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SPECIAL REPORT: Cannabis in Asia: What’s the Latest?
That is a big 12 months for cannabis in Asia. While parts of asia aren’t anything like Canada, the truth that these extremely conservative nations are either using or considering actions to decriminalize medical cannabis is really a step that is big ahead.
Of course, cannabis reforms are gaining ground into the continent, especially in the Southeast and east regions that are asian. Extremely recently, Southern Korea and Thailand have actually legalized medical cannabis, plus it could just be a matter of the time before other conservative countries that are asian suit.
Southern Korea surprises everyone else
South Korea took every person by shock whenever it legalized medical cannabis in belated 2018 november. Ab muscles conservative nation became the very first in East Asia plus the second in Asia to do this.
Worldwide CBD Exchange
Especially, Southern Korea’s National Assembly amended the Narcotics Control Act to be able to enable non-hallucinogenic dosages of medical cannabis. It could be the Narcotics Control Act that strictly forbidden the purchase and buy regarding the drug.
The new legislation, but, has made certain that use of medical cooking pot will be not a lot of. For just one, clients will have to have a recommendationfrom the doctor that is licensed. They will then require the approval regarding the Korea Orphan Drug Center, the corporation in charge of dispensing and that is rare specific medications.
Once clients have obtained both approvals, they might be permitted to purchase hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) items or any other products containing the non-psychoactive components of cannabis. Which means that services and products containing the high-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) will never be allowed.
To phrase it differently, just products which are full of CBD are going to be prescribed. CBD is most beneficial understood for the recognized healing benefits.
perhaps Not just a surprise that is total
The move did while many found South Korea’s new cannabis law surprising perhaps not totally originate from without warning. There have been completely signs suggesting that the nation ended up being on its option to leading a revolution that is green the front that is medical.
The south Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in July, for instance announced that physicians can currently prescribe a few of cannabis-based medications. Among these medications are Epidiolex and Sativex, both manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals, along with CEsamet and Marinol. These medications are employed into the remedy for cancer tumors, epilepsy, and HIV/AIDS signs.
Why many think it is difficult to think
The approval for the proposed cannabis law because of the National Assembly is seen to be always a step that is major South Korea due to the fact the nation continues to have a few of the most conservative and strict regulations regarding pot.
Southern Koreans who will be caught utilizing the medication for recreational purposes, for example, danger prosecution regardless of if they’re not house and tend to be visiting nations where leisure marijuana is appropriate, like Canada.
Thailand becomes very first in Southeast Asia to legalize cannabis that are medical
Thailand additionally legalized medical cannabis before 2018 ended, rendering it the very first in Southeast Asia to raise its ban regarding the medication. Thailand’s parliament approved the legalization of medical marijuana via a bill that amended the Narcotic Act of 1979.
This took place through the vacations as well as the National Legislative Assembly said that it’s their New Year’s present when it comes to folks of Thailand.
While Thais utilized cannabis included in old-fashioned medication until it absolutely was prohibited into the 1930s, the nation has many associated with world’s toughest charges with regards to crimes that are drug-related. Really, the exact same applies to the restof Southeast Asia, with a few nations obtaining the death penalty for medication offenses.
Government OKs further research
In-may, the Thai case approved a draft legislation to permit more research in to the ramifications of medical cooking pot.
a couple of months later|months that are few, the us government Pharmaceutical Organization, which can be a state enterprise that produces products that are pharmaceutical began performing research and clinical studies with the aim of convincing the military government to examine and promote cannabis for medicinal purposes and of creating medications for four medical ailments.
The GPO made use of samples from cannabis seized by the for their research authorities. The authorities often burns off all unlawful narcotics it has confiscated Every in June to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and cbd oilworld, inc year Illicit Trafficking.
Pursuant into the newly amended legal framework, the control, manufacturing, export, and import of cannabis for usage within the remedy for disease, in Agriculture, in commerce, in development and research, and in technology and industry, are actually permitted. It offers up the development of narcotics control committee, which can be responsible for picking out cannabis-related laws.
Thais will now carry specified levels of cooking pot necessary for treatment so long as they usually have obtained a certificate or prescription from medical experts, like physicians, dentists, and professionals of alternative, indigenous, and Thai medicine that is traditional.
The us government may also be licenses that are granting the manufacturing and purchase of medical cooking pot. Nevertheless, strictly controlled.
Primarily for economic reasons?
Relating to reports, Thailand’s legalization of medical cannabis is driven solely by financial reasons.
The country’s geographic location and constant tropical weather are perfect for growing cannabis flowers. This, along side its cannabis that are successful cultivation history, offers it good results over rivals.
What’s more, the move is really a huge part of Thailand’s plan to get back its Title as the world’s top cannabis exporter within the global world in the 1980s. And it is real, because over two decades ago, top cannabis strains were certainly from Thailand.
Malaysia shows vow, too
A 2018 medication situation in Malaysia did actually show a change in people’s attitudes where cannabis can be involved.
pertained up to a 29-year-old guy who ended up being sentenced to death by the court after found bad of offering cannabis oil to clients. Lukman Mohamad’s death penalty phrase caused a outcry that is public caught the interest of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir, whom promised to examine the government’s cannabis policies.
Goodbye, death penalty
In October, following the cabinet’s breakdown regarding the country’s drug laws and regulations as well as Lukman Mohamad’s situation, the national government announced a reprieve in their phrase. The federal government also announced that is going to abolish the death penalty.
Even though the move is really a far cry from legalizing cannabis, which plenty had hoped for and which the wellness Ministry has crushed, international human liberties and cannabis advocates view this as a triumph.
Medication trafficking in Southeast Asia is frequently punishable by death and there is either no or really small difference between hard medications and cannabis. In reality, the location has one of many world’s greatest execution prices. Plus in nations like Indonesia and Singapore, also small medication offenses might result up to a death phrase.
So, yes, scrapping death penalty is just a deal that is huge.
What about other parts of asia?
Singapore. there are additionally indications of change in Singapore, that also includes a no-nonsense stance in terms of medication offenses. Although the city-state has extremely strict charges for drug-related crimes, this has announced a course previously this current year that aims to unlock the potential that is therapeutic of substances in cannabis. In addition it is designed to find out cannabinoid genes to make sustainable cannabinoids that are medicinal cannabis derivatives. This effort is part $18.2-million biology that is synthetic and development system.
Asia. In India announced that it is studying the medical uses of november cannabis, through the Indian Institute that is government-run of Medicine. Researchers in the institute searching for into how they could touch Into cannabis in the treatment and management of medical ailments like , epilepsy, and cell anemia that is sickle. Apparently, these are typically currently performing medical studies and are usually working on a brand new element containing both CBD and THC.
Under the drugs that are narcotic Psychotropic chemicals Act of 1985, cannabis is prohibited in India with the exception of medical and research that is scientific.
The Philippines. Lawmakers into the Philippines are currently talking about a bill that proposes to legalize and control cannabis that are medical.
The House of Representatives Committee on Health currently approved and endorsed the balance, that will be more popularly known as the Philippine Compassionate Healthcare Cannabis Act. The balance continues to have a long option to go, with an additional and reading that is third approaching, nonetheless it appears like an enormous quantity of the very conservative and hugely Catholic Filipinos (The Philippines is the only country we understand of this nevertheless cannot enable breakup!) are on board with all the concept.
Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, to launch its very very first cannabis plantation for domestic use that is medical for exports towards the united states of america. The cannabis that are 100-hectare is anticipated to create over 25 tonnes of cannabis yearly and would guarantee a regular availability of top-quality cannabis for the traditional market that is medicinal.
Cannabis happens to be theoretically appropriate in Sri Lanka since 1961. But as the government permits the application of cannabis in a few medicines that are ayurvedic old-fashioned medical practioners have already been whining about maybe not to be able to get good-quality weed for the medicinal preparations. This supply problem has prompted the federal government to determine to introduce the country’s very very very own cannabis cultivation system.
What most of these boil down seriously to is that the range parts of asia are gearing on their own up for the cannabis revolution which have currently taken over European countries, the U.S. and Canada, and also Africa.
Regardless of the outrageously strict medication policies that numerous nations in Asia implemented, they truly are needs to notice that cannabis has medicinal advantages and therefore many individuals really do require it.
Most of them, like Thailand, goes back into . They have been starting to acknowledge that cannabis was the wonder drug associated with past and it surely will end up being the miracle medication associated with the future. Because, really, once they come to think of it, medicinal cannabis part that is significant of tradition and history.


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Last year, the pandemic and the associated restrictions meant that fewer people traveled and forced to choose the car but, according to this same Bermuda Email Lists study, “many are reverting to pre-pandemic patterns. While air travel decreased by 37% from 2019 to 2020, only 21% fewer people than in 2019 plan to travel by air in 2021 ». Spain is among the countries with the Bermuda Email Lists largest increases (57%) in the number of people who plan to travel by plane more this year than last year.
Why do they call it flexibility
The reputation of the flight company Bermuda Email Lists is the attribute most sought after by users, followed by price, as reflected in the analysis carried out by Captify.Top profiles searching around Black Friday In 2020, Caza offers replaced Business Travelers , which shows how the type of frequent travelers and the intentions changed due to the pandemic. Focusing on the Bermuda Email Lists Travel category, in 2021 Travelers, Grandparents and Parents at home are the ones who are doing the most searches. Esther Soriano, for her part, assures that nowadays it is necessary to “understand the specific need of each client and modify the offer according to each need”. Hu dobro, from his position, has stated that “all markets are polarizing” and, therefore, it is essential that the Bermuda Email Lists commercial and all possessed “help SMEs to carry out their digital transformation.”
Challenges for the future The experts Bermuda Email Lists have analyzed the challenges to be faced in the coming years. Eva Zaera has warned that “what we buy in the supermarket is transforming like never before, going from the offline world to the online world”. If before the pandemic, only 1.8% of consumers bought food products through the internet, now the percentage is 3% . “It has Bermuda Email Lists grown a lot in a very short time.”

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Five Filipino college students were awarded for designing mobile apps in the first-ever open competition at the 11th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards organized by local telco giant Smart Communications Inc (Smart).
The winning entries were from students of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) in Mindanao, who trumped the Smart Development Network or SmartDevNet Award, for the top five mobile and web applications (utilising location-based services and SMS technology).
The five winners were Jason Dy, Zaneth Mae Dinopol, Janda Magno, Louella Jane Catilosa, and Quincy Sacdalan who are all taking up Information Technology at USeP.
Smart executives including Earl Martin Valencia, president of the local startup incubator IdeaSpace Foundation, awarded cash prizes to the five winners, who will also get one year market runway support from SmartDevNet towards the commercialisation of their apps. They were also assured of additional cash prizes as well as a share of the revenues once their apps achieve commercial success.
The mobile apps are Dy’s TextPlus, Manopol’s The Adventure of Juan, Magno’s Autofix, Catilosa’s SOS App, and Sacdalan’s Food Travel.
The new SmartDevNet Award category was introduced to students from both partner-schools under the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP), and non-SWEEP schools.
Winning mobile apps
Uy’s TextPlus is a messaging app that can send messages without the need for Internet connectivity and GSM. Using Bluetooth technology, this messaging app is limited to recipients that are located nearby.
“We originally wanted to create an offline social media application, but I wanted something that would be more useful than just socialising so I came up with an idea of a texting app,” Uy said. “The biggest challenge is our lack of skills on mobile peer-to-peer connection. Mobile file sharing was never taught in class so we had to learn everything by ourselves.”
Wanting to help boost the tourism sector, Dinopol designed ‘The Adventure of Juan’ as interactive gaming app to provide an innovative way of searching for tourist spots and establishments in the Philippines
“I want to promote Philippine tourism and culture in a fun and interactive way. I believe this app has a strong potential for commercialisation,” Dinopol said.
Magno made Autofix to cater to vehicle owners and motorists in cases of emergencies. The app facilitates faster response from auto repair shops.
“Overheating vehicles especially with the onset of summer can create traffic jams. This app will help vehicle owners contact repair shops for quick response,” Magno said.
Catilosa, meanwhile, wanted to use technology for crime prevention and designed the SOS App that makes the mobile phone a lifeline during emergencies, or especially when a crime is about to be committed. It allows the user to send a SMS for help to an emergency hotline and loved ones. The SMS functionality is triggered by the user’s voice saying the key word (help or the equivalent in the vernacular) on a pre-set volume and decibel level.
“I am not a superhero or a policewoman, but I can help prevent crimes from happening and save lives through this app. People tend to shout when in distress, and this app will trigger a pre-set SMS to emergency hotlines. The challenge was to come up with an app that requires minimal effort from the user,” Catilosa said.
Sacdalan, a food enthusiast, made the Food Travel app for locating food establishments using augmented reality that will feature menu, amenities offered, location, among others in one’s mobile phone.
“While there are other similar apps in the market, the use of augmented reality technology will set it apart from the rest,” Sacdalan said.


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Poultry farmers have stood down their protests at Aldi and Lidl in Cavan town this morning following agreement between egg packers and egg producers to apportion a price increase provided by the retailers. Farmers are set to get a 1.2c/egg increase per egg they produce over the coming weeks.
Pressure mounted on Tuesday evening on the country’s main egg packers as Aldi Ireland agreed to pass down a price increase of approximately 3c/egg in a bid to find a resolution to the then ongoing poultry farmer protest at its Cavan store, according to members of the IFA poultry committee.
The committee’s vice chair Brendan Soden confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that eggs producers will receive a price increase of 1.2c/egg from this approximate 3c/egg provided by Aldi which will “feed into the system over the coming weeks”. This is down from the 2c/egg protesters had been seeking.
While Lidl Ireland haven’t provided a price increase to the same extent as Aldi yet, the protest at its Cavan town store has also been stood down “in good faith” as talks continue, said Soden. He said it is hoped Lidl will now follow Aldi in providing a price increase to be passed back to farmers.
Aldi met with IFA representatives on Tuesday afternoon and agreed to increase the price it pays for the eggs it markets “in the region of” 3c/egg or 36c/dozen. It’s understood this deal, agreed with the IFA, is to support farmers stay viable until January, when the supermarket has committed to review the situation, taking into account energy prices at that stage.
IFA secretary general Damien McDonald also travelled to Cavan town on Tuesday evening to meet with egg packers, who were asked to bring two of their egg producers for talks on passing this price increase, afforded by Aldi, back down the supply chain. It is understood these talks came to the resolution that has now seen protests end at Aldi and Lidl in Cavan.
Ireland’s main egg packers include Greenfield Foods (Monaghan), Nestbox Eggs (Monaghan), Annalitten Foods (Monaghan) and Belview Eggs (Louth). It’s understood that these four egg packers are some, if not all, of those who met with the IFA delegation in Cavan on Tuesday night.
Speaking on Tuesday evening, IFA poultry chair Nigel Sweetman said if egg packers hadn’t passed the price increase afforded by Aldi back to egg producers, the association was ready to blockade as many as 15 other supermarkets “nationwide” from today, Wednesday. He said tractors, jeeps and trailers were at the ready and IFA members were being organised to continue a protest of such scale.
While not blockading deliveries, IFA members parked jeeps and trailers and displayed IFA protest signs at Aldi and Lidl in Co Monaghan and Kinsale, Co Cork on Tuesday as they prepared to “escalate” the protests which started in Cavan last Thursday morning.
He said egg producers “shouldn’t have to do this” to secure an egg price increase to stay viable. “We can’t be expected to produce food below the cost of production,” he said.
Commenting on the conclusion of the blockade at its Cavan store, an Aldi spokesperson said the retailer has welcomed the “agreement reached overnight between egg producers and our egg suppliers which will see the fourth price increase introduced this year”.
“This now means that our Cavan store can begin to return to normal operations from today (Wednesday). We have this morning dispatched delivery trucks from our depot and the shelves of our Cavan store will be restocked throughout the day. We expect to be back to full and normal operations by tomorrow (Thursday),” they said.
Lidl Ireland has refused to comment on the six-day protest at its store at any stage, despite requests from the Irish Farmers Journal.


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The government has approved another tranche of production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme worth Rs 765 crore for electronics manufacturing, with a big chunk directed to Wistron, according to an Economic Times report.
Wistron is Apple's contract manufacturer in India. It will receive Rs 601.93 crore of the total Rs 765 crore.
Dixon Technologies' unit Padget will receive Rs 149.63 crore. AT&S, Shogini, and Alcon Electronics will receive incentives worth Rs 7.58 crore, Rs 3 crore, and Rs 2.40 crore, respectively.
“Enthused to feel the vigour in the electronics manufacturing space. Nation is seeing a new era of great coordination between industry and policy makers/implementers,” ICEA chairman Pankaj Mohindroo told ET.
Also Read: Apple vendors in India create 1 lakh jobs in 19 months under PLI scheme, says report
IT and Electronics Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar had on March 3 said that production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme should be considered as a transition period for India and not as a permanent solution.
The scheme under the Make-in-India programme is expected to attract a capex of approximately Rs 3 lakh crore over the next five years, as per the Economic Survey 2023.
“It has the potential to generate employment for over 60 lakh in India and increase the share of the manufacturing sector in total capital formation, which currently stands at around 17-20 percent between FY12 and FY20," it said.


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Can your guy not make it through a meal without squirting about a bottle of hot sauce all over his food? A man's penchant for spicy eats might actually be a clue that he has higher levels of testosterone, the hormone that's typically connected to adventure-seeking and high sex drive, according to research published in Physiology and Behavior. The researchers called the study "Some Like It Hot," which is more than enough reason to applaud their scientific efforts.
The study authors at the University of Grenoble in France recruited 114 men between the ages of 18 and 44. They presented the participants with a plate of mashed potatoes along with chili pepper sauce and salt. The guys who used more hot sauce had higher levels of testosterone in their saliva samples, leading researchers to suggest that there's a correlation between the two. They're just not quite sure exactly why that is. "A wide range of factors, including genetic, physiological, psychological, and social forces, influence the liking and consumption of capsaicin-containing food," they say in the paper.
It might come down to looking at eating spicy food as trying something daring. Testosterone makes men more interested in doing things that will give them a rush, so they go out in search of "more stimulating social groups and take more risks," Professor Laurent Begue told The Telegraph. "In this case, it applies to risk-taking in taste. It is also possible that the regular consumption of spicy food contributes to increasing testosterone levels, although so far this has only been demonstrated on rodents," he finishes.
Even though the study authors aren't quite sure whether it's that eating spicy food produces more testosterone or that having more testosterone creates a taste for the hot stuff, science clearly says there's a link there. Next time you date a new guy and he explains that he either needs spicy food to live or absolutely hates the taste of it, you can look at it as a tiny clue about just how much of a manly man he really is.
When it comes to anecdotal evidence, I've totally found that this is true. What about you?


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Apple is in a world battle to guard its App Retailer enterprise mannequin, and the most recent growth lands us in Russia. Apple is taking authorized motion after objecting to a ruling by the nation’s Federal Antimonopoly Service that will enable builders to advertise various cost strategies to Apple’s in-app purchases.
Apple takes a 15% to 30% reduce of income generated by way of the App Retailer, and apps on iPhone and iPad are solely distributed by way of the App Retailer.
This contains month-to-month funds to subscription companies like Netflix and Spotify. App builders often improve charges that use in-app purchases to compete with direct funds over the net the place Apple’s 15-30% fee isn’t utilized.
RT reports on the most recent transfer by Apple to protect its App Retailer coverage:
Apple is looking for a judicial overview of a warning, which is forcing the iPhone maker to permit app builders to inform prospects about various cost choices when utilizing its App Retailer platform.
The warning, delivered by the federal government physique in August, gave Apple a September 30 deadline to resolve the difficulty. Again then, the regulator warned that the Cupertino-based multinational might face a nice that will be calculated based mostly on its income in Russia.
Apple declined to comply with the deadline to alter its coverage on the finish of September, and Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service began authorized proceedings towards Apple. Now Apple is difficult the request by taking the FAS to court docket.
In the meantime, in the USA, Apple is going through the same scenario by which the court docket is requiring Apple to assist third-party cost strategies in apps from the App Retailer. Because it stands, Apple intends to collect a commission from these third-party cost strategies.
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. More.


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Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly challenged an attorney for Coca-Cola, who defended her client on Monday against claims that the label of a blended fruit juice misleads consumers.
America’s non-alcoholic beverage industry celebrates Earth Day – today and every day – through its cutting-edge sustainability practices and ongoing efforts to reduce their environmental impact.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Reed’s, Inc. (NYSE MKT: REED), maker of the top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, announced today that Food Lion, a division of the Delhaize Group (NYSE: DEG), has agreed to begin carrying five Reed’s and Virgil’s flavors including Reed’s Extra, Virgil’s Root Beer and other Virgil’s flavors, in over 1,000 of their supermarkets throughout eleven Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states.
First Aid Shot Therapy®, makers of FDA compliant OTC, easy to use, one-dose liquid shots available in Pain Relief, and now Upset Stomach, is excited to announce its products are now available in Tedeschi Food Shops in Boston, MA.
Introducing the Sauza Cowboy Who Knows What Women Want
DEERFIELD, Ill., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Saddle up! Hot on the heels of its wildly popular predecessors, Sauza® Tequila, the…
On Tuesday, Pulse announced that it has added eight class “A” distributors and that the company’s lemonade, limeade and coconut water are now available at an additional 446 retail locations in the Pacific Northwest, Texas and Louisiana.
Minta Beverages, Inc, a naturally flavored mint soda manufacturer, is pleased to announce the expansion of its rapidly growing brand with the addition of Minta® Strawberry.
Anchor Distilling Company announces the launch of Kavalan in the U.S., with bottles of all seven expressions arriving on shelves April 25th, 2014: Kavalan Classic, Kavalan Concertmaster, Kavalan King Car Conductor, Kavalan Fino Sherry Cask, Kavalan Ex-Bourbon Cask, Kavalan Sherry Cask and Kavalan Vinho Barrique.
The Alkaline Water Company Inc.(OTCBB: WTER) (the “Company”), developers of an innovative state of the art proprietary electrolysis beverage process, packaged and sold in 3 liter and 1 gallon sizes under the trade name Alkaline88, is pleased to announce it has commenced shipments to Sprouts Farmers Market, one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country.
On Monday, Bai announced the release of Tanzania Lemonade Tea, the company’s tenth flavor. The product is Bai’s version of the “Arnold Palmer” or the “Half & Half,” depending on your vernacular, packs five calories and is sweetened with stevia and erythritol like the rest of the brand’s varieties.
HONOLULU, Hawaii — GR3EN Energy is ready to make a splash with a new organic energy drink that harnesses the flavor and functions of kale, coconut water, and green tea.
From the family-farmer owned company that knows farm-fresh flavor best comes new Farmer’s Pick by Welch’s—an innovative line of 100% juices that brings fresh-picked fruit taste to the juice aisle.
onli™Beverages, a premium flavored sparkling water, has just announced it’s expansion of it’s authorization to include Kroger Supermarkets. The all natural, sparkling beverage has been approved for shelf space in multiple Kroger locations in Atlanta, Georgia.
Diageo, the woHaig-Clubrld’s leading premium drinks business, announces today the global launch of Haig Club Single Grain Scotch Whisky, in partnership with global sporting icon David Beckham and British entrepreneur Simon Fuller.


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The team from BDS Suspension is getting down to the wire as they overhaul the 2017 Ford Super Duty for the 2016 SEMA Show. With less than 2 days they are working around the clock to install a slew of bolt on accessories, wire up electronics and fab several custom touches. Last week we updated […]
This past weekend BDS hit the road for Stewartsville, NJ, home of OK 4WD for their annual OKtober Truckfest event. We’ve been attending this event for years now and each year we look forward to spending the day at this incredible shop, checking out all the awesome rides on display and talking with customers. This […]
With SEMA deadline rapidly approaching the engineering team at BDS Suspension is hard at work to overhaul the new company test mule, a 2017 Ford F250 Super Duty to turn it into a head turning overloader ready for backcountry exploration or the local truck meet. This truck is slated to be in the BDS Booth […]
Rockstar Kustomz has been a long time BDS distributor out of Grand Junction, CO. This past weekend they hosted their inaugural Rockstar Custom Heartz event, what will be an annual fundraiser supporting local children born with heart defects. When Thad called and told us about the event we loaded up the BDS F250 and headed out to […]
We’ve had a lot inquiry from customers and follows asking about the full build plans for Project Ascension, our new 2017 Ford Super Duty diesel truck. Along with being used as the test mule for the new BDS suspension systems to fit the 2017 F250/F350 platform, this truck is getting overhauled in a matter of a few […]
Earlier this year BDS Suspension released the 2.5″ Coilover Conversion System for 2011+ Chevy and GMC HD trucks bringing a new level of performance and comfort to GM truck owners with FOX coilovers. Building on the success of that system, BDS is excited to announce the new 6.5″ Coilover Conversion High Clearance System for 2011-2016 GM 2500/3500HD trucks.


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The Duchess of Sussex has been a style influencer since her Hollywood days, but the “Meghan effect” became even stronger after she became a royal. Since announcing her pregnancy, Meghan Markle has stepped out in no less than 75 showstopping outfits, and her growing belly has been no barrier to her style.
Known for her love of high-end designers and monochrome palettes, her trendsetting choices have earned her kudos from the stylish set. The fashion-loving royal has showcased designs from some of her favorite labels, including her bespoke Givenchy dresses, but she has also thrown in some more attainable picks. When she wore a cream dress from H&M’s Mama range to visit the Mayhew animal charity in January, it sold out as soon as the photos hit the wire. (She did pair the dress with a cashmere Armani coat and stilettos, though.)
According to new data gathered by fashion search engine Love the Sales, Meghan’s maternity wardrobe is the most expensive one in recent times, costing nearly half-a-million pounds. The company sifted through images of Meghan on Instagram and tallied up the likes from the top 100 posts for each outfit. Her most “liked” maternity outfit was the silk Givenchy gown she wore in December for the British Fashion Awards, which received over 356,000 likes online. Her least “liked” outfit was also by Givenchy, a sheer sweater and skirt combo she wore in October, which pulled in only 39,000 likes.
“Over the past nine months we’ve seen spikes in our online traffic which coincide with Meghan wearing a new dress or outfit. Searches for ‘what maternity dress is Meghan wearing’ spiked every time she was photographed,” said a spokesman for Love the Sales. “She’s under pressure to look the part which is probably why she has worn a lot of high-end brands. She’s also been quite daring at times with her maternity looks.”
Another Meghan Markle look that got plenty of attention online was the bespoke gold brocade dress she wore to a reception to commemorate the Prince of Wales’s investiture earlier this month. But the royal did pair with a previously worn Amanda Wakeley coat. The Palace tailor let out its seams for a thrifty twist on a more extravagant look.
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Tech and consumer companies lead US stocks higher
NEW YORK – U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday and climbed after a survey showed consumer confidence is at a nine-year high, a sign Americans will keep spending in the months to come. Technology and consumer stocks made the largest gains.
The market opened lower after two days of losses but quickly recovered. The consumer confidence report gave major indexes a boost and they locked in a big gain by early afternoon.
Technology companies jumped, and solid results from cruise line operator Carnival sent travel-related companies higher. Energy companies slumped with oil prices as hopes for an international cut in fuel production faded.
U.S. consumer confidence reached its highest level this month since August 2007, according to the Conference Board. The group said its index rose to 104.1 as consumers grew more optimistic about the labor market. The result was better than expected.
Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust, said it’s even more important right now because government spending, exports, and capital spending by businesses are all limited.
“Everything’s riding on the consumer right now,” she said. Recently investors have worried about consumer spending because of disappointing auto sales and retail sales.
After its slow start, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 133.47 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,228.30. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 13.83 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,159.93. The Nasdaq composite gained 48.22 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,305.71.
Economists had expected consumer confidence would fall in September. That’s partly because of disappointing reports on car and retail sales earlier this month. Investors have been wondering if consumers would spend enough to keep the economy growing at a steady pace.
Travel companies made some of the biggest gains on the S&P 500 after cruise operator Carnival reported a solid profit and strong revenue in the third quarter and raised its forecast for its full-year results. Carnival rose $1.88, or 4 percent, to $48.35 while competitor Royal Caribbean added $3.38, or 4.8 percent, to $74.35. Southwest Airlines climbed $1.67, or 4.5 percent, to $38.54 and booking site Expedia gained $4.01, or 3.7 percent, to $113.10.
Amazon rose $16.95, or 2.1 percent, to $816.11 as consumer stocks made big moves. Netflix, which has slumped this year after its stock doubled in 2015, regained $2.51, or 2.7 percent, to $97.07. Microsoft helped pull tech stocks higher as it picked up $1.05, or 1.8 percent, to $57.95. IBM advanced $2.79, or 1.8 percent, to $156.77.
Oil prices fell after investors were disappointed again that OPEC countries didn’t make a deal to limit production. A representative for Iran said there probably won’t be any such agreement this week and that oil-producing nations should discuss the issue in November.
U.S. crude fell $1.26, or 2.7 percent, to $44.67 a barrel in New York. The international standard, Brent crude, lost $1.38, or 2.9 percent, to $45.97 a barrel in London. Oil prices rose 3 percent on Monday. Devon Energy lost $1.26, or 3.2 percent, to $38.38 and ConocoPhillips sank 59 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $39.43.
American Express gained 86 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $64.28. A federal appeals court ruled late Monday that the company didn’t violate antitrust laws by preventing stores from asking customers to use one credit card over another and steering consumers to another type of payment. On Tuesday, the company said it will buy back as much as 150 million shares of its stock and raised its dividend to 32 cents from 29 cents.
Oil and natural gas company Rice Energy said it will buy Vantage Energy for $2.7 billion including debt. Rice Energy fell $2.14, or 7.9 percent, to $25. Part of Vantage’s business will become part of a separate Rice company called Rice Midstream Partners, and shares of that partnership rose $1.21, or 5.7 percent, to $22.52.
Bond prices continued to rise. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.56 percent from 1.58 percent. Bond yields have been slipping for more than a week as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to make a decision on interest rates. Last Wednesday the Fed announced it was leaving rates where they are for now.
Geo Group and Corrections Corp. of America slumped after Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said during the presidential debate Monday night that states should stop doing business with private prisons. In August the federal government said the Justice Department would stop doing business with those prison companies. Corrections Corp. lost $1.18, or 7.4 percent, to $14.78 and Geo Group slid 94 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $23.68.
Chesapeake Energy fell following another sign activist investor Carl Icahn is reducing his involvement with the oil and gas company. Chesapeake said two directors resigned from its board. One of them, Vincent Intrieri, is a longtime associate of Icahn. Earlier this month Icahn cut his stake in the company to 4.6 percent from 9.4 percent. The stock slid 39 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $6.23.
The price of gold fell $13.70, or 1 percent, to $1,330.40 an ounce. Silver fell 43 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $19.17 an ounce. Copper lost 3 cents to $2.17 a pound.
The dollar fell to 100.27 yen from 101.34 yen. The euro slid to $1.1221 from $1.1255.
France’s CAC-40 lost 0.2 percent while Germany’s DAX fell 0.3 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.2 percent lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.1 percent and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8 percent. Seoul’s Kospi advanced 0.9 percent.
In other energy trading, heating oil declined 4 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $1.41 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline fell 1 cent to $1.39 a gallon and natural gas remained at $3 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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Ontario-based Darwynn, which is building an end-to-end fulfillment ecosystem, is taking possession of its new facility in BC on November 1, further expanding the company’s offering into Western Canada.
The 112,000-square-foot facility will utilize Darwynn’s fulfillment platform including automated guided vehicles (AGVs), automated storage & retrieval systems (ASRS), and a software solution that provides visibility and insights to retailers.
The company has also appointed an Advisory Board, comprised of eight industry leaders, to help its future growth.
“Global supply chain issues and the pandemic fuelled the need for an innovative fulfillment solution,” said Reza Bafandeh, CEO of Darwynn. “We’ve seen a lot of growth over the past year, and this is an extremely exciting time for the company. With the Advisory Board and upcoming facility opening, Darwynn is strategically positioned to provide nationwide access to its fulfillment platform that will enable companies of all sizes to effectively compete in e-commerce.
“We’re seeing a heightened level of appetite for space and fulfillment in BC, specifically around the GVA (Greater Vancouver Area) . . . It has a fairly sized population and customer expectations are starting to also remain high even post-pandemic. From our perspective, we thought it would be right. A while back we made the decision to come to Vancouver and we’re very excited to take possession of a building in Surrey.
“We plan on growing into the facility. We’re going to have clients from all around the world. Canada. The goal of the solution is to provide service to retailers of all sizes so they can store their products, have their product fulfilled and have their product distributed to their clients either nationally, provincially or even locally.”
He said Darwynn is at the core of the company’s name and change, or reaction to market demand, is what it strives itself on.
“We believe we have a solution that’s exceptionally agile and quick to turn around. So if we see the demand we will always react to it,” added Bafandeh.
“I think this is going to put us at a very strategic position to provide a very unique offering. Space and facilities of being able to do fulfillment at the scale that we’re going to be able to do are not so common to come by, especially in British Columbia, given the state of the market. So I think not only from our presence but also the combination of what we offer from hardware to software to execution, we’ll be positioned to have a very compelling offer within the market and also help raise the bar.”
The company said its end-to-end fulfillment ecosystem is equipped with cutting-edge technology and automation that enables companies to compete more effectively in eCommerce. The Advisory Board will provide guidance to the company’s executive team through its continued growth and development as a leader in the Canadian fulfillment industry.
New members of the advisory board named were:
- Dr. Tina Dacin – Stephen J.R. Smith Chaired Professor of Strategy and Organisational Behaviour, Queen’s University, Smith School of Business
- Jim Defer – Chief Financial Officer of Tribe Property Technologies, former CFO at DDS Wireless and SunSelect Produce, and former Head of Investment Banking at P.I. Financial Corp.
- Elsie Li – Chief Financial Officer for Central City Brewers & Distillers, and Founding Partner at ALNA Packaging Ltd.
- Jon Rosenberg – Founder & Chief Executive Officer of the Strongpoint Group, former Senior Vice President of Operations at Indigo and previous COO of GoBolt Logistics
- Amir Sahba – Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Thinkingbox, Technology Entrepreneur and Venture Capitalist
- Jim Slomka – Executive Vice President at Grocery Business Magazine, former member of the Senior Leadership Team at Clorox Canada
- Dr. Ma Song – Senior Vice President at JD.com, and Founder of Qiyi Technology
- Jerome Vallet – Worldwide Director at Kering and former global executive at Carrefour Group


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The first controversy happened yesterday at the Trelise Cooper New Zealand Fashion Week show, with the use of head gear from Indigenous American Indian First nation peoples. Now, that comes with a whole lotta baggage, considering the genocide that occurred in North America, leaving a whole race and culture almost wiped out. So there is that. The other thing, is that there has been an awareness of late not to culturally appropriate objects and signifiers from other cultures, without at least making some sort of recourse to the peoples to whom they belong to. So this all blew up in a huge amount of negative comments on Facebook, exacerbated by the fact that many of the comments on the Trelise Cooper page were removed, only to resurface as screen grabs.
The other thing of course, in fashion speak, some might say, is that it’s been DONE. It’s all rather Pinterest 2011. So on that angle it surprises. Anyhow…you thoughts. Is it racist? Is it just, as some one said on my instagram: ‘Tired old hipster shtick’ or, does it, at the end of the day, not matter a jot.
[image: Trelise Cooper ]


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The UK government could face legal action over its handling of food supplies given to vulnerable people during the first national lockdown, the New Statesman can reveal.
The Environment Secretary George Eustice, the Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick and two private food wholesalers face questions about the “inadequate” nature of the weekly food parcels for the clinically extremely vulnerable and the “high prices paid” for their contents, it is revealed in a legal letter dated 14 December.
In March 2020, the government announced a scheme to provide food boxes to people deemed at “highest risk from coronavirus”, who were advised by the government to “stay at home at all times”.
Around 1.5 million people were told to stay indoors for at least 12 weeks to avoid contracting Covid-19 and risk overwhelming hospitals. Because they could not safely go shopping for food and supermarket slots were booked up, in England, between 27 March and 31 July, the government provided food packages to those who applied for them.
The scheme was outsourced to private firms by the government, in contracts totalling £208m awarded to two food wholesalers, Brakes and Bidfood. (The National Audit Office has since revealed the amount spent was £191m.)
The same contractors were used in equivalent schemes in Scotland and Wales, while Northern Ireland’s Department for Communities provided the same service with councils and voluntary and community organisations, as well as private firms.
[See also: Revealed: The £208m food box rip-off]
Each food box was supposed to provide a week’s worth of “basic supplies”, which were “nutritionally balanced”, for one person.
The letter, seen by the New Statesman, from lawyers acting for the Good Law Project asks for relevant information so far guarded by government departments about the scheme – which provided 4.8m food parcels – rather than formally launching legal action.
The Good Law Project began investigating the scheme when the New Statesman published an article in October revealing the poor quality of some boxes and their bafflingly high costs compared with retail prices.
The letter, sent by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, raises “significant concerns” about the parcels’ standards, suggesting that “a large number of confined and vulnerable individuals did not have their most basic needs met” because of these failings.
Ministers face questions about the nutritional quality of the boxes, which the letter claims were “inadequate to the needs of clinically vulnerable people with serious medical conditions”.
“It is unclear whether a person shielding would have been able to meet the official recommended intake of essential food groups and micronutrients,” the letter states. “For example, from the evidence that we have seen, it seems unlikely that a shielded person would have been able to eat their recommended minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.”
It also notes that people shielding – who are by definition medically compromised – require a “higher basic standard” of nutrition than the average person.
The letter also questions the “one size fits all” approach to the parcels, which were not tailored to individual medical, dietary or religious needs.
“By way of example, there were reports of pork sausages and bacon being sent to vulnerable Muslim families,” the latter states. “It is unclear how vulnerable individuals from certain religious communities could meet their most basic dietary requirements if they could not use some of the already limited contents of the box.”
Some goods were “received in a damaged state, produce on occasion was rotten or ‘on the turn’, and… goods were repackaged to hide their expiry date”, according to the letter, echoing some of the New Statesman‘s reporting.
The Good Law Project, which is currently challenging the government in a number of cases related to Covid-19 outsourcing (including the procurement of PPE), also raises concerns about the cost of the boxes.
“On the basis of the limited information available, there is cause for concern that the food boxes supplied by the contractors contained cheap and poor quality food which allowed them to increase their own profit margins at the expense of the health of vulnerable groups,” the letter states. “It strikes us as inexplicable that the costs of the boxes were so inflated.”
The price of each box – which the New Statesman estimated to be £44 compared with £26 if they had been delivered by Tesco – “seems significantly inflated” in the view of the Good Law Project’s lawyers, who claim the “bare facts suggest that private operators may have made very significant profits” and are asking the government to reveal more about the costing process.
The Good Law Project suggests that the government’s failings in this scheme “may amount to a breach… of its legal obligations, in particular under the Human Rights Act 1998”.


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If Uber floated on the London Stock Exchange tomorrow – don’t hold your breath – it would be the thirteenth largest FTSE 100 constituent. Its $40bn (£26.3bn) valuation is larger than that of Twitter ($24.7bn) or Adobe ($35bn).
News that Uber is exploring self-driving cars, mapping and vehicle safety shouldn’t surprise those who watch the company closely. It’s expanding its competency into adjacent fields that may, one day, compliment its core business.
Think Google in 2004. A search business rapidly experimenting with Gmail, Google Books and its popular Brazilian social network, Orkut.
Some of these projects became core businesses for Google, some limp on today as semi-supported projects, and Orkut was unceremoniously shut down last year.
Driverless cars will probably fall into one of the second two categories for Uber. Its real promise might instead come from trials in delivering more than just people.
UberRUSH, UberFRESH and UberESSENTIALS are all experiments to transport important documents, fresh food and corner shop goods, taking advantage of Uber’s huge inventory of drivers around the world.
An on-demand delivery service that delivers more than just people at a reasonable price – maybe that’s the real $40bn business that Uber’s investors are seeing.


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The unmistakable red and white branding of Australia Post graces every corner of the country, with their branches standing poised to facilitate the seamless delivery of countless letters across the nation.
As essential as this longstanding service is, it’s unfortunately not immune to the recent prices that have plagued everyday items due to the rising cost of living, with the cost of sending a letter set to increase.
Australia Post has recently submitted a draft notification to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), that proposes an increase in the Basic Postage Rate from $1.20 to $1.50 from January 2024 onwards.
The proposed increase is intended to address the rising costs of delivering letters and reduce losses related to letter delivery. Australia Post reported a $384.1 million loss in its Letters business over the 2022-2023 financial year. It also reported the estimated cost of meeting its Community Service Obligations, as required under the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989, to be $442 million.
In a recent media statement, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Paul Graham emphasised that Australia Post remains focused on delivering for all Australians and that this increase would be necessary to ensure that the business remains financially sustainable.
“We’re committed to maintaining the letters service for communities across Australia and increasing the Basic Postage Rate will help us continue to deliver for all Australians,” Graham said.
“We’ve made a number of changes in the past year to improve and simplify our business but, as we are entirely self-funded and receive no ongoing government funding, we need to ensure we reduce losses in our letters business.
“Each year, our Posties are required to deliver to more households, with approximately 200,000 new delivery points added to postal rounds in the last financial year. At the same time, letter volumes continued to decline, and we expect them to halve in the next five years.”
Australia Post has long been the country’s national postage service, but it does not receive any direct government funding and is expected to be its own self-sustaining business. As a result, in addition to the upcoming price rise, it has also introduced a host of measures over the past decade in order to remain profitable.
While the increase is significant, it is worthwhile noting that Australia’s domestic stamp rate is one of the lowest in the OECD. The price of basic postage has increased by just $0.20 in the past seven years.
The proposed increase is projected to cost the average household about $4.50 extra a year. However, to dedicated philatelists and pen pals, this increase has the potential to make their postage costs much higher.


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Tonight, Gatorade will introduce its G Series product line to consumers with a 60-second spot, "Gatorade Has Evolved," from TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles. Then, the brand team will collectively hold its breath and hope for the best -- or at least something better than the head-scratching and sales slides that came after the "What Is G?" introduction. Here it is:
|Gatorade gets that old-timey feeling.|
The spot, breaking during the NBA playoffs, will set the stage for the most massive overhaul in the brand's history, as it shifts to a lineup that includes products for before, during and after activity. (Also notable, you can see the word "Gatorade" a few times -- if only on some of the old-timey bottles.) Whether that message will resonate with key targets -- the G Series' core target is the 13- to 17-year-old high-school athlete, while G Series Pro's target is the 16- to 24-year-old who is in the business of being athletic -- or simply puzzle them has yet to be seen.
For its part, Gatorade believes that athletes will embrace the new approach. Sarah Robb-O' Hagan, chief marketing officer at Gatorade, recently told Ad Age that "the average consumer is already consuming during the before-and-after occasion." But getting them to shill out cash for three separate beverages might be another thing entirely.
The brand plans to follow the first spot with a second 60-second spot, "Before, During, After" in early May. Three 15-second spots are planned to highlight each product in the G Series.


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Smartwatches are definitely the gadget to keep an eye on for 2014. We have heard the rumors that many companies, such as Apple, could debut smartwatches later on in the year, and during CES 2014, companies such as Archos have unveiled their own offering in the form of a smartwatch that is expected to give devices like the Pebble smartwatch a run for its money. Now if there was any drawback to smartwatches is that for the most part, they tended to be rather pricey and did not come across as value for money. Considering that this is still the teething process of the wearable tech industry, naturally a lot of initial offerings aren’t exactly appealing, although they might be interesting.
The good news is that if you wanted to hop aboard the smartwatch bandwagon but did not want to pay an arm and a leg to own one, Archos’ offering could just be what you were after as the company has announced that they will be selling their smartwatch for a mere $50. Yup you read that right, for the price of a very nice meal, you will be able to own a smartwatch. Of course Archos’ offering seems more like the Pebble in terms of functionality, as opposed to the Samsung Galaxy Gear which did seem a little over the top. If simple was what you were after, then perhaps this should do the trick.
Archos expects their offering to arrive sometime in the summer and also expects that they will be introducing more models from now until then with more color options, as well as one with an aluminum casing.


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Google has recently announced its new Project namely Google Fiber which will be a new way of connecting high-speed Internet with 100 times faster than now. This will provide Instant downloads, Crystal clear HD. Google Fiber announced initially for selected cities like Kansas City which is very easy to buy. Google has started Pre-Registration for getting Google Fiber Connection. Google announced this exclusive Project when everyone is in try to build better and creative Tablet PC or Touch Smartphones including Samsung, Nokia and Apple with iOS, Windows 8, Android smartphone operating systems. It seems that Google is again on top for such type of technological innovator with this project of about 1GB downloading speed of Internet.
Want to get more information about Google Fiber, visit following Google Official Links for Fiber Project and Pre-Register to get 1GB downloading speed Internet.
- Google Fiber Home
- How to get Google Fiber
- Google Fiber Availability Cities
- List of TV Channels of Google Fiber Internet


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Trading got off to a rocky start in December, as stocks slumped Friday amid jitters about a slowing economy after a weaker-than-expected manufacturing report and a tumble in construction activity. Traders also weighed comments from Federal Reserve speakers and monthly sales data from auto makers.
But in an encouraging sign for next week, the market staged a rally in the final hour of trading -- something it has failed to do in previous sessions. Down as much as 125 points in afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded by nearly 100 points to finish the session down 27.80 at 12194.13. It was the second negative week in a row for the Dow, which lost 0.7% and is now about 150 points off its all-time high reached on Nov. 17.
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The president has signed into law legislation that would effectively ban TikTok unless its Chinese parent company sells it. Here's what's next.
The device's creator says it can learn to operate apps on your behalf. Imagine requesting an Uber or ordering takeout by simply pressing a button and speaking your request.
The tech giant is building lightweight AI that's more power-efficient and can run on PCs and phones.
Check out our favorite space heaters to help you heat up your place.
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The Polestar Phone reportedly will be available only in China.
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French retailing giant Carrefour (CRRFY) saw organic sales grow 2.9% in the first quarter, buoyed by Latin America. However, it is feeling pain in France where sales have dipped.
Recurring operating income rose 5.3% to €706 million ($781 million), analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg expected growth of €683.5 million.
Carrefour reiterated its full-year outlook of higher free cash flow and investments between €2.5 billion and €2.6 billion.
Sales at the company' supermarkets and hypermarkets grew 2.9% on a like-for-like basis to €40.5 billion in the first half of the year.
The company said sales in Europe were stable, "impacted by a sluggish consumption environment." Carrefour said that unfavorable weather also affected sales.
Sales in France were down 1.5% to €19.2 billion in the first half. France accounts for almost half of the group's sales. The decline in sales in the country was larger in the second quarter with like-for-like sales down 2.1%.
French companies have been particularly hard hit in the first half of the year due in part to a string of terrorist attacks that have rocked the country.
International sales grew 6.2% on a like-for-like basis.
Latin America saw growth of 17.9% in like-for-like sales, making it the fastest growing region. Brazil saw like-for-like sales increase by 15.9%. China had the fastest loss in the first half, with like-for-like sales down 8.9%.
Carrefour said it will continue with plans to expand its digital presence and plans to open more than 11,000 stores.
Shares in the retailer were unchanged on Wednesday, closing at €23.70. Carrefour shares haves fallen more than 23% in the past year.


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Wolves legend Steve Bull, Pat McFadden MP and Councillor Greg Brackenridge, the mayor of Wolverhampton, all helped celebrate the reopening of the fast food outlet in Penn Road on Friday.
The new design has created a larger drive-through area and the chicken shop's 68 staff are now back at work after six-and-a-half weeks off.
Khalid Mahmood, general manager, said: "The refurbishment has created a further 14 jobs and by the end of the year we expect to take on a further 20 people.
"We are welcoming applications from those keen to join our team.
"The building was old-fashioned before the refurbishment and the new design enables us to fit in more customers and increase the drive-through area.
"We can now cater for more visitors by car each hour.
"This is one of the best in the whole company and a lot of people have been visiting us from neighbouring outlets to see how it looks and how we are dealing with customers."
Harinder Dhillon, for the Splendid Hospitality Group, the franchise group of KFC responsible for 42 stores in the Midlands and North East, said: "We have the highest sales and welcome around 5,000 customers each week.
"The site has been redesigned and reconfigured to provide an increased delivery and drive-through area.
"It is great to be reopening the doors of our Wolverhampton site.
"We love being part of the community and are committed to growing and benefiting the local area.
"We are thrilled to be bringing new jobs to the area and offering people a place to enjoy some delicious fried chicken."


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A new report has been published today which claims that LG’s new Nexus handset is coming later this month, apparently it will be called “Nexus 5X” and it will be slightly more expensive than the original Nexus 5. LG isn’t the only company making a Nexus smartphone this year, it has been reported countless times that Huawei is building another one which is going to be priced competitively against leading high-end handsets in the market.
It was also reported yesterday that Google is going to conduct a press event in San Francisco on September 29th to formally launch the two new Nexus smartphones, the company has not yet officially confirmed anything.
Today’s report cites a source who also mentions the September 29th launch date for LG Nexus 5X, and claims that many of the recent leaks that reveal the handset’s design and details about its rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, dual-LED flash and other specifications are correct.
It’s also claimed by the source that LG Nexus 5X is going to be $50 more expensive than the original Nexus 5 which means that the new handset should cost $399 for the 16GB base model and $449 for the 32GB model.
Google hasn’t confirmed a single thing about the upcoming Nexus handsets so it’s best to take this information with a grain of salt for now.


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Nokia, Microsoft to close deal on Friday
Nokia to finally become part of Microsoft, eight months after first announcement
Microsoft has announced that it will close the $7.2bn acquisition of Nokia's handset business on Friday, according to online reports.
The announcement was made in a blog post on Monday by Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president at Microsoft, eight months after the deal was originally revealed.
"The transaction will be completed this Friday, April 25, when we'll officially welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business as part of the Microsoft family," Smith wrote.
"The completion of this acquisition follows several months of planning and will mark a key step on the journey towards integration. This acquisition will help Microsoft accelerate innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones. In addition, we look forward to introducing the next billion customers to Microsoft services via Nokia mobile phones."
According to reports, there had been delays in finalising the deal due to legal disputes with various governments worldwide. While most jurisdictions were fairly quick to give the go-ahead, others such as China were said to be holding out over concerns over patent policy.
Smith's blog also noted last-minute changes to the acquisition deal including a transfer of 21 Nokia employees based in China to Microsoft; the cancellation of the transfer of Nokia's manufacturing facility in Masan, South Korea, to Microsoft; and Microsoft's plan to manage the nokia.com domain and Nokia's social media sites for up to a year.
Changes to management within the two companies include Satya Nadella replacing Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer who stepped down after presiding over the deal and Stephen Elop, former CEO of Nokia will continue to head the Nokia division and lead the subsidiary, which will have more than 30,000 employees. Elop will report to Nadella.
According to UK-based tech site The Register, the remaining Finnish portion of Nokia has said it plans to concentrate on non-phone businesses, including its HERE mapping division, the Nokia Solutions and Networks telecoms group, and future tech like self-driving cars.


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2002: The Year in Review
Following the December MuppetFest, fans started the year on a high and celebrations for the 25th anniversary of "The Muppet Show" ensured that 2002 was a year to remember with new merchandise, appearances and movies. Things continued to look uncertain behind the scenes as EM.TV failed to find a new home for the Muppets but hope came with the announcement of a last minute co-ownership deal which left fans wondering what lay ahead in 2003 for Kermit and his friends.
We soon began to see the first of Creation's Muppet Moments appearing on the Henson Company's website. These were a collection of short video clips released gradually over the year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Muppet Show. Miss Piggy returned to our screens appearing in an advert for Virgin Airlines in the UK and also joined Kermit in an appearance on "The Today Show". Personalized Muppet Checks were announced which meant paying a bill would no longer be a sad occasion for fans of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Animal. Birthday celebrations ended the month as Muppet Central marked it's fourth anniversary online.
Grover's super little interview with TV Guide had fans laughing at the beginning of the month and more Sesame related fun came when Big Bird and Elmo appeared on "The Today Show". Elmo also dropped in on old friend Rosie O' Donnel to promote the new season of Sesame Street and Follow That Bird was released on DVD. DivXNetworks announced that it had licensed it's new video compression technology to the Henson Company which they were using to make promotional CD-ROM's. Early episodes of pre-school show, The Hoobs, began airing on Nick Jr. in the UK which became the second channel to simultaneously carry the program. We heard that the New York Muppet Workshop had created puppets for the Broadway musical "Carnival" and that Bear in the Big Blue House had taped it's 100th episode. The race was on to find news about NASCAR when it was revealed that Muppet paint schemes would begin appearing on racing cars. Kermit, Gonzo and Bear all appeared on "Hollywood Squares" and Frank Oz received an award for his contribution to cinematic imagery from the Art Directors Guild. There was excitement for merchandise collectors as Palisades Toys announced the line up for the first three series of Muppet action figures, Corgi re-released their classic Muppet cars, and Sideshow Toys announced a series of twenty character busts would be gradually released, starting in the fall. No sooner was Christmas over than Muppet fans started looking forward to it again as the Henson Company and NBC announced a brand new made for TV seasonal Muppet movie - working title "It's a Wonderful Muppet Christmas Movie".
The Muppets joined an all star line up to promote We Are Family - a new charity CD. A new logo for the Muppets began appearing on products and websites as media interest in them began heating up, especially in the UK where many TV companies were reported to be interested in the rights for the upcoming Muppet TV Show - an edgy and exciting new series by Team Todd for Fox in the USA. The Very Best Of The Muppet Show was released on DVD in the UK and included the documentary "Of Muppets and Men" as an extra. Prawn lovers rejoiced as Long John Silvers launched Pepe's Lounge, an entire website devoted to Pepe, spokesprawn for their seafood restaurants and increasingly popular Muppet character. News broke that Muppet Treasure Island would receive a DVD release but fans were disappointed the disc would be pan & scan, and not widescreen. Henson fans with colds no longer had to hold their nose when the Muppets appeared on Scotties tissue boxes.
The month began with a very special treat for Muppet fans in the UK - "I Love The Muppets", a brand new 60 minute documentary celebrating 25 years of The Muppet Show aired on BBC2 featuring interviews with Frank Oz, Dave Goelz and Jerry Nelson as well as the Muppets themselves. Play With Me Sesame debuted in the USA. Henson.com - the Jim Henson Company's flagship website re-launched with a new Flash design, but owner EM.TV was shocked to find out Kirch, the German media company who had earlier signed a rescue deal to save them were facing bankruptcy themselves. A fan-initiated campaign began in the form of a petition to see the release of Fraggle Rock on DVD including backing from the likes of Karen Prell and Jerry Juhl. Dark Crystal figures were released by Sideshow Toys and fans learned that The Muppet Christmas Carol would be released on DVD in October, again in the less popular pan & scan format. Collectors flocked to a Philadelphia toy convention to pick up an exclusive Dr. Teeth action figure from Palisades. Fossil released their first Muppet Show anniversary watch and Fraggle Rock T-shirts began to appear at Top Shop in the UK. Sad news came when Pepe said adios to Long John Silvers and his affiliation with the company ended. Fans looked ahead to the summer as post production work on Kermit's Swamp Years was completed.
Ever heard of a pig promoting a sausage breakfast? The Muppets made it happen when Kermit & Miss Piggy joined with Denny's restaurants to let the public know about their Grand Slam Breakfast and the Muppet Show's 25th anniversary. Elmo decided to take the more high brow approach when he appeared in a smart suit and tie on Capital Hill as he testified before the Senate committee on funding for music education. Kermit was named as a judge in the annual "Make A Difference Day" awards and he appeared, along with Miss Piggy on Hollywood Squares. TDK Mediactive announced they had secured the license to produce Muppet video games on next generation consoles and a brand new selection of Elmo and Bear DVD's were released. The Muppets were featured on "Totally Nascar". News reports hinted that the sale of the Henson Company could soon be resolved and it was announced Jim Henson would be honored with a life-size statue at the University of Maryland, where he began his career in puppetry.
Kermit partied at Buckingham Palace in June when he joined Ozzy Osbourne and other stars for a concert to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The Henson Company was also no stranger to gold when they picked up three Saturn TV awards for Farscape and Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story. We learned that Kermit would soon join Jim Henson and Big Bird with his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Jim Henson Pictures announced two new movies - "Let It Rain" and "Good Boy!". The Henson Company also told the media about Jim Henson's Frog School - a TV show in early development helping pre-schoolers learn through stories about Kermit's adolescent life. He also joined Miss Piggy in an advert for UPS urging Dale Jarrett to race the truck, while Bert and Ernie appeared on "The Today Show" to promote their new DVD and Video. Palisades Toys exceeded all expectations when their series one Muppet action figures were released, along with the long awaited Muppet Pinball Mayhem on the Game Boy Advance. Fans were excited to hear that the Muppets would soon appear with Weezer on a new music video but were also sad to hear that Brian Henson was stepping down from his post of Chairman of the Jim Henson Company after nearly 12 years. At the end of the month, the Muppets took over Capital Radio in the UK for an hour long broadcast and featured many classic characters being performed by their new Muppeteers.
In what must have been one of the busiest months in recent years for the Muppets and their fans, July saw the much hyped Nascar Winston Cup Race which featured Muppet themed race cars but even though the Muppets had promoted the Nascar tie-in on TV channels like QVC they were left without a ticket to the actual event when they were kept from appearing due to licensing issues. Things began to rock though when the Weezer video "Keep Fishin" debuted on MTV featuring the Muppets, who also helped promote the song through branded T-shirts and a double page spread in "Kerrang" magazine. The Henson Company announced they were launching a talent search to find the lead actor for their film "Good Boy!" and original Muppet Show scripts and set design sketches were sold in a UK auction. The Muppets did their bit for charity when 25th Anniversary Broaches were sold at UK banks in aid of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, and Kermit plushes were handed out to children at a special Baseball game. Production of The Hoobs wrapped at Elstree Studios in the UK as the Henson Company fulfilled their 250 episode commitment. We heard the first rumors of a new Muppet Show music CD from Rhino to celebrate the anniversary and learned that Muppet and Bear DVD's would soon be given away free with General Mill's cereal. Palisades Toys expanded their range with announcement of Mega Muppet action figures, while their mini-lunchboxes arrived in stores. For fans of the increasingly popular regular line, the company also sold Vanishing Cream Beaker at a convention in Chicago and gave away an Invisible Beaker figure to delegates at an industry party. Muppet fans mourned Dave Wilson, a director of The Muppet Show who died age 69.
Kermit's first solo direct-to-video movie Swamp Years debuted on Starz in August to a mixed reaction from fans and reviewers. The production team also held a presentation at the San Diego Comic Con where fans could meet see preview clips and meet the puppets. Palisades Toys were also at the convention giving fans a sneak peak at their second wave of figures and selling a Vanishing Spray Fozzie figure complete with rubber duck. There was much debate over Snoop Dogg a rapper set to cameo in the upcoming Muppet Christmas movie who was also appearing in adult films and was well known for his controversial past. Sesame Street appeared on QVC with special guests Elmo and his friend Gordon, and a range of Christmas ornaments were also announced by Carlton Cards. A Vacation Fozzie figure was announced by Palisades and the title of the forthcoming Muppet Anniversary CD from Rhino was changed from its working title "Who Let The Frog's Out". There was more sadness among Henson fans as the original Gordon from Sesame Street, Matt Robinson died.
It was a great month for Henson DVD and video collectors when two "Best Of The Muppet Show" discs were released by Columbia Tristar as well as "Kermit's Swamp Years" which featured an appearance by Joe The Armadillo among its many extra features. Bear Cha Cha Cha'd on the Jerry Lewis Telethon and fans learned of a new Muppet video game called Muppets Take To The Skies which was planned for release before the end of the year. Filming of the Muppet Christmas movie wrapped in Vancouver, Canada and a Bear in the Big Blue House special was shown on the first anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the United States. America's First Lady, Laura Bush was pictured on the set of Sesame Street filming a book recital for season 34, and free 25th anniversary Kermit plush keychains were given away by a national newspaper in the UK. The long awaited new Muppet music CD entitled "The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem and More" was released and new Henson show Bambaloo began production in Australia. Fan website Muppet Central relaunched this month with a great new look and making use of Flash technology. Three controversial stories dominated the news during September - Snoop Dogg's appearance in the Muppet Christmas movie was cut along with 30 minutes of footage, Sesame Street announced a HIV+ Muppet to be used as a character in the South Africa version where the disease was common in children, and shockingly, the hugely popular Farscape series was canceled which led to mass fan protest including a campaign to send cracker boxes through the mail to the Sci Fi Channel.
The sale of the Henson Company edged ever closer as we learned that Haim Saban - famous for his connection with the Power Rangers planned to bid for Kermit and Co. Sesame Street producers announced they were considering making a Belfast version to draw attention to the troubles in Northern Ireland and Big Bird alias Carrol Spinney was awarded the 2003 Legacy For Children award. The Muppet Movie was honored at the Black Bear Film Festival in Pennsylvania with an outdoors showing complete with John Henson dressed as Sweetums to greet the guests, while stars recorded versions of classic Muppet songs for a charity CD called "For The Kids". Husband and Wife team Kathy Mullen and Michael Frith who worked alongside Jim Henson on The Muppet Show announced they were to go on a mission to Afghanistan where they would stage a puppet show to teach children about the dangers of landmines. Great news for UK fans as it was announced Elmo's World would soon debut in the country along with a mini-documentary featuring the puppeteers from The Hoobs. Muppet bobbleheads appeared in U.S stores and it was announced Rittenhouse Archives would soon release a limited edition set of Muppet Show anniversary trading cards. Fans began to look forward to the holiday season when it was announced a brand new Kermit balloon would debut in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade at the end of November.
There was bad news for Haim Saban when EM.TV denied they had signed a deal to sell him the Muppets and said they were in talks with a number of prospective buyers - at the same time Thomas and Florian Haffa, who used to run the troubled German company appeared in court accused of fraud. The Muppets were seen out on the streets of New York in commercials for Mastercard's Priceless campaign and Kermit received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony attended by Charlie Rivkin, Steve Whitmire and the Henson family. Fans saw the new Kermit balloon unveiled in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and could also buy a snowglobe, Christmas ornament and special talking Kermit plush with working camera from the store. As if that was not enough, the Muppets took pride of place at Macy's over the holiday season with special themed displays in each window using actual Muppet puppets, and a giant Kermit the Frog greeted shoppers above the door. There was good news for fans of Bear in the Big Blue House as new plushes and figures were announced by Equity Marketing and UK fans struck it lucky when Palisades' series two Muppet action figures arrived in stores ahead of the USA because of a port strike. Kami, Sesame Street's HIV positive Muppet appeared with Whoopi Golderberg at the United Nations to promote awareness of the disease and Peter Orton, who set up Henson International Television received a special achievement award at the Children's Film and Television BAFTA's in the UK. Bear danced with the audience during the UK's "Children in Need" Telethon and fans there were also excited when the Muppets arrived at McDonalds in a 25th anniversary promotion that included a series of TV adverts and eight Muppet character plush toys available in Muppet themed Happy Meals. Kermit, Rowlf, Bunsen and Beaker - the first four Muppet character busts by Sideshow Toys were released and we found out two more Muppet watches were to be released by Fossil in 2003. The Muppets made countless TV appearances across America to promote the debut of their Christmas movie including Miss Piggy appearing on "Live With Regis and Kelly" and "The Today Show" while Kermit went out on the late night talk show circuit and was interviewed by Craig Kilborn on what really happened with Snoop Dogg. On Friday November 29th, the long awaited It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie debuted on NBC and showed that the classic Muppets were back with lots of laughter and a new edgier style.
In what had been an extremely busy year for the Henson Company stories appeared surrounding the sale of the company, suggesting Saban, Valentine, Entertainment Rights PLC and Classic Media were the four main bidders for the Muppets although rumors persisted that Disney was also casting its eye over the Henson Company once again. There was good news when we learned the Christmas TV movie had done respectably well in the ratings topping the 18-49 ratings for its time-spot. Elton John auctioned his clothes from his appearance on The Muppet Show amongst others in a London auction and Palisades Toys appeared on "The Today Show" to talk about their donation of Muppet action figures in the Toys For Tots charity campaign. The Muppets also did their bit for charity when Gonzo and Kermit made a rare appearance at "Toys R Us" in Time Square helping with a Mastercard sponsored shopping spree for 50 needy children. Gonzo also appeared with Rizzo on ESPN Sportscenter and "Good Morning America". Muppet Sour Candy was released along with car air freshners themed around the Muppet characters, and Bear in the Big Blue House themed Happy Meals arrived at McDonalds in the UK. Fans in England were also given the chance to win a visit to the Henson Studios in a competition run alongside a Muppet sticker give-away in boxes of cereal at Asda. Congratulations were in order for Kenneth Lilly, long time friend of the Muppet fan community and developer of the fantastic Muppet Show action figures when he married his bride-to-be Jennifer, with specially commissioned Kermit and Miss Piggy wedding figures given to guests as party favors. In a last minute deal, EM.TV surprised fans by announcing they had agreed to sell 49.9% of the Henson Company to an investment group led by Dean Valentine who planned to aggressively market the Muppets and return the characters back to their former glory. However, fans also learned that financing problems might cause the deal to fall through and it looked like Jim Henson's Creature Shop was not a part of the deal and had been put up for sale separately, meaning that uncertainty over the future of the company would continue into 2003.


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Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue is joining the virtual reality trend. The newly launched SI Swimsuit app includes VR video content that supports both Google Cardboard.
According to Engadget, the app will launch with five VR videos for free, with additional videos added on a weekly basis that can be checked out for an additional fee. They will feature many of SI's swimsuit models in full 360-degree videos. The print edition of the SI Swimsuit issue will also come with a Cardboard-like viewer:
For those who either don't have access to a VR headset or simply don't pick up the print issue for its pack-in viewer, there's an option to watch the videos on a smartphone. The SI team calls this the "magic window," and it's slickly done: You can spin around and peer at the models in a seamless, 360-degree environment.
The article adds that the idea for adding VR content to the app happened when Chris Hercik, the creative director of Sports Illustrated, got a demo of the upcoming HTC Vive headset several months ago in Seattle:
"I immediately flew back and said, 'I have to get people to see this, because I really think it's going to be a game changer.' We got the staff to see it. We looked at it. And we're like right away, 'We gotta do a shoot.' We knew we had to do something in VR for this year," says Hercik."
You can download the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit app now from the Google Play Store.
Google confirms Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 are coming, but with few details
Google has confirmed it will have two more Pixels to launch in 2020, and they'll both have 5G. The Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 will come later to complement the standard Pixel 4a, and while we have a decent idea of what they'll be like through leaks, Google isn't spilling details.
Google Pixel 4a review: The best camera under $400 is a perfect 2020 phone
It turns out Google's "less is more" approach really fits well within the constraints of a less-expensive phone, and its strengths in software and camera processing stand out against less-refined competition. The Pixel 4a picks up right where the 3a left off, with better specs, the same great camera, and a $50 lower price.
Google Pixel 4a specs: Upgrades in performance, display and battery
Google never goes overboard with Pixel specs, and that's particularly true with the "a" series. The Pixel 4a, like its predecessor, is about giving you a great all-around experience for the money by being very selective about which specs and features are included.
Tactical shooter Onward is now available on the Oculus Quest
The Oculus Quest allows you to play VR games without requiring a PC, phone, or external sensors. Here's every game you can buy or download for free!su


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Amid myriad additions to local food, a chef speaks up about presentation and industry
by AZALEA AZUAR/ World Chef Championship
MALAYSIANS have the tendency to fuse foods. Being a multicultural country, we are often inspired to combine delicacies of two or more cultures and create an entirely new dish.
Popular food chains do it all the time. They took the Italian pizza and topped it with beef rendang; New York’s cronut (which was a fusion itself, combining croissant and doughnut) is covered in local favourite, salted egg yolk cream; let’s not forget the cheese — keropok lekor cheese, pisang goreng (banana fritters) cheese and the one that angered us all, nasi lemak cheese.
Through social media, these fusions could quickly become trends and, just as quickly, backfire.
The most recent craze is Taiwanese bubble tea or boba tea. The bubbles, also known as pearls, are chewy tapioca balls. There are other types of pearl toppings such as fruit jelly, grass jelly and pudding, but the black tapioca balls are the most popular. So popular, that they are now added into other foods as well.
There is a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur called Crab Generation which serves bubble tea crab. In Japan, a man mixed bubble tea with rice and cooked them in a rice cooker out of curiosity. Bubble tea porridge, anyone? In Indonesia, a restaurant called Ropang OTW added said pearls into their fried noodles and the Internet was not having it!
While adding boba pearls into savoury dishes seems disgusting, perhaps boba pearls on cendol and traditional sweetmeats like kuih lapis would be a good idea.
Presently, Malaysian cuisine is not very popular, ranking 20th out of 34 cuisines based on a global survey by YouGov. Could these crazy food fusion trends be the key to globalising Malaysian food?
Celebrity chef Fikree Aznan (picture) does not think so. In fact, he believes that we should not be obsessed with trends that would only last a few months.
“I keep seeing our local dishes being added with cheese, as if Malaysians have never seen cheese before,” the 29-year-old Kedahan expressed his frustration.
Not only does he think it is unhealthy, but it does not reflect how our food should be and is a bad way to promote our food to foreigners.
“Tourists who visit Malaysia are actually not fond of fusion foods. For example, if they want to try nasi lemak, of course they would look for the authentic and original thing,” he said.
For fusion food to succeed, Fikree said the establishment must work on its presentation and price besides the taste itself.
“Some Western-Eastern fusions are doing well. It all depends on the establishment. Take food trucks, for instance, where foods are often fused and presented in a street food style. Street food does not require fancy arrangements.”
In popularising Malaysian food, chefs and eateries can only do so much, but government support could take it to a higher level, Fikree said.
“Take the French, for instance. Their cuisines are very popular because they have the backing of their government.
“France is a favourite tourist destination partly because of their prestigious food,” he said, adding that the case is different here in Malaysia.
He cited examples of rendang, teh tarik, nasi lemak and fish head curry as some of the delicacies that we had “lost”, mostly to our neighbour, Singapore.
Last year, CNN listed cendol in its list of 50 of the world’s best desserts, but said it originated from Singapore, which created an uproar among Malaysian netizens.
On a happier note, Fikree saw an improvement in the Malaysian culinary industry with the establishment of culinary associations for each state, which has been organising various activities and competitions.
Even local universities like KDU University College, Management & Science University, Taylor’s University and Universiti Teknologi Mara, where culinary courses are offered, have organised activities throughout Malaysia to increase awareness of the culinary industry.
“Many years ago, cooking was not considered a real career; it was more of a domestic task or chore, but (the) culinary (field) is more than cooking.
“You need a wide range of knowledge including physics, gardening and even architecture. You need to be creative, come up with fresh ideas,” he said.
Fikree himself went from chef to television host because he wanted to educate his audience on Malaysian cuisines and how to properly cook them.
“I want everyone to know how to make sambal. People often add sugar, but it only consists of onions, dried chillies, anchovies and salt. I want Malaysians to go back to the traditional way, which is also much healthier,” he said.
Fikree’s experiences include hosting television shows like Aroma Tradisi and Dapur Panas VS 5 Rencah 5 Rasa on TV3, and Hello Bro, Tolong Masak on Astro.
His upcoming gig will see him in a panel of 69 jurors at the World Chef Championship in December, to be held in Kedah, where he hopes to see contestants resurrect forgotten traditional recipes.
“As it is open to all, this competition allows even village folk to showcase their skills and knowledge. There are many categories and I expect them to bring back old recipes. We also hope to attract overseas contestants. This is where we can introduce and teach foreigners about Malaysian food,” Fikree said.


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Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — On September 22, 2011, Expedia, Inc., the world’s largest online travel company released data on the growth in travel bookings to Mexico made on the more than 100 Expedia- and Hotels.com branded sites the company operates around the world.
"Mexico remains a favorite destination for our travelers worldwide, with over 1.5 million people booking travel to Mexico using Expedia websites in the last year," said Marco Tagliatti, vice president of lodging supply, Latin America and Caribbean, Expedia.
"Bookings made on Expedia to Mexico grew more than 30 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2011, and Expedia’s commitment to Mexico has also grown as we continue to work closely with the Mexican tourism industry to promote travel to the country by travelers from around the world."
One particular success story for Expedia in Mexico has been the extraordinary growth of bookings to the country’s capital, Mexico City. "This year, bookings to Mexico City have grown over 50 percent compared to 2010. This reflects the positive business dynamics of the largest city in Mexico, and also the fact that Expedia offers more hotels in Mexico City than any other online travel company in the world," said Pablo Castro, director of market management for Mexico & Central America, Expedia.
Expedia executives were in Mexico City last week for the 2011 International Tourism Fair of the Americas (FITA) in Mexico City, where Expedia executives met with Mexico tourism authorities and hotel partners to discuss strategies for promoting travel to Mexico to Expedia’s global audience of travelers.
Mexican hotels continue to see value in working with Expedia. In fact, over the past year more than 250 new hotels have joined the roster of over 1,800 hotels in Mexico already promoting themselves through Expedia’s online marketplace.
In addition, the Mexico Tourism Board and some of the country’s top destinations including Cancun, Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan already work closely with Expedia to help promote Mexico as one of the world’s leading travel destinations to nearly 60 million unique monthly visitors each month.
Pablo Castro, director of market management for Mexico & Central America, represented Expedia on an expert panel titled "Llevando el Ritmo, Marketing Interactivo" (Leading the way: Interactive Marketing), on September 23rd at the Expo Bancomer, Santa Fe.Expedia was the only online travel company on the panel, which also featured other key industry experts in the digital marketing and technology realms. Castro discussed travel trends and strategies in online marketing and travel distribution.