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Model promotes young designers and heart health
on Thursday,February 05,2009 20:02
In the run-up to Valentine''s Day, it has been announced that a German model will use her fame to promote women''s heart health.
Heidi Klum, best known for her work as the host of Project Runway - a show aiming to find and promote talented potential designers - is once again taking a role of a health advocate.
Through her contract with Diet Coke she will participate for the second year in a program to raise awareness about women''s heart health called "Heart Truth."
The program is run by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and Klum has designed a special red dress charm for the promotion. Diet Coke will give away 10 copies of the jewelry, worth $3,000 each, according to promomagazine.com.
The charm, featuring rubies and diamonds, will emphasize the need for women to get educated about the risk of heart disease.
Caren Pasquale Seckler, group director for low-calorie colas at Coca-Cola North America says that "Heidi Klum''s star power helped the ''heart truth'' message reach millions of women last year, and with Heidi''s help, we hope to continue to keep the spotlight on this crucial issue."
Klum has been active in the fashion industry since 1992. Her credits include Victoria''s Secret, H&M, and Liz Claiborne. She has appeared on the covers of Vogue, ELLE, and Marie Claire.
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Second designer chosen for home decor competition
Teenlike.com, an ongoing online competition for young home decor designers, announced its second winner. Brandon Dover of Apply Valley, California, was this year's winner, as he created an abstract pen and inkwork design for a bedspread.


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There are two challenges to the state liquor monopoly this summer, one from an unproven private proposal, the other facing huge odds to demonstrate public support.
Let's start with the first one, which the legislature passed as SB 5942 and which Gov. Chris Gregoire signed on Wednesday (June 15). Down in Olympia during the special session, a couple of legislators slipped a bill into the hopper to privatize the supply side of the state's liquor business. That's right, to lease the big distribution center in SoDo to a Tacoma consultant financed by a New York private equity firm.
Why'd they do that? After all, the centralized warehouse is the crown jewel in the state's antiquated liquor-distribution system, the only part that's properly computerized and automated. Ah, follow the money. The consultant says he'd pay the state $300 million. That's a big piece of the amount the state needs to balance its budget.
It's not a done deal by any means. The bill, SB 5942, names no names, but it does direct the Liquor Control Board and the State Treasurer to investigate the possibilities of a long-term lease. But it's got an emergency clause, making it take effect immediately, with a fast track for bids and contracts. (The names, in case you're interested, are 33-year-old Tom Luce, a former district director for Rep. Norm Dicks, and Sandeep Kaushik, a political consultant who formerly wrote for The Stranger; the financing would come from Lindsay Goldberg, the equity firm that bankrolled a similar deal in Maine in 2004.)
The bill carries a clause declaring what The Seattle Times calls a “liquor emergency,” though the liquor board takes no official position on the matter since it hasn't been signed yet. Officially, the board's only input was to insist that the jobs of state employees be protected.
As it happens, it costs the state about $3.25 to receive, inventory, warehouse, and deliver a case of booze to a state-owned or state-franchised liquor store, and it's hard to see how a new operator could perform the service for less if it had to protect the existing workers' jobs. A second warehouse east of the mountains would be helpful, but no outfit that provides logistics services exclusively can do much to increase its customers' business.
One is left with the feeling that there's got to be a catch somewhere.
And sure enough, there is one. It's called Costco, the Issaquah-based, big-box giant that sells more booze than any other retailer in the United States.
Governor Gregoire's action was called "unfortunate" by Joe Gilliam of the Northwest Grocery Association: "It would trade a state monopoly on liquor distribution for a private monopoly held by a single company, and would keep the state-owned liquor store monopoly in place." The result, contends Gilliam, is actually less revenue to the state. But then, Gilliam has a dog in the fight: He's the spokesman for I-1183, the so-called Costco initiative.
Costco sponsored a bill during the regular session that would have privatized liquor sales (like the defeated I-1100) but would have made licenses more expensive (providing more revenue for the state) and would have limited liquor sales to larger premises (no gas stations or mom & pop grocery stores, for example). But the Costco bill died in committee.
Now Costco has returned to the initiative process we've become all-too-familiar with. The attorney general has yet to certify a ballot title, and opponents will have a week after certification to appeal in court before signature-gathering will begin. By July 8, Costco has to come up with nearly 250,000 valid signatures to qualify for a spot on the November ballot. That's not a lot of time.
Under the language of the initiative, private liquor stores would be required to have at least 10,000 square feet of retail space. So no gas stations, no mom & pops, no convenience stores. Retailers would pay 17 percent of their gross revenues on spirits to the state.
Most important for Costco, the measure would allow wineries and wine distributors to give volume discounts to restaurants and retail stores. (Costco says it's not interested in getting into the liquor business unless it can negotiate discounts, which wouldn't be possible under SB 5942.) The initiative would allow retailers to buy directly from wineries and distilleries but wouldn't completely eliminate the existing distribution network. (Beer distributors poured millions into a competing initiative last year to preserve their share of the pie). Finally, the intiative would double the penalties for selling liquor to minors.
Costco has learned that going it alone, as it did with the I-1100 campaign, is not a good political strategy. Its allies this time around are the Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Restaurant Association, two powerhouse lobbying groups with tens of thousands of members who would benefit from the opportunity to buy booze at lower costs.
(The state may be efficient when it comes to distributing cases of liquor, but it charges a 34 percent markup before adding taxes; Costco typically operates on a 2 percent margin.)
Privatizing the liquor business would raise money because the state could immediately sell off its existing facilities, while it would continue to earn tax revenues on liquor sales.
But there's that pesky “competing” measure, SB 5942. Says Kaushik, who wrote that bill, "Costco wants their initiative to be the only thing out there. They didn’t want the public to have a chance to see the bids that would come in through a competitive bidding process."
But others disagree and think the only purpose of SB 5942 is, once again, to muddy the waters. “Cities and counties don't lose a penny under the Costco initiative,” says beverage-industry consultant Bob Stevens, “and the state gains revenue."

domain: news


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From mobile payments and tablets, to real-time analytics and social loyalty, the technology wish list for many restaurant operators is expanding. However, without standards for creating open architecture between systems, integration is a challenge. HT talks to restaurant operators about how they’re expanding capabilities in a fragmented market.
Privacy and security are hot issues these days, fueled by high-profile data breaches affecting companies like Target, and closer to home, Wyndham Worldwide. Hotels are seeking ways to bolster privacy policies with scanning and monitoring procedures. Technology plays a part, but can only be effective when coupled with rigorous training and transparent guest communication.
pcAmerica debuts new tablet point of sale software at RetailNow 2014.
The shift to mobile options continues to revolutionize the point of sale and operators continue to seek solutions that integrate with legacy systems and loyalty programs.
MyCheck announces full integration into POSitouch software with built-in loyalty and other features to add to customer experience.
Choice provides hands-free reservation option to guests.
SaaS restaurant management solution provides value for restaurants in service and operations.
Industry leaders will collaborate to define best practices for moving tech systems above property.
Eataly has tapped Digital Dining and Epson for a unique point of sale solution.
Certification covers testing to confirm compliance of NFC-enabled mobile devices.


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Culture Secretary wades into ad-blocking debate – but what about the customers?
Barely a month seems to go by without us writing about ad-blocking – if we’re not discussing its rising popularity, or increased use on mobile phones, we’re examining the fear it engenders in digital publishers.
In fact, ad-blocking has been such a prevalent topic, I think Martin’s pretty bored of it! And I was prepared to leave the subject well alone, but then the issue was ratcheted up several notches last week when John Whittingdale, the Culture Secretary, used his speech at the Oxford Media Convention to wade into the debate.
Taking a very pro-publisher stance, Whittingdale told delegates that ad-blocking software was seen by digital platform owners as being like ‘modern day protection racket’ that was depriving websites of ‘legitimate income’ and could lead to the demise, or diminishing, of content production.
“Some of the ad-blocking companies are drawing up their own rules of acceptable advertising or offering to white list providers in return for payment,” he said.
“Many see such practices as akin to a modern day protection racket.”
Naturally, the story was jumped all over by those very newspaper websites that rely on advertising income to fund the production and publication of their free content, but rather than calling for an outright ban Whittingdale said he wanted consultation. He vowed to set up meetings involving major publishers, social platforms, and ad-blocking companies in the coming weeks.
So, what could this achieve?
Despite positive murmurings and a move by some ad-blocking firms to work more constructively with publishers to allows ads, at first look there doesn’t seem much common ground.
Of course, ad-blocking is scary for many publishers because they’re reliant on drawing revenue from ads. Perhaps too reliant. Many publishers, it seems, just can’t let go of the old print way of drawing revenue from display. Many have even been rendered immobile by a refusal to examine new ways of possible income generation (my colleague Matt makes that very point in a recent post).
On the other side of the argument are firm like Three, which is planning to rollout network-level ad-blocking, starting with trials in the UK, claiming the cost of all that extra mobile data needed to supply ads is being unfairly forced onto the customer.
Then add to that ad-blocking firms themselves, many of which make a strong consumer case for their continued use. And it’s this case, in particular, that the Culture Secretary didn’t really address.
Ad Blocker Plus, which has more than 60 million active global users, is right when it made the claim to Marketing Week that ad-blocking is a ‘consumer reaction expressing unambiguous disapproval of online advertising’.
The latest figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau, the UK trade association for online and mobile advertising, suggests that around 22% of British adults online now use some form of ad-block software, up from 18% in October. The Guardian estimates this new figure represents about 9.2 million of the 41.8 million UK adults who regularly use the internet.
That’s a huge number of people who aren’t interested in seeing the ads that publishers try to force on them. Consumers regard online ads as intrusive, they resent how ads can slow the load times of web pages, and they aren’t interested, as mentioned earlier, in paying for all the additional data-capacity they’re required to have for ads to load.
Whittingdale was right to highlight the big problem content-producers were having as a result of ad-blocking technologies, but his message didn’t fully address the issue of an industry that hasn’t fully taken the customer into account when it comes to viewing ads.
But perhaps there might, finally, be some movement there…
Scott Cunningham, senior VP-technology and ad operations at the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the group that develops standards for the online advertising industry, was frank on this issue recently. Cunningham is reported saying they had ‘messed up’ and ‘lost track of the user experience’.
“As technologists, tasked with delivering content and services to users, we lost track of the user experience,” said a statement, written by Cunningham, that accompanied the IAB’s planned overhaul of its advertising principles.
“We build advertising technology to optimize publishers’ yield of marketing budgets that had eroded after the last recession,” Cunningham was quoted saying by Ad Age. “Looking back now, our scraping of dimes may have cost us dollars in consumer loyalty.”
That final sentence, about consumer loyalty, is what seems to be lacking from the Culture Secretary’s speech and the publisher-sided discussion that has followed.
Until publishers look to innovate the manner in which they turn content into revenue – or at least start to pay significant attention to consumer attitudes – then the number of people wanting to block ads will continue to grow. Either that or publishers more attuned to the needs and desires of the digital public will start to experiment – and find an audience – with revenue models that others aren’t prepared to risk.


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Travel fintech Scapia has raised $23 million in new funding in a round led by Elevation Capital and Binny Bansal’s 3 State Ventures. The round saw participation by existing investors, including Matrix Partners and Tanglin Venture Partners.
The new capital will be used to double down on the company’s growth, expand its customer base, onboard more banking partners, and strengthen its product suite.
Founded by ex-Flipkart senior executive, Anil Goteti, Scapia announced a seed round of funding to the tune of $9 million in June. Flipkart founder Binny Bansal’s 3 State Ventures had participated in the previous funding round as well.
Scapia features a credit card and an app that allows customers to earn points earned on card spends to be redeemed for flights and hotel stays worldwide. It has partnered with Federal Bank, which runs on the Visa network, earlier this month.
Within five months of launch, Scapia has distributed its card in over 7500 pin codes. Nearly 40 per cent of Scapia’s users are from beyond the top 30 cities, said the company in its statement.
“We’re thrilled by the customer affection and rapid growth Scapia has experienced since launch. This funding will fuel our efforts to grow our customer base, add more banking partners and strengthen our product suite. We are grateful to our new and existing investors who believe in our vision and are helping us deliver a compelling proposition to our customers,” Anil Goteti, Founder of Scapia
“The rise of fintech in India has been nothing short of revolutionary, democratising access to financial services and empowering millions. Among such innovations, Scapia stands out with its differentiated solutions tailored for travel, addressing a vital need for aspiring Indians. We are excited by Scapia’s progress in a short time and happy to continue our commitment to the company,” said Binny Bansal, 3State Ventures.


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Floor coverings firm Carpetright offered some comfort on recent trading today after store refits and favourable weather helped boost UK sales.
The group's profits recently slumped to £4 million from £62 million in 2008 but new chief executive Darren Shapland said he was encouraged by growth in UK like-for-like sales of 1.7 per cent for the 12 weeks to July 21.
He credits the revival on a drive to sell more beds, the extension of laminate ranges to more stores and the impact of its refurbishment programme, which has now reached 63 of its 486 outlets in the UK.
Mr Shapland added: "We also recognise that this period does include some benefit from the unusually wet weather, which has produced consistently positive customer footfall to our stores."
The UK improvement, which increases to 5.3 per cent when excluding business achieved through insurers and housebuilders, has been offset by a sharp drop in sales in the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland.
Carpetright blamed weakening consumer confidence for the 6.3 per cent drop in rest of Europe same-store sales in the period but said overall sales for the first quarter of its financial year were in line with expectations.
Shares opened slightly higher today.
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Sitoy Group, which makes Coach and Prada handbags, plans to boost its Chinese production capacity by 50 percent over two years.
The company is building a new plant in the Yingde, Guangdong province and aims to boost capacity to 24 million handbags in 2014 from 16 million last year, Teras Yeung, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong-based contract manufacturer said in an interview.
Demand for high-end bags is climbing in China, defying slower global economic growth and prompting...
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Dogs fed raw meat are more likely to shed antibiotic resistant bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) in their feces, veterinarians have warned.
Previous research has shown that it is also possible that E. Coli is transmitted from dogs to their human owners through normal everyday interaction.
Researchers from the University of Bristol suggest that pet owners who feed their dogs raw should take extra care when cleaning up their messes.
They also suggest that the fad diet is not the safest choice for a domestic dog for this reason.
Matthew Avison, professor of molecular bacteriology in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, said: “We need to do everything we can to reduce the circulation of E. coli and other critically important antibiotic resistant bacteria.
“Our research adds to the growing body of evidence that not feeding dogs raw meat can contribute to this goal.”
Raw feeding is what it sounds – feeding your pet raw ingredients, rather than the traditional cooked foods that are more commonly available (stock image)
Researchers at the University of Bristol suggest that pet owners who feed their dogs raw should take extra care when cleaning up their messes, as they are more likely to shed the antibiotic-resistant bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) in their feces.
WHAT IS “RAW FOOD”?
Raw feeding involves feeding your pet raw ingredients, rather than the traditional cooked foods that are more commonly available.
Raw diets usually contain a combination of raw meat and other uncooked ingredients such as certain fruits and vegetables.
Many people who feed their dogs a raw diet do so because they see it as a more “natural” option than traditional dog food.
However, there are no studies that prove raw dog food is better than traditional dog food.
Owners who feed their dogs or cats a raw diet often claim that they see a lot of good changes in their pet.
This can range from a shinier coat and more energy to less smelly poop!
But many of the apparent benefits of raw diets can be easily achieved by making sure you feed your pet a balanced, age-appropriate diet.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Prof Avison added: ‘Our studies show that dogs, whether puppies or adults, are more likely to carry antibiotic resistant bacteria in their guts if they are fed raw meat than if fed kibble and other processed dog foods.
“This adds to the growing body of peer-reviewed evidence that raw meat diets are associated with various risks of bacterial infectious diseases in dogs.
“I cannot comment on the potential benefits associated with eating raw meat, but I have also seen no evidence that good quality processed dog food does not provide good quality nutrition to dogs.
“Based on this, I chose to give my two dogs, Wilma and Doris, good quality kibble.
“Others should be free to make their own choice, but should do so knowing that eating raw carries potential risks.”
E. coli are bacteria that typically live in the intestines of healthy people and animals.
Infections can occur after coming into contact with human or animal feces, or by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.
Symptoms of an E. coli infection include bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting.
In rare cases, sufferers may develop hemolytic uraemic syndrome, a disease that affects the kidneys and blood clotting functions of infected people.
The study, published today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, collected data from 600 adult dogs and their owners.
The owners completed questionnaires about their dogs, their diet and their environment, and provided samples of their dogs’ feces.
The samples were then analyzed for the presence of E. coli, while risk factor analyzes were performed using the results of their questionnaires.
The researchers wanted to determine the links between the detection of E. coli and lifestyle factors or environments reported in the homeowner survey.
While raw food was an important risk factor for dogs living in the countryside, that of dogs living in cities was more complicated.
Vets say this could reflect the variety of lifestyles and exposures among dogs in the city, as swimming in rivers has been shown to be a low risk factor.
Professor Avison said: ‘Antibiotic resistant bacteria are everywhere, but some antibiotics are considered extremely important for use in humans.
“We have shown that dogs fed raw meat are more likely to carry bacteria resistant to these important drugs.
“It does not mean that the animal, or the owner, will get sick.
‘E. coli is a common bacterium found in the intestines of all humans and animals.
“However, it is a common cause of many illnesses, including urinary tract infection, and can cause serious illness, including sepsis, if it spreads to other parts of the body.”
In a study published last month, researchers concluded that raw food is associated with the carriage of E. antibiotic-resistant coli in the feces of dogs as young as 16 weeks old, regardless of feeding duration (stock image)
Results of a study of 16-week-old puppies and their owners, and associations with risk factors for E. coli resistant to at least one test antibiotic
These results support those obtained in another study published last month in the journal One Health.
The team recruited 223 16-week-old puppies and their owners for analyzes of risk factors and similar fecal samples.
They concluded that raw food is associated with the carriage of E. coli in young dogs, regardless of diet duration.
It has also been found that bacteria carried by puppies are shared with humans.
Kristen Reyher, co-author and professor of veterinary epidemiology and population health at Bristol Veterinary School, said: “We know that humans and animals share bacteria, so what we find in your pet may also be within you.
“Pet owners should be encouraged to practice good hygiene and not feeding your dog raw food can be one of them.
“We can all do our part to reduce antibiotic resistance and its terrible effects on human and animal health.”
How trendy raw meat dog food could see pet owners risk dangerous insects, including E. coli, when they ‘kiss’ their pooches after eating
Raw pet food is said to be similar to a dog’s natural diet if it were in the wild, and is claimed to give it fresher breath and a shinier coat.
But a study has found that the food, consisting mostly of uncooked organ meats, meat and bones, contains food-poisoning insects, including E. coli and salmonella.
Scientists say it can be harmful to the elderly, babies and people with low immunity, who could get sick from handling food bowls or cooking equipment, or licking their dog’s face.
The research, published in the journal Veterinary Record, looked at raw dog food made by 10 different manufacturers, based in countries including Britain and Sweden.
The researchers found that a third of the 60 samples they took contained E. coli, nearly a third of which contained another insect, Clostridium perfringens, known to cause outbreaks of food poisoning. Salmonella was found in seven percent of the samples.
Learn more here


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With 2018 around the corner, we’ve been sharing information with customers and the community about the roadmap of both Cireson products as well as Microsoft System Center, specifically Service Manager and Configuration Manager.
It’s great to see all the enhancements and excitement around Configuration Manager, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The global community of Configuration Manager users continues to grow, with the number of monthly active users increasing by over 1 million devices every week!
On the heels of this anniversary, Microsoft recently published updates on Service Manager, giving the community a glimpse into what is in store as we head into the New Year.
In a Microsoft TechNet blog post, Chris Howie, Microsoft Senior PFE, addressed the future of Microsoft Service Manager and other, products, saying, “System Center Service Manager and Orchestrator are still being developed and are part of this new release cycle along with the rest of System Center. Some semi-annual updates will only have fixes and some will have additional functionality. The features that get added to the entire suite each cycle will depend on customer demand and will be prioritized as such. The products which receive enhancements will likely vary each time. All products are therefore…


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Summary: There is now a Steve Jobs Inc. that is completely unrelated to Apple, although the company may produce electronics someday in the near future.
Everyone around the world who knows even a little about technology is aware of Steve Jobs. They probably know he was the co-founder of the leading technology company Apple but died recently after a battle with cancer. Jobs was also involved in Pixar, Disney and NeXT. He did not start out as anyone special, attending a basic college before dropping out to travel India. At five years after his death in 2011, his estimated net worth is $14.1 billion. With such an important title to Apple and value to his name, it would probably be assumed that Apple had trademarked everything related to him but this is not the case.
A pair of Italian brothers noticed that Apple never trademarked the name “Steve Jobs” when they were looking for a name for their clothing store. Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato named their clothing company “Steve Jobs” after the iconic founder of Apple.
Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato were in the midst of developing a clothing and accessory company. After years of trying to find the perfect name for their brand, they discovered that Apple failed to trademark Jobs’ name. They said, “We did our market research, and we noticed that Apple, one of the best-known companies in the world, never thought about registering its founder’s brand, so we decided to do it.” When Apple learned in 2012 that the brothers were using the name for their company, they filed a challenge.
Apple argued to the European Union Intellectual Property Office that they were copying their Logo. According to La Repubblica Napoli, Apple most likely lost their motion because they focused on the logo. The brothers created a logo out of a stylized letter “J” with a bite taken out of the side and a leaf on top – very similar to the Apple logo. However, the court found that the “J” wasn’t edible so a bite taken from it was not the same as Apple’s iconic logo of an apple with a bite taken out of it. The court upheld the brother’s trademark.
The brothers won the legal battle against Apple, allowing them to keep the name “Steve Jobs.” They stated that they intend to keep developing their Steve Jobs brand and expanding to other products such as bags, jeans, fashion accessories, and t-shirts. Their goal is to eventually expand into electronics but there are no specific plans made for this yet. “We are working on a line of highly innovative electronic devices, projects we have been working on for years,” the brothers said. This means that someday, there could be a Steve Jobs phone out there next to an Apple iPhone.
The case was finalized in 2014 but the brothers just now released the details. It is unknown why they waited three years to talk about the court proceedings but it may have to do with the fact that they wanted to trademark the logo and name across the world first.
Do you think the Steve Jobs logo infringes on the Apple logo? Do you think it was an oversight by Apple to not trademark their founder’s name everywhere? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about other trademark fights, read these articles:
- Nestlé Loses High Court Battle to Trademark KitKat Shape
- Can Offensive Words and Images Be Trademarked?
- Taylor Swift Files “Look What You Made Me Do” Trademark


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business news Scalar, Ubisoft’s cloud technology that wants to revolutionize video games
If Ubisoft has made headlines lately, it’s more because of its critical positions in favor of NFT than because of real creative proposals. As the French publisher is one of the historical video game giants, gamers and developers expect the company to take risks and become a driving force in the industry. Ahead of GDC 2022, Ubisoft is introducing Scalar, a cloud-based technology that could change the way we create virtual universes, as well as the way we play our video games.
From local to microservice
This is through a short video in motion design that the issue identified by Ubisoft has been presented to us. This video shows that games have gotten bigger and more interactive over time, but they are still limited by the hardware in one way or another. Indeed, both players and developers have always had hardware limitations, whether it’s gaming or creativity. “What if this restriction is gone?the voiceover then said. Here Ubisoft Scalar comes to the rescue – a technology that uses the power of cloud computing.thought to givemore freedom, scalability and flexibility» to the developers.
We started from the point of view of the game creators, and did not think, as usual, “here is what we have, maybe we can improve it a little or a little that.” Christian Holmqvist, CTO of Ubisoft Scalar
To understand what Ubisoft is trying to do with Scalar, you must first immerse yourself in the day-to-day life of developers. They have been shaping virtual universes with game engines for years, be it “House” or from third parties (Unreal Engine, Unity, etc.). The problem is that these engines eventually turned into gas plants. despite numerous organized efforts to improve the user experience. The fact that they manage everything that is needed to create the software (physics, gameplay, animation, sound, etc.) makes teamwork difficult, especially when the latter consists of hundreds of artists, sometimes scattered across several continents. “We wanted to break free of that and build something more ambitious.says Patrick Bach, general manager of Ubisoft Stockholm.
With Scalar, Ubisoft wants to turn the locally managed features of existing game engines into services.. Thus, by separating each of the game engine roles into several microservices in the cloud, artists can work on a given aspect without affecting the other cogs of the machine. In addition, computing power is moving from local machines to the cloud. “We find everything we already know, but everything is no longer in one blockChristian Holmqvist, CTO of Ubisoft Scalar, confirms. This is about “technological foundation“, which can be considered as “production tool” said Per-Olof Rommel, director of product at Ubisoft Scalar. This allows Ubisoft games to use “cloud power” for “completely remove the restrictionsgame engines andtraditional material barriers‘ faced by users. He adds: “this raises a number of new issues because you can’t rely on what you know. We must relearn and rethink how we make games“.
We tried to imagine what games will be in ten years, what they can become, as well as what to expect from them and how to develop them. Per-Olof Rommel, Product Director, Ubisoft Scalar
Larger and more accurate games with an unlimited number of players
Scalar has been in development since late 2017 at Ubisoft Stockholm. This is not a game engine, but a tool that is compatible with all platforms that modern engines can use to use the cloud.. And we’re talking cloud computing, not streaming. “One of the main specializations of Ubisoft is the creation of worlds. We’ll have the ability to shape even bigger worldssays Patrick Bach, director of Ubisoft Stockholm. The stated goal is to build “giant universes“inhabited”unlimited number of players” with “unprecedented accuracyin physics and artificial intelligence. Of course, it’s hard to check what Scalar is really worth right now. But according to the publishing giant, its services will evolve with updates that add functionality and games can be updated requiring no special maintenance and therefore no need for players to unplug or download a patch.
Exactly, since we’re talking about games, where are they in all this? The French publisher has preferred to get in touch for now. Yes, Ubisoft is currently developing games with Scalar, but no names have been released at the moment. It is only known that in addition to Ubisoft Stockholm, studios in Kyiv, Malmö, Helsinki and Bucharest are working on the project. As of this writing, Scalar has no intention of leaving the Ubisoft studio just yet.. But then why all this talk about this technology? It’s easy enough to recruit developers who would like to join the company to create games using Scalar. “This technology will allow us to create massively multiplayer social games and unleash the full potential of our development process, facilitating global collaboration.the company repeats.
“Ubisoft Scalar is a technology developed by the newly created Production Technology Division. This department brings together more than 500 experts whose mission is to develop the best tools and technologies to help Ubisoft studios bring their projects to life.– clarifies the official press release published by the publisher. At the very least, we can say that the video game giant is a firm believer in its new technology, which it qualifies as “a big step forward for the video game community“.
TO Carnbyjeuxvideo.com journalist


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Porsche has revealed a new generation of its PCM infotainment technique, referred to as Porsche Conversation Management 6..
The update introduces a variety of new on the internet attributes, a new-seem menu layout and an up to date edition of the Porsche Join smartphone app. Android Auto integration is also now commonly offered in Porsche models for the to start with time.
A simple edition of the 6. technique can presently be identified in the pure-electric powered Porsche Taycan, but now the company has introduced the new infotainment technology as a regular fixture on the 911, Cayenne and Panamera. Taycan drivers will also get an more than-the-air update to unlock much more attributes.
Linked smart navigation is 1 of the greatest updates in the shift to PCM 6.. Porsche says the hardware supporting the technique is now noticeably much more impressive, which implies the infotainment technique can monitor targeted visitors much more intently and estimate an substitute route even speedier in the celebration of an incident or street closure.
When on the motorway, the technique can convey to the driver how significantly targeted visitors is in every lane with distinctive colour markings. Porsche also says that its new software can even just take into account whether the car is towing a trailer or caravan, and accurately estimate an arrival time based mostly on the lessen permitted optimum pace.
Porsche Threat Radar is one more new characteristic, which uses information and facts from the car’s driver guidance technology and swarm knowledge from close by cars and trucks to notify the driver of close by dangers. As the technique now has its own online link, Porsche says it’ll be capable to notify the driver much more accurately of the prevailing pace restrict, as well.
Normal voice regulate has also been extra, which Porsche says can identify what the driver requires without having a preset list of commands. For illustration, by basically telling the technique “I will need petrol,” the car can routinely established the sat-nav to the closest gasoline station. Likewise, expressing “I am cold” will enhance the temperature in the cabin by two degrees.
The new voice regulate purpose can be utilised to regulate conversation and navigation recommendations, and can regulate the seat therapeutic massage capabilities and air conditioning. Porsche says it can also transform the colour of the inside ambient lights on ask for.
There’s also a new person interface with a simplified menu layout, which Porsche says is “calmer and much more refined” than the old technique. There’s also a more quickly research purpose for points of fascination, a considerably less cluttered map view, and extra assist for Android Auto. Google Assistant also seems many thanks to the latter enhancement.
Porsche has also released an up to date edition of the Porsche Join smartphone app. This enables homeowners remote access to their auto knowledge and enables them to work specified auto capabilities when they’re away from their car.
Utilizing the application, drivers can test their car’s gasoline or battery demand degree, test the tyre pressures, remotely unlock the doorways and preset the inside temperature. The car’s heated seats, steering wheel and windscreen can also be activated remotely.
Each and every Porsche equipped with PCM 6. also receives a digital race coach, which can be accessed from both the driver’s smartphone or directly from the infotainment technique. It attributes a database of 300 worldwide tracks, as perfectly as recommendations on their recommended racing lines and a lap timer to let driver’s to test their progress at the circuit.
Porsche is also producing an adaptive ambient noise technique, with distinctive soundtracks and audio cues piped into the cabin based mostly on the driver’s mood and the route driven. The technology is nevertheless in enhancement, but Porsche has expressed a wish to put it into generation.
Now read through our overview of the facelifted Porsche Macan prototype. Enable us know your feelings in the feedback below…


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A source has revealed that Facebook is making a big secret move to venture into the blockchain industry in a big way. This the company is doing by hiring members of the team of researchers behind blockchain platform Chainspace. According to the source, four of the five key members of the team have been hired by Facebook to work on a blockchain project for the company.
According to Cheddar, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed the hiring of Chainspace staff but claimed none of its technology is being adopted by Facebook. He said:
“Like many other companies, Facebook is exploring ways to leverage the power of blockchain technology. This new small team is exploring many different applications. We don’t have anything further to share.”
It was reported last year that Facebook was working on launching a stablecoin which will work on Whatsapp. It is, however, unclear why the company is hiring Chainspace staff at this time as they were working on an effective distribution platform for making fast and transparent transactions like smart contracts on the blockchain and also exploring other applications of blockchain such as polling.
Facebook has expanded its scope first by acquiring Whatsapp and is now trying to move with the trends by investing in blockchain as most businesses now operate on the technology. Blockchain companies like Tron have set goals to take over the internet from companies like facebook, hence the need to upgrade in order to remain in business.
The company may have plans to acquire more blockchain companies to expand its already 40-man team of blockchain experts working on its blockchain section. The report says it had talks with a blockchain payments company Algorand, possibly to acquire it but the deal was a dead end.
Clearly, the blockchain industry is taking over the entire world in all sectors across the globe. It is, therefore, no surprise that internet giants like Facebook are aggressively pursuing the technology as what seemed to be great technology a few years ago will be obsolete in the near future. The big question remains; what is Facebook really up to and which blockchain startup will it “aqui hire” next?


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The Audi RS Q3 Sportback is hardly slow, yet German tuners ABT Sportsline has given it even more shove.
The big change is the 2.5-litre 5-cylinder engine which has been given a power upgrade. In standard trim,... Read More
Audi's Q3 has finally landed in SA. It's on sale with only 1 drivetrain option but is that going to be a deterrent to buyers in a segment where looks and style trump performance?
We attended the international... Read More
The Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank – celebrated its 5-year landmark when the programme’s 13 category winners and the recipient of the Brand of the Year title were announced during a... Read More
Meet the finalists in the Crossover category of the 2019/20 Cars.co.za Consumer Awards – powered by WesBank!
Now in its 5th year, the #CarsAwards was conceived to be South Africa's definitive automotive... Read More
Audi’s 2nd-generation premium family car is raring to remind buyers why its predecessor was such a success, but it faces substantially stronger competition than it used to. We spent a few weeks with the... Read More
Audi has revealed its new performance-orientated Q3 in 2 flavours. Meet the RS Q3 and the RS Q3 Sportback. See details below…
Audi recently launched its new Q3 premium family car in South Africa and it was... Read More
The all-new Audi Q3 is finally available in South Africa and it represents a compelling offering in the family car/compact SUV segment of the new vehicle market.
With a bold new design, a... Read More


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Either the buzz is starting to build or the PR people are earning their money, as word is getting out about the winners of the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year awards are set to be announced next week. In its very first year, and labeled as “the design world’s answer to the Turner Prize,” the nominees have come from nearly every possible category, from art project things to stuff like the iPhone and the Nintendo Wii. Here’s a little from the Guardian:
One winner in each category, decided by a panel of judges including architect and designer Antonio Citterio, will be announced on March 11, with the overall winner named a week later.
Dejan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum, says: “Awards are very difficult to get right, but by making it an award for a work rather than an individual, we are avoiding any ‘celebrity of the person’. We hope the awards will give people a chance to say, ‘Wow, what an exciting world design is’, and realise how central it is to our cultural life.”
Meanwhile, in the same paper, over at Jonathan Glancey‘s blog, he’s already seeing problems with the awards, saying ,”Uh-oh…here’s another new award described, as all awards in fields of creative endeavour must be, as the ‘Turner Prize of’. Of what, this time?” His major issue with the whole thing is that it seems like it’s nothing more than a “let’s give awards to our friends!” (so it’s a lot like every entertainment awards ceremony?). Great take on it and we’re sure to start seeing how it all pans out and, ultimately, how successful it will be, starting next week.


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Global lockdowns and restrictions due to COVID-19 have certainly affected every corner of our lives—from the way we work and live to how we access our basic necessities. While online retail was already on the rise before the pandemic, restrictions on in-person activities have only forced the needle on customer expectations when it comes to digital experiences. Still, the question for many companies remains: What does retail look like in a post-COVID world?
In a new report based on original research gathered through interviews with experts across the US, Japan and China, we uncover why online-merged-with-offline (OMO) strategies will be crucial to rebuilding retail in the coming months and years, and what brands can do to build and maintain trust with their customers.
Only the most innovative companies will manage to fully realize compelling and seamlessly integrated physical and digital experiences throughout the customer journey. Dive in with our team of strategists and designers to explore the four key ingredients to successful OMO strategies, and discover three concepts that employ frog’s unique approach to convergent design.
Timothy Morey, Global VP of Strategy
Belén García, Associate Strategy Director
Raquel Kalil, Visual Designer
Shining Li, Senior Strategist
Ion Nedelcu, General Manager
Tim leads a global team of business and product strategists who work alongside frog designers and technologists to bring game changing innovations to market. He has worked in Silicon Valley for 15 years in a variety of product, strategy and marketing roles.
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Industry experts debate on the viability of the Switch Delhi campaign
Published: 01st April 2021 07:42 AM | Last Updated: 01st April 2021 07:42 AM | A+A A-
An electric vehicle is connected to a charging station at Rafi Marg on Wednesday | SHEKHAR YADAV
As the Switch Delhi EV mass awareness campaign entered the eighth and final week on Tuesday, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot urged the city’s youth to drive the change by adopting electric vehicles. On an earlier occasion, he had announced that Delhi will be turned into an EV capital in two years. But the question is how easy that is? “I think it will take 10-15 years to make Delhi fully electric because we don’t have the infrastructure, such as charging stations.
The government had announced to install 20,000 charging stations in 2019 but I don’t think that has been practically implemented,” informs Mohd Jawaad Khan, Founder of Tadpole Projects, an EV making company. He adds, “Many companies have launched their cars priced between `13 lakh and `22 lakh, which is too expensive for the Indian middle class.
But retrofitting a car would cost up to `5 lakh, with 15kw motor and 120km of mileage with a swappable battery system.” Then, the cost of EV is high as the lithium ion batteries take up 70 per cent of the cost. India is not a manufacturer of these batteries; it is imported from China and assembled here, shares Khan. “So, getting an EV at the diesel-petrol rate will not be possible till we have our own battery production,” he adds. A lack of local production of components and batteries, negligible charging infrastructure and the high cost of EVs has led to a few takers in the price-conscious market, admits Nimish Trivedi, Co-founder of Prakriti E-Mobility that operates 168 electric cars in its fleet in Delhi-NCR.
“But the government’s interest in this sector might change things. Moreover, it is likely that there will be price parity between EVs and internal combustion engine cars in the next two years as the local production of battery packs and innovations in lithium-ion technology happen, as different institutions like ISRO, DRDO and IIT’s has been engaged for the same,” add Trivedi. The Delhi scrapping policy states that vehicles over 15 years of age will be mandatorily scrapped without any consideration of fitness certificate. According to the National Green Tribunal, nine million vehicles will have to be scrapped by 2020. By 2030, figure would reach around 28 million.
But Khan feels that retrofitting the cars into EV is more beneficial. “With retrofitting, you don’t have to scrap these many vehicles and can extend their life span by converting them into electric will not only reduce scrap burden but also the pollution,” adds Khan. On the other hand, Trivedi feels that scrapping unfit vehicles will result in less air pollution and better air quality in Delhi, and says, “Research has proven that recycling old metals can cut greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, recycling scrap metal will help us reduce global warming and also result in creating job opportunities that will boost the economy.” The rise in the petrol and diesel prices has led to the viability of the EV initiative, feels Environmentalist Jai Dhar Gupta. “If the cost of the ownership of fossil fuel cars goes up, conversion will come fast.
We need a way to get rid of old cars and recycle and reuse their parts, which, I think, some companies are working on. As an environmentalist, I feel it’s a step in the right direction. We don’t want these parts to be settling at the bottom of the ocean. Setting up the infrastructure where the scrapped vehicles can be recycled is very necessary.” But he quickly adds that the automobile lobby have invested billions of dollars in R&D to develop the engines. “Companies want to dump all their old parts and inventories in India. The government has a huge role in this by creating incentives and disincentives, with lobbies and personal interests at play,” adds Gupta.
However, Sanjay Krishnan, Founder of Lithium Urban Technologies, feels that the government’s plan has a vision backed by a concrete action. “Apart from incentivising electric vehicles and disincentivising the diesel vehicles, they have plans to make all government vehicles electric.” Meanwhile, a recent survey by the Lithium Urban Technologies, a corporate sustainable mobility solutions provider, revealed that 73 per cent of respondents from Delhi wish to purchase an EV as their next vehicle at price parity.
Like Ajay Dev Singh, 43, VP-Marketing in at edtech company from Delhi-NCR, says, “My first car was a petrol one, next will be an EV for sure because that is the most sustainable choice for mobility. Only EVs can reduce vehicular emissions that contribute to pollution and climate change.”
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Following a study earlier this year, the IPO has now published its eighth report into online copyright infringement in the UK. The full report can be found here.
This assesses levels of infringement for six main types of online content (music, film, TV programmes, eBooks, video games and computer software) within the context of wider digital behavioural patterns. The study suggests that music, film and TV are still the most heavily affected sectors in terms of overall levels of infringement.
Who are the infringers?
The 2018 survey estimates that 15% of UK internet users aged 12+ (amounting to approximately 6,525,000 people) consumed at least one item of online content illegally, which is similar to its findings from previous years in 2016 and 2017. Interestingly, however, the IPO noted a decrease in infringement among 12-15 year olds, from 25% in 2017 to 22% in 2018. Similarly, infringement among 16-24 year-olds also seems to have decreased from 27% in 2017 to 25% in 2018.
Types of infringement
The types of infringement break down as follows:
- TV programmes had the highest infringement level of any content type with 23% of UK internet users consuming TV programmes illegally - up slightly from 22% in 2017.
- Infringement of music stood at 19% - up slightly from 18% in 2017.
- Similarly, infringement of films also stood at 19% - down slightly from 21% in 2017.
- Infringement of software was recorded at 20% - down from 26% in 2017.
- Infringement of books was up at 13% - compared to 11% in 2017.
- Infringement of video games remained constant, with no change at 16% from 2017.
Why do people continue to access illegal content?
Apart from the fact that illegal content is free, the IPO concluded that consumers look for "speed, ease and convenience". The survey also seems to suggest that certain people (22%) might be deterred from accessing illegal content if they had access to cheaper legal services, and others (21%) might be deterred if they were provided with clearer definitions as to what is and is not legal from the outset. Only 1% of those who took the survey said that there is nothing that would stop them infringing.
What does this mean for the future?
The 2018 survey has found that while overall levels of infringement have remained relatively stable over the past three years, there has been a gentle drop in illegal activity by certain groups. This is particularly true among the younger respondents of the survey, with over 50% of 16-24 year olds now paying to access at least one subscription service. Encouragingly, nearly two-thirds (62%) of internet users also claim to be confident in their ability to identify legal content from illegal content online.
While unlawful use of online copyright material persists, the 2018 survey is indicative of a new behavioural trend, especially among younger generations, that illegal consumption of content is becoming less attractive and subscription streaming services are being favoured in its stead. Hopefully this trend will continue as content providers make it easier and more convenient for consumers to access content through legitimate means.
With special thanks to trainee, Laura Fabris, for her contribution to this article.
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Microsoft has pared its global roster of agencies down to two holding companies -- Dentsu and Interpublic -- after a review that began in January. WPP and Publicis, which both had portions of the account previously, will lose those assignments.
The tech giant spends more than $1 billion annually on ads worldwide.
Microsoft conducted the review shortly after the arrival of new CMO Chris Capossela earlier this year.
The company confirmed Thursday that IPG has been chosen for advertising and global production and distribution of ads, while Dentsu Aegis will handle media planning and buying and search advertising.
At IPG “creative, localization and deployment will be handled by various agency team throughout IPG’s global network.” Dentsu Aegis will also utilize a “cross-discipline team spanning the company’s network,” the client said.
Capossela said that Microsoft believes “both groups will help us communicate more strategically and efficiently in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”
Joanne Davis Consulting assisted Microsoft with its review.


text: NORTHFIELD, Ill., April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT) today announced the North American grocery business of its wholly owned subsidiary Kraft Foods Group, Inc. filed an initial Form 10 Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. This filing relates to the company's previously announced plan to divide and create two industry-leading public companies before the end of 2012: a high-growth global snacks business and a high-margin North American grocery business. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090420/KRAFTLOGO) "The filing of the Form 10 Registration Statement is an important step in the process of establishing the North American grocery business as a new, stand-alone company with its own strategic focus and priorities," said Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. "We believe that this business is well-positioned for success as an independent company." Kraft Foods Inc. intends to spin-off its North American grocery business through a tax-free distribution of shares to shareholders. Following the transaction, the North American grocery business will be an independent, public company operating under the Kraft Foods Group name. Kraft Foods Group, with 2011 combined net revenues of $18.7 billion, will operate one of the largest and most-admired food and beverage businesses in North America. It will manufacture and market food and beverage products, including convenient meals, refreshment beverages and coffee, cheese and other grocery products, primarily in the United States and Canada, under a stable of iconic brands. Its diverse brand portfolio consists of many of the most popular food brands in North America, including three brands with annual net revenues exceeding $1 billion each — Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; Oscar Mayer meats; and Maxwell House coffees — plus more than 20 brands with annual net revenues of between $100 million and $1 billion each. Kraft Foods Group's goal as an independent public company is to deliver superior operating income, strong cash flows and a highly competitive dividend payout while driving revenue growth in its key product categories. To achieve this, the company intends to build on its leading market positions, remain sharply focused on cost structure and superior execution and invest in employee and organization excellence.


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Fabric giant King Textiles is moving to make way for a condo development
Grandmothers, design students, fashion designers, Etsy shop owners and interior decorators (to name a few) will be saddened to note that King Textiles is moving at the end of July to make way for what it describes as “yet another condo development.” Currently, the business operates in a 22,000-square-foot space at 445 Richmond Street West, but it will downsize significantly at its new location at 161 Spadina Avenue. For the company, it’s presumably an annoyance, but for the consumer, it means that there’s a sale, with fabric, trim, upholstery, drapery hardware, zippers and buttons for 50 to 90 per cent off. It’s the perfect opportunity to cheaply start a new project, like making a pair of paisley culottes or designing a sheer pink canopy cover with glass bead fringe for a princess bed. Such a big sale on fabric means there’s going to be a lot of bulk buying and a lot of experimenting mistakes.


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DYNAMIC CREATIVITY, 3D CREATIVITY | Gillete
- Campaign date: October and November 2022
- Advertiser: Procter & Gamble
- Media agency: DENTSU
- Creative agency: –
To announce the launch of Gillette Labs, a new razor with an exfoliating bar that cleanses the skin before the blades, a 3D campaign was launched starring the footballer Joaquín, the brand’s prescriber.
The campaign was executed on the 15 screens that make up the Gran Vía Circuit, which, together with the spectacular 3D, helped to generate a great impact throughout the Gran Vía.
The action featuring the footballer Joaquín, the brand’s prescriber, resorted to 3D creativity to offer a close-up of the new razor. In 2 weeks, the DOOH campaign achieved more than 22 million impacts and over 2 million unique users on the screens of Circuito Gran Vía. And achieving brand awareness and connection with the local target.


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Time: 7:30 am - 9:00 am
Place: Renaissance Grand Hotel
Study concludes Internet sales tax bill would boost economic growth
(Page 2 of 2)
"Businesses like mine simply want a level playing field when completing against our online-only competition," said Greg Rozman, owner of Rozman Brothers Appliances-TV-Furniture in Harrisburg, Pa. "With analysis like this, small business owners see what the potential could be in dollars and centers. It gives us hope as we continue to fight for e-fairness."
Conservative groups opposed to the Marketplace Fairness Act tried to shoot down Laffer's study, despite their respect for him as one of the leading proponents of supply-side economics.
"Nothing in the bill requires states to lower their income tax (or other taxes) with the extra revenue they would raise from their sales tax if the MFA passes," writes Curtis Dubay, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation who specializes in tax issues. "The study’s finding that the MFA would be pro-growth is more wishful thinking than sound economic analysis."
Plus, most states favor the Marketplace Fairness Act because they want more tax revenue, he contends.
"They aren’t going to give up the extra money they would raise," Dubay writes.
Wisconsin and Ohio are "undoubtedly the exception to the rule," he contends.
"Giving states the power to add new Internet taxes in hopes old taxes will be cut is like swallowing second tapeworm to discipline first one," he tweeted.
Laffer admits that he's worried that some states "will squander the opportunity afforded by including e-commerce retail sales" in their tax bases.
"States like California, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut are fraught with risk," he writes.
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Parmalat Acquires Latterie Friulane Dairy Operations.
M2 EQUITYBITES-December 31, 2014-Parmalat Acquires Latterie Friulane Dairy Operations
(C)2014 M2 COMMUNICATIONS http://www.m2.com
31 November 2014 - Italian dairy and food company Parmalat S.p.A. has acquired Consorzio Cooperativo Latterie Friulane S.C.A.'s business operations engaged in the production, sales and distribution of dairy products in a deal worth around USD 14m, the company said.
The deal includes the production facility and offices in Campoformido, buildings in Ponte Crepaldo, San Martino and Monfalcone, and the existing contracts.
Employees will be simultaneously transferred and currently the company has 156 employees. This transfer will be effective as of 1 January 2015.
In 2013 the company reported revenues of about EUR 53.0m, the estimate for 2014 is about EUR 37.0m. This transaction was executed by assuming a net invested capital for about EUR 5.75m (USD 6.96m) and a bank debt for the same amount.
Parmalat said it will continue to carry out and will expand the activities of Latterie Friulane by implementing a plan designed to regain competitiveness and keep in operation the Campoformido production facilities and those that manufacture DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) products, while continuing to source raw milk locally in the Friuli region.
The transaction, which is subject to certain conditions subsequent, has been notified to the Italian Antitrust Authority.
((Comments on this story may be sent to firstname.lastname@example.org))
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|Date:||Dec 31, 2014|
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The FBI apprehended a man and his wife in Atlanta this month for Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
The former president of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), Stewart Parnell, has embraced several of his brother’s issues on appeal and also asked to be released on bond until those appeals are decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Tracy, CA-based Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc. is recalling a long list of products because they may include celery which could potentially contain E. coli 0157:H7.
We call it “Black Friday” because it’s traditionally the day when retailers move their accounting ledgers from red ink (deficits) to black ink (profits).
The source of the E. coli contamination which recently sickened patrons of a popular Reno, NV, restaurant has been identified as a chocolate mousse dessert.
Last week will undoubtedly be marked in the annals of Food and Drug Administration history as an important milestone for the Agency.
Consumers are being warned not to consume unpasteurized raw milk from the Jerry Dell Farm at Freeville in Tompkins County, NY, because it could possibly be contaminated with Salmonella.
In Georgia, by statute, a plaintiff must prove gross negligence, rather than just ordinary negligence, in order to prevail in a medical malpractice case alleging negligence in a hospital Emergency Room. Gross negligence is a higher standard than ordinary medical negligence, making it more difficult for a plaintiff to establish and, therefore, prevail in their case.


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The key indexes closed the week with small gains, though record-high oil prices dampened enthusiasm among investors.
Bullish investors attempted to rally Friday amid excellent earnings news from Dell, but their efforts failed amid news that oil prices surpassed $46 a barrel and that the U.S. trade deficit hit record levels.
All major indexes ended relatively flat for the day.
The Dow rose 10.76, or 0.1%, to 9,825.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1.57, or 0.2%, to 1,064.80, and the Nasdaq rose 4.73, or 0.3%, to 1,757.22. The InformationWeek 100 rose .99 points, or 0.4%, to 262.39, and was down 2.3% for the week. Despite Thursday's massive selloff, the Dow and the S&P 500 both edged 0.1% higher for the week, while the Nasdaq fell 1.1%.
The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock rose 6 cents to $32.53 as more than 90 million shares changed hands.
Oil closed at a record $46.60 per barrel, giving greater credence to investors' fears that prices may have to reach or surpass $50 before falling back.
Dell rose $1.39 to $34.51 after matching Wall Street expectations in its second-quarter profit. The computer maker said its third quarter, which includes the back-to-school season, looked positive.
Software maker Agilent Technologies rose 84 cents to $20.52 after announcing a third-quarter profit, compared with a loss in the year-ago quarter. The company beat Wall Street expectations by 2 cents per share.
PalmSource, which makes software for the popular Palm handhelds, said chairman Eric Benhamou will step down in late October. Benhamou will remain chairman of palmOne Inc., which makes the handhelds themselves. PalmSource fell 12 cents to $18.03, while palmOne fell 10 cents to $38.00.
See the full listing of all the companies in the InformationWeek 100 and the top 5 percentage winners and losers for the last closing at informationweek.com/stocks.
The Business of Going DigitalDigital business isn't about changing code; it's about changing what legacy sales, distribution, customer service, and product groups do in the new digital age. It's about bringing big data analytics, mobile, social, marketing automation, cloud computing, and the app economy together to launch new products and services. We're seeing new titles in this digital revolution, new responsibilities, new business models, and major shifts in technology spending.
What The Business Really Thinks Of IT: 3 Hard TruthsThey say perception is reality. If so, many in-house IT departments have reason to worry. InformationWeek's IT Perception Survey seeks to quantify how IT thinks it's doing versus how the business views IT's performance in delivering services - and, more important, powering innovation. The news isn't great.


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With plans in place to develop tourism ties with Abu Dhabi and Dubai-based travel partners, general manager, The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul, Can Goktas recently announced that the UAE is a major market for his property, with the UAE and other GCC members accounting for 35 per cent of guests.
Goktas further revealed that the hotel is preparing itself to welcome families and business travellers during the approaching season. The Istanbul-based hotel has new products in the pipeline that will more than satisfy the needs of GCC families looking to spend their holidays in Istanbul throughout spring and summer. A range of special packages can be found on the hotel’s website or via travel agents.
The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul has confirmed its participation at ATM 2016, while representatives from the hotel will soon be embarking on a two-month promotional tour that will stop off in Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait and Doha.
“Our first class services and continued experience in the hospitality industry make us the ideal location for weddings and other business events for our guests from the GCC region,” said Goktas, who added that The Ritz- Carlton, Istanbul will soon be introducing a sales representative in Abu Dhabi.
“The Ritz-Carlton has always been a memorable destination for GCC tourists as well as visitors from other countries. Istanbul has not been affected by tension in ties between Turkey and Russia. We see a significant increase in guests from Egypt which is promising since it is an important market for us,” he added.
Other key markets for the luxury property include the US, Germany and the UK, with the US accounting for nearly 16 per cent of its guests.


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The French government has passed a new law that tightens the rules for wines sold by-the-glass or carafe, with those who fail to follow the new rules liable to be fined.
Though it’s common practice for wine lists to detail information around the origins of the bottle of wine you’re ordering, that may not always be the case for wines sold by the glass or carafe.
Well that’s about to change in France, with a new law passed by the government meaning that on-trade venues will need to display “the origin, or according to the quality, the protected designation of origin (PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI) of the wines they offer to their consumers”, whether for consumption on-site or by takeaway.
Establishments that sell wine will need to display the information in full, and in writing – failure to do so could result in a “fifth class fine” of €1,500.
The law is an updated to the Law on the Transparency of Information on Agricultural and Food Products, which was due to come into force in 2020 but was subsequently delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bill is intended to protect renumeration for farmers and producers in France, by better detailing the origins of products to the consumer.
The news comes as one French senator called for legal protection of regional recipes from the country. Senator Alexandra Borchio-Fontimp previously spoke to db about her campaign to enforce similar restrictions on recipes as are found in the AOP system.
French wine production levels are expected to rebound somewhat in 2022, after the frost-hit 2021 vintage hit historical lows.
However, growers have still been forced to contend with hailstorms this summer, and drought could yet threaten volume levels. You can read our report on the anticipated French wine production levels here.
This article was originally published by the drinks business and has been shared with permission.


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MILAN (Reuters) - Barack Obama dressed like Steve McQueen?
World leaders gathering in Italy for a summit this week will be able to don parkas designed by Belstaff, the maker of the movie star’s jackets if things get stormy.
Belstaff, which also kits out current film stars such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt, has produced a limited edition black parka for delegates at the summit.
And there’s a “parka-chic” version for the first ladies.
“Every single jacket is made to measure,” Manuele Malenotti, whose Italy-based Clothing Co bought Belstaff in 2004, told Reuters. “Every single jacket is signed by (Italian Prime Minister Silvio) Berlusconi.”
The black mid-thigh jacket features an Italian flag and G8 logo on the right breast pocket. It is made of a light but strong cotton fabric which is water resistant and breathable.
Styling goes back to Belstaff’s durable clothing traditions which have been used by adventurers such as T.E. Lawrence and Che Guevara.
“We were thinking of something related to safety and protection, given the summit is based in L’Aquila,” Malenotti said. L’Aquila suffered a major earthquake in April.
After the summit, a version of the jacket will go on sale to the public. A percentage of revenues will be donated to the Earthquake Foundation to support the local population.
Malenotti said typically Belstaff contributes between 10-20 percent of the retail price to support charities. Belstaff’s replica Che Guevara jacket retails online for 495 pounds ($801).
And for Michelle Obama? Her version will be made of leather and nylon but retain the military inspiration, Malenotti said.
“It’s parka-chic,” he added.
Reporting by Jo Winterbottom, editing by Paul Casciato


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1st Gear: Will Power's Double-Barreled Bird Flip
IndyCar Series driver Will Power was just a wee bit ticked off Sunday when race officials restarted late in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway race — with the track still wet. The result? A spin by Danica Patrick that took out several other drivers, including Power. Livid, Power offered the above gesture to race officials in the scoring tower — and was admonished for it by IndyCar. But what about ABC? As you'd expect, they issued an apology to viewers saying they "inadvertently" showed the double-bird-flip. Inadvertent? Inadvertent, my ass. In a review of the tape, it appears as though ABC didn't air the salute until after it had already happened. Whatever. Although I'm a fan of good, entertaining TV, I'm also a fan of not lying to your viewers.
2nd Gear: GMC Wins "Heavy Duty Hurt Locker" Comparison Test
The GMC Sierra 3500HD won PickupTrucks.com's "Heavy Duty Hurt Locker" comparison test, a grueling showdown among industry heavyweights that included towing 19,000-pound fifth-wheel trailers up and over some of the most demanding grades in the United States. "We procured similarly equipped trucks from Ford, Ram and GMC and put them through the paces towing up and down some of the toughest grades in the country covering a total of 2,200 miles," said Mike Levine, editor of PickupTrucks.com. "When we analyzed the data, the GMC Sierra 3500HD simply outperformed the trucks from Ford and Ram." The results of the comparison conducted July 11-18th showed the Sierra's best-in-class towing for both conventional and fifth-wheel trailers.
3rd Gear: Maserati Recalls 763 Gran Turismo and Quattroporte Sports Cars
Fiat's Maserati unit recalled 763 GranTurismo and Quattroporte sports cars in the U.S. to replace tie rods, part of the vehicles' steering mechanism. The voluntary recall affects some 2009 model-year vehicles, the Italian automaker said in a letter posted today on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website.
4th Gear: Saab Customers Abandon Automaker as Swedish Hometown Frets
Bloomberg reports this morning on whether or not Saab, the 64-year-old Swedish carmaker sold by General Motors Co. last year to Spyker Cars NV, will win its fight to survive after halting production in March amid a payment dispute with suppliers. Following a series of starts and stops, the main Swedish factory has been quiet since early June, and the company has delayed paying wages twice as it scrambled to raise money. The market volatility caused by the European sovereign debt crisis complicates Saab's efforts to raise funds as banks become increasingly reluctant to loan money. With the factory shut down, the automaker's dealerships are going bust and employees are wondering about their future. "The chances have definitely narrowed," Martin Crum, an analyst at Amsterdams Effectenkantoor BV, said of Saab's possible survival. "The longer it takes, the harder it gets."
5th Gear: Lincoln Dealers Are Skeptical Ford wants Lincoln dealers to invest in dealership improvements and customer services, such as car washes, before the automaker launches vehicles needed to put the struggling brand back in the luxury game. But, despite a big marketing push featuring Mad Men's John Slattery, and Lincoln sales up a scant 1% through July, amid an overall market that was up 11%, and having lost the higher-volume Mercury sales, dealers are saying, "Show me the product." Automotive News was among those invited to see some of the product. Here are highlights of the briefing. They report that Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of global product development, said Lincoln is "heading in the right direction, but needs to take another step." That means designs and features that set Lincolns apart from even a top-of-the-line, flagship Ford Taurus. "No more badge engineering," Kuzak vows. We'll see about that. No journalists have yet reported on what they actually saw there — which doesn't bode well for Lincoln. Because if it had been good, we'd have heard about it.
6th Gear: Honda Building Another Mexican Plant
The Wall Street Journal reports Honda as saying Friday it will build a second assembly plant in Mexico to make subcompact cars, following an industry trend to develop a low-cost export base in the region. The company didn't name the vehicle that would be built at the new $800 million plant, but the only subcompact the company sells in the U.S. and Canada is the Fit, which is now built in Japan. Honda executives had said they were considering shifting production out of Japan because the strength of the yen makes it difficult to make money on exports. The assembly plant, which will employ 3,200 workers and produce up to 200,000 vehicles a year, will be the company's eighth in North America, a market that contributes heavily to Honda's sales and profit.
⏎ Aptera to refund deposits. [Green Car Reports]
⏎ New BMW M3 gets twin-turbo six. [Autocar]
⏎ KTM's Twizy rival. [Auto Express]
⏎ No 1200 hp Bugatti Grand Sport. [Telegraaf]
⏎ Opel now threatening layoffs. [Auto Motor und Sport]
⏎ Americans as hungry as ever for beefy muscle cars. [Detroit News]
⏎ Consumer confidence is pretty fragile. [Automotive News]
⏎ On the Road, and Out of the Red. [New York Times]
⏎ Chrysler seeks tax aid to upgrade Toledo plant. [Detroit News]
⏎ Focus sharpens on children left in hot cars. [USA Today]
⏎ First pictures of 2011 Kia Picanto three-door. [Car]
⏎ Car Talk Finds the Economic Cost of Distracted Driving. [Kicking Tires]
On this day in 1899, in Detroit, Michigan, Henry Ford resigns his position as chief engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company's main plant in order to concentrate on automobile production. [History]
Got tips for our editors? Want to anonymously dish some dirt on a competitor? Know something about a secret car? Email us at email@example.com.


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Loads of businesses want to get in on the money-generating likely of what has been dubbed the metaverse.
Only time will notify no matter if the competing extended fact encounters condition up to grow to be a one linked metaverse. But this is what is distinct now: Corporations throughout industries have previously been searching to metaverse parts — for example, extended fact headsets, blockchain and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), IoT and cloud technologies — as a signifies of connection and new resources of income. That exploration is very likely to keep on in new strategies as these creating systems progressively interconnect and experienced. So, IT leaders may possibly want to recognize metaverse examples and use scenarios, equally in the close to time period and in the potential.
Grabbing a metaverse share
“The notion of a environment exactly where hybrid and digital coexist with a comprehensive-fledged economy has but to be realized,” said Gopal Srinivasan, a partner with consulting company Observe Deloitte. “[But] we’re by now observing pieces of individuals becoming carried out.”
Deloitte is among the significant consultancies that have introduced an initiative to support organizations navigate emerging metaverse alternatives. Scaled-down companies are providing these types of services as very well.
Investigate organization Gartner predicted that 25% of folks will devote at minimum one particular hour a day in the metaverse by 2026. And with metaverse technology platforms predicted to develop into a valuable current market — to the tune of $800 billion by 2024, according to a December 2021 Bloomberg report — worry of lacking out on those prospective bucks is a powerful motivator.
Early adopters want to determine out how to operate in the emerging digital globe, some for anxiety of slipping powering or missing out altogether, claimed Nicolas Avila, the CTO for North The usa at


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The solar division of LG Electronics has committed to carbon-neutrality within a decade.
The firm has set up regular volunteer programmes for employees in all countries and plans to recycle 95% of its waste generated at production facilities. The company will also provide its customers with cherry trees as part of a green plantation drive.
Michael Harre, Vice President of the EU Solar Business Group at LG Electronics Germany, said: “At LG, we are continuously working on increasing the sustainability of our products in order to contribute to a better world.
“In the next few years, we will develop smarter products that work even more efficiently and networked, and that have also been produced under optimised conditions. But we also want to think outside the box and use campaigns such as cherry trees to further sensitise buyers to climate protection.”


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Airtel Payments Bank has appointed Anubrata Biswas as its Managing Director & CEO.
In his new role, Anubrata will be responsible for driving Airtel Payments Bank’s mission of taking convenient and innovative digital banking services to the doorstep of every Indian.
Commenting on the appointment, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Airtel Payments Bank said, “We are delighted to have Anubrata on board. I am confident that his experience will add immense value to the bank’s agenda of financial inclusion and digital leadership. I wish him the very best for his new assignment.”
Anubrata brings with him rich experience of over 17 years in the banking sector. Prior to joining Airtel Payments Bank, he was the Joint General Manager and Retail Business Head – South India for ICICI Bank and was responsible for managing the retail banking business across over 550 branches of the bank.
During his 17 year stint with ICICI, Anubrata has held several senior level positions, both in India and overseas. He has been Retail Banking Head of ICICI Bank UK, ICICI Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary in the UK. He was also the NRI and Remittances Head of ICICI Bank.
Anubrata has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Jadavpur University and PGDBM from IIM, Ahmedabad.


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Polaris Buys Wisconsin-Based Kolpin Outdoors
Polaris Industries, Inc.—the Medina-based maker of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, and motorcycles—said this week that it has acquired a Wisconsin company that makes powersports accessories.
Polaris said that its acquisition of Kolpin Outdoors, Inc., will bolster its parts, garments, and accessories (PG&A) business. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, although data from Polaris indicates that Kolpin had about $20 million in 2013 revenue and employs about 55 workers.
Polaris' PG&A business is growing: It accounted for more than $611 million in sales last year—or roughly 16 percent of the company's total revenue, up from 14 percent the prior year.
Kolpin was founded in 1943, and it manufactures accessories for ATVs and other off-road vehicles. For example, it creates storage racks, gun cases and holders, and windshields, among other products, which will continue to be sold under the Kolpin and Cycle Country brands. Kolpin has more than 650 products in its portfolio, which are sold through brick-and-mortar retailers such as Gander Mountain, as well as online sellers like Amazon.com. Kolpin also sells customized private label products directly to manufacturers.
Polaris said it will further develop the Kolpin brand “by applying its product innovation and engineering acumen to Kolpin’s operations, and leveraging its existing dealer and consumer relationships to extend the brand’s exposure.”
Steve Eastman, Polaris’ vice president of PG&A, said in a statement that the Kolpin acquisition “creates a multitude of growth opportunities for our PG&A business,” and it will “expand our aftermarket accessories portfolio and enhance our traditional and online distribution channels.”
The Kolpin deal is the latest in a long list of Polaris acquisitions, as the company has continued to diversify its offerings. For example, the company said in November that it was buying St. Paul-based military navigation software company Primordial, Inc. And earlier last year, it acquired a French automobile company that makes low-speed personal vehicles, as well as commercial vehicles.
In December, Polaris added a line of power generators for outdoor enthusiasts, and most recently, it announced a partnership with Boy Scouts of America.
The company has also been adding jobs and expanding internationally. Polaris reported record fourth-quarter profits and revenue.


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Nipsey Hussle’s Marathon Clothing Store Shuts Its Doors
The late Nipsey Hussle’s Marathon Clothing store has shut its doors to focus on the overwhelming amount of online orders its received since the Los Angeles rapper’s untimely death.
A few days ago, Nipsey Hussle’s longtime girlfriend, actress Lauren London, took to Instagram to share a note regarding The Marathon Clothing’s closing.
“Thank you to everyone who’s placed an order with us these last couple of weeks. We appreciate the unprecedented outpour of support. It means a lot to our team and family. We are working around the clock to fulfill every order placed,” the note said.
“We ask for your patience as we get everything fulfilled and shipped out to you. Additionally, our flagship store is closed right now, but our online store is open 24/7 to serve you and is the only authorized retailer of our brand. Once again, thank you for your support.”
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday (May 8) that prior to Nipsey Hussle’s death the “Victory Lap” rapper was working hard to beat gentrification in South LA and other cities across the United States.
Hussle was attempting to bring economic development to the blighted neighborhood surrounding Slauson and Crenshaw Boulevard.
The rapper was a part of an investment group that planned to use a tax incentive to help revive not only his South LA community but also marginalized communities in 11 cities, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico.
“Together with his business partner, real estate developer David Gross, Hussle had been scheduled to meet with Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, to discuss rolling out an investment fund they had created called ‘Our Opportunity,'” the LA Times reports. “‘Its mission is to work with the hometown heroes “of every large, majority black city to, in a systematic way, acquire and develop transformative projects,’ said Gross, who grew up in South L.A.”


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Realizing the importance in-demand real-world skills, Miami Dade College (MDC) has entered into a partnership with Facebook to hone the digital marketing expertise of students and outside entrepreneurs. Students will earn a certificate when they complete 18 credits in the program. Small business owners and local entrepreneurs can acquire expertise in apps such as Instagram, learn how to build or expand their business, and engage more directly with their customers using different social media tools.
The partnership grew out of Facebook Community Boost, a two-year-old Facebook initiative that provides digital skills and training for job seekers, advises entrepreneurs on how to get started, and helps existing local businesses and nonprofits get the most out of the internet. MDC is the first and only higher-ed partner in Florida.
“We learned about Facebook Community Boost and their aim to empower over a million small business owners throughout the country,” says Sissi Rodriguez, assistant to the college president, special projects, for MDC. “We were interested because we were already working on a certificate program for digital marketing that was approved by the state last year.”…Read More


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EU Bans Use of "Milk" Branding for Tofu and Soy
Court rules that some plant-based products in the European Union can no longer use labels such as "butter," "milk," and "cheese."
Last week, the European Court of Justice ruled that soy- and tofu-based products could no longer be promoted using terms such as “milk,” “butter,” and “cheese,”—which the court argued are reserved for products that contain animal-derived dairy. The ruling came after German company TofuTown argued that its products—such as Soyatoo Tofu Butter, Rice Spray Cream, and Veggie Cheese—did not violate EU regulations, on the grounds that they were sufficiently labeled to inform customers of their plant-based origins, which the court ruled “has no influence on that prohibition.”
The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) argued that the court’s decision was not made in an effort to protect consumers from being misled by plant-based dairy labels. “Plant-based alternatives to milk products have been on the market for many years,” EVU’s spokesperson said. “As many of them have been developed and produced specifically to resemble the ‘originals,’ they should be allowed to be marketed under similar sales denominations.” The court granted an exemption from the ban for coconut and almond milk, along with nut-based butters, which cooperating attorney for nonprofit Good Food Institute tells VegNews is absurd. “The approach of the EU is anti-competitive and paternalistic,” Barrella says. “If those exceptions are okay, then nothing is wrong with other exceptions, as a matter of logic or linguistics.”
Post-ruling, EU plant-based companies will be forced to rebrand their tofu and soy products, an action that will be enforced by local courts in member states. In the US, the Dairy Pride Act—legislation introduced last year by a group of congressmen from dairy-producing states proposing a similar ban—is still awaiting a ruling by Congress.
In local courts, the outlook for plant-based companies is positive. In May, California dismissed a lawsuit filed against Blue Diamond regarding the labeling of its Almond Breeze almond-based milk alternatives, and stated that the “claim of customer confusion is patently implausible.” In a separate case against food company WhiteWave, aimed at its Silk almond milk brand, a different California judge—Chief Justice Lawrence O’Neill—deferred the case to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in his June 6, 2017 ruling. “In the US, we have a stronger tradition of protecting free speech, including commercial speech,” Barrella asserts. “Culturally, we tend to oppose paternalistic measures by the state—particularly when it comes to absurdities like regulating language.”
Regarding the EU ruling, Barella states, “This is crony capitalism—an established, politically powerful industry squelching competition, nothing more.” Meanwhile, the plant-based milk industry continues to boom in the UK, US, and Europe, and current predictions expect the industry to reach $16.3 billion by 2018.
Vegan Ice Cream Brand Raises $4 Million to Expand
Austin-based NadaMoo! secures new funding to help expand the national footprint of its coconut milk-based ice cream.
Read More »
Plant-Based Investors Unite to Form Influential Group
Trade group Plant Based Food Association welcomes 10 leading investment groups to help advance the vegan revolution.
Read More »
Vegan Burger Brand Incentivizes Restaurants with Cash
Impossible Foods asks fans to demand its vegan burgers at their local restaurants with a $200 incentive.
Read More »
Tyson Raises Stake in Vegan Brand Beyond Meat
The meat company is looking to expand its holding in the vegan company as the plant-based protein industry continues to boom.
Read More »
UK Supermarket Launches Vegan Mince Pies
Just in time for Christmas, Asda creates a new plant-based alternative to the traditional British sweet snack.
Read More »
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- What the Health Nominated for Major Film Award
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- VegNews Receives Award for Taking Veganism Mainstream
- Amys Kitchen Debuts New Vegan Pizza Rolls
- Top Chefs Predict Tempeh Burgers Will Trend in 2018
- Tesco Doubles Meat-Free Options for Christmas
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- Meat Mag Names Plant-Based Protein Top Trend of 2017
- James Cameron Says Animal Ag is Choking the Earth
- Startup to Make Lab-Grown Meat for Cats
- Rainn Wilson Went Vegan After Realizing Pigs are Bacon
- Pork Magazine Learns Lesson from Vegan Drive-Through
- Vegan Burger Shop Opens at the Largest Mall in America
- Vegan Zero-Waste Store Opens in London
- Vegan Cookie Dough Jars Launch for the Holidays
- Top 10 Vegan News Stories of 2017
- Ruffles Apologizes for Anti-Vegan Tofu-urkey Ad


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Kathmandu, 12 September: With the purpose of tourism promotion and attracting tourists in the Visit Nepal Year 2020, the Nepal-India-China expo is scheduled to be organised from 21 to 24 February, next year, according to the Nepal Visit Year 2020 Secretariat.
The Secretariat has assigned the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Nepal to coordinate the tourism fair.
Suraj Vaidya, national coordinator of the Visit Nepal Year 2020, addressing a press conference held on Wednesday, said that the event will be effective to bring two million tourists in the year, also, it will give positive message about Nepal.
“The two countries are our neighbours and we have expected to meet our target with the tourists visiting from these countries”, said Vaidya.
He sought for positive role of the media sector to success the Visit Nepal Year.
The Expo will be participated by above two hundred buyers, above one hundred sellers and above 50 journalists from China and India, it is informed. Above one thousand tourism experts, local organizations and government organs will attend the expo, according to the Secretariat.
People’s News Monitoring Service