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Developers have found references of the Google Pixel 5a 5G using the Snapdragon 765G chipset within the codes of Android 12. Here are all details.
There will no new Google Pixel smartphone coming to the Indian shores this year, as confirmed by a previous Google announcement. However, the US and Japanese markets will get a Pixel 5a 5G as the successor to the 2020 Pixel 4a 5G. Previous leaks suggested a lot of similarity with the Pixel 4a 5G’s design and another recent one suggests the same for the chipset – thanks to Android 12 code.
Based on a report from 9To5Google, the Google Pixel 5a 5G is expected to run on the same Snapdragon 765G chip that was utilized on the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. The evidence comes from the codes of Android 12 Developer Preview 3, suggesting the presence of the Snapdragon 765G in this year’s Pixel 5a.
Pixel 5a 5G to use Snapdragon 765G
If this ends up being the truth, it will be the first time that Google decided not to upgrade the chip on its next-gen phone. The Pixel “a series” kicked off with the Pixel 3a in 2019 and relied on the Snapdragon 670 chip. 2020’s Pixel 4a was upgraded to the Snapdragon 730G for the Indian market. The Pixel 4a 5G introduced later got the Snapdragon 765G chip, which also powered the Pixel 5 flagship.
Previous leaks have suggested that the Pixel 5a 5G will be based on the Pixel 4a 5G. While there’s no specific reason mentioned for carrying forward the same specs, it is evident that Google aims to bring down the price of the Pixel 5a 5G, as it did with the Pixel 4a last year.
The Pixel 5a 5G renders reveal the same design as the Pixel 4a 5G, complete with the edge-to-edge OLED display with a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera. The capacitive fingerprint sensor is still present at the back and there are no dual cameras on the rear. This is expected t be the same setup from the Pixel 4a 5G, complete with a secondary ultra-wide camera.
The Pixel 5a 5G is expected to launch sometime around August 2021 and as Google confirmed, the phone will be coming to the US and Japanese markets. India and other markets will continue to get the Pixel 4a as the only Google smartphone offering.


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News & Events
Driving productivity growth across the food supply chain: the challenges and the polymer solutions
To foster exchange and collaboration between researchers, companies in the polymer industry, water authorities, and food producers to develop technologies and products that improve water use efficiency and productivity in food production and in the food supply chain.
The last CRC for Polymers seminar was held on Monday March 31st in Brisbane, it was well attended with 55 delegates at the seminar.
The format is of the seminars is a half day seminar, they includes networking opportunities at morning tea and lunch
Event enquiries: (03) 9518 0400

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All Posts Tagged Tag: ‘Yahoo’
Last month, Yahoo announced pricing info and search advertising/branding policies for the upcoming version of Yahoo Search BOSS, which is expected to be released this summer. Now, the company has released the technical documentation for developers.
To avoid any sense of false hype-building, we’ll admit right now: Softbank has already denied any involvement. But rumor has it that Yahoo is in discussions to sell its stake in Yahoo Japan to Softbank, and a whole lot of people are hoping that’s the case.
Yahoo Japan is, if you’ll recall, not exactly the Yahoo most Americans know. Yahoo only owns 33 percent of the organization, while Softbank controls a 42 percent stake. And Yahoo Japan’s also on a different path in other respects, considering it’s arranged to make use of Google’s search tech.
Facebook is on track to overtake Yahoo in display ad revenue this year, according to a new estimate from eMarketer.
Facebook’s display ad revenues will reach $2.19 billion this year, accounting for 21.6 percent of all U.S. display ad dollars. Yahoo’s market share will reach 16.4 percent, while Google will account for 12.6 percent of display ad spending.
Yahoo has introduced a finance app for the iPad called MarketDash.
MarketDash allows iPad users to manage views of stock charts, scroll across hours, days or months of market activity; plot points in time; and compare multiple stock tickers in one chart.
Pretty much everyone knows by now that Watson, the Jeopardy-playing supercomputer that was able to cream two human champions, was created by researchers at IBM. And IBM’s made clear that Watson doesn’t work its magic by searching the Internet. But apparently Yahoo tech did play a role in the creation of the machine.
Yahoo said today it would launch a digital newsstand called LiveStand, aimed at tablets and mobile phones, in the first half of this year.
The company said LiveStand will offer content to people based on their personal interests.
Content from Yahoo will include sports, news, finance, Flickr, omg!, and its contributor network.
Yahoo said today it has partnered with Monster on a deal under which the career site will provide job listings in Latin American markets.
Monster will become Yahoo’s provider of career and job content in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Monster says the partnership will give it access to almost 55 million new Internet users in Latin America. Terms of the deal were not released.
Heads up, Yahoo watchers. On April 1st, the company’s board of directors will undergo a change, with longtime board member Eric Hippeau resigning his post. David Kenny, the president of Akamai, will then join the group.
To first give some info on the departing member: Hippeau’s been on Yahoo’s board of directors since 1996. He’s also served as CEO of the Huffington Post since 2009. Now, however, he’s leaving behind both positions to join Lerer Ventures.
Sometime this summer, the latest version of Yahoo Search BOSS (Build Your Own Search Service) will launch, and on March 1st, Yahoo intends to provide lots more technical details. But this morning, Yahoo shared what many developers really need to know: pricing info, along with its search advertising and branding policies.
We’ll go ahead and paste Yahoo’s full table of pricing info below so that you can have a look at it. It’ll be pretty key in determining how everyone reacts to whatever else Yahoo has planned, after all.
Yahoo said today it is launching Yahoo Safely, ahead of Safer Internet Day on February 8, in an effort to create safer online experiences for young people.
Yahoo Safely allows users in 26 countries and 14 languages to access information and advices on making better choices online. The site aims to to inform parents, educators, and young people in their own languages about important topics, such as managing digital reputations, avoiding cyber-bullying, and learning how to minimize risks on mobile devices.
Yahoo said today that all of its real estate listings will now be powered by Zillow.
Zillow will also sell local advertising on both sites, and the 4 million listings on Zillow will appear on Yahoo Real Estate.
Real estate agents will be able to advertise locally on Yahoo Real Estate, and home buyers will have more access to listings on the site along with more photos.
As the Super Bowl approaches, so do the time-honored ads that will accompany it. Advertisers aren’t just turning to the game itself to capitalize, however. Many are turning to the web to get some mileage out of the event. The History Channel, for example, has turned to Yahoo, and will be running ads for a new Larry the Cable Guy show on Yahoo Sports to capitalize on the inevitable Super Bowl fan traffic.
The company that’s said to have turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google has now lured an important employee away from the second-biggest name in search. Michael Shim, Vice President of Mobile Business Development and Partnerships at Yahoo, will soon start at Groupon.
Shim’s resume is quite impressive. After graduating from Georgetown University and Cornell Law School, he worked for a time as a corporate lawyer. Then he collected some paychecks from AOL before starting at Yahoo in 2006.
The fourth quarter of 2010 could have gone much worse for Yahoo, judging from the earnings report the company released this afternoon. Yahoo’s numbers were generally higher than what analysts expected, perhaps earning Carol Bartz a few points in unhappy shareholders’ eyes. A low Q1 forecast threw a long shadow, however.
In a few minutes, Yahoo will release an earnings report concerning the fourth quarter of 2010, but prior to that, the company’s admitted that yet another round of layoffs is taking place. The number of affected individuals is probably in the neighborhood of 140.
Obviously, that’s not great news for those people, and it may not be a good sign for Yahoo, either. Many companies are expanding, not contracting, as the economy recovers.
U.S. paid search made solid gains in 2010 with 18.5 percent growth year-over-year, according to a new report from SearchIgnite.
The fourth quarter (Q4) showed strong growth, increasing 35.5 percent YoY with December leading the quarter at 44.8 percent YoY growth. The Q4 holiday season indicated improved consumer sentiment, with the average order value (AOV) up 31.3 percent YoY compared to a 13 percent decrease in 2009.
Australia, Brazil, and Mexico have populations of 22.5 million, 190.7 million, and 112.3 million people, respectively. Which adds up to 325.5 million potential users, all in all. It’s a big deal, then, that the Bing-Yahoo search transition progressed in these three countries today.
Yahoo Sports has launched “ThePostGame,” an online magazine it says “covers the world of sports from a lifestyle and entertainment perspective.”
ThePostGame features one-on-one interviews with athletes and coaches, The High Five, a daily line up of the five most popular sports links and original content from sports related blogs.
The Internet Society, a nonprofit organization for Internet standards has announced World IPv6 Day to take place on June 8. This is a day in which major web properties like Google, Facebook, and Yahoo (the three of which make up a combined billion visits per day) join major content delivery networks like Akamai and Limelight Networks for a 24-hour global trial of IPv6, the next-generation Internet protocol.
Most stories covering personnel moves at Yahoo don’t exactly count as wins for the company, but it looks like Yahoo’s set to attain a victory. Reports indicate Mickie Rosen will soon assume the title "Senior Vice President of the Yahoo Media Network."
Rosen has an impressive resume. Her career began at McKinsey & Company, a large and well-known consulting firm, while she attended Harvard Business School. She did stints at Disney, Quisic, Idealab, and Fandango afterward.
Yahoo Connected TV might soon get a serious bump in respectability in the eyes of sports fans and families with kids. A potential deal with Disney could bring content from ESPN and Disney (along with ABC) to the platform, according to a new report.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, Yahoo announced that it’s introducing some new connected TV features, partnerships and apps.
For one, Yahoo announced "Broadcast Interactivity" to launch with select national broadcast and cable TV providers and brand advertisers. The company is collaborating with ABC, CBS, HSN, and Showtime on content for a pilot program in the first half of 2011. Brand advertisers Ford, Mattel and Microsoft are also planning to work with Yahoo on this.
Anyone who’s looking to invest a little Christmas money might want to listen up. While we’re neither backing nor attacking this advice, Hudson Square Research has initiated coverage on Google and Yahoo, labeling them both a "buy" and setting price targets significantly above the stocks’ current prices.
Whatever his faults, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is at least persistent and ambitious. Allen proved this yesterday by refiling a patent infringement lawsuit against AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube.
The deadline for Yahoo Search Marketing advertisers to transition their campaigns to Microsoft’s adCenter is approaching. You’ve had ample time to do, but there are no doubt some procrastinators out there.
Facebook defines itself as something that "helps you connect and share with the people in your life," and now more than ever, it looks like folks are sharing videos. Brightcove and TubeMogul determined yesterday that Facebook passed Yahoo in terms of video streams referred during the third quarter.
To be clear: the difference wasn’t large, and Google’s still in the lead by a huge margin. Bing and Twitter aren’t entirely out of the running, either.
Shareholders may grumble, but there’s perhaps a bit of good news regarding the four percent of Yahoo’s employees who were laid off last week. Yahoo’s calculated the pre-tax cost of the layoffs at somewhere in the neighborhood of $35 million.
Fans of AltaVista, Delicious, Fire Eagle, and Yahoo Buzz – along with many other Yahoo properties – may want to devise a backup plan. A leaked corporate document indicates that a number of sites are due to be shut down, and more than a few others will in some way be merged.
It can be a bit of a balancing act when reports concerning the search market come out; if comScore, Experian Hitwise, and Nielsen all say different things, it’s embarrassing to have three contradictory headlines. New numbers from Experian Hitwise tend to agree with yesterday’s comScore stats in asserting that November was a good month for Bing, however.
comScore said Google’s market share went down, Yahoo’s went down, and Bing’s went up. Experian Hitwise found that Google’s share went down, Yahoo’s went up, and Bing’s also increased a bit.
Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft can’t agree on much, and you might imagine that tossing some politicians into the situation wouldn’t help, but a common goal’s come to light. These companies, along with many others and the Obama administration, intend to stop illegal online pharmacies from doing business.
AOL and Yahoo both have new focuses on churning out content. This is one reason why some industry analysts have suggested that the two companies would be a good fit for a merger. It’s made for interesting conversation, but there has never been any substantial evidence that the two companies would ever pursue such an endeavor.
The odds of Yahoo making any brilliant acquisitions in the near future – which were arguably already slim – appear set to decrease again. A report’s indicated that Andrew Siegel, the head of corporate development (and therefore mergers and acquisitions) is leaving the company.
The end of the year is almost here, and with it, so are the looks back at everything important that transpired in 2010. Yahoo’s more than done its part, too, as today the company released well over a dozen lists covering popular searches in different categories.
U.S. paid search spend from retailers has increased nearly 37 percent ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, compared to last year, according to a new report from SearchIgnite.
The increase in retailers’ online PPC spend appears to be paying off as the economy bounces back from the recession; the rate at which consumers converted after clicking on a paid search advertisement was up 28.7% and their Average Order Values from online shopping were up 20.7% YoY.


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Niche high-end marques can’t be immune to electrification if they want to avoid having to pay huge fines related to excessive emissions. For this reason, Lamborghini is announcing plans to offer an all-hybrid lineup by the end of 2024. In other words, the Huracan and Aventador replacements along with the Urus SUV facelift will all receive some type of electrification.
Not only that, but the peeps from Sant’Agata Bolognese are also revealing plans to introduce the company’s first pure electric car in the latter half of the decade. It’s unclear which shape it will take, either a sports car or a more practical vehicle with rear doors to join the family-friendly Urus. We’re hearing it will be a two-door gran tourer model based on the PPE platform that Audi is developing with Porsche.
In regards to the partially electrified models, it is believed the V10 Huracan and V12 Aventador successors will employ a plug-in hybrid powertrain. The bigger of the two mid-engined supercars will (thankfully) retain its twelve-cylinder mill while the future of the smaller unit is in doubt. Both cars are going to offer some sort of all-electric range, but the details are murky at this point.
Meanwhile, the Urus will be the first series production hybrid from Lamborghini and is due in 2023. It too is widely believed to adopt a PHEV setup, and while information is currently not available, the system could be similar to what Porsche is offering in the Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid. Given the Urus’ positioning in the VW Group, it will likely prioritize performance over efficiency, so expect more power at the expense of fuel economy.
The trio of hybrids will help Lamborghini slash its CO2 emissions by 50% by the beginning of 2025 and will require an investment of more than €1.5 billion in the next four years. It’s the largest investment in the company’s history and will also focus on carbon fiber to compensate for the added bulk of the new hardware related to the hybrid system.


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A study of 1,000 US employees by Keeper Security has found a majority are using sticky notes to store their work-related passwords.
Keeper’s Workplace Password Malpractice Report – conducted in February 2021 – found not only were passwords not being stored electronically, but employees admitted to having lost the sticky notes with their passwords on.
The security technology firm highlighted these findings are presenting an ‘unprecedented cybersecurity risk for their organizations’.
According to the report, more than half (57%) of employees surveyed were writing work-related passwords on notes. Two thirds (66%) of respondents had lost these notes. Keeper claims this latter fact makes it difficult to know who ultimately has access to sensitive company information.
A majority of the employees (62%) claimed they have a notebook or journal where they stored passwords and logins, while 81% said they kept these notebooks close or next to their work devices, where they could be accessed by any passer-by. The report highlighted this latter trend has increased since the shift to remote working, with 66% respondents stating they’re more likely to write down work passwords while working at home.
Sharing passwords is popular
A majority of respondents (62%) claimed they’ve also shared a work-related password over email or text message, a process which could be potentially intercepted by cybercriminals. Almost half (46%) stated that their company directed employees to share passwords for accounts used by multiple people. Furthermore, 34% of employees shared their passwords with colleagues on the same team and 31% shared this information with their managers. Meanwhile, 14% of respondents shared work-related passwords with a partner.
Quite worryingly, nearly a third of those surveyed (32%) admitted to having logged onto an online account that belongs to a former employer. Keeper noted best security practices dictate that an employee’s accounts should be disabled as soon as they leave the company.
Online password safety shaky
Alongside the study highlighting areas for improvement, it was found that a majority of employees (53%) kept password-protected personal accounts on their work devices, while 44% currently use the same password for both personal and work-related accounts.
In addition, 49% of respondents currently save work-related passwords in a document in the cloud. 51% stated they save passwords in a document in their desktop, while 55% save work-related passwords on their phone.
Personal details remain key password pick
The report found 37% of employees have used their company’s name when forming a new password, while another 34% used their significant other’s name or birthday. Additionally, 31% of respondents used their child’s name or birthday when creating a work-related password.
Keeper Security CEO and co-founder Darren Guccione said, “The transition to a remote working environment has led to even more reckless password management practices, which is very worrying.
“As most employees work from the comfort of their homes, they have become too comfortable with how they create, store and then share these passwords with family and colleagues. The lack of cybersecurity hygiene not only puts the individual at risk but can also present a wide range of negative consequences for their organization. It’s important to remember that following proper security guidelines in a work-from-home environment is just as critical as in an office environment.”
Copyright © 2021 FinTech Global


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One of every five beauty purchases online is made via the Amazon marketplace, according to a new report.
More retailers will have to consider whether they need an iPad app, experts say.
If there’s one thing Apple Inc. knows how to do, it’s create a sexy, innovative mobile or portable device that everyone craves. It did it with the mobile iPhone, and, as new research shows, it’s done it again with the portable iPad.
Apple will sell 8.5 million iPads this year, growing 128% to 19.4 million in 2011 and growing another 55% to 30.1 million in 2012, research firm eMarketer predicts. Manufacturers of all tablet computers, including Apple, will sell 9.7 million units in 2010, 24.0 million in 2011 and 40.6 million in 2012, eMarketer says. That translates to the iPad owning 88% of total tablet sales this year, 81% in 2011 and 74% in 2012.
What do retailers have to do about this new wave of web browsers and shoppers travelling the Internet on their iPads? Nothing, necessarily. The 9.7-inch, high-definition iPad screen is similar to that of many laptops, so visiting standard, non-optimized web sites is a breeze on an iPad. Two caveats, though: First, Apple’s iOS4 operating system does not render Flash files. So retailers that make heavy use of Flash may want to optimize their sites for the iPad with rich media content that does not use Flash, mobile commerce experts say. Second, the same can be said for rollover features—because the iPad is a touchscreen device, there is no mouse that enables a user to rollover an object to view a pop-up window with more information.
But the other option is to create an iPad app. These apps are similar to iPhone apps, but make full use of the greater screen real estate. Some retailers have created iPad apps, though there hasn’t been a rush like there was with the iPhone. But pioneers like Neiman Marcus, Toys “R” Us and eBay Inc. are showing that apps for the iPad can create truly unique and innovative customer experiences.
Some retailers say they have an iPad app when in reality it’s their iPhone app. IPhone apps can be used on an iPad, but they render in the size of an iPhone 3.5-inch screen. IPad users can touch a button that increases the iPhone app to the size of the iPad screen, but many users say it renders a bit blurry and does not make effective use of the additional screen space.
“There are a lot of retailers who originally approached the iPad as ‘My iPhone app strategy will address that just fine,’ but in even six months time it has become clear that this strategy is not going to be enough,” says Nikki Baird, managing partner at Retail Systems Research. “The iPad is a different experience, and you can’t take the smaller real estate addressed by an iPhone app and expect it to deliver a high-quality experience that takes advantage of everything that an iPad has to offer.”
For the time being, most retailers are fine trusting their e-commerce sites to iPad browsing, mobile experts say.
“In the short term the browser will work just fine, as long as you don’t have Flash running,” Baird says. “But if a retailer wants to be able to take advantage of the iPad, they’ll need an app. Also, for loyal shoppers, there is a real advantage to retailers to provide an app because it basically keeps the consumer logged in, allows the consumer to customize preferences, and those are preserved every time the consumer accesses the app. Further, with permission, the retailer has an opportunity to send an alert via an app that they would not be able to send via a site-only experience.”


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New Delhi, Dec 17 (FN Bureau) The government on Thursday extended relaxed norms for importing onion till January 31 next year, to boost domestic supply and thereby moderate prices of the commodity. The agriculture and farmers welfare ministry said it has extended the relaxation for imports in view of public concern over high prices of onion in the market.
The government had on October 21 had relaxed the conditions for fumigation and additional declaration on the Phytosanitary Certificate (PSC) under the Plant Quarantine Order (PQ), 2003 for import up to December 15, 2020. In a statement, the ministry said the relaxation will be subject to certain conditions, such as the consignments of imported onions that arrive in ports without fumigation and such endorsement on the PSC, would be fumigated in the country by the importer through an accredited treatment provider. The consignment would be inspected thoroughly by quarantine officials and released only if found free from pests and diseases of concern to India. Further, if smut or dry rot is intercepted during the inspection, the particular container will be rejected and deported.
In case of pests like stem and bulbs nematode or onion maggot being detected, these should be eliminated through fumigation and the consignment released without additional inspection fee, it added. The ministry said that the conditions also stipulate that an undertaking should be obtained from importers that the onions will be used only for consumption and not for propagation. Also, such consignments of onion for consumption will not be subjected to the four times additional inspection fee for non-compliance of conditions of import under the PQ Order, 2003, it noted.


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Facebook has purchased Instagram for $1 billion, reeling in an increasingly popular photo-sharing app as well one of the bigger social networks. Even though Instagram just released its Android version on April 3, it had 27 million users in March.
Instagram’s iPhone-only growth has been staggering. According to the company, it had 15 million users in December 2011.
The purchase gives Facebook more ownership over the photo-sharing space, whether online or mobile. As Facebook has recently begun distributing ads via mobile, Instagram’s audience and technology should facilitate Facebook’s mobile monetization goals. As of now, the Menlo Park, CA-based digital giant doesn’t sell mobile ads separately. But for a company that embraces constant iteration as part of its culture, how mobile ads are sold may be ripe for change – especially with Facebook’s anticipated IPO now only weeks away.
“This is all about mobile; it’s all about showing shareholders [that Facebook no longer has] a mobile weakness,” Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus, told ClickZ. “There’s no reason why ads wouldn’t play well in the Instagram interface…[The purchase] was only a matter of time, especially because Facebook will be flush with cash.”
Schafer said Instagram would give Facebook a stronger hold on young demographics. “There’s just a tremendous utility rate among the people that matter,” he explained.
While Instagram hasn’t sold ads, brands have cottoned to its platform to engage with consumers for free.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the purchase on his Facebook page, stating that the Instagram brand would be kept intact. “Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it,” he wrote, “and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.”
Kate Kaye contributed.
Instagram marketing is becoming more interesting with the introduction of its own tools, but we may still feel the need to use further platforms for more detailed insights, management, curation, monitoring.
Few digital terms are as dirty as clickbait. It's the scourge of the web, and Facebook recently announced a News Feed update aimed at reducing the prevalence of clickbait headlines on its service.
With so many bloggers and blog posts storming in every day, it is hard to stand out. The secret to creating an outstanding blog is to cultivate a community around your blog.
You don't have to be a large B2B company to create an impressive LinkedIn presence, all you need is the focus on the right direction and the consistency to succeed in your social efforts.


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Monday 14 January 2013
More than half of all corporate networks have been compromised by bring your own device (BYOD) practices, it has been reported.
Research conducted by Virgin Media Business found that 51 per cent of secure networks were breached during 2012 by employees using mobile devices.
Tony Grace, chief operating officer at the firm, said last year was "clearly a bumpy road" for companies introducing personal devices at work.
"That’s natural enough as no one has so far been able to come up with the magic solution," he stated.
"Chief information officers shouldn’t see this as a burden and in 2013 they can take the lessons learned and turn these personal devices into business enablers to really help drive the bottom line.”
Mr Grace noted that sales of tablet computers went "through the roof" over Christmas, and are very much here to stay in the workplace.
Employees are either using the touch-screen slates, dongles or laptops to access company files, documents and applications on their own devices.
"But with just a fifth of large firms having a BYOD policy, businesses will continue to experience security breaches," he stated.
Mr Grace said it is essential that connectivity, security and user policies are put in place.
Posted by Alex Boardman


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McDonald’s China wants to “integrate green experiences throughout the consumer journey” as the fast-food giant seeks to engage with young, environmentally conscious Chinese customers.
McDonald’s China targets young eco-conscious consumers with green marketing
The fast-food giant rolled out a series of marketing activities to promote the opening of its first zero-carbon restaurant in Beijing.
The green restaurant, which is powered by more than 2,000 square meters of on-site solar panels, is part of McDonald’s China’s commitment to open 1,800 green restaurants across the country by the end of the year so that it strives to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. .
Marketing aims to provide consumers with green experiences to promote the benefits of a low-carbon lifestyle. Activities include free food for consumers who use a navigation app and visit restaurants by bike or on foot and discounts on sustainable menu items, such as Filet-O-Fish, which uses 100% certified cod. by the Marine Stewardship Council.
Phyllis Cheung, CEO of McDonald’s China, said, “As we expand our business, we are determined to take on more social responsibilities to nurture and foster our communities.
“We will continue to drive rapid and sustainable growth, creating a future where people and planet thrive. We will focus on opening more green restaurants and embedding a green experience throughout the consumer journey. »
McDonald’s green campaign in China aligns with overall brand mission adopt greener and more sustainable practices and achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.
It also represents an important strategic step for the Chinese business, which is number two in the market behind market leader KFC, which held 11.6% market share, compared to 5.6% for McDonald’s in 2020.
KFC continues to dominate the industry thanks to a combination of a first-mover advantage – it was the first American fast-food chain to open in China – and a localized menu that caters to Chinese tastes – it serves congee, egg tarts and pork.
McDonald’s is a solid second but has failed to capture the brand love that KFC is attracting in China. The decision to promote its green credentials and appeal to younger consumers with a greater focus on environmental issues is a solid strategy to increase its popularity.
This comes as the brand expands its McCafe concept across the country in a bid to further engage young, affluent Chinese consumers. McDonald’s plans to launch the cafe concept in 1,000 new locations by the end of 2023 in a bid to compete with Starbucks and local coffee giant Luckin Coffee.


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Barely a year into his career and with four Grammy Awards already to his name, Sam Smith's superstar status isn't looking too shabby.
But what comes next after four number ones, worldwide fame and accolades aplenty? A high-fashion collaboration of course.
The 23-year-old singer has teased an upcoming project dubbed #balxsamsmith with French fashion power house Balenciaga, which is helmed by New York designer and all-round curator of cool Alexander Wang.
Smith appears in the moody-looking men's autumn/winter 2015 campaign, which has been shot by photographer Josh Olins.
"Ladies and gentlemen. The time has come for my first ever collaboration with a fashion house. You ready?" wrote the singer alongside the teaser video and image. "So honoured and ecstatic to announce my collaboration with @BALENCIAGA on the upcoming autumn/winter menswear collection!... So happy."


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In an effort to declare its significant investment in e-mobility, Volkswagen Group of America is changing its name to Voltswagen of America.
By definition, volts are derived units for electric potential between two points — a true symbol of the company’s forward momentum to move all people from point-to-point with EVs.
Always one to be bold, Volkswagen of America was founded in 1955 and won the American public over with the Type 1 Beetle, which eventually overtook the Ford Model T as the world’s best-selling car with more than 23 million sold. From that legacy, the company now embarks on its electric mobility future.
“We might be changing out our K for a T, but what we aren’t changing is the brand’s commitment to making best-in-class vehicles for drivers and people everywhere,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Voltswagen of America. “The idea of a ‘people’s car’ is the very fabric of our being. We have said, from the beginning of our shift to an electric future, that we will build EVs for the millions, not just millionaires. This name change signifies a nod to our past as the peoples’ car and our firm belief that our future is in being the peoples’ electric car.”
This month, the company welcomed the ID.4, its first long-range, all-electric, zero direct emission SUV in dealerships across America. It is the company’s first product sold nationwide that confirms VW’s commitment to sustainable mobility.
In support of the ID.4 roll-out and the company’s commitment to electric vehicles, Volkswagen debuted yesterday its first short film aimed at catalyzing the mass adoption of electric vehicles. The media spots aim to introduce viewers to the benefits and differences of the ID.4. It draws on real-world scenarios to demonstrate the vehicle’s capabilities, centered around the concept, “Before it can change the world, it has to change yours.”
Volkswagen Group became the first major automaker to support the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, with an added target of a 30% reduction in the company’s carbon footprint by 2025 and net-carbon neutrality by 2050. A resulting commitment to sell 1 million EVs worldwide by 2025 will see more than 70 electric models launched across the VW group brands by 2029.
Voltswagen of America has its manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it currently builds the Passat and Atlas SUV and is adding the ID.4 to its production roster this year.


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BlackBerry has officially stated that delays the release of messenger BBM to iOS and Android for another week. According to the company, they are now busy trying to “block all” unauthorized work BBM-Client for Android, which was released simultaneously with the products of the original BlackBerry.
Release BlackBerry Messenger for Apple’s operating system was held at the end of last week. Wait for the release of the popular applications accounted for almost half a year. The official version for Android the company has not released, but many users have downloaded an informal assembly of BBM, which became the root of the problems. At the moment it is locked.
As explained in the most BlackBerry, initially out BBM for iOS and Android planned for the weekend, but unofficial app BBM for Android suddenly appeared in the catalog Google. The company said that they intend to create a BBM so that the original messenger for BlackBerry smartphones were able to communicate only official clients BBM. Meanwhile, Android-only version of the product for the last Saturday had downloaded more than a million people.
Total BBM service used by about 60 million people a month. It became known yesterday that the BlackBerry company buys for 4.7 billion Canadian dollars management company Fairfax.
Read another very interesting article about alternative energy of the Sun, water and air.


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Ask anyone who is the first Indian who doesn't know Sachin Tendulkar, and they would say, "Susheela" - one of the main characters in Abrid Shine's... ...http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news-and-interviews/Playing-a-cop-is-no-easy-task/articleshow/31899239.cms
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Graeme Smith chose to retire on his terms. Photographs by Had Graeme Smith been an Indian player he could have chosen to continue playing... ...http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/rKJT9f6XLRxo3GNXolUAxK/The-retirement-dilemma.html
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So cheering for Pakistan against India constitutes sedition? More so if you are from a State whose citizens have genuinely felt short-changed ever... ...http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/blogs/blog-terra-firma/article5777053.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
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Share6Tweet6ShareEmail12 SharesBy U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region [CC BY 2.0 or Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsMarch 7, 2018; Washington PostAs you begin your search for your first new home, or a car (new or used) that you will be making payments on, or a replacement for the washing machine that makes strange noises every time you use it, you’ll want to research your upcoming purchase. But will you also be able to do research on those who will be lending you the funds to make those purchases, and know that your rights as a consumer will be guaranteed? Going online to the ratings of organizations such as Consumer Reports to find the “best of the best” may point you in the right direction, but according to the Washington Post, under the Trump administration and the regulators he has appointed, there will be far fewer protections in place for the ordinary consumer.NPQ addressed one aspect of this roll back of regulations in an article in December of 2017 on the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and the rollback of its work as the Trump administration assumed leadership and brought much of its work to a halt. Since November 2017, when Mick Mulvaney assumed leadership, no consumer protection actions have moved forward from this agency. And the ripple effect has moved from one federal agency to another. The Labor Department has slowed implementation of a rule that would require financial advisors to act in the best interest of their clients. The Education Department has received much press for its withdrawal of protections for student borrowers.The new approach—welcomed by banks and business leaders—has alarmed consumer advocates who fear it gives an advantage to Wall Street and other powerful industries while leaving ordinary Americans more susceptible to fraud, discrimination and predatory lending.“There hasn’t been a lot that has been methodical about this presidency, but I do think Trump is systematically dismantling consumer protections,” said Mark Totten, a Michigan State University law professor who studies the enforcement of consumer protection laws and a 2014 Democratic candidate for Michigan attorney general.The new direction affects agencies that touch nearly every aspect of consumer life, advocates say—from how Americans access credit and car loans to the safety of cribs and cellphones.The thinking behind this approach, advanced by Wall Street, big industry, and the Trump administration, is the philosophy of everyone making decisions as individuals.“For too long, the guise of consumer protection has been used to benefit trial lawyers, government bureaucracies, and ambitious politicians looking for their next job,” Lindsay Walters, deputy White House press secretary, said in a statement. “The Trump administration has put the focus of consumer protection back where it belongs: on protecting consumers and enabling them to make better decisions for themselves.”Trump proclaimed March 4–10 as “National Consumer Protection Week,” saying it is “an opportunity for Americans to learn about their consumer rights” so they can better protect themselves from predatory practices, identity theft and fraud.As regulations are rolled back on the finance industry, including payday loan companies charging as much as 950 percent and banks who hold student loans for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, it may be up to the consumer as an individual to take action on their behalf if they feel they are wronged. Under this administration, they cannot count on the government to “go to bat” on their behalf. As NPQ said in December 2017: “If you were counting on someone, somewhere in government to watch out for you and your finances, that agency may now be a thing of the past.”The takeaways for the nonprofit community are many. As consumer protections fade in the finance industry, nonprofits helping clients, particularly those most likely to be victims of predatory practices and fraud, understand that what they are dealing with may become a priority service. As consumer rights are seen only as individual rights, helping clients learn from one another’s experiences may provide useful guidance. Agencies and organizations may find new ways to collaborate and share both information and actions in order to protect and support those who will find themselves caught in the morass of deregulation and lack of consumer protection. Who knows? The mantra “buyer beware” may become a part of the nonprofit mission.—Carole LevineShare6Tweet6ShareEmail12 Shares
Share6Tweet30ShareEmail36 SharesBy Milliped [CC BY 3.0], from Wikimedia CommonsMay 18, 2018; CruxSince the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church broke in 2004, the Vatican has struggled with how to respond. This week, Pope Francis was given an opportunity to set a clear example of moral leadership when 34 bishops, representing the entire bishopric of Chile, offered to resign en masse.The statement from the bishops, three of whom are retired, said that they placed their futures “in the hands of the Holy Father so that he might freely decide for each one of us.”Chile is in the spotlight at the moment because of a recent investigation into the behavior of Bishop Juan Barros, whom Francis promoted in 2015. Bishop Barros has been accused of covering up for his mentor Father Fernando Karadima, who had been found guilty of sexually abusing minors. The Pope initially defended Barros, but later admitted this was a “grave error.” Two priests were sent to Chile to interview victims, and they returned with a 2,300-page report, prompting Francis to invite the Chilean bishops to the Vatican for a “frank discernment regarding the serious events which have damaged the ecclesial communion and undermined the work of the Church in Chile in recent years.”Juan Carlos Cruz, one of the abuse victims, wrote to Francis in 2015, saying, “Please Holy Father, don’t be like the others. There are so many of us who despite everything think that you can do something. I treasure my faith, it’s what sustains me, but it is slipping away from me.”The pope accused the Chilean bishops of “grave negligence” and of not having the “mettle to assume as a body this reality in which we are all involved, first of all myself, and that no one can be exempted from by putting the problem on someone else’s shoulders.”Inés San Martín writes in the Catholic outlet Crux,[Francis] also writes of being “perplexed and shamed” by witnesses who testified that those responsible for the criminal process were pressured from above and that compromising documents were destroyed, which shows a complete disregard of the canonical process.This behavior, destroying evidence and suppressing reports, categorized the Church’s response to the sex scandal from the start, and magnified the problem even beyond the immediate crimes. Even Francis has been accused of having a “blind spot” when it comes to sexual abuse. Ross Douthat wrote in 2015,The reason the sex abuse issue was a crisis for the church rather than just a scandal was that it exposed systemic failures of governance within the Catholic hierarchy, systemic culpability on the part of the episcopate, and neither Rome nor the bishops themselves seemed to have any kind of response that wasn’t ad hoc, situational, and self-protective.James E. Post reported for NPQ in 2004,The Church’s own research, published in 2004, confirmed that credible allegations of sexual abuse were filed against 4,399 priests over several decades. Across the country, more than 10,000 victims of abuse were identified in church records. These data are likely underreported according to the researchers, painting a picture of widespread abuse that is dark and forbidding.Francis has responded more compassionately to the crisis than his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, but victims still have not yet seen major, decisive action on the Church’s part to acknowledge the extent of the problem. Tara Isabella Burton wrote that the Chilean bishops’ offer of resignation is “unprecedented” and “the most significant formal acceptance of responsibility for abuse by members of the church hierarchy anywhere in the world.”As of now, it’s unclear what will happen to the bishops, or whether Francis will even accept their resignations. Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register predicts that the four bishops who made up Karadima’s inner circle and presumably knew about the abuse will be allowed to resign, and the rest will remain in their posts. The bishops wrote in their letter that if their resignations were not accepted, they would continue to help repair the damage and do pastoral work in the church. Pentin said that a senior Church figure “cautioned that the events of today could pose serious problems for episcopacies worldwide if whole bishops’ conference were similarly ‘told to pack their bags and go.’” Patsy McGarry at the Irish Times reports that former president Mary McAleese said the Irish bishops considered a similar move, though ultimately only a few men resigned. It’s hard to deny there would be a huge logistical problem if an entire layer of the Church hierarchy were to resign at once.But that matter of practical inconvenience pales in comparison to the opportunity Pope Francis has to make a meaningful gesture of responsibility to the victims. Some of his statements indicate that he recognizes this; he wrote that removing those in authority “must be done, but it’s not enough, we must go further.” That’s encouraging, but it’s vague, and he has not yet informed the public whether he will accept the bishops’ resignation.José Andrés Murillo, another victim, said Pope Francis should accept the offer because “they all deserve to go.”—Erin RubinShare6Tweet30ShareEmail36 Shares
Share448TweetShareEmail448 Shares“A participant in the Greater Than Fear Rally & March in Rochester, Minnesota,” Lorie ShaullNovember 14, 2018; Associated PressAn alarming number of Indigenous women and girls disappear or are murdered each year. The absence of consistent, standardized reporting on the issue has prevented researchers from gaining a true understanding of the problem. However, a new report released by the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), a tribal epidemiology center, aims to shed light on the cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).Entitled “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls,” the report identified 506 cases across 71 cities. The cities included in the report were selected based on whether there was a significant population of urban American Indians, a large number of MMIWG cases, or an urban American Indian health center affiliated with UIHI.Researchers Annita Lucchesi and Abigail Echo-Hawk assert that the number likely represents an undercount, given the amount of data that seems to be missing. While the institute requested records spanning from 1900 to the present, two-thirds of the cases included in the report occurred between 2010 and 2018, with the earliest case documented in 1943.While the researchers consider their findings a snapshot of the true scope, their findings fill a critical gap in knowledge. Prior to UIHI’s report, most research focused on reservations despite census data showing that the majority of Native American and Alaska Native people reside in cities. By targeting urban areas, the organization was able to highlight how poor data collection, lack of persecution, and institutional racism are factors that also occur off reservations as well.The report was released on the heels of growing national attention and pending legislation at the state and federal level. Earlier this year, NPQ covered Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Washington’s role in coordination of the anniversary Women’s March in Seattle. In June, Washington state passed legislation mandating the collection and analysis of data on MMIWG throughout the state by June 2019. And, last Wednesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs voted to send Savanna’s Act to full chamber for consideration.The bill is intended to improve data collection, including requiring annual reporting on the number of MMIWGs, establishing guidelines for handling the cases of missing Indigenous people, and expanding tribal access to federal crime databases. However, as Lucchesi and Echo-Hawk point out, the bill is not expansive enough to aggregate the data needed to create sound policy and to protect Native women and girls living in urban areas. Currently, the bill would set reporting mandates for federal law enforcement but not urban areas and municipalities. The exclusion of urban areas from the act means that MMIWG, including Savanna LaFontaine-Greybird, after whom the bill is named, would not be included in data collection efforts. Furthermore, failure to include urban areas in reporting would allow violence against this vulnerable population to continue.Just as important to the study were the significant challenges encountered while attempting to obtain case records. Nearly half of municipal police departments failed to respond at all or within the designated time frame required of public disclosure requests. Additionally, racial misclassification was common, with some victims classified as “white” (the default when race is unknown) or “Hispanic” [sic]. Often, Native women and girls from tribes that are not federally recognized were not identified as Native at all. Despite race typically being used as a classifier when crimes are reported, nine cities were unable to identify Native American, Alaska Native, or American Indian people in their database.In some cases, agencies provided incomplete or confusing records. For instance, in Seattle, UIHI received an updated list after the homicide unit discovered that the letter “N” was used for “Negro” and not “Native American” as recently as the early 1980s. By combing through social media, news reports, missing persons databases, and family sources, the organization was able to find an additional 153 cases that were not included in law enforcement records.In addition to assessing the difficulty in obtaining records and how cases were tracked, the UIHI also focused on how reporting by the media contributes to the issue. Of the 506 cases documented, 95 percent were never covered by national or international news outlets. Of the coverage they could find, Lucchesi and Echo-Hawk noted that 31 percent of outlets used what is considered “violent language,” which is defined as “language that engages in racism or misogyny or racial stereotyping, including references to drugs, alcohol, sex work, gang violence, victim criminal history, victim blaming, making excuses for the perpetrator, misgendering transgender victims, racial misclassification, false information on cases, not naming the victim, and publishing images/video of the victim’s death.” Such reporting can cause additional harm by perpetuating negative stereotypes of American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Furthermore, the lack of sustained reporting minimizes the issue and limits efforts to increase community dialogue on how to improve safety for all who go missing.The researchers provide several recommendations including more funding for research, implementing enforceable data collection methods such as notifying tribes once someone goes missing or is murdered, and using guidelines created by the Native American Journalist Association to evaluate stories for bias. Researchers hope the implementation of such measures will prevent American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls from disappearing “in life, the media, and in the data.”—Chelsea DennisShare448TweetShareEmail448 Shares
The BBC has launched a new Russian language news app for iPhones.The BBC Russian App offers content from the bbcrussian.com website, including breaking news stories and video reports. The app can be personalised to focus on specific news areas including Russian news, world news, UK news, business, sport, society, multimedia and science and technology. It also offers offline access to the top three stories from each category. Video content is accessible over WiFi and 3G networks.James Montgomery, controller of digital and technology, BBC Global News said, “We are delighted to be launching this app for Russian speakers who want to use and share our news on the go with their iPhone or iPod touch, giving them access to a wealth of news content in the way that works best for them.”
Ted HallThe football World Cup from Brazil is the most accessible in the tournament’s history, according to research group Ovum, which estimates aht coverage of the competition is available on up to 5.9 billion screens globally.According to Ovum, PCs, tablets and smartphones now account for the majority of screens on which the World Cup is available, totalling 57% of all screens. However, larger screens will account for the majority of viewing of the tournament.“Devices capable of streaming live and on-demand video – of which there now 4.7 billion – are providing additional viewing opportunities outside the appointment viewing taking place in people’s living rooms,” said Ted Hall, senior analyst at Ovum. “With the likes of tablets providing the convenience and flexibility to consume content whenever and wherever, fans are able to watch more of the tournament than ever before.”Despite the widespread availability of the content, Ovum said that significant innovation around the tournament is lacking, with FIFA abandoning its support for 3DTV.
DTVKit is exhibiting at IBC on stand 4.A61c Taiwan-based set-top manufacturer Tatung Technology has joined UK-based not-for-profit DVB software stack organisation DTVKit to expand its DVB product range into the European market. DTVKit provides the core building blocks of a broadcast DVB stack royalty free. Tatung provides a wide range of digital TV CPE devices, including video gateways, set-top boxes, wireless devices, content delivery OTT and multiple screen solutions.Tatung’s collaboration with DTVKit is to develop a series of set-top box products, from H.264/1080p60 entry zapper to premium Ultra HD HEVC/4Kp60 gateway, for the delivery of MHEG and HbbTV solutions, in conjunction with IP, satellite, cable and terrestrial DVB services. Beyond its offering, this new development uses the latest software components from DTVKit and will be built on top of Tatung’s STB software platform including Linux/HTML5 Browser, Android and the latest RDK2.0 software.“We are very pleased that [Tatung] has joined DTVKit,” said Amy Cleary, Marketing and Operations Manager at DTVKit. “[Tatung] is an innovative and well respected manufacturer in the digital TV industry and we look forward to their contribution to the foundation on accelerating time to market for new products in this ever evolving market.”Luke Dang, president of Tatung said, “This collaboration allows [Tatung] to offer a mature technology platform to the rapidly growing Digital TV markets that are undergoing the next wave of deployments. DTVKit’s reliable DVB software stack compliments [Tatung’s] existing solution perfectly, and is essential to new product development and faster delivery to our customers.”
Video technology provider Harmonic has launched a certification programme for technology partners to recognize their “continued investment in technical talent”, the company said. According to Harmonic, its Certified Services Partner programme is designed not only to enhance customer confidence in participating partners, but also to foster continual improvement in the partner-provided support services afforded to Harmonic customers worldwide.The programme standardises the discount terms and provides branding for partners in addition to their tier status – Platinum and Gold – with Harmonic.Partners that are accepted into the programme will take specified Harmonic training courses. They will also complete an audit of their customer support processes, create procedures for communications and reporting with the Harmonic technical assistance centre, and participate in ongoing reviews.“Our goal in creating the Harmonic Certified Services Partner programme is to continue to empower our partners to deliver not only pre-sales support, but also post-sales support — and to give them the tools and resources to better serve our customers,” said Spencer Hodson, vice-president, sales and channel strategy, operations and enablement at Harmonic.“Partners have asked for this level of support from Harmonic, as services are a meaningful differentiator for their businesses. The programme will reward partners who invest in this service assurance process and pave the way for further certification and specialisation programmes.”
Robin RutiliInteractive TV technology provider Zenterio has agreed to acquire US-based VTilt Digital, an Atlanta-based software company specialising in digital video technology.Zenterio said the SEK12 million (€1.3 million) deal – together with Zenterio’s 27M Group acquisition in September and Systemagic in December 2014 – is part of its expansion strategy for meeting increased demand for its interactive TV software solutions.The deal also gives Zenterio a strengthened position in the North American market.Zenterio said the VTilt acquisition finalised its programme of strategic acquisitions that was announced in connection with a capital injection that was implemented in late 2014.“VTilt’s comprehensive competence is vital for Zenterio, particularly when it comes to IP-TV expertise and leading solutions that are currently installed with operators,” says Robin Rutili, CEO of Zenterio.“We must quickly meet demand because we recently brought home many deals requiring us to replace these solutions. While VTilt is a small company, it has a top-notch reputation in the industry and is the perfect representative for Zenterio’s brand on the North American market. Going forward, the plan is to quickly expand the Atlanta office to be able to leverage business opportunities that are available in the US, Canada, and Latin America and to strengthen our partner network.”
Telekom Austria said that TV and broadband growth partly compensated for continued losses in fixed-line voice in the third quarter.In Austria, the company’s A1 TV service had 263,000 customers at the end of the quarter, up 7.9%. However, TV and broadband revenue failed to completely arrest a decline in fixed line ARPU.In Bulgaria, where the company recently acquired cable operator Blizoo – which has yet to be consolidated – TV subscribers from its existing Mobiltel unit numbered 124,100, up 53.8% following the launch of a satellite offering at the end of last year. Croatian unit Vipnet recorded 187,200 TV customers at the end of September, up 14.6%.Telekom Austria posted revenues of €1.012 billion for the quarter, down 3.5%. Like-for-like EBITDA was €386.4 million, down 6.8%.
Beauty firm Coty has bought social TV service Beamly, with plans to use it as a marketing platform to help increase engagement with its digital campaigns.Announcing the deal, Coty described Beamly – which first launched in 2012 as a second-screen TV app called Zeebox – as a “cutting-edge digital marketing firm.”The company said it will use Beamly’s focus on driving audience growth and engagement around media to “provide a significant step change in Coty’s own digital engagement capabilities.”Coty, which is responsible for well-known fragrances from the likes of Calvin Klein, as well as cosmetics and skincare products, said the Beamly team will work across its in-house marketing operations and provide “enhanced digital marketing campaigns.”In particular, Coty said it will tap into Beamly’s data benchmarking, content creation, content optimisation and consumer engagement tools.“The acquisition of Beamly will address the accelerating consumer shift in time spent from traditional media to real time digital and social media channels,” said Camillo Pane, Coty’s executive vice-president, category development.“Beamly will help us to accelerate the growth of our e-commerce business, and be a positive contributor as Coty advances toward becoming a highly focused, pure-play leader and challenger in beauty.”Beamly will continue to be led by CEO and ex-Time Warner Cable executive Jason Forbes, but he will now be supervised by Pane. Beamly’s New York team will be based in Coty’s New York office, while the London team will remain in their current offices.Beamly was rebranded from Zeebox last year in a bid to “capture the zeitgeist” of its core target audience of 16 to 24 year-old millennials. At the time, Zeebox’s founders – former EMI exec Ernesto Schmitt and former iPlayer boss Anthony Rose – described the move as an evolution of the service, in line with shifts in the wider second screen TV market.“Zeebox was all about TV, Beamly is all about the show,” said Rose at the time, with the revamped app becoming a destination that provides value “even if you’re never in front of a TV.”Following the rebrand, both Rose and Schmitt took a “step back” from the firm and in May Rose launched a new social networking app designed to connect people with shared interests, called 6Tribes.Global beauty firm Coty was founded in Paris in 1904 and claimed net revenues of US$4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015. The firm’s brand portfolio includes Calvin Klein, Chloé, Davidoff, Marc Jacobs and Rimmel.The Beamly deal was agreed for undisclosed terms.
By 2020, mobile video will represent 75% of global mobile data traffic, up from 55% in 2015, according to new research by Cisco.The Cisco Visual Networking Index report claims that mobile video will have the highest growth rate of any mobile application and by 2020, and will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 62% between 2015 and 2020.“Because mobile video content has much higher bit rates than other mobile content types, mobile video will generate much of the mobile traffic growth through 2020,” according to the Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update.“Of the 30.6 exabytes per month crossing the mobile network by 2020, 23.0 exabytes will be due to video.”Cisco said that this growth in video will result in an acceleration of busy-hour traffic in relation to average traffic growth, as video use tends to occur during evening hours and has a “prime time,” unlike general web use.“The shift toward on-demand video will affect mobile networks as much as it will affect fixed networks. Traffic can increase dramatically, even while the total amount of time spent watching video remains relatively constant,” said Cisco.Overall, the study said that global mobile data traffic will reach 30.6 exabytes per month in 2020, up from 3.7 exabytes in 2015. Per-year, it will reach 366.8 exabytes — up from 44.2 exabytes in 2015.This forecast annual run rate of 366.8 exabytes of mobile data traffic for 2020 is equivalent to 7 trillion video clips and is 120-times more than all the global mobile traffic generated in 2010, according to the research.
Sky has launched the Sky Kids App, a new service that allows younger viewers in Sky homes to stream series from Cartoon Network, Disney, CBeebies, CiTV, Nickelodeon and Milkshake.The UK pay TV operator is also moving into original children’s commissioning and it is working with prodco Aardman on a new version of Morph – Sky’s first kids original.The iconic claymation series was rebooted by CBBC last year and Sky said it has ordered new episodes for later this year.Alix Wiseman, head of sales and acquisitions & executive producer, Aardman commented: “Morph is very dear to our hearts and we hope that he and his mate Chas will entertain a brand new generation of viewers on this platform, as they have their loyal fan-base over the past four decades.”There will also be a live-action series, showing kids how to make and animate plasticine characters.Sky launched the app this morning, saying it is targeting preschoolers through to nine-year-olds. It allows kids to create a profile and view shows from a 4,000-strong line-up. They can stream the series on smart TVs and connected devices and there are age-related parental controls.Parents can set up to ten profiles for kids. The app is free to existing Sky subs on the Variety package and above.Sky’s move will be welcome news for indies, as the BBC has for some time been the only regular UK commissioner of scale in terms of kids content.Lucy Murphy, Head of Kids Content, Sky said: “We have worked really closely with lots of children and their parents to design the new Sky Kids app. It means they can watch all their favourite shows in a really engaging way designed just for them. Safety is of fundamental importance so parents will be able to filter what their child watches according to their age.She added: “Around a quarter of Sky households have children so we know how important it is we give them the very best kids entertainment. That is why we are investing in exclusive new programming starting with family favourite Morph as well as developing future enhancements for the app including even more safety features, live channels and offline viewing.”
Michael InouyeChina remains the largest single market for streaming media adapters, even though restrictions on some domestic content and services have impacted growth. According to ABI Research, streaming sticks in China are less popular than streaming boxes or pucks because the pricing of these device types is relatively similar.The research firm also said that even though a ban on console gaming was recently lifted in China, PC, online and mobile gaming will remain more popular, making it difficult for these streaming platforms to differentiate themselves.“While gaming is challenging, 4K is becoming an easy way for competitors to differentiate their offerings and to create pricing tiers within the companies’ product portfolios,” said ABI Research principal analyst, Michael Inouye.“China again leads the 4K market in this regard, with Roku, Amazon, and Nvidia all adding 4K boxes to their product portfolios. Future applications like smart home integration could expand the market’s potential, but there will continue to be strong competition from existing connected devices.”
Balan NairLiberty Global plans to invest in RDK-B-based gateway devices and the in-home network in preparation for anticipated growth in demand for Internet of Things applications as well as growing demand for the delivery of video to multiple devices, according to Balan Nair, EVP and CTO of Liberty Global.Interviewed on stage at Cable Congress in Warsaw by CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney yesterday, Nair said RDK-B – the broadband version of the standard cable platform developed by Comcast and others,originally for TV set-top boxes – is a critical component of the stack the company is building for broadband access products. “We plan to innovate on that stack,” he said. “Middleware is powerful if you use it properly. We need intelligence on these devices because IoT is coming.”Nair said Liberty planned its future in three year cycles. In terms of applications and services, Nair said the company would focus on mobile and B2B in the current cycle. Further out, he said Liberty aimed to be “a big player in IoT” and would also think about its potential involvement in 5G mobile and artificial intelligence, “which will be a big part of what we do”.In the next three years, the company will “harmonise” its back-office systems as well as invest in new-build networks, with 1.6 million homes to be built out this year and up to seven million over the full three-year period.More generally, Nair said that Liberty Global sees that competitors across Europe have “woken up” and are doing a lot of the right things, while a number of new entrants are also disrupting the industry.Liberty’s best response, he said, is to focus on its bundle of products. He said that consumers like bundling and are interested in video and increased bandwidth, all at a low price. “You’ve got to figure out how to do this in a very cost-efficient way,” he said. “I’m a big believer in the quad-play.”Mobile services will be a big part of this, and the company has adopted three broad approaches – the acquisition of a full MNO, as in Belgium, the launch of a full MVNO and the introduction of services through a light MVNO.With regard to the first of these, Nair said that Liberty’s acquisition of BASE Company in Belgium was “a no-brainer”, while the company is creating a full MVNO in other markets. Other territories have been targeted with light MVNOs.He said that Liberty would invest in broadband and LTE as well as video in the Caribbean region following its acquisition of local operator Cable & Wireless Communications. “We are very bullish about it,” he said.
Hugues FoulonOrange has named Hugues Foulon as head of the chairman and CEO’s office and secretary of the group’s executive committee.Foulon, who will report direct to chairman and CEO Stéphane Richard, was previously chief financial officer of Orange Middle East and Africa.Foulon began his career with Générale des Eaux (now Veolia), becoming director of the Monagesque Cable TV and Monagesque des Eaux group of subsidiaries, before joining Vivendi-owned Monaco Telecom as deputy CEO. He joined Orange as finance director for the consumer marketing segment in 2005, subsequently returning to Vivendi in a finance role before rejoining Orange as director of of financial control, marketing and innovation in 2009.
The augmented and mixed reality market is tipped to soar in value to US$14.1 billion (€12.1 billion) by the end of 2021, despite contracting in size this year.Pokemon GoFuturesource Consulting estimates that the value of the overall consumer mobile AR/MR market reached US$1.7 billion in 2016, driven by applications like Snapchat and Pokémon Go.The latter’s rapid short-term success and subsequent loss of momentum has “overinflated” the market, which will dip to US$1.4 billion this year. However, this won’t harm its long-term potential, according to the research.“The longer-term outlook is for a startling 77% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2017-2021, with mobile AR/MR soaring to US$14.1 billion market valuation by the end of 2021,” according to the report.While Futuresource concedes that AR/MR technologies are still a long-way from being “an everyday feature of consumers’ lives”, it predicts social media networks will play a major part in their growth.“Although the mobile AR/MR proposition is very much in its infancy today, the end-game is clear for Facebook, Apple, Google, SnapChat, Microsoft et al,” said Futuresource Consulting market analyst, Michael Boreham.“AR/MR is considered to be the next major computing platform, offering a revolutionary technological leap that has the potential to evolve and enhance our digital interaction across industries such as communication, utilities, entertainment and e-commerce.“In reality, it may be the best part of a decade before the emergence of a killer AR/MR app appears. However, as technology develops and affordable devices come to market, AR/MR will be pushed into the mainstream for everyday use, especially for entertainment and utility tasks.”
Eleven Sports and MMA franchise UFC have unveiled a new broadcast partnership for the UK and Ireland, starting in January 2019.Danny MenkenUnder the terms of the deal, Eleven has secured the rights to 42 live UFC events in 2019, as well as 150 hours of UFC original and archive programming.UFC Fight Nights will be shown live on Eleven Sports, though Eleven also has the option to make some events available in partnership with other broadcast platforms.Danny Menken, group MD, Eleven Sports, said: “UFC is a perfect fit for our fan centric strategy. We are a big supporter of combat sports across our markets and the approach that we have taken with our properties has been very successful.”UFC SVP international and content David Shaw added: “We have worked successfully with Eleven Sports in Belgium and Luxembourg and we are looking forward to extending our partnership. The UK and Ireland are among UFC’s strongest markets globally and it made perfect sense to partner with them to showcase our product to fans.”UFC is the latest major property acquired by Eleven Sports, following the addition of LaLiga (Spain), Serie A (Italy) and Eredivisie (Netherlands) among others.All the action will be distributed on Eleven’s subscription-based streaming platform via www.elevensports.uk, and iOS and Android mobile and tablet apps.Eleven is also in discussion with broadcast platforms, third party streaming services and smart TV manufacturers to offer the widest possible access to UFC, in line with its platform agnostic approach.
Companion devices have the power to transform the TV experience, but the TV ecosystem will need to evolve to meet the challenge, writes Simon Woodward.It’s hard to imagine a world without our mobile devices – handsets, smartphones and tablets are now run of the mill tools that we rely upon, connecting and interacting with one another via social networks and other communication platforms. This move towards a more interactive world isn’t just having an impact on our communications when we’re on the go; it’s in our homes too.The living room experience of 2011 is a far cry from 10, or even five years ago. For consumers, it means interacting with multiple devices all at once – a television, laptop, a mobile phone, a tablet. It increasingly means that TV services are no longer confined to the living room, with the potential for content to move beyond the main TV screen, driven by the consumer.The chance to reach a viewer whilst they’re on the move through flexible, personalised content and on-demand features means that broadcasters have an opportunity to engage and connect with their audiences at a more in-depth level. The TV has now fully evolved from a ‘loudspeaker’ role (a box transmitting content controlled by someone else). Today, the consumer is firmly in the driving seat, selecting from a vast range of content to shape their own viewing experience fitted around their own schedule.With personalisation fully ingrained in our ‘traditional’ TV viewing behaviour – arguably many of us take for granted today the ease with which we can pick and choose what we want to watch and when we want to watch it – it’s time for us to really contemplate what the rise of the companion device world means for the future of TV.A recent industry study revealed that 70% of portable device owners use their devices whilst watching TV. For the broadcaster, the content provider and the advertiser, this is an engagement opportunity not to be missed. By taking online connectivity to the next level, there’s scope to examine a huge array of benefits – both for consumers and service providers.Companion devices form part of a chain of connectivity leading to the convergence of media content and interactive services. The opportunity to move content from the TV to a companion device and vice versa provides consumers with a new level of flexibility, enhancing the viewing experience.Touch screen user interfaces, a standard feature on today’s tablets and smartphones, create an opportunity to provide new search, navigation and control functions for the main screen TV. The impact of moving content across different devices must be considered when designing the user interface and the different functions of each device must be taken into account. And, it’s not just a challenge for broadcasters and content providers.Device manufacturers also have a growing challenge on their hands – after all, these are the organisations that consumers are going to turn to when it comes to making this interactive experience a reality, companion device functionality offers an opportunity to differentiate.Simple search and navigation and a slick user interface are just the first in a line of things that must be considered. Consumers don’t want purchase a new set-top box every time a new application or service hits the market. In order to make their products as agile as the marketplace, they need the right technology in place that will enable these new companion services to grow with demands – enabling them to deliver consumers with fresh content and new features, as they become available.TV applications and services in the connected home have the potential deliver a step change in the TV experience. However, to fully fulfil this promise and deliver a seamless, intuitive, interactive TV experience, the whole TV ecosystem will need to embrace it.Simon Woodward is CEO of ANT Software.
Britta Reinhardt, chief commercial officer – consumer, for C&W CommunicationsEnglish Premier League rights holder RUSH has launched on Flow TV in the Carribbean.Announced on July 15, the launch of RUSH on the TV offer will provide viewers with live coverage all 380 matches per season for the next three years in addition to team highlights, special studio and magazine programmes.Flow offers cable TV to Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent.Britta Reinhardt, chief commercial officer – consumer, for C&W Communications (C&W), operator of the consumer brands Flow, BTC and UTS in the Caribbean, said: “This is a huge win for all football fans across the region. As we continue to place our customers at the heart of everything we do, our priority is to provide them with exciting and fun access to premium sports. Adding the RUSH channel to our lineup was an easy decision in that it gives our customers the access they deserve.Flow will replace its current Flow Sports Premier channel with RUSH. RUSH will be available in all Flow TV markets on the same channel number that Flow Sports Premier previously used.Reinhardt added: “This means that Flow customers who are die-hard fans of the Premier League will continue to tune in to Flow TV to enjoy riveting football action in real time and have 24/7 access to all of the Premier League coverage they desire.” RUSH will broadcast the excitement of all 380 Premier League matches in each of the next 3 seasons via programming that will include team highlights, special studio and magazine programmes.
DONEYBREWER BUTLERMAYOR HILARY MCCLINTOCKTAMNAGH FOODS THE cream of Derry food produce will be tantalising the taste buds of visitors at the BBC Good Food Show this weekend supported by Derry City and Strabane District Council as part of Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016.Award-winning Doneybrewer Butter and Tamnagh Foods are participating in Food NI’s dedicated area showcasing quality local food and drink producers at Belfast Waterfront from October 14th-16th.Mayor of Derry and Strabane district, Alderman Hilary McClintock, said she was delighted that local producers were representing the council area at the first ever BBC Good Food Show in Belfast which is also being attended by representatives from the Visit Derry team.Mayor McClintock said: “We are extremely proud of our local food producers for showcasing the best of our local produce, and picking up so many awards on the way. The sea-salted butter is formed into a distinctive hexagonal shape, to reflect the stones of the Giant’s Causeway, before being packaged in wax paper.Donnybrewer Wild Garlic and Chive Butter also won Gold at the recent 2016 Blas na hEireann Irish food awards held in Dingle, Co. Kerry.Tamnagh Foods, which is run by husband and wife team Kevin and Julie Hickey located at Park in the Sperrins, will be displaying their full range of award-winning cheeses including Banagher Bold which won a Great Taste Star 2016, and is rind washed using No.26 Pale Ale made by Northbound Brewery in Derry. All of their Dart Mountain brand cheeses have now won awards.Donnybrewer Butter are exhibiting at the BBC Good Food Show today (Friday), while Tamnagh Foods will be showcasing their products on Sunday, October 16th. Visitors can find both local producers in Hall 2 – location E4.BBC Good Food Show Northern Ireland will host live cookery demonstrations in the Waterfront auditorium, from TV favourites Paul Hollywood, The Hairy Bikers, John Torode and James Martin, while local star Paul Rankin will be leading Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink sessions.Celebrity chefs and local faces including award-winning Derry chefs Emmett McCourt (Feast or Famine) and Ian Orr (Browns restaurants) will also make an appearance on the Interview Stage.For more information visitwww.bbcgoodfoodshownorthernireland.com/ and www.derrystrabane.com/foodCREAM OF DERRY PRODUCE AT BBC GOOD FOOD SHOW was last modified: October 14th, 2016 by John2John2 Tags: ShareTweet “The BBC Good Food Show is yet another excellent platform to promote our city and district as a rising international food tourism destination.”Mary Blake, Head of Tourism with Derry City and Strabane District Council, said she was also delighted that Council was supporting local producers at the BBC Good Food Show and congratulated both Doneybrewer Butter and Tamnagh Foods on their most recent awards, adding to Derry’s well established reputation as Ireland’s second top Foodie Destination during both 2015 and 2016.Donnybrewer Butter, based in Eglinton and run by husband and wife team Richard and Alison Leighton, won the top title at the Henderson Foodservice Flavour of the North final earlier this week.The judges said they were highly impressed by the product which is churned in small batches with the freshest cream available.


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The Irish economy will fall into recession this year, shrinking 7.1% following the coronavirus crisis, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (ESRI) estimated.
In its latest quarterly assessment, the think tank said the Covid-19 pandemic was the biggest threat to the Irish economy since the financial crisis.
Assuming the closure measures remain in place for 12 weeks and the economy recovers thereafter, the institute said it expected the economy to contract by 7.1 % in 2020. This follows growth of 5.5% last year.
“Consumption, investment and net trade would all drop sharply; households would cut spending, businesses would cancel or postpone investment and the external demand for Irish goods and services would drop, “he said.
ESRI warns the labor market is likely to suffer the biggest shock in a single quarter of living memory – the unemployment rate reaching 18% in the first three months of the year compared to a position at the end of 2019 where the economy had an unemployment rate of 4.8% – almost full employment. The institute estimates that up to 350,000 people will lose their jobs, equivalent to one-sixth of the workforce.
ESRI said its latest comment provides a scenario analysis that attempts to assess the economic impact of the current restrictions and closings.
Instead of running a budget surplus as expected, the government should now face a budget deficit of 4.3% due to the significant drop in revenue that the Treasury will have to face due to the economic contraction.
The deterioration in public finances also reflects the significant increase in spending that the government has been forced to implement to support workers who have lost their jobs, help businesses facing declining incomes, and provide the necessary additional health care spending. to fight the virus, said ESRI. According to initial estimates, this package could reach 15 billion euros.
The think tank also warned that this scenario could turn out to be “too mild” if the current situation worsens. “As events unfold quickly, we will reexamine these scenarios more frequently than our traditional publishing model,” he said.
ESRI expected growth of around 3% this year. The group said its latest comment provided a scenario analysis that attempts to assess the economic impact of the current restrictions and closings.
“The speed of economic deterioration is unprecedented in modern times and in many ways exceeds that of the financial crisis,” he said.
“The response of national and international authorities to the spread of the virus, although absolutely necessary from a general health standpoint, will result in the loss of millions of jobs worldwide in the weeks and months to come and an a sharp contraction in global economic activity, “said ESRI.
“Limitations on international travel and the effective closure of entire countries will have far-reaching implications for cross-border trade and commerce,” he added.
The government has forecast economic growth of 3-4% this year, but Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said it will be revised down in the next Stability Program (SPU) update.


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Kritsada Tansakul, the Vice President of the Phuket Tourism Business Association, said that the current political situation has made Phuket tourism decline further down. The room reservation rate in Phuket dropped to 50%, therefore, he would like the government to stop the political problems and protests as soon as possible, since they directly impact the tourism situation in Phuket and other tourist spots in Thailand.
Likewise, Krittiya Sangiumkul, the Managing Director of Ban Raya Resort and Spa located on Racha Yai Island, is worried that the disruptions in Bangkok have been affecting tourism business in Phuket. She told us that Japanese and Chinese tourists, who are usually the main customers of her hotel during this time of the year, had already cancelled their reservations. Consequently, the hotel had to promote itself more to other groups of customers like Thai people and Scandinavians.


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As the saying goes, our youth are our future. And judging by the efforts of students from Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology’s (CEAT) ENDEAVOR lab, our
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Just two months ago, the auto industry was bracing for disaster.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a surging need for medical and personal protective equipment.
VGXI has set up an RNA pilot production suite at its facility in Woodlands, Texas citing growing demand from gene therapy developers.
Last summer, RigUp moved into a 24,000-foot, magazine-spread worthy office in the kind of location you’d expect for one of Austin’s most buzzed about venture-backed startups.
The Whitmeyer Distillery is known for producing whiskey and hosting tastings.
As Texas and the U.S. face a shortage of protective medical gear and cleaning supplies due to COVID-19, companies across the state are repurposing their operations to help meet demand.
Continental recently announced plans to build a new 215,000-square-foot facility in New Braunfels, Texas, to manufacture products for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
FABTECH, North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event, provides a convenient ‘one-stop shop’ venue where you can meet with world-class suppliers, see the latest industry products and developments, find the tools to improve productivity and increase profits.
RAPID + TCT provides everything you need to know about 3D technologies, all under one roof. Experience hundreds of hands-on exhibits, groundbreaking product announcements, education from the industry’s most respected experts, and unparalleled networking.


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General Manager of SINOMACH Xu Jian Attends CGMT and RoboIMEX
Pub Date：2017-08-27 Reads：
On August 27, the China (Guangzhou) International CNC Machine Tool Fair (CGMT) and the 2017 China (Guangzhou) International Robot & Intelligent Manufacturing Exhibition (RoboIMEX) were launched at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. Xu Jian, General Manager of China National Machinery Industry Corporation Ltd. (SINOMACH) attended the opening ceremony and toured the expo with guests including Li Yizhong, chairman of China Federation of Industrial Economics (CFIE) and Wen Guohui, mayor of Guangzhou. Other attendees include Ding Hongxiang, vice general manager of SINOMACH, Zhang Fusheng, chairman of China National Machinery Industry International Co., Ltd. (SINOMACHINT); Han Xiaojun, secretary of the Communist Party and general manager of SINOMACHINT; and Cheng Yongshun, vice general manager of SINOMACHINT.
During the opening ceremony of the CGMT, Xu Jian pointed out that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese industry has been guided by innovation-driven strategy and “Made in China 2025” in striving to develop the manufacturing and high-tech industry. In that, the industry stakeholders proactively seek approaches to satisfy the demand on the upgrading of consumption structure. SINOMACH will establish long-term cooperation ties with the Guangzhou Municipal Government and make joint efforts in promoting the CGMT to be one of the most influential professional expos in Guangzhou and China.
During the opening ceremony of the RoboIMEX, Xu Jian said that with support of the Guangzhou Municipal Government, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Economic & Information Commission of Guangdong Province (GDEI), and the Industry and Information Technology Commission of Guangzhou Municipality (GZII), SINOMACH will keep in mind the bigger picture of the whole industry, integrate its resources, and stay committed in establishing a specialized platform for intelligent manufacturing. On this platform, both quality products at international level and cutting-edge technology will be displayed for visitors to see, which will continue to gather the excellent resources and talents of the country, and in that, the expo will promote the application of scientific achievement of middle- and small-sized enterprises.


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FuboTV adds ESPN and other Disney channels to its live TV service
This addresses one of the last big holes in FuboTV's lineup.
Disney+ no longer offers a free trial period
If you want to stream Disney's classics, pay up!
A ‘Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge’ VR game is coming later this year
It's a collaboration between ILMxLAB and Oculus Studios
TikTok's new CEO is Disney's former streaming leader
Kevin Mayer could help sustain TikTok's growth.
Disney shuts down Club Penguin clone plagued by racism and 'e-sex'
Disney wants all private clones shut down.
'Hamilton' is coming to Disney+ on July 3rd, a year earlier than expected
The film of the megahit musical was supposed to hit movie theaters in October 2021.
Disney confirms Star Wars series from 'Russian Doll' co-creator
It's not saying much about what the Disney+ series will entail.
Disney+ will start streaming 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' on May 4th
The sequel trilogy finale will start streaming two months early.
A Disney+ 'Star Wars' series is coming from a 'Russian Doll' co-creator
Leslye Headland's series is reportedly being kept under wraps.


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MOH Is Recalling Popular Peanut Butter Brand 'Jif' Over Salmonella Contamination Fear
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is ordering the withdrawal of Jif peanut butter products from shelves after learning that a huge batch of the products is feared to be contaminated with Salmonella
In a statement today, 30 May, the ministry said it learnt about the recalling of Jif peanut butter products from the US market due to fears of Salmonella contamination through a notification received from the International Food Safety Authorities Networks (INFOSAN).
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said, "The notification stated that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) ordered stocks of Jif peanut butter with the batch numbers 1274425 to 2140425 to be withdrawn because of Salmonella contamination."
"The peanut butter products have been distributed to several countries, such as Canada, Thailand, Honduras, Spain, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia."
After checking the data from the Malaysia Food Safety Information System, Noor Hisham said MOH confirmed that the Jif peanut butter stocks of the numbered batches were imported into the country
"In view of this, the ministry has requested the importer to withdraw it from the market while the ministry's Food Safety and Quality Division will monitor the main entries to the country to ensure it does not come in," he added.
The health director-general said sellers must halt the sale of the products with the said batch numbers, while consumers who have bought the products are urged not to consume them.
According to CNBC News, a total of 48 products under the brand are being recalled.
Sandwiches, candy, trail mix, and other snacks made from the peanut butter by other businesses have to recall their products as well.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the products have a very long shelf life, thus, consumers have to make the effort to check whether their products are affected or not.
MOH's statement stated that Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can cause food poisoning if it is present in food such as meat, poultry, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and processed foods
Salmonella will form if food hygiene standards are neglected or the food is not processed properly.
Some people with Salmonella infection have no symptoms. The common bacterial disease affects the intestinal tract, explained non-profit organisation Mayo Clinic.
However, most people develop diarrhoea, fever, and stomach (abdominal) cramps within eight to 72 hours after exposure. Most healthy people recover within a few days to a week without specific treatment.
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Samsung Gear S3 was announced at this year’s IFA event in Berlin. The smartwatch is now available for pre-order at least in the UK.
UK-based retailer MobileFun has the smartwatch on it’s website right now. You can pre-order the wearable for £350, which comes around $450.
Gear S3 comes in two different variants: Classic and Frontier.
MobileFun is expected to start the device within three weeks, which is broadly inline with Samsung’s announcement. Samsung earlier confirmed that it will start shipping the smartwatch on November 4th.