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Walmart giving nearly everyone in America access to free health screenings this weekend
OKLAHOMA CITY – Walmart is giving nearly everyone in America access to free health screenings this weekend.
For a four-hour period on Oct. 15, Walmart is offering free health screenings, education, services and products as the retail chain hosts Walmart Wellness Day.
The free health screenings are expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of people.
The event will take place from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15 in more than 4,600 Walmart stores across the country.
Those who attend the event will receive free blood glucose screenings, blood pressure screenings, vision screenings (where available), product samples and information on health insurance options.
Additionally, more than 10,000 of Walmart’s licensed pharmacists will offer immunizations in all Walmart pharmacies in the US.


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easyJet Holidays says it will offset the carbon emissions from its package holidays – and won’t pass on the cost to the consumers.
Its carbon offsets will cover the fuel used for the flights, in-destination transfers and the energy used from hotel stays.
The news comes in the same week as international travel has restarted from the UK and means all future package holidays are carbon offset as well as the holiday company retrospectively offsetting the emissions for all holidays operated since it launched in November 2019.
It also announced that it would launch a full sustainability strategy “very soon.”
The easyJet airline began offsetting carbon emissions from fuel in November 2019, but is is “actively involved in the development of all-electric, hybrid and hydrogen propulsion to achieve zero-emission flying in the future.” It says it is committed to transitioning as soon as these technologies are available and viable.
Garry Wilson, easyJet holidays CEO, said; “I’m personally very passionate about sustainability and it’s an area I’ve been involved in, and committed to, throughout my time in the travel industry.
“I’m really proud that from today we become the first major tour operator to offset the carbon emissions from our holidays – so the fuel used on our flights and transfers and the energy used in hotel stays – and being able to do this without passing on any cost to the customer. People have a choice in how they travel and if people choose to go on holiday abroad, we want to be the best choice they can make. Our news today on carbon offsetting for holidays is just the first step. We look forward to sharing what else we’re committing to with our full sustainability strategy and our longer-term actions very soon.”


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Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) makers are marching into the global market, unanimously choosing Norway as their first stop even though it is a limited market of just over 5 million people.
Dubbed as one of Tesla's Chinese challengers, NIO opened its first brick-and-motor store outside of China, in Oslo center at the end of September. The Warren Buffett-backed Chinese car company BYD delivered its first batch of 100 all-electric Tang SUVs to customers in the Scandinavian nation in August, with plans to deliver another 1,400 units by the end of the year. NIO's peer company XPeng delivered 100 electric vehicles (EV) to Norwegian customers last December, and plan to sell another 200 this year.
These are the three most prominent examples. Other Chinese car brands are also making a splash in the market, SAIC Maxus Automotive exported 328 mid-sized electric logistics vehicles to Norway last year, and received another 1,416 orders. SAIC MG Automotive, Weltmeister, and Hongqi also entered the market last year.
But why did all those Chinese brands choose Norway, where the market size is small and its cold weather is not the most ideal for electric car performance.
Well, Norway, even though it relies heavily on oil and gas revenues, aims to become the world's first country to end the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars, setting a 2025 target of zero emissions for all new passenger cars and light goods vehicles. The policy has turned the country's car market into a laboratory for automakers seeking a path to a future without internal combustion engines. China is the biggest electric car producing nation in the world, so it's natural for Chinese brands to venture in to Norway, and try to figure out a development path that can be used as a template for other markets.
"Norway is an amazing market, over 50 percent of newly sold cars in Norway are electric now," said He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors.
"In addition to the Norwegian market, it's a good reference. If you do it well, in Norway, it's a good sign for all the other European markets," said Rolf Almklov, commercial counselor at the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing.
To achieve the 2025 goal, the Norwegian government has issued a slew of incentives for electric car buyers. There is no purchase tax, no import tax and no value-added tax imposed on EVs. Users can save on tolls on roads and ferries, enjoy parking at half price or even free, and also use bus and taxi lanes when driving.
Inadequate charging facilities have been a concern for potential buyers elsewhere, but it's not a problem in Norway, since the Norwegian government has already built fast-charging stations at every 50km on all main roads. By August last year, there are already 16,000 charging points in the country.
"There are many ways of encouraging electric car ownership, even for the companies. If the companies buy an electric car to transport goods, they get a subsidy too," Almklov said.
The counselor predicted that the incentive policies won't be ending any time soon. "The ambition of the Norwegian government is very high," he said. "It's zero emissions.
"So even though the current share of newly sold electrical costs is more than 50 percent, 75 percent of the total car portfolio is by old-fashioned cars. So there's a long way to go."
The efforts have been paid off. The electric cars' uptake rate has been climbing over the past decade. Last year, electric vehicles made up 54.3 percent of all new cars sold in Norway, a global record. In 2011, that rate was a mere one percent. Currently, there are far more NEVs on Norwegian roads as a proportion of total vehicles than anywhere else.
Many local sellers predicted the NEV uptake rate would be even higher in 2021. The seller of Daimler's Mercedes-Benz as well as the Kia, Peugeot, Opel, Citroen, DS and Smart brands, predicted around 70% of its sales in Norway would be of fully electric models this year.
What's worth noticing is that the more expensive EV models – exceeding 600,000 Norwegian crowns ($69,300) – could be subject to a 25-percent value added tax (VAT) under the next Norwegian government.
Tough competitions ahead
Chinese electric carmakers are latecomers to the market and are in for a tough battle as the country has attracted almost every renowned brand to test the waters.
Last year, the top three bestselling NEVs brands were Audi, Tesla and Volkswagen.
How do Chinese brands plan to compete with brands with a longer history and track record? Xpeng's CEO seems quite confident.
"I want to mention something interesting. Except for Tesla, which is doing well in both China and Europe, most electric cars that sell well in Europe usually don't do well in China," said He.
"Why? I think the competition in the smart electric car market in China is fiercer than in Europe on some levels. As a new brand, I think Xpeng has been quite well accepted in Norway. Our two planned stores in Norway are not open yet. The orders we got were all from online channels, I think the sales data is quite good."
Xpeng recently started to ship its P7 model to Norway, and next year will add the P5 model.
"After we adjust our products to the European market, like localization and launch our autopilot function, I am confident that Xpeng will perform better in Norway in the future," said the CEO.
The Norwegian official also expressed confidence in Chinese EV brands' future in Norway, saying although Chinese brands are latecomers compared to Western brands, there has been great interest from local customers, especially from corporate users.
"The Chinese carmakers already have a long history of making cars and are in a good position of competing with foreign brands," said Almklov.
He suggested the Chinese brands should focus on three areas to win a competitive edge – design that accommodates the Nordic lifestyle, a good traveling range and a competitive price. "There are no domestic carmakers in Norway, so all brands are equal in here, and all are important," he said.
The Chinese brands also hope to expand to the broader European market through building up global experience and brand recognition in Norway.
"Through research and adaptation into the Norwegian market, we can lay a foundation for our expansion into the broader European market in the future," said Xpeng's CEO.
He said that many Norwegian customers have accepted completely new brands like Xpeng who are very interested to find out the reason behind the phenomenon and see if the experience could be used in other European markets.
Many overseas customers are still under the impression that Chinese manufactured products are cheaper and of lower quality than Western brands. That is an old stereotype both the Chinese government and the new generation of Chinese brands like XPeng want to shatter.
"We want to sell mid-to-high-end cars in Europe, not mid-to-low-end cars. So XPeng is putting a lot of energy into improving our multilingual function, pushing for the globalization of our voice service and autopilot functions," He said.
"It needs some time, but I believe our sales numbers in Europe will be better next year or the year after that," the leader from China's EV industry said.
China is already the largest NEV manufacturing base in the world, but its carmakers are not satisfied with just that. Entrepreneurs like He's next goal is Chinese brand globalization.
"In the past, many household electrical appliances went global through being original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) for some brands, but I feel we need to put our brand into the global market, only that can count as successful globalization," said He.


text: Taiwanese firm says it can raise margins to 3pc in two years at new monitor arm TPV Technology aims to raise net margins at its newly acquired Royal Philips Electronics' monitor business to about 3 per cent in one or two years from nearly zero, TPV chairman Jason Hsuan Chian Shen says. The monitor business TPV acquired from the Dutch electronics giant for US$358 million was 'marginally profitable', said Mr Hsuan yesterday. 'We aim to improve the net margin of Philips' monitor business. We hope to make this US$2 billion-a-year business as profitable as TPV.' TPV would achieve this through economies of scale and by consolidating supply, he said. After the monitor business was fully integrated, it would yield annual revenue of US$2 billion, he added. Clement Wong, an analyst with SBI E2-Capital, said: 'Definitely, the net margin of the Philips monitor unit will improve. Running factories in an efficient way is a strong point for TPV.' However, Mr Wong said TPV's overall net margins would fall this year as a result of the acquisition - which will take three to six months to integrate - and growing competition in the sector. Kim Eng Securities forecasts that TPV's net margin will fall to 2.4 per cent this year from last year's 2.9 per cent for the same reasons. 'TPV is under threat from aggressive LCD monitor-makers such as Foxconn Tech,' wrote analyst Mark Po Ka-kit in a report. 'We expect a 9 per cent earnings dilution in 2005 after completion of the acquisition of Philips' monitor operation.' Fierce competition eroded profit margins for TPV's two core products - CRT and LCD monitors - by 19 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, between the third- and fourth-quarter results last year, according to Mr Po. 'Any sharp rebound seems unlikely in the first and second quarters of 2005,' he added. TPV's annual report for last year said restoring profit margins would be a challenge this year. Mr Hsuan hopes the acquisition, which will push TPV ahead of Samsung Electronics to become the largest display maker in the world, will be completed in July. The purchase of Philips' monitor business did not include the brand name. TPV bought the unit's manufacturing, research and development, and logistics facilities. 'The greatest challenge is human. How Philips and TPV can work together as a team,' said Mr Hsuan. Mr Po said he was 'not that positive on the acquisition'. 'Philips and TPV have common customers, who may shift to other suppliers to avoid relying too much on one supplier. The fact that TPV doesn't have the Philips brand means it will face pricing pressure.' Mr Wong was more optimistic, saying the acquisition would be positive in the long term. Profits would rise as TPV had expanded its television business, as LCD sets were priced several times higher than LCD computer monitors, he said. LCD television sets form 90 per cent of Philips' monitor business. TPV would ramp up production of LCD televisions to between 300,000 and 400,000 this year from 45,000 sets last year, said Mr Hsuan.


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Vice Just Had a Big Revenue Miss, and Investors Are Getting Antsy
Setback is largely due to the struggling Viceland cable-TV channel
Vice Media fell far short of its revenue target last year, as the privately held company works to stabilize its executive ranks and reassure shareholders pressing for an exit.
Vice, whose $5.7 billion valuation makes it the most valuable new media company in the U.S., missed its 2017 revenue goal of $805 million by more than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Amazon fires: Leonardo DiCaprio donates $5m to tackle rainforest blaze
27 August 2019, 13:08
The Hollywood actor is famed for being very passionate about the environment and he's donated a few of his many millions to help with battling the Amazonian blaze.
Leonardo DiCaprio has donated a whopping £4.1m towards helping the Amazon rainforest following the huge horror blaze that's currently ongoing.
His organisation, Earth Alliance will give the millions to local groups and native communities as they work to protect the Amazon and all its inhabitants.
Leonardo has a net worth of around £200m, so although the money will go a long way towards helping the fire, it'll be hardly anything for him.
He founded Earth Alliance along with two other philanthropists in July, with an aim to protect wildlife, push for climate justice and secure indigenous rights.
Their Amazon Forest Fund is the group's initiative to raise funds for the protection of the specific area.
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The Amazon rainforest burning from above, captured just two days ago by Brazilian photographer @VictorMoriyama on an overflight with @greenpeacebrasil. Now is the time to take action. Help support the @EarthAlliance Amazon Forest Fund. Please visit ealliance.org/amazonfund (link in bio) for more information and to donate.
The organisations receiving the funding from Leo are Instituto Associacao Floresta Protegida (Kayapo), Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Instituto Kabu (Kayapo), Instituto Raoni (Kayapo) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).
The rainforest - which is so large it stretches over NINE countries in South America - has already had more than 72,000 fires so far this year according to The National Institute Space Research in Brazil.
This is up from 40,000 at this time last year, and the current situation has been rapidly increasing in severity, with around 2,500 active fires at the moment.
Leonardo, 44, has been posting constantly over the past few days since the news of the vastly-speed fire made it into the media, and has been urging his fans to take action.
The Wolf of Wall Street star has a whopping 34.5m followers and his images have been attracting millions of likes and comments from concerned fans.
In an Instagram posted this weekend, the heartthrob said he is "deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in the Amazon, which highlights the delicate balance of climate, biodiversity, and the wellbeing of indigenous peoples".
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#Regram #RG @IamNickRose: Terrifying to think that the Amazon is the largest rain forest on the planet, creating 20% of the earth’s oxygen, basically the lungs of the world, has been on fire and burning for the last 16 days running, with literally NO media coverage whatsoever! Why?
The rainforest, which is set mostly in Brazil, but also stretches to Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana, is the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the entire rose with and estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.
A statement on the Earth Alliance website says: "The destruction of the Amazon rainforest is rapidly releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, destroying an ecosystem that absorbs millions of tonnes of carbon emissions every year and is one of the planet's best defences against the climate crisis."
The surge in forest fires has been heavily linked to a rise in deliberate deforestation for cattle farming.
Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil has been accused on multiple occasions of encouraging the destruction of the Amazon through a lack of action on environmental issues.
However, Jair has claimed that the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - like charities - could be to blame for starting the record number of fires, however, he hasn't given any evidence for this claim.
The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has stated that the UK will donate a whopping £10m towards the protection of the rainforest.


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Beyoncé is being sued for over $100 million by Gate Five, a video game company that was contracted to develop a video game based around the iconic singer. Beyoncé reportedly demanded more money from the company.
Beyoncé’s request for more money reportedly came after a deal was already in place. As a result, Gate Five was forced to cancel all plans for the video game resulting in 70 people being laid off just before Christmas last year. The company also claims that they lost $100 million in potential profits from the game, which was to be called Starpower: Beyoncé.
The company is suing for its initial $6.7 million investment in the project in addition to the $100 million in lost potential profit.

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In news- The Union government has recently imposed an export tax on petrol, diesel and jet fuel and joined nations like the UK in imposing a windfall tax on crude oil produced locally.
About the windfall tax-
- In a bid to regulate domestic crude oil producers from importing crude and then selling it at international parity prices, a windfall tax has been imposed.
- It also aims to address the issue of fuel shortage in the country.
- The government stated that the domestic crude producers sell crude to domestic refineries at international parity prices. As a result, the domestic crude producers are making windfall gains.
- Taking this into account, a cess of Rs 23,250 per tonne by way of special additional excise duty or windfall tax has been imposed on crude.
- A special additional excise duty (SAED) of Rs 6 per litre has also been imposed on exports of Aviation Turbine Fuel.
- Also, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has imposed an export policy condition that exporters would be required to declare at the time of export that 50% of the quantity mentioned in the shipping bill has been/ will be supplied in the domestic market during the current fiscal.
- These measures would not have any adverse impact on domestic retail prices of diesel and petrol. Thus, domestic retail prices would remain unchanged.
- At the same time these measures will ensure domestic availability of the petroleum products.
- The move will not just fetch more revenue to the exchequer but also discourage companies from exporting petrol and diesel, and thereby help ease the fuel situation in the domestic market.


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The release of the Tesla model 3 recently has captured the attention of many people around the globe. Although the vehicle will not be available for another 18 months, pre-orders for the company’s newest electric car have topped the 400,000 mark in North America.
The fascination for electric vehicles in an era of climate change and unprecedented environmental awareness is very strong in Victoria as well. Manfred Wissemann, the founder and president of the Victoria EV (Electric Vehicle) Club, said the club now has more than 600 members — a number that is steadily increasing as more people adopt the new technology.
“We hope that by the year 2050, it will no longer be possible to even register a gas-powered vehicle in the province of B.C.,” said Wissemann. “I’m excited to be around for the change. It’s long overdue.”
But Wisseman adds it’s important the city and other levels of government work to ensure enough charging stations are made available as the number of electric vehicles steadily increase.
It’s a passion shared by Esquimalt’s Mayor Barb Desjardins, herself an owner of a hybrid vehicle.
“We definitely need more charging stations, and as a municipal government we have some interesting opportunities to be part of the solution,” said Desjardins, adding that Esquimalt council has begun to ask that charging stations be a part of any development plan brought before them.
“Parkview Townhouses are a good example of that approach working well,” she said. “We (council) put it forward to the developer and he bought in. The result is that each of the townhouses is equipped with a charging station.”
Other initiatives have also led to an increase in available charging stations in Victoria.
The province’s $2.7 million Community Charging Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) substantially increased the number of charging stations available to the public resulting in 550 Level 2 charging stations in B.C.
The Capital Regional District reports more than 100 charging stations are available in the region.
“There’s no doubt that we need to look at strategies to create more charging stations,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps. “We have eight stations in our parkades right now but we know that we have to do a lot more. It’s something we want to do to help reduce the carbon footprint of our city and encourage a greener approach to transportation.”
Wissemann said the general public may be confused about why charging stations are required, with many believing electric cars can simply be charged at home.
Although it is possible for owners to simply plug in their electric vehicle at home to “trickle charge” the batteries, Wissemann explained the need for the higher voltage stations are critical.
Standard homes offer 120 volts of alternating current and, although most electric cars can be charged using a simple plug, the charging time is problematic. For example, the Nissan Leaf can take 15 hours to charge from a standard household source.
A Level 2 charging station (drawing 240 volts) can be installed at home for about $800 to $1,000 and drop that charging time to about four hours.
The real solution, said Wissemann, is for more Level 3 charging stations to be established in Victoria.
Those stations draw 480 volts and can charge the average electric car in 30 minutes.
“It’s getting better, but governments have to realize that a tide of electric vehicles will be arriving very soon, and the time to plan ahead is now,” he said, adding other countries like Holland, India, and China have strategies in place to provide charging stations in far greater numbers than has been envisioned here, such as charging units attached to street lamp poles where power supplies already exist.
Mandu Goebl, the general sales manager for Campus Nissan, acknowledged more Level 3 charging stations are needed, but said the situation is already much better than it was in the past.
“As more electric vehicles are sold, there’s been a huge increase in the charging stations already. We see them popping up all over the place…at recreation centres, parking lots, business and all over,” he said.
Goebl adds he has no doubt the marketplace will respond to the need for charging stations. “It’s the way of the future, and as a greater variety of larger vehicles come available as electric, the number of electric cars on the road will explode.”


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Dieste Harmel & Partners has won additional Pfizer advertising aimed at the U.S. Hispanic market, sources said.
The Dallas agency will now handle Pfizer's corporate ads targeting Latinos, a business that is estimated at $7 million, sources said.
DH&P quietly picked up Hispanic work for Pfizer's Lipitor in a review last December.
Pfizer's desire to reach out to Hispanics is not new. Two years ago it created a national Hispanic advisory board made up of Latino health and media professionals.
Yet, while Pfizer spent $796 million on general-market ads last year, per CMR, it spent only $10-15 million on Hispanic media, according to Nielsen Monitor Plus.
Pharmaceuticals remains among the top categories lagging in Hispanic advertising. One reason: Many first- and second-generation Latino Americans do not embrace the idea of healthcare until it may be too late.
"Many Hispanics, especially Mexican Americans, are hesitant to seek medical assistance when they're healthy," said Rad Tollette, an account planner at SWG&M. The Aus-tin, Texas, shop is creating ads for the Texas chapter of the American Heart Association aimed at Hispanic women.
Rafael Iglesias, president of IDHispanic in Miami, said drug companies are understanding the need to reach out to the segment. "It's been an educational process," he said, "I think in the next few years we'll see a big influx of these companies getting into the market."
DH&P contended for the corporate work with Vidal Partnership of New York and undisclosed shops.
Officials of the agency and New York-based Pfizer could not be reached for comment.


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Yelets, Russia – August 11 – Cherkizovo Group has launched its own oil extraction plant, Russia’s largest high-protein oilseed processing facility. The opening ceremony was attended by the Company’s top management and high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Lipetsk Region’s government.
Kaliningrad, Russia — August 2 – Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat producer, has taken part in All-Russian Field Day 2022, an exhibition held in the Kaliningrad Region. The Company showcased its best products during a tasting session and discussed development prospects with the leaders of several Russian regions.
Tula, Russia — July 28 – Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat producer, presented its products at the 2022 AGRO-TULA festival. The guests were invited to try Cherkizovo’s quality sausages produced at the Company’s fully automated robot plant in Kashira.


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Hong Kong and Thailand have been conducting research on digital currencies for some time now and plan on releasing their joint report by the first quarter of 2020.
As CoinGeek reported, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand announced their partnership in CBDC and blockchain research earlier this year. The two regulators have been studying how a CBDC can be applied in their respective countries, and what benefits could come from the integration. The project has been successful and they plan to reveal their findings by Q1 2020, a report by EJ Insights has revealed.
While they have been working together, the two regulators have also been conducting their own research on CBDCs and how they can ease payments in their respective countries. The HKMA has been working on Project LionRock, a study on the application of a state-backed digital currency in Hong Kong. The regulator has partnered with three commercial banks, the R3 blockchain consortium and the Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Ltd.
The HKMA has also entered into blockchain collaboration with China’s Institute of Digital Currency, a subsidiary of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) dedicated to digital currencies.
It may take quite some time before the CBDC becomes available to the masses, however. During a recent fintech event, Edmond Lau, a senior executive at the HKMA, revealed that the digital currency would target institutional use. The regulator would focus on corporate payments at the wholesale level, domestic interbank payments and debt securities settlement.
The Bank of Thailand on its part has been pursuing Project Inthanon which seeks to develop a proof-of-concept for the use of CBDC for domestic wholesale funds transfer.
CBDCs have taken center stage in recent years as more countries seek to take advantage of blockchain technology to ease payments. These initiatives have especially become urgent since Facebook announced Libra, a stablecoin that some countries fear could destabilize their financial systems. China seems to be the leader in this field, with its central bank reported to have been working on a CBDC for over five years.
New to blockchain? Check out CoinGeek’s Blockchain for Beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about blockchain technology.


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- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 05:25 06:43 12:11 15:09 17:32 18:50
The global recession is seemingly receding and the telecommunication sector – with the notable exception of equipment and handset manufacturers – has escaped the worst of its effects.
Revenues among operators worldwide remained mostly steady, with the exception of mobile roaming revenues generated by business customers, and ongoing cost-cutting efforts enabled operators to maintain profitability, according to a new report by Booz & Company.
"The coming year, however, may be different. The industry is entering a period of significant change in which five distinct shifts will come into greater focus, in terms of geography, services, the move to digital, operations, and regulation," said Karim Sabbagh, Partner and the Global Practice Leader for the Communications, Media and Technology at Booz & Company. Those companies that can take advantage of these changes will find real opportunities for growth; those that cannot will be considerably challenged.
Much of the growth in the telecom industry will shift from mature Western markets to developing countries. This trend is already fully apparent among handset manufacturers, which build most of their handsets in Asia-Pacific. Even among operators, the vast majority of subscriber growth is outside the West. In the first half of 2009, for instance, India added 142 million net subscribers and China added 87.4 million, while the US added just 14 million. "In Asia, we still see telecom players with extraordinary Ebitda margins – above 50 per cent – that are generating tremendous amounts of cash," said Hilal Halaoui, a Principal at Booz & Co.
These rates of growth and cash generation are also changing the level of M&A and expansion activity across the globe. While cross-border activity on the part of US operators is negligible, and sporadic in Europe, carriers in Africa and the Middle and Far East continue to make deals to expand their influence over large territories – even into the West. "Just how disruptive a global force these rapidly expanding players will be remains to be seen," said Sabbagh.
Much of the telecom world is being rapidly commoditised – from connectivity and basic services to low-end handsets, to networking equipment to the networks themselves – prompting virtually every player in the sector to seek out new sources of value. The clear solution: services. Everyone is moving up the value chain.
Equipment manufacturers are offering networking and field operations services, handset manufacturers are building high-end smartphones complete with added services and fully stocked 'app stores,' and operators are moving to provide customers with more and more online applications, complete with content deals.
Meanwhile, internet and technology players such as Google and Facebook continue to stretch their wings into the telecom space. More media and consumer electronics firms are likely to jump into the space as well.
As clear a trend as the move to services is, it is still in its infancy. "It therefore offers lots of opportunity for growth for the most innovative players, as well as the capacity to be massively disruptive to those that can't keep up," said Halaoui.
As rivals in the telecom sector battle to move up the value chain, the world is quickly moving toward an "all digital, all the time" model. Consumers are coming to expect the digital experience – texting, social networking, news and information, high-definition movies – anywhere, anytime. Telecom operators are already beginning to view their internet portals as a critical asset in the race to provide services.
"Yet this trend will affect every aspect of the telecom industry – from the high-speed networks consumers will insist on, to the variety of new devices on which they will expect to be able to connect, to the ever-expanding kinds of applications they will be willing to pay for," said Sabbagh. "And the new generation of 'digital natives,' those who know no other world than always-on connectivity, will only grow more demanding."
The commoditisation of large swaths of the telecom value chain is forcing every player in the industry to create the most efficient operations they possibly can – to survive in the near term and to prepare for a future in which they must be more focused, agile, and innovative. Players in front of this curve are already looking at the long-term right-sizing of their organisations, outsourcing non-core functions such as engineering and network and field services operations, even spinning off entire passive infrastructures that are no longer central to creating real value, and completely overhauling their business processes. Many carriers are driving large-scale supply chain as well.
"The goal is to free up cash and resources for investment in truly strategic assets, such as new services, technologies, and business models that will truly differentiate players from their competitors," Halaoui said.
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Renowned cutscene-worshipper and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima will eventually try his hand at making movies.Â
Chris Kerr, News Editor
November 4, 2019
1 Min Read
Renowned cutscene-worshipper and Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima will eventually try his hand at making movies.
Outlining his future plans for Kojima Productions during a BBC Newsbeat documentary on the making of Death Stranding, the Japanese auteur explained the studio will one day begin churning out films as well as games.
"In the future, Kojima Productions will also start making films. If a person can do one thing well, then they should be able to do anything well," he commented.
"I think within the next three to four years, everything will move to streaming -- games, movies, and TV shows. When that happens, movies, TV shows, and games will be competing in the same space."
Although Kojima didn't reveal exactly when the studio will begin producing movies, it feels like the switch-up has been a long time coming.
The veteran designer is a well-known movie buff, and initially harbored ambitions of becoming a film director before eventually choosing to pursue a career in the games industry in the mid-80s. Now, over three decades later, it looks like things are finally about to come full circle.
About the Author(s)
News Editor, GameDeveloper.com
Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.
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In a recent investor’s call, game company Ubisoft announced that upcoming games Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine have been delayed to 2021-2022.
According to the investor’s call that Game Informer was part of, the two upcoming games have been moved beyond Q1 and now the launch window will be anywhere between April 2021 until March 2022. Far Cry 6 was supposed to launch on February 18, 2021.
Ubisoft Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet stated:
Despite having moved Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six Quarantine to 2021-22 to leverage their full potential in the context of production challenges caused by COVID-19, our new non-IFRS operating income targets for 2020-21 remain within the boundaries we set back in May. Being able to maximize the long term value of our IPs while at the same time maintaining solid financial targets highlights the increasing recurring nature of our revenues, the strength of our portfolio of franchises, confidence in our holiday season release slate, and current supportive industry dynamics.
The official Far Cry Facebook account shared a statement:
CEO Yves Guillemot also stated:
The videogame industry is benefitting from very strong momentum. It is by far the fastest-growing segment of entertainment and is driving unprecedented consumer engagement and social interactions. In this context, our strategy and competitive advantages continue to be fully validated by recent industry announcements of consolidation and new platform launches. The value of videogame IPs has never been so strong and these announcements highlight the importance of owning a deep and diversified portfolio of high-quality franchises. Thanks to this major asset, which we have built up organically over more than two decades, Ubisoft has entered into fruitful partnerships with the biggest technological and videogame platforms, who are all thrilled to onboard our content.
At the same time, we continue investing to increasingly leverage our direct-to-player relationship. Over the past ten years, we have built our proprietary online distribution and services ecosystem, our unique identifier across games and platforms, and our unparalleled production capacity. These are formidable assets for strengthening this direct relationship. Through multiple entry points and business models, and with the introduction of Ubisoft Connect, we aim to offer players frictionless access and enriching experiences across our full catalog of games. This will expand discoverability, traffic, and global engagement to ultimately provide meaningful value for our players, our teams, and our shareholders over the coming years.
There are still more upcoming games to try out, but the next Far Cry and Rainbow Six games will have to wait.


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(From left) QUO’s David Keen; The Slate Phuket’s Wichit Na Ranong; Phuket Hotels Association’s Anthony Lark; and Outrigger Resorts’ Mark Simmons
Phuket Hotels Association (PHA) has unveiled at Thailand Tourism Forum yesterday a new brand identity, Brand Phuket, making the first concerted effort to develop a concise and consistent identity for the popular island destination.
Targeting to reinvigorate the profile of Phuket around the world, the brand identity was created by Bangkok-based global branding agency QUO to focus on the island’s breadth of experiences, its natural beauty and culturally-diverse communities.
As well, a new logo has been crafted, featuring ‘Phuket’ in letterform with a decorative motif within the ‘U’ which is inspired by elements in Thai handicrafts. The decorative swirls evoke the curl of the surf, while the combination of blues on the logo reflects the waters and skies at the destination.
“Thailand’s tourism industry has undergone a period of extraordinary growth and it is a time to take a step back, consolidate and position and plan for the future,” said PHA advisor Wichit Na Ranong, who is also owner of The Slate Phuket resort.
“The central and core intention of PHA is to bring the industry together to develop the destination. Tourism has been good to Phuket and we now need to ensure we are reinvesting through environmental and educational programmes to ensure benefits and advantages are spread.”
PHA was launched last year by the island’s several prominent hoteliers, comprising more than 61 hotel members representing 9,000 rooms.


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Hasselblad is set to showcase prototypes of its brand new H5D-50c Wi-Fi medium format camera at photokina (Hall 02.1: Stands A021 – B020)
The new model – a feature-rich upgrade to the H5D-50c CMOS unit launched earlier this year – provides photographers with more freedom than ever before, thanks to an innovative Wi-Fi module.
The H5D-50c with Wi-Fi makes it possible for users to fully control the camera and browse/ view images on iPhone/iPad on location via Phocus Mobile software, without the need for a computer. It also features a ‘Live View’ function, allowing photographers to see and zoom in on a live image on the rear LCD even when the camera is untethered.
The new model will be available first in Europe at the end of November and will retail at €21,400 excl. tax.
Michele Channer, Hasselblad International Sales Director said: “When we launched the new H5D-50c CMOS camera earlier this year we promised photographers ultimate image quality, regardless of lighting conditions. Now we have developed a unique Wi-Fi upgrade for this camera enabling photographers to work unplugged but still very much connected.”
She added: “Now users can enjoy total freedom – direct camera control and image browsing, without a computer in sight. Our innovative ‘Live View’ functionality is another first for us. Previously photographers could not directly see at the back what they could see through the lens.
And of course this new model boasts all the functionality of its sibling, including a 50Mpixel CMOS sensor and excellent high ISO performance at up to ISO 6400.”
New features on the H5D-50c with Wi-Fi include:
- Wi-Fi: Control the camera and browse/ view images on iPhone or iPad, even on location.
- Live View: See a live image on the rear LCD even when the camera is untethered.
- Capture rate: The capture rate now enables 50 captures per minute.
- Longest exposure time: The longest shutter speed is now 34 minutes. And no extra black exposure is necessary.
- Film: Now you can use film magazines on the H5D-50c.
- Spirit level: Employ the built-in electronic spirit level even in tethered mode.
- Display modes: Select different display modes even when the camera is tethered.
- ISO and White Balance: Settings now available on viewfinder display.
Between January and March 2015 Hasselblad is offering photographers the opportunity to upgrade their H5D-50c model for the new Wi-Fi version for €500.
All new features (except Wi-Fi) will be available to H5D-50c and CFV-50c owners as a firmware upgrade shortly after the photokina trade show event.


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Online blackmail, hacktivism and mobile malware are still on the rise in 2016. These perhaps less surprising trends in Trend Micro’s report ‘The Fine Line: 2016 Security Predictions’ are clouded by one striking prediction: “due to the increasing use of smart devices in our daily activities, at least one smart device failure will have lethal consequences. Call it the first human cyber casualties or what you will, it is at the very least a prediction that we should consider for a moment.
As the use of smart devices becomes more ubiquitous, so does the impact of these devices on our daily life. As a consequence, the impact of attacks and security breaches becomes more personal too. It is only one of the reasons why we should be grateful that more and more users, companies and governments are taking an offensive and proactive stance in cybersecurity. Governments are imposing harsher legislations and penalties on cybercriminals and malware. Organizations are increasingly appointing Chief Security Officers, and users are installing software to block malvertising.
Unfortunately this also means that cybercriminals will resort to even more advanced technologies and social engineering to reach their criminal purposes. The attacks will become more personal, targeted at companies as well as consumers. As a side-effect, we will also see an increase in online extortion, using the acquired information of the cybercriminals’ targets to blackmail these victims.
Other interesting findings from the Trend Micro 2016 Security Predictions include:
- Mobile malware will grow to about 20 million malicious apps, especially in China, and will gradually focus on new mobile payment methods;
- Hacktivists will refine their methods of attack, in order to systematically destroy their targets with high-profile data breaches;
- Less than 50% of the organizations expect to employ cybersecurity experts by the end of 2016;
- Legislation worldwide further expands into a global cybersecurity defense model, which will lead to even more succesful arrests, persecutions and convictions.
Want to know more? Check out


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Blockchain to Boost Trade Finance by $1 Trillion in Ten Years: World Economic Forum
Innovations in blockchain technology are making it easier for businesses and nations to conduct cross-border trade. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), distributed ledger technologies could add $1 trillion to global trade finance over the next decade.
In a newly released report titled Trade Tech – A New Age for Trade and Supply Chain Finance, WEF and Bain & Company highlight the economic benefits of integrating DLTs into existing supply chains. According to the researchers, an additional $1 trillion in financing will be added to global supply chains by 2028 as a direct result of increased DLT integration. This figure represents new capital that would have otherwise been missed out on had DLT never existed.
“Distributed ledger and other technological innovations promise groundbreaking advances in trade and supply chain finance by reducing costs and ease of use,” the report reads.
If achieved, the funding boost could significantly reduce the current trade finance gap, which WEF and Bain place at $1.5 trillion. This figure is expected to reach $2.4 trillion by 2025.
The researchers claim that roughly 30%, or $1.1 trillion in new trade volume, will come from DLTs removing existing market barriers. Roughly 40%, or 0.9% trillion of traditional trade, will move to the blockchain for “better services and lower fees.”
Blockchain and the Future
While cryptocurrency and fin-tech are the most prominent use cases of blockchain technology, a multitude of sectors are integrating DLTs into their business model. In a blockchain environment, “trust” is no longer governed by a central authority but rather through collaboration and code, which greatly enhances efficiency, transparency and economies of scale. Businesses that are involved in money transfers, escrow, payments or require detailed audits of any kind have a vested interest in the blockchain.
Today, investment in blockchain technology is mainly backed by venture capitalists and the cryptocurrency market. In the future, the expansion of communication networks and continued transformation of emerging markets will encourage greater adoption of DLTs.
Expansion of communication network on account of progression in the wireless technologies will augment the stationary battery storage market. Recurrent power failures and outages along with lack of efficient monitoring systems across the developing nations will complement the business outlook. Rapid technological advancements toward the development of distributed generation technologies will encourage the product adoption.
Governments have also identified DLTs as a major value driver for the future – something WEF documented in its report.
“[Governments] should include distributed ledger technology as part of any relevant, forward-looking regulatory considerations, such as cross-border food imports,” the report says. “With some governments already starting to make these moves, the laggards will become increasingly disadvantaged.”
Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.
Featured image courtesy of Shutterstock.


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The AFIA recently completed a market assessment of Brazil for U.S. feed additives using Emerging Markets Program funds obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Findings can be found in the report here.
Brazil is an economic leader in Latin America and is well respected in international arenas. A growing livestock, poultry and aquaculture sector make Brazil suitable for niche markets such as feed additives and ingredients from the United States. As corn and soybean meal prices continue to rise and put pressure on the animal production industry, feed additives and ingredients can play a critical role in relieving financial pressure and instability while ensuring a nutritious and complete diet for the animals. Particularly as Brazil negotiates trade agreements, it is imperative that the U.S. animal food industry develops strong ties with Brazilian producers now, ensuring American products become the foundation of industry progress.
Brazil’s agricultural value, including crop cultivation and livestock production, grew an average of 8% per year over the past two decades, doubling agricultural output and tripling livestock production. Brazil has transformed from an exporter of tropical agricultural goods like coffee and sugar to a major global commodity supplier. Expanding trade, and diversifying markets and products is at the core of Brazil’s growth strategy for agriculture. Headwinds like increased fuel and fertilizer costs, credit and storage limitations, environmental pressures and an overtaxed transportation system are major challenges to long-term growth (USDA ERS).
Brazil’s cattle production is estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service office in Sao Paolo (FAS Post) to expand 3% in 2022 and 1% in 2023, producing 48.2 million head. This expansion is driven by strong global demand, high beef prices and general growth of the industry. Still, Brazilian ranchers will be challenged by increased production costs (including feed prices), inflation and variable weather.
Meanwhile, the swine sector is predicted to reduce stocks in 2022 and 2023. Pork production is expected to decrease on account of unfavorable weather and increased production costs, especially feed costs. Corn and soybeans are considered the main animal feed inputs and global food inflation, the conflict in Ukraine and weather conditions have kept prices for these crops high. Furthermore, fertilizer prices have steadily grown and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has created additional volatility in fertilizer pricing (FAS GAIN).
Brazil is the world’s second-largest producer and largest exporter of chicken meat. FAS Post forecasts the export volume for 2023 at 5 million metric tons, a 6% increase year-over-year. Production is estimated at 14.85 million metric tons in 2023, a historical record and a 3% increase year-over-year. This is thanks to both improved domestic consumption and strong global demand. China is Brazil’s top export market and accounts for 34% of Brazil’s total production. Pricing has been impacted by steep increases in input costs, which have risen 5-20% from January to July of 2022 (FAS GAIN).
Brazil’s aquaculture sector is becoming increasingly competitive globally, with production increasing on an industrial scale and improvements in product quality. The sector continues to develop from an organizational standpoint and from an investment perspective. Tilapia makes up the largest share of farmed fish production in Brazil. In the second half of 2022, export value doubled and increased 14% by volume compared to the same period of 2021, with sales reaching $14.3 million, demonstrating a shift in value-added (Intrafish, Mercopress). Artisanal fisheries dominate the northern regions of the country and industrial fisheries dominate the south. Consumer interests in aquaculture products as an alternative protein have increased and provide a keen opportunity for U.S. feed additives and ingredients to support a growing industry.
Brazil is ranked sixth in per capita consumption of meat, including beef, pork, poultry and sheep, behind the United States, Israel, Australia, Argentina and Chile, at 78.48 kg/capita in 2020, or 28.8 million tons. Poultry is the most consumed kind of animal protein within Brazil, followed by beef, then pork.
FAS Post forecasts that beef consumption will increase 1% in 2023 thanks to stable prices in the market. COVID-19 has changed meat consumption in Brazil with total meat consumption falling to the lowest level since 1996. Domestic beef demand fell due to high prices, 24.8 kg annual per capita, down 8% from pre-pandemic levels. Pork consumption increased during the pandemic to 17.5 kg per person in 2022, 5% higher than in 2020. Chicken consumption increased as well, up 2% in 2021 to 48 kg per person and ending 2022 at 48.6 kg (National Supply Company, CONAB).
Milk consumption in Brazil fell during COVID-19 due to effects of both the pandemic and economic hardship. Despite slight recovery in 2021, consumption again fell in 2022 by 4%, but a recovery of 3% is expected for 2023. Dairy products like cheese, milk powder and butter are expected to have decreased production due to higher costs and low milk availability, as well as reduced consumer demand. The dairy sector in Brazil continues to face challenges of high production costs, unpredictable weather and economic conditions hampering demand, but FAS Post does expect some recovery in 2023 (FAS GAIN).
Antibiotics Ban: In 2019, the Brazilian government's Department of Agricultural Defense (SDA) implemented new restrictions on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal agriculture. Under the new regulations, antibiotics that were previously used solely for growth promotion purposes are now classified as veterinary prescription drugs. This means that their use must be strictly regulated and supervised by veterinarians. The SDA aims to ensure that antibiotics are only administered to animals for therapeutic purposes, such as treating diseases or preventing infections.
Sustainability: Brazil last updated its nationally determined contributions (NDC) in March 2022, which set out parties' targets and commitments to climate action. Brazil has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 37% by 2025 and 50% by 2030. Brazil's commitments also include a long-term objective: achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
Feed Sector Development: The Brazilian government has implemented programs aimed at improving livestock production and efficiency. These programs focus on genetic selection, animal nutrition, health management and the adoption of modern farming techniques to enhance productivity while minimizing environmental impacts. The government has also encouraged the adoption of technology and innovation in livestock and aquaculture production.
Good Manufacturing Practices Certificate Requirement: For several years, many U.S. animal feed facilities were unable to export to Brazil because they were unable to obtain the required good manufacturing practices (GMP) certificate needed in order to export to Brazil. The United States did not have a competent federal authority willing and able to issue these certificates. However, there were 12 states that had state departments of agriculture that were willing to issue GMP certificates, but only for facilities in their state. This meant that if a facility was not manufacturing in one of those 12 states, that facility could not export to Brazil. Through the efforts of the AFIA, the FDA resolved this issue in 2020 by modifying its certificate of free sale to include GMP language for circumstances such as exporting to Brazil. This development has opened a tremendous opportunity to promote U.S. feed additives and premixes in Brazil and compete more fairly in this important market. In the first year after the FDA made GMP certificates available, U.S. feed additive and premix exports to Brazil increased 19.8%
Overall, the animal protein industries, demand for animal protein and demand for Brazilian protein exports are growing and the animal feed industry is increasing production and working to meet this demand. This is an incredible opportunity for U.S. feed products such as additives and premixes. Feed additives and premixes complement and enhance diets and give producers and manufactures options when pricing is tight and quality product is a requirement.
There are many opportunities for Brazil to further adopt new technologies through the use of U.S. feed additives as well as for the AFIA to demonstrate the superiority of U.S. feed additives and premixes in comparison to competitors. U.S. feed additives can assist animal producers address challenges the face in animal production. The AFIA has an opportunity to demonstrate how U.S. feed additives can enhance feed conversion and feed intake, mitigate animal diseases, maintain feed quality, improve feed and animal performance, support animal health, improve efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The U.S. feed industry’s challenge is to differentiate its products from those of competitors and demonstrate the value to Brazilian feed manufacturers, animal producers and government.
Brazil imported a record $334.6 million worth of animal feed and pet food in 2022, a 3% growth in value from 2020. Imports have been steadily increasing over the past 10 years, indicating the animal production demands being put on the country. The majority of Brazil’s feed additive and premix imports fall under the tariff code 230990. The EU-27 is the largest trade partner in this category, followed by China, then the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany and France (Figure 1).
Not only is the EU-27 the largest exporter of these products to Brazil, its exports now represent 44.3% of what Brazil imports, up from 34.9% in 2016. China’s market share grown slightly since 2017, from 22.8% to 28.5% in 2022. Although, China’s market share in 2016 was up to 31%. The U.S. holds 11.5% of the market, but over the past decade has of course faced increased competition from the EU-27 and China.


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The In & # 39; etname currently still day 31/3, but the Korean people greeted the new day 1/4. After Korea has only 12:00 minutes, the social network in the & # 39; etnam becomes turbulent, because the news series dating, news stars Kbiz in & # 39; etnam hold fan meeting event with mass & # 39 are.
Of course, those who are sober enough, it can be recognized that n1/4 with lean & # 39 is an April Fools – a holy day for the society and Fanpage fans Kpop KPop promote a "blind fire hit," Self create sensational news about their idol Here are the hottest rumors recently began a series of pages and immediately led people riot..
Or Dong-Wook pair pal Song Ji Hyo, and finally familiarity
According to reports from the fan page, Lee Dong Wook and her best friend Ji Hyo Song age finally acquaintance. Reportedly, the couple looked back at 6 months. Very romantic image, he said Lee Dong Wook and Song Ji Hyo made people confident that this is the real message of love couple. But in fact, it is still a rumor, he says "launches a smokescreen" to meet this Fanpage.
Picture of "acquaintance" Lee Dong Uk and Song Ji Hyo homemade fan
In fact, sending not "cut" any pair of April 1/4
In fact, the network users are not outraged by this false rumor Fanpage, that even very excited. Many fans are looking forward to a couple officially dating in real life. In addition, many people do not believe that K-pop fans should be ready to send, too, was "slam" a pair of "fiction" in the day, it's a lie.
2 stars like old friends
G-Dragon and Son Tung M-TP meets Dispatch captured rare images of the second series will be removed in the army
Also today, the page Kpop fan led fan pair of G-Dragon and son Tung noise, when the news came exclusively from dispatch. Accordingly, the mailing was seen Korea & # 39; 2 stars etnam intimate encounter in the army. Black characters in the image region called the Son Tung. Since employers are hit «Run now there are" recent continuous fever for all associated with Snoop Dogg Jay was noticed, so fans as a basis to believe rumors Son Tung met with G-Dragon.
Nevertheless, the characters dressed in black in the picture it is not by nature the Son Tung M-TP Lee Tae Hee – control G-Dragon. In the main area of the image, he does not like Son Tung, in this series of photos RUSH fans.
Kpop Fanpage rumored April Fools
Original photos G-Dragon and management in the armed forces
In fact, this rumor, determine the social network in the & # 39; etname in 2018. At that time, many fans mistook control in & # 39; etnamskay G-Dragon in Son Tung, creating hilarious situations and a fever online community. After 1 year, the rumor continued to make waves of Internet users.
Kim Hyun So fanmeeting in 3 countries of Asia, including in the & # 39; etnam!
Fanpage Kim So Hyun was spectacular stunt on & # 39; is the latest news: Why chatter for a while So Hyun Kim will hold a fan meeting in three Asian countries, including & # 39; etnam lucky place to be an actress that choice. It Fanpage also do pretty complex, the poster with the logo of the company's manager Kim Hyun So for this virtual event.
Poster Fanpage do quite realistic, causing many fans to cheat. However, fans are also extremely interesting because humor and invested it Fanpage
Jessica Jung to open exclusive shops in Ho Chi Minh City
Who supporter Jessica knows she owns a fashion label and part of the country to promote the product. And according to information from the singer Jessica Fanpage open official store for fashion brands in the & # 39; etname, and also held a fan signing here. Fanpage poster is not only realistic, but also create an Instagram page to cater to the "trick" is.


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Taxi-hailing apps help potential passengers locate a ride in real time. They simply put their location into an app, which is then sent to designated cars nearby. The first to arrive on the scene gets to pick up the customer. In many locations, users can also pay for their ride using the app, but New Yorkers currently have to pay for their ride in the traditional manner, either with cash … Read more
After an eight-month absence punctuated by legal battles, Uber taxi's service is returning to the streets of New York City.
Uber launched its taxi-hailing pilot program on Tuesday night, just days after a State Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought to put a stop to the program. Passengers will be able to hail a cab with a smartphone app, but the app won't accept payments, at least initially.
"The way New Yorkers hail yellow cabs fundamentally transforms today, and we're proud that it's Uber who gave the Big Apple this option," Uber … Read more
New York officials gave Uber the green light Friday, making it the first taxi-hailing app to operate in the cab-filled city.
Taxi Commissioner David Yassky put out a statement today, announcing the approval of Uber and promising that other companies will get a piece of the action as well:
Thanks to the NYS Supreme Court's ruling this week, we will be able to see e-hail services made available to the riding public through a one-year pilot program that officially begins today. The first provider to be approved is Uber Technologies, Inc. There are several other companies in various stages … Read more
The on-again, off-again scenario of whether to allow taxi-hailing apps to set up shop for a pilot program in New York City is back on again.
State Supreme Court Judge Carol Huff dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that sought to halt the pilot program, which was filed by a group of mostly livery-car companies, according to the Associated Press. This means that startups like Uber, GetTaxi, and Hailo can now commence with e-hails.
The way the taxi-hailing apps work is by letting potential passengers put their location information into the app, which is then sent to yellow cabs. The first taxi … Read more
Uber is headed toward another obstacle from city officials, and this time it's in Denver, Colo.
The state's Public Utilities Commission is proposing changes to the rules that regulate motor vehicle transportation, which could essentially shut UberDenver down.
The transportation startup announced today that it's going to fight to keep its service in the state. Uber has created a petition for Colorado residents to sign in support of Uber. The company is also urging locals to e-mail the state's governor, John Hickenlooper, and the chairman and director of the Public Utilities Commission.
"Since our launch … Read more
Uber started offering its taxi service in Washington, D.C., today, according to the controversial on-call car service's blog.
Uber said the number of taxis are limited for now. "Many taxis don't fit Uber standards, so we are curating our supply pretty carefully," the blog reads.
Uber lets users order cars through its app and put all charges onto an on-file credit card. To request a taxi instead of the usual black sedan, customers need to select "TAXI" in the Uber app. Standard taxi fees apply, and a 20 percent gratuity will be automatically … Read more
New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission voted today in favor of a one-year test program that would let people use a smartphone app to hail a taxicab.
And that was sweet news for startup Uber. The private-car service had begun offering its app to cab users in September but stopped the effort a little more than a month later when the commission raised concerns over a long-standing agreement between the taxicab and for-hire vehicle industries.
That arrangement prohibits prearranged rides in New York's iconic yellow cabs, and members of the for-hire industry had said apps like Uber'… Read more
Whether people call a taxi or hail one can be a contentious matter in New York City -- because of rules set up between yellow cabs and for-hire vehicles. So, it's no surprise that a smartphone app that lets users beckon yellow cabs has been a topic of hot debate with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The commission announced Wednesday that it will vote on whether to allow such apps in a pilot program, according to the New York Times. The vote is scheduled for Thursday. Update December 13 at 10:04 a.m. PT: On … Read more
Embattled private car service Uber appears to be making inroads in Washington, D.C.
After a series of conflicts with regulators in the nation's capital, the quickly growing startup that lets people request rides via their smartphones scored a victory yesterday when the city council unanimously approved a legislative framework for "digital dispatch" transportation services.
The "Public Vehicle-for-Hire Innovation Amendment Act" (PDF) amends the D.C. Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985 -- the rules under which taxis operate in the city -- to include a separate class of for-hire vehicles and sedans that operate … Read more
To generate interest around the New York-based fashion brand Nooka, best known for its unconventionally designed wristwatches, designer Mike Lubrano wants to make NYC taxi cabs out of DeLorean DMC-12s, specifically the DeLorean time machine made famous by the "Back to the Future" films.
The normally bare stainless-steel finish of the DeLorean gets a coat of taxi-yellow paint and the concept, which only exists as a digital photo manipulation, receives NYC taxi livery and rooftop signage. The gull-winged DeLorean certainly looks cool, but with seating for only two passengers including the driver, the DMC-12 is definitely a less-than-ideal … Read more


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Microsoft today announced that the Xbox One will get the Windows 10 upgrade on November 12th. There are currently users who are testing out the new features via the Preview program, and it’s all coming together next month.
The announcement was made by Microsoft on Twitter this evening:
— Xbox (@Xbox) October 27, 2015
Windows 10 Coming to Xbox One
If you’re currently using Xbox One, you’re probably not too happy with the lag time when switching between apps or settings using the dashboard. This new upgrade promises to provide faster performance, an improved gaming experience, vertical scrolling instead of horizontal (which takes longer to get to items), and expanded social features.
At first, the number of 360 games will be limited at first, though. Microsoft says: “Now you can play a growing number of your Xbox 360 games on Xbox One at no additional cost. With over 100 titles slated for this fall, and hundreds more in the months to come…”
Something else that’s interesting is that all 360 games you get for free with the Games with Gold subscription will be compatible, too.
Other improvements will be a new guide for notifications, friends, and messages, and optimized store, and much more.
Microsoft is taking another step in the right direction and getting Windows 10 on virtually every device including PCs, tablets, Xbox One, Windows Phone, tablets, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
For a quick look at what the new Xbox One experience will be like, check out the video below.
For a full look at all of the new features coming to Xbox One with Windows 10, check out this Xbox.com site.


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Ways to Save: Top Black Friday deal secrets
Matt Granite compiled a list of the top Black Friday "must-knows" this year. Go to @MattGranite on Twitter for more Black Friday tips and deals.
In today's Ways to Save video, Matt Granite gives you the must-know information about Black Friday deals that will make you the smartest shopper this year.
Matt Granite is a consumer reporter with Gannett's WKYC station in Cleveland. His Ways to Save report offers tips to consumers on how to save money and features daily deals.
Go to wkyc.com or @MattGranite on Twitter for more information on these deals.
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When It Happens Panel Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting 'OXFORD NEWS' to 80360 or email
Robber holds up Aldi at knifepoint
3:22pm Monday 9th July 2012 in News
A ROBBER threatened staff at Aldi with a knife this morning and made off with “a substantial amount” of cash in a holdall.
The incident happened at the Botley Road, Oxford, store at about 9am and police still are hunting for the suspect.
The well-dressed man - wearing a suit - entered the store and managed to get into an office where he demanded cash and threatened staff with a blade.
Police spokesman Lucy Billen said he left by the back of the store with a “substantial amount” of money.
The man, who had his dark hair tied up in a ponytail, was described as white, and in his late 20s to early 30s.
He was dressed in a dark suit, with a white shirt and a grey and dark blue striped tie and polished black shoes.
The police have only just released the details of the incident.
Anyone who saw the man running away from the back of the store should call police on 101 or speak to the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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YOUNGSTERS can learn all about pets at free workshops during the Easter holidays.
Pets at Home stores are holding the classes as part of National Pet Month.
Held at 3pm every day during the holidays, they aim to educate children on how to responsible pet owners.
A spokesman for the company said: “Our small animal pet workshops are something fun and interesting for children to take part in over the Easter holidays.
“At Pets at Home we are passionate about pets and their welfare is our top priority, which is why we are working with National Pet Month to educate children about responsible pet ownership.
“We want to pass on our pet care expertise to as many pet owners and future owners as possible.”
The classes will be taking place at Pets at Home’s Wessington Way and Washington stores.
Go to www.petsathome.com for more details.


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CMC-CIC Innovation Invests in Universign
Universign –French vendor specialising in e-signing processes– just raised €12 million. This funding round was led by historical shareholder CM-CIC Innovation, subsidiary of Crédit Mutuel-CM11, along with Caisse des Dépôts and Odyssée Venture.
This start-up was founded in 2001 to propose timestamping, digital identity management and digital signing solutions. Their non-binding offer and per-use pricing scales contributed to their steady growth: 40% annually over several years.
Universign can now count on more than 3,000 corporate customers and administrations, using their technology to dematerialise digital signing processes. Their SaaS platform has been adopted in 150 countries. They claim 50 million timestamps and more than 10 million digital signing procedures per year. And they propose a mutualised database which includes more than 500,000 digital identities.
This new investment will help them further reach out for European expansion (especially in Benelux, Germany, Italy and Spain). They will also be hiring 120 additional employees by the end of 2019.
Comments – The expanding market of digital signing
Universign expects digital signing solutions to be massively adopted by corporate and administrative organisations. According to a survey conducted in 2017 by Market Research, the global digital signing market is worth more than $900 million, and its assessed growth perspective nearly reaches 30% per year. In France, it was worth €35 million in 2017; despite this slower uptake, it could amount to €45 million in 2018. Universign doesn’t want to miss this profitable opportunity. CM-CIC Innovation already invested in this FinTech and further stresses the trust they place in this company, helping them achieve their goals.
This funding round is a chance for Universign to feed an ecosystem based on partnerships. They are part of the Adobe Approved Trust List, and they want other solutions to integrate with their e-signing service. Eventually, this announcement is a way for them to attract new customers and face up to competition, especially from the US leader DocuSign, and from the Normandy-based start-up Yousign.


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The owner of more than 10 eateries on Oahu opened his second steakhouse, Little Joe’s, on Friday the 13th.
Even the constantly worsening news about COVID-19 couldn’t derail his plans. “We are moving forward,” Kim said.
With its dim lighting and brown walls, Little Joe’s has the comfortable feel of an old-time steakhouse, without all that smoke.
There is one oddity, though: The tables include hot-pot cookers, held over from Umamiya Shabu Shabu, Kim’s previous restaurant at the same location. (No, that doesn’t mean patrons have to cook their own food.) There are no plans to replace the tables, in order to control costs and keep menu prices down, Kim said.
Little Joe’s is indeed more affordable than other steakhouses in town. A 12-ounce filet goes for $32.95 and a 16-ounce rib-eye is $25.95. The menu also includes all the classic steakhouse sides, plus poke and sashimi to remind you that you’re in Hawaii.
The restaurant is running an introductory special of a 16-ounce New York strip with salad and gelato for $29.95.
The wine list isn’t as elaborate as at Signature Prime Steak & Seafood, Kim’s other steakhouse, but you can get an excellent Manhattan for $11.50.
An extensive happy-hour menu, with discounts on 28 food items and 18 beverages runs daily from 4:30 to 7 p.m., when dinner reservations begin. Little Joe’s closes at 10.
The steakhouse is at 580 N. Nimitz Highway, next to Liliha Bakery (also owned by Kim and where Joe’s bread and desserts are produced).
Call 524-0088 or go to LittleJoes Steakhouse.com for reservations.
Dave Reardon, Star-Advertiser
No, vodka can’t do everything
Vodka is a sought-after remedy for many things, but the coronavirus panic-driven lack of hand sanitizer is forcing one vodka brand to clarify its limitations.
Tito’s Vodka appears to have spent time recently notifying a number of fans on Twitter that its spirits don’t contain high enough concentrations of alcohol to properly fend off germs, citing verification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As soon as we saw the incorrect articles and social posts, we wanted to set the record straight,” a spokesperson for Tito’s told The Dallas Morning News. “While it would be good for business for our fans to use massive quantities of Tito’s for hand sanitizer, it would be a shame to waste the good stuff, especially if it doesn’t sanitize (which it doesn’t, per the CDC).”
The company’s social media team has responded to tweets suggesting the use of Tito’s in homemade hand sanitizer recipes.
“Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC,” Tito’s tweeted.
The number of articles offering advice on how to make homemade hand sanitizer have spiked (naturally) in the last week as stores across the country have sold out of Purell and other brands. The shortage has also led to complaints about price gouging.
Popular recipes recommend combining aloe vera with either isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or spirits at least 180 proof (60% alcohol content). This would include such ultra-potent specialty spirits as Bacardi 151 (75.5%), absinthe (up to 90%) and Everclear (up to 95%)
It’s important to note, though, that health experts say washing your hands with soap and water is a more effective way to prevent the spread of germs.
Tribune News Service
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Chemicals & Materials Now!
From basic to specialty, and everything in between
Solid State Battery Technology
Posted on February 14th, 2017 by Chris Walker in Chemical Manufacturing Excellence
Batteries have been in more headlines that many would have liked over the last twelve months. Samsung in particular have had a difficult time. But while recent events have focused attention on some of the shortcomings of current batteries, they’ve also got many of us looking to the future of battery technology.
The Limitations of Liquid
One of the most restrictive properties of current Lithium Ion batteries is the use of liquid electrolytes. While the materials used ensure that ions are able to easily move between electrodes, they’re highly volatile and mean that attention needs to be paid to the battery size, shape and packaging.
The liquids can become very unstable or burst into flame when there’s a short circuit and are often explosive when exposed to oxygen if the battery is pierced for some reason.
Mark Zimmerman, the founder of Ionic Materials, has been working on a more stable alternative for the last four years. In his demonstrations, he likes to shock onlookers by driving a nail straight through the battery his company has developed.
Of course, his battery is one which doesn’t burst into flame when pierced.
Solid Electrolytes Could Be The Answer
Ionic Materials are developing a “solid” Lithium polymer battery that is based on their solid polymer electrolyte which is the world’s first that works at room temperature. They believe they have developed the first solid with all of the necessary properties to replace liquid electrolytes currently used in battery technology.
The company was awarded a $3m development contract by the United States Department of Energy back in September, which was one of 16 awards aimed at solid battery technology development.
While still in development, Ionic Materials are hopeful of beginning manufacture of their solid lithium polymer batteries within the next two years. When released to market, this technology has the potential to tick all of the boxes for use in most of the consumer electronics products we use today.
It’s safer and more stable than current batteries because of the removal of the liquid electrolyte. The solid batteries also have a greater energy density and are cheaper to produce. The cost reduction is caused partly by the reduction in safety considerations and the impact they can have on design, but also because the units can be manufactured using efficient high-volume polymer processing techniques.
In a recent New York Times article Paul Albertus, a program manager at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, commented on this technology and the pace of developments in battery technology as a whole. He said “We’re in a golden age of new chemistry development which probably hasn’t been seen in thirty or 40 years, since the last energy crisis… It’s a pretty exciting time to be developing energy storage technology.”
With the amount of innovation energy storage technology on show, I’d have to agree with him.
All opinions shared in this post are the author’s own.
R&D Solutions for Chemicals & MaterialsWe're happy to discuss your needs and show you how Elsevier's Solution can help.
- Imminent Challenges Threatening The Supply Of Lithium Ion Batteries
- Are Ultracapacity Polymeric Supercapacitors viable alternatives to Batteries?
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7: A fiery phone story with a good ending!
- Store five times more charge in your cell phone – thanks to its Lithium Sulfur battery!
- The Remote Charging Solution


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Vish Gain speaks to three start-ups to find out how tech innovation from Ireland is making a global impact.
When the founders of Irish tech start-up Intouch welcomed former Coca-Cola senior executive Francisco Crespo onto their board, little did they know that two years later Mexico would emerge as one of the company’s most important markets.
Intouch is part of a growing list of Irish start-ups that are going global – not just plotting a European expansion or crossing the pond over to the US.
While the UK and the Eurozone remain the big export markets for growing Irish companies, some are looking beyond the usual suspects to expand their business in new regions such as Africa, east Asia and the Middle East.
Intouch with the Mexican market
On a mission to help retailers build shops of the future by digitising the in-store experience, Intouch was founded in 2015 by Dr Sameh Abdalla, Doychin Doychev and Tim Arits.
Today, it has more than 40 employees spread across Ireland, the US, Egypt and the Netherlands, and plans to hire more in Mexico.
Crespo, a Coca-Cola veteran who served as president of its Mexican business, proved to be an invaluable resource to Intouch after he invested in the company and joined its board.
“It was through Francisco’s contacts in the Latin America region that we got speaking to a number of high-profile retailers and brands in Mexico,” Seamus McHugh, retail sales director at Intouch, told SiliconRepublic.com.
In June, Intouch signed a deal with Mexican retailer Kiosko to provide machine learning and AI-powered retail tech that customises recommendations for shoppers by analysing various data points. These include the location of the store, the demographic of customers, time of the year and weather, among other things.
The multi-year contract will see Kiosko eventually deploy the novel technology in many of its 600-odd stores across Mexico.
“Kiosko will help us to deliver our solution and expand into a new market, fulfilling our mission of making physical spaces more interactive and rewarding than online ones to all parties: retailers, brands and customers,” Artis said at the time.
Beyond to Japan
Thousands of miles away from Mexico, another Irish start-up has been making inroads to bring its tech to a big market: Japan.
Dublin-based GridBeyond, which announced this week that it secured €6m in debt financing for growth, found a golden opportunity to bring its energy resource management tech to one of the world’s most energy consuming countries per capita.
When Taoiseach Micheál Martin visited Japan in July, he met local GridBeyond representative Shunsuke Amanai to discuss the global energy crisis and to share lessons learned on how island markets can best manage volatility in a high renewables future.
“Japan is the biggest deregulated market in the world,” GridBeyond CEO and co-founder Michael Phelan told SiliconRepublic.com.
“It’s a fairly volatile market as an island, and they’re starting to add some renewables. They’re probably a bit nervous with nuclear as to how much of it they really want to have.”
According to Phelan, because of Japan’s relative lack of natural resources, the country is now increasingly looking towards renewables as a source of energy. “If they can harvest the wind and harvest the sun, that makes a lot of sense. If they start doing that, then they have more of a need for these flexibility and storage services.”
And that’s where GridBeyond comes in. Commercially trading since 2010, when it was called Endeco Technologies, the company is using AI and data science to optimise energy generation and storage.
Working with local partners such as Chiyoda and Mitsubishi, GridBeyond is helping Japanese businesses manage their energy resources and make significant cost savings, with an office planned in the island nation by the end of this year.
As well as Japan, GridBeyond has also expanded into other international markets in recent years, including the US and Australia. In response to the energy crisis, it has developed a new hedging and trading product that can be offered alongside its funded energy storage offering.
An Offr in South Africa
One part of the world that often gets overlooked by Irish start-ups going global is the continent of Africa – which is home to some of the fastest growing economies and populations on Earth.
Offr, an Irish start-up that is bringing digital transformation to the way properties are bought and sold, tapped into this region’s potential by striking a deal with South African real estate group Pam Golding Properties in June.
Launched in 2019, just months before the pandemic started, Enterprise Ireland-supported Offr has developed transparent bidding and transaction technology for residential and commercial properties.
CEO and founder Robert Hoban told SiliconRepublic.com that Offr digitises what is an “extraordinarily old school and old-fashioned process” that has remained unchanged for over 100 years in most countries.
“Consumers can use their smartphone to quickly see offers that are on a property, submit their own offers with proof of funds and photo ID, and close out sales. So, it reduces the time from when a property goes live to when it actually completes by over 50pc.”
A previous SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week, Offr is now making inroads in South Africa with other partnerships, including home loan experts Ooba, and auction companies Claremart and BidStream.
Offr’s business in Africa and the Middle East is headed by David Murphy, who is based in Cape Town. “The fact that Offr is a technology solution rather than a property company is a key factor to its success in the region,” Murphy said in June.
“Offr is not a competitor to real estate agents, instead it is a white label industry solution that enables real estate agents to be better at what they do and create huge efficiencies within their day-to-day business.”
Hoban told SiliconRepublic.com that while Offr has played within its comfort zone, targeting English-speaking countries in similar time zones to Ireland, it is now venturing out as it expands to other parts of the world.
In the pipeline are further expansions into the Italian and Hong Kong markets, where language is a barrier.
“We’re also looking at Spanish language translation, particularly in the US where there’s a huge Hispanic population and many of them are buying or renting properties,” he added.
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Small businesses are not immune to cyber and Malware attacks. In fact, they are just as much at risk as large corporations and government organizations, if not more so. Certain types of cyber attacks are evolving at a pace that outstrips the development of many defensive measures, and small business owners need to be aware of how to protect their business and employees from becoming easy cyber targets. Networks Northwest’s Cyber Security Summit will address these areas of concern and action for small business owners:
Cyber Security Best Practices
Protecting your company information
What to do if your company has been breached
Password best practices
Buying and selling online
NIST 800-171 compliance
In partnership with Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), Northwest Michigan Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Northern Michigan Global Trade Alliance, and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) , the summit will feature panel discussions and individual presentations by Cyber Security experts from around the state who are at the forefront of working to protect small business owners or investigate and prosecute the attackers.


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Microsoft, whose offer for Yahoo is now worth $41.2 billion, was preparing to escalate its takeover fight by starting a proxy contest next week. But in an effort to delay that move, Yahoo said Wednesday that it was extending the deadline for nominating directors until 10 days after the announcement of a date for its annual meeting.
The maneuver comes as Yahoo has stepped up merger and joint venture talks with AOL, a unit of Time Warner, these people said.
Microsoft had been preparing to nominate a slate of directors to the board of Yahoo by next Thursday, the deadline for mounting a proxy contest. In its announcement on Wednesday, Yahoo said it was seeking more time to consider alternatives.
“As the company has not yet announced the date of this year’s annual meeting, the amendment will give stockholders who want to nominate one or more directors, including Microsoft Corporation, more time to do so,” the company said. “The amendment does not preclude any party from nominating one or more directors at any time prior to the new deadline.”Continue reading the main story
It gave no indication of when the annual meeting might be held.
Under the laws of Delaware, where Yahoo is incorporated, a public company cannot go more than 13 months without holding an annual meeting. Yahoo held its annual meeting last year on June 12.
The delay could leave room for Microsoft to reach a negotiated, friendly deal with Yahoo, which would be made much more difficult if Microsoft decided it needed to pursue the proxy contest. On the other hand, Yahoo’s continued maneuvering might just harden Microsoft’s resolve.
Spokesmen for Yahoo and Microsoft declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Yahoo, which has been canvassing for other possible suitors and has held talks with the News Corporation and Google, appears to be focused on a possible transaction with AOL, people involved in the talks said.
It is unclear what shape a deal could take. AOL is far too small to buy Yahoo, but a joint venture or merger of the two properties — which would combine AOL’s strong position in the display advertising market and Yahoo’s display and search advertising business — could be seen as an alternative to a sale to Microsoft.
A deal between Yahoo and AOL is being supported by Google, which has a 5 percent stake in AOL, these people said.
Most analysts believe it is unlikely that a combination with AOL or the News Corporation, or a business deal with Google, would persuade Yahoo shareholders they would fare better than by taking Microsoft’s offer. The cash-and-stock bid was initially $44.6 billion but has fallen along with Microsoft’s stock.
Last week, AOL’s chief executive, Randy Falco, appeared to dismiss talk of a deal with Yahoo and seemed to be reveling in the drama. “I hope they beat each other’s brains out over search and leave the display market to us,” Mr. Falco said at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s annual conference. “I think it’s a mistake. But I think Napoleon said never interrupt your enemy when they’re in the middle of making a mistake.”Continue reading the main story