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YouTube is officially rolling out the picture-in-picture support on YouTube TV. However, it is just limited to iPhone and iPad users who are using iOS 15 devices. This news was confirmed by YouTube on Twitter earlier yesterday. Back in February this year, YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan had promised that a few features are coming to YouTube TV in the coming months. Also Read - YouTube's player will now show the 'most replayed' parts of a video to save your time
With the picture-in-picture feature, users can simply swipe up while watching a video and go back to the Home screen. This move will not disrupt the video, as it will keep playing in a small picture-in-picture window that can be placed as per the user’s convenience. This will allow all the YouTube TV viewers to multitask while watching videos on the platform. You can even leave the YouTube app and perform other tasks while watching the video. Also Read - Upcoming Android, iOS games you should pre-register immediately
YouTube has clarified that, users will be able to watch any shows on their iOS device while using the picture-in-picture feature”. The feature is not just limited to on-demand videos but for live TV as well. For the unversed, this feature was introduced for Android users a long time back. It is surprising that iOS users are getting this feature so late. However, it is just available for premium YouTube TV users only. Also Read - WhatsApp will soon let you exit groups without letting anyone know
We really appreciate your patience while we worked on enabling this key feature for your iOS 15+ devices. We hope you enjoy this easy way to stream.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) March 30, 2022
In an earlier MacRumors report, Google is planning to bring the picture-in-picture feature to all users in the US, that include users without a premium subscription. As per the statement by YouTube, “We’re still planning to launch PiP for all users without a YouTube Premium subscription in the US. We have no other updates to share at this time. In the meantime, we’ve also extended our experiment of PiP on youtube.com/new for our Premium users on iOS as we continue to test and improve the experience before launch.”


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The Chinese owned Swedish Automaker, Volvo is currently searching for partners to set up a manufacturing plant in North America. The company is facing losses in U.S market though in Europe it is running profitably. The company was bought from Ford in August 2010 by Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Geely. The company has negated the very idea of setting up plant on its own due to the high investment involved. By partnering up with a well establish company, Volvo will be able to save significant costs as sales in the North American car market look uncertain.
The company is in talks with a number of potential partners and Fiat could be one of them as the Italy based car maker is already an established entity in U.S through the takeover of Chrysler Group. However the names of those potential partners has not been revealed. Volvo is looking for a partner who agrees to share the development costs on smaller cars. Perhaps, they want a partner who can help them use an existing plant.
The company has aggressive plans for growing the business. It has a target of doubling the sales to 8,00,000 cars and sport-utility vehicles by 2020 from 449,255 deliveries in 2011. The company is planning an investment of $11 billion to set up car factories and an engine plant in China. These factories in China are still pending for approval by the Government. The first factory would be in Chengdu, and it would start production of cars by mid-2013. Volvo recently announced that it has signed a 7-year contract with SKF Automotive, wherein the parts supplier will provide front suspension bearing and rear wheel bearing for the Volvo V40

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As if we weren't already excited enough about the prospect of shopping the Black Friday sales, Missoma just went and kicked things off early.
The jewellery brand has just launched its sale, giving customers 25% off everything on the site.
All you have to do is enter the code 'BF25' at the checkout.
And even though we're obvs obsessed all the incred new Lucy Williams pieces, we're most excited to see Meghan Markle's fave ring discounted.
Back in February last year, just before her wedding, Meghan Markle visited Edinburgh with Prince Harry. Her outfit – a tartan Burberry coat and green Strathberry bag – was lovely, but it was the jewellery we were most excited about.
The Duchess was wearing a load of delicate gold rings layered up to create a cool stacked effect, including Missoma's Interstellar design.
The gold vermeil piece, finished with a crystal bezel gem, sold out instantly. No surprises there.
Luckily, the brand signature is back in stock just in time for Black Friday. It's already pretty affordable at £45, but with 25% knocked off the price, you can get the royal-approved piece for less than £34.
BUY NOW Gold Interstellar ring, Was £45, Now £33.75, Missoma
Just six months later in October 2018, during a visit to Chichester, Meghan was spotted wearing Missoma again. The Duchess accessorised her green leather skirt and & Other Stories silk shirt (buy her exact style here) with an engraved signet ring and boho bracelets.
You can find all of Meghan's pieces for 25% off in the Black Friday sale:
BUY NOWOpen Heart ring, Was £85, Now £63.75, Missoma
BUY NOW Gold leaf bracelet, Was £79, Now £59.75, Missoma
BUY NOW Moonstone leaf bracelet, Was £79, Now £59.75, Missoma
The Duchess of Sussex has always been a huge fan of British brand Missoma, even before meeting Harry and moving across the pond.
Back in her Suits days, the then-actress took a selfie in one of Missoma's necklaces for a blog post and in 2017, during a visit to Harry in Kensington, she was papped wearing the brand's stacking rings. Although the necklace has sadly sold out, all of Meghan's rings are still available and currently discounted in the Black Friday sale:
It's no wonder eco-conscious Meghan is a fan of Missoma: it's one of the few retailers actually 'giving back' on Black Friday 2019. For a second year running, the brand is teaming up with the charity Tree Sisters to offset its carbon footprint by planting one tree for every order made.
So, basically, you can totally justify buying yourself Meghan's ring...
Not mad on the royals? You won't be short on Missoma inspiration; celebrities are literally obsessed with the brand.
Without a doubt, Missoma's most popular design is the Roman Arc Coin, which has been spotted on Margot Robbie, Cindy Crawford, Sophie Turner, Molly-Mae Hague and Gigi Hadid.
BUY NOW Roman Arc coin necklace, Was £139, Now £104.25, Missoma
The new Lucy Williams drop is all warm gold tones/chunky shapes/boujee '80s vibes and we're fully obsessed. Bella Hadid wore a pair of the Entwine hoops to celebrate her 23rd birthday back in October this year.
BUY NOW Lucy William Entwine hoops, Were £125, Now £93.75, Missoma
Dua Lipa wore the brand's necklaces layered up with slouchy knitwear at the Burberry show in September.
BUY NOW Rhodochrosite Lena choker, Was £98, Now £73.50, Missoma
BUY NOW Gold aegic chain necklace, Was £149, Now £111.75, Missoma
And Gigi Hadid literally can't get enough of her T-bar chain from the Lucy Williams collection. The model wears it with everything from graphic T-shirts to smarter knitwear, but always layers it up.
BUY NOW T-bar chunky chain necklace, Was £295, Now £221.25, Missoma
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PvXchange has named Michael Mueller as CEO and Olaf Emmerich as CMO after the recent investment round from WHEB Partners. Mueller will oversee the company’s new international unit, pvXchange, in Zug, Switzerland. The company intends to continue recruiting and expanding its international reach while further developing its trading technology.
Mueller served as an advisor to PvXchange for the past two years and has a financial and corporate background from his capital markets position with Nomura and Lehman Brothers and his work with Sony’s consumer electronics division. He earned his MBA from IESE Business School in Spain.
“I’m excited to join a business that has seen 100% year-on-year growth for the past four years and still has such massive potential to expand in Europe, the US, Canada and East Asia,” says Michael Mueller. “PvXchange provides a key tool for all market participants as the solar market surpasses its global tipping point. With complementary talent on board like Olaf Emmerich and our global footprint established, we are now perfectly positioned to stay ahead of the market.”
Olaf Emmerich also worked at Sony in the company sales and marketing departments in Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria.
PvXchange also revealed that Kai Malkwitz will remain as managing director of the German unit, while co-founder Florian Meyer-Delpho moves to the company’s San Francisco branch, which is set to be fully established in the next few weeks.


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After a lot of mystery and two releases in a row focusing on the great wars of history, Activision confirmed in February that Call of Duty Modern Warfare II will be the title of 2022. Now, the developer Infinity Ward, responsible for the project, revealed the logo of the sequel.
The image was published on official twitter from the studio this Thursday (28), with the hashtag “ModernWarfare2”. No big news was revealed in the post, but the hype is already starting to take over fans, especially those who liked the 2019 game. Check it out below:
Due to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, which was even voted in favor by shareholders, many fans were worried about the possibility that Call of Duty Modern Warfare II would not arrive on other platforms. Thankfully, the North American giant has reiterated its commitment to continuing to deliver franchise releases on PlayStation.
Developed in a new engine, the sequel still doesn’t have a set premiere date, but we know that its release window was for the end of 2022 – as usual for games in the series.
What do we know about Call of Duty Modern Warfare II so far?
Nothing about the plot of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has been released, but some insiders say the story will focus on Latin American drug cartels. Even the Warzone 2 map is being developed based on the Colombian city of Medellín, aiming for a “massive evolution” and a “new sandbox mode”.


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Express launches clothing rental service Express Style Trial
Fashion retailer Express has launched a new clothing rental service, Express Style Trial.
The new service allows customers to rent three items at a rate of $69.95 per month. Shoppers can then return clothing at any time and rent three new pieces, with unlimited exchanges. Users also have the option to purchase the items they have rented.
Express's new rental system will function through a technology and logistics platform created by tech company Caastle, which also provides clothing rental programming to fellow retailers Ann Taylor and New York & Co.
In an interview with CNBC, Caastle founder and CEO Christine Hunsicker said their system increased new customer sales by 50 percent for Ann Taylor and New York & Co., mostly from shoppers between the ages of 28 and 40 years old.
"Retailers are treating this subscription rental business as a new channel, akin to what e-commerce was when it first started." Hunsicker said.
The company's new business channel opens as Express revives itself after closing all 17 of its Canada stores in 2017.
Express offers a range of men's and women's clothing targeted at a youth demographic. The Express Style Trial service follows the company's move to extend its size range for both men's and women's apparel earlier this year.
Copyright © 2022 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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Trimble Showcases Two New Concept Applications
Trimble, www.trimble.com, Sunnyvale, Calif., is now introducing two concept apps running on the latest tablet platform of Google’s, www.google.com, Mountain View, Calif., Project Tango program, an initiative to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.
These applications, SketchUp Scan and Trimble Through The Wall, demonstrate innovation for construction professionals and future jobs.
For example, SketchUp Scan employs depth sensors on the Tango device, which helps users to quickly capture a room, apartment, or entire floor in 3D and automatically create an editable model. Construction industry members will appreciate that this model can be shared by email or on a variety of social networks, including Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. And the model also can be uploaded from the Tango device to the 3D Warehouse, Trimble’s platform for posting and sharing 3D models.
While many 3D applications for smartphones and tablets capture the full scope of a room, SketchUp Scan has the advantage of creating an editable 3D SketchUp model. With the ability to edit the 3D model of the space right after the image capture enables users to add features—from windows and doors, to furniture, office equipment, or nearly anything else—this new innovation has millions of 3D models available in the 3D Warehouse.
Trimble Through The Wall leverages the tracking capabilities of Tango devices to reveal what is located inside walls and other structures. CAD (computer-aided design) or 3D BIM (building information modeling) software data, such as Tekla Structures, can display and overlay pipes, electrical wires, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) infrastructure on top of walls, at their correct location.
As concept applications, SketchUp Scan and Trimble Through The Wall are running on the Project Tango Tablet development kits. And these development kits are provided by Google only to professional developers, providing a “sandbox” in which developers can experiment with various concept applications.


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Automation technology is increasingly mature in industrial manufacturing, and software and hardware vendors are gradually shifting their focus to other areas. At the same time, in order to highlight the market segmentation of their own construction projects, the construction industry began to look for elements of added product value. With the consensus of both supply and demand, the smart home market is rapidly taking shape, just ...
According to reports, it took 7 years for Bill Gates to spend huge sums of money to build an intelligent mansion-"Xanadu 2.0". As a result, smart homes began to be noticed and recognized. So, what exactly is a smart home? Let's take a look together today.
The three giants of the white goods three quarterly competition IoT, smart home become the highlight of the layout
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Midea Group, Gree Electric Appliances, and Haier Zhijia, which have been hailed as "the market vane of China's white goods (hereafter referred to as white goods) market", have recently disclosed their third quarter results this year. What attracts people's attention is that in the face of the sluggish home appliance market environment, they are all accelerating the expansion of new business, ...
2019-11-03 twenty three
As we all know, NB-IoT smart smoke sensor has the advantages of good coverage, low power consumption, no wiring, ready to use, and timely detection of alarms on the Internet. So how does such a good product work? Now, I will share with you the white paper of NB-IoT Smart Smoke Detection Solution for your reference!
On August 20, Xiaomi released its second quarter financial report for this year. Revenue in the second quarter was 51.951 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%. Among them, the revenue of the IoT and consumer products segment in the second quarter was 14.9 billion yuan, an increase of 44% year-on-year, becoming the fastest growing business, and Xiaomi's smart home once again became the focus of attention.
2018 is a year of success for China's smart home market. Equipment shipments have increased significantly compared to 2017. As explosive products appear one after another, various products gradually move towards scene linkage. In addition, the public acceptance of voice interaction is gradually increasing, and its application in the home environment is expected to further expand.
The pace of development in the next 10 years is bound to be much faster than our imagination. Because it took only 3 years for NB-IoT to be commercialized, it took 10 years for other communication standards.


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Sixteen people so far have been sickened due to salmonella poisoning in ground beef. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the sources of the bad beef were two Michigan retailers, Jouni Meats and Gab Halal Foods.
Together, the businesses issued recalls for over 1,000 pounds of ground beef last week, according to the USDA.
Most of the sicknesses, according to federal officials, have been in the Michigan region, but a few were reported in other states such as Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Arizona. Seven of the illnesses were linked to a Detroit restaurant that serves a raw beef dish called kibbeh.
So far, no one has died, but half of those poisoned were hospitalized. The CDC tweeted Monday about the Salmonella infections, and warned against eating raw or undercooked meat.
The CDC also suggests safety measures to prevent Salmonella poisoning in the future, which includes washing hands, kitchen surfaces and utensils before touching the meat, keeping beef and poultry separate from other foods while cooking, and refrigerating meat within two hours after purchasing it.
CDC investigates outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to ground beef. Find out how to protect yourself! go.usa.gov/48VH
— CDCgov (@CDCgov) January 28, 2013


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PKN Orlen gets new rivals on Czech market
August 7, 2014
Poland's top fuel group PKN Orlen may face increased competition on the Czech market, where it is present via its unit Unipetrol, after Russian Lukoil sold its 44-strong petrol station chain in the country to Hungarian MOL, the daily Parkiet writes.
MOL has also recently bought 125 stations from Italy's Eni, expanding its network to 318 stations, as compared to 338 stations owned by PKN Orlen.
The Polish refiner won't give in easily, mulling both investment options and organic growth, Orlen's press office said. Four new self-service stations are to be built yet this year, on track to the 50 target for the 2013-2017 period. Orlen will also increase marketing of its Czech brand Benzina.


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Items from Cendyn, Mumford Company, Duetto and more
Transactions Heat Up Hospitality
NATIONAL REPORT—Sonnenblick-Eichner, Spirides Hospitality and Mumford Company have recently completed hotel deals: Sonnenblick-Eichner Arranges Financing for Florida Keys Resort Sonnenblick-Eichner Company has arranged $30.5
Comfort Brand Continues U.S. Expansion Amid Transformation
ROCKVILLE, MD—The Comfort hotels brand, franchised by Choice Hotels International Inc., continues its United States expansion with seven hotels already opened this year from coast to coast.
Global Construction Pipeline Reaches Record Highs
PORTSMOUTH, NH—The total global construction pipeline stands at 12,839 projects/2,158,422 rooms, which are at all-time highs, according to the bi-annual Global Construction Pipeline Trend


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Big Ben Themes has released a new enlarged range of giant sports props, including tennis and badminton rackets, cricket and baseball bats, golf clubs, balls and tees, sports shoes, cricket and football gloves. All props are made in a similar way to the real objects. The company welcomes enquiries for bespoke sports- and music-themed props in quantities.
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SoftBank bets on Web 3, leads a $70 million investment in a decentralized blockchain tech startup bloXroute
When software developer Uri Klarman moved from Israel to the United States to pursue his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 2014, the last thing on his mind was to be an entrepreneur. Together with Aleksandar Kuzmanovic, a professor of computer science, the duo decided to create a decentralized blockchain tech startup called bloXroute Labs.
Just a year ago, the company raised $10 million in seed funding from leading venture capitalists to solve the scalability problem that plagues several blockchain networks. The startup describes itself as “the first provider of a blockchain distribution network, or BDN, for DeFi traders on Ethereum, Polygon, and the Binance Smart Chain.”
Today, bloXroute announced it has raised $70 million in a Series B funding round to enable the company to add to its team and extend its reach. The round was led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 and brings the Chicago-based bloXroute to a valuation of $410 million.
Founded in 2017 by Uri Klarman, Aleksandar Kuzmanovic, Emin Gün Sirer, and Soumya Basu, BloXroute is a blockchain distribution network to help your blockchains scale to thousands of transactions/second on-chain. The company also offers a fast-speed blockchain distribution network that powers decentralized finance (DeFi) traders.
In a statement, Aaron Wong, an investor at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said: “We foresee exciting use cases to emerge in industries such as [non-fungible tokens], blockchain-based metaverses, and gaming. We are thrilled to partner with Uri and the team to help build a blockchain superhighway with uncongested performance.”
The funding is the latest investment in a series of blockchain investments by the Japanese giants. To date, Softbank has now made 14 investments in so-called Web3 businesses since it began to fund companies in the sector last year. Of those six, including bloXroute, have been made this year.
SoftBank investments also include crypto exchange startup FTX, metaverse platform the Sandbox, and fantasy soccer startup Sorare, a platform where players trade cards in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Munish Varma, a managing partner at SoftBank, told Reuters that for the volatile crypto market, the Japanese firm is adopting the pick-and-shovel approach – an strategy of investing in the tools or services an industry uses to produce a product.
“We’re trying to play the infrastructure side of the grid,” Varma said in an interview.


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Last month, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics held its annual conference (The Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo, also known as FNCE) in my hometown of Houston, Texas. Rather than proudly showcase its sponsors and how they are marketing their products to our nation’s health care professionals, a photography ban was implemented for the first time in the conference’s history.
Thankfully, the ban didn’t exist until you hit the showroom floor, and a sign greeting attendees showed just exactly who was going to tell these professionals what to think about food: Coca Cola, PepsiCo and others. This conference is critical to the health of our country. It’s where professionals go to get educated.
As we are quickly learning, food and particularly nutrition play a key role in not only promoting health but also in triggering disease. As renowned doctors like Dr. Mark Hyman highlight, so many of the diseases and conditions that we are seeing in our loved ones are due to or exacerbated by poor nutrition. But Dietitians for Professional Integrity — an advocacy group group co-founded by dietitians that advocates for the Academy to cut its ties to its Big Food partners and sponsors — just released “The Food Ties That Bind”, a report that details the messaging Big Food shared with dietitians at 2013 FNCE. It should be enough to give anyone reason to pause and question how the financial incentives of food companies are sabotaging the health of our country. The report highlights some of the educational materials provided by the likes of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, and General Mills at the conference, including:
- Coca-Cola’s “Balancing Act” pamphlet, which emphasizes “energy balance”, and recommends burning 100 calories by gardening for 19 minutes, playing soccer for 13 minutes, or climbing stairs for 10 minutes. The pamphlet also reminds readers that soda and juice can all help meet hydration needs. What Coca Cola fails to mention, despite the fact that almost 70% of our country is overweight or obese, is the role that sugar plays in disease.
- ConAgra’s oil comparison chart, which argues that the company’s Mazola “heart-healthy” corn oil is superior to olive oil due to the presence of phytosterols. What Conagra fails to mention is that corn in the United States is also now regulated by the EPA as a pesticide because of the genetically engineered ingredients it now contains.
- Kellogg’s “Comply and Satisfy” booklet for school administrators, which promotes Eggo waffles, multigrain Frosted Flakes, Cheez-Its, and Pop- Tarts as examples of “good nutrition and simple grains.” Eggo waffles triggered an allergic reaction in our youngest child, forever changing our lives. The products are also loaded with preservatives, artificial ingredients and other synthetic substances that flat out didn’t exist a generation ago. Given the list of additives in these products, to market them along with Pop Tarts as “Kellogg Nutrition”, is irresponsible. Some might even consider contacting the Federal Trade Commission with a false and misleading claim complaint.
- McDonald’s “Enjoy Eating the Food Groups at McDonald’s” handout, which highlights the premium chicken sandwich’s bun as half a serving of whole grains, and a Canadian Style Bacon Egg McMuffin (which is cooked in partially hydrogenated oils) as an example of “protein.” So is a hard boiled egg or a handful of nuts.
- PepsiCo’s “Sodium Content of Commonly Consumed Snack Foods”, which makes Frito-Lay’s chip offerings seem like the best snack choices (in comparison to large muffins, beef jerky, pretzels, bagels, and cheese). Conveniently, other common snack foods that would make chips pale in comparison – like fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds – are missing.
Thankfully, in light of the photography ban, the report also covers a much-anticipated point-counterpoint debate planned by the Academy that was supposed to touch on the issue of partnerships between the private and public sectors, but according to the Dieticians group, instead had one speaker staunchly defend GMOs (genetically engineered ingredients, hardwired for chemicals), mock those who care about organics and sustainability, and claim that blaming Big Food and Big Ag for society’s ills was akin to blaming the Wright Brothers for the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Dietitians for Professional Integrity additionally lists its current “asks” to the Academy as they continue to engage in dialogue on this issue (including greater financial transparency and revisiting a survey by the Academy’s Hunger & Environmental Dietetic Practice group which showed that dietitians considered Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mars to be “unacceptable” sponsors), and suggests ways the Academy can improve FNCE and begin to weaken Big Food’s financial grip over the annual event. While Big Food’s sponsorships obviously go a long way towards feeding their bottom lines, what we feed our families impacts more than just our health and our health care costs, it impacts our economy and the health of our country. And as this food awakening occurs around the country, t’s time to take a look at the “education” being fed to health care professionals.
By Robyn O’Brien • Originally published on prevention.com
Accompanying 2013 FNCE photo gallery (an interesting assortment, as it also addresses the ban on photography and the security guards stationed to uphold it) can be found here.
She is a former financial analyst and author.


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Singapore, 1 August 2016… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced today that the submission of entries for the FinTech Awards will be open from now till 31 August 2016.
The FinTech Awards, comprising the MAS FinTech Awards and ABS Global FinTech Award, will be part of the inaugural Singapore FinTech Festival that will be held during 14 – 18 November 2016. The Awards recognise innovative FinTech solutions that have been implemented by FinTech companies, financial institutions, and technology companies. To qualify, the projects must have been implemented before 30 June 2016.
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The widespread use of smartphones is forcing automakers to adapt to the changing tastes of car enthusiasts. Ford, previously not considered CarPlay as an option for their cars, has announced support for Apple’s car technology for its line of cars.
To use Apple CarPlay will be the owners of vehicles with a multimedia system Sync 3, submitted at the end of 2013. Distinctive feature of technology is that the interface of the infotainment system repeats the appearance of the display of a mobile device, making operation intuitive for the user. The first car with CarPlay will be a Ford Escape 2017 model year, which goes to dealers in the spring. The owners of Ford cars with Sync 3 will be able to update the firmware later this year.
Previously Jeff Greenberg, senior technical head of Ford in man-machine interfaces, said that the automakers better understand how to look screen car multimedia systems. The new generation Ford Sync 3 was created using the QNX system from Blackberry, while the cooperation with Microsoft, the Americans refused. Infotainment system got a new design and shorter reaction times. Nevertheless, Ford decided to integrate the system from Apple – “if only the buyers were convenient.”
In a recent interview with the head of the California Corporation Tim cook stated that the CarPlay platform supported all major automakers. According to him, in 2015 more than 40 new car models have received support CarPlay. Last year entered the market machines equipped with new technology: for example, the Volvo XC90 and Suzuki Vitara.


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Bengaluru-based Anand Prakash, a web applications security expert and a bug bounty hunter discovered a glitch in Uber’s payment system which could have been used to get unlimited rides. The bug has been fixed now by Uber’s security team but the white hat hacker lays it all on his blog.
Anand explains on his blog that anyone could have misused his method which would have borne huge costs to the company. He goes on to demonstrate the bug he found by creating an account on Uber and then booking a ride normally. When the ride gets completed only then Uber asks for the payment through cash or credit/debit cards. However, Anand found out that just by modifying an invalid payment method on dial.uber.com through some backend modifications, he was able to ride Uber for free. By Uber’s consent, he tested the bug out both in the United States and India.
Uber’s security programme awarded Anand with $13,500 for his discovery. Anand has previously identified bugs in various platforms of companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Adobe, PayPal among others and has received such bounties in the past as well.
Last year, Anand identified a bug in Facebook’s login interface which allowed hackers to exploit more that 1.6 billion user accounts. But Anand informed Facebook and received $15,000 as a prize through their Bug Bounty Program.


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Tesla has unveiled the world’s fastest production car, a Model S with a “Ludicrous Mode” that allows it to accelerate from 0-to-60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, while also being the first electric vehicle with a range of over 300 miles.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk premiered the new 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack for dual-motor versions of the Model S sedan and the Model X SUV.
For just $134,500, you, too, can quickly save the environment in luxury. The Model S with Ludicrous Mode compares favorably to the $81,500 BMW 7i, which only hits 60 miles per hour in 4.8 seconds. The only production luxury vehicle that even approaches Ludicrous Mode is the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe with manual transmission, which sells for $62,895 and accelerates from 0-to-60 in a more leisurely 4.2 seconds.
When Elon Musk premiered Ludicrous Mode at the company’s Hawthorne, California manufacturing plant, he stated that “the fastest car in the world, of any kind, is electric,” according to Bloomberg News He added: “In the future, people are really going to look at gasoline cars in the same way we look at steam engines today: They’re quaint, but it’s not really how you get around.”
The pure electric, all-wheel drive Model S P100D has four doors, seats up to 5 adults, and has exceptional cargo capacity. The new 100 kWh battery back also increases range on a single charge to an estimated EPA rating of 315 miles.
The larger P100D battery pack with Ludicrous Mode is also available on the Model X, making it the world’s quickest SUV, going 0-to-60 mph in 2.9 seconds and with a travel range of 289 miles. The top Model X has two trunks, seats up to seven adults, and retails for $134,500,
Musk cautioned that teasing another 10 kilowatt hours out of what was already the world’s largest car battery proved to be a difficult technical challenge for Tesla engineers. The beefed-up Panasonic batteries required a new wiring harness and changes to the seats to ensure safety. He suggested that initial deliveries will be limited to 200 Ludicrous Mode battery packs for several months, before wider availability.
Musk stated that the current Tesla battery packs are reaching performance and capacity limits and that the company will be shifting to a larger cell pack when the high-production and much less expensive Model 3 is launched in late 2017.


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Occupancy rate of Prologis Hungary portfolio at 99.4%
At the end of Q1 2020, the occupancy rate of the Hungarian portfolio of logistics real estate investor Prologis stood at 99.4%, according to a quarterly report released by the company.
Prologis Park Budapest-Harbor
Prologis’ European portfolio totaled 756 buildings and 18.5 million sqm on March 31, 2020. The occupancy rate for the portfolio stood at 96%. Total development activity in the first quarter was 106,384 sqm, of this 84.1% was built-to-suit in key logistics markets close to consumption centers.
The companyʼs Central European portfolio totaled 4.2 million sqm (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary), including 613,800 sqm in Hungary. The portfolio occupancy rate in the region stood at 95%, below the Hungarian rate. Leasing agreements were signed for more than 380,000 sqm, an increase of 35% compared to the same period last year.
According to the report, none of the companyʼs investments were halted in Central Europe. Five buildings totaling 160,000 sqm are currently under construction, including Prologis Park Budapest-Harbor in Hungary.
The company’s leadership team said that it had entered the COVID-19 period in a position of strength, with significant liquidity and borrowing capacity.
Prologis argues that the impact of the pandemic will play out differently across the company’s regions, including in Europe, where occupancy levels are expected to fall by 130 basis points due to changes in supply and demand dynamics.
In Q1 2020, the company posted higher-than-expected rental increases; however, the forecast currently is for flat rental growth for the full year.
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i-mate’s Ultimate line will eventually consist of at least five devices which will come with a 520MHz Intel processor, Windows Mobile 6, 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM, VGA displays, tri-band 3G support, XGA direct video out, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a microSD slot and an FM tuner. More information on the 7150 has now emerged.
The 7150 comes with a full QWERTY keyboard and the 3.8-inch screen not only flips open but also swivels. It will also come with 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and a secondary OLED display on the front.
Slovak web site mobilmania.sk has also landed a large number of pictures for everyone to check out.
Finally, they also report that it could sell for between 700 and 80 EUR ($900 to $1050 USD) when it becomes available (no dates yet).


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A new study suggests that consumers feel less inhibited while on the Internet, making for orders that are more complex and calorie-laden.
Ryan McDevitt, assistant professor of economics and management at the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business, examined the North Carolina pizza chain of an old high school friend who gave customers the option to place online orders in 2009.
“It was a huge increase in these complicated orders,” said Mr. McDevitt, who looked at over 160,000 orders over a four-year period with price and offerings remaining the same. When it came to web orders, customers exercised more choice, sometimes quadrupling their bacon or piling on toppings.
As a result, a pizza ordered online was about 15% more complicated and contained 6% more calories compared to orders placed on the phone or in person. The study also found that while the company’s move to the web didn’t result in more new customers, it increased how much existing customers spent by 4% — largely due to the cost of more toppings.
Economists have attributed the “long tail,” or varied sales distribution, of Internet companies like Amazon to larger inventories and search functions, which provide customers with more choices and allow them to find obscure items.
Mr. McDevitt expects similar customization to occur with online ordering regardless of product type and argued customers are better off on the Internet because they are more able to meet their product needs. Aside from the excessive calories, of course.
“They have the same choices as before, but they’re removing the social transaction costs,” said Mr. McDevitt. “From my own personal experience, I feel more comfortable ordering something online than at the counter.”
He mentioned how customers ordering at Starbucks might be less inclined to make elaborate drink orders as they peek over their shoulder at the line of people behind them, or how women have taken to reading racy content like “Fifty Shades of Grey” on e-readers, which provide anonymity .
The study also suggests other reasons for complex orders — namely that the Internet makes it easier for consumers to choose by giving them access to a full menu as opposed to someone who might call and order something more typical like a plain pepperoni pizza.


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New product launches, management, and optimization news for smartphones, tablets, hybrid PCs, and wearable technology. Includes bring your own device (BYOD) trend, M-business, mobile workforce, and communications carriers and providers.
Waterloo, Ont.-based BlackBerry launched its new collaboration app for BlackBerrys - and other mobile platforms - today on Thursday with BBM Meetings. What does it do? Well, as you might expect it turns
The more things change, the more they stay the same, Bryan Segal, the vice president of sales at comScore Inc. might tell you. During his presentation at Toronto's NextMedia conference, he showed statistics
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has launched a new tool for small businesses that want to prevent data from leaking from their employees’ mobile devices. On Monday, HP said it was releasing Touchpoint Manager, a
Microsoft Corp. has reversed course on its Office mobile strategy, making full-featured versions of its famous productivity software free for Android and iOS instead of requiring a paid subscription, the New York Times


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MEETINGS - Medtec 2005 (Germany) February 2005:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Medtec 2005 is to be held on February 15-17 in Stuttgart, Germany. The event will feature four new pavilions, profiling Europe's medical device manufacturing industry. For more details, contact Medtec, on tel: +353 1 8060557; fax: +353 1 8621482; email: email@example.com www.cancom.com
You may also be interested in...
The Pink Sheet explains the procedures underpinning the UK’s emergency use authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The US Food and Drug Administration posted two device-related closeout letters in November.
Jazz and PharmaMar need to see what further data will be needed to convert their FDA authorization into a full approval following disappointing results in the ATLANTIS Phase III trial.


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Europe’s leading fresh food packaging manufacturer, LINPAC, has commented on the recent turbulence in its raw material supply chain and concluded that its rigid and flexible packaging prices will have to increase in the face of current sharp cost increases.
LINPAC Senior Holdings Limited, Wakefield Road, Featherstone, West Yorkshire, WF7 5DE
+44(0) 1977 692 111 firstname.lastname@example.org
2018 All rights reserved. Company Registration No. 6964763. Website by Livelink New Media


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Born out of Motor City, Detroit, LiveSmart Bars is set to steer two new bar lines - the Simply Smart Bar and Smart Kids - across the US.
Tortilla and corn flour supplier Gruma – owner of brands including Mission and Guerrero – has reported a 17% year on year hike in net sales in the first quarter of 2016.
US brand Pretzel Pete is reformulating some of its range to give them a cleaner label using non-GMO ingredients.
PepsiCo is extending its Quaker line-up with four new products featuring ‘supergrains’ such as quinoa or amaranth.
Jack Links has launched an e-commerce platform enabling it to sell its meat snacks direct to US consumers.
General Mills is to sell its Argentina bakery and foodservice business to Grupo Bimbo.
UAE supermarkets Spinneys and Waitrose will now stock Dubai start-up Gulf Bagel Factory’s bagels, adding to the firm’s current distribution through Carrefour and food service outlets.
Hovis boss Martyn Wilks is retiring from the UK bakery giant – just under a year after coming on board.
The world's top 10 food firms are improving their promises and pledges on sustainability, food security and workers' rights, according to Oxfam’s Behind the Brands report. But is there any action...
Cadbury owner Mondelēz International has appointed a replacement for departing UK managing director Phil Greenhalgh.
US manufacturer Preferred Popcorn has acquired its first organic production facility.
General Mills - which has pledged to remove all artificial ingredients from its cereals by the end of 2017 - this week reported that 77% of its Big G cereal portfolio now...
Flowers Foods has unveiled its plans to drive incremental growth through the roll-out of organic brand Dave's Killer Bread across the US this month.
Honey Monster cereals are to be produced and marketed in the UK market by The Brecks Company following a licensing deal with brand owner The Raisio Group.
McCormick & Co has abandoned its plans to take over Premier Foods, owner of number one UK cake brand Mr Kipling.
Snack industry veteran Jose Luis Prado - former boss of Quaker Oats North America - has partnered with private equity firm Wind Point Partners to acquire pork rind snacks supplier...
Saudi Arabian food and drink business Almarai has reported a surge in profits from its bakery division, while increased costs have hit profits from its dairy business.
Vermont Smoke & Cure has extended its range with a smaller meat stick and secured a nationwide listing with Target.
Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods has revealed strategies to grow its on-the-go and US cakes businesses.
General Mills is to upgrade its oldest facility in the US with the help of $500,000 in finding from the New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees.
Tyrrells Crisps founder William Chase – who sold the business in 2008 – has returned to the snacks industry with his own popcorn brand.
US start-up Paleo Prime Cookies is aiming to fuel growth with new packaging and by expanding its line-up with new flavors.
PepsiCo has announced a senior management shake-up following the departure of Frito-Lay North America chief Tom Greco.
Snyder's-Lance has extended some of its biggest brands with new products including filled pretzel pieces and limited-edition popcorn.
barkTHINS plans to continue pioneering the snacking chocolate category by launching its latest variant: dark chocolate peanut with sea salt.


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Facebook scrambled today to fix a security gaff that allowed users to follow their friends in a way that probably wouldn’t make them very comfortable.
By using a feature that allows users to preview what information acquaintances can see in their profiles, anyone could view their friends’ live chats and even confirm or ignore their new friend requests.
Tech blog TechCrunch received a tip today that the flaw could be exploited quite easily by tweaking with Facebook’s privacy settings.
“The irony is that the exploit is enabled by the way that Facebook lets you preview your own privacy settings,” TechCrunch wrote. “In other words, a privacy feature contains a flaw that lets others view private information if they are aware of the exploit.”
Here’s a video TechCrunch posted on how the glitch worked:
TechCrunch reported the problem to Facebook, which pulled down the live chat feature to fix it. Facebook said the matter has been resolved and issued the following statement:
For a limited period of time, a bug permitted some users’ chat messages and pending friend requests to be made visible to their friends by manipulating the “preview my profile” feature of Facebook privacy settings.
When we received reports of the problem, our engineers promptly diagnosed it and temporarily disabled the chat function. We also pushed out a fix to take care of the visible friend requests which is now complete. Chat is now back up and running.
We worked quickly to resolve this matter, ensuring that once the bug was reported to us, a solution was quickly found and implemented.
Chester Wisniewski, senior advisor at security firm Sophos, suspected that some wires might have gotten crossed as a result of Facebook’s recent adjustments to its privacy settings.
“My take is that it would seem Facebook may be falling victim to some of their own tactics,” he said in an e-mail. “They have made the methods users must use to control their privacy so complicated that even their developers can’t always predict what impact a given change in the system may have.”
He added: “Without further information from Facebook it is difficult to know if that is what happened, but it does indicate (as many similar incidents previously related to emails/private messages) that a system that is not designed to protect information first and foremost can easily be tricked into disclosing information in ways the designers never intended.”
It feels like lately new privacy and security issues related to Facebook are popping up almost every day.
Last month, Facebook users were not too enthusiastic to hear about new privacy settings that would enable the company to automatically share information about them with third-party pre-approved sites while they remain logged onto Facebook.
The New York Times reported last week that online criminals are now packaging stolen or fake Facebook accounts and selling them much like they’ve done for years with bundles of compromised credit card numbers.
And a recent Consumer Reports survey found that more than half of Facebook users are all too eager to share personal information through the social network that could endanger their identities.
Macworld noted: “You don’t have to have a Facebook window open, you don’t need to be signed in to these sites for the apps to appear, there’s no notification, and there doesn’t appear to be an option to opt-out anywhere in Facebook’s byzantine privacy settings.”
Macworld also offers some tips on how to keep an eye on the applications currently installed on your profile.


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Reno Resident Indicted For Allegedly Using Over 8,000 Fraudulent PayPal Accounts To Commit Approximately $3.5 Million Fraud Scheme
RENO, Nev. – A Reno resident made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday for allegedly engaging in a $3.5 million fraud scheme involving over 8,000 fraudulent PayPal credit accounts, bank accounts, and prepaid credit and debit card accounts he created with stolen identities.
Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada, Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse of the FBI’s Las Vegas Office, Special Agent in Charge Brian Spellacy of the U.S. Secret Service Las Vegas Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Tara Sullivan of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Inspector in Charge Melisa Llosa of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Chief Jason Soto of the Reno Police Department made the announcement.
Kenneth Gilbert Gibson, 46, was indicted on 10 counts of wire fraud; three counts of mail fraud; 10 counts of bank fraud; six counts of access device fraud; and six counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to allegations made in the indictment, between 2012 and 2017, Gibson allegedly obtained the identities of multiple victims and used those victim’s identities to open unauthorized online accounts, credit accounts, bank accounts, and prepaid debit and credit card accounts to obtain money and property. In total, he allegedly opened over 8,000 fraudulent and unauthorized accounts with PayPal, an online payment company, using the stolen identities. He then allegedly used those fraudulent and unauthorized accounts to transfer, deposit, and send approximately $3.5 million to himself via hard copy checks and through electronic transactions to approximately 500 bank accounts and pre-paid debit cards owned and under his control.
If convicted, the defendant faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud and mail fraud counts; a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine for the bank fraud counts; a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the access device fraud counts; and a statutory maximum penalty of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft counts. The defendant also faces a period of supervised release and a criminal forfeiture money judgment.
The case is being jointly investigated by a Task Force consisting of the FBI, United States Secret Service, IRS, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Reno Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla B. Higginbotham.
You can report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online at www.identitytheft.gov or by phone at 1-877-438-4338. For identity theft prevention tips and free resources visit www.ftc.gov/idtheft.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.


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World Retail Awards - The global benchmark of retail excellence
World Retail Awards, taking place 10 September at the five-star Rome Cavalieri, will showcase the most influential and inspirational retailers from around the globe.
Entries for the 2015 Awards are now CLOSED. Those retailers that are named as finalists or winners will benefit greatly including raising the profile of their business, providing vital recognition for the teams who made it possible and winning the admiration of their retail peers.
The winners will be announced at the prestigious Congress Gala Dinner, taking place on the evening of day three of the World Retail Congress. Book your seat at the Congress and Awards Ceremony in Rome.


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A 7-year-old boy accidentally sliced himself with a newly purchased knife as he was walking out of a store June 23. The knife penetrated his upper-right leg and severed his femoral artery. Good thing Cub Scout Mavry Sepulvado, Pack 3039, New Caney, Tex., was on the scene.
Ten-year-old Mavry was in a car with his mom when the accident occurred. While a store manager helped the injured boy lie down, Mavry quickly took off his shirt and offered it as a tourniquet. Paramedics soon arrived and whisked the injured boy to the hospital. When the store offered Mavry a new shirt, he said: “That’s O.K. I’m a Cub Scout. That’s what we do.”
The City of Humble, Tex., where the accident occurred, honored Mavry on July 24.


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Mike Waters' Blog: 4 May 2011 - Can the emissions trend continue?
04 May 2011
Mike Waters is senior insight & consultancy manager at Arval, the leading vehicle leasing and fleet management company.
We have seen dramatic improvements in new car emissions in recent years, but like any trend of this type, there remains the question of how long it can last for before it starts to plateau.
While the manufacturers have done a great job of reducing the average emissions across their ranges, gains over recent years have generally come from improvements to conventional technology, which surely can't carry on unabated. However, recent information and activity suggests that we are not at that tipping point yet and there is plenty more efficiency to come from the good old internal combustion engine.
The latest New Car CO2 Report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that average new car CO2 emissions fell by 3.5% in 2010 off the back of a decline of more than 20% since 2000. What's more, nearly 60% of new cars are now under 140g/km and the sub 100g/km market doubled in 2010.
These figures show great strides and the desire to produce greener cleaner vehicles is not going to diminish for the manufacturers. Every major car company is making efficiency improvements and most are working on alternative powertrain technologies. Just in recent weeks, Ford announced that the new Focus ECOnetic will deliver emissions under the 95g/km mark. It was also reported that the next generation of Mercedes C-class diesel models are expected to deliver average emissions of around 100g/km.
So the appetite is there from both suppliers and consumers. Taxation and high fuel prices combine to deliver a compelling reason for drivers to select the most efficient vehicles and tough legislation as well as customer demand means that the manufacturers won't show any let up in environmental development.
With EU regulation posing challenging targets we will continue to see improvements in the CO2 of new petrol and diesel models linked to an ever increasing hybridisation of new cars and vans. Use of hybrid technology will be an essential component in the manufacturers' armoury as they seek to deliver ever more fuel efficient vehicles, before new powertrains take us beyond the internal combustion engine. But in the short to medium term, we can expect to see plenty more efficiency in the vehicles that we drive.
Follow BusinessCar on TWITTER


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Quad/Graphics Inc. said Wednesday that it has purchased a minority interest in Pixability, a video marketing and advertising company certified by YouTube.
The investment strengthens Quad/Graphics' offerings for multichannel marketing and publishing. Quad/Graphics (NYSE: QUAD) is a publicly traded commercial publishing company based in Sussex.
With the investment, Pixability of Cambridge, Mass., will continue to expand its cloud-based video analytics and YouTube marketing software platform. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
"Online video is the fastest growing marketing channel in the world today, and Pixability's proven approach to YouTube marketing and advertising fits well with our media solutions video offering, which includes strategy, concepting, creating, producing and delivering online video for leading brands," said Joel Quadracci, Quad/Graphics chairman, president and CEO.


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Researchers and entrepreneurs have combined A-Eye technology with fat from pigs to repair and mimic a human cornea. The blind people’s association, BPA, is very optimistic about this new treatment.
A-Eye specialist, Jeb Sharp: Just get some bacon, any kind, but maybe not the hickory smoked… fry it for at least 10 min, to isolate the fat. Mix it with the AI stuff and you are good to go. One drop in each eye for a week or two, that’s it. This is the future of A-Eye and I’m proud to be a part of it! Smells and taste good too.


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Okami HD Remaster coming for PS4 and Xbox One
Capcom has confirmed Okami HD for PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
Kotaku broke the news earlier today that the 2006 cel-shaded Playstation 2 game is making its way to current generation consoles. That's got to be disappointing to Nintendo Switch owners, who were surely hoping that the game would come to the system—especially considering the original game was released on the Wii in 2008.
Capcom confirmed to Eurogamer that Okami HD will launch in Japan over the holiday period, which means a Western release should follow. A huge feature to note is that the game will support 4K and, if you want to, you can play the game in its original 4:3 resolution.
Okami was remastered for PS3 recently. Its combination of stunning visuals and a sprawling adventure earned it sparkling praise from video game websites (IGN gave it a 9.4 and it’s Metacritic score is currently standing at a solid 90) so it will be curious to see the overall reaction to it returning again to the current consoles. W
ill it be a case of overstaying a welcome and gamers suffering from remaster-nausea or will Okami HD be celebrated in the same way that every Skyrim remaster/rework has been? We’ll find out when the adventure lands on Playstation 4 and Xbox One this holiday.


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Your digestive system is home to 70 to 80% of your immune cells
Bad gut bacteria can cause gas, discomfort, bloating and inflammation
Some gut bacteria might even make you fat
They are terms previously not part of polite conversation – let alone TV commercials: Intestinal distress. Irregularity. Irritable bowel syndrome.
Where food goes after it’s eaten, however, has become a hot topic. Indeed, emerging research is linking the health of the gut – the entire digestive system, particularly the stomach, intestines and colon – to general wellness.
“New data shows that the gut is critical to our well-being,” says Dr. Mark Liponis, medical director of the Canyon Ranch health resorts.
Essentially, the gut is your body’s gatekeeper, letting in helpful compounds and evicting harmful ones. It’s home to 70 to 80% of our immune cells. When the gut is in good shape, our systems run efficiently, but when it’s not, we may experience upset stomach, be at risk for weight gain or digestive problems like heartburn and constipation, or just feel vaguely out of sorts.
For many people, that run-down feeling has lasted so long that it’s mistaken for the norm, says New York cardiologist Alejandro Junger, author of “Clean Gut.”
“We could feel so much better – we just don’t know it.”
The bacteria that rule your body
The gut is swarming with about 100 trillion bacteria, or flora, which outnumber human cells in our body 10 to 1. Bacteria are often considered “good” or “bad.”
“These bacteria and the compounds they excrete can have positive and negative effects on a person’s health,” says Dr. Stanley Hazen, chair of cellular and molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “To have a healthy gut, one must avoid eating foods that foster the growth of bacteria that create unhealthy metabolites.”
Friendly bacteria aid the metabolism of nutrients and help certain compounds get into the bloodstream. A diverse population of health-promoting flora protects the gut from the less helpful strains.
In contrast, an outsize number of less-beneficial flora – which proliferate with a diet high in sugar, fat, and processed food – can cause gas, discomfort, bloating and inflammation. The flora can also emit chemicals that compromise the intestinal lining, says Lita Proctor, of the Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health.
“This so-called ‘leaky gut’ allows nonnutritive materials to slip into our bodies and affect how we feel.”
Incredibly, some bacteria might even make you fat: A recent study of twins, published in “Nature,” found that when bacteria from an obese human twin were introduced into the digestive systems of lean mice, the mice turned fat; when bacteria from the thin sibling were introduced into lean mice, the mice stayed lean. Studies also suggest that diabetic and obese patients tend to lack a diversity of bacteria, and the Cleveland Clinic found that some bacteria metabolize components of egg and meat to produce a compound that aids in the clogging of arteries.
“This might explain why some unhealthy eaters get heart disease while others don’t,” says Hazen.
The good news is that you can reset your gut bacteria, swapping bad flora for good.
“Get the right type in your gut and, depending on your condition, you may begin to see improvements in a matter of days or weeks,” says Edmond Huang, a metabolic biologist at the University of California, Berkeley.
To cultivate healthful microflora, you want to nourish the desirable species while killing off the bad. Beware of antibiotics, however, which decimate the flora keeping our bodies healthy along with those causing illness and infection.
“Every course of antibiotics has a chance for such complications as yeast infections, skin rashes, and allergic reactions,” says Liponis.
Use these drugs only when needed, and always supplement with probiotics to repopulate the healthful flora.
Choose food-based probiotics first
Probiotics – the good bacteria in fermented foods and supplements – bolster the number of friendly bacteria in the gut. For relatively healthy people, it’s always a good idea to start with real food before taking supplements.
Bifidobacteria, found in most yogurt, release chemicals that create an acidic environment in which many harmful bacteria can’t thrive. And yogurt with the common strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus may improve your mood: A 2013 study published in “Gastroenterology” found that when healthy women ate 125 grams of yogurt twice daily for four weeks, their brain scans showed a less intense response when exposed to negative images.
Eat plenty of prebiotics
You can nourish healthful flora with prebiotics, which contain nondigestible carbohydrates – found in whole grains, onions, garlic, leeks, artichokes, asparagus, and chicory root.
Regular intake has been associated with decreases in irritable bowel syndrome and fat storage (and may reduce allergic reactions like skin rashes) – as well as an increase in an overall feeling of well-being, according to a 2010 issue of the “British Journal of Nutrition.”
Avoid fatty foods
According to studies done in mice, dietary fats can damage the gut lining, thus allowing the undesirable chemicals released by certain bacteria to leak into the bloodstream and inflame the tissues surrounding it.
What’s more, some fats “raise the population of unfriendly bacteria,” says Rob Knight, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Control your stress
Stress may change the makeup of your gut flora. A 2011 “Brain, Behavior, and Immunity” study reported that stressed-out mice (which had been left in a cage with aggressive mice!) experienced a plunge in beneficial bacteria and an increase in inflammatory chemicals in the blood serum.
Stress “alters the functioning of the immune system – either by suppressing or enhancing its response to foreign invaders,” says Ohio State University associate professor of oral biology Michael Bailey, the paper’s author.
For the good of your gut – and health – figure out why you’re anxious, and take measures to eliminate those stressors.


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In a Region primarily known for skilled labor and industrial jobs we rarely hear about opportunities in Technology. However, as the education landscape shifts to emphasize STEM, the Region has the potential to develop an in demand labor market for the technology industry. One of the newest tech startups to tap into the Region’s talent pool is Grablr.
Grablr is a technology startup that provides in-seat delivery for concessions at stadiums. The Gary SouthShore RailCats currently offer in-seat delivery powered by Grablr. Soon sports fans will never have to miss a moment of a game in a concessions line. With multiple service options to skip the lines at stadiums, fan experience and innovation are top priority. Grablr still manages to take it a step further by providing jobs and career exposure in the technology industry to high school and college students in Gary, and throughout the Region.
On Saturday July 20th, Grablr will have an official launch event showcasing their product at the RailCats Stadium. With the purchase of an event ticket, you will be able to attend the RailCats game on that day, test the Grablr platform, and mingle with the Grablr team at the Festival of the Lakes in Hammond later that evening!
To learn more about Grablr visit www.grablr.com.
To view more information about the launch event visit the Eventbrite page.


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What’s happening? Cafe Patron (or Patron Xo Cafe to give it it’s Sunday name), the popular coffee infused liqueur, is set to be discontinued globally as owners Bacardi look to focus on their core and premium tequilas, which are growing in popularity.
Speaking to The Grocer, Patrón Tequila president and COO Mauricio Vergara explained the decision, saying: “[It’s] an incredibly exciting time to be in the tequila business - we are thrilled to see consumer demand for tequila continuing to explode around the world,” he said.
“Tequila is seeing rapid growth and incredible momentum - not just in the United States, but it is the second fastest-growing category in value across the globe.”
Bacardi will be focusing on their other Patron brands - Patrón Silver, Patrón Reposado and Patrón Añejo.
It is thought that the decision is down to sales and profits, despite the fact that UK sales of Patron XO Cafe had reached nearly £2 million as of May 2021, a rise of £550k according to NielsenIQ.
Can you still buy Cafe Patron? Yes, it’s still available online at Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.


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What’s Happening With Bitcoin?
Americans will be able to receive salaries in bitcoins
Americans will start receiving salaries in bitcoins
You can pay with bitcoins taxes, fees, premiums and other payments
In China, digital currency payment practice has been operating since May 2020
The OpenNode platform, which specializes in providing electronic payment services for various business areas, has launched a new feature for converting fiat money into bitcoins. Now employees of firms and companies in Los Angeles will be able to receive salaries in cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin salary is already a reality
A new automated service from OpenNode called Payouts in Bitcoins allows employers to adapt different types of payments for cryptocurrencies. For example, users, through their accounts on the platform, can settle accounts with employees and clients not with fiat money, but with bitcoins..
You can also pay taxes and fees with cryptocurrency, pay a bonus to the best employee, etc. The system also takes into account tax and legal regulations, so all payments will be made in accordance with the laws of the United States..
“With the Bitcoin Payout solution in OpenNode, companies will be able to offer fully automated real-time payments with the ability to either schedule or initiate massive payments, or allow recipients to withdraw funds with the click of a button. The inspiration for this feature was the pain points associated with global payment methods, ”explained Ryan Flowers, Lead Marketer..
The decision to launch the Bitcoin Payments service came after several clients of the company asked OpenNode to create a similar function..
As Flowers explained, several users personally contacted the company and asked to introduce such functionality, since there was a need to pay bills in cryptocurrency for a long time. Therefore, the decision to create a function of payments in bitcoins was made instantly.
China is ahead of everyone
Note that China became the first state in the world to pay salaries to employees in digital currency. Recall that earlier BeInCrypto reported that in May, employees of the city administration and other government agencies of Suzhou will receive their salaries in DCEP digital currency. In addition, all Chinese local governments and committees are encouraged to sign contracts for DCEP and create special digital wallets where the coins will go..
4 state-owned banks of Suzhou are issuing new digital currency.
Recall that China began testing its own digital currency last year. Then several large banks and companies entered the pilot project of using CBDC Paper bills and coins may be a thing of the past due to a new financial instrument – central bank digital currency (CBDC). As of … More. And this year, the Chinese government intends to popularize the digital currency among the rest of the population and make it the same payment instrument as the usual fiat yuan..
All information, contained on our website, published on the principles of good faith and objectivity, and for informational purposes only. The reader bears himself complete responsibility for any actions, committed by him on the basis of information, obtained from our website.


text: The best way for online casinos to stay relevant in the online gambling scene is by continually launching new games for players. Casino Tropez has certainly adopted this attitude and is not releasing new games on regular basis. This week, the online casino will showcase 15 new games.This first game to be released is the Pink Panther online slots game. It is one of the best branded slot machines on the market today, but it has yet to gain any momentum as games like Tomb Raider and The Hulk continue to dominate the market. However, it is slowly gaining popularity, due to its wide range of bonus features that players many chances to win generous jackpots.Another branded slots game that will be released it Rocky, based on the popular action movie series. This is a completely outside-of-the-box theme, as most online slots game are modelled after cartoon and comic book characters. Nevertheless, the game is receiving a great deal of attention from online slots enthusiasts.Slots aren’t the only new games available at Casino Tropez, as the operator has also announced the release of roulette games. Players have more diverse tastes than slots in the online gambling world and many online casinos do not offer a wide range of table games, but Casino Tropez seems to be diversifying its gaming selection.


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South Korean group LG Chem, the world’s largest maker of electric car batteries, is in talks with ”several” carmakers to set up joint ventures to make batteries, CEO Hak Cheol Shin told Reuters on Friday.
LG Chem is making progress with joint ventures with US automaker General Motors (GM) and Chinese group Geely and hopes to expand its collaboration with other automakers, Shin said, without giving further details.
The South Korean group is currently supplying batteries from its factory in Nanjing, China, for Model 3 vehicles produced at the Tesla plant in Shanghai.
Shin added that Testa is not one of the companies with which LG Chem discusses joint ventures.
LG Chem, which has a factory in Poland, is also looking for a location for a new battery factory in Europe, the head of the South Korean group announced.
In 2017, LG Chem announced that it will invest over one billion euros to increase the production capacity of its unit in Poland.


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Natasha Akide popularly known as Tacha has come online and asked her fans to patronize her business, telling them she does not have a sugar daddy.
The former big brother naija housemate, have been busy with her life after the show, she has set up a very lucrative business for herself over the years that followed.
Tacha can boast of other businesses which she owns and other projects she is involved in. The beautiful and intelligent reality star run a logistics company, a fashion brand and it could be recall that Tacha had just hit the one million followers on twitter, making her appeal to her fans more realistic.
Nevertheless, due to the current economic crisis in Nigeria and around the world which have affected the businesses of many entrepreneurs, the former Bbnaija former housemate has posted a video in which she clearly stated that she needed her fans and followers to patronize her business.
As an entrepreneur with the followers and fans all over Nigeria, Africa and the world, she is using her social media handle to appeal to all of them to get awareness and start if not already patronize her business.
According to her,
“I don’t have a sugar daddy please patronize my business”


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The Montréal International Game Summit (MIGS) is being held this week at Palais des congrès. Alliance numérique has been organizing the MIGS since 2004—the largest conference for video game industry professionals held in the North American east coast. The event, which has earned a global reputation, attracted some 3,000 participants this year, mainly video game developers and students in the field.
Ranked 5th video game production centre in the world and the main Canadian hub according to Game Industry Career Guide in 2015, Greater Montréal’s renown is not only explained by the sheer number of studios, but also for its solid reputation. The city has global players who need no introduction, such as Ubisoft, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Behaviour and Warner Bros Games. Montréal is also home to more and more independent studios that are doing quite well. It’s the first time that a booth at MIGS is honouring the 10 best video games produced by independent Québec studios.
The seventh edition of the Canadian Video Game Awards will also be held in Montréal, and will be a great way to cap off the Summit. Ubisoft is already looking good in the lead with 15 nominations in 20 categories. Montréal expertise is in the spotlight this year. Seven of the 10 finalists for the most prestigious award, i.e., Game of the Year, hail from Montréal. They include Eagle Flight, Far Cry Primal and Rainbow Six Siege by Ubisoft, Dead by Daylight by Behaviour, Deus Ex GO by Square Enix, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided by Eidos and Stories: The Path of Destinies by Spearhead. All these games were developed here, in Montréal, which further highlights the thriving Montréal expertise and creativity in the growing video game industry.
For more information (in French):


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This summer, everyone has tried to beat the heat. But at UMD, student entrepreneurs have been hard at work showing how their ventures are just beginning to heat up. On Thursday, Maryland Smith’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship hosted its 7th annual Terp Startup Accelerator event, in which 16 student teams pitched their business ventures to an audience of students, faculty, staff and esteemed guests.
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce that it has accepted 16 University of Maryland student teams into its Terp Startup Accelerator summer program. This is now the program's seventh consecutive year, with the largest cohort to date. The Dingman Center also received its highest number of applicants, with 37 student venture teams vying for a spot in the eight-week program.
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce that it has accepted 12 University of Maryland student and young alumni startups into its Terp Startup summer accelerator program. Launched in 2015 with just six startups in its first cohort, Terp Startup has grown to accommodate increased demand from student founders. The startups selected represent a range of sectors including drone delivery, esports, snack bars, physician wellness, fashion and beauty.
The vibe was decidedly California cool — a bright white and modern wood industrial office space buzzing with entrepreneurs hard at work building their businesses, sipping cold brew and kombucha. Not Silicon Valley, but instead a WeWork in College Park, Md., where 15 student teams were selected by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business to take part in its competitive Terp Startup summer accelerator program.
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce that it has expanded its Terp Startup summer accelerator program to host 15 student startups this year. Launched in 2015 with just six startups in its first cohort, Terp Startup has grown each year to accommodate increased demand from student founders.
The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce that it has accepted 10 startups into its Terp Startup summer incubator program. Launched in 2015, Terp Startup is the final phase of the center's Fearless Founders accelerator. To be considered for the Terp Startup program, students undergo a rigorous application process in which they must demonstrate their startup's traction as well as their own entrepreneurial drive.
Last year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship launched the third and final phase of its Fearless Founders startup accelerator program, Terp Startup. Happening every summer, this incubator phase is designed to give students a means to focus exclusively on growing their startup. During the course of the program, the center provides students with a $3,500 stipend and access to mentors who will help them grow their business.


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HOUSTON—Oil and gas drilling companies are touting what they call new, environmentally friendly formulas—including ingredients used in processed foods and toothpaste—to quell fears that they are contaminating water supplies when they tap deep rock formations.
By pumping millions of gallons of chemical-laced water to crack open shale-rock formations, drillers can release large amounts of fossil fuels. But the technique, often called fracking, has led to worries about ground and surface water pollution.
Incidents of possible contamination of drinking wells in north Texas and Pennsylvania by natural gas extracted by fracking have triggered a public outcry and led to official investigations.
While no link has emerged between the contamination and fracking fluids, the Environmental Protection Agency and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have sought data from oil-field services companies detailing the chemicals in their fluids.
Oil-field services companies, including Halliburton Co. HAL -1.10 % and Baker Hughes Inc., BHI -0.16 % have resisted disclosing the ingredients of the products they use, but they are now on the hunt for fracking fluids that are clearly benign.
Houston-based Halliburton—the No. 1 shale driller in the U.S.—is rolling out a fracking-fluid product called CleanStim that it says consists exclusively of compounds used in processed foods. "The same components to make this stuff are used to make ice cream and brew beer," Jim Brown, Halliburton's Western Hemisphere president, said at a recent meeting with investors.
Baker Hughes last week launched a line of products called BJ SmartCare that lets well owners customize their fluids based on factors such as toxicity and flammability. It declined to specify what most of the ingredients are, but they include fatty acids, essential oils and guar gum, which is found in toothpaste and ketchup.
Drilling supplier Flotek Industries Inc. FTK -0.54 % told analysts last month that it has completed successful field trials of a new batch of biodegradable fracturing chemicals using compounds extracted from citrus products. Calls to Houston-based Flotek for comment weren't returned.
"The industry as a whole is going that way," said Chip Minty, a spokesman for Devon, which has substantial shale-gas operations in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Halliburton said its CleanStim will add about 5% to 10% to drilling costs. Baker Hughes said its environmentally friendly products have a "minimal" impact on drilling costs.
The recent effort by Baker Hughes to offer cleaner chemicals includes substituting mineral oil for more noxious forms of petroleum, said Lindsay Link, who heads the Houston company's pressure-pumping business.
So far, Halliburton has tested CleanStim on 13 wells and has begun to offer it to customers. Mr. Oehler said that the cost of CleanStim will fall once it catches on and Halliburton can buy larger volumes of ingredients, such as maltodextrin, a sweetener and shower-gel component, and organic ester, which is found in liquid egg products and hairspray.
But Dusty Horwitt, senior counsel for the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy group, said that even though eliminating toxins from shale wells is a positive step, the risk of polluting ground water won't be eliminated.
He said fracking itself unleashes petroleum-like condensate from natural-gas reservoirs that could penetrate aquifers and spill into surface waters. Like the fracture fluids the government has studied, condensate also contains benzene, xylene, toluene and ethyl benzene.


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An interesting new patent was published August 30 that would suggest that Google is developing a mobile phone payment system.
The Text Message Payment patent details a system where by Google offers a mobile focused payments under the title of GPay.
Examples of payment scenarios given in the patent include paying for goods from a vending machine, as well as purchasing items directly from offline retailers.
Whilst it’s certainly possible that the GPay Mobile payments system could well be platform independent, given the very strong indication that Google is preparing to launch a mobile phone, GPay could end up as an exclusive GPhone offering, one that gives Google the jump over other mobile operators by enabling mobile payments natively from the handset.
Mobile payment systems aren’t new; I can pay for parking locally via mobile phone now, however what Google is suggesting in the patent is something that is far broader, and perhaps more importantly independent of mobile phone carriers and their billing systems. Google competitor PayPal currently offers their own mobile payments system, but despite launching in March it hasn’t set the world on fire; Google on the other hand would have the advantage of embedding GPay in the GPhone.
Thanks to Patrick for the tip.


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If toxicology tests confirm that a popular weight-loss supplement contributed to the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, it won't surprise consumer advocates and physicians who have been trying to get the key ingredient banned.
Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper said on Tuesday his investigation found that Bechler was taking three pills each morning of Xenadrine, a supplement that contains ephedrine, a stimulant that has been linked to other deaths.
Ephedrine, a derivative of the herb ephedra, has been used in Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years for the treatment of such ailments as asthma, flu and colds.
But in some cases the amphetamine-like compound can raise blood pressure, increase body heat, and interfere with the body's cooling mechanism by constricting blood vessels, said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group in Washington, D.C.
'A political decision'
Public Citizen asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2001 to ban products containing ephedrine alkaloids, which include ephedra, ephedra extract, ma-huang and other related compounds. "We filed this petition because of a large number of deaths reported to the FDA -- more than with all the other dietary supplements combined," Wolfe said Tuesday.
Instead, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson commissioned a review of available medical literature by the Rand Corporation and recommended a stronger warning label for the products. Warren Roback, a spokesman for Rand, said the report is due within two months.
Wolfe, who was appointed to the review panel, said there already is enough evidence for the government to take action.
An analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine in December 2001 studied 140 adverse incidents involving ephedra. The reviewers concluded that "dietary supplements that contain ephedra alkaloids pose a serious health risk to some users."
Wolfe said: "There's no reason to review. The FDA commissioner is making a political decision in the face of massive lobbying in Washington by the supplement makers."
"It's outrageous that this country has not even done what Canada has done, which is to ban them," he said.
Wolfe said the U.S. Army and Air Force pulled all products containing ephedra and its derivatives from commissary shelves in October after reports of more than 30 deaths of service personnel taking the products between 1997 and 2001.
The International Olympic Committee, the NCAA and the National Football League also prohibit athletes from using such supplements.
Worse in recent years
Two researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who reviewed data published by the American Association of Poison Control Centers found 1,178 adverse reactions attributed to ephedra, compared to 664 for all other herbal products in 2001.
"We do get calls about ephedra," said Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, medical director of the Poison Information Center at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "It's become a particular problem in the past couple of years because the companies that make herbal products are getting away with selling natural speed. They're cashing in on that."
Bernstein said in his business there is a saying: "Everything is a poison. It's just a matter of dose. A little bit is probably safe, but a lot is probably dangerous, and it's probably not meant to be used every day, or indefinitely like a lot of athletes and people taking it for weight loss."
He said he thinks "a good percentage" of young athletes are taking the supplements without realizing the dangers.
"They think they're taking something natural like a vitamin, and I'm sure they don't realize what can happen when you take too much," Bernstein said.
No one from the FDA could be reached for comment on Tuesday because of the continuing snow emergency in the Washington area, but a news release on the FDA's Web site said the agency has begun a major effort to improve its ability to conduct market surveillance and better monitor the safety of all dietary supplements, including ephedrine alkaloids.
Nancy McVicar can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or 954-356-4593.


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Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder just signed a bill that would prevent Tesla Motors from selling cars directly to its consumers:
House Bill 5606, sponsored by state Rep. Aric Nesbitt, also prohibits auto manufacturers from dictating fees franchised dealers can charge customers. The legislation allows individual auto dealers to make the business decision whether to charge the transaction fee.
Snyder said direct sales of new vehicles is already banned in the state. This law will explicitly require all automakers to sell through a network of franchised dealers.
Earlier today General Motors urged the governor to sign the bill.
Snyder, who has boasted of making Michigan more hospitable for entrepreneurs, brings Michigan into a growing number of states that have raised obstacles to the California-based electric car company.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Tesla has fought battles in several states with franchised auto dealers who want to block the electric car company from selling its vehicles directly to consumers. Dealers say they’re concerned that if Tesla is allowed to bypass the dealer-franchise system, other auto makers will seek to do so as well, undermining their investments. Tesla officials counter that since the company has never sold through franchised dealers, laws governing relations between auto makers and retailers shouldn’t apply to its business.
I don’t know about you, but this sounds a bit like…socialism…does it not?
Like many in his party, Governor Snyder has repeated the mantra that government should get out-of-the-way of the free market.
Except when it comes to Tesla, which happens to produce an electric car.
GM strongly supported this bill, of course, since Tesla represents competition. Snyder (and the state legislature before him) did whatever it took to squash competition, no?
“Let Detroit go bankrupt” was the oft-repeated mantra a few years ago after President Obama intervened to save the auto industry in 2009. Yet, these same people who argued against government intervention to stop the industry from crumbling (and thereby destroying the state of Michigan), are now the same ones passing laws that are literally intervening in the free market process!
I get the feeling there won’t be marching in the streets over this latest action.
This anti-Tesla law is just the latest in a long line of episodes featuring how the well-connected dictate public policy–exactly as we’ve witnessed in Washington for many years.


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Thai Beverage says F&N deal unaffected by Heineken's APB bid
Thai Beverage said an offer by Heineken to buy out F&N's stake in APB has no impact on Thai based beverage group's purchase of 22 percent of F&N.
Thai Beverage's Senior Vice President Vichate Tan-ti-wan-ich told Dow Jones Newswires that its deal with the Singapore drinks maker is already signed.
He said Thai Beverage hasn't discussed a counter bid for APB as the company has just learnt about Heineken's bid.
He declined to comment further on Heineken's move, which may trigger a takeover battle with Thai Beverage.
Thai Beverage is buying stakes in F&N from OCBC, its insurance unit Great Eastern and Lee Rubber nearly $3 billion.
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That an event like the World Cup would bring football-mad Brazilians onto the street was expected, but that it would unite tens of thousands... More That an event like the World Cup would bring football-mad Brazilians onto the street was expected, but that it would unite tens of thousands in protest has caught authorities by surprise. For the second night running Tuesday they flooded the streets of Sao Paulo waving the same green and gold flags they will surely brandish from the stands next year but also shouting themselves hoarse when confronted by authority. Duration: 01:21
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Philippines: Mobile Broadband Coverage, Affordability and Cost of Ownership
The GSMA Intelligence report for last quarter of 2015 points to the Philippines as among the leaders in mobile broadband coverage around Asia. The same report also showed that despite the 93% coverage (3G and 4G), a huge chunk of the population are still not using mobile broadband — 2 out of every 3 or 67%.
In the chart above, the Asian average for mobile broadband penetration is at 27% and the Philippines is just within the range at 26%. However, 67% of the population that are covered by mobile broadband do not use it. Only 7% of the population do not have 3G/4G coverage which is one of the lowest in the region.
The report also points out that the Philippines has one of the highest “cost of mobile ownership” at 8% of their monthly income. The ownership includes the handset and the cost of subscription. The cost becomes more staggering for the bottom 40% of the population where the ratio is 30% of their income.
GSMA also made a survey among users and found that Filipinos think that cost is among the least issue with only 13% thinks affordability is a barrier to subscribe to mobile broadband. This is an effect of the sachet economics and the high penetration of prepaid users in the country.
The GSMA Intelligence report covers the month of October to December 2015.
The Philippines ranks among the highest in the region in terms of mobile penetration, SIM card penetration and internet usage.
Source: “Consumer Barriers to Mobile Internet Adoption in Asia” by GSMA Intelligence (2016)


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Milton Public Schools and Whole Foods Jazz Up the Lunch Menu
Milton Public Schools and Whole Foods partner to make good nutrition second nature to children.
Whole Foods Market staff visited Milton High School and Pierce Middle School recently as part of a collaboration between Whole Foods and the Milton Public Schools.
This partnership formed two years ago as part of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” Campaign. At that time, Milton Public School Food Service director Jackie Morgan applied for a grant for a salad bar from Whole Foods. The Dedham store awarded the Pierce Middle School a $3,000 salad bar that the Food Service Department turned into a fruit and veggie cart so that students would take more fruits and veggies with their lunches.
Since then, Whole Foods staff members, including Maureen Buckley, Healthy Eating Specialist in Dedham; Alex Tillotson, Culinary Demo Specialist in Dedham; Lisa Caldwell, Healthy Eating Specialist in Wellesley and Samantha Gafford, Customer Service Supervisor in Wellesley, have been in Pierce Middle School working with our health teacher, Chris Maine. They also have been in each of his classrooms teaching nutrition lessons.
In addition, the team has also been working with the high school Food Service team. Whole Foods staff members have brought in a chef and and taught the Food Service staff, under the director of Jacqueline Morgan. new and creative food dishes, focusing on newly-mandated offerings by USDA, which include dark leafy greens, orange vegetables and beans.
Wednesday recipes will feature a sweet potato bowl, a quinoa salad with beans and White bean and kale pesto.
– Written from a press release


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Tough new rules are being introduced as part of a package to crack down on the rogue firms which are responsible for bombarding the public with misleading advertising in relation to possible claims against Banks.
Fines will be used to encourage claims companies to follow the rules – and to require them to pay for it when they do not.
The fines will be brought in as part of changes being made through the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill and are expected to take effect next year.
There are more than one thousand companies which specialise in helping people make claims for compensation for mis-sold financial products such as Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Banks have complained that some firms are responsible for deluging them with inaccurate and incomplete claims which have caused unnecessary costs and major delays in resolving genuine claims.
The new rules being published aim to ensure that claims companies uphold their duty to make sure the claims they are submitting have a realistic chance of success, and ensure full evidence is provided to substantiate any allegations. Firms will also have to carry out thorough audits of how their data has been gathered, so they can no longer turn a blind eye to leads which have been obtained by illegal or unlawful marketing methods.


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Panhandlers in Oak Park soon may wind up with a card in their hands rather than a dollar bill or some coins.
Business leaders and law enforcement officials in the village are asking shoppers to refrain from giving cash to panhandlers and instead offer them a card with information about getting help from local charities.
The "palm card" is one idea being advanced to combat panhandling as the downtown area prepares to welcome holiday shoppers. Officials will hold a seminar on the subject from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St.
The event will promote the palm card and other ways of dealing with panhandlers, with the ultimate goal of either getting them help or simply discouraging them from hanging around Oak Park, said Pat Zubak, executive director of Downtown Oak Park.
"It's a consistent complaint" from business owners, Zubak said. "I think people in this community are very generous, and I see people all the time giving money to panhandlers. They probably feel like they are doing the right thing, but more often than not; it isn't the right thing, and it only exacerbates the problem."
Organizers said they want people instead to give money to charities that help the homeless instead of giving cash to panhandlers, who might spend it on alcohol or drugs. Zubak said they will soon be distributing cards to local businesses to give to shoppers.
The cards will have contact information for local services — such as the PADS homeless shelter and the Walk-In Ministry at First United Church of Oak Park.
Community policing Sgt. Dave Jacobson said he believes panhandling is a problem but "not an epidemic." He said the department's goal is to provide resources, not lock up people in need.
"This isn't a crackdown," he said. "We want to help these people."
The department usually doesn't arrest panhandlers who are just on the street asking for money — only when they are aggressive or threatening toward pedestrians.
Assistant Cook County State's Attorney David Potter said enforcement of laws against panhandlers can often be tricky. A blanket ban on panhandling, which Oak Park has, is hard to prosecute because Potter said it can be an unconstitutional infringement on free speech. However, when someone is being aggressive, officials can file charges for disorderly conduct or assault.
Potter said officials started looking more into the issue when a panhandler was arrested in downtown Oak Park in October after he punched a pedestrian after a confrontation.
With the holiday shopping season approaching, the efforts are even more important. Zubak said she thinks the presence of panhandlers damages local businesses because some shoppers might be scared off from coming back to Oak Park.
"I'm here (in downtown Oak Park) every day, and I get approached every day," Zubak said.