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New research shows a widening gap between the price of healthy and not-so-healthy foods.
Equal access to healthy food is becoming more challenging each year. In the U.K., for instance, carbs have remained generally affordable during the past decade. Prices for healthy, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, meanwhile, have noticeably risen.
According to a new study published by the journal PLOS One, a potentially dangerous disparity between the prices of healthy foods versus those that are less so may be growing. Between 2002 and 2012, starchy foods like bread, rice, and pasta were the only food group to not increase in price. Conversely, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables experienced the greatest price hikes. In total, the average price of healthy foods in the United Kingdom increased threefold over the 10-year span when compared to less-healthy alternatives. Compounding this concern is that wage growth has been relatively flat since the Great Recession, further limiting access to proper nutrition for low-income families.
Between 2008 and 2009, according to the London School of Economics, the net weekly income for Britons fell by over 6 percent (it has since rebounded slightly and stagnated). Average hourly pay in the United States, meanwhile, has barely changed since 2000. This post-recession malaise is most often associated with long-term economic challenges, but could it also be generating greater levels of food insecurity?
“The standard definition of food security is that people should have physical and economic access to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe food,” the four-man research team writes. “[M]eaning that if economic constraints are gradually forcing people to replace more-healthy foods with less-healthy foods, they are becoming increasingly exposed to the risk of food,” they add.
Distinguishing certain foods, and food categories, by their relative healthiness is a challenge. The study’s conclusions, however, are based on a practical formula: Foods that are scientifically proven to provide the most nutrients are most healthy. To adequately analyze inflation-adjusted price increases, the researchers relied on a handful of popular foods used in the “basket of goods” to determine national inflation rates. In total, 94 foods and beverages constituted their sample size. A cross-analysis was then conducted.
A limitation of this method is that relative rates of nutrition exist across certain foods. Not every tomato can be deemed “healthy.” Some tomatoes may be exposed to pesticides that are hazardous and eliminate their capacity to offer the body nutrition. Fish may be a healthier option than red meat, but consuming too much swordfish can raise a person’s mercury level to an unhealthy state.
These findings do offer a few important reminders, however. First: Our parents were right; we need to eat our vegetables. But second, when the rise of healthy food prices outpaces income growth, people are left with an unfortunate set of options: Either stretch the budget for necessary fruits and veggies or double down on fattening (but filling) pastas.


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Today is a somber day for all of us who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, especially ones that got a computer with Windows installed.
Why? Because “Paint,” the historic Microsoft drawing tool one for 32 years transformed the design and editing of images into a computer, is about to disappear or at least this was announced by the US Company through a press release announcing that this application will not be on its list of programs for the new Windows updates.
According to the document, the tool that came to light in 1985 is not in active development, will not be updated and will be removed in future versions.
After more than three decades of existence, Microsoft has decided to kill Paint, one of the few applications that have been part of the Windows operating system, even since its first release.
Paint is recognized for being a quick program of basic design and photo editing, which was included in the first edition of Windows, 1.0, which went on sale on June 20, 1985.
It remained in force for almost three decades until its version 10, which is the latest operating system of that family developed by the American company founded by Bill Gates and released for sale in September 2014.
For Windows users, there has always been a regular program since its inception: Microsoft Paint. That program of drawing that although we, not all use much, is an indispensable part of the legendary package of utilities for Windows and with which we can always make a brief work of art inspired by the sketches that any child of three years would achieve with a crayon.
Now, it seems that Microsoft will eventually fail to include it in its updates is making windows users sad around the world.
Microsoft Paint has been a staple of the Windows operating system for generations. The tool allowed users to copy and paste, crop and color images easily, or simply create drawings from scratch.
According to Microsoft, Paint is still used by 100 million people a month. Although Paint was not used for the editing of complicated image design, its simplicity became popular among early Windows users and remains a feature of the operating system.
Despite its simplicity, many windows users were able to create detailed sketches and drawings using its simple tools.
The end of Paint comes as part of the Microsoft Windows 10 Fall Creators update, announced last May. Microsoft decided to set aside Paint after the release of Paint 3D in April, which contains tools for creating 3D images and, although inspired by the original, is not a direct update.
While the statement does not specify the date, the program will cease to exist (apparently it will be from September) or the reasons for doing so, the organization made it clear that this will not be the only one that will disappear.
Nor will they be in Windows 10 Fall Creators other tools that have marked generations such as the Outlook Express mail service, screensavers, system image backup solution, which was also rated obsolete.
In short, today we say goodbye to Paint, the end of an era in the world of software and computers, and a low blow that gives us just the nostalgia. However, we know every professional designer or editor right now first started to learn to edit on Microsoft Paint.
People who still love to use Paint as their ready to go editing app will most likely have a hard time switching on to new windows updates. Let’s hope the new Print 3D is as simple yet resembles the legendary app in some way or another, until then; we can enjoy creating those silly and weird arts on our favorite application.
Saqib Ilyas is an inquisitive blogger and loves to spread his knowledge. Saqib has years of experience in digital marketing & sales. He is currently associated with eworldtrade, the finest online B2B Portal offering reliable business connections globally. Follow him on twitter & Instagram at @silyasofficial.

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By Dana Al Emam
Jordan Times, Amman.
The percentage of Jordanian female entrepreneurs exceeds the international average of female participation in the field, according to a field expert.
“Around 38 per cent of entrepreneurs in Jordan are women,” Haider Shakiry, mentoring manager at Forsa Project, said at a meeting on Saturday, adding that the average rate reaches 33 per cent.
“Entrepreneurs [from both genders] under 35 years constitute 76 per cent of all Jordanian entrepreneurs,” he said at an event held at King Hussein Business Park, noting that around 30 per cent of entrepreneurial projects in the Kingdom serve the information technology sector.
In cooperation with Mowgli Mentoring, which is a UK-headquartered mentoring organisation, Forsa offers entrepreneurs a one-to-one mentoring opportunity to help them start their businesses or small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Forsa is a UK-sponsored initiative that supports entrepreneurship by offering an innovative mentoring programme and assisting governments in ongoing efforts to improve the business environment, foster economic growth and create sustainable private sector jobs, according to the organisation’s website.
“Forsa mentors, who have 15-20 years of experience, motivate entrepreneurs and assist them with starting and developing their projects,” Shakiry told participants at the meeting, which was attended by British Ambassador to Jordan Peter Millett.
“Most entrepreneurs have benefited from their relations with their mentors and their fellow entrepreneurs,” he added.
Forsa seeks to build communication bridges and boost cooperation among its entrepreneurs in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Morocco, Libya and Jordan to expand networks, according to Shakiry.
Thanaa Khasawneh, Levant business manager at the Mowgli Foundation, noted that the organization aims to provide entrepreneurs with inspiration, connection and the ability to evolve.


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Sun | Local
* Collectors line up to get newly released objects of obsession.
They sneak in looking sideways to make sure they're not being watched. Many are well-dressed businessmen and women, ducking out of the office to fulfill their craving.
Some slowly cruise by in cars, checking to see if they'll be able to get what they need.
They're frank about why they refuse to give their names: the embarrassment if anyone knew they were here standing in line.
They offer excuses, attempting to prove that everyone else might be addicted, but not them.
"I do it for my kids," many say.
"You're only young once!" one woman laughs with a friend.
Fortunately, their addiction is a relatively harmless one. These people aren't sneaking into a back alley for illicit merchandise. They're lining up inside Teddy Bears to Go in downtown Bremerton, and the object of their desire is Beanie Babies.
Yes, Beanie Babies: the little stuffed toys by Ty that have spawned a thriving black market, caused the manufacturer's Web site to log more than a billion hits and inspiring people to camp out outside gift shops.
"I'm getting them for my daughter," said Robin Verow. "I just like them because she likes them, and it's something we can do together."
Verow was at the store early Wednesday, the day Teddy Bears to Go released its July shipment of new Beanie Babies. She was able to get Jake the Duck and Kuku the Cockatoo, the two Beanies that sold out first. The entire shipment, about 300 Beanie Babies, was gone by 12:45 p.m.
Tom Walter, whose wife Audrey owns Teddy Bears to Go, said the store didn't advertise the new shipment. They learned their lesson the last time they tried that. In May, the store released a shipment of Beanie Baby bears on a Saturday, and a line started forming outside at 11 p.m. Friday. When the store opened Saturday morning, there were 200 people waiting, Walter said.
Teddy Bears to Go is the only official Ty dealer in West Bremerton. This means it sells its Beanie Babies for $5.95, no matter how valuable any particular Beanie might be on the secondary market. There are about a dozen more official dealers in Port Orchard and Silverdale, Walter estimated.
As an official dealer, Teddy Bears to Go fights a neverending battle to keep secondary dealers out of the store. Ty policy forbids selling Beanies to people who resell them, but Walker says that doesn't stop secondary dealers from trying. He's caught them changing clothes and trying to sneak back into the store after they've bought the two new Beanies every customer is allowed, and borrowing kids to get into the store on a day the Walters sold only to kids. The store has a restraining order against one persistent secondary dealer.
"It's scary to sell something at $5.95 when you know they're going to take it around the corner and rip someone off for $150," Walter said.
The store does its best to get Beanie Babies out to kids. Police officers can get three Beanies a week to pass out to kids, and Walter will save Beanie Babies to sell to kids when they meet a goal such as passing a spelling test.
The store has a wall covered with crayoned pictures of special Beanie Babies with notes like, "Thank you for giving me Princess. I love her and forever will."
"Ty's policy is to get them to the kids, but that's harder than you think," Walter said.
To the same end, Walter will fudge the store's limit of two new Beanies if the customer is a parent with kids in tow.
The Helander family of Poulsbo benefitted from this on Wednesday. Nick, 9, Kirsten, 6, and their mother Cheryl each got two Beanie Babies.
Kirsten cuddled her new Ants the Anteater to her cheek. "I like them because they're cute," she said.
Cheryl Helander said the three spend their mornings hunting Beanie Babies.
"We start at 7:30," Nick added.
They usually visit Silverdale stores, but ended up at Teddy Bears to Go after stopping at three other stores Wednesday.
As the line lengthened Wednesday, most people said they pursue Beanie Babies for the same reason as Kirsten.
"It's just purely something to enjoy," Jerry Sanders said. "We've got them all over the house. They watch us sleep, they watch us eat, they watch us watch TV."
Sanders and his wife have more than 150 Beanie Babies. He got hooked on them about a year ago, when he noticed his first Beanie Baby and found it irresistibly cute.
"How could you not love that guy?" he asked, holding up an endearing Beanie ostrich from Walker's display.
Natalie Feeney, whose eyes could barely peek over the countertop, bought her first Beanie Baby with her own money Wednesday. The 3-year-old was adding to her collection of Beanie birds.
"We don't have Early," she said, showing off Early the Robin, Wednesday's purchase and her new favorite Beanie Baby.
The line stretched out the door at lunchtime, when at least every other customer wore a Puget Sound Naval Shipyard badge. With the shipyard in mind, Walter said the store will sometimes release new Beanies when workers are out at lunch and can stop by.
Beyond Balloons, another official Ty retailer, dealt with its line early on. The line for the Silverdale store's new releases started forming at 7 a.m. for the store's 9 a.m. opening.
"We probably had 250 to 300 people in line," said Marty Martin, one of the store's owners.
Beyond Balloons actually starts every day with a line of Beanie customers waiting outside the doors, but their numbers are usually closer to 30, Martin said. The store has a separate phone line for updates on Beanie shipments, and the line started reaching epic proportions when the store updated the recording with news of Wednesday's new releases, Martin said. The 324 newly released toys sold out before noon.
Martin said Beyond Balloons was the second store in Kitsap County to carry Ty products when they started 212 years ago. He didn't see an explosion in the Beanie Baby market until just after Valentines Day in 1997. By then, the craze had already taken root in the Midwest and East Coast. Now, Washingtonians are playing catch-up.
"I think it's crazier out here," Martin said. "It's kind of a wave that crossed the nation."
Now that Beyond Balloons has finally adjusted to the craze and developed a system for dealing with hundreds of Beanie fanatics, Martin is ready for the cute little beanbags to establish a permanent place in the market.
"I think the crazy frenzy will die down, but they're wonderful $5.95 toys for kids, and I think they'll always be around," he said.
Reach Lynette Meachum at (360)792-9221 or at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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PTTEP, Thailand’s Largest Corporation, To Implement Ripple’s Blockchain Technologybr>
SCB, Thailand’s largest commercial bank, provides a full range of financial services, including corporate and personal lending, retail and wholesale banking, foreign currency operations, international trade financing, cash management, and custodial services, among others. SCB’s total market capitalization as of 31 December 2018 was 453,813 million baht ($14M USD).
PTTEP, Thailand’s largest corporation, is a national petroleum exploration and production company. It explores for crude oil and natural gas, develops fields for production, and produces oil and natural gas. The company is a subsidiary of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand.
The two companies have been collaborating since mid-2018 on a research and development effort to adopt blockchain technology for cross-border B2B payment. In its latest announcement, SCB, which has already integrated Ripple’s tech, said that they were able to carry out pilot payments on blockchain earlier this year, which demonstrated that “payments reached destinations within one minute, compared to one to two days with conventional methods.”
PTTEP CEO Khun Somporn Vongvuthipornchai said that they are expanding its partnership with SCB to implement Ripple’s blockchain technology in international money transfer transactions, adding that the adoption of Ripple’s tech will boost the efficiency of the cross-border financial transactions in less time at PTTEP.
“This is a beginning of cooperation with financial institutions to increase the efficiency of PTTEP’s cross-border financial transactions in less time,” Vongvuthipornchai said. “Resulting in lower costs which reflects PTTEP’s determination to seek new approaches or methods to increase the efficiency of work relentlessly in order to maintain business competitiveness and keep up with the changes that will always happen.”
Wasin Saiyawan, SEVP & Chief Wholesale Banking Officer at SCB, said that they are now ready to take the success pilot forward to set a new norm for the industry, enabling their customers to enjoy efficient and speedy service.
“The service will be implemented in all CLMV and southeast Asian countries by this year, which will serve as a major milestone in the development of cross-border payment services,” Saiyawan said.


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The digital revolution is also breaking into the world of textiles. Technology is changing the world of wool, linen, silk, cotton and velvet essentially in two ways: by making the experience of choosing a fabric on-line increasingly hi-tech through the use of innovative solutions and by increasing the range of clothing fabrics available on-line.
According to recent surveys, more than one out of two consumers in the world has purchased a fabric on-line, at least once in the last year. E-commerce has created new expectations and contributed to the emergence of new consumer needs also as a result of the use of new technologies. In a not too distant future, augmented reality and artificial intelligence will act as personal assistants in the choice of a fabric and its packaging.
Buying fabrics on-line is increasingly easier
Digital technology has had a sensational effect in this area of fashion, where the focus on fabrics is increasingly greater and emphasised. Alongside this, there has also been an increase in services and tech devices that guide consumers in their buying experience.
In the near future, players in the on-line textile sector will use virtual reality technologies in an increasingly active way, in order to improve and personalise the digital shopping experience. Meanwhile, they are developing Apps to make it easier for customers to understand fabric characteristics, performance or simply the care required.
Sure enough, the IT divisions of textile companies are already working for the purposes of implementing customisation initiatives to allow consumers or more specifically, tailor’s shops, to make on-line buying decisions that are better than those in the store. On-line Apps and platforms will advise consumers both through computer algorithms and through virtual communities or bloggers.
Millennials are increasingly interested in on-line textiles
The markets that are particularly interested in the development of on-line textile sales certainly include the United States and China, not to mention the entire Middle East area, with the United Arab Emirates in the lead.
In addition to these new commercial outlets for the on-line textile trade, we should not forget the generation of Millennials, who, with their choices and preferences, will influence, if not even define, the world of digital tailoring and the offer of fine fabrics.
Their expenditure capacity is indubitably higher than that of previous generations, and these young people will be increasingly interested in the entire production process necessary to make a garment, starting from the fabric in the first place.
Textile companies with their on-line textile platforms must therefore evolve in order to meet the needs of this type of consumers, be they Millennials or young fashion designers or tailors.
The immediate, sustainable and concrete approach is therefore becoming a real need, not just a passing fashion, especially when it comes to Millennials, who are genetically predisposed for this type of surfing.
For more detailed information, please refer to the research article on “A wide choice of on-line fabrics for men and women” on Carnet, which is an authoritative source in the field of fabrics.


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- Essendant could acquire Staples assets, Bank of America says
- Takeover of Office Depot by Staples has faced FTC scrutiny
Staples Inc.’s planned takeover of Office Depot Inc. could overcome U.S. antitrust hurdles with a side deal involving Essendant Inc., according to a report from Bank of America Corp.
Under a proposal discussed by the Federal Trade Commission, Essendant would buy certain assets from Staples, Bank of America analysts said in a research note, citing a conversation with an industry consultant. The FTC has contacted a corporate purchaser of office products to discuss the idea, which would resolve the antitrust investigation and clear the merger, the analysts said.
"The FTC is clearly continuing to evaluate the situation, with apparent efforts being made to vet a solution involving a capable industry participant," according to the report.
Essendant Chief Executive Officer Robert Aiken said on an earnings call last week that he couldn’t comment on a possible settlement in the Staples case but his company "would be open to acquisitions."
The FTC’s investigation of the Staples takeover, which would unite the No. 1 and No. 2 office supply retailers, has focused on whether the creation of just one national supplier would harm competition and raise prices for large corporate customers who buy under contract.
Essendant, formerly United Stationers, has been consolidating and expanding its wholesale business. The company acquired warehouse distributor Nestor Sales in August and automotive-equipment distributor Medco in October 2014.
"We have substantial capacity to reinvest in our business, pursue attractive acquisition opportunities and return cash to shareholders,” Aiken said.
Representatives from Staples and Essendant didn’t immediately respond to calls for comment. Betsy Lordan, a spokeswoman for the FTC, declined to comment.
Staples shares rose 2.4 percent to $12.92 in New York, while Office Depot climbed 2.3 percent to $7.47.


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ABS-CBN and international lifestyle brand New Era unveiled its first-ever collection of UAAP caps, showcased at the SM Mega Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong City, in support of the upcoming University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81.
The Kapamilya Network—UAAP’s licensing representative— inked its first collaboration with New Era, the official headwear provider of the NBA, WNBA, & NBA G-League.
The new UAAP cap collection is the latest gear that students and alumni can wear to show their school spirit, featuring individual designs for each UAAP member school—Adamson University, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, National University, University of the East, University of the Philippines, and University of Santo Tomas.
Launched during New Era’s anniversary celebration dubbed “Infinithree,” the program featured a striking fashion show headlined by the much-awaited product reveal. Local dance company Upeepz gave a jaw-dropping performance, showing off their dynamic moves.


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Video – Dirt & Dust With The Pro-Line PRO-MT 4×4
With the PRO-MT 4×4 starting to take over bash spots across the globe, Pro-Line has released a new action video. The video, shown below, is filled with smoke, high-speed bashing, gnarly crashes, and giant airtime, all featuring the new PRO-MT 4×4. Also, be sure to watch all the way to end as the Pro-Line crew also included a number of outtakes for your viewing enjoyment.
The PRO-MT 4×4 is shipping right now and you can get complete details over on Pro-Line’s Official Website.
Hit up This Link to read more P-L news on Big Squid.


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Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja came under intense criticism after he reportedly announced plans to import fully grown trees from Malaysia.
The first-time governor made the remarks during an inspection tour of Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) on Wednesday, November 16.
Sakaja indicated that the fully grown palm trees would be imported and planted along Harambee Avenue in the CBD.
“We are going to bring fully grown trees. We will get palm trees from Malaysia that will be planted at Harambee avenue and other areas,” Sakaja stated.
Fully grown palm trees along a street in Nairobi.
Flickr Planting the fully grown palm trees was touted to align with his plan of greening the city and tackling climate change in the country.
Palm trees are famous in the Coastal region. However, they have gained prominence, with many developers incorporating them for landscaping projects.
His statement elicited mixed reactions from Kenyans online. A section of Kenyans online castigated the governor, arguing that the idea of importing fully grown trees was misplaced and unnecessary.
They argued that the governor should promote local farmers in his city greening projects.
“Even trees to be imported from Malaysia, what a good country,” Abuu 254 wrote on Twitter.
Another social media user expressed concern that the trees may dry up like Nairobi Expressway flowers and grass.
Sakaja was further faulted for his plan to import trees with Kenyans online, arguing that the move would be costly to the taxpayers.
“How much will that cost? Is that money not enough to relocate street families?” the Duke of Lakeshire wondered.
However, a section of Kenyans applauded the governor, stating that the plan would restore Nairobi’s lost glory.
Sakaja was also put to task to explain how he intended to protect the trees across the cases, with cases of clearing bushes along highways common.
“Accompanying such developments should be laws to protect these public investments. It is common that a new administration may knock down these trees in future for other newer developments! But it is how Governments work,” Kabila Mboya questioned Sakaja.
Earlier, Sakaja had indicated that he was planning to empower the youth by incorporating them into the tree planting exercise.
His sentiments came months after uproar over the cutting down and pruning of trees in Nairobi.
“Our work is to create opportunities for our young people. Of course, we have re-designed the Kazi Mtaani programme but we are starting a greening programme together with the KFS and the National Governent, These young people will be able to work four days in a week and get about Ksh2,400 and put it into something meaningful,” Sakaja stated while addressing cases of increased crime in the city.
Nairobi Governor, Johnson Sakaja addresses the media on November 4, 2022.


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Rip-off Britain or the cost of cheaper sterling?
Inflation is plunging faster than analysts are forecasting just about everywhere in the developed world. Except for Britain. Those accustomed to high prices and inflation-busting increases in tube and rail fares at the start of every year were probably not surprised.
A tiny decrease in January inflation to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent, left plenty of City analysts scratching their heads and talking of a blip in the data that is sure to be followed by significant drops in months ahead.
The puny move is all the more puzzling given the fact that forecasters have been suprised by the speed inflation has been falling elsewhere. In the euro zone, inflation has already tumbled to just 1.1 percent.
Until you consider the huge drop in sterling. The pound has collapsed over the past several months — so much so that droves of continental Europeans rushed to London over the Christmas sales for bargains when sterling fell so far it was nearly on par with the euro. But it takes time for exporters to adjust their prices. Recent data show sharp rises in the cost of non-oil imports, which make up about half of retail goods in the UK.
Visitors to Britain often grumble about bad weather and high prices. For Britons, whose currency is now worth a lot less than it used to be, the weather is still bad and prices are still high.


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7. March 2012 12:20
Alkermes has appointed the experienced Mark Stejbach to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer, and as a member of the executive management team.
Mr Stejbach will be responsible for the biohpharma company’s commercial activities for products such as Vivitrol and the commercial strategies for its late-stage pipeline.
Richard Pops, Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes, says the company hopes the new recruit will “accelerate and expand” the Dublin-based company’s commercial activities.
The 46-year-old has more than 25 years’ experience in biotech and pharmaceutical marketing, sales, managed care and finance. He most recently served in a similar role at Tengion after working as the Vice President of Managed Care Marketing at Merck & Co between 2005 and 2008.
“I am thrilled to join Alkermes at this extremely exciting time for the company, and I see tremendous potential for Vivitrol as well as the robust pipeline of new product candidates,” commented Mark Stejbach. “I look forward to enhancing the company’s commercial capabilities to achieve its ultimate goal of bringing unique and compelling medicines to patients in need.”
19. September 2011 14:01
Alkermes (ALKS) has marked its first day of operations at its new Dublin HQ with a long term multi-million dollar manufacturing contract with one of the world’s top pharma companies.
The pharma company’s finished product will be manufactured at Alkermes new Athlone facility in Ireland in a deal which could be worth up to $20m by 2016.
Richard Pops, CEO of Alkermes, said the company was “excited to have our operations based in Ireland, which we view as a gateway to the European Union and global pharmaceutical market”.
The company employs more than 450 staff based in Ireland and more than 1,200 worldwide.
The plant in Athlone is one of three facilities owned by Alkermes where the company manufactures proprietary, partnered and contract-based drug products.


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A DFDS spokesperson has apologised to customers who have been affected by a ferry fire.
"We are very sorry for those passengers who have not only been affected by the fire but now by these delays. We are looking at how we can help them.
"The cabin that was burnt is very damaged and there has been some smoke damage to surrounding cabins but the ship's function has not been affected in any way and is safe to travel."
More top news
The Special Olympics is for children and adults with intellectual disabilities - and the country's fastest growing club is in Gateshead.
An investigation has been launched after hundreds of prescription tablets were stolen in a supermarket in Cramlington
Police in York are appealing for a woman who was racially abused to come forward


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April 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
- U.S. President Donald Trump dispatched his CIA director, Mike Pompeo, to meet with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, in recent weeks, people briefed on the trip said. nyti.ms/2H7Q0TM
- In a Twitter post late Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said although Japan and South Korea would like the United States to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he had no intention of doing so. nyti.ms/2J4dOEx
- Former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday evening at her home in Houston. She was 92. nyti.ms/2JV9lFB
- Starbucks Corp said on Tuesday it would close its more than 8,000 stores in the United States for one day to conduct anti-bias training after two African-American men were arrested at one of its stores last week, prompting outrage. nyti.ms/2HaRQzh
- The United States undercut China's technology ambitions on Tuesday, advancing a new rule that would limit the ability of Chinese telecommunications companies to sell their products in this country. nyti.ms/2qAST5l (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)


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US: Icon Estates winery appoints winemaking director
Estancia has appointed a director of winemaking.
The Icon Estates division confirmed on Friday that Robert Cook, who joined the company in 2000, will assume the position. Cook will report to Mark Castaldi, vice president and general manager of Estancia.
"Robert brings a wealth of education and experience to this position," Castaldi said. "With Robert leading the winemaking team we will continue to see many more great wines from Estancia in the years to come."
Cook has spent two years as a winemaker in Spain, and has held harvest intern positions in Napa Valley at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Opus One.
Icon Estates, which was integrated into Constellation Wines US earlier this year, also includes other wineries in the US, most notably Robert Modavi Winery, as well as wineries in New Zealand, Italy, Australia and Chile.
A consortium led by Constellation Brands has made a tentative approach for Allied Domecq....
The Board of Directors of Constellation Brands, Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend on the company's 5.75% Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, payable on 1 June, to shareholders of reco...
Constellation is expected to launch a counter-bid for Allied Domecq by the end of this month, according to press reports....
The Hardy Wine Company has posted a record grape harvest....
Constellation Brands is to launch a new Australian wine brand onto the US market through its North Lake Wines. The wine will be called Kelly's Revenge....
A host of drinks companies spent the weekend mulling over whether to launch counter-bids for Allied Domecq, according to press reports over the last few days....
This weekend's press reports have thrown up two other interested parties in the potential Allied Domecq carve-up....
Constellation Brands is interested in some of Allied Domecq's spirits brands, according to reports today (15 April)....
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Unclaimed bling goes on state auction block
Pssst. Wanna buy a gold-plated necklace?
Or how about a sterling silver charm bracelet? Wouldn't that be a nice holiday gift for that special someone? Or yourself?
Maybe even two ladies' diamond rings for one price. Who says a girl can't have more than one best friend?
Don't worry. It's all legit. Those trinkets and others are being auctioned for sale on the state treasurer's eBay Web site, which can be found by clicking on the eBay logo at www.treasurer.il.gov.
The sparkly stuff comes from safe deposit boxes that were abandoned at financial institutions. After five years, unclaimed items are turned over to the state treasurer's office and locked in a vault in the Capitol while attempts are made to locate the owners.
If that's unsuccessful, the items are auctioned off, and the proceeds are held indefinitely for the owners or heirs.
All in all, 53 pieces of bling are up for grabs on the Web site until Dec. 2. Then another auction will start -- this time for collectibles such as gold coins, stamps, silverware and baseball cards.
Since Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias' office started auctioning off unclaimed items on eBay, prices have soared as the goods reached a worldwide marketplace. The average sales price so far this year is 78 percent over the appraised value, compared with 28 percent in 2006, according to the treasurer's office.
"In the first week alone, we counted 34,500 online bidders," Giannoulias said in a written statement, "compared to just 150 at the last live auction."


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A team from the MIT Media Lab has created a new, inexpensive camera that operates at the speed of light. Dubbed the “nanocamera,” the $500 device achieves comparable results to an earlier version of the camera that cost $500,000.
The three-dimensional camera—developed by Ayush Bhandari, Refael Whyte and Achuta Kadambi, who are graduate students in Professor Ramesh Raskar’s Camera Culture Group—could be used in medical imaging and collision-avoidance detectors for cars, and to improve the accuracy of motion tracking and gesture-recognition devices used in interactive gaming.
In 2011, the team introduced a camera with the capability to capture images at a trillion frames per second—fast enough to capture light moving through objects.
Watch a video of the MIT camera fast enough to photograph the speed of light.
How did the team create a camera that’s a thousand times less expensive? Using off-the-shelf LEDs and technology comparable to second-generation Kinect devices for the Microsoft Xbox.
“So it’s going to go from expensive to cheap thanks to video games, and that should shorten the time before people start wondering what it can be used for,” he says. “And by the time that happens, the MIT group will have a whole toolbox of methods available for people to use to realize those dreams.”
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Montana falls to Allied Domecq
DRINKS giant Allied Domecq has finally won the long-running NZ$1bn (£300m) battle for top-ranked New Zealand winemaker Montana, with rival bidder Lion Nathan quitting the contest.
Lion Nathan, which until recently held more than 60% of Montana, said it would sell its remaining 43% holding to Allied Domecq at Allied's offer price of NZ$4.80. Lion chief executive Gordon Cairns said: 'The decision to sell our Montana stake was based on value. Despite our low initial entry price, we do not believe that we can create value for our shareholders by bidding over NZ$4.80 for the balance of the company.'
Lion, 46%-owned by Japanese brewer Kirin, noted that Montana's most recent profit result, announced in June, came in at NZ$54m - much lower than analysts' forecasts. 'Based on this current performance, Montana looks very expensive when compared with recent acquisitions within the wine sector,' Cairns said.
The saga began in February when Allied bid NZ$4.40 a share. Lion Nathan already had a Montana stake of about 28%, for which it had paid between NZ$2.39 and NZ$3.80, but it responded by launching a counteroffer at NZ$4.65 a share.
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Vienna Kmart to close in January
VIENNA — A retailing fixture along Grand Central Avenue will soon be closing its doors.
In a press release from Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart and Sears, the company announced the Vienna Kmart will be among 63 closings, which will occur in early 2018.
“The company on Thursday … informed associates at 45 Kmart stores and 18 Sears stores that we will be closing these stores in late January 2018,” according to the press release.
Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp said the action was unfortunate for the city.
“We hate to lose them; they were a great asset to our community and provided jobs,” he said. “It’s unfortunate this is happening. They are an established business and we hate to lose any business.”
Rapp said he hopes the size of the building will make it easy to find a new tenant.
“I hope we can get someone in there quickly,” he said.
Lindsey Kerr Piersol, director of the Wood County Economic Development Office, said while losing a retailer is not good, she does not think the space will be empty long.
“With all the traffic along Grand Central Avenue and near the Grand Central Mall, I do not see that being empty very long,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for a retailer to come in to the area and developers are always looking for a place in that area. I’ll be very surprised if it is empty long.”
Other West Virginia locations slated to close are in Martinsburg and Beckley.
Paul Thornton, community development director for the City of Vienna, said the city is ready to do what it can to help find a tenant or tenants to fill the store.
“I’ve been hearing rumors about this store closing for the past six to eight months,” he said. “That store has been there for 30 or more years. It’s hard to remember it not being there. It’s been a part of this area for a long time.”
The Marietta Kmart store was not among the five Ohio stores included in the list. Ohio locations to close are St. Marys, Cleveland, Oregon, Austintown and Hillsboro.
No Sears stores in West Virginia or Ohio were on the list.
Thursday’s press release says the move is part of a continuing “strategic assessment of the productivity of our Kmart and Sears store base.”
The number of associates affected was not available, according to a spokesman for Sears Holdings. The release said the majority of positions lost are part time and that full-time eligible employees will be given severance and the opportunity to transfer to another store.
Sears Holdings Corp. officials said the stores on the list will be open to serve customers throughout the holiday season.
“Liquidation sales will begin as early as Nov. 9 at these closing stores,” according to the release.


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Small Wine Producers Imperiled as Chile Wants Higher TaxEduardo Thomson
Fernando Zenteno is considering ripping up 15-year-old chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon vineyards in Chile’s central valley as the country plans to raise wine taxes to the highest among wine-producing nations.
“There’s no chance that we’ll remain in the wine-grapes business with the tax,” Zenteno said in a phone interview from Curico, 207 kilometers (129 miles) south of Chile’s capital of Santiago, where he runs his family’s vineyards. “We prefer to move into something more profitable, possibly cherry trees.”
Chile’s government included a tax on alcoholic beverages in a bill being debated in the nation’s Congress. The measure, designed in part to counter the highest alcohol consumption rate in South America, would raise taxes on an average bottle of wine to 294 pesos (52 cents) from 183 pesos (33 cents), according to industry group Wines of Chile.
That compares with almost zero taxation of wine in France, Italy and Spain, the largest exporters in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, of which Chile is a member. The proposed tax is similar to rates in Australia -- also an OECD member -- where income per capita is more than twice Chile’s.
Non-wine exporters in the OECD charge an average excise tax of about $1.85 per liter of wine, according to a report from the end of 2012.
The growing tax burden imperils the small vineyards of Chile’s central valley, according to speakers at the wine industry’s annual conference in Curico last month. Even famous vineyards such as Vina Concha y Toro SA and Montes SA, which export the majority of their output, say they will see sales crimped by the increase.
“The government is saying that the tax will put us in line with alcohol taxes of all OECD countries, but they’re wrong,” Rene Araneda, chairman of wine producers association Vinos de Chile, said at the conference. “France, Italy and Spain, our rivals in the OECD, don’t tax wine and we should be comparing ourselves to them.”
The government proposal would raise the tax for wine and beer to 18 percent from 15 percent and add a variable tax of 0.5 percent per degree of alcohol content. That would push the average tax for wine to 24 percent compared with 20 percent for beer.
Finance minister Alberto Arenas, in defending the tax, said it’s directed to all alcohol consumption and puts Chile in line with some other OECD countries.
“It’s not that the Chile isn’t interested in wine exports,” he said in an interview May 6 in his office in Santiago. “It has to do with the good practices among OECD member countries,” as well as “public health,” he said.
The measures are part of a package of tax changes presented to legislators that aim to raise 3 percent of gross domestic product, or about $8.2 billion, to finance programs proposed by President Michelle Bachelet. The benefits include free education for all.
Approval of the package is expected later this year, with Bachelet’s ruling coalition holding a majority in both chambers of the Chilean Congress.
Chile by far has the highest alcohol consumption rate in South America, according to a May 12 report from the World Health Organization. Chilean men drink 13.9 liters of pure alcohol per capita a year, while women drink 5.5 liters and the average is 9.9 liters. Argentina is second with an average 9.3 liters and Venezuela is third with an average 8.9 liters.
In the Chilean market, wine has been replaced by beer as the drink of choice. Wine consumption fell to 212 million liters in 2012 from 542 million liters in 1972, while beer consumption increased to 693 million liters from 204 million liters in that period, according to Vinos de Chile.
“Some of us are barely covering our costs, and the large wineries won’t want to transfer all of the tax hike to local consumers and lose market share to drinks like beer,” Zenteno said in discussing whether he will keep his vineyards. “They’ll turn around and force on us a lower price for our grapes.”
Wine-grape producers are selling their produce wholesale to local wine bottlers at between 97 and 150 pesos per kilogram, according to data from Chile’s Agriculture Ministry.
Prices have fallen after two years of record local production and grape sellers are making a gross profit of about 10 to 15 pesos per kilo, according to Fernando Medina, president of Asociación Agricola Central. The group represents farmers in the Maule region, Chile’s agricultural heartland.
“If we see a drop in demand -- and that should happen because wine will be taxed more than beer -- then the wine companies will surely transfer a part of the tax to the growers,” Medina said. “It will push lots of farmers out of business.”
The products most affected will be lower-priced bulk wines, which represent 80 percent of sales in the local market, Fitch Ratings said in a May 7 report. The tax increase could lead to a price jump of almost 20 percent, the report said.
Chilean wineries exported $1.47 billion in bottled wine in the 12 months through March, 2.6 percent more than the previous year, and at an average price of $30 per case, according to Vinos de Chile.
The tax increase will weaken the domestic market, making it harder to develop premium wines for sale abroad, according to Aurelio Montes, founder of the Chilean winery named for him.
“A strong local market is a good takeoff platform to promote our wines abroad,” Montes said in an interview. “When your country is weak, an international buyer will get a bad impression. If the government continues increasing our tax burden, then Argentina, South Africa, California will quickly pass us by.”


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BBC News website disability affairs correspondent
Disabled holidaymakers face so many problems travelling abroad that many do not bother taking a holiday, disability charity Leonard Cheshire warns.
Accessible transport can make or break a holiday
The charity says that disabled people encounter difficulties from the moment they try to make a booking.
It is calling on tour operators, the government and the EU to improve access in a number of ways.
The industry admits that there is room for improvement but says some progress has been made.
Taken for granted
Leonard Cheshire is publishing its report - called Wish You Were Here - to coincide with the return from the August bank holiday weekend.
Last year more than 1.5 million people flew out of UK airports during the last bank holiday of the summer.
The charity points out that while many people take foreign breaks for granted, disabled travellers are faced with a series of obstacles which can put them off foreign travel altogether.
It interviewed more than 100 disabled people to ask about their holiday experiences.
The report found that:
- A quarter of those surveyed who had not taken a holiday in the past year said it was because of problems with accessibility
- Almost half of those who did take a holiday thought their travel agent or tour operator lacked basic disability awareness
- Almost 60% of those who has taken a holiday had problems with transport
- Nearly a quarter had had a wheelchair or other mobility aid damaged in transit
- Almost one in three people found their accommodation inaccessible
- Nearly a quarter had difficulty obtaining travel insurance
"The package holiday has been around for over 50 years, so why should disabled people still find travelling abroad difficult?" said John Knight, Leonard Cheshire's head of external policy.
"Disabled people have a right to holiday outside the UK and the travel industry must improve accessibility to ensure they can."
Barcelona has good accessibility, beaches included
The charity is calling for the introduction of pan-European standards of accessibility that all member states will recognise.
And it says the government must bring air and sea travel within the scope of existing disability legislation.
It wants travel industry staff to receive compulsory disability awareness training, and wants the providers of travel insurance to deal with disabled people on a case-by-case basis.
Long-standing disability legislation in the US means that disabled travellers have tended to report more positive experiences, a state of affairs with which Europe has yet to catch up.
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) says it has been encouraging the tourism industry to make improvements for many years.
ABTA's head of consumer affairs, Keith Richards, admitted that there was "still much room for improvement".
"It is clear that increasing numbers of people who have some for of disability are taking holidays, and many more want to spend their money on travel but currently don't," he said.
Fear and ignorance surrounding disability issues was being compounded by air transport and overseas accommodation not being covered by UK disability legislation, Mr Richards said.
But he cited several steps ABTA was taking to improve the situation, such as providing training, using the voluntary Air Access Code, encouraging tour operators to carry out access audits on hotels and developing a checklist for disabled travellers.


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Las Friday, Dorchester Publishing announced it is ceasing publication of paper books and going to e-publishing only. This means that as of Monday morning, their authors will be out of print—but still under contract. Their work will be primarily sold as e-books, but they’ll only get the tiny royalty rate contracted for paperbacks.
In other words, these writers will be paid an 8%-10% royalty on books they could have put on Amazon themselves for a 70% royalty.
Perhaps a moment of silence is in order for our colleagues at
Dorchester, which has been publishing mass market paperbacks for nearly forty years. Much of their sales staff have been let go, too.
This is yet another in a series of aftershocks from the Kindle/e-reader quake that’s been rocking the publishing business for the last year.
Dorchester has made this move is simple: e-books are selling and paperbacks aren’t. Publisher’s Weekly says shelf space for mass market paperbacks in supermarkets and other non-bookstore outlets is constantly shrinking, and J.A. Konrath reports only about 20% of the paperbacks printed are actually selling.
The Recession had already put
Dorchester on shaky ground, according to agent Kristin Nelson, who says she’s been moving her Dorchester authors to more stable companies over the past few months. But the boom in e-book sales seems to have made their decision for them. Dorchester will still produce some paper books for their own book club and plans to offer print copies of a few of their highest selling titles, but that won’t help most of their writers.
So what does this mean to the aspiring author—other than you should be really happy you’re unpublished and don’t have a contract with
Dorchester? Should you give up your quest for the agent/traditional publishing contract and self-publish electronically to avoid all this heartbreak?
My gut feeling is—no. It seems to me this is a time when you need an agent more than ever. The more upheaval there is in the business, the more you’ll want the help of somebody who knows the ropes. The anybody-can-do-it e-book world will be even more competitive than the paper book world and—at least for now—traditional publishers still provide the best promotion and distribution.
Plus, I think once the novelty of the Kindle/iPad revolution wears off, paper books will still represent a big part of the market. Not everybody is jumping into Kindle-land.
And hey--we’ll all need something to read when the e-reader is on the fritz. A whole lot of things can go wrong with gadgets. This week’s New Yorker shows a sunbathing woman who has just dropped her Kindle in the swimming pool. Ouch. Plus there will be glitches and viruses and those long hours on hold when you’re trying to get through to the incomprehensible tech guy in India. Also, recessions don’t last forever. The market for books should pick up again like everything else.
But there’s no getting around the fact the publishing world is in crisis and fewer writers are making a living at it.
That doesn’t mean you have to give up the dream. But we’ll all have to work harder to make our work stand out—and present ourselves in the most professional way possible.
It helps to remember two things:
- Publishing is a business. Editors aren’t high school English teachers judging manuscripts on literary merit. They’re looking for business investments. All publishers care about is acquiring books that will sell as many copies as possible. According to how-to-get-published guru Nicola Martin, they call selling books “shifting units” (how’s that for a buzz-kill term?) They won’t invest in your “unit” if you don’t come across as a skilled, reliable source of many units to come.
- Amateurs need not apply. There might have been a time when you could dash off a manuscript as a lark and sell it, even though you didn’t intend to write as a career. But these days, publishers don’t want to pay for the work of an amateur writer any more than you want to pay for the work of an amateur mechanic, plumber or hairdresser.
That means it’s now equally as important to learn the rules of the publishing business as it is to learn to write a great sentence. An aspiring author needs to come across as a savvy professional—even though the bulk of your pay may come from just the one sentence: “You want fries with that?”
Dorchester authors don’t deserve what’s happening to them, and we can only hope they’ll be able to negotiate better royalty rates or be allowed out of their contracts. And in that, the ones with agents will be way better off. So I’d say don’t self-Kindle your unrepresented work yet.
But talk to me after a few more bombshells and aftershocks, and I may have a different opinion.


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Old Spice has made an interesting new hire for its executive director of marketing, as part of its latest campaign by Wieden + Kennedy for its new line of products, “Wild Collection.”
The new hire, Mr. Wolfdog, is a talking wolf that knows a lot about the wild, obviously, and apparently a lot about marketing. As he points out, he’s got all of the “cliche businessman decorations” on his desk to show that he’s “definitely successful in business and definitely not just a wild animal.”
When Mr. Wolfdog isn’t busy eating some of his employees and having meat sacks delivered to his office, he blogs and tweets to try to unabashedly get you to buy Old Spice. His English is a bit stilted at times — the wolf-to-English translation hasn’t been perfected yet — but his alpha dog marketing style is clear. His blog is awesomely cheesy ’90s style, complete with lo-fi, money-related GIFs.
Fake Twitter accounts and blogs from animal mascots can veer into awfulness — remember Home Depot’s Richard the cat? — but this one from Old Spice isn’t bad. It’s sarcastic and pokes fun at the whole marketing exec thing and none of it feels overly forced or cheesy in the way that Richard the cat does.
Watch Mr. Wolfdog’s video below.
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India's trade deficit with China has grown 13 times between 2004-05 and 2009-10, whereas the bilateral commerce increased by three-and-a-half times, reflecting a huge advantage which accrued to the neighbouring country.
While India's merchandise trade with China went up from $12.70 billion in 2004-05, the figure reached $42.37 billion in 2009-10.
However, a big imbalance against India accompanied the growing commercial relations between the two countries, according to the latest RBI data.
From $1.48 billion in 2004-05 the trade balance in favour of China grew up to $19.21 billion in 2009-10.
Worried by the trend, the Commerce Ministry has asked the apex industry chambers to help the government devise a comprehensive strategy for a balanced trade with China.
While the official figures are yet to be released, the trade deficit continues to widen and worry the policy makers as also the Indian industry.
In the recent months, imports from China have gone up by a huge 365 per cent in 2010-11, sources said.
After being prodded by the Commerce Ministry, the business chambers have shot off letters to their members seeking suggestions as to how to correct the trade imbalance with China, they added.


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Etiqueta 'Majorca bars'
The ban was a Covid measure and has been in place for some eighteen months.
"Many bars and restaurants face financial ruin..."
Balearic government finally confirms that bars and restaurants will be able to open until 5p.m. on Tuesday
"Better than nothing," say bar owners


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Nintendo may be in desperate need of a change, but a head start into the next gen with NX could once again find Nintendo placing a distant third to Microsoft and Sony
If the past few years of this console generation have taught us anything about Nintendo, it’s that the company is in dire need of a shakeup to get them out of the quagmire they’ve found themselves in with the beleaguered Wii U, which has failed to find serious traction since its November 2012 launch. That’s not to say there’s no reason to own a Wii U — games like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Splatoon have given us plenty of enjoyment in recent months — but it’s abundantly clear that the handful of sensational releases on Nintendo’s current generation system tend to release at a glacial pace when compared to the steady stream of blockbusters found on the competition’s consoles, with much of that issue being the Wii U’s humble specs when compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This leaves third parties stuck between a rock and a hard place as they choose between releasing a shoddy port of their hottest games on Nintendo’s platform, or avoid developing games for the Wii U altogether.
Having said that, it does make sense that it seems Nintendo is poised to release their next piece of hardware sometime in 2016. Some beefier tech powering their latest shiny box and a well-timed push of the reset button could be just what the company needs to do in order to stay in the hardware game. However, pulling the plug on the struggling Wii U just four years after the console’s launch and shifting focus to a new piece platform in the middle of the current hardware generation could very well put Nintendo at a disadvantage in the long run.
With some analysts predicting that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One’s successor will release in 2019, Nintendo’s eagerness to kick off the next console generation early could find them at a serious horsepower disadvantage once again, when the almost assuredly more powerful competition launches just a few years after the NX hits the market. Unless Nintendo manages to really wow gamers and pull them in en masse with some astoundingly ambitious software, it’s not hard to imagine many consumers will want to wait it out to see what these systems can do before deciding on what consoles to shove under their entertainment centers during the next console cycle. Being at a considerable hardware disadvantage has been a major point of contention between developers and Nintendo in the past two console generations, and a trifecta of under-powered consoles when compared to the competition would do little to shake the omnipresent stigma that Nintendo’s platforms simply can’t keep up in terms of processing power and visual fidelity.
Of course, pure muscle isn’t everything, and few studios posses the creative ability that has historically served as Nintendo’s bread and butter. However, gamers are a fickle lot, and creativity can only take you so far when you’re unequipped to let AAA developers make the most of their games through powerful hardware. It’s going to be interesting to see if the former hardware juggernaut will be able to strike the balance that’s needed to successfully launch their system well ahead of the competition while remaining a force to be reckoned with when the inevitable next iterations of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox platforms find their way on store shelves sometime in the next several years. While I’m absolutely hoping Nintendo are able to find their stride with the NX, it seems like they could be setting themselves up for an uphill in the imminent future.
Then again, this is all speculation, as only a handful of studios outside of Nintendo seem to really know what the NX is all about. For all we know the platform could well be something totally unconventional and not intended to be Nintendo’s next true console. It also remains to be seen if Nintendo plans to incorporate their penchant for unorthodox controllers or peripherals when it comes to the NX (though patent information seems to convey the system has at least some form of second-screen, handheld integration going on), and while we ourselves are pitching for a more conventional platform, Nintendo could well have something so ambitious in the works that it pulls in droves of supporters this holiday season not unlike the Wii did way back in 2006. In any case, things are certainly going to be interesting in the lead up to E3 2016, and we hope the NX has what it takes to keep Nintendo relevant for the foreseeable future. The industry needs it.
So, do what are your thoughts on the Nintendo NX releasing this year? Do you feel releasing their next piece of hardware in the middle of the current console generation will ultimately help or hurt Nintendo? Feel free to share with us your thoughts in the comments section below.


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FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – LexisNexis has worked for more than a decade to develop a large scale system for Big Data manipulation, and it believes that it has produced something that’s better and more mature than the better known Hadoop technology.
The company just needs developers to agree.
LexisNexis developed the parallel processing data platform to handle the demands of its own data intensive research business. It wants it extend use of the technology, dubbed HPCC Systems, to broader markets, but is clearly aware that open source Hadoop has already established itself as a strong presence.
The company has opened-sourced the HPCC platform, and says it is challenging Hadoop in benchmarks.
The company says there are now about 1,000 HPCC Systems developers worldwide, most of who have been trained since the platform was opened sourced in June. By contrast, a Hadoop developer conference last summer drew a crowd of some 1,700.
To help demonstrate its capabilities, a Terasort benchmark was run to compare HPCC against a similar benchmark and workload by SGI on a Hadoop cluster , announced in October. LexisNexis says its benchmark was 25 per cent faster, and ran on far less hardware: A 4-node cluster versus a 20-node cluster on the SGI system.
The LexisNexis test was done on a Dell PowerEdge, two socket servers, with six core Intel Xeon processors.
Flavio Villanustre, vice-president of infrastructure and products at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, credited the test results, in part, on the number of lines in code needed for the sorting versus Hadoop. LexisNexis developed its own language, ECL, for this system.
It took three lines of ECL code to do the sorting, compared to 100 plus lines in Java, which is what is used in Hadoop, said Villanustre.
Asked to respond to the HPCC benchmark, an Bill Mannel, vice-president of product marketing at SGI said in a statement that “there are many variations of distributed processing which can run Terasort. HPCC Systems is running Terasort on ECL code, which is different than SGI running on a MapReduce-based Hadoop. SGI remains committed to pushing the bar on performance and beating and improving our own record.” MapReduce is a software framework.
Villanustre believes HPCC could do well in the marketplace against Hadoop, but he doesn’t take anything for granted. He said that he wants to avoid ending up like Betamax, which lost the video format wars to VHS, or IBM’s OS/2 operating system, which was cruushed by Microsoft Windows.”We want to ensure adoption and that’s why we are pushing so much,” said Villanustre.
The company has also made its HPCC system available in the cloud via Amazon Web Services. The platform is available through a dual licensing strategy that allows a community edition and a commercial enterprise platform.
Matt Aslett, an analyst at The 451 Group, believes LexisNexis can be a lot more aggressive “given the large and growing ecosystem of developers and vendors that has formed around Apache Hadoop.” Specifically, Aslett believes the dual licensing strategy enables the company to protect the code from forking and generate revenue from adopters, “but dual licensing strategies have traditionally not been very successful at generating a developer community.”
Aslett said that “releasing the software under a more permissive license or contributing it to an established open source foundation would have been more likely to drive developer adoption.”
Bruce Perens, a leading open source advocate and a strategic consultant to LexisNexis, developed the licensing approach, called The Covenant , for the HPCC Services platform. He agrees that dual-licensing strategies have had a mixed history, but says the HPCC licensing approach is designed to address that problem.Perens said the present version of the code will always remain open and there’s no way to withdraw an open source license.
“One assigns code to HPCC only if one wishes HPCC to maintain it from then on – which, of course, is very desirable,” he said. Every time a developer adds code and then assigns the copyright to the company, there’s a three-year guarantee to each contributor that the HPCC code will remain open source, under the Covenant. The three-year provision “is a guarantee to help developers be confident about the destiny of their contribution, not a way of holding the project at ransom,” said Perens, in an email response to questions.
“HPCC always has the option to go to a less restrictive license if dual-licensing doesn’t work for them, but this is not expected,” said Perens. Everybody loves to get a gift, “but it’s not always fair to the party that writes the code” to give it as no-strings-attached gift to competitors.
Perens argues that dual-licensing puts some economic sense in Open Source, and “the covenant repairs the community side of dual licensing,” he said.
(From Computerworld U.S.)


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Walmart workers are planning their largest mobilization since Black Friday for Sept. 5. The announcement was made on Sept. 4, after the retailer failed to meet a Labor Day deadline to reinstate workers it fired and disciplined because they sought fair wages and other workplace improvements.
Since June, Walmart has disciplined nearly 80 workers, including firing 20 worker-leaders. Now more than 100 unfair labor practice charges have been filed with the National Labor Relations Board against Walmart.
Walmart maintains that it does not punish workers for protests.
For Sept. 5, demonstrations coordinated by Organization United for Respect at Walmart are being planed in dozens of U.S. cities.
“Walmart, we cannot wait any longer for you to do the right thing for American workers,” said Cindy Murray, a 13-year employee who was arrested for protesting at the company’s Washington, D.C. offices. “Our jobs should not be at risk when we speak out about improvements that would help our families and Walmart customers.”
Murray added, “Walmart employees like me are not making enough to support our families even though we work at the country’s largest company.”
Protests are expected in: Baton Rouge, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Orlando, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington. As of mid-day on Sept. 4, Milwaukee was not among the protest cities.
Walmart, the largest company on the Fortune 500 list, made $16 billion in profits in 2012, and six members of the Walton family have a total wealth of $93 billion – more than the bottom 30 percent of Americans combined.
But Walmart workers, those outside the management system, earn on average $8.81 an hour, according to protest organizers. And a congressional report released earlier this year said Walmart’s low wages mean many in its employ rely on public assistance, including food stamps, subsidized health care and other support. Taxpayer support for just one of Walmart’s 4,000 stores in the U.S. is estimated at about $900,000, according to protest organizers.
“As the nation’s largest employer, Walmart and the Walton family should be raising standards, not lowering them. To whom much is given, much is expected,” said Kim Bobo of Interfaith Worker Justice. “Walmart should share its prosperity with workers and publicly commit to paying workers $25,000 a year for full-time work. If Walmart workers earned living wages the entire economy would benefit.”
Walmart recently announced that it was extending domestic partner benefits to its employees in the United States. However, the company had previously slashed its limited health benefits and less than half its U.S. employees are eligible for coverage.


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A Possible Delay For GTA 6, Latest Rumors, News and Details About the Game
New rumor emerges around the community suggesting that the fabled Grand Theft Auto 6 will be delayed because of budget allocations and other stuff. Let’s dig up all of the latest details, news, and rumors surrounding the most awaited game of the modern era.
Grand Theft Auto is one of the most successful franchises from Rockstar and with GTA V running the show for more than 5 years now, fans are looking forward to the next GTA installment. The game also brought a huge sum of money to the company thanks to its record-breaking sales worldwide.
The massive success of the 5th installment provided Rockstar the best-selling entertainment product in history. According to MarketWatch, the franchise already sold 90 million copies of the game and got a whopping $6 billion in revenue.
According to some accounts, during the development of GTA V, Rockstar is rumored to have given almost $250 million budget. With the amount of success that the game carried, the company might double the figure to almost $500 million budget for the next generation GTA 6 title.
The big reason why there’s a huge jump for the budget is the talks of incorporating virtual reality content or VR to the game. Another plausible reason is the game is not intended for the current generation console, but for the next breeds of Xbox and PlayStation that might come out in 2020 to 2022.
The huge sum of budget amounting to $500 million is said to be causing some issues. First, the bar that was set by GTA V was very high and second, pointing to the possibility that 90 billion of copies sold by the current franchise might be a very optimistic figure as a target. Although it is plausible, it would be very hard to repeat the same success for the same franchise.
Outside the budget concerns, another reason for the delay might point to the current game by Rockstar that is scheduled for release this October. The game called Red Dead Redemption 2 is another game from the company and the maintenance of both the GTA online servers and their new Red Dead Redemption 2 will take a lot of time. Thus, affecting the productivity of the GTA 6 development.
Rockstar knows that releasing GTA 6 a few years behind RDR 2 will not be healthy. Obviously, they will not challenge their own game and will likely to focus more on RDR 2 until the time is right to unleash their newest game.
The biggest issue behind the concern is the fact that Rockstar still not made any significant statements and news about their plan for the GTA franchise especially GTA VI. As we all know, the company is known to be very conservative when it comes to information about their new projects and the development of GTA 6 is no exception. Although we know that the game will go to the development state or might be on that platform right now, the company is doing a good job keeping the goods until the right time.
Just like what we saw in their upcoming release of Red Dead Redemption 2, official statements only came up only a few weeks before the official announcement of the game. With this in mind, we can expect that rumors will fly targeting GTA 6. Since this is one of the most anticipated games of all time, all news and rumors will be significant to all GTA fans out there.


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By Brendan Sasso - 10/03/12 01:02 PM EDT
Samsung is looking to have its billion-dollar trial loss to Apple thrown out over juror misconduct, Bloomberg reports.
The Wall Street Journal writes that spectrum is at the heart of the expected merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS.
Google is warning its users of new state-sponsored cyber attacks, The New York Times writes.
A tough new cybercrime law has sparked a wave of protests in the Philippines, the AP reports.


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**Editor's note: Please click here for our latest roundup of iPhone 5 speculation.**
It probably comes as little surprise that rampant speculation about Apple's next iPhone – the iPhone 5, iPhone 4G, sixth-generation, whatever it will be called – is once again reaching a feverish peak just before the company's application developers gather for their annual event in San Francisco, June 11-15.
So what did we "learn" about the new iPhone this week, keeping in mind that Apple hasn't confirmed much of anything about the device?
A video posted (below) by parts-supply company ETrade Supply hit YouTube Wednesday, showing off what is supposedly the back cover of Apple's new iPhone. It differs from previous iPhone iterations in a number of ways, the first being color. Instead of the traditional black or white, you're looking at brushed metal. The device also seems to be thinner and longer, backing up previous reports that it's capable of sporting a larger screen – four inches. Also supported by the video are other reports that the headphone jack will be moved to the bottom.
Oh, and speaking of screen size, one industry watcher got very specific with his prediction this week, saying the display will be 4.08 inches. Mingchi Kuo, an analyst with KGI, says the resolution will be fabulous, an improvement over prior versions.
"We expect iPhone 5 to feature a 4.08-inch in-cell IPS panel screen with a display resolution of 1,136 x 640 and 500-nit brightness," Kuo wrote in a research note cited by Apple Insider. The screen will also go from a 4:3 ratio to one that is 16:9, Kuo said.
Will Apple ever offer larger screens comparable to the 4.7 and 4.8-inch displays that Samsung has been rolling out lately? Not anytime soon, the analyst wrote, suggesting that Apple thinks displays larger than 4.3 inches are too challenging to operate with one hand. And any screens larger than that require bigger batteries that make the devices bulkier, he added.


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(WHTM) — Wawa is celebrating ‘Wawa Hoagie Day’ by running a contest to win free hoagies for an entire year.
To enter to the contest you need to follow @wawa on Instagram, like their post containing the contest’s information, and then share that same post to your Instagram story.
Get daily news, weather, breaking news and alerts straight to your inbox! Sign up for the abc27 newsletters here.
The free hoagie sweepstakes comes right after Wawa announced they plan to double the number of stores in the Midstate.
A commercial development company claims that Wawa is targeting Enola in Cumberland County as its first new location. There is potential for upwards of 40 new Wawa locations to be built across the Midstate over the next few years.


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BLANTYRE (MaraviPost) — Representatives of the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) have described the just ended international trade fair as a success as it has led to realization of trade deals and partnerships among the business community within and without the country.
The week long trade fair was officially opened by President Peter Mutharika who promised the nation that his government will work on improving the business environment to be favourable to both local and foreign investors.
However, the fair failed to live to expectations of the organizers as it was poorly patronized by international business exhibitors.
The fair, held under the theme “Productivity a Key to Exploiting Export Opportunities,” was dominated by local exhibitors who showcased the cream of their locally produced products.
MCCCI Manager for Membership Services and Communication Natasha Poya Kaleya said the success of the fair dwelt much on the fact that unlike the past fairs, this year’s event attracted massive participation from local exhibitors and consumers.
“We can confidently say that this year’s international trade fair was successful, we managed to have massive patronage and participation.
“The whole essence of the fair is that we are promoting business and trade, so with promoting business and trade participants are coming in with new products and services that have just been introduced on the market with the aim to outshine others and traders learn through such innovations,” said Kaleya.
He also said that the fair also focuses on issues of business networking.
“People network with new companies, new organizations and new personalities. This concept has been achieved more than it was last year,” he said.
As an agrarian nation the agricultural products took Centre stage from local exhibitors along with other related products and services.


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Feb 8, 2017
Its Tom's birthday and there are presents! Also some breaking news about production on the Model 3! The guys can all be happy once more. Except for the obvious trumpression. In the news this week, Tesla drops 'Motors' from name, becoming a diversified energy products company.


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Dallas Cowboys 18. Prior to the Cheap NFL Jerseys Usa opening Dwayne Haskins Jersey of Chase Center, the Warriors and Accenture said they would prototype and test solutions at Oracle Arena for potential use in Chase Center via a platform called Fannovate. Miami Dolphins 6. I love the logo and , but as they say in Brooklyn: As long as it reads ‘Brooklyn.’. LeBron James 5. To find all players born within a Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping certain month and year, for example all players born in https://www.redskinsofficialonlinestores.com/Dwayne_Haskins_Jersey_Cheap December Cheap Jerseys Wholesale of 1985, choose the month and year with the drop down boxes and then choose the ‘Month and Year Search’ option. Lionel Messi 3. New York Giants 5. The Disney-Magic alliance comes with cross-channel marketing, promotions and activation. 7 CBS • Super Bowl LVI SoFi Stadium Los Angeles Feb. A brand can send those messages out, but it’s better having a channel in which it’s the fans and consumers who do it. The company’s Hello Kitty will help lead the partnership as the Global Ambassador for Inclusivity.’ A co-branded product line, Hockey Kyler Murray Jersey Jerseys Cheap developed by Sanrio and Team USA, will include apparel, sleepwear, accessories, toys, collectibles, gift and novelty items. 29 • Global lifestyle brand http://www.cardinalsofficialonlinestores.com/Kyler_Murray_Jersey Sanrio, Inc., has signed a deal to become an official partner with Team USA for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Becky Lynch 7. Miami Dolphins 6. Cleveland Browns 11. Dallas Cowboys 18. Christian has a reputation for being intense and not caring what people think of him, Justine Sacco, vp-communications for FanDuel, said in a statement. Bryant led the Lakers to a 4 week, averaging 30 points on 54 percent shooting, to go with 5 rebounds and 4 http://www.patriotsfootballofficialsauthentic.com/Nkeal-Harry-Jersey.html assists. Nor should any message suggest or imply that underage persons engage in sports wagering. New York Giants 5. Keisuke Honda 10. According to Harlan Stone, chief business and marketing officer for USTA, Once again the U.S. The Warriors had planned on having Durant scrimmage on Thursday. It depends on what’s happening in my life. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15. Jacksonville Jaguars 10. They don’t get good reports N’Keal Harry Jersey back on their intel of how he’s carried himself there, of his habits.


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“As of March 2023, Swiggy’s food delivery business has turned profitable (after factoring in all corporate costs; excluding employee stock option costs),” he said. “This is a milestone for food delivery globally, not just for us, as Swiggy has become one of the very few global food delivery platforms to achieve profitability in less than nine years since its inception.”
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“The peak of our investments is behind us and today, Instamart is one of the leading players in the quick commerce space globally,” he said. “In addition, we’ve also made strong progress on the profitability of the business and we’re on track to hit contribution neutrality for this 3-year-old business in the next few weeks.” (Contribution margin, derived by reducing variable costs from total sales, indicates the profitability potential of a service.)
Majety had told ET in December 2021 that the company would be investing about $700 million in its quick commerce business.
Majety’s post also comes just a day before the publicly listed Zomato releases its quarterly results.
Zomato has been inching closer towards profitability in its food-delivery business. The company recorded an adjusted Ebitda of Rs 38 crore (operating loss), excluding its quick commerce business Blinkit during third quarter (October- December) of financial year ending March 31, 2023. Its adjusted operating loss, which excludes interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, stood at Rs 272 crore a year earlier.
Replying to Majety's tweet, CEO Deepinder Goyal wrote, "Congratulations! Nicely done."
ONDC vs Swiggy, Zomato
Food-delivery players have new competition emerging from the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). ET reported on May 9 that of the total orders that are serviced on ONDC’s network, around 97-98% are food and grocery orders.
Multiple research reports have said that ONDC is unlikely to be an immediate threat to the dominance of either Swiggy or rival Zomato. JM Financial had on May 17 said in a report that ONDC is nowhere close to disrupting the online food delivery industry.
Swiggy has also been cutting costs. In an internal note to employees on January 20, Majety had said that the company would be laying off 380 employees as its food-delivery business has slowed down. It also decided to shut down its meat-delivery business.
The company has also seen changes at the senior level with the exit of CTO Dale Vaz and Instamart head Karthik Gurumurthy stepping aside.
Zomato has also been inching closer towards profitability in its food-delivery business. The company recorded an adjusted Ebitda of Rs 38 crore (operating loss), excluding its quick commerce business Blinkit. The adjusted operating loss, which excludes interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, stood at Rs 272 crore a year earlier.
In the blog post, Majety said that the “builder bias” within Swiggy —- building businesses from the ground up — has helped it save hundreds of millions of dollars in acquisition costs and the resulting dilution in equity. Zomato had acquired Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore.
“The ability to run low-investment but high-value experiments like Maxx, Minis, InsanelyGood, and many more is core to our DNA and a strength we never take for granted,” he said, about Swiggy’s newer businesses.
The company recently shut down its gourmet grocery delivery pilot, called Handpicked.
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This is going to be an incredibly special year for Walt Disney World. On October 1, 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort, including Magic Kingdom, officially opened to the public. That makes 2021 the 50th Anniversary of The Most Magical Place on Earth!
Disney wants to make this year special, so there are currently several projects in progress and celebrations being planned. We’ve received a TON of info so far about everything that’s going on for the 50th, so we’re here to share it all with you!
It’s Going to be Popular
Milestone anniversaries don’t come often for Disney World, so when they do, the parks tend to get pretty crowded. Disney Park Passes booked up rather quickly for the special day, then reopened again, then booked up again — it has been quite the rollercoaster!
If you plan to visit any Disney World park on October 1st, we suggest you book that date NOW. It’s going to be a very, very busy day, so you’ll want to secure that reservation in advance.
Disney’s Sprucing Up Ahead of Time
Ahead of its anniversary, Disney has been touching things up around the resort, mostly in terms of paint jobs! The main entrances to Walt Disney World are currently in the process of getting made over, and the toll plaza entrance to the Transportation and Ticket Center (Magic Kingdom parking lot) got a new color scheme.
Cinderella Castle has also received a new look! She got a fresh new coat of paint that debuted when the parks reopened (and it was pretty controversial!), and now she’s decked out in special decorations for the 50th Anniversary. It’s looking fancy!
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure & France Pavilion Expansion
It has been announced that Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and the rest of the France Pavilion Expansion will be opening on October 1st (which also happens to be EPCOT’s anniversary). It’s going to be one busy day in Disney World!
Thanks to this announcement, crowds will likely be split between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom on the big day. It’s a hard decision to make — do you choose to experience the 50th Anniversary celebrations on opening day, or do you be among the first to go on a new ride? If it helps, the new creperie will also be opening that day! 😜
There’s Going to Be a New Fireworks Show
In the most recent batch of announcements, Disney shared that a new fireworks spectacular is coming to Magic Kingdom for the anniversary! The new show will be called “Disney Enchantment” and will even feature projections that run down Main Street, U.S.A.
This show is sure to be absolutely spectacular, and it premieres on (you guessed it!) October 1st. Disney hasn’t shared if this show will be replacing Happily Ever After or if it’ll just be around for the anniversary celebrations, but we’ll let you know when they give an update.
Harmonious Will Premiere At EPCOT
We’ve been anticipating the premiere of EPCOT’s new nighttime show, Harmonious, ever since we first learned about it. It’s going to have some of the most impressive technology Disney has ever seen, and we can’t wait!
This show will also kick off on October 1st, giving even more incentive to visit EPCOT that day. (Man, it really IS a tough choice.) After watching the construction for months, we can’t wait to see the showpieces in action!
A New Cavalcade and Costumes to Match
Mickey and his friends will be hosting “The Most Magical Celebration on Earth” and they’re doing it in style, with brand-new costumes just for the anniversary! They follow the new “EARidescent” color scheme that Disney has chosen (matching the castle!).
Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, and Dale will be showing off their new costumes as they head down Magic Kingdom’s parade route in Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade. We can’t wait to see them stylin’ and profilin’ down Main Street, U.S.A.!
New Sculptures Are Coming to the Parks
To highlight some of Disney’s most famous characters, the “Disney Fab 50” will be coming for the anniversary — a series of gold sculptures displayed around all four parks. All the characters included will be revealed throughout the next few months, but so far we know that Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale will be on display in the Magic Kingdom.
Disney World President Jeff Vahle has revealed that the sculptures will be dedicated to Cast Members of the past and present and that guests will be able to interact with them! Will they talk? Move? We’ll have to wait and see!
A New Daytime Show Will Premiere at Animal Kingdom
Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the Discovery River Ampitheater will once again be used to entertain guests, this time with a new daytime show! The new show will be called Disney KiteTails.
It will feature some of your favorite characters, including Simba, Zazu, Baloo, and King Louie in kite form, and performers will fly kites throughout the audience to the tune of Disney music. It looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun for the whole family!
The Park Icons Will Come Alive
We previously noted the new decorations on Cinderella Castle, but the other park icons will be getting some makeovers as well! They’ll be transformed into “Beacons of Magic” with lighting and magical touches that enhance the nighttime look.
Spaceship Earth’s makeover at EPCOT will be a permanent fixture of the park, with new points of light installed on the outside of the sphere. We can’t wait to see the ways that the icons light up the night!
What a Celebration!
This 18-month long celebration is going to be MASSIVE! With so much to do and see across all four parks, it’s going to be difficult to fit it all in during your visit — you’ll definitely want to plan a multi-day trip if you can.
We’ll be looking out for more details ahead of October 1st, and we’ll be in the parks on the big day to share all of the information that you need to know. We can’t wait to celebrate this milestone at Disney World!
Here’s What Our Readers Are Most Looking Forward to for Disney World’s 50th!
Which of these projects are you most excited about? Tell us in the comments!
2 Replies to “Everything We Know (So Far) About Walt Disney World’s Big 50th Anniversary”
Are we sure that MK is actually booked solid for AP holders, or is it a situation that Disney would rather those paying full price have the best opportunity to attend the park that day?
Happy 50th Anniversary!


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But the draw of home has finally led her to leave hospitality behind and open her new business, Vee Bee’s at 4 Canongate, a property which has been owned by her family for four generations.
Throughout her career Vivienne has managed to balance her work with a passion for interior designs.
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Now the balance has shifted to her ongoing love of antiques and the new shop is specialising in everything from soft furnishings, cushions, throws to furniture, glassware, plates, pictures and ornaments.
Vivienne has run a number of restaurants and hotels, while also dealing in antique furniture, including the Horseshoe Inn at Eddlestone and the Cringletie House Hotel in Peebles.
She is now happy to put all her eggs in one basket – and has received a warm and enthusiastic welcome from townsfolk.
She said: "Interiors has always been a passion but I did it more in hotels. I’ve basically stopped hospitality after 30 years of running restaurants and hotels. The property has been in my family for four generations. My great-grandfather and my grandmother and grandfather had it as an ironmongers and when they retired they rented it out for many years as various things, it was a greetings card shop and latterly an ironmongers. It needed a lot of work and tender loving care. It’s a project through which I can utilise what I have done for the last 30 years.
"The feedback so far has been really, really positive. People have said lovely things, from externally, and how it has helped the Market Square, and with lots of lovely comments also about the window display.
"The previous tenant moved out in July and the property had been on the market for a couple of years. My mother was going to sell it, but nothing happened, so when I came back to the Borders I thought we’d kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
The outlet will be open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment only and to the general public on Thursday through to Sunday, 10am to 4pm