text:
On May 29-30, Produce Marketing Association’s (PMA) Fresh Connections Mexico was carried out in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
In this edition, our CEO, Mr. Georgius Gotsis Fontes, Aldo Mares – Aneberries CEO (National Association of Berries Exporters), moderated by Lizeth Quintero Posadas – Executive Director of México Calidad Suprema, A.C. presented the Panel of Experts entitled: “The new leadership and the impact in the fruit and vegetable industry”, where they shared with attendees a variety of subjects they addressed, such as experience and industry representation, the main changes in public policies, the impact this has for the industry, and the effect it has at the fruit and vegetable supply chain.
In his participation, Mr. Gotsis highlighted the great opportunity the fresh produce industry has, which is in market diversification, since agriculture production these days is focused on exports; however, our main destination market, the US, represents a high percentage of horticultural product exports; this is why there is a need to explore new possibilities by meeting this need. He commented on the great logistical challenges this may imply, which need to be addressed so we could explore other markets in the short term.
He also shared with attendees the main changes the labor policy in Mexico has undergone, and the effects it has implied for growers in Sinaloa. For such, he shared what he considers the strategies for new circumstances and competitiveness, such as certifications, efficiency, compliance with international regulations, and teamwork.
Also, he said the need for promotion is essential for agriculture commodity positioning, and for market diversification, which must be carried out directly by growers.
This event also featured a conference on consumer trends in Mexico, and how retailers are responding to these trends by Pedro Varela Mansur, Purchase Manager of Fruits and Vegetables at Walmart México; José Luis Rodríguez, Assistant Director of Fresh Products, Fruits and Vegetables Division at H-E-B Mexico; Servando Carbajal Ruiz, founding partner and CEO at Super del Norte y CEO at Corporativo del Norte.
The event also included the success story of José Hernandez, a former astronaut with the conference entitled “The Harvester of Stars”, who worked in the fields of California as a child, along with his Mexican parents, which were working immigrants; he did not learn English until he was 12. Hernández kept moving forward with his studies and concluded his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and, in 1987, he started working for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Today he is an advisor to the Mexican Space Agency.
In its 12th year, the event brought together buyers from the US, Canada, and supermarket retailers, as well as Mexican growers and commercial solutions suppliers. The activities included networking, educational sessions, and an exhibition area.
“Most of Mexico’s leading retailers attend this event, providing a networking experience like no other. PMA Fresh Connections: Mexico does just what its name says: connects people with each other, with opportunities, new products, information, technology, and more,” stated Nancy Tucker, PMA’s Regional VP for Latin America. “Our conference sessions and the list of speakers are impressive, and participants will learn from the experts in their fields. “We are also looking forward to what former astronaut José Hernández shared with our industry on how to face adversity and helping others to achieve success.” – Nancy Tucker, PMA’s Regional VP for Latin America.


text:
The Wall Street Journal said the non-profit Free and Fair Markets Initiative had cited support from a union, a management professor in Boston and a businessman in California.
But the newspaper found that the financial backers of FFMI included shopping centre owner Simon Property Group, well-known retailer Walmart and software firm Oracle.
Simon Property is battling to keep customers who had been drifting over to Amazon, Walmart is a retail competitor to Amazon, while Oracle is competing against Amazon to win a US$10 billion defence contract.
The Boston academic said the FFMI had ghost-written an op-ed about Amazon in his name but he was unaware that he had been named as a member of the group.
And the businessman in question had been dead for months before his name was take off the FFMI website.
The WSJ said FFMI had refused to say from where it was getting its funds or to identify its office-bearers.
“The bottom line is that FFMI is focusing on the substantive issues and putting a spotlight on the way companies like Amazon undermine the public good — something that media outlets, activists, and politicians in both parties are also doing with increasing frequency,” the organisation told the newspaper in a statement.
“If Amazon cannot take the heat, then it should stay out of the kitchen.”
FFMI is run by communications outfit Marathon Strategies which was founded by political operative Phil Singer. He has been an aide to US Senator Chuck Schumer and worked on Hillary Clinton's 2008 bid for the Democrat presidential nomination.

domain: news


text:
Here at DR Wakefield, our core principles that guide everything we do directly relate to the protection of the planet and its people, in line with producing the right, high-quality coffee at the right price.
In an industry like the coffee trade – in which the supply chain is not only drawn out over time, but also across thousands of miles of land and oceans, from one side of the earth to the other – it is arguably more important than ever to ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard ethical, equitable and sustainable business, for all those involved in the process.
This mindset is common among responsible traders working in agricultural spheres, for which produce may be grown in far-removed locations from where it is finally sold to the end user. This much is evident in the cocoa industry.
Writing for the Guardian, managing director of Divine Chocolate Ltd Sophi Tranchell explains how social enterprise and the consumer demand for companies to invest in fairtrade practices is on the rise, with the number of new cocoa products boasting ethical labelling having risen by 120 per cent in the last year, according to recent consumer research by Mintel.
"In a world driven by supply and demand, people are expendable. If there is oversupply, "let them do something else", to paraphrase Marie Antoinette. This is not a sustainable proposition," she writes – and we couldn't agree more.
If we do not take care to invest in and care for hard-working farmers at the source of the supply chain – on whom, we needn't add, both our industry and many others like it entirely rely – then the coffee trade has no future. Such a business model is completely unsustainable, aside from being ethically unsound.
It is all very well knowing that a product will remain popular and continue to grace supermarket shelves for years to come, but unless time, money and effort is invested in ensuring that any trade involved – be it in coffee or chocolate, corn, soy or any other agricultural commodity – is entirely future-proof, there is very little point.
"We are dependent on smallholder farmers around the world for 70 per cent of our food. They are the best stewards of the land, which risks being stripped bare by agribusiness and monoculture," the expert writes.
However, while we as businesspeople may be well aware of this fact, it would appear that consumers are paying more attention to this too, taking these considerations into account when making their purchasing decisions.
In the article, Ms Tranchell goes on to explain how in the UK last year, Fairtrade chocolate sales came in at over £820 million, which represented a 52 per cent increase on the year before. It is clear to see that more money is now being spent on ethically-sound produce.
Fairtrade is just one of many ethical labelling accreditation schemes that helps both businesses and consumers to know something about the background and context within which a certain product is purchased. Give us a ring today to find out more about our ethical operations and how these enable us to sell high-quality coffee that doesn't come with a conscience.


text:
gollum123 quotes a report from Recode: Last month, Walmart gathered some of America’s biggest household brands near its Arkansas headquarters for a tough talk. For years, Walmart had dominated the retail landscape on the back of its “Everyday Low Price” guarantee. Walmart wants to have the lowest price on 80 percent of its sales, according to a presentation the company made at the summit, which Recode reviewed. To accomplish that, the brands that sell their goods through Walmart would have to cut their wholesale prices or make other cost adjustments to shave at least 15 percent off. In some cases, vendors say they would lose money on each sale if they met Walmartâ(TM)s demands. Brands that agree to play ball with Walmart could expect better distribution and more strategic help from the giant retailer. And to those that didnâ(TM)t? Walmart said it would limit their distribution and create its own branded products to directly challenge its own suppliers. But this time around, Walmart’s renewed focus on its “Everyday Low Price” promise coincides with Amazon’s increased aggressiveness in its own pricing of the packaged goods that are found on supermarket shelves and are core to Walmart’s success, industry executives and consultants say. The result in recent months has been a high-stakes race to the bottom between Walmart and Amazon that seems great for shoppers, but has consumer packaged goods brands feeling the pressure.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.


text:
PITTSVILLE – A new electric wood waste grinder at a Pittsville pallet company will improve efficiency while keeping zero waste a priority.
Wood pallets have been a vital part of the logistics industry in getting crucial supplies to hospitals, stores, and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what happens to a pallet when it wears out or breaks after repeated use?
Hay Creek Companies, in Pittsville, manufactures new wood pallets and repairs and reconditions some older pallets. But when a wood pallet has outlived its service for shipping, it’s still useful.
Gone are the days when old pallets were incinerated or tossed in landfills. Over the years, businesses such as Hay Creek Companies have learned how to use every scrap of wood, turning it into shavings that can be used for wood pellets for bioenergy and also bedding for cattle. To make wood fuel, the scrap wood shavings are compressed under high pressure in a pellet mill.
The company has installed a new EC-366 electric grinder at the Hay Creek main plant. This allows the company to expand its ability to recycle wood. A newly constructed area of the factory houses the machine.
“Having this at our main location instead of at a previous work site several miles from here will save on handling and transportation and help us to be efficient with the recycling process,” said Tom Gardner, president of Hay Creek Companies.
Broken wood pallets are loaded into the hopper on the EC-366, and the machine grinds them into wood shavings. Through a series of magnets, nails and metal are sorted out from the shavings and recycled separately.
“Broken pallet recycling for use as a fuel source is good for the environment, since wood is a sustainable resource,” Gardner explained.
In addition to their work with pallets, Hay Creek Companies also manufactures premium wood pellets, landscape mulch, and animal bedding by recycling wood waste material.


text:
The global metaverse market size is expected to reach USD 872.35 Billion in 2028 and register a revenue CAGR of 44.1% during the forecast period, according to a latest report by Reports and Data. Increasing focus on developing metaverse platforms for diverse applications by tech giants and ongoing developments in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications are some key factors expected to drive market revenue growth during the forecast period. Increasing development of fintech solutions is also expected to boost revenue growth of the market between 2021 and 2028. Rebranding of Facebook as a metaverse pioneer opens up significantly high potential for companies intending to integrate finance solutions into the next version of the virtual world. Novi, which is Facebook’s digital wallet application, for instance, was recently introduced in the United States and Guatemala. Coinbase is assisting with the experiment as a security partner, which indicates that Facebook will use blockchain to power transactions within the metaverse. Major financial firms are also considering developing their own metaverses. For instance, Coinbase’s planned NFT marketplace will have individualized feeds focused on each user’s preferences to help connect with like-minded creators and users.
Concerns regarding misinformation, marketplace competition, and personal privacy are expected to restrain market revenue growth to some extent over the forecast period. While metaverse provides various economic prospects in the post COVID-19 -pandemic environment, it also brings with it the same basic cybersecurity concerns that existed all along. All of these emphasize on the importance of cutting-edge cybersecurity and data privacy protection that metaverse developers must employ. Up-to-date monitoring of sophisticated cyberattack vulnerabilities, as well as safeguarding of extremely sensitive confidential data, including biometrics, can enable organizations to stay ahead of the competition as opposed to those using standard cybersecurity approaches.


text:
SOMERSET (CBS) – A Somerset store selling merchandise supporting President Donald Trump was vandalized on Friday.
Somerset Police said someone spray painted several words on the outside wall of the “New England For Trump” store on Grand Army Highway.READ MORE: Candlelight Vigil Held For Brockton Boys Who Drowned While Skipping Rocks
Police said the business had no other visible damage and the paint has since been covered.READ MORE: 'It's Been Pretty Difficult': Masks No Longer Required For Outdoor Youth Sports In Massachusetts
Investigators are looking at surveillance video in the area.MORE NEWS: Large Brush Fire Scorches Western Massachusetts
Anyone with information is asked to call Somerset Police.


text:
In a recent study asking more than 1,000 registered dietitians what 10 superfood trends they expected to see in 2019, there were plenty of the obvious ones – avocados, seeds, blueberries, coconut products. But then, on spot seven, perched above nuts and non-dairy milk, was the humble, unassuming beet.
This root vegetable has witnessed a boom in the last few years, appearing in powders and somewhat pricey juice shots. But before it was the perfect athletic enhancer (see below), it was a staple. In Russia, for example, the veggie is simmered alongside onions and cabbage in a meat broth, then topped with dollops of sour cream, to create the quintessentially Russian soup of borscht. It’s a dish that stretches across Ukrainian history (where borscht, sans beets, actually began) and Polish celebrations (where it’s often eaten at Christmas due to its red colour). The Soviets embraced it and cosmonauts took freeze-dried borscht packets into space. Even today the dish is immensely popular; Ukrainian restaurant chain Puzata Hata sells over a tonne of borscht daily.
Yet the beet has moved beyond borscht. Olympic athletes gulp down ounces of juiced beet in an effort to improve their performance. Runners who took a beet shot before racing shaved 1.5 per cent from their time, noted a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Another study noted that after drinking approximately 500ml before cycling, people could ride 16 per cent longer than before. And a study of 23 other beet juice studies revealed the stuff can improve cardiovascular performance overall. The health benefits are all linked back to the nitrate level of beets, which basically helps your body process oxygen better!


text:
Toyota Becomes No. 2 in U.S. Sales
Friday, January 4, 2008
Ford was knocked from the No. 2 position in the U.S. auto market, outmaneuvered by Toyota's surging sales of small cars and gas-electric hybrids, according to year-end figures released yesterday.
U.S. new car sales last year slid to 16.1 million in 2007, the lowest level in a decade. The figure fell short of the total for the previous year by about 400,000.
Industry officials said they expected even slower sales in the coming months because of the high price of oil and anxiety over falling home prices and increases in mortgage foreclosures.
At Ford, U.S. sales fell 12 percent from the year before, and December sales were down 9.5 percent from the previous year, according to research firm Autodata. Ford's lock on the No. 2 spot behind industry leader General Motors dated back75 years.
Ford blamed its sales decline on decisions to discontinue the Taurus and terminate a line of slow-selling minivans. Jim Farley, Ford's new marketing chief, said the automaker would continue to be less dependent on truck sales, keeping its inventories balanced and decentralizing its marketing.
Farley said Ford would accelerate plans for bringing out new models, particularly passenger cars developed in Europe, and continue to try to reconnect with customers who have stopped shopping for Ford-brand models.
U.S. automakers are under stiff pressure as the market shifts to more-fuel-efficient vehicles. Japanese companies gained market share in 2007 with improved sales of subcompacts like the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris and gas-electric hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, which had sales growth of 69 percent.
For the year, Toyota's sales climbed 3.1 percent compared with 2006. Honda's sales grew 2.8 percent.
"The domestics over the past year have been late to the party -- all of the domestics -- with fuel-efficient vehicles," said Mark Rikess, chief executive of the Rikess Group, an automotive consulting firm in Burbank, Calif. "You see market share improving for Toyota and Honda, and it's primarily among the fuel-efficient vehicles that they have marketed for years and are therefore at the top of the consideration list."
At GM, sales were down 6 percent for the year and 4.2 percent in December. Though GM still ranks first in the U.S. market, it is in a heated battle with Toyota for the top spot in worldwide auto production.
Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Edmunds.com, said GM and Ford showed improvements in certain models, including the Ford Escape and Ford Edge sport-utility vehicles, and GM's Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Enclave.
Chrysler's annual sales dropped 3.1 percent in 2007, but rose 0.5 percent in December. James Press, Chrysler's president and vice chairman, said the automaker is planning for a weaker market in 2008.
"It's still contracting," Press said. "You have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. We are going to have to work hard to earn the customers' business."
Rikess said the deck remained stacked against U.S. automakers, noting that Japanese companies sell many more models that consumers consider superior to what comes out of Detroit. He said automakers need to cut back the number of vehicles they make to better focus their marketing dollars.
Detroit's one right move in 2007 was to raid Toyota's management bench, he said.
Chrysler hired two former high-ranking Toyota executives, including Press, to lead marketing and product planning. Ford tapped Farley, an up-and-coming marketing executive at Toyota.


text:
At Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce celebration, Rick Ruskin, who heads marketing and product management for General Motors’ OnStar service, sits in a parked Buick that’s serving as a makeshift conference room. He points to his phone, where there are offers from Best Buy and Audiobooks.com.
“These two spots here are like Google AdWords, where people are bidding on you, at your location, at a particular time, looking for a particular geographic or psychographic profile,” he said.
Since when would GM offer anything even resembling an ad platform? Since this week, apparently.
Ruskin is describing the proprietary mobile media platform the auto manufacturer quietly introduced after releasing the OnStar AtYourService commerce platform Tuesday.
Some background is necessary. OnStar is a GM-operated subscription service that provides in-vehicle navigation and customer support. Each new GM vehicle – think Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac, among others – is equipped with OnStar as a standard feature.
Recently, OnStar released the mobile app RemoteLink, which lets users perform OnStar functions from their handsets without phoning the contact center. On Tuesday, GM rolled out AtYourService (originally teased in January at CES), designed to push relevant offers to drivers using RemoteLink.
Mark Lloyd, consumer online officer at OnStar, is wary when hearing AtYourService described as an ad platform.
“I don’t want it construed as: Ad! Ad! Ad! Ad!” he said. “That’s not the point. The point is to give value.”
Here’s an ideal scenario: A family driving an SUV needs directions to its hotel. OnStar provides those directions, and it also serves offers from nearby family restaurants.
The GM subsidiary isn’t quite there yet, and it’s taking an iterative approach toward enhancing the platform, both for drivers (i.e., ensuring there’s an opt-in and enabling consumers to control what data they provide) and prospective marketers.
“We’re beginning to work very directly with media agencies,” Lloyd said. “They’re the ones that already have digital spend.”
That includes GM’s agency Carat, which is consulting. For instance, it advised OnStar on how to serve offers as simply as possible and helped the auto manufacturer ensure that its contract agreements around ad rates adhere to industry standards.
“Now that we have media that people can buy, the IAB has standards people were used to seeing, in the terms of an agreement,” said Ruskin.
So far, this media is direct-sold, but GM is considering ways to offer this function programmatically.
“The pro is that we’ll be able to fill more media with more and different partners,” Ruskin said.
One challenge, however, is that every message showing up on an OnStar system must be approved by OnStar.
“From a con standpoint, that ups the need for more people on our side to look through everything,” Ruskin said. “Carat, or whoever might be the programmatic partner, will know that.”
More immediately, OnStar is trying to get merchants into the driver’s seat. It currently works with aggregators like Priceline, RetailMeNot and Entertainment Book, which provide an expansive network at launch. But OnStar really wants to connect directly with merchant partners, which is a big reason why GM is at the Dreamforce showroom.
“We’re focused on six individual categories,” Ruskin said. “Dining, hotels, retail, parking, fuel and our own dealers. Think of the big players that are ready in each category. Those are the ones we’re going after on a one-to-one basis.”
And there’s a lot OnStar feels it can offer advertisers. It’s already created a portal where marketers can build out their campaigns, plugging in the start date, end date, location and various segmentation parameters, including gender, age and marital status.
It also enables targeting related to car type. This, Ruskin said, is where psychographics kick in. Someone in a large pickup might work in construction, with very different needs than someone driving a small pickup, who perhaps does light construction as a hobby.
“If you’re in a Corvette, maybe we won’t show the family ads, because there are only two people in the car,” Lloyd added. “But if you’re in a minivan, a family-oriented dinner offer might be appropriate.”
It’s a system designed to be familiar to the media-buying community.
“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Ruskin said. “We looked at what everybody else is doing. What makes sense for our potential customers?”
OnStar wants to make it as easy as possible to insert offers into its system. Messaging drivers through in-vehicle systems is still unconventional, and different auto manufacturers have different ways of enabling it, such that it can be expensive and exasperating for advertisers.
“We know that, if we can make it easier for the merchants and the agencies to get the content to us, it’ll go a lot faster,” Lloyd said. “It you want to reach all 3 million of our cars, you can just come to our portal. It makes it much easier and quicker for our partners to get involved, as opposed to the handcraft thing.”


text:
Kentucky Fall yearling sale posts steep declines
THE three-day Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall yearling sale concluded on Wednesday, posting across-the-board downturns.
Compared to last year's two day sale, the aggregate was down from $10,595,700 to $7,471,900 and the clearance rate dropped from 80 per cent to 64 per cent.
The average tumbled by 27.8 per cent from $18,720 to $13,512, but it was the median that suffered most, plummeting from $10,000 to $5,500.
Vendor buybacks accounted for 35.6 per cent of total sales, compared to 20.3 per cent last year.
The top lot during the sale was a Giant's Causeway colt out of the Carson City mare City College. Marion G. Montanari, who bred the yearling in partnership with Coolmore, bought him for $310,000.
The colt was one of 11 lots to bring six-figure sums over the tree days. At last year's two-day sale, 12 lots made $100,000 or more.


text:
The proposed acquisition would come after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced aspirations to expand to every country where the exchange is legally permitted to operate. Coinbase is believed to be planning a $3.2 billion (R 54bn) acquisition of BtcTurk.
According to Webrazzi, a Turkish digital media source, the two exchanges negotiated a price based on the market behaviour of the Turkish lira and Bitcoin (BTC), reaching around $3.2 billion(R 54bn). According to reports, one or both of the two companies have already signed a term sheet. BtcTurk, which was founded in 2013, is one of the largest and oldest cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey, competing with Paribu and others.
CoinMarketCap data stipulates that the company has seen more than $196 million( R 3.3bn) in trading volume in the last 24 hours.
This comes after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced aspirations to expand to every country where the exchange is legally permitted to operate. Coinbase was poised to buy 2TM, the parent company of Latin America-based crypto trading firm Mercado Bitcoin, in March.
Coinbase is also looking for a country director for its Turkish operations. The director’s responsibilities, according to the job description, include accelerating the exchange’s “strategic alliances” throughout the country. Binance said on April 14 that it had opened a customer care centre in Turkey to combat cryptocurrency fraud.


text:
It’s a tough moment for retailers: consumers are spending less money on products, but are demanding more and have an abundance of choices. While demand remains fairly strong for products that purport to save the environment, manufacturers that fail to legitimately back up environmental claims have met increased skepticism from consumers, which has led to lowered sales.
One major UK retailer is taking a bold step to make its environmental promises stand out from the competition. Marks and Spencer in August announced that it was committing to “full traceability,” and would document every farm and factory involved in creating its clothing and home products lines.
For a cotton T-shirt, full traceability will begin with the field where the cotton is grown; continue on to factories where the fiber is spun and the fabric woven and dyed; and finish its journey at the facility where the garment is cut and sewn.
“We are just launching in kidswear,” states Mark Sumner, the retailer’s Sustainable Raw Materials Specialist, “and will be rolling out across the whole of clothing and home over the next few years.” Sumner does not yet know how customers will access the product information, and declined to speculate on how the company might respond if it uncovered environmentally unsustainable practices among its suppliers.
Full traceability is about maintaining consumer trust, Sumner states. It also fits into the company’s “Plan A” multi-year effort to curb its environmental footprint, “as part of the pillar that commits us to protect the world’s natural resources by sourcing raw materials in ways that support their replenishment and safeguard natural habitats.”
The cost of full-disclosure
Traceability will not make Marks and Spencer products more expensive, states Sumner. More like the reverse: by curbing wasted materials and lowering energy use, “Plan A delivered a net benefit to M&S of GBP70 million ($110.1 million) last year and GBP50 million ($78.65 million) the year before. It is therefore cost-positive to the business.”
But if a company is sincere about its goals, the simple act of un-concealment can improve environmental practices.
Marks and Spencer is pulling back the curtain on its supply chains primarily “because they see market potential; customers care,” says Fangruo Chen, a professor at the Columbia Business School in New York City.
Sustainability must be a top down company value, however, or in-house buyers will still prioritize the lowest price over other goals. “If you’re just paying lip service, it’s not going to affect behavior” at either end of the chain, Chen says.
But if a company is sincere about its goals, the simple act of un-concealment can improve environmental practices, he says. “The way [companies] enforce it is through their bargaining power,” Chen says. “The ultimate weapon here is that they have an alternate supply.”
Traceability is “a good first step” to making manufacturing environmentally sustainable, says Chen. But he believes that market demand—voting with consumer dollars—can’t fully replace stronger environmental regulations and their enforcement.
Tim Wilson, co-founder and CEO of the UK-based firm Historic Futures, sees it differently. “The ultimate driver of any market is consumer power, and this is about a fundamental change among consumers…[W]e want to know where stuff comes from,” says Wilson. Located near Oxford, Historic is a small consultancy that specializes in helping companies document their supply chains. The firm is working with Marks and Spencer on its full traceability effort.
Wilson believes that as Marks and Spencer steps up its environmental requirements and requests more information from its vendors, suppliers near the top of the supply chain will demand greater accountability and better environmental practices from below.
Historic Futures’ approach to traceability is centered upon “String,” an online system that suppliers anywhere in the world can use to describe their products, services, and processes. “The idea is if you think of it like LinkedIn or Facebook,” says Wilson, “I could reach out to you, place a request to connect, and then we would share certain information that’s not in the public domain.”
Wilson stresses that Historic Futures does not do audits, and is formally neutral toward the goals of the companies it works with, as well as their suppliers. “The whole point of the String platform is it doesn’t even know what the product is; it just knows it’s ‘product’,” he says. “Gold, silver, leather, soya…we just provide the information, and somebody else can decide if it’s good enough or not.”
Traceability is not without its pitfalls for retailers—particularly when they try to make big public relations happy with their efforts.
All this suggests that traceability is still largely an uncharted territory for both corporations and consumers.
Mega retailer Walmart has emphasized the positive environmental and social impacts of its “Love, Earth” line of traceable jewelry. But in January, a Florida paper called the Miami Sun Times News reported that a Bolivian factory in the line’s supply chain was abusing its workers (Walmart has denied knowledge of any abuses). The company has also been accused of greenwashing by some conservationists, who say raw materials for the jewelry are sourced from US mines that employ environmentally destructive, if industry standard, mining methods.
Another major retailer, the Nestle Corporation, came under fire in 2010 after touting its traceability efforts. The company announced Fairtrade International certification of its “Kit Kat” chocolate candy bar, under a corporate “Cocoa Plan” to promote sustainable practices among cocoa farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast. But a subsequent investigative report by the BBC revealed child labor on at least one Fairtrade-certified cocoa farm that supplied Nestle.
All this suggests that traceability is still largely an uncharted territory for both corporations and consumers. A lot depends upon a company’s internal ethical compass, as well as whether or not journalists and the public decide to pay close attention to its claims.
“It’s really consumers and governments [that] should have that policing role. Companies should have consequences if they don’t behave,” says Chen. “That is happening gradually, but I think the pressure has to be there.
“If it’s left to the corporate role, there are some very good companies, of course,” he says. “But unless you have a very good reporting system, [many are] still looking at the bottom line. In the end, you really have to change the ways companies think about profitability.”
Illustration by Ted McGrath


text:
Pearl Dairy Farms Limited, the Ugandan company known for its Lato brand of milk, is in the process of acquiring a Kenyan milk company. This strategic move is intended to enhance its competitiveness in the local market and address challenges in the supply and distribution of its products within Kenya.
The acquisition is being pursued through Maziwa, a non-operating holding company incorporated in Mauritius. Maziwa has formally applied to the Comesa Competition Commission to secure a 100 percent stake in Highland Creamers & Food, a Kenyan milk company, as reported by The East African.
In Uganda, Maziwa operates through its subsidiary, Pearl Dairy Farms Limited, where it engages in the collection, processing, and sale of milk and related products. The acquisition of Highland Creamers & Food is expected to bolster the distribution network of Lato milk in Western Kenya.
This initiative comes in the wake of Kenya’s decision in March to permit Uganda’s Lato milk to invest in local dairy factories, a measure aimed at fostering competition within the dairy sector. The approval was granted following discussions between Moses Kuria, the Cabinet Secretary for Trade and Investments in Kenya, and Ramadan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary of Treasury in Uganda.
Pearl Dairy Farms, with its primary manufacturing facility located in Mbarara, currently stands as one of the prominent dairy exporters in the region. Its products are widely available in various markets, including Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC Congo, Zambia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Malawi.


text:
"TikTok falls foul of multiple breaches of EU consumer rights and fails to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content," said the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC)
Several consumer associations in Europe have filed a complaint against TikTok over the platform's use of data.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) announced the complaint on Tuesday, accusing the popular social network of exploiting the rights and data of its young users.
"TikTok falls foul of multiple breaches of EU consumer rights and fails to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content," BEUC said in a press release.
The organisation has also urged authorities in 15 European countries to investigate TikTok’s conduct further.
Following a months-long investigation, the popular platform was found to have "unclear, ambiguous" terms of service, BEUC said.
"Its copyright terms are equally unfair as they give TikTok an irrevocable right to use, distribute and reproduce the videos published by users, without remuneration," it added.
TikTok is also facing scrutiny over a feature that allows users to purchase coins as virtual "gifts" for online influencers. BEUC said that the platform's policy on this feature contains "unfair terms and misleading practices", given that TikTok has the ability to solely change the online exchange rate between the coins and "gifts".
This potentially "skews the financial transaction in its own favour," the BEUC said.
The video-sharing network has faced pressure from Italian data protection authorities to block underage users from using the app.
BEUC has also accused TikTok of "failing to conduct due diligence when it comes to protecting children" online.
"Inappropriate content such as videos showing suggestive content which are just a few scrolls away," the bureau added.
Meanwhile, the app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is also alleged to fail to clearly inform users about what personal data is collected and for what purposes.
"We consider that some of these ... practices are potentially in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation and have brought them to the attention of Data Protection Authorities in the context of their ongoing investigations into the company," BEUC stated.
"In just a few years, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media apps with millions of users across Europe," said Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, "but TikTok is letting its users down by breaching their rights on a massive scale".
"Children love TikTok but the company fails to keep them protected. We do not want our youngest ones to be exposed to pervasive hidden advertising and unknowingly turned into billboards when they are just trying to have fun."
In a statement to Euronews, TikTok said it had made changes to ensure its privacy policies could be understood by younger users.
"Ensuring the safety of our community, especially of our younger users, and respecting the laws in force where we operate are responsibilities that we take very seriously," said a spokesperson.
"We are committed to protecting our community on a daily basis, and have taken important initiatives such as changing all default privacy settings for users under the age of 16 to private."
"We are always listening to improve our practices," the spokesperson added.
TikTok says it has contacted the European Consumer Organisation to organise a meeting and address concerns.


text:
Vikram Bakshi, the estranged partner of fast-food chain McDonald’s, will seek reinstatement as managing director of the 50:50 joint venture Connaught Plaza Restaurants, with a plea to the Company Law Board seeking the 'deadlock' in the August 6 board meeting be resolved.
Connaught Plaza Restaurants controls the franchise to run McDonald’s stores in north and east India.
At the August 6 meeting, two members of the board (Vikram and wife Madhurima) had supported his continuation as managing director, while two (McDonald’s officials) had opposed it.
Bakshi’s term as managing director had lapsed on July 17.
Earlier, the process of nominating the managing director was virtually automatic, with Bakshi being re-elected in the normal course.
Bakshi would appeal in the Company Law Board against a notice by McDonald’s publicly stating he wasn’t the managing director, as, according to him, the issue hadn’t been resolved yet.
He would also challenge the “differential treatment” by McDonald’s towards its two partners in the country and putting undue restrictions on Bakshi.
McDonald’s also has a tie-up with B L Jatia Group’s Hardcastle Restaurants (a subsidiary of Westlife Development), which has the franchise to run stores in west and south India.
In 2011, the Jatias bought McDonald’s stake in the company and secured a development licence to run the chain.
According to sources, the estrangement started in 2008 when McDonald’s offered Bakshi $10
However, after an independent valuation by Grant Thornton, Bakshi didn’t agree to the price.
The second bone of contention was the cap on the debt Bakshi could take. Between 2008 and 2012, he couldn’t increase his debt beyond Rs 134 crore (rs 1.34 billion); only after prolonged was he allowed to increase this limit to Rs 161 crore (Rs 1.61 billion).
When the debt limit was raised, Bakshi’s business grew, but his profits fell.
Third, while the royalty Bakshi continued to pay was five per cent, McDonald’s reduced the royalty payment of Hardcastle Restaurants to two per cent.
When contacted, Bakshi declined to comment on the issue.
The joint venture between Bakshi and McDonald’s runs about 150 outlets under non-exclusive licences from McDonald’s India.
In a circular to its suppliers in India, the head of McDonald’s global supply chain said the day-to-day operations would be run by the board “till a new managing director is appointed”.
It added “it is business as usual” for the company and it had plans it was committed to follow.
Bakshi clarified he wouldn’t sell his stake to the US partner or to the second Indian franchisee, Hardcastle Restaurants.
“We are not negotiating with anyone to sell our 50 per cent equity in the joint venture,” he said.
A McDonald’s Corporation spokesperson said the matter was internal.


text:
LOOK: Relief goods readied in Damulog, Bukidnon
Various relief goods are being readied in the Municipality of Damulog, Bukidnon and these are set to be distributed this week, according to the town mayor himself.
Damulog Mayor Melino Buro shared photos of the municipal gym filled with relief goods. Sacks of rice, canned goods and other relief items can be seen in the photos that the mayor himself shared.
The mayor of Damulog said that the distribution of the relief goods will start tomorrow, April 15, 2020. He also reminded his consituents to keep safe, stay at home and save lives.
Damulog is a 4th class municipality in Bukidnon.


text:
The UK government has been implored, once again, to step up plans to remove deforestation from international supply chains, with MPs arguing for a crackdown on deforestation considered legal abroad.
MEPs are also calling for tougher measures to prevent UK-based finance companies from investing in companies and other organizations with proven links to deforestation. Some of the world’s largest banks have been linked to industries causing massive deforestation and biodiversity loss, with some in the financial sector providing loans and subscriptions worth over 2.6 billion dollars in climate destruction initiatives.
Calls to action are launched by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) in a new report on the UK’s impact on biodiversity globally. Released today (September 30), the report commends the UK for its commitment to protect 30% of habitats nationwide, but warns that the nation must take full responsibility for its global biodiversity footprint if its plans to face climatic and natural crises must be considered credible.
The overall recommendation of the report is that the government develop a legally binding environmental footprint target, with time-bound numerical targets to reduce its total material consumption and impact on biodiversity globally.
The Green Alliance think tank urged the government to consider committing to halving resource consumption by 2050, as the UK uses natural resources at more than twice the rate considered sustainable . Likewise, the Fairtrade Foundation has stated that around 46% of UK consumption-related emissions are generated overseas.
The EAC also made several recommendations that could possibly be implemented before this overall goal is finalized. He joins NGOs such as Global Witness and WWF, and large corporations such as NestlÃ© and Nando’s, in calling for measures in the Environment Bill to end deforestation in multinational supply chains to be strengthened. .
Currently, the bill is designed to ban UK-based companies from importing suppliers who deforest abroad. All large UK-based companies will need to prove that the ‘forest risk’ products they source internationally come from suppliers without deforestation – or explain why they are unable to do so. Defra classifies soybeans, palm oil, cocoa, beef, leather, rubber, and forest products such as wood and paper as âforest riskâ products.
The caveats are that only deforestation deemed illegal in the country of origin is covered, and the requirement will not apply to the financial sector. The EAC reports that, during consultations on the bill, 90% of those polled were in favor of stronger and more extensive measures to tackle deforestation. In addition, Forestry Minister Lord Goldsmith himself has declared that only 50% of the deforestation that occurs in the world each year is classified as illegal.
âTo increase the sustainable use of forest-risk raw materials, we recommend that the government ban UK businesses and the financial sector from using raw materials linked to deforestation and, at the very least, include the industry. financial within the scope of the provisions on forest products at risk in the draft law on the environment â, indicates the EAC report.
The report also calls on the government to ensure that all forest-risk products it purchases are certified as sustainable by the end of the year and calls for the completion of sustainability impact assessments for all future trade agreements.
Many NGOs and the government’s Trade and Agriculture Commission have recommended that basic environmental standards be developed for all trade agreements. In the absence of these standards, or a requirement for sustainability impact assessments, the UK has entered into or contemplated agreements that have been widely criticized across the green economy, including the recent agreement with Australia.
âWe have a unique opportunity with the new trade agreements to incorporate strict standards for the environment, among other issues, which should be urgently addressed,â summed up EAC President Philip Dunne MP.
The report precedes the official opening of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place online from October 11 to 15. This event will include high-level segment discussions that will aim to produce a âKunming Declarationâ on a global biodiversity agreement. The declaration will be ratified after face-to-face negotiations, which were postponed to spring 2022 due to Covid-19.
A preliminary version of the Declaration has already been published by the UN. The overall objective is to protect at least 30% of terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030, when the loss of biodiversity must be halted.
Nations have collectively failed to meet the UN’s pre-2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
âThe conclusions of our committee are clear: we need to bring consumption to a sustainable level where our cherished wildlife, animals and nature are threatened,â said Dunne.
âAlthough this problem is bigger than anyone’s habits, if we all take action to tackle unsustainable consumption, we can have a lasting impact in stopping the loss of biodiversity.
âThis government can really show leadership on these issues ahead of COP26 and the COP on biodiversity next year: I hope it will rise to the challenge.


text:
Alphabet executive David Drummond steps down from Uber board
CHIEF legal officer of Alphabet Inc., David Drummond, has stepped down as director of Uber Technologies Inc. after almost three years as both companies gradually begin to overlap in the autonomous vehicle business.
Drummond became part of the board of directors in 2013 when Alphabet’s venture capital arm GV, previously known as Google Ventures, invested US$258 million in Uber. This was one of GV’s largest investments.
The two companies continued to collaborate on several projects following that investment, but tension grew between them as they began stepping into each other’s territories.
“I recently stepped down from Uber’s board given the overlap between the two companies,” said Drummond, according to Reuters. “Uber is a phenomenal company, and it’s been a privilege working with the team over the last two plus years. GV remains an enthusiastic investor, and Google will continue to partner with Uber.”
Google had been developing a ride-hailing service using self-driving cars for years, a project that Uber also has of its own. Uber partnered with Volvo with plans to roll out a technology center in Pittsburgh this month for autonomous vehicles.
Uber also recently announced its plans to operate with semi-autonomous cars and pick up passengers by the end of this month.
Since Drummond’s departure, David Krane has taken over as head of GV this month and observed past Uber board meetings.
- Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang: AI will take over coding, making learning optional
- Chinese cloud companies in pricing war as Alibaba slashes prices
- Samsung introduces a groundbreaking microSD card for enhanced AI capabilities
- AWS strikes AI collaboration deals with Malaysian telcos at MWC 2024
- Retrieval augmented generative AI in backup and recovery


text:
Dubai – Bollywood actress Sunny Leone is coming to Gitex Shopper on Thursday afternoon, sources confirmed to this website.
Leone is expected to be crowd puller today at Gitex Shopper, which kicked off on Wednesday with a significant number of visitors on the first day.
She will auction XTouch mobile phone and lucky auction winner will get the device with her autograph. The lucky winner will also join her at afterparty in a Dubai five-star hotel tonight.
The Bollywood actress is the brand ambassador of the Dubai-based smartphone brand. She will visit the Sharaf DG stand at Gitex Shopper where the electronic retailer has a dedicated area for XTouch mobiles.
The actress picked as a brand ambassador for XTouch recently.
The mobile company will be launching its 5.5-inch UNIX PRO model powered by MediaTek Helio P20 Octa-Core 2.3GHz chip set and coupled with 6GB RAM and 64GB ROM at Gitex Shopper. It is priced at Dh999.


text:
PayPal Holding Inc becomes the first foreign firm in China with 100% control of Payment Platforms, according to the Chinese Government. This US-based mega-giant fintech corporation had its eyes on the Chinese online payment market and leaps it successfully.
According to Reuters, PayPal acquired a minor portion of about 30% stake of China’s GoPay (known as GuoFubao Information Technology Co.) and later taking a major 70% of the remaining stake in GoPay. Thus, Paypal becomes the first-ever foreign organization to get the license of providing Online Payment Services in China.
Although PayPal acquired the early 30% of Stakes of GoPay on 31 December 2020, the amounts were still disclosed- according to the ShareHolder Data From National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
China is without a doubt, a country with the highest population and also an Independent country. Daniel Schulman, the current CEO of PayPal sees the opportunity of the online market in China, takes over the minor players of the payment market. Crowning as one of the biggest payment gateways, PayPal now will set foot against the other giants, Alipay – owned by Alibaba Affiliated Ant Group, and WeChat Pay– owned by Tencent Holding Ltd, as China resumes all of its financial sectors.
In all this run, Beijing’s multi giant company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. foresees a bigger competition along with other Internet Companies in China.
Last August, Hannah Qui was appointed as head of China business by PayPal to formulate the long-term strategy to cover up the world’s second-biggest economy. It looks like Hannah Qui certainly succeeded in doing so. Qui had also carried the experience as a former executive at an insurer Ping An Group’s fintech unit OneConnect as per PayPal’s website.
Back in 2019, when PayPal released its annual report, the company announced that its primary focus in China is to make cross-border payments accessible to Chinese merchants and consumers. With the help of Paypal’s Global Network, it will also help the Chinese Merchants and Consumers, to link with international merchants and consumers.
However, Paypal Knows that it has to face a head to head competition with Chinese Competitors.
In this regard, Bill Deng, the Chief Executive and co-founder of XTransfer, a Shanghai-based payment platform that helps Chinese Merchants to make cross-border payments, don’t step back to start the rivalry with PayPal.
“We see ourselves as China’s PayPal in cross-border business,” Deng clears to Reuters.
In the upcoming days, we will see whether PayPal rises in the Chinese online payment market? Also, how would PayPal perform and stand out in competition with the Chinese domestic online payment players? As China had heated trade disputes with the US Trump’s government, now this could be seen as the first ray of hope among US tech investors while president-elect Joe Biden is coming into power shortly.


text:
To mark McDonald’s Canada’s 50th anniversary, the restaurant chain is re-opening its first Canadian location in Richmond, B.C. on Friday, June 23rd.
“This restaurant is a tremendous source of pride for our McFamily,” says Shelly Hansen, regional vice-president, Western Canada, McDonald’s Canada. “Fifty years ago, we were thrilled to start our McDonald’s Canada journey, right here in B.C. Today, we feel very happy and fortunate to celebrate this significant milestone with the community that has supported us for so many years.”
For the opening weekend, the restaurant staff will wear original uniforms and there will be a one-day $0.67 hamburger special — harkening back to days when the chain first arrived in Canada.
The renovated restaurant will also feature the location’s original Golden Arches.


text:
NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. – A New Kent County mansion and the owners’ cache of classic cars are headed to the auction block.
The nearly 10,000-square-foot home on the Chickahominy River and 10 to 12 cars — possibly including a 1968 Mustang and several older Corvettes — are up for grabs as part of a court-ordered division of the owners’ assets.
The auction for the property will be on June 24 at the mansion, 201 Four Islands Trail in Lanexa (about 40 miles outside of Richmond). The owners are Bruce and Kathy Evers, according to county records.
Tranzon is handling the auction of the real estate. A separate online auction through eBIDLOCAL.com will be scheduled to sell the cars.
The riverfront home sits on a 1.8-acre lot in The Colonies subdivision and has an assessed value of $1.2 million, said Linda Terry, the Tranzon auctioneer handling the sale. The owners say it is now about 12,000 square feet after upgrades, Terry said. It was built in 1997.


text:
What Happened on 03 October 2017
World NewsBump-stocks found in gunman's hotel room in Las Vegas
World NewsGM to unveil two electric vehicles in next 18 months
General Motors will be unveiling two new electric vehicles in the next 18 months. The company has plans to unveil… Read More.
World NewsCatalan Referendum: Carles Puigdemont asks for international help


text:
QUETTA: Keeping in view that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project will open trade doors for Pakistan with other countries, Brazilian Ambassador to Pakistan Claudio Lins has expressed his country’s desire to enhance trade ties.
During his visit to the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) on Tuesday, the ambassador said, “Brazil has been looking for new trade markets and Pakistan may be a good opportunity.”
Lins stressed the need for members of the commerce industry from both the countries to obtain trade access, saying until access was granted trade between Pakistan and Brazil could not materialise.
Govt plans new taxes on foreign investment
“Pakistani handicrafts, carpets, fresh dry fruit, sporting equipment and other products have value in international markets and our government is willing to allow Pakistani products into Brazilian markets,” he added.
QCCI President Jumma Khan Badezai and other members welcomed the ambassador to the chamber and informed her regarding existing natural minerals and investment opportunities in Balochistan.
“We want to build strong economic relations with Brazilian investors as there are massive opportunities of investment in our province,” the QCCI president added.
CM Marri directs BoI to bring in foreign investment
Lins said, “New regimes in Pakistan and Brazil have been sworn in while the Pakistani government has been looking to strike trade deals with the international community. Brazil is willing to invest in Pakistan.”
On CPEC, she said, the Gawdar Port would be a unique gate for local traders and “we are hoping that the local business community will send their products to Brazil and North America”.
“Brazil is the eighth largest economy in the world and we have good trade and foreign relations with Pakistan,” he added. “The Brazilian government understands the need of international investment in Pakistan and Balochistan.”
The ambassador lauded the visits of Pakistani trade mission to Brazil.
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ


text:
LG has announced that the popular Optimus True HD LTE will be launched on European and Asia continents soon, with Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Singapore and Hong Kong being the first markets to receive the mobile.
Although an official release date hasn't been stated, the smartphone will first be launched in countries with LTE networks in the first period. LG has confirmed to ITProPortal that it currently has no plans to bring the Optimus True HD to the UK, but it will support LTE with a number of phones, when 4G rolls out in Blighty.
The LG Optimus True HD LTE is the same model as the P936, a phone already available in Korea, Japan, US and Canada under several different names: Nitro HD (on AT&T), Spectrum (on Verizon) and simply Optimus LTE for most of the remaining markets.
The smartphone integrates a 4.5in True HD IPS display with a 1,280 by 720 pixel resolution, an 8-megapixel camera and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, from the Snapdragon family.
Optimus True HD LTE runs on Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread - with a strong promise that it will get an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade - while packing a 16GB microSD card. The phone also comes with T-DMB connectivity, while having both HSPA+ and LTE support.
"With the Optimus True HD LTE, we want customers to understand that LTE isn't just about the network and that all LTE phones are not alike", said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.
Source: LGNewsRoom (opens in new tab)


text:
In the first findings from the newly launched DMA Data Tracking research, sponsored by Equifax and carried out by Fast.MAP, it is clear that trust is a fragile thing – half would lose confidence in a brand’s ability to handle data responsibly following just one bad experience. One-third would lose trust in a company if it got a bad press for a data breach or loss.
“Finding out the barriers to effective consumer marketing has to be a key priority for our industry. And, without doubt, the issues surrounding the use of personal information, are central to that,” says Graham Burdett, sales director, consumer marketing services, Equifax. “We are therefore delighted to be supporting the DMA’s first Data Tracking study on consumer attitudes to the security and uses of their personal information – and even more delighted that the study will be conducted every six months.”
Over 2,000 consumers responded to the first wave of research, revealing that prominently displaying the data protection policy on a web site would lead three-quarters to trust that company to handle their data responsibly. Consumers were also keen to find easy-to-use security features on sites.
“With consumers increasingly aware and concerned about security, it is ever more important to comply with data protection as a means of retaining the brand trust invested in a business. And it is equally crucial to give consumers choice over how their personal data is used through their relationships with an organisation,” says Burdett.
(Further findings from the DMA Data Tracking Study will appear exclusively in the July/August issue of Data Strategy.)


text:
Free Heartbleed Detection By Websense ACE Insight
Websense, Inc. announced that its CSI: ACE Insight analysis tool has been enhanced with additional analytics to help identify Heartbleed-vulnerable websites. As a free online service, any user can log onto www.aceinsight.com and direct CSI: ACE Insight to inspect a website for key indicators of the Heartbleed vulnerability. This system is backed by more than 10,000 analytics to detect additional security risks.
[sc:postad ]With proactive awareness, users can avoid revealing potentially sensitive information to cybercriminals by waiting to connect to such sites until after they been able to eliminate their exposure to a Heartbleed attack. In a scan of the top 50,000 Alexa sites, Websense found more than 800 of them were vulnerable to the Heartbleed bug.
“While Heartbleed has been in the news for over a week, we are still finding a large number of sites that are exploitable via the Heartbleed Open SSL vulnerability,” said Charles Renert, vice president of research at Websense. “If people or businesses are using websites that traffic in sensitive information like tax returns, bank accounts, brokerage accounts or anything else they would consider confidential, we highly recommend running that website through our CSI: ACE Insight tool first.”
Awareness of the Heartbleed vulnerability comes only weeks after Websense® Security Labs™ reported that 85 percent of all online malicious content in 2013 was found hidden on legitimate websites, making this CSI: ACE Insight announcement additionally comforting for those looking for a safer Internet experience.
For a free Heartbleed check , visit http://csi.websense.com/


text:
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Electronic Privacy Information Center rebuked the FCC for closing the case, and called for an official investigation.
“Given the inadequacy of the FCC’s investigation and the law enforcement responsibilities of the Attorney General, EPIC urges the Department of Justice to investigate Google’s collection of Wi-Fi data from residential Wi-Fi networks,” reads the letter, which is signed by EPIC executive director Marc Rotenberg.
The FCC had been investigating the company for its practices of collecting wireless data using the fleet of cars that capture panoramic “Street View” photographs, which are available through Google Maps and Google Earth. Following the inquiry, it closed the case and fined Google $25,000 – the maximum possible charge – for impeding investigation, including refusing to identify employees involved or responsible.
“Rather than review the contents of payload data intercepted by Google in the United States, the FCC relied on Google’s own statements,” reads the letter. “Much of the information uncovered by the FCC’s investigation was redacted, and Google’s obstruction prevented the agency from determining the merits of the underlying substantive issue: whether Google’s interception of Wi-Fi communications violated the Wiretap Act.”
And United States representative Edward Markey, from Massachusetts, expressed concern over wardriving case, and promised to actively monitor the story going forward.
“Google’s Street View cars drove right over consumers’ personal privacy while cruising city streets and neighborhoods,” he said in a statement. “I am concerned that more needs to be done to fully investigate the company’s understanding of what happened when consumer data was collected without their knowledge or permission. This fine is a mere slap on the wrist for Google.”
The outcry comes at a delicate time for Google, which has taken an active role in the past year fighting legislation that would, in the company’s estimation, threaten the open web. Google co-founder Sergey Brin spoke out this week against oppressive government and corporate interests that he sees as threatening innovation and online rights.
Image: Department of Justice


text:
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has been trying to break into the consumer hardware market for a long time, though the company’s attempts have always seemed to trail behind those of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Microsoft followed the firm into portable music, and into tablets. Now it seems that the company is going to jump on the smart watch bandwagon.
According to a patent that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) filed in 2012, the company has been working with wearable technology for quite a while. The documentation may simply point to a Microsoft that’s experimenting with lots of different kinds of hardware, or it could be an indication that the company is serious about wearable devices. Microsoft was one of the first computers that talked about having a hundred small computers instead of one big one, and that concept may be carrying through in the firm’s smartwatch ambitions.
Microsoft wearable is designed for fitness
As rumors about the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iWatch have built through 2013 and 2014, one major trend has crept in. According to the majority of reports, Apple is planning on aiming its iWatch at fitness and health buffs in a major way. The company is apparently confident of a market opportunity in that area. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), according to the 2012, may have had the same idea a long time ago.
What Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) patented as a “wearable personal information system” appears to have been aimed directly at the fitness market. According to the patent filing, which can be found here, “the adoption of such portable electronic devices during exercise is not as widespread as it could be.” The Microsoft solution is designed to reduce the problems with attempts at wearable fitness accessories.
It’s not clear what the precise function of the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) patented device would have been, but the instrument was, according to the patent, to have all of the hallmarks of the rumored iWatch, and many other offerings in the area.
iWatch patent battle could come from Microsoft
This isn’t the first time that a Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MST) idea has ended up being adopted at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), though the process has also been known to occur in reverse. Microsoft showed off its first conceptualized smartwatch back in 2002, as part of its original tech-bubble push for the internet of things. The company has since failed to deliver anything like a wearable fitness gadget, making this patent seem like an extension of the original idea rather than the basis of a product push.
Once the iWatch is released, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) secures profits from it, patent claims about the origins of the technologies used in the product are likely to erupt. The smartwatch concept has been a mainstay of science fiction for decades, but one concentrated on fitness applications has not been. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) may attempt to slow Apple sales with a court battle over he origin of the device.
Meanwhile, it’s expected that Microsoft will release a decent smartwatch 2-3 years after Apple proves that the project has market value.


text:
"If we could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases," according to Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
This has been corroborated by an interesting study published in the Journal of American Medical Association. This study by Schulze and colleagues provides further evidence that excess calories from sugar-sweetened soft drinks lead to obesity among adults and are also the cause of type-2 diabetes. The researchers, however, found that consuming fruit juices
was not associated with an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. They suggested this could because of lower GI of fruit juices or possibly the fiber and phytochemicals present in them that could be beneficial.
Numerous researches demonstrate that dietary sucrose (glucose) does not increase blood glucose levels in the body any more than starch with the same caloric value. And fructose occurring naturally in fruits and vegetables are known to produce lower postprandial glucose response. So, you need not restrict dietary fructose or sucrose in your diet even if you are a diabetic. However, use of added fructose as a sweetening agent is not recommended since studies have proved that high amounts of fructose may adversely affect plasma lipids.
One such study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association assessed the association between consumption of added sugars and blood lipid levels in American adults. The researchers found that among consumers who took greater than or equal to 10 percent added sugars the odds of low HDL-C levels were 50-300 percent greater compared with the group who consumed less than 5 percent added sugars. They concluded that ‘there was a statistically significant correlation between dietary added sugars and blood lipid levels among US adults’.
Apart from low HDL cholesterol, fructose also leads to small dense LDL, atherogenic dyslipidemia and insulin resistance. Moreover, researches have shown that consumption of added fructose promotes abdominal obesity which increases risk for type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 100 calories (6 tsp) of added sugar per day for women and 150 calories (9 tsp) of added sugar for men. It further recommends limiting sugar-sweetened beverages to 450 calories or less per week for a 2000-calories-diet. This recommendation is not only to prevent obesity and heart related disease but to avoid the risk for type-2 diabetes as well.


text:
Search For "laptop"
Updated : 1 week ago IST
New Delhi [India] June 27 (ANI/PNN): If you're a working professional or a college student looking for the best website to buy a laptop and good deal on branded laptops, you should seriously consider buying used and refurbished laptops in India.
Updated : 3 weeks, 2 days ago IST
California [United States], June 11 (ANI): Apple has launched a new 13.6-inch iPad Pro at the same event as the MacBook Air, which was unveiled at WWDC earlier this week. Apple is already working on a 15-inch iPad Pro, reported by Bloomberg.
Updated : 3 weeks, 4 days ago IST
New Delhi [India], June 10 (ANI): A case was registered after Indian archer Abhishek Verma's wife's bag containing a laptop, some documents and cash over worth Rs 1 lakh was stolen in Delhi's Rohini area.
Updated : 3 weeks, 5 days ago IST
Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 8 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday launched a laptop distribution programme to provide free laptops worth Rs 83 crores to about 20,000 meritorious students of the State under Srinivasa Ramanujan Student Digital Scheme a
Updated : 2 months ago IST
Seoul [South Korea], May 4 (ANI): Samsung is launching a new microSD card, Samsung Pro Endurance, today. As the name implies, this new microSD card is all about durability and reliability, and is intended for use cases that are always used, such as security cameras. This is Samsung's second
Islamabad [Pakistan], May 2 (ANI): Pakistan state television PTV was unable to make an on-the-spot coverage of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Lahore visit last week due to the "non-availability of a functional laptop".
Updated : 2 months, 1 week ago IST
New Delhi (India), April 26 (ANI/PNN): Today's world is captivated by technology. Laptops, desktop computers, and printers are the basic devices that enable us to utilize the gift of technology.
Updated : 2 months, 4 weeks ago IST
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 6 (ANI): The accused in the Gorakhnath Temple attack case, Murtaza was on Wednesday shifted to the Uttar Pradesh's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) headquarter in Lucknow for further investigation.
Updated : 3 months ago IST
New Delhi [India], March 30 (ANI/ATK): LAPCARE Winner Pro RGB Cooling Pad is one of the top-tier cooling products on the market with an overwhelming amount of positive appreciation for the product.
Updated : 3 months, 1 week ago IST
Washington [US], March 25 (ANI): Dell has announced its refreshed XPS 15 and XPS 17 Windows laptops that will be featuring Intel's Alder Lake-H 12-gen processors.
Washington [US], March 24 (ANI): American tech giant Dell has announced its refreshed XPS 15 and XPS 17 Windows laptops featuring Intel's Alder Lake-H 12-gen processors.
Seoul [South Korea], March 24 (ANI): South Korean tech giant Samsung's latest education-focused Chromebook is here with the newly announced Galaxy Chromebook 2 360.


text:
Taoiseach Micheal Martin managed to nab himself a last minute Easter treat as he grabbed an O'Connaill Easter bunny right before they sold out.
The Turners Cross man was one of the lucky few who got their hands on one in the English Market with Roughty Foodie's Margo Ann Murphy saying Irish brands are a "sell-out" this year.
Margo, who's family have been running the shop since the 60s, got a snap of happy Micheal with his bunny and reassured everyone he'd only taken the mask off "for ten seconds".
She also said he stood a good distance away from everyone else while it was taken.
She said: "He was wearing a mask but I asked him to take it off at a distance so he'd show his smile.
"He was 10ft away from anyone and only had it off for ten seconds.
"He bought the chocolate bunny today, but he is a regular. He's always buying the local stuff.
"He'd usually come in for some West Cork strawberries, Gubbeen cheese, and O'Connaill chocolate. Those are his three favourites. Pure Cork."
Sign up for the CorkBeo newsletter and app
Never miss the latest news by signing up to our newsletter today!
Simply pop in your email here and get all the latest news and entertainment direct to you
Every day we'll send you a round-up email of all the latest from Cork covering news, entertainment and sport.
For a more personalised browsing experience, download our free app on Android here and Apple here
Margo went on to say the Easter rush has been a bit different this year, but is glad to report a massive surge in demand for local Irish produce.
"Irish chocolate is a sell-out this year, the penny has finally dropped and people are going for the good, real, local stuff.
"All types of chocolates sell well and our local cheeses and chutneys are also flying off the shelves at the moment."
We will have all the very latest on this breaking news story as and when we get it on Corkbeo.ie.
For the latest news and in-depth coverage make sure to always think of us with the biggest stories first.
If you want to get in contact with us send us a message on Facebook, leave a comment below or send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Joining the list of luxury brands opting for ethical fashion, celebrity favourite Michael Kors goes fur-free. The American fashion house announced today that it will no longer use animal fur in any of its products. According to Business of Fashion, Kors’s no fur policy will become effective in 2018, with production being fully phased out by December 2018. The policy will be company wide, meaning it will also include Jimmy Choo—which Kors acquired in July for $1.2 billion.
“Due to technological advances in fabrications, we now have the ability to create a luxe aesthetic using non-animal fur. We will showcase these new techniques in our upcoming runway show in February,” Michael Kors said in a statement.
More and more luxury brands are now opting to go fur-free, due to pressure from animal activists as well as textile innovations allowing for the creation of luxe faux fur fabrics. In October, Gucci also announced its joining of the Fur Free Alliance—a huge move for the luxury Italian brand. Both the Italian brand and Michael Kors join an expanding list of designers that have banned the use of animal fur including Stella McCartney (who has been creating sustainable faux fur and leather designs for years), Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger and online retailer Net-A-Porter.
While major fashion houses like Michael Kors committing to go fur-free fashion is a huge leap for the industry, there’s still a large number of brands fully embracing real fur. As BoF reports, Fur Information Council of America spokesperson Keith Kaplan revealed “nearly 70 percent of major designers included fur in their Autumn/Winter 2017 collections.” Meaning there’s still plenty of room for more designers to get onboard the faux fur train.
From: ELLE UK


text:
Based on the designs of their British designer, Sir Jony Ive, Apple are tonight expected to launch a radically redesigned iOS 7 operating system, in what could be a make or break launch for the Cupertino giants.
Expected to move Apple away from their classic mixture of icons and textures, Ive’s designs are going to deliver a simpler, flatter design approach which will modernise a design interface which has remained true to its 2007 launch roots. The new iOS 7 is being prepared for the new iPhone 5S, which will launch this September.
Apple is famed for their design, and the late Steve Jobs used to obsess over it. His philosophy was based on making the book look pretty so the goods got judged positively, often more positively then they warranted. His obsession with thinner, lighter and faster devices saw many iterations of new iPods, iPhones and iPads come to market with subtle design tweaks aimed at shaving millimetres and grams off their dimensions and weight.
So when Tim Cook steps on stage to deliver his anticipated keynote this evening, expect the design tweaks to be given plenty of attention by the companies CEO. Cook is a well-known advocate of his designers work, having famously described him as having “the best taste of anyone in the world”.
The original iPhone, launched to much acclaim in 2007, relied heavily on easy to interpret icons and common textures. The general public were unfamiliar with navigating entirely touch based phones six years ago, and Apple had to design accordingly. As that problem has been rectified, Apple now has new problems to fight, and that comes in the challenge of keeping up with more innovative user interface designs that are coming out of Google Android.
For Apple, the user training is now complete, and we can expect a much more radical interface. An additional consideration is the new range of different sized iOS devices. The iPad mini may be set to be joined by an iPhone mini, and all of this puts different design strains on the developers.
Sir Jony is leading the design of an iOS for the first time, having previously been tasked with designing Apple’s ever thinner hardware. Ive takes over from Scott Forstall, who was ousted after the disastrous launch of Apple Maps with iOS 6 last year. The two share radically different design perspectives, hence the expected major changes this evening. For Forstall, it was all about mimicking real life textures, such as the leather effect found in the notes application. Sir Jony on the other hand is minimalist, and is known to dislike the use of fake effects in digital applications.
Make no mistake, tonight’s WWDC address is of significant importance to Tim Cook and Apple. In the wake of Samsung’s emergence as market leader, and Apples share prices significant fall, this is their chance to show investors that they have the answers. Getting this right is key also in ensuring that key Apple loyalists don’t lose faith in the core values of Apple design, an element whose importance shouldn’t be overlooked. A seismic shift could push more swing users towards Android, so there are a lot of factors at play here for Apple. Another consideration with the new iOS is the business applications that may come with it. Miscrosoft fired a warning shot recently with news that they will bundle Outlook with their new tablets, so will Apple look to respond here too in order to keep the valuable business customers?


text:
Apple today officially released Apple Pay in Mexico, offering users the ability to easily pay with their iPhone, Apple Watch, and online on their Macs with supporting banks.
As of now, Citibanamex and Banorte are the only two banks that we’re aware of supporting Apple Pay. American Express and MasterCard support is also present. The list is likely much longer and banks will make the announcement to their customers in the coming hours. We’ll update this post with new information as it becomes available.


text:
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is looking to push the technological envelope forwards, just like James Cameron's movies.
GamesRadar+ recently spoke to Magnus Jansén, creative director of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, about the ambitions of Ubisoft's new game. "The time has been spent on building a brand new part of Pandora and creating the tools needed to bring it to life on the latest generation of console and PC hardware," Jansén says of Avatar's journey so far.
"At the heart of this effort is Snowdrop – our game engine. When we first met with Lightstorm (the James Cameron-led production company), Snowdrop is what showed to our partners that we were willing to push the envelope of technology, just like they do in the films. It was and still is the key foundation of our ongoing collaboration," the creative director continues.
Ubisoft Massive, the studio in charge of the Avatar game, has long been working on the technology for the new game, with the project being in production for at least five years. During this time, Jansén says Ubisoft Massive has been continually learning from and collaborating with Lightstorm Entertainment and Disney.
Right now, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is set to launch in Ubisoft's next fiscal year, arriving at some point before March 31, 2024, telling the story of Pandora before the time jump seen in Avatar: The Way of Water. Head over to our complete Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora preview for a deeper dive into what to expect from the ambitious new game.
You can also read up on our new games 2023 guide for a look at what to expect before we see more of Ubisoft's Avatar game.


text:
Emily Maltby wrote a great piece in the Wall Street Journal this morning (http://on.wsj.com/iO6xb2) showing how crappy Small Business lending is today. There are some really powerful stats that show just how hard it is for small businesses to get money and how the big banks aren’t doing anything to help the problem:
- Total small business loans outstanding are now $609B, down 8.6% (Mar. 2011 v. Mar. 2010) Read: “Small businesses aren’t getting new loans after old loans are paid down”
- Big banks' outstanding loans to small businesses fell by 14% between March 2010 and March 2011. Read: “Big banks not lending to small businesses is the main cause of the problem”
- Business owners rank access to capital as the most important issue facing privately held companies. Read: “Small businesses NEED money”
- In the past six months, only 17% of loan-seeking businesses with less than $5 million in annual revenue landed bank financing. Read: “The fall in small business lending is due to banks not lending, there are plenty of companies out there looking for money that aren’t getting it”
Whenever I read stats like this it gets me fired up about the work RevenueLoan is doing to solve this problem. Stay tuned.
(Thanks for sending me the article, Rob)


text:
Asda chief executive Andy Bond is to deliver the British Retail Consortium’s inaugural Annual Retail Lecture on Tuesday.
Bond is expected to tell the audience how the recession has led to major changes in the consumer mindset and that retailers must adapt to succeed.
He is expected to say: “There’s been discussion about whether we’ll see a new form of capitalism born out of the current crisis. I think we will – and the shift could be as fundamental as the formation of employee power through the union movement was almost a century ago.
“There appear to be increasing signs that we may be at the bottom of the cycle and green shoots may be appearing. But don’t let this fool you. While consumers may be ready to shop again, the recession will have definitely created a good degree of long-term behaviour change.”


text:
NOW TV, the internet TV service powered by Sky launched this summer, has chosen Affiliate Window to handle its affiliate marketing campaign.
Available across PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, selected Android smartphones, YouView and Xbox, NOW TV offers easy and flexible access to Sky Movies, the UK’s most popular subscription movies service – with no contract, set-up costs or installation. New customers can also take advantage of a free 30 day trial of the service.
More Sky content will also be added in the coming months, with Sky Sports due to launch on NOW TV before the end of the year, enabling NOW TV customers to enjoy live action from the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, England Test cricket, Heineken Cup rugby, ATP tennis, the Masters from Augusta and much more. The introduction of Sky Sports will be followed on NOW TV by must-see shows from Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts and Sky Living, including home-grown drama, original comedy and US shows.
Sky has enjoyed a successful, longstanding relationship with Affiliate Window since early 2008. The brand plans to leverage its experience in the performance channel to launch a strategic campaign for NOW TV to completement its other online marketing activity across PPC and display advertising.
Nicola White, Account Director for Sky and NOW TV at Affiliate Window comments: “We are delighted to have been chosen to lead the affiliate marketing push for this exciting new service. Building on our existing relationship with Sky, we’re looking forward to helping establish NOW TV in the eyes of consumers.”
Simon Creasey, Director of NOW TV at bSkyb adds: “We’re pleased to be again working with Affiliate Window, and are confident that the affiliate channel will complement the other aspects of our marketing strategy to help us tell consumers more about this exciting new way of enjoying great content from Sky.”
Check out 12ahead, our brand new platform
covering the latest in cutting-edge digital marketing and creative technology from around the globe.
12ahead identifies emerging trends and helps
you to understand how they can apply to modern-day companies.
We believe 12ahead can put you and your
business 12 months ahead of the competition. Sign up for a free trial today.


text:
UK says working to end ban on Indian mangoes
28 April 2014
The UK today said it is "working closely" with India and the European Commission to end an impending halt to mango imports from India, which is to take effect from 1 May.
The 28-member European Union has imposed a temporary ban on import of Alphonso mangoes and four vegetables from India from 1 May, sparking protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders in the UK.
Mangoes from India, often sold by the box-load, will be banned from Thursday because of suspected presence of plant pests that could threaten European salad crops.
The UK on an average imports nearly 16 million mangoes each year, worth £6 million.
Those traders in the UK who cater mainly to Indian customers, said there were other options to tackle the pests and called for an "urgent" reversal of the ban, so that their trade is not affected.
The BBC Radio 4's The World at One programme pointed to how Australia, New Zealand and Japan dealt with the problem using vapour heat treatment and asked the EU also to follow such methods.
The import ban could spell disaster for many growers who are dependent on exports, an e-petition on the UK government's website said.
The European Commission said the unanimous vote to bring in the ban followed "significant shortcomings" in the certification system of such products exported to the EU.
It said "there was a high number of such consignments being intercepted at arrival in the EU with quarantine pests, mainly insects, like non-European fruit flies".
The EC says such pests were found in 207 consignments of fruits and vegetables from India imported into the EU in 2013.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the pests posed no risk to public health but insects such as the tobacco whitefly, which can carry over 100 harmful viruses, could threaten tomato and cucumber crops.
Environment Minister Lord de Mauley said, "India is a key trading partner and these temporary restrictions affect a tiny percentage of the successful business we conduct with them.
"We are working closely with our Indian and European counterparts to resolve the issue and resume trade in these select products as soon as possible."


text:
Highly qualified experts, known as ethical hackers, will participate in advertised initiatives subject to defined conditions, and report potential security vulnerabilities to Porsche – before they can be exploited. “Quality and safety are part of Porsche’s DNA. We attach great importance to the security of our digital services,” says Mattias Ulbrich, CEO of Porsche Digital GmbH and CIO of Porsche AG.
Comprehensive security measures
The Porsche bug bounty programme supplements the services rendered by the global cybersecurity team, and will be implemented by the experts from the Porsche //DigitalFamily. The programme relies on the creativity and swarm intelligence of the global security community. The initiatives are advertised on established bug bounty platforms. If participants report an actual security vulnerability, they receive a financial reward.
“The protection of customer, employee and company data has utmost priority for Porsche. Participating in bug bounty programmes is the next logical step in our comprehensive security measures,” says Jörg Möbes, Director of Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer at Porsche AG.


text:
United Biscuits (UB) has clinched a three-year partnership with international food conglomerate Cargill ensuring dedicated cocoa and chocolate supplies for products such as Jaffa Cakes and McVitie’s Chocolate Digestives.
Cloetta Fazer, the Swedish confectionery group, has finally lost
patience with its perennially underperforming Polish unit, deciding
to close the Gdansk-based company after failing to elicit an
improvement in its performance, writes...
Over the next year Dutch dairy ingredients firm DMV International
will pour in excess of €60 million into innovation through new
R&D facilities and ingredients processing plants - and all this
against the backdrop of an intended...


text:
The organiser of Africa’s largest cultural fusion, Culturati, has disclosed that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye, the Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero, the United States Consul General, Claire Pier Angelo, among others would be attending the 2021 edition of the event in Lagos State.
Other dignitaries billed for the event scheduled to hold on Friday December 3, 2021 at the Federal Palace Hotel Balmoral Center, Victoria Island, by 5pm, include African Art Connoisseur Chief Dr. (Mrs) Nike Okundaye-Davies, Princess Toyin Kolade.
Also included are German Consul General, Dr. Stefan Traumann, Industry captains, the Diplomatic community, Royal fathers, Entertainment top shots, diverse local and African communities, the crème de la crème of society, African diaspora among others.
The convener of Culturati, Idris Aregbe, said that aside from Emir of Kano presence, the first class monarch would be honored with a special Recognition Award as the Culturati Grand Custodian of Culture and Tourism, adding that the 2021 edition has been well packaged to showcase the beauty and diversity of African culture to the world.
Speaking briefly to newsmen in Lagos on the essence of the event which was now in its 15th year, the convener said that the annual edutainment festival with theme, “Advancing the essence of African culture”, said that efforts were being intensified to ensure value creation through the initiative.
“Culturati is much more than a celebration of African values; it provides a distinctive platform for value creation, as an enhancer of cultural knowledge and advocate for cultural exploration and as a tool for youth empowerment by providing opportunities where their creative talents can be honed to find expression, thereby effectively channeling their productive energies towards personal, economic growth and development. The core values of Culturati are bordered on Youth empowerment, tourism promotion and social cohesion towards overall economic development.” .
According to the culture impresario, the passion to pull off these abundant talents off the streets and give them a lifeline informed the establishment of Culturati Academy- a vocational training arm of the organization, graduating and empowering creative youths, thereby turning their passion into profit.
It would be recalled that as a prelude to the colorful event, a symposium was held October 17, 2021 with theme ‘positioning African culture as a tool for social cohesion, tourism promotion and economic empowerment’, essentially to guide the exploration of African culture for economic benefits,
“As the theme of this year’s edition infers, Culturati will seek to explore avenues and build frameworks where African culture can be translated into a sustainable vehicle for creative expressions, value creation, youth empowerment, and other economic initiatives that resonate with global sustainable development goals (SDGs).” Aregbe added.


text:
Bangladeshi logistics startup Truck Lagbe, South Korea-based AI startup Upstage, and Pakistan-based edtech firm Maqsad have raised funding.
Bangladesh’s Truck Lagbe raises $4m Series A
Truck Lagbe, a Bangladeshi logistics startup, has raised $4 million in a Series A funding round led by International Finance Corporation, an investment arm of the World Bank Group, according to an announcement.
IDLC VC Fund 1 co-invested alongside IFC and facilitated the fund’s limited partner Millville Opportunities to invest in the round. IFC has injected an equity investment of $2.5 million into the company.
This investment will support the expansion of Truck Lagbe’s operations, help widen the logistics network in the Bangladesh market, and support the expansion of value-added services for truck owners through the sale of fuel, tyres and lubricants, it said.
Founded in 2017, Truck Lagbe initially focused on serving consumers looking to shift houses, the company now serves Enterprise clients and SMEs/Consumers who need logistics support.
Truck Lagbe’s platform brings together shippers and truckers through its marketplace to book freight for inter-city transportation.
S Korea’s Upstage raises $27m Series A
South Korea-based AI startup Upstage has raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by SoftBank Ventures Asia and Company K Partners, according to an announcement.
TBT Partners, Premier Partners, Stonebridge Ventures, and Primer Sazze Fund also participated in this round.
The startup plans to use the funds raised to recruit a large number of AI specialists and developers to accelerate the development of its solution, AI Pack.
Headquartered in Seoul, Upstage enables companies to easily adopt AI solutions that standardise and automate their key tasks. The company claims that within just eight months of its establishment, it recorded $7.6 million in sales, helping several clients successfully adopt AI across myriad sectors such as finance, education, and distribution.
Outside of Korea, Upstage has established a branch in Hong Kong and is now actively recruiting global talents.
By 2022, the startup plans to hire over 200 AI developers, software, and research engineers from around the world to assist with its system and solutions development. It also plans to strengthen its organisational structure for future competitiveness and to use this framework to expand across global markets, including Japan, the Americas, and Southeast Asia.
Pakistan edtech startup Maqsad raises $2.1m pre-seed round
Pakistan-based edtech firm Maqsad has raised $2.1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Indus Valley Capital, per a TechCrunch report.
Alter Global, Fatima Gobi Ventures, and several angel investors from Pakistan, the Middle East, and Europe participated in this round. Founded this year, the company is focused on K-12 education in Pakistan.
The proceeds will be used for developing content, and to bolster R&D and engineering.
Most recently, Indus Valley Capital also co-led a $10 million seed funding round in BridgeLinx, a digital freight marketplace and logistics provider based in Pakistan.
Indus Valley Capital’s portfolio companies include mass transit system Airlift, online marketplace Bazaar, and female fitness startup Aimfit.


text:
With the temperature rising in Pune, riding a motorcycle in traffic and for long distances was becoming quite uncomfortable. So when we received the Bluarmor Blu3 A10 (compact helmet cooler) test unit, we thought that was the solution. [Read more…]
Motul have entered into a two-year agreement with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) International Six Days of Enduro (ISDE) to hold lubricant and maintenance exclusivity at the event.
Triumph’s all-new entry-level Trident is powered by a 660-cc triple and is poised to take on the top-selling competition head-on with British style, a charismatic engine, and, according to Triumph, class-leading handling and value for money. We travel to Tenerife, Spain, to find out.
Simple Energy, an electric vehicle company based out of Bengaluru, have released testing images of their flagship electric scooter – the Mark 2.
The Conqueror knee guards is the most recent product, CE-certified, from Royal Enfield and Knox , with the collaboration aiming to co-create a range of highly protective and accessible riding gear.
Expanding their scooter portfolio, Hero MotoCorp have launched the new Destini 125 Platinum.
The Italian two-wheeler manufacturer, Piaggio, could bring a performance electric Aprilia scooter to India.
The wait is over for all the adventure enthusiasts wanting to get their hands on the Honda CB500X.
With the only changes being only two new paint jobs and an additional twenty thousand rupees on the price tag, the Kawasaki Ninja 300 is otherwise, exactly how we like it.
With an aim to define the standardized technical specifications of the swappable battery system for vehicles belonging to the L-category: mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadri-cycles, Piaggio Group announced today that the company has signed a letter of intent with KTM, Honda and Yamaha.