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Upworthy cofounder Peter Koechley apologized for his site's usage of sensationalized, clickbait headlines. Moving forward, Koechley said his site will now focus on content that draw a wide array of emotions from readers.
Online radio service TuneIn has just launched a new feature that lets broadcasters, website owners, and bloggers embed a live radio player into their sites, a move that'll likely take the service beyond its already massive user base.
Launched in late 2014, Amazon's Prime Now one-hour delivery service has until now been available only in New York. Now the service is moving to new cities, starting with Baltimore and Miami, with more coming later this year.
Dropbox for Business has brought its Badge collaborative feature for Microsoft Office out of early access and added commenting features to make it easier for users to reply on the service for real-time collaboration.
The negative image associated with the Internet Explorer name seemingly can't be undone, and now Microsoft has decided to call it quits for the brand. A renamed Project Spartan will be the default Windows 10 browser.
Ikea's decision to allow a game of hide-and-seek at one of its stores last year may have seemed like a clever customer-relations move at the time, but now it looks like the whole thing has gotten a bit out of control.
If you're an avid eBay user and fancy taking part in a high-end Sotheby's auction, a new livestream site from the e-commerce giant makes it easier than ever to place bids. Just make sure you have enough money in the bank before you start.
YouTube's annoying annotations are finally getting a less pesky replacement: cards. The cards look much nicer than the annotations, and you can even make them go away, if you don't want them cluttering up your view.


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Despite its heavy focus on futuristic designs, Nike has not forgotten the importance of its history — especially to its bottom line. Through all of its exceptional advancements, their back-catalog still serves up a significant chunk of their revenue, with retro runners making up a sizeable portion of that. Aside from the mainline Air Max releases, Nike has a penchant for reintroducing select silhouettes on an annual basis — and for 2021, the Nike Air Structure Triax 91 will be one of those select few — all the more fitting considering it will be celebrating its 30th anniversary year. And what better way to celebrate it than with a release of the OG Nike Air Structure Triax 91 “Neo Teal”.
Returning for the first time since 2008, the 2021 edition appears to be a near 1:1 replication of the original, with every one of the points brought back. Stop it’s white mesh and grey suede upper, the pair is popped with flashes of the titular Neo Teal on the lateral and Nike’s signature Infrared on the medial. The two come together at the tongue, while red returns to the heel embroidery. But what makes these really pop is the significantly loaded front-end, with black toes anchored in the rear by matching liners and heel clips.
Update 03.07.21 // Retailers in Europe (listed below) have now confirmed a release date for the OG Nike Air Structure Triax 91 “Neo Teal” for March 13th. A Stateside release is yet to be announced, so be sure to keep your eyes glued to our official Twitter account for further updates.
Update 03.17.21 // Nike US has finally revealed a release date for the OG Nike Air Structure Triax 91 “Neo Teal”, with pairs touching down here on SNKRS come 10 am on March 30th. There will likely be additional Stateside retailers added to the list below, so be sure to keep your eyes glued to our official Twitter account for updates
If you’re planning on picking up a pair on the day, make sure you head to our dedicated Nike Release Dates Calendar to set yourself a reminder for the drop.
EU Release Date: March 13th, 2021
US Release Date: March 30th, 2021
Style Code: CV3492-100
Color: Summit White/Neo Teal-Black-Infrared
Where to Buy:
Nike.com @ 10 am ET

domain: news


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Inflows to Coinbase’s (COIN) new Base blockchain were muted on the first day after its official launch, failing to meet the expectations of some crypto traders that massive amounts of capital would flow in.
Just over $10 million was bridged, or transferred, to the new blockchain in the past 24 hours, according to data in a Dune Analytics dashboard, with just over 15,000 new users and 40% fewer transactions than Wednesday.
Of that amount, $5.6 million was in the form of ether (ETH), $2.3 million in USD coin (USDC) and the rest was a plethora of alternative cryptocurrencies.
Wallet analysis shows most Base users transferred between $500 to $1,000 worth of ether on average. The biggest wallet to bridge, “0xcc…1763,” has transferred $17 million of tokens.
Base went live at 12 p.m. ET (16:00 UTC) on Wednesday, marking the first time a publicly traded company has released its own blockchain.
Why the slow day?
A reason for the slow first day could be that most investors who wanted to bridge to Base did so before the official launch — namely, by finding out a deposit address meant for developers and using it to pour money into “sh**coins” instead.
In late July, the issuance of viral meme coin bald (BALD) saw traders jump in ahead of the official launch in the search for outsized returns, sending over $66 million via a one-way bridge to Base.
The lure of meme-coin fortunes — such as BALD, which jumped 4,000,000% before collapsing — in a starved market likely helped Base attract $68 million in ether in less than 48 hours. At the time, Base ended up recording over $200 million in trading volume and more transactions than popular networks such as Arbitrum over the weekend.
Despite outsiders’ worries about rug pulls and scams, Coinbase is amping up efforts to draw users to and generate revenue from the new network.
The exchange kicked off “On-chain Summer,” a virtual event, on Wednesday in celebration of Base’s mainnet launch. It features more than 50 brands, including Coca-Cola (KO), Friends With Benefits, a social decentralized autonomous organization and others in events that will run through the end of August.
Coinbase is also encouraging users to transfer their ether to Base in order to mint a free non-fungible token to commemorate the launch of the Base mainnet. According to data from Etherscan, more than 125,000 individuals have minted more than 30 million free NFTs so far.
But do traders want a shiny, rocketing meme coin instead?


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Welcome, people, to Week in Evaluation (WiR), TechCrunch’s e-newsletter that recaps the main happenings in tech over the previous few days. In case you’ve been too slammed to observe the developments play-by-play, you’ve come to the correct place. That’s what WiR is for.
On this version of WiR, we cowl Teamshares, a New York–based mostly VC-backed startup quietly shopping for mom-and-pop retailers; Zepto, which turned India’s first unicorn of 2023; OpenAI, which is launching a ChatGPT for enterprise prospects; and Google, which is unveiling BigQuery Studio, a “new manner” to work with information. We additionally spotlight Apple’s upcoming press convention, the place it’s anticipated to announce the iPhone 15, in addition to new travel-friendly options in Google Flights, a Brazilian telephone spy ware being hacked, and extra.
In case you haven’t already, enroll right here to get WiR in your inbox each Saturday. Now, with out additional ado, right here’s the week’s information!
There goes the neighborhood: Teamshares has massive ambitions to capitalize on a possibility in plain sight: that of small companies with no succession plan. Although Teamshares says that it typically pays under market value for an organization, it installs a brand new president and grants 10% of the enterprise’s inventory to its staff. According to co-founder and CEO Michael Brown, the plan as an alternative is to generate income from a rising array of fintech merchandise that it sells to the companies it buys.
A newly minted unicorn: On the spot grocery supply startup Zepto has raised $200 million in a brand new funding spherical at a valuation of $1.4 billion, it mentioned Friday, at a time when most different corporations within the class have both died or are struggling. Zepto, which sells and delivers every little thing from grocery objects to digital devices, processes over 300,000 orders a day in seven Indian cities. The corporate plans to IPO in 2025.
ChatGPT involves the enterprise: Looking for to capitalize on ChatGPT’s viral success, OpenAI has introduced the launch of ChatGPT Enterprise, a business-focused version of the corporate’s AI-powered chatbot app. ChatGPT Enterprise provides “enterprise-grade” privateness and information evaluation capabilities on prime of the vanilla ChatGPT, in addition to enhanced efficiency and customization choices.
Google launches BigQuery Studio: Unveiled on the Google Cloud Subsequent convention this week, BigQuery Studio is a brand new service inside BigQuery, Google’s absolutely managed serverless information warehouse. The service supplies a single expertise to edit programming languages, together with SQL, Python and Spark, to run analytics and machine studying workloads at “petabyte scale.” With BigQuery Studio, groups can immediately entry information wherever they’re working and leverage added controls for “enterprise-level” governance, regulation and compliance.
New iPhone incoming: Apple’s subsequent iPhone occasion is scheduled for September 12. The agency despatched out invitations for the press convention this week, which is as soon as once more scheduled for its Apple Park headquarters in Cupertino. The iPhone 15 will virtually actually be the centerpiece for the large present, Brian writes, with the Apple Watch Collection 9 probably making an look alongside the Imaginative and prescient Professional, Apple’s AR headset, forward of the latter’s launch in 2024.
Alerts for affordable airfare: Google Flights is releasing a brand new characteristic to assist vacationers higher decide the correct time to e-book. Rolling out this week, the corporate is debuting insights that leverage historic pattern information to permit customers to see when costs have usually been lowest to their chosen vacation spot on their chosen dates. In some instances, Google will refund the distinction if the fare will get decrease earlier than departure.
Brazilian telephone spy ware hacked: A Portuguese-language spy ware referred to as WebDetetive has been used to compromise greater than 76,000 Android telephones in recent times throughout South America, largely in Brazil. WebDetetive can be the newest telephone spy ware firm in latest months to have been hacked. In an undated be aware seen by TechCrunch, unnamed hackers described how they discovered and exploited a number of safety vulnerabilities permitting them to compromise WebDetetive’s servers and entry its person databases.
Amazon will increase delivery charges: Amazon is growing its free delivery minimal to $35 for patrons who don’t have a Prime membership in some areas. Up till now, the free delivery minimal was $25. Amazon says it’s testing the brand new free delivery threshold randomly by ZIP code–grouped areas and that everybody in the identical area will see the identical free delivery threshold.
Babylon Well being implodes: It’s the tip of the street for Babylon Well being, the London telehealth startup as soon as valued at almost $2 billion after being backed by the founders of DeepMind and a few deep-pocketed medical health insurance corporations. After the corporate’s U.S. shares turned nugatory and its operation turned bancrupt earlier this month, this week the U.Okay. subsidiary of the enterprise formally went into administration. On the similar time, the directors offered a big chunk of its belongings to eMed Healthcare UK, a brand new subsidiary of U.S. firm eMed. Ingrid has the complete story.
New legislation lets customers give up the algorithm: Web customers within the European Union logged on to a quiet revolution on mainstream social networks this week: The power to say “no thanks” to being consideration hacked by AI. Due to the bloc’s Digital Companies Act, customers of Fb and Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat can simply decline “personalised” content material feeds based mostly on “relevance” (i.e., monitoring) — and change to a extra humble type of information feed that’s populated with posts from their buddies displayed in chronological order.
In case you’re on the hunt for a podcast to fill the hours (say, the workday commute), excellent news. TechCrunch hosts just a few that’ll match the invoice.
This week on Fairness, the crew dug into how “nice” founders are efficiently guiding their corporations towards cash-flow positivity. The episode featured Anu Hariharan, who’s beforehand labored with a16z, sits on Brex’s board and extra just lately has been investing in later-stage corporations at Y Combinator.
In the meantime, over on Discovered, Ida Josefiina, the co-founder and CEO of Sane, a social data sharing platform, sat in for an interview. Josefiina talked about how her foray into existentialist concepts and the ability of collective intelligence put her on a journey to begin this firm.
And Chain Response spotlighted Craig Salm, chief authorized officer at Grayscale Investments. Grayscale is a digital asset funding agency that goals to offer services, like its Grayscale Bitcoin Belief, to institutional and particular person traders. The corporate was based in 2014 and is now one of many world’s largest digital asset forex managers.
TC+ subscribers get entry to in-depth commentary, evaluation and surveys — which you already know when you’re already a subscriber. In case you’re not, take into account signing up. Listed below are just a few highlights from this week:
All merchandise are rubbish: Haje writes that, as we traipse deeper into late-stage capitalism, a paradoxical phenomenon is taking form. Regardless of financial prosperity enabling extra folks to afford high-quality items, there appears to be an overarching pattern towards decrease high quality and disposability. In a nutshell: Even when you can afford high-quality merchandise which can be designed and constructed to final, it’s changing into more and more difficult to search out them.
IPO drought: Exit quantity for startups has been weak for the reason that finish of 2021. However it’s simple to turn out to be inured to new market circumstances and lose monitor of simply how lengthy they’ve dragged on, Alex and Anna write — and the way completely different they’re from what got here earlier than. They unpack the brand new information on IPOs — or the latest lack of IPOs, fairly.
Instacart’s S-1: Talking of IPOs, Alex and Anna additionally dug into Instacart’s SEC paperwork from final week. What does the startup have in retailer for its current traders and people maybe trying to snap up a few of its shares when it IPOs? They try to reply that burning query.
Seize your cross to TC Disrupt 2023
Be a part of 10,000 startup leaders in San Francisco at TechCrunch Disrupt on September 19–21. Final-minute passes are nonetheless accessible. Save 15% with code WIR. Register now!
#Amazon #will increase #charges #ChatGPT #enterprise #Apple #pronounces #press #convention #TechCrunch


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Does Your Bicycle Helmet Protect You from Suffering a Concussion in an Accident?
The beautiful weather in California makes bicycle riding a popular mode of transportation and recreation. But biking can be dangerous, especially if you are not wearing a helmet. A report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 677 cyclists were killed in traffic accidents in 2011, representing about two percent of all roadway fatalities. The NHTSA recommends that all bicycle riders wear a helmet to avoid sustaining a serious head injury in an accident.
Can bike helmets be redesigned to protect against concussions?
While bicycle helmets are designed to protect against serious head injuries such as skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries, medical researchers claim that they do little to protect against concussions. Current scientific thinking is that a concussion is not caused as much by the brute force of the impact but from the sudden rotational acceleration of the brain that results from the impact.
The number of concussions sustained in bicycle accidents is increasing, according to data obtained from emergency room admissions records. The increase may be in part attributable to helmets preventing more serious head injuries. While there has been a greater understanding of the causes of concussions in the last 10 years, the mandatory safety standard for bicycle helmets set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has not been updated since 1999.
New helmets that prevent concussions may be on the way
A few companies are designing helmets that they claim help prevent bicycle-crash-related concussions:
- A Swedish company developed a bike helmet that allows the helmet to rotate and absorb some of the impact.
- A company based in Oregon has a bicycle helmet that has an elastic liner that it claims can reduce the risk of a concussion by 27 percent.
It is important to properly wear a fitted bicycle helmet at all times, and to obey the rules of the road. New technology will hopefully make biking safer. If you are injured in an accident, a California bicycle accident attorney can help you get compensation for your injuries.


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Wine Rocks benefiting the University District food bank.
Wine Rocks is hosting it’s 8th annual, not-for-profit gathering of local winemakers, craft brewers and musicians. The event will showcase exceptional wine, outstanding beer, kickin’ music, savory fare, and one helluva of a backdrop at Seattle waterfront’s Pier 66. There will be live music, dancing and
Okay, okay, the official name of this event actually refers to it as a “round-up” but ehh. You say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to. You say round-up, I say rodeo. I can see it now: a herd of food trucks grazing the Seattle streets when out of nowhere a starving Seattleite attempts to lasso one of them using an over-sized fork and only being thwarted by the latest in the Super Sonics NBA-decision distraction.


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LeBron James already left the Clevland Cavaliers once, and one store in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, is doing its best to make sure “King James” stays put this time.
The Cavs superstar can opt out of his current contract after the 2017-18 NBA season, and rumors have swirled all offseason about his potential exodus, with one report claiming the upcoming season will “100 percent” be his last with the Cavs.
Still, that hasn’t dissuaded this store from selling “Stay Home 23” merchandise, in hopes that Akron’s favorite son will finish his career with the Cavaliers.
The Cavs’ offseason has been tumultuous, to say the least. It began with the surprising exit of general manager David Griffin and reached a boiling point when Kyrie Irving reportedly demanded a trade to get out of James’ shadow.
Part two of “The Decision” should be quite the rollercoaster for the Cavs.
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
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Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank of Indonesia, has released its forecast for retail sales performance for February 2023. According to BI, the annual performance of retail sales is expected to increase.
This positive outlook is reflected in the Real Sales Index (IPR) for February 2023, which stands at 205.2, growing 2.6% year-on-year (yoy). This is a significant improvement from the previous month, which was in the contraction phase.
Fadjar Majardi, Director of the Communication Department at BI, revealed that the positive performance of retail sales was driven by the growth of the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Group, as well as the Sub-Group of Clothing, which recorded a higher growth rate compared to the previous month.
“Monthly retail sales are predicted to show improvement despite still being in a contraction phase of 1.4% (mtm),” Majardi said in a press release on Thursday (9/3/2023).
In summary, BI predicts an increase in retail sales performance for February 2023, as reflected in the Real Sales Index (IPR) of 205.2, growing 2.6% year-on-year (yoy), and driven by the growth of the Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Group, as well as the Sub-Group of Clothing. Despite still being in a contraction phase of 1.4% (mtm), monthly retail sales are expected to show improvement.
meanwhile, as previously reported, according to a Consumer Survey conducted by Bank Indonesia in February 2023, consumer confidence in the country’s economic conditions remained strong.
The survey showed that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in February 2023 remained in the optimistic zone (>100) at a level of 122.4, which indicates that consumers are still positive about the economic outlook of the country.
Although the CCI has decreased slightly compared to the previous month’s figure of 123.0, it is still higher than the figure of 113.1 recorded in February 2022.
The report states that “the maintenance of consumer optimism in February 2023 was driven by the increase in the Current Economic Conditions Index (CECI), especially in the components of the Employment Availability Index and the Current Income Index.”
The CECI in February 2023 was recorded at 112.4, slightly higher than the figure of 112.1 recorded in the previous month. Meanwhile, consumers’ expectations for the future economic outlook of the country also remain in the optimistic zone, with a figure of 132.5.


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Apple has advised TeknoHopper that Pokémon Go has damaged a powerful App Retailer document. Whereas the recreation was solely out there in a few nations at the time, the app has attracted extra downloads in the App Retailer throughout its first week than another App Retailer app has in its first week, ever.
The Pokémon Firm has continued rolling out the recreation in extra nations over the previous few weeks and the recreation simply launched in Japan in the present day. The Pokémania isn’t going to cease any time quickly.
It’s fascinating to see that greater than eight years after the launch of the App Retailer, there are nonetheless some app phenomenons like Pokémon Go. Positive, the App Store novelty has worn off. However you'd be loopy to say that apps are lifeless.
As an alternative, it seems like utilization is shifting as individuals now know what they need to do with their phone. At first, it was a widespread factor to open the App Retailer to find new apps and discover new methods to make use of your phone.
Now, everyone is aware of that your phone is the most highly effective software you all the time have on you. If you’re caught with one thing or once you need to do one thing, you’re nonetheless going to search for an app in the App Retailer. And that may be the cause why Apple is doing search ads in the App Retailer, as a result of the App Retailer homepage isn’t helpful for this type of use instances.
Equally, app discovery as grow to be a lot extra social. Now that most individuals have a smartphone and almost everybody is utilizing messaging apps and social networks, it’s simpler to see tendencies and leap on the bandwagon.
Prisma is a good instance of that. Simply a few weeks after its launch, it turned a large hit in the App Retailer. And now, huge corporations like Fb are paying attention. The truth that Prisma pictures stored popping up in all places in your social feeds definitely fostered a lot of these downloads.
After which, there’s iOS 10. As I wrote in my preview of iOS 10, Apple is breaking down its walled backyard and including extension factors in all places. Quickly, you’ll have the ability to install extensions for Siri, Messages, Telephone and Maps. In some ways, this is additionally fairly helpful in relation to app discovery. With Messages in iOS 10, you possibly can open a curated App Retailer with solely Messages apps with out having to go away the app. This manner, you can also make your phone extra succesful and prolong the default apps with extra features. I consider this is going to be the app development that is going to drive progress for the App Retailer’s second decade.
Article up to date to make clear report interval.
Featured Picture: TeknoHopper
Originally posted 2016-07-23 00:06:34.


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A row has erupted in Bologna, after the mayor of the Italian city criticised the dish "spaghetti bolognese", calling it "fake news".
Virginio Merola took to Twitter to deny the existence of the classic dish, traditionally comprised of a meat sauce and spaghetti.
Ahead of the opening of FICO Eataly World, the world's largest food theme park, he called out on Twitter for people to send pictures of spaghetti bolognese to him.
Bologna as a city has a strong food culture, proud of its tortelloni and mortadella ham: delicacies which many Bolognese people believe tourists should seek out, rather than asking for "spag bol".
Tourists who ask for the spaghetti-based version will likely encounter scorn from the locals, according to Italian food expert Helena Kyriakides: "A lot of tourists who come here do seek out bolognese, 'spag bol' if you like, although I hate that word. They get 'tut-tutted' at restaurants, tongues clicked, and 'oh my goodness no, we can't give you spaghetti bolognese', because spaghetti just isn't a type of pasta that we make in this region."
Speaking after his Twitter post, Mayor Merola clarified: "It is strange to be famous all over the world for a dish that isn’t ours.
‘Of course, we are happy that it draws attention to our city, but we would prefer to be known for the quality food that is part of our culinary tradition."
The official recipe for bolognese registered in the area features milk and white wine as part of the recipe, a far cry from the tomato-based sauce many people associate with the name.
In Italian, any meat-based sauce is known as a "ragu", and it is this dish, served with tagliatelle, that you are more likely to come across in Bologna.


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Adweek's annual #Brandweek summit will explore the ideas behind breakthrough successes, discuss solutions to pressing challenges and explore new opportunities in the Metaverse. Join leaders from Alo Yoga, Hyundai Motor America, Frito-Lay and more, Sept. 12–16 in Miami. Sign up early to save.
Ladies of the world: Do you ever stop and think about how your tampons are made? Online tampon delivery brand Lola has and its spreading the word about its products—made from 100 percent organic cotton—to women of New York with its first big non-digital advertising campaign.


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A handful of staffing companies, often held to be a bellwether for the economy at large, are poised to rebound, an analyst argued Monday.
Deutsche Bank raised
to buy from hold, saying they're cheap based on the brokerage's economic outlook.
"Our upgrade is based on the early signs of an economic recovery, which are most evident in Institute of Supply Management data showing service sector growth, as well as improving trends in the manufacturing sector," Deutsche wrote.
It raised its price target on Manpower to $42, compared with its Friday close of $35.96; it raised its target on Recourses Connection to $28, compared with a close of $20.38; and it raised its target on Robert Half to $24, compared with a close of $17.96.
While demand for labor is harder to predict, Deutsche said, it's likely a bottom has occurred.
"Labor market data are less conclusive, but we believe the worst is over," it wrote. "We expect cyclical factors to cause staffing demand to begin to grow again in the fourth quarter of 2003 or the first quarter of 2004, a quarter or two behind gross domestic product."


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Idinvest Partners, a leading investor in SMEs across Europe, today launched an annual study into the UK’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Idinvest’s UK Entrepreneurship Barometer measures the concerns of the next generation of entrepreneurial talent and therefore addresses the health of the UK’s innovation ecosystem. In its first year, the Barometer poses questions about Brexit consequences, personal motivations, fundraising challenges and economic climate.
Despite concerns that Brexit might diminish the UK’s position as one of Europe’s leading business hubs, 44% of the UK population still consider it the best country to start a business, beating rivals Germany by a strong margin. These findings can be seen as a vote of confidence in the outlook for the UK Economy with 57% of all respondents remaining optimistic for the country’s economic performance over the next 12 months where participants were 10%more concerned by the European Economic outlook than that of the UK.
“While some future entrepreneurs will be considering their options in light of Brexit, the majority continue to see themselves as future business owners and start-up founders, said Christophe Bavière, CEO and Benoist Grossmann, Managing Partner at Idinvest Partners. “These findings clearly demonstrate the strong entrepreneurial drive at the heart of the nation and the belief that the UK continues to provide a supportive social and economic environment to foster this talent- a view that we continue to support. Over the past 20 years Idinvest Partners has helped build a dedicated ecosystem for entrepreneurs we look forward to supporting and growing the next generation of British talent.”
“The British entrepreneurial climate is as hot as ever, we’re a nation of creative thinkers who value hard work, ambition and aren’t too keen on having a boss. It’s disappointing that we’ve chosen to distance ourselves from Europe but I’m not surprised that budding UK entrepreneurs aren’t deterred, I don’t see any reason right now why people shouldn’t be hugely optimistic about starting their own business” comments Alex Saint, Co-Founder and CEO of Secret Escapes (An Idinvest portfolio company).”


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7-Eleven, Inc. customers across the country will raise their free 7.11-ounce Slurpee® drinks to salute the all-American convenience retailer. That’s because Wednesday, July 11 – also known as 7/11 or 7-Eleven®Day – marks the day when the world’s first convenience chain celebrates its birthday. 2012 marks 85 years since the company was founded in Dallas, Texas.
Participating 7-Eleven stores across America and Canada will serve 5 million free Slurpee frozen carbonated beverages in special birthday cups! (while supplies last). So go get yours TODAY!!!


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FuelTech will present the Pan American Nationals 2012, one of the main races in the Import drag race scene. The fastest compact cars of USA and Puerto Rico will challenge at Atco Raceway (NJ) for the prize of U$ 50K.
The 18th edition of the Pan American was chosen to officially launch the FuelTech products to the Import market. Between the 20th and 22th of july, the FuelTech crew will welcome all race fans to get to know theirs products in a big stand at Atco Raceway. There will also be FuelTech cars team going fast down the strip to show the performance of FuelTechâ€™s products.
Anderson Dick, FuelTechâ€™s CEO, talked about this new challenge: â€œThe Import class is famous for the use of the latest technologies, and thatâ€™s why we want to show our products. We made several success tests on the track and at the dyno with incredible fast cars, and we are sure we can make them even faster. â€. FuelTech waits for your visit at Atco Raceway.
Racing Scene Magazine will be present to bring you the day to day racing information plus a Live Radio Show on Saturday 21Â from 1-2 pm.


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Flipkart on Tuesday launched a hyperlocal service in suburbs of Bangalore, four years after the e-commerce group abruptly concluded its previous foray into this category.
The e-commerce group, owned by Walmart, said Flipkart Quick leverages the company’s supply chain infrastructure and a new location mapping technology framework to deliver within 90 minutes to customers more than 2,000 products across grocery, perishables, smartphones, electronics accessories and stationary items.
When a customer places an order, the items are sourced from local neighborhood stores, warehouses and retail chains. Flipkart Quick — initially operational in Whitefield, Panathur, HSR Layout, BTM Layout, Banashankari, RK Puram and Indiranagar, among other suburbs of Bangalore — allows customers to book a convenient two-hour slot between 6 a.m. to midnight for delivery.
The company, which is working with a range of partnered firms, is levying a delivery charge on servicing these orders starting at 29 Indian rupees (39 cents), it said.
The launch of Quick stands to provide Flipkart an opportunity to reach a new set of users, especially those who otherwise see no reason to buy online, offer more timely deliveries and also become a headache for some existing startups, such as Dunzo, that already operate in a similar space. It also marks Flipkart’s foray into servicing fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and milk orders.
Dunzo, which is backed by Google, operates in Bangalore and allows customers to order any item from nearby stores. One of the experiments it has done in recent quarters is inking deals with smartphone vendors such as Xiaomi to deliver new handsets to customers in half an hour.
If that becomes a norm in the country, it could pose serious a challenge to both Flipkart and Amazon India. Both the firms, which take at least a day to deliver handsets to customers, count smartphone sales as one of their core businesses.
“This is a great model for India as households of all sizes are already used to their neighbourhood Kirana stores. In fact, Indian families are so comfortable with what we call the ‘hyperlocal context’, that there is a tendency to develop deep, familial ties with vendors, shopkeepers and service providers – now with the convenience of e-commerce,” said Sandeep Karwa, a VP at Flipkart, in a statement.
“While we start with our dark store (no-walk-in) model, wherein we enable sellers to store inventory close to the consumer; this model has the potential of encouraging local entrepreneurship and enabling new business strategies and partnerships. Today, with Flipkart Quick – our Hyperlocal capability, we have the potential to bring together the whole network of neighbourhood Kirana stores onto our platform with just a click,” he added.
This isn’t the first time Flipkart has explored the hyperlocal delivery category. In late 2015, Flipkart launched Nearby to deliver perishables, grocery, well-being and household items within 60 minutes. But the company abruptly discontinued Nearb,y reportedly because of poor demand and an unsustainable model.
Flipkart did not reference Nearby today, but talked about the efforts it has made to build Quick and the opportunities it sees in the market. Flipkart said the company plans to expand the Quick hyperlocal delivery service outside of Bangalore in a few months.
For Quick, Flipkart said it is also moving away from the traditional model of using a zip code system to identify delivery location and instead will use a latitude and longitude approach. This model enables the company to “not only narrow down the location” but also be “more precise” and deliver more efficiently.
Both Flipkart, which this month secured an additional $1.2 billion, and Amazon India have in recent months rushed to leverage the vast presence of mom and pop stores across the country.
Flipkart said last week it was acquiring a 100% stake in Walmart’s India business, which had limited standalone presence in the country and operated Best Price, a cash-and-carry business that runs 28 warehouse-club-style stores across the country and has amassed more than 1.5 million members. The company plans to launch its wholesale business in the country next month.
These neighborhood stores dot tens of thousands of cities, towns and villages in India. They have survived — and thrived — despite retail giants’ billions of investment in the country. The space has also attracted the attention of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
JioMart, a new e-commerce venture between the nation’s largest retail chain (Reliance Retail) and telecom network (Reliance Jio Platforms), began limited operations this April and has since expanded to more than 200 cities and towns across India. The new venture plans to work closely with mom and pop stores.
Facebook, which invested $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms earlier this year, said the two companies will explore ways to serve the nation’s 60 million small and medium-sized businesses.


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Leadership. It is perhaps one of the most-important yet least-discussed aspects of luxury brand management. Corporate culture has long been cited as a source of business success or failure, yet the luxury industry remains largely silent on the internal strategies that keep its best-known brands moving forward.
Consider for one moment, the impact that a sole individual has had on the luxury industry, Bernard Arnault. Whether one chooses to admire or admonish his aggressive approach, his influence is undeniable. He has effectively revolutionised the way that luxury brands are organised, marketed and sold, and the way in which luxury is understood.
Most of all, he has created ‘star’ executives, ‘star’ designers and ‘star’ brands. Such senior luxury executives are photographed on the red carpet as just as often as they are found in the boardroom. Stars in their own right, they move from brand to brand in a dizzying display of executive musical chairs. It is a game the watch industry is becoming quite good at.
Bernard Arnault has revolutionised the way that luxury brands are organised, marketed and sold.
In 2014 alone, Stephane Linder exited Tag Heuer after a career with the brand spanning 21 years. Jean Frederic Dufour was confirmed as the new CEO of Rolex - its third since 2008 - having served as CEO of Zenith since 2009. Jean-Claude Biver returned to LVMH, appointed in the newly created role of Head of Watches, overseeing Zenith, Tag Heuer and his beloved Hublot. Luc Perramond moved more quietly from La Montre Hermès to Ralph Lauren Watches. Michele Sofisti stepped down as the CEO of Sowind Group, and eventually as CEO of Gucci Timepieces & Jewellery. Former Montres Corum CEO Antonio Calce has recently been named to succeed Sofisti at Sowind Group, at the same time that Christophe Arteaux was named CEO of Qeelin. This reshuffle follows the creation of Kering’s first Luxury – Watches and Jewelry division, and the appointment of Albert Bensoussan as its first CEO. The leaders of Boucheron, Girard-Perregaux, JeanRichard, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin and Ulysse Nardin now report directly to the former LVMH Group executive and industry consultant.
TOP CEOs BY INDUSTRY
In September 2014 Thierry Andretta moved from CEO to Vice President at Buccellati, whilst also taking on Board of Director responsibilities at Mulberry. Former Gucci executive Gianluca Brozzetti was named as his successor, having served as executive director of the jewellery and watch division at Bulgari.
After ten years at Louis Vuitton, Jean-Marc Mansvelt has taken over CEO duties as Chaumet, effective January 2015. The industry still awaits an official announcement from La Montre Hermès as to who will lead the ambitious French brand into the future. And we haven’t yet made it to Baselworld, where no doubt a new a stream of leadership announcements will be made.
2014 gross sales for the Swatch Group exceeded CHF 9 billion for the first time
Whilst the need for creativity and innovation is undeniable in luxury, with rapidly changing business conditions, intense competition and frequent economic headwinds, the role of the CEO has never been so important. As the watch industry continues to consolidate, turning privately-owned brands into stock-market stalwarts, growth and performance has never been more important. Consider this: 2014 gross sales for the Swatch Group exceeded CHF 9 billion for the first time ever, an increase of 4.6% over the previous year, despite the negative impact of the Swiss franc’s exchange rate. Operating profit clocked in at CHF 1.75 billion. The watch industry is therefore increasingly becoming the stock market option to watch, as consumers tire of purchasing entry-level monogrammed handbags. In a trading update issued this January, Richemont claimed that weak luxury watch demand in Hong Kong and Macau made sales growth ground to a halt in the final quarter of 2014. Despite slowed growth during the quarter, the group reported third-quarter revenue to the tune of 2.94 billion euros. LVMH’s Watch and Jewellery division reported relatively flat revenue growth of 3% during 2014, but it remains one of their most stable sources of income, netting over 2.5 billion euros in revenue for the group. Their Wines & Spirits division revenues dropped by 5% as Fashion & Accessories advanced 10%.
And as their conglomerates consistently report profits in the billions, their leaders inevitably feature - rather prominently - on the world’s wealth rankings. Bernard Arnault is a tabloid favourite, as the richest man in France, and the 15th richest person in the world with a net worth over $35 billion. (Forbes Billionaires 2014) Francois Pinault and family rank 60th on the very same list (net worth $15.1 billion), followed by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer at #132 (net worth $9.5 billion), Giorgio Armani at #181 ($7.3 billion) and Ralph Lauren at #194 (net worth $6.9 billion). Richemont CEO Johann Rupert has an estimated net worth of $7 billion. As a result, the leaders of watch and jewellery brands are inevitably on the radars of an increasing number of people: financial analysts, competitors, the global business press and even the general public. And according to Digital Luxury Group’s DemandTracker technology, the watch industry executive who garnered the most search interest in 2014 was Jean-Claude Biver.
Bernard Arnault is a tabloid favourite, as the 15th richest person in the world
Aside from the fact that Jean-Claude Biver remains one of the most quotable watch executives of all time, his comments on the Apple Watch in 2014 no doubt played an important part in the 45% increase in online interest compared with 2013. As did his announcement that Tag Heuer will move into the Smartwatch market in 2015. The executive was quoted telling Forbes that Apple’s debut smartwatch ‘lacked soul’ and ‘aesthetic tension’ and ‘is not sexy at all’. Explaining to reporters he said that “this watch has no sex appeal. It’s too feminine and looks too much like the smartwatches already on the market. To be totally honest, it looks like it was designed by a student in their first trimester,” added Mr Biver. His appointment at LVMH after his 2013 retirement from Hublot no doubt also contributed to his rising popularity. And one can only expect this interest to grow in 2015, given the announcement of Cara Delevigne as Tag Heuer ambassador during his service as Interim CEO. The impending launch of their smartwatch will undoubtably extent his capacity to comment on behalf of LVMH.
Jérôme Lambert, CEO of Montblanc, ranks as the second most-searched for watch industry executive in 2014. Overall it was a momentous year for the brand, as the 11-year veteran of Jaeger-LeCoultre breathed new life into the manufacturer of writing instruments, leatherwoods and timepieces. The unveiling of a Perpetual Calendar for under 15,000 Swiss Francs marked his definitive arrival in 2014. On January 1st 2015 the brand again garnered headlines with the launch of the Montblanc Timewalker e-Strap watch line, which connects to Android and iOS using low energy Bluetooth to signal notifications and track activity. The more recent appointment of Charlotte Casiraghi as Global Brand Ambassador will continue to push Montblanc further into the future. Juan Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin, was the third most-searched watch industry CEO of 2014.
Aside from Jean-Claude Biver, who was the most-searched watch executive, as well as the executive who registered the biggest increase in search traffic volume year-on-year (45%), interest in Georges Kern, CEO of IWC, grew fastest at 42%. Without scandal or billionaire listing, one can attribute the increase to the overall momentum maintained by the brand in 2014. The executive who registered the third largest increase was Thierry Stern, up 26%. The outspoken CEO of Patek Phillipe created huge buzz around Baselworld 2014, remarking to the Swiss Press that the brand could be forced to move its headquarters away from Geneva or to sell up because of “high taxes”. The leader of the family-owned watchmaker was also identified as a billionaire in 2014, with Forbes estimating his net worth around $3 billion. Patek Philippe also celebrated its 175th Anniversary, celebrating with some of the world’s most rare and accomplished pieces of haute horlogerie.
What do all these executives have in common? For one thing, all of their brands are well sold and understood in the marketplace. Each has a distinctive vision, identity and consumer base. Jean-Claude Biver is widely credited with resuscitating Hublot with his unwavering vision, creating a specific niche for an even more specific clientele of next-generation ultra high net worth individuals. With the exception of Patek Philippe, each of the brands with the most-searched CEOs are inherently digital. Leading the way in terms of online campaigns, branded content, social media activities, video, mobile and SEO. In some cases, these brands are beginning to bridge the gap between the digital and the physical.
Baselworld is fast approaching, and CEOs face no shortage of pricing dilemmas given the recent controversy surrounding the Swiss Franc. At Davos, Oxfam made headlines claiming that half of global wealth is now held by the wealthiest 1%, just as the Richemont Group opened doors to present its most innovative (and expensive creations) at SIHH in Geneva. 2015 will present itself as another challenging year in watchmaking, as luxury continues to transcend its position as an industry. Today luxury is of key fiscal, ethical and political concern, and watches that can sell for anywhere between €1000 and €100,000 will continue to draw attention from all corners. Brand leaders will be faced with difficult political environments in key growth markets, a public increasingly aware of the haves and the have-nots, and uncontrollable currency fluctuations that directly impact revenues. All the while they will be expected by shareholders to continue growth and maximise profitability.
Source: Europa Star February-March 2015 Magazine Issue


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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – National Double Cheeseburger Day would seem to be the logical time to find out, once and for all, who has the best cheeseburgers in Bakersfield.
The answer? Everybody does. Just ask them.
Which is probably a good thing, because U.S. demand for the grilled ground-beef sandwich, topped with American cheese, is outrageous. According to a poll commissioned by White Castle, the Ohio-based burger chain, Americans scarf down five burgers per month, which is a little more than one a week. How can that be, you might ask, given the fact many people eat few or none. Answer: The rest of America apparently compensates. That, and the poll was commissioned by a burger chain.
Burgers are such a part of American culture they’re not just sustenance, they’re entertainment.
But we know this. Bakersfield has loved its cheeseburgers for generations. Many a Bakersfield teenager – now grayed with age – has fond memories of Michener’s Drive-in, Stan’s, Joe Mooney’s, Jumbo’s, the Budge Inn.
Some of those classic burger joints are still with us, competing with the McDonalds, Burger Kings and In-n-Outs of the world. I found one man who has been enjoying Andre’s Drive-In since 1963.
“Oh, they’ve always had good burgers,” he said from the drive-through line. “It’s just always been good.”
The secret of survivors like Andre’s? Consistency, even though changes of ownership. Sam Choe bought Andre’s on Brundage Lane in 2004 and learned from the man himself, original owner John Andre.
“I’m changing nothing,” Choe said. “Just John Andre teaching me and I’m just still going in” with the same recipes.
John Andre wasn’t just selling cheeseburgers. He was selling his company’s hard-earned reputation – and he was selling nostalgia. Fact is, 63 percent of the people in that White Castle poll would prefer a burger that evokes nostalgia.
Nostalgia is a specialty of the house at Carla’s Drive-In in Oildale.
“Nothing changes here,” said veteran cashier De Dee Rogers. “Everything stays the same. Everything for years and years.”
The place has such an iconic look it’s been used in a couple of national TV commercials, one for Tropicana orange juice.
You want iconic? That’s also on the menu at Happy Jack’s downtown. Come for the company, stay for the burger.
As it turns out, it’s really not about the cheeseburger. It’s about the friendliness, it’s about the service, it’s about the atmosphere. It’s about the culture of the American cheeseburger.


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McDonald’s and Snapchat have partnered to provide young people in Australia an innovative new method for applying for jobs at the fast food giant.
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McDonald’s is the largest employer of young people in Australia, with 65 percent of its 106,000 strong workforce under the age of 18. Now, working with Snapchat, people interested in applying for a job can use the new Snaplications lens. Applicants snap a photo of themselves in a Macca’s uniform using the new filter and send a 10 second clip to the company. Designed to be a new way for finding and engaging with potential employees, Snaplications won’t replace the traditional interview process. They will, however, be taken into consideration as part of the overall process.
The company says that it is looking for positive, bubbly personalities who would do well in customer service. At the moment, McDonald’s says it hasn’t set targets for the campaign’s reach, instead taking a wait-and-see approach to its potential success. As well as being available directly via Snapchat, the new application filter can be accessed via the McDonald’s website.
Connectivity is such an essential aspect of life now that almost all industries are finding ways to incorporate it into their work, including finding and hiring new employees and sharing formal news via social media networks. A New York City advertising agency has created a robot internship to give young people around the country the opportunity to work remotely in the Big Apple. And a state university now lets prospective students know they have been accepted using Snapchat. How else could social media be used as an additional way to interact with audiences?


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Entries in 'centresoft' (17)
PlayStation dominated the MCV Awards 2014, collecting eight prizes including the prestigious Grand Prix.
Distributor CentreSoft won the final honour of the night at the MCV Awards: the Grand Prix.
MCV has put together a special supplement honouring three decades of the long-running UK distributor.
CentreSoft is this week celebrating 30 years of trading in the games industry.
This week's MCV is now available to download - and it is jam-packed with great features, including an extensive interview with Square Enix CEO, Yoichi Wada.
Sony and CentreSoft have thanked UK independent retailers for their support during the launch of PlayStation Vita.
Everyone may be recovering from the Modern Warfare 3 launch party, but that's not the only game that saw retail go all out to draw in fans.
Retail veteran Gerry Berkley has joined Centresoft as consumer fulfilment sales manager.
Best Buy Europe has strengthened its UK launch plans by appointing Centresoft to exclusively handle all gaming products, MCV can reveal.
Warner and Centresoft have hailed their joint Independent Retail Showcase held in Birmingham on Wednesday August 5th ‘an outright success.’
Centresoft has signed an exclusive deal to become Majesco’s distribution partner in the UK.
Centresoft has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Nordic Games.


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Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime to be released some time in June?
A report published Sunday out of Korea, says that the Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime will make its first appearance in June. Unfortunately, we don't know if this means that the phone will be unveiled that month, or actually released. Samsung is looking to beat the LG G3 to market as its country mate's unannounced flagship sequel is expected to offer a 1440 x 2560 QHD screen, like the Galaxy S5 Prime.
With the LG G3 now expected to launch early in July, Samsung has this brief opening to launch a phone that Sammy's head of mobile, J.K. Shin, has denied the existence of. If Samsung does launch a premium version of the Samsung Galaxy S5, are buyers of the original version going to feel misled?
Thanks for the tip!
source: AsiaToday (translated) via GforGames
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Subaru and Subaru Technica International (STI), the motorsports division of the brand are using the WRX STI to brilliantly market their performance cars around the globe. It’s working because the 2016 Subaru WRX and WRX STI performance sedans are leading the entire Subaru lineup in percentage of sales increase for the year. Interest in the WRX/STI sports cars has never been higher in the U.S., Australia, Canada and Europe.
Even though the Subaru Impreza Sedan Concept got all the publicity in LA, Subaru and STI also brought the new 2016 WRX STI Global Rallycross car to the LA Auto Show this week. Subaru continues to put a focus on their motorsports involvement because it reaps rewards far beyond the race track and rally stages.
Subaru Tecnica International, the motorsport division of Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) who manufactures Subaru cars, has stepped up their involvement in the U.S. scene this year. STI’s motorsport technology filters down to Subaru’s entire lineup and it’s one reason why Subaru continues to set new records every month with the WRX/STI, Forester, Outback and Crosstrek.
Subaru of America just received an award from 2015 W3 Awards for creative excellence on the web for their Launch Control Video series. The video series keeps motorsport fans connected to their Subaru WRX STI Rally America car and the WRX STI GRC cars STI runs in the U.S. It’s working, because now in its third season, Subaru Launch Control has remarkably produced over 15 million views online. Watch the most current episode 3.11 below.
Fuji Heavy’s President and CEO, Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, knows that motorsports plays a key role in marketing and technology and they will keep STI’s involvement at a high level in the future. While other brands like Mitsubishi with their Lancer Evolution have pulled out of the performance car market, Subaru knows it’s a smart move to stay in race.
Media source: Subaru of America


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Video Games and Consoles #2 on U.S. Kids’ Wishlists
NPD Group conducted a November KIDS survey to find out what U.S. children were asking parents most for their holiday wishlists. “Generic toys” took first place, but in second place (at 15%) was video game hardware/software. Nintendo hardware and Mature-rated FPSs made up the bulk of specific items requested in the category. Wii and DS snagged 22 percent of the video game hardware requests, followed by Xbox 360 at 18 percent and PS3 at 7 percent. FPSs Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo: Reach were the most-desired games. Kinect was the top accessory requested in a 6 percent-large “accessory” subcategory of the video games niche.
While video games placed second, they were still ahead of books, “consumer electronics” and “other entertainment.” The survey data was gathered not by asking the kids themselves but the parents who were buying the gifts.
EA CEO Provides Nintendo Advice on Wii Pricing, More
Regardless Nintendo’s top-ranking hardware sales over Black Friday, there’s no ignoring the overall decline of Wii and DS hardware sales this year. EA CEO John Riccitello had some advice in an Industry Gamers interview as to what Nintendo should do next year: drop Wii to $99.
“I would say they did exceptionally well in ‘07 and ‘08, started tapering in ‘09 and ‘10, and… I think if they were to price down to $99, they would explode,” Riccitello predicted. “I think they’ve now got competition, in the form of gesture-based gaming from Sony and Microsoft. If they were to find ways to promote third-party content better, as opposed to first-party content, and would hit pricing, I think the platform would see new life.”
Promotion of third party games has long been a point of contention between third party developers and publishers and Nintendo, whose first party offerings frequently top the charts of both critical reception and sales. EA noticeably went to bat for Nintendo’s platform last year, releasing a number of exclusive or enhanced titles, including Boom Blox Bash Party, EA Grand Slam Tennis, EA Tiger Woods PGA Tour ’10, Spore Hero, EA Sports Active, and a couple exclusive entries in the MySims franchise. Regardless of critical reception, few of those titles caught fire as EA would hope on the marketplace, and since then the publisher, along with many other third party publishers, has scaled back to a more traditional “ports” offering for Wii this year and into the future. Riccitello blames Nintendo’s focus on its first party content over third party offerings is what’s driving third party marketplace failure.
“I think it’s a frustration for all third-party publishers, when a platform holder does less to promote third-party content. A great third-party company is Apple, a company that’s all third-party content. There’s often tension in a company between first- and third-party content,” Riccitello elaborated. “Nintendo’s unique in the world… First-party hardware, first-party content is what makes them great, but it’s actually pretty tough… It’s not lack of trying; they start the morning thinking what’s best for their own intellectual property.”
Source: Industry Gamers
Third FPS WiiWare Game In-bound from Sabarasa
A recent Nintendo Power interview with Argentina- and Mexico-based Sabarasa Entertainment shed light on a new FPS in development for WiiWare. Sabarasa’s Protocol (due in “early 2011”) will follow in the footsteps of Hudson-published Onslaught (released in North America February 2009) and Water Warfare (June 2009), the only other FPSs so far produced for WiiWare.
Sabarasa believes its title will be special because of the amount of time the developer is spending focused on offering a deep multiplayer experience: two vs. two locally and up to four vs. four online (including the option for four players to connect to online multiplayer splitscreen via one Wii). The game sports Tron-inspired visuals and will include Team Fortress-styled classes for gamers to play as, such as Sniper and Heavy Gunner, and the game maps will feature manipulation of the game’s maps that will change gravity in some areas and activate teleport pads. Various modes besides traditional deathmatch will be available as well. Given the dearth of FPSs on a system that’s supposed to be perfect for them, we’ll be excited to see how Sabarasa’s game performs after its release.
Source: Go Nintendo


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For Alberta, trade matters.
And for the province’s agriculture sector, international trade challenges remain an unpredictable factor in how 2020 will unfold.
From the ongoing disruption of Canadian canola sales to China to the potential fallout of a new trade deal between Beijing and Washington, getting goods to market is a pivotal issue in a new year.
“Two-thirds of what we produce is exported, so for the industry to thrive, trade needs to happen,” said Jeff Vassart, president of Cargill Canada.
“I would put trade at the top of the list for Canada right now, in terms of a barrier to growth and prosperity.”


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National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
The Food and Drug Administration has issued new guidelines for food manufacturers. Foods that are labeled “gluten-free” can no longer contain more than 20 parts per million of gluten.
You’ll be able to enjoy gluten-free food and drink from about 30 of the region’s top restaurants at a Celiac disease benefit in Center City on Sunday.
Millions of people have an undiagnosed disease that can cause everything from infertility and headaches to cancer and learning disabilities.
The Philadelphia cruise terminal will be the site of Sunday’s 7th annual Appetite for Awareness, to help fight a disease where food is both the cause and the cure.


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Chinese shoppers lining up to buy discounted eggs at a supermarket.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Chinese inflation continued to ease last month, another sign that more stimulus could be in the pipeline.
Consumer prices in China increased at an annual rate of 3% in May, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Saturday. That’s down from a 3.4% rate of increase in April.
As recently as last summer, Chinese consumers were battling a whopping 6.5% inflation rate. May marks the fourth straight month of inflation below 4%.
For years, the Chinese economy had been growing at warp speed, with prices increasing at a rapid rate. But inflation has significantly slowed in the past year following government efforts to rein in price increases.
The Chinese government now seems more concerned with slowing growth.
On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China announced a surprise 0.25 percentage point rate cut in various lending and deposit rates for Chinese banks. The move is designed to boost economic activity.
With inflation firmly in check, Chinese officials are likely to take even more steps to juice the economy.
China’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of its economic health, grew at an 8.1% annual rate in the first quarter. But that was sharply lower than the 8.9% growth at the end of last year.
The slowdown has many economists worried about a so-called hard landing for China, which, as the world’s No. 2 economy, has become an important driver of global growth.
Some economists are forecasting that even lower prices are on the way.
“We expect there will be a lot of declines in inflation to come in June and July, with it reaching 2% by the middle of the year,” said Qinwei Wang, China economist for Capital Economics.
Wang said surveys of Chinese manufacturers show they are paying less for raw materials and charging customers less for their products.
The recent slowdown in Chinese manufacturing, partly as a result of near recession conditions in Europe, the largest market for Chinese exports, has also reduced the pressure on employers to raise salaries.
But consumers are at least feeling some relief at the grocery store.
Food prices have been a main culprit in rampant inflation recently, but are finally starting to ease, rising at 6.4% annual rate in May. That compares to the 7% rate of increase in food prices in April.
Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics, said falling food prices could be even more widespread if there is a bumper crop later this year, and that should be a tremendous boost for Chinese economic growth.
“We believe food prices will continue to slow on a year-over-year basis, boosting real discretionary income,” he said, which will help push up retail spending.
“If we are correct, we will look for GDP to accelerate in the current quarter back towards its 9.8% trend rate of growth,” he said.


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Around 150 people were mistakenly charged thousands of dollars for their orders at a location of Mexican fast food chain Del Taco in Santa Paula, a suburb of Los Angeles. The AP reveals that a customer noticed that he had been charged $4,050 for "for one CrunchTada Pizza and two beef tacos" when he attempted to withdraw $20 from the ATM but was denied. According to CBS Los Angeles, other customers have reported other outrageous charges such as $2,000 for a soda and $10,220 for $10.20 worth of tacos. A Del Taco spokesperson attributed the overcharges to a glitch in the computers that deal with credit card and ATM transactions and that the money would be refunded.
· Calif. customers hit with expensive Del Taco bill [AP]
· Del Taco Charges Customers Thousands For A Taco [CBS LA]
· All Accidents Coverage on Eater [-E-]


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WHEN David Byrne was named European consumer commissioner in 1999, The Irish Times reported that his natural chef de cabinet should be Jim Murray, Ireland’s other champion for the EU consumer.
Murray, head of the European Consumers’ Bureau, usually referred to by its French acronym of BEUC, says it was just a bit of mischief from the paper’s then Brussels correspondent, Paddy Smyth.
But the smile on his face tells that he was clearly flattered by the idea.
Three years on and the former Irish government official is still on the outside of the Commission – orchestrating the never-ending campaign to ensure consumers are remembered in EU rules and regulations.
Behind his messy desk in BEUC’s modest HQ on Brussels’ Avenue de Tervuren, the clutter hides letters to ministers, briefing papers, press releases and speeches on every conceivable topic from the Common Agricultural Policy and GM labelling to electronic commerce.
A computer screen also shows hundreds of emails from his 19-strong team and the wider world.
With all that to contend with, Murray admits he often finds it difficult to keep track of the details of each issue. Instead, he admits to focusing more on whatever is the “most pressing issue of the day”.
Today it is the urgent need to ensure customers gain from natural gas and electricity liberalisation. Tomorrow? Who knows?
This perpetual motion means that reliving past victories is a luxury. And it is nigh-on impossible to know for sure whether BEUC actually helps change the minds of the EU policy elite.
But Murray is convinced it does.
Before his arrival, BEUC helped take the lead out of petrol and succeeded in getting a reference to consumer’s needs inserted into the Maastricht Treaty.
The latest example of its clout, he says, is the Commission’s recent attempt to break the stranglehold of car manufacturers on dealerships.
The carmakers fought bitterly to avoid the upheaval that Mario Monti, the competition commissioner, was pushing for. BEUC was his most fervent ally.
As lobbying ‘battles’ go, this was as bloody as it gets.
Murray quotes another Irish son, the first Duke of Wellington, who reputedly said after the Battle of Waterloo: “By God! I don’t think it would have done if I had not been there.”
“I don’t want to sound like the Iron Duke,” laughs Murray, “But I think, in this issue, we made a difference.”
So, where are the next battlefields?
One cause for concern, says Murray, is the pitifully low levels of service offered by e-commerce.
“In a worst-case scenario people may go off it entirely because they are having too many bad experiences,” he says.
Murray points to the abject failure of a planned system agreed last year by BEUC and employer federation UNICE, to boost consumers’ fragile confidence in buying over the internet.
This would have helped to police the plethora of ‘trust marks’ plastered on websites by companies to reassure customers that it is safe to shop online.
But since then, says Murray, precisely nothing has happened.
It’s not UNICE’s fault, he insists. Instead, he points the blame at individual technology firms who have shunned the idea.
“If this thing does not proceed we will just have to get a directive from the Commission,” he adds, with a steely look.
BEUC is also keeping a close eye on the Commission’s green paper on consumer protection, even though he confides that he missed a deadline for submitting comments.
“If I thought they were going to make up their minds overnight we would have got it in on time,” he jokes.
The key issue here is David Byrne’s idea for a general directive that would require all companies to trade fairly with consumers in the single market.
Murray is far more enthusiastic about this approach than many business groups, although he admits details still need fleshing out – such as what system to use to decide what goes on the list of unfair practices, how to keep it up to date and how to ensure it is evenly applied across the Union.
The role of voluntary industry codes of conduct in the new regime – and their legal status – also needs to be clarified.
Meanwhile, financial services will be one of BEUC’s future priorities. But Murray says the Enron affair and collapsing share portfolios is not the focus.
Instead, he questions the desire of EU powers to change the way banks and insurance companies are supervised.
He fears moves to extend the so-called ‘Lamfalussy approach’ to these sectors will give new powers to unelected groups meeting in behind-the-scenes committees and take them away from the European Parliament – a body that is usually eager to listen to BEUC’s point of view.
“I know, straight off, that we are going to look at it,” he admits.
On the Common Agricultural Policy, Murray says far more reforms are needed than promised so far from Brussels. Unfortunately, he warns, the chances of major change are slim until the EU changes the rules on how agricultural policy is set.
Until then, he fears, EU farm policy will continue to spend billions on badly targeted subsides that lead to over-production of unwanted food, with the subsequent flood of excess produce on world markets hurting developing countries by artificially depressing prices.
It’s not all just about Brussels. Murray is also European chair for the fledgling Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), which meets with policymakers from both sides of the ocean later this month in Washington.
The body is meant to do for consumers what the bigger, richer Transatlantic Business Dialogue does for CEOs: speak to the policymakers and influence their decisions.
Murray is realistic about what the TACD can achieve, but “it is worth the effort”. For example, he says, web-savvy American consumer bodies have lent BEUC know-how in the e-commerce field that it would have struggled to find in Europe.
Despite all the good work by his organisation, it appears some people are not satisfied.
Murray admits he gets irritated by his group’s critics. Many question BEUC’s right to stand up for consumers.
“I never asked BEUC to represent me,” is a common mantra over the conference dinner table, he says.
Even more predictable is the comment from businessmen and politicians “usually no more than ten minutes into the conversation that ‘I am a consumer too’”.
The press is also apt to give BEUC a rocky ride, he complains.
Murray prints off a thinly disguised attack on BEUC in the latest edition of satirical Brussels-based website The Sprout.
And The Wall Street Journal Europe even included BEUC in a stinging front-page editorial about the groups the EU pays to criticise it.
Yes, BEUC does get a €600,000 a year grant from the EU’s coffers, admits Murray.
But most of the group’s budget comes from national associations that have millions of subscribers.
So how legitimate is BEUC?
“Our views are at least as legitimate as those of a newspaper like European Voice,” he retorts. “And in any case,” he insists, “no one is forced to listen”.


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A box of walkie-talkies "for little adventurers everywhere" sits on one side of the display; on the other, a microphone invites budding pop stars to "sing along to your favourite music".
But there is a catch: the mini explorers must be male and the soloists female. Or so says Marks & Spencer, which sells the walkie-talkies under its skull-and-crossbones embossed "Boy Stuff" brand, and the microphone via its "Lil' Miss Arty" label.
The high street giant is one of 11 retailers castigated in a report for promoting certain toys to boys and others to girls. Parents are calling on shops to stop classifying toys by gender and to "let toys be toys".
Other offenders, as named in a survey of stores and websites across the UK and Ireland, include the supermarkets Asda and Tesco, the department store groups Wilkinsons and Debenhams, and the toy retailers Toys R Us and The Entertainer. TK Maxx also fared badly based on the number of signs it had marking separate "boys" and "girls" toys areas.
Psychologists caution that categorising toys by gender could stop children playing with certain toys, potentially limiting their options in later life.
Maya Forstater, 39, a self-employed researcher from Hertfordshire and mother of two, who collated the survey results, said yesterday: "We want retailers to organise toys by themes such as construction, role play, arts and crafts, science, fantasy, rather than by sex."
The campaign, which was started by a handful of frustrated mothers, has already prompted one major retailer to change its stance.
Next said it was "misleading and inappropriate" to call certain toys "stuff for boys … when they could delight children of either gender". The chain plans to "look at other ways of segmenting our toy range into easy-to-shop categories next Christmas".
Among the findings from the Let Toys be Toys survey were: three times as many stores promoted construction toys, such as Lego and Mega Bloks, to boys as to girls; four times as many stores suggested play kitchens were suitable for girls rather than boys; and that three times as many stores thought girls would rather do something craft related than boys.
Heather Williams, a medical physicist for the NHS who campaigns to get more women into science, said: "Children shouldn't feel they have to fit into a certain mould. Science kits tend to be suggested toys for boys but the appetite to explore is in no way limited to boys."
Melissa Hines, a psychology professor at the University of Cambridge who has studied infants' preferences for toys and colours, said segregating toys by gender "probably makes children more likely to prefer toys that are labelled as for children of their own sex".
Kate Bellingham, an engineer and former BBC Tomorrow's World presenter, joined the call for "toy classifications rather than gender classifications", adding: "Many female engineers I know played with 'boys' toys as children. They developed a confidence in the basics of physics without realising it, and it felt normal for them to pursue their interest."
Some retailers claimed their customers preferred gender signposting. Debenhams' toys buyer said, "Customer feedback has indicated it's easier to shop when they are split in this way".
Ceri Lawrence, 36, an employment lawyer from London and mother of two boys, disagreed, but said purchasing decisions came down to parental choice. "We choose not to buy them certain types of 'boys' toys' such as guns, fighting robots and machines. That said, I know that Joseph [pictured above] will be asking Father Christmas for a light sabre and the dilemma is whether or not he'll be disappointed on Christmas morning!"Reuse content


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Online Casino Software Developer Launches New Poker Game
Zone 4 Play, a leading online casino interactive software game developer, recently announced the launch of a new and unique poker game never before heard of, seen or played, called ‘Face-Up Hold’em’ – for multiple e-gaming platforms. Based on the popular Texas Hold’em Poker, this online casinos game offers a similar objective, just with a fixed odds twist, and will be available on all interactive platforms in the UK, including, Internet, mobile, participation TV and interactive TV. Online casino fans that would rather play while waiting for the bus, or sitting in front of the television instead of the computer, will definitely enjoy this new addition to the world of poker.
‘We are excited about the introduction of this new game, which strengthens Zone 4 Play’s growing e-gaming portfolio, as market demand is proving to be higher than ever,’ said Shimon Citron, CEO of Zone 4 Play. ‘We are constantly looking to expand our selection of e-gaming solutions – to provide maximum client satisfaction for our partners.’ The game will be available to 10 million households in the UK by the end of the second quarter of 2006, enabling TV viewers and online casino fans, for the first time, (interactive and broadcast) to play fixed odds poker. Additionally, it will allow online casino lovers and television fans to participate in poker TV shows by betting during each hand on the results of the game.
Talk about entertainment! This new game will bring a whole new meaning to online casino poker! And because poker is so popular among online casino fans and land-based poker lovers, this game will definitely spread quickly throughout the world. So if you’re looking for a fun, new kind of poker to play solo or with your friends, ‘Face-Up Hold’em’ is the game for you! Good luck and enjoy!


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I don't think I've ever been as grateful for a bank holiday as I am this week. May was hands down the busiest month we've ever had here at PodPod, and I definitely needed the chance to rest my poor, fried brain after an absolutely mammoth run of content and events.
Not only did we announce the winners of PodPod’s inaugural Faces To Watch scheme at the start of this month, we also had Campaign’s Media 360 conference in Brighton, at which I hosted a panel discussion on measuring ROI for podcast advertising. Finally, to cap all of that off, last week was our first ever appearance at The Podcast Show - a two-and-a-half day whirlwind of meetings, talks and interviews in which what felt like the whole of the podcast industry descended on Islington to share and learn.
10,000 delegates attended the show at Islington’s Business Design Centre, where dozens of companies such as Amazon, BBC Sounds, Fresh Air and more all had exhibition stands. As one of the key media partners for the event (alongside Campaign), PodPod also had its own stand on the show floor, and hosted seven panel sessions over the course of the event.
Most of my time at the show was spent moderating these sessions (including two fantastic panels with a selection of our Faces To Watch winners), as well as doing multiple audio recordings - including tomorrow’s podcast, live from Spiritland Productions’ rather plush studio space at the venue. I did manage to catch two sessions: a panel discussion on BrewDog’s newly-renewed partnership with That Peter Crouch Podcast, expertly moderated by PodPod’s Reem Makari, and Global’s panel announcing The News Agents: USA.
If you want to know more about the major themes and trends that emerged from this year’s show, you can read Reem’s excellent feature on the subject, but I did glean one insight in particular that I’d like to share with you. One of the things that struck me was the number of people throughout the show who referred to ‘watching podcasts’, often using this terminology interchangeably with ‘listening’. It indicates to me that, particularly for newer podcasts, incorporating a video element into your show is edging closer and closer to becoming standard practice.
As an example of this, Sky News set up a mini-studio TV in the centre of the exhibition space to record a series of shows about different aspects of podcasting (such as the impact on coverage of the next general election) in front of a live audience of delegates, including a special edition of The Ian King Business Podcast looking at the future of the sector.
In addition, there was a lot of conversation around the importance of spreading podcast video content across multiple channels, notably social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. At the same time, however, there’s a consensus that there’s really no good way to directly convert audiences on these platforms into listeners, and limited ways to monetise them on-platform.
Instead, many podcasters - and some forward-thinking brands - are looking at podcasts as multi-channel media brands, rather than as an isolated audio content stream. This allows podcasters to aggregate the audiences they have across social, video platforms and the podcast’s RSS feed, and lends itself to the deeper partnership-based campaigns which are slowly starting to gain traction among advertisers.
Multiple brand marketers told me at the show that they’re looking to either introduce or increase the role of video within their podcast partnerships, often with the explicit goal of growing their reach by capturing audiences on other platforms that don’t listen to traditional audio-only podcasts.
Ben Kerr, managing director of Somethin:Else Creative Studio said that the Dish podcast - a branded show produced on behalf of Waitrose - was always envisioned as a wider multimedia franchise, and this attitude is becoming increasingly commonplace. It reinforces something that PodPod editorial director and Campaign editor-in-chief Gideon Spanier touched on in a previous column (and at the panel session he hosted during the show): podcasts are now brands in their own right, with their own identity, voice and media mix.
However, this raises the question of what defines a podcast. Purists may argue that a recorded conversation and a filmed conversation offer different experiences for the audience, but when it’s the same conversation with no changes to the format, I feel it’s difficult to claim that they’re totally distinct entities. If the visuals aren't adding anything in terms of extra information or content, then what's the real difference between a filmed podcast and an audio-only one?
One possible solution is to reevaluate the way we categorise speech audio content entirely. Maybe a narrative fiction podcast and an audiobook aren't really all that different; maybe a narrative non-fiction podcast is just an audio documentary. And maybe a 'podcast' is just the name that we give to conversational interview or chat-based entertainment, regardless of whether it's on YouTube, TikTok or Apple Podcasts.
On the other hand, this isn't a can of worms that we need to open just yet. Right now, the industry's priority should be working out how to leverage the power of its burgeoning multi-channel platform. Podcasts have evolved from the days of relying on just a microphone and an RSS feed, and while expanding the footprint of your brand to channels like video and social may seem a little intimidating for those yet to take the leap, exploiting the existing pull of these formats can help elevate your podcasting - however you care to define it - to the lofty heights that events like The Podcast Show demonstate it can reach.


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Regal Beloit Corp. to sell its Regal drive tech business
Regal Beloit Corp. has an agreement to sell its drives and controls business that has 450 employees and, in 2018, has generated approximately $131 million in revenue.
In a news release Wednesday, Beloit-based Regal Beloit said it expects the divested business to deliver an estimated 18 cents diluted earnings per share for the full year.
Terms of the sale, to an affiliate of private equity firm Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Florida, weren’t disclosed.
Regal Beloit makes electric motors, mechanical and electrical motion controls and power generation products. The business it's selling designs and manufactures engineered controls, starters and drives.
“This transaction is consistent with our enterprise strategy to focus, innovate and simplify. We believe it will allow us to put more focus on our core businesses,” Mark Gliebe, Regal Beloit Chairman and CEO said in a statement.
Sun Capital Partners says it specializes in leveraged buyouts. The company says it has invested in more than 360 companies worldwide.
“We will work closely with Sun Capital to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees,” Gliebe said.
The sale is expected to be finalized in early 2019.


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Nvidia Silently Leaks New GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 4K Graphics Card On LinkedIn Job Listing, Nvidia To Wait For AMD Vega Release Before Taking Its Next MoveBy Erwin Castro, UniversityHerald Reporter
While Intel is readying for the upcoming CES 2017 event and AMD is busy preparing for the release of its next-gen AMD Ryzen, Nvidia is still working hard to keep its lead in the highly lucrative GPU market before arch rival AMD launches an assault next year. The GPU powerhouse has officially confirmed its latest salvo in the GPU battle, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card.
According to Trusted Review, Nvidia has finally revealed to the world the existence of its flagship GTX 1080 Ti graphics card a little earlier than its planned debut, with some media reports citing a LinkedIn job listing that names the Nvidia GTX1080 Ti graphics card.
According to Digital Trends, the recent job listing posted by the company on LinkedIn is currently looking for a qualified applicant. The news is notable because it clearly lists an unannounced Nvidia hardware, the upcoming GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. It's not an intentional leak or some sort of accidental leak, it's more like a product clue, hinting that something big is coming next year. Interestingly, the LinkedIn job listing has now been removed.
Even more interesting, the LinkedIn job listing has also revealed what Nvidia calls "Club GeForce Elite" and also mentioned a potential upgrade offer for the Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti owners, thus confirming the existence of the Nvidia hardware. Also in the LinkedIn job listing, Nvidia has also mentioned about reward codes for free games being given to those who report bugs in Nvidia's core products.
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti For 4K Gaming
Playing video games at 4K and 60 frames per second is quite difficult these days. This is due to the fact that most modern games are not fully optimized for doing 4K gaming. The best known 4K gaming card right now in the market is the Nvidia GTX 1080, which said to come with around 7.2 billion transistors.
However, Nvidia's upcoming GeForce GTX 1080 Ti would be much more terrifying more powerful. Latest reports said it will likely come with 12 billion transistors, a big bump in the previous build.
For now, the crowd knows nothing of about how many teraflops GTX 1080 Ti could push, but the latest rumored specs include a base clock of 1503MHz and 3,328 CUDA cores, with 10GB of video RAM on board.
Nvidia would definitely have long-term plans for its latest graphics card. Nemesis AMD is coming fast, working on the scheduled release of its AMD Vega, possibly in the first or second quarter of 2017.
Nvidia strategy would be simple here, the GPU stalwart would probably wait until it has an idea what Vega performance will look like before making its next move. Nvidia is well-positioned in choosing the best battleground, it can respond with a higher-end GTX 1080 Ti if Vega is particularly competitive, or go with a lower end card.
As for the release date, Nvidia is expected to unveil its next gaming beast at the upcoming CES 2017 event.


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In 2017, Ubisoft announced that it will be developing an open-world pirate game called Skull & Bones. The title was supposed to come out in 2018, but it has been delayed many times, which has caused an enormous amount of dissatisfaction among customers. When Ubisoft announced that the game will at long last be released on November 8, things appeared to be turning around for the better; however, it now appears that this won’t be the case.
Skull & Bones will now be available for purchase on March 9, 2023, according to an update provided by Ubisoft. This marks the fifth time that the game has been delayed.
Ubisoft noted in their official statement that even though the development of Skull & Bones has been completed, the team has decided to spend some more time refining the game due to the results of a number of different technological tests and their participation in an insider program.
Additionally, the business mentioned that fans should keep an eye out for additional open Beta testing sessions in the near future.
The initial setback put the launch date back to sometime in 2019 or 2020. On the other hand, because there were no more reports, some thought that the game had been postponed once again to 2020, and then to 2021. Recently, the game’s release was pushed back once more, this time to 2022-2023, and a new release date of November 8 was announced
Everyone was taken aback when stories surfaced around this time period indicating that the workplace atmosphere at Ubisoft Singapore was hostile. It is not yet known for certain whether or not the dangerous circumstances led to the postponing of the Skull and Bones ceremony.
Ubisoft has stated that the game would be sold for seventy dollars. Skull & Bones will, as was disclosed during the event known as Gamescom 2022, support raytracing, an uncapped framerate, multiple monitors, and ultra-wide display compatibility. Additionally, the game will employ the most recent AI upscaling technology.
On March 9, 2023, Skull & Bones will be available for purchase on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and PC.
Regarding the Skull & Bones Society
Skull & Bones is a video game that was created by Ubisoft Singapore and released by Ubisoft. The game focuses on action and adventure. The main themes of the game are swashbuckling and battles at sea.
The game takes place in an open world and is played from a third-person perspective. Players take control of a pirate captain that they can customize and have the option to sail the Indian Ocean alone and begin a single-player campaign, or they can gather up to five other players to ally in player versus player gameplay in Disputed Waters.


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RSPCA Australia has submitted a 21,000 signature petition to the federal parliament seeking to thwart a form of livestock export trade that is yet to start.
The petition was tabled in parliament earlier this month as part of a pre-emptive strike to block live exports of Australian horses, ponies and donkeys for slaughter, RSPCA said.
“This is a trade that should never happen yet it’s something that the Australian government has seriously been considering,” said RSPCA Senior Policy Officer Jed Goodfellow in an online video clip highlighting the petition submitted by independent Victorian Senator Derryn Hinch.
But RSPCA said it also welcomed the May 2017 statement by the Australian Live Exporters’ Council, that the Council and its members were “neither seeking nor supportive of any such trade commencing”.
RSPCA said it understood inquiries had been made to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, about the Chinese demand for equine products.
However, the Department said it had received some enquiries about the export of equines for slaughter but “has not received any applications to date”.
“Enquiries about potential trade opportunities are commercial in confidence,” a spokesperson said.
“The Australian government currently has no agreements in place for the export of live equines for slaughter to any country.”
But the Department said each year a large number of equines are transported both to and from Australia for breeding, racing and equestrian purposes in a trade that started more than 100 years ago.
“There is an average of 2600 equines exported in 370 consignments per year,” the spokesperson said.
“The Department does not keep information on mortalities or injuries during transport for equines - these are usually valuable sports or breeding animals which are individually transported.
“This trade started more than one century ago.
“The Australian Thoroughbred Industry report that Australian horses were exported to the Indian army from the 1830s to 1930s and thoroughbred horses were exported to Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong from the early 1890s.”
RSPCA said – of the Chinese demand for equine products – that pony, horse and donkey meat is eaten, while donkey skin is dried and ground up to make a gelatine-based substance called ‘ejiao’, which is used by people who believe it is good for their appearance and vitality.
“The Chinese ejiao trade has had a devastating impact on donkey populations around the world, including some of the most vulnerable countries in African and South American regions,” RSPCA said.
“RSPCA Australia will continue working with the Australian government to ensure such a trade does not occur.”
In June, NSW Liberal Democratic Senator David Leyonhjelm accused RSPCA Australia of “cultural imperialism” in raising public fears and warnings about the potential live export of Australian horses and donkeys for slaughter, in overseas markets.
But the petition handed to Senator Hinch called on the Australian government to expressly prohibit the live export of all equines for the purposes of slaughter and reject any initiatives that would facilitate the development of a live export trade in horses, ponies, or donkeys for slaughter.
It read, ‘Horses, ponies, and donkeys are highly sensitive animals that would suffer tremendously if subjected to the stressors of live export for slaughter in foreign countries. On 24 May 2017, during Senate Estimates hearings, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources confirmed that it had received a number of inquiries for the export of horses and donkeys “in large numbers for slaughter”. The Department further confirmed that it was developing policy that would facilitate such a trade. If such a trade was to commence it would lead to the suffering of many thousands of Australian horses, ponies, and donkeys as they would be sent overseas to be slaughtered for their skin and meat. This would be unethical and highly unacceptable to the Australian community.’
The petition also urged the Senate to call upon the Australian government to; strongly condemn and reject any bills, legislative instruments, or government initiatives that would facilitate the development of a live export trade in horses, ponies, or donkeys for slaughter; support any bills, legislative instruments, or government initiatives that would prohibit the live export of horses, ponies, and donkeys; and do everything else in its power to prevent the export of horses, ponies, and donkeys for the purposes of slaughter.


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A 15-YEAR-old was sent on an undercover operation to purchase vapes in Warwickshire.
And out of 13 shops where the teenager was sent as a ‘mystery shopper’ by Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards, only one purchase was nearly made.
At 12 stores located across all five boroughs and districts in the county the 15-year-old – a Warwickshire Police cadet volunteer – was asked for identification. The premises where the sale was nearly made is now under investigation.
Warwickshire County Council’s community safety spokesman Coun Andy Crump said: “Warwickshire Trading Standards has received increasing numbers of complaints about the sale of nicotine inhaling devices such as e-cigarettes and vapes to under 18s and to school children in particular.
“This is why we are both educating our sellers and carrying out undercover test purchase exercises with child volunteers. I would encourage all our retailers to ‘Challenge 25’ whenever they sell these products and ask for age identification.
“I’m pleased that on this occasion the vast majority of vape sellers asked for age identification and refused the sale. We will be carrying out similar enforcement exercises in the future.”
Under The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 it is an offence to sell a nicotine inhaling product to someone under the age of 18.
If found guilty of selling nicotine inhaling products to a young person under 18 years, an individual may be fined up to £2,500 in the Magistrates’ Court.
Retailers are encouraged to operate a Challenge 25 policy and ask for age identification of anyone who appears under 25 years of age.
For more advice visit https://www.businesscompanion.info


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real-time news and commentary for investors
Friday, Nov 9
2012, 12:09 PM
China Telecom (CHA) says it plans to begin selling the iPhone 5 (AAPL +2.2%) in late November or...
China Telecom (CHA) says it plans to begin selling the iPhone 5 (AAPL +2.2%) in late November or early December, a little earlier than expected. During Apple's FQ4 call, Tim Cook would only say Apple expects a December Chinese launch. China Unicom's (CHU) chairman is more cautious in setting a timetable. Meanwhile, RBC is predicting Apple will finally reach a deal with China Mobile (CHL) in 2013, perhaps even before the Chinese New Year - the iPhone 5 doesn't support CHL's TD-SCDMA 3G network. (previous)