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A snack maker has more than doubled the amount of chips and crackers made at the company’s Las Vegas location.
RW Garcia, based in San Jose, California, added 30 new employees to work a second production line at its main plant and to work its new North Las Vegas warehouse, according to a company statement.
In May, Clark County issued a permit for $150,000 worth of construction on the 61,000-square-foot main plant near the intersection of Lamb Boulevard and Lone Mountain Road.
Construction added a second production line to the plant. The new 40,000-square-foot warehouse is near the intersection of Pecos and Alexander roads and finished construction in late 2016.
Garcia opened its main Las Vegas plant in 2014 with 80 jobs. The company sells to restaurant and grocery chains.
Garcia also operates a plant in North Carolina.


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Railway association gains new member
Netzwerk Europäischer Eisenbahnen (NEE) has already gained three new members this year, one of whom is Rhein Cargo, a major railfreight transport provider.
The network has 55 members including private railway companies in Europe and some entities connected to the NEE environment. The association’s main aim is to ensure fair competition for railways.
Rhein Cargo’s CEO Wolfgang Birlin, said: "The NEE network primarily safeguards the interests of freight railways. The trade body focusses on the industry’s special needs. My company is convinced that its specific interests are well represented." (ben)

domain: news


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Facebook considers charging to highlight posts
Social networking site Facebook is considering charging users who want their more important posts highlighted.
According to Stuff.co.nz the system is being tested with users being charged $2 to "highlight" important posts so they are more visible.
A man in Whangarei, New Zealand said he was given the option of paying to highlight status updates and picture posts with a yellow background when he logged on to his Facebook page. He thought it was a scam and contacted the press.
When members of the Whangarei press contacted Facebook its spokeswoman Mia Garlick confirmed it was a new "feature" it was testing.
Facebook was trialling the feature at a range of different prices including offering it "free", she said. This means that during the trial members may be asked different amounts, or nothing, to use it.
It is the first time that Facebook has attempted to make money from postings by regular users and comes as it is gearing up for a public listing.
It is not clear if the plan will be tested anywhere else.
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Toyota EVs to come with new type of solid-state batteries which are claimed to improve running range and charging time significantly
Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota is gearing up to launch its range of electric cars in 2022 that will come with long running range and fast charging capability. The company will use a new type of solid-state batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries in its electric cars. These new type of batteries are claimed to improve the running range and charging time significantly.
Interestingly, just a few weeks ago the Japanese auto giant ended its seven year old tie up with the American EV manufacturer Tesla. The company wanted to make electric cars on its own instead of developing EVs jointly with Tesla. With Indian government cleared its ambition to introduce all-electric mobility across the country by 2030, we may see Toyota launching its electric cars here also.
Also read: Toyota Ends Seven Year Old EV Tie-Up with Tesla
Currently, Toyota is one of the major brands selling hybrid cars in the domestic market. If the new Toyota electric car is launched here, it would surely boost the EV market in India. Now speaking about the Toyota’s upcoming electric model, it will be based on a completely new platform that will be lightweight and rigid.
The current crop of electric vehicles from various automakers come powered by lithium-ion battery packs that need around 20-30 minutes to get recharged even with the fast charging technology. Also, the average running range of these EVs are around 300-400 kilometres. The upcoming Toyota electric cars will significantly reduce the charging time, while the running range will be increased further.
Also read: Expected Upcoming Toyota Cars in 2017, 2018
With this new technology enabled electric cars, Toyota is aiming to close the gap with Nissan and Tesla that have already established as major brands in the world EV market. Initially, Toyota will launch the electric car in its home soil Japanese market. Later, the company will start shipping the cars to global markets. Also, Toyota will continue its drive to launch the fuel-cell vehicles and plug-in hybrid models alongside the electric vehicle production.
Source: Chunichi Shimbun


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Aldar records 21% revenue growth to AED 2.01 billion in Q2 2020 driven by strong development business performance
- Aldar's sustainable and diversified business structure supports its ability to create value and maintain resilience through market cycles
- Q2 2020 gross profit increased 7% to AED 716 million
- Q2 2020 net profit increased 2% to AED 484 million
Abu Dhabi – UAE, 12 August 2020: Aldar Properties PSJC (“Aldar”), today reported a 21% year-on-year increase in revenue to AED 2.01 billion in the second quarter of 2020, due to a strong performance from the development business. Net profit for the second quarter increased 2% from the previous year to AED 484 million.
Revenue growth was driven by robust demand for its prime developments and infrastructure-enabled land, while Aldar continued to earn steady fee income from its third-party development management business. The Abu Dhabi real estate market is being underpinned by government incentives for home buyers, fiscal stimulus measures and programmes to promote private sector growth. Talal Al Dhiyebi, Chief Executive Officer of Aldar said, “Aldar’s highly sustainable and diversified business model is demonstrating strong earnings power even in a challenging global macro-economic environment.
Abu Dhabi’s real estate fundamentals remains well supported. The market benefits from well managed supply and a strong investor base is displaying confidence and fueling demand for quality developments in prime locations.
Aldar’s development business had a stand-out quarter, adapting quickly to arrange innovative financing packages and to roll out digital solutions, ensuring service excellence for our customers. This drove growth in revenue and profits, and strong cashflow generation.
Our prime investment properties continue to perform solidly, and as the most efficient platform for real estate ownership in the region, we are looking at attractive opportunities to expand our diversified portfolio.”
Business and financial update
Aldar’s Development Management business recorded AED 1.27 billion in development revenues in the second quarter, an 83% year-on-year increase. The growth was driven by strong progress at projects under development, robust inventory sales and the company’s fee-based business, including the AED 5 billion of contracts with the Abu Dhabi Government announced in 2019.
Despite deferral of new project launches, second quarter development sales stood at AED 505 million, on account of strong inventory sales at Nareel Island and Yas Acres, as well as sales of land plots on Saadiyat Island. Investments towards the digital transformation strategy have yielded substantial benefits enabling uninterrupted sales, customer inspections and handovers to continue virtually.
The Asset Management business reported a 21% year-on-year decline in net operating income (NOI), with hospitality and retail properties temporarily closed for much of the period. Occupancy rates across the investment properties portfolio, which includes residential, retail, and commercial assets, stood strong at 88%. While Aldar-owned hotels were unavailable for commercial activity during most of the second quarter, they were provided to the government for quarantine purposes to support national efforts to combat Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the Adjacent Businesses segment saw a stable profit performance during the quarter, despite the challenging environment and temporary school fee reductions. The businesses, which include Aldar Education, property management firm Provis, facilities management company Khidmah and Saadiyat Island district cooling assets, have expanded significantly over the past several years and now make a significant contribution to Aldar’s revenue and profit mix.
Aldar sustained a healthy financial position with access to AED 5.9 billion of free cash and undrawn, committed credit facilities as at 30 June 2020, following payment of Aldar’s 2019 dividend of AED 1.14 billion in April 2020. Debt levels across both Development Management and Asset Management remained well within the company’s established debt policies.
• Despite a challenging market environment, revenues increased 21% vs. Q2 2019 demonstrating the strength of Aldar’s business across its diversified portfolio and continued demand for high-quality real estate in Abu Dhabi
• Gross profit increased 7% to AED 716 million from AED 669 million; Gross profit margins were 36% in Q2 2020 versus 40% in Q2 2019 predominantly due to the larger contribution of the Development Management business
• Net profit increased 2% in Q2 2020 to AED 484 million led by strong growth in Development Management business profit contribution
Covid-19 Update: Proactive response to support key stakeholders
• Aldar continues to implement precautionary safety measures across all assets and in its communities, including deploying specialised disinfection services to ensure a safe and seamless property handover process
• Aldar launched targeted programmes in March 2020 to support tenants, homebuyers and the wider community. This includes monthly payment plans for residential rents, subsidised financing solutions for existing customers and new homeowners, adjusted payment plans for Aldar Education school fees and support for retail partners. The total value of this set of initiatives was AED 190 million
• Acceleration in digital transformation is enabling seamless continuity in Aldar’s services
Development Management: Strong inventory sales and progress activity on development pipeline
• Development Management business recorded an 83% year-on-year growth in Q2 2020 revenue to AED 1.27 billion, from AED 692 million in Q2 2019
• Development sales stood at AED 505 million led by demand for high-end development projects across prime locations, including Nareel Island and Yas Acres, as well as a land plot sale on Saadiyat Island. Excluding sales from new project launches in Q2 2019, sales for the current period would have been up 75% year-on-year
• Development Management gross profit increased 53% year-on-year in Q2 2020
• With project handovers gaining momentum and Aldar taking a cautious approach to new project launches, the revenue backlog decreased to AED 3.3 billion at the end of June
Asset Management: Pressure in hospitality and retail performance
• In Q2 2020 Asset Management business NOI from income generating assets was AED 311 million, a 21% decline compared to the same period a year ago, primarily on account of temporary closures of hospitality and retail assets due to government mandated health and safety measures
• Occupancy rates across the investment properties portfolio, which includes residential, retail and commercial remained stable at 88% thanks to the high quality and diversified tenant base
ESG: Embedding Sustainability practices across the business
• In the past year, Aldar has made strong progress on its sustainability agenda across the company’s four pillars of Economy, People, Community and Environment
• Aldar’s ESG strategy and framework are aligned to both national and international sustainability frameworks, including Vision 2021, Ghadan 2021, the National Climate Change Plan, UAE Green Agenda and UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Key sustainability commitments include the development of Aldar’s Carbon Neutral Action Plan, the integration of sustainability into investment criteria and due diligence, and the auditing of all primary contractors against the company’s Worker Welfare Policy by the end of 2021


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The Coronavirus pandemic has had a crippling effect on the global economy, forcing companies around the world to grind to a halt. But even amidst the crisis, the value of some companies still manages to shine through and attract investment. Considerable investment, in this case.
Since launching in New York half a decade ago, Via Transportation has spread to dozen of cities in eleven countries around the world. But now it’s preparing to tackle the source of its inspiration and what could be its trickiest market yet.


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Our most successful Executive Hire Show
For Syrinx, this year’s show was the most successful in six years of exhibiting at the event.
Syrinx demonstrated its award-winning Hire Management System as used by over 950 Companies worldwide. In addition Syrinx showcased its very latest innovations: the new document scanning feature, the Syrinx Mobile (PDA access) release, and tablet-optimised SyrinxRW.
To celebrate Syrinx Software’s long-standing support for the show, Syrinx proudly sponsored two high value free-to-attend business seminars held on the opening day of the exhibition. Lloyd Pople, Director of NeonDrum gave a seminar on Social Networking and its applications for businesses, while Pritti Mehta, Managing Director of Acuutech Ltd, spoke on the hot topic of Cloud Computing. Both seminars proved extremely popular, with over fifty delegates attending.
Each seminar attendee was entered into a prize draw for an iPad Mini. Gareth Murton from BHE Equipment Rental was the lucky winner, independently picked out by Graham Arundel, Managing Director of the Hire Association of Europe (HAE).
Anglian Plant Ltd, who placed a new order for Syrinx software at the exhibition stand, received a complementary pair of Tsurumi pumps – supplied by Obart Pumps – as part of EHS show deals.
Gareth Murton from BHE Equipment Rental was the lucky winner, independently picked out by Graham Arundel, Managing Director of the Hire Association of Europe (HAE)


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zhidx news, ofilm (stock code: 002456) announced yesterday evening that the company and its controlling shareholder and actual controller cai rongjun are intended to make joint investment into odg (osterhoutgroup，inc) and take its shares. the investment amount is 20 million dollars. established in 1999, odg is a world-leading ar technology company situated in silicon valley. it's specialized in the researching and manufacturing of world leading, highly integrated and highly perspektivisch ar intelligent glass that can be produced in quantities.
the announcement stated that given ofilm's demand for strategic layout in new cutting-edge vr/ar technology and its optimism of odg company's ar technology and teams, ofilm and its controlling shareholder and actual controller cai rongjun are intended to make joint investment into odg (osterhoutgroup，inc) and take its shares. the joint investment amounted to 20 million dollars, among which the company and cai rongjun each contributed 10 million dollars. together, they obtained 6.67 percent of odg's equity shares after investment.
established in 2001, ofilm has a total investment of 0.4 billion yuan. based on years of experience of manufacturing precise thin film photoconductor component and its understanding of downstream consumer market, the company has established its own core competence. relying on precise thin film photoconductor coating technology with self- independent intellectual property, the company has long been committed to the r&d, production and sales of precise thin film photoconductor component and has become china's leading manufacturer of precise thin film photoconductor components.
as an ar technology company, odg has spent nearly 10 years and billions of dollars of research and development funds to bring the technology that originally belongs to military into consumer electronics. it has core technology and excellent entrepreneurial teams in ar field, as well as core competence.related reports indicate that microsoft paid 0.15 billion dollars to purchase some assets and patents from odg in 2014. being worthy of 0.15 billion dollars, these assets and patents were related to wearable devices, involving ar technology, head-mounted computing devices, the company's other devices that are related to wearable devices, and other devices.
odg's ar intelligent glass is a highly integrated mobile wearable computing and ar system. it can perform all the functions of tablet computers and provide rich and real three-dimensional experience of ar. with patented photoelectric technology, the glass can produce unusually clear images with high contrast. reticle ecosystem includes independently developed reticle operating system (based on android kitkat). this is the only patented intelligent glass that allows for mixed reality (one glass can offer both ar and vr). odg has already achieved production in bulk of r-7/r-9 glass and is continuously developing the next generation consumer-grade ar glass. odg was the first to apply technology to production in terms of ar intelligent glass, compared with competitors such as microsoft's hololens and silicon valley's meta. moreover, odg's ar glass has already been miniaturized. it does not need to be plugged into pc, and is easy to carry and use. odg's ar glass has been rated by institutions such as global ar technology association as the world's best glass for many times.
according to the semi-annual report of global ar and vr expenditure issued by the market research firm idc, brand new and inexpensive hardware devices enable more and more companies and individuals to use ar/vr technology. developers will offer users numerous new experiences of these devices and fundamentally change many people's working modes. the compound annual growth rate of the revenue derived from global ar and vr market is projected to reach 181.3 percent from 2015 to 2020. the revenue will reach 162 billion dollars in 2020. the sales revenue of ar/vr hardware will account for over half of the worldwide gross income before 2020.
public information indicates that, based on its technical advantages in optical and photo-electronic fields, ofilm has established broad cooperative relationship with pioneer enterprises in ar/vr field. ofilm has already completed its investment into usens which is a technology company situated in silicon valley. at the same time, ofilm is investing into nurulize, which is a technology company situated in america's los angeles. furthermore, ofilm is maintaining close strategic cooperation with usens and nurulize.
ofilm said that, according to the company's research into vr/ar field, vr/ar technology has enormous market opportunities. after its investment into odg, the company and odg will carry out broad cooperation and make arrangement in vr/ar field, which contributes to improvement in the company's overall competitiveness and meets its strategy development needs. this investment has extremely important practical significance and market prescience.
in recent days, in er to ensure economic stability and market supply, many companies in nanchang, jiangxi province have begun to resume work and production. at the same time of the resumption of production, the enterprises have adopted a variety of epidemic prevention measures to ensure the safety of employees.


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Famous Filipino fast food chain “Jollibee” is going to Big Apple, Times Square NYC as it will set to open its branch on August 18.
Jollibee at Times Square NYC
Jollibee is finally bringing the juicylicious and crispylicious taste of Chickenjoy at the Big Apple, Times Square NYC. The popular fast food chain finally expands internationally and is ready to open its door to the people of New York.
The opening of the newest branch is part of the Jollibee Group’s international expansion plan.
The 7000-square-foot store will be located right beside Good Morning America in the Bowtie, where the famous New Year’s Eve Ball Drop happens.
Jollibee Group President Maribeth Dela Cruz express her excitement about the expansion of the famous Filipino fast food chain.
“We are excited to spread the joy of eating to everyone and contribute to the diverse and exciting food scene in Times Square,” Maribeth Dela Cruz said in a statement.
Jollibee Times Square branch will house signature food on the menu, of course, it includes the famous Chickenjoy fried chicken. As well as the delicious Chicken Sandwich with spicy flavors. Moreover, we cannot forget the Peach Mango Pie and the Filipino sweet Jolly Spaghetti.
Currently, Jollibee is growing its existence in North America with 84 locations and more than 1,500 fast food chains around the world. According to the company, they have plans of opening 500 more stores in the next five to seven years in the market.
Jollibee is a flagship brand of the company and is considered one of the biggest and fastest-growing restaurant companies.
Now, it will be on its NEXT LEVEL and is ready to invade New York City.
Bea is a highly motivated working student by day and a certified K-pop fan by night. Telling stories creatively is her goal and public service is what she loves. She loves pizza more than anything and is obsessed with 80s movies. She believes in a quote from Forrest Gump “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never what you’re gonna get”.


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“We picked up a great variety of reservations right now alone,” said Wade Nakamura, front desk supervisor of the Golden Nugget lodge downtown, as he checked in a guest Wednesday afternoon. “We obtained advance reservations at restaurants and the pool,” Bollinger said. Arriving, these travelers discovered an abridged Las Vegas: Many shops and eating places are still closed, nearly all dwell leisure is forbidden and all visible employees are under orders to wear masks (although many guests, given the choice, selected to not). Inbuilt 1946 and anchoring the outdated-faculty casino scene on Fremont Street downtown, the Golden Nugget is one of the oldest casinos in Las Vegas, although it is regularly adding new amenities, lodge towers, restaurants and different flourishes. Tony Romo, a Las Vegas native who is partial to slot machines, mentioned he got here because “I wanted to be a part of it.” Michael Gorbe of Las Vegas, who normally plays the slots two or 3 times a week, came for a similar cause, and introduced his dog Zephyr to see and listen to his master’s vice. Within just a few hours, Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, Caesars Palace, Venetian and a number of other others were open as nicely.
MGM Resorts’ Bellagio, New York-New York, MGM Grand Las Vegas and The Signature; The Cosmopolitan; Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas; The Venetian and The Palazzo; and Caesar’s Palace are just some of the various properties reopening. Wynn Resorts, which has casinos in Las Vegas and Massachusetts, proposed a May 15 phased reopening, then moved it again to Memorial Day weekend. In response to the casino’s social media and advertising and marketing specialist, Courtney Carr, that interprets into plenty of return visits for people who may have played their first hand of blackjack at the Nugget 50 years in the past. And when they cease at the primary traffic mild at the tip of the Expressway, they’ll discover some stores in Atlantic City’s outlet mall district which can be nonetheless boarded up from a night of protests on May 31 over the dying of George Floyd days earlier. The final-minute adjustments, announced in a late-night press launch Monday, rocked Atlantic City’s casinos, forcing them to abandon reopening plans they had spent months making. Only the Borgata, town’s prime-performing casino, will stay shut.
Those Golden Nugget companions for new Jersey at the moment embrace Betfair/FanDuel, Borgata, BetMGM, PartyCasino, BetAmerica and Caesars. Thomas Winter, Golden Nugget’s Senior Vice President & General Manager of Online Gaming, stated: “Our online gamers and those of our companions are very effectively served with our current online Live oakland casino providing in terms of traditional casino table games. The agreement with Evolution will give our gamers and people of our working partners access to extra unique show-type games and other unique titles, enriching their reside gaming expertise. 10 a hand, but that’s precisely what players will find when taking part in on the sport King model of the machine. Schlosser is lucky – his retirement and financial savings make it to the place his life won’t be immediately altered. It’s such a boost to his revenue he took early retirement as a warehouse supervisor to focus working full time with the affiliation. With no video games taking place, he’s misplaced that further income.
Every different slot machine could be turned off to create area between gamblers, and table games would have a maximum of three chairs. “We’ll see how it goes,” stated Ron Hornik, stationed at a Bellagio craps desk awaiting his first customer (who could be required to put on a face covering because of the game’s comparatively intimate dimensions). Seats at table video games and bars have been additionally separated. The gig on the Strip has just a few perks – he’s seen many Golden Knights games and live shows resembling Lady Gaga. On Thursday (June 4) at 12:01 a.m., gambling halls and resorts statewide reopened with the sights and sounds of slot machines and card games, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Inside Asian Gaming reported that Manila-listed Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, which is accountable through its Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Incorporated subsidiary for the 800-room Solaire Resort and Casino in Manila’s Entertainment City district, recently introduced that its second-quarter gross gaming revenues had dropped by 95% 12 months-on-yr to simply .1 million.


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Via Varejo's Dias upbeat on outlook for Brazil's Black Friday sales
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By Paula Laier
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Via Varejo SA expects online channels to propel sales of electronic appliances during Brazil's version of the popular Black Friday promotional sales day, in what may be the appliance retailer's first test of the recent takeover of an e-commerce firm, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
Aside from the efficiency gains from CNova Brasil's integration, Via Varejo is confident that consumers are eagerly waiting for Black Friday discounts, said Flávio Dias, who runs e-commerce activities for Via Varejo, Brazil's No. 1 appliance retailer.
"The mix of those factors - repressed demand and the CNova integration, should help lift sales" during Black Friday, Dias said.
Black Friday, a part of Thanksgiving celebrations in the U.S., was adopted in Brazil in recent years. According to retail industry group Blackfriday.com.br, which is promoting the date in the country, sales are expected to rise 34 percent to about 2 billion reais ($589.9 million) this year on an annual basis.
After Dias spoke with Reuters, the board of GPA SA
Earlier this month, GPA announced it was evaluating strategic options for Via Varejo, indicating that it is considering to shift focus towards food retailing. Food sales are expected to recover faster than those of appliances as Brazil's economy recovers from the longest and harshest recession in eight decades.
(Reporting by Paula Laier; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Bernard Orr)
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Xiaomi announced via a dedicated listing on the Mi.com site that the Mi Watch Revolve Active smartwatch is set to be launched on June 22, alongside the Mi 11 Lite smartphone in India. The Mi Watch Revolve Active smartwatch is an upgrade to the Mi Watch Revolve that was released in the country last year. The new smartwatch comes with a SpO2 monitor (a feature that was missing in its predecessor) and an Amazon Alexa voice assistant.
The smartwatch that's slated to launch at noon on June 22 features a circular 1.39-inch AMOLED screen with 454 × 454 pixel resolution, built-in GPS, and a 5ATM water resistance rating.
The Mi Watch Revolve Active packs a 12nm GPS chip that supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou. It has Bluetooth 5.0 and can connect with devices that run on Android 4.4 and above, and iOS 10 and above.
The smartwatch which comes with 17 professional sport modes, 100 extended sports modes and multiple watch faces offers stress management, sleep tracking, and fitness tracking.
The Mi Watch Revolve packs a 420mAh battery and promises up to 16 days of battery life, 22 days in long battery life mode, and 50 hours with continuous GPS use.
Though the price of the smartwatch is still unknown, the Mi Watch Revolve will be sold on Amazon.in and Mi.com when it's launched on the 22nd of June.
Mi Watch Revolve Active (Mi Watch Color Sports Edition) Specifications
Mi Watch Revolve Active
|Display||1.39-inch (454 × 454 pixels) AMOLED screen|
|Processor||12nm GPS chip supports GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou|
|Sensors||Heart rate sensor, acceleration sensor, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, barometric sensor, ambient light sensor|
|Bluetooth||Bluetooth 5.0 to connect to devices running Android 4.4 and above; iOS 10 and above|
|Modes & Trackers||Sleep tracking, Fitness tracking, Blood oxygen (Spo2) measurement, 17 professional sports modes and 100 extended sports modes|
|Voice Assistant||Built-in Alexa voice assistant|
|Dimensions||45.9 x 53.35 x 11.8mm; Weight: 32.5g|
|Water Resistance||Water-resistant up to 50 meters (5 ATM)|
|Battery||420mAh battery with up to 16 days battery life, 22 days in long battery life mode, 50h with continuous GPS use|


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Estee Lauder has reported “strong double-digit sales growth” in nearly every Asia-Pacific market in the latest quarter.
Globally, the company achieved sales of US4.62 billion in the three months to December 31, up by 15 per cent year on year, but in Asia especially the cosmetics giant thrived.
“Greater China delivered strong double-digit net sales growth,” the company said in a statement.
“Growth accelerated on the mainland, reflecting, in part, an outstanding performance related to Singles Day and other events. Net sales in Hong Kong declined as a result of the ongoing events impacting key shopping areas.”
The company said emerging markets in Southeast Asia also delivered strong growth.
“Among developed markets, South Korea rose in double digits and both Japan and Australia grew solidly in constant currency.”
Online sales more than doubled in the region.
Estee Lauder reported net earnings of $557 million, down from $573 million last year.
“We delivered superb results in our second quarter, leading to an excellent first half,” said Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO. “Our multiple engines of growth generated broad-based gains across all our regions and major categories, as our prestige brand portfolio was well received by global consumers during the Singles Day event and holiday season.
“Our sales growth came from all facets of our business, including the Asia/Pacific region, the skin care and fragrance categories, the online and travel retail channels, and the Estee Lauder, La Mer and luxury fragrance brands. Our emerging markets continued to be vibrant and we made progress towards the stabilisation of our North American business despite continued softness in the makeup category. Additionally, we completed the acquisition of the Korean-based Dr Jart+ brand at the end of the quarter, which strengthens our position in global skin care.”


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By Lisa Bolin and Kelly Kayne
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, roughly one third of the food produced for human consumption every year – approximately 1.3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted. Even more outrageous when you read that 795 million people suffer food insecurity. Saving one quarter of that food globally would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people around the world. There really is enough to go around
In Australia, 361 kg of food is wasted per capita every year, yet the people who need access to emergency food services is growing rapidly. This is where Foodbank Victoria comes in.
The not-for-profit organisation, now a part of the national Foodbank organisation, is Victoria’s oldest and largest food relief agency. Started in the 1930s in response to the Great Depression, it has grown and responded to the needs of Victorians during times of difficulty, including bushfires, drought and floods.
CEO David McNamara says, “The classic definition of food insecurity is not having enough money to access the right food, at the right time, for yourself and your family.” He has overseen the distribution of more than 80 million meals in his 6 years in the job.
Tucked away on Somerville Road in Yarraville, Foodbank Victoria’s warehouse space is an enormous hive of activity. Smiling volunteers and friendly staff in high-vis vests are dwarfed by their surroundings. The gigantic custom-made fridges and freezers house perishable goods, and hundreds of shelves are filled with boxes of staples like cereal, pasta, rice and tinned fruit and vegetables.
“We work with the whole supply chain from farmers, packing sheds, manufacturers, producers, retailers, importers, exporters; wherever there is food that is still edible but not deemed appropriate for sale, we redirect it to the charity sector for people who need it.”
According to McNamara, the people who need it are not who you might think. The number of ‘working poor’ or underemployed in Australia is growing due to rising living costs, housing affordability, increasing cost of utilities and stagnant wage growth. Food is the one cost that can be controlled on an daily basis, often having a negative impact on people’s health. “Cheap foods are often unhealthy. Having appropriate access to healthy foods is what is important.”
And it’s children who are often the most vulnerable. In thepast 12 months, one in five Australian children have gone to school hungry because their parents can’t afford to buy enough food. Foodbank’s School Breakfast Clubs program is a partnership with the Victorian Government to help address this problem with more than 50,000 breakfasts being served each week.
“Schools look after the most vulnerable people in our community at the most critical time in their life. Our aim is to help these kids grow up and be a healthy part of society, who contribute, learn and absorb as much information as they can.”
Foodbank accept surplus food supplies as well as donations. “We purchase food, manufacture food, get donations as well as rescue food that has date issues, packaging problems and can’t be sold for retail sale.”
The reality is that one in five bags of shopping will be thrown away. “The commercial sector throws away fresh food because of growing conditions. If it’s a good growing season, you get excess produce, or a ‘flush of the season.’ There are aesthetic reasons because we’ve been trained to only eat food that looks a certain way. In summer, for example, during stone fruit season we might get 20,000kg nectarines turn up because they are too big, or sixty bins of surplus citrus. The farmers don’t want to turn it into the field, so we can take it off their hands. Seventy to eighty percent of food from farmers is donated to us because they want to help.”
Other ways Foodbank works is through the ‘collaborative supply chain,’ turning grain donated by growers into flour through their ‘manufacturing friends.’ Staff donate their time to manufacture and package the food, Foodbank pays for electricity, and products like pasta are the result. “We do the same for pasta sauce, buying all the ingredients at the cheapest possible price and bottling it, so we always have it on the shelves.”
There is currently no legislated National Food Waste Strategy in Australia, despite a Government produced report on National Food Waste in 2011 and a National Food Waste Summit in 2017. But in a meeting of Environment Ministers in Melbourne in April of this year, Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to halving Australia’s food waste by 2030.
McNamara believes the key points to consider for a successful National Food Waste Strategy are making it easier for food to get to people, getting the right food to the right people at right time, tax concessions for transporting food for donation and incentives for producers and manufacturers to save food (currently it costs the same to dump it as to save it).
Looking to strategies in other countries may also help. France recently legislated to ban food waste from supermarkets, forcing them to donate to charities and food banks. The USA has a subsidy program that guarantees a base price for farmers and food banks can buy the food directly from them.
According to McNamara, there must be a community approach but legislatively it has to be the Federal Government who leads the way “because they can pull all the levers. I see local people coming together and coming up with interesting approaches but the Government needs to lead the way with things like logistics.”
Unfortunately, there has been an increase in food insecurity, with Foodbank growing 15% each year. “We always have a gap and all the indicators are that its not getting any better.” It would seem that for Foodbank Victoria, the families they assist, the food production industry and Australia as whole, it will be important to work together to ensure that there is a circular economy where resources are kept in use for as long as possible, a key point made by the Department of Environment and Energy on food waste.
For McNamara, the growing need for Foodbank services does not get him down, “I meet so many amazing people everyday. I am the custodian of an amazing organisation that helps people who need it most.”
Foodbank Victoria is located at 4/2 Somerville Road, Yarraville. For more information, head to their website:


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Notes come with a semi-warning that they are “for novelty use only” while the website recommends putting them to use to get out of bothersome contracts such as gym memberships and includes in the fine print that they should not be used for illegal activity. It appears this company has forgotten just how illegal it is to forge someone else’s signature. Lawyers from the Australian Medical Association warn that using these fraudulent notes could lead to serious charges as they use the names of real doctors in order to be convincing. So far police have maintained their distance since the company is located outside of Australia but this in no way means that those making use of the certificates will be so lucky. Fraudulent behavior is never an issue to be taken lightly and users could face penalties or even unemployment.
blogger / August 5, 2008
Australians Becoming Fans of the Fake Sick Day
The largest fraud case in history has begun developing in Australia between just about every company and worker on the continent. Decreasing productivity, a loss of $10 billion a year to be exact, has led most Australian companies to require a doctor’s note or some other confirmation when employees take sick leave. With workers taking an average of 10 days off a year as a result of illness, legitimate or otherwise, companies are becoming irritable over their lack of attendance. Now, as if phony diplomas were not enough, anyone can purchase a fool-proof doctors note online to avoid confrontation with their superiors.


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US Tax Break for Electric Vehicles Violates USMCA: MexicoBy Alfonso Núñez | Wed, 11/03/2021 - 16:55
Mexico’s US ambassador warned the US Congress and Senate that a proposed legislation regarding tax breaks for the purchase of US-produced electric vehicles would violate trade agreements and harm the sale of electric vehicles (EV) worldwide.
Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán sent a letter to US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, amongst other representatives, and supported by 24 other US ambassadors from countries that stand out for their automotive production, according to an October 30 press release. The letter came as a response to a proposal to expand tax credits for union-made zero emissions EV models assembled domestically, with a tax credit of up to US$12,500 per electric vehicle.
The US lawmakers who introduced the bill this September presented it as an extension of President Joe Biden’s plan to raise the country’s EV sales to 50 percent of total sales by 2030. The proposal, introduced this past September as a part of the 2021-2022 budget reconciliation package, also seeks to expand environmentally-conscious technology across the global automotive industry to reduce worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.
However, Barragán argues that the enaction of the bill “discriminates against foreign automotive producers” and violates the international trade commitments agreed upon by the US in the recently enacted USCMA. Barragán claims that the fiscal incentives for US produced electric vehicles specifically affect Mexico by threatening the trust built through the agreement.
“The proposed conditions would reduce consumer choice in the US market to only two vehicles that are eligible for the full credit out of over 50 electric vehicles currently available. This would seem to be counterproductive to meeting our share carbon emission targets,” the press release said.
This response by the Mexican Embassy to the US Senate comes shortly after the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) warned that the energy reform proposed by Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador is dangerous because of its high increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the country’s atmosphere. Although the letter did not address this issue directly, its clear that sustainability and environmental preservation have become a key-focus for international relations and a top global priority for the automotive industry.
The proposal was introduced by US Democrats, who hold majority in a 50-50 split Senate under Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote. But recently, the lawmakers have hit a roadblock in rallying behind President Biden due to differing views within their own party, preventing many of their proposed legislation from passing. The same might be the case for the proposed domestic electric vehicle fiscal incentives.
Mexican automotive manufacturers are not the only ones hoping this will be the case, as the ambassador’s letter has received support from the ambassadors to the US of the EU, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain and Sweden. These countries also aim to reduce carbon emissions and push electronic vehicles as the future of transportation.


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Beat Saber announced its next music pack tonight at the 2021 Game Awards — the Lady Gaga Music Pack features 10 tracks and will be available tonight at 8pm PT.
In a similar fashion to the surprise Green Day music pack announce and release at the 2019 Game Awards, Meta and Beat Games dropped a surprise Lady Gaga Music Pack announcement during tonight’s broadcast of the awards show.
Get readyyyy!!! pic.twitter.com/kmnOVzaxBG
— Beat Saber (@BeatSaber) December 10, 2021
The music pack will release tonight and features 10 tracks primarily from Gaga’s 2008 debut The Fame (and its 2009 reissue The Fame Monster), with a smattering of tracks from both her 2009 sophomore album Born This Way and 2020 sixth solo album Chromatica.
Here is the full tracklist:
– Bad Romance
– Born This Way
– Just Dance (feat. Colby O’Donis)
– Poker Face
– Rain on Me (with Ariana Grande)
– Stupid Love
– Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)
– The Edge of Glory
As is usually the case with new Beat Saber releases, the Lady Gaga Music Pack comes with a new environment, inspired by the aesthetic of her 2020 album Chromatica, pictured below.
The Lady Gaga pack follows on from the Billie Eilish pack, which released in September — we thought it was a solid lineup of tracks and a great addition to the Beat Saber catalog. We haven’t had enough time to weigh in on Gaga’s tracks just yet, but keep your eyes peeled.
There should be even more content on the horizon for Beat Saber players too — at Connect 2021, Beat Games teased new cosmetic sabers and some form of progression system coming soon.
The Lady Gaga music pack will be available for Beat Saber tonight at 8pm PT on all platforms.


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Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) says online retailers need to play by the same rules as main street merchants.
Welch is working on a bill called the Main Street Fairness Act. He says the bill levels the playing field between brick and mortar stores and those on the Internet. The act would require online companies to collect a sales tax if the buyer lives in a state that has one.
"It's not a new tax. The way it works now is if there is a sales tax, that's supposed to be collect by the merchant at the point of sale. Obviously our downtown merchants do that. Our Internet retailers don't. So the Main Street Fairness Act would require that the Internet sellers, like Amazon, like E-Bay, that they collect the sales tax that is due and then remit it to the state," Welch said.
Welch said he's seeing more bipartisan support for the bill. He wants it included in the current fiscal budget negotiations.
Thursday, December 5 2013 6:59 PM EST2013-12-05 23:59:01 GMT
Hundreds of Vermonters could lose unemployment benefits early if Congress doesn't act. Congress expanded packages after the 2008 economic crash but the offer is set to expire. Regular unemployment benefits,More >>
Hundreds of Vermonters could lose their unemployment benefits early if Congress doesn't act. Regular unemployment benefits will not be affected. But additional emergency benefits will expire before the end of December.More >>
Thursday, December 5 2013 7:03 PM EST2013-12-06 00:03:28 GMT
McDonalds in South Burlington needed to dish out more happy meals Thursday because certain people weren't Mc-loving it. More than 20 people gathered outside protesting for higher wages, benefits and betterMore >>
Across the country Thursday people protested at fast-food restaurants, demanding higher wages for workers. In Vermont, we also saw people speaking out.More >>
Thursday, December 5 2013 7:08 PM EST2013-12-06 00:08:48 GMT
It looks like something you'd find on your grandmother's sofa, but thanks to the magic of Burton, it's cool again. It's what the U.S. Snowboarding team will wear when they compete in Sochi, Russia, forMore >>
The Winter Olympics are just around the corner and the U.S. Snowboarding team will be showing off some Vermont style. Burton designed the official uniforms. But some fans have questions about where they were made.More >>
Thursday, December 5 2013 7:10 PM EST2013-12-06 00:10:53 GMT
The Grinch has struck in New Haven. Vermont State police say sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, someone stole about a dozen Christmas trees from the Green Haven Nursery. Police areMore >>
Vermont State police say someone stole a dozen Christmas trees from a nursery in New Haven.More >>
Thursday, December 5 2013 12:11 PM EST2013-12-05 17:11:34 GMT
Vermont's lieutenant governor is the latest to call for a further delay in implementing the state's new health care exchange. Vermont Health Connect has been riddled with problems since it launched inMore >>
Vermont's lieutenant governor is the latest to call for a further delay in implementing the state's new health care exchange.More >>


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The 63rd edition of London Fashion Week (LFW) has returned to Brewer Street Car Park on Friday.
— London Fashion Week (@LondonFashionWk) February 19, 2016
See highlights from the shows of the first day above.
Over the coming five days, the mega event will see 83 designers showcase their Autumn/Winter 2016 collections to buyers, fashion press and guests. This season’s ranges include ready-to wear, footwear, jewellery, bags and multi-label showrooms.
Although the audience of London Fashion Week has traditionally been restricted to fashion industry insiders and VIPs only, this year guests can watch shows live on 60 outdoor screens across the country. Thanks to British Fashion Council’s collaboration with Ocean Outdoor, screens have been set up in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. London’s screening venues include Canary Wharf, Holland Park roundabout, Two Towers West, Piccadilly Circus and Westfield.
British brands returning to LFW for Autumn/Winter 2016 include Alexander McQueen, who will return to the ramp for the first time in 14 years on Sunday. Mulberry is also returning on Sunday under the new direction of new Creative Director, Johnny Coca.
On the first day of the LFW, Natalie Massenet, the chairwoman of the British Fashion Council and founder of Net-a-Porter, was honoured at Buckingham Palace for her services to the fashion and retail industries.
This year’s edition of LFW is expected to reach around 35 million people across the UK. The event runs until Tuesday.
Sub-editor: Anushka Gurnaney


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It is almost three years since Philip Clarke became chief executive of Tesco and almost two years since he unveiled a £1bn plan to turnaround the retailer’s performance on the back of a profits warning.
Yet, Tesco’s performance shows little sign of improving.
The trading update for the last three months shows that UK like-for-like sales fell by 1.5pc. On top of decreasing sales in the UK, Tesco is now also battling declining in sales in all its remaining nine international markets.
Tesco is partly blaming weaker industry conditions for the drop in sales, and it is undoubtedly true that consumers have tightened their belts in preparation for a Christmas splurge.
Yet, Tesco is also the worst performer of the “big four” supermarkets and is losing market share to the discounters – Aldi and Lidl – as well as upmarket Waitrose.
In the minds of shoppers, Tesco does not offer the cheapest food or the best-quality products. The company is the worst affected by an identity crisis among the "big four".
In the last week, the City has debated how the company should meet this challenge.
Should Tesco start a price war and sacrifice its 5.2pc margin? Or is it actually well-placed for the future given that the company accounts for almost £1 in every £2 that British consumers spend on online food?
Clarke insists that his plan is “firmly on track” and that Tesco, and the industry, is undergoing an “extraordinary transformation”. He added: “For us, it is not about market share over a quarter or half."
He said that customers are “continuing to respond positively” to the changes Tesco has made, such as an overhaul of its Finest range and 100 store revamps over the last three months.
It is true that changes to Tesco convenience stores, such as the introduction of fresh sandwiches and salads to its Regent Street store, have won strong reviews.
Other store modernisations have also been well-received, such as a refocusing of its hypermarkets on being food-first and the installation of Harris + Hoole coffee shops and Giraffe restaurants to Tesco Extra in Watford.
But, these store revamps account for only a handful of Tesco’s 3,146 stores. While the City is wooed by trips to revamped stores in London, consumers in other parts of the UK are still waiting for their frustrating experience of shopping in Tesco to improve.
So, if Clarke is confident that his changes are working, surely it is time for Tesco to put its foot on the accelerator and invest more into revamping its stores.
This is a commitment that would cost the Tesco hundreds of millions of pounds and hit the treasured 5.2pc margin.
But, as has been shown in the past when leading supermarkets have fallen into decline, if drastic action is not taken then the company risks being stuck in a vicious circle that will take years to escape.


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How far can you throw your old mobile phone to save the environment?
“Update: ZeroWaste is now InstaCash”
Throwing away old and unused electronics as rubbish or scrap is the beginning of the e-waste problem. It’s a big problem. How do you tell everyone that throwing is bad? Simple. Get them to throw their old and unused mobile phones for a good cause. That’s precisely what Jaipur based startup ZeroWaste did with their “Phone Throwing Championship” and “Junk Dunk” Tournament at the recently concluded tech-fest PLINTH 2015 at LNM Institute of Information Technology, Jaipur.
Phone throwing is simple. ZeroWaste asked participants to bring their old/unused phones and throw them as far as they could or as uniquely as they wished. For safety while throwing the phones were wrapped up tightly with Cellotape so that they wouldn’t shatter and litter the ground. Winners were chosen on the basis of maximum distance thrown (just as in any athletic competition like discus, shot put and javelin or the old school favourite –cricket ball throw).
ZW collected all the phones used by the participants, paid cash rewards for theirold phones and made a 5 min presentation on how a simple decision to exchange your waste/unused/old electronics items for cash at an authorized ewaste collection outlet (ZW has 30+ centers) can make a huge difference to the fight against e-waste in India.
About 500 participants tried their hands at Phone Throw and 3 winners were chosen in each Men, Women and Freestyle categories. While the winners were rewarded with Goodies and T-Shirts, poor performers were “dared” by spectators to do something embarrassing, wacky, funny or all three!
Since E-Waste is not just about mobile phones, ZW invented a unique game called Junk-Dunk. Basically it is Basketball with 4 baskets that we made out of Junk washing machines. Each team had two baskets to shoot at and two to defend. Small tinkering with rules and people went crazy, playing for hours without break.
Participants pledged to join hands with ZeroWaste in making Jaipur the first E-waste free city in the country. Student delegate from Brazil, Pedro Rorato, admitted that like India, Brazil is also lacking the required e-waste recycling ecosystem and public awareness is the key to ensure 100% recycling.
Indians currently generates about 1.5 Million tonnes of waste electronics annually and it will rise exponentially as India bridges its “Digital Divide”. Sensing higer demand for cheap consumer electronics, companies are flooding the market with “designed to dump” products having shorter life and low-grade plastics.
ZeroWaste is upbeat about spreading the word of “buy one recycle one” to millions of Indians who enjoy the fun of modern electronics and technology upgrades but are clueless when it comes to understanding how the ewaste problem is a time bomb ticking under our very noses.
Says Prateek Goel and Sunil Saradhna, founders of ZeroWaste, “We hope to organise a state level and then a national phone throwing event in the coming year and generate huge awareness about responsible e-waste disposal especially among teenagers and youth.”
Way to go !!
To know more Connect with us today at firstname.lastname@example.org | www.getinstacash.in
Note: This post was originally published in February 2015 and has been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.


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Published on July 4th, 2017 | by Daniel Sherman Fernandez0
Rowen International Toyota C HR RR Widebody Tuning
Since January this year, the new Toyota C-HR Crossover has been the most talked/viewed/ commented about vehicle on www.dsf.my and most other auto websites. We have shared a lot of information as well as pictures from tuning houses offering a range of body styling kits.
This CH-R stands on the new TNGA platform whose name stands for Coupé High Rider. Visually, the small SUV looks quite aggressive and now we have Japanese tuner Rowen International planning a powerful body kit already in work. First pictures give a view of a clearly grown front spoiler, which is installed below the series bumper as well as powerful side skirts. That, from the Japanese point of view, is sitting at the stern. Here is a huge diffuser that includes a sports exhaust system in the Lexus LFA style. And a larger roof spoiler is also planned. If the C-HR would have at least a corresponding engine under the hood, the body kit would look less exaggerated.


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The development of a new screening system to detect possible adulteration of milk is underway, says IDF expert Dr. Steve Holroyd (NZ) at the annual IDF/ISO Analytical Week in Tel Aviv, Israel. Dr. Holroyd presented a cross-company initiative during the midweek symposium on June 6.
The aim is to create infrared-based methods that can detect fraudulent adulteration across the milk supply chain. The new approach enables dairy companies to screen milk for a range of known adulterants, but is also capable of indicating whether unknown adulterants might be present. The system would allow detection at the earliest stages of the supply chain.
This presentation comes as a follow-up to the recent article on FTIR technology for routine milk screening published in the IDF Bulletin ‘Integrated Supply Chain Management’. Dr. Jaap Evers, Chair of the IDF Methods Standards Steering Group, said: “In contrast to existing technology, infrared methods will allow rapid screening of milk thus allowing a prompt response to safeguard consumer health. This initiative is a real step forward in the prevention of milk adulteration.”
The IDF/ISO Analytical Week also featured presentations on the Israeli dairy sector, workshops and a visit to the largest dairy farm in the center of Israel. Over 100 participants attended the event, joined by 120 local participants for the symposium, including representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture.


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Electronic Arts could be preparing a reveal of Skate 4 gameplay in July 2022, according to rumours.
Skate 4 is rumoured for a big reveal in July 2022 according to industry insider Tom Henderson . The game's official name is yet to be confirmed but it's understood that the title will be Skate 4 or simply skate.
The insider further adds that Skate 4 has been undergoing extensive playtesting these past few months, suggesting that the game is actually much further along in development than we thought.
Unfortunately, we don't know if EA plan to reveal raw gameplay or just a simple in-game trailer but the announcement is coming next month if the rumours are legit.
This also includes Skate 4, which is only one of the games in development at EA.
All in all, July 2022 should be a great month for the fans of the iconic Skate series. We cannot wait to see what EA have in store for the future of this franchise so July can't come soon enough.


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Four years ago, Matt Moreno of Everett had solar panels installed on his house and, just a few months ago, bought a Tesla Model S all-electric sedan.
Now, Tesla Motors has opened a “supercharger” station in Burlington, allowing Moreno and other Tesla owners to charge quickly for free, for life.
All of it cost Moreno a pretty penny. He won’t say what he paid for the car — the Model S sells for between $70,000 and $117,000, depending on options. Moreno’s solar power system cost $30,000 in 2009.
It’s worth it, he said.
“I’ve prepaid for all of my fuel for the next 30 years,” said Moreno, a systems engineer for Microsoft.
Moreno attended a ribbon cutting on Thursday for the Burlington superchargers in the parking lot of the Fairfield Inn and Suites Marriott at 9384 Old Highway 99, off I-5 at Cook Road.
The electric car company plans to rapidly expand its charging station network in the next couple of years. Burlington was chosen because it’s strategically located roughly halfway between Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle, company officials say. Eight supercharger outlets are available at the hotel, located next to two restaurants and a gas station.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company opened another charging station in Centralia last week. The two stations are Tesla’s first in the Pacific Northwest and bring the company’s total nationwide to 15 — eight in California, four on the East Coast and one in Illinois.
The company aims to have stations enabling coast-to-coast travel on the Tesla network alone by the end of this year and stations covering most of the U.S. and parts of Canada by 2015.
The chargers can bring a Tesla from empty to full in 30 minutes, with 80 percent of that coming in the first 20 minutes, company officials say. The Model S has a range of 230 to 300 miles, depending on the version.
The only other all-electric vehicle on the U.S. market, the Nissan Leaf, has a range of up to about 100 miles. It’s also considerably less expensive, about $30,000 to $35,000, depending on the model. The plug-in-gasoline hybrid Chevy Volt is comparable in price to the Leaf, with an all-electric range of about 35 miles.
A federal tax incentive can cut as much as $7,500 off the price of any electric car or hybrid.
Access to the superchargers is free for drivers of the higher-end Tesla versions, while for the lower end it’s an extra $2,000 option.
The slowest way to charge is with a standard 110-volt outlet at home, which takes eight to 10 hours. A 240-volt outlet, such as the type used with a washer or dryer, can cut the time in half.
The Tesla chargers are 480 volts. While that’s the same amount as carried by DC or “level three” outlets installed at many public charging stations, the Tesla chargers are equipped to deliver more electricity into the battery, company spokesman Patrick Jones said.
This makes the Tesla chargers twice as fast as the DC chargers, said Tonia Buell, a spokeswoman for the state’s portion of the West Coast Electric Highway program it shares with Oregon.
The state recently finished installing chargers in six locations on I-5, four on U.S. 2 and two on I-90, Buell said. One of the U.S. 2 stations is at the visitors’ center in Sultan.
Each has at least one DC charger and a slower, 240-volt outlet, which will cost less for users and take four to six hours for a full charge. Use of these outlets currently is free, with a fee eventually planned.
More charging outlets are springing up in urban areas all the time, including in Snohomish County. Most are located at shopping centers or in parking areas at government buildings, such as the parking garage at the Snohomish County complex in downtown Everett. Most public chargers are the 240-volt version.
Tesla drivers can use the non-Tesla outlets with an adapter plug, but drivers of other electric vehicles won’t be able to juice up at the Tesla outlets, said Ali Millrod, manager of the Tesla office in Bellevue.
Charging the vehicle at home, while not free, is cheap compared to buying gasoline. Moreno figures he spends about $22 in electricity to drive 1,000 miles.
While using the superchargers for road trips is fine, it’s not good for the car’s battery to use it frequently, Millrod said.
“It’s blasting direct DC to your battery pack,” she said. “It’s like an adrenaline shot for your battery.”
Tesla has plans for new cars in the works. The Model X, comparably priced to the Model S, is a larger version that’s been called a combination sedan-SUV. It’s scheduled to roll out at the end of next year.
Anyone who wants a Tesla that’s comparable in price to a Leaf may be able to get one in a couple of years. The company is designing a smaller, less pricey sedan, though it likely will have less range than the Model S or X, officials said.
“Our goal is mass production,” said Troy Jones, Tesla’s regional manager for the Northwest.
Gary and Gloria Price of Snohomish bought a Model S a few months ago. They’re thrilled with it so far, Gloria Price said.
The worst thing has been getting stopped and questioned about it everywhere she goes, she said, such as grocery store parking lots.
“I don’t mind,” she said. “It’s been fun.”
E-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.org. Please include your city of residence.
Look for updates on our Street Smarts blog at www.heraldnet.com/streetsmarts.


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Gay Superman Cancelled: The declaration was made during the course of the past weekend at the New York Comic Con. According to DC, the 18th and last issue of the series will be its final installment.
However, according to the comic book company’s statement to the Washington Examiner, this does not constitute a cancellation. “It has not been decided to end the Superman: Son of Kal-El series. Along with this, Is J Balvin Gay is also the most googled topic nowadays.
Throughout the course of his comic book career, Superman has appeared in a number of different publications, including Action Comics, Superman Comics, and Adventure Comics.
It was always our intention to bring Clark Kent back to the main Superman title, and the continuation of Jon Kent’s story may be found in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent “explained a spokeswoman from the District of Columbia.
“The final issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El will be released soon, but readers who enjoy Jon Kent’s adventures do not need to be concerned. Apart from this, Are you interested to read about Emmanuel Lewis’s Net Worth?
In the upcoming issue of Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, authored by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Clayton Henry, readers can look forward to brand new Jon Kent tales “a statement from the company was made in a press release.
According to Taylor, “I could not possibly be more delighted for Jon Kent to star in the legendary Adventures of Superman.” “This is a true testament to the great response that fans have had to Jon in the role of Superman.
This is going to be one of the most action-packed books I’ve ever written, and Jon is going to be put through more challenges than he’s faced in any other series I’ve ever written.
What we’re going to reveal at the end of issue #2 will have everyone talking, and issue #3 launches us in a direction that no one will see coming. Besides this, Have you heard about Spike Lee’s Net Worth?
While we can tell you that the Superman of Earth-2, Val-Zod, and Ultraman will be key characters in the early part of Adventures of Superman, we can also tell you that what we’re going to reveal at the end of issue #2 will have everyone talking.
Rich Johnston admits that Gay Superman WAS INDEED cancelled, and is super-mad. He cries about it and complains that Damian ROBIN was also canceled for low sales, and #ComicsGate didn't laugh about THAT.
That's because nobody was lying about it's sales.https://t.co/BlsZKlziHs
— Ethan Van Sciver (@EthanVanSciver) October 12, 2022
DC Comics made the announcement that Jon Kent, the alter ego of Superman, would come out as bisexual in the previous year, and certain issues of the Superman comic even had a male love interest.
One of the illustrations depicted the two main protagonists engaging in a passionate kiss with one another.
The fact that the comic book did not rank among the top 50 comic books in terms of the number of units sold in December 2021 is indicative of sales that are less than satisfactory. At that point, the series had only run for a total of five issues.
The comic remained absent from the top 50 sales chart in August of 2022 as well. The television show also portrayed Superman as a climate change activist. One image from the show shows Clark Kent participating in a demonstration while holding a banner that reads “School Strike for Climate.”
Velma, one of the most popular characters from the Scooby-Doo Halloween special, was recently reimagined as a lesbian. It would indicate that she is developing feelings for Coco Diablo, a new character in the Warner Bros. program.
In 2020, James Gunn, who had written some of the earlier live-action films, tweeted that he had tried to portray Velma as gay but encountered pushback.
Final Lines: This announcement was made this past weekend at the New York Comic Con. DC Comics claims that the final issue of the series will be issue 18.
If you are more interested in accurate information, please visit our website, Digi Hind News.


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Minor Hotels will debut its AVANI Hotels & Resorts brand in Oman in 2020.
Minor Hotels has signed a management agreement with Safari International Group for the development of the 250-key AVANI Muscat Hotel.
The property will be located in Seeb, a 15 minute drive from Muscat International Airport. It will be connected via a sky bridge to the upcoming Al Araimi Boulevard Mall that will feature over 250 retail and dining outlets and a cinema complex. The mall will open in 2018.
In the first phase will see the opening of 160 guest-rooms and suites, an all-day dining restaurant, an AVANI Pantry and a rooftop lounge. Leisure facilities will include a swimming pool and health club. The property will also feature eight meeting rooms and a 1,000 sqm ballroom.
In the second phase that will commence after two years of the hotel opening, AVANI Muscat Hotel will add a total of 90 serviced apartments including studios, one- and two- and three-bedroom apartments.
“Bringing AVANI to Oman is a key component of our strategic expansion plans and we are delighted to be partnering with Safari International Group to develop this exciting new addition to Muscat’s hotel scene. Seeb is already a key residential area in Muscat, which as the city grows westwards will become a significant hub and we are confident AVANI will represent a great fit in this fast developing neighbourhood,” says Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels.
Minor Hotels currently operates 13 properties in the Middle East across four of its brands – Anantara, AVANI, Tivoli and Oaks – and has a further strong pipeline in the region across these four brands. In 2018 AVANI will launch in North Africa with the opening of AVANI Les Berges du Lac Tunis Suites in the Tunisian capital, with properties scheduled to open in Mauritius and the Maldives in 2017.


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There's no denying Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) had some great success in the education space. CEO Tim Cook said last year that the iPad held 94% of the education tablet market, and the company topped $1 billion in education sales at the same time.
But while Apple is dominating in education tablets, the latest numbers from IDC, first reported by the Financial Times, show that Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shipped more Chromebooks to schools in the Q3 2014 than Apple shipped iPads.
That may not seem like a big deal at first blush, but it's the first quarter in which Chromebooks outpaced iPad shipments to schools, and it marks the continuing expansion of Google's laptops. Both Apple and Google are very interested in the U.S. education-technology space, considering the market size is expected to grow from about $5.4 billion right now to $13.4 billion by 2017, according to GSV Advisors.
So what is Google doing right?
Why Chromebooks are growing
In the third quarter, Google shipped 715,000 Chromebooks to the education market, while Apple shipped 702,000. That's not a huge difference, but it's significant considering Chromebooks didn't even exist a few years ago -- and now they account for about a quarter of devices in the education market.
There are several factors pushing Google's devices ahead of iPads, with cost being one of the most important. Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, and others sell Chromebooks as low as $199, while Apple's iPad go for about $380 with the educational discount. But that's not the real cost for schools. After adding keyboards to iPads (which many students needs for writing tests) the iPad costs are even higher.
Aside from cheaper prices, Google's made Chomebooks especially easy for sharing. There are no apps to download and install, instead everything is tied to a Google login. So the devices are easily interchanged and shared in ways the iPad simply can't be. And then there's the fact that mice, monitors, flash drives, and the like are easily connected Chromebooks, while the iPad needs special adaptors for such connections.
Add all this up and its easy to see why Chromebooks are taking off in schools. But it's not just IDC that's noticing the trend. Back in July, NPD Group reported Chromebook's growth in the education sector as well. "Building on last year's surprising strength, Chrome's unit strength ahead of this year's education buying season shows how it has become a legitimate third platform alongside Windows and Mac OS X and iOS," said Stephen Baker, NPD's vice president of industry analysis.
Chromebooks show no sign of slowing down, either. In 2013, Google sold 2.9 million of the devices, and that number's expected to climb to 14.4 million in 2017, according to Gartner.
What it means for Apple
It's easy to assume that Apple isn't in any trouble in the education sector right now. The company is dominating in tablet sales to schools, and when you factor in MacBooks, Apple still shipped more devices to schools in the third quarter than Google.
But for more than a year we've seen Chromebooks continue to grow in education sales. It'd be easy to dismiss Chromebooks because they've only outpaced iPad education shipments in just one quarter, but that would be ignoring the bigger trend. The fact is that schools have realized Chromebooks offer not just a cheaper alternative to the iPad, but also a more functional device at the same time. In that that sense, there's little incentive for the education sector to reverse its growing trend toward Chromebooks, which could eventually push down iPad sales.
IDC expects that 2014 "will represent the first full year of decline in iPad shipments," so it appears that the education market isn't the only area Apple's seeing a pullback. If there's a bright side, it's that iPad sales represent just 12.6% of Apple's total revenue, while its iPhone, which is selling like gangbusters, accounts for 56%. Still, Apple can't be happy about the state of its tablets in education or otherwise, and neither should the company's investors.
Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple and Google (A and C shares). Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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CyprusProfile talks to Alex Mouradian, Sales Director Hellas, Cyprus & Malta of SAP Cyprus Ltd, on key areas of opportunity or growth, and expectations for Cyprus in 2018
Evaluating the results and trends of last year I expect that the financial services, wholesale distribution and retail sectors will continue going through a major transformation. The financial services sector has already invested two years reorganizing and adapting to the new reality. In 2018, it is a matter of refocusing on innovation and differentiating services the same way banks typically do with IT. With regards to the wholesale sector, it needs to rethink its value proposition. The old days of the Cypriot wholesaler to import, store and distribute with a healthy margin, are coming to an end. Competition is greater, and exclusivity is no longer there, it is much easier to have multiple representatives of global brands, which is pushing them to rethink their distribution channels. This is why, we have recently seen third-party logistics companies appearing in Cyprus. The retail sector has changed completely, the consumer is more brand and price-aware. The typical Cypriot consumer is highly educated by EU standards and has choices, this pushes you to have your own value proposition, whether you’re a start-up or a large retail chain.
Regarding innovation technologies I am confident that technology will continue driving all businesses forward, with everyone relying on it to advance and bring change. We have seen and anticipate that we will continue seeing this trend in Cyprus, with a growing demand in both IT-related services and staff. The cloud is the driving force of the IT industry. Everything is going on the cloud with all mega vendors having invested in it, and SAP is leading the way in many of these areas. The internet of things (IOT) is growing and technology is now allowing us to digitize things we could never even imagine before. Additionally, the new Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize how businesses operate. At SAP, we see blockchain as a promising way to simplify complex multi-party processes and create trust among participants. We’re using our expertise in 25 industries and across all lines of business to actively explore blockchain technology, and help our customers capitalize on its potential. SAP Leonardo, our digital innovation system, includes some early-stage blockchain capabilities, and integrates them with other breakthrough technologies – such as the IoT and machine learning. The general concept is that new technologies allow us to rethink our business models and how we live, this is unprecedented. The challenge for all of us is to explore how to achieve a competitive edge. Technology by itself is useless, the key lies in usage.
As SAP, in 2018, we celebrate 20 successful years in Cyprus and our strategic goal remains constantly the same: to continue helping our customer run better by sharing knowledge and offering cutting-edge technology solutions, focus on strengthening our customer and partner relationships and investing in our people so that together, as an ecosystem, we achieve greater results in the years to come.
View SAP Cyprus Ltd profile