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Shoppers can unlock a multi-million pound boost for Scotland’s economy by backing a groundbreaking local loyalty scheme.
Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards are available to buy from today, giving people another way in which to spend with businesses in their communities.
Community Wealth Minister Tom Arthur told the Scottish Parliament the cards would help build inclusive and sustainable local economies.
He said: “This Scotland Loves Local Gift Card scheme will help support all our communities as they recover from the pandemic. They will bring activity into our towns and neighbourhoods – building wealth in local communities and attracting footfall which is essential for shops and businesses.
“We know money spent locally is more likely to stay in the local economy and support local jobs. We want to see local communities thrive through a process of positive change, innovation and inclusive economic growth, offering people and communities the quality goods, experiences and services they want.
“I would encourage customers to shop local and show their support for businesses in their community.”
The Scottish Government is funding the rollout of the cards to encourage people across Scotland to choose to support local businesses – and in so doing, reignite regional economies and fuel the national financial recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Delivered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) – the organisation spearheading the Scotland Loves Local campaign – alongside Perth-based fintech Miconex, the programme is the first scheme of its scale in the country, giving every region the opportunity to launch its own local gift card.
STP Chief Officer Phil Prentice said: “The power of these gift cards is immense, potentially driving millions of pounds into Scotland’s economy. Every shopper can be part of this.
“These cards allow us to think local, choose local and – critically – spend local. They are a quick and easy way of showing our loyalty and locking money into each region’s economy, protecting jobs and helping to make our communities stronger and more sustainable.
“And, with Christmas just around the corner, what better gift than that of supporting local businesses, who have never needed our support more.”
STP and Miconex are working with local authorities to launch the regional gift cards, with the first year of costs being met by the Scottish Government as part of its £10m support for Scotland Loves Local. There are no registration costs for businesses to be a part of their regional Scotland Loves Local Gift Card. Payments are processed as part of the Mastercard network.
Supported by the Scottish Government and others, Scotland Loves Local is the campaign urging people to choose local by spending in businesses and attractions around them.
Employers are also being urged to back other companies in their area by using the gift cards as part of their corporate rewards programme.
Research by The Gift Card and Voucher Association suggests that local gift card schemes have a huge multiplier effect, with up to an additional 65% of the card’s value being spent as people visit other shops, hospitality venues or leisure attractions.
Card operator Miconex already supports more than 100 gift card programmes across the UK, Ireland and North America.
Miconex Managing Director Colin Munro said: “We have seen time and again the way in which gift cards have boosted individual communities or regions. To help deliver that on a national scale is extremely exciting, creating a tremendous opportunity to drive money into Scotland’s businesses.
“What can be a better way for shoppers to show their thanks to the businesses who have been there for us in so many ways during coronavirus to recover from the pandemic?”
The 17 existing Town and City Gift Card programmes in Scotland operated by Miconex will remain, with additional promotion for each area. To buy a gift Scotland Loves Local Gift Card for your region, go to www.scotlandgiftslocal.com. To find out how to register your business to accept the card, click here.


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(CNN Newsource) — Burger King is testing a plant-based Croissan’wich at some locations.
After the fast-food chain’s meatless impossible whopper’s big success, the restaurant is now targetting the first meal of the day.
The ‘Impossible Croissan’wich’ has eggs and cheese on a croissant coupled with a plant-based sausage patty from impossible foods.
Burger King said the meatless menu options have been key in bringing in younger customers.
The ‘Impossible Croissan’wich’ is only available for a limited time. But if it does well you can expect a nation-wide roll-out.

domain: news


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Come hungry and with a giving heart. The Sacred Heart annual dinner and auction will be held Saturday, March 1 at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 1223 N. Main.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for cocktails and viewing of items for the live and silent auctions. Dinner is served at 7, with the live auction beginning at 8.
Tickets are $20 per person or $35 per couple and may be purchased at the door.
The menu includes chicken parmigiana over spaghetti, spinach, tomato and mozzarella salad, dipping bread and olive oil, fruit tart and cake pops. The meal will be prepared by the Knights of Columbus, whose Lenten fish fry suppers are always popular events.
Some of the big items to be auctioned off include a couple of bicycles, a TV, Traeger grill, iPad Air, and a cedar chest made by Principal James Wessling. Collin Klein has autographed some K-State football memorabilia.
Father Floyd McKinney has promised to auction his beard again this year, committee member Kim Evert said. The successful bidder gets to decide if the beard gets shaved or stays.
John Hamm will donate his services as auctioneer.
The event, the major fund-raiser for the school, also includes the usual assortment of items and baskets for the silent auction.
“The public has been very generous with donations, and we thank them,” Wessling said.
Committee members Jodi Swayden and Kim Evert promise good food, an enjoyable evening and the potential for humor as bidders square off over popular items.
“It’s a great date for those who didn’t go out for Valentine’s Day,” Wessling commented.


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Network reports increased profits and 13 per cent rise in customer numbers in the last six months with 8.4 million now using the network
Three has added one million customers to its base in the last year with 8.4 million UK customers now using the network.
In the first half of this year, the operator showed a 9 per cent rise in contract customer numbers with net additions of 382,000 customers to take its total contract customer base to 4.8 million.
Revealed as part of parent company Hutchison Whampoa’s first half financial results, the network also reported a five per cent rise in revenues to £918m, which gave a pre-tax profit of £26m over the period.
Three CEO Dave Dyson said: “We started 2012 as the UK’s fastest growing mobile network and we’ve seen that growth accelerate. Over the past 12-months we’ve added one million customers. Our clear focus on a network built for the internet and providing clear value is being rewarded.”
Three CFO Richard Woodward added: “Our core market of contract handsets customers is growing strongly and profitably. The key driver is our financial performance. Out market leading network economics allow us to deliver the data experience smartphone users increasingly demand and our focus on direct distribution channels has a momentum we expect to maintain.”


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If HTC has its way, soon the term Megapixel will deleted from our lexicon. Instead, “Ultrapixel” will become the new way to measure the capacity of smartphone cameras. Pocket-Lint has reported that HTC is to use this new camera technology, already in use by a host of manufacturers, in the upcoming M7. HTC will use three separate image sensors, that are take the images and stitch them together into one image.
So what’s really going on with all this “Ultrapixel” nonsense? Well, HTC is claiming that the camera on the M7 will be 13-Megapixels, but in reality, it will have three sensors at 4.3 megapixels each. When the images are combined, they reach close to the 13-MP standard. This technique means that three lots of data can represent one pixel, making the extra data available to be intelligently “combined” to make a crisp, clean image and better color accuracy.
With HTC banking on “Ultrapixel” technology as a selling point for the M7, we’re curious to see how well the technology works and if consumers will really be sold by camera features on a handset alone. Although we still do not have detailed specs on the upcoming M7, we can only assume that the camera won’t be HTC’s only selling point, but may be one that HTC puts much attention on.
On February 19th, HTC will most likely be unveiling the M7 at their press event in New York and London.


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More pain ahead for Nigerians as inflation hits 4-yr high
Nigerians cannot afford to buy as much as they used to as food costs continue to surge, aggravating the pains already inflicted by the pandemic and economic slowdown.
Headline inflation rate jumped to a four-year high at 17.33 percent in February, from 16.47 percent in January 2021, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics. On year-on-year basis, this is the highest since February 2017.
This signals a decline in purchasing power of Nigerians as prices of goods and services are skyrocketing without a corresponding increase in income, making life miserable for the country’s population.
“The increase is obviously as a result of a surge in food cost which mainly comprises of imported food,” Ayodeji Ebo, Head Retail Investment, Chapel Hill Denham, points out.
Food inflation rose by 21.8 percent month-on-month in February compared to 20.57 percent in January 2021.
Data from NBS shows Nigeria’s import of food and beverages jumped 70.7 percent to N2.8 billion in 2020 from N1.64 billion in 2019.
“This means we still import a lot indicating that there are opportunities to produce more, generate employment and reduce demand for foreign goods which keeps prices increasing,” Ebo said.
The increased importation is also pointer to Nigeria’s failed border closure policy which kicked off as a strategy to boost local production.
The situation of Nigerians is worsened by the 23 million without jobs and another 15.9 million worked less than 40 hours a week, making them underemployed, according to the NBS.
To put in perspective, Nigeria’s total number of jobless people is equal to the entire population of Niger.
Nigeria’s Per Capita GDP which has been contracting for six straight years also gives a dim picture of untold hardship facing many businesses and household.
By Businessday’s analysis, Nigeria recorded Per Capita GDP growth of -4.57 percent in 2020, its worst contraction in more than six years.
In basic interpretation, this means an average Nigeria has a lower standard of living in 2020 than in the past six years.
A 2018 report by the Brookings Institution situated the country as the poverty capital of the world with 87 million people or roughly 40 percent of Nigeria’s 200 million populations living below $1.9 a day.
As a result of the pandemic, another 15 to 20 million Nigerians will be dragged into poverty by 2022, the World Bank estimates.
Analysts say Nigeria will continue to see an upward trend in the inflation rate in the coming months if certain factors persist.
Temitope Omosuyi an Investment Strategy Analyst at Afrinvest Limited said Nigeria’s headline inflation rate would hit 18.15 percent in March driven by foreign exchange illiquidity and heightened insecurity in the North.
There have been a number violent farm attacks, and clashes between herders and farmers in recent times and this would continue to weigh on food supply.
Also, inflationary pressures will also mount if the price of petrol rises higher.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) announced a new price template that put the retail price for the product at between N209.61 and N212.61. However, the agency has since retracted the statement while the NNPC has reiterated that there would no price increase in March.
“We are still unclear on subsidies, if the cost is passed to consumers, it will still impact prices and that would also raise inflation.
The government needs to be deliberate in tackling insecurity. If we don’t tackle insecurity we won’t be able to tackle the increase in food prices” Ebo said.


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Xiaomi 13 smartphones will get a ceramic body
It has long been known that Xiaomi is working on a new series of Xiaomi 13, which may be presented at the end of 2022. Against this background, there are more and more rumors and various leaks. One of these was shared by an insider Digital Chat Station.
According to the insider Xiaomi 13 series will get a body made of premium quality ceramics. Ceramic and previously used by the manufacturer in smartphones Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and Xiaomi Mix 4, but this time it will be produced by a special 24 technological process.
It is also not yet clear how this will affect the performance of the device. After all, the ceramic is capable of retaining heat, which means that overheating of the smartphone can occur if the manufacturer does not come up with a special cooling system. For example, the Mi 11 Ultra involved technology that allows the use of graphite plates and an evaporation chamber to remove heat.
In terms of technical specifications Xiaomi 13 will get Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset produced by TSMC using 4-nm process technology and three-cluster architecture.
It might be interesting
Google started production of mid-budget smartphones Pixel 6a
Google has begun mass production of the Pixel 6a in several Asian countries. This once again confirms the fact that its announcement will take place very soon.
AMD introduced the 6nm Ryzen Pro 6000 processor
AMD today detailed the Ryzen Pro 6000 chips that will appear in high-end business laptops in the second quarter. Some of these chips have already been announced as part of the HP EliteBook 800 G9 series and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z and T series.
LG Electronics with Their New Chocolate
LG Electronics has been an international leader in technology and innovations in mobile communications. This very company has found a yet another interesting mobile communication device
Computer algorithms - Binary Search and Big O notation
There comes a time in every developer's life when he has to get acquainted with algorithms. Some who study Computer Science have it sooner, and some who study on their own have it later.


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< Blog Home
Final Cut Server coming soon?
Apple just mysteriously added a new category to their discussion forum named Artbox
. Now, if you recall Artbox was originally developed by Proximity and was purchased by Apple two years ago and turned into Final Cut Server
It was announced at NAB 2007 and slated for release in the summer of that year, but never came. It was then pushed back to January 2008 but still has not been released. I hope this is a sign that preparations are being made for its release.
The most plausible answer of course is that it's just a support section for existing Artbox users (rather late though, considering Apple purchased them in 2006), although I am not aware of Apple doing this for Final Touch users before the release of Color.


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BMW celebrates the production of its 50,000th unit at its Indian plant in Chennai. The milestone model is a 7 Series with local technical specifications and on display as Asian premiere at the New Delhi Auto Expo last February. The Bavarian ... AutolinkNews.com, 1 week ago
BMW Plant Chennai rolls out 50,000th locally produced car - Indian Business Review, 4 days ago
BMW rolls out 50,000th car from Chennai factory - Mahindra World City, 1 week ago
1 images for "bmw group india"
BMW Group India today launched its 320i in two design schemes - Prestige and Luxury Line, at Rs 36.9 lakh and Rs 42.7 lakh, respectively, ex-showroom New Delhi and Maharashtra. With the launch of the BMW 320i, the 3 Series sedan is now available in ...Auto Tech Review, 1 week ago MINI launches its 189bhp Cooper S in India AutoX, 5 days ago Audi likely to launch its new A4 in India in August Business Standard Motoring, 2 weeks ago Spotlight : BMW: 100 years of innovation on the road Sunday Observer, 3 weeks ago
3 Hours ago Business Wire India The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)announced that Olaf Kastner, president and CEO, BMW Group Region China, will deliver a keynote address at the upcoming CES Asia2016 , Asia's premier technology event.India Online.in, 1 month ago BMW's Olaf Kastner to Deliver Keynote at CES Asia 2016 BizWire Express, 1 month ago
Are ZTE Mobile Devices and Designworks, a Subsidiary of BMW Group, Designing the Next ZTE AXON Smartphone Together?
Mumbai, India A couple weeks ago, Adam Zeng, CEO of ZTE Mobile Devices, hinted that the next AXON flagship smartphone will contain a 2K screen. And last night, he posted on Weibo what looks like a design sketch for this next generation. In the ...The Freepress Journal, 1 day ago
India's first ever luxury festival, to be held from April 1 to 3 in Delhi, will showcase luxury cars including Rolls Royce, Maserati and BMW. Vintage and classic cars belonging to a bygone era will also be adding a dash of character to the festival.Business Standard Motoring, 1 month ago LUXURY ON WHEELS HT Syndication, 1 month ago How luxury brands should target India's super-rich Luxury Daily, 1 month ago Big Boy Toyz annual growth soars amid rising demand for luxurycars Yahoo! India, 3 days ago
: Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited, a Hinduja Group Company, on Wednesday reported its financial results for the 4th quarter and year ended March 31, 2016. The Company ended the year with Q IV setting new records for profits good volume growth. Q ...Pocket News Alert.com, 1 week ago Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited: Results for Q4FY2016 & Year-ended March 31, 2016 Equity Bulls, 1 week ago
ET Intelligence Group: The valuation of TVS Motor, India's secondlargest motorcycle maker, has increased significantly after an encouraging monsoon forecast. The stock is trading at 24 times FY17 expected earnings, one standard deviation higher ...Economic Times, 3 weeks ago Broker's Call: TVS Motor Hindu Business Line, 2 weeks ago The freedom of the wind Swazi Observer, 1 month ago
Looks like the BMW G 310 R will see an early launch in India as the super bike has been spotted testing for the first time on the roads in south India. The super bike seen on the Indian roads, wearing a blue shade and minimal camouflage, is ...Business Standard Motoring, 3 weeks ago BMW G310R Spotted On Indian Roads For The First Time [Video] MotorBeam.com, 3 weeks ago
The article below represents a preview only and is not meant for reuse or republishing. India, May 3 -- BMW Group (BMW.L, BAMXF.PK, BAMXY.PK) reported that its first-quarter Group net profit rose by 8.2% year-over-year to 1.64 billion euros from ...HT Syndication, 3 weeks ago BMW Group Targets Slight Increases In Sales Volume, Pre-tax Profit In 2016 HT Syndication, 2 months ago
Luxury car maker BMW's India operations will get a new head from next month. Frank Schloeder, 41, currently director (marketing) at BMW India has been appointed as acting president of BMW Group India, the company said. The outgoing president Philipp ...Business Standard India, 1 month ago
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Over the last 24 hours, the price of Litecoin (LTC -1.36%) jumped nearly 8% as of 3:40 p.m. ET after the payments company MoneyGram (MGI) announced that it would enable users to trade and store several cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, on its app.
In addition to Litecoin, Moneygram will also allow users to trade and store Bitcoin (BTC 6.73%) and Ethereum (ETH 3.67%). However, with Litecoin having much less of a following and a much smaller market cap, the news did not move Bitcoin and Ethereum in the same way it boosted Litecoin.
MoneyGram's CEO Alex Holmes said in a statement: "Cryptocurrencies are additive to everything we're doing at MoneyGram. From dollars to euros to yen and so on, MoneyGram enables instant access to over 120 currencies around the globe, and we see crypto and digital currencies as another input and output option."
Moneygram has served more than 150 million people over the last five years, so it certainly has enough scale to spread more awareness of Litecoin and potentially grow adoption of the token.
Litecoin is actually one of the earlier cryptocurrencies, having been launched in 2011. At the time, I believe the value was that it could process more transactions than Bitcoin. There is also a finite amount of 84 million Litecoin tokens.
Unfortunately, since then a ton of new blockchain networks have popped up, all seeking to increase the number of transactions per second they can process. For this reason, and given the ensuing crypto winter, I'm really only interested in the more established tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum right now.


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Smartphone cameras have advanced so tremendously over the past few years that they have almost completely replaced point and shoot digital cameras for the most of us. Furthermore, since our smartphones are always with us, the majority of us end up taking tons of photos throughout the lifespan of our devices. But what happens to all the old photos you take? Do you store them on an external hard-drive or keep them backed up to an online cloud service like Flickr? Let us know what your favorite way of storing old photos is and why.
Two-Way In-Call Recording on HD2 Fixed!
A common complaint with the HD2’s in-built call recording software is that it is incapable of recording both sides of the conversation effectively. Luckily, XDA forumer korand found a handy tip while browsing another site.
To activate two-way in-call recording, simply change the following registry key in your phone:
Registry editing can be done through programs such as Total Commander and Resco Registry Editor. However, you must ensure that you only change the mentioned key as altering other keys could potentially make your device unusable.
You can follow discussion about the tweak in this thread.
Want something on the XDA Portal? Send us a tip!
Before the release of Android 5.0 Lollipop, the Holo Design guidelines served as the official reference for Android design, right from IceCream Sandwich to KitKat. However, updates to the guidelines were few and far between, leading to a lack of synchronization between Android design and current UI/UX trends. Google seems to have learned from their mistake the last time around, and earlier this week, a significant update was released for the Material Design guidelines, marking the second revision in less...
New Privacy concerns have emerged regarding Cyanogen’s latest announcements, primarily the inclusion of email app Boxer and that of a multitude of Microsoft apps, including Bing services, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office. The concerns arise when you look at both announcements together. At face value they may appear to be the beginning of Cyanogen’s plan to “take Android away from Google,” however there is certainly something more nefarious occurring. Along side the partnership with Microsoft, Cyanogen also recently announced...


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January 30, 2013
By Samuel Tey
Santa Clara, California – Assimilate has announced a significant upgrade to its Scratch and Scratch Lab software.
Following quickly on the heels of its November 2012 delivery of version 7, Assimilate has significantly expanded the Scratch arsenal for on-set and post-production professionals as they strive to push the boundaries of digital cinema, TV and commercials.
New release updates for Scratch and Lab Include:
Support for Sony F5/F55 and the new F65 format via the new Sony SDK, including 6k and 8k support.


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Chris Isaak Releases New Holiday Video, ‘Dogs Love Christmas Too,’ and announces BISSELL Pet Foundation partnership for Empty the Shelters Adoption event
Over his nearly 40-year career in showbiz, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Chris Isaak has revealed many sides to his persona: seductive crooner, roots rocker, actor, film score composer, talk show host, and television talent judge. This holiday season, Isaak is spreading the yuletide cheer and sharing his love of dogs with the video for “Dogs Love Christmas Too,” out November 9th via Sun Records, and by partnering with BISSELL Pet Foundation to raise awareness for their Empty the Shelters reduced-fee adoption event.
Read all the latest product & music industry news here.
Isaak kicked off his nationwide 2023 It’s Almost Christmas tour in style on October 30th in Nashville at The Ryman Auditorium. With two instant-classic Christmas albums in his catalog, Isaak has shown he’s not too cool to get into the holiday spirit. This year, he’s proving he may be dog’s best friend by pairing the video for his swinging seasonal fav, “Dogs Love Christmas Too,” from his 2022 album, Everybody Knows It’s Christmas, with BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelters reduced-fee adoption program.
For this event, participating local shelters nationwide will be offering adoptable animals from $0-50.00, so that homeless dogs across the country can enjoy the sweetest Christmas gift of all: a warm and loving home.
“I’m partnering with the BISSELL Pet Foundation to try and get pets out of shelters and into a home because they will be happier and so will you,” said Isaak. “In almost 40 years of performing, I have never done anything like this, and the response has been fantastic. Now my favorite part of this show is having dogs come out on stage. They always steal the show!”
Keep reading and donate to BISSELL Pet Foundation here.


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16th December 2015
by Ben Stark
The 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris had world leaders making all the right noises about their intentions to limit emissions and support renewable energy. But it will require more than just soundbites to save the planet. It’s product designers, inventors and entrepreneurs who hold the key to real progress.
The Earth’s average surface temperature is now 1°C higher than it was 100 years ago. Eeek. This means we are halfway towards the 2°C limit required to avoid dangerous climate change, agreed by the snappily-named United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Peru in 2010. This month’s COP21 in Paris is getting more attention than ever but it remains to be seen if any legally binding framework of any note will result from it. Ironically, hot air tends to be the major output.
According to legendary ecologist and writer Steward Brand in his book Whole Earth Discipline, “Romantics love problems; scientists discover and analyse problems; engineers solve problems.” At Seymourpowell we’d phrase it slightly differently. It might be the visionaries and engineers like Elon Musk and Sergey Brin who solve problems, but they need a supporting cast of designers and innovators to help deliver it in a style the market will go for.
Sir James Dyson may have come up with the idea for a bagless, dual cyclone hoover but it took 5,000 prototypes and years of collaboration with his product design team to produce the first production model, the DA01 in 1993. And it was a combination of the technology and the signature industrial look in parallel that was so crucial in making it into a lifestyle brand rather than just a slightly better domestic vacuum cleaner.
Similarly, it took more than just technology to make the Nest learning thermostat such a success in 2010: it was the product’s arresting form and addictive ergonomics that made people actually want to use it. The product experience made controlling your central heating a joy, not just ex-Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers’ new tech solution. That is the role of industrial design in a nutshell: to plunder from what scientists and engineers have shown is possible, and turn it into a beautifully satisfying user experience so the technology has the best chance of making a real difference.
So what does this all mean for climate change? At Seymourpowell we often say that ‘if you don’t innovate, you die’… but can we really innovate our way out of global warming? Here are 4 examples of how engineers, designers and innovators have been working together to tackle the single biggest problem facing mankind:
Harnessing the ultimate renewable power resource has long been touted as a key way of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and their associated environmental impact. Later this year Morocco will open the first phase of its ambitious Noor Solar Project: a gigantic concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in Ourzazate. Row after row of half a million mirrored parabolic troughs will produce a combined 160 megawatts of solar power. By 2020, when the remaining 3 Noor CSPs are built, the site will help renewables provide over half of Morocco’s total energy needs.
Solar power farms like this are very different beasts to the tiny photovoltaic panels that your eco-warrior neighbor has stuck on their south facing roof in Twickenham. For starters, each mirror is 12 metres high, and Noor 1 will be able to continue producing power even when it’s not sunny. The mirrors reflect the sunlight onto a pipe filled with a salt-like solution that can retain the heat for up to 3 hours after the sun sets. And at an estimated cost of $9bn and a final footprint larger than the capital city of Rabat, this is not a cheap option.
Morocco has big ambitions for exploiting its enviable climate (with over 3,600 hours of sunshine every year in the desert, it has one of the highest rates of solar insolation in the world). It is the only African country with a power cable link to Europe, and aims to export serious quantities of solar energy to EU countries. The ultimate objective given by the king of Morocco is to transport the power as far as Mecca in the east.
Innovation is also helping us lower the impact of existing power generation. In October last year, Canada opened the world’s first ‘clean coal’ power plant in Saskatchewan. The Boundary Dam can capture 90% of its own carbon dioxide emissions (nearly 1 million tonnes). However, currently, there’s not a huge demand for massive quantities of carbon dioxide which is why you rarely see it listed on eBay. The Boundary Dam currently sells it to Cenovus Energy who pipe it deep underground to flush out oil reserves. But what if the CO2 could be turned into something more useful?
That is the dream of Skyonic, who have developed a process for turning CO2 into baking soda which can then be sold on the open market. In October 2015 they opened their first facility in San Antonio at a cement mill. The Capitol Skymine is around the size of two 50 foot trailers and will capture 75,000 tonnes of CO2 a year from the cement plant. Not only are these emissions no longer released into the atmosphere, but they become commercial products worth around $48m of revenue. Who knew saving the planet could be so profitable?
Skymine first removes sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide from the flue gas. It then simply injects salt and water into the remaining pure CO2 to turn it into sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), bleach and hydrochloric acid.
So what’s the catch? Well as always, cost is a major barrier for technology. The Boundary Dam refit will cost $1.2bn and has only progressed thanks to $240m of government subsidies, and guarantees over increased electricity revenues for the local energy supplier SaskPower in the form of 15.5% higher electricity prices. Similarly, the Capitol Skymine cost $125m initial outlay for the first operational system.
But there’s a bigger problem. A single coal, gas or oil plant can produce around 300,00 tonnes of CO2 a year, which would be turned into twice as much baking soda. And there are thousands and thousands of these power plants around the world. There simply isn’t anywhere near that level of demand for baking soda. Assuming two tablespoons (30g) in every cake, we would need to make 520 trillion Victoria sponges in the UK. Or 8,000 per person. Even with the popularity of The Great British Bake Off, that might be a challenge.
The hydrogen gas side product from Skymine could be of great interest to automotive manufacturers. Hydrogen cars are essentially electric vehicles like a Tesla… except instead of a huge battery, they inject hydrogen from large tanks into the fuel cell where it reacts to create electricity.
As a consumer, the main benefit is that re-filling a hydrogen tank takes about the same time as visiting a petrol station, whereas recharging an electric vehicle requires plugging it in overnight. Ecologically though a hydrogen car is much more interesting. While the electricity for a standard electric vehicle or hybrid generally comes from heavily polluting power plants, hydrogen can be produced from cleaner methods like natural gas or indeed clean coal plants like the Boundary Dam.
In late 2014, Toyota released the world’s first mass-production hydrogen car called the Mirai in Japan. It’s now on sale in the US too. Last month the first buyer, an ex-engineer who worked on the space programme for NASA, excitedly picked his up from Sacramento at a list price of $58,000 that included free fuel for the first three years. Not that he can drive it very far yet.
There is currently only one re-fuelling station in Sacramento built in the corner of a petrol storage facility in the industrial quarter in the west of the city (things are a little better if you’re in L.A. where there is a choice of three). This means the car has to be driven back there every 300 miles before you literally run out of gas. With no other hydrogen stations in the country, right now the Mirai would be a terrible choice for a road trip.
With an installation cost of $1-3m per, a retail hydrogen filling station is nowhere near as cheap at an electric charging point that costs less than £10,000. At that price, having enough stations to make hydrogen fuel cell cars a practical reality is going to take quite some time. But there are ambitious plans to open up 45 new stations in and around the urban hubs of San Francisco and Los Angeles by the end of 2016. Ultimately, they will start to deliver real environmental benefits when the stations can not only dispense hydrogen fuel but also create it on-site using solar or geyser power, and thus, avoiding the need for deliveries from petrol-guzzling trucks.
Product innovation also has a crucial role to play in changing the way we behave as consumers, and allowing those who want to make a small difference to the planet to do so.
When your toaster last broke, what did you do? Did you fix it, or throw it out and get a new one? How about your last fridge, washing machine or radio? Efficient manufacturing and cheap foreign labour has allowed brands to produce complex electrical and white goods at such low prices that it is often more cost-effective to throw something out and buy a new one than pay for it to be fixed. And that means masses of consumer electronics going into landfill.
Seymourpowell has helped deliver two generations of Fairphone, a smartphone handset that is designed with the environment in mind. All the materials in Fairphone are sourced ethically and every component is traceable.
It’s also a phone that is designed to last, unlike the 18 month obsolescence seemingly built into other manufacturers’ phones. Fairphone is a modular phone designed to be taken apart: not just the battery but the processor, screen, sound, memory and camera. If one part breaks, you can repair it. When a newer version comes out, you can upgrade without needing to change the whole thing.
In 2015 it’s hard to imagine life without the smartphone. But before Fairphone came along it was impossible to keep up with this technology in a way that wasn’t harmful to the environment.
Fairphone is a great product, not just for the user but for the planet ,and we hope it achieves the success it deserves. Not least because that would encourage more brands to think about launching consumer products with an overtly sustainable angle.
Designers and inventors have come up with lots of other whacky ideas about how to save the planet. Our current favourites include gigantic space mirrors to reflect 1 to 2% of the sun’s heat back into space which would help cool the planet; and algae farms on the walls of buildings that absorb vast quantities of CO2 from the air. But it’s not until ideas like these or the Skymine, or the hydrogen fuel cell car are turned into reality that they become useful. And that requires product designers, entrepreneurs or corporations to take a risk and realize the commercial as well as environmental potential.
Unsurprisingly, cost is often the major hurdle. But cost is not static. Innovation and economies of scale will help make hydrogen fuel cell cars, clean power plants and renewable energies like solar much more viable in the coming decades. A decade ago shale gas was barely on the radar in America, but it now contributes around 42 billion cubic feet every single day (around 50% of the total U.S. natural gas production).
Innovation in horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing and well stimulation technologies dramatically altered the economic cost of shale gas and turned a niche energy source into a huge one. Once the economics changed, there was a real incentive to scale up production.
Who is to say that the same can’t happen with solar and wind farms, or carbon dioxide-extracting power plants? The technology for solar energy and the supporting supply chain it requires has been developing for 30 to 40 years. With just a little more innovation and possible regulation, solar power could reach that economic tipping point against other forms of power generation where it becomes a no-brainer not just environmentally but financially. When it’s cheap enough, it will become hot stuff.
Until then it’s up to product designers, inventors and dreamers to step up and try to save the planet, one tiny step at a time.


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Snapshot – Change is eternal, and the automobile is a machine whose evolution nevers stops. Change comes rather soon in the automotive lexicon, and yet India is a country where a three decade old vehicle outsells many newer offerings. Case in point is the Maruti Omni, a passenger van that consistently does 6,000 monthly units. However, the Omni is more of an exception rather than the rule, which brings us to the topic at hand – 5 cars that are fast disappearing from Indian roads.
Early last year, the last Maruti 800 hatchback rolled off the production line from Maruti Suzuki’s Gurgaon factory, which happened to be the same manufacturing facility from where the country’s first 800 rolled out more than three decades earlier, in 1983. Officially out of production, the car that put India on wheels and brought in attributes such as affordability, Japanese reliability and outstanding fuel efficiency to the table, is now a dwindling species. While a sizeable number of 800s still serve their owners faithfully, the NGT ruling that seeks to put 15 year old vehicles off Delhi roads and that has just been upheld by the Supreme Court of India, has put many thousand 800 cars off Indian roads. In the next few years, the 800 is set to attain classic car status, and become a rarity on roads here.
In 2014, Hindustan Motors’ car division at Uttarpara went belly up and took the stately Ambassador with it. With production ceasing at the only facility from where the car rolled out for over 5 decades, the Ambassador’s status as a ‘Relic from the Raj’ just got underscored. With production no longer on, the last bastion of this stately car – Kolkata’s taxi market – is adapting to the winds of change by opting for more modern options such as the Tata Indigo eCS and the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire. Finding a pristinely maintained Ambassador owned by a private car owner is quite rare in this day and age, suggesting that the car is well and truly on its way to near extinction.
Hyundai Santro Xing
The Santro Xing made the South Korean car brand Hyundai a household name in India, and was also instrumental in getting its maker propelled to the second largest automaker position here. However, Hyundai finally pulled the plug off the Santro Xing last year, fast tracking the car’s ride into the sunset. The i10 replaces the Santro as Hyundai’s latest affordable hatchback by means of a repositioning. The lack of new car sales and the myriad of options in front of the Indian car buyer means that the Santro Xing is a fast disappearing automobile. In half a decade’s time, the Santro Xing is likely to become a rarity on roads here.
During its time in India, the Honda Civic was the sportiest D-Segment offering, tugging at the heart and purse strings of enthusiasts. Citing poor sales, Honda discontinued the Civic in 2013. While the low slung sedan continues to be available in the pre-owned car market of the country, sales aren’t strong given buyers’ preference for diesel D-Segment sedans. With fewer Civics being bought and sold in the pre-owned car market, the car is already on its way out from Indian roads. All said, the Civic will continue to remain an icon with a bunch of enthusiasts continuing to lovingly tend to their rides given the accessible spare parts situation from markets abroad.
Mitsubishi Pajero SFX
Another icon that has ridden into the sunset as far as the Indian car market is concerned is the Mitsubishi Pajero SFX SUV. Known for its reliability and feeling of indestructibility, this SUV is a legend in off roading circles. The Pajero SFX was assembled at the Hindustan Motors-Mitsubishi factory at Tiruvallur, off Chennai, through the CKD kit route. Though the SUV commands decent resale value in the pre-owned car market, SUV buyers opting for it are few and far in between as many remain apprehensive about whether Mitsubishi would support this vehicle with spares and service. The SUV is now getting rarer and rarer on Indian roads.


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Microsoft has finalized its Windows 8.1 update. Sources familiar with the company's Windows plans have revealed to The Verge that the software maker completed the development of Windows 8.1 earlier this week — stamped as build 9600 for Release to manufacturing (RTM). The completion of the 8.1 development comes just over a month after the company promised to finalize the software in "late August." Providing there are no final bugs that require the 9600 build to be recompiled, the final copy will be shipped to PC makers.
We understand Microsoft will publicly reveal it has finalized Windows 8.1 next week. The software will now ship to PC manufacturers to pre-install on a range of devices that are due to be released on October 18th. Existing Windows 8 users will be able to obtain the final RTM copy of Windows 8.1 on October 17th, free from the Windows Store. Microsoft has typically released the final versions of its Windows releases to MSDN and TechNet customers shortly after RTM, but we're told that the company will likely hold this release until general availability in October. Windows 8.1 includes improved multitasking, a return of the Start button, smaller Live Tiles, and optimizations for 7- and 8-inch tablets.


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The novel platform’s collectible moments of favorite artists push the limits of K-Pop fandom. Collectibles can be stored in a secure and eco-friendly manner thanks to blockchain technology.
Promotional giveaway of digital collectible TAKETM begins at 12 p.m. KST on Wednesday, October 5 at the MOMENTICA Event site in Seoul, South Korea (Seoul, South Korea, October 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/) — Today, LEVVELS Inc. unveiled MOMENTICA, its flagship platform for fan-artist engagement that is based on scalable blockchain technology.
MOMENTICA’s TAKETM photo and video digital collectibles are truly one-of-a-kind. These mementos are perfect for music lovers to add their own personal touches to as they collect, browse, and display. Fans of SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN and LE SSERAFIM can get their hands on the first digital collectible from these five top K-Pop groups for free on Wednesday, October 5 as part of MOMENTICA’s pre-registration event promotion.
By mid-October, the service will be available to the public for use.
According to LEVVELS Inc. COO Ryan Jang, “K-pop fans across the globe are known for their sophisticated use of technology in their everyday communication within their fan communities.”
“We’re psyched to introduce a cutting-edge digital experience that will revolutionize the way devoted followers of popular musicians can honor the finest moments in the careers of their heroes through the medium of modern technology in honor of their fervent devotion. Our goal is to constantly improve the fan experience so we’ll keep improving and adding to our services and making sure the UI is as straightforward and simple as possible.”
A Digital Hub for Participation by Fans
MOMENTICA is a novel platform where fans can collect original and one-of-a-kind digital collectibles of their favorite artists. The site provides a secure environment in which fans can store and peruse their digital collectibles.
The initial focus of the service will be on facilitating the acquisition and possession of collectibles with subsequent updates adding functionality for trading and customizing these items. MOMENTICA is working on updating and enhancing the service while also introducing new ideas for digital collectibles.
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Taking Pride in the Little Things
TAKETM are exclusive digital collectibles available only on the MOMENTICA platform. These exclusive digital collectibles represent never-before-seen performances from your favorite artists. A TAKETM pack contains three images or videos that highlight pivotal moments from live performances by a variety of artists.
These moments can be viewed in the still image (Frame) or moving image (Scene) formats. At the official launch of the service, fans will be able to choose between two categories of TAKE™, Original and Special. Autographs, voice recordings and handwritten notes from the artists are all part of the Special package.
Responsible Innovation for the Planet
MOMENTICA is built on cutting-edge blockchain technology that is also environmentally friendly. All TAKETM pieces are recorded on the company’s private LEVVELS Blockchain which is based on the blockchain service platform Luniverse and is hosted in the cloud to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
Lambda256, a Korean blockchain and fintech company is responsible for creating and running Luniverse. It is 30 million times more energy efficient than Ethereum and is a member of the Crypto Climate Accord (CCA).
DNV, an independent global energy expert and assurance provider has verified that Luniverse’s annual carbon emissions are 1.1 tCO2-eq, which is the same as the annual energy use of 0.139 homes (US EPA).
Compared to Ethereum which causes 38 million tCO2-eq of carbon emissions annually—enough to power 4,787,000 average American homes for a year—this is a significant improvement (US EPA).
MOMENTICA’s Big Night Out Begins This Wednesday
MOMENTICA pre-registration will begin on October 5 at 12 p.m. KST for fans all over the world. Fans who attend the launch event and complete the associated quizzes will receive exclusive digital collectibles representing the featured artists and MOMENTICA.
The Los Angeles-based company LEVVELS Inc. runs a secure platform to provide blockchain-based projects for communities and creators all over the world. Dunamu, a global leader in blockchain and fintech and HYBE, a global leader in the entertainment lifestyle platform industry that houses major record labels have joined forces to form this company.
LEVVELS was launched in January of 2022 with the intention of improving the fandom experience via the use of blockchain technology, specifically Web3 and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
LEVVELS’s mission is to create a new and exciting online playground culture where fans all over the world can celebrate and communicate with their favorite celebrities, artists and creators by combining the world-leading blockchain technology of Dunamu with the powerful intellectual properties (IPs) of HYBE.
The company has as one of its primary goals the curation and provision of transformative experiences made possible by cutting-edge technology and with the express purpose of empowering fandoms.
Keep following venturejolt.com for more updates. Don’t forget to bookmark our site for more recent updates.


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Australia Post's Shipster to combat Amazon Prime
Australia Post has introduced a new member-based shipping program that aims to reduce delivery costs for omni-channel retailers.
From now until 1January, shoppers in metropolitan Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane can join the Shipster program and receive free shipping whenever they spend $25 and over at participating stores, as well as free delivery of one Deliveroo order each month.
Shipster members will have their shipping costs automatically deducted on eligible purchases at the checkout.
Shipster works in a similar way to Amazon Prime, where customers pay a small monthly fee, but get many delivery benefits. Already 40 Australian retailers have signed up to Shipster.
Following the introductory period, Shipster membership will cost $6.95 per month, and continue to allow customers to receive free delivery where shipping costs less than $20.
According to Australia Post, online shopping has grown from 11.5 per cent to 15 per cent in the past 12 months.
The National Retail Association (NRA) has welcomed the new shipping membership program, as a “crucial move toward helping Australian businesses keep up with a rapidly-changing consumer market”.
NRA CEO Dominique Lamb said:“We’d like to see this initiative rolled out nation-wide and further offers moving forward, to help Australian retailers remain competitive and continue to merge into true, omni-channel brands.”


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A SpaceX IPO of its space-based internet business reportedly could be in the works as the service will go live in a limited fashion this summer.
SpaceX plans to start delivering internet services to customers via Starlink this summer, Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said at a private investors meeting hosted by JPMorgan, according to Bloomberg.
“Right now, we are a private company, but Starlink is the right kind of business that we can go ahead and take public,” Shotwell told investors. “That particular piece is an element of the business that we are likely to spin out and go public.”
She didn’t provide a timeline, but sources told CNBC that the Starlink business could go public in the next several years.
SpaceX has already launched over 240 satellites in the Starlink constellation, Shotwell said Thursday, and the company plans an aggressive pace of launches this year. SpaceX has said it needs 400 Starlink satellites for “minor” broadband internet coverage and 800 for “moderate” coverage.
Based on recent International Telecommunication Union filings, the company eventually plans to deploy over 40,000 satellites to offer space-based internet service.
Starlink has already drawn interest from the government. In October, Shotwell said the company is in talks with the Army about using the Starlink satellites. Also last year, the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office gave SpaceX a $28 million contract to see how the service could use Starlink.
The possible Starlink SpaceX IPO comes as founder Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) stock hit a record high Tuesday. Musk previously has maintained that a SpaceX IPO won’t happen until after it begins regular service to Mars. But he also has said that money from Starlink would help launch the Mars missions.
Tesla shares climbed 1.9% to close at 748.96 on the stock market today. Among other space stocks, tourism company Virgin Galactic (SPCE), which has soared since the start of the year, fell 0.9%.
Boeing (BA), which is a Virgin Galactic investor and has its own plans for a satellite internet business, jumped 3.6% on hopes for its 737 Max returning to service soon. Lockheed Martin (LMT), which is partners with Boeing on launch-services joint venture United Launch Alliance, was up 0.9%.
Valuing A SpaceX IPO Of Starlink
SpaceX has been raising huge sums on private markets. It raised $486.2 million from eight investors via an equity offering in December 2018, and $535.7 million from five investors in an offering that started in April 2019. The latest deal valued SpaceX at $33 billion.
Last year, Morgan Stanley analysts said they valued SpaceX at $52.7 billion in a base-case scenario and $121.2 billion in a bull case, if it can take a greater share of the broadband market via Starlink. The high-end estimate would make SpaceX the No. 2 most valuable aerospace/defense stock.
But that values all of SpaceX’s segments. Morgan Stanley’s note said SpaceX could be seen as effectively three companies in one: a launch services provider, a deep-space exploration company, and a broadband company (Starlink).
But a SpaceX IPO of Starlink would face a number of competitors in the space-based internet space, where analysts say there is room for only one or two constellations.
Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos is planning Project Kuiper, to put 3,236 satellites in orbit. OneWeb has its own 600-satellite constellation in the works that is expected to operational by 2021. Facebook (FB) is working on its Athena satellite after shutting down its Aquila drone internet project in 2018.
Author: Gillian Rich
Source: Investors: SpaceX Plans IPO Of Satellite Internet Business After Spinoff


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(FSSAI) justified the ban on Maggi noodles before the Bombay High Court, saying that the popular instant snack contained lead beyond permissible limit.
The apex consumer court on Thursday for the first time ordered tests on 13 samples of Maggi noodles from nine batches to determine lead and MSG content.
In a major boost to Nestle India, FSSAI-approved laboratory has found Maggi noodles to be in compliance with the country's food safety standards.
The ongoing ban on Maggi instant noodles will not result in job cuts, Nestle India's newly appointed Managing Director Suresh Narayanan has said.
Five samples of Maggi noodles sent to a central government-run laboratory in Karnataka for re-analysis have been found safe for consumption, a top health official said but refused to give it a clean chit.
Maggi noodles remained subject to a recall order in India after the country's food safety regulator declined to change its stance on the popular snack.
A Nestle spokesperson has revealed that Maggi Noodles will be back on the shelves as soon as next month.
Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday said while the government had nothing against Nestle over the Maggi noodle controversy, the episode had created awareness among the public.
Shares of Nestle India plunged over 5 per cent today after the food safety watchdog FSSAI said it has not given any clean chit to the company's banned Maggi noodles.
Following the Rs.640 crore suit, the apex consumer court made some bold statements.


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Facebook Shares of owner Meta Platforms Inc plunged more than 20% late Wednesday after the social media company released a weaker-than-expected forecast, blaming Apple‘s privacy changes and increases competition for users from rivals like TikTok.
Facebook’s global daily active users decreased from the previous quarter for the first time, to 1.929 million from 1.930 million.
Meta said it faced the impacts of Apple Inc’s privacy changes to its operating system, which have made it harder for brands to target and measure their ads on Facebook and Instagram. He also cited macroeconomic problems such as supply chain disruptions.
The 18-year-old tech giant, which is also facing pressure from platforms like TikTok and GoogleYouTube said it expected revenue growth to slow in the coming quarter due to increased competition for user time and a shift in commitment to features like its Reels short video offering, which generate less revenue.
Facebook reported 2.91 billion monthly active users in the fourth quarter, showing no growth compared to the previous quarter.
The post-close plunge in Meta shares vaporized $200 billion of its market value, while peers Twitter Inc, Snap Inc and Pinterest Inc lost another $15 billion in value.
Shares of Alphabet Inc, which posted record quarterly sales that beat expectations on Tuesday, fell nearly 2%.
Meta, which owns the world’s second-largest digital ad platform after Google, had previously warned that its advertising business faced “significant uncertainty” in the fourth quarter.
Meta CFO Dave Wehner told analysts on a conference call that the impact of Apple’s privacy changes could be “on the order of $10 billion” by 2022. Apple’s changes to its operating software provide users the option to prevent apps from tracking their online activity for ads, making it harder for data-dependent advertisers to develop new products and learn about their market.
Meta forecast first-quarter revenue in the range of $27 billion to $29 billion. Analysts had expected $30.15 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
“Clearly there are many significant hurdles ahead as Meta faces stiff new competition for ad revenue like TikTok, and as it faces ongoing ad targeting and measurement challenges from Apple. iOS changes,” said Insider Intelligence analyst Debra Aho Williamson. The company’s total revenue, most of which comes from ad sales, rose to $33.67 billion in the fourth quarter from $28.07 billion a year earlier, beating analysts’ estimates. $33.40 billion, according to IBES Data from Refinitiv.
“I am encouraged by the progress we made last year in several important growth areas such as Reels, Commerce and Virtual Reality, and we will continue to invest in these and other key priorities in 2022 as we work to build the metaverseCEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the earnings release.
On Meta’s earnings call, he said that competition for users was a factor impacting the business, mentioned short video app TikTok by name, and emphasized Meta’s commitment to serving young adults.
Net loss for Meta’s Reality Labs, the company’s virtual and augmented reality business, was $10.2 billion for the full year of 2021, compared with a loss of $6.6 billion a year earlier. It was the first time the company had broken out this segment in its results.
Zuckerberg had previously warned that the company’s investment in this area would cut 2021 operating profit by $10 billion and be unprofitable “at any time in the near future.” “Reality Labs posted revenue of around $2.3 billion in 2021. The company has not released sales figures for its Quest virtual reality headset. The company said on Wednesday that it would change its stock listing to “META” this year, the latest step in its rebranding to focus on the metaverse, a futuristic idea of virtual environments where users can work, socialize and play.
Meta did not comment on the price of a deal with Roundhill Investments, which said in January it would stop using the symbol for its Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF.
The tech giant, which changed its name in October to reflect the goals of its metaverse, is betting that the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile Internet. advertising platform,” said Flynn Zaiger, CEO of social media agency Online Optimism.
“Investing in Meta now feels more like a commitment to believing that the metaverse will replace much of the Internet consumer experience today.” Meta’s rebranding comes at a time of increasing scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators over allegations of anti-competitive conduct and the impacts of how it handles harmful or misleading content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.


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Truck flows in the city center: what solutions to ease traffic?
Any urban construction site, but also any delivery service in the city center, induces a comings and goings of vehicles having, in its immediate perimeter, an impact on the traffic. Solutions can be implemented to minimize the consequences and ease traffic congestion.
In a 2022 information report on behalf of the French Commission for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, Senators Martine Filleul and Christine Herzog pointed out that urban freight transport was responsible for 20%* of traffic and 20%* of greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, these figures could increase with the growth of logistics linked to the development of e-commerce or low-emission mobility zones (ZFE-m). In order to anticipate these developments and counter their negative effects, the report recommended better integration of logistics in urban areas, as well as optimizing traffic and parking rules to improve road sharing.
Several recommendations were also put forward. Some of these involved "static" regulation (such as local experimentation with staggered delivery times in major cities); others involved a more "dynamic" approach (such as sharing the rules for the movement and parking of goods delivery vehicles in major cities and transmitting this information to transporters via digital travel assistance services). This option highlights the valuable resource that the use of digital networks and data can provide in contemporary logistics.
QIEVO, a recognized and distinguished reference
Mobility by Colas has just won an award at the TP 2022 Forum in the "Construction site organization and logistics" category for the development of QIEVO - a digital service that optimizes mobility and urban logistics around major construction sites. Designed to optimize mobility in exceptional situations (major urban construction sites, etc.), its digital platform QIEVO organizes the regulation of last-mile logistics flows, guiding delivery drivers through centralized planning to promote "just-in-time" delivery. QIEVO also promotes secure and peaceful logistics by organizing multi-site management, and helps reduce traffic and parking of construction trucks on the public domain, thus preserving the quality of life of local residents. All this while encouraging the ecological and energy transition by improving air quality and the carbon footprint.
Already deployed on a large scale in Lyon on the 50 construction sites surrounding the Part-Dieu train station under the name Réguly - where 1,200 companies have used it, allowing 10,000 trucks to transit through regulation areas and make 100,000 deliveries - QIEVO is also intervening under the name FLUIDEO to assist in the "last mile" regulation of the flow of hundreds of trucks transporting various materials daily to the construction sites of the Athletes' Village for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The appeasement of city centers is therefore within reach for decision-makers...
Sources: *Sustainable urban logistics: 14 proposals to anticipate a major challenge for our urban areas, May 24, 2022.


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Gizmo - http://gizmo.web.id has posted a new item, 'Review: LG Mach for Sprint'
LG's latest Android smartphone for the Sprint network arrives in the form of the
Mach, a sideways slider that offers a full QWERTY keyboard in addition to LTE 4G
and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Here is Phone Scoop's full review.
You may view the latest post at


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Microsoft launched Xbox One with limited quantity “Day One” editions. It was originally assumed that these Day One editions will be sold out at launch but it doesn’t seem to be the case now.
As per the listing on Microsoft’s Ebay store, these Day One editions are still available for purchase and and are still being sold to the customers. As per the writing of this article, 600 of them were sold to the customers within the last hour.
This begs the question why Microsoft even bothered with such a lame marketing attempt in the first place. Sony never released any of these Day One editions so it is hard to gouge the interest on the other side for such “limited” type of console bundles but PlayStation 4’s regular edition has repeatedly gone out of stock several times in the past, even after its launch.
Update: This was quick. The listing appeared and then quickly went out of stock within an hour with approximately 800 consoles sold. It is a bit strange to see them selling again. From what we can tell, Microsoft might have stock left and decided to sell it again.
Stay tuned to GearNuke for latest news and info on Xbox One.


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Here Are Some of the Popular Edibles Now Banned Under California Law
As we said last week, California’s new emergency regulations on cannabis contain strict limits on marijuana edibles that outlaw many products currently on the market.
The state’s guidelines require capping edibles at 100 milligrams of THC, with no more than 10 milligrams in a serving. Those rules go for both adult-use and medical cannabis. That means a good number of edibles popular with California marijuana patients will have to be discontinued or significantly altered.
Here are just a few popular edibles that exceed the new limits:
5. Kiva Terra Bites (120 mg) from Kiva Confections. These are a double whammy because they also contain caffeine, which cannot be combined with cannabis products under the new rules.


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HANGZHOU - China's major economic powerhouse Zhejiang province recently released an action plan aimed at accelerating the development of its new-energy automobile industry.
According to the plan, Zhejiang's annual output of new energy vehicles will exceed 1.2 million by 2025, accounting for more than 60 percent of the province's total automobile production.
Zhejiang will cultivate a number of leading new-energy vehicle enterprises, support them in optimizing their production layout, and increase the supply of high-end new-energy vehicles.
It will also speed up the brand building of new energy vehicles, support competitive enterprises as they expand to overseas markets, and strive to export more than 200,000 new energy vehicles in 2025.
By 2025, the province aims to build more than 100,000 charging units in public areas, the plan said.


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Despite poor retail sales figures, the euro remained within range versus the dollar, as it didn’t make any new highs or lows. Could this be the calm before the storm that may hit during the London session?
Retail sales growth for last month came in worse than anticipated, as sales fell 0.5%, which was more than twice the projected 0.2% drop. This marked the second consecutive month, and the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] time in the past 5 releases, that the figure has come in in the red. This goes to show that retail sales growth remains unstable, reflecting fluctuating demand in the euro zone.
It’s a good thing that his didn’t weigh on the euro too much, as EUR/USD just stuck within its average daily range. That could call change today though, as we’ve got the ECB rate decision coming our way at 11:45 am GMT!
Word on the street is that ECB President Mario Draghi won’t be making any changes to interest rates, but what I’m actually looking out for is any mention of negative deposit rates. Draghi has brought up this possibility in the past and it did manage to spark a ton of volatile moves in the market. Should he or any other ECB policymaker mention it again, it might just send the euro spiralling lower!


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Nokia unveils the freshest solution that turns charging on the go (literally) into a reality using wearable technology.
Nokia is celebrating motion in a new spot that uses hilarious video capturing technique, bullet time.
Nokia is rolling out a color-centric campaign that is dedicated to a new milestone in the company’s business history.
Yesterday Moscow's main hipsterish attraction Gorky Park saw the launch of the most ambitious brand new mobile device so far—the world's first dual-screen smartphone with an "always on" EPD-display, YotaPhone.
The documentary narrates the emotional stories of both people who caused the tragedy and the victims of the car accidents.
O2, the mobile services provider, is calling British consumers to “Be More Dog” in a new campaign supporting the company's launch of 4G network.
Nokia has unveiled a new $99 touchscreen Nokia Asha 501, as part of its mission to bring affordable smartphone experience across the globe. The presentation took place on Thursday, May 9, in New Delhi, India.
Nokia extends its education-related platform Nokia Life+ by unveiling the English Teacher service aimed at teachers in Nigeria.


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Mark Zuckerberg has announced an increase in NFT support on Instagram. The CEO and founder of Instagram took this opportunity to announce that NFT support has been expanded. He also announced to everyone that his custom-made 1992 Little League baseball cards will soon be available for purchase, which includes an NFT.
He thought he was making it, but the Metropolis Comic Collect profile that he linked to in his post shows that this is not true. This card was custom-made by Zuckerberg for a camp counselor. It has now been authenticated and is available for purchase as an actual collectible. You can see it in his post. It shows that Zuckerberg, at the age of eight, had a card printed stating that he played for. 920 — There are some pitchers in that league who thought the video metrics were wrong before anyone else — as a right-handed fielder in Dobbs Ferry in New York.
This news comes at a very interesting time for Meta. This comes at an interesting time for Meta. Instagram is in chaos, with the company rolling back TikTok-like features. CEO Adam Mosseri stated that “people are frustrated” and that there is not a lot of usage data.
Meta is now diving in to the “digital collectibles market”, which has fallen sharply since its peak in the winter. OpenSea data shows that sales volume has remained relatively flat over the past months, despite falling from May’s peak.
Newton also noted in a separate report that Platformer has discovered that Meta, Reddit, Twitter and Twitter are all pushing for NFT projects, but they don’t have any data on how they’re doing.
One explanation is that these collectibles will be able to explode in value when combined together with the virtual and augmented reality spaces Zuckerberg is building — but we’re not there yet.
Today’s Meta news is that NFT support has been tested across 100 additional countries. There are connections for Coinbase Wallet, Dapper and NFTs from Flow.
Correction August 4, 2007 at 7: 04PM ET. An earlier version of this story stated that Mark Zuckerberg was minting his Little League card in the form of an NFT. It is actually being sold by another collector, who includes an NFT in it. We are sorry for the error.


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Security isn’t only being breached by the one threat; hundreds if not thousands of hackers are attacking companies simultaneously, which can cause a business’ IT infrastructure to collapse under pressure. Enterprises must ensure they have appropriate security in place, which can respond quickly and effectively to a diverse range of attacks. As one person starts attacking a system, you’ll see other hackers joining in, enabling the initial hacker to breach the system. It’s these diversionary tactics that we’re beginning to see more often. Black Friday and Cyber Monday present an ideal opportunity for attackers to strike; business’ IT systems become so overloaded with genuine requests that it’s easier for someone to breach security under the radar. Real customers are creating the diversion that hackers can exploit. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are marketing ploys designed to dramatically increase sales, but they can prove detrimental if a lack of security is in place. The massively increased online traffic and onslaught of customers acts as a diversion, and hackers are able to attack with relative ease, remaining undetected. Source: http://www.itproportal.com/2015/11/27/biggest-black-friday-cyber-monday-threats-for-retailers/
For more information go to http://www.NationalCyberSecurity.com, http://www. GregoryDEvans.com, http://www.LocatePC.net or http://AmIHackerProof.com
The post The biggest Black Friday and Cyber Monday threats for retailers appeared first on National Cyber Security.
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Articles in Websites
World renowned fashion house, Valentino, have dived into the Virtual world by launching their first ever virtual Museum.
Life has not been too great for disgraced designer, John Galliano, after his anti-Semitic outburst in a Paris cafÃ© earlier this year. Following his conviction, Galliano was sacked as creative director of Dior and replaced by British designer Bill Gaytten.
Victoria Beckham has solidified her name in the fashion designing industry and her collections have been extremely well received within the industry and the press.
Many fashion lovers refer to their Vogue magazines as a fashion Bible, where they go to for the latest fashion news and trends every month. They swear by their Vogues, but now Italian Vogue have created a super online Encyclopaedia, Vogue Encyclo, for fashion lovers, so they can get their fix anytime, anywhere.
Music, fashion and beauty have always helped each other out over the decades, and without one, the others wouldn’t exist. This still holds true today, which is why it’s great to see leading companies such as Paco Rabanne and Universal Music, bringing their creative talents together to produce a new musical venture that’s set to shake everything up!
Fresh from the front-rows of New York Fashion Week, fashionista Olivia Palermo has been busy working on her newest venture, a style and fashion blog. News of Olivia’s newest project broke in late July of this year, and although it’s been quite a wait, we can finally get into the mind of one of Hollywood’s most stylish ladies.
October sees the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month for 2011, and many charities and businesses across the world will be doing their bit to raise money for the cause. Online auction website, eBay.com, have always done their bit for good causes and now they’re teaming up with The Black Eyed Peas front-woman, Fergie, as [...]
Lauren Conrad has managed to cement herself as one of young Hollywood’s most stylish personalities. The young TV star has grown into a household name since appearing in MTV series Laguna Beach: The Real OC and it’s spin-off show, The Hills, and as well as launching clothing and beauty ranges for Kohls and Paper Crown, [...]
Since becoming one of the stars of MTV Reality show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County and spin off show, The Hills, Kristin Cavallari has kept her life very much in public view. In July this year, it was publicly revealed that Cavallari and her Chicago Bears quarterback boyfriend, Jay Cutler, had split after just [...]
Now a pint-sized fashion icon, Tavi Gevinson first appeared on the fashion ‘scene’ aged just 12. When most 12 year olds were out playing with their friends after school, Tavi was sat at home writing on her blog Style Rookie and sitting on the front rows of some of the worlds biggest fashion shows. Tavi’s [...]


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The company made this move in response to some reports stating that the prices were not completely accurate. The list has major components that could either be damaged in an accident or regular wear and tear. Here are the prices:
Amid Coronavirus Lockdown Ducati India defers price hike on Extended Warranty till 1st June 2020.
Triumph clarified that it has already sold its BS4 stock and not a single BS4 Models is left unsold.


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A Coast mum and cookbook author behind a successful blog and online community credits her 27,000 followers to easy, “real...
18th Jan. 2021 3:01 PM
A new range of chef-prepared heat and eat meals are making eating easier for the Coast’s homeless.
02nd Nov. 2020 11:11 AM
A plethora of Sunshine Coast eateries have cemented their status among the state's best with inclusion in The Sunday...
18th Nov. 2018 12:11 PM
A new dining experience is just days away for Caloundra's Bulcock St regulars.
15th Nov. 2018 4:11 PM
Tourists are planning their holidays around stopping in at Blackbutt Bakery for their new slice.
08th May 2018 12:05 PM
OCEAN Street restaurateur Scott Hoskins, co-founder of Asian sensation Junk, says it's disappointing to see franchises...
04th April 2018 7:04 AM
BOUTIQUE German beers, pretzels and "humongous” pork knuckles have arrived just in time for an Easter feast.
27th March 2018 5:03 PM
IT STARTED as a coffee and cake shop, transformed into a wildly popular burger joint, but sadly, is no longer.
21st March 2018 12:03 PM
THE BURGERS are about to look a whole lot better as a popular Coast fast food restaurant embarks on a major facelift.
01st Feb. 2018 12:02 PM
WOULD you pay for dinner in advance to help create a brand new dining experience?
25th Jan. 2018 4:01 PM
A DESIRE to own their own piece of local business has driven Andrew and Rhonda Satterthwaite to save an iconic Sunshine...
09th Jan. 2018 11:01 AM
Summer when it's hot you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
08th Jan. 2018 12:01 AM
A FORMER ad executive has revealed exactly why it’s so hard to say no to a sneaky cheeseburger or packet of chips.
04th Jan. 2018 3:01 PM
THIS white bean dip is a play on a dish called musabaha, which is a chunkier hummus with a spicy, lemony flavour.
06th Dec. 2017 10:12 AM
HYBRID Korean, Chinese and European restaurant just days away from opening in Coast beachfront location.
28th Nov. 2017 2:11 PM
BEAUTIFUL refreshing watermelon in a salad.
22nd Nov. 2017 12:11 AM
THE COAST'S first legal hemp burger is about to get tongues wagging.
11th Nov. 2017 10:11 AM
THE TRANSFORMATION of a fixture of the Coast's social scene is complete, with the region's newest waterfront restaurant...
08th Nov. 2017 10:11 AM
THESE BBQ prawns are so easy to make.
08th Nov. 2017 10:11 AM
It's Spring and one of the easiest veggies to cook is in season.
04th Nov. 2017 12:11 AM
BAKERY moves in to chase the dough in Big Top shift.
30th Oct. 2017 12:10 PM
EXCLUSIVE event to launch brand new wine and tapas bar in Coast beach suburb.
23rd Oct. 2017 4:10 PM
THESE little beauties are from my childhood and still taste wonderful with little effort
18th Oct. 2017 4:10 PM
AN ICON of the Coast's dining scene is saying a fond farewell after 20 years filling stomachs and putting smiles on...
13th Oct. 2017 4:10 PM


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The Ottawa Gatineau International Auto Show returns to Canada’s capital from March 21 to 24 featuring the hottest 2019 Porsche models. Being held at one of Ottawa’s premiere event venues, the Shaw Centre at 55 Colonel By Drive, this year’s Mark Motors Porsche display will be one you won’t want to miss with two highly-anticipated production models available for viewing! The all NEW Porsche 2020 911 Carrera S and the 2019 Porsche Macan.
The 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S
The Porsche 911 has been the essence of the brand throughout it’s history, making it a truly timeless machine. Guest starring at this year’s Auto Show will be the all-new eighth generation 911! Featuring a wide rear end with a seamless taillight strip and a new interior where classic sports car ergonomics meet the digital possibilities of today, the new 911 will give a whole new meaning to #CarGoals! The new generation of engines is more powerful and even more efficient. The 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo engine of the 911 Carrera S models produces a full 443 hp. Don’t miss your chance to get up close and personal with everyone’s dream sports car!
The 2019 Porsche Macan
The new Macan, the compact SUV that combines sportiness, design and everyday practicality. The all-new Macan has received a facelift that includes a redesigned front bumper, new LED projector headlights, and a full-width LED strip between the tail-lights. Powered by an efficient 2-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine, the new Macan produces 248 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. This model update also includes upgrades to the interior technology, including a standard online navigation system, ensuring that you arrive at your next adventure even more quickly. Connect Plus assists you with Real-time Traffic Information and online map updates, and the Porsche Connect app allows you to determine your preferred destination and send it to your Macan – while looking for an empty parking space. The new Macan offers something for everyone!
Come and visit the Mark Motors Porsche display and see other models including the 2019 Panamera E-Hybrid, 2019 Cayenne Turbo, 2019 718 Cayman S and 2019 718 Boxster.
Our Porsche display will be located on the 2nd floor of the Shaw Centre at the base of the third floor escalator.
We look forward to seeing you at the Ottawa-Gatineau Auto Show at the Shaw Centre on March 21 – 23 (10am to 10pm) and on March 24 (10am to 5pm).
Tickets for The Ottawa-Gatineau Auto Show are available at the door and online www.autoshowottawa.com.
Date Posted: March 18, 2019


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Australian food producers see Dubai and its flagship Gulfood exhibition as a valuable gateway to the important strategic markets of the UAE and the Gulf, with some companies looking beyond to Africa and Europe, all of which complements the major Australian export markets in China and other Far Eastern countries.
The Australian state of Victoria leads the way in the country’s food business since it produces 24 percent of Australia’s food exports from only 3 percent of the vast country’s total landmass.
Over the years a steady marketing campaign has worked to position Australian as being of very high quality and totally natural. In the Victoria’s capital Melbourne the gourmet food scene sets a very high local standard which tests the food before its gets exported under the slogan “Clean. Green. Australian.”
This focus on quality has allowed the Australian producers to distinguish themselves in the tough Gulf markets where they are fighting producers from Europe that also have high standards but much less further to travel to get their fresh foods onto the Gulf supermarket shelves.
One example of a successful operator in the Gulf is Melbourne-based Bulla Dairy Foods, which is one of Australia’s major cream and dairy companies. A family business that has built a dominant positon in Australia over the years and then started exporting to China and other Asian destinations, Bulla has been in the UAE for some time but wants to expand its business in the Middle East.
“The Gulf is an emerging strategic area for us. We have not done a lot of business there in the past but we have just signed with a new distributer in the UAE, Truebell Marketing. Our historic business has been with the retail chain Spinneys, and now we are expanding that business model to include others while maintaining our strong relationship with Spinneys, while Truebell will market our products across the region, starting with Qatar and Oman,” Tony Gunnis, International Business Manager at Bulla Dairy Foods told Gulf News in Melbourne.
Bulla is typical of many Australian food companies, with its strategy of starting its Gulf business through a good relationship with the up-market grocery chain Spinneys, and Spinneys currently stocks just over 600 food products from Victoria alone. Larger companies or those that have been in the region for longer then look for ways to expand their business across a wider segmentation of the UAE, and into other GCC states, before looking further afield.
This is a new market and new area to do business, so we need to familiarise ourselves with the environment and build the relationships."
- Jaala Pulford, Victoria’s Minister for Agriculture
Meat provides the largest proportion of Dh 859 million (A$316 million) Victorian food exports to the UAE with 38 percent by value (Dh 329 million, A$ 121 million) of which 75 percent is lamb and mutton; the next category is horticulture with 22 percent of which the vast majority is fresh and dried fruit; followed by cereal prepared foods with 21 percent, and then dairy with 7 percent.
The meat business has dominated Victorian food exports to the Gulf for years. In the 1970s and 1980s it was managed by transporting live beasts to the Gulf in huge livestock ships, and the animals which were then slaughtered in the region. But the Victorian Government has worked hard to get the Gulf Islamic authorities to accept Australian halal slaughtering and they are proud of today’s good relationship between the two countries’ Islamic establishments. This has meant that the ships now carry carcasses and the meat arrives in the Gulf in better condition, helping the industry achieves its slogan of delivering quality from “paddock to plate” even over 12,000 kms distance from Melbourne to Dubai.
One Victorian meat exporter to the Gulf is the Midfield Group, founded in the 1970s by Colin McKenna in south west Victoria. It has expanded from a small start to become a company with multiple divisions which is a major player in the domestic and export market, with beef, lamb, veal, mutton and their by-products traversing Australia and the globe. The company states that “fundamentals have never changed. The Midfield Group has complete control over its products from paddock to plate”.
“The Gulf is important to us as it takes more than 50 percent of the lamb that we sell in the Middle East, most of which goes through the UAE before going onto Saudi Arabia, Iran and North Africa,” said Dean McKenna of the Midfield Group, who was at Gulfood in Dubai, just after the company had also mounted a major stand at Japan’s Super Market Tradeshow in Tokyo. “The USA is our largest export market,” said McKenna, “followed by Japan and South Korea, and then the Middle East which is our fourth territory”.
Midfield’s experience is typical of the Victorian meat industry as a whole. As Peter Hunter, Market Engagement Specialist with Trade Victoria, puts it: “The US, China and Japan are the most valuable markets for Victorian meat. China has been a strong growth market for beef in recent years but competition is now intensifying from lower cost South American producers like Brazil. The US market has experienced strong demand for lamb, with Australian exports up 5 percent in 2015-16 and have almost tripled for the last five years”.
The Victorian government’s Food Performance Report has the US as the top market for Victorian meat at Dh 2 billion (A$ 731 million) in 2016, more than double the A$ 337 million going to China which is the second market, followed by Japan, Indonesia and South Korea till the UAE comes in as Victoria’s fifth biggest market for meat with Dh 329 million (A$ 121 million), and Qatar Dh 228 (A$ 84 million and Saudi Arabia Dh 217 (A$ 80 million).
But between 2015 to 2016 there has been an 18 percent fall in meat exports to the US and a 25 percent fall in exports to China. This collapse of the established major markets has increased interest in Victoria’s other markets like the Gulf.
Iran is an emerging market that has attracted specific interest as political relations have improved, with its 78 million people of whom 40 percent are young, tech savvy and sophisticated. The Victorian government sees Iran as a commodity market at first, but expects a significant potential in the longer term for higher value food products.
The Australian government has re-opened a Trade Commission in Tehran which is working with state governments like Victoria to build trade in the face of strong competition from Europe, North America and China.
“The Victorian Government is liaising closely with Austrade and is committed to the long term support of Victorian food and fibre companies interested in engaging with Iran. Iran is an exciting market which is expected to be one of the key export destinations in the MENA region for years to come,” said Brian Kearns of Trade Victoria and Kassem Younes of the Victorian Trade and Investment Office in Dubai in the Food Performance Report.
This initiative is backed by Jaala Pulford, Victoria’s Minister for Agriculture, who told Gulf News in an interview in Melbourne that “We are looking at Iran. We have a lot of interest from investors in Iran and we are exploring opportunities. We are open to bringing people together who want to do business. Our exporter are interested in going in and we have an open mind about it.
“This is a new market and this new area to do business, so we need to familiarize ourselves with the environment and build the relationships. We want to explore the possibilities particularly around meat, grains and dairy. We are keen to explore, even if it is still early days”.
Victoria food and fibre exports to the UAE
By industry and product category
Figures: A$ million; '000 tonnes
Source: Victorian Food and Fibre Export Performance Report, 2015-16, Victoria State Government
Notes: Some lines from the orginal have been excluded as not having a major impact. Some totals appear slightly inaccurate due to rounding


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Google will update its Merchant Center policy to allow ads for e-bikes up to 28 mph. This is up from a top speed of 15.5 mph from May 2022. This new policy will go into effect this month, March 2023.
Google I have written“From March 2023, our company”Unsupported shopping content“The policy has been updated to allow advertising of e-bikes reaching speeds of up to 46 km/h (or 28 mph) in the US.”
E-bikes up to 28 mph are now allowed for product listing ads in Google Merchant Center. Google added that listings for these e-bikes must clearly state the speed of the e-bike on the landing page and provide a clear title or description of the product.
If speed is not specified, the product violates Google Merchant Center policies and will be disapproved by Google.
Google also states that “in addition to our standard Shopping ads policies, retailers must also comply with local laws in the regions where they advertise.”
By the way, that’s an 80% increase in speed.
forum discussion at twitter.


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Ethical Issues Popular – The What, When, Why, How And Who
Ethical fashion WHAT?
Ethical fashion can be explained as producing textile products having a conscience. With the idea of social responsibility gaining ground, corporates around the globe are recognizing the significance of atmosphere protection and ethical business. Fashion brands aren’t any exception. Increasingly more designers and textile producers are striving to create goods that don’t harm the atmosphere and therefore are cruelty-free. Ethical issues popular are emerging.
Ethical fashion WHEN?
The idea of ethical fashion now has wrinkles however, it’s gaining increasingly more recognition in the current occasions. As awareness about atmosphere conservation, cruelty to creatures and ethical issues running a business is booming, fashion brands will also be more and more adopting ethical means. Clients are also becoming a lot more conscious of ethical fashion and also the interest in ethically created fashion products is rising.
Ethical fashion WHY?
Why must textile producers and customers adopt ethical fashion? Human and animal legal rights activists in addition to atmosphere protection activists have introduced up ethical the process of the style industry again and again. A few of the major ethical problems that came up are:
Producing cotton entails using a great deal of pesticides, that is dangerous towards the atmosphere and also to people. Figures indicate that just about 2 billion USD price of pesticides are utilized yearly, which pesticides worth about 819 million USD happen to be declared toxic as reported by the guidelines from the WHO. The healthiness of the employees spraying pesticides in cotton fields and also the people living around these fields are adversely affected. Pesticide poisoning can result in signs and symptoms for example headaches, tremors, nausea, depression, seizures, lack of awareness, and, in certain extreme cases, dying. Empty pesticide containers are occasionally reused, which again results in serious harmful effects on the healthiness of the folks using such containers. Using toxic pesticides results in air, water and soil pollution. In addition to the unwanted pests, pesticides also make the dying of other small creatures and wild birds consuming them unintentionally.
Caffeine dyes which are utilized in producing clothes also result in skin problems. Problems for example eczema, rashes and skin irritation happen to be noted among people due to harmful toxins within the clothes worn by them.
Another serious ethical issue that arises within the fashion market is the problem of cruelty to creatures. The cruelty to creatures behind the preparation of the fur coat continues to be introduced to light repeatedly by animal legal rights activists. One fur coat costs the existence of approximately 55 wild mink, 40 sables, 11 lynx, 18 red foxes, 11 silver foxes, 100 chinchillas, 30 rabbits, 9 beavers, 30 muskrats, 15 bobcats, 25 skunks, 14 otters, 125 ermines, 30 possums, 100 squirrels or 27 raccoons. The discomfort caused towards the creatures while trapping them and removing their fur is unthinkable. Similarly, a significant quantity of suffering is caused to creatures in removing made of woll and leather, which matches in to the preparation of fashionable shawls and boots.
Human legal rights activists also have stated the different ethical issues behind the preparation of the fashion product. Very low wages and lengthy hrs, unhealthy and unsafe working conditions, exhaustion, sexual harassment and mental stress are a few of these problems.


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The high cost of living in Canmore, Alta., and Vancouver has pushed some residents to start living out of RVs, vans, and trailers.
Neither city or town is pleased, either, because these vehicles are parked on city property. As a result, officials have started to crack down on these dwellers by enforcing no-parking zones and issuing tickets.
Canmore’s town council will bring in a “no parking zone” between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. starting at the end of May.
“It’s only two hours,” Canmore Mayor John Borrowman told CTV News Alberta. “But that will force anybody who is staying through the night ... to pack everything up and drive away.”
The City of Vancouver isn’t ticketing people, but it will enforce parking regulations as well.
The situation has upset some business owners in East Vancouver, who say that the dwellers are accumulating garbage, attracting pests to the area, and creating safety hazards.
“We find extension cords across roads that some of our retailers have tripped on,” John Knapton, a clothing store owner in the area, told CBC News. “We've had to bring in pest control because of rodents.”
In Canmore, Alta., CTV News Alberta reports that homes cost about $700,000 on average, and rooms go for as much as $1,000 a month.
It’s notable that these prices are considered high enough to push people to live inside their vehicles, when the cost of living in Toronto is even higher, where the average cost of a home is just shy of $800,000, and the average cost to rent a one-bedroom condo cleared the $2,000 a month mark last October.
In Canmore, there are an estimated 100 people living inside RVs, vans, and trailers on city property.
In Metro Vancouver, there are an estimated 58, including 17 in Vancouver. CTV News Alberta reported that for the first time in 2017, Vancouver is including these vehicle dwellers in its homeless count.
“I'd like to see them clean it up,” Knapton told CBC News. “I'd like to see them find a place for these people.”
Both Vancouver and Canmore, Alta., are arranging for homeless outreach teams to visit the areas and try to connect people with housing.


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Facebook has started testing a new tab for digital collectibles for select creators in the US. Creators will have the ability to display their non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to their followers on the timeline. Meta Technical program director Navdeep Singh posted images from the online collectibles’ support on Twitter. Based on the images, the clicks upon NFT posts will display information about the digital collectible, including its name, as well as the creator of the collection.
This is after Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said that the company is looking into options to let users develop, showcase, and sell their NFTs through Facebook and Instagram. Facebook will be integrating the Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Flow blockchain networks to enable this. Users must add their crypto wallets like Metamask and verify their NFT ownership before they can display it on the platform.
The introduction of NFTs on Facebook is expected to be gradual, starting with select creators from the United States. “Eventually, NFT creators will be able to cross-post on Facebook and Instagram, a different Meta property. Instagram is testing NFTs within their Spark AR augmented reality platform,” a Meta spokesperson said to Techcrunch.
Most importantly, Instagram leader Adam Mosseri declared in December last year that the social media platform had been “actively exploring” NFTs. In the Instagram Q&A posted to the Stories section, Mosseri replied to an audience member’s question regarding his thoughts about integrating NFTs into Instagram.
He replied, “Nothing to announce yet, but we are definitely actively exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a broader audience.” Before this, Zuckerberg also spoke in October on how the metaverse must support “ownership of digital goods or NFTs.”


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The Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester city centre has said that yesterday was the busiest day before Christmas in three years, with almost 100,000 people walking through its doors.
On top of its footfall success, the shopping centre is also reporting a three per cent growth in 2012 against the buying trends of 2011 – with menswear, footwear and health & beauty proving to be good sellers.
Jo Tallack – the manager of the Highcross Shopping centre believes consumer confidence is returning following a double dip recession.
More top news
Sheepdog Blake, who went missing with spring lamb Bella in Nottinghamshire, has returned home without his companion.
Reports of a suspicious package found in a busy residential area in Coventry were confirmed as a hoax by police.
Notts County have paid tribute to the club's former chairman, Derek Pavis, who died on Saturday night following an illness.