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- Published on 21 October 2021
A globally impacting "rule" to establish a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid sales has finally been proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A race to hit the FDA with comments by January 18, 2022, in which the hearing industry can be expected to participate vigorously, has now begun.
In publishing its proposal on October 19, the FDA has underlined its commitment to the "safety and effectiveness" of hearing devices, while also aiming to comply with President Joe Biden's July Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, a follow-up to the Trump administration's signing of legislation to include the over-the-counter hearing aid act , which basically aims to make hearing aids cheaper for the public. Although the move is for the US, it can have implications worldwide.
In broad terms, the rule proposal has the following objectives:
- define OTC hearing aids and establish applicable requirements;
- repeal the conditions for sale applicable to hearing aids;
- amend the existing labeling requirements for hearing aids;
- update regulations relating to decisions on applications for exemption from Federal preemption that would become obsolete as a result of changes to the hearing aid requirements.
But the rule proposal itself is a sufficiently complex and detailed document whose analysis and exposition lays bare the essential questions around the meaning of medical evaluation requirement for adults for hearing aids.
The ramifications of these crucial questions are reflected in the FDA's concern that labelling, statements, and directions for use for OTC hearing devices protect users who may not be aware that the degree of their hearing loss may require medical evaluation. Devices sold in the OTC category would have to come with a statement advising users and prospective users to seek medical care if they exhibit any one of a number of conditions.
"To ensure patient safety, the proposed rule also addresses a maximum output (volume) limit for OTC hearing aids that would prevent injuries from overamplification of sound," states the FDA. "In addition, the proposed rule includes certain device performance and design requirements, such as distortion control limits, self-generated noise limits, latency limits (how quickly an OTC hearing aid processes, amplifies and relays a sound), the range of frequencies that the device can reproduce and how uniformly the OTC hearing aid amplifies different frequencies over its bandwidth, as well as a requirement to limit the insertion depth of the device."
“Hearing loss has a profound impact on daily communication, social interaction and the overall health and quality of life for millions of Americans,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “The FDA’s proposed rule represents a significant step toward helping ensure that adults with mild to moderate hearing loss have improved access to more affordable and innovative product options. The new regulatory category will provide the public with greater control over their hearing aid purchasing decisions at stores nationwide or online without the need for a professional hearing exam, fitting adjustment or a prescription.”
The proposal by the FDA finally propels into some kind of forward motion an issue stalled by the pandemic and tarried by administrative complications, and so much so that even interested observers looked on in muted astonishment. How could something so important take so long. Now, it is hoped that the January 2022 deadline for comments responding to the rule proposal will bring a final rule for late 2022 or early 2023?


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Bitcoin cash price continues
Bitcoin cash price chart by tradingview bch price analysis and futureprediction comparing the price of bch since 6-aug-19 at 1010 utc, when the coin has reached a price height of 355. Gdax halts bch trading. How china manipulates fear of terrorism to justify state power (opinion).
Bitcoin (btc) price bloodbath continues as unsustainable.
5k per coin, and bitcoin cash has likewise continued its descent. Bitcoin cash (bch) bitcoin cash (bch) is a cryptocurrency or a form of digital asset. Nov 16th 2018 bch was hard forked again and split into bitcoin sv and bitcoin abc. The bitcoin cash price continues to demonstrate an inability to recover from the aftermath of last months contentious bch hard fork.
At the time of this writing, bitcoin (btc) is experiencing a bit of a freefall towards 5. Why do we enjoy music so much? The answer is being unlocked in the study of our brains. Nine-tenths of saudi arabias government revenue comes from oil. Bitcoin cash speaker series.
Bitcoin cash (bch) price, marketcap, chart, and.
First bitcoin foundation chapter. At press time, the cryptocurrency that powers an alternative version of the bitcoin protocol, had reached a high of more than 920 during today. Nigerian president calls missing schoolgirls a national disaster. Which faces serious opposition from key democrats and at least one republican.
Ana berman major thai. The winners of a 326 million lottery jackpot in november finally come forward a retired school principal & his wife! Na-02tu. If bitcoin can continue to rise streadily, bitcoin cash might see astronomical increases. Ahead of its scheduled fork on november 15, the price of bitcoin cash (bch) has increased by yet another 15 percent to 535.
Bitcoin cash (bch) continues to dump ahead of its highly-controversial and high-profile hardfork, along with the rest of the market. Teacher panhandling to raise money for school supplies surprised with thousands of dollars to spend on her students. News new power. Bchusd pair is likely to rise as price breaks the trend line.
Bitcoin cash price analysis bch continues to fall and.
Bitcoin price slides another 5 today as the civil war raging within bitcoin cash continues to impact cryptocurrency markets and altcoins taking hits topping 10 percent november 19. First fully e-banking. Rhode island senator named pallbearer at john mccains funeral. On the upside, the bitcoin cash (bch) price is likely to rise and retest the 400 and 440 price levels as bulls break the initial supply at 400.
Bitcoin cash (bch) is hard fork (a community-activated update to the protocol or code) of bitcoin that took effect on august 1st, 2017 that increased the block size to 8mb, to help the scale the underlying technology of bitcoin. 46 with the current price, bch reflects a downward trend by 10. Yesterday, on november 3, ccn reported that the price of bch surged by 12 percent from 425 to 477 ahead of its hard fork. Many veterans of obamas team considered syria his biggest failing.
2 people are dead and another 7 wounded in thursday shootings in chicago.

domain: news


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A partnership with the influencer Dylan Mulvaney prompted a backlash that tanked sales. Insiders condemn the company’s response
When Anheuser-Busch InBev, the multinational beer company, promoted Alissa Heinerscheid to vice-president of marketing for Bud Light in July 2022, she became the first female VP in the beer’s 40-year history. “It’s just old white men,” says one former employee of the company leadership. “That’s why we were excited to at least have Alissa in that role.”
In a March 2023 interview with the lifestyle podcast Make Yourself At Home, Heinerscheid spoke of her remit. “I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was: ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be no future for Bud Light.’” Part of that involved updating the marketing to be “lighter, brighter” and more inclusive. “Bud Light had […] a brand of fratty, kind of out-of-touch humor,” Heinerscheid said.
Instead of ensuring a prosperous future for Bud Light, Heinerscheid’s tenure was marked by a sharp decline in sales and one of the biggest boycotts of a brand in US history, after a minor social media partnership with Dylan Mulvaney was attacked by rightwing anti-trans groups. Over the past month, the Guardian has spoken with insiders at Bud Light and the agency the company contracted about what exactly happened and why the brand refused to back Mulvaney during the backlash. Former employees, who wish to remain anonymous, spoke of leadership incompetence and said that executives were operating from a place of fear and were now vetting public comments under the brand’s Instagram posts to remove any hint of negativity. Anheuser-Busch did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
‘It’s more than just beer’
The collaboration that sparked rightwing ire was actually Mulvaney’s second project with Bud Light; the first, just six weeks earlier, had gone unnoticed. In February, the actor and comedian was among about a dozen creators hired to “remix” the beer brand’s latest advertisement, which showed the actors Miles and Keleigh Teller dancing goofily to retro hold music and premiered during the Super Bowl. Mulvaney posted a 60-second video tagged #BudLightPartner, in which she sipped beer in a bubble bath, blowing clouds of foam into the air. The video showcased the enthusiastic, slightly daffy personality that had won her a following during her 365 Days of Girlhood TikTok series, which documented her journey as a trans woman with reflections on coming out, assembling a new wardrobe, and undertaking gender-affirming care.For a subsequent sponsored video for Bud Light, posted on 1 April, Mulvaney sought to send up gender stereotypes: she dressed as Holly Golightly, the Breakfast at Tiffany’s character, and played the ditz: “I just heard about this thing called March Madness. Turns out it has something to do with sports!” The video showed a personalised Bud Light can Mulvaney had been given by the company to celebrate what she called her “day 365 of womanhood”.
During that year of transition, Mulvaney, a former musical-theater kid, had attracted some negativity for her more campy moments, as well as a post in which she held up a box of tampons. (“I’m always going to have one on hand for anyone who needs it,” she said.) In late 2022, her partnership with Ulta Beauty was targeted by trolls, but their calls to boycott the makeup brand did not gather steam.
The backlash to Mulvaney’s March Madness post was swift, brutal and unprecedented. It also seemed somewhat random: she was hardly better known than she had been six weeks before, but high-profile rightwingers stumbled on the video and their outrage went viral. One conservative commentator, Ben Shapiro, posted a vitriolic 12-minute video in which he repeatedly misgendered Mulvaney and called trans identity “a lie”. Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Caitlyn Jenner and Marjorie Taylor Greene piled on. Kid Rock and the former NFL player Trae Waynes filmed themselves shooting cans of beer, and rightwing influencers flooded their feeds with calls to boycott. (Kid Rock was later photographed apparently drinking Bud Light.) “It was extreme,” says Jon Springer, a senior beverages and sports reporter at Ad Age. “Kind of terroristic. It hit a nerve and said to people that this was something they should be really angry about, and not just uncomfortable about or just prefer that it didn’t happen.”
Two weeks after Mulvaney’s post, Bud Light’s year-on-year sales had dropped 17%. In May, Modelo overtook it as the bestselling beer in the US, ending Bud Light’s two decades of dominance. In the second quarter of 2023, Anheuser-Busch noted a 10.5% decline in US revenue; in the four weeks ending in early September, Bud Light sales were down 27% year on year, per Bump Williams Consulting.“A lot of people drink Bud Light,” says Beth Demmon, author of The Beer Lover’s Guide to Cider. “But at its core it usually appeals to white American men and represents a certain lifestyle. Football, nachos, BBQs, traditional suburban family dynamics, that sort of thing. It’s a stereotype that exists from years of very careful, specific and strategic marketing studies and campaigns, and it’s worked for a long time.”
In the 90s, Bud Light’s testosterone-fueled advertising sold the beer as a way to win friends and influence people – especially women. The customer base was very loyal, says William Knoedelseder, author of Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America’s Kings of Beer. “They came to think: ‘This is our beer, this means something about us.’”
Bud Light has been supporting LGBTQ+ causes since the 90s, with targeted ads in gay publications and Pride sponsorships, though they flew under the mainstream radar before the internet. And the way companies reach us now – a dizzying mix of paid posts, micro-campaigns and influencer seeding, as well as traditional billboard and TV spots – is so byzantine that the fact that Mulvaney’s role was small, as one of many brand partners, got lost in the crosshairs.
To some, the firestorm was a cautionary tale of a corporate colossus failing to grasp its core customers’ values (in conservative commentators’ parlance: “Go woke, go broke”). Bud Light then went silent, when its words mattered most – in a move that led many to question the sincerity of the company’s LGBTQ+ support.
“People say, ‘It’s just beer,’” says Demmon. “No, it’s more than just beer.”The idea for Mulvaney’s March Madness post came from a Bud Light team member who “wanted to push and make change”, says a former Anheuser-Busch employee. The team member was excited to “slowly but surely plant the seeds of inclusion”.
The brand then went to Captiv8, a top California-based influencer marketing agency. “Bud Light was trying to advertise to the LGBTQ+ community,” says a former employee of Captiv8. “They obviously wanted to pick an influencer who was part of that community.” The actor and singer Reneé Rapp was also considered, they recall, though it’s unclear if those conversations ever got off the ground. “I was surprised [at the LGBTQ+ focus], given the Bud Light name, but I was interested to see where it would go from there.”Mulvaney was contracted for the sponsored post and received an estimated four- or five-figure fee for her trouble, the former employee says. (Representatives for Mulvaney did not reply to multiple requests for comment.) The Bud Light brand team assigned draftLine, Anheuser-Busch’s in-house creative agency, to design Mulvaney’s customised tallboy can. No one there batted an eye. “We do cans for everything,” says the ex-Anheuser-Busch employee. “For athletes, or for other brands – we did a can for Ruffles. It’s really just a gimmick in a social media post.” After Mulvaney filmed the video, it was sent to Captiv8 and Bud Light for sign-off, and it was greenlit shortly after.
In a statement to the Guardian, a Captiv8 representative says: “In every influencer partnership, both the brand and the collaborating media agencies define the creative strategy, approach and talent. However, the final decisions regarding content and talent selections rest with the brand.”
Later, as the controversy raged, Bud Light went silent on social media, turned off comments, and ordered its publicity department to “stop communicating while everyone regrouped”, as a second former Anheuser-Busch employee put it. “From then on, my job was not normal. It was completely different and very strange.”
“There was a lot of panic and a lot of rash decision-making,” says a third former employee. “We didn’t hear anything from leadership for over a month, and then after a few weeks, someone high up at Anheuser-Busch released a statement that pretty much said nothing.” That statement, issued by the Anheuser-Busch CEO, Brendan Whitworth, two weeks after Mulvaney’s post, said: “We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.”Meanwhile, conservative commentators unearthed Heinerscheid’s podcast comments and targeted her with vicious attacks that reportedly included death threats. Within weeks of the post, Anheuser-Busch announced that she had “decided” to take a leave of absence along with Daniel Blake, VP of mainstream brands. (Heinerscheid and Blake did not respond to requests for comment; when Heinerscheid was approached by a reporter in June, a friend accompanying her said: “She’s not supposed to talk about it.”)
“I felt real sympathy for the marketing directors who were scapegoated,” says Ila Byrne, a beverage brand consultant and co-founder of Parch, a non-alcoholic spirits brand. “I really believe that some of those people were trying to do the right thing and do more progressive marketing to engage the new consumer.”
“Alissa Heinerscheid was blamed for all this when she had nothing to do with it,” says the first former Anheuser-Busch employee. “She just came into this role, and all of this strategy was previously established by men that were previously working in these positions.” They say Heinerscheid advocated for employee mental health, and encouraged employees to set personal boundaries to avoid burnout. “She was like a mother at the company.”
The same employee describes an “incompetence in the leadership on a national level” at Anheuser-Busch, and characterises Benoit Garbe, the company’s chief marketing officer, as someone who “doesn’t really understand a lot of the political battles” in the US. The employee also claims that before Garbe was in the role, the company nixed a proposed campaign to market the Mexican beer Estrella Jalisco to Latino drinkers in the US, fearing backlash from “conservative wholesalers” in certain states. Garbe has been CMO since September 2021. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence,” added the third former employee, “but Benoit being put in that position coincided with the negative downturn that I experienced.”On the diversity, equity and inclusion section of its website, Anheuser-Busch says it aims “to make our company as diverse as the communities we serve”, and the company holds monthly inclusion modules. But a glance at the company’s website shows that 16 of 18 people in leadership are male; employees say that executives lacked the “nuance” to smartly market to racially diverse or younger drinkers. That the company is apparently now trying to sweep the whole saga under the rug feels characteristic. “Anheuser-Busch was operating always from a position of fear,” says the third former employee, adding that the company vetted all marketing initiatives to make sure they were “safe”.
Representation in the C-suite doesn’t solve everything – and Anheuser-Busch is far from the only company without it – but former employees say that a more diverse boardroom might have led to a more empathetic handling of the controversy. This spring, Anheuser-Busch stayed quiet while videos circulated online of its beers untouched in grocery stores. Some self-described “anti-woke” voices seemed to take the boycott’s success as tacit permission to air prejudice. “The beer has become a manifestation of people’s uncomfortableness with trans people,” says Springer. “And so not buying Bud Light is sort of a socially acceptable way to say ‘I don’t like trans people’ or ‘I’m not comfortable with trans people in the world’.”
‘Give them the Bud Light treatment’
Five months on, “give them the Bud Light treatment” has become a conservative rallying cry. This summer, Target was hit by backlash for a Pride collection which included LGBTQ+-positive children’s apparel (the store’s revenues fell 4.9% in 2023’s second quarter). Users of the social media platforms Truth Social and X, formerly Twitter, urged boycotts of companies including Best Buy, Disney and Nascar for perceived “woke” policies and marketing initiatives.Whitworth, Bud Light’s CEO, appeared on CBS on 28 June for an interview where he dodged questions about Mulvaney and used Bud Light’s historical support of LGBTQ+ causes as a smokescreen for recent inaction. The following day, Mulvaney broke her silence. In an Instagram video, she said that she had endured “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” and had been stalked and afraid to leave her home. “I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did,” she said. “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all.”
Anheuser-Busch employees had been worried about Mulvaney’s welfare for months. “Are we doing everything we can as a company to support this person?” the first former employee recalls asking their boss. The response was: “Yes, don’t worry about it. We’re constantly talking to her.”
When the second former employee brought up Mulvaney’s June comments to their team, they were informed that the post hadn’t told the full story. “I was told that there was more communication than perhaps what she was saying,” they say. “I don’t know the full truth of that.”
Workers felt rudderless, frustrated by the inaction from corporate leadership and worried about their job security. “I don’t remember there being much assurance,” says the first employee. “It’s possible that there was a canned response given in some town hall [meeting].” In retrospect, they say, there was a pattern of “a lot of trickled-down lies from leadership”. The second former employee adds: “I really wish that we had stuck to our guns and said: ‘We did this; beer is for everyone; get over it.’”
This summer, a letter from the Human Rights Campaign suspended Anheuser-Busch’s Corporate Equality Index score, stripping the company of its listing as one of the best workplaces for LGBTQ+ people. “In this moment, it is absolutely critical for Anheuser-Busch to stand in solidarity with Dylan and the trans community,” Jay Brown of HRC wrote. “However, when faced with anti-LGBTQ+ and transphobic criticism, Anheuser-Busch’s actions demonstrate a profound lack of fortitude in upholding its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Anheuser-Busch suffered a $395m loss in North American revenue in 2023’s second quarter, and announced it would lay off 2% of its US workforce – about 350 employees – in July. Some found it bitterly ironic that, just weeks before, Bud Light had unveiled a glossy advertisement which focused on employees and partners who “bring our beers to life”, showing the creation of the beer from hops to table. “I know that directive is directly from Brendan [Whitworth] to be like, ‘Let’s make ourselves look good,’” says the second former employee. “I don’t think they actually care about their employees.”Bud Light’s treatment of Mulvaney confirmed a belief long held by LGBTQ+ progressives: that corporations only support the community when it benefits their bottom line, and they turn away when it becomes too much trouble. “I don’t think I’ve actually fucked up majorly,” Mulvaney said in a September story in the Cut. “I think that the world is fucked up.”
‘You’ve got to stay the course’
This summer and fall, Bud Light has pivoted to all-American marketing, with sponsored country and rock shows, sun-dappled ads depicting summer barbecues, and costly marketing around NFL and college football. For some, it has felt like a cop-out. “They tried to appease everybody [and say] ‘This is us with our American values,” says Brian Wenke, executive director of the LGBTQ+ youth non-profit It Gets Better. “They lost the LGBTQ+ people, they lost the conservative people and nobody wanted to engage with them any more. You’ve got to stay the course, because you will do exponentially more damage than if you had just stuck to what you believed was the right path.”
In the CBS interview, Whitworth said Bud Light would “continue to support the communities and organizations that we’ve supported for decades”. The evidence so far is spotty. The brand sponsored Orlando Pride for the last two years, but will not be returning for this year’s October event. (“We have noticed a reduced interest or involvement from a few organizations,” says Tatiana Quiroga, Orlando Pride’s executive director.) But it will go ahead with the planned “presenting sponsorship” of Phoenix Pride festival the same month, an event that typically attracts a quarter of Orlando Pride’s 200,000 attendees. “We’re going to be putting on a full weekend of family friendly drag entertainment, less than three miles from the Arizona capitol, where they’re trying to shut down that entire culture,” said Jeremy M Helfgot, a spokesperson for Phoenix Pride. “It’s only because of the support of corporate partners like Bud Light that we can do that.”When asked whether brands and agencies are shying away from queer and trans-centred activations, Lauren Gray, a senior vice-president at the PR company Edelman and member of the its LGBTQ+ taskforce, Out Front, points to an Instagram post from the writer Fran Tirado. Tirado argues that many companies are using “the recession as an excuse to boot marginalized storytelling” and that Bud Light’s Mulvaney partnership has “stoked fear” of potential backlash. A Guardian report from June noted that some corporations had scaled back Pride activations this year, but it was business as usual for many. Gray adds that it is “particularly meaningful to see brands and companies speak out and lead when others won’t”.
“I think the climate has made brands more hesitant to take leaps in general about things that can be politicised,” says Pierre Lipton, co-chief creative officer at the advertising agency McCann. But some are going the other way, he adds, noting that Smirnoff “doubled down” on an inclusive message in its latest campaign. Wenke says It Gets Better’s partners, including American Eagle and Converse, “didn’t flinch”. Ashley Rudder, chief creator officer at the company Whalar, pairs influencers with corporations like Google, H&M and Spotify. Whalar’s clients are “not distancing themselves from the LGBTQ+ community”, she says.
Alyssa Nitchun, executive director of New York’s LGBTQ+-focused Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, has an idea of how companies can form more meaningful partnerships with queer and trans creatives. “In light of what happened with Bud Light and other canceled brands, they should trust organizations like ours to drive the conversation,” she says, adding that internal employees shouldn’t be forgotten. “You want to support the LGBTQIA+ community? Ask the queer folks working for you what they want and need.”


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Few months back Xiaomi rolled out its first smartwatch Mi Watch Color in China and now it has brought a Sport Edition of its smartwatch. The Mi Watch Color Sports Edition has been introduced in China first which includes 117 sports modes on it. Come with built-in GPS this watch comes with a 5ATM rating that makes it water-resistant. In addition to this, it comes with health tracking features along with more than 100 watch faces and will be available in multiple strap colour options besides being lightweight.
Pricing and availability
Mi Watch Color Sports Edition has been introduced in China as of now whether the sports watch will make its debut into the Indian market. But in its home market, it is sold for CNY 699 that converts to Rs 7,700. It comes in multiple colour options of Elegant Black, Space Blue, and Ivory and is now up for sale in the country.
Mi Watch Color Sports Edition carries a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with 454×454 pixels of resolution. The Xiaomi smartwatch has an Always-on feature along with 120 watch faces that can be personalised as per liking.
The sports watch has 117 sports modes including running, treadmill, cycling, swimming, trekking, skipping, among others. Moreover, there are health tracking features such as 24-hour heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, blood oxygen sensor, breathing training, stress monitoring and PPG sensor.
The Mi Watch Color Sports Edition is 5ATM certified which makes it wearable even while swimming and other water sports. The device is compatible with Android and iOS devices with connectivity options such as GPS, Glonass, NFC, and Bluetooth. The watch also does basic functions such as showing notification from your phone, set alarms and reminders, music can also be controlled and more. The Xiaomi smartwatch promises 16 days of battery life on regular use and with battery saver mode on it lasts up to 22 days while in the outdoor sports mode it provides up to 50 hours of battery life.
For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date using the Gadget Bridge Android App.


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Itty-bitty Brits can breathe easy! Soon the undisputed international fashion bible will be made available to a new realm of wannabe Kates and Naomis. British Vogue announced yesterday that it will be launching a new magazine entitled Miss Vogue this summer, targeting the same demographics in the U.K. as Teen Vogue does in the U.S.
“We know how much they love the magazine,” says current British Vogue editor Alexandra Schulman. “I wanted to produce something that would have bespoke content for a younger audience.”
The debut issue will be packaged alongside the June issue, so English ladies can pass it along to their younger cohorts free of charge — and get them hooked early.


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Heavy use of pesticides in vegetables and fruits
Kenyans are unknowingly exposing themselves to a myriad of health problems by consuming vegetables and fruits that are heavily laced with pesticides, a new study has revealed.
According to a joint study by the University Of Nairobi and Strathmore University titled, Evaluation of the Safety of Selected Fruits and Vegetables Sold in the Domestic Markets in Kenya, the pesticide residues found in the samples were above the recommended maximum levels by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In particular, there was a heavy use of pesticides in tomatoes, kales (sukumawiki), amaranth (managu), tomatoes and mangoes being sold in the towns featured in the study which included Nairobi, Machakos and Nakuru among others. The samples were taken from both the open air markets and the supermarkets.
According to the researchers, pesticides can cause health problems such as birth defects, nerve damage and cancer in the human body over a long period of time.
POOR HANDLING LEADING TO CONTAMINATION
The study also shows that poor production and handling practices has resulted in the contamination of vegetables and fruits by harmful bacteria and fungi. Water, manure and modes of transport were singled out as key sources of contamination.
Ironically, the study reveals that fruits and vegetables grown in different towns in Kenya offer different nutritional values.
“The nitrate content in the leafy vegetables (kales and amaranth), tomatoes and mangoes varied greatly ranging from above 200mg/100g fwb in mangoes sold in the supermarkets in Machakos town to 50mg/100g fwb in tomatoes sold in open air market in Nairobi, “states the report.
The study was conducted between July and August last year and the lead researchers were University of Nairobi’s Dr Cecelia Onyango, a lecturer at the Department Of Plant Science And Crop Protection; and Dr Catherine Kunyanga, lecturer at The Department Of Food Science, Nutrition And Technology.
In March this year, another expose revealed that there was a rampant artificial ripening of fruits in the country with health experts warning that the ripening agent being used could cause cancer to unsuspecting consumers.
It was reported that traders in Nairobi’s Gikomba, Marikiti and Mombasa’s Kongowea markets were using calcium carbide, a chemical used for welding and making plastics, to quicken the ripening process of fruits such as mangoes, bananas and apples.


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Geneva — Botswana has to wait for the next conference of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 2007 to know whether it will be allowed to sell its ivory stockpiles.
"The next conference will review whether to sell the elephants or whether there is any need to cull the elephants and plough back the money into park development," Aniket Ghai, coordinator of Geneva Environment Network said in Geneva last week.
Ghai was speaking to a group of journalists from select SADC countries invited by the Swiss government at International Environment House in Geneva. He pointed out to the difficulties of trading, as illegal traders will always find some space to deal in elephant tusks. "The problem is that if you allow the sale of ivory, poachers and illegal trade will find their way into the trade by producing counterfeit stamps that look like legal ones," he said. "The idea is not to create a red tape and ban trade at all, but the concern is for illegal trade. It is important for governments to control trade and not individuals who are looking for a quick buck," he added. He explained that the idea is to make the system as transparent as possible.
Sale and trade in elephants and related products have been banned by CITES because the animal is classified as an endangered species. But Botswana and other countries with excess elephant population have been pressing to be allowed to sell their ivory stockpiles and cull the animals saying that their high numbers are a threat to the environment. In previous conferences, Botswana, together with Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe made proposals to CITES to be allowed to trade in ivory. In the proposals, the countries asked for permission to export 13 metric tons of ivory annually.
However, CITES with support from certain countries and environmental groups have not welcomed the proposals on the grounds that allowing trade in ivory would open the floodgates for the black market.
In the 2002 conference, Botswana made a proposal to CITES to export 20 metric tons of ivory. A recent IUCN report has revealed that Botswana has one of the largest elephant population herds in the region. The elephants, numbering over 120,000 are found in the Tuli Block and Chobe areas. It is estimated that in 1989, about 90 percent of the international ivory trade was illegal. A global ban in ivory trade was put in place in 1989.


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2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit will see the debut of a technology filled 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Launched in 2013, the facelifted version of E-Class has been given new features in India to keep the appeal intact.
Mercedes Benz E-Class, one of the top selling models of the German automaker, gets new upgrades this year.
One of the best selling luxury cars in it’s class, the new Mercedes Benz E Class was launched at a starting price of Rs 41.40 lakhs for the E200 (petrol), and Rs 44.48 lakhs for the E250 CDI (diesel). We recently had a chance to spend a day with the E250, and here is what we think about the car.
At the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, Mercedes Benz revealed their all new E Class LWB – Long WheelBase version, specially for their customers in China. Measuring 5019 mm in length, this E Class here, is longer by 140mm.
Mercedes Benz has unveiled the all new 2014 E class coupe and cabriolet. The new Mercedes Benz comes with a cleaner appearance as opposed to…
2014 Mercedes Benz E Class has been officially revealed. It is seen with new and highly efficient engine lineup or petrol and diesel options, along…


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Behold the power of Miami Spice.
For years, chef Michael Schwartz resisted including his flagship restaurant, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, among those featured in the summer promotion. The last time it participated was in 2011. His rationale was this: Why create a separate tasting menu — a fixed-price $23 for lunch, $39 for dinner — to attract diners when his restaurant was getting plenty of local and national attention?
Fast forward to 2016, when the list of restaurants offering these Miami Spice menus from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30 is up to 243 — and includes, along with 62 first-timers, Schwartz’s signature Design District spot.
“You can’t ignore it,” said Schwartz, whose Cypress Tavern has participated since it opened in 2013. “It dominates the scene when business is hard to come by.”
For diners, it’s a game of culinary Pokémon Go: Gotta eat ’em all.
Some of the best restaurants in the county will have spectacular deals, including the only two restaurants to receive Miami Herald four-star reviews this year: vegan Valhalla Plant Food & Wine and the meat-eaters’ delight Los Fuegos by Francis Mallman. Seven of the Herald’s 10 best-reviewed restaurants of the year are on the list.
Where Spice was conceived to boost restaurants during their two slowest months, many now rely on this summer business.
“You almost need to be part of Spice if you want to have a great August and September,” said Rolando Aedo, chief marketing officer for Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, which organizes Spice.
It’s a chance for many diners to eat at restaurants that are outside their budget for more than a special occasion.
Take Los Fuegos at the Faena Hotel, where Schwartz admitted to spending “a small fortune” the last two weekends on memorable meals. Their regularly priced dinner entrees alone begin at $23. The $39, three-course Spice dinner menu includes options for a parrillada skirt steak, wood-fired in an oven Mallmann created especially for this restaurant to show off his world-renowned grilling techniques.
“Those are the kinds of places from the customer standpoint that you’re licking your chops at trying,” Schwartz said.
Brian Nasajon’s Beaker & Gray, which opened in December, will be participating in the program for the first time.
As a chef/owner, Nasajon said, the restaurant’s challenge is to present a dish that represents the best of what the restaurant does without cutting too deeply into its finances.
“You don’t want to come off as cheap or with low quality food or tiny portions,” Nasajon said.
And this is where restaurants sometimes fail diners during Spice. Some restaurants either offer meager portions of their regular menu to encourage up-selling or settle for whatever they can offer at a discount. (Don’t be surprised to see endless chicken dishes.)
“Ultimately, the ones that offer the best value benefit most from Miami Spice,” Aedo said.
At Beaker & Gray, where sharing is encouraged, they have decided to let diners pick two of four items served family style. Among them are dishes that speak to what the restaurant does best: a pork rib rice noodle dish using the lip-smacking huancaina sauce from their featured cauliflower.
“You’ve got to stay true to what your spirit is,” Nasajon said.
Restaurants participating for the first time have a unique challenge: create dishes that represent your restaurant but that aren’t too far outside the box for new visitors.
“Exciting but not weird,” Nasajon joked. “I get excited about Miami Spice because I feel it’s an opportunity to showcase what we’re doing.”
Diners have a much more enjoyable challenge: mapping their summer eating tour of Miami-Dade County.
Get the List
See the full list of participating Miami Spice restaurants: www.iLoveMiamiSpice.com


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#cryptos #cryprocurrency #Congress #bitcoin #Fed #SEC
“Last week Congress gave cryptocurrencies the gift of recognition, the future is bright!”–Paul Ebeling
The infrastructure bill passed the Senate with a cryptocurrency provision, allowing it to then go to the House of Representatives where there was little opposition. Then to the Oval Office to be signed into law Saturday.
More millions people are now aware of the crypto industry and have begun investing in it thus triggering a new Bull market.
We now see that the USA, the world’s richest nation and an influencer of all nations to some extent takes cryptocurrency seriously and even legitimizes it by discussing it in the highest levels of power in the US government.
Simply talking about Bitcoin in the Senate from famous senators such as Elizabeth Warren, regardless of whether it’s negative, brings legitimacy to the industry. We lost this round, but Congress gave the cryptocurrency industry a ‘gift of recognition’ and validity.
The good news is that the US government has indirectly legalized cryptocurrencies even before this bill passed through the House of Representatives.
In October, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said that the regulator would not follow China’s lead on banning digital assets and instead of that the government’s priority is on ensuring that the industry follows investor and consumer protection rules, anti-money laundering regulations and tax laws.
Mr. Gensler’s remarks echo those of Fed Chairman Powell, who said during a 30 September 2021, congressional hearing that he had “no intention” of banning cryptocurrencies. All this news has helped strengthen the crypto industry not only in America but also across the world.
Now that we know that the US government has no intention of banning the crypto industry, the provisions in the infra bill and rules coming from other regulators demonstrate that they are trying to regulate it, make it safe for consumers and even embrace cryptocurrency.
The US government is trying to capture the Northsides of this exciting industry and manage the Southsides, such as taxing digital assets to help pay for brand new infrastructure, which will help further build the country’s economy.
So, now At crypto exchanges and other players have clear rules, taking them out of the gray area into clear and transparent regulations.
Have a prosperous day, Keep the Faith!


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Last September, Shopify, an online e-commerce platform for small businesses, revealed a data breach in which two “rogue members” of its third-party customer support team of “less than 200 merchants.” Shopify said it fired the two contractors for engaging “in a scheme to obtain customer transactional records of certain merchants.” Shopify said the contractors stole customer data, including names, postal addresses and order details, like which products and services were purchased. One merchant who received the data breach notice from Shopify said the last four digits of affected customers’ payment cards were also taken, which the indictment confirms. Another one of the victims was Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics and make-up company, Kylie Cosmetics, the BBC reported.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Go to Source of this post
Author Of this post: msmash


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Two Amazon executives who played a formative role in the retail giant’s push into health care are leaving.
TJ Parker and Elliot Cohen, the co-founders of prescription drug startup PillPack, are leaving Amazon at the end of this month, according to a post on Parker’s LinkedIn profile. Amazon bought PillPack in 2018 for around $750 million.
Following the acquisition, Parker and Cohen helped lead the launch of Amazon Pharmacy, the company’s online pharmacy for prescription drug delivery in the U.S. Both Parker and Cohen served as vice presidents of pharmacy until recently, when they were moved to consulting roles, Axios reported. .
“I am writing to inform you that Elliot and I will be leaving PillPack and Amazon at the end of the month,” Parker wrote. “Of all, it is the people we met along the way and who accompanied us on this journey that we will remember most fondly, and will miss them all.”
Parker and Cohen co-founded PillPack in 2013. Parker, whose father was a pharmacist, attended pharmacy school in Boston. He met Cohen, who was in business school at MIT. PillPack began serving customers in 2014, and Parker’s father joined as one of the company’s first pharmacists.
Amazon has accelerated its push into health care in recent years, though not all of its efforts have been successful. The drugstore business struggled to gain traction, with Amazon recently announcing it was shutting down its Amazon Care telehealth service after discovering it wasn’t a “complete enough offering” for customers.
Early last year, a joint venture Amazon had formed with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to lower health care costs was dissolved. The entity was called Haven, and its expected initial entry into the health care market had sent provider shares tumbling.
Still, Amazon is investing significant capital and resources in the space. In July, Amazon said it would acquire One Medical for $3.9 billion, adding a network of boutique primary care clinics. Amazon also operates a consumer diagnostics company.
Amazon had reshuffled its healthcare leadership before Parker and Cohen left. Last December, CNBC reported that the company elevated its former chief executive, Neil Lindsay, to oversee its health efforts. John Love, who previously served as vice president at Amazon’s Alexa division, was named vice president of Pharmacy and PillPack in January.
In a memo to the health services team on Monday, Lindsay called Parker and Cohen’s departure “bittersweet” and thanked PillPack’s founders for helping develop the strategy “to help improve the customer’s healthcare experience.” .
“Driven by his vision and customer obsession, PillPack’s business and capabilities became the foundation of Amazon Pharmacy,” Lindsay wrote.
CLOCK: Amazon launches online pharmacy in the United States


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PagerDuty’s Strong Performance Drives $43.8 Million Series C Investment to Secure Leadership in Digital Operations Management
New Investment from Accel, Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners Underscores PagerDuty’s DevOps Market Leadership and Product Innovation
SAN FRANCISCO — April 13, 2017 – PagerDuty, the leader in digital operations management today announced the close of a $43.8 million Series C investment. The investment, led by Accel, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Baseline Ventures and Harrison Metal, comes as a result of PagerDuty’s sustained strong business growth and product innovation. As companies increasingly rely on digital services, many have recognized the need to provide their developer and IT Operations teams with insights that help manage incidents and deliver a superior customer experience.
“We are thrilled to welcome Accel into the PagerDuty family and appreciate their support and confidence in us. PagerDuty’s strong performance and leadership position in the fast-growing developer solutions market has been built around a mission to help improve customer experience by mobilizing organizations to effectively manage incidents so they have control over their growing digital operations,” said Jennifer Tejada, CEO of PagerDuty. “With growing interest in our solutions, we continue to grow our business thoughtfully and cash-efficiently with a laser-focus on our customers and community of practitioners, as their collective success is our success. This latest round of investment underscores our commitment to cementing our market leadership through solid industry partnerships, continued product innovation and customer success.”
According to the inaugural PagerDuty State of Digital Operations Report, announced in a separate release today, more than one-third of organizations take an average of 30 minutes or longer to resolve IT incidents that impact consumer-facing digital services. Chances of losing customers increase during this time as IT teams are unable to meet consumers’ high expectations for digital service delivery. The business impact of IT incidents continues to rise—an hour of IT downtime costs one-third of enterprises more than $1 million and in North America alone, organizations spend a combined $700 billion per year.1
This investment comes on the heels of a banner year for PagerDuty’s digital operations management platform which supports more than 8,700 organizations and nearly 200,000 users across the globe to resolve business-impacting IT and digital incidents. Providing full-stack visibility and actionable insights, PagerDuty helps organizations proactively mobilize people and manage issues in their IT and DevOps environments to deliver seamless customer experiences.
PagerDuty finished a strong Q1 2017 which included the following recent milestones:
- Added industry-best talent, including Steven Chung, Senior Vice President of Sales; Steven Gatoff, Chief Financial Officer; Howard Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer; Jeremy Kmet, Vice President of Commercial Sales; Kyle Duffy, Vice President of Solution Consulting; Joe Sexton, former AppDynamics Go-To Market Leader on the Executive Advisory Board
- Added over 600 new names to its customer roster, including brands across the insurance and marketing industries such as CSAA Insurance Group and Eventbrite
- Continued focus on the success of over 50 percent of the Fortune 100 customers who use PagerDuty
- PagerDuty continues to be recognized across the industry with accolades, and most recently the customer support and advocacy team garnered Silver recognition in the Stevie’s award for 2017
Investors Highlight Critical Need for a Digital Operations Management Platform Across Industries
“PagerDuty gives development teams of all sizes, including those at the world’s most recognized brands, visibility and actionable insights across their entire infrastructure stack. For the first time, companies now have a tool to both mitigate downtime and efficiently scale their digital operations across the entire organization. PagerDuty joins a strong list of companies in our portfolio with dynamic developer communities, including Atlassian, Dropbox and Slack, and we're thrilled to have the chance to help Jennifer and the team.” — Andrew Braccia, partner at Accel
“Over the years, we’ve seen PagerDuty’s customer-centric approach to incident resolution explode in adoption across a diverse set of companies ranging from Panasonic to Instacart. As expectations for ‘always-on’ digital experiences reach an all-time high, PagerDuty’s innovations in digital operations management continue to empower today’s businesses with the full stack visibility needed to deliver on the promise of constant uptime.” — John O’Farrell, partner at Andreessen Horowitz
“We see in PagerDuty what we’ve seen in our other highly successful portfolio companies focused on developers – a fierce commitment to serving the developer community by continuously creating products and services that enable individuals, teams and companies to deliver on brand promises. Since the beginning, we’ve been proud to watch PagerDuty embed itself into the daily workflow of developers by increasing their productivity and improving the reliability of the systems, services and applications they build. Businesses and consumers alike have come to rely on the product innovations of the talented PagerDuty team.” — Ethan Kurzweil, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners
PagerDuty is the leading digital operations management platform for businesses. Through its SaaS-based platform, PagerDuty empowers developers, DevOps, IT operations and business leaders to prevent and resolve business-impacting incidents for exceptional customer experience. More than 8,000 small, mid-size and enterprise global customers such as Lululemon, IBM and Panasonic use and trust PagerDuty to maximize their time and increase their business response and efficiency. When revenue and brand reputation depends on customer satisfaction, PagerDuty arms businesses with the insight to proactively manage incidents and events that may impact customers across their IT environment. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company was recently listed in the 2016 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Inc. 500 and Forbes Cloud 100 lists. Try PagerDuty for free at www.pagerduty.com. Follow our blog and connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook.
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
Kim Gengler, PagerDuty


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Agilysys Announces Inspire User Conference & Executive Summit 2017 Focused on Re-Imagining Hospitality
Agilysys | November 17, 2016
Conference Will be Held Jan. 23-25 at M Resort in Las Vegas; Three-Day Event to Feature Educational Sessions, Executive Summit, Partner Pavilion and 'Agilysys Concert for the Kids' to Benefit Local Youth Charities ALPHARETTA, GA. — Nov. 17, 2016 — Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, today announced that registration is open for the annual industry-leading Agilysys Inspire User Conference & Executive Summit 2017. A popular event for Agilysys customers, the conference will be held Jan. 23-25 at M Resort in Las Vegas, and will feature thoug...
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Speaking at the eMerge Americas conference today in Miami, tech investor Dave McClure urged cities to drop their Silicon Valley inferiority complex, and start building a startup ecosystem of their own.
"What's not important is whether you're in Silicon Valley," he said, "but you can't just expect innovation to happen waiting around."
McClure knows what Silicon Valley does and doesn't have compared to other cities. His fund and accelerator has invested in more than 2,000 startups around the world, placing early bets on Twilio, now a public company, and MakerBot, which was acquired by Stratasys in 2013 for around $400 million. 500 Startups is also an investor in Singapore-based Uber competitor Grab, and movie ticket buying app CINE+ in Mexico, among others.
Creating local tech conferences, policies and other incentives to attract accelerators and venture funds is critical. Often times, that requires capital from a local or state government, he noted. "Fifty or sixty years ago, when venture was just getting started, the Small Business Administration was the source of a lot of VC funds," the investor said.
Mature tech companies, by McClure's definition, generate at least $100 million in revenue each year and are poised for an initial public offering. More importantly, from the city's point of view, they also generate jobs, payroll taxes, and draw in new residents and business tourism wherever they set up shop.
For every one to three mature tech companies in a city, McClure calculates, a startup ecosystem should also be able to sustain:
Even if your city isn't able to draw in all those funds and entrepreneurs right away, just $50 million in seed and venture funding invested in a given region will reasonably generate 2,400 jobs within five years.
McClure emphasized the essence of Silicon Valley is just an attitude, and it's portable. "The most important thing to start with is optimism, and a kind of craziness to believe you can build a company that's going to be really big," he said.


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A$AP Rocky has another sneaker release cooking with Vans. The rapper — who also holds titles like Fashion Killa, Rihanna’s boyfriend, and most recently, guest artistic director for PacSun — stepped out in New York City wearing his latest model of Vans, which bear bright flame graphics in case you were wondering whether these shoes were hot or not (hint: they are, especially on A$AP Rocky).
Coming A$AP — According to PacSun — the mall brand which A$AP’s Vans are exclusive to — the sneakers are set to release in the coming weeks alongside additional iterations of the rapper’s Slip-On Mule. While the last drop featured both the mule and classic Slip-On in black with white flames, this drop updates the design with orange flames, and finally gives fans access to the all-white mule with orange flames that Rocky was spotted wearing last summer.
Stylish as ever, the rapper had paired his Vans mules with cut-off denim shorts, a white tee, and a coffee, sparking not only the joint in his hand but a full-on mulement. In a previous statement, A$AP described his take on the mule style to be “both nostalgic and forward at the same time,” an aesthetic that shines through in his latest take on Vans’ classic styles.
Ready to slip in? — Rocky’s partnership with PacSun started last July when the rapper signed on as its first guest artistic director. The role grants A$AP control over designer collaborations, campaigns, and in-store activations — conditions that were likely settled in a bid to attract the rapper’s hype fan base — although Rocky and Vans are two entities that blend seamlessly. Throughout the years (and other footwear collaborations), the rapper has a long history of supporting the sneaker brand, and continues to do so: “Vans have always been a closet staple,” A$AP maintained in a press release for his upcoming drop.
The duo’s two flame-covered Slip-On Mules, as well as the classic black Slip-On, launch on January 14 for a palatable $75 and $80, making Rocky’s sneakers one of the most accessible collaborations available. All variations of the shoes will be released exclusively at select PacSun locations and at the brand’s website.


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Artificial intelligence is one of the newest things on the market when it comes to technology. Some of the biggest tech companies have decided to start a partnership in order to develop better devices with AI.
These companies include Facebook, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. All of these companies are using AI for their devices. Microsoft has Cortana and Amazon has Alexa. Now, Apple announced that it is going to join this Ai initiative. This means that Siri, Apple’s assistant is going to learn some new tricks from the other digital assistants.
This AI initiative is called the Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society. Despite the fact that the name is kind of weird, this AI initiative could help all of these companies develop better devices. This partnership was first revealed in September last year. Then only Facebook, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, And IBM were founding members.
Although Apple did not participate at the beginning, it was enthusiastic about this project. This is why its decision to join the AI initiative is not surprising. Apple’s representative is going to be Tom Gruber. He is also the co-founder of Siri, Apple’s AI assistant.
The first meeting between these tech giants is going to on February 3rd. None of the companies announced what they are going to do with this partnership. People mentioned that they might write about inclusivity, privacy, and ethics.
This partnership could help all of the companies become better at making AI devices and it could also help them set some rules. Because it is a new field in technology, companies don’t have experience with AI and these tech giants could make up some ethical rules.
Of course, at this meetings are going to come some of the best AI engineers. This is why Apple joined the team; to get its hand on the best engineers. All in all this AI initiative could benefit all of us, from companies to buyers. We’ll wait and see what happens at the first meeting and then we will know what to expect. Let’s hope that this partnership is a good one.
What is your opinion about this partnership? Did you expect Apple to join the team also?
Image source: Flickr


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The UK Civil Aviation Authority has stepped in to support holidaymakers who were booked to travel with Mountain Paradise after the company, based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, ceased trading.
New research by ATOL, the holiday protection scheme, has found that 5.2 million Brits are set to book their holiday this month. As UK holidaymakers attempt to shake off the post-festive blues, this Saturday, January 5th, kickstarts a month of holiday booking excitement.
ABTA – The Travel Association announced today that the number of ABTA Members using the ABTA-ATOL Joint Administration Scheme has grown by a third in the last twelve months from 116 to 164 companies. The ABTA/ATOL scheme was introduced in 2012 to provide Members with a simple and cost-effective scheme enabling Members to apply for an ATOL licence through ABTA with lower fees.
New ATOL Certificates have come into force and will now be given to anyone buying a holiday protected by the ATOL scheme. Announced by aviation minister Simon Burns, the scheme is designed to better protect holidaymakers from losing out if their travel company fails.
ABTA – The Travel Association today provides its initial response to publication of the Department for Transport’s ATOL Reform Regulations. Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive, ABTA said: “ABTA supports the extension of consumer protection for holidays and believes the concept of Flight Plus is the right first step towards achieving this, with the inclusion of holidays sold by airlines an essential second step.
ABTA – The Travel Association today responds to the Department for Transport’s announcement on reform of the ATOL scheme of financial protection. In its announcement today, the DfT outlined a series of reforms that will be introduced effective from 30th April 2012, key among them a new concept that will see ‘Flight Plus’ holidays receive the same financial protection as flight-based package holidays through the ATOL scheme.
The British department for transport has announced a series of reforms to the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing scheme, which insures passengers against the collapse of a tour operator. Effective from April 30th 2012, ‘Flight Plus’ holidays will receive the same financial protection as flight-based package holidays through the ATOL scheme.
The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK (BAR UK) has presented strong concerns to the Dft over the ATOL Reform Consultation which closes on 15 September.
The UK government is to offer greater financial protection for millions more package holidaymakers under the ATOL scheme. The programme, which is run by the CAA, currently covers against tour operator collapses but the new proposals will be extended to include air ticket-only trips.
Speaking today at ABTA’s Travel Law Seminar, Kate Jennings, Head Aviation Policy Implementation for the Department for Transport, confirmed that the government still expects reform of the current system of ATOL financial protection


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The fraught saga of WeWork and its disastrous scrapped IPO made many headlines this year. But beyond Adam Neumann's poster child, it's been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year for tech startups with billion-dollar valuations—a.k.a. unicorns.
WeWork lost $1.25 billion in its third quarter alone; the reeling coworking startup is preparing for mass layoffs and corporate realignments to help it inch closer to profitability. SoftBank, the deep-pocketed Japanese technology company that bankrolled unprofitable unicorns including Uber and WeWork with its Vision Fund, reported a $6.5 billion quarterly operating loss as CEO Masayoshi Son does damage control.
It's been a year of reckoning for tech unicorns, both the ones that have IPO'd and those that haven't yet managed to go public. Uber's market cap has dropped more than 44 percent from its May IPO valuation of $82.4 billion to $45.58 billion as its CEO was caught up in a questionable defense of Saudi Arabia, while Lyft has seen a similar drop of over 45 percent from $24.3 billion in March to $13.2 billion.
Slack, another SoftBank investment, has dropped over 48 percent from its June IPO valuation of $23 billion to a market cap of $11.9 billion. Pinterest, which went public in April at $12.7 billion, has dipped a more modest 12.6 percent to $11.1 billion. In a year where the stock market on the whole has seen steady gains, it's an unmistakeable trend.
Once thought to be the next wave of big-tech companies, the 2019 unicorns' struggles have reset expectations. Maybe valuing money-losing companies with no clear paths to profitability isn't the best long-term strategy—right, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs?
Even Airbnb, which has flirted with profitability as it eyes a 2020 IPO, has been the subject of investigative reports delving into how the massive scale of its business combined with a lack of oversight has allowed fraud and scams to run rife on the platform.
If there's a silver lining for these companies, it's that a few years can make a big difference. Snapchat, which had one of the biggest tech IPOs of 2017, endured years of falling stock prices and user numbers as Facebook continued to batter its business. But the social media company has made it out the other side and is now on its way up. That said, like the majority of these tech unicorns, even Snapchat isn't yet profitable.


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With the current ICT world trend being focused on wireless communication, South Africa providers are also opting to invest in this new, but growing, environment.
Telkom SA Ltd.'s T-Zone initiative is one such offering. The T-Zone hotspot pilot was launched last year, and is currently still in its pilot phase. According to Mike Vos, product developer at Telkom, there are approximately 65 sites across the country running the pilot, making use of the 802.11 b WiFi protocol. Telkom aims to have 100 pilot sites up by July of this year.
Says Vos: "Through the pilot project we are doing network-sizing to establish what would be the best possible solution, with the necessary bandwidth, in delivering wireless Internet connectivity to business people."
According to Vos, Telkom, in this respect, is not focusing on the general public and coffee shops, but on hotels and conference facilities where business people are usually found. "In SA (South Africa), people are not yet accustomed to working at coffee shops," he says.
"We have gathered a lot of information about usage patterns from the pilot to date. One of our findings is that, although there is hype around WiFi and wireless Internet connections, far fewer people are actually using the technology in SA than the hype suggests. Even people with WiFi capabilities do not use them."
Steven White, product development executive at Telkom, notes, "We have learnt that notebook users have been slow to install WiFi cards since the pilot started. They have rather adopted a "wait-and-see approach, given the low user base in the country."
According to Vos, users and institutions where the pilots are running are very positive so far. "The main feedback that we are getting concerns bandwidth. Users comment that it is good, he says."
Most of the pilot sites have 512kbps bandwidth capability, and, says Vos, have a limit of 16 users, as a maximum, on a 512kbps connection, in order to give each user enough bandwidth when used at full capacity. "We would rather have users not have a connection, than a connection with such bad bandwidth that users cannot get anything done," he adds.
Vos also notes that since the start of the pilot there has been no site where a maximum user capacity has been reached. "We have tested the connections on maximum capacity (16 users per 512kbps bandwidth) at our own sites and found no problems. We will make sure that users do get the bandwidth that they pay for," he says.
T-Zone, envisioned to be commercially launched in July this year, will follow a cellular billing approach.
Concludes Vos: "Users will be able to buy 'air time' with their credit cards on a price per minute basis. Although we do not have a pricing structure as yet, we can say that prices will be market-related and possibly between R1 (US$0.14) and R2 per minute."


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Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers, with the help of 3D printing, have developed a material that can switch between hard and soft. The material is described in a paper in the “Macromolecular Materials and Engineering” journal. It was developed by a team led by Anette Hosoi, a professor of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at MIT, and is made of wax and foam.
The material was created based on the needs of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The agency wanted researchers to create robots that were octopus-like in that they could squeeze through tight spaces and then expand again. After much consideration, the research team decided that the only way they could meet DARA’s needs was to come with a material that could switch between being hard and soft.
“If you’re trying to squeeze under a door, for example, you should opt for a soft state, but if you want to pick up a hammer or open a window, you need at least part of the machine to be rigid,” Hosoi said to MIT News.
To create a material that was able to be “squishy” and rigid, the research team turned to foam and wax. They chose foam because it can be compressed, so that it is smaller than its normal size. They chose wax because it is hard when cool, but flexible when heat is applied. Creating the first batch of material was pretty simple. The research team dipped ordinary polyurethane foam in melted wax. Next, they encouraged the foam to soak up the wax by squeezing it.
During the next testing phase, the researchers 3D-printed the foam that they used in a lattice pattern instead of using regular polyurethane foam. They found that the 3D-printed foam worked better, perhaps because the research team was able to design the structure of the foam. The way in which they enabled the material to harden or soften was by heated it via copper wires.
A potential application of the material is use in surgical robots. Because robots made of this material could change states at will, they would be able to move through a patient’s body without damaging it. Search and rescue missions are another potential use of the new technology. Robots made of the phase-changing material would be able to go where human emergency responders cannot, looking through rubble, for survivors during catastrophes.
Now the research team is looking into using other materials that can be used for robotics in a similar way as the wax/foam combination. According to MIT News, the researchers are looking at fluids that have particles suspended inside them to see if they too can be made to switch from soft to hard in the presence of a magnetic or electrical field. Let’s hear your opinion on this 3D printed material in the shape shifting material forum thread on 3DPB.com. Check out the video below showing the material in action.
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Heavy Metals Found in Cannabis Cause Exposure Concerns—Here’s the Scoop
by Chane Leigh
Research has already suggested a link between high potency cannabis and increased anxiety, the opposite of what many hope to gain from its consumption, as well as being linked to increased risk of psychosis for those with certain conditions. While this may sound daunting, the risk only lies in HIGH potency products- which is when the product contains more than 10% potency. Adding to the reasons of ‘why not to consume high potency cannabis’ is the fact that it has been linked to a mysterious vomiting illness in young consumers.
In a recent interview with NBC News, cannabis consumer Bo Gribbon shared an account of what happened to him,
“It felt like Edward Scissorhands was trying to grab my intestines and pull them out”.
The news platform reported on the mysterious vomiting illness and began with that slightly horrifying and visual account of what Gribbon experienced, who was 17-years-old at the time. Gribbons reportedly began vomiting and then couldn’t stop. This happened on and off the entire day before he was driven to the hospital by his mother. Throwing up feels taxing and terrible the first time, and not being able to stop is a harrowing thought.
However, that’s not the worst of it. NBC News explains that Gribbon returned to the hospital 11 times in nine months with the same thing. He obviously had severe vomiting but he was also screaming at the same time all of which lasted for hours at a time. Apparently, a physician figured out that cannabis was the cause of it, hard to believe, but proved true. Gribbon stated that “the only thing that convinced me was that it stopped when I stopped smoking”.
Will Brown, 17 at the time, explained his experience to NBC and stated that “I knew I couldn’t stop” and that “my life was falling apart around me”. Jasmin Block, 18, got cannabis through illegal means and became an advocate for stricter cannabis policies as a result of her own experience. She stated that cannabis was too easy to access and that there are many who “wanted to profit off of these younger kids”.
While many may not be shocked to find out that this mysterious vomiting, is not that mysterious at all. NBC reports that the condition is officially known as cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). However, the condition seems to present in younger consumers and is commonly accompanied by screaming as well as having come to be known as ‘scromiting’- a mashup of ‘screaming’ and ‘vomiting’ according to NBC.
In 2009, the ER at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo reportedly only saw 5 scromiting cases, but the number had risen to over 120 in 2018. Another study published in 2015 found that scromiting cases had doubled in two different ER facilities shortly after legalization.
Dr. Brad Roberts, an emergency room physician at Parkview Medical Center, told NBC that the problem for hospitals is the resources. This is due to the fact that doctors will order an array of diagnostic tests in order to rule out any underlying conditions first. He stated that “we use up a lot of medical resources to see if there is anything more seriously wrong with them”. Dr. Roberts was simply offering up a perspective from the medical side and was not downplaying the importance and severity of implications for the patient.
A 2018 review on emergency department treatment of CHS suggested that patients with CHS will not only present with pain but likely “demonstrates regular and chronic cannabis use, intractable nausea and vomiting, cyclical vomiting, relief of symptoms with hot baths, and resolution of symptoms after cannabis cessation”. Therefore it is safe to say that if you are a cannabis consumer who presents with severe vomiting, cease cannabis consumption immediately as well as strongly advising that you inform the doctors at the ER of cannabis consumption. The study also stated that scromiting is “an increasingly prevalent and complicated problem for health care providers and patients”. This suggests that while CHS is currently a rare illness, there is a risk that it could change.
Cannabis has been consumed for thousands of years for many reasons but it was only until 2004 that the first report of CHS was filed. This only supports the link between high potency cannabis and this terrible illness. Why? Because the potency of cannabis in the 21st century is far more potent than the products that were consumed by the generations before us.
As a result of the increase in scromiting cases, or rather CHS cases, doctors are pleading to lawmakers to take action and “close a loophole that allows young people between the ages of 18 and 20 to get their hands on large quantities of high-potency pot”, according to NBC. They provide Colorado as an example where cannabis is illegal for those under the age of 21. However, with a script from doctors, underage cannabis consumers are then allowed to purchase up to 400 doses a day by going from dispensary to dispensary.
Fortunately, lawmakers did take action and implemented new legalization requiring those under the age of 21 years old to see two separate doctors for a medical card. The new legislation also places restrictions on the amount they can purchase at individual stores as well as implementing a tracking system to prevent people from “going shop to shop”.
Screaming, vomiting, pain, and the inability to do anything about it but scream… this sounds like a cannabis consumer’s worst nightmare. However, there are reasons not to be concerned about consuming cannabis at all, but rather to just be cautious. In other words, stay away from illicit means, avoid high-potency cannabis, and don’t consume recreationally if you’re under the age of 21. This one risk may be scary, but the benefits of cannabis as a therapeutic substance far outweigh the risk. Especially if you practice caution about the products you are purchasing. If you use cannabis therapeutically, be sure to check the product’s certificate of analysis in order to ensure the product contains the precise therapuetic amounts of THC and CBD.
The flowering buds of the cannabis plant have always been the star of the show due to their high concentration of cannabinoids like THC and CBD that create effects for consumers. But what many don’t know is that other parts of the plant—specifically the trim removed after harvesting—can be used for a variety of purposes….
Thinking about magic mushrooms takes me back to my teenage years when we would pick liberty caps from farmers’ fields. Liberty caps offered a great free buzz at the time in my life when I started to understand these substances to be a mind-expanding one as well. What started out as fun and giggles eventually…
Can you imagine what it is like to be overcome with intense feelings of euphoria? In the midst of all the madness caused by the motions of life, you take a pill and suddenly everything is brighter, more magical, and just feels so darn good? It turns out that this blissful drug, MDMA, has the…
Many states across the U.S. have legalized cannabis for medical and retail consumption. The regulations governing these industries primarily focus on the products’ content of the two most prominent cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant, cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). But in recent months, a new cannabinoid known as delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) has entered the…
Ketamine, with its “triple-threat of sedative, stimulating, and psychedelic effects,” according to The Cut, has a wild and elusive history. First approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1970 as a wartime anesthetic, ketamine turned into a popular party drug feared by parents everywhere before eventually being considered as a treatment for…
Cannabis should be legalized, regulated, and taxed like many other profitable commodities in South Dakota, according to the state legislature. Residential voters…
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is asking Canada’s federal government to eradicate regulatory restrictions present in the Cannabis Act, that are…


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Lowe’s announced this morning that they will be launching an exclusive partnership with EGO, expanding their outdoor power tool offerings.
Lowe’s will be:
expanding its industry-leading portfolio of outdoor power brands as it launches of EGO, the number one brand in battery-powered outdoor equipment.
Starting in December 2020, Lowe’s will be the exclusive nationwide home center to offer EGO’s battery-powered mowers, blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, edgers, chainsaws, and snowblowers.
EGO offerings will be available online at Lowe’s website and at select stores in Fall 2020, and the roll out will continue to all US stores by February 2021.
Bill Boltz, Lowe’s executive vice president of merchandising, said the following about the new exclusive partnership:
We are relentless in bringing the best quality, innovation and brands to our consumers, and today’s announcement is another bold step forward in our pursuit of bringing the best outdoor power equipment offering to our stores.
EGO is an undisputed industry leader in creating cutting-edge technology and design. This line of cordless power equipment is trusted by both DIY and Pro customers to take on any lawn and garden project, with convenience and ease.
Chervon, owner of the EGO tool brand, has said the following:
Chervon is excited to extend our partnership with Lowe’s to include EGO, the #1 rated brand in cordless outdoor power equipment.
We also look forward to the nationwide introduction of the all new SKIL 40V, 20V and 12V lineups.
– Mike Clancy, CEO Chervon North America
This exclusive partnership with EGO follows a Honda Power Equipment launch earlier in the year, and a partnership that makes Lowe’s the only nationwide home center to offer Ariens ZTR mowers and snow-clearing products.
Lowe’s will also begin carrying select Skil battery-powered outdoor power equipment in late 2020, including push and self-propelled mowers, leaf blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, and other products and accessories.
Lowe’s lawn & garden and outdoor power equipment brand portfolio will now include Honda, Ariens, John Deere, Craftsman, Husqvarna, EGO, and Skil.
It will be interesting to see how things progress. News reports over the past few months have described Lowe’s as “closing the gap” with Home Depot, and moves like this will no doubt give them a competitive boost.


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Even though T-Mobile recently said they couldn’t afford the iPhone, It appears they may have sold Carly’s old dresses off to a consignment store and made enough to swing a deal with Apple, as Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig is claiming the carrier may be preparing to announce that it will begin offering the iPhone.
The claim does not, however, appear to be based on any specific information, as Craig simply notes that “speculation is heightening” about such a move.
Craig says that “speculation is heightening” that Deutsche Telecom (DT) will announce a deal to bring the iPhone to its U.S. subsidiary at next week’s analysts day (December 6 -7).
While it is merely conjecture on Craig’s part, it does make a bit of sense. T-Mobile recently expanded its iPhone-compatible HSPA+ network to 10 more metropolitan areas. Finally allowing some of the 1.5 million T-Mobile customers already using unlocked iPhones to get download speeds better than the GSM speeds they were stuck with previously.
T-Mobile has previously announced that their network would be ready for the iPhone by the end of 2012. The carrier has also acknowledged in the past that their lack of the iPhone has cost it customers, and therefore, revenue.
Again, this is merely a rumor at this point, but there are some indicators pointing toward this as happening for T-Mobile. T-Mobile may have said they couldn’t afford to offer the iPhone, but they may have decided they can’t afford NOT to offer the iPhone.
MacTrast will keep track of any developments, and will let you know if this story moves form the realm of rumor, into reality.


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No Results FoundIt seems there are no results matching your search criteria.
Latest News From ETRetail.com
Hemant Gala, Head of Bank Relations and Strategic Partnerships, PhonePe said highlighting that the PhonePe Gold category will help grow online sales of physical gold exponentially over the next few years.
The company clocked Rs 220 crore in revenues in the last calendar year, and now is expecting to increase its revenue to Rs 500 crore by December 2017.
One just needs to download the Nitrogem Chrome browser Extension and it would do all the work automatically. Absolutely no additional clicks or website visits needed.
British retail sales surged in November from the previous month, official data showed Thursday, boosted by Black Friday price reductions in the run-up to Christmas.
The court's order came on a suit filed by company Nike Innovative CV, based in Oregon, USA, alleging that the defendant was found selling sports wear, bags and other goods under its trademark.
Primarily exporting bed linen to retail, hospitality chains and fashion brands across US, UK and Australia, the company would roll out the entire range of home linen in India.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the wholesale price index (WPI) accelerated to 3.93 per cent in November from 3.59 per cent during October and 1.82 per cent during November 2016.
With these new additions, Moglix is further stepping-up their presence catering to industrial hubs in India, in line with their vision to transform the supply chain of the Indian manufacturing sector, founder Rahul Garg said.
According to a senior finance ministry official, the hike in charges would impact Digital India movement and there is a need to look into the issue.
Gupta said Marico is viewing digitisation as an opportunity for accelerating growth rather than a disruption.
The Centre had also set up an anti-profiteering authority to monitor compliance. The traders were told to reduce MRP in accordance with the lowered GST in consultation with manufacturers and affix stickers of the new MRP on packages.
The partnership with KOTRA Bengaluru enables Amazon.in to offer brands such as FaceShop, Dermal, The Beauty Co., It’s Skin, Coony and Swanicoco.
“Because of DeMo and GST, the wholesale market has grown really slow and is yet to recover.”
Currently Yumlok is serving 10,000 plus orders per month with average order value of Rs.325.
Ridlr users can conduct digital transactions using Amazon Pay to pay for tickets and passes of Reliance Mumbai Metro.


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Busines Week har en interessant artikel om, at virksomheder ikke blogger ude i offentligheden, men starter med at eksperimentere med formatet internt. For eksempel som supplement til intranettet.
Why are blogs supplanting traditional corporate Intranets? They’re a snap to set up, and cheap to run. That’s why the blog universe — as counted by Technorati, the leading blog search engine — has tripled to 27 million in the last year. They dwarf the number of personal Web pages, which require more technical expertise.
What’s more, blogs are designed to change daily and — importantly — to receive comments from the public. This means that while traditional corporate Intranets are static, blogs generate conversation.
Læs selv resten af artiklen: The Inside Story on Company Blogs hos BusinessWeek.


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Ocean Keys Shopping Centre in Perth’s northern coastal region is set to become a standout shopping centre for the community with construction of a $105 million redevelopment to start in January 2013.
The centre is owned by investors in the AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund, a $2.3 billion portfolio of prime shopping centre assets.
The Fund has recently launched a capital raising program which has been very well supported by existing investors as well as new investors and will be used to fund this exciting redevelopment.
AMP Capital Shopping Centres, the manager and developer of Ocean Keys Shopping Centre, has appointed Built Environs as builder for the project following a design and tender process.
The redevelopment will include a new mall with 48 extra specialty stores, a full line Target store as well as an exciting new dining precinct. An additional multi-deck car park will be added catering for the Perth climate with over 90 per cent of the parking undercover.
AMP Capital Shopping Centres Managing Director Bryan Hynes said the redevelopment ensures that the community of Clarkson has an excellent retail offering servicing one of the highest growth regions in Australia.
“The region is forecast to grow around six per cent per annum annually until 2021 to 115,600 people and our vision is to create a truly exceptional shopping and leisure experience for our customers,” Mr Hynes said.
“Ocean Keys is located in one of the most dynamic and commercially attractive regions in Perth and the redeveloped centre will be an integral part of the growing community.”
The redevelopment of Ocean Keys is part of AMP Capital Shopping Centres $2 billion redevelopment pipeline which includes the future redevelopment of Garden City Booragoon in Perth. Garden City Booragoon recently opened Perth’s largest Apple store and commenced Sunday trading.
"We are excited to be able to start our development pipeline in Perth at Ocean Keys as we begin to develop plans for the redevelopment of Garden City Booragoon. Together, Garden City Booragoon and Ocean Keys will provide a significant boost to the Perth economy,” Mr Hynes said.
The Ocean Keys project represents a major boost to the Perth economy with the creation of over 200 construction jobs and over 400 retail jobs upon completion.
Key features of the Ocean Keys development:
- Ocean Keys will open in two stages during 2014 with the final stage to open in time for Christmas 2014
- The design of the centre will be fully integrated with the surrounding town centre and will feature commercial offices, a new main street café court and 10 new residential apartments adjoining the centre
- The development includes the addition of 48 extra specialty stores, a full line Target store and a new dining precinct
- An additional multi-deck car park will be added to the current car park with over 90 per cent of the parking undercover.
Established in 2003 the AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund has 11 assets with an 88 per cent weighting to regional shopping centres. The Ocean Keys development is expected to enhance the funds return, which to date has delivered investors 11.7 per cent per annum total investment return since inception.


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British emerging fashion platform Not Just A Label opens in LA
Not Just a Label is expanding their American roots with the announcement that they will open a flagship initiative in Los Angeles.
This is the brand’s second venture in the American market following a New York pop-up last winter. The initiative will focus on partnering with the area’s strong manufacturing industry, as well as with the city’s status as a strong creative hub.
Not Just a Label is an East-London based editorial and e-commerce platform that covers exclusively emerging design talent. They offer consulting services to brands and design institutions. They currently represent over 24,000 designers across 150 countries.
Stefan Siegel, CEO, and Founder of NJAL told FashionNetwork, “NJAL aims to build on LA’s existing manufacturing and design sectors, highlighting the thriving community—while positioning LA as one of the last global creative capitals where the story of a beautiful design product can be traced back from design, to manufacturing to retailing. This presents a unique opportunity for LA to position itself as a center for sustainable manufacturing, and paired with powerhouses represented by the entertainment and tech industry, NJAL is keen to act as a tastemaker and curator for a variety of initiatives."
This extension follows their recent success in New York City. NJAL hosted a concept space showcasing 100 of the area’s most notable emerging designers. Also in the space, a program of workshops and panels led by fashion industry influencers.
NJAL chose Los Angeles as it is home to the largest manufacturing center in America. The brand will partner with both local emerging brands and with local institutions. In the future, NJAL is looking to host retail pop-ups and concept shops, along with a series of lectures and workshops in Los Angeles.
"NJAL will launch a series of highly curated activations based on previous event formats launched globally: NJAL’s successful speakers series, Authentic Radicalism, will provide for the first platform for discussion between NJAL and the local design, manufacturing and tech community; following pop-up retail activations in London, Dubai, Berlin and New York," Stefan Siegel stated.
This extension is part of a new initiative by the City of Los Angeles. The “Make It In LA” initiative is an effort to strengthen the city’s support of the manufacturing industry.
Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti stated, “Not Just A Label will play an important role in the effort to shift from fast fashion to sustainability; it will be an excellent destination for people to experience fashion and its impact, through its workshops led by industry leaders, educators, and influencers.”
Copyright © 2022 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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The Kia Sonet First Anniversary Edition gets cosmetic upgrades with special accents for a more muscular look, and it will be produced in limited numbers.
Limited Edition Kia Sonet’s styling is inspired by Aurochs, a large wild Eurasian bull
The Kia Sonet completes a year of sales in India and to commemorate the same, the automaker has released the Sonet First Anniversary Edition. The limited-edition model is inspired by Aurochs, a large Eurasian wild bull, Kia explains. The model receives new front and rear skid plates with mandarin accents inspired by Aurochs. Mandarin accents extend to the grille and center hubcaps, while the model receives new side skid plates, door trim and the Anniversary Edition emblem.
Also Read: Tae-Jin Park To Replace Kookhyun Shim As General Manager And CEO Of Kia India
Speaking at the launch, Tae-Jin Park, Managing Director and CEO of Kia India, said, “The Sonet has been one of our breakthrough products that have contributed to Kia’s success in India. With sales of over a lakh in less than a year, the Sonet has already established itself as one of the best-selling compact SUVs in India. To celebrate this worship, we are delighted to launch the anniversary edition of Sonet. Sculpted in design excellence, the Sonet Anniversary Edition is based on the Aurochs concept and sports a muscular look providing a bolder and premium driving experience for our young-at-heart customers. “
Also Read: Kia India’s Upcoming MPV Tests in India
The Kia Sonet First Anniversary Edition is available in four configurations. This includes 1.0-liter T-GDi gasoline with 6-speed iMT and 7-speed DCT, as well as 1.5-liter diesel with manual and 6-speed automatic gearbox choices. There are no mechanical changes and the car continues to ship with specs, while the list of specs also remains the same. Kia has not confirmed how many units of the limited edition will actually be produced. The Sonet Anniversary Edition will be available in four colors – Aurora Black Pearl, Glacier white Pearl, Steel silver and Gravity gray.
Also read: Kia renames UVO Connect to Kia Connect
The Sonet was a successful offering from launch and did brilliantly for the automaker. Kia has sold over a lakh of Sonet units in a year and the sales momentum does not seem to be slowing down. The new anniversary edition will appeal to buyers of the car more.
For the latest automotive news and reviews, follow TUSEN.com on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel.


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Congratulations to Mitch Liu and the Sliver.tv team for closing a $6.2M round and launching the next-generation beta application for both Android and iOS devices that support a 360 degree view for mobile and VR for Google Cardboard.
Sliver.tv is bridging the 250 million eSports viewers gap to enjoy virtual reality. Mitch Liu, founder and CEO of Silver.tv, stated, “We recognized early on that the existing eSports viewing approach from the player’s point-of-view is not necessarily the best perspective for the audience. Our vision is to transform the eSports spectator experience forever.”
Read more about the funding announcement on Venture Beat
Read more about the beta application launch on Tech Crunch
Visit Sliver website (http://www.sliver.tv/)
Follow Sliver.tv on Twitter (@slivertvapp)


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Print book sales soared in 2020
Publishers Weekly ran an interesting story last week about book sales in 2020; contrary to conventional wisdom, books are selling pretty well. 191 million ebooks contributed to the surge, but, surprisingly, print sales also shot up meaningfully.
"Print sales rose 8.2% over 2019, the largest annual increase since 2005, and the print total of 751 million units sold was the highest since 2009, the year before e-books started to become a meaningful part of the book business."
Read the full article.


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Monday, February 16, 2009
PacketVideo announced at the Mobile World Congress that it is delivering a mobile video application for the Apple iPhone to the major networks that enables them to deliver operator-branded TV and video services for the first time. In the coming months, major networks will be announcing the availability of their channels on the iPhone using PV technology.
BOTTOM LINE: The iPhone is the most copied smartphone available today--every phone vendor is trying to duplicate the "wow" factor. However, the iPhone does not do everything--notably, it cannot receive live TV feeds today. PacketVideo's software for broadcasters, however, should add one more trick to the iPhone's "wow" factor. Look for broadcasters to announce this new capability in the coming months.
Posted by R. Colin Johnson at 6:40 PM