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Shoppers can fly higher with this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) thanks to a special offer from Emirates, the world’s largest international airline. Economy class ticket holders can enjoy additional baggage allowance on return flights during the biggest shopping festival of the year, running until 2 February.
Emirates passengers booked on an Economy class roundtrip ticket to Dubai can shop without limits, and return home with the latest fashion bargains at no extra costs incurred, affirming Dubai Shopping Festival as the city’s most generous mega sale.
Jet setters returning to Emirates destinations in Canada, North America, Central America, South America or Africa can go home with one extra piece of luggage*. Those travelling to other destinations within the Emirates network can take advantage of an additional 10 kilograms baggage allowance. The offer is applicable on bookings made from 17 December 2018 until 2 February 2019, for return travel between 26 December 2018 and 4 February 2019.


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Foodies and entrepreneurs cut their teeth on East London’s markets
Some of East London’s markets have undergone huge transformation in recent years as foodies and fashion entrepreneurs use them as a business launch-pad.
Rising rents mean traders who may previously have taken on a shop-unit to establish their businesses are increasingly braving the early mornings and often inclement weather.
Many of today’s market traders boast thousands of social media followers, are marketing-savvy and have their own websites.
Basil Fansa, a founder of the Local Buyers Club, said: “We’ve spent a lot of time visiting East London’s markets in recent weeks and talking to traders and have been blown away by the quality of the food and products on offer. These markets are the very best place to find cutting-edge traders and seriously talented makers.
“Much of the food for sale is made by foodies who are hugely passionate about cooking and highly skilled. And some of the fashion items are such high quality you’d expect to find them in a luxury boutique.
“Markets have always been a brilliant platform for traders to refine their offering, get to know their customers and save enough money to take the next step but this new breed of trader is incredibly tuned in to creating and marketing their brand.”
Among the traders making their mark at Broadway Market are Deeley’s (home of the famous “Macbeth” haggis toastie), CARV London (selling stunning handmade, minimal and aesthetic leather accessories), Temaki Bros (sushi handrolls) and Spore Boys (wild and exotic mushroom risotto).
At nearby Chatsworth Road, you can taste delicious Ghanaian street food courtesy of Chalé! Let's Eat and yummy wraps courtesy of Souvlaki Street.
Today’s London markets are a far cry from those chronicled by author Charles Dickens. In his iconic novel Oliver Twist (1838), he described a “stunning and bewildering scene: “The ground was covered nearly ankle deep with filth and mire: and a think steam perpetually rising from the reeking bodies of the cattle and mingling with the fog.
“Countrymen, butchers, drovers, hawkers, boys, thieves, idlers and vagabonds of every low grade were mingled together in a dense mass.”
Local Buyers Club members are offered discounts at many of East London’s best market stalls as well as dozens of local shops, restaurants and cafes.

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Biologically, evolution happens almost imperceptibly – tiny mutations that over generations add up to major shifts. That’s kind of the case with bike design, too, although each year the industry will claim a minor miracle in releasing a new season’s worth of bikes that are fractionally lighter/faster/more aero/more capable/better looking (circle as appropriate).
Every so often, though, there’s a product that comes along that’s properly ahead of its time, anticipating the trends of the future – for better and worse – and ushering in a new era.
The Cannondale Slate was such a bike.
When the Cannondale Topstone was unveiled in June 2019, the attention of the cycling media and the buying public was squarely on the shiny new thing. Fair enough: it was the latest foray from the venerable US brand into an increasingly crowded gravel market. And in many ways, the Topstone ticked the requisite boxes: carbon frame, generous tyre clearance, multiple accessory mounting points.
In the fanfare of the Topstone’s arrival, another model quietly slipped into retirement: the brand’s previous gravel offering, the Slate – an innovative oddball of a bike that was first released in 2015.
At a time when the category was still taking form, the Slate was a daring experiment from Cannondale that looked nothing like anything on the market when it came out, and looks little like the Topstone now.
But now that it’s gone, knowing what we know today of the evolution of gravel bikes from the fringe to centre stage, it’s fascinating to look back at the Slate and see how much it anticipated of what an entire category would become.
The dawn of a new era
Cast your mind back to June 2015. Road cycling ruled the roost. Chris Froome had only won one Tour de France; Alberto Contador had just won the Giro d’Italia; Michal Kwiatkowski was a world champion riding for Etixx-QuickStep. But on the periphery of road cycling, there was a new category emerging.
By the end of the decade, ‘gravel’ would be a shining beacon in a declining market. Whole professional road teams would go on to partially structure their seasons around gravel races. It’s not an exaggeration to say it would go on to spark a seismic shift in the riding behaviours of countless riders around the world.
In 2015, though, the industry didn’t yet know the extent to which gravel would define so much of drop-bar cycling by the end of the decade – from the way people dressed, to what they carried, to where they rode. The category didn’t even really have a name yet. A few of the biggest brands in cycling tentatively dipped their toes into this nebulous thing – some calling it ‘adventure’, some calling it ‘new road’, some calling it ‘gravel’ – and waited to see what the response would be.
That initial wave of what we now identify as ‘gravel bikes’ included such offerings as the first generation Specialized Diverge (at that point basically a fatter-tyred Roubaix, clearing up to 700x35mm tyres) and the GT Grade, alongside smaller brands like Salsa and Niner that were earlier to the party.
Of gravel’s first wave, though, there was really just one bike that everyone was talking about: the utterly bonkers Cannondale Slate, which ran a short-travel Lefty suspension fork and chubby slicks on a totally different wheel size altogether.
Forward-looking, but looking back
The Lefty might’ve been the most eye-catching aspect of the Slate’s build, but the most lasting impact of its design was bringing the fringe 650B wheel size into the modern drop-bar lexicon.
650B wasn’t new, of course. Originally a popular French wheel size stretching back at least as far as the Second World War, it had a quiet, niche existence outside of continental Europe. A few smaller builders pushed the 650B cause forward internationally – among them Tom Ritchey, in the pre-natal kicks of mountain biking – but there was extremely limited access to tyres, dooming 650B in its more adventurous uses. In fact, it’s been suggested that the emergence of 26” wheels as the go-to size for the first mountain bikes was only as a result of the Soviet military gobbling up the entire supply inventory of Finnish company Hakka’s 650B snow tyres.
650B had a cult following in randonneuring circles, though, with Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly and Grant Petersen of Rivendell Cycles continuing to advocate for the wheel size, working with Velocity and Panaracer to produce small batches of 650B rims and tyres. There was a trickle of interest in 650B in the custom market too, led in part by Kirk Pacenti, but the real groundswell happened around the start of this decade, as mountain bikes messily mutated from 26” to 29” wheels, soon after drifting into a consensus of 27.5” – 650B by another name.
700C’s dominance on the road was unchallenged, but as more riders sought out the less-beaten path, the limitations of skinny tyres became increasingly apparent. A final necessary stepping stone for the renaissance of the 650B wheel size came with the advent of road disc brakes, which opened up the possibility for significantly wider tyres than those allowed by a conventional road rim brake caliper. The smaller 650B size allowed for a fatter tyre whilst preserving Cannondale’s preferred ride characteristics.
2015 was the culmination of a long journey – across decades, across continents – leading to the emergence of 650B on a mainstream drop-bar bike. And it was on the Cannondale Slate that everything converged.¹
The birth of the Slate
Which brings us to Louisville, Kentucky, March 2014, and an auspicious meeting between a couple of guys and a bike.
Cannondale’s road product manager David Devine had travelled to rendezvous with sponsored athlete Tim Johnson, a multi-time US cyclocross champion, bearing a secretive cargo. There, he pulled a prototype out of a bike bag, sidled over, and as Johnson recalls, whispered “hey, man, I’ve got it. It’s built. It’s got totally shitty parts on it, but I think you’re going to love it.”
Devine and Johnson had been spitballing the Slate concept for more than a year. “I wanted a bike that was faster than my cross bike, but rowdier than my road bike,” Johnson told me. This unmarked, unbranded white bike – flat top-tube, kind of like a cleanskin CAAD10 with a dual-crown Lefty and with these strangely-sized wheels – was Cannondale’s first shot at the brief. Based on a lightbulb-moment realisation that 650Bx42mm would give effectively the same outside wheel diameter as 700x23mm – but with a whole lot of added scope for fatter rubber and fun – the Slate was to be a disruptive, unmistakable bike in a category of one.
Tim Johnson – a multidisciplinary rider who’s achieved success on road and off – has, over his time with Cannondale, transitioned from athlete to avatar. With Johnson’s racing career drawing to a close, he brought his insight to the development of new models in the brand’s range – among them the first disc-version of the SuperX, and soon after, the bike that would become the Slate.
“[Beforehand] we were tossing around ideas about what it would actually be and what the angles were like and how it might ride … Oh, my God. This just … it did it for me,” Johnson reminisces. “I was pretty pumped to get that first prototype. I was laughing and jumping and sprinting and skidding all over the place. I could barely hold in my excitement for it.”
More than just being an enthusiastic test-pilot, though, it was the atavistic intensity in Johnson’s riding style that helped provide inspiration for the spirit of the bike.
“David [Devine] is the genius, for sure, [but] the way that I was riding was an inspiration to him. I was always riding the same way. I wanted to ride as fast as I could, jumping everything in sight; wheelies, endos … when you’re doing a photo shoot and you’ve got a perfectly buffed-out and shiny frame and the parts are all glistening, I am the bonehead skidding into a dirt pile to make a big blow-out with the dust. That’s what I did for years before this bike came out. And David was always thinking about, you know, this is just so perfect for someone like Tim, who likes to hit everything, all the time.”
— Tim Johnson
By mid-2015, that primer-white early prototype had already appeared in a couple of teaser videos shot in Utah, before evolving into something considerably more polished. The bike’s horizontal top tube had been dropped, giving the Slate a more rugged stance. The production Lefty – a carbon fibre-upper, adjustable-rebound 30mm travel model called the Oliver – had been fine-tuned into an 1,180g fork, with a roadie-friendly lockout switch helpfully marked ‘Push to Climb’ and ‘Push to Descend’. And the spec and appearance of the initial three model release had been chosen: a khaki green 105 model, a grey Ultegra model, and a matte black, anodised purple-accented SRAM Force 1x model.
Bewilderment and excitement, in roughly equal measure, met the bike’s release. Now it was just a matter of finding out whether there was actually a market for it – or creating a new one.
A new road bike or a ‘New Road’ bike?
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to look back at bikes from five years ago and question the design choices. But imagine you’re creating a product for a genre that doesn’t really exist yet. You don’t have hindsight, or the context of known experience. You either have the products that exist on the market at the time to play with, or you have to come up with something from scratch, shouldering the risk and expense of development.
As the product lead on the Slate, David Devine was bringing to life a concept that would go on to have a lasting impact on the category that it helped define – but that category was so hazily defined that even Cannondale’s conception of the Slate found itself in a state of flux.
“The Slate was introduced as a ‘new road’ bike during the initial boom of gravel,” Devine told me. “In our initial visions of how the bike would be used it was just a better tool for the rides people were already doing – rides that mixed pavement, cities, paths, dirt roads … maybe some singletrack, but ultimately still ‘road’ rides. It was a ground-up creation, idea and execution of what riding road bikes could become.”
On reaching the market, the Slate was such an outlier that it defied easy classification – and despite being positioned as a road-leaning bike, it didn’t sit easily under that umbrella, either then or now.
This was, in part, a reflection of the product availability of the time. 1x shifting was just coming into vogue, spearheaded by the Force 1x groupset – but with just that single model in SRAM’s recall-impacted initial offering, there wasn’t any scope for a full suite of 1x models in the Slate range.
That left Cannondale speccing Shimano 2x groupsets on the two lower models in the range – in themselves a microcosmic case study in the fast-changing norms around componentry. Running a 52/36t crankset and 11-28 cassette with a short-cage rear derailleur, the Slate’s gearing range may be standard for present-day race bikes, but it’s absurdly high for a gravel bike, and even in those less enlightened times, it raised eyebrows.
“The original specs weren’t what people were expecting,” Devine admits. “The initial lean of the bike was definitely more road than off-road, despite wheel size and suspension.“
Pros and cons: it was that wheel-size and suspension that eased the transition of the Slate’s riders onto rougher terrain, which in turn cruelly exposed the limitations of the gearing range.
Tellingly, by the time the Slate was discontinued, the bike’s complete lineup was equipped with SRAM 1x groupsets, and the ‘New Road’ moniker had been dropped. “The Slate changed over time … Maybe for the better, people rapidly took to the dirt and that shifted the needs of the bikes faster than we expected,” Devine reflects. “Fortunately, things like suspension and big tires are good for dirt road riding.”
The limitations of innovation
Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a modern gravel bike that can’t accommodate 650B wheels, and consumers are increasingly well-informed about the benefits of bigger rubber.
In 2015, though, 700x28mm was considered a fat road tyre and Cannondale was the sole mainstream brand with a 650B-equipped drop bar bike. Almost inevitably, early Slate riders struggled to track down either spares or alternative tyres to amplify the bike’s off-road potential.
“Sourcing and developing 650B road tires – starting as early as 2013 – wasn’t easy,” Devine said. “We thankfully had partners jump in early. Jeff Zell at Panaracer and Jason Moeschler and Will Ritchie at WTB greeted the concept with open arms and started running.”
When the bike first launched, it came with a 650Bx42 Cannondale-branded slick manufactured by Panaracer, giving roughly the same outside diameter as a skinny road tyre but with far greater volume. In keeping with the Slate’s initial positioning as a road(-ish) bike, the tyre rolled quickly enough, but had fragile sidewalls and lacked grip, even on hard-packed dirt.
As our own James Huang recalls, at the initial media launch, “nearly everyone crashed” when the group ventured off-road; even Cannondale’s pre-launch teasers feature a lot of inside-foot-unclipped, will-they-make-it corners. This all checks out with my experiences with the Slate: a grey Ultegra model made its way into my hands for a review at a former gig, where I spent a dusty afternoon threading the line between expectation and reality for a magazine cover shot:
Despite Panaracer and WTB’s efforts in partnership with Cannondale, there was a pronounced lag between the Slate’s arrival and widespread availability of 650B spares, especially outside the US. After running over a nail on an early ride on my sample Slate – one of the first to land in Australia – I went to a couple of local bike shops to try to salvage the situation. Replacement tyre? Nope. Replacement tube? Nope. I patched the tyre, fitted a skinny 26” tube and hoped for the best. Whilst that may be a sample size of one, when you extrapolate it across the number of Slates sold in the initial run, it begins to underline some of the perils of early adoption.
That said, while there may have been some growing pains as the rest of the industry caught up, time has shown that Cannondale’s bold leap to 650B wheels was a justified decision – not just in laying out a case for the viability of an entire wheel size, but in achieving their design goals with the Slate.
“It [650B] was our best way to get high volume,” Johnson told me. “At the time, the width of a 700C rim was not that wide … We didn’t have the shifting of 1x. 650B, for us, gave us high volume tyres and the ability to put tread on there. That’s what allowed us to do that. If we didn’t do 650B, the bike would have felt very [different].
“As a product manager, Dave [Devine] always took a lot of heat for [the tyre selection] … I loved the slick tyres because I was used to riding 20 psi from cyclocross, but trying to educate a new consumer or even someone who’s been riding for 20 years that they can drop that low at that time was falling on deaf ears. Even road tubeless was still unheard of then.”
Looking back, you can kind of see the wrestle between expectation and reality in the Slate. What were riders to make of a bike like this – a bike that was heavier but more capable than a road bike, yet wasn’t quite a mountain bike, and looked completely unlike anything else? What was this thing?
Tim Johnson has a good answer for that: “It really was a product for a market that didn’t quite exist yet. The thing was, the market just turned into a tsunami shortly afterwards.”
The Slate’s legacy
Survey the thing we call ‘gravel’ today. Events like Dirty Kanza are instant sell-outs². EF-Education First has an entire alternative calendar of gravel and bikepacking events, spearheaded by riders like Lachlan Morton and, until recently, Taylor Phinney. Pros retire to rewarding careers racing the gravel circuit.
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On the tech front, consumers are increasingly well-informed about the benefits of a chubby tyre, and pretty much every current-day gravel bike is designed around 650B wheels, either in whole or in part.
Suspension isn’t uncommon, either, with brands like Lauf and Fox manufacturing dedicated short-travel gravel-specific forks. Specialized’s Diverge and Roubaix models feature the Futureshock – a 30mm suspension system sitting below the stem. Niner even has a full-suspension drop-bar model called the Magic Carpet Ride.
From all of this, you can trace a pretty direct line back to the Cannondale Slate. Would the market have gotten to the same point eventually without it? Quite possibly. But it’s not a stretch to say that this one bike accelerated an entire category’s evolution.
Cannondale’s David Devine is conscious of the Slate’s position in the gravel bike pantheon, whilst also admitting that their initial goals were a little less idealistic. “Early on we were just hell-bent on showing people what a road bike could be like in the future – explore some outer boundaries, offer a really fun riding bike, remind people of their childhood, and then just listen so that we could make wicked bikes for the future,” Devine tells me. “It was daring, but our position in the market is to disrupt from time to time.”
Disruptive sounds about right. When I think of that bike, I think of that ‘roman candle’ quote from Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’: “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!””.
The Slate had that kind of mad energy in bike form, a kind of magnetism about it. “The bike itself triggered something in every single person,” Tim Johnson reminisces. “Just to hear people – their reaction to it while it was in motion – that was awesome. It was really a fun, fun experience. I definitely look [back] at the Slate fondly.”
A few months on from the Slate’s discontinuation, Cannondale has quietly sold its way through the remaining stock and concentrated its efforts on its next generation of gravel bikes. “The Slate had its run — no hard feelings here,” Devine says. “Fortunately, in product development, you can make the exciting or strong parts of a bike live on in new products. The liveliness of the Slate lives on in the Topstone.”
The Cannondale Topstone, for whatever it’s worth, seems a good bike that people are happy about. But it’s no bonkers Slate. I wonder if people will be writing articles about it when it gets discontinued – whether it will be a bike people always kinda regret not having in their garage, or whether it will just be another good bike in a world of good bikes.
Of the major brands, Cannondale occupies a somewhat unique, nostalgia-fed position in the market. The four-generations-old CAAD9 is still mythologised by the ‘aluminati’ of internet message boards; turn-of-the-century Headshok-equipped hardtails still attract a premium on the retro market and are lovingly restored to period spec; Facebook buy/sell groups are peppered with requests for Saeco-red CAAD5s and blue-fade XS800 ‘cross bikes.
Perhaps the next phase of the Slate’s evolution – from cutting-edge to collectible – has already begun. “I heard the phrase ‘NOS’ thrown out about a Slate frame for sale the other day,” Devine says. “It was a good laugh that maybe it’s already started.”
The Cannondale Slate was not a perfect bike – even the folks at Cannondale would probably admit that. It was a blast to ride, but it was unforgiving of bad technique. It was a bit too heavy, a bit too fussy, and let down by spec issues either unavoidable of the era or of Cannondale’s making. It was, in our Matt Wikstrom’s assessment, “the Swiss-Army knife of road bikes … however, none of the blades [were] especially sharp.”³
But as the Slate’s asymmetrical form slips from the here-and-now into the there-and-then, the time is ripe for a clearer-eyed assessment of its significance to an entire category. And that’s this: the Cannondale Slate was wildly ambitious – a bike beyond its era – but goddammit, it had something about it, didn’t it?
1. The OPEN U.P., first announced in mid-2015, debuted with the ability to run 27.5” mountain bike wheels alongside 700C road wheels – but was far more niche, only available in limited quantities initially, and didn’t make anywhere near the splash the Slate did.
2. Dirty Kanza, incidentally, is an event that the Cannondale Slate found success in, being piloted to wins by Ted King and Alison Tetrick.
3. Interestingly, in our discussion, the effervescent Tim Johnson also likened the Slate to a Swiss-Army knife. “If you look at what a Swiss Army knife is versus a SpyderCo versus a Crocodile Dundee kind of knife … not everyone carries the giant Crocodile Dundee knife! I was just psyched to have the Swiss Army knife.”


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Build quality structures, Kachali urge
VICE President Khumbo Kachali has appealed to businesses to construct buildings that are of high standard and quality to improve the face of the country’s cities and towns.
Kachali made the appeal in Mzuzu on Monday when he presided over the official opening of a K300 million soap manufacturing plant by the Pan African Investments Limited (Pail), a subsidiary of Bakhresa Grain and Milling (Malawi) Limited.
“Government will continue to develop the private sector in order to enhance its potential to drive and increase economic growth, creation of employment and generation of income generation and foreign exchange,” said Kachali. He added that ‘government remains committed to addressing major challenges in the business sector in the country.
Bakhresa Grain and Milling (Malawi) Limited Chief Executive Officer Mahesh Josyabh artla said that the construction of the K300 million soap making plant, which has an expected daily
production capacity of 50 metric torures, was due to the increased demand for the product in the city.
“Pan African Investments Limited is offering direct employment to around 35 people here in Mzuzu and indirectly to hundreds in the value chain in the first six months of its operation” he said.
Pail was incorporated as a limited company in March 2011 and took over the Azilm green washing soap manufacturing operations situated in Limbe from Bakhresa Grain and Milling in July 2011.
The company exports about 20% profits flour to Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.


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New Delhi: Ace fashion designer Nivedita Saboo feels that Indian cinema acts as a catalyst for the Indian fashion industry. She believes that since celebrities have a huge fan base, their favouring a designer’s brand helps in getting it recognised.
Asked if she thinks that Indian cinema helps in creating fashion trends, Saboo told IANS over an e-mail interaction: “Yes, in a country where people idolise celebrities, Indian cinema has always been a major source of influence and reference when it comes to fashion. People are always curious to know what designer a particular celebrity is donning, and where can they get the exact same outfit from.”
She feels with that social media has shortened the distance between people and the designers.
“Today, social media has bridged that gap and it has changed the way people interact with brands and designers by highlighting the latest fashion trends and making fashion more accessible than it has ever been,” she added.
Saboo, who has been in the industry for 17 years, has styled the likes of several personalities like Irrfan Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Jacqueline Fernandez and even Russian super model Maria Shatalova.
Does she feel that Indian celebrities are not doing their bit to promote home grown designers at internationally?
“I don’t think Indian celebrities are not doing their bit. In fact, they play an instrumental role in making Indian designers shine at international red carpets. Take Cannes for example. I like that actors who represent India try to maintain that balance by wearing a mix on Indian and international designs,” she said.
“According to me, that is one of the major factors that have changed the way the world looks at Indian fashion and has also opened doors for Indian designers to showcase at various international platforms,” Saboo added.
The designer says that in the past few years, the entire world has “stood up and taken notice of India’s contribution to global fashion and back home, too, designers are realising the importance of quality and craftsmanship and are working towards a more sustainable fashion model”.
Earlier this month, Saboo dressed the first family of Lamborghini during their trip to India. She styled Antonio (famously known as Tonino), his son Ferruccio and his daughter Ginevra.
The bespoke Khadi ensembles designed for the Lamborghini family were inspired by the sleekness and unparalleled edginess of the Lamborghini, integrated with the design sensibilities and craftsmanship of Nivedita Saboo Couture.
She says it was an honour to have created bespoke outfits for the first family of Lamborghini.
“I have always admired Mr. Tonino Lamborghini and his business sensibilities, so it was overwhelming to learn that we were the only Indian designer they were keen on collaborating with during their tour.”
But why Khadi?
“I wanted to dress them in Indian attires and Khadi was the obvious choice, for it is an Indian heritage fabric. It gives that exquisite finish and quality to any outfit, is ideal for any weather and is super-versatile. Moreover, merging contemporary designs with traditional fabrics is my forte,” she added.


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Toy Fair is ever the weird, wild affair, and 2015 is no different. Thousands of industry folks descended on the Javits Center in New York City this weekend to show of the coming year’s big toys. As usual, Lego managed to stand out with its ware, but this year is a little bit different for the block company. Unlike recent years, when fans couldn’t expect boatloads of nostalgic homages to the likes ofGhostbusters or The Simpsons. Instead, many of Lego’s wares were tailor made for the upcoming blockbuster season. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
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Missy Elliott’s Super Bowl halftime show was amazing, introduced by Katy Perry riding a large polygonal tiger. For the final song, which went back to Perry for “Firework,” the songstress had to make extra sure she didn’t drop the mic as she was floated over the field — and apparently that means using a Wii remote strap, i.e. that-safety-precaution-Nintendo-gave-you-to-avoid-throwing-your-controller-into-a-TV-while-virtual-bowling-or-whatever.
At least, it looks like a Wii remote strap, and I’m not the only one who thought so. Cue the tweetstorm:
As I write this, Katy Perry is riding a giant polygonal tiger wearing a faux-flame dress. Maybe that’s not your thing. Maybe you’re not into puppy bowl, either. For the first time ever, YouTube is hosting its own halftime special hosted by Harley Morenstein of EpicMealTime fame.
The big game today will be the first ever Super Bowl illuminated by LEDs instead of traditional metal halide lamps. University of Phoenix Stadium — home of the Arizona Cardinals and Super Bowl XLIX — was outfitted with the LED fixtures last year. Since LEDs are brighter than the old lamps, only 312 units were needed to replace the 780 metal halide lights that were originally installed in the stadium. The new lights also use 75 percent less energy, and they should last at least 20 years — far longer than the old lights that required maintenance every few seasons.
Brighter and whiter
But the lights are changing more than just corporate bottom lines. If you haven’t watched a Cardinals game this season, you might notice a difference in the…
Hello fellow weekend-goers, and welcome back to The Weekender. The week’s big news sent to Sundance and into space on NASA’s nickel — and we’ll certainly be catching you up on anything you might’ve missed — but we’ll also be setting you up for a stellar weekend back on this terrestrial plane. So sit back and take a journey with us. We promise you can film the whole thing on an iPhone 5S.
Read more about 7 lessons every brand can learn from Super Bowl XLIX at CreativeBloq.com
As TV events go, none come bigger or better (or anywhere near as bonkers) as the annual grid-iron clash that is the super bowl. Two teams, one ball, and an estimated audience of 113 killion in 2015. Since its televised inception in 1967, the bits between the sport have been as admired, ridiculed, aped and generally talked about as the action on the field.
Read more about Is this 2015’s coolest Super Bowl ad? at CreativeBloq.com
youtube: LQvdIGeUUvo Every year, the hype over Super Bowl ads becomes greater, and they’re increasingly being treated more like mini-movies than run of the mill ads. So it’s not surprising that Mercedes-Benz called on a Hollywood pro like Robert Stromberg, two-time Oscar winner and veteran visual effects master, for their Super Bowl 2015 spot.
The Super Bowl is still two days away, but between Budweiser’s attempts to tug on your heartstrings to sell beer, and Kim Kardashian’s selfie-centrc self-parody for T-Mobile, we’ve already seen a number of the big budget ads that will air during the big game’s commercial breaks. But it’s not just the biggest brands that get to show off their most creative ads during the biggest game, as phone case maker Mophie shows.
Mophie makes cases capable of charging your smartphone, and its surprisingly good Super Bowl ad shows the end of the world. Streets flood, blizzard hit deserts, goats stand on donkeys, priests steal flatscreen TVs, and dogs lead people around by the leash. With the Earth’s atmosphere leaking into space, the camera cuts to…


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Smart ring startup Oura raises $28 million
The Oulu-based wellness ring startup, Oura, has received $28 million from Google’s Gradient Ventures, Square, and Forerunner Ventures for its product updates.
Oura has developed a smart activity- and sleep-tracking ring that is said to be the only wellness ring in its category. It tracks key signals from your body while you sleep, delivering critical insights helping you harness your body’s potential every day. Unlike many other wearables, the device is not worn on a person’s wrist but on their finger. The user can view their data inside the Oura mobile app, with three scores allocated based on their sleep and activity.
So far, the company has sold over 150,000 of Oura rings and its team has grown to over 100 people globally.
Read more information about Oura here.
Source: Venture Beat


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Victory HQ (PC)
A World War II, team-based, action-strategy game where you collect companies of units and battle in quick online matches .
Available on: PC PC Rank: 2553 / 5,938 | Overall Rank: 3792 / 14,327
Victory Gameplay Walkthrough
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|Petroglyph's Victory Kickstarter falls through (3)|
|Petroglyph's bid to fund Victory through Kickstarter has failed. The team, who suffered recent lay-offs when Trion took the End of Nations development from it to finish the game in-house, recently updated itsto confirm the news.|
|Posted: 18.03.2013 by Nakerman|
|Petroglyph releases gameplay video for Victory (0)|
|Petroglyph has released a developer walkthrough showing off early gameplay action in their Kickstartered real-time strategy game Victory.|
|Posted: 08.03.2013 by JonahFalcon|
|Victory is Petroglyph's 'MOTA', studio "very cautious... (1)|
|In our chat with Petroglyph's lead designer Evan Humphreys, we discussed their newly announced Victory action-strategy that's just begun a Kickstarter campaign. The developer is looking for $700k.
It's a little difficult to finely label Victory, but Humphreys is happy with 'MOTA', a "multiplayer online tactical arena", as opposed to MOBA, a term that "could apply to just about any" online game.
|Posted: 05.03.2013 by Technet2k|
|View all Victory news...(4)|


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Night mode is an automatic setting which takes advantage of the new wide-angle camera that's in the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models. It's equipped with a larger sensor that is able to let in more light, allowing for brighter photos when the light is low.
macOS Catalina Now Available
With Apple Music at 20M Users, Spotify Hits 50M Paying Subscriber Milestone
As of December, Apple Music had over 20 million paying subscribers, and if the service has been growing at its typical pace, that number could now be somewhere around 22 million. Apple Music had 15 million subscribers in June of 2016 and 17 million subscribers in September of 2016.
Spotify is Apple Music's staunchest rival and over the course of the last year, the two music services have clashed several times due to Apple Music's tactic using exclusives to lure new customers. Spotify in August made headlines when it allegedly started punishing artists who agreed to Apple Music exclusives, displaying their content less prominently and offering fewer promotional opportunities.
Spotify denied the claims, but the relationship between the two has grown increasingly heated as Apple Music's popularity grows. Both services are now testing new features and subscription models to attract new users.
Going forward, Apple plans to use original television programming to entice subscribers, debuting shows like Carpool Karaoke on Apple Music. Spotify, meanwhile, has recently started testing a lossless version of its streaming service to attract audiophiles.


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Samsung, SA varsity, collaborate on African mobile
INNOVATIONS| April 4, 2011, 2:09 p.m.
Samsung Electronics and the University of Cape Town in South Africa have launched a multi-million dollar partnership to develop innovative mobile phone applications in response to unique African needs.
The UCT Samsung Mobile Innovation Laboratory (SMILe) – Samsung’ s first innovation unit in Africa – is a multi-million dollar project that aims to increase mobile innovation and skills development.
The partners in the joint venture include UCT’ s Information Systems Department and the Computer Science Department as well as the Cape IT incubator, Bandwidth Barn. The lab has been launched for an initial period of three years.
Professor Gary Marsden of Computer Science said: “ The UCT Samsung Mobile Innovation Lab has been established due to the awareness that the African continent in general, and South Africa in particular, poses unique challenges, constraints and opportunities in respect of innovative mobile applications. There is a need for a creative application development space where innovative ideas responding to these unique opportunities can be explored. Opportunities for innovative African mobile applications have been identified both in the individual user and social development markets.
“ This is the first time that a multi-disciplinary laboratory of this nature has been developed and we are committed to exploring how Samsung mobile technology might be used by African students to address technology needs within Africa.”
The laboratory is the brainchild of Professor Jean-Paul Van Belle, head of Information Systems at UCT, who said: “ We are very excited at the opportunity to showcase the great innovative talent of our students. The Department of Information Systems at UCT is recognised internationally as an ideal environment for nurturing the innovation professionals of the future and we are delighted that Samsung has selected our campus as its first research partner in Africa.
General Manager of Bandwidth Barn, Chris Vermeulen added: “ Each year, between 10 and 20 prototype mobile applications will be developed and the most promising of these will be fast-tracked into Cape Town’ s business incubator, the Bandwidth Barn with the view to commercialise the technology. The laboratory will also provide a rich source of material for research.”
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Ericsson AHUB to Connect African Innovators and the Business CommunityEricsson has announced that it will be hosting an innovation station named “Ericsson AHUB” in partnership with Informa at AfricaCom 2015, Cape Town, 17- 19 November. Read More
ITU beckons Nigerian innovators, SMEsITU Telecom World 2015 will be an opportunity for innovators in Nigeria to showcase their creative and business acumen. Read More
Samsung unveils SUHD TV in NigeriaSamsung Electronics West Africa has introduced the world’s first Curved SUHD TV to Nigerian consumers at a launch organised to unveil its new range of Ultra High Definition televisions. Read More
Two startups win funding in FinTech for Agriculture 2015Village Capital has announced the first winners of its innovative program, East Africa: FinTech for Agriculture 2015. Read More
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KECOBO, Microsoft 4Afrika develop online IP registration systemInnovators and developers are being encouraged to test a new prototype IP registration system developed by Microsoft 4Afrika and the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO). Read More
Botswana’s Tendekayi Katsiga makes 2015 Tech-I finalistsUS President Barak Obama is expected to be a guest of honour at the2015 GIST Tech-I finalists event to be held in Nairobi, Kenya. Botswana is being represented in the competition by Tendekayi Katsiga who managed to make it into the elite top 30 list. Read More
FEATURED STORYYoung innovators shine during pitch sessions
Botswana saw an array of upcoming tech wizards selling their ideas during the Vendors’ Day pitch sessions this week.
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Named one of the world’s Top 40 Digital Payments Companies is a testament to PayNearMe’s cutting-edge technology and market-driven innovation
SANTA CLARA, Calif., August 7, 2023 – PayNearMe, a fast-growing fintech company radically improving the consumer payment experience, has been named one of the World’s Top 200 Fintech Companies by CNBC. The company is included as one of the world’s top 40 digital payments companies. This award recognizes PayNearMe’s cutting-edge payments technology platform, strong business model, and growing client base, validating that the company is actively shaping the market and advancing innovation.
The inaugural Top 200 list, compiled by CNBC and independent research firm Statista, identifies fintechs that are building innovative, tech-enabled and finance-related products and services. Statista analyzed more than 1,500 fintechs across nine different market segments.
“We are thrilled PayNearMe is recognized as one of the top 40 companies in the Digital Payments category and top 200 fintechs in the world,” said CEO Danny Shader, PayNearMe. “This award highlights our market-driven innovation and emphasis on optimizing the payment experience. We are determined to remain one of the most innovative fintech companies in the world and excited to be leading the industry’s next big opportunity, which is all about payments data.”
Fuelled by a $45M Series D funding round announced in June 2023, PayNearMe is continuing to accelerate its growth through innovation, with a focus leveraging payments data to deliver more value to clients beyond processing the transaction.
“By harnessing AI, we can analyze data collected through every transaction and every user interaction in real-time,” Shader said. “We are enabling our clients to more easily access payments data and leverage the analytics as a strategic asset.”
“For instance, PayNearMe clients can use their payments data to create hyper-personalized experiences for their customers which increase operational efficiency and lower costs,” he continued. “They also can combine their payments data with third-party and other internal business data to identify macro- and micro-economic trends that have potential to unlock new revenue streams.”
Inclusion in CNBC’s list is the latest accolade for PayNearMe. Earlier this year, PayNearMe won a FinTech Breakthrough Award for the fourth consecutive year, this time naming the company’s MoneyLineTM Platform as the, “Best Consumer Payments Platform.”
PayNearMe also recently won the PayTech Best Business Payments System Award for its innovative Smart Link™ technology, which removes friction from the payments process. With PayNearMe Smart Link, businesses can send personalized, reusable links that move customers directly into registered payment flows, enabling payments in a few short clicks.
PayNearMe has been shortlisted for seven more fintech and payments awards soon to be announced.
PayNearMe develops technology that drives better payment experiences for businesses and their customers. Our modern, flexible and reliable platform helps businesses increase customer engagement, improve operational efficiency and drive down the total cost of accepting payments. PayNearMe enables more ways to pay by offering all major payment types and channels in a single platform.
PayNearMe today processes a wide range of payment types including Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App Pay, cards and ACH, and has enabled cash payments through our proprietary cash network since 2009. PayNearMe cash payments are accepted at more than 40,000 retail locations in the U.S. including participating 7-Eleven®, Walmart®, Family Dollar®, Casey’s General Stores® and ACE Cash Express®, among others.
Thousands of businesses partner with PayNearMe to manage the end-to-end customer payment experience in industries such as Consumer Finance, Property Management, Insurance, Healthcare, Legal Services, Transportation and iGaming and Sports Betting. To learn more about PayNearMe, please visit www.paynearme.com. Follow PayNearMe on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. The PayNearMe service is operated by PayNearMe MT, Inc., a licensed money transmitter.


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Vintage Capital Management has called on Red Robin Gourmet Burgers to convene a special meeting. The activist wants to replace five directors following the company’s failure to commence the strategic review it demanded last week.
The 11.5% shareholder said in a Wednesday letter that it was “dismayed” by the board’s “unwillingness to pursue a transparent and fulsome review of strategic alternatives” and felt compelled to requisition a special meeting to replace the majority of the board in order to speed up the review process.
The company said it will “carefully review” Vintage’s request and reply in due course. “Red Robin’s board comprises established industry leaders with deep operational, financial, leadership and marketing expertise, among other skillsets, that align with the company’s strategic plan to position Red Robin for significant, sustained stockholder value creation and long-term success. The board is composed of seven directors, six of whom are independent and all of whom are actively engaged and committed to enhancing stockholder value,” the company said in a statement.
A week ago, the activist said it was prepared to participate in the auction process and tabled a $40 per share offer to acquire the company in an all-cash transaction. The activist’s offer carries a 57% premium to the unaffected share price.
Vintage noted that it may withdraw its meeting request if the company announces and commits to a “robust” strategic review by the end of the month, adding that a proxy contest is not its desired avenue but that it had to “pursue this path to ensure the board acts in the best interest of stockholders.”
Among the anticipated proposals to be considered at the requisitioned meeting, the activist advanced motions regarding its right to name the replacements for five targeted directors, repeal any bylaw amendment made until the special meeting, and order the board to “explore any and all strategic alternatives,” including the sale of the company, a Wednesday regulatory filing revealed.
Vintage disclosed an 8.5% stake in the restaurant chain in May and crossed the 10% threshold a month later. The company’s share price lost nearly a quarter in value between the two activist disclosures.
In a move to shield a nil-premium takeover, Red Robin adopted a poison pill that prevents small shareholders from crossing the 10% ownership threshold and limits those holding above 10% from boosting their stakes. The rights agreement allows passive investors to buy up to 20% without suffering dilution of their interest.
The restaurant chain is in the middle of a CEO search and is reviewing its franchising mix and real estate portfolio, undertakings further complicated by the activist’s campaign.
Shares in Red Robin are up nearly 20% since the start of 2019.


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5,000 USDT GiveAway Official announcement by BitMart: Dear BitMart Users, Bicoin Token (BCT) is now listed on BitMart. To celebrate the listing of BCT, we will give away a total of 5,000 USDT to … Retail giant Target hacked to promote a Bitcoin scam on ... Nov 13, 2018 · The tweet, which has since fortunately been deleted, encouraged users to send a small sum of cryptocurrency for a chance to enter a massive $30 million Bitcoin giveaway (5,000 BTC). Twitter bitcoin scam: Hackers impersonate Elon Musk, hit ... Nov 13, 2018 · Although Target said it regained control of its account within a half-hour, the hackers were able to post a tweet promising to give out 5,000 bitcoin in "the biggest crypto-giveaway in the world!" Binance - 5,000 Bitcoin Giveaway Airdrop! – Telegraph
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Lucid Games has announced that PS5 exclusive Destruction AllStars will be available on PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium in Europe. With the new PS Plus launching on June 23rd for the region, the team-based vehicle combat title will receive some new events and a brand new mode on June 22nd.
Events are a new feature for the game, available for six weeks. They introduce a new AllStar Pass and offer rotating challenges that reward currency, XP and new cosmetics. Rise is first followed by Unite and Survive in the future. Jumpshot is the new mode which involves four teams of three players each.
One player becomes “geared up” and must jump through a goal in the map’s center to gain points. Their teammates will earn more time by attacking opponents. Once points are scored or the gear is lost, another player becomes geared. In addition, competitive seasons are coming to Blitz, each lasting six weeks, and the ranking system has been revamped to track skill levels better. There are also new cosmetic rewards to earn from the Blitz playlist.
For more details on Destruction AllStars’ gameplay and modes, check out the video below. Stay tuned for more details in the coming week.


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The Monsanto company has been killing weeds and everything else for over half a century with an impressive cache of hellish weapons including Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs, Roundup, and GMOs. Despite a name change and friends in high places, a California superior court beat Monsanto like a toxic piñata over glyphosate.
Genetically modified foods hit the shelves in 1996, but despite related health problems, no labeling laws exist. Arm yourself with knowledge instead!
Learning the lingo of healthy eating can be frustrating. To make it easy, here's a breakdown of today's top food buzzwords.
Monsanto hit pay dirt with the introduction of popular herbicide Roundup four decades ago, but at what cost to our health and to our planet?
If you follow these tips, you'll know how to grow a food that virtually forces your body to extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids and essential fats from the foods you eat.
The major causes of colony collapse might seem impossible for a single individual to fight. But there are small steps everyone can take to reverse the disastrous decline of our most important pollinator.
Discover the silent genetic assault happening right now in up to 150 "test plots" in the U.S.
Common chemicals in weed killers and pesticides are linked to cancer and Parkinson's. Read before you spray!
Is Monsanto really investing in bee health? Or is this another example of man making money off the backs of our bees?
The British aristocracy was the first to display wealth by keeping a weed-free lawn instead of growing food. So what would happen if you stopped watering, spraying, and mowing that useless grass? It turns out, many positive things would emerge.
Plastic breaks down into toxic fish food in the ocean, then we eat the fish. It turns out this ugly circle of life is way worse than it sounds.
Whole Foods says it will label all products that contain GMOs by 2018. But considering the company's past, can we trust a natural-food giant that thinks about its bottom line - money - 24/7?


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Signatories make combined pledge to eliminate 192 million tonnes of carbon emissions from buildings by 2050
Cities, regions, and business leaders from around the world have pledged to decarbonise the construction industry by committing to deliver net zero carbon buildings by 2050. The pledge, which was orchestrated...
Cosmetics company inks 22MW Virtual Power Purchase Agreement to supply more than half its electricity needs
Luxury fashion chief says businesses should pump more cash into conservation efforts
Innovation in battery technology and economies of scale will make Volkswagen's latest electric vehicle significantly cheaper to produce, company claims
Company says solar can meet up to 40 per cent of power needs across its property estate


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Mississippi's Attorney General's Office is warning people about computer scams aimed at stealing your personal information. MPB's Mark Rigsby reports.
There's been an increase in a certain type of trick the bad guys use on the internet to swipe your bank account info and social security number. It's called scareware. A pop-up for tech support that looks like it's from Apple or Microsoft alerts you that your computer was hacked or infected with a virus. Sometimes the alert comes with a certain amount of time you have to call a number, before your computer is beyond repair. Attorney General Jim Hood says don't fall for it.
"People are lead to believe that it's their actual software that's notified them that a virus is on their computer. It will be shut down if they don't call immediately. Just hold on. Just pay attention, and don't click on that. Immediately shut down your computer."
Tech Expert Wiltz Cutrer says scammers know some people are so attached to their smart phones and computers, that they prey on your emotions.
"Some very involved users have fallen for these because the scams have gotten a lot better. And they've gotten a lot better on preying on your sense of urgency, along with that attachment we do seem to have to our computers and to our tech, worrying about our data."
Attorney General Hood says his office has received 60 calls about scareware. He says if you fall victim, don't contact the scam company, call your financial institutions and monitor your accounts, change your passwords, and have your computer inspected for malware or viruses.


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Mumbai, India – 6 September 2023 : As digital payments continue to gain ground overshadowing traditional cash transactions, the demand for secure and efficient payment platforms is on the rise. Against this backdrop, Singapore based International Payments Identity (iPiD), and Digit9 – a product of LuLu Money (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi based financial services conglomerate LuLu Financial Holdings, have signed a strategic partnership on the sidelines of the ongoing Global Fintech Fest 2023 being held at Mumbai, India, to address this crucial industry need.
The partnership expands Digit9’s reach, allowing its users the additional benefit of payee verification on its proprietary remittance-as-a-service (RaaS) platform when sending real-time payments globally to India, USA, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nepal among other countries. This includes the ability to instantly fetch and verify the authenticity of the payee name, bank account and mobile wallet details while adding a beneficiary for cross-border transactions.
With this integration, customers can enjoy the peace of mind that their payments are executed with unmatched precision and security, minimizing the risk of fraud and ensuring seamless transactions. iPid thus ensures for it’s customers a greater control over their financial activities, making it easier and safer to manage finances across borders.
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Richard Wason, CEO, LuLu Financial Holdings, said, “Security and compliance are the cornerstone of the cross-border payments industry today, for their role in reducing costs, processing time and transparency. We are delighted to partner with iPiD to improve the quality of our services by ensuring the accuracy of beneficiary account information, thus guaranteeing peace of mind for our valuable customers.”
Alain Raes, Founding Partner and Chief Commercial Officer of iPiD, expressed, “Digit9 is emerging as one of the most promising remittance platforms across the Middle East and Asia. We believe that the receiver identity verification capabilities offered by iPiD would enhance the operational robustness of the Digit9 platform by offering Digit9’s customers with a secure and intuitive platform for cross border payments”
iPiD is a fast-growing, venture-backed fintech start-up that was founded in late 2021 by a global team who have held senior roles at major payments and technology companies, including SWIFT and Thomson Reuters. In addition to our HQ in Singapore, our global team has representatives in India, Belgium, Malaysia, Netherlands, UAE, Spain, and Vietnam.
iPiD’s vision is to make cross-border payments easy, secure, and seamless. We achieve this by partnering with financial services providers (banks, payment systems, payment fintechs, wallets…) to deliver an addressing data platform that helps the payment industry to provide a more efficient and user-friendly payment journey. iPiD is built for all – we do not replace banks, payment fintechs, wallets or remittance companies; nor do we replace existing payment rails. Our Advisory Board includes senior figures from across the industry: Christian Sarafidis, Microsoft Chief Business Development Officer WWFSI; Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Nick Lewins, former banking Chief Technology Officer and now an advisor in data and AI, cloud technology and digital transformation.
For more information, contact [email protected]
Digit9 is a product of LuLu Money (Singapore) Pte. Ltd - a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi based financial services conglomerate LuLu Financial Holdings which has a presence in over 10 countries, managing a network of 300+ branches and digital payment assets across the Middle East, Indian sub-continent and APAC regions. Digit9 is a RaaS provider focusing on cross-border payments and real-time payments networks designed for financial institutions and FinTech.
For more information, visit www.digitnine.com/


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L&T Technology Services LTTS | Q2 results | L&T
Press Trust of India |
Larsen & Toubro Technology Services (LTTS) on Tuesday posted a 39.1 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 230 crore for the September 2021 quarter and has raised its dollar revenue growth guidance to 19-20 per cent.
The company had registered a net profit of Rs 165.5 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a regulatory filing.
Its revenue grew 22.4 per cent to Rs 1,607.7 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 1,313.8 crore a year ago, it added.
The company has announced a special dividend of Rs 10 per share to mark the five-year anniversary of LTTS' IPO and the record date has been set as October 27, 2021.
LTTS, which has seen attrition spike to 16.5 per cent in the second quarter of the financial year 2021-22, plan to hire 2,000 freshers in the next six months.
On a sequential basis, the net profit was higher by 6.4 per cent from Rs 216.2 crore, while revenue increased 5.9 per cent from Rs 1,518.4 crore in the June 2021 quarter.
During the quarter, LTTS won 5 deals with TCV of USD 10 million-plus, which includes two USD 25 million-plus deals.
We had a strong quarter with 6 per cent sequential growth in constant currency driven by healthy traction in digital engineering across all our five segments. The rising digital adoption across our customer base has led to our revenue from digital and leading-edge technologies increasing to 55 per cent in Q2," LTTS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Amit Chadha said.
He added that medical - the youngest segment for the company - crossed USD 100 million in annualised revenue and "is a testament to our differentiated domain expertise and strategic relationships".
"We are seeing a healthy deal pipeline and good traction in our six big bets - Electric Autonomous & Connected Vehicle (EACV), 5G, Med-tech, AI & Digital Products, Digital Manufacturing and Sustainability. Our broad-based growth was accompanied by a rise in Operating margin which at 18.4 per cent is the highest we have reported," he said.
Chadha stated that the company will continue the journey of investing in innovation labs and capability building, which has yielded gains in market share and operating model efficiency.
The company is upgrading its financial year 2021-22 dollar revenue growth guidance to 19-20 per cent on the back of strong deal pipeline and demand, he added.
The company's revenue in US dollar terms was at USD 217.4 million in the September 2021 quarter - up 5.7 per cent sequentially and 22.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis. In constant currency terms, revenue was up 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 22.3 per cent year-over-year.
Its headcount stood at 17,983 people at the end of the September 2021 quarter. Its attrition was 16.5 per cent.
"We are working on attrition right now, we need to do more in this area. We have hired about 800 freshers in the last quarter alone and we plan to hire 2,000 freshers in the next six months, largely Q3 and we are hopeful that with the things we are doing within the organisation, we will be able to make an impact," Chadha told PTI.
At the end of the second quarter, the patents portfolio of LTTS stood at 769, out of which 556 are co-authored with its customers and the remaining 213 are filed by the company.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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SpeedRunners: Over 600,000 units sold
tinyBuild Games has just annoucned that their flagship title SpeedRunners has now sold more than 600,000 units on Steam Early Access. Over one million play sessions have been reported since the end of 2014 and the development expects many more once the game is fully launched on PC and Xbox One.
Final release for the game is due later this year.
For more info, visit http://tinybuild.com/speedrunners
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Fresh off winning a national media relations award in New York, Natalie Ghidotti was reading the tea leaves for 2023 and hoping undercurrents in the national economy won’t steer her Little Rock marketing firm, Ghidotti, off its course of success.
The agency, based on the 29th floor of the Regions tower downtown, in December won the PR Daily Media Relations award in the video category for 2022. The prize, given by PR Daily and its publisher, Ragan Communications of Chicago, honored a key element of Ghidotti’s integrated campaign and content marketing for a group of McDonald’s restaurant owner-operators in five states, including Arkansas.
The winning video showcased positive employment experiences of McDonald’s workers in a time of fierce labor competition in the fast-food industry. For Ghidotti herself, the award also signaled that her nine-employee firm could hold its own with the big dogs, including rivals in the competition like Intel Corp., Ernst & Young LLP and Golin of Chicago.
In the video series, shot by Little Rock cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Jeff Dailey, McDonald’s employees talked about their personal and career growth while working at the hamburger chain.
The global chain specifically mentioned its marketing on Tuesday in reporting sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations. Same-store U.S. sales were up 10.3%, and adjusted earnings per share were $2.59 against analysts’ expectations of $2.44.
“It’s particularly exciting to get a national award, and it’s great for our team to be able to say, hey, we’re right up there with the best,” Ghidotti said in an interview.
A Benton native, Ghidotti has made the concept of thought leadership — helping clients establish themselves as go-to authorities in their specialties — her guiding light for 2023. Business is growing, she said, but concerns are bubbling up.
“We’ve definitely seen some recession-type moves by some clients, lowering some of their budgets or delaying some projects until they have a better feel for how things are going to be this year. I’m curious to see what other firms are experiencing.”
She hasn’t really asked many of her peers, she admitted. “But I think there is a pervasive uncertainty that always affects marketing agencies quickly, because when it hits, what’s the first thing a company is tempted to do? Hold on to some of those marketing dollars. It’s not something that I feel comfortable pushing people on. But I do remind them of the age-old reality. You have to spend money to make money, and you don’t want to completely abandon ship on your marketing efforts.”
Right now, she said, the firm’s focus is on new business, and she means business-to-business business.
“We’ve always done a variety of work, B2B, B2C [business-to-consumer] and nonprofit work, but we are really strong in the thought leadership work we’re doing for B2B companies. We have many different strategies for clients like Mainstream Technologies, which we’re helping map out a strategic thought leadership platform that they can build on for years.
“Thought leadership comes down to a company positioning its people as experts in a specific industry, showcasing their knowledge and the true value they bring to their clients and customers,” Ghidotti said. “It’s showing that these experts know their customers’ pain points and challenges, and how vital that knowledge is in bringing solutions.”
Ghidotti also helps clients demonstrate what makes them unique. “If you’re a thought leader in your space, you also have to be putting out valuable and unique content that addresses what your customers need to know.”
A new video series, “Unboxing With Ghidotti,” emphasizes the firm’s B2B and thought leadership work. “It features me, Bethany and Joshua talking about thought leadership and reflecting it in your social portals and websites.” Bethany Siems is Ghidotti’s director of strategy, Joshua Cook its director of PR. “These videos are a lot of fun, and we’ve gotten great feedback. They’re on our website, ghidotti.com.”


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Your Evening Briefing
Foxconn promised to build a $10 billion display factory in Wisconsin, creating 13,000 jobs in exchange for the most lucrative package of deal-sweeteners in state history. Even President Donald Trump was there for the groundbreaking. But now things have changed, and the company is rethinking its plans.
Here are today's top stories
The Fed said it will be “patient” regarding any future interest-rate moves, signaling flexibility on the path toward reducing its balance sheet.
Britain’s vote to leave the EU has already come at a cost. Some of the damage is tangible; some of it less so. Here's the tally.
General Electric has unraveled. Bloomberg News has created a visual guide to the great American icon's historic rise and tortured fall.
Boeing cracked the $100 billion sales mark for the first time in its 102-year history.
Trump promised his tariffs would help create more steel industry jobs. So far, they haven't. Here's why.
What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is digesting a viral clip from Davos in which a historian says it's time for the world's elites to stop talking philanthropy and start talking taxes. It's no longer just Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez making headlines with her call for a 70 percent top marginal tax rate.
What you'll need to know tomorrow
- Apple convinced investors that life after the iPhone won't be so bad.
- The U.S. Navy's costliest carrier is having trouble launching planes.
- Argentina's crisis is great for steak but bad for ranchers.
- Venezuela has 20 tons of gold ready to ship. Address: Unknown.
- Roger Stone may be tied to WikiLeaks through a civil rights lawyer.
- Hedge funds are behaving like we just had a financial crisis.
- A tech firm far from Silicon Valley is churning out billionaires.
What you'll want to read in Businessweek
Marie Kondo, Japan’s reigning queen of tidiness, is riding a huge media wave thanks to the success of her Netflix show and two best-selling books. Her decluttering method, in which personal possessions are retained depending on whether they “spark joy,” is catching on with Americans oppressed by way too much stuff.
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.


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French government recognition of natural wines contrary to European law
Question for written answer E-002276/2020
to the Commission
Elena Lizzi (ID)
On 25 March 2020, the globally renowned website ‘Wine Business’ announced that ‘winemakers in France obtained formal recognition from the French authorities with regard to the existence of “natural wines”’.
Current European regulations prohibit the use of the term ‘natural wine’, and worldwide there is no single definition of this small sector, as it is difficult to define ‘natural’. Hence, French authorities decided to bypass the law by creating a new denomination with the name ‘vin méthode nature’, and established a list of criteria and a screening protocol for this new denomination.
Furthermore, producers that decide to use this new denomination will be allowed to put a logo on each bottle with the terms ‘vin méthode nature’.
This initiative could create unfair competition by putting all European wine producers at a competitive disadvantage, and generate confusion among consumers, who could be misled by labels with a wording not recognised at European level.
- 1.Is the Commission aware of this new French initiative?
- 2.How does the Commission intend to act against French certification that is misleading and contrary to European law?
- 3.Does the Commission consider it acceptable that wine can be labelled with the ‘vin méthode nature’ denomination, which was created to bypass European rules?


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PMA Produce Pavilion Returning to NGA Show
For the second time, the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) will team up with the National Grocers Association (NGA) with an expanded presence at the latter organization’s 2013 show, which is scheduled for Feb. 10-13 at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Located at the center of the expo floor, the PMA Produce Pavilion will serve as a hub for 28 produce companies to showcase the industry innovations, trends and product available to help boost sales. The pavilion also enables representatives of the entire supply chain to connect with the wholesalers and independent grocers that aren’t necessarily active at traditional foodservice shows.
Additionally, Bryan Silbermann, president and CEO of Newark, Del.-based PMA, will moderate The Super Breakfast Session “Fresh Foods: Consumer, Marketplace and Environmental Trends” on Monday, Feb. 11 at 6:45a.m., and Jan DeLyser, PMA chairman and VP of marketing for the Irvine-based California Avocado Commission, will speak at Sunday evening’s opening keynote session, “America’s Debt and Deficit Crisis: Issues and Solutions with Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles.”


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By Doug Gray, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO – In response to illegal U.S. subsidies granted to domestic cotton farmers, Brazil announced this week a list of American products that would be subject to higher rates of import tax by way of retaliation, and economists have warned of a possible trade war between the two countries.
The decision has a thirty-day window in which an agreement could still be reached, after which prices of cotton goods, medicines and cars amongst others, will see huge duty increases. This is the first time that the World Trade Organization has allowed a tit-for-tat approach to an international trade dispute, and comes some eight years after the issue was originally brought to their attention.
In that time the U.S. has been overtaken by India in annual cotton production, but leads the way globally in exports. Both still remain some distance behind China, who produces almost the equivalent of the two nations combined.
The subsidies were granted to protect American farmers against the price fluctuations of a cotton market increasingly at the whim of China. The Brazilian cotton industry is dwarfed in comparison, but an agreement could still be reached whereby U.S. technology and techniques are shared in order to boost the South American giant’s production.
It is estimated that without these subsidies the global price of cotton would be 20 percent higher, allowing Brazil a greater competitiveness and therefore a larger share of the market.
A total of 102 articles have been indicated for the increased tariffs which stands to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in extra duty and push up prices dramatically on supermarket shelves. As well as cotton goods, threatened to be subject to 100 percent taxation, tax on cars could rise from 35 percent to 50 percent, nuts and fruits from 10 percent to 30 percent and potato products such as Pringles from 14 percent to 34 percent.
That there is wide variety of goods targeted is likely to hit America even harder. As Carlos Marcio Cozendey of Brazil’s Foreign Ministry told a press conference; “The idea was to distribute the retaliation broadly in order to maximise pressure.”
The list focuses on products that are also produced in Brazil and for which an easy, homemade alternative is readily available to.
As Haroldo Rodrigues da Cunha, head of the Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers, said in a magazine interview with Dinheiro Rural last year; “It is one of the most complex agricultural issues the WTO has ever had to deal with, but the result is final. America must withdraw the subsidies.”
Hopes do remain that a solution can be found without resorting to the enormous tax hikes, however. Last week the issue was addressed by Hillary Clinton in talks with Foreign Minister Celso Amorim in Brasilia and Gary Locke the U.S. Secretary of Commerce is bound for Brazil to try and hammer out a deal and avoid a trade war that could hit both economies hard.


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First it will release in India and then it will expand in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. Does this mean that the phone will come in Europe and rest of the world? Wait and we shall see.
Currently there aren’t any news telling us when the phone will be available in these countries, but it shouldn’t take more than a month. Just let’s hope that Samsung won’t follow the same schedule as it did for the Galaxy A9 Pro. This lead to the device being released in India four months after the debut in China.
The most iconic feature of Galaxy C9 Pro is the 16-MP selfie camera. It was was supposed to be an exclusive feature for the new Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017).


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For New Yorkers who crave onion-rosemary marmalade with their crostini, loathe the narrow aisles of the nearest supermarket or simply have no time to shop, Fresh Direct has been like a high-tech fantasy come true. With the touch of a computer mouse, it conjures up fresh, sophisticated groceries at the customer’s doorstep.
The company has grown in five years from a dot-com dream to a $200 million business, and its Web site features “celebrity shopping lists” from quintessentially New York figures like Spike Lee, Edward I. Koch and Cynthia Nixon, a star of “Sex and the City.”
But now an eruption of low-tech troubles is drawing a spotlight to what lies behind the computer screen. Last week, the company abruptly lost more than 100 of the roughly 900 employees at its huge plant in Long Island City, Queens, including many of its most experienced workers, when they learned that federal officials planned to check their immigration status.
It is battling not one, but two unions that want to represent the workers, with the election to be held this weekend. City labor leaders and several elected officials rallied at City Hall on Friday to accuse the company and immigration authorities of trying to block the union drive.
And when Fresh Direct held a job fair this week, though hundreds of applicants lined up in the cold, many lost interest as soon as they learned about the low starting pay and low-temperature workplace: $7.85 an hour to pick and pack groceries at night, in 38-degree chill, often for more than eight hours at a stretch. “They said, ‘Dress as warm as you can,’” reported one disenchanted applicant, Joy Brewster, 22, as she emerged from a group job interview with a toss of her head. “I don’t think so. I’d be stiff as a board.”Continue reading the main story
Another applicant, Eibar Amaya, 47, an immigrant from Colombia who is now a United States citizen, gave his verdict in succinct, if imperfect English: “Pay too little, no good.”
He now makes $12 an hour cleaning office bathrooms at night, he added in Spanish, and considering his legal status and valid driver’s license, he expected something better.
Such comments underscore what may not be evident to the online shopper: that Fresh Direct’s great successes — Internet efficiency, competitive prices, an array of locally grown produce and a loyal, well-heeled customer base — were built on a low-wage, transient work force that was anchored by illegal immigrants. And for all that, by its own account, the privately held company has yet to turn a profit for its investors.
“It’s definitely a very competitive business,” said Michael Garry, technology and logistics editor for Supermarket News, which covers the industry. “They’re just one of many employers that are taking advantage of these people. But that certainly is going to clash with their P.R. image.”
Jim Moore, the company’s senior vice president for business affairs, defended its record as an employer as well as its financial health. Fresh Direct has participated in a government Social Security verification system since 2004, he said, and had no idea that some employees’ documents were false.
Those who have left for fear of deportation now number about 100, he maintained, not 300, as organizers with Local 348S of the United Food and Commercial Workers insist.
He estimated the plant’s normal turnover at 45 to 50 percent each year, which he called “not particularly high.” And he said the job fair had produced more applicants than the company could possibly hire.
But among two dozen applicants who spoke with a reporter, only those with very limited options seemed undaunted by the job description — plying frigid miles of conveyor belts carrying tubs of products from far-flung departments to a central packing area.
One applicant hoping to be called back was Abdul Hakim, 33, who said he recently served four years in prison. Another, Nathaniel Griffins, 60, said he was living in a nearby veterans’ shelter and spent his mornings handing out free newspapers for $8.50 an hour. Like many other American-born and legal residents applying for work, they expressed sympathy for the illegal immigrants.
“Legal or not,” Mr. Griffins said, “people got to find a way to feed their families.”
Mr. Moore, the company vice president, acknowledged that many of the immigrant employees who fled, including butchers, kitchen workers and packers, had been with the company for three or four years and were among its most longstanding employees. Some had opposed unionization.
“They are very loyal folks who have been instrumental in helping us build the company,” he said. “It’s been incredibly hard for them and very, very sad for us.”
To union organizers, however, his expression of regret rang false.
Both the food workers’ local and Teamsters Local 805, the unions vying to represent plant workers, called the timing of the immigration audit highly suspect, and contended that under the immigration agency’s own guidelines, it should have been delayed until after the vote on a union.
Both accused the company of using the audit as its latest tactic in an aggressive campaign against the union drive, suggesting that management had called in the immigration authorities, in an effort to intimidate or drive away union supporters.
Mr. Moore denied that accusation, and turned it around by saying that some unions unable to win over workers had been known to try to improve their odds by summoning immigration officials.
But there was no lack of other theories for why Fresh Direct might have appeared on the radar of immigration officials: a call by a disgruntled native-born employee; retaliation by an angry competitor; or Fresh Direct’s high profile in the nation’s media capital, which might make it an appetizing target for the Bush administration, intent on publicizing more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws.
The accusations and confusion partly reflect the relative rarity of immigration enforcement in New York’s food industry.
Illegal immigrant employees abound in New York City’s 11,662 registered food stores — not to mention on the farms increasingly tapped as local suppliers of the tenderest arugula and tangiest goat cheese.
“On any given day, if immigration chose to, they could sweep into stores in any one of these five boroughs and literally take thousands and thousands of workers out,” said Pat Purcell, the director of special projects for the Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which has 23,000 members in the New York area, including the employees at Fairway markets, which emphasize freshness and selection to please the most finicky shoppers.
Full-time employees at Fairway, a family-run company with a long union history, earn at least $14.75 an hour, with generous benefits and time-and-a-half for overtime, Mr. Purcell said.
But in contrast, dozens of upscale or specialty food stores are more obvious offenders than Fresh Direct, he added, because they pay their lowest-rung employees, often Mexicans, in cash, below minimum wage, without asking for any documents.
Older supermarkets in the city, too, have had their share of scandals. Several years ago, Gristedes and Food Emporium agreed to $3 million settlements after the state attorney general accused them and their delivery companies of paying some deliverymen, many of them Africans, just over a dollar an hour.
As for Fresh Direct’s future, forecasts are contradictory. Nationally, only 1 percent of groceries are bought online, and such transactions are expected to nearly double by 2011, to $10.5 billion. But Fresh Direct keeps losing money, said Lawrence Sarf, the president of F & D Reports, a retail consulting company in Great Neck, N.Y.
“It has beautiful products, state-of-the-art equipment, and the best executives to raise money,” Mr. Sarf said. “But it doesn’t work.”
In its campaign against the Teamsters this summer, the company stated in a flier, “We have yet to have a profitable year.”
Mr. Moore now puts it differently. “We’ve taken the profits,” he said, “and we’ve plowed them into growing the company. Our investors are very bullish on what we’re doing.”
Most customers seem bullish, too, despite expressions of remorse about the fate of illegal immigrant employees.
“We’re all so liberal, but we’re really taking advantage of all these people,” said Betsy Jacobs, who described herself as a busy mother in her 40s who depends on Fresh Direct. “As a New Yorker, I really want to be helping these people, not hurting them.”
Former Mayor Edward I. Koch, the company’s first commercial spokesman, took a tougher tone. “The law should be enforced,” he said. “If there are no jobs, the illegal aliens will go home.”
“I am not for keeping prices down by underpaying the people who do the work,” he added. “Unions should be the norm.”
Actually, Mr. Koch confessed, he shops at Fairway and Citarella for his everyday needs, and uses Fresh Direct for large holiday orders. “Their produce is superb,” he said. “But I think they have to pay going rates for labor.”Continue reading the main story


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Eastenders fans tuned in on Friday to see Peggy Mitchell leave the soap after sixteen years behind the bar at the Queen Vic following last night's thrilling episode which saw the Walford local burn to the ground
Barbara Windsor tonight said her goodbye to the soap and with the 'Queen of Walford' no more, just minutes later, Barbara was on ITV as the 'Queen of Bingo'!
JackpotJoy - see Barbara Windsor in her new role and claim £30 FREE when you deposit just £10!
Just minutes after Eastenders went off the air tonight, readers in the United Kingdom saw Barbara Windsor as the face of a new multi-million pound campaign for Jackpotjoy.com - Britain’s favourite online bingo site, with the advert getting it's premiere at 8.40pm on ITV1.
JackpotJoy are offering new customers £5 free with no deposit required as part of a £100 bonus for new customers, and as part of their new advertising campaign, the site is guaranteeing link games this Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 BST with £500 prize funds up to 17:00 BST, then a massive £1,000 prize fund for every game between 18:00 BST and midnight!
Tonight marks Barbara's first starring role in a television commercial and will delight fans as it marks the comeback of her trademark Carry On giggle, and you can join in the fun by claiming £5 free with no deposit required by heading to JackpotJoy today plus a total of £100 free (use bonus code MAXIMUMBONUS when opening an account)!
In a glittering career that has spanned theatre, TV and film, Barbara’s role in the new advertising campaign sees her return to the music hall environment where she started her career – but this time as a Queen in a music hall decked out like the ultimate bingo palace!
Barbara Windsor said: "I was thrilled to be given the role of the ‘Queen of Bingo’ for Jackpotjoy.
"EastEnders marks the end of one of the happiest chapters of my life but I’m really excited about the future – the giggle is back for good. Long live the ‘Queen of Bingo’!"
The ad introduces the ‘Queen of Bingo’s’ faithful courtier ‘Jack’ and glamorous bringer of luck ‘Joy’, as well as starring real life members of Jackpotjoy.com enjoying a live experience of the site’s laughs, thrills and wins. Barbara is given a right royal welcome as she greets her loyal subjects in flamboyant full royal regalia specially designed by Vin Burnham who has created show stopping outfits for Lady GaGa.
Jackpotjoy.com is Britain’s favourite gaming entertainment brand offering loads of exciting games to choose from. For further details and to claim your £5 no deposit required, follow the link below!


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IA, User Journey, UX, UI Design
Awards and Recognition
Best Local App, Readers’ Choice Award 2013 — Stuff Magazine
Highest Rated App — Straits Times Digital Life
HungryGoWhere wins Best Local App
Stuff Magazine, the biggest selling gadget magazine in the world, announced the winners of its “Reader’s Choice Award” in Singapore. Facing stiff competition from the creme of market leading local apps, including Chope, Perx, Bubbly and Burpple, HungryGoWhere won “Best Local App”.
Over 20,000 readers took part in the poll, part of the magazine’s re-launch into Singapore.


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Google Capital- Google’s Growth Equity Investment Fund has decided to set up office in India. The late-stage fund, which was first announced almost exactly one year ago today, is set to open its first office outside the United States, according to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Initially created in 2013, the fund is intended for later stage growth investments which is in contrast with the early stage investments that the sibling fund Google Ventures specializes in. Investments made by Google Capital include Survey Monkey, Lending Club and MapR Technologies.
Citing that the country of 1.2 billion recently surpassed the U.S. in terms of its number of Internet users, Google Capital partner David Lawee told The Wall Street Journal that “It makes a lot of sense to focus on India right now,” and that local entrepreneurs “are responding” with “innovative” offerings for the domestic market and thinking about global growth, as well.
According to Tech Crunch, a Google spokesperson confirmed plans to hire an India-based Google Capital representative, although it is not yet clear where that person will be based. Google capital has been eyeing the Asian market for a while now. While it led a $38 million round in InnoLight Technology Corporation, a Chinese company making cloud computing optical transceivers, it has also invested an undisclosed amount in Bangalore (IN) based CommonFloor.com, India’s leading online real estate platform that combines property search, apartment management and vendor management and caters to a person’s complete residential requirements; as well as freshdesk, a SaaS-based customer support platform that provides multi-channel support to more than 23,000 customers in 118 countries via phone, which includes India and China.
SoftBank and Tiger Global are among other investors who have set up shop in India recently. SoftBank which has already invested in Uber-rival Ola, Housing.com and e-commerce Snapdeal, reportedly plans to invest 10 billion in India.. E-commerce startup Flipkart in July said it had raised $1 billion in new funding from Tiger Global Management, Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Amazon also said that month it would invest $2 billion to expand its operations in India.
(image credit: Dinuraj K)


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Home Tags Corn
Rural Yucatán fights back against GMO seeds
As genetically modified crops become more prevalent in Yucatán’s fields and shops, there is a growing concern that traditional heirloom species may be lost forever.
New genetically modified maize varieties move in, threatening native species
Though more vulnerable to drought, traditional varieties of maize such as the Nuuk Nal, which has a reddish color, tend to be larger and more nutritious than their genetically modified counterparts, according to Díaz.
Yucatán highlights the value of corn with three fairs in September
Three fairs in Yucatán will honor the labor of local communities growing and preserving creole corn.