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People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and homosexual (LGBTQ) are underinsured for life insurance coverage, a position that finance professionals say leaves their families in greater financial security at risk.
Key points to remember
- LGBTQ Americans have less life insurance coverage than the general population, according to a new LIMRA survey.
- Only 38% of LBTQA adults surveyed say they have life insurance coverage, which is 7.6 million out of 20 million adults. Overall, half of Americans own life insurance.
- 43% of LBTQA consumers are more likely to purchase life insurance in the next year, compared to 37% of the general population.
- The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted one in five LGBTQ consumers to purchase life insurance, not just think about it, at a higher rate than the general population.
- Finances in general remain a big concern in LGBTQ populations 48% of respondents worry about what will happen to them if they get sick or injured, but only 14% say they have disability insurance.
Owning an LGBTQ life insurance policy lags the general adult population
LGBTQ consumers have a life insurance ownership rate of 38%. This rate is lower than the rate for all consumers, which is set at 50%, on the basis of a survey conducted and to analyse by Connecticut-based LIMRA and its affiliated nonprofit organization, life happensreleased this week.
Yet the disparity in life insurance coverage is worrying. LIMRA said in a press release that 68% of LGBTQ people surveyed think they should own life insurance. If the family’s primary breadwinner died, 45% of people making financial decisions in LGBTQ households agreed that their family would face financial hardship within six months, while 30% believed they would face hardship in just three months.
The pandemic has triggered an increase in life insurance take-up among LGBTQ consumers
Although LGBTQ Americans are less likely to own life insurance policies compared to the general population, they said the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted them to purchase life insurance at a higher rate than the general population. market segment of the general population, according to a recent life insurance survey. professionals. Despite their lower insured status, one in five of those LGBTQ consumers surveyed said the Covid-19 pandemic prompted them to purchase life insurance, five points higher than the general population, LIMRA said.
The LGBTQ community is already planning future financial coverage
Despite their lower coverage rate, more than a third of participants in the LBTQ survey say they work with a financial professional, while another 26% plan to consult one. A financial advisor, however, could focus on retirement planning and the investment desires and concerns of respondents.
Next year there might be more turnout. According to LIMRA, 43% say they are likely to buy coverage in the next year, compared to just 37% of the general population.
With 20 million American LGBTQ adults in the United States, a coverage rate of 38% represents 7.6 million adults. Of those surveyed, half, or 10 million people, said they needed coverage or in fact needed more coverage.
Multiple Financial Concerns Barrier Faced by LBTQ Consumers
The reasons given by LGBTQ respondents for not buying life insurance stem from the perception that it is too expensive and that it competes with other financial priorities, according to LIMRA. In addition, the LGBTQ population earns less and has a harder time covering expenses, according to reports cited by actuaries.
The areas in which LGBTQ respondents put their money for financial planning purposes reveal heightened financial worries. LIMRA found that LGBTQ Americans are more likely to reveal worries about finances in many areas compared to the general population.
These concerns include supporting themselves after a disability or injury and having enough money on hand for an emergency. Paying monthly bills, adequacy of retirement funds, credit card debt and mortgage on their home also topped the list of financial concerns for LGBTQ consumers. Other financial concerns include paying for a child’s education and burial and funeral expenses
Less than half, but a sizable number – more than a third to almost half – of LGBTQ respondents have financial concerns about illness, injury, disability and long-term care services, but LIMRA has found that three quarters had overestimated the cost of life insurance.
Many LGBTQ consumers go online for financial planning
The organization says lack of knowledge remains a barrier for the LGBTQ market, as well as others. The LIMRA survey found that only a quarter of LGBTQ Americans felt well informed and aware of life insurance. However, the Internet is a resource and a transaction center for many when seeking information.
LIMRA also found that LGBTQ consumers are significantly more likely to purchase life insurance online (41%) than the general population market, which turns to the internet to place life insurance about 30% of the time.
The LGBTQ community is taking to social media to learn more about financial products, citing YouTube, Facebook and Instagram as their top platforms. The surveyed community that identified as LGBTQ, however, is younger, as Generation Z adults (current Gen Z adults were born in 1997-2004) are twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ as millennials (1981-1996) and four times as likely as Gen X, according to LIMRA.
The online panel interviewed adult consumers who are financial decision makers in their household and LIMRA analyzed the responses to show market segment trends.


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Earlier this month, the US-based Ritz Carlton hotel chain announced that it will open its first hotel in Israel in March 2012. The investment in the project will be about $160 million.
One of Marriott International’s luxury brands, Ritz Carlton said it would open the 110-room hotel – which will also include 85 apartments – at the marina in Herzliya, an upscale suburb of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean Sea. Herzliya is Israel’s main high-tech center.
The hotel will be owned by two Israeli companies, Tidhar and Adi’s Investments (owned by Adi and Irit Strauss).
Simon Cooper, Chief Operating Officer of Ritz Carlton, said in a statement that he hopes to open more hotels across Israel in the future. The US-based chain operates 70 hotels worldwide with another 30 under development.

domain: news


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YouTube has mercifully brought its 4K premium paywall experiment to a close, meaning none of its users need to stump up extra cash to watch videos in the best streaming quality.
Team YouTube has taken to Twitter to indicated that it has “fully turned off” its YouTube 4K experiment that saw some unlucky users asked to upgrade to the Premium tier if they wanted full-quality streams.
Earlier in October it emerged that some YouTube users were the victims of a cruel (relatively speaking) YouTube experiment. When attempting to watch YouTube content in full 2160p, these unlucky few were being told that this was a Premium-only option.
In order to watch YouTube videos in native 4K (particularly useful if you’re watching at home on your 4K TV), these guinea pigs were essentially being encouraged to pay to upgrade to the $11.99/£11.99 a month YouTube Premium tier.
Typically, YouTube Premium gets rid of ads and also offers access to the company’s Spotify-esque YouTube Music streaming service. This seemed to be an indicator that it was looking to promote more Premium subscriptions by locking the hitherto free 4K option behind a paywall.
The test was evidently unpopular, with YouTube’s official tweet explaining the experiment since deleted. Our TV & Audio Editor Kob Monney reckoned that it was a wrong-headed move from the start, with 4K or Ultra HD being the resolution that we should all be watching our content in by now.


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Former Chancellor of Justice Indrek Teder is one of the latest to weigh in on ongoing controversy about pharmacy reform.
The reforms first proposed by the social affairs ministry would separate practising pharmacists from larger chains, which critics say will lead to closure of hundreds of pharmacies.
Speaking on Vikerhommik on ERR's Vikerraadio Tuesday morning, Teder said he thought the planned reform will not bring about major changes, and in any case, the lobbying of associations representing the larger pharmacy chain will stymie it anyway.
"I am very skeptical, I believe that a little noise will be made, but it will remain," Teder said.
It would also narrow the market, he said, echoing others' claims that the reform would close the market to new entrants.
A proposal from representatives of pharmacy chains on Monday would allow the wholesalers to remain open, with independent pharmacists alone being able to open new outlets.
Medicines for sale outside pharmacies?
A second question connected with the reforms is whether to free up the market to allow over-the-counter products to be sold in other retailers, such as supermarkets.
Teder was more in favor of this.
"There would be an easy solution if there was clear competition and regular stores would have the right to sell drugs," he said.
"Why couldn't there be a regular store where you buy aspirin. Why can't a doctor sell it?" Teder asked, noting that competition could also be provided in this way, with hospitals also perhaps selling products currently only available at pharmacies.
Teder is a board member of the Estonian Patients Union (Eesti Patsientide Liit).
Editor: Andrew Whyte


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Elephone this year has made us enjoy a lot surprise, since last dual curved 3D glass smartphone, Elephone S7 came out, almost all fans are crazy to catch one, but right now it’s in presale. However, Elephone this time has finally unveiled its year-end flagship, Elephone Z1 which is a new series of Z.
For most users, Helio P20 Octa core, RAM 6GB smartphone is quite rare on the current market, but it will be the best rival of UMP Plus E that we introduced yesterday, they both are their own year-end flagship smartphones with high-end specs. But if you remember before, Elephone has unveiled the one with Helio P20 and RAM 6GB smartphone, called Elephone P20. So will Elephone P20 change the name to Elephone Z1?
As for other specs, Elephone confirmed that they will use a better camera on Elephone Z1 with nice experience. It is said it will run Android7.0 OS. So if Elephone Z1 is more competitive, will you wait to see or order a Elephone S7 in this special shopping festival on Nov. 11?
Stay tuned on this page: Elephone Z1 smartphone


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Appoints Peter Schloesser as European Business Development Manager – Healthcare
Mocon, a US manufacturer of package integrity instrumentation, is expanding its European healthcare market focus with the appointment of Peter Schlösser as European Business Development Manager – Healthcare.
The company will be placing increased effort on helping pharmaceutical, medical device, life science and related companies improve package material selection and testing process.
For the past nine years, Schlösser has been Product Manager for package testing and gas analysing at Lippke, a Mocon company based in Neuwied, Germany. He brings significant food and pharma application experience, coupled with material knowledge, to the new role.
Mocon aims to help healthcare product manufacturers improve package performance, minimise costs and improve speed-to-market by deploying its arsenal of instrumentation and related testing services.
‘The healthcare market is growing globally and manufacturers keep pushing the envelope. As a result, they can often find themselves developing products and evaluating packaging structures for which they have no prior experience. With instrumentation installations and lab services in more than 75 countries on six continents, Mocon has extensive knowledge which can help shorten manufacturers’ learning curve,’ said Ed Emerson, Business Development Manager for pharma and medical at Mocon.
Schlösser will be based at Neuwied, but will be supported by Mocon’s worldwide laboratory, instrumentation and sales network.


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It wasn't too long ago that some began to question the future of cryptocurrency in Venezuela. With the introduction of the state backed Petro and a commitment by the government to make it more difficult for other coins to compete, speculation over crypto's future in the South American country was to be expected. What wasn't expected is what we are now seeing.
Not only have Petro's competitors not withered in Venezuela, they are actually gaining strength. As evidence, consider the recent decision by Venezuela's largest pharmacy chain to begin accepting Dash payments. This is a big development by any measure.
All-in with Dash
Estimates suggest that nearly half of all the merchants accepting Dash around the world are located in Venezuela. Perhaps no coin other than Bitcoin has such a strong showing there. Dash is doing so well that the Farmarket pharmacy chain is going all-in on it.
CryptoNewsZ reports that Farmarket has teamed up with Panda Exchange to facilitate cryptocurrency payments. The two have come up with a point-of-sale (POS) system that will soon be implemented across the chain's 22 locations in Caracas. That POS system is known as XpayCash. It will work seamlessly with the InstantSend platform owned and operated by Dash to facilitate instant payments.
Reports say that Farmarket stores in Santa Paula, Centro Lido, and CCCT are already accepting Dash payments. It is unclear how long they have been doing so. Nonetheless, the program has apparently been successful enough to lead management to expand across Farmarket's entire network.
Dash to train pharmacy staff
A blog post recently published by Dash says that the Dash organization will send staff to Venezuela to train Farmarket pharmacy staff over the first few months of the program in Caracas. They will also be available to train "general users", which we take to mean consumers who choose to use the POS and pay with Dash.
The need for training does raise some questions about ease-of-use. If the system is so radically different from conventional POS systems, its backers may have a tough time getting more Venezuelan merchants to use it. Only time will tell on that.
If all goes well, the relationship between Farmarket and Panda Exchange may be expanded to include Panda's operations in Colombia. This would have several different benefits, including allowing Colombians to buy medications in Venezuela and have them shipped.
While all of this is being developed it will be interesting to see how the government responds, if they respond at all. One would think that regulators with a mind to limit competing cryptocurrencies would have something to say about the plan. However, it has been quiet thus far.
Venezuela's history of crypto
If you take Petro out of the equation, Dash's success in Venezuela doesn't seem so surprising. The fact is that cryptocurrency has done very well there for years. There would be no reason to expect things to go south barring some sort of government intervention. There has been talk of such intervention, but no real action.
Venezuela's history of cryptocurrency dates back to 2014 when the Venezuelan bolivar hit an official inflation rate of more than 57%. Real inflation was closer to 100% later that year. In essence, economic collapse in Venezuela led to their fiat essentially being worthless.
Hyperinflation has continued in Venezuela ever since. This has led to continued economic contraction and an inability among Venezuelans to obtain U.S. dollars they now cannot afford. It hasn't helped that Venezuelan law has limited access to foreign currencies since 2003.
Always ready to jump in, both Bitcoin and Dash took advantage of hyperinflation. They began aggressively pushing their coins to Venezuelan consumers looking for some sort of store of value. Venezuelans responded. Fortunately, merchants have responded as well - which brings us to the government's decision to introduce Petro some two years ago.
A state-backed cryptocurrency
Venezuela's government was acutely aware of the country's economic problems even five years ago. In 2017, right in the midst of cryptocurrency's rise in Venezuela, they decided something had to be done to prevent consumers from totally abandoning fiat. Government officials announced their plans in December of that year.
What did they come up with? A plan to replace the bolivar with a new digital currency backed by the country's vast petroleum resources. That digital currency was eventually named Petro. Understandably, there was quite a bit of speculation following the government's initial announcement. But in February 2018, Petro was officially launched.
Upon launch, the government made it clear they had plans to clamp down on cryptocurrency and blockchain companies doing business in Venezuela. They made it clear they intended to reduce the circulation of other digital currencies in hopes that consumers would opt for Petro. They also began encouraging businesses to accept Petro payments.
The thinking was that a state-backed cryptocurrency could easily replace the bolivar and restore economic confidence among consumers. There was only one flaw in the plan: consumers weren't buying it. They were not about to put their trust in a digital currency backed by petroleum that Venezuela cannot sell.
Petro is still on the market more than 18 months after its launch. However, it doesn't seem to be functional. Large numbers of merchants are not willing to accept it, and consumers certainly aren't running out to buy coins. For all intents and purposes it would appear as though Petro is now as worthless as the bolivar.
Dash to the rescue
Venezuela's history with Petro explains why Dash is suddenly so big. Dash had a very strong presence well before government leaders tried to create their own state-backed crypto. By all accounts it looks as though Dash never lost any strength. It was as though consumers already using Dash yawned when Petro became available.
In essence, both Dash and Bitcoin are still quite strong in Venezuela because Petro is no more valuable than the bolivar. You could say that Dash, and Bitcoin to some extent, have come to the rescue of Venezuelan consumers who have absolutely no confidence in their own country's currency.
All eyes on the government
All of what we have discussed thus far brings us to the inevitable conclusion that cryptocurrency will continue thriving in Venezuela unless the government makes a concerted effort to stop it. So now all eyes are on Venezuela's leaders. What will they do? Will they continue to pin their hopes to Petro?
Regulators could take the drastic step of banning all cryptocurrencies but Petro. Such a ban probably wouldn't stop people from dabbling in crypto secretly, but it would make it extremely difficult for merchants to accept Dash, Bitcoin, etc. They would be forced to transact using Petro.
Any such move certainly would not help lift Venezuela's economy out of its current state. In fact, things might be made worse. Why? Because currency has no value in and of itself. Currency is simply a representation of economic activity. Where there is no economic activity, money is worthless.
Business requires freedom
Venezuela's number one economic problem right now is state control. When the state moved to take over the country's most profitable asset - the oil industry - it put the country on a collision course with economic disaster. A collapsing oil industry instigated a domino effect that destroyed nearly every part of Venezuela's economy.
The country is still in rough shape today because its government continues to control the oil industry. Until that control is returned to the private sector, very little will change. Attempting to replace the country's fiat with a digital currency is not any sort of real solution.
History has shown us time and again that business requires freedom to flourish. When businesses flourish, so do economies. A strong local business environment makes for a strong local economy. The same is true on a regional and national level.
Petro would have some value behind it if Venezuela's economy wasn't still in the tank. The way out of Venezuela's economic problems is not to expect Petro's artificial value to stimulate economic activity. It is to generate economic activity that will give Petro real value.
Cryptocurrency moving forward
Given the very low chances of Venezuela's leaders changing direction, it looks like Dash and Bitcoin will continue to do very well there. This latest announcement by Farmarket is proof. Even though being Venezuela's largest pharmacy chain puts a regulatory target on their back, company officials believe it is worth taking a risk on Dash.
That is likely how things will be in Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Moving forward, cryptocurrency will continue to offer Venezuelan consumers a store of value that is worth far more than both the bolivar and Petro. It would not be at all surprising to see other merchants follow Farmarket's lead and get on board with Dash, Bitcoin, or both.
Venezuela is an example of a nation in which cryptocurrency actually fulfills its intended purpose. There, Dash and Bitcoin are not seen as investments in the same league as stocks and bonds. Rather, they are monetary systems that allow consumers to transact business with local merchants.


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EE 4G GOES LIVE IN 12 MORE TOWNS ACROSS THE UK
- 4G arrives in Aylesbury, Berkhamsted, Billericay, Blackpool, Brentwood, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Lytham St Annes, Marlow, Pontefract, Thame and Windsor, delivering superfast mobile to more consumers and businesses
- Today’s launches bring total 4G connected towns and cities to 62, just six months after launch
April 30, 2013 – EE, the UK’s most advanced digital communications company, today announced that 4G is available in 12 more towns across the UK, bringing the total number of towns and cities covered by the superfast mobile network to 62.
Today, 4GEE is being switched on in Aylesbury, Berkhamsted, Billericay, Blackpool, Brentwood, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Lytham St Annes, Marlow, Pontefract, Thame and Windsor as roll out continues to progress ahead of schedule. 4G from EE now covers the homes and businesses of more than 50% of the UK population. By the end of June, EE is committed to launching 4G in at least another 18 towns and cities, bringing the total to 80, and aims to cover 70% of the population by the end of 2013.
Olaf Swantee, Chief Executive Officer, EE, said:
“Our 4G rollout is ensuring that we’re connecting people right across the UK to one of the fastest mobile networks in the world, as quickly as possible. Consumers and businesses in the UK use mobile internet more than any other market, and we’re working to meet that demand right across the country. We’ll roll out 4G to 98% of people in 2014, including the double-speed 4G that will launch this summer.”
4GEE mobile customers have instant web access while travelling; they can download large files quicker than ever, watch live TV on mobiles without buffering, and play live multiplayer games on the go. Consumers and businesses have access to the UK’s widest range of 4G mobile handsets, tablets and dongles, including iPhone 5, iPad mini, Huawei Mobile Wi-Fi, Blackberry Z10, HTC One, and the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S4, all available from EE stores and ee.co.uk.
In March, EE announced a breakthrough for high-speed broadband in rural areas with the launch of 4G mobile in Cumbria. Earlier this month, EE committed to the doubling of speed and capacity on its 4G network in the UK, using its unique spectrum portfolio. Ten UK cities will see the roll out of double-speed 4G by summer. They include Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield.
In its first quarter financial results announcement, EE revealed that 318,000 customers signed up for 4G and more than 1,600 medium and large companies across the UK started using 4G in the first five months after launch. EE has announced a target of more than one million customers by the end of 2013.
For more information, please visit www.ee.co.uk.
- ENDS -
Notes to Editors
4GEE is available in 62 UK towns and cities today – Amersham, Aylesbury, Barnsley, Belfast, Berkhamsted, Billericay, Bingley, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bolton, Bradford , Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Chorley, Coventry, Derby, Dewsbury, Doncaster, Dudley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Lichfield, Liverpool, London, Loughborough, Luton, Lytham St Annes, Maidenhead, Manchester, Marlow, Newbury, Newcastle, Newport, Nottingham, Pontefract, Preston, Reading, Rotherham, Sheffield, Shipley, Slough, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, St Albans, Stockport, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield, Telford, Thame, Walsall, Watford, West Bromwich, Windsor, and Wolverhampton, and EE is aiming for 98% of the UK population to be covered by the end of 2014.
For more information, please contact the EE press team on:
0845 373 7070
EE is the most advanced digital communications company in Britain, providing mobile and fixed-line services to 27 million customers, and is the first company in the UK to provide 4G mobile services alongside fixed-line fibre.
EE is the company that runs the Orange, T-Mobile and EE brands in the UK.
Its 4G service will cover more than half of the UK population by June and EE continues to improve the speed and reach of the UK’s first 4G network. Its fibre service already covers 50% of the population. EE’s mobile service currently provides coverage to 99% of the population with 2G and 98% of the population with 3G.
Follow us on…
Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ee
Twitter at: www.twitter.com/ee
YouTube at: www.youtube.com/ee
LinkedIn at: www.linkedin.com/company/ee-uk


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Winter weather that closed the Port of Virginia for four days contributed to a $560,000 operating loss for the port authority during February.
Port of Norfolk
17 Mar 2015
Three carrier alliances are launching Asia-U.S. East Coast services that will increase capacity on the route by 6 percent, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.
24 Feb 2015
Los Angeles-Long Beach will always be a vital U.S. gateway, but the nine-month labor dispute that helped bring West Coast ports to the brink of being shutdown is making shippers and industry analysts take a hard look at the trans-Pacific supply chain.
29 Oct 2014
A manufacturer of custom office furniture is investing $17 million to establish a Virginia distribution center at the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Suffolk, a boost for the Port of Virginia and CSX Transportation and another sign of growing momentum for inland ports served by rail.
28 Oct 2014
Celadon Trucking acquired A&S Services Group, a regional truckload carrier and port drayage operator with a


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4 types of products that cause cancer01/12/2018
The incidence of cancer worldwide is increasing, and one of the factors that contribute to this, according to scientists, is the neglect of a healthy diet. Scientific experts talked about what types of products can cause cancer.
1 type of products that cause cancer, sugar. According to the data obtained by scientists from Belgium, the sugar can promote growth of malignant tumors is due to the fact that the process glagoliza (splitting of glucose) stimulates the proliferation of cancer cells. Researchers have linked excessive sugar consumption with the development of cancer of the rectum, breast and bladder. At the same time completely without sugar is impossible: its low concentration in the blood and the brain tissue was statistically correlated with a high risk of developing a malignant tumor of nervous tissue.
What do we need to abandon once and for all, is an artificial sweeteners. Sugar substitutes, artificial colors and flavors, as well as beverages and products that contain them can be very toxic to the body, doctors stress.. the Abuse of products containing sugar substitutes, which may lead to cancer of the throat, esophagus, stomach.
2 type of products that cause cancer: sausage products. Sausage recognized by the International Agency for research on cancer (IARC) product with proven carcinogenic activity, its regular intake, experts associated with the development of colorectal cancer.
In addition, there is scientific evidence that the habit of eating a sausage can lead to the development of breast cancer. Instead of meat products is recommended scientists often use poultry or fish.
3 type of products that cause cancer: the product with high content of fat. Regular consumption of fatty foods (especially those containing TRANS fats and animal fat) acts as a stimulant division of stem cells in the intestinal tissues, causing growth of malignant tumors, is shown by experiments on mice. Scientists believe that the abuse of fat triggers irreversible cell mutation that lead to the possible appearance of cancer not only in the gut but in other organs.
4 type of foods that cause cancer: processed foods. Many scientists say that the cancer are not caused by specific foods, and the method of their preparation. Most dangerous in this respect ultramontana food – a variety of breads and pastries, carbonated drinks, cereals with sugar, convenience food, meat products. This food is high in sugar, fat and salt, despite the fact that it has almost no vitamins and fiber, and the process of digestion can trigger dangerous cell changes.
In addition, it is not necessary to eat foods with a long shelf life.
Earlier Magicforum wrote about what foods cause accelerated aging of the organism.


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Business Travel Show Europe is the place where
September 2022, Virtual
September 29 2022, Virtual
Russian airline Aeroflot has announced plans to launch a no-frills operation under the name Dobrolet.The new carrier will take to the skies next year if laws forbidding the sale of non-refundable tickets on the internet are repealed by the Russian government.
Dobrolet will fly from Moscow to St Petersburg and eight other Russian cities, and it is likely to expand to international routes. It has yet to name a home airport, which the carrier said will be “in the Moscow region”.
The brand is designed initially to compete with Russia’s long-distance train network. In return for speed and convenience, passengers will have to put up with seats that do not recline, no in-flight entertainment and cabins that will only be cleaned once a day.
There will be no premium cabin, but extra legroom seats will be offered for a fee and basic meals may be purchased.
Aeroflot chief executive Vitaly Savelyev said: “Nothing will be free.” He added that he expected a change in Russia’s ticketing laws “by the end of this year”.
Dobrolet will launch initially in mid-2014 using eight Boeing 737-800s.
The name Dobrolet was originally used by Aeroflot in the first eight years of its existence and the company promises that its subsidiary will have fares that are about 40 per cent cheaper than competitors.


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Duchess Kate goes back to high street roots wearing £150 Whistles dress for Diamond Jubilee Concert
- Opts for £150 Whistles dress from last season for evening celebration
The Duchess of Cambridge has been decidedly designer in the wardrobe department over recent months, with some of her ensembles costing in excess of £1,000.
But last night Kate, moved from high-end to high street opting for a pretty blue and purple Whistles dress as she attended the Diamond Jubilee Concert.
The 30-year-old looked happy and relaxed as she took her seat in the royal box alongside husband Prince William and cousin-in-law Princess Beatrice.
Royal blue: Kate opted for a pretty silk Whistles dress for the Diamond Jubilee Concert
The £150 silk Bella dress is a last season piece and is now sold out, but the style is still available in different prints.
A spokesperson from the fashion brand took to Twitter writing: 'We can confirm that Kate Middleton is in @thisiswhistles Whoop whoop!'
Kate wowed the crowds during Sunday's Thames pageant in a vibrant Alexander McQueen number which
drew rapturous applause from fashion critics.
The dress, which she accessorised with her trusty LK Bennett nude heels and a Lock & Co hat - has been worn by a number of celebrities since it made its debut on the spring/summer 2011 catwalk back in February 2010, including Kim Kardashian and Tulisa Contostavlos.
She continued the British theme for last night's festivities but this time opted for a dress by a rather more universal brand.
Family affair: Prince William and Harry were seen beaming while Kate waved her flag with plenty of enthusiasm
The Bella dress from Whistles is last season and currently unavailable
The Duchess has been photographed wearing Whistles on a number of occasions - most notably for one of her official engagement photographs - and has become something of an ambassador for the label.
Since her engagement she also opted to wear several of her outfits on more than one occasion, including a £49 Zara dress first seen the day after the Royal Wedding, and a brocade dress coat which made its debut in 2006.
Last night she matched her patterned blue and purple dress with a McQueen blazer.
Robbie Williams kicked off proceedings at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, singing his hit song Let Me Entertain You to the thousands of fans who managed to secure tickets to the celebrations.
The singer had donned his own military-style jacket in navy with his initials embellished in gold on his cuffs. Following his performance Robbie saluted the Royal box where the family sat beaming.
As one of the most scrutinised women
in the world, Kate has won much applause for her ability to combine
off-the-peg purchases with items by top couturiers.
Beatrice opted for a bold Erdem peacock blue print dress (left) while Eugenie dressed in a bright red vintage gown from London boutique D & Me (right
is known to favour high street clothing lines such as Whistles, Reiss
and Topshop. But her prestige was cemented in fashion circles when she
chose Sarah Burton, of McQueen, to design her wedding gown.
to McQueen for the boat parade appeared to have been a sage decision,
winning her yet more style points, while last night's sartorial choice
are likely to give Whistles a helpful sales boost.
Previous public appearances by the duchess have caused a fashion frenzy as women flock to emulate her style. The phenomenon - dubbed the Kate Effect - has seen numerous outfits sell out within minutes.
Princess Eugenie appeared to have taken a style leaf out of the Duchess of Cambridge's book, opting for a bright red dress from London boutique D & Me, teamed with some rather more outlandish Gina shoes - adorned with the Union flag.
It is the second time the young royal has displayed such patriotism over the Jubilee weekend. She appeared at the Epsom Derby on Saturday with Union flags painted on her fingernails.
Her sister Beatrice went for one of Kate's go-to designers, stepping out in a peacock blue Erdem dress and Ferragamo blue wedges.
Have you taken any pictures of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations? From The Thames to your town to last night's concert, we want to see them. Send them for publication - with lots of caption detail - to Mail Online on the email address: email@example.com
Robbie Williams looked dapper in his military-inspired outfit with his initials embellished on his cuffs
Robbie Williams was the first act to take to the stage at the Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace
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Crews are still working to mitigate and repair damage to the Kenai CarQuest Auto Supply store, which was nearly destroyed when its roof collapsed March 18. The store was closed after its roof gave way, sending debris through the front windows, breaking its fire sprinkler system and flooding the parking lot in front of it with about a foot of water. No one was injured.
Peninsula Clarion ©2013. All Rights Reserved.


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- China GDP beats expectations but debt risks loom
China’s economy grew a faster-than-expected 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, boosted by higher government spending and record bank lending, giving it a solid tailwind heading into what is expected to be a turbulent year.
Hurriyet. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 12:27:00 +0200.
- China’s Economy Grows Strongly, Yet Central Bank Eases Policy
Rising debt helped fuel growth last year. But the central bank told big banks that they could lend even more during an upcoming holiday period.
Keith Bradsher. New York Times. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 10:45:19 GMT.
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- Heineken in talks to buy Kirin's Brazilian beer brewer
Heineken says it is in negotiations with Japanese group Kirin to buy its Brazilian beer business.
BBC News. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 09:08:41 GMT.
- China's economy grows 6.7% in 2016
The figure meets Beijing's forecasts, but some say growth is slower than the official data suggests.
BBC News. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 08:46:46 GMT.
- Tungsten Market Looks to Rebalance in 2017
LONDON, January 20, 2017 -- For the last 20 years China has been the world's largest consumer of tungsten. ...
PR Newswire. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 06:00:00 EST.
- China data boosts Shanghai but Asia traders on edge
Shanghai stocks jumped Friday after China's economy enjoyed its first growth pick-up in two years, but traders in most other Asian markets were subdued ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. ...
Yahoo. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 03:44:19 -0500.
- Piracy Prompts Shippers to Avoid Seas West of Philippines
A surge in piracy to the west of the Philippines is forcing shipowners to divert vessels through other waters, adding to their costs and the time it takes to transport goods such as Australian iron ore to key Asian destinations. ...
Voice of America. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 03:41:07 -0500.
- China’s Growth Weakest Since 1990, Vulnerable in a Trade War
China’s economic growth ticked up in the final quarter of 2016, but its full-year performance was the weakest in three decades as it heads into a potential trade battle with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. ...
Voice of America. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 02:44:53 -0500.
- Apple Meeting In India On January 22, Government Considering Special Allowances
Indian government slightly more accommodative to Apple concession requests?
By Jay Somaney, Contributor. Forbes. Fri, 20 Jan 2017 02:35:00 -0500.
- President Xi says culture year boosts China-Egypt understanding
The 2016 Chinese-Egyptian Culture Year has enhanced the understanding and friendship between people of the two great nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory message on Thursday.
Copyright © 2008-2014 News-Articles.org. All rights reserved.
News Articles about Asia


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Cravings and fun atmospheres drive consumers to restaurants rather than the local supermarket when time-starved families need a solution to the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” according to a new report from The NPD Group. The market research firm found that nearly two-thirds of prepared foods sold at retail come from traditional supermarkets, but there are advantages that restaurants can leverage to prevent further erosion in their takeout-meal market share from what ...
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Coined by makeup artist Dominic Skinner, cloud skin is the latest trend to come from overseas, and if the influx of cloud-inspired products hitting shelves are any indication, it's about to be everywhere. While glass skin (along with buttery skin and dolphin skin, for that matter) is all about an insane glow, cloud skin is more about a soft-focus, hazy, lit-from-within look. Think about the sun shining through a band of clouds, that's what we're going for here. (It's also worth noting that this is different from the K-Beauty “cloudless skin” trend, which is more about perfecting your skin from the inside out.)
“Cloud skin is so different from the other trends that were big before the pandemic,” says celebrity makeup artist Jamie Greenberg. “People need more dimension because of the virtual time we’re living in.” That dimension she's referring to is exactly what cloud skin imparts, thanks to strategically mixing skin care and makeup to get an ethereal, cherubic glow, instead of a blinding, almost wet-looking gleam.
“You have to mix the textures of what you’re putting on your skin; think dewy, glowing, and matte,” says Greenberg. That's what creates the trend's soft-focus effect, giving a dreamy, hazy quality to your skin that's so classic and pretty—like a Rococo painting. It's also way more forgiving on Zoom than a super-shiny base.
One look at Instagram and it's clear clouds are having a moment—both in fashion and in beauty—since the dreamy vibes feel like an escape we desperately need right now. Glossier, as it usually does, paved the way with its cult favorite Cloud Paint Blush. Cool-girl hair brand R+Co just released a collection of products called On a Cloud, while Euphoria makeup artist Donni Davy paired up with Face Lace to create cloud eye-makeup stickers. Airy, cloud-inspired textures and iconography are popping up across a range of other skin-care and makeup products too—even fragrances are tapping into the hype.
Sheena Yaitanes, CEO of Kosas, says this trend toward dreamy escapism is what inspired the brand's new Cloud Set Powder, which is quickly becoming a must-have for both fans of soft-filtered skin and those of us who are suckers for cute marketing.


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Prices for Memorial Day barbecue fixin's are red-hot
Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, May 22, 2008
NEW YORK -- Hamburgers and hot dogs? Check. Lighter fluid? Check. Beer? Check. More money?
Americans are about to fire up their barbecues for the start of the summer cookout season, and one thing has become painfully apparent: It's going to cost a lot more than it did last year to roast a burger, or just about any other barbecue favorite, on the grill.
Food inflation is the highest in almost two decades, driven by record prices for oil, gas and mounting global demand for staples such as wheat and corn, and for proteins such as chicken. And that's reaching into Americans' backyards.
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The price of an average barbecue -- with burgers, hot dogs, beer, soda, condiments, salad, paper plates and lighter fluid -- could run families about 6 percent more than last year.
That's making shoppers pause as they fill their carts for the Memorial Day weekend.
"I'm finding myself questioning every purchase, wondering if it's gonna get eaten or if we really need it," said Tony Caballero, an advertising and marketing consultant, as he filled his cart at a Food Emporium in New York City. "When you do your everyday shopping, you try to cut corners. But it's a shame to have to scale down when you're trying to throw a party."
The consumer price index for food rose 4 percent last year, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the past 15 years. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its forecast for next year by half a percentage point, to a range of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.
Basic economics account for most of the increase: Bad weather has hurt crops, economic prosperity has driven up demand in developing countries, and surging fuel prices have raised transportation costs.
Economists and food scientists have argued that biofuel production is also a major factor in rising food costs, particularly corn, and that it should be scaled back. Meat and poultry executives have come out against federal ethanol mandates, which they say is driving the cost of corn higher.
Carol Tucker-Foreman, food policy expert at the Consumer Federation of America, said high-fructose corn syrup can be found in just about anything you'd find at a cookout or picnic.
"The backyard barbecue is where you'll see the most impact from the government's decision to subsidize the use of food to put fuel in our cars," she said. "From the ketchup to the paper plates, these are the things that are going to cost you a lot more than they used to. And this is just the beginning. Next year, it'll be even more expensive just to stay home and make burgers."
But the debate is moot for many American families who are struggling to put gas in the car, pay the mortgage and put food on the picnic table.
This year, the price for a pack of hot dogs has climbed almost 7 percent to $4.29. A 2-liter bottle of soda and a 16-ounce bag of potato chips both jumped more than 10 percent to $1.33 and $3.89, respectively, while a package of eight hamburger buns costs $1.61, 17 percent more.
The surge in prices is forcing people to try to cut corners and find bargains where they can, such as buying store brands, which tend to cost less than name brands.
A study by the Food Marketing Institute found that about a third more shoppers are limiting themselves to frozen or boxed foods instead of fresh items this year, while nearly half said they bought fewer foods overall.
But 55-year-old Cherise Tilly, who lives with her mother in Cincinnati, said she still buys more expensive items such as steak, ribs or chicken for grilling along with relatively cheaper meats such as hamburgers and hot dogs.
"My mother keeps worrying and says we need to cut back more, but getting together with friends to eat is one of the pleasures in life," said Tilly while shopping at a suburban Cincinnati Kroger store.
Other shoppers may be more reluctant to indulge, and those paying close attention to prices in the aisles may worry they're being gouged by grocers, said Scott Krugman, National Retail Federation spokesman.
"Consumers don't care why prices are increasing; they just want something to be done about it," Krugman said. "What they don't realize is how razor-thin profit margins are in terms of price increases on grocers as well."
While beef prices have been high, chicken and pork prices are expected to rise as producers are feeling the brunt of higher costs for feed and fuel.
Scott Faber, a lobbyist for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which has been pushing Congress to increase ethanol research funding, said meat prices will continue to rise in the next couple of years. New federal ethanol mandates will drive the cost of corn higher, he said.
"We are just in the beginning of a period of significantly higher prices, and American families will continue to feel that impact as the cost for basic staples like milk, meat and eggs will grow dramatically," Faber said. "This holiday weekend surely reflects that."


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01 June 2020
The interesting advantage of Google Photos unlimited storage that modern Apple iPhones got over the latest Pixel 4 is actually a “loophole” and Google has reportedly said that it’s aware of this and it will fix it soon. Calling it a “bug,” Google's spokesperson has said that the company will fix this soon, which means the unlimited storage feature will no longer be an advantage for the iPhones.
It was reported that saving images in the HEIC format allows the iPhone users to take advantage of Google Photos unlimited storage feature. And, since even compressing them would increase their size, Google saved the original quality of the photos. So, iPhones have that edge over the Pixel 4, but this is about to change since Google has itself addressed the “issue” and would fix it soon.
Saving the images in a smaller size wouldn’t have given Google Photos any problem but it appears that the company wants to put its iOS and Android users on an equal level. The HEIC file format Apple uses to save photos is more efficient than Google’s reduced “high quality” JPEG files. But still, equality matters. That loophole eliminated the need to pay for more storage when the free 15GB runs out.
Note that Google currently offers 15GB free cloud storage which, however, can be upgraded for additional storage.
Google may fix this loophole using any new update for Google Photos on iOS. Stay tuned.
Google Photos | iOS | App Store, Free


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Brazil’s economy will pick up speed in 2012, said President Dilma Rousseff on Monday addressing northeast governors concerned that recent announced budget cuts could limit economic activity and support for the area that depends from federal handouts.
We know that the year of 2012 will be a year of a stronger economic recovery President Rousseff told governors of the impoverished northeast.
A strong projected increase in the minimum monthly wage next year would help boost consumer demand, Rousseff said. There will be a significant adjustment to consumer purchasing power.
The lower house of Congress last week approved only a modest increase in the minimum wage for this year. But based on a formula that considers economic growth of previous years as well as inflation, the national minimum wage next year is likely to rise significantly.
Brazil’s largest economy expanded by an estimated 7.6% in 2010, putting it among the ranks of fast-growing emerging market powerhouses that left behind still struggling developed economies.
Those gains largely came on the back of Brazilian consumers, who took advantage of relatively cheap credit, tax breaks and a strong currency to pack shopping malls as part of the government’s stimuli package of 2009 to counter global recession and extended to boost electoral year 2010.
But economists in the most recent weekly central bank survey saw the economy growing about 4.5% this year, with inflation at 5.79%.
President Rousseff said the government would remain tough on rising consumer prices.
We're perfectly aware of how to avoid inflationary pressures in Brazil, and we won't let that happen, Rousseff said.
The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to 11.25% in January from 10.75% to contain price pressures. The clampdown on credit is expected to help keep growth at around 4.5% next year, according to a central bank survey of leading banks published on Monday.
Ms Rousseff told governors that the basic social programs that helped lift millions out of poverty in the last eight years will remain fully implemented and made it a point to decouple the current situation with eight years ago, 2003 when Lula da Silva’s Workers Party took office for the first time.
“At that time inflation was out of control, which is not the case now: we’re in the target margins of 4.5% plus the fact we have forex reserves of 300 billion US dollars”.


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As Todd Burgess finishes another call on his Moto Q smartphone from Motorola, he has no doubt about the impact the little gadget has had on his business.
“It's giving me an edge over some of the other contractors because I'm much more available to my customers and prospects,” says Burgess, president of American Deck in Baltimore. “Being that much more connected, I can get answers a lot quicker. I don't have to wait until I get back to the office to follow up.”
The technological gadgets that Burgess and a growing number of home improvement contractors now carry are the visible tip of the in-house computer power they're bringing to bear beyond their office walls. Most of the gadgets are of little use without a connection to the computers, software, and databases that comprise the nerve centers of the most successful home improvement businesses today.
The cell phones and digital cameras that were cutting-edge just a few years ago are now commonplace. These days, global positioning satellite (GPS) technology speeds home improvement contractors to sales calls in unfamiliar neighborhoods. With laptop computers and smartphones, wireless (and wired) Internet connectivity, reps, owners, and estimators are able to access company resources more easily, write more professional sales contracts, and manage their businesses more effectively. During the last decade, the home improvement industry has quietly undergone a sea change in its use of, and its attitude toward, new technology.
Burgess, for example, via an Internet connection, gains access to the software his company uses for scheduling, lead tracking, and project management that is practically identical to what he would have on his office desktop computer. “If somebody wants to set up a meeting while I'm on the road and I can't get it on my laptop,” he says, “I pull it up on my phone and schedule it there, on the spot.”
BROCHURE DOESN'T COVER IT Windowizards, headquartered in Bristol, Pa., “doesn't have a ton of electronic gadgets in the field at this point,” says David Goodman, vice president. But smartphones providing a wireless Internet connection are a key tool that helps managers “make the most of our database,” he says.
Goodman's company-supplied smartphone lets him see how Windowizards' $2 million-plus annual ad budget is performing, virtually minute by minute. He can review the leads generated by a particular ad, the appointments that resulted, and how much the ad cost. “Being able to get at that data and see it quickly helps me spend my money much more wisely,” he says.
Similarly, Windowizards sales managers keep track of their sales personnel's appointments on an ongoing basis. “We live in a bookings world of how many appointments we set up. The sales managers want to be able to see that number going up all day long,” he adds, and they can do that from anywhere on their mobile phone provider's network.
The company does not supply salespeople with smartphones, but they have similar access to company information from any Internet connection. “They can come into our system through a Web page where they can see all their sales statistics, where they stand, and what's been invoiced,” Goodman explains.
The evidence suggests that more contractors are using more sophisticated technology more broadly, at least in part because competition is getting tougher overall.


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Assistant professor of Chemical engineering, 'Huanan Zhang,' has developed a process that turns clothing fabric into biosensors that measure a muscle's electrical activity as it is worn. His new technology was recently detailed in a paper published in the science journal, APL Materials. The paper, "Gold and silver nanocomposite-based biostable and biocompatible electronic textile for wearable electromyographic biosensors," was co-authored by University of Utah chemical engineering graduate student, Taehwan Lim, and Sohee Lee from the Department of Clothing and Textiles at Gyeongsang National University in South Korea. “This new method allows clinicians to more accurately collect long-term electrical signals from muscles, and we can better understand the patient’s progress and, by extension, the outcome of their treatment over time,” says Zhang.
The biosensor technology created by the University of Utah’s Faculty of Engineering makes it even more true. ‘Huanan Zhang,’ an assistant professor of chemical engineering, has developed a process that transforms clothing fabrics into biosensors that measure the electrical activity of muscles when worn. His new technology was recently detailed in a paper published in the scientific journal APL Materials. Zhang and his team devised a way to take a regular textile made of cotton or polyester blend and turn the fabric into a sensor that measures the electrical impulses generated from muscle movement. This can be a better solution for measuring muscle activity for physical rehabilitation or other medical applications. Current bioelectric sensor technology, which typically tapes the sensor to the skin, can be ineffective, unpleasant, expensive, and costly to manufacture.
He said that human muscle contracts, and emits electrical signals in the form of ions (as opposed to electrons from an electrically powered device). Zhang's process involves depositing a microscopic layer of silver over a piece of fabric to make the material conductive and therefore receive the electrical signal from the muscle. And having just a layer of silver is a problem since the metal can be somewhat toxic when in prolonged contact with the skin. So the researchers also deposit a second microscopic layer of gold, which is non-toxic to the touch. The gold not only protects the skin from the silver, but it also enhances the electrical signal, Zhang says.
"The silver layer provides baseline conductivity, but the gold on top improves the signal and the biocompatibility, and it helps reduce the cost of manufacturing pure gold devices," he says. This new method can enable clinicians to collect a muscle's long-term electrical signals with more precision," says Zhang. "And we can get a better understanding of a patient's progress and therefore their therapeutic outcomes over time. His team has tested the method on a compression sleeve for the forearm. While this technology will mostly be used on compression sleeves or socks since it requires the clothing to constantly touch the skin, Zhang imagines that it could also be used for other skin-tight clothing such as bicycle pants or athletic tights. This sensor-equipped clothing is another example of the popular trend of wearable technologies that constantly monitor your health throughout the day, such as the Apple Watch. And Zhang even envisions a day when his clothing could interface with a digital watch to provide real-time readings provided EGM monitors become small enough.


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March 3, 2016
Translated by Kristina Kharlova
Export of Norwegian fish products in January 2016 amounted to 6.7 billion Norwegian crowns (782 million U.S. dollars), up 18% from the same period last year, according to Norwegian Committee on fish.
The supply of trout increased by 124% to 294 million Norwegian kroner. The main buyers in this segment — Belarus (primarily for re-export to Russia), Poland and USA.
According to estimates by the Norwegian Committee on fish, under trade restrictions and ban on export of fish to Russia, the achieved results exceeded all expectations. “Weak Norwegian Krone in combination, in particular, with a good demand for fresh products has led to a new export record,” explains the Director of the Committee Terje Martinussen.
Recall that in August 2014, Russia in response to sanctions from a number of European countries imposed a ban on food imports from the European Union countries, USA, Australia, Canada and Norway. As previously reported by IA REGNUM, during the year of sanctions regime, export from Norway to Russia decreased by almost 80%. From 2011 to 2013, Russia was the main export market for Norwegian fish. According to the Norwegian side, in July 2014, i.e. before the introduction of the ban on export deliveries of fish and seafood to Russia amounted to 76 million U.S. dollars.
It should be noted that the fishing industry is the second largest sector of the Norwegian economy after oil industry, but salmon is one of the major exports after oil and gas. In late January, Bloomberg news agency reported that the average fish weighing 4.5 kgs in NOK is more expensive than a barrel of oil. Norwegian company-salmon producer Nordlaks called the current prices “fantastic.” According to the company, they are two times higher than previously predicted by market analysts.
The export of fish and fish products from Norway have shown record results in 2015, reports AFP.
Fish exports reached 7.75 billion euros in 2015, 8% more than in 2014 and 100% more than it was a decade ago, according to the Center for marine products of Norway, responsible for marketing of Norwegian seafood.
It is emphasized that the high level of exports was achieved despite the Russian embargo on Norwegian fish. Prior to the embargo in August 2014, Russia was the largest importer of Norwegian fish.
The Rosselkhoznadzor [Russian Agro-monitoring] has announced enhanced monitoring of Belarusian dairy and fish products exported to Russia. Federal agency is concerned about the sharp increase of deliveries to Belarus of food from countries hit by retaliatory sanctions from Russia.
Norwegian fish suppliers found detours for their products, banned from import into Russia: salmon and trout is imported to Belarus and the Baltic States, where the fish receives a new customs code, which opens the way to the Russian market, writes Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv.
According to the newspaper, during the first week of September 2014, exports of fresh salmon from Norway to Belarus increased three times.
The volume of exports of trout from Norway has increased by 10% by July of 2014 and amounted to NOK 213 million. Belarus became the main importer of the Norwegian trout.
According to the Norwegian Council for seafood export, exports of fish products from Norway to Russia last year decreased by 55% compared with 2013, while exports to Belarus increased by as much as 75%.
In 2014 “Belarusian food offshore” was created in Belarus through which contraband is shipped to the Russian market. These deliveries, which undermine the regime of retaliatory sanctions of Russian Federation, are carried out both by Belarusian and Russian companies.


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An example of advertising meets personalisation for good-old manipulative marketing outcomes. Please excuse the barrage of branding/product mentions throughout the copy and media materials.
Also note how the point of deploying the technology is entirely covert and great lengths are gone to embed hidden tracking systems into the physical environment. Persons subjected to the advertising are also not told that they're accepting a tracking device for the purposes of such advertising where the content displayed is specifically for tailored emotional manipulation much more than ordinary advertising. Persons later question if the experience was a "coincidence," etc.
For two weeks this past spring, some shoppers at the Westfield Stratford shopping mall in the United Kingdom were followed by a homeless dog appearing on electronic billboards. The roving canine, named Barley, was part of an RFID-based advertisement campaign conducted by Ogilvy on behalf of the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, a rehabilitation and adoption organization for stray animals. The enabling technology was provided by Intellifi, and was installed by U.K.-based RFID consultancy RFIDiom.
Ogilvy's ad campaign was the brainchild of William Godfrey, an "experience designer" at the advertising agency. Ogilvy is a fan of Battersea—and of pets in general—Godfrey explains, and he thought about how technology could be used to bring the plight of homeless animals directly to the public in a memorable way. "I had the idea that it would be lovely to digitalize dogs," he says, and radio frequency identification seemed the best technology to make it appear that a digitalized canine was following people in the way that an actual stray dog might do. Ogilvy had considered the use of other technologies, such as cameras, but ultimately decided that RFID would make the process seamless and automatic.
Eric Jones, RFIDiom's managing director, says he, too, is an animal lover. When Ogilvy suggested a campaign using RFID to put images of pets in front of shoppers on an individualized basis, Jones was up to the task, despite the short (two-week) deadline. It was a bit different than the company's typical RFID deployments (which include document-tracking, supply chain management and industrial traceability solutions), and he says he and his engineers enjoy a good challenge.
The RFID system worked this way: representatives of the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, including Fishersmith herself, greeted shoppers at the entrance, offering them an RFID-tagged Battersea brochure if they seemed especially interested in pets. To better judge this, one individual stood at the entrance holding a dog or cat from the shelter. Every shopper who walked up to the animal to get a closer look at or pet it received a brochure. Attached to that brochure was a Smartrac Frog 3D RFID inlay encoded with a unique ID number that the system would recognize. That ID was not connected to any data about the individual carrying the brochure, since the company's intention was that shoppers would remain anonymous.
Consumers were not told that the brochure had any special technology built into it. Therefore, an individual could be surprised when the advertising video changed to a dog—Barley—when he or she approached the billboard.
A total of seven digital billboards, located in or near the mall, were RFID-enabled, according to Matthijs van der Weg, Intellifi's CEO.
An Intellifi reader (known as a Smartspot), with as many as six antennas built into it, was installed at each of the seven billboard sites, and some of the readers were also fitted with an additional external Intellifi reader antenna. The reader detected the zone in which an individual was located. Each antenna supported two to three zones, with a single zone's radius equal to a distance of three steps that a shopper might move while walking. The reader forwarded the brochures' unique IDs and signal information to Intellifi's Brain software on the server, which then calculated each shopper's location relative to that particular billboard.
The location data was provided to Ogilvy's content-management software, which displayed an image of a dog whose movements corresponded to that shopper's location. If the person holding the RFID-tagged brochure was walking to the left, the dog followed in that direction. As he or she approached the screen, the animal on the video seemed to approach as well.
The system also tracked which screens a shopper had already passed. This allowed the billboards to play only video images that he or she had not already seen.
Some reader installations were easier than others, Jones says. At some billboards, for instance, there was a power source to which the reader could be connected, while in other cases RFIDiom installed standalone power units to energize the readers. It was important that the hardware not be apparent, he adds, and RFIDiom made a few creative adjustments to ensure that the readers, antennas and power units were obscured.
In some cases, the readers were painted green and hung in trees or placed in bushes near the screen, while others were attached to lampposts. One RFID-enabled billboard was located on a nearby footbridge that some shoppers traversed to reach the mall. In this case, RFIDiom installed flowerbeds with false bottoms and buried the readers in with the flowers. [...]
During the two weeks in April, the system tracked hundreds of shoppers. "People did a bit of a double-take," Fishersmith says. "At first, they weren't sure if it was just a coincidence that the dog seemed to be following them." In some cases, they approached the Battersea representatives in front of the mall to ask if their experience had just been a coincidence, and many wanted to repeat the process.
Altogether, Godfrey says, shoppers carried about 700 brochures throughout the mall. The campaign's successful result, he adds, "has put RFID on the radar" for other Ogilvy engineers. "I don't think it will be the last time" Ogilvy will use such technology, he predicts, noting that the specific campaign will need to be one that benefits from the sense of having content follow an individual (in the same way Barley did).
"The main thing is that we proved it could be done," Jones says, speaking on behalf of Intellifi and RFIdiom.
# # #
Here is some footage of people "interacting" with the system as part of the marketing campaign. The footage is basically an ad, it's from the campaign's website.
"MANILA, Philippines – The next big thing in computing could be a glass-encased chip embedded under the skin of your left hand.
Think of it as an extension of the wearables that can track your movement, your sleep, your heart and pulse rate now. Chip implants can do so much more.
In its early stages today, it can store data that can be read by Near Field Communication (NFC) readers. Technically speaking you can open your door, your car just by scanning your hand in the NFC reader. It can serve as your key or access pass to the gym, the library, the office, or wherever is it that requires identification.
If you think that chips embedded in the human body can turn you into a cyborg, fear not because the reality is less frightening than that, according to Hanness Sjoblad, Chief Disruption Officer and Founder, BioNyfiken.
In a presentation entitled “Chirping Humans: The Internet of Things Becomes the Internet of Us,” at the Kaspersky Lab APAC Cyber Security Summit in Malaysia recently, Sjöblad, along with Rainer Bock and Sergey Lozhkin of Kaspersky Lab, explained that while still a rarity (only around 10,000 people around the world have chips implanted in their hand), it is fast gaining attention, especially in Europe and the US.
The use cases are built around the ease and convenience of not having to carry around too many things in your wallet or your handbag. Just scan your hand and you’re good to go.
Sjoblad said there were many interface moments in computing history that made human interaction with computers a lot simpler. Using computers before Windows, for example, is an absolute pain. It’s the same way with using the Internet before the Web browsers. Windows and Web browsers are only some of the landmarks in computer interfaces that have made it very easy for people to interact with computers.
“My personal take is that implants represent a similar interface moment between humans and technology because of the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT),” Sjoblad said. “Our world will be filled with connected things. If you have a smart device in your hand you have automatic way to interact with technology.”
Defined as the network of physical objects embedded with software, sensors and connectivity, IoT is indeed growing rapidly. Juniper Research recently reported that the number of IoT connected devices is on track to reach 13.4 billion this year and is expected to rise to 38.5 billion by 2020. These connected things have varied applications in retail, agriculture, smart buildings and smart grid applications, to name only a few."
WA - Mandatory microchip implants for criminals
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Lawmakers are considering a controversial bill that would outfit sex offenders with a surgically-implanted device that tracks their movement.
The devices would replace the ankle bracelets that are currently used to track offenders. The bracelets have been criticized as a lacking device as offenders have successfully removed them in the past before disappearing off of the radar.
"(The devices would) be a little more difficult to take off," said Rep. Maralyn Chase, D-Edmonds.
Chase is among a handful of lawmakers are looking into radio chips that can be planted under the skin. Some of the designs are no larger than a grain of rice.
The radio chips would allow police to track an offender from a sex offender using the same technology used at the Tacoma Narrows bridge toll.
"Right now, we get a postcard at home every few weeks saying we have a sex offender moving into the neighborhood. But unless you know where they live and what they look like how are you going to have protection?" said Chase.
The Department of Corrections admits even with the current devices, officers often lose signal. DOC officials also note that no tracking device can prevent crime.
"It certainly is not prevention. It certainly is not 100-percent," said Anna Aylward with the state DOC.
The bill is currently in committee.
If passed, the bill would allow the state to hire the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to determine whether chip implants would be more effective.
Similar technology is used to track criminals in the U.K. and school children in Japan.


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Black Bread Epitomizes Croatian Poverty as Labor Strikes
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) _ In Croatia, black bread has become both a staple and a symbol for those struggling to get by in this former Yugoslav state’s war-decimated economy.
The dark loaves, produced in quantities controlled by the government and six times cheaper than any other bread, are an issue that has replaced all others in conversation.
Labor unions now are presenting wage demands to the government not in terms of money, but loaves of bread.
On Friday, under the motto ″Bread for Everyone 3/8″ unions declared Croatia’s first general warning strike since World War II. For four hours, the job action shut down much of what remains of Croatian industry, railways, elementary schools, the national electric company, some shops and technical departments of TV.
″People now have to work one hour to buy just half a loaf. We demand that their hour be tantamount to an average price of one bread,″ said Vesna Mirkovic, vice chairwoman of Croatia’s biggest labor union.
Croatians today rarely discuss the U.N. peacekeepers patrolling one-quarter of their territory, or the Bosnian peace talks. Instead, they wonder how to pay their bills and buy some basics for dinner.
All over eastern Europe, white bread traditionally has been a status symbol.
Branka Vecanin, a 30-year-old secretary, said that in Croatia nowadays, black bread has become the symbol of ″being able to survive.″
Every morning, in semidarkness, Natasa Vlacic joins dozens of other impoverished Croatians in a line outside the supermarket for black bread.
On Friday, Mrs. Vlacic got to her bread line at 5:30 a.m. She was 20th in a queue that had swelled by 6 a.m. to 70 people hoping to buy one dark loaf when the supermarket opened half an hour later.
″Two months ago, when the temperatures were 15 below zero (5 degrees Fahrenheit), I was also waiting an hour in line,″ said the 58-year-old bookkeeper, adjusting her kerchief against the early morning cold.
Like the bread, named for the dark, whole-wheat flour used to bake it, Croatia’s economy looks black.
The average monthly wage is now about $60. Unemployment is officially at 17.5 percent, with only an estimated one in four Croatians actually holding a job.
An economy of 4.5 million people shoulders the additional burden of 650,000 refugees from Bosnia. More than 450,000 of these survive on some kind of social assistance.
The Croatian dinar, once a proud symbol of the independence declared in 1991, fell 1,200 percent in value last year. Despite government efforts to control price rises, inflation is estimated at 25 percent a month.
While prices have followed the rate of convertible foreign currencies, salaries have remained stable for months.
Black bread is the only staple not susceptible to the infant market economy, because its price is controlled by the government.
″I gave up everything but bread,″ said one striker Friday, who gave her name only as Ms. Petricanin. ″If I had to give up bread too, where would I go from here?″
But there are not enough loaves for everybody. The government stipulates that between 20 to 40 percent of the daily output of each Croatian bakery must be black bread.
″A loaf of black bread costs 100 Croatian dinars (about 7 cents), while the other sorts cost more than 600.. My monthly salary is about 60,000 Croatian dinars ($43). So, if I buy just one white loaf a day, I would spend a third of my salary,″ Mrs. Vlasic said.
The government, too, is beginning to reckon in terms of black bread.
The Ministry for Labor and Social Welfare proposed a new program for more public canteens and subsidies for the poorest - officially ″socially imperiled″ - families to buy quarter of a black loaf and quarter of a liter of milk a day. (A liter is slightly more than a quart).
For the first time since World War II, the government is considering distributing food coupons to each family.
″The labor union doesn’t want to accept public kitchens and welfare as an alternative to earned salaries,″ said Dragutin Lesar, chairman of the Labor Union.
Most observers expect the economic picture to get worse, however, and believe Friday’s peaceful warning strike could be the prelude to more serious social upheaval.


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iPhone 5S vs. Samsung Galaxy S4: What to Expect This Fall
While much of the attention has been focused on the brewing battle between the Apple’s rumored iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, the iPhone 5S has another Samsung device that it will be competing against when it arrives this fall. That device of course is Samsung’s current flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Last year, Samsung ignited an intense rivalry with Apple as the company announced not one, but two flagship smartphones that were aimed not only at Android competitors but Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 as well. Those devices,the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2 remain on shelves, but we’ve seen the Galaxy S3 get replaced already with a Galaxy Note 2 on the way.
On September 4th, Samsung will announce the Galaxy Note 3, a phablet that it will use to usher in the holiday shopping season. However, the Galaxy Note 3 won’t be the only big name Samsung smartphone on the market as Samsung’s flagship from earlier this year, the Samsung Galaxy S4, remains a solid option for smartphone shoppers.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 replaced the Samsung Galaxy S3 as Samsung’s go-to smartphone. The device, which arrived back in April on several U.S. carriers, remains one of the best smartphone options on the planet and will remain so even when the Galaxy Note 3 touches down on shelves in just a few weeks time.
And while it had been battling Apple’s iPhone 5 for supremacy for much of 2013, it will soon be challenged by a new iPhone, a device that is rumored to be called the iPhone 5S.
Apple’s iPhone 5S is expected to replace the iPhone 5 as the company’s flagship model which means that it will be taking the company’s flag into battle against the likes of the Galaxy S4.
The device remains unannounced but thanks to rumors, leaks, and Apple’s past, we can piece together much of the iPhone 5S’ story and compare it to the Samsung Galaxy S4’s.
Here is what prospective iPhone 5S and Samsung Galaxy S4 buyers can expect from the upcoming battle between two of 2013’s juggernauts.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 has been out for months now as it first hit the United States back in April. The device is currently available on a host of different carriers and it won’t be going anywhere as we head into the fall. The device’s successor, the Samsung Galaxy S5, has been rumored for arrival next year, but it’s unlikely to arrive before the month of March, same month as the Galaxy S4 launch.
The iPhone 5S on the other hand is still not out and we still don’t have an official release date from Apple. In fact, we still don’t have an official iPhone 5S launch date despite rumors pointing to something being imminent.
iPhone 5S rumors suggest that the device will debut at an iPhone event on September 10th. That date still hasn’t been carved into stone by Apple but the date is extremely credible and is being considered all but confirmed. The release date is a little bit flimsier.
Rumors suggest that the iPhone 5S release date could fall on September 20th in some regions while rumors have also suggested a late October release date and a late November release date in China.
If September 10th is indeed the iPhone 5S launch date, September 20th seems likely given that Apple historically has released its iPhone just a few days after announcing it.
While specific dates could change, the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5S battle appears to be only a few weeks from kicking off, meaning those looking to buy should expect to be able to make a decision in the near term.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 arrived with a design that was similar, but different from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
Instead of metal, Samsung decided to once again go with a plastic polycarbonate material for the Galaxy S4 though the material is much nicer than the plastic that it used on the Galaxy S4’s predecessor. Samsung’s Galaxy S4 might be plastic, but the device doesn’t feel cheap.
Thanks to its plastic design, the Galaxy S4 delivers a removable back wherein users can remove the back plate to install an extended battery or a back plate compatible with wireless charging. There is also a microSD card slot that allows users to expand beyond the 16GB or 32GB with a 64GB microSD card.
As for specific dimensions, the Galaxy S4 is a slim device checking in with a slender 7.9mm frame and a weight of around 130 grams. Both are improvements from the Galaxy S3.
Those who have matched up the Galaxy S4 design with the iPhone 5 design likely were starring into a crystal ball because the iPhone 5S is expected to retain a design similar to the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5S is expected to be an ‘S’ iPhone model and ‘S’ iPhones typically retain the design of their predecessor. We’ve also seen numerous iPhone 5S leaks, including the video below, which show off just how the iPhone 5S compares to the iPhone 5 and Apple’s rumored iPhone 5C.
What this means is that the device is likely going to come with the same industrial design that emerged with the iPhone 5, one that combines anodized aluminum, glass and metal. The result of Apple’s changes from the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5 are a phone that not only looks great but feels great in the hand.
Apple’s iPhone 5S is not expected to have a removable back or microSD like the Galaxy S4 which means that users will be stuck with the battery and on board storage space, the latter of which could make users very reliant upon Apple’s cloud storage service, iCloud.
However, it also means that the iPhone 5S should check in with a frame that is both lighter and thinner than the Galaxy S4 as the iPhone 5 design measured in at 7.1mm thin and 112 grams heavy.
Samsung continues to increase the size of its smartphone screens. The Galaxy S4 comes with a 5-inch 1080p display, larger than the displays found on the Galaxy S3, HTC One and many other Android smartphones. Fortunately, the company was able to pack that display in without making the Galaxy S4 a monstrosity.
The spacious 5-inches allows users to easily play games, browse the web, and watch movies. The 1080p resolution, the same that is packed into many TVs, allows users to engulf themselves in high-quality HD content. Images, text and videos look great on the Galaxy S4 display, thanks in part to the 441 pixels-per-inch that come with the device’s display.
In addition, the Galaxy S4 packs a sensor that allows users to use touch less gestures with the display. The Galaxy S4’s Air View feature offers previews of text messages, emails and photos, as well as a way to peak ahead in videos. There are sensors that also make it possible to scroll without touching the screen and answer calls simply by waving over it.
Buyers should expect the Galaxy S4 display to make the iPhone 5S display look small. Apple is expected to keep the iPhone 5’s 4-inch display on the iPhone 5S with dreams of a larger screen iPhone likely pushed back to the iPhone 6, at least.
There have been rumors that suggest that Apple could improve the pixel-per-inch density on the iPhone 5S display to keep up with the competition but those rumors have fizzled out in recent weeks. Instead, at this point, users should expect the same 1136 x 640 resolution display that offers sharp text, photos and videos but is still below HD. It should also keep the 16 x 9 aspect ratio that cuts the black bars off HD video content.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 arrived with a high-powered camera sensor tucked into its thin design. The 13MP camera is capable of shooting fantastic photos and video, even in low-light environments. By no means is it the best smartphone camera on the market but it’s going to deliver content that users can be proud of and confidently share with family and friends.
It also helps that Samsung has one of the best camera applications available. With the Galaxy S4, the company added even more features to an already loaded smartphone camera app that offers users a variety of different modes to ensure high quality content. Some of the features like Dual Shot Mode are a bit gimmicky but others like Best Photo are irreplaceable.
Buyers can expect the iPhone 5S camera to, at the very least, be on par with the Galaxy S4’s. Rumors suggest that it will be coming with a 12MP to 13MP camera sensor. However, there are also rumors that it could be coming with dual-LED flash which could help the device take fantastic photos in low-light and potentially offer beautiful natural looking color.
In our camera tests, the Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 cameras sometimes delivered colors that were brighter than they were in their natural state.
There also also rumors that Apple’s new camera app, which now offers in-app filtering for photos, could deliver 120fps for video, something not found on the Galaxy S4 as well as slow-motion video. Rumors suggest that the iPhone 5S could have a motion tracking chip and perhaps it has something to do with these rumored features.
There are two key additional specifications that buyers are likely to focus on when it comes to the iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy S4. The first, battery life.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 comes stock with a large 2,600 mAh battery that we found to be an improvement over the Galaxy S3. We were able to squeeze out all day battery life when connected to Wi-Fi though users will see a drop when using LTE data. Still, the Galaxy S4 is up there with some of the best when it comes to battery life, a list that also includes the iPhone 5.
Apple is known for its high quality iPhone battery life and nothing changed with the iPhone 5 and the addition of LTE. Apple’s smartphone remains amongst the best when it comes to battery life over LTE and buyers should expect the iPhone 5S to be around the same.
The company isn’t likely going to take a step back and given the rumored processor upgrade, and potential room for a larger battery, we should see iPhone 5S battery life on par or close to battery life on the iPhone 5. If true, the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5S should be near equals.
The other things that consumers will be looking at are the processors. The Galaxy S4 uses a power Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor in the U.S. that is perfect for things like multitasking and gaming. The iPhone 5S is rumored to have an A7 chip on board which should be faster than the current A6 in the iPhone 5.
What’s more, the chip is expected to be 64-bit which would help with some of the heavy lifting with iOS 7 including graphics and animations.
Translated for the average consumer, this means that both devices will offer powerful processors that can handle important functions like multitasking, gaming and more.
Buyers don’t need the iPhone 5S to be official to know that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will feature vastly different software from Apple’s iPhone 5S.
The iPhone 5S will run iOS 7, Apple’s new operating system that will deliver a new look, new features and changes to many of Apple’s current core applications. Those looking for an extensive tour of iOS 7 can find one in the iOS 7 beta tour below.
Apple’s iOS 7 on the iPhone 5S should also feature some things that other iPhone models don’t get. Rumors insist upon a fingerprint reader, something that could tie into security and thus, iOS 7.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 doesn’t have a fingerprint reader and it won’t have iOS 7 aboard either. Instead, the device runs Google’s Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz on top of it.
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has some unique features of its own including Smart Scroll, which allows users to scroll through web content with their eyes and Smart Pause which pauses content when a user looks away.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available on the LTE networks of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon. It’s also available on several smaller carriers that should appeal to those looking to go the regional or pre-paid route.
The iPhone 5S should arrive on a host of carriers as well as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon are all but confirmed thanks to their commitment to the iPhone 5. U.S. Cellular should also be in the mix this year as well as the carrier confirmed the iPhone for later this year.
Like the Galaxy S4, the iPhone is typically available on smaller carriers in addition to pre-paid ones so those looking to buy the Galaxy S4 or the iPhone 5S should have no shortage of options come the fall.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 still costs $199.99 on-contract on most carriers. AT&T and Verizon offer the 32GB Galaxy S4 for $250 on-contract. However, that’s not a good representation of the Galaxy S4’s actual cost.
Those looking to buy the Galaxy S4 can find deep discounts through retailers like Amazon which offer the device well below its $199.99 asking price. With the holidays coming up, we expect to see some big sales on the Galaxy S4, much cheaper than anything we’re seeing right now.
The iPhone 5S price isn’t known quite yet but given Apple’s history, buyers can expect it to land for $199.99 on-contract. Whether that’s for a 16GB or 32GB model is unclear as rumors suggest a 128GB iPhone 5S could be in the mix this year.
What this means is that pricing through carriers will be similar but because the iPhone doesn’t see its price discounted regularly, the Galaxy S4 is likely going to be the cheaper option when the iPhone 5S release date arrives.
08/28/2013 at 12:39 am
Woohoo a bunch of information that is 100% unconfirmed.
08/28/2013 at 9:05 am
I don’t know where you on Amazon you saw the Galaxy S4 for under $200,
08/28/2013 at 11:10 am
Here is an example of the 16GB on Verizon with contract which is what the author was referring to.
08/28/2013 at 3:32 pm
They have Galaxy S4 at Target for 149.00 with upgrade of course.
08/29/2013 at 4:02 am
Costco : $149.99. https://membershipwireless.com/index.cfm/go/shop/do/browsePhones/
08/28/2013 at 8:23 pm
I don’t know what phone to get the galaxy s4 or should I wait until the iPhone 6 comes?!
08/28/2013 at 11:32 pm
08/29/2013 at 2:04 am
I say look at the Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy Note 3 will blow both phones away. The Galaxy Note 2 is still one of the top phones out there even with all these new phones out and it being almost 1 year old. The Note 3 is the way to go.
08/29/2013 at 3:37 pm
are you really really smart(geek)? or are there a few other people who agree with you? two answers please.
My name is
08/29/2013 at 2:30 am
120 framerate per second is also available on the s4 in slow motion mode
08/29/2013 at 5:30 pm
I like turtles
09/05/2013 at 3:01 am
I’ve bought s4 and I paid it about 600 dollars and I am living in iran


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Food (waste) for thought
In a time where 815 million people suffer from chronic undernourishment, one third of the food we produce is wasted.
IF THERE IS SOMETHING HUMANS cannot afford to waste, that is most certainly food. Yet, all around the world a staggering amount of food ends up in landfills rather than on our tables — for different reasons and in various circumstances. We are assisting to a controversial reality: while roughly one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption is lost or wasted every year — approximately, 1.6 billion tons, undernutrition still causes the death of about 3.1 million children annually. This data is still not bitter enough? Food waste accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions feeding climate change.
On the bright side, in times of emerging critical issues at the global scale, the United Nations (UN) and national governments are working to tackle the massive misuse of resources, as envisaged by UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12): to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” And it is fundamental since the numbers are simply shocking: according to the World Bank, food gets lost along the whole value chain, from production to consumption, piling up the estimated 44% of global waste.
And, no, the food consumption habit in all European countries don’t show a better picture: here, the greatest share of food waste occurs at the consumption stage, as markets and shops are teeming with food and consumers have become pickier and more wasteful.
With the actual trends, the challenge for the world becomes less easy to digest. Thus, SDG 12aims to halve food waste per capita by 2030. Gladly, signals of awareness are rising, and national and international governments have taken the first steps to tackle food security issues in the context of adaptation and mitigation to climate change.
A promising example comes from Turkey, where recently a close collaboration between FAO’s SAVEFOOD Initiative and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey cranked out the design of a national strategy and an action plan on food loss and waste reduction to be presented under the forthcoming “SAVE YOUR FOOD” Campaign, to launch in 2020. The essential ingredient to tackle the issue will be the close and proactive participation of all stakeholders involved in the food value chain across multiple sectors, including governments, businesses and societal stakeholders.
Kneading the economy
It will not be as easy as baking pizza, but it will take a circular approach to the economy to reduce the issue of food waste in Europe. To meet SDG 12, the European Commission (EC) adopted the Revised European Union (EU) Waste Legislation in 2018, calling on the EU countries to take action to reduce food waste at each stage of the food supply chain, monitor food waste levels, and report back regarding progress made.
The legislation has also given birth to a multi-stakeholder platform — EUPlatform on Food Losses and Food Waste — involving both EU countries and stakeholders in the food chain in order to help define the measures needed to achieve SDG 12, facilitate inter-sector cooperation and share best practices and results achieved.
In the frame of a circular economy, food waste should be seen as a valuable resource rather than something to be disposed into landfills or incinerators. What we don’t eat can be repurposed to tackle food security issues or for animal consumption, or even be recycled into biogas or compost that can then be used for energetic or as fertilising purposes, respectively.
Most certainly, there is no single solution to a complex problem. But one thing is for certain: all actors involved in the food chain need to sit down at the table and contribute to the plate.