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The head of UK operations for QPR's kit sponsor Errea has apologised to fans following the news that junior kits would not be available, citing a manufacturing issue as the reason.
The news was confirmed yesterday that young hoops would have to wait 15-20 days to get their hands on the new 2017-18 kit, which went on sale at the QPR Superstore this morning.
Speaking at the launch of the new shirt, Errea head of UK operations, Tim Barnard said: "We can only apologise to the supporters of the club.
"It was purely a manufacturing issue with the junior shirts, which actually affected another club as well. We have to be confident that the shirts being put in front of the fans is acceptable,so that's why we made the decision we did.
"By some way of consolation, we are accepting orders for the shirt and we'll be including a junior supporters QPR gym sack (on orders placed before August 15), but we can only apologise."
The overall response to the new kit design has been resoundingly positive, with many admiring the classic style across all three shirts, and Barnard confirmed this is exactly the look they were going for.
He said: "We've worked in line with what the club wanted have wanted to do which was more of a stripped back retro feel, and so far i think the reaction has been very good.
"We're just hoping we can deliver what the fans want. We hope that the club can have a few good years on the pitch, because that helps everybody.
"We're confident it's going to be a success. Over the next couple of days we'll look over the figures but we're confident that everything will be alright and everything will be ready for the first game."


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Cruise ships are returning to the Great Lakes after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. On April 29, the Port of Toronto Cruise Ship Terminal welcomed its first cruise ship in over two years, the Viking Octantis.
PortsToronto, which operates the terminal, said that 2022 will be one of its biggest years yet with 40 cruise ships scheduled to call at the port. According to a 2018 study, cruise activity in Ontario generates approximately $6 million in revenue annually for businesses catering to the vessels, passengers, and crew, such as restaurants, attractions, and shopping centres.
“The return of cruise ship passengers to the Great Lakes will bring renewal and revitalization to our local tourism and travel sectors, hard-hit over the past two years. We are thrilled to welcome them back,” said Geoffrey Wilson, CEO of PortsToronto, in a statement. “Between May and October, the Port of Toronto Cruise Ship Terminal will connect thousands of foodies, sightseers, and enthusiasts of all kinds to Toronto to discover what we know to be one of the greatest cities in the world.”
Not only will the return of cruise ships bring tourists to Toronto, but it’ll also allow Ontarians to visit other locations around the Great Lakes. In fact, this year, Vantage Tours is offering a 14-day cruise on its ship Ocean Explorer that takes passengers through four of the five Great Lakes, travelling from Toronto to Chicago.
The Ocean Explorer, which was launched in 2021, measures 104 metres long and features 77 cabins, holding a maximum of 162 passengers. Along its Toronto-to-Chicago route, the ship makes 21 stops, exploring some of North America’s largest lakeside cities, regional cuisine, and Indigenous history.
After leaving Toronto, the first stop on the ship’s itinerary is Port Colborne where passengers tour around Niagara Falls, and stop for lunch and wine tasting at a local winery. From there, the ship passes onto Lake Erie, stopping in Cleveland for a city tour that includes the Cleveland Museum of Art, the West Side Market, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The next day, the ship docks in Detroit where passengers receive a guided tour of the Ford Rouge Factory, the automaker’s largest single industrial complex. From there, the boat goes to Lake Huron, heading north to Manitoulin Island in Georgian Bay, the largest freshwater island in the world. Here, passengers learn about Ojibwe culture, participating in a traditional smudging ceremony and powwow at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation.
The cruise then continues on to Sault Ste. Marie before backtracking to Mackinac Island, a Revolutionary-era heritage site near the entrance to Lake Michigan that’s been car-free since 1901.
Finally, the ship reaches Chicago, taking passengers on an architectural tour of the city along the Chicago River.
Throughout the cruise, passengers can enjoy curated talks about the areas visited by a resident lecturer, as well as a long list of amenities, such as a spa, infinity pool, fitness centre, and an on-board restaurant.
As you’d expect, the cruise comes with a hefty price tag. Costs differ by cabin, but the starting price is $8,699, working out to $621 per day. The 2022 cruises are sold out, but if you’re looking for a way to explore the Great Lakes in 2023, cabins are still available.
Related Story What we’ve learned from clean-up success on the Great Lakes
Related Story 9 city escapes in Toronto that will make you feel like you’re at the cottage

domain: news


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Google’s Pixel 5 is getting a much-needed boost in GPU performance thanks to the April 2021 security patch. Released yesterday to compatible Pixel phones, the patch ups the capabilities of the Pixel 5’s GPU by around 35 to 40 percent, according to my own testing. Others like Andrei Frumusanu from AnAndTech are showing more substantial results, with the reviewer noting performance is “essentially doubled” when the update is installed.
When the Pixel 5 was released, many reviewers pointed out the poor graphics performance on the device due to its lower-end Snapdragon 765G processor. It appears that lack of optimization was to blame since the GPU is seeing such a large improvement thanks to better software.
Obviously, benchmarks only tell part of the story, so if you own a Pixel 5 and tend to play heavy games, you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled for any improvements to frame rates and rendering. I, for one, do not play many games on my phone so I had to rely on benchmarks.
Still, it’s really nice to see Google improving the performance of the handset so late in its life cycle. It’s also pretty cool how such a small update can make such a big improvement. (For context, the April 2021 security patch was about 16MB large when I downloaded it.)


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Before Starbucks and Keurig, there was illycaffè. The family business began back in 1933 when Francesco Illy developed an espresso machine. Today, the company is run by his grandson, Andrea Illy, and spans the globe.
Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Andrea Illy (@andrea_illy), chairman of illycaffè, about the threats the coffee industry faces from climate change, the environmental sustainability of coffee pods, his thoughts on fair trade and the “right” way to drink coffee.
On how climate change will affect coffee production
Coffee is definitely affected by climate change in two ways — particularly the arabica ones, which is the best premium quality. Temperature might be too high for the plantations and this is one of the problems, and then water security. Droughts, or excessive rain, which favors the proliferation of some diseases that kill the plants. So this is something we have to work in advance because it might be up to 50 percent of the land, which is currently suitable for our arabica production, not being suitable any longer from now to 2050.
On adapting to climate change
From time to time, I see an acceleration of climatic adversity affecting quality and production. I'm extremely confident that there's enough science and technology around to fix the problem. But we'd need to adapt to the agronomical practices. We'd need to develop new cultivars which are resistant to the effects of climate change, and we will also need to migrate the plantations. All these will take a lot of time. We have already kind of a benchmark of something which has been extremely well done in Colombia. But Colombia did work over the last 25 years in order to adapt to climate change — that was very successful. And they're now reaching all time record in production with their new cultivar, but something similar needs to happen in all the other 50 countries producing coffee.
On the changes in demand of coffee
Coffee is not considered a commodity any longer, thanks to the gourmet coffee revolution over the last two decades. It became extremely popular. Coffee was able to develop the three virtues, which are pleasure, health and sustainability. There's definitely more quality and pleasure in the cups, thanks to preparation technologies, better places, more varieties and so on. And consumers are definitely more engaged. Health is now proven that coffee is good for health. There are several scientific studies confirming that coffee makes you live better and longer to such an extent even recently, the World Health Organization decided to reclassify coffee as non-carcinogenic, which is a great success. And last but not least, the last feature — sustainability. Sustainability did improve... So thanks to these positiveness, coffee is gaining ground, acceptance also from emerging countries, like [in] Asia. Asia has become the second largest region after Europe for total coffee consumption, bigger than the United States.
On how different cultures consume coffee
When coffee used to be just a commodity and the quality was just so-so, people used to drink coffee for the caffeine kick in the morning. Today, it's different. Coffee became an experiential product. People are engaged because they love the flavor, they love the ritual of preparation, and so it's becoming a similar experience to wine. This is why consumption is accelerating...
"Coffee became an experiential product. People are engaged because they love the flavor, they love the ritual of preparation, and so it's becoming a similar experience to wine."Andrea Illy
On the sustainability of the popular coffee pods
Pods are part of the equation of pleasure because they deliver such an incredible amount of consistency in the preparation, consistency quality in the cup and convenience in the way to prepare. ... But why focus on the capsule, which is so dramatic in terms of consumer benefit, rather than focusing on the fact that the consumer drinks coffee in a paper cup, while you could drink — like we do in Europe, in Italy — from a china cup that could be washed and used again.
On fair trade coffee
I believe that the fair trade coffee is a very good step towards sustainability, but it's only the first step. As a matter of facts, fair trade coffee is not sustainable per se, because you kind of distort the value equation by paying more for the product which is normally valued less. So pricing is altering in such a way and consumers find themselves paying more just for the sake of feeling good. This is philanthropy. If you want to be a philanthropist, you give money to NGOs, which invest money in the cause you want to support. You don't need to buy a coffee bag in order to do so. On the opposite side, if you want to be sustainable, then you have to pay more for better quality, and the better quality meets premium price paid by consumers. This is our philosophy and this is why we direct source since 1991, working hand in hand with coffee growers, selecting only those who are really obsessed with quality. The second step is training them through the University of Coffee, which trains thousands of growers every year. And if their efforts result in quality, then produces the expected results, which is extremely high-quality coffee, then we buy them directly and we pay a premium price.
"If you want to be a philanthropist, you give money to NGOs, which invest money in the cause you want to support. You don't need to buy a coffee bag in order to do so."Andrea Illy
On Italy's economy
Italy's coming back gradually, also thanks to a very good work by this government led by Prime Minister Renzi. However, Italy has structural problems. We lost competitiveness over the past decades and we don't grow enough — we grow around less than 1 percent now. We have too much public debt and too much unemployment. So Italy desperately needs some reform in order to be able to quickly accelerate investments and also increase internal consumption. And these reforms are not facilitated by the current constitution of the country, which is over-democratic, because this is a constitution that was designed in order to prevent fusses from happening. There's too much democracy and a law needs to pass three, four different times, or as many times as needed in order to get a final approval. And also the European Union, which is basically a bureaucratic institution doesn't facilitate these reform process.
This segment aired on November 3, 2016.


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Sparc, the virtual reality sport from EVE developers CCP games is to launch exclusively on PlayStation VR this year. It’s rather like a Tron disc battle but with a ball, with players using their two PlayStation Move motion controllers to aim and throw projectiles at each other inside virtual arena. There will be a courtside area where you can spectate, a two player game, and online play.
“We have been exploring various aspects of VR over the past four years and pushed into new, exciting territories,” said Hilmar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games. “Out of one of those explorations, we found this amazing, central nervous system-unlocking experience that really feels like a solid next step towards the next generation of virtual reality experiences. As our first release outside of the EVE universe, I’m really looking forward to seeing how people react to this level of innovation.”
Source: YouTube / Press release


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NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) – As New York, San Francisco and some different U.S. cities and counties require eating places to examine proof of COVID-19 vaccination to dine indoors, some fast-food chains are merely shutting their seating areas altogether – a transfer that will dent their gross sales.
The burger chain White Castle shut the seating sections in its greater than 20 New York City places in September, after New York City started asking clients over the age of 12 to show they obtained at the very least one does of the vaccine so as to eat indoors.
By eliminating dine-in choices, eating places are pressured to rely solely on carry-out, drive-thru and supply orders – that are usually extra worthwhile. That additionally means they will get rid of expensive labor required to wash seating areas and examine clients’ proof of vaccination, and maybe have an additional worker work the kitchen or counter as an alternative.
White Castle Chief Operations Officer Jeff Carper stated the chain was “able to redeploy some labor to focus on drive-thru, delivery and pick-up,” as an example.
Taco Bell, a unit of Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), stated it inspired clients to position digital orders for pickup and supply, including that “our restaurants comply with federal, state and local regulations and guidelines to keep our team members and customers safe.” Two Taco Bell places that Reuters visited had closed their indoor seating.
At McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N), franchisees contemplate a number of elements when deciding to shut indoor seating, together with COVID case counts, native laws and staffing ranges, the corporate stated. On Sept. 16, 3 of the 8 McDonald’s places in New York City visited by Reuters had closed their indoor seating.
“We continue to monitor the Delta variant closely and, as we have throughout the last 18 months, remain able to adapt quickly while maintaining our safety standards,” the corporate stated.
Overall, shopper spending at U.S. eating places has rebounded from final yr’s mid-pandemic lows, up 9% to $440 billion within the 12 months led to August, in response to knowledge from The NPD Group/CREST.
But the primary mandate to examine for proof of vaccination went into impact in New York City on August 17, and town started to implement the necessities as of Sept. 13.
Inspectors for New York City visited 18,182 institutions by Thursday, giving out 2,211 warnings and 6 violations of $1,000 for failing to examine vaccination playing cards.
King County, Washington, residence to Seattle, would require eating places to examine proof of full vaccination or a latest detrimental COVID-19 check starting Oct. 25. San Francisco started requiring indoor diners to indicate proof that that they had been totally vaccinated on Aug. 20.
(This story corrects residence state of Seattle to Washington in final paragraph)


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SAN JOSE, Calif. — LELO has responded to Monday’s ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which bans the importation and sale of the LELO Tiani and Tiani 2 in U.S. territories.
The decision only affects the U.S. market and still must be approved by the United States Trade Representative delegated by the President during a 60-day period following the ITC’s order. The decision is also subject to review by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
LELO says ITC’s ruling is “a clear setback for the American consumer, and the industry as a whole.” LELO claims that the intentions of SIC [Standard Innovation Corporation] in asking the ITC to bring this investigation represented a clear action to prevent competition in the marketplace for its We-Vibe product line.
“SIC has instead chosen to target through legal proceedings LELO and other innovative companies that wish to offer more choice for consumers,” the company says.
LELO has announced it will continue to defend its right to import and sell its products in the U.S. market and will pursue legal action against SIC as necessary to do so. LELO Inc. is currently pursuing litigation in Federal District Court in California against Standard Innovation Corporation and its We-Vibe 3 product for infringement of one of LELO’s patents.
“LELO has also taken the opportunity to express its sincere gratitude to its loyal U.S. partners over the recent months, and affirmed its commitment to stand by retailers and distributors in offering genuinely innovative products to their customers,” the company said.
A new line of LELO personal massagers is slated for release in fall 2013, which the company claims will succeed in offering consumers greater choices while inspiring innovation across the industry as a whole.


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The deployment of MCR3 (Consumer Mango Refresh 3) or Windows Phone Tango is already on a roll for several days now and allowed many owners of Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 to complete the update. The software platform of the two smartphones Lumia seems to be intended to receive a new update. The information is obtainable from Navifirm , the server that contains all the new firmware and software updates for the Nokia. In Navifirm has just published the new 8779 software release , which should refer to an update post-Tango (8773).
At the time the new builds are only available for versions of the Lumia 710 and 800 sold in some Asian markets.


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MCFARLAND — The Ole S. Olson building in this village’s historic downtown began as a dry goods store in 1897 and was later a hardware store, furniture store and then a meat market.
Since the late 1980s, the cream-colored brick building has been home to an antiques store. Rocking chairs, dining room tables, oil lamps, ornate wooden bed frames and scores of other items have filled the 2,300-square-foot main floor, the basement with hand-hewed wood timbers and covered the original hardwood floors of the second level that at one time was a dance hall and still has a small stage and 18-foot-high ceilings.
But 119 years of retail in the building are coming to an end when Aug. 26, Phil and Mary Jo Olson are scheduled to close their McFarland Antiques store. The announcement comes as Phil, 74, is battling back problems, prices have dropped on antiques and other traditional antiques stores in the area are struggling.
“If it’s junk, nobody wants it. If you have good things you can sell it,” said Phil Olson, who is no relation to the building’s namesake. “Since (the recession of) 2008 it hasn’t come back. Prices are down on everything.”
The Olsons still plan to sell antiques at a space at the Antiques Mall of Madison, 4748 Cottage Grove Road, and Phil will continue with his passion of refinishing furniture.
But the Olsons are stepping away from the day-to-day demands of running the business Phil opened in 1990 while working full time as a third-shift nurse at UW Hospital.
The building has been sold with the first floor likely to be converted to office space and the second floor into apartments, the Olsons said.
“Every single item he has ever bought he can tell you exactly where he got it,” said Mary Jo Olson, 72, a retired librarian. “Life is a constant adventure with Phil.”
But the adventure for other antique dealers is also undergoing change, experts say.
Baby boomers who have filled their homes with antiques over the years are downsizing, younger shoppers are looking for retro items from the 1950s and 1960s, rising real estate prices are making buildings that house antique stores more attractive to sell while some antique store owners are past retirement age and looking for an exit.
“The Greatest Generation were pack-rats and hoarders. The Boomers were too but to a lesser degree,” Mark C. Grove, a nationally recognized personal property appraiser and author recently wrote. “The trailing generations have embraced minimalism with a bear hug because it makes perfect sense to them and it is why your kids don’t want any of your antique junk.”
Sherry and Bob Rehm purchased a former farm equipment manufacturing building in 2003 to open what is now the Waterloo Antiques Mall and Artisan’s Gallery.
The 22,000-square-foot three-story building is home to 30 vendors, which is down from the 50 vendors of a few years ago and who pay rent based on the amount of space they use.
The Rehms have been trying to sell the business and the building for the past 18 months and recently reduced the asking price to $650,000 from $695,000.
Sales have lagged over the last few years, especially on traditional antiques from the 1800s and early 1900s. Old clocks, Depression glass, China and glassware are among the more difficult items to move, Sherry Rehm said.
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“It’s a tough time,” Sherry Rehm said. “It’s frustrating. We’d like to see it in a better place after 13 years.”
The Rehms hold auctions in the basement of the building that was constructed in 1909 every few months while Bob Rehm also holds down a full-time job outside of the antiques business.
Items like brewing memorabilia, signs, advertising, comic books, fishing lures and vintage decoys remain strong.
Another bright spot for the mall is located at the rear of the main floor where 3,000-square-feet of space is rented by a pair of sisters who sell what is called “mid-century modern” furniture and lighting from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.
The inventory includes full bedroom sets, Formica cocktail tables and vinyl-covered kitchen chairs. Lighting is a big seller and can include table lamps with funky shades and triple-bullet-light floor lamps.
“What helps our business is that we’re always reinventing ourselves,” Rehm said.
At the Columbus Antique Mall, billed as the largest in the state at 78,000-square-feet, owners Dan and Rose Amato have over 200 dealers renting more than 400 booths. The Amatos founded the business in 1983.
The mall is located in a former vegetable canning factory.
In a good year, more than 120,000 people can visit the business but with Rose Amato nearing 80 and Dan Amato already there, the couple are looking to sell the business.
“The antique mall industry is a mature industry now,” Dan Amato said. “It’s not growing that much because there’s not that many people getting into it. (A stand-alone antiques) shop going out of business is not unusual.”
At McFarland Antiques, the main floor remains full of classic antiques, much of it furniture.
The items include an 1870 walnut table, a 1903 sorting table from the old Janesville Post Office and white carnival glass candy dishes. A walnut, queen-sized bed from the 1860s is for sale for $8,500, a piece Olson purchased in 1973 for $6,200 and later had in the Jessie Stone House in Watertown, a home built in 1876.
“It’s one of the nicest one’s you’ll ever see,” Olson said of the mid-Victorian piece. “I knew it was good and I had the space for it.”
Olson grew up on Madison’s East Side where his father was a watch maker and had a jewelry store at Schenk’s Corners.
Olson was introduced to antiques by an aunt and later, as an adult, began scrounging garage sales. His interest in antiques intensified after he purchased historic homes in Jefferson, Fort Atkinson and Watertown.
He dipped into his retirement savings to buy the Olson building and open the antique store in 1990 but worked full time at the hospital for another 10 years. He married Mary Jo in 1996 and reduced his hours at the store to five days a week in 2000.
If the store were on Highway 51 instead of in the old downtown area, or located on the West Side of Madison, Olson thinks sales would be better.
“I’m not sad to get rid of the building,” Olson said. “But if you have a good eye I think you can (successfully run an antiques store), even in this day and age. Antiques don’t sell for nearly as much as they used to but if you have good ones, they do.”


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One of the longest running unofficial services for Xbox 360 users has been shut down. MyGamerCard.net, which has been around as long as the Xbox 360 itself, has closed its virtual doors. Founder Jason Young -- known to most of us by his Gamertag, Morgon -- has posted a lengthy goodbye on the site, explaining his reasons for the shutdown, which includes the service's leaderboards.
According to Young, the "love for community has been lost by Microsoft," and its many community-based projects, including the Xbox Community Developer Program, have "stagnated." He adds that some sites have been using non-kosher methods to scrape data from Xbox.com, a practice Microsoft has allegedly done little to quell, but one Young says shows a "lack of respect" nonetheless. Faced with this sort of unscrupulous competition, as well as a poor advertising environment, he was forced to shut down the service after paying half of MGC's costs himself for over a year.
Both Joystiq and its community have enjoyed the ever expanding service since its inception. Initially offering GamerCards that could be posted onto websites and forums, MGC expanded to offer leaderboards, Achievement completion percentages and even daily gaming news. In fact, looking back at my tenure at Joystiq's former Xbox site, Xbox 360 Fanboy, I can testify that many of our community projects wouldn't have been possible without it.
Those wishing to keep up with Young can do so on Xbox Live or Twitter.


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Retail sales saw an increase for sixth month running in May, according to new data from the CBI’s quarterly distributive trades. While the figures were lower than last month due to Easter spending in April, experts say the overall sales figures are still positive and represent healthy economy growth.
Overall, 38 per cent of retailers saw an increase in sales, while 22 per cent saw a fall. This gives an overall net positive percentage of 16, which is lower than the 30 per cent in April, but still a sign of the British economy picking up. The report also found that 29 per cent more retailers were expecting a growth in sales next month.
Retail is seeing a real trend in positive reports lately; the Office for National Statistics recently revealed that the sector had enjoyed its fastest-growing pace in over a decade, while the recovery of the housing crisis has encouraged a boost in home and decorating retail.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, commented: “The fundamentals for consumers are currently improving overall, and they should continue to do so over the coming months as employment continues to rise and earnings growth likely trends higher than inflation.”
However, Paul Hollingsworth, assistant economist at Capital Economics, was quick to mention that statistics also showed a slowing down, stating: “This suggests that retail spending may slow from its recent robust rates of growth. Indeed, we had already begun to doubt that retail sales growth could maintain its recent strength, given that real pay is still struggling to rise on a sustained basis.”


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Residential auction activity at Barfoot & Thompson has remained steady as the market settles into winter trading.
The agency marketed 97 properties for sale by auction last week (22-28 June), exactly the same number as the week before and barely changed from 102 the week before that.
Auction sales have also settled around the 50% mark, with Barfoot achieving sales on 44 of its auction properties last week, giving a sales rate of 45%, compared to 51% the previous week.
The stand out success in Barfoot's auction rooms last week was the Manukau auction which had a 62% sales rate, while the agency's biggest auction of the week, on the North Shore, had a 41% sales rate (see table below for the full results).
Perhaps surprisingly given current economic uncertainties, Barfoot's auction activity is continuing to run well ahead of where it was at this time last year, both in terms of the number of properties being brought to auction and the sales rate.
In the equivalent week of last year (17-23 June 2019) Barfoots marketed 71 properties for sale by auction and sold 28 of them, giving an overall sales rate of 39%.
Details of the individual properties that were auctioned and the results achieved can be viewed on our Residential Auction Results page.
The comment stream on this story is now closed.
|Barfoot & Thompson Residential Auction Results|
|22-28 June 2020|
|Date||Venue||Sold||Sold Prior||Sold Post||Not Sold||Postponed||Withdrawn||Total||% Sold|
|23 June||Shortland St||3||2||8||13||38%|
|24 June||Shortland St||9||1||10||1||1||22||45%|
|25 June||North Shore||7||5||16||1||29||41%|
|25 June||Shortland St||3||1||1||5||60%|
|26 June||Shortland St||2||1||6||9||33%|


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Jenny Caro wants to help jewelers compete with Blue Nile, one seminar at a time
Jewelry By Design’s Jenny Caro knows that implementing change can feel impossible for small business owners. “The truth is, when we all get home from the great seminars and events we go to, we’re inundated with the reality of how to implement what we’ve learned,” she says. “And after two weeks, we’ve forgotten 90 percent of it”—particularly when it comes to online and digital sales. To try to even the playing field, and compete with diamond retailer Blue Nile and other online powerhouses, the Woodbridge, Va., retailer hosted a two-day digital marketing training event in July through her buying group, Leading Jewelers Guild. Its mission was down and dirty: provide hands-on digital education to the people in the store that actually do the online marketing and social media—typically not the owners. Professionals in website design, digital marketing, and social media worked with store staffers representing more than 1,000 store locations at the two-day training event. “I was shocked to find out how many [indie jewelers] don’t have websites,” says Caro, who owns Jewelry By Design with her husband, John. “You can choose to not be in the game—but know that it’s a choice.”
How did the idea for the Digital Strategy Seminar develop?
Leading Jewelers Guild is my buying group. At the group’s March 2014 meeting, we were having discussions and it came up that a lot of stores are hurting business-wise. Steven Singer of Steven Singer Jewelers [in Philadelphia], who I think is a maverick, said something like, “Let’s lay it out on the table. What’s going on here is we’re all losing market share to the Internet, because we’re not holding our own online.” He really stirs the pot, which I love. I happened to be holding the mic when he said this, and…I said, “I’m going to help put something together for the next meeting that will help us all.”
How did you organize the event and get people to sign up?
We had people fill out an informational form on social media. I have a very forceful nature—I went around and said, “Sign up for this right now.” Nobody is doing hands-on training of this sort in the industry.
What was the thinking behind the topics covered at the event?
We thought, while the people who actually do the [digital] work learn about that, the store owners would be in another meeting that was about financial benchmarking. The afternoon was about websites and SEO and Google AdWords. Some of [the attendees] didn’t even have a website. Or they had a website they made 15 years ago that looked like crap.
What was the larger mission of the event?
The big thing is getting everyone—even chain stores—to realize we are losing market share now, especially if you’re in the bridal business. You need to have images, images, images on your website. If consumers don’t see the rings, they might not come to your store because they don’t think you have them. People are so misinformed. It used to be we’d advertise in the phone book, and the question was “Do I want the biggest display ad or not?” Now we have so many ways to [market], and it’s hard to understand what will be right for you. And Google and Facebook change algorithms regularly. I have someone doing my Facebook, but is it a strategy? No. We now have Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter. Part of having a strategy is deciding which ones are important for your business. Also, you have to figure out how many you can focus on and do well.
What’s your philosophy on professional education?
I understand and believe that I always have to be learning, and I need to be going out of my store to places to learn. We all really need to be getting out of the store.


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Joshua Tan is director of Hello Social.
While the physical world remains in a constant state of COVID-19 limbo, the digital landscape, particularly social media, is seeing its fair share of disruption.
Large corporations are shying away from social giants in the #StopHateForProfit movement and governments are clamping down on social apps due to data privacy concerns.
On the other hand, people are looking to social media more so than ever to stay better informed, entertained and connected.
Despite 64% of internet users expressing their concerns over how companies use their data, GlobalWebIndex shares 43% of users are spending more time on social media with a daily average of two hours and 22 minutes. That’s one-third of their time online!
But what happens when brands and people regain their power from social media giants? What happens if Facebook were to collapse and throws the world into a #FOMO pandemic? Where will it leave brands and marketers?
Here are my views on how brands and talent can adapt to the ever-changing landscape.
If a brand isn’t on social media, does it even exist?
Fortunately, social media isn’t just built around Facebook. The rise of competing platforms like TikTok and less-frequented apps beyond the home screen like Pinterest and Reddit means there are more opportunities for brands to be where their customers are.
How can brands establish a stronger, more impactful social media presence? Classify then diversify. Treat each brand profile like its own digital storefront with unique user experience.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos sums up today’s digital age well:
“It used to be that if you made a customer happy, they would tell five friends. Now, with the megaphone of the internet, whether online customer reviews or social media, they can tell 5,000 friends.”
First and foremost, brands need to be relevant. Consider your audience’s mindset to the social platforms they’re on. A one-size-fits-all approach will be the downfall to customer-centricity.
If we were to take Facebook and its suite of apps out of the equation: How can you inspire action on Pinterest? How can you stir conversations across Twitter? How can you embed yourself within Reddit communities? How can you tell captivating stories across Snapchat or TikTok?
And for brands to do well on social, they need to think beyond social. Google’s latest ‘Messy Middle’ report shares from the trigger point, consumers ping pong between exploration and evaluation before finally making a purchase.
Diagram of Google’s ‘Messy Middle’
And social media is becoming a bigger piece to the complex customer journey puzzle with GlobalWebIndex sharing 16-24-year-old females now use social media (50%) for brand research over search engines (46%).
When it comes to building a robust social strategy, the questions I tend to probe are: How can current social strategies complement wider business areas? What online and offline sources are influencing customer behaviours? How can you tell more cohesive brand narratives at each touchpoint?
But how are brands supposed to stay across all the apps, tools and trends amidst everything that’s happening in the world?
A new breed of marketers
Hop over to any job posting today and the requirements of a social media specialist resemble that of a small agency.
A strategist who understands the industry landscape, a producer who can get behind the camera, an art director who designs content, a copywriter who can hook audiences, a paid manager who builds and implements performance plans while being a gun at managing client relationships.
The upside is it gives life to a new dynamic marketer who knows the end-to-end process of bringing brands to life on social. The downside is you get a Jack/Jill of all trades but a master of none.
But the budget scales are slowly tilting with cmosurvey.com reporting digital spending to supersede TV by 36% in 2020 while Forrester shares social media seeing a growing slice of the advertising investment pie at a 17% compound growth rate from 2016 to 2021.
And with larger honey pots, I foresee investments in social disciplines with dedicated suits, strategists, creatives and performance teams to boast a truly effective social media offering.
Until we reach that point of social validation, here’s what social marketers can do before we get to the proverbial land of milk and honey:
If you love strategy, consider user journeys beyond the confines of the app. How can social feed into CRMs? How can it contribute to offline/online experiences? How can you influence consumers in their exploration and evaluation phases?
If you love content creation, master the art of storytelling. Find the bridge between powerful TV commercials and engaging tricks YouTube or TikTok creators use. Audiences know an ad when they see one. They also know a good piece of content when they see one.
If you love performance marketing, brush up on how other digital channels work. Master the science behind formats, creative, placements and how social fits within broader ecosystems. How can it support search, AdWords or other marketing efforts?
And when you start asking the questions, you’ll start knowing the answers.
Summary in Tweets:
1. Is Facebook the be-all and end-all social solution for brands? The short answer is no. But the numbers still present the biggest opportunities for brands to build stronger communities, foster positive experiences and drive desired outcomes.
2. To thrive in today’s social landscape, brands need to classify then diversify while marketers should specialise and generalise.
3. If the fear of trying to stay across all the latest tools and trends is creeping up on you, don’t fret. It’s only a matter of time before Facebook borrows the features of rising apps or swallows them up whole.


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Besteller is automating online customer service – in two languages.
A global specialty apparel/accessories retailer is using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate Canadian customer service interactions in English and French.
The Canadian division of Bestseller, a Denmark-based sustainable fashion retailer, found itself experiencing a sharp increase in the number of customer inquiries it received from its e-commerce site and social channels, even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company began looking for a solution that would enable it to review and receive customer service requests on a 24/7 basis.
Based in Quebec, Besteller’s Canadian division sought an automated customer service solution that would work in both English and French, and ideally would be built by a Canadian company. Bestseller selected Heyday, a Montreal-based customer service platform offered by Hootsuite, to build a custom, AI-based, conversational chat solution for the Bestseller Canada e-commerce website and the company’s Canadian Facebook Messenger channel.
“We wanted to be more engaged with our customers, provide faster and easier service, explained Cynthia Lemire, e-commerce customer care leader at Bestseller, in an exclusive conversation with Chain Store Age. “Bestseller decided to pursue an AI-based online customer experience strategy to provide an around-the-clock service to our customers.
“When looking for a bilingual solution, we saw a difference between European French and Canadian French, so we decided to utilize a local solutions provider we knew would understand our unique needs,” said Lemire.
In the first three months of rollout, Bestseller’s new AI-based virtual customer service agent, known as “Best,” handled more than 38,000 customer conversations on Facebook Messenger, with a peak automation rate of 90%. More than three-quarters (76%) of customers who engaged with the automated virtual agent rated their experience as "excellent,” and average response time was 90 seconds.
When a conversation is transferred from the automated bot to a human customer service representative, the customer’s history is immediately available for the human agent to view. In addition, the virtual agent can switch from French to English in the same conversation.
“We have been able to assist many more customers with the around-the-clock customer service bot, as well as automate some repetitive inquiries that can be fully handled by the bot,” said Lemire. In addition, the solution’s high automation rate frees up Bestseller’s customer service agents time to focus on other initiatives, and to ensure they are not bogged down by lower-level customer inquiries.
Looking ahead, Lemire expects Bestseller to continue expanding its usage of the Heyday automated virtual agent solution.
“We want to keep growing and using the new features as much as possible, continue to help our customers with self-service, and help our customers during their online shopping visits,” stated Lemire.
Founded in Denmark in 1975, Bestseller operates 20 unique brands under the Besteller umbrella, including Jack & Jones, Vera Moda, and Only, Bestseller provides clothes and accessories for men, women and children. The company operates stores in over 40 countries, including the U.S. and Canada.


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Qatari new vehicles kept falling in the 2018 despite the government decision to postpone the VAT introduction by one year. Sales fell down 6.3%, signing the fourth negative annual score in a row. Toyota was still dominating the market, with 31.1% market share.
Qatari economy accelerated in Q3, with strong growth in the construction; and accommodation and food services sub-sectors. In contrast, the mining and quarrying sub-sector contracted slightly. Looking to Q4, trade data for October and November paints a positive picture, with exports and the trade surplus rising by double digits in annual terms. Moreover, foreign reserves continued to rise in November.
Looking ahead, growth should be supported by higher hydrocarbon production and infrastructure projects. However, the Saudi-led blockade and exposure to volatile commodity prices are downside risks.
Qatar Vehicles Market in recent year is declining. Following the all time record established in the 2014, when sales hit the 100.000 units, the fall of oil price in the international market and the consequent restrictive economic policy, hit the consumer demand starting a negative period not yet ended. Sales fell down for three consecutive years losing the half of 2014 volume and landing at 54.280 units in the 2017, losing a huge 25.6%.
The Government decision to postpone the already approved VAT introduction by one year did not sorted great effects not solving the main economic issue represented by the too high level of national deficit. The vehicles market, which accelerated in Q4 2017 anticipating the price increase, was not able to generate new strong demand and the negative trend is still in place.
In the 2018 the market fell down again. Indeed, the year has signed the fourth negative annual score in a row, ending with sales down 6.3%. Moreover, the market has closed with registrations at 50.757, almost half of the 2014 all time record.
|Market||Sales 2014||Sales 2015||Sales 2016||Sales 2017||Sales 2018||'+/- 2018|
The competitive landscape in 2018 was dominated by Toyota, selling 15.789 vehicles (-2.8%) with 31.1% of market share.
In second place Nissan with 7.018 units (-14.6%) and in third Mitsubishi with 3.687 (-11.3%).
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for Top Brands


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$1 million Powerball ticket sold in La.
BATON ROUGE - While no tickets sold in Louisiana matched the biggest Powerball jackpot in history this weekend, one ticket sold in Baton Rouge is worth a $1 million prize.
Louisiana Lottery officials said the million-dollar ticket was sold at Matherne's Supermarket on Bluebonnet, and matched all five white numbers while missing the Powerball.
The store will receive a $10,000 prize for selling the winning ticket. Lottery officials said nobody has stepped forward yet to claim the prize.
Two $40,000-winning Powerball tickets with Power Play were also sold in Louisiana, one in Houma and one in Delta. Louisiana also had five $10,000 winners.
Desktop NewsClick to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Twin Oaks Elementary works to repair damage from flood
AT&T testifies about flood outage fiasco
August 31 evening forecast
Terminex donates thousands of mosquito repellent to Red Cross for flood-impacted residents
Driving instructor and students donate truck load of supplies to EBRSO deputies


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Home' Grower : March 2013 Contents The South Australian Grower -- March 2013
Syngenta finds seed partner
SYNGENTA has appointed
Fairbanks Seeds as the exclusive
distributor of its leafy and brassica
vegetable genetics portfolio.
Syngenta Australasia's head of
vegetables Andrew Simeonidis said
the move would offer the
company's genetics to more
growers and regions.
"We're very excited about the
partnership and the mutual value
that each business can contribute
to one another and the vegetable
growers of Australia," he said.
Mr Simeonidis said Fairbanks'
knowledge and experience made it
an ideal partner.
"Fairbanks has a very strong
sales force with excellent
agronomic knowledge and field
presence," he said.
"Fairbanks has a focus on quality
and service that will enable them
to continue to develop growers'
access to Syngenta genetics,
maintain technical support, and
demonstrate to growers the
benefits of new varieties."
Fairbanks Seeds general manager
Anthony Ladds said the company
was thrilled to be able to offer the
Syngenta leafy and brassica
"Syngenta are global leaders in
vegetable varietal development,
and with an annual investment of
around US$1 billion into R&D their
continuing development of
germplasm technologies is
impressive," he said.
Fairbanks Seeds is one of
Australia's largest and most
experienced vegetable seed
companies with offices in Victoria,
Queensland and South Australia,
and agents Australia-wide.
"With Fairbanks supporting its
varieties in field, Syngenta will be
continuing to build on its strong
research and development focus in
the leafy and brassica portfolio in
Australia with an emphasis on
building integrated seeds, crop
protection and adjacent technology
solutions," Mr Ladds said.
Details: Fairbanks 03 8401 3346
By STEPHANIE GROPLER
growers are expecting a
profitable season this
year, after Spain's recent drought
put a squeeze on global supplies.
Australian Olive Association
chief executive officer Lisa
Rowntree said the supply-
demand equation at the moment
was keeping the industry
"The supply of extra virgin
olive oil worldwide will be down
and the demand is growing, so
we will see people who produce
extra virgin olive oil paid the
better price," Ms Rowntree said.
"The industry is poised to have
a very good year and it couldn't
have come at a better time."
Spain is the world's largest
olive oil producer but this year's
har vest is estimated to be about
40 per cent less than last year's
This shapes up well for
Australia where many growers
running small enterprises are
being pushed out of the industry,
unable to cope with constant
Ms Rowntree said the
Australian standard for olive oils,
which was finalised in 2011, had
begun to take effect, with Coles
and Woolworths adopting it.
"They still haven't enforced the
standard on their imported
products which I think is a little
bit strange as it says to consumers
'well you can have our product
and it is covered under Australian
standards but we just won't make
the importers comply'," she said.
She said the industry was
bound to experience some sort of
loss each each year.
"Everyone is looking at having
a pretty good crop -- there is
never going to be a year free of
weather issues," she said.
"We just deal with and get on
Agromillora Australia nursery
manager Damian Crowe said the
worldwide shortage of olives was
sure to restore confidence to
"There are other countries like
California and Chile who can
make up a little bit of the
shortage but I guess the benefit
we have is that we have the
opposite season to Spain," Mr
"This means that when their oil
is getting a little bit old, we have
fresh oil coming in."
He said that after many years in
the industry he was beginning to
see a lot of investment into the
sector, especially in the past 12
"At this stage, we are probably
looking at around 80,000 trees
short of filling orders so that's
probably about 20pc short," Mr
"So basically if other people
come in and want trees we pretty
well have to order a year in
The nursery promotes high-
intensity groves which are
beginning to be planted across
Australia, particularly in Western
Oil shortage lifts
Spain output down 40pc
Australian growers capitalise
Too late for small growers
are finding it very
hard to compete
Olive trees are in high demand -- some clients have to order a year in
Jobs safe as Costa finalises
Adelaide Mushroom deal
FRESH produce grower and
marketer the Costa Group has
completed its purchase of Adelaide
Mushrooms from the Schirripa
family, taking control of the
operations on March 4.
Adelaide Mushrooms employs
almost 200 staff at its state-of-the-
art Monarto mushroom cultivation
facility -- the second largest of its
type in Australia. It owns the
Mushroom Centre at the Adelaide
Produce Markets and farms at
Spreyton and the Huon Valley in
A Costa Group spokesman
indicated that the new owners
were initially planning to maintain
the status quo at Adelaide
Mushrooms' SA premises, which
means no change for local
employees at this time.
Plans to expand the Monarto
facility are also being considered.
The Costa Group operates a
mushroom farm in all states except
SA, and the spokesman said
Adelaide Mushrooms' operations
would help the group supply fresh,
local mushrooms to consumers in
SA and Tasmania.
Adelaide Mushrooms was also
sought after for its high-quality
Former Adelaide Mushrooms
chairman Doug Schirripa will stay
on at the company in a consultant
The value of the sale has not
Links Archive February 2013 April 2013 Navigation Previous Page Next Page


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Sony is Going to Create World’s First Image Sensor With Built-in AI
Just after the launch of NVIDIA masterpiece A100 GPU, Sony Corp made an announcement that they are working on the world’s first image sensor with built-in artificial intelligence. Sony is promising that data-gathering tasks will be much faster and more secure in this sensor and calling it the first of its kind. Sony Corp mentioned that technology would give “intelligent vision” to cameras for retail and industrial applications.
The new sensor has a tiny self-contained computer that holds a logic processor and memory. These sensors are capable of image recognition without generating any images, allowing them to do AI tasks like identifying, analyzing, or counting objects without offloading any information to a separate chip. Sony said the method provides increased privacy while also making it possible to do near-instant analysis and object tracking.
With this new development, Sony Corp joins in the race with other tech giants like Huawei Technologies Co. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google that have been building dedicated AI silicon to help accelerate everything from image processing to machine learning. Its latest semiconductors could offer a big boost to augmented reality applications, should the technology be adapted for the smartphone or consumer markets, where the Japanese company is a leader.
The new AI-augmented sensors can capture a regular 12-megapixel image, 4K video at up to 60 frames per second or neither, providing only metadata about what the sensor has seen. Sony suggested much application where this will be a game-changer like counting and tracking of visitors to public spaces, heat, and congestion mapping and measuring shopper behavior in retail locations.
The technology is not only intended for enterprise and commercial use but also very much applicable to consumer applications. Without generating any actual images, it can help a personal device such as a smartphone identify objects and users securely. The accelerated object detection would also be an advantage for maintaining sharp focus when filming fast-moving subjects such as sports players or pets.
Sony is the world leader in providing image sensors for smartphones such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone and dedicated photo and video cameras from the likes of Nikon Corp. Its sensor division has been its most reliable growth driver over the past few years, boosted by the proliferation of multi-camera phones. The new products are in line with the company’s long-term goal, as articulated by Chief Executive Officer Kenichiro Yoshida, of expanding the variety of sensing solutions it offers and pursuing more forms of recurring revenue.
Sony has already begun shipping samples of its new sensors to potential customers, who are mostly in the business-to-business segment, including factory automation.


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We all know that food coloring pervades our grocery store culture, but it’s harmless, right? That assumption may not be entirely correct. Artificial dyes give us the intense and appetizing hues of packaged products, but they can also cause cancer and neurological problems according to a study by a non-profit consumer watchdog organization called the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Previous reports had demonstrated that such food dyes cause hyperactivity in children, but CSPI’s went so far as to show that three of the most commonly used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, contain cancer causing compounds.
To learn more about the potential risks of artificial food coloring check out Fooducate’s blog post on CSPI’s report here.


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Reducing the amount of food waste that goes to landfill is a sustainability challenge faced the world over. Ben Cooper takes a look at an initiative in the US which brings together retailers, manufacturers and restaurant operators.
It is a criticism of corporate sustainability strategies – and one that has been particularly directed at the US – that companies tend to focus more on the environmental piece than the social.
Most of the easy gains, the so-called ‘low-hanging fruit’, are in the environmental space. Maximising efficiencies in water and energy has direct cost implications and is a relatively easy sell to the ‘c-suite’. Making the business case for social initiatives is more complicated and the benefits are less tangible.
Social aspects of sustainability can therefore be left out on a limb, while environmental criteria are integrated into the business model.
It was therefore encouraging to see a sustainability initiative being showcased at last week’s FMI/GMA Sustainability Summit which speaks to both the environmental and human aspects of sustainability, and which draws the two together.
The Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), which was launched last year by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National Restaurant Association (NRA), has two clearly defined objectives, Jerry Lynch, chief sustainability officer at General Mills and co-chair of the alliance, explains, “to drive down the amount of food waste that’s going to landfill, and increase the amount of recoverable food that’s going to hungry people”.
The threefold strategy, Lynch continues, is to understand the nature of the problem through research, the first phase of which has now been completed, to identify “emerging solutions and best practices” and thirdly to identify possible policy options, which could be company, inter-company or public policy.
The scale of the problem suggests the challenge the FWRA has taken on is not for the faint-hearted. According to research commissioned by GMA and FMI, post-harvest food waste in the US amounts to around 121bn pounds per year, with around 80bn pounds of that going to landfill.
The three trade organisations are also working with Feeding America, the largest hunger relief charity in the US, and the alliance aims to help retailers and food producers work with smaller, local food banks and shelters.
One aspect of sustainability discussed extensively during the Sustainability Summit was collaboration, both between companies and between industry and civil society organisations, and arguably the FWRA epitomises that.
For Lynch, the collaborative aspect is “one of the real values” of the alliance, as it is often at the “intersection” of different sectors of the food chain that waste occurs.
FWRA co-chair Michael Hewett, director of environmental and sustainability programmes at Publix Super Markets, also stresses the value of collaboration: “The unique and fantastic part about this alliance is that everybody understands it is a pre-competitive issue,” he tells just-food. “It’s an issue we all face, and we’re able to work on solutions together, collaborate and move the ball forward in ways that we could never do on our own.”
From his own company’s experience, Lynch cites a collaboration initiated by General Mills which has become known as the Great Corn Rescue of 2012. The initiative, which involved General Mills, Cargill, SuperValu, Seneca Foods and the non-profit organisation, Second Harvest Heartland, saw some 650,000 pounds of waste sweet corn saved and made into 465,000 meals to feed people across 10 states.
Another cooperation saw nine truckloads of unsold cereal with bespoke packaging relating to a promotion for a specific retail customer sent for donation rather than to landfill. This example exemplifies the inter-company policy aspect of the challenge, Lynch says. General Mills was able to work with the customer, he explains, giving assurances that the product would only be going into the “very well-controlled supply chain” of the food donation partner, Feeding America, where it could be put to a “much more beneficial use”.
Lynch and Hewett shared the platform at a presentation during the Summit and urged the assembled gathering of retailers, manufacturers and other stakeholders, to redouble their efforts. Hewett concluded by saying: “For those of you who are already working with Feeding America, working with your local food banks and food pantries, to donate food to hungry people, we applaud you, but there’s still much work to be done.”
However, it should be borne in mind that however valuable it may be to donate unused food to the needy the FWRA is also aimed at reducing waste in the first place.
The FWRA has taken the food waste hierarchy set out by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a “formative roadmap”, Lynch says.
The EPA hierarchy puts reduction of food waste as the top priority. After that, the priority uses for food waste should be feeding the hungry, followed by animal feed, industrial use and composting, with incineration or landfill as the last and least desirable options.
So the first plank in the FWRA strategy, to reduce waste overall, is key. Clearly though, when there inevitably is some wastage, ensuring that this is consumed by people rather than diverted to a lower-value use is very important. It ensures that the natural and economic resources that have gone into making agricultural raw materials into finished or semi-finished food products are not wasted, while feeding people in particular need of sustenance and, if that food would otherwise go to landfill, avoiding an environmentally costly form of disposal. The interconnect between environmental and social sustainability in this instance could not be clearer.
One observation not lost on anybody addressing the food waste challenge is that while there is, as Lynch and Hewett make clear, plenty for industry to do in reducing waste or disposing of it more sustainably, the largest contribution of food waste to landfill is made not by food manufacturers or retailers or by restaurants, but by consumers.
According to the research commissioned by the GMA and FMI, domestic waste in the US accounts for around 44% of the total amount of food sent to landfill, compared with 2% from manufacturing, 11% from the grocery sector and 33% from the restaurant sector.
Another theme that was frequently discussed during last week’s Sustainability Summit was the role companies can play in influencing consumers. Unilever’s groundbreaking work in encouraging people to take shorter showers was frequently mentioned.
As companies conduct an increasing amount of footprinting and lifecycle assessment (LCA) work on their products, the environmental impacts of their products at the point of use and after are becoming increasingly apparent.
The primary responsibility after purchase ultimately must lie with the consumer but in terms of how companies design and promote products there is also a significant amount they can do to reduce impacts after purchase. As food retailers and manufacturers realise, nowhere is this more true than with regard to food waste, and in that regard there will be further challenges to come.


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The fallout from the coronavirus (officially known as COVID-19) outbreak is a "wake-up call" for the United States to reduce its dependence on pharmaceutical imports from China and elsewhere, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said on Feb. 12.
“This is a wake-up call for an issue that has been latent for many years but is critical to U.S. economic and national security,” Navarro told the outlet.
“If we have learned anything from the coronavirus and swine flu H1N1 epidemic of 2009, it is that we cannot necessarily depend on other countries, even close allies, to supply us with needed items, from face masks to vaccines,” he added.
To contain the virus, many local governments in China have halted factory activities, impacting the pharmaceutical and other industries. At the same time, the country is facing shortages of medical supplies and equipment needed to treat and test for the virus.
The United States should also cut back its dependence on other countries, Navarro noted, adding that during the H1N1 outbreak of 2009, the United States had trouble obtaining supplies from Australia, Canada, and the UK.
Navarro told The Financial Times that the Trump administration's policy is to "buy American," so “the question is why aren’t we fully applying this principle to medical supplies like N-95 masks, medical equipment like ventilators, and pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics.”
He added that the administration is currently "looking very closely at this [issue].
"By onshoring more of our pharmaceutical supply chain, it will not only be more resilient. It will offer important opportunities to reduce drug prices through the rapid adoption of cutting-edge advanced manufacturing processes.”
U.S. lawmakers have also questioned the impact of the virus on U.S. drug supplies.
Last week, senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote to Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, asking if the agency had the “necessary tools to ensure the safety and supply of pharmaceuticals, food, and medical supplies imported from China."


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West Virginia Wesleyan College invites the community to the ribbon cutting ceremonies on October 16 at 11:45 a.m. for the new Retail Store and on October 17 at 2 p.m. for the O’Roark Nordstrom Welcome Center.
The retail store is located on the second floor of the Benedum Campus Center where the Bookstore was previously located. The Welcome Center is located on the corner of College Avenue and Meade Street.
The official name of the new Retail Location will be publicized during the ribbon cutting ceremony, and the store will feature an assortment of Wesleyan ware and clothes for community members to purchase.
Recently, the Welcome Center opened thanks to a gift from Bruce and Jeanne O’Roark Nordstrom ’70 and the Reeves Foundation of Princeton, NJ. The Center will be the home of the College’s Admissions and Financial Aid Offices.


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Two prominent executives at companies building self-driving technologies recently offered their thoughts on the future of the autonomous car industry:
- Kevin Clark, CEO of Aptiv, formerly auto supplier Delphi, told Bloomberg that autonomous cars will arrive as part of commercial services next year, but it won’t be until around 2025 that market for consumer-owned vehicles develops. Aptiv is focused solely on connected and autonomous car technologies, following the company's spinoff of its powertrain business. Commercial services providers, such as ride-hailing and parcel delivery companies, have long-term financial incentives to integrate autonomous cars into their fleets, even if the upfront price of the cars reaches $150,000. The per-mile operating cost of an autonomous car used as part of a ride-hailing service is only $0.17, significantly lower than the $1.05 it currently costs per mile to operate a manually driven car for a ride-hailing fleet. And McKinsey estimates that autonomous delivery vehicles with parcel lockers may cut delivery costs by up to 40%. However, Clark also argued that companies will reduce the cost of LiDAR, an image sensing technology that helps cars create a virtual image of the world around them, from around $100,000 to only $5,000 by 2025. Since LiDAR is often the most expensive tech component of an autonomous vehicle, this will lower the price of the cars enough to create a vibrant market for individual car buyers for the first time.
- Lyft's chief strategy officer, Raj Kapoor, argued that the self-driving car market “will go through a gut-wrenching decade before there are clear winners and losers,” at the Built to Adapt conference hosted by software company Pivotal. He elaborated that the current lack of vehicle standards incentivizes companies to collaborate, since there aren't yet any best practices for building a self-driving vehicle. Kapoor said this was the driving factor behind Lyft’s decision to work with Alphabet’s self-driving spinoff Waymo. However, Kapoor predicts that many companies currently working together will eventually come into fierce competition with one another. For instance, high-definition mapping could become an area of intense competition among self-driving players. Google Maps is the clear and long-standing market leader, but companies like Lyft can also collect loads of mapping data through autonomous vehicles. That data can be used to create high-definition maps for self-driving cars that are much more accurate than Google Maps, Kapoor said. In addition, as the partners for Lyft’s open autonomous car platform begin to deploy vehicles in the ride-hailing company’s network, they will be able to collect even more mapping data to bolster Lyft's mapping platform. However, Google is already fighting back by improving the capabilities of the cameras equipped on Google Maps' cars that could eventually be used by Waymo. These map the streets for its Google Maps StreetView setting, allowing them to capture more accurate details of the roads.
Both executives emphasized that we are still in the very early stages of the self-driving car market’s development. Clark, for instance, said the race to make self-driving technologies affordable for average consumers is “only in the first inning,” while Kapoor indicated that a brutal war between companies in the space will last nearly 10 years. Moreover, both executives’ comments indicate that the ripple effects of autonomous vehicles — from cost-savings for companies using the cars to the changes in consumers’ mobility habits the cars will bring — will be substantial even if competition in the market is steep.
Looking ahead, after the first handful of companies deploy self-driving cars in limited, confined settings, and the regulatory environment around these vehicles begins to take shape, companies will start to form blueprints for how they can compete in, and potentially dominate, the market for self-driving cars and autonomous mobility.
- Sizes the current and future self-driving car market, forecasting shipments and projecting installed base.
- Explains the current state of technology, regulation, and consumer perception.
- Analyzes how the development of autonomous cars will impact employment and the economy.


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Rocket Lab Merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation Is Officially Complete6th Sep 2021
On 25August 25, the Rocket Lab merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation became officially complete. As of now, the leading New Zealand launch provider is a publicly-traded company listed on Nasdaq.
Rocket Lab Merger Worth & Details
Rocket Lab merger worth value reached $777 million in Vector Acquisition Corporation and PIPE financing. The transaction should help accelerate Rocket Lab’s growth and bring additional funds to the development of its latest Neutron rocket with an 8-ton payload capacity. Besides, the deal will support further organic and non-organic growth of the company helping it to deliver further space data and initiatives. Vector’s final Rocket Lab merger approval was announced on 20th August, with plans to go public on 25th August. Both companies proceeded with their plans, taking the launch provider public as planned.
Official Comment on Completing the Merger
According to Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck, the entire team is excited about going public. He stresses that the Rocket Lab team is motivated by the impact the company already has made on Earth and is dedicated to exploring incredible space opportunities even further. Mr. Beck adds that the company’s Electron and Photon rockets have already simplified space, making it more accessible. Now, the company is focusing on a new chapter – the Neutron rocket. Peter Beck wraps up on a positive note, stating that space is now officially open for business.
Alex Slusky, founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer at Vector Capital, is equally excited about the Rocket Lab merger, adding that the company is democratising access to space and is now perfectly positioned to explore more opportunities.


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Business News›ces 2019
CES 2023: All you need to know about mega show
CES 2023 will bring a lot of innovations to the table as it will host about 2,400 exhibitors, including LG, Samsung, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Sony, Qualcomm, etc., from January 5 to 8, 2023.
What 2022 holds for tech; Ola’s EV ambitions hit a hurdle
As the pandemic took hold, technology played a bigger role in everyone’s lives this year, whether through work-from-home, online deliveries, crypto investments or the humble QR code. But what does next year hold in store?
Cornitos MD feels Budget 2021 will make India digital-first nation; Diacolor boss says very marginal effect on jewellery industry
A week after the Budget, here's looking at how bosses rank it.
Will Apple monetise DuckDuckGo, after acquisition, by charging a subscription fee for the privacy hounds?
The deal can be cut for around $1 billion, which is less than what Apple makes in a week.
Qualcomm announces the winners of 2019 Qualcomm Design in India Challenge
The 2019 edition of the challenge witnessed quite a few entries for smart infrastructure, followed by medical tech, robotics, automotive and machine learning from startups showcasing their innovative products and solutions.
HGS Q3 net soars 94% to Rs 71 crore
The company saw its revenue from operations grow 5 per cent to Rs 1,335.7 crore
We made pizza. We made robots. Why not robot pizza?The pizza-making robot is really good at making the easiest part of the pizza. But a system need not be artificially intelligent to be efficient and useful, and it’s easy to believe that Picnic is pointing the way toward the future.
Everyone wants a piece of enterprise tech companiesWhile corporate software may sound painfully boring, advancements in cloud computing and machine learning mean enterprise companies can give employees creative outlets. Investors liken the new opportunities to those once sparked for consumer startups by the advent of smartphones.
CES 2020: Inspired by 'Avatar', Mercedes-Benz launches Vision AVTR concept car that moves like a crabDirector James Cameron, who was present at the launch, took a selfie with the concept car.
Is Apple mocking Google with this billboard?Apple and Google have often been in the limelight for capturing and monetising data.
New Android, Assistant, and hardware: What to expect from Google I/O 2019The tech giant's annual developers conference begins on May 7 in Mountain View, California.
Change of plans: Henrik Fisker now working on a $40K electric SUVThe BMW designer earlier announced plans to produce an expensive electric sports car.
Ahead of MWC, Xiaomi shows-off special prototype of foldable phoneThe phone folds into not two, but three parts.
Catch a snooze, bake bread: Smart tech from CES that'll improve your lifeEase of living met state-of-the-art high tech at this year’s CES.
Toyota, Ford, GM to shine at Detroit Auto Show with electric, concept drivesStarting in 2020, the auto show will be held in June.
Detroit Auto Show: Watch out for Kia Telluride, Cadillac XT6; Ferrari, McLaren to skip eventSeveral other brands including Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche will also be absent from the show.
What to expect from CES 2019? Samsung Galaxy Home speaker, LG Gram laptops, & a whole lot of AIExpect a mix of products from major tech companies, like TVs, to the more unusual, like self-driving vegetable stores.
Royole FlexPai, Mercedes-Benz Vision Urbanetic: Futuristic Launches From CES 2019 On Day 2The Royole FlexPai is a kind of device when they feel the need to be the first ones to be out with new technology. The smartphone which measures 7.8 inches diagonally, is an Android tablet. It becomes two, when it is closed or flexed. It also provides two SIM slots and provides an auto-detection system that only shows content on the half of the folded screen. The user gets a 1920 x 1440 resolution on the full display, and that shrinks to less than half when in phone mode.
Smart scooter, underwater drone, home robots: What dominated CES 2019The smart scooter is aimed at those with mobility limitations.
Giant screens and walking cars: The best of CES 2019Even without many blockbuster announcements, CES still manages to get people talking because of its sheer size and reach.
LG rollable OLED TV, HarleyDavidson Livewire: Jaw-dropping new tech from CES 2019Here's a round-up of a few products that are sure to excite you.
Hero Electronix forays into consumer tech, to launch 10 products in 5 yrsThe company, which is showcasing the first of these products at the CES 2019 (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, said it has partnered with global technology giants like Amazon and Qualcomm.
It is Alia Bhatt's birthday, but she does not want to stop workingBhatt has received multiple accolades for her stellar performances.
First Amazon Alexa-enabled digital glasses to debut at CES 2018The company is “excited about the potential of the glasses and the ability to bring Alexa to customers in a new way.
The wait for the self-driving future is coming to an endThe earliest real-world applications of autonomous vehicles will arrive in 2018.
View: If economy is BJP's Plan A for 2019, Ram is Plan BFor the 2019 general elections, the Mughal monument is emerging as a set-piece for the political chessboard, a powerful visual metaphor of the past.Load More
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November is the next month when Sunday trade is banned in accordance with the law. In accordance with the rules in 2018, the ban on Sunday trading applies to days indicated in the law, usually unpaid purchases can only be made on the first and last Sunday of the month. The Sunday Procurement Law has 39 days, in which stores will be closed in 2018 due to a ban on trading.
However, next year, only one Sunday of the month will be exempted from the ban on trade, after all, a full ban on the holiday trade will end up.
Trade ban on Sunday. Some of them already rub their hands – watch the video.
Which Sunday will there be a ban on trading in November? Want to know where to shop on a Sunday with a trade ban in November? The list of stores to be opened, despite the Sunday trade ban, below.
Check out which Sunday will be banned in October
November 2018 will be four Sundays. Shops will be closed on two Sundays:
- November 11 (Independence Day)
- November 18th
This means that we can make purchases without problems on two Sundays: November 4th and November 25th.
The full Sunday list, which is subject to a marketing ban, here: the stores are closed on Sunday, 2018 [KIEDY, DATA, LISTA]
Shops open despite a ban on Sunday trading:
On days that have a sales ban, we can shop, inter alia, in pharmacies and petrol stations. There will also be smaller stores where the owner will stand behind the counter.
The opportunity to shop on a Sunday with a trade ban can go to the ABC store. This chain of stores advertises itself as a store on Sundays. Zabka stores have also found ways to bypass the ban on trade on Sunday – they now work as post offices. The decision on the working time will be taken by persons who run separate sales outlets.


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County Durham Free Public Wi-Fi
Durham County Council to introduce free public wi-fi to boost Seaham’s recovery.
14:15 05 March 2021
Free public wi-fi is coming to Seaham next week as part of the council’s bigger plans to boost the town’s economic recovery after coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
The installation of free public wi-fi is funded by Durham County Council and carried out by technology integrator North. The free service will be made available from the west end of Church Street to the Marina, and from the north end of North Terrace to Byron Place Shopping Centre.
The scheme is hoped to help boost footfall in Seaham town centre and help local businesses recover following the pandemic. A digital support programme will also be launched to help retailers increase their online presence along with a new app that provides heritage tours and promotes retail opportunities.
The scheme is a key part of the council’s Towns and Village programme, which is designed to provide support to towns and villages in the county. The programme will also include improving the quality of housing and finding new uses for empty properties, tackling environmental issues, revitalising high streets and investing in transport infrastructure.


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Pandemic’s hit on entertainment could be $160B over five years
A new report released overnight, from research firm Ampere Analysis, estimates that COVID-19’s impact will last for five years and rob the sector of US$160 billion worth of growth.
“There are two ways to look at the loss of value: gross revenue and relative change,” points out the company’s research director, Guy Bisson.
“Advertising is hit hardest both near term and overall, but drilling down into entertainment sectors shows that areas like theatrical are hit proportionally harder.
“The interconnected nature of the entertainment value chain will have a number of effects in other areas of the value chain, some of which will not be fully felt for several years to come.”
Streaming will be the clear winner, with a 12% additional growth over the five year period, while the shift toward on-demand viewing already underway.
For instance, last February, the Australian Communications and Media Authority reported 71% of Australians with a TV set in the home used at least one paid video streaming service in 2019.
One in 10 also had four or more subscription services in the home, and 83% of Australian internet users viewed paid or unpaid video content online in the past six months.
Ampere says the use of subscription video-on-demand and, broadcaster video-on-demand shot up during the lockdown, with more Australians working from home.
“There will likely be a temporary post-lockdown backlash. But key to the longer-term prospects is the acceleration of consumer behavioural change which will benefit streamers,” said Bisson.
Theatrical will be a major loser, of up to $24.4 billion over the five year period as Ampere downsized its forecast for the five year period by 11%.
The closure of cinemas has had an immediate impact on theatrical revenue, but the longer-term effects mean a glut of movies vying for release next year could ultimately lead to a slowdown.
The turbulent pay-TV sector is expected to lose 4% of its previously forecast value.
The advertising market across online and TV will be in the dumps too, losing nearly $40 billion of growth in 2021 and $43 billion the year after and before truly recovery begins.


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A pop-cult fix for a generation that grew up playing Nintendo and watching Saturday morning cartoons
Researchers say the biggest problem when such gaming enters a relationship is not so much the time spent on the game, but rather the resulting arguments and disrupted bedtime routines.
The downloading service will be a big part of the PlayStation 4, and could offer PS3 games for the console, too.
Hail the Master! Clues are piling up that "Sherlock" star Benedict Cumberbatch could add another action role to his CV, with reports that he's in negotiations to play Marvel's magnificent Doctor Strange.
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has confirmed the "Dark Knight" actor will go from Gotham to Silicon Valley in a new biopic of the Apple co-founder.
Via the new Kindle Scout program, you could help decide which titles will end be being published by the retail giant.
Despite images of the suspects at the scene and in official databases, the software could not put names to their faces, Boston's police commissioner tells the Washington Post.
The e-commerce company's fall lineup of games, which also packs in audio books and comics, shows Amazon is thinking big when it comes to gaming.
This top-rated fantasy RPG normally sells for $20. For a limited time, get it free, no strings attached.
DDoS attacks are a way to keep corrupt corporations honest, according to an anonymous member of DerpTrolling, who gives us an inside look at the self-proclaimed gods of the Internet.
The next wave of consumer electronics could come from the maker movement and indie developers. Intel's Edward Ross wants to make the company's chips a key part of that trend.


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Google recently announced the launch of a new investment program which focuses on early-stage startups that are working to build more hardware or features for the Google Assistant.
The company announced the program in an official blog post and revealed that the investment program will offer startups financial resources, early access to the company’s features and tools, access to the Google Cloud Platform, and promotional support to highlight the new companies.
Through the investment program startups would get investment capital from Google for the development, hiring, and management of these startups.
Google says it will also mentor the company’s engineers, product managers, and design experts to share technical guidance and product development feedback. Google partnership programs will give startups early access to upcoming features and tools from Google Assistant, so they can jump the queue on innovative changes.
From a technical point of view, startups will get access to the Google Cloud Platform, which powers Google Search and YouTube. This will help startups scale with ease and with relatively less overhead or technical difficulties.
And finally, Google will also give promotional support so that consumers become more aware of your Google Assistant powered apps.
The first batch of startups to receive funding/support from the company include:
- GoMoment– The developers behind Ivy, a 24/7 concierge service which is capable of answering common questions like “can I get a late checkout?”. Responses that require any human input are redirected to hotel staff, ensuring a quick turnaround.
- Edwin– An artificial intelligence powered English tutor which allows students to take foreign language tests and provides customized lessons for each student. The service allows users to prepare for tests on the Facebook Messenger and gives them the flexibility to study whenever and wherever they want to.
- BotSociety– A simple tool for developers which allows them to test and design voice interfaces.
- Pulse Labs– An application with which developers can test their voice service apps with real people.
As of now, Google hasn’t disclosed how much its investments are worth, but the company has opened applications for more companies that are interested in the program.


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Sarajevo Canton Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jasna Agic said on Thursday that 1,339 people in the canton have been out of work since March 18th, Klix.ba news portal reports.
“According to the data of the Employment Service of Sarajevo Canton, since March 18, since the declaration of the state of natural and other disasters, the number of unemployed has decreased by 1,339,” Agic said.
Speaking to the public, Agic also said that the Canton Sarajevo Government increased the basis for using social benefits in this canton.
“At today’s session of the Government of Canton Sarajevo, a Decision was adopted and the basis for the calculation of material and other benefits increased from 660 to 700 BAM. I emphasize that this increase applies to the month of April and afterward, ”Agic announced, noting that the beneficiaries of social benefits do not have to worry and that their right to increase has been realized.
“The “Voice of Small Business” (Glas malih biznisa) Facebook group, which gathered 23,000 business owners and employees of BiH crafts and small businesses in just 3 days. In our database, more than 2050 businesses with more than 13,000 employees are registered in just 24 hours, and according to a survey involving 1722 companies, 75% of employees in this field will end up in the bureau for unemployed within the next 15 days, if there is no response urgently and equally to everyone,” is stated in the press release sent by this group of small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are 27,000 small businesses registered in BiH and 48,000 trades with close to 350,000 employees. Of these, 262,000 jobs are threatened, which would block BiH at all levels in a very short period.
A large number of craftsmen, micro and small businesses are affected by the measures taken by Crisis headquarter at all levels due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Most people are completely banned from work, as well as businesses that are permitted to continue to work (food stores, pharmacies, bakeries, etc.) suffer a drop in sales from -30% to -50% due to moving restriction to children and those over 65, as well as special work procedures and working measures (distance, special cleaning and protection measures, only one customer in the shop together with the sales person, etc.).


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Leading Off WhatsApp is exploring offering credit products in India; Stash raised $112M despite the market turndown; Telegram postponed the launch of its TON blockchain for a second time due to regulatory pressure; the FCA delayed implementation of the EU’s enhanced identity rules for payments by six months; and FIS announced a $150M fintech venture […]
Leading Off The FDIC shared new guidance for fintech firms seeking to partner with banks; the CSBS launched an online platform aimed at improving its supervision of fintech firms and other nonbanks; JPMorgan announced it will launch a digital bank in the UK; the UK FCA revealed that it suffered a data breach last year […]
The Bank of England is looking for a technology partner to help it develop a “fit for purpose cloud environment”; Japanese lawmakers are creating a proposal for a government-backed digital currency; Vodafone became the latest firm to drop out of the Libra Association; Democrats urged the U.S. FTC to investigate Yodlee for allegedly selling consumer financial data without consent; and Canapi Ventures unveiled a new, $545 million fintech fund.
The Federal Reserve plans to launch a real-time payments system within the next five years; Robinhood received approval from the U.K. FCA to operate as a broker in the country; Walmart is seeking a patent for a digital currency that customers could use within the retailer’s ecosystem; Apple updated its website ahead of the launch of Apple Card; Swedish payments firm Klarna raised $460M, making it the most valuable European fintech; and the FT discusses India’s importance as a battleground for digital payments market share between American and Chinese competitors.
Rakuten is applying for an ILC charter in Utah; Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was accused of using cryptocurrency to evade international financial sanctions; the U.K. FCA published guidance on crypto assets; Capital One disclosed that a data breach exposed the personal information of 100 million customers; and the London Stock Exchange is acquiring Refinitiv for $27B; and LabCFTC Director Gorfine is leaving the agency.
U.S. lawmakers voiced their concerns regarding Facebook’s Libra rollout; Australian digital bank 86 400 was granted a banking license; The FCA announced its partnership with the Alan Turing Institute to explore the use of AI in the financial sector; N26 raised an additional $170M; and Jamie Dimon said he does not expect Libra to have a short-term impact on JP Morgan.


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Los Angeles-based Outfest and New York-based NewFest have formed a partnership with the intent of merging into a national arts organization showcasing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film.
Outfest will honor director, producer and choreographer Adam Shankman and Lifetime Networks at the institution's annual Legacy Awards.
Los Angeles' Outfest has announced the complete program for the July 7-17. The 29th edition features 163 films from 25 countries and more than a dozen panels and events in Hollywood, West Hollywood…
Nintendo is ready to enter the high definition era.
The videogame industry is at a crossroads of whether to reinvent itself or continue hyping what's working.
Outfest will present its 15th Annual Achievement Award to World of Wonder toppers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.
Guy-centric cabler G4 has sealed a new deal keeping it the official TV partner for the E3 Expo.
Ned Farr's drama has taken a trio of trophies at Outfest, including Best U.S. Feature, Best Actress for Dreya Weber and the Feature Audience Award.
Five years ago, videogame publishers decided they were spending entirely too much time and money on their annual trade shows and dramatically scaled back the events -- with fewer attendees and none…
Avi Arad wants to bring Pac-Man back to television -- and he wants to do it in 3D.
While some video game publishers are shying away from licensing deals, THQ is stepping up. The company has signed a multiyear deal with Dreamworks Animation to make games based on upcoming films.


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As parents and grandparents, we take for granted that the toys we buy for the little ones in our lives are safe. Unfortunately, however, that isn’t always the case. There are still bad actors in the world who will use hazardous materials to manufacture toys for kids.
Get the strong arm
CBS DFW reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 400 children’s toys at the Port of Houston on June 7, 2021. The toys contained toxic chemicals and included stuffed plush toys, baby walkers, and children’s electronic learning toys. All the toys were bound for a Houston-based business.
The seizure was a part of a joint operation between the Border Patrol and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
CBP Port Director Roderick Hudson told reporters, “This shipment illustrates that there is no consumer demographic exempt from purposefully manufactured harmful products.”
Hudson went on to say that maintaining import safety would remain a priority of the CBP.
A sampling of the toys was taken to a Consumer Product Safety laboratory to be tested. Every sample of the toys taken from the shipment contained either chemicals that the federal agency had deemed hazardous or featured designs that were unsafe for children.
They estimated the market value for the toys seized at the port to be valued at around $2,200. CBP agents have now turned the case over to the CPSB’s Fines, Penalties, and Forfeiture Division for further processing.


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In what appears to be yet another incident of racial profiling in America, a Victoria’s Secret manager allegedly called cops on an African-American woman who came to the shop to return an article that still had a security sensor on it.
Jovita Jones Cage made a purchase from the womenswear giant in Collierville, Tennessee, but the employer reportedly forgot to take the sensor off.
Like any good person, Cage went back to the shop with the intention of getting the problem fixed. She even took the receipt with her.
But, little did she know, the employer who was technically at fault would turn the tables on her –and that too for apparently no good reason.
“She got the receipts out and was able to find the right one and remove the sensor. I told her she could keep the bag there, because I was going to go shopping around the store,” Cage explained.
Cage, who is a Howard University graduate and works as a tutor, went ahead to look around the shop. However, her casual visit to the store soon came to an abrupt end when a Collierville Police officer walked up to her and handcuffed her without question.
"The police officer walked straight up to me and slapped handcuffs on me," she said.
Upon asking why she was being arrested, she was told by the manager, “to put both of my hands behind my back, because I was under arrest for shoplifting.”
For obvious reasons, the entire episode was pretty distressful for Cage, who was mortified and began to cry. She was also particularly worried about any of her students or their parents finding her in the compromising situation she was forcibly put into.
“I don’t know if one of the parents of the kids I tutor could’ve been there. I don’t know if one of my old professors could’ve been in there,” she added.
Later, the officer took her out of the store and aggressively searched her bag. Obviously, he didn’t come across any stolen items that would confirm her guilty of shoplifting, but he still told her she was banned from shopping there.
"At this point, I'm traumatized and crying," said Cage.
The African-American woman didn’t waste any time and made a complaint with the corporate office. The representative got in touch with her and offered a $100 gift card which she rejected.
The company released the following statement:
“We are sincerely sorry for the experience Ms. Jones Cage had in our store. Bottom line, we made a mistake, and we do not tolerate this behavior. Our head of stores has been trying to reach Ms. Jones Cage to personally apologize for her experience. Victoria’s Secret is adamant that all customers be treated with dignity and respect. We have investigated the matter, and the associate involved is no longer employed with our brand. In addition, we are meeting with every associate in the store to reinforce our values and policies. We are committed to delivering an excellent shopping experience to every customer, every time … we have work to do – and we are dedicated to this mission."
However, Cage was too disturbed by the incident to let go of it after a mere apology. She went on to submit a formal complaint to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
“They’re going to have to do more. I want justice not only for me, but for people everywhere. I hope after this, other victims of racial profiling will come forward,” Cage said. “It’s solidarity. It’s not just about African Americans. It’s about everyone being treated fairly.”
It was actually extremely obnoxious and unprofessional of the employer and the cop to subject the woman to such scrutiny and mortification without having any solid evidence on board.
Moreover, it is important such incidents are not swept under the rug or else bigots apparently thriving in such multinational companies, such as Starbucks and now Victoria’s Secret, would think they can get away with traumatizing people of color when they are just going about their daily lives.
Recurring incidents of white America needlessly calling police on African Americans just reinforces the idea that mere existence of people of color is deemed a crime in progress in the country.
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