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1.EU tightens rules to block tainted U.S. biotech rice - REUTERS
2.EU restrictions on illegal US rice imports inadequate - GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL
3.EC slammed for "complacency and connivance" - GM Free Cymru
EXCERPTS: U.S. authorities insist that the GMO strain poses no risk to public health or the environment. But the Commission, which says it needs much more data about the case, was not so sure.
"We are still missing substantial amounts of information," a senior Commission official said. "For the moment, we do not share the view of the U.S. that there is no risk."
They are also unhappy about U.S. information policy that caused a near 3-week delay in telling Brussels that traces of the unauthorised GMO were found in the commercial rice. (ITEM 1)
Greenpeace International calls on the EC to stop reacting to contamination 'accidents' and start preventing them instead. (ITEM 2)
In Japan, companies have been instructed by the Government not to process or sell any U.S. long-grain rice they may already have imported in recent months. (ITEM 3)
1.EU tightens rules to block tainted U.S. biotech rice
By Jeremy Smith
REUTERS, August 23 2006 http://today.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-08-23T173242Z_01_L23130635_RTRIDST_0_FOOD-EU-USA-RICE-UPDATE-2.XML&rpc=66
BRUSSELS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The European Union has tightened requirements on U.S. long grain rice imports to prove there are no signs of an unauthorised genetically modified organism (GMO), the European Commission said on Wednesday.
The decision follows the discovery by U.S. authorities of trace amounts of the unauthorised GMO rice strain in long grain samples that were targeted for commercial use.
The rice, called LL Rice 601, is marketed by Germany's Bayer AG (BAYG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) to withstand a weed-killing pesticide and grown in the United States.
"The European Commission has today adopted a decision requiring imports of long grain rice from the USA to be certified as free of the unauthorised GMO LL Rice 601," Commission spokesman Philip Tod told a news briefing.
With immediate effect, only shipments of U.S. long grain rice tested by an accredited laboratory using a validated detection method will be able to enter EU markets. Shipments must be accompanied certificate assuring the absence of LL 601.
The EU measure will be reviewed on Friday by a committee of EU-25 food safety experts, and again in six months' time.
At present, no GMO rice is authorised for import or sale within the 25-country European Union, which imported 300,000 tonnes of U.S. rice last year, with 85 percent being long grain.
Biotech foods have run into strong resistance in Europe, where many consumers view them as "Frankenstein" foods. The biotech industry insists that its products are perfectly safe.
Green groups, which had called for the EU to suspend all its U.S. rice imports, complained that the Commission's restrictions were a "minimal response to a serious contamination problem".
"While the Commission should be congratulated for a quick response to this genetic contamination, this response is inadequate as rice is the world's most important staple food," Jeremy Tager at Greenpeace International said in a statement.
EU UNHAPPY WITH DELAY
U.S. authorities insist that the GMO strain poses no risk to public health or the environment. But the Commission, which says it needs much more data about the case, was not so sure.
"We are still missing substantial amounts of information," a senior Commission official said. "For the moment, we do not share the view of the U.S. that there is no risk."
The EU executive says it still has no idea about possible volumes of LL Rice 601 that may have entered Europe, nor the countries that may have received cargoes with the strain.
They are also unhappy about U.S. information policy that caused a near 3-week delay in telling Brussels that traces of the unauthorised GMO were found in the commercial rice.
On July 31, U.S. agriculture and food safety authorities were notified that testing by Bayer CropScience, a Bayer unit, showed LL Rice 601 in rice bins in Arkansas and Missouri: the first time that unmarketed biotech rice had been found in rice used in the U.S. commercial market.
Japan, for which the United States is the largest rice exporter, banned imports of U.S. long grain rice on Aug. 19.
For LL Rice 601, the validation test was now available and would be distributed in Europe in a few days, officials said.
2.EU restrictions on illegal US rice imports inadequate
Greenpeace International, Press Release
Brussels, International 23 August 2006 - Greenpeace International criticized the announcement by the European Commission (EC) today as a minimal response to a serious contamination problem.
The EC stated that it would only impose testing and certification requirements on imports of long grain rice from the United States which does not address contamination from genetically engineered (GE) rice that may already be in food in the EU. The EC also relies on testing and information provided by Bayer, makes no commitment to its own assessment of the extent of the contamination problem and also imposes no penalties and costs against Bayer.
The EC made this move after Commercial rice in the United States was found contaminated with genetically engineered (GE) Liberty Link (LL) rice 601, produced by agro-chemical giant Bayer and never intended for commercial release. Imports were, as a result, immediately banned in Japan. (1)
"While the Commission should be congratulated for a quick response to this genetic contamination, this response is inadequate as rice is the world's most important staple food and is contained in many food products currently on EU shelves," said Jeremy Tager, Greenpeace International GE campaigner. "It is time to move beyond case-by-case procedures as the GE industry has shown time and time again that it is unwilling or unable to prevent GE contamination."
Greenpeace International calls on the EC to stop reacting to contamination 'accidents' and start preventing them instead. The EC should identify countries and products that are at high risk of contaminating our food supply with illegal or dangerous GE organisms and implement screening, preventative testing and, where there is no demonstrated capacity to prevent contamination, total bans.
Greenpeace International calls on other major importing regions such as the Americas, Africa and the Middle East to take similar steps immediately until the US can guarantee that their rice supply - and other foods - are no longer contaminated.
"A message needs to be sent to the US and to agro-chemical giant Bayer that genetic contamination and 'accidents' with our food are not acceptable, and ultimately they must be held liable for cleaning it up."
Greenpeace campaigns for GE-free crop and food production grounded on the principles of sustainability, protection of biodiversity and providing all people to have access to safe and nutritious food. Genetic engineering is an unnecessary and unwanted technology that contaminates the environment, threatens biodiversity and poses unacceptable risks to health.
For more information and interviews
Jeremy Tager, Greenpeace International GE campaigner mob +31 (0) 6 4622 1185 office +31 (0) 20 718 2177 Suzette Jackson, Greenpeace International communications +31 (0) 6 4619 7324
Notes to editors (1) http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=44088&lang=fra&NewsRubrique=2
3.EC slammed for "complacency and connivance" over GM rice fiasco
GM Free Cymru Press Briefing
22 August 2006
The European Commission has been slammed for its feeble and belated response to the latest fiasco involving the GM contamination of essential food supplies by an unauthorised and untested variety of rice.
More GM Lies
On 31st July Bayer CropScience informed USDA that a rice merchandiser had found traces of an unauthorised variety called LL601 in his rice silos in the states of Arkansas and Missouri (1). After eighteen days of private discussions the FDA and APHIS put out a joint "reassurance statement", designed to imply that the contamination was of very limited extent, that it was only present in "trace amounts", and that other LL rice varieties have been approved as safe (2). They also declared that the contaminated rice would not be destroyed, but simply stored for the time being. Then, to cap it all, they said that they intend to cooperate with Bayer in the deregulation (ie approval) of LL601 as speedily as possible. That would, in true American fashion, make everything perfectly all right again, as well as reducing or even eliminating any liability which Bayer might otherwise have to face relating to health, environmental or financial damage.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johans concluded that there were "no human health, food safety, or environmental concerns associated with this GE rice." However, he also admitted that he did not know how much rice was contaminated, which rice products were involved, or where the contaminated rice was found (3). Other people seem to know a great deal more than he does (4), and perhaps they should tell him. In South Korea the Ministry of Agriculture and USDA both initially lied to the media, claiming that no LL601 rice had been included in long-grain rice shipments from the US to South Korea in 2005, and that "all rice imports from the U.S. are screened by the USDA-run Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration before they are shipped abroad" (5). In reality, shipments are not all GM-tested, and in any case there is no testing protocol for unauthorised varieties like LL601 since there are no reference samples available. Contamination from scores of other unauthorised, experimental or failed GM varieties could also be present in substantial quantities -- completely unidentified and with unknown health impacts (6).
LL601 -- what is it?
In spite of the pretence from the authorities in the United States and the EU that LL601 is a mysterious variety that can be assumed to be acceptable until somebody proves otherwise, we actually know quite a lot about it. The variety is a "Liberty Link" variety, genetically altered to survive application of the powerful herbicide glufosinate ammonium, manufactured as Liberty by Bayer. It was field-tested under permits granted by the USDA from 1998 to 2001. Bayer then reportedly stopped development of LL601 for unknown reasons five years ago. Speaking for GM Free Cymru, Dr Brian John said: "It was a failed variety, and we can make an intelligent guess that it failed because it was non-uniform and unstable. Another failed "Liberty Link" variety was Chardon LL (T25), a maize variety which was the focus of world attention in 2003 and 2004 before Bayer suddenly abandoned it. Many scientists thought that that variety was dangerous to animals, as they still do with respect to other LL varieties (7). Two "related" LL varieties developed by Bayer (LLRICE06 and LLRICE62) appear to have undergone no animal feeding studies designed to investigate physiological / health effects (8). In spite of the assurances of the UK Competent Authority, there are no grounds for claiming that LL rice is safe for consumption either by farm animals or humans, although the varieties do have approvals in the United States (9)."
The EC -- fast asleep as usual
Since the US Secretary of Agriculture was unable to give assurances to Japan and South Korea that the contaminated rice had not found its way into the long-grain rice export market both countries have now apparently banned all imports of US long-grained rice. In Japan, companies have been instructed by the Government not to process or sell any U.S. long-grain rice they may already have imported in recent months. That sounds like decisive action, demonstrating a commendable commitment to the Precautionary Principle.
In Europe, in contrast, the EC and the national authorities appear determined to take no action against the US or Bayer CropScience if they can possibly avoid it. More than three weeks have now elapsed since the contamination incident. During that time, contaminated rice shipments will almost certainly have come into European ports, as they have probably done throughout the last five years. The EC was notified of the incident on 18 August. After a relaxing weekend, on 22 August, the EC said that it had contacted Bayer and the U.S. authorities for more information about the unauthorized rice variety, with a view to establishing whether it might have found its way into any shipments destined for European markets. There was no great sign of urgency. "We have to do what we can to make sure the rice doesn't come onto our market," said spokeswoman Antonia Mochan. She did not specify how customs officials would detect contaminated rice imports, but it is reasonable to assume that the Commission's Joint Research laboratory is trying to define accurate detection methods -- and to obtain valid reference samples -- with the dubious assistance of U.S. officials and Bayer representatives (10).
Bt10 all over again
GM Free Cymru is furious that no lessons appear to have been learned from the Bt10 incident which made world headlines last year (11). On that occasion Syngenta, the US authorities and the EC were all involved in lies, deception and media manipulation on a truly sickening scale. They misled the public and the media as to the real scale of the incident, sought to bury away information that should have been in the public domain, and consistently connived to underplay the significance of the regulatory breakdown which had allowed the export of maize crops contaminated with Bt10 to spread far and wide across the globe. The US regulators did impose a pathetically small fine on Syngenta, but the EC effectively did nothing other than indicating a slight irritation and issuing a few plaintive requests for more information. Syngenta responded by treating the EC with contempt (12). The "official" testing method designed by Syngenta and its chosen laboratory, GeneScan, was probably designed to ensure false negatives. The company has still not provided adequate Bt10 reference material to the JRC after the passage of 18 months or more, and the characteristics of Bt10 have still not been adequately described for independent scientists although there are no grounds for commercial confidentiality. In Britain there was so much buck-passing between DEFRA, FSA and the regulatory authorities (ACRE and ACNFP) that members of the public could not work out what had happened to it. The level of inactivity was so serious that GM Free Cymru made a formal complaint about the negligence of the FSA to the Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt (13). The Bt10 episode was characterised by corruption, fraudulent science and an abject refusal by the EC to take any effective action against Syngenta in spite of the millions of euros which the incident cost the taxpayer.
Speaking for GM Free Cymru, Brian John says: "What lessons has the EC learned from the Bt10 fiasco? Probably none at all -- but we hope we will be pleasantly surprised. At the very least, we want the Commission to immediately ban all rice imports from the USA, to stop the processing and marketing of all US rice stocks held by importers and processors, and to insist on the full disclosure of the genetic makeup of LL601 as it was and is. Adequate reference materials must be provided by Bayer. Almost certainly the GM rice variety will not have the same structure today as it did in 2001. The EC must also obtain full information on any safety testing done on the variety, and it must make that information public. And above all else it must stop behaving in the venal and despicable manner which we saw last year in the Bt10 fiasco. It is high time that the EC started to get tough with the GM corporations whose intention is initially to contaminate the whole of the world's food supply with GM components and then to take total control of the farming industry."
(2) U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Statement on Report of Bioengineered Rice in the Food Supply CFSAN/Office of Food Additive Safety August 18 2006 http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/biorice.html
The USDA complacency should come as no surprise. In a recent case in Hawaii, a US district judge called USDA's regulatory heedlessness "arbitrary and capricious" and "an unequivocal violation of a clear congressional mandate." That echoes similar conclusions reached by the USDA's own auditors last year. After reviewing two years of records, the auditors concluded that the agency's biotechnology regulators overlooked violations of their own rules, failed to inspect sites and did not assure that genetically engineered crops were destroyed after field trials. In some cases, regulators did not even know the locations of trials.
(3) Statement by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns Regarding Genetically Engineered Rice USDA, August 18 2006 Release No. 0307.06 http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2006/08/0307.xml
(4) The samples came from storage bins in Arkansas and Missouri. But trace amounts of the contaminant have been found across the rice belt, according to Bill Reed, spokesman for Riceland Foods in Stuttgart, Ark. "This is a situation not limited to a state or a farmer or a producer or a handler. It's a situation for Southern long-grain rice." http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/business/article/0,1426,MCA_440_4933927,00.html
(5) Lies in South Korea as part of the reassurance campaign: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200608/kt2006082020574511910.htm
Beckett is blamed as Bayer bins GM plan, March 30, 2004. Bayer Cropscience is giving up attempts to commercialise GM maize - the only transgenic plant to have approval for widespread cultivation. Bayer said that the seed variety Chardon LL has been left "economically non-viable" because of conditions Margaret Beckett, environment secretary, imposed when she gave it limited approval.
(11) Syngenta's Corporate Crimes -- including a summary of the Bt10 incident and the appalling negligence of the EC: http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=6567
(12) Having failed to obtain assurances as to the validity of the GeneScan test for the unauthorised presence of Bt10 in maize shipments, GM Free Cymru wrote this on 30th July 2006 to Dr Guy Van den Eede of the Joint Research Laboratory: "....... as we suspected, the GeneScan test for Bt10 is inadequate for testing for the presence of Bt10 contamination in the bulk of European shipments of maize and maize products 2001-2004, and (through the use of very recent reference material) was probably carefully designed by Syngenta and GeneScan to provide "false negatives" as a part of their reassurance campaign. It also confirms that you have no grounds for assuming that Bt10 was uniform and stable; we suspect that Syngenta knows perfectly well that Bt10 was non-uniform and unstable, which may be why the Bt10 lines were discontinued. There is a final and more worrying comment which we wish to make. This sorry business shows that Syngenta (and Monsanto and the other GM corporations) can play fast and loose with the JRC and the EC through the partial and selective provision of information, and can indulge in scientific fraud where it suits them, with complete confidence that no action will be taken against them. This is an appalling state of affairs, given that there have been massive breaches of Directive 2001/18 by Syngenta which should have been massively punished by the EC."


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One of China’s leading facial recognition providers has submitted documents for a listing on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. The company named Megvii is the pioneer of the “Face++ system” that is currently being used by many of the artificial intelligence (AI) companies. The face-checking tech is the most accurate compared to its competitors such as Amazon and IBM. The company had brought its product into the market when the facial recognition’s application for surveillance was being questioned. The White House had also considered adding Megvii in the trade blacklist with the hope of avoiding the use of US-origin software and components.
Face++ has been integrated into many of the consumer-focused hardware such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Vivo smartphones; Lenovo laptops; Didi Chuxing’s ride-hailing app; smile-to-pay terminals in KFC restaurants; and dating website Jiayuan. The smart city applications like facial recognition and other security management applications in workplaces, educational institutions, and major events help it gather revenue. The technology has helped fight crime by helping police departments in China and other countries. The human face is detected through an image and later a pattern is formed using eyes, lips, chin, and up to 1,000 other key features. The pattern is matched with that of the owners or cross-referenced with a broad database that consists of unlimited facial maps. The face search also helps know the emotion, beauty score, body gestures, track eye-gaze, and health status of an individual.
Similarly, Megvii has recently decided to join hands with an Austrian firm named Ams to provide 3D-depth sensing facial recognition. Additionally, it has also created Hetu, which is an operating system designed for warehouse robots. Alibaba’s Tmall subsidiary has already started using it. Despite the 3.35bn yuan loss last year and a 5.2bn yuan loss at the start of this year, it still hopes to become an AI innovator by 2030.
To offer the readers with a quality content to read is the common link that pushed Carmen to join Industry News Publisher’s content team as a News Journalist. While a majority of activities in the Business department are carried out under the supervision of Carmen, with her skill to handle every situation tactfully, she also sees that the department is functioning smoothly. It’s been 4 years now she is working with Industry News Publisher and enriching our readers by providing top-notch news reports along with her personal opinions on the current market scenario. Carmen has deep knowledge in the Business sector and has pursued an MBA in Marketing Degree.

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Israeli Drugstore Chain Super-Pharm to Sponsor Accelerator for Retail-Focused Startups
Super-Pharm partners with Tel Aviv-based accelerator SigmaLabs to launch a program for startups focused on retail experience and logistics
For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.
Young startups participating in the three-month program, set to launch in March, will receive support and training focused on research, product development, and financial strategies. Participating startups will also have access to mentors such as Aki Eldar, co-founder of Secure Islands Technologies Ltd., bought by Microsoft in 2015, and Ido Yablonka, the founder of ClarityRay, bought by Yahoo in 2014 for over $15 million.
In addition, participating startups will have access to internal Super-Pharm data, and will have a chance to collaborate with the retailer during and after the program.
Founded in 1978 by businessman Leon Koffler, and headquartered in Herzliya, a town north of Tel Aviv, Super-Pharm operates hundreds of drugstores in Israel, Poland, and China. Marketing Vice-President at Super-Pharm, Ofer Levy, said in a statement that the retailer is searching to improve the retail experience in its branches as well as online and to find solutions for logistical processes and services.
SigmaLabs was founded in 2015 by Israel-based venture capital company Entrée Capital with an initial sponsorship from Yahoo. Other sponsors included Amazon Web Services and Israeli credit card issuer Leumi Card, a subsidiary of Israel-based Bank Leumi.


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LAKE FOREST Calif. Del Taco announced the promotion of two executives on Tuesday. Steve Brake has been named vice president, treasurer and controller, and Pete Honer has been named vice president of business insights and planning. Previously holding the title of controller, Brake will continue to support both Del Taco and parent company Sagittarius Brands Inc., which is based in Nashville, Tenn.Honer, who was previously director of financial planning, will be responsible for market ...
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03 February 2017
Below are our top reads from the last seven days of industry news*. Every Friday we'll publish our picks from industry developments, stories and announcements right here so you can keep up to date with what's happening in payments here and overseas.
If you'd like to have our top reads emailed to you every Friday, let us know by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org
Kiwi fintech startup secures US$3 million boost to go global
Cross-border payments firm Latipay has secured US$3 million in venture capital funding to expand into Singapore and the US, and build on its existing operations in Australia and New Zealand. They are also the only New Zealand finalist at the SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event in Austin, Texas next month. Latipay allows Chinese consumers to buy things online from abroad in their domestic currency, and vice versa.
US shoppers use loyalty points to pay for anything
FIS, Modo, and Verifone have joined forces to allow customers at more than 3,000 banks across the US to pay for purchases at thousands of merchants using their credit card loyalty points. With nearly US$16 billion of loyalty points expiring each year, this initiative is the latest in a growing number of financial innovations to help consumers maximise their income.
What millennials really think about mobile banking
Digital verification specialist Jumio has completed a global survey of millennials’ experience with mobile financial services. Of the more than 700 millennials surveyed, 92.5% use these services, 85.5% are dissatisfied with them, and 93.5% have abandoned a financial transaction on their mobile. The main reason for this is not being able to remember their password, cited by 91.5% of respondents. The research indicates there is a significant disconnect between the authentication method that millennials prefer and what financial service providers want them to use.
Collecting for charity? If you don’t accept cards, you’re missing out
Research by Barclaycard has shown UK charities may be missing out by as much as £80 million a year by not accepting credit or debit cards. With the decline of cash use set to continue, Barclays has been testing contactless collection boxes which accept Chip-and-PIN, contactless and mobile donations. The boxes were trialled by 11 charities and they accepted £20,000 more in donations. According to Barclaycard’s Managing Director of Payment Solutions, allowing charities to ‘tap in’ to new payment options will be key to fundraising in the future.
Watch out for the Curl, bringing NFC functionality to your accessories
Sydney-based startup Inamo has created the ‘Curl’, an NFC-enabling device that can be attached to any watch, fitness tracker, or piece of jewellery. The waterproof gadget retails for AU$20 and contains an NFC payment chip that brings tap-and-go payments to whatever item it’s attached to. The NFC chip can be topped up through an app or online account.
ISO 20022: decoding what it means for business
NACHA Managing Director, George Throckmorton, and Senior Director, Robert Unger, recently joined Karen Webster to explain why there’s still plenty of work to be done educating US banks and corporates about the benefits of converting to an ISO environment. It’s not a quick and easy switch to make, but highlighting the efficiencies the ISO 20022 standard brings could be the best starting point – in one project 400 interfaces were integrated into one.
New bitcoin wallet lets users send digital currency using phone numbers
BTCC Limited has launched a mobile app called Mobi which enables users to send bitcoins and more than 50 additional currencies – including gold and silver – using phone numbers. The bitcoin wallet avoids the need for usernames, passwords, emails, and two-factor authentication. According to company CEO, Bobby Lee, the main reason behind the development is to see bitcoin become a transaction option globally with worldwide adoption.
*These articles cover a range of topics from broad payments industry news here and overseas. They do not represent the views of Payments NZ and are not endorsements.


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The employment report showed little evidence that the trends of the past year have changed.
Over the past three months private payroll employment grew some 72,000, 191,000 and 104,000
while government employment fell 132,000, 33,000 and 24,000.
The one encouraging signs was the third strong month of employment growth reported in the household survey. Over the last three month it has shown gains of 331,000, 398,000 and 277,000.
After slowing earlier this year the growth of employment reported by the household survey is
reaccelerating. Because the household survey often leads the payroll survey this is a significant trend change to watch.
The average weekly hours was unchanged at 33.4 so the index of aggregrate hours worked only increased 0.1% as compared to a 0.5% gain last month and a -0.2% drop in the previous month.
But overall the trend of modest gains in hours worked has not changed.
With the small change in the workweek the slowing of average hourly earnings means that average weekly earnings growth is also slowing. While the European situation earns the headlines and the market is reacting strongly to those headlines it still looks to me like the major risk to the economy and the markets is weak income growth. The third quarter improvement in consumer spending and the economy stemmed from consumers drawing down savings and taking on debt as the savings rate fell significantly.


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Volkswagen Group announces gigantic €3 billion battery factory in Spain
The Volkswagen Group and SEAT have announced that together with partners from the Future: Fast Forward project (total of 62 companies), they will invest 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion) to make Spain a hotspot European hub for electric mobility.
Part of the amount, which is described as the largest industrial investment in the history of Spain, is expected to come from the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) program, but the request must first be successfully accepted by the government.
One of the main parts of the whole project will be a new 3 billion euro ($3.2 billion) lithium-ion battery gigafactory in Sagunt near Valencia, which will supply battery cells to local electric vehicle factories (in Martorell and Pamplona).
The gigafactory in Spain (confirmed in 2021) will be Volkswagen’s third after the one in Sweden (with Northvolt) and the one in Germany. Three more will be announced later.
Like the other two, the Sagunt plant will have a production capacity of 40 GWh/year. Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023, while production is expected to start in 2026.
The Volkswagen Group intends to build a total of six 40 GWh battery giga-factories in Europe to secure up to 240 GWh of locally produced batteries by 2030.
According to Thomas Schmall, Member of the Board of Directors of Volkswagen AG, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SEAT SA, the PERTE funds will be essential for the investment:
The first milestone must be the positive outcome of the PERTE file and the finalization of the permits: “We are going to build the Gigafactory batteries with an investment of more than 3 billion euros, but the PERTE funds are essential if we want to materialize our ambition to Spain a European hub for electric vehicles”,
The battery factory is expected to be supplied with electricity from renewable sources. A major agreement with Iberdrola will lead to a new photovoltaic plant (250 hectares), located less than 10 km (6 miles) from the battery factory. According to the press release, in the first phase, it will supply 20% of the gigafactory’s total energy.
Giga-battery factory of the Volkswagen group in Spain:
- investment: 3 billion euros (3.2 billion dollars)
- location: Sagunt near Valencia
- production: up to 40 GWh of lithium-ion batteries per year
- site: Q1 2023
- start of production (target): 2026
- new jobs: 3,000
- an area of 200 hectares
- Iberdrola photovoltaic plant: renewable electricity production, located less than 10 km (6 miles) from the battery factory
Giga-factories of the Volkswagen Group in Europe:
- Northvolt Ett Plant (Northvolt) in Skellefteå in northern Sweden – More info here
(Volkswagen owns about 20% of Northvolt’s capital)
expected to start in 2023
product: battery cells for the high-end automotive segment
target volume: up to 40 GWh/year (out of the 60 GWh planned by Northvolt for all customers)
- Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, Germany
expected to start in 2025
product: unified battery cells for volkswagen group volume segment
20 GWh/year initially, 40 GWh/year later
“2 billion euros were spent on the construction and operation of the Salzgitter giga-factory until the start of production”
planned more than 2,500 jobs
pilot recycling activities were reported in January 2021
- Sagunt near Valencia, Spain
expected to start production in 2026
lithium ion batteries
3 billion euros of investment
3,000 jobs expected
- Eastern Europe (map) – location to be determined in H1 2022
- gigafactory #5 – no information
- gigafactory #6 – no information


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Bringing Asia's livestream shopping success to Europe
Why is livestream shopping such a success in Asia?
With more people turning to online shopping every day, especially in a time of pandemic, Asia has taken the next step forward into the e-commerce world.
As it stands the Asian market already dominates the world of online shopping with China making up 40% of the total e-commerce market. Now, with the introduction of livestream shopping, the market has had yet another boom.
The growth in popularity has been huge, with live shopping holding an estimated worth of $70 billion at the end of 2020, and a massive 300 million Chinese users already, the future sure does looks bright.
One of the underlying reasons for livestreaming’s success is the community feel it provides. Reports have shown that the Chinese market enjoys the livestream experience due to its social and interactive nature.
The effectiveness of using influencers to sell products has long been known, but live shopping takes this to a new level. Customers are now able to use the live chat features to interact with the seller and have any questions answered in real-time.
Pair this with the added bonus of event discounts and the usability of live shopping, with most platforms offering a one-click-to-cart option, that doesn’t even require you to exit the stream, it is no wonder that Asia is seeing such success.
How can this success be translated to the European market?
While the size of the e-commerce market in Europe may not be able to compete with the size of that in Asia, there has still been a considerable shift towards online shopping, with many predicting the death of the high street.
While much of the rise in online shopping may be attributed to Covid-19, with an 80% increase since the outbreak, it is unlikely that there will be a drop when shops reopen to their pre-pandemic state. We are already seeing a considerable shift in work spaces, with many offices downsizing in favor of home offices, and there is no reason to suggest that this change in shopping habits will disappear. Indeed, six out of ten customers say they will continue to do their shopping online once the pandemic has passed.
Despite this, live shopping is yet to make a proper debut in Europe. However, a report released this year by Forrester found that 70% of European customers have expressed interest in forms of shoppertainment, and with live shopping ranking top in those on offer, it is clear the market is ready to be tapped.
The Forrester report also highlighted some interesting points when considering live shopping for the European market. While some aspects have worked in Asia, they may not be an instant success in Europe, and what may work in one European country may not work in another.
It is therefore important to consider your business’s customers. As mentioned in the report, UK customers look for trustworthy hosts and mobile-friendly content, customers in Spain are on the hunt for the best deals and discounts, and customers in Poland value host and customer interaction.
While this may seem overwhelming at first, it is important to remember that live shopping is here to help your business, not hinder it. You will know what is best for your customers, and by staying authentic and honest with your audience you are bound to succeed.
What does the future of livestream shopping hold?
The future of live shopping is obviously bright, but with your help it could be brighter.
Already big brand names are jumping on the bandwagon in the hope to keep with the times and utilize the latest technology for their own gains. The latest developments in livestream shopping have seen: Amazon launch their own version of live shopping, Tiktok sign a deal with Shopify, and Instagram introduce a new checkout feature.
As more and more brands get on board with this new trend it is important for any businesses that wish to succeed to take on board the changing ecosystem. Forbes is clear with their stance on this stating that ‘the shift toward live shopping and social retail will only continue to intensify’, and we can’t help but agree.
In fact, one of the main reasons behind live shopping’s success in Asia is the weight that Gen Z brings to the market. While the market in Europe is older, with the primary drivers of live shopping in Europe being between the ages of 32-43, this isn’t set to be the case for long.
This shift in buyers has already begun, and with Gen Z already on track to becoming the biggest generation of consumers, it is clear that businesses must adapt to their wants, are they to succeed and thrive. Perhaps even more telling, a report by Cassandra found that Gen Z already influences a huge 93% of household purchases.
There has never been a better time to take the plunge and implement livestream shopping into your business. With many big names already on board, or trialing the concept, it is important to stay ahead of the curve and be the competition. There are many ways in which you can take this step, and many platforms that offer tools to make it as easy as possible. As always, we are here to help both you and your business succeed.


text: Aluminum wheel manufacturer Superior Industries International Inc. announced Wednesday it would close its Arkansas plant by the end of the year as it prepares to open a fourth plant in Mexico next year. The closure of the plant in Rogers will result in the loss of 500 jobs and leaves the Van Nuys company with just a single U.S. manufacturing plant, in Fayetteville, Ark., and three other plants in Chihuahua, Mexico. Superior is building a $135 million state of the art plant in Chihuahua, the capital of Chihuahua, a northern state that borders Texas and New Mexico. The company has been there for more than 20 years and expects the plant to open next year. Superior Chief Executive Don Stebbins said the decision to shutter the Rogers plant came after a review of the company’s cost position in what continues to be a competitive environment. “Our board and management team remain focused on building an efficient, operationally stronger organization that can compete effectively with manufacturers around the globe,” Stebbins said in a prepared statement. The company expects to save $15 million in labor costs through the closure. It also values the manufacturing equipment and assets at $22 million. The company did not state whether it plans to sell the assets or transfer some or all to its other plants. The moves come as the company finds itself in a proxy battle over the makeup of its board of directors. Gamco Asset Management Inc. of Rye, N.Y. wants to put three members on the seven-member board at the Aug. 15 annual meeting. Shares closed down 16 cents, or a fraction of a percent, to $20.15 on the New York Stock Exchange.


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Covid-19 has hit the hospitality industry especially hard. That’s why the Baltimore Restaurant Relief Fund was founded—to support the hard-working food and beverage workers that call Baltimore home. In our establishments, it’s common to announce ‘behind!’ when we’re walking behind each other, whether in the front- or back-of-house. May this showing of support for the BRRF let fellow hospitality professionals know that you have their backs!
$10 from every shirt goes straight to the Baltimore Restaurant Relief Fund. Get yours today!


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Brighton-based developer The Chinese Room recently gave fans the first look at its new PS4 exclusive, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, since its unveiling at E3 2014.
In a blog post on the company’s website, creative director Dan Pinchbeck shared a lot of information regarding the progress the game has made in the last 6 months – including a few screenshots and even some music from the soundtrack: Wendy’s Theme.
Chalking it up to the spirit of the holiday season, Pinchbeck went into detail about the team and where the game stands: “Since E3, we’ve been working hard to get the game up towards alpha and we’re nearly there. This means the game world is now locked… There’s a lot of backwards and forwards during this process, especially on a game that’s not delivering its story in a linear, corridor fashion.”
He went on to reveal that there are 6 major areas in the game, “each of them needing a distinct identity whilst hanging together as a coherent whole.” Many fans have been excited up to this point for the game’s mystique and enigmatic nature, which Pinchbeck only compounded by saying: “It’s always been a tough game to talk about, because it’s a mystery, and that mystery is woven into the fabric of everything.” From what we’ve seen, the game is similar to the popular indie title, Gone Home, in that it shares a first-person exploratory experience and utilizes environmental storytelling.
The game takes place in 1980 rural England, following what appears to be a Rapture-esque event that leaves the game world devoid of human life. The result is a haunting, serene landscape with a non-linear story, that, according to Pinchbeck, “is really powerful and engaging which, after all, was always the whole point.”
A release date wasn’t given, but the developer ended the post simply with, “Rapture’s coming”, and the cryptic Latin statement: “Omnes pulvis stellarum sumus.” Roughly translated to: “We are all stardust.”


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Amazon, on their way to global Android domination, has been found to have expanded the reach of its Appstore. Word on the street is that the app can be downloaded, installed, and work properly in a number of new territories. The first few countries reporting the ability to install the Amazon Appstore include Australia, Netherlands, UK, and India. Of course we’re waiting to hear something official out of Amazon before we get super excited. As The Digital Reader points out, it’s possible this was a glitch or slip-up somewhere.
The OnePlus 7 family of phones is slated to launch on May 14 and could figure to include three models, one of which may have 5G support.


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Knoxville — Retail sales rose nine-tenths of a percent in November, according to the United States Commerce Department.
UT economist Matt Murray said that’s good news for retailers in Tennessee.
“November has historically been a big month for consumer purchases of Christmas gifts, and we’ve had a strong November,” Murray said.
According to Murray, holiday sales played a big part in November’s economic growth, but other factors contributed.
“I think the growth is predicated on the underlying fundamental strength of the national economy, the continued growth in jobs and incomes, and the continued run-up in the stock market.”
Economic growth forecasts for November were around five-tenths of a percent.


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There could be hidden cameras in your Airbnb
And here’s how you can spot them
Dec 6, 2017
Airbnb is still a fairly new concept for most Filipinos, although it’s not that difficult to grasp. It’s similar to booking a hotel room except you’re booking somebody else’s home or condo unit instead. You meet the host, discuss house rules, and enjoy your stay.
However, this viral tweet might sway your plans on booking a place for the holidays. Apparently, people keep finding hidden cameras in their Airbnbs.
A man named Jason Scott tweeted a photo of a single motion detector which had a tiny hidden camera attached to it.
In “oh, that’s a thing now” news, a colleague of mine thought it odd that there was a single “motion detector” in his AirBNB in the bedroom and voila, it’s an IP camera connected to the web. (He left at 3am, reported, host is suspended, colleague got refund.) pic.twitter.com/6KgkDmEZXB
— Jason Scott (@textfiles) November 28, 2017
But that wasn’t the only case.
Last October, a man from Florida was arrested (but later released on bail) and charged with one count of “video voyeurism” when a married couple reported that they found a hidden camera stashed inside a smoke detector in the master’s bedroom. According to a statement, Airbnb has since suspended and ‘banned’ those who put up hidden cameras in their homes.
We’re not discouraging you from booking an Airbnb (it’s still cheaper and more convenient for some), but here are a few tips on how you can spot hidden cameras just in case:
Be vigilant and take a look around
Consider this an SOP as soon as you enter the room. Look for tiny holes (where you suspect a camera could be), check common room items like mirrors, light bulbs, smoke detectors, and even house plants. Don’t forget to check the bathrooms, bedrooms, and closets, too.
Do the mirror test
You’ve seen this in the movies, who says it can’t happen in real life? To check if the mirror is two-way, you can always do the fingernail technique. Put a fingernail up against the glass. In a normal mirror, you wouldn’t reach your finger in the reflection. But if you do, chances are that it’s a two-way mirror and someone could be on the other side.
Put your phone’s flashlight to good use
This technique is 92 to 95 percent accurate, but you can still try it nonetheless. Turn all the lights off and turn your phone’s flashlight on. Scan every inch of the room with the light—any camera lenses will reflect it right back.
Photos courtesy of Unsplash
The government should stop starting petty fights with sensible politicians
You can continue Visita Iglesia traditions while in quarantine using Google Maps
What we need is a new breed of competent leaders—like these millennial mayors
20,000 arrested, 4,000 tested: Duterte’s disposition for warfare amid a pandemic
This is how Meralco will compute your electricity bill during the COVID-19 lockdown


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According to the Wall Street Journal reported that informed sources, HP is looking for a buyer for its enterprise network business in China, the move or will make Hangzhou H3C Corporation controlled by Chinese companies again.
Allegedly, HP has begun to test the Chinese private equity firm intention might be interested in this business; it’s action is still in its early stages, as occur buyers, HP expects to sell at least H3C 51% stake. Informed sources pointed out that the total value of H3C may reach around 5 billion dollars.
After the American government use American companies’ infrastructures to collect home and abroad data news broken, Hewlett-Packard and other US technology companies in China are facing a lot of pressure. Informed sources said on H3C transaction to be approved by the Chinese government, the buyer is likely to require a local Chinese companies.
Traditional enterprise network equipment providers are also faced with low-cost equipment or services provided through the clouds the impact of competitors. Earlier this year, IBM agreed to pay $ 2.3 billion of which will be sold to Lenovo x86 server business.
In China, H3C is a major provider of enterprise data networking equipment, mainly engaged in routers, software, switches and other products, currently total of 5,000 employees worldwide. HP is not listed H3C’s performance data separately in the earnings, and therefore the latter’s annual revenue is unknown. HP spend $ 2.7 billion acquisition of 3Com Corporation and took over the H3Cin 2010.
Informed sources said, H3C buyer might be another Chinese technology companies, but it is more likely to be sold to private equity firms.
HP itself is restructuring now. This month the company announced it would split into two plans, after spin-off, a company focused on corporate buyers of hardware and services, another major sale of the PC and the printer. The size of these two businesses with annual revenues are more than 50 billion US dollars. HP said it might strengthen their business through mergers and acquisitions, and the sale of H3C can bring to it the funds to promote the program.
Before announced spin-off, HP has been in merger talks with the data storage giant EMC for several months, both combined market capitalization of over 120 billion US dollars. According to reports, those talks have ended.
Informed sources said that no matter with whom for the transaction, HP will retain a minority stake in H3C, this company also want to continue to use H3C’s low-cost manufacturing capabilities.


text: Dunes Developments has launched an outdoor campaign in Greater Cairo to promote the launch of Phase 2 of its V.LEVELS project.\r\nThe campaign features visuals similar to those used in the previous V.LEVELS OOH campaign in July 2023, with a focus on showing a simulation of the project and the latest launched phase framed with a light green color. The visuals also include the brand and the developer's logos, the tagline Phase 2 is launching now, and the developer's hotline and website.\r\nThe OOH campaign is designed to raise awareness of the launch of Phase 2 of V.LEVELS and to generate leads from potential buyers. The campaign's visuals are visually appealing and informative, and they highlight the key features of the project. The campaign's targeting is also effective, as it is reaching potential buyers in key areas of Greater Cairo.\r\nThe Dunes Developments OOH campaign for V.LEVELS is a well-executed campaign that is likely to be successful in achieving its objectives. The campaign's visuals are clear, and they highlight the amazing look of the project. \r\nV.LEVELES is an 80-Feddan project is considered an unmissable opportunity where residents will have access to a commercial area, medical services, a well-equipped gym, a sporting club, a kids’ area, and venues. The compound is located in Sheikh Zayed and is developed to meet customers’ demands in terms of unit types; as the provided units are apartments, townhouses, and twin houses.\r\nVisit MOOH to learn more about Dunes Developments' OOH campaigns in Egypt.


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Dyersville, Iowa, will come alive this weekend with a HOF-seeded celebrity softball game and corresponding sports collectibles show that is sponsored by Leaf Trading Cards. The company will also issue a commemorative card set for the event.
PSA’s ‘Race to 100,000′ Set Registry Sweepstakes have wrapped up, with a baseball card collector from St. Paul winning a PSA 8 1915 Cracker Jack card of Christy Mathewson valued at $12,000.
The autograph pavilion at the National Convention is a bustling place. With more than 90 signers in 2013, the activity was greater than ever. If you wanted one “regular item” signed by every guest at the 2013 National, it would have cost $5,640.
When it comes to baseball rings, here are 10 facts you probably didn’t know, including what is considered to be the first team-issued rings.
‘Heart of a Tiger’ is a charming baseball tale of a Hall of Famer who many already had a preconceived notion about – Ty Cobb. His grandson shares the details.
Topps NFL Kickoff promotion includes the use of golden tickets that will be good for an autographed Kickoff Promo set.
Gretzky returns to Upper Deck Authenticated for signed memorabilia and remains an exclusive signer for Upper Deck trading cards. Among the unique collectibles will be a signed piece that features a signature that is more than two feet long.
Upper Deck has relaunched its online store, offering a new look and a tiered cash back program through September 2, 2013.
Some of the greatest moments in baseball history are now captured in framed displays courtesy of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Photo File.
Latest collectible toy from Topps showcases MLB’s best in a cubed object that features a stamp of the player’s signature, a player’s portrait or the team logo.


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Milestone have announced next-generation Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 editions of motorcycle racing game RIDE 4, which releases on current-gen consoles this October.
Both next-gen editions will support 60FPS gameplay and 4K resolutions, with up to 20 riders able to compete in both online and offline races.
The PS5 version will make use of the DualSense controller’s advanced haptic feedback feature to simulate varying degrees of gas and break lever resistance. Meanwhile, the console’s powerful SSD will be used to “significantly” cut loading times.
RIDE 4 is out 8 October on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam. XSX and PS5 versions will launch 30 April 2021.
Will you be getting RIDE 4? If so, are you looking forward to the free next-gen upgrade? Let us know below.
Codemasters have released a new video for their upcoming off-road racer, DIRT 5, that shows off one of the game’s stampede tracks.
"Stampede features rough terrain and the opportunity for vehicles to get airborne with jumps dotted throughout each circuit. Perfect for unlimited trucks and buggies, the action intensifies with 12 cars all battling for victory so players will need to get their elbows out and hold their nerve,” said Development Director Robert Karp.
DIRT 5 is out 9 October on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Those who purchase a console edition will get a free upgrade to the XSX and PS5 versions when they are released later this year. A Stadia version is also arriving sometime in 2021.
What do you think of the new trailer? Let us know below.
Team 17 and Ghost Town Games have confirmed next-gen editions of their culinary-based multiplayer titles, Overcooked! and Overcooked! 2.
Cross-platform multiplayer has also been confirmed by Team 17, as well as a new assist mode which allows players to slow down the timeout on recipes, increase the length of rounds and skip entire levels. Additional ease of access features include a scalable user interface, dyslexic-friendly text and colour blindness options.
There’s no release date yet, just confirmation that the game will be getting both a physical and digital release when it eventually launches on XSX and PS5.
If this week's reveal has got you hungry for some kitchen-based mayhem, then why not whet your appetite with our Overcooked! 2 let's play, which you can check out below.
Did you play the first two games? Will you be coming back for seconds when the next-gen editions arrive? Let us know below.
Ubisoft are releasing an update today that adds the much-requested AI squad members to Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Fury, Fixit and Vasily, as your new teammates are known, are all fully customisable, with players able to pick the gender, face, outfits and tattoos and other markings via the squad customisation tab.
Players will also be able to customise one of their AI partners’ two weapon slots, providing they have the correct weapon blueprint. The secondary weapon will always be a standard ASR to ensure they can still pull off sync shots.
It sounds like the new team will mostly behave in a similar way to the one found in Breakpoint’s predecessor, Ghost Recon Wildlands, with players able to order them to attack, hold, go to and regroup. AI squad members will also try to revive you if you go down.
“We are very happy to release AI Teammates, and we know that expectations are high!” Said Director Elie Benhamou.
“We did our best to include them into the game and world of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, focusing our efforts on enhancing the combat experience, as well as bringing a whole new layer of customization for your role-play activities!”
Ghost Recon Breakpoint is currently available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Are you glad to see the return of AI teammates? Sound off below.
Codemasters have shared a video for their newly released F1 2020 title that aims to help new drivers ease into the simulated world of Formula 1 racing.
Codemasters have also included a Track Acclimatisation feature that allows players to get used to a circuit’s nuances ahead of a Career, My Team or Weekly Event race.
This mode gives players a solo run at a new course, and marks corners with a series of three ‘gates’ that they must hit in order to make sure they’re taking a corner correctly. The more gates players hit, the more points they rack up.
F1 2020 is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia.
Are you new to the series? Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know below.
D3PUBLISHER have announced a new Earth Defense Force that’s coming to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 sometime next year.
Players will be able to mix and match their team to “maximize each of their abilities to lay waste on their enemies,” with fights taking place across multiple “landmark battlefields” inspired by locations such as America, the UK, Japan and Egypt.
Earth Defense Force: World Brothers is due to launch sometime in early 2021 and will be available on both Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 via their respective digital stores.
What do you think of the new-look EDF? Let us know below.
2K have delayed the release of their Mafia remaster due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the publisher has announced.
“Though we’d originally planned to release the game one month earlier on August 28, finalizing everything in time for that launch date has become increasingly challenging due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, and the last thing we want to do is compromise the quality of the experience,” read a statement from the publisher.
“From the beginning, this has been a passion project for us. Many of our developers helped create the original Mafia, and all of us are committed to crafting an updated experience worthy of that timeless classic. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make Mafia: Definitive Edition the very best it can be for all of our fans worldwide.”
To help tide fans over until the game’s launch later this year, an extended gameplay trailer will be released on 22 July.
Mafia: Definitive Edition is out 25 September on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Disappointed by the delay? Let us know below.
M2H Games’ First World War-set multiplayer title, Tannenberg, will be making its console debut later this month on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
M2H are handling all console development duties entirely in house – as they did with the recent Verdun remaster - in order to ensure Xbox One and PlayStation 4 users will be getting a “seamless multiplayer experience.”
“Following community feedback after the initial Verdun console release, we decided to handle all console versions of our titles in house - this started with the recent remaster of Verdun,” said studio co-founder Mike Hergaarden.
“This gave us valuable experience with optimizing the UI, graphics and controls for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and we got a lot of positive feedback from players. For the console version of Tannenberg we built it ourselves from the start.”
To celebrate Tannenberg’s console debut, the brand-new map of Przemyśl, which features a heavily fortified town, is being added to the game and will be available across all platforms later this month.
Tannenberg is currently available on PC via Steam and releases 24 July on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, with a 10% discount for those pre-ordering on the former platform.
Did you play Verdun? Looking forward to seeing Tannenberg on consoles? Let us know below.
Sold Out and developer Metronomik have pushed back the release date for their musical-action title, No Straight Roads.
Xbox One and Switch versions of the game were announced earlier this year, with the latter benefitting from a few platform exclusive features, including a three-player co-op mode and touchscreen functionality.
No Straight Roads will be available to purchase digitally from 25 August on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch and PC. The game is also getting a physical release on all three consoles, though the Switch edition will be released later.
Disappointed by the delay? Let us know below.
Square Enix have confirmed PS5 and Xbox Series X editions of their upcoming action-adventure game, Marvel’s Avengers.
Square Enix also confirmed there will be cross-play between the two generations, so Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 users will be able to fully utilise the game’s online elements with their respective friends on Xbox One and PS4.
As for what improvements players will see in the next-gen editions, both will feature “extremely fast load times, boosted resolution and fidelity, improved texturing and armor destruction, ray tracing, and more,” while Square Enix also had this to say about the PS5 version:
“The PlayStation 5 experience will be seamless and dynamic, fully utilizing the ultra-high speed SSD, the PS5 DualSense advanced haptics, and immersive spatial audio. To fully customize their visual experience, PS5 will also provide players with their choice of Enhanced Graphics Mode or High Framerate mode.”
It’s not clear if similar features will also be available on the Xbox Series X, but more details about platform specific improvements – including for Stadia and PC - are set to be shared “at a later date” according to the press release.
Marvel’s Avengers is out 4 September on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia.
Will you be taking advantage of the free upgrade to a next-gen edition? Let us know below.


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HOUSTON & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Port of Houston Authority (PHA), which owns and operates one of the nation's leading ports in terms of foreign waterborne and total tonnage, joins with other major port operators worldwide as the newest partner in Smart and Secure Tradelanes (SST), a rapidly expanding global security network deploying advanced security practices, business processes, and enabling technologies to improve the security and efficiency of worldwide ocean container shipments.
The PHA Commission voted during a public meeting Monday to participate in SST, an industry-driven initiative that has attracted more than 40 supply chain partners committed to closing security gaps in the global supply chain by building an automated security infrastructure at major ports worldwide that enables connectivity between supply chain participants and technologies. By becoming an SST partner, the PHA will install Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader infrastructure that communicates in real-time with a powerful software platform linked to a Transportation Security System application, enabling real-time monitoring of containers equipped with smart electronic seals.
Since launched last summer, hundreds of "smart and secure" containers equipped with electronic seals and monitored automatically via the global security network have been shipped between Asia and Europe into the United States. The PHA's participation helps extend the network to a fourth continent - South America - to ensure the security of shipments entering the United States from that part of the world. The focus of the initiative in Houston will be on end-to-end container security, starting with shipments at the shipper/manufacturer origin, and tracking them from ports of origin in Europe and Latin America to the Port of Houston.
Today's announcement was made jointly here at a press conference by the Port of Houston Authority and the Strategic Council on Security Technology, a global advisory resource and catalyst for improving the security of supply chains that was a founding partner in SST. Others participating in the announcement were U.S. Rep. Chris Bell (D-Houston); Ned Holmes, a founding SCST member and Chairman of P&O Ports, North America; Steve Sewell, president of the Ports Division of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a major engineering firm; and Tom Griffin, senior vice president at Transoceanic, a leading international freight forwarder based in Houston that is also participating in SST.
"The possibility of a weapon of mass destruction being concealed in an inbound cargo container is a very real and constant threat to the Gulf region and other major port locations in the nation," said Congressman Bell. "Smart and Secure Tradelanes is proving to be a real model of how government and industry can work together to improve security and - at the same time - ensure that the vital flow of goods continues without disruption through our port facilities."
"As one of the leading container ports in the U.S., the Port of Houston Authority should undertake every appropriate measure to ensure container safety and security," said PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds. "Our involvement with Smart and Secure Tradelanes will enhance our proactive approach to security through best practices and technological leadership, which will protect both the lives and livelihoods of people in this region," Edmonds added.
"We're very excited to come on board this global initiative, and to integrate its innovative technologies and approaches into our own global system to ensure the integrity of our customer's shipments," said Griffin of Transoceanic, a 55-year-old company and the leading U.S.-based freight forwarder of project-specific shipments, especially ones involving the refurbishing or construction of facilities or buildings for the energy, oil and gas industries as well as the U.S. State Department. "By linking our shipments to Smart and Secure Tradelanes, we'll provide greater assurances of security, value-added information and better services for our customer base."
Unlike other participants in SST who seek greater security of U.S.-bound shipments, Transoceanic plans to leverage the network to ensure the security of outbound shipments it manages from the Port of Houston to international destinations. One of its initial applications is planned for a major building project in Kabul, Afghanistan. "If anyone tampers with cargo - whether inbound or outbound - it could lead to costly delays and increased liabilities, especially for critical supplies to build or refurbish everything from refineries to government embassies," said Griffin.
"It's gratifying to see that the Port of Houston Authority continues to take a leadership position in adopting the latest proven technologies and best practices to protect the critical infrastructure and economic engine of the Gulf region by becoming part of Smart and Secure Tradelanes," said Ned Holmes on behalf of SCST. "The only way to ensure the safety and security of shipments in today's world is by having industry partners work closely together and with governments, which is the mission of Smart and Secure Tradelanes," added Holmes, who preceded Edmonds as chairman of the PHA.
Although industry-funded and initiated, SST partners work in close coordination with a number of U.S. and non-U.S. government entities, especially to ensure compliance with such government initiatives as U.S. Customs' Container Security Initiative (CSI) and Customs Trade Program Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), and Custom's 24-Hour Advance Manifest Rule.
Founding members of SST include three of the world's largest port operators - Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), P&O Ports and PSA Corporation - which together manage about 70 per cent of the world's container shipments at their port and terminal facilities. SST's objective is to rapidly deploy a baseline infrastructure that provides real-time visibility, physical security through non-intrusive, automated inspection and detection alerts, as well as a complete audit trail of a container's journey from origin to final destination.
The SST solution leverages technology and infrastructure of the U.S. Department of Defense's Total Asset Visibility (TAV) network, a battle-tested, real-time response information system that another SST partner (Savi Technology) helped to build. TAV, the world's largest wireless cargo tracking network, was designed and deployed to track all military shipments during times of peace and conflict through truck, train, and ship transportation - from the factory to the foxhole. The TAV network is built on existing U.S. and international standards that allow open integration of automatic identification and data collection technologies.
SST leverages TAV's existing infrastructure and proven automatic identification technologies, including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), satellite tracking systems, sensors, and biometrics that are integrated with enterprise-class software.
About the Strategic Council on Security Technology The Strategic Council on Security Technology is an international assembly of top executives from the world's largest port operators, major logistics technology providers, four-star generals, former public officials and prominent transportation consultancies. Acting as an international resource, the Strategic Council on Security Technology is committed to helping ensure greater supply chain security through best-of-breed practices and technologies while working with a variety of other industry associations. More information can be found at www.scst.info.
About the Port of Houston Authority
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-miled long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo.
Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The PHA's Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001.
Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C:" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com


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Puma has announced worldwide sales eclipsed 1 billion euro for the first time in history. But is that enough to unseat the German sports powerhouse they share a family history and city with?
Taking a step forward
There is reason for rejoicing in the house of Rudolph Dassler.
Puma, the sporting goods company he grounded in tiny Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, announced on Wednesday it had broken 1 billion euro in worldwide sales for the first time since Dassler set up shop in 1948. The news was heartening for Puma, which has sat in Adidas' shadow ever since Rudolph had a fight with his brother and left the company they grounded together in the 1920s.
Since then, Adolph "Adi" Dassler’s company has been leaving Rudolph’s far behind. Adidas announced earnings of 6.1 billion euro in 2001, a number that has been steadily increasing since 1998. They hold second place behind Nike in the worldwide sporting goods market.
But this year, Puma executives are feeling feisty armed with fourth quarter 2001 statistics that show double digit percentage increases in all three of their product segments: apparel, footwear and accessories.
A big year ahead
There could be more good news ahead.
Puma is sponsoring four teams is this year’s soccer World Cup in Korea and Japan, including African champion Cameroon. With the world watching, Puma will present a new soccer cleat ("shuhdo") and a revolutionary new jersey (the sleeveless jersey worn by Cameroon) to try and grab some attention from the other big German brand.
"We’re the third strongest brand in the World Cup," said Puma spokesman Ulf Santyer said. "It’s a very important stage on which to present our product."
Puma chairman Jochen Zeitz, in the position since 1993, echoed the sentiment on Wednesday.
"We need concentrate on increasing the potential of our brand," he said, upon announcing the statistics.
Der Vorstandschef des Sportartikelherstellers Puma, Jochen Zeitz, laechelt auf einem undatierten Archivbild. Puma hat mit einem Rekordumsatz und -gewinn alle Erwartungen uebertroffen. Die ernorme Nachfrage in den USA und in Westeuropa habe den Umsatz um ein Drittel auf 588 Millionen Euro steigen lassen, teilte Puma am Donnerstag, 14. Feb. 2002 mit. (AP Photo/HO/Puma)
The brand has done well under Zeitz (photo). Last year marked the fourth year in a row Puma’s annual sales figures increased by more than 20 percent. He expects the same in 2002 and for the next four years after that.
"I’m ruling out the purchases of other brands at the moment," Zeitz said. "But one should never say never."
The confidence will most likely not bother the folks at Adidas, whose company is shares the 23,000-strong Bavarian town as its headquarters. Adidas has long held a superior footing in the sporting goods industry, earning the reputation as global mark long ago.
Adi, the shoemaker
Perhaps family history has something do with it.
Of the two brothers, "Adi" was the expert shoemaker and designer, fashioning his first track & field cleats at the age of 20. The pair grounded the Brothers Dassler shoe company in 1924 and went on to celebrate a number of successes.
Their shoes were worn in tennis and soccer championships and American sprinter Jesse Owens brought them international recognition when he won gold in their shoes four times at the Summer Olympics in 1936.
"In fair Herzogenaurach where we lay our scene..:"
Following the end of World War II the company benefited from the new slew of war refugees that moved to Herzogenaurach. But in 1948 the brothers had a monumental fight, the details of which are not known.
Rudolph left in a huff and started Puma across town. Adi stayed and, a year later, renamed the Brothers Dassler company using the first syllables of his first and last name.
The tiny town became a modern-day Verona. Like the Montagues and Capulets of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Puma employees and Adidas employees stayed as far away from one another as possible.
"Puma employees wouldn’t be caught dead with Adidas employees," said Adidas spokeswoman Anne Putz. "It wouldn’t be allowed that an Adidas employee would fall in love with a Puma employee."
That has all changed, of course – mostly.
Santyer says he has no problem talking to an Adidas employee, but still has difficulties pronouncing the name of the competing brand, preferring instead to refer to them as "the ladies and gentlemen with the three stripes."
No publicity, it seems, is too small when it comes to Puma's fight to regain footing in the worldwide sporting goods industry.


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GM Raises Accident Total Linked To Ignition Recall To 47
As General Motors maintains 13 individuals lost their lives behind the wheel of vehicles affected by the February 2014 ignition switch recall, the automaker has boosted the total number of accidents related to the recall from 30 to 47.
The Detroit News reports the updated figure was one of the answers to the survey issued to GM by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration weeks ago, asking why the automaker had waited so long to recall the defective part. The fatality figure, however, may go up when the agency presents its findings to GM soon:
The final death toll associated with this safety defect is not known to NHTSA, but we believe it’s likely that more than 13 lives were lost. GM would be in the position to determine additional cases related directly to this defect based on lawsuits, incident claims and additional data reported directly to the automaker from its customers, dealerships, insurance companies, safety groups and other sources.
The fatality figure is also considered low by a number of attorneys and safety advocates, including Texas attorney Bob Hilliard and Center for Auto Safety director Clarence Ditlow. While Ditlow believes the number could go up or down once the NHTSA finishes their investigation, and bases his claims on information gathered in March 2014 from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System, Hilliard believes the automaker itself is intentionally “low-balling” said fatality numbers.
Hat tip to oboylepr, who brought this to my attention. The definitive report on GM's recall storm: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPQ44RDOAx4
Is TTAC going to run a story on the ongoing investigation, criminal felony convictions, and the global wide auto part pricing collusion that is said to have cost US consumers $330 million in inflated prices, sometimes incredibly inflated prices on parts? Dozens of convictions of executives in Japan, Australia, and the United States - careers ruined - and a now widening investigation on the frightening scope of anti-trust violations. Fox News ran a really interesting story over the weekend on this ongoing issue that has fleeced consumers, stifled innovation, and put companies out of business. I mean I get this involves a long list of Japanese part suppliers...but maybe, just maybe readers would be interested in the screw job the DOJ and SEC has uncovered when their investigation started four years ago? The unprecedented cooperation with their peers in other countries? The use of different strategies to get guilty pleas out of what typical are teflon coated executives?
All I can see is Congressional Testimony and one of the Congress-critters asking: "Um... Ms. Barra, how many accidents have been linked to this defect?" (Mary leans into the microphone and says): "30." (Corporate lawyer leans over and whispers in her ear.) "Excuse me senator - 47."


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LG Electronics and Pepsi Foods, the Indian sponsors of the cricket World Cup, are seeking compensation from the International Cricket Council, the organisers of the tournament, for violating the contract it had signed with each one of them. According to a report in a business newspaper, LG Electronics has already written to the ICC seeking compensation on the ground that rival Samsung continues to air commercials involving Indian cricketers.
As per the agreement with ICC, the sponsors were entitled to field the cricketers in their advertisements beginning from a month before the tournament got underway to a month after it was over. The deadline for restricting the sponsors began on January 9. The other primary sponsor Pepsi Foods also plans to seek compensation from ICC.


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Vietnam has endured nearly 20 antidumping lawsuits from various countries over the last two years and local businesses complain that it is an arduous task to resume exports to these markets even when the trade remedies are relaxed.
Vietnamese-made polyethylene (PE) bags have almost vanished from the U.S. market after the products were subject to extremely high antidumping and anti-subsidy duties for five years from 2009, following a ruling by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) in 2010.
The antidumping duties range from 52.3 percent to 76.11 percent, while the band for anti-subsidy duties is from 5.28 percent to 52.56 percent.
Shortly after the decision was made, exports of Vietnamese-made PE bags of all kinds to the U.S. “were almost stalled as exporters were struggling to find customers,” recalled Ho Duc Lam, chairman of the Vietnam Plastic Association.
PE bags accounted for 40 percent of the total export turnovers of the Vietnamese plastic industry to the U.S., and the trade remedy actions thus resulted in a 40 percent decrease of the industry’s export values to the market, Lam added.
Last year exports of plastic products to the U.S. were valued at US$196 million, accounting for only 11 percent of the $1.75 billion turnovers of the plastic industry.
The chairman said Vietnamese plastic makers have “managed to find alternative outlets for their products” after the door to the U.S. market was shut to the PE bags.
He also said that the U.S. DOC is conducting an administrative review to decide whether to maintain or lift the duties.
But even when the duties are eliminated, “it will take a long time for Vietnamese businesses to resume exports to the U.S. market,” remarked a plastic maker, whose business had to shift to manufacture decomposable bags to export to the EU after exports to the U.S. were halted.
This is not a pessimistic comment, as proven by the case of Lien Phat Co, a shoemaker based in southern Binh Duong Province.
Production capacity affected
In 2006, the EU levied a 10 percent antidumping duty on leather capped shoes manufactured in Vietnam, but the action was lifted five years later.
Even so, Lien Phat Co is still unable to revitalize its production capacity, according to director Truong Thuy Lien.
“Our production capacity slumped 40 percent following the EU decision, and the size of the workforce was reduced from more than 1,200 to only several hundreds of employees as European importers simultaneously canceled orders,” she recalled.
Two years after the duties were removed in 2011, the company’s workforce rose back to nearly 1,200 workers, but exports to the EU now occupy only 50 percent of the total figure, instead of the previous 70 percent rate.
“And the leather capped shoes only make up a modest proportion of the total export turnovers,” the director said.
More and more Vietnamese-made exports, ranging from fabric and lighters to motorbike tires and steel pipes, have been hit by antidumping duties in overseas markets since 2011, according to the Vietnam Competition Authority.
Fourteen lawsuits related to antidumping tariffs, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures were filed in 2012 while three antidumping lawsuits have been initiated by India, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines in the first quarter of this year.


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Shop Local – Christmas shopping in Palma
The year 2020 was one of the hardest years for the Balearic Islands due to the Covid-19 crisis and many companies and small businesses have already had to close down, as they were mainly dependent on tourism, which has largely come to a standstill. This has had catastrophic effects and many families and people have been in need and some of them could no longer afford the basic supply of food and clothing. Many have therefore turned to charities such as Mallorca Sense Farm, Asosiacion Tardor, Hope Mallorca or SI Mallorca.
It is more important than ever to support the local businesses and especially the small retail shops. Instead of ordering from Zalando or Amazon, this year you should try to buy your Christmas gifts locally or order online from outside the island from companies here on the island. There are many many companies on Mallorca that sell homemade products or handicrafts, which are ideal as gifts under the Christmas tree. Anyone can contribute with even a small amount of money to support the local economy, which in 2020 has suffered more than ever before. Help us - Mallorca says THANK YOU!


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Mazda Working on RX-8 Replacement, CEO Says
At the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Car Advice learned that the RX-8 Successor is indeed coming, and it will likely be derived from the platform for the next MX-5, which is supposed to be very light. But it might also be the case that the little Miata will also be a rotary-powered car.
“We need a measure a plan to upgrade the [fuel] efficiency and torque [of the engine] otherwise we don’t see much progress [from the current rotary in the RX-8],” said Takashi Yamanouchi, Mazda’s president and CEO.
“Production of the RX-8 does stop in 2012 but what comes after that I’m not in a position to say. But I have been saying everywhere that we will continue research on the rotary engine. We will not extinguish the flame of the rotary engine. That kind of product is iconic for our brand. So the current MX-5 or RX-8 we have decided in the future to maintain that type of [sports car] product. I can’t say, however, that they will be separate … they may be merged into one.[We] can’t rule out the possibility [of a rotary-powered MX-5],” he said about the RX-8 successor.


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Go On, Live a Little (Longer): Eat More Whole Grains
For those who vowed to eat healthier in 2015, here comes a study out of Harvard just in time to fortify your New Year’s resolution.
In particular, researchers found that eating more whole grains was linked to a significantly reduced risk of mortality—up to 15 percent—most notably when it comes to dying from heart disease. Eating bran, one of the components that makes a grain “whole” but that is often stripped out during the refining process used to make white flour, was associated with a 20 percent reduction in risk for heart disease.
Unless you're of the Paleo persuasion, you're probably thinking, “Well, duh.” Given that nutrition experts have been imploring us for years to give up white bread and sugary cereals in favor of the more, um, toothsome texture of whole grains, it would seem the science behind those recommendations must have been long settled.
Indeed, numerous large studies have linked consumption of whole grains with a reduction in risk for both cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as better overall digestive health. But the new Harvard study, which was published online this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, appears to be one of the first—or at least one of the largest—to look at the connection between eating whole grains and mortality.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health combed through data from two huge studies, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, amounting to a combined total of more than 115,000 women and men who had regularly completed detailed questionnaires about their diet from the mid-1980s to 2010. After adjusting for a number of factors—including whether participants smoked, their body mass index, and their level of physical activity—the Harvard researchers found that whole-grain consumption was linked to a decreased risk of mortality of up to 9 percent, and a reduction in the risk of death related to heart disease of up to 15 percent. Each serving of whole grains consumed (equivalent to 28 grams per day) correlated to a 5 percent reduction in the overall risk of death and a 9 percent reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Another publicity-savvy tidbit: Replacing one serving of red meat per day with a serving of whole grains cut the risk of heart disease by 20 percent.
“This study further endorses the current dietary guidelines that promote whole grains as one of the major healthful foods for prevention of major chronic disease,” said department of nutrition professor Qi Sun, one of the study’s lead authors, in a statement.
No doubt, but there’s just one problem: It’s become inordinately complicated for consumers to determine what constitutes a good source of whole grains.
As nutrition science has continued to ply us with ever more studies touting the health benefits of eating more whole grains, the processed food industry has, predictably, jumped on the bandwagon. As has so often been the case these past couple decades, the Food and Drug Administration has been of little to no help when it comes to clearing up the confusion associated with the proliferation of food makers’ “whole grain” claims.
Thus, we now have such mind-bendingly ridiculous concoctions as “whole grain” Beefaroni and Cocoa Puffs, as well as “nutri-grain” Eggos from Kellogg’s, the same company that also brings us Cinnabon Crunchy Cinnamon Multigrain Cereal.
Although the FDA issued a “draft guidance” for the food industry back in 2006 regarding the claims that could be made about a product's whole-grain content on its packaging, the agency has yet to produce any final rules.
Rather than hold your breath and wait for the FDA to deliver, here’s a quick whole-grain tutorial and some handy tips culled from nutrition experts.
Whole Grains in a Nutshell
A whole grain has three basic parts: an outer layer of bran that surrounds the starchy endosperm and the germ, or seed, inside. Highly refined grains, like your basic white flour, strip away the nutrient-rich bran layer and the germ, leaving just the endosperm—which is largely devoid of both nutrition and flavor.
Picking the Right Cereal...
As you’d expect, the cereal aisle is ground zero when it comes to the explosion of whole-grain claims. But even a supposedly “whole-grain” cereal can include a heap of not-so-healthy ingredients. Experts tout the whole-grain wonders of steel-cut or old-fashioned oats—not, pointedly, instant oatmeal. But if you don’t have a half hour or more to wait for your oatmeal in the a.m., Harvard nutritionists recommend looking for a cereal that has at least four grams of fiber but less than eight grams of sugar per serving.
A close second to breakfast cereal in the whole-grain circus has to be the bread aisle. Here again it’s best to look beyond the splashy claims on the front of the package (e.g., “multigrain” = pretty much meaningless) and turn to the nutrition panel. Make sure that the first ingredient listed is a whole grain; yes, the word “whole” should be there, as in “whole wheat flour.” No matter what the front of the package says (or what the color of the bread is), if it’s made from, say, “wheat flour,” “enriched wheat flour,” “unbleached wheat flour,” or the like, you’re essentially getting highly processed white flour. Nutrition expert Marion Nestle has offered this advice to befuddled bread shoppers: “[Y]ou must inspect the label to make sure the first ingredient is whole grain, the total number of ingredients is small and devoid of unpronounceable chemicals, the fiber content is at least 2 grams per 1-ounce serving and the label says 100 percent whole wheat. Anything less is reconstituted white bread with occasional pieces of original grain added back.”
You probably don’t need me to tell you that when it comes to eating more whole grains, your best bet is to leave the processed food industry behind and stick with what we know are bona fide whole grains, like brown rice or quinoa. But that sort of recommendation can be about one step shy of exhorting you to bake your own whole-grain bread. Patrick Skerrett, the executive editor of Harvard Health, has come up with a pretty simple rule of thumb for cutting through the clutter of food makers’ whole-grain claims. If you’re trying to decide between two products that are touted as “whole-grain,” check their labels: There should be at least one gram of dietary fiber for every 10 grams of carbs. Yes, it requires a bit of math, but it’s math that’s easy enough to do in your head while you're standing in the aisle—and “dietary fiber” is always listed immediately below “total carbohydrates,” so the numbers can be found quickly.


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Ford is offering an available factory-installed strobe warning LED light kit for 2016 F-Series Super Duty pickup trucks for customers who require enhanced visibility from their vehicles. The no-drill option is warrantied and not susceptible to corrosion issues that can be a result of poor aftermarket installation. The front- and rear-mounted amber-lens strobe lights meet applicable government regulations, can be seen as far as 1,000 feet away during the day and as far as a mile away at night. For more information, please visit http://media.ford.com.
POSTED BY PHILIP We received hundreds of entries for the JOTA-JOTI 2015 logo contest. We are delighted to be able to share with you the six short-lis... Read more
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F&N Malaysia has brought back its classic festive pack to celebrate Chinese New Year 2020, the year of the rat. The F&N Classic is described as “The taste that brings loved ones together.
F&N has in the past introduced the limited edition sarsi and orange crunch flavours in vintage can for Chinese New Year and this year is no exception. What is different this year is the launch of ice cream soda in the vintage packaging.
The consecutive launch of the F&N Classic series demonstrates F&N’s desire to make the classic range a must have for Chinese New Year.
Click here to buy the classic range on Lazada.


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One of InStyle’s recent departures has already settled into a new role.
Sam Broekema has been named the editor in chief of Only Natural Diamonds, the online content platform for the Natural Diamond Council.
Broekema was most recently InStyle’s fashion market and accessories director — a role he held since 2016. He was part of the larger wave of departures earlier this month when InStyle’s holding company decided to end the magazine’s print edition. Prior, he held senior editorial roles at Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair.
At Only Natural Diamonds, Broekema will serve in a new role that will see him spearheading annual trend reports, overseeing content strategy and partaking in creative direction. He will begin on Monday.
“Sam brings an exceptional vision to the world of natural diamonds based on his passion for the category and adjacent experience in fashion and culture. We are thrilled to work with Sam in this new capacity and are energized to see his expert point of view come to life through Only Natural Diamonds,” said Kristina Buckley Kayel, managing director of Natural Diamond Council.
“I am honored to become the first editor of Only Natural Diamonds. I am excited to conceptualize what both modern and heirloom jewelry mean for consumers now, and celebrate the long and rich history of diamonds in culture, fashion and the arts,” added Broekema.


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- Is Sportage getting competition? Toyota IMC’s SUV is on its way!
- Government helpless in reducing automobile prices in Pakistan
- Honda CR-Z Owner’s Review: Price, Specs & Features
- Petroleum prices to go down by up to PKR 30 per litre?
- 2021 Porsche 992 Turbo S photos leaked ahead of its launch: Have a look!
- 14 Ways To Improve Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency
- BAIC has entered Pakistan’s auto sector – All you need to know
- PSO posts a profit of Rs.6.4 billion in H1 of the financial year 2019-20
- Corona Virus outbreak: Follow these safety measures while commuting!
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Market intelligence firm Tractica says wearables might be the next craze for the enterprise and industry sectors, as more businesses start to launch corporate wellness programs and integrate wearables into everyday work.
Sales in the sector are expected to skyrocket from 2.3 million in 2015 to 66.4 million in 2021, according to Tractica. It sees corporate wellness as the main driver for wearable sales in the enterprise sector, at least up to 2021.
Corporate wellness programs are already starting to integrate wearables. Fitbit has over 1,000 companies added to its program and health platform Jiff has seen an increase in its customer base by 500 percent.
The programs are about more than just getting employees healthy, they can track things like heart-rate; which could be used to track stress levels, restlessness, and time spent standing up. This data could be useful for human resources that want to have a positive working environment, not one where employees are too tired or stressed to be comfortable.
However, adoption from employees might take some time, especially if they do not trust management with sensitive and private data. If a business knows you’re routinely too tired to work optimally, will they let you off, or sack you for someone more productive