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There may be new bitcoin rules by China coming soon as the Chinese government attempts to tame the cryptocurrency industry. China is notorious for forcefully implementing regulations whenever the government thought it necessary. However, bitcoin presents a different breed of challenge because there is really no way to control it. Nevertheless, they’re taking steps to, at least, bring it under control.
Why the new rules?
A very large percentage of all the circulating bitcoin in the world are traded in China, which has created the risk of capital flight that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is trying to prevent. Some analysts have admitted that there are investors in China who may be using bitcoin to quietly move their money out of China.
Basically, some people were buying bitcoin using the Chinese yuan on bitcoin exchanges within China. They would then sell the bitcoin on a foreign exchange. This was, essentially, converting the yuan for foreign currency while bypassing regulations on foreign exchange. It was also a lot like a carry trade, and it also probably contributed to the recent decline in value of the yuan.
Since the beginning of the year, the PBOC has been making moves targeted at the bitcoin market. The central bank launched investigations into 3 of the largest bitcoin exchanges in China – OkCoin, Huobi and BTC China. After finding some irregularities in their operations, they set up a task force that was supposed to monitor bitcoin activities within these exchanges.
Furthermore, the exchanges were asked to adhere to the same regulations as commercial banks to prevent money laundering. On the 9th of February, the PBOC met with officials from 9 bitcoin exchanges and asked them to adhere to the regulations. They were also warned that any violations would lead to a complete shutdown of their operations.
These proposed new bitcoin rules by China require that exchanges acquire the identities of their customers and report any suspicious activities to the PBOC. Obviously, this is completely against bitcoin’s advantage of supporting completely anonymous transactions. In response, Huobi and OkCoin completely restricted withdrawals while BTC China implemented a 72-hour review period for withdrawals. It was enough to send bitcoin prices plummeting from $1,063 to $954, although bitcoin once again caught up and resumed the uptrend after a few days.
What will be the effect of new bitcoin rules by China?
At the moment, it seems the PBOC is against bitcoin and trying to decrease its popularity. Recent changes in the value of bitcoin can be used to back this theory. However, some analysts, even those who favour bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies see these moves as beneficial in the long run. Sure, in the meantime, prices may drop, but as the weeks go by bitcoin will become stronger.
It you recall the rejection of the Winklevoss twins’ bitcoin ETF, the SEC rejected the bid because bitcoin was largely unregulated and mostly used in China. By implementing regulations on bitcoin in China, the cryptocurrency will gain merit among financial regulators.
Others see the new bitcoin rules by China the government trying to regulate the industry to oblivion, but it might not work. Even if they tried, smaller peer-to-peer networks would still facilitate bitcoin transactions and perhaps even make it more difficult for the authorities to trace illegal activities.
Whatever the PBOC decides to do, it remains clear the new bitcoin rules by China will not stop the march toward a world with cryptocurrency.


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Under Armour and Notre Dame sign 10-year partnership
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank formally announced a 10-year partnership. Under Armour will become the exclusive performance footwear and apparel supplier for the Fighting Irish, in a record-setting deal, as the school’s Adidas contract expires.
While the financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, Swarbrick confidently stated that by any measurement the deal is the largest in college sports, with Notre Dame receiving more cash and merchandise than any other university. Notre Dame also has the opportunity to take a portion of the cash payment in stock, allowing it to invest in its partner. (Under Armour is trading up around three percent today, hovering around the $85 range on the New York Stock Exchange.)
All 26 Notre Dame teams will begin wearing Under Armour next season, with the football team taking the field next fall wearing new apparel and footwear. For Plank, who grew up a Notre Dame fan and spent the night sleeping in the visitor’s locker room when Georgia Tech, Under Armour’s first apparel partner, re-opened Notre Dame Stadium in 1997, the new deal sounds like a crowing partnership for the Baltimore-based company.
“Notre Dame is the standard-bearer of excellence in collegiate athletics and is one of the most recognizable and admired universities in the world,” Plank said in a joint statement released. “It’s an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to dedicate our passion and innovation for making athletes better into this game-changing partnership. We look forward to collaborating with the university’s administration, athletic department, student-athletes, alumni and its powerful fan base to uphold the Fighting Irish’s championship pedigree.”Swarbrick explained a little bit of the rationale that went into choosing a new partner. Quoting Ferris Bueller, Swarbrick cited the rapid changes in collegiate athletics, changes he expects to happen well into the future. While the recent past saw Swarbrick navigate the Irish into the College Football Playoff era and bring the rest of Notre Dame’s teams into the ACC, he believes the next 10 years will be dedicated to science, nutrition, technology and keeping a competitive edge. After watching Under Armour’s rocket ride the past decade, Swarbrick felt confident that the company was the most capable of adapting and providing during the next ten years.
“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Under Armour. It is a partnership that will benefit our student-athletes in a number of ways,” Swarbrick said in a statement. “The most obvious of those relates to quality and quantity of the world-class footwear, apparel and equipment Notre Dame will be able to provide to its student-athletes. And in as much as this represents the largest financial commitment ever made by a brand to a university, it will provide the critical resources we need to enable our student-athletes to compete at the highest levels.
“But perhaps what makes me most excited is the overall level of commitment and partnership as
reflected in what may be the most wide-ranging overall relationship anywhere in college athletics. That is demonstrated in both the term of the agreement and the unique feature that makes Notre Dame a shareholder in Under Armour. It is reflected in a shared desire to collaborate in areas such as sport technology, product development, and athlete performance.
“Our coaches and student-athletes look forward not only to using Under Armour’s standard-setting performance footwear, uniforms, practice gear, and equipment—but also to working side by side with Under Armour to help make those products even better.”
While Swarbrick focused mostly on the commitment and resources that Under Armour would provide Notre Dame, he and Plank also shed a bit of light on what the future would look like. Put simply? More of the same. While previously rumored, there will be no signage added to Notre Dame Stadium. And don’t expect many changes to Notre Dame’s traditional uniforms, though it appears the company has already done a better job of matching the team’s gold to the color.
“We will control the look and feel of our uniforms,” Swarbrick stated simply.
“We’re looking for clean, bold and consistent looks,” Plank said.
The partnership between Notre Dame and Under Armour begins in July.

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The latest version of a bill to "level the playing field" for ride-sharing companies now calls for Uber and Lyft drivers to pass tests similar to those taken by taxi drivers.
Their vehicles would also have to have identifying stickers and driver certificates displayed, just like cabbies.
The new proposal is spurring wide concerns from ride-sharing drivers and others.
"I don't operate as a taxi driver," Uber driver Lyla Dayrit said.
Honolulu City Council member Ann Kobayshi added the new requirements to the measure, and says they're aimed at protecting passengers.
"That's what we're concerned about. We want all the customers and riders to be safe," she said.
But Councilman Brandon Elefante said the bill fails to impose general excise tax requirements on ride-share drivers and incorrectly puts Uber and Lyft in the same category as cabs.
"I've always wanted two separate legislative ways of looking at both transportation network companies and taxicabs, and regulating both of them in separate frameworks," he said.
Kobayashi insists her measure isn't intended to regulate ride-shares.
Bill 36 also requires Uber and Lyft drivers to have a valid Hawaii driver's license. That would disqualify ride-share drivers who come from out of state.
In a statement, Uber says it will continue "thoughtful discussions with City Council members" and remains committed to "reaching a solution that is workable for all."
Meanwhile, EcoCab's David Jung said the bill allows Uber and Lyft to regulate themselves. He said it would be impossible for two city employees to verify a database of thousands of drivers.
"Uber has 4,000 drivers it claims. There's 1,800 to 2,000 taxi drivers. How are you going to audit all those files to keep us honest?" he said.
Kobayashi said the bill includes a $1,000 penalty for violating the certification requirements.
"We're not saying you're Uber, you're a TNC, you're a taxi company. All drivers will be equal," she said, adding that there would be ample time to amend the bill before it is poised to take effect in January.


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Affiliates of American Securities, owner of the US-domiciled global manufacturer of specialty chemicals, Emerald Kalama Chemical, have entered into a definitive agreement to sell Emerald to German leading specialty chemicals company, Lanxess. The sale is expected to be completed in…
Speciality chemicals company Lanxess is continuing to target growth. During the next three years, its business unit Advanced Industrial Intermediates will be investing some EUR100 million in expanding production facilities for chemical intermediates. Around EUR40 million each will be invested…
Lanxess Rhein Chemie Additives, a business unit of Germany-based specialty chemicals group Lanxess, is introducing a range of its latest solutions for tyre-makers all over the world at the upcoming Tire Technology Expo 2017 that will be held from February…
Consulting company Stratley Portfolio Performance on behalf of Lanxess, conducted a study on the SSBR market, founds out that SSBR will ovetake ESBR as an ingredient in car tyre manufacturing.
Foster Wheeler’s Global Engineering and Construction Group subsidiary have been awarded by specialty chemicals firm Lanxess an engineering, procurement and construction management contract to build a rubber plant in Changzhou Yangtze Riverside Industrial Park.
German speciality chemicals company Lanxess helds its Mobility Day in South Africa for the first time.
Switzerland-based Foster Wheeler AG has recently been awarded by Lanxess Changzhou Co., Ltd, to build a new EPDM rubber plant in China.
Lanxess shows drivers how much fuel and money they can save through the fuel savings calculator application of the company.
German specialty chemicals company Lanxess reported that motorists who use green tyres can get to enjoy more return on investment from the money they have spent to buy the tyres.
German specialty chemical company Lanxess is participating in the first ever Tire Label Legislation & Marketing Conference (TLLM) in Brussels.


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We’re heading to three Disney World parks and five Resorts to check out candy apples, menu changes, comfort foods, oodles of cold drinks, and more to see What’s New!
Posts Tagged ‘candy apple’
We rounded up news from Disney Parks and Resorts this week. Have you heard about the NEW IllumiNations Sparkling Dessert Party in Epcot? How abut the new store Disney Co-Op store opening in Downtown Disney Orlando? We’ve got the scoop, and much more delicious news from Walt Disney World and Disneyland!
Disney Parks is releasing new merchandise in August – air fresheners! Choose from Turkey Leg, Candy Apple, Mickey Premium Ice Cream bar, and Mickey Waffle scents.
Catch up on your weekly Disney food news! We’ve got the scoop on Tables in Wonderland, Epcot Food and Wine Festival, new appetizers, and more!
Check out this sweet Halloween treat, scheduled to hit store shelves in Disneyland and Walt Disney World tomorrow, Sept. 1st!


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Facebook has witnessed a change of fate over the years, with its swift shift from being just another social media platform to now being used as a marketing platform. Digital ads have become a way to reach out to the mass. It is like any other form of advertising and may take some time to fetch results, one needs to understand that there are tips and tricks that will help promoter fetch results quicker. Over the years Facebook has made some significant and remarkable changes in Facebook marketing and advertising. Here are some of the recent updates rolled out by Facebook to help better the advertising and marketing experience for its users.
• New and Updated Placement Controls for the Advertisers – Facebook has extended brand safety control measures and features to safeguard the interests of publishers. To uphold this thought facebook had introduced a blocklist for categories that allows permission to only selected publishers. Now, they have added some brand safety and better control features. The whit list in addition to the earlier introduced blocklist has strengthened the whole plan. It is expected to help show the placements in the most beneficial places to the most relevant customers. Facebook also confirms its partnership with some major safety brands like Zefr. OpenSlate, and DoubleVerify. These are expected to ensure utmost safety and no breach of interest.
• Limiting the Number of Ads – Facebook has announced that a new rule is being ruled out that may be of concern, it has suggested that number of ads provided to any page will be limited. The news can only be confirmed in 2020 after Facebook actually implements the rule.
• Multiple Text Optimization – Facebook is releasing Google’s responsive ad feature which is the “Multiple Text Optimization” feature. This feature makes it easier for the advertisers to test, create, and optimize the different options present for ad copy, caption, headlines, and product details. The campaign can be optimized, tested, and worked upon utilizing this platform. This feature is expected to minimize manual efforts.
• Dynamic Ad Creation with Machine Learning – Machine Learning is a part of the big catch in the marketing realm. Dynamic ad creation is envisioned to personalize the ads and help reach better and relevant audience. This new update would take place automatically and will instantly improve the success rate of your marketing. Facebook is set to accomplish this task using its own algorithm along with utilizing the information shared by the audience.
• Facebook introduces New Fundraising Tools – A ‘Donate’ button for the people on instagram, the ones that run a non-profit organization. Another ‘Donate’ sticker introduced for the Facebook Stories. ‘Gaming for Good’ is the one tool that is introduced to encourage donations for a noble cause that the live-streamer puts forth. These are some powerful tools that non-profit organizations can very well utilize in their favor.
• Video Management & Analytics for the Creator Studio – Facebook is strengthening its brand safety features, as well as releasing new detailed insights on the information. This is the biggest update that has helped cater and streamline the Traffic sources. This is a ground breaking tool with multi-image protocol that would fetch results based on the searches, hashtags used, content updated, and much more.
Ad metrics with correct optimization is essential to correctly run Facebook ads. There are other criteria, aspects, and numbers that come into play if we wish to benefit from the ad performance. Ads help brands reach out to their potential audience, they help spread the word out in the open. Facebook understands the potential of right ad metrics to help improve ROI.


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All Electric Chauffeur Services has launched a short-term vehicle rental product for fleets to try their Tesla Model S vehicles on a real-world basis.
Strong demand from the corporate sector, London hotels and wealthy individuals means that the fleet is due to double in size in the coming weeks with the company planning to operate a 25-strong fleet of 100% electric cars by early next year.
Corporate and private sector demand for plug-in vehicles is rising dramatically with registrations up almost 140% in the first nine months of 2015 versus the same period last year, according to latest SMMT figures.
However, All Electric Chauffeur Services believes that demand could be even greater if fleet decision-makers and company car drivers were able to test drive plug-in cars in real-world driving conditions - including experiencing the recharging process - over a 36 or 48-hour period or even longer on special request.
All Electric Chauffeur Services’ director Jonathan Rowley said: “In our experience it is typically only possible to borrow a plug-in vehicle for a short period of time from a manufacturer or a dealer, which gives fleets very little opportunity to ‘live’ with the car and truly experience its performance and capabilities.”
As a result, through All Electric Chauffeur Services’ parent company Berkeley Square Vehicle Solutions, the corporate sector as well as retail customers are now able to hire one of the company’s Tesla cars with day rates available on application.
The car will be provided fully charged and hirers will only have to add the vehicle to their own insurance and return it fully charged. A chauffeur can be provided if required.
Rowley said: “We are witnessing clear demand for plug-in vehicles from our chauffeur customers. Having sampled a journey in one of our cars many of those people want to know more about the vehicles and believe they can suit their own lifestyle. However, before making a purchasing decision either on behalf of their business or personally they want to live with a vehicle for a short period of time. We have therefore designed a short-term hire solution to meet that demand.”
The hire service will initially operate inside the M25. Vehicle delivery to customers includes a comprehensive familiarisation package.
Rowley concluded: “The government is spending millions of pounds in encouraging demand for plug-in vehicles through purchasing grants and the funding of recharging points nationwide. What’s more we have seen in recent weeks with the furore over diesel vehicle emissions that air quality is a major concern for many people.
“Plug-in vehicles have a major role to play in fleets today and in the future and our new hire initiative provides businesses - as well as retail customers - with the stepping stone to a cleaner driving future.”


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Weak soda volumes, foreign-exchange headwinds and bottling divestments shrank Coca-Cola Co.'s profit and revenue in the first quarter, even as the world's largest beverage company staged a rebound in key emerging markets and sales of non-carbonated drinks accelerated.
Atlanta-based Coke said Tuesday that its overall volumes rose 2% in the most recent quarter, up from 1% growth in the fourth quarter and slightly better than Wall Street expectations, fueled by an 8% surge in still beverages.
The company's carbonated soft drink volumes dipped 1% globally - the first quarterly drop since the second quarter of 1999.
Much of the broader upturn was fueled by less-developed markets including China, where volumes surged 12%, up from 5% in the fourth quarter. Volumes in India and Russia both rose 6% and Brazil grew 4% ahead of this year's World Cup soccer tournament.
Coke's shares climbed in midday trading, after many investors had feared weaker results.
The maker of Minute Maid orange juice, Powerade sports drinks and Coca-Cola also showed signs of stabilizing its North American business, reporting flat volumes after declining in two of the past three quarters. But European volumes declined 4%, including a double-digit-percentage fall in the U.K., where Coke introduced smaller bottles.
Global soda sales continued to go backwards after volumes were flat in the fourth quarter and grew 1% in all of 2013. That represents a significant challenge for a company that still derives nearly 75% of its volumes from carbonated soft drinks, including Sprite and Fanta.
Coke said net income in the first quarter fell to $1.62 billion from $1.75 billion a year earlier. Foreign currencies were a 10% headwind on operating profit as many currencies weakened against the dollar. Revenue dropped 4% to $10.58 billion from $11.04 billion after the company divested bottling operations in the Philippines and Brazil. Most of Coke's revenue and profit are generated abroad.
In comparable currency neutral terms, revenue rose 2% and operating income grew 7%. Adjusted earnings per share were 44 cents, flush with analyst forecasts.
Write to Mike Esterl at firstname.lastname@example.org
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires


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Biggest IKEA store in the Middle East opens in Dubai
We've all trudged down to Festival City's IKEA on a weekend and waited in those long, never-ending lines at the till that snake all around the storage area. Well, now just maybe the lines might get a little bit shorter considering that Dubai will have not one but two IKEA stores in town, one of which is said to be the largest one for the brand in the region.
Because having just one store in the emirate wasn't enough, the Swedish home furnishing giant is opening another IKEA store in Dubai, and it’s set to be the biggest one in the region. It also has a 500-seater IKEA café, the first in the world.
The new store opened on Wednesday December 18, alongside the new Festival Plaza Mall. It will be based in Al-Futtaim’s Festival Plaza in Jebel Ali and will be spread over 30,000 m sq with a massive focus on sustainability. It will also have an international training centre for IKEA employees.
For its big opening, the store will be giving the first 1,000 visitors the chance to win gift vouchers worth Dhs1,000 to spend at the store.
But there's a catch. Only 25 winners will be picked.


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A recent news item has sent shivers down the spine of many an ATM debit card user and there's enough reason for everyone to worry:
When it comes to withdrawing cash from a bank, it is the debit card that saves us a lot of time. But just imagine, how would you feel if given the news that your ATM debit card's pin number and other relevant information has been leaked out?
A major security breach at a private bank's ATM raised an alarming concern about the safety of as many as 30 million ATM debit cards, indicating potential fraud.
Even though it's 30 lakh ATM debit cards and their safety apparently being compromised that we are talking about. In India, this is just half a percent of the total cards issued in the country. And even then, this may well be the biggest security breach ever witnessed by the country!
Owing to malware infestation, about 30 to 32 lakh ATM debit cards have come under threat of potential fraud in the immediate aftermath of a major private banks' security breach. The media has currently reported that the payment systems of Hitachi Payment Services were infested with malware that enabled miscreants to steal personal information and do fraudulant transactions.
Yes, very much so. News reported in 'The Economic Times' suggests that cards issued by some of the biggest and leading banks such as State Bank of India, HDFC bank, ICICI Bank, YES Bank and Axis Bank may have suffered a great deal due to the security breach.
The security breach may have emanated from the YES Bank. It may have been the aforementioned where Hitachi, whose payment services suffered stringent malware infestation, manages the bank's ATMs.
YES Bank see many third-party transactions according to a report by the Times of India. And the biggest worry is that the breach was initiated in such a devious way that any individual using the bank's ATM in the region would bear the risk of having his data compromised!
At the moment, it is reported that YES Bank is undertaking a comprehensive audit of ATMs and as of now, there's no apparent evidence of the banks' ATMs having undergone a breach. But we will have to wait and watch in what could be a devastating blow if our worst fears were to come true.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]


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California Legalized Selling Food Made At Home And Created Over A Thousand Local Businesses
(FORBES) A government official appears at a man’s door. The man has been breaking the law: He has sold bread baked at home.
This isn’t a page from Kafka—it happened to Mark Stambler in Los Angeles.
For decades, Stambler has followed traditional methods to bake loaves of French bread. The ingredients are simple: distilled water, sea salt, wild yeast and organic grains. Stambler even mills the grain himself. To make it easier to steam loaves, he built a wood-fired oven in his own backyard. Stambler’s loaves came in first place at the Los Angeles County Fair and the California State Fair.
Soon after that, Stambler got the idea to expand his hobby into a home business, which became Pagnol Boulanger. Word of mouth spread. In June 2011, The Los Angeles Times profiled Stambler and his bread in a full-page feature.
Unlike his bread, that profile was bittersweet. He was busted the very next day. As he described it, the health department “descended like a ton of bricks on the two stores that were selling my bread…they could no longer sell my bread.”
An inspector from the health department even showed up at his doorstep to make sure “no bread baking was taking place.” For the next 18 months, Pagnol Boulanger was forced to go on hiatus.
That’s when he “became an activist,” Stambler said in an email interview.


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Study: Republicans, Democrats Can’t Even Agree on Coffee
(WASHINGTON) — Trying to escape the partisan bickering and political pandering that is dominating this election season? Those party lines may extend much farther than you think.
From choosing where to get that morning coffee fix to which car you bought to get you there, your political party association may be driving those purchase decisions.
Republicans, for example, are more likely to head to Dunkin’ Donuts for their daily cup of Joe, while Democrats are more inclined to get their caffeine fix from Starbucks, according to a study released this week by the neuro-insight firm Buyology.
When choosing a car, Democrats were more inclined to favor Jeep while Republicans preferred BMW, according to the online survey, which used responses timed to the millisecond to determine more than 4,000 respondents’ gut reactions toward a brand.
Spokespeople for both BMW and Starbucks said their customer’s political persuasions are not a factor when deciding how best to advertise to them.
“Politics never enters into our advertising decisions,” said Kenn Sparks, a spokesman for BMW of North America. “Our customers are as diverse as our global company and people from every demographic group tell us that BMW is the brand they aspire to own. We’re delighted to have them all!”
While most mega brands, like Allstate or Progressive insurance, do not take a stand on political issues, they may make a play for people’s emotions in much the same way politicians do, said Vanitha Swaminathan, an associate business administration professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
For example Allstate, which was favored by Republicans, has an advertising campaign that centers on fear, telling viewers “Mayhem is everywhere.”
The Republican Party uses a similar fear-based tactic, telling voters that four more years of President Obama would be a disaster for the country.
It is a similar story for fast food restaurants. Subway was the chain of choice for Republicans, a party whose platform revolves around individual freedom. On the other hand, Democrats, favored Wendy’s, which can be seen as more democratic because they offer pre-fixed solutions to your hunger.
But not all brands divided down party lines. While Democrats and Republicans disagree on so much, they did agree on Google, Visa, Apple and Coca-cola, the study showed.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio


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UD Trucks reports 2017 sales growth across the Middle East
Despite challenging conditions in some markets, the Japanese truck manufacturer has achieved significant sales growth across the entire region, with particularly strong results in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
UD Trucks is marking one of its best performing years in the Middle East and East Africa.
Despite challenging conditions in some markets, the Japanese truck manufacturer has achieved significant sales growth across the entire region, with particularly strong results in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
In Saudi Arabia, sales increased by more than 50% in 2017 compared to the previous year, despite the total market decreasing.
The biggest downturn in the market was seen in the heavy-duty sector which dropped by more than 30%. However, UD Trucks successfully penetrated the market with the new Quester truck securing a good market share in the heavy-duty segment.
In Bahrain, the total truck market grew slightly aiding UD Trucks in beginning to reclaim its stronghold in the market with confidence. In 2017 sales doubled compared to 2016, partly due to the newly introduced Quester truck.
Conversely, market conditions in Oman, Qatar and the UAE have been challenging. Oman saw a drop in the total truck market of more than 15%, Qatar decreased by more than 30% and the UAE declined by around 7% in 2017. Despite the tough climate in these markets, UD Trucks sales grew year on year in Oman, and stable sales have retained the UAE.
Kuwait is also an important market for UD Trucks, the market is slowly growing and 2017 was a transition year for UD trucks as the brand’s new range of products were only available in the market for half year.
All in all, 2017 was a transition year for UD Trucks in Middle East and East Africa as it marked the launch of new products; however, the brand has enjoyed a double-digit growth putting its ambitions very high for the upcoming years.
Mourad Hedna, president of UD Trucks Middle East, East and North Africa said, “2017 has been a significant year for UD Trucks because of a combination of factors. Firstly, the close cooperation we have with our retail partners to sell our comprehensive range of products along with our strong focus on Japanese quality and the fully extensive services we offer have ensured that we’ve stayed a step ahead of our competitors. Looking towards the year ahead, our strategic focus for 2018 will be all about customer satisfaction; ensuring we retain our existing, loyal customers and attract even more new truck sales. We plan to work with our partners to improve the retail experience and aftermarket support as well as deliver more technical and driver training courses for our customers. Also, service agreements and telematics systems which are currently available in some markets will be rolled across the entire region.”


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Uber Eats unrolled a pilot program this week that uses robots to deliver select restaurant orders in West Hollywood.
Users who are WeHo residents can opt in to the have their deliveries brought to them by a robot or autonomous car with Level 4 autonomy.
When it arrives, you’ll get a notification containing a code. You use the code to unlock the robot or car, and then scoop up your items. West Hollywood is the first city in a planned nationwide rollout of the technology.
“Integrating autonomous, electric delivery options onto our platform from Motional and Serve Robotics is just the beginning of how we will harness this promising technology,” said Noah Zych, global GM for Uber’s autonomous mobility and delivery business, in a statement.
No word on which restaurants or how many cars/robots yet.


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- These high school theater kids put on a totally awesome ‘Alien’ play Saturday 3:59 PM
- Behold these photos of Elon Musk, but with Elizabeth Holmes’ eyes Saturday 3:11 PM
- Barbra Streisand gets canceled over remarks about Michael Jackson’s alleged victims Saturday 2:09 PM
- Report: Florida man raped Texas teen after posing as Instagram celeb Saturday 12:14 PM
- Lori Loughlin’s daughters, Olivia and Isabella, could be banned from USC forever Saturday 11:46 AM
- ‘Starfish’ is a heartbreaking tale of BFFs, grief, and apocalyptic alien invasions Saturday 10:35 AM
- How to stream UFC Fight Night 148 for free Saturday 10:00 AM
- The kids are making scantron memes instead of studying Saturday 9:29 AM
- Every installment of Hulu’s ‘Into the Dark,’ ranked Saturday 6:00 AM
- The internet is mocking Robert Mueller’s report deadline Friday 7:53 PM
- Instagram blocks some anti-vax hashtags—but still has far to go Friday 6:20 PM
- Study: Netflix released more originals than licensed titles last year Friday 2:26 PM
- Laura Ingraham, Dinesh D’Souza slam journalist for having a job Friday 1:40 PM
- Netflix is testing a cheap-as-hell mobile-only plan Friday 1:08 PM
- Astrology app Co-Star’s bizarre push notifications are now a meme Friday 12:18 PM
DirecTV Now subscriptions were unethically pushed on AT&T customers, former employees say
AT&T has fired several employees in Hawaii for reportedly using unethical sales tactics to convince customers to sign up for a streaming service, but some of those employees said they were only following orders from their bosses.
According to Hawaii News Now, at least six people were fired after an internal investigation showed they were unethically trying to sell trial subscriptions to AT&T’s DirecTV Now streaming service. But Abraham Bounya, the state’s top seller who was terminated, told the news site that managers “encouraged us and informed us how to manipulate sales.”
Though Hawaii reportedly is one of the country’s top sellers of DirecTV Now subscriptions for AT&T, one current employee told the site that they believe 90 percent of the sales made during the second half of 2017 were done unethically.
One allegation made by Buonya is that salesmen would offer a free trial of the service and then tell the customer that the employee would cancel it for them before they had to start paying money on the subscription. But some AT&T employees reportedly forgot to actually cancel the service for the customers—a subscription to DirecTV Now costs $35 per month—meaning those customers would be paying for the service whether they knew it or not. Some customers apparently didn’t notice the unwanted addition to their bills for as many as seven months.
One fired AT&T employee told the site that some representatives signed up for several trials on the same person’s credit card to increase their sales and meet their quotas, particularly when AT&T was offering a DirecTV Now subscription for $10 for the first month.
“My manager picked up my iPad, which was signed in under me, made a fake email and then activated a Direct TV Now subscription on that email and then said if I can do it, here you go, you can do the next one,” the anonymous employee said told Hawaii News Now.
AT&T didn’t comment to Hawaii News Now about the ethical implications but said it had reversed some customers’ charges. In a statement, the company said, “Last fall, we detected some simultaneous customer orders and cancellations of a free product trial. We determined some employees had violated our policies and based on our findings we took appropriate action.”
Another approach reportedly taken by AT&T employees was to tell a customer buying a cell phone that they would waive a completely made-up fee if the customer would purchase a trial of DirecTV Now.
All of this was reportedly done to maintain company sales goals.
“They just keep pressuring us to do it,” Buonya said.
Though DirecTV Now reportedly has close to 1.5 million subscribers, Variety reported in April that AT&T’s video business is actually “shrinking.”
One current employee, though, had some good advice for AT&T customers. “Check your statements, I have no doubt that there are still people that are being charged,” the employee said.
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Josh Katzowitz is a staff writer at the Daily Dot specializing in YouTube and boxing. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. A longtime sports writer, he's covered the NFL for CBSSports.com and boxing for Forbes. His work has been noted twice in the Best American Sports Writing book series.


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The Mazda team has captured our attention in a way they have in the past. Without the need for a flashy sports car, an EV model of the future, or a car that can take us where we need to go without use behind the wheel, Mazda has brought us an in-depth look at what the next engine technology that’s been created will offer us. This new technology is called the SkyActiv-X engine which uses more than just a spark ignition that we’ve known for many years but also the benefit of compression ignition.
We’re familiar with the fun and active driving of the Mazda brand of vehicles, but what you might not know, is this brand is working on engines that could be amazing. Read More


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Samsung is reportedly working on a generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform that can rival OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT service. The South Korean conglomerate is said to have partnered with another Korean technology giant to develop the AI tool. The service is said to be available only to Samsung employees and the company is looking to prevent sensitive data from being leaked due to the use of public AI tools — it will first use the homegrown tool in its semiconductor business and later in the its other businesses, according to a report.
A report in The Korea Economic Daily, citing people familiar with the matter, states that Samsung is working with Naver to create an AI platform that can compete with ChatGPT. However, this service will be available in Korean and only to Samsung’s semiconductor division — Device Solutions (DS). Other businesses, like Samsung’s Device eXperience (DX) division could eventually gain access to the tool.
The report does not mention a name for the generative AI service, but states that the South Korean firms are looking at launching the tool in October. Samsung and Naver are yet to publicly announce the development of the tool.
Samsung’s purported AI tool will run on Naver’s HyperCLOVA X, a hyper-scale AI platform that is aimed at offering improved support for Korean in AI-backed services, according to the report, which states that the platform learned 6,500 times more words in Korean than OpenAI’s popular offering.
However, conversing in Korean won’t be the only advantage of the in-house service. Samsung will provide Naver with details of its semiconductors, which will power the generative AI tool. Using an internal tool will also help prevent the leaking of internal source code or other proprietary information. Samsung recently blocked its employees from using publicly available AI tools like ChatGPT after an engineer leaked company data after uploading it to OpenAI’s tool.


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The Australian High Court has found in favour of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its appeal against Flight Centre. The High Court reversed the Full Federal Court’s decision, and found that despite being an agent of the airlines, Flight Centre and airlines compete in the market for the sale of international airline tickets. In that context, Flight Centre breached competition law by asking the airlines not to sell flights through their own online portals at prices that undercut Flight Centre’s rates.
The decision is significant in that it departs from a long line of competition law precedent in which it has been accepted that generally an agent is not regarded as competing with its principal.
First instance: Flight Centre fined $11m
The Federal Court found that Flight Centre was in breach of competition law, and ordered Flight Centre to pay $11m in penalties. Justice Logan defined the relevant market as the market for booking and distribution services for the retail or distribution margin on the sale of air fares. In that market, His Honour found that Flight Centre, in the context of trying to maintain its “Price Beat Guarantee”, had attempted to induce the airlines to maintain their own online prices so as to avoid Flight Centre's prices from being undercut by the airlines.
On appeal: no price fixing
Flight Centre appealed on both liability and penalty, and the ACCC cross-appealed seeking a higher penalty. The Full Federal Court allowed Flight Centre’s appeal and dismissed the ACCC’s cross-appeal. The Court concluded that Flight Centre acted as an agent for the airlines, so it could not be treated as a competitor (a person can’t price fix with themselves).
Final appeal: it was price fixing
The ACCC was granted special leave to appeal to the High Court in March of this year. Chief Justice French dissented, upholding the Full Federal Court’s reasoning. However, the majority judgment, despite finding that Flight Centre was an agent for the airlines, also found that Flight Centre did compete against the airlines in the market for the sale of international airline tickets.
The key rationale for the majority’s decision was that while Flight Centre was an “agent” of the airlines, the agency was of limited scope in that Flight Centre was not obliged to act in the airlines’ best interests at the point at which Flight Centre sold airline tickets to its customers. Accordingly, at that point, Flight Centre and each airline were in direct competition for the sale of airline tickets.1
The High Court has sent the matter back to the Full Federal Court for the determination of the penalty appeal and cross-appeal.
This decision is significant for industries which make use of agents, who now run the risk of being regarded as competitors (as well as agents) for services. The ACCC has stated that the decision is likely to be “particularly relevant when businesses make online sales in competition with their agents”.2
This publication is intended only to provide a summary of the subject covered. It does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. No person should act in reliance on any statement contained in this publication without first obtaining specific professional advice. If you require any advice or further information on the subject matter of this newsletter, please contact the partner/solicitor in the firm who normally advises you, or alternatively contact one of the partners listed below.


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- ALTBalaji offers subtitles for its original shows in three regional languages
- Unitech Moves Supreme Court Against Government Taking Over
- Court sends accused to police custody for two days in actress case
- UP shocker: 15-year-old cancer survivor gang-raped, then raped by passerby too
Madison Media wins Snapdeal Media AOR
MUMBAI: Madison Media Plus, a part of Madison Media Group, has won the media account of Snapdeal.
Madison Media will be the media agency of Snapdeal from 1 July, but work on the account will start immediately.
The account will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.
Madison World chairman and MD Sam Balsara said, “I am delighted that Snapdeal after an exhaustive competitive review has found Madison Media to be worthy of handling this large and demanding account. Today Madison Media offers an unparalleled depth of leadership, with unmatched experience and expertise and this will be further strengthened with the joining of Vikram Sakhuja in a few months as Group CEO of Madison Media and OOH.”
Snapdeal.com SVP marketing Srinivas Murthy said, “We are very happy to have Madison partner with us on media going forward. They bring tremendous experience across categories, with learning across multiple growth industries that can be leveraged for us. Madison is known for the high quality of media professionals and we look forward to them helping us drive our business to new heights.”
Snapdeal started in February 2010 as a daily deals platform but expanded in September 2011 to become an online marketplace. Snapdeal has grown to become among India’s largest online marketplace offering 11 million products across diverse categories from over 150,000 sellers, shipping to over 5,000 towns and cities in India.
Madison Media Group has won a host of new businesses in 2015 including Viber, Lenskart.com, Zivame.com, Metro Cash & Carry, Gaana.com, Cricbuzz.com, Amul Hosiery, DHFL and Bandhan Bank.
Madison Media Group handles media planning and buying for blue chip clients including Godrej, Mondelez (formerly Cadbury), ITC, Marico, McDonald’s, TVS, Raymond, Piramal Healthcare, Levis, SpiceJet, Domino’s, Bharti AXA, Max Life Insurance, Asian Paints, Pidilite, Tata Salt, Acer, Crompton Greaves, Times Television Network, Indian Oil, Enamor Lingerie, Gowardhan Dairy, HomeShop 18, Café Coffee Day and more.
The gross billing of Madison Media Group is about Rs 3750 crore (Rs 37.50 billion).


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Outcast Odyssey Trailer
Magic Pixel Games and Bandai Namco present an upcoming mobile battle card game coming fall 2014.
Videos You May Enjoy
Articles You May Enjoy
- RuneScape 3 reveals new Heist mini-game
- Jagex has just launched a brand new mini-game for RuneScape 3 known as Heist.
- FFXIV A Realm Reborn: Free Login Weekend Begins Friday
- Following the release of Patch 2.5 - Before the Fall last week, which brought a whole host of new and exciting content to FINAL FANTASY® XIV:...


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Samsung to pay Apple more than $1 Billion in damages
Not A Bad Apple
As evening fell on Friday, August 24th, 2012, the jury in the (US) case of Apple versus Samsung reached their verdict which awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages. We saw the story break first on macrumors.com and 9to5mac.com.
As of the time of this posting, more details were found on USA Today’s website.
As graphic designers, we always appreciate the work of others. It fuels our passion to create and inspire, it’s what sets us apart. Perhaps in this case Apple felt their work was a bit too inspiring to Samsung.
No matter if that’s the case, we’re sure Samsung will appeal the decision and the legal battle will continue.


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Exeter council wants comments on city design guide
Exeter residents and businesses are being invited to give their opinion on a design guide for city developments.
Exeter City Council wants people to comment on the information included in the draft version of the Residential Design Guide.
The guide will provide information to developers about sustainability, street design, car parking and amenities.
The council said good quality design benefited the whole community.
Residents can comment on the guide until 4 August at the Customer Service Centre or on the council website.


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The first one world currency will be Bitcoin, so says one of the world elites. It’s not just me saying this, it’s one of the wealthiest saying that this will be the case. However much present prices seem to be suppressed, next year the price of Bitcoin is predicted to be 10 times or more the present price. I’ve heard reports of prices as high as 150 k by the end of 2019. It may be unbelievable but when the elite are involved, anything is possible.
Please Share this article and Try our Quiz Below!


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The Minister of Regional Affairs of Italy, Francesco Boccia, announced that the national curfew that begins at 10 pm throughout the month of December will be maintained and that there will be no exceptions for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties.
«Should we celebrate New Year’s Eve? We will celebrate it at home. If we decide that there is a curfew, then one goes home regardless of what there is. It has to be done, ”he said, reiterating that there will be no exceptions to the Christmas and New Year curfew in an interview on Rainews television.
Boccia explained that at the moment he is getting ready the new decree which will establish the anti-contagion regulations for the month of December and announced that it will be difficult to relax the measures.
«I think nobody wants a third wave, and to avoid it, we must continue with rigor and social distancing. It is difficult for a relaxation of the rules, “he stressed.
On the crowds that could be seen this weekend in shopping areas of the big cities, Boccia considered that “it is inevitable that when commercial activities are reopened there is a desire to carry out the usual activities that have been conditioned for 9 months. I think the reaction is natural, but it is not natural not to respect the rules and the distancing ».
In an interview published today in the newspaper “La Stampa”, the Vice Minister of Health, Pierpaolo SileriHe also announced that in the next decree “movements between regions will be limited” even among the regions considered in the yellow zone, that is, of moderate risk of contagion.
‘By the end of December most regions are likely to be in the yellow zone and at that time Christmas lunches with positives on the table would be enough to relive a massacre, “he warned.
Sileri announced that the recommendation of a limited number of guests for meals these days. «I would say 6, even if it is not a magic number. And that there are not 6 different guests at each meal.
The Vice Minister of Health reiterated that the curfew will remain at 22 hours, and that restaurants and bars will open, “but after the Christmas holidays.”
«At this moment we must continue giving oxygen to hospitals. There are still too many ICUs and too many full rooms. For now, I would leave everything frozen, and in January I would begin to consider making the measures more flexible for them, but also for theaters and cinemas “, he estimated.


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Nasaan & Others Spit In Fresh Empire’s “The New Wave” Cyphers
Fresh Empire releases cyphers for their “The New Wave” competition featuring Nasaan, check them out.
Nasaan out of Atlanta is an artist who is on his way to becoming a huge name in music and has his debut project on the way. He is featured in Fresh Empire’s “The New Wave” competition along with Mark Battles, Unghetto Mathieu, Lil Key, and more.
Fresh Empire has now released cyphers featuring the artists featured in “The New Wave” which you can checkout below. Don’t forget to vote here.


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One of every five beauty purchases online is made via the Amazon marketplace, according to a new report.
Internet surfers using online gift currency Flooz are more likely to buy from online merchants, says Flooz CEO Robert Levitan. Speaking today at Faulkner & Gray's CardTech/SecurTech Conference in Miami, Levitan said the typical Web site conversion rate for online shoppers is 1.5%. For shoppers looking to spend their Flooz, that conversion rate jumps to 12%, says Levitan. He also announced a marketing agreement with Chase Manhattan Corp. to offer visitors to its Web site free Flooz for Mother's Day.


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In December 2013, Altria signed a contract including a set of licensing, supply and cooperation agreements with Philip Morris International (PMI). The two companies were combined until 2008; Altria is US-based and owns Philip Morris USA. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Altria gained the right to exclusively sell in the United States two "modified risk tobacco products" being developed by PMI, which heat the tobacco without burning it, and in return PMI now has the right to exclusively sell Altria's e-cigarettes outside the United States. The companies also said they would work together on scientific assessments and regulatory authorisations; the commercialisation of reduced risk products in the United States is subject to approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Altria started testing its e-cigarette “MarkTen” in Indiana and Arizona in 2013. The plan was to bring it to the market mid-2013, but early feedback was mixed – as one industry analyst wrote, “MarkTen products did not start moving until Altria blast e-mailed Indiana smokers with a $2 MarkTen coupon.” The national roll-out is now expected in the second quarter of 2014.
Green Smoke Inc.
In February 2014, Altria Group Inc. announced to have bought the e-cigarette company Green Smoke Inc. for about $110 million in cash and up to $20 million in incentive payments. Green Smoke was founded in 2008 and has operations in the U.S. and Israel. It has sold e-cigarette products since 2009, mostly in the U.S; the revenue last year was about $40 million (compared to Altria’s $24.5 billion in 2013 revenue). Green Smoke will keep its key management infrastructure and work force, and will continue to focus on electronic cigarettes that turn nicotine liquid into vapor.
Other TobaccoTactics Resources
- Reuters, Philip Morris, Altria team up on cigarette alternatives, 23 December 2013, accessed January 2014
- Mike Esterl and John Kell, Altria to Enter E-Cigarette Market, Wall Street Journal, 25 April 2013, accessed 2 May 2013
- Nik Modi, US Tobacco 2014 Playbook, RBC Capital Markets, 12 December 2013
- Mike Esterl,Big Tobacco Begins its Takeover of the E-Cigarette Market Corporate Intelligence, WSJ, 18 November 2013, accessed February 2014


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Thailand’s Finance Ministry is planning on implementing a blockchain-powered value-added tax (VAT) refund service for foreign tourists. The initiative will kick off starting the end of November and will aim to cut down on the time and resources usually associated with the process, Bangkok Post reported.
Every year, Thailand receives over 2 million foreign tourists who purchase goods and services in the Southeast Asian country. These tourists spend over 50 billion baht a year ($1.65 billion). Of the 2 million, over 200,000 claim the VAT refunds every month, with the majority of them being Chinese visitors who would rather not carry cash when travelling.
Thai Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana signed a memorandum of understanding together with Krung Thai bank. The government will work with the bank to apply blockchain in three pilot projects.
The minister remarked, “The blockchain technology for VAT refunds should speed up the process for tourists as details of their purchases will be immediately shared with the Revenue Department and the Customs Department once shops key in the information in the system.”
The foreign tourists will be able to claim their VAT refunds by filling in an application form starting November 28. They will be required to identify the channel they wish to receive their money back, such as credit card or WeChat, the minister explained.
The ministry believes that the use of blockchain will reduce the document verification process and help the government save over 10 million sheets of paper a year. It will also cut down cash management costs and reduce the congestion at VAT refund counters.
The VAT refunds are the third sector where the Thai government is integrating blockchain technology. It has also been working on blockchain-powered issuance of scripless savings bond. The first savings bond issued on the blockchain will be available in May next year.
The minister stated, “The Public Debt Management Office plans to allow people to download Bond Direct applications to purchase savings bonds, with values starting from one baht ($0.033).”
Thailand has continued to explore the use of blockchain technology and digital currencies, keeping up with other countries in Southeast Asia including Singapore and the Philippines. As CoinGeek reported recently, the country has been working on the issuance of a CBDC and will release a joint report with Hong Kong on this by Q1 next year.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.


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All the contents
Jan 11, 2019
The first hotel in AccorHotels' Orient Express project, inspired by the legendary luxury trains of the same name, will open its doors in Bangkok at the end of 2019. Located in the highe [...]
Dec 18, 2018
An architecture studio in Toronto had the idea of turning a driverless car into a compact hotel room. This “Autonomous Travel Suite” would enable users to optimise their time by pro [...]
Nov 2, 2018
The Hotels.com booking platform now features Siri Shortcuts – a new Apple functionality which enables the vocal assistant to have direct access to applications. This move is designed [...]
Oct 19, 2018
Built into the side of an abandoned quarry and due to welcome its first guests in October, the Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland is a unique hotel, lying largely below ground level. [...]
Sep 21, 2018
After winning over the air industry in recent years, facial recognition technology has now made an appearance in the hotel industry. Thanks to an innovative solution developed by Chines [...]
Jul 20, 2018
After shaking up the banking sector, blockchain could now be set to change the tourism industry, most notably in the way that loyalty programmes work. The technology enables the exchang [...]
Jul 16, 2018
Marriott is set to become the first hotel chain to trial Amazon’s voice assistant thanks to a version specially designed for the hotel industry, which will enable guests to order room [...]
Jul 13, 2018
Developed to help business travellers deal with the effects of jet lag, the Timeshifter application is currently being tested by guests in Six Senses hotels.
Jun 16, 2018
The hotel industry is embracing the latest advances in smart home devices and the Internet of Objects in offering new, ultra-smart and customised rooms to meet the requirements of their [...]
Apr 27, 2018
US startup Orion Span Inc. has announced plans to open a luxury hotel in space, 300km from Earth, in 2021.
Feb 16, 2018
According to the HRS group, which has just published its annual Hotel Price Radar report, the hotel industry experienced a widespread price increase in 2017.


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A new study illuminates the growing reliance on smartphones in China and the potential for businesses to target this engaged audience.
According to Deloitte’s “2016 Global Mobile Consumer Survey – China Edition” survey, in the past year, the number of heavy smartphone users (users who check their phone 50 or more times per day) rose from 4 percent to 23 percent.
At the same time, the number of mild users (11-50 times per day) declined from 68 percent in 2015 to 63 percent in 2016, indicating mild users tend to become heavy users over time. Half of smartphone users check their phone within five minutes of waking up in the morning – and nearly all (97 percent) check their phone within their first waking hour.
In the morning, users are looking for information to start their day, including real-time information (25 percent), social networks (20 percent), weather (14 percent) and news (11 percent).
If users are checking their phone at midnight, users’ interests differed to more leisurely pursuits, such as viewing instant messages (50 percent), checking the time (42 percent) and reading news (35 percent).
The data shows the effectiveness of video ads on mobile has increased 2 percent year over year; while the effectiveness of direct message ads remained the same and social media ads and mobile app ads decreased 1 percent.
However, among all the mobile ad options, social media remains the most effective in spurring user action.
For Deloitte’s study, data was collected from 2,000 Chinese users across four demographic sample statistics.
Digital Channels Account for 40% of Advertising Spend in China
A 2016 iiMedia Research study found digital channels now account for nearly 40 percent of advertising spend in China. In additional, about half of that nearly 40 percent is being spent specifically on mobile advertising.
Other top ad channels included more traditional platforms: television (32.4 percent), and the rest of the landscape is fractured across multiple distribution channels (i.e. newspaper, radio, magazine).


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A mum has issued a warning to parents after her two children suffered severe sunburn on holiday – despite wearing factor 50 suncream and t-shirts. Carlien Pretorius says the ‘agonising’ ordeal ruined the family’s two-week trip to Gran Canaria.
The mum-of-two, from Newport, Wales, applied a suncream she had bought from a shop on the island labelled “parafarmacia”, but she soon noticed Joshua, 11, and Luke, nine, had started to burn, WalesOnline reports. “The boys burnt from just being in the swimming pool despite having full 50+ sunscreen on and T-shirts,” Carlien said.
“The sun cream I bought was from the pharmacy. Shocking really. I believe there must be something wrong with it, maybe it’s out of date, or it could be the wrong sun cream for their ages. Both of them were in a lot of pain and I had to give them Calpol regularly which I thankfully had brought with me from the UK. Joshua especially was in absolute agony.”
Carlien said the burns became so bad that she took her sons back to the same shop she bought the cream from and they gave her an ointment to put on the skin. In total, the mum says she spent €110. However, the cream she was given “made it way worse” and the family eventually decided to go to a public doctor’s surgery for some free advice.
Carlien said she blames the ordeal on the shop which sold her the sun cream, as well as global warming, which she believes made the island “much hotter than it was when we came here eight years ago”. She said she also blames herself for “not being able to protect my kids from this horrible thing happening to them”.
“I was really worried,” Carlien admitted. “I secretly cried with worry while they were sleeping. I am still worried it will cause permanent scarring.”
Carlien described the holiday as “disastrous” and said the family had to spend “five or six days of our two-week annual holiday in a hot apartment with nothing to do”. She added: “We couldn’t go swimming or go out because I desperately needed to keep them out of the sun.”
Joshua and Luke are still recovering from their burns, even a week after the initial incident, Carlien said. “When the skin is wet you can see how very thin it still is and how far it still has to go for complete healing,” she explained.
“I’m so grateful to the public doctors for the free advice from our EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) cards,” she said. “We will always remember this holiday disaster and probably be reminded of it for the rest of our lives through the possible scarring.”
After spending a large proportion of their holiday flicking through Spanish TV channels in their hotel room, Carlien said she feels she needs to offer advice to others planning on going abroad to a hot climate. She said: “My advice would be; take your sunscreen with you from the UK, take Calpol for the kids and all other meds from the UK, stay out of the sun between 12pm and 4pm, take your EHIC cards when holidaying abroad, and double check all advice – even the small print on products – when in a foreign country.”


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Say “No” to Soda and “Yes” to Stevia
For years, we’ve known is that the sugar and acids found in soda contribute to tooth decay. In fact, the Ohio Dental Association warns that the acids in soda can dissolve tooth enamel in just 20 minutes.
But soda can also eat away at your bones, thanks to phosphoric acid, a common ingredient in most soft drinks. The reason? Phosphorus pulls calcium out of bones.
Animal studies have consistently shown a clear correlation between bone loss and cola consumption, a finding that has been confirmed in human studies. One study in particular found that 14-year-old female athletes who drank cola were five times more likely to break a bone than girls who didn’t drink soda.
However, soda doesn’t just strip away, it can also add on—pounds that is. A study from the Lancet showed that 12-year-olds who drink sodas on a regular basis were more likely to be overweight than those children who avoided soft drinks. Moreover, researchers found that each additional can or glass of sugary soda correlated to a 1.6 increased risk of obesity.
Similarly, researchers also found that women who drank just one soda a day were 85 percent more likely to develop type-2 diabetes than women who drank less than one soda per day.
As tempting as it may be, don’t think that diet sodas are the answer. Most diet drinks contain aspartame, a controversial sweetener made by combining two amino acids—aspartic acid and phenylalanine—with 10 percent methanol, an alcohol that breaks down into formaldehyde in your body. This combination has been found to have potent excitatory effects on brain chemistry, often leading to a whole host of health problems, including headaches, dizziness, anxiety, and depression.
Amidst all these bad news there is a glimmer of hope. According to a study from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, kids usually drink sodas at home, especially if their parents also consume the sweet stuff. This makes the solution easy! Don’t have soda in the house, for your sake as well as your children.
But this doesn’t mean you have to go without. There is an incredible soda replacement—flavored liquid stevia. You can find flavored liquid stevia in incredible flavors like vanilla crème, apricot nectar, and even root beer.
Simply add one to two droppersful of this intoxicating elixir into naturally sparkling mineral water, mix, and presto! You have a cool, delicious beverage that has all the taste and flavor of bottled soda, but none of the sugar, dangerous sugar replacements, phosphorus, or acids.


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Biomutant is just a few days away from release and while there’s no official next-gen version of the game (yet) the developers and publisher, THQ Nordic, have released some interesting clips.
THQ Nordic has released a couple of new gameplay videos for the upcoming Biomutant which will release on May 25th, 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game will also be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, though it won’t be a native next-gen game.
Still, the publisher has seen fit to show us all how the game runs on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with the PS5 version running at 1080p/60fps, upscaled to a dynamic 4K, and Xbox Series X|S running at 4K/60fps. The start of the videos state that more information on next-gen native versions will come soon.
As expected, Biomutant looks to run flawlessly on PS5 and Xbox Series X, which is great news for next-gen owners. Now, how about that next-gen version? It has been confirmed to be in the works, but for now players will have to make do with what releases on May 25th.


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Now, you can track your LPG dealer online. With the government preparing to restrict the number of subsidised cooking cylinders, oil marketing companies have launched a ‘transparency’ portal that allows customers to keep an eye on the number of cylinders sold in their account by the dealer.
Indian Oil Corporation (http://indane.co.in/transparency/index.php), Bharat Petroleum (http://www.ebharatgas.com/pages/footer/Transparency_portal.html) and Hindustan Petroleum (http://dcms.hpcl.co.in/ConsumerPortal/Transparency/Transparency.aspx) have made records available of all cylinders sold to the130-million subscriber base since June on the portal.
The launch of the portal is complementary to the government’s proposal to cap the number of subsidised cylinders to consumers. Right now, the portal has only one head, that shows the number of cylinders sold to a consumer. “The portal is aimed at enhancing transparency, visibility and auditability of the distribution of cylinders across the country. This transparency portal is accessible to the public and shows details of all the customers of LPG who are receiving subsidised cylinders, distributor wise,” said a petroleum ministry official.
Soon, these websites will allow a consumer to register a complaint in case the number of cylinders shown against his name is more than what he/she actually booked or bought. “Once the number of subsidised cylinders is restricted, the portal will show two heads — one showing the number of subsidised cylinders sold and the second showing the number of cylinders sold at market price.”
The portals have been set up in tune with the recommendations of the task force on direct transfer of subsidies headed by UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani. Justifying the proposal to limit the number of subsidised cylinders, the official said the government sells subsidised items like rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene under the public distribution system but here too the quota is fixed.
“Anything which is scarce will have to be rationed. We are highly import dependant for LPG and its coverage is being expanded rapidly. We have no other option but to fix the quota and raise prices for LPG outside the quota,” the ministry official said.
The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on fuel underrecoveries was scheduled to meet last week to deliberate on the petroleum ministry’s proposal of capping subsidised cylinders. However, the meeting was deferred. Currently, all LPG consumers can buy a domestic LPG cylinder as per requirement at Rs 399.35 in Delhi, which is at a discount of Rs 267 on the desired price of LPG, calculated on import parity price.
The total subsidy on LPG sale for the current year is estimated at Rs 27,000 crore. The subsidised price of domestic LPG incentivizes a diversion for commercial usage. It also leads to indiscriminate use of the cooking fuel.


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MySpace has filed a suit against the self-proclaimed King of Spam, Sanford Wallace. One of the net’s most hated pariahs, the king of spam has been alleged with the charges that he phished user accounts and swindled them into visiting his websites. MySpace has alleged that Sanford Wallace brought about 11,000 fake MySpace accounts, groups and forums and spammed thousands of users of the social networking site. Filed in the US District Court in Los Angeles, the complaint asks for indeterminate indemnity and a ban outlawing Spamford and his links from making access to MySpace. The king of spam has also been accused of breaching state and federal laws comprising the CAN-SPAM Act and anti-spam and anti-phishing statutes in California. Wallace is known as one of the earliest spammers that got fame in the mid 1990s with a company known as Cyber Promotions, which emitted 1m messages a day. Funny thing, his ISPs went on throwing him away, and a number of of those clashes winded up in court. He at last splitted up the outfit and claimed not to spam anymore after being encou-ntered by the lawsuits from AOL and CompuServe.
Considering the potential attacks of malware designers on mobile phones, two Internet security giant Symantec and McAfee have tightened their belt, this time they are aimed at attacking the malicious designers of malicious attack with their dual attack. That is why they have brought forth their security suites simultaneously. Let’s talk about Symantec’s security suite first that is known as Mobile Security Suite 5.0 and has recently been rolled out at the CTIA Wireless show in Orlando. The latest Mobile Security Suite 5.0 claims to protect phones that sprints Windows Mobile, and the bundle consists of anti-virus software, firewall, SMS spam filter and data encryption technology. Symantec at present just presents a mobile anti-virus product. Smartphones and other mobile devices are usually vulnerable to apprehensive Wi-Fi networks plus applications downloaded and installed by the users from the Internet. However they also link to corporate networks and client PCs. Malware designers are limbering up to the potential of mobile malware. Research conducted by the security purveyor has brought forth that the figure of cell phone viruses gets doubled each six months. Symantec looks forward to launch its mobile security application till May, however did not inform about its price tag. McAfee also released the McAfee OK program at the CTIA Wireless show in Orlando. The software claims to scrutinize and verify cell phone content at the operator and network aggregators ahead of its being sent out to consumer’s cell phones. The software also claims to provide inspect ring-tones, images, video and applications, and is founded on McAfee’s current mobile detection technology for the Symbian mobile operating system
The Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC) recently announced to have come up with the finalization of a set of documents, which has specifically been brought about to make available new info and strategy to software firms designing anti-spyware products. One of the documents, known as “Best Practices Guidelines to Consider in the Evaluation of Potentially Unwanted Technologies,” specifies a suggested procedure whereby firms are allowed to make out software as superfluous or pernicious, founded on the coalition’s definition of spyware and risk models. One more document, which is called “Conflict Identification and Resolution Process,” has been brought about to focus on putting off the condition wherein two rival anti-spyware firms gain entry into an superfluous variance between their individual software products. The ASC was set up in 2005 to put up a consensus regarding definitions and best-of-the-breed techniques in the debates nearby spyware and other malware technologies. The procedure of finishing the two recently finalised documents, at present posted on the organisation’s website – took over a year.
Webroot recently warned the companies of all sizes to the increasing magnitude of malware. The recent-released report reveals that 43% of companies analysized worldwide have put up with a business commotion because of malware. Webroot State of Internet Security report also informs the major cost and legal complexities of scarce safety and provides businesses best-of-the-breed practices to put a stop to uncalled for data security violations. In accordance with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the well thought-out plans, fast increase and rigorousness of online crime has landed it to their number 3 priorities at the back of just counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence. Utilizing its Phileas automatic spyware research system, Webroot research claims to have detected that 4.2 million of 250 million URLs all through the world are consisted with malware. Approximately three million of those nasty sites were detected in 2006 only. Peter Watkins, CEO, Webroot Software, Inc, was quoted as saying, Our research has shown that the methods of infection, which just a short time ago were considered incredibly advanced, are now commonplace, demonstrating how quickly today’s threats are evolving into a global security concern. Despite the growth and severity of malware, over 60 percent of businesses don’t have an information security plan. Businesses need to control this threat by adequately protecting themselves and their customers.
Cyveillance recently announced to have come up with its latest report, "Online Financial Fraud and Identity Theft," which draws attention to the escalation of Internet attacks and makes out the industries most in jeopardy. Making use of intelligence gathered via its sophisticated Internet monitoring technology, Cyveillance’s security specialists have recognized that the two prime online identity theft risks, phishing and malware, grew considerably in the initial two months of 2007, with the numeral of brands being phished increasing by 50% and malware attacks rising by 200%. The company, as part of its research, has also specially spotted over 1 million alleged pilfered social security numbers on the Internet, in only the past two months. Phishing assaults were one of the largest raises that Cyveillance kept an eye on through the last twelve months with almost each big financial institution and a rising numeral of small to medium-sized financial institutions getting the most frequently beleaguered. The number of firms being phished has been over and over again on the rise by over 200 latest brands every quarter, with a fresh augment of 50 per cent from January to February, high from 800 to 1,200 distinctive brands phished.
Online banking frauds are on the rise worldwide; people are being robbed of their life long nest-egg daily. Absa Group’s media relation manager, Errol Appleby-Smith said that Internet banking remained a safe and opportune technique of carrying out banking, as long as banks and their customers took extra precautions to make sure constant security. Let’s take for example the case of a Port Elizabeth woman who complained that she got over R6, 000 electronically transferred out of her First National Bank (FNB) account last week, but she was at once notified by an SMS notification on her account and let her made contact to the bank to cancel the transaction. On the other hand, First National Bank (FNB) said it was alert to latest cases that had been reported in the Nelson Mandela Bay area and was assessing each case in person. Errol Appleby-Smith warned of the dangers of banking at Internet cafes, as this is the most happening place from where the majority of crime syndicates are operated. Customers are recommended to protect their PCs by deploying anti-virus and anti-spyware. The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) said that identity theft was a challenge being encountered by the banking industry today.
Malware vendors are more and more bringing about their virus delivery and attack ways to get a lot out of different classes of end-users, as told by researchers with the Internet Security Systems’ X-Force team at IBM. Leading specialists with the Atlanta-based research operation maintained that malware authors, phishing scheme operators, and botnet herders are potentially installing self-styled personalization components to develop their assaults more effectual. Much similar to the online marketing firms that collect bits of info to aim at advertising at individual web users, online hackers are bringing about malware vents and code executions that is claimed to scan willingly accessible information regarding people’s PC use to come across apt recipients for their work. The approach makes use of any info that is detected to segregate the right assault to distribute founded on factors as the particular web browser or operating system that an individual who being aimed at is making use of. By integrating the more smart threat release approach with hard-to-detect Trojan, botnet, and cross-site scripting attacks, avant-garde cyber crooks are supposed to be inventing enough ways to make the most of end users.
For the majority of us an IM account, a small number of junk Hotmail accounts, and perhaps an old Yahoo login bring about the history of our private lives. The history of ours private lives could be included with some or other type of essential or non-essential types of stuff that is also dear to us. And no doubt we want to keep them protected too. That’s where Share2Me comes to help you. When links are awkwardly on any other application, Share2Me claims to integrate all of your address books into single account. The sites surfed and wanted by you to share can be transmitted to anybody in your accumulated listing with the click of the shortcut link that you include to your browser bar. I made a download of the beta, deployed it, and laden my private account passwords to give it a test try. At that time I was conjured up the Gator "password storage" application that churned out to be the 1st malformed progeny of spyware and adware. Whereby I can claim that Share2Me does not seem to be a password grasping trick or spyware.
Social networking sites are the hot spot for people interacting with each other, and at the same time are potentially and easily targeted by the hackers so as to commit theft of their personal or confidential info. Daily these sites are found in some or other type of unusual situation. This time also MySpace users are under the spamming attacks, which are being carried out by the "Blue China Group," which purports a free ‘stalker tracker’ program to make out who’s lying in wait on the page and noticing the profile. Those who make a sign-up for the program are brought into a foul arousing – the stalker tracker in fact is not having any existence. What in actuality comes about is your account logged into and all of your friends start getting comment spam supposing you have sent it. The comment spam normally is read along the lines of "See who is spying on your myspace page! Click here to start tracking your profile lurkers!" Subsequent to making all your friends spammed, code is included to your MySpace page that doles out advertising – with all takings going to the "Blue China Group". Even though that does not seem to be enough for you, think about the concealed meaning in this bit from the FAQs unfolding the ‘program’: Will this tracker use Cross Site Scripting (XSS) The final public release version of stalkertrack.com’s tracker will NOT make use of spyware, malware, "hacks", cross site scripting attacks (XSS), cookie stealing, or any form of non-consented activity to obtain its tracking results. It will have the same user interface as the demo but will not work as such. Thus the final release version will not. However since there is not any existence of the version at present, it is cynical that there is going to be an ending release version. Does this stand for that what people have in fact signed up for is "spyware, malware, ‘hacks’, cross site scripting attacks (XSS), cookie stealing, or any form of non-consented activity"?


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We all know very well that the well-known and popular battle royale game Fortnite is currently the game of the moment and increasingly is conquering the market with new players, although it is not yet available for all platforms. However, now according to the latest reports, recently, the well-known and popular battle royale game Fortnite caused over 200 divorces.
OMG! Fortnite Video Game Caused Over 200 Divorces
The well-known and popular battle royale game Fortnite is currently the game of the moment and increasingly is conquering the market with new players, although it is not yet available for all platforms.
As the well-known and popular battle royale game, Fortnite is the game of the moment as we told, but the Epic Game choices for its distribution were not the best. By placing the game available outside the Google Play Store, players have to open the doors to installing software from external sources, which is not advisable.
However, as we all know very well that the well-known and popular battle royale game, Fortnite is a game that by its nature causes addiction, and the situation has reached such a degree that it is now mentioned as one of the causes of more than 200 divorce petitions in the United Kingdom.
According to the information from Divorce Online, a UK site specializing in divorces, so far this 2019 have received more than 200 divorce petitions that mention Fortnite and other online games as one of the reasons, almost 5% of the total of the 4,665 requests.
“These numbers equate to roughly 5 percent of the 4,665 petitions we have handled since the beginning of the year and as one of the largest filers of divorce petitions in the UK is a pretty good indicator,” Divorce Online reported.
Moreover, a spokesperson for the platform also commented that “Addiction to drugs, alcohol, and gambling have often been cited as reasons for relationship breakdowns but the dawn of the digital revolution has introduced new addictions. These now include online gaming and social media, so it is no surprise to us that more and more people are having relationship problems because of our digital addictions.”
It is not specified what kind of study was conducted to obtain this data and other online games are also somewhat problematic, but there is no doubt that addiction to games like the well-known and popular battle royale game, Fortnite should be causing problems in marriages.
Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that these are data from the United Kingdom so it should be much bigger if you take into account other countries where the Epic Games title is highly popular.
So, what do you think about this? Simply share all your views and thoughts in the comment section below.


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The legendary compact car has been around for decades and it is one of the biggest names in the class. The current, tenth-generation has been introduced in 2015 and it looks like it will carry on for a couple of more years. Most likely, the 2021 Honda Civic will be the final year model of the current generation. Therefore, we don’t expect to see bigger changes. The famous hatchback and sedan will continue in the same way, with familiar design characteristics and features. After that, we will see a complete overhaul, along with a couple of more interesting novelties.
To a unibody platform and back! That would be the best way to describe this nameplate. While the original model was a typical body-on-frame SUV, the current generation switched to a unibody platform and become a typical crossover. However, it looks like this will change soon and that the next generation will once again ride on a traditional BoF architecture. The 2021 Dodge Durango won’t be closely related to the Grand Cherokee anymore.
Due to the increasing popularity of crossover, the segment of mid-size sedans is in a decrease in the last couple of years. However, this legendary car manages to keep its sales numbers stable. The model was redesigned a couple of years ago, but the Japanese manufacturer things forward, so the update is already on its way. According to the latest reports, the 2021 Honda Accord is about to receive a mid-cycle update. Of course, we count on a bunch novelties, starting from aesthetics and ending with new technologies and more standard equipment. Therefore, it won’t be a surprise if we see this version a little bit earlier than usual.
From today’s perspective, the A-Bat seems like a distant past. This concept truck came a long time ago, in 2007. Since then, many things happened, but that doesn’t mean this concept won’t have any more influence on the automotive industry. Moreover, it looks like the Japanese manufacturer prepares a production version of this truck, which will come 13 years after the concept. According to the latest reports, the new model would come as the 2021 Toyota A-Bat Concept.
The current generation of this large crossover has been around for just a couple of years and GM engineers are already working on massive updates. According to the latest reports, we are about to see a major refresh in the next year. The 2021 Chevrolet Traverse is about to come with a plethora of changes.


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This article provides an overview of Bitcoin’s latest price action, news, and commentary by influencers, analysts, traders, and investors as of Saturday (September 11).
Latest Price Action
According to data by TradingView, on crypto exchange Bitstamp, currently (as of 10:55 UTC on September 11), Bitcoin is trading around $45,672, i.e. hovering around its 200-day simple moving average (SMA), which is $45,903.
Although at 07:45 UTC (on September 11), the $BTC price fell as low as $44,828, which is the current intraday low, since then Bitcoin has been rallying toward its 200-day SMA.
$BTC Supply on Exchanges
Blockchain data and intelligence provider Glassnode pointed out a few hours ago that the total amount of $BTC held on exchange addresses has reached a 3-year low of around 2.47 million $BTC.
Yesterday (September 10), Ki Young Ju, the CEO of South Korean blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant, which examines the same kind of data as Glassnode, also commented on this on-chain metric, and said that this low £BTC balance could lead to “another sell-side liquidity crisis”, which would obvious help to push the price of Bitcoin higher.
Transition to Bitcoin in El Salvador
On Thursday (September 9), Bancoagricola, which is part of Grupo Bancolombia and which is one of the largets banks in El Salvador, announced that it has “enabled bitcoin payments for consumer and merchant customers through a new partnership with Flexa, the world’s leading pure-digital payments network,” and that via this partnership it is now “accepting bitcoin (BTC) across its network for payments toward loans, credit cards, and merchant goods and services in compliance with the new ‘Bitcoin Law effective September 7.”
What this means is that Bancoagrícola customers can now “use any Flexa- or Lightning-enabled wallet app to pay bitcoin for US dollar–based loans and credit card payments at the exact fair market rate, without any additional fee or spread.”
$BTC Medium-Term Price Target
Simon Dedic, who is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Moonrock Capital, a blockchain advisory and investment partnership based in London and Hamburg”, believes that the Bitcoin price will reach $100,000 by the middle of next year at the latets.
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.


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Tesla critic claims his anti-Tesla advert was banned from Twitter for “political” causes
A vocal Tesla critic is alleging that Twitter rejected an anti-Tesla advert from his security advocacy group, claiming that the advert violates the corporate’s coverage towards “political” promoting.
The Dawn Project, an anti-Tesla advocacy group fronted by software program developer Dan O’Dowd, claims that Twitter rejected its makes an attempt to advertise a tweet a couple of full-page advert working in The New York Times criticizing Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) characteristic. In a screenshot of an e mail supplied by the group, Twitter mentioned the tweet contravened its coverage relating to “political” advertisements.
The rejected advert was the newest improvement in a bizarre, long-running feud between Elon Musk and O’Dowd, who ran a failed marketing campaign for US Senate in California earlier this yr. In…
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Ecocash, Zimbabwe’s leading mobile money platform, yesterday introduced ‘Ecocash Swipe’, an innovative and convenient method for Ecocash customers to fund their wallets directly from any bank account linked to ZimSwitch.
The new service, launched at a breakfast event at a hotel in Harare, will enable Ecocash customers who hold accounts with banks such as Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank, Ecobank and MBCA, which are not yet integrated to the Ecocash platform, to move their money directly from their account onto their Ecocash wallet using their ZimSwitch enabled swipe cards.
Addressing invited guests, that included Ecocash agents, representatives from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the media fratenity, Ecocash General Manager Ms Natalie Jabangwe-Morris, said Ecocash Swipe would enable all bank customers to move funds between their bank accounts and their Ecocash wallet using their ZimSwitch enabled swipe card.
“We excited to introduce this solution which will guarantee access to much-needed funds for all our banked customers and agents, directly from their bank accounts, using their Zimswitch enabled swipe cards at any Steward Bank point of sale (POS) machine” said Ms Jabangwe-Morris.
“The Ecocash Swipe will effectively provide a direct link between Ecocash and ZimSwitch, further broadening Ecocash’s footprint and widening the country’s payments ecosystem,” she said.
A recent report by the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), outlining the industry’s performance in the second quarter of 2017, gave Ecocash’s market share (as at the end of June 2017) at 98.7%, confirming its leadership position in the mobile money sector.
Ecocash is managed by Econet Wireless’ Cassava business unit, and has been leading the mobile money market since its inception in 2011.
The Potraz report said $836 million worth of transactions had been conducted via mobile money in the second quarter of this year alone (from April to June 2017).
The launch of Ecocash Swipe is expected to further strengthen Ecocash’s leading market position by broadening the base of customers that can use the service through the integration with ZimSwitch.
Speaking at the same event, the Deputy Director for National Payments with the RBZ, Mr Josephat Mutepfa, commended Ecocash for continuously innovating to offer convenience to the transacting public and to provide financial inclusion.
“We are delighted by the efforts that Ecocash has made to create inter-operability in the banking and financial services sector”, said Mr Mutepfa.
“The launch of Ecocash Swipe will bring convenience and ease of doing business, and will build further efficiency into our financial services ecosystem”, said the Central Bank executive, adding that the service would help boost the RBZ’s drive for businesses and the public to use of plastic money or electronic payments.
Mr Mutepfa however issued a word of caution to all financial institutions and service providers regarding security of transactions and robustness of their platforms.
“The Issues of risk and security must be diligently addressed and managed by all banks, operators and payment systems suppliers”, he said, stressing the importance of continuous investment and on-going co-operation between the financial services players and the Central Bank, which supervises all banks and financial technology (fintech) companies and solution providers in the country.


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The accord outlines methods the tech companies will use to try to detect and label deceptive AI content when it is created or distributed on their platforms.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with a lower federal court’s decision to dismiss the challenge on First Amendment grounds.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge tossed a defamation lawsuit against Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos after finding the plaintiff's claims were based on hearsay.
In the wake of the deadly mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, the country’s Prime Minister is leading an effort to stamp out extremism online. The “Christchurch Call” asks for “collective, voluntary commitments" from governments and online service providers to stop the spread of extremism. The non-binding doctrine has been signed by 18 countries, including France and Canada, and by five tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. The Trump administration, however, declined to sign the Christchurch Call, citing free speech concerns.
Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is accusing American Media, Inc. of blackmail and extortion in a blog post that included a series of threatening emails Bezos says he received from AMI and […]


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BROOKSVILLE — Save for the weed-filled flower beds in the once-pristine courtyard, it was like old times Friday at Rogers' Christmas House Village. The parking lots were packed, customers streamed in and out, the cash register jingled.
Nothing brings people in like a bargain.
The kickoff of a three-day liquidation sale attracted more than just hard-core shoppers, however. Some came to rekindle memories as the Brooksville institution entered a four-day death spiral after 37 years of making holidays happier for countless customers.
"It's breaking my heart," said Eilene Yudonnin, who has shopped at the Christmas House for 21 years. "Whenever I had a doctor's visit, I'd always stop in and buy something. It was one of those things I just had to do."
Yudonnin, who lives in Ocala, said that when she saw an ad saying that the storied business was closing, she decided to make one last trip.
George Rodriguez, a longtime employee who has run the Christmas House the past two years, is presiding over the final days of a business that used to draw thousands of shoppers and tourists in its prime.
When founder Margaret "Weenie" Rogers Ghiotto died in 2006, her survivors sold it to Donna Jones of Spring Hill, who filed for bankruptcy two years later. Rodriguez bought the inventory of the business for $10,000 in 2008, just as the national economy was staggering.
Looking for a financial ally, Rodriguez became partners in December with 38-year-old Matthew Senge, a felon. Rodriguez said he was aware of Senge's criminal past and his history of fraudulent schemes but went into business with him anyway. A month later, Senge was arrested on an Alabama warrant for theft by deception.
Senge had put all of the Christmas House electric accounts into his name, but never paid any electric bills. Nor did he notify Rodriguez that he had done so. Unable to pay the electric bills or to afford liability insurance for the five buildings, Rodriguez closed the business last month.
The remaining contents are being sold at a half-off clearance sale that continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. A final auction of any remaining items will be start at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Shoppers on Friday didn't seem to have a tough time finding the holiday spirit on a 90-degree day. Christmas tunes played through speakers as customers carrying straw baskets milled about.
Brooksville businessman Pierre DesJardins, who has been helping Rodriguez sort through inventory the past couple of weeks, said shoppers began showing up two hours before the scheduled opening.
"They were ready to go," DesJardins said as he hunted through a storage room for a customer request. "I've never seen this many people here, ever."
Inside the powder blue room stocked with ornaments, Lorraine Spellman spent several minutes eyeing a $60 Swarovski Crystal star. But even at $30 she wasn't sure her husband would approve.
"If I don't get it now, I never will," she said. "He's going to be mad, but I've got to have it."
Customers stood 20 deep as busy cashiers rang up purchases ranging from huge Christmas wreaths to small stuffed animals. Outside, Frank Miller eyed a large red Santa sleigh that has been on display at the business for decades.
Miller, who works during the holiday season as a Santa, said he hoped to purchase the sleigh at the auction this week, if it's still available.
"It needs a little work, but otherwise, it's in pretty good shape," he said, running his hand over the smooth wood finish. "I could use this."
Inside the Storybook house, Julie Manion, 39, posed her 2-year-old daughter Bailey in front of a fading mural of cartoon characters. Manion, who first visited the Christmas House on an elementary school field trip, said she wanted to give her daughter a chance to visit the store one last time.
"I know she won't remember it, but that's okay," Manion. "People will still be talking about the Christmas House years from now."
Logan Neill can be reached at email@example.com or 848-1435.