Christian leaders were taking steps to resolve the conflict.
New Delhi – Suspected Islamic extremists beat an Afghani Christian, seriously injuring him, on June 14 in Malviya Nagar. A Christian source said two Islamic extremists on a motorbike beat Hamid Ullah on his head as he was walking home. The Christian fell on his stomach and the extremists continued to beat him, denigrating his faith, calling him "pagan" and warning him to convert to Islam or face harm. Afghani Christians have been facing warnings, threats and attacks in different areas of New Delhi, the source said, and the advocacy department of the Evangelical Fellowship of India has taken steps to help them.
Karnataka – After Hindu extremists from the Sri Ram Sena (Lord Ram Army) on June 9 attacked Pastor Vasanthe Kathedar of New India Church (NIC), police arrested him for allegedly creating communal disharmony and disrupting the peace – that is, practicing his Christian faith among Hindus – in Okkere, Belgaum. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that the incident took place at the house of a NIC member where the Christians were meeting. The assault on the pastor lasted for about an hour and, as is customary in India, when police arrived they arrested and charged the victim of the crime.
Orissa – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal on June 9 accused three Christians of forceful conversion and attacked them in Deogarh, Sambalpur. The Evangelical Fellowship of India reported that the incident took place when Hindu Biranchi Kistotta invited Pastor Lamuel Panaik, Pastor N. Philemon and Sudhir Kumar to celebrate the healing of his son, for whom Pastor Panaik had prayed. People of various faiths attended the celebration, including Hindu members of Kistotta's family. At about 12:30 p.m., seven Hindu extremists accompanied by media personnel suddenly arrived and called Pastor Patnaik to come out of his house. When the pastor refused, the extremists rushed in and forcefully pulled out the three Christians. The extremists accused them of forceful conversion and beat Sudhir Kumar while manhandling the two pastors. Police arrived and questioned those present about whether forceful conversion was taking place, and people came forward to say that the Christians were innocent. Police took the three Christians to the police station as a safety measure, however, and arranged for their return home at 10:30 p.m. No police complaint was filed as the Christians chose to forgive the attackers.
Orissa – Hindu extremists on June 8 brutally attacked a Christian and threatened to kill him in Nuapada. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that six Hindu extremists armed with daggers and sticks broke into the house of Bhakta Bivar, 19, while his parents were at a prayer meeting. The extremists verbally abused Bivar for his faith and started beating him. They dragged him to a Hindu temple, where they told him to deny Jesus as they continued to beat him, forced on him food offered to idols and threatened to kill him and his parents if they did not convert to Hinduism. The extremists burned four Bibles they had taken from his home and, forcing him to wear a saffron garment symbolic of the Hindu religion, dragged him out to the street, falsely announcing that he had returned to Hinduism. The extremists left after threatening to kill him if he continued to believe in Christ, as they have forbidden the existence of Christianity in the area. Following the filing of a complaint with police, five Hindu extremists were arrested the next day.
Karnataka – Police on June 7 arrested two Christian women after Hindu extremists from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh disrupted Sunday worship in Bovi Colony, Chickmagalur. According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India, the extremists barged into a church's worship service and accused Kadaur Devaki and a pastor identified only as Lalathamma of creating communal disharmony and disrupting the peace. Police soon arrived and arrested the two women for "deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings" and sent them to Hassan Jail.
Tamil Nadu – Hindu extremists from a religious and cultural organization formed to defend the Hindu religion, the Hindu Munnani, demolished a church building under construction on May 28 near Rameshwaram. Catholic sources said the demolition came after a local Hindu Munnani leader identified only as Ramamurthy filed a complaint against construction of the building. Government officials sided with the Hindu extremists, claiming that the one church building, St. Anthony church, already existed and that a new one would create tensions. The structure was demolished, leaving area Christians shocked and shaken.
Chhattisgarh – Hindu extremists from the Bajrang Dal attacked a Christian school program from May 20 to May 29 in Jagbalput, beating a pastor and two teachers on May 27. Beaten were Pastor Rahul Pant and two teachers from Mission India. A source told Compass the extremists accused the Christians of forceful conversion and of using a government school for the Christian program, called Children Development Program (CDP), without permission. They also accused the Christians of distributing books containing conversion activities (biblical narratives). The extremists took the Christians to a police station, where officers questioned them. The Christians said they had permission from the village head, but the assailants said they need permission from the local collector. The parties reached an agreement wherein the Christians were forced to stop the CDP in the government school until they obtain the collector's permission. The Christians were released without charges.
Karnataka – Opposing a church leader for conducting prayer meetings in his house, Karnataka police on May 26 verbally abused pastor Shiva Kumar and warned him not to conduct further Christian meetings in Mysore. The Global Council of Indian Christians reported that at about 7 p.m. police summoned Pastor Kumar and detained him until 10:30 p.m. Police forcefully obtained a written statement from the pastor, took his photograph and warned him not to conduct any Christian activities in the area.
Andhra Pradesh – Hindu extremists accused Pastor T. Paul of forceful conversion and beat him on May 24 in Narayanpet, Mahabubnagar, seriously injuring him. The All India Christian Council reported the Hindu extremists stopped Pastor Paul as he returned home in a Jeep after conducting a worship meeting. The extremists stopped his vehicle and dragged him out before beating him and accusing him of forceful conversion. The pastor received hospital treatment for internal injuries. Area Christian leaders have asked police to arrest the assailants.
Posted in Assemblies of God, Christianity, Hinduism, India, Islam, Roman Catholicism	| Tagged abused, accompanied, accusation, accused, activities, Acts, admitted, advocacu, Afghani, agreement, allegedly, Amar Ujala, Andhra Pradesh, Anekal, announcing, anti-Christian, Apostolic Christian Assembly Church, armed, arrest, arrested, arrived, asked, assailants, assault, attacked, attackers, attacks, attended, authorities, away, Bajrang Dal, barged, beat, beating, Belgaum, believe, belonging, Bethel Assembly of God Church, Bhakta Bivar, Bibles, Biblical, Biranchi Kistotta, Books, Bovi Colony, Breymond Shastri, brutally, building, burned, called, CDP, celebrate, celebration, Chandapura, charged, charges, chased, Chhattisgarh, Chickmagalur, Children Development Program, chose, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Christians, church, claiming, close, closed, closure, collector, communal, complaint, conducted, conflict, connection, construction, containing, continued, convention, conversion, convert, convinced, creating, crime, cultural, customary, daggers, defend, deliberate, demolition, demoloshed, denigrating, deny, Deogarh, department, detained, different, disharmony, disrupted, disrupting, distributing, down, dragged, Evangelical Fellowship of India, existed, existence, extremists, faith, faiths, false, falsely, family, feelings, fell, filed, Firozabad, food, forbidden, forced, forceful, forgive, formed, functioning, garment, Global Council of Indian Christians, Gorakpur, government, halt, Hamid Ullah, harm, harmed, Hassan Jail, head, healing, Hindu, Hindu Munnani, Hindus, Hinuism, home, hospital, Hosur, house, identified, idols, incident, incidents, India, injuries, injuring, innocent, invited, iron, Isha Garh, Islam, Islamic, issuing, Jagbalput, jeep, Jesus, Jesus Church, Jesus With Us Pentecostal Church, Kadaur Devaki, Karnataka, Karwar, kill, Lalathamma, Lamuel Panaik, leader, leaders, leaving, local, Lord Ram Army, Mahabubnagar, malicious, Malviya Nagar, manhandled, Mathikere, measure, media, meeting, member, Mission India, motorbike, moved, Muslim, muslims, Mysore, N. Philemon, Narayanpet, narratives, need, new, New Delhi, New India Church, newspaper, NIC, Nithya Vachanam, Nuapada, obtain, obtained, occupied, offered, officials, offisers, Okkere, opposing, order, organization, organizers, original, Orissa, orphanage, outrage, outside, owners, Pagan, parents, part, parties, pastors, peace, people, periodical, permission, permit, Persecution, personnel, photograph, police, police station, practicing, prayed, prayer meeting, present, press time, program, protection, provided, published, pulled, questioned, Rahul Pant, Ramamurthy, Rameshwaram, ranted, Rashtriya Sangh, reached, received, recent, refused, released, religion, religious, report, reported, resolve, returned, revoke, rods, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics, RSS, rushed, safety, saffron, Sambalpur, school, serious, seriously, services, shaken, Shidu Kurialose, Shiva Kumar, shocked, shop, shouting, Siddi, sided, site, slogans, son, Spring of Hope Orphanage and Vocational Arts training Centre, Sri Ram Sena, St. Anthony, stall, started, state, statement, steps, sticks, stomach, stop, stopped, stores, stormed, street, structure, students, suddenly, Sudhir Kumar, summoned, Sunday, suspected, sustained, symbolic, T. Paul, taking, Tamil Nadu, tea, teachers, temple, tensions, threatened, threats, treatment, tribal, Uttar Pradesh, various, Vasanthe Kathedar, vehicle, vehicles, verbally, victim, village, violence, visited, walking, warned, way, wear, women, worship, written | Leave a comment
New Christmas tree design will remind of the real Christmas
Boss Creations, a new holiday décor company, has introduced the new "CHRIST-mas" Tree™, featuring the unique trait of a trunk in the shape of a wooden cross. Company owner Marsha Boggs says the tree was specifically designed to counter the "war on Christmas," reports Boss Creations in its press release.
"When I became a Christian a few years ago," says Boggs, "I was appalled by the secularization of the Christmas holiday. When retail stores started substituting 'Happy Holidays' for 'Merry Christmas,' and schools began calling their Christmas programs 'Winter Plays,' it all seemed ridiculous to me. That's why we have created products that remind people what the Christmas season is really all about – the birth of Christ."
The "CHRIST-mas" Tree™ is size adjustable up to 7.5 foot tall to accommodate various ceiling sizes. Additionally, the company offers ornaments, wreaths and gift items all with Christian-based themes.
Legal fights over Christmas symbolism continue to create headlines such as a recent ban on religious songs in a New Jersey school district where the federal appeal judges noted "such songs were once common in public schools, but times have changed." Lawsuits regarding Christmas trees being taken down from public buildings have sparked anger across the country. Boggs says Boss Creations' mission is to uphold the traditional meaning of the Christmas season, and from their sales, the company will be supporting two non-profit organizations that work as advocates for religious freedom.
A portion of the proceeds of all "CHRIST-mas" Tree™ sales will go to support the American Center of Law & Justice, an organization recently hailed by BusinessWeek as "the leading advocacy group for religious freedom," as well as to the Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the traditional family.
Posted in Christianity, Christmas, Special Days	| Tagged about, accommodate, adjustable, advancing, advocacy, advocates, American Center of Law & Justice, anger, appalled, appeal, began, birth, Boss Creations, buildings, Business Week, calling, ceiling, changed, Christ, Christ-mas Tree, Christian, Christianity, Christians, Christmas, common, company, continue, counter, country, create, created, cross, decor, dedicated, design, district, education, family, featuring, federal, gift, group, happy, headlines, holiday, human, introduced, items, judges, lawsuits, leading, legal, Liberty Counsel, life, litigation, Marsha Boggs, meaning, merry, mission, new, New Jersey, non-profit, offers, organizations, ornaments, owner, people, plays, policy, portion, press release, proceeds, products, programs, public, real, recent, religious, religious freedom, remind, retail, ridiculous, sales, sanctity, school, season, secularization, shape, siza, sizes, songs, sparked, specifically, started, stores, substituting, supporting, symbolism, themes, times, traditional, trait, tree, trunk, unique, uphold, various, War, winter, wooden, work, wreaths | Leave a comment
EGYPT: CHRISTIANS ARRESTED, SHOPS LOOTED IN VILLAGE
Funeral incident leads to disproportionate response from Muslim mobs, police.
ISTANBUL, November 21 (Compass Direct News) – Authorities in an Egyptian village arrested 50 Coptic Christians, whose shops were then looted, to pacify Muslims following violence that erupted on Nov. 4 over a Christian boy's unwitting break with custom.
Muslim villagers attacked the homes and shops of Coptic Christians in violence-prone Tayyiba, a town with 35,000 Christians and 10,000 Muslims, after 14-year-old Copt Mina William failed to dismount his donkey as a funeral procession passed.
William was watching the procession in Tayibba, 220 kilometers (137 miles) south of Cairo, with Nathan Yaccoub, also 14. William's failure to dismount violated a local custom of showing respect, Copts United reported, and members of the procession reportedly beat him before completing the procession. William suffered minor injuries.
After the funeral procession, the processional members began throwing stones at the homes of local Copts and attacking their shops before police broke up the crowd with tear gas.
A priest said members of the procession did not attack the youths for showing disrespect but as an excuse to lash out against the community's Christians for a previous episode of sectarian violence.
"These two children with the donkey didn't know about the traditions," said Father Metias Nasr, a Cairo-based priest with connections in areas south of the capital. "The Muslims there were angry about the last case of violence and wanted to create a new problem with these two children there."
When the violence began, police presence increased significantly in the city. But rather than quell the unrest, police reportedly made matters worse for the Christians. After breaking up the crowd, officers detained 50 Copts and 10 Muslims.
A source told Compass that police arrested a disproportionate amount of Christians to create a false sense of equanimity and to pressure the Christians into "reconciliation" with the attackers so the Copts would not prosecute them. The arrested Christians have since been released.
In the two weeks since the attacks and looting, the increased police force in the village has harassed Copts through intimidation, "fines" and racketeering. Police have taken an estimated $50,000 from village Copts, the source said.
Once police lifted the curfew, Coptic shopkeepers returned to their stores to discover that they had been looted. Sources said the perpetrators were "supply inspectors," local government inspectors who do quality control checks on goods. They gained access by smashing locks and doors of the shops.
The sources said supply inspectors plundered grocery stores, a poultry shop, an electronics store and a pharmacy.
According to Coptic weekly Watani, looters stole nearly $2,000 worth of goods from grocer Bishara Gayed. Another victim of the looting, an owner of a poultry shop who declined to give his name, blamed supply inspectors for running off with his stock.
A local clergyman condemned the violence.
"It is unreasonable that a mistake by some 14-year-old should lead to all that rampage," a village Coptic priest known as Father Augustinus told Watani. "Something ought to be done to halt all this."
Orphanage Bulldozed
Numerous instances of sectarian violence have struck Tayyiba in the last few months.
Last month a Coptic Christian was killed over a dispute with a Muslim who wanted to buy his house. Violence escalated, resulting in damaged storefronts, 48 arrests and injuries sustained by three Christians and a Muslim.
Such quarrels typically arise from land ownership issues. A Coptic source told Compass that Christians in Tayyiba are generally wealthier than their Muslim counterparts, often leading to resentment.
Tayyiba was stable at press time, though the town is considered to be continually in danger of religious violence flaring. This situation is common throughout Egypt, Fr. Nasr told Compass.
"The village is like anywhere in Egypt," he said. "In every place in Egypt we can say that in one minute everyone can be destroyed by fanatics, sometimes through the encouragement of security [forces]."
The Coptic Church has faced recent difficulties in other Egyptian cities, with government officials attempting to obstruct their religious activities. On Wednesday (Nov. 19), city officials in Lumbroso, Alexandria destroyed an unfinished but recently furnished Coptic orphanage owned by Abu-Seifein Church and worth 6 million Egyptian pounds (US$1 million).
Officials claimed the building did not have a license, although church leaders said the demolition came on orders from the religiously zealous Islamic mayor. Ali Labib, former head of police and state security in Alexandria, in his two-year tenure as mayor has refused license applications for new church construction or rebuilding, said a Cairo-based Coptic priest who requested anonymity.
The priest said the orphanage was only able to obtain a license because it was issued before Labib's tenure.
Islam is a growing presence in Egypt's public sphere. While the government has attempted to crack down on extremists, Islamic civil groups that have drawn widespread support by offering cheap medical assistance and private lessons to school children include the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization with jihad in its credo that has been accused of violence.
The Muslim Brotherhood is well regarded by the average Egyptian, who equates the government with autocracy, corruption and repression, author and intellectual Tarek Heggy reportedly said. Over the last four decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has introduced its brand of fundamentalist Islam into Egyptian schools, mosques and media, he added.
Egypt's ethnic Christians, known as Copts, belong to the Orthodox Church and number 12 million among the country's 79 million inhabitants. There are smaller groups of Catholics and Protestants.
Posted in Christianity, Egypt, Islam, Orthodox, Roman Catholicism	| Tagged Abu-Seifein Church, access, accused, Alexandria, Ali Labib, angry, anonymity, applications, arrested, assistance, attack, attacked, attackers, Augustinus, author, authorities, autocracy, average, beat, Bishara Gayed, blamed, brand, building, bulldozed, Cairo, capital, cheap, children, Christian, Christianity, Christians, cities, city, civil groups, claimed, clergyman, completing, condemned, connections, construction, Copt, Coptic, Copts, Copts United, corruption, counterparts, create, credo, crowd, curfew, custom, danger, declined, demolition, destroyed, detained, difficulties, discover, dismount, disproportionate, dispute, disrespect, donkey, doors, Egypt, Egyptian, electronics, encouragement, episode, equanimity, erupted, escalated, estimated, ethnic, excuse, failed, failure, fanatics, Father, fines, flaring, former, fundamentalist, funeral, furnished, gained, goods, grocer, grocery, groups, harassed, head of police, homes, incident, increased, inhabitants, injuries, instances, intellectual, intimidation, introduced, Islam, Islamic, Islamist, issues, Jihad, killed, license, local, locks, looted, looters, looting, Lumbroso, mayor, media, medical, members, Metias Nasr, Mina William, minor, mistake, mobs, mosques, Muslim, Muslim Brotherhood, muslims, name, Nathan Yaccoub, officers, organization, orphanage, Orthodox church, owner, ownership, pacify, passed, perpetrators, Persecution, pharmacy, plundered, police, poultry, pounds, press time, priest, problem, procession, prosecute, Protestants, public, quarrels, racketeering, rampage, rebuilding, reconciliation, regarded, released, religious, reported, repression, resentment, respect, response, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics, school, schools, sectarian, shopkeepers, shops, smashing, sphere, stock, stones, storefronts, stores, suffered, supply inspectors, support, Tarek Haggy, Tayyiba, tear gas, tenure, throwing, town, traditions, unfinished, unrest, victim, village, villagers, violated, violence, Watani, watching, wealthier, weekly, widespread, youths, zealous | Leave a comment


The Chubby Chernobyl is a great stonefly and grasshopper adult imitation. It is easily visible from 40 feet with it's double synthetic wing and boasts 4 pairs of rubber legs giving it tons of movement as it skitters across the surface.
Size 8-12 make excellent October Caddis imitations.


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Suvedu Adhikari resigns as MLA trinamool congress mamata banerjee BJP
Image source: FILE PHOTO
Suvendu Akhikari has resigned as Trinamool MLA.
Amid reports of his joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), dissident leader of the Trinamool Congress, Suvendu Adhikari, resigned as MLA on Wednesday. Adhikari, who was once considered a close aide to Trinamool boss Mamata Banerjee, is likely to arrive in Delhi on Thursday to meet with BJP leaders, including Amit Shah.
The BJP, meanwhile, has welcomed Adhikari's decision. "The day that Suvendu Adhikari resigned from the ministerial post, I told him that I would be happy if he leaves TMC and we will welcome him. Today, he resigned as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and I welcome his decision," BJP said Vice President Mukul Roy.
"The Trinamool Congress is collapsing like a house of cards. Every day someone from the party comes to join our party, "he added.
Nandigram MLA's resignation came just days before Union Interior Minister Amit Shah's proposed 2-day tour of Bengal later this week. During the visit, the former BJP president is likely to also visit the Midnapore district, which is Adhikari's home district and a stronghold.
ALSO READ: 'No more discussion,' Saugata Roy says as TMC closes the door on Suvendu Adhikari
"I also heard that Suvendu Adhikari can join the BJP. He is welcome in the party if he wants to join us. We will give him opportunities to work for the people of Bengal," BJP State Unit Chairman Dilip Ghosh previously said.
Adhikari had submitted his resignation as a minister in the state cabinet led by Mamata Banerjee last month, on November 27. He had also stepped down as chairman of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioner (HRBC) two days earlier.
Sources said that Adhikari was unhappy with the organizational decisions made by Abhishek Banerjee and political strategist Prashant Kishor. Adhikari and Banerjee were even seen indirectly shooting at each other without taking names in recent public gatherings in the past.
NHSRCL Recruitment 2020: Apply to fill 61 vacancies of Senior Executive at nhsrcl.in – education
UPSC CDS results 2020 declared at upsc.gov.in, here's direct link to check – education

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I'm a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer living near Florence in Italy.
One of my first musical productions was, in the first years of 90's, a Raggamuffin mini-LP with, as vocalist, Irene Grandi the Italian singer/song writer/actress.
I played live with her and Simona Bencini (Dirotta su Cuba) other than many local groups.
I also opened one "Articolo 31" concert.
My first instrument were the drums but I actually play guitars, basses and keyboards too.
My productions are realized with the help of FL Studio, Wavelab, free plugins and home made samples.
A Roland master keyboard, a Yamaha electro-acoustic midi drum (with a new Roland TD-11 kit and a kids acoustic small drumset), a cheap italian Eko strato-like electric guitar (actually many... many more), a Squire precision bass (plus a fretless Jazz one) and an old folk acoustic guitar.
All the sounds go through a Terratec Phase22 (and a m-track quad) soundboard on a Windows based PC.
Patricia Edwards, Pallaso, PowderJay, NateMonoxide, Jofanum, MStokes, ploesh, RichieWinn, Leverett, docshine, Vicen, TeamRufeless, Manoodjir, Amberite, Kikajon, CalifKen, Reficul1889, Redgold to mention only the first interesting "loopermen" coming in my head.
The outer world is almost unreal.
I listen and produce any kind of music.
My influences are mostly from American and English rock/pop music.
It Comes Out Of The Speakers!


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Josip Vrhovec (Zagreb, 9. veljače 1926. — Zagreb, 15. veljače 2006.) bio je hrvatski partizan, ekonomist, novinar i političar SR Hrvatske.

Životopis
Rođen je 9. veljače 1926. godine u Zagrebu. Bio je pripadnik Narodnooslobodilačkog pokreta.

Diplomirao je na Ekonomskom fakultetu u Zagrebu, nakon čega je od 1956. do 1957. i od 1959. do 1963. godine bio glavni urednik "Vjesnika u srijedu", a od 1968. do 1969. godine glavni urednik "Vjesnika". Bio je i dopisnik "Vjesnika" iz Velike Britanije (1957. – 1959.) i SAD-a (1963. – 1967).

Bio je sekretar Izvršnog komiteta Centralnog komiteta Saveza komunista Hrvatske od 1972. do 1974., član Predsjedništva Centralnog komiteta Saveza komunista Jugoslavije od 1974. do 1978., savezni sekretar za vanjske poslove od 17. svibnja 1978. do 17. svibnja 1982., predsjednik Predsjedništva Centralnog komiteta Saveza komunista Hrvatske od 1. srpnja 1983. do 15. svibnja 1984. i član Predsjedništva SFR Jugoslavije od 1984. do 1989. godine.

Krajem osamdesetih protivio se nacionalističkoj politici Slobodana Miloševića.

Umro je u Zagrebu 15. veljače 2006. godine. Sahranjen je na groblju Mirogoju.

Literatura
 Hrvatska enciklopedija (knjiga jedanaesta). "Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža", Zagreb 2009. godina.

Vanjske poveznice
 Umro Josip Vrhovec, posljednji Titov ministar vanjskih poslova, pristupljeno 4. studenog 2011.

Životopisi, Zagreb
Partizani
Hrvatski komunisti u drugoj Jugoslaviji
Hrvatski novinari
Sekretari Centralnog komiteta SKH

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


EnerCorp is proud to sponsor our many youth sporting leagues in our communities. This summer, our team is supporting FFPS soccer leagues in Houston, TX and USSSA baseball leagues in Hobbs, NM. Supporting these youth organizations isn't about donating; it's about investing in young people's lives who seek to be active in developing their team building skills.
Our own team at EnerCorp truly believe such skill sets carry on with them into future careers, their personal lives and can lead to genuine success.


New Videos from the recent Golden West Pops Premiere Concert are now up! You can find all five of them on my YouTube Channel, including the video from our performances of Pirates of the Caribbean, Led Zeppelin on Tour, and the hilarious What's Up At the Symphony?. And, below, I have posted my two violin features of the evening, Schindler's List and the fantastic dual-solo work of Keith Buerger and myself on Flight of the Bumblebee.
It was a really delightful show! Be sure to keep an eye out for our other upcoming performances this year!


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Asus ZenPad 3S 10 LTE Announced
3:06 pm January 24, 2017 By Roland Hutchinson
Asus has launched a new Android tablet, the Asus ZenPad 3S 10 LTE which comes with a 9.7 inch display with a resolution of 20148 x 1536 pixels.
The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 LTE is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor and it also comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of built in storage.
Other specifications on the tablet include a 7800 mAh battery and Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the device also features front and rear cameras.
On the front of the Asus ZenPad 3S 10 LTE there is a 5 megapixel camera for video calls and Selfies and on the back of the device there is an 8 megapixel camera for photos and videos.
The Asus ZenPad 3S 10 LTE is launching in Malaysia for RM 1,799 which is about $405 at the current exchange rate, the tablet also comes with a stylus.
Source GSM Arena
Filed Under: Tablet News


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All functions pursuant to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
2002/811/EC: Council Decision of 3 October 2002 establishing guidance notes supplementing Annex VII to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC
2002/812/EC: Council Decision of 3 October 2002 establishing pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council the summary information format relating to the placing on the market of genetically modified organisms as or in products
2002/813/EC: Council Decision of 3 October 2002 establishing, pursuant to Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, the summary notification information format for notifications concerning the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms for purposes other than for placing on the market
LMOs for direct use as food, LMOs for direct use as feed, LMOs for processing
Assessment methods of the conformity of novel foods to requirements and the procedure of application for and issuing of novel food handling permits
LMOs for direct use as food, Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), LMOs for direct use as feed, LMOs for processing
Commission Decision 2009/770/EC establishing standard reporting formats for presenting the monitoring results of the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms
Public awareness and participation, Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, Information Sharing, Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), Confidential Information
Commission Decision of 23 February 2004 laying down detailed arrangements for the operation of the registers for recording information on genetic modifications in GMOs, provided for in Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
Human and/or Animal Health, Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), Risk assessment and management, Handling, transport, packaging and identification
Commission Directive (EU) 2018/350 of 8 March 2018 amending Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified organisms
Public awareness and participation, Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, LMOs for direct use as food, Confidential Information, Risk assessment and management, Handling, transport, packaging and identification, LMOs for direct use as feed, LMOs for processing
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 120/2014 of 7 February 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 1981/2006 on detailed rules for the implementation of Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council as regards the Community reference laboratory for genetically modified organisms
Transboundary movement (import/export), Public awareness and participation, Human and/or Animal Health, Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, LMOs for direct use as food, Unintentional transboundary movements and emergency measures, Confidential Information, Risk assessment and management, Handling, transport, packaging and identification, Illegal transboundary movements, LMOs for direct use as feed, LMOs for processing
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 503/2013 of 3 April 2013 on applications for authorisation of genetically modified food and feed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Regulations (EC) No 641/2004 and (EC) No 1981/2006
Transboundary movement (import/export), Risk assessment and management, Handling, transport, packaging and identification
Commission Recommendation 2004/787/EC of 4 October 2004 on technical guidance for sampling and detection of genetically modified organisms and material produced from genetically modified organisms as or in products in the context of Regulation (EC) No 1830/2003
Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, LMOs for direct use as feed, LMOs for processing
Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 of 27 January 2009 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1981/2006 of 22 December 2006 on detailed rules for the implementation of Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Community reference laboratory for genetically modified organisms
Commission Regulation (EC) No 641/2004 of 6 April 2004 on detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the application for the authorisation of new genetically modified food and feed, the notification of existing products and adventitious or technically unavoidable presence of genetically modified material which has benefited from a favourable risk evaluation
Information Sharing, Handling, transport, packaging and identification
Commission Regulation (EC) No 65/2004 of 14 January 2004 establishing a system for the development and assignment of unique identifiers for genetically modified organisms
Transboundary movement (import/export), Handling, transport, packaging and identification, LMOs for direct use as feed
Commission Regulation (EU) No 619/2011 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed as regards presence of genetically modified material for which an authorisation procedure is pending or the authorisation of which has expired
Contained use, Transit
Contained Use of Genetically Modified Micro-organisms Act
Council Decision 2002/628/EC of 25 June 2002 concerning the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
LMOs for direct use as food, Handling, transport, packaging and identification, LMOs for direct use as feed, LMOs for processing
Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products
Contained use, Risk assessment and management
Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on principles of risk assessment of the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms, on classification of the contained use, and on containment and other protective measures (1053/2005)
Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), Risk assessment and management, LMOs for processing
Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms ( 110/2005)
Simplified Procedure, Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), field trials
Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health on the differentiated procedure relating to the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (90/2005)
Public awareness and participation, Human and/or Animal Health, Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), Transit, Unintentional transboundary movements and emergency measures, Confidential Information, Risk assessment and management, Handling, transport, packaging and identification, Illegal transboundary movements
Directive (EU) 2015/412 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 amending Directive 2001/18/EC as regards the possibility for the Member States to restrict or prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their territory
Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC
Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points, Pharmaceuticals, Risk assessment and management
Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Community Code relating to medicinal products for human use
Transboundary movement (import/export), Contained use, Intentional introduction into the environment (AIA), Unintentional transboundary movements and emergency measures, Liability and redress, Handling, transport, packaging and identification, Illegal transboundary movements
Directive 2004/35/CE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage
Convention on Biological Diversity | Central Portal of the Biosafety Clearing-House


KNOXVILLE, TN, April 4, 2019—Singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra is currently one of the most successful and reputable up-and-coming Latin artists. For his recent performance at the 60th Vina del Mar International Song Festival in Vina del Mar, Chile, one of the oldest and most respected music festivals in South America (which is both performed live and televised), the principal audio team – front-of-house mixer Will Madera, monitor mixer Andres Guerrero Ruiz and broadcast mixer John Buitrago – chose to employ the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer in each position (FOH, monitors and broadcast).
His team has been using a complete Waves SoundGrid® and eMotion LV1 setup since the beginning of his tours. Subsequently, Yatra's team chose to deploy an integrated SoundGrid solution at FOH, MON and Broadcast for this prestigious and highly technically demanding live performance and television event. Due to the live TV recording, the Vina Del Mar festival uses primary and backup solutions at all positions, as well as integration with their house setup. Thanks to the ease of cross-platform integration using Waves SoundGrid solutions, Yatra's team was able to deploy their standard tour package of Waves eMotion LV1 consoles (plus the broadcast console), and still integrate seamlessly with the festival's DiGiCo SD Racks for PA output feeds.
Waves Audio is exhibiting at booth 15302 at the 2019 NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA.


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Episode 157 — Ayana Mathis 0
Ayana Mathis is today's guest. Her debut novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, was an official selection of Oprah's Book Club 2.0 and has since gone on to become a New York Times bestseller. It is available now from Knopf.
Kirkus, in a starred review, calls it
"Cutting, emotional…pure heartbreak…though Mathis has inherited some of Toni Morrison's poetic intonation, her own prose is appealingly earthbound and plainspoken, and the book's structure is ingenious…an excellent debut."
And Marilynne Robinson raves
"The Twelve Tribes of Hattie is a vibrant and compassionate portrait of a family hardened and scattered by circumstance and yet deeply a family. Its language is elegant in its purity and rigor. The characters are full of life, mingled thing that it is, and dignified by the writer's judicious tenderness towards them. This first novel is a work of rare maturity."
Monologue topics: mail, dinner invitations, IRL.


The Small-Lab was estabilished with a collaboration of some Elettra research groups responding to the need of researchers to have a suitable and safe place where perform chemical experiments and analytical procedures.
Other Elettra research groups could be authorized to access to the laboratory after request and upon agreement with the laboratory manager. Beamlines users are not allowed to access to the laboratory. For their needs they must contact the Support Lab.
ACCESS TO THE SMALL LAB IS ALLOWED TO AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Working in a chemical laboratory needs proper training and attention to safety. Researchers allowed to enter the laboratory must follow the Chemical Laboratory Safety Guidelines and consider the effects of their operations/conduct not only on their research, but also on other facility users.


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FullWoman
What it means to be a pastor's wife
Cyria Kayiwa of Namirembe Christian Fellowship. photos by Phionah Nassanga.
Preacher's wife. In almost every preacher's empire, there is a strong woman, who stands by her man no matter the circumstances. But many times, they are victims of malicious gossip, unrealistic expectations and pastoral frustrations. Phionah Nassanga spoke to women who are married to pastors and they share experiences.
By Phionah Nassanga
"After the death of his wife in 2006, my pastor, now my husband, continued to shepherd his flock without a wife by his side. In 2007, I received call from him, asking if I would lend him some money. I did not have it at that moment, but I promised to give him what I had. Three days later, we met. When we had a conversation, I realised his problem was not money, but he wanted someone to express his feelings with.
After listening to him, I was terrified. He shared with me matters of the heart and I was not sure whether to say yes or no. I was in a dilemma. At 23 years, he proposed to me. I must confess that I knew nothing about the mountains and valleys ahead of me.
When I said I do, I also said I do to becoming a maama (mother) to the congregation he was ministering to," Favour Esther Senfuma, a wife to Pr Senfuma of Inner Man Ministries recalls.
According to Senfuma, being a preacher's wife is a blessing yet one of the hardest callings to deal with. It is a journey filled with all shades of trials.
Being referred to as mukyala musumba (pastor's wife) is dream come true for some women. However, Senfuma notes that many tend to lose their true identity and start living and working to fulfil the expectations of the congregation, society and the pastor.
"In many cases, you are expected to be smart at all times, know all the Bible verses and everything at church. You are expected to attend every church function. The church and the public expects a preacher's wife to be perfect yet we are human beings," she explains.
Christine Beyagala, the head of preachers' wives at Namirembe diocese, observers that a lot is expected of a preacher's wife. She is expected to support her husband's ministry, raise and nurture an exemplary family, be a perfect mother with the most disciplined children, best chef, welcoming, hardworking, smart and a model Christian woman.
"Society believes a preacher's wife has no room for any mistakes. You are a spotless white piece of cloth. Any spot in it gets easily noticed," says Beyagala.
Janet Maka, a wife to Pastor Moses Maka, a leader at the Central Uganda Conference of the SDA Church, says: "People's expectations of us are very unrealistic. Just because I am married to a preacher, it does not make me a saint. It is so frustrating that our children are judged unfairly. All other children can make mistakes except pastors' children. Yet they are children just like any other. They engage in fights, they fail at anything including getting low marks at school. But when all this happens, the public starts to judge the parents and the children," Maka laments.
The blaming game
To Senfuma, a preacher's wife is held responsible for anything that goes wrong at church. When the church ministry is on the rock and the man at pulpit seems unwell, the wife gets questioned. Yet most of these women have little or no say in most of the church decisions. For instance, if any of the employees gets fired from any church project, someone will conclude that the preacher's wife has a hand in it. When people are leaving the ministry, you are the cause," says Senfuma.
"People fail to trace the source of the problems within the church and start attributing them to the pastor's wife."
Maka on the other hand says: "Even when the man of God is in the wrong, the wife must act as his shock absorber and protect him, because society and looks at him as a holy man. Many preachers' wives must carry the cross of being their husbands' number one fan.
Dealing with criticism
Cylia Kayiwa of Namirembe Christian Fellowship, says being a preacher's wife requires a woman to be very prayerful. There will be trying moments and criticism. In such circumstances, the pastor's wife cannot fight back, but suffer in silence and keep strong in prayer.
"It is difficult when people criticise you, but it is worse when they turn their guns to your husband and children. Some years ago, someone came up to claim that my husband had human skulls beneath his church and that he was involved in human sacrifice. What hurt me most was that some pastors also confirmed the allegations. This affected every member of the family, especially my children. Their friends at school started calling them cannibals. It was a very trying moment but I remained strong in prayer," Kayiwa recalls.
Relatedly, Senfuma says criticism takes many forms. What you are wearing, how you discipline your children, what you are adding to the ministry and pastor matters. All this is done to find fault in one's actions.
However, she says positive criticism is welcome but not malicious acts aimed at destroying one's image, ministry and family.
Limited time for the family
Lillian Olal of Anointed Upper Room Church, Kamwokya, Kampala, says preachers have limited time with their families regardless of whether one is a senior or junior pastor. "A preacher's job is potentially a 24/7 job. Even the few hours he is at home, he is still receiving phone calls for prayers and counselling.
"Many times, my husband goes away for days, weeks or months for personal prayers and fasting. All you have by your side are children," Olal explains.
Senfuma says there are times it feels like the church is stealing him away from you. Yet the congregation also thinks you are taking away their pastor.
"My husband has no resting time. The only time I have with him is in the evening when he is tired," Senfuma narrates.
Maka says: "On many occasions I have told my husband we are losing you."
Beyagala reveals that the doors to a preacher's home must be open all the time. It is a place that entertains and accommodates visitors and guests of all walks of life, known and unknown.
"As a wife, you are expected to welcome everyone who comes to your home. Your home is an extension of the church and at times a place for meetings. Despite the fact that you have children, people expect to find the home organised and spotlessly clean. If it is not, everyone at church will know how dirty the preacher's wife is."
According to Senfuma, the call to serve as a preacher's wife is a lonely journey. She says: "You have close friends who cannot open up because your husband is their pastor. They see a righteous man, yet he is a different man at home. Many women are hurt and crying in silence each time they hear their husbands preach, because at times, they do not live the life they proclaim at the altar."
"It gets worse when your husband has no mentor you can confide in because the other parties cannot relate to your struggles as a pastor's wife, unless they have been there," says Senfuma.
"As a preacher's wife, you have to listen to people's issues, challenges in marriage, as well as act as a counsellor. But we never open up to other people about our own issues.
This role requires you to be a mother to the church members, to protect the image of your husband and uphold the institution of marriage and family, against all odds. Many preachers' wives have no friends to confide in," she expresses.
Much as the expectations of a preacher's wife are way too high, we cannot deny the fact that it also comes with lots of bennefits, which include respect and trust.
Beyagala says once a woman becomes a preacher's wife, she assumes the role of being a mother to every member of the church and the congregation tends to trust her.
She explains that the position gives women a chance to work with many people. Senfuma says pastors always receive invitations to preach in different churches and on many occasions, their wives are invited along for these trips.
"Not only do you get to experience new cultures, but you meet new people, make new friends and exchange ideas with Godfearing people," says Senfuma.
"The pastor's wife and family never lack. God has miraculous ways of providing for the preacher's families. When you become a preacher's wife, you are called to serve God's people without holding back," says Senfuma.
Here are five popular misconceptions about the pastor's wife;
You have it all together. Some people assume you have worked through all your issues. On earth, we will always have battle to do with our flesh. Sure, you may struggle. Will the Father give relief at times? Yes. But "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
Your gifting should match your husband's. Although you and your husband are one flesh, you are not the same person. God made you differently. And yet he knew what he was doing in putting both of you together. Be the best you can be. Enjoy hosting people in your home, go ahead and teach if you enjoy it.
Kiss close friends goodbye. There is wisdom in carefully choosing whom you disclose your hopes, desires, and struggles, especially when doing so sheds light on your burdens. Not everyone can handle such information with grace and maturity. Do not buy the lie, though, that you cannot have close friends. Doing so will only isolate you and your husband from good fellowship with other believers.
You must be friends with everyone. Even if you' are not a pastor's wife, how deeply are you able to know everyone? It is impossible to be the same kind of friend to everyone. We are limited. We practice humility when we acknowledge we cannot be close friends with everyone and must trust the Lord to meet that need in both us and them.
Your children are the most sanctified. Faith is not an inheritable trait. Our children, like anyone else's will make wrong choices. All children need to be corrected.
www.crossway.org
The NRM secretary general, Ms Kasule Lumumba, said the decision to invite the Opposition was
ICC orders Myanmar to impose measures to protect Rohingya


Concealer. . . One of the most used makeup products used in the beauty industry. Many people are always on a hunt for concealer to cover up imperfections like breakouts, discolored skin, and the most popular under eye circles. Like many, I am always on the hunt for a concealer that will cover my imperfections like under the eye especially during allergy season. It never fails that when allergy season comes around my under eye becomes puffy, red and dark. In addition to the issues listed my fine lines underneath my eyes became more visible. So, with that said I need a concealer that will meet the needs listed.
I currently own many concealers that work very well for concealing imperfections like MAC cosmetics Studio finish, Smashbox camera ready concealer and Stila perfecting concealer, however none of them are like the concealer I am going to share with you today. The concealer I will be talking about is the TEMPTU Under Eye Concealer that is a perfect companion for those of you that already use the Temptu AIRbrush Makeup System.
The Temptu under eye concealer is unique in it one way compared to the concealers I already own. How? Well this concealer conceals and also has some amazing skincare combined with it. What is it? What's in it?
Cucumber and Chamomile Extracts: Soothing, cooling and anti-inflammatory agents.
Of course apply your favorite skincare on freshly cleanse skin for before you apply any foundation or concealer.
Apply the Temptu Under eye concealer and use your ring finger to pat and roll the concealer on for a smooth application.
Finally apply your Temptu Airbrush foundation for a flawless finish to your complexion.
Then Set with Temptu Retouch Translucent powder.
My thoughts on this concealer? Well, I have been using this concealer for the past 3 weeks nows and here are my findings: During the days when my allergies were bad to the point my eyes were puffy I did notice that the Temptu under eye concealer did reduce the puffiness and redness. That was a plus to me because my eyes would look terrible with my regular concealer.
The coverage was a bit light for me. If you are used to using MAC's studio finish concealer you know that you can receive full coverage from that concealer, right? With the Temptu concealer I felt it gave me a light to medium coverage, so in turn I had to apply a bit more than normal to achieve the same coverage I get from my MAC or smashbox concealer. As far as seeing any reduction in fine lines and wrinkles I don't think 3 weeks was enough time for me to see that benefit. Just being honest.
The color match was pretty good! The tan worked great for me and the dark color I had would be a great companion if I got more sun. If that were to happened I could mix the too together to get the perfect match for my summer skin tone.
As far as the wearability, I was happy to say that the product did not get cakey or crease on me throughout the day. In turn my eyes look bright and refreshed.
Overall, I have to say that the TEMPTU Under Eye Concealer is priced on the high end of concealer, $28, and if you have the concerns with fines lines, puffiness, and discoloration definitely give it a try. However, if you are needing a full coverage concealer this may not be for you and you may just need to opt for a full coverage concealer and add on your favorite eye cream for the extra skincare benefit.
This Concealer can be foundation at Sephora.com ., Temptu.com and QVC.com . I was shocked when I heard that QVC carried the Temptu airbrush system! I thought that was great because now if anyone wanted to give it a try without having to shelling all of your money in one big payment QVC offers easy pays on the system.
Here is my tutorial on how to apply and use the Temptu airbrush foundation. I thought doing this would be a challenge, but it was super easy and the best part was not having to dirty up my foundation brush and blush brushes to apply them product on. If you have been thinking about airbrush makeup definitely check out this tutorial featuring Temptu's Airbrush Makeup System. I am in love with airbrush makeup now. The product just feel so light on the skin and the longevity of the product is wonderful especially if you live in hot humid climates like here in Texas.
Airbrush makeup as become very popular over the past decade due to its flawless results airbrushing gives to many makeup artist's clients whether if the client is a celebrity or an everyday woman getting ready for whatever that special occasion maybe. Airbrush makeup seems to gives such a immaculate and luminous finish to the skin without feeling heavy or cakey, as a result, becoming the tool of the trade for many makeup artists around the world. Recently, Airbrush makeup has become such a buzz in the beauty industry that now many brands offer a airbrush system to women and men on the consumer side of the beauty industry now. Airbrush makeup at a consumer level? Yes, that's right! Anyone with the desire to have airbrush makeup can now own their personal airbrush makeup system to their personal makeup collection if desired. The Airbrush makeup system I will be sharing with you all today is by Temptu.
Who or What is Temptu?
TEMPTU became a pioneer in AIRbrush makeup, and one of the first cosmetic houses to introduce AIRbrush application foundation back in 1996. In 2002, TEMPTU introduced its groundbreaking silicone-based formula foundation that delivered an unparalleled flawless finish and became an instant classic with makeup and beauty pros. Soon, TEMPTU was launched into beauty stardom as the go-to brand for camera-ready, flawless skin.
Sharing an intimate relationship with the makeup industry's top artists, TEMPTU's work and products can be found gracing the faces and bodies of top stars and models in feature films, television, music, and fashion. Gathering the feedback of their closest artisans, TEMPTU has been able to develop the leading professional products on the market today, making them the industry's gold standard when it comes to skin perfection. Now available to anyone in search of skin-perfecting makeup application, TEMPTU's groundbreaking TEMPTU® AIRbrush Makeup System is a necessity for anyone who wants truly professional quality makeup within their reach.
Today, TEMPTU stands at the apex of where beauty meets technology. They rely on their professional artists to inform the quality of every product they create, and they strive for universality to serve the needs of every beauty out there. It's these pretty practices that help TEMPTU bring their "PERFECT, ENHANCE and ADORN" makeup mantra to life. Follow their three get-gorgeous tiers, and you'll be a TEMPTU poster girl in no time.
I remember last year when this product came out and I was dying to give it a try, but my local Sephora did not carry one at that, so I decided to hold off on it. I have always wanted to try an airbrush system just in order to see what the difference was between airbrush makeup and regular foundation. Until recently. I was kindly contacted by Temptu to complete a review of their Temptu Airbrush makeup system and you know me being a makeup enthusiast I was all over it and agreed to try it out! I mainly want to calm my curiosity and to also share it with those of you they are thinking about airbrush makeup too.
The Face Kit contains a TEMPTU AIRbrush Makeup System plus 2 full-size AIR pod™ Foundation pods, 1 full-size AIR pod™ Blush, and 1 full-size AIR pod™ Highlighter. The blush and highlighter pods contain approximately 2 months of makeup, and the foundation pods contain 1 month of makeup each, work with all skin types, and are suitable for all skin tones. They're dermatologist-approved, oil-free, and hypoallergenic — perfect for those with sensitive skin. The price of the kit is reg. $345 sale $310.
As far as picking out my foundation shade it was kind of a struggle because it is kind of hard to match your shade online. However by the luck of the stars I ended up picking a a wonderful match. The shade that I wear in the Temptu Airpod makeup is 009 Golden (My shade in MAC foundation is NC42) The foundation is available in only 12 shades so, if you are not too sure what to pick out I was totally recommend going to your local Sephora that offers the Temptu System and get color matched. On the other hand, I think it would be a great idea if Temptu offered a free foundation sample just for the sake of color matching. In addition to the foundations they also offer bronzers, highlighter, and blushes.
What I found helpful is not only did this kit come with the system and makeup, but it also included a very easy how to guide on the system and for those of us that are visual learners the kit also contained a how to DVD. The DVD was less then 10 minutes long which made it very easy for me to get started asap.
Now, you are probably wondering is it the Temptu Airbrush makeup system easy to use? Absolutely! Almost too easy too use. After reading and watching the DVD it was very easy for me to put the system together without breaking it. (smile, I am heavy handed) When it came to applying the foundation, I liked the fact that you can adjust your coverage of your foundation through the compressor or the airbrush pen. Super easy! The flow of the makeup is smooth and as a result, you end of with a light yet flawless finish to you makeup!
I could not believe how easy it was to use this system and how little time it took me to apply this makeup. Literally it took me less than 3 minutes to apply the foundation. It took me a little while to get used to the air slightly blowing in my face, but after that I was free sailing for sure. You can achieve a light and sheer coverage or a med to full coverage with the same foundation. I think that is great depending on your lifestyle and how you would use this personally. I also liked the fact that I did not have use a foundation brush, sponge or hand to apply the foundation either. The best part is that my clothes or hairline did not get dirty from applying the makeup too! So, That was fabulous!!
Now if you are an makeup artist this would make a great system to use with your clients however, the downside is that you are unable to custom blend your foundations with this system. However, Temptu does offer a Pro version for makeup artists. If you are curious about the pro system visit Temptupro.com.
Overall,the Temptu Airbrush Makeup system is very easy to use. My thoughts? This is a luxury item like I mention before this system will cost you from $280 and up depending on the extras you add. It is expensive, but I believe it is on average with other consumer airbrush systems like Luminess air and others on the beauty market. This system is easy to travel with because of it size and even the airpod foundations are airport friendly as well. So, for those that have been looking into using airbrush system for the personal use I would totally recommend using the Temptu airbrush makeup system. I really enjoyed using it and can not wait to show you all how to use it in a tutorial which is coming soon. In the meantime enjoy my video above about the system and how it works.


Jeanne Okerlund was married for many years to legendary wrestling commentator, Gene Okerlund –who died aged 76 on January 2nd.
Born Eugene Arthur Okerlund on December 19, 1942; the South Dakota native began his career as a ring-side reporter for the AWA, interviewing early wrestling stars including Hulk Hogan, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. It was Ventura who gave Okerlund his nickname of "Mean Gene".
He joined WWE in 1984 becoming a prominent presence on cable television. Not only did he serve as WWE's top interviewer, he also hosted programs including All American Wrestling and Tuesday Night Titans.
He also had an eight-year stint at WCW beginning in 1993. He then returned to the WWE –staying with the company for the remainder of his career, making regular appearances at WrestleMania and hosting archival programs such as WWE Madison Square Garden Classics and WWE Network's Legends' House. In 2006, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
He is survived by longtime wife, Jeanne and the couple's two adult children, including son, Todd Okerlund.
Gene and Jeanne had been married since 1964. The couple resided in Sarasota, Florida.
The couple's son Todd –is a former professional hockey player –who was drafted by the New York Islanders to play pro hockey. Todd also played for the University of Minnesota and retired after just one pro season due to an injury.
Jeanne Okerlund was a supportive wife and dedicated mother. During their 54-year-marriage she stayed out of the spotlight for the most part, not much is known about the couple's second child either. Jeanne –a Wisconsin native according to her social media –donated on of her kidneys to Gene back in 2004. Her famous husband had previously had a kidney transplant in the 90's. An official cause of death has not been released yet.


Can I really afford this?
After all, the biggest purchase you may have made so far is either for your education or transportation.
No doubt this is a big step. Don't let anyone tell you that purchasing a home is simple and particularly when it's your first home. Your first decision is how best to arm yourself with information. With all due respect to your parent's or that Uncle that is eager to tell you "Let me help you…I done this plenty of times before"it is in your best interest to rely on professional people who do this every day of the week. You wouldn't let your close friend pull your tooth or have a buddy adjust the brakes in your car and so you shouldn't ask them particularly when buying a home. Having said that, you should rely on friends and family to be as much a part of the process as you are comfortable with as sharing this once in a life time experience is a forever memory. You Only Buy Your First Home Once!
This is not like buying a car in a very important way. No matter how much you care and maintain your ride it loses value as soon as you drive off the lot and will continue to depreciate in value with every kilometer you drive. A home purchase also requires care and maintenance but if you do it wisely your home will almost always grow in value. Not only can it cost you about the same or less than rent it is like putting more than 50%of that money (the principal portion of your mortgage payment) into a savings account. We refer to it as an "intentional investment" that will build your personal net worth.
Through this process you will need a Realtor, Lender/Mortgage Broker, Lawyer, Insurance Broker and possibly a Home Inspector. We have you covered from our personal real estate service to referrals with all the industry professionals you will need.
New Federal Government mortgage rules announced October 3rd, 2016 are now enacted. These rules may impact your ability to purchase a new home or the value of the home you purchase. If pre-approved for a mortgage prior to implementation of the new rules you should immediately undergo another approval to determine if your purchase level has been affected. Mortgage brokers sometimes have more lending options. To obtain the best rate and terms you should ask at least two financial lenders, one of which is a mortgage broker!
Get pre-approved and don't fall for all the over-the-top features unless you can truly afford them today. Click the MORTGAGE PRE-APPROVAL buttonto see what pre-approval is all about.
Make sure your eyes are wide open when buying a home. We will NEVER try to oversell a home to you. Our role is to find that perfect home for you within your budget and to buy it for less. With the savings that we can help you achieve you will be able to afford the ongoing costs such as property taxes, insurance and home maintenance.
While not absolutely necessary we would encourage you to think about it so that your loved ones aren't left "holding the bag" at a very difficult period of time. Before you sign your mortgage documents ask us how we can make your insurance investment a wise one. There are options so let us clear the fog, put your mind at ease and help you buy the right product for your specific circumstances.
You will be responsible to pay a Land Transfer Tax to the provincial government but as a first time buyer you are entitled to a rebate. (Click the LAND TRANSFER TAX button for more information)Legal Fees, Home Inspection and Moving costs are part of the process and we can provide solid advice to help you out. There is also a First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit that you need to know about.(Click the NEW BUYER TAX CREDIT button for more information) Mortgage Insurance through CMHC, Genworth or Canada Guarantee is needed if your down payment is less than 20%. Our mortgage specialist will guide you through your mortgage insurance options or be sure to ask your personal lender.
If you have been able to put anything into RRSP's those funds can be available to you. See the RRSP HOME BUYERS PLAN information by clicking the appropriate button. You may also qualify for Flex Down that allows you to borrow your down payment so ask our mortgage specialist. You may also reach out to parents or other relatives for help with your down payment. BMOdata shows that 30 % of first-time home buyers expect to get help from family!
Money for a down payment cannot "magically" appear in your account at closing time, so mortgage lenders want verification that down payment money either came directly from the borrower or as a gift from an immediate relative.
Mortgage lenders typically won't allow down payment gifts from family friends or bosses or other non-relatives.
Your lender may require that the person gifting the money provide a gift letter outlining the amount of the gift, the recipient, the giver's relationship to the recipient and the fact that the gift is not subject to repayment terms. Sometimes parents or relative lend money for a down payment rather than gifting it, but lenders frown on this because it increases the borrower's debt-to-income ratio.
Some lenders require that the gift-giver share his or her banking history to show the origins of the gift money. If your parents are wary of sharing their financial information with you, they may be able to communicate directly with your lender rather than using you as a middleman. The gift should be deposited into your account so that it can be documented and the deposit should exactly match the amount shown on the gift letter to avoid potential issues.
If a couple is buying a home jointly, the gift-giver may want to specify in the letter that the gift is intended for their grandchild, child, niece, etc. Otherwise, if a couple divorces, the down payment gift may be presumed to be for the benefit of both parties and split evenly between them.
We have put together a helpful BUYERS RESOURCE GUIDE that walks you calmly through the whole process, so click the button for the full document. Ask our mortgage broker/specialist about programs such as the Purchase Plus Program that allows you to do home improvements before you settle into your new home, include those costs within your mortgage and not have to use saved funds or charge that cost of improvements on your credit cards.You should always make as much use of low cost mortgage funds as you are allowed to make this your perfect home.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this information.
We hope you have found it helpful.
Give us a call or fill out the input screen below and we will also hook you up with a free hotlist of homes in your price range in the local market. Join the Open Forum if you have questions or take a look to see what others are asking.
There is no cost and no obligation only information that will eliminate the mystery and relieve any stress you may have. We look forward to helping you. Take care and happy house hunting!


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This List Of Legendary Creatures Is Too Hard To Ignore| Read Only If You Love Mysteries
Post category:Extras / Mysterious
Since the dawn of time, mythical creatures have captured our imaginations. Not only this, but there are incidents where people have reported seeing some of the fabled creatures in the past. There are some unknown animals that have fallen on the radar of controversies time and again. But no matter what, controversies have always fuelled our wild imaginations and successfully captured our attention which is why different cultures have passed down tales through generations and created untold volumes of fantasy and lore.
Here are some mythical and legendary creatures whose mere appearance can make you scratch your head in surprise or shock or amusement, figure out yourself. Believe it or not, but some people actually travel to the land from where the story of these creatures became popular and served as inspiration for fiction and fantasy novels, TV series and movies.
The Loch Ness Monster is undoubtedly the most popular mysterious creatures on the planet whose mystery continues to baffle scientists even today. This aquatic beast has been sighted repeatedly for hundreds of years in the deep cold water of Lake Loch Ness in Scotland. The enigma surrounded by the monster has drawn tourists from across the world to Scotland who visit the lake hoping the creature might show up someday and put an end to skepticism some people have over this legendary monster.
The creature was first sighted in the late 1800s when a man saw something wriggling in the water of the lake. He described the appearance of the monster as a large whale-like creature with a long neck, a humped back and a horsey head.
The picture taken by the man is considered to be the first evidence of the existence of such an entity. Even the most sophisticated equipments have failed to clearly spot 'Nessie' that made some scientists suggest that the beast might be a species of a dinosaur that has survived for millions of years.
Big Foot/Yeti
The Yeti or Big Foot is a shaggy, ape-like creature known to roam alone in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Some people even believe that the beast protects the mountains from all evils. Yeti is probably the only mysterious creature in the world that has been sighted many times. These creatures are also known to have shown their presence in other parts of the world such as California and Canada. Rationalist and scientists have neither confirmed nor have denied the existence of such a mammal and have proposed that people who witnessed this ape-like creature could possibly have mistaken it for other wildlife such as a langur monkey or the Himalayan brown bear.
Chupacabra's stories rose to prominence in the 1990s when reports of a weird creature that was killing the farmer's livestock in Puerto Rico came out. Animals like turkeys, rabbits, chickens and goats were alleged to be have been killed by the creature. The farmer reported that the way the beast killed his livestock was different as instead of dragging them and eating, the creature drained their blood through its sharp teeth. Similar reports were observed in Texas and Chile as well where people claimed to have witnessed a strange animal with bright red eyes and sharp fangs. Well real or not, locals of Puerto Rico still believe in existence of this odd-looking creature.
Point Pleasant's Mothman is a local legend that has gained fame worldwide. Report of sighting of the strange red-eyed creature was first observed in 1966 when a couple saw a man-sized bird creature with glowing red eyes. Similar sightings were reported by others during that period. The legitimacy of this creature is still not confirmed and mystery lovers like us love digging more information on such subjects. Some people even linked the sighting of moth man to the collapse of Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant. Believers say that the mothman shows up when an unfortunate event is about to happen. While no fresh sighting has been recorded, visitors can still go to Point Pleasant and attend the mothman festival celebrated at the end of September every year.
Trolls and Fairies
If you think trolls are the happy-go-lucky creatures who break into song and dance for no reason, you couldn't be more wrong. According to traditional Scandinavian folklore, these tiny creatures were not known to be cheerful at all and quite hostile in nature. They were even afraid to come out in sunlight as that could have killed them or turned them into stone.
Talk about fairies, the lore behind these beautiful delicate-winged tiny women will shock you more. Apparently, fairies used magical pixie dust to perform bad deeds for humans. More like a tiny version of witches. As per legends, these tiny creatures were known to be quite temperamental and weren't above murder or kidnapping shall you ever landed on their bad side. There's a saying that justifies the description of trolls and fairies that 'all that glitters is not gold'. Perhaps you might start seeing these so-called wonderful creatures from a new perspective.
If you are a movie buff, you might be familiar with this monster. Kraken is perceived to be a giant squid or octopus-like creature that is supposedly seen off the coast of Norway. It is believed that the gargantuan sea creature was capable of causing mayhem by dragging down the largest ships and eating everyone onboard the ship. Kraken was a genuine concern for anyone sailing the deep waters of North Atlantic back in the old days. The monster is said to dwell off the coast of Greenland as well and many believe spotting a Kraken means demise of the ships sailing through the chilly water of the Atlantic. Whether or not, this creature is real, as long as movies and books keep on mentioning them and give us a source of entertainment, who can complain, right?
The Jersey Devil
Another popular legendary creature whose name still sends a shiver down the spine of people living in Jersey is the Jersey Devil. The jersey devil was originally spotted in the haunting pine forests of New Jersey in the 1700s. Those who saw the creature explained its appearance to be dog-like with 2 feet long wings, crane like long legs and wiry neck. The terrifying monster was sighted again in the 1900s in New Jersey again and since then became a legend to be passed from generation after generation. Despite the cutting-edge technology available today, scientists have failed to confirm the existence of such a creature. However, you can head to New Jersey and find more about this bizarre-looking beast from the locals.
Are you intrigued by these beasts and monsters? Share your thoughts with us and let us know if you ever plan to visit their land of origin. We might help you with the travel guide to these places.
Tags: big foot, fairies, himalayan yeti, kraken, legendary creatures, loch ness monster, mermaids, mothman, mysterious creatures in the world, mythical creatures, strange creatures in the world, the jersey devil, trolls, weird creatures in the world, world mysteries
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BioNTech to Acquire InstaDeep to Strengthen Pioneering Position in the Field of AI-powered Drug Discovery, Design and Development
Acquisition to enable creation of a fully integrated, enterprise-wide capability to discover, design and develop next-generation immunotherapies at scale by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies across BioNTech's therapeutic platforms and operations
Builds on multi-year strategic collaboration between BioNTech and InstaDeep which included the formation of an AI Innovation Lab in 2020 and completion of dozens of joint projects
Acquisition expected to add approximately 240 highly skilled professionals and a global network of research partners in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science based in the world's leading global technology hubs
BioNTech to pay an upfront consideration of approximately £362 million in cash and BioNTech shares, to acquire 100% of remaining InstaDeep shares following BioNTech's Series B investment in 2022
InstaDeep to operate globally from London headquarters as a BioNTech company post-closing, which is expected in the first half of 2023, subject to regulatory approval
MAINZ, Germany, and LONDON, United Kingdom, January 10, 2023 – BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, "BioNTech") and InstaDeep Ltd. ("InstaDeep") today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which BioNTech will acquire InstaDeep, a leading global technology company in the field of artificial intelligence ("AI") and machine learning ("ML"). The transaction includes a total upfront consideration of approximately £362 million in cash and BioNTech shares to acquire 100% of the remaining InstaDeep shares, excluding the shares already owned by BioNTech. In addition, InstaDeep shareholders will be eligible to receive additional performance-based future milestone payments up to approximately £200 million. The transaction follows BioNTech's initial equity investment as part of InstaDeep's Series B financing round in January 2022.
The acquisition supports BioNTech's strategy to build world-leading capabilities in AI-driven drug discovery and development of next-generation immunotherapies and vaccines to address diseases with high unmet medical need. The transaction will combine two organizations with a common culture and is expected to add approximately 240 highly skilled professionals to BioNTech's workforce, including teams in AI, ML, bioengineering, data science, and software development. Through the acquisition, BioNTech will grow its network of global research collaborators in the field and expand its footprint in key talent hubs across the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
With the acquisition of InstaDeep, validated and novel BioNTech-trained AI- and ML-based models are planned to be embedded across BioNTech's discovery platforms and connected, through InstaDeep's DeepChain™ platform, to an integrated automated lab infrastructure. This has the objective to enable high-throughput design and testing of novel drug candidates at scale. In addition, BioNTech plans to develop novel AI and ML technology solutions which it aims to apply across key strategic and operational functions.
The acquisition builds on a successful track record of increasing collaboration between the two companies since 2019: In November 2020, the companies announced a multi-year strategic collaboration and joint AI Innovation Lab to apply the latest advances in AI and ML technology to develop novel medicines for a range of cancers and infectious diseases. The companies have jointly developed multiple end-to-end AI-based applications trained on public and proprietary datasets across a wide variety of scientific domains. These include projects to enhance neoantigen selection, ribological sequence optimization for BioNTech's RiboCytokine® and RiboMab® platforms as well as the development of an Early Warning System to detect and monitor high risk SARS-CoV-2 variants, based on their ability to escape immune defenses and transmissibility potential, defined as fitness, which was announced in January 2022.
"Since the inception of BioNTech, we have focused on leveraging computational solutions to create personalized immunotherapies that can reach a wide patient population," said Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. "The acquisition of InstaDeep allows us to incorporate the rapidly evolving AI capabilities of the digital world into our technologies, research, drug discovery, manufacturing, and deployment processes. Our aim is to make BioNTech a technology company where AI is seamlessly integrated into all aspects of our work."
BioNTech recognized the growing importance of AI and ML capabilities early on. For example, the fully individualized neoantigen specific immunotherapy approach ("iNeST"1) is based on mRNA encoding multiple patient-specific neoepitopes. For the first patients treated with an individualized vaccine in clinical trials starting 2014, BioNTech selected the neoepitopes manually. It invested early in developing ML-trained algorithms to improve the prediction of neoepitopes with initial results published in Nature in 2017. These algorithms have been further enhanced in collaboration with InstaDeep.
"AI is progressing exponentially and our mission at InstaDeep has always been to make sure it benefits everyone. We are very excited to join forces and become one team with BioNTech, with whom we share the same culture of deep tech innovation and focus on positive human impact," said Karim Beguir, CEO and Co-Founder of InstaDeep. "Together, we envision building a world leader that combines biopharmaceutical research and AI with the aim to design next-generation immunotherapies that enhance medical care – thus, helping fight cancer and other diseases."
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Upon closing, InstaDeep will operate as a UK-based global subsidiary of BioNTech. InstaDeep is expected to become the centerpiece of a growing portfolio of initiatives around AI and ML at BioNTech. In addition to BioNTech-focused projects, InstaDeep will continue to provide its services to clients around the world in diverse industries, including in the Technology, Transport & Logistics, Industrial, and Financial Services sectors.
About BioNTech
Biopharmaceutical New Technologies is a next generation immunotherapy company pioneering novel therapies for cancer and other serious diseases. BioNTech exploits a wide array of computational discovery and therapeutic drug platforms for the rapid development of novel biopharmaceuticals. Its broad portfolio of oncology product candidates includes individualized and off-the-shelf mRNA-based therapies, innovative chimeric antigen receptor T cells, bispecific immune checkpoint modulators, targeted cancer antibodies and small molecules. Based on its deep expertise in mRNA vaccine development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, BioNTech and its collaborators are developing multiple mRNA vaccine candidates for a range of infectious diseases alongside its diverse oncology pipeline. BioNTech has established a broad set of relationships with multiple global pharmaceutical collaborators, including Genmab, Sanofi, Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, Regeneron, Genevant, Fosun Pharma, and Pfizer. For more information, please visit www.BioNTech.com.
BioNTech Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" of BioNTech within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, but may not be limited to, statements concerning: the expected impact of this proposed acquisition on BioNTech's and InstaDeep's business; the timing of the closing of the proposed acquisition; the creation of long-term value for BioNTech and InstaDeep shareholders; potential synergies between BioNTech and InstaDeep and their businesses; the ability of the DeepChain™ protein design platform to engineer new mRNA sequences for protein targets; the ability of the SARS-CoV-2 Early Warning System to predict potential high-risk variants; the ability of AI and ML to advance drug discovery and development of new drug classes; the ability of AI and ML to quicken and scale up the delivery of next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics; the ability of ML and edge analytics to identify novel predictive biomarkers, inform patient selection, and accelerate the development of therapeutic programs; the ability to utilize AI and ML applications to further optimize manufacturing and supply chain processes, including by using robotics and autonomous decision-making; and BioNTech's efforts to combat COVID-19. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on BioNTech current expectations and beliefs of future events, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the possibility that the proposed transaction may not close, the reaction to the proposed transaction of InstaDeep's business partners, the reaction of competitors to the proposed transaction, the retention of InstaDeep employees, BioNTech's plans for InstaDeep, the future growth of InstaDeep's and BioNTech's businesses and the possibility that integration following the proposed transaction may be more difficult than expected; the risk that InstaDeep's collaborations will not continue or will not be successful; risks related to InstaDeep's ability to protect and maintain InstaDeep's intellectual property position; risks related to InstaDeep's capital requirements, use of capital and unexpected expenditures, including InstaDeep's ability to manage operating expenses or obtain funding to support planned business activities or to explore and establish strategic alternative transactions; risks related to InstaDeep's ability to attract and retain personnel; and the ability of AI and ML to produce improvements in the drug discovery and development process or deliver efficiencies in drug manufacturing, logistics and supply chain.
For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see BioNTech's Quarterly Report on Form 6-K for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on November 7, 2022, which is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and BioNTech undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
About InstaDeep
InstaDeep is a leader in decision-making AI systems with headquarters in London, and offices in Paris, Tunis, Lagos, Dubai, Cape Town, Berlin, Boston and San Francisco. InstaDeep was founded in 2014 in North Africa and has been named for three consecutive years to CB Insights' influential AI 100 ranking, which showcases the 100 most innovative private artificial intelligence companies in the world. It was also named in 2022 as one of Europe's 100 most promising B2B companies by the Financial Times-backed media site Sifted. With expertise in both machine intelligence research and concrete business deployments, InstaDeep gives its partners a competitive advantage in an AI-first world. Leveraging its extensive know-how in GPU-accelerated computing, deep learning and reinforcement learning, InstaDeep products, such as its DeepChainTM protein design platform, tackle the most complex challenges across a range of industries. InstaDeep has also developed collaborations with global leaders in the AI ecosystem, such as Nvidia and Google Cloud and has published joint research with DeepMind.
BioNTech:
Jasmina Alatovic
Media@biontech.de
Sylke Maas, Ph.D.
Investors@biontech.de
InstaDeep:
Liz Johns
l.johns@instadeep.com
D'Arcy Doran
d.doran@instadeep.com
1 Program for personalized cancer vaccines initiated by BioNTech in 2012; in collaboration with Genentech (a member of Roche Group) since 2016.


Loch Duart have been rearing extraordinary Scottish salmon in North West Scotland since 1999. They are regarded throughout the world by top chefs and restaurateurs as the producers of the best farmed Scottish Salmon.
Their new website embraces the new brand positioning and creative style developed by our colleagues at Avian and has been developed to capture Loch Duart's unique approach, ethos and values.
Adopting the latest in digital technologies, the website features new photography throughout accurately capturing and promoting not only Loch Duart's salmon but also their highly specialist team who work hard all year and in all weathers, to farm and deliver their extraordinary Scottish salmon to the highest quality hotels, restaurants and client's around the world.
We also provide Loch Duart with full digital marketing services.