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CHICAGO, Illinois. – McDonald’s is rolling out its new loyalty program, MyMcDonald’s Rewards, and to celebrate, the company is giving away free fries on July 13 and launching a lifetime free fries contest.
The fast food chain is renaming National Fry Day, celebrated on July 13, as World Fan Day.
Here’s what you need to do to get free fries on July 13:
First, download the McDonald’s app and sign up for the rewards. Then, on July 13, add free medium fries to your basket and enjoy a hot batch of iconic McDonald’s fries.
McDonald’s will also be holding a contest to find the most loyal fans. Sixty-six participants, one for each year of McDonald’s activity, will earn 1 million MyMcDonald’s Rewards points and one Golden Arches fan can win free lifetime fries worth $ 19,685.
RELATED: McDonald’s increases wages for U.S. workers in company-owned stores
âWe have the best fans in the world who deserve to unlock perks for their loyalty,â said Alycia Mason, vice president of digital customer experience and media, McDonald’s USA. âThat’s why we’re excited to offer MyMcDonald’s Rewards nationwide and to celebrate with all of our guests on World Fan Day.
McDonald’s is rolling out its new loyalty program, MyMcDonald’s Rewards, and to celebrate, the company is giving away free fries.
The big winner of the contest will win two medium fries per week for 50 years, according to the fine print. The 66 regional winners will receive their million points in four deposits of 250,000 points over two years, bringing the total value of the prize to $ 950.
MyMcDonald’s Rewards allows members to unlock free items by collecting points with every purchase. After 1500 points, users can redeem their points for a free gift.
RELATED: ‘I feel lucky’: McDonald’s employee turns 100, has no plans to retire
After 1500 points, users can redeem their points for a free gift. (McDonalds)
For a chance to win Lifetime Fries, fans will need to explain why they are the most loyal McDonald’s fans on Twitter starting July 13, tag @McDonalds and use #MyMcDonaldsFanConstest and hashtag their home state (e.g. #CA). According to McDonald’s, fans will judge the contest and declare the winners.
This story was reported from Boston.


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Clever Idea – $10 wok keeps TV station on air
Does this refine what a TV dinner is? Perhaps.
Why pay $20,000 for a commercial link to run your television station when a $10 kitchen wok from the Warehouse is just as effective?
This is exactly how North Otago’s newest television station 45 South is transmitting its signal from its studio to the top of Cape Wanbrow, in a bid to keep costs down.
45 South volunteer Ken Jones designed the wok transmitter in his spare time last year when he wanted to provide wireless broadband to his Ardgowan home.
“The $20,000 for a commercial link was just money we didn’t have, so we bought several woks from The Warehouse instead which was convenient and cheap,” he said.
Pre-recorded clips at the studio are fed through a computer and beamed to Cape Wanbrow where they are relayed off to television sets around North Otago.
The classic case of Kiwi ingenuity has made its way onto the internet and the technique has been posted by an American website, Mr Jones said.

domain: news


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The zero-emissions delivery company, Zedify, have received £50,000 funding to boost e-cargo bike deliveries within Edinburgh. Launching with a new delivery hub in Spring 2021, Zedify’s service will contribute to cleaner air for Edinburgh, which has recently been shown to have the worst air pollution of any Scottish city.
Zedify is a UK network of 10 urban delivery hubs which also includes Glasgow, London and Cambridge. Their ethical and responsible delivery model improves air quality and congestion within cities, making them better places to live and work.
Zedify delivery staff are paid a real Living Wage, and deliveries are carried out using a zero emissions fleet. Packages coming into Edinburgh from national retailers or via logistics carriers, will be re-moded to e-cargo bikes and trikes and consolidated with local business deliveries going to the same areas, allowing each package to be delivered most efficiently.
Zedify Edinburgh’s Charlie Mulholland said, “We’re delighted to have received this boost to our operation in Edinburgh, which will support us to grow our green logistics service and help the city tackle congestion and air pollution.”
This project is supported by the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran), by funding from the Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund and the European Union Interreg North Sea project SURFLOGH.
Working alongside Edinburgh Napier University & SEStran, SURFLOGH aims to research and catalogue sustainable commercial business models for urban last mile logistics, developing blueprints which can be replicated using the Zedify pilot case study from Edinburgh alongside pilots in Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium.
SEStran Chair Councillor Gordon Edgar said, “Increasingly we see a strong appetite for moving more goods by sustainable means as well as evidence that consolidation is currently being undertaken successfully by operators like Zedify. This willingness can be exploited by exploring opportunities to enhance and introduce infrastructure that will facilitate modal shift as well as building on consolidation efforts by providing facilities that enable multiple loads to be transported on the ‘last mile’ by a single vehicle or cycle logistics. Innovative initiatives like our partnership with Zedify have the potential to not only make a significant positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of those who live in the region but also economic growth.”
For further information:
Harriet Hird | Head of Marketing | Zedify | email@example.com
Keith Fisken | Programmes Manager | SEStran | firstname.lastname@example.org
 Zedify Edinburgh receives support from the Sustrans Cargo Bike Library: www.sustrans.org.uk/thebikelibrary  www.sestran.gov.uk  https://www.pathsforall.org.uk/about/about-us-1  https://northsearegion.eu/surflogh/


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But while Sony gamers would likely appreciate the refresher, with Kingdom Hearts III heading to Xbox One as well as PS4, arguably it's Xbox owners that need the earlier installments of the game more than anyone else. When asked about whether an Xbox One edition of 1.5 and 2.5 could ever see the light of day, Yasue was hesitant. While the initial reasoning behind this was thought to be the initial exclusivity deal with Sony, it seems resources play just as much of a part.
"It’s a big old question," he says. "There’s a lot of things we need to think of when we consider consoles. One of them is what our players want, so we will definitely consider that. But there’s also schedule constraints, as we really don’t want the development of Kingdom Hearts III going later, so we have that to think about. We’ll consider all these things and come to a decision."Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix is out in North America today, and the rest of the world later this week. Be sure to keep your eyes on IGN for our review very shortly.
We'll also have much more from our interview with Tai Yasue later this week, where we talk about how development of Kingdom Hearts III is progressing, the pressure on Square Enix to deliver and what the plan is after The Dark Seeker saga concludes. Luke Karmali is IGN UK News Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on Twitter.


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Much like the recently updated Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series, the Lada Niva refuses to die. Despite being around since 1977, the spartan off-roader is still being made and is even getting an update for 2024. AvtoVAZ is bringing back anti-lock brakes after having to temporarily discontinue ABS following sanctions against Russia. Putin's decision to invade Ukraine had massive repercussions on the supply chain, forcing a production pause for several months.
When assembly resumed in mid-2022, the Niva did away with airbags, ABS, and other essential features cars have had for many decades. Now, anti-lock brakes are back for 2024 for both the classic Niva Legend and the Niva Travel. In case you're unfamiliar with the latter, it has been around since 1998 as the VAZ-2123 before being rebadged the Chevrolet Niva in 2003. When the GM-AvtoVAZ collaboration ended in 2020, the no-frills SUV was rebranded as the Niva Travel.
The brief press release published by AvtoVAZ also mentions that the Niva also gets an updated engine that now meets Euro 5 regulations. The standard has been around since 2009, so it's immensely outdated. Lest we forget Euro 6 was implemented in 2014, with Euro 7 to follow around 2025. When production resumed last year and up until now, the go-anywhere Lada was powered by an engine that met the Euro 2 standard, which was introduced in 1996.
Go for a high-end trim level of the Niva Travel and you'll get a lada goodies: cruise control (with speed limiter), a trip computer, a fully backlit instrument cluster, and two-tone alloy wheels. ESP is also returning later this month, according to Russian magazine Auto Pro News. Production of both models with the 2024MY updates has already commenced.
As one would expect, the asking price sees a significant increase. Previously, the Lada Niva Legend started at 829 900 rubles ($9,140 at current exchange rates) but the cheapest one is now 927,500 rubles ($10,200). The more modern Niva Travel used to be 1,198,900 rubles ($13,200) and it now kicks off at 1,215,000 rubles ($13,400).
AvtoVAZ intended to launch an all-new Niva in collaboration with Renault. It unveiled a concept car back in 2018 but the future looks uncertain considering Renault sold its stake in AvtoVAZ in May 2022.
Source: AvtoVAZ, Auto Pro News2023-12-04T10:41:56Z dg43tfdfdgfd


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The clothing industry is not only big business; too often it’s dirty business. According to Mads Fibiger, the 27-year-old CEO and co-founder of Organic Basics in Copenhagen, an online retailer of sustainable clothing, it emits 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 and produces 92m tonnes of waste annually.
Indeed, about 20% of industrial water pollution is estimated to come from garment manufacturing, while the global apparel and footwear industries account for 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report Measuring Fashion. Some companies – including H&M – burn clothes while washing and drying them also creates unwanted environmental side effects.
Sustainability has become the new CSR buzzword – but few industries have been as affected by its importance as clothing and textiles. “We believe the fashion industry has been contributing to a worse environment for way too long,” says Fibiger.
For him, sustainability is at the heart of the three-year-old company’s approach. “We want to show that it is possible to make sustainable quality products at a reasonable price. We want to create sustainable fashion,” he says.
His next observation brings me up short. Currently, underwear generally has a very short life cycle with constant washing. The way we use underwear right now is a complete waste of resources and it is terribly damaging for the environment.
In other words, changing and washing your underpants regularly is actually bad for the environment. What is Fibiger’s solution? “The technology we use to kill bacteria is the same NASA uses for purifying water in the International Space Station,” he replies. “We treat all our products with a sustainable, low-concentration recycled silver chloride, which kills 99.9% of bacteria.”
Organic Basic is not the first company to do this. For instance, Lululemon’s Silverescent line combines silver-infused yarn with nylon and spandex; the silver can’t be washed away so it stays in the garment for its lifetime. Natural materials, like silver and gold, neutralize the ability of bacteria to form. These bacteria can create an unpleasant smell when we sweat. Get rid of these bacteria, and you get rid of the smell.
All the underwear in Organic Basics’ SilverTech material is made from mechanically recycled nylon, which means, the company claims, that it can reduce CO2 emissions and water usage by up to 90% compared with conventional nylon. The nylon is made in Italy from waste from leftover fibers and weaving mills. Its cotton collection is all made from sustainably sourced organic cotton.
Organic Basics doesn’t do seasonal collections and it won’t go head to head in advertising against other brands. Its product range, never packaged in plastic, is small and simple in basic colors, perfectly in tune with Danish minimalism. And like much of Danish design, it’s not cheap, either: a nicely designed stainless steel silver water bottle currently retails for $47.00 on the U.S. website.
Fibiger believes that the approach to sustainability that he shares with his three co-founders from Aarhus, Denmark appeals not just to customers but to investors, enabling them to raise over 1M DKK ($185,500) on Organic Basic’s first Kickstarter campaign and start making its first lines in cotton. The company recently launched its third round of kickstarting finance, which has raised more than $100,000 so far. Since starting out in 2015, Organic Basic has sold over 200,000 products to more than 50,000 customers in Denmark, Sweden and further afield in Europe and the U.S.
So, all those men out there who don’t want to change their underpants as much as their womenfolk might like, well, yes, it seems that they might be on to something.
This article is published on Forbes.com


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Most of us would like to think we believe in second chances, and do not hold the mistakes of someone’s past against them. But what if that mistake ended up putting them in prison?
Polling suggests a majority of people and businesses support the idea of rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Yet the experiences of many ex-offenders speak otherwise.
This has a profound effect on their lives, not least because unemployment is strongly associated with reoffending – recidivism rates are over twice as high for people who do not enter employment after release than those who do. It can be part of a vicious cycle.
Social enterprise Inside Out is attempting to change this.
It’s an intensive programme designed to take a group of ex-offenders through a crash course in the business of fashion, designing, manufacturing, marketing and eventually selling a range of products including T-shirts, caps and hoodies.
Inside Out is the brainchild of TV journalist Greg McKenzie and social entrepreneur Zack Fortag, who first started working on the idea after a chance meeting online in 2019.
“Young people love fashion and so many of the people we initially talked to inside wanted their own fashion brand. But we also chose fashion because of the skills you get with it – personal skills, business skills, sales, budgeting, design, it’s all there.”
The pair also worked with sponsors LinkedIn to give the eight participants training in public speaking and CV writing, even providing a professional photographer so they’d have proper headshots – the little details that can have an outsized impact on a person’s employability, and that many former offenders lack.
It all culminated in a special pop-up store that was open for a few weeks in London’s Westfield Stratford in April, where the team’s clothes went on sale to the general public, and which Zack and Greg hope to replicate in subsequent years.
Belong visited the store to hear some of the participants’ stories (and pick up a T-shirt while we were there).
Shaquiel and Tiko
Shaquiel Campous, now 27, served time when he was 15 years old. He had already launched his own clothing brand, Integrity LDN, a few months previously but through Inside Out learned the importance of social media, marketing and finding suppliers: “It’s been amazing, right from the beginning, when we brainstormed to come up with the logo. Everyone put their design in and we had a vote, and mine was picked. It’s going to help me get further, quicker, and it will inspire a lot of people to keep knocking.”
Tiko Tarawali was studying pharmacology at university, when he saw a post about Inside Out on Instagram. After Zack started a conversation, Tiko took the last place and has not looked back. “I’ve never really felt fulfilled in anything I’ve done. Now I’m starting to understand what that feels like.” Tiko had spent four months behind bars, in 2016, while still a teenager, and views the project more as an exercise in self-actualisation than a means to an end.
“I didn’t fit in anywhere before, but it was only when I took the time to explore why I didn’t fit in that things started to happen for me. I knew I wanted to be better and then this opportunity came.”
Like the other Inside Out participants, Tiko is now looking forward to mentoring the next year’s cohort to pay it forward, and also to see where life takes him next. “If I can give back in any way, that’s why I’m here. It’s to help anyone who’s felt out of place to know that the reason is because you’re here to build a new place.”
Working with ex-offenders
Tiko, Shaquiel and the others may have been particularly positive about work at the launch event for their clothing brand, but the feeling of fulfillment and self-worth that comes from employment is something that lasts.
“Employment can make a huge difference to ex-offenders. It can provide stability, routine, a sense of belonging and have a positive impact on an individual’s self-esteem and mental health in general,” says Darren Burns, national recruiter ambassador at Timpson.
‘I’ve never really felt fulfilled in anything I’ve done. Now I’m starting to understand what that feels like’
The shoe repair and key-cutting high street stalwart is one of the small but growing number of employers who are actively seeking out ex-offenders as potential workers, including Tesco, Boots and Virgin.
Darren argues that there is a lot of misunderstanding in other companies about what it’s actually like to work with people who have left prison, not least making the erroneous assumption that they are all dangerous, untrustworthy or have nothing to offer.
Over one in five UK adults, it should be noted, have a criminal conviction – that doesn’t tell you all you need to know about them.
“In the 20 years that Timpsons has been employing ex-offenders, it has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. We recruit amazing people with a great deal of life experience and personal resilience, who bring a lot to our business and make it a more interesting place to work,” Darren adds.
For most employees who already work with ex-offenders, he adds, it’s no big deal – if anything, they are protective of their prison-leaver colleagues and will go the extra mile to support them.
The starting point for challenging misconceptions about ex-offenders and setting out to be an inclusive employer is, unsurprisingly, talking to them.
Some are comfortable talking about their pasts, others would rather focus on the future. In either case, Darren suggests arranging a visit to the local prison to find out more.
“As soon as they speak with the men and women in custody, employers realise they are just regular people who have made a bad choice, often for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, they can see that they have a lot to offer and can make great employees,” Darren says. Part of this is that they value their second chance and the trust you’ve put in them.
“Showing trust to the ex-offenders we employ is vital. In fact the first thing we do with our colleagues on day release from prison is to ask them to deposit our banking. Essentially, we hand them a bag containing thousands of pounds and ask them to take it to the local bank,” Darren says.
“By doing this, we send a clear message that we trust our colleagues and focus on what they can achieve rather than what they’ve done. We have never lost any money yet!”
Alongside employers like Timpson and social enterprises like Inside Out, there are various organisations that seek to support people with criminal convictions as they try to move on with their lives and past the stigma that they can face. Social justice charity NACRO has a handy list here, and for employers there are also resources coordinated by the government such as the New Futures Network.
While much more support is needed, it is nonetheless a sign that at least some people are committed to second chances, which is ultimately all that most ex-offenders want – to be able to forge their own paths, unshackled by their pasts.


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Saturday, October 08 2022
On October 3, 2022, Sam and Lisa West announced their new website where they're able to now offer online shag lessons. Their announcement states: "Check out our new website for online shag lessons. Our first weekly lesson is now live! We are so excited about our new online lessons. New material will be uploaded every Monday. Be a part of this first shag online learning experience. Two "lessons"- Beginner/Novice and Intermediate/Advanced. Only $14.99 a month, less than the cost one couple would pay for one workshop!Also available through the site- 2022 Fall SOS Workshop Review. 19 lessons covering all the material we taught during Fall SOS."


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AMD’s Ryzen CPUs made a large impact on the market starting around mid-2017 when they were released. When Ryzen based CPUs hit the scene, performance was on generally on par or better than its Intel counterparts and pricing was notably better for the same thread count. This was a dramatic change from previous generations and brought competition back to the CPU market. Fast forward to today and AMD's new Ryzen-based APUs are being released – the Raven Ridge-based Ryzen 5 2400G and Ryzen 3 2200G – which merge AMD's Vega GPU architecture along with Ryzen CPU. With this latest release of what AMD is calling their 2000-series processors, existing X370, B350, and A320 based motherboards will require a BIOS update for proper support of...
Today we are having a look at a LED-laden, gaming-focused, ATX motherboard from GIGABYTE: the Aorus AX370-Gaming 5. If a user wants LEDs for Ryzen at under $200, here...33 by Gavin Bonshor on 11/14/2017
Today take a look at the Biostar X370GTN Mini ITX motherboard which is the first Mini ITX motherboard to have been released on the AM4 socket for AMD's Ryzen...30 by Gavin Bonshor on 10/23/2017
With both AMD Ryzen and Threadripper platforms continuing to mature, we’ve seen an increase in the two platform’s ability to handle higher capacity and faster RAM and be stable...13 by Joe Shields on 9/22/2017
ASRock has introduced a miniature motherboard for AMD Ryzen microprocessors, one of a few such motherboards in the industry. Despite being very small, the X370 Gaming ITX/ac offers everything...40 by Anton Shilov on 5/31/2017
At the CES 2017 show today, AMD is lifting the lid on some of the upcoming AM4 motherboard designs coming to end users for Ryzen/Summit Ridge and Bristol Ridge...48 by Ian Cutress on 1/4/2017


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It almost seems like yesterday that we saw the country’s largest automaker introduced its newest contender in the entry level small car segment – Alto 800.
The Alto 800 was launched pan India for a starting price of 2.44 lakh ex showroom. BSMotoring reports that the Alto 800 has already sent chills down the spine of the competition.
The Maruti Alto 800 has started a price war in the segment with major competitors offering discounts on their rivals. Hyundai, India’s second largest automaker, is offering discounts of up to 12 percent for their Alto 800 competitor – the Hyundai Eon. Tata Motors is offering equipment worth Rs. 25,000 free for a limited period, in select cities, on the Nano.
The Maruti Alto had been suffering from dwindling sales since the last few months. The chief reason for the dwindling sales was the heating competition. Rivals such as the Eon made the Alto look like something Fred Flintstone would drive. Clearly, Maruti Suzuki had to go to the drawing board or lose its grip over this segment.
But the battle is far from over. Another major reason for the decline of the sales numbers is the lack of diesel engine in a market that has already tilted in favor of oil burners. Although both the Alto and the Eon come with an alternative fuel option which are lighter on the wallet, none of them have an option of a diesel engine.
By the looks of things, it seems that the Tata Nano will be the early bird that will be offered with a diesel engine. Both Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have acknowledged that a small diesel engine of 1,000cc or less is the need of the hour. Whoever cracks this equation fastest could be the king of hill in the long term.


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Nigerian beer company agree Arsenal and Manchester City deals
By iSportconnect | September 1, 2016
Nigerian beer brand Star, have announced agreed a multi-year partnership with football sides, Manchester City and Arsenal
The Manchester City partnership, sees Star become City’s “Official Beer Partner” in the Nigerian territory. The agreement is one of Star’s recent partnerships with leading European football clubs as the brand continues to showcase its commitment to support the growing passion its consumers in Nigeria have for football.
The Arsenal deal will see Star Lager Beer’s customers and Arsenal fans in Nigeria will be offered a range of club-related benefits, including official merchandise and match tickets to see the team in action at Emirates Stadium.
Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries PLC, Franco Maria- Maggi described the Manchester partnership as a latent need for newness.
“Even though we are Nigeria’s foremost beer brand, we continue to refresh the Star brand to keep it refreshingly new. That is what Manchester City is also bringing to football. They bring a freshness and new level of excitement to the established football order, and have carved a reputation for themselves in a few short years.”
“We are happy to partner with the club as we both want the same things; to excite football fans and give them memorable, unforgettable moments. It is what Star has always done and this is yet another way to demonstrate our commitment to creating exciting moments for our consumers”.
On the Arsenal deal:
“We are very happy and proud to make this announcement. Arsenal belong to a unique circle of premium football clubs and are probably the most exciting in terms of the quality of football they play; so this partnership is a perfect fit. Star Lager Beer is all about premium quality and fun and this partnership is all about adding more excitement to the lives of our consumers and football lovers across the country.”
Nick Pinder, Head of Partnerships Marketing EMEA at City Football Group:
“We are delighted to partner with an exciting brand like Star who share Manchester City’s passion for creativity and innovation. We have a rapidly growing fan base in Nigeria and by partnering with Star we have a unique opportunity to connect with our fans in a more meaningful way. Together, we look forward to ensuring our fans in Nigeria are a part of our journey, on and off the pitch, as we provide them with exclusive access, unforgettable memories and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”
Arsenal’s Vinai Venkatesham, Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Star Lager Beer, one of Nigeria’s most iconic brands. Arsenal has a huge fan base in Nigeria and this partnership really underlines our commitment to these loyal supporters. We look forward to developing a number of exciting initiatives together for both Arsenal and football fans across Nigeria.”


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MILAN — Italian accessories and luggage company Piquadro SpA kicked off an initial public offer Monday.
Piquadro, which makes its briefcases, backpacks and other products in China, does most of its business in Europe although it has a few stores in Hong Kong and Macau as well.
Piquadro is selling about 30 percent of its capital in an offer with a price range of 2.1 euros per share to 2.3 euros per share ($2.98 to $3.26 at current rates). Those prices value the company between 105 million euros and 115 million euros ($148.93 million to $163.11 million).
Piquadro, which posted sales of 35.7 million euros ($50.63 million) for the year ended March 31, plans to debut on the Milan stock exchange Thursday Oct. 25. The company joins growing ranks of luxury goods companies planning IPOs including jeweler Damiani SpA and Salvatore Ferragamo SpA.
As reported, Prada SpA is also expected to go public next year.
Madonna turns 59 today, marking another year of show-stopping, one-of-a-kind bold looks from the singer. To celebrate, we took a look at the superstar's most memorable fashion moments. Here, Madonna sits front row at Versace's spring runway show in 1995. See more exclusive photos from the #wwdarchive on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: Cédric Dordevic)
WWD asked a handful of creative directors to evaluate the September covers of leading women's fashion magazines. How do they think the covers this year compare with years gone by, and what do they say about the current status of the publication? Link in bio. (GIF by @hypebreast)
"Stephen King is such a master, but I don't like being scared - there's enough that's really scary. How about the morning's news?" says Holland Taylor in an interview with WWD. See what else the actress said about starring in the TV adaptation of King's thriller "Mr. Mercedes" on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @jgreenery)


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Google Testing New Double-Tap Gesture on Back of Pixel Phones for Launching Camera, Assistant, and More
Google is reportedly testing an interesting new gesture for its Pixel smartphones that lets users double-tap the back of the handset to control various functions.
XDA-Developers discovered the new gesture system, codenamed "Columbus," in the Android 11 developer preview for Pixel phones. According to the site, the double-tap gesture can be used to perform the following actions:
- Dismiss timers
- Snooze alarms
- Launch the camera
- Invoke Google Assistant
- Play or pause media
- Collapse the status bar
- Silence incoming calls
- Unpin notifications
- Other "user-selected action"
The double-tap gesture apparently doesn't require any special hardware, as it relies on the phone's gyroscope and accelerometer. XDA-Developers managed to get the gesture working on a Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 4 XL, both running Android 11 Developer Preview 1. You can see the gesture being used to launch the Camera app in the clip below.
To prevent the gesture being activated unintentionally, Google has also added so-called "gates" to stop the double tap actions from taking effect. Some of the currently implemented gates are said to include camera visibility, charging status, keyguard, and more. XDA believes the Settings app will also contain gesture training activities for the user to perform in order to refine its responsiveness.
Google's own-branded Android phones have included innovative interactive gestures before, such as fingerprint gestures, Active Edge, and Motion Sense on the Pixel 4 series. Active Edge lets users squeeze the sides of the device to quickly activate Google Assistant, while Motion Sense allows users to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls by waving a hand in front of the phone.
Apple has also experimented with new ways of interacting with iPhones, including the use of touch and touchless gestures. A 2018 rumor from Bloomberg suggested Apple is working on iPhones that will use touchless gesture controls, allowing users to hover over the iPhone to navigate through the iOS operating system using a finger, but without having to touch the display.
If Apple moved forward with that rumored gesture technology, it could show up in iPhones as early as 2020, according to Bloomberg's two-year timeline for the feature. It's not yet clear if Apple is continuing to experiment with gestures, though, as we haven't heard any information on such a feature coming to the 2020 iPhone lineup.
What do you think of Google's rear double-tap gesture? Is it something you'd like to see in a new-generation iPhone, or are touch-less gestures the future? Let us know in the comments.


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World demand for cups and lids still strong
World demand for cups and lids is projected to rise 5% per year to $23.4 billion in 2014, according to the latest study from The Freedonia Group Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm. Factors contributing to rising demand will include growth in foodservice revenues and trends toward convenience-oriented food options as a result of fast-paced lifestyles and increasing personal income levels.
March 22, 2011
1 Min Read
Biodegradable, recyclable and recycled materials will be in big demand for cups and lids, and will post “robust advances” as consumers increasingly want eco-friendliness. This will put pressure on foodservice establishments and packaging producers to reduce their environmental footprint, especially in developed countries with more established environmental regulations.
The U.S. will remain the largest consumer of cups and lids in the world by a “wide margin” said The Freedonia Group’s report. In 2014, the U.S. will represent 35% of the global cup and lid market – down by only one percent from 2009. “This leading position stems from the U.S.’ large foodservice, and food and beverage packaging industries; greater use of more expensive cups and lids; trends favoring single-serving food cups; and the expanded specialty beverage offerings in quick service restaurants,” said the report. “Even though faster growth is expected in developing countries, the U.S. alone will still account for close to one-third of market value gains between 2009 and 2014.” —PlasticsToday Staff
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2020 has proven that our attention spans are becoming shorter than ever. TikTok’s short-form videos ruled the meme scene, spurring about a thousand clone apps, and we watched Quibi’s rise and fall with equal parts awe and dismay.
So it only makes sense that Google is testing a new carousel in its Search results for “short videos.” The panel is similar to others already used in Search — like those for general videos and those for tweets — which are presented for some searches. The carousel appears to aggregate content mostly from Instagram and TikTok.
The new panel is actually an expansion of an experiment from earlier this year, where Google introduced a carousel of short videos within Google Discover, TechCrunch reports. It’s unclear in what circumstances the new panel will show up in Search results.
Google prides itself on its ability to tap into the zeitgeist and build features accordingly. If nothing else, the new carousel is a sign that short-form videos are here to stay.
Still some tweaking to be done — When asked for comment, Google did not expand much upon its plans for the new carousel feature. A company spokesperson did, however, confirm to TechCrunch that the feature is “currently being piloted on mobile devices.” The spokesperson confirmed also that it’s a “limited, early-stage feature.”
Like other outlets reporting on this feature, I was able to access the “Short videos” carousel by searching “packers” within the iOS version of the dedicated Google app. The feature’s newness is confirmed by how annoying it is to use at the moment — clicking an Instagram or TikTok result opens the browser version of the video, even if the Instagram or TikTok app is installed on the device. It’s a relatively minor annoyance, but one that does limit the carousel’s usability.
Short and sweet — Like other tech giants, Google has watched short-form videos take over the internet this year. The company launched its own TikTok ripoff in September, joining other entries into the market like Instagram’s Reels.
Though some (cough cough Quibi) have failed to successfully tap into the short-form market, many TikTok wannabes are making a perfectly suitable name for themselves. Google has opted for a slow-and-steady approach: YouTube Shorts is still in its beta testing phase, and the new carousel is only a pilot program, too.
Google’s latest search feature is further evidence that short-form videos are here to stay. Not even a full-on war against TikTok can stop us from cashing in on the quick serotonin hit of a hilarious short video.


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House of Da Milano has introduced ‘WOOBA’, continuing its experiment and innovation with leather. WOOBA presently has one store at Ambience mall, Gurgaon launched in 2017 and has now launched its second store at Mall of India, Noida.
WOOBA is a contemporary leather accessories brand appealing to the fashion conscious woman , the new generation that seeks style, comfort and quality at pocket friendly prices. The target audience for the brand is women aged 16-35, progressive and youthful!
The designs reflect quality and substance in a youthful manner in the range of handbags and wallets, presenting its spirit in bright and beautiful colours. Using only the finest materials from around the world, each product is crafted with impeccable attention to detail, creating a truly unique accessory piece. Wooba offers lifetime service guarantee for all its products, creating security and reliability between the customers and the brand.
Talking about the launch Sahil Malik, Managing Director said, “We noticed a yearning in the market for quality accessories that are fashionable yet price sensitive hence the idea of a mass oriented label was born. WOOBA is a new concept with a distinctive idea that appeals to the trendy and fashion conscious.”
As an initiative to spread WOOBA’s spirit and appeal wider and across different cities, the second store has been launched in Noida at the Mall of India, paving the way to a wider audience and reach for the brand.


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We’re happy little Vegemites here at RiotACT HQ today, having learnt that one of the most successful businesses in the capital region, Bega Cheese, has bought the iconic Vegemite brand, returning it to Australian hands.
Imagine going home and telling your family you’re bringing Vegemite back home, and not just to Australia, but to the regional town of Bega where it will be part of the same stable as one of the nation’s favourite cheeses, as part of a business that has operated on our South Coast since 1899. It’s the stuff of foodie fairytales.
Imagine the possibilities that exist to create (and consume!) new products incorporating Bega Cheese and Vegemite. Mmmmm.
The man behind it all, executive chairman of Bega Cheese, Barry Irvin, told a conference call of investors and media at around 10.15am today that the business had grown from “humble beginnings as a small cooperative on the South Coast of NSW to a major ASX-listed billion-dollar business”.
“For me, this a proud day for the Bega community,” Mr Irvin said.
“There are few regional businesses that still have their HQ in a regional area, and even less that have their head office in a small town of 5000 people.”
He said that of the 800 or so shareholders of Bega Cheese, many were the farmers who supplied the company “and also mums and dads from Bega”.
“The wonderful heritage and values that Vegemite represents and its importance to Australian culture make its combination with Bega Cheese truly exciting.
“I think it’s a proud day for us all.”
Bega Cheese Limited will pay Mondelez International $460 million for its Port Melbourne-based Australia and New Zealand grocery and cheese business (MDLZ Grocery Business), including brands such as Vegemite, ZoOsh and Bonox as well as products using the Kraft brand under licence. These included peanut butter, nut spreads, processed cheese slices, ambient cheese spread, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, Kraft Easy Mac and Kraft Mac & Cheese. Bega will also gain a licence to use the Dairylea brand in Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Irvin said there were no plans for consolidate facilities or cut staff in the short term.
“Our objective today is to give certainty to Port Melbourne staff and the people that operate the business,” he said.
“At this stage, what we’re expecting is to bring across all the staff … we will run the [acquired assets] as a separate business.”
As for whether the investment would impact on Bega Cheese’s existing relationship with farmers in the region, Mr Irvin said he anticipated it would only strengthen ties.
“Our record in terms of how we deal with farmers is a strong one and we’re very proud of it,” he said.
“If you think about this deal, what it does for farmers is give them more confidence that they’re supplying an even stronger business.
“I think our suppliers will be very excited about this, it would give them a sense of security.”
Will we see Vegemite expanding into other markets such as the Middle East?
“We’ve got a very good distributor over there that I’m sure would do a good job with it,” Mr Irvin said.
Here at the RiotACT, we reckon the Vegemite will taste even better once it’s back in Australian hands, and we will take much greater pride in spreading it on our toast with avocado for brekkie tomorrow.
Are you a Vegemite fan? What’s your favourite way to eat it? Will you be hoping for a return of long lost favourites like Kraft Singles, Smiths Vegemite Chips and Cadbury Vegemite chocolate? Or all-new products incorporating Bega’s Strong & Bitey Vintage Cheddar with Vegemite, perhaps?


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- Gymboree is reportedly planning to file for bankruptcy protection and close all 900 of its stores.
- The company filed for bankruptcy as recently as June 2017 and closed nearly 400 stores in the process.
- Gymboree did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gymboree is reportedly nearing liquidation.
The children’s clothing retailer is expected to file for bankruptcy protection this week and plans to close all 900 of its stores, which include the brands Gymboree, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
It’s possible that the Janie and Jack stores could be salvaged, if the company finds a buyer for those stores, according to the report.
Gymboree did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gymboree has suffered sales declines for years.
The company previously filed for bankruptcy in June 2017 and closed nearly 400 stores in the process. At the time of the filing, it had 1,281 locations and employed more than 11,000 workers.
A Gymboree liquidation would not impact Gymboree Play & Music, a company with more than 800 locations that was sold in 2016. Gymboree Play & Music offers music, art, and play classes for babies and toddlers.
If you work at Gymboree and have information to share, contact [email protected]


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Carmaker better start working on a new prototype.
Just days after spying a Acura/Honda NSX production prototype at the Nurburgring, come these images of the same car burnt to the ground. Reports claim two test drivers fled the car after it caught fire, while onlookers said the fire began at the rear and quickly consumed the rest of the car. There's no word on what caused the fire, but we can now see why the latest prototype is sporting larger air intakes and vents than the original concept. The twin-turbo engine and three electric motors need additional cooling, obviously.


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A 6-year-old Connecticut boy secretly racked up greater than $16,000 on his mother’s credit card playing his favourite video games Sonic Forces and shopping for upgrades, leaving mother in shock and broke.
Jessica Johnson is now scrambling to repay the debt. “My income has decreased by 80 percent this year”, mentioned Jessica, who works on fee. “I didn’t get a paycheck from March to September.”
Real property agent, Jessica Johnson who works from dwelling attributable to covid-19 pandemic, didn’t notice the youthful of her two boys was additionally busy working from dwelling within the subsequent room, racking up payments for her in Apple’s app-store. He was shopping for digital ‘golden rings’ costing $1.99 to $99.99 that unlocked new characters and ranges for his favourite video sport, in line with the report.
When 41-year-old Jessica checked her Chase account steadiness and found that Apple and PayPal had been withdrawing massive sums of $562 right here, $601 there from her account, she was confused and referred to as the financial institution, believing it was an enormous fraud or mistake.
Jessica filed a fraud declare in July when the costs reached $16,293.10, however was informed by Chase financial institution which responded in October after investigations, that the bill was certainly hers and that she ought to attain out to Apple.
Jessica contacted Apple however was left in shock when a customer support consultant walked her by way of a “buried running list of all the charges”. It was then that she realized it was George, her six-year-old son who racked up the bill.
“You wouldn’t know how to [find] it without someone directing you,” mentioned Jessica, who knew it was George the second she noticed the Sonic icon.
“The way the charges get bundled made it almost impossible [to figure out that] they were from a game,” Jessica mentioned.
George Johnson made 25 purchases totaling over $2,500 on July 9 – a day his mother was working within the subsequent room.
“It’s like my 6-year-old was doing lines of cocaine — and doing bigger and bigger hits,” Jessica joked.
Jessica mentioned she acquired no sympathy when she contacted Apple, even after telling them that she wouldn’t have the ability to pay her household’s mortgage. “They’re like, ‘There’s a setting, you should have known,’ ” she recalled.
Jessica admitted she didn’t put preventive settings on her account, as a result of she didn’t find out about them.
“Obviously, if I had known there was a setting for that, I wouldn’t have allowed my 6-year-old to run up nearly $20,000 in charges for virtual gold rings,” mentioned Jessica, whose husband cares for the youngsters full-time.
“These games are designed to be completely predatory and get kids to buy things, What grown-up would spend $100 on a chest of virtual gold coins?”, she requested.
But Apple’s customer support rep informed her there’s nothing they will do as a result of she didn’t name inside 60 days of the costs.
“The reason I didn’t call within 60 days is because Chase told me it was likely fraud — that PayPal and Apple.com are top fraud charges.” Jessica mentioned
When Jessica defined to her son what he did and the overall bill, the boy who apparently desires to play extra video games, mentioned ‘Well, I’ll pay you again, mother,’ ” Jessica recalled.
“How? I pay him $4 to clean his room! “I literally told George, ‘I don’t know about Christmas.’ ”
Jessica who’s now advising different mother and father to test their safety settings, believes Apple is guilty.
“My son didn’t understand that the money was real. How could he? He’s playing a cartoon game in a world that he knows is not real. Why would the money be real to him? That would require a big cognitive leap.”
Apple and Chase haven’t but responded to any Media inquiry in regards to the matter. Sega, the maker of Sonic Forces, didn’t return requires remark by The Post
Video games are on prime the listing of pocket cash spending throughout the coronavirus-induced lockdown, in line with the Financial Times


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A robotics company that produces driverless vehicles for over-the-road grocery, pizza and prescription deliveries said Thursday it intends to spend $40 million to put a manufacturing facility at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Nuro, a firm founded in 2016 and based in Mountain View, California, announced it will build an end-of-line manufacturing facility and a closed test track at the Las Vegas-area raceway for the company’s next-generation autonomous vehicle.
Gov. Steve Sisolak and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen joined Nuro co-founder Jiajun Zhu to announce the project, which in March received about $170,500 in tax abatements over 10 years from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
Zhu pointed in a statement to partnerships his company has with pizza giant Domino’s, supermarket owner Kroger and delivery company FedEx, and operating in California’s Silicon Valley, Houston and the Phoenix area. “We are now able to invest in the infrastructure to build tens of thousands of robots,” he said.
Sisolak, a Democrat, pointed to a company promise that a $10 million capital investment will create 250 skilled tech-sector jobs during the next decade in southern Nevada.


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Apple is within a hair's breadth of a historic $3 trillion valuation one week after unveiling its Vision Pro
- Apple is closing in on a $3 trillion valuation a week after it launched the Vision Pro headset.
- Shares are up 41% so far this year — outpacing a 35% gain in the tech-focussed Nasdaq 100 Index.
Tech giant Apple is riding on a wave of enthusiasm in its share price which has taken its market cap near to a historic valuation of $3 trillion.
Apple's share price closed 1.6% higher at $183.79 on Monday, bringing the company's valuation to nearly $2.9 trillion. Shares are up 41% this year — outpacing a 35% gain in the tech-focussed Nasdaq 100 Index over the same period.
Apple shares have been on a tear after the company unveiled the Vision Pro mixed reality headset last Monday. Some analysts said at the time the hardware product could drive up the tech giant's valuation massively, Insider's Zinya Salfiti and Nidhi Pandurangi reported last Tuesday.
It's not just the headset that's motoring the share price gain.
Prominent Wedbush analyst Dan Ives predicts that the sales of the upcoming iPhone 15 and Apple's services business will further boost Apple shares, Insider's Julie Bort reported on Monday. Ives is particularly bullish on Apple's Services business, which comprises its cloud service and storage business.
It's not the first time Apple's valuation has hit the $3 trillion mark — the tech giant became the first US company to cross the threshold in January 2022 — before a broad-based rout in tech shares took its market cap lower.
Tech shares have been on a blistering rise this year, fuelled by the rush into artificial intelligence following the viral success of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
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A survey conducted by the healthcare marketing agency SCOUT revealed that consumers are not as much concerned about the privacy and safety of their medical data as with the privacy and safety of financial information including credit card numbers. As part of a new study series named SCOUT Rare Insights, the Harris Poll survey was undertaken on May 10 to May 14, 2018 which surveyed 2,033 people. As per the survey results, 49% or under half of consumers were quite concerned about their medical data privacy and safety, while 69% or more than two-thirds of consumers were quite concerned about the privacy and security of their financial information.
A lot of consumers have got insurance plans that offer credit card protection and so losses could be reclaimed in many instances. If credit cards are lost or ripped off, it is very easy to obtain a new credit card number plus there are rules that put a limit on your personal liability. But, in the event of theft of health insurance information and Social Security numbers, the serious losses suffered by breach victims might not be retrieved.
Patients can likewise have major issues with medical identity theft. If malicious actors rob patients of their identities to get prescription medications or medical services, the patients could suffer harm considering that their healthcare records ended up being changed. It is quite worrying that medical identity theft and medical data breaches are transpiring at an increased rate.
When financial data breaches occur, the falsification of information is quickly discovered and victims receive speedy notifications. But, with medical data breaches, discovery of breaches usually take a couple of months or a few years, and so it’s quite possible that medical information misuse already occurred even before the patients learn about the data breach. Furthermore, patients have limited protection since no law limits the liability and losses.
Patients should be more concerned with regards to their medical data privacy and protection since the risk is rather substantial when medical information are compromised. The consequences when a malicious attacker obtains your personal health information are much more damaging in comparison to the unlawful access of your private financial information.
More information collected from the study are: 36% of patients utilize websites to gain access to their PHI; 28% of respondents under 35s utilize web portals; and 39% of respondents over 35s utilize web portals.
By going over health details regularly, it helps to resolve mistakes immediately and identify PHI misuse fast. The low number (47%) of web portal users is due to people’s inclination to talk about health concerns in person.
When answering the question on the types of medical data patients were most worried about getting misused and disclosed, the area of greatest concern was diagnosed medical issues and diseases, ranked as a real concern by 31% of respondents.


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Undeterred by typhoons and searing heat, there was plenty happening in terms of tech news across the continent this week. Let’s jump in:
Willis’ and Steven’s pick: WeChat rockets to 100 million users outside of China
Willis: 100 million is a huge figure. Does Tencent’s WeChat really have a chance on the global stage? It seems like it. And Tencent’s resources could be the key to making it work.
Steven: WeChat is perhaps China’s most used mobile-only app, as well as the country’s top social media export. It’s also interesting to see how Lionel Messi has scored a hat-trick for WeChat with his TV ads for the messaging app around the world.
While my colleagues have chosen more serious news like censorship, protests, and acquisitions, I’m choosing one that is fun: Iron Man. HTC has been struggling recently, and with Robert Downey Jr. in HTC’s new ads, we will see how important branding and marketing is compared to only making nice phones.
Saiyai’s and Phoebe’s pick: Why is 4G adoption in Asia’s emerging markets still so slow?
Saiyai: Oh, how I’ve wondered the same thing! Leslie Shannon from Nokia Siemens Networks nails the key points as to why LTE in Asia is still not taking off. What I also notice in Thailand is that infrastructure is also a problem. Even today, Thai authorities are still debating when the auction for the spectrum used for 4G will take place, and whether there will be any infrastructure sharing among the main telco companies.
Phoebe: I agree with my colleague Saiyai here. In the Philippines, LTE is the hot new thing, but infrastructure still needs to be worked on. Apart from that, I think the bigger barrier is that not everyone has the means to own a $500 smartphone for LTE’s sake. I believe this is not only happening in Thailand and the Philippines, but in other Asian countries as well.
Well, here’s a great big acquisition we’ve all been waiting for. Baidu, which already has its own Android app store, is grabbing 91 Wireless to become arguably the biggest app store operator in the country. In total, their combined users downloaded over 69 million apps per day. But the real key here is mobile. Baidu is looking to ride the inevitable trend of mobile, and 91 Wireless has got the awesome wave of data that Baidu’s crawlers, bots, and algorithms can surf on.
If this initiative from the Thai government passes successfully with cooperation from Line, 15 million Line users will have their chats monitored within the country. With the recent clampdown by the Vietnamese government on social media as well, its a worrying indicator for online freedoms in Southeast Asia and what the future might hold.
Lazada is one of the most popular online shops in the region today. Online businesses are also very common to people in Southeast Asia, but most of them don’t have enough resources and exposure to allow the business to grow faster. Lazada’s expansion into a marketplace is a great way of offering web-based opportunities to small businesses in this region.
Charlie’s pick: Chinese internet celebrities agree to self-censor
Depressing news, but this is what China’s government wants its internet to be like. It’s also interesting in that it shows how naive the government can be sometimes; is there anyone rational who really thinks web celebrities are even capable of being society’s moral vanguard?
It is good to see that an Indonesian e-commerce startup can survive for four long years and still be doing well in the industry, despite the many competitors in this arenas.
Lucas’s pick: In the Philippines, selfies become a form of protest
It is interesting to see how Instagram is used as a tool for protesting in the Philippines (pictured). This is definitely a testament to the impact of social media in our daily lives. People will always be looking for a medium to express their views and Instagram is the perfect place with its huge user-base and visual-first medium.
With 82 million monthly active users, Facebook is on a roll in India as it is still the second largest market for the social network after the United States. Along with other strong markets such as Japan and Indonesia, Facebook is seeing the strongest growth – 339 million monthly active users – from Asia alone. I’m looking forward to see Facebook’s salesforce expansion and new hires for its Facebook Ads business units.
Minghao’s pick: Vietnam has the biggest online population in Southeast Asia with 16.1 million monthly PC users
The stats shown here surprised me in two ways. One is that Vietnam has such a high number of PC users. The second surprise is that Indonesia – with almost half of Southeast Asia’s total population – has just fourteen million PC users. If this stat hold trues, startups and businesses who are targeting Indonesia better have a plan to engage with its mobile web users.
Thanks for dropping by again this week, folks! For other ways of reading us, perhaps try our tailored RSS feeds, or find us within the Flipboard or Google Currents mobile apps.


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In just one month, the price of a whole chicken from Woolworths has risen by more than 10%, from R49.99 to R54.99 a kilogramme.
This inflated price tag is just one example of how the pay cheques of otherwise well-off consumers no longer go as far as they used to — and all signs indicate that the higher cost of living will gnaw at middle class incomes for at least the next 12 months.
In another blow to consumers, the petrol price went up by R2.43 this week. The steep increase comes despite the government having extended the reduction of the fuel levy, providing some relief to consumers who have become increasingly vulnerable to financial shocks.
The Mail & Guardian spoke to analysts about what is in store for South African consumers as high fuel and food prices continue to squeeze their incomes. Their resounding message: batten down the hatches, because it is going to be a punishing year on your finances.


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Apple posted its most recent quarterly earnings on Tuesday, comfortably outdoing Wall Street's most optimistic expectations and marking the biggest quarterly profit ever made by a public company.
During the first quarter with the iPhone 6 smartphones on sale for the entire period, the Cupertino company sold a record 74.4m iPhones in the three months to the end of 2014, 9 million more than expected, according to CNBC. "This volume was hard to comprehend," CEO Tim Cook said during a conference call to discuss the earnings. "34,000 iPhones sold per hour, 24 hours a day, every day of the quarter."
Gazprom profits leapfrogged
Apple reported net profit of $18bn (£11.8bn), the biggest quarterly earnings figure that has been posted by any company in history. The figure tops the $16.2bn record held previously by Russia's Gazprom, the largest natural gas extractor in the world. Analysts were generally expecting the company to report EPS of $2.60 for the quarter on $67.69bn in revenue, whilst Apple's own guidance was in the range of $63.5bn to $66.5bn in total revenue. However, Apple reported EPS of $3.06 on revenue of $74.6bn, and saw its cash pile rose to almost $178bn, up 15 per cent from the previous quarter.
"We'd like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high," said Cook. "Our revenue grew 30 per cent over last year to $74.6bn, and the execution by our teams to achieve these results was simply phenomenal."
The blockbuster earnings have largely to do with a boost in sales figures led by China, according to the WSJ. The Journal report states that Apple topped all other smartphone makers in the country by units shipped in the fourth quarter for the first time in history, contributing to the 70 per cent jump in revenue to $16.14bn year-on-year in Greater China. This makes it the third-largest market after the U.S. and Europe, which recorded a rise in sales of 23 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
Sales of the iPad continue to disappoint, with the company selling 21.4 million units, down from the 26 million reported a year ago. The success of its latest big-screen iPhone 6 Plus was speculated to have contributed to cannibalising sales of the iPad, and the tablet is being squeezed both by lower-priced competition and a resurgence in laptop sales.
Watch out in April
In addition to sharing its shining earnings report Apple revealed that it plans to ship its first wearable, the Apple Watch, in April of this year. With a relatively high base price it is unclear whether the wearable will be able to tempt those other than devoted Apple fans to adopt this technology.
Apple is forecasting revenue of $52bn to $55bn for the current quarter, versus analysts' expectations of $53.79bn. Following the news, shares rose more than 5 per cent in trading after the US markets had closed.


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Consumers object to lack of support. Applications for post-moratorium assistance have already been opened for companies. The line Retoma intends to help the most affected.
Applications are now open for the Retoma line, which aims to help companies most affected by the pandemic in the payment of their obligations, at a time when the bank moratoriums have already ended. “This line of support, developed taking into account the needs of companies that need to restructure their capital, seeking to give them protection and power in negotiating with their creditors, is intended for companies of any size that develop in national territory , main activity in one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic and which cumulatively comply with the conditions and requirements for access to the line», says Banco de Fomento.
At issue are around 36.3 billion euros in loans under the public moratorium in August, even so, a number slightly below the one observed in the previous month, with more than 289 thousand families and companies benefiting from this measure to protect the credit that ended this Thursday.
Of this total, 14.1 billion correspond to loans to individuals – including families, IPSS and sole proprietors, of which 12.7 billion euros are household credits whose payment of interest and/or capital is suspended, according to the data released this Thursday by the Bank of Portugal – while the remaining 21.5 billion euros refer to corporate credit, of which 8.3 billion are from the most vulnerable sectors – accommodation and restaurants, commerce and transport – which will to benefit from the public guarantees granted by the State in the restructuring of contracts after the end of the moratoriums.
According to the Portal da Queixa, over the 18 months in which this unprecedented measure was in force, it received more than 200 complaints. Santander, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Millennium BCP are the banking entities with the highest volume of complaints. “The government decree-law, which came out in August, says that banks must be diligent in signaling customers in difficulty and present improvements in contractual conditions in credits of customers who benefited from public moratoria, facilitating their payment. In cases where difficulties were foreseeable, banks had until mid-September to present them with proposals for solutions. However, there are many consumers who say they have not received any contact or proposal from the bank and others complain about the lack of information or lack of response», alerts the portal.


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Economic signals are mixed and it causes both experts and average Americans to wonder if the recession will be over anytime soon.
Some would say it is not a good time to start a business, but many women are finding it may just be the perfect time to do so.
Josephine Nicholas is an expert on business marketing and communications.
She is following the trends in start-up businesses today and joined CBN News to talk about why some businesses are working out so well, especially for women.
Nicholas pointed out three reasons why she thinks women make great business owners:
-Women have natural people skills
-Women are natural multi-taskers
-Women don't shy away from risk
Click the player to hear Nicholas' advice for anyone looking to make the jump into entrepreneurship.


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Bitcoin hits all-time high of $19,857, extends year-to-date return to 177%
Bitcoinhit a record high on Monday, surging above its peak reached in December 2017.
- The world's most popular
cryptocurrencyclimbed as much as 8.7%, to $19,857.03, bringing its year-to-date gain to 177%.
- "The Bitcoin correction didn't last long, with the cryptocurrency having sights set on new highs once again," a senior market analyst at Oanda said.
- Rising inflation and increasingly negative views of modern monetary policy are forcing investors to look for alternative ways to preserve the value of their capital, the cofounder of Chainlink said.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Bitcoin reached an
The world's most popular cryptocurrency surged as much as 8.7%, to $19,857.03, bringing its year-to-date gain to 177%. Last week the cryptocurrency crashed by $3,000 through Thanksgiving after large-volume profit-taking dragged on prices."The Bitcoin correction didn't last long, with the cryptocurrency having sights set on new highs once again, with $20,000 the ultimate goal in the short-term," said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda. "A move into uncharted territory and the psychological boost that would come with a move like this could propel Bitcoin aggressively higher."
Cameron Winklevoss, a cofounder of the
He said two factors would drive its price over $100,000.For one, rising inflation and increasingly negative views of modern monetary policy are leading people and institutions to look for alternative ways to preserve the value of their capital, Nazarov said. And growing demand for yield and the rise of "decentralized finance," or "DeFi" — the fastest-growing sector in the blockchain industry — is accelerating its growth. "Quite simply, the risk-reward equation is starting to flip from traditional financial assets being yield-bearing, less risky, and reliable stores of wealth resistant to inflation over to Bitcoin and various cryptoassets being the sources of yield, increasingly less risk, and a reliable store of wealth," he said.
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Company News • 05.09.2012
Chinese credit card usage growing quickly
Lack of knowledge of credit risks could create future problem
In the past two decades, the Chinese economy has undergone many drastic reforms in an effort to compete more effectively on the international market. These reforms included allowing foreign banks to offer credit cards to Chinese citizens.
Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found about 30 percent of Chinese urban households now own at least one credit card and the growth rate of credit card adoption has been an average of 40 percent per year between 2004 and 2009.
Rui Yao, an assistant professor of personal financial planning in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at MU, says that this large growth in such a small amount of time has positive and negative implications for the Chinese economy.
"With more and more people taking advantage of credit in China, it certainly increases potential consumer buying power," Yao said. "However, we found that more than 90 percent of non-credit card users were unaware of safety issues inherent in credit card use and more than 60 percent had little knowledge of the consequences of credit card default. This lack of knowledge could create problems as credit card ownership is expected to grow at a rate of 11 percent a year."
Yao studied data from the 2008 Survey of Chinese Consumer Finance and Investor Education conducted by Tsinghua University in China and found that a large portion of new Chinese credit card holders are very young.
"We found that 58 percent of Chinese credit card holders are younger than 35, while only 3.3 percent of card holders are older than 50," Yao said. "This result may reflect some unique aspects of the Chinese culture. The concepts of credit and debt are quite contrary to the principles of Confucianism, so it may take a while for older Chinese citizens to adopt those concepts."
Yao found that while 72 percent of Chinese credit card holders were never late on their payments, only 55 percent were able to pay the full balance. She also found that 70 percent of Chinese credit card holders said that credit cards contributed to overspending.
Yao believes the Chinese could benefit from financial education designed to help them plan for their financial future in a manner consistent with Chinese cultural values. Yao believes encouraging the Chinese to take advantage of debt in a responsible fashion is important for the Chinese economy.
"Not using debt is a strength because it enables the Chinese economy to build a strong financial base that is not threatened by excessive amounts of consumer debt or subject to loss in uncertain financial times," Yao said. "However, it may be a weakness if it limits consumption. Appropriate use of debt can help households improve their quality of life as well as spur economic growth through an increase in market purchases."


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There’s been a lot of teeth gnashing over the death of the domestically-built Australian Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon. Sure, as enthusiasts, they were examples of a dying breed of sporty RWD sedans. But what’s the market size for sporty RWD sedans in Australia, a country of 24 million, which would rank third in the US, between Texas and Florida?
What a lot of car enthusiasts forget is that the Holden and Falcon didn’t start out to be enthusiast cars; they were mainstream family cars. But in that role, they were eclipsed a long time ago by much better alternatives. Already over ten years ago, the Toyota Corolla was Australia’s #1 choice for retail buyers. And of course, that’s only strengthened since then. Why? Did you have to ask?
Let’s put the Corolla’s absolutely impeccable reliability aside for a minute. How about just its ability to carry 4-5 adults in comfort? Check out these interior dimension stats; except for width, the Corolla equals or exceeds the much bigger and heavier Commodore and Falcon, especially in rear seat leg room. Ever sit in a current generation Corolla? It’s remarkably roomy.
Then of course there fuel efficiency. With gas in Australia selling for some $4.50 USD per gallon, the Corolla (and other top selling FWD cars like the Mazda 3 and such) have it all over the Holden and Falcon.
The simple reality is that RWD sedans painted themselves into a corner, one that was not, and has not been relevant to mainstream Australian car buyers for a long time. To think that a country the size of Australia could support two manufacturers of a dying configuration of RWD sedan is, and has for a long time been absurd.
The same reasons why there’s essentially no more RWD sedans in the US (save the slowly dying Chrysler 300) is why the Camry is the best selling car in the US. Efficiency and reliability invariably trumps, for the average buyer. The old formula of US-style RWD sedans as a family vehicle has been outdated for quite a few decades. The Commodore and Falcon were doomed a long time ago.
Update: here’s the top ten selling vehicles in Australia in 2017:
- Toyota HiLux – 47,093.
- Ford Ranger – 42,728.
- Toyota Corolla – 37,353.
- Mazda3 – 32,690.
- Hyundai i30 – 28,780.
- Mazda CX-5 – 25,831.
- Hyundai Tucson – 23,828.
- Holden Commodore – 23,676.


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After retiring the popular Kobe Bryant-inspired “Black Mamba” Nike jerseys from last season, the Lakers will soon be introducing their latest “City” unis, which the franchise will use to honor franchise legends in what they’re calling the Lakers Lore series. This season, it looks like they’ll be paying respect to Magic Johnson.
In a picture posted by Twitter user Darrly Glover (@_Brotha_d), we get our first look at what seems to be the shorts for the upcoming 2018-19 “City” uniforms. The shorts feature 32 on the waistband, which is likely a tribute to Johnson.
While it has yet to be confirmed that these are the official shorts of the Lakers’ “City” uniforms, it checks out with another report that came out earlier this week from graphic designer Casey Vitelli, who leaked the primary colors for all of the unreleased Nike jerseys.
This jersey would be the latest addition to the new jerseys the Lakers have unveiled this season. Earlier this summer, the team introduced three brand new, re-designed, Showtime-inspired unis.
From what the picture shows, the jersey will be purple and have black pinstripes. This would be the first time in team history the Lakers would wear a pinstriped jersey.
It also looks like they’re sticking with purple, black and gold color scheme, which is very similar to what they already have with their “Statement” jerseys.
Expect to get more news on the jerseys soon, if not a full-blown release. The first “City” jerseys in the NBA are expected to be worn on Nov. 9.


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Apple has been dealing with some complaints from Final Cut Pro X users who feel the new application is not up to the professional level they’ve come to expect from the app. Not surprisingly, Adobe is stepping up to welcome those dissatisfied users to Premiere Pro.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Jim Guerard, Adobe vice president and general manager of professional video, recently posted a video highlighting some of the changes in the industry. Focusing on its business, Guerard noted a 22 percent year over year growth in Adobe pro video sales; 45 percent growth on Mac; growth from less than 1 million seats in 2006 to 2.3 million in 2010; and a 30 percent increase in unit sales from CS4 to CS5.
Adobe is also profiling former Final Cut users that have moved to Adobe. The latest, David Dessel, a New York director, cameraman and editor is profiled today on Adobe.com about his switch.
Adobe TV has a profile on cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, where he discusses how he switched to Premiere Pro to edit DSLR footage for the upcoming film Act of Valor.


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MYOB's full-year net loss narrowed to $42.4 million from $70.6 million the year before. Revenue jumped 14 per cent.
- by Yolanda Redrup
Oil skyrocketing after Islamic State attacks, Donald Trump winning the US election, hackers bringing down the financial system: Economists are looking at the biggest risks in the new year.
- by Flavia Krause-Jackson and Javier Blas
Xero may be the poster child for publicly listed technology start-ups, but its founder and chief executive learned the hard way it's not for the faint-hearted.
- by Rose Powell
Former Sigma Pharmaceuticals chief Elmo de Alwis has pleaded guilty to two charges of falsifying the company's accounts.
- by Sarah Danckert
The federal budget is expected to deliver another windfall to advisers as the Coalition's plan to crack down on profit shifting sends multinationals scurrying off to their accountants.
- by Agnes King
Shares in the accounting software company jumped 7 per cent to $3.91 from its initial public offer price of $3.65 when shares began trading at midday on Monday, before closing the day up 6.3 per cent on $3.88.
- by Shaun Drummond
Accounting software maker sold about 228 million shares for $3.65 each, compared to its target range of $3 to $4 a share, giving it a market value of $2.1 billion.
Losses at cloud-based accounting software business Xero almost doubled in the last year as it invested in global expansion plans, which saw its customer numbers grow rapidly and its revenue boosted by 76 per cent.
- by Paul Smith
Australia's fastest growing retailers face a hit to bottom line profits under proposed accounting rules that will force them to bring more than $40 billion of leases onto their balance sheets for the first time.
- by Sue Mitchell
The chief financial officer and company secretary of embattled satellite service provider NewSat, Linda Dillon, has quit after less than a year in the job.
- by David Ramli


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We’ve had a busy year this year but haven’t forgotten then importance of working on our sustainability efforts. Across the year we worked closely with our Green Ambassador, Jack James, to run several campaigns including ‘Project Preloved’ which highlighted the benefits of shopping pre-loved fashion instead of fast-fashion, Jack also helped us launch the ‘Maybe Milk’ campaign where we worked to raise awareness of the dairy alternative milk options sold in our café and bars.
This was all rounded out with the 2022-23 Vice President Education and Welfare, Brandon, working to support students through the cost-of living. Addressing what support students needed most and helping them through it with Brandon’s Big Budget Busting Booklet and introducing free food options to campus. Brandon and Emily’s Monthly Monday Meals let students cook their own meals at home with free ingredients and a budget friendly recipe to follow, and the Big Bucks Meal Deal launched free meals across our campuses for breakfast, lunch and dinner and helped to reduce prices in our cafes and bars.
Each year we complete our submission for the Green Impact Students’ Unions accreditation which measures the impact we have on the student body and how sustainable we are as a university and a Students’ Union. We’re really pleased to say we have received our highest score ever of 415 out of 500 giving us an award of Excellent (the highest achievement) for another year.
Green Ambassador, Jack James says, “I am proud to have been part of the team and help bring awareness to the staff and student body through our campaigns this year.”
On top of sustainability efforts, this year we once again campaigned for Fairtrade. During Fairtrade Fortnight we held our SMILE campaign, to raise awareness for Fairtrade products and make our mark on the local community. We head out into the local town centre to greet the early morning commuters with Fairtrade bananas and flapjacks labelled with Fairtrade facts and hopefully get a smile in return.
We also hosted a Fairtrade breakfast which was a hit, with students and staff getting a free Fairtrade breakfast made up entirely with Fairtrade products while chatting with and learning from the High Wycombe Fairtrade Chairman, Mike King. Your 2022-23 Vice President Student Involvement, Jess, held a Fairtrade strawberry and prosecco quiz night in The Lounge to show us all that the Fairtrade treats are just as tasty as the ‘normal’ ones, before rounding off the Fairtrade campaign with a day dedicated to all the non-foodie Fairtrade products and what impact that can have on farmers.
To keep being an officially Fairtrade accredited Students’ Union, we put forward our Green Impact Students' Union Fairtrade submission. Showing how we are raising awareness for fair pay and better working conditions for farmers and the ethical choices we make in our everyday purchasing.
The accreditation is in partnership with the Fairtrade Foundation and this year we were awarded our highest rating since our first submission in 2013. This year we were awarded as a Fairtrade University (1 star), rankings go up to 3 stars and we’re delighted to have moved up a ranking this year.
We will be carrying on our work in the next academic year, bringing you new campaigns and events with your two Green Ambassadors, Bianca Epuras and Lucy Holmes. Bianca will also be holding the role of Fairtrade Ambassador.
Thank you to everyone who was involved with any of our campaigns this year, and if you’d like to run one next year, drop us an email on firstname.lastname@example.org.


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With the ever-popular Dale Earnhardt Jr., announcing his retirement from NASCAR racing after this season, he’s an even hotter topic than ever.
That could make it a good time to sell the 2009 Corvette ZR1 that was gifted to him by Rick Hendrick nine years ago.
The eBay listing by Fairfield Auto Group of Montoursville, PA – which runs through Sunday afternoon – notes that this ZR1 is the 23rd ever built and was special ordered through Hendrick.
A CorvetteBlogger post in 2008 reported that Earnhardt’s car was one of five such ZR1s that Hendricks Motorsports team took delivery of at the National Corvette Museum. Drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, along with Hendrick, made the trip to the Museum, but Dale Jr. wasn’t available to be there.
Fairfield says this Corvette was used as a demonstrator by Dale Jr. and even sports his signature on the console.
The car is one of only 368 ZR1s done in classic Black and includes a special color combo that customers could not order out of the factory. It’s loaded to the gills, with chrome aluminum wheels, carbon fiber roof panel, and the 3ZR package that includes a leather-wrapped dash and door panels, heated power seats, navigation, and many other class-leading technologies.
If you’re worried about the effects of a NASCAR driver putting the hammer down on your car, don’t worry. Dale Jr. apparently didn’t drive it very often – as it has just 1,523 miles showing on the odometer. In fact, the listing says the car is in “great condition” and has a “clean history.”
As for documentation, the original window sticker and build sheet (signed by Corvette chief engineer Tom Wallace) are also included, as well as documentation showing Dale Jr. was the owner.
You can have all this at the “Buy It Now” price of $97,978 – well above the current going price in the 50s and 60s for other examples similar to this one. Is knowing Dale Jr. actually owned this car and drove it worth that extra money to you?
NASCAR’s Hendricks Team Perk: Corvette ZR1s for Everyone!
The ‘Win Dale Jr’s Ride’ Corvette Give-Away is Back for its 7th Year
[PIC] Dale Jr. Adds a 2017 Corvette Grand Sport to His Collection


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We've seen plenty of impressive video footage captured by the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone and this time we see it used to make a music video.
Windows Phone Central reader Soundtweaker shared this video when commenting on the Fan Video on the Lumia 920 we posted earlier. Soundtweaker not only used the Lumia 920 to shoot the video but those magnetic lens attachments were used for the fish-eyed portions of the video.
Granted the movie out takes from Frogs wasn't shot with the Lumia 920 but the portions shot came out great. The wide angle lens attactment preformed well and Illogistical Resource Department's "The Attack of the Frogs" is a nice example of what the Nokia Lumia 920 is capable of.
Source: AphagiaRecordings; Thanks, Soundtweaker, for sharing!
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George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.


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Biometrics and digital ID providers announce awards, distinctions
A series of awards and recognitions has been snapped up by biometrics and digital identity providers, in celebration of some of their strides in the year just ended, and their position for the new year. Those awarded include Aware, Prove, Ambiq, Transmit Security, Neurotechnology, Flywallet and Sumsub.
Prove’s ID verification solution gets user applause
Prove’s customers and users on the G2.com platform have chosen the company has the best innovative solution provider for digital identity authentication, verification and fraud prevention, as published in G2.com’s Winter 2021 report.
G2 is a peer-to-peer review site that helps organizations choose the right software and services based on over 1 million user reviews.
Aware, Ambiq grab BIG innovation distinctions
The Business Intelligence Group (BIG) has recognised Knomi, the mobile biometric authentication platform of Aware, with a 2022 BIG Innovation Award, according to the company.
Reacting to the development, the chief technology officer at Aware Dr. Mohamed Lazzouni, said: “I am very happy to see that Knomi has been recognized yet again for its ongoing commitment to innovating today’s authentication methods. We believe that Knomi is the strongest, most convenient, and most effective passwordless authentication solution available today, and are thrilled to see it being recognized as such with the BIG Innovation Award.”
Meanwhile, Ambiq was also a winner of the BIG Innovation Award for its proprietary Sub threshold Power-Optimized Technology (SPOT) platform, the company said in an announcement. The platform, the company explained, redefines energy efficiency and ultra-low power, making it possible to enable artificial intelligence everywhere by reducing the total power consumption of the device.
Flywallet bags Good Design 2021 Award
Flywallet’s biometric wearable product, Keyble, which enables digital payments, has won the 2021 Good Design Award for its innovation and cutting edge design, a company announcement reveals.
The announcement describes Keyble as a newly designed kind of wearable made for a new kind of lifestyle. With it, and using fingerprint or heartbeat biometrics via electrocardiogram, users can carry out a number of transactions such as contactless payments in stores, passwordless login to online services, ticketing, loyalty cards, access to gyms, offices and homes, the opening of cars and digital identity.
Transmit Security, Neurotechnology, Sumsub recognized
Transmit Security says in a LinkedIn post that it was named by Built in Bolton as one of the best mid-size companies to work for this year. The company is ranked 47th out of the 100 mid-size firms recognised.
Neurotechnology for its part says it has received the distinction of Lithuania’s ‘Artificial Intelligence Company of the Year.’ In a Linked post, the company said it was happy to receive the recognition from the Artificial Intelligence Association of Lithuania which hosted the AI award ceremony and rallied the country’s AI community.


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LNER Launches International Website Making Travel Simpler For Overseas Tourists10/02/22
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is proud to announce the launch of its new international website, making travel simpler and smarter for overseas customers.
The new website coincides with the removal of pre-departure testing and quarantine rules for vaccinated people arriving in England or Scotland from 11 February 2022.
In a move that expands LNER’s global market, customers in 10 countries, including China, Japan, Spain, South Korea and Italy, are among the first to benefit when booking directly online.
LNER’s new search and booking engine offers international customers in those countries an option to purchase train tickets using their language and currency. The LNER.co.uk website will automatically detect those customers who are searching outside of the UK and will redirect them to the customised site to improve their online booking experience. The website launch comes as LNER reintroduces its full timetable, excluding pre-planned engineering works, meaning customers can discover destinations across the full 956-miles of East Coast route.
LNER has been working with travel tech company and rail retailer, Omio, to develop the site, which has the capability to operate in up to 20 languages and 26 currencies, including Euros, Korean Won and Japanese Yen or by using a payment method recognised in the home country.
David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “Our mission is to transform rail travel, inspiring more people to explore the beauty of England and Scotland with our world-class Azuma trains. The launch of our international website means we are offering our customers the best possible experience throughout their journey from the moment they look to make a reservation, to their journey onboard to the time they arrive at their destination.
“We are continuing to see strong demand for customers travelling with LNER for leisure, which is contributing to a strong recovery from the pandemic. Our new international website will now make it easier for even more visitors from overseas to travel with LNER and explore our fantastic destinations.”
Data from the Office for National Statistics show there were 40.9 million visits to the UK in 2019, with overseas visitors spending £28.4 billion, when almost a quarter travelled by rail during their stay.
Many of the top tourist destinations feature on LNER’s East Coast route, including London, Edinburgh, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Inverness. The LNER route is also home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the country, from the Scottish Highlands to the Northumberland coastline and the many towns and cities along the way.
Figures from the Office of Rail and Road further showed that LNER customer numbers in July to September 2021 recovered to 89.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, nearly 20 percentage points higher than any other operator, with LNER working hard to build on that success.
Sally Balcombe, Chief Executive at VisitBritain said: “This new initiative will help to boost future bookings by making it much easier for international visitors to plan their trips. Removing barriers to travel also promotes a message of welcome and will encourage visitors to explore more, travel further and stay longer, helping to drive tourism across more of the country, boosting local economies.”
Visit Scotland is also welcoming the move. Data from 2019, pre-pandemic, shows there were 3.4 million overnight international trips to Scotland, of which around a third came from Europe, with a £2.5bn spend from overnight international trips of which 36 per cent was from Europe.
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “We welcome the launch of LNER’s new international website to make it easier for visitors to book and travel by rail. Train travel is a central part of creating a sustainable tourism destination in Scotland and we support any moves which will encourage its use, while helping to boost Scottish tourism as it recovers from the impact of COVID-19.”
LNER is welcoming even more customers back to rail in many ways. ‘Seat Sure’ enables customers to travel reassured they have the comfort of a seat for the duration of their journey. Once onboard, they’ll enjoy the very best in LNER hospitality and customer service, with a wide range of food and drink, sourced locally along the route, served to their seat in both First Class and Standard.
For visitors and customers looking for inspiration to make eco-friendly choices, LNER has launched a ‘Green Guide’ showcasing the best places to stay, eat and drink during trips to London, Newcastle or Edinburgh. https://www.lner.co.uk/our-destinations/travel-inspiration/green-guides/
LNER’s new Azuma fleet is delivering significant environmental benefits with trains running using overhead electric wires along the majority of the East Coast route, delivering the greenest form of motorised public transport.
To ensure customers can travel with confidence, enhanced levels of cleaning continue to be carried out at LNER managed stations and onboard trains.
Latest NewsView all
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is pleased to confirm that CAF has been named as the successful bidder to deliver a fleet of 10 new tri-mode trains for LNER. Porterbrook has been chosen as the financier of the new fleet. The trains will be able to operate in electric, battery or diesel mode.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of London North Eastern Railway (LNER), and the evolution of its iconic onboard menu over the years, research has been commissioned into the future of food, looking at how we may be dining one hundred years from now.
New research has revealed millions of Brits are creatures of habit when it comes to going on holiday, with only 40 per cent of us branching out to discover new destinations when we staycation. In fact 1 in 10 Brits (11 per cent) and 1 in 6 millennials (16 per cent) are stuck in a holiday rut staycationing in the same destinations on repeat.


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Visa partners with IBM for POS solution
Visa has collaborated with tech giant IBM
Visa has collaborated with tech giant IBM to bring point-of-sale (POS) solution and commerce into any device – from a watch, to a ring, an appliance or a car with Watson internet of things (IoT) platform.
With IBM’s Watson IoT platform, businesses will be able to connect to billions of connected devices, sensors and systems around the world, wherever Visa is accepted. The solution is currently used by more than 6,000 IBM clients.
The partnership will allow companies to infuse secure payments across their product lines using the Visa Token Service, a technology that replaces sensitive payment account information found on payment cards with a unique digital identifier, IBM said in a statement.
IBM Watson IoT general manager Harriet Green said: “IoT is literally changing the world around us, whether it’s allowing businesses to achieve unimaginable levels of efficiency or enabling a washing machine to ensure we never run out of detergent. And behind this transformation are companies like Visa and technologies like IBM’s Watson IoT platform.
“This combination of IBM’s industry leading IoT technologies with Visa payment services, signifies the next defining moment in commerce by allowing payments on any connected object, with new levels of simplicity and convenience for everyone.”


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Swedish government mining firm LKAB announced today that they have discovered a mineral deposit containing more than 1 million tons of rare earth elements in the city of Kiruna, close to the Arctic. It was stated that the raw material deposits are critical for the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and other high-tech products.
Europe’s largest ‘rare earths’ deposit found The elements found are used in the production of high-tech products, electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Europe mostly meets its need for rare earth elements from China. It is estimated that the amount found will reduce Europe’s dependence on China in this regard.
“LKAB has identified significant deposits of rare earth elements in the Kiruna region, which are metals essential for the manufacture of electric vehicles and wind turbines, among other uses,” LKAB officials said in a statement released today.
“This is good news not only for LKAB, the region and the people of Sweden, but also for Europe and the climate,” said Jan Moström, Group CEO and President of LKAB. This is the world’s largest known deposit of rare earths in our region and could become an important building block for the production of critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to achieving the green transition. We are facing a supply problem. “Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles,” he said.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: DEMAND TO INCREASE 5X BY 2030
Noting that no rare earth elements have been mined in Europe at the moment, LKAB stated that according to the evaluation of the European Commission, the demand for rare earth elements for electric cars and wind turbines is expected to increase more than five times by 2030. LKAB emphasized that it will take a few years for the mineral deposit to start production.


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Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has seized six bars and restaurants for failing to maintain mandatory fire and life safety equipment on their premises. In the last few days, the municipal corporation has seized seven establishments and the drive is set to continue in the next few days.
This move comes after the municipal corporation served notices to hotels, pubs, restaurants and other establishments in August last year instructing that establishments which fail to obtain fire safety certificates would be seized without any prior notice.
Accordingly, Tiki Shacks, Calangoat Resto Bar, Urban Asia Kitchen and Bar, Eat India Company ad Raasta Café and Bar were seized on Friday, said GHMC EVDM Director Viswajit Kampati.
The municipal corporation also conducted meetings with associations and owners of hotels, pubs and restaurants. According to Excise Department, there are 148 pubs, restaurants and bars in Hyderabad circle, 103 in Secunderabad circle, 325 in Ranga Reddy and 138 are being operated after seeking events permission.
At present, GHMC has details of 714 establishments but EVDM officials expect there are additional 250 bars and restaurants in GHMC limits. All the hotels, pubs and bars with a seating capacity of more than 50 persons will have to obtain the fire safety certificate.