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The Losers: Elpida, Nokia, AMD, Renesas, ST, TI
Elpida Memory Inc. President Yukio Sakamoto speaks during a news
conference in Tokyo last February after Elpida filed for bankruptcy.
The tough year had its share of losers. Elpida called it quits in another round of consolidation for the company and memory sector generally. It was one of the few big companies to actually exit the industry.
Many giants faltered but did not fall. Among them former cellphone king Nokia could not seem to stabilize its business with a new generation of Lumia handsets using Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Similarly, AMD refreshed its executive suite and strategy, but by year’s end it was still handing out pink slips in record numbers.
Renesas and STMicroelectronics were dogged by calls for strategic shifts through the year. By the end of 2012 their futures remained cloudy.
Texas Instruments bit the bullet and exited the market for consumer smartphone and tablet processors, unable to compete as No. 3 to Qualcomm and Nvidia. Just how Amazon’s Kindle group will react to the shift at its Omap supplier is not yet clear, but TI has set a direction more deeply into embedded and analog markets.
TI steering OMAP to embedded
AMD lays off 15 percent, eyes embedded push
ST to exit ST-Ericsson in 2013
Micron-Elpida merger would redraw DRAM market
Ten shifts in chips, comms:


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UK: Asda introduces rechargable gift voucher card, abandons paper vouchers
UK supermarket giant Asda has abandoned paper gift vouchers, replacing them in all 250 stores with a hi-tech, rechargeable, everlasting electronic gift card.
The credit-card sized gift card is already in use in the US at Asda's parent company, Wal-Mart, where it is one of the retailing giant's biggest selling items.
Asda explained that customers can buy the cards in three designs at any till or customer service desk, for any amount between £1 and £500, which is electronically loaded.
The company also insisted that the gift cards are "far more shopper-friendly than the paper vouchers"; being everlasting (they can be re-loaded with additional sums) fraud-beating (deactivated easily if lost or stolen) and flexible (for full or part payment).
Customer service director Sally Hopson said: "Our new 'everlasting' gift card really takes the hassle out of choosing the right present."
Wal-Mart's UK supermarket chain Asda has announced that it will switch 500,000 hens from battery cages into open barns by 1 May by changing the way in which it sources standard own label, fresh eggs....
Wal-Mart's UK supermarket chain Asda, is considering a bid for supermarket Somerfield, according to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper....
Wal-Mart Germany has cut prices of more than a thousand articles in its stores, some of them by over 20%....
Not content with pocketing one in every three pounds spent on groceries in the UK, the supermarket giant Tesco has now become the first British retailer to smash the £2 bn ($3.78bn) profit barrier. Ho...
US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc, says it will open two outlets in Beijing this year, and at least one more store next year, according to an Asia Pulse report....
UK Supermarkets import a much higher proportion of organic pork than is the case with conventional supplies, according to organic food lobby group the Soil Association....
Overall US produce sales are soaring, but supermarkets are still losing market share to Wal-Mart, according to government figures....
UK supermarket Sainsbury grew faster than Wal-Mart's Asda in the twelve weeks to 27 March 2005, the first time that has happened for ten years, according to figures from market researchers TNS....
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domain: news


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This week, our recap of the most popular news posted on aftermarketNews begins with our exclusive Executive Interview with Bill Hanvey, director of business development for Schaeffler Group USA’s Automotive Aftermarket Division. A veteran of the aftermarket industry, Hanvey discusses the critical role of anti-counterfeiting efforts in Schaeffler’s overall brand strategy. He also gives us the scoop on some exciting new products from the company.
In other product news this week, high-performance lubricant maker Royal Purple (RP) has unveiled a unique new packaging concept intended to help prevent potential counterfeiting. While the new proprietary quart bottle for the consumer market, maintains the company’s trademark purple bottle and yellow cap, the new bottle features an embossed logo that serves as an anti-counterfeiting measure. “There have not been any incidents to date, but we know our rapid growth and expansion into additional international markets makes RP more tempting to counterfeiters. We also thought it was important to upgrade the look of the bottle to convey the quality of the product it contains,” said Director of Consumer Marketing Randy Fisher. “We’re simply trying to be proactive.” Although the bottles underwent structural and aesthetic upgrades, Royal Purple says it was diligent in keeping the “shelf footprint” of the bottle the same so distributors and retailers would not be impacted.
Also this week, Steve Davis, president of the esteemed Barrett-Jackson Auction company, announced he will auction off a vehicle from his personal collection, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Armed Forces Foundation, a national non-profit organization that provides support for wounded service members and their families. Additionally, Barrett-Jackson will waive its commissions on the sale, as it has on all charity sales in recent years. Visitors to Barrett-Jackson’s upcoming fourth annual “No Reserve” Las Vegas event will have the chance to bid on the meticulously restored 1964 Ford Fairlane custom-painted in the striking “Red Hot Chili Pepper” hue from the Sherwin-Williams Planet Color Barrett-Jackson Collector Color Series. The car, which underwent hundreds of hours of restoration and detailing, was a showstopper at the 2009 SEMA Show, where it was displayed at the Sherwin-Williams booth. It features a Roush Performance 427IR, 8-stack fuel injection 560 HOP engine with torque of 540 ft-lbs and a Tremec TKO 6-speed.
From vintage vehicles at the auction house, to restoring muscle cars on movie sets, Lincoln Electric is getting its own 15 minutes of fame this fall. The Cleveland, Ohio-based welding products company is teaming up with Picture Car Warehouse to serve as the exclusive welding supplier for the car-heist motion picture, “Drive,” produced by OddLot Entertainment. Starring Ryan Gosling, the indie film features adrenaline-pumping, vehicle-destructing car chases. Picture Car Warehouse owner and founder Ted Moser chose Lincoln Electric to provide the welding equipment and consumables to restore and fabricate muscle cars used during filming. The upcoming appearance in “Drive” isn’t the first time Lincoln Electric equipment has made it into a major motion picture. The company’s products also have enjoyed screen time in “Ironman,” “Ironman 2” and most recently, “The Green Hornet.”
And while this last story may sound like it’s right out of a Hollywood spy movie, it is unfortunately true crime. A federal judge Wednesday sentenced two engineers convicted of stealing trade secrets from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. to four years probation and 150 hours of community service. In addition, the men were each given four months confinement to their homes, except for employment and a few other exceptions, and a $1,000 fine, which the court waived because of the defendants’ inability to pay. Last December, a federal jury found the men guilty on all 10 counts that they conspired to steal and use trade secrets. In 2007, the charges said, Clark Alan Roberts and Sean Edward Howley, acting as employees of Wyko Tire Technology Inc. in Greenback, Tenn., visited Goodyear’s Topeka, Kan., plant, where Howley used his cell phone camera to photograph critical OTR tire production equipment. Prosecutors alleged that Wyko had trouble getting a similar piece of equipment from China, so the defendants decided to steal Goodyear’s design.


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Caithness Courier readers may have heard recent news items calling for the banning of ‘micro-beads’ in cosmetic and personal care products.
These tiny, non-biodegradable beads, which are too small to be seen by the naked eye, are added in great numbers to items such as toothpaste, shampoos, shower gels and exfoliants. After use they are washed away down the drain and into water treatment systems. However because of their small size they are not collected by these systems allowing them to be released into the ocean where they are ingested by all forms of marine life.
There are many other sources of plastic pollution affecting our oceans and we must do our best to address all of these, however considering the purely cosmetic nature of their use, microbeads remain a significant source of plastic in the ocean that can be stopped with relative ease. It is estimated that as much as 86 tonnes of microplastics are released into the environment every year in the UK from facial exfoliants alone.
Although there have been calls for an EU-wide ban, no action has yet been taken. A European Parliament resolution of 14th January 2014 on a European strategy on plastic waste in the environment called for single use plastics that cannot be recycled, such as plastic microbeads, to be phased out of the market or banned outright. Environment ministers from Sweden, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg called on the EU to ban microbeads, Italy also backed the idea, which was first proposed by the Netherlands in 2013. But other countries, including the UK, favoured a non-legislative approach.
Written declarations are a tool that MEPs can use to draw the attention of the European Commission to new legislation that they consider necessary and require the support of at least 360 MEPs to be successful. Before the summer recess of the Parliament I was happy to add my signature to a recent Declaration calling on the Commission to address the issue of microbeads in personal care products. This joint declaration highlighted the fact that microplastics originate from many different sources, including the breakdown of larger pieces, the shedding of synthetic fibres as well as the use of plastic microbeads in personal care products.
At the end of last year the United States issued a federal ban on microplastics in personal care products and the UK environment minister has recently acknowledged that in the absence of urgent EU action the UK could consider a unilateral ban. More than 140,000 people have backed a petition launched by Greenpeace UK urging the UK should follow the US in forbidding the use of “these wholly unnecessary bits of plastic”
However the oceans know no borders and action at an EU or international level makes far more sense. MEPs believe that EU legislation is needed to ensure that all primary microplastics are removed from cosmetics and personal care products as a starting point. This would create a level playing field across Europe, and ensure that no future products contain these wasteful and destructive elements.


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Electric cars are ‘much cheaper’ to run compared to petrol and diesel
GB News guests debate using electric cars
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Drivers charging at home on electric vehicle (EV) tariff save just over 56 percent compared to petrol or diesel per-mile costs. They are nearly a quarter cheaper (24 percent) for those who charge at home on a standard energy tariff.
The data, from New Automotive, found that electric vehicles are now more than half as cheap to run than a petrol or diesel vehicle when charged at home on a dedicated EV energy tariff.
The organisation has launched a fuel cost tracker to measure car running costs.
It found that home-charged electric cars can be more than half as cheap as petrol and diesel.
It converts the latest available energy prices into a cost-per-mile figure and compares the difference in running costs between fuel types in an interactive chart.
Energy prices rises have made it harder to monitor changes to the relative running cost of petrol, diesel and electric cars – but the tracker solves this problem.
Electric car running cost savings compared to diesel and petrol cars have led to their swift adoption in the UK and remain a strong selling point.
The recent announcement from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut oil production is likely to make EVs even more competitive.
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, said: “One of the key benefits of switching to an electric car is that they are much cheaper to run than petrol or diesel vehicles.
Elderly drivers hit out at maximum driving age proposals [SHOCKING]
SUV and electric car owners could be fined £300 simply for driving [WARNING]
Drivers could get a free MOT test – how to claim [FREE MOT]
“At a time of fluctuating energy prices, many have wondered whether EVs are still cheaper to run, and we’ve seen myths around the changing cost of running EVs putting people off making the switch.
“Our new Fuel-Cost Tracker tool will bring clarity for motorists, analysts and policymakers by providing an authoritative and up-to-date way to monitor how running costs are changing over time.
“A key finding of our analysis is that the Government’s new energy price cap means that EVs are still cheaper to run than polluting diesel or petrol cars.
“Fluctuating energy prices and the cost of living crisis means the savings EVs offer have never been more important for British motorists.”
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The tracker converts the most current available energy and fuel prices to a cost-per-mile figure using the appropriate fuel efficiency values for each fuel type.
The Fuel Cost Tracker does not currently take into account public EV charging costs.
Most EV drivers only charge using public charging on occasional long trips, with the vast majority charging at home.
New AutoMotive is in support of FairCharge UK’s call for more equitable public charging pricing.
Commenting on the campaign, Mr Nelmes said: “Motorists who rely on public charging also save compared to petrol and diesel drivers, but the higher cost of charging using the public network means that they do not currently enjoy the full extent of the savings EVs offer.”
“These savings should be available to all EV drivers, not just those who can charge at home.
“To ensure this is the case, the Chancellor should cut the rate of VAT on public charge points from 20 percent to five percent.
“Additionally, regulations to improve pricing transparency around public charging should be fast tracked, so that consumers can shop around and find the best deal when they need to charge.”
According to Zap-Map, there were 34,860 electric vehicle charging points across the UK at the end of September.
This represents a 35 percent increase in the number of charging devices since September 2021.
Source: Read Full Article


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Samsung Galaxy C9 appears on Geekbench with Snapdragon 652 SoC, 6GB RAM
Samsung Galaxy C9 has been spotted on AnTuTu as well, with the listing revealing full HD display, 64GB storage, 16MP rear camera, and 16MP front shooter.
Other specs, including Snpadragon 652 SoC, 6GB RAM, and Android 6.0.1 were revealed by the phone’s Geekbench listing as well.
Original story follows:
The Samsung Galaxy C9 has now appeared on Geekbench, revealing some of its key specs. The listing reveals that the device is powered by Snapdragon 652 chipset, has 6GB RAM, and is powered by Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.


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This week on Techstory we introduced our new series with Stories in Pictures which received a very good response. We covered a number of interesting stories such as Quotes to Conquer your fears, Top Indians in US Tech Industry, Educational background of India’s top business leaders, How the next generation of India Inc is being onboarded and some Inspiring Quotes from the World of Tennis under the Stories in Pictures series. In other stories this week we covered Expansion plans of hCentive for India, The 5 social media practices that have affected customer service in the recent times, The incredible rise of Sundar Pichai, Fashionara launching Indias first online flee market, an interview with Manish Sharma of Printo, Uber’s $40B valuation after the latest funding round and Snapdeal launching India’s first online store for the differently abled.Here’s a quick round up of this week’s stories on Techstory.
hCentive and their $100 million expansion plan for India !
Mr. Manish Garg, Head of India Operations, hCentive, talks to Techstory.in about their $100 million investment plan for the Indian market in the next 3- 5 years !
“If you are not able to raise money it means that you are not ready to raise money yet!” – Manish Sharma of Printo
In an interview with Techstory, Manish Sharma, CEO of Printo, talks about the journey and future plans of Printo, building great companies out of India, hiring and keeping the right talent and competition and funding in the Indian market.


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Some 7.4 million Brits are definitely planning an overnight holiday trip in the UK this Easter weekend, bringing an estimated £1.8 billion boost to the economy.
The figure comes from the latest Trip Tracker survey from VisitEngland and are the highest since this it began in 2013.
Last year, 4.8 million Brits planned to take an overnight holiday trip during Easter, in 2017 the figure was 6.6 million, in 2016 it was 6.1 million and in 2015 it was 4.6 million.
Tourism minister, Michael Ellis, said: “The UK has world-class cities, stunning landscapes, fascinating museums and historic sites that millions of people flock to each year.
“It is great to see that so many people are planning a staycation this Easter where they will enjoy and explore superb destinations across the country.”
This year’s VisitEngland Easter Trip Tracker survey also found that more than seven million Brits, 15 per cent, are undecided about whether to take an overnight trip during Easter with almost a third of those waiting to see what the weather is like.
VisitEngland director, Patricia Yates, said: “It is great to see so many Brits are planning holidays at home in the UK in what is set to be a cracking Easter, bringing a boost for businesses and local economies as the summer season gets underway.
“Right across the country visitors will find experiences to enjoy no matter what the weather.
“Holidaying at home continues to be a great choice with the certainty of budgeting, the ease and convenience and the quality on offer all tempting people to explore beyond their doorstep.”
Tourism is worth £127 billion annually to the UK economy, creating jobs and boosting economic growth across its nations and region.


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“Self Made” Album Photo Shoot
Look out for “The Young O.G. Project” and “Loso’s Way 2.”Read More
Fabolous had a “Soul Tape 3” concert in New York city last night. The sold out show included various guests. Once...Read More
Pusha T continues dropping video off of his, “Fear of God,” mixtape, this time for, “Open Your Eyes.”
Lloyd Banks – Music – More Music Videos Lloyd Banks delivers a new video for, “So Forgetful,” featuring Ryan Leslie.
Here are pictures of the upcoming Nike Air Royal Mid VT with a mesh outer design. Source: Dunk.com
Fabolous performs at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC for the Hunter College USG Spring Concert on 5/5 with Special guests Red Cafe and Lloyd Banks. Check out video and photos after the jump… Shot By Rome
Amber Rose continues, “Killin Em,” this time in the July/August issue of King magazine.
Dartz Prombron’ and Gray Design have released the first details on the 2012 Dartz Prombron’ Nagel, an armored vehicle planned to be launched in 2012, when the company celebrates its 100th anniversary. -CarBodyDesign
This Pale Pink Miu Miu Bathing Suit is the perfect feminine piece for a day at the pool and the whit bow is the icing on the top!
Def Jam rookie Big Sean returns with the second single from his Finally Famous: The Album debut which is slated for a June 21st release via Good Music/Def Jam Records. “I Do It” was produced by No I.D. and The Legendary Traxter...
Jaguar has released new videos showcasing their upcoming, “XF” & “XK” models dropping in 2012.


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Big changes are taking place at Tianyi USA focusing on new markets and new areas of opportunity. Foremost is a recent investment in Sixt rent a car of Germany, one of the world’s largest auto rental companies.
Sixt recently began expanding into the USA and Tianyi USA along with our CEO Steve Schneider are investing in opening franchises in Fulton and Santa Rosa, California to serve the Sonoma County wine country tourism industry and air travel out of STS, also known as the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport – STS – Website. In 2014, tourism revenues in Sonoma County grew to $1.65 billion annually.
Sixt franchises are becoming a hot commodity, but such a business opportunity is not to be entered lightly. The following link is to a recent letter from Sixt Management addressing those interested in the Sixt Franchising opportunity. Please bear in mind that this information is not intended as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a franchise. READ MORE


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While car buyers say new vehicle technology is a leading reason they choose one vehicle over another, there are some tech features that they would just as soon do without.
“New-vehicle prices are at an all-time high, partly as a result of an increased level of content,” said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of human machine interface at J.D. Power. “This is fine if owners are getting value for their money, but some features seem like a waste to many owners.”
According to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study, for more than one in three advanced technologies, fewer than half of owners have used the technology in the first 90 days of ownership. Non-users most often say they don’t need these technologies. For example, 61% of owners say they have never used the in-vehicle digital market technology, and 51% of those saying they have no need for it.
Owners feel similarly about the driver/passenger communication technology, with 52% saying they have never used the technology, and 40% of those saying they have no need for it.
The highest scores are for camera rear-view mirror and ground view camera, both of which are ranked among the top three by owners wanting them on their next vehicle.
Kolodge says his firm’s data shows that automakers suffer a hit to profits and sales if they build the wrong mix of features on their vehicles.
Following are several findings from the 2021 study:
- Dealers can influence how owners feel about value of technology: Dealer demonstrations at delivery are instrumental in keeping owners engaged with emerging technologies. For example, for safe exit assist technology, owners can get a very strong understanding of the system when they learn it from a dealer. Without dealer education, however, owners often do not fully understand the technology and its value, presenting a challenge for its overall acceptance. Similarly, when a dealer demonstrates trailer assistance technology, satisfaction improves to 8.69 (on a 10-point scale) compared with 7.83 for learning from an outside source. However, owners are more than twice as likely to learn about this technology from an outside source (71%) than from a dealer (30%).
- Some technologies make driving experience better, while others do not: Many owners indicate poor performance with interior gesture controls technology, which responds to hand motions instead of touch. Owners of this feature indicate an extremely high 41 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). This technology also has the lowest overall satisfaction score in the study for a second consecutive year. In contrast, one-pedal driving technology offered in some electric vehicles receives very high satisfaction levels and owners cite relatively few problems (8 PP100).
- Tech desires not always transferable across global markets: J.D. Power TXI studies for the United States and China include 21 of the same advanced and emerging technologies, but scores for owner satisfaction vary by country. While camera rear-view mirror technology receives high scores in the United States, owners in China have the most problems (18 PP100) with this technology. For ground view camera technology, 62% of U.S. owners say they “definitely will” want the technology again, while only 24% of owners
The TXI Study analyzed 36 technologies, divided into four categories: convenience; emerging automation; energy and sustainability; and infotainment and connectivity.
The 2021 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study is based on responses from 110,827 owners of new 2021 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study was fielded from February through July 2021.
Source: J.D. Power
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India is one of the largest producers of food in the world, be it fruits, vegetables, cereals or poultry. Despite being the largest producer where 60% of the population is directly related with the agriculture, the food processing levels in India are minimal. “We process only 10% of what we produce,” said Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal at the second edition of Indus Food 2019 at Greater Noida. Indus Food is India’s official, export-focused Food & Beverage Trade Fair; the expo was organised by the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI).
“There are very high wastages. We need to think over how to reduce them. While we are among the largest producers, there are many among us who don’t get a stomach-full food. Our Government, when I took four and a half years ago, decided to develop infrastructure for storage and preservation of food to bring down the wastage. It is because of the food wastage the prices spiral up in certain months. This goes out of budget for a poorer section of our society,” she said at Indus Food 2019.
“India has the capacity of becoming the food factory of the world.”
~Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal
“Reducing wastage requires a lot of infrastructure development to push the food industry. The more we process, the less we waste. As a result, this would not only make food available for more people but would also include India on to the food map of the world,” she further added.
The Indian Government is working to address the problem of food wastage in the country and other perishable items. It also aims at ensuring fast supply to food processing industry which will help in achieving the goal of doubling farmers' income told Harsimrat Kaur while addressing the media.
"Everyday we hear news of farmers, from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, discarding their items or doing distress sale of their produce. But this is soon going to change. The Centre has already started to work on developing the mechanism to ensure that states which are producing any item in excess will transport them to the places where there is a demand. The Government will get involved in this process and become a facilitator to ensure that perishable items reach those involved in the food processing industry. We have already tied up with organisations like NAFED to make this happen. This will greatly help farmers by getting them a proper income of their produce," Harsimrat said.
The Union Minister expressed her concern over utilising just 10% of the produce due to lack of proper cold storage facilities. “If we are able to save our perishable food items it will help our farmers to get a better income of their produce. We have also decided to procure directly from our farmers to end the menace of middlemen. We have started building mini cold chains for this. We are giving loans worth Rs 50 crore to build such mini cold chains." The Food Processing Ministry of India is working towards the mega food parks, mini cold chains and backwards-forward linkage schemes. Harsimrat Kaur Badal also talked about the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojna which aims at supplementing the agriculture, modernise processing and decrease agri waste; SAMPADA stands for Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters.
“We are also the largest markets in the world - a 600 billion dollar retail sector where 70% is the food retail. It will triple by 2020. The demand for food is going to double in the next six years,” she said.
One cannot ignore the Indian food market which is growing very fast. “It is the market for international food brands too. The World Food India 2017 was a huge success. We had around 800 companies as participants. At the end, MoU worth 14 billion dollars were signed, out of which 30 companies worth 11 billion dollars had already started grounding their projects. That gives an indication where the food industry is heading in India. To give another indication, at the rate at which the food processing industry is growing, when I took over the Food Processing Ministry in 2014, the FDI in our country was approx 500 million and I am happy to say that it has doubled within four and a half years of my Ministry and reached close to a billion,” she said.
All these clearly indicate that India is not only one of the rapidly growing GDPs today but the fastest growing sector in food retail and processing. Speaking about the measures that the Government of India has undertaken, Harsimrat said, “There is something for everyone who wants to contribute towards the food processing industry and move ahead. We have subsidies and schemes for businessmen, even for the farmers who want to get into the sector.”
“If you are a shopkeeper and have decided to make your own brand or if you are a farmer and have decided into value addition and sell, or you are a small processor and wants to get into retail as well as do a little bit of farming, be it the backward or the forward integration, anybody could apply for the backward-forward scheme, and get a 5-crore subsidy,” she said.


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It appears that Star Wars Battlefront will have a total of 12 multiplayer maps at launch, and another two available to download for free (pre-ordered copies of the game get the content early, while everyone else has to wait an additional week). Look inside to hear about this and another detail that slipped through the cracks. Also EA revealed the process of creating the planet Sullust for the game.
In addition to these 12 (14) maps available when the game goes live, a recent article that Electronic Arts put up also includes a detail of note: in addition to these maps, more locations will be available for the Battlefront Missions mode. While these locations will most likely be for planets that have already been made for the game (as opposed to new planets), this detail suggests that the single-player mode will be a little more distinct from the rest of the game than previously thought.
With 12 multiplayer maps confirmed for the base game, and the confirmation that each planet will have at least two maps, this leaves enough room for six different planets to be represented as multiplayer levels. Might this mean that Coyerti and Haidoral-Prime, both alluded to in the tie-in novel Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company, are both going to be represented in the game as well? Possibly two different planets that we’ve heard of, but have not seen? Or perhaps two other planets that we’ve seen in the movies? Only time will tell – and given that the next big look at the game will be at E3 2015 in a little over a month, that time could very well be coming soon.
Also on a post on the official EA Star Wars website, developers have revealed some behind the scenes info on Sullust…
When the DICE team first set foot on the Icelandic surface, parts were bubbling, giving off short yet intense bursts of heat. The solid ground gently rumbled, reverberations felt from head to toe. They stood still, looking far and wide only to see eerie streams of smoke rolling across the horizon and over awkward arrangements of gigantic black rocks. The air was cool but surprisingly calm, as if life was non-existent. It was in this moment that they knew this was what players need to feel when trudging through the cold, dark, and unstable terrain of a previously unexplored planet and bringing this to Star Wars Battlefront would be one of their biggest challenges yet.
The team at DICE Stockholm began collaborating and ideating on the endless possibilities of environments that could exist in the Star Wars™ universe. Anton Grandert, Concept Artist at DICE, developed the initial look through various sketches. “We wanted to create a planet on our own, first trying out different ideas and then deciding on a lava planet,” said Grandert.
When referring to the direction, the concept artist stated, “With black sharp rocks, huge land shifts, red lava, turquoise lakes, and white smoke…everything to make it really colorful yet imposing and threatening.” It took a while to nail down the specifics but once completed, the team presented the design and direction to Lucasfilm. Working in collaboration with the teams at Lucasfilm, it was decided that this visual design would be a perfect look for the planet Sullust, mentioned but not seen in Return of the Jedi.
To build a dynamic and exciting world for our players, the team at DICE then visited the Lucasfilm archives for further research. We wanted to build on the existing lore that the planet Sullust had an Imperial presence. And this idea proved to become a major influence in the design of the planet for the game. We studied the Death Star’s architecture and material to inspire ways in which we could incorporate the structures, almost as if the same architect who designed the Death Star left their mark on the structures that stand across the surface of Sullust in Star Wars Battlefront.
For the full article go to EA.com


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Alongside the teeming masses of tourists and audiences for headlining popular Israeli performers, Jerusalem’s 40th annual International Arts and Crafts Fair at Hutzot Hayotzer also gathered artists from the four corners of the earth. Located just outside the picturesque Old City, the first two weeks of August transformed the historical Sultan’s Pool into a stage for craftsmen and designers from 33 countries to flaunt their wares.
For Israeli designers like Galya Harish, who founded her unique jewelry company The Blessing Flower this year, the fair provided a platform to expose local customers to their products.
Harish’s designs are not just made in Israel; they’re made of Israel. Each of her necklaces contains a small flower, called a “Blessing Flower” in English, that is grown in Israel’s Negev desert. Although the flower is detached from its roots, when given a drop of water, it blooms again for an hour. According to Harish, it will continue to bloom like this for thirty years.
“It’s a wonder of creation,” said Harish over the phone last week.
The designer explained that an American priest told her about the Blessing Flower – considered a symbol of resurrection in Christianity – and that she originally marketed her jewelry, under a different label, for Christian American customers. But Harish soon recognized the universality of the flower’s “powerful symbolism,” so she created The Blessing Flower in May to branch out towards a more diverse clientele, including local Jewish and Israeli customers.
Harish is using this month’s fair to spread the word about her designs to Israeli buyers who, she said, are often skeptical when they pass by her booth. So Harish loves to watch their impressed reactions when she explains how the product works.
‘If we believe and have faith, we can bloom again and again’
Ultimately, women buy the necklaces as “a symbol of our ability to overcome hardship,” Harish said. “If we believe and have faith, we can bloom again and again.”
The Blessing Flower stand at the fair, according to Harish, has been “packed most of the time with people who show a lot of enthusiasm” for the unusual necklaces.
Crowds of people descended upon the fair, browsing in the Israeli Pavilion, which boasts the designs of about 200 local artists, as well as the International Pavilion.
Some cooled off with fresh cones of gelato or chilled Chardonnay; others sampled the hot food from the dozens of stands in the International Food Fair. Customers waited in line to try everything from fresh Italian pasta at Pasta Fresca to authentic Korean kimchi from Seoul House to the fragrant Middle Eastern kebab-filled-pitas at Kebab shel Rachel.
Children were entertained by performances and workshops in the Children’s Compound, pottery wheels in Bezalel Academy’s “White House” Compound, and portrait-drawers and hair braiders throughout the tents. Adults spent time in the Beer Garden sipping on German Paulaner ales, sitting at picnic tables, and enjoying live music.
The highlight of the evening came at 9 p.m. each night, when crowds made their way into the Sultan’s Pool, where celebrated Israeli musicians including Sarit Hadad, Gidi Gov, Rita and Aviv Geffen performed to packed crowds of screaming fans.
It seems, based on one Tuesday night’s crowd, that not even a heatwave could stop families from enjoying one of Jerusalem’s most longstanding cultural event. On that particular night, as the fair’s doors opened at 6 p.m., the temperature was a very humid 31°C (almost 90 °F).
Many designers make the fair an annual event. The Hangover chairs – created in 2006 by Israeli designer Sagi Ahiel – are a crowd pleaser for the eighth year in a row.
The Hangover chair – a spin-off of the hammock – provides a comfort different from that of any other swing-type chair, claimed Ahiel. What distinguishes the Hangover is that its upper wooden bar runs from front to back, rather than side to side.
The chairs, which are sold throughout Israel, Europe, and now the US, were initially produced in Israel. Today they are produced in China due to the higher quality of production there, according to Ahiel.
But for Ahiel, who has lived and worked in Israel all his life, there is something special about selling at Hutzot Hayotzer.
“I always love to sell my creations everywhere,” he said, “but at this fair there is always an especially good feeling of celebration.”


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These spotlights were part of eMerge Insights published in early September and republished here with permission. Download the full 2019 MidYear Report here.
Technisys: A Miami fintech company that took root in Latin America
Technisys, the Miami-based provider of an innovative digital banking software platform that was co-founded by a trio of Argentines, closed $50 million in a Series C financing round led by Riverwood Capital in the second quarter (May 2019). Technisys said the funding will let the company further grow its investments in technology and expand the product portfolio as well as help the company further expand across the United States, Canada and Latin America, as well as to enter new markets in Europe.
Technisys was founded in Buenos Aires by Miguel Santos, Adrian Iglesias and German Pugliese Bassi in 1996, “about 10 years too early,” said Santos, the CEO. The company was selected to join the Endeavor network in 2001. Today the company, with 600 employees in Miami and across the Americas, will likely make nearly $50 million in revenue this year, according to media reports. Its platform is running in 15 countries and it has about 50 enterprise customers.
“We are here to stay and the plans are big. The next stage is probably a public offering in say, three to four years,” Santos recently told Forbes.
CarePredict: A health-tech player with a mission to help seniors
Founded by tech veteran Satish Movva, CarePredict is a health-tech startup for senior care. Its first-to-market AI-driven technology predicts a wide range of developing health conditions – including the possible onset of depression or an increased fall risk — through continuous observation of daily activities.
CarePredict, based in Plantation and now a team of 18, has raised $9.5 million in Series A financing led by Secocha Ventures, Las Olas Venture Capital, both based in South Florida, and StartUp Health Ventures in early 2019. Its solution is currently used primarily in assisted living centers. CarePredict won the Accessibility Award at CES 2019, where the company also announced it would be launching into the at-home segment in October. It is already seeing “very rapid results and good product-market fit,” Movva said. CarePredict launched in Japan in December 2018 with good initial traction.
“The sheer numbers of people aging at home and the shift to value-based care means healthcare plans and providers are getting very interested in a predict and prevent model vs. the current detect and treat model. We are unique in helping them achieve that,” Movva said. “We will emphasize the aging at home market in the next two years by our next-gen products, which are worldwide cellular compatible and allow us to address the strong inbound interest from South America.”
Shoot My Travel: Joining the million-dollar club
When a selfie stick just will not do, there’s Shoot My Travel to the rescue. Travelers love the global marketplace connecting them with on-demand professional photographers, but investors are appreciating the big picture. The startup raised a $1.1 million round from Jason Syndicate and Ludlow Ventures earlier this year. At the time, only about 60 Latina founders anywhere had raised $1 million or more in institutional venture funding – ever. Now South Florida is home to at least three: Ana Roca Castro of Genius Plaza, Maxeme Tuchman of Caribu, and Valerie Lopez.
Shoot My Travel is a full-time team of 11, spread between Miami, Colombia, China and Spain. The service is available in 466 cities in 100 countries. Through the website or app, users can connect with more than 1,000 vetted pro photographers from around world for travel photos “through the lens of a local.” Last year Shoot My Travel joined Jason Calacanis’ LAUNCH Accelerator in Silicon Valley, where Lopez honed her growth strategy and pitching prowess.
Lopez hints there are big developments to come. “We are launching a new and exciting rebranding and platform. Key hires are at the top of our priority list to scale and we are investing heavily in technology and marketing.” Stay tuned for details soon, she says.
Neocis: Long road to commercialization paying off
Kicking off the second half of the year, Neocis, a Miami-based healthcare robotics company, recently announced that it closed a $30 million round. The round was led by its existing institutional investor, Mithril Capital Management, and joined by new investor Norwest Venture Partners as well as angels including Fred Moll, a pioneer in robotics who was also one of Neocis’ original backers. All together, Neocis has raised more than $50 million, said CEO Alon Mozes.
It’s been a long road through development, FDA clearance and to commercialization for Neocis, which was co-founded in 2009 by Mozes and Juan Salcedo, both engineers who met while working at Mako Surgical, itself a homegrown success story that has spun out a number of companies. In 2017, Neocis received FDA clearance for Yomi, the first and only robot-assisted surgical platform for the dental industry.
Neocis is now a team of 75 – double what it was about a year ago – and the company is hiring aggressively. Commercialization is in full swing, and because of high demand the team has expanded its sales reach into a broader variety of surgical specialties with sales forces and support teams spread across the country.
“Selling is going well,” Mozes said. “The funding will help us expand our commercial operations and also go toward additional R&D and engineering efforts making Yomi as easy to use as possible while expanding indications potentially into other procedures.”
Spotlights written by Nancy Dahlberg
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July 1 always symbolized the starting gun for recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts, but that never meant the industry would be quick out of the gate.
Yet more than two weeks later, it’s still uncertain when the state’s first adult-use pot shop will actually open.
“I don’t want to put a date on it,” says Sam Barber, the president of Cultivate, a medical marijuana dispensary in Leicester that was issued the state’s first retail license for recreational sales earlier this month.
Cultivate obtained another license last Thursday, allowing the company to grow marijuana for recreational purposes at its existing Route 9 facility, where it already grows and sells the substance for medicinal purposes. Barber told Boston.com that the cultivation license is “another step,” but said it could be awhile until they open.
After initially giving an estimate of “a few weeks,” Barber told reporters earlier this month that it would likely be September before they could begin retail operations. And while the company does need to pass a few final state-required inspections, the reason for the delay is mostly out of their control, which is why Barber is now reluctant to give any estimate on an opening date.
“At this point, we’re just focusing on making sure we’ve done everything that they’ve asked from us,” he said.
For one, even once Cultivate does have that final go-ahead, all recreational marijuana products still must first be tested by an independent laboratory — and no such labs have been licensed yet by the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.
Steve Hoffman, the commission’s chairman, told reporters Thursday that the agency had received its first completed license application from a testing facility. Hoffman said the commission could vote to issue the lab a provisional license as early as its next meeting on July 26. With three labs already operating with the state’s medical marijuana program, Hoffman has said that once they get their licenses they should be “pretty much ready to go.”
But that still means it likely won’t be until at least August that any marijuana sales can begin.
What’s up with the overall delay?
As of Thursday, the commission had issued a total of five licenses to two companies, Cultivate and Sira Naturals, a Milford-based cultivation facility. They are in the process of reviewing 29 other applications and had 39 awaiting review. Hoffman says the commission is working as quickly as they can to approve licenses, but there’s a simple reason Cultivate still stands alone as the only provisionally licensed retail business in the state.
“[The commission] can’t act on applications that they don’t have,” said Jim Borghesani, the former spokesman for the 2016 legalization campaign and a cannabis industry consultant.
Nearly 200 communities in Massachusetts continue to have either outright bans or moratoriums on recreational marijuana businesses within their borders. Attorney General Maura Healey recently ruled that temporary moratoriums — designed to give towns time to set up local regulations, such as zoning — could be extended through June 2019.
And even cities and towns that do allow recreational marijuana shops are dragging their feet, according to Borghesani.
“The big hold up really is on the local level,” he said.
Prospective adult-use pot businesses — even ones already operating as medical marijuana companies — have to obtain a “host community agreement” form signed off on by local officials. And, under state law, communities aren’t held to any timetable for reviewing the permits, which Borghesani says has resulted in unreasonable delays in the licensing process.
Municipalities can also require so-called impact fees from prospective businesses, which are supposed to be “reasonably related to the costs imposed” by a marijuana establishment operating in town.
Two state senators recently wrote to state regulators concurring with Borghesani’s concern about the “widespread” practice of towns using the host community agreements, including excessive impact fees, as a “form of prohibition.”
The Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents the state’s cities and towns, has pushed back against those criticisms, arguing that municipalities are trying to do their “due diligence” on how to approach a new industry that still conflicts with federal law. Borghesani thinks they’ve had more than enough time.
“As soon as this was passed in 2016, towns should have started the process of figuring out where they were going to zone,” he said, noting that zoning for controlled substances has been something local communities have governed “for decades.”
Massachusetts also experienced lags in the rollout of its medical marijuana industry, which now has a total of 36 registered dispensaries. And though for different reasons, those delays may now be having somewhat of a carryover effect, even when shops do begin getting online.
“It’s not like Colorado where they already had a hundred medical dispensaries,” Barber said. “Massachusetts is still growing into that medical market.”
Industry experts have said they expect a supply shortage in the early months of the state’s nascent recreational market, in part due to its relatively underdeveloped medical marijuana industry.
Barber is aware of the increasingly pent-up demand.
For that reason, he says his company is just focusing on ramping up their production for once the the labs and licensing are finally straightened out. And sorry eager pot-smokers, even when pressed, Barber still wouldn’t say when exactly that could be.
“I can’t give you the date,” he reiterated.


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Diana’s new USDA-certified organic color portfolio targets dairy and other food and drinks.
Photo © iStockphoto.com/lutavia
At the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) Annual Meeting and Food Expo in June, Diana Food (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ) highlighted its recently introduced portfolio of USDA-certified organic colors. Out the gate, the company is targeting the dairy market, with plans to expand focus to other categories like beverages.
In March, the company debuted a whole collection of natural colors sourced from the following: red beet, purple carrot, orange carrot, yellow carrot, spirulina, annatto, and turmeric. It took the company two years to bring the portfolio to life, working with its network of global food producers.
“We really wanted to approach the market having a full spectrum of colors available,” said Teresa Kilgore, sweet and beverage category manager, North America, Diana Food, at IFT. “It took us about two years to put this program together, and the reason is because sourcing is such a huge challenge in the organic realm.”
Spirulina, she said, is a good example of where the company overcame challenges. “Spirulina is only sourced from China and now India,” Kilgore explained. “There are quality constrains that come with that. So we really had to go through some extreme testing there to make sure our customers felt safe, and then ensure we would have the volumes we would need to be able to launch. There was a very big focus on quality and supply for us to launch this.” A large portion of the company’s ingredients, such as red beet and purple carrot, are sourced from Europe, where the firm’s parent company is based.
The new colors are targeting dairy products-dairy-based beverages and yogurts-first and foremost, Kilgore said. Purple, red, and orange shades are expected to be most popular in these markets.
Following dairy, the company will target beverages, especially with colors like red beet and purple carrot. “I think beverages will be the largest percentage of organic sales in the future,” she said.
However, she noted, beverages can sometimes be challenging for organic colors and colors in general. “Stability can be a challenge for some beverages because you have to worry about packaging. Some colors are not light stable. So it requires a little bit of us educating our customers to make sure they use their packaging correctly. Maybe you need to have a thicker, longer label, or change your shelf life when you’re using a synthetic or a natural color.” Diana also offers options that can help further, such as a “stabilized” version of red beet that “works better than our standard red beet in terms of heat performance,” Kilgore said.
Despite any challenges, Kilgore said she expects demand for organic colors only to grow. She also points to another driver being the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s next upcoming sunset review of substances allowed and prohibited in organic products. The next upcoming sunset date for this National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances is March 15, 2022. At that time, there could be changes as to which ingredients, including natural and synthetic colors, are per this list.
Suppliers continue to search for new and better-performing natural color sources-and to get those sources approved as legal colors here in the U.S. Looking forward, Kilgore said that two promising sources that could one day be approved for use as colors in the U.S. are gardenia (blue) and safflower (yellow).
Safflower is closer to the finish line, she said. “Safflower is going to be approved. It’s really just a question of when,” she said, noting that industry groups have petitioned FDA for approval. Already, she said, its use is big in Europe. And it would be heavily used in the U.S. because yellow is a heavily demanded color for beverages, and safflower yellow provides great stability. Kilgore said that Diana Food already has a good sourcing network in Europe for when the need arises in the U.S.


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Here’s the scoop on the car TV commercials airing during Super Bowl 50 on Sunday.
General Motors is offering a discount to teachers who want to buy or lease a new car that can be combined with other incentives to represent thousands of dollars in savings.
General Motors (GM) has issued yet another six recalls, totaling nearly 718,000 cars in the United States.
Customer satisfaction with car dealers for maintenance continues to rise, according to J.D. Power.
At some point in nearly every conversation I’ve had about the bailout of the American auto industry, someone brings up the idea that many American cars “are made in Mexico anyway.” While that’s an exaggeration, there’s a perception — well-founded in some cases — that U.S. car companies appeal to the patriotism of Americans to


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Starbucks is going the extra mile by bringing blockchain into its business.
Starbuks has been known over the decades as the number one coffee shop chain in the world. Although they have really impressed a lot with the quality of their products, they are taking it a step further by making their customers know how authentic their beans are with the use of a blockchain product from Microsoft. Henceforth, Starbucks will be packaging their products with a code on it so that customers can scan them to verify where they are coming from. Microsoft and IBM’S Food Trust platform are two key providers of services offered by blockchain.
This development by Starbucks is a welcome one especially as consumers now want to be sure of the sources of the product they buy in the market. With the growing trend, it is envisaged that many more food companies will adopt the food traceability service that blockchain provides.


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This is what happens when Final Fantasy character designer and Kingdom Hearts boss Tetsuya Nomura gets his hands on the Caped Crusader.
Part of Square Enix's DC Comics Variant Play Arts Kai line of re-imagined figures — the first of a series designed by Nomura — this Batman is almost more of a Bahamutman, all wings and claws and sharp angles. It's certainly above and beyond any Batman I've seen.
Nomura's Batman (really needs a proper name) will be on display at the Square Enix booth at San Diego Comic-Con today through Sunday. Eventually they'll sell it.


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Read full article on ABC
With over three million Australians living below the poverty line, Christmas time and the holiday season can be disheartening for those who are facing tough financial situations.
A few months ago...
'Bree' shared her story with us this week..
From a life that no child or woman deserves, she is now loved, cared for and happy just as she always should have been.
“I’ve been following...
One of wonderful Sheroes picked up this fantastic bag yesterday from Bunnings Warehouse Australia.
It was very big and very heavy. When she got it home she found a note for the Shero who...
The BDT’s second Christmas collection appeal for women in need is open.
Called ‘It’s in the Bag’, it will provide pads and tampons, personal hygiene products and everyday luxuries to homeless women, women at risk...
Manning River Times
October 23 2019 - 1:00PM
Women and girls who are homeless or living in volatile or challenging environments in Taree can now access free Share The Dignity pads and tampons.
Read the rest...
Second Year and Counting
To help share the dignity, Muffin Break committed to raising $1 for every Pink Lamington muffin sold in August. The muffin was specifically created for Share the Dignity, to help raise...
October 9, 2019
By Hannah Kenny
In the lead up to its annual Christmas campaign, Australian women’s charity Share the Dignity is on the lookout for Geelong volunteers.
The not-for-profit organisation’s “It’s in the Bag” initiative –...
On Friday, September 27, the Narooma CWA ladies were busy preparing special bags for dignity.
Marie Warden handcrafted bags which were filled with a variety of ladies' essential items - sanitary and hygiene products for...
The choice between feeding a family or buying sanitary products could be less of a problem in Burnie, thanks to a brand new vending machine at the Community house.
The machine has been provided jointly...
A vending machine dispensing packs of tampons and sanitary pads has been installed at the Royal Women’s Hospital to increase access to these essential products for women and girls.
The Pinkbox is an initiative of...
FIVE Hunter residents have been honoured for their voluntary contributions to the community at a ceremony in Newcastle on Friday.
They are the 2019 NSW Volunteer of the Year Award recipients for the Hunter region....
Throughout the month of August, Woolworths in Scottsdale will be a collection point for Share the Dignity’s sanitary product drive.
Each time shoppers buy a sanitary product, they’re encouraged to buy an extra one to...
Marketing to Mums is the world’s first podcast designed to help marketing professionals and business owners improve their communications and sales to Mums.
Recently our very own founder of Share the Dignity was featured on...
Thank you to everyone that hosted an event or donated to our Every Girl Deserves an Education fundraiser as a part of International Women’s Day 2019, we can help young girls to...
We are so excited to share with you the ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE YEAR!
Woolworths Share our passion to help women in need and have committed to donate five cents from every packet of pads and...
RAFFLE NOW FINISHED
Enjoy a once in a life time holiday for two, with American Airlines Business Class flights to New York departing on the 10th of October 2019.
Your accommodation at the Hyatt in New...


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A Ferrari 250 GT California Spider (1961) is auctioned 14,2 million euros in Paris on February 6, 2015. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK
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The rare California Spyder – a car which features 13 times on the list of the 100 most expensive cars ever sold – was bought new by French actor Gerard Blain and later sold to fellow actor Delon.While classic cars are now snapped up and extremely valuable, this was not the case a few decades ago when inventor and automobile enthusiast Roger Baillon became one of the first collectors.He had a transport business in the west of France, raking in a fortune in the post-WWII boom and in 1947 designed and built his own car known as the Bluebird.He bought the property in 1953 to turn into an automobile museum, snapping up classic cars – some saved from the scrapyard – between 1955 and 1965 .
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With the Nintendo Switch being out for only a month and already selling more units than the Wii, it looks like things couldn’t be better for the big N, or so it would seem. Over the weekend, Switch owners have gone to online forums to complain about a potential defect with the blockbuster console. There’s one image in particular that’s being spread all over the internet, which comes from a Redditor by the name of _NSR. The photo of the Switch comes with a caption that’s been grabbing every Switch owner’s attention: “The Nintendo Switch Is Starting To Warp While Only Being In Dock Mode.”
Other users in that Reddit thread have noted similar warping in their Switch’s, which is especially troubling seeing as the console has only been out for one month. Some users on Reddit have suggested that it could be a problem with the dock itself, speculating that third party-created docks will become the preferred choice among gamers. However, posts from other Switch gamers who claim to play mostly in handheld mode show that their systems are also warping, suggesting that it may not be related to the dock at all.
There are several outside factors that could contribute to a warped Switch, such as whether or not its being kept in a well ventilated area or if someone’s been playing rough with the system. However, the number of reported cases are far too numerous to have those be the only cause, making it far more likely that this is the case of faulty manufacturing on Nintendo’s part.
If you’re a Switch owner and you’ve noticed your Switch doesn’t exactly have a straight edge anymore, be sure to contact Nintendo’s support team.


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Binance and Paysafe open doors once again for transactions with Dedicated area for payment in EUR only (SEPA) and Faster Payment Services (FPS). the huge Bitcoin (BTC) And the Ether (ETH) The exchange announces the news on March 7 through a press release and via Twitter:
– Binance (binance) March 7, 2022
All of Europe? No, Holland not yet
These transfer jobs have been reactivated this morning across Europe. Almost for the whole of Europe at that time, because this does not yet apply to the Netherlands and Switzerland. Unfortunately, it is still unclear when the turn of these two countries will come. Nor is it clear why these two countries should wait longer in the first place.
Binance suddenly stopped accepting transactions with SEPA, a popular payment method for European Binance users, last summer. However, Binance never gave an official explanation as to why this decision was made and it caused a lot of annoyance among customers. At the time, the company was under heavy criticism from regulators from several countries and this may have contributed to this decision.
Binance previously worked with Clear Junction for SEPA payments, but has now switched to Paysafe, an online payment service. Binance was launched at the end of January about this beta program The company is now opening the doors to all of Europe. Then outside the Netherlands and Switzerland.
To celebrate the return of SEPA and FPS, Binance is offering (certified) customers the opportunity to deposit Euros and Pounds Sterling on Binance this month at no additional cost.
Binance announces Bfinity
In related news, Binance announces “Dual” at. Bifinity is a file Fiat to Crypto Payment processor for Binance and other blockchain platforms. The new payment processor is primarily intended for businesses and supports more than 50 cryptocurrencies and payment methods such as Visa and Mastercard.
Binance announced last month Binance Smart Chain has now been renamed to BNB Chain.
“Coffee buff. Twitter fanatic. Tv practitioner. Social media advocate. Pop culture ninja.”


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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Arguably the most active marketing and biggest spending around the London Olympics this summer comes from the financial services sector. Four financial firms have signed on as sponsors of the U.S. Olympic Committee: Citi for retail banking, Visa as the worldwide credit card sponsor, TD Ameritrade as the online-broker, and Deloitte as the professional services sponsor.
The reason financial service companies are so quick to align with the Olympics is simple. Viewers with household incomes over $100,000 are 400% more likely to watch five or more hours of Olympics coverage daily than viewers with average household incomes between $50,000-$100,000. It’s these same affluent consumers the financial firms are spending millions of dollars to reach.
A US Olympic Committee sponsorship alone costs $10-15 million and that’s before companies spend another $10-15 million on marketing and advertising. The key for these complimentary, but competing firms will be finding a way to stand out in the Olympic marketing clutter. The ones that do will see their investments pay off for shareholders. The one that don’t will have made a multimillion-dollar mistake.


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Google is continually updating the way it determines which websites get listed on the first page of relevant search engine queries. Panda and Hummingbird have taken their toll on companies of varying shapes and sizes, causing them to have to do emergency damage control and reassess how they handle local search engine marketing.
Now Google is changing its stance on guest blogging. While it was not hard to see this was coming, many small business owners have not taken the warning signs seriously and now the change is hitting with full force. As Matt Cutts noted, guest blogging as a way of getting links and boosting a site's standing in Google is now dead. Actually, it is worse than dead, because there is a real possibility Google will take note of companies that used this practice to generate a lot of links and will penalize them for doing so.
An entirely unrelated Google update that local businesses will want to be aware of is Google Carousel, a display that lists the top local companies in any given field above organic search engine results. Google has various means of determining which companies get listed, but some of the key ones are relevance, address, and average review rating. Paying attention to these factors can help you boost your company's standing online and reach more customers than you ever have before.
These are most likely not the only changes Google will make this year. Actually we guarantee it isn’t. Stay tuned to our blog for new updates that could have a bearing on your local marketing efforts and search engine results. Staying abreast of local marketing news and trends will enable you to know which local SEO tactics to use and which to avoid. It can also enable you to take advantage of new opportunities Google may bring your way to showcase your company in a positive light.


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- 3 min read
Indonesia's ban on palm oil exports a concern but impact to be transitory: FMCG industry
Several industry leaders hint that they will reduce their reliance on palm oil in phases and shift to alternatives such as rice bran oil and cottonseed oil for food products. Last week Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, banned shipments of crude palm oil (CPO), adding to the previous sanctions on refined oil, to soften the prices in its domestic market.
Several industry leaders hint that they will reduce their reliance on palm oil in phases and shift to alternatives such as rice bran oil and cottonseed oil for food products.
Last week Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, banned shipments of crude palm oil (CPO), adding to the previous sanctions on refined oil, to soften the prices in its domestic market.
However, the Indian industry and experts expect the impact of this will be transitory in nature as Indonesia consumes only around one-third of its palm oil output.
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) "believes that the ban is unlikely to sustain for a long duration, given that Indonesia consumes less than 40 per cent of its total palm oil production, resulting in the impact being transitory".
India is the world's largest importer and second-largest consumer of palm oil, which accounts for around 30 per cent of the country's edible oil consumption, said Ind-Ra.
Expressing similar views Mayank Shah, senior category head at Parle Product, said palm oil is perishable and eventually they (Indonesian exporters) would have to open up. Their production is much higher than the local requirement.
"Hopefully, there could be some reversal in this in the next 10 days as it is not possible for them to continue with the ban for a longer time," Shah told PTI.
According to him, the ban is expected to stay for a short period and there should not be an impact on the prices as companies have enough stocks.
"However, if the ban continues for a long period then there would be challenges. The question is how long they can continue with the ban," Shah said.
Indonesia has imposed a ban on palm oil exports to increase domestic availability and check the rising prices of the commodity in that country. Some reports indicated that the ban did not apply on CPO but on refined bleached deodorised palmolein, but the government widened the scope a couple of days later to also include CPO.
Palm oil is preferred in India by the food industry as it is relatively cheaper, lasts longer and is more stable at high temperatures than other oils.
CPO is used by most of the food companies, while soap makers in India use a derivative Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD), a key input for making soaps, soap noodles etc.
Snacks making firm Bikano's chief operating officer Pankaj Agarwal said it was a point of worry for all the snack majors in India as palm oil is one of the important ingredients in our products.
However, he also suggested looking at alternatives like rice bran oil and cottonseed oil.
"Palm oil is one of the important ingredients in our products... With the given situation, we will have to look at some alternative options like rice bran oil and cottonseed oil," said Agarwal.
Last week, the largest FMCG major HUL had said it does not see any issue in procuring in terms of volumes, which it needs to produce materials whether it's PFAD or other derivatives of palm used for its business.
In a post-results call with the media, HUL CFO Ritesh Tiwari said India needs to do a lot of work to drive palm production into the country. That needs government support.
"We also keep looking for alternate materials for producing our product and reducing our reliance on palm," he added.
India imports over 90 per cent of its 22 MNT of demand, majorly in the form of CPO. Indonesia constitutes around 50 per cent of the imports, while 45 per cent of imports are from Malaysia and the rest from Thailand, Ind-Ra report said.


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Lending plan is working says Bank of England... but families are still facing the biggest squeeze on incomes since 1920s
The Bank of England today insisted that a flagship scheme to boost lending to households and businesses is working despite a slow start.
In its latest quarterly bulletin, the Bank said ‘early signs have been encouraging’ since it launched the Funding for Lending Scheme in July.
But it said ‘it will be some time before the impact of the FLS on lending is clear’ and warned of ‘considerable uncertainty in gauging the size of the boost to the economy’.
Concern: Low wage growth and runaway inflation have left millions worried about their finances
However in the meantime, the Bank warned average household incomes have dropped, now £22 a month worse off than they were a year ago, blowing a £264 hole in annual family budgets.
Banking giants have borrowed £4.4bn of cheap money from the Bank through the Funding for Lending Scheme – but net lending to families and firms has only risen by £496m.
To make matters worse, some of the worst culprits are the banks which needed taxpayers’ money to survive the financial crisis. At Lloyds Banking Group, net lending plunged by £2.77bn, and it fell by £642m at the Royal Bank of Scotland, owner of NatWest.
Under the scheme, banks and building societies can borrow an unlimited amount of money for as little as 0.25 per cent as long as they maintain, or increase, their lending.
Tough times: The Bank's governor Sir Mervyn King has described the situation as the biggest squeeze on incomes since the 1920s
They must use the money to lend to the real economy, such as small firms and homeowners or first-time buyers who need a mortgage.
Nearly half of all households in Britain are worried about their debts as the squeeze on family finances intensifies, the Bank of England also warned.
A toxic combination of runaway inflation and low wage growth has left millions struggling to make ends meet in the run up to Christmas.
Bank governor Sir Mervyn King has described it as the biggest squeeze on incomes since the 1920s.
The Bank’s quarterly bulletin, published today, shows 11.25million households in Britain are now ‘very concerned’ or ‘somewhat concerned’ about their debts.
Many have cut their spending, looked for extra work or even asked for financial help from relatives as the longest downturn for a century takes its toll.
‘Incomes have been broadly flat over the past year and rises in prices will have eroded the spending power of that income,’ the study finds.
‘Households on low incomes are more likely to have seen their income fall and a number of households remain uncertain about their future incomes.’
Household spending accounts for two-thirds of economic output in Britain and the pressure on family finances has held back the recovery. The Bank report says consumer spending fell 6 per cent in the 2008 and 2009 recession and ‘has been broadly flat since the end of 2009’.
The typical disposable income – after tax, national insurance, housing costs, bills and loan repayments – fell from £699 a month in 2011 to £692 a month this year, according to the report.
But after inflation is taken into account, the average household is now £22 a month worse off than it was 12 months ago.
Real incomes, once inflation is taken into account, are now only just above where they were at the end of 2007.
Modest wage growth has been eroded by the soaring cost of living, driven in part by the rise in VAT and higher energy bills.
The five-year hit has left many worried about their financial security.
The Bank report finds that 12 per cent of people are ‘very concerned’ about high levels of debt and a further third of the population is ‘somewhat concerned’ – a total of 45 per cent of households or 11.25million.
Around 5 per cent of households, or 1.25million, have fallen behind with at least some bills and a further 17 per cent or 4.25million say it is a ‘constant struggle’ to keep up.
The report says 35 per cent of households in Britain, or 8.75million, have cut spending while 4.5 per cent or just over 1.1million have asked for financial help from relatives.
The Government’s efforts to restore the health of the country’s finances has also taken a heavy toll, with 48 per cent complaining that they have been affected by austerity, down slightly from 52 per cent last year.
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As funding into cryptocurrency technology increases, with about $1 billion in funding received since 2009, it becomes both more important and more difficult to follow. Coming to the rescue is BlockchainBriefing, a distributed ledger technology information portal, which is launching ChainHQ, a searchable database for blockchain developments.
The service provides intelligence on which startup companies are getting funded, the market landscape and the legal context to ledger technology. The company says that the database, which can be searched via industry-specific keywords or company name, follows hundreds of blockchain technology firms and will be updated on a weekly basis.
David Morgan, founder and CEO of ComplianceOnline, commented: “Through BlockchainBriefing we have witnessed the continued interest and activity within the blockchain industry. This new directory demonstrates our continued commitment to provide clients with the only news and information source they require to access critical and impartial business intelligence to keep abreast of blockchain developments.”
When Is the Right Time to Take Out a Business Loan?Go to article >>
At the launch announcement, the company also released an infographic and analysis of its data showing that computer hardware firm 21 Inc leads the industry, with $121 million received in funding since its inception in 2013, followed by Coinbase with $105 million in funding. Funding has increased exponentially over the last few years, with the majority of the top 20 funded companies founded in 2011 onwards. However, only BitFury, Circle and Coinbase have completed Series C funding, with the majority of companies still in the early rounds of funding highlighting the opportunities ahead for further investment, according to ChainHQ.


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Are we ready for hackable everything in the IoT?
The short answer: Probably not, but that’s not stopping us.
More connections in the IoT means far greater potential for breaches.
When a Tesla was involved in a fatal accident, debate arose about what it meant for the future of self-driving cars. However, at the same time, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is rising up around us – or at least the more tech-savvy among us – and it theoretically poses comparable threats, but we haven’t heard as much debate about viability.
To wit: Recent reports have highlighted the hackability of smart locks, as well as thermostats and traffic lights. And reports say consumers are indeed worried. But, like true love perhaps, it seems even if flaws are part of the package, consumers are willing to roll with the punches.
According to Manolo Almagro, senior managing director of innovation and retail technology at retail marketing agency TPN, no one – and no device – is safe from hackers – not even, he noted, the NSA.
And that means the only 100 percent surefire method to ensure security and privacy within the IoT is to not connect to the Internet.
In fact, according to Jake Bennett, CTO of digital agency Pop, consumers are all too willing to trade convenience and functionality for security.
“Banks, hospitals, insurers, retailers and even governments are compromised by hackers on an almost daily basis, yet people still flock to the Internet in droves. We’ve become numb to digital security threats,” he said. “Most people don’t even bother to make their [logins] secure by adding a few extra characters to their password. In the digital age, convenience trumps security every time.”
But the stakes are much higher in the IoT.
“It is the very exciting prospect of everything being connected that is also the inherent threat and canary in the coal mine as hackers could maliciously disrupt people's daily lives in a much more personal way than before – in their cars, their homes and on the devices they personally carry and wear,” said Drew Ianni, chairman of the IOT Influencers Summit. “In the past, we worried – and still worry – about equally damaging hacks like identity theft and credit card fraud – but, as serious as they are, they are abstract – numbers on a computer or statement – and there is often a monetary remedy or restitution from your bank or financial institution. But the reality of having your car steer out of your control or your baby monitor going haywire or, at a more dire and commercial level, having a power grid, traffic lighting system or air traffic control system go haywire, can have very tragic and personal consequences [like a plane falling out of the sky or a car swerving into oncoming traffic].”
And while there will always be hackers, hacks and their ramifications will become increasingly personalized as the potential for tragic human consequences grows by orders of magnitude along with the potential entry points in the IoT, Ianni added.
And therein lies the problem.
‘The single biggest threat to the development and market potential of the [IoT]’
“One universal truth surrounding IoT is that security and privacy are, and will be, issues of paramount importance,” Ianni said. “Simply put, security is the single biggest threat to the development and market potential of the Internet of Things, period.”
Shiva Vannavada, CTO of digital marketing agency iCrossing, agreed security is a critical obstacle.
“I’d go so far as to say that security on connected devices is not remotely close to being adequate yet,” he added.
Indeed, Almagro pointed to a study from professional services company Accenture and said security concerns among consumers are why IoT adoption has been measured to date.
But, to be fair, Almagro said the cost of connected devices has also slowed adoption.
Further, Almagro said that in many cases, there’s a practical explanation as to why device manufacturers have perhaps not adequately addressed security to date: And that, too, is cost. In other words, he said, “[Manufacturers] are not overly concerned with something that might make their products more expensive.”
At the same time, he also noted many IoT devices lack patching mechanisms that allow for security holes to be closed quickly, which means the risk for users is even higher.
For his part, Bahman Zakeri, CEO and chief strategist at digital agency Xivic, called for an adjustment to the entire security ecosystem as the IoT market explodes.
“Researchers Craig Smith and Jason Haddix have started the OWASP Internet of Things Project to help manufacturers, developers and consumers better understand the security issues associated with the Internet of Things and to enable users in any context to make better security decisions when building, deploying or assessing IoT technologies,” Zakeri said.
Valerie Lisyansky, partner at digital agency Swarm, too, pointed to OWASP as an example of the industry rising to the occasion as security threats increase in complexity and scale.
But, per Mishel Alon, senior director of product management at advertising company Jun Group, additional standards would allow connected devices to communicate more effectively.
“There needs to be a consensus between the major IoT players on how security and privacy are defined,” Alon said. “Moreover, IoT products should limit the data they collect, fully disclose what information is collected [and] they should also allow users to opt-out of data collection.”
For his part, Vannavada called this the wild, wild West and said formalized standard security measures have not been created given the competition from new and established players alike. Furthermore, these companies “are moving as fast as they can to get into market and stake their claim to being the MVP of the space,” which he called “the classic ‘done is better than perfect’-mentality.”
And while the IoT is a complex space that touches on many sectors, which complicates the implementation of standards, some industries have issued their own guidance, such as the FDA’s draft guide for cybersecurity in medical devices, Zakeri noted.
But it’s not just device manufacturers to blame – or the industry as a whole. In fact, Almagro said one of the most vulnerable points in connected homes is the consumer’s WiFi.
“This is the most critical point of entry for any hacker to access any connected devices in the home. If WiFi isn’t adequately secured by the homeowner, access to the IoT devices becomes relatively easy,” Almagro said. “In addition to the WiFi, administration of the IoT devices relies on the consumer. App updates are not always automatic and require ongoing diligence to make sure each IoT device is manually updated with the latest security patches.”
Further, Vannavada noted an opportunity for a brand to emerge as a hero leading the effort in consumer education to help users of IoT technology understand how to properly secure their information.
A crack team of detectives?
Because of all the devices and systems being connected, Ianni said the industry may ultimately “have to play whac-a-mole when it comes to IoT hacking and security unless the industry is fully committed to maximizing their investments in, and commitment to, product design and security.”
But, regardless, many insiders are confident someone will figure out something eventually as a lot of smart people are on the case.
Jack Eisenberg, software engineer and security analyst at creative studio Nelson Cash, said he expects we’ll “witness several serious hacks of objects in the years to come” along with “improved software, firmware and encryption/sanitization techniques that take a security-first approach, along with organizations like OWASP, and the hacker community in general, developing a deeper knowledge base of common threats and concerns.”
Further, he noted companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Verizon are investing in research and development of hardware, software and infrastructure.
“With companies like these backing the IoT expansion…we are likely to see many security issues get solved, as well as connectivity and power,” Eisenberg added.
Vannavada, too, pointed to players like Intel and Cisco, who he said are paying close attention to vulnerabilities and he added, “I’m confident there will be progress made soon on these security challenges.”
Lisyansky, too, noted the industry has been handling hacks for a long time.
“Every new connected technology requires security systems and companies spend money on security systems to ensure that data is safe,” she said. “While cyber attacks will always be a threat as long as technology continues to advance, the silver lining is that we continue to become better at handling these threats.”
However, Zakeri said product developers, too, need to plan for proper time and budget to address security measures with connected products.
In the meantime, Eisenberg said engaging the security community seems like a step in the right direction as well.
“Tesla has openly and positively engaged hackers who break into their cars, for example, and we imagine other companies are hiring talent to break into their connected objects,” he added.


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Apple posts WWDC 2014 keynote to YouTubeAfter making the two-hour keynote to this year's Worldwide Developers Conference available on its own website, Apple on Tuesday uploaded a high resolution version of the video to YouTube.
As part of its presentation of the next-generation operating systems OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, Apple unveiled a slew of new features and surprise projects at WWDC 2014 including HealthKit, HomeKit, 4,000 iOS APIs and a new coding language in Swift, just to name a few.
The video featuring CEO Tim Cook, as well as some 80 minutes' worth of SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi, is now up on Apple's official YouTube channel. Unlike its own hosted version, the YouTube video is available in resolutions up to 720p.
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Activists Protest McDonald's Subpar Animal Welfare Standards During Annual Shareholders Meeting
Animal Equality Demonstrates at McDonald's New Headquarters, Urges Company to Adopt Policy Reducing the Suffering of Chickens
CHICAGO, May 23, 2018 (Newswire.com) - On Thursday, May 24, members of Animal Equality will protest in front of McDonald’s new Chicago headquarters to urge the company to eliminate the cruelest standard practices used by its chicken suppliers. Since March, thousands of consumers have participated in a robust campaign by Animal Equality and other animal protection organizations calling on the fast-food giant to reduce the suffering of the hundreds of millions of chickens raised annually for McDonald’s menu items.
Animal Equality’s campaign, McChickenCruelty.com, has included a petition reaching McDonald’s executives; social media actions, and demonstrations in front of McDonald’s restaurants and at McDonald’s Worldwide Conference in Orlando. At this protest, Animal Equality will showcase iAnimal, the organization’s pioneering virtuality reality experience which gives viewers a glimpse inside gruesome factory farms like those which raise chickens for McDonald’s. Animal Equality will also feature aerial and mobile billboards around the event which depict the miserable lives of chickens.
Chickens raised for McDonald's are bred to be so unnaturally big their own legs can't support their weight. They are crammed into dark sheds and trapped in filth, unable to engage in most natural behaviors. As one of the most iconic brands in the world, McDonald's has the power and social responsibility to eliminate the cruelest farming practices used by its producers and reduce the suffering of hundreds of millions of animals.
Ollie Davidson, Animal Equality Corporate Campaigns Coordinator
Time: 11am-1pm CT (aerial banner to fly over protest at 12pm)
Location: McDonald’s New Chicago Headquarters, 1043 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL
Nearly 90 companies — including many of McDonald’s competitors such as Burger King, Subway, and Jack in the Box — have already committed to making meaningful changes that will improve the lives of chickens. Meanwhile, McDonald’s continues to drag its feet.
On March 25, a full-page ad ran in the New York Times announcing a joint coalition effort from some of the nation’s largest nonprofits in their aligned ask for McDonald’s to commit to welfare reforms for the chickens in its supply chain. The coalition of animal protection groups, including The Humane League, Animal Equality, Compassion in World Farming, Compassion Over Killing, Mercy For Animals, and World Animal Protection, have united to ask McDonald’s to implement higher, science-based animal welfare standards for its chicken supply chain by switching to healthier breeds of birds, providing more room for the chickens to move, monitoring air and litter quality, and providing environmental enrichment. More information can be found at the coalition’s website, TruthAboutMcdonaldsChicken.com.
“Chickens raised for McDonald’s are bred to be so unnaturally big their own legs can’t support their weight. They are crammed into dark sheds and trapped in filth, unable to engage in most natural behaviors,” said Ollie Davidson, Animal Equality’s Corporate Campaigns Coordinator. “As one of the most iconic brands in the world, McDonald’s has the power and social responsibility to eliminate the cruelest farming practices used by its producers and reduce the suffering of hundreds of millions of animals.”
For more information, contact:
Notes to Editors
Animal Equality is an animal protection organization that works toward a world without animal suffering. Animal Equality is a voice for farmed animals all over the world inspiring society, companies and policymakers to adopt compassionate changes for animals. The organization is active in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and India.
Source: Animal Equality


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[UPDATE – Release Date Confirmed] Dragon Ball FighterZ Season Pass Will Include 8 New Characters
[Update] Following the Microsoft Store listing, Bandai Namco confirmed that DragonBall FighterZ will launch in the West on January 26th.
[Original Story] Last week, the latest issue of Japanese magazine V-Jump confirmed that Dragon Ball FighterZ, the fighting game in development by Arc System Works for PC and consoles, will be getting additional DLC content after launch. Today, we have learned precisely what it's being planned so far.
In a listing for the Dragon Ball FighterZ Ultimate Edition Bundle on the Microsoft Store, it's been confirmed that the game's Season Pass will include 8 new characters. Two of them, Tapion and Android 13, have already been confirmed last week.
Pre-order and receive early access to the Open Beta, early character unlocks to SSGSS Goku and SSGSS Vegeta, 2 exclusive lobby avatars, and 3 stamps.
Schedule for the Early Access to the Open Beta will be provided at a later date.
The Ultimate Edition includes:
• The game
• FighterZ Pass (8 new characters)
• Anime Music Pack (11 songs from the Anime)
• Commentator Voice Pack
Last week, it's also been confirmed that the game's Story Mode will be different than that of recent Arc System Works fighting games, as players will not only take part in battles but also complete side objectives, improve bonds with other characters and much more.
Dragon Ball FighterZ launches early next year in North America and Europe on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. We will keep you updated on the game as soon as more come in on it, so stay tuned for all the latest news.


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Change The World Company by Fortune recognizes innovative companies that have made an important social or environmental impact through their profit-making strategy and operations this year. InFarm & AeroFarms are both ranked 32 in this year’s list.
Fortune’s Change the World list, “recognizes companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy,” says Fortune in their press release. “As we assess nominees, among the factors that matter most are:
- Measurable social impact: We consider the impact of the company’s reach, nature, and durability on one or more specific societal problems.
- Business results: We consider the benefit of socially impactful work to the company. Profitability and contribution to shareholder value outweigh the benefits to the company’s reputation.
- Degree of innovation: We consider how innovative the company’s effort is relative to that of others in its industry and whether other companies have followed its example or partnered with it.”
“This Change The World honor reinforces AeroFarms’ award-winning legacy to build and scale our business as a force for good,” says David Rosenberg, AeroFarms CEO and Co-Founder. “We have been transforming agriculture with people and the planet in mind, using the latest breakthroughs in indoor vertical farming, artificial intelligence, and plant biology to fix our broken food system. This award is a testament to our team’s commitment to our broader mission.”
Recent weeks have been rather active for AeroFarms as they opened the world’s largest aeroponic smart farm in Danville, Virginia, and further the construction of their research center based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The company as well signed an MoU with Silal Farms to further their research in the country.
InFarm on the other hand, released their sustainability impact paper earlier this year while opening many farms in the UK, in the US, a soon-to-be-opened farm in Danemark, a partnership with retail giant IKEA, a partnership with Carbmee to track their carbon emissions, a partnership with Wageningen University to further crop research and, a planned smart farm in Qatar following last years’ funding round provided by the Qatar Investment Authority.
During this year’s Zenith Global Vertical Farming Congress in Brussels, both companies signed the industry’s first vertical farming manifesto engaging for further sustainable practices and accountability.
To discover the rest of the Change The World list, please click here.
Image representing AeroFarm & Infarm facility. Collage by iGrow News.
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